* Eric Zorn starts off a blog post with this unbelievably goofy quote from LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon executive director Carey Pinkowski….
Is there anything we could have done better? No. We anticipated the weather. I’m very proud of the way things went
What’s so bizarre about this comment is it was made today. After one runner died and hundreds ended up in the hospital.
Zorn comments…
Sunday’s event was calamitous, as these things go — one runner dead, hundreds hospitalized, thousands angry at what they say was a lack of fluids on the course — and Pinkowski is only making it worse by offering excuses, pointing the finger at others and otherwise trying to spin the story
* Once again, Pinkowski…
“Our participants were not drinking the water, they were cooling themselves with it,” Pinkowski said. “That’s something that, I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t anticipate.”
Don’t runners often douse themselves with water, particularly when it’s a hot day? I certainly did back in the (very long ago) day when I ran cross-country races.
* And what about that claim made by runners and initially disputed by organizers that the aid stations ran out of water (notice Zorn’s hedging on this topic above)?
Over at Illinoize, John Ruberry displays this video about one aid station that clearly ran out of water, which completely contradicts marathon organizers’ earlier assertions that they had plenty of fluids and that nobody ran dry…
I took some water from my fuel belt and kept on. The energy from the spectators was great. Everyone was so encouraging and excited for the race. We turn to go down LaSalle…over the river…and to the next water stop.
Nothing.
A few blocks later I run by my parents. I didn’t even stop. All I could do was yell to them “GET GATORADE FOR MILE 11. THEY’RE OUT OF EVERYTHING.”
* Zorn thinks Pinkowski is the right guy to fix things. I can’t understand why. Pinkowski presided over a colossal failure and then claims everything went according to plan.
Then again, Pinkowski’s spin is no different than much of what we’ve seen out of the White House, the governor’s office and the 5th Floor at city hall. Flatly deny that the disaster/meltdown/etc. exists even when everyone can plainly see it with their own eyes and dozens of actual victims/participants/reporters dispute the false propaganda. Then, when finally busted cold claim that, well, maybe some mistakes “were made” but they certainly couldn’t have been foreseen, despite common sense to the contrary.
* Sen. Dick Durbin has been far more vocal about Illinois politics than any member of the state’s congressional delegation. He kept it up over the weekend…
“I really, really think we ought to stop and catch our breath and say, ‘Is this the future of Illinois - that every time we want to do something, we’ll just build more casinos?’” he said. “When that becomes the answer to every question, I start to worry about it.”
He said most casino visitors are not tourists.
“Most of the people who go in are low-income people and elderly people who lose money that they can’t afford to lose,” Durbin said. “That to me seems like a wrong way to finance the important programs that we need in this country.”
* And he had some harsh words for the Powers that Be…
“I think they should be more honest with people,” he said. “Selling off state assets and building casinos will only take you so far. […]
“I wish I could blame the Republicans, but I can’t figure out how to do it,” Durbin joked. “I hope that they’ll come to their senses and that the Democratic leaders down there will get together and compromise.”
* Meanwhile, the Sunday SJ-R editorial was all over the place, but it was partly about Senate President Emil Jones’ refusal to call the House’s veto override motions on the budget, and its conclusion didn’t make much sense…
In a just world, Jones would not have the right to simply block democracy like this. But justice and the General Assembly often part ways. So Jones can block this vote if he chooses to put loyalty to Blagojevich above what is right. Some people in Gov. George Ryan’s administration operated that way. We know what eventually happened to them.
Dragging out the George Ryan bogeyman when someone disagrees with your position is a bit bizarre, but whatever.
Ryan’s conviction on federal corruption charges have been well-documented, but his reputation as a deal maker could be seen in the existence of the Illinois FIRST program.
* Ryan may have been a crook, but he was smart enough not to fire the wife of Madigan’s chief of staff. My syndicated newspaper column has more details on this event…
Ironically enough, the firing came the day after all four legislative leaders met with Gov. Rod Blagojevich for the first time in months. The meeting was arranged by House Republican Leader Tom Cross and was specifically designed to try and convince the five men to set aside their personal and political differences and attempt to work together on solving the state’s numerous problems. The Democrats, who control all of state government, have been fighting like cats and dogs this year, and just about nothing is getting resolved. […]
But taking action like this against the wife of Madigan’s most trusted aide is wholly unprecedented at the Statehouse. Not only is she Mapes’ wife, but she’s the political version of a noncombatant. The political honor code dictates that family members are not supposed to be messed with.
