AP: Quinn’s guilt trip too little, too late
Tuesday, Jun 9, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 2:23 pm - The leaders meeting started at about 2 o’clock. We’re hoping for audio from IIS sometime this afternoon.
Whilst we wait, let’s take a look at a newly moved AP story, which underscores my point earlier today that Quinn just doesn’t have enough credibility to make budget-cutting threats on his own. He needs some outside assistance, and fast…
[Gov. Quinn is] making the rounds of social service agencies to guilt lawmakers into doing what he wants. […]
But skeptics say Quinn’s guilt trip is too little, too late and it’s a tactic former Gov. Rod Blagojevich overused.
Still others argue the debate over a tax increase can’t truly get off the ground in tough economic times until officials cut waste and improve government efficiency.
The AP has apparently abandoned the “straight news” concept.
* 2:58 pm - The entire AP story is now posted and it truly is a farce. Here’s a hint: Rep. Jack Franks will never vote for a tax hike. No how, no way. So, quoting him talking about how more cuts are needed before he can vote for a tax hike means absolutely nothing….
“I have to look my constituents in the eye and say, ‘You know what, I’ve done everything possible and there’s no other way.’ Right now I can’t even come close to saying that,” said Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat from Marengo.
* 5:18 pm - The leaders meeting ended a few minutes ago, so maybe we’ll know a little something soon.
* 5:46 pm - Audio from IIS is up.
* Leader Cross ..
“I think July 1st is a very aggressive date to get things done.”
78 Comments  
|
Question of the day
Tuesday, Jun 9, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I don’t think we’ve ever had a caption contest which included Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno. Time for a change…
44 Comments
|
The “No, We Can’t” tour continues today
Tuesday, Jun 9, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Another round of talks. Don’t expect much…
Gov. Pat Quinn and top lawmakers are headed into another round of budget negotiations amid dire warnings of massive service cuts.
Quinn and the state’s legislative leaders were expected to meet Tuesday afternoon.
* The governor intends to ratchet up the rhetoric…
QUINN: Now, I’m going to be probably more aggressive than ever this week. I don’t think this is the time to run in place and pretend all is well. It’s the exact opposite and we have to have an urgent approach to a crisis that we never encountered — most of us in our lifetime.
The problem for Quinn is that he has so little credibility on this issue. Nobody really believes that a liberal like Quinn will allow a doomsday budget to happen. The governor needs backup, so maybe he should do something like bring in Republicans like Jim Edgar, Steve Schnorf etc. to help him make the case that the budget situation is, indeed, dire and the huge cuts that are coming are all too real.
* Meanwhile, the leaders keep pointing fingers at each other…
CROSS: Everybody in Illinois government knows that when the Speaker wants to pass something he gets it passed. And unfortunately, this time around he didn’t pass it. It certainly begs the question of why he would send an unbalanced budget or a budget that doesn’t take care of certain segments of society, why he would do that to the governor and more importantly to those people in Illinois.
…Adding… Once. Just once, I’d like to see a newspaper stand up and offer to take a hit for the good of the budget…
Quinn said he can’t think of a higher priority than children. Lawmakers’ first responsibility should be fiscal responsibility; spending beyond what the state can afford hurts all residents, children included.
Quinn says a tax increase is needed. If he hopes to convince lawmakers of that, he is first going to have to get serious about cutting programs and services. They made clear they are not going to ask taxpayers to sacrifice anymore than they already do unless state government goes first.
I don’t mean to pick on the BN-D, but how much do newspapers make off of public advertising mandates? And how much do they save because of targeted state sales tax exemptions on everything from newsprint, to ink to printing equipment? They’d be a lot more credible when they scream for cuts if they offered themselves up first.
Just sayin…
* Related…
* Officials: SIUC’s Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders will close without sufficient funding
* Budget cuts could be devastating
* Long-Term vs. Community Care: Illinois Worst in USA in Serving Adults in Community Settings
64 Comments
|
* As most of you know, I’m solidly for redistricting reform, but this is a very dangerous idea…
Both House GOP Leader Tom Cross and Senate Republican chief Christine Radogno brought up remap at a meeting last week with their Democratic counterparts and Gov. Pat Quinn over whether to raise taxes to fill a budget hole.
