The Honorable Emil Jones
The Honorable Michael Madigan
The Honorable Frank Watson
The Honorable Tom Cross
Dear Legislative Leaders:
I am writing to invite you to a leaders’ meeting in my office in Springfield at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. The purpose of the meeting is to continue discussions on a long-term transit solution for the Chicago area and an infrastructure bill for the entire state.
Last week, in order to prevent the RTA and CTA from cutting service, increasing fares and laying off workers, I provided the transit agencies with an additional $27 million to keep their operations running through the end of the year.
But the events of last week made clear there is no consensus among legislators on how to provide a long-term solution to the RTA and CTA. What was clear, however, was that a significant number of legislators of both parties and both chambers want to address the state’s critical infrastructure needs together with the needs of the RTA and CTA. That certainly is a reasonable approach and one that creates a bipartisan opportunity to pass a capital bill and find a long-term solution for mass transit in the Chicago area.
Now is the time to seize this opportunity. But to do that, we must all be willing to come together, put past differences aside, and work in good faith to solve these problems and meet these challenges. People across Illinois are counting on us to get the job done without further delay. Let’s avoid another transit crisis and make the needed investments in our aging infrastructure.
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Rod R. Blagojevich
Governor
* 1:06 pm - Word’s going around that the governor wants to “turn over a new leaf” with the leaders - particularly Madigan. As someone just pointed out to me, the last time the governor sent out that message Tim Mapes’ wife was fired.
* 1:59 pm - The US Attorney’s office has filed its response to George Ryan’s emergency request for bail from the US Supreme Court. Read it here.
* 2:49 pm - The Illinois Green Party is filing a bunch of candidates today…
In the Illinois House, the Greens have filed in the 15th, 9th, 21st, 41st, 68th districts.
Supporters of a federal shield law [for reporters] say one is needed because law enforcement agencies have come to rely too heavily on the news media to pursue certain cases. Prosecutors are subpoenaing reporters, demanding they reveal confidential sources and, in some cases, intercepting reporters’ mail and phone calls, secretly, to help further their own criminal investigations. To properly carry out the media’s crucial “watchdog” role, we need a law that sets ground rules for the pursuit of confidential sources and provides both reporters and sources a level of comfort that they will be protected.
Opponents, including U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, say the hype skews reality.
Considering the global flow of information, cases of reporters going to jail for refusing to reveal confidential sources remain scant, in his opinion.
Most reporters operate free of government intervention in their day-to-day reporting, he believes.
Fitzgerald took a rare opportunity to share his views in the Washington Post, where he penned a letter to the editor last month. As the lead investigator of the Valerie Plame leak case, he - not surprisingly - opposes a shield law. Since 1935 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled reporters are obligated to comply with grand jury subpoenas, Fitzgerald argued there has been no shortage of investigative journalism.
“A compelling case has not been made for jettisoning the legal framework that has guided this process for the past 35 years,” Fitzgerald wrote.
But the larger issue is whether highly publicized cases of jailed reporters who refused to divulge confidential sources have created a chilling effect by silencing both whistle-blowers and reporters pursuing controversial stories.
Now, the question: Should a federal shield law be put in place to prevent the jailing of journalists who won’t divulge sources? Explain fully.
* Not all of the Statehouse games are being played by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. My syndicated newspaper column looks at House Speaker Michael Madigan…
n the hyper-overreactive world that is the Illinois Statehouse, every move made by every major player is analyzed to death to see who is zooming whom. House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Illinois Gaming Board reform plan is a case in point.
Madigan unveiled his proposal last week. And while the idea has drawn praise from reformers like the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, it includes language that looks designed specifically as a jab at his political nemeses.
For instance, Madigan’s proposal would ban all contacts about Gaming Board matters between the board and the governor’s office, state senators and Senate staff but not a word about Madigan’s House. Zing.
And…
Madigan is just chock full of games these days. The House speaker unveiled a new budget implementation bill last week that took a big swipe at Blagojevich.
School advocates were saying last week that if the BIMP bill didn’t pass by Friday, more than 700 school districts across the state would see reduced state aid payments next month. The BIMP also provides new money for schools in the form of a higher “foundation” level and more money for special education reimbursements. Madigan has declined to pass a Senate-approved BIMP bill because, he says, Jones violated a budget agreement during the summer overtime session. Jones points the finger of blame right back at Madigan.
