* The President is about to embark on a small-town Midwestern swing which could take him to Quincy…
Quincynews.org was reporting that several sources confirmed that an Obama advance team was setting up a possible visit to Quincy, with Wednesday appearing to be the most likely day. Various federal and state officials did not indicate any plans for a Peoria or Springfield stop.
Yeah. Springfield. Right. No way does he want to pop in near the end of session mess. And steering clear of Chicago’s craziness is also smart. Still, if he does come to Illinois, I’d like to see him pressed on what he thinks has happened to his home state since he departed.
* Meanwhile, Lynn Sweet says Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is slightly walking back what he said on the Charlie Rose show this week about running for mayor if Daley decides to hang it up…
Emanuel told me Tuesday night he never intended to go as far as he did with Rose. The question came up at the end of a wide ranging interview. The usually disciplined Emanuel says he slipped up.
The Sun-Times runs down a list of other possible Daley successors…
Nor is [Rahm], necessarily, the frontrunner in that crowded field.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., CTA Board Chairman Terry Peterson, City Colleges Board Chairman Gery Chico and former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman are also high on the list.
Former U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley, the natural politician of the Daley clan, could try to succeed his brother. The field might also include: former Schools CEO Paul Vallas; presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett; U.S. Rep. Luis Guitierrez; and Chicago aldermen Bob Fioretti (2nd), Edward M. Burke (14th), Brendan Reilly (42nd) and former Ald. Manny Flores (1st).
And Congressman Gutierrez makes a good point in that Sweet piece…
Earlier in the day, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who is at odds with Emanuel over the slow pace of comprehensive immigration reform in the Obama White House, told me, “I am sure every word that he spoke was not some sort of off-the-cuff remark but calculated to achieve some political goal.
“When I see Rahm Emanuel, [from now on] I don’t know if I am talking to the president’s chief of staff and if that is his chief priority, or if I am talking to a future candidate for the mayor of the city of Chicago,” Gutierrez said.
FOOTNOTE: Emanuel never liquidated his political war chest when he joined the White House; as of April 15, he had $1,175,109.76 cash on hand that could be transferred to a mayoral campaign.
But back in Chicago, where Emanuel made his political bones, the former congressman and political insider’s sharp elbows and national cachet aren’t much of a guarantee that he will replace the man who remains firmly in control of Chicago.
Just ask the Daleys.
“Absolutely not, and I don’t think anyone would say that,” said Cook County Commissioner John Daley when asked Tuesday if Emanuel would be the front-runner in a mayor’s race that didn’t involve his brother. “And I don’t think (Emanuel) would say that, knowing the electorate of Chicago.”
A return home to run for mayor means Emanuel, who renewed his interest in the job on national TV Monday, would have to address some long-standing political baggage. Questions abound about his quick stockpiling of wealth on Wall Street, help from a Daley patronage army to win a seat in Congress and chats with disgraced ex- Gov. Rod Blagojevich about filling a vacant U.S. Senate seat.
“This is all b.s. The mayor is running again,” Quigley answered adamantly, not using the abbreviation. […]
“I’ve met with the mayor three or four times since I’ve been elected,” Quigley said. “He is focused. He is knowledgeable. And I think he wants to go out on his own terms, whenever that is.”
On top of that, maybe there is a little inside information.
“I hear their operation is getting put together,” Quigley said, meaning that he has been told by others that Daley is assembling a political team in preparation for a 2011 re-election bid. He couldn’t supply any details.
Mayor Daley’s popularity is at an all-time low, city finances are in the toilet, the Olympics went to Rio and his wife, Maggie, is battling a series of cancer setbacks.
So Rahm Emanuel’s announcement that he’d like to be mayor some day understandably touched a nerve in the Daley camp.
* Editorial pages almost always parrot the reformers, even (or especially) when they don’t fully understand the issues at hand. Today’s Sun-Times editorial blasting the Democratic redistricting reform proposal and supporting the Republican-backed “Fair Map” plan is a case in point…
In the post-Blagojevich era, a time when Illinois voters are fed up with the status quo, we refuse to back another reform-lite proposal.
The Fair Map Amendment would bring real, meaningful reform to Illinois. Anything less is simply more of the same.
Support the Fair Map Amendment. Let your voices be heard because if you don’t the proposal that is being rammed through the Legislature just might be worse than the system we currently have.
“Our position is both of these plans are reform, and the Paul Simon Institute wants reform.”
That quote was contained in an editorial today by the State Journal-Register, which also dinged Ms. Marcus a bit…
But the Democrats, who are looking out for their own interests in rejecting the Republican/reform group plan and writing their own, make a point that is difficult to quarrel with: Is a nine-person commission, in which eight members are picked by the legislative leaders, going to be truly independent?
The answer is not definitive to the point that the reformers can assert, as League of Women Voters President Nancy Marcus did on this page on Sunday, that the Democratic plan “just might be worse than the system we currently have.”
