“I was forced off the ticket by the Democratic Party,” he said Tuesday, noting this didn’t happen prior to the primary because the party didn’t believe he had a chance in the world of winning in April.
“When I won, they turned everything upside down because I’m not a career politicians, and because I stood for honesty and integrity. That’s something the Democratic Party does not like.
“You laugh, but it’s the truth,” he added.
I think somebody laughed because it was an enormous lie.
* Jim Allen of the Chicago Board of Elections explains what’s going on behind the scenes in the case that’s attempting to force a special election for US Senate. As we’ve already discussed, the appellate bench has ruled that the trial judge can order a special election and that federal laws outweigh state concerns. From an Allen e-mail…
Technically, the new opinion is silent on the question of whether a special primary must be conducted, leaving the District Court to resolve the process of determining who the candidates would be for the Special Election for the last weeks of the current term. However, in District Court this week, the attorneys and Judge John Grady were contemplating an order that would have the parties select the nominees by Aug. 19. They also discussed how such an order might have any independent candidates who qualify for the general election ballot also appear on the special election contest just above it.
Under this scenario, the Nov. 2 ballot would have voters first make a selection for the unexpired portion of the current U.S. Senate term, and then, directly below that, make a selection for the full six-year term.
The trial judge has moved the next status hearing up to Monday.
* In other federal-level political news, our quote of the day goes to Republican congressional candidate Adam Kinzinger, whose claims about his military service record were recently slammed by his Democratic opponent’s campaign…
“You say you honor veterans — until a veteran gets in your way and threatens you politically,” Kinzinger says.
The background…
Kinzinger, 32, who jumped into politics at age 20 to win a McLean County board seat and is challenging Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), answered the call of Sept. 11, 2001, and enlisted in the Air Force. When his campaign website went up last year, a staffer wrote that reserve officer Kinzinger “now serves as a pilot with the Air Force Special Operations Command.” Indeed, at the time Kinzinger was on Special Ops duty. It was a temporary assignment, but after he returned to civilian life, the wording was not changed. When a complaint surfaced that Kinzinger was trying to make Special Ops seem like a permanent posting, the wording on the website was changed to “has served” and added his work in other units.
Kinzinger says that produced online chatter and e-mails alleging he inflated his record. Kinzinger, with 140 combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq and duty ferrying wounded warriors out of Afghanistan, understandably takes umbrage at attempts to disparage his service. This allegation is as flimsy a political charge as I’ve seen in five decades in journalism.
I’ve seen flimsier, but I get the point. Unlike the very serious and perplexing Kirk problem, this is a matter of semantics, and, unlike Kirk, there doesn’t seem to be a pattern of untruths here. Debbie Halvorson’s campaign deserves all the heat it gets for this one unless they can prove otherwise.
“Going from an honorable military servant to a fraud … they’re trying to place that seed in people’s minds, and there’s no reason to do it. It’s absolutely wrong,” Kinzinger said.
We agree. Kinzinger’s military record is impressive, it’s solid, and it deserves respect, not denigration.
Halvorson should battle for the issues she believes in, not drag a worthy opponent through the muck and mire.
* Related…
* Republican Kirk says he would support Kagan: In his announcement in support of Kagan Friday morning, Kirk quoted Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist papers: “To what purpose then require the cooperation of the Senate? I answer that the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful, though in general a silent operation. It would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the president, would tend generally to prevent the appointment of unfit characters from family connection, from personal attachment, and from a view to popularity.”
* Kirk Joins Giannoulias in Support of Kagan: The nomination was too careful, though, for the Green Party’s U.S. Senate candidate, LeAlan Jones. In a statement, the Jones campaign criticized the administration for “playing it ’safe’” with the Kagan pick, and expressed concern the president has yet to nominate an African American to the Supreme Court.
* How Controversy-Plagued Candidates Are Winning The Money Race
* ADDED: DCCC buys time in 40 districts : The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has invested approximately $28 million worth of television air time to defend vulnerable incumbents running for reelection this fall, a senior Democratic official confirmed to POLITICO… Illinois Reps. Debbie Halvorson and Bill Foster [are two recipients of the funds].
* On Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn’s office sent out a press release touting all the new jobs created with a $98 million dollar high-speed rail project…
Governor Pat Quinn today announced that construction will begin in early September on the Chicago to St. Louis high-speed rail route. An agreement between the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Union Pacific Railroad will allow upgrades to be made on an initial 90-mile segment of Union Pacific track to prepare it for high-speed rail. The $98 million dollar project is funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and will support an estimated 900 jobs.
“Today’s announcement will create hundreds of jobs and is a major step towards making high-speed rail a reality in Illinois,” said Governor Quinn. “When the corridor is completed, travelers will be able to move from Chicago to St. Louis in under four hours, making Illinois the high-speed rail hub of the Midwest.”
All of a $98.3 million federal grant for high-speed rail will go to the Union Pacific Railroad, and there are no assurances that anyone in Illinois will get a job as a result, under an agreement between the railroad and the Illinois Department of Transportation. […]
But Union Pacific will procure all labor under the contract with IDOT announced this week, and the labor will be provided under the railroad’s existing labor agreements. The contract also says the $98.3 million will go to the railroad to install concrete ties and new rail on an 89-mile segment between Alton and Springfield and between the capital city and Lincoln, and the railroad alone will own the improvements. […]
“I think it’s pretty transparent that that they’re talking about people who are currently gainfully employed,” said [Brad Schaive, business manager for Laborers Local 477 in Springfield], who worked as a Union Pacific conductor in the 1990s. “They’ll bring in their own rail crews — it’s almost all automated by machine now. You’ll see a lot of out-of-state people come in and put the rail in and leave.”
Schaive said his office hasn’t received any calls from anyone interested in hiring workers for high-speed rail construction.
Oy.
* And speaking of jobs, Pat Quinn’s running mate Sheila Simon visited Rock Island to tout a successful local business that’s doing well in the recession. But she heard something she may not have expected…
Evans Manufacturing knows about the tough times in Illinois. The longtime Rock Island business is bouncing back from the recession. Orders are up 50% from last year, but the state’s financial instability and political mishaps are turning off other business growth.
“Some people are hesitating to make investments, make strong commitments, because of this situation,” said Stephanie Acri, president of Evans Manufacturing. “The sooner it becomes stable, the better off I think we all are.”
Above all else, businesses want stability. Quinn’s administration and Illinois politics in general are not in any way stable. Ms. Simon needs to take that message back to the governor.
On Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that more than 22,000 people have secured jobs through the Put Illinois to Work employment program.
Count LaWanda Banks among them.
Through the program, the resident of Chicago’s West Lawndale neighborhood worked five weeks for ABM Security, logging more than 190 hours.
Now, if she could just get paid.
The state isn’t paying these workers for four weeks after they get hired, which seems odd considering many of them are in desperate need for employment. The woman in this story had some additional paperwork problems and her first check arrived about a week late. She also didn’t receive a weekly bus pass promised by the program. She could no longer afford the commute, she said, so she quit.
* Back to Gov. Quinn, who has been touting government actions instead of making many campaign appearances of late. His use of the state plane for campaign-related purposes is an issue that won’t go away…
Despite making two campaign-related stops during a trip to southern Illinois earlier this week, Gov. Pat Quinn Thursday brushed aside suggestions that he reimburse taxpayers for the use of the state plane.
“That’s totally ridiculous,” Quinn said during an interview on WFLD television.
On Monday, the Chicago Democrat flew on the state plane for an official government event with Southern Illinois University officials. Later, however, he met with supporters at a restaurant in Marion where Williamson County Democratic Party officials said fundraising activity for Quinn’s gubernatorial bid against Republican Bill Brady was discussed.
Quinn also visited the Williamson County Democratic Party headquarters, where he shook hands with precinct workers and gave a short speech.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady, who is not related to Bill Brady, said Quinn should not mix state business with campaign events.
“I think it needs to be looked into,” Brady said. “It just baffles me.”
* Related and a roundup…
* Quinn’s Office: No Medicaid Boost Equals Cuts: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s office is, for the first time, acknowledging that the state may not get $750 million from Washington for the neediest families in Illinois. The so-called FMAP money — Federal Medical Assistance Percentage – has been tied up on Capitol Hill for months as states lobbied the federal government to extend the increased Medicaid reimbursements set to expire Dec. 31.
