I was looking up something else and came across this passage in a recent Trib editorial where y’all laid out your own pension reform plan…
We can think of multiple reasons, Governor, for legislators to reject this template. But they were elected — all of you were elected — to deliver solutions. To be leaders. If the four caucus heads embraced the deal we’re proposing and told their members that it has to pass or they’ll face campaign funding and other harsh consequences, it would pass.
Threatening to withhold campaign contributions in explicit exchange for a vote in the General Assembly would be a hugely illegal quid pro quo that could land everybody involved in federal or state prison. Demanding such a course of action is about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in any editorial page anywhere at any time.
Please, take a breath. You’re scaring me.
* Dear Southern Illinoisan editorial board,
You ended your editorial today about the possible closure of Tamms with this paragraph…
There is no shame in embracing a compromise, Gov. Quinn. If that happens, some of the disappointed voters in Southern Illinois might be willing to forgive — if not forget — this damaging misstep before casting gubernatorial votes in 2014.
So, all of southern Illinois’ voters ought to base their votes on the closure of one state prison? This is the issue you want them to think about when they go to the polls? In another editorial, you write…
It’s established: Tamms’ closure would be disastrous to Southern Illinois’ economy.
You mean to tell me that the loss of 250 jobs (that aren’t really being “lost” because pretty much everybody will be offered other jobs at other facilities) will be “devastating” to a region that’s thousands of square miles? How many people has your own newspaper laid off in the last decade? Have you ever editorialized about those job losses and the impact they’ve had on your community?
* Dear Champaign News Gazette editorial board,
Pretty much everybody has fallen for this line, so I probably shouldn’t be singling out your editorial today, but I’m going to do it anyway…
Each side accuses the other of stalling, and now it looks like no action will be taken on pensions until after the election when it will be easier for lame-duck lawmakers who are not accountable to vote on a proposal. If so, it will be the second time in less than two years that a lame-duck Legislature acted on major legislation that legislators were afraid to tackle before an election — the massive state income tax increase passed early in 2011.
In the meantime, each day without pension reform costs the state about $12.5 million by Quinn’s calculation. If he’s right, the cost of a summer of inaction could reach close to $2 billion.
As I’ve pointed out before, that $12.6 million figure Quinn cites is a great little number guaranteed to be latched onto by the media.
Trouble is, even if all the pension bills passed today, the state would still be piling up that unfunded liability. The bill the Senate passed doesn’t start the reforms until January 1st, so if it becomes law the state would continue accruing that additional unfunded liability until then. The pension systems have asked that any new bills be written so that they don’t take effect until July 1st of next year, meaning that $12.6 million per day would continue accruing until that point.
The legal arm of the conservative Illinois Policy Institute has filed a federal lawsuit asking that Rod Blagojevich-inspired campaign contribution limits be declared unconstitutional because donations from political leaders are not regulated in general elections.
The Liberty Justice Center suit alleges that limits of $5,000 on individuals, $10,000 on corporations and unions, and $50,000 on political action committees violate the equal protection and free speech rights of the Illinois Liberty PAC.
In an action filed in U.S. District Court here this morning, Liberty Justice Center, a conservative/libertarian legal group that counts former gubernatorial hopeful Dan Proft as a director, asks the court to throw out limits on its ability to donate as much as it wants to whomever it wants.
Under the law, political party committees can spend without limit in general elections, but individuals, political action committees and companies are limited to $5,000, $50,000 and $10,000, respectively. […]
With political committees headed by state Democratic Party Chairman and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan alone spending $15 million in the last election cycle, the law is “a scheme to further consolidate power in the hands of party bosses,” said Mr. Proft, who is chairman of Illinois Liberty PAC, the plaintiff in the case. He’s also a talk-show host on WLS-AM/890.
He added, “Party bosses should have to live under the same laws they impose on the rest of us.” […]
The new law already has been watered down twice
The first came when Personal PAC, a pro-abortion-rights group, successfully challenged limits on independent political expenditures. Then the Legislature voted to allow unlimited donations in which an outside independent expenditure of at least $250,000 has been made.
* React via press release from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform…
Plaintiffs in this lawsuit are correct that the campaign contributions of parties to candidates should be treated the same way as private interest contributions, but ICPR believes both should be regulated. Plaintiffs are sorely mistaken in suggesting that Illinois should return to the bad old days of Blagojevich-style shake downs and pay-offs, which were disguised as campaign contributions under Illinois’ earlier, unrestricted campaign finance system. […]
We urge the plaintiffs to consider the serious damage its suit may do to public trust in government if successful, and ICPR will continue to defend limits on private giving to candidates.
