* Gov. Quinn assured many that he could hold education harmless this coming fiscal year by using his powers to move money around. But here come the cuts…
The Illinois State Board of Education agreed to ax nearly $300 million from its budget on Wednesday, canceling financial support for everything from agricultural education to arts education to alternative schools that get high school dropouts back in class.
State Superintendent Christopher Koch called the reductions “an unraveling of the infrastructure for state education.” […]
The board initially faced $480 million in cuts to targeted programs based on the budget proposal passed by state lawmakers. But Gov. Pat Quinn averted deep reductions in early childhood and bilingual education by providing another $194 million, state education officials said.
Board members grappled Wednesday with where to squeeze $282 million from the spending plan for next year. They targeted after-school programs, school breakfast reimbursements as well as principal and teacher mentoring.
The advantage of being in the minority party (or the Tribune editorial board) in a situation like this is you can demand cuts and then attack the majority for the cuts they do make. Expect just such a react soon.
You can listen to today’s meeting of the state board live by clicking here (Real Media) or here (Windows Media).
* Related and a roundup…
* State’s outstanding bills dog DuPage county budget: In all, the state is behind $7.8 million in its payments to the county. Sales tax receipts also are lagging about 7.7 percent below the projected half-year figure of $39.3 million.
* Legislators Flider, McCarter forego mailings: In order to save the state money, Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, and Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, are foregoing the brochures that commonly explain what they accomplished during the spring legislative session in Springfield.
Illinois state Treasurer and Democratic Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias’ name came up Wednesday at the trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).
There’s was no smoking gun — or anything close to it — but with Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) struggling mightily beneath his misrepresentations of his military record, Republicans’ hopes of tying Giannoulias to the trial and changing the subject could be buoyed.
That WaPo mention was prompted by this Sun-Times passage about Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias calling on behalf of Valerie Jarrett’s appointment to the US Senate after Barack Obama’s election win…
In the same call, [chief of staff John Harris] is overheard talking about getting a message from Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.
“So Alexi called me. He wanted to have a discussion about the Senate seat,” John Harris is heard telling Blagojevich. “I imagine he’ll tell me … Barack wants Valerie.”
Blagojevich: “Listen to me, don’t see him today. Just … let’s run the clock now.”
The recording, which is from a phone call about a month before Blagojevich and Harris were arrested, suggests Giannoulias is serving as some kind of intermediary for Obama.
Not true, said Giannoulias spokeswoman Kathleen Strand. “Alexi did not call Harris at the behest of President Obama,” she said. “Alexi thinks very highly of Valerie Jarrett, and it was well known that he thought she would make a terrific senator. So naturally, he was an advocate for her appointment.”
For Republicans, the back and forth between Harris and Blagojevich gives them something with which to tie Giannoulias to the trial and the deeply unpopular former governor. But nothing in the brief tape suggests any wrongdoing on GIannoulias’ part.
HARRIS Right. The question is if Alexi is coming in on her behalf, do we use Alexi to get the word back to her?
BLAGOJEVICH No, I don’t trust Alexi, I, no, under no circumstances.
HARRIS Mm-hmm.
BLAGOJEVICH No, no. Absolutely, not.
Seems like almost a vindication to me.
*** UPDATE *** From the IL GOP…
For more than a year and a half, Alexi Giannoulias failed to disclose this phone call. If Alexi tried to hide this phone call, what else might he be hiding about this case?
Key Questions for Alexi Giannoulias:
1) Why did you call Blagojevich Chief of Staff John Harris regarding Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat?
2) Did you make any other phone calls to John Harris, Rod Blagojevich or any other Blagojevich associate?
3) Did you, your staff or your family at anytime speak with John Harris, Rod Blagojevich or any other Blagojevich associates regarding Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat? If so, what was discussed each time?
4) Do you believe you are recorded on any federal wiretaps of John Harris, Rod Blagojevich or other individuals in connection with this criminal trial?
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* In other Senate campaign news, the AP has published a national story about the race. The lede pretty much says it all…
Republican Mark Kirk has stepped on a political landmine of his own creation, leaving him as damaged as his Democratic opponent in the race for an Illinois Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.
* Pat Gauen of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at what he believes is political strategy…
[Treasurer Giannoulias] announced June 13 that he will begin granting family medical leave to employees of his office who are in committed homosexual relationships, just as though they were married. It’s novel in Illinois state government and obviously timed for the election year. (He has had 3½ years in office to do it. And if it isn’t about politics, why not announce the same terms for committed but unmarried straight people?)
OK, a Democrat courting votes from gays and lesbians isn’t very deep strategy. But gently laying the subject on the voters’ table in this instance is subtle, potentially venomous, gamesmanship. […]
Giannoulias, you will remember, is running for Obama’s old Senate seat in what early polls say is a dead heat with an upstate Republican congressman named Mark Kirk. Here, too, Giannoulias is quietly using a homosexual-themed buzz to electoral advantage.
It serves as a small reminder that Kirk’s generally good marks from the gay-lesbian community have not endeared him to the political right and its hefty block of votes. Moreover, floating the subject reminds true homophobes that enemies in Kirk’s own party have garnered even mainstream news media attention by floating persistent rumors that he is gay. Kirk, who is divorced, denies it.
* Carl Officer says he kept Senate campaign secret because of St. Clair County Dems: Asked what he thought the county Democrats might have done to hurt his campaign, Officer responded, “I am not going to speculate.”
* Illinois conservative independent doesn’t file to run in U.S. Senate race: llinois State University political scientist Robert Bradley said it’s questionable how many votes Niecestro would have drawn from Kirk’s total in November. “I have a sense that the tea party is not as organized (in Illinois) as it is in other places,” Bradley said.
