* 9:45 am - The House is currently debating House Resolution 25, which “Urges the support of the electorate on the question of whether a Constitutional Convention should be called and encourages the electorate’s attention to this initiative.”
* 10:30 am Bagels in Skip’s office for C’s birthday.
* 12:22 pm - The Senate just announced that when they adjourn today they won’t reconvene until next Thursday.
* 1:15 pm - The Senate has adjourned. The leaders meeting actually started a little ahead of time today.
* 1:21 pm - While you’re waiting for the leaders meeting to wrap up, check out this Illinois Channel video of the House vs. Senate softball game. It’s very good…
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is again urging lawmakers to reach a compromise in their budget impasse in Springfield.
Daley said the situation at the Capitol was a “War of the Roses.” That’s a phrase often used to describe feuding couples in a contentious divorce.
He also compared the situation to a boxing match where opponents have staked out different corners. Daley said he wants them to come into the ring and work out a deal.
* 2:51 pm - LOL. From the comments…
Huh. Here I thought the “War of the Roses” referred to the English civil war between different factions of the same family.
Leave it to the press to mess up on the rare occasion when Daley makes an apt cultural comparison.
* 3:10 pm - It should be interesting to see how they’ll spin this when the leaders meeting ends…
Illinois lawmakers left the state Capitol today despite the governor’s call for them to spend at least five days a week working on a new budget.
The House adjourned until Tuesday. The Senate went home for a full week — until next Thursday.
The Senate’s adjournment came as a surprise. President Emil Jones had recently said the Senate would be in session every day. […]
Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson says it’s a waste of time for rank & file lawmakers to spend every day in Springfield when they have work to do in their districts.
* 3:18 pm - A theory from a reporter friend, who thinks the weeklong adjournment may be about making sure Jones’ members get paid…
Emil’s adjournment until Thursday strikes me as a setup for Blago calling everybody into special session and back on the per diem gravy train.
Madigan outmanuvered Blago when he responded to the call for lawmakers to work harder by creating a 5-day workweek. Now the ball is in Emil’s court to come up with a way to pay people. My guess is this is something that Emil and Blago came up with together.
* 3:53 pm - This is probably a better explanation for the adjournment. As mentioned by a couple of commenters, the Council of State Governments’ annual spring meeting is next week in Puerto Rico.
* 3:59 pm - The meetings are over and we’re processing the audio.
* 4:01 pm - Deputy Governor Sheila Nix claimed that the Speaker’s budget plan has a self-admitted $800 million hole.
Nix also said that Speaker Madigan doesn’t support an operational subsidy for the CTA.
She added that the governor and Sen. Jones would like a better deal for Cook County property taxpayers than the “7 percent solution” version passed by the House.
There will be a leaders meeting at the beginning of the week, according to Nix.
Nix audio…
[audio:nix6_7.mp3 ]
* 4:09 pm - Speaker Michael Madigan pointed out that the 7 percent bill passed the House overwhelmingly and just flew out of a Senate committee unanimously. He aimed a couple of digs at Assessor Houlihan.
“The governor didn’t indicate his availability” for leaders meetings. “You might want to check the plane schedules.”
Downstate Democrats want to connect electric rates to budget negotiations, not him, Madigan said.
The governor suggested “closing corporate loopholes or the gross receipts tax” for CTA funding, the Speaker claimed.
Madigan audio…
[audio:mjm6_7.mp3]
* 4:15 pm - Senate President Emil Jones repeated his claim that Madigan’s budget is not balanced and isn’t sufficient to satisfy the “needs” of education or health care. But, he said he would support anything that will keep government running and avoid a shutdown.
Jones said that the Senate had passed a 7 percent solution bill twice, but complained that the House had watered it down. Trouble for that bill.
What will you do between now and Thursday? “Rest,” Jones said.
House Bill 1 “doesn’t go far enough,” he said. That’s the House-approved ethics bill which newspaper editorial boards have been calling on Jones to pass.
There’s no guarantee that a sales tax for mass transit could pass the Senate, he said, because of the serious problems with the RTA administration. He wants money redistributed towards the CTA.
Jones audio…
[audio:ejones6_7.mp3]
* 4:20 pm - OK, that’s probably it for me. A few of us are taking Paul out for his birthday dinner and then heading to Two Brothers for that infamous birthday drink of theirs. If you want to stop by, feel free.
If Chicago’s dog-loving aldermen are determined to let dogs accompany their owners to sidewalk cafes, patrons could be forced to use hand sanitizers and dine with plastic utensils.
