Question of the day
Monday, Jun 18, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The setup…
Former Gov. Jim Edgar says Illinois’ inability to pull together has cost the state dearly as it tries to dig itself out of a deep financial hole.
It’s a problem Edgar says he wants to chip away at with his new Edgar Fellows initiative at the Institute for Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.
In August, a group of 40 younger politicians and other state officials and leaders will meet for a 4-day training session and follow-ups on key issues.
Along the way, Edgar hopes they’ll learn more about what he calls the poorly understood history of the state and make connections they’ll later draw on to reach across geographical and ideological lines.
“If they’re downstaters, maybe they’ll have an appreciation for some of the issues in Chicago and that all those people don’t have horns on their heads, and vice versa – that all the people downstate aren’t all hicks,” Edgar said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.
* The Question: What topics should be studied at Edgar’s training session? Snark is encouraged, but not required.
- TCB - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 11:42 am:
The Pension Ramp – How to push your burdens off on your successor
- Boone Logan Square - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 11:43 am:
Optimal packing technique for cash in shoeboxes.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 11:47 am:
“Hair - Friend or Foe”
“Wershington - Speaking Goveror-ese”
“Bland and Loving It - How to Handle Speaker Madigan.”
“The REAL Little Jim - just a Political Nickname.”
“How to Stay Relevent in the ILGOP, A Fairy Tale>”
“My Advisors - From Dillard to Netsch!”
“Illinois is a Red State, Albeit Financially”
“Edgar and Daley - The Oil & Water Friendship”
“Budget Priorities - Getting Your Lawn Mowed on a Shoestring Budget”
“The Bypass - Getting to the Heart of Illinois’ Problems.”
” ‘Where Have You Gone, Dan Rostenkowski?’ And Other Republican Helpers.”
“50 Tips to Keep a US Attorney Away.”
” “The Guys Down the Street’ and Other Useful Political Jargon.”
“DuQuoin, Illinois’ Forgotten Governor’s Mansion.”
“How to Eat Everything at The State Fair & Avoid Surgery, a Retrospective.”
- Spliff - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 11:48 am:
Public Aid bilking, sorry Billing 101
- Anonymous - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 11:51 am:
MSI - How to convince everyone it stands for “Museum of Science and Industry.”
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:02 pm:
How to convince the unions you are on their side … even when you aren’t.
How to run the biggest / most overt public patronage system … and still appear squeaky clean.
Whitewashing … it’s not just for fences.
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:10 pm:
How to legally rig contracts …
- Give Me A Break - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:10 pm:
For the downstate GOP, how to campaign against Big Government and taxes and then go to Springfield and protect the govt. jobs in your district that are funded with taxpayer money.
- benevolent hegemon - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:18 pm:
How the GOP became so radical and extreme even Edgar couldn’t get elected today.
- Wensicia - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:18 pm:
For downstate hicks — “How to develop a proper appreciation for the Crosstown Classic”
For Chicago residents — “How to develop a proper appreciation for the soybean.” (Powerpoint presentation by Governor Quinn)
- OneMan - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:20 pm:
How Mike Madigan likes his shirts done….
Creative annuity and pension accounting
Really creative annuity and pension accounting
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:29 pm:
How t take the pulse of your constituents … and justify your vote for campaign donors.
Illinois Politics 101 … an ‘honest’ politician is one who stays bought and other guidelines
- Palos Park Bob - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:32 pm:
“The Balanced Budget and Its Consequences on Political Corruption”, AKA “Fiscal Responsibility-How to Avoid it Until Receiving Multiple Fat Public Pensions”
- downstate and feed up - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:34 pm:
Learning government the Michael Madigan way…..
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:37 pm:
“Pate and Lee - My Cross I bore”
“When Quinn was a Gadfly - A Retrospective”
“Why Springfield is NOT Downstate.”
“Ribbons, Lipstick, Pigs - How to Sell Your Budgets.”
“Overtime - It’s Not Just In Sports.”
“Illinois Politics - Know When to Hold “Em, Fold ‘Em, Walk Away, and Lawyer Up.”
“How to Run Vanity Plates, Without Being Vane.”
“Meigs Field and Other Things I Miss in Chicago.”
“Walking Parades Without a Hair Out of Place”
“Place Your Bets - Horse Racing, Casinos, and Being a Governor.”
“U of I’s Best Gigs with a Bachelor’s Degree.”
“Coattails - The Edgar Myth.”
“Kiss of Death? - Why I Should Never Endorse …You!”
“Dodging Scotty - My Fawell Decision.”
- Anonymous - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:42 pm:
How to take phone calls from Big Jim — and give his clients what they want.
- Bob - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:44 pm:
How to not pay into the state pension fund, and make the budget look good. How to not give union employees a raise, but to not have the employees pay for pensions either. So to the public the state looks in good shape. But the pensions system was not funded and the employees actually got a raise by not paying their part of the pension.
- One of the 35 - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:44 pm:
nonsnark answer: fiscal restraint, living within your means, even if you are state government.