* I’m not totally sure yet how this impacts the Rod Blagojevich case or the George Ryan conviction, but the US Supreme Court just handed down its ruling in the Skilling case. AP…
The Supreme Court has sided with former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling in limiting the use of a federal fraud law that has been a favorite of white-collar crime prosecutors.
The court said Thursday that the “honest services” law could not be used in convicting Skilling for his role in the collapse of Enron. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in her majority opinion that the ruling does not necessarily require Skilling’s conviction to be overturned.
In an opinion written by Ruth Bader Ginsburg with varying support from other justices the court finds the honest services law only covers bribery and kickback schemes, and Skilling was not accused of either.
This means some of his charges could be retried or dismissed and his 24-year sentence could be further reduced.
At issue is the “honest services” law, a broad anti-fraud law that makes it a crime to “deprive another of the intangible right of honest service.” Skilling and others argued the law was too vague and was misused by prosecutors.
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is being tried on multiple charges of corruption, including depriving the public of honest services.
Over the past two decades, the law against “honest services” fraud has been used routinely in cases in which public officials or corporate executives were accused of secretly scheming to benefit themselves at the expense of the public or their stock holders.
The Government charged Skilling with conspiring to defraud Enron’s shareholders by misrepresenting the company’s fiscal health to his own profit, but the Government never alleged that he solicited or accepted side payments from a third party in exchange for making these misrepresentations. Because the indictment alleged three objects of the conspiracy—honest-services wire fraud, money–or-property wire fraud, and securities fraud—Skilling’s conviction is flawed. See Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298. This determination, however, does not necessarily require reversal of the conspiracy conviction, for errors of the Yates variety are subject to harmless-error analysis. The Court leaves the parties’ dispute about whether the error here was harmless for resolution on remand, along with the question whether reversal on the conspiracy count would touch any of Skilling’s other convictions. Pp. 49–50.
554 F. 3d 529, affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded.
* The Supremes also ruled that Conrad Black’s appeal was improperly denied. From the ruling…
We decided in Skilling that §1346, properly confined, criminalizes only schemes to defraud that involve bribes or kickbacks. That holding renders the honest-services instructions given in this case incorrect, and brings squarely before us the question presented by the Seventh Circuit’s forfeiture ruling: Did Defendants, by failing to acquiesce in the Government’s request for special verdicts, forfeit their objection, timely made at trial, to the honest-services instructions? […]
We hold, in short, that, by properly objecting to the honest-services jury instructions at trial, Defendants secured their right to challenge those instructions on appeal. They did not forfeit that right by declining to acquiesce in the Government-proposed special-verdict forms. Our decision in Skilling makes it plain that the honest-services instructions in this case were indeed incorrect. As in Skilling, ante, at 40–41, we express no opinion on the question whether the error was ultimately harmless, but leave that matter for consideration on remand.
For the reasons stated, we vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Here in Illinois, most will ask how the ruling may affect the case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. We note that the indictment against the ex-governor was already revised to minimize its reliance on the Honest Services law. Even if the Honest Services law had been wiped out entirely, most of the charges against the ex-governor would survive.
Testimony in the trial to date certainly makes it appear that Rod Blagojevich saw public office as a tool for forcing payments to benefit himself. Whether the subject was the issuance of state grants, the signing of legislation, or even the filling of the US Senate seat, Rod Blagojevich approached his public duties with both eyes focused on what he could get for himself — a job, a campaign contribution, a personal benefit.
We hope the trial will continue, and that justice will be done. The people of Illinois have endured an impeachment and removal from office; we have seen our state’s reputation dragged through the mud. Politicians, like everyone else should be held accountable for their criminal actions. The trial must proceed. Justice is served by having the trial continue.
Lawyers for Rod Blagojevich were quick to pounce on the U.S. Supreme Court decision this morning weakening the so-called honest-services law on which some of the charges against the former governor are based.
Aaron Goldstein, one of Blagojevich’s many lawyers, filed a motion to suspend the trial until at least next week so the defense team could digest the high court’s 114-page decision.
It has been known for months that the Supreme Court ruling was coming, and Blagojevich’s lawyers sought to seize on that even before the trial began to get Zagel to postpone the proceedings. He consistently said no dice.
And Zagel did so again this morning, telling Blagojevich’s lawyer that “my preliminary reading (of the Supreme Court ruling) is it may not offer a lot of hope for you.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** I was gonna do a separate Blagojevich trial post, but here’s a roundup instead…
* If this story doesn’t disgust you, nothing will.
A very prominent Kankakee-area businessman was indicted by the US Attorney’s office this week on five felony counts. The businessman, Michael J. Pinski, allegedly hired people to strip asbestos out of one of his buildings. They then dumped the highly toxic material into a field in Hopkins Park.
Hopkins Park, you will remember, is an almost all-black, exceedingly poor town in Kankakee County. The last time we checked in with that community, the county board chairman hadn’t even bothered to ask that the town be declared a disaster area after a big tornado tore through. Gov. Quinn had to step in and unilaterally declare the county a disaster area or they never would’ve gotten any help.
* Pinski is a local real estate developer and owner of Kankakee County Title Co. Both are pretty major K3 concerns. My dad says Pinski’s father was my pediatrician brothers’ dermatologist when I was a child. He comes from a wealthy, successful and quite prominent Kankakee family.
According to the indictment, Pinski allegedly hired Duane O’Malley, who runs a fire protection company, at a price that was “substantially less than a trained asbestos abatement contractor would have charged to remove the asbestos insulation.” And then they allegedly stuffed the asbestos into 127 large plastic garbage bags and dumped them all in that Hopkins Park field.
* Huge news, eh? It’s not often that a bigtime Kankakee businessman is indicted by the feds on five felony charges that each carry 5-year prison terms. Throw in the racial and class angle, and it’s a truly hot item.
Three Kankakee County men are scheduled to appear in an Urbana federal court later this summer, indicted for improperly removing asbestos from a Kankakee building and dumping about 127 bags of the hazardous material in a Hopkins Park field.
