* Finally, the long-awaited cemetery attack ad from Pat Quinn. Rate it…
Quinn is obviously trying to staunch the bleeding of his support in the African-American community lately, so Hynes fires back using Harold Washington’s own words. Effective? You tell me…
Oof. As someone just told me, that ad will work for everybody, not just black people. He’s right. It’s all about the theme that Quinn is incompetent.
There is obviously some chutzpah here since Hynes’ father ran against Washington. I didn’t remember this, but the Quinn people tell me an 18-year-old Dan Hynes appears in one of his dad’s ads. Wanna bet we’ll see that footage?
I have a couple of more ads, but I wanted to get these up since everything is so delayed today. Check back in a few.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Apparently, Gov. Quinn didn’t know that Hynes was using actual video of Harold Washington, because the governor today denied he was fired by the late mayor…
Quinn denies Washington fired him.
“That didn’t happen — I resigned. I supported Harold Washington in every election. He told me sometime Quinn, someday we’ll have a drink together.”
He resigned? That’s not what Washington said. Oops. Pretty stupid prevarication by Quinn.
Quinn’s campaign shot back that the ad is in poor taste coming from Hynes, alleging that the comptroller’s father, 19th Ward power broker Tom Hynes undermined Washington. The elder Hynes ran as a third-party candidate against Washington in his 1987 re-election campaign at a time when racial tensions ran high in Chicago politics
“Harold Washington is spinning in his grave,” said Quinn spokeswoman Elizabeth Austin. “Dan Hynes was featured in ads for his father against Harold Washington.”
I asked the Hynes campaign about that last point, and they said the then 18-year-old appeared in a positive ad for his dad.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The IFT and the IEA are running a new radio ad for Hynes. Listen.
* Speech ran long and I am running late for the funeral, so here’s a big list of campaign stories. I’ll do something with some of this when I get back, but have at it for now campers…
* Ill. Senate candidate alleging anti-gay discrimination in debate fight
Businessman Bob Dold looked next door after a rival candidate in the Feb. 2 primary locked up endorsements from the Illinois Republicans he hopes to join in Congress.
Dold — who’s going after the seat being vacated by Rep. Mark Kirk — announced the endorsement of Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar.
* I have to give a speech this morning, so there isn’t much time to post until around 10 o’clock. After that, I am going to the Carlos Hernandez Gomez funeral. I hope to get a couple of posts up in between.
In his rise to the pinnacle of Illinois politics, House Speaker Michael J. Madigan built a reputation for wielding control over every bill, every budget line and every Democratic representative elected to oversee them.
Away from the public eye, the state’s ultimate power player enjoyed a similar rise in his private career: rainmaker for one of Chicago’s most successful property tax law firms.
In a first-of-its-kind examination, the Tribune found these two careers repeatedly intersect, and in some cases Madigan took public actions that benefited his private clients.
As a public official, he got a private road behind a shopping mall repaved, helped secure state funding for an expanded tollway interchange and intervened for a developer looking for state cash. In each case, Madigan was a private lawyer for businesspeople who stood to benefit.
His list of clients multiplied as Madigan consolidated political muscle over the last two decades. Now, many of his decisions as speaker have the potential to affect someone who has hired Madigan & Getzendanner in hopes of having a tax bill lowered. The Chicago firm represents banks the state regulates, investment houses that have overseen billions of dollars in public pensions, developers who want roads — all subject to decisions made by a state House in the firm control of their tax lawyer.
In 2005, while serving as the executive director of the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Jon Bauman says he was surprised one day when his secretary announced a call from the speaker of the House.
“He talked about these gentlemen from a Chicago-focused fund who were trying to start something,” Bauman said of Madigan. “He understood minority-owned and/or Illinois-based funds may be of special interest to us, and he asked that we give the guy and his fund a look.
“I told him he was correct, we were working with particular emphasis on those kinds of funds and I appreciated his call and would be in touch,” Bauman said. Records show pension fund managers did have a meeting with the broker, John Cooke, who represented the Arches at Oakwood Shores, a low-income housing project developed by Granite Development Corp. and The Community Builders. Both firms have been tax clients of Madigan & Getzendanner. […]
Bauman cooperated with federal agents building a corruption case against members of the Blagojevich administration for, among other things, corrupting pension contracts. After Blagojevich’s indictment and impeachment last year, Madigan introduced legislation to fire Bauman, saying he cooperated only to save himself.
Bauman said he now wonders whether his ouster was retaliation for not hiring Madigan’s client. He said Madigan did not disclose his professional relationship with the developers and he did not know about it.
Madigan press secretary Steve Brown responds…
For about 11 months, a team of at least four Chicago Tribune reporters have been pouring over documents, conducting interviews and studying files. In many instances their question was “tell us how Mike Madigan used his public office to enrich his law practice.”
The following document speaks for itself. It was provided to the Tribune reporters in response to their questions and revised based on additional conversations.
The mass at Chicago’s St. John Cantius Catholic Church, 825 North Carpenter St., is set for 11 a.m. and will be in Latin. A priest will assist with CLTV’s coverage.
The core problem is money. Most CTA subsidies come from taxes on retail sales and real-estate transfers, and the worst recession in many decades has knocked that take way, way down.
The agency has agreed to borrow more than $100 million to close the funding gap, but had to pay a big price. To sign the needed legislation, Gov. Pat Quinn demanded a two-year freeze on fares — not even a little hike, not even on well-heeled Loop office workers who might prefer to pay an extra quarter rather than wait an extra quarter-hour in the cold for a bus.
