Listen to Mayor Daley, Speaker Madigan, Senate President Jones and Gov. Blagojevich talk to the Chicago press about today’s meeting. Audio is from Chicago Public Radio…
* 11:14 am - Miracle upon miracles, I’m told the governor actually showed up on time for the big confab this morning with the four legislative leaders and Mayor Daley. The AP has a quick brief…
Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Transit Authority officials are in a morning meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich and top legislative leaders in the governor’s Chicago office.
Blagojevich and lawmakers have yet to agree on a plan on how to get money for the cash-strapped CTA and suburban mass-transit agencies.
The governor is supposed to travel to Wisconsin today for a “summit” on energy and climate change, so I’m not sure how long Blagojevich is planning to stick around.
* 11:26 am - There’s been a lot of chin-scratching about where a Chicago casino might be, with reporters and columnists speculating about Navy Pier and Northerly Island, among other places. This is from Chicago Public Radio today…
DALEY: First of all, you can’t select a site. You can’t do that, you can’t select a site, because every real-estate developer would rush in there and buy around the site.
But Daley will say what’s off limits. It’s a no-go for McCormick Place, Navy Pier and Northerly Island. That leaves plenty of real estate left for developers to wonder about.
I’ve been hearing for months that the Congress Hotel is a prime spot. The workers there have been on strike forever, so organized labor would like to turn it into a more union-friendly locale by snatching it away from the owners. The place is a dump, so it would have to be completely gutted out, providing lots of construction jobs. I haven’t seen it mentioned in print before, but keep your eye on that spot.
* 11:29 am - Mayor Daley just left the leaders meeting. The others are still inside.
According to a friend who is there, the mayor said he is optimistic about the future and claimed that the CTA had done its job. More later.
Mayor Richard Daley says he’s “very optimistic” after meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich and top legislative leaders about mass-transit funding.
But House Speaker Mike Madigan walked out of the meeting, saying it deteriorated to shouting and threats, NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern reported.
Daley emerged from Wednesday morning’s meeting in the governor’s Chicago office after more than an hour without saying what was being discussed. He said he left because lawmakers and the governor were getting down to the particulars.
* 12:15 pm - The meeting is over.
*** 4:04 pm *** There’s more in the subscriber section, but here’s a Daily Herald story about today’s “action”…
“It is not a one person show,” said Senate President Emil Jones, a Chicago Democrat, of Madigan’s refusal to go along. “If he wants to kill money for the CTA, the monkey will be on his back.”
The backdoor meeting also included Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who laid out his preferences for a city-owned casino and transit bailout. Daley declined to publicly back any specific plan to bailout the transit agencies.
Meanwhile, Madigan refused to comment further on the shouting and accusations, but he said he was unhappy most of the talk focused on casinos instead of transit.
Jones said the dispute was between Madigan and Democratic state Sen. Ricky Hendon over mandatory minority ownership and revenue sharing rules tied to the new casinos.
Blagojevich used that dispute to indicate Madigan was racist.
“Speaker Madigan is the only one who doesn’t agree that African Americans ought to participate in the ownership of the casinos,” Blagojevich.
*** 4:48 pm *** Another leaders meeting is scheduled for 10 o’clock tomorrow morning. All leaders are invited. As a consequence, the governor is not going to Wisconsin for the energy summit after all.
A federal judge today found that a new state law requiring school districts to begin each day with a moment of silence or prayer is “likely unconstitutional” and he will for now stop a northwest suburban school district from following the requirement, a ban that the judge could extend statewide Thursday.
The preliminary ruling by U.S. District Court Robert Gettleman was a win for atheist activist Rob Sherman, who filed a lawsuit concerning the new law being applied at Buffalo Grove High School, where his daughter is a freshman.
Gettleman asked the parties in the case to return to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Thursday when he could consider making the injunction statewide. The Illinois attorney general’s office is considering stepping into the litigation.
Gettleman said the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act isn’t specific enough about what is a “moment” and when it should take place. It also may cross the line into unconstitutionality by giving students a choice to pray, the judge said. […]
Gettleman said he also is concerned about whether a child could or would do something physical in an act of prayer, such as take out a Bible or a Muslim prayer book.
There are only two choices given by the statute, he said. “One is an endorsement of prayer,” he said. “If that’s the way it’s being interpreted, then I think we have a problem.”
The state can either fight for this unnecessary and intrusive law by waging an expensive court battle, or members of the General Assembly can attempt to re-write and pass a similar law that overcomes the Constitutional objections.
Cardinal Francis George and one of his top bishops are stirring up controversy because of statements they recently made criticizing lawsuits from victims of priest sexual abuse.
In a letter obtained by the Sun-Times, the cardinal earlier this year wrote to the parents of a victim and apologized “for the terrible abuse suffered by your son at the hands of Ken Ruge and Robert Becker,” two Chicago area priests who are now dead.