Charged with four counts each of illegal asbestos removal and handling were: Michael J. Pinski, 41, of 17 Marquette Lane, Kankakee; Duane L. “Butch” O’Malley, 57, of 5649 N. 5000E Road, Bourbonnais; and James A. Mikrut, 47, of 43 S. Poplar St., Manteno. The charges were in connection with the August 2009 removal of asbestos from 197 S. West Ave., in Kankakee.
The building, which was being renovated, is owned by Pinski’s company, Dearborn Management Inc., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois.
O’Malley, owner of Origin Fire Protection, and Mikrut also were indicted on one count each of illegal asbestos disposal, and Mikrut and Pinski also were indicted on one count each of making a false statement to an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency inspector, according to a copy of their indictments, obtained Monday by The Daily Journal.
A check of past issues shows the Daily Journal has interviewed Pinski several times. They talked to him about the Kankakee mayor’s race and how he’s surviving the economic downturn. They did a big puff piece on Pinski a few years back while he was developing the Dearborn Business Center downtown. But now that he’s under indictment? A little more than passing mention.
Pinksi and his cohorts allegedly endangered the health of who knows how many people by disgustingly dumping asbestos - of all things - in an open field, and it gets four grafs in the only paper in town.
Maybe now you’re getting a better idea of why Hopkins Park has always been on the short end of the stick. It’s a dumping ground for the area’s prejudices and, apparently, its dangerous pollutants. And nobody, including the newspaper, appears to care.
Frankly, I hope the feds throw the book at those clowns. And I hope that someday, somehow, the people who run the Kankakee Daily Journal will finally take just a wee bit of notice at what’s really going on around them. Shame on them. And shame on this entire state for letting it get this far.
Cowlishaw grew up in Rockford, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class at West Rockford High School. She majored in journalism at the University of Illinois and did post-graduate work at Northwestern University. She also received several honorary degrees.
She came to Naperville in 1958. For more than five years she worked as a feature writer for the Naperville Sun, winning a first-place award from the Illinois Press Association for investigative reporting for a series about substandard conditions at a local nursing home.
Naperville Sun viewpoint editor Tim West said Cowlishaw was a valued employee and public servant.
“During the years Mary Lou worked with us, she was always hardworking and industrious, but approached her stories with a lot of good humor,” he said. “During her public career she was a very important person in town and she will be missed.”
Mrs. Cowlishaw was described as generous, perceptive and purposeful by District 203 Board member Suzyn Price, who knew her for more than 10 years.
“She was a distinguished woman of enormous gravitas,” Price said. “Besides being a wonderful human being — a warm and committed and compassionate human being — we lose a powerful voice for community and education.”
She said Mrs. Cowlishaw’s work in male-dominated fields — first as a reporter, then school board member and a state representative — was an inspiration to women in leadership and politics.
As she neared retirement as a legislator, a 2001 story in the Tribune noted that her most visible achievements in Springfield were her roles in Chicago public school reform and in legislation that ensured education for homeless children.
An elementary school in Naperville is named after her.
Combined results in reading, math and science showed 69.5 percent of Chicago third- through eighth-graders passed Illinois Standards Achievement Tests taken in April, up 2 percentage points from 2009, according to preliminary results released by the district.
Science scores rose the most sharply year over year with a 3.6-point increase, district officials said. Reading showed the smallest increase, lifting half a percentage point from 2009 levels.
* Union blasts Chicago Public Schools’ tenure attack
Experts called the system’s new layoff rules unusual but part of a “growing drumbeat'’ to allow districts to use something other than seniority and tenure in determining who should be laid off, especially in tough economic times.
While former Regional Supt. Charles Flowers is awaiting trial on felony charges of theft and official misconduct, his office in Broadview is housing a backlog of 2,500 teacher certifications that are supposed to be completed by July 1.
A commercial fisherman patrolling the calm waters of Lake Calumet netted a 19-pound Asian carp Tuesday, the first physical discovery of the feared invasive species in the Chicago waterway system north of the electric barriers.
Within minutes of the official announcement on Wednesday, lawmakers from Michigan and environmental advocacy groups were once more chastising Illinois’ response to the Asian carp crisis and threatening a new round of legal action aimed at permanently closing Chicago-area shipping locks.
* The early release scandal won’t go away. From the AP…
More than 1,700 Illinois prison inmates were supposed to get extra scrutiny on parole after they were set free early in a secret program that later embarrassed Gov. Pat Quinn.
But parole agents can’t monitor dozens of them because they can’t find them.
There are about 50 parolees who are AWOL after being let go as part of the so-called “MGT Push” early release program. Several were paroled after serving shortened sentences for violent crimes - or they have violent pasts.
More than three dozen have been missing more than 100 days. The average length of time on the AWOL list is 4 1/2 months.
Yet, Gov. Quinn thinks his Corrections director is doing a fine job.
…Meeks, who in the past threatened to run for governor only to be bluffed out by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, stopped short of endorsing Brady, a Senate colleague from Bloomington, or Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. Asked by reporters if a Brady endorsement was possible, Meeks, who also is pastor of Salem Baptist Church, responded: “All things are possible. That’s what the scriptures teach us.” […]
“I’m not making a commitment or an endorsement at this time of either candidate,” Meeks said. “I support many of the initiatives of Gov. Quinn. Gov. Quinn and I both support a tax increase. Sen. Brady does not. Gov. Quinn and I both support many initiatives. So we’re together on many things.”
Meeks said the fact that he and Brady could come together to support Wal-Mart against union opposition in Chicago demonstrated how politics should work.
“I think that the message to those Democrats is that if we’re going to get things done in Springfield, if we’re going to get things done in Washington, it’s time to cross the aisle,” the Chicago Democrat said. ‘Every idea that Republicans have ain’t bad and every idea that Democrats have ain’t good. So it’s time for us to sit down. It’s time for us to cross the aisle. It’s time for us to come together. That’s why the state of Illinois is messed up right now.”
