* I didn’t think it was possible to makecontribution caps even more harmful to challengers than they have proved to be in federal elections, but the Democratic agreement on campaign finance “reform” does just that. What a piece of work it is.
They’re capping contributions by year, instead of by election cycle. What that means is, if you’re the governor, you can take a $10,000 PAC check every year for all four years of your term. Your challenger, however, won’t usually be gearing up for four years. The challenger will get maybe two bites of the apple, to your four. In federal elections, which are based on primary and general election cycles, the challenger and the incumbent get equal numbers of bites at that apple.
The bill doesn’t cap in-kind contributions (goods, services, etc.) from caucus committees and state parties. Cash is capped at $90,000 a year, but in-kinds are not, so there really aren’t any caps at all. The House GOP does most of its spending via in-kinds already, for instance, so this will have zero impact on their standard operating procedure.
I have more, but I’m saving it for subscribers. There are good points, too. A few that will be despised by some powerful Statehouse interests. Take a look through it yourself.
…Adding… Reform commission chairman Pat Collins talks about the campaign caps bill…
…Additionally… President Cullerton responds to some of Collins’ criticisms of campaign caps bill…
* 9:00 pm - The Senate just passed HB 7 (Sen. Harmon’s campaign caps bill) 36-22-1
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said it will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today to announce public corruption charges. Sources say it is expected to be an indictment of an elected official.
No speculation in comments of any kind, please. [Comments have been opened, but be very careful.] We’ll all know soon enough.
* From the US Attorney’s office…
Please be advised that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago plans to issue two press releases this afternoon regarding two separate criminal cases — one involving public corruption, and the other involving racketeering activity, including armed robberies, arson and illegal gambling — and will hold a press conference at 2:00 p.m. today, Thursday May 28, 2009, in the U.S. Attorney’s Press Conference room…
Copies of the criminal charges and the press releases will be distributed via email this afternoon before the press conference and hard copies will also be available in the press conference room, which will open to members of the media at 1:00 p.m.
There will be no court appearances today in connection with either of these matters.
* You might want to keep your eye on the Twitter accounts of the two newspaper reporters who cover the federal courts…
* We’ll have live video coverage of the 2 o’clock press conference via CBS2. Click here at 2 o’clock
*** 11:24 am *** From Natasha Korecki’s Twitter page…
charges to be announced against a chicago alderman later today
*** 11:27 am *** Sun-Times says it’s Ike Carothers…
Federal authorities later today plan to announce charges against Ald. Ike Carrothers (29th), the chairman of the City Council’s police and fire committee, sources said.
In 2007 the office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald subpoenaed Carothers demanding documents including seven years worth of aldermanic expense records; 29th Ward zoning changes; ordinances introduced by Carothers, and correspondence between Carothers and the mayor’s office regarding zoning changes. The subpoena further demanded information on comments made and votes taken by Carothers since January 2001 before two City Council committees.
*** 11:37 am *** Word around the federal building is that Ald. Carothers allegedly took cash for a zoning change. We’ll know more at 2 o’clock.
*** 1:51 pm *** From the US Attorney’s office…
Chicago Ald. Isaac S. Carothers (29th Ward) and a real estate developer who sought to transform a 50-acre former rail yard and industrial site on the city’s west side into a residential and commercial neighborhood, were indicted today on federal fraud and bribery charges, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
The developer, Calvin Boender, allegedly paid for approximately $40,000 in home improvements to Carothers’ residence and provided him with meals and tickets to professional sporting events, which Carothers allegedly illegally accepted, in exchange for Carothers’ official acts supporting successful zoning changes for Galewood Yards, which was the largest undeveloped tract of land within the city limits.
Approximately $6 million more was made from the sale of 25 acres of the land than would have been realized without the zoning changes, and Boender allegedly personally profited half of that amount, or approximately $3 million, according to an 11-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury today.
It was further part of the scheme that in order to disguise and conceal the extent of Grand Central Center’s campaign contributions to defendant CAROTHERS, defendant BOENDER directed an employee of Grand Central Center to make a $1,500 donation to the New 29th Ward Democratic Organization and reimbursed that employee for that contribution.
It was further part of the scheme that when defendant CAROTHERS asked defendant BOENDER for his financial support of Candidate A’s campaign, BOENDER, in order to curry favor with defendant CAROTHERS, made campaign contributions to Candidate A in excess of the maximum allowed under federal election law. In order to disguise and conceal the fact that he was making campaign contributions to Candidate A in excess of the maximum allowed under federal election allow, BOENDER directed at least two individuals to make $2,000 donations to Candidate A and reimbursed those individuals for those donations.
But passing a campaign finance reform law will solve all our problems, right?
“There’s no attention to quality control. There’s no attention to dosage amount,” [Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon)] said, reading off the manufacturer, expiration date, and lot number from a bottle of aspirin to emphasize his point. “It has a lot of information on this tiny little bottle. This is not something you will get by growing marijuana at home”
Right. Because you can’t possibly monitor a plant’s quality when you’re growing it yourself.
“The bill would allow people to grow and possess cannabis. Those folks are not subject to a background check,” Righter said. “This bill does not require law enforcement to be involved in the administration program at all, and I think that’s a fatal flaw.”
The medical marijuana bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Bill Haine, is a former state’s attorney. Here’s his response to Righter…
Haine said every dispensary would be required to go through a background check, but the patients are the ones responsible for the caretaker. “It’s a bit offensive to demand everyone go through a background check,” Haine said. “If the patient is not qualified, the doctor will not sign the recommendation. We delineate the diseases [that qualify] and demand extensive corroboration from the doctor.” He added that if the privilege were abused, the prescribing doctor’s license would be on the line, too.
Agreed.
* And while this is an oft-heard refrain, it opens the door to a whole lot of other possibilities…
“God grows these seeds,” said state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, who voted for the legislation.
Yep. And God also grows magic mushrooms, poppies, coca plants, etc.
The plan’s immediate future is uncertain. Given how long it’s taken to build support in the Senate, Haine told reporters Wednesday that it’s unlikely to get a vote this spring in the Illinois House. Lawmakers are trying to wrap up business and adjourn before May 31.
There’s always next year.
