Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Maine voters overwhelmingly rejected a TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) referendum this week. Here are some details…

* growth in annual expenditures of the General Fund, the Highway Fund and Other Special Revenue Funds are limited according to increases in population and inflation

* revenues exceeding the expenditure limitation must be distributed by directing 20% of that excess to a budget stabilization fund and 80% of that excess to a tax relief fund […]

* a state tax increase would require a majority vote of each House of the Legislature and majority approval of the voters

This is the third time that Maine voters have turned thumbs-down on TABOR in the past five years.

* The Question: Let’s change the final provision to make a tax hike receive a three-fifths majority in both legislative chambers and no direct voter approval. Could you support this idea? Explain.

29 Comments

Cillizza bumbles - No explicit Palin endorsement request

Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I probably should’ve known better than to believe the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza yesterday when he wrote…

Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk penned a memo to Republican poobah Fred Malek hoping to secure an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his Senate candidacy, according to a copy of the memo obtained by the Fix.

If Cillizza really did see the memo, as he claimed, then he would’ve known that nowhere in that memo does Congressman Kirk explicitly ask for an endorsement. How do I know this? Because I now have the memo…

Memorandum

November 3, 2009

To: Fred Malek
From: Mark Kirk
Re: Gov. Palin Visit to Chicago November 16th

Governor Palin is scheduled to appear on Oprah November 16th in Chicago. The Chicago media will focus on one key issue: does Gov. Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk’s bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?

We would hope Gov. Palin could say something quick and decisive:

Voters in Illinois have a key opportunity to take Barack Obama’s senate seat. Congressman Kirk is the lead candidate to do that. Kirk, the first member of Congress to deploy into combat since 1942, voted against the Stimulus, Omnibus and Pelosi health care bills. He announced he will oppose Cap & Trade and is the key House national security hawk on Iran. Kirk is a unique Republican candidate who has become the number one pro-Israel fundraiser in America, Republican or Democrat.

The memo then goes on to detail Kirk’s position on specific issues, including his oppositon to the Obama budget, “card check,” the Ledbetter [gender pay equity] bill and the stimulus, as well as his support for President Bush’s tax cuts and his proposal to cut off funding for Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere.”

The hazard of blogging is that one often depends on others to get their stories straight. My subscription publication is comprised of my own work, but the blog often riffs on what others do, puts it into context, uses it to relate other insights. I also break my share of news here, of course, but using other peoples’ stories is an important core function.

WaPo’s Cillizza is now on my “always check him out first” list.

* All that being said, the Kirk/Palin memo is still incredibly pandering. And it still points to a very valid question: Does Mark Kirk even know who he is?

Lynn Sweet…

That Kirk is courting Palin takes on more significance, however, after Tuesday’s balloting for an open House seat in New York yielded a Democratic win after the moderate Republican was driven out of the race by Palin and others who supported the third party conservative candidate.

Conservatives may be shopping for other moderates to knock off. But the reality in Illinois is very different from New York or other places. Though the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been trying to pump Kirk’s seven primary rivals as real threats, they are barely known and hardly register in polls.

Sweet is right, but it’s more than that. Why has Kirk consistently overreacted to this mild threat? I’m not just talking about the Palin thing, here. He’s turned into Mr. Flip-Flop lately to placate a Right-wing that barely registers. Is he really concerned that something huge could explode or is he just thin-skinned? Is this about making sure a Constitution Party or independent candidate gains no traction in the general election? Questions, questions, questions, but few answers.

The Politico posits…

Kirk, a moderate, may also face a third-party challenge from the right, after fellow Republican Eric Wallace made clear in dropping out of contention for the GOP nomination that he may mount a [NY Conservative Party congressional nominee Doug] Hoffman-like run.

Wallace isn’t a threat, unless you figure that the general election race will be close, and it probably will be. Even if the guy skims a point or two from Kirk, that could be a big problem. Wallace is not the guy to look at, though. I’m betting the Kirk folks are more worried that a wealthy self-funder might jump in as a third-party or independent.

The Hill also weighs in…

But what we know now is that despite a win by a Democrat in NY-23, no GOP candidate believes the conservative activists who backed Hoffman are ready to hang up their tea bags.

True dat. And, they don’t care about winning. They care about making their point, as the aftermath of NY-23 clearly shows.

* Related…

* Mark Kirk and Sarah Palin: Senate candidate’s memo about ex-Alaska governor shows he’s veering to right, critics say

* Kirk looking for support from the right? You betcha

120 Comments

Repubs talk tea party issues

Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois Review live-blogged a GOP gubernatorial debate last night. The debate was sponsored by a so-called “tea party” group in Will County. Here are a few of the questions. Keep in mind that live-blogging is a difficult thing to do, so typos are common…

* “Where do our rights come from?”

Schillerstrom said “from the people”
Proft said our rights come from God
Dillard said our rights come from the Lord
Brady –said our rights come from God to the people
Adam: They come not from another man…but from God himself. A responsibility that we all have to take seriously.