* Alexi Giannoulias has based many of his campaign ads on saving hundreds of jobs at a clothing manufacturer, but those jobs are now in jeopardy…
The overseas firm that controls men’s apparel maker HMX — whose labels include Hart Schaffner Marx and Hickey Freeman, famously favored by the president — is pushing for heavy cost cuts, sparking worries that one of its key US factories might eventually be shuttered, sources told The Post.
India-based textile giant SKNL — which last August led a group of investors in scooping up the company formerly known as Hartmarx out of bankruptcy for $128.4 million — has been so aggressive about slashing costs and moving production overseas that union workers in Des Plaines, Ill., right in Obama’s backyard, are afraid the plant will be closed.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Sun-Times says the NY Post story is bunk…
Owners of HMX men’s suitmaker, formerly run by Chicago-based Hartmarx, are denying a report in today’s New York Post that the Des Plaines factory is again in danger of closing. […]
Doug Williams, CEO of HMX, now based in New York, issued the following statement today: “The Hart Schaffner Marx factory in Des Plaines is running at full capacity to meet customer orders. To fully meet those orders, we have taken the excess required production (primarily sport coats and suit trousers) and are adding it to our Hickey Freeman factory in Rochester, N.Y.
“Today Rochester is also running at full capacity. In addition, we have added a pant sewing shop in our Des Plaines factory to speed our product to market.”
Williams said that owner-partner SKNL “is in full support of management’s strategy and sees our factories as a competitive advantage to our domestic market.”
Lesson finally learned: Never, ever trust the NY Post. I’ve been burned before by them. This one’s on me.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* Meanwhile, Giannoulias has a new campaign Internet video. Rate it…
…Adding… In case you’re wondering about the music, it’s “Largo al factotum” from the “Barber of Seville.” Bugs Bunny performed the tune in Long-Haired Hare. The Giannoulias campaign confirmed my suspicion that this was an inside joke because a bunny rabbit is featured in the video. Being a hardcore Bugs Bunny fan, it’s what I immediately assumed.
Instead of obtaining supporters locally, [former East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer] turned in 3,452 pages of petitions or about 34,000 names gathered in Cook County or in the collar counties to the west and south of Chicago, said a spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections. […]
“I see how our federal government is not upholding our constitution and that’s why I’m running,” said [Constitution Party candidate Randy Stufflebeam] a retired Marine, who said he received nearly 20,000 votes when he ran for governor in 2006. He said he is opposed to those who, “Blatantly violate our constitution.”
I’m hearing some things about how some candidates don’t even have the minimum 25,000 signatures, but I suppose I’ll save that for subscribers.
* For those of you who think that pulling petition sheets and challenging signatures is purely a “Machine” game, well, think again. Green Party gubernatorial nominee Rich Whitney has viewed the petitions of fourdifferentgubernatorialcandidates. However, he hasn’t had copies made yet, so he may not file an objection.
*** UPDATE *** I forgot to add this one. We talked yesterday about how conservative US Senate candidate Mike Niecestro pulled up stakes on his campaign when an unidentified “flake” Republican failed to deliver on his promised petition signatures. I already told subscribers about this today, but Doug Ibendahl also talked to Niecestro yesterday and filed this report…
…the guy who didn’t deliver to Niecestro as promised was Bill Kelly – the same Bill Kelly who just ran unsuccessfully in the GOP Primary for Comptroller. I would definitely agree with the “flake” characterization mentioned by Niecestro.
*** UPDATE - 2:50 pm *** Rod Blagojevich idolized Richard Nixon for most of his life. The supreme irony of both men being brought down by “the tapes” has not been lost on many of us. Now, we get this…
Rod Blagojevich refers to demons and Richard Nixon in brief comments on wiretap recordings played at the former governor’s corruption trial. […]
But he suddenly becomes introspective, comparing himself to former President Richard Nixon and saying they share a tendency to become depressed after winning elections.
Blagojevich also says fundraiser Chris Kelly appeals “to the demons in me.” Without offering details, Blagojevich says there are things he shouldn’t have done.
Creepy, man.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* As I’ve been saying for months now, Rod Blagojevich’s story about how he “really” wanted to appoint Lisa Madigan to the US Senate is merely a false alibi to cover for the criminal allegations against him regarding that alleged seat sale. From the Tribune…
[Blagojevich and chief of staff John Harris] talked about the idea of boosting their position by floating a false story that Blagojevich might want to appoint Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, a political ally, or even Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the daughter of Blagojevich’s nemesis, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton spent time with Harris chopping away at the Madigan proposal, which Blagojevich has claimed was his intention all along. Following his arrest, Blagojevich said he wasn’t trying to sell the Senate seat but rather was seeking to name Madigan to the post in a political deal to get her father to stop impeding his legislative agenda in Springfield.
Harris, however, testified that it was clear to him that Lisa Madigan’s name was being dangled as a “stalking horse” to make Obama think he might not land the Senate post for Jarrett unless he offered an enticement to Blagojevich.
“(Madigan) would be the person that’s in the race but not necessarily the person we want to win the race,” Harris told the prosecutor. “I believed at the time that she wouldn’t be interested. It was kind of a high-risk strategy.”
BLAGOJEVICH We, you know, then we gotta figure out the Madigan play if there is one, right?
HARRIS Right. […]
BLAGOJEVICH Negotiating with Madigan and suggesting his daughter, and then can’t make a deal with him that I’m gonna be satisfied with, right?
HARRIS Right.
BLAGOJEVICH Then I end up using my ace in the hole and I send myself. Right?
HARRIS Right.