* The Question: Should political action committees operate under the same contribution limits (both giving and receiving) as party and legislative caucus committees? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill to protect debtors yesterday…
The governor, who signed the legislation at an event in Chicago, said debt collectors have become so aggressive in some parts of Illinois that they commonly use taxpayer-financed courts, sheriff’s deputies and county jails to squeeze poor people who fall behind on small payments.
The law will make it harder to jail people who miss court dates or are found in contempt of court as they struggle with unpaid debts – a practice that got worse, some say, during the recession.
* Attorney General Lisa Madigan pushed for the bill and issued a press release applauding the signature…
The attorney general sought the measure after learning that residents in roughly a third of Illinois’ counties commonly face incarceration when they fail to appear in court over a previously entered judgment to pay a debt. In many of these cases, notices of court hearings were mailed to addresses that were no longer valid, leaving many debtors unaware of the hearings. In spite of the failure to notify the debtors, courts have frequently issued warrants for their arrests.
Compounding the problem, according to the attorney general’s office, is that many victims of these practices are living solely on income that is legally protected from being used to pay outstanding judgment debts, including Social Security, unemployment insurance or veterans’ benefits.
“It is outrageous to think in this day and age that creditors are manipulating the courts, even threatening jail time, to extract whatever they could from people who could least afford to pay — veterans, the unemployed, seniors who rely solely on their benefits to get by each month,” Madigan said. “This law corrects that gross oversight and puts a stop to throwing people in jail for being poor while still allowing fair debt collection when people have the means to pay their debts.”
The new law becomes effective immediately and was sponsored by State Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, and State Sen. William Haine, R-Alton. It also bans abusive and burdensome “pay or appear” orders that are routinely entered against debtors in some Illinois counties. These orders — which usually remain in effect for three years — require debtors to make a monthly payment or appear in court each month to explain why they are unable to pay, even if their financial circumstances have not improved. That means, if a debtor misses just one payment and court hearing, they can end up in jail. Debtors who have been victims of this practice typically owe outstanding medical bills, credit card debts or payday loans.
According to court documents obtained by Madigan’s office, one Illinois court entered a “pay or appear” order against a mentally disabled man living on legally protected disability benefits that provided him with $690 a month. Even though the man informed the court of his circumstances, he was still ordered to either pay $100 a month or appear in court once a month for a three-year period.
By amending the Code of Civil Procedure, the new law codifies and clarifies practices followed by attorneys, creditors and courts across Illinois to ensure courts make a finding of a consumer’s ability to pay before entering a payment order, and it prohibits payment orders that rely on legally protected income and prevents arrest warrants from being issued unless the debtor was personally served with a hearing notice.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Federation of Public Employees represents 250 paralegal and clerical employees at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office voted overwhelmingly (88 percent) to authorize a strike if negotiations that have last a year aren’t wrapped up soon…
Union officials declined to disclose specifics but said they are asking for a “modest” one-time stipend in lieu of a percentage salary increase. The group says it understands the state’s financial squeeze but contends that Madigan’s office received a budget increase this year that could “easily” cover the cost of the stipend.
Madigan spokeswoman Natalie Bauer argues that the budget bump was minuscule — an additional $1.15 million for a total of $32.6 million in general funds — and is required to be spent on worker retirement costs and health insurance. Union members counter that Madigan’s office has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the state this year through settlements with mortgage and pharmaceutical companies that could be used to cover an increase in employee pay.
Since Madigan has been in negotiations, she could’ve tried to muscle through an appropriation for a “modest stipend” for these low-level workers. They have a point.
However, unlike New York, the Illinois AG doesn’t get to keep any of the money she makes via lawsuits for her own budget. That criticism leveled by the union might look good on paper, but it doesn’t represent reality.
A coalition of labor leaders said Wednesday that House Speaker Michael Madigan is considering asking for a vote on pension cuts for lawmakers and state workers — but not teachers — when lawmakers return to Springfield for one day next month.
Legislation that has already been approved by the Illinois Senate would cut back annual pension benefit increases if workers wanted to keep state-subsidized health care.
