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Maybe Thompson will become a Republican again

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Bumped to the top and updated ~~twice~~ thrice below.]

The fundraising totals are covered in another post. This “mystery debt” to Winston & Strawn needs its own space.

…the Democratic incumbent has headaches of his own, specifically a whopping $687,839 in legal fees that his spokeswoman declined to detail beyond saying that the “vast majority” goes toward “making sure we do everything right.” […]

But Blagojevich is facing other problems. He reported paying $151,816 to Winston & Strawn and owed the law firm run by former GOP Gov. Jim Thompson another $536,022. […]

Blagojevich spokeswoman Sheila Nix declined to say how much, if any, of the Winston & Strawn fees involved the investigations, saying “it’s a whole bunch of things,” including various lawsuits and “double-checking and triple-checking” fund-raising to ensure all laws are followed.

Excuse me, but that’s complete bull. Winston & Strawn charges a lot of money, but you don’t run up $722,000 in bills since December of 2005 just for “double-checking and triple-checking” fund-raising.

Turns out, the campaign had a different story for the Tribune.

A campaign spokeswoman said the debt represented charges the campaign is questioning, but she declined to say if any of the law firm’s work was related to state and federal investigations into hiring, contracting and fundraising in the administration. […]

Blagojevich campaign spokeswoman Sheila Nix declined to discuss the specific work Winston & Strawn did. Instead, she said the firm was retained to examine a variety of “systems,” including questions regarding fundraising. Still, she said, the campaign was contesting more than half a million dollars in fees the law firm billed and reported it as a debt.

Like I said in today’s Capitol Fax, a dispute over a few thousand dollars is one thing, but I cannot believe that there’s a disagreement over half million dollars in charges.

UPDATE: The plot thickens. The governor’s campaign originally reported a $687,839.59 debt to Winston & Strawn, then revised the report 14 minutes later to a $536,022 debt.

UPDATE 2: Topinka press release:

…State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and running mate Joe Birkett, the DuPage County State’s Attorney said Blagojevich owes the people of Illinois a straight answer about the nature of the legal bills and scope of the state and federal investigations his administration is engulfed in. […]

In addition, Topinka and Birkett also demanded that Blagojevich give an accounting on how much money state government under his watch has spent in legal fees since he took office defending against the corruption charges from federal and state subpoenas.

In the seven months from December 2005 through June this year, Blagojevich’s campaign has incurred legal fees of $722,000, a rate of nearly $1.5 million per year…

I think it’s reasonable to know how much the state has spent to defend the governor and his top staff. This story deserves much more play than it’s getting. The governor’s campaign spent a fortune on legal bills and he won’t say what it was for. It’s time for a little truth.

UPDATE 3: AP finally has a story up.

Spokeswoman Sheila Nix says the legal work includes compliance with election law, defending the campaign against nuisance lawsuits and reviewing state hiring procedures.

But Nix won’t say whether it also covers criminal matters related to a federal investigation.

All reasonable explanations, except that last part. They can’t have it both ways. You can’t explain what some of the expenses are for, but refuse to say what the rest is for.

Also, the reason for the discrepancy in Update 1 could be a simple math error on the part of the campaign. That’s the way it was described and it seems rational.

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Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Both Chicago newspapers editorialized today in favor of a mayoral veto of the “big box” ordinance. Sun-Times:

In his 17 years on the job, Mayor Daley has never vetoed anything. For most of his tenure, of course, compliant aldermen simply did what he told them to do. But Daley’s power is waning, and the City Council has begun to show an independent streak. Unfortunately, aldermen have used their new-found independence unwisely, passing a living wage law for big-box retailers last week over the mayor’s objections. It received what appears to be a veto-proof majority, but we still think he should veto it.

Although the proposal is clearly aimed at Wal-Mart, it also covers Target, Sears, Home Depot and other stores that have more than 90,000 square feet of space and are owned by companies that do more than $1 billion in sales. It requires that workers in those stores be paid $13 an hour in wages and benefits by 2010.

Tribune:

The law is bad public policy and almost certainly violates equal protection grounds because of its discriminatory nature. It applies only to retailers with stores that are larger than 90,000 square feet and that do more than $1 billion in annual sales. Such stores generate $51 million in sales taxes for the city each year. […]

It will be strange if the mayor gives up on this. In the past, he has not been intimidated by the City Council. In 17 years as mayor, he hasn’t backed off of a fight when he thought he was doing the right thing for Chicago.

