The American Red Cross said on Monday that its Disaster Relief Fund is wiped out and it’s being forced to borrow money to help flood victims throughout the Midwest.
Jeff Towers, the organization’s chief development officer, said the balance for domestic disaster relief efforts is zero. He said the American Red Cross would borrow to keep workers and volunteers in the field helping flood victims.
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today added Jersey and Winnebago counties to a state disaster declaration to help those areas respond to and recover from recent severe storms and the threat of flooding. Since Wednesday, the Governor has declared 17 counties state disaster areas. The Governor today also activated an additional 200 Illinois National Guard members to be deployed to Quincy by tomorrow, bringing the total to 700 members.
The Soldiers and Airmen are expected to fill 500,000 sandbags today as they help fortify levees along a 15-mile stretch on their side of the swollen Mississippi near Quincy, according to the Associated Press.
Amtrak is temporarily canceling some trains along its St. Louis-to-Chicago corridor and modifying the schedule of others to accommodate track repairs in Central Illinois.
About 100 miles up the Mississippi from Quincy, some levees have already ruptured and water is as much as 5 feet deep. The National Weather Service expects the river to crest there Tuesday, about 11 feet over flood stage.
About 100 miles downriver, evacuations are under way in Grafton, Illinois.
The worst flooding in the U.S. Midwest in 15 years sent fresh shocks to global markets and consumers as corn prices hit record highs on fears of crop losses in the heart of the world’s top grain exporter.
The price of corn at the Chicago Board of Trade soared above $8 a bushel for the first time as relentless rains and overflowing rivers raised fears that Midwest farmers will not be able to grow much of anything on as many as 5 million acres
While corn prices have moved sharply higher as production expectations were scaled back, it is still not clear how much rationing will be required during the 2008-09 marketing year, said a University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist. […]
Good added that a fair amount of crop loss and demand rationing are already priced into the corn market with December 2008 futures approaching $8.
“The worst of the crop stress may have passed and more favorable growing conditions are forecast,” he said. “Corn prices may now moderate somewhat, at least until more is known about crop size.”
* Severe storms force Illinois troops to evacuate Arkansas training site: Eight Illinois National Guard soldiers were injured Sunday night when a severe thunderstorm caused a tent to collapse at a forward operating base at Fort Chaffee, Ark.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich suggested Friday he would sign a new state budget set to take effect July 1 after making substantial cuts to account for an estimated $2 billion hole left by lawmakers in the proposal.
What the governor is really suggesting here is that he will use the threat of reduction and item vetoes to get what he wants: revenue streams.
In a signal that he would sign it, the administration released letters sent to agency directors Friday advising them to prepare for significant cuts in what they expected to receive. Among the items Blagojevich suggested were a hiring freeze, stopping all “non-essential” state spending and ending programs that “do not address key priorities of the state.”
That letter wasn’t an indication that he would sign the bills. It was an indication that he plans to threaten deliberately scary cuts to next year’s budget so he doesn’t have to make the cuts. I’m thinking he’ll have to make the cuts anyway, however.
“I haven’t decided what I’m ultimately going to do with the budget,” Blagojevich said.
What he’s gonna do is threaten huge cuts and hope the interest groups, vendors and contractors put pressure on House Democrats, so that they in turn will force Speaker Michael Madigan to allow floor votes on the pension obligation bond and the special funds skims. Even if Madigan does so, several House GOP votes will be needed to pass the bills, and those votes aren’t yet there.
State Sen. Debbie Halvorson is concerned a new program to help homeless veterans could fall victim to the state budget crisis.
“I’m very worried about the governor cutting that money right out of the budget,” the Democrat from Crete said. “Every day, George W. Bush is creating more and more war veterans. We have an obligation to help these returning veterans.” […]
“We are going to have to make some incredibly difficult decisions in the coming weeks. Any program that is not one of the governor’s key priorities is vulnerable,” said Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
She added those priorities are health care and education.
Quinn declined to comment on whether the homeless veterans program is vulnerable.
In a letter to a judge publicized last week, political fund-raiser Tony Rezko said “overzealous” prosecutors pressured him to tell them “the wrong things” about presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
But that letter appears to be misleading, given that Rezko never submitted to an interview with federal prosecutors or any federal investigators, sources said.
Rezko’s lawyer, Joseph Duffy, said Rezko never sat down for an interview and was never pressured directly, or indirectly, through Duffy, to talk about Obama, Gov. Blagojevich — or anyone else. […]
“Your honor, the prosecutors have been overzealous in pursuing a crime that never happened,” Rezko said. “They are pressuring me to tell them the wrong things that I supposedly know about Gov. Blagojevich and Senator Barack Obama.”
