You are in an elevator with a candidate running for the 5th district. You are going from maybe the 50th floor to the lobby. You have about 30 seconds to hear why this person should represent you. That is the scenario behind our latest project on Eight Forty-Eight, which gave each candidate the opportunity to tell us why they should get your vote. The only parameters were to keep it short. Some were on topic, some were off topic, some were over-rehearsed, some were under-rehearsed.
A small asteroid buzzed by Earth Monday, though only real astronomy geeks in the Pacific would have noticed.
The rock, estimated to be no more than 200 feet wide, zoomed past our planet at an altitude of 40,000 miles at 1:44 p.m. universal time — or 8:44 EST.
Dubbed 2009 DD45, it was discovered only on Friday by Australian astronomers. […]
Had 2009 DD45 hit the Earth, it would have exploded on or near the surface with the force of a large nuclear blast — not very reassuring when you consider humanity had only about three days’ notice.
According to the Australian news Web site Crikey, the asteroid is likely to be drawn in by Earth’s gravity, meaning it may return for many more near misses in the future.
It doesn’t make our state’s political situation any less stupid or exasperating, of course, but it sure makes you think about things.
* Then again, stuff like this happens and I almost wish the doomsday meteor would strike…
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich today signed a six figure book deal with one of the largest independent book publishers in the U.S., the PR firm representing Blagojevich announced today.
Blagojevich, who vehemently denies he tried to sell President Obama’s senate seat, will write about the discussions, the considerations and the factors involved in picking Obama’s successor to the U.S. Senate. Blagojevich maintains he was hijacked from office because of politics. In the book, he will write about his journey that led up to the twice-elected governor and former congressman being ousted from office. He also plans on exposing the dark side of politics that he witnessed in both the state and national level.
Phoenix Books is run by maverick publisher Michael Viner whose titles include books from celebrities like mega-rock star and businessman Gene Simmons and talk show host Larry King. Phoenix also has a large selection of popular fiction and intriguing mystery books. […]
Selig says the governor will tell the American public the truth about what happened. He does not intend to pull any punches and will reveal information and provide insights that will at times be embarrassing to himself as well as to others.
“There were some people in high places who didn’t want the governor to write this book and worked to try to squash a book deal,” says Selig.
Words fail me.
…Adding… From the above press release…
“The governor chose to go with a large independent company because he wanted to tell his story without any restrictions over content that might’ve come with a major publishing house,” says Glenn Selig, Blagojevich’s publicist and founder of The Publicity Agency.
Hours before the formal announcement of Blagojevich’s book deal, one of his chief legislative critics announced a move to bar him from cashing in on the deal if the impeached ex-governor winds up being convicted of federal charges.
“Corrupt Illinois politicians, for example Rod Blagojevich, are looking to cash in by telling their stories after the fact,” Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) said. “They should not be allowed to benefit from their actions in any way, most of all financially.”
Franks’ bill would cover any book or movie deals that detail a crime for which the elected official was convicted, and any profits derived from the deal would have to be turned over to the state of Illinois.
* The past few days have not been kind to Rep. John Fritchey.
For instance, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union allegedly fired a worker for passing around an unflattering letter about Fritchey, whom the union has endorsed…
She passed the letter to her co-worker on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning, she said Union President Ron Powell called her into his office.
“He shoved this in my face and said, ‘Explain this!’” she said. Sobczyk said she told Powell she was concerned about some stories she read about Fritchey and that she thought Forys was a better candidate.
“Then I just stopped talking and said, ‘I’m fired, right?’” she said. “He said, ‘Yes you’re fired.’ I couldn’t believe it. I got nothing but good reviews there.” Sobczyk came to the United States from Poland as a child herself like Forys but that is not why she is supporting him, she said.
Sobczyk is supporting Victor Forys in the campaign. But Fritchey puts on a clinic about how not to respond to this sort of story…
“This sounds like a different version of a candidate throwing a brick through their own window and then calling the press conference,” Fritchey said. “I’ve spent my legislative career fighting for the rights of working men and women. Obviously, I would never condone anything that would hurt anyone’s ability to exercise their free speech.”
A little empathy would’ve been appropriate instead of the overt defensiveness.
* The Service Employees sent out a mailer over the weekend blasting Fritchey for being a “lobbyist” for the payday loan industry. Click the pics for a better view…
This flier is very loosely based on the fact that Fritchey represented a pawn shop in a zoning case.
* Carol Marin goes after Fritchey at the bottom of her latest column…
Fifth Congressional District candidate John Fritchey sent a note of apology.
Fritchey quoted me in a campaign mailer but misspelled my last name in the attribution.
No problem, John.
The problem was the selective use of my words regarding your opponent, Mike Quigley, about whom I have written a lot.
Yes, I did say in March of 2007 that Quigley was being viewed as “the Benedict Arnold of county politics, the turncoat who keeps turning, reform one day, un-reform the next.”
But that’s far from the whole story. The criticism of Quigley at the time was that despite his long history of reform as a commissioner on the Cook County Board, he had tried to find common ground with its hopeless president, Todd Stroger, exacting promises of more transparency in return. It didn’t work out the couple of times Quigley tried, and he quickly went back to being the ferocious voice of opposition.
Milan Petrovic, who was listed as Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s top campaign fundraiser at a political corruption trial last year, recently gave $2,400 to the congressional fund of state Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago), according to federal campaign finance reports filed today.
Fritchey also reported receiving another $2,400 from Petrovic’s wife, Anne.
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, who employs a former Blagojevich deputy chief of staff, fired off this press release today…
“In the final hours before voters go to the polls, John Fritchey has accepted the maximum contribution from Rod Blagojevich’s top campaign donor – despite the fact that Mr. Fritchey has based his whole campaign on his supposed opposition to the former governor.
“To the best I am aware of, Milan has not been accused of doing anything improper,” Fritchey said today. “Had he been, I would not have taken the contributions.”
* A Medill reporter recently penned a story which got absolutely no attention, but could’ve harmed Fritchey and Feigenholtz…
In trying to beef up their congressional campaign funds, the campaigns of state Reps. John Fritchey and Sara Feigenholtz violated federal campaign finance law when they transferred money from their state- to their federal-level campaigns.
