* 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.
* 3:38 pm - Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch is expected to make some announcements about the Chris Kelly case at 4 o’clock. If you can bear to watch it click here for the live CBS2 feed.
* 4:03 pm - And here we go. The mayor is making an opening statement. He mentioned that a talk show host spent 30 minutes on his show last night speculating that Kelly’s death was a homicide. He claims that the death was an apparent suicide.
Thankfully, the mayor is not making the same mistake as Sunday and is turning over the presser to his police chief.
Chief: There appears to be no evidence of foul play. No evidence of involvement by other persons.
Kelly attempted to commit suicide earlier in the week, Tuesday, but once Kelly arrived at Oak Forest Hospital, he convinced his friend that he didn’t need help.
Police believe that Ms. Flores was truthful in her account. Michael Allen removed items from the scene, but turned them over to detectives.
Q: Rat poison ingested? A: Can’t comment on what Kelly ingested. Police did recover an unopened box of rat poison.
The note which was ostensibly written by Kelly was “rambling.”
Kelly took over-the-counter medication during the Tuesday suicide attempt. He was not treated for that attempt.
No indication that Kelly changed his mind about committing suicide after the second attempt.
No signs of any type of surgery to Kelly’s “private parts.”
Kelly told officer at the hospital that he was taking Tylenol for pain.
Q: Is it possible that anybody got drugs or other things to Kelly at either hospital? A: Didn’t look at any type of foul play at the hospital. Investigation dealt with activities leading up to being taken to the hospital. Q: [Reporters are getting weird now] Is there any reason that should be looked into?
Another reporter says “You have to be bothered” by the fact that Kelly seemed OK and then died. This reporter must be reading the Tribune editorial page. Bad move.
“Allegedly the note was written for the Tuesday suicide [attempt].”
Mayor is asked about Terry Gillespie’s comments regarding the mayor’s goofy comments. Mayor won’t apologize. Points to his previous police work.
Looked at several security videos from several businesses. He did, in fact, go to a store in town and purchase some items so that helped our timeline.
Mike Allen didn’t come to Oak Forest hospital until Saturday. The other man “does not wish to be identified,” because he was “only there to help his friend… And I’m going to respect that.” [Once again, if the mayor had just kept his mouth shut and refrained from sowing so much unnecessary speculation and suspicion, this wouldn’t even be an issue.]
No indication that pills were prescriptions. But, pills were turned over to State Police Crime Lab. Multiple pills, different sizes different colors that we couldn’t identify.
One of the Kelly texts: Come and get me, I need help.
I wish I could believe you when you promise “things will be better,” but I don’t. Then again, could they get much worse?
* Dear 19 members of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee,
Did voting “Present” on the roll call to slate Pat Quinn during Friday’s meeting mean you supported nobody or that you supported Dan Hynes’ request that nobody be slated? I only ask because nine voted to slate Hynes. Please, clear that up.
* Dear Rod Blagojevich,
Does everything have to be about you? Do you not realize how absolutely self-centered and moronic it is to issue a press release telling the world you’ll be attending Chris Kelly’s funeral?
* Dear Todd Stroger,
Does this story [fixed link] mean you’ve reached the “anger” phase? Please, speed up your grief phases and get to the “acceptance” level so we can be done with you.
* Dear Congresscritter Mike Quigley,
Actually, the “arch conservatives” I know don’t argue that government should always “stay out of people’s lives.” So, calling yourself one as you announce your support for gay marriage really isn’t all that logical.
* Dear Belleville police spokesman Don Sax,
Announcing to the media that a fight between teenagers on a school bus was “racially motivated” after simply reviewing a videotape was obviously a stupid thing to do. Didn’t you notice that it was black kids who broke it up? Drudge, thankfully, took down the gigantic, blaring headline after you corrected yourself.
Norb Andy’s Tabarin, a storied Springfield watering hole that has been shuttered for three years, will reopen with new owners in October.
Norb Andy’s, 518 E. Capitol Ave., will launch as a bar. Food service will be added early in 2010.
“We’re doing a complete overhaul. We’re ripping out the guts and rebuilding it with the same decor it used to have,” said Jeremy Thomas, who ran Marly’s Pub for five years. His business partner is Nathan Mihelich, a former WICS-TV newsman.
* The Question: What’s your favorite memory from the old Norb’s?
* Gov. Pat Quinn halted legislative movement this summer on a bill pushed by Comptroller Dan Hynes to reform the way cemeteries are regulated. Instead, Quinn said, he wanted to appoint a blue ribbon panel to look into the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal and make its own recommentations. Turns out, the recommendations look a whole lot like Hynes’ bill…
At a minimum, task force members said their recommendations are likely to include a requirement that all cemetery workers be licensed by the state, that cemetery grounds and maintenance be subject to minimum standards and random inspections, and that records and maps showing who is buried where be filed with the state.
Also likely to be included are recommendations that bereaved families visit cemeteries before buying a burial plot, that cemeteries provide itemized bills clearly explaining consumer rights, and that payment methods other than cash be accepted.
