* What the heck was Chicago State University President Wayne Watson doing when he was Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago? Well, according to a Chi-Town Daily News report, one thing he did was allegedly use state and federal grant money to produce promo videos for his pals, including former Senate President Emil Jones…
Under orders from then-Chancellor Wayne Watson, the PBS television station at City Colleges of Chicago used its budget to produce free videos of powerful politicians and friends of the chancellor, an internal college e-mail shows. […]
The political programs showcased golf events, a fundraiser and a “State Senate California Trip” in connection with then-State Senate President Emil Jones. […]
The report lists at least 15 programs that were never broadcast and were allegedly “distributed only to friends and associates of the Chancellor.”
The programs showcasing Jones included “Emil Jones fundraiser,” “Emil Jones State Senate California Trip,” “Emil Jones St. Francis Hospital” and four editions of “Emil Jones Golf Promo.”
It truly never ends.
* The online news outlet has been scoopalicious lately. Go check out their story about unlicensed flophouses for the mentally ill. And then there’s this interesting story posted a few hours ago about Latino activists protesting parking meters…
Protesters are now standing atop the holes drilled to install the meters, preventing workers from affixing the meters to the sidewalk.
* The Tribune tackles the state’s new law to tax candy in a cutesy way. Entitled: “Candy or food? Confusion grows as new tax looms,” the article seems to be looking for a problem that probably doesn’t exist.
But as often happens with stories like this, the author editorializes throughout, goes through a whole hand-wringing rigamarole over what is and what isn’t candy, claims the General Assembly “carved out gaping exceptions” to what is and what isn’t candy, then finally reveals near the bottom of the story why the Legislature drafted the language the way it did…
Illinois is hardly the first state to take on the “if it’s got flour, it’s not candy” conundrum. The language was copied straight from a model law drafted by a multi-state organization called the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, which aims to makes sales-tax rules more uniform across the nation.
Scott Peterson, executive director of the Nashville-based group, said the organization struggled over how to define candy for tax purposes because many products that some states saw as cookies, other states saw as candy bars. “It finally came to us throwing up our hands and saying, ‘What in the world can we use as a definition that would be relatively straightforward and easy for a retailer to discern?’” Peterson said.
So, uh, this wasn’t a special “carve-out” done by goofy Illinois legislators after all? Then why were we subjected to the rest of that story?
* And after a whole lot of “this is gonna hurt retailers” stuff, we discover…
But Dave Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said his trade group covets inter-state uniformity in tax laws and pushed lawmakers to adopt the compact’s definitions of candy and soft drinks when the tax issue was up for debate a few months ago.
So the retailers’ own Statehouse lobbying group pushed the idea.
For purposes of this Section, “candy” means a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial
sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or
pieces. “Candy” does not include any preparation that contains flour or requires refrigeration.
So, bars, drops or pieces that have flour or require refrigeration - not candy. Seems reasonably straight-forward. And other states do it this way as well, so I’m not sure there’s a big deal here.
* And this part of the Tribune story baffles me…
To make things more complicated, outside Chicago the tax will vary from town to town and county to county. Interpreting the new rules may not be a big deal for giant chains such as Wal-Mart or Walgreens, which have large staffs of legal and product experts on the payroll. It’s a different story for small grocers and mom-and-pop convenience shops.
I would hope that local grocery store owners already know their local sales tax laws backwards and forwards since they have to abide by them every day. But unless local governments have exempted food from their own sales taxes, then it won’t matter at all.
* Yes, there will be some confusion. No doubt. But is paying an extra 5.25 cents for a dollar candy bar really worth this sort of silly journamalism?
* Related…
* Gov. Quinn carts purple and navy tie around state: Since becoming governor, Quinn has worn the ties, on average, two to three times apiece each month. In April, May, June and July, he’s worn them in the same week.
* Crain’s has an interesting piece on House Speaker Michael Madigan this week. The money graf…
If Mr. Madigan is like many other pols in wanting to keep his power and help his family, what’s rare is how little he uses his power elsewhere. Mr. Lawrence recalls once asking Mr. Madigan if he was passionate about any issue or cause. “His answer was that he was more about being a political strategist.”
As I’ve said many times before, Madigan’s only real legacy so far is that he’s been Speaker longer than anybody else. And that’s a big reason why he opposed Gov. Quinn’s tax hike.
This is also a decent graf…
Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar and other Springfield vets like former Senate President Philip Rock, a Democrat, say Mr. Madigan does have a bit of an ideology, not untypical of what you might expect from an Irish Catholic from the Southwest Side: mildly conservative, both on fiscal and social issues. “At times, he was my only ally (among the four legislative leaders) in trying to hold the line on the budget,” Mr. Edgar says.
But that can change, as the article rightly points out. Madigan has also pushed to underfund the pension systems and borrow way too much money.
