Wogan, he is smart, short and bitter, but just bitter enough to be effective.
And House Republican staffer Nick Bellini…
Bellini, he is smart, short and bitter, but just bitter enough to be effective.
Fully agreed on both.
* Today’s nominations are now open…
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Democrats
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Republicans
As always, make sure to explain your nominations. Posting their names isn’t enough.
And, by the way, repeatedly posting a nomination from the same IP address, or attempting to use a foreign IP address because you think you can fool me, will only result in an immediate disqualification. I mean, really, I ain’t stupid.
According to the report, prison guards hoping to be more efficient in moving prisoners around the antiquated facility near Joliet adopted the “appalling” practice of showering two inmates at a time under one showerhead.
This practice, which has since been stopped by prison administrators, comes as inmates complain about squalid living conditions.
The warden of the Menard Correctional Center, whose fishing trip while out of work on temporary total disability prompted a state investigation, has been transferred to an assistant warden’s job at a smaller prison.
Dave Rednour is now the assistant warden for programs at the medium security Pinckneyville Correctional Center, said Stacey Solano, communications manager for the Illinois Department of Corrections. He has asked not to be contacted.
Solano declined to comment as to whether Rednour’s transfer to an assistant’s job at a smaller prison was connected to controversy caused by a front page photo that ran earlier this year in the Belleville News-Democrat. It showed the warden on a 2009 fishing trip with then-state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate at the time.
In the photo, which originally ran in a weekly newspaper, Rednour can be seen holding a fishing pole and wearing a cast on his right forearm connected to surgery that 11 months later led to a tax-free, taxpayer-funded $75,678 workers’ compensation settlement. Workers on temporary total disability are supposed to refrain from strenuous activity.
After the BND’s story this March, the Illinois Attorney General and IDOC asked the state Department of Insurance to investigate circumstances surrounding Rednour’s claim and settlement. That investigation is ongoing.
Three of the four candidates for state representative in the 108th Illinois House District have ties to the General Assembly scholarship program. […]
The scholarship issue first surfaced in the 108th District race during a recent candidate forum, where the [appointed] incumbent, Rep. Paul Evans, R-O’Fallon, challenged his fellow candidates, also all Republicans, to sign a pledge stating they’ll work to abolish the program. The pledge also stated that “if I or any family member received a scholarship, I will repay it to the taxpayers of Illinois with interest.” […]
The son of candidate Steve Klingbeil, of Highland, received tuition waivers for 2008, 2009 and 2010 for Eastern Illinois University from former state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Greenville. Klingbeil was Stephens’ campaign fundraiser, and his wife was employed as a legislative assistant to Stephens.
Another candidate, Charlie Meier, of Okawville, has a nephew who received a legislative scholarship in 2006 to Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
And it turns out that Evans has his own, less-direct connection to the program. A son of his campaign chairman, John West, of O’Fallon, received a tuition waiver in 2004 for Illinois State University. That scholarship was granted by Stephens, who, throughout the years, received at least $1,800 in political donations from West.
That’s pretty darned direct, if you ask me. Ron Stephens was apparently quite generous with scholarships for political types in his neck of the woods.
Then again, most everybody has been overly generous with those scholarships. They need to go away.
* And a roundup…
* Another Sears showdown getting underway: Even if the full House approves the deal today, the Senate, which has scheduled a one-day session for Tuesday, will have to approve it. The Senate in November approved an approach to the tax breaks that the House soundly rejected, so its acceptance of a House approach that, among other differences, divides the agreement into two separate pieces of legislation is by no means certain.
* Klein Tools closing 2 subuurban plants: Tax policies in Illinois have drawn heavy attention and some have argued the state has developed a business climate that’s chasing away companies. But Beebe said Klein’s shift to Texas is no political statement. “We have no bad feelings about the tax climate,” he said, noting that the company will continue in Lincolnshire and also has a location in Elk Grove Village.
* Kadner: Law ends elections for township school board
* No mercy: Guilty of 18 counts of corruption, Rod Blagojevich sought mercy at last week’s sentencing hearing in Chicago federal court, admitting that he made “terrible mistakes.” But Blagojevich, during his six years as Illinois governor, meted out very little mercy when presented with petitions for clemency — pardons, paroles and commutations of sentences. The ex-governor entered office in 2003 with 10 clemency petitions awaiting review. He left office in 2009 (impeached, convicted and expelled by the Legislature) with a backlog of 2,500 clemency petitions.
* DNA might clear man’s name, but authorities refuse to try it: No one has ever fought longer or harder for DNA than Savory. He was one of the first to seek testing after Illinois passed a law in 1998 making DNA testing available to defendants. At that time, he asked to test bloodstains on pants that prosecutors had argued he had worn during the crime. The adult-sized pants actually belonged to Savory’s father, and Savory wanted to show that the blood was his father’s, not the victims’. But the Illinois Supreme Court did not allow that testing, finding that the results — which could not have identified the true killer — would not be significant enough to raise reasonable doubt.