I hope that the Tribune erred on the “all cemetery workers ought to be licensed” stuff. That would be a bit much and a huge overreaction.
Whatever the case, if these recommendations do turn out to mirror Hynes’ plan, then Quinn has some explaining to do. More than a few of us thought Quinn was trying to trump Hynes politically by stalling that bill.
This blatant use of government by both men to one-up each other really needs to stop.
*** UPDATE *** The recommendations are in, and it appears that one of the biggest is enacting much of Hynes’ proposal. Quinn audio is here.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* But if the governor and the comptroller insist upon blatantly using their offices to damage their political opponents, perhaps they could look into this…
Wagner, who suffered a minor stroke in December, uses Medicare as her primary health insurance. The state’s plan provides secondary coverage, which is administered by Cigna.
Medicare paid its portion of the bills quickly. But the state still hasn’t paid its share, which totals more than $1,400 and continues to grow as bills for Wagner’s treatment are processed. Included in the total is $54.03 for a physical therapy session in January, which Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge sent to a collection agency last month.
“I just got so shook,” said Wagner, describing how she felt when she opened the letter from ICS Collection Service. “I quick made out a check because I got so scared.”
“Obviously, this is not our preference,” [Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services] said. “But the state is facing an unprecedented budget gap and really difficult decisions need to be made.”
Christopher Kelly placed a mattress in a rented trailer at a suburban lumber yard Friday night, set up photographs of his children around it, then ingested pills and possibly rat poison, according to a source with specific knowledge of the investigation into Kelly’s death.
For some reason, he then left the trailer and attempted to drive away from the area. He made it only about 100 feet in the parking lot of the Forest Lumber yard before contacting his girlfriend, touching off a chain of events that saw Kelly taken to two hospitals before he died.
Just days before he died of an apparent overdose, a defiant Christopher Kelly was resolved to fight a corruption trial he faced, if only to thumb his nose at federal authorities.
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s fund-raiser and adviser suddenly flip-flopped, however, after faced with another point of pressure. On the eve of trial, the government asked a judge to revoke Kelly’s bond, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
“The motion pushed him over the edge,” leading him to plead guilty, said a confidant, who asked not to be named. […]
The government’s request came after Kelly got into what one source described as a shouting match with an owner of VLive Club. Kelly had demanded to see the club’s books. He had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the business through his girlfriend, Clarissa Flores, sources familiar with the exchange said.
Something that’s key to questions about his treatment: Kelly was lucid enough to speak to police and was stabilized at one point early Saturday. Later that morning, his condition apparently deteriorated and hospital officials sent him to Stroger Hospital, about 25 miles away. […]
But acute aspirin overdoses are generally treatable. It’s surprising for a person to die of an aspirin overdose today. It’s also very unusual if you reach the hospital and are able to receive treatment. A majority of people who die of drug overdoses expire before they reach a hospital, experts say.
It may seem strange that Christopher Kelly would be talking coherently, then die several hours later, but Oak Forest Hospital physician Srinivas Jolepalem said it’s rather common in overdose cases.
“You can’t say someone’s stable just because they’re sitting up. That’s not the criteria they would use to figure out his condition,” said Jolepalem, who was not on duty the night of the incident. “Once a toxin is absorbed, and it goes to the kidney and brain, many things might start happening. The person would have difficulty breathing and can become comatose then die from kidney failure or brain damage.”
Depending how much of the substance the person ingested and how strong their body is, it can take up to several hours for this to happen.
Dr. Michael O’Mara, chairman of the emergency department at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, said some drugs work quickly while others might take several days to kill a person.
When Kelly appeared stable and calm, Dr. Basava Ancha, who treated Kelly, decided it was best to transfer him to Stroger Hospital, where the county’s top toxicologist was on duty. [emphasis added]
One can’t help but wonder if Kelly just didn’t tell the docs about any poisons he may have taken. The Tribune editorial board, as usual, probably should’ve waited for more facts before blundering into this topic.
* Meanwhile, the key witness in the case, Clarissa Flores-Buhelos, was interviewed by Country Club Hills police, and the local chief of police said she was “cooperating.” AP…
[Defense attorney Terrence Gillespie] had said earlier Monday that Flores-Buhelos called him Friday night and told him that police wanted to question her. He said he agreed to meet with her and the police in his office on Saturday morning. But when she called police back to set up the appointment, they said Saturday morning would be inconvenient and suggested meeting on Monday.
[Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch] told reporters on Sunday that Flores-Buhelos had “lawyered up” and was no longer cooperating with the police — something Gillespie challenged. She was always willing to cooperate, Gillespie said, but merely wanted to be accompanied by her lawyer when questioned.
Gillespie also criticized Welch for holding up Flores-Buhelos’ driver’s license at a news conference over the weekend and suggesting she was unwilling to cooperate.
“It’s outrageous — I’ve never seen anything like this in 30 years,” Gillespie said.
