Friday music blogging… Please come to Chicago
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
…Or anywhere else in Illinois for that matter.
I just stumbled across Chatham County Line this morning while reading the songs: Illinois blog.
Man, are they good. Most modern bluegrass music is just too whitebread and “safe” for my ears. But as the songs: Illinois blogger points out, Chatham County Line’s members think of themselves as more of a rock band than a bluegrass group.
The band’s sound is much more raw than most bluegrass bands around these days, which probably explains why they don’t want to be associated with that genre. I don’t care what they call it, I love this sound.
Check out some videos from a live performance here. But be prepared to turn up the volume. You can find links to their recordings there as well.
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Topinka is a zombie
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
 My Sun-Times column runs today.
I have this image in my head of Judy Baar Topinka that I can’t shake. It came to me after she won the Republican gubernatorial primary last month and it won’t go away.
She’s a zombie monster.
I don’t mean that literally. It’s not like I expect to see her wandering the streets chewing peoples’ faces off. I mean politically.
As any horror film buff knows, it isn’t easy to kill an undead zombie monster. The heroic victims try and try, but nothing seems to work at first.
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Lane Evans open thread - UPDATED
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Congressman Evans has not yet officially withdrawn from the race.
A letter from U.S. Rep. Lane Evans withdrawing his Democratic nomination for Congress has not been received by the Illinois State Board of Elections, potentially slowing the process to replace him on the November ballot.
I presume he’s waiting in order to put pressure on the locals to agree to his chosen replacement.
What have you heard?
UPDATE: A commenter points to this state statute
(10 ILCS 5/25‑2) (from Ch. 46, par. 25‑2) Sec. 25‑2.
Events on which an elective office becomes vacant. Every elective office shall become vacant on the happening of any of the following events before the expiration of the term of such office: […]
(3) His or her becoming a person under legal disability.
…And notes:
Evans has not sent in his letter to decline the nomination because his lawyers are probably trying to figure out what the heck to do.
A Circuit Court Judge has adjudged him to be a disabled adult. In the Petition for Appointment of Guardian they said that he was not competent to sign a power of attorney, otherwise they wouldn’t have needed the guardianship.
Sec. 11a)2. “Disabled person” defined.) “Disabled person” means a person 18 years or older who (a) because of mental deterioration or physical incapacity is not fully able to manage his person or estate, or (b) is a person with mental illness or a person with a developmental disability and who because of his mental illness or developmental disability is not fully able to manage his person or estate
Since he can’t sign, it is likely that his guardian will have to get the Court’s permission to sign it for him since a guardian in Illinois would not normally have the power to do it on his own. […]
The catch is that only the Governor can declare the vacancy and call a special election for the balance of the term.
[emphasis added]
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Question of the day
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Do you think we need a constitutional amendment in Illinois banning gay marriage? Why or why not?
Background here and here.
Bonus question: If the anti-gay rights people do get this on the ballot in November, how will it impact the governor’s race and downballot races?
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And still more trouble for Alexi
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Tribune editorial #1:
 Illinois voters are blessed with an excellent candidate for state treasurer.
No, not Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat on the ballot. He has some serious issues to explain. They first surfaced March 15 in a Tribune scoop with a striking headline: “Loans to crime figure haunt state treasurer hopeful.”
Six weeks later, Giannoulias has only made matters worse. The more he tries to wriggle out of fully discussing the millions of dollars in loans his family’s Broadway Bank of Chicago gave to a convicted felon, the more questions he raises. Giannoulias, 30, is the senior loan officer and vice president of the bank.
Tribune editorial #2:
Imagine you’re Barack Obama, with enough charisma and political capital to make kings or queens of mere mortal Democratic candidates. Imagine the March 21 Illinois primary is approaching. Whom should you choose to endorse? Who should receive your coveted blessing?
Ah, perhaps your friend Forrest Claypool, who’s running for president of the Cook County Board? You’ve never been cozy with the incumbent, John Stroger. Why, Stroger backed one of your Democratic opponents when you were a little-known legislator running for the U.S. Senate in 2004. You tell people you like Claypool’s reform agenda. Your endorsement might well win the race for Claypool.
