This just in…
Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 12:18 pm - Wow. From the US Attorney…
A six-passenger, twin propeller engine aircraft flew on May 13 this year into west suburban DuPage Airport where three men awaited its arrival. Two of them – Ahyetoro A. Taylor and Raphael Manuel, both Cook County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officers – accompanied an individual whom they believed brokered large-scale drug transactions but, in fact, was an undercover FBI agent. They boarded the aircraft, which was operated by two other undercover agents, and began counting packages of what was purported to be at least 80 kilograms of cocaine stashed inside four duffel bags. Taylor, Manuel and the undercover agent they accompanied removed the duffels from the plane and took them through the airport lobby to the trunk of the agent’s car in the parking lot. Taylor and Manuel, in a separate car, followed the agent to a nearby retail parking lot, where the agent parked and got into the officers’ vehicle. Together, the trio watched as yet another undercover agent arrived, removed the duffels from the trunk of the parked car, placed them in a Mercedes and drove away. The FBI agent posing as the drug broker then paid Taylor and Manuel $4,000 each - allegedly their most profitable payday in the corrupt relationship they began with the undercover agent at least a year earlier.
The undercover agent, while posing as an employee of a business in south suburban Harvey, was the hub in multiple spokes of police corruption in which Taylor and Manuel – often together with other officers they recruited – allegedly provided armed security for purported cocaine and heroin transactions throughout the south suburbs in 2007 and 2008. The investigation resulted in the unsealing today of federal charges against 17 defendants – 15 of them sworn law enforcement officers, including 10 Cook County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officers , 4 Village of Harvey police officers and a Chicago police officer. The defendants allegedly accepted between $400 and $4,000 each on one or more occasions to serve as lookouts and be ready to intervene in the event real police or rival drug dealers attempted to interfere with any of a dozen different purported transfers of kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin.
Today’s arrests and charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They commended the assistance of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
All 17 defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine and/or heroin in eight separate criminal complaints that were unsealed following arrests early today.
The full press release is here.
* 2:48 pm - From the Tribune…
Officers allegedly were paid up to $4,000 each as they served as lookouts and prepared to step in if law enforcement cracked down on the operations, authorities said. The undercover investigation run by the FBI allegedly saw officers protecting poker games and transporting cash.
Fourteen of the defendants were either arrested or surrendered today and are expected to make initial appearances in U.S. District Court this afternoon.
Two of the officers are accused of selling powder cocaine, and all are charged with conspiracy to possess and sell drugs.
An undercover agent acting as a drug dealer allegedly paid 16 of the defendants some $44,000 during the course of the investigation. In once incident, corrections officers Ahyetoro Taylor and Raphael Manuel met the undercover agent at the DuPage Airport, where they allegedly helped count what they believed were 80 kilograms of cocaine. The officers each were paid $4,000 for helping with the shipment.
Authorities said the undercover agent posed as an employee of a Harvey business that was not identified. It was described by authorities as the “hub in multiple spokes of police corruption” as Manuel and Taylor recruited officers to help them.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You may have seen this…
Budget restraints have halted drug testing of applicants for child-welfare jobs at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Drug screening was required for anyone seeking positions at DCFS or its private contractors that deal directly with children or families.
* A longer AP story included this bit…
Other state agencies test for drugs. Prison-system and state police workers must be clean to get a job and then face random tests. State workers with access to nuclear facilities and people who want state jobs that require driving commercial vehicles such as trucks also must pass, officials said.
* The Question: When, if ever, should state employees be tested for drug use, including marijuana? Explain fully.
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Durbin backlash gaining strength
Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Phil Kadner whacks Sen. Dick Durbin but good for asking that the president commute George Ryan’s prison sentence…
[Durbin] sides with Ryan’s pitiful wife, apparently forgetting the story of Tammy Raynor.
Raynor worked at a driver’s license facility under Ryan and saw the bribe-taking. When she protested, she was harassed. Her life was threatened. She was transferred.
But wherever she worked, she took notes on the corruption that she saw and stuffed them in the pockets of a multi-colored winter coat that she wore even in the summer.
At one point, Raynor claimed her mother passed Ryan’s wife a note, at a fundraising event, explaining the situation Raynor was in. Ryan’s wife, the woman Durbin feels so bad for today, said she never got the note.
I believe Raynor, whose testimony helped send Ryan to prison.
Durbin feels bad for Ryan. He feels bad for Ryan’s wife.
But he feels no sympathy for the honest people who live in this corruption-infested state.
I’m not surprised. You don’t get to be a U.S. senator from Illinois thinking about the little people.
* Mark Brown is outraged…
It’s hard to be against mercy. We all should strive to be merciful and compassionate.
But we also ought to have some standards as to when we show mercy, and the line doesn’t start with crooked politicians who fight, stall and postpone their convictions until they’re old enough to be considered more sympathetic.