* Patrick Collins is right, but he sometimes acts as if he’s the first person to ever notice this stuff…
“It’s all about protecting (Mr. Madigan’s) majority, his power,” says former federal prosecutor Pat Collins, who headed a reform commission that expected much more. “On things that affected his power base, the reform was slight at best.”
A good point…
Some Madigan allies say privately that the state is better off with a speaker who reins in members who might otherwise go astray. In Illinois, it has been governors and Chicago aldermen who have tended to get in legal trouble — not Mr. Madigan’s minions.
A Winnetka attorney eyeing a run for Congress as a Republican may be the first to land a coveted endorsement from the prosecutor who put GOP Gov. George Ryan in prison.
Bill Cadigan, who was raised in Arlington Heights and once worked for U.S. Rep. John Porter, is a longtime friend of Patrick Collins, the federal prosecutor who led the Ryan trial and went on to become a statewide ethics advocate. […]
“If he throws his hat in the ring, he is someone who I think will be a great candidate,” Collins said. “I think he would be good on the issues that are important to me, such as ethics.”
“Well when I testified for it I said it’s a good bill, but it’s not a perfect bill and I suppose you want to get as close to perfection as we can,” Quinn said late last week. “So, I certainly want to strive toward that goal and by working as a team I think we can go pretty far.”
Quinn has repeatedly pointed out to reporters that he has the power to strengthen the bill by rewriting it — a so-called amendatory veto. Pushed about whether that’s his plan, he said “that could be.”
A veto would send the bill back to lawmakers, where it would face an uncertain future amid competing political agendas. The bill would die if lawmakers don’t vote to agree to the changes or else override the changes with a supermajority vote that would require help from Republicans — who refused to support the bill the first time.
But remember how the reform commission and others demanded that local state’s attorneys be given broader powers to investigate political corruption? Well, the state’s attorneys have turned another reform argument upside down, and are working against the FOIA bill. Why? One reason…
Prosecutors are also leery of granting the attorney general new powers to enforce the Freedom of Information Act.
The university needs an objective liaison to field claims that an application was erroneously rejected. Lawmakers, trustees and others who are asked to intervene would then have a legitimate channel for those requests — and no excuse for meddling themselves.
Good idea.
* And, on a somewhat related note, the Daily Southtown slams a local mayor for not opposing video gaming in his town…
THE ISSUE: Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki said in last Sunday’s SouthtownStar that he does not oppose video poker machines in the village, an expansion of gambling recently approved by Gov. Patrick Quinn and the Legislature.
WE SAY: Zabrocki is not taking the negative effects of video poker or the community as a whole into account. Let him know you don’t want it.
* Illinois must act on racial profiling : The response has been silence. On the legislative front, efforts to ban consent searches stalled in legislative committees, despite consistent evidence of the racial disparity in these searches. Rather than take action in the face of “indisputable” evidence, some legislators suggest studying the problem for a longer time before taking any action.
* Sources: Hull wanted Obama’s Senate seat : But this time, he worked behind the scenes, quietly angling to get appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
* Lawmakers to probe tollway scandals: “We feel strongly that taxpayers need to have a far clearer understanding of certain patterns of behavior that emerge from the tollway,” said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, an Evanston Democrat and longtime tollway critic who is organizing the hearings with state Sen. Susan Garrett.
While fellow Democrats Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes were hurling insults at each other several days ago about the state budget, I picked up the phone and called Illinois Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne.
Were the rumors true? I said. Was he really thinking about running for governor in the Democratic primary?
Over the previous several days, quite a few people had said they’d spoken with Clayborne, of Belleville, and all claimed that he sounded like a candidate to them.
But Clayborne would only say that he was still just talking to people, mulling it over and considering his options. No decision yet.
Clayborne has floated his name for statewide office on more than one occasion. Four years ago, for instance, he indicated that he might run for lieutenant governor. We’ll see if he pulls the trigger this time. But it’s an interesting proposition.
On paper, Clayborne would be a fascinating candidate, especially if he is the only African-American in the contest.
Sen. Clayborne is not the sort of Democrat that Chicago media types are accustomed to seeing. He’s a downstate attorney with a pretty solid pro-business voting record who is also regularly endorsed by organized labor.
He’s pro-gun, but he’s also pro-choice. He ran and lost for senate president last year, and the campaign exposed some rifts with his fellow black senators, partly over his strong rating from the National Rifle Association.
Gun owner rights are not usually very popular with Democratic primary voters, and particularly with Chicago blacks. Pro-gun southern white Glenn Poshard was able to win the Democratic nomination in 1998, although that issue was used against him in the fall by Republican George Ryan. Just about every likely Republican nominee strongly favors the National Rifle Association’s view of things, so that issue might not hurt Clayborne as much as it did Poshard if he manages to win the primary.
Clayborne’s record on guns will set up an interesting choice for Chicago-area black voters and this black candidate. He’s known to be a solid friend of utility companies, which will also test his popularity with black voters.
African-American talk radio hosts did, however, warm to Clayborne during his race for the Senate presidency last year.