 Or you could endorse Alexi Giannoulias, a candidate for state treasurer. He was one of your financial backers in 2004.
Sure, it seems odd that you, a U.S. senator, would care more about a state treasurer’s race than about who runs county government in your home county. But your endorsement might well win the race for Giannoulias. […]
Obama is free to endorse anyone he wishes or no one at all. But the Obama seal of approval means something. In this case it means Obama tied his tin can to what has become a very troubled candidacy.
UPDATE: A press release from Sen. Christine Radogno can be found here. (pdf file)
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Governor tapes attack ads at public school
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Reform and renewal.
 Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich used a Chicago public school to tape attack ads against his Republican challenger despite a city school ethics policy that prohibits political activities on school grounds.
The ads, taped at Waters Elementary School near Blagojevich’s home on the Saturday after the March 21 primary election, feature the incumbent governor appearing at what is described on screen as a town hall meeting. In the commercials, Blagojevich criticizes Republican opponent Judy Baar Topinka’s positions on assault weapons and raising the minimum wage.
Peter Cunningham, a Chicago Public Schools spokesman, said this week the ethics policy does not explicitly prevent political commercials from being filmed in public schools, but he acknowledged that “it’s probably wrong to do.”
“The ethics policy appears to discourage it, and we’ve shared that with the principal,” Cunningham said. “It’s skirting the ethics rules.”
The ethics code was adopted by the School Board in June 2004 as a result of a state ethics reform law championed by Blagojevich.
The code states: “Employees shall not intentionally misappropriate any board property or resources by engaging in any prohibited political activity for the benefit of any campaign for elective office or any political organization.” In addition, the ethics training for public school employees for the current school year notes, “CPS buildings and offices are politically neutral.”
[Emphasis added.]
Meanwhile, columnist Ray Hanania is already sick of the guv’s negative ads.
If Gov. Rod Blagojevich wanted to convince Illinois voters that he is the better candidate for the office he now holds, he is doing a poor job.
His constant, ugly, mud-filled, issueless advertising attacks against his Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka are nauseating. They’re not even intelligent and they certainly don’t even sound accurate. […]
One of the attack ads actually sounds like a big lie, the one about how Topinka, the state treasurer, allowed the state to not fund the state pensions so they could use the money for other, budget needs, is ridiculous.
And Eric Krol is not impressed at all with Topinka’s post-primary effort.
Judy Baar Topinka apparently didn’t learn many strategic lessons from the Bush administration’s experience in Iraq.
The U.S. invasion was a relatively easy triumph, but Bush was roundly criticized for not having a solid post-victory plan for stability.
Also, ArchPundit isn’t thrilled with JBT’s gas tax idea.
This idea is about as useful of opening up ANWR, which despite a Hastert’s whining as of late, wouldn’t actually affect world oil supply by much
UPDATE: Topinka campaign press release:
DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett said this morning’s revelation in the Chicago Tribune that Rod Blagojevich’s campaign attack ads are not only fake, but illegal, symbolizes his tenure as Governor.
“Fake and illegal. It’s the story of the day and the story of the last three years under Rod Blagojevich,†said Birkett, running mate for GOP gubernatorial nominee Judy Baar Topinka, the state Treasurer.
Birkett called on the Blagojevich campaign to produce evidence that it reimbursed taxpayers for school expenses incurred while filming the commercial. […]
Earlier this week, state Auditor General Bill Holland, a Democrat, found Blagojevich’s administration in massive violation of that same act Blagojevich and Quinn bragged about passing.
Holland’s audits also found massive waste, fraud and abuse for the second year in a row at Blagojevich’s Central Management Services Agency, the clearinghouse for many state contracts.
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Tollway board member balks at contract
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Gov. Blagojevich has the tollway board pretty much locked, down, which is why this story is such a surprise.
In an unusual move, a tollway board member on Thursday took issue with a politically connected firm winning a multimillion-dollar consulting contract. […]
Tollway board member Ronald Materick of Oak Brook objected to hiring McDonough and Associates for $1.7 million to plan Tri-State widening near O’Hare International Airport. A list compiled at the earlier request of board members shows McDonough drew the most tollway consulting work during the last three years — nearly $20 million.