The cardinal also wrote that money was the motivation for proposed state legislation that would allow adults who were abused by priests as children to sue their perpetrators in cases where statutes of limitation have expired.
“This is irresponsible, is not about the safety of children as the sponsor claims, and is clearly, to me at least, about money,” he wrote. […]
State Sen. Terry Link, a Lake County Democrat who introduced the legislation earlier this year, said Monday that the measure isn’t targeting the Catholic Church, but all victims of sexual abuse.
Link, who described himself as a devout Catholic, has heard similar remarks from the cardinal about money being behind the bill, and told him they were offensive.
Question: Who’s right, the Cardinal or the Senator? Explain as fully as possible.
Also, let’s try to avoid attacks on the Catholic Church as a whole, OK? Attempt mightily to stick to the topic at hand.
Talk of recall is all the rage in Illinois these days, fueled in major part by the Chicago Tribune, which in an Oct. 28 editorial said voters should add a recall provision to the Illinois Constitution as an opportunity to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
I respectfully disagree.
I have been a vocal critic of this governor, both in terms of style and substance. But the beauty of representative government is that if the voters don’t like someone, we can vote him or her out of office next time around.
Voters also have the frequently used opportunity, in mid-term elections, to handcuff an underperforming executive by voting his or her party out of power in the legislature.
And finally, in cases of serious abuse of power, our state constitution already allows for impeachment.
Then there’s the recall. Setting aside logistical burdens and cost factors (California’s recall cost an estimated $60 million), I have a larger concern. Good government advocates (and editorial writers) have for years fought to diminish the influence of special interests in politics. They have also decried the proliferation of the poll-driven politician, and bemoaned the increasingly “permanent election cycle.” These reformers are right on all three counts.
Ironically, however, a recall provision would promote each of these blights upon the political process. People love to say politicians make too many of their decisions with one eye on the next election, and that the closer the election comes, the more that becomes true. Now imagine a political landscape in which any aggrieved, well-funded special-interest group has the potential power to shorten any election cycle via a recall.
That group would have just exponentially expanded its political influence. The offending politician would be more poll-driven, and less policy-driven, than ever. And the election cycle would never end.
But - and this is a big “but” - any amendment to the Illinois Constitution implementing recall would have to either be passed by both chambers of the General Assembly or enacted through a Constitutional convention, which voters will have a say on next November.
It’s more than doubtful that the state House and Senate would voluntarily open that can of worms. Any convention, if it happens, wouldn’t take place until 2009 at the earliest, and even then a recall provision isn’t guaranteed.
In other words, you might want to recall him, but you’re almost undoubtedly stuck with Blagojevich as your governor through the end of his term in January 2011.
* While the coverage of yesterday’s tax hike vote in the Chicago City Council was pretty good, the most interesting part - at least to me - was not delved into.
The Sun-Times’ Mark Brown, for instance, listed all 29 members who voted for the tax hikes and the 21 who voted against. Brown also mentioned that the mayor’s budget passed on a 37-13 vote, as did the other stories.
What I’d like to know, though, is who were the wimps? Which members of the city council voted against the tax hikes and for the mayor’s budget? That info is nowhere to be found. It doesn’t even appear to be available online.
* Even so, Brown’s column was darned good and summed up the lapdog situation pretty accurately…
If you’re sitting at home trying to figure out how the City Council could approve $276 million in tax and fee increases — including an $83 million property tax hike — when you’re already ticked off about what you’re paying now, then that may be the problem. You’re sitting, when what you really ought to be doing is moving forward.
Confused? Let me try to explain it the way the aldermen explained it.
Mayor Daley needs the additional tax money so he can continue to “move the city forward,” said Budget Chairman Carrie Austin, the first of many to invoke the mayor’s pet phrase.
“We can move the city forward,” followed Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th).
“Do we sit still, or do we move forward,” said Ald. George Cardenas (12th).
“We must continue to move this city forward,” said Latasha Thomas (17th). “If you believe that the city needs to move forward . . . then you must vote yes.”
Ald. Ginger Rugai’s version: “I think we have to, as I think everybody has said, move forward.”
Or Ald. Leslie Hairston: “This city is at a critical point. We can decide to move forward or stand still.”
“I’m going to vote to continue to move our city forward,” said Ald. Tom Tunney (44th).
Ald. Ike Carothers (29th) set the record, invoking at least six variations on moving the city forward.
* More city council stories…
* Sun-Times: Twenty years after the death of former Mayor Harold Washington, the City Council honored Chicago’s first African-American mayor on Tuesday, then cast a vote that stirred the ghosts of Council Wars.
