Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2009

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A post on arguments for and against gay marriage over at Illinois Review contained this comment…

We are being asked - no told - to change and accept something many are repulsed by.

* The Question: Do you think the “Ick Factor” plays a dominant role in the opposition to gay marriage and/or gay rights (the same basic argument was used against the public accomodations legislation here)? Explain, and tell us if repulsion for the act of homosexuality itself is a valid objection in your view.

Also, keep it clean, please. Thanks.

Here are some related stories, but try very hard to stick to the question at hand…

* Illinois gays not betting on marriage

* Quinn tackles income tax plan, gay marriage during Harper visit

* Quinn Expects State Will Approve Civil Unions

121 Comments

The clown show continues

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Back door man…

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich left his Northwest Side home at about 10:20 a.m., getting in a black SUV that stopped in a rear alley while another vehicle–apparently a decoy for waiting reporters–pulled up to the front of the house.

As if he can avoid the press. Sheesh…

Blagojevich is scheduled to be arraigned at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse this morning on corruption charges.

Some reporters and photographers who thought the former governor might try for an early arrival were camped out in the lobby, and rows of TV trucks were lining nearby Plymouth Court. About half a dozen video cameras already were set up to capture Blagojevich going through security before his scheduled 11 a.m. arraignment.

Several still photographers had set up short step ladders in a media bullpen area in the hopes of getting a better shot.

* It’ll only be Blagojevich and his brother Rob today. Natasha Korecki explains…

The ex-governor’s former fund-raiser, Chris Kelly, moved his arraignment date today to later in the week. There’s a conflict because Kelly’s lawyer is in Florida.

More…

Three others charged in the case—Springfield power broker William Cellini, former Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris and top Blagojevich fundraiser Christopher Kelly—are set to be arraigned Thursday. Harris is cooperating with federal authorities, as is another former chief of staff, Lon Monk, who is expected to be arraigned April 24.

* You can follow the circus on Korecki’s Blagojevich blog or on Twitter. The Trib and the CS-T are also Tweeting. I’ll update if anything interesting happens.

*** 11:28 am *** This would be almost hilarious if it was another state’s former governor…

“Mr. Rod Blagojevich would waive reading of the indictment and enter a plea of not guilty,” the lawyer said. U.S. District Judge James Zagel asked the former governor a series of questions, including one about his schooling.

“Um, I have a degree from law school,” Blagojevich replied

*** 12:07 pm *** Shameless…

Moments after leaving the courtroom and asked how he was feeling, the ex-governor compared himself to Winston Churchill, saying “this is the end of the beginning.”

He added that “the truth will prevail. I look forward to clearing my name and being vindicated.”

*** 3:39 pm *** Blagojevich speaks. I wonder when he’ll vow to fnd the real killers…

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich released the following statement, via The Publicity Agency (www.thepublicityagency.com), the PR firm that represents him, following his arraignment in U.S. District Court today:

“Now we can begin the process of getting the truth out and I can clear my name and vindicate myself.

“I have not let down my family or the people of Illinois. I am innocent of every single allegation.”

38 Comments

Why is Quinn dragging his feet?

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE *** More empty talk…

Gov. Pat Quinn says Illinois must confront the “integrity crisis” caused by his predecessors, indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan.

Quinn says it’s time to disinfect Illinois government of corruption.

The buck stops with you, governor. Get on with it. Clean up your own house first. I’m tired of waiting.

[ *** End of Update *** ]

* Stuff like this is nice and all…

Gov. Quinn is not only continuing to pass out old business cards with the word “lieutenant” crossed off — but Sneed hears he’s also passing out generic pens minus his name at bill-signing ceremonies.

But I’d rather Quinn just spent the money on fancy pens so he didn’t have to worry about spending his time leaking silly stories like that to Sneed and then focus more energy on fumigating the darned government…

Gov. Quinn said Monday he’ll quickly decide the future of a $111,708-a-year top state employee who also was a key fund-raiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in Chicago’s Indian-American community.