“I know these are politically connected firms,†Materick said of the list. “It causes other firms to be less interested in competing.†[…]
Materick voted against the contract, an oddity on a board where all the members are appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Materick could not be reached for comment after the meeting.
The company and its owner have donated more than $61,000 to Blagojevich since 2002. The company did not return phone calls Thursday. […]
Meanwhile, the tollway re-hired IGOR, The Watchdog Corp. of Tinley Park on a three-year, $3.2 million contract for I-PASS packaging, delivery and promotion at more than 200 Jewel grocery stores. IGOR has donated $76,000 to Blagojevich’s campaign. Its lobbyist is John Wyma, Blagojevich’s former congressional chief of staff and 2002 gubernatorial campaign director. The new contract comes after two years of no-bid extensions on an original $150,000 deal in 2003 that jumped to $7 million by 2006.
And then there’s this:
Contractors rebuilding toll plazas on Interstate 90 need more than $3 million more than expected to finish their projects thanks to hastily-crafted construction.
The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board approved change orders for all plazas on I-90, including a $1.7 million increase to the contract to rebuild the Elgin toll plaza. […]
The authority wants open-road tolling available at every plaza by this fall.
But the hurry to get the construction done fast meant that the toll authority was not ready with some aspects of its engineering. For instance, the Elgin, River Road and Devon plazas need more electrical work than the bids originally specified because the board wanted to get the bigger job of adding lanes started.
Gee, I wonder why they want the new lanes completed, along with their giant Brought to you by Rod Blagojevich signs, by this fall?
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Should Ryan get a new trial? - UPDATED
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
The Sun-Times has been all over this.
Just two days after a judge shot down their last attempt, former Gov. George Ryan’s lawyers will appear in court again this morning with what they say is new evidence of improper “outside influence” on the jury that convicted him of corruption.
Ousted juror Evelyn Ezell claims another juror, during deliberations, read aloud from research the juror had conducted on case law.
Some appellate courts have ruled that jurors’ independent research constitutes the kind of “outside influence” that requires courts to throw out convictions and grant defendants new trials. […]
Ezell said another juror brought in a couple of sheets of paper she surmised were reprints of information from the Internet. Reading aloud, the juror said, “A juror can be dismissed for not deliberating in good faith,” Ezell recalled. Then the juror read the section number and other citations for the law or case she was quoting from, Ezell told the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday.
There is a recent case that seems to come close to this problem. Ed Rosenthal, the self-proclaimed “Guru of Ganja,” just got a new trial.
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based appeals court, in overturning the verdict, said a juror had had inappropriate communication with an attorney.
“Juror A” had asked the attorney during trial whether she had to follow the law or could vote her conscience because she suspected Rosenthal was growing marijuana for medicinal uses. The attorney told her she must follow the judge’s instructions to follow federal law or she would get in “trouble.”
“We hold that here the communication was an improper influence upon Juror A’s decision to acquit or convict,” the appeals court wrote.
[Hat tip: RandomActOfKindness]
UPDATE: From a reporter friend:
Judge Pallmeyer got angry today…by her standards, anyway. For me, it’d be called even-keel. She ripped Webb and Co. for continuing to imply there was an anti-George conspiracy on the jury or in her courtroom.
Basically, she gave the feds until Wednesday to respond to Webb’s assertion that Ezell should be brought in and questioned. Ruling to come Thursday.
UPDATE 2: AP:
Former Gov. George Ryan’s trial judge said Friday that she takes seriously a defense claim that legal documents might have been imported into the jury room, bringing improper outside influence on the jurors, and she added that she might order an investigation.
“I do take it as a very serious allegation,” U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer told both sides after Ryan’s defense attorneys asked her for permission to interview former juror Evelyn Ezell about her claim that outside legal documents were read to her by another juror.
Ezell has said in numerous media interviews including one with The Associated Press over the past two days that during deliberations a juror brought papers into the jury room.
She said the papers involved the law on when a juror could be dismissed for failing to deliberate in good faith — something she was being accused of by fellow jurors.
