* Another week is gone, and I’m glad for it. Time for some fun and relaxation. Anybody going to see Tom & the Hired Hands tonight? I may be there.
* You really ought to head over to Illinoize. It’s been revamped and revitalized, so the party is in full swing. And if you need to post a classified ad or you have an event that needs publicizing, then get yourself to InsiderzExchange. It’s the place to be seen.
* We haven’t heard from this guy in a while. Robert Earl Keen…
I’m a panhandlin’
Man-handlin’
Post-holin’
High-rollin’
Dust-Bowlin’ daddy
* 3:42 PM - The Illinois Gaming Board has announced its three finalists for the long dormant 10th casino license. The south suburbs didn’t make the cut…
Alex Yemenidjian’s Trilliant Gaming Illinois LLC and his backer Onex Corp. of Canada, which have offered $435 million for the license to locate a casino in Rosemont. The northwest suburb has battled hard for a casino since Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan scuttled a 2004 plan after ruling that organized crime influences in the northwest suburb made the town unsuitable to host a casino.
A group of Waukegan developers, led by Charles Bidwell III, who owned Sportsman’s Park Race Track, and developers Richard Stein and Allen Ludwig. The group is offering $225 million for the license.
Casino operator Neil G. Bluhm, who wants to build a gaming complex at River Road and Devon Avenue in Des Plaines. It’s the same spot where he wanted to build in 2004 when he last attempted to get a casino license. Mr. Bluhm has offered $100 million for the license.
The top bid of $435 million is about $100 mil or so below original expectations.
* Also, You probably saw this elsewhere, but I was busy and never got around to posting it. Bill Cellini formally pled not guilty today…
“He pleads not guilty to each and every charge in the indictment,” defense attorney Dan K. Webb told Zagel.
Want to stop people from drinking too much? Forget earnest public service announcements. Just make alcohol more expensive.
A study released Thursday by the American Journal of Public Health found that when the tax rate on alcohol went up, deaths caused by drinking went down.
University of Florida epidemiologist Alexander Wagenaar and his colleagues compared Alaska’s alcohol tax rate over a nearly 30-year period with deaths due to alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis. They found that when the tax rate shot up, deaths plunged as much as 29 percent.
Their study suggests that raising the price of booze could be a more efficient way to address the deadly toll caused by drinking than building new clinics or starting new programs.
* The Question: Should the state increase alcohol taxes to reduce drinking problems? Explain why or why not.
* The Sun-Times takes a look at the ever-growing field to replace Congressman Rahm Emanuel…
Ald. William Banks (36th), who will convene the slatemaking session, said at least 15 candidates have expressed an interest in replacing Emanuel, making it difficult for any one of them to get the weighted votes needed to secure an endorsement.
Man, the list is long…
The crowded field of candidates includes at least six aldermen: Manuel Flores (1st), Ariel Reboyras (30th), Tom Allen (38th), Margaret Laurino (39th), Tom Tunney (44th) and Eugene Schulter (47th). Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40th), Daley’s unofficial City Council floor leader, is a long-shot possibility.
Also calling Banks to express an interest were state Representatives John Fritchey, John D’Amico and Sara Feigenholtz; state Rep.-elect Deborah Mell; former Emanuel challenger Peter Dagher; Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley; Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth; Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Cynthia Santos, and John Borovicka, Emanuel’s former chief of staff.
“When you have that many officials running, many of whom are committeemen or aligned with committeemen, it’s harder to form coalitions. It would be very difficult to slate one individual. That could result in an open primary,” Banks said.
An open primary would be fascinating.
* Mayor Daley went all out for Emanuel back when the Rahminator was first elected. Not this time, perhaps…
But a top mayoral aide predicted Daley would remain neutral this time around.
Were voters really so impressed by the quality of representation they’re getting in Washington and Springfield? Hardly. The reason so many incumbents got a free pass to a term in office, or won by such lopsided margins, largely depended on how state politicians draw boundaries for congressional and legislative districts. Those influential pols aren’t interested in giving voters competitive political battles. They’re interested in protecting themselves and their cronies in their parties.
Voters? Who cares about voters? The politicians redraw the maps by law after the census every 10 years. Illinois gives the legislature first crack at this. When legislators deadlock — and they have every 10 years since this system was adopted in the 1970 state constitution — the job is turned over to a commission of four Democrats and four Republicans. When that commission deadlocks — and it has every 10 years except in 1971 — the politicians pull a name from a hat or flip a coin to decide whether to add a Republican or a Democrat. […]
The desire to protect incumbents explains why parts of the state have become secure fiefdoms for one party or the other. Voters are bit players in this rigged game. In Chicago, for example, redistricting essentially has blocked Republicans from building even small geographic bases. And while suburbia has grown more Democratic in recent elections, the Republican Party has its protected pockets there.
49 Congressional candidates spend $500,000 of their own money, and of them, only 6 House candidates and 1 Senate candidate won.
Perhaps the saddest case of this was Sandy Treadwell, who ran against Kirsten Gillibrand in NY-20. Treadwell poured in at least $5.9 million of his own money. (Gillibrand spent $3.6 million, but only $250 of that was her own money.) The return on Treadwell’s investment: priceless. If by ‘priceless,’ you mean losing to Gillibrand by a 23-point margin.
