[I’m taking the subscriber protection off because other outlets are now covering the issue.]
* 3:13 pm - Senate President Emil Jones has agreed - for now - to not call a hostile amendment to the supposedly agreed ethics bill.
Jones introduced an amendment late this morning that would have barred all contributions from most contractors to all constitutional officers and candidates.
In other words, if someone had a $50,000+ contract with the comptroller’s office, they couldn’t contribute to Treasurer Giannoulias’ campaign committee.
It also would also appear to mean that legislators, including Speaker Madigan, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, would be prohibited from raising money from state contractors. UPDATE: Misread of the amendment on my part in conjunction with Jones’ explanation below. According to Jones’ spokesperson, the amendment would only apply to other statewide officials, not legislators. Sorry for the confusion. But it would prevent Giannoulias, Lisa Madigan, Dan Hynes, etc. from raising money from contractors under Blagojevich’s control in anticipation of a far-off and still undeclared bid for governor.
Jones just said that he would hold the amendment today, but a few hours ago there was some concern that the ethics package might be dead - a week after it was apparently made an agreed bill.
The Senate won’t vote on the bill today, partly because there’s a bit more work to be done on other issues. More on that and other stuff in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.
* 3:27 pm - Senate President Jones explains a loophole that he’d like to see closed [but isn’t introduced yet]…
Senate President Emil Jones — a Chicago Democrat — says the money ban has a “gaping loophole.” He says it simply means people will give money to political parties to distribute to candidates.
*** 4:24 pm *** I had these stories posted below but I’ve moved them up to this post for easier viewing…
* The Daily Herald…
Lawmakers and other state officials are likely to get pay raises because the Democratic leadership in the Illinois Senate does not plan to let members vote on whether to block the increases, lawmakers confirmed Thursday. […]
State Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat, said he thinks the rejection effort is flawed and claims state House members are using the Illinois Senate as a political fall guy on the issue. Hendon said the Illinois House votes to reject the raises all the while expecting the Senate will block rejection and everyone ends up with more money. […]
As chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Hendon controls whether the plan to reject the raises ever sees the light of day. […]
“People should not miss out on the fact that [Sen. Susan Garrett, a pay raise opponent, is a] millionaire. She don’t need it. Have you seen her house? Mind-boggling,” Hendon said. “So it just blows my mind how the filthy rich are always the ones saying, we don’t need the raise. No she don’t.”
* The AP…
Hendon’s comments came after Garrett told reporters he would not let the House-passed resolution advance in the Senate. Hendon said he never told Garrett he was blocking the House resolution. But he made it clear he intended to improve it, pointing to his role in changing a House-approved measure calling for a constitutional amendment on recalling officials. The Senate killed that version last week.
Hendon said lawmakers should consider applying his pay raise approach to other issues, such as a statewide construction program lawmakers are negotiating.
“If people aren’t man and woman enough to take the tough votes, then they shouldn’t get it anyway,” Hendon said. “But every time, they’re the first one in the line.”
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Spare me the fear
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Another non-reason to vote against the constitutional convention in November…
Former candidate for governor Dawn Clark Netsch cautioned against holding a convention, saying she fears hot-button social issues like abortion or stem cell research would monopolize the debate because special interests are frustrated that the issues are not being debated by the state Legislature.
If the issues aren’t being debated, perhaps they ought to have a hearing at a Con-Con. Where’s the harm in a debate?
* Here are a couple of points that are never really explained in these debates over calling a constitutional convention…
The people - voters - get to vote up or down on the elected degates’ finished product;
Delegates don’t have to write an entirely new Constitution. They could just propose some amendments and ask voters to vote on each one individually.
* From the Illinois Constitution…
The Convention shall prepare such revision of or amendments to the Constitution as it deems necessary. Any proposed revision or amendments approved by a majority of the delegates elected shall be submitted to the electors in such manner as the Convention determines, at an election designated or called by the Convention occurring not less than two nor more than six months after the Convention’s adjournment. […]
The vote on the proposed revision or amendments shall be on a separate ballot. Any proposed revision or amendments shall become effective, as the Convention provides, if approved by a majority of those voting on the question.
The fear-mongering by “reformers” like Dawn Clark Netsch is just reprehensible.
