Hendon in the crosshairs
Monday, Jul 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My statewide syndicated newspaper column…
The federal complaint charging seven people in Chicago last week in an alleged bribery conspiracy is 42 pages long. Former state Sen. Rickey Hendon is mentioned 21 times in those 42 pages, although never by name.
It’s pretty clear from the document that the U.S. attorney’s office has been looking at Hendon, a Chicago Democrat, for at least four years.
In July 2008, the Chicago Tribune published an exposé on state grants steered to local groups by Hendon. The Tribune claimed that half of the 48 grant recipients “were running dubious programs or declined to show how they spent the money.”
Conveniently, that same month, the feds busted a Chicago police officer during an investigation into gun trafficking and public corruption. The cop quickly offered to cooperate to reduce his sentence.
It doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see that the corrupt cop may have been given the task of helping federal agents nab Hendon. One of the officer’s longtime friends was Dean Nichols, a close friend of Hendon.
Just a month after that cop was busted, the FBI recorded Nichols talking about another Hendon pal, Reggi Hopkins. A partial transcript provided by federal prosecutors purports to show that Hendon and Nichols steered a $170,000 state grant to a group that Hopkins ran but only on the condition that Hendon’s nephew and Nichols shared the spoils.
Nichols was recorded by the feds quoting Hendon as telling Hopkins, “whatever you’re gonna do, I want you to include” the nephew. Nichols was recorded as saying that Hendon’s nephew would “split the salary part” of the grant.
Hopkins’ group also received a $20,000 grant from the state in 2008, and it submitted a budget showing that Hendon’s nephew was getting $3,250 in salary, according to the government.
In June 2010, Hopkins was recorded telling the Chicago cop that he had been “donating 15 percent” of what he made off the grants to Hendon’s campaign. However, state campaign records “do not show significant contributions from Hopkins” to the campaign, the charges say.
A few months after that conversation with Hopkins was recorded, a federal grand jury subpoenaed state records of grants that Hendon had steered to various West Side groups from 2006 to 2008.
Hendon abruptly resigned from the Senate four months after the grand jury subpoena was issued, but prosecutors were apparently still interested.
In September 2011, seven months after Hendon resigned, the FBI recorded Hopkins complaining that Hendon’s nephew and Nichols “literally did nothing” for the money they were given from the state grant he had obtained.
The following month, a Hendon friend named Elliott Kozel told the officer/informant that he had received a state grant via Hendon and that Nichols had been paid “a couple of grand.”
So, what do we have here?
Well, what appears to have been a big break for the feds in 2008 obviously didn’t have any immediate benefit. Nobody was busted, after all. The 2010 subpoenas of Hendon’s grants after Hopkins’ admission that he paid Hendon’s nephew haven’t yet produced any high-level indictments, either.
But then in July 2011, five months after Hendon resigned, federal agents set up a sting operation. They had the police officer tell Nichols that he had “run into a friend” who could dole out $25,000 federal grants almost at will in exchange for $5,000 off the top.
Nichols allegedly brought Hopkins and Kozel into the scheme along with four others. They were the seven charged last week with conspiracy to commit bribery.
Sometimes, when standard investigations don’t work and informants don’t work and subpoenas don’t work, the feds resort to setting up smaller players for a fall in the hope that the small fish will flip on the bigger ones, such as Hendon.
The way the federal case against the seven is written, it’s obvious whom federal prosecutors are really targeting or desire to publicly shame if they can’t get him.
The government is extremely careful about how it outlines a criminal case and the wording used, so it seems highly unlikely that it would mention Hendon 21 times without trying to send a message to all.
* Meanwhile, the Sun-Times looks at the ties to Hendon of the nine people arrested or indicted last week…
◆ Nichols, 62, of Oak Park, an accountant who also has notarized Hendon nominating petitions.
◆ Hopkins, 43, of Chicago, who was paid $200 for a logo for Hendon
◆ Anthony Johnson, 59, of Chicago, who has circulated nominating petitions for Hendon and has been paid $1,055 by Hendon’s campaign fund.
◆ Elliott Kozel, 51, of Chicago, a Cook County corrections officer who has circulated Hendon nominating petitions and has contributed $170 to Hendon’s campaign fund.