* Court Reverses Conviction of Man Jailed for 19 Years in Rape and Murder: In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago.
“I … I … I … I … I couldn’t fathom what I would say to those two girls,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald stammered last week when asked what he would say to Rod Blagojevich’s daughters after our former governor was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
It was impossible not to think of those little girls last week. Even some of the most hardened partisan Republicans I know felt no joy at Blagojevich’s long prison sentence because of those kids. I don’t know the children well, but I did spend some time with them a few years back, and I thought they were good kids, even normal kids, despite their father’s position at the time and the overall weirdness of their situation.
He didn’t dote on them much when I spent three solid days with Blagojevich and his family on a bus tour through Illinois in April 2007. The governor’s time was almost purely spent with me, his staff and others who jumped on and off the bus during those three long days.
After we’d been on the road a while and had dispensed with formalities, I decided I’d try to personally warn the governor that he was heading for serious trouble. The feds had indicted Tony Rezko and were in hot pursuit of the governor’s best friend, Chris Kelly. Their ultimate target was obviously the governor.
He had to radically clean up his act or they’d get him, I warned. I was as stern as I could be without raising my voice, for fear that his children, sitting just a few feet away, would hear. They didn’t need to know that I thought their dad was destined for prison.
A few hours later, Blagojevich surprised me by offering me a job. I smirked and tossed out the highest salary that came to mind. He said it could be arranged — in a tone that meant there’d have to be some subterfuge to get me all that cash. I immediately turned him down, explaining that he’d never listen to me anyway, so I’d probably quit and end up dead broke and pursued by the feds.
I knew Rod was just fantasizing that he could handle having somebody like me around. It was obvious that he never listened to anybody who didn’t constantly reinforce his own heroic notions about himself.
Right up until the end, he was always the good guy on the white horse, and everybody else was trying to bring the great man down. Remember when he demanded to know whether Fitzgerald was man enough to meet him in court? The guy just asked for it. It’s as if he wanted to be defeated.
Ironically enough, the insanity of the last three years seemed to make Rod Blagojevich a better father. He appeared to draw strength from his family, and they from him after his arrest, impeachment, trials and convictions. He seemed to become the doting dad, and his children, despite all the adversity, did better than most expected. But now what happens to them?
“It’s not like their name is Smith,” Blagojevich told the judge last week about his girls. “They can’t hide.”
No, they can’t ever hide. Even when their father’s villainy fades from the national memory, their name will haunt them wherever they go. And it’s really too bad because they didn’t deserve this fate. I hope they can learn to forgive him.
As for me, I don’t think I will ever forgive the man. What he did to his state, his party, his friends, his staff and his family justifies every day he’ll spend behind bars. His attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, defiantly pledged to appeal his client’s prison sentence, and Blagojevich told reporters “See you soon.”
He still doesn’t get it. He’ll never get it.
But we have to get it. We have to stop hiding from ourselves.
Illinois has to eventually come to terms with why it re-elected this guy knowing he was a crook. Our democracy was perverted by an attractive candidate with lots of slick TV ads.
Democratic Party leaders have to finally fess up that they cynically put keeping the governor’s office ahead of seeing a decent person elected.
The sycophants who kept telling told Blagojevich how great he was need to apologize. And his Republican Party enablers must stop lying about their involvement.
It’s past time for atonement.
Thoughts?
* Meanwhile, the Blagojevich saga is sparking some new high-tech thinking…
Like a swarm of angry bees, helicopters hovered around the Chicago courthouse Wednesday when former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich listened to his sentence of 14 years for corruption.
“I don’t know why we needed a real helicopter to do that,” said Brian Boyer, news applications editor for the Chicago Tribune.
Instead of the expensive helicopters so many news organizations use for breaking news events, Boyer and other journalists have begun envisioning using cheaper, unmanned aircraft to capture video and photos.
Such aircraft have long been associated with military use in the Middle East, both as smart weapons and surveillance tools. Now, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor wants to consider their use for journalism.
* Related…
* Epiphany about Blago: The chorus of man-on-the-street interviews since Blago’s sentencing include some variation of this line: “I feel sorry for his two children.” So what does Blagojevich do, on the first Friday night after being handed his lengthy prison sentence? Knowing that the news crews in front of his house would follow, he takes his wife and two children out to pick up a second family dog. The Blago girls that everyone has said they feel so sorry for, are right there on the TV news and in the papers — needing another puppy to deal with daddy’s disgrace. If you had just been humiliated — dressed down raw by a federal judge who castigated you for grandstanding — would you climb back up on the pedestal as did Rod? And would you pull up your kids to stand there with you?
* Nation, not just Illinois, will cover Blagojevich’s costs: Between his prison sentence and congressional pension, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will cost taxpayers about $350,000 over the next 12 years, the minimum time he will have to serve on his 14-year corruption sentence.
