* 5:16 pm - The Associated Press broke a story this afternoon that might cause some trembling over at Tribune Tower. A consultant hired by the Tribune Co. to work on the Cubs deal exchanged several interesting e-mails with former Rod Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris…
A sports consultant helping Tribune Co. with a potential Wrigley Field sale wrote an e-mail to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s top aide that said the results of the presidential election had put “the opportunities we discussed” in front of Blagojevich, The Associated Press has learned. […]
“Now that the election has gone as we expected, the opportunities we discussed, and Rod and I talked even more about, are in front of you guys,” Ganis wrote in one of two dozen e-mail exchanges between Ganis and Harris obtained by the AP through the Freedom of Information Act.
* And then there’s this…
Ganis told the AP in January that his contact with Blagojevich’s office was limited to discussions about the Cubs.
That’s not what Ganis said this week. Instead, he told the AP that the above-mentioned e-mail was about some hare-brained scheme to get Barack Obama and his staff to mediate the Statehouse civil war and move Blagojevich’s agenda forward. Yeah, that would’ve happened.
* The AP buries this tidbit way down at the very bottom of the story…
Several e-mails mention the Illinois Finance Authority, which prosecutors claim Blagojevich and Harris wanted to use to provide financial assistance of $100 million or more to Tribune to get a tax break on its Wrigley sale.
This would be the real meat, but it’s barely mentioned.
* The AP has only posted two of the “several” e-mails which directly discuss the IFA (shameless plea to AP: Post them all), so we don’t know what all of those communications were about. But here’s what they’ve put online so far…
Sept. 11, from Ganis… “Internally we want to do IFA. Sale or no sale of team in whole or in part depends on numbers we receive in a few weeks. You know where I expect it to go and that hasn’t changed.” […]
Sept. 4, from Ganis: “Hi John. Let’s connect with each other today if you have the time to make sure all are moving on IFA initiative properly. Also discuss counsels if that makes sense.
OK, so that tells us the Tribune Co. was fairly deep into a committment to do the IFA deal on Wrigley Field. That’s further than maybe we had previously thought. But Ganis was also doing some other stuff with the Blagojevich administration…
Sept. 11, from Ganis: “Just in case you guys get the capital bill done and if there is Olympics money, wanted to remind you if the opportunity is there to get a permanent Board seat on the 2016 committee under your control please do it. It’s one appointment where I can help a lot and also watch out for things and be Rod’s (hopefully credible) voice. […]
Sept. 5, from Ganis: “Just saw in the paper that Spielberg’s movie on Lincoln is going to start shooting. Remember, my cousin Sid Ganis is very close with Spielberg. If you or Rod need/want anything and want a direct pipeline to Spielberg just let me know.” [..]
Sept. 4, from Ganis… “Would also like to discuss the wind power opportunity as well. I have a structure to suggest that could be implemented well, quickly and in a meaningful populist manner. All for the betterment of the state. (Sorry for the sales pitch language, I am just excited by the opportunities to do something good and create a new business).”
A real shaker, that guy. Looks like he was working every possible angle. And, to emphasize the point…
Ganis told the AP in January that his contact with Blagojevich’s office was limited to discussions about the Cubs.
Not quite, unless those deals and perks are somehow all connected to the Wrigley thing. Next move: Tribune.
* Here’s some background from the criminal complaint. This intercepted conversation was held a few weeks after that Nov. 6th “opportunities we discussed” e-mail was sent…
On Nov. 30, Blagojevich spoke with the president of a Chicago-area sports consulting firm, who indicated that he was working with the Cubs on matters involving Wrigley Field. Blagojevich and Sports Consultant discussed the importance of getting the IFA transaction approved at the agency’s December or January meeting because Blagojevich was contemplating leaving office in early January and his IFA appointees would still be in place to approve the deal, the charges allege.