During last year’s presidential primary, exit polling showed blacks were about a quarter of the primary vote - and 93 percent voted for Barack Obama. If Clayborne runs against two white, Chicago-based candidates who split that vote, his gun stance and geography might help him pick up some downstate white voters -although his skin color may give some of those folks an interesting choice as well.
Clayborne’s fundraising during the senate president’s race wasn’t bad. He raised about $580,000, compared to the ultimate victor John Cullerton’s million dollars or so. Clayborne raised $113,000 during the first six months of this year, but had over $650,000 in the bank.
Clayborne will have some trouble explaining why he tried to move a bill this year which would have called for a referendum to consolidate a school his son attends with another school. Clayborne introduced the legislation after his son was reportedly expelled for what appeared to be a minor infraction (allegedly waving around part of a broken pair of scissors).
Questions about whether he used his office for personal revenge with that bill would go directly to his gubernatorial temperament. After all, we don’t need another governor who will put revenge at the top of his “to do” list. Clayborne has denied any revenge motive, saying that if he really wanted payback he would’ve pushed through the consolidation without a referendum.
Unlike Hynes, Clayborne supported a tax increase to balance the state budget. The legislation Clayborne backed included an expansion of the state sales tax to an array of services, plus an income tax hike. Quinn initially supported that bill, then said he was for a different tax hike plan.
Hynes repeatedly has slammed Quinn for proposing a tax hike during an economic meltdown, and that’s part of what the two men were whacking each other for when I called Clayborne. Hynes can differentiate himself against both Quinn and Clayborne on this issue, but supporting big cuts to government programs and services hasn’t exactly been a popular issue in statewide Democratic primaries.
Despite a prime opportunity to turn the Blagojevich years and the state’s fiscal crisis into the issue of failed Democratic leadership, Republicans are facing in Gov. Pat Quinn a rival who raised more money in the last few months than all of them combined.
“As the incumbent who’s not Blagojevich, he can run as the anti-Blago, too,” Mr. Keiser says. “He will be tough to beat.”
Or if Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes is the nominee, the GOP message will bounce off his fiscal-watchdog credentials.
* And Greg Hinz takes a quick look at the top Democratic US Senate hopefuls, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson, and declares them to be “frankly, kind of weak”…
Both are bright, young and articulate. But, at age 33, Mr. Giannoulias may be too young, whatever the comparison to Mr. Obama. And, while he remains tight with the prez, he’s picked up some baggage from the family bank and his running of the state’s college-loan program. Ms. Jackson, in turn, never has run for statewide office, and Republicans (and Mr. Giannoulias) will keep reminding voters that she once served as press secretary to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But she reportedly is getting help from ex-Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm.
That doesn’t necessarily mean either can’t win. After all, Illinois is a deep blue state. It does mean that, at least as of now, it looks like Illinois has a real contest for the U.S. Senate.
* Rep. Art Turner is running for lieutenant governor. From a press release…
House Deputy Majority Leader Arthur Turner (D-Chicago) announced Sunday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor and pledged that he would run an issues-based campaign centered on how to put the state on more solid economic, ethical, and budgetary footing, and ensure that it is able to meet its obligations to Illinois’ citizens.
“I intend to campaign vigorously in the coming months, listening and learning directly from people across our state about what is important to them and how state government can be more responsive to their needs,” Turner said. “We’ve learned firsthand, and seen in other states recently, how much the office of Lt. Governor matters. I believe I have the right combination of legislative, professional and life experiences to do the job effectively and serve as an advocate for the people of Illinois and an ambassador for our great state.”
The issues that Turner would most like to make the centerpiece of the office are the promotion of volunteerism, spurring job creation opportunities and industry growth and sustainability.
Rudy Lozano Jr. vs. Daniel J. Burke. The 2010 matchup for the 23rd Legislative District on Chicago’s Southwest Side is shaping up as a struggle between two storied political families.
Or peg it as the post-Obama generation taking on what’s left of the Richard J. Daley Machine.
On Tuesday, Lozano will launch a petition drive to challenge longtime legislator Burke. The challenger is the son and namesake of a slain progressive hero, Rudy Lozano Sr. The incumbent, Dan Burke, is the clout-heavy brother of one of Chicago’s most controversial and sartorial pols, 14th Ward Ald. Edward M. Burke, chairman of the City Council Finance Committee.
On the surface, Lozano’s challenge looks hopelessly naive at best. While Lozano boasts name recognition among Latino voters and a compelling story line, his opponent, a state rep since 1991, is part and parcel of a political Machine rich with influence and decades of electoral know-how.
* The numbers just naturally work against the GOP in Illinois. Gallup has this state near the top of “Blue” states…
So, despite all that happened this year with the wild-eyed moron Rod Blagojevich, the new governor’s tax hike plan, the failed spring session, the fight over ethics reform and everything else you can think of, this is, according to Gallup, a solid 56-30 Democratic state.