Let me preface anything else I say with this: I’ve always liked Durbin. I respect him. I think he tries to be a decent public servant. But I think he’s so wrong on this one it’s ridiculous, as was his attempt at justifying his decision.
Basically, it all boils down to the fact he knows the Ryans personally and is therefore familiar with what a hardship the ex-governor’s prison sentence has been on Mrs. Ryan in particular.
He explained his decision in the context of spending his entire public life trying to correct government injustices of one sort or another that have been brought to his attention by members of the public. He chalked up the Ryan clemency bid as just one more example of that.
When pressed, though, Durbin said he couldn’t remember ever seeking clemency on behalf of anybody else. And he also backpedaled from the notion that Ryan was the victim of any injustice.
* The Sun-Times editorial board examines some problems with Durbin’s logic…
The senator’s notion of fairness is not informed by the facts in Ryan’s case.
If Ryan is released early, he will have spent less time in prison than two friends convicted in the case — Ryan’s aide, Scott Fawell, who did the dirty work, and businessman Lawrence Warner, who profited from the dirty deals.
Hardly fair or proportionate.
Often, special early release is reserved for the most penitent of prisoners. Ryan is the exact opposite. Years after his conviction, he has yet to apologize to the people of Illinois or, more specifically, to the Willis family, who lost six children in a fiery crash in 1994. Ryan’s corrupt secretary of state office gave a license to the unqualified truck driver involved in that crash.
Durbin said he hopes Ryan will apologize — when he gets out.
What a backward notion. And again, hardly fair.
Even if Ryan were to apologize while standing on the prison steps, we would have to question his sincerity. Ryan’s wife has said his conscience is clear.
* The Tribune editorial board published an open letter today to President Bush…
President Bush, you know George Ryan as an affable governor from your past. The people of Illinois know him as a criminal whose first-tier legal team couldn’t sway jurors from convicting him on 18 corruption counts.
We urge you, Mr. Bush, not to tell the preyed-upon people of Illinois that public corruption doesn’t matter.
We urge you to demonstrate that the difficult work of courts and jurors does matter.
We urge you not to free George Ryan.
* And the Daily Herald, like just about everybody else, brings up the dead Willis children…
George Ryan wants to spend time with his family. We think he should continue to reflect in prison on the fact that a bribery scandal in the secretary of state’s office he led resulted in the deaths of the six children of Rev. Scott and Janet Willis.
Our sympathies lie with them.
* Sneed is Sneed…
Sen. Dick Durbin, who asked President Bush for former Gov. George Ryan’s freedom Monday, feels he did so with approval.
• • The approval? Whenever Durbin faces a tough decision, he “thinks about what the late Sen. Paul Simon, a very compassionate man, would have done,” said a Sneed source.
• • The upshot: “Durbin believes Simon would have given a nod of approval to his action. Paul Simon is his North Star when it comes to politics,” the source added.
• • Backshot: In a rare expression of public compassion from a politician, Sen. Durbin gets Sneed’s award for bravery. It’s not easy knowing you’re going to be flooded with hate mail for doing what you think is the right thing. Sneed is told Sen. Durbin was inundated with negative messages the day after he announced he was thinking about asking President Bush to commute Ryan’s federal corruption sentence.
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* During the closing arguments of the corruption trial of Mayor Daley’s patronage chief Bob Sorich, a federal prosecutor promised the jury that there would soon be more heads on the wall…
“For those who are there and are responsible for this scheme, there’s another day,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Philip Guentert told jurors in 2006, during closing arguments. “City Hall is chock-full of the schemers.”
That was way back in July of 2006, and as the Tribune notes today, prosecutors have since been almost completely silent…
Since then, only former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez, accused of being a co-schemer, and an assistant have been charged in the probe.
Federal prosecutors rarely announce publicly when secret grand-jury investigations have ended. But in a telling sign that the hiring investigation appears over, lawyers for the Daley administration say they last heard from U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office on this issue in April 2007, a month after Sanchez was indicted.
Some bigtime folks with close ties to Mayor Daley were implicated during Sorich’s trial…
Evidence at Sorich’s trial indicated that former top Daley aides Timothy Degnan, Victor Reyes and John Doerrer may have participated in the fraudulent hiring scheme, according to a government filing.
And prosecutors have been a bit chummy with Daley of late…
At the funeral of Chicago Police Detective Joseph Airhart last month, Fitzgerald and Robert Grant, the head of the FBI’s Chicago office, were seen chatting with Daley for at least 20 minutes. And during the summer, Daley spoke at the FBI’s 100th anniversary celebration at Navy Pier. After the speech, Grant and Daley posed for photographs.
* I don’t think I’m the only one who has wondered what happened with this probe. Sorich was convicted on July 6th, 2006. That very same day, George W. Bush showed up in Chicago to have dinner with Mayor Daley on the president’s 60th birthday, which seemed kinda odd at the time.
