* One storm-related stage collapse may be a “fluke,” but we’ve seen three of these in the past month. Back on July 17th, one of those big scaffold rigs above a stage collapsed on Cheap Trick up in Canada. Then there was the horrific rigging collapse in Indiana, which now has a death toll of six. A scaffold collapsed on a Belgium concert stage area this week, killing five.
Every venue needs to make sure their scaffolding is safe and that they can and will get people the heck out of the way of incoming storms. Period. No more of this, please.
* The Tubes are playing at the State Fair tonight. I saw them back in 1981, when I was living in Munich. I had high hopes for that show, but was somewhat disappointed. They’d drastically toned down their act by then. Gone were the X-Rated antics and, more importantly, the Zappaesque music and attitude. Instead, it was obvious they were going for the Top 40, and they made it. But the music just wasn’t as good.
The Tribune, examining [freshman Republican Congressman Joe Walsh’s] driving record, found that from 1989 to 2009 he was cited in Cook and Lake counties for traffic offenses 17 times, records show. The records are not clear on how many citations led to convictions, but reflect that he has paid hundreds of dollars to address the tickets, which included speeding, driving without current registration, driving without insurance and driving on a suspended or revoked license.
For almost nine months ending in April 2009, Walsh lost his driving privileges because of a failure to appear in court on a traffic case, according to Elizabeth Kaufman, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state.
Walsh’s license was suspended again this past April — while he was in Congress — because he did not abide by a state requirement to maintain high-risk car insurance known as SR-22, which is used by the state to monitor what it calls problem drivers, Kaufman said.
He got his license back last month, according to the article.
The must-read Tribune piece also looked at several lawsuits filed against Walsh, as well as his somewhat odd work history and, of course, the allegations that he owes a hundred grand in back child support.
I’ve believed for a long while that we as a state and a nation elect far too many dweebs who’ve never been in any kind of trouble. Such a “zero tolerance” attitude by the media and the public leaves us with an overwhelming number of overly cautious (and probably hiding something) vanilla leaders who don’t know what real life is all about. I have to admit, however, that Walsh is kinda testing my theory’s limits.
* By the way, Walsh also asked for taxpayer financing of a trip to Israel, which included attending Glenn Beck’s big to-do over there. You can watch a video of Walsh and Beck discussing the denial of funding by the Ethics Committee here.
* Nobody can say that this is a gigantic surprise…
Jim Hendry has been dismissed as the Cubs’ general manager, the team announced on Friday.
He was the only general manager in franchise history to oversee three postseason clubs (2003, 2007, 2008) and was the first Cubs general manager to lead the franchise to consecutive postseason berths.
“My family and I appreciate Jim’s dedication during our time with the Cubs and thank him for his overall 17 years of service to the Cubs organization,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said. “It is time for a fresh approach in our baseball leadership and our search begins immediately for our next general manager.”
Hendry, 56, was named vice president/general manager on July 5, 2002 and departs as the third-longest tenured general manager in the National League and the third-longest-tenured general manager in franchise history behind John Holland (1957-75) and James Gallagher (1940-49).
“At end of the day, I’m not going to leave here with any problems,” Hendry said. “Tom Ricketts is a good man. We just didn’t win enough games.”
Owners of the Chicago Cubs have quietly launched a new campaign to rebuild Wrigley Field with public help — and this time, City Hall wants to be helpful.
Sources close to the matter say that team chief Tom Ricketts in recent weeks has met with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other government officials about a funding scheme that could be put before state lawmakers as soon as the Legislature’s fall veto session.
According to sources, the plan envisions as much as $200 million in public help for a $400-million rebuild of Wrigley, with officials given a menu of potential funding options to get the needed cash. […]
But others say that no agreement yet has been reached and could yet be a ways off, given big budget holes faced by the city, county and state.
Chances of cutting a deal now — at least in time for the veto session — are around 50-50, said a source involved in the talks, with Senate President John Cullerton long on record as advocating help for the team, which is a major employer in his North Side district.