* A close friend of mine has a warrant out for his arrest for this very reason. He doesn’t even really owe the money, but he was too broke to hire an attorney because he’s unemployed and he was too embarrassed to tell me what was going on until it was too late. Now, he’s basically just waiting to get popped. Not good at all…
It’s illegal in Illinois to throw a debtor in jail for not being able to pay, but some creditors are getting around that. A collection agency can file a lawsuit which might require a court appearance. If the debtor doesn’t appear at the hearing, a warrant can be issued for their arrest.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in some cases, the court notices aren’t being served.
“We hear time and again from the legal aid lawyers who ultimately find out often about these people when they’re in jail that people didn’t even know there was a lawsuit against them, let alone a judgment had been entered,” Madigan said.
People have been stopped for minor traffic violations, but then arrested and sent to jail after police found the warrant in their file. Legal aid attorneys have said this is more of an issue in rural parts of the state. Madigan said it often happens to people with little to no income, and they usually don’t know their exemption rights as a debtor. The amount owed is usually a small amount. Money used to bail the debtor out of jail often goes directly to the creditor.
Kevin Kelly with the Illinois Creditors Bar Association said creditors don’t want to send people to jail. He said members of his organization don’t issue warrants unless it’s an extreme situation. […]
Madigan said more could be done to prevent debtors from needlessly being jailed. She said courts around the state need to be certain they have accurate information to serve legal notices. She also said her office is investigating creditors that could be abusing the law. Her office has sued six creditors since 2006.
* I didn’t go to Sunday’s House Personnel and Pensions Committee meeting, so I relied on newspaper reporting for a very brief story I did on the hearing for subscribers today. I should’ve looked at the bill status first.
Some Democrats in the Illinois House are having second thoughts about cracking down on pension abuses by union officials, including two lobbyists who qualified for teacher pensions by spending a single day in the classroom.
The lawmakers argued Sunday that reversing benefits after they’ve been earned, even by questionable means, is probably unconstitutional. Just two weeks after supporting legislation to take away those pension benefits, they began moving a new bill that closes several loopholes going forward but has no impact on people who have already taken advantage of them.
House Republicans objected to the new proposal. Senate Democrats said they believe the original measure will pass constitutional muster even though it would take away benefits that have already been awarded.
A Democrat-dominated House pension committee voted 5-3 Sunday for the new measure.
Signaling House Speaker Michael Madigan’s interest in the issue, his chief legislative counsel, David Ellis, testified about the new bill before the House Personnel and Pensions Committee, where it was approved on a 5-3, party-line vote.
“It’s changing the rules after people have followed the rules,” Ellis told the committee.
Ellis was also concerned about whether changing pension benefits for current and former Chicago labor leaders is constitutional. Eleven people are being investigated by federal prosecutors in Chicago in connection with pension double-dipping.
“Let’s just say, going forward, we’re not going to allow these leaves of absence where you can work for a union but somehow have that affect your pensionable credit with the government,” Ellis said.
* But that’s not what happened. The underlying bill passed, but it didn’t pass “as amended.” Instead, the two new amendments debated last night were tabled. From the bill status…
12/11/2011 House Do Pass / Short Debate Personnel and Pensions Committee; 005-003-000
12/11/2011 House Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
12/11/2011 House House Committee Amendment No. 1 Tabled Pursuant to Rule 40
12/11/2011 House House Committee Amendment No. 2 Tabled Pursuant to Rule 40
12/11/2011 House Second Reading - Short Debate
12/11/2011 House Final Action Deadline Extended-9(b) December 31, 2011
So far, no word on whether McCarthy’s amendments will be reintroduced in another form. Since Dave Ellis testified on their behalf, it could happen. But those amendments are, for now, inoperative.
Also, the House Democrats say they sent the reform bill which passed two weeks ago to the governor.
* Lots of staffers were dealing with petition challenges today, so while comments are technically closed I’ll still be taking votes on our Golden Horseshoe awards for best House Dem and GOP campaign staffers. If you missed the festivities, feel free to post a comment in the thread. Your comment will be held in the moderation queue, but I can still see all moderated comments and will wait until Monday to make a decision.
* A hearty congratulations to Andy Raucci on being elected Speaker of the Third House yesterday. I wanted to be there for the annual luncheon, but couldn’t make it.
* Greg Hinz totaled up the new tax cut package. After listing the corporate breaks, he gets to the cuts for individuals, which were added to make the big corporate tax cuts passable…
The exemption on the Illinois estate tax will double to $4 million. Estimated annual cost in fiscal 2014 is $62 million. […]
Senate Democrats estimate that doubling the state’s earned-income tax credit to 10% of salary will cost the treasury $110 million a year.
Bumping the personal exemption on the state’s individual income tax up $50 to $1,050 will cost another $20 million or so, I hear. But the exemption now also will be indexed to inflation, so the ultimate cost is much, much larger.
