* Via the Tribune’s raw video of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s press conference, we learn that the governor addressed the Tribune’s report that the feds taped some of his conversations…
“If anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously. And those who feel like they wanna sneakily and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kinda smells like Nixon and Watergate.”
Not sure I quite get that Watergate point, unless the taping was done illegally.
* More…
“This is America. I’d appreciate if you want to tape my conversations, give me a heads-up and let me know.”
That’s not the way prosecutors do things, but whatever.
* On the Tribune revelation that lobbyist and longtime friend John Wyma’s cooperation helped the feds record the guv…
“The Tribune was wrong and very well may have defamed him.”
* And the governor sees a bright side to the taping…
“The good news is, if they’re going to those lengths and extents, if in fact that’s true, that would suggest all the past has been pretty good.”
* When asked about the dark cloud hanging over him…
“I think there’s nothing but sunshine hanging over me.”
* Today’s press conference by Gov. Rod Blagojevich is getting a lot of media play. From the Tribune…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich said this morning the state of Illinois “will suspend doing any business with Bank of America” until the company restores credit to the shuttered Republic Windows & Doors company on the North Side.
Blagojevich made the announcement after meeting with former workers who have been staging a sit-in on the factory floor since Friday to protest abruptly losing their jobs. The governor said the state has “hundreds of millions of dollars” in dealings with the bank. [emphasis added]
* OK, but I wondered what business the State of Illinois actually does with Bank of America. So, I posed that question to the guv’s press office, and they didn’t have a ready response.
Bank of America owns LaSalle Bank, a storied Chicago institution. So, there is probably quite a bit of business there, particularly with bonding. But are we going to cancel those bonds? No. Can we disqualify the bank from future bonding without facing bigtime lawsuits? You got me. Is this bridge loan program for state vendors also in jeopardy?
It would be nice if we knew exactly what sort of pressure this threat will actually put on the bank itself, or whether this is just an empty gesture designed for maximum press exposure.
I’ll update with any new information.
* CNN’s coverage…
The CNN guy gushed at the end of the piece: “Wow! You wanna talk about some news!”
The story of Republic Window and Doors started quietly last week, when Bank of America informed the company, located on Chicago’s Goose Island, that it had canceled their $5 million line of credit. Then came the rumble. Republic’s executives, in turn, announced that the company would be shutting down and gave its 250-plus workers 72 hours to leave their jobs. In the days since, the story has built to a roar, with employees deciding on Friday to stage an ongoing sit-in in the factory. Local officials, members of Congress, and the national news media have all taken notice and you can be sure to hear more about the situation over the course of the next week.
Leah Fried, an organizer for the United Electrical Workers union that represents the workers, said the company told the union that Bank of America has canceled its financing. The bank had said in a statement that it wasn’t responsible for Republic’s financial obligations to its employees.
* This is an extremely short-term solution, and it’s not even that…
Illinois will borrow $1.4 billion to make payments to schools, health care providers and others who’ve been waiting months to be reimbursed by the state.
The deal, which does not need lawmakers’ approval, could be completed within weeks and potentially free up cash to pay backlogged bills by month’s end.
“Especially in this poor national economy, Illinois needs to make sure that we can pay the businesses that provide the state with the goods and services which help families in these tough times,” Gov. Rod Blagojevich said in a statement announcing the borrowing plan, which was agreed to by Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.
The state’s delinquency in paying billions of dollars in bills has caused havoc with budgeting at schools, hospitals and other health care providers.
The loan has to be paid back by the end of this fiscal year, so Illinois must start setting aside money right away to pay off the debt. So, some late payments will be made, but the state has billions more in unpaid bills, so most vendors won’t see relief.
The reason that this is so important is that Illinois’ social service network is mostly run by private, non-profit agencies like Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, etc. If the state did all of this work “in-house” then we’d be in even worse shape because those state worker pay checks would have to be cut every two weeks. Instead, our problems are foisted off on those who can ill afford it.
Because too many politicians have chosen sweet talk over straight talk, Illinoisans overwhelmingly believe we can provide adequate K-12 funding, assure higher education accessibility to the less affluent, preserve parks and historic sites, respond comprehensively to mental illness, arrest and imprison violent offenders, combat methamphetamine, heroin and crack cocaine, keep faith with retired public employees and rehabilitate the state treasury simply by curtailing raises for legislators, firing political hacks, grounding the governor’s plane and doing some surgical snipping here and there.
