What about a double dose of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich?
ABC provides it Monday. The governor visits “Good Morning America,” then stops by “The View” with his wife, Patricia.
*** 5:35 PM *** Senate President John Cullerton explains the Senate impeachment trial rules in a very rational, intelligent way over at Zorn’s site. Go read the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt…
As a witness, Rahm would have minimal value. He would be able to say only that Blagojevich didn’t try to sell the senate seat to him. That tells us very little about what he did or didn’t say to other people.
These rules are fair. And the governor is right when he says that they set a precedent. That’s why we were being so careful when we drafted them. Theoretically they could apply to any one of us (in the Senate) someday if we were ever impeached. So in one sense it was a selfish thing.
The public will see that, even with [Blagojevich] not showing up, the senators are going to take this trial very, very seriously and consider the evidence carefully.
* Just a though here, but Ed Genson’s resignation announcement revealed that he’s leaving because the governor doesn’t listen to him. That announcement came right on the heels of Blagojevich’s goofy press conference. So, Genson pretty much undercut everything the governor said today.
Good for you, Ed.
*** 4:55 PM *** This ought to be a whole lot of fun…
A federal judge today ordered that four undercover recordings from the criminal investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich be released to the state Legislature.
The decision by U.S. District Chief Judge James Holderman this afternoon clears the way for the Illinois Senate to consider the tapes as evidence in its impeachment trial of the governor.
*** 4:46 PM *** I told subscribers about this today…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s lead attorney says he plans to resign from his criminal case. Genson’s decision Friday comes one day after Blagojevich’s defense team sent mixed signals over whether the governor would file a lawsuit to block his impeachment trial in the state Senate.
Saying today the governor has not taken his advice, Genson said, “I wish the governor good luck and Godspeed.”
This is a huge mess. You don’t know the half of it unless you subscribe.
* 4:40 pm - The WVON website appears to have been swamped by listeners. I can’t hear a thing. If you’re listening on the radio, please tell us what’s going on in comments. Thanks.
*** 4:18 PM *** The governor is now on WVON, which has always been a safe haven for him. Expect softball questions and supportive callers.
Once again, he’s lying about Rule 8(b). He could have contested the House impeachment report by filing a motion to dismiss the report under a different rule claiming that the impeachment article itself was not sufficient.
* Cliff Kelly asked the governor how he felt about the feds coming to his home at 6 in the morning and placing him in handcuffs, rather than just calling his lawyer and asking that Blagojevich surrender himself. Blagojevich politely refused to answer.
The governor said that while Speaker Madigan was his campaign co-chair, he wasn’t really supportive. Understatement.
* The guv said that when everything comes out about the Senate appointment (for which he was arrested) they’ll find it was “all about the people.” From the criminal complaint…
Rod Blagojevich stated that his decision about the open Senate seat will be based on three criteria in the following order of importance: “our legal situation, our personal situation, my political situation. This decision, like every other one, needs to be based upon
on that. Legal. Personal. Political.”
[John Harris] said, “legal is the hardest one to satisfy.” Rod Blagojevich said that his legal problems could be solved by naming himself to the
Senate seat.
* Two stories during the news break have to be making the guv a bit uneasy. The first was about Daley’s latest “cuckoo” comment regarding the governor. The second was a story featuring Rep. John Fritchey, one of the governor’s harshest critics.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* Stick around, cowboys and cowgirls. The governor is scheduled to appear on Cliff Kelly’s WVON radio program today at four o’clock. Listen here.
Federal prosecutors [in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s criminal case] this afternoon filed a new request with the chief judge asking that he allow the release of four tapes to the Senate as it prepares to start the governor’s impeachment trial Monday.
A decision could come at a 4 p.m. hearing in federal court later today.
Defense lawyers said the tapes shouldn’t be released now, arguing the issue was moot since the house already voted to impeach Blagojevich.
But prosecutors disagreed, saying they are authorized by law to disclose the four tapes that contain edited conversations of alleged dealmaking by the governor and others.