Quinn’s comments about Rajinder Bedi, managing director of the state’s Office of Trade & Investment, came the same day the Chicago Sun-Times disclosed Bedi might have played a role in Blagojevich’s alleged scheme to sell President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat.

I mean, this looks like a no-brainer…

Under Blagojevich, Bedi fended off multiple sexual harassment allegations from female employees — including one he allegedly called “tigress” and another he allegedly kissed and told “men have needs.” He denied the allegations but agreed to undergo sensitivity training.

Says Quinn…

“There will be a decision shortly,” Quinn said of Bedi. “I believe everybody’s record should be reviewed on an individual basis, and, in his case, he’s in a policy-making position. I’m looking at it, and I’ll take a position rather quickly.”

Look, I know that he’s got a big budget problem and all, but the governor is traveling the state demanding that legislators fall into 100 percent lockstep on his reform agenda while he drags his feet on weeding out Blagojevich holdovers from his own administration. That seems awfully hypocritical to me.

I’ve deliberately laid off of him, but time is up. No more. If he wants to claim the mantle of reform then he ought to prove it by ridding his office of the holdovers.

Actions, governor, speak much louder than words. Get on with it, for crying out loud.

* Meanwhile, the Kankakee Daily Journal blasts a reform bill which Quinn recently signed into law which effectively empties out the state pension boards of all Blagojevich appointees…

It would have been far fairer, though less popular, to dismiss those who had performed poorly or who had abused the public trust in some fashion.

Except for two things that the paper ignored:

1) Pension board members are appointed for specific terms and those terms don’t just expire at the snap of somebody’s fingers and the guv can’t just fire them.

2) Gov. Quinn has dragged his feet so much on his “fumigation” pledge that it might be years before he got around to replacing the bad apples.

* Related…

* Blagojevich headed for arraignment with legal team still unsettled

* Blagojevich in Court Today

* Rod Blagojevich Scheduled To Be Arraigned Tuesday

* Indicted Blagojevich to be arraigned today

* Rod Blagojevich: Former governor scheduled to be arraigned in federal court

* On deck tomorrow: Just Blago and his bro

* Durbin Says Blagojevich Deserves Day In Court

* Illinois Governor Pat Quinn Signs Executive Order To Increase Transparency For State Boards And Commissions

* Plan to publish state workers’ salaries, other info on Web moves forward

48 Comments

Group: Raise income taxes for pensions

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We’ll start this budget post with a silly demand by the Civic Federation of Chicago…

[The Civic Federation] says Illinois must cap and reduce spending, and the income tax should not be raised at all unless it would go only to reduce pension and retirement health-care liabilities and not to new programs.

What? How about the programs that are underfunded now? The Civic Federation is OK with continuing to delay paying Medicaid bills, which are now finally being addressed?

Quinn is speeding up payment of overdue bills so the state can qualify for more federal money.

Illinois has fallen far behind in paying its bills, particularly to the hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies that care for the poor. They sometimes have to wait 150 days to be paid.

Local governments and school districts are having to cut way back. The State Police are being forced to abandon a headquarters building because of lack of funds.

Perhaps the Civic Federation would like to look struggling providers for the developmentally disabled in the eye and say: Tough luck. Or, decide which underemployed mothers will receive child care assistance. Or tell seniors they’re outta luck.

Instead, we’ll raise taxes on individuals and corporations only for pensions and public employee health care costs and forget about everyone else. Yeah, that’ll go over well out in Voter Land. Also, how do they propose to find any legislative votes for that proposal?

Please.

That’s almost as comical and politically suicidal as playing gotcha games by implying that the governor is not serious about getting the budget in order unless he’s willing to zero out the Illinois Arts Council.

* And that brings us to House GOP Leader Tom Cross, who penned this op-ed with the chief executive officer of the Illinois Policy Institute…

“We’re moving to Texas,” to paraphrase what a few friends have said. “Dallas has the best growth opportunity for what I do. Plus, there’s no income tax and property taxes are much lower. We can live like kings there.”

