Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2009

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* OK, that’s it for me. I kinda hope it snows this weekend around here. If it does, be safe, but enjoy it while you can.

* If you’re old enough to have experienced the Golden Age of Chicago TV, then you’ll remember this one…

Thumpity, thumpity, thump, thump

And this one…

Dressed in a snow white gown

And, of course, this one…

He trusts his drivers and never looks back

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Another day, another problem, another Quinn commission

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Wouldn’t it be easier if the governor just called in his Department of Corrections director along with the director’s team and made them explain to him why they didn’t follow his orders? Apparently not. We’ve got yet another commission. From a press release…

Governor Pat Quinn today named legal and criminal justice expert Judge David A. Erickson to lead a comprehensive review of the Department of Correction’s Meritorious Good Time program. Governor Quinn recently suspended that program while it undergoes a comprehensive evaluation.

“Judge Erickson is a noted criminal law professor, an ex- judge and a former prosecutor,” said Governor Quinn. “His real world experience and deep understanding of the criminal justice system prepares him for this very important task. On behalf of the people of Illinois, I thank him for taking on this vital mission.”

Judge Erickson, who will be an unpaid advisor to the Governor, will conduct a top-to-bottom review of the Meritorious Good Time program. He will head a team that includes Jerome Stermer, Governor Quinn’s chief of staff and Theodore Chung, general counsel to Governor Quinn.

Judge Erickson will review every aspect of the Department of Correction’s Meritorious Good Time program and present a report to the Governor with deliberate speed. The review’s goals include, creating policies and procedures that make sure the program’s first concern is always public safety and maintaining the integrity of the criminal justice system and the courts’ sentencing of offenders.

*** UPDATE *** From Hynes campaign spokesman Matt McGrath…

Today’s announcement of a “top-to-bottom” review apparently indicates that when Governor Quinn promised an immediate “top-to-bottom” review of the program six days ago, he was being less than truthful, which certainly fits the pattern of the way the Governor and his staff have handled this situation to date. On Monday, Dan Hynes called for a review to be completed within days, given the potential immediate safety risk to communities across Illinois, and encouraged the Governor not to appoint another commission but rather to get to the bottom of this issue directly and immediately —a call which has been echoed by editorial boards numerous times in subsequent days. Clearly, Pat Quinn has chosen to go his own way, as is his prerogative. But the people of Illinois have every right to wonder whose interests are really being served when the Governor draws this process out, and still refuses to answer important questions.

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Friday afternoon campaign roundup

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* After blasting Democrats for pandering to union interests and attempting to roadblock a deal to bring a Navistar expansion project to DuPage County, along with hundreds of high-paying jobs, Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kirk Dillard has changed his mind…

On Thursday, Dillard sided with a local autism school in opposing the diesel engine research center, “because of the environmental concerns about the project that have come to light.”

“I do not like anything that jeopardizes the environment,” Dillard told the Daily Herald when asked about his change of heart on Navistar. “I always will err on the side of the health of local residents.” […]

“I got autoworker friends as well,” Dillard said in a Senate floor speech on Oct. 30. “But that’s something that ought to be at the negotiation table between Navistar and that particular union. And we should not keep, especially with a ten-and-a-half percent unemployment rate, jobs that pay $60,000, $80,000, $100,000 from coming to Illinois.

“And I would hope that when we come back in January, we’ll be able to have those hundreds of Navistar jobs, the kind of jobs, manufacturing jobs - wouldn’t that be unique here in Illinois? - that we have been hemorrhaging so that you all can pander to the labor unions,” Dillard said during debate.

Rival GOP contender Bob Schillerstrom blasted away via press release…

“Senator Dillard is playing politics with thousands of jobs, and illustrating why employers steer clear of Illinois in the process. I have personally worked with Navistar and local governments in the area for many months to make this relocation a reality, and bring 1,000 good, out-of-state jobs to our region. The project would be the biggest influx of new employees to the state in years and shows what is possible when government works with the private sector to create new jobs.” […]

“This is not Dillard’s first flip-flop, but could prove his most damaging. I encourage the Senator to change his position yet again, and work with us to deliver these important jobs to Illinois.”

* I forgot to post this earlier, but Dock Walls has dropped out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary and Ed Scanlan was removed from the ballot. Walls’ petitions were challenged by Gov. Quinn’s allies and Scanlan’s were challenged by the Dan Hynes campaign.