◆ Regina Hollie, 48, of Chicago, who has been paid $550 by Hendon’s campaign fund.
According to federal prosecutors, the seven who were charged last week thought that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was handing out $25,000 federal grants “like candy” to those who would kick back $5,000 to what turned out to be a fictitious HHS official. An informant — a crooked cop who made a deal to work for the government — secretly recorded conversations detailing the scheme.
That same informant also proved key in a separate criminal case filed last week that also has ties to Hendon, who formerly worked for the Cook County Board of Review. In that case, two employees of Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr.’s staff were accused of accepting a $1,500 bribe in 2008 to reduce property-tax assessments for the informant.
Records show that one of the men charged — Thomas D. Hawkins, 48, of Chicago — has circulated nominating petitions for Hendon, who also worked for Rogers until he left the Board of Review staff in 2006.
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Question of the day
Monday, Jul 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* In just the past six days, I was almost creamed by a driver who was on her phone (her SUV versus my little Z-3 would’ve been ugly), freaked out when a guy who was texting while towing a long trailer with his pickup lunged to the side of the road as I was passing him, and was almost wiped off the face of the Earth by a semi-truck driver who was swerving all over the road while using his mobile phone when I went past him.
Again, that’s just in the past six days. And those are only the most memorable because my life was put in jeopardy. I saw plenty more erratic behavior over the same time period.
* Drivers are generally idiots. But too often they become incredibly dangerous idiots if they text or talk on the phone while driving.
Here’s a hint: If you find yourself swerving or have been honked at more than once by drivers while you were texting or talking on the phone, then STOP TEXTING AND TALKING ON THE PHONE. Sheesh. It isn’t that difficult to figure out.
Unfortunately, too many people just never learn. And, frankly, I’m getting really tired of seeing my life flash before my eyes.
So, I was glad to see this bill was signed into law…
HB5101, making cell phone use by commercial drivers illegal.
And just so I don’t jinx myself, let me confess right now that I have been guilty of texting while driving. I really need to stop doing that.
* The Question: Your recent experiences and confessions?
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Edgar criticizes Tamms closure
Monday, Jul 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Former Gov. Jim Edgar says he disagrees with Quinn’s decision to close the Tamms “Super Max” prison…
Edgar said shuttling problem inmates to Tamms not only made the prison system safer, it improved the quality of life for inmates.
With the system’s most violent prisoners behind bars in Tamms, there were fewer lockdowns at other prisons and more opportunities for inmates to engage in rehabilitative programs.
“Also, the threat of going to Tamms did a lot to improve the attitudes and the way people acted in prison,” Edgar said.
The former two-term governor said he was concerned those gains would be reversed if Tamms is closed.
* Meanwhile, the rhetoric is really heating up over Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision to close some state facilities…
The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees union has led the charge against Quinn’s plans to close state facilities, particularly prisons. AFSCME arranged to have several prison guards go to Springfield last week to detail their concerns about what they said is rising unrest in the overcrowded facilities.
AFSCME called on state lawmakers to restore money to the state budget to keep all the prisons open. Quinn vetoed funding for the ones he wants to close before signing into law the rest of the budget.
There’s one hitch to that idea. Even if the money is restored, lawmakers can’t force Quinn to spend it. He can still go ahead with the closures.
AFSCME executive director HENRY BAYER was asked about this possibility following the guards’ presentation.
“RICHARD NIXON did that,” Bayer said. “He impounded money, and people didn’t think much of Tricky Dick. I don’t know if Tricky Pat would try that or not.”
* “The man has to listen to somebody. Right now he listens to nobody. He’s the governor, but he’s not a dictator.”
This is a separation of powers issue. The executive branch is under no legal or constitutional obligation to spend any money appropriated by the General Assembly. Simple as that.
* In other news…
Some of Illinois’ most notorious criminals could be shipped to other states as part of Gov. Pat Quinn’s push to close prisons in Tamms and Dwight.
Records obtained by the Herald & Review’s Springfield Bureau show the Illinois Department of Corrections is eyeing at least nine Tamms inmates to be included in what is known as an interstate compact.
Under that scenario, murderers such as Interstate 57 killer Henry Brisbon and Steven Wuebbels, who brutally stabbed a guard when he was serving time in Pontiac Correctional Center, would be sent to prisons outside of Illinois in exchange for prisoners from that state.