Sources say Rezko believed he was put in jail just before his trial as a tactic to get him to flip.
Your Honor, the prosecutors have been overzealous in pursuing a crime that never happened. They are pressuring me to tell them the “wrong” things that I supposedly know about Governor Blagojevich and Senator Obama.
Rezko also claimed that the feds had “supoenaed and interviewed hundreds of people in my life.” If Rezko is telling the truth - and that may be a big “if” - then perhaps the pressure was applied to those people.
* Somebody over at DKos posted the other day about potential replacements for US Sen. Barack Obama if he is elected president. It was a pretty good list, but some were more than a little ridiculous (Speaker Madigan?).
Jan Schakowsky “won” the poll included in the post, so I thought we should do our own voting here. I’ve deleted some of the DKos poster’s selections and added a few of my own.
Keep in mind that this poll is about who should replace Obama if he’s elected preznit, not who will be named by the governor.
Use comments to explain your vote and/or add more names to the list that I have overlooked. We’ll hold a runoff election later this week. Also, be honest and only vote once. It’s difficult to get around the poll’s safeguards but not impossible, so have a little integrity…
…Adding… There are lots of write-in votes for Secretary of State Jesse White. Secretary White says he doesn’t want the job and won’t accept it, so that’s why he was left off the list. Move along, please. Thanks.
* The Illinois Republican Party’s new platform has a couple of interesting planks…
We call on the Governor and the General Assembly to balance the state budget and provide for a responsible capital development program without resorting to the expansion of gambling, which harms Illinois’ families and our state’s business climate and presents costly challenges for both law enforcement and social service agencies.
Both Republican legislative leaders, Frank Watson and Tom Cross, support gambling expansion to help fund the capital construction plan.
* And then there’s this…
We call on the Governor and the General Assembly to cease diversion of dedicated funds – such as the road fund – to other purposes.
Skimming dedicated funds (not the Road Fund, but others) is one of the two revenue streams that Gov. Blagojevich wants to use to patch the gaping budget hole. The Senate has already passed it, but the bill stalled in the House. The House Republicans have said they are against the fund skims, but without HGOP votes the skims can’t be approved.
I’m curious to see if you think the most senior Republican leaders in Illinois should follow their own party’s platform.
* This is one of the worst editorials I’ve ever seen in the Tribune, and that’s really saying something…
In a better world, Illinoisans would be deciding on Nov. 4 whether to add a recall provision to their state constitution. There are many reasons to give people the power to fire the public officials they employ. The most urgent reason, of course, is that voters shouldn’t have to wait until 2011 to be rid of an inept governor. But the Illinois Senate this year refused to allow citizens the right to enact or reject a recall provision.
So conversation has turned to impeachment, with some lawmakers plotting the ouster of Gov. Rod Blagojevich—something voters have told pollsters they desire. […]
This page has strongly supported adding a recall provision to the state constitution. If voters had agreed, we then would have urged them to recall Blagojevich.
* The Trib goes on and on about the Madigan memo, then decrees that the ivory-towered editorial board does not advocate for Blagojevich’s impeachment and trial…
Recall is a political tool, an expression of the people’s wish to rescind their own, previous decision. By contrast, legislative impeachment and trial of an official—at the federal level and in many states—usually are devices for weighing accusations of crime. […]
Federal investigators and prosecutors are aggressively exploring whether anyone at the highest level of state government broke corruption laws. We trust that this scrutiny will unearth which crimes, if any, demand consequences in the courts and the Federal Bureau of Prisons—as it already has for Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
But what about that “voters shouldn’t have to wait until 2011 to be rid of an inept governor” line? Is that no longer operative? Why even include it in paragraph 1 if you say you don’t want him removed in paragraph 14?
One might even argue that it would be preferable for the state to deal with its own problem via Constitutional means, rather than outsource the ouster of its own governor to federal authorities. What’s so wrong with the people’s elected representatives making the decision?
There is already enough evidence for the House to consider, from the trial records, to the guilty please of those associated with the governor that there would be no need for the House to conducts its own criminal investigation.
Furthermore, besides the criminal problems besetting his administration, the House may want to consider whether or not he has violated his oath of office in promising to uphold the constitution and whether or not he is derelict in his duties and not doing the work required of a governor.
The impeachment process is completely separate from the processes used by the criminal justice system. The impeachment and conviction of a constitutional officer does not preclude the possibility that that individual could be liable for prosecution by state or federal authorities.