If something isn’t worked out by Feb. 7, the CTA plans to cut 9 express bus routes, cut hours on 41 bus routes, and reduce service on 119 bus and 7 rail lines. The agency also plans to lay off 1,067 workers.
The transportation board is sending questionnaires to the Illinois and Indiana communities affected by Canadian National’s acquisition of the 198-mile rail line, which runs in an arc around Chicago from Waukegan to Joliet to Gary.
Next month, Mrs. Obama officially launches her anti-obesity initiative, and during a speech before the U.S. Conference of Mayors, she told them, “We’re looking to you to be leaders on the front lines of this effort across the country.”
Unspent money stays in an alderman’s account for future use — but is certain to become campaign fodder for challengers charging the ward’s needs aren’t being met.
Chicago area suburbs saw a 47 percent spike in the number of poor, and the nation’s suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country from 2000 to 2008.
Take Northwestern University, with building after building lining the lakefront in Evanston. A world class institution with a world class endowment, or investments of nearly $6 billion.
Or the University of Chicago which stretches for blocks on both sides of the Midway in fashionable Hyde Park. Its endowment: also $6 billion.
But like all not-for-profit schools, hospitals and churches, they pay no property taxes.
According to the Cook County Assessor, all this costs the rest of us anywhere from $200 to $400 milliofn.
People like Refund Anticipation Loans, or RALs, because it lets them get their expected tax refunds a couple of days after filing. Lenders like them because the fees in Illinois alone total $114 million a year.
* Athletic department waiting to hear about furloughs
Illini coaches could take after similar behavior this semester, when the University implements furloughs to help combat the institution’s rising financial problems.
Superintendent Rick Schmitt told the school board this week that the district should have been paid $4,534,862 by the state by now, but the district has only received $3,565,615.
* Unit 5, terminated contractor reach agreement for work on junior high school
The January issue of Discover magazine, which focuses on “science, technology and the future,” listed science’s Top 100 Stories of 2009, ranking FutureGen as No. 9.
But Rolling Stone magazine also mentioned FutureGen in its January magazine when it called FutureGen lobbyist Dick Gephardt one of the 17 “polluters and deniers who are derailing efforts to curb global warming.”
* Legislator’s book to outline how Southern Illinois can help the green economy
State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, will join Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard and John Mead, director of the SIUC Coal Research Center, for an announcement about the release of the book, “Hope for the Heartland.”
[Mike] Schafer and entrepreneurs like him advocate aggressive fishing of Asian carp as a way to make money and save the Great Lakes, where environmentalists fear the voracious fish would starve native species by consuming their food. But several of them say such efforts can’t get going without government help, and that’s been in short supply as states face budget problems.
[City Clerk Cecilia] Tumulty told aldermen this week she didn’t want to present a budget based on the assumption that unions would accept contractual concessions of 12 unpaid days off or smaller pay increases, as Mayor Tim Davlin has proposed.
Springfield Police Chief Rob Williams is counting on personal connections and word of mouth — what he calls “informal recruiting” — to help the mostly white department diversify, a goal that has been elusive for more than a decade.
* Some support for Decatur parking plan, but it’s not unanimous
The proposed plan calls for instituting employee parking permits at the 10-hour parking meters that line the outlying streets downtown, setting all city parking garages at equal pricing, and putting in place measures to allow the city to boot and tow cars and suspend the driver’s licenses of those with high amounts of unpaid parking tickets.
* Mattoon officials defend use of TIF districts, approve two grants
* Back in the day, lots of politicians had what was called a “flower fund.” Their government employees kicked into the fund every payday and were told their cash would be used to buy flowers for funerals, weddings, retirements, etc. But, of course, not all the money was used for those purposes. Dorothy Brown has apparently put a modern twist on the concept. Fox Chicago’s Dane Placko has the story…
It’s called “Jeans Day” – when employees of Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown pay for the privilege of wearing jeans at work. […]
“Jeans Day” has turned into nearly a year-round fundraising operation within the massive clerk’s office.
Yet, we’ve been able to find little accountability as to where the cash goes.
Employees are allowed to wear jeans if they pay $3 a day — or $10 per week– cash only.
The money is collected by managers, stuffed into brown manila envelopes.
Employees are told it goes for charity and employee functions like picnics and parties.
But our repeated Freedom of Information requests for more details about the program– written guidelines, how much money is raised, who’s getting it — have been rebuffed, as were our requests for a sit-down interview with Brown.
Placko will have more tonight. Don’t miss it.
Brown had a big lead in the last Tribune poll. I’m hearing that the Trib is in the field again. So far, none of the negative stories on Brown have really been burned in, so she may still be ahead. Somebody better go negative soon, because she could be a disaster in November, even against Roger Keats.
A review of the governor’s campaign and official public schedules shows his handlers scheduled blatantly political events on the political docket - avoiding the use of taxpayer dollars for campaign purposes.
But it also shows far fewer events on the campaign side so far this year, despite an increasingly intense primary campaign that has dominated the headlines.
For all five workdays last week, Quinn had not one public campaign event. But he had eight public government events. […]
In all, there were six days in the last 18 that lacked any public event on taxpayer time compared to 11 days void of events on campaign time.
• To wit: Sneed is told [Rep. Art Turner] spoke at the recent funeral of his former chief of staff Bea Smith — and intoned if Smith were here today she would tell you to vote for Art Turner [for lt. governor].
• Upshot: “Everyone in the church was a gasp, without a doubt,” said a Sneed source who was there. “You just don’t do that — self promotion at a funeral.”