* The day set aside every year at the Illinois State Fair for the minority party is always filled with people who have very high hopes. This, however, may be a bit much…
Republicans predicted they will overcome Democratic-drawn legislative and congressional map and beat President Barack Obama in his home state on Thursday, their day to rally party activists at the Illinois State Fair.
If the map is tossed out by the courts, then the Republicans will do far better. But beating Obama here? I wouldn’t bet very much money on that. However, Sen. Murphy is almost undoubtedly correct about this point…
“You look at Bill Brady getting 99 out of 102 counties, you see people up in my area in suburban Cook that are really suffering when they expected something different when President Obama was elected,” said state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine. “The 61 percent he got in 2008, he’ll be nowhere near that.”
Obama won Murphy’s very Republican Northwest suburban district in 2008 with about the same percentage that Murphy received. Not gonna happen next year.
* Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno is also probably right…
“I would be surprised if that happened [Obama losing Illinois] just because I think there is a real allegiance to the favorite son, a pride in having the president,” Radgono. “I think it’s going to be a heckuva lot closer than it was last time. I don’t think his re-election is a shoo-in as people thought it was a couple years ago.”
Republicans largely ignored the impact of new legislative and Congressional districts, drawn by ruling Democrats at the statehouse, that are likely to help Democrats keep control of Springfield and win back seats in the U.S. House. Republicans are challenging the maps in court.
They talked about building on the five seats they picked up in Congress last year, statewide victories by Treasurer Dan Rutherford and Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, and gains in the Illinois House and Senate, where they are minorities in both chambers. Demetra DeMonte, a Pekin resident who serves as secretary of the Republican National Committee, said the Republican tide that swept America last year was the “beginning of a Renaissance.”
Added U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria, “I don’t know about you, but I smell blood in the water.”
Rally speakers drew parallels between Illinois’ dismal finances and the Washington battles over the budget and deficit. Calls for change were buttressed by new unemployment figures released Thursday that show joblessness in Illinois rose to 9.5 percent - the third consecutive month unemployment has increased in the state.
A lack of consumer confidence and uncertainty about the national economy contributed to the third monthly increase in unemployment in a row in July, officials with the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday.
The 9.5 percent rate was up from 9.1 percent in June and compared with 10.1 percent in July 2010. Total employment was down by 24,900 jobs. […]
Illinois has added 28,900 jobs this year and 72,200 since January 2010 after the July losses are subtracted. The department also noted manufacturing employment increased for the fourth straight month in July.
* Many top Republicans have yet to pick a candidate in the presidential race, but some have…
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is Romney’s state campaign chairman.
“I’m going to be putting together the delegates and we’re going to be working hard to elect him the next president of the United States,” said Rutherford.
Meanwhile, State Senator Kirk Dillard says he has “promised” to help Governor Perry.
“He brings a record of job creation second to none of any governor in America,” said Dillard.
Other high-profile Republicans are waiting for a candidate to sign their dance cards. Conservative activist Adam Andrejewski, who raised money for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty before Pawlenty dropped out of the race, is available.
* Some media outlets reported that yesterday’s turnout yesterday was a bit sparse. I’ve seen much worse, particularly during the last two years of George Ryan’s administration and the first year or two of Rod Blagojevich’s. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said the Democrats had more people this week because they bussed in union members. Um, Chairman, those union members were mostly protesting against Quinn outside the fair gates.
* A couple of hours before the event started, the statewide and legislative Republican leaders reiterated their opposition to more state borrowing…
Soon to enter their ninth year in Illinois’ political wilderness, Republicans rallied Thursday against Gov. Pat Quinn’s management of the state budget, beat up President Barack Obama for mishandling the economy and insisted the party finally has shaken George Ryan’s tarnished legacy.
Those messages represented the themes of Republican Day at the State Fair, giving an early glimpse of some of the talking points the GOP will use in the 2012 elections, when Obama aims to retake the White House with a strong Illinois showing, and control of both legislative chambers will be up for grabs.
“We have the right message: fiscal responsibility, no more borrowing. We’re all together on this message. It’s what this state needs, and it frankly is what this country needs,” Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) told a couple hundred supporters at the fairground event.