* And then the Tribune goes truly weak-kneed…
Illinois legislators are free to disagree with that and launch impeachment proceedings. As that absence of designated reasons for impeachment and trial in our state’s constitution attests, lawmakers can remove a governor for any act or omission on his part.
Awww. Thanks, Mother Tribune. You’re such a kind, benevolent dictator of thought.
“We shouldn’t impeach him because we should let Patrick Fitzgerald do our dirty work for us, but you’re free to do whatever you want.”
So sweet of you to grant permission.
* And that brings us to the most hypocritical section…
Whether they oust Blagojevich or continue his reign, legislators ultimately can be held accountable by their constituents.
“We’re against impeachment, because the people ought to decide via recall not legislators, but elected legislators are free to go ahead and do it if they want. And, oh, by the way, voters may hold it against elected legislators if they don’t impeach the governor, and rightly so.”
What an absolutely cowardly and hypocritical editorial. It’s even worse than the Tribune’s original recall editorial, which didn’t actually take a stand on the issue. It wasn’t until after the Tribune editorial writers saw the reaction to their wimpy little non-statement that they decided to finally take a position in favor of changing the Constitution to oust a lousy governor.
If you’re for impeachment, fine. If you’re against it, fine. If you’re undecided, that’s fine, too. But don’t insist that impeachment not be pursued because the decision ought to be in the hands of voters who would have to change the Constitution instead of elected officials, and then say that if elected officials impeach the governor then that would probably be OK, and if they don’t then voters have the right to take out their anger on them.
It looks to me like the Tribune has a closely divided editorial board. So why half-jump on board now? Bizarre.
* I don’t recall ever hearing about this, but the Republicans now have an avenue to directly connect presidential candidate Barack Obama to our embattled, investigated, unpopular and all but humiliated Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Congresscritter Rahm Emanuel says Obama helped get Blagojevich elected…
“I’ve known [Obama] a long time. We used to sit around helping our governor get elected, help those strategy meetings, stuff like that.”
I’m assuming that since Emanuel said “elected,” he meant 2002, before it was widely known that Blagojevich had some seriously shady pals. Even so, Obama can now be tied to the Blagojevich shipwreck. Not good.
* Emanuel did provide a great insight elsewhere in that article…
I asked him about the phrase “Chicago-style politics,” ubiquitous in profiles of both him and Obama.
Chicago-style politics? Well, first of all, politics is our all-season sport… People always know somebody or someway or somehow to make it into politics, it’s not some distant thing. Look at today, just pick up the paper. The Speaker of the House, who’s a Democrat, is the one encouraging people to file articles of impeachment against the governor, who’s a Democrat. That usually how we do it?” He laughs. “So that’s Chicago-style politics. A lot of elbows, a lot of tackling.”
The annual banquet of Association of Indians in America (AIA) held last week at Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows notched many firsts this time and in no small measure it was reflective of a vibrant and imaginative leadership of its newly elect AIA Executive team headed by Naren Patel.
It was for the first time that one of the most powerful Illinois Politicians who also happens to be the longest serving House Speaker, Mike Madigan decided to attend the event as the Chief Guest.
Madigan so far had never come to any function organized by ethnic Indian organization and his present at AIA Banquet at the behest of Naren Patel was a pleasant surprise to many.
Up until now, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been the star at these sorts of events. For years, Blagojevich has aggressively pursued Indian-American campaign financial support. This Madigan visit makes me wonder what he’s up to. Lisa?
* One of the biggest problems with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, like George Ryan before him, is that he mixed fundraising with policy and appointments/contracts. This column on Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, however, completely missed that very important point…
And [Giannoulias] has improved the state’s Bright Start college savings program while extracting an additional $3.5 million from the portfolio manager, Oppenheimer Funds, to be devoted to college scholarships. He tapped two financial gurus - Jose Santillan of LaSalle Bank and Albert Grace Jr. of Loop Capital - to advise his office on revamping Bright Start.
But here is where I get nervous. Three years ago, a statewide office-holder working with the private sector to improve state finances might have sounded like an innovative model.
After the Rezko and Kelly indictments, however, when the shade has been lifted on how outsiders landed powerful seats in state government and used them for their personal benefit, I am leery of voluntary advice-givers, charitable as they may be.
Giannoulias assured us his advisers were not compensated in any way and served as a goodwill gesture to the newly-minted treasurer.
Sincere? Yes. Naive? Yes.
* I checked the State Board of Elections’ website and found no contributions from Santillan, Grace and their respective employers. I called Giannoulias about this yesterday and he said that neither man has ever helped him raise money.