* And kudos to two Senators who reminded the chamber yesterday that what they were talking about was the fate of real people…
Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat with multiple sclerosis, said passing this bill was the right action to take. “We are talking about people here that are not looking to abuse a drug,” she said. “To sit here and say that this drug has the potential to be abused, therefore, we should not be voting in favor of this bill … well, then go home and empty out your medicine cabinet because all your pain medications and all your sleep medications have the potential to be abused.”
Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, moved the room to silence as he spoke about a recent visit with his mother. Raoul said she suffers from a variety of ailments and, as a result, her doctors have prescribed her multiple drugs to treat one issue while prescribing others to offset side effects. “This is a bill about compassion for those who are suffering,” Raoul said. Having recently lost his father, Raoul noted, “pharmaceuticals had no answer for the pain he had to go through. So we can make this a political issue, but this is about compassion.”
* You really need to listen to the FBI wiretap of Roland Burris talking to Rob Blagojevich to get the full flavor of the conversation. If you do nothing else today, do that.
* Burris’ explanation about why he failed to inform the House impeachment committee about his conversation with Blagojevich is priceless…
Asked Wednesday why he did not tell an Illinois House impeachment committee about the conversation, Burris replied: “You’re being asked questions and one thing you don’t do is to try to volunteer information that wasn’t asked. There was no obligation there.”
“No obligation.” Great. A former state attorney general sets a fine example for everyone.
Prior to the December 26, 2008 telephone call from Mr. [Sam] Adams Jr., there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Gov. Blagojevich or any of his representatives regarding my appointment to the United States Senate.
A full transcript of the conversation released by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office also showed that Burris offered to donate to Blagojevich’s fund “in the name of” his lawyer, Timothy Wright, which is illegal.
Burris called that a slip of the tongue, insisting he should have said that he would be willing to encourage Wright to contribute.
“That was a slip,” he said. “I said, ‘in the name of.’ It should have been, ‘by Tim Wright.’ “
I’m sure.
* He also revealed a lot during a conversation with the AP…
“If (Blagojevich) had not been arrested, I would not have even been appointed,” Burris said. “They reached out to somebody who was clean … He was looking for somebody who would give him some cover.”
So, he admits that he was used as a tool by Rod Blagojevich. Nice to know he isn’t totally in denial.
Roland Burris’ secretly recorded offer to donate to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich before being appointed to the U.S. Senate now has House Speaker Michael Madigan on the hot seat.
While Madigan is not accused of wrongdoing, members of both political parties want to know why the powerful speaker won’t give the House a chance to publicly reprimand Burris or call for his ouster.
The resolutions mean nothing, but they would be hugely symbolic and undoubtedly receive international coverage. They also could anger a few African-American legislators in the run up to the end of session.
* Danny Davis says he’s glad he didn’t take the appointment when Blagojevich offered it…
“I’m more than glad. As a matter of fact, I thank God every day,” laughed the baritone-voiced Davis.
“It is temporarily being called The Empty Seat,” said Jassin, referring to Burris’ Senate seat, which was once occupied by President Obama. It has become a focus of the feds’ “pay to play” probe.
“Empty Seat”? I could think of a much better title than that. I’ll bet you could, too.
Thursday, May 28, 2009 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Education is an important tool for self-empowerment and future success, however overcrowding in many of Chicago’s Latino neighborhood schools leaves students in precarious situations. Overcrowding has been a long-standing problem for the city’s Latino community, and as a recent UNO study makes clear, it continues to disproportionately shortchange Latino students, limiting their full potential.
In overcrowded schools, closets and hallways become classrooms, students are denied one-on-one attention from school staff, and many educational opportunities are lost due to a lack of space. It becomes easier for students in these environments to lose interest and fall through the cracks.
We have to do better for the future of the City of Chicago and the future of its Latino communities. Doing nothing about overcrowding in Chicago Public Schools will continue to guarantee a high dropout rate and a low level workforce for a major segment of our city’s population.
We join UNO in calling on our state legislators to provide funding for new schools in overburdened Latino neighborhoods and we support its initiative for public/private partnerships to build new UNO schools.
In the latest indication of just how fervent Illinois’ budget-cutting battle this year has become, a group a Chicago-area activists has announced they’re staging a Statehouse hunger strike to protest proposed human-services cuts.
On Wednesday, the House also voted 102-0, with 14 “present” votes, to send a message that members want to fully fund state employee pension payments. One budget option that has been under consideration would reduce or skip paying an estimated $2 billion into the pension funds in order to use that money for general state operations.
Some viewed the vote as a way to pressure lawmakers into voting for an income tax increase in order to avoid drastic cuts to state programs.
Quinn wanted to skip more than just next year’s pension payment. This blows a huge hole in the budget plan.
* And that revised Quinn income tax increase proposal? Not popular…
“This is not a popular thing to do to suggest that we increase taxes. But he’s been willing to do this and I think the public is giving him credit for that. They may not necessarily like what they’re hearing, but they really believe that he is doing what he truly believes needs to be done,” [Sen. Michael Noland] said.
But Noland also said he’s not ready to support higher taxes.
* The quote of the day goes to Sen. Susan Garrett, who said this during a press conference…
“We weren’t sent to jail. The governor was sent to jail. It is ironic that the focus is on [the] legislature when the wrongdoing was occurring at a much higher level.”
* Reform commission chairman Patrick Collins, who will be in Springfield again today, has another op-ed…
Will this session be the one where we charted a definitive new course and returned to our proud roots as the Land of Lincoln - or did we squander the opportunity and thereby remain fodder for Saturday Night Live’s next popular skit?
SNL often spoofs appointed US Sen. Roland Burris, but the reform commission never recommended taking away the governor’s power to appoint Senate replacements. In fact, the commission’s final report only mentioned special elections in passing…
The costs of maintaining the status quo, with its concurrent
public corruption trials, special elections and inflated procurement costs…
We had a governor who thoroughly abused almost all of his powers and was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on his home. Yet, while proposing many laudable reforms, the reform commission left this one blank.
* The reform commission also didn’t get behind the recall idea, but a proposal is advancing in the House…
The legislature continues to advance measures that would try to prevent the alleged wrongdoing by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from going on long enough for a federal indictment to intervene.
Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat and longtime Blagojevich critic, revived his effort to change the state Constitution so voters could “recall” elected officials. The effort failed last year. This time, however, he’s calling for a constitutional amendment that would only focus on allowing voters to recall the governor, not other statewide officeholders or legislators.
That proposal is part of a broader deal on reforms cut by the Democratic leaders and the governor…
A public TV program called Illinois Lawmakers reported that Madigan said he and Senate President John Cullerton have come to an agreement on capping the amount of money political parties can transfer to candidates’ campaign committees. Both leaders have withheld their support of the idea in the past.
“We are moving in the right direction.” Madigan said. “There should be caps on contributions. There should be caps on transfers between committees.”
Those transfer caps have been a major sticking point, but the caps aren’t real. Subscribe to find out why, or just wait.
* Meanwhile, a FOIA deal was reached with the attorney general and the Illinois Press Association. Here’s a roundup…
* Illinois open-records bill passed by House: The attorney general’s office and a newspaper trade group said they grudgingly went along with a provision that would exempt state lawmakers from most of the enforcement provisions.
* Three days left…and still no real reform: Since then, the governor has spent more time talking about recall as a reform proposal — something his own commission didn’t endorse — than he has spent talking about campaign contribution limits in Illinois.
* Why isn’t Quinn fighting as ethics reforms die?: Call us cynics, but it looks like no matter what the commission recommends, it gets the bum’s rush.
Allstate said rates will rise an average of 17 percent and range from an increase of 8.5 percent to 27.5 percent beginning June 20.
Meanwhile, American Family Insurance hiked rates 8.4 percent in Illinois last November and Country Financial recently raised rates 6 percent.
The increases here exceed the average rate hike forecast nationally by the Insurance Information Institute. The group forecast the average homeowner’s policy would rise 3 percent to $841.
The state’s biggest insurer, State Farm Insurance Cos., which has a 29.2 market share here, hasn’t raised rates here this year, but for anti-trust reasons would not say whether it plans to do so. It did, however, raise rates 16.7 percent in Indiana, 11.6 percent in Minnesota and 10.9 percent in Wisconsin.
Daley defended the parking privatization as recently as last week, saying company officials were “correcting many of the things that they found out.” He said there should have been a longer “transition” period after the city relinquished control. When pressed by reporters to say whose fault the meter mess was, Daley replied, “I’ll take the responsibility.”
City Hall continued to praise the new parking company Wednesday. Revenue Department spokesman Ed Walshsaid city officials were “pleased they responded quickly once the problem was identified.”
“This just continues to raise more questions about the technology they’re using and the system they have in place,” said Ald. Manny Flores (1st), who voted for the parking meter deal, only to become one of the contractor’s harshest critics.
Chicago got its first Wal-Mart store, on the city’s West Side, just three years ago. Unions and grassroots activists fought the controversial big box coming within city limits. That fight culminated in the mayor vetoing a “living wage” ordinance passed by aldermen. Now many South Side aldermen are openly lobbying for a Wal-Mart and are treating it less like a political liability. And, in turn, activists say they are ready for another fight.
“I think there is no question the local municipalities see the impact the auto dealers have in their community,” Sander said. “On average, Illinois dealers contribute about 20 percent of all retail sales tax collected for the state of Illinois.”
Under the Shop Libertyville Gift Certificate Program, anyone who buys a new car from a Libertyville auto dealer between June 15 and Sept. 7 will receive a voucher for a $100 gift certificate to spend at one of several participating businesses in Libertyville.
Each of the village’s 13 dealerships will receive 50 vouchers, a potential cost to the Village of $65,000 in gift certificates.
Glenn Bockwinkel, general manager and co-owner of Acura of Libertyville, spoke on behalf of the car dealers, saying, “The dealership I represent has contributed $300,000 in tax revenue to the village over the last three, four years.”
Tyson Foods will donate about 1.7 million pounds of chicken worth $2.3 million to food banks throughout Illinois as part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit in Madison County.
Of the 10 states with the largest school populations, Illinois’s ratio was second only to California, which had 966 students per counselor in 2006-07. The ratios are calculated by dividing a state’s prekindergarten-to-Grade 12 enrollment by the number of guidance counselors reported to the federal government.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Education is an important tool for self-empowerment and future success, however overcrowding in many of Chicago’s Latino neighborhood schools leaves students in precarious situations. Overcrowding has been a long-standing problem for the city’s Latino community, and as a recent UNO study makes clear, it continues to disproportionately shortchange Latino students, limiting their full potential.
In overcrowded schools, closets and hallways become classrooms, students are denied one-on-one attention from school staff, and many educational opportunities are lost due to a lack of space. It becomes easier for students in these environments to lose interest and fall through the cracks.
We have to do better for the future of the City of Chicago and the future of its Latino communities. Doing nothing about overcrowding in Chicago Public Schools will continue to guarantee a high dropout rate and a low level workforce for a major segment of our city’s population.
We join UNO in calling on our state legislators to provide funding for new schools in overburdened Latino neighborhoods and we support its initiative for public/private partnerships to build new UNO schools.
* We tend to get caught up in our own goofy frenzies during the final week of session, but there’s a moving display at the Statehouse which reminds us how small our problems really are.
The display of Illinois’ fallen soldiers since the beginning of the Afghan and Iraq wars has attracted plenty of attention since it was erected this week. Our video camera ain’t great, so we apologize for the quality, but here are a few minutes of silent tribute…
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
A recent phone poll of 600 Illinois voters showed support for a tax increase to prevent drastic budget cuts and fund education.
Illinois voters do not believe that they are over-taxed. In fact, they are willing to accept a number of possible revenue increases as a way of dealing with the state’s budget crisis.
Fifty-five percent of Illinois voters feel taxes are about right or too low to support public services. And there is a clear understanding of the state’s income tax level: 65 percent of Illinois voters believe state income taxes are about right or too low. Clearly, Illinois citizens realize that the state’s current tax structure does not generate enough revenue to provide essential state services.
When Illinoisans consider the reasons that the state may need to consider raising taxes, they find many of them to be very persuasive. When asked about reasons to support a tax increase, 71 percent of voters said school funding was a strong reason. In addition, voters are determined to avoid cuts in both healthcare and home care services for seniors, and strongly support job-creating investments in infrastructure.