Too tinfoil hatty? I dunno.
* Meanwhile, the Daily Herald obtained some documents via the Freedom of Information Act about how former Illinois Tollway chief Brian McPartlin recused himself from awarding a contract to McDonough Associates a few days after he spoke to the company about a job. McPartlin now wants a waiver from the state ethics laws to go to work for the company. Here’s a partial timeline, but you should definitely go read the whole thing…
On June 19, McPartlin informed Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Chairman John Mitola, he was looking for a job in the private sector. With three kids approaching college age, it was crucial to “make this career move to afford them the opportunity of a college education,” his letter says. His salary was $189,000 a year.
A month passed and McPartlin executed a $592,000 contract with McDonough July 17, according to his Sept. 8 petition to the ethics commission. The firm has done more than $30 million of work for the tollway.
Two weeks later, McPartlin talked to McDonough about setting up a meeting with top executive Feroz Nathani, his petition states.
“I am well aware of the restrictions on my employment activities and the prohibition of participating in any work involving the tollway by McDonough,” McPartlin wrote to commission Executive Director Chad Fornoff.
“I do not participate personally or substantially in the decision to award contracts, nor do I, or have I, influenced any decision to award contracts. However, I am one of three individuals at the tollway (including Catuara and Mitola) authorized to execute any contract approved by the board.”
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the state Ethics Commission to delay approving the waiver while she looks into the matter. That seems prudent.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the Tribune…
Federal agents were making arrests in south suburban Harvey this morning in connection with an investigation of police corruption, authorities said. A spokesman with the Chicago office of the FBI confirmed an operation was under way and said details would be coming.
From the US Attorney’s office…
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will hold a press conference at 2:00 p.m. today, Tuesday December 2, 2008, to announce a significant law enforcement operation involving alleged police corruption in the south suburbs. The press conference will be held in the U.S. Attorney’s Press Conference Room on the 11th floor, north end, of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn St., Chicago.
Full details of today’s operation, including criminal charges and a detailed press release, are expected to be distributed after noon today, and the press conference room will be open to members of the media at 1 p.m. Approximately a dozen defendants being arrested today will have their initial court appearances beginning at 3 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason in Courtroom 2214 in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the AP…
A federal judge in Chicago has set a Jan. 6 sentencing for political fundraiser Tony Rezko, who helped bankroll the campaigns of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama.
Defense attorney Joseph Duffy says Rezko just “wants to get on with his life.” Duffy made his comments while leaving court Tuesday after Judge Amy St. Eve set the date.
Duffy, however, left open the question of whether Rezko is still cooperating with the government’s investigation of corruption in the Blagojevich administration.
* Semi-related…
* Conflict of interest: Four Illinois Supreme Court justices have been asked to withdraw from hearing an appeal of a legal-malpractice case against Corboy & Demetrio, one of the nation’s top personal-injury firms, because the justices have gotten political contributions from the Chicago firm’s attorneys.
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Morning Shorts
Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning
* State shortchanged hurt workers for 30 years
The state unit that handles compensation claims for injured workers has concluded that Illinois short-changed at least some beneficiaries and their heirs, and that it did so for as long as a stunning 30 years.
Neither the Workers’ Compensation Commission nor anyone else in state government is yet saying how much the snafu might cost Illinois employers, who will have to make up any shortfall. But the money apparently is owed, and industry sources say the final tab could top $100 million.
* ISU execs disappointed by budget cuts
* Giannoulias Calls Out Governor on Abandoned Pension Plan
The cost of this corruption can be measured in the millions of dollars in unnecessary costs that the state pension systems have paid over the past five years so that corrupt political insiders could protect their criminal behavior.
* Consolidation concerns
* Birkett testing the waters for a 2010 state run
But for what office?
“I’m not ruling anything out at this point. I came very close to winning that race in 2002. Lisa Madigan was a strong opponent, backed by her father’s organization,” Birkett said, referring to Illinois Democratic Party Chairman Mike Madigan, who also is the House speaker.
Here’s my interpretation: If Lisa runs for governor, Joe would go for attorney general. If she seeks re-election or runs for a different office, Birkett would run for governor.
* Joe Birkett explores another run for statewide office
* Alvarez sworn in as state’s attorney
* New process installed will move to cut deal with CN”>for evaluating judges
The Judicial Performance Evaluation Program that had been voluntary for more than 900 judges who preside over Illinois courts became mandatory Monday with the Illinois Supreme Court’s announcement of new initiatives to improve judicial performance.
The new measures mandate that all judges undergo an intense evaluation consisting of a review of their opinions and performance by attorneys and court personnel at least once during their terms.