BLAGOJEVICH Among the reasons I ended up having to fall back on this position was I couldn’t get the Democratic speaker and party chairman to agree that if I sent his daughter to the U.S. Senate all he had to do in exchange for that was to provide health care, pass a health care plan that Obama supports, a job’s plan that Obama supports and balance the budget without raising taxes on people which is what Obama was elected on. Right?
HARRIS Right.
This was actually just another goofy Blagojevich scheme to attack Speaker Madigan. But when he learned he was being bugged by the feds, he switched to the idea of appointing the attorney general so he could declare that he was just an innocent actor.
Tim Novak, ace Sun-Times reporter who favors Hawaiian shirts and psychedelic Jerry Garcia ties, stuck his head in my office Tuesday.
“I have a question,” he said, pausing to pop a handful of M&Ms in his mouth. “Has anything surprised you so far in this Blagojevich trial?”
Good question.
My first answer was no.
But I’ve been thinking about Tim’s question ever since.[…]
But on reflection, I am surprised about one thing. I’m amazed at the sheer, unmitigated, mind-boggling incompetence of this man.
His incompetence was there for all to see for six years.
* And his delusions of grandeur are also no surprise. He talked several times with Harris and with his wife about possibly using the Senate appointment to leverage an ambassadorship to India. Yes, India…
In an exchange with his wife, Patti Blagojevich begins doing what appears to be Internet research on the current Indian ambassador — a “white guy right now, David C. Mulford” — and on the ambassador’s residence in New Delhi.
“How are the running routes around there?” Rod Blagojevich is heard asking.
“Congested, I’m sure,” Patti says.
Harris testified he had to explain to Blagojevich that India was a pipedream.
“I just didn’t think a governor from Illinois would be the right person for that,” Harris said. Though he said it was realistic that Obama would “sideline” Blagojevich to some remote country with an ambassadorship position.
* Roundup…
* Andy Shaw: Noon, June 23, 2010. As I was sitting in the courtroom this morning, listening to the audio tapes of Rod Blagojevich brain-storming (and I use the term very loosely) with his chief of staff John Harris in the fall of 2008 about what to ask for from soon-to-be President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for the appointment of Obama’s friend and advisor Valerie Jarrettt to the soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat, I was struck by the fact that our ex-governor, the star defendant in this massive corruption case, was living in a fantasy world. One of his top lieutenants, fixer Tony Rezko was awaiting sentencing on his corruption conviction. Another key advisor and fundraiser, Chris Kelly, had been indicted a year earlier on charges of tax fraud. Democratic fundraiser Joe Cari, another pay-to-play partner, was cooperating with the feds after copping his plea on corruption charges. And one of Rezko’s partners in crime, Stuart Levine, entered a guilty plea in his corruption case and was also cooperating with the feds.
* Darrow Abrams On honest services fraud, June 23, 2010. There’s a lot of talk at the Dirksen federal courthouse these days about when the Supreme Court will issue its ruling on the validity of honest services fraud. Given that the Supreme Court is expected to decide the issue by the end of this month, a ruling should be handed down imminently. So what is honest services fraud, and why does it matter in this case? Honest services fraud refers to a theory of fraud liability under the mail and wire fraud statutes. Basically, a government official owes the public a duty of honest services. If this official (a) knowingly participates in a scheme to deprive the public of their “intangible right of honest services,” (b) does so knowingly and with the intent to defraud and (c) uses either the US mail or electronic communications (e.g., phones, cell phones, faxes, e-mails, etc.) to carry out the scheme, then the public official has committed honest services fraud.
* As noted below, our state’s financial position appears to be rapidly worsening and the budget office won’t talk about it. As a “celebration” of that happy confluence, here is a photo of budget director David Vaught…
The cost of insuring Illinois bonds against default rose to a record as lawmakers sought to close a $13 billion deficit in the state’s proposed budget for the year starting July 1.
The cost of a five-year credit-default swap for the state rose 2 basis points today to 304.64 basis points, or $304,640 per $10 million of debt according to CMA DataVision.
There aren’t a lot of credit default swaps traded on Illinois debt, so this may be an unfair comparison.
* However, the Europeans appear to be interested in our debt. The state just finished a European tour ahead of another bond sale. From the Bond Buyer…
Market participants attribute the fresh foreign interest to the perception that U.S. government credits are relatively safe and have value, especially following this year’s European sovereign debt crisis. Also helping is better marketing by broker-dealers with foreign trading desks like Citi and the generally improving view of BABs as an asset class with federal legislation pending to extend the stimulus program.
For Illinois, the need to expand its universe of buyers is all the more urgent as it has asked domestic buyers to digest a steady flow of paper amid an ongoing deluge of negative fiscal news from rating downgrades to columnists raising the specter of insolvency.
* Illinois’ inability to solve its deficit problems, coupled with all the credit problems around the world is making things worse. There’s also a definite psychological aspect out there…
“A lot of our buy-side customers are reporting fatigue. It’s a saturation issue,” said Matt Fabian, managing director at Municipal Market Advisors. “You have unsophisticated buyers who don’t understand the pledge and sophisticated buyers who understand it but are getting fatigued fighting for it” as they have to answer to risk managers and board members who see the negative news.
Because liquidity is a paramount concern for BAB buyers, some investors also might worry about headline risks and the effect on their ability to trade their holdings, Fabian said.
Akin to the authorities in Greece, state and local officials in the US lack the luxury of Washington’s electronic printing press and helicopter “money”. And, again like Greek debt, things deteriorate rather rapidly when the market turns nervous and demands significantly higher yields. Meanwhile, the market’s faith is waning with respect to the ability of recovery to cure structural state and local deficits, as well as in the federal government’s capacity to move forward with numerous additional bailouts.
* The governor’s office is doing what it can to soothe the market, but this is a pretty hollow threat…
The bond offering statement notes that if the Senate doesn’t pass the pension issue, the governor’s options include vetoing the budget and calling a special session.