* Tribune: Brushing off a rare show of opposition, Mayor Richard Daley won easy City Council approval Tuesday of a spending and tax plan that will tap into the wallets of just about everyone who lives, works or plays in Chicago.
* CBS 2: City Council Passes Budget, Tax Hikes - Big Property Tax Hike, New Tax On Bottled Water Approved
* ABC 7: City Council votes to increase taxes, fees
*** UPDATE *** Thanks to a couple of commenters, I found the roll calls on all votes at the Tribbie blog. They don’t break it down, but I did. According to that list, here are the “wimps” who voted against the property tax hike but for the mayor’s budget…
Brookins (21st), Suarez (31st), Waguespack (32nd), Banks (36th), Allen (38th), Laurino (39th), Daley (43rd) and Levar (45th).
* And here are the seven aldermen who consistently voted against the property tax hikes, against the mayor’s budget and against the other tax hikes as well…
Fioretti (2nd), Preckwinkle (4th), Jackson (7th), Foulkes (15th), Munoz (22nd), Reilly (42nd), Moore (49th).
*** UPDATE 2 *** Ald. Carothers talks about “heavy lifting”…
* The Peoria Journal-Star editorial page spanks Aaron Schock today, finally going over most of the serious flaws with his Strangelovian idea to sell nuclear missiles to Taiwan to force China to help stop Iran from getting nuclear technology. It’s a pretty comprehensive whacking…
At any rate, Schock has been in damage-control mode ever since. First he issued the standard defenses: that his words were “misrepresented” - they weren’t - and that at least he has a specific plan, unlike his opponents, whom he described as “soft on Iraq, Iran and China.” Buried in all that was a semi-retraction: “I do not want to sell nuclear weapons to Taiwan. I want China’s cooperation in dealing with Iran.” On Tuesday his mea culpa went a bit further, saying that “maybe I’ve learned a lesson. … In retrospect, I believe I overstated the remedy. I regret mentioning nuclear weapons … It was a mistake, and I recognize that.” If he seemed nonchalant about the use of nukes before, he’s not anymore.
Nonetheless, Schock is still on his “freedom fighters” kick as his solution for Iran, pointing to previous successes with the strategy, notably Poland’s Solidarity movement in the 1980s. But the picture he paints is not complete. If he would read up on the Iran-Contra scandal, he’d discover that funding those freedom fighters was not one of this nation’s - or Reagan’s - proudest moments. John F. Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs was a fiasco. As for those U.S.-assisted freedom fighters he praises for beating back the Soviets in Afghanistan, who’s alleged to be the most famous one of all? Schock drew a blank, when asked. The answer is Osama bin Laden.
“I’m not an expert,” a defensive Schock said Tuesday. But when you don’t know something, don’t try to fake it, not at this level. No one gets it right all the time, newspaper editors included. But they’re not running for Congress and aspiring to make laws for the rest of us; Schock is. He’s shown potential, but if he wants his campaign to be taken seriously - he’s being ridiculed on statewide blogs as “Aaron Strangelove” - he need not be perfect but he must be better. He’s dug quite a hole for himself.
Not to mention that the Polish “freedom fighters” were peaceful union leaders and not armed insurrectionists.
* The Journal-Star also criticized Schock’s opponents for copping out on big issues and concludes…
If the candidates don’t recognize it by now, this is the big leagues, and we’re not off to a promising start.
* While they don’t mention it, we can only hope that the PJ-Star also now recognizes this “big leagues” fact and will start covering Schock like a congressional candidate instead of lavishing fawning praise on their local boy wonder state legislator.
Schock is only part of the problem. The PJ-Star, remember, completely ignored his outrageous nuclear proposal in its original reporting and glossed over it until today. That’s inexcusable.
But the paper’s story today doesn’t give much hope that any lessons have been learned over there. Check out the lede…
State Rep. Aaron Schock regrets his proposal to sell nuclear arms to Taiwan as a way to get China to go along with U.S. policy toward Iran, he said Tuesday, adding he “went too far.”
The moral of today’s stories is that like it or not, if they are sincere in trying to accomplish the goals that they claim to be seeking, both the Administration and the proponents of damage caps are going to have to find legal and constitutional means to reach those goals.
Doctors and insurers blamed lawyers, particularly the active plaintiffs’ bar in the Metro East area, saying lawsuits drove up rates. Lawyers said the courthouse was becoming a scapegoat as the insurance industry chased profits.
But dozens of doctors retired or left the area rather than pay continually rising insurance rates, and in some instances hospitals and patients were left scrambling to find a physician. The issue became a political firestorm as hundreds attended meetings around the state to complain. President George W. Bush came to Collinsville in January 2005 and told an audience of doctors that medical litigation was tilted in favor of plaintiffs’ lawyers.
This could be the year that the state really does put a casino in Chicago. But at what expense to Joliet casinos?
