Long before Bears kick-return specialist Devin “Anytime” Hester tied an NFL record with a 108-yard return (of a botched field goal, no less) against the Giants, he was a magic man with the Miami Hurricanes.
Bears fans, you must check out this truly awesome video from Hester’s college days. Colts fans, this is one reason why your team’s gonna lose. Whiny, always-wrong hater columnists, bite me.
A couple of months ago, I went out with one of my best friends from grade school. We lived near each other on farms in rural Iroquois County, which is directly south of Kankakee.
Anyway, we spent quite a bit of time jostling back and forth over whether Chicago should be kicked out of Illinois. He said, only half-jokingly, that we ought to string a barbed wire fence around the city.
The evening came to mind after reading some comments this morning under a State Journal-Register story about Barack Obama’s Springfield presidential announcement and how the Prairie Capital Convention Center would be the backup site (the Old State Capitol will be the primary site). The first comment set off quite a fight.
Obama has no connection to spfld..stay in chicago with the majority of liberals, lincoln would turn over in his grave, he better be charged full price for the rent of the pccc!@!!!
Other comments included this one:
I dont know why he is paying attention to springfield when he hasnt before.
And…
He is just using you, he is a liberal senator from chicago who will use the small midwest town backdrop as a hook, he is from chicago and that is where his roots are. He served his chicago district for 8 years, bomke was my senator in sangamon county.
Today’s question: Why do you think so many downstaters seem to hate Chicago and don’t consider it part of Illinois? Does racism explain some of it? Backwardsness? Or is it just the natural outgrowth of intense regional conflict over limited resources? Something else?
[This was originally the Question of the Day, but I changed it.]
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has released her annual list of top 10 consumer complaints. From a press release issued late yesterday afternoon:
Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that for the first time in the history of the Illinois Attorney General’s Top 10 Consumer Complaint List, identity theft complaints topped the list, exceeding the other categories by far. Madigan attributes the dramatic increase in consumer complaints concerning ID theft to her office’s new Identity Theft Hotline, announced in February 2006.
Madigan also announced that her office’s Consumer Protection Division received a record number of consumer complaints in the last year. In 2006, the Consumer Protection Division received 32,724 consumer complaints, a more than 18 percent increase over the 26,652 consumer complaints received in 2005. This increase follows a nearly 11 percent increase in consumer complaints in 2005.
And here’s the list:
CATEGORY - # OF COMPLAINTS
1. Identity Theft - 5,237
2. Credit - 3,444
3. Construction/Home Improvement - 3,204
4. Telecommunications - 2,782
5. Promotions and Schemes - 2,261
6. Financial Services - 1,695
7. Motor Vehicles/Used Auto Sales - 1,486
8. Mail Order - 1,475
9. Business to Business Fraud - 815
10. Motor Vehicle/Non-Warranty Repair - 790
Question: Have you ever been tempted to call the AG’s consumer complaints tip line? What’s your story? Without names, of course.
Speaker Madigan has introduced his legislation to move the spring primary up six weeks, from March to the first Tuesday in February. Madigan said earlier this month that he wanted the state to play a larger role in the presidential election and felt the move would benefit Barack Obama’s candidacy. The Post-Dispatch has reaction. Initially, Senate President Emil Jones was skeptical, but he’s moving off the dime a bit:
Since then, Jones has endorsed the idea in concept but not Madigan’s bill in specific.
“Conceptually, it benefits the people of Illinois to have an early say in who the presidential candidate is. However, we’re still reviewing the bill,” said Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer.
Madigan’s bill would affect more than just the presidential races. It would move the entire primary election forward, including all federal, state and local races. States like Iowa, in contrast, hold an early presidential caucus, separate from the primary election, to vote only on the presidential races.
“While some states do have two primaries in presidential years, the notion of that kind of change is complicated,” said Steve Brown, spokesman for Madigan. “Let’s not make it too complicated for voters: Have them come to the polls once and let their voice be heard.”
Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, while in favor of a larger state role in selecting the next president, said he worried about lengthening a campaign season that he says is too long already.
The Southern Illinoisan editorialized against Madigan’s idea and against the whole frontloaded system in general.
The “problem” isn’t Illinois’ date being too late. The problem is other states being too early.