If he does bring them back, the pension borrowing bill probably won’t pass anyway.
Dale Rosenthal, a former strategist for Long Term Capital Management, the hedge fund known for its epic collapse in 1998, and a proprietary trader for Morgan Stanley, has seen his share of financial complexities.
But when shown a seven-page list of derivatives positions held by the Illinois Teachers Retirement System as of March 31, obtained by Medill News Service through a Freedom of Information Act request, the University of Illinois-Chicago assistant professor of finance expressed disbelief.
“If you were to have faxed me this balance sheet and asked me to guess who it belonged to, I would have guessed, Citadel, Magnetar or even a proprietary trading desk at a bank,” Rosenthal said. […]
For the quarter ended March 31, according to derivatives experts who studied TRS’ financial documents, the fund lost some $515 million on its derivatives portfolio. Since then, the fund’s derivatives positions have likely soured further, the experts said, due to worsening financial conditions in Europe. […]
In the balance sheet provided to Medill News Service, TRS’s OTC derivatives portfolio showed that in addition to writing CDSs, the pension fund was selling swaptions and shorting international-based interest rate swaps. For each contract written or sold, TRS received a premium.
TRS claims it made money on the derivatives, but that’s hotly disputed in the article.
I asked the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget for a comment, but they declined. Not bright.
* State Sen. Bill Brady will hold a press conference this morning at the proposed Wal-Mart site in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood with Democratic state Sen. Rev. James Meeks and others. Brady has been a staunch supporter of building new Wal-Marts in Chicago and issued a press release earlier this week praising a deal cut by Mayor Daley that’s still pending in the city council. The deal would require the company to pay starting workers 50 cents an hour above minimum wage. Unions have decried the deal as a sellout. Here’s Brady’s release…
“As the author of legislation aimed at bringing exactly these types of jobs and opportunities to food deserts throughout Chicago, I strongly support the announcement by Wal-Mart and key community leaders of their agreement to create real jobs and more consumer choice in Chicago,” said Bill Brady.
“I’ve met with community leaders who recognize this as an opportunity to create thousands of jobs — both union and non union. I join with them in working to bring this proposal one step closer to reality. Mayor Daley and others have shown tremendous leadership in the effort to bring real private sector jobs that we desperately need. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with those ready to deliver on this agreement and get the job done for Chicago families. If only Governor Quinn was willing to do the same.”
Quinn said Tuesday that he is happy to see so many jobs potentially coming to Chicago. He tried to downplay the politically sticky issue that many of those jobs will not be union jobs, and will pay less than the demanded “living wage.”
Quinn instead focused his comments on the need Wal-Mart could fill in providing supermarkets to Chicago-area residents.
“It’s a municipal issue for the city of Chicago…It puts people to work, gets grocery stores where they need to be located in every neighborhood, and at the same time helps our economy go forward.” […]
“I’ve said all along that I believe…[in getting] a good wage for employees who work in the stores and for those who build the store,” said Quinn.
I’m sure SEIU is gonna be happy with that statement. The union has been in the lead on the Wal-Mart boycott and spent $1.7 million on Quinn in the primary,
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will sign what his office calls “major economic legislation” Wednesday morning in Marion.
An aide to state senator Gary Forby confirms it’s Illinois senate bill 2093, better known as the STAR bonds bill. STAR stands for “sales tax and revenue.”
That bill will divert state sales tax revenue to help finance a major retail and entertainment development along Interstate 57 in Marion. […]
At Local 773, the Marion-based chapter of the Laborers International Union of North America, man hours dropped from around 1.1 million in 2001 to around 412,000 in 2007.
As the recession continued that number shrank to around 380,000 in 2009.
* And the folks who run Churchill Downs are warning that their Arlington racetrack is on the bubble…
Churchill Downs Inc.’s chief executive on Thursday raised doubts about the future of Arlington Park, its Chicago-area track and said the company’s flagship Louisville track may have to further reduce racing dates.
“You can’t run on hope,” CEO Bob Evans said in an interview after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Louisville. “… If we get to the point where you know ‘not racing’ is the best answer, well that’s the best answer. But we’re not starting there, and I hope we don’t get there.”
During prepared remarks at the meeting and in the interview after, Evans talked of plans for an impending internal review of its four racetracks and said it is difficult to justify racing at tracks that don’t have slot machines or other forms of gambling to supplement purses.
Asked if Arlington Park and Churchill Downs are in jeopardy, Evans said any racetrack without alternative gambling would find it difficult to keep going without some business to make up the difference.
Churchill’s gaming operations now include the Calder Casino and Studz Poker Club at the Miami track and slot machines at Fair Grounds along with video poker at off-track sites. Churchill’s gaming revenues increased 22% in 2009 to $61,227,000.
Evans outlined racing’s $2.47-billion dip in pari-mutuel wagering in 2009 compared to ’07 and noted that foal crops continue to get smaller. The Jockey Club projects an 11.8% decrease in foals in 2010. With that in mind, Evans believes the tracks that will thrive will be the outlets that are able to boost purses with money from added gaming to attract entries from a shrinking pool of horses.
Evans said the company’s comprehensive review of racing operations would not necessarily lead to immediate changes.
“I’m not sure about the timeframe of any of this, but we have to be realistic,” Evans said. “Every track without alternative gaming or some other way to get money into purses is going to be in trouble. There’s no other way to survive.”
Last week, Arlington announced $725,000 in cuts to stakes purses for 11 races and the elimination of another, citing declines in out-of-state betting.
* And speaking of slots at tracks and racing woes…
Harness racing at county fairs like the Perry County Fair has long been a tradition in Illinois, but cuts in state funding and late payments to county fairs are putting the tradition in jeopardy and threatening jobs.