The House did already vote to impeach Blagojevich, but that won’t necessarily prevent the Senate from hearing additional evidence. Literally, in this case.
*** 3:18 pm *** Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn responds to the governor’s press conference…
“He can try to delude people outside of Illinois that somehow he is standing at the barracks in a heroic stance. The people of Illinois know much better. Our governor has let us down. He’s disgraced himself. He’s disgraced our state. As a result he’s going to be removed from office.”
Still, Quinn wouldn’t say whether he would raise taxes or not if he were the next governor. He says he doesn’t know enough about the state’s financial situation to make that call. Quinn blames the Blagojevich administration for keeping that information from him.
Illinois companies cut their payrolls for a seventh straight month and state unemployment jumped to 15-year high in December, government figures show.
Employers in the state cut 36,000 jobs last month, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Illinois Department of Employment Security. In the last two months of 2008, Illinois lost a total of 73,600 jobs. That’s the largest two-month decline since 1990, reflecting the devastating impact of the economic slowdown.
The governor needs to go now so this state can start dealing with its very real problems.
Several legal experts said they could see some benefit to participating in the trial or resigning office. But refusing to do either makes little sense, they said.
“There’s no benefit at all, except to make himself look ridiculous. In addition, anything he says can be used against him later” in court,” said Leonard Cavise, a law professor at DePaul University.
I like old movies and I like old cowboy movies, and I want to explain how these rules work in a more understandable way.
There was an old saying in the Old West, there was a cowboy who was charged with stealing a horse in town. And some of the other cowboys, especially the guy whose horse was stolen, were very unhappy with that guy.
One of the cowboy’s said, “Let’s hang him!”
And the other cowboy said, “Hold on! Before we hang him, lets first give him a fair trial. Then we’ll hang him.”
Under these rules, I’m not even getting a fair trial. They’re just hangin’ me.
And when they hang me under these rules that prevent due process. They’re hangin’ the 12 miillon people of Illinois who twice have elected a governor …
Under these rules rule 15f an Rule 8b , under that fact fact pattern I just gave you, if the cowboy who’s charged with stealin’ a horse was charged with doing that in town.
But in fact on the the date and time that he apparently stole the horse in town he was on the ranch with six other cowboys herdin’ cattle and ropin’ steers, and then he expects that when his day comes to go to court he can bring those six cowboys to say it wasn’t him because he wasn’t in town because he wasn’t in town, he was on the ranch herdin’ cattle.
Even if he could bring those cowboys in to say that, under these rules, under 8b, it wouldn’t’ matter. The complaint that charged him with stealing the horse would convict him. `Cause you can’t challenge it and you can’t have a chance to be able to contest it.
Again, not fair, in fact, worse,– trampling on constitutional rights.
* 2:54 pm - So, in summation, lies, obfuscation, conspiracy theories, blaming the House for all ills, refusal to take any responsibility for anything.
Come to think of it, just about every press event Rod Blagojevich has had for the past 6 years has been exactly like this. The only change has been the situation.
* 2:47 pm - Republican Sen. Matt Murphy is speaking to reporters now. Watch it live. 2:50: He’s finished now.
* 2:43 pm - This part was just loaded with irony, considering that he’s accused of attempting to bribe Tribune owner Sam Zell into firing a member of his paper’s editorial board…
Blagojevich is also asking the state’s newspaper editorial boards to urge the state Senate to change the rules of his impeachment trial.
Speaking at a news conference in Chicago Friday, Blagojevich said he’s “mostly'’ done the right thing for the people of Illinois and he called on newspapers to “get involved.'’
Gov. Rod Blagojevich today likened his Monday impeachment trial to a “hanging” of the 12 million people of Illinois.
The governor used an Old West analogy, citing an example where a cowboy accused of stealing a horse would get a fair trial before they hung him.
“Under these rules, I’m not getting a fair trial. They’re just hanging me,” Blagojevich said at the James R. Thompson Center. […]
“If they can do this to a governor, they can do this to any citizen in Illinois.”