“Voluntary advice-givers” are important to politicians. And Giannoulias’ work with people from the financial sector isn’t particularly a new thing. It’s extremely difficult to work with or regulate the private sector if you don’t regularly talk to people in the private sector.
The problem arises when those “advice-givers” are also raising big bucks for politicians’ campaign funds. Lots of trouble arises from that, as Blagojevich and Ryan can most certainly attest.
Since that doesn’t appear to be the case with Santillan and Grace, I don’t see the problem. And if the Rezko fallout means we are now to forbid politicians from seeking advice and help from the private sector, we’re gonna find ourselves in big trouble very soon.
* Related…
* Rich Miller: About that impeachment memo: One of the biggest reasons why Republicans suffered so much in the wake of Gov. George Ryan’s humiliation was they never really abandoned the man. Sticking by him was probably the honorable thing to do, and he was certainly a legislators’ governor. But the public loathed him, and the Republicans have paid a high price for their loyalty.
The same fate is befalling the national Republicans over their refusal to abandon President Bush, the most unpopular president in recorded polling history.
So it makes perfect political sense for the Democratic speaker and state party chairman to dump on the Democratic governor. The more the public believes Blagojevich is an unfortunate abnormality and not the party’s standard-bearer, the less impact his troubles may have on Democratic candidates this fall…
The Democrats’ impeachment talking points memo itself, however, is a bloody mess.
“He was one of those creative figures of the 1960s who broke the mold and paved the way for a younger generation to follow,” said John Zukowsky, former chief architecture curator at the Art Institute of Chicago and now chief curator of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
RealtyTrac Inc., a marketplace for foreclosed properties, said Cook County foreclosures rose 57 percent in May compared with the same month a year ago.
“We’re not canceling the project here. We believe this project has a great future,” Durbin said. “We’re hopeful a new administration, which will be in place in just a few months, will keep this ball rolling forward on this project.”
The get back: Sneed hears Ald. Mell is co-hosting a fund-raiser for his fishing buddy and good pal state Rep. Jack Franks on June 23 at Sullivan’s Steakhouse, where Franks is expected to announce plans to run for governor!
“You ought to admit it. It was a political decision, a retribution against the local senator and representatives,” Bedore told David Vaught, deputy director of property management for the Department of Central Management Services, at a meeting last week.
“I’m going to call Mr. Ozinga myself,” Roolf said, “I think it’s unfair that they’re saying what they have. The legislation was developed by the Business Labor Coalition, and we approached Sen. Halvorson to sponsor it.
Obama, who began his day campaigning in Pennsylvania, flew into Quincy Regional Airport a little after 2 p.m. and took a motorcade to the Oakley-Lindsay Center. He was briefed by local and county officials before walking out the southeast door at about 2:40.
Flanked by state Sen. John Sullivan and Quincy Mayor John Spring, Obama strode to the parking lot to greet those working outside. Dressed in blue jeans and a blue shirt, he put on a pair of gloves and began filling sandbags.
Obama filled more than 20 bags with the help of Spring and Sullivan, and then Muldoon, as he talked with workers and members of the local and national media that surrounded him. […]
Obama then headed inside the Oakley-Lindsay Center, where about 500 people were patiently waiting in front of huge piles of sand. A huge roar erupted when he walked through the large garage door and began shaking hands.
The chant “Yes we can” erupted minutes after he walked into the building.[…]
At about 3:15, he posed for several photos and finally was whisked away by motorcade to the airport.
Senator Barack Obama plans on touring the Illinois community of Quincy to see flooded areas along the Mississippi River for himself.
The Democratic presidential candidate is scheduled to visit the area Saturday afternoon to tour the region and help fill sandbags.
* 12:05 pm - Levee breaks in and near the Mississippi River town of Keithsburg, IL…
Illinois emergency authorities said a levee along the Mississippi River in far western Illinois burst Saturday and voluntary evacuations were under way in the small community of Keithsburg.
Officials with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department said the Pope Creek Levee burst around 8:45 a.m.
Keithsburg, a community of 700 residents, sits along the Mississippi River about 35 miles southwest of Moline. It is located across the river from Iowa, where massive floods have swamped towns and were being blamed for at least two deaths.
“The levee broke in two places,” said Alderman George Askew, 76, who has been in Keithsburg since 1943. “We’re getting under water.”
* This info is from a Gov. Blagojevich press release…
The American Red Cross has established shelters for flood victims at the Keithsburg Christian Church, 2002 Main Street in Keithsburg, Eliza Community Center in Eliza, and the Mediapolis Elementary School, 725 Northfield, Mediapolis, Iowa.