* Rep. Feigenholtz was running robocalls late last week slamming Mike Quigley for supporting Todd Stroger. The calls tracked closely with Feigenholtz’s TV ad which slams Quigley on the same Stroger issue. The Tribune editorial board stepped in over the weekend to defend their endorsed candidate against the Feigenholtz attacks…
Let’s bring it down to this. If you’re a Democrat and you want a candidate with solid Democratic values, you can almost throw a dart at the ballot. Almost all of them qualify.
If you’re a Democrat and you want a candidate who fights every day against the corruption and ineptitude that plagues state and local government, you have one candidate: Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley.
* Progress Illinois takes issue with the fact that the Democratic candidates have been defined as almost identical on the, um, issues…
Let’s take the issue of taxes. Fritchey is in favor of preserving the estate tax; Feigenholtz, Fritchey, and Quigley all want to let the Bush tax cuts expire; Quigley adds that will not vote for any tax increase during a recession; Wheelan supports phasing out payroll, income, and corporate taxes in favor of a carbon tax; and Geoghegan wants marginal tax rates raised to 1950s levels. […]
What about Social Security? This is a crucial issue for all voters in the district—particularly the elderly—and deserves scrutiny. Wheelan has said he is open to reducing benefits for future retirees; Feigenholtz and Fritchey would consider lifting or adjusting the cap on payroll taxes; Quigley wants to leave it alone for the time being, noting that Medicare is in greater trouble; and Geoghegan wants to increase benefits and turn into a more robust public pension program.
* Democrat Cary Capparelli continues to pile up conservative endorsements. From a press release…
The Illinois Federation for Right to Life Political Action Committee has followed four other major organizations in singling out Cary Capparelli for endorsement. The Illinois Federation Right to Life PAC is endorsing Cary Capparelli in his quest to fill the Illinois 5th Congressional District seat, vacated by Rahm Emanuel.
Cary has added significant momentum to his campaign by uniting the Pro-Family movement – an initiative particularly noteworthy for a first-time candidate
A traditional Democrat, Cary’s other endorsements are from:
• National Right to Life PAC;
• Illinois Citizens for Life Federal PAC, one of the largest pro-life PACs in Illinois;
• National Taxpayers United Illinois, the group that has saved Illinois citizens more than $74 billion in income, property, sales and other taxes – both at the state and local levels;
• Family-Pac Federal, a bi-partisan group that has endorsed Republicans and Democrats who are or have been committed to upholding family values.
* Related…
* Free-for-all: The problem is, there’s no way for the media to effectively cover or for the voters to seriously consider the merits of 23 candidates
* 12:01 pm - Did the governor just cave on Burris? From the AP…
Gov. Pat Quinn says it’s time to move on from the flap over embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris and focus on the economy.
Quinn wants a special election for the Senate position, but said Monday he doesn’t think that can happen unless and until Burris quits. […]
Quinn met Monday with black elected officials on Chicago’s West Side, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.
Quinn says most of the meeting was about economic recovery.
Yeah, but the most important part of that meeting with Davis was surely about Sen. Burris. As I told you earlier today, Quinn seemed to be getting nervous about all the pushback from African-American leaders about his Burris position.
Gov. Pat Quinn said [on Jan. 26th] that if embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris doesn’t step down within the next two weeks, he wants lawmakers to send him a bill to set up a special election that could effectively remove Burris from office.
Quinn, appearing on “The Steve Cochran Show” on WGN-AM (720), said he spoke to the top two Democrats in the General Assembly [on Jan. 26th] about the possibility of moving ahead with the legislation, which would take advantage of a clause contained in the U.S. Constitution’s 17th Amendment.
Quinn’s actions follow a legal opinion issued [on Jan. 25th] by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan who said she believed the state could enact a special-election law that would effectively force Burris from office. Under the Constitution, a governor’s appointments to fill Senate vacancies should be considered temporary until an election is held, she said.
The governor really needs to start thinking things through on this Senate crud. First, he was for a special election, then he was for an appointment, then he was for a Burris resignation and a new appointment followed by a special election, then he was for a special election regardless of what Burris decided to do. Now, he wants to drop the whole thing?
My head hurts.
…Adding… I forgot to mention today that the Tribune editorial page continues to bang the drum ever louder on the special election issue.
…Adding More… As with the post below, I am totally uninterested in angry drive-by comments on race. Put some thought into your comments or you’ll be swiftly deleted.
*** 12:53 pm *** Sen. Durbin was asked about Burris at a presser today in Chicago, and [from the way the story is written] appeared to back off as well…
Sen. Dick Durbin sounds resigned to fellow Illinois Democrat Roland Burris remaining in the Senate for the next two years.
Durbin has called for Burris’ resignation, but says he’ll still work with the embattled senator. Durbin says Burris has a vote in the Senate like everyone else and it’s an important vote. […]
Durbin says the economy should now be the most important issue at hand.
…Adding… The Durbin office sent over an audio clip from last week which shows that Durbin said pretty much the same thing to DC reporters then as he told Chicago reporters today. So, today’s alleged “news” is not really news, they say. I’m willing to give them that point.
*** 2:49 pm *** The prodigal son is welcomed back with open arms…
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said they were happy with the outcome of the meeting with Quinn, saying it’s time to get past politics and down to work.
“In the final analysis, we’ve got to put this issue behind us,” said Smith. “Roland Burris isn’t going any place, and we can talk about this until whenever, but Roland isn’t going any place. We may as well forget about this and deal with those issues that have to be dealt with.”
* Should the General Assembly pass a bill which would schedule a special election for the US Senate even if Sen. Roland Burris refuses to resign from office?
Please explain fully, and stick to the specific question at hand. Thanks.
* Having a new governor is a big relief to many Illinoisans…
What a difference a few months - and an impeachment - can make.
When Gov. Pat Quinn walked into a Rolling Meadows ballroom Saturday night for a fundraiser benefiting military troops, veterans and their families, he was greeted by loud applause, ecstatic cheers and even a few Marine Corps oorahs.
The accolades continued when he was honored at the fourth annual Hearts of Valor Ball for his ongoing efforts to help the state’s military personnel.
Gov. Pat Quinn is wasting no time fulfilling his pledge to make the Illinois Governor’s Mansion both a working facility and a showplace, in a departure for Rod Blagojevich’s dislike of all things Springfield, including actually living there or just spending time at the executive residence.