Mr. Cross even asked the governor if he would consider using his veto pen to rewrite a pending bill and make reapportionment a non-partisan process.
Illinois just impeached and removed a governor for grossly abusing his powers, and using an amendatory veto to drastically rewrite legislation to implement a huge idea that hasn’t even been debated in the General Assembly would be a gigantic abuse of gubernatorial power.
That Cross would even consider this silly idea in the name of “reform” pretty much undercuts his argument that he wants reform.
* Roeper writes about the parking meter uproar and reminds me to make a point about reform notions and political reality…
Yes, the rate hikes were obscene, the city blew a potential $1 billion in revenue by farming out the business, and the pay-and-display boxes have been plagued with mechanical problems.
However. The one silver lining in this cloud is people who live, work and play in the city can sometimes find a spot so they can run into the dry cleaners or drop something off or take a quick meeting, whereas in the past so many spots were taken by “squatters” who would find a spot early and feed the meter every two hours.
This notion, pushed by the city’s inspector general and others, that the city could’ve gotten an extra billion dollars by just jacking up the parking meter rates and keeping the money for itself is patently absurd and ignores reality. Without a private contract in place, those rates would’ve been lowered to their original levels by now because aldermen are under such heavy attack from angry constituents.
Also, Roeper is right about empty meters. But that won’t stop the screaming.
* The Tribune writes yet another editorial about why it doesn’t like the election of judges…
Judges are elected in most states, including Illinois. The main value of Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in a West Virginia case is to provide another good reason why judicial elections are a bad idea.
Except, who’s gonna appoint judges? Governors? Bureaucratic “experts”? They don’t say.
* Patrick Collins makes an interesting observation…
When Springfield leaders concluded that the specific reform would not substantially affect their operations, they gave the reform the green light. When they concluded that the reform threatened their status quo, they did not.
For example, in our discussions about procurement reform, we were told repeatedly that the General Assembly doesn’t approve many contracts and leases; on transparency, we were told that the General Assembly doesn’t get many Freedom of Information Act requests. In these two areas, and a related area involving patronage abuses (the General Assembly doesn’t hire either), we received some reform.
A different story line emerged when the General Assembly’s leaders concluded that the commission’s proposed reforms might alter the rules of the game in Springfield: campaign finance, enforcement and government structure. In each of these areas, the commission’s proposals were treated as a grave threat, so the proposals were substantially watered down (campaign finance); rejected in full (enforcement tools for state prosecutors); delayed (redistricting), or outright ignored (legislative leader term limits and legislative rule changes to improve democracy).
By failing to adopt any of these game-changing proposals, the General Assembly spoke clearly about its unwillingness to get to the core of the culture of corruption.
In everything I’ve read by Collins so far, including the reform commission’s report, he never really explains why the concentration of power in the leaders’ hands is at “the core of the culture of corruption.”
I could give you a list. You could probably make up your own. But Collins has never fully justified these proposals, which I find quite odd. We’re just supposed to take his word for it that he’s right.
* Senate President Cullerton lists the reforms passed by the GA and then gets defensive in an op-ed piece…
Critics say that these reforms are “watered down” or do not go far enough. That’s because recognizing the accomplishments of legislators would be inconsistent with the legislative witch hunt that has been promoted by some.
Big words.
* Related…
* Judges with big donations on the books can be removed from cases
* Ruling raises questions about Ill. court races
* ICPR Says Supreme Court Ruling Shows Need for Public Financing
* SJ-R: Make state’s earmark process more transparent
* Boland calls for U of I resignations: In October 2007, it was reported Boland gave the daughter of one of his larger political donors three legislative college scholarships worth a total of $17,536. At the time, Boland said he was not influenced by campaign donations totaling nearly $16,000 from the student’s mother. State Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville, said any potential investigation should examine other ways lawmakers exert influence on higher education, such as the legislative scholarship program.