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Question of the day
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Normally, pay raises for legislators doesn’t bother me all that much. They went years without one and got a ten percent bump last year. But the latest pay raise looks horrifically stupid to me because the public is so up in arms these days. No recall/impeachment/etc. of a breathtakingly unpopular governor, no progress on the budget, health care, capital plan, and on and on and on. Pick an issue, it’s stuck.
Kristen McQueary has another reason to be against the pay hikes…
In my opinion, being a lawmaker is a pretty good gig. If it isn’t, why are incumbents sticking around year after year?
As McQueary notes, if this pay raise takes effect
[legislative pay would rise] more than $7,000 to nearly $73,000 by July 2009.
Legislators work a lot harder than most people give them credit for. They put in some seriously long days and weeks last year and this year looks ominous as well.
* Question: Should Illinois just move to a full-time General Assembly and prohibit outside income?
[The “Update” has been moved to this post.]
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Automatic Rod Blagojevich story generator
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This comment was posted last night and it’s one of the more thought-out and funny posts I’ve seen in a while, so I thought I’d promote it to the front page…
Blagojevich story generator. (Bee eSS Generator for short)
Just pick one item from each section to generate a typical Rod Blagojevich story.
For brevity, you can just write your story as a string of the resulting numbers.
Today Governor Blagojevich’s office announced a
1 new program
2 variation on a previously proposed program
3 impotent condemnation of the Federal government over policy
4 sympathetic “me-too” press statement riding the tail of a national issue
5 new lawsuit
6 no-bid contract for a friend
7 re-named version of a previous governor’s program
that met with
1 skepticism from the General Assembly over implementation
2 howls of derision from members of his own party
3 non-committal responses from state leadership
4 a call for his impeachment by Jack Franks
5 complaints of unfunded mandates and frivolous expense by civic/business groups
6 unanswered questions about accountability from experts in the field
His new idea is to provide:
1 free healthcare for pets
2 singing lessons to Miley Cyrus
3 free trips out of the country for anyone who is of Syrian extraction or named Madigan
4 generous retirement plans for prosecuting attorneys and judges
Blagojevich said there would be enough money for all the programs he proposes and to pay off the state deficit by way of:
1 GRT tax
2 a value-added tax on general revenue
3 a previously rejected funding plan
4 just not looking too closely at the books
5 a truckload of new gambling expansion
6 auctioning off everything not nailed down
7 a TRG tax
8 removing “corporate loopholes”… in campaign funding restrictions
.
The governor, thru a spokesperson, dodged questions about
1 a current racketeering investigation in which his name is prominent
2 a lack of detail on the implementation of the new initiative
3 the absence of funding mechanism for the proposal
4 the fact that insiders and campaign contributors would be involved
5 a new law suit / counter-suit
6 a previous, related suit of his being dismissed as frivolous or without merit
7 his taxes
.
Later, on his way
1 to a fundraiser
2 from a fundraiser
3 to his home
4 to a Hannah Montana concert
5 to a Cubs game
6 to a Hawks game
7 to an intramural Jai ali contest
8 to Winston & Strawn
9 from something that most definitely was NOT a fundraiser
the governor was accosted by reporters demanding an explanation. The governor
1 ducked into his state airplane
2 ducked into a black Suburban
3 gathered a protective ring of schoolchildren from a passing field trip
4 began quoting 1970’s Cubs batting averages
5 demonstrated his recall of state area codes
6 blamed George Ryan for everything
7 said whatever it was, he didn’t do it, unless it was for “the people”
8 reminded everyone he got bad grades in school
9 blamed Mike Madigan for not doing enough
10 asked Emil Jones to run block for him and ran for the sidelines
11 told the elephant struck by lightning/ boy digging in horse stall story
and reiterated that he was:
1 the son of immigrants
2 the son-in-law of a powerful Chicago alderman
3 a man of the people
4 not a big reader or mathematician
5 not a “process” guy
6 not wearing lifts
7 not yet indicted
8 not using “just for men”
and that details would be
1 forthcoming from a press aide
2 forthcoming from private lawyers on state payroll
3 open to negotiation, if he felt like it
4 something Lon and those guys would take care of
5 George Ryan’s fault
.
A spokesperson for the governor clarified his comments by saying:
1 we don’t do business that way
2 we never knew this was going on
3 we were always in the forefront of preventing/promoting this exact kind of thing
4 we have never heard of this person (or organization)
5 this was something that was done by low level-underlings
6 accused is not indicted
7 indicted is not convicted
8 convicted means nothing until after an appeal
9 this is all a plot by Madigan
10 we will study the issue and appoint a task force headed by a relative or friend
11 it was an “up” day
Additions?