Add all of this together and, by my count, you’re something north of $344 million in fiscal 2014 — not counting the 10 tax credits that are being extended. That’s not quite the $800-plus-million Christmas tree that originally was proposed. But it sure is bigger than a bonsai evergreen.
I suppose it could’ve been worse. But none of these breaks are affordable right now. I’ve never been held up by a masked gunman, but I’m starting to get an inkling of what it feels like.
…Adding… Factor in the “extra” $250 million from the expiration of an accelerated federal tax credit and it’s about $100 million a year. Still a lot. And that $250 mil would’ve come in handy for paying old bills. But, whatever, we’re stuck.
* Meanwhile, Senate President John Cullerton appeared with Gov. Pat Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel at an event on the city’s Southeast Side today to tout a big new green space initiative. But Cullerton wanted to talk about a different kind of green…
“Governor, this might be a little off topic,” Cullerton said at the event on the far South side. “I don’t know if we can see any eagles here, but we definitely can see the Hammond casino. Which reminds me, you and I and the mayor need to work on bringing a casino to Chicago so that… Illinois gamblers spend their money in Illinois, not Indiana.”
The comments drew a roar of laughter from attendees, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been pushing for a Chicago casino.
Quinn’s face turned a tad red, but he appeared to take the ribbing in stride.
“I want to thank John for his targeted remarks,” Quinn responded.
He later dodged questions about the status of gambling negotiations, taking advantage of Emanuel’s suggestion that he turn attention to the young granddaughter of Rep. Mary Flowers, who had held the child throughout the event.
* Gov. Pat Quinn appeared on Jonathon Brandmeier’s WGN Radio show this morning. Brandmeier loves him some Pat Quinn. And Quinn was the loosest I’ve ever heard him. He started by deftly ad-libbing through some ad copy and seemed to have a splendid time throughout the entire show. If you do nothing else today, listen to this…
That’s the Pat Quinn I used to know. More like this, please.
* This next one is not so funny. Apparently, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough is unaware that Rod Blagojevich’s jury convicted him on 17 counts this past June. The host of Morning Joe kept repeating a blatant falsehood on national TV yesterday.
“The jury was deadlocked on all but one count,” Scarborough said, referring to Blagojevich as “my friend.”
“A 14-year sentence for something that the state, really, had trouble proving, is so excessive.”
That was the first trial, Joe. There’s been another trial since then. Maybe you didn’t notice. It was in all the papers.
“Put a mark on his name, send him to jail for a year or so,” Scarborough suggested. “This is total BS, total BS,” he said.
Yeah, perhaps if he’d just been convicted of lying to the FBI, a year would’ve been enough. But he was convicted of 17 charges this year, plus the FBI lying charge. That’s less than a year per charge.
A Fox News producer called me a while ago to invite me on some show or another.
“I don’t do cable,” I said. He acted like he’d never heard of such a thing. This is national news, he said. You’ll be seen all over the country. “Forget it,” I said. “I do Public Television and that’s about it.” He was so baffled that he was speechless, so I hung up on him.
I hate cable news.
* SEIU held a demonstration outside CME’s headquarters this week asking people to please, pretty please donate their spare change to the rich…
Clever.
* And, finally, Rod and George sing the Illinois Song…
* Kathleen at the Globe was the clear favorite for best bartender. Commenter “47th Ward” summed her up best…
I’m going with Kathleen at the Globe too. She’s been there a long time, so long that I can’t think of the Globe without thinking of her. They are synonymous in my mind. I’m not a regular by any stretch of the imagination, but she always remembers me and my drink of choice is ready before I even get a seat.
* Runner-up is Adam at the No Name Bar. Here’s the nomination from commenter “dave”…
Nicest guy in the world. He also knows a ton about a ton which makes him awesome to talk about anything from sports to history. He also pours a decent drink. And makes decent popcorn.
They are both excellent bartenders, but Kathleen is a marvel. We may have to change the name of this particular award or she’ll win it every year.
* There weren’t as many nominations for best server, probably because people have much closer relationships with their bartenders. I’m awarding this year’s prize to Rhonda Merritt at Sportsman’s…
She’s a hard worker, personable, doesn’t take any crap from anyone, great sense of humor.
* Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Democrats
* Best campaign staffer - Illinois House Republicans
Make extra sure to explain your nominations, folks. I can’t tell you enough how important that is. I don’t even pay attention to nominations which just include names. If you can’t take the time to defend your nomination, I won’t take the time to read it.
As part of the [legislative tax cut deal] there’s a part pushed by Democrats that gives some relief for the working poor, too.
House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego has opposed an increase in those credits, saying the package should be about jobs, not entitlements. And Republican opposition to that part of the plan was at least partly behind its overall failure a couple weeks ago.
But an observer who’s been watching this closely passed along the vote from 2000, when the Illinois earned income tax credit was originally approved. Cross voted yes, as did everyone else in the House, by a 117-0 margin.
