*** UPDATED x1 *** Question of the day
Friday, Mar 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It’s Friday, I’m kinda busy yet also pleasantly distracted and I forgot, once again, to get around to a question. So I just pulled this one out of my… um… Sox hat.
As you know, the Springfield version of my 50th birthday party is this coming Wednesday, March 28th at Boone’s Saloon. We’re starting at 5 o’clock. There are no invites and no tickets. Just pay 20 bucks at the door. All proceeds go to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.
The beer garden will be open, the bar will have plenty of staff and I’ll have some food there. Tom Irwin will be playing for a while as well as Brooke Thomas & Mike Burnett (yes, that Brooke Thomas). The inestimable Mike Fountain is handling the DJ duties.
* The Question: What should be my birthday party’s theme song? Explain, please, and paste in a YouTube link if you can.
*** UPDATE *** I forgot to add that the best suggestion will receive a free ticket to the event.
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* My Sun-Times column…
“I love the fact Obama obviously has a thin skin,” Tom Swiss wrote in 2010. “His four years are going to be torture for him.”
Less than two years later, Swiss, the former executive director of the Cook County Republican Party, mailed a campaign flier touting “The winning team” of Obama and Tom Swiss.
Did Swiss have a radical change of heart? Heck, no. He spelled out his plans to run for the Illinois House in an email to a fellow Republican last May.
“The people of the district are extremely low information voters,” Swiss wrote. So, he could run as a Democrat, go unnoticed and get himself elected.
It turns out that most of those “extremely” low-info voters he was referring to are black. The 10th House District is centered in Chicago’s heavily African-American West Side.
Swiss is white, but you wouldn’t know it from his campaign literature, most of which prominently featured the same photo of a handsome, young black man. That Obama-Swiss “Team” mailer used that photo as well.
Swiss predicted last May that the upcoming Democratic primary campaign “could possibly be the least expensive State Rep seat pick up for conservatives.”
It didn’t quite work out that way. Swiss ended up spending more than $100,000 of his own money and raised several thousand more from others. His campaign cost him about $50 a vote.
Swiss scored just 23 percent against Rep. Derrick Smith on Tuesday, despite the fact that Smith was recently arrested on a federal bribery charge.
My best friend Brian used to always tell a joke about his dad, a Southwest Side Irish Catholic and about the staunchest Democrat I ever knew: “If Jesus Christ was running as a Republican, my dad would vote for the Democrat.”
I think Brian’s dad, who has since passed, probably would understand what just went down on the West Side, even though a lot of pundits don’t seem to quite grasp it. To them, black Democrats should’ve sided with the white Republican (in a Democratic primary, no less) who wore a deceiving minstrel blackface while holding them in utter contempt.
“Extremely low-information voters,” indeed. The 10th District’s voters knew exactly what Swiss was up to, and they also knew what they were doing.
The choice faced by the district’s Democratic voters was to cast their ballots for Smith, figuring he would resign soon or be kicked out of the House, or side with a guy who was until late last year the 27th Ward’s Republican committeeman.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Smith held his constituents in even more contempt by allegedly soliciting a $7,000 bribe from a day care center owner. And I’m not going to defend any vote for Smith. He has been an embarrassing dim bulb in the House ever since Secretary of State Jesse White orchestrated his appointment last year.
But if White has a brain in his head and more than a grain of political self-protection remaining in his soul, then after Smith either resigns or is kicked out of the House, White will make extra sure that the 10th District finally gets a capable, hardworking, smart state legislator who respects his or her constituents and works hard every day on their behalf.
This is the only way that the voters’ lousy choice can ever be redeemed. And White had better make sure it happens, because if he helps appoint another stupid political hack like Derrick Smith, then the next loud call for a politician’s resignation will be aimed right at him.
* And the Sun-Times editorial board appears to be on the same page with me…
Even before Smith was indicted on bribery charges last week, he was unfit for the job. When we interviewed him by phone last month, his answers to questions on state affairs were halting and shallow. There was a major pause before each answer, suggesting someone was coaching him. His written answers weren’t much better.
