* This photo of our governor was taken recently by my intern, Kevin Fanning. Caption?
* This cartoon pretty much sums up the Blagojevich/Jones vs. Madigan fight…
“It’s not enough that we succeed. Cats must also fail.”
* The Illinois Hospital Association’s Howard Peters talks about the $600 million in Medicaid payments that the governor is moving to next fiscal year…
A spokeswoman for the governor says the payment cycle under the new budget will be three months. Peters says he has no idea how Blagojevich’s office could come up with that short a timeline.
* Interesting editorial in the Jacksonville paper…
Quite a few people are likely to disagree with a good number of the Gov. Blagojevich’s cuts, and we can’t help but wonder whether they were made for their maximum political impact Except for stretching out payments to state contractors, however, most of the areas to get cut are activities people should be handling themselves.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich proclaimed last Thursday as Beer Distributor Day
* Proft takes a whack at legislative Republicans who supported gaming expansion to fund a capital bill…
Having apparently abandoned any effort to argue for market-oriented, private sector-focused ideas as the means to spur economic activity, the GOP’s leadership reverts to George Ryan-omics: casinos and public works projects.
Rather than holding up the Chicago Democrat junta and relentlessly (and publicly) asking them to account for their ineptitude, ineptitude that is jeopardizing $6 billion in federal transportation funds set aside for Illinois because of this state’s failure to come up with its federally-required 25% match, the House GOP enables the problem gamblers in charge by proposing to tie Illinois’ financial future to a spinning wheel.
* Rep. Aaron Schock voted against tabling the casino expansion bill in May (which was essentially a vote in favor), but voted against an amendment to the same bill last week. He explains his latest vote, but not the flip to the local TeeVee.
* Why did John Borling, a McCain delegate, endorse a Democratic candidate against Congressman Manzullo last week? The Daily Herald explains…
Borling faulted Manzullo for his key role in importing Alan Keyes from Maryland to carry the Illinois Republicans’ banner in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, a move that Borling said “was and is an outrage.”
Chicago Tribune Editor and Senior Vice President Ann Marie Lipinski announced her resignation today, a week after the paper announced significant cuts to its newsroom staff and a reduction in the number of pages it prints each week.
Gerould W. Kern, who has been Tribune Publishing’s vice president of editorial since 2003, was named Lipinski’s successor by Tribune Publishing Executive Vice President Bob Gremillion, who assumed interim oversight of the paper this month after the retirement of Publisher Scott C. Smith.
The New York Stock Exchange has only been open slightly more than a half hour, but GateHouse Media stock has already dropped 12 cents to an all-time low $1.46 per share.
That was much earlier this morning. It’s down to $1.38 as of 1 o’clock Central time.
* Despite the goofy cover flap, there are a whole lot of interesting and worthwhile items in Ryan Lizza’s New Yorker profile of Barack Obama. The played to death poker game anecdotes are, thankfully, given short shrift and some new ground is uncovered.
There are still some big holes in this piece. It begins with some unkind words from Chicago Ald. Tony Preckwinkle and then attempts to analyze why she’s not so enamored with her former protege these days…
Others told me that Preckwinkle’s grievances against Obama included specific complaints, such as his refusal to endorse a former aide and longtime friend, Will Burns, in a State Senate primary—a contest that Burns won anyway.
It’s never mentioned, but Obama wanted Will Burns appointed to his state Senate seat when he was elected to the US Senate. Preckwinkle, instead, chose Kwame Raoul. I think the divisiveness has more to do with Obama becoming an Emil Jones ally. Preckwinkle had some harsh words for Jones back when the state Senate seat was vacant and Jones was claiming he could muscle Burns into the slot.
Also never mentioned is that Obama decided not to officially endorse Burns this year for the House seat because Congresscritter Jesse Jackson, Jr. was supporting somebody else in the primary race and worked hard to keep Obama out. Jackson was organizing North Carolina at the time, so Obama was in a bit of a bind.
* One again, Rahm Emanuel claims that Obama played a much bigger role in Rod Blagojevich’s first campaign than any of us imagined at the time…
Rahm Emanuel, a congressman from Chicago and a friend of Obama’s, told me that he, Obama, David Wilhelm, who was Blagojevich’s campaign co-chair, and another Blagojevich aide were the top strategists of Blagojevich’s victory. He and Obama “participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor,” Emanuel said. “We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two.” A spokesman for Blagojevich confirmed Emanuel’s account, although David Wilhelm, who now works for Obama, said that Emanuel had overstated Obama’s role. “There was an advisory council that was inclusive of Rahm and Barack but not limited to them,” Wilhelm said, and he disputed the notion that Obama was “an architect or one of the principal strategists.”
