Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2009

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

Gov. Pat Quinn today flatly refused to apologize for his testimonials to the honesty of his now-indicted predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, when the two ran for re-election as a team in 2006.

“No, I don’t think apologies are necessary,” Quinn said after an Earth Day event at the Executive Mansion. “I think, what we want to do is, if people find out things that aren’t right, you roll up your sleeves and you correct them. That’s what I have believe in all my life.”

Quinn defended Blagojevich as they sought re-election in October 2006–just weeks before voters went the ballot box and five months after federal investigators revealed they were investigating “endemic hiring fraud” in the Blagojevich administration.

Discuss.

*** Raw audio of Q&A ***

…Context… From my weekly newspaper column…

…the governor has spent a whole lot of time pointing fingers at everyone else for their ethical lapses, but has yet to issue any sort of mea culpa for his own role in Blagojevich’s rise to power. Quinn was blatantly used by Blagojevich in 2002 and in 2006 to help boost his own reformer bona fides and Quinn seemed always happy to comply.

Quinn repeatedly defended Blagojevich against charges of corruption and happily went along with the program in both the 2002 and 2006 campaigns. When it was evident to just about everyone that Blagojevich was a criminal, Quinn cheered almost every move.

He’s been able to get away with it because people (myself included) are so happy to finally be rid of the criminal ogre that we’ve been willing to cut Quinn extra slack.

That may not last forever.

…Adding… Apparently, the guv charmed some protesters today…

Gov. Pat Quinn spoke to hundreds of protesters Wednesday as he tried to charm participants in a rally against his proposed budget.

Quinn didn’t back away from the proposed spending cuts that have angered unions and social-service groups. But in a surprise appearance on the state Capitol steps, Quinn sang the praises of grass-roots democracy.

He revved the group up and applauded its efforts to influence state policy.

As Quinn left, protesters began chanting in support of his comments.

The cuts…

* $40 million to Department on Aging’s Community Care Program

* $50 million to Child Care Assistance Program

* $7.7 million to Department of Human Services Home Service Program

And they cheered him? Oy.

*** To Clarify ***

SEIU called to say that ralliers were cheering Governor Quinn for showing up and for expressing his willingness to work together on the budget. The union disputes the AP story’s characterization of the crowd’s reaction.

29 Comments

Question of the day

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup…

With unemployment in Illinois now at 9.1 percent and the state facing an estimated $12.4 billion budget deficit, the easiest way to fix the Illinois’ economy is to ban gambling statewide, a University of Illinois professor told state lawmakers Tuesday.

“If you’re dumping money into these slot machines, you’re not spending money on cars, refrigerators, computers, education. In studies, it shows that around these slot machine areas we have people spending even 10 percent less on food,” said John Warren Kindt, a professor of business and public policy at the Urbana-Champaign campus.

A gambling ban would lead people to spend more money on consumer goods and services, which would lead to the creation of more jobs supplying those goods and services, which would lead to still more spending by the people with the new jobs, Kindt said.

“The lost consumer spending is enormous. The lost sales tax revenue - enormous. We’re losing. And when you start losing the economy, you want to go back to basics, you don’t want to keep going down the wrong path,” Kindt said.

* The Question: Does this argument have merit? If it does, then should Illinois ban gaming? If not, why? Explain fully.

98 Comments

“Corrupt African Nation”

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More black hat vs. white hat…

A key member of Gov. Pat Quinn’s reform panel called Tuesday for lawmakers to approve meaningful state contract reforms so businesses that have given up on getting a fair shake no longer will view Illinois as the “Nigeria of the Midwest.”

Noting the state’s pay-to-play politics has been compared to a corrupt African nation, Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman said Illinois’ reputation prevents true competition for contracts and inevitably makes doing state business “more expensive, inefficient and wasteful.”

Comparing Illinois to “a corrupt African nation” is just a wee bit much. Obviously, that person has never been to a corrupt African nation or he would know better.

Some of the commission’s reform proposals regarding the procurement system prompted one wag to send me this e-mail…

I doubt any of them have ever bought as much as a pencil through a competitive bid process.

That may be true, but at least some of the commission’s procurement ideas are worthwhile, particularly “real time” reporting of the entire contracting process, identifying subcontractors and creating an independent oversight board to keep an eye on things. I’m not so sure about their plan to consolidate and wall off procurement directors from state agencies. That may not work well.