• The response: “I was in campaign mode,” Turner tells Sneed. “If I offended anyone I apologize. Bea was a friend of mine and a neighbor. I worked with her for more than 15 years. And her family has been strong supporters.”
* In other campaign news, Democratic comptroller candidate state Rep. David Miller has a new TV ad. It’s quite good. Watch it…
* Republican US Senate candidate Mark Kirk has a new radio ad featuring Jim Edgar. Listen.
One of Kirk’s primary opponents, Patrick Hughes, has a new TV ad. Rate it…
* WSIL TV analyzes the gubernatorial ads, and actually has somebody on air saying that Hynes’ early release ad isn’t resonating. Oops. Have a look…
* And here’s your gigantic campaign roundup, courtesy of my two new interns, Dan Weber and Barton Lorimor. Dan is from UIUC and Barton is from SIUC…
* Gun Owners of America endorse Hughes for U.S. Senate
* The pontificating over the impact of the Massachusetts Senate race on Illinois has begun in earnest. This statement was released by the Illinois GOP chairman before the contest was even called by the AP…
“Today, the citizens of Massachusetts repudiated the first year of President Obama’s term by electing their first Republican Senator since 1972. Republicans, Independents and even a substantial segment of Democrat voters turned out to soundly reject the Obama Administration’s uncontrolled spending and attempt to nationalize healthcare. Tonight’s victory for Republicans reflects a trend that started last November in New Jersey and Virginia. Republicans won Governor’s races in these two states, which were won by President Obama in 2008. Since the Democrats took control of Washington last January, Republicans have won 27 of 36 special elections, including gaining a majority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.”
“Illinois is next. Like Massachusetts, Illinois is under control of the single-party rule Democrats who have had unbridled control of the State of Illinois for the last eight years and have brought us to the brink of financial collapse. The eyes of the nation will be upon Illinois as we seek to regain the United States Senate seat formerly held by President Obama and retake the Governor’s mansion.”
Those independents who yearned in 2008 to throw out George Bush and elect Barack Obama may now be yearning to send a message to the Democrats by giving Illinois’ Senate seat to the GOP.
That is what Illinois House Republican leader Tom Cross, a moderate, argues is going to happen in the Illinois Senate race.
“Republican voters are more energized, coupled with independents who were with the Democrats in 2008 but coming back to us in 2010.”
* The Question: What do you think the impact will be, if any? Explain fully, please, and, as always, don’t use regurgitated DC talking points. They’re boring and worthless and I hate them. Thanks.
* The Dan Hynes campaign has released a new polling memo which shows they’ve done some major damage to Quinn’s fortunes and made this a real horse race - with a major assist from Republican Andy McKenna’s campaign, which is whacking the guv like crazy on the tax issue. In essence, Quinn has been hit with a two-track assault for weeks without much of a response.
The seven-point spread in Hynes’ poll is about the same as a poll I told subscribers about yesterday. That other poll, taken by the Alexi Giannoulias campaign, had it at 49-43, sources outside the campaign now confirm.
Anyway, on to the Hynes polling memo. All emphasis in original…
With two weeks to go in the primary campaign for Governor of Illinois, Dan Hynes is surging – according to a recent poll of 500 likely Democratic primary voters conducted January 17 – 18, 2009 by Global Strategy Group. Key findings include:
* Dan Hynes is now within just seven points and Quinn is polling well below 50%. Today, Pat Quinn leads with just 44% of the vote to Dan Hynes at 37% and 19% undecided. That is a remarkable change versus our November poll (where Quinn led by 17 points) and the Chicago Tribune’s December poll (where Quinn led by 26 points). It is clear that the most recent advertising blitz is causing voters to tune into this campaign and that voters are moving towards Hynes as they see competing advertisements from both sides.
* Pat Quinn’s ratings are in a total free-fall. Quinn’s negative job approval rating is now at 60% – up ten points since November. Remarkably, only 36% of primary voters approve of the job Quinn is doing.
* Pat Quinn is unelectable in a general election. Pat Quinn has a 60% negative job rating (and just a 36% positive job rating) among primary voters – a group that should be his strongest in a general election. Such a low rating with primary voters means that Quinn’s ratings must be even worse with a general election electorate that includes Republicans and Independents. In this political environment, Quinn simply cannot win in November.
* Voters view Dan Hynes as by far the better choice on the key economic issues facing Illinois. Voters think Hynes will do a better job “handling the state’s budget and finances” (Hynes 43%/Quinn 29%), and “cutting waste from state government” (Hynes 39%/Quinn 27%). In addition, by a stunning 54% to 9% voters believe it is Pat Quinn who will raise their taxes.
The bottom line is this: Now that voters are paying attention to this campaign – and seeing competing advertisements from both campaigns – Dan Hynes is surging and Pat Quinn is in a total free-fall. Hynes is within single digits and Quinn is well below 50% in an environment where undecideds will likely break against the better known incumbent Governor. With two weeks to go, Hynes is in a great position to win this campaign.
Those are awful numbers for Quinn. Just awful. A disapproval of 60? Oof. And that 54-9 on how Quinn will be the one to raise their taxes? Hynes ought to send McKenna a big box of roses for that one.