“After six years with an absent resident, it’s once again ‘the people’s house,’ as its new occupant calls it,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.
My man-on-the-street poll of Southland residents assured me I am, indeed, a mutant species. Not even your basic long-haired hippy libbies will tolerate another tax hike if elected officials entertain one this spring.
“The crap never ends,” one poll respondent told me. “No one will be happy until we’re all living on the streets. The country’s on a fast track to a depression; then Cook County raises property taxes on our homes that are depreciating by the minute, and now our geniuses in Springfield want to raise the income tax. So in answer to your questions, no, I would not support an income tax hike, and I would vote anyone out of office I could for supporting it.”
“(A tax hike) is too easy of a fix for a government proven to squander resources through mismanagement and gross negligence,” another said.
“Taxes in Chicago/Cook County are already ridiculously (bleeping) high without this additional income tax,” one friend said. “Even though I disagree with many of the party’s social and ethical points, I’ll be voting Republican for every major office in Illinois for the next 25 years.”
* This message is getting lost in the background noise…
“We’ll have more cost cutting to come — don’t worry about that,” [Quinn] said. But he declined to specify what cuts he would make.
Quinn repeatedly declined to answer questions during a Thursday news conference on whether he will support a tax increase, saying he will discuss the matter during his Wednesday, March 18, budget address.
Yes, I know we need to be patient and wait for the budget address, but he probably ought to spend the next couple of weeks announcing budget cuts and reforms and avoid stepping on his own message. If he screws up this rollout, his plans may explode in his face.
* Related…
* Rod’s dash for cash : Even with a four-year federal investigation bearing down on him, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s fund-raising operation was in full swing in the months before his arrest late last year on corruption charges.
Roland Burris, the Democrtic front-runner in the Illinois gubernatorial race, spent Wednesday fending off allegations that he had made race an issue in the primary campaign.
Burris, the only black candidate in the Democratic field of four, issued a cryptic response to reports that he told an African-American community group that his opponents are “non-qualified white boys.”
The allegations stem from a videotape of Burris that aired on a cable-TV community access channel and the local ABC affiliate in Chicago. Both stations dubbed out the words “white boys.”
* Burris kinda-sorta denied he said that way back then, but he’s going full tilt on the race card these days. As I told you last week, he’s hired a PR person who is playing up the race issue in a big way. And her strategy memo is now being played out in real time. First, it was the Chicago City Council’s Black Caucus…
In Chicago, members of the City Council’s Black Caucus held a news conference Thursday to defend Burris, the nation’s only black senator, and his son. Alderman Freddrenna Lyle said white politicians have not been similarly targeted for accusations of wrongdoing.
“We don’t want the seat to be denied Roland under circumstances not applied to someone else,” Lyle said.
“I would just suggest to those people who seek to run in the wards of the city of Chicago where there are people of color living that they should tone it down because some of us are taking notes,” said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th). “Those people will run at their peril.”
The ministers also said Burris, the only black U.S. senator, is being held to a different standard than the 99 white senators.
“He hasn’t done anything that’s indictable,” said Rep. Bobby Rush, who added that many politicians calling for Burris to resign have “stalking horses” ready for test-runs for his seat.
Now, there’s a campaign slogan for you. “He hasn’t done anything that’s indictable.” Yeah. Stick with that.
From the pulpit, Burris touted to his overwhelmingly African-American audience the recent Senate approval of a voting representative for the District of Columbia, with its 600,000 residents, “the majority of them African-American … without a full voice in their government.” And he said he was proud of a bill he co-sponsored to honor the slaves who built the U.S. Capitol.
Thanking the church for its support, he said: “I will never, ever let you down. I will serve you with honesty and integrity. That’s all I know, and that’s what God gave me.”
Rush chastised the media and fellow politicians for “making something out of nothing.” He also suggested for Gov. Pat Quinn to work “night and day to get the state in order,” instead of calling for Burris’ resignation. “The state constitution worked for [Quinn]. Let it work for Roland,” Rush said.
* Gov. Quinn has always enjoyed significant support in the black community, but he now appears worried…
Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday called “unfortunate” a suggestion by a group of African-American aldermen that black voters may withhold support for politicians critical of beleaguered U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, saying he feared the return of a racial divide in the Democratic Party. […]
Quinn said he feared the controversy surrounding Burris would echo the “Council Wars” of the 1980s, when race divided the city’s Democrats.
Gov. Pat Quinn is defending himself - in the face of criticism from African American aldermen who say he’s trying to dictate to the black community by pushing Senator Roland Burris to resign.
First came the comments of African American aldermen, including Ed Smith of the 28th ward.
“Pat Quinn who we’ve known for years, all at once he decides that he’s going to dictate to us what should go on in our community.”
Governor Quinn has responded to that.
“Well, I’m not dictating to anyone. I think we have to do what is good for the people of Illinois. I think there should be a special election where the voters of Illinois hear all the candidates. If Roland Burris wants to run for a special election, that would be a way to let the people decide.”
* Some ground rules for comments on this matter: Hysterical, drive-by comments simply condemning the obvious are not welcome. Put some thought into what you write, please. I have zero interest in reading the same exasperated stuff over and over.
* Sen. Dick Durbin addresses racial issues in seating of Sen. Roland Burris
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, 32, opens his exploratory bid for Senator today hoping his close association with President Obama, generational appeal, record and early start locks him in as a front-runner in what today is a very undefined field.
Giannoulias, I am told, is running no matter the election scenario or the other contenders. Last week, William Daley, the former Commerce Secretary and mayoral brother, floated his name in order to head off Giannoulias securing early endorsements. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) is also mulling a run, with her chances of getting in more likely in a special election.
Though a special election is being called for by some to force embattled Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) from office, lawmakers may have second thoughts because of the cost. The regular primary and general election is in 2010 and nominating petitions are due later this year for the February primary.
Giannoulias is figuring the primary could cost $5 million and a general election at least $15 million. After a series of interviews to discuss his bid today–there is no splashy kick off–Giannoulias heads to Florida to prospect for labor support at the annual AFL-CIO Winter meeting in Miami. His initial campaign focus will be on fund-raising.