Teachers weren’t included in the package because a deal couldn’t be reached over shifting future pension costs of teachers from the state to local schools — an idea Madigan has backed.
Lawmakers are planning to head to Springfield Aug. 17 to debate the possible expulsion of state Rep. Derrick Smith, a Chicago Democrat indicted on bribery charges. But they could do pension work, too, if they wanted to.
Subscribers also found out a lot more this morning about what’s going on.
A coalition of unions representing state employees issued a statement Wednesday slamming the proposal as “unfair” and “unconstitutional.”
“This bill would gut the provision allowing retirees on fixed incomes to keep up with rising costs. It would burden retirees with the overwhelming share of the state’s pension debt, punishing middle-class public servants for the sins of politicians,” according to the statement from the We Are One coalition.
Gov. Pat Quinn has been urging action on pension reform since lawmakers left town in May, but he wants lawmakers to act on a plan that includes pension changes for schoolteachers and university employees.
“I’d like to get to the finish line completely. I think everyone understands the importance in Illinois of comprehensive pension reform,” Quinn told reporters Tuesday. “It’s our moment, and I would really like to see the legislature roll up their sleeves and get the job done sooner rather than later.”
On Wednesday, Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson added, “The governor would like to see all the necessary steps taken to eliminate the unfunded pension liability and restore fiscal stability to Illinois.”
The bill will require a three-fifths vote to pass, so its future is, as they say, “in doubt.”
* The National Conference of State Legislatures is holding its big annual meeting in Chicago next month. One of the featured speakers on the group’s home page is none other than convicted felon and former bigtime DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff. From the NCSL website…
Thursday, 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. at MPW W183b, Level 1
Term limits, no revolving door, no gifts. These reforms are touted by America’s best-known lobbyist/felon, Jack Abramoff. He will defend his ideas in front of a panel of experienced legislators who will talk about ethics reforms in their states and challenge Abramoff on what makes sense.
Apparently Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan weren’t available to speak to the NCSL gathering because they’re still in prison.
* Abramoff spent over three years in federal prison after being convicted of mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion. He’s been promoting his new book “Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist.” He was on “60 Minutes” not long ago and said that one reform he’d like to see is a complete prohibition on congressional staff and congresscritters from ever becoming lobbyists.
* Abramoff addressed the Kentucky legislature earlier this year and outlined some reforms he’d like to see…
* There is a connection between money and politics. Any gift, no matter how small, is a form of bribery.
* Public officials should not be allowed to accept any gifts, including campaign contributions, from lobbyists or their clients or anyone seeking government awards.
* Politicians are human and humans are grateful to people who do nice things for them. This is how lobbyists gain access.
* Terms limits are necessary for lawmakers and their aides to curb a culture of arrogance.
* There should be a lifetime ban on public officials becoming lobbyists–no revolving door.
* Everything about gambling and gaming is political. Stay away from it, he warns. “Beware of the power of money in that industry.”
And remember that a public servant works for the public, not for lobbyists.
* But as former Washington Post reporter R. Jeffrey Smith wrote, Abramoff remains defiant about his own actions in his new book…
When it comes to his own role, Abramoff leaves out some embarrassing details, making a reader suspect that there is still more to tell. And his sensible yet improbable prescriptions — which Abramoff says occurred to him while he was doing time at a minimum-security federal prison in Cumberland — are undercut by the pride with which he recounts his lobbying victories. We are left with an odd mixture of candid revelation, defiant celebration and score-settling, all stuck to a postscript of avowed remorse. […]
He dismisses his numerous critics by claiming that they were engaged in “a bloodbath of slander” or bent on the destruction of his clients. He slams The Washington Post in particular for its “vitriolic attacks.” He said the paper was “thrilled to have another angle of attack” when it published a 2004 article by me about Abramoff’s diversion of funds from an avowed sports charity to pet political causes, a short-lived religious school for his kids and an overseas golf trip. […]
For all of its interesting play-by-play — marred in part by numbing accounts of his golf games with clients — the book skims the surface of Abramoff’s psyche. One explanation for his devotion to such hard-edged lobbying is that a habitual rule-breaker will always gravitate toward a profession where ethical norms are few and enforcement is largely missing. But there are hints of other compulsions, including a desire to outperform lobbyists with more cultivated lifestyles. (He writes with relish that his clients and tactics left the partners at Preston Gates squirming “at their wine and brie parties.”)