He got the job for one reason: He was Secretary of State Jesse White’s guy. White and other Democrats are now pressuring him to resign, giving them a second chance to make an appointment. They owe it to voters to get it right this time.
* Phil Kadner has another idea…
Getting rid of Smith won’t rid Illinois of corruption or convince anyone in this state that the Legislature has standards of ethical conduct.
Instead of removing him from office, just hang a sandwich board around his neck reading, “Will vote for cash!”
Now that’s what I would call honest government.
* Meanwhile, there were earlier reports, including from myself, that the proceedings of the House’s new special investigative committee might be secret. That was based on a reading of the House Rules…
The special investigating committee shall conduct all of its proceedings in executive session, and shall maintain strict confidence as to all of its proceedings and all witnesses, testimony, information, and exhibits that may come before it. No transcript or record of proceedings shall be taken. This subsection shall be adopted and effective upon an affirmative vote of 79 members. This subsection may not be suspended.
But there is no intent to adopt that subsection. Instead, the hearings will be open to the media. But there will be some ground rules, and they look a lot like the Heiple and Blagojevich impeachment. This is from the two spokespeople for the House Democrats and Republicans, slightly edited for style…
The Tuesday hearing will use some general ground rules created for previous high profile events in order to maximize facilities and provide some order and decorum.
1. There will be 40 seats for media. Credentials will be issued each day the hearings are held about 1 hour before the start. Credentials will be needed to acquire a press seat. House press passes, SOS passes. media credentials will be needed.
2. IIS will provide video/audio feed to Room 115 and is surveying for a satellite feed. Crews will work from Room 115 and arrangements will be made for “b-roll”
3. There will a multi box on the west side of the committee room the media section
4. Stills. We prefer a pool led by the AP and will try to accommodate others as time and space permit
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* Winnebago’s county clerk wants some compensation from ABS Graphics, which cut the county’s paper ballots just a tad too big. 25 Illinois counties had similar problems. In Winnebago, 36 percent of 23,400 ballots cast were too wide to fit into the machines. The county clerk then decided to “reballot,” instead of trimming the ballots with scissor or counting by hand…
In Winnebago County, the problem kept dozens of people working past midnight on Election Day to remake ballots by hand. The tedious work of filling in small ovals with black markers picked up again at 9 a.m. Wednesday, lasting until around 11 p.m. All ballots weren’t counted until after midnight.
More on how the process worked…
Charles Laskonis, as head of the Winnebago County Democratic Central Committee, was called to bring a team of Democrats in for reballoting. A crew of Republicans also was assembled. But state Senate candidates Marla Wilson and Steve Stadelman questioned Laskonis’ presence because he had supported their opponent, Dan Lewandowski. They also objected to the appearance of attorney John Nelson, who was present as an observer, because he represented objectors who tried to have them removed from the ballot.
Mullins responded by allowing representatives of each candidate into the third-floor room of the county administration building, where reballoting was sequestered from candidates and reporters’ cameras.
“We’re all sitting there and (Mullins) said, ‘Anybody in the room who worked on a campaign put your hand up,’ and everybody put their hand up,” said Laskonis, who said the large majority of the ballots he handled were Republican.
The Election Day tension and political posturing subsided as everyone got to work filling out newly made ballots. Ballot makers took an oath to uphold the integrity of the election, then a Democrat and Republican were paired across from each other to begin reballoting. In most cases, when a Democratic ballot needed to be remade, the Republican handled it first and vice versa, said Terri Knight, Harlem Township supervisor who worked on Election Day reballoting.
After the ballot was remade by one person, the other checked. Both initialed their work. Identical numbers were given to both original oversized ballots and their new, smaller counterparts. That allows candidates who question whether a ballot was properly remade to do a side-by-side comparison.
* So, how did this problem happen? From the Tribune…
“It was an issue in the trimming of the ballots,” said Ken Griffin, managing partner at Liberty Systems LLC, one of two ballot vendors who use the same Addison printing company to produce ballots. “The knives they use to cut the ballots as they come off the press were just a little out of tolerance. If you saw it, you wouldn’t believe it was enough to cause a problem. We are thinking this warm weather might have had something to do with it too.
