* As Gov. Quinn rightly pointed out yesterday, we have a lot of Haitian-Americans in this state. So, instead of a Question of the Day today, I thought we could use this opportunity to contribute to the relief effort in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. From the US State Department website…
Other ways to help:
• text “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill;
• go online to organizations like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts;
* The Tribune editorial board didn’t quite get it right in an editorial blasting Gov. Pat Quinn’s State of the State address…
Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno summed it up perfectly: “Warm and fuzzy, but woefully lacking in details.” A campaign speech, in other words.
If that was a campaign speech, then it was the worst campaign speech I’ve ever heard, except for some student council races back in the day.
This last graf, however, was far more accurate…
The State of the State is disastrous. What’s Quinn going to do about it? We’ve gone over and over our notes, and we can’t find it.
We have all these gigantic problems, yet we heard not one single proposal from the governor about how to solve them. The SOTS is supposed to help guide the spring session and demonstrate that the governor has a plan. Quinn could offer no guidance because he has no plan. He’s adrift, just like the state. Rep. Rosemary Mulligan was spot on…
“If you want to enlighten me on how I can help you and not be in a partisan fashion, then give me some idea of where you’re going to lead before you ask me to follow,” said state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, a Des Plaines Republican. “It was lacking in content that would solve problems.”
Senate President John Cullerton didn’t speak to reporters after the speech, but he released his own mini State of the State address via press release.
We are going to invest in the people of Illinois
Illinois must help small businesses through tax incentives to keeping and creating jobs.
We will invest in Community Colleges to help Illinois workers gain new skills and training.
Illinois must find innovative ways to help families pay their bills and stay in their homes.
We are going to build upon our economic strengths
We must modernize job creation tools for Illinois communities.
Illinois should reduce fees so businesses can keep and create jobs.
We must promote key industries to grown our economy and create jobs.
We are going to protect the pocketbooks of taxpayers
We must stop government fraud through greater oversight.
We need greater budget transparency and accountability.
Illinois must ensure that banks invest in small businesses to help keep and create jobs.
While lacking in details, at least Cullerton showed he has some ideas and direction.
Handed a chance to lay out his election-year agenda, Gov. Pat Quinn delivered a 72-minute speech Wednesday that wandered from traffic statistics and soybean paint to jobs and taxes.
* Bernie pointed to a silly speech line in his own well-written criticism…
“My nickname is Soy Boy,” [Quinn] added.
Sheesh.
* The funniest line of the day wasn’t in the State of the State address and was completely inadvertent…
Apparently not knowing the mic was still hot, [Speaker Madigan] said he was told Quinn’s speech would be 40 minutes long. He then pointed to the clock, remarking that it was 1:21 p.m.
Oops.
Second funniest goes to Justin Kaufmann, the Web editor at Vocalo…
Is it me or did Pat Quinn sound like the principal speaking to a mandatory assembly?
Third funniest goes to the two guys I was sitting next to during the address. Their conversation went something like this…
“OK, that’s seven times he’s said ‘Land of Lincoln.’”
Quinn ended his speech with a tearful tribute to his now-deceased, 93-year-old father, which evolved into a treatise on the governor’s leadership style and a not-so-subtle jab at Hynes for a series of harsh campaign commercials as their primary enters the homestretch.
“We’ve got terrible challenges, the toughest we’ve probably ever had in our lifetime. And we can play politics and call each other names. We can kind of avoid the problems. But that’s really not what our service members do when they get a responsibility. It certainly wasn’t what my father did in life,” Quinn said.
“He taught me always to work hard, treat people with dignity, don’t call people names, be honest and trustworthy. That, to me, is what Illinois is all about, our state, the Land of Lincoln. The people of our state, they’re the best of the best. We’re the pride of our nation. We can accomplish great things if we work together.”
He regularly refers to Dan Hynes as an “ankle biter,” is running a TV commercial right now that pretty much flat-out lies about his own record and distorts reality about his opponent, and yet everyone else is supposed to play nice.
* If you missed last night’s Republican gubernatorial debate, click here or watch below…
The Republican candidates actually debated last night about how they could relate to Illinois’ poor…
Former state Republican chairman Andy McKenna, who had a privileged childhood, said he started a non-profit group to rebuild homes and has met poor people through that.
His rivals competed to say how poor they were before their financial situations improved, prompting publicist/commentator Dan Proft to roll his eyes and channel comedian Steve Martin: “Yeah, like everybody else, I was born a poor, black child, too. This is not what this election is about.”
Offering poor families school choice and “turning Springfield upside-down” will help Illinois’ poor have opportunities such as “The more affluent and more politically connected like those of us up here have had,” Proft said.
State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) turned to Proft and quipped, “Dan, I didn’t realize you were related to Rod Blagojevich.” [Blagojevich claimed to be “blacker than Barack Obama”, though he, like Proft, is white.]
