* Lawyers for three people facing terrorism charges want the state’s law kicked because it is too vague…
Brent Betterly, 24, Jared Chase, 28, and Brian Church, 21, were each charged in 11-count indictments with conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of explosives and attempted arson after a raid at the Bridgeport apartment where they were staying in the weeks leading up to the May 2012 summit. […]
According to the filing, the terrorism statute – which had previously been used in only one Illinois prosecution since being enacted a decade ago after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – defines terrorism as “intent to intimidate or coerce a significant portion of a civilian population.”
“The vague nature of the terms ‘coerce,’ ‘intimidate,’ and ‘significant portion of the civilian population’ allows for the arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of the law,” the filing said.
Michael Deutsch, a lawyer for the People’s Law Office who represents Church, said after today’s brief hearing that the statute also allows police and prosecutors to “arbitrarily pick and choose” whom to charge with terrorism offenses.
“On its face, (the law) could criminalize as terrorism First Amendment conduct, like protests, labor strikes, boycotts – they are all intended in some way to intimidate or coerce,” Deutsch said.
* Naperville opponents of the “smart grid” have lost battle after battle, mainly because their considerable fears appear to be unfounded. But arresting one of them for “attempting to eavesdrop” on the police is a bit much, particularly since the state law was struck down as unconstitutional, albeit in a very limited way…
Two vocal opponents of Naperville’s initiative to install wireless electric meters on homes were arrested after interfering with the installation process, according to city officials.
Police are accompanying crews this week as they install smart meters at homes that previously sent away installers.
“The previous installation attempts were met with some resistance and we wanted to ensure our employees’ safety,” City Manager Doug Krieger said.
Naperville has installed smart meters on 57,000 homes and is about 99 percent through with the process. Officials have said the project will make the electric system more reliable and efficient and reduce costs.
However, the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group has expressed concerns over whether the wireless meters will affect health, security and privacy. The group has a federal lawsuit pending against the city.
Residents have the ability to opt out of the wireless smart meters for a fee. The people in question apparently refused to agree to that alternative, so the town sent installers out with a police escort. People need to calm down on both sides.
State lawmakers would be required to take drug tests under legislation proposed by State Representative Bill Mitchell.
The Forsyth Republican introduced a bill requiring welfare recipients to take drug tests. The twist is it also requires candidates for the Illinois legislature to pass a drug test when filing paperwork to run for office. […]
Mitchell admits the measure faces an uphill battle. While popular with downstate lawmakers the bill would likely not make it out of committee due to opposition from Chicago area lawmakers.
Yes, because Downstaters are so pure and Chicagoans are such druggies.
* We’ve got 30 days to go until the 2nd Congressional District special primary. Some ministers are hoping to trim the field…
Apostolic ministers, including the chief apostle for all of Cook County, plan to ask 12 of the 17 candidates now on the ballot for the 2nd Congressional District race to consider dropping out of the campaign.
Chief Apostle William Malloy will lead the group of clergy from Chicago’s far South Side and surrounding suburbs in a news conference Friday at the Am I My Brother’s Keeper Outreach Church, 283 E. 14th St.
Robert Storman, a spokesman for Thornton Township Democratic Committeeman Frank Zuccarelli, who is helping to organize the event, said the group is concerned voters will be confused with 17 people seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the Illinois 2nd Congressional District post in the Feb. 26 primary.
They’d like the fringe candidates that polls thus far are showing with less than 1 percent support to drop out — leaving a field consisting of former state Rep. Robin Kelly, of Matteson; former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, of Crete; state Sens. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, and Napoleon Harris, D-Flossmoor; and Chicago 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale.
Some of those other candidates are vanity candidates, so I doubt any of them will ever drop out.
* Meanwhile, Robin Kelly has a new radio ad. Rate it…
* Transcript…
“It’s heart breaking, There are kids dying every day.
I’m Robin Kelly.
As a mother you think, ‘What if that was my child?’
Sadly our neighborhoods are no strangers to the worst kind of gun violence.
