* No surprise here…
An Illinois legislative commission opposes Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close two prisons and a center for people with developmental disabilities.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability voted 7-3 Tuesday against closing prisons in Tamms and Dwight. It also advised against closing the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia.
The panel’s action is only advisory. Quinn can still close the facilities, which he says must be done to cut spending and improve care for people with mental disabilities.
* More…
The commission agreed with the plan to close an office of the Department of Children and Family Services in the Chicago area. But it voted down the Administration’s closure plans for Tamms, the Murray Center for the Developmentally Disabled at Centralia, Dwight Correctional Center, the Illinois Youth Center at Joliet, and two adult transitional correctional centers in Chicago and Joliet.
* This is odd…
n a surprise, the commission’s chairman, Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, D-Evanston, said the City of Centralia had proposed in recent days that the Murray Center campus be made available for private use, if it were to close.
Schoenberg said the sate had received “some documentation from the City of Centralia, in the last couple of days, sketching out a proposal” for a consortium of not-for-profit groups to acquire the campus.
After the commission’s meeting, Centralia Mayor Tom Ashby said the city had made no such proposal. Ashby said he thinks it was “just something that was suggested by the commission.” […]
Two area lawmakers, Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, and Rep. Paul Evans, R-O’Fallon said it was the first they’d heard of such a proposal.
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME…
AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer issued the following statement in response to votes today by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) rejecting Governor Quinn’s proposed closures of Dwight Correctional Center (by a vote of 7-3), Joliet Illinois Youth Center (5-5), Murray Developmental Center (7-3), Peoria Adult Transition Center (10-0), Tamms Correctional Center (7-3) and Westside Adult Transition Center (5-5).
“We applaud the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability for rejecting Governor Quinn’s wrongful and damaging closure threats. The commission voted to protect essential public services and preserve more than 2,000 Illinois jobs.
“The governor’s push to force individuals with disabilities out of their homes, reduce mental health treatment, jeopardize prison safety, end reentry programs and put thousands of public servants out of work are the wrong priorities for Illinois.
“The commission’s work is an example of good government in action. COGFA brings together lawmakers from both parties, both chambers and every part of the state who along with their diligent staff studied Governor Quinn’s proposals. Unlike the governor, they toured the facilities, visited the communities and listened to testimony from employees, advocates, local officials, individuals and families. In stark contrast to the Quinn Administration, they considered all the evidence, reached the sensible conclusion and rejected each of the closures.
“We call on Governor Quinn to listen to the commission and withdraw his ill-considered closure plans, and we urge the legislature to make sure all state facilities are fully funded in the 2013 budget.”
COGFA also clarified that absent any motions made to reconsider, its previous votes stand, rejecting the threatened closures of Jacksonville Developmental Center, Murphysboro Illinois Youth Center, Singer Mental Health Center and Tinley Park Mental Health Center.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* There were a lot of lowlights from yesterday’s arraignment of Rep. Derrick Smith. Here’s a quote from Smith…
“God gives us all a cross to bear and this lawsuit is mine.”
Um, excuse me, Representative, but this is no mere lawsuit you’re facing. You’ve been indicted on federal bribery charges. Perhaps you need to look up the difference between civil and criminal matters.
* Mark Brown talked to some Chicago politicians who backed Smith in the Democratic primary against a white Republican who appeared to be campaigning as a black Democrat…
“I’m a bit disappointed quite frankly,” Congressman Danny K. Davis told me Monday after learning of Smith’s comments. “I would have hoped that Rep. Smith would have resigned his position as a member of the General Assembly.” To be clear, Davis would like him to resign his spot on the ballot as well.
Davis, who headlined the group that urged a vote for Smith after his arrest, said he did so because he “thought it was for the greater good of the district.”
At this time, “the greatest good would be served if Rep. Smith would put people out of their agony [by resigning]. Only he can do that,” Davis added.