After the debate, opponents state Sen. Kirk Dillard said Proft’s “quip” is part of the reason he’s “unelectable,” while former Illinois GOP Chairman Andy McKenna called it “inappropriate.”
Businessman Adam Andrzejewski said he has a menu of choices to cut $10 billion in spending from the state’s budget, which would help reverse any tax increases Democrats might pass.
* Use the comment section to live-blog, offer instant analysis on the speech, or predict how the address helps or hurts Gov. Quinn, Dan Hynes, the Republicans, etc.
The address begins at noon. You can find a live feed at the GA’s website or at numerous other TV and radio sites.
I’ll try to update this post with any big news, but I’m going to be pretty busy, so help everybody out in comments if you can. Thanks and have fun.
• 12:08 pm - Quinn is speaking from notes, not a prepared text. And it shows. Repeating thoughts and words.
• Quinn said he wants IL to be an “inland port” and talked about improving transportation infrastructure during the past year and in the coming year.
• Some news would be nice.
Keep in mind that 99.9% of Illinoisans won’t watch this speech. His coveraged is based on new proposals, new ideas. So far, this is all retreaded press conference material.
• 40 minutes into the speech and absolutely no new ideas have come out of his mouth. No new plans for government, the economy, nuthin.
• “I do believe we need more revenue” - a gingerly reference to his tax hike hopes.
• Now he’s throwing DoC director Randle under the bus… But said the buck stopped with him, as in Quinn. Says he wants “clear rules” for prison policy. Not a lot of explanation about what those rules would be. He did talk about examining the issue of sentencing for non-violent offenders “who still must be punished.”
• End. Lots of syrupy sentiment, including when he cried at the end (the news). But there were no new ideas and little vision.
You’re kidding me, right? The Chicago Police Department is going to reopen its investigation of a 70-year-old gangland murder because a powerful alderman thinks the victim, crooked lawyer Edward J. O’Hare, didn’t get enough credit for his role in helping bring down Al Capone?
We’re going to do this at a time when Chicago Police are crying out for more manpower to deal with the daily crush of crime, not to mention a backlog of hundreds and hundreds of other unsolved murders from the department’s cold case files in which the perpetrators might actually still be alive and walking the streets?
Incredible as it seems, that’s exactly what emerged Tuesday from a meeting of the city’s Police and Fire Committee, orchestrated to that end by the only guy who could pull it off, Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th).
Burke, the City Council’s resident historian, apparently has a bug up his butt about the Nov. 8, 1939, killing of O’Hare, the father of the war hero after whom our airport is named. O’Hare was gunned down in his car by shotgun-wielding assailants.
[Rep. Dan Burke] pleads guilty to passing out about 7,000 pumpkin pies and hams over the holidays — all donated by Pete’s — the local grocery story — to Burke’s brother, Ald. Edward Burke’s 14th Ward organization. Most voters got coupons to redeem the hams and pies at the store. On top of that, he gave out free turkeys to the poor and passed out about 2,000 cards that give voters 20 percent discounts on prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, Dan Burke said.
“All that’s been checked out, and it’s all legal,” Burke said. […]
Burke is one of only two non-Hispanic members of the Hispanic legislative caucus. The other is State Rep. Deb Mell. [Ald. Ricardo Munoz] said he was offended by a quote Burke gave the New York Times that if [Rudy Lozano Jr.] was elected, as a new member, it would take him two years to find the “bano.” That’s the Hispanic word for bathroom.
Dan Burke said “what few people in the district read the New York Times” were amused by the quote. And it referred to Burke noticing that Rod Blagojevich had not found the members’ bathroom after three years in the Legislature.
The bathroom is in the back of the House chambers. I think even Rod was smart enough to find it. Then again…
* Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, Ed’s wife, was mentioned in a recent article about the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver…
In 1967, [Shriver] listened to an idea by a woman named Anne Burke who wanted to hold a track meet for Chicago kids with intellectual disabilities. Eunice grabbed the modest idea and, in only one year, had nationalized it into the very first Special Olympics in 1968, just seven weeks after her brother Robert Kennedy was assassinated.
How did that Sesame Street song go?
“One of these things is not like the other…”
* We didn’t do Morning Shorts today, so here it is…
Rod Blagojevich Inks Deal to Host the Launch of ‘The Late Net Show’
The groundbreaking program, which will be taped in New York in front of a live studio audience, will air exclusively on the Internet.
More on the once-a-month program which he appears to be hosting just once for now…
The show is said to run 40-minutes and includes a monologue, a live band and celebrity guests.
“We’re in talks with Donald Trump, Alec Baldwin and Floyd Mayweather to be guests on the show,” Charlie Oliver, artoftalk’s founder told the Sun-Times.