The poll was conducted March 25-29, 2009, by Hart Research Associates.
With Governor Quinn making some changes to his proposed tax plan to help close the budget deficit, we thought it would be a good idea to update our tax calculator so you can compare how this would affect you.
The biggest change was the reduction of the personal exemption to $3,000 per family member (down from $6,000 per family member), and replacing that with a much larger property tax credit (from a 5% credit back of your annual property tax to 10% of your annual property taxes, capped at $500) and doubling the EITC.
We have our own analysis of who does better in this scenario (hint: High property tax payers), but see for yourself how it will impact your family and others:
(Again, For those of you who can’t play hypotheticals and object to the assumption that more revenue is needed, please make sure to visit the Wonkish.com Budget Tool and share your link here which shows all your cuts).
* She ran an absolutely horrible race for mayor, so I’m not sure that this threat is credible. Then again, others have bounced back from terrible races to win their next one…
Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown today criticized County Board President Todd Stroger’s leadership and said she is mulling a run for his office next year.
“We have certainly given it some thought, and we are considering all of our options in that regard,” she said, when asked at a meeting with the Chicago Tribune editorial board whether she was considering taking on Stroger. A decision, she added, will come “probably next month.”
If Brown does run, there would be at least three African-American candidates in the Democratic primary, including Stroger and Ald. Toni Preckwinkle. Forrest Claypool appears to be the only white guy interested in the primary to date, but that can always change.
I chatted a bit with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin yesterday about Paul Vallas. Nagin, who was in town on a speaking engagement, said he thought Vallas might run for governor, but then said Vallas will likely remain on the job as the city’s school superintendent for another year. That would rule out a gubernatorial bid because of the potential of a large GOP primary field. But he could still run for county board president if the field was effectively cleared for him.
Brown today also declined to address whether the county should roll back the controversial penny-on-the-dollar sales tax approved last year, even though it’s the most prominent issue of Stroger’s tenure.
“I’m not getting inside that battle,” she said.
She’ll have no choice but to get “inside that battle” if she runs.
* Meanwhile, the absence of a decision by GOP Congressman Mark Kirk about whether to run for the US Senate seat is starting to create a vacuum that some candidates may try to fill…
After 23 years of sitting on the bench, Donald Lowery is considering a new life on the Hill.
The retired judge from Golconda in southern Illinois said Tuesday he is considering a bid for U.S. Senate in 2010 as a Republican. He will make an official decision within 45 days.
“I’m watching where the economy is going and what they’re doing to help the economy, and I’m not happy with what the government is doing,” Lowery said.
Lowery, who retired two years ago, visited Bloomington last week to attend a breakfast hosted by Republicans. He also has toured southern Illinois since notifying party officials in March.
* And Illinois Issues takes a look at the upcoming census…
The Land of Lincoln likely will lose a U.S. House seat after next year’s census, according to a December analysis by the Washington, D.C.,-area firm Election Data Services. But Illinois would have plenty of company in the Midwest. Also expected to lose a House seat are Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri. Ohio could lose two.
Other industrialized states in the Northeast — Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — also likely will forfeit a seat.
Many of the states expected to make gains in the next census are the same ones hit hardest by the housing crisis that touched off the current recession. Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada far outpace the rest of the nation in foreclosure rates; all but California are expected to gain House seats. Arizona and Florida may be in line for two. Texas would by far be the biggest winner, with a projected gain of four seats. […]
Under [Kimball Brace’s] latest projections, Oregon would gain a sixth seat by just two people. California would lose a seat by 18 people.
* One of the only advantages to being in the minority is that you can play lots of political games with the majority. So, yesterday, the House GOP asked that a constitutional amendment and a bill be brought to the House floor. The Trib gives us some play-by-play…
House Republicans attempted to score some political points on the reform front Tuesday, getting Democrats on the record as blocking up-or-down votes on giving citizens the right to recall elected officials and pushing the primary back to summer. […]
Democrats blocked both attempts but otherwise remained silent during debate. Later, House Democratic spokesman Steve Brown dismissed the Republican efforts as a “little media show.” He said House Democrats have not reached a consensus on moving the primary date and pointed out that the chamber voted a year ago on recall.
That constitutional amendment has been sitting idle since February. It was only just yesterday that pretty much the entire HGOP caucus signed on as co-sponsors. The same late surge of co-sponsors happened with the June primary bill.
* The game here is that the Republicans know fully well that their motions to discharge will be squashed, so they can safely harangue the majority about moving bills out of committee that many Republican members might not otherwise support. It’s quite fun.
As I’ve told you before, the House GOP has been doing this stuff all session. They’ll get behind some hot-button issue, make a motion to discharge it from committee, the Democrats will block it, the Republicans will force a floor vote on whether to sustain or override the chair, the Democrats win the partisan vote and then the Republicans’ campaign operation will blast thousands of negative robocalls into targeted Democratic districts.
* And while the Tribune’s reporters mostly saw yesterday’s GOP move for what it was, the Tribune’s editorial page - which has its tonality levels constantly set to “Outraged” - thundered against the Democrats…
Remember last year when Democrats in the Illinois Senate robbed you of a chance to add a recall amendment to the state constitution? On Tuesday, 61 Democrats in the House did the same thing. Republicans tried to discharge a recall amendment from the Rules Committee, where Speaker Michael Madigan has buried it. They wanted to bring it to the House floor so every member could vote on the amendment, which would permit the recall of state executive officers and legislators. The vote to keep the amendment buried: 61-47.
Then they listed all 61 Democrats who voted on the procedural motion.
* The sausage-making process appears to drive newspaper editorial boards around the bend. Here’s the end of today’s Daily Herald editorial…
The [reform] ideas are supposed to come up again Thursday, with four session days left. Click here to find suburban officials’ contact information. Are we going to let legislators run roughshod over corruption reform ideas without a fight? It’s time rank-and-file legislators rose up and demanded what’s right from their leaders. It’s time we raise our voices. It’s time we all rally. It’s time we take back our government.
* So, are we heading for an overtime session? It’s being discussed at high levels. From the Tribune…
Going past the legislature’s Sunday deadline would put Republicans in play because three-fifths — instead of a simple majority — would be required to approve legislation that immediately takes effect.