* Will lawmakers take more furlough days?: Steve Brown, spokesman for the Illinois House Democrats, said he was unaware if any of their members plan to. But, he said, House Speaker Michael Madigan has said he’ll talk to Quinn and lawmakers about the idea. Senate Republican spokesman Mark Gordon he doesn’t know of others, either.
* State law: Newspapers’ public notices to appear online: Starting in December 2012, Illinois newspapers that print public notices — such as public hearing announcements or dates and details of real estate auctions — will also have to post them on PublicNoticeIllinois.com.
* Controversial new law aims to protect pedestrians: Illinois motorists must come to a complete stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, under legislation signed by Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday. The measure requires a full stop even if the crosswalk doesn’t have a stop sign or traffic light.
* Quinn signs 2 pet-related bills: One of the laws signed Thursday requires the addition of a bitter flavor to antifreeze and engine coolant sold in Illinois. The other prohibits the private ownership of primates as pets.
* Jacobs bill to increase radiation safety measures signed into law
The funeral home, at 7838 S. Cottage Grove, was a couple of blocks from Bailey’s home, where he — in uniform and fresh off guard duty at Mayor Daley’s home — was gunned down while tending to his new car, the target of carjackers at 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
And it’s the same venue in May that was the site of the wake for Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV, killed during the attempted theft of his motorcycle outside his parents’ South Side home. “How sick is it to say that we’re here again for the exact same thing?” said Wortham’s sister, Sandra. “This is ridiculous. If anybody feels safe in this city, they’re just not connected to what’s going on.”
Bailey, the third Chicago officer shot to death in two months, was weeks from retirement.
In the nine-county Chicago region, sales of single-family homes and condominiums rose more than 27% to 9,085, compared to 7,140 homes sold in June 2009, according to a news release Thursday from the Illinois Assn. of Realtors.
In the city of Chicago, sales similarly jumped 27.5% to 2,526, compared to 1,981 homes sold in June 2009, the 10th consecutive month of higher year-over-year sales for the city.
Why? Because Belmont Cragin and many other neighborhoods north and northwest of the Loop suffered the untimely misfortune of tumbling headlong into the abyss of foreclosure too late in the crisis, after most of the funding had been committed to the early subprime loan fatalities of 2006 and 2007. In the last two years, foreclosure filings in Belmont Cragin exceeded 1,600, tripling the combined number of filings reported in the neighborhood in 2006 and 2007.
But according to Alicia Winckler, the district’s chief human capital officer, a second round of layoffs affecting staff at about 400 schools that return after Labor Day is expected to claim 1,000 classroom teachers and “a few hundred” school clerks and assistants. Those staffers will get notices in two to three weeks.
Once projected as high as 2,700 teachers, Huberman recently said layoffs could exceed 1,200. Winckler on Wednesday said layoffs of teachers and support personnel “could exceed 1,500.” But counting staff already canned, it appears closer to 2,000.
“You know him because every storm, he was out there. During the summer and during the winter, he was out there. That’s the Al Sanchez I know. He worked very hard. He’s very proud that he’s Hispanic. That’s my Al Sanchez,” the mayor said.
Exactly 24 years ago Thursday, Michael Tillman says, he was beaten, burned, smothered and threatened with death in a police interview room as Calumet Area detectives working for then-Chicago Police Lt. Jon Burge tried to coerce him to confess to the rape and murder of a South Side woman.
Tillman’s eyes welled with tears as he sat with his daughter and sister while his attorneys announced the filing of a federal lawsuit against Burge, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other Chicago police detectives alleging that they conspired to cover up the torture and abuse of Tillman and others.
“As they speak, I’m reliving this in my mind, all that happened to me, all that was done to me, to my daughter,” Tillman said. “I missed my daughter. She wasn’t able to walk at that time, and she needed me there.”
Tillman was freed from prison in January after spending more than 23 years in prison for the 1986 rape and murder of Betty Howard after special prosecutors declined to retry him, saying there was little evidence he committed the crime and ample evidence that his confession was coerced.
“If Mayor Daley does it, [you’d say], ‘The boss does it. He just like rams it down.’. . .Your headline would say, ‘Look at Mayor Daley. He doesn’t care about the people. He doesn’t listen to anybody.’ I know what you’re gonna do. I’m a ping-pong ball every day for you,” [Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke] said.
* Daley Wants City Council to Sign Off on 3rd Wal-Mart
Kostka, who served on the village council from 1997 to 2005, requested the commission assemble after seeing an advertisement by Schwantz’s employer in a recent Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce publication. Von Sydow’s Moving & Storage Inc. invited anyone with moving needs to call Schwantz, dubbing him both the sales manager and mayor of Palatine.
* Southtown Star: Tinley Park wise to proceed slowly on tax break bid
* New Hoffman Estates police station puts a focus on green
Under the commission’s structure, the DuPage County Board chairman selects six of the Lake Michigan water agency’s commissioners and its chairman, while municipal mayors and village presidents, divided by County Board districts, choose the other six commissioners. Suess was selected Monday by the mayors of Wheaton and village presidents of Glen Ellyn and Glendale Heights.
The commission’s board has one other vacancy. Longtime Commissioner Liz Chaplin, a county appointee who lives near Downers Grove, resigned last month as her term expired.
* Downers Grove police officer charged with misconduct
Officer Randall J. Caudill Jr., 34, is charged with four counts of official misconduct. Caudill, an 8.5-year police officer assigned to the patrol division, has been placed on paid administrative leave.
The judiciary, circuit clerk, state’s attorney and sheriff departments were highlighted Thursday as the departments with the most overspending concerns.
The decision of Advance Publications Inc., Ann Arbor News’ parent company, to close the struggling paper and replace it with the leaner, bloggier AnnArbor.com looked like a sharp turn on a rocky road to an all-digital future for print news.
Twelve months later, though, it looks more like a small fork. Through the newspaper business remains in transition, the funeral knells have quieted and struggling publications are riding the improving economy out of bankruptcy and into the black.
Back when Rod Blagojevich was being impeached, he announced that he would refuse to testify or even put on a defense at his state Senate trial.
He said the system had been rigged against him. If the trial rules were fair, Blagojevich claimed at the time, he would’ve called White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and President Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett to the stand. They would, he said, testify under oath that he did nothing wrong when he was caught breaking all sorts of laws.
If the Senate’s rules were more like a federal court’s, Blagojevich added, he would be happy to put on a full, aggressive defense and testify.
His argument was bogus from the start. The state Senate’s impeachment trial rules were copied almost completely from the U.S. Senate’s rules used when President Bill Clinton was impeached. Clinton won his trial. But Blagojevich said those very same rules were unfair to him.
Countless cable TV bobbleheads nodded in agreement with Blagojevich back in those days. They thrilled at his bravado at challenging what he claimed was an illegal legislative coup d’etat. And they all believed him when he emphatically declared that when it came time for his criminal trial, he would definitely testify.
Fast-forward a year and a half, and Blagojevich and his attorneys are confirming that they had issued subpoenas to — surprise! — Rahm Emanuel, Rep. Jackson and Valerie Jarrett.
And, of course, Blagojevich was continuing to say that he couldn’t wait to testify.
“I can’t wait to get on there, swear on the holy Bible to tell the whole truth and to begin to give clarification and explanations and confront my accusers and confront those who are lying,” he said last month.
Once again, the cable TV nitwits went into overdrive, declaring that the subpoenas were a major embarrassment to the Obama administration and that Blagojevich could very well undermine the president himself. Blagojevich was even roundly cheered by some rightist types for what they were certain was his potential to bring down Obama.
What just about everyone involved in all this hype failed to see is that Rod Blagojevich is a liar. Always has been. His lies were legion and quite well-documented before he was even arrested. And he has been lying ever since that fateful morning in December 2008 when the FBI came knocking at his door.
There was no inherent bias in those Senate trial rules. He lied about wanting to call Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett or anybody else to the stand in his own defense. He was just creating a diversion that he knew the national media would fall for whenever he trotted out those names.
The FBI surveillance tapes clearly show he was furious about being left behind by his fellow Chicagoans when Obama was elected president.