That notion should be flatly rejected. While it has flaws, the Democratic plan is not worse than allowing a lottery determine which party gets to draw the map, as the current system does.
The SJ-R and the Paul Simon Institute would like the Democrats to “tweak” their proposal to require a three-fifths majority to pass a new map. Doing so, they say, would protect the rights of the minority party.
If the majority and minority parties could be trusted to compromise in good faith, that might not be a bad idea. But the Statehouse political waters are poisoned right now, so I’m not sure if anything would pass under that proposal. Still, it’s something, and the SJ-R ought to be commended for not falling into the old trap of believing everything reformers say. After all, the Cutback Amendment was a highly touted and very popular reform back when it was put on the ballot. It didn’t work out so well.
It’s been my experience over the years that almost all reformers are good, decent people who want to do what’s right. But nobody’s arguments should ever be given a free pass in the political arena. Challenging them to make their cases shouldn’t be seen as an insult to the reformers, instead, putting some thought into proposed ideas is supposed to be the American way.
* We’ll be posting videos throughout the day. I’m not sure when this stream will start [UPDATE: I’m told the live stream will begin at around 11 o’clock], but organizers say we’ll be able to watch today’s massive Statehouse rally live right here…
* Capitol Avenue — closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday between Second and Third streets.
* Monroe Street between Second and Pasfield streets — the south parking lane and next two driving lanes will be closed at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday for bus drop-off. The north parking lane and driving lane will remain open for traffic use.
* Second Street between Monroe and Jackson streets will be closed at 9 a.m. Wednesday
* Second to Edwards, Edwards to College, College to Monroe and Monroe to Second will be closed at noon to allow for a march around the Capitol complex.
* 9:18 am - You can follow the rally on Twitter. The hashtag is #sosrally. Here’s the link.
* 9:45 am - My intern Dan Weber has a video shot of the stage across the street from the Capitol, where supporters will gather. Take a look…
* 9:53 am - From the Tweet stream come two pics of the rally. Two Jumbotrons are being set up and IEA members are starting to arrive.
“Tomorrow’s rally will show there’s a lot of people in Illinois, a great majority, that don’t want draconian cuts in education,” Quinn said of [today’s] rally.
* 11:22 am - I’ve been hearing for days that AFSCME has been planning some sort of “action” to “shut down” the Statehouse today. That’s still possible, but not long ago, some SEIU protesters were chanting “Shut it down now!” Barton has the video…
* 2:00 pm - The crowd in the Statehouse has thinned out, but the intersection of South 2nd and Capitol Streets was packed for this morning’s rally. Take a look at the crowd from the stage…
Union leaders addressed the crowd. The first was AFSCME 31’s Henry Bayer…
* 2:20 pm -Demonstrators marched around the Capitol complex before entering the building. Here’s a quick video of what that looked like…
* 2:40 pm -The march ended in the Statehouse. Despite concerns from the Secretary of State’s office that too many people would try to enter the building, Capitol Police officers did not stop people. From the looks of it, demonstrators came in, walked around for a while and then went back outside. But the areas around the rail were still full. This was the scene looking down from the fourth floor…
Meanwhile on the first floor, union leaders led a series of chants…
* The so-called “iTunes tax” made the front page of today’s Sun-Times…
Even a trip to iTunes for a new song or movie may soon be within the grasp of Illinois’ tax collectors.
Imposing the state’s 6.25-percent sales tax on downloaded songs and movies surfaced as a new money-making idea Tuesday from Gov. Quinn’s administration to help bail out the state from its $13 billion deficit. […]
Now, digital downloads are not taxed by state government, depriving Springfield of up to $10 million in revenues annually. But that figure could grow over time as more people download entertainment from Internet sites such as iTunes and Amazon. […]
Under Quinn’s proposed download levy, $9.99 albums would carry a 62-cent tax while $14.99 movies would have 94 cents in sales taxes tacked on.
But doing so in Illinois won’t happen without a fight from Republicans, who criticized the plan.
“It will be an interesting education for younger voters about the reach of the state’s treasury into their pockets,” said Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine). “I don’t suspect it’ll be well received at all.”
Since 2007, 19 states have imposed similar download taxes, including Indiana, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Kentucky, Mississippi and Washington, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A spokesman for NetChoice, an advocacy group whose clients include Yahoo! and eBay, said digital songs and movies shouldn’t be considered equivalent to a physical CD or DVD.
“The sales tax shouldn’t necessarily apply in the same way, or even at all,” NetChoice spokesman Braden Cox said.
Vaught argues that they’re selling goods to Illinoisans, and should have to pay tax on those sales.
“They shouldn’t get a pass,” Vaught said.
It’s not at all clear yet whether this will actually be part of the final package, but I am curious what you think.
* There are other proposals on the table, although many listed by the Tribune today are actually now off the table…
Still far from being approved, the additional taxes being discussed range from raising the $50 million a year tax on canned computer software, a proposal ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to pass but failed, to a sales tax on downloaded music and videos, according to Republicans who distributed the list of potential tax revenues.