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Governor No-Show
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Told ya…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich was absent Wednesday for the 27th annual Days of Remembrance Holocaust Observance, which was held at the Old Capitol State Historic Site.
* Check out who they sent instead…
Louanner Peters, the deputy governor, gave a brief speech in Blagojevich’s place.
This is the same person who worked for former Congressman Gus Savage….
Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters was former Congressman Gus Savage’s chief of staff for 10 years. Savage was the guy who blamed his 1992 Democratic primary loss on the “white racist press and the racist, reactionary Jewish misleaders.”
Yeah, smart move.
* So, where was the governor during the Springfield event? Why, he was appearing on Chicago TV shows to promote his new anti-violence program that doesn’t yet exist, and getting hammered by the usually friendly morning anchors…
Governor Rod Blagojevich joined us on “Good Day Chicago” this morning and talked about a lot of things. No, he doesn’t think he’ll be indicted. Yes, he wants to lease the state lottery to raise money for state projects.
Discuss.
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Halvorson out as Rules Committe chair
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers about this interesting development yesterday afternoon…
Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) was removed as chairperson of the powerful rules committee Wednesday by Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) after she clashed with Republicans over her handling of a bill that could have allowed voters to create a recall provision for elected officials.
Halvorson said she believes she was replaced by Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) because she had become a “distraction” and had publicly broken with Jones on several major issues, including recall.
* Halvorson offered up this explanation to her local paper…
[Halvorson] noted that she favors the “pay to play” legislation, voted in committee and on the Senate floor for the elected officials recall amendment, and against the automatic legislator pay raise.
“Maybe that’s causing a lot of heartburn,” she said.
That’s not quite it. She’s a distraction because she’s so vulnerable to political attacks as chair of the Rules Committee.
* More response from the Martin Ozinga campaign, Halvorson’s Republican opponent for Congress…
The sad part of this is that Halvorson has lost an influential chairmanship which she could have used to help her constituents. But because she has used that chairmanship for years to rubber-stamp the Blagojevich/Jones agenda, and because that is hurting her campaign, she is being removed.
That’s a bit harsh, but it is a campaign, after all.
* Halvorson had more to say to the Kankakee Daily Journal…
“It wasn’t until I got an opponent a couple of weeks ago that people started taking all this garbage out of context and putting it into their own context, and again, that was stopping us from focusing on the real issues of what needs to be done,” she said.
That’s true, but she should have seen it coming. I can’t understand why she didn’t resign that chairmanship months ago.
* Unsurprisingly, Illinois Review says this is “great news for Ozinga.” But today is May 8th. The November election is a long, long way away. This issue is now off the table.
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Fitzgerald loses one
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told subscribers this morning, Michael Mahoney’s acquittal was big news in Springfield last night for obvious reasons…
A federal judge on Wednesday acquitted Michael J. Mahoney, a nationally known corrections expert, on charges that he schemed to bribe Illinois’ former top prison official to win lucrative state contracts for his lobbying clients. […]
Federal prosecutors alleged that Mahoney used a former business partner as a “bag man” to deliver about $20,000 in bribes to Donald Snyder Jr. while he headed the Illinois Department of Corrections from 1999 to 2002. […]
But U.S. District Judge James Zagel, who heard the case without a jury, found that prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mahoney participated in the scheme.
Zagel said the evidence showed that, at most, Mahoney suspected Robinson of paying bribes and chose not to interfere.
* More…
Zagel said he discounted the testimony of one key witness against Mahoney, former Illinois Corrections Director Donald Snyder, and had doubts about another, former Cook County Undersheriff John Robinson. […]
But Zagel said Snyder’s repeated memory failures on the witness stand rendered his testimony unreliable and Robinson’s demeanor on the stand suggested he might be ‘’inflating Mahoney’s role.'’
Snyder and Robinson have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
A star witness with a bad memory, no direct link between the defendant and the alleged payoffs… Hmmm.
The big difference is that this was a bench trial, not a jury trial. Jurors have shown of late to be very willing to believe whatever the feds put in front of them in corruption cases. In this case, the judge wasn’t buying the line.