If anything, the caucuses and primaries should take place later. Many voters are sick of the pre-election hype already. Others aren’t paying attention.
Political-beat reporters don’t help with their constant badgering, asking potential candidates when they will declare their intentions like a bunch of kids on a family vacation asking, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, wants to move Illinois’ 2008 primary election from March 18 to Feb. 5 - in part, to boost the chances of state Sen. Barack Obama.
The primary date shouldn’t be changed to help - or hurt - a person.
I predict it will be signed into law and I think for 2008, that’s a good thing. For other years (that is, when Barack isn’t running for president), I’d rather have nice weather for elections, as I don’t like walking in the cold, so if it was up to me, I’d move the primary to June or September. And I’d imagine most campaign workers would agree with that sentiment (ignoring the speculation on how cold weather might impact election results).
You can read Madigan’s bill by clicking here. Please, if you have a question about the specific legislation, try reading it first before commenting or simply asking others to do your homework for you.
Ald. Arenda Troutman says the white powdery substance the feds found in a ziplock bag in her office was dietary fiber, not drugs.
Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) said today she doesn’t use drugs and is “betting my life†that the white powdery substance found in her home was not narcotics, but a dietary fiber she uses to cleanse her colon.
Troutman charged that federal agents who found the powdery substance during a raid on her South Side home and ward office already know the results were negative and that they’re keeping the information quiet to continue to smear her.
“I can’t understand that you don’t know by now if that was a drug or not,†she said after chairing a City Council Committee hearing. “That’s been over three weeks ago and you mean to tell me with all the technology we have today that they have not let the press know? They’ve let you guys know everything [else] to this point.â€
The feds say that the tests haven’t come back yet, but, regardless of whatever else you may think of her, she has a good point here. It shouldn’t take three weeks to see if it was cocaine or heroin.
Meanwhile, a group of 30 Chicago organizations that are critical of Mayor Daley released a “Report Card for Change” yesterday, and found that one particular alderman, who recently described himself as a “buffoon” (a year or so after he denied he was a buffoon), was raking in cash from developers.
Real estate interests contributed $1.7 million — more than any other industry — to the campaign coffers of 20 Chicago aldermen over an 18-month period, and 13 percent of that money went to one politician: Ald. Burton F. Natarus (42nd), a study shows.
Natarus, whose booming, development-rich ward includes the Gold Coast and downtown areas, was the No. 1 earner in three categories of the dozen industries surveyed by a coalition of community organizations:
Real estate interests gave $1.75 million to the 20 top-earning aldermen and Natarus got 13 percent of that money. Business services gave $313,052 and 19 percent to Natarus. Retail and wholesalers gave $661,889 and 13 percent to Natarus. Ald. Danny Solis (25th) also got 13 percent. Entertainment sports and gambling interests gave $114,657 and 27 percent of it to Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th).
Former Ald. Virgil Jones (15th), who was convicted on corruption charges in 1999, can run to regain a seat on the City Council in the Feb. 27 election, a Cook County judge decided Monday.
Circuit Judge Alfred Paul ruled that a state law that would ban Jones from the race is unconstitutional because it applies only to ex-felons running in local races and not statewide elections.
So, there may be hope for Troutman down the line if this federal thing doesn’t work out too well.
*** UPDATE *** It would be a big help if you would use the comment section to post Website addresses to local campaigns and blogs and forums set up to discuss them.
The AP takes a look at each of the 28 state-job applicants who allegedly received special treatment from Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey and finds a whole bunch of holes in the administration’s case. Here are just a few of them, but go check out the entire list:
1. Ascaridis, Beverly, 56, Chicago, applied for Senior Public Service Administrator on 4/12/04: Resubmitted application doesn’t appear on Casey’s log, so it’s unclear how the government believes Casey or DeFraties knew about it or intervened improperly; never promoted to SPSA; now a public service administrator for the Department of Natural Resources. News reports in September revealed that Ascaridis got the job shortly after her husband, a lifelong Blagojevich friend, gave a $1,500 gift to one of the governor’s daughters.
2. Baksys, Mary, applied for Public Service Administrator on 11/29/04: Never appears on Casey’s log, never hired. […]
8. Dirksen, Julie, 64, Springfield, SPSA, 2/4/04: Initial application marked “incomplete;” awarded a job exempt from all hiring rules, so never needed CMS evaluation; now an SPSA for the Historic Preservation Agency.