Somebody ought to ask Obama about this. I’ll send off a request and see if I get a response.
* David Axelrod, Obama’s media guru, explains why he took a pass on the Blagojevich campaign…
David Axelrod, the preëminent strategist in the state, declined to work for Blagojevich. “He had been my client and I had a very good relationship with him, but I didn’t sign on to the governor’s race,” Axelrod said. “Obviously he won, but I had concerns about it. . . . I was concerned about whether he was ready for that. Not so much for the race but for governing. I was concerned about some of the folks—I was concerned about how the race was being approached.”
Prescience or revisionism?
* Senate President Emil Jones explains why his endorsement of Obama was so important in the 2004 US Senate primary, and it’s pretty insightful…
“The Mayor of Chicago and the father of Dan Hynes”—one of Obama’s primary opponents—“when they were both state senators they shared an apartment together in Springfield, so there’s a relationship between those two. And the Governor? One of his chief financial supporters in his first run was also in the race. I work with both the Mayor and the Governor, so, by my jumping in strong behind Barack Obama, they didn’t want to alienate me and have me upset with them, so they stayed out of the race.”
* Obama, at fund-raiser in Newport Beach, Calif. takes one sip of a Mimosa
*** UPDATE *** I finally got around to e-mailing the Obama campaign about the Blagojevich campaign meetings. First, these meetings were held during the fall election, not the primary (Obama endorsed Roland Burris in the primary). Now, the response…
He attended a few meetings – one was a briefing for legislators. He played the same role in electing a Democratic governor that other Democratic members of the General Assembly did.
I’ve talked to some others who were at a few of those meetings. From what I can gather so far, Congressman Emanuel is overplaying their significance.
* Carol Marin partially takes back a column wherein she called Illinois a “sorry state”…
This state is made up of more than what infuriates us. It’s made up of much that makes us proud.
Like the Chicago police officer who was shot and killed July 2 just doing his job, working the night shift so in the daytime he could care for a stepdaughter with special needs. Officer Richard Francis was a great example of public service. That’s why thousands of other people, some who never met him, took it as an almost sacred obligation to turn out to pay their respects and grieve his loss.
It was powerful and inspiring.
And then there was the lost 3-year-old in Oswego. Hundreds of people, some perfect strangers, skipped work or whatever else they were doing to volunteer to help the 25 police departments that, without being asked, converged on the scene. Together, they searched the corners of Kendall County until the little boy was found alive and unharmed.
It spoke volumes about the citizens of this state.
So does the work people do every day for modest pay and no public recognition. Social workers, teachers, medical technicians, garbage collectors, the list goes on.
* Question: Say something nice about Illinois. It doesn’t have to be about our politics. Just something nice. And no snark, please. Thanks.
While many lawmakers decried Blagojevich’s cuts as draconian, Senate Republican budget experts said 70 percent of the slashing simply eliminated increases over last year’s budget.
That still means over $400 million in “real” cuts, with more to come. But it’s not as horrific as has been portrayed. And while people will lose jobs and many programs will be slashed to the bone…
Among Governor Rod Blagojevich’s budget vetoes, the Governor cut $55.129 million from the Illinois Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse’s treatment system budget and, as a result, DASA will lose an additional $55.129 million from the federal government, too. In effect, the DASA budget will be gashed by $110.258 million from a budget of only $252 million, a 43% whopper of a slash.
“He’s too busy trying to settle scores without realizing what’s at risk than he is trying to find the most effective ways to be fiscally sound,” said [Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias], who has picked apart some of Blagojevich’s political and government policies. […]
[Attorney General Lisa Madigan called] the decrease in her budget “irresponsible” and “politically motivated.” Her staff’s workload has increased dramatically, she said, adding that identity-theft cases alone have increased 2,200 percent since 2003.
“I can’t not have lawyers show up in court,” Madigan said. “There are things that constitutionally and statutorily we can’t say ‘no’ to. We’re not trying to create more work. It comes to us, unfortunately.”
Because she can’t cut staff, her office estimates it will run out of money April 29.