But the far less soothing reality is that we could make legislators serve for free and barely ding the deficit. We could shutter five universities and close down departments that patrol our highways, guard and conserve our natural resources, serve senior citizens and veterans and protect the public health — and still not eradicate the red ink, let alone protect and invest in our children and in the roads, bridges and other infrastructure vital to economic development.
More than 90 percent of general revenue funds support education, health care, services for the needy, law enforcement and pensions.
Even while in the grip of an unemployment-escalating, insecurity-abetting economy, can we diminish or even continue to tolerate substandard resources for youngsters in any corner of Illinois and abide academic achievement gaps between whites and burgeoning minorities without ultimately yielding good jobs to other states and countries that offer better educated and trained workers?
* Admittedly tongue in cheek stories like this only feed that false perception of an easy solution…
Illinois’ license plates proudly boast we’re the Land of Lincoln. Now, we’re the Land of Obama, too. So what would happen if state leaders gave drivers the option of buying a special license plate to commemorate Barack Obama’s historic inauguration as president?
Judging by calls to Secretary of State Jesse White’s office and an examination of state records, the idea might offer a boost for the state’s cash-strapped budget.
* The new Senate President is offering up some much-needed hope for change…
John Cullerton, who takes over as president of the Illinois Senate in January, said Saturday he will make the long-delayed capital bill his “number one priority.”
Speaking at the reopening of the Irving Park Brown Line station on the North Side, Cullerton said a capital bill will bring not only improved bridges, roads and public transit, but jobs.
“The jobs situation in Illinois has been terrible,” said Cullerton (D-Chicago). “I look forward to working with the mayor and all the elected officials, bringing the governor and the speaker together, and try to get this dysfunctionality that’s been going on in Springfield over with, get this gridlock to end and get working on our problems.”
* And the Peoria Journal-Star, which endorsed a Senate President candidate backed by Rod Blagojevich and Emil Jones, demands a leadership change…
If the leaders - that the members choose, by the way - won’t lead, then it’s time to change leaders, or at least challenge them publicly.
Um, they just had an election to change leaders in the Senate. Why not wait and see what happens before ranting and raving?
* I suppose I’ll never quite comprehend why certain people feel it’s so darned necessary to put up religious displays on taxpayer property…
If the placement of a Nativity scene in the Statehouse last week starts a trend at other public places in Illinois, that would be fine with organizers of the display. But they’re not going to force the issue.
“We’re here to be a catalyst towards the goal, but forcing it upon someone does nothing,” said Dan Zanoza of Lincoln, chairman of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee, which held an unveiling ceremony Tuesday. “Yes, we would like to see a Nativity scene on Christmas in every town, in every hamlet, in every municipality, but that’s if the people of those communities would like it to be.”
Zanoza, his wife Julie, and other members of the committee got the help of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm, in organizing the event. The Italian marble figures of baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph cost about $7,000, and the society, at 29 S. LaSalle St., Suite 440, Chicago, IL 60603, is accepting donations to pay for them.
Thomas Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, made it clear in remarks at the unveiling that the private funding is what made the display appropriate for a public building.
“The legal theory involved here is simple and essential,” Brejcha said. “It’s a free-speech exercise. If you can stand on your soapbox, proclaim your politics in America’s public square, then equally you can proclaim your religious faith and the values that that faith enshrines.”
That sounds reasonable I suppose, but only if they follow through with their reasonableness. Keep reading for the bad news.
* The nativity scene, of course, has prompted a couple of other requests…
White spokesman Dave Druker the office now has a pending request to place a menorah in the building. Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, said Chabad of Chicago will sponsor the menorah. The Chabad movement has centers around the world that provide outreach and other activities for Jews. The movement was in the news recently when terrorists targeted a Chabad center in India.
“I think it is important that all religions be represented (in the Capitol),” Silverstein said. “If there is a Nativity scene, the Jewish faith should have something and Muslims, too, if they want.”
There is no pending request from a Muslim group to have a display. However, there is a request pending from one other group, Druker said. The Freedom From Religion Foundation of Madison, Wis., plans to put up a sign as early as next week stating its thoughts.
“We don’t think there should be religion or irreligion in the Capitol,” said co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor. “If the state says it will have a public forum, we want to make sure the non-religious are represented as well.”
Gaylor recited what will be on the sign, which is identical to signs placed in capitols in Washington state and Wisconsin.