On Friday, the Governor declared seven counties along the Mississippi River as state disaster areas, including Adams, Calhoun, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Pike and Rock Island counties allowing the state to expedite assistance to help with the flood fight in those areas along the Mississippi River. The state disaster declaration makes available a wide variety of state resources that can help affected communities respond and recover from flooding.
Gov. Blagojevich also activated 200 troops from the Illinois National Guard to help communities that are threatened by rising floodwaters.
The Governor also sent a letter Friday to President Bush requesting an expedited federal major disaster declaration. If granted, the declaration will make available potable water, generators, technical assistance for debris removal and other resources that may be determined necessary as flooding progresses.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich visited Quincy Friday, praising those filling sandbags and pledging to help them flight the flood.
“You see the best of people” during a disaster, Blagojevich said during a visit to the Oakley-Lindsay Center, where about 600 volunteers had filled more than 60,000 sandbags between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Quincy Mayor John Spring told Blagojevich that river crest predictions have reached 32 feet by the end of next week, which would nearly match the record level of 1993.
As of 10 p.m. Friday, a new report had the river cresting at 32.2 foot –matching the record set in 1993.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich toured portions of Lawrence County on Friday afternoon that were affected by recent flooding before announcing during a press conference, “I’m hopeful and optimistic that we’ll overcome this.”
In Northern Illinois, the Rock River in Winnebago County had reached flood stage at 12.5 feet. It was expected to reach its crest of 15.2 feet on Monday and begin falling back.
“We are working for the worst, planning for the worst, but hoping for the best,” said Dennis Lolli, head of the county’s Emergency Services and Disaster Agency. “We are not anticipating any huge troubles.”
Officials were also preparing for the Fox River to rise further with heavy rain forecast for Thursday afternoon.
With an estimated 100 homes already damaged by floodwaters along the Fox River and Chain O’ Lakes near Antioch—and more flooding forecast for early next week—officials on Friday issued a disaster declaration for northwest Lake County.
* Related…
* Parts of waterlogged Midwest getting a break - but Indiana, southern Illinois and Michigan are next in line for the rains (the bad news). Those areas, too, desperately want dry weather.
* NY Times: “Right now, we can’t see anything as devastating as 1993 along the Mississippi, but we’re gearing up,” said Ron Fournier, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers’ district in the central Midwest, which just ordered three million more sandbags, 25 large pumps and a vast array of extra supplies. “The hard part is as simple as not knowing how much rain we’ll get,” Mr. Fournier said. “Beyond what we saw 24 hours ago, and what we predict in the next 24 hours, we just don’t know what’s coming. We want the rain to stop.”
* That’s it for me. We’ve had a decent week at the blog, so take a break or head to Quincy or some other place that needs help during these trying times. If you want to keep talking, stop by Illinoize. They got it going on.
* Our weekend video is from our blog buddy JakeCP, a young man who has literally grown up before our very eyes. The kid can sing. Check him out below and click this for another song….
[Story bumped up and password protection removed because the AP now has a story online.]
* 11:40 am - I wrote about this in today’s Capitol Fax. Here’s a recent letter sent by the governor to a bunch of interest groups threatening doomsday cuts if the Legislature doesn’t pass his revenue generators and the capital plan. See the original by clicking here…
Dear State Leader,
On May 31st, the General Assembly passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2009 that, by their own admission, is more than $2 billion out of balance. As the Illinois Constitution explicitly requires a balanced budget, it is my expectation that in days ahead the leadership of the General Assembly will work with my administration to address this unprecedented and unconstitutional deficit.
I have convened the legislative leaders to address these issues and have provided alternatives, including the passage of the capital proposal provided by Speaker Dennis Hastert and President Glenn Poshard that would provide substantial revenues to support the General Assembly’s proposed appropriations.
Unless the General Assembly acts swiftly to pass revenues necessary to support their proposed budget, I will be compelled to use my constitutional authority to address the deficit. Given the magnitude of the challenge that we face, I write to ask you to take appropriate action now to limit the impact of any necessary reductions or eliminations.
Action necessary to face our budget challenges may include, but should not be limited to:
• Instituting a hiring freeze on all non-critical positions,
• Freezing all non-essential operating spending,
• Unilaterally reducing or imposing reserves to all operating programs that do not address issues of life, safety or health of Illinoisans, and
• Eliminating programs or functions that do not address key priorities of the State.
Instituting these policies will undoubtedly impose significant difficulties on you and the people of Illinois. These consequences can be avoided if the House passes the capital plan supported by three of the four legislative caucuses and that moved out of the Senate in bi-partisan fashion and if the House approves other pending revenue proposals.