But with the pressure on, Madigan couldn’t resist playing another game.
Buried on page 25 of Madigan’s alternative BIMP bill was language that authorized Secretary of State Jesse White to make grants to “units of local government, school districts, educational institutions, private agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit entities.” The grants under White’s control would cover education, transportation, construction, capital improvements and social services.
In other words, Madigan essentially wanted to give White the powers normally delegated solely to the governor and his agencies.
Thankfully, Madigan withdrew that proposal and submitted another one without the above language. But it gives you an idea of how far things have gone this year.
* Finke, meanwhile, isn’t convinced that a capital projects deal is near…
All of those people out there thinking they were going to get projects out of a new capital bill just might want to slow down a bit.
A few weeks ago, the Senate passed a capital bill that earmarked money for all sorts of great and wonderful projects. Since then, the administration has been running all over the state with the project list trying to win support for the capital bill from local officials, construction unions and whoever. The idea was the locals would pressure their House members to support the capital bill because this project or that one would get funded.
The problem is the House wasn’t involved in drafting that project list. This is how Cross - an avid supporter of a capital bill - summed it up Friday. “As far as I’m concerned, what came over from the Senate is not what we are going to work from. We are going to start over.”
So don’t assume that just because your favorite project was on the list before that it will still be there when, or if, a capital bill is finally approved.
With the ink barely dry on a new state budget, two recently released financial reports already are raising concerns about whether state revenues will keep pace with spending.
Both the bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and Comptroller Dan Hynes issued reports warning that income from some state revenues — particularly the sales tax — could be lower than expected.
Unless things turn around, and neither report was optimistic that will happen, the state could be facing financial shortfalls before the budget year ends.
Since 2003, the governors of Midwestern states have trekked from Germany to Japan in hopes of jump-starting economic expansion and job growth back home. And, by their own accounts, each of their trade missions has returned dividends.
In Indiana, Honda officials are building a new car plant. In Iowa, European wind farm manufacturers are mulling investments.
One governor, however, stands alone.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has not ventured outside the nation’s borders in any official economic development capacity since taking office in 2003.
Other governors have taken heat for traveling the world. Blagojevich seems content to govern from his house.
Palos Hills mayor Gerald Bennett — a close Lipinski ally — is supposedly entering the race officially today. The goal isn’t for Bennett to be competitive. The goal is to split the sizeable anti-Lipinski vote since he and his daddy don’t trust the voters to keep him around in a head-to-head contest.
Nearby, on the southwest side of Chicago, nothing is stirring at the campaign office of another Democratic contender in the 3rd district, lawyer Jim Capparelli. A map of the district is posted on the wall and a table is lined with clipboards and phones, but while it is just four months to primary day, there is no activity inside.
* The Sun-Times’ Mark Brown takes a closer look today at two of the three Democrats who have filed in the race. First, he offers up a bit of history…
Two years ago, U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski challenger John Sullivan, a prosecutor, said a second challenger, John Kelly, was lured into the Democratic primary to split opposition to Lipinski in this district that stretches from Chicago’s Southwest Side to the southwest suburbs. Accused ghost Kelly bested Sullivan, 26 percent to 20 percent.
* And now on to the current contest…
But Capparelli, Bennett and Lipinski all angrily deny the two are ghosts running to help Lipinski. […]
Bennett says that with his name recognition and contacts, his candidacy “will be the first serious challenge the Lipinskis have had in 23 years.” […]
Capparelli — no relation to Democratic Committeeman Ralph Capparelli from the Northwest Side — claims support of Local 399 of the Operating Engineers and Teamsters Local 786. Many of his positions — on the war and abortion, for example — appear to mirror Lipinski’s.
The most interesting thing about Brown’s column is that last little revelation. Lipinski is on the House Transportation Committee, so he has a measure of control over what gets spent where. Other transportation unions seem to have a high opinion of him, and it’s doubtful that any union that depends on Congress for jobs would go out of its way to anger Little Lip.
That Teamsters local does road work (they represent concrete truck drivers, among other things), although the Operating Engineers local represents mostly building maintenance workers.
The 786 backing of Capparelli isn’t solid proof that Capparelli is a Lipper shill, but it certainly is an interesting development.