Um, excuse me, but how many citizens of Illinois are governors who have been arrested after they were caught on FBI surveillance tapes apparently attempting to sell Barack Obama’s US Senate seat?
Yeah, I didn’t think there was more than one.
* 2:36 pm - End. At least he took a few questions this time. Not that he really answered any of them truthfully, but it’s a start, I suppose. Then again, the end is near.
* 2:34 pm - Now comes the tax hike tinfoil hat conspiracy again. He’s being asked about this “almost a conspiracy” between Quinn, Madigan and others to boot him out of office in order to raise taxes.
“I’m saying what I just said,” the governor explained. “It’s not a conspiracy, they have said it.”
Even the Republicans are in on it, the governor explained, because “they want the campaign issue” of a tax hike to use against the Democrats in the next election.
* 2:31 pm - The governor dodged quetions about filing a lawsuit to stop the Senate trial by saying that the issue is under discussion by his legal team.
* 2:30 pm - He’s now repeating many of the same lines from his Don & Roma appearance this morning. I debunked pretty much every argument here and here.
* 2:25 pm - The governor asked the Senate President to “just change those two rules,” [8(b) and 15(f), see below] and allow him to call witnesses. He listed a large number of politicians, including Sen. John McCain, whom he’d like to call to bolster his argument that, for instance, the drug importation program was the right thing to do. But as noted below, he had the opportunity to call those witnesses and refused to participate in the trial. He also never attempted to contact the Senate about the rules through his attorneys.
* 2:24 pm - Oh, this is rich. He’s calling on newspaper editorial boards to come to his defense.
* 2:17 pm - And away we go…
Says he’s “impatient” to “call witnesses.” However… under the current rules, they’re not allowing me to participate in that process… denies fundamental fairness, fundamental due process… doesn’t allow me or any citizen to challenge charges… it’s a trampling of the constitution.”
He’s complaining now about Senate trial rule 15 (f), which prohibits him from calling people who are on US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s “do not call” list…
15(f) It is never in order to request a subpoena for the testimony of any person or for the production of documents or other materials from that person if the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois has indicated that the person’s testimony, or inquiry into the subject matter of that person’s testimony, could compromise the U.S. Attorney’s criminal investigation of Rod R. Blagojevich…unless the U.S. Attorney subsequently indicates otherwise.
8(b) is…
No objection, however, may be made against all or any part of the House impeachment record filed by the House Prosecutor with the Secretary.
But he could’ve objected to the sufficiency of the article of impeachemnt under rule 14…
Any motion to dismiss or challenge the sufficiency of articles of impeachment must be submitted, in writing, to the Chief Justice on the day set for the commencement of the trial on the articles or as permitted by resolution adopted by the Senate
* 2:14 pm - And another two minute warning.
* 2:03 pm - Two minute warning.
* 1:55 pm - Lots of rumors flying around, including a pretty high-level one that the guv may announce he’s stepping aside and handing over power to Pat Quinn. That was a plan concocted and then discarded, but it was to be done in conjunction with a lawsuit blocking the Senate impeachment trial. The bottom line is, he could change his mind before he starts and just do hand-stands for 20 minutes.
Let’s keep this thread clear until the presser starts except for links to live Intertube broadcasts. At this moment, I don’t know who is carrying the show live, but here are a few links…
But yeah, I hear what you’re saying (in asking a question about the parallels between my story and the story of Richard Nixon ). And there are some parallels.
I think that when you come from virtually nothing, like he did. Small town kid with high aspirations. And then I came from a working-class background. Five-room apartment. And they don’t let you in the good schools and you don’t have opportunities to be able to do some of the things that others do, but you’re determined to try to do the best you can and build a life for yourself and your family.
And you scratch and claw and work your way up, as Nixon certainly did, and you have some ups and downs, but you keep climbin’ and you keep fightin’ and you never quit. Those are qualities that Nixon had. Now if you have a chip your shoulder like that, and I suspect I probably have some of that, it’s what propelled me to be governor, and it drives you.