* Meanwhile, over at the Rezko trial…
While meeting with lawyers in a jury instruction conference this afternoon, Judge Amy St. Eve said it wasn’t a certainty that witnesses who pleaded guilty will receive shorter prison time. “There’s no guarantee any of them will get reduced sentences,” St. Eve said. […]
Her comment is particularly interesting when it comes to main witness Stuart Levine. Levine faced up to life in prison but negotiated a 67-month sentence with prosecutors.
As one commenter over there pointed out…
Wow. Makes people really want to run right up to Fitz et al and confess. If St. Eve is going to take a hard line on those who confessed wonder how she’s going to feel about sentencing Rezko if found guilty…?
Yep.
* Other stuff…
* Blagojevich should ‘clear the air’ on Rezko, Quinn says
* Key Rezko witness Stuart Levine saved $351,000 on property taxes over 11 years
* Levine’s tax break by year
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Morning Shorts
Thursday, May 8, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning
* Ald. Sandi Jackson has tumor removed from neck
* Wrigley Field’s name would stay in state deal
“Our objective is to respect the landmark ordinance and to keep the iconic nature and historic nature of Wrigley Field,” he said. “So when we’re all said and done, I would expect the preservation community to be in favor of our plans and to strongly support them.”
* Illinois House votes to let campus cops carry guns
“I have constituents that call universities and ask, ‘Do you have a police force that’s armed?’” said the Aurora Democrat, herself a former security guard.
* House votes down pay raise for lawmakers
* House votes down officials’ pay hikes
* Worker pleads not guilty in fraud case
Kirby allegedly ordered a wire transfer of $750,000 into an account she created and used a scheme of paperwork transactions to account for the money. An investigation was launched after one of the entities she used, the Internal Revenue Service, questioned the transactions.
* Lawmaker warns construction funds are in danger
* Construction costs a political hang-up
* Country Club Hills officials take $27,000 trip
* Bomb squad checks out duffle bag at Capitol
* Rules inspired by E2 stampede approved
* Chicago City Council panel OKs licensing plan for event promoters
* Clout corner
* Council panel acts to avoid repeat of Duff slap on wrist
* Council moves to clarify powers on fraudulent contractors
* More cloutrageous choices
* Durbin to quiz energy secretary about FutureGen alternatives
* Feds pledge $1.3 billion for new FutureGen concept
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* 1:04 pm - The House is now debating a resolution that would reject the pay raises recommended by the Compensation Review Board. Listen here.
The Republicans are complaining that their own resolution wasn’t called.
* 1:06 pm - Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville) just gave a long speech demanding that people not give long speeches and just vote for the resolution. lol
* 1:12 pm -Listening to these pay raise debates are often hilarious. Rep. David Miller seemed insulted by some of the things the sponsor (Rep. Fred Crespo) said about how the General Assembly had failed the state regarding things like education funding reform. Miller has unsuccessfully pushed ed. funding reform for years, and Crespo is a reliable anti tax hike vote. Miller also asked why Crespo didn’t just introduce legislation to do away with the Compensation Review Board.
* 1:17 pm -The Repubs tried to dislodge their own pay raise resolution yesterday with a discharge motion. Rep. Crespo voted for the motion to sustain the chair’s ruling that the GOP’s resolution would stay in committee. In other words, yesterday Crespo didn’t want a debate on an almost identical resolution, but today he’s sponsoring his own resolution.
* 1:17 pm -Apparently, this Democratic resolution was so hastily brought to the floor that HDem staff had no time to put together an analysis for members.
* 1:26 pm - Rep. Crespo is a Democrat in a marginally Republican district, so that’s why he is the sponsor of this resolution.
* 1:29 pm - The resolution to reject the raises passed, as expected, with 94 votes. Eight voted “No” and six voted “Present.”
The Senate must now act to reject the resolution, and that move is in serious doubt.
…Adding… Just to be clear, if the Senate doesn’t approve an identical resolution that rejects the pay raise, then the pay raises will take effect.
* 3:33 pm - The House roll call is finally online.
NO: Will Davis, Jefferies, May, McCarthy, Molaro, Patterson, Rita, Madigan
PRESENT: Brosnahan, Colvin, Graham, Joyce, Miller, Yarbrough
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Personal stuff and notes to readers
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My mom’s birthday was yesterday, and it didn’t end all that well for her. Mom is a bigtime Hillary Clinton supporter, despite having a personal friendship with Barack Obama. Last night’s primary results crushed her hopes that a woman would be elected president this year.