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Grand jury whistles in Scott
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
It looks like Lisa Madigan’s grand jury is still quite active.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s environmental chief has been questioned before a Cook County grand jury investigating whether the governor’s office overstepped its authority last year in shutting down a landfill run by a relative of the governor’s estranged father-in-law, sources said Thursday.
Prosecutors last week brought before the grand jury Douglas Scott, director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as part of the joint probe begun more than a year ago by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and Cook County State’s Atty. Richard Devine’s offices, according to two sources familiar with the proceedings.
Earlier this year, the grand jury heard testimony from two EPA administrators who were involved in the closing of the Joliet landfill, including a bureau chief for the EPA’s land management division.
Scott did not head the EPA at the time the agency shut down the landfill, but the sources said that during his April 19 appearance, he was asked to detail what the EPA’s standard operating procedures are for closing landfills. Former EPA Director Renee Cipriano, now a lobbyist, headed the EPA at the time. Cipriano did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday. […]
A law enforcement source has said the investigation centers on the EPA’s decision to close the landfill in January 2005 and whether the governor’s office engaged in official misconduct or abuse of power in calling for the EPA to look into the landfill. […]
Prosecutors have visited the homes of EPA field inspectors who were initially involved in the inspection of the 45-acre dump.
Madigan’s grand jury was empaneled for 18 months, so we could hear something out of it this summer.
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Morning news roundup
Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
· Editorial: Rod Blagojevich sounded more like a king than a governor this week in announcing $10 million in grants for stem-cell research in Illinois. “I’m not going to wait for a bunch of politicians in Springfield who won’t do the right thing to help cure diseases,” the governor said without making distinctions between legislative supporters and opponents.
· Editorial: Not-so-special funds
· Gas prices fuel debate on taxes in race for Illinois governor
· [Mayor] Daley on Thursday expressed hope that the General Assembly, after the fall election, will consider a swap involving an increase in the state’s income tax in return for a statewide cut in property taxes.
· State disciplines mortgage firms
· Long ballot could be split in 2
· Hiram has a good, link-filled post on Dan Hynes’ ethics proposal.
· Looking for a lunch activity? Senate GOP spokesperson Patti Schuh, Senate Dem spokesperson Cindy Davidsmeyer and House Dem spokesman Steve Brown are speaking at the East Bank Club at noon today. No Dring, apparently.
· Speaker Madigan presses national banks to sign lending vow
· Friday beer blogging.
· Starved Rock struggles; Park services dwindle; state says it’s `doing more with less’… and Topinka outlines her vision of what IDNR could become
· Oops:
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Question of the day
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Mary Mitchell writes this morning:
Should pastors serve as elected officials? […]
Frankly, the days of the preacher/politician are numbered. They should be.
It is the preacher’s job to preach the gospel and bring unbelievers into the church. Unfortunately, sometimes the actions of the politician/preacher make the preacher/ politician’s job that much harder.
Read her column and tell me what you think about this topic.
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Still more trouble for Alexi
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
As I told Capitol Fax readers earlier this week, Dem treasurer nominee Alexi Giannoulias was planning to meet with reporters in an all-out attempt to improve his image.
There appears to be mixed results. He answered some questions and backtracked from some of his dumber comments about an ex-mobster, but the Tribune found more problems.
Citing bank privacy laws in response to new questions about loans made by Broadway Bank, Giannoulias would not comment about the bank’s relationship with another borrower, Boris Stratievsky, whose companies received millions of dollars in loans before his federal indictment on money-laundering charges last year. […]
[Ex-mobster Michael Giorango] runs companies that own dozens of properties in the Chicago area, Florida and South Carolina. He also has financed real estate deals with other convicted felons. Broadway Bank in the last year has extended more than $6 million in mortgage loans to a company called 1201 South Western LLC run by Giorango and another convicted bookmaker, Demitri Stavropoulos.
The Broadway loans helped the firm acquire properties including a Loop restaurant and a West Side commercial property that boasts two large Giannoulias campaign signs.
Giorango’s 1201 firm also has made millions of dollars in mortgage loans to dozens of other property owners. The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said it was unclear whether the 1201 firm should have registered as a mortgage lender. “We’re going to do further inquiries,” agency spokeswoman Susan Hofer said.