Davis said he appreciates that Smith is in a difficult position and he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence, but added: “Sometimes you have to put the good of the group before your individual self.”
Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), chairman of the West Side Black Elected Officials who convened the pre-election press conference backing Smith, also said he should resign.
“The sooner the better,” Mitts told me. “He’s got enough to deal with without holding the district hostage.”
Mitts said Democratic committeemen whose wards encompass Smith’s 10th legislative district are preparing to run an independent candidate against him if he doesn’t step aside. That effort is being organized by Secretary of State Jesse White, Smith’s political mentor, who engineered his appointment.
* And WBEZ had a doozy of a quote from Smith’s attorney…
Henderson said the case reminds him of a poem.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist,” Henderson said, reading a printout from the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I am not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak to, for me.”
That poem is about Germans who ignored Nazi actions.
Asked if he was really comparing Derrick Smith’s case to the Holocaust, Henderson replied that when the government does something wrong, everyone has “an obligation to stand up.”
“Today it’s Derrick Smith,” he said. “Who is it tomorrow? That’s the point of [my reading] the poem.”
Oy.
* The Question: Derrick Smith is to _____ as Rod Blagojevich is to _____?
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* The Republicans want to intensely vet the folks who want to be appointed to the ballot in the 13th Congressional District in the wake of Congressman Tim Johnson’s retirement. They’ve devised a questionnaire and some of the questions are pretty basic…
Have you ever been delinquent with personal, business or property taxes?
Is your voter registration current with your current election authority?
Have you ever voted in the primary of any political party other than the Republican Party?
* But some are fare more personal…
Have you ever been denied car insurance or had car insurance cancelled?
Has any member of your immediate family filed for bankruptcy?
Has the IRS audited you or your business or family business?
An IRS audit doesn’t mean anything unless the IRS found something bad. Even then, it’s usually no big deal.
* And this set of questions appears to be directly aimed at Jerry Clarke, who once worked for the House Republican operation, which was the subject of a federal probe years ago…
Have you ever been questioned by state or federal authorities in connection with the alleged commission of a crime? If so, when? If applicable, did you provide testimony or material evidence (testimony or documents) in the case? What was the ultimate disposition of that case?
Have you ever testified or been served with a subpoena to testify before a grand jury, trial court, administrative or regulatory agency? If so, provide all details.
Have you ever been served with a subpoena to produce records to a grand jury, trial court, administrative or regulatory agency? If so, provide all details.
That’s one more possible nail in the coffin.
* They also want a “one-page outline demonstrating how you will win the 13th Congressional District.” But as Jon Zahm points out, not a single policy question was asked.
* Meanwhile, Common Cause wants Attorney General Lisa Madigan to investigate the American Legislative Exchange Council to check to see if it’s in compliance with state tax and lobbying laws. From a press release…
On the heels of filing a whistleblower complaint with the IRS charging abuse of federal tax laws, Common Cause Illinois today asked Attorney General Lisa Madigan to look into the tax status of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Illinois.
ALEC is registered in Illinois with the Attorney General’s Office as a charitable organization, and at the federal level, where it enjoys tax-exempt status under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. A letter delivered to Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Tuesday, May 1st, charges that ALEC is primarily a lobbying organization and may therefore be in violation of its tax exempt status. Common Cause Illinois is calling on the Attorney General to review ALEC’s 990 form and investigate their activities to ensure that they are in compliance with state tax and lobbying laws.
“ALEC is a corporate lobby front group masquerading as a public charity on the taxpayers’ dime. Illinoisans shouldn’t have to subsidize ALEC’s agenda to limit voting rights, undermine our public schools, spread Stand Your Ground gun laws, and weaken laws protecting our environment. Tax fraud is illegal, which is why Common Cause Illinois is calling on the Attorney General to review ALEC’s registration as a charity and whether its lobbying activities in Illinois are being properly disclosed,” said Rey López-Calderón, Executive Director of Common Cause Illinois.