One of my brothers lives near Dallas. I love my brother and he loves his town, but I wouldn’t live there if you paid me. It’s far more sensitive to boom and bust cycles, the downtown area is dead for a city its size and the rest of the region is one, giant suburb without anything approaching an adequate public transit system. Its wages aren’t exactly progressive.

Maybe Cross ought to visit before proclaiming it to be the land of milk and honey with streets paved with gold. Or, maybe he ought to just move there if that’s the sort of place he desires. I’ll take Chicago, with all its problems, any day.

Dallas also has advantages that we don’t have, like sitting on top of a recently discovered and truly gigantic natural gas reserve. Short of stealing their natural resources, I’m not sure how we ever even the score on that point. It’s also warm in the fall, winter and spring, which attracts some folks. Perhaps global climate change will help us on that point.

46 Comments

Will she or won’t she?

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My syndicated newspaper column, which appears in papers large and small throughout the state, is about Mike and Lisa Madigan this week…

Back in 2005, I asked House Speaker Michael Madigan why he didn’t just run somebody against Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the 2006 Democratic primary if he was so upset at the way Blagojevich was running things.

“I did that once, and it led to 26 years of uninterrupted Republican rule,” Madigan cracked.

In the early 1970s, a very young Madigan was Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley’s point man in the House against Daley’s archnemesis, Democratic Gov. Dan Walker. That legislative opposition led directly to Daley’s forces beating Walker in the 1976 primary. Their candidate went on to lose to Republican Jim Thompson, and the GOP held onto the governor’s job until Blagojevich won the 2002 campaign.

I told you that story to give you an idea how Madigan may be sizing up next year.

Keep in mind that no matter what else you may read, the speaker won’t make the final decision about whether his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, will run for governor. Ms. Madigan has a mind all her own. The elder Madigan will have significant input, but he won’t have any sort of veto power. Still, it’s worthwhile to look at how both Madigans are thinking right now and what options they confront.

Speaker Madigan is a man of unusually strict habits. When he finds something that works, he sticks with it forever, like having an apple every day at exactly the stroke of noon. And he almost always shuns things that don’t work. The hard lesson Madigan learned about that 1976 primary has stuck with him ever since: Avoid primaries against sitting Democratic governors.

Had Blagojevich survived, a primary against him next year would’ve been a different matter. The race would’ve gotten messy and divisive, but Blagojevich’s horrific unpopularity made him an easy mark. If the Madigans try to beat Gov. Pat Quinn in the 2010 primary, however, all heck could break loose.

Quinn can be slammed for running with Blagojevich twice and even defending Blagojevich after his ethics were questioned. Quinn’s new tax hike proposals are also extremely easy targets.

Quinn has never raised much money, and when he did it was at least partly because of his ties to Blagojevich. He had just $83,000 in the bank at the start of this year, compared to about $3.5 million for Lisa Madigan.

Quinn is not exactly the most astute campaigner and doesn’t seem prepared at all for the February primary, as evidenced by his repeated failed calls to move the primary date to June or September. His campaign committee filed for a name change from “Taxpayers for Quinn” to “Quinn for Illinois,” and then back to “Taxpayers for Quinn” within one 24-hour period last month. “Professional” is not a word anyone would use to describe his campaign style or apparatus.

So, he’s definitely beatable in the primary, but a Quinn loss to Ms. Madigan could divide the party and cause enough controversy that the Democrats will suffer badly in the fall. If Lisa Madigan does beat Quinn, her father’s powerful hold over the Democratic Party will likely become one of the most important November issues. The House speaker and state party chairman doesn’t want to give up either job, yet he may have little choice but to step down from one or both if he becomes the biggest obstacle to her victory.

And then there’s the question of whether Lisa Madigan really wants to be governor. She wanted nothing more than to prevent a third Blagojevich term, but now that primary motivation has been removed from office. Madigan has a young family and she’s young herself. She clearly loves being attorney general. There’s plenty of time to wait.