I’d like to see the monthly trend lines on those polls (5,383 interviews), but the end result can’t be heartening for the Republicans.
* So, Paul Merrion is rightfully bearish on the GOP’s gubernatorial chances…
A yearlong effort by big Illinois GOP donors to find and back a strong pro-business candidate for governor has failed, with no consensus in sight for the party’s first wide-open gubernatorial primary in decades.
With business support split among the half-dozen Republicans in the race, the keepers of the party’s purse strings are sitting tight. In fact, party leaders continue to look for candidates who would be widely acceptable to the business community, and two high-level Illinois executives are still pondering a jump into the race, says Chicago attorney Ty Fahner, who, as chairman of the GOP’s finance committee, has been leading efforts to vet potential candidates. […]
By failing to back a single candidate, the GOP risks a messy, expensive primary at best. At worst, some fear a fractured primary could result in a victory for the party’s conservative wing, producing a candidate with an uphill battle to win a Democratic-leaning state such as Illinois.
It’s the same refrain every year with the GOP.
* Speaking of that race, Dan Proft takes a big whack at fellow gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kirk Dillard…
* And Greg Hinz is bullish on the Republicans’ US Senate prospects…
On the Republican side, the big news is that GOP leaders were able to snag what most insiders consider to be the only horse who could carry the party to victory. That’s North Shore Congressman Mark Kirk, who mixes moderation on hot-button social issues with fiscal conservatism and a hawkish streak on military and foreign affairs.
Now, Mr. Kirk will have some primary opposition. Several little-known conservatives are preparing to challenge him, and almost every one of them is making a huge deal out of the fact that Mr. Kirk was one of only eight GOP House members to vote in favor of President Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade carbon tax.
But you don’t get to Congress, much less the Senate, without being able to emphasize and de-emphasize at the right time. So ever since that vote, Mr. Kirk has been winking and nodding about how he really likes drill-baby-drill and nuclear power, America’s security depends on energy independence and the Senate surely will amend what the House sent it. And when November rolls around, most of that dance will have been long forgotten because being pro-environment is a good general election position in Illinois.
More important, the GOP high-rollers have made their selection: Mr. Kirk. Snatching away Mr. Obama’s old Senate seat would put a smile even on Newt Gingrich’s face. And Democrats know that, too, which is why I’ve started to receive a steady stream of Democratic e-mails knocking Mr. Kirk a full 16 months before the election.
The American Civil Liberties Union and courts throughout Illinois are preparing for what could be several hundred pregnant teenagers each year seeking judges’ approval for abortions without notification of their parents.
“We’ll be ready,” Patrick Kelley, Springfield-based chief judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit, said Friday.
He said he has e-mailed administrative guidelines to judges in all six counties in the circuit — Sangamon, Scott, Morgan Greene, Jersey and Macoupin — regarding requests for waivers to the Illinois parental notification law that takes effect Tuesday.
But according to the most recent CN report to the federal Surface Transportation Board, fears about freight traffic on the 198-mile line haven’t yet materialized.
That’s because the bad economy has resulted in freight traffic volumes that have been lower than they were before the EJ&E purchase, according to CN spokesman Patrick Waldron.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit Friday accusing Wells Fargo & Co. of discriminating against black and Latino homeowners by employing racially biased lending practices.
“As a result of its discriminatory and illegal mortgage-lending practices, Wells Fargo transformed our cities’ predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods into ground zero for subprime lending,” Madigan said Friday at a Chicago news conference announcing the lawsuit.
The suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court accuses Wells Fargo & Co., based in San Francisco, of selling high-cost subprime mortgage loans to minorities while white borrowers with similar incomes received lower-cost loans.
The 11 campuses are raising tuition by an average of 7.1 percent, the smallest average increase this decade.
The “break'’ comes after the schools walloped new students with tuition bills that were double and triple those from just a decade ago, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of state data finds.
Responding to a report that federal authorities are investigating admissions practices at Chicago’s selective schools, Mayor Daley said he has “full confidence” in schools chief Ron Huberman, who is already looking into the problem.
But the city’s nearly 9 percent across-the-board crime decrease touted by police — including a 3 percent dip in violent crime — doesn’t tell the whole story about crime in Chicago neighborhoods, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of district-by-district crime data shows. […]
• • A collection of West Side neighborhoods in the Harrison District (11th) became Chicago’s new top murder hot spot.
• • Robbers and burglars were so busy in the Chicago Lawn District (8th) that there was an average of 186 burglaries and 106 robberies reported each month between January and June.
• • The Shakespeare District (14th) — home to parts of gentrifying Bucktown and Logan Square — saw violent crime spike by nearly 30 percent. There were double-digit percentage increases in murders, robberies and assaults and batteries with weapons.
