Quinn’s apparent intention to sign the budget comes after Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, called for Quinn to reject the spending plan lawmakers approved last month. Franks voted against the budget and has said lawmakers should return to Springfield and come up with a comprehensive solution.
“We’re not going to do that,” Quinn said of Franks’ veto request.
Quinn added that it’s clear lawmakers have no desire to make tough choices when it comes to the state’s money situation.
“Members of the General Assembly don’t want to make any cuts, they don’t want to do anything about revenue,” Quinn said. “They basically have decided that only the governor can make those decisions and we’re going to have to do it for them. I’m disappointed in them, I think they’ve in many cases avoiding doing what they should do, but it’s time to act.”
* When your original budget is based on more than a billion dollars in cuts to education, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get called on it…
A mother of three angrily confronted Gov. Pat Quinn following an afternoon news conference, accusing him of not doing enough to stop teacher layoffs and prevent classroom sizes from growing.
Quinn was greeting children at John H. Kinzie Elementary School on the city’s South Side when he was approached by Diane Sajdak, who volunteers at the school her three children attend. Sajdak shouted at Quinn, telling him budget cuts could force the school to layoff more than a dozen teachers and inflate class sizes to the point where children won’t adequately learn.
“You’re not doing a good job,” Sajdak yelled. “We’re getting rid of 14 of our teachers, we’ve got 42 kids in a class, that’s ridiculous! How are they going to learn?”
Quinn appeared flustered by the confrontation, responding, “that’s not me.”
Yes, it is you, governor.
* Congressman Peter Roskam told Fox Business’ Stuart Varney yesterday that Illinois had a $500 million bill backlog two years ago and now it’s over $5 billion. That’s pretty much true. But check out the graph below. Fiscal Year 2008 is in purple and Fiscal Year 2009, which began in July of 2008, is in green. The original document from the comptroller’s office is here, and click the pic for a larger image…
Notice that as the economy crashed during the summer, fall and winter of 2008, the state’s unpaid balances also crashed. The unpaid balances eased substantially that December because the state took out a cash-flow loan.
* I’ve never met him, but I’ve been a fan of James Krohe, Jr. for years. The guy knows how to turn a phrase, but he’s way off on the Stratton Building’s serious problems…
Several rationales have been offered for this curious priority. Rep. Rich Brauer, the Petersburg Republican, told the SJ-R that the building is “just way past its prime.” True, the Stratton at 56 years is old before its time. But the Illinois Statehouse is 80 years older than that, and in the pink. Buildings can live happily for decades past their primes if well-tended. The Stratton’s problems – single-pane windows with failing gaskets, inadequate insulation and fireproofing and poor lighting – are common in structures its age. The only reason they are life-threatening to this one is that the State of Illinois is as incompetent a landlord as it is a teacher or investment fund manager.
You can’t change a recessed lightbulb in that building without a hazmat team. The ceilings are full of asbestos. That, itself, is enough of a hazard to warrant massive repairs or knocking it down.
Democrats maintain voters won’t associate Quinn, who was lieutenant governor to Blagojevich, with his flamboyant predecessor.
“When the Blagojevich scandal broke, the very first thing out of Pat Quinn’s mouth was, ‘I have not spoken to this guy in over a year,’” Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), said on a conference call Wednesday. “There is no real relationship between Blagojevich and Pat Quinn.”
Daschle said the DGA’s polling confirms that assumption. “The trial is not going to hurt Pat Quinn,” he said.
* Perhaps if he wasn’t reportedly hiring winos and junkies to circulate his petitions, Scott Lee Cohen wouldn’t be complaining now.
The Forrest Claypool campaign responded to Cohen’s complaints today…
“Notice how we are not spending time complaining while we can still be collecting signatures.”
Exactly.
* And a roundup…
* State lawmaker won’t run again, saying he needs to make more money: Southwest Side Democratic state Rep. Kevin Joyce said today he will not seek re-election this fall because his family is growing and he needs to make more money. Joyce, who has served in the House since 2003, said the decision was made after he and his wife, Krista, learned they have an eighth child due in September. The couple’s oldest child is 14 and preparing to enter high school.
* The photo is of Gov. Pat Quinn on the right and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels - the man who loves to hate on Illinois - on the left. The photo was taken yesterday during the Illiana Expressway press conference…
In yet another embarrassing revelation for GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk, a document from the Department of Defense has surfaced showing military officials expressed “concerns arising from his partisan political activities during his last two tours of active duty.”
Kirk, a commander in the U.S. Navy reserves, needed a “waiver” to become — in his words — the first congressman to be deployed to an “imminent danger” area since World War II when he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and again last year.
Because of the officials’ concerns about his previous “partisan political activities,” they required him to write out an “acknowledgement of limitations required for all candidates on active duty,” which he did. The waiver was granted. […]
The Kirk campaign issued a statement Wednesday night asserting that Kirk never violated any Defense Department rules, and vowing to find out what “political operatives” gained access to his “confidential records.” […]
Kirk’s statement said the Obama administration changed the original language of the waiver, inserting concerns about his “partisan political activities.”
The AP hasn’t yet picked it up. Instead, they’re still running that “balancing” story about how an item on Alexi Giannoulias’ campaign website didn’t match with a factual item on his state website.