* Quinn must clean up U. of I. clout admissions
* Lift veil on admissions practices at college
32 Comments
|
Morning shorts
Tuesday, Jun 9, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray
* First tests of soil come up clean in Crestwood
* Cicero president accused in sex harassment suit
* Third quarter may bring hiring boost: survey
Hiring plans among Chicago-area employers will modestly pick up during the third quarter, according to a survey released Tuesday by employment services provider Manpower Inc
* Peoria-area hiring will be light for summer
* Construction to begin soon on new B-N transit system facility
* More days, money spent by Illinois visitors in 2008
State officials say visitors to Illinois spent more and stayed longer in 2008. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity said Monday that tourists spent $30.8 billion last year. That’s up more than $883 million from 2007.
Over the past five years, tourists spent more than $7.8 billion, helping to create 303,500 jobs in the travel industry.
Illinois remains the sixth most popular state among overseas tourists. About 1.4 million overseas tourists visited Illinois during a time when the dollar was below the Euro. That’s a 21 percent increase from 2007.
Chicago tourists declined to 44.21 million, 2.1 percent less than 2007’s record-breaking numbers. However, those tourists increased the number of days spent in the city by 6 percent.
* Farmers are behind planting soybeans
* Union says city layoffs possible
Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents city civilian public-safety employees, were recently informed by the Chicago Department of Human Resources that 293 workers will receive layoff notices this week that will be effective July 1st, according to a news release from the union.
The layoffs would include 186 crossing guards, 67 detention aides and 40 traffic control aides, the release said. The jobs will be performed in the future by Chicago police officers, the union said it was told.
* Former USOC leader calls Chicago a ‘leader’ for 2016 Games
* Peter Ueberroth says Chicago leads in game quest
* Supreme Court won’t hear casinos-vs.-tracks dispute
The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal by four Chicago-area riverboat casinos, including two owned by units of Penn National Gaming Inc. and others owned in part by MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.
The casinos argued that the law was an unconstitutional taking of private property without compensation. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the measure, saying the U.S. Constitution’s takings clause doesn’t apply to government-imposed fees.
The law places a 3 percent surcharge on the four casinos’ gross receipts, adjusted to exclude money paid to winning bettors. Under the law, some of the collected money is used to increase horse-racing purses and the rest to subsidize tracks.
The companies said in court papers that they paid more than $75 million during the original two years of the surcharge and may pay $100 million more under a three-year extension enacted last year.
* Windfall expected for Illinois horse tracks
A windfall of more than $7 million may save struggling Fairmount Park — which has faced cuts and possible closure — as a lawsuit blocking the funding crossed the legal finish line Monday.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided to step away from a fight between Illinois casinos and horse tracks, clearing the way for a state plan meant to prop up the struggling horse racing industry.
Officials said the much-needed infusion of cash means Collinsville’s track will be able to continue live thoroughbred racing for the next two or three years — and maybe longer. Without the funding, the track’s future looked bleak, officials said.
‘
* Could cab-sharing work here?
Would you share a taxicab with total strangers headed in the same direction — at any time, day or night — in exchange for a 50 percent fare cut?
Instead of waiting for a rush-hour bus on a congested route, would you pay $3 or $4 to share a “group-ride cab” with three other passengers?
“If it’s workable and could benefit the driver and consumer, absolutely” Chicago will try it, said Reyes, commissioner of the city’s Consumer Protection and Business Affairs Department.
* Chicago police freed of spying limits
A federal judge has dissolved decades-old legal restrictions placed on Chicago police because of their infamous Red Squad.
U.S. District Court Judge Joan Gotschall voided the consent decrees today in response to a joint motion from Mayor Richard Daley’s administration and the American Civil Liberties Union.