The Illinois GOP might take that as a broad hint to stop recruiting those self-funders.
* This talk does exist, but keep in mind that Gov. Blagojevich has threaten to veto all tax hikes…
Democrats who control the Illinois Senate hinted Thursday that some kind of tax hike may be on the horizon.
With the state’s backlog of unpaid bills projected to hit the $5 billion mark by March, Senate leaders said the state must find new ways to pay for existing services.
‘’Maybe we need to look at alternative ways to raise revenue,'’ said state Sen. James Clayborne, a Belleville Democrat vying to become the next Senate president.
State Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, a top budget expert in the Senate, said lawmakers will likely have to find new sources of cash to pay bills
Already, Hynes said, his office has had to expedite payments to two vendors who threatened to cut off services to the state unless they were paid. One provides food service to a state prison, and the other supplies gasoline to state police cars.
“These are not hypotheticals,” Hynes said. “We were able to avert those crises, but it is getting untenable. If the backlog grows by $1 billion, we will lose flexibility. Next time, we may not be able to do it.”
About $1.5 billion of the backlog is from health-care bills for the poor. The remaining $2.5 billion covers “the entire spectrum of state service providers, vendors and institutional payees” Hynes wrote in his letter.
If the situation isn’t corrected, the impact will spread, Hynes warned. Although state aid payments to schools have been made on time so far, other payments — like reimbursements to schools for transportation and special education costs — could be delayed in the future, he said.
Further payment delays could force some businesses to close their doors or cause more health-care providers to refuse service to patients dependent on state assistance, he said.
* The governor’s office agrees that more short-term borrowing is probably needed…
“We agree that short-term borrowing could be helpful to pay bills quickly during this time of year and manage the state’s uneven cash flow,” said Blagojevich spokeswoman Katherine Ridgway.
But Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont, the lead budget negotiator for Senate Republicans, criticized the idea. Short-term borrowing would just make the state’s problem worse, she said.
By law, the short-term loans have to be paid back by the end of the fiscal year. If there is a cash-flow problem, then the loans won’t make the situation much worse. If we can’t pay when the loan comes up, then that’s essentially the same problem we have now.
The Senate Democrats’ top budget negotiator, Sen. Donne Trotter of Chicago, said borrowing money right now might not be a good idea because of interest costs. He said the state should tap into its “rainy day” fund first.
Hynes said money in the rainy day fund was used in July.
“The national economy is in turmoil, and we have to make sure that everyone works together . . . to make sure we can get through these financially troubling times.”
“Working together” and “Blagojevich” are not two things you would expect to happen. Words are fine. Actions are what is needed right now.
* Yesterday, the much-celebrated Illinois blogger OneMan set up a “Bill for US Senate” FaceBook page. The idea is to get Bill appointed to Barack Obama’s US Senate seat, which Obama is vacating on Sunday.
The longtime Capitol Fax Blog commenter, who unceasingly defends our embattled, unpopular governor here has proved to be something of an Intertubes phenomenon. Since yesterday afternoon, the Bill for Senate FaceBook page has attracted 131 members (as of 10:15 this morning).
It’s a movement!
* When you think about it, appointing Bill to Obama’s seat is truly the smart move. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been working the DC commentariat circuit to make himself appear inevitable. It’s Obama vs. Clinton all over again! Do we really want to revisit that long nightmare?
Plus, Jackson has constantly fought with Blagojevich, mainly over the third airport. The bottom line is Gov. Blagojevich just can’t trust Jackson, but he can trust Bill!
* Sneed has this report today about the Obama vacancy…
Sneed hears Gov. Blago, who will choose Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate, privately feels there may be only one choice that makes sense: His buddy, outgoing Senate President Emil Jones.
• • To wit: Jones is this/close to Blago, who may pay his pal back for being such a staunch ally. Jones would also be a strong ally in the Senate for his political godson — Obama.
• • Hmmm: Isn’t it true Gov. Blago, who truly believes a federal indictment is not in his future, is hoping Jones would be a placeholder until 2010 — when Gov. Rod could opt for a Senate seat or another run at the governorship? Is someone smoking posies?
Emil Jones? Please. When it comes to Blagojevich loyalty, Jones is a fair weather fan compared to Bill.
* The Sun-Times reports today that Tammy Duckworth’s star is on the wane…
But her odds of landing Obama’s seat appear to be dimming because of her closeness to Sen. Dick Durbin, who has an icy relationship with the governor, yet has sought input into the selection process. This week, Durbin identified Duckworth as being on his list of hopefuls for the Obama seat.
Dick Durbin probably doesn’t even know who Bill is. Yet another outstanding advantage.
The stakes are high for Blagojevich, who has become increasingly isolated from other top Democrats. His pick could help him create a positive legacy in the face of record-low job approval and ongoing corruption scandals.
What could be more dramatic than appointing an anonymous blog commenter to the seat? It would be huge news all over the world. Blagojevich’s ratings would go through the roof. Jackson may have some poll numbers that show he’s the best pick, but he didn’t test Bill’s name, so the poll is worthless.