The congressman has never been one to minimize his talents. Once, in a candidate debate, he responded to a question about immigration reform by announcing grandly, “I could answer that question in Spanish, since I attended Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.” Kirk finds himself amazing and expects you to agree. […]
Kirk was notable for avoiding any hint of ethical scandal, but his very distance from the usual muck may have led him astray. He was not satisfied being smarter and better than your run-of-the-mill Illinois politician. He had to make himself out to be a combination of Superman and Beaver Cleaver.
But voters are not expecting greatness or nobility from their senator. They only ask the political gods to send someone who isn’t an embarrassment.
The political gods have given their answer to that prayer: Ha. Ha. Ha.
Oof.
* Lake Zurich Courier columnist Randy Blaser also lays into Kirk…
Over the last 10 years, I’ve heard Mark Kirk talk about his service in the Navy many times, and he always left me with the impression that he was in the thick of things, flying dangerous missions at the point of the spear.
Apparently, he wasn’t.
I can’t say it any better than my teenage son, who thinks about serving his country one day in uniform. “He’s either a liar or an idiot,” he said after reading the Kirk revelations, “and they don’t let idiots be officers in the U.S. Navy.”
Let me add, however, that both sure find a home in the U.S. Congress.
There is something particularly unsavory about embellishing one’s military record as opposed to, say, claiming to have been the third-grade spelling bee champ. It is an insult to those who have served in the military and been in harm’s way.
What makes politicians think they won’t get caught in such misstatements? What makes them think voters aren’t entitled to the pure, unvarnished truth?
* Last July, I heaped mountains of praise on Kirk’s official campaign kickoff, saying it “couldn’t have been better.” At one point in the post, I wrote that his handling of the cap and trade issue was “first class.” Little did I know. Here is that Kirk response, which is from a Chuck Sweeny column…
Kirk told me Monday he has been inundated with e-mails from Republicans unhappy with his cap-and-trade vote. So, why did he vote yes?
“We’ve sent three armies to the Middle East and I’ve fought in two of them. As combat veterans, we get to ask, ‘Are we going to still being doing this 20 years from now?’ So I’ve been in favor of anything that gets us to energy independence,” said Kirk, an intelligence commander in the Naval Reserve who was deployed in December to Afghanistan.
He “fought” in two armies in the Middle East? Man, were we ever snookered.
* Also worth reading…
* Kirk Lashes Out, Once Again: So how did the Kirk campaign respond? You guessed it: They again attempted to deflect attention on to his Democratic opponents.
* According to Rasmussen, Bill Brady’s position is improving, probably because of a decent amount of TV ads run by Brady and the Republican Governors Association. However, the 4-point movement since the last poll in April is within (just barely) the poll’s margin of error. Numbers in brackets are from previous Rasmussen polls taken on April 28, April 5 and March 8…
Brady: 47% [45%, 45%, 47%]
Quinn: 36% [38%, 38%, 37%]
Some Other Candidate 8% [5%, 7%, 6%]
Not sure 10% [11%, 10%, 9%]
Despite Brady’s narrow primary win, he now has the support of 80% of Republican voters. By comparison, Quinn who also narrowly defeated a primary challenger gets just 60% of Democratic votes. Voters not affiliated with either party prefer the Republican by better than two-to-one.
As I told subscribers months ago, this race is closer than the toplines make it appear for that very reason. Quinn will eventually heal the primary’s wounds, particularly when he begins to define Brady. If Quinn was getting 80 percent of the Democratic vote right now, this thing would be within single digits. Quinn’s big problem, however, is that his intensity of support is so low among his own base, as those Rasmussen (and other pollsters’) results clearly show.
Very favorable 14%
Somewhat favorable 33%
Somewhat unfavorable 18%
Very unfavorable 15%
Not sure 21%
Lots more not sure about Brady than about Quinn, which is predictable. Also, Brady’s very faves and very unfaves are equal, while Quinn’s very unfaves are well more than twice his very faves. Not good for the incumbent.
How would you rate the job Pat Quinn has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?
The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Illinois was conducted on June 7, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/-4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko, Chris Kelly and Lon Monk used code names for themselves “when talking about the four of us making money,” Monk said — “1, 2, 3, 4.”
Monk said in 2007 or 2008, when he and Blagojevich were alone in Blago’s office, they discussed an FBI investigation.
Blagojevich told Monk not to ever talk about the “1, 2, 3, 4″ reference.
Monk on the stand silently mimicked Blagojevich’s actions, putting up his fingers one at a time, then running a single finger across his throat.
Blagojevich is clearly upset, unsettled in his chair. He leaned forward and stared right at Monk. But at Monk’s gesture, Blagojevich sat back hard in his chair and appeared to mutter something.
Monk told the court that Blagojevich told him he had made a deal with then-Illinois Senate President Emil Jones not to call a vote on a proposed ethics bill that would have limited campaign contributions to the governor. Monk said that Blagojevich felt the bill wasn’t fair, as it only targeted the state’s executive branch, and was also concerned that its specific restrictions would greatly hinder Blagojevich’s fundraising.
Jones had the power to stymie the ethics bill by not calling it for a vote. In exchange for Jones’ cooperation, Monk testified, Blagojevich told Monk that he had promised to appoint Jones to Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat if Obama won the presidency. Monk said he was “surprised.”
However, Monk said that John Harris, Blagojevich’s chief of staff, told him that Obama had called Jones and urged him to call the bill. Ultimately Jones did, and the state Senate voted to override Blagojevich’s amendatory veto. The bill passed and became law on January 1, 2009.