Common Cause Illinois’ letter comes just days after the national organization of Common Cause filed a whistleblower complaint with the IRS on the grounds that ALEC is flouting federal tax laws by posing as a tax-exempt charity while spending millions of dollars to lobby for hundreds of bills each year in state legislatures across the country. The complaint was filed on Common Cause’s behalf, pro bono, by the prominent whistleblower law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP, under the Tax Whistleblower Act of 2006.
The full complaint is here.
* Related…
* Watchdog groups file FEC complaint against U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock: “Rep. Schock and Leader Cantor’s campaign spokesman Ray Allen told Roll Call in no uncertain terms that a solicitation was made for $25,000, which amounts to a public confession to a clear violation of the law,” said Paul S. Ryan, Campaign Legal Center senior counsel, in a statement. “The FEC must pursue this violation by Rep. Schock or the agency would in effect be green-lighting candidates soliciting multimillion-dollar contributions to the ostensibly ‘independent’ super PACs that have been doing the dirty work of presidential candidates in the primaries — an activity expressly banned by the agency.”
* Aaron Schock hit with FEC complaint
* Campaign Finance Watchdogs File Complaint Against Illinois Congressman
Stay on top of Chicago business with our free daily e-newsletters
* How ALEC became a political liability
* American Legislative Exchange Council to abandon gun rights, other social causes
* Legislative group turns focus amid Martin backlash
* Did the American Legislative Exchange Council Give Me the Full Story?
* ALEC’s ‘ghostwriting’ legislation an excellent practice
* ALEC valuable resource for good public policy in Idaho
* American Legislative Exchange Council has a hand in S.C. politics
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There They Go Again: Nine Times? $12 Billion? Really?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Opponents of SB 678 and the Taylorville Energy Center have a math problem.
Since Illinois law limits any rate increase associated with the project to 2.015% over 30 years, or about $1.67/month for a “typical residential customer” according to the ICC, their math has to be pretty creative to scare the public.
After all, if they were honest and said, “it may cost you less than a ½ gallon of gas per month,” few people would be too concerned. Instead they’ve unleashed their robocall invasion around the state to scare seniors into believing electric bills will go up NINE times, which is only an 898% exaggeration.
And because an 898% exaggeration wasn’t enough, last month Exelon paid $40,000 for a bogus study claiming the Taylorville rate impact has spiked.
The Truth?
While projected natural gas and power price decreases have caused a modest rate impact increase, 40% lower interest rates (which will save the project nearly $900 million over 30 years) have more than offset any increased rate impact.
Remember the SJR warning:
“ComEd would do anything necessary to protect its bottom line and keep competition away, no matter how much hyperbole and alarmism was necessary.”
Springfield Journal-Register Editorial – September 13, 2011
So next time the Exelon-funded STOP coalition tries to scare you and your constituents about SB 678 and Tenaska, remember: there they go again.
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Oh, yeah, this will soothe a lot of tensions
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This was at the bottom of a press release yesterday from Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider announcing the state’s new multi-year transportation construction program…
To ensure the continuation of the state’s capital plan and projects like these, which are putting hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents back to work, Governor Quinn has proposed necessary changes to stabilize and restructure the state’s pension and Medicaid programs after decades of fiscal mismanagement.
The proposals outline up to $85 billion in savings from changes to the pension system (based on current actuarial assumptions), and $2.7 billion in savings from restructuring Medicaid. These changes will lead to greater certainty in Illinois’ business climate and help respond to serious concerns from the ratings’ agencies.
The billions of dollars saved through these reforms are key to the state’s ability to ensure that critical capital improvement and road safety projects in Illinois are able to move forward.
* One possible translation: Kicking seniors and poor people off their health care coverage and zapping pensioners is a really great thing because we can patch more potholes! Hooray!
* Secretary Schneider defends herself...
