***Update*** Over 300 media credentials have been requested thus far.
I just got off the phone with CBS2 and it looks like everything’s a go for us to once again post their live video. We’ve done a lot of stuff with the station over the past couple of years, and I really appreciate them sharing their content like this.
I’m not sure yet when their Obama announcement coverage will begin, but we should have it here tomorrow morning.
Also, I’m hoping to have I will have audio excerpts, news stories and some raw audio before, during and after the announcement. Those will be provided by Metro Networks.
I’m gonna make my pal ArchPundit sing for his supper (he’s crashing at my place tonight) by doing some live-blogging for us tomorrow. Should be fun. My intern, Paul, will also be posting some of his thoughts and observations. Larry and I will also be sending Paul (who will be handling mission control) photos from our phones, which he will then post here.
The coverage will begin at about 8:30. Comments will be open throughout the morning.
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The “Cellular Book”
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
Rich has asked me to post occasionally on upcoming, interesting, or innovative news from the business tech world. Considering I am (1) an intern and (2) a graduate student, most of these gadgets and other fashionable developments are well out of my reach. It’s like a little puppy drooling over the fresh steaks in the butcher shop window. I am the puppy.
That disclaimer aside, here is a neat little tool that is making some news. This PDA has a cellular face that wraps around the device, allowing a 5in display even though the unit is smaller than some cell phones.
It isn’t a phone, but is capable of almost all else. Considering it is just emerging, add-ons will undoubtedly come quickly and abundantly.
While smaller than a typical mobile phone, the new device features a display which extends up to 5-inches and may simply be stored away after use by folding it, thanks to the flexibility of the polymer based display material
The rollable display enables reading entire newspapers as well as books that can be delivered and bought … stored in the terminal’s memory which will be extremely large (starting from 4 Gigabytes available in the first models).
Combined with TIM’s mobile services, the device will permit instant access to personalised data, e-mail, news, information feeds and location sensitive maps wherever and whenever.
Together with superior text and graphic content, the new device will also download and play music, audiobooks and audio podcasts. …the new device will deliver an exceptional 10 days of average usage time between battery charges.
It’s called the “paper killer”
Phillips spin-off Polymer Vision looks to be making fast work on its most recent promise to commercialize its foldable display this year, with the company set to officially unveil the first product to use the would-be paper killer
Some more commentary can be found here and here
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Billy Dennis, the Peoria Pundit ran this headline today:
It’s official: Newspapers are doomed
Dennis was referring to this story about New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger and his vision for the future.
Sulzberger says the New York Times is on a journey that will conclude the day the company decides to stop printing the paper. That will mark the end of the transition. It’s a long journey, and there will be bumps on the road, says the man at the driving wheel, but he doesn’t see a black void ahead.
Asked if local papers have a future, Sulzberger points out that the New York Times is not a local paper, but rather a national one based in New York that enjoys more readers from outside, than within, the city. […]
Media groups can develop their online advertising business, he explains. Also, because Internet advertising doesn’t involve paper, ink and distribution, companies can earn the same amount of money even if it receives less advertising revenue.
Really? What about the costs of development and computerization?
“These costs aren’t anywhere near what print costs,” Sulzberger says. “The last time we made a major investment in print, it cost no less than $1 billion. Site development costs don’t grow to that magnitude.”
It’s not that newspapers are doomed, but news print may be doomed. I don’t remember the last time I bought a news print version of a newspaper.
To the QUESTION: Would you like to see newspapers shut down their print versions? And, do you think it will eventually happen regardless of what you want?
Bonus question: How often do you buy a hard copy version of a newspaper?
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Dan Conley at Political Insider muses about Obama’s decision to not participate in the presidential campaign’s first “debate” [which isn’t really a debate, but more on that below]…
The Obama campaign’s decision to skip the first Presidential debate will undoubtedly add fuel to the argument that the first-term Illinois Senator is not ready for prime time. However, given the importance of putting up a big first quarter fundraising number, it’s probably a smart move on the campaign’s part.
Imagine if Obama had a sub-par performance in the first debate. That would be all the Clinton campaign would need to deflate Obama expectations among major funders and push them towards giving to them (and only them.)
By staying away, Obama preserves some mystique and delays his first test … perhaps until the first quarter is complete. By then, he’ll have time for lots of mock debates and might even have a chance to lower expectations. After all, someone this allergic to debating can’t be all that good at it, can he?