So I suppose you can draw some analogies.
I think I’ll open a fresh post at 2 since this one’s already getting crowded.
If Gov. Blagojevich wants to invoke the insanity defense, he won’t get an argument from Mayor Daley.
Daley turned into an amateur psychiatrist Friday when asked about the governor’s claim that the state Senate’s upcoming impeachment trial is a plot to get Blagojevich out of the way to pave the wave for a massive tax increase.
“I’ve said, ‘cuckoo’ once. I’ll say it again: ‘Cuckoo,’ ” the mayor said of the governor’s claim.
That’s the second time in four months that Daley has referred to Illinois’ disgraced governor as “cuckoo.”
* Pat Quinn’s reform commission met yesterday. There are no legislators or professional reform advocates on the commission, which may be a good thing. But problems can arise…
But the complexity of the situation surfaced when the Rev. Scott Willis, a member of the commission, told [Comptroller Dan Hynes] he was concerned about power being concentrated in the hands of a few families - “the Daleys, the Madigans, the Hyneses.”
“If you’re asking whether I think I should be disqualified from office because my father had an office, then I disagree,” Hynes said.
His father is a former state senator and Cook County assessor. Willis became the central figure in a major scandal which revolved around bribes paid by unqualified truckers for drivers licenses when Ryan was Illinois secretary of state.
There is no constitutional way of barring family members from running for office. So, while this may be a valid concern on Willis’ part, the commission is tasked with devising solutions, not just airing gripes.
[Former state Sen. and GOP activist Steve Rauschenberger] put it bluntly, providing a nice segue for another key issue of the commission: changing the attitudes of the people of the state of Illinois and politicians. While several speakers and commission members had talked about the feeling of outrage in the state over having one former governor sitting in prison and a sitting governor under criminal charges, Rauschenberger disagreed.
“I don’t hear outrage in Elgin (over the current crisis),” he said. “They just want you to get the goofy guy (Blagojevich) offstage. I think your task is bigger than you realize.”
* 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.
* 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.
Already we’ve seen a backslide as some legislators attempt to carve out a loophole for road builders in the law just enacted that attempts to curb pay-to-play shenanigans in this state.
That “loophole” was mandated by the federal government. If the state didn’t exempt federally funded road contractors, the state stood to lose millions of federal month.
* 10:20 am - Justin Oberman, the son of a former Chicago alderman, has dropped out of the 5th Congressional District special election…
The confidence you have shown in me reinforces my eagerness to serve the people of Illinois, but I have determined that the best use of your resources is not for this special election, and I have decided to withdraw from the race. With sincere gratitude for your willingness to support our efforts, I will be returning all unused funds to you and all of our other contributors.
Oberman never really got any traction and wasn’t expected to do all that well anyway.
* Also, from what I’m told the drawing for ballot positions was today. On the Democratic side, Charles Wheelan drew the top spot, followed by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz and Rep. John Fritchey.
* 11:34 am - Teamsters Joint Council 25 has endorsed Rep. Fritchey for Congress. Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers endorsed Fritchey yesterday.
* 11:59 am - Mike Quigley responds to Oberman’s withdrawal…
“Justin represents a new generation of leaders inspired by President Obama’s call to service and to help improve our communities and our country.
“I have had the opportunity to speak with Justin and on those occasions I have been impressed by his commitment to public service. I am also pleased that we share many of the same views about the need for progressive government and the importance of bringing fundamental change to Washington.
“I am certain that Justin will draw upon his valuable experience in government and the private sector to help the people of this community in the years ahead. I look forward to working with Justin in the future to promote the goals we share.”
Quigley, by the way, will appear second to last on the ballot. Patrick O’Connor is last.
* The governor said this today on Don & Roma’s show…
“Give me a right to call witnesses, give me a right to subpoena witnesses and documents, to properly prepare a case — and I’ll be the first one there,” said Blagojevich.
