* I’ve now confirmed the “rumor” below about Andy McKenna running for governor with Sen. Matt Murphy as lt. governor. Several others have as well. The two men met today and it’s final.
A month after stepping down as head of the Illinois Republican Party, Andy McKenna is set to throw his hat into the ring in the race for governor. […]
Sources also said McKenna has chosen State Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) – who had declared his own candidacy for governor – as his de facto running mate to run for lieutenant governor. State law does not allow official linkage of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, but it is not uncommon for such candidates to run unofficially as a team.
Convinced that a team of two will break through the pack of Republican candidates running for Illinois governor, former GOP chairman Andy McKenna and Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine are teaming up for a gubernatorial run, sources tell NBC Chicago.
In doing so, Murphy abandons his own bid for governor and instead becomes McKenna’s de facto running mate for lieutenant governor.
The committee acted at the behest of federal prosecutors who already are investigating former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The panel normally defers investigations when requested by law enforcement, to avoid interference with prosecutors.
Yikes.
The ethics committee is also looking into something that this blog has repeatedly pointed out about Jackson’s government operation…
The referral, made public by the ethics committee, stated, “In the course of conducting this review, the [Office of Congressional Ethics] learned that staff resources of the representative’s Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Illinois offices were used to mount a ‘public campaign’ to secure the representative’s appointment to the U.S. Senate.
“In doing so, Representative Jackson may have violated federal law and House rules concerning the proper use of the Member’s Representational Allowance.” The allowance is a monetary amount allotted to each congressional office for official operations.
Their quest for the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President Barack Obama has landed Sen. Roland Burris and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. on a watchdog group’s annual list of the “15 most corrupt members of Congress.”
“It’s all about the Blagojevich matter,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
The group named the Illinois Democrats to its “most corrupt” list for the first time, based on disclosures stemming from the wiretap investigation and arrest of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich last year for his alleged attempts to sell the Senate seat.
* Other congressional stuff…
* ADDED:Greg Hinz: Kirk stumbles in cap-and-trade flip-flop: Third, blaming his district for his vote raises the obvious question of which other of his moderate views the gentleman from Highland Park is preparing to jettison. Guns, abortion and gay rights, tax policy, pharmaceutical aid, whatever? Who knows what the man now really believes. And, on that last point, I have to add the business community. Though Mr. Kirk now is saying what they want to hear on cap-and-trade, will he be saying — and voting — the same thing if he gets elected to the Senate?
* Kirk’s flip-flop on cap and trade draws national attention
* EMILY’s List Backs Hamos For Illinois Rep. Kirk’s Seat
* Rep. Bill Foster votes ‘present‘ in heckling debate
* Do Women Legislators Benefit From An Underdog Effect?
* No surprise: Schock, Hare at odds over health care
* Washington Post: Now This Is a Photo Op: In a divided political climate, the nation can agree on one thing: The camera loves Rep. Aaron Schock! The Republican wunderkind from Illinois got the star treatment from Details magazine last spring; now GQ is featuring the 28-year-old freshman in a four-page fashion spread — its first such spread featuring a politician… “It’s in keeping with my strategy to reach out to new demographics and new media forms,” he told us. GQ readers “are probably people who aren’t regular donors to the RNC.”
* Politico: DC’s Most Eligible Singles: Any Washingtonian who hasn’t heard of Aaron Schock has been living in a cave. Thanks to his good looks and six-pack abs (brought to you by TMZ), Schock has earned an enormous amount of press as Congress’ new hottie. Surely, his legislative work will live up to his hype. But the real question is: how will he keep that very un-politician-like physique during his time on Capitol Hill?
* For good reason, I know a lot of you probably despise Scott Fawell. But Fox Chicago interviewed him last night and he made a couple of interesting points about Chris Kelly’s death. Go watch the whole thing, but here’s the relevant excerpt…
LEAD-IN: Fawell accepts responsibility for his crimes, but [Fawell says Kelly’s three indictments show that] federal prosecutors stop at nothing to compel you to cooperate with their investigation.
FAWELL: “I think there are some issues that are brought up in this [Kelly suicide] that ought to be addressed by the public… When is enough enough?… Is that what the government’s role is is to just never take ‘No’ for an answer and beat you into submission until a guy commits, takes his own life? That’s pretty severe.”
Q: But on the flip-side, should the prosecution be going soft on suspected white-collar criminals?
