llinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has named a veteran former lawmaker to head the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
Kurt Granberg, a 55-year-old Carlyle Democrat, was appointed Friday. He was named to the $133,000-a-year post for a term ending January 2011.
Granberg has served in the House of Representatives since 1987 and was assistant majority leader under Speaker Michael Madigan. He resigned his seat before the House voted Jan. 9 to impeach Blagojevich.
Predicted spin: “I’m still the governor and this is a legal appointment.”
Predicted response: “Not for much longer, dude.”
* 5:47 PM - Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s new “Reform Illinois Now” commission has been appointed. Members include the Rev. Scott Willis, whose six children were killed in an accident which eventually led to the downfall of George Ryan. The full commission membership list is here.
Christopher Kelly, a longtime friend and adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, pleaded guilty in federal court this afternoon to filing false tax returns that concealed his use of corporate funds to cover gambling debts.
Kelly, 51, answered with a strong “guilty” when asked how he would plead by U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo. He admitted to underreporting his commercial roofing company’s profits by nearly $500,000 between 2001 and 2005. […]
He now faces up to 8 years in prison when he is sentenced in April.
The Tribune claims that Kelly’s lawyer “declined to answer questions about whether Kelly eventually could cooperate against the governor,” but here’s the Sun-Times’ take…
Kelly’s lawyer, Michael Monico, said his client has not cooperated with authorities.
“There is no agreement” for Kelly’s cooperation, Monico said. “And we will not seek one.”
*** 2:51 PM *** I had heard this was a possibility, since Genson seemed clearly out of his element in the House. But I didn’t have enough to run the story the other day…
The attorney for impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Ed Genson, says he will not represent the embattled governor in his impeachment trial.
He is still representing the governor in the criminal allegations against him.
You almost have to wonder if this might be a delaying tactic by the governor. Whatever the case, there’s a schedule to maintain and whoever represents Blagojevich will have to abide by it.
*** 3:20 PM *** The entire team has quit in protest, according to the Tribune…
The legal team that has represented embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich in impeachment proceedings in Springfield has stepped down in protest before the governor’s trial in the Illinois Senate, the Tribune has learned.
Blagojevich’s lawyers believe the process has become “fundamentally unfair” because they have had too little time to prepare for the Senate trial and have been denied subpoena power to call their own witnesses.
The governor’s lawyers had been asked to file an appearance on his behalf by Monday. The Senate trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 26.
“I had never committed to the Senate trial, and I will not file an appearance,” said Ed Genson, who deferred further comment to a statement from the Adams.
“I think the rules the Senate adopted are unfair,” Ed Genson said.
He complained the rules prevent him from calling witnesses and cross-examining witnesses called by the senators.
The rules adopted by the Illinois Senate are almost identical to those adopted by the US Senate for its trial of Bill Clinton. As you know, Clinton was not convicted. Genson is blowing smoke.
“It’s a kangaroo court,” Adam said. “You can’t possibly get any fairness out of it. It’s completely un-American.”
The trial is constitutional, so it’s quite American, Sam.
*** 3:50 PM *** OK, so it’s looking more and more like a ploy now…
Illinois Senate sources said that Blagojevich had instructed Genson not to file an appearance.
*** 4:01 PM *** Ed Genson said today that he couldn’t call witnesses, but that’s not true…
Requests for subpoenas for witnesses, documents, or other materials may be made by the House Prosecutor or by the Governor or his counsel in the form of a verified written motion submitted to the Chief Justice, and a copy provided to the Secretary. The motion must incorporate a showing that the subpoena is reasonably required to obtain information that cannot be obtained through voluntary requests for information.
And Genson’s nonsense about not being able to cross-examine witnesses? Ridiculous. Here’s the actual rule…
Each witness shall be examined by one person on behalf of the party producing that witness and then cross-examined by one person on the other side. The Chief Justice shall permit redirect examination and may permit re-cross examination.
*** 4:11 PM *** Now it’s a “lynching.” What a freak show…
In a statement, attorney Sam Adam and his son, Samuel E. Adam, said they couldn’t in good conscience represent the governor in a Senate trial “without any due process of law, fundamental fairness or the most basic right to confront one’s accusers.”