Others include Henry Mounson, who stabbed a guard at Pontiac in 1994 and Alton Stewart, who stabbed an inmate in 1994.
Records indicate three men classified by prison brass as gang leaders — David Ayala, William Cabrera and Edward Rodriguez — could be headed to a prison in Wisconsin, but officials there would not confirm the possibility of a prisoner trade.
It apparently won’t cost the state any extra money to ship these guys out because we have reciprocal agreements to house other states’ prisoners here.
* The guards held a press conference last week to talk about the dangers of prison closings…
Guards at Illinois’ overcrowded and understaffed prisons predicted Thursday that Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close two penitentiaries will lead to more violence, like an incident where a guard was attacked and radioed for assistance, then had to fight off the inmate for five minutes before someone came to his aid.
“Five minutes is a lifetime,” said Mark Mountain, a union leader and officer at the Western Illinois Correctional Center in East Moline. He said the officer was punched several times in the face and head on July 7 and suffered a knee injury because there was no immediate backup from the shorthanded prison staff.
“This one bothers me when I go to sleep at night,” Mountain said at a state Capitol event organized by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The union is trying to build public pressure on Quinn to drop his plans for closing the “supermax” prison at Tamms and a women’s facility in Dwight. The Democratic governor says it can be done safely and will save $57 million needed for other important state services, such as child welfare.
Union members recounted incident after incident — fights between inmates, prisoners attacking guards, more weapons being discovered, gangs growing bolder.
* And…
Hurt by deep budget cuts, Illinois’ child welfare agency began a round of layoffs Friday that will cut hundreds of jobs and “greatly reduce” its efforts to prevent neglect and abuse.
The Department of Children and Family Services must find ways to absorb nearly $86 billion in budget cuts, a reduction of 6.8 percent.
Spokesman Kendall Marlowe said the agency will do that partly by cutting 375 jobs. In addition, 250 administrative positions are being cut so that the same number of front-line caseworkers can be added, he said.
That will require slashing most of the agency’s work that isn’t required by law or court order — primarily prevention efforts and services to troubled families where safety concerns aren’t severe enough to warrant removing a child.
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* Chris Wetterich got a tour of the Statehouse renovations. The contractors have apparently run into a few problems with the footings for the basement ceiling pillars, which were much deeper in the ground than they’d anticipated. So, the price is going up and the completion time has been extended…
Nearly 11 months into the renovation of the Statehouse’s west wing, the progress is clear, but Capitol architect Richard Alsop believes the project won’t be finished until the first half of 2013 because of unexpected conditions that required a rework of the original renovation plans.
The $43.8 million project will probably also cost $3 million more than originally anticipated. Statehouse denizens exiled to the Stratton Building had hoped to return by January, when the next legislative session begins.
Among the biggest changes visitors and workers will notice when the project is complete is that the mezzanine level between the second and third floors has been removed. It previously housed private offices for the news media and the “blue room,” where elected officials and other newsmakers held news conferences.
The second floor now rises as high as the windows that allow a bountiful amount of light into the second-floor office space, which will be occupied by the Republican legislative and state treasurer’s staffs. […]
Also gone from the west wing is the basement cafeteria, which had to go partly to make the basement accessible to the disabled. The height of the basement floor varied, requiring ramps that were narrow and not usable for those with wheelchairs.
The new press room will be in the basement once the work is completed.
A couple of photos are here.
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Caption contest!
Monday, Jul 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sneed…
Bye, Abdon . . .
Gov. Pat Quinn snagged the Chicago Sun-Times’ award-winning political reporter Abdon Pallasch to be Illinois’ assistant budget director.
◆ Let’s hope his 25 years dissecting federal, state, county and city budgets for the Chicago Sun Times and other publications will help him sort out the state’s financial mess.
Abdon replaces Kelly Kraft, who recently became the governor’s new communications director.
* Pallasch and I are old pals, and we were both at a benefit concert for Carlos Hernandez Gomez on Friday night…
I’ll try to convince Abdon to buy the winner a beverage.
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* From the House Speaker…
Memorandum
July 20, 2012
To: All House Members
Re: House Session
The House will convene on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 11 a.m. The members should plan to
convene and adjourn on Friday, August 17.