Plus, I know Bill. He’s a great guy. Not exactly telegenic, but whatever.
* GateHouse has a story today with the hed: “Former Lincoln library director explains Obama-Lincoln connection.”
Well, I have it on good authority that Bill once rode in a Lincoln Town Car. So, he’s got that going for him, too.
* You should definitely join the Bill for Senate movement today! If nothing else, do it for your own self interest. Obama inauguration tickets are in short supply in a high demand market, so Bill could snag us all tix!
* If you’re not a FaceBook member, just go to Bill’s page and sign up. It’s free, so it’s definitely worth every penny.
If you are a FaceBook member, make sure to invite your fellow FB friends to join the movement. Let’s get this thing rolling, people!
* Bill’s FaceBook followers almost outnumber those of Senate wannabe Jan Schakowsky, and we’re rapidly closing in on Congresscritter Jackson’s crowd [sorry, but there will be no FB links to the competition].
* For the rest of my life I will regret not mentioning Bill’s candidacy during my National Public Radio interview, which is airing this morning.
Noted Illinoisans, including some famous media personalities, politicians, even Republicans, are already signing up. Just go over there and scroll through the membership list to see for yourself. It’s simply astounding. For crying out loud, Bill has support from Utah. I’ll bet Jackson can’t say that!
There’s even an Obama campaign guy on our side. Could that be a signal from on-high? Probably not, but we’ll take it!
* Bill is not an African-American and he’s not an Hispanic. He’s a balding, kinda aging white guy. I admit, that could be a political problem. But isn’t it time we moved beyond that sort of thing? Has Obama’s victory taught us nothing?
* OneMan has even created a couple of TV ads. Henry ain’t exactly David Axelrod, but he’s all we’ve got at the moment and I don’t see JJJ posting stuff on YouTube, so we’ve one-upped that media hound. Here’s one of OneMan’s spots, which has the eloquent title: Bill for Senate Two…
Brilliant!
* OneMan even set up a Bill for Senate blog. It misspells Capitol Fax on the main page, but no worries. The important thing is we’re using high technology to our advantage just like Obama himself!
* Bill for Senate, baby! Some people may look at this and ask “Why?” Our reply: “Why the heck not?!”
* My Sun-Times column this week is about the battle for Senate President. Everybody takes a little hit in this column, mainly because I didn’t think the race has been covered all that well in the rest of the MSM…
The multi-car pileup that passes for Illinois state government may finally change a bit next year.
Senate President Emil Jones’ pending retirement has sparked an aggressive succession battle that will alter the Statehouse’s political dynamic.
Jones was Gov. Blagojevich’s staunchest political ally, and his Senate Democratic members have had quite enough of following the extremely unpopular governor off every cliff in sight. So even Sen. James Clayborne (D-East St. Louis), whom Jones privately supports, will not be able to lead the chamber like Jones did, even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t.
Sen. John Cullerton is Clayborne’s chief rival. Cullerton (D-Chicago) is Blagojevich’s own state senator, but the two aren’t allies, to say the least. Cullerton wants the Senate to be far more independent of the governor’s office. He has a strong political relationship with House Speaker Michael Madigan, going back to his days as a Madigan lieutenant, but Cullerton insists he can be an honest broker.
That Madigan relationship is Cullerton’s greatest handicap in a chamber that views the speaker with great suspicion. His fund-raising and legislative skills are his greatest assets.
Clayborne is a widely respected, strong leader and has quite a lot of support in his caucus from fellow downstaters and African Americans. He has his problems, including Jones’ tacit endorsement, which is the kiss of death for some senators. Clayborne also lives far away from Chicago, and Mayor Daley has passed the word to Chicago-area senators that he prefers someone from Cook County. Daley denied this week that he ever said it, but there’s no question that he did.
Some of the Senate’s freshmen are starting to line up behind Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). Harmon is widely touted as a progressive reformer and he’s promising a more radical change in direction. He has his own downside, as everyone does. Insiders say Harmon was instrumental in stripping language out of an ethics bill that would have banned legislators from participating in government bond deals. Harmon is a bond lawyer.
Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) touts his years of experience as a budget expert and reformer as his chief qualifications. Schoenberg is apparently hoping for success on a second ballot because he has little verifiable support within his caucus right now. Schoenberg borrowed $100,000 from a business client to finance his Senate president bid this year — which raised more than a few eyebrows in Springfield.
Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) is another candidate hoping for a victory on the second, or third, or fourth or umpteenth ballot.
Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), one of Barack Obama’s poker buddies back in the day, was an early favorite and he’s still in the hunt. He’s a popular, skillful member, but Mayor Daley’s preference for a Cook County person won’t help the Lake County Democratic Party chairman.
Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) is always the most entertaining legislator in the room, and this time is no exception. Hendon is doing everything he can to derail Sen. Clayborne’s candidacy. Hendon thought he should be the choice of the Senate’s Black Caucus, but most went with Clayborne, so he’s retaliating and trying to cut his best deal.