“We cannot and will not degrade our client, ourselves, our oaths and our profession as well as the Office of the Governor by participating in a Potemkin-like lynching proceeding, thus making it appear that the Governor is represented by competent counsel when in fact he is not,” the statement said.
Once again, these rules are almost identical to the US Senate’s impeachment trial rules. The lawyers are blowing serious smoke. Somebody in the mainstream media needs to point this out.
…Adding… Quitting like this is an old trial lawyer trick to get a mistrial. It ain’t gonna work. Subscribe to find out why.
“(b) If Rod R. Blagojevich, after service, fails to file an appearance either in person or by counsel on the day ordered for filing an appearance or files an appearance but fails to file an answer to the articles of impeachment, the trial shall proceed, nonetheless, as if Rod R. Blagojevich had entered a plea of not guilty.”
You know if the governor was so concerned about the unfairness of the impeachment process spelled out in the Illinois constitution, he probably should have supported a constitutional convention and recommended overhauling it.
* The state/local government bailout has been unveiled…
The total amount being given to state and local governments, including non-profits receiving grants, is $318 billion.
But there will be quite a few restrictions on the massive program…
In the $105 billion education section alone, money is broken down and disbursed using eight separate funding formulas.
As [House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey] explained, this complexity is in part to avoid anxiety over giving huge amounts of cash to state governors to spend as they see fit (read: Rod Blagojevich).
On Thursday, Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson announced she had signed on as a co-sponsor of an amendment to limit Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s ability to alter or direct the distribution of economic recovery funds in Illinois.
Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk and lead co-sponsor Rep. Bill Foster are offering the amendment. Other members of the Illinois delegation have also signed on to the amendment.
· $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
· $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
· $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.
Explanation…
· State Education and Other Budget Priorities: $120 billion to states and school districts to stabilize budgets and prevent tax increases and deep cuts to critical education programs, including:
· $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
· $79 billion in state fiscal relief, including: $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas; $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures; and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
· Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: $2.5 billion for block grants to help States deal with the surge in families needing help during the recession and to prevent them from cutting work programs and services for abused and neglected children.
· State and Local Law Enforcement: $4 billion to support state and local law enforcement including $3 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance formula grants to support local law enforcement efforts with equipment and operating costs, and $1 billion for the COPS hiring grant program, to hire about 13,000 new police officers for three years. The grantee is responsible for at least 25% in matching funds and must commit to use their own funds to keep the officer on board in the fourth year.
* This is big, since it’s such an important part of every state budget…
· $87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching rate.
Explanation…
· Medicaid Aid to States (FMAP): $87 billion to states, increasing through the end of FY 2010 the share of Medicaid costs the Federal government reimburses all states by 4.8 percent, with additional relief tied to rates of unemployment. This approach has been used in previous recessions to prevent cuts to health benefits for their increased low-income patient loads at a time when state revenues are declining.
* This is fast becoming a major budget problem here…
· $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.
Explanation…
· Benefits Extension: $27 billion to continue the current extended unemployment benefits program - which provides up to 33 weeks of extended benefits - through December 31, 2009 given rising unemployment.
· Increased Benefits: $9 billion to increase the current average unemployment insurance benefit from roughly $300 per week, paid out of State trust funds, by $25 per week using Federal funds, through December 2009. There are currently 5.3 million workers receiving regular UI and an additional 1.9 million receiving extended benefits.
· Unemployment Insurance Modernization: Provides funds to states though a “Reed Act” distribution, tied to states’ meeting specific reforms to increase unemployment insurance coverage for low-wage, part-time, and other jobless workers.
* And then there’s the capital program…
· $30 billion for highway construction;
· $31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure with investments that lead to long term energy cost savings;
· $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments;
· $10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption.
These are the “ready to go” projects which can be up and running within 180 days. Another capital bill is likely on its way later this year. The projects listed above are already in the hopper at the state and local levels. So, those griping in comments about transit funding need to keep all that in mind.