The Tribune Co. has been subpoenaed by the feds, but the company has (ironically) refused to disclose a copy of that document. Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell has admitted to being contacted by the FBI, but won’t specify what the G wanted. A top Tribune editor has denied ever feeling any heat to change the paper’s editorial stance on the governor. But Rod Blagojevich pretty much admitted on Rachel Maddow’s program that he at least made the suggestion…
That [Tribune IFA deal] was something, the sort of thing that they would say is an impeachable thing ‘cause I’m using the executive office, they think, without the legislative approval. The Tribune editorial board was advocating that I be impeached for those sorts of things.
And so again, without going into detail, they’re getting the benefit of these things to try to help the Cubs. We just would prefer that they don’t, look, that—that the things that they’re advocating that I be impeached it’d be nice if they they laid off on an issue like that.
* The governor talked about his capital plan again today, but without offering many specifics. His $25 billion figure is on par with the Senate Democratic proposal, which they’re looking to fund with a 16 cents per gallon motor fuel tax hike to bring in about a billion dollars in new annual revenue. Quinn isn’t keen on the gas tax, however…
“We hope to have a $25 billion… Illinois economic recovery investment program that invests in rail as well as highway and bridges and water and everything else,” Quinn said. “I think it’s imperative… but we have to get it passed. I’d like to see it passed by April 3, and we’re going to work very hard in that direction.”
April 3rd is beyond optimistic. The General Assembly is scheduled to take a two-week break immediately after that. If it was Rod Blagojevich, you’d expect the governor to call a series of special sessions when legislators left town for vacation rather than pass a capital plan. But Gov. Quinn appears to be avoiding that kind of confrontation so far. Still, if the GA ignores him, there’s a good chance he’ll look weak and ineffective. That’s a big reason why setting such an early passage date is so dangerous and unwise.
More..
Quinn would not say how he plans to pay for such a massive spending program as the state faces a deficit of $9 billion or more. He once again said he’s “not a big fan” of increasing gas taxes, as some lawmakers have proposed. And he again used the kind of code language that has many speculating an income tax increase could be on the table.
“I think if you’re going to use any revenues to try to invest in our future in Illinois, in job creation, in making sure we get our economy moving, you should rely on taxes that are based on ability to pay,” Quinn said. “That’s my philosophy, you’ll hear about it next week. We’re going to have, I think, a very robust program in Illinois of job creation, investing in things that matter today, but also matter for our kids and grandkids.”
Donne Trotter is the Senate Democrats’ budget expert. He says talks are underway about how the [income] tax hike would work, although one version would have top earners paying about 60% more. Those who make less would get tax credits to lessen the blow.
TROTTER: It is not like a regressive sales tax. People aren’t shopping anyway so we aren’t getting those. So i believe this is fairest way to do it .
Trotter says other tax and fee hikes are also on the table, as well as some spending cuts.
Trotter points out he has never had a meeting with the Governor’s staff and is unsure if Pat Quinn is on board with this specific plan. But he says an income tax increase is getting more attention this year than it has since it was last raised in the early 1990’s. [emphasis added]
I know the governor is still working on his budget plan, but as a courtesy at least, they ought to meet with the budgeteers. Then again, the House Democrats lost their budgeteer when Gary Hannig was made Secretary of Transportation.
Illinois leaders want stimulus money to develop high-speed train travel between Chicago and St. Louis.
Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin say the priority is to upgrade Amtrak’s existing service between the cities so trains can travel at up to 110 miles per hour. That could cut travel times to under 4 hours from the current 5.
Quinn and Durbin met with other officials Monday at Chicago’s Union Station to discuss an Illinois request for some of the $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail in the federal stimulus bill.
* The setup, from an e-mail I received last night…
Hi,
I am an MBA student at [redacted] and I am wondering if you could help me track down any articles that might have given some hints of Gov. Blagojevich’s narcissistic tendencies as an executive before any of the formal mess began in Decemeber. I am leading a class discussion on narcissism and leadership on Wednesday and would like to see if anything on Blago could be brought to to the discussion.
* The Question: A little help for this person, please? Keep in mind that this student is looking for pre-arrest examples only.
* Carol Marin asks: Will Todd Stroger be hung out to dry in 2010? The answer is probably yes…
For the first time in memory, voters in Cook County are paying real attention to county government, what it costs, how well it runs, and what crucial services it provides, from medical care to running the courts.
