Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2010

Bill Brady responds to Quinn with harsh new TV ad

Thursday, Sep 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

Nice pivot on the income tax issue.

Hare on the bubble; Foster on the attack; Kinzinger plays victim card; Dold under the radar

Thursday, Sep 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Hill made the 17th CD its “Race of the Day” today. I agree, but with one caveat…

If there’s one race that could tell the true size of the expected Republican wave this fall, it may very well be Rep. Phil Hare’s reelection bid in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District.

To say that Democrats began the year not worrying about Hare’s reelection chances would be an understatement. The two-term congressman ran unopposed in 2008 and until earlier this month, Hare hadn’t run a TV ad since 2006.

But Republican Bobby Schilling is making a race of it in the 17th and the contest has quickly moved into tossup territory.

Hare is in the fight of his life, but the GOP hasn’t yet dumped any real money into this thing. Still, keep a close eye on this one.

* Democratic Congressman Bill Foster has a new TV ad. Rate it…

Script…

I’m Bill Foster and I approve this message.

Homeowner: My wife and I played by the rules, we paid our mortgage every month, but because of the housing crisis – our house is worth $98,000 less.

Narrator: Randy Hultgren’s company made millions selling high-risk mortgage products, fueling the housing crisis, and destroying home values.

Then using taxpayer bailout money, Hultgren’s company set up a Cayman Islands hedge fund and turned a fast profit buying back bad mortgages for pennies on the dollar.

Homeowner: Randy Hultgren might have profited, but I sure didn’t.

A bit wordy.

* Republican congressional candidate Adam Kinzinger plays the victim card in his new Internet promo video…

The Kinzinger video was posted to YouTube two days ago and it already has more than 13,000 views. It is chock full of distortions. He tries to make the claim that Halvorson’s campaign sponsored a rally which was also attended by one guy who brought a sign with a Hitler mustache superimposed on Kinzinger’s upper lip. By extension, therefore, Halvorson is responsible for that. Ridiculous.

We’ve been over this twice before. There’s no evidence whatsoever that Halvorson was in any way responsible for that doofus who brought the Hitler signs. To the contrary.

Which leaves us with the question: What’s worse, being portrayed as a Nazi by a lone goofball or smearing your opponent by claiming she was responsible for it? I would say it’s the latter. I’d also say Kinzinger was desperate, but he’s way ahead in the polls. There’s no reason to pull this shameful stunt. His campaign is out of control and the local media needs to weigh in on this. Soon.

* I’ve asked the Bob Dold campaign to explain an odd passage in last month’s edition of Conservative Magazine of Illinois, a publication I knew little about until it was publicized by the Dan Seals campaign last night. Check it out…

The mag’s highest rating is five stars. Dold gets three. So far, no response on why Dold’s campaign allegedly asked that it not be rated highly.

This would be par for the course for Dold, who appears to be running a two track campaign. In public, he’s a “moderate.” Under the media’s radar, he’s a social conservative. The local media has mostly played this off as a he said / he said dealio, but it appears to deserve a much closer look.

I’ll let you know if the Dold campaign ever answers my question.

…Adding… Here it is…

We told them Bob is a fiscal conservative and a social moderate, and that he is pro-choice.

I’ll be talking to the mag people next.

* Down-ballot news…

* Bloomington hopeful tours district, pans longtime incumbent opponent

* Schoenburg: Schock asks for push-button support in autocalls

* Rauschenberger wins case to stay on ballot

* Ill. GOP state senate candidate stays on ballot

46 Comments

Question of the day

Thursday, Sep 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Way back in December of last year and then again on Tuesday, we discussed the candidacy of one Patrick John Ryan. He’s the alleged Republican who is running against House Speaker Michael Madigan, even though his voting record is solidly Democratic and he works for the city.

Kass tried to talk to the guy earlier this week, but ended up speaking with his parents…

It’s a nice house, with lovely flowers in bloom. I knocked at the door at about 7 a.m. His parents were very nice. And, I confess, I liked both of them at once.