There’s a whole lot more to this stimulus package than what’s listed here, like giving the Secretary of the Energy Department the power to guarantee about $100 billion of loans to alternative energy projects. There are also lots of tax cuts. So go read the full committee report.
Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.) is open to running against Roland Burris in 2010, potentially setting up a contested Democratic primary for the scandal-tainted Illinois Senate seat.
Schakowsky, leaving the Burris swearing-in ceremony Thursday, told Politico that “time will tell” whether she’d run or not. Asked whether she was ruling a run in or out, she said, “No.”
Her husband did some prison time, she raised a bunch of money for Rod Blagojevich last year while she was actively campaigning for the US Senate appointment, her voting record makes Obama look like a right winger. But she’s beloved at home, and that sometimes skews congresscritters’ views of their statewide chances. Same goes for Mark Kirk, by the way.
How come Roland Burris has had such an easy time getting to the U.S. Senate while Caroline Kennedy has had such a hard time?
Could it be that the race card trumps the gender card in U.S. politics?
Well, yes. It could be.
Maybe. But Caroline Kennedy is getting whomped by NY AG Andrew Cuomo 40-25 in the latest poll.
And who the heck would write that Roland Burris had an “easy time” getting to the US Senate? Sure, he made it, but it wasn’t easy.
Still, it’s something for Schakowsky to consider. A primary challenge to Burris won’t be easy at all for her.
* Related…
* ‘It’s a dream of a lifetime’ : Closing a painful chapter for Senate Democratic leaders, an overjoyed Roland Burris was sworn in to the Senate Thursday by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich, worried he would be a “distraction” given the impeachment and criminal charges against him, won’t be going to Washington for President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural festivities, a spokesman said today.
The governor was invited to several inaugural events, but won’t make the trip, Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said.
“He doesn’t want to be a distraction from Obama, and unfortunately he thinks (his presence) would be,” he said.
After his brief appearance at the Democratic National Convention, including the “hug-fest,” Blagojevich returned to Springfield and vetoed much of the state budget, which distracted from Obama’s acceptance speech.
Despite what the governor’s spokesman says, I suspect Blagojevich may do something next week to draw attention to himself.
* The Question: What will the governor do to distract everyone from Obama’s big day?
Check my column in the edition of Crain’s Chicago Business that comes out this weekend for the first poll in the congested 5th District race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress.
I don’t want to blab all the details. Let’s just say that, while a lot of voters are undecided, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley has a big smile on his face, a smile that will get bigger if Chicago Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th) doesn’t run.
Keep in mind that polling Democratic primaries in Chicago/Cook, especially crowded ones, is particularly tough. The Tribune and I both found this out last year.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* The Politico looks at the special election in the 5th CD…
Three front-runners have emerged so far from a crowded field of candidates: state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley and state Rep. John Fritchey.
Quigley hasn’t yet filed his nominating petitions and we don’t even know if he’s raised much money. He has a name, but does he have an organization and the cash to back it up?
More…
In a splintered special election primary where turnout is expected to be very low, those organizational benefits could give Fritchey an advantage.
“More than half of the district is made up of parts of the city that have controlled votes. If you have a ward organization behind you, there are people that will hit the streets for you and will persuade every regular voter,” said one Democratic operative with experience running Chicago campaigns. “If you know there are 250 experienced door knockers working three to four weekends for you, that’s a huge leg up.”
That’s very true. But if Ald. Pat O’Connor stays in the race, that’ll eat into Fritchey’s ward numbers. And Fritchey will need all the votes he can get against Feigenholtz…
EMILY’s List endorsed state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D) on Thursday in the crowded field of candidates looking to replace former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) in the March 3 special election primary.
EMILY’s List means big money and bigtime national exposure during the only federal election in the nation. If Feigenholtz ends up as the only female candidate, the only Jewish candidate and the choice of the district’s significant gay community, she has to be considered in the top tier.
The district is about 20 [Note: A consultant gave me this figure the other day, but I’m gonna check on it] percent Jewish, but Feigenholtz’s people say they expect Jewish voters to show up at the polls in disproportionate numbers. The same goes for the gay vote. She’ll need the organization and money to get that vote out, and EMILY’s List will be a big help.