* From the Tribune editorial board debate, Republican US Senate candidate Patrick Hughes talks about his horrifically low poll numbers, his many policy differences with frontrunner Mark Kirk, how he intends to be competitive, Kirk’s vote on the Iraq surge, the Left’s move away from Kirk, Don & Roma’s fawning ways and Kirk’s wooing of Sarah Palin, among other things. Have a look…

The full video is here.

Speaking of former Gov. Palin, she’s finally taken notice of Kirk, at least on her Twitter page…

Appreciate Rep.Mark Kirk’s(Illinois)comments re:Pres Obama not CLOSING Gitmo, merely moving it outside of Chicago!Very,very odd strategy,DC.

And speaking of Hughes, a suburban tea party group is meeting at a country club to endorse the candidate. From a press release…

Illinois’ Tea Party movement has found their candidate for the GOP US Senate primary, and it’s not front-runner Congressman Mark Kirk, it’s attorney Patrick Hughes. On January 5, 2010 the Will County Tea Party Alliance is holding a “Stop Mark Kirk” rally at the Woodbine Country Club in Homer Glen, IL.

* Moving on to an Illinois legislative race, Congressman Mike Quigley has endorsed in the 18th House District Democratic primary. From a press release…

Community leader Jeff Smith picked up two significant endorsements in the hotly-contested Democratic primary for State Representative in the 18th District, winning the approval of the State Board of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (”IVI-IPO”), and the endorsement of Congressman Mike Quigley (D-5th). […]

“In the 18th District race, Jeff has an unmatched lifetime record of fighting for real political change. He was speaking out about TIF reform long before it was headline news. He shares my commitment to green jobs and a new energy economy, and sees the big environmental picture as few in politics do. For a candidate with real vision of how to clean up and green up Illinois, look no farther than Jeff Smith.”

Smith was also endorsed today by the Illinois Sierra Club. He is up against several opponents, including longtime activist and well-known Statehouse denizen Robyn Gaebel, the only female in the race to replace Rep. Julie Hamos, who is running for Congress.

* Speaking of legislative races, former Sen. Steve Rauschenberger has some ideas about balancing the budget…

Steve Rauschenberger, a former state senator and a budget expert, said it would require, among other things, cutting school spending and switching to a voucher system, reducing the number of prison inmates by one-quarter, trimming higher education and overhauling Medicaid from top to bottom.

“Any candidate who doesn’t talk frankly about major changes … I don’t think is being realistic,” Rauschenberger said. “You can’t balance this budget simply by looking for easy efficiencies or slight reductions in head count.”

Three things…

1) If you don’t raise taxes, he’s far more on target than any other candidate I’ve heard. But that’s still not enough.

2) Rauschenberger is running for his old Senate seat. He will now have to take the heat for those budget cutting proposals, and those mailers will write themselves.

3) Rauschenberger has endorsed Dan Proft for governor. Proft wants to cut the income tax.

* House Speaker Michael Madigan has apparently noticed that there’s a jobs problem in Illinois. From a letter to his members…

to: All House Members
from: Michael J Madigan, Speaker of the House
re: Bipartisan Job Creation Task Force

Today, I am creating a Bipartisan Job Creation Task Force.

Representative Lou Lang will chair this task force.

Task Force members will travel to key labor markets in various parts of the State to hold several hearings on potential legislative job initiatives.

If you are interested in attending the task force meetings, please complete the form and return to Tim Mapes via fax xxx.xxx.xxxx or xxx Capitol Building, Springfield IL 62706 by January 8, 2010.

Rep. Lang claims that this is a “real” task force.

* A second lawsuit has been filed against a new reform law…

There are now two lawsuits pending against a state lobbyist registration law scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, one claiming higher fees amount to a tax on free speech and the other contending the law is unconstitutionally vague.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in circuit court in Sangamon County by the Illinois Society of Association Executives joins an earlier lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in a federal district court in Chicago.

“There’s a lot of inconsistencies in the law, and it’s very confusing,” said association executive director Pam Tolson. The association represents more than 500 professional and not-for-profit members statewide, many of them based in Springfield. […]

A federal judge in Chicago has scheduled a hearing today on an ACLU request for an order prohibiting the secretary of state’s office from collecting registration fees scheduled to increase to $1,000 on Jan. 1 from the existing $150 to $350.