Read the whole thing. There’s plenty more.
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I’m not sure this is believable.
The governor insisted he is not considering the tollway-leasing idea as a way of keeping state Sen. James Meeks, a Chicago independent, from making a run for governor.
Meeks, who is also the pastor of Chicago’s 22,000-member Salem Baptist Church, continues to eye a bid, saying he is disappointed Blagojevich is not putting more money into schools and social programs. Meeks has said he wants a pledge from the governor to devote billions more to education during a second term, although Blagojevich has again taken a pledge not to raise the income or sales taxes.
Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, the Republican candidate for governor, said the state needs to be careful about leasing the toll highway system.
“If we are selling it to keep Sen. Meeks out of an election, if that’s indeed the reason it would be done, that would be probably the most awful, opportunistic reason for doing something like that,” Topinka said. “You can always look and see if there is some merit to any of this, but it seems the reasoning behind this is purely political, and ultimately the state would be without an asset.”
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It’s still not going away
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
The governor attended a Holocaust memorial ceremony in Springfield yesterday, which dredged up some bad memories.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich joined Jewish leaders for an annual ceremony observing the Holocaust on Wednesday, the first public gathering since he angered many of them by standing by his appointment of a Louis Farrakhan aide to a state panel.
Federation leaders publicly thanked Blagojevich for his participation in the program, jointly sponsored by the governor’s office and several Jewish federations from around Illinois.
But several community leaders said relations are still strained with the governor, who has refused to remove Claudette Muhammad from his hate crime commission. Muhammad is the minister of protocol for the Nation of Islam and has declined to condemn recent anti-gay and anti-Semitic statements by Farrakhan.
After the event, held at the Old State Capitol, Blagojevich said he thinks his relationship with Jewish leaders is strong.
“Relationships have always been very good and, I think, continue to be very good,” he said. As for whether the Muhammad controversy had harmed his relationship with Jewish voters, Blagojevich said, “Those things don’t enter my mind.”
But others who attended the Holocaust commemoration said they think Blagojevich still needs to repair his bonds with the community.
The Sun-Times adds:
But key Jewish leaders said Blagojevich must engage in serious fence-mending if he intends to keep Jewish voters from aligning themselves this fall with Republican gubernatorial nominee Judy Baar Topinka, who attended Wednesday’s observance.
“Without him attacking this and coming up with some solutions to resolve this issue, he’s going to alienate a lot of Jewish voters,” said state Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), who was among the speakers at Wednesday’s event. “If he lets this fester, it’ll get worse.”
Steven Nasatir, president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, said he was encouraged by Blagojevich’s presence at the Holocaust observance but agreed that the governor has not done anything to ease the frustrations Jews have experienced from his handling of the hate-crimes commission controversy.
“For us, the issue is one of important principle, and there continues to be disappointment and pain connected to this matter,” Nasatir said.
Claiming everything is fine when it obviously isn’t is probably not a good idea. At best he looks disingenuous. At worst he looks like an uncaring jerk.
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Trib moans about guv’s ads
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
The Tribune editorial today is entitled “194 days and counting“
Here it is barely spring, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich already is resorting to the sort of negative campaigning traditionally reserved for, well, late spring.
Candidates in the last three governor campaigns have restrained themselves until at least June before launching televised attacks on their opponents. But Blagojevich, who has a lot of campaign money to spend, started slinging mud at Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka on April 20. The first of his anti-Topinka ads was taped March 25, four days after the primary. […]
There are 194 days until the election, and it’s getting tiresome already. Are we really going to have to listen to this sort of thing for six more months?
The AP has a summary of the governor’s new ads here and an article here.
esurrecting a tactic that helped him win office four years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich stepped up efforts Wednesday to link his Republican opponent to the failures of former governor and convicted felon George Ryan.
Blagojevich is running television ads showing Ryan side by side with Republican candidate Judy Baar Topinka. The ads accuse Topinka, the state treasurer, of letting Illinois’ budget deficits and pension debt skyrocket during Ryan’s tenure.
“Topinka didn’t do her job as treasurer and now she wants a promotion? What’s she thinking?” one ad asks.