Prosecutor Reid Schar started the morning by complaining that Blagojevich was gesturing inappropriately to people in the courtroom. Schar said jurors were distracted by his gesturing.
He said Blagojevich made it “audibly clear in his displeasure continuously looking over, gesturing to people in the pews.”
Schar said it was “not proper decorum. It’s clearly distracting.”
Blagojevich, sitting down, frowned.
Zagel told him to stop. “By and large it’s for their own benefit,” he said.
Reluctant or not, Monk is an essential part of the government’s case — a co-conspirator who puts Blagojevich in the room when the alleged insider schemes to make money off state government were first hatched.
But the nagging problem I see is that there were only four people total in that room.
One of them — Christopher Kelly — is dead, a suicide victim who had no interest in being the one to corroborate Monk’s story. Another, Tony Rezko, is not expected to be a prosecution witness because he has a credibility gap that probably makes anything he’d have to say useless, his penchant for deception a matter of detailed public record.
Without Rezko, that seems to make it Monk’s word against Blago’s because, again as far as I know, there’s no paper trail to help prove the governor was in on the plotting. […]
The various ideas were supposed to produce hundreds of thousands of dollars for the four men to divide equally, but Monk and Blagojevich wouldn’t get their share until after Blagojevich left office.
Monk says Blagojevich attended these meetings on how to use his position to make money, paid attention to the discussion, and that it was understood that he would have to “take certain actions as governor to help the plans.” But he says no specific actions were ever discussed.
It’s not that I have a hard time believing this really happened. It’s just that I have a hard time seeing how the government proves it. At best, maybe it makes some of the other crimes of which Blagojevich is accused easier to understand.
It’s not a media circus surrounding the Blagojevich corruption trial so much as it’s a carnival midway with freaks, geeks and barkers all trying to attract attention.
* Ticker-Tape Parade for Champion Blackhawks: Chicago officials are planning a Friday morning parade and rally to honor the Blackhawks. Megan McDonald is executive eirector of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. She says the parade will begin at 10:30 at Washington and Wacker.
Foreclosures in Illinois during May put the state at the dubious position of No. 8 nationwide after it posted a 38 percent increase compared to a year ago, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based research firm.
Aldermen endorsed a proposal by a development group including Chicago-based McCaffery Interests to build condominiums, apartments and a million square feet of retail space on the northern 77 acres of the 400-acre former U.S. Steel South Works site near 79th Street east of U.S. 41. The site has been empty since the plant closed in 1992.
Mr. Daley, of course, a few days ago urged EPA chiefs to go jump in Washington’s Potomac River if they want to engage in water sports. The comment came after the agency filed a letter saying Chicago could do better curbing pollution and ought to make our fair waterway suitable for swimming.
The health department urges people who got sick after eating at Subway restaurants on or after May 10 to contact their health care provider or local health department.
n a 13-3 vote, the board handed permanent control of the county’s health system to the independent panel that has been running the system for about two years.
That’s great news for taxpayers and all those patients, many of them impoverished, who depend on the health system. This panel has been effective and efficient, two words not normally associated with the county’s system, long a patronage paradise for county pols and their cronies.
The Cook County B oard’s approval of the contract last week supported a 2007 ordinance to establish a program for red light cameras on county roads. That ordinance included a list of 30 potential intersections throughout the county - eight in the Southland - to receive the cameras for a pilot program, but the county never discussed the plan with the municipalities.
In Tinley Park, where there are also red light cameras at some busy intersections, the sentiment was echoed.
“We should have had some discussion with the county to see if it was justified and if Tinley Park needed that camera,” Police Chief Michael O’Connell said.
That list, to boot, was rife with errors, misidentifying the location of several intersections. The most glaring of which put Lake-Cook and McHenry roads in Hickory Hills when it is actually about 40 miles north in Buffalo Grove.
The proposed amendment, sponsored by suburban commissioners Larry Suffredin, Timothy Schneider and Gregg Goslin, would allow suburbs to exclude themselves from the plan to install the cameras at intersections along county-maintained roads, Goslin said.
The community service fee, which is assessed every two months, is being cut from $51 per household to $38.24.
Senior citizens will go from paying $25.50 to $19.12 every two months.
City officials said the fee, which is assessed through water bills, helps generate about $2 million and helps pay for police, fire and other city services.
Hanover Park, in reacting to four murders inside two weeks just a year ago, instead set forth to establish a major shift in the way it polices its citizenry in order to establish greater trust, a greater intelligence network and better contact with kids who could choose the wrong path.
What it all boils down to is that Hanover Park police have pledged to get to know the people in the community.
* The Nitpicker has been a prime behind the scenes player in finding some of Mark Kirk’s military embellishments. And now the blogger appears to have yet another scoop by obtaining a December 18, 2009 Department of Defense “Exception to Policy” memo regarding Kirk’s then upcoming active duty tour in Afghanistan. Kirk needed a waiver because as a member of Congress he wasn’t supposed to be sent to combat areas.
As a candidate for the vacant Senate seat in Illinois, Commander Kirk must complete the appropriate acknowledgment of limitations required for all candidates on active duty (DoDD 1344.10, paragraph 4.3.5.). Ordinarily this acknowledgment must be completed within 15 days of entering active duty. Because of the short period of active duty and concerns arising from his partisan political activities during his last two tours of active duty, Commander Kirk must complete this form prior to his entry on active duty. [Emphasis added]
Partisan political activities during two tours of active duty? Yikes.