State legislators at least broach the subject of a Chicago casino almost annually. But talk has seldom been as intense as it is this year, with legislators and the governor looking at a casino in Chicago and at least one other undetermined location to fund future roads, bridges and other infrastructure work.
* Editorial: Hasty state construction plan could hurt more than help
This state has a long enough history of construction programs with catchy names that broke the bank, from Jim Thompson’s Build Illinois to George Ryan’s Illinois FIRST. We don’t need another one with wastefulness similar to those.
Instead, the state needs a plan that helps finance projects based on need, not political favoritism or vote-trading.
State Sen. Dan Rutherford has outlined three elements that must be part of the capital bill and we agree: Any plan must identify a reliable revenue stream to pay for it; include a list of projects on which the money will spent, not a lump sum allotment to leaders; and specify when money would be released.
* Governor’s ‘emergency’ health care rule is rejected
* Panel derails governor’s ‘end run’ to expand health insurance
State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, who also voted against the change, said a significant expansion of health care might be a laudable goal, but it shouldn’t be put in place without more debate from the legislative branch.
“Yeah, but go through the process,” Rutherford said.
The governor’s proposed emergency rule would provide discounted health care benefits to about 147,000 Illinois residents with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level.
State Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare, said the change could mean a family of four that has a family income of at least $80,000 would be getting health care from the state.
“Should those 20,000 people find themselves without health coverage, it would be because of the inaction of the administration, not the actions of [this committee],” Fritchey said.
Ottenhoff said the administration is “working on ways to make sure the 20,000 parents do not lose coverage,” but she did not offer details.
Blagojevich may portray this as another “up” for his agenda. He’s evidently trying to convince people that he’s a man of compassion who won’t let stingy legislators stop him from giving taxpayer-funded health coverage to middle-income families. He says he’s “simply doing my job and setting the right priorities.”
But the people of Illinois, through their elected representatives, are talking back. They’re unequivocally, and repeatedly, saying to Blagojevich: Don’t write a blank check and create debts that will come due for generations.
So what now? Well, the governor can attempt another end run. Or he could sue.
* Wisconsin supporting Illinois for FutureGen plant
Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky have also backed Illinois’ bid. But it’s unknown what influence other states will have on the final decision.
Both Illinois and Texas have offered substantial financial incentives to help try to charm decision-makers. And Illinois officials have gone has far to spend more than $300,000 on a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm.
* Editorial: Teen advice good, but licensing rules are working
There is hope, however. The American Academy of Pediatrics last year cited a study of graduated licensing programs in 13 states that found the programs reduced crashes by as much as 41 percent. Illinois recently toughened its graduated licensing by lengthening the learner’s permit period to a minimum of nine months from three months; moving up curfew; and making teens wait a full year until they can have more than one nonfamily teen passenger in their car. The waiting period is now six months.
“Most states are performing about as well or better than most foreign countries,” said Gary Phillips, who wrote the report. “We’re kind of in the middle of the pack. However, our highest-achieving states are significantly below the highest-achieving countries. There was no state that did as well as the highest-achieving countries.”
* The heat may have been getting too much for Schock’s “deeply thought out” position…
State Rep. Aaron Schock today admitted he was wrong to suggest selling nuclear arms to Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China to go along with U.S. policy toward Iran.
Schock held a news conference at his campaign headquarters to retract a statement he made during an announcement speech last month. The Congressional candidate said he “overstated the remedy with regard to telling China we would sell Taiwan nuclear weapons if China continued to stall on voting for the third set of sanctions on Iran as the time for Iran producing nuclear weapons gets closer and closer.” […]
“… When I make a mistake, I’m going to be mature enough to explain it and come forward and say that … but that doesn’t mean that Iran is not a threat, that doesn’t mean that China is not the entity stopping us from a third set of sanctions, that’s not to mean that we shouldn’t find a way to encourage China to come along with those economic sanctions,” Schock said.
I loved this line from the piece…
Schock’s comments follow intense scrutiny he’s received the past few days from his opponents and the press following published reports of his plan to sell nuclear missles to Taiwan for their defense.
That “intense scrutiny” was coming from everywhere but the Peoria Journal-Star, of course.
Also, there was more coming. Schock took a trip to China that was partially paid for by the Chinese government.
Plus, you gotta figure the folks at Caterpillar (who essentially rule the Peoria political world) choked when they saw his initial comments…
According to the Wall Street Journal, Caterpillar sold more than $1 billion of goods in China in 2006, and hopes to quadruple that number by 2010.
First, he said it. Then he defended saying it, adding that opponents who disagreed weren’t being tough enough on terrorism. Then he said the plan was being misinterpreted.