Like many smart, strong women in her age group, my mom has always been a trailblazer. She’s been the “first woman” to do so many things that i can’t even count them any more. Yet, she always had plenty of time for her family, which she cherishes above all else in this world.
A quick story. Mom worked for the US Department of Defense in Germany and was often sent away on temporary duty assignments. A memory that came back to me this week was arriving home from school and discovering that Mom had found the time to come home during her lunch hour and bake a pie for her five sons.
I don’t know why that memory popped into my brain, but it certainly gave me a warm feeling. Thanks, Mom, for everything.
* Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday and Joan Reeder, the wife of Small Newspaper Statehouse Bureau Chief Scott Reeder, has a wonderful reason to celebrate. From Scott…
Anna Rose Reeder was born at 7:33 am Tuesday at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. She weighed in at 8 pounds and 1 ounce. She is 20 1/2 inches long and has a full head of hair. Both Mom and baby are doing great. Big sister, Grace, is thrilled. We are quite blessed.
* I ran into Lt. Governor Pat Quinn yesterday and he asked me to pass along his thanks to all of you for your witty, well-written comments on Tuesday’s Question of the Day. He seemed quite impressed with your abilities. I always brag that I have the best commenters in the business, so keep up the good work.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Russ Stewart writes…
Make no mistake about it: The Republicans are on the verge of eradication, if not extinction.
* And the Politico reports…
Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money.
The double shot of bad news had one veteran Republican House member worrying aloud that the party’s electoral woes — brought into sharp focus by Woody Jenkins’ loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday — have the House Republican Conference splitting apart in “everybody for himself” mode. […]
In a piece published in Human Events, the Republicans’ onetime captain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, warned his old colleagues that they face “real disaster” on Election Day unless they move immediately to “chart a bold course of real reform” for the country.
And in a closed-door session at the Capitol, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told members that the NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to “save them” in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves.
* From Gingrich’s piece…
The current generic ballot for Congress according to the NY Times/CBS poll is 50 to 32 in favor of the Democrats. That is an 18-point margin, reminiscent of the depths of the Watergate disaster. […]
The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.
This model has already been tested with disastrous results.
* Question: Is the GOP doomed? What about in Illinois?
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Obama open thread
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Giannoulias mentioned this yesterday, but asked that I not put it on the blog, then the campaign gave the story to Sweet…
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Tuesday continued his election day tradition of playing basketball—only to get battered after accidently getting knocked to the ground by Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois State Treasurer.
Obama chief strategist David Axelrod—who also played in the pick-up game—said Obama was hit in the chest when he got in the way of the shoulder of Giannoulias as the former pro player drove to the basket.
Giannoulias “bashed the ribs of the next president of the United States,” Axelrod said. Obama “was knocked down.”
Though Obama was bruised, Axelrod said he did not see a doctor.
Apparently, Giannoulias drove hard to a hole and Obama moved in and stood his ground. Slam! Obama went down hard and the Secret Service apparently freaked out and rushed to his aid.
Anyway, we haven’t done this in a while, so consider this is a presidential campaign open thread. What are your thoughts on last night’s primaries and the future?
…Adding… Patterson has more on the basketball game.
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Governor Press Release
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the SJ-R…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is to deliver the keynote address at Illinois’ 27th annual Holocaust Memorial Observance, to be held at 11 a.m. today at the Old Capitol State Historic Site.
From what I was told last night, the governor is planning to skip this event. Apparently, he had other plans. I’m not sure what those plans are, and I wasn’t told, but I’m sure there will be some disappointed reporters this morning.
* The governor was in Chicago yesterday for a big press conference with African-American ministers designed to unveil a $150 million “anti-violence” plan. The proposal relies on funding from the capital plan, which is nowhere near an agreement. So, the guv’s splashy rally got mixed reviews, to say the least…
DALEY: You need the money. You need the beef. That’s the whole story.
* Hizzoner probably didn’t appreciate the tone of the event….
Flanking Blagojevich at the rally, state Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) said enough research has been done. “We don’t need no damn research,” Hendon shouted, drawing thunderous applause. “We know what our children need: They need jobs and opportunity.”
Playing to the crowd, Blagojevich said, “We don’t need studies from the University of Chicago or Ivy League schools like Harvard telling us that between certain hours there’s more violence with kids.”