“I’ll be the first to admit that the number and increasing severity of doomsday plans, accompanied each time by stopgap funding measures at the last minute to postpone the crisis, create a serious credibility issue for the CTA,” said agency President Ron Huberman.
“My worst fear about the Band-Aid funding is that people will not believe we continue to be in a bad fiscal position that forces us to cut service and raise fares.”
Riders say they’re tired of the “Doomsday” rollercoaster ride.
“Cause it’s ‘we’re going to do it,’ then ‘we’re not going to do it,’” said CTA rider Jessica Harris. “Somebody needs to just make a decision on what’s going on.”
“They need to really come with a solution and end it. It’s just like a big headache for people,” said CTA rider Andre McElroy. “If you are going to raise the fares, get it over with, let’s do it.”
McElroy says lawmakers need to come up with a permanent solution instead of all the “quick fixes.”
* Illinoize: Chicago-L announces transit funding rally
* Ryan reassigned to prison in Wisconsin
* Carol Marin: An apology by Ryan could spur hearing
Illinois has done better. It hasn’t had an execution since 1999. I’d argue that’s a point of pride for this state and a testament to what George Ryan did right.
Now, if only he’d do one more thing.
It’s something even his supporters wish he’d do: Offer a heartfelt, sincere apology for what he did wrong.
It wouldn’t keep him out of prison. It shouldn’t keep him out of prison. But, like his death penalty work, it would have meaning.
* Illinoize: 59% of McHenry Co. precincts have no GOP committeemen candidates
* American Airlines offers flights between Springfield, St. Louis
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin plans to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Springfield to mark return of the service. He says the state capital deserves a reliable and convenient means of getting to major transportation hubs like St. Louis.
* Quinn joins motorcyclists in Veteran’s ride fundraiser
* WurfWhile: Councilman sues Naperville for violation civil rights
On Wednesday Naperville Councilman Dick Furstenau filed suit against the city of Naperville, the police chief and two officers claiming his civil rights were violated in his arrest New Years Day 2006 for shoving a police officer, according to the Naperville Sun. Furstenau has steadfastly denied the charges and has blamed the suit for his loss to Randy Hultgren in the 2006 Republican Primary for State Senate District 48.
* Schoenburg: Deal or no deal? Libri, Timoney explain strategies
So, is there a deal between the two major parties not to run candidates for countywide offices now held by the other side?
That’s a question that I’ve heard at least a few people ask as the filing period nears its Monday end and there aren’t any contests so far for Sangamon County circuit clerk, coroner, state’s attorney, auditor or recorder.
* How independent was $22,000 report of county finances?
* Editorial: Commissioners should not seek larger office staffs
More staff? For what? So they can have someone walk over to Stroger shot-caller Bill Beavers and ask him how to vote on a certain proposal rather than get up and find out for themselves?
Even if these were the most exemplary commissioners ever (which they’re not), it violates all the lessons of Good Government 101 to be asking for more for yourself when you’re telling cash-strapped constituents they have to pay more in taxes in the coming year.
* Cook Co. tax delays costs school district $1 million say officials
* Daley says he’ll cut back property tax increase request
Though Rogge didn’t get into any specifics about Chicago’s chances for 2016, he did say he expected the city to present a “very strong” bid. He also said it’s “far too soon” to rank the seven bid cities. Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; and Prague, Czech Republic, also are bidding for the Summer Olympics.
“Chicago is doing like all the others,” Rogge said. “They are working hard, they are drafting their presentation.”
In his speech to The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Economic Club of Chicago, Rogge outlined the ideals and values of the Olympic movement, explaining that there is much more to the Olympics than the games themselves. Although the Olympics can provide significant financial benefits to the countries and companies involved, there is a higher-minded purpose, he said.
Mayor Richard Daley, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Pfleger all tout the goodness of more gun control, but all three of them shy away from the central issue. How can we take guns out of the hands of young men who join gangs, make their living selling drugs and rake in outrageous profits in the process?
* The Thicket: On moments of silence across the country
* Schools tiptoe into moment of silence compliance
FLASH: Administration sources, RTA Chairman Jim Reilly and House Speaker Michael Madigan all claim the federal government has approved the governor’s temporary mass transit bailout proposal.
* CTA calls off “doomsday”
* Blagojevich again calls for capital plan in conjunction with transit deal
* Raw audio of the governor’s press availability from Metro Networks…
[audio:GovernorBlagojevich1102.mp3]
* The governor wants a leaders meeting on Tuesday
* “BIMP” bill expected to be on governor’s desk by the end of today
Scroll down for more info.