* Meanwhile, Hynes has a new, hard-hitting 15-second ad on the botched early release program. It was ripped from live TV, so there is a little bleed-over from other stuff at the beginning and end. Sorry about that. Anyway, rate it…
* I was asked by people connected to both Democratic gubernatorial campaigns last night what I thought about the debate. After ripping the League of Women Voters’ ridiculous format - which encouraged the candidates to just repeat their sound byte attacks on each other for an hour - I said that since few would actually watch the debate, if the governor’s botched prisoner release plan makes the lede in all the coverage and is fleshed out in the stories, then Hynes probably won. After looking at the coverage, it seems to be a draw, with the governor scoring points early in every story with a media-ready quote. Sun-Times…
They shook hands at the end and said they’d still be friends, but for an hour, Gov. Quinn and challenger Dan Hynes accused each other of incompetence, deception, and/or “cover-ups.”
“He smiles in your face and stabs you in the back and that’s what he’s done since Day One,” Quinn said of state Comptroller Hynes, who is challenging Quinn in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary for governor.
The governor’s harsh attacks belied his criticism of Hynes. The comptroller never really called Quinn names, so this was more about political projection than reality - a tactic rarely acknowledged by the media. Quinn also used an inappropriate ethnic slur…
Quinn also raised a few eyebrows by twice referring to taxpayers getting “gypped,” a reference to a derogatory stereotype that people of the Roma ethnicity, often referred to as “gypsies,” are swindlers and thieves. Afterward, Quinn, who was battling a cold, said the term applied to the situation.
I saw close up how the Roma were treated in central Europe several years ago. It’s horrible. In Kosovo, back in 1999, they were essentially herded into make-shift concentration camps “for their protection.”
But it was last year’s headline-grabbing scandal at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip that Quinn kept revisiting to attack Hynes.
Quinn said Hynes had responsibility as comptroller to oversee the cemetery but didn’t discover the scandal that was uncovered by the Cook County sheriff’s office.
On the defensive for much of the debate, Quinn tried to counter the early-release issue by hitting back with allegations that the comptroller’s office ignored its regulatory role in the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal. Quinn accused Hynes of engaging in a “cover-up” on that scandal, mirroring the phrase Hynes accused Quinn of on the prisoner program.
And in what appeared to be an appeal to African-American voters, Quinn said Hynes was employing against him the same attack-focused style he used against Barack Obama in the 2004 Democratic U.S. Senate campaign. Obama defeated Hynes in that contest and went on to become a U.S. senator that fall.
We may see more about both of those subjects soon. Sun-Times…
Quinn also launched a new line of attack against Hynes, saying Hynes was using the same criticism against him that he used against Barack Obama when Hynes ran for the Senate seat Obama won in 2004.
“He said, ‘You voted for George Ryan’s taxes and fees in order to get your piece of the pork pie.’ That’s what he said to our now-president,” Quinn said. “You know, when I listen to the rhetoric in this whole campaign, it’s remarkably similar to that: Run down your opponent.”
“That’s silly,” Hynes said. “Barack and I, when we ran, we were friendly before, during and after that. You can read it in his book.”
Hynes said Quinn was on the defensive Tuesday: “The governor seemed agitated … because the polls show the race tightening. He’s losing his lead. He’s losing his grip on reality.”
“Taxing the middle class” served as Hynes’ go-to rip, while Quinn called his challenger’s budget plans “fantasy.”
It was an often-used blast, but the early release vs. cemetery scandal was a far more prominent exchange.
ABC7 also covered the press conference afterwards…
“The governor seemed agitated and almost angry tonight, and maybe it’s because polls are tightening and the race is getting much closer,” Hynes said.
The governor explained why he thought Hynes bombed.
“I was disappointed that my a opponent didn’t say one word about jobs. He wanted to talk a lot about me, but I don’t’ think that’s what the people want to hear,” said Quinn.
By the way, I’m told that the Better Government Association was so disgusted with the LWV’s debate format that the group will refuse to participate in any more events such as these unless the format is radically altered. Good for them. And shame on the League.
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The mayor said he’s proud that the kerosene stink of aviation fuel is long gone from a several-mile stretch of the lakefront. His midnight bulldozer raid that closed Meigs Field provoked a huge uproar from users of private airplanes.
Officials long have defended the closing of schools because of poor performance, saying they believe it gives students a shot at a better education. But recent research shows that just 6 percent of displaced students were moved to top schools and gained academically. The majority did no better because they landed at schools about as bad as the ones they’d left.
The rest of the lawsuit, still unaddressed by the court, calls for the reopening of a nearly century-old lawsuit about Chicago’s diversion of water from Lake Michigan and permanent closure of the locks.
The Corps says researchers combing the Calumet Harbor near Lake Michigan for the presence of Asian carp have found two DNA samples that seem to indicate the invasive fish has already breached the lake near Chicago.
One sample was in Calumet Harbor a half-mile north of the Calumet River; the other was in the Calumet River north of the O’Brien Lock. Both samples were collected Dec. 8. The agency said that two earlier tests in the area didn’t show carp DNA.
Several states are suing Illinois to shut down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal amid concerns over invasive Asian carp species — a shutdown that would be burdensome to an important commercial corridor, U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert said on Jan. 8 in Lockport.
Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive element abundant in deep-water wells in northern Illinois and throughout the Midwest. Cities such as Joliet that rely on these deep wells spend millions of dollars each year to remove radium from their drinking water. Some communities pay to dump radium in a landfill, but Joliet and others use a cheaper alternative, mixing it with waste material that is sold to farmers as fertilizer.
About 21,000 tons of Joliet’s radium-enriched fertilizer has been dumped on area farms since 2005 The city is petitioning the state EPA to allow it to dispose of more than twice the level of radium that’s currently allowed.