* But Senate President John Cullerton made a very good point today in the Sun-Times…
“No party has the unrestricted right to subpoena witnesses,” Cullerton said. “It’s not a criminal matter. It’s an impeachment proceeding.”
Get that? Neither side has an unrestricted right to subpoena in this impeachment trial. Actually, neither side has an unrestricted subpoena right in a criminal trial.
The governor could have filed subpoena requests. He could have brought in witnesses who have been ordered by Blagojevich to do goofy things and testify that they knew he didn’t really mean it and they never followed through. He could have brought in witnesses who could testify to his character, who perhaps talked to him about the Obama Senate seat vacancy and how he wanted to make sure he did the right thing for the people.
But he couldn’t do that because it would’ve likely harmed his criminal case. So, he boycots and throws verbal bombs…
“If I participate in that sham impeachment . . . I will undermine the people,” Blagojevich said. He also said, “I can be soldier in the fight for constitutional rights.”
He already “undermined the people” with his behavior the past two years. And he’s “soldiering” for his own constitutional rights as he sees them, not for anybody else…
He said if he is forced from office, it would set a dangerous precedent, putting all future governors in the position of having to “cower” to the legislature “and kiss their you-know-what because he’ll be afraid that what they did to me, they’ll do to him.”
Yeah, OK. The precedent this sets is if a future governor is arrested by FBI agents at his home at six o’clock in the morning, handcuffed, hauled off to jail and then refuses to resign and claims he is completely and totally innocent even though he is caught on surveillance tapes, that future governor is gonna get impeached.
Period.
Blagojevich likened the current drama surrounding him “to a 21st Century Frank Capra movie… how the good guy was up against the establishment… But he stood firm for the people. That’s what this is about.”
The only person Rod Blagojevich is standing for is himself. That’s what this is really about. His own skin.
* Considering what the governor said today about a secret plot to oust him in order to raise taxes, I’ll bet that Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) kinda regrets the timing of this remark…
Representatives from some social service agencies raised concerns about getting state payments they’re owed.
Even if it requires a one-time tax increase, Koehler said the state will pay its bills.
“We’ve got to catch up and then we’ve got to be disciplined not to get sloppy again. The whole system is broken at this point and we’re going to fix it,” he said. [emphasis added]
Now, there is, indeed, talk of raising taxes. The budget is horribly in the red and the state is facing a very real fiscal meltdown in March. Pat Quinn talked to me about “sacrifice,” and indicated that some new revenues could be needed.
But for the governor to claim that his impeachment was, by design, a deliberate plot to increase taxes is just plain insane. Sorry to be so blunt, but that’s the way I see it.
“They want to get me out fast so they could put a huge income-tax increase on the people of Illinois… And they want to raise the sales tax on gas. . . . If I’m out of the way, they can quietly push this through.”
Insane.
The guy is arrested for allegedly attempting to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat and impeachment is about tax hikes? What, is US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in on the plot, too?
Insane.
And it’s almost as bad that Don & Roma didn’t challenge the governor about this insane allegation on their program today. They had him right there, and they let him spout this crud without either of them saying, “Governor, you’re nuts, man.”
* Also, the governor talked today about the $3 billion in special state funds that could be used to balance the budget. He said the General Assembly refused to touch that money because of pressure from the special interests which control the funds.
First, the governor has never once presented a bill to sweep all $3 billion from those special funds. Never.
Second, those special funds are not funded with tax dollars, but with special fees imposed on those “special interests” and are designated for certain purposes. Some of the funds can’t be touched due to federal law, as the governor himself pointed out last year. Some have excess funds, but some of those funds were swept last year.
The bottom line is the governor continues to lie and twist the truth about the budget deficit. He continues to believe that he can drastically expand government spending without cost.
* Illinois and Chicago officials blame each other for closing of mental health centers on South Side - Mayor Richard Daley says state cut funds, and state says the city didn’t properly submit bills
* 7:40 am - The governor is on WLS Radio’s Don & Roma Show right now. He’s claiming that removing him from office is all about getting Pat Quinn installed so he can raise taxes.