———————————–
* 10:10 am - The House’s nine o’clock session is about to start. Listen here.
* 10:46 am - Transit fare hike on the way? From WBBM Radio…
Senate Republican leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) wrote RTA Chairman Jim Reilly this week that “a modest and reasonable fare increase for riders who benefit must be part of the solution.”
In his reply, Reilly wrote Watson, “Certainly if the Governor and four leaders agree on that approach we would most definitely implement it.”
How much, or when, the fare hike would occur is unclear.
RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman reiterated that position Thursday.
“If the legislature decides to actually mandate a specific fare increase for next year, obviously we will adhere to that,” Schlickman said before leaving for Springfield to join Reilly and CTA President Ron Huberman, in making last-minute pitches for votes.
You can read Chairman Reilly’s entire letter to Sen. Watson here.
* 11:30 am - I’m not sure if we had this here or not. From Hiram’s blog…
Yesterday’s Daily Journal reports that Robert Gorman will be dropping out of the 11th District Democratic Primary, leaving Illinois State Senator Debbie Halvorson uncontested in the primary to succeed outgoing Congressman Jerry Weller.
*** 11:38 am *** The Tribune has some details of the governor’s proposed temporary transit bailout proposal and react…
Seeking to avert a transportation “Doomsday,” Gov. Rod Blagojevich today authorized a direct grant to the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace for $27 million to maintain operations until the end of the year, according to a letter he sent to lawmakers today.
Blagojevich made clear that the short-term funding is not a loan. “It is new money we are providing them to keep serving their riders,” he wrote. […]
CTA Chairman Carole Brown said the governor had offered $21 million to her agency from a federal grant for capital expenditures.
But she said it was not yet clear if the federal government would allow money that is supposed to go for capital expenditures to be diverted to operating expenses.
The governor also sent a letter to House members regarding this proposal. Read it here.
* 12:57 pm - The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s monthly state revenue report is out. Read it here.
* 1:42 pm - I meant to post something about this and got distracted. From the AP, the House has passed a BIMP bill…
In another twist in the state budget drama, the Illinois House has approved legislation to spare schools from financial hardship.
The measure authorizes spending about $550 million in additional education money. It passed 111-0 and now goes to the Senate, although there’s no guarantee the Senate will act soon. […]
That measure has been held up for months amid arguments between the House and Senate.
* 1:47 pm - From a brief House debate on transit today…
On the House floor, Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), who leads the House mass-transit committee, said she understands the governor’s proposal would take “leftover” money available from a bond fund. Because bond funds are usually used for things like buying buses or construction projects, there are technical questions that must be reviewed and approved by federal officials before the money can be used by the transit agencies, she said.
“I personally wish the governor might have checked with them first,” Hamos said. “That would have been better. But we’re waiting . . . because I think this whole ‘Doomsday’ scenario depends on this one critical fact.”
* 2:04 pm - I just talked to a House Democrat from Chicago who made a pretty good point and gets our “Quote of the Week” award…
“We’re waiting on a Republican administration in Washington, DC at 3 o’clock on a Friday afternoon to bail out a Democratic governor.”
* 2:09 pm - Despite the above pessimism, a Blagojevich spokesperson just claimed that progress was being made in the negotiations.
* 2:19 pm - Man, this is like watching paint dry on a bomb that’s about to explode.
*** 2:23 pm *** Two administration sources claim the federal government has approved the governor’s short-term bailout plan. An official announcement is expected shortly.
*** 2:25 pm *** RTA Board Chairman Jim Reilly just told reporters that it’s a done deal.
*** 2:27 pm *** House Speaker Michael Madigan is speaking on the floor of the House about the temporary bailout plan. Listen here.
Madigan confirmed the above reports. Madigan will adjourn the House today. Madigan said he and Tom Cross have already met today on the gaming and capital plan and will meet “quite frequently” over the next seven to ten days to work out a final deal.
Madigan said the House will not meet Monday.
Madigan: The governor will transfer $27 million of Series B bond money to RTA. It will then offset the use of federal capital money for operating purposes, which they’ve been doing for a few years.