* Meanwhile, the oh so helpful rhetoric continues…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday accused House Speaker Michael Madigan and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley of conspiring to raise the state’s income tax after next year’s elections. […]
“I think he (Daley) fears Mike Madigan, and I think Mike Madigan has promised him an income tax increase,” Blagojevich said.
Heh.
* As I’ve been telling subscribers, this fight is all about the capital bill…
Blagojevich again touted the $34 billion program at an unrelated Chicago news conference on Sunday.
* And is it any wonder that southern Illinois is so enthused while Chicagoans ain’t exactly thrilled?…
The capital bill would have yielded $1,763 per person to Southern Illinois and only $645 per person for Chicago.
Much of the revenue to fund those projects, remember, will be raised from Chicago area casinos.
* That aforementioned press conference was about this topic, which is designed to (justifiably) make Madigan look bad…
Using his power to rewrite legislation, Gov. Blagojevich proposed Sunday that insurers be required to pay for diagnosis and treatment of autism, a poorly understood disorder in children that can cost families their life savings. […]
Blagojevich added the autism language to House Bill 4225, which mandates coverage of physical therapy for people with multiple sclerosis in public employee health plans. The bill passed the General Assembly this year, while another measure on autism was caught in political cross fire between the governor and legislative leaders.
* Remember the other day when the Blagojevich administration smeared Rep. Jack Franks by revealing that he had asked for jobs for friends and family back in 2003, when everybody was asked for their lists? The revelation came after Franks issued a letter calling for impeachment proceedings to begin against Blagojevich.
Well, the Associated Press has been trying for years to get the hiring lists submitted to the administration without success. All their FOIA’s were denied because the info was supposed to be private. Naturally, the AP pointed this out in a recent story…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office has repeatedly refused to disclose the names of people seeking state jobs, citing privacy concerns. But attempting to shame a legislative critic as lawmakers prepared for more state budget work, his staff freely distributed that very information.
Blagojevich aides last week released a 2003 memo from Rep. Jack Franks recommending a dozen people — including his wife, father and brother — for state jobs or commission appointments. Its release came just hours after the Woodstock Democrat said the House should begin impeachment proceedings against the governor.
A day later, in a letter under governor’s office letterhead obtained by The Associated Press, Blagojevich deputy chief of staff Victor Roberson accused Franks of “fraudulent behavior” and trying to “misuse power” by seeking jobs for family and friends. […]
The memo’s release is an abrupt flip for Blagojevich. The Associated Press has submitted at least three requests since 2006 seeking lists of state job candidates from his office. Each has been denied under exemptions in the state Freedom of Information Act, including an exception for releasing records that would “constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Oops.
Expect Rep. Franks to raise a stink about this, and I can’t fault him for it, either.
* TV stations, particularly small-market TV stations, usually aren’t known for taking on “real” news stories. But give props today to WTWO in Terre Haute for looking a bit closer at a Gov. Blagojevich press release…
Despite the slumping economy, apparently travelers still want to visit Illinois. Governor Blagojevich announced a record breaking rise in tourism across southeastern Illinois. […]
Edgar County is up 6.7 percent to $7.6 million. Blagojevich said, “The Illinois tourism industry is thriving and every region of the state is reaping the benefits.”
Scratch the surface, and things look a bit different…
However, the mayor of Paris hasn’t seen these benefits. “I’m looking out the window and I don’t see a lot of tourist in downtown Paris,” said Mayor Craig Smith. “I’m not seeing a bunch of cars from out of state spending what I call ‘tourist’ dollars.” […]
“This is huge news, huge dollars. I love the news but I don’t see the dollars yet,” said Mayor Smith. “We should be able to see that in increased sales tax revenue and we really haven’t seen that much. We’ve seen some increase but that would be a substantial increase for Edgar County.” […]
Originally, WTWO went to Marshal to find out what’s attracting so many tourists. Instead of tourist, we found a different story. When asked if tourism has been on the rise [Mary Lou Cornelison Director of the Marshal Chamber of Commerce] said,”No, people are not driving the National Road like they used to. It is not as big as it has been.”
Now, compare that piece to these unquestioning stories here and here and you’ll see why it’s always important to carefully read every, single press release issued by this administration.
* A big crowd is expected for the upcoming IDOT move hearing…
A July 31 hearing on whether more than 100 Illinois Department of Transportation jobs should be moved to southeastern Illinois will be held in the state Capitol, and officials are already expecting an overflow crowd.