Anyway, there isn’t really a whole lot of meat in the news stories about yesterday’s hearing. Some drama, but a lot of he said/she said. So, I’ll just give you a roundup and you can discuss amongst yourselves…

* Ill. reform group pitches purchasing plan

* Forty days and 40 nights

* Reform panel says state purchasing needs to be overhauled

* Gov. Pat Quinn’s reform panel: Key member calls for changes in how Illinois awards contracts

* State contractors could have new watchdog

* SJR: Governor’s reform ideas need work: A better way to ensure turnover amongst lawmakers is to change Illinois’ ridiculous redistricting procedure.

41 Comments

Wishful thinking

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Carol Marin praises Judge Zagel for the way he handled Rod Blagojevich yesterday…

There comes an epiphany moment, said the judge, when a defendant will take delivery of the hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence and thousands of hours of wiretaps gathered against him. Then and “only then,” said Zagel, will the accused “fully understand the jeopardy.”

“It’s way too soon” counseled the judge, for Blagojevich to jet off anywhere. “I don’t think this defendant fully understands or could fully understand” until it happens.

But I’m with Mark Brown…

Zagel’s imagination may be as misplaced as mine if he really thinks Rod Blagojevich is going to spend his days poring over boxes of paperwork turned over by the U.S. attorney’s office. That’s never going to happen short of a doctor diagnosing his attention deficit disorder and Blagojevich actually taking the medicine.

Blagojevich showed after yesterday’s hearing that his moment of clarity has not yet arrived…

“I respect the judge and his decision. I am trying to find a way to work to support my little girls and family.

“I’m fully aware of what the allegations are and I know what the truth is concerning me and I know that I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.”

* And NBC, which has milked Blagojevich for all the publicity it could get for a show that would’ve been otherwise ignored, milked him some more..

“NBC is disappointed in the court’s decision today regarding Rod Blagojevich’s participation on “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!,” but excited about the casting announcement for the show this Friday. There are no plans to move the show to a location in the United States.”

More…

Zagel denied the request even after NBC offered to hire court-selected security guards to watch Blagojevich

If he had those guards years ago, he might not be in this trouble today. Just sayin’

* Related…

* Blagojevich Can’t Go to Costa Rica

* NBC Disappointed Blagojevich Will Miss Reality Show

* Quinn has little to say about Blagojevich: Quinn said he didn’t think Illinoisans cared about the NBC reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!”

25 Comments

Things that make you go “Hmm…”

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Laura Washington had a good column this week about Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. My favorite part…

Now the headlines are getting ugly. Now the mouths at the Dirksen Federal Building are spilling salacious, off-the-record but damning details. Political “friends” of the Jackson family are allegedly chatting up investigators, about pay-to-play and quid pro quo.

All true.

* Let’s move away from that former Senate contender to a current Senate contender. As we’ve already discussed, an investment fund in the state’s Bright Start college savings plan lost $85 million last year. Normally, that probably wouldn’t be any big deal since just about everybody lost money in the markets last year. But this one may be different…

Mr. Giannoulias knew about problems in Bright Start’s Core Plus investment fund a full half-year before he finally stopped throwing money into it.

According to Mr. Giannoulias’ office, he e-mailed Oppenheimer on May 6, saying he wanted to discuss Core Plus’ underperformance and how to “turn the ship around.” But it wasn’t until Dec. 4 — after the credit markets and Core Plus’ investments in mortgage-related securities had tanked — that the office diverted all new contributions from Core Plus to U.S. Treasuries.

By that time, the fund had about completed a year in which the value of what was supposed to be a nest-egg dropped a nifty 38%.

Mr. Giannoulias office says it was urged to “stay the course” by an independent advisory panel. But the treasurer made the final decision to wait.

Go read the whole thing.

* And then there’s this…

[A no-show grant] is one of 54 state grants frozen by the federal government as part of an on-going investigation into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration.

54 grants have been frozen?

14 Comments

The Tribune, taxes and Stroger

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Chicago Tribune, which has a “calendar” on its editorial page displaying the number of days since the Cook County Board increased the sales tax and the number of days until the next election, says it particularly likes expanding the sales tax base…

[Cook county Assessor Jim Houlihan] wants the broadest possible tax at the lowest possible rate. Specifically, he would cut the state portion of the sales tax from the current 5 percent to 3.25 percent and expand the tax to include services.

Could we cut the rate further if the Trib paid sales taxes on printing equipment, ink and paper? I’m sure the Mothership wouldn’t like that.

Hey, I’m kinda intrigued by the service tax myself, but all those service providers surely won’t be happy. At least, they never have been in the past.

More…

Houlihan acknowledges a reality the governor ignores—that the corporate-income tax is no longer very useful. Only about 20 percent of corporations in Illinois pay it.

Yeah, and Tribune Co. was one of those non-paying 80 percenters at least once itself.