Daley wants some research by the University of Chicago on why the city’s violence has so drastically increased.
* And then there was this…
At Tuesday’s rally, a boisterous Democratic state Sen. Rickey Hendon urged people to rally legislative support for Blagojevich’s plan by calling House Speaker Michael Madigan, Blagojevich’s nemesis.
“Tell Mike Madigan, tell Mike Madigan we need this money,” Hendon roared.
* The governor was interviewed by CBS 2 and demonstrated, again, why his rhetoric doesn’t match reality…
Blagojevich pointed out that State Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) is already backing the capital plan that would fund the anti-violence initiative, and said he believes he can get House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) behind it also
Except that Jones now wants to fund the capital bill with an income tax hike, something that Blagojevich flat-out rejects. So, the two men are not together on the capital bill yet.
* And this was pretty telling…
[Blagojevich] disagreed with a frequent characterization that he and Madigan do not get along.
“We’d like him, and others in the General Assembly, to look at the epidemic that’s occurring today in Chicago. Twenty-four school kids, since the beginning of the year, have been gunned down. A 3-year-old boy in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood was playing in front of his home and was caught in front of the crossfire. Now he’s fighting for his life; he was shot in the neck. How can you possibly – those of us who make the rules – simply not do anything?” Blagojevich said.
“I will prevail upon Speaker Madigan and the House Democrats and others, to recognize that this is a crisis”
“Sure, we get along, but if Madigan does nothing to support my specific program then he’s ignoring the problem.”
* And, finally…
But the governor also was criticized after Tuesday’s announcement for cutting money last year to CeaseFire, a popular anti-violence program. The state auditor general had knocked how CeaseFire handled some of the state funding it received.
“He always likes it if it’s about a new program he’s created. But if there’s a program that’s been working and it shows results, he cuts it. It’s a narcissistic, egomaniacal way of governing, which just doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work at all,'’ said Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock.
If the shoe fits…
…Adding… I forgot to include Bethany’s piece on the countdown to another overtime session…
History could be telling. David Dring, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, says the budget process mirrors last year’s, when each chamber passed a competing budget and a stalemate ensued. Lawmakers were called to Springfield at least once in all 12 months last year. This session, there haven’t been leaders’ meetings on the budget, yet. Leaders have met three times to discuss a statewide capital plan, although there’s little progress to report.
Dring added that he still thinks a May turnaround is possible if the political will is there. “A lot can happen in three weeks around here if people work together.”
A lot can not happen, too.
* Related…
* Suburban schools benefit from lawmakers’ lapse
* Lawmakers brainstorm on construction funds
* State budget cuts would hit colleges
* Legislative pay raises again debated in Illinois
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Speaking of exploding heads
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Chicago Public Radio…
Former Illinois State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka says she won’t rule out a second run for governor. Topinka lost the 2006 election to incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich. In Chicago yesterday, Topinka joked about alternatives to campaigning.
TOPINKA: The world is a great and wonderful place. I might run off with a very handsome, rich widower or something like that. Who knows? We’ll see how it goes. I would hope the public realizes that they did have a choice in that last election.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
Caption?
[Many thanks to “bored now,” who has an excellent rundown of yesterday’s state Democratic convention delegate meeting over at Illinoize.]
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Laws, laws, everywhere
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You gotta give the bicyclists a three-foot cushion when you pass them…
As the weather warms up and more and more bicyclists are taking to the roads around the state, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today launched a public awareness effort to educate drivers about a new state law requiring motorists to pass bicyclists with at least three feet to spare. The effort – called “Please Don’t Squeeze” – starts today and is funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Division of Traffic Safety to the League of Illinois Bicyclists (LIB).
* Congressman Mark Kirk is worried about Second Life…
Lirk particularly singled out the site Second Life. On Second Life, users create an online persona for themselves and can engage in a variety of supposedly fantasy behaviors, including illegal actions like prostitution and drug dealing.
He cited legislation he introduced requiring libraries to get parental permission for children using networking Web sites and requiring schools to prevent children from accessing them.
* Eric Zorn takes a look at the unintended consequences of Scott’s Law, “the six-year-old state statute imposing very stiff penalties on motorists who don’t give a wide berth to emergency vehicles whenever possible”…
I was in the right lane, going roughly the speed limit on a clear night on a flat, straight road with light traffic. Up ahead I saw the flashing lights of a police car on the right shoulder, checked the speedometer just to make sure I wasn’t going to attract attention, and simply continued past.
