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Friday baseball blogging
Friday, May 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The World Series trophy was at the Statehouse again, this time for the St. Louis Cardinals, who took the big prize last fall.
There was a big celebration yesterday at the Statehouse and this hilarious quote from Cardinals President Mark Lamping during a speech to the Illinois House…
“We do have more in common with Cubs fans than people think,” he said. “Until last October, neither team had won a world championship since they moved into their new stadiums.”
Ha!
The Cards moved into their new stadium in 2006. The Flubs moved into their “new” stadium in 1914.
Lamping gets our “Quote of the Month” award.
This is a Major League Baseball open thread.
Go Sox.
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Question of the day
Friday, May 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The setup…
Getting on a ballot in DuPage County could get a bit tougher if a plan proposed by state Rep. Bob Biggins, an Elmhurst Republican, becomes law.
The proposal would require candidates for county office to collect either 300 petition signatures or an amount equal to one-half of one percent of those who voted for their party in the last election, whichever is greater.
Members of the DuPage County government were concerned the current requirements to get on the ballot were too low given the county’s growing population. For instance, a Republican candidate for DuPage County Board District 1 in 2006 needed only 73 signatures to get on the ballot.
The question: Is this a prudent proposal? Also, should potential candidates have to show at least some ability to garner support before they appear on a ballot? Why or why not?
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Little Bubba may spark a new law
Friday, May 18, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
 Remember Howard Ludwig, the Daily Southtown columnist who got a FOID card for his baby? Well, Ludwig’s hilarious column describing the process has created a bit of a stir…
A Southland lawmaker will draft legislation to revoke the exemption in Illinois’ trigger lock law that allows homeowners to keep unlocked, loaded guns in a home if the children have Firearm Owners Identification cards.
The little-known aspect in the state’s gun law was revealed this week by Daily Southtown columnist Howard Ludwig, who legally obtained a firearm identification card for his infant son. […]
Ludwig, the Southtown’s Stay-at-Home Dad columnist, wrote in Sunday’s paper about getting such a card for his 11-month-old namesake son, better known as “Bubba.” The baby’s grandfather gave him a shotgun as a gift, and Ludwig wanted to see if the state would issue him the $5 ID card. […]
“The issue today that Bubba Ludwig got a FOID card, that’s a minor problem compared to the issue that gun owners who want to avoid the law can pay a $5 fee and then they don’t have to comply with gun safety laws,” Scully said. “I don’t think requiring people to use gun locks is an unreasonable intrusion on gun owners’ rights.”
The loophole was discovered when Ludwig got an e-mail from John Birch, the former president of Concealed Carry Illinois…
In his e-mail, Birch included pictures of FOID cards for his two children. His son was 15 months old when he got a card. His daughter was 8 years old.
Anyone owning a firearm or ammunition in Illinois must have a FOID card. The card is also needed to legally transport an unloaded weapon.
However, Birch had a different reason for getting his kids FOID cards. He wanted to “keep a loaded gun (or two) for self defense around the house.”
Illinois law requires parents with children younger than 14 years old to keep guns in a locked safe or use a gunlock that makes the weapon inoperable.
Meanwhile, there’s a move afoot to close other loopholes in the state’s gun laws…
Invoking the memory of last month’s massacre at Virginia Tech, a panel of Illinois lawmakers unanimously approved a proposal to “close loopholes” in the state’s gun laws.
If approved, the measure would force the state to contribute information to a federal gun database. Further, it would extend the list of people prohibited from buying a firearm to include mental outpatients judged to be a threat to themselves or others.
Ann Spillane, chief of staff in the Illinois attorney general’s office, said the state’s current database, which is maintained by Illinois State Police, includes only those patients who have received in-patient mental health treatment. […]
Todd Vandermyde, the National Rifle Association’s Springfield lobbyist, was on hand for the vote but offered no opposition during debate before the Senate Public Health Committee.