The legislature’s bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability decided to hold the hearing in Room 212 of the Statehouse, in part because it is already set up for hearings. The room is the largest hearing room used by the General Assembly.
Even so, COGFA expects the crowd to be too large to fit into the space. Another 250 chairs will be set up in the Capitol rotunda, along with a large video screen and speakers.
* I’m pretty sure that this photo is gonna come up….
That would be the proposed site for the new IDOT traffic safety headquarters. The photo was taken during Harrisburg’s March flooding this year and has been making the rounds of state workers for the past week or so. A local TV station did a story on the situation last night…
Controversy surrounding the new IDOT building in Harrisburg after pictures surface on the internet. Those pictures were taken during the flooding in March, they show the new home for the IDOT traffic safety division surrounded by water. Opponents of the IDOT relocation claim the building suffered extensive flood damage. But the owners say that’s not the case.
Tracey Wyatt heads the Southeastern Illinois College Foundation, which owns the old Allen Miller building in Harrisburg, he says he’s thrilled it was one of the few buildings in town without flood damage.
“From where we were at on the day after the rain stopped the water never got within three inches of the building,” said Wyatt.
But it’s hard to tell that from the aerial photos that have been circulating on the internet. Sites posting the pictures say the building saw flood damage. Wyatt says he wants the truth to be told.
“Without context that aerial photograph of course looks bad but three inches of water can look like three feet of water from the air,” said Wyatt.
The Harrisburg mayor’s office flatly denied last week that the building was damaged by the flood.
…Adding… You might get a better perspective of the water’s depth by clicking here. It looks like the water was pretty shallow in some areas and some areas maybe not so shallow.
The Blagojevich administration may want the Division of Traffic Safety of the Illinois Department of Transportation to move out of Springfield, but at least its chief is getting some thanks for the job the division is doing.
MIKE STOUT, director of the division, who makes $105,888 annually (that includes a recent raise of $200 per month), got a bonus this spring of $7,245, said PARIS ERVIN, IDOT spokeswoman.
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column tells a few different stories in order to make a point…
Last summer, House Speaker Michael Madigan was able to use his alliance with the House and Senate Republicans to thwart Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones at almost every turn.
Whether it was the budget, or the governor’s health insurance expansion, or a multitude of other issues, Madigan and the Republicans were a solid team throughout the long overtime session.
This year, the Republicans have flipped on Madigan, allying with Gov. Blagojevich and Jones on the $34 billion capital construction package, funded by expanded casino gambling and by leasing the Illinois Lottery to a private company.
A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between Madigan and Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson. Sen. Watson had come to the House floor to lobby Madigan, yet again, on the capital bill, which would dump tons of cash into roads, bridges, schools and mass transit.
Nothing doing, Madigan said. “I don’t know how anyone could ever trust that guy,” he said of Blagojevich.
Watson and House Republican Leader Tom Cross continued to stick with Blagojevich despite Madigan’s argument that the governor will eventually double-cross them.
Right now, the only powerful political ally that Madigan has left is Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Daley has turned thumbs down on the capital package because: 1) The price the city would have to pay for a casino license was way higher than what Daley agreed to; and 2) The governor inserted language giving himself control of all Chicago school construction projects against Daley’s wishes.
Madigan is under intense pressure from his allies in organized labor and from many of his fellow Democrats to approve the capital bill, but he has refused to budge. And as long as Mayor Daley is still not satisfied with the proposal then Madigan has more than enough political protection.
Meanwhile, some of my best inside sources confirm that Madigan’s daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, is now leaning far more towards running for governor than she has in the past.
All of the above is why the semipublic mulling of a 2010 gubernatorial bid by Mayor Daley’s brother Bill Daley is so interesting to me. Whether or not Bill Daley ever decides to run for governor (and that’s a debatable point), he is right now currently testing the waters and gauging his support.
Speaker Madigan and Mayor Daley have argued and even split in the past, but the two men go way back, and it’s practically impossible to break them apart for long. Madigan views Richard J. Daley, the mayor’s father, as his second dad. Madigan and Daley are more than just political allies, they are almost like brothers. That means they occasionally fight each other hard, but they usually end up on the same side.
However, Bill Daley is a “real” mayoral brother. He’s an official member of the ruling family, not an unofficial member like Madigan.