FAWELL: “No. I don’t say that at all. I think when they indicted me - I got 52 months in prison. That’s a long time… I don’t think that’s going soft on them.”
Keep in mind that Chris Kelly was indicted twice after he pled guilty to the first federal charge this past January. He pled guilty to the second charge last week and was due to report to prison this Friday. He was scheduled to go on trial with Rod Blagojevich and several others next summer.
* The Question: Do you think federal prosecutors went too far with their pursuit of Chris Kelly? As always, fully explain your answer, please.
Cemetery oversight should be seized from Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes’ office and placed under the governor’s control, recommended a panel set up by Gov. Pat Quinn to investigate the burial industry after the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal.
The governor’s Cemetery Oversight Task Force found that “a systematic failure of oversight and regulation of the for-profit cemetery industry” in Illinois was probably “a contributing factor to the criminal scheme that allegedly unfolded” at Burr Oak.
But it stopped short of saying Hynes — who audits cemetery finances and is Quinn’s rival in next year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary — could have prevented up to 300 bodies allegedly being dug up so their burial plots could be resold at the historic African-American cemetery near Alsip.
The Trib mercifully buried Rep. Ken Dunkin’s intemperate remarks. Not so with Chicago Public Radio, which has given Dunkin a lot of prominence in its coverage.
* Hynes’ full response…
“While it is unfortunate that it required the tragic events that occurred at Burr Oak Cemetery to bring to light the serious lack of regulation in the death care industry, we must seize this opportunity to finally bring much-needed oversight for which I have been fighting for many years. I appreciate that the task force is recommending many of the reforms that I’ve long advocated. The task force has put forth some new proposals which I intend to carefully review in the coming days. I look forward to working with the task force members in the upcoming veto session of the General Assembly to finally bring about additional consumer protections and strong oversight of the death care industry in Illinois. We owe it to the memory of those buried at Burr Oak and their loved ones to see this through to the very end.”
* Meanwhile, Gov. Quinn has accused Comptroller Hynes of “grandstanding” on the bill payment issue. Hynes, you already know, is refusing to pay some state bills for advertising and consulting contracts. Tribune…
“I don’t think it’s good to inject your political campaign into something as important as complying with the law of Illinois,” Quinn said. “If you want to have political stunts, don’t do it with the law of our state.” […]
Quinn said Hynes could be opening the state to lawsuits from vendors who aren’t receiving payments, but refused to say if he would take action to force payments.
“Frankly, I don’t take the matter seriously, from this standpoint I think it’s pure politics,” Quinn said at a morning press conference regarding cemetery regulation. “It’s unfortunate that he has to engage in that kind of approach, but, you know, he knows what the law is.”
“I would hope upon reflection they would stop the antics and carry out their legal responsibilities.”
The Hynes office sent me this yesterday…
Also, regarding the contracts, Rich, as you are aware, the Comptroller has a long track record of sending contracts back under many governors. He refused to pay for flu shots the state never received and he’s frozen pork spending – those are just two examples. Contracts can be canceled. They can be reduced. What the Comptroller is saying is, in light of the state’s fiscal situation, does the Governor really want to make these contracts a priority? Pat Quinn has a decision to make. Does he want to spend $53 million on consultant and marketing contracts, or does he want to spend it on health care. It is his choice. We will honor his choice.
So, now he’ll honor Quinn’s choice after saying he won’t honor Quinn’s choice?
* Related…
* Quinn wants to reverse some of his probation cuts: “The Governor feels that supplemental funds must be provided for probation services in every county of the state,” Jentz said in a statement. “He will make an announcement soon regarding the use of discretionary dollars to support these vital programs.”
* Illinois’ 2010 gubernatorial hopefuls hop on the social media train
It appears that Andy McKenna who has long dreamed of a successful elective political career will shortly announce that he will be a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. But McKenna has a lot of wood to chop since as state Republican chairman, he didn’t win many adherents given the low estate of the state GOP under his tenure.
Be that as it may, the view is current that he has chosen young, vigorous State Sen. Matt Murphy, Palatine, to run for lieutenant governor. Although the primary does not allow linkage there is no problem with the two of them running unofficially as a team. Up to now Murphy has been a declared candidate for governor but will drop that bid. Murphy is a hugely popular candidate with conservatives. True, the two of them are Irish Catholics from the suburbs but geography may not mean much anymore in Illinois. Look at the Democrats: Quinn, Hynes, Lisa Madigan, Alexi Giannoulias, White-all from the Chicago area.
