* I’ve left a message with the Department of Corrections, but we need an answer to how this alleged murderer got out of prison and we need it right freaking now. What a tragedy…
A parolee was charged with murdering a 16-year-old boy after the two exchanged looks outside a South Side convenience store last week, Cook County prosecutors said today.
Randall White, 42, of the 11900 block of South Wallace Street, was charged with the murder of Fred Couch Jr. outside Big Sam’s Mini Mart, 333 W. 119th St. shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday.
…prisoners convicted of certain felonies are eligible to receive additional time off their sentences under various programs, including the Meritorious Good Time Push program, which was rescinded last week by Gov. Pat Quinn amid controversy.
Illinois Department of Corrections records show White was paroled on Dec. 16, just two weeks before Couch’s murder. Department spokeswoman Januari Smith said White may have been released early under MGT Push or another program.
If this guy was released under MGT Push - the secret early release program that has been the subject of so much uproar lately - then God help Pat Quinn because nobody else will.
Let’s please try to contain the anger in comments. It may not be easy but we don’t have all the facts as of yet.
*** UPDATE *** The Tribune has updated its story…
Department spokeswoman Januari Smith said White received 180 days of credit for good behavior, but was not the recipient of any time under the controversial Meritorious Good Time Push program, which was rescinded last week by Gov. Pat Quinn.
The governor better pray that she’s accurate.
What we need here is an investigation. A real one, not one controlled by the governor. Maybe somebody with a committee chairmanship ought to take a look at this.
* Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan has released a new TV ad. I may have buy numbers for subscribers tomorrow. Rate it…
Let’s take a look at a couple of other videos. Both of them are just Internet vids. The first one is a lot of fun - a catchy little tune called “Dold with a ‘D’”…
* And this is from the Quinn Stories folks, who are not the same people as the in-house Quinn campaign video crew. It’s called “The Quinn Boys”…
* Sally Quinn of the Washington Post claims that Rahm Emanuel may run for mayor of Chicago…
Emanuel is said to have told people that the chief-of-staff role is an 18-month job and that he is considering a run for mayor of Chicago.
The Tribune is kinda making a big deal out of this on its home page, but the Trib’s Swamp blog is dubious…
Other, more knowledgeable handicappers of the Chicago political scene doubt this scenario seriously.
There was a time several years ago when this seemed like a possible scenario - before anybody thought Barack Obama would be president and Rahm would be his chief of staff. He’s a mayoral favorite, after all. Daley went all-out for the guy in his first primary campaign.
Anyway, leaving aside the question of whether or not Emanuel will actually take the plunge, let’s move along to…
* The Question: What kind of mayor do you think Emanuel would be?
University of Illinois administrators and professors will be asked to take unpaid furlough days this winter because of a “grim and worsening” state budget picture, Interim President Stanley Ikenberry told staff in an e-mail today. Ikenberry also froze hiring and interim wage increases. […]
Ikenberry said the university faces a “cash crisis triggered by the state’s financial situation which is grim and worsening.” He said the university has only received 7 percent of this year’s state appropriation since the first of July — creating a shortfall of more than $400 million.
“At some point we will be unable to meet payroll and complete the academic year unless there are significant payments from the state as promised,” he wrote.
To preserve cash in the meantime, he asked university administrators, including chancellors and deans, to take 10 unpaid furlough days before June 15, and directed faculty and other academic professional staff to take four furlough days between February and May 15. Given the uncertain financial picture for 2011, he suggested that university administrators consider notifying employee groups of termination — something required in advance by some contracts.
An unprecedented University of Illinois furlough program, announced Tuesday, will save only about $17 million, despite a $436 million shortfall from the state.
In addition to the $17 million saved through the furlough program, a 6 percent reduction in expenditures saved an additional $45 million. A 2.5 percent reserve resulted in $20 million saved. The total is the $82 million.
So, $20 million has already been booked? Ironically enough, the lede of this above-linked story is: “The University of Illinois will make a series of drastic cost- cutting measures…” These are not little cuts, but they are not “drastic” by any means.
Gov. Pat Quinn says all parts of state government must economize as the University of Illinois announces plans to trim $82 million from its operating budget. […]
Quinn on Tuesday said the university should get some relief after the state does a round of borrowing later this month. That money will give the state some much-needed cash to pay a backlog of bills.
OK, so the state is so far behind in its bills that it’s shorted the U of I $436 million, but we’ll somehow have enough money to pay off this new loan?