Rita Williams, a member of the board of directors of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association, said the future of harness racing at Illinois fairs is in “critical mode.” She said Illinois law provides reimbursement of 66 percent to county fairs. Williams said the actual figure is one-third of what it should be. […]
Williams said the purses that draw horsemen to enter races are composed of fees paid by the horsemen and funds the state provides to fairs. In the past several years the harness racing industry has experienced a reduction of more than 50 percent in state funding, which has reduced the purse size for each race and caused some horsemen to seek alternative venues, she said. […]
“If we lose this industry we will lose 35,000 to 40,000 jobs,” Williams said. “What will these people do? That will create another burden on the state.”[…]
A piece of legislation in the general assembly could save harness racing in Illinois, Williams said. Senate Bill 3146 would amend the Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975 and allow slot machines at tracks. Williams said the action would not only save the harness racing industry, but provide hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the state.
* Apparently, a lot more happened after that Republican video tracker turned off his cam at Alexi Giannoulias’ DC fundraiser the other day. You’ll remember the story. Tracker shows up, gets harrassed, told to leave, GOP makes a big splash claiming foul play. The video…
The first guy to confront the tracker was DC lawyer Michael Kosmas, the party’s host. Politico has a story about what transpired later that evening…
An attorney for a resident of Madrigal Lofts, a condominium building in downtown Washington, D.C., is asking the Senate campaign of Democrat Alexi Giannoulias to investigate an alleged incident of “harassment, intimidation, and assault” that occurred after a recent rooftop fundraising event. […]
The tracker contended that he had been invited to the rooftop by a different resident of the condominium building. And that resident accused Kosmas and several other individuals of showing up at her door later that evening, around 11:00 pm, and confronting her “using inappropriate and threatening terms.”
The accusing resident did not open the door at the time but was later escorted by a building security guard to Kosmas’ condominium to complain, according to accounts by both parties.
According to a letter sent to the Giannoulias campaign by the woman’s attorney, Bobby Burchfield, Kosmas “would not commit to refrain from repeating the situation” and the woman was “knocked on her shoulder” as she walked past him.
The woman was not identified, but according to the article “she has worked for Republicans in the past but is not currently employed by an official GOP organization.”
* As you’d expect, the Republicans have pounced yet again. From a Mark Kirk for Senate press release, entitled: “Kirk Campaign Expresses Serious Concern over Report that Giannoulias Event Host Intimidated Young Woman after Fundraiser”…
“The news that Alexi Giannoulias’ campaign event host intimidated a young woman at her home in Washington following the campaign’s DC fundraiser raises serious concerns with regard to the integrity of the Giannoulias campaign and its associates,” Kirk spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said. “We call on Alexi Giannoulias to immediately apologize for his campaign affiliates’ intimidation tactics, publicly identify all those involved and terminate all association with them.”
IL GOP…
“We call on Alexi Giannoulias to issue a public apology, identify those involved and cut ties to them immediately,” Chairman Brady said.
“Campaigns should not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of women.
“I hope some of Alexi Giannoulias’ supporters like Dick Durbin and Jan Schakowsky will have the courage to stand with me in condemning all acts of violence, bullying, intimidation and harassment of women by a political campaign or their supporters.”
And from the NRSC…
“Instead of demonstrating leadership by stepping up and denouncing this kind of inappropriate activity, mob banker Alexi Giannoulias simply embraced the Chicago way and condoned it. The people of Illinois deserve better than a mob banker who is willing to turn a blind eye to any type of predatory harassment, intimidation, or violence.” – Amber Marchand, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Press Secretary.
* The Giannoulias campaign isn’t commenting, but Michael Kosmas did issue a statement. Here’s part of it…
On the evening of June 16, 2010, I hosted an event at my Washington residence for Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Despite the fact that this was a private event in a private residence building, an uninvited intruder entered the perimeter of the party and videotaped my guests. Building security ultimately escorted him to the outside the perimeter of my private reserved party area. This person continued to videotape the event from afar despite being told repeatedly by the security guard that he was in violation of the building rules.
Following the event I went and complained at the unit whose occupant allowed the videographer upon my roof. She did not answer her door, but instead came to my door with the building security guard a few moments later to complain I was harassing her. The security guard told her in no uncertain terms that if her guests violate building rules, I have an absolute right to go to her unit and complain. Unsatisfied with the guard’s explanation, she then summoned a District of Columbia police officer, who gave her the exact same answer.
On the evening in question this woman refused to identify herself. I have since been given a copy of a letter on her behalf by a Washington attorney to the Giannoulias campaign. Aside from containing many factual inaccuracies, it quite simply doesn’t make sense. If she in fact feels that she was harassed, with inappropriate and potential illegal activity as she claims, where is her complaint to the police? Where is her complaint to the building? This is political opportunism and game playing at its worst.
Kosmas is also distributing a blistering statement by former Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley, a Maryland Republican…
On the evening of June 16, 2010, my longtime senior Congressional aide and chief political operative, Michael S. Kosmas, hosted an event at his Washington residence for Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Despite the fact that this was a private event in a private residence an uninvited intruder entered the perimeter of the party and videotaped Mr. Kosmas and his guests.
While these sorts of dirty tricks occur regularly in politics, what disturbs me is the response of the Republican Party. Rather than condemning this trespassing in a private party in a private residence, the Republican Party has lionized the trespasser, and with respect to Mr. Kosmas, the party host, have questioned who he is and his relationship to the Giannoulias campaign.
I am actually quite surprised that national Republicans have to ask this question. Six months to the day before the Giannoulias fundraiser at his home, Mr. Kosmas was an official co-host of an event at the National Republican Senatorial Committee for Rob Portman, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio, at which Senator McConnell was the guest speaker.
For the record, Mr. Kosmas spent nearly a decade as my Congressional aide, and managed many of my successful re-election races to the U.S. House. He served a four year term as elected member of the Republican Central Committee of Maryland. He has donated thousands of dollars to Republican candidates over the years, including myself, Bob Ehrlich, Michael Steele, Susan Collins, Dan Burton, Duncan Hunter and others.