And the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s latest fundraising e-mail touts the “amazing” success of the new campaign reform bill…

A Special Message from The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform

Something amazing happened this month. After a 30-plus-year effort, Illinois finally enacted contribution limits. This is an historic step for reform in Illinois. Even in the perfect storm of corruption and international attention revolving around the impeachment and indictment of Rod Blagojevich, resistance to reform in the General Assembly was extremely strong.

The powerbrokers in Springfield said it would never happen, but people like you proved them wrong. The final product establishes a limit of $5,000 on contributions from individuals each election cycle and $10,000 on contributions from businesses, unions and associations. We also were able to win primary election limits on contributions by parties and legislative leader PACS. In addition, the bill introduces strong new enforcement measures and mandates possibly the best disclosure system in the nation.

To every one of our supporters, we give thanks for what you helped us to accomplish. Of course, there is much more to do. Even the recently passed contribution limits provisions need to be made more comprehensive, and other reforms, like voluntary public financing of state election campaigns, are needed. ICPR will continue its ongoing research of campaign contributions, lobbying practices, the redistricting process and soon will roll out a new website to make it easy for voters learn about candidates and contributors.

But we can only do this with your support.

Please make a special year-end gift to ICPR today. You can make asecure online contribution, or if you prefer you can go here to print off a form you can mail in with your gift. All donations to ICPR are tax deductible.

Paul Simon founded ICPR because he saw the needed for a strong, non-partisan organization to monitor campaign and ethics laws, to conduct independent research about campaign contribution trends and to educate the public about needed reforms.

Paul counseled us to commit to the long haul, recognizing that reform in Illinois is a marathon rather than a sprint. He taught us to savor our victories, while never giving up the fight for good government in Illinois. Soon, his belief that campaign contributions should be limited will become a reality Illinois. Please consider making a contribution to ICPR today, so we can keep up the fight in 2010 to see that Illinois gets the government it deserves.

Considering all the heat that ICPR and others took for cutting this deal, it should be interesting to see how their fundraising base reacts.

* Related…

* Rep. Sara Feigenholtz Endorses State Rep Candidate Ann Williams for John Fritchey’s House Seat

* Top Republicans meet to discuss McKenna-GOP poll

* Senators Righter, Rose endorse Murphy for lieutenant governor: Although Murphy is from the Chicago area, he said endorsements from legislators such as Righter and Rose, indicate that he has earned their respect.

* Cindy Hebda Easily Survives Dem Ballot Challenge in 59th Legislative District in 7-1 Decision

* David Hoffman at the Union League Club Candidate Forum Video

* Senator Toi Hutchinson’s Holiday Greetings Video

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Question of the day

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* If you were asked to nominate five people for a hypothetical “Illinoisan of the Decade” award, who would they be?

Explain, please.

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Hynes does better than Quinn vs. Republicans, but Ryan wasn’t tested

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told subscribers this morning, Rasmussen has a new poll pitting the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates against three different Republicans. Dan Hynes does better than Pat Quinn against the Republicans. The problem, though, is that for whatever reason Rasmussen didn’t test Jim Ryan against the Democrats. Bizarre.

From the narrative…

The top two Democratic hopefuls in Illinois’ 2010 race for governor both beat three leading Republican challengers in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state.

But state Comptroller Daniel Hynes, who hopes to wrest the Democratic nomination from Governor Pat Quinn, runs slightly stronger against all three Republicans. Among just Democratic voters, Hynes draws slightly more support than Quinn.

That’s pretty interesting considering that Hynes is losing so badly to Quinn in the Tribune’s primary poll.

More…

Quinn, who became governor in January following the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich, beats former state Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna 41% to 33%. Hynes bests McKenna by even more, 43% to 30%.

Against GOP State Senator Kirk Dillard, Quinn wins 41% to 30%. But Hyines takes Dillard 42% to 29%.

State Senator Bill Brady, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2006, fares the worst of the three Republicans. He loses to Quinn by 15 points – 45% to 30% - and to Hynes by 19 – 46% to 27%.

Around 20% of voters remain undecided in all of Hynes’ match-ups, with slightly fewer saying the same when Quinn is the Democrat in the race. […]

Quinn is viewed favorably by 52% and unfavorably by 44%. Just five percent (5%) have no opinion of the incumbent governor. Fifty-two percent (52%) also have a favorable view of Hynes, while 30% regard him unfavorably. But 18% don’t know enough about him to venture even a soft favorable or unfavorable opinion.