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* Kevin McDermott of the Post-Dispatch has a top-notch report today on a bill that cleared the Senate and is now heading to the governor. Here are some excerpts, but you really should go read the whole thing to see just how good this story is. Pretty much every Illinois Statehouse reporter does a good job when their editors take off the shackles, and McDermott was obviously allowed to pursue several angles on this legislation…
Illinois lawmakers on Thursday passed a measure that lets jurors consider the grief and sorrow of survivors when deciding payouts in wrongful death lawsuits — a move that promises to reopen political wounds from the state’s medical malpractice battle of two years ago. […]
llinois now allows jurors to consider several factors when deciding how much to award plaintiffs who prevail in wrongful death suits. Factors include actual damages such as loss of income, as well as “noneconomic'’ damages such as the loss of love, comfort and other intangibles by the survivor-plaintiffs.
The new legislation would add heartache to that list of intangibles, allowing jurors to consider “damages for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering, to the surviving spouse and next of kin of such deceased person.'’ […]
Opponents say the change could prompt juries to go right up to the top award limits in more cases — and could lead to a rash of astronomical awards if those limits are eventually removed by the courts.
* More from the Daily Herald…
During debate over the proposal, which narrowly passed the Senate 31-23, Raoul and other lawmakers brought up a 2001 Illinois law, under which people could collect damages for mental suffering over the wrongful death of a pet.
“That’s ridiculous, and that’s hypocrisy,” Raoul said regarding a lack of similar treatment for humans. “We can get grief and sorrow for cats and dogs, but not people?”
The Illinois State Medical Society opposed the plan, claiming it would increase medical malpractice insurance premiums. Other critics say Democrats and trial lawyers are merely trying to get around recently enacted caps on pain and suffering damages in lawsuits by expanding the situations in which someone can sue.
Thoughts?
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* I told subscribers about this letter in an “extra” yesterday afternoon. The Tribune had a piece today…
Fifteen Democratic senators on Thursday demanded that lawmakers tackle school funding reform this session while gambling advocates renewed their pitch that more casinos would help solve the state’s budget problems.
Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), who leads the Senate Education Committee, is among the coalition of black, white and Hispanic lawmakers from across the state who signed a statement saying that any talk of a “no-growth budget is off the table.”
* The letter is below. Click the pic for a larger image…
* Excerpt…
We will not be party to a betrayal of the people who elected us on a promise to bring education funding reform by voting for a no-growth budget. How can we Democrats work to gain a super-majority in the Senate, control the House of Representatives and control the governor’s mansion and not use this trust bestowed upon us by the people to bring education funding reform?
* Sen. James Meeks circulated the letter yesterday. Southtown columnist Phil Kadner has some quotes…
Meeks also said the governor would be breaking a personal promise to him if he supported such a scheme.
“When I withdrew from the governor’s race (in 2006), Gov. Blagojevich promised he would pass school funding legislation if re-elected,” Meeks said.
“If he signed a no-growth budget, I would consider that a betrayal of his promise to me and the people of Illinois.”
* Meeks also told Kadner that he is against expanding casino gaming in Illinois, saying “We may as well legalize brothels.”
“Brothels are legal in Nevada, just like gambling,” Meeks said. “They would bring in a lot of tax revenue, if that’s the intention. Then every little school girl in Illinois could one day aspire to becoming a prostitute.”
* We also have some raw audio of Meeks talking about the letter and gaming, courtesy of the fine folks at Metro Networks…
[audio:JamesMeeks.mp3]
* Excerpts…
“It doesn’t even have to be an income tax… Let’s put all the combs that [Blagojevich] combs his hair with on eBay.” […]
“He said during the summertime he was going to sell the Lottery for education. That plan seems to be gone off the table.” […]
“We’re at the point where somebody should start discussing how absurd the system is of waiting until the last 15 days to get serious. We’ve been here now for four months? Why would be just down to the serious discussion of the budget?”
* Back to today’s Tribune story for a moment…
Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is sifting through surveys aimed at determining whether his caucus would support any type of tax increase and how much his troops believe should be spent in next year’s budget.