Cross spokeswoman Sara Wojcicki Jimenez says Cross still supports the idea of the credit philosophically. But …
“He does not believe we can afford to expand the program at this time,” she said.
I received the same roll call. The bill passed unanimously in both chambers, even though the Senate was controlled by Republicans in 2000. It was signed into law by a Republican governor. Click here to see the House roll call. The Senate roll call is here.
The approach to separate the business tax breaks from the ones affecting individual taxpayers still faces opposition from the joint chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, state Rep. Will Davis (D-Homewood).
Davis believes the earned income tax credit that Bradley wants to raise from 5 percent to 10 percent should increase to as high as 15 percent, though the south suburban lawmaker stressed that is his personal position and not a Black Caucus stance.
“It’s going to be an all-Democratic bill,” Davis said, referring to the legislation that will contain the earned income tax credit and standard exemption increases. “If there’s absolutely not going to be Republicans, and they know that walking in the door, why can’t we as Democrats pass a higher earned income tax credit to help more individuals?”
* Then again, one of the reporters for that story Tweeted this last night…
It sure looks like the CME package is gonna happen. Majority Leader Currie told me tonight she sees it passing.
Currie sponsored the amendment with the EITC upgrade and indexing the personal exemption to inflation. Instead of three bills, they’ll have two. One for mainly corporate taxes and one for personal taxes. More…
With the separation, “It looks like there’s the basis for agreement,” said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago.
While there is some reluctance to confer tax breaks on corporate behemoths that threaten to leave, “the reality is that everyone feels like we’re over a barrel,” she said. “It may be bad public policy … but as long as there’s an opportunity for blackmail and poaching, the proposition is difficult to say ‘no’ to.”
The House Republicans put together a chart on the corporate tax provisions. Click here to read it.
Lawmakers may be less willing to vote “no” when facing a specific question: Do you support this particular tax incentive for businesses? Should poor families get a break on their tax bill?
“We have a better chance of passing it this way,” said Rep. John Bradley of Marion, the lead negotiator for House Democrats. “If somebody was reluctant to vote for one piece or another, they would have the option of not voting on one of the pieces.”
The other advantage is that one part could pass even if the other fails. It’s not all-or-nothing. The risk, however, is that neither will pass when the House convenes Monday.
The Senate has already approved a version of entire package. A spokesman said President John Cullerton has no objection to the idea of voting again on separate pieces when it meets on Tuesday.
If the House doesn’t pass both of those bills, it’s doubtful there will be any Senate action.
Sears said it was encouraged lawmakers were “returning to Springfield to consider a package that will help us remain an Illinois company.”
The agreement is bad news for other states that have been wooing the Illinois companies. Ohio made a pitch for Sears, while CME officials recently met with the mayor of Indianapolis about potentially relocating to the city.
The agreement also will “lessen the tax burden on our family farmers and small businesses,” Cross said.
* Ousted Alderman Lands State Job: Months after voters on the Northwest Side bounced him from the City Council, former Ald. John Rice has found a job in the administration of a fellow 36th Ward Democrat—Gov. Pat Quinn.
There’s no real mystery to understanding Rod Blagojevich.
He was, and still is, a failed wannabe gangster.
Not a real gangster who pops caps in people’s behinds. Blagojevich tried to model himself on movie gangsters.
The guy even quoted a character from “The Godfather, Part 11” during a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly.
“This is the business we’ve chosen,” said an angry Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone in that classic film that just about everyone in politics has studied beginning to end.
Blagojevich once said the very same thing during a State of the State address.
His flashy, expensive clothes, his gigantic posse, his brash swagger all point to the wannabe gangster type. I mean, the man is broke but he still had a driver take him to court every day? That’s gangster if I ever saw it.
The thing is, Blagojevich was never much good at the gangster role.
Sure, he had most of the theatrics down, but aside from firing a bunch of helpless state workers without the proper political connections, he was a failure right down the line.
Blagojevich declared war on House Speaker Michael Madigan when he was still in the Illinois House. By 2007, all hell had broken loose. This was supposed to be his Michael Corleone moment, when he would wipe out all his enemies in one fell swoop.
Instead, the fight lasted two years and ended with a paranoid and deranged Blagojevich caught on FBI wiretaps plotting ways he could leverage Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to get himself appointed to a Cabinet post, or a cushy job making big bucks or raking in tons of campaign contributions from U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Madigan’s obvious desire to pursue impeachment charges and Obama’s rise to the nation’s top job had finally collapsed Blagojevich’s insane belief that he was the one destined for the White House, and he didn’t handle it well.
Remember his enraged rant when he discovered his job approval rating had sunk to 13 percent?