Viewers will be able to vote on segment ideas for Blago’s stint, including having him sing Elvis tunes, recite poetry or movie monologues or dole out advice.
* The Question: What guest would you most like to see debate the Rodster? Explain.
Hoffman lit into Giannoulias as soon as the debate started, saying, “The insider candidate Alexi Giannoulias has held two jobs for short periods of time, one as a banker for his family’s bank where he made high-risk loans to mobsters and (convicted influence peddler) Tony Rezko, and as the state treasurer where he failed to protect the people’s money.”
Giannoulias fought back, however…
“David Hoffman is in third place. He’s based his whole campaign on attacking me. I understand that. It’s politics,” Giannoulias, the front-runner in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate said, staring straight ahead and never looking at Hoffman. “He talks about corruption and Blagojevich and Daley, but what he doesn’t talk about is jobs.”
Four of the five candidates refused to answer a question about their weaknesses, according to the CS-T.
More…
Hoffman laughed off a question of whether a scathing report he issued just weeks before he left his Inspector General post blasting Mayor Daley’s controversial deal to sell off the city’s parking meters was designed to launch his political career.
Issuing a report blasting a powerful elected official is not a conventional way to launch a political campaign, Hoffman said.
But Meister used the question to tee off on Meister again, saying, “I don’t understand where he says he blew the whistle on anything. It was the Sun-Times that blew the whistle three months before his report ever came out. He didn’t stop it. He didn’t do anything.”
“There have been rumbles that David Hoffman had always set himself up for a political campaign,” Giannoulias said. “Just a few months ago, he wanted to run for the attorney general’s office. Lisa Madigan decided to stay put, so he shifted to the United States Senate. He talks about corruption and Blagojevich and (Mayor Richard) Daley. But what he doesn’t talk about is jobs.”
“I’ve always wondered about that,” said candidate Robert Marshall, a Burr Ridge radiologist, to Hoffman. “If you want to clean up corruption, you ought to stay in Illinois.”
Chicago attorney Jacob Meister regularly went after Hoffman. He contended Hoffman sought to use Daley machine-like tactics to try exclude him from the debate and sought to talk over his head when the former inspector general said he was the only candidate that prevents Republicans from using a corruption issue against them.
And…
Seeking a middle-ground was Cheryle Jackson, former president of the Chicago Urban League and a former Blagojevich spokeswoman, who said people are more interested in jobs than political fights. Still, she indicated that in working for Blagojevich, she was no different from the “millions of Illinoisans” who voted for him and had been duped.
* Meanwhile, in other campaign news, both the Sun-Times and the Tribune strongly endorsed Toni Preckwinkle for county board president.
…Last month Mr. McKenna refused to rule out the possibility of a tax increase. Yet, days before he launched his latest television commercial, he signed a pledge to not raise taxes, the same pledge I have consistently supported.
We don’t need more doubletalk. Which is it, Mr. McKenna? And why won’t you explain your switch in positions to the voters of Illinois?
Jim Ryan, another of my opponents, also doesn’t like to talk about his close connection with Stuart Levine, who contributed nearly $800,000 to Mr. Ryan’s previous campaign and who has now pleaded guilty in the Blagojevich corruption scandal.
The citizens of Illinois deserve candidates who are honest with them, who show up at candidate forums and are willing to answer the tough questions voters have. They need to know where the candidates stand. Silence is not an answer.
Ryan told me this week that Brady’s attacks were amusing because Brady asked for Ryan’s endorsement before Ryan got into the race. Apparently, Stu Levine didn’t mean much to Brady back then.
* Other campaign stories…
* Opponents attack Olson’s finances in DuPage GOP race: Both state senators attacked Olson for accepting campaign donations from food vendor Aramark while voting in 2007 and 2008 on a $1 million contract to provide meals at the county jail for a year. The contract eventually went to Minnesota-based A’viands Food & Services Management.
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* Gov. Pat Quinn will talk about an ethics initiative during today’s State of the State address…
Quinn is pushing for a constitutional amendment that would allow citizens to propose ethical reforms and put them to binding referendum measures on the ballot. First the Illinois House and Senate would have to authorize a November referendum that would allow citizens to propose reforms in future years.
I’m pretty sure he’s mentioned this before, so it isn’t quite new, but it’s also assuredly DOA. Quinn explains…
“It should give the people at the local level, county, city, municipal and state, the power by petition and binding referendum to enact ethics standards and campaign finance standards that the people feel are appropriate,” Quinn said. “I think this is one area where an initiative is vitally needed.”
Quinn’s staff says the governor will touch on several major themes, from sparking the economy and strengthening state government ethics to supporting veterans and preparing the state for the next decade.
But the speech comes at an unfortunate time for Quinn, who is in the midst of an election fight with primary challenger Dan Hynes. Quinn needs to ask lawmakers to raise taxes in order to help close the budget gap, but raising taxes is not a popular campaign strategy.