I also wrote about this survey in yesterday’s Capitol Fax. Since the Tribune reported on it, here’s a copy of the survey for your perusal…
Notice that there’s no category in the survey of House Democrats for the governor’s health insurance proposal.
* The funniest item of the day has to be the Tribune’s mockery of Gov. Blagojevich in an editorial that compares him to a Monty Python character.
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Morning Shorts
Friday, May 18, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* ACLU: Illinois courts unprepared for girls seeking abortions
* Illinois Civil Service Commission ignores judge’s advice for 14 day suspension for Casey/Defraties
* Decision on fired Blagojevich workers delayed
* Commission wants more evidence in civil service firings
* Vrdolyak lawyer rips key witness
* Vrdolyak denies U.S. charges
* Editorial: An average state with average voters
* State backs HIV test change
* U of I tuition, fees soar:
Over the last decade, the state’s flagship university system has raised the cost of an education by more than 250 percent — five times the rate at which Americans’ incomes grew during that period and eight times the rate of inflation.
* U o f I freshman will be paying $18,900 per year
* Illinois higher education funding dwindles
* U of I will sell stock in firms tied to Sudan
* Law may sanction mixed martial arts
* Cardinals trophy gets mostly warm reception in Capitol
* Case of troubled Metro East hotel goes to federal prosecutors
* City to get other ‘Block 37′
* Ministers call on state lawmakers for tax cap
The expiring cap law allows homeowners to deduct up to $20,000 from the taxable value of their home, which is used to compute their annual property tax bill. Houlihan backs a version that would increase that maximum deduction to $60,000 per year.
Madigan wants the “cap on the cap” to stay at $20,000
* Stroger camp faces heat over budget questions
* Daley orders thousands of city managers to take unpaid furlough day
* City moves to tighten its belt on spending
* CTA chief warns of fare hikes, service cuts; more here
* Friday Beer Blogging: Nightmare Edition
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Ridiculous
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
This just in…
The Illinois Civil Service Commission this afternoon refused to accept the findings of an administrative law judge and ordered new evidence be taken in the case of two state employees disciplined for allegedly showing favoritism to politically connected job applicants.
Administrative Law Judge Anthony Dos Santos recommended May 13 that Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey be suspended for 14 days. In doing so, Dos Santos rejected an attempt by the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fire DeFraties and Casey. […]
It was not immediately clear what additional evidence the five-member Civil Service Commission believes it needs, but the panel apparently wants the earlier hearings to be resumed. The commission’s vote to remand the case for additional evidence was unanimous and followed three hours of discussion behind closed doors.
Carl Draper, the attorney for DeFraties and Casey, said he can’t remember a similar commission ruling in 25 years of handling such disputes. DeFraties and Casey will look into other possible legal options, he added.
This was a sham case from the beginning. The hearing officer’s take - that they should’ve been suspended for two weeks instead of fired - was a slam-dunk.
And it doesn’t do much for the commission’s credibility that the governor’s babysitter sits on the ICSC.
Free the CMS 2!
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Did you know that if a drunk driver killed your daughter you would be unable to recover damages for your grief and sorrow? Special interests are working to prevent you from recovering damages for the grief, sorrow and mental suffering you experience from the sudden wrongful death of a loved one. Advocates for victims and families are working to correct this injustice.
Did you know that under current Illinois law you would not be allowed to mention your grief and sorrow to a jury? Juries are specifically told they cannot consider grief and sorrow. HB 1798 corrects that current injustice in the law.
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Did you know that the current law in Illinois allows pet owners to sue for “emotional distress” caused by the wrongful death of a pet, but parents can’t ask for damages for grief and sorrow for the loss of a child? The loss of a loved one from drunk and reckless drivers, murderers, and negligent manufacturers should not go unpunished.