Despite what follows immediately below, that’s an excellent point. I wasn’t hugely impressed with Obama’s debates with Keyes. Among other things, Obama said “uh” hundreds (it seemed like thousands) of times during the face-offs and it drove me to distraction. [Oct. 12 debate transcript is here, audio is here]
* However, as The Hotline’s blog notes, it’s not an actual debate. [All emphasis in original.]
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NEVADA … IS NOT A DEBATE. The candidates will not appear on stage at the same time.
So, in typical DC press corps fashion, we are treated to a debate about a debate that isn’t really even a debate.
* Lynn Sweet continues her look at the problems Obama created by refusing to take PAC and lobbyist money.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) used campaign donations generated by PACs and lobbyists to bankroll the birth of his White House bid — though he’s banning that money for his presidential 2008 race. Obama’s conversion to a laudable higher standard does not negate that money from sources he now disdains helped paved the way for his kickoff in Springfield on Saturday.
* And the SJ-R takes a look at street closures and other logistics issues for Saturday’s event.
Main street closures will include:
Fifth and Sixth streets between Monroe and Jefferson streets. Washington Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.
Washington Street between Seventh and Ninth streets will also have lane reductions to provide parking for tour buses. Other lane reductions or street closings also are possible, but downtown is expected to be back to normal by about 1 p.m.
City parking ramps and some other downtown lots will be open for public parking. The ramp at Fourth and Washington streets will be available for parking for people with disabilities. A drop-off point for the disabled has been established at Fifth and Washington streets, which should be accessed from Jefferson Street to the north. A special-needs viewing area has been established on the grounds of the event.
* A map of street closures, parking, etc. can be found here. [pdf file]
* Don’t forget, I’ll be liveblogging the event for The Hotline’s blog on Saturday and cross-posting here.
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Stupid, petty and counter-productive
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
I was at SIU a couple of weeks back to give a presentation to Mike Lawrence’s real politik class and have lunch with several SIU professors and administrators. Some of those SIU people expressed supreme frustration with the governor’s office on this very topic…
Illinois State University’s president says the state’s inspector general erred in throwing out hundreds of employees’ passing grades on a mandated online ethics course because they finished too quickly.
The inspector general’s office “exhibited an alarming lack of judgment and common sense” by failing workers who completed the course in less than 10 minutes, ISU President Al Bowman wrote in a letter to Inspector General James A. Wright.
“I, along with employees of this academic community, am offended that one would be penalized for the ability to read and comprehend information quickly when these same skills are a necessity to succeed in an environment of higher learning,” Bowman wrote in the letter.
More than 600 ISU employees — all with perfect scores — had their results invalidated because they completed the course too quickly, university spokesman Jay Groves said Thursday.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this minimum time limit stuff is absolutely ridiculous and the result of overly bureaucratic minds who ought to be focusing on rooting our real corruption, not penalizing people for mastering the material and setting arbitrary benchmarks.
I know we’ve had this debate a few times in the past, but feel free to document your own horror story below. Or disagree with my premise. Have at it…
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Local stuff
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I did something today in my Sun-Times column that I’ve never done before. I endorsed a political candidate.
I debated this step a long time with myself, but my editor at the paper approved the idea so I went with it because: 1) The incumbent is a ridiculous dud who I observed closely while I lived in his ward; and 2) His challenger is a good friend who, in my opinion, would be a great alternative.
“Downtown, we have more dogs than people. Everybody’s got to have a dog. You know why? They’re lonely. The young women don’t have kids yet. They’re not married. So, they have a dog as a child. And some of the fellas who don’t want to get married — they want to have kids around, so they have a dog. That’s a substitute.” –Ald. Burt Natarus, Oct. 21, 2006
Natarus said he’s witnessed numerous problems outside the [Ice Bar], including people with guns. When asked why he never called 911, Natarus said: “I could be in court all day. I could be cross-examined all day, and I’m not that certain. I’m not at all certain, I don’t think the courts regard an alderman as a good witness.'’ –Sun-Times, Dec. 22, 2006
Real estate interests contributed $1.7 million — more than any other industry — to the campaign coffers of 20 Chicago aldermen over an 18-month period, and 13 percent of that money went to one politician: Ald. Burton F. Natarus (42nd), a study shows. –Sun-Times, Jan. 30
It’s been obvious for a long time now that Ald. Burt Natarus needs to go. Natarus, who recently described himself as a “buffoon,” outlived his usefulness decades ago.