Hendon attacked Clayborne this week for being pro-gun, but the Sun-Times reported in 1994 that Hendon owned an unregistered handgun. Hendon’s new book, Black Enough, White Enough, the Obama Dilemma, isn’t going over well with his colleagues, either.
So, there you have it. Somebody will eventually win, and whoever does will move the Senate in a new direction.
Whether that will be enough to break the Statehouse’s disastrous two-year gridlock remains to be seen, but it’s all the hope we have right now.
By the way, the Sun-Times has increased my column’s frequency to twice a month. It was cut back under previous management for “diversity” reasons.
FOIA is supposed to be a floor, a minimum standard that all units of government must follow when taxpayers ask questions about what’s being done in the name of the public. In practice, FOIA too often becomes an obstacle course, manipulated by public officials to discourage the public from asking questions.
We agree wholeheartedly with the State Journal-Register’s editorial today that FOIA “needs reform — now.” The statute needs to be cleaned up and streamlined. And government agencies need to be reminded of their duties under FOIA, which are, after all, merely what government owes to its owners.
In the agreement filed Thursday in federal court, the state promised to move adults with mental retardation and other disabilities out of large institutions if the residents so choose. The case, filed in 2005, claimed Illinois violated the civil rights of 6,000 disabled people living in 250 private facilities, such as nursing homes, which the state licenses.
“What we do is give them enough to make their homes safe and sanitary and able to function as their home again. We can’t replace everything they lost. We can’t make them whole again,” said Melynda Petrie, a FEMA spokeswoman.
Chicago attorney and victim’s rights advocate Tamara Holder is the bearer of bad news, and fresh lawsuits, for embattled former Area 2 Commander Jon Burge. Holder is preparing to file new federal lawsuits against Burge, his associates (or “henchman” as she termed them to me), the city, the Chicago Police Department, and the office of the State’s Attorney of Cook County — the office occupied by one Richard M. Daley at the time Burge was allegedly torturing confessions out of Chicagoans.
Illinois faces an unprecedented backlog of bills–totaling nearly $4 billion now–that could hit $5 billion early next year, state Comptroller Dan Hynes said today.
Hynes sounded the warning to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and legislative leaders in a letter that called the backlog of unpaid bills the largest in state history.
That [state payment] delay could rise to 20 weeks by spring, [Hynes] warned.
Schools could wait several months for more than a billion dollars in payments, food suppliers might end deliveries to state prisons and mental facilities and state police could be turned away from fueling up their vehicles. Nursing homes, colleges and universities and doctors also could face major cutbacks if something isn’t done soon, Hynes cautioned.
“To call this as an imminent crisis is an understatement,” Hynes said in a statement.
He wants lawmakers and the governor to change state law to make it easier for state government to borrow money in the short-term to pay overdue bills and let the state create a revolving line of credit to help the state deal with ongoing borrowing situations.
Jockeying over the state Senate’s next Democratic leader intensified Wednesday as Mayor Daley insisted he had no horse in the race but signaled behind the scenes he wants retiring Senate President Emil Jones’ successor to be from Cook County. […]
Leading up to the closed-door session, Daley dispatched some of his Springfield emissaries to spread word that his preference is someone from the Chicago area, Senate sources said.
But the mayor publicly denied having any role in that maneuver, which was first tipped Wednesday in the Capitol Fax political newsletter published by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rich Miller.
“I haven’t said that at all. I don’t know who you’re talking to. Who’s Capitol Fax anyway?” Daley said after Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
The above Sun-Times story was entitled: “Daley wants Jones’ successor to be from Cook County.” I, of course, stand behind my original story. And, as I told subscribers today, Daley’s top staff has subscribed to the Capitol Fax for years.
* The Question: Who’s Capitol Fax anyway?
I’ll make sure to forward a copy of your comments to hizzoner.
* The Senate is growing more restive now that Senate President Emil Jones is on the way out…
State Sen. Donne Trotter, the Senate’s lead budget negotiator, said he believes the [governor’s] doomsday predictions for the state budget are overstated. He also said the governor’s decision to shut down parks and historic sites on Nov. 30 is “arbitrary.”
“They said they had enough money to keep them going at least until January or February,” Trotter said Wednesday.
* But this is from a reader…
If Rod is bluffing on closing [state] parks he is going out of his way to appear not to be. CMS sent out certified letters informing targeted employees that they have been laid off as of Dec 1st.
* As we told you yesterday, the Blagojevich administration had apparently stopped paying FamilyCare claims for 500,000 recipients after a judge ordered it to stop paying claims for 25,000 recipients related to an illegal end-run of the General Assembly. The resulting chaos may have played a role in yesterday’s IL Supreme Court decision to stay the lower court ruling for now…
A state-subsidized health care program got a reprieve Wednesday when the Illinois Supreme Court temporarily put on hold a judge’s order to shut it down and the Blagojevich administration said it would pay providers.
It was not immediately clear when the state would resume paying health care providers for services under the FamilyCare program, something it had stopped doing - exacerbating already delayed reimbursements. […]
The stay is in place until the Supreme Court either agrees to hear the case or doesn’t, Hecht said.
