The state’s case against Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey crumbled again today. [Emphasis added]
A man who said he handled some applications for Illinois state jobs more speedily than others testified today that there are no laws or state rules against the shortcuts he took.
Marc Longmeyer testified for the state in the case of Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey. […]
He kept a log of applications that came from DeFraties’ office and testified he gave them special treatment.
But on cross-examination, Longmeyer acknowledged there are no rules against any of the actions he took on the applications.
Marc Longmeyer, a test supervisor with the agency, also said he often placed a date stamp on job applications the same day he awarded a grade to them, making it appear the applications were received and graded on the same day.
This is a state witness? Didn’t the governor’s lawyers ask him any questions beforehand so they knew what he would say under cross examination? What kind of a kangaroo court are they running over there anyway?
*** UPDATE *** Ugh. It gets even worse. The AP just sent out an updated, longer version of its original story and Longmeyer’s testimony undercuts the state’s case yet again…
[Longmeyer] also said neither DeFraties nor Casey ever told him to do those things, though in some cases, he said, his supervisor or someone who worked for DeFraties told him to do them.
In fact, Longmeyer acknowledged that after he graded some applications, he marked them “rush” and was told to stop when Casey found out.
“You got specifically told, ‘Don’t do that,’ and that order came from Mike Casey, didn’t it?” Draper asked. Longmeyer said that was correct.
And what about the log he kept of applications that came from DeFraties’ office?
Longmeyer said he doesn’t have his original copy of the log - the FBI took that as part of a federal investigation of Blagojevich administration hiring practices.
In the federal investigation of Chicago’s hiring practices, the feds used testimony from personnel directors like DeFraties to convict Mayor Daley’s former patronage chief Robert Sorich - a guy who “recommended” that the personnel directors hire politically connected people.
By the way, this makes two state witnesses who have testified that there are no rules against expediting job applications at CMS.
Dick Durbin beat Al Salvi for US Senate back in 1996. And now Charlie Johnston reports at Illinoize today that Kathy Salvi, Al’s wife, may run against Durbin in 2008.
Speaking of Kathy Salvi, hers is the only name I hear mentioned seriously and frequently as a potential candidate for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Dick Durbin. I spoke briefly to her husband, Al, a few weeks ago. He said she has not given it serious consideration, but some people have talked to her.
I hear from others that an intense effort to create a “draft Salvi” movement has been underway for over a month. The only question is whether it would be for the U.S. Senate nomination or for another bid for Congress in the Eighth District.
Kathy Salvi lost the 8th District primary last year to David McSweeney. Al Salvi, you may recall, was a former state Representative who lost a secretary of state’s race to Jesse White in 1998.
I doubt this bill is going anywhere (Pankau is a Senate Republican, after all, and most of their proposals appear automatically doomed), but let’s discuss it anyway.
Three months ago, Carole Pankau lost her election bid to become state comptroller. Now, she’s backing a legislative measure to abolish the office, saying its functions don’t require a separate elective position.
No, it isn’t vengeance against the man who defeated her, Dan Hynes. In fact, he has said that he generally agrees that Illinois doesn’t need both a comptroller and a treasurer. […]
She joins former Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and another failed comptroller candidate, Sen. Chris Lauzen, in her call to eliminate the office.
Question: Should the comptroller’s office be abolished?
Eighty-seven of Illinois’ 102 counties have seen an increase in poverty, according to a report released today by the Illinois Poverty Summit. Nearly 1.5 million Illinois residents live in poverty — more than the population of the entire city of Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in the nation.
Poverty is not solely an urban problem. Poverty issues get very little media coverage in general, but the problems of the rural poor get practically no attention, partly because media outlets are based in cities.
