Caption contest!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bulls legend Bill Cartwright is in Springfield today. Here he is with Rep. John Fritchey…
As always, keep it clean or risk permanent banishment. Thanks.
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Note to blog readers
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My news feed provider is doing some maintenance which slowed my site to a crawl. So, the news feeds are temporarily removed until the provider goes back online.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.
*** UPDATE *** OK, so my web guys have adjusted the settings so that the feed provider’s lack of output won’t slow down my site. The feed titles are back, some feeds appear to be loading, but the delays should be gone for now. The newer feeds are still not back on this site (Twitter, Post-Dispatch, etc.) because they use a different system. Hopefully, everything will soon be right with the world.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The world is right with itself. All news feeds are now back in place. I’ve adjusted the Twitter feed to truncate some of the overly long posts and I’ve added several state legislators to the feed. Tweet Illinois is at the Statehouse today and they’ve signed up a bunch of new legislative tweeters.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Since so many newspaper editorial boards are screaming for reform, should Illinois fund any enacted reforms (consolidated purchasing czar, publicly funded court elections, ramped-up Board of Elections and state’s attorney powers, etc.) by removing the state sales tax exemption on newsprint and ink?
Snark heavily encouraged.
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Kelly announces bid
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* No surprise here, but Robin Kelly is announcing her bid [or just exploring her candidacy] for state treasurer today. Kelly is a former south suburban state Rep. This is from an e-mail to supporters sent today…
Dear Friend,
There’s been a lot of talk around the state about different people running for different offices. I wanted to take this opportunity to personally inform you that I am exploring a bid for the Illinois State Treasurer’s office.
I hope you’ll take a moment to visit www.robinfortreasurer.com. You can forward this message to your friends and make a contribution today!
I believe Illinois families need a leader they can count on to guard their tax dollars and help them during these difficult economic times.
As Chief of Staff in the Treasurer’s office, I helped lead a complete turnaround of the agency. We made great progress by improving transparency, demanding accountability, and establishing tough ethical guidelines. I am proud that this is the first Treasurer’s office in history to ban contributions from banks and contractors who do business with the office, a policy I will continue as Treasurer.
We invested Illinois tax dollars wisely, generating more revenue for the state, and protecting jobs by providing Illinois businesses with low-interest loans.
We have made protecting opportunities for college students a top priority. That’s why we transformed the Bright Start college savings program from one of the worst into one Money Magazine ranked in the top three nationally. We also created the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, which gives a $2,500 deposit into a college savings fund to children whose parent made the ultimate sacrifice. In addition, aggressive legislation we championed to crack down on the overly aggressive marketing of credit cards to college students is on the Governor’s desk! …
Obviously, if Kelly and Giannoulias don’tt get that Bright Start problem straightened out soon, it will be an issue. Also, the SUV thing won’t help.
For now, at least, there aren’t any other Democrats talking about the treasurer’s office. That may change. We’ll know more soon after Lisa Madigan announces her own intentions - an event that will undoubtedly spur a gigantic domino effect.
Discuss.
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Beware the reformers
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You certainly can’t blame all of our problems on Pat Quinn’s infamous “Cutback Amendment,” but it is a case study in why reformers can sometimes do more harm than good and should never be thought of as having all the answers…
The Illinois governor ultimately responsible for many of the state’s current ethics woes may not be Rod Blagojevich or even the imprisoned George Ryan. He may be Pat Quinn.
While Blagojevich’s rampant political corruption during six years as Illinois’ governor led to his arrest, ouster, indictment and now widespread calls for reform, some experts argue the structure of state government that has led to entrenched leadership and a lack of electoral competition has its origins during an earlier burst of state government reform, led by none other than Quinn.
In 1979 and 1980, Quinn was a good-government activist leading the charge for the “Cutback Amendment,” which reduced the size of the Illinois House by one-third and ended so-called cumulative voting in Illinois. Quinn and other proponents claimed cutting the size of the legislature would save the state money and lead to more competitive elections.
Most of our serious corruption problems in state government (as measured by federal action) have been at the executive level. Four disgraced former governors, Secretary of State Paul Powell’s shoe box, Attorney General Bill Scott’s slush fund. etc. You can’t blame any of that on the Cutback Amendment.
* The real problem with the Cutback Amendment is the consolidation of power by the House Speaker…
Filling a vacant U.S. Senate seat. Providing tax relief. Blocking legislative raises. Improving government efficiency. What do they have in common? A single lawmaker blocked every one of those ideas from being debated in the Illinois House.
Under the House’s strange rules, an objection from just one lawmaker will kill any effort to release legislation that has been bottled up in committee, no matter how many other people support the idea.
So Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie — the No. 2 Democrat in the House — is charged with standing up and objecting when Republicans file motions to release bills they feel should be debated.
The objection itself doesn’t kill the motion. The objection is usually voted on by the full chamber, almost always on a partisan roll call.
Still, it was the Senate Republicans who invented those rules when they were in charge, and the Cutback Amendment only dealt with the House. You can’t completely blame this problem totally on Quinn, either - although the SGOPs adopted the rules because they were proceeding to a “war footing” with Madigan’s tightly controlled House.
But, again, always beware reformers bearing “truth.”
* Related…
* Video poker puts its chips on Mike Madigan
* SJ-R Opinion: Approval of FOIA rewrite a must
* Term Lmiits for Legislative Leaders
* Backers of Accountability Portal already planning expansion
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Quinn muffed it again
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Erickson nails it…
Gov. Pat Quinn appeared to take a page out of his predecessor’s playbook Monday. While state lawmakers were meeting in Springfield, Quinn unveiled what he called a “doomsday” budget to a civic club in Chicago. […]
Just as Blagojevich once threatened to lay off state police troopers during budget negotiations, Quinn warned that thousands of teachers and other state employees would be laid off if lawmakers don’t work to fill a gaping budget hole. […]
Quinn’s move was reminiscent of the ousted Blagojevich, who often traveled around the state or held events in Chicago to criticize lawmakers while they were at work hours away in the Capitol.