* 16th Circuit’s 1st black chief judge sworn in
* $150 million casino and hotel opens in Rock Island
* Calumet City Not Giving Up Casino Hopes
* Illinois bets on recycling programs
The Illinois Recycling Grant Program is doling out $760,000 throughout the Chicago area during what is traditionally the most wasteful time of the year—the holiday gift-giving season.
The money will allow some communities to expand curbside recycling programs and other cities and private businesses to hire additional workers and address electronic waste.
Programs receiving grants include:
* City reaches deal to lease parking meters
* Daley Plaza Tree To Light Up Downtown Chicago
* Most Chicago Police Squad Cars May Soon Be SUVs
* Political columnist is one of three vying to lead Paul Simon Public Policy Institute
David Yepsen, a political columnist for the Des Moines Register, said the institute could be used as a means to explore national issues, like combating racial prejudice, studying women in politics, government spending and debt, health care in rural America and campaign finance reform.
* Frankfort will move to cut deal with CN
* Suburbs face a storm of service cuts
“What you’ll see is … local government is usually one of the first industries to feel the pinch,” said Dave Bennett of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. “And then it’s always among the last to feel the recovery as well.”
* Buffalo Grove stays the course on budget
* Amnesty offered for red-light, parking tickets
People with Chicago parking or red-light tickets who take advantage of an amnesty that began today could save money and avoid the possibility of getting “booted” next month.
Half of the penalty for late payments on the 3.5 million outstanding tickets issued before 2007 will be waived for those who pay under the amnesty that ends Feb. 14, city Revenue Department Director Bea Reyna-Hickey said today.
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Morning video
Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
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*** Read Sen. Dick Durbin’s letter to President George W. Bush by clicking here ***
* 2:19 pm - Last week, Sen. Durbin said he was just thinking about asking President Bush to commute George Ryan’s sentence. Today, despite the huge public outcry against a commutation, Durbin announced that he’s gone ahead and done it…
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is asking President Bush to commute ex-Gov. George Ryan’s sentence to time served.
Durbin made the announcement today — a week after expressing sympathy for Ryan and former first lady Lura Lynn Ryan.
In a letter to the president, Durbin tells Bush: “Though no one can or should excuse his official misconduct, I am writing to as that you consider commuting his sentence to time served.”
Durbin cited Ryan’s age, at 74, as a reason for a commutation.
* From Durbin’s letter…
“For those who would argue that a commutation makes light of his crimes, it is clear that he has already paid a significant price and will continue to do so as long as he lives,” Durbin wrote in the letter, a copy of which was provided to reporters. “Justice is a sword that should be tempered with compassion. Further imprisonment will not, in my opinion, serve the ends of justice.”
* 2:43 pm - DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett announces that he’s thinking about running statewide in 2010, but doesn’t say what office. From an e-mail to supporters…
With Thanksgiving behind us, it would be easy for Republicans in Illinois to feel sorry about their plight. That’s the wrong attitude and here’s why.
We can use this time to bounce back stronger than ever. We can use this time to reshape our message and techniques while retaining our core principles. It’s within our grasp, subject to our will to work hard and give the people a vision of government they can believe in.
That is what I plan to do in the coming months. I have decided that I can’t sit idly by and watch the greatness of our state continue its slide. I am exploring a run for statewide office in 2010 and I plan to make a positive difference for you and our state.
In the coming months, I will travel the state and figure out how we can succeed in two years. I became quite familiar with all corners of the our great state during my two successful primary victories in 2002 and 2006. I will examine our past mistakes, and, with your help, come up with an agenda for the future that resonates with Illinois voters. An agenda that speaks to your values and concerns.
We must do a better job mastering the new technologies of grass roots politics-the internet, social networking, online fundraising. We must do a better job connecting with young voters and with other groups that are gravitating away from us, such as Latinos. We have good ideas and approaches to policy but we must do a better job of explaining them….
* 3:47 pm - Statement from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna…
“This issue is not one of party, but of bringing real change to Illinois by the way we conduct business.
“My heart goes out to Mrs. Ryan and her family during this difficult time, however, Governor Ryan was convicted in federal court by a jury of his peers and all of his appeals, including one to the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied.
“A commutation of Governor Ryan’s sentence sends the wrong message to not only those who betray the public trust but also to the honest, hardworking men and women of Illinois who expect public corruption will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
“Senator Durbin and Governor Blagojevich’s line of thinking only contributes to the difficult task of bringing change to Illinois.”
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* Chris Cilliza of the Washington Post gets it…
Obama’s own election has caused a problem, as embattled Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who continues to mull running for a third term in 2010, is solely charged with picking a successor – and any tie to Blagojevich could endanger a nominee’s election in 2010.
Your darn tootin’. And it doesn’t help that the governor is calling the appointment a Christmas present…
He’s no Santa Claus, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Monday that he plans to give someone the gift of a U.S. Senate seat for Christmas. […]
“I’m looking forward to being even more giving this holiday season than I have in the past,” Blagojevich said, touting the state’s annual food and clothing drive. “And I’ll also give somebody a U.S. Senate seat for Christmas.”