The Regular Democratic Party formerly known as the Machine, meanwhile, is also paying careful attention to newly awakened voters like Feinberg.
In 2006, another reform commissioner, Forrest Claypool, came within reach of unseating then-incumbent John Stroger, Todd’s father. Claypool proved there was an embryonic but growing appetite for change in Cook County. Quigley’s victory last week proved even in a special, off-year, very low turnout primary, voters could make themselves heard.
The stage is being set for the 2010 race. Claypool will likely be back for a rematch.
Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, a loyalist of John Stroger, supported his son in 2006. No longer. She’s now running against him.
The head of the Regular Democratic Party of Cook County, Joe Berrios, is nothing if not candid. “If the election were held today,” he said, “it would be a tossup.”
The coming County Board race, with all the patronage jobs the president controls, is far, far more important to the party than any congressional seat. “I have committeemen who say Todd can’t win,” Berrios told me, adding, “I’ve told Todd he’s gotta reach out, he hasn’t reached out enough to them.”
* The Tribune editorial board continues to try and move that process along…
[Resigning county hiring monitor] Julia Nowicki writes with evident frustration to County Board members that “it is the job of the County to eradicate illegal patronage practices.”
Yet for two years the administration of County Board President Todd Stroger has failed to give her job descriptions for 500 so-called Shakman-exempt employees. These are political hires, many of them beneficiaries of Stroger’s friends-and-family employment plan. Some do little work—an injustice Nowicki’s inspection of job descriptions could have exposed. She can only note as she exits that she “expected this work to be completed two years ago. The delay in this regard is unfathomable.”
Feigenholtz is reportedly seeking to be appointed to Quigley’s soon to be vacant county board seat. Quigley told WLS yesterday that he wants the appointment process to be as open as possible…
What I told the committeemen was that the process is almost as important as the outcome. It has to be and it has to be perceived to be a very open process where they don’t meet behind closed doors and pick one of their pals. It has to be a process where anyone who’s interested can present their credentials in a public forum and then publicly this is discussed, debated and the committeemen make their choice.
* The Chicago Civic Federation says it could support a tax hike, but only if some budget reforms are enacted first. From the Sun-Times…
[Civic Federation President Laurence Msall] said the federation would support a modest income tax increase if the General Assembly and the governor’s office showed strong commitment to reform, retirement and health care costs, the pension system and cutting spending. That’s a big “if,” though, he said.
The Federation’s demands are in a new report…
The 36-page report details ways to better fund Medicaid and the plummeting pension system and emphasizes that the state cannot increase spending or create new programs.
Msall said the state would have to cut a significant amount of its more than 55,000-employee work force, tighten employee benefits and eliminate nonessential programs to combat the red ink.
* Here are a couple of items that I’ve been hearing a lot about lately…
Raise the Retirement Age for New Hires. Members of the state’s retirement systems are currently eligible for full retirement benefits when they reach age 60, unlike the federal Social Security system, which makes 67 the minimum age of retirement with full benefits. Therefore, the Civic Federation believes that the age at which employees become eligible for full benefits should be increased to age 67 for employees with between 8 and 30 years of service, age 65 for employees with between 30 and 35 years of service, and age 62 for employees with 35 or more years of service.
Fix Automatic Increases for New Hires at the Lesser of 2% or the Rate of Inflation. For new hires only, automatic increases should be limited to the lesser of the rate of inflation or 2% and should apply only to the first $12,000 in annual pension payments for retirees covered by Social Security and $24,000 for retirees not covered by Social Security.
Msall told the Sun-Times that he isn’t hearing ideas like this, but he isn’t listening. For instance…
[Senate President John Cullerton is] also looking at putting less money into state government pension funds. He says the state can cut what it sends to the pension funds if lawmakers cut pension benefits for future state government workers.
* I personally think this item in the Civic Federation’s report is a good idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll fly…
Require a 1% Increase in Employee Contributions. The Civic Federation believes that all public employees covered by the state’s five retirement systems should contribute an additional 1% of their salaries to the cost of their pensions.