Even after a few years in prison, Abramoff appears unconvinced that he should be subject to the same rules as others. At one point behind bars, he writes, he violated a rule against circumventing the prison mail system by passing a note to visitors, in hopes of getting a Torah scroll from a local rabbi that he could use to organize a communal reading in prison. Abramoff writes in frustration that the “rabbi ratted me out” and says it was “a badge of honor” to endure another month in prison for having tried to obtain the scroll. He decries the prison’s punishment as “harassment.”
One of the book’s unintended themes is thus that redemption is particularly elusive for those who think they can lobby to get everything they want.
Maybe this wasn’t the best panel choice. We’ll see. Are you going to the conference? What are you planning to do?
[Wednesday] is the first day of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) annual meeting. State legislators from around the country will be attending, as will representatives from corporations looking to pitch model legislation.
There will also be spies.
Activists from several progressive groups will sneak into the Salt Lake City conference, (at least, they’ll try), in hopes of capturing some of ALEC’s model legislation. They will be especially motivated now that mass outrage over Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, an ALEC-modeled statute which many presumed would form the basis of George Zimmerman’s legal defense for shooting Trayvon Martin, has lofted ALEC’s profile.
But long before ALEC watching became its own cottage industry, there was Mark Pocan—a Wisconsin state assemblyman who spied on ALEC for more than a decade and frustrated its attempts to advance policy in the Badger State. […]
But the conferences are of dwindling use to a known quantity like Pocan. While his fellow ALEC-affiliated never tried to obstruct him, ALEC’s staff and its sponsors are a different matter. Corporate representatives ensure that he is never invited to the private dinners and sessions where they do some of their choicest lobbying. “That’s where they really wine and dine you,” he said. At last summer’s summit, “I was probably the loneliest guy in New Orleans.”
The only private event Pocan ever made it to was a cigar party. Sponsored by several corporations, it literally consisted of prim servers proffering cigars to legislators on silver platters. Within five minutes of Pocan’s getting there, an ALEC staffer hurried up to him, asked for his invitation, and, after he produced it, brusquely asked him to leave.
More than a decade ago, Wisconsin state Rep. Mark Pocan began agitating to expose the American Legislative Exchange Council’s behind-the-scenes manipulation of the legislative process in Wisconsin and other states on behalf of multinational corporations. It was a lonely fight at first. Republicans were enthusiastic about ALEC and most Democrats did not have the courage to take on powerful corporations and the lobbying and campaign contribution networks they had developed.
But Pocan, a Madison Democrat who has represented the 78th Assembly District since 1998, persisted, attending ALEC meetings and writing groundbreaking exposes for The Progressive on how the right-wing group crafts “model legislation” that benefits the most powerful corporations in the world — while undermining protections for workers, consumers and the environment. When the Center for Media and Democracy and The Nation magazine developed the “ALEC Exposed” project to reveal the full extent of the secretive group’s manipulation of the legislative process, Pocan lent his experience and insight to the work of naming and shaming corporations that fund ALEC.
As a result, responsible corporations are fleeing ALEC’s membership rolls. Some 25 companies have announced they are no longer associated with ALEC — including, most recently, MillerCoors, Best Buy, CVS, Hewlett-Packard and John Deere & Co. They join Johnson & Johnson, Dell, Kraft, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Walmart and Mars. Four nonprofits, including the Gates Foundation, have also ended their involvement in ALEC activities or initiatives.
But Pocan is not satisfied just with the reduction in ALEC’s ranks. The legislator, who is one of several contenders for the open 2nd District congressional seat, is promoting an “ALEC Accountability Act,” which would require the shadowy group to register as a lobbyist in Wisconsin and report the funding sources for the “scholarships” it provides conservative legislators.
* Pocan is running for Congress, and he’s hyping his visit to the media. From a press release…
**Press Advisory**
Pocan At 2nd Day of ALEC Conference
National Coalition Shedding Light on Illegal, Non-Registered Lobby Group
SALT LAKE CITY – State Representative Mark Pocan will attend his second day at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 26th. ALEC wines and dines state legislators nationwide in an attempt to lobby for model corporate-sponsored, special interest-inspired legislation. Over the past few years, public awareness of troubling legislation promoted by ALEC has caused 28 corporations and over 50 legislators to leave the organization. In 2012, Pocan introduced the ALEC Accountability Act, which would require ALEC to register as a lobbying organization and own up to its illegal practices.