The city’s election board sent out a notification late yesterday that the third challenger in that aldermanic race had dropped out, but he will remain on the ballot because he made his move so late. Brendan Reilly has a new TV ad (Natarus is said to be finally checking ad rates) and you can see it here.
* What does your alderman do? And why are there 50 of them?
* Solis gets ballot lawsuit tossed
* Three running for 10th ward alderman
* Beavers takes on Jackson, newcomers - ‘Am I running against the congressman or . . . his wife?’
* Ward races zone in on development plans - Rivals target North Side’s hot real estate market
* Chicago community leader eyes council seat
* Challengers accuse Matlak of pay-to-play politics - Zaryczny calls on alderman to pay back city for patronage army
* Another forum, but no Haithcock in sight - Columbia journos grill Second Ward challengers
* SJ-R: “Ward 10 Ald. Bruce Strom said Thursday if he is elected [Springfield] mayor, it’s unlikely he would retain Springfield Police Chief Don Kliment.”
This is a local elections open thread.
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The coverage begins
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Yesterday, I told you that the rumored “gross receipts” tax on corporations was the most underreported story of the month. Well, today the State Journal-Register has a story and the Chicago Tribune editorialized in favor of it.
* SJ-R…
Illinois businesses are gearing up to fight what they believe will be an effort by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to raise billions of dollars for state coffers by taxing their gross receipts.
While agreeing they have no concrete information to go on, business organizations said they can’t wait until the rumor becomes reality before responding.
“It is so bad (of an idea), even if it is only a possibility, we have to be on top of it,” said Todd Maisch of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “We can’t wait until we are certain. Everything we are hearing points to that direction.”
Business groups believe Blagojevich might call for a gross- receipts tax when he delivers his budget message to the legislature March 7. Becky Carroll, spokeswoman for Blagojevich’s budget office, declined to comment Thursday.
* Tribune…
Here’s the best idea. […]
A 1 percent tax on gross receipts in Illinois–goods, services, the works–would raise more than $13 billion a year, according to a study for Houlihan’s office by Alma, Wis., consulting firm Program Analysis Inc. Illinois then could repeal the 5 percent state portion of the sales tax, which now gives Springfield $7.5 billion per year, and kill the $2 billion corporate income tax. The state would have revenue for a $3 billion education fund, plus about $500 million that could be directed to other needs or for other tax relief.
The breadth of its base would make the gross receipts tax a stable, growing source of money. Washington, Hawaii, Delaware, Ohio and Texas have extensive gross receipts taxes. Because it’s easy to compute and collect, many other states apply such a tax only to utilities or other specific industries. Illinois taxes its casinos on gross receipts minus winnings paid out to gamblers.
The downside: Because it touches every business in a production cycle, a gross receipts tax pyramids as, for example, a forester’s walnut tree becomes a sawmill’s lumber, which becomes a furniture-maker’s table, which becomes a store’s retail sale. Imposing a 1 percent tax at each step makes items manufactured in Illinois less competitive elsewhere–and, for that matter, could tempt Illinois manufacturers to buy cheaper components in other states.
That said, zeroing out the state sales tax would instantly make Illinois a more attractive place for consumers to buy their retail goods. Killing the corporate income tax would be another bonus for many (granted, not all) Illinois companies. And while a gross receipts tax appears to fall on businesses, you can argue that it’s factored into their prices and thus borne instead by the final purchasers.
Again, we don’t even know yet whether the governor will actually propose this idea. But now that the Trib has editorialized in favor of it, the “plan” is certain to generate more news coverage.
Discuss below.
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Morning Shorts
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Stroger cuts 20 jobs, including hospital chief; critics want more
* Many states targeting distracted drivers
* Illinois Arts Alliance selects new director
*USAToday: Assimilation key to immigration reform
Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich created a task force to come up with the best ways to help immigrants achieve integration. Last month, the task force released its suggestions, including implementing a “We Want to Learn English” campaign, enacting policies that allow skilled workers to transfer their credentials and training from their native countries to meet the state’s professional standards, and supplying low-skilled workers with English and vocational training. It is a model worthy of national adoption.
* Some points on the lottery sale
* Cook Co. suburbs face smoking deadline
* Glencoe and Wilmette move on affordable housing
* Editorial: Stroger packs the payroll
* Transit officials seek $10 billion from state:
Officials have called 2007 the “year of decision” for transportation, predicting that fare increases and service cuts would be imposed if the bus and rail network does not receive new operating and capital improvement revenue. But transportation is vying with education, health care and pension funding as top Springfield concerns.