* As I told subscribers earlier this week, the governor wants a Rep. Derrick Smith vote to be combined with a pension reform day. It’s possible…
“It is expected the House will receive and vote on the report from the select committee on discipline, dealing with Rep. Derrick Smith,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown.
Mr. Smith is under federal indictment for alleged bribe-taking, and the select committee voted earlier this week to recommend his expulsion.
But Mr. Brown would not rule out dealing with other matters on the 17th.
“That will be up to the members,” he said. “I’m not going to raise expectations.”
*** UPDATE *** The AP reports that the Senate President won’t call his members back to town…
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, doesn’t plan to call the Senate into session when the House meets, said spokesman Ronald Holmes. He suggests the House pass a version of the pension plan that the Senate has already approved.
Quinn could call the Senate back on his own, of course.
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Thursday, Jul 19, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I have a long-scheduled previous engagement for Friday, so I don’t think I’ll be able to blog.
* I always post a video at the end of the week, but there really isn’t a good version of this song on YouTube, so I’m posting the audio version instead. Andy Roose is a singer-songwriter from the St. Louis area. I heard one of his tunes while listening to that city’s fantastic community radio station KDHX not long ago and was knocked out. Have a listen…
The harder you live, the better the song.
…Adding… If you’re in Chicago Saturday night, you ought to go to the third annual “Concert for Carlos.” This is a benefit in honor of our great friend Carlos Hernandez Gomez, who died way too young. More info here. The event will be held at Uncle Fatty’s Rum Resort (2833 N Sheffield Ave) and the doors open at 7 o’clock. Here’s the poster with the lineup…
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Unsolicited advice
Thursday, Jul 19, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dear City of Joliet,
I saw that you posted this on your city’s official Facebook page today…
State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow, will be at Stefanich Restaurant on Scott St. in Joliet tonight night for a campaign reception and fundraiser. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White will be there too to greet guests. Come by between 5-7 p.m. To say hello to the State’s Attorney and the Secretary of State!
You post campaign fundraiser announcements on the city FB page? On city time?
Are y’all insane?
…Adding… From Ben Benson, the Joliet Assistant City Manager…
Yes it was on the City page briefly, it was posted by mistake, however, not done by the City officially nor on City time,
We actually use a sub-contractor that supports us in marketing & social media matters
Well, the subcontractor is still paid with city funds, no?
* Dear Congressman Joe Walsh,
I saw your press release today about you not attending the Republican National Convention later this month…
“My opponent, Tammy Duckworth, has always been the preferred pick of Democrat Party insiders from Blagojevich to Emmanuel. Despite that, I hope she will join me in skipping the conventions to tour the district to discuss the real issues that matter to real people. The conventions are nothing more than an excuse to mingle with insiders and party with the elite. This district does not want just another insider to represent them; they want an independent who will fight for real solutions to the issues.”
Emmanuel is a college. Emanuel is the mayor.
And just in case your proofreader needs more help, Emmanuelle is a series of films not suitable for children.
* Dear Cub President Theo Epstein,
Your quote made me spit out my iced tea…
With the Rickettses striking out, the Cubs could call on President Theo Epstein to lobby Emanuel. They met earlier this season, and Epstein said Wednesday Emanuel seemed like a “nice guy.”
Have you thought about counseling?
* Dear Republican Party of Illinois Chairman Pat Brady,
From your press release…
Team Madigan continued to support Derrick Smith AFTER he was arrested
House expulsion process is just political cover for Democrats in the fall elections
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady released the following statement regarding this week’s House panel deliberation that State Rep. Derrick Smith be expelled from the Illinois House of Representatives:
“Team Madigan continued to campaign for Derrick Smith during the Democratic primary AFTER Smith was caught red-handed with $7,000 in bribe money in his pocket simply because Mike Madigan feared someone outside of his political control might win the seat. This week’s expulsion hearing is nothing more than giving Madigan political cover for his members in the November election. As usual with Madigan and his cronies, party loyalty trumps principled leadership.”
So, you’re saying that the House Republicans who filed the original charges, the House Republicans who sat on the Special Investigating Committee and the House Republicans on the Select Committee on Discipline are all taking part in an elaborate ruse to cover Mike Madigan’s behind?