“Our message at this season of the winter solstice is may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
* And despite saying they’d be fine with other religious displays, Dan Zanoza just sent out a press release this morning which indicates there’s trouble ahead…
An organization from Madison, Wisconsin, which calls itself the Freedom from Religion Foundation, is seeking a permit from the office of Jesse White (the Illinois Secretary of State) and some see this move as an attempt to malign the Nativity scene which was designed and constructed solely with private donations, as would be the case for the Menorah. There has been a national debate over whether the atheist sign in Washington is political dialogue or hate speech.
Hate speech? Oh, boy, here we go. So much for reasonableness.
…ADDING… Try to avoid predigested and preapproved talking points in the discussion. This has the potential to be as goofy as any national political discussion. So, use your own brain and your own words. Thanks.
* The “Gimme Barack’s seat” fervor is getting outta hand…
“Barack would not be there had [it] not been for an Emil Jones,'’ Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) said at a Sunday news conference to push Jones.
A news conference to push Emil Jones for Senate? Good grief.
*** UPDATE *** Oops. I forgot to make mention of this Fox News report…
Illinois Senate President Emil Jones has become the front runner to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the United States Senate, a source told FOX News.
Look, it may be Jones. But using a single source to make a claim about what’s going on in Gov. Blagojevich’s head is kinda goofy. Unless it was RRB hisself, I don’t buy that report.
Again, though, the guv may very well pick Jones. I heard a while ago he was leaning in that direction. I just don’t buy into the Fox report as fact.
[*** End of update ***]
* But Jones would likely be a placeholder, and Sen. Robert Menendez, the incoming US Senate Democratic campaign chairman, doesn’t want a placeholder appointed…
Menendez expressed his hope that Blagojevich will avoid a placeholder appointee, as will New York Gov. David Paterson (D).
“Those are our standards, and I’ve spoken to both Gov. Blagojevich and Gov. Paterson about our desires,” Menendez said. “And I think they share it with us in terms of making sure that whoever they consider appointing will meet those standards — their ability to represent Illinois and New York well, as well as be able to win the seat in the next election that will be up for the rest of the expired term.”
* Believe it or not, Danny Davis has been on a campaign tour…
The six-term U.S. congressional representative visited Aurora to promote his bid for President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat vacancy.
“It might seem odd to be campaigning for a one-person decision,” Davis said, but he wanted to encourage people to suggest that he would make a good replacement for Obama in the Senate.
The revelation that federal prosecutors have recorded Gov. Rod Blagojevich as part of their corruption investigation of his administration cast new controversy Friday over his pending decision to appoint a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.
Fellow Democrats were already expressing private reservations that the governor’s scandals could politically taint whoever he handpicks for the job. Those concerns grew Friday with the Tribune’s revelations that close Blagojevich confidant John Wyma is cooperating with the tightening federal probe.
But even as the governor’s office sought to give Blagojevich distance from the latest twist in the investigation, Wyma’s closeness to him was underscored by word that Wyma talked with one of the candidates seeking the Senate job.
Wyma spoke with Jesse Jackson, Jr., which probably didn’t seem like a huge deal until the Tribune reported Friday about Wyma allegedly working with the feds.
Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said anyone who wants to be the next U.S. senator from Illinois must “do a very strange dance where they have to charm the governor and then immediately disown him.”
“If whoever becomes our next senator wants to have a political future, they cannot afford to have their star tied to the governor one day longer than it takes to be appointed,” said Canary, who called Blagojevich “politically toxic.”
Anyway, it’s nice that the Tribune finally noticed this real problem.
* The Tribune had another Blagojevich story over the weekend…
The contents of the [Wyma] taping have not been disclosed, and the governor’s office reiterated Friday that he had committed no wrongdoing. Blagojevich has not been charged with a crime. Nor has his wife, Patricia, whose real estate deals have come under the federal microscope as part of the probe of pay-to-play politics. Wyma has not been charged, either.
So far, though, 13 people have been indicted or convicted in the festering scandal, including prominent Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who faces sentencing, and the governor’s former chief fundraiser, Christopher Kelly, once the governor’s point man on gambling issues, who stands indicted on tax fraud counts linked to his betting activities in Las Vegas.
“I think we have to look at the inner core of the governor’s sanctum and who those players are,” said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), a longtime critic of Blagojevich. Franks has pushed for legislators to do a preliminary investigation on whether they should launch impeachment hearings.
The sentencing of former Democratic National Committee fund-raiser Joseph Cari Jr. has been delayed at the request of prosecutors.