His mom, Mary Ann Ryan, a nurse, was already outside, chatting to a neighbor, about the neighbor girl being invited to a homecoming dance.

“P.J.’s not here,” said his mom, Mary Ann. “He’s at work.”

* The Question: What would be an appropriate slogan for “Republican” Patrick John Ryan’s “campaign”? Snark heavily encouraged, of course.

72 Comments

Whitney: Legalize pot and reap the fiscal rewards

Thursday, Sep 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Rich Whitney says we could raise a lot of money by legalizing marijuana…

The Green Party candidate for governor says Illinois should legalize and tax marijuana, but his opponents disagree.

Green candidate Rich Whitney says Illinois could bring in about $300 million a year by taxing marijuana.

I’m not sure how he got to his $300 million figure, but it’s probably close enough for government (or campaign) work. Apparently, 5.74 percent of Illinoisans used marijuana in the past month, according to this site. There are about 13 million people in Illinois, so the numbers work out to 746,200 folks. That’s a bit more than $30 per month per consumer. Not much at all. Of course, because marijuana is illegal, pot dealers don’t check identification. Not all of those users are adults. So the rate per consumer would be a bit higher.

Bruce Bartlett looks at the history…

During the 1890s and the early part of the 20th century, there was a powerful national campaign to abolish smoking that was no less intense than the drive for Prohibition.

A key reason the campaign ultimately fizzled out in the 1920s was the government’s need for tobacco tax revenues, especially after alcohol tax revenues dried up. The Republicans’ cuts in income taxes in the 1920s also increased the federal government’s dependence on tobacco tax revenues, which rose from 4 percent of federal receipts in 1920 to 11.2 percent in 1929. The onset of the Great Depression, the concomitant fall in income tax revenues, and the inelasticity of demand for cigarettes caused tobacco revenues to rise to 20.7 percent of all federal receipts by 1932.

In the end, revenue needs trumped sumptuary considerations in the cases of both alcohol and tobacco. This raises the interesting question of whether revenue considerations will drive reform of the laws against illegal drugs.

It should and it ought to. Adults ought to be able to choose what they put into their own bodies without being threatened with confinement in a steel cage with murderers and other mean, ugly, nasty people.

Either way, we ought to have this debate. It sure beats talking about nonsense like this…

The Democratic Governors Association is dubbing seven GOP gubernatorial nominees “Christine O’Donnell Republicans” in an attempt to portray them as outside the mainstream and unelectable.

In a conference call Wednesday, DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle tagged Dan Maes in Colorado, Tom Emmer in Minnesota, Bill Brady in Illinois, Carl Paladino in New York, Nathan Deal in Georgia, Rick Scott in Florida and Paul LePage in Maine as the most extreme candidates gracing the top of ballots this fall.

The DGA spent $2 million trying to paint Brady as an extremist over the summer. It failed miserably.

* Back to the Greens and Rich Whitney. He has a new Internet promo video up that will bore you to tears…

Yeah. That’ll work.

* Statewide roundup…

* State Waves Add to Democrats’ National Woes

* News-Gazette: Public’s patience has worn thin

* Candidates use others to boost or deflate image

* Union deal sparks ethics ado in Illinois gov’s race

* Quinn ad blasts Brady for not owing income taxes

* PJ Star: Quinn making it easy for his GOP opponent

* Lieutenant governor nominees question whether office should exist

* Sheila Simon talks education

* Election 2010: Robin Kelly vying for state treasurer

* Higher fees bring boost for state

* Quinn: No authority to pick up errant parolee

* Health care in Ill. depends on council, election

* Health adviser says ‘law is the law’

* Ill. High Court to Ponder Candidate’s Party Selection

* Former DCFS administrator faces federal fraud charges

* Counties face dire straits all over the state

* Appliance retailers offer one-day deal

* Lawmakers split on AFSCME deal impact

* SJ-R: Quinn’s deal with AFSCME bad for state

* Spotlight on Governor Quinn’s Educational Budget Cuts

58 Comments

Steinem’s whirlwind tour and other mayoral stuff

Thursday, Sep 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Here’s something to ponder: Why is Gloria Steinem all of a sudden making news in Chicago?