The Blagojevich campaign also held a news conference to point out that Topinka, who now distances herself from Ryan, once described him as a “damn decent guy” whom she loved dearly.
Topinka called the strategy a sign that Blagojevich is “desperate.”
“He’s spending a great deal of money to vilify me in whatever way he can. It doesn’t hold any water,” she said, noting that the treasurer has no role in setting the state budget.
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Morning news roundup
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
· Ousted Ryan juror alleges more intrigue
· Zorn: Anti-gay issue could shake up the fall election
· Lawmaker proposes 3-month gas-tax holiday
· Editorial: We need to tank up on ideas for energy independence
· Voting machines, company focus of scrutiny
· Non-tenured Chicago teachers getting pink slips
· Lots of links on a very important and crucial topic for the future of the Internet.
· Blagojevich gets bill on ‘doggie bags’ of wine
· It was Sutor. Figures.
· Group says 3 area executions were botched
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Illinois Issues goes bloggy
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
 Illinois Issues Statehouse bureau chief Bethany Carson has a new blog. No comments yet, but she promises to turn on her RSS feed as soon as possible (update: feed is now on). Check it out.
Use this post to report new blogs you’ve found, or a new blog you’ve started.
UPDATE: Bethany has an update on how the budget negotiations went.
There’s likely an agreement on the governor’s college tuition tax credit, but there’s no telling whether a slew of pet projects will prevent the overall budget from being ready next week.
The three top Democratic leaders finished their third consecutive week of budget negotiations. This afternoon, Sen. President Emil Jones gave promising comments about getting closer, but how close, he said, depends on whom you’re talking to. “There’s a few minor issues that we’re trying to get taken care of.†[…]
He did say adjourning next week is possible. Budget staffers will continue to meet, but the House and Senate won’t get back to business until May 2.
The anything-can-happen attitude was echoed by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie. Her promising sentence was capped off with a “but†and a courtesy smile that hinted she wouldn’t bet her money on it.
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This just in… Ryan lawyers can’t question jurors
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
AP:
A federal judge today rejected a request by lawyers for former Gov. George Ryan to interview two women who were tossed from the jury.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer said her most fundamental reason for her decision was that neither Evelyn Ezell nor Cindy McFadden took part in the final round of deliberations that resulted in a guilty verdict last week in the historic case.
The judge also expressed concern that interviewing Ezell would likely lead to requests to question additional jurors. She also called McFadden’s claims that she had been set up for dismissal “very regrettable.”
Julie Bauer, an attorney for Ryan, argued that the defense should be allowed to talk to both women since each had already spoken publicly to reporters about their views of the case.
Bauer said the two former jurors raised allegations of misconduct by other jurors that should be investigated.
UPDATE: AP:
federal judge barred prosecutors Wednesday from making criminal background checks of prospective jurors in the upcoming trial of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s onetime patronage chief and three other former city officials.
“I will order that no criminal background checks be run absent an order of the court,” U.S. District Judge David H. Coar said in response to notification from prosecutors that they planned to make such checks before jury selection scheduled to start May 10 gets under way.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick M. Collins told Coar that the government had planned to make such checks in the wake of the racketeering and fraud trial of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
The House voted yesterday to reject a 10 percent pay raise for themselves and constitutional officers that was recommended by the Compensation Review Board. If the Senate also rejects it, the pay hike is killed. If the Senate does nothing, the raises will happen.
Do you think there will be significant political fallout if the pay raises happen? Let’s try to avoid over-the-top attacks on politicians here. Nobody cares about wild ravings on blogs, so try to confine yourselves to the question at hand. Thanks.
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Meeks, the governor and the tollway system
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
I had a story about this in Capitol Fax this morning. Kristen McQueary was on the same panel with myself and Sen. Meeks and she filed this story.
Could the Illinois tollway keep state Sen. James Meeks out of the governor’s race?
Meeks, who is considering an independent bid for governor, said Tuesday he and Blagojevich have met twice to discuss a compromise that could keep Meeks from challenging Blagojevich — and GOP nominee Judy Baar Topinka — in November.