Jordan Kaplan, who directed the Obama fund-raising effort in Illinois, is assisting Giannoulias on the money front. “The goal is to get out early and start raising money,” I am told. Giannoulias’ has the wealth to self-fund a portion of his campaign. Eric Adelstein is Giannoulias’ media consultant and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner his pollsters.
* The Daily Herald looks at a possible Mark Kirk vs. Alexi Giannoulias matchup…
Kirk has been blasting Blagojevich for years. He could paint any Democrat as part of the Blagojevich problem.
And even better for him if the opponent is Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, whose family bank used to make loans to Blago insider and convicted felon Tony Rezko.
Commercial: “When convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko needed cash to do his deals, he turned to Giannoulias. Don’t turn over your Senate to him too.”
But Obama will be a huge factor in this home state election. Giannoulias and him are basketball buddies.
Kirk voted against Obama’s stimulus plan twice and all the tax cuts and construction jobs it included.
That vote my jive with suburban Republicans, but voting against Obama may not jive with voters in the popular president’s home state.
* Sen. Bill Brady is also out on the statewide circuit today…
As state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington prepared to enter the 2010 Republican race for governor, he discounted Sunday the effects of scandal on Democrats at the ballot box and instead contended a policy of tax hikes and overspending would lead to a GOP rejuvenation. […]
With a projected deficit of at least $9 billion facing the state by the end of June 2010, there is increasing talk of a tax increases. But Brady maintained the state’s true operating deficit was about half that amount and that it could be resolved by policies of tougher fiscal management, lower taxes and incentives to stimulate job growth.
I offered a long critique of that last sentence to subscribers today. You can hear all of Brady’s interview at this link.
* Paul Harvey was a big part of my life growing up in rural Iroquois County. Everybody listened to him. The kids talked about his programs at school. My parents would often debate his latest commentaries, with my mom usually on the left and my dad on the right. I loved the man’s voice when I was young, and didn’t really care so much about what he was saying, but how he was saying it. Harvey had his own, distinct style, and I just couldn’t get enough of his program.
I haven’t listened to him much since those long ago days when I was mesmerized by the radio and wanted so fervently to be a part of what Harvey and others were doing. But a little part of my own life died this past weekend with Paul Harvey…
“This is Paul Harvey.” That clarion Midwestern voice was its own time machine; it carried listeners back to radio days of yore, when a distinctive vocal performance was as important as good looks are in TV news today. The opinions Harvey expressed were old-fashioned as well: politically and socially conservative, the musings of a grandpa who’s seen it all — or, as he put it, “In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.” It is hardly an exaggeration to say that, when Harvey died at 90, on Saturday, at his winter home in Phoenix, he took the whole history of radio with him.
Rising at 3:30 each morning, he ate a bowl of oatmeal, then combed the news wires and spoke with editors across the country in search of succinct tales of American life for his program.
At the peak of his career, Harvey reached more than 24 million listeners on more than 1,200 radio stations and charged $30,000 to give a speech. His syndicated column was carried by 300 newspapers.
* “The Rest of the Story” was always a favorite of my friends at school…
His five-minute “The Rest of the Story” broadcasts featured historical vignettes with surprise endings like the story of the 13-year-old boy who receives a cash gift from Franklin Roosevelt and turns out to be Fidel Castro. Or the one about the famous trial lawyer who never finished law school (Clarence Darrow). He’d end each broadcast with his signature: “Paul Harvey. [long pause] Good day!”
Harvey was the one of the last dinosaurs of a dead era. Yes, he was corny and conservative and old-fashioned and unapologetically beholden to his sponsors, but the man had tons of personality.
He was also fair-minded. As Richard Corliss of Time points out in his tribute to Harvey, “The rosy sentimentalist was also a fretful conservative; he backed Joe McCarthy’s search for imaginary Communists in the State Department. But sometimes he just got fed up, reversing himself on the Vietnam war, telling Richard Nixon, ‘Mr. President, I love you, but you’re wrong.’ ”
In the early 1990s, I wrote a liberal piece about U.S. military policy–and Harvey responded with a note thanking me for the column and saying he agreed with some of the points I’d made. Virtually everyone who met him would walk away talking about his class and grace.
I certainly disagreed with many of Harvey’s opinions. I sometimes cringed at his commentaries. But as someone who kicked around the radio business for many years, I stand in awe of his accomplishments as a broadcaster, and I have nothing but great admiration for the way he conducted himself as a gentleman.
“My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news,” said the couple’s only child, Paul Harvey Jr., who like his parents is in the Radio Hall of Fame. “So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents, and today millions have lost a friend.”
With talks set to kick off this week on a new contract covering nearly 15,000 janitors who clean commercial buildings in the Loop and suburbs, workers rallied downtown Sunday to seek better pay and benefits.
* OK, enough. This week seemed extra long for some reason. I will update this weekend if anything breaks in the 5th Congressional District, but I don’t want to. Check back if you feel like it.
* You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you…
He buzzes like a fridge, he’s like a de-tuned radio
* On the core populist issues, Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn are pretty close, even though I’m not so sure that Rod Blagojevich actually believed anything he ever said. Here’s a good example…
Gov. Patrick Quinn said today that he would not sign legislation under consideration by the Illinois House to take away free bus and train rides from all but low-income seniors.
The governor said he thinks the free ride program, put in place last year under predecessor Rod Blagojevich, is worthy even as transit agencies face severe money woes.
“I think free rides for seniors is a good policy,” Quinn said following an appearance at a Joliet high school. “I hope they don’t pass a law ending the program. I think it’s a step forward.” […]
“I don’t think I would sign such a bill that would limit it so drastically,” [by basing the free rides on income] Quinn said. “I think we always want to keep an eye on everything, especially in tough economic times, but I’m not really interested in going to that program and slashing it. I think free rides for seniors is a basic public policy that we can support and maintain even in tough economic times.”
* My Sun-Times column today takes a look at the 5th Congressional District race. You only get 600 words in the CS-T, so it’s not as complete as I would’ve liked…
Almost nobody wants to make a prediction about the 5th Congressional District special election this coming Tuesday.
A crowded field, very high numbers of undecided voters, a lack of news coverage (particularly by the TV stations) and the fact that none of the candidates has really caught fire all add up to puzzlement for handicappers.