Sincerely,
Rod Blagojevich
*** 2:59 pm *** Vendors are apparently being sent copies of the letter as well. Click here to see a memo to vendors from DoC Director Roger Walker.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is sending a vague warning to state leaders of spending cuts if lawmakers don’t help him fix a $2 billion hole in the state budget.
Blagojevich says he will freeze non-critical hiring and spending, tell agencies to hold budget reserves for an emergency, and eliminate programs that are not essential.
The governor’s letter went to agency heads, colleges and universities, social service agencies and constitutional officers. Spokeswoman Kelley Quinn says it’s intended to help them plan for the coming year.
This was about more than mere “planning.” It’s about freaking out the tax-eaters and the vendors to get them to back Blagojevich in his battle with Speaker Madigan over the revenue streams and the capital bill.
* It’s really slow around here today. Weather got you down or what? Anyway, in an admittedly desperate attempt to spark some comments, let’s have a go at this one…
* I’ve never thought that this was much of an issue, but this development may hinder the Republicans’ efforts to make hay out of it in other districts…
Concrete company president Martin Ozinga III has no plans to relocate from Homer Glen, which lies just inside the 13th Congressional District represented by Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale.
Ozinga’s residence has not been raised as an issue by either of his November opponents, state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, and Green Party candidate Jason Wallace of Normal.
Ozinga’s campaign manager, Andy Sere, noted Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Barrington, lives outside her 8th Congressional District. Democratic candidate Dan Seals lives just outside the 10th Congressional District, where he hopes to unseat Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park.
“The fact that he lives a mile or so outside the district while still living in the district’s biggest county has not come up with any of the voters he has spoken with,” Sere said. Whether Ozinga would move into the district if he won the election has not been discussed. “Frankly, it hasn’t come up,” he said.
* Meanwhile, Congresscritter Melissa Bean is criticized for missing an important House vote…
8th Congressional District challenger Steve Greenberg [sic] is firing away at U.S. Rep Melissa Bean for missing a vote last week on what he calls “the largest tax increase in American history … of at least $683 billion over the next years.”
Bean was absent for House Roll Call 382, a non-binding budget resolution which representatives narrowly adopted 214-210.
The Barrington Democrat later filed a statement with the Congressional record indicating she would have voted against the measure. […]
Bean’s staff did not explain why she was one of only 10 House members to miss the vote.
A pair of lawsuits filed against Greenberg’s family businesses in Cook County Circuit Court allege the companies defaulted on a $1.5 million bank loan and failed to pay a law firm more than $60,000 in legal fees.
Greenberg would not comment on the lawsuits this week except to call them “frivolous.”
“Over 80 percent of companies get sued,” he said. […]
“As if his disastrous candidacy were not telling enough, Steve Greenberg’s business dealings show a deep contempt for following the rules or living up to his commitments,” DCCC spokesman Ryan Rudominer said.
* Scandal Hampers NRCC’s Ability to Get Loans: The committee will need to hire an outside firm to conduct a standard audit of its books for 2007, and until that audit is complete, the NRCC will not be able to take out any bank loans to fund independent expenditure campaigns in late-breaking races.
A major state agency has been accused for the second time in three years of failing to protect sensitive information.
In a report released Thursday, Auditor General William Holland found the Illinois Department of Human Services didn’t properly secure employee and contractor records, potentially allowing easy access to Social Security numbers and other personal information.
The agency, which has more than 14,000 workers, was hit with a similar finding during a previous audit.
“It is abundantly clear that serious deficiencies in security administration have existed for the last two audit periods,” Holland wrote in his report. “While we agree that there are various methods of implementing security administration, it is clear the current approach is not working.”
Auditors found some documents simply by walking through agency offices and looking in or near trash and recycling bins.
* Patterson lists some of the problems on his blog…
The department opened its own bank accounts and, whoops, forgot to tell state officials.
The department didn’t have adequate procedures for disposing of confidential information.
The department didn’t keep adequate records on its vehicles.
But the one that stood out — especially since the department has problems getting rid of confidential information — was that taxpayers spent thousands on 39 “high capacity shredders” and, a year later, 22 of them had not been installed let alone put to use.
The department’s excuse is that some buildings lacked the electrical current needed for the shredders. In other cases, there simply wasn’t space for the shredders.
Those shredders were purchased after newspaper reports of the lax document security. All show, no go?
* I’ve already given you the address to send contributions for victims of the southeastern Illinois flood. But some of you have asked what you can do to help hold back the flooding in the Quincy area. Here’s some info, provided by a friend of the blog and Doug Wilson at the Quincy Herald Whig. Check the Herald Whig’s site throughout the day for more information, but here’s what we have so far…
A - NIOTA, IL
If you’d like to help sandbag in Niota you can call Hancock County emergency services at 217-357-6004 for more information.