* Dart continues to fight prostitution, trim the fat in tough times
* Chicago Ald. Isaac Carothers could change corruption plea as soon as next month, his lawyer says
* Chicago Ald. Ike Carothers pleads ‘not guilty’
* Daleys in turmoil over nephew’s deals: sources
* ‘The jury has stole my life’
He was arrested by a cop who became an alderman and was later convicted of corruption.
He was questioned by a detective later accused of mistreating other murder suspects.
And Mark Clements was sent to prison for life for killing four people in an arson.
Now, after Clements has spent 26 years behind bars, his attorneys say they have evidence that a motorcycle gang was responsible for the deaths.
* Homicide inside the walls of Stateville
The slaying highlights a perilous flaw in how non-violent offenders sent to maximum-security prisons for disciplinary infractions have been locked up in the same cells with predatory inmates who are serving long sentences and have nothing to lose.
* 2009 Murder Rate Down 11 Percent January Through May
There were 156 murders in Chicago between January and the end of May this year. That’s 20 less than the same time period last year and it’s good news for the police department which saw a 5-year high in the murder rate in 2008 when there were a total of five-hundred and 10 killings.
* Don’t blame judge for cop’s tragic murder
* “Big Hurt” to work Cubs-White Sox games for CSN
12 Comments
|
|
Enter your password to view comments
|
Question of the day
Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kristen McQueary argues that Speaker Madigan must retire from public life if his daughter runs for governor…
In this climate of incessant conflict-of-interest gauging, voters will, and should, consider the Madigans a package deal before supporting the younger Madigan, should she run for governor. That is precisely why the elder Madigan must retire before she takes the leap.
But she also kinda makes the case for why a Lisa Madigan governorship might clip the elder Madigan’s wings…
Speaker Madigan, if he stuck around and Lisa Madigan won, would straddle the impossible position of representing the interests of his caucus and avoiding an embarrassing outmaneuver of his daughter.
And outmaneuvering governors is what he does best.
* The Question: Should Speaker Madigan resign from public life if his daughter runs for governor? Explain fully.
58 Comments
|
Two little words: More money
Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hey, governor. The next time a powerful Washingtonian asks you what the feds can do for Illinois, suggest they send more money…
“I asked (Quinn) if there was anything more I could do here in Washington, and the governor couldn’t think of anything at this point,” Durbin said.
Sheesh. Say it with me, governor: “More money, please.”
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column takes a look at the Taxpayer Action Board recommendations and gives a hint at what’s to come (note the 25 percent budget reserves section)…
Almost every reporter who covered the unveiling of new budget-cutting recommendations by the governor’s Taxpayer Action Board last week claimed the “TAB” had found a half billion dollars in reductions for the coming fiscal year. It was reported that way because that’s what the board’s chairman, Illinois Taxpayers Federation President Tom Johnson, said.
Johnson’s comment demonstrates how amorphous, politically difficult and fiscally suspect many of these proposals really are. If you do the math, the board’s report actually claims budgetary savings this coming year could be as high as $1 billion if all its recommendations are implemented.
There was, apparently, a major internal push-back from some of the more experienced budget experts on the citizens board. Former George Ryan budget director Steve Schnorf - who also served under Jim Edgar and is one of the smartest budget gurus I’ve ever met - and the very highly regarded former Democratic state Rep. Woods Bowman were two of four signatories to a harshly critical “Minority Report” letter drafted by Schnorf.
“You can, and I believe you will, get some savings from the suggestions in this report,” Schnorf wrote to Gov. Pat Quinn in his dissent. “It probably won’t equal billions and it certainly won’t all happen over 12-18 months. Good luck.”
Indeed. Look closer and you’ll see that half of the touted billion dollar savings in next fiscal year comes from two items which are already being done, and then some. The board suggested a 2-3 percent across the board cut of almost all state spending. But the governor ordered agencies last week to begin preparations for a whopping 25 percent across the board cut. The board’s proposal looks tiny and almost harmless in comparison.
The board also wants a freeze in the state’s operating budget. But the General Assembly approved a budget last month which funds state programs at an average of 50 percent of the current fiscal year’s appropriations. That’s much more than a freeze.