A veto of the big-box ordinance would be the right thing for Chicago.

Your turn.

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Money

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

First, the AP gives us the raw numbers.

The governor brought in about $6.5 million in the first six months of 2006 and spent nearly $10 million, much of that on television advertisements promoting his re-election bid after easily winning the March Democratic primary, a campaign spokeswoman said Monday.

That left him with about $12.2 million in the bank as of June 30 — far more than the $1.5 million his Republican opponent, state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, had on that date.

Topinka raised about $3.2 million in the first half of the year and spent more than $3 million of that to win a heated Republican primary against three other largely self-financed candidates, her campaign said Monday.

The Sun-Times adds this:

Since at least 1986, the gubernatorial candidate with the money edge at the mid-point of the election year won in November.

And this:

Like Topinka, all the other GOP candidates for statewide office were trailing their Democratic counterparts.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had 50 times as much money as GOP challenger Stu Umholtz.

“We have a strategy, and we’re running a grass-roots campaign,” Umholtz said. “And I don’t think it takes obscene amounts of money to get elected.”

But the Trib has this:

Since June 30, Topinka has been the beneficiary of high-profile fundraisers headlined by President Bush and two prospective Republican presidential contenders, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Those fundraisers and others are expected to generate an additional $2 million for Topinka.

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The Stroger beat

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Todd Stroger takes a small hit today.

Ald. Todd Stroger, the Democratic nominee for Cook County Board president, and the 8th Ward organization he represents have given almost $8,000 to a group that believes blacks should not be taxed and should not be involved in interracial relationships, and which supports the creation of a separate state for blacks.

Records show that since 2000, the Coalition for the Remembrance of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (C.R.O.E.) has received $2,000 more from the campaign committee for Ald. Stroger’s father, longtime county Board President John Stroger. […]

The South Side group and its South Holland leader, Munir Muhammad, came under fire this year when critics blasted Gov. Blagojevich for issuing a proclamation honoring the group.

Muhammad, a fixture on cable public access stations, sits on the state Human Rights Commission and has sat on similar city and county boards.

Blagojevich was barely criticized for putting the popular Munir Muhammad on that commission, and Mayor Daley and plenty of others have given to that group, so we’ll see if Stroger gets equal treatment.

Meanwhile, the Tribune reports…

In the contest for the Cook County Board presidency, reports showed Todd Stroger had $36,000 in cash at the end of June, only weeks before he was chosen to replace his ailing father, John Stroger, as the Democratic candidate. A spokesman for Todd Stroger said the campaign would not try to access hundreds of thousands of dollars in political funds controlled by his father.

Todd Stroger’s cash is well short of the $535,000 that Republican candidate Tony Peraica reported last week. Most of Peraica’s funds were in the form of loans to himself.

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Morning shorts

Tuesday, Aug 1, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Instead of our regular “Morning shorts” feature, here’s the news feed for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s excellent blog roundup of yesterday’s campaign filings.

Â· UPDATE: OK, here’s one short I couldn’ pass up:

A close confidante of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. reveals Jackson will only run for mayor if Mayor Richard Daley does not seek re-election. […]

â€He said, â€˜Listen, while everybody’s talking about mayor and everything else, we’re picking off state rep seats. We want to pick off aldermanic seats,â€™â€ Coconate said. â€œHe said, â€˜Now, in November, it’s a possibility. If Daley doesn’t run, I might runâ€¦I am not going to be the guinea pig to run against Daley.â€™â€

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Best wishes to Christina Hynes

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Comptroller Dan Hynes asked that I tell you about this. This is from his office::

Comptroller Dan Hynesâ€™ wife, Christina, was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital last week after experiencing pre-term labor and remains there on bed rest.

The Hynesâ€™ are expecting twins in November, but given the recent symptoms of pre-term labor, the births could occur at any time during the next 14 weeks.

The Comptroller will be working from his Chicago office, but will need to remain close to home to be with his wife and to limit the risk of being out of town when the twins are born.