“I f—ing busted my a– and p-ssed people off and gave your grandmother a free f—ing ride on a bus. OK? I gave your f—ing baby a chance to have health care. I fought every one of those —holes including every special interest out there. … And what do I get for that? Only 13 percent of y’all out there think I’m doing a good job. So f–k all of you!”
When I heard that, I immediately thought of another rant by a failed wannabe movie gangster, Fredo Corleone.
“I’m your older brother, Mike, and I was stepped over!” Fredo screamed at Michael Corleone.
“That’s the way Pop wanted it,” Michael calmly responded.
“It ain’t the way I wanted it!” Fredo shouted back. “I can handle things! I’m smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb. I’m smart and I want respect!”
Fredo’s life ended not long afterward, shot in the back of the head at sundown while fishing with a “family” friend. Blagojevich’s political life ended not long after his rant was recorded, arrested by FBI agents at his home one morning before sunrise.
Like Fredo, Blagojevich was far too interested in the flashy life to take care of business, though both were convinced they were destined for greatness. Fredo’s botched shortcut up the family tree by helping a rival gangster try to kill his own brother undid him.
Blagojevich’s illegal shortcuts resulted in a 14-year prison sentence and permanent infamy.
So, maybe the former governor can console himself with the fact that he’s still alive.
Ryan is now serving his sentence of more than six years at a federal prison camp in Terre Haute, Ind., where he lives in dorm-style housing.
But Blagojevich might expect a more harsh situation, at least at first. Inmates sentenced to more than 10 years are generally sent to secured prisons, said Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Edmond Ross. [Emphasis added.]
* In other news, Scooter has urged Blagojevich to game the system…
Scott Fawell, the former chief of staff of a different convicted governor, George Ryan, is offering a tip on how Rod Blagojevich can cut his lengthy 14-year sentence.
The former governor may be able to make a request with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to take part in a substance abuse program.
Fawell said that’s what he did before going into prison.
“What you do is say that in between the time you’re sentenced and the time you report, you just couldn’t stop drinking,” Fawell said.
It shaved time off of Fawell’s 78-month sentence he received for corruption that happened while he worked for Ryan. He went through a nine-month program in prison, then got six months off in a halfway house plus one year of credit for doing the program. That’s on top of time off for good behavior.
“I didn’t want to do it at first. I said: ‘I’m going to save a little shred of dignity,’ ” he said. “But it’s the only game in town. It’s the only way you can get time off” in the federal system.
* Related…
* VIDEO: Jackson: I Didn’t Know Blago Had a Brother
* One reason why Congressman Joe Walsh announced his candidacy last night in Chicago instead of in the new 8th District is that almost nobody is backing him. From the Daily Herald…
[Rival 8th CD Republican, DuPage Regional Superintendent of Education Darlene Ruscitti] is expected to receive the support of several members of the Illinois Republican delegation over Walsh — including Roskam, the GOP chief deputy whip and 6th District congressman, and 13th District Congresswoman Judy Biggert of Hinsdale.
I had heard that Peter Roskam had told Walsh he’d be working against him. Walsh denied the rumor yesterday, but if the Daily Herald is right, then Roskam will be on the other side of this primary.
Illinois GOP officials later revealed that before that meeting, Walsh and [US House Speaker John] Boehner had had a sit-down about the district switch.
[Jack] Roeser said he called Boehner to encourage that meeting and provide Walsh with a financial incentive for doing so. A few minutes into that conversation, he said, Boehner tapped him for a $50,000 donation.
* Boehner’s meeting then translated into NRCC support…
In running from the newly-drawn 8th, Walsh wanted and apparently got some national backing. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Pete Sessions said: “Joe Walsh gives Republicans the best opportunity to win the 8th District.”
Cue the “pay to play” howling in five… four… three…
*** UPDATE *** Roeser’s people say he contributed the $50K at a June Boehner fundraiser, during which there was no talk of the Walsh move. The meeting with Speaker Boehner in November did not involve talk of financial support.
* Walsh Changes Course, Announces Run In 8th: “We are at war in this country…I went (to Washington) to stop this president. I went to go to war. The media and neither political party get it.” Walsh called his fight a “revolution to get our country back.”
* I hate having to do it, but I’ve often warned my wife about speaking Arabic on her mobile phone in certain public places…
Twenty-three-year-old Joshua Scaggs is being held on $500,000 bond after he allegedly slashed the throat of a University of Illinois law school professor.
A witness tells police both the suspect and victim were seated in the waiting area of a train station in Champaign when the suspect jumped up and shouted “this is my country” and attacked the victim.
The attacker reportedly told police he thought the victim was Middle Eastern. […]
An assistant state’s attorney says he decided not to charge Scaggs with a hate crime because the other charges have stiffer penalties.
My wife is an Iraqi Christian, but some people don’t even know there is such a thing. To far too many people, all Arabs are Muslims and all Muslims are anti-American terrorists. I have been stunned over the years by the ignorance of many people I thought would know better.
