…Quinn did attempt to turn up the heat on fellow statewide office holders, including Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the daughter of House Speaker Michael Madigan and a potential challenger for the state’s top post next year. He said he was “disappointed” in statewide officials who didn’t stand by him in calling for tax hikes. He said they where “going out the back door, not willing to take a stand.”
While railing against lawmakers who refused to back a tax hike, Quinn repeatedly quoted the Bible and invoked Illinois veterans who rely on state services. He said he expected better from the Democratic Party.
“We do not throw people on the side of the road as the wagon train moves forward,” he said.
The Illinois Republican Party is demanding answers from Attorney General Lisa Madigan and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
GOP spokesman Lance Trover says serious questions have been raised after The Associated Press reported former Gov. Rod Blagojevich had considered Lisa Madigan for President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.
Trover says voters need to know of any involvement by either Madigan in the Blagojevich corruption allegations.
* 12:34 pm - The US 7th Circuit appellate court has rejected a lawsuit brought by the National Rifle Association against Chicago and Oak Park over their handgun bans. You can read the decision and listen to oral arguments by clicking here. And here’s the basic gist of the decision…
Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and BAUER and POSNER, Circuit Judges.
EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge. Two municipalities in Illinois ban the possession of most handguns. After the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008), that the second amendment entitles people to keep handguns at home for self-protection, several suits were filed against Chicago and Oak Park. All were dismissed on the ground that Heller dealt with a law enacted under the authority of the national government, while Chicago and Oak Park are subordinate bodies of a state.
The Supreme Court has rebuffed requests to apply the second amendment to the states. See United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1876); Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886); Miller v. Texas, 153 U.S. 535 (1894). The district judge thought that only the Supreme Court may change course […]
The Court did not say that Cruikshank, Presser, and Miller rejected a particular argument for applying the second amendment to the states. It said that they hold “that the Second Amendment applies only to the Federal Government.” The Court added that “Cruikshank’s continuing validity on incorporation” is “a question not presented by this case”. Ibid. That does not license the inferior courts to go their own ways; it just notes that Cruikshank is open to reexamination by the Justices themselves when the time comes.
If a court of appeals may strike off on its own, this not only undermines the uniformity of national law but also may compel the Justices to grant certiorari before they think the question ripe for decision. […]
Chicago and Oak Park are poorly placed to make these arguments. After all, Illinois has not abolished self-defense and has not expressed a preference for long guns over handguns. But the municipalities can, and do, stress another of the themes in the debate over incorporation of the Bill of Rights: That the Constitution establishes a federal republic where local differences are to be cherished as elements of liberty rather than extirpated in order to produce a single, nationally applicable rule. […]
Federalism is an older and more deeply rooted tradition than is a right to carry any particular kind of weapon. How arguments of this kind will affect proposals to “incorporate” the second amendment are for the Justices rather than a court of appeals.
The Justices deliberately kicked the case upstairs to the US Supreme Court. An NRA lobbyist just told me the group will definitely appeal.
As always with hot-button issues like this, please do your utmost to avoid canned talking points in comments. And no hostile “drive-by” bumper sticker slogan comments, either. Use your own mind and your own words, please. Thanks.
* Before Pat Quinn became governor, this was a staff only, do not enter sign…
And the staff was quite nice to me when I walked through the door and took a wrong turn.
Well, most of them. Bob Reed, the governor’s top spokesman, didn’t seem all that pleased when he looked up and saw me standing in his doorway. He didn’t throw me out, though, so it was worth the test.
* Question 1: How often do you access this blog via your “smart” phone, if ever? …Adding… Which smart phone do you use?
* Question 2: Is there a particular smart phone-ready, etc. news site that you particularly like which we could use as a model here? Explain.
With the legislative session kinda over, I’m about to embark on a total revamp of this site. I saw tons of lobbyists, staffers, lawmakers, etc. accessing the blog via their phone during session. Conversations in the past few days have often gone like this…
Lobbyist, staffer, etc: “What’s new?”
Me: “35 House Dems voted for Senate tax plan in caucus five minutes ago.”
Lobbyist, staffer, etc: “I know. I saw it on the blog. What’s new since then?”
Me: “It’s only been 5 minutes! lol”
So, naturally I’m wondering if this smart phone usage is also happening a lot outside the Statehouse. The mobile revamp will just be one part of the reconstruction, so let’s stick to that topic right now. We’ll get to the rest in time. Thanks.
* Any time the General Assembly passes a capital bill [which you can peruse here], you’re gonna see stories like this…
Before bolting from Springfield Monday morning, Democrats and Republicans took out their knives and participated in what has become a tradition: carving up a fortune in pork-barrel projects around the state.