Hynes said he appreciates the well wishes his family has received, but asked that the familyâ€™s privacy be respected during this critical time.

All the best to Christina.

(I don’t usually open comments on things like this, and I see no reason to change that policy now. )

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Campaign finance open thread

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Today is campaign finance day in Illinois. Candidates and political committees have to file their campaign disclosure statements for January 1 through June 30 by midnight tonight. Here’s the link. You can go here to search by a candidate’s name. Tell us what you’ve found in comments.

(This thread wisely suggested by a commenter.)

UPDATE:I’ll put the feed back up if and or when ICPR starts posting to its blog. For now, however, the AP story is up:

The governor brought in about $6.5 million in the first six months of 2006 and spent nearly $10 million, much of that on television advertisements promoting his re-election bid after easily winning the March Democratic primary, a campaign spokeswoman said Monday.

That left him with about $12.2 million in the bank as of June 30 — far more than the $1.5 million his Republican opponent, state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, had on that date.

Topinka raised about $3.2 million in the first half of the year and spent more than $3 million of that to win a heated Republican primary against three other largely self-financed candidates, her campaign said Monday.

And for a little history, recall that Jim Ryan had $690,000 in cash at this point four years ago.

UPDATE: Oops. ICPR was posting. Sorry.

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Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

My syndicated newspaper column this week is about a new poll in the race for state treasurer.

The poll had Giannoulias leading Radogno 46-35. The survey of 600 likely voters was taken July 10-16 by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. It had a margin of error of 4 percent.

The result is very close to polls taken recently by SurveyUSA and Rasmussen. Both pollsters found that Governor Rod Blagojevich was leading Judy Baar Topinka 45-34.

The SurveyUSA poll’s details showed Illinois’ partisan breakdown to be 43 percent Democratic, 32 percent Republican and 23 percent independent. So, in other words, candidates in both the treasurer’s race and the governor’s race seem to be holding right about at their expected party support levels.

Those poll results also show just how difficult it is these days for an Illinois Republican to win statewide, particularly in down-ballot races where voters are far less focused and far more uninformed. Democrats who can hold onto their base don’t have very far to go to get to 50 percent plus one vote. In order for Republicans to win, they have to sway a whole lot of independent voters and also try to convince as many Democrats as possible to cross over. Since independents here tend to lean towards the Democrats, that job is even tougher.

The question may not be what you expect.

Do you think people are filtering out the corruption stories about poll leaders Giannoulias and Blagojevich, or are they not hearing them in the first place, or do you think they just don’t believe the stories, or is it just too early to expect them to focus even a little on these races?

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Late to the party

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Four Tribune reporters labored for who knows how long to produce this 1500-word story yesterday.

Mayor Richard Daley’s administration has for years steered city services–new garbage carts, tree trimming, graffiti removal–to key neighborhoods to help allies win tight elections, a Tribune investigation has found.

Really? Say it isn’t so.

I’m glad the Trib is finally noticing this stuff, since it’s been right under their noses forever.

Between 1999 and 2003, allies of Rep. Cynthia Soto collected material for a book called “It Happened Four Years Ago.” The book was about Soto’s 1999 1st Ward aldermanic race against pretty much the entire Chicago Machine. The book was horribly written, filled with some pretty wild and silly conjecture and is mostly a missed opportunity (considering the source material they had to work with), but it had a few great instances of how services were traded for votes.

More interestingly, though, was a passage buried deep in the book about how sidewalk repairs were allegedly timed to hold down turnout.

According to the book, the sidewalks directly in front of several polling places in both the 1st and 5th Wards were torn up by the city the week of the runoff election. It’s one of my favorite stories about how the Machine really operates.

You can read the book for free here (pdf file). It’s a low-resolution copy, so the photos and graphics aren’t visible. For more on how the Machine used absentee ballots to their advantage in the same race, check out this very informative Chicago Reporter article from December, 2000.

Back to the Tribune article.

Using city data, the Tribune detected a particularly dramatic increase in service requests from one ward in the weeks before a heated election for alderman there.

Captains typically walk precincts with a stack of service request forms. It’s one way that the House Democrats took back several southern Cook County districts in 1996. They literally flooded the districts with services.

The city has regular ward cleanup days, and often those just happen to be right before a particularly important election day.