“It’s traumatic for all of us, because we want everything to go as smoothly as it can from the very start,” Griffin said at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. “But we believe we have it under control.”
* More from the front…
Vermilion County Clerk Lynn Foster said 56 of her 59 precincts experience the problem.
Foster said she grabbed “every paper cutter I could get my hands on and we have spent all day catching up. We also discovered that if we used ballots from the bottom of the stack they worked better. They come in these shrink wrapped packages so I just told everybody to flip them over and use ballots from the bottom.”
She said she expected as many as 600 ballots had to be sliced.
* And it’s just a good thing Tuesday wasn’t a general election, or officials would’ve been swamped…
“I wouldn’t say we’re happy about it, but it would have been a whole lot worse in a general election,” said McDonough County Clerk Gretchen DeJaynes, whose staff used hair dryers on some moist ballots.
“We had 27 percent turnout,” she said. “In November, in a presidential year, we will have over 60 percent.”
How many ballots were faulty was unknown, Borgsmiller said.
But in Macoupin County alone, about 6,000 of the 7,496, ballots cast did not fit in the scanning machines, Duncan said. DeJaynes said there were problems with a couple thousand ballots in McDonough County.
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Facebook password measure placed on hold
Friday, Mar 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It’s back to the drawing board for Rep. Ford…
Legislation that would prohibit employers from seeking job applicants’ social network passwords is on hold in the Illinois House. Democratic Rep. La Shawn Ford’s measure would allow job-seekers to file lawsuits if asked for access to sites like Facebook. Bosses could still ask for usernames that would allow them to view public information on the sites.
But critics questioned a provision that safeguards an employer’s ability to “maintain lawful workplace policies” regarding electronic equipment and investigating suspected unlawful or improper activity. They say that contradicts the password prohibitions.
* I hadn’t realized this was much a problem, but even Facebook is upset about it…
Some companies and government agencies aren’t just glancing at a job applicant’s social networking profiles — they’re asking to log in as the user to have a look around. And Facebook wants an end to it.
The social-networking giant weighed in on the controversy Friday morning, reasserting a point in its privacy regulations intended to prevent such requests that makes it a violation of Facebook’s policy to request your log in. […]
Since the rise of social networking, it has become common for managers to review public Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other sites to learn more about job candidates. But many users, especially on Facebook, have their profiles set to private, making them available only to selected people or certain networks.
Companies that don’t ask for passwords have taken other steps — such as asking applicants to friend human resource managers or to log in to a company computer during an interview. Once employed, some workers have been required to sign nondisparagement agreements that ban them from talking negatively about an employer on social media.
Asking for a candidate’s password is more prevalent among public agencies, especially those seeking to fill law enforcement positions such as police officers or 911 dispatchers.
* There’s a proposed bill in Maryland as well…
And since 2006, the McLean County, Ill., sheriff’s office has been one of several Illinois sheriff’s departments that ask applicants to sign into social media sites to be screened.
Chief Deputy Rusty Thomas defended the practice, saying applicants have a right to refuse. But no one has ever done so. Thomas said that “speaks well of the people we have apply.”
When asked what sort of material would jeopardize job prospects, Thomas said “it depends on the situation” but could include “inappropriate pictures or relationships with people who are underage, illegal behavior.”
In Spotsylvania County, Va., the sheriff’s department asks applicants to friend background investigators for jobs at the 911 dispatch center and for law enforcement positions.
“In the past, we’ve talked to friends and neighbors, but a lot of times we found that applicants interact more through social media sites than they do with real friends,” said Capt. Mike Harvey. “Their virtual friends will know more about them than a person living 30 yards away from them.”
* From the ACLU…
“It’s an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people’s private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process,” ACLU attorney Catherine Crump said in a statement. “People are entitled to their private lives. You’d be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside. It’s equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person’s private social media account.”
What do you think of this?