It’s a sign the feds want to use Cari as a witness — again. […]
He was supposed to be sentenced months ago, after he testified against Tony Rezko, the former fund-raiser for Blagojevich and President-elect Barack Obama. But that was put off, and no new date has been set.
At Rezko’s trial, Cari testified that Blagojevich told him he planned to reward big campaign donors with state contracts. The governor has denied having that conversation.
Not a good thing for the guv, or for whomever he appoints to the Senate.
Mayor Richard M. Daley is lobbying to keep Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s mitts off several hundred million dollars Chicago is poised to get through a proposed economic stimulus package under debate in Congress.
* Related…
* NEW: Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to block former tollway chief Brian McPartlin from taking a job with an engineering firm that has received more than $30 million in agency contracts.
* Tribune Editorial: If you keep your pledge of 21 months ago to discuss the federal investigation with us, we would hope for a similar engagement and a similar tone. Mostly we would hope to help explain to the people of Illinois your thoughts on the cloud of scandal that, fairly or not, envelops your administration. Governor Blagojevich, let’s talk.
Among the reasons his real estate dealings do not cause conflicts, Gutierrez has said, is that he never interferes in local zoning matters. But the Tribune reported in October that Gutierrez sent a letter to Mayor Richard Daley seeking support for a controversial project built by one of the congressman’s political donors who also had lent him money. The newspaper reported that federal authorities investigating zoning matters have shown interest in the Gutierrez letter.
Ranked in order by votes received, here’s a look at how much they each spent and the per-vote cost of their campaign. Vote totals are according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, while the financial information comes from the Federal Election Commission.
• Rep. Bill Foster: 303,011 votes; $4,880,916 spent, or $16.10 per vote.
• Jim Oberweis: 269,275 votes; $5,036,947 spent, or $18.70 per vote.
• State Sen. Chris Lauzen: 65,539 votes; $1,222,287 spent, or $18.66 per vote.
• John Laesch: 60,445 votes; $179,489 spent, or $2.96 per vote.
• Jotham Stein: 10,947 votes; $228,411 spent, or $20.86 per vote.
• Joe Serra: 6,033 votes; $0 spent.
• Michael Dilger: 1,847; $0 spent.
The bottom line in this race for Washington? Coincidentally, $16.10 per vote — the amount Foster spent.
He has now unloaded four of the city’s most valuable assets for a $6 billion mountain of cash and saddled taxpayers with $5.8 billion worth of long-term debt.
The great Chicago sell-off started with the Skyway ($1.83 billion), continued with downtown parking garages ($563 million) and Midway Airport ($2.5 billion) and culminated this week with the sale of Chicago parking meters ($1.15 billion).
More troubling for future generations is the fact that the mayor plans to spend at least $425 million of the parking meter windfall over the next five years — and $324 million more if the moribund economy is slow to bounce back.
Daley has also increased the city’s long-term debt by a whopping 178 percent over the last decade — from $2.1 billion to $5.8 billion or $2,006 per person.
And Chicago has more than 150 tax increment financing districts that siphoned $555.3 million away in 2007.
The bottom line is that Daley’s successor will be boxed in by heavy debt, a diminishing tax base and precious few money-making assets.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he wants to know why some street corners weren’t plowed properly following this week’s snow storms.
DALEY: That’s the key. That’s the key. How do they miss corners? How do they miss a corner over here and take every corner down Madison Street. Why did they miss that corner? So that’s what you’re trying to figure out.
On Tuesday the Justice Department announced charges against 17 defendants, 15 of them Chicago, Cook County or suburban law officers. They’re accused of providing armed security for what they believed to be cocaine and heroin transactions. They were paid, the government alleges, to serve as lookouts, ready to intervene in the event honest police—or rival drug dealers—tried to interfere with the purported drug trafficking.
This week, I’ll revisit tax cap legislation of the 1990s; how it affected your pocketbook; and the status of the 7 Percent Expanded Homeowner Exemption pushed by Cook County Assessor James Houlihan.
The influence of the Northwest Side political clan that dominates City Hall’s real estate development process expanded Friday as Mayor Richard Daley named Patricia Scudiero the first commissioner of the new Zoning and Land Use Planning Department.
Scudiero is a protégé of Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th), chairman of the City Council Zoning Committee since Daley became mayor in 1989. She served as a Banks aide from 1989 to 2004.
Echoing the sentiments of a divided Chicago region, federal regulators issued their final report Friday on the environmental impact of the Canadian National Railway merging with the smaller EJ&E railroad, finding it will ease freight traffic in Chicago and nearby suburbs but cause problems for some towns along the “J.”