“We have an electorate that’s been shocked into awareness by the horrible mismanagement by the Democrats,” she said.
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford, Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, state House Minority Leader Tom Cross and state Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno held a joint news conference here to address comments Quinn made late last week.
“The very thought that anyone would consider borrowing as a solution to our problem is breathtaking. We cannot use borrowing as a crutch for a tax system and budgetary system that is just broken,” said Topinka, who is in charge of the state’s checkbook.
Quinn told a gaggle of reporters Aug. 11 that he would continue to push his plan for borrowing in the upcoming veto session in October, despite the Legislature refusing to support his original idea this spring to borrow $8.75 billion.
Republicans offered few details about how they would run things differently if put in charge of Springfield.
They criticized Quinn for not paying down a $4 billion pile of overdue bills but rejected his proposal to eliminate the backlog by borrowing money, and they acknowledged their own budget plans would take about five years to pay off the bills. Republican leaders proposed cutting government spending by making unspecified changes to Medicaid, government pensions and health insurance for state employees.
Members of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee voted Thursday to impose term limits on committee members and also decided to move the party’s Springfield office to save money. […]
Rodney Davis, the GOP’s interim executive director, said the term limit will take effect in 2014 – the next year members of the state central committee are up for selection. The party has one member from each congressional district, and each of those people appoints a deputy member.
The rule would allow a person to be a deputy member for eight years and a regular member for another eight.
Davis also said the central committee decided to leave its current headquarters at 320 S. Fourth St., which costs $1,600 per month in rent. The party will rent space from the Republican state Senate campaign operation at 2731 S. MacArthur Blvd. The move could come as early as Oct. 1.
From the way it was explained to me yesterday, the term limits kick in with the next election in 2014. Previous terms are not included in the new limits. So, if somebody has been around for several terms, he or she could still run for two more four-year terms in ‘14.
* Hultgren gets cheers, boos during tax talk in Geneva: Some constituents held signs that read “Where are the jobs?” and “Tax Wall Street Millionaires.” Others stood outside with a greeting of “Throw the bum out” while passing out literature with a photo altered to show President Barack Obama with crossed eyes and a Hitler-esque mustache. Hultgren would get simultaneously booed and cheered no matter what he had to say, on topics from job creation to taxes.
* Eaton: Unfortunately, Illinois has a GOP establishment
[Gov. Pat Quinn] joked about his time with Republican presidential candidate Texas Governor Rick Perry, with whom he roomed during a trip to Iraq two years ago.
“And I had to listen to his so-called philosophy for seven days. The harshest philosophy known to man,” Quinn said.
Pat Quinn and Rick Perry were roommates for seven days? Wow. The horror. The horror.
* The Question: How do you think those conversations went?
Have fun.
* Wednesday’s caption contest winner was sal-says…
No, really. I’ll figure this Governor thing out soon; I’m near the last chapter.
* I always thought that John Schmidt was a pretty darned good Sangamon County State’s Attorney back in the day. We had several long conversations about crime and punishment and he really seemed to have put a lot of thought into his role in the criminal justice system.
That thoughtfulness has apparently followed him to the circuit court bench. Despite being up for election next year in a very Catholic area, Schmidt issued a concise, to the point opinion in a case which pitted Catholic Charities against Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration over the right of the group to participate in adoptions and foster care while refusing to place kids with people who entered into state approved civil unions. You can read Schmidt’s opinion by clicking here.
An Illinois judge ruled Thursday that the state can stop working with Catholic Charities on adoptions and foster-care placements, which the state decided to do in July after the nonprofit agency refused to recognize Illinois’ new civil unions law.
Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Schmidt said that no one, including Catholic Charities, has a legal right to a contract with the state government. He did not address the more sensitive issue of whether a state contractor that refuses to serve gays and lesbians is violating the state’s new civil unions law.
The state Department of Children and Family Services ended $30 million in contracts with Catholic Charities in four dioceses in July, but Schmidt temporarily reinstated them while he considered the case.