“The whole world’s passing me by and I’m stuck in this f - - - - - - job as governor now. Everybody’s passing me by and I’m stuck,” he was recorded as saying.
Bringing up those names again and again was his vengeance for being passed over. Nothing more.
We now know he has been lying about testifying at his criminal trial as well. He didn’t even put on a defense. That’s because he has no defense. Trying to prove his innocence would only prove just the opposite when the prosecutors had their turn at him.
I can only hope that everyone who has enabled this clown since his arrest will learn one lesson. Don’t ever believe a word he says.
IS ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF MARK KIRK’S MOUTH THE TRUTH?
Kirk’s Embellishments, Lies, And Misstatements Could Fill A Phone Book
Illinois Voters Deserve Someone Who They Can Trust To Tell The Truth
Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, already under fire for embellishing details of his military and teaching records, found himself on the front page of the Chicago Tribune this morning, in an startling piece calling into question even further Kirk’s uncomfortable relationship with the truth. As the paper reported, Kirk repeatedly speaks of an incident in his youth, when a boat he was piloting capsized in Lake Michigan and was subsequently rescued by the Coast Guard. However, Kirk’s account of the story has changed over time and has been “embellished” frequently, to the point where Kirk’s account contradicts those of other bystanders and even contradicts the facts of medical science.
“Kirk’s embellishments, lies, and misstatements could fill a phone book,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Eric Schultz. “Mark Kirk may be on the wrong side of nearly every issue but he also has an aversion to telling the truth. The people of Illinois deserve a Senator who they can trust to always be honest.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the Giannoulias campaign…
In light of today’s story in Chicago Tribune regarding Mark Kirk’s latest embellishment, Alexi for Illinois spokesman Matt McGrath released the following statement:
“Now Congressman Kirk has been caught in another embellishment — this time an apparent fish story that was his basis for going into public service in the first place. Whether he’s lying about his military record or claiming to be a fiscal conservative when his votes helped triple the national debt, one thing is clear: Congressman Kirk apparently can’t tell the truth about anything.”
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* I highly recommend that you read the entire Tribune article about Congressman Mark Kirk today. He has obviously embellished his core story about why he decided to pursue a career in public service. Kirk has claimed from the time he first ran for Congress that being saved from drowning by the Coast Guard when he was a teenager changed his entire life.
In the most recent instance, the 50-year-old North Shore congressman told a boating magazine that he stood on his overturned sailboat and watched the sun set, when in fact he was rescued in midafternoon on June 15, 1976.
Kirk also has said he swam up to a mile in 42-degree water and that he was rescued with his body temperature hovering two degrees from death. Those declarations are questionable, based on interviews with an eyewitness and medical experts.
Those declarations aren’t just “questionable,” they sound impossible.
And he doesn’t just mention the darkness. It’s an important element to his story…
In the story, Kirk twice refers to being on the water as darkness fell.
“I lost the halyard and ended up watching the sunset standing on the upside-down boat with only a ski belt on,” Kirk said, according to the quote in the story and the recording Landry played for the Tribune.
Kirk also noted a teenager on shore saw him struggling with the sailboat and called for help. “It was unusual because Sunfishes come home at night and this one wasn’t,” Kirk told the magazine.
And this is the most telling aspect of the Tribune piece. Kirk has to retract when he realizes the interview was recorded…
Pressed on the timing of the rescue, Kirk told the Tribune the magazine reporter must have made a mistake. Informed the interview was recorded, Kirk then said he did not watch the sunset but denied embellishing his story.
I’d be interested to know how much time transpired between those two statements. Seconds? Days?
…Adding… I just noticed a private e-mail from someone high up in the Kirk campaign. He claims statements and information the campaign provided weren’t included. Stay tuned.
…Adding more… Apparently, Kirk told the Tribune that he helped his friend swim to shore after the boat first capsized. He was on a private beach and decided he needed to go back out to the boat to avoid getting into trouble (he was 16, so that’s understandable) and that’s where the problems started.
“Over 30 years ago, when I was 16 years old, I nearly drowned in Lake Michigan and was rescued by the Coast Guard. It was a life-changing experience. Multiple statements by eyewitnesses confirm my rescue. It’s unfortunate that some reporters had a pre-conceived premise that led to a ridiculous story about an event that is indisputable. Voters will see this story for what it is and I will continue to focus on the issues that matter and how I will serve the people of Illinois.”
Statement by his mother…
In the afternoon of June 15, 1976, I received a phone call from Evanston Hospital letting me know that my son, Mark, was in the Emergency Room. He had been rescued by the Coast Guard in Lake Michigan and was being treated for hypothermia.
When I got to Evanston Hospital, I saw my son in a hospital bed under a special warming blanket. His lips were blue. I had never seen that before. I remember his body temperature was in the 80s and they were slowly bringing him back up.
I stayed there, watching his color return to his lips and body. Later in the day, he was discharged and sent home. Mark’s father, Frank, was working downtown at the time and took an afternoon Metra to meet us. I remember Frank was very upset, saying again and again to Mark: You never leave the boat.
As a mother, this was a traumatic experience. It was a life-changing event for Mark and for our entire family.
Statement by his friend who was out on the boat with him…
In the early afternoon of June 15, 1976, I left Kenilworth Beach in a sunfish sailboat with my high school best friend, Mark Kirk, for an afternoon sail in Lake Michigan.
I learned a lot that day – about the unpredictability of weather and about the fragility of life.
During our sail, the weather turned and we encountered what I would describe as a squall. At some point, our sailboat capsized and we entered the cold water. Mark acted quickly to stabilize the boat and brought us to safety at a beach along the Winnetka shore.
Mark was concerned for my safety, and after warming up on the beach he urged me to walk home while he would get the sunfish back to Kenilworth.
I protested but Mark refused to let me go with him. I walked home and Mark took care of the boat.
A couple of hours later, I was in the Emergency Room at Evanston Hospital. I saw Mark under warming blankets – I remember his body temperature being roughly 89 degrees at the time. It was about an hour after he arrived in the Emergency Room and he was speaking gibberish.
It was a life-changing experience. At that moment, I realized we are not immortal – life is fragile at any age.
Later on, I remember recounting the experience with Mark. He told me how he thought he was going to die and had given up just before his rescue.
This was a major event in both of our lives – one I will never forget.
Statement about hypothermia…
Centers for Disease Control: Moderate hypothermia is diagnosed when the core body temperature is 82-90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Princeton University: 86-82 degrees – Symptoms: Muscle rigidity; semiconscious; stupor; loss of awareness of others; pulse and respiration rate decrease; possible heart fibrillation.
Statement by Dr. Jay Alexander
It is completely preposterous for anyone to say they can prove or disprove what Mark Kirk’s body temperature was on June 15, 1976 without knowing detailed statistics, including Mr. Kirk’s exact body mass index at the time, his exact time in the water, the exact temperature of the water, the exact weight and type of clothing Mr. Kirk was wearing, the exact wind speeds and air temperatures throughout the experience and the vigor and duration of any activity conducted by Mr. Kirk in the water. Body temperature reflects a balance between heat production and heat loss both of which would be almost impossible to predict without a detailed knowledge of all the factors and events that took place that day and short of having all of these facts certain or an official medical document from 1976, there’s no credible scientist or physician who could speak with certainty on this matter.
A federal appeals court ruling today makes it more likely that Illinois voters on Nov. 2 will decide on an interim U.S. senator who will serve just a few weeks in office, while also voting on a U.S. senator for a full six-year term that begins in January. […]
The court ruled that state election laws and timetables regarding special primary elections had to give way to the federal Constitution and that a federal court judge could order the state to disregard existing election laws.
The ruling effectively means that voters could see two U.S. Senate contests on the general election ballot: one to elect a senator to serve from Nov. 3 to Jan. 3 and one to elect a senator to serve from Jan. 3 for six years.
The district court has the power to order the state to take steps to bring its election procedures into compliance with rights guaranteed by the federal Constitution, even if the order requires the state to disregard provisions of state law that otherwise might ordinarily apply to cause delay or prevent action entirely. It is elementary that the Seventeenth Amendment’s requirement that a state governor issue a writ of election to guarantee that a vacancy in the state’s senate delegation is filled by an election is an aspect of the supreme law of the land.