I am disgusted that the reward for Mr. Kosmas efforts for so many Republicans over the years is to have political operatives trespass into his home when he does an event for a member of the other party. The Kirk for Senate campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee owe Mr. Kosmas an apology.
* Lawyers and political strategists are now involved, so don’t bet on any apologies being offered by anyone, which is what would normally happen if this wasn’t a campaign thing and was just a dispute between a couple of tenants.
It certainly would’ve helped the GOP’s cause if a formal complaint had been filed with the local coppers about the confrontation and the alleged shoulder-bump, but that doesn’t appear to have happened. Still, confronting a female tenant at 11 o’clock at night is more than just ungentlemanly, not to mention the alleged physical contact. She had a right to be frightened, even though she did play a role in this escapade. But she shouldn’t have allowed somebody to use her name to crash the funder and not expect at least some consequences.
Everybody really needs to calm down and act like human beings. I suppose, however, that’s too much to ask. It is DC, after all.
Mayor Cynthia Stovall-Hollingsworth was not believed to be a target and was not injured, police said. The bullets that hit her house were believed to be stray shots.[…]
Stovall-Hollingsworth came to office in April after the former mayor, John Thornton, was shot to death driving home from work on April 1. Thornton stopped to talk to two men when one got into his car and shot the mayor.
The privately run DuPage National Technology Park — a near-empty west suburban non-profit project that Illinois taxpayers sunk $34 million into — is dead, DuPage County Board chairman Robert Schillerstrom declared today.
Schillerstrom said the tech park will be taken over by the DuPage Airport Authority, which owns the land in West Chicago that backers once hoped the park would turn into a flourishing home for dozens of technology businesses bringing thousands of new, high-tech jobs.
Earlier this month blood marked the grass outside Brian Piccolo Specialty School in West Humboldt Park where a 15-year-old boy was slain. Officials there hope the tragedy won’t taint the progress they have achieved in the past two years.
The school, which had been plagued by violence and low test scores, has seen improvement in both, according to school officials and state data. But Principal Althea Hammond worries that the school’s strides may be overshadowed by one tragedy.
“I always compare schools to a fairy-tale place. It’s an illusion,” Hammond said on a recent morning. “When (students) leave, they are going back to their own reality.”[…]
When it began to rain, Jeremy took refuge near Piccolo along the 4200 block of West Thomas Street, according to an account of the events read by prosecutors in court on June 16. Prosecutors alleged that a 20-year-old began shooting and hit Jeremy in the neck. The suspected shooter has been charged with first-degree murder.
The prosecutor said in court that the area where Jeremy was killed “is the site of ongoing rivalries” between gangs. […]
Even the memorials set up for Jeremy Baggett after the shooting caused stress for the school. What started as flowers and balloons turned into liquor bottles and, eventually, graffiti. City authorities cleaned up the site, but then Hammond heard rumors that people who were angry that the memorial was removed were threatening to shoot out school windows.
And according to a recent survey of statewide DUI arrests, several Chicago suburbs lead in enforcement — Carol Stream, Gurnee and Orland Park, to name a few.
Carol Stream racked up nearly 500 arrests for driving under the influence last year, ranking fourth in the state, a source of pride for its police department, officials said.
In a statement, state police officials said Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, the associate director of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, could not serve as a volunteer chaplain “due to information revealed during the background investigation.” State police declined to be more specific. […]
Shortly after Mustapha’s appointment, Steve Emerson, executive director of the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, criticized Illinois law enforcement for ignoring Mustapha’s history as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the nation’s largest Muslim charity.
The foundation’s two founding members were sentenced last year to 65 years in prison each for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas, which the U.S. has labeled as a terrorist organization.
* Daley, Wal-Mart tout benefits of chain coming to Chicago
Daley tends to display such emotion when he’s in a tough political situation. He’s frequently gotten fired up when discussing the city’s decades-old handgun ban, which the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to overturn any day now.
In the case of Wal-Mart, Daley is fighting a long-running battle that could come to a head Thursday when the City Council Zoning Committee votes on the proposed Pullman Park development on the South Side that would be anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
It’s not clear if the mayor has the votes to prevail — as he almost always does. “We’re gonna try,” he said.
* Daley wants answers from organized labor over $1 billion Wal-Mart deal
* Lombard will close bridge if Glen Ellyn won’t pay
Lombard plans to close the aging Hill Avenue bridge on July 1 if neighboring Glen Ellyn won’t pitch in on the cost of rebuilding it.
The bridge over the DuPage River just south of the Union Pacific tracks belongs to Lombard, but traffic patterns indicate it has more value to Glen Ellyn residents.
That’s why Lombard is asking its neighbor to split the $600,000 local share of the reconstruction cost - and says it won’t foot the bill alone.
* Bureaucratic housekeeping in Naperville turns into debate over abortion clinics
City planners recently decided to streamline two separate land-use classifications — “medical or dental clinics” and “medical or dental offices” — into one category, to remove repetition and make the city’s zoning code clearer. Their proposal to do so at the June 15 City Council meeting, however, nearly was derailed by concerns by several council members over the possibility that an abortion clinic can operate anywhere that medical or dental facilities currently are allowed, including in the city’s downtown.
Persistence usually pays off, so it’s important that officials in the Rockford region remain persistent if they have any hope of attracting a Navistar facility that is having problems moving to Lisle.
The Northwest Herald reported Sunday that McHenry County has been aggressive in pursuing Navistar and is trying to lure the company to the Motorola site in Harvard.
Motorola closed the Harvard plant in 2003 and it’s been vacant since. The campus employed 6,000 people at its peak in 2000, so there’s plenty of room for Navistar.