Four years ago, the state’s road fund was responsible for $60 million in pension payments for employees responsible for road projects, Schneider said. Next year, that amount is projected at $172 million, she said.
“Without any action to address the pension problem, in just six years that pension contribution could be upwards of $400 million per year for IDOT employees at our current headcount level,” Schneider said. “We think it is a significant issue that needs to be addressed.
“I believe by addressing the issue this session it could potentially free up additional funds for transportation improvements,” Schneider said.
Similarly, she said, if the state can control Medicaid costs, it will stabilize the state’s credit rating, making it less expensive to issue bonds for road projects.
Schneider said she could not point to specific projects that could be undertaken if pension and Medicaid costs are controlled.
So, yeah, her statement has plenty of logic and facts behind it. But it’s still a bit unseemly and might possibly even enflame the debate.
And it doesn’t help that black and Latino legislators have been upset at IDOT and road contractors forever because of their truly lousy minority hiring records. They might look at this statement as tossing the poor over the side in order to employ more white men. Did anybody over there bother to think of that? Of course not. It’s IDOT.
Try harder, please.
* Related…
* U.S. investigating IDOT payments for jobs program
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Let’s see what you got, before it’s too late
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A whole lot of state employees comment here. I have no objections to that. In fact, I welcome their input and even encourage it.
But ever since Gov. Pat Quinn unveiled his pension reform plan I’ve found myself deleting more of their comments than usual. Most of the deleted comments were all heat and no light. All anger and no reason.
So, when I saw the State Journal-Register’s story today quoting four Springfield-area Republican legislators about pension and Medicaid reform, I found a passage that will help me illustrate my recent thoughts on this matter…
As for the governor’s pension plan, the four lawmakers echoed public employees’ contention that the state is to blame for underfunding the systems — but offered few solutions.
[Rep. Rich Brauer] said the state needs to see how much it can save in Medicaid first.
“They’ve used that thing as a credit card,” Brauer said of the pension system. “Now you want to punish those people (employees) who put the money in.”
* Listen, folks, when the state is talking about kicking tens (even hundreds) of thousands of some of Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens (elderly and the poor) off Medicaid programs, it’s really tough to totally sympathize with public employees. Senior citizens paid taxes their entire lives, but now health care benefits are about to be snatched away from them. So, this whole idea of how you contributed to your pension and how the state screwed up so you should now be spared any cuts at all just doesn’t pull at my heart strings.
I am opposed to this disgusting national race to the bottom. I cannot stand the argument that just because millions of people are never going to be able to retire at any sort of comfort level that public employees ought to be forced into the same nasty fate. And I fully understand our state Constitution and why it was drafted to protect pensioners.
But, I gotta tell you, I’m really growing tired of your complaints. And if you’re alienating me to this extent, imagine what effect you’re having on everybody else.
* So far, the unions and the workers have been all about criticism and nothing about alternative ideas.
And, by the way, there ain’t gonna be another tax hike. Forget it. That’s not a viable alternative and y’all know it. Don’t insult my intelligence by proposing one.
* Look, I don’t want to see any lives destroyed or irreparably harmed. My favorite uncle (who’s more like a big brother to me) is a retired state employee and I really doubt he could afford to pay his full health insurance premium.
But it’s time for some workable solutions here, and so far I’ve seen nothing from your side but anger and endlessly repeated history lesson talking points. What’s done is done, man. It’s time to move forward.
In this business you’re either part of the solution or you wind up as roadkill. Trust me when I tell you that you’re about to be the latter.
* Related…
* Civic Federation lauds Quinn’s proposed 2013 state budget: Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed fiscal 2013 state budget is getting a big thumbs-up from an unexpected source: Chicago’s Civic Federation. In somewhat of a man-bites-dog mode, the usually critical federation says Mr. Quinn’s proposed $57.4 billion budget not only “acknowledges the depth of the state’s financial problems” but would put finances “on the road to recovery with major reforms” of Medicaid and worker-pension spending.