The report issued by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board gave a list of conditions CN must follow to ease negative impacts of buying the EJ&E but seemed to assume the deal would move forward.
Tribune must raise cash, either by selling assets such as the Chicago Cubs, or by cutting costs. It already has cut hundreds of jobs at its newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun, and last week managers cut 11 jobs in the Chicago Tribune newsroom.
The recession in newspaper advertising has hurt the Tribune as it tries to swallow $12 billion in debt that Zell took on last December when he took the company private.
Analysts who follow Tribune debt, which carries junk-bond ratings, have said the company’s immediate concern is a covenant that limits its borrowings to nine times its cash flow. Some experts believe Tribune no longer meets that standard, especially after it reported a third-quarter operating loss of $124 million. Tribune reportedly owes $1 billion in interest payments this year and a $512 million debt payment in June.
One other important note from that internal New York Times memo my colleague Zach got a hold of: The company reports it has “more than 10,000 paid subscribers” to an electronic edition of the newspaper on Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. To my knowledge (please correct me if I’m wrong), that’s the first time a major newspaper has released numbers on how it’s doing on Kindle — a platform lots of newspaper execs are eager to see turn into a saving grace for their industry.
Given that the electronic Times costs $13.99 a month, that would mean the NYT Kindle edition is generating in the neighborhood of $1.68 million a year. How much of that goes to NYT Co. and how much stays with Amazon is unclear.
Disgruntled union workers for Republic Windows & Doors Inc. met Friday with company management, a congressman and representatives of Bank of America in an attempt to settle a dispute over the manufacturer’s abrupt closing.
The meeting Friday was brokered by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.
Republic’s 239 workers learned Tuesday that the Chicago company would close Friday morning after B of A cut off its line of credit. The company, already struggling from a prolonged downturn in the housing market, was unable to stay in business.
Rich Gillman, Republic’s CEO, said that the company’s monthly sales had fallen to $2.9 million from $4 million in the past month, and staying open would only create greater financial losses. The company had “no choice but to shut our doors,” he wrote in a memo to the union
Candidates will head to their village halls today as the filing period for begins next spring’s local election.
In area suburbs where primaries are possible - namely Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg and Palatine - candidates have from 8 a.m. today to 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 to file.
An attorney for one of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s closest friends denied Friday that his client ever wore a wire or made recordings of the governor for the FBI and was unaware of any such recordings.
“Any allegation or insinuation to the contrary is simply untrue,” Zachary T. Fardon, attorney for lobbyist and Blagojevich friend John Wyma, said in a statement.
His statement followed a report in Friday’s Chicago Tribune that Wyma has cooperated with federal investigators in their probe of corruption in the Blagojevich administration and quoted unnamed sources as saying that the assistance provided by Wyma “helped lead to recordings of the governor and others.”
The Tribune never reported that Wyma had worn a wire or made recordings.
Fardon declined to answer questions as to whether his client, a former Blagojevich staff aide who is now a lobbyist, was cooperating with the government.
As part of this undercover effort, one of the governor’s closest confidants and former aides cooperated with investigators, and that assistance helped lead to recordings of the governor and others, sources said.
Some of us initially interpreted that wrong, including myself, unfortunately. Thanks to Fardon for clearing it up.
* It’s been another one of those weeks. Illinois politics is like a very good political novel. It’s hard to put it down. But we’ve arrived at the weekend, so all things must come to an end. I’ll see you Monday.
Keep heading to Illinoize for bloggy fun, and buy yourself a classified or calendar ad at InsiderzExchange, the place to be seen.
* Let’s announce some Golden Horseshoe winners, shall we?
* Best legislative staffer: Nick Bellini and Nick McNeely. This was how a commenter explained his/her vote….
Because in an election year based on the concept of change, they got [Rep. Ron Wait] a 20-year incumbent who bailed a sex-offender out of jail re-elected.
Can’t argue with that.
* Best legislative secretary/admin assistant: Marcia Simmons. She really does do a great job. Sen. Munoz’s Springfield secretary got a bunch of votes, and here’s one…
It makes your visit to Springfield easier when legislative assistants want to not only help you but do it in a pleasant manner.
* Best state legislator: Senate President-in-waiting John Cullerton…
I can’t believe this transition went as smooth as it did.
* Best political bar/restaurant. Saputo’s wins this hands down, according to readers…
We all know who sits in the corner and it’s a sure thing to see dozens of legislators. It looks like the location has treated Cullerton pretty well also.