Catholic Charities argued the state could not cancel contracts that have been in place for four decades. Attorneys said the organizations had a legal right under the state’s constitution to follow their religious beliefs and only provide services to married couples and single parents living alone.
In the Peoria Diocese, the ruling affects 975 children in foster care. The Springfield Diocese has 257 cases, and the Joliet Diocese has 218. The Belleville Diocese has 547 foster care cases.
The state has never forced Catholic Charities to accept state contracts, Schmidt wrote.
At a hearing Wednesday, assistant attorney general Deborah Barnes argued the state has the right to set contract terms within the limits of the law.
A spokesman for Catholic Charities issued a brief written statement in response to Schmidt’s decision.
“The ruling does not address Catholic Charities’ contention that the state of Illinois cannot refuse to contract with someone based on that person’s exercise of religion,” the statement said. “Thomas More Society attorneys are reviewing the ruling and considering next actions with Charities.”
Pointing to a clause in the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act that they believe protects religious institutions that don’t recognize civil unions, the agencies said they would refer those couples elsewhere and only license married couples and single parents living alone.
But lawyers for the Illinois attorney general said that exemption only shields religious clergy who don’t want to officiate at civil unions. The policy of Catholic Charities violates state anti-discrimination laws that demand couples in civil unions be treated the same as married couples, they said. […]
Tom Brejcha, the lawyer for Catholic Charities, said he likely would ask Schmidt to reconsider the issue of religious liberty, which he believes is more relevant than property rights. Brejcha also said he likely would ask the state to agree to a stay of the judge’s order until all appeals are exhausted. Such a stay would delay the transfer of about 2,200 children in Catholic Charities’ care to new child welfare agencies.
“There’s a lot to argue about here,” Brejcha said. “The exercise of religion can not be substantially burdened. … That alone could carry the case for Catholic Charities. A lot of these people involved feel they are compelled by their faith. … The burden is pretty substantial.”
Bishop Daniel Jenky, the head of the Diocese of Peoria, said in a statement that the unwillingness of DCFS to make an exception for religious groups suggested that “important elements of the political establishment in the state of Illinois are now basically at war with the Catholic community and seem to be destroying their institutions.”
Kendall Marlowe, deputy director of DCFS, said Catholic Charities has been one of the better quality care providers in Illinois, but that does not excuse them from following state law.
“We don’t want to see them leave the field, but the law has changed in Illinois and all child welfare agencies have to respect civil unions,” he said.
“While it may be unfortunate that we have to make this transition, we will be able to make this transition without significant disruption for these children.”
Now that a Sangamon County judge has ruled Catholic Charities does not have a right to state contracts, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services plans to resume the process of removing some 2,000 foster care and adoption cases from Catholic Charities agencies in Peoria, Joliet, Springfield and Belleville.
DCFS will review each child’s case, as well as the performance and capacity of other private agencies before transferring Catholic Charities’ caseloads to other agencies.
Today’s decision by Judge Schmidt is a good decision for the children under the care of DCFS in Illinois. The primary goal in foster care and adoptive services must be the best interest of the children in need of loving, secure homes. The State has a responsibility and constitutional obligation to assure that all decisions about foster and permanent homes for children are made in the best interest of the child – not other factors including the religious views of the contractual provider. Lesbian and gay men across Illinois daily provide secure, good homes for foster and adoptive children – and have done so for many years. These loving parents must be allowed to participate fully and equally in any program performing the state’s function of licensing and placing children with foster or adoptive parents.
Earlier this week, Emanuel ticked off the wish list of projects he intends to build with casino cash. It includes: 40 miles of roads and water mains; 25 new schools; 45 renovated CTA stations; 20 miles of new rail; 150 buildings to be made more energy efficient.
The mayor also talked about the other side of the equation: the steady “withdrawal” of state and federal funding that has created the infrastructure crisis.
The pressure tactic didn’t work with Quinn, who accused the mayor of “putting the cart before the horse” and spending casino cash he doesn’t have.
On Thursday, the mayor fired back on that point, too. Emanuel argued that he had shared the wish list with Quinn — and it was the governor who encouraged City Hall to make it public.