Again, the Trib article.

But records and interviews indicate that dispensing services in the 12th Ward was part of a political strategy that included dispatching hundreds of HDO-affiliated city workers to campaign for Cardenas. “They were using taxpayer money to beat us,” Frias said. “There was nothing that I could do.”

I wrote about this race a little back then and I knew what was going on before the election was over. It’s standard stuff and I’ve written about it time and time again, particularly with Latino legislative districts. The Tribune, all these years later, is only now catching on.

Let’s hope the paper is a bit more proactive in next year’s contests.

UPDATE: A high resolution version of the book can be downloaded here. [pdf file]

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More on IDOT’s stonewalling

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

A judge has allowed Jenner & Block to extricate itself from representing IDOT officials in a lawsuit filed by 18 former IDOT workers who alleged they were wrongfully terminated. As you already know, IDOT has ordered J&B to not turn over its files to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who appointed the law firm and who is also the state’s chief attorney.

IDOT’s publicly offered reason for asking J&B not to turn over the files was that it wanted the firm to continue representing the officials. But now that Jenner & Block have been removed, they don’t really have a good explanation.

Jenner & Block has been representing defendants in Rutan patronage matters all the way back to the beginning of the Rutan case. According to a motion it filed last month, it claims it has been “unable to reach terms for reappointment that are mutually agreeable to Jenner & Block and the Office of the Attorney General.” The AG’s office declined comment.

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Morning shorts

Monday, Jul 31, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· If this really happened, the debate’s sponsors shouldn’t ever be allowed to host another one. [Emphasis added]

Republican state treasurer candidate Christine Radogno on Friday questioned the experience level and judgment of her Democratic opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, whose family bank has made loans to convicted felons…. Both candidates appeared at a political forum sponsored by the National Association of Women Business Owners but saved their most biting comments until after the tame event… Radogno, a 53-year-old Lemont resident, said she pulled her punches onstage because organizers asked her not to be confrontational.

Â· Birkett says governor hides behind inspector general. More here.

Â· Editorial: How your tax money is spent deserves public scrutiny, something the governor seems to have forsaken and forgotten.

Â· Governor signs law expanding college grant program

Â· Green Party supporters under fire

Â· “There’s been a clear violation of state law, according to the inspector general, but there’s been no criminal referral. If a criminal referral comes, it’s only going to be because it was brought to light by the Sun-Times, not because the administration is saying this is something we need to do,” said [state Sen. Peter] Roskam, who is running for Congress in the 6th District.

Â· UPDATE: Responding to the above story, Topinka’s campaign issued this release today:

…Just a day after his campaign spokeswoman said that Governor Rod Blagojevich refers all Inspector General allegations of corruption to law enforcement agencies, the Sun-Times reported that serious allegations against an Illinois Tollway official never were referred to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, Illinois Attorney General, or U.S. Attorney.

“Instead of aggressively targeting corruption where it occurs, Rod Blagojevich is hiding investigations so they receive the least scrutiny and prosecution possible,” said Topinka. “Instead of rooting out wrongdoing, he is encouraging more.”…

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READER COMMENTS CLOSED FOR THE WEEKEND

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Talk at you Monday!

Here’s your Illinoize fix:

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Question of the day

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

It’s Friday, so it’s time to change gears.

Have you vacationed any place special in Illinois this summer? Describe your experience.

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The “City that works” a potential national laughingstock

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

My Sun-Times column this week is a bit of a departure for me. I blog about Chicago and Cook County politics, but I don’t often write about them, unless they have a state connection. This one has no such connection.

Most pundits have decided that they no longer want Mayor Daley’s political machine running things, but almost no thought has been given to what could happen if the “enemy” is ever vanquished.

It’s a little bit like the debate over enforcing democracy in the Middle East. Is the end result worth the chaos?

Unlike Iraq, there won’t be gun battles in Chicago’s streets if the Machine finally falls, but there will be plenty of political chaos.

And for those of you too lazy to click through and read the whole thing but still motivated enough to post comment, this is in no way a pro-machine column.

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Governor criticized for slow response to devastating storms

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Did the governor drop the ball during the aftermath of the Metro East storms last week? The governor was on vacation last week, and it wasn’t until Saturday that his IEMA director arrived on the scene - three days after the first major storm hit. On Wednesday, the governor finally asked President Bush to declare five counties a federal disaster area.