The TV ad writes itself.
* President-Elect Barack Obama is rapidly filling up his Cabinet, Veep-Elect Joe Biden’s replacement has been named (and Biden hasn’t even resigned yet), but Gov. Blagojevich still can’t make up his mind on our new US Senator. I’m guessing part of the reason for the delay is that he loves the rare positive attention and adulation from politicos. The Obama replacement also allows him to talk to reporters without fielding pesky questions about Tony Rezko. It’s a win-win for the guv.
The Sun-Times attempts to be helpful today and endorses Jesse Jackson, Jr. for the open seat…
Above all, we believe, Jackson shares the values and goals of the president-elect, a consideration of no small importance to us in making this endorsement. The voters of Illinois chose Obama twice — first for the Senate and then for president — and they deserve a replacement who fully shares the president-elect’s agenda
I guess all the lobbying, politicking and polling were just fine with the CS-T. Frankly, I thought he made a fool of himself. But here’s Jackson’s explanation…
“Anyone who is not campaigning for this office in one form or another is not taking the process as seriously as it has to be taken,” Jackson said Tuesday on WTTW-Ch. 11’s “Chicago Tonight.”
Except that’s not what his spokesman said last week…
Bryant said Jackson is not actively campaigning for the appointment, tempering reports the congressman was making concerted efforts to get the post.
So, which is it?
* The Hill jumps the gun…
A slip of the tongue from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) is fueling speculation that Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) could be chosen as President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the Senate.
Blagojevich referred to Davis as “senator,” according to the Associated Press. The lawmaker has expressed an interest in the position and the governor said Davis would make a great senator.
They should’ve waited for the full story…
Gov. Blagojevich said it twice — “Where’s Sen. Davis?” — with a sly smile, but also with an assured tone. […]
But Blagojevich — who along with Davis was visiting homeless people at a Chicago Christian Industrial League Thanksgiving meal Thursday — quickly let it be known that he still hasn’t made his choice about who should fill the remaining two years of Obama’s Senate term.
It’s customary in Springfield to half-jokingly refer to someone who is up for a new office by said office’s moniker, hence the “Senator” reference.
* Congresscritter Davis recently provoked a guffaw from MSNBC’s First Read blog…
Per a press release from the office of Rep. Danny Davis, an African-American congressman considered one of the front-runners for the appointment, Illinois supporters will be holding an event today to “announce their support and urge Governor Blagojavich to appoint Congressman Danny K. Davis to replace President-Elect Obama as U. S. Senator.”
Whoops.
Blagojavich?
* As you probably already know, Luis Gutierrez essentially took himself out of the running for Obama’s seat…
Gutierrez met with Gov. Blagojevich and told the governor he would like to be a “caretaker” senator for the next two years working to get comprehensive immigration reform passed in the Senate instead of fund-raising to get re-elected to the Senate in 2010, Gutierrez said.
But Blagojevich said he was looking for someone who wanted the post long-term, Gutierrez said. “It’s basically over — unless he calls me back,” Gutierrez said.
* Meanwhile, the governor is heading to Philadelphia to meet with President-Elect Obama tomorrow…
- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he’ll travel to Philadelphia this week to join his peers at a meeting of the National Governors Association.
President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden are expected to speak to the group Tuesday at Independence Hall.
Blagojevich says he wants to use the meeting with Obama to discuss how the federal government can help address state budget shortfalls.
Apparently, Blagojevich can’t just wander over to Obama’s downtown Chicago transition office. Obama is headquartered in the federal building, so that may be off limits.
This, of course, gives us another opportunity to stroll down memory lane…
Caption?
…Adding… The Bill for Senate FaceBook group is now up to 330 members. Join today!
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Question of the day
Monday, Dec 1, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The setup, from Scott Reeder…
It’s time for government to get out of the business of marriage.
Why are we leaving it up to a bunch of politicians and judges to decide what constitutes marriage?
Marriage ought to be a religious or cultural institution, not a governmental one.
Like most folks, when my wife and I got married it required trips to both a courthouse and a church.
I believe marriage is ordained by God and should be between one man and one woman.
That is my religious belief. But who am I to impose it on someone who doesn’t share my particular faith? Different religions take varying views on what constitutes marriage. […]
Leave it up to government to create a legal framework for recognizing relationships and deal with issues like child custody, division of assets, insurance, inheritance rights and pension benefits.
* The Question: Should state government get out of marriage, except for the legalities of the contractual relationship? Explain fully, please.
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Giannoulias wants to pool all pension funds
Monday, Dec 1, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Alexi Giannoulias has a new plan…
The Illinois state treasurer says he wants curb corruption in the state’s five pension systems and that he will unveil a plan on Monday that would pool billion of dollars in investments.