She’s headlining a fundraiser for US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, and she’s backing Carol Moseley Braun for mayor.

And then there’s today’s Sneed column…

Rahm just got rammed. Legendary feminist Gloria Steinem is not only shocked . . . shocked . . . shocked there aren’t more women running for Mayor Daley’s job, but she is NO fan of mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel.

• Plug ‘em: “I campaigned against him [Rahm] for Congress and I’d be happy to campaign against him for mayor,” said Steinem, who claims she disagrees with Emanuel on many issues relating to women.

• Press ‘em: Steinem, accompanied by actress/buddy Jennifer Beals, who is starring in the upcoming Chicago-based TV series “Ride Along,” was in town Wednesday promoting the Women’s Media Center, a vehicle to “positively impact the visibility of women in the media.”

The founder of Ms. Magazine was born in Toledo, Ohio. She’s never lived in Illinois, as far as I can tell. Yet, there she was on Chicago Tonight last night holding forth…

* Even so, Steinem is one of the only people who has publicly questioned why there is a dearth of female candidates for Chicago mayor. Maybe that’s why she’s getting so much press. She’s saying something that almost nobody in the city is saying. News needs to be “new” to be interesting, and whatever you think about her, she’s saying something different and, frankly, new.

* Meanwhile, speaking of the mayor’s race and women, Lisa Madigan is playing her usual game of Hamlet…

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Wednesday refused to say she would complete her third term if she is re-elected in November, leaving the door open for a run for Chicago mayor.

Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, was asked repeatedly in a Tribune interview whether she would pledge to serve out her four-year term if re-elected. She declined to give a yes or no answer, instead talking about how much she enjoyed her current position.

“I want to serve as your attorney general. That is my goal,” Madigan said. […]

Told her answers leave open the possibility she could run for mayor, Madigan responded, “You are persistent and so am I.”

The only way to get media coverage in Chicago these days is to float your name for mayor. I’m surprised Pat Quinn hasn’t done it yet. [Just kidding… Kinda.]

* In other mayoral-related, female-related news, Mark Brown has a funny column today…

[Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.] may be the first U.S. politician to use “social acquaintance” as a euphemism for woman-with-whom-I’m-suspected-of-having-an-affair.

I mean it. This is groundbreaking stuff. Think of all the major American politicians that have walked this road before him: Clinton, Edwards, Hart, just to name a few.

I made an electronic database search of all the instances in which the words “social acquaintance” appeared in any context in any English-speaking news organization of note in recent years, and while I couldn’t make it through every one, I found no articles involving embarrassed politicians explaining their relationship with a member of the opposite sex.

The closest I came was that “social acquaintance” seems to be the terminology favored by judges who are forced to explain why they’ve been hanging out with alleged mobsters.

I think Jackson used the word “social” in the same way it’s used in the phrase “social disease.” By using such an unusal phrase, he has forever associated himself with those two words, a bit like it used to be in the old days when there were no cures for social diseases. Think: “I misremembered it wrong.”

* Tribune…

Whatever happened between Jackson and the “social acquaintance,” a hostess at Ozio Restaurant & Lounge in Washington, is, indeed, his family’s business. Unless he really did have his friend and campaign supporter pay to fly her to Chicago; then it’s likely the business of the House ethics committee.

This is the real problem for me. It would’ve been inexcusable to just publish a story about Jackson having a girlfriend unless there was a reason. Having your fundraiser pal fly her back and forth to Chicago is a big no-no for a congressman, who are ruled by a gift ban.

* And then there’s this interesting point from Mary Mitchell…

Nyak told the FBI that he paid for two airline trips for Huidobro, who lived in Washington, D.C., to come to Chicago.