* Best Agency Director: Doug Scott…
Hardly ever in the news. Just keeps the agency running with no major scandals or screwups, which is what a good director should be.
* Best statewide official: Lisa Madigan. Both Madigan and Alexi Giannoulias had lots of support in today’s runoff, and it was a very tough decision. Madigan won last year, and I was just about to give it to Alexi when I read this comment by Jake from Elwood…
Simply put, very few politicians in my lifetime have exceeded my expectations when they have first taken office. She is one of them.
Then way south of the border wrote this…
Her early work (which dates back at least two years) on mortgage fraud has paid off beautifully this year, with landmark lawsuits and settlements that are a model for the nation.
I appreciate Alexi as a young, energetic idea guy, but Lisa’s focus and foresight puts her in front of the whole pack of constitutional officers. She has really delivered, when we need it most.
* Best congresscritter: Dick Durbin. I went into today’s runoff figuring that the George Ryan commutation uproar would doom Durbin against Mark Kirk. Boy, was I wrong. Kirk had a lot of intense support, but Durbin gets the win because the odds were so heavily stacked against him today…
I cannot agree with his position on Ryan. I can understand it.
More next week.
* This song seems to be appropriate on a whole bunch of different levels…
Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting
“Which Side Are You On?”
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain’s tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn demanded today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich immediately explain himself to the public following the Tribune’s disclosure that the governor has been covertly taped by federal authorities investigating corruption in state government.
“I think the governor has a short period of time to come forward and level with the people of Illinois,” Quinn said. […]
“The governor owes to the people of Illinois a full and complete explanation,” said Quinn, who defended Blagojevich while serving as his running mate in 2006, when the federal probe already was going on.
Quinn said Blagojevich should open himself up to questions raised by the Tribune story and his relationships to convicted political insiders like Stuart Levine, whom Blagojevich kept on state boards where corruption flourished, and Tony Rezko, whose federal conviction followed a trial where the governor was repeatedly linked to allegations of pay-to-play politics. Blagojevich and Wyma have not been charged with any crimes.
“He should immediately find a forum and stand there for however long it takes and fully and completely answer all questions raised,” Quinn said.
An apt forum might be a House impeachment hearing.
Just sayin’.
* Meanwhile, we now know about how many staffers that Gov. Blagojevich took with him to Philadelphia to meet with fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama…
According to the governor’s press office, Blagoejvich and 7 or 8 staffers took a state owned twin turbo jet to Philly.
That’s a heckuva lot of staff. Compare that number to other governors at this link.
Back to the story…
We checked into how much more expensive it was to fly the private plane compared to a commercial flight.
According to the state auditor’s office, it costs $9.81/mile to fly the private plane. A round trip from Chicago to Philadelphia is 581 miles. That means it would cost an estimated $7,880 to fly round trip betwen Chicago and Philly.
We then priced a commercial flight from Chicago to Philadelphia. According to Southwest.com, a round trip flight would cost $440.
Therefore, it would cost the governor and staffers $3,520 to make the round trip. That’s a difference of nearly $8,000.
A spokesman for the governor tells us flying the private plane allowed the group to meet while in air and it has phone access as well.
The math here is really screwed up.
The 581 miles used in the story is actually nautical miles. 581 nautical miles x2 for a round trip is 1,162 miles, x$9.81 = $11,399.22, not the number in the story.
The Auditor General has also decreed that the billing rate for the state plane should be $1.85 per seat-mile. If it was the guv plus eight staffers (we’ll take the high end) that’s $16.65 for each mile.
So, using nautical miles, that’s 1,162 round-trip miles, times $16.65 = a recommended $19,347.30 pricetag.
* I can’t make a decision on the following Golden Horshoe contests…
1) Best statewide official: Lisa Madigan or Alexi Giannoulias
2) Best congresscritter: Mark Kirk or Dick Durbin
Vote for only one in each contest. No further nominations will be accepted. Please explain your reasoning, but keep it positive. I’m not interested at all in why you’re for somebody because of how much you’re against the other. I’ll just delete that sort of comment if I’m around.
* Steve Huntley and I agree on Dick Durbin’s possible motive for asking President Bush to commute George Ryan’s sentence…
A few weeks ago, Durbin’s daughter, Christine Ann, died at age 40 after a lifelong struggle with a congenital heart condition. As we enter one of Christianity’s holiest seasons, Durbin understands how fleeting the joys of life are, how closely death shadows our lives, and how precious family life is.