Other proposals on the list would tax plastic grocery bags a nickel a piece and little cigars at the higher rate of cigarettes. A nickel-a-bottle deposit fee is another idea on the table. But Quinn’s budget director, David Vaught, said late Tuesday that the grocery bag and bottle deposit fees were part of a draft list, but did not make the final cut and are not being considered.
The governor’s proposal also proposed the option of eliminating a business tax credit for research and development. […]
Quinn also proposed selling off a portion of the revenue from a years-old tobacco lawsuit settlement, which his office estimates will generate approximately $2 billion to help pay down the estimated $6 billion backlog. The governor is also asking lawmakers to extend the time the state has to pay overdue bills in the hopes they will approve an income tax increase to help plug budget holes.
Quinn’s latest plan includes dipping into emergency reserves and the tobacco settlement fund, additional borrowing and assumes passage of both a cigarette tax increase and the 33 percent income tax surcharge Quinn’s proposed for education.
The plan also contains and an extra $400 million in budget cuts and gives the state an extra four months to pay off last year’s bills, according to Quinn’s budget office. Overall, the plan leaves the state about $2.9 billion in the red at the end of next year. Quinn’s original plan assumed more than $6 billion in bills would be unpaid.
However, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said it appears Quinn is shifting money around and is actually making only $900 million in budget cuts, if that.
“There’s been a lot of talk about potential cuts,” Radogno said. “For whatever reason, the cuts they initially talked about have not come to fruition. I have asked for the list of specifically what has been cut. They promised to get me that.”
Thousands of state vendors could face the prospect of having to go to court to collect money they are owed by the state.
In a memo to legislative leaders Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn acknowledged the possibility that the state’s budget mess could force angry vendors to file lawsuits with the Illinois Court of Claims this fall.
The Chicago Democrat told the leaders that he wants a change in law in order to avoid the looming legal showdown.
“I think there’s an understanding that we have to do something,” Quinn budget chief David Vaught told reporters in the Capitol.
Let’s extend the lapse period by four months because it’s for the vendors’ own good! Great.
* I’ll post the stories in a bit, but here’s video of Rod Blagojevich blasting US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald for going after his wife. It’s a must-see…
In a two-minute, blustery address, a finger-waving former Gov. Rod Blagojevich summoned U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to show up in the federal courthouse today at high noon.
“I challenge Mr. Fitzgerald. Why don’t you show up in court [Wednesday] and explain to everybody, say to the whole world, why you don’t want those tapes that you made played in court,” Blagojevich said at a news conference. “I’ll be in court tomorrow, I hope you’re man enough to be there tomorrow, too.”
Blagojevich accused the government of trying to sneak into court to try to block the ex-governor from playing all the recordings in trial. There is a previously scheduled court status date in Blagojevich’s case at noon today and the prosecutors trying the case — not Fitzgerald — are expected to show.
Blagojevich, wearing a bit of makeup, scheduled his remarks for 5:03 p.m. — just in time for three TV networks to carry it live. He called prosecutors “cowards” and “liars” and then took no questions from reporters.
Blagojevich was speaking loudly and clearly: to potential jurors, said former federal prosecutor and defense lawyer Dean Polales.
It’s unclear how the tactic will play out in court just six weeks before Blagojevich’s trial is set to begin, but as an exercise in media manipulation, it worked spectacularly. Nearly a dozen news cameras were on hand to hear Blagojevich lay on the mustard, and several TV stations aired the remarks — scheduled for precisely 5:03 p.m. for their benefit — live on their evening newscasts.
He spoke for just two minutes, then took no questions.
Blagojevich and his defense team have long aggressively gotten the former governor’s version of events to the public. On recent appearances on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” he repeatedly trumpeted his innocence to a national audience.
The ex-governor’s Florida-based publicist had hyped Tuesday’s media event by promising that Blagojevich “will make the strongest public statement to date concerning the charges he is facing.”
And the former politician seemed to deliver, calling prosecutors “cowards and liars” for “attacking” his wife, Patti, by alleging she was used corruptly to get the governor money through bogus real estate commissions.
While Rod Blagojevich’s strategy of going on the offensive and playing the victim could appeal to some, former assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Collins, who helped convict former governor George Ryan warned it could backfire.
“What he said tonight with the name calling and personal invective directed at Fitzgerald,” Collins said. “I would be shocked that the judge doesn’t have something to say about that in court.” […]
“Sometimes the best defense is a good offense,” said Collins.
Collins says Blagojevich’s statement is consistent with his strategy so far — go on the offensive and play the victim.
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich says he’ll be in court for his scheduled hearing today and he’s challenging the top federal prosecutor in Chicago to also show up.
Today’s court hearing isn’t anything more than going over some procedures and recent filings to get ready for Blagojevich’s corruption trial in June. Those recent filings include what’s called a Santiago proffer, which included an entire section titled “Steering Money to Blagojevich’s Wife.”