The convention business nationally was down about 3.1% in 2008 from a year earlier, according to an index put out by Mr. Ducate’s research group, and likely was off in the double digits for 2009, he said. In Chicago, revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30 is expected to be off about 18% from the previous year.
Two supporters of banning video gambling, Ald. Patrick Curran, R-2, and Ald. Frank Beach, R-10, said in talking to their colleagues they expect the measure to fail.
The discussion came during the city council’s first debate of Davlin’s proposed spending plan for the fiscal year that begins March 1. The $105 million budget calls for the elimination of 55 positions — including 15 immediate layoffs — 12 furlough days and smaller pay raises for the entire city workforce.
* O’Fallon council may go it alone on TIF district proposal
* ‘Outrageous’: Cahokia trustee shocked by $1,046 fee to see mayor’s records
The bill was for $1,046.50 and stated at the bottom, “The above items will be released when the invoice is paid in full.” That’s a rate of 50 cents a page for about 2,000 copies.
A shocked [Phyllis] Pearson, who is also a member of the village board finance committee, said there is no way she’ll pay to see records that state law guarantees is her right to review as an elected official.
Brinker, whose promise to her sister, Susan Komen, launched the Race for the Cure to fight against breast cancer, received the medal last year for her dedication to the cause.
McLean County Board member Tari Renner made it official Tuesday: He is resigning from his board seat effective Feb. 28 because he is moving out of District 8.
Mayor Brad Cole abstained from all three votes, saying he chose to do so because of “various thoughts by certain folks.”
Cole received a $5,000 donation under Short Enterprises, Inc., for his mayoral campaign in 2007, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. He received another $5,000 donation from the Shorts for his lieutenant governor campaign in June of 2009, according to Cole’s Team Brad Web site.
Davis, a native of Anna, assumed the prison’s top position as warden days after the Dec. 14 incident that saw an inmate, 37-year-old Alonje Walton, take a hostage before being shot and killed.
* 7:58 pm - I’ve taken down the feed because it goes to some live weather report thingy. Browse the comments for my take. The format was horrible, so no questions were really answered. It was basically just two guys throwing the same darts at each other for an hour. I don’t know who came up with this goofy format, but it should be dumped. The only news we got was the vitriol. The candidates were simply given too much leeway, but so little time that they had little choice but to use well-worn hits on each other.
Tomorrow is the filing deadline for D-2 reports, but your website has been crashing all day today. If this problem isn’t fixed, tomorrow is gonna be a nightmare for candidates and reporters alike. Fix it, please. [I’m not linking to the site because it would only make a bad problem worse.]
* Dear budding media critics,
If you’re gonna be a media critic, it would be best to point to the stories you are actually trying to critique. For example, Progress Illinois has a post today entitled The Problem With The Media’s Early Release Coverage in which it derides the “spotty” reports on the secret, botched program. In doing so, they link approvingly to this post by the Chicago Justice Project…
The press is all a flutter over the fact that some of the individuals released under the MGT program committed new offenses after their release from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). The reporting on the issue leads the reader to believe that if only these individuals had not been let out after serving 7 days rather than the 61 days that was mandatory they would never have reoffended. The media has presented no evidence to demonstrate this.
The problem with the slam is that not a single media report was cited to demonstrate the underlying thesis. Not one. The Justice Project’s argument, therefore, is little more than a bogus, defensive red herring.
* Dear UNITE/HERE Local 1,
A 37-second text lead-in to the actual meat of your Internet video does not encourage viewing. Your point is good, but, please, get to it quicker…
Illinois officials and industry representatives are relieved after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to allow the immediate closure of shipping locks to prevent the Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.
The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan opposed Michigan’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have ordered the locks in the Chicago area closed. They argued the move would deal an economic blow to Illinois.
It could’ve also led to massive flooding of the city. Seriously, this was the best idea that Michigan and those other states could come up with? Does Michigan want our economy to suck as badly as its own? We are in desperate need of a solution to this Asian carp thing, but closing the locks? A bit extreme, no?
* Dear Capitol Fax Blog commenters,
Thanks.
Something that I neglected to post in my obituary of Carlos Hernandez Gomez was the real impact you had on his life. I didn’t say so at the time, but he had told me on a late-night phone call that he was pretty much giving up. The next morning, I was desperate to do whatever I could as fast as I could, so I asked you to help lift his spirits. Your comments really turned him around. I can never, ever repay the debt I owe all of you for those kind and timely words. They meant so much to Carlos, to his wife and to his family.
* We’ve heard endless talk from Republican gubernatorial candidates and GOP legislative leaders about their firm opposition to tax hikes, but Fox Chicago’s Dane Placko claims (rightly) that the behind the scenes talk is far more realistic. Watch the video…
Transcript…
“I was just down in Springfield last week for the State of the State and everybody you talk to — Republican, Democrat, behind the scenes — they all say there’s no way you dig yourselves out of this hole without some sort of enhanced revenues. Is it disingenuous of the Republicans — at least five of them — to say we will sign this no tax pledge?”
* Remember when a Sara Feigenholtz yard sign appeared in Rahm Emanuel’s front yard before last year’s special congressional primary? Turns out, it was Emanuel’s wife who placed the sign. This time, things are closer to what they appear to be…
llinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has tipped her hand in the race on Chicago’s north side to succeed John Fritchey in Illinois’ 11th House district.
Madigan’s preferred candidate in the Democratic primary–which includes attorneys Dan Farley and Ed Mullen–is Ann Williams.
How do we know?