It’s amazing that they’re trying to make those two take the fall for Beverly Ascaridis. Beyond chutzpah.
An attorney for the Blagojevich administration said Monday that the case against Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey should focus on what they did, not on what others in state government might have done, to promote certain people for state jobs.
“This is really about the conduct of Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey,” said attorney Joseph Gagliardo in opening statements at a Civil Service Commission hearing where the two fired workers are trying to get reinstated.
“Any attempt to blame others for their misconduct does nothing to mitigate their responsibility.”
The defendants’ attorney claims they did nothing wrong, which may be a bit of a stretch.
Carl Draper, attorney for DeFraties and Casey, said the administration lacks “proof that anybody got any favorable treatment.”
Draper has suggested DeFraties and Casey are scapegoats of an administration engulfed in a federal hiring scandal. U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said last year that serious allegations about hiring problems exist throughout the Blagojevich administration.
Draper said no rules or laws prohibited DeFraties’ and Casey’s actions. He added that administration officials asked for applicants to be graded ahead of time to fill some positions quickly and that they acted in ways similar to members of prior administrations.
Even so, Marc Longmeyer, a grading supervisor under DeFraties, said some applications coming directly from the offices of DeFraties and Casey were graded and placed on an online database ahead of other applicants.
In January, the group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety named Illinois one of four “best performance states” for passing at least two of 15 laws it says are proven to reduce highway deaths injuries.
“Illinois has been very consistent in its passage of key laws,” says Judie Stone, president of the safety group.
*Rep. Franks discusses disappointment in electric rate increase
* State launches new ad campaign aimed at young drivers
* The Todd couple: “Cook County Commissioner William Beavers, a fan of old-school clout, has no problem saying he considers himself “the hog with the big nuts.”
* Ex Chicago Park District official gets 3 years for $8 million scam
* Cook County jail medical execs get axed; protests against budget cuts continue:
Jerry Roper, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, told commissioners: “There’s nothing left to tax, ladies and gentlemen. The taxpayers deserve better solutions.”
* Editorial: Guv gave hook too quickly to Madigan’s mortgage plan
* Editorial: Selling the lottery not a long term solution for schools: “We’d prefer the governor spend his incredible energy devising a fairer way to pay for schools. The overreliance on property taxes is unfair, especially to those who live on fixed incomes.”
* Mark Brown: Burke’s 1st rival in 36 years isn’t taking the hints
* Blagojevich seeks federal dollars for counties hit by Dec. storm
* Editorial: Cross has solid advice for legislative session
* Our buddy Jake, the 14 year old video blogger who broke through last year when he was interviewed by Chicago Public Radio, is making news again. Jake just scored an interview with mayoral candidate Dorothy Brown, which you can view in three parts, here, here and here. Congrats, Jake!
* Dog Fight in the 50th, a blog about the four-way battle in broken down warhorse Bernie Stone’s 50th Ward race, is coming of age. A recent post about AFSMCE’s endorsement of Greg Brewer has 78 comments. Go take a look, it’s quite the flame war. Brewer, himself, blogged at his own site yesterday about yard signs being stolen, which is not an unusual thing in politics.
* The Sun-Times has an interesting story about the 25th Ward race. Seems that Ald. Danny Solis is being accused of forgery.
The charge is serious: Ald. Danny Solis (25th), the president pro tempore of the Chicago City Council, had someone forge his notarized signatures on his statements of candidacy and economic interest while he was on a fact-finding trip to Israel with other Hispanic aldermen.
He was back from the trip before the final deadline, but they had to be filed while he was away to make him eligible for the lottery for top ballot spot for the Southwest Side ward that includes Pilsen.
Solis’ attorneys have said he signed the documents himself before he left, and they expect the lawsuit filed against him Friday will be thrown out just as the electoral board threw out the charge earlier.
But Solis reportedly was seen talking angrily to his Chicago staff on his BlackBerry while in Israel, and handwriting expert Diana Marsh says whoever signed “Danny Solis” to the statement of candidacy and economic interest is not the same person who signed “Danny Solis” on all of Solis’ other documents.