The move by Blagojevich was made a week after Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt’s decision to activate the National Guard and five days after Bush’s emergency declaration on Friday covering St. Louis…

Meanwhile, the local emergency management guy is upset.

“Whenever Ameren tells you this is something like four times bigger than anything they’ve had, that ought to tell somebody something,” said Jack Quigley, director of Madison County’s Emergency Management Agency. “Why they weren’t moving faster on getting federal aid here, I don’t know.”

The local Democratic state Senator is fuming mad.

State Sen. William Haine and state Rep. Dan Beiser, both Alton Democrats, penned a curt letter Wednesday afternoon asking for the state to act on the federal aid request as soon as possible. Haine said he had been told that state officials were questioning whether to seek aid at all because the storm’s damage might not be severe enough.

“The state director said to me that there wouldn’t be an application,” Haine said. “I don’t know how they could possibly conclude that we don’t meet the requirements at this stage.”

And the governor has yet to visit the region.

A spokesman for the governor said Wednesday that he would visit the Metro East area soon but provided no details.

I got about ten e-mails a day from the governor’s office after Hurrican Katrina hit the Gulf coast describing everything the guv was doing for residents of other states. He ought to get on the stick.

How big were last week’s storms?

The National Weather Service believes seven tornadoes touched down in the St. Louis area last week as part of two storms that ravaged the region.

Scientists have analyzed the damage from the storms that hit July 19th and again two days later. They believe tornadoes touched down July 19th near Bunker Hill on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, and Edwardsville on the Illinois side.

The Friday storms spawned at least five tornadoes, including two just south of Troy, Illinois.

The storm’s straight-line winds were almost tornado-like. The Weather Service believes winds reached up to 90 miles per hour.

And then there’s this.

Some of the tons and tons of debris from last week’s storms began going up in smoke Thursday.

The fire could last until Wednesday, said East St. Louis Fire Chief William Fennoy, who supervised the start of the burn.

He had no estimate on how much debris would be burned, but the city’s application filed with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency sought permission for burning 300,000 cubic yards of material.

The debris is mainly from East St. Louis, Cahokia, Centreville, Alorton and Washington Park. Another burn site is planned in Granite City.

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What the heck is going on here?

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Jenner & Block defends IDOT against a lawsuit filed by former IDOT workers who say they were illegally fired. Jenner & Block decides it wants off the case. Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the state’s top lawyer who officially represents the state in all legal matters and who appointed Jenner & Block to the case in the first place, asks the firm for its files. Firm says No. Lisa asks why. Firm says IDOT’s chief legal counsel ordered it not to hand over the files. No reason for IDOT’s order given.

Then things get bizarre.

Matt Vanover, a Transportation Department spokesman, defended the agencyâ€™s refusal to give Madigan the lawsuit files.

He said IDOT wants to continue using Jenner & Block, which has handled the case for nearly two years. Vanover said IDOT is the defendant and should be the one to decide what attorneys to use.

Despite Jenner & Blockâ€™s request to withdraw, Vanover said the firm has agreed to stay on the case. The attorney generalâ€™s office said it had never heard that claim until Thursday.

Huh?

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Is the 10th District in play?

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Cook and Rothenberg differ on the 10th District race between incumbent Mark Kirk and Democrat Dan Seals.

The Cook Political Report, a Washington-based non-partisan on-line analysis of congressional races across the country, now lists the 10th District race as one of 54 Republican seats nationwide that could be competitive in November. The seat is still listed as “likely Republican,” the least competitive of three categories identified in the report. It was previously considered a safe seat. […]

“We’re watching it,” said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Rothenberg Report. “We met with Seals and thought he was a good candidate but right now we don’t see the seat being in danger,”

Amy Walter, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, said “the reality is Mark Kirk is very difficult to beat one on one” during a normal election year and he’s still favored to win the race at this point. […]

[However] “It’s not really about Mark Kirk or Dan Seals,” she said. “It’s about the political climate.”

Read the whole thing. This is a very good political story from a suburban weekly. That’s not a common thing.