* Perhaps less likely may be health insurance reforms for state workers…
Eliminate the Costly Indemnity Plan and place enrollees in HMO or OAP plans that cost significantly less. This measure could save the State between $176.6 and $253.4 million per year (estimated savings in 2007).
Eliminate Free Health Care for Retirees for a savings of between $20.7 and $146.0 million per year in premium costs (estimated savings in 2007).
Increase Employee Premium Contributions, which are lower than employee contribution levels required by other state and local governments, as well as private sector organizations. Bringing employee premium contributions in line with national averages could yield as much as $67.3 million in savings annually (estimated savings in 2007).
The Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) Should Accelerate Efforts to Move Medicaid Recipients from Non-Matchable Long-Term Care Settings. Illinois spends a large amount, perhaps as much as $700 million, on long-term care services for people with mental illness that is not matched by Medicaid because it violates federal standards. Moving these clients to settings eligible for Medicaid match—and in compliance with court orders—has the potential to create savings over a relatively short period of time and the opportunity to improve the quality of life for Illinoisans receiving such services.
* Meanwhile, on the capital side, check out this tidbit in a Daily Herald article…
About 65 percent of the gasoline sold in Illinois is purchased in the Chicago metropolitan region, according to the Illinois Petroleum Institute.
Yet, less than half of the road spending is traditionally focused in that area.
* And, as I told subscribers today, a new poll is being released about potential tax hikes…
Illinois voters largely oppose raising taxes to balance the state’s budget or improve roads and say they will vote out lawmakers who support tax hikes, a newly released poll finds.
One quarter of those polled said they would support raising the state’s 3 percent income tax to help close an estimated $9 billion budget hole. Another 13 percent favor applying the sales tax to services, such as haircuts or auto repair, that are not taxed now.
But the majority - 55 percent - were opposed to any increase in those taxes to balance the state’s budget. Income and sales taxes account for more than 60 percent of state revenue.
Illinoisans also oppose a gas tax increase to pay for road improvements. Only 27 percent favored a gas tax hike, while 63 percent oppose the measure. One downstate lawmaker is pushing an 8- to 16-cent increase in the gas tax to pay for infrastructure improvements.
* Fox Chicago Sunday: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has only been in office for a month, yet he already has his hands full with a massive budget deficit and a legislature that’s highly politicized. This week on Fox Chicago Sunday, we ask Quinn who’s going to pay to get the state out of the red. We also talk to downstate republican Bill Brady, who plans to run for Quinn’s job next year. He says you just can’t tax your way out of a budget hole.
* I always try to remind people at this time of the year that they should ignore most of the articles written about Statehouse legislation. It’s the season of hope, much like baseball’s spring training. Thousands of bills are introduced, but only a few will make the final cut. Unlike baseball, though, it’s possible to discern where many of those bills are going, namely: Nowhere.
A measure to repeal the two-year-old ban on horse slaughtering for human consumption in Illinois is gaining some momentum in the state legislature.
The House Agriculture and Conservation Committee voted 11-2 Tuesday for House Bill 583, pushed by Republican Rep. Jim Sacia of Pecatonica, to lift the ban. The measure now moves to the full House.
If the bill had passed a liberal committee, it would be “gaining some momentum” in the General Assembly. But the conservative, pro-farmer, pro horse slaughter ag committee? That’s totally expected.
* Here are a few more excitable stories that probably won’t mean anything in the long run because introduced bills or bills that have passed a sympathetic committee just aren’t a signal for much of anything without closer scrutiny and context…
* The Tribune provides some much-needed MSM analysis today…
In a single week, the Democrats who control the Capitol promoted the prospects of bills to abolish the death penalty, allow civil unions for gay couples and legalize marijuana as a pain reliever.
Before your blood gets boiling about sweeping changes coming to Illinois—or you get your hopes up, depending on your politics—know this: It’s all part of an oft-maddening rite of spring in Springfield.