Scaggs has been charged with attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery, alleging he slashed the throat of Anurudha Udeni Dhammika Dharmapala, 41, of Champaign at the Illinois Terminal on Wednesday morning. He is a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law specializing in law and economics, tax policy, public economy, and political economy.
Carle Foundation Hospital was not releasing information about his condition Thursday morning but Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Ziegler said he was told that Dharmapala sustained about a six-inch cut on his throat which bled profusely.
* 3:40 pm - Attorney General Lisa Madigan has just issued an official opinion that Rod Blagojevich has “forfeited his pension benefits” because “all 18 of his felony convictions clearly arose out of and in connection with his service as Governor of the State of Illinois.”
This is no surprise, but I thought you’d like to know.
* As I told subscribers earlier today, an agreement has been reached between House negotiators on the tax cut package…
House Republican Leader Tom Cross said today that he’s agreed to a tax breaks package that would include incentives intended to keep Sears Holdings Corp. in Illinois.
“We have come to an agreement on a jobs package that will give some relief to a broad base of businesses in our state,” Cross said in a statement released this afternoon. “This package will allow businesses to plan on longer term research and development and the ability to carry their losses forward in a tough economy. It will also lessen the tax burden on our family farmers and small businesses. We must continue this broad based approach to retaining and growing jobs in Illinois.”
Some of the details of the proposal remain unclear for now, but the Sears provisions of the larger tax deal have remained unchanged for weeks.
Actually, the agreement has already been filed as a set of two amendments. Click here to read them.
* Gov. Pat Quinn hasn’t been able to get many bills passed this year in Springfield, but he’s in Washington, DC today urging the state’s delegation to back the president…
Gov. Pat Quinn is lobbying the Illinois congressional delegation to approve a payroll tax cut and an extension of unemployment insurance benefits for the long-term jobless before adjourning for the year.
Quinn met Thursday morning with members of the Illinois delegation in Washington. He said the tax cut is essential for working people who live paycheck to paycheck.
The Obama administration is pushing to lower the payroll tax to 3.1 percent next year. Unless Congress acts, the tax would revert to 6.2 percent.
Democrats also are pushing to continue extended jobless benefits. In states with high unemployment rates, laid-off workers can collect benefits for up to 99 weeks.
The leader of the Illinois State Rifle Association says he’s pleased a Peoria judge signed an order barring the state police from releasing the names of 1.3 million firearm owner identification cardholders.
Richard Pearson says the order signed this week is further protection for gun owners, who won a similar victory this year when the state Senate passed a bill prohibiting public disclosure of people with FOID cards.
The ruling is the latest chapter in a story that started when Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office ruled in response to a request from The Associated Press that the names are public under the state’s open records law and should be released.
* ComEd officials held a press conference today to announce that the company will comply with a new state law. Yes, that’s not completely snark…
Commonwealth Edison said Thursday it will meet the requirements of a new state law for which it lobbied by increasing the number of “smart” electric substations, providing new solar-power use incentives and spending more money with women- and minority-owned businesses.
The announcement came as the utility filed a “performance metrics” report Thursday with the Illinois Commerce Commission as the law requires. The Illinois Legislature on Oct. 26 overrode Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of the legislation that critics say guarantees ComEd and Ameren utilities yearly rate-hike increases for each of the next 10 years.
ComEd, which will invest $2.6 billion to upgrade its electric system in the next decade, contends that it is now the nation’s first utility to have its profits tied to performance, and that it will be penalized if it fails to live up to its agreements to operate an efficient and reliable power system.
* And check out this campaign e-mail…
Hello, my name is Kyle Kasperek and i am a candidate in the 34th District for Illinois State Representative. I reside in Calumet City and i put together a press release that i would like you to consider during your soonest conveience. Thanks and have a great day!
During my “soonest conveience”? Dude, you’re supposed to be running for the Illinois General Assembly, not junior high student council. Also, don’t send press releases as attachments. This isn’t 1997, OK?
Healthy, delicious middle eastern buffet with Greek salad and olive oil everywhere. Afaf and Jamal make you feel like family. Try the Turkish coffee; that tiny cup will keep you awake for hours.
Hand’s down, The State House Inn! The bottom line is that the entire staff is like family when you pretty much live there for half the year. They implement suggestions and make accommodations when asked. They work hard to provide entertainment and snacks for us regulars in The No Name as well. As mentioned yesterday, there’s a lot to be said for the convenience of having a nightcap and being able to roll on up to your room.
I couldn’t agree more. I always tried to stay there when I lived in Chicago because of the location and the amenities.
I don’t stay in a hotel, but my members love the Abe Lincoln because of the cost, the remodeling recently done, The Globe and the restaurant, and the parking. Plus Celtic is within walking distance as is the museum.
Definitely another good spot. The Hilton has upped its game recently by opening a bar and restaurant on the top floor. We’ll see how that goes. But the Bennigan’s in the building has the worst service I’ve ever encountered in this town, and the food just isn’t good. Yes, we’re rating hotels here, not restaurants, but that Bennigan’s means the Hilton has no chance of winning.