That’s the recommendation of Frances Guichard, director of food protection for the Chicago Department of Public Health.
On Wednesday, Guichard painted an unappetizing picture of allowing Fido to dine alfresco. She was testifying before a City Council committee considering whether to allow it now that the Legislature has opened the door.
Guichard talked about the danger of the spread of bacteria and parasites if dog hair and saliva got on tables, chairs and silverware. The same could happen if cafe employees touch dogs, then handle food.
Question: Should dogs be allowed at outdoor cafes? Explain.
* The governor is taking heat for his demand that legislators stay in session five days a week until the budget deal is done…
Blagojevich, known for his infrequent appearances at the state Capitol, is urging lawmakers to meet five days a week, rather than the customary three days.
Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, took issue with that: “I said to the governor, ‘You know what? We’ve been working a heck of a lot longer down here than you’ve been. We’re here many days you are not, so don’t give us that kind of rhetoric.”‘
The fact that Gov. Blagojevich’s staff has taken to going public with complaints that the General Assembly isn’t working hard enough has been one of those “the sky is green” moments from his camp - given that the governor so rarely is in Springfield when the General Assembly is working.
Well, he may plan to be in the capital city each day the legislature works overtime, but that doesn’t mean he’s getting out of touch with his home in Chicago. […]
Turns out, spokeswoman REBECCA RAUSCH confirmed, the governor went home to Chicago after Tuesday’s meeting and returned Wednesday.
As you might recall, each such gubernatorial round-trip is actually four flights. The plane must fly to Chicago to pick him up and fly back. And after his return flight home, the plane flies back to Springfield, where it has hangar space.
“I want the governor’s schedule, so I can have dinner at home and a good night’s sleep. I’ll have the state airplane pick me up tomorrow morning at about 10. That’ll get me here at 11. I can have lunch, come to the floor, maybe go jog with somebody. Maybe a chess game,” state Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican, told House colleagues, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Yeah, well, if he’d get here by 11 it might not be so bad. He didn’t show up until at least 1 yesterday.
* More from that same article…
“The governor does work five days a week. In fact, he works more than five days a week; he works seven days a week,” said Rebecca Rausch.
He works seven days a week? I’m not sure that it shows.
* And more very good points from that Daily Herald piece…
The reality and frustration of the current situation is that there’s little for rank-and-file lawmakers to do other than wait for their leaders to sort out the festering budget mess.
Adding to their frustration, lawmakers are now on their own for hotels and meals. The $125-a-day taxpayer allowance vanished when lawmakers blew a June 1 deadline for a budget and the spring session careened into overtime.
The governor doesn’t get such a daily perk. Instead, taxpayers provide him with a mansion and staff a few blocks from the Capitol. He rarely stays there.
* Check out this editorial from Sauk Valley Newspapers…
When absentee fathers don’t fulfill their parental and financial obligations toward their children, the kids have problems.
When absentee landlords neglect their properties, the tenants have problems.
So is it any surprise that Illinois state government, led by an absentee governor, is having so many problems?
* A couple of other stories about Overtime in Hell, compiled by the birthday boy…
* This was one of the more popular gun control-type bills I’ve seen in a very long while. It passed the Senate 48-4.
Proposed on the heels of the bloody shooting rampage at Virginia Tech in April, a plan to assure people with some mental illnesses can’t get guns legally now awaits Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s final approval.
The plan approved by the Senate on Wednesday would require health-care professionals to tell the state about mental health outpatients who might be a threat to public safety. The names then would be put on the state’s list of people who can’t buy guns. […]
State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, worried that names being put on a master list could compromise the privacy of those getting mental health care.
“I think it needs some more work,” state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, said. He was among the “no” votes.
Another provision in the legislation requires that the ISP forward the names of people ineligible for FOID cards in Illinois to a national database, to keep them from getting a gun in another state.
“Right now, if you go to Indiana and you’re a prohibited gun buyer in Illinois, it’s not going to pop up,” [the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dan Kotowski said].
* The Sun-Times isn’t letting go of the Lou Viverito story. As you already know, Sen. Viverito was barred from a leadership meeting earlier this week by Senate President Emil Jones and then stripped of his position on the Senate Rules Committee.