* Civic Federation press release
* Civic Federation budget analysis
* Rural school districts prepare for cuts
* Is Illinois still a ‘union-friendly’ state? - Organized labor taking on ‘friendly-fire’ from Illinois Democrats.
* States scaling back worker pensions to save money
* State job losses drag down recovery: Since the beginning of Obama’s presidency, 611,000 state and local government jobs have been lost. That number includes 196,000 teachers, and the decrease in state and local spending caused by the job losses has played a role in the glacial pace of our economy’s recovery.
* State lawmakers consider constitutional amendment to contain pensions
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* From an e-mail to his supporters…
It has been an honor serving as your Secretary of State for over twelve years promoting positive change, improving services and restoring integrity to an office once plagued by corruption.
Our work is not done. My goals for this office are to continue to modernize customer services, fight drunk driving and to make our roads even safer. I will continue to protect our new teen drivers and to ensure that the Illinois Organ/Tissue Donor program remains the best in the country.
Because of this and more, I am seeking a fifth term for re-election as your Secretary of State in 2014. I have devoted my life to public service. Whether it was as a paratrooper in the Army, a school teacher, a legislator, a county and state elected official, or as the founder and coach of the Jesse White Tumbling Team, I have worked hard to protect and improve the lives of the people of Illinois. I ask you to partner with me once again, so that together we can continue working to make Illinois a better place for all of us to live, drive and raise our children.
I am equally proud of my electoral successes. As you may recall, in 2002 I was the first candidate from either party, in over 40 years, to win all 102 counties. In 2006, I won another landslide victory and again, in 2010, I won 100 of 102 counties in a year that was certainly tough for Democrats. Since being first elected to the Secretary of State’s office, I have successfully advocated for important initiatives that impact the quality of life for all Illinoisans.
As we prepare for the 2014 election, our campaign will continue to send you information about upcoming events and ways you can get involved to help energize and engage voters in the electoral process.
I appreciate your support and friendship.
Sincerely,
Jesse White
Secretary of State
Unsurprisingly, White made no mention of his role in the Derrick Smith saga.
Discuss.
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Smith: “I will not cower”
Monday, Apr 30, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As expected, Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) pled not guilty today and then read a statement to reporters…
Smith, under pressure to resign his position, accused the FBI of engaging in “shenanigans” during the investigation and said agents pressured people to “say bad things about me.”
“I will not cower,” he said as his family stood behind him in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse lobby after entering his not-guilty plea. “I intend to stand tall.
Smith also suggested he will remain in office while he fights the charges.
“The people in my district elected me on March 20, 2012, even after the government charged me with wrongdoing,” he said. “And that’s because they believed in me.”
Smith has never been elected to his office. He was appointed, then won the Democratic nomination against a white Republican. He’s starting to sound like Rod.
Also, regardless of whether people were pressured to “say bad things” about him or not, the guy is on tape taking $7,000 in cash. I don’t know how you “stand tall” after you do something like that.
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Question of the day
Monday, Apr 30, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Review pointed to this 2008 Gallup poll today which surveyed over 75,000 American adults and found that personal income has a pretty direct correlation to smoking propensity…
Nationwide, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals that 21% of Americans say they smoke. As the accompanying graph illustrates, the likelihood of smoking generally increases as annual incomes decrease. One exception to this pattern occurs among those making less than $6,000 per year, an income bracket often skewed because many in that bracket are students. Among those making $6,000 to $11,999 per year, 34% say they smoke, while only 13% in the top two income brackets (those with incomes of at least $90,000 per year) say the same — a 21 percentage-point gap.
The Well-Being Index also confirms distinctions in U.S. smoking rates relating to gender and race. Among respondents, 23% of men and 19% of women say they smoke. Blacks are the most likely to smoke (23%) and Asians are least likely to smoke (12%). Hispanics and whites fall in between, at 17% and 20%, respectively.