How that means Illinois can get around the question of whether holding a primary is required or not isn’t addressed.
* In other campaign news, the governor has been fond of saying recently that he’s focused on governing now and will get to campaigning eventually.
As they say, good governing is good politics, but sometimes things go awry…
Gov. Pat Quinn announced more than $500 million in funding for mass transit projects during a rowdy morning press conference attended by protesters who say the state needs to invest more money in black communities.
The funding includes $422 million for the Regional Transportation Authority, which will give $253 million to the Chicago Transit Authority, $157 million to Metra and $32 million to PACE, which provides door-to-door service for the disabled. Another $85 million will go to transit districts downstate. […]
Fewer than a dozen protesters held a large “Dump Quinn in 2010″ banner and repeatedly tried to interrupt the news conference, demanding Quinn talk to them and answer why the state has not done more to bring jobs to minority communities.
I wonder who’s behind that? I’m hearing they looked like pros.
* Speaking of unemployment, this just came in from the Department of Employment Security…
Some relief in some places, but not nearly enough to soothe the anger out there.
* There might be more transit-related construction jobs if the state had more money…
Transit officials blamed politics for the delay but said they are just happy to get some of the $2.7 billion that Chicago-area transit was promised over five years in Illinois Jobs Now.
Asked when more might be forthcoming, Mr. Lavin said that depends on the General Assembly.
While lawmakers authorized the entire Illinois Jobs Now concept, they only approved bonds to cover a portion of the cost, bonds that now have been entirely issued, Mr. Lavin said. The Legislature will have to authorize more bonds before the CTA, Metra and Pace get more money, he said.
* Back to politics. Bill Brady’s campaign has a new new Internet video. Rate it…
* A good friend of mine and I were talking recently about how legislative salaries have gotten so high that maybe some members were just too eager to stick around.
Now, I’m not one of those people who thinks that legislators work only during session. Most work quite hard when there is no session. It’s also a thankless job. I wouldn’t do it.
* But the Illinois Policy Institute has a new report out that ought to be given some notice…
Today, Illinois state representatives and senators earn a base salary of $67,836—the fifth-highest legislator salary in the country. Only California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania pay their legislators more.
Illinois state representatives and senators earn around 47 percent more than the average Illinois resident, who earns $46,110 a year according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupations in Illinois receiving comparable compensation to legislators include microbiologists, physics professors, credit analysts and tax examiners.
It wasn’t always this way. Up until 1897, Illinois legislators received no salary and were paid by the number of days in session, starting at 2 dollars per day for the first 42 days and dropping to 1 dollar each day after, along with 10 cents per mile for travel. In 1909, salaries increased to $1,000 and have since gradually increased. Since 1967, legislative leaders have acquired additional compensation, and since 1989, so have committee chairmen and minority spokesmen.
Their full report has a chart plotting this gradual increase…
* They also played with some numbers and came up with this…
A survey by the Illinois Policy Institute found that the 10 states with the lowest legislator salaries only had budget deficits of 19 percent in their general funds for the last fiscal year. In stark contrast, the 10 states with the highest legislator salaries had budget deficits for the last fiscal year that amounted to 30 percent in their general funds.
I’m not sure that really means a whole lot. Texas, for instance, is on the low end of the salary scale, but they have huge oil and natural gas reserves that generously pad its state budget. And California’s 64.5 percent deficit plays heck with that average. Also, if you want to live in Arkansas, Nebraska or Mississippi, be my guest.
* Still there is no denying that in these trying times, the salaries look way out of whack. Yes, many legislators are “full time.” But this is supposed to be a citizens’ assembly, not a professional legislature. If they want to be paid like full-timers, then they probably ought to be subjected to a lot more rules on outside incomes.
Illinois Senate and House Democrats named four appointees Wednesday to a joint campaign finance task force that in the coming months will examine the effectiveness of recent reform laws and look into how the state might begin public financing of campaigns.
The Democratic leaders appointed Dawn Clark Netsch, Sen. Don Harmon, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and Democratic election law expert Mike Kasper. The appointments are required by state law. Republican leaders have selected Jo Ellen Johnson, Todd Maisch and John Noak. Back to the release…
“The task force is really a very important part of SB1466 because it has the responsibility to monitor implementation of the first-ever regulation and limitation on campaign contributions in Illinois, and also the responsibility to examine the issue of public financing of campaigns. That is a direction a number of states have moved forward on and which should be explored for Illinois,” Netsch said. […]
The first assignment is to make recommendations regarding the potential for public financing of elections in Illinois. That report is due by Dec. 31, 2011.
* The Question: Would you support publicly financed elections? Explain.
“Illinois is the laughingstock of the nation when it comes to politics,” Cohen said. “It’s time to change our image.”
By electing a guy who allegedly knifed a hooker, tried to rape his wife and did things like this?…
“Ever since I filed for divorce (Scott Lee Cohen) continually threatens me in writing, by leaving me intimidating notes,” she alleged. “He stopped leaving me handwritten notes on paper, when he discovered I just take them down. Now he leaves harassing messages on my mirror in lipstick, so everyone, including my grandchildren who live with me can see these notes.”
* What disturbs me about this “listening tour” of his is that reporters appear to be bending over backwards to write the usual, AP style stories on him that barely touch on the gigantic controversy which drove him from the race just a few months ago…
“As an independent, my whole campaign is based on the people of Illinois and not the parties. I could care less about the Democrats or the Republicans. My loyalty and devotion lies with the people of Illinois,” he said.
That message resonated with Starlin Stewart, a 68-year-old retiree and lifelong Springfield resident. Stewart said she did not know much about Cohen when he introduced himself to her.
But she liked what he had to say and figured an independent would be a welcome change from the usual two-party choice.
There is a responsibility in this business to report the story as it is, but Cohen is not your usual suspect. If Downstate reporters continue to write drivel like that, then they’ll be at least partially responsible for any momentum he might pick up.
* What the Democrats have done with their challenge to Cedra Crenshaw’s petitions has not only caused a short-term public relations nightmare, but will probably have longterm consequences.
As we’ve discussed before, the Democrats challenged the Republican state Senate candidate’s petitions based on a technicality. The Will County elections board ruled with the Democrats along party lines and kicked her off.
The resulting uproar has made Crenshaw a national tea party sensation. From the now thoroughly discredited “reverse race baiter” Andrew Breitbart’s Twitter page…
Memo to #TeaParty: Party of Sen. Robert ‘KKK’ Byrd Throws black female off ballot; Replaces with male Caucasoid!
In her five-page ruling, Petrungaro said state election law is unclear, but court precedent is clear and favors Crenshaw.
“There was no evidence of fraud, nor was there any evidence of voter confusion. … No evidence was presented that the petitions were circulated in an untimely manner or that the petitioner gained an unfair advantage over her opponents by circulating her petition in advance of the circulation period,” the ruling said.
Crenshaw said now her campaign can move forward.
“Now we’re able to raise money,” she said. “We weren’t able to do that before because we couldn’t answer this very important question of whether I would be on the ballot or not.”
Crenshaw raised about $11,500 in June, including $5,000 from former tea party Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski. She also loaned $1,000 to her campaign in May. That total is better than a few legislative candidates pulled in over the past six months, but she has a long way to go and only reported $4,200 in the bank.
But even the infamously crocked Tribune editorial board couldn’t bring itself to say that she has a shot at winning this campaign…
So she’s officially in the race.
It’s going to be a good one. Once a long shot in a heavily Democratic district, Crenshaw has become a tea party sensation thanks to the heavy-handed tactics of her opponents. Her story line — suburban mom standing up to the Chicago Machine — has scored her plenty of national media attention.
* However, I’ve watched Ms. Crenshaw give plenty of interviews over the past several weeks, including this one...
She’s good. Very good, in fact. Crenshaw is a natural and whatever happens in November, she has a future in Illinois politics. I would bet she runs for something else in two years, maybe Congress, and/or statewide in 2014.
The Democrats have taken a candidate whom almost nobody would’ve cared about and turned her into a national hero with a very bright political future.
On Thursday morning, the defense took issue with three specific charges: The government’s allegation that Blagojevich conspired to land a job at the non-profit organization, Change to Win, in exchange for the U.S. Senate seat; the charge the ex-governor made false statements to the FBI; and the charge that Patti Blagojevich was paid real estate fees by Tony Rezko for doing no work.