The Nitpicker thinks one of those prohibited activities mentioned in the memo might be that Twitter escapade I wrote about last July. Kirk appeared to be posting to his campaign Twitter page while on duty at the National Military Command Center. At the time, the campaign claimed that Kirk did not post while on duty and implied that a staffer may have posted the Tweet. Kirk said later that he would not do it again.
And those violations are, in fact, a prosecutable offense. As the regulation states, “Violations of paragraphs 4.1. through 4.5. of this Directive by persons subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice are punishable under Article 92, ‘Failure to Obey Order or Regulation…’” A violation of Article 92 is punishable by up to two years of confinement and a dishonorable discharge. [Emphasis added.]
Oops.
Also, if you scroll down to pages four and five of the pdf file, you’ll see Kirk’s response, where he swore to play by all the rules. I checked with the Kirk campaign and they’re still formulating a response. I read this post to them before I published it. I’ll post the response when I get it.
*** UPDATE *** The Kirk campaign responds…
Statement by Spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski:
“Mark Kirk has served our nation in the U.S. Navy for two decades and has done so honorably. The fact is, Congressman Kirk never violated Defense Department policies. He has misspoken about his record, acknowledged it and apologized. Mark Kirk left for Afghanistan and he did not engage in political activities - even in the face of radio commercials accusing him of being gay. The memorandum in question is simply off the mark. Furthermore, this raises grave concerns and questions about who gained access to Kirk’s confidential records. The document in question should be viewed for what it is - a baseless political ploy by partisans bent on defending a U.S. Senate seat at any cost.
“Going forward, we will be submitting a Freedom of Information Act request for all correspondence between Administration officials and Democratic campaigns or political operatives regarding Mr. Kirk’s personal military records. We will not stand by and allow partisan attacks invalidate two decades of military service, both here and overseas.”
Below find a timeline related to both of Mr. Kirk’s deployments to Afghanistan:
1. Governor Blagojevich was arrested morning of December 9, 2008 for the potential sale of the Obama Senate seat.
2. On December 10, Senator Durbin raised the issue of a special election for the senate, instead of a governor’s pick.
3. That day, the Illinois media began calling all Illinois congressmen and other figures asking if they could run. Congressman Kirk was doing pre-deployment training as a reservist in Springfield, Virginia, each day, then working in his congressional office each night. DoD rules allow congressmen to perform duties incident to their congressional office while on reserve duty. Kirk gave interviews with WIND, WLS, WFLD, MSNBC. He mainly commented on the arrest of the Illinois governor and when asked, said he would not rule out a run.
4. On December 11, Congressman Kirk was interviewed by Politico, Fox National TV, WLS and WFLD.
5. CDR Kirk then went dark and departed the United States on the night of December 13, 2008 for Afghanistan. He served for two weeks in Afghanistan and did not give interviews.
6. Hearing of the new discussion of a potential Senate special election in Illinois, the Navy tracked Kirk down and reminded him not to give interviews while deployed in Afghanistan. Kirk said he had not declared a candidacy and would not speak with the press.
7. Senator Durbin changed his mind and no special election was held. Senator Burris was appointed to replace Senator Obama.
8. When CDR Kirk deployed a second time, the Obama administration changed the original waiver to reference the Navy call to Kirk. Kirk also talked to SECDEF CoS Rangel and confirmed no public statements would be made from Afghanistan, like the first time.
9. CDR Kirk served in Afghanistan for two weeks a second time in December 2009 and January of 2010. During that service, a Kirk GOP political opponent, Andy Martin, accused Kirk of being gay and bought $60,000 of radio time to spread this message. Kirk took no action, gave no interviews and returned to the US. From his home in Illinois, Kirk called CoS Rangel and asked for permission to begin public speaking. Rangel approved and Kirk delivered his first speech in three weeks the following day.
10. The regulations are clear on this issue: please see paragraph 4.4 and subparagraph 4.1.2:
Paragraph 4.4 is entitled “Holding and Exercising the functions of a U.S. Government civil Office Attained by Election or Appointment.” Under Paragraph 4.4.3.,”A…Reserve Component member on active duty under…[an[ order to active duty for 270 days or fewer, may hold and exercise the functions of a civil office provided there is no interference with the performance of military duty.” Subparagraph 4.4.5 states that such officeholders on active duty are still subject to the list of prohibitions contain in subparagraph 4.1.2.
Subparagraph 4.1.2 contains a list of prohibited activities among them not participating in any radio, television, or other program or group discussions “as an advocate for or against a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.” (Subparagraph 4.1.2.6). The regulation does not prohibit all participation, just participation that is as an advocate for or against a party, candidate or cause. Commenting on news events while in civilian clothes and not onboard a military installation should not give rise to a violation even if the Reserve component member is on active duty.
Paragraph 4.6.4 identifies DoDI 1344.10 as a lawful general regulation. This is required, under military law, if the regulation is intended to be punitive, i.e., military members can be prosecuted for violations. thus, the reference to article 92 of the Uniform code of Military Justice. Of course, one cannot be punished under the UCMJ unless found guilty of each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. the Deputy secretary’s memo is not intended to adjudicate any previous issues and her use of the word “concerns” does not amount to a finding that any law was broken.
A banking group says Democrat Alexi Giannoulias didn’t serve on its board of directors like he’s claimed on his Senate campaign website.