What I’m trying to say here is that Speaker Madigan is facing a quite touchy situation. The possibility that the brother of Madigan’s only remaining ally in this fight to the political death with Gov. Blagojevich might end up on the opposite side of a primary race with his daughter, or even that he will continue openly mulling the decision for months, could very well complicate the speaker’s near future.
Now, most believe that some sort of arrangement will be worked out. But things could easily become complicated with a family situation like this. A few kind words from Mayor Daley about the capital plan, for instance, would send ripples throughout the state’s political establishment establishment and seriously undercut Speaker Madigan’s position, and possibly his daughter’s.
It can’t be said enough that Madigan cannot afford to lose Mayor Daley right now, just like Blagojevich can’t afford to lose his most powerful ally Senate President Jones. Without Daley, Madigan is friendless in his war with Blagojevich. Without Jones, Blagojevich is in the same friendless position in his war with Madigan.
Lately, I’ve gotten word from on-high that Jones has repeatedly urged state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias to run for governor in the 2010 election. Giannoulias is a vocal critic of Blagojevich, so if Jones moves his direction the governor could face unending problems.
Stay tuned for much fun, campers.
* Related…
* Washington: Blacks likely to sway ‘10 gov race — but not win it
* Lots of comments this week. That’s a good thing, even if I do complain now and then. Y’all are entertaining, and often enlightening, so I thank you for that.
It’s time to go, but make sure you stop by Illinoize this weekend (which you should be doing every day), and make extra special sure to hit InsiderzExchange. There are tons of upcoming fundraisers posted, and lots of other ads, including a couple of new help wanted posts that you should check out. Also, two of my buds have resumes online, ArchPundit and PeoriaPundit.
* Joan and Bob will will play us out…
* Also, if you’re looking for the arrangements for “Foz” Foster, here they are…
VISITATION
Monday, July 14 FROM 3 TO 7 PM
KIRLIN-EGAN & BUTLER FUNERAL HOME
900 South 6th St
Springfield IL
FUNERAL
Tuesday, July 15 AT 9:00 AM
18TH HOLE AT PANTHER CREEK COUNTRY CLUB
3001 Panther Creek Drive
Springfield IL
The Chicago production of “Jersey Boys” has excised all smoking from the show so that the production complies with Chicago’s indoor smoking ban, a spokesman for Broadway in Chicago confirmed Tuesday.
The city’s ban does not offer any exemption for smoking as part of a theatrical performance.
It also does not allow herbal cigarettes to substitute for tobacco, as has been common practice in the theater.
The city sent a “notice of complaint” to Broadway in Chicago after a complaint by a patron about smoking in “Jersey Boys,” said Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Department of Public Health. […]
Seven scenes have been changed.
Expect a proposal next week to provide a statewide solution as well. The idea would be to allow theaters to petition with the local or state boards of health for temporary exemptions from the statewide smoking ban.
* The question: Should the city and state smoking bans be altered so that performers can smoke on stage? Explain.
* House Republican Leader Tom Cross talked to Sun-Times columnist Steve Huntley about the upcoming campaign…
Polling in six battleground legislative districts in the northwest suburbs commissioned by Cross found the Democratic-led General Assembly earning only a 24 percent approval rating, with 62 percent of voters disapproving.
Blagojevich fared even worse at 20 percent approval vs. 76 percent disapproving. “Suburban voters are very aware of the lack of state government, that the Democratic leadership can’t do anything of substance,” Cross said.
* Huntley didn’t publish head-to-head numbers from the six districts, leading me to wonder how the individual GOP candidates are actually faring, despite the low approval numbers for the General Assembly….
In the once solidly Republican suburbs, the poll found only a 1-percentage-point advantage for Republicans on the generic ballot.
That doesn’t bode well, considering these were all once solidly GOP districts.
* The “Obama Factor” is undoubtedly helping Dems in those districts - four of which are GOP held and two that are represented by Dems Crespo and Froehlich…
“It’s going to be a very tough year with Obama, the hometown guy with lots of appeal, at the head of their ticket,” Cross acknowledged. “But I don’t know why the voters would reward the Democrats [in Springfield] with more members.”
The reason voters may “reward” House Democrats for the gridlock is that the House Dems have refused to cooperate with the most unpopular governor in modern Illinois history - a governor who is also facing possible indictments on federal corruption charges.
Huntley also doesn’t mention Cross’ work with Blagojevich on the capital plan, and Cross’ repeated attempts to tamp down impeachment talk, going all the way back to last year when GOP Rep. Mike Bost demanded Blagojevich’s impeachment.