Per the false statements charge, the defense argued that Blagojevich telling an FBI agent that he maintained a “firewall” between government and politics was “ambiguous.”
“I don’t think there is anything particularly ambiguous about ‘firewall,’” Zagel said. “In fact, I think there is nothing ambiguous about ‘firewall.’”
On Patti Blagojevich’s fees, Zagel said: “There is circumstantial evidence that the fees were disproportionate to any work that was done, and I am not sure there is any evidence of any work that is done.”
Zagel summarily dismissed the defense’s argument on the Change to Win allegation, simply saying he was “unpersuaded.”
Zagel also said today that closing arguments could finish Monday and the jury may get the case on Tuesday, .
Is former first lady Patti Blagojevich still in the line of fire? Is there fear her real estate dealings with Tony Rezko fall within the realm of indictability?
Stay tuned.
Judge Zagel sure appears to think that Mrs. Blagojevich’s actions could be construed as crimes. From late yesterday afternoon…
Prosecutors showed that Patti banked $12,000 a month from the Rezmar development company, and also accepted tens of thousands in other checks and home improvements.
The defense is now trying to get the Patti accusations knocked from the indictment, saying there was plenty of evidence that she did legitimate work for Tony Rezko and earned those commissions.
“The government has not come close to proving that those real estate fees were anything close to a bribe,” defense attorney Shelly Sorosky said.
Judge Zagel cut in and offered a historical comparison.
“Do you by any chance know who the Everleigh sisters were?” They were madames in a high-class Chicago brothel around the turn of the 20th century.
The Everleigh sisters gave cash to various police officials in order to protect themselves and their business, Zagel explains.
“I think that that would constitute bribery, even though you might not be able to point to a single specific action or inaction taken by those police officers,” Zagel explains. “It might be bribery over a dozen years. Here, hypothetically, six years. … It’s still a bribe, even though it’s very difficult to point to what the quo was for the quid.”
“I think you’re construing it too narrowly,” the judge tells the defense.
* Meanwhile, Mark Brown credibly writes that yesterday’s guilty verdict in the retrial of former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez is ominous for Rod Blagojevich…
Sure, the Blagojevich allegations are completely different, and the Blago media coverage was at a whole other level of intensity, but what Sanchez learned the hard way is that the public doesn’t like politics as it is practiced in Illinois.
And when 12 members of that public finds their way onto a jury for a government corruption case in the Northern District of Illinois, they tend to let the defendant know it.
The Sanchez jurors didn’t like it when they learned how he had used City Hall’s sham hiring system to bypass cloutless applicants in favor of his foot soldiers in the Hispanic Democratic Organization.
And the jury in Blagojevich’s trial most certainly did not like what they heard of our former governor’s conniving on secret government wiretaps.
Even more basically, it’s hard to believe that any of those jurors didn’t develop a strong personal dislike for Blagojevich after listening to his uncensored scheming.
The ex-governor’s practice runs — with prominent criminal-defense lawyers acting as cross-examiners — were troubling, sources with knowledge of the sessions told the Tribune.
The sources said the former governor had difficulty wrapping words around the concepts he wanted to use to defend himself.
Blagojevich allegedly schemed to get campaign contributions in exchange for actions such as boosting the state reimbursement rate for Children’s Memorial Hospital and signing a bill to aid Illinois horseracing tracks. The phone calls played in court back that up, [Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar] said, perhaps giving a bit of a preview of the government’s closing argument on Monday.
In scenarios such as the attempted swapping of the Senate seat for an Obama Cabinet post or a high-paying job as leader of an issue-advocacy organization, Blagojevich was a central player, Schar said.
“He actually made the extortionate phone calls and requests himself,” Schar told Zagel. “This wasn’t just talk. It was implementation of his plan.”
Perhaps stealing a page from the defense team’s upcoming closing argument, Zagel described the former governor as “desperate” and “out of touch with reality” in the months leading up to his arrest.
Prosecutors told the judge that the government’s evidence was strong enough to let a jury decide the brothers’ guilt. In addition to wiretaps, prosecutors also had testimony from the people who participated in the schemes with them, Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar said.
“Where there were conspiracies we have conspirators,” Schar said.
Prosecutors also argued that the secretly recorded phone calls in the case proved Blagojevich engaged in illegal pay-to-play politics. The judge, however, acknowledged that few of Blagojevich’s plans and directives were carried out.
“There was an extraordinarily large amount of talk in this case,” Zagel said. “But not a lot actually got done.”
The judge, however, said a conspiracy is a crime that can be accomplished only with a significant amount of communication.
“A conspiracy is a crime of words,” said Zagel, noting it doesn’t need to be carried out in order to be illegal. “You can have a conspiracy entered into with fools and bumblers and it’s still a conspiracy.”
“It’d be one thing if people were sitting around talking about things and it never got past the talking stage,” Schar says. “(Rod Blagojevich) had Mr. Greenlee researching ambassadorships … He had Mr. Greenlee researching foundations … He’s the one who had the meeting with Mr. Balonoff on Nov. 6.”
“This wasn’t just talk, that was implementation of his plans,” Schar says.
* Roundup…
* Rod Blagojevich on why he did not testify. Video
Police Superintedendent Jody Weis says officers have received anonymous tips related to the shooting of Bailey, but police have made no arrests in the case.
The FBI is aiding in the murder investigation and has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers. The Fraternal Order of Police has offered a $25,000 reward.
* After Chicago Cop Killed, Weis Asks, ‘Who’s Next?’
WEIS: We don’t care if the motivation is reward money, good citizenship or whatever, just please let us get these criminals off the street. If they kill a police officer, the question comes up, ‘Who’s next?’
Originally convicted of mail fraud charges in 2009, Sanchez faced a two-week retrial after a federal appeals court judge tossed out the original conviction in December, saying prosecutors had failed to disclose the criminal background of a witness at the first trial.
At the retrial, lawyers for Sanchez and his co-defendant, Aaron DelValle — who was also convicted Wednesday of lying to a grand jury about the alleged scheme — argued that both men acted in good faith, blaming the mayor’s convicted patronage chief, Robert Sorich, for the illegal hiring.
About 79% of the state’s businesses that employ fewer than 25 workers, or 159,900 companies, are eligible for a tax credit of up to 35% of their employees’ premiums, according to Families USA, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that lobbied hard for the massive health-reform law passed this spring.
If you pay to park in a privately owned garage, a ticket on your windshield is the last thing you want to see at the end of your day.
“I am so fed up with the city ticketing cars,” said one driver.
But it happens, and a class action lawsuit found 259 garages targeted from 2003 to 2005. Almost 4,000 drivers got tickets left on their cars for not having a city sticker.
The unions countered that they were fighting to protect threatened health benefits. Under the contract that expired May 31, wages range from $35.20 to $45.10. The average number of hours worked by union members is 1,000 a year.
The Davenport-based company reported that digital advertising sales increased 24.8 percent compared with a year ago, while the decline in total revenue moderated to 3.6 percent and cash costs decreased 5.7 percent.
As a result, earnings per diluted common share were 22 cents, which compared with a loss of 55 cents a year ago. Excluding adjustments for unusual items in both years, earnings per diluted common share more than doubled to 26 cents from 12 cents a year ago.
Operating income margin was 15.3 percent in the current year quarter. Nonoperating expenses, primarily interest expense and debt financing costs, declined $4.2 million. Income attributable to Lee Enterprises totaled $10 million, compared with a loss of $24.5 million a year ago.
To make it easier and more affordable to rebuild the downtown businesses damaged by the devastating tornado of June 5, the Peoria County Board will consider three separate measures at a special meeting Thursday evening: waiving building permit fees, extending a county enterprise zone into downtown Elmwood and adopting temporary emergency building code provisions.
The owners of the damaged buildings, most of which are more than 100 years old and made of brick, support the county’s proposals with enthusiasm.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit Wednesday against a Melrose Park bus company, saying it defrauded a group of hearing-impaired students and their families.
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims Sleepless in the City Bus Service Inc. took $1,750 from the Illinois Service Resource Center, then failed to provide transportation for 55 students and their families on April 27, 2009.
