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Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Milton Bradley. What the heck?

Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My goodness, but Illinois political news is boring this morning.

The only campaign press release I received so far was from Springfield attorney Don Tracy, who is announcing for lieutenant governor today. He was at the State Fair, so I don’t think the Post-Dispatch has to readjust its ongoing lite guv candidate count (15 as of yesterday)

I was so bored, I actually downloaded the press release (docx, so I had to wait while it was converted by my computer) just to see if he was still a Republican. Yep. Tracy ran for the state Senate as a Democrat back in 2002. The contact e-mail was from TracyforIllinois.com, but that website isn’t working yet.

* At least I’m not as bored as the SJ-R, which ran a story today about how Dan Hynes wants a graduated income tax. No new ground broken at all, except the paper failed to explain that the proposed hike is only on income above $200,000, not on people who earn more than $200,000.

* The Tribune’s “Daywatch” roundup was just e-mailed, and one of the headlines was “Kirk out of business.” I got all tingly. Oops. False alarm. That’s a suburban developer, not a suburban politician.

* Meanwhile, Mark Brown has a column about dogs and cats, Sneed’s lede is about a crazy series of lawsuits by a wacky convicted felon, today’s big corruption story is about a clouty company that didn’t get a permit to use some water, Chicago Public Radio informs us that many candidates will not actually run, Illinois Review is railing against SEIU’s “sordid” campaign contributions to Democrats by renaming the group ACORN/SEIU, IlliniPundit is complaining about soybean aphids, and Progress Illinois is complaining again about the Sun-Times’ flawed pension series, a series which the governor praised in today’s Sun-Times.

* The Illinois Senate’s Redistricting Committee is holding a hearing in Peoria today, but that issue will not be decided by a mere committee, so there will likely be no real news there.

It’s cloudy and rainy outside, so I think I may take a nap.

Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys are due in court today, so maybe we’ll eventually get some news. We can always count on that clown for something.

29 Comments

Fraught with political peril, but not a bad idea

Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The AP buried this important fact near the bottom of its article today. But it’s something to keep in mind when you watch politicians and the media freak out about this new early release plan for the Department of Corrections…

[Dept. of Corrections Director Michael Randle] stressed that these are nonviolent offenders who were sentenced to less than one year in prison.

Also, instead of releasing 8-10,000 prisoners, as Gov. Quinn originally envisioned, DoC is only releasing a tiny fraction of that…

Randle said Corrections Department officials whittled the release program down to just 1,000 by excluding anyone who could be considered a safety risk — anyone with a sex offense, parole violations, a domestic abuse conviction and more.

They’ll have parole officers and electronic monitoring.

If that electronic monitoring sounds like overkill for nonviolent offenders who were getting out of prison soon anyway, you wouldn’t know it by listening to the politicians…

The [early release] announcement came on the same day when authorities nabbed fugitive and accused bank robber Robert Maday in West Chicago. While his record of violent crimes would make him ineligible for early release under Quinn’s program, Maday’s violent escape put suburbia on edge and could cast an unfavorable light on the governor’s plan.

A spokesman for Quinn’s primary rival, Comptroller Dan Hynes, said Maday’s arrest is likely why the administration announced the early-inmate-release initiative with such limited fanfare.

No, they announced the early release with such “limited fanfare” because this is a very touchy subject, no matter what the day’s news happened to be. There are some real political dangers here.

For instance, a Piatt County man was recently released from Taylorville Correctional Center for relatively minor offenses and is now charged with killing his mother-in-law. If he had been let out by Quinn’s early release plan, all hell could’ve broken loose.

* Related…

* A small move in right direction: Nearly half of offenders released from Illinois prisons every year were in for short sentences - many for six months to a year.

* Quinn’s plan could lead to prison reform: In saving 5 million dollars, the corrections facilities will get 2 million to divert offenders from state prisons. Those funds will be allocated to drug treatment and other community-based alternatives that serve as rehabilitative programs, which will be a big step in the right direction of prison reform.

* Opinions Mixed On Quinn Plan To Spring Prisoners: “People in politics want to play politics all the time. I’m not one of them,” Quinn said. “I have to do what is necessary for the common good.”

* State neglects prisoners’ kids, group says - Losing parent tough enough, but rules stifle visits, affect children

* Law enforcement goes after DNA samples from released felons - Attorney general sees huge potential for clearing unsolved crimes

36 Comments

Morning Shorts

Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

* Third Week of School, Kids Still Lack Teachers

This is the third week of school in Chicago. But thousands of high school students still haven’t met their teachers. It’s a longstanding problem that we reported on the first day of school. It happens when more students show up at a given school than the district projects. Kids get assigned to overcrowded classes, or see a revolving door of substitutes until permanent teachers are put in place. The district promised that kids would not have to wait as long for teachers this year. WBEZ’s Linda Lutton checks in to see how things are going.

* Chicago school violence: District rushes to put anti-violence plan in place as gunfire claims new victims

Corey McClaurin, a senior at Simeon Career Academy High School, and Corey Harris, a basketball player at Dyett High School, were both claimed by gun violence, and seven other students have been shot in September.

* Nurse who was handcuffed sues Chicago

Hofstra said she told the officer the suspect had to be admitted before she could draw blood, and explained that to his lieutenant. But she says that once the lieutenant left, the officer handcuffed her, put her in the squad car and kept her there for 45 minutes.

* Moody’s downgrades CTA bonds tied to taxes

* A fair slice of the tax pie

* Daley ‘getting more confident’ Chicago will win Olympics

“Our competition comes in Rio de Janeiro…I’m getting more confident because they’re getting the 2014 (World Cup),” the mayor told reporters at the opening of a new school on the South Side.

* Insuring the 2016 Summer Olympics

Chicago’s bid team is confident it has every contingency covered to limit the risk to taxpayers

* Olympic delegation adds security to trip

* Obama team off to Denmark, just in case

* African IOC Members Could Play a Factor in Host City Selection

* Illinois gets $350,000 nutrition grant

Illinois will get a $350,000 federal grant to fight childhood obesity and pitch an active lifestyle to schoolchildren.

* CTA buses will get less idle time while out of service

The transit agency is getting $1.5 million in economic stimulus money to build electric hook-ups that will deliver power to about 80 buses parked overnight outside the CTA’s North Park Garage, 3112 W. Foster Ave.

* CTA sets vendor workshops for minority- and female-owned businesses

* Red-light camera firm’s ties to lawyer for Berwyn is questioned

* Burr Oak Owners Head Back to Court

* Bartlett family awarded millions in malpractice settlement

* Chicago plague-related death: Federal health officials probe University of Chicago geneticist’s lab site

* Rough year for grads

Jobs harder to find — and they’re paying less

* Trouble Could Be in Forecast for Illinois Farmers

This week’s expected rainfall could bring setbacks to Illinois’ two major crops: corn and soy beans. That’s according to some state agriculture experts.

* County farmers could receive government aid

* Guard members cope with returning home

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Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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