*** UPDATE *** The governor and his Democratic rival are sparring over the U of I funding predicament, with Dan Hynes saying that Quinn shouldn’t have waited so long and instead taken out that loan in October, when the state’s cash-flow situation wasn’t so dire…
“This is part of a growing pattern of Pat Quinn blaming others for problems he’s created or hasn’t solved—just like he blamed his corrections director (Michael) Randle for letting dangerous criminals into our communities, he wants to blame others for fiscal problems that are getting worse,” Hynes said.
Quinn said Hynes is at fault for not agreeing to a $500 million short-term loan last month designed to tide the state over until tax money starts to flow in.
“When I look back now, that was just pure politics,” Quinn said.
Hynes disputed Quinn’s assertion.
“The fact is, we will have borrowed more in this fiscal year under Pat Quinn than Rod Blagojevich–the most reckless irresponsible governor we’ve ever had–borrowed in the four previous years combined,” Hynes said. “We’ve had nearly $6 billion in short-term borrowing under Pat Quinn and he wants to borrow more. We are over leveraged. We can’t borrow our way out of this problem and what he’s proposed won’t solve the cash flow problem or the underlying fiscal problem of our state.”
* Sunday’s Chicago Tribune editorial praised Republican gubernatorial candidates for their “businesslike understanding” of government because they all want to slash costs. They even included a candidate in their list who wants to cut income taxes in half.
The Chicago Tribune is raising the price of its newsstand editions by a third, to $1.
A letter sent to store owners and obtained by the Sun-Times said the increase from 75 cents will take effect Jan. 18. The increase does not apply to the paper’s Sunday edition.
What the business side understands that the editorial side obviously doesn’t is that sometimes businesses have no choice but to raise prices You can only cut so far.
And, yes, I know that business price increases aren’t exactly akin to government tax hikes. One you can avoid, the other you can’t - unless you’re a genious at tax avoidance like Trib owner Sam Zell. But, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? You can’t really directly compare business to government, unless you’re a newspaper editorial board that works for a newspaper which just raised its rates.
Whatever.
* Right before the New Year’s holiday, the Pantagraph suspended reader comments. In an open letter to readers, editor Mark Pickering wrote…
Reader comments on Pantagraph.com often are informative, sparking serious dialogue on an issue of local or national interest. At other times, they are offensive and devoid of civility, the worst of which include personal attacks and/or assertions that have nothing to do with the story.
In recent weeks, we have seen too much of the latter on some local stories. Far too much. So, effective immediately and through the New Year’s holiday weekend, no comments will be allowed on new local content posted on Pantagraph.com.
This “cooling off” period is meant as a strong reminder to our online readers: that the reason comments are allowed in the first place is to foster a “spirit of community involvement and conversation.”
For whatever reason, comments were ironically left open on that post. Here’s my favorite…
I think the Pantagraph is largely responsible for letting things get out of hand. The Pantagraph allowed the posts, already unacceptable according to its guidelines, to be posted on its boards. If the Pantagraph had been diligent in enforcing its own rules, it wouldn’t have needed to take this action.
That’s exactly right. If you just let people post whatever they want, they’re gonna run amuck. You have to police comments, challenge the borderline people to improve themselves, and outright ban the loser morons. Newspapers just don’t bother with this task and it’s hurting them. Who would want to advertise on a site that allows such mind-bogglingly awful content? Yes, comments are content. Make no mistake about it. They reflect directly on the publication.
This once again begs the question: Should newspapers allow comments in the first place? The argument has been made by many that they shouldn’t… I tend to agree. Let blogs be blogs, and newspapers be newspapers. The comments on the Journal Star’s website are often just as bad as the Pantagraph’s; I don’t believe it would be any kind of loss if they removed the comments section entirely.
Agreed. Policing comments is hard work. Newspapers either aren’t equipped for that hard work or don’t care. And this is just another nail in the coffin.
The Bears ended their lackluster season by acknowledging the team’s failure in a full-page ad to fans in both major Chicago newspapers.
While the Bears defeated the Detroit Lions 37-23 on Sunday, they ended the season with a record of 7-9, and questions about Coach Lovie Smith’s future are overshadowing the victory.
* Andy McKenna is about to go up with a huge TV buy. Greg Hinz has a few details…
The GOP race for governor is about to take a turn for the negative. The candidate with the biggest war chest is going after his foes for allegedly being too friendly toward tax hikes.