Madigan’s lawsuit comes less than a year after the Problem Solver wrote about the case.
The surprisingly early end to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial is “bleeping golden” news to Illinois Democrats — and even some national Democrats — who dreaded the prospect of a verdict coming just before Election Day, Nov. 2.
“Democrats should be cheering and partying in the streets about the fact that the trial is over,” said Democratic consultant Kitty Kurth. “I know my friends on the Republican side will still have plenty of things they’ll be criticizing Democrats about, but this will give them one less piece of ammunition.
“The Republicans will still talk about the trial, but at least it won’t be in the newspapers and on the radio and on people’s television every night.”
This will all be back “on the air” when Republicans start running advertisements. And that’s what people see and remember the most anyway.
Gov. Pat Quinn flew to southern Illinois on the state plane Monday where he attended two campaign-related events, threw out the first pitch at a minor-league baseball game and toured a construction project at Southern Illinois University.
A campaign spokeswoman insisted Tuesday that the governor was not using state resources for political gain when he made the two campaign-related stops.
“Bottom line, he was there as the governor of the state for an event at SIU and to throw out the first pitch at the baseball game,” campaign spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said. “While in town, he stopped by two additional events with various constituents, including colleagues, party folks and supporters.”
“He most certainly did not use the state plane for any political purpose,” Matsoff said.
Castle and Kirk, for example, were helpful allies to Democrats after they captured control of the House in 2006.
They both voted for several proposals of the legislative agenda Democrats campaigned on to oust Republicans from power. In January of 2007, they voted to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour; and to repeal tax cuts to oil companies and mandate they pay fees for removing oil from the Gulf of Mexico.
They also voted in 2007 for a measure opposing President George W. Bush’s plan to increase troops in Iraq, and sponsored a $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Senate Republicans, weary of life in the minority, are too excited about Castle, Kirk and other centrists winning Democratic seats to quibble about their records. Republicans would need to win 10 seats in order to capture the majority.
On the other hand, why are you making such a big deal out of your partisan, conservative bona fides when bipartisan moderation could woo some more votes? Or am I wrong? I’d like to know.
An alliance of social-services providers has just received and passed on to me results of a Freedom of Information Act request it submitted to Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes’ office.
The list details who’s owed what. In particular, down to the cent, the data being released by Illinois Partners for Human Services lists $490,314,860.75 owed to tax-exempt, non-profit organizations —many of them certified charities that lead a precarious life in the best of times.
A stunning 136 groups are owed at least $1 million each, with the outstanding IOUs stretching back as far as December 2009, according to the comptroller’s office.
Far be it from me to discourage your use of a subscriber firewall, but I think you’re missing the point. You’ve got this new thing called “First in Print,” where you don’t publish some stories online. Some of those stories are kind of interesting to me. Recently you teased us with this on the front page of your site…
The building that houses Norb Andy’s Tabarin on Capitol Avenue has been sold—again. Read more about the new owners in a story only available in today’s print edition of The State Journal-Register.
OK, that’s an establishment where I sometimes find myself, so I was interested in seeing who the new building owners were. But here’s what I saw when I clicked on the link that took me to the “First in Print” page…
The building that houses Norb Andy’s Tabarin on Capitol Avenue has been sold—again.
The recent purchase by David Ridenour, who with David Schmitz also runs the Rippon Kinsella House bed-and-breakfast, 1317 N. Third St., marks the fourth time since 1991 that the Hickox Building, which contains Norb Andy’s, has been sold, according to Sangamon County property records. This time, the sellers took a loss.
That’s all I really wanted to know. Thanks much for the freebie.
Remember, a little less info when you’re trying to upsell. Just sayin’.
In a courtroom with fewer than 20 friends and family, attorneys Tuesday closed out, for the second time, the case against former Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez and city worker Aaron DelValle. Jurors will begin their deliberations Wednesday following the two-week trial, the second time Sanchez and DelValle have been tried on charges they helped organize patronage hiring of members of the politically powerful Hispanic Democratic Organization.
From the US Attorney at 3:11 this afternoon…
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Porter and Manish Shah will be available at 3:30 p.m. today in the Dirksen Courthouse lobby to comment on the guilty verdicts just returned against retired Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez and co-defendant Aaron DelValle.
* From Republican secretary of state nominee Robert Enriquez’s semi-annual campaign finance report…
Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period $3,151.69
Total Receipts $11,235.31
Subtotal $14,387.00
Total Expenditures $11,122.99
Funds available at the close of the reporting period $3,264.01
President Michael Hogan’s new executive assistant will earn $195,000. A former assistant provost, she could also serve as a sociology professor here.
Lisa Troyer of the University of Connecticut will start July 26, though she has been serving on an interim basis since July 2.
She was not available for comment Tuesday.
A predecessor, Kathleen Metz, earned $107,500 in 2009-10 as executive assistant to B. Joseph White.
The UI’s chief spokesman, Tom Hardy, said comparing the salaries was a matter of “apple and oranges” since Metz, who has retired, was a civil service employee, and Troyer has been a professor and administrator.
Not to mix “apple and oranges,” but that’s more than the governor makes.
* Meanwhile, some commenterspointed this fact out when the governor issued his 24 furlough days order…
When Gov. Pat Quinn’s office issued an administrative order last week requiring non-union state workers to take 24 furlough days this fiscal year, the declaration said the resulting pay reduction would not affect pensions.
On Tuesday, the administration acknowledged that the additional furlough days will affect pensions and that it is working to alleviate the impact.
Employees will be happy to hear that the governor is working on legislation to address this, but fiscal conservatives might be aghast…
Kraft said the governor wants to find some mechanism where furloughs will not affect pensions, including legislation if necessary.
And state Rep. Raymond Poe and Sen. Larry Bomke only recently discovered that the bill they passed this year to allow workers to make their own pension payments for furlough days has been interpreted to mean a potentially gigantic interest bill…
Poe and Bomke said they only recently learned that SERS is also charging employees interest on the amount, 8.5 percent calculated from the time they joined the system.
* The Scott Lee Cohen “listening tour” stopped in Streator yesterday. And Cohen met with the town’s mayor, Jimmie Lansford…
Cohen denied accusations he failed to pay child support, abused his ex-wife and held a knife to his girlfriend’s throat.
“Those are half-truths and lies,”Cohen told The Times. “Anybody who’s gone through a messy divorce knows how things get said and blown out of context. The truth is, I never did anything wrong.” […]
Lansford told Cohen about a program at Illinois Valley Community College educating students in wind farm maintenance. He also mentioned the truck driving program at IVCC.
“I dig that,” said Cohen, who wants to plan a trip to IVCC. “We should be putting more focus on improving the manufacturing in our communities and giving them the technological skills to succeed.”
He never did anything wrong? I thought he was trying to be upfront about his past. Now he’s Mr. Clean?
* Meanwhile, Cohen reported loaning his campaign about $600,000 since the February primary and spent about $425K. Some of that was on bills for his lt. governor primary campaign, but much of it appeared to be directed towards launching his governor’s bid. Cohen reported just $114,000 on hand, but it’s likely he has more where that came from.
Also, Cohen reported raising just $130 from individual contributors. Not $130K. $130.
* 12:07 pm - OK, here we go. Rod Blagojevich speaks to reporters. Click here for NBC5’s live video. Or, you can click here for CBS2’s live feed. Help us out by live-blogging in comments. Thanks.
* Blagojevich said he wanted to testify, but relied on Sam Adam, Sr.’s advice that he shouldn’t.
“The government in my case proved my innocence.”
“Perhaps, maybe the biggest lesson that I learned is that I talk to much.” And with that, he walked away.
* Sam Adam, Sr. is now talking to the press. He said he raised his son to disagree with him on everything.
“What happened to Rezko?” … “They said constantly that they were going to call all these witnesses for four months.” … “Why aren’t you [in the media] on that case? They’re the ones who failed to prove their case here.” … “The simple answer is we were prepared to testify when they brought these people [Rezko, Levine, etc.] on. They never brought them on.” … “We’re playing our own game… which is let them prove their case.” … “Listen, we don’t have an obligation to put on a defense here.”