Quinn apparently learned nothing. He had a perfect opportunity to draw attention to the very real problems faced by his proposals, and instead he pulled a wildly goofy stunt in Chicago - just like Blagojevich would’ve done.
* Quinn is even talking sports like Blagojevich now…
Quinn declined to say who he’d like to have as his running mate when he runs for re-election, but joked, “If the Cubs win the World Series, then probably Lou Piniella.”
Sheesh.
* Nice swipe by Rep. Jack Franks…
“I wish the governor would spend as much energy on finding efficiencies in state government, as putting together this document,” he said.
* The Tribune editorial board, however, apparently thinks the governor should get more strident…
If you want reform, Governor, fight for it. If you then want a tax increase, fight for it. If you want to look like a guy who’s just angling to make friends for the next election, keep letting the people who see you as a short-term placeholder set your agenda.
* The Tribune’s reporters look at the real problem here…
Here’s some perspective on the financial pickle. The state taps its main checkbook for more than $30 billion a year in spending, and more than half is dedicated to politically sensitive programs in education and health care. Both have proved impervious to significant cuts in the past, one reason why Quinn’s new threat was a gamble.
Factor out the cost of other must-have programs in human services, law enforcement, prisons and the like, and all but 5 percent of the budget is in practical terms immune to the chopping block, said Chrissy Mancini, analyst for the Chicago-based Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.
Bottom line? There’s no practical way to cobble together enough cuts to make ends meet.
* And there’s more budget trouble afoot…
An industry group said Illinois saw the country’s biggest percentage drop in gambling revenue in 2008, and it lays part of the blame on the state’s smoking ban.
In a report released Monday, the American Gaming Assn. said Illinois casinos collected $1.57 billion in 2008 revenue, a 20.9% drop from the previous year. The state’s ban on smoking in public places took effect Jan. 1, 2008.
Indiana saw a 1.6% increase to $2.67 billion in 2008.
* Related…
* ADDED: Brown: Video poker back in play in Springfield
* ADDED: Illinois lawmakers want money for construction
* ADDED: Ten years later, lawmakers aim for another construction plan
* ADDED: Don’t fiddle with 55-45 formula for road funds
* Quinn’s Doomsday Plan Called Scare Tactics
* Quinn tries to scare with ‘doomsday’ budget
* “Doomsday” projected without tax hike
* Quinn gloms onto a crisis
* ‘Doomsday budget’ fails to change minds
* ‘Slash & Burn’: Quinn paints doomsday picture if no tax increase
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“No mission, no principles”
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chicago Magazine has a pretty darned good profile of Rod Blagojevich in its latest issue. Read the whole thing…
Axelrod also had serious doubts about Blagojevich’s readiness to be governor—his ethics, his maturity. “At one point, David asked Rod, ‘Why do you want to be governor?’” says Forrest Claypool, the Cook County commissioner and a longtime friend of Axelrod’s. “And the best that Blagojevich could come up with was, ‘It’ll be fun.’ There was no mission, no principles. It was just, sort of, a game to him.”
* This is classic Rod…
One summer day in 2001, Blagojevich went jogging around his Ravenswood Manor neighborhood. Afterward, he called a colleague. “Guess what?” Blagojevich asked him. “I just ran by Rahm Emanuel’s house. There he was, and we started talking. I told him I was definitely running for governor, and I said, ‘Rahm, you should run for my seat.’”
What Blagojevich didn’t tell Emanuel was that he had offered similar advice to several other prospects who lived in the district. Truth be told, Blagojevich didn’t really care if Emanuel succeeded him or not. (He didn’t much care if the Fifth Congressional District even existed after he gave up the seat, according to a former aide to Emanuel with knowledge of Blagojevich’s dealings. Blagojevich and Mell undertook a failed attempt to reapportion the seat out of existence in return for gubernatorial endorsements from the two downstate Democratic congressmen, whose seats would be spared.)
That’s very true. Blagojevich and Mell were completely open about that proposed deal to eliminate the district, which upset Mayor Daley to no end.
* A clear warning…
But when U.S. senator Dick Durbin met with the new governor in his office two months or so after the election, he says he didn’t exactly see a genuine change agent. “He was excited about filling jobs and contracts,” recalls Durbin. “That stopped me cold. I remember, he said to me, ‘It’s all good.’ He kept saying it over and over—‘It’s all good.’”
* Rod’s delusions and his Obama envy…
Blagojevich told some of the people around him that he was basically a lock to be on John Kerry’s vice presidential short list in 2004—a notion that Whitney Smith, a spokeswoman for Senator Kerry, flatly refutes. Later, the governor felt doubly snubbed by Kerry’s campaign when he wasn’t even asked to speak at the Democratic convention in Boston, according to several Blagojevich associates. Kerry, of course, plucked Obama from obscurity to deliver the keynote speech.
Blagojevich watched the speech from the floor of the Fleet Center. At a backstage reception afterwards, Blagojevich could barely conceal his envy. According to a Democratic insider who asked to remain unnamed, Blagojevich told Obama, “Great speech, Barack.” Then he added, backhandedly, “But, remember, this is as good as it gets.” Obama shot back, “We’ll see.”
Again, go read the whole thing.
* Related…
* Patti Blagojevich expected to star in reality show
* Patti Blagojevich mulls reality show spot
* Emanuel, Blago traded calls on school grant
* Thompson to Obama: Send Ryan home
* Thompson to try again to spring George Ryan from prison
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