Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Thursday, May 28, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You really need to listen to the FBI wiretap of Roland Burris talking to Rob Blagojevich to get the full flavor of the conversation. If you do nothing else today, do that.

* Burris’ explanation about why he failed to inform the House impeachment committee about his conversation with Blagojevich is priceless…

Asked Wednesday why he did not tell an Illinois House impeachment committee about the conversation, Burris replied: “You’re being asked questions and one thing you don’t do is to try to volunteer information that wasn’t asked. There was no obligation there.”

“No obligation.” Great. A former state attorney general sets a fine example for everyone.

More…

Burris angrily rejected questions that his account contradicted his sworn affidavit.

“Please check the affidavit,” Burris told a reporter. “That’s all I’m asking you all. Read Affidavit One. Have you read it? Have you read it?”

The affidavit…

Prior to the December 26, 2008 telephone call from Mr. [Sam] Adams Jr., there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Gov. Blagojevich or any of his representatives regarding my appointment to the United States Senate.

More…

“Did Roland Burris lie? I didn’t.”

Yes, you did.

* Burris also claimed that the wiretap didn’t pick up everything…

“My statement was, ‘I’ll send you my check by December 15th,’ ” Burris said. “Then, when I hung up the phone, I said, ‘I can’t even do that.’ “

Hilarious.

What he meant to say was…

A full transcript of the conversation released by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office also showed that Burris offered to donate to Blagojevich’s fund “in the name of” his lawyer, Timothy Wright, which is illegal.

Burris called that a slip of the tongue, insisting he should have said that he would be willing to encourage Wright to contribute.

“That was a slip,” he said. “I said, ‘in the name of.’ It should have been, ‘by Tim Wright.’ “

I’m sure.

* He also revealed a lot during a conversation with the AP…

“If (Blagojevich) had not been arrested, I would not have even been appointed,” Burris said. “They reached out to somebody who was clean … He was looking for somebody who would give him some cover.”

So, he admits that he was used as a tool by Rod Blagojevich. Nice to know he isn’t totally in denial.

* Madigan catches heat…

Roland Burris’ secretly recorded offer to donate to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich before being appointed to the U.S. Senate now has House Speaker Michael Madigan on the hot seat.

While Madigan is not accused of wrongdoing, members of both political parties want to know why the powerful speaker won’t give the House a chance to publicly reprimand Burris or call for his ouster.

The resolutions mean nothing, but they would be hugely symbolic and undoubtedly receive international coverage. They also could anger a few African-American legislators in the run up to the end of session.

* Danny Davis says he’s glad he didn’t take the appointment when Blagojevich offered it…

“I’m more than glad. As a matter of fact, I thank God every day,” laughed the baritone-voiced Davis.

* And Burris is pitching a book deal…

“It is temporarily being called The Empty Seat,” said Jassin, referring to Burris’ Senate seat, which was once occupied by President Obama. It has become a focus of the feds’ “pay to play” probe.

“Empty Seat”? I could think of a much better title than that. I’ll bet you could, too.

Fire away, campers.

57 Comments

Crunch time for reform

Thursday, May 28, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The quote of the day goes to Sen. Susan Garrett, who said this during a press conference…

“We weren’t sent to jail. The governor was sent to jail. It is ironic that the focus is on [the] legislature when the wrongdoing was occurring at a much higher level.”

* Reform commission chairman Patrick Collins, who will be in Springfield again today, has another op-ed…

Will this session be the one where we charted a definitive new course and returned to our proud roots as the Land of Lincoln - or did we squander the opportunity and thereby remain fodder for Saturday Night Live’s next popular skit?

SNL often spoofs appointed US Sen. Roland Burris, but the reform commission never recommended taking away the governor’s power to appoint Senate replacements. In fact, the commission’s final report only mentioned special elections in passing…

The costs of maintaining the status quo, with its concurrent
public corruption trials, special elections and inflated procurement costs…

We had a governor who thoroughly abused almost all of his powers and was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on his home. Yet, while proposing many laudable reforms, the reform commission left this one blank.

* The reform commission also didn’t get behind the recall idea, but a proposal is advancing in the House…

The legislature continues to advance measures that would try to prevent the alleged wrongdoing by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from going on long enough for a federal indictment to intervene.

Rep. Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat and longtime Blagojevich critic, revived his effort to change the state Constitution so voters could “recall” elected officials. The effort failed last year. This time, however, he’s calling for a constitutional amendment that would only focus on allowing voters to recall the governor, not other statewide officeholders or legislators.