* But nobody knows yet when that backlog will be processed…
While the state would pay providers because of Wednesday’s Illinois Supreme Court ruling, the time line for that was unclear, said Annie Thompson, spokeswoman for Blagojevich’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
* The governor’s statement…
“This is good news for the families who are struggling in this economy and cannot afford the high cost of private insurance.”
* Meanwhile, on another front, AFSCME has filed a third lawsuit over the Pontiac prison closure…
The union that represents workers at a central Illinois prison filed another lawsuit Wednesday trying to stop the state from closing the facility until safety concerns are addressed.
The lawsuit is the third filed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees against the Illinois Department of Corrections over the agency’s plan to close the Pontiac Correctional Center by the end of the year. […]
Earlier Wednesday, Livingston County Judge Robert Travers said he’ll wait until Nov. 21 to decide whether to block the state from laying off employees at the Pontiac prison. Pontiac is the Livingston County seat.
That order is being sought by the union as part of one of the other lawsuits. The union claims in that suit that the state did not meet a legal obligation to bargain with the union before it began notifying workers of layoffs.
A third lawsuit, also filed in Livingston County by AFSCME, argues that Blagojevich can’t use money the General Assembly appropriated for the Pontiac prison at other facilities.
* And the union is gearing up for a big legislative battle…
At a Thompson Center rally planned for noon tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 13), 150 frontline employees of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will be joined by leading children’s advocates to call on Governor Rod Blagojevich to rescind looming layoffs and budget cuts to DCFS that threaten to undermine child abuse prevention and put kids at risk.
Instead, the governor should act immediately to sign Senate Bill 1103, legislation that includes additional funding for the state’s child welfare safety net, among other essential services.
* Somewhat related…
* CEOs warn Daley that ‘huge layoffs’ are coming to Chicago
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been lining up newspaper endorsements for Obama’s Senate seat, he took a poll to bolster his campaign, he’s been sending reporters so many press releases (from his government account, no less) touting himself for the appointment that his own wife called him a “beast” this week, and now he has a FaceBook group: Appoint Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. to the United States Senate. The group has 247 members and was created by Kenny Johnson, who was backed by Jackson when he ran a losing race for the Illinois House last February against a former Obama staffer, Will Burns.
Cook County Board Commissioner Forrest Claypool said today he will not run for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who has been tapped as President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff.
“I’m not going to Washington,” Claypool added, responding to speculation that he would take a post in Obama’s administration. “I’ll be staying local.”
Claypool is a former chief of staff to Mayor Richard Daley and has been in the political consulting business with David Axelrod, Obama’s top political advisor.
Claypool’s decision comes as his ally on the County Board, Commissioner Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) is “seriously considering” a run for Emanuel’s 5th Congressional District seat.
“It would be a great honor, you know” Jones said. “It would be a great honor.”
Pressed about his chances of getting appointed by Blagojevich, a longtime ally, Jones said: “I don’t know.”
Jones brushed aside questions about whether he had talked to Blagojevich, saying, “You think I should?… Since you asked the question, maybe I should.”
* Sen. Dick Durbin has asked for a meeting with Blagojevich, but that hasn’t happened yet…
Durbin—at IWU today to speak to a class on elections – said Obama should be replaced by someone “who understands there are 102 counties in this state.”
Durbin says he’s got some good candidates for the U.S. Senate, but the choice isn’t his…
Durbin told News 25, “There’s only one vote in this election—it’s Governor Blagojevich, and I don’t have a close personal relationship with him, but I’ve asked to meet with him and talk about this because the person he’s going to choose is someone I’ll be serving with in Washington”.
Durbin has complained before about not getting his calls returned by the governor, so we’ll see if he gets his meeting.
“I want a colleague in the Senate who understands that there are 102 counties in this state, and all of them need help,” the Springfield Democrat said.
A grassroots effort is underway for Barack Obama to appoint Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq War and onetime congressional candidate, as Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs in his incoming administration.
Democratic-leaning veterans groups are pushing the appointment among activists and reporters, even launching a petition drive to get Duckworth into the administration.
“If Tammy was offered the Secretary of the VA, she’d excel at it,” said Jon Soltz, the head of the veterans group VoteVets.org and one of the leading advocates for a Duckworth appointment. “She uniquely understands the issues facing not just older generations of veterans, but our newest veterans as well.”
Indeed, Duckworth would be well situated to take on the post. Not just because she has served in Iraq (where she lost both her legs) and currently heads the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, but also because she has strong ties to Obama’s inner circle.
“Yes, I am interested. Yes, there are people who have suggested to me that they would be supportive and that they are supportive of an effort to convince the governor to appoint me to fill that vacancy,” Davis said.
“I couldn’t think of any reason I wouldn’t be interested.”
* And in a different contest, this maneuver would be far, far tougher to do now than back in the “old” days…
Meanwhile, there’s an intriguing wrinkle in the race for Mr. Emanuel’s seat: talk that he really only wants to serve as chief of staff for two years, and wants a mere seat-warmer who would give the job back when Rahm so requests.
Mr. Emanuel’s spokeswoman terms that talk “false and ridiculous.” But at least one source, who claims to have discussed the possibility with Rahmbo personally, says he really was reluctant to give up the seat and really would like to keep his options open to reclaim it down the road.