Three or four minutes later came the flashing police lights right behind me.
What had I done?
I’d failed to move into the left lane in order to give the emergency vehicle a wide berth as I passed, the trooper explained.
* Zorn has more here…
Though the law clearly says that the motorist should make a lane change “if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions,” the very, very stiff potential penalties make it quite chancy to use one’s best judgment.
It’s possible that rash, ill-advised lane changes in the vicinity of emergency vehicles will place both drivers and police/fire officers at greater risk.
Discuss.
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Beware Blagojevich bearing gifts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor is planning one of his patented big, splashy press conferences today…
Gov. Blagojevich is proposing a $150 million anti-violence initiative that would provide new state dollars for more teen jobs, after-school programs and community grants in high-crime areas.
The initiative, dubbed Community Investment Works, represents the governor’s first tangible response to the wave of shootings in the city that have left 24 Chicago Public School students murdered this school year.
Problem…
But the proposal faces an iffy future. Its funding sources haven’t been embraced by lawmakers.
Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) said it is built upon wobbly funding sources like leasing the lottery and a state capital deal.
* This story reminds us what happens when you trust the governor’s claims that he has the solutions…
Long before Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed the state toward universal health care last year, some 25,000 working-poor adults had health care subsidized by the state.
Now, following Blagojevich’s attempt to defy lawmakers and unilaterally implement his larger vision for health care, their coverage is at risk.
When the Blagojevich administration moved last November to expand health care to folks earning far more money than these 25,000 people, it used them as bargaining chips. When the administration ultimately failed to implement the governor’s larger program, it left health care for the 25,000 lesser-earning individuals in limbo.
* On a somewhat related note, one of the governor’s spokespersons gave a statement to the Sun-Times about this latest proposal. Other reporters haven’t been so lucky of late…
* Reporters on Monday asked the governor if any of Ata’s testimony was false, and Blagojevich said only that it’d be inappropriate for him to discuss the trial and that he’s focused on doing the people’s work.
* On Friday, I placed a series of questions by e-mail and phone with Annie Thompson, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. I still don’t have answers.
* The administration did not respond to phone calls and e-mails Monday asking for clarification on the change of heart.
* The governor’s office and the Illinois Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to requests for information
* The Blagojevich administration did not respond to calls or e-mails seeking comment.
* Blagojevich did consent to an interview on a cable access TV show for Serbian-Americans that runs Sunday nights from eleven to midnight. It wasn’t exactly a hard-hitting piece.
* Summation: Flashy program with no real funding source? We’ve got your answers. Gushy, softball questions from a fellow etnick? We’re all over it. Everything else? Don’t bother calling.
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Heads explode
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Daily Herald, which editorialized in favor of permanently changing the Illinois Constitution to allow for the recall of elected officials editorializes today against impeaching Gov. Blagojevich, calling the remedy “extreme“…
And try to imagine an impeachment proceeding based on vague grounds. It would be the most hideous political circus in the state capital we’ve seen yet. It would accomplish little more than serve as a distraction lawmakers would love to have to get away from the harder work of actually governing the state. Blagojevich would get a well-deserved pounding from a long and loud impeachment proceeding — even as the axles of our cars would still be getting bent in potholes, public transportation would still be waiting at the station for more funding and our property taxes would still be going up.
Actually, a serious threat of instigating impeachment proceedings might hurry the session along a bit. But, whatever. Daily Herald: Hoplelessly dead recall proposal=Good; Possible remedy of impeachment=Bad.
* Meanwhile, the Champaign News-Gazette is frothing at the mouth in the wake of last week’s vote against recall…
Whether by recall, impeachment, federal indictments or a constitutional convention, this level of disdain by elected officials for the public must not go unanswered.
But their solution can’t be implemented until the next leadership election in January, and probably won’t happen even then…
The real test is whether those Democrats, and others, are willing to offer an alternative leader to Jones and restore some semblance of respect and responsibility to the people and the government of Illinois.
* And the Lake County News-Sun has another idea: Elections…
The Illinois Senate has become a place where democracy is derided to protect the interests of a powerful few, where representative government is mocked and scorned.
So yes, let’s remember this fall that we can still “recall” our elected officials via election.