The rest of the savings come from things like Medicaid managed care, which supposedly would save $95 million in the first year - a far cry from the $3 billion in savings that the Senate Republicans have been claiming and the Chicago Tribune has been touting.
Other savings, like reducing the prison population by freeing inmates charged with nonviolent drug and property crimes ($30-65 million) carry huge political risk for the governor.
“My best personal estimate is that you will be able to save very little, if any, money [next fiscal year],” Schnorf wrote, claiming he’d be “thrilled” to find $200 million in “actual, achievable” savings in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1st. Other than across the board cuts and freezes, he’s likely correct.
However, this report is a good thing in that it shows without doubt that there is just no way for Illinois to fully cut itself out of this awful budget mess.
After the federal stimulus cash is factored in, Illinois still faces a $7 billion budget hole in the coming fiscal year. Yet after two months of work and a horde of consultants, the governor’s commission only came up with $1 billion in “cuts.”
The obvious problem is that if all the board’s recommendations were followed and they all worked as advertised, the state would still be left with a massive $6 billion hole to fill.
And then there’s the very real problem of what happens after the billions in federal stimulus dollars are spent. The state put that cash right into its spending base. When the stimulus money is gone, the state will have yet another horrific hole to fill.
And what about the out years? The report’s claimed savings in future years rely heavily on reopening the state’s collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME and other unions. However, the four-year union contract is just a year old.
“Based on my personal experiences,” Schnorf wrote, “your largest union will not agree” to reopen negotiations on that contract.”
He ought to know.
“Take everything we say to you with some grain of salt,” Schnorf wrote, adding. “Our suggestions aren’t the ordained word, handed down from on high.” Let’s hope everyone keeps that sound advice in mind as the process moves forward. There are more cuts to be made that the board missed, but even those won’t completely solve the problem.
* Related…
* Mike Lawrence: So much promise, so little achieved: During the 1960s and early ’70s, W. Russell Arrington was the Mike Madigan of his era in influencing legislative outcomes. When a young aide tried to console the Senate Republican leader by suggesting the legislature’s failure to resolve a major issue might advantage him politically, he replied, “That’s not the point, Jim. We’re here to solve problems, and we didn’t solve the problem.”
* Abused fight back against budget cuts: Thirty-four percent of the shelter’s funding comes from the state, but in the partial budget passed by the state legislature those dollars are cut in half. Executive Director Linda Healy has told the seven women and 20 children staying at the house right now that they will have to move out by June 30. She is not accepting new residents unless they can promise to be out by July 1.
* Illinois Budget Negotiations Trudge On, No Deal In Sight: PHELON: We’re not as optimistic that we’re going to come out of Tuesday’s meeting with a solution that means we’ll have it in place before July 1.
* Social service advocates predict disaster if budget cut
* Local fallout from state funding mess soon to hit
* Illinois can’t have everything: Illinois income tax bills will have to go up. We’re with Quinn on this one. Lock that treasure chest up tight. Don’t open it until the legislature makes the painful decisions necessary to put the state on a sustainable path.
* Some suburban schools’ funding could lose political protection
* PJStar: Illinois’ lawmakers have let us down again
* Quinn brings budget battle to church
* Quinn Takes Budget Plan To The Pulpit
* Quinn visits Chicago church, talks tax increase
* Quinn says Illinoisans must ’sacrifice’
* Budget stalled, bills flow freely
* Inside the Illinois treasure chest: Q-C projects in the capital bills
* State’s public works bill includes lawmakers’ pet projects
* Capital plan includes community priorities, lawmakers say
* Local projects funded with video poker, alcohol taxes, vehicle fees
* Southland mayors, trustees, voters: Ban video poker
* IL Senator Pushes for Online Lottery Tickets
* Cloud over lottery plan
* Parking-meter mess might pit City Council vs. Daley
* 20 cents short on parking fine, he gets the boot
56 Comments
|
A look ahead at 2010
Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If this is true, then Treasurer Giannoulias may have gotten a very bad political issue off the table…
There is bright news for the thousands of parents who invested college savings money in Illinois’ Bright Start Savings Plan. In January, this column revealed that one of the fund managers within the Bright Start plan had made unauthorized trades that cost investors in its most conservative fund $85 million.
