* 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.
* 1:32 pm - I told subscribers about this earlier today…
Gov. Pat Quinn says the state’s massive budget hole could be bigger than $9 billion by next year, creating a crisis unlike any Illinois has ever seen.
Quinn, in an impromptu discussion with reporters after a Wednesday meeting at the Capitol with Senate Republicans, said the state’s budget picture could get worse as the world’s economy continues to falter. That could mean very difficult budget decisions facing him and lawmakers, although Quinn wouldn’t commit to pushing tax increases or other solutions.
The deficit could be as bad as $11.5 billion.
More…
“It’s no fun to talk about taxes, but we have to have a fair fiscal system that pays its bills,” Quinn said he told Republicans.
The governor said he’s skeptical of raising the state’s motor fuel tax or fees on driver’s licenses and vehicle titles to help solve the financial problems but can’t rule anything out at this point.
That “can’t rule anything out” is quite telling.
*** 1:48 pm *** Nick Hurtgen pled guilty today. He’s looking at 22.5 months behind bars and is cooperating. Hurtgen may provide a lead to a couple of different people, for instance, there was that infamous plane ride…
Levine said he spoke to Gov. Blagojevich about state boards only once: while on a flight back from New York. A fundraising trip, Levine had again footed the bill for the private jet. On board the plane to New York on Oct. 29, 2003, had been Blagojevich, Levine, lawyer and fundraiser Joseph Cari, Bear Stearns financier Nick Hurtgen, Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk, Blagojevich friend John Wyma, fundraiser Chris Kelly and Blagojevich bodyguard Joe Morrero. On the way back, said Levine, it was just Kelly, Levine and the governor as passengers.
Levine thanked the governor for his reappointment to the Health Facilities Planning Board.
“The governor said … ‘Never discuss any state board with me,’” Levine said. Instead, Blagojevich told Levine to talk only through Rezko or Chris Kelly. But he did add, “But you stick with us and you’ll do very well for yourself,” Levine testified. “I took it to mean that I would have an opportunity to make a lot of money.”
“Mr. Kelly (then) changed the topic of the conversation,” Levine said.
* The Republicans do not currently allow voters to elect state central committeepersons. The Democrats do, and quite a few Republicans, particularly the “insurgent conservatives,” want the same democratic rights. The GOP powers that be fret that the elections could open up all sorts of nasty wounds and further divide the party.
A bill to mandate open elections can be found here.
* The Question: Should the General Assembly pass that bill? Explain why or why not.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is being threatened with political retribution if she insists on washing her hands of torture cases tied to former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.
Chicago Alderman Ed Smith said Tuesday sending five of the 25 Burge cases back to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office as Madigan requested will mean they will not prosecuted.
Smith warned Madigan will pay a price in a race for governor or for re-election, if she insists on passing the cases back to the state’s attorney’s office.
Smith lost his countywide race last year, but he has a powerful local organization and his political retribution threats cannot be taken lightly.
Burge and officers under his command were accused of torturing many into confessions through beatings, electric shock and other odious acts. He was terminated by the Chicago Police Department in 1993 and indicted in October 2008 on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. Federal prosecutors have expanded the investigation to include officers under the former commander’s command when the alleged torture acts took place.
The [five cases Madigan wants to give back to the state’s attorney] were among 21 turned over to the state attorney general in 2003 after a judge ruled that then-State’s Atty. Richard Devine had a conflict of interest because he once represented Burge in private practice.
“Given the fact that there has been no activity and the fact the conflict no longer exists, we have asked Judge Biebel to consider assigning them back to the state’s attorney, where they would have been if not for Devine,” [Cara Smith, Madigan’s deputy chief of staff] said.
* But a recent AP story cited money as a big factor…
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office says it can’t handle the remaining cases related to former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge because of budget cuts imposed by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
“If this is shifted back, it’s gonna get lost in the cracks, put on the back burner and nothing will happen. Those people who are in jail will remain in jail. I want her to follow these cases to fruition and make sure that justice is served from her office,” Smith said. […]
“Our community is still upset about these cases. It could give the impression that she just wants to walk away and let it go”
*** UPDATE *** “Premature” does not mean it won’t happen, by any stretch of the imagination…
Gov. Pat Quinn said today that talk of a huge state tax increase in next month’s budget proposal is “premature,” and he reminded local officials and interest groups lobbying for more money that times are tight. […]
“It’s premature to talk about that now,” Quinn said as he entered the Capitol through its main North entrance, a marked departure from Blagojevich’s habit of using a basement utility tunnel. “But when we have the plan, we’ll lay out in full detail what the needs are and how to pay for it.”
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* As I told subscribers this morning, Gov. Quinn isn’t at all enthused with increasing the motor fuel tax to pay for the capital bill…
While the governors meeting focused in large part on building the nation’s infrastructure, Illinois hasn’t approved a major public works program in a decade. Part of the problem was Blagojevich’s strained relationship with legislators, but funding remained a major stumbling block. Now, lawmakers there are floating the idea of using a gas tax to pay for it.