State treasurer Alexi Giannoulias told the Chicago Tribune on Sunday in a story on the newspaper’s Web site that Illinois could save between $50 million and $80 million a year if investment duties for the five government employee retirement systems were merged.
The treasurer’s overhaul also would put board members under stricter ethical standards.
* The idea was met with skepticism…
But the treasurer’s plan could face an uphill climb at the Capitol, where lawmakers say they welcome the ethics reforms but put the idea of combining the investments “on very thin ice.”
“There’s an inherent danger whenever one tries to funnel so much activity into a single source because it weakens the checks and balances over these public funds,” said Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston), who has long worked on pension reform issues. […]
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), who heads the Senate’s pension committee, said he worries that forming one massive investment group could hinder the ability of smaller investment firms, particularly those headed by women or minorities, to get state business.
* Sen. Schoenberg succinctly sums up his reservations at his new blog…
In short, I’m skeptical that bigger always means better when it comes to governing public finance.
The same goes for private financial institutions, as the developments in recent weeks have clearly shown.
* Schoenberg offers up an interesting alternative…
Mandating that everyone associated with state public pension fund transactions is a licensed securities professional more effectively achieves the goal of taking political influence out of the equation. No longer would insiders be able to pass themselves off as marketing consultants for investment banking firms while pocketing huge fees for minimal work on large deals, and the protective umbrella of securities industry’s higher standards would more likely prevent Illinois taxpayers from getting soaked
That’s a good point.
One area of “reform” I’d like to see is a more direct involvement with reviving Illinois’ economy. I wouldn’t mandate investments that would spur job-creation, but what I’d like to see done is along the same lines as the NFL’s coach interview requirements. The pension funds should be required to at least look at job-creating Illinois investments before making their final investing decisions.
* But this is something to keep in mind…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration tried to consolidate state pension boards during his first year in office, but federal prosecutors allege top campaign fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko went to the governor to block the idea.
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The George Ryan dilemma
Monday, Dec 1, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mrs. Ryan should never have said this to the Sun-Times…
When asked if there were anything George Ryan would change, Lura Lynn Ryan said neither she nor her husband has any regrets.
“His conscience is as clear as his mind,” she said. “If he had it to do over — and I’ve heard him say this — he would govern the same way as he did before. All he wanted to do was help people and I think he’s done that.”
* I had a long talk with former Gov. Jim Thompson several months ago about Ryan’s refusal to explicitly apologize for what he did wrong. Thompson seemed surprised that this was even an issue for myself and others. But Ryan’s recent petition to President Bush asking for a pardon included these contrite words…
I have devoted most of my adult life to public service and to trying to make life better for the people of Illinois. And I think I did many good things in public office, and I am proud of those accomplishments. But I accept the verdict against me, and I apologize to the people of Illinois for my conduct. There is a deep shame for me in serving this 78-month sentence resulting from my public corruption conviction.
My failings have brought humiliation upon my family, cost me my reputation and name, brought financial ruin to me and my wife, and worst of all, caused me to be away from Lura Lynn when, in our twilight years, she needs me most.
My heart is heavy knowing that I have hurt the public, my family, and my friends in failing to keep their trust. I failed them and for that I have profound remorse. [emphasis added]
Ryan’s latest statement is in direct contradiction to his wife’s comments to the Sun-Times. Mrs. Ryan may have provided us with a window into her husband’s real feelings, but I would rather not put this all on her head. She’s a spouse, and political spouses are infamous for defending their husbands/wives through thick and thin. It would’ve been far better if Ryan had made a completely contrite statement months ago to the public that he betrayed, rather than confine it to his pardon petition.
* Mark Brown’s open letter to Sen. Dick Durbin, who created a firestorm last week when he said he was thinking about asking President Bush to commute Ryan’s sentence, is quite good…
We are told that you are acting out of compassion, not so much for the sake of the former governor as for Ryan’s wife, Lura Lynn, with whom you have developed a friendly relationship over the years. Look, I’ve rarely met anybody around politics who doesn’t like Mrs. Ryan. It’s understandable to feel sorry for her.
But she and her family benefitted from her husband’s wrongdoing, and now they are sharing in the pain that every family must feel when their loved one goes to prison.
By singling out the Ryans for your concern, you are adding to the perception that the political class protects itself first and foremost.
I’ve long believed that politicians treat their accused colleagues a little too much like society in general used to treat drunken drivers, as if following the maxim: There but for the grace of God . . .
Frankly, though, I thought you were better than that.
* This is what Durbin said…
“His family name has been damaged,” Durbin said. “He has, at an advanced moment of his life, been removed from his family. He has lost the economic security which most people count on at his age. And he is separate from his wife at a time when she is in frail health. To say that he has paid a price for his wrongdoing, he certainly has. And the question is whether continued imprisonment is appropriate at this point.”