Police said the funeral was for Cornelius Robinson, 28, of the 1200 block of North Cicero, was a “self-admitted gang member.” Robinson had died at his home on July 26 from heart problems, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
* My pal Dusty Rhodes has left the Illinois Times and decided to go back to college. I’m gonna miss her work. Dusty, you’ll recall, wrote a light-hearted piece about me some time ago, but that isn’t why I wanted to say goodbye today. She’s a darned good reporter and we were lucky to have her here. I wish her nothing but the best.
Here’s a little Elvis Costello for Dusty, with some help from the Beastie Boys…
I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
I wanna bite that hand so badly
I want to make them wish they’d never seen me
Statement from Illinois Senator Michael Bond (D-31) announcing today that he will seek reelection instead of the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 10th District:
“After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for Congress in the Tenth District, and will instead seek reelection to the Illinois Senate. While I am grateful for the encouragement I have received to run for Congress, I feel an obligation to continue working to address the enormous challenges our state is confronting.
“We need to tackle our budget crisis, renew our economy and continue cleaning up Illinois government. Now more than ever, the hardworking taxpayers I represent need an advocate in Springfield who will stand up for their interests, promote fiscal responsibility while opposing an income tax increase, and demand the kind of ethical government they deserve.
“It has been an honor to work on behalf of the families in the 31st Senate District, and at this crucial time in our state’s history I believe I have a responsibility to continue doing so.”
Word has been going around for several days that Bond wouldn’t run for the 10th District congressional slot. More to come.
* 3:58 pm - Bond’s GOP state Senate opponent responds via press release…
Lake County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt responds to Senator Michael Bond’s decision to seek re-election
LAKE VILLA (July 31, 2009) – The following statement was released today by Suzi Schmidt, the Lake County Board Chairman and Republican candidate for State Senate in the 31st District, regarding State Senator Michael Bond’s decision to bow out of 10th District Congressional race and seek re-election to the State Senate.
“I welcome Senator Bond back to the 31st Senate District and look forward to a vigorous debate with him on the direction of Illinois and the best way to improve the quality of life in our communities.”
* Here is the overview of the cuts to be announced today…
• State Operations (includes layoffs,12 furlough days) $185 million
• Medicaid $140 million
• Grants $250 million
• Education $175 million
• Corrections $125 million
• Additional Reserves $100 million
• Other State offices, departments and agencies $25 million
Total: $1 billion
Not a lot of detail there, eh?
* Here’s the broad overview of how he’ll allocate that $1.2 billion in undesignated funds that the GA gave him…
• $1 billion for Healthcare and Family Services includes
o $300 million for Medicaid
o $700 million for group health
• $150 million for State Board of Education includes
o $85 million for early childhood education
o $11 million for bilingual programs
• $40 million for Department of Public Health includes
o $17 million for HIV/AIDS programs
o $9 million for breast/cervical cancer screening programs
• $13 million for Amtrak
* And here’s the overview of the remaining problems. They didn’t completely fund group health insurance, for instance…
Medicaid ($600 million)
Group health coverage for state employees, retirees and dependents ($600 million)
* 3:48 pm - Press conference is now over. That wasn’t so hard now, was it? However, he did take the easy way out by holding it in Chicago, where reporters are less aware of state government.
Pre K-12 education ($145 million)
College scholarships ($225 million)
Contingency reserve funds +$180 million
* 3:02 pm - Dept. of Corrections cuts include ▪ a reduction of 18 Central Office positions and 413 other positions.
…Adding… A different document claims that DoC headcount was cut 1,073. Thanks to a commenter. More headcount reductions are on that sheet. Here are a few…
* 303 - IL State Police
* 1,073 - DoC
* 866 - DHS
* 105 - Dept. Juvenile Justice
Statement of Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31:
“These cuts will hurt every Illinois resident.
“If the cuts stand, thousands of working men and women will lose their jobs. Human services, health care, education and public safety will be harmed. Our communities, families, children and seniors and our environment will suffer.
“By slashing thousands of jobs, these cuts contradict and undermine President Obama’s efforts to fight the recession, protect public services and keep Americans working.
“The fault for these terrible cuts belongs to the governor and every legislator who supported an irresponsible budget. The responsibility lies with every Illinois elected official and opinion maker who has opposed raising the revenue needed to avoid them.
“Every Illinoisan must demand that lawmakers and the governor renounce these damaging cuts, commit to raising new revenue, and return to the Capitol as soon as necessary to fix this broken budget.”
I thought the announcement video was the worst thing she’d done. This is just downright goofy, and possibly against federal campaign law.
UPDATE: The Hamos campaign has now removed the contact info.
* I’m never thrilled linking to a website with Bizarro World headlines like “Is there co-pay with forced abortion?,” but they did have a little story today which piqued my interest…
With high name recognition and a statewide network, Birkett could be one of the front-runners in the GOP Gubernatorial Primary. We’re told he’s weighing his options. A decision will have to come soon.
I’m now hearing the same. Joe Birkett is now reportedly mulling a gubernatorial bid. That’s after he told a Daily Herald reporter this…
Birkett, meanwhile, said the attorney general position is his best fit, regardless of whom he faces on Election Day.