Some Democrats rationalized blowing through the deadline as a way to force Republicans to put up votes for an income tax increase, sharing the political blame for higher taxes. Failing that, they said privately that Republicans also would share with them increased pressure from social service advocates and labor unions to prevent deep cuts.
Gov. Quinn’s bid to raise the state income tax won’t pass this week without Republican votes, the top Senate Democrat warned Tuesday. […]
It’s also a sign of how Democrats, going into the 2010 election cycle, don’t want to be the only ones wearing the collar politically for the biggest state tax increase in nearly four decades.
Quinn originally wanted to triple the current $2,000 personal tax exemption to $6,000, but now suggests a $1,000 increase in the exemption level. Quinn also offered two potential tax breaks: doubling the current income tax credit for property taxes from 5 percent to 10 percent, with a limit of $500, and doubling a tax credit for the working poor.
House Democrats were giving a long list of spending items and the cost of each, then were asked to say which they wanted to fund and which they were willing to cut.
Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, said lawmakers essentially were given the job of figuring out how to spend $3.8 billion of revenue on $11 billion worth of programs. Three items alone — prescription drug assistance, help for the developmentally disabled and state employee group health insurance — cost nearly $4 billion.
One potential endgame would see top lawmakers negotiating on the budget next month. Another is for the General Assembly to simply adopt a budget for less than the full budget year. They then would return to Springfield to deal with the shortage after the candidacy filing period ends in the fall and incumbents know whether they face strong opponents next year.
Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, said lawmakers might craft a short-term budget that would cover state spending for only part of the year.
“It’s an option on the table,” Sullivan said. “Whether it’s prudent or not, I don’t know.”
* And while the clock ticks down to May 31st, the governor appears to dawdle…
House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, wasn’t sure when the process will be complete. “It is pretty much up to the governor and when he wants to call it. I think that if you were talking to him he would say he is not ready today. Are we done by the end of the week? We hope so.”
* The tapes of Roland Burris talking to Rod Blagojevich’s brother Rob a month before Burris got the US Senate appointment aren’t exactly flattering. Here’s the Tribune’s coverage…
Burris said he would make a personal donation but worried that both he and the governor could eventually “catch hell” for any campaign help Burris gave as he lobbied for Blagojevich to choose him.
“And if I do get appointed, that means I bought it,” Burris was recorded telling Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s brother and chief fundraiser, in a Nov. 13 call captured during the federal probe that led to Rod Blagojevich’s December arrest on corruption charges.
Burris even mentioned having his attorney make the donation — a notion that could have violated state election law against hiding donations. Burris’ attorney said he advised against such a move, and Burris never made such a donation and held no fundraisers for Rod Blagojevich. […]
“God knows number one, I, I wanna help Rod,” Burris said on the recording. “Number two, I also wanna, you know, hope I get a consideration to get that appointment.”
Burris ends the call saying: “I will personally do something OK? And it will come to you before the 15th of December.”
Rod Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges that included trying to sell President Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder.
Burris didn’t make the contribution (at least not directly and as far as we know), which is to his favor. But Burris never mentioned that conversation with Rob Blagojevich in any of his sworn statements or affidavits to the Illinois House Impeachment Committee, which works heavily against him.
While Burris may have forgotten the details of their talk by the time he went before state legislators, it could hardly have slipped his mind that less than two months earlier he had been on the phone practically begging to be chosen to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate while promising to do what he could to get some money into the Blagojevich campaign coffers.
His omission only confirms what has been evident for some time now: With the crowning achievement of his political career within reach, Burris was willing to do whatever was necessary to reel in the big prize and deal with the consequences later.
Yep.
More…
But Burris didn’t want to close the door and take a chance on getting on the governor’s bad side.
Instead, as the discussion proceeded, Burris told Robert Blagojevich he would:
1) Be willing to help with a fund-raiser if it was being hosted by some other Blagojevich supporter with whom Burris had worked in the past, in effect, someone to give him cover.
Sneaky, eh?
* Take a look at the transcript and you’ll see Burris goes right into the Senate stuff at the very beginning…
BURRIS: I, I know you’re calling telling me that you’re gonna make me king of the world, and uh …
BLAGOJEVICH: (laughs)
BURRIS: … and therefore I can go off to, you know, wherever and do all these great things […]
BURRIS: ‘Cause I’ve been, I’ve been trying to figure out what the heck, you know, I can do. Go ahead.
Blagojevich then mentions the need to raise campaign money by the end of December for the January filing period and Burris goes right back to the Senate seat…
BURRIS: Yeah. Right, right and, and now how do, answer me this question because I’m very much interested in, in trying to replace Obama, okay. Now I …
BLAGOJEVICH: So you, let me just tell you Roland, …
BURRIS: Yeah.
BLAGOJEVICH: … you and 1 million other people.
BURRIS: That’s right, that’s right so …
BLAGOJEVICH: Of every race, color, creed and faith, it’s amazing.
Again, from the transcript, it looks more like Burris is finding a way to reconcile the need for pay to play than just be an honest person…
BURRIS: If I don’t get appointed then my people who I’m trying to raise money from are gonna look at me, yeah, what, what’s that all about Roland. I mean, so, Rob, I’m in a, I’m in a, a dilemma right now wanting to help the governor.
BLAGOJEVICH: Yeah.
BURRIS: I mean I, you know I, I have been with him on all of the, all the issues and I’m now trying to figure out what the hell the best thing to do.
And Burris was mighty persistent throughout the conversation. Here’s the end…
BLAGOJEVICH: Hey, you’re a good friend. I’ll pass on your message.
BURRIS: Please do and …
BLAGOJEVICH: Okay.
BURRIS: … tell Rod to keep me in mind for that seat, would ya? (chuckles)
* Ill. judge rules against opponents of museum move
A Cook County judge has found that Chicago officials acted properly when approving a plan to relocate the Chicago Children’s Museum to Grant Park.
Judge Martin Agran on Tuesday ruled against nearby residents of the proposed site who say they weren’t given proper legal notice of the move. But Jim Fabbrini, the residents’ lawyer, says the decision is a “minor setback.”