The guesstimates I’m getting from the campaigns have Democratic turnout at between 35,000 and 40,000 — about a quarter to a third of those who voted in the last primary. Somebody could win with as few as 10 thousand or 12 thousand votes. So you can make a case for any number of candidates.
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley started the race way ahead in the polls, and he’s still at or near the top. That means he’ll do well with people who believe it’s their duty to vote in every election but are still vague about their final choice. He has a loyal cadre of workers, and his campaign believes they have identified more than enough supporters to win. They just have to get them to the polls.
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz has spent the most money by far, both on her own and through huge independent expenditures on her behalf by the Service Employees International Union and EMILY’s List. Women often tend to vote for women, and women dominate Democratic primaries. Feigenholtz’s campaign has been almost purely targeted at female voters, so she’ll get lots of votes from undecided women. Feigenholtz also has a big field operation and enthusiastic support in the gay community.
Like Quigley and Feigenholtz, state Rep. John Fritchey’s base is in the eastern end of the district near the lake. But Fritchey also has the backing of ward and township organizations that control more than half the precincts in the district. Yeah, the Machine ain’t what it used to be, and there are still questions about how hard some of these committeemen want to work, but the reality is that if each of his precinct captains secures 30 to 50 voters, then Fritchey wins this thing.
I’m not posting the whole thing because we’ve got other stuff to post, so go read it all here.
* Let’s get back to the new Feigenholtz TV ad that set off a firestorm in comments today.
Last year, any Democratic legislative candidate who was directly tied to either Rod Blagojevich or Todd Stroger was toast. The Republicans played the Rod & Todd card in several races, but it didn’t work all that well unless there was a definable connection, like fundraising, jobs or contracts.
So, any TV ad that draws a direct line between a candidate and Stroger is potentially a deal-breaker for voters. That’s one reason why this thing has caused such an uproar.
With that in mind, let’s watch it again…
Does it work? Remember, though, that Quigley has been running a TV ad and direct mail trashing Todd Stroger, most likely in an attempt to inoculate himself from just such an attack.
The Quigley campaign estimates that Feigenholtz only has 270 ratings points behind this latest attack, spread out over last night, through the weekend and part of Tuesday. That ain’t much.
But Quigley did go all-out today in an attempt to turn the tables…
QUIGLEY: This is Sara Nixon. The 11th hour, when its much harder to combat an unfair charge, that’s when you do this, because you know there’s limited ability — frankly, there’s been limited coverage of this campaign and there’s limited interest, just because it’s a special election. So that’s hard to overcome.
This is a swift boat attack. You attack somebody at their greatest strength and you do it at the last hour because you know its much tougher to retaliate and defend yourself.
Then again, this morning’s presser might just bring far more attention to the whole thing.
* Meanwhile, Pat O’Connor has raised a few more dollars, but he’s still close to the bottom and a mailer has gotten him into a spot of trouble…
Is Mayor Daley’s “unofficial floor leader” claiming “unofficial endorsements” from Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Dick Durbin?
No, no, no, Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40th) is not trying to imply any endorsement by Durbin or Emanuel — the man he hopes to replace in Congress — by running their photos and testimonials in his campaign literature, a spokesman said.
According to the above article, Emanuel’s office also denies that it’s endorsing Rep. Feigenholtz, even though there’s a Feigenholtz yard sign in front of the guy’s house. Still, that certainly sends a message to the neighborhood, if nothing else.
* 11:44 am - I told subscribers about this earlier today…
Longtime state Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield, will be named to lead the Illinois Department of Transportation by Gov. Pat Quinn, fellow lawmakers say today. […]
“He’ll bring his expertise from the House,” [ Sen. Deanna Demuzio, D-Carlinville] said. “I’m very excited. He’s from downstate.”
Hannig, 56, has been in the Illinois House since 1979. He is a deputy majority leader to House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and has been the leading budget expert for House Democrats for years.
“I think it’s a great appointment. He knows the budget and to pick a downstater sends all of the right signals,” said Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, whose district is next to Hannig’s. “I think it’s a great pick for the governor and it’s a big loss for the speaker.”
* The Post-Dispatch gives a hat tip in this direction and explains…
Why this matters is, A., the Dept of Transportation is among the most major posts in government, B., Hannig is a downstater from the outer edge of the Metro East, which indicates that maybe Quinn is serious about being governor of the whole state and not just of Chicago, as was his predecessor, impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich; and C., Hannig is a top lieutenant of House Speaker Michael Madigan, with whom Blago warred for years, to the serious detriment of the state. Quinn’s relationship with Madigan is still an open question, but a Hannig appointment would go a long way toward answering it.
Start with furlough days. Cut or trim former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s expansion of health-care coverage for families with six-figure incomes. End free mass transit for wealthy senior citizens. Look at raising the income qualifiers that give some senior citizens “circuit breaker” tax cuts.
Look at eliminating or combining some state agencies, like the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity which was omitted in a different form once before.
Like many suburbs have, scale back or close the state fair until we pay our debts. Edgar did that too.
While feel-good, none of these will truly amount to a hill of beans. And I’m pretty sure that Quinn will make cuts along these lines - relatively small things that will get big media coverage and positive editorials.
The editorial is entitled: “Show us you’ll make tough cuts first,” but it demonstrates how difficult it really is to actually cut our way out of this mess.
“End free mass transit for wealthy senior citizens”? So, transit agencies will have to check everyone’s IRS returns?
“Cut or trim former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s expansion of health-care coverage for families with six-figure incomes”? That’s about ten bucks.
And isn’t it a little silly to argue for tiny cuts like this in order to justify huge tax hikes?
* And what happens when small cuts are made? Furor…
It never made sense for Illinois to close seven state parks, but then there were many things Rod Blagojevich did that never made sense.
Gov. Pat Quinn fulfilled a promise and undid one of his predecessor’s mistakes today when he reopened Castle Rock, Lowden and five other state parks.
I didn’t agree with the park closures, either, but they were exactly the sort of “tough” cuts that the DH is arguing for.
This isn’t gonna be easy at all because logic gets tossed right out the window.
So you think your property taxes are too high and want to appeal? Doing so will cost you at least 25 bucks if a state agency that handles appeals gets its way.