The Community Bankers Association of Illinois said Wednesday that Giannoulias served on its Committee on Legislation and Regulation.
Attention is being paid to candidates’ claims after Giannoulias’ Republican opponent, Congressman Mark Kirk, recently acknowledged embellishing his military record.
Giannoulias’ Senate website has been changed to match his official Illinois treasurer’s website, which included committee service. A campaign spokesman calls it a simple mistake.
…Adding… Some of you are not reading that AP story very well, and it may be my fault for the way I introduced it. His state website had the facts right, but his campaign site had it wrong. So, it’s not a total embellishment.
* Rasmussen polled Gov. Quinn’s favorables this week. Brackets show favorables from polls taken April 28 and March 8…
How would you rate the job Pat Quinn has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?
Gov. Mitch Daniels will join Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn today to commemorate their states’ approval of bills authorizing the Illiana Expressway.
The governors are expected to get together at 12:30 p.m. at the municipal airport in Lansing. The Illiana Expressway, as proposed, would connect Interstate 65 in Indiana with I-57 or I-55 in Illinois.
Though the AFL-CIO has long backed Democrats, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Illinois Federation of Teachers aren’t happy with some moves Quinn has made as governor.
Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said the union did not support making an endorsement for governor because its own endorsement session isn’t until September.
“There’s a lot of issues our members aren’t happy about,” Bayer said, noting Quinn’s signature on a measure that offers lower pension benefits to future state employees and the governor’s attempts to make retired public workers pay more for their health insurance coverage.
David Comerford, a spokesman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, said the union decided not to vote on an endorsement, a move it has rarely taken at the AFL-CIO. Comerford said the union has concerns about how Quinn has dealt with his union, as well as disagreement over the pension changes. The union’s political arm, which also represents the Chicago Teachers Union, is scheduled to meet in mid-July to determine if it will make its own endorsement for governor.
State officials said Tuesday they have stepped up their efforts to persuade Navistar International Corp. to renew its plans to open a new corporate headquarters in west suburban Lisle, in an effort to prevent thousands of jobs and millions of dollars from leaving Illinois.
On Tuesday, aides to Gov. Pat Quinn met with Lisle Mayor Joseph Broda and labor representatives “to reiterate the governor’s strong commitment to ensuring the jobs and investment that Navistar wants to bring to Illinois become a reality,” said Quinn spokeswoman Ashley Cross.
“The group discussed the concerns of the local community, as well as potential ways to resolve them,” Cross said. “Gov. Quinn will continue working with Navistar and the local community to resolve these outstanding issues so that we can bring these critical jobs and investment to Illinois.”
The talks came days after Quinn signed legislation that would expand a corporate tax credit to include Navistar, potentially saving the engine manufacturer $60 million over 10 years, his aides said.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is offering to negotiate between Navistar and the Lisle residents angered over the handling of the company’s planned relocation of its headquarters to the community.
In a letter to local residents, Madigan said her office had already been contacted by Navistar and now wants to hear their side.
“While my office does not represent any party in this matter, Navistar has already contacted us about its own concerns, and we would like to hear from you as well. We believe differences can be bridged if we have an opportunity to meet with you and seek a reasonable approach,” Madigan said in the letter dated June 7 that was mailed to community members. Madigan goes on to say public health and safety are top priorities for her office along with job creation and that they “are not mutually exclusive goals.”
Despite the efforts, though, Navistar is saying nothing has really changed. It wants out.
Gov. Pat Quinn charged Tuesday that Bill Brady, the Republican nominee for governor, should forgo his state paycheck for any days where he missed a vote in his role as Bloomington’s state senator.
“Most citizens, if they weren’t showing up for work, wouldn’t get paid, and I think that’s something we should always take into consideration,” Quinn told reporters.
But when the tables were turned, Quinn said he wouldn’t give up any of the nearly $150,000 he’s collecting as governor for days he was off seeking endorsements or raising money for his campaign.
“If I get a call in the middle of the night, there’s no time off. I have to act in the middle of the night,” said Quinn, adding that Brady has failed at his only job - making votes.
“Given the condition of the state, I don’t think Gov. Quinn wants to launch a debate on who deserves a paycheck from taxpayers,” responded Brady spokeswoman Patty Schuh.
Schuh also said there’s more to being a senator than voting on the Senate floor, including helping constituents “get paid by a government that’s been a deadbeat.”
“There has been a focus on a very small period of time,” she said of the missed votes. “We acknowledged that he missed votes, but he also made many, many votes.”
During the 2006 campaign, then-Lt. Gov. Quinn defended Blagojevich, who already was beset by corruption investigations into his administration. “In all my interactions with him, I’ve found him to be an honest person,” Quinn said at the time.
[Yesterday], Quinn said he later challenged Blagojevich on his proposals, such as a proposed major tax on businesses, and noted Blagojevich contended he did not consider Quinn to be part of the administration.
Quinn cited a variety of other reforms put into law since then, ranging from changes in purchasing procedures to campaign finance to a referendum on recall this November. […]
“The beginning of disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich’s criminal trial is a stark reminder to voters that too many Illinois politicians have long placed their own interests before the people’s interests. Enough is enough,” said Brady in a campaign statement issued today.
* The other day, we talked about Sen. Michael Bond’s use of the late Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis’ image in his reelection campaign…
More than two years after her death, former Republican state Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis’ name and image are being used by the re-election campaign of her Democratic successor - and it isn’t sitting well with Lake County’s GOP leader.