* Perhaps more than anything else, though, Gov. Blagojevich’s comments probably undermined Ryan’s hopes and put Durbin on the hot seat…
Gov. Blagojevich, who for years has blasted corruption under his predecessor, George Ryan, said Thursday “it would be a good decision” for President Bush to let the 74-year-old Ryan out of prison early.
“I always err on the side of compassion,” Blagojevich said during a Thanksgiving visit to the Chicago Christian Industrial League on the West Side. […]
“I think people make mistakes. George Ryan has paid a significant price for those mistakes. And if President Bush makes that decision, I think it would be a fine decision,” Blagojevich explained. “He’s a man well into his 70s. Mrs. Ryan is in her 70s and in frail health.
“So if the president makes that decision, I think it would be a good decision.”
He always errs on the side of compassion? Really? Is that what all those Rezko deals were about?
* Carol Marin explains…
In the campaign of 2002, the one in which Ryan did not dare run for a second term given the federal heat, Blagojevich was relentless in referencing the corruption and scandals in Ryan’s administration.
“Pay to play” — before it became the term of art to describe big Blago donors getting big contracts or board appointments — was a term he weaponized to use against Ryan and the Republicans who ran against him, including former Attorney General Jim Ryan (no relation) and former state Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka.
Now he sees his predecessor’s agony.
No doubt Ryan is suffering. And no doubt whatsoever that his wife, Lura Lynn, needs and wants her husband by her side. The scandal took just about everything away: his pension, his freedom, their savings, their life together. Blagojevich, who says he is convinced that the feds have nothing on him, sees a year in prison out of a sentence of 6½ as quite enough.
You can understand why.
Thoughts?
* Related…
* Blagojevich wants commutation for Ryan
* Durbin shouldn’t ask for reduction in Ryan’s sentence
* Don’t let Ryan go, pols say
* Keep George Ryan in jail
* Ryan doesn’t deserve pardon request
* George Ryan should finish his sentence
* No get-out-of-jail card for unrepentant Ryan
* Clemency for Ryan? I have a better idea
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* Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been one of the top cheerleaders for the movie industry tax credit, which was just recently renewed by the General Assembly. But…
…at least 30 other states are facing budget deficits besides Illinois, legislators have been pushing to subsidize some of America’s most affluent businesspeople at the expense of taxpayers. At least 40 states currently offer film subsidies, some offering upward of 30 percent to 42 percent of a movie’s production costs.
These tax credits do not pay for themselves, much less bring in extra revenue. Greg Albrecht, chief economist for Louisiana’s Legislative Fiscal Office, estimated in 2004 “that for every dollar of revenue lost to film tax credits,” only 15 to 20 cents “of revenue would be recovered from tax receipts generated by stimulated economic activity.”
According to Albrecht, even the most “successful” film subsidy programs bring little value. In Louisiana, he found, “even if 100 percent of the reported production budget amounts were being spent purchasing goods and services from Louisiana suppliers, the economic benefits would not be sufficient to provide tax receipts approaching a level necessary to offset the costs of the tax credits.”
The jobs and economic growth created by film productions with the help of such tax incentives are often overstated. The New England Public Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that “when film tax credits do hit their mark and induce more local film production, the resulting stimulus to overall economic activity appears to be rather modest.”
The tax credit may have more to do with the governor’s Hollywood fundraising and the international cachet for Chicago. Still, the movie tax credits have “worked” to the extent that far more films are being shot in Chicago than before the credit was approved. That’s a good argument for keeping it in place.
* However, while the glitz and the glamour are given governmental favor, Downstate gets the shaft…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich says Illinois residents should know he didn’t want to shutter seven state parks and a dozen historic sites, but he needed to make the closings to balance the budget.
Blagojevich put out the statement Sunday, the same day the parks and historic sites were to close. In the statement, the governor asked Illinoisans to understand that the closings had to be made to offset a $2 billion budget deficit.
The governor said he would “continue to take steps to reduce the shortfall so that Illinois has a budget that works.”
We’re talking about $2 million here. That’s a rounding error on a rounding error.
* These parks and sites are far more economically important to small Downstate communities than the movie industry is to Chicago…
By the end of [yesterday], the gates will also close at Castle Rock and Lowden state parks, two of the strongest drawing cards for businesses in nearby Oregon, Ill., about 100 miles west of Chicago.
“Gas, grocery stores, motels, resorts,” said Marcia Heuer, executive director of the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce, rattling off local businesses that depend on park visitors.
The two parks draw just shy of 400,000 people a year, and are the cornerstone of the chamber’s marketing, she said, particularly the 48-foot-tall statue, 100-ton statue, The Eternal Indian, at Lowden.
Yet, they get nothing.