* Sam Adam, Jr: “Did I believe at the time when I said that, that he was going to testify? Yes, I did… We are not in the business here of pleasing people.” … “I spent, and I’m not joking with you guys, 150 hours, 200 hours going over tapes with him… He’s prepared to testify. It simply came down to an argument between an old bull and a young toad… [Putting Blagojevich on the stand] makes it seem as if the government is right.”
* Sam Adam, Sr. guesses 8-5 that Blagojevich walks. He then backs off that and says 100 percent.
* Sr: “I’ve heard every tape. They played their best [ones]. Don’t [say] that they had tapes that they hid.”
* End. Thoughts?
*** UPDATE 1 *** If you missed it earlier, here’s Rod Blagojevich talking to the media…
A Wall Street Journal reporter was handcuffed in the lobby of the courthouse just a few minutes ago.
“Interviewing an attorney,” reporter Doug Belkin said, handcuffed in the elevator with several court security officers. It’s against courthouse rules to do interviews outside a designated press area.
The security officers escorted the reporter up to lock-up.
“I told him three times to back up and he didn’t. He put his hands on me,” the security officer said.
* After the Tribune released its polling showing that only 31 percent would like to see him reelected, Mayor Daley tried to brush off the results…
“Everybody’s worried about polls in the United States, and all politicians worry about polls — they should worry about their actions,” he said, speaking at a march against violence in Woodlawn. “I do this six days a week — I’m passionate about it — you have to be passionate about your job, and there’s ups and downs.”
Yes, “everybody’s worried about polls” including Daley. I checked hizzoner’s recent campaign disclosure reports and found that he has spent $308,000 since June of last year on his pollster, Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research Inc.
Daley’s campaign cut a $63,000 check to his pollster on March 5th, then another $91,692.33 check on April 2nd. Maybe he didn’t get the results he wanted the first time around.
Last August 19th, the campaign paid its pollster $91,250.24. On June 26th of last year, Daley spent $63,000.00 on the pollster.
That far from an election, politicians will use polling and focus groups to hone their messages. Obviously, it isn’t working. Then again, considering the city’s multitude of problems, mere pollster-inspired spin isn’t quite enough to do the trick.
The only way to know if he is or isn’t, is to know one of three people: the mayor himself, his wife Maggie or his brother Bill, who is the only person in politics who is in on every move the mayor makes.
Bill’s been saying in public that he doesn’t know what his brother’s planning to do. In private, he’s been saying the mayor intends not to run again - because he wants more time to spend with Maggie, and the job isn’t fun anymore.
Not enough money in the budget, and too much hostility in the press.
Bill Daley saying that Rich Daley is thinking ‘no’ is a big shift in the gusty winds of Chicago politics, and a big story to begin to tell.
Frank Kruesi, one of Mayor Richard Daley’s longest-serving advisors, has resigned as Chicago’s top lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
The former president of the Chicago Transit Authority, who served as assistant secretary of policy at the Department of Transportation during the Clinton administration, has been a key adviser to the mayor over most of the last three decades, starting when Mr. Daley was Cook County state’s attorney.
Kruesi confirmed his resignation, saying he’s leaving at the end of the month.
* Campaign roundup…
* Campaign cash reports rolling in: Senate Majority Leader John Cullerton (D-Chicago) reported having $3.5 million in his Senate Democratic Victory Fund to help candidates around the state. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) reported her campaign fund has $709,000 in cash after raising $229,000 in the first six months. House Speaker Michael Madigan’s own campaign warchest, Friends of Michael Madigan, collected $788,587, spent $609,071 and had $1,968,238 in the kitty on June 30. The Democratic Party of Illinois, which the Chicago Democrat chairs, collected $149,128, spent $179,618 and had nearly $1.5 million on hand.
Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys will rest their case today without calling a single witness to the stand, according to Robert Blagojevich’s attorney Michael Ettinger. In addition, the defense has asked Judge James Zagel to wait until Monday for closing arguments.
Walking into the Dirksen Federal Building Wednesday morning, Blagojevich attorneys Sam Adam Sr. and Sam Adam Jr. said they would make a statement after speaking with the judge.
The trial of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich appears to be coming to a sudden and unexpected end, as defense attorneys indicated before court began Wednesday that Blagojevich would not be taking the stand, despite repeated promises over the past 19 months that he would.
Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Jr. told reporters on his way to the courtroom that they would make an official decision once the trial resumed and that the governor would then come down and make a statement.
That would indicated that the former governor would not be testifying and that his defense team would rest its case without calling any witnesses.
Man, I hope somebody has live video of that.
*** UPDATE 3 - 9:28 am *** CBS2 will have live video of the Blagojevich availability I’m told. I’ll let you know what’s going on. Meanwhile, Sun-Times…
It looks like former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich hasn’t changed his mind about not testifying in his own defense against corruption charges, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times this morning.
*** UPDATE 4 - 9:35 am *** Rich Samuels makes a good point on his Twitter page…
Remember at George Ryan’s indictment Dan Webb telling us the ex-Gov would take the stand at trial. Didn’t happen, of course
*** UPDATE 5 - 9:41 am *** I’m pretty sure the live CBS2 video of the press conference will be at this link. I’ll let you know when it starts.
*** UPDATE 6 - 9:48 am *** Strike that. You’ll be clicking here for the live CBS2 feed instead.
*** UPDATE 7 - 9:56 am *** A little courtroom color from the Sun-Times…
At 9:40, the media is still cordoned off from entering the courtroom — but the tension is already palpable. One reporter is sweating profusely, wiping sweat with a napkin. Another spoke of feeling unnerved.
A security officer just announced that whoever doesn’t have a ticket should go to the overflow room on the 14th floor now, because there will be no room.
The overflow room is crowded, too. The usually-empty benches for the public are filled with people, and new media faces are vying for precious seats at the tables. Even the jury box is full of spectators.
*** UPDATE 8 - 9:59 am *** Interesting blog post by WBEZ’s reporter…
This is not a “prosecution hasn’t proved anything” defense. This is a strategic move to limit the damages. The prosecution had these two witnesses listed at the beginning of the trial: Tony Rezko and Stuart Levine. The prosecution chose not to put them up in their part of the case because they were waiting for the former governor to take the stand, spew long-winded and loose and then surprise/shock the world by bringing these men up to counter. So Blagojevich would say he never did anything wrong and then bam, two convicted businessmen would take the stand and debunk everything the gov said. The problem? The prosecution showed their hand. And the defense knew what was coming, so they called.
In my eyes, this is in-trial plea bargaining. The defense realizes that the big charges won’t stick and it is not worth the risk of the jury getting a whiff of Rezko and Levine. So they are settling in-court. Now maybe the prosecution didn’t do a good job of presenting their case. But really, this is about what they didn’t present. Two guys, two people with intimate knowledge that the jury would potentially use to make up their mind. The defense can’t take that chance.
Essentially, the Blagojevich defense is content on being convicted. They are hedging their bets that it will be for something small and hope to dodge the Rezko bullet which might have been the kill shot.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE 9 - 10:04 am *** NBC5 has its live camera up and running. Click here.
Finally, just before 10:00 — a half-hour later than usual — spectators have been let into the courtroom.
*** UPDATE 11 - 10:13 am *** NBC5 reports that the defense has just rested. “The case is over.” There will be no testimony by Rod Blagojevich.
*** UPDATE 12 - 10:18 am *** Via NBC5, the prosecution is introducing a new phone call recording as a rebuttal, so there won’t be a Blagojevich media avail for a bit yet.
*** UPDATE 13 - 10:28 am *** The jurors are filing out.
*** UPDATE 14 - 10:34 am *** The judge said the proceedings will resume Monday at 9:30. From NBC5…
Rod Blagojevich stands before judge. Zagel: “Is it your personal decision not to testify?” Rod: “Yes”
The government calls one rebuttal witness for Robert Blagojevich, FBI agent Dan Cain, and played a couple recordings. The defense objected to the tapes, but the judge overruled.
One is a call from Dec. 5, 2008 at 8:02 a.m. in which Robert Blagojevich tells a Friends of Blagojevich assistant he doesn’t want to talk on the phone.
“I’d rather do it on the cell, where no one can hear us,” she says.
Zagel asked if any of the attorneys had started to draft instructions for the jury on how to deliberate each charge. The prosecution spoke with Zagel about instructions on forfeiture charges.