Is anybody out there at the ALEC conference this week?
* Citing data compiled by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism Industries and the U.S. Travel Association, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that tourism is way up in Illinois…
• Illinois hosted more than 93.3 million visitors in 2011, a 10.2 percent increase from 2010 and the highest level on record, surpassing the previous record of 91 million visitors in 2006.
• Leisure travel in Illinois was up 11.8 percent and business travel was up 4.4 percent.
• Illinois’ tourism industry generated nearly $31.8 billion in revenue in 2011, an increase of 8.4 percent, or nearly $2.5 billion.
• State and local tax revenues from tourism totaled more than $2.3 billion in 2011, an increase of more than $300 million.
• The total tourism tax revenue (federal, state and local) saves the average Illinois household more than $1,100 in taxes each year.
• Illinois’ tourism industry created an additional 4,490 jobs. Tourism industry jobs increased 1.6 percent to 291,990.
• The number of overseas visitors to Illinois rose 6 percent to 1,255,000, the highest level since 2008.
• Visitor volume outside the City of Chicago was up 9.4 percent, with leisure travel leading the way with an increase of 10.6 percent.
• City of Chicago domestic volume was up 11.2 percent, drawing 42.4 million visitors. Business travel was up 5.1 percent while leisure travel was up 13.5 percent.
• The City of Chicago hosted 1,199,000 overseas visitors in 2011, a 6 percent increase over 2010 arrivals.
* The Question: Have you, or do you plan to do any Illinois touring this summer? If so, where did you go and what did you do? If not, why not? Also, did you host any tourists?
A Super PAC with ties to the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth commercials have begun airing television ads today in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District criticizing Democrat Tammy Duckworth for supporting higher taxes and more government control.
Among New Prosperity Foundation’s largest donors is Missouri Republican businessman Sam Fox, who was also a major donor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group behind the infamous ads questioning John Kerry’s military service in the 2004 presidential race.
The foundation is also running commercials against 10th District Congressional Candidate Brad Schneider of Deerfield and 11th District Democratic candidate Bill Foster, claiming they support higher taxes and more government control.
Duckworth, of Hoffman Estates, cited the PAC money and quoted in a news release Walsh’s recent comment at a town hall, when he noted “Now I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about. Our true heroes, it’s the last thing in the world they talk about” to indicate that he doesn’t care about veterans.
* From a Tammy Duckworth fundraising appeal…
It’s starting. A Super PAC called New Prosperity Foundation has launched the first round of attack ads against Tammy, paid for with unlimited, undisclosed funds that threaten our democracy. This is one of the largest Super PAC expenditures to date against a Democrat in Illinois.
This race is officially a top target for right-wing Super PAC spending. Help us fight back against these unlimited, undisclosed funds by contributing $10 today.
Here’s the worst part: one of New Prosperity Foundation’s largest donors, Sam Fox, was also a major donor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group behind the infamous ads attacking John Kerry’s military service in 2004.
We already know Joe Walsh will stop at nothing to attack Tammy. Now we know he has the wealthy allies he needs to promote whatever malicious attack he wants. We can’t let him get away with it.
New Prosperity Foundation, a Chicago-based funding group headed by former gubernatorial hopeful Ron Gidwitz and Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President Greg Baise, yesterday began running cable TV ads in the north suburban 10th District, northwest suburban 8th District and west suburban 11th District.
The amount of money isn’t huge — around $40,000 collectively, the biggest chunk in the 8th — but the expenditure, coming fairly early, is also a clear sign of where much bigger cash is headed.
$40K split over three congressional districts is basically nothing. More people may read online stories about these ads than actually see the ads. And just because somebody gives the PAC money doesn’t mean the PAC is focusing on Duckworth’s military history. C’mon, man.
* And the ads themselves aren’t all that stellar. Here’s the one running against Duckworth…
Republican U.S. Rep. Robert Dold today picks up the endorsement of the National Education Association and their Illinois affiliate over his opponent, Democrat Brad Schneider.
That endorsement will go a long way to help Dold make the claim in a district known for widespread ticket-splitting that he’s a trustworthy moderate.
* Meanwhile, Bobby Schilling was elected to Congress in 2010 as an aggressive tea party conservative, but he’s moderated himself a lot since those days. So, a press release he sent out the other day got my attention, albeit belatedly. I found it in my in-box while I was looking for something else.
As Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney faces a withering attack over outsourcing and layoffs by his former firm, Bain Capital, employees at a Bain-owned company are appealing to Romney to stop their jobs being shipped overseas.
Romney has played no part in Sensata Technologies Inc.’s decision to move its auto-sensor business to China. But he owns millions of dollars worth of Bain funds that hold a controlling stake in the Massachusetts-based company.
The planned closure of its plant in Freeport, Illinois, could create further headaches for Romney, who is struggling to divert attacks by President Barack Obama and his campaign that portray him as a job killer who does not understand ordinary Americans.
Schilling sent out this press release earlier in the month…
U.S. Reps. Don Manzullo (R-Egan) and Bobby Schilling (R-Colona) today urged the CEO of Massachusetts-based Sensata Technologies to abandon plans to offshore production to Asia and instead keep the work and the jobs in Freeport, Illinois.
In a letter sent this morning to Sensata CEO Thomas Wroe, Jr., Manzullo and Schilling expressed their concerns with Sensata’s plans to shut down its Freeport plant and move the production and jobs to China. Instead, Sensata should follow the lead of other multi-national corporations who are “reshoring” American jobs — bringing back production from overseas – to boost lead times, innovation and quality. Citizens of Freeport contacted both Manzullo and Schilling for help in appealing to Sensata to keep operations in Freeport.
Carl Green just couldn’t get his head around the idea of people complaining about not getting paid enough.
“I don’t know what their problem is,” the Coal Valley man said. “Why would you even go out and look for a minimum wage job?”
Mr. Green was among about 40 supporters of U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, who held a counterprotest in Moline on Tuesday.
About 30 others attended a protest organized by Action Now, based in Chicago, to urge Rep. Schilling to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been at $7.25 per hour since 2009. They said they want that rate raised to $10 an hour to make it closer to a “living wage.”
Before the protest, Rep. Schilling’s office sent a message to supporters stating, “Some astroturf, Chicago-based, rent-a-protesters are getting paid to distort the Bobby Schilling record in a protest scheduled for today. We need you to help us with a counterprotest.”
Action Now spokeswoman Veronica Resa said all the protesters in Moline on Tuesday were from Rep. Schilling’s 17th District and none were paid to attend.
* Oh, no, our civil liberties will be fine while the government conducts its endless war on drugs…
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn sparked frustration among civil rights advocates by signing a new police wiretap law Tuesday.
Illinois police currently need a court order to secretly record conversations of drug criminals, but under the new law that goes into effect Jan. 1, a state’s attorney could give that go ahead.
Quinn said the change will allow faster arrests. […]
But Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy with the American Civil Liberties Union, wished Quinn and the legislature would have left things alone. Yohnka said judges act as a neutral third party and they can already act fast enough.
Provides that it is an exception to an eavesdropping violation, with prior request to and verbal approval of the State’s Attorney of the county in which the conversation is anticipated to occur, recording or listening with the aid of an eavesdropping device to a conversation in which a law enforcement officer, or any person acting at the direction of a law enforcement officer, is a party to the conversation and has consented to the conversation being intercepted or recorded in the course of an investigation of a drug offense.
This legislation will strengthen the justice system by allowing more credible evidence into criminal proceedings. Judges and juries will be able to hear the actual conversations of those suspected of committing drug crimes, rather than relying on witness testimony that can be unreliable. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will also have more evidence to consider while negotiating plea agreements, which reduce the burden upon the criminal justice system. This new process allows Illinois law enforcement the same flexibility in crime situations as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement in surrounding states.
And, yet, the police still oppose a bill that would allow citizens to record their public comments without facing a felony and years behind bars.
A South Side lawmaker who helped found an AIDS awareness organization that attracted the interest of federal prosecutors has quietly resigned.
Democratic Rep. Connie Howard stepped down from the Illinois House effective July 9. She cited “personal reasons” in a July 6 letter she sent to House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
Howard, 69, who had held office since 1995, announced last year that she would not seek re-election.
The resignation came less than two weeks before authorities arrested seven people after an FBI sting in which they paid kickbacks in the hope of securing thousands of dollars in federal grants, according to federal charges.
* From reading that headline, you’d probably assume the subpoenas were recent. Not even close. They were actually issued in August of 2009 - almost exactly three years ago. The subpoenas covered two grants Howard steered during Fiscal Year 2007 - which ended over five years ago.