* The chart…
* The Question: Is it fair to increase the state cigarette tax by a dollar a pack to help fund Medicaid costs when such high percentages of poor people will be impacted? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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* As I told subscribers on Friday, House Speaker Michael Madigan has introduced an amendment to do away with government subsidies for state and university retiree health insurance…
Legislation to do away with the health insurance premium subsidy available to state retirees opens a new front in the battle between legislators determined to cut the state’s retirement debt and unions representing state workers.
“It would wipe out retiree health care entirely for retired state employees,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest public worker union.
The amendment to Senate Bill 1313 would eliminate subsidies for health insurance for retirees. Instead, the Department of Central Management Services would determine how much the state would contribute to “the basic program of group health benefits on behalf of retired employees, annuitants and survivors.” […]
“This is another place where the state is spending money and it’s important as we go through the whole budget debate to look at each one of these situations and determine if that is the best way to go forward,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown.
The subsidy is essentially written into the union’s contract, but that contract expires this year and doing away with the subsidy would likely kill it off.
* Related and a roundup…
* ‘A lot of angst’ among teachers over pensions: Most details about the plan are unclear at this point, but the most worrisome part of the proposal for teachers is a provision that would require educators to be 67 years old in order to retire with full pension benefits.
* School officials decry Quinn’s pension-shifting plan
* Finke: A little of the old Quinn surfaces in pension talks
* Pension presentation in Naperville draws hundreds of suburban teachers: “I think it’s fair to say there’s a lot more work to be done,” Ingram said. “There’s a lot of conversations that still need to take place. This is nowhere close to being a done deal right now. We’re going to be sorting it out over the next six weeks, or perhaps longer.”
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s pension reform ideas are a ‘big deal’ for unions
* Zorn: Quinn rebooted
* Illinois State Museum faces financial crisis: The Illinois State Museum might have to close one of its six sites — or push for an entrance fee — if its finances don’t improve.
* State Legislators Question State Officials on Animal Disease Lab Closure: “I’m against all the closures because after all is said and done, I think the total amount of dollars that we’re going to earn by closing is $100 million. What is $100 million in jobs, and making things unsafe, and not being able to set the services for the people of this state, for them to come here, to come back home, and for us to run and take our test out of the state, and on and on, it’s just kind of like a circle”, said Cavaletto.
* Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says Gov. Scott Walker’s budget increases property taxes by $500 billion
* 2 more Illinois counties can allow courtroom cameras
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There are no easy fixes
Monday, Apr 30, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The trouble with cutting programs like Medicaid is that those cuts can cause other, even costlier problems. For instance…
The governor has called for the closure of Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which currently is budgeted to hold 75 residents. It currently employs 195 workers and has an annual budget of $19.8 million.
He also wants to close Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford, putting 145 people out of work and shuttering bed space for 76 residents. It costs about $14 million to operate the facility.
His budget also calls for cutting community mental health programs by $58.4 million.
Quinn’s Medicaid overhaul, designed to save a total of $2.7 billion, would place a moratorium on admissions to intermediate care facilities. The proposal, which would affect people with mental illnesses, would impact about 14,900 admissions in order to save $114 million.
The Medicaid cuts also would place a moratorium on admissions to a mental disease program impacting about 1,800 people. It would save about $36 million.
All that amounts to nearly a quarter of a billion dollars being diverted away from mental health programs and infrastructure. Lawmakers are trying to wrap up their action on the budget by May 31.
Christopher Larrison, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois, said the proposed reductions will likely result in more people seeking treatment in emergency rooms and more mentally ill people being arrested and jailed. Neither place, he said, is an appropriate setting — medically or financially — for someone needing treatment for a mental illness.
Like I told subscribers this morning, anybody who tells you that fixing things is easy has probably never fixed anything.