So far, no one else has officially declared for the post. It’s Birkett’s third attempt at statewide office and his second for attorney general.
“You have to be who you are,” the 54-year-old Wheaton man said. “I’m a prosecutor. I’ve come to the conclusion I should remain one. That’s where I belong. It’s my passion.”
Apparently, Birkett may have a new passion.
* And, what’s up with the Mark Kirk for Senate campaign? As I told you this morning, Kirk is apparently about to embark on a Downstate campaign swing. There’s nothing at his website (actually, there’s not much of anything at that website), there’s nothing on his campaign FaceBook page, and his Twitter page - well, maybe that’s a sore point.
I asked a couple of reporters if they’d heard anything from the campaign and they said they hadn’t. I contacted the campaign an hour or so ago, but haven’t heard anything back yet.
The previously scheduled 2 p.m. reporter video conference and conference call has been canceled.
WHO: Governor Quinn
Chief of Staff Jerry Stermer
TIME: 2:45 p.m.
WHERE: 15th Floor Blue Room
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph
Chicago
[End of update]
* An e-mail sent by the governor’s office about today’s announcement of $1 billion in state budget cuts is causing some controversy. First, the e-mail. All emphasis in the original…
At 2pm today, the Governor’s Chief of Staff Jerry Stermer will present to the press the FY10 Budget Allocation Plan via video and phone conference.
As a member of the Springfield media, you may designate one person from your outlet to be onsite in the Capitol Office 214 Conference Room to participate in the presentation via video conference. Other members of your outlet may participate via a conference call line.
There can be no cameras, no taping, no streaming live audio and no tweeting.
A PowerPoint outlining the FY10 Budget Allocation Plan will be distributed just prior to the start of the meeting, however that information is embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation.
If you are interested in participating in this call, you must RSVP by NOON. If you do so, that means that you agree to accept the embargo and information will be provided to you at 1:45PM.
No video. No audio. Not even a single “tweet” is permissible.
Those are the rules reporters must agree to comply with if they are to be allowed to listen to a key briefing on Illinois’ troubled budget Friday. […]
For a Governor who spent the better part of two decades making transparency a cornerstone of his career, the cloak of secrecy is surprising. A cynic might wonder if Quinn’s team is hoping to avoid there being any video or audio record of the announcement of drastic budget cuts that could possibly be used against him in a future campaign?
While it is true former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s administration held background briefings for the press before publicly disclosing new budgets, those sessions proceeded by only an hour or two a public re-telling of the information by Blagojevich himself. Governor Quinn has a non-budget related press event scheduled for this morning, but no media availability after the budget bombshell is dropped. Quinn press secretary Bob Reed, a former reporter, was not immediately available to offer an explanation.
* And here’s an e-mail from the president of the Illinois Legislative Correspondents’ Association to all members…
I protested having the budget briefing embargoed on the grounds that it is far different from a briefing on the overall budget.
The embargo is an extraordinary action and is unacceptable in this matter. This is not like a budget address.
Results of the conversation with Reed, Marlena and Ashley Cross:
–The no taping was a mistake. So audio taping is allowed.
–They meant no videotaping. So they have a plan for a videotaped Q and A with Stermer with a Chicago news outlet and maybe a separate with Decatur here. I’d advise all ILCA TV folks to call Ashley in the governor’s office. Gordon was in the press room and was advised of this verbally. These Q-and-As are supposed to be made available—sounds like by the bird. They don’t think that print and radio reporters will be able even to view that live.
–They did not agree to a hard time to end the embargo. They said they would announce at the end of the briefing when it is over. I argued a hard time is needed so that everyone is clear when it is.
–They are supposed to send a clarification out.
–I argued for making the briefing live, but they won’t.
–They plan to put up a web site that will be given out at the briefing which supposedly will give answers.
–I argued this is not like a regular budget briefing,
–I said some of us might not go and then we’ll be asking questions afterward. They said the briefing is the time made available statewide for questions to be asked.
I’ll update if there are any changes.
CLTV’s Carlos Hernandez-Gomez just called to say that the governor has said video camers would be allowed, but only after Carlos pressed the issue with him during an unrelated press conference.
Still, this ought to be a live broadcast. Lots of people all over the state are anxious about these budget cuts and they ought to be allowed to listen or watch.
And this matter of just giving a couple TV stations access to a Q and A is ridiculous.
* Ab Mikva is upset with US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. You’ll all remember Fitzgerald’s press conference after Blagojevich’s arrest…
“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Fitzgerald said the day of the Dec. 9 arrest. He also said Blagojevich had gone on “a political corruption crime spree.” And Robert D. Grant, head of the FBI’s Chicago office, told the same news conference that if Illinois “is not the most corrupt state in the United States it’s certainly one hell of a competitor.”