Take a look at this map, created by the Illinois Poverty Summit people, of counties on their poverty warning and watch lists. [Click on the pic for a bigger image]
Here’s how the ratings were done [emphasis added]…
Four key indicators of well-being are assessed in each of Illinois’ 102
counties - high school graduation rates, unemployment rates, teen birth rates, and poverty rates. Counties in Illinois are evaluated using a point system, with the higher number of points indicating a worse score. A point is given to a county if its rate is higher than the state average and/or if they have worsened since the previous year. For each indicator a total of 2 points is possible and overall a total of 8 points is possible. Counties that score 4 or 5 points are placed on a Watch List and counties that score 6, 7, or 8 points are placed on a Warning List.
Using this methodology, over half of Illinois counties have been placed on either the Poverty Watch or Poverty Warning lists. There has been significant movement since the 2006 Report — 44 counties have a worse list status this year than they did last, and only a handful of counties improved their list status.
I’ve also uploaded a few tables from the report, they are all county-by-county and make for some interesting reading.
The group has also come up with ways to address the situation. Here are a few:
– Expand transitional and vocational job programs to ensure that even the lowest-skilled workers and job seekers can obtain and retain employment.
– Generate new funding for affordable housing by reforming the real estate transfer tax.
– Expand the state Earned Income Tax Credit program so low-income workers can keep more of their earnings.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** The publishers of the report plan to have a “drop-in legislative briefing” on the findings at the Rathskellar, March 1st from 7:30 - 9:30 AM.
Bernie Schoenburg had a good column today about something that I didn’t think about at the time, but in retrospect is spot on.
Let’s say that you are a regular old state worker, and that you use the computer at your desk to send out an e-mail urging a friend to back your favorite candidate for president.
It sounds to me as if that’s something Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH - who likes to talk about ethics except during second inaugural speeches - might capitalize on if he wanted to embarrass somebody or build a case to fire them for making political use of state resources. […]
Take the news release issued by the governor on Saturday, when thousands of fans of U.S. Sen. BARACK OBAMA, D-Ill., braved the cold to stand on the Old State Capitol square and watch him announce for president.
“On this historic day, I am pleased to join many Illinoisans who are excited and proud to support Senator Obama in his bid for the Presidency,” the governor said, on a state-issued news release complete with the state seal and the names and phone numbers of the governor’s three top press staffers as contact people.
The governor’s office denied this news release amounted to campaigning on state time, pointing to the fact that the guv urged the General Assembly to pass a bill moving the ‘08 primary and talked about policy issues. And the governor’s campaign is paying for his flight.
Whatever. A government-issued press release can’t offer support for a candidate. It was almost certainly a violation of state law. With hundreds of FBI agents crawling all over the place, and a former governor’s campaign fund convicted of RICO charges, you’d think they’d learn by now.
This probably isn’t an imprisonable offense, and it’s certainly not the worst thing they’ve ever done, but perhaps the governor needs to retake the state ethics exam. And perhaps the Inspector General ought to take a look at this incident.
The State’s Attorney is prosecuting—and the City’s trying to fire—63-year-old Lester Cioch. He’s an assistant sewer repair foreman, and a precinct captain, and he’s accused of asking his workers to sign petitions for Mayor Daley’s re- election campaign, on City time.
Thursday, Feb 15, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* NEW * Jesse Jackson Jr. Endorses Willie Cochran for 20th Ward Alderman [from press release]
“It is time for a change in the 20th Ward. Voters there deserve far better representation than they have received. Willie Cochran represents the best chance that the people of the 20th Ward will have to elect their next Alderman rather than have one selected or appointed for them,” Jackson concluded.
* State Treasurer Giannoulias Endorses Sandi Jackson for 7th Ward Alderman [From a press release]
“State Treasurer Giannoulias is a progressive leader who wants to see a strong economy, job growth and affordable housing in the 7th Ward,” said Sandi Jackson. “With his support, we can fight for the changes we need to make the 7th Ward a model community in the City of Chicago.”
* City making example of sewer boss charged with passing Daley petitions on the job:
“We’re talking about one incident. We’re talking about a situation where employees in that department … rang the bell and said, ‘Hey, there’s a problem here.’ You see a system that works and … works well,” Huberman said.