Seriously, man, could you be more obtuse?
…Adding… I think Brady was referring to this Sun-Times article, which pretty much debunks the chairman’s claim about the post-arrest help. Also, there were originally no MJM campaign contributions listed after Smith’s March 13 arrest.
*** UPDATE *** Apparently, House Republican Leader Tom Cross totally disagrees with his state party chairman. From a press release…
“Ever since our members filed a petition to begin a House investigation into the very serious allegations against Rep. Derrick Smith, the Special Investigating Committee and Select Committee on Discipline members, the House Managers and staff have taken their responsibility very seriously and reached the conclusion that Rep. Smith should be expelled from the Illinois House of Representatives. If the full House takes the committee’s recommendation, this will be only the second time since 1900 that a member has been expelled from the Illinois House. This has been a truly historic, but necessary investigation and recommendation. All of the legislators who have been participating in this process should be commended.”
* Your turn…
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Caption contest!
Thursday, Jul 19, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn was joined by Nippon Sharyo executives today to open the company’s new U.S. headquarters and passenger railcar production facility in Rochelle, Illinois. Japanese train car manufacturer Nippon Sharyo is investing $50 million and creating at least 250 new jobs in Rochelle, which will help the company increase its competitiveness by moving closer to its U.S. customers and suppliers. Today’s announcement is a result of Governor Quinn’s efforts to bring new business to Illinois.
* And here’s the governor celebrating with the Japanese consul general…
Thanks to the guv’s office for the pic.
Enjoy.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Jul 19, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The AP picked up on Speaker Madigan’s attempted refutation of the highly critical series of Tribune stories published last month…
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan sent a 13-page letter to members of the General Assembly on Wednesday, rebutting a Chicago Tribune series that examined the intersection of his work as a public official and private lawyer.
The series ran in June and examined several potential conflicts of interest. In one case, Chicago’s largest operator of assisted living homes hired Madigan and later benefited from a state program he supported. In another, banks that his firm represented were unaffected by housing activists’ efforts to make them pay more for damage caused in foreclosures.
At the time, Madigan declined to give interviews to the Tribune or provide documents requested by the newspaper. He did provide a statement calling the stories “garbage.”
But now Madigan makes his case in painstaking detail. His letter resembles a report with headers, budget figures and details showing that he went back to sources interviewed by the Tribune to talk about their comments. […]
A Tribune spokesman didn’t immediately have comment on it.
Madigan did the same sort of thing in 2010 after an earlier Tribune series.
In both cases, the Tribune has not yet responded, according to his spokesman.
* The Question: Should the Chicago Tribune respond to Madigan’s criticisms? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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* Gov. Pat Quinn signed four consumer protection bills into law yesterday, including this one…
Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Wednesday to outlaw “cramming,” a practice in which third-party companies place unwanted an unauthorized charges on a customer’s phone bill.
The charges usually go unnoticed by consumers, who are typically billed anywhere from $5 to $45 for services ranging from calling cards to voice mail and extended warranties they never signed up for.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan estimates cramming impacts as many as 20 million households across America each year, raising $2 billion for companies she calls “scammers.”
* The governor made the announcement at the Citizens Utility Board office in Chicago. Here are the other bills he signed, from a Quinn press release…
House Bill 5025, sponsored by Rep. Joe Lyons (D-Chicago) and Sen. John Mulroe (D-Chicago) will help consumers resolve negative action on their credit scores by requiring public utilities to notify credit reporting agencies when a customer has paid off their outstanding balances in full. This measure will allow utility customers to be more quickly relieved of pressure from collection agencies and help them improve their credit scores. The law goes into effect Jan. 1.
Senate Bill 3170 sponsored by Rep. JoAnn Osmond (R-Antioch) and Sen. Suzi Schmidt (R-Lake Villa), allows townships to participate in electrical aggregation the same way counties and municipalities can under current law. Aggregation allows for greater group energy purchasing, which increases competition and lowers costs for consumers. According to the Illinois Commerce Commission, more than 90 municipalities have become power aggregators since 2010, which has allowed for greater consumer savings. The law goes into effect immediately.