* And it’s not just state parks and historic sites feeling the pain…
“Politicians are fond of criticizing deadbeat parents who refuse to meet their obligations, but state government is becoming the biggest deadbeat of all,” alleged the Rev. Frederick Aigner, president of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, in a prepared statement last week.
He decried the state’s almost $9 million in unpaid reimbursements to the organization for family and community service work.
“If the state doesn’t move quickly, we and many others across Illinois are going to be forced to make drastic cuts in services that will hurt every community in the state,” Aigner wrote.
* Universities were hit last week as well…
The Blagojevich administration is asking Illinois’ universities to place 2.5 percent of their budgets in reserves. The cuts mean four-year universities would lose nearly $35 million from their budgets. The state’s community colleges would drop nearly $8 million.
University of Illinois spokesman Tom Hardy says the school’s president, Joe White, told the campuses to prepare for cuts earlier this fall. Campus officials were to present contingency plans to White by next month. The Chicago campus already announced it was cutting 200 jobs at its medical center.
* But, like the state, the U of I still funds the glitz and glamour…
With oversize leather chairs, Oriental rugs, computer labs and classrooms, the Irwin Academic Services Center is a great place to study - if you’re an athlete.
The $6 million University of Illinois tutoring center helps only about 550 of the school’s 37,000 students. […]
The UofI center, with an annual budget of nearly $1 million, is staffed with tutors, counselors and learning specialists like Debby Roberts.
* Related…
* Gov to transit agencies: Hike fares, I’ll freeze pay
* Budget troubles raise plenty of questions
* SJ-R Opinion: Governor’s delusions catch up to us
* Illinois’ budgetary ‘Doomsday’ hits home with layoff, site closures
* Historic sites, some parks to close after Sunday
* State park closings a tough pill for some to swallow
* Unjust governor ignores will of the people
* Blagojevich taps deputy gov Martinez
19 Comments
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What’s Rezko up to?
Monday, Dec 1, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tony Rezko wants to be sentenced soon…
Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s frustration over months in solitary confinement came to a boil [last] week as his attorneys filed a motion for the judge in his corruption case to immediately set a sentencing date for the convicted political fundraiser.
Sentencing had been put off in early October while Rezko’s lawyers and prosecutors discussed his potential cooperation in the federal investigation into possible pay-to-play schemes in the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Despite his possible willingness to aid the government, Rezko has remained in isolation at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown, locked in a cell 23 hours a day.
“Mr. Rezko has remained in solitary confinement at the MCC since June 4, 2008, the day of the jury’s verdict, and can no longer agree to delay sentencing,” the new motion states, asking U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to set the earliest possible date to hand down Rezko’s punishment.
* The Sun-Times theorizes…
If Rezko signed on to cooperate with the government, he more than likely would not be sentenced until after his cooperation was completed. That usually involves testifying before a grand jury or at trial. […]
Sources say there have been some hangups in talks with Rezko, and the government suspects he’s attempting to minimize his role in the potential wrongdoing he’s telling them about.
They say the latest request may be a game of chicken, with Rezko trying for better accommodations if he’s to continue cooperating.
* But the Tribune’s sources are a little more cautious…
The motion raises questions about the status of talks between Rezko and the government and casts doubt on whether the sides ever will reach an agreement that would make Rezko a witness at future political corruption trials. But the motion is not necessarily thought to be a death knell for negotiations, sources said.
* Meanwhile, the Sun-Times takes a closer look at self-proclaimed reformer Bill Singer’s involvement with Eddie Vrdolyak…
As a brash, young lawyer in 1969, William Singer became a champion of Chicago’s lakefront liberals by defeating the late Mayor Richard J. Daley’s political machine to win a seat on the City Council.
These days, Singer finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having been involved in a real estate deal with two men who have pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges — former Ald. Edward Vrdolyak and businessman Stuart Levine.
But Singer, 67, hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing himself. He’s referred to in court documents filed in Vrdyolak’s criminal case, though he’s identified only as “Individual A.”
Singer’s lawyer wouldn’t talk about the deal or the $1.5 million “finder’s fee” that Vrdolyak was supposed to collect from Singer and Singer’s partners at Smithfield Development. Federal authorities say Vrdolyak planned to split the fee with Levine, then a board member for the Chicago Medical School, which was selling the land to Singer’s group.
Still, Singer and his partners made money building and selling 44 luxury condos and 10 town houses on the land they bought with help from Vrdolyak and Levine. The condos sold for as much as $2.6 million. Singer had a 20 percent stake in the project, new court documents, public records, and interviews show
Go read the whole thing.
* Somewhat related…
* Why do 2 politicians need bodyguards? Assignment of cops to Alderman Burke, city treasurer is under fire as police hiring slows
* Obama should keep Patrick Fitzgerald as U.S. attorney
* Peoria Journal Star: Keep Patrick Fitzgerald fighting Illinois’ corruption
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