McKenna has the highest favorables (42%) among the GOP candidates, while 34% view him unfavorably. Thirty-eight percent (38%) have a favorable opinion of Dillard, with another 36% who see him unfavorably. Brady is regarded favorably by 36% and unfavorably by 37%.

But roughly one-in-four Illinois voters don’t know any of the Republican contenders well enough to express an opinion of them.

Toplines are here.

Crosstabs (subscribers only) are here.

From the crosstabs, here are the Quinn-McKenna party support numbers…

And here are the Hynes-McKenna party support numbers…

Methodology…

Illinois Survey of 500 Likely Voters Conducted December 14, 2009 By Rasmussen Reports. Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

* Meanwhile, a Dan Hynes spokesman claims that yesterday’s endorsement of Quinn by Secretary of State Jesse White looks like it was held back in order to spring at the most opportune moment…

[Hynes spokesman Dan McDonald] said the governor wants to change the subject as questions arise about an unpublicized early release program for state prisoners. He charged that Quinn has flip-flopped on his knowledge of the program and let criminals off easy.

Earlier this week, Quinn ordered a “top-to-bottom” review of the release program, but said it was a Department of Corrections issue.

Since then, the Hynes campaign has continued to raise questions about it, first in connection with a plan to bring Guantanamo detainees to Illinois and now in light of the timing of White’s endorsement.

“I think it says that the governor doesn’t want to talk about his convoluted policies,” McDonald said. “He’d rather try to roll out an endorsement than answer questions.”

And Quinn’s campaign has a new video of the White endorsement. Watch it…

* Related…

* Topinka stages political comeback

* 2 congressmen weigh in on Cook County Board president race

* Daley, Preckwinkle at same event

* Anti-Semite booted from ballot in 10th District race

* Congresswoman Melissa Bean Says Imposters Posing As Her on Facebook

* Republicans endorse candidate in 5th District

* Three GOP lt. governor candidates resigned to Gitmo move

* Congress can stop plans for prison, GOP rep says

* Madigan: Quinn has authority to close Thomson deal

* Illinois attorney general rules Gov. Pat Quinn can sell Thomson prison

* Attorney general says governor may sell prison

* Click here to read the attorney general’s legal opinion on the Thomson prison sale

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*** UPDATED x1 *** So far, I’m wrong

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A coalition of human service providers held a press conference yesterday to demand that Gov. Pat Quinn, Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias set aside their differences and approve a short-term borrowing plan to help out their most desperate members. From a press release…

“There is no sign that the legislature will raise meaningful new revenue in the immediate future to pay the state’s unpaid bills,” said Marge Berglind, President & CEO of the Child Care Association of Illinois. “Without a short-term loan, payment delays will grow even further, guaranteeing the collapse of programs and agencies in Illinois.”

Agencies represented by the Child Care Association are alone owed approximately $23,545,000 from various state departments, Berglind noted.

“They are running on fumes,” Berglind said.

Specifically, for example, the state of Illinois owes $1.1 million to the Children’s Home Association of Illinois in Peoria, which cares for children with mental health needs and youth with delinquency support needs throughout Central Illinois. The state has failed to pay most bills since the beginning of July.

The states also owes $743,00 to Kids Hope United in Springfield and Chicago, which provides youth services and family supports to young mothers at risk of child abuse and neglect statewide. Again, the state has failed to pay most bills since July.

The Peoria Journal Star closed its Statehouse bureau the other day, so the paper didn’t cover the dire straits of the group in its town. The paper did have space to rewrite an Aaron Schock press release, however.

The State Journal-Register still has an active bureau, but there was no coverage in the paper about the press conference. There was a story about possible snowfall in Springfield today and the fact that a state-backed resort was closed six months ago because of mold.

The Pantagraph did cover the story…

Tom Pollock, who runs a social service agency based in Danville, said the backlog could mean missed paychecks for his workers next month. […]

At an event in Springfield on Thursday, Hynes said he hasn’t changed his mind. He said the Quinn’s proposal to borrow $500 million wouldn’t come close to paying all of the state’s unpaid bills.

“The borrowing proposal that was put forward really doesn’t solve the problem,” Hynes said. “It doesn’t solve the cash-flow problem; it doesn’t solve the underlying budget problem. In fact, it gives false hope to providers who are waiting to be paid.”