It’s why I have spent my career fighting to end this brutal reality.
We all need to say, ‘Enough is enough.’
If elected to Congress, I will…
Pass a strong, comprehensive ban on assault weapons, eliminate the gun show loophole, ban high capacity ammunition magazines, support current laws that prohibit conceal and carry, and pledge to never to receiver support from organizations like the NRA.
While we don’t know who will represent this community in Congress, we do know that we must speak with one voice on this critical issue.
That’s why I am asking each of my colleagues in this race to join this pledge.
And I am asking you to join me as well.
I’m Robin Kelly.
If we succeed in saving just one life, then it’s worth it.
I’m Robin Kelly, I’m running for Congress, and I approve this message.”
* We’re getting dangerously close to junk bond status, campers, but we’re not there yet. From a press release…
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its rating on Illinois’ general obligation (GO) bonds to ‘A-’ from ‘A’. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s assigned its ‘A-’ rating to the state’s $500 million GO bonds of February 2013. The outlook is negative.
“The downgrade reflects what we view as the state’s weakened pension funded ratios and lack of action on reform measures intended to improve funding levels and diminish cost pressures associated with annual contributions,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Robin Prunty.
The aggregate pension funded ratios on an actuarial basis declined to 40.4% at fiscal year-end 2012, compared with 43.4% in fiscal 2011. Based on the state’s current projections, the funded ratio will decline further to 39% in fiscal 2013. The continued decline in pension funded ratios is due in part to contributions below the annual required contribution, investment returns below assumptions, and lower investment return assumptions. While legislative action on pension reform could occur during the current legislative session and various bills have been filed, we believe that legislative consensus on reform will be difficult to achieve given the poor track record in the past two years. If there is meaningful legislative action on reform, we believe that there could be implementation risk based on the potential for legal challenges, and it could be several years before reform translates into improved funded ratios and budget relief. In addition, Illinois has to manage other challenges, which include pending statutory reduction of rates on the personal and corporate income taxes beginning in fiscal 2015 and a high level of accumulated payables, combined with the more typical pressures facing the state sector in terms of a slow economic recovery, potential federal fiscal consolidation, and health care reform implementation. […]
Offsetting these generally positive credit factors are what we consider:
· Sizable budget-based deficits for fiscal years 2009 through 2012 despite revenue-enhancement measures implemented in 2011 that we view as significant;
· A historically large generally accepted accounting principles general fund balance deficit;
· Large unfunded actuarial accrued liability (UAAL) for its five pensions; and
· A moderately high and growing debt burden due to debt issuance for current pension contributions in fiscal years 2010 and 2011, and the approved long-term capital program.
The negative outlook reflects what we view as the range of challenges Illinois faces that will require legislative consensus and action. We believe the outcome of deliberations relating to pension reform and the expiration of current personal and corporate income tax rate increases on Jan. 1, 2015, along with other normal budget pressures, could have a profound effect on the state’s budgetary performance and liquidity over the two-year outlook horizon. While it is unusual for a state rating to fall into the ‘BBB’ category, lack of action on pension reform and upcoming budget challenges could result in further credit deterioration, particularly if it translates into weaker liquidity. We could revise the outlook to stable if Illinois achieves pension reform that lowers liabilities and associated costs to the state and takes credible actions to achieve structural budget balance over the two-year outlook horizon. We believe there is limited upside potential for the rating in the next two years given the size of the accumulated deficit and the liability challenges Illinois faces but will evaluate the state’s progress in addressing key budget and pension challenges. [Emphasis added.]