Quinn also has to decide whether to address the controversy over the early release of prisoners.
On the other hand, the speech gives him a chance to address the public less than three weeks before the primary election and a platform to discuss his successes, such as a campaign finance reform law and a public works program that he says will lead to perhaps thousands of jobs.
* House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie sends a message…
Currie thinks the governor should blame the state’s dire financial situation on the global recession rather than over-spending on the part of lawmakers.
Quinn has adopted Rod Blagojevich’s habit of blaming the General Assembly for his own problems, so we’ll see what happens today.
A: Lawmakers are at work this week, but then leave town until after the Feb. 2 primary. Quinn will offer his comments today, after which Hynes, other governor candidates and lawmakers will give their two cents on where he went right and wrong.
Look for Hynes to pounce if Quinn makes any slipups in the State of the State speech. Hynes’ campaign theme has been about how disappointing Quinn has been since taking over as governor last January, and he’ll try to emphasize any areas that show possible Quinn weakness.
We’re going to try and post videos on the blog as the day progresses, so keep checking back.
[Democratic state Sen. John Sullivan] said he expects Quinn to reveal some dire statistics concerning the budget that will likely “shock some people.”
[Republican state Sen. Larry Bomke] said anything less than a detailed plan of attack would be a waste of time.
“(Quinn) needs to reiterate what he thinks the best way to resolve this crisis is,” Bomke said. “If it’s a tax increase, if it’s cuts, where those cuts can be made or if he will sell the lottery or state property. For the governor to give the State of the State without addressing that issue and how we will address the issue would be pretty meaningless.”
Bomke could be disappointed, though. Democratic leaders are looking to push back Quinn’s budget address to later in March, giving him the opportunity to delve into budget pain after his race for the Democratic nomination against Comptroller Dan Hynes.
* Quinn is expected to ask that the budget address be delayed, which at least one newspaper doesn’t love…
Allowing Quinn to move his budget address back a month will only serve to make the process more political and more time-constrained. Legislators facing election challenges in November will not want to spend the summer in Springfield.
Any delays increase the likelihood the state will once again arrive at a budget in name only.
They’ll put everything off until the last minute no matter when the budget address is, so it doesn’t really bother me much. Plus, the later in the session the budget unveiling is, the clearer the future can look.
* Speaking of the budget, Melissa Harris takes a look at some of the outside players…
On Tuesday, about 200 [Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago] members met privately at the Chicago Club to discuss the coming session. (In attendance, Abbott Labs CEO Miles White, Merchandise Mart Properties President Christopher Kennedy, CBOE Chairman Bill Brodsky and Allstate CEO Thomas Wilson.)
Afterward, Martin said the committee would start engaging outside groups — including the public — on the budget crisis, particularly pension reform. […]
Howard Peters Title: Senior vice president, Illinois Hospital Association
Peters expects to spend the session fighting efforts to require the state’s Medicaid recipients to receive health coverage through HMOs, which some believe would save the state money. A pilot program passed the Illinois Senate in 2007. But Peters said, “The state has had a miserable experience with HMOs not providing services.”
Most groups agree that the driving force in the speech will the budget problems, with a likely reference to canceling the secret early-release prison program that put dozens of violent offenders out on the street within weeks of being incarcerated.
Expecting lots of talk about money is Kathy Ryg, a former state lawmaker, who is now the president of Voices for Illinois Children. She says the state desperately must change its funding structure, although she didn’t use the phrase “income tax increase.”
She does say that the state’s ailing budget picture won’t start to get better until lawmakers infuse it with more money. But she also wants reform that would keep low-income folks from shelling out more in taxes.
Another suggestion comes from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which is lobbying for a re-write of the Telecommunication Act, which is set to expire in a year. Chamber Vice President of government affairs Todd Maisch says reducing regulation would encourage jobs in a market that’s ripe.
* OK, campers, let’s rate the new TV ads from the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates. First up, Gov. Pat Quinn…
Script…
More attacks from Dan Hynes, grossly distorting Governor Quinn’s record.
The truth?
Quinn supports moving some non-violent offenders to halfway houses so we can use our prison space to keep violent criminals behind bars.
And Hynes? Just this week he admitted an aide had stolen $100,000 in taxpayer funds. Another aide is under investigation for using state computers to commit securities fraud.
Instead of attacking, shouldn’t Hynes be explaining?
1,700 prisoners let out of prison early by Pat Quinn.
Domestic abusers. Sex offenders. Murderers.
Now, 56 have committed new crimes, including attempted murder.
Newspapers say the whole episode rattles the public’s faith in the governor, and call Quinn’s actions “inexcusable,” an “epic failure,” a “breach of trust that jeopardizes our safety.”
On February 2nd, let’s vote to release Pat Quinn from his job.