That, of course, raises other questions.

For instance, why would a married man fly his “social acquaintance” to the city where his wife lives?

If the allegations are true, you’d have to wonder if Sandi Jackson actually lives in Washington rather than in the 7th Ward.

Yeah. You’d have to wonder.

* And this is no surprise…

All signs point to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel running for mayor of Chicago.

Emanuel’s decision is all but made — he still has some family matters to consider — but if his trajectory holds, watch for him to step down from his White House perch sometime in October. It will be a quick transition for Emanuel — from dealing with an Afghanistan war to street repairs on Ardmore, Archer and Aberdeen.

It’s good to see Emanuel doing this, but I’m not sure he or anyone else can contain it…

With the potential of a mayoral race being divisive — reopening racial fault lines in the city — Davis said they talked about the kind of campaign they each wanted, “not to be designed to fracture the city, not to polarize the city but to have it be as harmonious as it could be.”

* Roundup…

* Source: Dart to run for Chicago mayor

* Davis: Jackson Should Not Run for Mayor

* Challengers: Jackson’s More Vulnerable After New Allegations

* Ethics panel quiet on Jackson probe

* Kadner: Jackson says he’s sorry, But that’s not much

* Emanuel chats up potential Chicago mayor foes, drops strong hints he’ll run

* Big three still dominate early mayoral race lineup

* Chicago mayor’s race begins to take shape

59 Comments

Morning Shorts

Thursday, Sep 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Initial claims for unemployment aid rise to 465K

The rise suggests that jobs remain scarce and some companies are still cutting workers amid weak economic growth. Initial claims have fallen from a recent spike above a half-million last month. But they have been stuck above 450,000 for most of this year.

* Today last day for Illinoisans to apply for FEMA flood help

* Latest State Education Test Scores So-So

Students who took the ISAT, third graders through eighth graders last year, improved a bit. Overall student performance on the ISAT increased from 79.8 in 2009 to 80.9.
Fergus said that points to a bigger trend.

“We’re continuing to see gradual increases in student performance over time – that’s what we look for and that’s what we’re seeing,” she said.

* Teachers Union: Chicago Neighborhoods Need a “Marshall Plan”

* CTU survey finds many woes at Chicago Public Schools

Larger class sizes. Inexperienced teachers. Substitute teachers. Trimmed back art, music and after-school programs.

Those are the problems “crippling'’ many Chicago Public Schools and “cutting our students off at the knees,'’ despite the positive spin school officials have put on a financially challenging school year, Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis told school board members Wednesday.

A new survey of CTU delegates at 146 schools - or 24 percent of the entire system - found that one out of three schools surveyed had substitute or “placeholder'’ teachers heading a classroom.

* CTU Survey Says: Chaos

* Sun-Times: A whole lot of room to make improvement

* Duncan on school violence: ‘I think it has gotten worse’

* Railing from riders has Metra rethinking UP North schedule

* Board OKs $111 mil. site for new Jones Prep

* Mayor’s political workers ponder future

“I was there when Harold Washington came in,” she said. “They do tend to get rid of everybody. They want their own people, and they’re entitled to them. But I have a lot of young people with children, and they’re shell-shocked. They probably should be looking [for jobs], but all they’re doing is thinking of looking.”

* Alderman Stone declares for re-election

* LeClercq seeks 2nd term as Oswego village president

* Clifton Mayor Frooninckx resigns; cites health reasons

* Loves Park manufacturing firm seeks TIF designation

* Belvidere schools, support staff reach three-year deal

* Crime up lately in R.I. neighborhood

* QC Leader comes clean about service

* Developer proposes life on the river in floating condos

* Quincy School Board approves $78.4 million budget

* McLean County board member Nuckolls arrested in ‘domestic incident’

* District 87: $1.3M deficit could vanish through taxes

* Peru explains electric rates and fees, responds to critic