[Don Moss, who represents United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois] and others say the disagreement between Hynes and Quinn is rooted in their bids for governor.

The AP moved a six-sentence story yesterday, ending with this line…

The Illinois Human Services Coalition warns that some local providers have shut their doors and many more will go out of business soon.

I wrote in my syndicated newspaper column this week that the extreme financial crunch on social service providers was a “ready-made story for the [holiday] season.” Apparently, I was wrong. At least for now.

*** UPDATE *** Progress Illinois has some video from yesterday’s press conference. Watch it…

* Related…

* Nursing home report draft expected in Jan.

* State to get $9M bonus for children in Medicaid

* State funds ease SIU’s cash crunch _ for now

* Ill. high court delays rule on medical malpractice

53 Comments

Jackson trying to raise money for new ad

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* On Monday, Cheryle Jackson’s Democratic US Senate campaign sent out a blast e-mail to supporters touting her second place finish in the Tribune’s latest poll. The campaign asked for cash to put a new TV on the air.

Yesterday, Jackson sent another blast e-mail to supporters crowing about they had raised a bit more than $7,600…

With your help, we have blown past the $3,500 goal we set on Monday and are quickly approaching $10,000! We now stand just $2,367 away from our new goal of $10,000 by midnight on Friday. Can you help us reach our new goal and get Cheryle up on the air with a contribution of $250, $100 or $50 right now?

Those ain’t exactly Barackian fundraising numbers. I’ve seen state legislators raise far more than that in a week.

And the TV ad she wants to air ain’t exactly Barackian, either. Watch it…

Without the sound on, it doesn’t look bad, and that’s important since most people get most of their TV information from the visuals. But, geez, could they turn the background music up any louder?

CQ Politics claimed yesterday that the ad is already airing. I don’t see any evidence of that.

Discuss.

…Adding… Just to refresh your memory, I wrote this about a recent Rasmussen poll of Illinois voters…

Afghanistan is becoming somewhat of an issue in the Democratic US Senate primary, with Cheryle Jackson and David Hoffman questioning the president’s new plan. But the crosstabs show large support for the president’s proposal among Democrats. 62 percent of Democrats “overall” favor the plan, 60 percent of liberals back it and 82 percent of African-Americans support it as well. Jackson is the most opposed of all the candidates, but that issue doesn’t appear to work well with African-American voters.

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Morning Shorts

Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

* Illinois’ unemployment rates dips to 10.9 percent

* Hang up on contractor who’s ‘phoning it in’

In a special Sun-Times/NBC5 News report in Thursday’s Sun-Times, Carol Marin and Don Moseley wrote that a consulting company run by the stepson of former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. has not filed a single one of the weekly reports it is required to produce under its contract, which has run for 21 months.

* Judge says street gangs more dangerous than Gitmo detainees

* Illinois tollway headaches finally coming to an end

After two years and countless headaches for drivers, work on the Tri-State Tollway is finally expected to be finished before this weekend, tollway officials said today.

* Illinois tollway extends contract of troubled customer-service firm

* Chicago magnet school plan trimmed back

Faced with screaming parents and enraged aldermen, Chicago school officials trimmed back their admission plans for the most coveted schools in the system Wednesday — and said they might tweak them again once they see the results.

* Daley Criticizes Federal Lawmakers on Legislative Stalemates

* Alderman Takes Aim at Power-Plant Emissions

* CPS unveils new rules for school closings, ‘Student Bill of Rights’

* CTA budget with cuts approved

* Alderman re-introduces elephant cruelty ordinance

* Chicago. Wal-Mart. It’s time

* Wal-Mart: We’ll pay city-mandated wage, if it applies to everyone

* Alderman propose new reporting by police on missing children

* Chicago city workers keep quiet about misconduct, survey finds

* City employees report misconduct only half the time: survey

* Race Gap Widens In Chicagoans’ Health

* Health gap kills 3,200 black Chicagoans every year

Already lagging far behind whites on most key measures of health, blacks in Chicago have fallen even further behind in 11 of 15 areas reviewed by Chicago’s Sinai Urban Health Institute between 1990 and 2005 — including infant mortality, heart-disease deaths and diabetes.

* Racial gap in health widens in Chicago

* Sad news: Illinois ranks 45th