In the span of about a week, the 20-year City Council veteran has managed to do something unprecedented in the decades-long history of the League of Women Voters of Chicago: Violate the league’s debate rules and then refuse to rectify the mistake.
* Del Valle claims motorists being gouged for stickers at currency exchanges
* Clout Makes Cut: 62 finalists for Cook Co. Circuit Court judgeships
* Two Carpentersville candidates claim forgery on petitions
* Corruption allegation, ex-cons on the ballot: “At this juncture, people just shrug it off as more Chicago,” said longtime political consultant Don Rose.
* Stone in real horserace for the first time in 16 years
“We don’t consider the master planning process complete until (the state) submits their recommended layout plan,” he said. “From our point of view, we feel the state as the sponsor of the airport needs to make their recommendation on what they want to do.”
* 13 commissioners offer budget amendments to save Cook Co. jobs and services:
Taking a big hit would be Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, who many elected officials complained wasn’t being made to take the cuts others were simply because she raised the fees for doing business with her office.
* Stroger backs off plan to dilute his own power: Fritchey was taken aback by Stroger’s shift in support. “I would assume . . . I could take him at his word,” he said.
* Illlinois Board of Higher Education selects new chairwoman
* Editorial: Safety concerns should guide teen driving laws
* Eric Zorn: Coming around to support to primary change idea
* Stroger and Quigley “make up” on Valentine’s Day:
So their falling-out last week over spending $13 million in Forest Preserve District funds to help the county balance its budget was no surprise; many had wondered how their relationship lasted this long.
Nowadays text message is gaining ground as the electronic method of choice for delivering quick notes. And why not, it is easy, efficient, and almost everyone has the technology.
Today, Valentine’s Day, is a testament to the reach of the much used tool
According to calculations by VeriSign, Inc., the leading provider of digital infrastructure for the networked world, a record 725 million mobile messages, including text messages, are expected to be sent and received across carriers and mobile application providers on Valentine’s Day 2007 in North America alone. […]
Valentine’s Day has traditionally been the busiest day of the year for mobile messages.
Simple messages are only the start of it. The modern-day Romeo now has a plethora of virtual love arrows at his disposal.
The Text-Me service will even send amorous verses penned by a poet to the object of your affection.
Users will be able to send Valentine picture messages available on the Vodafone site or even post an online message to their loved one which will appear on a giant screen in Piccadilly Circus, above the statue of Eros.
“The discrete nature of text means you are never restricted from having private communication while in a public place,” said David Taylor, Orange’s Vice-President of Marketing.
Talk about lazy. “Sorry honey, I don’t have time to talk or think of a 5 word message myself.†Geez.
The “tech age†offers other means of sending Valentine’s Day love:
…Cingular created a Valentine’s Day shop offering dozens of love songs for download as ring tones for $1.99, including Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” or Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me.”
A love story in the electronic age…
Alex Treviño, 40, KSAT 12 news editor, exchanges nearly 500 text messages monthly with his girlfriend, Cherry Oclima, 33. She travels frequently so he gave her a Web camera and a Bluetooth wireless headset. The two even met on the Internet. […]
On Valentine’s Day, she’ll be in California so they plan to celebrate via Web cameras and instant messages.
Anyone else spreading electronic affection on this special day?
[Edited slightly for length and reposted because of a tech problem. Ironic, eh? Also, Rich didn’t write this, despite the author name below. Paul wrote it.]
…The same goes in Illinois. Public corruption is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It’s an Illinois problem. A huge problem. […]
“We don’t seem to be as mindful as we need to be about appearances of impropriety,†Obama told me.
Then, positioning himself above the fray, he added: “I can’t judge where there have been improprieties and where there haven’t been because I haven’t been intimately involved in what’s been happening in state and local politics over the past couple years.â€
Anybody following Illinois politics, even tangentially, knows what’s up in Illinois: Pols and their pals are gorging themselves at the public trough, and those pals are in turn helping the pols.
Illinois put Obama into the national spotlight. He could show his appreciation by putting its people before the gang.
