The lieutenant governor’s office would be eliminated beginning in 2015 under a proposed state constitutional amendment filed today by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Facing a dire budget situation, Gov. Pat Quinn has been lobbying lawmakers for months to give him more time to craft a state budget.
On Wednesday, legislative leaders finally agreed to a proposal that would give him three additional weeks to crunch the numbers.
But, the Democratic leaders added a new wrinkle to the often byzantine budgeting process that has left Illinois government teetering on the edge of an $11 billion hole.
Now, instead of launching the budget-writing process after the governor’s speech on March 10, Democrats who control the House and Senate will require Quinn to post an online outline of the state’s financial details two weeks before he takes the stage on March 10.
The Senate Executive Committee approved the bill today.
* Rod Blagojevich was in court today for his arraignment on new federal charges. He pled not guilty and his lawyers filed a motion to unseal all of the federal government’s surveillance tapes. Blagojevich then issued this statement to the media…
“Today I’m throwing down the gauntlet. I know I have a constitutional right to try to suppress these tapes. And as a former prosecutor I believe there’s a good chance that it would probably be granted. Here’s what I’m not going to do: I’m not going to hide behind my lawyers, nor will I hide behind technicalities in the law to try to block these tapes from being heard. Instead, I’ve instructed my lawyers to petition the court so that every second, every minute and every hour that the government secretly taped me is provided to both sides to be played in court. And I challenge the government to get on the side of truth and justice and if this is a crime spree like you claim it was, then don’t hide behind technicalities. Play the tapes. Play the truth, and play the whole truth.
“I’m not just talking the talk here. I’m also going to walk the walk, which is right up to the witness stand. And when I take the stand, I’ll testify and swear on the Holy Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I expect and, more importantly, I believe the people of Illinois expect and deserve that the government does the same.
“Play the truth, and play the whole truth. Play nothing but the truth. Play the tapes.”
Later, Blagojevich’s lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., pulled back a bit from that, saying that the former governor wants every tape played that’s relevant to his corruption case.
“We are saying either side can play any minute of any tape that they wish to play,” Adam said.
Blagojevich said he thinks he can contest the original finding that there was probable cause to believe a crime was committed, which allowed the wiretaps to be placed in the first place.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel [Monday] noted that a recent motion filed by Blagojevich’s lawyers contained no legal citations in its request that the government give them rush copies of witness statements.
“The blunderbuss demand for everything to be turned over sooner than the law allows is not well made,” Zagel said, adding: “The volume of discovery already produced far exceeds that required by established law.”
Zagel makes it plain he is not amused with a recent filing by Blagojevich attorneys, which at one point criticizes the government for securing its witness list as if the defendant were “Tony Soprano” and not the ousted governor of Illinois.
Zagel calls the recent pleading by Blagojevich lawyers: “an assortment of rhetorical flourishes oddly detached from the issues in this case, in one instance invoking the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and, in
another, pleading that Defendant needs certain evidence to establish his innocence.
* If Bill Brady (or Kirk Dillard) is elected in November and something happens to him, this is the man who would be our governor…
Striking, no?
WBEZ takes a look at 27 year-old GOP lt. governor nominee Jason Plummer…
PLUMMER: Experience in state government, sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not so great. And I think right now people really want that outsider perspective.
And Plummer says he’d be ready to serve as governor if the situation arose, pointing to his experience in the naval reserve and his work as an executive at his family’s lumber company.
PLUMMER: You know, I’d gladly match my leadership and my executive experience up to most anybody’s.
Plummer is an executive at his family-owned lumber business, and an intelligence office in the naval reserves. Using more than $1.3-million in personal and family money, he won the primary with 34-percent of the vote.
State Representative Dave Winters says he expects Democrats to make an issue of Plummer’s lack of government experience, but says he can overcome that. […]
State Senator Matt Murphy, who finished second in the lieutenant governor race, says everything he’s seen of Plummer leads him to believe he’s qualified.
Another candidate in the primary, Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole, would not directly answer the question of whether Plummer is qualified for the job. But says he congratulates the nominee, and will support the entire GOP ticket.