Senate Bill 3811, sponsored by Rep. Karen May (D-Highland Park) and Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) protects the ability of certain groups to continue to benefit from “net metering,” which allows customers who generate their own renewable energy to sell excess power back to an electricity provider. The new law takes into account the increased aggregation and alternative energy sources more Illinois communities are now using. The measure provides that net metering customers will be treated equally regardless of the competitiveness of their local energy market. The law goes into effect immediately.
* Interesesingly enough though, CUB hotly opposes another bill that’s sitting on Quinn’s desk right now. Editorial boards throughout the state have been bashing the legislation for weeks. Here’s a representative sample from the Northwest Herald…
Gov. Pat Quinn should veto legislation passed by both the Illinois Senate and House that essentially will drive up costs for natural gas customers in McHenry County and across the state.
Senate Bill 3766 was approved in the waning moments of the legislative session that ended in May after significant lobbying by the Leucadia National Corp., which wants to build a $3 billion synthetic gas plant on Chicago’s southeast side.
Although the measure would create about 1,000 jobs in the short term, it forces Nicor Gas, which serves the suburbs, and Ameren Illinois, which serves downstate, to pay much of the costs to build and operate the plant. Nicor and Ameren also would be required to buy the much more expensive natural gas that this new plant produces.
This, in turn, would significantly drive up rates for all Nicor and Ameren residential and commercial customers.
A diverse coalition of Illinois businesses and environmental, consumer and agricultural groups oppose the legislation, including the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Sierra Club, the Citizens Utility Board, and the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois.
“No matter how you look at it, a bad deal is a bad deal. Leucadia would result in one of the largest rate hikes for consumers and businesses in Illinois history,” said Mark Denzler, vice president/COO, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.
* From CUB…
This is the second time Gov. Quinn could veto a pro-Leucadia bill. Last year, the governor got out his veto pen and forced the company to make concessions, applying a cap on rate increases and creating a $150 million fund to help soften the blow to consumers. But then Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, two Chicago-area utilities, dropped out of the proposal, saying the gas increases would be too punishing for customers. The exit of those two utilities led Nicor and Ameren to complain that its customers would now be forced to shoulder too much of the costs. State regulators agreed with Nicor and Ameren, but legislators responded with the current bill, which would force Ameren and Nicor to cover more of the construction costs.
* And considering all this public heat, it’s even more interesting that the Leucadia bill wasn’t mentioned by reporters during yesterday’s press conference. Raw audio…
The questions were almost all about pensions.
* The other side…
But is has its advantages beyond jobs and $3 billion in industrial development in Chicago, says State Senator Donne Trotter.
“This project not only benefits the city of Chicago, it benefits downstate,” says Trotter. “It creates jobs downstate, utilizing one of our natural resources- coal.”
State Senator Marcus Evans adds it’s technology on which Illinois should get in on the ground floor.
“Currently, almost 100 percent of the gas for Illinois homes and business is produced outside of the state of Illinois; in some instances, outside of the country,” Evans says. “That’s billions of dollars each year that leaves our economy. Let’s build a clean energy project that keeps money in Illinois, where it belongs.”
The legislation commits the plant to using at least 35 percent Illinois coal. Labor groups and sponsoring lawmakers want Quinn to sign the bill before all plants like the Leucadia one are built in other states.
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*** UPDATE *** Levine gets 67 months…
Stuart Levine — who admitted his role in the corruption scandal that sent former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison and provided key testimony against Blagojevich and others — was sentenced Thursday to 67 months in prison. […]
In sentencing Levine, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve called him one of the “most corrupt politicians” in northern Illinois.
“The havoc that you wrecked is certainly substantial,” she told him.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* John Kass makes the case that the national GOP ought to think twice about using Chicago corruption against President Obama this week because this week also just happens to be loaded with Republican court hearings…
Former Gov. George Ryan is still in federal prison. His lawyers are scheduled to appear in court for him Friday, to argue that his jury was given improper instructions.
On Thursday in federal court comes Stuart Levine, the financier who used his political influence on state boards and commissions to squeeze profits and is now up for sentencing. […]
The third Republican, and most powerful of all, is William Cellini, the de facto Republican boss who stayed hidden in the shadows for decades and who used his contacts to deal with Ryan’s now-imprisoned successor, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and — wait for it — Obama’s very own personal real estate fairy, the imprisoned influence peddler Tony Rezko.