*** UPDATE *** Gov. Quinn was asked about pension reform today. His response…
“The pressure is higher than ever … We’ve got to have an urgent approach,” Governor Quinn said. Referring to State Senate President John Cullerton’s Senate Bill 1, which incorporates suggestions from Democrats, Republicans and labor unions for a multi-pronged approach to tackling the pension problem, he continued: “We’ve got to all work together in a bipartisan way to get this challenge of pension reform behind us … We’ve got to put our seat-belts on here, and understand the rating agencies won’t give us better marks until the legislature passes Senate Bill 1 and gets the job done. That’s really the message the credit rating agencies are screaming at the top of their voice. I’ve heard it, and I think the members of the legislature need to hear it as well.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** President Cullerton…
“The rating agencies are confirming what we all recognize. It’s time for action on pensions. The Senate President will continue to push constitutional reforms to stabilize our pension systems and restore confidence in the state of Illinois.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Leader Cross…
“S&P’s downgrade of our bond rating – coming on the heels of Fitch’s announcement just two weeks ago – is another indication of the gravity of Illinois’ fiscal crisis. We simply cannot afford continued downgrades at a time when we urgently need to restore stability and balance to the state’s fiscal climate. The General Assembly must act in order to avoid further damage to our credit rating by achieving consensus on meaningful pension reform that can pass the House and Senate this spring.”
Stan Musial already has a statue in St. Louis named after him. If state and federal lawmakers get their way, a new Mississippi River bridge also will carry the name of the St. Louis Cardinals great.
Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill, of Missouri, and Dick Durbin, of Illinois, proposed legislation Wednesday that would name the new bridge the Stan Musial Memorial Bridge - some already are dubbing it the “Stan Span.” The bridge carrying Interstate 70 traffic is expected to open in 2014.
Musial, a three-time MVP and seven-time National League batting champion who spent all 22 seasons of his career with the Cardinals, died Saturday after several years of declining health. He was 92.
“The respect and devotion that people have for Stan Musial has more to do with his character than his swing,” McCaskill said in a phone interview. “His swing was amazing, a unique thing of beauty, but it was the man that made a lot of decisions in his life that just reflect the kind of values that we all want as Americans.”
I don’t doubt that the bridge will be named for him. And it’s Friday, so let’s lighten things up a bit.
* The Question: Who is your all-time favorite baseball player? Explain.
* Gov. Pat Quinn was asked about the possibility of Lisa Madigan running for governor…
“You have to deal with the House, if you’re governor, every single day, and I think it’s important that no members have conflicts of interest, and those who are in executive office shouldn’t have conflicts of interest,” Quinn said. “Especially as we clean up from my two predecessors, who are still in jail right now at the same time, we want to clean up government.”
Suggesting that Lisa Madigan could wind up in prison because of conflicts of interest between herself and the Speaker ain’t gonna go down too well.
With the recent failures in the House to come up with comprehensive pension reform, some Springfield observers have suggested Speaker Madigan might be dragging his feet, and setting the stage for his daughter to ride in on a white horse and solve the state’s biggest problems.
“I work with the Speaker of the House, the President of Senate on all kinds of legislation. I presume that everything they do is for the people of Illinois, the common good,” Quinn said.
If this prison talk continues from Quinn, there will be problems during spring session. Guaranteed.
Asked if that would be a conflict of interest, Mike Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said, “That will be dealt with if and when it happens.”
“That was effectively dealt with 10 years ago when voters overwhelmingly elected Lisa to Attorney General. She has worked well with the Speaker,” Brown added. “There’s no conflict.”
*** UPDATE *** I just talked to Brown. Some of what he said will be saved for subscribers on Monday.
But he did claim that CBS2’s reported quote “That will be dealt with if and when it happens” was not in its proper context. Brown says that he wasn’t responding to a question about a conflict of interest, but about Speaker Madigan’s possible retirement if Lisa Madigan runs.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Meanwhile, I am not yet convinced that Bill Daley will run for governor if Lisa Madigan does…
Bill Daley on Thursday essentially fired the opening shot against potential gubernatorial rival Lisa Madigan in what could be the “Clash of the Titans” of Illinois primaries.
Daley told the Chicago Sun-Times he didn’t want to come off as giving advice to the Madigans but said Lisa Madigan needs a “game plan” to answer questions about possible conflicts in running for the state’s top job while her father remains one of the most politically powerful men in Illinois.
Daley, a former White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary under President Bill Clinton, said that his familial relationship with his brother, former Mayor Richard M. Daley, factored into his reasoning for not running for Illinois office in the past.