*THAT’S AN OUTRAGE! HB 1798 is long overdue.*
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Chicago casino? Not yet
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Don’t get too excited yet about a Chicago casino, or any new casinos for that matter. There’s a whole lot more opposition to any expansion idea than you might think…
Sources told CBS 2 Daley signed off on a tentative deal that could, after years of discussion, finally bring a casino to downtown Chicago, as well as to south suburban Cook County, north suburban Lake County and a site still to be determined within 8 miles of O’Hare Airport.
Chicago’s casino would have up to 5,000 positions for slot machines, card and dice games and roulette. City Hall’s tax take could be 20 percent of the anticipated $1 billion plus annual gross, or more than $200 million a year.
Nine existing casino boats would get thousands of new slot machines and other gambling positions. Horse tracks would share millions in new dollars from a so-called impact fee, tentatively 3 percent of gross receipts of all the new gambling.
The gaming expansion sounds like an easy thing to do for people who aren’t all that concerned with more casinos, but there are religious and moral opponents, the existing casino owners aren’t thrilled and the racetrack owners can never seem to get along.
* Meanwhile, Daley refused to come out and support an income tax hike yesterday…
Pressed on whether he favors a hike in the state income tax, the mayor said, “This is the first time ever in the history of Illinois that the business community has ever come together and said, ‘We’d like to increase the income tax.’ So listen to their voice. They want a better education system.”
Daley said “everything should be on the table,” including his on-again-off-again quest for a Chicago casino.
* One reason for that could be the growing feeling that a tax hike is becoming more unlikely…
“There’s not a whole lot of enthusiasm to raise taxes in the General Assembly,” [House Speaker Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown] said.
* Brown also explained some of the reasons behind Madigan’s refusal to meet with Gov. Blagojevich this spring…
“We take the governor at his word. He wants want he wants, no changes, and anything different he’ll veto and then call special sessions until what we do is repealed. Given that, a meeting doesn’t seem like a productive use of time,” said Brown.
Translation: Until the guv chills out and is ready to seriously bargain, there ain’t gonna be no meeting.
* Into the fray comes a new proposal, from Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson…
New to the mix was a sales tax idea floated by state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, a Crete Democrat. Her plan would reduce the state’s sales tax – now at 6.25 percent – to 3 percent but then expand its scope to include services.
Currently, services like haircuts, lawn mowing, brake jobs and so on are not subject to the state’s sales tax.
Halvorson couldn’t provide details on how much money it would generate, but such a move would result in more money coming into state coffers. However, it also may well run afoul of the governor’s vow to veto any sales or income tax increase. The governor previously has nixed the idea of taxing services.
But see Brown’s comments above while you’re figuring whether this idea has a chance or not.
* More tax and spend stories, compiled by Paul…
* Daley lobbies for more funding for schools, CTA
* Daley takes agenda to Springfield
* Schoenburg: Governor’s big-splash style leaves him out of touch
* New plan is old: lease the lottery
* Leasing lottery still alive in negotiations
* New plan is old: lease the lottery
* Editorial: State fiscal reform going nowhere
* Gabel: Affordable health care within reach
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We’re most average!
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
This is the best reason I can think of to move the primary up as early as possible…
White, rural and homogeneous. New Hampshire and Iowa play big roles in choosing presidential candidates but don’t look much like the rest of the country.
A better bellwether might be Illinois. It’s the most average state, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Census Bureau.
Illinois is the fifth largest state, with a big city in Chicago, rolling countryside in the south and a lot of sprawling suburbs. And it has Peoria, which, it turns out, really is a barometer of America’s preferences. Many companies continue to use the city in central Illinois as a test market, taking literally the adage about how things play there. […]
The AP ranked each state on how closely it matched national levels on 21 demographic factors, including race, age, income, education, industrial mix, immigration and the share of people living in urban and rural areas. The rankings were then combined to determine the state that best mirrors the country as a whole. […]
Illinois’ racial composition matches the nation’s better than any other state. Education levels are similar, as is the mix of industry and the percentage of immigrants. Incomes in Illinois are a little higher and the state is more urban the rest of the nation. But the age of the population is very close to the country’s mix of minors, seniors and those 18 to 64.
