Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Friday, Sep 23, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Statehouse press room is no more. The room is being eliminated to make way for a new stairwell so the capitol building can be brought up to modern fire codes. For the next year or so, the media will be stationed at the Stratton Building. Supposedly, we’ll be back at the Statehouse when the construction ends, but some have their doubts.

I never really got too attached to the press room because I work out of my house when the Legislature isn’t in session. And when the GA is in session, I’m usually out and about around the capitol complex. But, I will miss that ratty, old place. I had a pretty sweet office, too. It used to belong to United Press International, back when they were a big deal in Illinois. The UPI staff dwindled down to one, so I moved in with Greg Tejeda. UPI eventually closed up shop and the Daily Herald moved out of its tiny closet-sized space and in with me. I’ll share space with a Downstate TV station and BlueRoomStream.com at the new digs across the way.

Anyway, Chris Wills at the AP has posted a few pics of the press room’s finale. Check ‘em out.

* I’ve been listening to a lot of Joe Walsh tunes in my spare time this week, for obvious reasons. And I don’t think there’s a greater beginning to any rock song than this one…

I think there’s trouble brewin’

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Very bad ideas

Friday, Sep 23, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Springfield state Senate Democratic candidate Bill Clutter has already come up with three different ideas for a constitutional amendment. He eventually discovered that all three wouldn’t pass muster, so he dumped them. Here is part of Clutter’s fourth draft…

One Senator and two Representatives shall be elected from each Legislative District for a term of two years. […]

Each political party shall nominate in a primary election no more than 2 legislative candidates selected by electors of the same political party. Cumulative voting will determine the election of Senator as the person who receives the most votes in the General Election, with the 2 Representatives being determined by the 2nd and 3rd place finishers. General electors may vote for no more than three candidates.

That’s quite the Rube Goldberg contraption, Billy. How are you gonna explain that process to people? And how does it make things better? His explanation…

This petition restores the system of cumulative voting that made Illinois government unique; […]

Cumulative voting existed in Illinois since 1870, but was repealed with the 1980 cutback amendment which reduced the number of legislators by a third. The Chicago Tribune in 1995 ran an editorial calling for the return of cumulative voting stating, “Many partisans and political independents have looked back wistfully at the era of cumulative voting. They acknowledge that it has produced some of the best and the brightest in Illinois politics”.

Sorry, but this concept is far different from the way things were done before. I’d like to go back to cumulative voting as well. But this is just too far out for me.

* The I-Team ran a report last night about out-of-state materials being used in the work on the Illinois Statehouse…

But the I-Team has found that some of the sole-source suppliers working on the Illinois Capitol are not even from Illinois.

Yes, because failing to use the lowest bidder wouldn’t prompt just the exact opposite story. I can see the headline now: “Bids denied, Statehouse costs higher than they should be.”

Look, I’d like all the contractors, workers and materials on this project to be from Illinois. Same goes for our road and bridge projects. But there are laws against that sort of thing, and for good reason.

* Anybody can sue anybody for anything in this world, but thankfully justice is usually served…

A lawsuit against the blog news source Illinois Review was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly for a blog post that the Illinois Review wrote over two years ago. Illinois Review is represented by the Thomas More Society in Chicago.

The Illinois Review’s blog post included documents showing that former Illinois State Rep. Paul Froehlich sought campaign contributions from individuals who won property tax relief with his assistance. After that story ran, the Cook County Board of Review reversed the tax breaks, and Satkar sued Illinois Review for defamation.

In the decision, Judge Kennelly said that Satkar “failed to show that the [Illinois Citizen Participation Act] is unconstitutional or inapplicable to Satkar’s claims against the Illinois Review …. Satkar brought these claims in response to these defendants’ acts in furtherance of their right of free speech ….”

We are pleased that the Court recognized that Illinois Review, by bringing to light a story of great public interest, did nothing wrong and that this lawsuit was meritless and frivolous,” said Peter Breen, Executive Director & Legal Counsel of the Thomas More Society, who is representing the Illinois Review.

Good for IR.

* Environmentalists are blasted by Democrats for commending a Republican…

Democrats in the 10th congressional district are dubious of a recent award given to U.S. Rep. Bob Dold (R-10) by environmentalists. Earlier this week, Dold was named as one of “America’s Great Outdoors Congressional Champions” by a coalition of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society.

“I am honored to receive this award,” said Dold. “As a Scout master, protecting the environment has always been a priority of mine. Our national treasures, like the Great Lakes, are threatened by pollution and lack of conservation efforts. It is important for Congress to be stewards of the environment and protect our resources for generations to come.”

But some of Dold constituents don’t find him to be that green. The Wheeling Township Democratic Organization finds Dold’s record in Washington to be “far less than stellar when it comes to protecting Americans and our environment from pollution and toxic waste,” according to a press release.

…Adding… Yes, Congressman Walsh, we’re protecting President Obama because he’s black. Right. Go with that…

“This guy pushed every one of the media’s buttons,” Walsh said. “He was liberal, he was different, he was new, he was black. Oh my God, it was the potpourri of everything. They are so vested in our first black president not being a failure that it’s going to be amazing to watch the lengths they go to protect him. [The media], I believe, will spout this racist line if some of their colleagues up here aren’t doing it aggressively enough. There is going to be a real desperation.”