* Roundup…
* Lawmakers address Caylee’s law, trans fats, straight on red: Legislation inspired by a Florida jury’s acquittal in July of Casey Anthony advanced in the state Senate on Thursday. The measure is among two competing versions of a push to make it a Class 4 felony if a parent fails to notify officials in a timely manner if their child is missing or dead.
* Illinois to become first state to allow online lottery sales
* Press Release: Hutchinson fights to keep Hunger Relief Check-off on Illinois Tax Forms
* Local Officials, Workers Say “No Quinn Cuts” to Illinois Health Facilities, Prisons
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Audio recording bill killed in the House
Friday, Mar 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Earlier this week, the Illinois House soundly defeated HB 3944, a bill that would’ve allowed citizens to make audio recordings of police in public. It’s currently a felony to do so and a couple of trial-level judges have declared current law unconstitutional.
If the 45-59 House vote is any indication, the judicial branch may kill off the statute before the General Assembly changes it…
One of the bill’s detractors, Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Freeport, said the bill opens the possibility for citizens to alter audio recordings of interactions with police to make them look bad.
Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, agreed.
“We should not be creating an atmosphere where people enter this ‘got you’ mode and try to tape law enforcement, trying to catch them (doing things),” Watson said.
“Why should (the police) have to go get a court order to record these people when these people can record them?” said Rep. Dennis Reboletti, R-Elmhurst.
Discuss.
…Adding… A commenter makes a very astute observation…
I’m not seeing prosecutors rushing to appeal the decisions to higher courts when lower courts toss arrests for this type of citizen behavior out. Will it ever make it to the Supremes?
Waiting for the judicial branch might not be an option.
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It ain’t going to be easy
Friday, Mar 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Senate met in a Committee of the Whole yesterday to begin the process of understanding the complicated and partially intractable problem of Medicaid spending…
Illinois may be trying to cut more from its Medicaid program in a shorter period of time than any other state, Illinois senators were told Thursday.
Joy Johnson Wilson, health policy director for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said other states have made significant cuts in their Medicaid programs, but have done it over two years rather than one.
Gov. Pat Quinn said in his budget proposal that he wants to reduce Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion next year. A working group of state lawmakers is meeting to find ways to make the cuts. Options include beefing up determination of eligibility so that people who don’t qualify are removed, eliminating or paring back services that aren’t required by federal regulations and reducing rates paid to doctors and hospitals that treat Medicaid patients.
* One of the dilemmas states face…
(T)here are some optional services, such as dental care, that states can cut. Wilson warned that even cutting those services can be tricky. Arizona, for instance, cut dental care but then found more people ended up going to the hospital for dental problems.
* More problems…
Wilson cautioned that some of the money-saving solutions carry their own problems. While Illinois and other states want to move Medicaid recipients into managed-care programs, such programs can be difficult to establish in rural areas that may be medically underserved.
Reducing reimbursement rates can drive medical providers out of the system, she said.
Discuss.
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Uh-Oh
Friday, Mar 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is from the federal criminal complaint against state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago). It’s taken from footnote 1 on page 3 of FBI Special Agent Bryan Butler’s affidavit. “CS-1″ is the government mole who helped the feds nail Smith. CS-1 has apparently been helping the G for years…
CS-1 has one prior arrest for domestic assault, but no convictions. Over the past 3-4 years, CS-1 has received approximately $1,200 from the FBI for his/her assistance in other investigations. In connection with this investigation, to date, FBI has paid CS-1 $4,000. The government has also provided CS-1 with financial assistance for purposes of relocation.
Um. Wow.
I think anyone close to the 27th Ward Democratic Organization ought to have reason to be very concerned.
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*** LIVE SESSION COVERAGE ***
Friday, Mar 23, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It should be a short day today, but here we go.
BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just sit back and watch the day do whatever it’s gonna do…
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Wisconsin’s Walker coming to Springfield
Thursday, Mar 22, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois Chamber just sent out a notice to “chamber executives” about an upcoming speech that will surely draw a ton of media attention…
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is very proud to announce Governor Scott Walker will serve as keynote speaker at Employer Action Day, the Chamber’s annual lobby day to be held in Springfield on April 17. His address will recount Wisconsin’s dramatic fiscal turn around and serve as an important reminder to our state policy makers that big problems require big solutions.