* “Question to Dillard: It is widely know you’ve appeared for a ad for barack obama … BOOS … Do you honestly believe his skills are serving America well as you said in the ad?”

Dillard: No I do not.

I warned people he was a a socialist then — his health care plan when he was in the Senate showed that. But he did work on an ethics plan with me … and I acknowledged it…

* “Question to all from panel: Health care. Do you believe it is big government over-reach. As gov. you would opt out for IL. Would you take same health plan that is forced on everyone else?”

Brady …I opposed Barack’s state-health care plan when he was in the senate and I do now

I believe we’re protected by the 10th amendment … applause … I have sponsored a resolution to embrace the 10th amendment .. I would opt out of the health care plan and would sue the federal government for the freedom to not be in the health care plan, but still get our part for Medicare and Medicaid.

Adam A: he would opt out of the program. He would use every legal pwer to sue the government. His plan is…we have best health care in the world…no rationing…his plan is to stop rationing info. Make doctors and hospitals put price online for surgery etc. Do doc and hospital scorecards. So people can choose. he would also eliminate the health insurance board.

Bob S. - I would opt out and I believe an elected official should live by the same rules as everyone else. if it’s anything important, we shouldn’t let the goverment run it., I am the only one up here that lives it. DuPage is the model of how government should be run. I have a record — I don’t just promise. I run a government. On health care — in dupage oounty, we took 400 thousand dollars to work together in Access DuPage to help people to stay out of emergency rooms. We ask the drug companies to provide drugs. We ask doctors to donate and we serve 10,000 that wouldn’t necessarily be cared for without the the program. That’s the way Republicans deal with health care problems.

Proft: He would opt out. The concern is the medicaid matching funds so we would have to sue. He also thinks we should go after the feds on a number of issue.

Proft - Medicaid is largest expenditure in IL yearly. We must restructure the program. The program is broken. Medicaid recipients have better plan than any politician or anyone in the room.
Wednesday November 4, 2009 8:38 IR Editor

Dillard: If i wanted socialized medicine, I’d move to Europe. I fought obama on this when he was in Springfield. I will work to protect 10th amendment . I would opt out and I think we need tort reform — applause — the federal government should get our liability system back in order. Legislators should be on the same system we force on everyone else.

If state “opt out” is included in the federal healthcare bill, you can bet that it’ll be a big issue in next year’s campaign. The GOP candidates are now all locked in on the issue, except McKenna and Jim Ryan, who didn’t show up.

Also, Dillard, Brady and Schillerstrom said they believed that global warming was not man-made.

* Related…

* GOP gubernatorial candidates to debate

* Suburbs set for more top challenges

* Kane board candidate’s campaign could get boost from appointment

54 Comments

Don’t bother sending a postcard, just get the cash

Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I sure hope Gov. Pat Quinn asked for big buckaroos for the state budget when he was kibitzing in the Oval Office…

Quinn, a longtime friend of senior White House advisor David Axelrod, met with him at the White House and after talking about stimulus funding Axelrod walked him into the Oval Office to see Obama. Quinn said he ran into Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.

Don’t be proud, guv, just ask for the cash. Beg if you have to. Heck, stand on your head and spin around the Oval Office like a top for the preznit’s amusement if that’s what it takes.

* And while you’re at it, you might want to prod your legal team to speed up their review…

Republican Commissioners Tony Peraica and Timothy Schneider on Wednesday delayed plans to push for a rollback in the Cook County sales tax until Gov. Pat Quinn formally signs new legislation reducing the number of votes required to override President Todd Stroger’s inevitable veto.

A spokesman for Schneider said they hoped Quinn would sign it before the next meeting of the Cook County Board Nov. 18. Quinn spokesman Bob Reed said the governor was going to “review the law” and has not made a decision on if or when to sign it.

“If” he’ll sign it? “If”? I was out a bit too late last night with an old friend, so I don’t have the energy or the brain power to look it up, but I could’ve sworn that Quinn said he was in favor of that legislation.

…Adding… The governor’s office notes that the bill has not yet been transmitted to them. Good point, but I’m still a little concerned about the waffling on whether Quinn will sign it.

More…

Democratic Commissioner Larry Suffredin, of Evanston, who supports the reduction in the sales tax, warned that language added to the bill in Springfield during the recent veto session could contain a “poison pill.” Although it says the new law takes effect immediately, it also specifies staying consistent with the state constitution, which could give Stroger an angle to fight the new law in court.

All laws have to be “consistent with the state constitution.” But the Stroger court challenge angle is a real possibility, as I told subscribers last week. Stroger could conceivably hold up any override while he takes the state law to court, if he finds a willing judge, which might not be easy. The Senate Democrats said they believe Stroger has no legal leg to stand on, but this is America, baby. Anybody can sue anybody for anything.

* The state has a new accountability office? Huh. OK, get cracking…

Gov. Patrick Quinn on Wednesday dispatched officials from a new accountability office to investigate errors in a state database detailing stimulus-funded school jobs promoted by the Obama administration, a day after the Tribune raised questions about the job numbers’ accuracy.