Jones didn’t fire Viverito from his $19,221 leadership position. But the moves against the Southwest Side lawmaker have been viewed by some as heavy-handed retribution for voting against Jones and Gov. Blagojevich on gambling, health care and a massive business tax. […]
But those close to Jones said the Senate president and his legislative brain trust think that last week, Viverito leaked closely held Senate strategy to House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), his political patron. […]
Last Thursday, Jones privately told his 10-member Senate leadership team that he was prepared to pass a budget Madigan crafted and pushed through the House that day. Hours later, Madigan allowed an unusual parliamentary maneuver that blocked the budget from moving to the Senate, effectively thrusting the Legislature into overtime. […]
“You can’t strategize this time of the year and know you have someone in the group you can’t trust,” said a member of Jones’ leadership team, who asked not to be identified.
Viverito, who represents Madigan’s Southwest Side neighborhood, denied doing that. “That is a terrible way to describe someone like me, who’s ethical about what I can and can’t do,” he said. “Never have I run out of there and run over to Madigan to tell him what’s going on.”
“I thought he was kidding at first,” Viverito said. “I waited a few minutes, and then I just walked out. I almost feel sorry for him. Emil is truly not a vindictive man, and this seems out of character. There is so much pressure on him right now. But I think he made a bad mistake. If you talk to caucus members, I think you’ll find that I was a good contributor.” […]
“Four casinos, poker machines — it was just too much,” Viverito said. “I told (Jones) I was not voting against him but that I was representing myself and my district, and I did speak quietly but effectively in leadership that I wasn’t going to vote for the gross-receipts tax.”
* But, as Kristen reports, the future doesn’t look good for Viverito…
“He is still on leadership, but I have asked him to stop attending our daily leadership meetings,” Jones said through his spokeswoman, Cindy Davidsmeyer. “I have the right to choose who I strategize with in these meetings.”
Dobmeyer said he doesn’t know what chance the legislation has in the overtime session, but he wants lawmakers to think about the dangers of casino gaming before using it to prop up the budget. A new casino — especially a government-owned one in Chicago, as Mayor Richard Daley has proposed — would provide an “increased basis” for corruption, he said.
* Opinion: Emerald casino minority investors treated like pawns
Just four states, including Michigan, have a full-time legislature. The others are Pennsylvania, California and New York. Seven states — Alaska, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin — have legislatures that operate most of the year, but those lawmakers are paid significantly less than the $79,650 that the 148 Michigan legislators make.
But, after hearing about the project on Friday, environmental groups like the Sierra Club said they needed more time to review it. Among their concerns is the fate of the endangered Henslow’s Sparrow, which nests in the grasslands that make up much of the reclaimed strip mine area. Jonathan Goldman, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, said the groups are not solely concerned with the project’s impact on the flora and fauna of the area.
* Opinion: Care workers for disabled need pay raise from state
On Wednesday, Google announced it will scan and digitize as many as 10 million books from 12 universities, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois’ Chicago and Urbana campuses.
A judge injected some much-needed sanity today into the Kafkaesque case of Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey..
A Sangamon County judge on Wednesday halted an administrative hearing on whether two fired state employees should get their jobs back.
Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley suspended a Civil Service Commission hearing in the 14-month-old case of Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey, scheduled to continue Friday. Kelley said he wants to study whether the commission lost authority over the matter by not deciding the pair’s fate quickly enough. […]
Draper argued his clients should return to work with back pay because the commission violated state law requiring a decision within 60 days of the end of their hearing before the administrative law judge. That deadline was Monday, Draper said.
A lawyer representing Blagojevich said commission rules allow it to keep a case open until it makes a ‘‘final decision.'’ ‘‘It just can’t let the case sit,'’ Matthew Bilinsky said.
Kelley said the law clearly requires a decision within 60 days, and the administrative rule allowing a case to remain open until a final decision is made should have been written to align with the statute.
The finding and decision of the Commission, or the approval by the Commission of the finding and decision of the officer or board appointed by it to conduct such investigation, shall be rendered within 60 days after the receipt of the transcript of the proceedings. If the finding and decision is not rendered within 60 days after receipt of the transcript of the proceedings, the employee shall be considered to be reinstated and shall receive full compensation for the period for which he was suspended.
As Judge Kelley noted, administrative rules do not override state laws.
The law is in place to prevent the Illinois Civil Service Commission from doing exactly what it was trying to do with the DeFraties/Casey case - keep it going indefinitely, possibly because the Blagojevich family babysitter and her cohorts on the commission wanted to force a different outcome.
The commission had 60 days. They blew the deadline. DeFraties and Casey should be immediately reinstated with full compensation.