First, as Aaron gently notes, Obama’s response is total bulloney. He doesn’t read the Chicago papers? He doesn’t check the TV news when he’s home? Give me a break.
Chambers connects Obama’s statements on Illinois corruption to political expediency - putting partisanship (he compares the political process to gang loyalty, which is absolutely correct) above the people.
The national media probably won’t start on this topic for a while, if ever, so it’s up to the Illinois outlets to keep the pressure on Obama. He’s so intensely popular and so widely covered here that even one comment from him might rattle the establishment to its core. It’s high time that he spoke out.
We support a proposal advanced by Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica, to ban the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers in this state.
There is ample scientific research to support the anecdotal conclusion that a whole lot of drivers are guilty of what has been called DWY — driving while yakking. Likewise, it’s just obvious that dialing, groping for cell phones in pockets and purses, and talking on them while behind the wheel can be unsafe distractions.
The Insurance Information Institute issued a report this month saying that 231 million Americans subscribe to wireless communication devices such as cell phones. Back in 1990, when the technology was in its infancy, only 4.3 million people had cell phones. The current report cites research showing that 73 percent of those cell- phone owners talk on them while driving and that use, not surprisingly, is highest among young drivers.
There’s no disputing that cell-phone use while driving can be a distraction, although not the most dangerous one. For instance, reaching for a moving or falling object in a car increased the risk of a crash or near crash by nine times, while cell- phone use increased the risk by 1.3 times, according to a 2006 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
I’ve seen other reports that claim all cell-phone use, hand-held or hands-free, is a distraction.
Either way, though, read the whole editorial and then come back and debate the question: Should hand-held cell-phone use by drivers be banned in Illinois? Why or why not?
This would sure be a tricky vote for many if Lang and Bost ever get this resolution called on the floor.
In an admitted “draconian approach” to school funding, two state legislators proposed a constitutional amendment Tuesday that would eliminate the use of property taxes for schools within three years and force the state to pick up the tab.
The goal of the amendment, sponsored by Reps. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, and Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, is to force legislators to take action on school funding. The lawmakers say that the state system for funding local schools is uneven because districts with low property values can draw only a fraction of the money that schools in districts with higher property values can. The House resolution, if passed, would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2008 that would require the elimination of school property taxes by 2011. The amendment would not specify how the state would replace the property taxes — which make up about 55 percent of school funding statewide.
Instead, the amendment would give legislators a firm three-year deadline to come up with a school-funding bill before the clock on property taxes ran out.
Neither Lang nor Bost would speculate as to where the funding source would come from, saying only that raising sales taxes would not be a good option.
Michigan abolished property taxes about a decade ago, replacing them with sales and cigarette tax hikes. The new increases were supposed to capture more money from the state’s huge tourism industry, but as the Daily Herald notes…
…a turn in economic times left the state without enough money to pay for the educational reforms without property taxes.
The D-H also had this quote at the bottom…
Lang noted a constitutional amendment wouldn’t go to the governor’s desk, but instead straight to voters.
“Frankly,†said Lang, “and I hope the governor doesn’t take it wrong, his view is irrelevant.â€
One of the administrative charges against former CMS personnel chief Dawn DeFraties and her assistant Michael Casey is that they sped up the applications process for people with political connections. There does seem to be evidence for that, even if their attorney denies it…
Some state job applications were handled speedily while others waited months to be processed, a witness said Tuesday in a hearing for two state workers who were fired after being accused of rigging the hiring process.
However…
But the same witness, Don Motley of the Department of Central Management Services, testified under cross-examination that there’s no rule specifying the order in which applications must be recorded after they’ve been evaluated. […]
In fact, he said, it’s common for applications for some jobs to be graded and recorded immediately when an agency wants to hire someone for that position.
So, one of the reasons they were fired was for breaking a rule that doesn’t exist and for doing something that is apparently common practice. Perfect. [Emphasis added]
Attorneys for the state also questioned Motley about more than 180 job applications that they contend were never entered into the computer system at all. Among the charges against DeFraties and Casey is that when a connected applicant failed an employment test, the information was not put into the system.