If that talk is true, look for municipal finance banker John Borovicka, Mr. Emanuel’s chief of staff, to run for the House and for Mr. Emanuel to cut lots of Chicago-style deals to get it for him. (Mr. Borovicka, who also has never run for anything, says he’s thinking about running but has “no plans” to seek it.)
Mayor Daley helped put Emanuel in Congress, but his organization ain’t what it used to be since the Sorich patronage office prosecutions. Rahm might have talked about a place-holder, but pulling it off will be tough, especially considering all the people who are lining up to take the seat.
The state Senate unanimously voted Wednesday to give Will County prosecutors a powerful new tool to probe the murder of one of Drew Peterson’s wives and the disappearance of another.
The Senate OKd legislation to allow as evidence hearsay statements from murdered witnesses.
Waterways engineered more than a century ago to connect the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds should be altered to stop the exchange of invasive species that can cause irreversible damage, an environmental advocacy group says.
Problem is, those three theses proceed from the flawed assumption that readership (as differentiated from circulation) is down. But actually, thanks to the Internet, more people are reading these words now than could have ever read them 20 years ago. So the problem isn’t readership. It is, rather, finding a way to translate readership into revenue; newspapers were slow to understand the implications of the technology revolution. They have yet to figure out a business model for the Internet era that enables them to support themselves as they did back when print was king.
Everybody knows about BlackBerry addicts, those twitchy-thumbed compulsives who fascinate researchers and comedians. One recent study reported the exotic locations in which mobile device users get their kicks. Bathroom: 79 percent. During romance: 11 percent. At a funeral or memorial service: 16 percent.
Less is written about the laptop addict, an equally tragic modern figure, the kind of person who, say, during a friendly dinner conversation about voters in Pennsylvania pops up to fetch the MacBook and check the difference between the Mennonites and the Amish. […]
And just as a laptop is different from a BlackBerry, so are its addicts. BlackBerry addicts are all about the Web connection. Laptop addicts like that part too—it’s nice to pull into a Panera Bread parking lot with the laptop riding shotgun to piggyback on the free Wi-Fi—but the laptop addict isn’t all about the data.
The laptop addict is an artiste. He keeps his laptop close because at any moment the muse may descend bearing a novel idea or the mot juste, which he must inscribe pronto on the screen. And right after that, he can Google the name of a good massage therapist who can undo the kinks from all those hours hunched over his addiction.
* The Question: Does any of this apply to you? How so? Explain fully.
* Bonus Question: What’s the rudest thing you or someone you know has done with a handheld/laptop? Try to keep it clean, of course.
* I didn’t think it was possible, but J3’s ambition has reached a new high…
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) is favored among a crowded field of possible replacements for President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat, a new poll suggests.
The Zogby International poll conducted after Election Day says 21 percent of likely Illinois voters want Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to Obama’s seat, which expires in January 2011. His nearest competitor is Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Vet erans Affairs, who was supported by 14 percent of those responding to the poll.
It goes without saying that 21 percent ain’t exactly a mandate.
Here’s the list of tested Democrats, which, by the way, was sent to reporters from an official congressional e-mail address. Click for a larger image…
* “bored now” has this analysis at the newly revamped and freshly energized Illinoize…
The biggest problem with the survey is that none of the names are well known across the state. While Zogby tried to obfuscate this by combining the “Not Familiar” and “No Response” categories in his public release of the poll. The client (Jesse Jackson) undoubtedly got a better breakdown here.
The only thing we can really determine is that the Congressman really wants the job — enough to commission a poll and release the findings.
In two prospective Senate races, Jackson would defeat Republican Congressman Ray LaHood by a 50% to 31% margin, the survey shows. Among the 15% who were not certain about whom they would support, nearly two said they were leaning toward Jackson for every one that was leaning toward supporting LaHood. […]
In a prospective match-up against Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, Jackson wins 48% support, compared to 32% for Kirk. Among the 15% who are leaning toward one candidate or the other, Kirk has a 10% to 7% edge, the survey shows.
* Bill Dennis wonders about the inclusion of LaHood…
Really? I’ve heard LaHood mentioned as a candidate for governor. This is the first mention I’ve heard that he might run for Senate.
* Laura Washington probably said it best this week…
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been furiously pitching for weeks. His fingerprints are all over the incessant speculation about his candidacy. Triple J is probably speaking Senatese in his sleep. Time to cool it, congressman.
* And, for whatever reason, The Hill turned to former director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, Hilary Shelton, for comment…
Shelton also urged that an African-American be selected to take Obama’s Senate seat.
“We strongly believe the Senate should be much more integrated,” said Shelton. Obama is the only African-American member of the Senate, and only the third since Reconstruction.
“Gov. [Rod] Blagojevich [D] should choose someone who is consistent with the will of the people who elected Obama, someone who represents the values and priorities that Obama ran on when he was elected to the U.S. Senate,” Shelton said.
Gov. Blagojevich is not a fan of Jackson’s either, and, personalities and feuds aside, the argument used against Jackson is that he would “lack appeal downstate” when he had to run for election to the Senate seat in 2010. Lacking appeal downstate is code for, “White people won’t vote for him.”