“I certainly don’t like the prosecutor coming out and trying his case [in the media] and possibly tainting the jury pool with a big press conference announcing he has indicted so-and-so, or, in Blagojevich’s case, has arrested so-and-so — he hadn’t even reached an indictment yet,” Mikva saids at the American Bar Association convention.
“The argument is made by some prosecutors that this is a part of a public information factor of a prosecutor’s job, and they have to do it. That’s nonsense.” […]
“I suppose prosecutors have first amendment rights, but … somehow there’s something wrong and inconsistent with a prosecutor who is supposed to try that case in court and is supposed to be the public persona [of justice] announcing to the world that you’ve got this guy dead-to-rights and he should go to jail for a long time,” Mikva said. […]
Pressed on whether prosecutors such as Fitzgerald should make themselves available to answer questions from the press about newly-released indictments, Mikva conceded sometimes that was helpful and necessary with complicated cases, but he said the prosecutors should keep their answers unemotional.
“I think that the indictment should be the news conference,” said Judge Paul L. Friedman of U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, suggesting that reporters should get their information about the case from the indictment and prosecutors should not add facts not contained in that document.
* The Question: Did Fitzgerald go too far? And should US Attorney’s, the FBI and others in law enforcement avoid press conferences that stray from the cold facts of an arrest or indictment?
[Sigh. Nevermind. Somehow - probably because they look so much alike - I mistakenly thought a Rockford editorial was from the Peoria paper. Oops. I apologize to both papers for the mixup and have taken down the shot. Sheesh.]
* On the other hand, the State Journal-Register editorializes today in favor of changing the campaign finance reform bill. One of the changes it supports is somewhat surprising…
* Change a provision that appears to ban special interest groups’ political action committees from making any independent expenditures on behalf of or against candidates.
We’re no fan of many of these groups, but such a law could be an unconstitutional limitation on freedom of speech and expose the state to litigation. […]
The General Assembly has not been given enough credit for the yeoman’s work it did sifting through and analyzing Blagojevich’s transgressions and addressing them.
But the potential for corruption in the legislative branch still is great with the free flow of money allowed under the bill waiting for the governor’s signature. Legislators need to act to ensure their branch of government remains scandal free.
Hopefully, the paper will serve as an example to other newspapers [cough!Tribune!cough!] which have opposed parts of the Quinn Commission report yet slammed legislators for doing the very same thing.
…Adding… I forgot to mention that the News-Gazette has an editorial today which basically admits that it doesn’t know what to do about how U of I trustees should get their jobs…
Clearly, a change in the board’s structure is necessary. But there is no magic bullet.
* GOP gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kirk Dillard voted to tax and legalize video poker machines to pay for part of the capital bill in May. Now that he’s running for governor, he’s changed his mind…
Dillard said he was torn in his vote, but ultimately said he wanted to keep his word to labor unions and business groups to support a major public works package.
“I had a gun to my head,” he said during an interview with the Daily Herald editorial board Thursday.
Dillard said that if he is elected governor, he would reconsider the legalization of video gambling machines even though he voted for it in the state Senate. He did speak out against video gambling expansion as he voted for it.
So, he was against it, but he voted for it because of a “gun” to his head, and if elected governor he would “reconsider” the whole thing.
And how would Dillard replace that poker money? Magic ponies!
Dillard said he would prefer to see the state use revenue from the sales tax on gasoline to cover the needed cash. Yet, he admits that would blow a $400 million hole in a state budget already billions of dollars in the red.
To cover that, Dillard said he would “grow the economy,” hoping for new tax dollars from more jobs and sales.
* CNN covers the Mark Kirk Twitter probe by the Department of Defense without a single hat tip here, but does have this…
While the source did not think the congressman revealing his location was a huge deal (in this particular case), the official was less sure of the other questions the incident raised [about campaigning at the Pentagon].
The source told CNN, “Given who the individual is and how people can perceive things, it is interesting. We are aware of it and we are looking into it.”
State Senate President John Cullerton will endorse State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate today.
Cullerton becomes the highest-profile elected official to endorse Giannoulias so far, though Giannoulias has a long-running friendship with President Obama.
* Zorn goes after DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett over the Brian Dugan saga…
Ever since 1985 [when Dugan tried to confess to the Nicarico kidnap/murder], under a succession of elected state’s attorneys, DuPage has been trying various legal strategies first to discredit Dugan, then to prevent him from telling his full story in open court.
The reason? They botched the initial case. They used shabby, dubious evidence to convict two innocent men and pack them off to Death Row.
Then, when Dugan came forward with his powerfully corroborative admission, they refused to set things right and instead embarked on an infamous effort to defend their mistakes.
Now, we see vestiges of this effort in the attempt to place strict limits on what the sentencing jury will hear. Birkett accused Greenberg on Thursday of wanting to “put the State of Illinois on trial” by placing Dugan’s story into the broad context of prosecutorial and investigative missteps, “that have nothing to do with this defendant’s character or record or actions in the murder of Jeanine Nicarico.”