The Chamber is trying to keep it quiet for now. From the same e-mail…
While this invitation is being sent to chamber executives today, we are not making a formal press announcement at this time. Please take reasonable steps to keep the invitation limited to employer members and not members of the press.
Oops.
A “sample notice” to local members is here.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Mar 22, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn has left for Belgium…
The governor will have a full schedule during the first gubernatorial trade mission to Europe in 13 years. He will participate in several events organized by NATO, address a trade conference sponsored by the European Union, and host a business roundtable with Belgian businesses that currently invest in Illinois, potential investors, and business leaders and associations.
“We want the world to know that their trip to America starts in Illinois,” Governor Quinn said. “We’ll showcase Illinois’ tremendous economic assets before an international audience and we’ll bring back more trade opportunities, tourism, and business investment to Illinois.”
* The Question: What specific Illinois location (in other words, not just a town or city) would you recommend as the first place a foreign investor visits? Explain.
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* Oy…
Federal disaster officials for a second time denied an aid request for southern Illinois communities battered by deadly tornadoes Feb. 29, ruling Wednesday against an appeal filed by the state after the first claim was denied two weeks ago.
Gov. Pat Quinn and members of the Illinois congressional delegation said the decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not reflect the seriousness of the damage from tornadoes, which killed seven people in tiny Harrisburg, Ill., and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses across a five-county area.
“That’s pretty rough,” Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg said Wednesday.
Revised damage estimates included in the state’s appeal seemed to meet the requirements for a presidential disaster declaration that would entitle homeowners to grants and other aid to rebuild, Gregg said. Four of the five counties seeking aid for tornado damage were designated disaster areas after floods that struck the area in April 2011.
* From FEMA…
“After a thorough review of all the information contained in your initial request and appeal, we reaffirm our original findings that the impact from this event is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration. The required response appears to be within the combined capabilities of the state and affected local governments. Therefore, I must inform you that your appeal for a major disaster declaration is denied,” states a letter appearing to be from FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate to Quinn.
* Damage…
The numbers of homes damaged or destroyed and businesses wiped out in the multi-county area of the request for aid is high. According to the Associated Press, the state in its appeal said the storms actually leveled or seriously damaged 441 homes and destroyed 128 businesses in “the poorest part of Illinois.”
*** UPDATE *** From IEMA…
The actual number included in the state’s appeal of FEMA’s denial was 440 homes that were damaged to some degree, 176 of those were severely damaged or destroyed. [Emphasis added.]
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* IEMA…
Illinois Emergency Management Agency director Jonathon Monken says the state’s next step is to seek low-interest loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration.
Monken says while he’s disappointed, he knows FEMA has criteria and does not have an unlimited supply of funds. “Last year, there were more federally declared disasters than in any year previous to that… and we were the recipients of that twice, for a blizzard and a flood,” says Monken.
“It makes it very frustrating when you’re the one that falls below that line that’s set, because you feel like it’s an arbitrary line.”
* React from US Sen. Dick Durbin, US Sen. Mark Kirk, Congressman John Shimkus and Congressman Jerry Costello…
“A few days after the tornadoes touched down in Southern Illinois, I saw the damage first hand and there was no doubt that the residents and families would need the full spectrum of disaster aid available,” said Durbin. “The fact that the federal government has denied disaster aid – and done so with little explanation – defies logic. Hard working Americans expect that when they face these disasters, the federal government will give them a helping hand to rebuild. I am disappointed this is not the case today. I will be working with Governor Quinn and the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation over the next several days to identify opportunities to bring back federal funding for Harrisburg, Ridgway and the surrounding communities.
“We are extremely disappointed with FEMA’s decision to deny the State of Illinois’ appeal for federal assistance for the five counties affected by the deadly storms earlier this month,” said Senator Kirk. “Our office will continue to work with the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation and local and state officials to see that Gallatin, Randolph, Saline, Union, and Williamson Counties fully recover from this disaster.”