That proposal is part of a broader deal on reforms cut by the Democratic leaders and the governor…

A public TV program called Illinois Lawmakers reported that Madigan said he and Senate President John Cullerton have come to an agreement on capping the amount of money political parties can transfer to candidates’ campaign committees. Both leaders have withheld their support of the idea in the past.

“We are moving in the right direction.” Madigan said. “There should be caps on contributions. There should be caps on transfers between committees.”

Those transfer caps have been a major sticking point, but the caps aren’t real. Subscribe to find out why, or just wait.

* Meanwhile, a FOIA deal was reached with the attorney general and the Illinois Press Association. Here’s a roundup…

* State ethics efforts continue with public records push

* Illinois open-records bill passed by House: The attorney general’s office and a newspaper trade group said they grudgingly went along with a provision that would exempt state lawmakers from most of the enforcement provisions.

* State House passes revamped Freedom of Information Act

* House favors new rewrite of open government law

* Almost there

* Opinion…

* Three days left…and still no real reform: Since then, the governor has spent more time talking about recall as a reform proposal — something his own commission didn’t endorse — than he has spent talking about campaign contribution limits in Illinois.

* Why isn’t Quinn fighting as ethics reforms die?: Call us cynics, but it looks like no matter what the commission recommends, it gets the bum’s rush.

* Call, write, vote: But, above all, finish the job

* SJ-R: Quinn has no margin for error on ethics

* Illinois lawmakers must put up or shut up

* The Illinois Reform Commission heads to Springfield on Thursday to face lawmakers. They need to hear from you. Here are their local offices and Springfield phone numbers.

13 Comments

2010 roundup - Cook Prez; US Senate; Census

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* She ran an absolutely horrible race for mayor, so I’m not sure that this threat is credible. Then again, others have bounced back from terrible races to win their next one…

Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown today criticized County Board President Todd Stroger’s leadership and said she is mulling a run for his office next year.

“We have certainly given it some thought, and we are considering all of our options in that regard,” she said, when asked at a meeting with the Chicago Tribune editorial board whether she was considering taking on Stroger. A decision, she added, will come “probably next month.”

If Brown does run, there would be at least three African-American candidates in the Democratic primary, including Stroger and Ald. Toni Preckwinkle. Forrest Claypool appears to be the only white guy interested in the primary to date, but that can always change.

I chatted a bit with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin yesterday about Paul Vallas. Nagin, who was in town on a speaking engagement, said he thought Vallas might run for governor, but then said Vallas will likely remain on the job as the city’s school superintendent for another year. That would rule out a gubernatorial bid because of the potential of a large GOP primary field. But he could still run for county board president if the field was effectively cleared for him.

Back to Ms. Brown…

Brown today also declined to address whether the county should roll back the controversial penny-on-the-dollar sales tax approved last year, even though it’s the most prominent issue of Stroger’s tenure.

“I’m not getting inside that battle,” she said.

She’ll have no choice but to get “inside that battle” if she runs.

* Meanwhile, the absence of a decision by GOP Congressman Mark Kirk about whether to run for the US Senate seat is starting to create a vacuum that some candidates may try to fill…

After 23 years of sitting on the bench, Donald Lowery is considering a new life on the Hill.

The retired judge from Golconda in southern Illinois said Tuesday he is considering a bid for U.S. Senate in 2010 as a Republican. He will make an official decision within 45 days.

“I’m watching where the economy is going and what they’re doing to help the economy, and I’m not happy with what the government is doing,” Lowery said.

Lowery, who retired two years ago, visited Bloomington last week to attend a breakfast hosted by Republicans. He also has toured southern Illinois since notifying party officials in March.

* And Illinois Issues takes a look at the upcoming census…

The Land of Lincoln likely will lose a U.S. House seat after next year’s census, according to a December analysis by the Washington, D.C.,-area firm Election Data Services. But Illinois would have plenty of company in the Midwest. Also expected to lose a House seat are Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri. Ohio could lose two.

Other industrialized states in the Northeast — Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — also likely will forfeit a seat.

Many of the states expected to make gains in the next census are the same ones hit hardest by the housing crisis that touched off the current recession. Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada far outpace the rest of the nation in foreclosure rates; all but California are expected to gain House seats. Arizona and Florida may be in line for two. Texas would by far be the biggest winner, with a projected gain of four seats. […]

Under [Kimball Brace’s] latest projections, Oregon would gain a sixth seat by just two people. California would lose a seat by 18 people.