A drive by the Attorney General’s house reveals a “Ann Williams for State Representative” sign firmly planted in Madigan’s postage stamp-sized front yard and another in the front window.
I called Madigan’s campaign office and was told the AG and her husband would both be voting for Ms. Williams. Asked whether this was an endorsement, I was told that the AG and her husband would both be voting for Ms. Williams. Ah, the Madigan’s. Gotta love ‘em for their complete, forthright answers.
* Speaking of endorsements, the Chicago Tribune editorial board has long lavished praise upon state Rep. Beth Coulson. So everybody figured she had a lock on the Trib’s nod this year in the 10th Congressional primary. Nope. The Trib endorsed Bob Dold instead. Wow.
* Campaign contributions are not always evil things, and they’re often overused to make a point that most likely doesn’t exist. For instance, Crain’s has a story about an unusual proposal to bail out ShoreBank with state funds…
The state of Illinois is considering an unprecedented bailout of ShoreBank, the struggling South Side bank acclaimed for its commitment to lending in low-income neighborhoods.
Prodded by the likes of U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Finance Authority officials met earlier this month with ShoreBank executives to discuss raising tens of millions for the bank through an IFA bond offering. […]
ShoreBank’s political supporters don’t want it to suffer the same fate as Park National Bank, a lender active in West Side neighborhoods. Despite eleventh-hour intervention by members of Congress, federal bank regulators seized Chicago-based Park National and handed it over to Minnesota-based U.S. Bancorp. in October after it was unable to raise capital to offset loan losses.
The answer may lie in the history of campaign contributions by ShoreBank executives and employees.
Federal Election Commission records reveal that ShoreBank executives and employees gave thousands of dollars to Rep. Schakowsky and Sen. Durbin.
Actually, bank employees have contributed less than $3.000 to Schakowsky’s campaign committee since 1997, with the most recent contri in March of 2007. Durbin got $6650 since 1997 - hardly a king’s ransom.
The ideology angle is far more believable here.
* Sometimes, though, campaign contributions are probably just as they seem. Mark Brown’s column on a suspect contribution is one of those…
As a Cook County government contractor, supplying mail-order prescription drugs to patients in the county’s heath-care system, Nebraska-based SAV-Rx Inc. is limited by law to donating no more than $1,500 this election year to its favorite local politician, Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno.
But at a fund-raiser held in Moreno’s honor earlier this month, SAV-Rx left the county’s contribution limits in the dust by writing out a check for $25,000.
The catch is that the check was made out to the Mexican American Political Action Committee, a group that hosted the fund-raiser using Moreno’s donor list to target its solicitations.
Significantly, there are no legal limits on what SAV-Rx can contribute to MAPAC, just as there no limits on what MAPAC can donate to Moreno, one of the candidates it plans to support in the Feb. 2 primary election.
Some might look at that set of facts, as does Moreno’s opponent, former alderman and state senator Jesus Garcia, and suspect an intentional effort to circumvent the county’s contribution limits.
Compared with the first week in November 2008, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama pulled in lots of folks who often don’t vote, relative turnout is way down on the lakefront and in many predominantly African-American wards. And it’s way, way up in organization bastions on the Southwest and Northwest sides.
For instance, in the first week in 2008, the number of those who cast early ballots in Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s 13th Ward ranked near the bottom, 42nd of the 50 wards. But this time, the 13th Ward has moved up a spiffy 24 slots, to No. 18.
Similarly on the Southwest Side, the 23rd Ward went from 26th to first place, and the 19th Ward from 15th to second.
And in good organization wards on the Northwest Side, the 36th Ward leapt from 33rd to 13th place; the 38th Ward from 38th to 23rd, and the 45th Ward from 32nd place to ninth.
In comparison, the lakefront 44th Ward slipped from sixth place to 24th, and the adjoining 32nd Ward from 19th to 33rd.
The 47th Ward, which is backing Dan Farley against Ann Williams in that above-mentioned House race, dropped 12 notches to 21st in the city. The 41st Ward, site of a very hot state Senate primary, jumped way up from 13th to 3rd. Todd Stroger’s 8th Ward dropped from 3rd to 15th. Read the entire document by clicking here.
* Democratic US Senate candidate David Hoffman is, as expected, making a clean sweep of newspaper endorsements, mainly because he was such a strong fighter against Mayor Daley. He’s reportedly going up on the air with a major TV buy soon, which will most likely feature those endorsements. More details when I get them. Hoffman is also doing personalized videos in e-mail blasts. Mary Schmich has more on that.
Senate primary candidate David Hoffman, who made headlines investigating Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s administration, says he hopes to use the Democrat’s political muscle to win the general election.
“I would seek his endorsement,” Hoffman said during Thursday’s taping of WBBM’s At Issue program on 780AM.
Reasonable, but probably not great timing.
UPDATE: I was right about Hoffman’s new ad. Rate it…
I’m hearing this is a very big buy. Meanwhile, Giannoulias also has a new ad, featuring his mom…
[End of update]
* Sneed reports that Republican Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri is endorsing Democrat Terry O’Brien for Cook County Board president. That’s just what it looks like. The bipartisan “combine” is in full force there.
* Other campaign stuff…
* Press Release: The Senate Democratic caucus committees took in over $1,919,000 in the last six months. Over the last four election cycles for this time period the caucus committees average of just over $940,000 with the best period being just over $1,120,000 in 2005. The Senate Democrats financial prowess shows no signs of slowing as they have already filed over $130,000 in contributions since January 1st… Senate Democrats caucus committees ended the year with just over $2,800,000 cash on hand. That surpasses the previous cash on hand record set in 2005 by over $60,000, even though the Senate Democrats started this cycle with $500,000 less in the bank than the Democrats did back in 2005.