* 8:16 am -And it’s over. Whew, what an interview that was. lol
BLAGO: Technical process — if your lawyers don’t file a request to appear, you can’t bring in witnesses. All I ask is that the Senate give me the same 6th Amendment just let me bring in my witnesses- for instance, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett, Jesse Jackson, Senator John McCain, other governors that helped with prescription drug program.
BLAGO: I’ve done nothing wrong, and will vindicate myself… I will say that what I did and what I was doing was in the best interest of the people — part of a political process — not that inconsistent with how the process works. That’s why this impeachment process is important.– by not allowing me to bring witnesses — w/o due process of law, no witnesses — how will that affect future governors?
The reason I’m not participating is this is not fair process — I invite a fair process. tThey want to get me out fast to put a huge income tax on the people of Illinois — and push through a gasoline tax increase. The bill is already there for them to quietly do.
DON: Same as Arizona Governor Meachem — you haven’t been indicted, but you’re being impeached.
BLAGO: It’s about raising taxes — the Dems and Reps how the people get screwed — they both want to raise to pay for their special interest spending — they do special interest spending. The Reps want a tax increase to have a campaign office.
They want a huge income tax increase and a huge gas sales tax increase…
Gov. Blagojevich continued to hammer away at the rules governing his upcoming impeachment trial this morning, saying the “fix is in in” and Illinoisans would be socked with massive tax increases should he be kicked out of office.
“They want to get me out fast so they could put a huge income tax increase on the people of Illinois,” the governor said in a 43-minute interview this morning on WLS-AM 890’s Don Wade & Roma show. “And they want to raise the sales tax on gas. . . . If I’m out of the way, they can quietly push this through.”
The governor’s radio appearance kicked off what’s expected to be a media blitz that could lead up to appearances on national news networks within the next several days.
Blagojevich signaled he has no plans to show up in Springfield for the impeachment trial if the rules don’t change. He also indicated he’d have more to say publicly later today.
“This is politics,” he said on the “Don Wade and Roma” show on WLS-AM 890. “This is about raising taxes. Pat Quinn has cut a deal with Democratic leaders….It’s all about getting rid of me to raise taxes on people.” Both income and sales taxes would be increased by May, he said.
Blagojevich did not address any of the specific charges brought against him. Asked if he wanted to apologize for anything, he said in reference to the U.S. wiretaps: “I apologize for the profanity…If I knew they were listening, I wouldn’t have used those words.”
For the second day in a row, Gov. Rod Blagojevich stated he is not being treated fairly during his impending impeachment trial.
Blagojevich told reporters outside his Chicago home Friday the pending impeachment trial denies him basic rights, including due process and the ability to call defense witnesses.
He added the legislature is trying to boot him out of office so they could approve a tax increase, something he said would not be allowed if he is in office.
He added he isn’t just challenging the flaws in the impeachment process for himself, but also for future governors across the county who may be involved in a similar situation some day.
The impeached governor tells The Associated Press Dec. 9 is to his family, “what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States.” He says it was “a complete surprise.” But he says just as the U.S. prevailed in World War II, he’ll prevail in fighting the charges.
Sneed hears Blagojevich, who is weighing the possibility of a major media blitz, is keen on appearing on Barbara Walters’ hit ABC-TV show “The View” with its all-woman panel.
• • Translation: Word is Gov. Blago, who is being probed by the feds, impeached by the Illinois House and awaiting trial in the state Senate, is considering launching an all-out media attack.
• • The fear: It could backfire. Putting the poetry-spouting governor out to explain “Y” and having it interpreted as “X” could be disastrous.
• • The upshot: “It would be Rod’s decision,” a source said. “It’s his deal.”
• • The backshot: “The governor is weighing offers from multiple media sources — and if he did appear on ‘The View,’ it would probably be in tandem [contingent?] with an interview on ‘Good Morning America,’ which is also on ABC-TV and has expressed interest in him appearing on the show,” a top source said. “He is weighing his offers.”