What other “most average” qualities can you think of for Illinois? Snark encouraged.
Or, you might come up with examples of how we aren’t so average.
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A horse is a horse
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Senate passed the horse slaughtering ban yesterday. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk. Gov. Blagojevich supports the ban…
The Illinois Senate approved a ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption Wednesday, sending the legislation to the governor.
The proposal, which won the Senate’s OK 39-16, would stop a DeKalb plant from continuing to ship horse meat overseas. Human consumption is banned in the U.S.
“Horses clearly are recreational, companion animals,” said Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, the bill’s sponsor. “They are not livestock, raised for food.” […]
But senators representing farmers — and the Cavel International plant in DeKalb — say slaughtering horses is humane and necessary and the legislation will eliminate jobs in Illinois.
I never quite understood this bill. I don’t eat veal by choice. If you saw what they did to veal calves, you probably wouldn’t eat it either. I wouldn’t seek to ban the meat, but I would like to see much more humane treatment of the animals. But the slaughtered horses weren’t treated worse than any other animal, as far as I could tell.
Eating horses is yucky to many Americans. That I understand. But banning their slaughter? C’mon.
Along the way the ban has received support from many who think of horses as companion animals, akin to dogs and cats, and not fit for human consumption.
Meanwhile opposition has come from pro-business lawmakers and from some unlikely sources including the American Veterinary Association and the Horseman’s Council of Illinois who worry about horse overpopulation.
And, yes, horses are “companion animals,” and I would probably be disgusted with the idea of a dog-processing plant down the road. Maybe it’s just because I was raised on a farm and lived in Europe where horsemeat is a part of the diet that I can’t quite grasp this concept…
The bill’s supporters maintained that horses, as “companion animals” with a unique place in America’s cowboy legacy, shouldn’t be treated like pigs, cows or other consumable livestock.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, summed up the argument that ban proponents have been making for years: “Horses are different.”
Cullerton made sure he extracted as much publicity as possible from the bill, apparently…
First, he called Sneed.
Then state Sen. John Cullerton called actress Bo “10″ Derek, who is fighting horse slaughter for human consumption. […]
Cullerton, who says Gov. Blagojevich is ready to sign the legislation into law, plans to speed the law’s certification process by requesting that Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Mike Madigan certify it immediately. “It is imperative to stop the Cavel slaughterhouse in DeKalb from killing one more horse for meat on someone’s table overseas.”
And, by the way, Bo Derek? Are we such hicks here that we have to bow down to every has-been, over the hill actress who comes prancing into town?
Whatever.
One last thought…
“You’re saying it’s OK to eat Elsie the Cow, Chicken Little and Bambi, you just don’t want us to eat Mr. Ed,” said Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline.
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Morning Shorts
Thursday, May 17, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Vrdolyak faces arraignment today
* Illinois House wants limits on utility bill collection practice
* New Ameren rate hike not approved; more here
* Senators want to end gas sales tax
* McQueary: Who knew sign hangers had clout
* Teens largely absent from state politics
* Legislator aims to patch gun safety loophole
* Senate bill could mean lights out for incandescent bulbs
* Bedell: Bill allows gambling on video games
* Editorial: Gun law quirk needs to be addressed
* Treasurer gives federal prosecutors documents on Collinsville hotel
The state says it has uncovered evidence of tax and mail fraud at the Holiday Inn in an accounting of the hotel’s books ordered by Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Early this year, the state moved to foreclose on the property. The debt now stands at more than $30 million.
* IDOT stalls on illegal airfield
* Tribune Editorial: Get ready to vote in the cold
* Michael Sneed: Rezko & horse slaughter
* Illinois state fire marshal arrested for DUI
* Lynn Sweet: Rezko question dogs Obama
* Kane healthcare project gets OK, but without cash
* Cook Co. approves $11.5 million in legal settlements
* Options narrowed for rail to Rockford
* Suburban officials cleared in 2005 election night beating
* English language law back on hold in Carpentersville
* Some say ‘English-only’ is a safety issue
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