Sorosky asked the judge for the prosecution to submit its version of instructions later Wednesday. The defense would look at it Thursday and possibly hold an instruction conference on Friday morning. Zagel scheduled it for Friday at 9 a.m.
Zagel also set a hearing for Thursday morning regarding the release of juror’s names based on a motion filed by several print media outlets, so it is heard before the issue possibly becomes moot.
Zagel said he’ll hear arguments for motions for judgment Wednesday afternoon and recessed court until 1:30 p.m
*** UPDATE 22 - 11:49 am *** Everybody’s still waiting…
The press pit in the lobby of the Dirksen Federal Building is packed to the gills as reporters wait for Rod Blagojevich and his team of lawyers to exit the building. We’ve been told they plan to talk.
Word is the team is now hunkered down in a conference room upstairs, possibly strategizing about what to say to the media. It’s hard to get definite word, though — court personnel has banned everyone from the courtroom area.
In the meantime, court security officers have had to bring out ropes to hold back the restless crowd of reporters and cameramen. It’s the first time that’s happened this entire trial. A mic stand is nearly toppling over with microphones.
Ultimately, sources tell the Sun-Times that on Monday night, the attorneys and the former governor agreed that Blagojevich couldn’t withstand what promised to be a stinging cross examination. They were also concerned because during preparation he was reluctant to admit he made mistakes and couldn’t keep his answers brief.
Also factoring into the calculation: there was some concern that Tony Rezko might be called as a rebuttal witness by the prosecution if Blagojevich took the stand.
Sorosky conceded that without Blagojevich on the stand it closed the door to calling any rebuttal witness — Rezko or otherwise.
The challenge now left for the defense: Sam Adam Jr. told jurors in his opening statement they would hear from Rod Blagojevich. Judge James Zagel will tell jurors they aren’t allowed to hold the decision not to testify against a defendant.
I’ll be clicking this link over and over again. I’m kinda amazed that they don’t have Google ads on their posts. I know the Blago Blog is getting plenty of traffic during this ordeal.
After the news about Wyma [cooperating with the feds and helping them plant bugs] came out, Robert testifies, someone on the governor’s team had the Illinois State Police sweep the Friends of Blagojevich office for bugs on Dec. 8, 2008 — but Robert said he wasn’t concerned.
“Having the place swept for wires and bugs didn’t matter to me. We were doing nothing improper,” Robert testifies. “I never directed it. if Rod did, I’m not aware of it.”
Robert testifies that the order came from Chrissy Jacobs, a “politically connected” administrative assistant who was “very concerned about eavesdropping” and “a very excitable personality.”
The fact that the FOB offices may have been swept for bugs is a new revelation. Ultimately it did no good, or came too late — the FBI had bugs up already in the office, in addition to tapping numerous phone lines. And the governor was arrested the next day.
Also, this wasn’t the first time that an Illinois governor had used state police to try to combat federal investigators. A top aide to now-imprisoned Gov. George Ryan had state troopers do an illegal sweep of that governor’s Rosemont campaign office during his investigation in fall 1994.
* Roundup…
* Rod Blagojevich’s quotes about planning to testify: “Let me tell you what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to do what my accusers and political enemies have been doing, and that is talk about this case in 30-second sound bites on “Meet the Press” or on the TV news. Now, I’m dying to answer these charges. I am dying to show you how innocent I am. And I want to assure everyone who’s here and everyone who’s listening that I intend to answer every allegation that comes my way. However, I intend to answer them in the appropriate forum — in a court of law.” — Dec. 19, 2008, news conference.
* No Blago No Plea: As far as the rumor that Blagojevich was ready to take a plea deal, the source called that, “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
As of Dec. 31, the city had just $180 million left from the $1.15 billion parking meter windfall that was supposed to last for 75 years. There was $550 million remaining from the $1.83 billion deal that privatized the Skyway for 99 years.[…]
Daley is not expected to raid the the $500 million long-term reserve fund generated by the Skyway windfall, because doing so could threaten the bond rating that determines city borrowing costs.
In a May 11 report that reaffirmed Chicago’s AA minus rating, Standard & Poor’s wrote, “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that [the city] will, with the help of careful budgeting, improve its financial operations and not draw on its long-term reserves.”
Total crime dropped 3.9 percent while violent crimes – which includes criminal sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults and aggravated batteries — saw a 10.6 percent drop, according to a police release.
The telephone poll of 800 male and female heads of household from the six-county Chicago area began July 8, one day after Chicago police Officer Thor Soderberg was gunned down in Englewood.
Upcoming school year entry-level admissions to nine college prep high schools that admit students based on tests and grades, and to the dozens of magnet schools that admit by lottery, remained at last year’s 77 percent minority student ratio, the preliminary data shows.
Notable blips across the board are an increase in the Hispanic student enrollment at these schools, and a corresponding decrease in both the African-American and Asian student enrollments, however. And maintenance of the African-American student ratio hinged on the opening of 100 college prep seats, outside the process, to students at CPS’ lowest performing schools. Those seats, at Jones, Northside, Walter Payton and Whitney Young, were awarded under the No Child Left Behind Act.
A few months ago, NBC5 producer Don Moseley and I decided to revisit that documentary we had done two decades ago. In the wake of the shooting crisis gripping Chicago’s West and South Sides, we felt we needed context and a longer lens.
We went looking for Boo to see what had become of his dreams and his life. We talked to former residents of the now-demolished Henry Horner Homes, some of whom keep up with each other. But no one could tell us about Boo and his family.[…]
On the frozen January morning in 2009 that Barack Obama, of Chicago, became president of the United States, Alonzo “Boo” Campbell was sentenced to 28 years in prison for first-degree murder as an armed habitual criminal.
It was not immediately clear when Black would be released from the federal prison in Florida. The conditions of his release would be determined by a U.S. District Court judge in Chicago, according to an order from the three-judge panel.
Drivers could see summer road work pushed into late fall, IDOT spokesman Josh Kauffman said, adding he couldn’t provide specifics until the agreement is ratified.
“Each project will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” Kauffman said Tuesday. “The strike has not cost the state any money at this time. We’re optimistic the settlement will be finalized so construction can resume and we can put people back to work.”
Work at Memorial resumed Tuesday morning after the unions reached a tentative deal with a major contractor association Monday night.
Still, the strike caused too much of a setback for the project to be completed by its original deadline of Aug. 25. District officials say the completion date has now been moved back to November, and they hope to bring students back to Memorial in early January.
Northwest Central Dispatch System is the biggest single dispatcher of police and fire in the Northwest suburbs, covering Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and Streamwood, as well as the Inverness Police Department, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District and Prospect Heights police.
The two sides have met once or twice a month since September 2009, as they negotiate the group’s first-ever collective bargaining agreement.
There is no deadline for when a contract must be signed, said Cindy Barbera-Brelle, the executive director of the dispatch system.
For years, each of the city’s 10 ward aldermen received $580,000 in discretionary funds to be used within their wards. The money, which was drawn from the gaming tax fund, was mainly intended for neighborhood street repair, but there were no restrictions on it, and some aldermen used it for other projects aimed at improving quality of life.
But with gaming tax revenue dropping, the City Council agreed to a compromise last year. The plan, developed by far East Side Aldermen Lynda Elmore, Leroy Keith and Rick Mervine, cut ward funds down to $75,000 each, with $50,000 of that reserved for capital projects like sidewalks and streets.
The county board’s Executive Committee unanimously decided Tuesday to recommend putting the issue to a public vote in the Nov. 2 general election. Board members plan to discuss the wording of the referendum question at an Aug. 4 committee of the whole meeting.
The layoff was called an economic move by those supporting it, a start toward balancing a budget that could be $500,000 to $600,000 in deficit by the end of the 2010 fiscal year, and is projected to be $2.8 million in the red by the end of the 2011 fiscal year.
The city of Sullivan was still cleaning up Tuesday after being slammed by a ferocious summer storm that ripped off roofs, snapped trees, cut power and sent bricks and debris cascading into the town square.
The storm hit about 1:30 p.m. Monday, packing winds that some locals estimated at 60 to 80 mph amid a cloudburst that dumped more than 3 inches of rain on damaged buildings suddenly exposed to the sky.