Motley said he searched state computers for the names provided by attorneys for the state but found no evidence that information for them was entered.
But…
[DeFraties/Casey attorney Carl] Draper argued that the method Motley used to search for the applications was vulnerable to error.
Without the details, I can’t tell you which side is more credible here. But if Draper can show that the search was, indeed, in error, then woe is the state’s case.
The state’s executive inspector general says he supports publicly releasing some of his findings, something the law currently doesn’t allow. […]
Under current law, the office cannot disclose information from its files and reports. The office investigates complaints of fraud, waste, abuse and misconduct by employees in agencies under Governor Rod Blagojevich’s control. […]
In the annual report, the inspector general’s office said it found evidence to back up 64 complaints out of the 1,278 it received. The office also referred six cases to federal prosecutors for possible legal action.
Also, at least 13 state employees resigned, were discharged or are in the process of being fired.
Natarus claims to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week managing Chicago’s ’super’ ward, which is bigger and richer than any other city in Illinois. He’s a favorite to win re-election but Brendan Reilly has more money and political support and acumen than any previous opponent which gives him a shot at an upset.
* Wal-Mart begins contributing to incumbent aldermanic campaigns
And it’s no coincidence that the most secure incumbents also head up some of the few Democratic ward organizations that retained patronage power under Mayor Richard Daley’s administration.
* Tribune City Council Endorsements: 20th through 24th wards
His crowds in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo were huge […] even though some of these folks were ringers who trekked in from Illinois. They can’t vote in an Iowa caucus, although being from Illinois they’ll probably figure out a way to do it. (Let the record show that the first question Obama took at an Iowa town meeting was from some guy from Naperville, Illinois.)
* Stroger finds $25 million for state’s attorney, public defender, and other programs:
The money will come from the transfer of $13.2 million from the Forest Preserves, $4.25 million from the sale of the old Domestic Violence Courthouse, the elimination of jobs exempt from the federal Shakman decree and other sources
* Tribune: The immaturity and clumsiness of Todd Stroger
Madigan Spokesman Steve Brown has confirmed that House session has been cancelled all week due to the winter storm. The House will reconvene on Wednesday, February 21st.
Rich is currently unable to get to a computer to send out a Capitol Fax Extra; please pass the word on this announcement. Thanks.
Consider this a local weather open thread. My roommate already nose-dived into a bank of snow on Second Street. Any horror stories?
I’m hearing that the Chicago Tribune is calling just about everyone who has ever given Barack Obama a publicly disclosed gift to see what was going on. From an e-mail:
We just got a call from the Trib asking about an $8 gift we reported to Obama…. It’s unbelievable that they are going down to that level of detail.
The gift was a t-shirt.
This is a Barack Obama open thread. Try to keep it Illinois-centric, please. Brief, “drive-by” comments, clearly non-Illinois posts and other weirdness will be deleted. Have at it.
*** UPDATE *** I just got this e-mail from a very politically connected pal o’ mine:
[The Tribune is also] filing FOIAs all over the place looking for documents.
It appears they don’t want to get beat on a local angle.
Paul Green writes today about Illinois’ evolution from one of the most competitive states in the nation to a “solid deep blue Democratic Party bastion.” The way he paints it, the news is severely bleak for Republicans.
Chicago for decades has been bedrock Democratic, and though its turnout numbers have diminished it still produces massive margins for Democrats — e.g., Gov. Blagojevich won more than 77 percent of the 2006 Chicago vote. Suburban Cook County — until recently a partial Republican counter to Democratic Chicago — has become almost reliably Democratic. Blagojevich carried the region by 100,000 votes. Racial change in the south suburbs has spurred this political shift, but Republican vote decline goes deeper. Perhaps most discouraging for Illinois Republicans is that the shift in suburban political loyalties has taken place as suburban voter turnout finally has passed Chicago.