* LIVE COVERAGE: Illinois democratic candidates for governor debate
* Profile: Alexi Giannoulias runs for U.S. Senate with President Barack Obama as a mentor
* Gov. Pat Quinn told the Daily Herald the other day that House Republican Leader Tom Coross presented the video gaming idea to fund the capital bill as a “non-negotiable” item. Quinn claimed that Cross, the son of a Methodist minister, refused to put any votes on the bill unless video gaming was included. Cross and Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno denied the guv’s claim…
Cross and Radogno say they did agree to support [video gaming], but it wasn’t a “nonnegotiable” position as Quinn claims. They point out that gambling expansion has always been on the table when it comes to funding road, transit and school construction.
Video gambling, the Republican leaders say, ended up being the one gambling measure that could gain widespread support, as opposed to a Chicago casino, slots at racetracks like Arlington Park or more casinos in other parts of the state.
“That looked to be a responsible source that could pass into law,” said Radogno spokeswoman Patty Schuh. “Gaming was always on the table.”
Cross spokeswoman Sarah Wojcicki said, “To go back and nitpick about whose idea was whose, I don’t think is very productive.”
“We said that was something we could support,” Wojcicki said of video gambling before pointing out, “The Democratic leaders signed on and the governor actually signed the bill.”
The leaders and the governor made a “gentleman’s agreement” not to point fingers on the capital package so as not to create even more controversy. Quinn has clearly broken the agreement, which shouldn’t be a surprise. He does this all the time when he’s in a tight spot.
“I think it’s important to make sure we have a governor who believes in competition and a fair map,” Mr. Quinn replied when asked how he would handle remap. “Compact, contiguous districts that assure competition” are needed, he said.
An aide later added that Mr. Quinn is prepared to use the best available computer technology to get such a reapportionment plan.
Does that mean he wouldn’t sign into law a map like the current one, which is filled with an abundance of squiggles, bumps, curlicues and sharp turns designed to help one politician or another?
No, he wouldn’t, Mr. Quinn signaled with a shake of his head. “There’s a problem” with maps that do what the current one does.
Rich Miller, author of The Capitol Fax Blog, kicked off the event by giving his insights on the seat of governor and the campaigns of its contenders before they arrived. Miller outlined the incarceration of former Governor George Ryan, the legal woes of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, and what he perceives to be the incompetent work of Pat Quinn, struggling with a capital bill and the mistake of an early prisoner release program.
“It would be nice if we could get an honest and competent governor at the same time,” Miller said.
Actually, what I said was that George Ryan was a competent governor and a crook. Rod Blagojevich was incompetent and a crook. Pat Quinn wasn’t a crook, but was also incompetent.
Love him or hate him, Ryan actually made things happen that we’re still benefitting from today.
Jim Edgar? His legacy seems to be he didn’t do anything particularly bad. But he didn’t do anything particularly great, either.
Rod Blagojevich? Interested in helping himself and no one else. A cartoon character.
Pat Quinn? The recovering gadfly promises anything and everything, with no real vision to back up the plans.
The batch that aspires to become the next governor offers more of the same. A lot of promises, but no real hope for touching lives in a positive way.
* Related…
* ADDING: Chamber speaker wants Illinois to come up with new way to draw districts: Maisch, vice president of government affairs for the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, will speak in Quincy today about a proposed referendum on changing the way legislative redistricting is done. The goal will be to end gerrymandering — the practice of creating political maps that favor a particular political party — in Illinois House and Senate districts.
* Get an inside look at how Illinois legalized UFC: It didn’t take any punches or kicks or choke holds for mixed martial arts to be legalized by the Illinois Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, just the usual mix of political clout and a little campaign cash, according to a portion of Blagojevich’s new book, The Governor.
When you deliver a major speech and the two things people say about it afterward are that it was long and it rambled, you probably haven’t made the best speech of your career.
And all of those politicos who feared the boost Quinn would get by delivering a big speech on the eve of the primary election? They can quit worrying.
To say that Quinn’s speech was short of details is an understatement. It’s hard to believe, but the speech probably had less substance than even the last State of the State address given by Blagojevich.
The public deserved more from Quinn and the State of the State address. He wasted an opportunity to show he’s a true leader and not just another politician concerned about the next election.
“The Governor, at the beginning of each annual session of the General Assembly and at the close of his term of office, shall report to the General Assembly on the condition of the State and recommend such measures as he deems desirable.” - Illinois Constitution
I don’t know if Gov. Pat Quinn glanced at the state Constitution before he jotted down his notes, but his rambled, jumbled, disjointed mess he delivered off the cuff last week was not a State of the State address.
Quinn did, I suppose, “recommend” a couple of “measures,” including income tax reform, but he barely touched on that issue.
“Our mission this year,” the governor told assembled legislators, “is to revive our economy and put people back to work.” Yet, he presented no new ideas for accomplishing that mission. The economy is in horrible shape, and the governor could’ve used his address to show he was on top of things, knew what he was doing and knew where he was going. So, we can probably safely infer that he hasn’t a clue what to do.
Instead, we were subjected to a speech that was almost Fidel Castro-like in its length, full of rambling displays of sentiment and accidentally repeated thoughts.