And then there was the stuff about how the resignation came two weeks before seven people were busted in an FBI sting that targeted West Side corruption. Howard is a South Sider.
Too often in journalism, correlation equals causation, and the Tribune is getting a lot worse lately with this bad habit.
As I told subscribers earlier today, this does not mean there wasn’t a causation issue here. I wrote about the subpoenas in my full story on July 11th. But unless the Trib knows otherwise, directly connecting the retirement of a 69 year-old woman widely known to be in ill health to subpoenas issued three years ago about a matter that took place over five years ago is a bit much.
Not to mention that I’ve been reporting about Howard’s resignation since July 10th. No hat tip. Oh, well.
* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady, as usual, blamed Speaker Madigan…
Actions by another member of Speaker Mike Madigan’s House Democrat Caucus raises questions if even more Democrat lawmakers are tied to a state bribery scandal. Today “we” learned that Illinois State Representative Connie Howard has resigned from office, but Speaker Madigan was informed of the resignation 18 days ago. Howard’s official state webpage and page on Speaker Mike Madigan’s Illinois House Democrats website currently are both active even though she handed in her resignation 18 days ago.
“How much bigger is this state grant bribery scandal going to get?” asked Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. “It is very alarming that another member of Madigan’s House Democrat Caucus is connected to this federal corruption case.”
Brady added, “Why did it take 18 days for Team Madigan to make the resignation public? We already knew Connie Howard planned to retire, just not this early, why sit on it for 18 days? Was Team Madigan too busy working on damage control from Rep. Derrick Smith and Sen. Hendon’s state grant scandals?”
Subscribers know about this already. Howard submitted her resignation to Madigan, but she was supposed to submit it to the Secretary of State. I told subscribers a week ago today that the Secretary of State had received the official resignation last Tuesday. And the House does, indeed, have Howard listed as “currently inactive” on its Web page.
And here’s the other thing: The state GOP has a Capitol Fax subscription. So, if Brady is reading his copy, he knew two full weeks ago that Howard had resigned and he knew last week that Howard had belatedly submitted her resignation to Jesse White.
* Illinois had 21 State Police call centers before the governor consolidated those offices down to just four last week. There were problems Monday at one of those call centers…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s Illinois State Police communications consolidation reportedly hit a snag Monday when phone lines were “up and down” all day in Du Quoin.
The chief steward for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees telecommunications workers at Du Quoin, Cathy Bencini, said calls were dropped throughout the day, but the state was working to fix the problem by the afternoon. […]
Bencini also said the phone system did not have working caller-ID and lacked a global positioning satellite system, issues she said the state was going to address.
Several legislators are criticizing Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration for considering moving some prison inmates out of Illinois. Democratic state Rep. Brandon Phelps of Harrisburg says consideration of the plan indicates the Corrections Department does not believe Illinois’ surviving prisons will be able to handle all the inmates moved from Tamms Correctional Center if it closes.
Quinn has said he wants to close Tamms and the all-female Dwight Correctional Center on Aug. 31 to save an estimated $48 million. Documents obtained by the Journal Gazette & Times Courier show at least nine inmates could be sent to prisons outside of Illinois in exchange for prisoners from that state.
The Lincoln and Logan Correctional Centers could face massive restructuring when the Dwight state prison for women closes late next month.
Preliminary reports from Gov. Pat Quinn’s office indicate that the Lincoln and Logan prisons, both at Lincoln, would essentially flip-flop inmate populations, with Logan also absorbing 980 women inmates from Dwight.
Logan now holds about 2,000 men, while Lincoln’s population is in the neighborhood of 1,000 women.
The plan is to transfer the 1,000 female inmates now housed in the Lincoln center, plus the women from Dwight, into the larger facility currently occupied by men at Logan.
Plans have not been disclosed for the extra 1,000 male inmates who theoretically wouldn’t fit into the Lincoln Correctional Center, although rumors are circulating that some prisoners could be released and monitored electronically.
* More budget stuff…
* Budget cuts won’t work if they aren’t researched
* Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sophia Hall is presiding over the lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the state’s ban on gay marriage. Hall, it appears, is an “out” lesbian and some folks are calling on her to recuse herself from the case…
Hall is a charter member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, which lists on its website that it promotes and encourages “respect and unbiased treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals as they relate to the judiciary, the legal profession and the administration of justice.” The Victory Fund, which supports openly gay elected officials, also lists Hall as an “out official.”