“It had to. The City of Chicago plays such a big part in the state, his persona as mayor for umpteen years would obviously be an issue, good or bad. I think the same thing applies to the [attorney] general,” Daley said. “I’m not giving them advice. I assume they would have to deal with that up front. She would be smart enough politically … She’d have to answer you guys when you say: ‘How does this work?’ Then the voters have to decide whether they buy it.”
At the Democratic National Convention last year, Michael Madigan said he had no intention of retiring and, if his daughter were interested in a 2014 gubernatorial bid, nothing would stop her from aiming for the Executive Mansion while he is in control of the Illinois House.
Bill Daley and Lisa Madigan both have a history of flirting with running for higher office, only to have it dissolve into a political tease.
But — if it’s real this time and two of the most powerful political families in Chicago and Illinois history actually do square off in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary — it’ll be a dramatic crescendo to a decades-long family feud.
I think the relationship between Speaker Madigan and Mayor Daley is a complicated one. Like two brothers. Rod Blagojevich tried to get between the two men and peel off Daley when he was warring with Madigan. I told the governor it wouldn’t work. They fight each other like brothers, but get between them and they’ll turn together and fight you. And that’s what happened. Remember this?…
Mayor Richard Daley said Monday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s claim the mayor and the CTA are misleading the public about transit funding problems is “cuckoo.”
Daley quickly followed up his one-word response by saying he was “not getting into an argument” with Blagojevich.
“He’s arguing with everybody in America,” Daley said of the governor.
* Peoria Congressman Aaron Schock was in Chicago yesterday and discussed his future and his likely GOP opponents…
U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, who’s mulling a 2014 Republican bid for governor, chastised a pair of potential rivals Thursday, saying state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard have “proven nothing more than they can lose an election.”
“Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results,” said Schock, 31, a three-term congressman and former state lawmaker from Peoria who held forth on Illinois politics after a speech to the Civic Federation in Chicago. […]
Of Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican who already has announced his candidacy after narrowly losing the 2010 Republican governor primary to Brady, Schock said: “You’ve got one guy who’s been announced for two months. You can hear crickets.”
Schock questioned whether Brady or Dillard would be able to get the financial support needed to run again.
“At some point, you know, as a Republican in this state, I’ve watched cycle after cycle a lot of the same horses trot out on the track that have proven nothing more than they can lose an election,” he said.
Schock, whose views include opposing gay marriage and abortion, nonetheless stressed his electability across the state and said he would have “no problem competing in the suburbs” as he has performed well with moderate voters, women, and young people in past races.
Schock, however, would not comment on the state’s GOP leadership and a move by some GOP leaders to oust state party Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles for his statements supporting legalized same-sex marriage.
“I”m not telling the state central committee what to do,” Schock said.
Schock has some suburbs in his district, but they’re small, Downstate suburbs. Big difference when compared to Cook and the collars.
Lots of US House members tend to think they’re moderate because they stack up as moderates in DC. But DC moderates ain’t Illinois moderates. Illinois hasn’t elected a major statewide pro-life, anti gay rights candidate in over 14 years (Peter Fitzgerald, 1998).
If you want to understand why little to no progress will likely be made on gun control here in Illinois or nationally, just look at the abortion issue.
Abortion is a hugely emotional and divisive issue in this country. At the heart of the matter is the belief by the extreme opposition that no legal right to an abortion ought to ever exist, while those on the other extreme view any tiny, baby step infringement as a giant leap toward prohibition.
Both sides are well-funded, well-organized and have reams of studies, talking points, experts and lawyers to back them up. Both sides demand purity from anyone they support. Vote against a bill that uses government regulations to run abortion clinics out of business and you’re deemed a heretic by the hard right. Vote for a bill to allow parents to be notified when their underage daughter is about to have an abortion and you’re branded a traitor by the hard left.
The ball simply cannot move unless one side manages to take over a state government and then lets the courts sort it out.