One reason the speech was such a technical disaster was that Quinn spoke from hand-written notes rather than from a prepared text. But a bigger reason it was a mess was that Quinn didn’t seem to put much thought into it. There was no structure, no real sense of what he was trying to say. Instead, he just stringed together his press conference talking points and regurgitated them for more than an hour.
From an audience’s perspective, there seemed to be no good reason why we were being subjected to the speech. “What is the point?” I kept asking myself. “When will we hear about some real meat?”
Even House Speaker Michael Madigan wasn’t happy with Quinn. Madigan apparently didn’t know his microphone was on when he turned to his chief of staff and cracked about the speech which had started almost an hour and a half earlier: “His people said it would be forty minutes,” adding that it was now 1:21 in the afternoon.
Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican candidate for governor, said the speech was a lot like Quinn’s governing, “It is basically wing it as you go.” Dan Hynes, Quinn’s Democratic opponent, said the speech was more of a “Pat Quinn state of mind speech” than a State of the State address. Both men hit it on the head.
But, wait, it gets worse.
Gov. Quinn thanked the General Assembly during his State of the State address for approving a bill that would allow the state to borrow $250 million and use it to help social service agencies. Quinn announced that he would definitely sign the legislation, and couldn’t help but get in a zinger at Hynes for blocking a similar Quinn proposal last month.
Trouble is, the bill had merely passed the House by the time Quinn spoke last week - another strong indication that little to no preparation went into that speech. Later that day, the Senate adjourned for the month without taking up the measure. Unlike their House counterparts, the Senate Republicans refused to support the new borrowing, and the Democrats didn’t have enough members in town to pass the bill on their own.
You can’t sign a bill that isn’t on your desk, so Quinn’s pre-emptive praise for the General Assembly was a major embarrassment for the governor.
The governor teared up near the end of his speech when he talked about his late father, which touched many people in the room. Quinn is, in many respects, not your usual politician. He is far more genuine than any governor we’ve had in a very long time. He didn’t fill the address with slick lines and focus group-approved ideas. He spoke from the heart. He even brought up the uncomfortable facts surrounding the botched early prisoner release program and shouldered the ultimate blame.
For all that, I give the governor much credit. But a State of the State address is a constitutional mandate of historical significance which should be taken far more seriously than Quinn did last week.
You’re the governor now, Pat. Start acting like it.
Roeser said Dillard “assured” him that he would fight for pension reform, stand up to the unions and support additional charter schools or voucher legislation. “If he retreats from all that stuff,” Roeser says, “I will not aid him.”
And the aid is considerable. Roeser says he is putting $250,000 into Dillard’s campaign, not to mention his personal endorsement to potentially thousands of supporters. […]
IEA spokesman Charles McBarron said it is understood Dillard and the union don’t see eye-to-eye on all pension reform plans.
Dillard says he hasn’t changed his position on pensions. In a Daily Herald survey, he supports lowering benefits for incoming teachers - a plan opposed by the unions. But he also pledged to “protect the benefits of current participants.” […]
“Why take money from these guys if they don’t know what … he is planning for?” Roeser said.
Mr. Dillard circled “yes” when asked if he favors a two-track pension system, and didn’t otherwise amend that answer. But while he circled “no” when asked about raising the income tax or implementing a graduated income tax, he did say schools would get more money if he was governor because “I will reprioritize state spending (and) cut waste and fraud.”
Then, he added, “This must be done before any new revenue sources are explored.” He did not indicate on the questionnaire how much waste, fraud and reprioritization must be found — nor how long it will take to find it.
A top Dillard strategist added that IEA is with Mr. Dillard not because he’s with them on their issues but because other candidates are at the conservative extreme, and because Mr. Dillard is going to win the primary and the union wants to stay on his good side.
We don’t know what was said off the record, of course, or through back channels. Also, Roeser isn’t yet backing away from Dillard.
…Republican candidate Kirk Dillard’s campaign is crowing about an automated poll it recently commissioned, which shows Dillard leading the crowded field with 22.4 percent, with Andy McKenna and Jim Ryan at distant 13.5 and 10.3 percent, respectively.
If that’s true, it would signal a remarkable turnaround from five weeks ago, when the Trib poll showed Ryan leading the pack with 26 percent and Dillard running fourth at 9 percent.
Ryan’s people, of course, aren’t buying it. “There’s no way that Dillard or McKenna have dramatically flipped the race upside down in just a couple weeks,” Ryan spokesman Dan Curry wrote in an angry email to reporters entitled, “Attack of the Phony Polls.”
And what do the McKenna people think of all this? House Republican leader Tom Cross, a McKenna supporter, cited yet another poll from who-knows-where, which he said shows (you guessed it) that McKenna is far ahead of the pack.
* And then there was the Illinois State Rifle Association endorsement of Kirk Dillard, which brought this press release response from Sen. Bill Brady’s campaign…
And, just like he double talked on taxes, Kirk Dillard, who did a commercial for Barack Obama, told the Associated Press he “could support allowing concealed-carry” depending on how the legislation was written, proper training and thorough background checks.
The bottom line is, Senator Brady is the only candidate with a proven and clear record of supporting the Second Amendment, and he will continue to do so when he is elected Governor.
You can read more about the IEA/ISRA endorsements and the polling story by clicking here and here.
Earlier this month, Plummer loaned $150,000 to his own campaign.
Plummer, of Edwardsville, also received a $500,000 donation last week from the lumber company owned by his family. His father, Robert, also loaned his campaign $200,000 in December.
John Pastuovic, spokesperson for Plummer’s campaign, said Plummer decided early in the race to self-fund his campaign and rely on donations primarily from friends and family.