* Emanuel had pal make call to Blago : In the days when President Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett sought an appointment to Obama’s vacant Senate post last November, Gov. Blagojevich’s staff received a call: Blagojevich should expect nothing in return from Obama for giving the Senate appointment to Jarrett — nothing but “appreciation.” But the person who made the call wasn’t on Obama’s team. He was John Wyma, a longtime Blagojevich aide who had been secretly working with the government, according to sources. Wyma made the call at the request of another friend, the then-president-elect’s chosen chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel — a contact with the Blagojevich camp that was not mentioned in Obama’s internal report released in December.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is a different breed of White Sox fan.
“My heart is big enough for two teams,” the lifelong Sox fan said Thursday.
What?
No hate?
No taunting the North Side minor league team’s fans about their 100-year championship drought?
“I want Cubs fans to know they’ll get a fair shake from me,” Quinn said, referring to the fact that he’ll almost certainly be governor in a matter of days — once the Illinois Senate finishes Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment trial and removes him from office.
Quinn will take office at the worst possible time. Not only has the government been run by criminals for at least the last 10 years, but the state budget is facing its worst crisis since the Great Depression, and the state’s economy has been badly damaged by the worst recession since, well, the Great Depression.
Quinn pledges openness, respect for the process and confidence in the citizenry. The bar was set so shockingly low by Blagojevich that Quinn will easily achieve progress in all three of those areas.
But will it be enough?
Quinn’s history shows he will give it his best shot. The cause of political reform and putting more power into the hands of voters has literally been his life’s work. He has regularly consulted with the legislative leaders while awaiting his likely ascension, which is something Blagojevich has almost never done.
Quinn said Thursday that the best way to help the economy right now is to stimulate consumer spending.
“I don’t know if that was the best game plan to follow,” Quinn said of Gov. Jim Thompson’s income tax increase proposal during the deep recession of 1982-83. A tax increase would likely curtail that all-important consumer spending.
Even so, Quinn said paying the state’s bills and avoiding layoffs of state workers are both key to preventing further economic backsliding. And for that, he will probably need more revenue sources.
“It’s a demanding time when we might all have to make sacrifices. I see people do that all the time,” Quinn said.
“In an economic emergency, we may have to do things differently,” he added.
“Differently” has always been Quinn’s drummer. How many politically connected fans do you know who buy season tickets in the nosebleed section?
“They’re really good seats, right behind home plate,” Quinn claimed, confusing the phrase “right behind” with “cloud level.”
“There’s a lot of good people up there,” he said when I told him one of his staffers had offered me a Quinn ticket years ago and I wouldn’t take it.
“I have no intention of leaving” the seats,” Quinn said. He has developed strong friendships with people who have tickets near his, and he won’t abandon them after he becomes governor, which could come as early as next week.
And then he tried to get the topic back onto politics and his future. “Sports of all kinds bring people together,” Quinn said, describing fans as “folks of different backgrounds with a common purpose.”
“Maybe that’s a metaphor for what we have to do in Illinois. We need to band together,” he said.
That’s gonna be tough. Fans love their teams. Illinois citizens don’t exactly love their state government these days. Persuading them to rally around Quinn’s new administration and whatever sacrifices he wants them to make might be like persuading White Sox fans to root for the Cubs to win the World Series.
But he’s a different sort of fellow, so people may see that quality and give him a chance, particularly if he starts “winning.”
He’ll never persuade me to stop hating the Cubs, however. I’ll tell you that right now.
Hot dogs. Corned beef. Tongue. Pastrami. Bologna. By the end of the month, the company that my great-grandfather Isaac Oscherwitz started in 1886 will close. Best’s Kosher Sausage Co., was family owned for more than 100 years. In 1993, Sara Lee Corp. acquired Best’s Kosher. Mike Cummins, a Sara Lee spokesperson, said of the closing: “It was not because it’s not profitable—it’s just not where it needs to be.”