* Related…
* Greg Blankenship: How Kirk introduces himself to downstate voters is key to his campaign
Tyhesha Brunston got her car back this week three years after Chicago Police took it and locked it up. While she finally has her car back, her case isn’t over. Her attorney is filing a brief today with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the way Chicago impounds cars allegedly used in drug crimes.
Mayor Richard Daley’s administration Thursday predicted a gaping hole in next year’s budget that will eclipse the current financial problems — even after the city exhausts its brand-new $320 million rainy day fund.
The anticipated $6.2 billion budget for next year could be more than half a billion dollars in the red because of plummeting tax collections and rising wages that account for more than 80 percent of the city’s day-to-day spending, said Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold. He announced the gloomy prediction as Daley aides began briefing aldermen in anticipation of public hearings next month.
Although higher taxes are “a last resort . . . nothing is ruled out at this point,” Saffold said. “The mayor has instructed us not to look at property taxes as we move forward in 2010.”
Daley has laid off city workers and pressured unions to take unpaid days off to save money this year, and aldermen and outside budget experts predicted that personnel cuts were likely next year. The biggest chunk of increased spending next year will come from $117 million in higher wages, benefits and pension fund payments, Saffold said.
The head of a local watchdog group says it’ll be an “enormous challenge” for the Chicago to close its half-billion dollar deficit. That’s the 2010 budget shortfall city officials are expecting.[…]
He says it could take a combination of dramatic service cuts and a tax increase to make ends meet in 2010. For it’s part, the Daley administration is leaving both options open.
Hmmmm. The mayor is crying poor because he has discovered a $520 million hole in the 2010 city budget.
• • Hmmmm: Isn’t the approximately $1 billion budget reserve — which is comprised of the Skyway and parking meters sales and the onetime payment of $200 million from the reneged Midway Airport deal — typically kept for economic crisis, rainy day funds and unforeseen circumstances?
• • Conclusion: So how come, in the midst of this economic crisis, Mayor Daley is only dipping into the parking meter part of the rainy day fund? Does holding back the cash have anything to do with Daley’s hope to bring THE OLYMPICS to Chicago in 2016? Nawwww.
Further conclusion: Sneed hears the City Council will ask the mayor to dip into the budget reserve — rather than raise taxes!
Maldonado is one of the committeemen who’ll choose his own replacement. He told us Thursday that he’ll work to make sure the committeemen select someone who will vote as he would have.
That said, Maldonado and the others will be lobbied to do Stroger a fat favor and install a flunky who’ll do whatever machine Democrats tell him or her to do. Other powerful committeemen with a vote on this — their respective clout is weighted by prior Democratic turnout in their wards — include Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) and Ald. Rey Colon (35th).
Facing mounting debts owed to trash collectors, retirement funds and even one of its topless nightclubs, Washington Park has filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time this decade.[…]
The community of about 5,450 people along Interstate 64 at the eastern edge of East St. Louis filed papers showing assets of less than $50,000 and debt of more than $1 million.
* Washington Park’s largest creditors: $448,793 — Illinois Department of Employment Security $300,000 — Johnny “Chico” Matt, former public safety director$174,363 — Police Pension Fund$91,04 — Hinshaw and Culbertson, lawyers $80,000 — Fish Inc., nightclub $73,821 — St. Clair County auditor $55,000 — Fraternal Order of Police $53,449 — Aetna Insurance
Palatine will attempt to collect on as many of its nearly 24,000 delinquent citations as possible with an amnesty program launched this month that would allow people to pay half their original fine.
Many of the citations have $100-plus price tags and go back as far as 2000, officials said. The value of the collections could be as much as $1.5 million, officials said.
PEORIA, Ill. — A union official says Caterpillar is laying off 75 employees at a central Illinois foundry and may close the plant for two months late this year if demand for its engines doesn’t improve.[…]
Doty says the company also has tentative plans to close the foundry and idle its 525 remaining workers in November and December.
The Springfield insurance and financial services company reported its profits increased more than 70 percent to $32 million for the first six months of this year compared to 2008, primarily as a result of improvement in financial markets.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange said on Thursday second-quarter net income rose 11 percent as increased trading helped offset higher costs.
The largest U.S. options exchange, which has been operating as a for-profit model since January 2006, said quarterly revenue was up 12 percent to $109.4 million from $97.6 million a year ago as trading volume rose 8 percent.
Owners of dogs designated as dangerous could be forever prohibited from owning dogs in Chicago if they thumb their noses at city safeguards, under a crackdown proposed by an influential alderman.
If state Comptroller Dan Hynes is right, Illinois Funeral Directors Association officials committed crimes in overseeing a pre-need funeral trust fund that hemorrhaged tens of millions of dollars, a former trust administrator said in a sworn deposition.[…]
The comptroller’s office has demanded that IFDA repay nearly $10 million in administrative fees to the trust. Carol Knowles, Hynes’ spokeswoman, said Thursday that criminal charges haven’t been ruled out.