“I am extremely disappointed in this decision,” said Shimkus. “I know that the charitable donations have been coming in to help the communities affected, as I see collection boxes and fundraisers as I travel my district. We will continue to assist in every effort to help Harrisburg, Ridgway and the other areas with damaged businesses and residences.”
“I am very disappointed that the State’s appeal has been denied,” said Costello. “These communities face a very tough rebuilding process and the full complement of federal resources would have helped. We will fully pursue other types of federal assistance and we send our thanks to all the first responders and citizens that have given so much over the past three weeks to help those in need.”
* And, frankly, I’ve been hearing this sort of thing ever since Barack Obama was elected president…
“The president of the United States is from the state of Illinois,” [Democratic state Sen. Gary Forby] said. “You would think he would get on board and do something about this. When George W. Bush was president and Texas needed something, he gave them whatever the hell they wanted.”
I think the president has tried to be even-handed when it comes to his home state. But there are those who don’t appreciate that effort, and I know some who think his behavior is just downright shameful.
Thoughts?
…Adding… I’m told that last night’s “Sullivan Caucus” raised $2,000 for Harrisburg. Way to go.
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* If Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) doesn’t resign soon, he may be expelled. A special investigating committee has been formed and members appointed by both House leaders. The end result could be expulsion for the legislator arrested last week on federal bribery charges…
House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was mum on Smith in the days before the election, and Cross each named three members to the committee on Wednesday after five House Republicans requested it. That automatically triggered the committee under House rules.
Federal prosecutors allege he accepted a $7,000 cash bribe in exchange for his endorsement of a state grant application.
Sara Wojcicki says the investigation will be closed to the public. If it finds reason for discipline, a separate committee will conduct a public hearing.
* The House Special Investigating Committee membership, which has been updated this morning to show who the GOP spokesperson is…
Chairperson : Elaine Nekritz D
Republican Spokesperson : Dennis M. Reboletti R
Member: William Davis D
Member: JoAnn D. Osmond R
Member: André M. Thapedi D
Member: Jil Tracy R
The committee’s first meeting is next Tuesday morning at 11 o’clock. Per House rules, the hearings are closed to the public.
* Here’s what happens next…
The committee will consist of three Republicans and three Democrats. They will then make recommendations which could lead to another 12-man disciplinary committee that would decide whether to censure, reprimand or expel Smith.
The full House then takes up the matter. Expulsioin requires a two-thirds vote.
* I can’t disagree with anything in this Tribune editorial …
We can thank [Secretary of State Jesse White[ especially for the mess out west. White, who’s also the 27th Ward Democratic committeeman, clouted Smith into the 10th District House seat last year after he clouted incumbent Annazette Collins into the 5th District Senate seat vacated by Rickey Hendon.
“He’s an honest, stand-up kind of a guy,” White said at the time. Smith had been hired by the Secretary of State’s office shortly after being fired from his city job for allegedly misusing city resources; he says he did nothing wrong.
White stood behind Collins through a long string of ethical lapses but abandoned her in the primary after learning she had claimed a homestead exemption on a condo outside the district where she’s supposed to live. Collins was defeated Tuesday by White’s new candidate, Patricia Van Pelt Watkins, who has done more for the district as a community activist than Collins has done in 11 years in the General Assembly. Look what happens when you give voters a credible alternative: They trade up.
It’s up to the West Side leadership to make sure that happens in the House too. Ald. Burnett, Rep. Davis, Commissioner Steele, Secretary of State White: The voters who supported your disgraced candidate were taking it on faith that you’d provide them a better choice by November. Do it.
* The Austin Weekly News caught up with Secretary White…
When asked if he had any ideas who he’d like to see in the seat if Smith does step down, White demurred.
“I don’t have anyone in mind right now,” he said.
* Meanwhile, Andy Shaw at the BGA had this to say about Rep. Smith’s primary victory…
Better Government Association Executive Director Andy Shaw said Smith’s election win was disappointing.