Professor Rena Lindevaldsen, associate dean at the Liberty University School of Law, said Hall represented a conflict of interest.
“Judge Hall is presiding over a case that seeks to fundamentally alter the meaning of marriage in Illinois,” Lindevaldsen said. “As a Charter Member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, which is an organization dedicated to LGBT causes, she has an obvious conflict of interest. Pursuant to the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge must disqualify herself in any case where her ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned.’ (Rule 63-Cannon 3). If the tables were turned and she was a charter member of an organization that had as its mission to overturn Roe v. Wade and she was presiding over a case where the validity of Roe was in question, there would be incredible outcry to have her removed from the case. Given the significance of the case before her, Judge Hall should take steps to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest, and recuse herself.”
Edwin C. Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU of Illinois, disagreed in an e-mail to On Top Magazine: “If the suggestion is that Judge Hall cannot, based on mere assertion, decide this case fairly and based upon the law, we simply disagree. Judge Hall has an excellent reputation as a careful jurist.”
The Mission of the Alliance of Illinois Judges (AIJ) is to:
1. Promote and foster friendly relations and goodwill between and among its members and between its membership and other members of the bench and bar;
2. Advance the professional enrichment of the judiciary, promote the administration of justice and improve the legal profession;
3. Promote and encourage respect and unbiased treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals as they relate to the judiciary, the legal profession and the administration of justice;
4. Defend and advance the integrity and independence of the judiciary;
5. Encourage, promote and provide continuing legal education to members of the bench, bar and public;
6. Foster and promote a positive public perception and a better understanding of the judiciary to LGBT individuals and to members of the public at large;
7. Promote equal and unbiased treatment of LGBT members of the judiciary on issues affecting judges, such as assignments, compensation, benefits, judicial elections, retentions and appointments; and,
8. Pursue any and all acts reasonably necessary in the furtherance of these goals.
We hope to be a resource for our fellow Judges and the legal community, and to be mentors for LGBT law students.
* Meanwhile, there’s a new call for a constitutional amendment in the wake of the lawsuit’s filing…
A Republican who represents a swath of southeastern Illinois is sponsoring legislation aimed at highlighting the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Even though Illinois approved a law banning same-sex marriage in 1986, state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said his resolution will help counteract recent lawsuits that are challenging the prohibition.
“It is time for the General Assembly to reaffirm their support for Illinois laws reserving the institution of marriage between one man and one woman,” said Reis, who issued a statement.
* From Rep. Reis’ press release…
“This extremely controversial issue should not be decided in the courts. It should be decided by the people,” Rep. Reis said. “The only real way to solve this is by a vote on a constitutional amendment.”
Earlier this year, Attorney General Lisa Madigan stated her office would not defend the state’s marriage definition by law, saying her office will “present the court with arguments that explain why the challenged statutory provisions do not satisfy the guarantee of equality under the Illinois Constitution.”
In June, Rep. Reis sent a letter to Attorney General Lisa Madigan stating his strong opposition to her recent decision to not defend the state’s definition of marriage and has received no response from her office. “This is yet another example of Madigan using a possible decision of an activist court system over the wisdom and wishes of the citizens of Illinois,” Rep. Reis said.
To date no response has been received from the Attorney General’s office.
In absence of the Attorney General’s legal defense, two downstate county clerks, represented by the Thomas More Society, were granted the right to intervene against the two lawsuits and defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
Rep. Reis continued, “All concerned residents of the state who want Illinois to uphold its laws and safeguard the institution of marriage are encouraged to call their State Representative and Senator and ask them to support an amendment to the Illinois Constitution clearly defining marriage. If we don’t, this issue might very well get decided in the courts.”
* Republican state Reps. Thomas Morrison, David Reis, Paul Evans and Dwight Kay are co-sponsoring the measure. From their joint resolution’s synopsis…
Shows support for the Illinois laws reserving the institution of marriage to one man and one woman. States the General Assembly’s opposition to any efforts to extend the institution of marriage to 2 individuals of the same sex, whether by statute or by court decision. Urges the members of the General Assembly to adopt HJRCA 50, an amendment to the Illinois Constitution stating that “Only a marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in Illinois”.
To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this State. This State and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status similar to that of marriage.
That last sentence appears to invalidate the state’s new civil unions law as well.