Also, take a look at a recent bipartisan poll of the 50 most hotly contested congressional races in the country, 40 of them which are Republican. [pdf file] It’s not great news for the nation’s majority party.

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Morning shorts

Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· The I-Team investigates *999, a state-funded emergency call service that critics call confusing, dangerous and a waste of tax dollars.

Â· Editorial: State must protect patients from felons in nursing homes - Agency has not looked into a single case

Â· Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon threatens “World War III” if Daley vetoes big box ordinance.

Â· Downtown march to demand better teachers

Â· Gas prices arise in gubernatorial race

Â· “Neither Gov. Rod Blagojevich nor his challenger, Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, responded directly to a candidate survey from an anti-gambling group. Instead, both sent letters about their positions on gambling to Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems. ‘They (the letters) are very vague and leave a lot of wiggle room,’ said ILCAAAP Executive Director Anita Bedell.” Read the governor’s letter here, Topinka’s letter here.

Â· “Nobody in an oversight position at the Illinois tollway or the governor’s office knew about plans to spend nearly a half-million dollars on the big blue signs that advertise Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s name to thousands of motorists a day on Chicago-area toll roads, the toll authority’s chairman says.”

Â· Ameren debt ratings downgraded - ‘Political and regulatory environment’ in Illinois played into decision

Â· Blagojevich grants clemency to dying woman

Â· Officials feud over agency merger

Â· “llinois Central College will join other community colleges in a lawsuit against Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan over her interpretation of a state ethics law.”

Â· Editorial: Failed festival blows the whistle on budget deals

Â· The governor’s pet ferret

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Late afternoon political update

Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· UPDATE: ICPR has an analysis of Gov. Blagojevich’s Chicago TV ad spending since the primary.

The first wave, which began immediately after the primary and continued through mid-April, featured 30-second spots. In frequency and distribution, this wave was largely similar to the pattern he established in the primary, with a high concentration in news and public affairs and daytime programming. This wave included 453 ads at a cost of $732,000.

The second wave, which began in late-April and ran for about three weeks, featured 15-second spots bookended during ad breaks, including 1,365 ads at a total cost of $1.2 million.

The third wave, which ran from June 2 through July 3, appears similar in placement to the second: 15-second spots bookended during public affairs, news, and daytime programming. This wave included 1,764 ads at a total cost of $1.5 million.

All told, the governor has now spent more after the primary than before; this calendar year, he has spent nearly $4 million running ads in the Chicago market alone.

The campaign has been “dark” in Chicago since then, but ICPR reports that the ads will crank up again next month.

———————————————————————-

Â· The Daily Herald has a long Q&A with Barack Obama posted on its site, along with this story:

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed concern about the growing number of reports of potentially illegal hiring under Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but said he’s willing to help his fellow Chicago Democrat’s re-election bid.

“I have not followed closely enough what’s been taking place in these investigations to comment on them,” Obama told the Daily Herald this week. “Obviously I’m concerned about reports that hiring practices at the state weren’t, at times, following appropriate procedures. How high up that went, the degree at which the governor was involved, is not something I’m going to speculate on.

“If I received information that made me believe that any Democrat had not been acting in the public interest, I’d be concerned.” […]

If the governor asks me to work on his behalf, I’ll be happy to do it,” Obama said.

Â· Topinka wants a special session. Didn’t George Ryan try this one? From a press release:

State Treasurer and GOP nominee for Governor Judy Baar Topinka today called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to call a Special Session of the General Assembly to provide motorists with tax relief from high gas prices.

As a candidate for Governor, Blagojevich criticized state officials for inaction on gas prices — when gas was $1.99 per gallon. As Governor he hasnâ€™t lifted a finger to help Illinois families fight prices that are as high as $3.30 per gallon.

Â· The governor’s latest press release touts his action to protect those vulnerable from the heat.

As Illinois prepares for the heat of August, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced today that up to $9 million in cooling grants will be made available this Monday, July 31, 2006, to help protect the most vulnerable populations of Illinois including seniors, the disabled, and families with small children, from the dangerous weather conditions by assisting with household energy bills.

Â· The Cook County GOP has started a new website called BlagoWatch. It’s a spoof of the governor’s TopinkaWatch website. Check out the morph image on the main page.