The count is all important.

23 Comments

“God knows number one, I, I wanna help Rod”

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The tapes of Roland Burris talking to Rod Blagojevich’s brother Rob a month before Burris got the US Senate appointment aren’t exactly flattering. Here’s the Tribune’s coverage…

Burris said he would make a personal donation but worried that both he and the governor could eventually “catch hell” for any campaign help Burris gave as he lobbied for Blagojevich to choose him.

“And if I do get appointed, that means I bought it,” Burris was recorded telling Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s brother and chief fundraiser, in a Nov. 13 call captured during the federal probe that led to Rod Blagojevich’s December arrest on corruption charges.

Burris even mentioned having his attorney make the donation — a notion that could have violated state election law against hiding donations. Burris’ attorney said he advised against such a move, and Burris never made such a donation and held no fundraisers for Rod Blagojevich. […]

“God knows number one, I, I wanna help Rod,” Burris said on the recording. “Number two, I also wanna, you know, hope I get a consideration to get that appointment.”

And…

Burris ends the call saying: “I will personally do something OK? And it will come to you before the 15th of December.”

Rod Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges that included trying to sell President Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Burris didn’t make the contribution (at least not directly and as far as we know), which is to his favor. But Burris never mentioned that conversation with Rob Blagojevich in any of his sworn statements or affidavits to the Illinois House Impeachment Committee, which works heavily against him.

Mark Brown…

While Burris may have forgotten the details of their talk by the time he went before state legislators, it could hardly have slipped his mind that less than two months earlier he had been on the phone practically begging to be chosen to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate while promising to do what he could to get some money into the Blagojevich campaign coffers.

His omission only confirms what has been evident for some time now: With the crowning achievement of his political career within reach, Burris was willing to do whatever was necessary to reel in the big prize and deal with the consequences later.

Yep.

More…

But Burris didn’t want to close the door and take a chance on getting on the governor’s bad side.

Instead, as the discussion proceeded, Burris told Robert Blagojevich he would:

1) Be willing to help with a fund-raiser if it was being hosted by some other Blagojevich supporter with whom Burris had worked in the past, in effect, someone to give him cover.

Sneaky, eh?

* Take a look at the transcript and you’ll see Burris goes right into the Senate stuff at the very beginning…

BURRIS: I, I know you’re calling telling me that you’re gonna make me king of the world, and uh …

BLAGOJEVICH: (laughs)

BURRIS: … and therefore I can go off to, you know, wherever and do all these great things […]

BURRIS: ‘Cause I’ve been, I’ve been trying to figure out what the heck, you know, I can do. Go ahead.

Blagojevich then mentions the need to raise campaign money by the end of December for the January filing period and Burris goes right back to the Senate seat…

BURRIS: Yeah. Right, right and, and now how do, answer me this question because I’m very much interested in, in trying to replace Obama, okay. Now I …

BLAGOJEVICH: So you, let me just tell you Roland, …

BURRIS: Yeah.

BLAGOJEVICH: … you and 1 million other people.

BURRIS: That’s right, that’s right so …

BLAGOJEVICH: Of every race, color, creed and faith, it’s amazing.

Again, from the transcript, it looks more like Burris is finding a way to reconcile the need for pay to play than just be an honest person…

BURRIS: If I don’t get appointed then my people who I’m trying to raise money from are gonna look at me, yeah, what, what’s that all about Roland. I mean, so, Rob, I’m in a, I’m in a, a dilemma right now wanting to help the governor.

BLAGOJEVICH: Yeah.

BURRIS: I mean I, you know I, I have been with him on all of the, all the issues and I’m now trying to figure out what the hell the best thing to do.

And Burris was mighty persistent throughout the conversation. Here’s the end…

BLAGOJEVICH: Hey, you’re a good friend. I’ll pass on your message.

BURRIS: Please do and …

BLAGOJEVICH: Okay.

BURRIS: … tell Rod to keep me in mind for that seat, would ya? (chuckles)

BLAGOJEVICH: I’ll let him know.

BURRIS: Okay.

BLAGOJEVICH: Bye Roland.

BURRIS: Alright. Bye-bye.

BLAGOJEVICH: Bye.

Bye.

46 Comments

« NEWER POSTS