* Children’s Museum move opponents lose court round
“It’s a minor setback,” said Jim Fabbrini, lawyer for the residents. “This was a minor suit that dealt with the process and not whether it is illegal to build in Grant Park.”
* Mayor Daley defends taxing Chicago Bears ticket licenses - Mayor wants levy on secondhand seat licenses
“They’re flipping” the PSLs, Daley said, using the term for buying property and selling it quickly at a steep profit. “That’s all they’re doing. So we caught them.”
Whether the potential threat is pandemic flu, terrorism, a weather emergency or some other disaster, the mayor of New Orleans said Tuesday that Illinois officials should make sure to plan for the worst — just in case.
The audiences at many titles, moreover, are getting older fast. The median reader age rose 3.7 years at the Sunday Chicago Tribune, for example, 3.9 years at Car and Driver, 4.1 years at U.S. News & World Report and 4.9 years at Penthouse, according to the research.
Some magazines and newspapers are even seeing their audiences age in real time — or faster. Readers’ median age has increased 6.6 years since spring 2004 at Motorcyclist magazine, 6.8 years at Street Rodder and 6.8 years at Motor Boating.
* Exonerated man charges Chicago police framed him
Dean Cage has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago, a police detective who investigated the rape, and other unnamed officers. The 42-year-old says he was framed so police could close the case.
* Sewage-cooking plant brews debate in Chicago suburbs - Agency staff members say project in Stickney is no longer needed; they are exploring ways to pull out of contract
Could public anger about increased admission fees at the Art Institute soon turn to glee over free admission?
Art Institute Director James Cuno believes Chicago’s philanthropic community, fresh off its fund-raising coup in financing the new Modern Wing, could raise at least a $250 million endowment to give everyone free access to the Art Institute.
Tuesday’s event was one of only two fundraisers held to benefit the Executive Mansion, 410 E. Jackson St., during the past nine years, according to Curator David Bourland.
Government funding to repair the nation’s largest governor’s mansion is practically nonexistent, which Bourland attributes to the state’s lack of a capital improvement plan during the past decade.
In a November conversation caught on an FBI wiretap, Roland Burris promised Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother that he’d write the governor a campaign check by mid-December, Burris’ lawyer said today.
That was about a month before Rod Blagojevich appointed Burris to the U.S. Senate. […]
But lawyer Timothy Wright told the Chicago Sun-Times today that his client never sent the check because he believed it wasn’t a good idea given Burris’ interest in the U.S. Senate seat appointment. Wright said Burris’ decision not to send the check had nothing to do with Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest.
Burris did not mention a promise of a check in a Feb. 4 sworn affidavit that Burris submitted to an Illinois House panel investigating Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment. That affidavit sought to supplement Burris’ testimony before a House panel, where Burris only mentioned having contact with Lon Monk with regard to the appointment.
But Wright said the amount of the check was to be $1,500. The conversation with Robert Blagojevich happened when Burris was interested in the U.S. Senate. Wright said Burris’ answers to the House panel have been consistent, and he has made repeated efforts to be as complete as possible to the public.
We’ve heard what Patrick Collins, Governor Quinn, Speaker Madigan, President Cullerton, Leader Cross, Leader Radogno, Rich Miller, and Mike “Waah waah waah” Jacobs (D-East Moline) have had to say about this year’s reform movement. But what do YOU think?
Let’s put it to a poll question.
Governor Quinn’s Pat Collins-led Illinois Reform Commission has proposed a series of reforms for Illinois government and politics. Among those reforms are 9 reforms to campaign finance:
1) Requiring year-round, real-time submission of campaign disclosure filings
2) Requiring disclosure of campaign contribution “bundlers”
3) Requiring greater disclosure of those making independent expenditures on behalf of a campaign
4) Imposing limits on contributions to political campaigns from all sources
5) Banning campaign contributions from lobbyists and trusts, and extending bans on contributions from state employees, entities seeking state contracts and entities engaged in regulated industries
6) Holding primary elections in June
7) Enacting a pilot project for public financing of judicial elections in 2010, with an eye toward expanding the program to elections of statewide legislative officials and Constitutional posts
8) Enhancing powers of the Illinois State Board of Elections
9) Creating more robust discovery and enforcement mechanisms
Please take the poll and see what your fellow Capitol Fax readers think.
* Potential Democratic US Senate candidate Chris Kennedy just called and said it was “physically impossible” for him to make any announcement about his US Senate race this week. Apparently, others are jumping the gun here.
Also, a widespread rumor that Kennedy would announce tomorrow via online video is false, Kennedy claimed.
* Senate President John Cullerton was just asked about what happened in today’s leaders meeting with the governor. His answer? “We talked about Capitol Fax.” lol [Audio via Dave at IRN. Thanks much.]
* House Speaker Michael Madigan was also asked about progress at the meeting. “Nothing’s decided,” he said. Asked whether that was good or bad, Madigan said, “You tell me.” Video via Patterson…
* The infamous Grover Norquist was at the Statehouse today to talk about the budget…
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said the state’s shortfall results from politicians’ over-spending and financial mismanagement and isn’t taxpayers’ problem to solve - it’s lawmakers’ responsibility.
• Spending growth: Elementary-secondary education and medical assistance are the only major program areas that have seen significant spending growth since FY 2000. Over the same period of time, funding for human services, higher education, and most other parts of the General Funds budget has not kept pace with inflation. […]
• Understanding the deficit: Almost 60 percent of the $12.3 billion budget gap reflects declining revenues caused by the recession. Most of the remainder is related to the structural deficit — increased payments for state retirement systems and the backlog of unpaid Medicaid bills.
* Thanks to a commenter, here are a couple of quotes we missed earlier today…
Patrick Collins, head of the reform commission, took umbrage when the senate committee rejected the commission”s proposals but unanimously approved of a reform measure sponsored by state Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge.
“I asked my commissioners to change their lives to engage in this process for 100 days. I am not going to participate in a process like the one that happened in there. If any of you think that”s a fair process, that”s wrong,” Collins said.
A committee killed some bills that a large number of people worked months or even years to pass because they believed the measures were vitally important to the state’s future. Happens every day. Literally.
Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline) responded…
“All I can say is ‘Waah waah waah, I want my Mommy,’” Jacobs jokingly sobbed.