A Chicago political insider whom I trust says that Jackson is on a list of possible replacements for Obama but that Jackson has only an outside chance.
And continues…
One intriguing name on the shortlist is that of Emil Jones, 73, currently president of the Illinois Senate. He was one of Obama’s political patrons, is close to the governor and is an African-American, yet I got snorts of derision when I ran his name past some other Illinois sources of mine. That’s because Jones is from the old school — he started out as a sewer inspector, which is not bad training for a life in politics — and is not a modern, ready-for-TV candidate, possessing an orator’s tongue. He is a Chicago pol — the ring tone on his cell phone is the theme from “The Godfather” — but he would be a “place holder” only and would not run in 2010. He would fill the seat with an African-American and give the other contenders plenty of time to start their campaigns.
There are many, many reasons not to appoint Jones and Jackson, but all the pundits are getting way ahead of themselves here.
The Blagojevich administration has stopped payment on most state-subsidized health care, asking a judge to clarify his order to shut down an illegal expansion of the FamilyCare program.
Court documents indicate state reimbursement to doctors treating more than 500,000 FamilyCare patients stopped Oct. 15, the day Cook County Circuit Judge James R. Epstein ordered the administration to halt an expansion of the program to people with higher incomes. […]
Although rejected repeatedly by the Legislature, Gov. Rod Blagojevich unilaterally reinstated the coverage and expanded it to 400 percent of the poverty level, or $83,000 for four. Participants are supposed to pay premiums on a sliding scale. […]
Two prominent businessmen and a lawyer sued, and after an appellate court upheld Epstein’s April ruling, the judge ordered the administration Oct. 15 to submit its plan for dismantling the program.
In it, the administration says Epstein’s order could be construed to cover nearly all 537,000 participants in FamilyCare, except those receiving welfare cash assistance. So it stopped submitting vouchers it receives from health care providers to the state comptroller for reimbursement.
In other words, the judge told the administration to stop funding the illegal aspect of the Family Care program, so the administration stopped funding everything.
Either they are so incompetent that they can’t tell the difference between the illegal program and the legal program, or they are deliberately creating a crisis of huge proportions. Or both.
Whatever the case, this could turn out to be a freaking disaster for thousands of innocent people caught in this power grab.
State lawmakers might take up a bill this week that gives autistic children up to $36,000 a year in health care coverage to pay for diagnosis and treatment.
But there’s no guarantee the bill will pass, lawmakers and advocates say.
“I think it’s possible but I don’t think it’s likely,” said state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline. “I think we’re going to see a lot of slow, measured movement.”
The reason it’s not likely to pass is that the House Speaker refuses to allow the governor to create implementation rules because the governor believes that the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has no legal oversight authority, even though the governor himself signed a law giving JCAR more teeth. The Senate is sticking with the governor so far, and Speaker Madigan won’t budge from his position.
In addition to what he said is Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s abuse of the state constitution, Lawrence took to task Speaker of the House Michael Madigan for maintaining “animosity” toward the governor, a fellow Democrat, as well as a continued “distrust” of House Minority Leader Tom Cross.
I generally agree. Madigan has always found a way to deal with everyone else and keep the state moving forward except when it comes to Rod Blagojevich. But if the governor won’t follow the constitution, can’t be trusted to hold up his end of any deal and may be supremely incompetent (see top story), then why should anyone not have “animosity” towards him?
Discuss.
* Somewhat related…
* Scandal city: Merriner’s latest book is the just-published The Man Who Emptied Death Row: Governor George Ryan and the Politics of Crime. And though there’s lots about insider shenanigans in the book — Ryan remains in prison today, convicted of political corruption — Merriner understood there was more to the former Illinois governor’s story.
* SJ-R Opinion: FOIA needs reform — now: How many stories have to be written about Illinois’ broken Freedom of Information Act before Attorney General Lisa Madigan proposes an overhaul?
* My latest syndicated newspaper column takes a look at a couple of abortion-related groups and their influence on the General Assembly…
Two groups, one pro-choice and the other pro-life, are doing their best to bend the Illinois Statehouse to their respective wills. Let’s peek in, shall we?
State Rep. Ruth Munson (R-Elgin) was defeated last week by Democratic challenger Keith Farnham. The House Democrats dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into Farnham’s campaign, and Farnham himself walked precincts like it was a full-time job.
A pro-choice group called Personal PAC also played a role in the race. Munson, who was considered pro-choice, voted against a compromise parental notification of abortion bill supported by pro-choice groups. Personal PAC vowed to make an example of her.
The political action committee pulls no punches in its aggressive campaigns. One operative running a legislative race in a district where Personal PAC was neutral privately expressed his relief a few weeks ago about not having to deal with the constant brush fires the group creates.
The group spent almost $374,000 between July 1 and Election Day, ranking it ahead of some heavy Statehouse hitters like the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. It’s definitely not a minor player.