* Company admits Stroger Hospital fraud
* Coalition promote HB750 as revenue solution for schools and pensions
* Brown blames Daley for CTA problems:
CTA riders are enduring “agonizingly slow” commutes on “overcrowded buses and trains” because Mayor Daley’s handpicked transit team has ignored the basics at the expense of “glamor projects,” mayoral challenger Dorothy Brown said Thursday.
* Legislation aims to relieve backlog of state cleanup payments
* National attorneys sue Illinois police over lineup reform data
* Brady, Republicans pitch state pensions fix
* Former Ryan aide resigns from Commerce Commission
* County takes a shot at 10 cents a bullet tax
* Parole opposed for murder convicts
* Harvey mayor’s status as a cop is a problem
* Friday Beer Blogging
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Obamarama - The announcement approacheth
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Preparations are well under way for Saturday’s big announcement.
Downtown Springfield will be “somewhat closed†for the presidential campaign announcement Saturday of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, Mayor Tim Davlin said Tuesday.
Exact locations of street closures weren’t provided by Davlin, who spoke with reporters at the Old State Capitol, where Obama will make the announcement.
Davlin reiterated that gates will open at Sixth and Adams streets at 9 a.m., and that the Obama campaign has said the program will begin about 10 a.m.
“We’d invite everybody to carpool as much as they possibly can because parking in the street is going to be at a minimum,†Davlin said, although several downtown garages will be open, providing more than 1,000 spaces. The parking lot below the Old Capitol, however, will close at 5 a.m. Saturday.
Watch the Davlin video by clicking on the pic…
And…
A film crew is already in town from Norway. The campaign has fielded inquiries from media outlets in Japan, a few counties in Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
“Needless to say, it’s going to be a big day in Springfield,” said Davlin.
I’m supposed to be interviewed this afternoon by a radio reporter from Switzerland, of all places. What a strange thing. Some legislators have been telling me that the interest in the announcement was so intense back in their districts that they’ve organized bus caravans to Springfield.
If you can’t make it to the show, I’ll be doing some live-blogging for The Hotline blog (some of which may wind up at NBC.com) before during and after the event. We’ll probably be cross-posting those here, so check on Saturday. I’m also hoping to have some audio, and we’re working on that today.
My parents are coming down tomorrow sometime (Mom just told me that Dad and his Obamallac were interviewed by a Quad Cities TV station this afternoon), my brother will be here with his daughters and ArchPundit is crashing on a rollaway bed.
It’s gonna be a madhouse, campers. Dress warmly, and be prepared to deal with thousands of spectators.
Are you planning to go?
By the way, the weather forecast for 9 o’clock Saturday morning is a high of 10 and a low of 6. Partly cloudy skies. Brrrr.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
OK, this is just too good to pass up…
Sure, Illinois lacks the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Pyramids of Giza, or the Colossus of Rhodes.
But it does offer visitors the Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois, the prehistoric archaeological remains of Cahokia Mounds, and a 170-foot-tall water tower shaped like a giant catsup bottle in Collinsville.
Echoing the ancient seven wonders of the world, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism on Thursday plans to launch a “Seven Wonders of Illinois” promotion. It will be announced officially at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Chicago.
Visitors to enjoyillinois.com will be able to make nominations through February, said Jan Kostner, the bureau’s deputy director.
Those nominations can be for anything residents and visitors consider wonderful about Illinois — parks and historic sites, statues and museums, cheesy roadside attractions and naturally beautiful scenic spots.
Let’s stipulate up front that “the governor’s hair” should be included in the list to avoid the repetitive submissions. Otherwise, have at it. And, as always in posts like these, snark is heavily encouraged.
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Most underreported story of the month
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The lead story in Capitol Fax yesterday was about widespread rumors that the governor will call for a “gross receipts tax” on Illinois business to pay for all of his ideas. Business lobbyists are gearing up like crazy to fight the idea, which the governor’s office won’t confirm even exists.
I didn’t notice yesterday that Small Newspapers also had a very good story on this topic until the reporter pointed it out to me. So, here it is…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is reportedly considering a gross receipts tax on Illinois businesses to pay for a plan to provide state-subsidized health insurance to state residents without coverage. […]
Depending on its final form, a gross receipts tax could hit every business in the state, from barbers to manufacturers. The barber, for example, would pay the gross receipts tax on whatever he took in, likely apart from any income tax he might have to pay.