The article was entitled: “Illinois lawmakers feast on bigger slice of pork - Legislators take home $500 million chunk for pet projects.” And it even makes this argument…
Legislators also took care of Chicago aldermen, doling out millions to repair roads and lights.
Repairing roads and fixing street lights are now considered pet projects?
* But you’ll also see plenty of stories like this…
The statewide capital bill passed by the Legislature early Monday morning includes $38.1 million to virtually rebuild the Lincoln’s Challenge Academy in Rantoul.
East Central Illinois also gets money for a great number of other projects, large and small, that were submitted by lawmakers as part of the $28.3 billion construction plan. But the money set aside for Lincoln’s Challenge, an Illinois National Guard youth intervention program, dwarfs almost every other project in the state.
For Southern Illinois, that means projects like the $103 million widening of Illinois 13 between Marion and Carbondale will be in limbo until things are sorted out in Springfield.
The following is a rundown of some of the other projects that are part of the proposed statewide construction program.
• $925,000 for Saline Valley Water Conservancy District for improvements to Stonefort Water Supply Line;
• $740,000 for sewer work in Benton;
• $163,000 for a new water tower in Christopher;
• $205,000 for road work in Colp;
Etc.
* There are always gonna be items that can be pointed to with glee. The House Republicans steered me to this one…
The sum of $200,000, of so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the Build Illinois Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Black on Black Love for costs associated with the acquisition and renovation of a new facility.
The sum of $125,000, of so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the Build Illinois Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the Southeast Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center for costs associated with replacing the roof at the facility.
Hard to argue with something like that. Trouble is, the state is slashing program money for drug and alcohol abuse centers. So, they may end up with a nice, new roof and no clients.
There were only 42 votes for the temporary tax increase in the 118-member Illinois House, all Democrats. Madigan said Quinn had counted on upward of eight Republicans who would support the tax. He said additional Democrats would have voted for the increase but were unwilling to do so if it was going to be a Democrats-only tax increase.
Now, the challenge for Quinn is finding even more votes if he wants his tax increase. Because lawmakers failed to meet the constitution’s midnight, May 31 deadline, it’ll require 71 rather than 60 votes to approve a tax increase, a budget or just about anything else. In the Illinois House, that means Democrats will need Republican help. There are 70 Democrats and 48 Republicans in the House.
Quinn initially said he thought Republicans would come around and simply wanted to voice their displeasure with the process by voting “no” on taxes.
The governor’s office believed they had 55 House Democratic votes and about 8 GOP votes. But they’ll need a lot more now. I talked to several Republicans who wanted to back a tax hike but didn’t think they could do so because of the House’s political climate.
* Meanwhile, I’ve made this same argument, and I stand by it, but there’s also a problem with it…
House Speaker Michael Madigan shot down the widely held Statehouse belief that he sat on his hands as Quinn’s tax hike failed in a chamber the speaker runs with an iron fist.
“That comes from people that want to be critical of me,” Madigan said.
The governor’s reform commission had zeroed in on Madigan’s tight grip of his chamber. They had good reason to want to loosen that grip but they never really explained it. Had Madigan forced 60 of his nervous members to back a tax hike, that would’ve been some obvious proof.
In some ways, MJM gets a bad rap. On the one hand, people shout: “He’s a bad dictator!” And then when he doesn’t pass something, they shout: “He should be a dictator on this one issue!”
But I think there was a lot more going on here than Pat Collins and his merry band of reformers.
Madigan also denied deliberately leading the state to the brink of a fiscal calamity to complicate Quinn’s 2010 gubernatorial prospects in a potential showdown with Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s daughter.
“I’m the speaker of the House. I’m trying to work on adopting a budget for the people of the state of Illinois. I’ve done it for 38 years. OK? Lisa Madigan is going to do what she’s going to do, and she’ll do it on her own. Her record stands,” said the speaker, who said he did not know what his daughter’s plans are.
“…What he did do was cave in to Michael Madigan every step of the way. Quinn said he wanted a budget bill passed before a capital spending bill was passed. Madigan said he wanted a capital spending bill done first, and Quinn gave in.
“Quinn said he wanted to permanently raise the income tax from 3 percent to 4.5 percent. Madigan said he wanted it to be a temporary income tax hike. Quinn gave in.
“Quinn wanted to increase the personal exemption on the income tax from $2,000 to $6,000 and Madigan said he couldn’t pass that bill. So Quinn came down to $3,000.
“The governor acquiesced to the demands of Speaker Madigan every step of the way, and in the end what did he get? Nothing,” Meeks said. “And Mayor Daley didn’t do anything, either. The mayor continually says the Chicago schools need more money and the state should do something. But he didn’t hold a single news conference during this legislative session calling on Chicago officials to support a tax increase. I didn’t hear about a single state legislator from Chicago getting a call from the mayor. He did nothing.”