The five collar counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will) are the only region whose vote power is on the increase. In 2006 these five counties accounted for a little less than one-fourth of the Illinois total vote. A few decades ago this news would have been bliss for Illinois Republicans, but today it merely receives shrugs. The collars in statewide races (and some legislative and congressional contests as well) are no longer overwhelmingly Republican — in fact, Blagojevich carried two of the collars, Lake and Will, in November. The other three are becoming politically competitive in statewide battles, which leaves the Illinois GOP with no huge bedrock vote base to offset Democratic Chicago and suburban Cook.
The GOP has maintained its strength in central Illinois, but Democratic vote muscle in the southern part of the state combined with Democratic Cook County now overwhelms Republican statewide candidates. In short, there aren’t enough GOP central Illinois voters to overcome the “Democratic statewide squeeze.”
Then there is the problem with Republican Party infighting, which Green claims makes the Democratic troubles (Madigan vs. Blagojevich and Jones vs. Madigan) look like a “combination of the Waltons and the Brady Bunch.”
Not mentioned by Green is the possiblity that the corruption issue could do to the Democrats what it did to the Republicans in the wake of the George Ryan scandal.
Joe Birkett, who is reportedly positioning himself for a run at the governor’s mansion in 2010 (which might set up another showdown with Lisa Madigan), begs to differ.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich will not finish his current term, a leading Republican predicted Friday, and the GOP needs to be ready to take action when the indictment is handed down. […]
The Wheaton Republican told the assembly the ongoing corruption investigation is moving ever closer to Blagojevich, and the incumbent Democratic governor clearly is on borrowed time. […]
“It’s like watching that movie ‘Groundhog Day;’ it’s going to happen again,†he said, alluding to the conviction of former Republican Gov. George Ryan. “It’s basically the same script except that in this case they’re much, much closer. They’re right in the inner sanctum.†[…]
Birkett said he anticipates that the growing “pay-to-play†scandal would topple the Blagojevich administration, giving Republicans a chance to win back the public trust along many positions in state government.
I would only remind Birkett that hope is not a plan, but I’m interested to hear your thoughts on this.
And, please, let’s not just focus on the corruption stuff. Green’s numbers are devastating for the GOP, and some of you need to face some facts. You can’t kick Chicago or Cook County out of the state, so deal with it. And the collars are trending more Democratic every year, while downstate is emptying out of people.
In an effort to further ease the morning news search, a “local elections roundup” will become a daily feature up to election day.
* Chicago Reporter on Aldermanic and Ward fundraising:
* Cash and the city: It’s not illegal-by the state’s or the city’s campaign laws-for employees to give, even to their bosses. It’s allowed for all employees except for those working in the city’s ethics department. But experts say there should be limits. Allowing workers to contribute large amounts of money fuels an environment of corruption where people feel they have to give in order to get promoted or to keep their jobs.
* Competitors say race not a factor in 2nd and 18th wards:
One ward has been sending African Americans to the City Council longer than any other ward in Chicago, but now it’s seeing both white and black candidates locked in a highly competitive aldermanic contest. The other is a majority black ward that will elect its first African-American alderman after nearly 15 years of placing its trust in a white Irish American.
Leadership on education has been remarkably weak in this state for a long time. Too often, an Illinois legislator’s worldview about education is guided by one question: How much money comes to his district? That’s understandable. Legislators want to get re-elected. But that kind of narrow political thinking has blocked efforts to get a better education system for the state.
With emotions heating up, a lot of misinformation and unnecessary anxieties are being stirred. The least grounded appears to be the fear that it will encourage more sexual activity outside marriage. For now, Gardasil appears to be a very important and welcome life-saving step in the fight against cancer. Don’t judge the vaccine by the political confusion it has ignited.
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, a Democrat, said Mr. Bush’s proposal “would seriously hamper the efforts of Illinois and other states†to ensure that all children had coverage — the goal of a state law he signed in November 2005.
* Governor calls for ‘National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week