“That’s terribly discouraging, not just because the voters gave him an overwhelming victory, but because so many well-respected politicians – including Congressman Danny Davis – actually endorsed him and encouraged people to vote for him for a simple reason – he is the Democrat,” Shaw said.
According to Shaw, Smith’s election win shows Illinois politics is in the gutter.
* Congressman Danny Davis’ explanation…
Davis said that while he asked voters to cast their ballots for Smith, it was about ensuring the seat stayed in Democrat control and was not a show of support for Smith. Davis said Smith should not appear on the November ballot given the ethical cloud he now faces.
“I was glad to see Derrick win the election, but I think in reality one can say that Democrats won the election,” Davis said. “I don’t think they were necessarily voting for Derrick, but I think they were saying ‘Democrat, Democrat, Democrat.’”
“It’s not just about the man, but it’s also about, as Ossie Davis said, the plan,” Davis said. “So I think people were intelligent enough, they were wise enough, they understood enough that they wanted to give themselves another chance to get a good, solid Democrat to represent them.”
* Kinda weak…
The leaders who have joined the chorus for Smith to step down include Gov. Pat Quinn and Smith’s top political backer, Secretary of State Jesse White.
“The governor thinks he should step down. He thinks [Smith] is not going to be able to be an effective representative for his constituents given the circumstances. The governor would urge the representative to step down as soon as possible,” Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said Wednesday.
Quinn on Saturday tiptoed around Smith’s bribery charge, calling his race a “tough call for voters,” but one “they’ll be able to sort out.” Other top Dems, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) even campaigned for Smith after he was arrested.
When Smith was charged, White did not address whether his protege should step down, only issuing a brief statement saying “I am very disappointed with the conduct alleged in the charges. I am confident this case will be handled fairly and justly by the judicial system.”
White’s call Wednesday for Smith to resign had nothing to do with the primary results, a White spokesman said.
“After reviewing the situation, having time to think about it and overcoming some of the shock of the original charges, he feels that the people would be better represented if someone else was in that spot,” White spokesman Dave Druker said.
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It’s just a (dead) bill
Thursday, Mar 22, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The House passed a bill yesterday to end the highly controversial legislative scholarship program by a vote of 79-25 with two absentions (Democrats Arroyo and Chapa LaVia both voted “Present”).
Listen to the debate, if you want…
* Gov. Pat Quinn issued a press release soon after the vote…
“I applaud the members of the House for voting to end the legislative scholarship program. As I have repeatedly advocated in the past, scholarships – paid for by Illinois taxpayers- should be awarded only to those with merit who are in true financial need.
“I urge the Senate to pass this legislation swiftly.”
* But unless something radical happens very soon, this bill will never make it to the governor’s desk…
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, said Wednesday he thinks there are enough votes in the Senate to get rid of it. However, Senate Republicans are worried this effort might meet the same fate as those of the past. Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said an identical bill is sitting in a Senate Executive subcommittee.
“We do fear it will meet the same fate as all of our other efforts,” said Schuh, who added that the Senate Republicans no longer participate in the program.
Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said Cullerton in the past has voted to reform the program rather than abolishing it.
“He supports reforming the General Assembly scholarships, both in lawmaker restrictions and eligibility requirements, like who can receive them,” Phelon said.
* I doubt even this bad news will help the bill get called by the Senate…
Current and prospective college students who apply now hoping to get state tuition help for next school year will be turned away, officials said Tuesday.
The state is on pace to receive a record number of applications for 2012-13 from the Monetary Award Program, the primary source of need-based financial aid. The scholarship money, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, was depleted by students who applied by March 13.
It’s the earliest the state has run out of funds for MAP grants, said John Samuels, spokesman for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the agency that administers the program. About 140,000 to 145,000 students are expected to get the aid, worth up to $4,968. An estimated 140,000 eligible students will be denied.
* From the Better Government Association…
When it’s alleged that lawmakers fail to observe the law, it stands to reason that some sort of formal investigation should seek to determine guilt or innocence, and have the power to impose a sanction or consequence.
But for years, nothing has been done.