Scrambling to appease their hard-core backers, Illinois lawmakers roll out thousands of bills that face long odds of becoming law but most assuredly will win partisan points back home or with certain ideological voters.
Flashy issues that stir a political party’s base inevitably attract headlines, such this year’s heavily Republican-backed call for a special election to replace Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), who was appointed by Rod Blagojevich, then governor. Yet they often become one-year wonders, left on the scrap heap after one failed vote.
That’s exactly right. All stories about bills in committee should include this sort of context. They don’t, so readers are left to fend for themselves.
* It just never ends. The Sun-Times reports today that Ald. Dick Mell was paid $100,000 to work for Democrat Blair Hull’s ill-fated 2004 US Senate primary campaign. This is news partly because Mell was paid through Fred Lebed’s consulting group. Lebed, of course, is US Sen. Roland Burris’ longtime advisor, who recently severed his ties to Burris…
There appears to be nothing illegal about that [Mell] arrangement. But — apparently in the wake of Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest — federal authorities have asked questions about it, according to John Ruff, a Lebed and Burris associate who recently broke ties with both men because of the furor over Burris’ Senate appointment by Blagojevich.
Ruff said that, in conversations with Lebed in late January, Lebed told him he’d been asked to provide documents to a federal grand jury to explain payments his company made to Mell.
The feds sure are spreading the net wide, aren’t they? Perhaps this is why…
…Lebed or Hull might have had dealings with Blagojevich in October 2008. The ex-governor’s daily log for Oct. 17 includes an entry: “Blair Hull in Chicago October 28-31. Requesting follow-up mtg. Contact: . . . Fred Lebed.”
Mell got $100K for his Hull work, according to the story, and that was just about all of the money that Lebed’s consulting firm received from the Hull campaign…
Federal election records show [Lebed’s] Prairie Group was paid $120,000 by Hull’s campaign and that Lebed got another $13,102 on top of that.
Weird, that.
* Meanwhile, the Politico offers up one reason why Bill Daley is considering a US Senate bid…
More important, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is already connecting Giannoulias to Blagojevich, alleging that his family’s bank made numerous loans to indicted Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko and to individuals connected to organized crime. The NRSC also alleges that Rezko urged Blagojevich to appoint Giannoulias’ brother to the Illinois Finance Authority Board.
Those vulnerabilities have emboldened Daley to take a serious look at running. Supporters of Daley, who currently serves as Midwest director for JPMorgan Chase, say he would offer a clean break from the era of Blagojevich and Burris.
On the other hand…
Daley’s detractors argue that his family connections to the Chicago political machine — his father was the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley — would put him at a disadvantage when Illinois voters are looking for distance from the machine mentality that has long defined the state’s politics.
They point to Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley’s primary victory in last Tuesday’s special election to succeed Rahm Emanuel. Quigley, an outspoken critic of patronage and waste in county government, won the special election touting a message of reform.
“The machine’s old, and the machine’s rusty. Maybe because he’s a Daley, he does this differently. It’s a different world now,” said one Illinois-based Democratic operative.
Not to mention that Daley’s bank got $25 billion in TARP funds, a program which is hugely unpopular with the public and doesn’t appear to have worked as advertised by the Bush administration.
The CTA took a big bet on fuel prices this year, and so far is losing big.
The transit agency, facing a budget shortfall of $242 million, is paying $3.80 on average per gallon for diesel fuel — 66 percent higher than the market rate of about $2.29.
The entire $102.8 million fuel budget in terms of gallons is hedged — meaning the CTA locked in prices ahead of time. The agency’s fuel budget this year is nearly $13 million higher than it was for 2008, though the CTA is now driving more fuel-efficient hybrid buses.
Advocates say the ridership figures show growing support for public transportation. They hope to use that support to push for federal funding beyond the $8.4 billion in stimulus money set for transit. More investment in transit not only helps the economy, advocates say, but also helps the environment and fosters energy independence.
There are three different project lists that the Chicago area needs to send to the Feds in order to get stimulus money allocated for transportation projects; state project list, municipality list and a transit list. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning or CMAP recently finalized the first of three, the state shovel-ready project list. That includes things like road maintenance and rail repair projects that are ready to get started.