*** 2:40 pm *** Governor Blagojevich will hold a news conference outside his office at 2:50.
*** 2:58 pm *** Statement from RTA Board member Judy Baar Topinka, who ran against Gov. Blagojevich last year…
“To give him and the leaders yet another extension is just to give them more time to waste. I can’t believe that he has allowed the issue to come to this when there was plenty of time to straighten it out early on. To make people dependent upon public transportation ride this roller coaster of they have a bus, they don’t have a bus, is really insensitive and sad as it leaves nothing but anxiety and fear out there. He didn’t have a transportation component in his campaign, he has no plan now.”
“We are not moving forward with the service cuts and fare increases,” Karen Rowan, the general counsel for CTA, told reporters Friday afternoon.
*** 3:11 pm *** Blagojevich statement…
Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced this afternoon the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace accepted a $27 million direct grant to maintain operations until the end of the year. The short-term financial assistance package will ensure that transit riders in the Chicago area will be able to continue relying on the service they need while lawmakers work to pass a plan that provides long-term funding for mass transit as well as funding for infrastructure projects statewide.
“Now that the CTA and Pace accepted the $27 million in short-term assistance I authorized today, transit riders in the Chicago area will be able to continue relying on the service they need while we continue our negotiations on a plan that will ultimately result in stronger and safer roads, bridges, schools and mass transit systems across Illinois,” said Governor Blagojevich. “There is general consensus that a mass transit plan for the Chicagoland region should be passed in conjunction with a capital plan that would meet infrastructure needs across the state. The leaders believe that this can be completed in the near future.”
The $27 million grant will come from state transportation capital funds. $21 million will be directed to the CTA and $6 million to Pace. The additional state capital funds will free up allocated federal capital money that can then be used for operational needs related to preventative maintenance and para-transit. The transit agencies have used federal capital funds for preventative maintenance and para-transit operations in the past. By replacing the converted federal capital money with State capital money, there will be no loss to either CTA or Pace’s capital plan.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) said the stopgap funding is “in the interest of preventing a shutdown.”
“This may not be the best solution, but it is what is here and now and available,” Cross said.
*** 3:30 pm *** Raw audio of the governor’s remarks, kindly provided by the fine folks at Metro Networks…
[audio:GovernorBlagojevich1102.mp3]
*** 3:32 pm *** The governor did not answer questions, but says he’s invited the four legislative leaders to a Springfield meeting next Tuesday at 11 am.
*** 3:52 pm *** The Senate Executive Committee has passed the BIMP bill. The full Senate is expected to pass it later this afternoon. Exec is discussing mass transit now and then the full chamber will meet. I’m told that’ll be in about 45 minutes or so.
*** 4:25 pm *** The Senate is convening. Listen here.
*** 4:32 pm *** The BIMP passed the Senate without debate.
* Yesterday, I told you that the comptroller’s office was claiming that the governor had not followed through on his September pledge to provide a temporary bailout to the RTA/CTA. An initial $37 million was paid, but the rest was not distributed, according to the comptroller. RTA Chairman Jim Reilly also said that all the promised cash hadn’t been received.
The revelation was important because the governor is planning to announce the details of yet another temporary transit bailout today. The CTA’s “doomsday” is Sunday, and the RTA/CTA say they don’t want another temporary fix, which the governor derided yesterday as ridiculous.
The governor’s PR staff worked overtime yesterday to convince other reporters not to write about the alleged failure to disburse the original temporary bailout money. I also received this e-mail last night from one of the governor’s spokespersons…
The funding is being disbursed according to the agreement the Dept. of Transportation signed with the RTA: $37 million was immediately released in September when the agreement was reached. We agreed to release an additional $18 million a month in October, November and December. Last week we forwarded the Comptroller’s office the paperwork they need to get the October payment process started. The $18 million November payment will be vouchered to the Comptroller tomorrow.
The comptroller’s office’s specific response to the Blagojevich administration statement that the paperwork was sent last week is unprintable, but it started with a “Bull” and ended with a “t.” And it wasn’t “bullet.” Please, no guesses in comments.
Take a gander at this link. It’s IDOT’s contract obligation document to fund the temporary bailout announced in September. Scroll down and look at two things…
1) It wasn’t signed by IDOT’s bureau of accounting and auditing until Monday, October 29th. That’s this week.
2) It was received by the comptroller’s office yesterday. I’m told it was hand-delivered after I wrote about the snafu on the blog yesterday.