After trying three times to explain the firing, the Department of Human Services finally claimed that the federal government made them do it. But DHS’s story is so full of mysterious holes, the timing of the dismissal is so questionable and the governor’s office has told so many lies that even if this one is true, nobody will ever believe it.
Plus, any explanation the governor’s office provides, no matter how legitimate it may sound, will simply not be trusted in Room 300 - Madigan’s suite of Statehouse offices. Madigan’s press spokesman labeled the administration’s explanation as “an absolute lie,” which was not unexpected. Nobody with real power trusts anybody else with real power in Springfield these days.
And that is the most important aspect of this story, not the DHS response. As I’ve been trying to tell people all year, the three Democratic leaders (Madigan, Blagojevich and Jones) believe they are engaged in a fight to the political death. So they’re always on the lookout for any tiny slights. And this thing is way beyond tiny.
It probably doesn’t help matters that some of the governor’s top guys have been heard chuckling and bragging about the firing to intimates.
Madigan, contacted after the firing story leaked out, did not want to speak about the situation on the record, but the man was more thoroughly angry and disgusted than I have ever seen him in all my years.
If you think the Madigan vs. Blagojevich fight was bad before, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
[Rep. Rich Myers] read from a column by “Capitol Fax” writer Rich Miller, which also listed the uncle of Madigan ally Rep. John D’Amico. Representatives Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield, Eddie Acevedo, D-Chicago, and Careen Gordon, D-Coal City, all had brothers employed by the state who have either been fired or demoted.
In addition, Myers, said, the Blagojevich vetoes targeted the Illinois Arts Council, which is chaired by none other than Madigan’s wife, Shirley.
“When you put together all of the incidents, then you start to see a pattern that anyone who is connected with (Madigan) becomes a target,” Myers said.
* More mess stories, compiled by Paul…
* Editorial: Six years running IL has no capital construction plan
* McQueary: Channeling the governor via Rep. McCarthy
* Editorial: Jones needs to shut door on one-man show
* Schoenburg: You can count on the governor to fudge the numbers
* Statehouse Insider: Blagojevich’s remarkable string of coincidences continue
Commissioner Larry Suffredin originally said he’d keep out of the sales tax battle—but now says he’s resolved concerns about a possible conflict of interest.
SUFFREDIN: I’ve come to the conclusion that I will vote under the ethics act, and my intention is to vote no.
Suffredin says Commissioner Earlean Collins is also a no—and Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, thought to be a swing vote on taxes, says he’ll vote no too. Which, means, if put up to the 17 member county board the sales tax hike would be defeated.
* If true, that could help the backers of a proposed quarter-point increase in the sales tax to bail out mass transit. The more likely it is that Cook raises the sales tax, the less likely that legislators will want to do the same thing. Voters are angry enough already without provoking them even more.
Transit is not failing in Illinois. It’s busier and more popular than at any time since the car euphoria of the ’50s and ’60s. What’s failing is transit’s funding mechanism: Its sponsors—the governor and the General Assembly—have failed to shed their antiquated views of what transit does and for whom it exists. It’s not a business, it’s not a welfare function that prosperity will erase, and it’s not just for Chicago. Transit is a fundamental mobility resource essential to the entire state.
Maybe it’s time for our elected officials to do something they’ve never done before: ride their transit systems. When they see how transit and its ridership are changing, so will their views and their votes.
The Chicago Transit Authority this week will unveil a new and more severe round of service cuts and fare hikes to take place Jan. 1 unless the stalemate over state transit funding is broken.
The first phase of the transit meltdown is set for November 4 if Governor Blagojevich and the general assembly can’t agree on a bailout plan. The transit meltdown scheduled for mid-September was postponed for seven weeks. The governor loaned CTA, Metra and Pace nearly a hundred million state subsidy dollars to relieve a cash flow crisis.
Doomsday would then be doubled in January because the CTA’s deficit increases by $50 million in 2008. Details will be spelled out at a board meeting Wednesday.
* Tribune blogger Scott Kleinberg thinks the doomsday is hype and doesn’t believe it, but he says he refuses to pay any more for his daily CTA ride, and adds…
(T)he CTA could start by being a little more smart with how they spend. That’s first and foremost. And then the state should realize how ridiculously important mass transit is to Chicago.
Pretty much everybody understands transit’s importance at the Statehouse. Getting them to agree on a solution is the problem.