He also said that anyone who disagreed with him was running in the wrong primary and compared himself to Ronald Reagan. Schock went way, way out on a limb on this one, only to walk it all the way back today. For his sake, let’s hope he learned some lessons.
* 12:33 pm - Expect plenty more appeals before this is over…
CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) - A judge here has thrown out Illinois’ law placing caps on some medical malpractice lawsuit awards, reigniting debate over 1 of the Legislature’s most contentious issues.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Joan Larsen today sided with plaintiffs’ argument that the caps on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases violate victims’ rights.
The 2005 caps law limits damages victims can collect for pain and suffering to $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. It followed complaints from doctors about soaring malpractice insurance rates.
The state Supreme Court had deemed previous caps unconstitutional. The latest caps only cover malpractice cases.
* 12:39 pm - The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted to suspend (block) the governor’s proposed emergency healthcare rules this morning. The governor’s rules would vastly expand eligibility for the state’s Family Care program. Background on the rules is here.
All JCAR members voted to suspend the guv’s proposed emergency rules except House Republican members Brent Hassert and Rosemary Mulligan, who both voted “No.” Sen. James Clayborne was not present.
* 1:39 pm - Statements from interest groups regarding the above med-mal decision…
JCAR members encouraged Hoffman’s department to file an emergency rules that would cover an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 individuals who are at risk of being cut from a federal-state program known as “SCHIP.”
Hoffman said her agency had no plans to do that. The department, however, has filed identical rules for the healthcare expansion that will go through JCAR on a slower, non-emergency basis, officials said.
The governor’s only support on JCAR — a 12-member legislative panel evenly split by Democrats and Republicans — came from two Republicans: state Reps. Rosemary Mulligan of Des Plaines and Brent Hassert of Romeoville. One panel member was absent from today’s meeting.
Hassert said the discussion was clouded by animosity between lawmakers and the governor, who had a particularly contentious legislative sessions this year.
“I just felt it was appropriate,” Hassert said of the governor’s plans.
* 2:01 pm - Is Louisville’s police chief on the short list for Chicago police superintendent? Local Kentucky media sure thinks so.
Mayor Jerry Abramson said this morning that a team looking for a new police superintendent in Chicago has contacted Louisville Police Chief Robert White about the job.
In her 10-page opinion, Judge Larsen ruled that the law violates the Illinois Constitution’s “separation of powers” clause — essentially finding that lawmakers interfered with the right of juries to determine fair damages.
The ruling means the case likely will go directly to the Illinois Supreme Court as early as next summer. The court has twice before struck down laws that limit payments to malpractice victims: once in the 1970s and again in 1997.
* 2:22 pm - This press release reminds me that I have to make up some t-shirts for our charity store…
On Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 11:00 a.m. at the James R. Thompson Center, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will launch a weeklong cell phone recycling campaign where all used phones and equipment will be donated to victims of domestic violence.
“This recycling drive serves the twofold purpose of making it easy to properly recycle your old cell phone while providing a safe line of communication for victims of domestic violence,” said Quinn, chairman of the Illinois Green Government Coordinating Council. “We want to encourage state employees and everyone to look through their closets and drawers and bring in those old cell phones. There are people out there who need them.”
In honor of America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, the Lt. Governor’s office is joining with Verizon Wireless HopeLine to collect used cell phones, batteries and accessories at state office buildings. The recycling drive will take place from Nov. 13-Nov. 16 and boxes will be placed throughout the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago and in the Stratton and Howlett buildings in Springfield.
Verizon Wireless began its HopeLine program 11 years ago by donating voicemail boxes so that women in shelters could receive confidential messages from their families and prospective employers. Today, the HopeLine program has collected more than four million phones, donated more than $4 million in financial grants and provided more than 45,000 wireless phones to local domestic organizations nationwide.
* 2:51 pm - From the Illinois Green Party…
Today two concerned voters in the 3rd Congressional District filed objections to the candidacy of Mr. Richard Mayers of Berwyn. The Illinois Green Party fully supports these objections, and will do what it can to ensure that Mr. Mayers is removed from the primary ballot.
The Illinois Green Party wishes to make it clear that Mr. Mayers is not a member of the Illinois Green Party, and the party disavows Mr. Mayers’ candidacy. Furthermore, the Illinois Green Party calls on the Illinois Board of Elections to overrule each of the frivolous objections filed by Mr. Mayers against candidates in all three parties.
Mayers has been described as a “white supremacist connected with Matt Hale’s Creativity Movement.”
The City Council today approved Mayor Daley’s $5.9 billion 2008 budget precariously balanced with $276.5 million worth of increased taxes, fines and fees. It includes a revised $83.4 million property tax increase that’s the largest in Chicago history.