But after talking with fellow governors about how to pay for infrastructure improvements, Quinn said a gas tax hike sounds “counterproductive.”
“If we want to wean ourselves from a petroleum-based economy, then we can’t be using that particular source of funding to invest in the things we need to do to become energy-efficient,” he said.
The governor, who plans to run for re-election in 2010, said he’s “never been excited” about the gas tax because it is an excise tax that isn’t based on a customer’s ability to pay. But the idea of the gas tax as a user tax, to pay for infrastructure doesn’t make sense, because infrastructure is more than just roads, he said.
Quinn suggested that infrastructure plans should include non-transportation items — such as laying fiber optic lines along highways — to promote telemedicine, online education and Internet commerce.
The Senate Dems are looking at a 16-23 cents per gallon increase in the tax. The House Dems are mulling an 8 cents per gallon hike. But Quinn doesn’t appear to love either idea.
To raise a billion dollars for capital, he’d need about a third of a percentage point income tax increase. But that’s without all the exemptions he wants to put into place for lower income taxpayers. Some downstaters are looking at the income tax for capital, but the income tax will probably also have to be raised to close the budget deficit.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Quigley claims he didn’t vote for the resolution calling on the General Assembly to pass the transit bailout. From a press release…
The Quigley for Congress campaign responded today to false statements made today by state Rep. John Fritchey.
“Just like when it came to vote on sales taxes, John Fritchey got it wrong again today,” said Tom Bowen, Quigley for Congress campaign manager.
Bowen added:
“Fritchey is doing what all politicians do when they are in trouble, they mislead the voters. Mike Quigley never voted for the resolution Fritchey cites, nor did he co-sponsor it. Quigley has said consistently that the reason the CTA was in such a dire condition was the direct result of John Fritchey and Sara Feigenholtz voting for budget after budget that shortchanged mass transit, while failing to hold the CTA accountable for the money it was wasting on mismanagement. When faced with a similar crisis in Cook County, Mike Quigley held his ground and voted against the Stroger sales tax hike while Fritchey and Feigenholtz voted for a sales tax hike, helping make Chicago’s sales tax the highest in the nation.”
“Mike didn’t vote for sales taxes on that day, any day before, or any day since. John Fritchey can’t say that. Sara Feigenholtz can’t say that.
“And that’s why the taxpayers of this district are saying they support Mike Quigley.”
Fritchey’s campaign claims that Quigley missed the committee vote, but was present for the floor vote, which was unanimous and a voice roll call. Quigley’s people deny it. Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE *** This is a very legit hit by Rep. Fritchey. Several legislators were talking about Mike Quigley’s attacks this week and weren’t happy about them. We’ll see if the media covers it. From a press release…
State Representative John Fritchey (D-Chicago), a candidate in next week’s Special Primary Election to fill the 5th Congressional District vacancy, today chided one of his opponents in the race as an opportunist and a hypocrite. Rep. Fritchey’s comments came in response to mailers and statements made by Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley regarding the state’s bailout of the CTA, Metra and Pace mass transit systems, and his supposed opposition to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.
A recent Quigley campaign mail piece attacked Fritchey for supporting legislation that kept the buses and trains running in the Chicagoland area. But at the time the legislation was being considered in Springfield, Quigley actually voted for a Cook County resolution ‘urging the Illinois General Assembly to take such action as is necessary and appropriate to increase
operating funding.” (County Resolution 07-R-310)
“Mike Quigley has crossed the line from political spin and jumped right into the realm of deceiving the voters,” stated Rep. Fritchey. “When it was politically popular to keep the buses and trains running so people could get to and from work, Mike was fully on board. Now that he’s running for higher office, he’s criticizing the same bailout that he wanted passed at the
time.”
I wrote about Quigley’s attacks on Fritchey and Rep. Feigenholtz on this issue yesterday. You can click here to see one of the mailers in question.
* Also, Jesse Greenberg points to this whack of Quigley by Forrest Claypool after the 2007 budget vote….
On February 10, Commissioners Quigley, Gorman, Goslin and Silvestri switched sides and voted for President Stroger’s budget, which protected politically connected upper management personnel and sacrificed frontline personnel. These same commissioners then proceeded to vote against the very amendment they publicly supported a week prior, resulting in the defeat of our omnibus budget amendment 10 to 7.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* While Rep. John Fritchey’s ketchup on a hot dog mailer will probably go down as the goofiest ad of the season (if not the decade), his TV closer is quite strong…
Fritchey doesn’t have nearly the money behind this ad that Rep. Sara Feigenholtz and SEIU have behind their TV buys. But this isn’t a normal campaign. Phil Crane won a 1969 special congressional election (after Donald Rumsfeld left for the Nixon White House) with something like 3,000 votes in an 18-candidate primary. Weird things can happen when the ballot is crowded and nobody votes.