“Do I think there could be fat somewhere? I think in a government this large there’s probably always going to be some fat. Do I think we have $307 million worth of fat? No. There could be up to a million dollars worth of fat, maybe.“
* Is the Lipper scamming contributors? Mark Brown details how former Congressman Bill Lipinski sent out a “hearwarming” fund-raising letter soliciting contributions for his “All-American Eagles program,” which purports to run various programs for kids, “including an art contest, track and field meet, bicycle races, spelling and history bees and other programs designed to build the confidence and poise of young men and women.”
Well, the problem, as I explained, is that I’m looking at the last two-plus years of disclosure reports filed by Lipinski’s All-American Eagles and there’s scant evidence he has spent its money on the type of youth programs described in his letter.
Instead, Lipinski uses the fund the same way most politicians use such funds: to make campaign donations to other politicians, to defray some of the incidental expenses of holding political office (even though Lipinski no longer holds any office) and in some cases for stuff that would appear personal.
Lipinski has spent some of the All-American Eagles money toward rent on an Archer Avenue office that also houses the lobbying business he started after leaving Congress. For a while, he was using it to pay for a leased car. […]
All-American Eagles has donated $1,000 to Dan Lipinski’s campaign, $5,000 to the Democratic Party of Illinois and $500 to Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno’s losing campaign for state treasurer, among others.
Illinois State Representative Dan Brady announced Monday he will not be seeking a seat for the 11th U.S. Congressional District left open by current Congressman Jerry Weller. Brady will however be seeking re-election as State Representative for the 88th District.
* I’m thinking any endorsement by Weller could be the kiss of death, but Balderman seems pleased to have it. Good luck with that…
Weller, a Morris Republican who is retiring after serving seven terms in Congress, is supporting New Lenox Mayor Tim Balderman for the GOP nomination.
As a Special Assistant to the President at the White House and from the Texas Rangers Baseball Club Front Office, Marguerite gained unique knowledge, has communicated with millions of our citizens, and can help your organization achieve better results
If Weller’s endorsement could turn out to be bad, having a candidate who has a long history with one of the most unpopular presidents in the past 100 years probably can’t be good, either.
* Murer ran the Correspondence office for the president, which issues form letter replies to citizens, but check out how she inflates that position on her site…
With the civilian rank equivalent to a two-star general, Marguerite charged forward leading Correspondence with solid business principles. From the war on terror and securing our homeland, to Medicare, Supreme Court nominations and the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Marguerite has communicated with millions of Americans…
General Murer? Please. And as we all know, that Katrina thing went so well.
After declaring his candidacy just three weeks ago [to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert], Lauzen, a State Senator since 1992, will report having raised over $210,000 from more than 265 donors. Lauzen is also kicking in a personal loan of $325,000, for a cash on hand total north of $525,000.
RCP also reported that Jim Oberweis began running TV ads during the Cubs’ playoff game. Oops.
* If Aaron Schock was at all worried that the new authors of the Peoria Journal-Star’s “Word on the Street” column wouldn’t use the same kid gloves treatment as their predecessors, he got a pleasant surprise yesterday…
State Rep. Aaron Schock has moved his congressional campaign headquarters to avoid drama within the Republican party and put a stop to the nitpicking surrounding his every move.
Republican Jim Nalepa has pulled the plug on a potential run for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate and instead is backing the candidacy of Steve Sauerberg for the right to take on incumbent Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin.
* Its official, Versace will run for Congress to replace LaHood; more here
He placed 2 times in the Cubs game on 10/6. He also placed an order that runs 10/10 – 10/14 for a total of $30,318. The networks he purchased were CNBC, CNN, DISC, ESPN, FOOD, HGTV, LIFE, TBS, TLC, TNT, and USA.
He placed these on 6 systems within the congressional district. He placed in Elgin, St. Charles/Wheaton, Aurora/Naperville, DeKalb, Streator/Ottawa, and Crystal Lake.
Tragedy visited the family of former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan yet again Sunday night. His youngest son, Patrick, 24, apparently committed suicide in the family home in Elmhurst, police said.
Police don’t ordinarily make public announcements about suicides. But when they have to block off the neighborhood for hours near the home of the former Republican candidate for governor, police can’t go by the usual rule book, Elmhurst Police Chief Steve Neubauer said.
* Opinion: Studies support reasoning of uniform speed limit
Trucking companies have long documented their accident reports state-by-state, and those statistics show that a disproportionate number of accidents occur in those states with split speed limits. In fact, safety has been, and will always be, the top priority of the trucking industry.
