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Afternoon stuff: Giannoulias; Obama; Pontiac; Taxes; Jumping Jacks

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Fox Chicago is reporting that Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias told a group of supporters last night he’s running for governor. There doesn’t seem to be anything on the station’s website, however.

He did have a fundraiser last night, but someone close to Giannoulias told me today that the treasurer didn’t say anything he hasn’t said before. “He’s been telling people for a while that this is something he’s looking at.”

* RollCall reports that Rep. Luis Gutierrez has discussed the possibility of being appointed to Barack Obama’s seat, but Rep. Jackson, Jr. has not…

According to the source, the governor “has discussed the prospect” with the eight-term Chicago lawmaker, and the two Democrats “will talk more in a few days” about the possibly of his being named to the job. […]

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who some had considered until recently the frontrunner to replace Obama, “has not had a direct conversation with the governor” about the seat, his office confirmed.

“Some” had considered Jackson the frontrunner because Jackson worked the DC press galleries so hard and nobody bothered to check. This looks like it might be a targeted leak designed to take Jackson down a peg.

* Um, guys? RRB’s hanging with Ahnold in Hollywood today…

Central Illinois residents are on their way to Springfield to march in a rally to protect Pontiac Prison. The rally starts at 2:30 from the AFSCME headquarters.

The goal of the rally is to show Governor Rod Blagojevich many communities will be affected if he closes the prison. For now, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order to ban the transfer of inmates from the prison.

* This seemed to be overlooked yesterday…

Illinois pays its retailers more than any other state - $126 million a year - to collect its sales tax, a new report on Tuesday discloses.

In a study likely to give retail trade groups here heartburn, Good Jobs First, a Washington-based left-of-center research group, says what it dubs “legal skimming by retailers” in Illinois dwarfs the figure of any other state, with only the much-larger Texas coming anywhere near as close, at $89.6 million a year.

A big chunk of that loot goes to a favorite of political progressives, Wal-Mart, Inc. It gets $8.5 million a year for collecting sales taxes for Illinois, trailing only the $10 million the Arkansas-based retailer nets from Missouri and $9 million from Colorado, where the firm controls a larger share of the retail market. […]

The new study couldn’t come at a worse time for store keepers. It may provide powerful ammunition for increasingly dominant Democrats at Springfield to eliminate or reduce the retailers’ allowance at the same time that a weak economy is keeping sales down. Still, IRMA has been successful behind the scenes in keeping a good relationship both with House Speaker Michael Madigan and with his frequent antagonist, Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The study can be found at this link. Crain’s also reports that Sen. James Meeks has introduced legislation “to repeal the retailers’ allowance and redirect the revenues to hiring more school truant officers and pre-school education.”

* The world is going to heck, but Jumping Jacks was saved by a fee increase on micro-businesses…

Just minutes before the full City Council convened today to consider Mayor Richard Daley’s $6.2 billion 2009 budget proposal, the Finance Committee voted to boost the fees on Maxwell Street Market vendors to raise enough money to save a popular block party freebie doled out by aldermen at the start of each year.

As a result of the effort designed to save “jumping jacks,” the annual application fee for a market license will likely triple to $75 and the fee for an alternate license probably will more than triple to $50. Daily fees for the market also would increase substantially, but they would not double as first proposed earlier this week.

* The Tribbies are live-blogging the city council budget debate.

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Question of the day

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup, via Richard Roeper…

We’ve heard Obama say “real baseball” is played on the South Side. We’ve seen the president-elect in his Sox cap as he takes the girls to school or goes for a workout. We’ve seen pics of Obama throwing out a first pitch before Game 2 of the ALCS. (Note: after Obama’s appearance, the Sox never lost another postseason game. Maybe he really is The One.)

But will this translate into some sort of boost for the Sox nationwide?

Writes Madden: “Dare we say it? Can it be? The White Sox America’s team?”

* The Question: Are the White Sox now America’s team, or will they be soon? Explain.

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The Rod Factor is all-powerful *** UPDATED x1 ***

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE 1 *** From MSNBC’s “First Read” page…

*** Just askin’: What is taking Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) so long in appointing a successor to Obama in the Senate? It’s not like Obama’s victory two weeks ago was a surprise, right? Isn’t the clock ticking on Blagojevich’s own term, as he bites his nails wondering if there’s a grand jury indictment in his future? So if he doesn’t appoint someone soon, could he end up missing the opportunity?

[ *** End of Update *** ]

* Nobody can escape the Obama replacement speculation these days…

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, after a press conference on mortgage rescue fraud Tuesday, was asked about speculation that she is in the running to replace Barak Obama in the U.S. Senate.

Madigan says she doesn’t think she is in the running. She cited her strained relationship with Governor Blagojevich, who is responsible for naming Obama’s replacement. And Madigan says she is considering a run for Governor in 2010.

She refused to speculate on whether the governor might appoint her to the senate to get her out of the way for his possible reelection run.

* AG Madigan’s full quote…

“I think that because of the interesting political situation here in the state of Illinois it is a chance of less than zero that the governor will be calling me to offer that seat to me,” Madigan said.

She’s probably right about that.

* CNN tries to play it straight and treat this appointment like it’s being made by a normal governor…

Instead, that power rests in the hands of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat. Blagojevich has maintained his decision will not be made in haste, and he wants “to ensure that Obama’s successor will understand and fight for the needs of average Illinoisans.”

There is no clear successor in the wings and in the old school politics that shape the Illinois and Chicago landscape, Blagojevich will likely weigh several factors as he makes this decision notwithstanding his own possible re-election in 2010.

Candidates likely being considered for the open Senate seat:

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis
Illinois Dept. of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr.
Illinois Attorney Gen. Lisa Madigan
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky

* As I’ve mentioned before, anyone who is appointed to this seat by Gov. Blagojevich will likely suffer political consequences when they try to hold the seat in two years. Barack Obama’s pick for US Attorney General is also apparently tainted by our governor…

[Eric Holder] once had a high-profile job here in Chicago. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports Holder was the federal prosecutor who announced the indictment of Dan Rostenkowski. He ultimately sent that powerful Chicago congressman to prison. But with the FBI closing in on another top Chicago politician, Holder may face questions about a potential conflict of interest.

Four-and-a-half years ago, he held a news conference in Chicago at the Thompson Center. He had accepted a $300,000 assignment from Rod Blagojevich: Should a company whose chairman had been fined for violating gambling rules in Illinois be allowed to build a half-billion dollar casino in Rosemont?

In the end, it didn’t happen. Holder got into a jurisdictional dispute with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and he did not get the free and total access to all the documents he wanted.

CBS 2 reported this fall that sources told us federal agents believe they’ve already gathered enough evidence to warrant an indictment of Gov. Blagojevich. They add that a grand jury could act before the end of the year.

Should he become U.S. Attorney General, Holder could potentially be asked to sign off on key decisions regarding any prosecution of Blagojevich. Holder now appears to regret getting involved at all with Blagojevich in the ill-fated casino investigation.

Oops.

* Meanwhile, Jim Edgar, Denny Hastert and Bill Daley held an education reform press conference yesterday, but some reporter questions apparently centered on the 2010 governor’s race…

Daley, who is assisting in Obama’s transition effort, would not answer questions about his level of interest in running for Illinois governor in 2010.

* The new task force is expected to produce yet another blue ribbon commission report that will collect dust on a very crowded shelf, so political questions are probably more interesting. Still, it does have some big bucks behind it…

The group has garnered $4.5 million to $5 million in funding for the next three to four years, said Steans. The money comes from various philanthropies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.

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