Adding to the bitterness of this contest is not only Medrano’s attempt to reclaim the seat he lost when he went to prison, but the various other people who have thrown their hat into the ring against Solis. Having fallen out with the pro-Daley Hispanic Democratic Organization (which has seen diminished influence in the wake of federal corruption probes) over his ties to such HDO rivals as Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and Solis’ own congressional ambitions. Besides Medrano, he is also facing Aaron del Valle and Joe Acevedo, who, while not necessarily strong challengers, have added enough chaos to the mix to give Danny a headache.
We can’t prove it, but we suspect that they are stalking horses put into the race to muck things up. While it seems a fair bet that he will pull a lot of votes in the election next month, being drawn into a bitter runoff against a strong challenger probably isn’t Danny Solis’ idea of a good time. Taking on either the HDO or Medrano, and whomever the group of losers throw their support behind, will just complicate things for him. […]
(T)his race is as much about getting control over the spoils of TIF money and development in the ward as it is about making political careers. […]
With so much at stake, and so many cynical players grabbing for power, it seems that there are no good choices to be made in this race, with the status quo being the only real prize for residents.
This is a local elections open thread and, as always, it is not limited to Chicago politics. Have at it.
In fact, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as other drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The group was started January 16th - 13 days ago - by what appears to be political amateurs, and hopes to have signed up a million members by February 5th. It seemed impossible, but the group has really taken off.
Conner noted last Thursday that the group had grown by “23,364 members in less then 24 Hours,” and had jumped about a thousand members from the time he started writing his post until he was finished.
Clearly, something is happening here. But are growth rates like this possibly sustainable?
They are. In fact, because of the way that Facebook is structured, the more people join the group the more people are aware of it.
Since late Thursday afternoon, the Facebrook group - which hit 100,000 members a day before the group leaders had hoped to hit 10,000 - has grown from 90,094 members to 157,725 members at 9:10 this morning.
Until April 1st, there’s only one game that matters in the battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination — the donor’s game. The contest to put up the biggest first quarter fundraising number possible is intense and is prone to misinformation and stunts.
Hence, James Carville talks talks and talks some more about Al Gore getting into the race. Let’s boil this down to reality:
* Carville supports Hillary Clinton
* Obama is making a hard and fast play for Hollywood money
* An Al Gore entry into the race is the only thing preventing Obama from running the table on that money in this quarter.
A January 28 New York Times article by reporter Jodi Kantor included a quote by Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, saying that Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) “style of leadership” might be better suited to running the Harvard Law Review, of which Obama was the first black president, than to “running a country.” […]
But the article did not note that Klain has reportedly signed on with Sen. Joseph R. Biden (D-DE) and said he would support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) if Biden “chooses not to run.”
Which makes me wonder about New Yorker Al Sharpton’s recent negative comments about Obama and his friendliness to a Hillary Clinton campaign.
Laura Washington has a different take on that particular subject.
For America’s black leadership, Barack Obama is both an enigma and a pain in the posterior. Just ask the Reverends Jesse L. Jackson and Al Sharpton and Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters, Andrew Young, Donna Brazile and Julian Bond.
They don’t know what to do with him.
Finally, the Daily Herald has some poll results that show a quarter of the American public would be “angry or upset” if a woman was elected president.
Respondents were asked how many out of a list of five statements made them angry. The topics were rising gas prices, pro athletes making millions, requiring seat-belt use, large companies polluting the environment and a woman serving as president.
The survey found 26 percent said they’d be angry or upset about a female president. The surprise was that the level of unease at a female leader cut across gender, income, geographical and education lines.
“We expected to find people were lying (in past polls). And we also expected to find some groups lied more than others. But that really wasn’t the case,†Streb said.
While the survey didn’t ask the related question of whether people would be angry about a black man as president, Streb suggests “the same theory applies.â€
Federal Judge John Grady has an interesting state corruption hearing docket this Wednesday, all of them tied to the ongoing hospital board scandal. Check out the last entry [emphasis added].