Knowledgeable sources say Andy McKenna Jr., who easily has raised the most cash in the crowded contest, is expected to be on TV by the end of the week with ads that will particularly hit former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, but also zap some others.
Mr. Ryan has led in the latest polls, based in large part on name recognition from his prior races for governor and AG. But he supported a sales tax increase two years ago that benefited the Regional Transportation Authority and public safety in DuPage County. He also served on the board of a civic group that advocated an income tax hike and has been less than categorical in opposing such an increase now.
There’s no video yet, but I’m expecting to get some by tomorrow. I’m figuring that McKenna will probably hit Jim Ryan and Kirk Dillard on taxes, maybe putting one of those now infamous Blagojevich hair wigs on them and maybe even tying them to Pat Quinn’s tax hike proposals. This attack was set up yesterday when McKenna demanded that Ryan and Dillard sign a pledge not to raise taxes…
“I challenge my opponents to sign this pledge and make a commitment to the hardworking men and women of this state that they will not raise taxes,” McKenna said. […]
Dillard signed the anti-tax pledge as a state senator, but that didn’t stop him from voting for a half-cent sales tax increase to bail out Metra, Pace and the CTA and fund other services in the collar counties.
In response to the anti-tax pledge demand, Dillard invoked his experience as a chief of staff to Gov. Jim Edgar in the 1990s and said he has never voted for “a general tax increase.”
Dillard said raising taxes in the current economy “would only make the situation worse.”
Ryan, meanwhile, called the anti-tax group founded by conservative Grover Norquist as “another special interest.”
“I’m an independent Republican,” the two-term attorney general and former DuPage County state’s attorney said. “I don’t have to sign some phony pledge.”
Expect JRyan to go up with a relatively modest TV buy soon.
* Also, Ryan took some heat yesterday when he reiterated his idea to sell or lease the tollway system. From a Kirk Dillard press release…
“It sounds like Jim Ryan is taking a page out of Rod Blagojevich’s playbook and looking for short-term solutions to the state budget problems. It’s a risky scheme that threatens motorists, primarily suburban drivers, with massive toll increases and could put current bondholders in jeopardy.
Ryan’s support for a tollway sale also drew fire from primary opponent state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale. But then Dillard also seemed open to the idea himself despite ardently opposing a similar idea in 2006.
Dillard said “the only way I would even consider” selling the tollway is to fund public works projects and after talking with experts and local officials.
Bill Brady also pounced and then looked silly. From a press release…
My opponent, Jim Ryan, is opening the door to a very dangerous practice. We should not be making a habit out of selling or leasing taxpayers assets for a short-term bump. That only provides a temporary fix to a much larger problem.
I would consider privatizing the tollway only if it could be managed better for the taxpayers and drivers, but our track record in Illinois suggests that would not be the case. The leasing of Chicago’s parking meters, for example, has been anything but beneficial to taxpayers. The transition was plagued with problems, and rates are so high — increasing 75 cents in some areas in the new year — many taxpayers can no longer afford the convenience of driving to the city. The privatization of the the Chicago Skyway lead to higher tolls, less maintenance and was forced to close down over some holidays because of snow.
Yet, just a few weeks ago Brady talked highly about selling the tollway system, saying, “You have to make sure that when you sell it you are selling it in a way that works.”
Contacted about the change of tone, Brady said he thought Ryan planned to use billions of dollars from a sale to fill the state’s massive budget shortfall. But Ryan told the Daily Herald he would use the windfall to fund public works projects, which Brady supports.
*** UPDATE *** Gov. Quinn’s campaign manager responds to Hynes’ new ad…
Today, Comptroller Dan Hynes released yet another in a series of negative, deceptive campaign commercials designed to misstate Governor Pat Quinn’s record in office.
This misleading Willie Horton-style ad hearkens back to campaigns of years past that exploited the fears and prejudices of American voters. We had hoped that, with the election of President Barack Obama, such politically motivated fear-mongering was behind us all. Sadly, that has not proven to be the case.
Like Hynes’ previous commercials, this ad reflects a desperate campaign that resorts to destructive negativity because it can offer no positive message to voters.
Quinn for Illinois has challenged the Hynes campaign to a mutual agreement to run only positive ads that inform voters about the issues that matter most to them – jobs, economic growth, and honest government.
Today, as the Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization announces its endorsement of Governor Pat Quinn, we are proud that Quinn for Illinois is releasing a new, positive campaign ad that focuses on a brighter, greener, more progressive future for all the people of Illinois.