So, the paperwork wasn’t sent to the Comptroller “last week.” It was sent yesterday. And not all the paperwork has been sent. As of yet, no payment voucher has been submitted by the governor’s office, according to the comptroller. No voucher equals no payment.
As long as there’s no voucher, I stand by the story.
*** UPDATE *** The payment vouchers for the October and November temporary bailout payments were hand delivered to the comptroller’s office shortly after this post was put online. So, apparently, the only way that the RTA is gonna keep getting its money is if I bug the governor’s office every month. (Just kidding… kinda)
——————————————-
* Meanwhile, as I told you yesterday, Downstate Senate Democrats said they couldn’t support a transit bailout until a capital projects bill is approved…
Long-standing rifts between Chicago lawmakers and their downstate brethren were on full display in the Illinois Statehouse Thursday.
As Chicago officials scrambled to put together a plan to bail out their financially strapped mass transit systems before a Sunday deadline, lawmakers from the midsection of the state complained that they also need money for road, bridge and school construction projects in their districts.
Some of the rhetoric was way overheated…
“Why should I help out Chicago when they haven’t helped out my area for the last umpteen years?” added Republican state Rep. Bill Mitchell of Forsyth.
Rep. Mitchell, who has received thousands of dollars from Ameren and its affiliated companies over the years, was bailed out of a big mess by Chicago legislators this year when they helped Downstaters roll back the company’s exhorbitant rate increases. Rep. Mitchell’s rhetoric is not exactly helpful, or true.
* More transit stories….
* Editorial: Day of reckoning in legislature for politicians, state
* I always have a problem when someone wants to blame all woes on just one factor. That being said, noted TIF-hater Ben Joravsky predicted this on Oct. 25th…
I suspect the bulk of the [Olympic Games] will be financed with money from the city’s TIF accounts. That’s why Daley’s proposed tax hikes are so critical. TIFs work by freezing the amount of property tax revenue the parks, schools, county, and other taxing bodies can draw on. As property values rise, the TIF funds get all the additional tax money the property generates. By calling for a hike in the property tax rate, Daley’s accelerating the amount of money pouring into TIF funds at the same time he’s looking to impress the IOC with Chicago’s ability to pay for the games—a master stroke.
City Hall Wednesday took the first formal step toward acquiring property that now is home to Michael Reese Hospital — a 37-acre site that could figure prominently in the city’s plans to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
* And the kicker…
The city also did not specify how it would finance acquisition of the land, which is located west of Lake Shore Drive between 26th and 31st streets. But the property is included within the Bronzeville tax increment financing (TIF) district.
It’s also next to the 47th and King TIF, the 40th and State TIF, the 41st and King TIF, the 35th and State TIF, and the 43rd and Cottage Grove TIF. State laws governing TIFs allow the city to “port” TIF funds — that is, move TIF money from one district to an adjoining one. Including Bronzeville, these TIFS had about $19.3 million in their accounts as of last December.
Remember, TIFs are property tax dollars diverted from the schools and parks and county into slush funds controlled by the mayor. He could use them to rebuild the CTA, hire more teachers, or help offset the city’s $196 [million] deficit, which instead has him calling for a $300 million increase in property taxes and fees. Instead, he’s pouring money into his pipe dream.
Cook County prosecutors are seeking any e-mail correspondence between Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration and a private auditing firm hired by the state to investigate a politically connected drug-testing company accused of stealing more than $2 million from the state.
Cook County Criminal Court Judge James Obbish Thursday ordered that the e-mails be turned over to the court as part of the criminal case against Anita Mahajan, the indicted owner of the now-defunct K.K. Bio-Science.
But Stevens could have decided after just looking at the brief from Ryan’s lawyers that there wasn’t enough to proceed, so the fact that he has asked the government to respond bolstered the hopes of Ryan’s lawyers.
‘’It’s encouraging,'’ said former Gov. James R. Thompson, Ryan’s attorney.
* Sen. Schoenberg urges schools to fight moment of silence law
* How did your school do on state tests? Check and compare
* WurfWhile: Why candidates should work with bloggers
What does a good blog campaign strategy look like? It has a story, the campaign’s story, and it develops it. It respects bloggers by not throwing bogus crap at them and engages bloggers by informing them with regular contact, making them part of the campaign and leveraging their ideas to achieve the campaign’s goals.