In a formal legal notice filed Friday, the state Property Tax Appeals Board, known as PTAB, said it intends to begin charging from $25 for fairly small appeals filed by homeowners to as much as $450 for multi-million-dollar cases filed by factory and office-tower owners. […]
[PTAB Executive Director Louis Apostol said] the agency’s budget is half of what it was in 2003, when Cook County Assessor James Houlihan engineered a roughly 50% cut in the agency’s budget in an attempt to limit its jurisdiction to areas of the state outside of Cook County. […]
But Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a Chicago watchdog and tax-policy group, said PTAB needs to specifically spell out what property owners will get for their money and even then could face his opposition.
“PTAB is known as the ‘poor-person’s court’,” Mr. Msall said. “This has the potential to restrict access to PTAB.”
People are really gonna hate that move, but where the heck else is the money going to come from after PTAB’s budget was slashed?
According to U.S. District Court Judge Milton I. Shadur, Former Chicago Alderman and judicial kingmaker Eddie Vrdolyak is not an insider.
And when Vrdolyak agreed to act as a “finder” for a crooked land deal in which he knew the fix was in and he would have to split that finder’s fee with a crooked school board member who would steer the sale to Vrdolyak’s client, that was not a “kickback,” Shadur said.
When the school board, because of the crooked board member, passed up a $15.5 million bid for its property and instead took the $15 million crooked bid, that did not represent a tangible, calculable loss to the school of $500,000, Shadur said.
After finding all of that, Judge Shadur then called Eddie Vrdolyak “a good man” and let him go free.
With no prison time, and not a penny in restitution to the school.
It was supposed to be the day of reckoning for former Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, the day he at last got sent to prison for an inside deal after what some say was a career built on them.
Instead, Chicago witnessed what seemed like another “Fast Eddie” moment.
If you didn’t know the federal judiciary in Chicago was considered to be on the square, if you didn’t know that Judge Milton Shadur had built a reputation of integrity over three decades on the bench, if you didn’t know both those things, then you might suspect the fix was in Thursday for the benefit of Edward R. Vrdolyak.
As it is, I guess we’ll have to come up with other explanations for Shadur’s almost indefensible decision to allow Fast Eddie to continue his charmed existence by walking out of the Dirksen Federal Building with no jail time — even if no other explanation but a fix will ring true to corruption-weary Chicagoans.
* But lots of people believed that the original indictment was a real stretch. Here’s the meat of the judge’s argument…
Shadur said he drew a line between Levine’s corruption and Vrdolyak’s role in the matter. He noted Vrdolyak had worked to bump up Smithfield’s initial offer of $9.5 million and that there seemed to be no concrete offers on the table that would have made any more money.
Shadur, who has a background in real estate law, said finder’s fees are a recognized part of such transactions and few real estate deals involve truly open bidding. […]
Shadur sometimes sparred with Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Niewoehner and cut him off as the prosecutor noted that Vrdolyak had connections to the powerful in Chicago.
“We do not sentence stick figures,” the judge said. “We do not sentence them because of what people might think about them.”
Shadur was right to cut off the prosecutor on that last point. And I’m pretty sure he’s right on the finder’s fee point.
* From the US Attorney…
“We strongly but respectfully disagree with the sentence of probation imposed on defendant Vrdolyak. As we argued in court, we believe a sentence of incarceration was appropriate for a defendant who schemed to share a $1.5 million fee with a corrupt insider involving the sale of a non-profit university’s valuable real estate asset.
“We will carefully consider appropriate options, including an appeal. We will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute people who corrupt public or private boards through kickbacks and insider-dealing.”
Do you think Fitzgerald should appeal this sentence?
* Bill Daley told me last year, flat-out, that he was not interested in going back to Washington, DC, whether in the Obama administration or in the US Senate. He may have changed his mind. Sneed…
Sneed hears former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, a major President Obama supporter, plans to enter the U.S. Senate sweepstakes.
• • Translation: Sneed is told Daley plans to emerge as a major contestant for the controversial Senate seat once held by Barack Obama; now held by the embattled Roland Burris!
• • The stats: Daley, who will trade on his stature and experience, has already talked to potential fund-raisers and plans to make an announcement in mid-April.
• • To wit: Daley’s keen interest in the U.S. Senate seat pits him against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, 32, a rising star in Dem politics who recently accompanied U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin on a congressional trip overseas. Giannoulias, who plays basketball with Obama, plans to announce the formation Monday of an exploratory committee to run for the Senate.
State Sen. Bill Brady will formally kick off his second bid for governor with a four-city fly-around Monday.
The 47-year-old Bloomington Republican, who received about 20 percent of the vote in the 2006 gubernatorial primary, is planning stops in Chicago, Springfield, Marion and Bloomington.
With his announcement, Brady becomes the first candidate to formally announce plans for the for the 2010 election.
As a conservative Republican, Brady said his campaign themes may hinge on what happens in the spring legislative session, where the Democrat-controlled House and Senate, as well as Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, are hinting at raising taxes to close a massive budget gap.
Peoples Gas is cutting its capital budget by a whopping 46% this year as parent Integrys Energy Group Inc. conserves cash in large part to continue paying a dividend — one that it just raised — to investors.
There is the perfect storm of reduced revenues, and ballooning and explosive pension payments. And the only word I can use for it is explosive, because they go up by hundreds of millions of dollars in one year.
The district will not be able to plug budget holes with an estimated $390 million from the stimulus package, since much of that money is earmarked. Huberman, who’s been on the job about four weeks, said he’ll cut central office jobs before touching schools.
Ron Huberman, the chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, said he wants to replace a piecemeal approach with a districtwide effort with police to evaluate how gangs affect school attendance boundaries, what gang boundaries students must cross to get to school and even how CTA bus routes intersect boundaries as they carry students to class.
Stimulus plan or no stimulus plan, many suburban school districts are hacking away at next year’s budgets because of a steep drop in the Consumer Price Index, a figure that determines how much property tax revenue schools can collect.
* Lake County Journals Honors Congressman Mark Kirk and Sheriff Mark Curran, Jr. with ForeFronts Award
U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean was one of 20 Democrats to vote against this fiscal year’s federal appropriations plan Wednesday, putting the Barrington resident on the side of Republicans in the suburbs.