A recent campaign mailer for state Sen. Michael Bond features a photograph of Bond, his wife and Geo-Karis taken before her death. Additionally, Bond’s float in Lake Villa’s Memorial Day parade bore a large picture of Bond and Geo-Karis with a message about the late politician.
Bond’s opponent in the Nov. 2 election for the 31st District seat is Republican Suzi Schmidt of Lake Villa, the longtime chairwoman of the Lake County Board. Schmidt declined to comment about Bond’s campaign, but Lake County Republican Party Chairman Bob Cook was disturbed by the use of Geo-Karis’ name and photos.
“I’m appalled that someone would resort to using someone who passed away for political gains,” Cook said. “I think it’s in poor taste.”
Bond called Cook’s comments “ridiculous” and said the complaints are purely political.
* What I didn’t have back then was a photo. So, here’s a pic of Bond’s parade float featuring a huge image of him with Geo…
* The Question: Is that float in poor taste or politically justifiable? Explain.
* After bumping up in April during the uproar over Alexi Giannoulias’ bank problems, Mark Kirk is back down to where he was before, according to a new Rasmussen poll. The numbers in brackets are from previous Rasmussen polls conducted April 28, April 5, March 8 and February 3…
Kirk: 42% [46%, 41%, 41%, 46%]
Giannoulias: 39% [38%, 37%, 44%, 40%]
Other: 7% [5%, 8%, 5%, 4%]
Unsure: 12% [12%. 13%, 10%, 10%]
That downward dip follows a steady barrage of news stories about his puffed up military service claims. But he’s still very much alive and even well, considering Giannoulias continues to trail. Giannoulias has also spent big money on TV, which hasn’t moved his own numbers up much, but have at least kept him from sinking lower.
While Kirk earns majority support from men in Illinois, Giannoulias holds the edge among women.
Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, Kirk holds a 50% to 24% lead.
Kirk also has a slight advantage with intensity. While 15 percent have a “very unfavorable” view of Kirk, 23 percent have a “very unfavorable” view of Giannoulias. And while 13 percent have a “very favorable” view of Kirk, just 9 percent feel that way about Giannoulias.
Is this year’s Senate campaign in Illinois more positive than most, more negative than most, or about the same as most recent elections?
7% More positive
18% More negative
68% About the same
7% Not sure
Methodology…
The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Illinois was conducted on June 7, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/-4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
* Meanwhile, Kirk’s campaign is trying to connect Giannoulias to the state’s bond rating. From a press release…
The Kirk for Senate campaign today called Moody’s decision to downgrade Illinois’ credit rating a “major wake-up call” to voters as they consider their choice for U.S. Senate.
Yesterday, Moody’s lowered Illinois’ general obligation bond rating to A1, which is four notches below AAA.[1] The move came after the General Assembly failed to address the state’s structural budget imbalance for the coming fiscal year.[2] Meanwhile, as Springfield struggles with the state’s ballooning debt, the state’s banker remains silent.
“Our state is in fiscal crisis and our state’s banker is nowhere to be found,” Kirk campaign spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said. “While Congressman Kirk voted against wasteful government spending and backed efforts to balance the budget, Alexi Giannoulias stands by and watches as our state’s credit rating drops lower and lower.”
* Related…
* Durbin cites Mark Kirk military embellishments in fund-raising pitch for Giannoulias
*** UPDATE *** I’ve been busy with another story much of the afternoon, but all you really need to know about what happened at the trial since the lunch break is contained in this one Natasha Korecki post…
Rod Blagojevich is livid and cannot contain the anger he’s reflecting as Lon Monk finally gets to the meat of his remarks: he puts Rod Blagojevich in the room when there was a discussion to divvy up hundreds of thousands of dollars made through state action.
Monk described a 2003 meeting in which Blagojevich, Monk, Tony Rezko and Chris Kelly are all in the room talking about how to make money off of state deals. He said one of Rezko’s ideas involved creating an insurance agency that would make money by getting business from the state. Blagojevich presumably would be sure he directed the control appropriately.
Monk says that Rezko led the discussion and on a blackboard puts up nine different ideas that would make each of them money. Each idea was worth about $100,000 he said.
What was the thrust of the meeting: “How the four of us could make money different ways.”
Who was going to make money off the deals?
“The four of us,” Monk said.
How was that money going to be divided? “Equally,” Monk said. “All told, hundreds of thousands of dollars … in total.”
In court, Blagojevich appears angry and is almost smiling at times, shakes his head and shoots glances at the prosecutor and Monk.
Monk said Blagojevich agreed not to take the money until after he was out of office.
“Because we didn’t want anyone to know what was going on,” Monk said. “There wouldn’t be as much scrutiny. … “In all liklihood (it was) wrong and we would be breaking the law.”
The exchange wasn’t lost on jurors; several of them were furiously taking notes during the questioning.
* The first witness called by the prosecution today was an FBI agent…
FBI agent Dan Cain says his office was secretly recording 10 different phones or places in the Rod Blagojevich probe. The recordings happened Oct. 22, 2008 through Dec. 9, 2008 — the day the ex-governor was arrested.
The recordings include two “bugs” and eight wiretaps of cell phones and desk phones — including Rod’s cell and home phones, Robert’s cell, John Harris’ cell and desk phone, Lon Monk’s cell, and bugs and wiretaps in Blago’s campaign office.