He’s right about that.
…Adding…Patterson has posted the video of Kelly’s speech during Rod Blagojevich’s first inauguration.
* US Senate candidate Mark Kirk faced some pretty loud booing and heckling at a recent DuPage County Republican event, which amply showed that he still has problems with the far right. However, Kirk also demonstrated how good he is on his feet by twice turning the boos into applause.
Parts of the Republican crowd booed Kirk’s introduction and some angrily yelled chants about his “Yes” vote on the so-called “cap and trade” bill Thinking quickly, Kirk then asked for a moment of silence for a fallen soldier. It worked. He quieted the hall and eventually got them to cheer.
The loud boos cranked up again (at about 3:16 into the video) when he brought up the touchy cap and trade subject. But then Kirk said he voted “Yes” on cap and trade because he was representing the “narrow interests” of his congressional district and vowed to vote “No” on the bill if he represented the entire state.
And the crowd cheered.
This just proves a point about perceptions. It’s only a “flip-flop” when a politician flips away from your ideology. It’s “statesmanship” if a politico flips toward you. He’s either got no backbone or he’s a smart politician, depending on which way you see things.
* Anyway, Kirk kept “right” on hitting the hot buttons and smoothly firing out the ready-made applause lines with an ideological bullet-point tour through oil drilling, Nancy Pelosi, Hugo Chavez, his military service (quite a few times), the public option (he got the crowd to boo Alexi Giannoulias on that one) etc.
This is one slick candidate, campers. The Democrats should definitely fear him.
* Other campaign stories…
* Daily Herald: Time for Stroger to bow out gracefully - It’s time he pulls out of the race for county board president and clears the way for other candidates.
* Press Release: Jason Plummer, a small businessman from downstate Edwardsville, will enter the Republican primary for Lt. Governor during a statewide tour of Illinois beginning in his hometown and continuing on to Springfield and Chicago. Plummer currently works in the family business, R.P. Lumber, headquartered in Edwardsville, as well as subsidiary companies focusing on property development and technology investments.
* Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Dan Hynes has suspended state payments on some advertising and consulting contracts…
Hynes said he had informed Quinn by letter today that his office was suspending payment on $53 million in advertising and management consulting contracts, including more than $26 million to lottery ad agencies, $16 million for tourism and economic development promotion and $9.7 million for a timekeeping system.
“Surely you must believe, as I do, that ‘business as usual’ should not continue while healthcare providers suspend or curtail services and state financial support to schools is jeopardized by an imbalanced(sic) state budget,” Hynes wrote. “I have directed my staff to suspend payment on these contracts until your office communicates your intentions regarding these transactions.”
It’s not clear what authority Hynes is using to suspend the payments. The state law involving the comptroller’s duties gives him the power to refuse to issue a check if he believes a transaction is “not in accordance with the law,” but that is not what Hynes is alleging. A 36-year-old attorney general’s opinion also notes that the comptroller has “ample authority” to hold up payment if “an expenditure of public funds is contrary to law or unauthorized.”
That’s taking things a bit far.
Or not. From the comptroller’s office…
The Comptroller’s Act authorizes the office to preaudit and review all expenditures prior to payment. We are simply asking the the Governor to reconsider these spending priorities in light of the state’s fiscal crisis.
From the governor’s office…
No one in Illinois—especially the Comptroller—should doubt Governor Quinn’s zeal for making significant budget cuts and belt-tightening. Already, Governor Quinn has committed to cutting over $2.0 billion from the state budget in Fiscal 2010. […]
The Comptroller is also late in suggesting a cutback in outside contracts. On February 20, 2009, the Quinn Administration ordered agency directors, chief financial officers and purchasing officers to limit contracts and defer all major purchases unless absolutely necessary.
While Governor Quinn is being smart about making such cuts, the Comptroller wants to hack away at legitimate revenue generators such as the lottery and tourism. The Illinois Lottery spent $16.4 million on advertising and marketing last fiscal year and got back $648.5 million—money that goes to help pay for our children’s education. Governor Quinn believes that’s a good return on investment.
Remember this is the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth and Governor Quinn wants to encourage people, from all over the world, to come here and celebrate our greatest President’s Illinois roots.
Instead of supporting these engines of economic recovery and growth, the Comptroller is threatening to suspend payment on contracts even though he has no statutory basis to refuse payment on lawfully-entered contracts that have appropriated funding…
Hynes also said he would not ask AFSCME to reopen the union contract. AFSCME has not yet endorsed in the gubernatorial campaign, of course.
* And speaking of AFSCME, Quinn is seeking a venue change in the union’s layoffs lawsuit…
Illinois state agencies being sued by a union hoping to block Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to lay off about 2,600 state employees want the case shifted to Springfield instead of southern Illinois.
Quinn called AFSCME “my good friends” yesterday when he accepted SEIU’s endorsement. “I like all the leaders and members of AFSCME,” Quinn said. “I want to work with them on solving a tough problem.” Watch it all…