1:05-cr-00408 USA v. Glennon 10:30 Status Hearing
1:05-cr-00408 USA v. Hurtgen 10:30 Notice of Motion
1:05-cr-00408 USA v. Hurtgen 10:30 Status Hearing
1:05-cr-00408 USA v. Kiferbaum 10:30 Status Hearing
1:05-cr-00408 USA v. SUPPRESSED 10:30 Status Hearing
The state executive inspector general’s office, which conducted a yearlong investigation, concluded that many job applications were submitted through the governor’s office or state lawmakers. The inspector’s confidential report, obtained by The Associated Press last summer, also indicated that the allegedly improper practices continued for months after DeFraties and Casey left CMS. […]
The case centers on 28 so-called “special applications.” The administration claims that for all but one of those applications, DeFraties and Casey did not officially record a grade if it was below an “A” and let the applicant try again later.
An Associated Press analysis of the 28 cases in November showed weaknesses in each one. Investigators relied on the wrong dates for key events, some applicants who investigators said got “A” grades never got any grade, and some candidates were never hired. […]
The administration says it found the 28 improper applications in a log that Casey kept to track more than 2,000 “special applications” his office received. […]
Each line of the printed log is numbered chronologically, but the AP found there are 67 numbers missing. The administration and its lawyers have refused to explain what information is omitted.
Go read the whole thing.
Also, a recent Post-Dispatch story adds that the administration’s attorneys want to exclude evidence that people from the governor’s office allegedly lobbied DeFraties and Casey to hire politically connected workers.
A new statewide tax incentive for businesses is meant to promote the hiring of Illinois’ veterans, according to a news release from the office of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Employers can now earn income tax credit of up to $600 for every qualified veteran they hire.
Apparently, state government has shut so many veterans out of the hiring process in order to fill jobs with political hacks that we need the private sector to pick up the slack. /snark
*** UPDATE 2 *** The SJ-R has posted an update on the hearing. I’d suggest you keep checking for more. [Hat tip to a commenter.]
Carl Draper will continue to represent two former state personnel officials in their attempt to win back their jobs.
Draper, a Springfield attorney, also might be called to testify in the appeals hearing before an Illinois Civicl Service Commission administrative law judge. That created a legal question over whethe Draper could be both a witness and a lawyer in the same hearing.
However, administrative law judge Anthony Dos Santos said this morning Draper would be allowed to testify if necessary while still representing Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey.
Senate President Emil Jones reiterated his position that “all options are on the table” as far as raising new revenues for school funding, and made it clear that he intends to force Speaker Madigan to get on board.
“We’ve got to raise revenue, no question about it, so all options are on the table,” Jones said. “We in the Senate are going to push it through. We’re going to make the House deal with it, make them stand up and be responsible.”
UPDATE:Here’s my take on Jones and Madigan, from my syndicated newspaper column.
Anyway, Jones did go on to say that an income tax, particularly in conjunction with a property tax swap, is not necessarily on the horizon.
Jones distanced himself from some education advocates’ long-held hope that the state will shift the burden of school funding from property taxes to income taxes. […]
“There are other possibilities out there,” Jones said Thursday.
“Some of the corporations have been getting away with paying no taxes,” he said. “We want them to pay. You raise income taxes, that hits the individual.”
That pretty much matches up to Gov. Blagojevich’s stance.
Meanwhile, House GOP Leader Tom Cross said raising the income tax doesn’t make sense.
GOP House Minority Leader Tom Cross said Friday he doesn’t favor raising the income tax to collect more money for the state, an idea the Senate’s Democratic leader has said is up for discussion.
But Cross is willing to discuss a gambling expansion to help pay for capital projects like building roads and schools. That could include lifting the limits on riverboat gaming positions and opening casinos in Chicago or elsewhere.
Jones also favors gaming expansion, by the way.
And the Tribune’s editorial page, which has far less influence over state government now that it ever has, started a series of editorials this past weekend calling for a tax hike coupled with various reforms.
This editorial page usually expresses skepticism about tax increases. But we will argue in this series that there is a substantial need to put school funding on a more stable footing. That will cost each of us more money–and allow us to insist that our schools deliver much more.
* High paying political jobs vs. ones that matter: “Strausberg has a cushy new office and is paid $110,000 a year to be Cook County’s communications director, although she hasn’t been doing that job for weeks.â€
Initially, supporters of the bill sought to create a statewide database that would be used to identify fraudulent lenders and mortgage brokers. That is still a good idea. This is not a battle that can be fought in a handful of neighborhoods without the people living in those neighborhoods being victimized by our good intentions.