As this campaign moves into its final weeks, we look forward to offering Illinois voters a positive, progressive choice on Feb. 2. We trust the good sense of the voters of Illinois, and we believe they will vote for Governor Pat Quinn.
Dear Gov. Quinn: People have a right to be afraid when you’re letting convicts out early. People like these two…
In the photo, Jennifer Hall sits beside her boyfriend, Joe Hoffman. Her hair cascaded down both sides of her face and her lips were parted in a half-smile. It was Aug. 25, 2008, her 36th birthday.
“My hair was down to my waist for 20 years,” she said. “I woke up bald — no teeth, 85 staples in my head — out of a drug-induced coma.”
Two hours after the photo was taken, Hall and Hoffman were attacked by a homeless man, Derrick King, near Wabash Avenue and Roosevelt Road, after telling him they didn’t have any cigarettes. King and a second person then beat, stomped and kicked Hall unconscious, she said.
When King, 48, pleaded guilty this October to two criminal charges in the attack and was sentenced to three years in prison, Hall and Hoffman thought he wouldn’t be able to harm anyone else — at least for a while.
But just 18 days after that plea, state records show, King was paroled as part of the early-release program that Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday called “a big mistake.” And the next day, King allegedly threatened another woman, near the same place he attacked Hall, yelling, “Remember the couple who got beat real bad for not giving a cigarette? That was me,” police said.
As I wrote in comments, I think Hynes’ ad would’ve been far more effective if it had used a victim instead of the mug shots.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the Hynes campaign…
“If Pat Quinn, and now his campaign manager, really believe that the secret release of 1,700 dangerous criminals, some of whom are already back behind bars for committing violent crimes, is not a serious public safety issue and thus worthy of a political campaign, then they are free to argue that point. I would hazard a guess, however, that they may be the only two people in Illinois who feel that way.” – Hynes spokesman Matt McGrath
[ *** End of Updates *** ]
* As I told subscribers this morning, Dan Hynes has a new TV ad. The backup info is here. Script…
“It’s an outrage. Pat Quinn caught secretly releasing 1,700 dangerous criminals to try and save money.
“But his bad judgment shouldn’t surprise us. Quinn’s driven our deficit to $13 billion. And he wants to borrow even more. And to pay for his borrowing, Quinn wants a 50 percent tax hike on the middle class. We have to do better. Democrat Dan Hynes: a record of fiscal responsibility, and he’ll keep Illinois safe.”
Brady maintained prisons chief Michael Randle told the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability that Quinn was responsible for the cost-savings program. Quinn ended the program last week, calling it a “mistake,” and said he was unaware of it until learning about it from The Associated Press.
Brady, a member of the accountability commission, said he asked Randle during a recent commission hearing who made the choice to release inmates early. According to a transcript provided by Brady, Randle said it “was a program that was recommended and approved by the governor’s office.”
“The governor?” Brady asked, according to the transcript. Randle responded, “Yes.”
“Assuming the governor is telling the truth, that means Mr. Randle lied before a bi-partisan commission, and he should be fired,” Brady said in a statement today.
* Meanwhile, Gov. Quinn has a new positive TV spot. In it, the governor talks about how he restored funding for the MAP scholarship program. Have a look…
Matt McGrath of the Hynes campaign responded to the Quinn TV ad this morning…
“Anyone who believes Pat Quinn’s new campaign ad probably also believes ‘the tapes’ will prove Rod Blagojevich is innocent.”
Quinn also has a new radio ad featuring Congressman Danny Davis and Secretary of State Jesse White. Listen to the spot by clicking here. Script…
Danny Davis: And this is Congressman Danny Davis.
JW: The primary election is right around the corner. So we’re urging you to vote for a governor who stands with us.
DD: When the legislature cut the budget for human services in half, Governor Pat Quinn stopped them. He made sure that people and families continue to get the help they need.
JW: When Springfield provided only half of the tuition grant money for college students from poor families, Governor Pat Quinn pushed the legislature to restore the full amount – helping thousands of students to stay in school.
DD: And Governor Quinn has a real plan to bring new jobs and opportunity. His “Jobs and Growth for Illinois” plan will create thousands of good jobs by improving public works, expanding clean energy and providing loans for new and expanding businesses.
JW: Let’s keep a good man in the Governor’s Office, working for us. This is Jesse White…
DD: …And Danny Davis, urging you to join us on February Second in voting for Governor Pat Quinn!
