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Durbin sends letter, media pounces

Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This is what we’ve come to…

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) sent a recommendation letter to a principal last spring on behalf of a staffer’s relative who had been rejected entry to one of Chicago’s most elite public high schools.

News? Really?

At least the Tribune’s lede was relatively bloodless. The Sun-Times, however, took a different approach with its lede

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin — the No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate — is getting drawn into the growing investigation of how some students get admitted to Chicago’s selective-enrollment high schools.

* Meanwhile, in real news

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s tollway executives were ready to give millions of dollars in breaks to the failing operator of the glass-lined oases until the attorney general squashed the plan, citing a “very troubling” history of insider deals, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Herald. […]

The letter reveals the attorney general stopped tollway officials last summer from forgiving $1.4 million in back rent and unpaid fees Wilton owed the state agency.

The settlement proposal also would have changed the contract with Wilton by limiting the amount of fees from advertising sales and other business due to the tollway under the original contract, according to the letter from the attorney general’s office to then-tollway board Chairman John Mitola.

In rejecting the settlement proposal, Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s staff cited a long history of questionable deals between Wilton and the tollway and it found the principal partner of the project was “not credible.”

* Related…

* Former tollway chairman’s undisclosed land deal raises flags

* Ex tollway chair: No ownership, pay for Wheeling Station deal

* Gov names 3 to tollway board

* State worker salary site lacks prominent officials: Alka Nayyar, spokeswoman for the state Department of Central Management Services that is setting up the Web site, said the state isn’t required to get all the salaries up until Jan. 1, 2011, one year after the law signed last week takes effect. For now, she said, only employees under the governor’s control have salaries posted.

* Quinn: “This will be a week of reform”

* Records law revision a welcome change

* Thanks, gov, we needed that; FOIA bill is now law

* It’s a win for freedom here

* Madigan Praises Open Records Laws

* Kadner: Law not perfect, but it does open Government

* Gov. Pat Quinn signs overhaul of state’s open records law

* Quinn signs law forcing government officials to make information public
* New state law goes after government secrecy

* Quinn signs bill cracking down on jail phone scam

* Daley defends Munoz’s clout call for daughter

* Ald. Ricardo Munoz under city schools investigation

* State Rep. Bill Black wants U of I trustee job

* Quinn to act on U of I trustees this week

* U of I Trustees Could Be Forced Out

* U. of I faculty reacts to admissions scandal

       

9 Comments
  1. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 10:36 am:

    I’m sure the federales have had long talks with Rezko at his presumably nicer-than-the-MCC accommodations about Wilton and the Tollway. That one’s got some legs.


  2. - siriusly - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 10:50 am:

    Rich
    I think you missed yesterday’s Sun-Times article about the blame game between Cherlye Jackson and Kristin Richards over the Loop Lab School $1 M.

    BTW - did the state ever get that money back?


  3. - siriusly - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 10:53 am:

    Apologies Blog Master - I see you posted the link under another item. But really, did we get the money back?


  4. - Tollway Joe - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 12:38 pm:

    “Reform and Renewal” = Prison Time


  5. - Will County Woman - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 2:07 pm:

    I find it interesting that when Lisa Madigan is in the news with Pat Quinn, she still takes top biling.

    In all other cases in which Quinn has simply signed legislation over the last several weeks, the media often, er always, fails to mention the party/parties actually responsible for the legislation (e.g, rep jack franks); the media just make it seem like the legislation is all Quinn’s.

    But, when lisa madigan is involved with legislation somehow, the media gives her credit for it.

    The media are funny. How hard is it to write or report the following for the sake of accuracy: Gov. Quinn today signed legislation that does X or Y. This legislation was orginally proposed/sponsored by rep. or sen. so and so, and/or sponsored by rep. or sen. so and so, before being sent to Gov. quinn to sign into law

    ??????????????????????????


  6. - Irish - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 2:25 pm:

    Reform week, really?
    I guess if you keep beating a dead horse in the middle of the street folks won’t notice that the bank is being robbed.

    So to take the heat off what isn’t getting done we focus on the U of I trustees who were just carrying out legislators requests. Let’s not talk about the many holdovers from the Blagojevich administration that are still holding office and should be fired, let’s hit the U of I thing again.
    Let’s not talk about the three recent executive positions created in IDNR at $100,000+, one at the Thompson Building and two at the Crystal Palace in Springpatch, that were filled by two folks out of the Lt. Governor’s office. And this at the time when we are considering making summer workers at $8.00/hr take furlough days, and talking about laying off 39 people in IDNR. Let’s whack on those trustees again.
    Let’s not talk about what responsibility the legislators have who made the calls, let’s talk of the trustees as though they are the font from which all evil comes. After all if we get them to resign Illinois State Government will be pure again because there are no other evil doers, are there? Let’s make them the poster child for Reform this week, and next, and next, etc.


  7. - Irish - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 3:52 pm:

    AND- Maybe if I keep hammerin on this equine no one will notice that the same week I signed the transperency in Government bill I also announced I will be using my personal Blackberry so I don not have to reveal my correspondence.


  8. - Northside Bunker - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 7:46 pm:

    - Plum Jobs - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 10:23 am:
    How right your are!


  9. - Green - Tuesday, Aug 18, 09 @ 10:32 pm:

    Give Alderman Munoz a break. Why should his children by condemned to the miseries ot his ancestors. The Alderman did not have the opportunity to get a high school diploma. The poor Alderman’s dad went to jail for selling fake ID to illegal alliens.


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