Watch for Gov. Quinn, whose income tax hike was shot down, to launch a crusade to capture the conscience of the voters.
• • The plan: “I’m going to fight back,” Quinn told Sneed. “This mission will be a real test of our conscience. It’s easy to look the other way. I want to make sure we do not.”
• • The push: Calling his plan the “Good Samaritan Initiative,” an irate Gov. Quinn — furious over the state Legislature’s massive cuts in state services — tells Sneed he plans an “epic battle” for the hearts of the people and a push to reconvene the Legislature.
• • The punch: “Our goal is to rally all those to the principle of the Good Samaritan; to take care of our neighbor in need. Our state has a big heart. But it seems some people in Springfield worry more about campaign contributions.”
• • The pitch: “We’ve got to find a place in our hearts for those who have been dealt a bad blow in life through no fault of their own: like rape victims, foster children who need to be adopted, senior citizens. In the next few days, I plan to summon the good people of Illinois and alert them to what all this means. I’m going to visit the places where the service cuts will be devastating.”
• • The place: Watch for Quinn to launch what he considers “the challenge of a lifetime” at the Illinois Maternal and Child Care Coalition luncheon at Maggiano’s restaurant.
The visits are fine. The rhetoric? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
* Human service programs on state’s hit list: Two of [the GOP’s] primary goals are to put Medicaid recipients into managed care programs and make major changes to state government pensions. The latter could include charging employees more for their pensions and retirees more for health care and putting newly hired state workers into a separate pension program with fewer benefits.
* Governor, lawmakers see long road for budget: Their budget staffs will be together Wednesday to crunch numbers. The governor and leaders will meet Thursday in Chicago to go over recommendations to be made by Quinn’s Taxpayer Action Board. The board is supposed to ferret out waste in government and recommend how to get rid of it. After that, though, no schedule is in place. “Reforms will not happen overnight,” Cross said.
* Patti Blagojevich, when asked why her husband Rod is facing jail time…
“I can’t really get into it too much, except that, yeah, they made a big hoopla about something that wasn’t even the truth,” Blagojevich said. “My husband was governor for six years, and you know was always about doing the right thing for people.”
Discuss.
…Adding… Rod Blagojevich’s trial will likely happen soon after the 2010 primary and before the general election, which won’t be fun for Democrats…
U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel told attorneys he wants the trial to get under way between April and June 2010 and would prefer it closer to April.
Zagel also said he is thinking about “public anonymity for the jury at least until the trial is over.”
“I’ve been getting lots of advice as to how I should rule and what I should do and I would not want members of the jury to be influenced by anything like that,” he said.
Just two weeks before his arrest on corruption charges, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich floated a plan to give President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat to the daughter of his biggest political rival in return for concessions on his pet projects, people familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.
We’ve known that Lisa Madigan was Senate Candidate 2 in the federal arrest report since Day One.
* And this isn’t new news, either…
Blagojevich also said he wanted a deal in which the elder Madigan would allow a long-stalled capital construction program through the House and take action on a Blagojevich-backed health care plan in return for his daughter’s appointment to the Senate seat, the aides said.
I’ve already reported that, and it can also be inferred from the arrest report…
Advisor B agreed that the three-way deal would be a better plan than ROD BLAGOJEVICH appointing Senate Candidate 2 to the Senate seat and getting more done as Governor. [Emphasis added]
And this is the story Blagojevich leaked to Sneed back in November…
“The latest from Blagoville is Gov. Rod Blagojevich toying with tossing Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who wants Blago’s job?
“*It may endear him to powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan, Lisa’s dad, who is Blago’s political foe.
There was no way that plan would’ve worked anyway. Speaker Madigan wouldn’t even return Blagojevich’s calls and refused to meet with him. No way would he have cut a big legislative deal like that based on a Senate appointment for his daughter.
Blagojevich told Sen. Dick Durbin he was thinking of naming Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the seat, according to two Durbin aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Read down in the story…
A Durbin aide said that in the conversation a number of names were mentioned as possible Senate picks — not just Madigan’s. He said Durbin spoke about the conversation at a news conference after Blagojevich’s arrest and mentioned Madigan’s name but none of the news reports that emerged mentioned Madigan — only Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett.
The only thing that may be new is that Durbin said he’d help. Trouble is, according to the story, Blagojevich told Durbin to “do nothing” and never got back to him.
Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker said the two discussed about 20 possible appointments for the senate seat, of which Madigan was one, and Blagojevich had asked the senator’s opinion about the decision.
“Sen Durbin tried to get across two messages. Pick someone who can hit the ground running as a senator, and number two, find someone who can be appointed quickly,” Shoemaker told The Roll Call, a newspaper covering Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