Quigley will eat into Feigenholtz’s geographical and “reform” base, but only if he can mount a real campaign.
In addition to the established officeholders, two academics with no political experience are running — labor activist and author Tom Geoghegan and University of Chicago economics lecturer Charlie Wheelan.
Geoghegan is the more notable of the two, having won strong support from leaders in the liberal Netroots community. [link added]
Wheelan has filed his nominating petitions. Geoghegan has not. Petition drives are not easy, and that’s by design, but it’s not as horrible as this makes it sound…
As near as I can tell, having studied this stuff for years, our system is designed to be as confusing as possible in order to ensure that anyone who runs, much less wins, is either backed by the Democratic machine or loaded with cash. There are a host of rules and regulations that govern the signature-gathering process: voters have to sign, not print, their names; their signatures must reasonably resemble the ones on their voter registration cards; they have to live where they say they live; husbands and wives can’t sign for each other; and so on.
Oh, my goodness. Voters have to actually live where they say they live? They have to sign their own signatures and not forge someone else’s? Heaven forbid!
The reason so many candidates have so much trouble with petitions isn’t really because of the rules. It’s because they have no idea how to run a campaign.
Geoghegan, by the way, has launched an online petition drive “telling Congress to… ensure that the bailout money is directed towards those who really need it.”
He might want to finish collecting his nominating petitions first.
* Almost all candidates will try to tie themselves as closely as they can to Barack Obama, so this relative dark horse (relative used both ways, since he’s the son of a former alderman) can toot his horn loudly…
“People are very frustrated about the current state of the government in Illinois,” said candidate Justin Oberman, an Assistant Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator following the 9-11 attacks and later part of then-candidate Obama’s advisory committee on homeland security. “Voter turnout will be high and they will put a premium on ethics and integrity.”
The problem with that experience, of course, is anyone who has ever been through airport security is probably no big fan of the TSA. His online ad is also mostly about his father, whom many voters simply won’t remember. And it’s kinda weird to see a “reformer” campaigning so heavily on the nepotism angle.
* The governor’s mismanagement, ineptness and AWOL status is combining with the already horrid fiscal mess to produce some extremely painful problems…
A perfect storm of revenue problems is causing the Regional Transportation Authority to borrow up to $200 million so it can continue to fund the CTA, Pace and Metra. The cash shortfall comes from a variety of economic challenges, including the fact the state government is behind on payments and delays in getting receipts from sales taxes, officials said
* Meanwhile, the governor’s signature health care program, All Kids, may be just a paper tiger…
Is Illinois’ All Kids program falling short of its promise?
It appears so, according to a new report from health-care advocacy group Families USA finding that as many as 294,000 children in the state remain uninsured. […]
A state official said Thursday that about 270,000 children have enrolled in All Kids since it began 21/2 years ago. (When the program was first announced, in November 2005, officials estimated that about 250,000 Illinois children didn’t have health insurance.)
Why, then, does the Families USA report—which draws on data in the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey from 2005 to 2007—indicate that hundreds of thousands of children in the state remain without medical coverage?
I put the question to Illinois Medicaid Director Theresa Eagleson on Wednesday but didn’t receive a satisfactory answer.
One reason I suspect why the uninsured numbers haven’t budged much is that thousands of kids were shuffled from other state programs to All Kids to artificially inflate the enrollment numbers.
When the University of Illinois won a $208 million federal grant to build the nation’s fastest supercomputer, Gov. Blagojevich said the state would kick in money for a building to house it.
But 17 months later, the school is wondering if it will ever see the money. […]
In 2007, the National Science Foundation was authorized to grant the university $208 million to build the computer in Urbana. Blagojevich pledged $60 million for a building. The university floated bonds and started construction in the fall, expecting that the state would pay the money back.
But sparring over a capital budget, the governor’s impeachment hearings and an uncertain budget picture in Springfield have left officials unsure whether they will be left holding the bag.
Blagojevich made too many empty and broken promises to ever fully document them.
* The Daily Herald has more on that poll I told you about yesterday…
Most Illinois residents believe the corruption allegations against impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich - that he schemed to sell off state business for personal profit in profanity-laced phone conversations - are nothing new to politics in their state, a recent poll finds.