Cross is penned in because his political godfather, Denny Hastert, helped put together the capital plan. So now Cross is forced to say he trusts the governor to follow through on his capital promises, when everybody knows that this is highly unlikely. He’s in a tough spot. Blaming Democrats for not getting along with the governor is not the best message he could have going into November.
* Yeah, it’s tongue in cheek, but it makes a couple of points that needed saying. Here’s my latest Sun-Times column…
One of the biggest knocks on Barack Obama is that he lacks experience.
It’s a standard political attack. Obama’s Republican opponent, John McCain, has more Senate experience, but he has no experience running a government or solving problems on his own. But McCain’s many years in the U.S. Senate, his extensive foreign travels and his military service allow him to claim that he’s more “experienced” than his much younger opponent.
All of that is a red herring, of course. The only people with the sort of experience that truly qualifies them to be president are former presidents. The job is so unique and unusual that everybody starts out like a babe in the woods.
Instead, we judge presidential hopefuls based on how they campaign. How do they operate under stress? Do they have what it takes to succeed in a super-tough environment? Can they bring enough groups together to obtain a majority? All those questions and more are supposedly answered during campaigns, yet candidates often turn out to be much different presidents than we were led to believe.
George W. Bush said eight years ago that he was a compassionate conservative and a uniter, not a divider.
Didn’t exactly work out that way, did it?
So, I have a different solution. One that would almost assuredly tell us whether Obama can survive the presidency’s unimaginably hostile environment.
Let’s make him come back to Springfield and solve the gridlock.
Sen. Dick Durbin said months ago that he’d rather go to Iraq and work on that mess than stick his nose into the unending war between Gov. Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan. I can relate.
“Toxic gridlock” doesn’t even begin to describe our state’s embarrassing political battle, which has held up just about all progress for more than a year. Unemployment is rising, yet a jobs-producing capital construction bill for our roads, bridges, schools and mass transit is stuck in limbo. People are going without health insurance, but solutions can’t be reached because one side doesn’t want to work with the other. Nothing — literally nothing — is being accomplished because the governor and the speaker want to crush each other.
The Israelis talk to the Palestinians more often and with more sensitivity than Madigan speaks with Blagojevich.
Nobody is getting killed at the Statehouse, at least not yet. There are no bullets and bombs in this fight, no mass slaughter like the Darfur catastrophe, no Iraq-style religious war.
But that makes it the perfect training exercise. If Obama fails, we’ll just muddle on like always and hope that somebody comes to his senses.
The consequences of failure in Illinois are not nearly as great as they would be in the Middle East. So, he can’t screw things up too much.
Obama knows all the players because he was a state senator for several years. His political mentor, Senate President Emil Jones, is also part of the problem. Those relationships give him an advantage he won’t have when he tries to solve the rest of the world’s problems and deal with the Congress. But if he can work out a solution to our intractable morass, he’ll prove himself worthy of the presidency, at least in my mind.
I am fully aware that there is not a chance in the world that Obama will take up this challenge. No candidate ever wants to deliberately set himself up to fail.
Our only alternative, however, is to rely on soundbites, gotcha games, TV ads and our woefully inadequate national media to inform our votes.
Gov. Blagojevich spared his own office from deep cuts but aggressively wielded his budget-cutting cleaver against fellow statewide officeholders, who rank among his loudest critics and are considered potential rivals to him in the 2010 election.
As part of $2.1 billion in trims to the 2008-’09 budget, the governor lopped as much as 25 percent from the office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan while cutting only 3 percent from his own bottom line.
* Zorn has some details on the cuts to AG Madigan’s budget. It’s not really a 25 percent cut because that figure includes a proposed increase for this fiscal year. It is, however, a 17 percent cut from last fiscal year, and that’s huge. The cut also brings Madigan’s appropriations back to FY 2003 levels…
FY 2003 — $40,710,000
FY 2004 — $39,638,700
FY 2005 — $41,222,400
FY 2006 — $42,505,300
FY 2007 — $48,142,400
FY 2008– $48,633,000
FY 2009 — $52,637,500 (in the budget as passed by the General Assembly); reduced this week to $40,000,000
“I don’t think there’s any question it was done in a petty and vindictive manner,” said Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who lost 17 percent from his budget after leading efforts to give voters the chance to recall Blagojevich. “I think every press conference I had on recall cost me another percentage point.” […]
Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, another potential 2010 rival to Blagojevich, saw his office budget cut by 13 percent after condemning Blagojevich’s acceptance of campaign contributions from state contractors and opposing his failed gross-receipts tax on businesses last year.
