* The House Republicans are doing whatever they can to get under Mike Madigan’s skin. From Greg Hinz…
The battle for control of the Illinois House is getting personal — really personal.
Over the weekend, House Republican Leader Tom Cross’ organization put up three large billboards aimed straight at his Democratic counterpart, longtime Speaker Mike Madigan.
The ads went up along Interstates 90 and 294 in the northwest suburbs, and Team Cross is hoping lots of motorists who live in swing districts in that area will see the billboards and act accordingly.
Brady responded that Quinn’s handling of state finances has been obscured by secrecy and that he thinks a forensic audit will give a clear idea of other areas of state finances that could be cut or made more efficient.
“Until we do an audit, it will be hard to judge the priorities,” Brady said.
But Auditor General Bill Holland had some very unkind words about such a proposal when he testified to the General Assembly earlier this year. Watch it…
The measures lawmakers - mainly Republicans - are pushing now call for an analysis of “all state spending, hiring, procurement, and contracts awarded and the appointment of board and commission officials and decisions made by boards and commissions or those with procurement or hiring authority” from 2001 through 2010.
Here’s the reality check: For state spending alone, there are more than 130 million transactions over that period, from checks issued for mere pennies to lump-sum payments in the tens of millions. A thorough review can be expected to take years, not weeks or months. Any politician who implies the results would be in by their January inauguration - or by the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, 2011 - is … well, dreaming. Auditor General Bill Holland - who has repeatedly proven to be one of the straightest shooters in Illinois government - previously told the Chicago Tribune that the price tag on such an in-depth analysis would be “astronomical,” reaching “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
…Adding… The Brady campaign says they want a “business audit,” not necessarily a “forensic audit.” But a normal Auditor General compliance audit of a single state agency takes nine to twelve months to complete. No way could that be accomplished in time for the budget address.
* Meanwhile, over in the US Senate race, the Tribune weighs in on whether Alexi Giannoulias knew or should’ve known about the extent of criminal activity by a couple of people his family’s bank loaned money to…
It’s probably true that Giannoulias was not fully briefed on their illegal activity, which is the sort of thing felons rarely publicize even to their financial enablers. But he and his colleagues did know — or should have known — enough to show these clients the door.
While I agree that Giannoulias probably isn’t being truthful about what he knew and when he knew it, the gigantic hole in the Tribune’s argument is that lots of other Chicago banks loaned money to those guys as well. Also, considering that recent New York Times article, the Tribune might want to be just a little bit careful about warning banks to avoid lending money to unsavory types.