Even if the business was losing money, the gross receipts tax could apply.
Business lobbyists contend a gross receipts would be passed to consumers, and in the case of manufactured products could add significantly to the cost of finished goods.
“You could go from your raw material to your final product and it could get taxed five times in-between.” said Kim Maisch, Illinois director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “The concept of a gross-receipts tax is really anti-free enterprise.”
The tax revenue estimate I heard earlier this week was over $9 billion a year.
Thoughts?
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Last gasps
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
This may be an overreaction, but at least it’s prompted some movement on the issue.
Chief Illiniwek could be forced to hang up his buckskins and stop dancing within a month — or even sooner, says a group of former students who have performed as the chief.
The former chiefs, in a letter sent to University of Illinois officials Wednesday, said they fear that pressure from Illinois Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) could spell the demise of the chief before the group can come up with a replacement tradition.
The former chiefs say they need a month to finalize a plan that could appease supporters of the chief as well as the NCAA. […]
Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer said she was unaware of Jones turning up the heat on university officials.
However, James Montgomery, recently named to the board, said Jones told him at a gala 10 days ago, “The chief’s got to go.'’
Meanwhile, GOP state Rep. Chapin Rose is doing a bit of grandstanding, introducing go-nowhere legislation to impose a 10 percent gross-receipts tax on money earned by the NCAA in Illinois, as retaliation for the association’s “interference” on the Chief situation.
Tired of what he sees as NCAA meddling in University of Illinois business, a member of the General Assembly has proposed legislation that would tax the organization.
State Rep. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, isn’t sure the bill he filed last week will get very far in the legislature, but he hopes it eases NCAA pressure on the university over its disputed mascot, Chief Illiniwek.
“Somebody needs to smack the NCAA upside the head,†said Rose, a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law. “They’re sitting up there in their ivory tower looking down at the rest of us.â€
Thoughts? We’ve had the debate over the chief here a couple of times, so let’s please try to focus on the two stories at hand.
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Peterson: No new signs
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
This seems like a pretty good idea….
Tollway signs emblazoned with Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s name have again come under fire, this time from a suburban lawmaker who wants to ban them.
The signs, which hang above open-road tolling plazas, would be added to a list of items in state ethics laws that cannot bear the name or image of a state official or lawmaker.
The plan to ban the signs is being pushed by state Sen. Bill Peterson, a Long Grove Republican.
Peterson said he introduced the legislation because he felt the governor was abusing an ethical loophole. […]
The catch is that even if Peterson’s plan becomes law, the existing signs wouldn’t come down. It would only prevent new signs from going up.
The problem is, Peterson is a Senate Republican. The Senate Republicans are irrevelvant at the moment, considering they have just 22 members in a 59-seat chamber. But I’ve seen more stories about bills they’ve introduced than just about anyone else. That may change as reality sinks in.
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Morning shorts
Thursday, Feb 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* NEW: Congratulations Ryan!!! Feder: “Ryan Hermes, Springfield bureau chief for Illinois Radio Network, is joining ABC-owned news/talk WLS-AM (890) as news anchor/reporter. He previously worked for stations Downstate and in Jacksonville, Fla.”
* McQueary: “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That it’s too coincidental a guy with a fine Irish name like Tim Sheehan pops up in the 19th Ward aldermanic race?”
* Registered voters at 60-year low - Rolls drop citywide, surge in contested wards
* Tribune: “As Illinois lawmakers prepare to debate a proposal that would make the state’s teen driver-licensing system one of the nation’s most stringent, top researchers say such laws are saving young lives in states where they have been enacted, but much remains to be done.”
* Ex-Ryan aide resigns from ICC
* Troutman faces feds, campaign foes - 2 opponents say it’s time for a change
* State Police launch Internet Crimes Unit
* SJ-R: The new owner of the name ‘Roman Cultural Society’ is a Chicagoan whose father once headed the organized-crime syndicate there.”
* New views of Lincoln - $340,000 worth of exhibits added to president’s neighborhood
* Obama bypasses public funds for campaign
* Rollback of county smoking ban stalls
* Stroger, Quigley ‘part ways’ over forest preserve cash
* Did Cline turn blind eye to cop corruption?
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