The other side of the equation is whether Quinn can fend off the Republicans next November. Tax hikes everywhere, Blagojevich’s humiliation, the ill legacy of total Democratic control and Quinn’s shortcomings as a candidate all add up to a very big “if” indeed. If Quinn is judged incapable of holding on to his post, the Democrats may have to go with someone else, despite the inherent dangers.

There are a kabillion factors to consider here, and the Madigan clan is best known for looking at all of their options before making any move, big or small.

On the one hand, we have Dan Walker and the noontime apple. On the other is everything else.

* Related…

* Topinka May Be Mulling Political Comeback

* Rutherford may have company in treasurer’s bid

14 Comments

Morning Shorts

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

* CN trains not aggravating traffic: report

Canadian National Railway Co. has filed its first monthly operating report on its controversial acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co., showing minimal blocking of street crossings since it started rerouting some trains through the western suburbs instead of Chicago.

Trains blocked street crossings along EJ&E tracks 50 times for 10 minutes or more since Feb. 1, but CN noted that almost all of those delays were tied to trains that normally ran on EJ&E tracks before.

The report, which was required by the Surface Transportation Board as a condition for approving the takeover, said there were two blocked crossings averaging 29 minutes since March 11, when CN trains started running on EJ&E tracks.

* Whitaker defends hospital’s ER policy

The University of Chicago’s policy is not “dumping” poor patients, Whitaker said in response to a question from former State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka at City Club of Chicago luncheon Monday.

“You should not use the emergency department as the place to get primary care,” Whitaker said. “For some reason, this is controversial. Emergency rooms should be used for emergencies. I’m shocked we should be getting into debates about this. An emergency room visit is $1,000. A doctor’s visit is $100.”

If these patients are uninsured, other patients are paying the unnecessary extra $900 through higher insurance premiums, Whitaker said.

* How to avoid junky health insurance

* Retail sales fall unexpectedly in March

* US States Report Drop In Costs For Construction Projects

* Counties get stimulus cash for hardship assistance

* Local foodbanks poised for windfall

Food banks in Illinois will start receiving truckloads of supplies next month under funding provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Sen. Dick Durbin said Monday during a visit to a Catholic Charities food bank in Des Plaines.

The act includes an additional $935 million in food stamp benefits for Illinois families. An average household of four people receiving food stamps will see an increase of $80 per month in benefits starting this month.

The act also provides more than $3 million for schools in Illinois to buy equipment to prepare meals for school lunch and breakfast programs; $6.3 million for soup kitchens and food pantries to purchase and distribute food through the Emergency Food Assistance Program; $3.7 million for senior meal programs; and $4.1 million for nonprofit and faith-based organizations to provide emergency food and shelter to meet the immediate needs of struggling individuals.

* Food banks to receive federal funding

Senator Durbin says local food banks are reporting a 30 percent increase in the number of people requesting help over last year.

* Postal Service food drive aims to shatter record

* Ill. ranks 8th in wind power

* Tribune to cut 90 more from newsroom

* Chicago Tribune planning for an ‘09 without revenue uptick

* The real killer of newspapers is still at large

At a Chicago “journalism town hall” in January, otherwise intelligent observers of the human condition sniffed at those uncouth practitioners of “amateur” news as not adhering to any sort of editorial standards, as if bigger papers and TV stations give credit to every community weekly from which they rip-and-read daily.

* ‘Hyperlocal’ Web Sites Deliver News Without Newspapers

* Grads’ life choices foreclosed by debt

* Summer jobs in our uncertain times

* ArcelorMittal ditches plan to restart E. Chicago plant

Roughly 400 workers at ArcelorMittal’s East Chicago plant will be out of work, as the steel company has no plans to restart work at that facility.

The weak economy has forced the world’s largest steel company to idle operations indefinitely at its Indiana Harbor Long Carbon plant, part of a larger complex that employs thousands of workers.