“For him to think that we should drop whatever we”re doing to make sure he gets whatever he wants is amazing. Patrick Collins ought to learn that this is a give-and-take process. You just don”t get whatever you want.”
Yowza, man. Everybody really needs to take a breath here.
Then Tweedy took a crucial step in Wilco’s evolution: he hired Jay Bennett as the band’s permanent guitarist. Bennett’s prior work in the Champaign-based Titanic Love Affair didn’t presage the impact he would have on Wilco, but over time he has become Jiminy Cricket to Tweedy’s Pinocchio: as a constant advocate of the limitless possibilities of the studio and as an adventurous arranger, he seems to have given Tweedy the confidence to explore his own talent in the broader realm of rock ‘n’ roll. In Bennett’s absence, as in the roots-rock stuporgroup Golden Smog, Tweedy has been prone to the predictable (”Lost Love,” from the Smog’s 1998 disc Weird Tales) and the pedestrian (”Please Tell My Brother”).
Lawmakers had to pass three bills to make the capital program go — one to issue bonds, one to raise revenue to pay off those bonds and one that detailed the projects to be built. The bill to raise revenue included authorizing video poker, extending the sales tax to things like candy that are not now taxed, hiking some vehicle fees and whatnot. Hey, you want new roads and school buildings, you’ve got to pay for it somehow.
Unless, of course, you are a member of the Hypocrites’ Caucus. They want to be on record as bringing the pork back to their districts, but not for raising the taxes and fees to pay for it. Membership in the caucus changes with issues.
For the capital plan, though, the group consists of 12 senators and 30 representatives. They are the Few, the Proud, the Two-faced. They voted against video poker and the other revenue increases, but all of them were right on board to support the list of building projects. No one in either the House or Senate voted against the spending bill.
It’s always fun when a majority of this caucus turn out to be Republicans, people who normally complain about government spending money it doesn’t have, but who apparently are willing to look the other way in this case.
* The Question: Should legislators who vote against the revenue streams to fund capital bills and then vote for the spending be somehow excluded or penalized on projects for their districts? Explain fully.
Asked specifically about whether he had left members of his Illinois Reform Commission to find their own way with lawmakers reluctant to embrace their proposals, Quinn didn’t mention perhaps the most controversial recommendation from his panel—imposing first-ever campaign donation caps. Instead, he discussed a reform that his panel didn’t even embrace—a proposed state Constitutional amendment to allow voters to recall elected officials.
“One of the big issues this week…that I’ve been working night and day on in ethics is getting recall in Illinois, getting the power of recall,” Quinn said. “I think it’s promising. I’ve talked to the legislative leaders.”
But recall hasn’t been on the legislature’s agenda for the spring session, which is scheduled to end May 31. Voters would have to ratify a recall amendment and no state elections are scheduled until next year. Election years also are when lawmakers typically consider proposed changes to the constitution.
“For the legislature to turn around and say, ‘We are going to raise your taxes, trust us,’ without doing anything to show they have cleaned up their own house is a very dangerous proposition,” said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Coalition for Political Reform.
That’s a very dangerous game she wants to play. Putting the fate of millions of Illinoisans on the line to “win” a debate over something like campaign caps is audacious in the extreme.
* Speaking of dangerous games, Democratic state Rep. Lou Lang has put a parliamentary hold on the capital projects package because the governor has flip-flopped on his pledge not to link capital with the budget…
“The governor made public and private assurances that the capital bill and operating budget bill would not be linked, and he’d totally signed on to the capital bill and would sign it,” Lang said. “He is now indicating that is not his plan, that his plan is to hold the capital bill hostage. My view is he has backtracked on a commitment. If he doesn’t want the bill, he shouldn’t have it. When he’s ready to have it, he can have it.”
[Madigan spokesman Steve Brown] added: “The governor flip-flopped, spoke out of both sides of his mouth. He promised . . . he wouldn’t link the issues and did something different. That’s got to be troubling to everybody who has tried to deal with the integrity crisis as fully as possible.”
In other words, Quinn’s political honeymoon now appears over.
But the governor’s move may have been more about high speed rail than the budget or the ethics bills…
“Right now, we do not have in our capital bill money for high-speed rail,” Quinn said. “I think that was an oversight, and I made that crystal clear to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House that high-speed rail must be included.”
Quinn wants that capital bill reopened. He didn’t attend the meetings when the bill was drafted, and there’s an old saying in politics, “If you’re not sitting at the table, you’re the supper.” He got eated.
* Reform commission chairman Pat Collins was upset last week with the Senate for refusing to take action on some of the commission’s pet ideas…
Lawmakers spoke strongly against a proposal allowing state’s attorneys to wiretap suspects in official corruption cases, but also for crimes as minor as music piracy. State Sen. Bill Haine, a former state’s attorney, said he was worried elected prosecutors would use these powers against political opponents. […]
But reform commission head Patrick Collins said he used wiretapping extensively as a federal prosecutor and state’s attorneys need the same powers. “In the right case, having the ability to do a wiretap will be the difference between ensnaring a corrupt official versus not charging that official,” Collins said.
Patrick Collins, the head of a panel Gov. Pat Quinn created to clean up state government, was remarkably angry and visibly shaking at a news conference following the committee hearing. Collins hinted that lawmakers were trying to pass token reforms rather than address large-scale anti-corruption measures.
“Maybe this happens every day in Springfield,” Collins said. “I’m not used to that.'’
Welcome to our world.
But a call by Sen. Bill Brady for an attorney general’s investigation of Gov. Quinn’s fundraising during the end of session shows the real problems with the reform commission’s plan…
Beyond the political opportunism behind Brady’s bashing, his call for an investigation does pose an interesting issue, however. Lisa Madigan, the daughter of powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, is interested in challenging Quinn in next year’s Democratic primary for governor. In her current post, any investigation of allegations of wrongdoing involving Quinn could be attacked by critics as purely politically motivated.
Indeed, that’s one problem that lawmakers have acknowledged in dealing with the current spate of ethics reform proposals in Springfield. Legislators have trashed efforts to give local prosecutors and the attorney general’s office more tools to investigate corruption—out of concern that those investigations could be conducted against political opponents.