The poll released Thursday by the watchdog Illinois Campaign for Political Reform also shows residents list state corruption as one of their top concerns, above even the tanking economy.
People are upset, said campaign deputy director David Morrison.
Of the 802 adults surveyed statewide, 61 percent said they were “extremely concerned” about state corruption compared to 50 percent for the economy and 45 percent for jobs.
Things are way out of whack if the majority of Illinoisans think Blagojevich’s extreme venality is common.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich took a taxpayer-funded flight to southern Illinois in November on the same day he raised $42,000 from contributors in the area, including the family of a man he had recently appointed to a university board, records show.
*58 percent of respondents think that the charges of corruption against Gov. Blagojevich are common for Illinois public officials.
*78 percent of respondents feel that Illinois is on the wrong track.
*49 percent of respondents feel that the legislature is doing a “poor” job, up from 26 percent in the spring.
*61 percent of respondents were “extremely” concerned about corruption in state government. That compares to 50 percent “extremely” concerned about the economy, 46 percent “extremely” concerned about the budget and 45 percent “extremely” concerned about jobs.
*More than 70 percent of respondents supported various kinds of limits on political contributions, ranging from barring corporate and union contributions to limiting the money legislative leaders can give to their candidates.
*89 percent of respondents said that their legislator’s support of a law reducing the influence of money in politics would be an important factor in their decision to re-elect that legislator.
*88 percent of respondents support the creation of a new agency to enforce campaign finance laws in Illinois.
That last question is a bit curious. Are the goo-goos gonna push for their own state agency? Everybody wants a pension these days.
Illinois gambling regulators Thursday elaborated in writing on their decision to pick Des Plaines as the location for the state’s 10th casino license, noting that indicted businessman William Cellini still had indirect ties to the rival Waukegan proposal.
“The Cellini Group, however, continues to hold an interest in a casino awarded to the Waukegan applicant,” wrote Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe. “Indeed, if Waukegan is ever selected, Michael Pizzuto, a longtime associate of Mr. Cellini who purchased the collective Cellini interests for $32,450, must pay the Cellini interests the balance of their prior costs in the Waukegan project, an amount in excess of $600,000. The fact that the Cellini-Pizzuto agreement provides that the payment of prior costs may be disallowed does not abate our concern.”
Schools will be shut down for two main reasons—underenrollment or poor performance. At schools closed due to low test scores, all staff will be let go. New staff will be put in place by September, and at least some of the schools will be handed over to outside management firms to run.
Chicago now has millions of new dollars from the federal government to help it deal with housing foreclosures. City officials yesterday talked about how they’ll spend the money.
Twenty-five neighborhoods are targeted for the $55 million that the federal housing department has given the city of Chicago.
But many attorneys don’t think it’s going to be easy to implement and wonder when — not if — the first court challenge to the law will be filed.
“It’s the modern-day version of the public stockades. The person, when they wanted to publicly humiliate someone, they would lock you in that for a couple of days. It has that sort of taste to it,” said Donald Ramsell, a noted DuPage County DUI defense lawyer who has handled about 13,000 DUI cases since 1986. “It’s a real overkill.”
Regional Transportation Authority directors agreed Thursday to spend up to $129,000 for an audit of Pace’s handling of paratransit in Chicago.
The review follows complaints by riders about changes instituted by Pace in March 2008 that include dividing the city into three zones and glitches with Trapeze, the computer dispatch system.
Known for constantly ruffling the feathers of his Democratic counterparts on the Cook County Board, Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-Riverside) now finds himself in a tussle with fellow west suburban Republicans.
Earlier this week, the Peraica-led Lyons Township Republican Organization refused to let his one-time political foe, La Grange businessman Michael LaPidus, into a caucus meeting to pick GOP candidates for April township elections.
LaPidus and about a dozen other Republicans, including two mayors and a former state legislator, were locked out Tuesday because they had not paid the local GOP’s annual $25 membership fee.
After some debate, LaPidus called police and filed complaints with state elections officials, but his only recourse may be in civil court.