- reformer - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:55 pm:
“Why the pot is also black”
“How to accept responsibility for governing even when in the minority”
“How to keep partisan rhetoric in perspective,
even in an election yea
- Kerfuffle - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 12:58 pm:
A quick question. Just how much is this 4-day training session and follow-ups on key issues from the Edgar Fellows initiative at the Institute for Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois going to cost the state?
.
- just sayin' - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 1:05 pm:
Picking a good horsey.
- Arthur Andersen - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 1:06 pm:
Bill Who?
- Honestly - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 1:17 pm:
I couldn’t top Oswego Willy, he’s on a roll!
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 1:27 pm:
- Honestly -,
Thanks … and participate!
- Bill - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 1:41 pm:
==fiscal restraint, living within your means, even if you are state government.==
LOL. That’s the funniest one yet.
- Freeman - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 2:05 pm:
A “public speaking” portion as taught by Mike Bost.
- Bluefish - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 2:30 pm:
“How to lose at 3-dimensional chess” - a remedial course featuring a special guest instructor
- BIG R. PH - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 2:47 pm:
“Why are there still fans of the Chicago Cubs?”
- Anyone Remember? - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 2:51 pm:
Enabling Pate Philip, particularly as it relates to the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.
- Palos Park Bob - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 3:19 pm:
“How to Sustain a Culture of Corruption in the Secretary of State Office, Have Your Successor Sent to Prison for It,and Keep a Reputation as a Distinguished Statesman While Feeding at the State University Trough”
Does anyone REALLY still be believe that the SOS office was clean as a whistle until George Ryan got there?
- zatoichi - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 3:32 pm:
>Person Centered Planning - How to sell a shell game.
>Listen to the public, then do as you want.
>Promises or Pro misses - How to make them all good.
>Accountable Accounting - The semantics needed for success.
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 3:54 pm:
How to run against big government as an outsider … after 20 years of government positions
Political Manuveers 101 … how to propose an idea, get the credit, and dump it on your opponent when it goes sour in the polling
Basic Politics 102: Keeping Your Caucus In Line … PACS and pass-thru campaign fund usage
Government Housing Discussion Panel (subtitle: Appearances are Everything) … Do you really have to live in the mansion?
- ChicagoDem - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 4:06 pm:
The many benefits citizens from every corner of the state can reap as a result of a General Assembly controlled by one one party(Democrat) and one ethnicity (Irish)from one region (Chicago);such controlled almost seems un-american characteristic of a nation controlled by one idiology in some foreign land; like Chicago perhaps.
- Amuzing Myself - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 4:09 pm:
Spending: Really! We’ll never run out of money. The problem is we don’t get along. Not that we spend more than we bring in.
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 4:21 pm:
With apologies to my former SSU professor who taught a similar PAC course circa 1970:
The Legislator, the Government, and Society: What Are We Really Doing Here?
- Anonymous - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 5:52 pm:
The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Pocket’s Best Friend In A Global Society: How to support foreign small businesses in the US, graciously accept bribes in accordance with the company’s cultured practices, say “thank you!” in 10 different languages, and most importantly, how to party with their esteemed emissaries without getting filmed.
- Arthur Andersen - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 6:00 pm:
Take two..
Edgar 304-Contrasting and Comparing Governing, Lobbying, and Blogging, or “The Difference between a bill, Uncle Bill, and “Bill.”
- Langhorne - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 6:06 pm:
Zeke used to tell new members to always have your atty present if being interviewed by the FBI
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 7:30 pm:
Pension Ramp 402: Poverty in Two Steps … Making the people you owe pay your debt; enrollment limited to only people with advanced degrees in one of the following: creative accounting MBA, theft w/o consequences MBA, or equivalent workplace experience.
- Cards Fan - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 7:41 pm:
the art of shredding printed e-mails
how to run a campaign on state time with state staff
- reformedformerlibertarian - Monday, Jun 18, 12 @ 7:53 pm:
Economic forces last longer than today’s poltical desires: Why any talk of splitting the state should keep all of Chicagoland in the same state (including parts of NW Indiana)
- Louis Howe - Tuesday, Jun 19, 12 @ 8:10 am:
The sum total of Edgar’s political expertise can be capsulated in the ability to “suck up” and get appointed Secretary of State…not exactly a skill that is easily transferable in a public seminar.
He used his position as governor to abolish the elected U of I Board of Trustee system and then substituted his governor appointees on the board. After leaving office he not only gets to collect a $150,000 plus state pension but wrangles a paid a six figure salary from the Univ. of Illinois board to blow more hot air. Not bad for a BA from Eastern Illinois University.
- House of Pain - Tuesday, Jun 19, 12 @ 8:11 am:
How to endorse candidates
How to make a temporary tax increase permanent
How to pretend your going to run for Governor and then hold a press conference and cry dropping out at the last minute keeping support from other candidates and then endorsing a candidate that will lose.
How to become irrelevant complain and still get media attention