* OK, on to today’s nominations. This will be our last service industry category before moving onto politics…
* Best bartender
* Best waiter/waitress
As always, make sure to explain your nominations and do your very best to nominate in both categories. The intensity and creativity of nominations count far more than the number of nominations. Thanks.
Starting today, Sun-Times Media newspaper websites will offer an online subscription plan for those seeking unlimited access to all our sites.
Website users will get 20 free page views at any Sun-Times-affiliated site every 30 days, but will be required to buy an online subscription for additional access. Visits to newspaper homepages and section fronts — such as the pages that index the top news and sports stories — won’t count toward the 20 pages. Advertising-based sections will remain free, such as cars, real estate and death notices.
Online subscriptions will be $1.99 per four weeks for home-delivery customers. Digital-only subscribers will be charged $6.99 every four weeks, or they can pay $77.87 for yearlong access.
* Back to Rod for another number. Well, actually, it’s a date. Eric Zorn plotted Rod Blagojevich’s February 16 prison report date, factored in good time credit and then calculated the former governor’s release date…
While I will shed no tears for Blagojevich, I do believe that by the year 2020 a lot more folks will be asking themselves whether he still belongs in prison.
That, or they’ll have forgotten about him by then.
“It is a very stern sentence….It is a sad chapter and it is closed, the book is closed. “Illinois has to make sure that the world knows we have a reform governor who believes in honesty and integrity at all times,” Quinn told “Morning Joe.” Noting that former Gov. George Ryan was also in jail on corruption charges Quinn said, “we want to make sure this never happens again.”
* You could hear some great quotes in these two videos, but, wow are they full of the most vile and disgusting profanity ever. From a press release…
Tuesday evening, Matt Harrington, Campaign Director and Senior Advisor of several campaigns past and present, left threatening messages on the answering machine of State Representative Candidate Tom Swiss, including direct threats of physical attack.
“The insiders still haven’t received the message. They still feel entitled to all government positions. These phone messages are disturbing for two reasons. First, the threat of extreme violence and second the use of public resources for personal or political gain.”
Do not click those above links if you are offended by profanity or if listening to such things would get you in trouble at work. Seriously. Disturbing stuff.
A panel of federal judges on Wednesday threw out a Republican lawsuit challenging a Democrat-drawn map of new state legislative districts in Illinois.
House Republican Leader Tom Cross, Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno and other Republicans sued because they contended the state’s new map is unfair to minority groups and GOP voters.
The Republican leadership is deciding whether to appeal.
“We will carefully review our options,” said Radogno in a statement. “Our goal of providing all Illinois citizens a fair opportunity to elect representatives of their choice for the next decade remains. The map crafted by the majority particularly weakens the ability of minority voters to exercise their voting rights. This opinion could further weaken their position.”
The opinion was at times quite harsh. And this was obviously not a well-crafted challenge in any way. Click here to read the decision. Pay special attention to how the judges view political motives in redistricting. it’s perfectly fine with them.
* Speaking of the remap, you’d think Joe Walsh might wait until the other federal panel decides what to do about the congressional map before he’d make yet another announcement about where he plans to run. But, he’s forging ahead anyway…
U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh plans to announce his plans for re-election at a Chicago Tea Party meeting.
Walsh is to make the announcement Thursday evening at a bar on Chicago’s North Side near Wrigley Field. Walsh is a first-term Republican who represents Illinois’ 8th Congressional District in northwest suburban Chicago. He has been trying to decide where to run if he seeks a second term.
Lake View is nowhere near either district he’s been contemplating. But it’s a heckuva lot closer to the TV cameras, and you can’t blame him for wanting to get as much publicity as possible.
To hear Adam Andrzejewski tell it, the Republican primary this spring is not a contest between candidates, but a contest for the heart of the Illinois Republican Party.
Andrzejewski ran for, and lost, the GOP nomination for governor in 2010. However, since then, he has become the face, and in some cases the checkbook, of Illinois’ new conservative wing.
“The true split in the Illinois Republican Party is the establishment, business as usual Republicans versus real Republican reformers,” Andrzejewski said.
Andrzejewski said three contests on the March 20 ballot will be tell-tale races for Republicans:
* The new 50th District race with Gray Noll, state Sen. Sam McCann, R-Carlinville, and Springfield Councilman Steve Dove;
* The new 110th District race between state Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville, and Shelby County GOP Chairman Brad Holbrook;
* The new 54th District race between state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, and state Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon.
“Many of these primary races are going to be wheat (and) chaff separating races,” Andrzejewski said. “That’s what the primary season is all about.”
* Other stuff…
* Ald. Joe Moore in running for state EPA chief - Wife Barbara Moore could be a candidate to replace him
* Do you think that Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence will deter Illinois political corruption? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