“It’s no secret that the treasurer has been critical of the governor’s policies, and the cuts made to our budget suggest that there’s a price to pay for that,” Giannoulias spokesman Scott Burnham said.
Comptroller Dan Hynes, another gubernatorial critic, had 11 percent cut from his budget. Secretary of State Jesse White had 14 percent cut from his office, a Senate Republican budget analysis showed.
Keep in mind, those totals are reductions from the proposed increases. But, they still represent real cuts in the end.
Also, the governor’s spokesperson claimed that the guv’s office budget has been cut over the years. What he didn’t mention was that the governor mostly just moves things off-budget by forcing state agencies to pick up the tab.
* Meanwhile, remember how the governor made a big deal of giving seniors free transit rides this year? Remember how this was such a high priority? Times change…
Wednesday, Blagojevich pulled the plug on $37 million that had been allocated to the Regional Transportation Authority to partially reimburse the agencies for offering reduced-fare rides to seniors, students and people with disabilities.
* Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s interview by the State Journal-Register didn’t cover much ground, but it leaves you with the clear impression that Blagojevich plans an all-out political war over the capital construction plan…
“The game is on now, and these are all little skirmishes along the way in the big war to create jobs for people across Illinois,” Blagojevich said at his Statehouse office. “Unfortunately, there shouldn’t have to be a war. It should be easy.”
* The story itself is kinda light, but you can listen to audio files from the interview at this page.
“Everybody, virtually, is on board except for one man” [the governor said about Madigan and the capital plan.]
Hmm. Let’s see. Mayor Daley opposes the gaming proposal and the governor wants to seize control of the decision over which Chicago schools get capital money, which the mayor also opposes. That means more than “one man” opposes the capital package. And deliberately jabbing Daley does not make this process “easy” in any way. But that fact wasn’t tossed back at him.
* Here’s another quote I found somewhat entertaining…
“You can’t go to Madigan because he doesn’t talk to anybody or meet anybody. For sport, I’ll just arbitrarily pick up the phone and call him, leave a message. I’ve been doing this for months, knowing I won’t get a call back.”
Actually, Madigan does talk to people. The governor refuses to just walk up to Madigan’s office, like governors have done for years (and not just to see Madigan - Pate Philip was well known for not returning gubernatorial phonecalls). Blagojevich did this once last year, at my urging, but spent most of his time with Madigan talking about sports. It was a wasted opportunity. Also, the guv surely knows where Madigan eats dinner almost every night in Springfield. Just drop by. Others do.
* The governor does have a point when he says that if Madigan switched his position, so would lots of rank and file House Democrats. But check out this quote from the story…
“We’ve just got to get the rank-and-file members to stand up for something that’s more important than their allegiance to one man,” Blagojevich said
Not. Gonna. Happen. Stop dreaming.
Note to governor: You have a 13 percent job approval rating, making you the least popular governor in the US of A. The US Attorney has several open and active investigations of yourself, your office, your friends and your campaign. You’re not going to make all that go away by fighting a war to the death with Mike Madigan.
“I don’t attend meetings with Gov. Blagojevich because I’ve come to the view that my presence in meetings with Gov. Blagojevich is not productive for the meeting. I’ve been fully represented in meetings with the governor by Rep. Currie… and Rep. Hannig. They’re excellent legislators, they’ve done excellent work in those meetings.
“But don’t take it from me. Ask others that have been involved in these meetings with the governor. There’s something about my presence in the room with the governor that just brings on a whole new personality from the governor. Clearly not productive.”
In Illinois, 8,157 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June, up 41.7 percent from the same month last year but down 15.6 percent from May, RealtyTrac Inc. said. Nationwide, 252,363 homes received at least one notice in June, up 53 percent from June 2007 but down 3 percent from May 2008, the company reported.
On Friday, July 11, at 11:30 a.m., in anticipation of the statewide referendum on whether to call a Constitutional Convention this November, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will join in a debate hosted by the Union League Club and the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the Union League Club Main Lounge, 65 W. Jackson Blvd.
* Celebrating a Decade in Public Office: Lisa Madigan