*** I couldn’t figure out why nobody had commented on this post. Then someone called shortly after one o’clock asking why I hadn’t posted one of the stories listed here. Turns out, I accidentally hit the “private” button when I published the post, so only I could see it. Oops. I’ve bumped it to the top for discussion purposes. Sorry about that, campers. ***
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* As I told Capitol Fax subscribers this morning, this was the hottest topic of discussion at the Statehouse yesterday…
Senate President Emil Jones took a whack Tuesday at a state senator tight with House Speaker Michael Madigan in apparent retaliation for opposing Gov. Blagojevich’s playbook on gambling, health care and a big tax on businesses.
Jones (D-Chicago) told Sen. Louis Viverito, an assistant majority leader, he was not “welcome” in a closed-door Senate Democratic leadership meeting. The unprecedented move sent reverberations through the Statehouse, where feuding Democrats have been unable to pass a state budget or provide utility rate relief.
Stuff like that doesn’t usually make it into the mainstream press. When three of the four Senate Latinos revolted earlier this year, it barely rated a mention. So, why was Viverito dumped? Here’s part of the reason…
Viverito (D-Burbank) voted against the Senate president and Blagojevich on a major gambling expansion bill, on the governor’s cherished-but-floundering universal health care plan and the governor’s failed $7.6 billion gross receipts tax on businesses. […]
Also Tuesday, Viverito was replaced on the Senate Rules Committee, a key legislative panel controlled by Jones that determines what gets voted on and what dies.
Viverito is Madigan’s Senator, and there’s much more to the back story, but you’ll have to subscribe to find out what that is. “Democratic disarray” has become a hot topic ever since the session flopped into overtime. So, we may see more stories like that one.
* The Sun-Times story above has a little more of what it’s like to be a member of Jones’ caucus and so does the Tribune’s blog. Yesterday, Sen. Todd Sieben presented Sen. Mike Jacobs with some boxing gloves on the Senate floor, in honor of Jacobs’ feud with Gov. Blagojevich…
Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) tried on the boxing gloves and started throwing a few playful punches toward Jacobs. Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) sternly called her name from a few desks away. When they locked eyes, Jones shook his head “no.” Hunter then put the gloves down.
* Meanwhile, the overtime session’s first leadership negotiations began with a whole lot of posturing, with Emil Jones blaming Mike Madigan for the overtime session, Madigan saying that Jones ought to pass the House-approved budget, which Jones derided as inadequate, the Republicans blaming Democrats for having to be in town in the first place, and Gov. Blagojevich demanding that legislators work five days a week until the deal is cut. Here are a few tastes of the day’s activities…
Republican legislative leaders joined state budget talks for the first time Tuesday, but the results were the same as when the Democrats kept the party to themselves.
The roughly 90-minute meeting produced a lot of talk and little in the way of a solution to the impasse that has sent the General Assembly into overtime for the second time since 2004.
“I’d say we’re far apart. There was listening but there was also a lot of posturing,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego. […]
“Everyone in America works five days a week and is expected to put in full-time work in order to complete their jobs,” said Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff. She would not answer any questions.
Jones said the Senate would meet at least five days a week, and he said lawmakers failed to adjourn on time “because of lack of concern in the House basically.”
Madigan argued that rate relief for consumers hit by skyrocketing electric rates would open the door for budget action. Jones has been reluctant to approve rate relief that would apply to customers of both Ameren and ComEd.
In the state’s latest finger-pointing battle, more than 40 newly empowered Republicans took Gov. Rod Blagojevich to task Tuesday for his spotty Springfield presence. They supported a resolution that asks him to remain in Springfield while lawmakers finish state business.
We briefly touched on this topic yesterday, and Carol Marin made it the subject of today’s column…
Is Barack Obama out of the loop when it comes to his home state of Illinois?
That was the question posed Monday by my NBC5 colleague, political reporter Mary Ann Ahern, after trying hard to get the senator’s views on a variety of newsy topics in Chicago. Obama, who showed up at Monday’s Operation PUSH convention, stopped for a very brief Q-and-A with waiting reporters. Getting Obama to set aside time to talk to the local press back home has been nothing short of a major challenge for many months now.
What about the state budget funding crisis and casinos? asked Ahern.
‘’I haven’t been following the negotiations closely enough to know what’s taking place,'’ Obama said.
How has his political mentor, Senate President Emil Jones, the recipient of major ComEd campaign cash, handled the utility rate freeze issue?
