* 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.