About 7,000 potholes remain unfilled on city streets, officials said Saturday. Things will only get more hazardous, as March and April are the peak months for potholes because of the rapid shifts in temperatures, officials said.
City crews are working seven days a week. Since December, the city has filled more than 200,000 potholes — at a rate of 3,000 to 4,000 every weekday.
Proposals for two new Springfield nursing homes that would give Sangamon County more beds for low-income residents — as well as more private rooms and housing options for senior citizens — will be considered Tuesday and Wednesday by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
Peoria mayoral candidate General Parker said last week he is holding out for a little divine intervention in his quest to be eligible to hold elected office in Illinois.
That and a little help from Gov. Pat Quinn.
Unfortunately for Parker, political observers think it couldn’t be a worse time for a convicted felon seeking public office to cling to hope for a pardon from a governor who’s made a career of political crusades in cleaning up corrupt government.
Rito Martinez was an award-winning teacher who won a plum of a job as a principal in what was then the most expensive Chicago Public Schools building ever constructed.
But for the last 2½ years, as principal of Social Justice High, Martinez has been living a lie.
Though he claimed to CPS officials that he was living in Chicago, Martinez was actually residing in Oak Park, in violation of the system’s city residency policy.
On Thursday, Martinez, 40, fessed up to stunned students and teachers and revealed that he has handed in his resignation
“City employees should live in the city,” [Mayor Daley] said in 2003. “If I’m mayor, should I live in Waukegan? If it’s good enough to work and earn your salary, it’s good enough to live. I’ve always felt that way. I believe in that.”
This is how city Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle put it Thursday: “Requiring [workers] to be city residents gives them a greater commitment to what’s happening in the city of Chicago, a greater understanding of the needs and concerns of the city residents they would be serving as city employees.”
* The Question: Should all municipal residency requirements be abolished? Explain fully, please.
* A civil unions bill made it out of a House committee yesterday. Bills pass committees all the time and then go nowhere on the floor (or die quietly in the other chamber), so the hype surrounding the bill is because of its uniqueness, not necessarily the likelihood of its ultimate passage into law…
The bill, proposed by Democratic Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago, would create civil unions for both heterosexual and homosexual couples, giving them the same state and local rights as married couples. According to Harris, however, the bill could not address the more than 1,000 rights and responsibilities that the federal government grants to married couples.
Churches in opposition to same-sex civil unions could not be forced to perform any kind of civil union ceremony.
Opponents to the bill call it a backhanded attempt to legalize same-sex marriages in Illinois. Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, said the legislation “is all about same sex-marriage” because it would redefine the term “spouse” by including anyone in a civil union.
Gilligan also expressed a concern that faith-based organizations that oppose homosexuality would be forced to acknowledge civil unions when making hiring decisions and giving benefits.
Creates the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. Defines “civil union” as a legal relationship between 2 persons, of either the same or opposite sex, established in accordance with the Act. Provides that a party to a civil union shall be entitled to the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses. Prohibits certain civil unions. Provides that the Director of Public Health shall prescribe forms for an application, license, and certificate for a civil union. Contains provisions regarding: application for a civil union license; certification of a civil union; and duties of the county clerk and Department of Public Health. Provides for dissolution and declaration of invalidity of a civil union. Provides that a marriage between persons of the same sex, a civil union, or a substantially similar legal relationship other than common law marriage, legally entered into in another jurisdiction, shall be recognized in Illinois as a civil union. Contains provisions regarding construction, application, religious freedom, severability, and other matters.
Important point…
Section 15. Religious freedom. Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body.
Rep. Deb Mell, who is gay, said 648 state laws — on topics from inheritance to health care — help married couples. “I find it very strange that I can be elected to the General Assembly and vote on rules and laws, but these don’t apply to me and my family,” said Mell, D-Chicago. “We’re not protected.”