Now, after months of negotiations with Oppenheimer, the fund management company, the state has a tentative agreement to recover $77 million for fund investors — which would be a remarkably high recovery for a negotiated settlement. The amount that will be returned to each affected account will depend on a complicated formula that is still being negotiated.
But…
The treasurer’s office said it was “concerned” that the filing of individual claims could scuttle the deal, which would apply to all investors. Anyone filing an individual claim would not be part of the settlement, but an avalanche of individual claims could rupture the fragile agreement
Which leads us to this…
Well-known consumer advocate and plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Stoltman filed the claim on behalf of Tom and Leigh Ann Reusche, whose 19-year-old daughter, Nadya, will be a sophomore this fall at DePauw University in Indiana. […]
Stoltmann created a Web site, recover529losses.com, to reach investors. He says the Reusche filing was the first of more than a dozen he has lined up, in an attempt to get investors’ money back, plus damages and legal fees. […]
Told of the pending settlement over the weekend, Stoltman replied, “Let’s see the final result. Nine out of 10 times, the ultimate recoveries by a state are much smaller than what I can settle for with my individual clients. … If the state recovers all the money, I’d recommend she take the settlement. But if they can’t get back all the money that was lost, then I’m going after them.”
* Meanwhile, in other US Senate candidate news…
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk’s office said Friday the congressman and his wife of eight years, Kimberly Ann Vertolli, are divorcing.
The divorce becomes final Monday.
“They remain friends, and the legal filings related to the divorce will not be sealed,” according to a brief statement from the Highland Park Republican’s office.
The filing was made under seal in Virginia, which kicked up some questions and apparently necessitated a press release on Friday. Glad to see it will be made public so we don’t have to go through yet another wrenching divorce drama. Also glad to see that it probably won’t be contentious. Nobody needs that.
* Moving over to gubernatorial politics, probable GOP candidate Dan Proft talks about Medicaid to Jeff Berkowitz…
Proft: Blagojevich is gone. That illegal expansion of [Medicaid by Blago] is not [gone]. Doubling the eligibility of Medicaid has resulted in a 33% increase in Medicaid spending by the state just in the last three years. […]
Dan Proft: In this fiscal year, according to Quinn’s budget…it looks like they are projecting about 18 billion dollars in Medicaid spending, so it would save you about five billion dollars, that’s the increase over the last three fiscal years alone.
Jeff Berkowitz: It would save about 5 billion dollars in the 2010 budget…?
Dan Proft: It would save at least that amount.
According to the Taxpayer Action Board report, total Medicaid spending was $10.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2007 and has risen to $11.2 billion this fiscal year. Also, the system grew fastest during George Ryan’s term…
For example, in July 2000 the income eligibility threshold for the aged and disabled population was increased. This change alone has resulted in approximately 136,000 new enrollees in this category. In October 2002, the income standards for parents of low-income children, already eligible for coverage, were also increased, adding another 170,000 enrollees to the program… Finally, beginning with the enactment of legislation covering all uninsured children of any income level in November 2005, Illinois began an aggressive public relations campaign to promote enrollment of children in the All Kids health insurance program. This campaign has resulted in 68,600 additional children being added to the Medicaid program.
* Potential Democratic statewide candidate Rep. Mike Boland is furious at the U of I…
Fallout from questionable admissions practices at the University of Illinois continued Sunday as a state representative called for the resignation of the school system’s president and the trustees who meddled with student applications.
State Rep. Mike Boland (D-East Moline), chairman of the state House Higher Education Committee, said President B. Joseph White and other university leaders betrayed the public’s confidence by giving preferential treatment to politically connected applicants.
“They were trusted to protect our university,” Boland said. “In my eyes, they failed in that regard and they should resign.”
Mike Boland’s upset at preferential treatment for politically connected applicants? Really?