Daley loves to “pitch a shut-out” on the budget, the most important City Council vote of the year. Six of his previous budgets have been approved unanimously. It didn’t happen Tuesday. The budget passed 36 to 14, but the property tax package vote was much closer: 29 to 21. It was the narrowest victory for any of Daley’s budgets.
Proposed rules for the state of Illinois smoking ban call for no smoking within 15 feet of the entrances and exits to enclosed buildings - including the entrances and exits to beer gardens and outdoor patios.
Some bar owners are still unsure of exactly how the rules will affect them when the ban takes effect Jan. 1. […]
Jeannie Boren, bar manager for Boone’s Uptown Grill, 301 W. Edwards St., said Boone’s believes it will have a legal smoking area, but owners aren’t sure how big it will be. […]
Barry Friedman, owner of The Alamo, 115 N. Fifth St., which also has a sizable beer garden, said “stepping a few more steps isn’t going to hurt anyone. If I have to paint a stripe and say you can’t smoke before this line, I’ll do that.”
From the proposed state rules…
A proprietor may designate smoking and non-smoking sections of an outdoor patio only if the smoking section is clearly and conspicuously separated from the non-smoking section and if the smoking area is at least 15 feet away from the entrance, exit, windows that open, and ventilation intakes.
If a proprietor designates an area where smoking is permitted, the proprietor shall not permit tobacco smoke to drift into areas where smoking is prohibited through entrances, windows, ventilation systems, or other means.
* Pat Quinn has a notoriously brief attention span, so I’m not sure whether he’ll follow up on this or not…
A war of words and finger-pointing broke out Veterans Day, as Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn asked Gov. Rod Blagojevich to investigate the firing of 17 veterans and three others from security jobs at National Guard armories across the state. The governor blamed federal cuts and asked Washington to change its policies.
“The governor proclaimed this ‘Hire a Veteran Month,’” Quinn said at a Sunday morning news conference. “He didn’t say ‘Fire a Veteran.’”
Later, Blagojevich offered criticism of his own. […]
“It’s an outrage that at a time when we are working to support our veterans and make their lives better, the federal government would change the rules and cut funding to make it harder for veterans to work,” the governor said in a statement released after Quinn’s news conference. “We are calling on our United States senators and congressional delegation to reverse the Bush administration’s cuts.”
* I’m hearing that the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which represented those fired workers, may be planning some action, so the story may not go away soon…
Terry Reed, field service director for Illinois Federation of Public Employees Local 4408, which represents the union guards, believes the layoffs have less to do with funding and everything to do with retaliation.
The union has filed grievances regarding the department’s decision to contract with private security companies, and that still is tied up in arbitration, Reed said. He also is critical of the department laying off the guards, 17 of whom are military veterans themselves.
An attempt to lay off the state security guards several years ago was blocked at the final hour by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The union is calling on the governor to do the same this time as well, but Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said there appears to be little the governor can do since it was the federal government that decided to pull federal funding.
* There appears to be a long history of bad blood between the union and the people who run the program. The governor stressed the money aspect of the situation, but that’s not how the layoffs were first explained…
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Military Affairs said the 20 guards laid off Wednesday were not trained to carry weapons and therefore didn’t meet required standards.
Under their job classification, the state guards do not carry weapons, but Siefert, a union steward at Marseilles, said he and others have repeatedly asked for training so they could be re-classified.
Something definitely doesn’t smell right there.
* The majority of those vets have found other state jobs, but the complaints continue…
State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he wondered why Blagojevich, who cut hundreds of millions from the state budget in an attempt to fund health care programs couldn’t have found more.
‘’Gov. Blagojevich certainly found $500 million pretty quickly for a healthcare program,'’ he said.
A Department of Military Affairs spokeswoman said that of the people laid off, 12 had taken other jobs within state government and three retired. Others are either on disability or still awaiting a resolution.
No matter how the details of the fired guards play out, there’s little doubt those in charge at all levels are far more interested in pointing fingers than actually supporting troops.
We ought to be embarrassed and angry and demand that there be real truth behind the easy words. Instead, we’ll slap a yellow magnetic bow on our cars and call it “support.”
Now, with the specter of a recession looming over the economy and talk of a troop withdrawal still swirling in Washington, D.C., many veterans’ advocates fear a repeat of the devastating aftermath of the Vietnam War, when unemployment among young veterans rose as high as 19.8%, pushing thousands of ex-soldiers to homelessness.
“There isn’t any option,” says Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who’s been a vocal advocate for veterans. “We have to make a Herculean effort” to find them jobs.
A full-on troop withdrawal would bring as many as 9,700 service members home to Illinois. Only about 1,000 of those will return to jobs protected under federal law. Many of the others, having enlisted in the military straight out of high school, will enter the civilian workforce for the first time. Upon their discharge they get, at most, a three-day course of career advice and other counseling.