B – URSA, IL
Sandbagging efforts are speeding up near Ursa.
Volunteers are still needed; you can just show up to the Shaffer farm, just west of the North Bottoms Road.
Volunteers sandbagging at the Ursa levee aren’t just requesting more help; they’re also requesting cold bottled water for those who are working.
The operation is underway at Shaffer Farm, along the Ursa blacktop road, 1/8 mile west of the North Bottoms Road.
C – QUINCY, IL
Sandbagging operation at the Oakley-Lindsay Center
3rd and Kentucky
ALSO:
Sny Drainage District Asking for Help
The Sny Drainage District needs volunteers to help fill and place sandbags. The Union United Methodist Church, will be running shuttles back and forth to the site starting at 10am Friday until dusk.
There will be food and beverages at the site. Please wear appropriate clothing, and plan to stay for at least 3 hours.
The shuttles will leave from the church at 1101 State Friday morning and run through the day. For more information, call Pastor Bob Morewell at 223-6062.
EVERYONE SHOULD GET A TETANUS SHOT IF THEY ARE WORKING WITH SANDBAGS OR ON THE LEVEE IF THEIR LAST SHOT WAS MORE THAN ONE YEAR AGO, ACCORDING TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
* And a poll…
*** UPDATE 1 *** Word just came down that Gov. Blagojevich will visit Quincy at about 2:30 this afternoon. No word yet on if he will also visit southeastern Illinois.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The guv is also heading to Lawrenceville. From a pal…
The agenda we got faxed to us a little while ago shows Blago going to Lawrenceville IL at 12:20 before coming to Quincy at about 2:30 .
*** UPDATE 3 *** The times have been moved back. From a press release…
WHO: Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
State emergency officials
Local elected officials
WHAT: Tour of flood impacted areas in Lawrenceville followed by press briefing on State action.
WHEN: Friday, June 13, 2008
1:00 pm
WHERE: Parkside Elementary School
1900 Cedar St.
Lawrenceville, IL
WHO: Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
State emergency officials
Local elected officials
WHAT: Aerial and ground tour of area along the rising Mississippi River in Quincy followed by press briefing on State action.
WHEN: Friday, June 13, 2008
3:00 pm
WHERE: Oakley Lindsay Civic Center
300 Civic Center Place (3rd and York)
Quincy, IL
*** UPDATE 4 *** I just got off the phone with a Herald-Whig reporter who said that he’s just been informed that the governor has canceled the Quincy event. He did make it to Lawrenceville, however. More later.
*** UPDATE 5 *** The governor’s office says he’s on his way to Quincy right now.
MORRISON, Illinois — The Whiteside County Sheriff, Roger Schipper, is advising residents along the Rock River in Whiteside County of possible major flooding in the next 48 to 72 hours.
The Rock is projected to rise another 3 feet during that time.
With a near-record 32-foot Mississippi River flood crest now being forecast for Quincy, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama on Friday urged Gov. Rod Blagojevich to consider pre-emptively declaring disaster areas for some Illinois counties facing potential major damage, including those in the Quincy region.
“If the state can make an early declaration, it’s going to help a lot of smaller communities that don’t have the resources of a city like Quincy,” Durbin said Friday morning during a press conference at Quincy’s city-sponsored sandbagging site in the Oakley-Lindsay Center.
Durbin came to Quincy Friday with several other political leaders — including U.S. Rep. Phil Hare and Illinois Sen. John Sullivan — to assess the situation and see what can be done to aid local communities girding for the worst flooding since the historic disaster of 1993.
Way back in the autumn of 1994, as the national Republican tsunami was just becoming evident, House Speaker Michael Madigan ordered some of his more vulnerable incumbents to run away as fast as they could from their party’s doomed gubernatorial candidate.
Every poll showed that the hapless Dawn Clark Netsch was being pulverized by Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. So, after Madigan issued his edict, several House Democrats sent out campaign mailers with big photos of their new best pal, Jim Edgar.
The ploy didn’t work. Madigan lost 13 seats and his majority that November.
But that bit of history clearly shows how far Madigan will go to win. That’s really what he’s all about.
Winning.
Maintaining control.
Holding onto power.
Maybe now you’ll understand why Madigan’s staff drafted a brutal and ham-handed 14-page memo for some House Democratic candidates outlining how best to call for impeachment proceedings against Gov. Blagojevich. It’s the winning, stupid.