* Would a payroll tax holiday boost the economy?

Under the bill offered by Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., and Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, employers and employees of businesses with 50 or fewer workers would pay no Social Security and Medicare taxes for six months. Currently, both employers and employees are required to pay the 6.2 percent Social Security tax and the 1.45 percent Medicare tax throughout the year.

* Schock: Benefits to free trade

* More cops to fight youth violence

Chicago police will beef up curfew enforcement and add more officers to its Mobile Strike Force in an effort to curb youth violence, top police and Chicago Public Schools officials said Monday.

* Weis cracking down on cops who drive drunk

* Weis Defends Efforts to Curb Cop DUIs

* Chicago cop charged in fatal DUI crash: Cop had no passes in past cases, Police Supt. Jody Weis says

* Bond is $500K for Chicago cop charged in DUI crash

* When lives are lost, bail seems so low

* Did this cop get a pass?

* Weis Adding Officers to New SOS Unit

* CTA: 19 routes to be added CTA Bus Tracker Web site

* Three votes short after 34 years in office

With all of the precincts counted, after 34 years in office, it looks as though James P. Petkus is three votes shy of getting re-elected to the Oak Forest Park District board.

* Sports biz round-up: Where are the Sox on MLB Network? Hawks ratings, Golf Makeover

A press release says the MLB Netowrk will showcase 24 or 30 teams in the first seven weeks. A Thursday night Cubs-Cardinals game is slated for May 21.

However, the White Sox are among the teams missing from the early MLB Network broadcasts. Sox fans are very sensitive, so yes, we feel slighted.

The Blackhawks set a ratings record for a Chicago regional sports network this year. They averaged 1.26 rating (more than 44,000 households per game) on Comcast SportsNet. The previous high for the Hawks was a 1.06 rating for the 1996-97 on SportsChannel.

This year’s rating on CSN was a 100% increase over last year’s 0.63 average. CSN is counting on even bigger numbers during its coverage of the Hawks in the playoffs

* Cubs sale may drag on past May

The sale of the Chicago Cubs baseball team could drag on past May as the Ricketts family arranges financing for its $900 million bid and works for Major League Baseball’s approval.

Officials with Tribune Co, which is selling the team, its storied home park of Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in a local sports TV network, had originally hoped to have the deal done in May.

“They are being optimistic, frankly, despite good intentions all the way around,” said a person with knowledge of the sale who was not authorized to speak on the matter.

4 Comments

The end of an era

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My four brothers and I received this e-mail from my mom last night…

Everything must come to an end and Thursday is the end of the Obamalac. Your Dad has an appointment to have the stickers removed.

* Ah, the Obamalac. I saw it for the first time when my dad, Rich Miller, Sr., showed up for Obama’s 2007 campaign kickoff in Springfield. You can read my first post about the car by clicking here. Some early photos…

* Dad drove his Caddy all over Iowa. Obama himself loved the car…

A video of dad taking one of those Obama photos is here.

Even Michelle got into the act…

She said it reminded her of her dad’s old car.

* Dad’s ride got a lot of press. He was in just about every major newspaper and magazine in the country. The Politico had this item at the end of a story on Obama’s speech to some transcendental meditation types…

Behind him, a man driving a red, white and blue 1963 Cadillac convertible with the word “Obamalac” and “The Time Is Now” carefully stenciled across it was being gently chided by a wiry, smiling meditator.

“The time is now,” the driver said, as he headed out of town.

“But the time is always now,” the local man said.

* Dad eventually became somewhat famous, but he probably realized his place in Illinois politics on election night last year. He was driving the Obamalac up and down Michigan Ave. and several people approached him to say, “Hey, you’re Rich Miller’s dad!”

There’s only room for one Rich Miller in this state, I suppose. And, only one Obamalac.

* We’ll close with a music video featuring the “pre-Obama” version of Dad’s 1963 Cadillac, produced and directed by my brother Devin…

32 Comments

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