Video…

*** UPDATE *** This has to rank right up there with among the very worst of very bad ideas…

A Cook County Forest Preserve “resident watchman” whose duties include stopping people from growing or smoking pot in the woods has been arrested — accused of growing pot in the woods.

The carefully cultivated cannabis was found growing near the forest preserve-owned house where Cynthia Wojtanowski, 45, lives at Tampier South Woods forest preserve at 135th and Wolf Road in southwest suburban Orland Park.

[ *** End Of Update *** ]

* Other stuff that happened today…

* Blagojevich lawyer “quite certain” ex-gov’s sentencing will be delayed: Zagel did not rule on the government’s request to bar the defense from poking into the racy past of top witness Stuart Levine. Webb said he needed time to respond to a couple of petitions put forth by the government.

* Despite smoke over CME tax deal, state pact will be hard to forge: The core problem is that, as badly as officials such as Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton want to help, they have to get the money from somewhere.

* Bachmann cancels Illinois rally: Indications are that one part of the Bachmann campaign was unaware that the other part had schueduled the candidate to be in Illinois on Monday.

* CTU: CPS Layoffs & School Closings Disproportionately Affect Blacks, Latinos

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Axelrod tries to nudge Krishnamoorthi out of race

Friday, Sep 23, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* David Axelrod held a fundraiser yesterday for 8th Congressional District Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth and had this to say about her primary opponent Raja Krishnamoorthi…

“I like Raja a lot — he’s a friend of mine,” Axelrod said. “I have told him I don’t think it’s the right decision for him. I think he’s made a mistake by getting into this race but sometimes you have to make your mistakes and learn from your mistakes. Unfortunately it’s going to be an expensive lesson … I think a lot of resources are going to be squandered unnecessarily.”

* The Krishnamoorthi campaign’s response…

Raja was the first candidate in this race, raised over $400,000 last quarter, and worked hard to get the backing of numerous local leaders. Despite recent efforts from the Duckworth campaign, our local backing has not eroded, and our list of supporters has grown. Supporters like Toni Preckwinkle and Danny Davis have seen the dynamics of this race and they doubled-down on their support by fundraising for Raja.

It is a mistake for party elders in DC to try to impose their will upon the voters of the 8th district. This race will be decided by the voters of the 8th district who want real solutions and ideas for job creation and middle-class prosperity. Raja got in this race to give the voters of his district that option, and that fact has not changed. Raja is the only candidate in this race with real economic experience and thorough ideas on how to produce jobs for the middle class and restore prosperity to American economy.

The Raja folks do have a point. Raja was in the race months before Duckworth, so how was jumping in first a “mistake”? And, as far as resources go, they’re getting a whole lot of contributions from South Asian folks who aren’t normally on everybody’s fundraising list. Krishnamoorthi is definitely the underdog here, but it’s a free country. And I’m not sure the high-end Duckworth backers are gonna look all that great if they fail to force Raja out of the race. I’m told they’re calling Krishnamoorthi’s list and attempting to convince contributors to bolt. We’ll see how far they get. So far, however, it ain’t working.

* And, frankly, this strange fantasy just made the Duckworth people look silly…

All the speakers speculated that Walsh abandoned the district rather than face Duckworth.

“Joe is so tired of his own act that when he heard Tammy was going to run in the 8th, as you saw just yesterday — obviously I worked up this speech a week ago — Joe cut out on us,” Brandt said. “Joe, where did you go? Joe went someplace else because he knows he can’t beat Tammy.”

Axelrod echoed that.

“Joe Walsh has spent the last year and a half essentially auditioning for right-wing talk radio instead of meeting his responsibilities for the people … of his district,” Axelrod said. “I think part of the reason he left is he recognized who Tammy Duckworth is. She is an authentic American hero.”

But the truth is more of Walsh’s current district — including his McHenry home — was thrown into the new 14th rather than into the new 8th, which is designed for a Democrat to win, so Walsh may well have opted for the 14th whether or not Duckworth ran.

Walsh wasn’t ever gonna run in the 8th. The 14th is far more Republican and way more to his liking. Running in the 8th meant he’d have to either move to the center or perish. Running in the 14th means he can stay right where he is, geographically and politically.

* Krishnamoorthi’s spokesman, by the way, is Mike Murray. Many of you will remember Mike as a former Capitol Fax intern. I’ve found it a bit difficult, but still interesting dealing with Mike in his new job. Mike understands I won’t show any favoritism here, but I thought you should know about this going forward.

My first intern, Paul Richardson, just graduated from law school and founded LawBlogWriters.com. It’s a pretty cool business idea. My second intern, Kevin Fanning, is in law school and works for Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski. Barton Lorimor, who was my intern last year, is now at the comptroller’s office.

…Adding… I lost track recently of my other intern from last year, Dan Weber. I sent him an e-mail earlier today and he just replied. Dan is teaching English in Mexico. He said he’s having a lot of fun.

* Meanwhile, Duckworth is training for a marathon. Check out the video…

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition and a campaign roundup

Friday, Sep 23, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

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