Problem: Just two Senate Democrats who voted against the recall proposal face a challenger this fall. The rest either aren’t up for reelection, or the Republicans never bothered to slate candidates against them.
So, that won’t work, either.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
* By the way, the Senate has canceled today’s session….
With their former colleague [Barack Obama] vying for votes in neighboring Indiana, the Illinois Senate has called off work today, a move one Republican said is improper given Illinois’ lingering problems.
“I’m not sure that’s an appropriate reason to call off session with only a few short weeks to go, to send your camp over to Indiana to campaign. I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said Illinois Senate Republican leader Frank Watson of downstate Greenville.
The Senate Dems say Obama’s campaign was not the reason they aren’t returning to town until tomorrow, but they pulled the same thing on Ohio’s primary day.
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The city that works?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Among City Hall insiders, O’Hare Airport is often referred to as “The Mayor’s Airport.” But Hizzoner’s airport has a problem…
A WGN-TV investigation that aired Monday night uncovered an infestation of mice and rats throughout O’Hare’s Terminal One — even among food service and preparation areas.
Vleugel says she saw “dozens and dozens and dozens” of mice during her hours at O’Hare in March.
Karen Pride is a spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation. In a written statement, she says the agency maintains “an aggressive pest control program” at the airport and works with airlines and vendors to mitigate pests.
* You can watch the WGN report by clicking here. The intro…
They’re on the floor and in your food. One of Chicago’s busiest locations is dealing with a rat infestation, and it’s likely you’ve eaten here before.
Yuck.
Seriously.
Yuck.
* But, of course, Daley himself is far more concerned with the absolutely inane “problem” of the hatred of children by Chicagoans who live near Grant Park…
Mayor Daley today accused opponents of his plan to build a new, $100 million Children’s Museum in Grant Park of engaging in political intimidation — a charge more frequently leveled against him.
It happened after the mayor was told that residents of high-rises surrounding Daley Bicentennial Plaza near Millennium Park were launching a petition drive to try and block the Grant Park plan.
“They’ll go start petition drives. They’re threatening everybody — your political life. They’re gonna defeat all aldermen. They’re gonna beat everybody in the world. But, one thing. Those children grow up and remember them,” the mayor said.
The opposition responds…
“It’s unbelievably ironic that the mayor is accusing us of intimidation. We’re just average citizens. Just because we disagree with him we’re the bad guys?” [said Peggy Figiel, co-founder of Save Grant Park.]
* Yep, rats and mice infesting O’Hare, potholes are so thick on Lake Shore Drive that it looks like the surface of the moon, a gang war that has claimed numerous lives, a crumbling CTA, taxes rising through the roof, and the thing that revs Daley’s motor more than anything is his goofy proposal to violate state law by putting a glorified McDonald’s Playland in Grant Park.
* Hey, mayor, if you want to save a museum, here’s one that’s about to go away. Maybe you could check into that.
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Morning Shorts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning
* Unconventional Wisdom - Scott Harper’s 13th Congressional Strategy
Scott Harper may be in a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) “targeted race,” indicating that the party thinks he has a real chance of winning, but under traditional campaign standards one has to ask - is what he doing lunacy?
* Hare: Reducing veteran disability claims backlog, one step at a time
* Defense calls no witnesses, says case vs. Rezko weak
* Rezko trial testimony wraps up
* Prosecution rests; Rezko to present no defense witnesses
* I-PASS loophole allows some to escape fines
* Stateville to stay open; Pontiac prison to close
* Fight vowed over proposed Pontiac prison closure
* Group calls for control over Bronzeville development
* ‘I’m not bitter,’ says man who spent 26 years in prison for allegedly murdering a security guard
* Racial Disparities Found to Persist as Drug Arrests Rise
“The way the war on drugs has been pursued is one of the biggest reasons for the growing racial disparities in criminal justice over all,” said Ryan S. King, a policy analyst with the Sentencing Project, who wrote its report, which focuses on the differential arrest rates, not only between races but also among cities around the country.
* Cook County state’s attorney candidate Anita Alvarez blasts County Board for cutting prosecutor office’s budget
* CTA’s bumpy passage
* CTA sued over Grand Theft Auto ads
* CTA to add 18 routes to Bus Tracker system
* A year in review: Huberman’s first year at the helm
* Praise for dramatic gains in schools
* Pointless PSAE not improving education system
* Legislation will fix home wine brouhaha
* Uptown From Space
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