Like the pro-life activists, most gun-control advocates either want to change the Constitution or vehemently disagree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions. That was made obvious in Illinois when the state Senate took up a bill recently that would’ve banned the sale of most popular handguns and required that all gun magazines be registered with the state, even though magazines have no serial numbers. The arrogance and ignorance of the people who drafted that bill cannot be overstated.
On the other hand, the extreme pro-gun folks have a dangerously warped view of reality in which their firearms are somehow the only thing standing between “the people” and “tyranny.” Never mind that we live in a democratic, constitutional republic with a solid history of more than two centuries of ever-expanding rights. Because of this “sacred gun” fantasy, any government restriction on their rights, as they see them, amounts to a tyrannical abuse of power. Some of those folks ought to try visiting a real dictatorship to see how ridiculously they are overstating their case.
As with the abortion issue, the extremes pay for the political megaphones, so we usually only see radical proposals from both sides. Far-reaching gun bans on the one hand, opposition to any regulations on the other.
A requirement that gun owners securely lock their weapons in safes may have done more to prevent the recent Connecticut slaughter than almost anything else.
Adam Lanza stole the guns he used from his mother, whom he also killed before his murderous rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Yet, requiring that gun owners lock up their weapons is not even being discussed, even though all the responsible gun owners I know keep their pistols, rifles and shotguns locked in gun safes.
With rights come responsibilities. So, to my mind, the right to own a gun ought to come with a responsibility to make as sure as you possibly can that your property doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
But the NRA has staunchly opposed such measures in the past as an outlandish burden on gun owners. And antigun politicians would rather focus on “sexy” poll-tested issues like assault weapons bans, even though the last federal ban was a joke. Connecticut’s assault weapons ban was modeled on that now-expired 1990s era federal ban, so the assault weapon used by Lanza was legal.
There just is no viable center, so there can be no negotiated solution.
* And even though the column took pretty hard shots at both sides, the first e-mail it generated last night was this one…
Why do you hate guns? Do you hate people that get abortions as much as someone that likes to shoot guns? Yes not every legal gun owner is a super evil person, I know hard to believe.
Do you skip movies with guns in them? Cartoons ? Meat from a game animal?
What happened to factual reporting in this country? Yellow journalism is running rampant now. Worse than ever people like you seem fit in using your jobs to call millions of Americans bad people.
You should be ashamed.
* Meanwhile, GOP state Sen. Sam McCann believes gun ownership for self protection is an inherent right granted by God. He spoke of the issue at last weekend’s pro-gun Statehouse rally and again to Bernie Schoenburg…
“And our generation is now charged with fighting to ensure that this great nation will remain a government, not of the politician, not of the entitlement seekers, but a government of the people, by the people and for the people. To live up to the great expectations placed on our generation, we must pass the mantle of liberty to the next generation, and the only way we can accomplish this is to preserve our Second Amendment rights,” McCann said at the speech, recordings of which were posted on YouTube by 970 AM WMAY.
“They’re not privileges and they cannot be revoked by a bunch of politicians,” McCann added. “They were given to us by God almighty himself, himself, and we will stand strong on that. Our message to the legislators and executive officers of the state of Illinois and this nation is this: Do not attempt to diminish our liberty as co-equal citizens of this great land, but instead be champions of liberty. I pledge to you today, I will be a champion of liberty, so help me God.”
So, when I saw McCann at the Frontiers International Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast Monday, I asked about the speech. McCann made it clear he thinks gun rights and other rights — and not the Constitution written by people — are what he thinks come from God.
“All of our rights, the right to speech, the right to assembly, the right to join together and talk about ideas … the right to protect yourself — all of those rights I believe are given us by God,” McCann said. “It’s not just the Second Amendment. It’s all of the rights that are outlined and all of those that aren’t outlined, as a free citizen.”
I noted the Constitution had to be amended to include gun rights, to end slavery and let women vote.
“Nothing created by man is perfect,” McCann said. “You’re talking about the document. I’m talking about the rights, the inherent rights. … All of our rights are given by God. We wouldn’t be free if they were given by a document created by man.”