* The Mormon Church has caught a lot of heat for intervening heavily in California’s Proposition 8 fight, so an intercepted e-mail sent to members of one Illinois Mormon “ward” stirred up some dust. This letter from Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese was published in the Windy City Times…
Those same anti-gay, Mormon forces that brought you the passage of Prop. 8 in California, Prop 102 in Arizona and the defeat of Utah’s pro-equality legislation have now set their sights on Illinois. We just learned today that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sent a private e-mail to its Illinois members urging them to contact state legislators and voice opposition to pending civil-unions legislation.
This message has been authorized for sending by Bishop Church. […]
As has already been seen in Massachusetts, this will empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise. It will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores; the current push in Massachusetts is to recognize and legalize all transgender rights (An individual in Massachusetts can now change their drivers license to the gender they believe themselves to be, regardless of actual gender, which means that confused men and women are now legally entering one another’s bathrooms and locker rooms. What kind of a safety issue is this for our children?). Furthermore, while the bill legalizes civil unions, it will be used in the courts to show discrimination and will ultimately lead to court mandated same-sex marriages.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Wednesday that an e-mail authorized by the bishop of an Illinois congregation did not reflect the church’s position on a bill before the Illinois Legislature and is not part of a larger campaign.
But Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the national church, said the e-mail was not part of a church wide opposition campaign. The church’s engagement with political causes is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It is unclear if the Illinois legislation would violate church doctrine as interpreted by Latter-day Saints.
“As is widely known, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of traditional marriage,” she said in a statement. “The Church has not taken a position on any legislation currently being considered by the Illinois State Legislature … An e-mail was sent from a local Illinois Church leader to his congregation – one of 129 congregations in the state — who was free to express his own views.”
* The Democrats are clearly hoping the heat dies down on the Roland Burris appointment…
Hopes for a U.S. Senate special election grew dimmer Thursday as Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-backed proposal to create an election for Roland Burris’ seat and future vacancies.
A Senate subcommittee on ethics voted 3-2 along party lines against Senate Bill 285. The measure calls for a special election within about six months after becoming law, opening Burris’ seat and possible future openings for election.
Republicans say the state should have a special election because of the clouded Burris appointment by now ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Democrats cited soaring costs in blocking the measure.
Both sides accused the other of playing political games.
While many legislators and state elected officials have called for a special election, this is the first plan to get any kind of vote at the Capitol. Last week Attorney General Lisa Madigan said lawmakers could legally replace Burris by ordering a special election.
But the estimated cost of a special election factored strongly in Chicago Democratic state Sen. Ira Silverstein’s decision to vote against the plan, Silverstein said. The three Democrats on the subcommittee voted to stop the plan while the two Republicans voted for it.
Republicans and Democrats went back and forth over the possible costs of a special election.
Murphy said a special election would cost $62 million and proposed using $15.4 million in unspent Senate funds to pay a quarter of the cost. Hendon countered with an estimate that the real cost of the special election would be between $71 million and $101 million. Murphy replied that cost shouldn’t be an overriding factor. […]
House Republicans have also introduced several special election plans but Democratic leader Barbara Flynn Currie, of Chicago, has stopped them from being assigned to a committee, much to the chagrin of Republicans who fume daily about it.
* But a choice could be forced on them if this lawsuit prevails…
Quinn is the defendant and Madigan is his lawyer in a suit brought by attorneys Tom Geoghegan, Marty Oberman and others based on the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It seeks to force the governor to call a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama and now held by Roland Burris in what the plaintiffs view as a temporary appointment. […]
The suit says an election is mandated by the amendment, which states: “When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.”
Ratified in 1913, the amendment ordered popular elections of U.S. senators, in order to end the corrupted process of state legislatures appointing them.
In sum, it says elections are absolutely required—as they are for congressional seats. It makes a gubernatorial appointment temporary, aimed only at filling the gap between the date of the vacancy and completion of a special election, rather than for years until the next general election.
A Downstate prosecutor investigating whether Sen. Roland Burris perjured himself before a House impeachment panel has asked federal authorities for any recordings involving Burris for use in the probe, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times. […]
The Republican prosecutor, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt, has zeroed in on conversations between Burris and the governor’s brother Robert Blagojevich, who chaired the ex-governor’s campaign fund.