Cain says 5,000 calls were wire tapped and 1,100 of those are relevant to the case.
Under questioning from prosecutor Reid Schar, Cain said the investigation began when someone — he did not say who — came to the FBI and complained of being extorted involving appointments to an Illinois state board. That initially led to the Rezko conviction.
Cain said the investigation was ongoing when the FBI received more information from lobbyist John Wyma, another close Blagojevich associate, which led investigators to secure court orders to bug Blagojevich’s campaign office in Ravenswood as well as place wiretaps on Blagojevich’s home phone and cell phones.
* The Blago Report has an interesting take on yesterday’s opening statements…
There are a couple of major weaknesses in the government’s case. I think this is true no matter how much someone—perhaps with a well-informed opinion—believes Blagojevich is guilty as sin, and I have written about them before.
One of them is that many if not most of the crimes were not actually carried about because either the feds stepped in or his aide (or middleman in the prosecutor’s parlance) failed to carry out the alleged scheme, and this weakness was both inherent in Carrie Hamilton’s opening argument and exploited by Samuel Adam jr. in his opening argument.
There seems to be a disconnect in the dealings of what Hamilton called Blagojevich’s inner circle (Rezko, Kelly & Monk) and how the corrupt things they were doing were supposed to find their way back to him. I am not suggesting here that the government doesn’t have a theory about how that did happen, or that there wasn’t some kind of pipeline back to Blagojevich, but from the jury’s perspective, there was little for them to grasp, and I think they would be hard-pressed to understand what this inner-circle had to do with Blagojevich.
And by the same token, all of a sudden Stuart Levine pops in the story with little introduction or anything about how what Levine was doing had to do with Blagojevich.
Adam jr. gives Levine a little more play of course, but the use of Levine by the defense and his passive insertion in the prosecution’s presentation underscores another problem for the government. One of Adam’s lines is “Bernie Madoff Rezko got in touch with Bernie Madoff Levine.”
He also makes this very valid point…
A nearby press maven mentioned in passing that Adam jr.’s argument would only work if the jury was dumb, but I think comments like that are partially due to the press not being able to divorce themselves from the extra-legal knowledge they possess that the jury does not, and it is partially in contempt for the jury’s ability to understand the highlighting nature of theatrical devices, and it is partially an inability to appreciate what a defense attorney is actually trying to accomplish (and as misunderstandings go, attorneys are always good fodder as societal targets and the press is always eager to reflect this). The defense attorney is consciously trying to make an emotional appeal that registers the sensitivities inherent in the prosecution’s case on a deeper emotional level; they are attempting to plant strong images that the jurors will remember when the corresponding point comes up in trial; and they are attempting to forcefully underscore the weaknesses of the prosecution’s case. They are also trying to win the case for their side. On this last point, the opposition for a criminal defense lawyer in federal court is always the US government with all the powers and trappings that come with it. On this point, and to that end, the defense attorney is admittedly the everyman in the courtroom, using anger and emotional appeals to convince twelve ordinary citizens to do something that we have been socialized since the day we were born not to do: Go against the government of the United States of America.
* Zorn believes that Blagojevich’s attorney Sam Adam, Jr. won the day…
In the battle between the teacher — Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton — and the preacher — the thunderous, histrionic Adam Jr., Rod’s attorney– the preacher came out way ahead.
Carrie-hamilton He was passionate, funny, engaging, kinetic and likable in contrast to the businesslike Hamilton (left). But that’s often how trials start, with the prosecution seeming cool and clinical, almost serene, and the defense seeming hot and indignant.
And while Adam Jr. was particularly good — exceeding even my high expectations for his performance — I’ve been in enough courtrooms to know that the score at the end of day one is no indication how the trial is going to turn out.
* Meanwhile, Susan Berger, who started out strong, is going native…
Patti’s sister Debbie Mell here with her today. Just told me she loved my tweets. Just shook my hand [edited at author’s request] I am right behind them…
Robert Blagojevich just nodded to me on his way into courtroom…
Patti just kissed Rod…
Seated behind Patti Blag. Said to me “by the way, my husband shakes his leg cause he’s full of energy. Blagos r reading my blog
Oy.
* Roundup…
* Prosecutor: Rod Blagojevich Planned Illegal Shakedowns
* When I read this story yesterday, my heart sank…
The governor did not declare St. Anne and Pembroke Township near Hopkins Park in Kankakee County state disaster areas.
That’s because county officials never made that request, Gov. Pat Quinn said.
“That (the damage) might not rise to the level required to make that designation” said Kankakee County Board Chairman Mike Bossert Monday night. But, Bossert said, county officials are meeting this morning to discuss whether or not to make a formal request.
I’ve written about Hopkins Park and Pembroke Township before. Here’s a little history…
A New York Times article in 2002 noted that Pembroke Township was statistically one of the poorest areas in the entire country. Ninety-eight percent of its schoolchildren were so poor that they qualified for free lunches. While there were several churches and liquor stores in the township, there was no bank, supermarket, barbershop, pharmacy, gas station, or police force. One part-time physician provided medical care two afternoons per week. The article stated there were few paved roads and no buses or trains running through Pembroke.
Oprah Winfrey told an audience that 55% of Pembroke’s residents lived below the poverty level with 44% without running water. Jon Dyson, a local minister, remarked that “third-world conditions” exist here.