Also, notice how they just breezed by Houlihan’s proposal to raise the personal income tax by 42 percent? I doubt they’d give that tax hike loving Todd Stroger guy that kind of break.

* And speaking of Todd Stroger, he has just really screwed everything up…

Donna Dunnings said she was “shocked” when her cousin, Cook County President Todd Stroger, fired her at 10 p.m. last Thursday over the potential political fallout concerning her dealings with her former secretary, Tony Cole.

Donna Dunnings says she doesn’t harbor any ill will to her cousin, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, for firing her from her position as county chief financial officer.

In an exclusive interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday, Dunnings said she never had a physical relationship with Cole — a busboy with a criminal past whom Stroger hired in October to a county patronage job, promoted to a $61,000-a-year human resources post and fired earlier this month for lying about his criminal past on a job application. Cole also told the Sun-Times after he was fired that he was not involved with Dunnings.

Stroger “felt with all the allegations and things surrounding the whole situation that it would be better for me to step down,” Dunnings said. “I was shocked, but that happens in life. I trusted his judgment and his leadership. I know he would not do anything that was not in my best interest.”

She shouldn’t have trusted him. Check this out…

Cole, a steakhouse busboy turned county patronage worker, said his first jailhouse calls when he was arrested in January for violating an order of protection were directly to Cook County President Todd Stroger.

“Matter of fact, I didn’t call [Dunnings]. I was calling Todd. You know what I’m saying. I was calling President Stroger and I was calling friends of his. And that’s how Gene got involved, if you want to be frank,” Cole said in an interview with the Sun-Times last week.

“Gene” is Stroger’s top spokesman Eugene Mullins, a former Chicago police officer and the president’s boyhood pal.

“Gene Mullins also was coming to bail me out . . . but he said that he forgot the funds and that’s how [Dunnings] was forced to pay it,” Cole said. “Initially, from my understanding, Mullins was supposed to have the funds to come bail me out. They came together.”

You get the feeling there’s something else going on here?

38 Comments

Morning shorts

Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

Quinn

* Crestwood well water: Mayor tells residents, ‘Your drinking water is safe’

* Governor Quinn Blames Suburban Officials for Water Problem

* Monken, governor’s office review rejected FOIA request

* Gov: Dr. Young Could ‘Rearrange’ Finances, Serve on Health Board

* Young withdraws from hospital planning board

* Quinn Defends Decision to Keep Tax Returns Off Internet

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is defending his decision not to post his income tax returns online. The returns are available only to people who make appointments to see them at Quinn’s offices in Chicago and Springfield.

QUINN: I’ve done it this way for many years. I did this when I was state treasurer. I did it when I worked across the street at the board of tax appeals. And I found that this is the most orderly way to do it.

* Gov. Quinn to visit edit board

Gov. Pat Quinn will be in Rockford at 4:30 p.m. Thursday to talk to the Rockford Register Star Editorial Board.

We plan to Web stream the meeting live on rrstar.com.

Constitutional Officers

* State Rep. Miller mulls statewide run

The lieutenant governor’s seat is vacant. And if Attorney General Lisa Madigan decides to run for governor, Comptroller Dan Hynes could set his sights on replacing her, creating another vacancy.

But those are two big “ifs,” and Miller said he hasn’t made a decision yet “on what my future will be.”

“Once you start talking about it, it becomes a feeding frenzy,” he said.

* Hines raises red flag on Manteno vets home

* State Capitol Q&A: Lawmakers facing big tasks before end of session

* Long Agenda for State Lawmakers Returning to Springfield

* Forty days and 40 nights

That cliché of the day indicates the number of days state legislators have to negotiate major spending and revenue proposals before they’re scheduled to adjourn their spring session May 31. With ethics reforms, health care negotiations and construction projects in the mix today, alone, lawmakers have a ton of work to do in the next five and a half weeks.

* Opponents to mandatory Illinois pollution fee bill face down success elsewhere

* Alternative transportation

* Group renew push to legalize medical marijuana

* Pro-Medical Marijuana Group Tries To Sway State

* Organization airs commercials promoting medicinal marijuana

* Answer for pot legalization? “Just regulate it more like alcohol”

* Knee hurt? Smoke a joint

Congress

* Quigley Takes House Oath, Noting That He’s No Emanuel

* WASHINGTON, D.C.: Quigley takes office as Chicago congressman

* Mike Quigley sworn in, gives Nuts on Clark popcorn to Illinois congressional delegation

* Hare remains sole state, federal official to visit Gulfport

Budget

* Taxing opportunities

* Short-seated in Chicago: Overcrowded schools limit Latino potential

Chavez and other members of the Hispanic community are preparing to go to Springfield to fight for more school construction money to ease the overcrowding. They will ask Gov. Pat Quinn and legislative leaders to alleviate the shortage by including the construction of 28 new schools in Chicago in the state’s next budget.