“I told him beforehand that this was how I was gonna use the money, and he asked me to lay it out specifically, which I’ve done,” the mayor said. [Emphasis added.]
Seriously, why would you do this to the mayor of the biggest city in your state?
* Meanwhile, Abdon Pallasch has a fascinating story in today’s Sun-Times listing all the questions from a lengthy new Rahm Emanuel poll…
A telephone survey of Chicago voters offers the most extensive clues yet about what Mayor Rahm Emanuel might do to close a $636 million budget gap.
Closing libraries; a 15 percent cut to police, fire and emergency management administration; a $2.5 million cut to programs for seniors, low-income housing and domestic violence are all proposals respondents are asked to give their opinions on.
The survey also opens a window into what issues weigh heavily on the mayor’s mind:
“Rahm Emanuel has been a disappointment as mayor so far and is no better than Mayor Daley,” is one of the statements voters are asked to say whether they agree with.
Another asks whether voters support Emanuel’s school board hiking property taxes $150 million or whether they view that as the mayor “going back on his word” not to raise taxes.
Go read the whole thing. Lots of interesting stuff in there, including a question about a Chicago casino.
* In other news, the Rockford Register Star continues its cheerleading for a local casino on its news pages. Check out this lede…
The latest group to join the Rockford Casino Coalition did it on their turf — the ground was covered with dirt and hay, excited 4-H kids milled about and cows flapped their tails back and forth.
That was the backdrop for this morning’s news conference, the latest in a series of official proclamations from local groups pledging their support to Senate Bill 744, also known as the gambling expansion bill, which includes a casino in Rockford.
I’m not sure how the fair is going about selecting the “celebrities” for its annual celebrity harness race anymore, but [Wednesday’s] array of drivers hardly qualify, as far as I can tell. No offense intended to any of them.
Riding along with professional harness drivers in today’s race were Mica Matsoff, communications director for Gov. Pat Quinn; Rich Miller, owner and reporter at Capitol Fax; Steve Brown, spokesman for Speaker of the House Mike Madigan; and John Patterson, spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton. […]
But can we look at this for what it is and go back to having actual more fair celebrities in the race instead of elected officials’ employees?
No offense taken, other than the goofy errors in the piece.
First of all, to my knowledge the State Fair has nothing to do with choosing the “celebrities.” And I think it’s actually called a celebrity race because we are not licensed drivers and there’s no betting allowed on the event (well, no legal betting anyway).
And I may have missed it, but I don’t recall any Hollywood movie stars or rock and rollers participating in this race. Back in 2006, the year before I was asked to participate, the “celebrities” weren’t exactly nationally known names, either, nor were some of them “fair celebrities.” From a State Fair press release…
Celebrity Horse Racing entertains all
Celebrity harness horse racing excited Grandstand fans as local celebrities took part in a friendly competition this afternoon. State Fair manager Amy Bliefnick and driver Julie Miller dashed to an early lead. After the first quarter mile, though, WFMB Radio’s Sam Madonia and driver Andy Miller pulled ahead and kept the lead for most of the race until faltering on the homestretch. News Channel 20’s Sara Wojcicki, with driver Tom Simmons, and the Springfield State Journal Register’s Marcia Martinez, with driver Rick Schrock, were neck and neck the final quarter mile. In a photo finish, Channel 20’s Wojcicki won first place by a nose over the S J-R’s Martinez.
Yep. You just can’t beat that A-List of yore. No offense, of course.
* Look, I obviously enjoy being in that race. I publicize it here and it always draws a significant crowd, many of whom wouldn’t be there normally. If they want somebody else to race, that’s absolutely cool with me. Heck, if Mick Jagger or Leonardo DiCaprio want to take my spot they’re more than welcome. Imagine the crowd that would draw. But as long as the horsemen ask me to do it, I will. It’s just way too much fun to pass up.
* My fax/e-mail service went down this morning. This should be a temporary blip since the company has always been pretty reliable. I’ll get the Fax out as soon as I can. You can, of course, use your password to access today’s issue.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
*** UPDATE - 9:06 am *** And we’re back up and running. Just a minor glitch.