Truckers are some of the most regulated workers — they are required to undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing, are limited to the number of hours they can drive and must submit their equipment for safety tests. No such laws exist for the everyday automobile driver.
* Illinois get a look at details of the smoking ban
* Big Chicago law firm settles suit for $27.5 million
* Mark Brown: Scrapping park shows your tax dollars at work
After spending as much as $2 million to build a sculpture park on a corner lot in Bronzeville, the city of Chicago is scrapping the partially completed project and offering the land for sale to developers.
The park was supposed to be another anchor in former 3rd Ward Ald. Dorothy Tillman’s long-touted plans for a “Chicago Blues District” along 47th Street, but her replacement, Ald. Pat Dowell, has decided Tillman’s plan is unfeasible and that the property would be better used for commercial development.
* 10:36 am - Holy moly. The former executive director of a prominent prison watchdog group has been indicted. From a US Attorney press release…
An Illinois prison consultant was added as a defendant in a pending federal criminal case alleging that a former head of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) received approximately $50,000 in illegal kickbacks. The new defendant, Michael J. Mahoney, allegedly paid the kickbacks while representing vendors that had multi-million-dollar contracts with the state prison agency. Mahoney was charged together with Donald N. Snyder, Jr., who was IDOC director from 1999 until early 2003, in a six-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Mahoney and others allegedly were involved in paying kickbacks totaling approximately $20,000, out of the approximately $50,000 total, to Snyder.
Mahoney, 63, of Cassopolis, Mich., and formerly of Chicago, until 2002 was the Executive Director of, and a registered lobbyist for, unnamed “Association A,” a not-for-profit prison watchdog organization. He was charged with three counts of mail fraud.
That unnamed watchdog group is the John Howard Association, which fights for prisoners’ rights. What a state we live in. I’ll have documents in a bit.
* 10:42 am - And here they are…
* 1:49 pm - The Washington Post’s Chris Cilllizza believes that retiring Republican Jerry Weller’s seat is the fourth most likely in the country to switch hands to the opposing party.
* I wrote about this yesterday in the Capitol Fax, and the Daily Herald picked it up today…
As the clock ticks closer toward a transit “doomsday,” officials are backing away from a sales tax hike and opening up to ideas like a property tax on parking spaces.
“People would pay a certain amount of money based on how many parking spaces they had on their property whether it’s free parking or sold parking. That’s very cumbersome to try to collect, but it is being bounced around,” [said Sen. John Cullerton.]
As I told subscribers, the plan was floated this week by John Filan, the governor’s budget guru. Filan claimed the tax surcharge would be levied on commercial parking spaces only (both free and paid). Residential parking would supposedly be exempted.
Question: What do you think of this one? Also, do you think it’s preferable to a regional sales tax hike of a quarter point? Explain.
* Maybe this is a good thing. Daley just hasn’t been the same since he ventured forth on this grand quest…
Chicago stands in “third or fourth place” in the race for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games and it’ll take Chicago-style politicking — including more involvement by the private sector — to turn that around, the chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee said Thursday.
* According to USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth, Chicago is behind Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo, and the reason is apparently that the big boys and girls aren’t wining and dining the Olympics’ big boys and girls…
Ueberroth indicated Chicago’s private sector needs to be more involved in the bid, especially in the area of contact with IOC members. […]
“I expect all the [technical] bids to be terrific,” Ueberroth said. “It’s the relationship with members that will make the difference.
As for logistics, the USOC chairman insisted that the CTA’s financial crisis — and the possibility of fare hikes and service cuts without a Springfield bailout — would have no impact on Chicago’s chances.
“Any Olympic Games can make the adjustments in its transportation system for a three-week period in order to accommodate the world athletes. There are bigger conventions that come to this town,” he said.
Great. Just what we need. Daley and civic leaders should spend more time traveling the world instead of fixing dire problems at home. Perfect.
I am now leaning strongly against the Olympics.
* More problems that “don’t matter”…
* Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says the city can’t afford to hire more than fifty new police officers next year. In
* If you don’t subscribe and were wondering about that mysterious subscriber-only post yesterday afternoon, here’s the rundown…
The acrimony between Gov. Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan hit a new low Thursday after the administration abruptly fired the wife of Madigan’s top aide from her $102,000-a-year state post.
The Department of Human Service justified last week’s firing of Bronwyn Rains, noting she did not meet educational requirements dictated by the Social Security Administration, which funded her job.
But Madigan spokesman Steve Brown dismissed the justification as “an absolute lie.”