It was Cellini and Levine and Rezko and their wives who went to the White House for a Christmas party. And it wasn’t the Obama White House. It was the Bush White House.
Cellini’s hearing was yesterday. His sentencing was delayed until October.
* Steve Chapman also makes some good points about the hard-right myth that Obama wasn’t properly “vetted” last time around…
If I were conspiracy-minded, I’d suspect Barack Obama has deployed several moles to sabotage his opponent. Take John Sununu, who yesterday attacked the president for having used drugs, spent time abroad and lived in Chicago. Or Phoenix Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who now claims to have proof Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud. Mitt Romney’s aides are vowing to expose Obama’s past, insisting he wasn’t “vetted” the last time around. If I were David Axelrod, I’d be smiling.
Why? Because we’ve heard it all before. It didn’t keep Americans from electing Obama in 2008 and it won’t stop them this time. These claims do resonate with some voters — but only those who wouldn’t vote for Obama if he were running against Vladimir Putin.
Most Americans just won’t buy it. The president’s personal approval ratings have consistently held up even amid our economic mess. A recent poll found that by a more than 2-to-1 margin, they find him more likable than Romney. Americans know Obama well by now, and they aren’t going to change their minds about him as a person in the absence of powerful new information, which Republicans don’t seem to have.
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*** UPDATE 1 *** That live video link of the Smith hearing is here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The House managers have recommended expulsion for Rep. Smith.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The House Select Committee on Discipline voted 11-1 to expel Rep. Smith.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Rep. Al Riley (D-Olympia Fields) was the only “no” vote on the expulsion roll call.
…Adding… Here’s a ScribbleLive feed…
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* The Sun-Times matches up dates in West Side Democratic Rep. Derrick Smith’s indictment with session days and finds that Smith could’ve been plotting to accept a bribe while he was on duty in Springfield…
A Chicago Sun-Times review of phone calls between Smith and the mole that federal investigators identified in their criminal complaint and the House journal turned up numerous, unreported occasions when Smith actually was in Springfield, allegedly conversing over the phone with the informant.
That detail could surface Thursday during a key hearing when a legislative panel weighing Smith’s political future hears arguments to punish him with sanctions as severe as expulsion.
“That building is so impressive. You can’t walk in there without thinking it’s the people’s business,” David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said of the statehouse. “If he’s going to be at the Capitol, the notion he was engaging in allegedly corrupt activities is all the more egregious.”
In their criminal complaint against Smith, federal prosecutors outlined 17 secretly recorded telephone conversations between Smith and the mole offering the bribe. Seven of those calls fell on days the House was in session and Smith was on the job. On six of those days, it was Smith doing the calling, according to the complaint.
There’s no way to tell on those seven days what exactly Smith was doing in Springfield when the calls were made because investigators don’t allude to times for the calls in the complaint.
Smith’s lawyer, Victor Henderson, declined comment Wednesday when asked about whether his client had those conversations with the government informant on days the Legislature was in session and Smith was in Springfield.
Henderson is fighting to keep the criminal complaint that refers to all of the calls and tells the narrative of Smith’s alleged crime out of the committee’s record, but the two House managers believe it should be included as a piece of evidence against Smith.
Today’s hearing of the House Select Committee on Discipline will be broadcast live starting at 9:30 this morning, and I should have either the embed or a link to the video. So, make sure to check back.
* Meanwhile, there’s a link between former West Side Democratic state Sen. Rickey Hendon and the two Board of Review employees who were indicted yesterday, according to Mark Brown…
In the latest case, federal agents arrested two employees of Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. for taking bribes to fix property tax appeals. […]
The new arrests came on the heels of Tuesday’s roundup of seven individuals accused of paying kickbacks in exchange for government grants — most of them connected in some way to former state Sen. Rickey Hendon of Chicago.
The latest case also has Hendon connections. Former Hendon campaign treasurer Dean Nichols, an Oak Park accountant who was charged in the grant kickback scheme, is also alleged to have served as the go-between for the dirty cop and the bribe-taking tax appeals analysts. In addition, Hendon formerly worked at the Board of Review under Rogers. Neither of them could be reached for comment.
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