Durbin, a fiercely partisan liberal, and I, a conservative, don’t agree on a lot of things. I can’t find myself agreeing with him on this one, but I also can’t find fault with him.
Mrs. Ryan is said to be more ill than has been reported, by the way. That certainly played into Durbin’s thinking.
Congresswoman-elect Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) and U.S. Reps. Judy Biggert (R-13th) and Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) said they oppose commuting former Gov. George Ryan’s prison sentence. […]
Two other Southland members of Congress - Bobby Rush (D-1st) and Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) - did not return calls for comment.
* Man, if Wyma has flipped, is there anyone at all whom the governor can trust?
Federal investigators recently made covert tape recordings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the most dramatic step yet in their corruption investigation of him and his administration, the Tribune has learned.
As part of this undercover effort, one of the governor’s closest confidants and former aides cooperated with investigators, and that assistance helped lead to recordings of the governor and others, sources said.
The cooperation of John Wyma, 42, one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, is the most stunning evidence yet that Blagojevich’s once-tight inner circle appears to be collapsing under the pressure of myriad pay-to-play inquiries.
We’re talking about one of the governor’s very closest political and personal friends here. This ain’t no low-level guy.
* Did they get this meeting on tape?
Wyma, Blagojevich’s chief of staff when he was in Congress, has long been one of the few advisers trusted by Blagojevich and kept in the loop on matters of policy and politics. As the federal probe intensified, Wyma met privately with the governor and his former chief of staff at the governor’s campaign headquarters on the North Side for 90 minutes on Oct. 22.
Confronted outside that meeting, Wyma declined to talk to Tribune reporters about what the meeting was about before jumping into his car. The next day, the Tribune was the first to report that Wyma’s name appeared in a federal subpoena delivered to Provena Health, a former client of his.
Blagojevich might’ve been comfortable enough in that meeting to say anything. Oof.
…Adding… Lon Monk was the “former chief of staff” listed as attending that campaign headquarters meeting in today’s Trib article. Some background on Provena and that meeting can be found at this link…
Pushing further into Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s inner circle, federal investigators have subpoenaed records involving a lobbyist friend who represented a hospital company that won a favorable state ruling.
The company’s for-profit affiliate donated $25,000 to Blagojevich’s campaign a month after the state’s action.
John Wyma, a top fundraiser and former Blagojevich aide, was named in a federal subpoena delivered two weeks ago to Provena Health, according to sources. It sought records about Provena’s lobbying relationship with Wyma, the donation and the company’s efforts to win approval for a new heart program. […]
On Wednesday, Wyma met for about 90 minutes with the governor and another fundraiser and state lobbyist, Lon Monk, at Blagojevich’s political offices on the North Side. When asked after the meeting about the subpoena, Wyma said, “I have no comment.”
Monk, who was Blagojevich’s chief of staff during his first term, also declined to comment.
Doug Scofield, a spokesman for the Friends of Blagojevich campaign committee, described the meeting as “routine.”
“I don’t think anything big happened,” he said.
Lisa Lagger, a spokesman for Provena Health, said, “We are not parties of interest here.”
If Provena isn’t a “party of interest,” then that might leave at least two others: The guy who solicited the standard $25,000 contribution and the guy who accepted it.
Wyma, 42, now a top lobbyist, has also been named in a federal subpoena delivered to Provena Health, a former client of his.
The subpoena sought records about Provena’s relationship with Wyma, the hospital’s efforts to win state approval of a new heart program and a $25,000 donation the company’s for-profit affiliate gave to Blagojevich’s campaign fund, the newspaper reported.
Wyma had no comment about the story.
Wyma doesn’t lobby the General Assembly much at all. He mainly uses his exclusive access to Gov. Blagojevich to make money.
* This story from a year ago might help explain some things as well…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s wife received the real estate commission in a $650,000 condominium sale from a businessman who since has won $10 million in no-bid state contracts.
The seller was Mark T. Wight, owner of Wight & Company, an architecture firm that won three new contracts with the state’s toll highway authority after the 2005 sale. The buyer was John R. Wyma, Wight’s tollway lobbyist and a longtime Blagojevich insider.
The governor might wanna make that US Senate appointment before it’s too late.
In another development, FBI agents searched two Joliet businesses owned by Harish Bhatt, a longtime Blagojevich supporter.
Agents descended upon Basinger and Essington pharmacies early in the morning and combed through paperwork. The FBI would only say it’s part of an ongoing federal investigation.