Unlike most political action committees, the group does not usually contribute cash. Instead, it runs its own campaigns, and that often drives people a bit crazy. For instance, the group is infamous for putting legislators of different parties into the same mailers. This year, it paired Evanston Democratic Sen. Jeff Schoenberg with Republican Rep. Beth Coulson of Glenview in a mailer supporting Coulson, which didn’t go over too well in some circles. Schoenberg was backing Coulson’s Democratic opponent, Daniel Biss.
As Rep. Munson discovered, keeping Personal PAC off one’s back is not easy. Unlike many organizations, Personal PAC requires purity. Most groups might endorse incumbents with 70 percent voting records (or even lower), but that won’t happen with Personal PAC.
That’s why the group always campaigns hard for what it considers pro-choice incumbents, even when challengers answer surveys indicating that they are also 100 percent pro-choice. This can cause problems, as it did this year when Personal PAC went all-out for Rep. Coulson. A whole lot of Democrats thought the group should’ve taken it easier on Coulson’s pro-choice Democratic opponent, Daniel Biss. Personal PAC was not moved. It’s one thing to say you’re pro-choice, but it’s entirely another to prove you’ll stick with the organization every single time push comes to shove, as Coulson has done over and over again without exception.
Terry Cosgrove, who runs Personal PAC, said months ago that he wanted to defeat Rep. Munson so other legislators could see what happens when they stray too far from their proclaimed pro-choice beliefs.
Actually, he said he wanted to hang Munson’s head on the wall (figuratively, of course). Cosgrove got his trophy.
Meanwhile, some pro-life groups threw down the gauntlet last week. The groups told the Senate Republicans to choose whomever they want to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, just as long as it isn’t Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont).
Family PAC led the charge. The group, run by longtime conservative activist Paul Caprio, sent a letter to Senate Republicans this week expressing dismay that the pro-choice, pro gay rights Radogno was being seriously considered as Watson’s replacement. Radogno, Caprio wrote, was “not in the mainstream of Senate Republican thinking on key family issues.”
Caprio said that while he has degrees of differences with various members of the Senate Republican caucus, he believed that almost any other Senator in the 22-member caucus would be better as the Republican Leader than Radogno.
Caprio wouldn’t discuss the list of possible alternative candidates, but he did say that he could work with another declared candidate, Sen. Kirk Dillard, even though Dillard (R-Hinsdale) had appeared in a television advertisement for Barack Obama. Caprio said it was “stupid” of Dillard to do that, but he believed Dillard would be an honest broker, unlike Radogno.
Sen. Radogno said last week that she has yet to speak with Caprio about his campaign, but she’d like to sit down with him soon. She said as leader she would try to focus on the issues that “bring Republicans together,” and vowed not to impose any of her beliefs on other members.
It’s not certain how much impact this move by Caprio and social conservative groups will have. The Senate Republican caucus as a whole is very conservative and pro-life groups are very influential with them. But they are also some of the most independent-minded people under the Statehouse dome.
Over the next 6 months, Citigroup plans to reach out to a half a million homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. Geoff Smith is vice president of the Chicago-based Woodstock Institute, a housing policy group. Smith says the program could really help homeowners but, he still has some concerns.
SMITH: You have a really this really splashy press release with big numbers attached to it in terms of the number of borrowers this is going to help. But then there’s all sorts of fine print that has to be looked at.
A request by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for an investigation into a lawyer’s bills to a state death penalty defense fund is mired in concerns over conflicts of interest, and a lack of money.
The newspaper found some people charging the fund as much as $300 an hour for merely driving to a trial, expense vouchers labeled only as “out-of-pocket expenses” and inconsistencies in the billing times for meetings. One private investigator was allowed to bill for his support staff’s work at his own professional hourly rate.
“Obviously, there needs to be an investigation,” Duncan said. “The question is who ought to do it.”
The Attorney General’s Office said the appellate prosecutor was involved only in Sutherland’s first case — not the second where the questioned bills were submitted — making it the appropriate investigative arm. “
Waterways engineered more than a century ago to connect the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds should be altered to stop the exchange of invasive species that can cause irreversible damage, an environmental advocacy group says.
But just when you thought it was safe to focus on other things - the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are only weeks away - a new batch of candidates are gearing up for the April 2009 consolidated election.
Stung by roller-coaster gas prices, commuters in record numbers are hopping aboard buses and trains in the Chicago area, but they can shave even more off the cost of getting to work—as much as $500 a year.
By setting aside part of their pre-tax earnings, commuters can help cover transit or van-pooling costs.
The wrinkle is that fewer than 2,000 Chicago-area companies provide such benefits to workers, according to the Regional Transportation Authority.
A judge has ordered a former Chicago alderman who suddenly pleaded guilty in a real estate kickback case to pay nearly $6,000, the cost of bringing dozens of prospective jurors to court.
Vrdolyak pleaded guilty earlier this month for his role in the sale of a $15 million North Side property. Shadur has said Vrdolyak’s last-minute plea came too late to contact jurors and tell them not to come to court. Vrdolyak’s payment is due by Nov. 21. He faces a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced Jan. 9.
A nasty germ that wreaks havoc in people’s guts is infecting hospital patients at rates much higher than previously estimated, according to a report released Tuesday.