Local members of Congress used their clout on Capitol Hill to include millions of dollars for Southland projects in a $410 billion spending bill that passed the House on Wednesday.
Cook County health officials say they can absorb the latest budget cuts without trimming more jobs or services. But one heavy-hitter in county government says he’s not so sure.
Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis thinks it’s a bad idea to release the names of officers who have multiple citizen complaints against them—such a bad idea that he’s defying a federal judge’s order to do so.
Richard Rodriguez had barely enough time to learn his way around Chicago’s airports before he was reassigned Thursday to the CTA, the nation’s second-largest transit system.
* Rep. Sara Feigenholtz’s campaign has launched a TV attack on Mike Quigley. Feigenholtz has swapped out her entire ad buy with this ad, so she’s now 100 percent negative, but there’s still the positive SEIU ads…
Text…
In the race for Congress, who’ll deliver for us? Mike Quigley? He talks a good game, but he endorsed Todd Stroger. Even sending his county staff to help Stroger’s campaign. And Quigley voted for Stroger’s budget, cutting nurses and hospital workers to keep Stroger friends on the payroll.
The better choice? Sara Feigenholtz passed healthcare for kids. More mammogram coverage. This Tuesday, let’s end the games. Choose the candidate who always stands with us.
* This tongue in cheek copy of the Feigenholtz ad was posted to YouTube by Quigley’s campaign. There’s some biting commentary before, during and after the ad. There’s even a Blagojevich/Feigenholtz smooch tacked onto the end…
*** UPDATE *** From a press release…
Cook County commissioner Mike Quigley, candidate for Congress, will be joined by Cook County commissioner Forrest Claypool on Friday morning to respond to a new negative and misleading television ad from a rival campaign.
On Thursday, Sara Feigenholtz’s campaign began airing a new attack ad that includes several falsehoods which Quigley and Claypool will refute.
Quigley and Claypool will speak outside the Cook County building, 118 N. Clark, at 10:00 A..M.
Quigley has been endorsed by the city’s two major newspapers. In endorsing Quigley, both the Tribune and the Sun-Times cited Quigley’s record fighting for reform and opposing Todd Stroger.
* Democrat Victor Forys has gotten little to no media coverage in the 5th Congressional special election. That’s unfortunate. Forys has an interesting campaign strategy that’s spelled out pretty well in an article written by a Polish Daily News reporter…
Out of approximately 650,000 residents in the district, more than 111,000 (17%) are of Polish descent.
“All we need is 30,000 Polish-Americans to come out and vote and we’ll win,” Forys claimed in a phone interview. The candidate is counting on a very low turnout by the area’s non-Polish residents.
He probably only needs a fraction of that number, considering the expected low turnout. Forys has been pushing early voting very hard, and from what I hear the early voting roster is jam-packed with Polish surnames. Forys claims he’s already leading going into election day, and he might not be all wrong.
Forys runs a huge medical clinic in the district which serves the immigrant community. He claims the clinic serves 10,000 patients in the district. He attended grad school in Poland and has apparently been quoted often in Chicago’s extensive Polish media. The guy is very plugged in.
* But with visibility comes scrutiny, and being scrutined is not always fun. Consider this Forys press release, which features an attack on Mike Quigley by Republican gadfly Tony Peraica…
Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica called Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley a big phony when it comes to reform and in fact the worst kind of political insider.
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley has sent out nearly 10 mail pieces showing Commissioner Quigley standing next to Commissioner Forest Claypool slamming Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.
The Minister of Propaganda for Germany in World War II, said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
“Commissioner Mike Quigley is telling a big lie, and he is repeating it over and over and over,” said Dr. Victor Forys, M.D.
Nazi baiting? What the heck?
Peraica’s support probably helps Forys in a fractured and impossible to predict Democratic primary. Media scrutiny might just help his campaign, even if it’s negative. But that hit was way over the line.
* Meanwhile, another little-noticed Democratic candidate is continuing to pile up endorsements from groups that are better known for backing conservative Republicans. From a press release…
Illinois Citizens for Life Federal PAC announced [yesterday] that the organization is endorsing Cary Capparelli, candidate on the Democratic ballot to fill Rahm Emanuel’s seat representing Illinois’ 5th Congressional District. […]
The Illinois Citizens for Life Federal PAC endorsement is the third one in less than a week for Cary Capparelli. Cary has received an endorsement from Family-Pac Federal last weekend. National Taxpayers United Illinois endorsed him on Monday. […]
“Cary Capparelli is a traditional Democrat who represents the values of the majority of hard-working Democrats in the 5th District,” said Paul Caprio, director of Family Pac Federal.
* And another “second tier” candidate, Tom Geoghegan, is trying to get some publicity by attaching himself to the Roland Burris issue. From a press release…
A suit was filed in court today calling on Governor Patrick Quinn and the state of Illinois to call a special election for the Senate seat previously occupied by President Barack Obama, as required by the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The fight for the open 5th Congressional seat is getting ugly.
And Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley deserves a knock for moving it in that direction.
With Election Day looming Tuesday, mailboxes in the North Side and suburban district have been littered with flyers, including a cheap and misleading one by Quigley. The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board endorsed Quigley and we stand by that endorsement. But that means we’re holding him to a higher standard, including calling him out when he strays.
Several of his ads blame his opponents Sara Feigenholtz and John Fritchey, both state representatives, for giving Chicago the highest sales tax in the nation.
That’s not accurate.
* The Tribune continues to omit sentences from its print edition in its online stories, which is just plain bizarre. For instance…
Of all the candidates in the congressional race, Feigenholtz perhaps has the strongest ties to Blagojevich. Her campaign committee gave more than $10,000 to Blagojevich, including $5,000 in June 2006, when it was clear to the state’s political class that the then-governor’s administration was under federal scrutiny.
This line was in the print edition, but not online…
She also has hired as a campaign aide Becky Carroll, a deputy chief of staff to Blagojevich until September 2007.
Like his predecessor in the Illinois House, John Fritchey is trying to jump from Springfield to Washington running as a reformer.
And much like then-state Rep. Rod Blagojevich did in his bid for Congress, Fritchey enjoys the backing of a politically connected father-in-law, other clout-heavy Democratic North Side ward bosses and many labor unions.