* Possible Cook County Board President candidate Dorothy Brown stops taking cash from her employees…
Let’s begin by congratulating Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown for her decision to stop accepting cash gifts from employees. Though she long defended the practice as perfectly legal (sad but true) and completely voluntary (unlikely), Brown now acknowledges that at the very least, it looks bad.
She still won’t tell us how much those gifts were worth, though. That looks worse.
Appearances are everything as Brown mulls a run for Cook County Board president and tries to convince voters that the operations of her office have improved. The last thing she needs is a replay of last September’s embarrassing coverage of her 55th birthday celebration at the Hotel Allegro. Employees groused privately that their “invitations” included a request for a minimum $125 campaign contribution. The bash was organized by a group called “The X Company,” whose members are mostly senior staffers in the clerk’s office. In addition to being dinged for a campaign contribution, employees were offered the opportunity to add their personal birthday wishes to a souvenir book — for a price. Proceeds from the book were given to Brown as a gift.
* And former reform commission chairman Patrick Collins pens an op-ed in the Tribune entitled: Bring on the elections…
Every political candidate should be asked three questions. What have you done in the last five years to restore the public trust? When have you taken a stand against your political or party self-interest? What will you do to repair the integrity crisis?
If voters insist on making subsequent elections a referendum on corruption, we could get meaningful reform in Illinois.
Candidate or not? What say ye?
…Adding… Oops. Missed this one…
[Carbondale] Mayor Brad Cole is considering a run for statewide office as part of the Republican ticket in 2010 and is beginning a fundraising effort.
Cole announced his decision in a letter mailed Friday to possible supporters, although he did not name in the letter or say in an interview which office he will seek. […]
After college, he was hired to run then-Gov. George Ryan’s Marion office, the first Southern Illinois of an Illinois governor, he said. He was later deputy chief of staff.
* Related and semi-related…
* Entitlements for some, providing they have the right clout: Sure there are a some downstate and Chicago lawmakers” names tucked into the records, but the list is overwhelmingly suburban. Thumb through the records and you”ll find names like state Sen. Chris Lauzen, a Republican from Aurora who has degrees from Duke and Harvard. He has fought against minority “entitlements.” In a column posted on his website he had this to say, “American Hispanics, native and immigrant (both legal and illegal), are at a crossroad. They are deciding individually and as a group whether America for them is a land of earned opportunity or a land of demanded entitlement.” He contends life should be based on merit. But he did make a call on behalf of a constituent”s kid. He contends he was trying to help the applicant deal with the bureaucracy and his inquiry was misinterpreted.
* PJStar: Top U of I officials failed this test
* How UI’s admissions have changed: Requests, pressures may have increased
* Rezko U., policing itself
* Digging through documents on UI special admissions
* Top-notch professors, coaches don’t come cheap
* Louis Gornick: the $83,000-a-year public university chef
* Legislators’ pension plan finally in line
* Legislators prepare for 2010 redistricting
* Illinois: real politics or reality TV?
* Ald. Carothers Due In Court On Bribery Charges
* Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman is not afraid to bite mayoral hand that feeds him
* Runoff still possible for Daley Council ally Solis
* Daley nephew’s deals
* Another way to make money on pension funds
* Daley kin Vanecko tied to bankrupt project
35 Comments
|
Morning shorts
Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray
* Creditors may get control of Tribune Co.: report
Tribune Co. and its creditors are in early negotiations for a reorganization plan in Bankruptcy Court that would likely transfer control of the media conglomerate from billionaire Sam Zell to a group of large banks and investors, the Chicago Tribune said, citing sources.
The plan centers on a debt-for-equity swap that would likely give the lenders, who hold $8.6 billion in senior debt, a large majority ownership stake in the reorganized company, the paper said.
Under the plan, a $90-million warrant, which Zell negotiated as part of his $8.2-billion deal to take the company private in 2007, would be wiped out, a source with knowledge of the situation and plan told the paper.