While many will have military experience they believe can translate into a valuable skill in the private sector, those who have already returned from the war have found employers to be largely unimpressed by service experience.
Six years ago, Allison S. Davis, an ally of Mayor Daley, got two city blocks of free land to build homes in the Woodlawn neighborhood. And the biggest, most expensive house went to Davis’ son.
Chicago could generate $2.7 million a year — and maybe nearly twice that much — by cracking down on what has become a “widespread black market” in counterfeit city stickers, Inspector General David Hoffman has concluded.
After a yearlong investigation that identified 388 counterfeit stickers — 94 percent of them found at city auto pounds and at least one on a car that belonged to a city employee — Hoffman is recommending stiff new penalties for those who sell and manufacture bogus stickers and against motorists who purchase and display them.
I’m not condoning counterfeiting in any way, but the city conducts a year-long investigation of city stickers and finds less than 400 of them and that’s a huge problem? Priorities, people.
The city of Chicago is under-reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes it pulls in every year. That’s according to a new study by the Civic Federation, a fiscal watchdog group. It says there needs to be more transparency.
Barring last-minute changes, the Chicago City Council is poised to hike taxes, fees and fines by more than $275 million when it votes Tuesday on Mayor Richard Daley’s proposed 2008 budget.
The chief concern for aldermen and homeowners is Daley’s plan to raise property taxes by $86 million, by far the largest hike since he took office in 1989.
As a young lawyer, Allison S. Davis was a City Hall outsider.
He criticized Mayor Richard J. Daley over the 1968 riots. He worked to integrate Chicago neighborhoods. And he fought to elect judges based on legal ability, not political connections.
Today, Davis is a consummate City Hall insider.
He’s a loyal ally of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who appointed Davis to Chicago’s prestigious Plan Commission. Davis has gotten deal after deal from the mayor, helping to make Davis one of the city’s top developers. And Davis has forged strong ties to the Daley family, doing deals with one of the mayor’s nephews and giving legal business to Daley & George, mayoral brother Michael Daley’s law firm.
This year, according to the Law Department, as of Sept. 30, Chicago had paid out more than $27 million in police misconduct judgments and settlements on claims ranging from sexual harassment to excessive force and illegal search.
Wind turbines on Sears Tower and a “green” roof on the Merchandise Mart are two high-profile concepts on the drawing board as part of a wide-ranging, environmentally friendly development plan under consideration by the city.
* But basic stuff like a decent city recycling program is still out of reach…
But the fact is, we’ll never be able to claim we’re green giants until we have an effective, citywide recycling program. And we still have a long way to go.
Recycling, after all, is the most basic of environmental programs. It’s probably the first thing someone does when they start to think green, because of the variety of benefits, from saving natural resources to saving energy to saving landfill space. “What’s good about recycling is that it’s something everyone can do and actually make an impact,” said Julie Dick, a board member at the Chicago Recycling Coalition. But people who move to Chicago from the suburbs or other big cities, nearly all of which have better recycling programs than Chicago’s, are often surprised at how hard it is here.
* OK, so far, we know that state Rep. Aaron Schocks “deeply thought-out” proposal to threaten China with nuclear holocaust if it doesn’t cooperate on halting Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is deeply flawed on just about every level…
* The United States doesn’t even have any of the missiles that Schock wants to sell to Taiwan to pressure China because those Pershings were all destroyed after Ronald Reagan signed a treaty with the Soviet Union. Ironically, Schock’s spokesman claims that this China gambit is Reaganesque.
* Schock voted for a Sudan pension fund divestment proposal but voted against a similar proposal to divest from Iran’s energy companies, which are developing that country’s nuclear weapons.
* As expected, Monday’s political column in the Peoria Journal-Star doesn’t mention any of this stuff except to use Schock’s spin…
Schock is doing what he thinks voters want, giving details. Thus far, at least, other candidates have only scratched the surface on any issues.
State Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, is worth somewhere up to $1,245,000, including between $500,000 and $1 million owed to Busey Bank to finance Old Orchard Land trust - an apartment complex, according to reports. […]
He mostly carries investments in real estate, securities and stocks valued between $933,000 and $1,995,000, with income from those assets producing at best $17,600 annually, according to reports.
His annual salary was reported at $132,704, including about $42,463 from the state, $25,000 from Junction Ventures, for which he no longer works, and $65,240 from Peterson Healthcare.
“I think this hopefully demonstrates that while I’m not rich, I certainly know the importance of saving and investing, and I tried to be responsible with the money that I earned and have tried to do the same as a public official,” Schock said.
Meanwhile, here in the real world, there’s a word to describe people with $1 million: “Rich.”
* On another congressional race, the Politico had this…
Marketing executive Dan Seals holds a commanding lead over former Clinton administration aide Jay Footlik by 52 points for the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), according to a poll released by his campaign.