* I really don’t get the Chicago media’s aversion to this race. For instance, today’s Tribune profile of Ald. Pat O’Connor (at least the online version) makes no mention of the paper’s weeklong series of articles about O’Connor’s zoning “issues.” The paper’s edit board also made no reference to the series when O’Connor was mentioned in its endorsement of Mike Quigley. Also, the Trib’s Quigley profile posted online is only a small portion of the print story.
* Speaking of Quigley, David Ormsby claims the candidate is being hypocritical with his attacks on Feigenholtz and Fritchey over the mass transit bailout vote…
Fritchey and Feigenholtz had the courage to take a tough vote to keep the buses and trains running for thousands of their constituents and thousands of Quigley’s. Quigley had the cowardice to attack them for it.
* If you want to follow the campaign via Twitter, WindyCitizen has a handy new tool.
* I banned someone for life yesterday because of a very inappropriate comment about a candidate. That commenter will never be allowed back in, no matter what, for as long as this blog exists. I even deleted all of his/her previous comments for good measure. It was a very satisfying Orwellian erasure.
Besides that one idiot, the comments weren’t too horrible yesterday, but things have gotten out of hand in previous posts. I will ask one more time for a bit of civility and common sense. I’m in no mood and have no time to babysit overzealous campaign hacks today. Grow up or leave.
Also, please use only one screen name in comments. I can see your IP addresses, so I know when you’re attempting to post multiple “thoughts” under different names.
*** UPDATE *** Burris hires new staff. From a press release…
Brady King, interim chief of staff], a Capitol Hill veteran since 1992, has served Representative Chet Edwards (D-TX) as Appropriations Advisor, Representative Allen Boyd (D-FL) as Legislative Director, and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) as Defense Policy Advisor. King holds degrees from Texas A&M University and Baylor University, and he is completing a PhD at Temple University.
[Jim O’Connor, Communications Director] is a veteran of Chicago and Illinois politics. O’Connor has served as Press Secretary for US Senate candidate Blair Hull, Political Director at the firm of Wilhelm & Conlon, and has most recently been based in San Francisco as a political commentator for Bay-area evening news station, KRON4.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* He isn’t leaving and he’s talking about running again…
“Roland is going to stay in the Senate, going to stay until the people of Illinois decide if he should leave,” [Burris media and political adviser Delmarie Cobb] said.
Meaning what?
“Petitions will begin to be circulated in September,” she responded. “Then we’ll see.”
Announcing that he wouldn’t run in 2010 would’ve forced Sen. Burris to give up his only remaining leverage.
Durbin said Burris told him he was under some financial pressure. Burris has said he now owes at least $400,000 for lawyers.
Burris said his legal bills were $400K three weeks ago, before the latest round of madness. Maybe he just hasn’t received the new invoice, or he’s just clueless or not telling the truth. The law firm he’s using is his own, so they’re really piling up the bills on the guy, or he’s just making stuff up.
* The congressman didn’t respond, but he could’ve said the same thing right back to Burris…
Burris approached fellow Illinois Democrat Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and while shaking his hand, said, “I did nothing wrong, Jesse. I did nothing wrong.”
* Burris was given a taste of the “DC diss” during the president’s speech last night…
Members of Congress have special public rituals for pariahs who cannot, for various reasons, be ejected. At best, they show a distinct lack of made-for-TV enthusiasm for the scorned. At worst, they’ll stare into the middle distance as if through Those Not to Be Acknowledged.
More commonly, they smile, but not warmly; hug everyone else and issue a polite nod or maybe back-pat to the undesirable before moving on. Rarely, they’ll turn their backs or be rude. Particularly not on live television.
Oooo. That’s so… not gonna work at all. Whatta buncha goofs.
After the speech, Obama went around shaking hands. When Obama came near the area when embattled Sen. Roland Burris was standing — alone at this point and looking a little forelorn — Burris waved at him a few times.
Obama appeared not to respond. And the president certainly did not reach out. I don’t know if this qualifies as a snub, but it was a brutal reminder of the tough time Burris has ahead now that he has decided not to resign in the wake of controversies stemming from his appointment by ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Power company ComEd slashed some employees’ work hours by 40 percent this week — just one week after announcing it would cancel projects under way, but avoid layoffs.
The Cook County sheriff’s office and the Chicago Police Department are launching new efforts to weed out bad apples.
Sheriff Tom Dart recently ordered his internal-affairs investigators to conduct background checks on every one of the office’s roughly 7,000 employees, spokesman Steve Patterson said.
Daley’s broadside came during a news conference at police headquarters, called to unveil his annual package of gun-control legislation. The only new features are proposals to increase penalties for shooting students on or near school grounds and public transit and to prevent the private sale of handguns without a criminal background check.