* Related…
* Questions face Quinn on cigarette tax hike
* Nursing home residents rally against Medicaid cuts
* Illinois Lawmakers On Taxes: Reality Is Catching Up
* Tom Loewy: ‘Entitlement mentality’ runs counter to the facts: But residents of Knox County shouldn’t tolerate a politician who walks into our midst and spouts off about an “entitlement mentality” when our friends and neighbors are struggling to find affordable medical care for their children. We should never tolerate a politician who tries to pit “us” against “them” when we are all citizens of the same state, faced with the same crushing economic uncertainties as those who live in other ZIP codes. Sorry, but that kind of attitude never made our country great.
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* 9:51 am - From Courthouse News Service…
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan will get another chance to challenge his mail-fraud conviction, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The disgraced politician, who is serving 6 1/2 years for racketeering, conspiracy, tax fraud and lying to the FBI, found relief in precedent set just last week by the high court.
On April 24, the justices said appellate panels cannot deny a prisoner’s habeas petition based on issues that the state has chosen not to raise.
Ryan’s second appeal to the 7th Circuit argued that jury instructions and several evidentiary rulings were defective in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Skilling v. United States. The errors, Ryan contended, permitted the jury to convict him on an honest-services theory without finding a bribe or kickback.
But the federal appeals court found that Skilling permitted his fraud conviction because the record established that Ryan took bribes in exchange for official services.
“Jury instructions that misstate the elements of an offense are not themselves a ground of collateral relief; likewise with erroneous evidentiary rulings,” Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote for the court.
Whereas lawyers for Jeffrey Skilling challenged the mail-fraud statute directly, Ryan’s lawyers contributed to the jury instructions that they now claim caused prejudice, thus forfeiting the challenge, the three-judge panel found.
“If Ryan’s lawyers had done what Skilling’s lawyers did, the controlling decision today might be Ryan rather than Skilling,” Easterbrook wrote, referencing the fact that Ryan’s petition for certiorari beat Skilling’s to the Supreme Court.
* A more succinct explanation from Crain’s…
The appeal is based on whether the governor’s defense team effectively waived their objections to the district court judge’s instructions to the jury, even though government prosecutors conceded that those objections had not been waived.
The court ruled that Mr. Ryan’s conviction has to be reconsidered in light of last week’s unanimous Supreme Court decision in Wood v. Milyard, which restricted what a court can do when a government prosecutor doesn’t object to a defendant’s legal argument.
* Sun-Times…
Ryan’s appellate attorney, Albert Alschuler, said that the ruling means the case will be sent back to the appellate court to reconsider the question of whether Ryan waived his objections to the jury instructions.
But Alschuler said there re still many issues to resolve.
“For now, it’s just further appellate proceedings,” he said. “The court is now remanding the case for the 7th Circuit to reconsider its ruling. Ultimately, it means we have a whole lot of issues to consider. But when all of those issues are considered, we’re hopeful the court would give Gov. Ryan a new trial.”
Another Ryan lawyer, former Gov. James Thompson, said it’s likely, though, that rather than a new trial, the defense team hopes ultimately to have some of the counts on which Ryan was convicted thrown out, allowing him to be released from prison on time served. [Emphasis added.]
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*** UPDATE *** He may appear, but will he really say anything? We’ll see. From Illinois Issues…
A lawmaker who is set to enter a plea today on bribery charges also plans to appear before a legislative committee charged with deciding whether he will face disciplinary action. […]
Victor Henderson, Smith’s lawyer, said that Smith plans to appear before the House committee. “Yes. He absolutely will be appearing in Springfield in front of the committee,” Henderson said. “The representative will definitely be there and is looking forward to the opportunity to speak in some detail about where he is and his continued desire to serve and represent the people in his district.”