It hasn’t changed much since then, despite a big, splashy press conference by Rod Blagojevich in 2003 when he promised to aid the all-black town and surrounding township. What they got was gravel for their sandy roads. The gravel sank almost immediately. They got a little more gravel. It sank, along with the school bus, which has to constantly be towed out of the sand.
George Ryan tried to help by building a prison there. The area has no sewer system, and some folks literally just have holes in the floors of their bathrooms. That would’ve changed with the prison, which needed a sewer system, but Blagojevich stopped the construction and sent gravel instead. Now, the local unemployment rate is 44 percent and the average household income is $14,000.
The state isn’t the only one that has ignored the area. The majority white county has been notorious for neglecting Pembroke Township over the decades. It’s truly shameful.
Just down the road, more destruction in Hopkins Park. Jackie Thomas was in her mobile home when, suddenly, the walls caved in and trapped her. Her husband pulled her out of the debris.
She believes warning sirens would have helped. But Hopkins Park doesn’t have one. That’s something some officials in the impoverished community are trying to change. A Kankakee County emergency official said they could have, if they’d applied for a grant to help pay for the siren.
Mayor Samuel Payton says they did, three years ago. The paperwork is at the clerk’s office. But a letter from the state agency that oversees the payout said in a letter that state budget difficulties has made it impossible to give Hopkins Park the money.
When the storm struck Saturday, many residents were inside their flimsy houses, unaware of the severe weather.
In the aftermath, Kankakee County’s emergency responders rushed into Hopkins Park to pull families from damaged homes, and the local chapter of the Red Cross set up camp inside the mayor’s office at Village Hall.
“It was dark; it was raining; the situation was really messed up,” said Kelly Reffett, executive director of the Red Cross of Kankakee County.
The Red Cross started with the basics, delivering food and clothing to hungry families caught in the downpour. Some received eyeglasses, and others, like the Thomas family, were put up in local motels for a couple of nights until the full extent of the damage could be determined.
“A destroyed home is a major event, no matter what your economic status,” Reffett said. “But in places like St. Anne (Township) and Hopkins Park, life is tough to begin with. To have your home and all your possessions taken from you, it just knocks your world.”
If the county doesn’t get its act together and ask the governor to put that area on the disaster list, then the governor needs to find a way to get them some help.
I grew up not far from there, and to say that those folks are regional outcasts would be the understatement of the year. They get nothing but the shaft, and it’s really time for that to end.
* Related…
* Photo: Plass Thomas, 76, stands in the rubble of the two mobile homes on his property that were destroyed Saturday night. A tornado lifted one and dropped it on the other where Thomas, his wife and grandson were watching television at 3000S Road in Pembroke Township. Thomas says there was no warning. “The roof came off. One minute it was there, and then it was gone.”
* Pembroke: Lack of sirens left town unsafe during tornadoes
* Pembroke: Woman buried in tornado rubble survived
“Brother Eddie, he was a gladiator. He was a warrior in the issues he stood for,” said board member Angelo Kyle of Waukegan, who lost a close race to Washington in the Democratic primary. “You need a person like that. We will remember him and pray for his wife and children.”
* Report reveals poor oversight of Oak Lawn’s legal bills
Attorney Burt Odelson, who was hired by the village in January to look into legal bills from the former lawyers, described a series of “disturbing” billing problems during his presentation - including billing for duplicate work by multiple attorneys, missing information on invoices and charges for questionable items, including local travel and interoffice conferences among attorneys.
Solo Cup’s Chicago and Urbana facilities will pick up some of the production from the Maryland and Massachusetts plants. The Illinois facilities could see a 10% to 15% increase in jobs, the company said.
Police officers will get a 6.5 percent retroactive pay raise dating to July 2007 and 3.5 percent going forward to June 30, 2012.
The city also won several several key provisions aimed at improving police performance: random alcohol testing for on-duty officers; mandatory drug and alcohol testing whenever officers discharge their weapons on or off-duty; and the addition of Ecstasy and anabolic steroids to the list of substances to be targeted in the department’s current drug testing program.
The pay raise falls well short of the 16.1 percent overall raise that Mayor Richard Daley once offered to police and even shorter of the 24 percent that the Fraternal Order of Police demanded. But the price tag is still a whopping $375 million - $160 million of it for retroactive pay.
* Chicago police poised to get 2 percent pay raises
Like their fellow Teamsters who work as truck drivers at O’Hare and Midway Airports, the Water Management employees say Daley is “punishing” their union for rejecting his demand for furlough days and comp time instead of cash overtime.
The suit — which may be the first of its kind — will hinge on a municipal code requirement that classrooms contain 20 square feet of floor space per person.
Chicago is facing a severe budget deficit, with recent CPS estimates ranging from $427 million to $600 million, a number that remains in flux because the state hasn’t finalized its budget. There’s little hope those numbers will shrink.
Closing that deficit requires belt-tightening across the school system, including even deeper administrative cuts and painful cuts to classroom programs. But there is no way out of this mess without adding into the mix union concessions
* District 204 seeks to keep state income tax withholdings to offset what state owes schools
The District 204 school board approved a resolution supporting the proposal Monday and sent it to the Illinois Association of School Boards, where it will be studied by a committee and voted on by members of school boards across the state in November. If approved, the Illinois Association of School Boards would ask the General Assembly to propose legislation next year.
The [Lake] County Board on Tuesday approved offering extended insurance benefits and severance pay of up to $20,000 for eligible full-time regular employees.
* Kane County Board fighting use of public funds to defend coroner