Indeed. Some of the reform commission’s ideas are quite good. Others, like that one, defy reality.
Several association executives with Springfield lobbying interests said last week that they’ve recently received calls from Quinn’s campaign. Some have big-ticket items that could be chopped out of the budget during the deficit crisis. All have significant issues pending in the General Assembly, pro and con.
“We turned them down,” said one high-level exec about the campaign calls.
The executive explained that his group does not contribute or discuss contributions during the legislative session.
Ironically enough, several associations - which have been targeted for campaign contribution limits by the governor’s reform commission - do not contribute during the end of session.
Also on the ironic side, $15,000 is far above the campaign contribution limits sought by Quinn and his reform commission, although these appear to be requests for “bundled”contributions from several different people at once.
And that $15,000 asking price clearly demonstrates how politicians - even self-professed reformers like Quinn - intend to get around any new contribution caps.
Any reformer who tells you their plan would get money out of politics by imposing caps on contributions doesn’t live in the real world.
* Quinn looks to future, remembers past: Asked whether he has the skill to seal deals with legislators, Quinn said, “Everybody has a different style. I don’t believe in ’smashmouth’ politics. It didn’t work for my predecessor.”
*** UPDATE - 11:23 am *** Fine, but the tapes should also be released to the general public….
A federal judge today authorized the release of audio tapes of secret recordings of coversations between U.S. Sen. Roland Burris and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother to a Senate ethics committee. […]
Before the hearing, [Burris’ criminal lawyer, Timothy Wright] said, “the truth will finally come out,’’ in an apparent reference to recordings that took place last November and involve discussions between Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund chair Robert Blagojevich and Burris regarding fund-raising for the ex-governor.
Timothy Wright, a lawyer for Burris, said he also did not object to the release and said he believed the tape would show Burris did nothing wrong. “We think it is what it is,” Wright said. “The truth is coming out. We think it helps to vindicate the senator.”
*** UPDATE - 11:59 am *** The tape may be released to the public after all. From the US Attorney’s office..
When a formal order is issued regarding today’s proceedings and any materials are publicly docketed, the Government will make available any of its filings and materials that are ordered unsealed. There is no estimate available of when this will occur.
[ *** End of Updates *** ]
* Is Roland Burris beginning to see reality? Maybe, maybe not…
Burris wants to jump in the 2010 election, despite longshot odds. Durbin will not support him. The Senate Democratic political operation is trying to recruit Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to run. On the day we talked — May 19 — Burris met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss his political future. Earlier, he conferred with Sen. Robert Menendez, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. And the day before — May 18 — Burris called on William Daley.
“My impression is he is going to be a candidate,” Daley told me. […]
I asked Burris about his timetable for deciding if he will run.
“Lynn . . . if you don’t have money, whether or not you say you are going to run is not relevant. . . . You take away your option.”
That last quote was probably the most sense I’ve heard from Burris since he was appointed by Rod Blagojevich. Then again, it might’ve just been a momentary lapse into reason.
The NRSC chairman also mentioned Chicago-area Rep. Mark Kirk, a social issues moderate, as a strong candidate against Burris (who faces a stiff primary challenge from businessman Christopher Kennedy, son of the late Robert Kennedy).
“But if Mark doesn’t run, there are other possible strong candidates,” he said. (Although Cornyn gave no name, sources in the Illinois GOP suggested to me he was referring to Steve Preston, Housing and Urban Development secretary under George W. Bush).
* Related…
* Roland Burris In St. Louis Area Talking About The Stimulus Package
* Attorney Gen. Madigan objects to Chrysler sale: Ms. Madigan filed her objection on behalf of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Illinois Self-Insurers Advisory Board. She opposes the sale to Fiat SpA if it fails to set aside monetary provisions for injured Chrysler workers in Illinois.
* The Ohio Senate is considering a $54 billion two-year budget passed by the House that was balanced by cutting education spending by $244 million, depleting the state’s reserves of $1 billion and incorporating $2.2 billion of federal stimulus money. Even then, the plan includes projected deficits of at least $2.5 billion in each of the next two years.
* The Indiana State Budget Committee last week requested a new, more accurate revenue forecast for lawmakers to use in a pending special session after April tax revenue fell $255 million short of what had been forecast just one month earlier. […]
* Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire last week signed a two-year budget that closed a $9 billion shortfall by cutting 40 percent in state payments for low-income health coverage, raising state employees’ health care benefits by less than half the rate of inflation and reducing per-student education allocations. […]
* In Oregon, where the projected shortfall of $3.8 billion is equal to nearly a third of the overall budget, Democratic lawmakers proposed a 2009-11 budget that would eliminate 1,700 state pensions, cut spending on community colleges and higher education and seek $800 million in new taxes.
New Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn wants a 50% increase in the income tax rate on the wealthy because this is the “fair” way to close his state’s gaping deficit.
Laffer used Quinn to help make a point about increasing taxes on upper income folks, but he got his facts wrong. Low income people with no dependents would also see higher taxes under Quinn’s original plan. Moderate income folks would also be hit. I suppose if $60,000 a year is considered “wealthy,” then, yes, they and everyone above would have to pay more. Par for the course on the WS-J op-ed page, I suppose.
Terry Barnich, a former Illinois Commerce Commission chairman and chief counsel to former Gov. Jim Thompson, was killed by a bomb Monday while traveling in a convoy in Iraq, friends and family said.
Barnich, 56, was serving as deputy director for the Iraq Transition Assistance Office for the State Department, said his friend Philip O’Connor, a former Commerce Commission chairman who served with him in Iraq. Barnich began work there in January 2007, he said.
A State Department spokeswoman could not confirm the death late Monday. His loved ones said they were notified earlier in the day.
An Associated Press analysis found vacancy rates of 20 percent or more in nearly 40 Illinois census tracts, from Chicago to Rockford to Danville to East St. Louis. The analysis used data from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, which received it from the U.S. Postal Service.
By 2004, murders dropped below 500. They’ve now bounced back up, and while still below 600, Chicago still has more murders than New York and Los Angeles.
According to academic research, talking to felons for just one hour can be pretty effective. They are 30 percent less likely to go back to prison than those who don’t attend the Project Safe Neighborhoods forum.