In fact, Thomas J. Homer, the Illinois Legislative Inspector General — the entity with the jurisdiction to investigate any alleged wrongdoing by members of the General Assembly — confirms that his office did not conduct a single investigation related to legislative scholarships until last fall.
Homer points to several factors that crimp his ability to investigate lawmakers, including a statute of limitations that prevents him from looking into allegations of wrongdoing that occurred more than a year before the complaint is filed, unless there’s a cover-up involved. And before 2010, Homer’s office was prohibited from initiating its own investigations and had to rely on complaints from third parties.
Efforts of the Legislative Inspector General to pursue violations of the law have proven to be woefully inadequate — or nonexistent — despite the firestorm of controversy surrounding it. Since 2010, there have been at least seven reports of legislative scholarship abuse, and not a single investigation with a suggested remedial action has come out of the Office of the Legislative Inspector General.
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29 lame ducks (or 31, or 30)
Thursday, Mar 22, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Statehouse News…
Lame-duck lawmakers could provide the extra push needed to get public pension changes and Medicaid reforms through the General Assembly this year. […]
Twenty-two incumbents — a mix of Republicans and Democrats — said they won’t seek re-election this fall. Another seven incumbents, mostly Republicans, lost their primary race Tuesday.
“It depends why someone is a lame duck. Sometimes people believe that being a lame duck is temporary. But by and large, these are good opportunities to move things” through the legislative process, said Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
The issues sure to dominate the conversations in the halls of the Capitol are public pension and Medicaid reforms. The costs associated with Illinois’ Medicaid system and public pensions have ballooned in recent years, eating up more and more of the state’s budget.
…Adding… Commenter “train111″ says it’s 31 lame ducks, not 29…
How do they only get 29 lame ducks?? I get 31.
In the Senate: Bomke, A. Collins, Crotty, Cutra, Garrett, C Johnson, T Johnson, J Jones, Lauzen, Maloney, Meeks, Millner, Schmidt, and Schoenberg for 14.
In the House: Carli, Coladipietro, duBucklet, Dugan, Eddy, Evans, Gaffney, Howard, Krezwick, Lyons, May, J Mitchell, Mulligan, Nybo, Penny, Ramey, and Yarbrough for 17
Rep. Eddy resigned early this morning. It’s not clear yet who will replace him. If it’s a placeholder, then the number is 31. If it’s the guy who won the Republican primary, it’s 30.
* In a related story, Senate President John Cullerton is convening a Committee of the Whole today to discuss Medicaid…
An expert from the National Conference of State Legislatures will address the senators.
State strategies to hold down Medicaid spending vary. Tennessee limits adults to two brand-name and three generic drug prescriptions per month. New York set a Medicaid spending cap and gave the state health commissioner “superpowers” to make benefit changes or cut rates to providers without legislative approval if the cap is exceeded. Washington state is trying to limit coverage of emergency room visits for non-emergency care to three visits annually.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has recommended cutting $2.7 billion from Medicaid. Sen. Heather Steans, also a Democrat, said Wednesday that cutting that much in one year “is going to be a real stretch.”
Cullerton agreed, saying the governor’s goal may not be achieved. “It might be other parts of the budget that are cut,” he said.
* Related…
* Illinois Senate President Cullerton Proposes Pension Changes: The state’s five pension systems are drastically under funded and it’s making it difficult for lawmakers to balance the budget. Senate President John Cullerton says part of the problem is there’s a big difference in the way the state funds pensions for teachers in Chicago versus Southern Illinois. “The State is paying virtually nothing into the Chicago Pension System, and $2.5 billion into theirs. I don’t think that anyone can say that’s fair. It’s time to ask local school districts outside Chicago to have some skin in the game”, said Cullerton.
* Taxes, tension up in Illinois: “Other states can look at Illinois and see that merely raising revenue without structural changes is not enough to fix the problem,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a tax watchdog group in Chicago.
* Rockford seniors voice concerns on proposed health care budget cuts
* Will County Officials: Closing Mental Health Facility Would Be Devastating
* Will officials oppose Tinley center closing
* Public hearing set for Dwight Correctional Center
* Illinois turns to coordinated care in Medicaid program
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