The poll found that 58 percent of likely primary voters would vote for Seals, while only 6 percent preferred Footlik.
Seals, by virtue of his Congressional campaign last year, tallied higher name identification: 69 percent of respondents recognized his name, while only 24 percent could identify Footlik.
The poll, conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group surveyed 404 likely Democratic primary voters between November 5-7.
* But commenters over at Team America blog question the wording of the survey.
* Ex-legislator’s fund owes $80,000 but gov hires him anyway
Giles, a Blagojevich ally while in the Legislature, served seven terms before losing his 2006 re-election bid. He’s now northern region manager for the Illinois Department of Employment Security, an $84,996-a-year post in which he oversees nine work force services offices and about 250 employees. The job was vacant before Giles was hired.
Giles’ defunct political fund, Citizens for Calvin L. Giles, still owes $80,250 in election fines for improperly filing disclosure documents in 2000 and 2002.
* State police probe donation to Blagojevich ; more here
A Chicago pharmacist first told state police in 2005 that he made a $25,000 contribution to Blagojevich as a form of protection from a state Medicaid probe.
The Illinois State Police told the Tribune last month they had already investigated those allegations and determined they were unfounded.
But after repeated inquiries from the Tribune about the thoroughness of that investigation, state police said last week they were taking another look.
Election law changes that call for more pay for election judges, more teenagers and college students as monitors and safeguards to ensure absentee ballots are counted were announced Monday by the Chicago Election Board.
Riding the crest of his 31 percent approval rating (or less, depending on the poll), Blagojevich apparently intends once again to push his universal health plan in the General Assembly. Won’t that be fun? It got next to no support in the General Assembly this year, and there doesn’t seem to be a sudden groundswell to support it now. Not to mention that no one has figured out how to pay for it. Are we going to have Son of Gross Receipts Tax? It’s going to take some kind of tax hike to pay for Illinois Covered. How many lawmakers do you think will be lining up to support any kind of tax hike in an election year?
* Legislators balk at Blago’s health care expansion
The administration insisted Thursday evening that the plan would cost $43 million through June 30, the end of the fiscal year. But Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said his staff analysis shows it would cost $367 million annually once it’s fully implemented. Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Pontiac, concurred.
* Editorial: Governor again bypasses system to get his own way
If Blagojevich’s push for universal health care is so important, why didn’t he mention it while he was campaigning for re-election less than a year ago? We can’t believe the idea suddenly popped into his head after Nov. 7, 2006.
Pension reform, school finance reform and a capital program still need to be addressed, but this governor is bound and determined to get his way, even if it bankrupts the state.
Eleven months ago, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago warned that Illinois faces “a financial implosion.” The highly respected business group reported that the state owed $106 billion, much of it for pensions and health-care costs.
The state made no progress in the last year on those dire financial problems. Yet Blagojevich is doing an end-run on the legislature to impose more spending on health care.
Given the chance, Oregon voters said, “not so fast.” But Illinois voters, and their elected representatives, have been left as bystanders.
* State to hire auditor to look at all-time low test scores
“Any time you see a drop like this, it’s a concern,” said Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover. “We want to take a close look at the whole testing process and see if we can determine if there was a problem with the test, or if this is a real decline in scores.”
The Edgar County Board was warned Wednesday morning a potentially budget busting bill is moving through the Illinois General Assembly. Tim Shumaker, Edgar County Chief Probation Officer, advised county board members the proposed law would change the the age limit for charging youths as adults from the current 17-years-old to 18.
It’s impossible to prove what relatives and friends of some of the victims have been asserting to Chicago reporters: that a fully funded CeaseFire could have prevented one or more of the five high-profile killings of young Chicagoans in the past four weeks.
What’s easy to prove, though, is that CeaseFire is a politically neutral organization with no business being caught in the political crossfire that now passes for governance in Springfield. The unending struggle over who writes the state budget of Illinois — the legislature or the governor — isn’t CeaseFire’s fight.
* Carol Marin: State GOP may need strange alliances
If Pat Robertson, the televangelist who believes God made heaven for righteous right-wingers and hell for everyone else, can bless the thrice-married, pro-choice, pro-gay, anti-gun Rudy Giuliani for president, what other water can the GOP turn into wine this election season?
Could this kind of radical rapprochement between an ideological conservative and a social liberal catch on? Could it possibly spread to schizoid Illinois, where conservatives consider centrists Communists? Where wacko Alan Keyes was imported from out of state to run for U.S. Senate in 2004 against Barack Obama? Where moderate Republican Judy Baar Topinka was eaten alive by the right wing of her party, bludgeoned worse by them than by her 2006 Democratic opponent, Gov. Rod Blagojevich?
Just asking.
* McQueary: Journalism ’shield’ laws a want or a need?