But how upfront has Plummer been about his “experience”? Justin Kaufmann takes a look…
A quick scan of his bio online give him some notable credits, including work served with Senator Peter Fiztgerald and separately, with the Heritage Foundation. Work served is a weird phrase and it grabbed my attention.
Upon second look (and second Google search), it turns out that Plummer served as an intern for both Fitzgerald and the Heritage Foundation.
A most interesting but under-reported quote came yesterday from the mouth of “his excellency”, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in Springfield as he discussed the state’s gigantic ($13 billion) budget deficit:
“That doesn’t mean that there has to be a tax increase”.
That’s how Capitol Fax quoted Madigan in its 4:18am dispatch today.
Remember that during the past seven months, including during his successful primary campaign, Governor Pat Quinn promised that he and the democratic leaders of the House and Senate would address the state’s need for new revenue “after the primary election”. At the very top of Quinn’s 2010 legislative wish list has been an increase in the Illinois income tax–with added exemptions, etc. to reduce the burden on the poor and/or homeowners–to generate the additional billions needed to bring the budget into balance.
Without the Speaker’s support, does it mean that the Governor will have to drop his drive for “new revenue”? Does this mean the Republicans have lost their central campaign issue for November? How will Illinois get the money it needs to operate for the next year?
* Parents demand Kaneland revisit cuts: Around 200 parents and teachers packed the public forum to express their concerns about the potential impact increased class size would have on students, as well as the elimination of interscholastic athletics at the middle school and high school extracurricular clubs and activities, as well as fewer coaches. District officials said the extra activities cost an estimated $900,000.
* District 207 teacher’s union to vote on saving jobs
* Agencies go over concerns with [Carbondale City] council
* Decision on pavilion’s tax status in board’s hands
* Our Opinion: Library can’t be viewed as expendable: While we accept the branch closures as a necessary step in horrid economic times for city government, we do so grudgingly. We believe this community must see the end of branch libraries not as a one-time cure administered in hard economic times, but as a symptom of an ailment that has afflicted Lincoln Library for decades.
* Illinoisans slated to lose jobless benefits without new extension
With a deadline coming up next week, Gov. Pat Quinn wants more time to give his budget address — and promises to give a public glimpse of the state’s budget situation before that.
Under state law, Quinn is required next Wednesday to give his address to lawmakers outlining his budget plans for next year. Quinn has sought more time but so far, the House and Senate haven’t been able to agree on how far to push the speech back – either earlier or later in March.
In a letter sent to lawmakers yesterday, Quinn says he wants to give his budget address March 10. On Feb. 24, he writes, he’ll put information online for lawmaker and public perusal to set up the next year’s budget.
* I was up at 4 o’clock and felt a little something, but figured it was lack of sleep. Nope…
The 4.3 magnitude quake, centered 48 miles west of Chicago near the city of Sycamore, hit at 4 a.m. local time at a depth of about 3 miles.
“The whole house shook,” Walter Mockus of St. Charles told the Chicago Tribune. “The chimes that hang were all ringing. It was so loud, I thought a plane had gone down.”
“I heard the plates I didn’t wash from dinner rattle,” said Alice Fabbre of Joliet. “The house shook, but it was very short. At first, I thought it was a snow plow going by.”
“It shook me out bed. I was sleeping and the whole bed was shaking, it was that violent,” said Rex Covington, who lives in Plato Center Township, about five miles west of Elgin. He estimated the tremor lasted 5 or 6 seconds.
“When I called 911, she said they felt the shock too and said their whole building in Geneva shook.”
* Click here for the USGS page. And here are Tweets about the quake.
There’s gotta be a good political analogy here, but I’m too tired. Have at it.
* Speaker Madigan said yesterday he’s surprised that no one has been fired at the Dept. of Corrections in the wake of the botched early release scandal. He also talked about Gov. Quinn’s prospects in the general election. The following videos are courtesy of Illinois Statehouse News.
“I’m rather surprised that there haven’t been some dismissals over at the Department of Corrections,” Madigan told reporters on the opening day of the spring legislative session. “That’s what I would recommend.”
In December, Quinn said corrections officials made a “mistake” by moving forward with the program, but he did not fire anyone. He said his hand-picked prison chief, Michael Randle, exercised “bad judgment.”