Â· Speaking of morphing, the NorthWest Herald’s cartoonist had the same idea as the Cook County Repubs. Check it out.

Â· From a Radogno press release:

The two candidates for Illinois State Treasurer, Republican Christine Radogno and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, will participate in a candidates forum hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners Chicago PAC on Friday, July 28. This is the first face-to-face debate between the two candidates. […]

What: Illinois State Treasurer Candidates Forum
When: 8 a.m. Friday, July 28
Where: Maggiano’s Banquets
111 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago

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Madigan looks at stonewalling

Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I had a story about this subject in Wednesday’s Capitol Fax.

Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan’s office said Wednesday it is reviewing the policy of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration not to make subpoenas public that it receives from law-enforcement agencies or provide information about them.

Cara Smith, Madigan’s policy director and spokeswoman, said the policy runs counter to the attorney general’s interpretation that most subpoenas are public records under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The governor’s office finally has an answer in today’s papers.

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff defended the governor’s policy Wednesday, saying it is based on a legal opinion about the nature of subpoenas.

“The grand jury’s meetings are not public, their discussions are not public and the subpoenas they issue are not public,” Ottenhoff said.

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All in a day’s work

Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Yesterday, the Chicago city council passed the “big box” ordinance.

Defying Mayor Daley and challenging Wal-Mart and Target to follow through on their threats, a bitterly divided City Council voted Wednesday to require Chicago’s big-box retailers to pay employees a “living wage” of at least $10 an hour and $3 in benefits by 2010.

The 35-14, veto-proof vote is an overwhelming victory for organized labor and the latest in a string of legislative defeats for a corruption-weakened Daley.

…Decided not to force dog owners to implant microchips in their pets.

“Let me talk to you about defecation. . . . Dog-do is the caviar of rats,” [Ald. Burt Natarus] said.

…And voted themselves a pay raise.

Chicago’s $98,125-a-year aldermen would see their salaries rise with the inflation rate over the next four years, under an ordinance approved Wednesday by a City Council that gave itself political cover.

By mandating wage and benefit standards for “big-box” retailers, aldermen can claim they did more than feather their own nests.

It was the third time a “living wage” was approved on the same day as an aldermanic pay raise. The last two times, the increase for Chicago’s working poor applied only to employees of city contractors.

The aldermanic pay raise was approved by a vote of 27-16.

[Emphasis added]

35 Comments

Politics and child support

Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Tribune editorial board flushes out a recent press release.

Earlier this month, Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced that the state helped to collect a record $1.14 billion in child support payments in the last fiscal year. “Before I became governor, the child support system in our state was the worst in the nation,” Blagojevich said in a statement. “But this program has turned around. … More Illinois parents than ever are getting the payments they are owed so their children can have the childhood they deserve.”

Just how big of a turnaround has this state really made? The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement says that in 2001, when Illinois ranked dead last of all the states in collecting child support payments, only 38 percent of the $2.61 billion owed to Illinois children was collected. That came to roughly $992 million.

But compare that with the governor’s new “record” of $1.14 billion. Not a huge jump. Now consider that the new state total for child support owed has risen to $2.8 billion. So the collection rate since fiscal 2001 has improved by roughly 2 percentage points, give or take some deadbeats.

Which raises this question: Is progress in that order of magnitude worthy of all the crowing from the governor?

16 Comments

Get out the milk carton

Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

We had a story about alleged attorney general candidate Stu Umholtz’s fundraising on the blog earlier this week. The AP takes it a little further.

Who needs television ads when you have the DAR newsletter?

Heading into the heart of campaign season, Republican Stewart Umholtz lacks the money for commercials, staff or the other trappings of a traditional bid for Illinois attorney general. He had just $44,301 on hand as of June 30.

But Umholtz insists he has a strategy for victory, one that relies on reaching people through the Internet, being included in newspaper voting guides and even getting mentioned in newsletters from Daughters of the American Revolution, boating groups and other clubs.

“If I get a newsletter in the mail of a group I participate in, then I’m more likely to read that newsletter, perhaps cover to cover, than I am to read ads in a newspaper,” Umholtz said.

Words fail me.

16 Comments

Question of the day

Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Sorry for the lack of postings today. Consider this an open thread. I’ll be back this afternoon.

48 Comments

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