* WSCR has its eye on FM dial
* Neither NRA, Chicago giving up on gun fight
* Guns and justice
* Falling CAPS Turnout Disturbs Residents
* Fines seem to work where logic fails
* Cameras already teach us not to run red lights
* Nearby wind farm may double in size
Fenz said the company pays between $12,000 and $16,000 a year in taxes for each turbine. Because the tax-supported ambulance association serves the development area, the association expects to get $190,000 a year from the existing turbines.
Schools also benefit. Ridgeview Superintendent Larry Dodds said his district expects to get about $1.7 million in tax money from the existing turbines. If 300 are added, the district might see another $3 million a year, he said.
Of the existing turbines, 161 are within school district boundaries. Dodds believes the planned expansion would bring 250 more within the boundaries.
* Midwest Could Pay Big in New Energy Economy
Schemes to put a price on climate-change pollution would be expensive for the Midwest, according to the report commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. That’s because the region is a big polluter. The report finds that the heartland produces 1/20 of all the carbon emissions worldwide, mostly because the Midwest burns so much coal. Council president Marshal Bouton says that makes it all the more important for Midwestern states to speak up as the policies are being formed.
* Gas goes up as demand goes down
* Potential Rate Hike for Ameren Customers
On Friday… Ameren Illinois Utilities filed a request with the Illinois Commerce Commission seeking a 266 million dollar rate hike for delivering electricity and natural gas. Ameren officials are calling the action an effort to ensure the utilities will continue to have the resources needed to provide “a reliable, safe energy delivery system.”
In response to the proposed rate hike— – the president of the Citizen’s Utility board released this statement. “Ameren’s 226 million dollar rate–hike proposal is a slap in the face to consumers who already are struggling to pay monthly bills during the economic downturn.”
The ink is barely dry on Ameren’s 160 million dollar rate hike, approved just last year, and the company is back at the table, asking state regulators for a new 226 million dollar increase.
* Ameren asking for rate increases
* LPGA, State Farm close to signing deal
The chairman of the board of directors for the LPGA State Farm Classic said Sunday an agreement in principle has been reached to keep the women’s professional golf tournament in Springfield beyond this year.
* Can the Arch grounds include Illinois?
The National Park Service is backing a plan that calls for growing the park into Illinois, potentially making good on a decades-old dream of extending the Arch grounds into East St. Louis.
“Going back to Saarinen, the idea was there would be something on that side,” park superintendent Tom Bradley said. “Although the public really likes the idea of having something over there, it hasn’t really been tested with the Illinois community.”
* East St. Louis park offers new view, new vision
4 Comments
|
Schakowsky to announce she won’t run
Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* US Rep. Jan Schakowsky is holding a “media availability” this morning at 10:45 at Devonshire Elementary School in Skokie…
Schakowsky will be available to answer questions on all topics of interest to the press.
Schakowsky has said she will make her announcement today about whether she’ll run for the US Senate…
The Evanston Democrat isn’t returning phone calls, and those close to her aren’t saying. But, for what it’s worth, the announcement is scheduled to occur in Skokie, in the center of Ms. Schakowsky’s district, rather than in, say, the Loop, a good place to reach a statewide audience.
Berkowitz says she’s not running…
Reliable sources have told this journalist that Cong. Jan Schakowsky (D- Evanston, 9th CD) will announce tomorrow morning her decision not to run in the 2010 Democratic Primary for the Senate seat previously held by Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald, Democratic President Barack Obama and currently held by Democratic Senator Roland Burris.
And she confirmed that to Lynn Sweet…
After exploring a Senate run, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told me Sunday she instead will seek another term in the House. […]
In a statement to be released today, Schakowsky, an Evanston resident first elected to Congress in 1998, said the time requirements to raise the millions of dollars need to run in the Senate contest would have turned her into “a telemarketer five to six hours each day.”
Your thoughts?
37 Comments
|
|
Comments Off
|
|
Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
...............
|
   
|
Hosted by MCS
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax
Advertise Here
Mobile Version
Contact Rich Miller
|