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* It’s been expected all along that Rep. Smith would claim he was entrapped somehow into accepting a $7,000 cash bribe, so this is no big surprise…
Illinois state Rep. Derrick Smith will plead not guilty Monday to a federal bribery charge, according to an attorney for the Chicago Democrat. […]
Vic Henderson is Smith’s attorney, and he’s strongly hinting he’ll argue the government entrapped his client.
“The government’s own information that is publicly available indicates that they manufactured documents, created - I think - fictitious website venues and things of that nature,” Henderson said in an interview last week.
Separate from the criminal proceedings, an Illinois House special investigating committee is looking into the allegations, a process that could end in Smith’s expulsion.
“He’s going to continue to serve as he was elected to do, and we’re going to defend him and business will go on as usual,” Henderson said.
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column expresses impatience…
State Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) may have more legal troubles than his federal bribery indictment.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has told the House Special Investigating Committee that his office’s investigation of Smith has not concluded.
“I can tell you that our investigation of Representative Smith is continuing,” Fitzgerald wrote, which could be an indication that the government may file more charges.
But the active federal investigation also means that Fitzgerald refused to cooperate with the committee, which is looking into the allegations to determine if any legislative action is warranted against Smith. Fitzgerald also asked the committee to not do any investigating beyond what already is in the public record, except for interviewing Smith himself.
Smith cannot be forced to testify to the special committee, but that refusal can be held against him when it comes time to recommend whether punitive action should be taken.
Fitzgerald wrote his letter April 10, but the committee didn’t meet to discuss it until 16 days later. Another hearing may not happen for a couple of weeks. This thing is in real danger of dragging on through the summer if the committee doesn’t get its act together soon.
Last week, a member of the House committee privately defended the slow process to date, pointing to the time it took to kick former Gov. Rod Blagojevich out of office.
But Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 8, 2008 and removed from office by the Senate on Jan. 29, 2009 — a total of 53 days start to finish, including House impeachment hearings, two House impeachment votes (one before and one after new members were sworn in), Senate hearings and a full Senate trial and vote to remove.
Smith was arrested March 13, 45 days before last week’s special committee meeting. By Blagojevich standards, Smith should be removed from office by the end of this week. But as I write this, the House doesn’t appear to be close to completing the first small step in the process.
The special committee is the initial step in the process of removal (or other punishment). If it decides that punishment is warranted, another committee will be appointed to decide what punishment, if any, should be meted out. Then the full House has to debate and vote on the matter. It’ll take a two-thirds majority vote to expel Smith.
There are indications that at least some Democratic members of the House committee aren’t completely convinced that this is a slam-dunk case. As if being arrested after allegedly accepting $7,000 in cash in exchange for providing an official letter of recommendation and having it all caught on tape somehow isn’t enough to warrant some sort of punishment for Smith.
I mean, even if the guy was entrapped (and the feds are pretty good about avoiding that), he’s still heard on an FBI tape while a “cooperating witness” counts out a pile of cash for him.
Cooperating witness: “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Damn, stuck together. Six. Seven. Talk to you later.”
Smith: “You don’t want me to give you yours now? … I’m gonna get you your two, man!”
I can understand why House members don’t want to set a dangerous precedent of kicking out a fellow member after only an arrest. I completely agree that such a radical move should definitely not be a blanket policy.
But Smith was indicted on federal bribery charges directly related to his official legislative duties. This was not a drunken driving case or some minor crime relating to his personal life or something trumped up by a local, partisan prosecutor.
A recent statewide poll I’ve seen shows that just 29 percent of likely Illinois voters approve of the job that the Legislature is doing, while 61 percent disapprove. Endless dawdling on the Smith case won’t do anything to improve that pathetic standing with the public. It’s time to get this Smith inquiry moving, already.
* A different Derrick Smith has been popping up on Google News lately. This Derrick Smith owns a horse that’s racing in the Kentucky Derby. Daddy Long Legs is owned by Smith and others. I’m not sure if that’s a good omen for betting or a bad one. Your thoughts?
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