Those particular conversations have been a significant issue for Burris since the Sun-Times first reported last month that Burris failed to disclose, both under oath and in public statements, that Robert Blagojevich hit him up for money on the ex-governor’s behalf.
On the same December day then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich named Roland Burris to fill President Obama’s U.S. Senate vacancy, Burris’ right-hand political man, Fred Lebed, phoned an associate and told him, “We’ll have to do some things for the governor.”
That’s the recollection of the associate, a health-care and political consultant named John Ruff, who went on to become one of Burris’ co-plaintiffs on a January lawsuit that sought to help Burris claim his Senate seat. […]
Lebed has a phone record of his own, which he said demonstrates Ruff is “a very scary guy.” Lebed saved a profanity-laced voicemail from Ruff from Feb. 17 — the same day Sangamon County’s top prosecutor announced the perjury probe of Burris and the Senate launched its Burris ethics inquiry. […]
“He is lying through his teeth,” said Lebed, who has no formal role with Burris’ Senate office. “He’s playing you guys.”
Former Commerce Secretary William Daley is leaning toward running for the Senate seat President Obama once held, sources close to Daley tell The Hill. They characterize the decision as all but finalized. […]
Daley has already held discussions about the race with two top political professionals in advance of making a bid official. They include Larry Grisolano, who played a central role in 2008 as Obama’s director of paid media and opinion research during the campaign. In January, Grisolano signed up with AKPD Message and Media, the firm founded by Obama senior adviser David Axelrod and home of Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.
Veteran pollster John Anzalone, who has seen his profile rise in recent years after handling surveys for Democratic candidates around the country as well as for Obama’s campaign, will also join the Daley team, if and when a run becomes official.
Among those considering a Senate campaign in 2010 are former Commerce Secretary William Daley, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and the Chicago Urban League’s Cheryl Jackson, a one-time press secretary to Blagojevich.
* Related…
* Senate Democrats deal likely fatal blow to special election to replace Sen. Roland Burris
A federal prosecutor drew a direct connection between illicit political hiring and Mayor Daley in a City Hall corruption trial Thursday, asking a key witness whether city hirees were also the mayor’s most loyal and hardest-working political supporters.
Former Streets and Sanitation Department personnel director Jack Drumgould agreed that they were, testifying in the trial of former Commissioner Al Sanchez.
Illinois had the nation’s highest jump in the number of people filing new unemployment claims last week, up by 3,791 claims, or almost 14 percent.
The increase ran counter to the national trend for the week, in which the U.S. as a whole saw 5 percent fewer people laid off and seeking unemployment benefits.
* More details on CTA stimulus request: Lots of maintenance, renewal programs
Seven local employees, including WLUP-FM 97.9 midday host Erin Carman and sportscaster Bruce Wolf, were shown the door in parent Emmis Communications’ companywide 7.5-percent workforce reduction.
Everyone is trying to make do with less, and Indianapolis-based Emmis expects its remaining staff to join it in doing so. All those not under contract, including folks at Chicago’s WLUP-FM and WKQX-FM 101.1, will have their pay cut by 5 percent beginning Monday.
Illinois is getting some much needed cash from the stimulus package.
U.S. Transportation Secretary and Peoria native Ray LaHood announced Thursday Illinois will get just under 500 million dollars in public transportation funding.
The money comes from the $8.4 billion available throughout the country for mass transit.
An Illinois child mental health crises hot line received nearly 2,000 more calls this February than a year ago after three recent suicides of children under age 12 and a public warning issued to parents by three state agencies after the deaths, officials said.
Calls to the Crisis And Referral Entry Services hot line increased to 14,071 this year from 12,419 last February, said Kendall Marlowe, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. From 2000 to 2007, the number of suicides of children between the ages of 10 and 17 has ranged from 15 to 36 each year, state figures show.
Nose-diving revenues have forced Chicago’s 2009 budget at least $10 million deeper into the hole — to a gap of well over $60.5 million — turning up the heat for more layoffs and union concessions.