Bhatt told reporters agents weren’t looking into him, adding, “We have nothing to do with it.”
Last year, the Tribune named Bhatt as being part of an ongoing investigation into Blagojevich’s administration. The paper reported state police were looking into whether Bhatt solicited campaign donations in exchange for state favors.
Bhatt and Blagojevich go back years. Bhatt has raised thousands of dollars for the governor. And just this year, another Blagojevich fundraiser, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, was convicted on pay-to-play corruption charges.
* More from the Joliet Herald News, which broke the story yesterday…
Rice said the warrant was connected to “an ongoing federal investigation,” but would not disclose details on what the agents were looking into.
Both the complaints and warrants were under seal, Rice said.
It appeared, however, that the feds’ visit to Bhatt’s pharmacies was not connected to the Blagojevich probe. “They are looking into somebody else,” Bhatt said Thursday. “We have nothing to do with it.”
Bhatt would not disclose whom the feds were interested in, saying agents asked him to be quiet.
We’ll all know soon enough.
* More bckground on Blagojevich and Bhatt is here.
A photo of Blagojevich and Bhatt…
And here’s one of Wyma [center] and Blagojevich in Texas from back in August. They apparently held a funder down there…
Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana has delayed beginning construction of its $236 million expansion project for at least six months.
Hunt says for all practical purposes, there is no bond market for hospitals. He says until the market opens up again, expansion won’t start because the institution wants to borrow money at a favorable rate
The federal government has approved sending more than $775 million a year over the next five years to Illinois hospitals and other medical providers to help care for Medicaid patients.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Thursday that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the five-year deal with the state.
As a result, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services will distribute more than $1.5 billion a year in Medicaid payments. Half of the money will come from the federal government and half from the state.
Six vacant city jobs will be eliminated as part of the effort to offset Gov. Blagojevich’s plan to pull back state-shared money.
Faced with possibly $2 million less in state income tax dollars, Aurora finance officials in the late stages of setting the 2009 budget scurried to absorb the reduction.
Mayor Daley’s $163,656-a-year budget director abruptly resigned Thursday, leaving a giant void as Chicago struggles to survive its worst financial crisis in recent history.
“Look at the history of budget directors. It’s two budget seasons and out. That’s just the way it goes. It’s a tough and demanding job. I’ve done a lot to try and help the city, but it’s time to move on. It is truly and absolutely for my own personal reasons,” said Bennett Johnson III.
City Hall could spend more than half of its $1.2 billion check within a few years, but a private company that agreed to pay that huge sum to lease Chicago’s parking meters now will get to collect the cash for the next 75 years.
Although the 36,000 meters generate almost $20 million a year in net income—and rates are set to rise sharply next month—Mayor Richard Daley contends the city is better served in these tough economic times by taking the money upfront.
Under a deal approved Thursday by a 40-5 City Council vote, the cost to park at two-thirds of the meters in Chicago will quadruple next month. Neighborhood spots that cost a quarter an hour will cost $1 an hour and will increase to $2 an hour by 2013. The top meter rates in the Loop will go from $3 an hour to $6.50 within five years.
The net decline of 3,689 students last year was less than 1 percent of Illinois’ nearly 2.1 million public school students, according to the state school report card released this fall. What’s more significant is that the decline was widespread. Enrollment dropped in 63 of the state’s 102 counties last year, according to a Tribune analysis. The state education agency is monitoring the shifting population, a spokesman said.
Cook County drove the decline, with a drop of more than 25,000 students from 2003 to 2008, Tribune research shows.
The Chicago Public Schools lost more than 45,000 students in the last five years, according to the state report card, and a city school spokeswoman said they’ve seen no “significant reversal of the downward trend.”
Bureaucratic wagons are circling against Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ clear-headed approach to the state’s public employee pension mess.
Illinois has five separate pension funds managed by three separate boards. Together, they have 300 employees.
Giannoulias proposes merging administration of these funds to cut overhead and reduce the impact of political influence and corruption.
Already, some of the employee groups are reacting predictably with complaints that can be summarized thusly: Leave us alone. We can get along fine by ourselves.
But they aren’t by themselves. Several analyses rank Illinois’ unfunded pension obligations as the worst in the nation. Unfunded pension debt — the amount expected to be owed to future retirees versus the money expected to be paid in — exceeds $43 billion. So, taxpayers have to kick in to help cover the $1,900 to $3,100 per month in retirement payments guaranteed to about 270,000 retired teachers, judges, legislators and other public employees.