Murphy’s campaign is playing very coy. “We’re not responding to rumors,” was the standard line yesterday. Murphy did not return two phone messages left for him.
Today’s e-mail from the Murphy campaign read simply: “Sneed is wrong.”…
Sneed hears rumbles former GOP state party chief Andy McKenna will announce his bid for governor this week.
If Murphy was planning to stay in the governor’s race, you’d think he would be more forceful about knocking down these rumors.
Also it appears that State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) will run with the same kind of unofficial linkage with a fresh, young face from downstate Edwardsville: Jason Plummer, 27, former Republican chairman of Madison county, the scion of Robert Plummer, a multi-millionaire CEO of R. P. Lumber, who owns a string of lumber retail stores throughout southern Illinois. Both Plummers are strong conservatives, Robert having been a mainstay financial backer of the Illinois Civil Justice League which has successfully supported tort reform. Jason Plummer will announce his formal campaign for lieutenant governor shortly.
Interesting combo. Moderate and conservative.
…Adding… I’m not so sure, though, that Dillard has actually signed on Plummer or even asked him yet.
For much of this year, Democrats in Washington have been looking for a white knight in the Illinois Senate race, a chaste candidate who represents a dramatic break from the status quo after the debacle surrounding the appointment of Barack Obama’s successor.
Now, they have one whose reform credentials seem to fit the profile — former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman — but he’s been greeted with a yawn.
Despite a record of taking on some of the most powerful politicians in Illinois, Hoffman has been virtually ignored by the Democratic establishment. Party officials are skeptical he can raise enough money in the compressed period of time before the February primary to compete or that there’s enough time for him to introduce himself to voters across the state.
It’s mostly a good piece, so go read the whole thing.
* I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. Here’s Mary Schmich in today’s Chicago Tribune…
It’s not surprising that out on the Internet, conspiracy theorists have been convening with relish, reluctant to accept [Chris] Kelly’s death Saturday simply as the suicide of a 51-year-old man on the brink of prison.
Schmich’s column was published the day after her own newspaper printed an editorial full of dark and incorrect gun-jumping theories artlessly disguised as “questions.”
“And now the mysterious deaths will start,” wrote one comment-board Sherlock Holmes.
“The plot thickens,” wrote another.
“Blago/Kelly,” wrote another, “this will become the story of the year! It doesn’t get any better than this.”
It turns out that all three of those comments came from a post on Chicago Now, which is a site run by… yeah, you guessed it, the Chicago Tribune.
The “blogger” whose post got all mucked up with oddball comments is actually a cable news show host who works for CLTV, which is part of Mother Tribune’s empire. This person did two CLTV talk show segments entitled “Christopher Kelly: Murder or Suicide?”
But, “the Internet” is to blame. Sheesh.
* Look, there’s a lot of goofy stuff out there on the Internet. But, frankly, some of the vilest things I’ve ever seen posted were on newspaper-owned websites. Try scanning through some of these reader comments posted on yesterday’s Tribune editorial, including…
this sounds like another vince foster-type cover-up.
And…
Was Kelly about to expose a “quid pro quo” deal offered to him by Fitzgerald ? Why are the feds not investigating this suspicious deaths of one of its key witnesses for the prosecution ? Is Witness Tampering and Obstruction of Justice by the feds involved ?
And…
Cause of death? Blago.
Heckuva job, Tribbies.
I don’t necessarily mean to just pick on newspaper site commenters. Some of the weirdest conspiracy theories out there are regularly published under bylines in Schmich’s own newspaper.
So, instead of blaming the amorphous “Internet,” it would be nice if those in the print trade would occasionally try looking at where the real problem is: Within.
* Related…
* Christopher Kelly death: He tried suicide days before he died, police say - Friend of Blagojevich faced prison and led chaotic life in his last days, officials say
* Police chief says Kelly tried to kill self earlier
* Kelly failed first suicide attempt - Timeline of events before death revealed
* Carol Marin: Memo to Blago: It’s not always about you
* Yes, aspirin can kill you: “I have great respect for it as a medication. I have great respect for it as a poison,” says Dr. Edward Krenzelok, director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center.