* Last day for early voting in Rahm Emanuel replacement race: Through Wednesday, just 3,420 people in the Chicago portion of the district had cast a ballot. In the suburban Cook County part, a whopping 235 people have voted since the early voting started Feb. 16.
The son of embattled Sen. Roland Burris is a federal tax deadbeat who landed a $75,000-a-year state job under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich five months ago, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Blagojevich’s administration hired Roland W. Burris II as a senior counsel for the state’s housing authority Sept. 10 — about six weeks after the Internal Revenue Service slapped a $34,163 tax lien on Burris II and three weeks after a mortgage company filed a foreclosure suit on his South Side house. […]
Burris II’s hiring, however, raises more questions about Sen. Burris’ interactions with Blagojevich and his inner circle at a time when the governor was soliciting Sen. Burris for campaign contributions and Burris was angling to have Blagojevich appoint him to the Senate seat once held by President Obama.
Burris also talked to former Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris and Blagojevich insider John Filan about a job for his nephew before Blagojevich was arrested.
In Springfield, the head of the legislative committee that took Burris’ testimony on how he got the Senate appointment from ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a timeline aimed at refuting Republican accusations that she sat on a controversial affidavit revising Burris’ story.
But in her written response to Republicans, Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) acknowledged she received the affidavit from Burris’ attorney on Friday, Feb. 6, days earlier than was previously known.
“Without a closer look, I assumed the entire document was a routine response to committee questions,” she wrote. “Any suggestion that I engaged in a deliberate cover up, that I purposely delayed distribution of the information is totally false.”
*** UPDATE *** From House Democratic spokesman Steve Brown in comments…
Actually this part of the Trib’s reporting is dead wrong…her first statement and yeseterday’s letter contain the same info…As soon as Jim Webb returns my phone call the correction will be requested.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* Delmarie Cobb, Burris’ media adviser who more than hinted to Carol Marin this week that she intends to play the race card, sent a pretty frank letter to Ald. Freddrenna Lyle which was then posted on a local blog…
In true David Axelrod style, all week, white progressive Democratic elected officials have called for Roland’s resignation–David Orr, Dan Hynes, Dick Durbin, Pat Quinn, and Alexi Giannoullias.
You may not be able to ask this question, but where have all of these self-righteous people been during all of the corruption, scandal, pay-to-play and mismanagement revelations that have been uncovered by the Chicago Sun Times and Tribune on Mayor Daley. Not once have these elected officials or the Chicago media called for Daley’s resignation. As John Kass said in his column on Friday, black elected officials are perceived as weak and white elected officials are seen as powerful. Consequently, we can do to Roland–with no evidence of wrongdoing–what we can’t do to Daley and others with mounds of evidence.
Also, all of them will need black votes to be elected or re-elected, so this isn’t a good time to make enemies of the black community.
It seems pretty clear where this is headed.
A not so veiled threat…
Many black elected officials didn’t like Barack, but they stayed quiet and got on board and they need to do the same for Roland.
The ultimate goal…
We need to help rehabilitate Roland’s image and try to get him elected. Then, over the course of his six-year term, we need to find a successor, who is African American.
…Adding… As a commenter rightly notes, Ms. Cobb supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama last year. The irony abounds.
* Related…
* Burris expresses concern over turmoil he’s caused state Dem leader: “We spoke very briefly; he expressed concern over attacks on me and said that he’d done nothing wrong. We did not discuss the affidavit,” Currie said Wednesday.
* Burris has campaign Web site, but not much on it: “Legislation,” “Endorsements,” “Accomplishments,” “Issues,” “News Articles” - these sections are all blank. The “Biography” section contains 500 words about Burris’ career, and he names his wife and children in the “Family” section.
* I’ll have more on Sen. Burris in a different post this morning, but this should kickstart the day in an interesting way…
In the latest installment of the saga of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, Atty. Gen Lisa Madigan issued an opinion late Wednesday saying she thinks it would be legal for state lawmakers to move up the date of the Senate election to choose a successor to President Barack Obama, who vacated the seat.
The legal opinion by Madigan, which was sought by Republicans, means legislators in theory might be able to force Burris to run in a special election if he wants to retain the U.S. Senate seat he was appointed to by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich amid a cloud of scandal. Right now, Obama’s former Senate seat is set to be decided by Illinois voters in a February 2010 primary and a November 2010 general election.
If Burris lost, he would be out of office sooner than January 2011, when the term he is filling is set to end. That would also be the case if Burris chose not to run—Illinois’ new senator would take over shortly after a special election.
In a letter to members of the General Assembly, Madigan said such a move would be legal under the U.S. Constitution.
The Illinois Association of Realtors says Chicago home sales are down about 25 percent. This January, about 900 homes were sold in Chicago… that’s compared to the nearly 1100 in January 2008. David Hanna is president of the Chicago Association of Realtors.
The report says the average home price last month for the Chicago area dropped below $250,000. The average in January of last year was more than $320,000.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says Canadian National Railway should have to meet a key condition placed on it before its hotly debated acquisition of a nearly 200-mile railway line encircling Chicago.
CN this week asked a federal court to overturn a requirement from the Surface Transportation Board that CN pay around 70 percent of the costs of building overpasses or underpasses at two crossings.
Montreal-based CN says railroads have historically paid only up to 10 percent.
Tens of thousands of uninsured patients could qualify for up to $3.5 million in refunds on payments they made to eight Chicago and suburban hospitals under a class-action lawsuit settlement approved Wednesday.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he’ll reappoint the city’s inspector general if he wants to serve another term. David Hoffman’s investigations have led to some embarrassing reports about city departments and employees. But Mayor Daley says Hoffman’s “done a very good job.” Daley was asked Wednesday if Hoffman had “stepped on any toes.”
DALEY: No, he hasn’t stepped on any toes. No, he hasn’t. He just does his job. I don’t know why you’re [asking if he’s] stepping on toes. He does his job. Rightfully. And that’s what his authorization is. Inspector general.
Sixteen Chicago Public Schools will be closed or revamped at the end of this school year. The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved the plan yesterday.
The district says 12 of the schools are under-enrolled and 4 are performing poorly. Those four will see their entire staff dismissed.