The officials have asked the Illinois State Board of Education to verify the number of jobs created and retained in school districts detailed in the report, said Ashley Cross, a spokeswoman for Quinn’s office. Any necessary adjustments will be incorporated into the next quarterly report on the federal stimulus, she said.

Matt Vanover, a spokesman for board of education, said the flawed database actually had been washed of some glaring errors before being included in the official tabulation, which claimed 14,330 school jobs in Illinois had either been saved or created thanks to $1.25 billion in federal funds.

But the Tribune found that the database claimed far more jobs had been saved in some local school districts than actually existed on district payrolls.

That was a bizarre little story…

More than $4.7 million in federal stimulus aid so far has been funneled to schools in North Chicago, and state and federal officials say that money has saved the jobs of 473 teachers.

Problem is, the district employs only 290 teachers.

The stats were compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education, which should’ve known better.

* Related…

* Lawmaker’s wife doubles salary with appointment

* Tollway gets an earful on oasis contracts at hearing

* SOS White’s office to trim its staff

21 Comments

Morning Shorts

Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

* Bus driver strike over layoffs an ‘option’

The union representing CTA bus drivers and mechanics is considering a strike if the agency goes ahead with hundreds of layoffs.

“We’re just exploring every option,” said Darrell Jefferson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union 241, which represents bus drivers. Nearly 1,800 Local 241 members received notices warning they could be laid off.

“A strike would be the absolutely last resort,” Jefferson said. “These are trying times. It’s not a productive idea to call a strike.” But he said the union has to protect its interests “by any means necessary.”

The CTA has a $300 million budget deficit for 2010 and has proposed steep fare increases and service cuts to plug the hole. The proposed cut of 18 percent of bus service would result in job losses.

* Union head on mom’s CTA story: Why does stroller appear undamaged?

* Stroller allegedly caught in CTA train doors appears to be unscathed

* Mayor Richard Daley’s administration sued by its own watchdog

The city watchdog agency charged with rooting out City Hall corruption sued Mayor Richard Daley’s administration on Wednesday, accusing it of thwarting an investigation into possible wrongdoing by current and former employees.

The inspector general’s office wants Daley’s top lawyer, Mara Georges, to hand over documents relating to a 2006 no-bid contract awarded to a former city worker.

The city’s first deputy inspector general, Mary E. Hodge, sued Georges in Cook County Chancery Court, asking a judge to order the full release of the subpoenaed documents.

* Workers asked to back fund-raiser

Employees in the Water Management Department at the center of the Hired Truck and city hiring scandals are being pressured to sell and purchase $50 tickets to the Nov. 19 benefit reception Mayor Daley is hosting on behalf of the United Negro College Fund.

Although the cause is laudable, the tactic is questionable.

The solicitation is being made on city stationery with employees referred to a city telephone number to purchase tickets to the event at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. Shore Drive.[…]

Andy Shaw, executive director of the Better Government Association, called the memo the “charitable equivalent of pay-to-play.”

* $154K schools job for ex-Daley aide

Despite a burgeoning financial crisis that has forced a $43 million property tax increase and hundreds of job cuts, the Chicago Board of Education has found a $154,000-a-year job for an all-purpose mayoral troubleshooter.

Barbara Lumpkin, 59, will serve as deputy CEO for external affairs for the Chicago Public Schools forging partnerships with the business community to support school programs. The job has been vacant for nine months — ever since Lumpkin’s predecessor retired.

* Cook County Board signs off on transfer of 176 acres at Oak Forest Hospital to forest preserve district

* Alderman: Preferential seating for Chicago residents at Millennium Park

* Chicago may open charter school near Altgeld Gardens

School seen as way to ease tension after Fenger student’s fatal beating

* CPS Wants New Schools, But Fewer

* Chicago Public Schools breakfasts are big on doughnuts, sugary cereals

Nutrition experts cringe at free breakfasts’ high sugar content

* Durbin Calls for New Management at VA Hospital

* Veterans Affairs officials promise improvements at the Marion VA Medical Center

* Maggie shows us how the system is broken

* Teamster Strike for Health Care Ends with Deal

A 10-week-old strike by toolmakers on Chicago’s Southwest Side is ending in what their union is calling a victory.

* Forecast cheery for holiday jobs

Despite an economy that has many still feeling none too merry and forecasts for a 1 percent drop in holiday sales, the holiday hiring front news isn’t all gloom and doom.

Although an Aon Consulting survey of more than 100 of the nation’s leading retailers found that 44 percent are hiring fewer holiday workers this year, a majority have no plans to pull back; 19 percent said they plan to boost their hiring, and 37 percent said their levels will remain the same as last year.

* Planned coal-to-gas plant clears another hurdle

Power Holdings Vice President Joe Darguzas says construction could begin next summer or fall and take about three years.

The site is expected to employ about 250 workers.

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