Meeks said the governor raised the possibility of selling state property as one solution to funding schools more equitably and to serving poor areas of the state — two of Meeks’ stipulations. Blagojevich said earlier this week he was intrigued by the idea of leasing the Illinois tollway to raise money for the state; Meeks would not say whether the tollway idea played into their conversation.
So far, Meeks is moving forward with plans to get on the ballot.
“I asked the governor for two things: a comprehensive plan on education and how underserved communities are going to be served,” Meeks said during a breakfast meeting at the Union League Club in Chicago. “As of this date, I haven’t seen a plan.”
Do you think this will work?
UPDATE: He’s looking more like a candidate every day. From an AFSCME press release:
Prospective gubernatorial candidate and state Senator James Meeks will visit an Illinois Department of Human Services field office on Chicago’s South Side tomorrow (Thursday, April 27). Meeks will meet with caseworkers and other frontline employees whose ability to provide essential services and benefits has been reduced by sharp cuts to the agency’s budget and staff.
Following the private meeting with DHS workers, Sen. Meeks and AFSCME director Henry Bayer will hold a news conference at 11:00 a.m. outside the office at 8001 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
DHS caseworkers and other frontline state employees are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31. The union recently issued a report, Without A Net: Barriers to Illinois Public Benefits and Supports, that found DHS staff shortages have caused long delays, huge backlogs and high error rates in processing applications for Food Stamps, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and other basic public benefits.
UPDATE: The above event has been postponed. Hmmm.
UPDATE: I’m told it will be rescheduled for next week. More info here (pdf file)
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“Petri dish for corruption”
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
State prosecutors from around the country are told how bad things are in Illinois.
A convicted former governor and scandals at Chicago City Hall earned Illinois the dubious distinction of “petri dish for corruption” at a national meeting of state prosecutors Tuesday.
The conviction last week of former Gov. George Ryan on federal racketeering and fraud charges was a backdrop for the National Association of Attorneys General’s one-day summit in Chicago to talk about ways to stamp out public corruption.
“Illinois is apparently a petri dish for corruption. It is a real breeding ground,” Illinois Campaign for Political Reform director Cynthia Canary told the group.
Ryan was convicted April 17 by a federal court jury of steering state leases and contracts in exchange for gifts. Ryan, a Republican, maintains his innocence and promises an appeal.
Federal prosecutors also are investigating political patronage and payoffs at Chicago City Hall. Dozens of people have been charged, including the former city clerk, who pleaded guilty last month to taking $48,000 in payoffs to get companies into a city program that outsourced trucking work to private haulers.
The administration of the current governor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, finds its hiring practices under scrutiny by federal and state investigators. Blagojevich has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Comptroller Hynes was in Rockford yesterday talking about ethics.
State Comptroller Dan Hynes barnstormed the state Tuesday, stopping in Rockford to urge legislators to support his three-pronged bill that he says will end “pay to play†politics in Illinois.
“There’s built-up frustration and anger among the citizenry†over repeated stories of political corruption in both parties, Hynes said. “If we can get people to channel that toward their leaders, we might be able to move this bill.â€
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CMS audit finds lots of problems
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
Another negative audit of the Blagojevich administration.
State auditors said Tuesday the Illinois Department of Central Management Services remains rife with waste and mismanagement a year after they first uncovered major problems at the agency.
Many of the problems uncovered in the latest audit mirror those documented in 2005, including contracts awarded without explanatory documentation, failing to monitor expenses submitted by contractors for reimbursement, and paying contractors at rates higher than stipulated in contracts.
However, the agency’s response is markedly different than a year ago, when it challenged virtually all of the findings of Auditor General William Holland’s auditors. This time, CMS said it accepts the recommendations made by auditors to improve operations and is in the process of implementing them.
Last year, Holland turned his findings over to Attorney General Lisa Madigan for investigation of possible criminal wrongdoing. Holland said Tuesday he did not turn the current audit over to Madigan because it did not uncover anything new.
It did note 17 problems repeated from last year, meaning they had not been resolved during the period reviewed by auditors.
“There are significant problems with CMS in this audit,” Holland said. “We had 22 findings, of which 17 are repeated. This is certainly not good news.”
The AP story is here. A brief list of findings is here. The full audit can be found here.
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