‘’I apologize, guys, but I really have not followed closely what’s been happening in Springfield, I had a little bit of other stuff to do,'’ the senator said with a smile.
As Marin points out, Sen. Durbin seems well-versed in recent Statehouse happenings, while Obama feigns cluelessness.
Question: Should Obama be expected to answer questions like this about what’s happening in the capital of his own state, or should he be excused because he’s running for president? Explain.
I can sympathize with CTA/RTA riders who are upset at the proposed fare incresaes and service cuts…
CTA riders expressed anger and frustration Tuesday night during a public hearing on Chicago’s South Side about possible fare increases and service cuts that officials said they might need to eliminate a $110 million deficit.
The proposed changes, which CTA officials said would go into effect if the agency does not get more money from the state, include boosting fares to as much as $3.25 on trains during peak travel hours and suspending service on 63 bus routes and on the Yellow and Purple Line/Evanston Express rail lines.
But, really, there just isn’t enough money to magically bail out the CTA right now. Personally, I’d rather the state try to save most of the lines that are on the chopping block and allow the fare hikes to go ahead. Chicagoans who use the routes ought to help bail out the system.
And passing the buck to Springfield for a situation largely of the CTA’s own making probably won’t endear CTA President Ron Huberman with lawmakers….
CTA President Ron Huberman, who took office May 1, opened the hearing by saying that he hopes state lawmakers come through with extra funding so the changes won’t have to be made.
“We don’t want to raise fares by a penny,” he told the group. “We don’t want to cut one single bus route.”
Yeah, well, too bad. The pension system is a freaking mess and they’ve dumped way too much money into glitzy renovations instead of shoring up the tracks. Chicago created this disaster, it’s up to Chicago to help solve it.
Chicago and suburban legislators are desperate to find money to help ease the pain and I certainly can’t fault them for that. They’re also upset that the governor hasn’t made the CTA/RTA issue a priority. They’re getting angry calls from their constituents (last weekend was reportedly pretty intense for many) and they’re starting to get worried.
The Chicago region needs a solid transportation network and public transport is vital to the area. The state should take a role. But if legislators want action, then they need to get a whole lot more vocal than they have been.
A campaign volunteer for 35th Ward aldermanic candidate Vilma Colom was arrested Tuesday for allegedly phoning a bomb threat to Colom’s campaign headquarters in March. […]
Authorities said that in a call to Colom’s cell phone, Wood claimed a bomb had been left in Colom’s campaign office. After a search of the office turned up no bomb, police reviewed Colom’s telephone records and discovered that the threatening call came from Wood’s phone, a source said.
According to law enforcement sources, a few weeks before that runoff, Wood [the pastor of the Fourth Congregational Church of Chicago] dined with Colom and two others at a Mexican restaurant on Lincoln Avenue. At one point during the meal, Wood allegedly called Colom’s cell phone from his cell phone and told her a bomb had been planted at her Diversey Avenue campaign headquarters.
Colom called the police, who went to the campaign office but found no explosives, sources said. An investigation revealed the call had come from Wood’s phone.
[Emphasis added.]
What the heck? More from the CS-T…
One source said Wood might have placed the call to gain publicity for Colom’s campaign. It was not clear whether Colom knew Wood placed the call, but the source said the matter was “still under investigation.”
I can’t find any mention of the bomb threat in the local papers, so if they wanted publicity they didn’t get it. Calling in a bomb threat, or even bombing your own office, is one of the oldest political tricks in the book, and some of the people who worked on Colom’s campaign are tricksters from way back (she was supported by Ald. Dick Mell’s organization).
It apparently didn’t take much for the coppers to trace the call to Wood, who has been an “outspoken advocate against violence in his neighborhood,” according to the Sun-Times.
What are your all-time favorite dirty tricks? One of the funniest I’ve ever heard of was when legendary trickster Dick Tuck hired a bunch of pregnant women to show up at Richard Nixon campaign events carrying signs that read: “Nixon’s the one.” More on Tuck here and here.
Major opponents of the measure — including the Illinois Municipal League (which represents most cities and suburbs) and Comcast (the largest cable provider in the state) — have withdrawn their opposition to the bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jim Brosnahan (D-Evergreen Park).
Over Stroger’s objection, commissioners sidelined a proposal to outsource janitorial services at Oak Forest Hospital and lay off 96 workers. The plan is slated to save $1.5 million annually.