Key House Democrats viewed the firing as a new phase in the “political vendetta” Blagojevich is waging against his chief nemesis, who has stifled the governor’s agenda.
“I think the governor’s latest move seems clearly vindictive and can do nothing but make an already volatile situation worse,” said Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago).
* Thanks to the AP for giving me some props on yesterday morning’s scoop…
Mapes said he didn’t know why his wife was fired after a long period of service with the state but acknowledged retribution could be a reason.
“She’s doing fine,” Mapes said. “Just like any person when they’re terminated, she finds it unusual.”
News of the move, first reported by the Capitol Fax political newsletter, caught lawmakers off guard Thursday, as they wrapped up the first week of their two-week fall veto session. Some feared it could poison any chance of reconciliation between Blagojevich and Madigan on key policy issues for the rest of this year and beyond.
Tom Green, spokesman for the state Department of Human Services, said the federal Social Security Administration notified DHS that certain disability determinations must be signed by psychologists who either have doctorates or, alternatively, master’s degrees coupled with a listing on a national register of health service providers in psychology. Rains and another person doing the same job at DHS had only master’s degrees and aren’t on the national register. […]
Because of the change in rules, he said, “It was a decision that was made by the federal government.” […]
Steve Brown, spokesman for Madigan, D-Chicago, said, “We find the administration devoid of credibility.”
Plus, and I can’t emphasize this enough, the DHS explanation doesn’t really matter, no matter how credible you find it. What really matters here is how the players react to it, and Madigan is one angry camper.
A spokeswoman for the governor said the issue is not personal despite such heated rhetoric.
“I think that people are starting to filter out comments that we’ve come to expect from Mr. Brown. But this issue is not between Governor Blagojevich and Speaker Madigan. It’s between Human Services and the Social Security Administration,” said Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch. “The federal government was very clear … that they would no longer fund a person in that position that did not possessed a specific set of qualifications.”
There’s more to this story, but you’ll have to subscribe to get it.
Rep. Tom Cross, the Republican leader in his chamber, had the quote of the day from the House floor before lawmakers finished their first week of the annual fall session.
“Perhaps, at least at the higher level, we’ve had an inability to communicate to get the budget done, to take care of capital, to take care of RTA, to take care of gaming. And I have a suggestion,” he said.
He cited psychologist and author Kate Wachs, who’s been interviewed by such media entities as the Chicago Tribune and Oprah Winfrey.
“She’s a nationally acclaimed relationship expert, and she’s written a book, Relationships for Dummies,” Cross said. “And she has a very good chapter on good communication, the bolts. One of the things she talks about is finding compromises that work for you and your partners. And I thought maybe she could come to a leaders’ meeting.”
Hmmm. Sneed hears rumbles state Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), who is ramrodding John McCain’s presidential bid in Illinois, is being encouraged to run for Cook County state’s attorney … as well as former Assistant State’s Attorney Ed Barron, who is preparing to circulate nominating petitions.
* DOC says fewer inmates returning to prison, cites programs
The rate of former prison inmates returning to prisons in Illinois is declining, thanks in part to an array of education and drug treatment programs in the institutions, Illinois Department of Corrections officials said Thursday.
Their comments came a day after a forum in Bloomington at which activists said the state is failing in its responsibility of offering enough help to keep inmates from returning to prison.
Prison system spokeswoman Januari Smith said the recidivism rate among Illinois’ prison population, which now stands at about 45,200 people, is starting to decline.
* House overturns gov’s objections to rail authority
FIVE YEARS AGO, a bill amended the state’s Silent Reflection Act, changing it to the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act and guaranteeing students the right to observe voluntary, nondisruptive prayer whenever they chose to during the school day. The bill also allows for a moment of silence to begin the day if a teacher and his or her class choose to.
So, Illinois children can already reflect and pray in school any time they want. And a classroom can choose to observe a silent moment any day it wants…
MAYBE ONCE this vital piece of legislation is finally secured, the General Assembly can move on to pass the technical bill needed to allow school districts to collect the $400-per-pupil increase they were promised in the state budget. We’re pretty sure they could use the money a lot more than another vapid, state mandate.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is now talking in terms of three years (2007 to 2010) to chart a transportation system, including such features as bike paths and commuter rail lines, for the vicinity. They are counting on three additional years (2010-2013) to do preliminary engineering and environmental studies for each project.
The earliest conceivable groundbreaking date to extend the expressway? 2016.
That’s simply too long to wait to get started on transportation improvements that have been needed for so long.