Madigan didn’t single out Randle for firing.
“I don’t know who is responsible. I wasn’t around the situation,” he said.
However, Madigan added, “I would think in the ordinary course there would be some dismissals.”
And then there was this surprisingly sympathetic take on Quinn’s general performance during his year in office, which many in both parties say has been an uneven one: Quinn came in “in a very difficult circumstance,” says Madigan. “I think he’s doing the best he can. . . . (Political) goodwill only lasts for so long. It was going to go away eventually.”
Madigan also took aim at Republican lawmakers, saying they have refused to cooperate with Democrats on finding solutions to the state’s massive budget problems. He called them “nonparticipating do-nothings.”
Republicans argue that the Democratic majority routinely shuts them out of budget talks, rejects their ideas and uses parliamentary maneuvers to block their legislation.
* Related…
* Illinois school districts, universities slam state for late payments: The presidents and chancellors of 12 public university campuses sent a letter to Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes asking them to set a payment schedule so they can collect more than $735 million in state payments owed them. Closer to home, Alton’s Community Unit School District No. 11 is waiting on more than $4 million from the state, and administrators say the backlog is forcing them to consider layoffs. Edwardsville’s School District 7 and Collinsville’s Community Unit School District No. 10 are also short about $4 million each. Belleville Township 201 High School District is owed more than $2 million.
* Public universities appeal for money they were promised - State payments to 9 taxpayer-funded schools are behind $735 million
* State university presidents react to lack of funding
* Scott Lee Cohen appeared on Chicago Tonight again last night. He tried to explain why he hadn’t yet formally withdrawn, complained about the media coverage of his family and announced that he was heading to Washington, DC to do some media interviews. Watch it…
* House Speaker Michael Madigan was asked about the Cohen debacle yesterday and he spoke at length about Cohen, the replacement process, the governor’s role, etc. This is from a longer video posted by Illinois Statehouse News. Have a look…
* Related…
* Who knew about Scott Lee Cohen: A research perspective
* Madigan not backing anyone in Cohen replacement battle: “I’ve committed to no one,” Madigan said. “I think the overriding goal ought to be to find a strong candidate who will be well received by the people of Illinois.”
* Madigan says he warned Cohen things would get worse: Madigan has been criticized for not vetting candidates and allowing someone like Cohen to be in a position to win. “I’m not going to engage in finger pointing or recriminations. I think we ought to be happy that Mr. Cohen has dropped out,” Madigan said. “Now we ought to focus on replacing him.”
* Madigan: Lawmakers to help pick Quinn running mate: Madigan, who also is chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, said he plans to meet with Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to discuss filling the vacant position of nominee for lieutenant governor. The three of them will submit the name of a candidate to the party’s central committee, which formally makes the choice. “At some time, the governor and Sen. Cullerton and I will sit down and talk it through,” Madigan told reporters. “I expect that I will be the one that will be called upon to communicate with the members of the committee, which I’ll do. We’ll attempt to come to a consensus.”
* Is ‘diversity‘ a consideration for lt. gov?: “I don’t think that’s an issue. You’ve got four highly qualified African Americans,” said State Rep. Art Turner. “I know I have a proven record and have the ability to represent this entire state, so I would hope that the color of my skin or the region or the community that I live in is not a factor to stop me from going to this position.”
* 10th Democratic leaders have say in Cohen replacement : Pierce personally favors state Rep. Karen May, D-58th, because she has a strong record on the environment and ethics. Additionally, she would provide the Democrat’s November ticket with a representative from Chicago’s collar counties, he said.
* Democrats to pick Quinn’s running mate next month: Brown defended the democratic nature of the selection process for Cohen’s replacement. Brown noted that the central committee members were chosen by Democratic voters on Feb. 2.
* Chuck Sweeny: Cohen’s exit gives Dems chance to leave slot blank: Why are they doing this? They should just promote second-place finisher, state Rep. Art Turner, D-Chicago.
* Walter’s Perspective: Blame For Cohen Fiasco: The bad guy in all this is not Scott Lee Cohen. It’s Michael Madigan, chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, one of the most powerful politicians in the history of Illinois.