“We’re not going to shout and scream, we’re not there to sabotage anybody,” Chavez said. “We just want to let them know that we need the financial support.”

* Health care scare

According to the legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, state employees collectively would be on the hook for $200 million more for their health insurance plans. The commission met with medical providers today to determine whether existing contracts should be renewed for next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

* Breakdown of health-care costs for state workers

* State workers, retirees’ health costs could soar

Thousands of state employees could see health insurance costs skyrocket, and some retirees could be hit with a 4,000 percent-plus increase under Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget plan for next year, a legislative analysis has found.

* State workers, retirees could see big health insurance increases

* State prisons consider telemedicine options to save money

Economy

* Federal Stimulus Money Helps Feed Illinois Residents

Food programs to benefit from the stimulus package include schools in the state to buy supplies to help prepare meals for students ($3-million), $6.3 million for soup kitchens and food pantries, $3.7 million for senior meal programs, and $4-million for nonprofit and faith-based organizations to help provide emergency food and shelter.

* CHA, Sinai strike development deal

* Area steel mills gird for more layoffs

Area steel workers are facing layoffs, as a slumping demand for steel has ArcelorMittal officials contemplating shutdowns at their East Chicago plant and U.S. Steel’s Gary Works this weekend idled its largest blast furnace after a major equipment failure, the Gary Post-Tribune is reporting.

It likely will take months to repair the damage to the furnace, which also was the newest at Gary Works. As many as 320 steel workers stationed around the plant could be idled during the repairs.

* First Midwest misses earnings expectations

* Caterpillar Announces First Quarterly Loss Since 1992

* CAT Calls U.S. Stimulus “Disappointing”

* For Cat and other firms, how do you stay calm during a boss-napping?

* McDonald’s profit tops estimates

* Boeing reports drop in profit, cuts 2009 forecast

* RC2 shares rise on earnings, outlook

* Slot maker WMS hits earnings jackpot

* Playboy warned of NYSE delisting

* Ticket report: Bulls, Hawks success good for brokers

* Credit scam makes for a blue holiday

* Streetwise stays alive

* Exelon plans to build solar power plant on Chicago’s South Side

Exelon Corp. will unveil on Wednesday plans to build a $60 million solar power plant on Chicago’s South Side, a small step to fighting climate change that leans heavily on government funding due to the high cost of turning sunlight into electricity.

“It’s a way to start participating in renewable energy,” said Tom O’Neill, Exelon’s senior vice president of generation development. “Ultimately, we are putting 10 megawatts of electricity on the grid. It’s not much. But you’ve got to start somewhere.”

City Hall and Other Interesting Stories

* Daley: City Employees May Get Pay Cuts

* Aldermen want 30-day review before Mayor Daley can sell city assets worth over $100 million

* Chicago City Council Is Supposed to Vote on Olympics Community Agreement

* Who taps TIFs? Put it online

Good government fans could score a small but important victory today if the Chicago City Council approves a modest measure to shine some light on a dark corner of Mayor Daley’s spending.

We’re talking about a proposal by Aldermen Manny Flores (1st) and Scott Waguespack (32nd) to make information about the city’s tax-increment financing districts accessible by putting all of it in one spot online.

* Time for TIF sunshine

* Chicago now booting cars with two long-term unpaid tickets, 65,000 seizure notices mailed

* Alderman Plans to Withdraw Car-Towing Bill

* Maggie Daley, wife of Mayor Richard M. Daley, to undergo surgery today

* Federal fraud charges: 2 executives indicted over city contract

* Men accused of rigging garbage contract

* Chicago State faculty want trustees removed

* Rally planned at CSU as anger grows over search for president

* All-year grade schools to triple in Chicago

* Sex ed: Abstinence-only programs under review

* Financial classes added to Chicago curriculum

* U.S. marshal on trial: Phone call to eatery owned by friend with reputed mob ties highlights final day of prosecution testimony

* Illinois traffic deaths dropped 16% last year

* Meth showing a comeback in ‘09

* Colleges, groups celebrate Earth Week

* Sightings show cougars expanding into central U.S.

* Ballpark food on steroids

* Bulls call news conference for 2 p.m.

The Bulls have some news to announce later today and no doubt it’s what we’ve all been expecting since last October — Derrick Rose will be named NBA rookie of the year.

Rose averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds this season. Just as impressive were his elevated shooting percentage (.475) and low turnover rate (2.5 per game).