Blagojevich is probably the most unpopular governor this state has ever had. A Glengariff Group poll taken weeks before administration insider and campaign fund-raiser Tony Rezko was convicted on 16 felony corruption counts showed that 59 percent of registered Illinois voters want impeachment proceedings to begin against Blagojevich. A clear plurality want Blagojevich removed from office — 45 percent to 35 percent.
If that’s what voters want, well, then that’s what Madigan’s candidates will give them.
Most of Madigan’s candidates are running against Republican incumbents who represent Republican-leaning, independent-minded districts. According to that Glengariff Group poll, 73.5 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of independents want to start the impeachment process and large majorities of both groups want Blagojevich removed from office.
House Republican Leader Tom Cross has tried to make the memo itself the main issue rather than address impeachment.
Cross has a point. Madigan’s impeachment memo is certainly way over the top. It includes a harsh litany of Blagojevich’s alleged “misdeeds” that have nothing to do with impeachment, like the gross receipts tax and free mass transit rides for senior citizens. The memo encourages Madigan’s candidates to avoid answering the question if asked whether Madigan or his staff helped them prepare their positions.
Cross’ candidates will claim that the Democrats trying to defeat Republican incumbents are just Madigan robots doing what they’re told. But that, itself, is a dodge, because an overwhelming majority of Cross’ own party members clearly want impeachment proceedings to begin. Cross is in serious danger of positioning his own candidates on the wrong side of history in what will likely be a big Democratic year in Illinois. That combination could be politically lethal.
Cross and others also claim that Madigan is using the impeachment issue to divert attention from the fact that he is the lone man opposed to a multibillion-dollar capital construction plan.
“Never mind those 500,000 new jobs! Look over there at that bright, shiny impeachment ball!” Madigan appears to be saying.
His critics are right. Madigan’s venom and hatred for Blagojevich are getting the better of him. But the massive construction plan is loaded with opportunities for corruption, and voters clearly believe this governor is corrupt. In my mind, it’s a toss-up.
There are also those who think that the possible impeachment of a governor is too important an issue to be “politicized” by cynical attempts to win campaigns. But that ignores an important fact: We live in a democracy.
If candidates are elected on vows to begin impeachment proceedings, then that’s a good indication of what the public wants. Election results validate issues as much as individual candidate personalities or partisan strength.
In other words, goofy memo aside, this issue is too important not to be “politicized” by candidates. Let’s get on with it.
* Related…
* Four unions send critical letter over impeachment memo: It was signed by leaders of the Service Employees International Union, Teamsters Joint Council 25, UNITE HERE and the Midwest Region of the Laborers International union.
* WSJ John Fund: All this sounds like an issue voters both inside and outside Illinois would want to hear from Mr. Obama on. Does he side with those Democrats who want to move aggressively against a governor who appears to be corrupt – or with his old Chicago buddies who prefer to wait?
* Southern Illinoisan: Thumbs down to the higher level of dysfunction among our state’s top elected leaders that emerged this week through the public release of a secret, talking points memo compiled on House Speaker Michael Madigan’s behalf.
* Impeachment By Mail? The Committee for Legislative Action is sending out letters to area residents asking for your input in the ongoing impeachment talks.
Police and a joint terrorism task force are investigating letters containing unknown powdery substances that were sent to Chicago elected officials Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
The letters were sent to Ald. Ed Burke (14th), Cook County Commissioner John Daley, state Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) and state Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), according to NBC 5.
But Police News Affairs Officer David Banks said, “There is no reason to believe there is a credible threat.”
The Chicago Fire Department was called to test the substance, Banks said.
Police also are working with a joint terrorism task force to investigate the origins of the letter, Banks said.
The disparity between workers at the top and bottom of the wage scale was the 10th worst of all 100 metro areas. The top 10% of employees earned 6.3 times more than the bottom 10% of Chicago’s workforce.
In short, manipulating the news-ad ratio is a much trickier business than Michaels probably thinks it is. Has he asked the Tribune’s advertisers if they want to be in a paper with less news?
Corn for July delivery rose 5.75 cents to settle at $7.09 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after earlier rising to a new all-time high of $7.25 a bushel. It was corn’s sixth straight trading record in as many days. Prices broke past the $7 barrier for the first time Wednesday.
“We’re as guilty as anybody,” admitted Bloomberg. “We ask for money for things that are totally local, and why the federal government does it, I don’t know. They shouldn’t be doing it, although we will continue to ask as long as they are giving it out. Our senators have the obligation to bring home the bacon like everybody else does. … Seems to me the Senate should get together and say together, ’We’re not going to do it anymore.”’