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says the federal government should follow his lead in the leasing of public assets. Daley has raised billions of dollars by privatizing the Chicago Skyway, Midway Airport and parking garages.
Mayor Daley says it’s all about quote, “thinking outside the box.” He says President Obama’s plan to invest in public infrastructure is a great way to boost the economy. But he says finding the money to do that is difficult.
The sanitation superintendent from Mayor Daley’s boyhood home, the 11th Ward, and several underlings are under internal investigation over allegations they made illegal city garbage pickups from a Bridgeport hot dog stand owned by a retired Chicago cop who’s a friend of the local alderman.
When you drive the Chicago area’s busy roadways you’re not only taking your life in your hands. You’re also enduring an added distraction and putting your car at risk: You have to dodge potholes. Big, gaping, tire-gashing, hubcap-crushing potholes
Ill. Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing a collection agency that she says used threatening and abusive language toward debtors and their families while trying to collect on payday loans made in the state.
Madigan filed suit in southeastern Illinois’ Wabash County Thursday, alleging that Jacksonville, Fla.-based United Processing, Inc. operated without a state license and used deceptive practices. She says United employees posed as attorneys and told debtors that the state would take their children away if they refused to pay.
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is holding conversations with leading Illinois Democrats in preparation for a possible candidacy, according to a Democratic operative familiar with his decision-making process.
“He’s been talking to a lot of Democrats in Illinois who believe that this seat is gone is if Burris is the nominee. If it’s Mark Kirk or a rich Republican, we’ve got to hold this seat. That’s enough to encourage him to take a very serious look,” said the operative.
From my Sun-Times column…
Giannoulias, who has set his sights on the governor’s office, would likely only run with the blessing of his mentor Barack Obama, however. Obama played a key role in the Senate’s capitulation to Burris this week by privately urging Democratic leaders to just get it over with and seat the guy. And you better believe there will be pressure on Obama from African-American politicos to endorse Burris, or at least stay out of the 2010 race.
Back to the Politico piece…
“He’s not looking for permission or smoke signals from the president,” the operative said. “But if the president felt strongly that he not run, that opinion would get heard.”
There will be pressure on Obama to keep Giannoulias out. Bank on it. Whether he’ll cave is another story. He never did convince Blagojevich to appoint one of his people, and the Caroline Kennedy meltdown wasn’t pretty.
Back to the Politico story…
Giannoulias would be able to partially self-finance campaign, a significant asset. Burris has to begin raising money from scratch, and it’s unclear how much money he can raise if he wants to run for election.
That’s true about Giannoulias. But, as I wrote in the CS-T…
Burris has become a national cause celebre, so he ought to be able to raise lots of early campaign money from African Americans throughout the country.
A partner in a prominent, Washington-based political consulting firm is among those secretly recorded discussing ways Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich can cash in on President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat.
Frederick S. Yang, a top executive at Peter D. Hart Research Group Associates, is identified by prosecutors in the Blagojevich criminal complaint as “Advisor B,” Michael D. Ettinger, a lawyer representing the governor’s brother, said Thursday. Robert Blagojevich, who has not been charged with a crime, runs his brother’s campaign fund. […]
In a Nov. 7 recorded conversation characterized by prosecutors, Yang told Blagojevich he “should leverage the President-elect’s desire to have ‘Senate Candidate 1′ (Jarrett) appointed to the Senate seat in order to get a head position” with a union organization called Change to Win. […]
“Advisor B stated that he likes the … idea, but liked the Change to Win option better because, according to Advisor B, from the President-elect’s perspective, there would be fewer ‘fingerprints’ on the President-elect’s involvement with Change to Win,” the complaint says. Yang noted that Change to Win already has a revenue stream, meaning Blagojevich “won’t have stories in four years that they bought you off.”
The ellipsis in the last graf is about appointing AG Lisa Madigan to the Senate to buy peace in the General Assembly and enact the governor’s legislative agenda. That was an impossible fantasy as well. Speaker Madigan would’ve never cut that deal and Lisa Madigan wasn’t interested in the seat.
