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Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We’ve all seen the ads and the press releases from both sides of the US Senate race.

“He’s a mob banker!” “He’s a liar!” “He didn’t pay taxes!” “He’s a liar!” Etc., etc.

Well, Rick Pearson of the Tribune finally had enough of it and during yesterday’s editorial board debate he decided to see if Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk were man enough to say this stuff to each others’ faces. The results were fairly predictable…

Pearson is now officially a hero of this campaign. Full debate audio here.

But all that talk about “issues” and such didn’t last. Here’s the latest missive from the National Republican Senatorial Committee…

Good morning –

In case you missed it, mob banker Alexi Giannoulias was unable to name a single federal spending measure that he would have voted against during a recent meeting with the Chicago Tribune.

* The Illinois Republican Party really roughed up the Constitution Party. After weeks and weeks of turmoil, an appellate panel has denied the party a ballot spot…

The appellate judges dismissed the party’s claim that it turned in the required 25,000 signatures of registered voters. At issue: 82 signatures, which were thrown out, that could’ve swung the decision the other way. The judges ruled those signatures were no good because they were collected by someone who also collected signatures for another party in the primary.

The Constitution Party lawyer says, “Obviously [this was] not the final result we were looking for.” He says he plans to ask the appellate court to reconsider.

* Joe Berrios has never been known as a pushover, and his campaign is not sitting still for the beating it’s taking from Chicago’s media, the Better Government Association and rival county assessor candidate Forrest Claypool.

Berrios has filed an IRS complaint alleging that the BGA is engaging in unlawful campaign activities on behalf of Claypool. Berrios’ campaign has pointed out that the Chicago Tribune ignored a story about pay raises granted by Claypool despite a county board wage freeze. He’s claimed that Claypool actually will increase property taxes.

And now Berrios is going after Claypool’s campaign contributors.

Berrios more than just implies that several of Claypool’s major contributors donated cash after Berrios’ Board of Appeals denied their requests for property tax cuts. The site is called Victims of Joe Berrios.com. One example…

In 2009, Richard Driehaus appealed to Joe Berrios for a tax break on his $2,229,980 mansion.

Joe Berrios said no!

So Richard gave $150,000 to Forrest Claypool’s campaign for Cook County Assessor.

Another victim of Joe Berrios, vindicated!

Yikes. The site features photos of many of the properties. It also includes this explanation…

All of these wealthy Chicagoans filed appeals to get tax breaks with the Board of Review, only to be denied.

Their properties include mansions, condos and parking spaces - at places such as Water Tower Place and along the Gold Coast.

When these affluent folks didn’t catch a break, they turned to someone who could help them in the future: former Democrat Forrest Claypool.

How did they help? By giving him more than $500,000 in just six months’ time so that he could run for the job of Cook County assessor, a role that would allow him to give them breaks before they even have to appeal to the Board of Review.

The public deserves to know that the best candidate for the job is the person who doesn’t take money from millionaires and billionaires hoping to shirk their fair share of property taxes. That person is Joe Berrios.

Chutzpah. But I’ll bet Berrios would say that to Claypool’s face.

…Adding… Oh, man, I didn’t even see this one…

In 2007, Jan Schakowsky appealed to Joe Berrios for a tax break on her $726,450 love nest.

Joe Berrios said no!

So Jan gave her coveted endorsement to Forrest Claypool’s campaign for Cook County Assessor. [Emphasis added]

Ouch.

* In other hardball news, Planned Parenthood is trying to get the word out about what conservative Bill Brady could do if elected governor. From a press release…

After eliminating all family planning funding and negatively impacting 40,000 patients in his state, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today stumps for Bill Brady in campaigning efforts across Illinois. Now the women of Illinois want to know, will Bill Brady cut family planning funding in Illinois just like NJ Governor Christie? […]

Christie’s first action as governor was to end all state family planning funding and stop New Jersey from implementing a Medicaid family planning program similar to the Illinois Healthy Women family planning program. As a result, an estimated 40,000 patients will lose access to this critical health care service in New Jersey. With the Governor’s action, Planned Parenthood of Southern New Jersey recently closed a health center and 57 additional health care providers will be impacted.

“Health professionals who provide family planning are often the only source of health care services for women and families who have no health insurance coverage,” said Pam Sutherland of PPIA. “Christie is trying to push through his opposition to family planning under the cover of cost cutting. But women and the state are eventually bound to pay the cost.”

Just because it’s appropriated, doesn’t mean it has to be spent.

* The Sun-Times endorsed Dan Seals this week and had some unkind words for his GOP opponent Robert Dold…

Ultimately, though, Dold seems to fall back on the usual Republican talking points, some utterly baseless. He is pushing the latest GOP line, for example, that the nation’s slow progress in creating new jobs is the fault of an unpredictable business climate created by Obama administration policies.

As if the great recession never happened.

* Roundup…

* Quinn, officials fight unlimited spending: Elected officials from five states are forming a coalition aimed at fighting unlimited campaign spending by corporations and independent groups. The group is known as CAPS. That stands for Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending.

* Biggert deserves re-election to House: Reviewing the voting record of the last year, you’d be hard-pressed to find a bipartisan Republican in Congress. Such are the politically polarized times we live in.

* Bean right for her district: Melissa Bean is a different kind of Democrat by Illinois standards, more opposed to taxes, more a defender of big banks and more fiscally conservative in general.

* Election 2010: A Close Look at the Illinois Recall Amendment

* Three Reasons for Hope and Three Reasons for Despair for Democrats

* Sierra Club Dispatching Campaign Workers to Help in 29 Pivotal Races

* DCCC Still Holding Funds for Late TV Push

* Giannoulias, Quinn let students know they’re for real

* Northwest Herald: Treasurer: Rutherford

* Northwest Herald: Comptroller: Topinka

* Eighth District Congressional race epitomizes reasons for voter angst

* Planned Parenthood criticizes Dold for abortion stance

* Have questions for 14th District candidates? Send them to us

* Quad-Cities’ Congressional Race Heats Up

72 Comments

Do you believe in magic?

Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Longterm? Yes. Short-term? No…

While Gov. Pat Quinn has accused his opponent of telling voters fairy tales about balancing the budget, he provided only a hazy picture Monday of how he would close the $13 billion deficit and then move Illinois forward.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Quinn said he would solve the state’s budget crisis by spending more on education. He hopes “investing in people” will help the Illinois economy grow and fill the budget hole when coupled with unspecified spending cuts and the possibility of more federal aid.

The governor is apparently still hoping for lots of magical federal faerie dust, which will duly be sprinkled throughout the land. Huzzahs for faerie dust! Huzzah!…

* That faerie dust will sure come in handy to pay off the state’s backlog of bills, which is now $6.4 billion. But Quinn better find some soon, because he’s promised to pay all those bills off by the end of December…

Governor Pat Quinn “is committed to paying all” bills from 2010, which ended in June, by the end of this year, said Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman. Quinn, a Democrat, is working to reduce the deficit and will need the help of the Legislature, she said.

The Legislature? We don’t need no stinking Legislature when we have faeries! Seriously. Magic is so much more fun…

* Anyway, back to the budget, which sucks, of course. The Commission on Goverment Forecasting and Accountability’s September report is out. Not good…

Excluding short-term borrowing, base general funds revenues are up $266 million through September. However, absent $263 million from first quarter As shown on page 7, through the first quarter of FY 2011, overall base revenues are up $266 million. When the falloff in federal sources is excluded, the gain increases to $397 million. However, as mentioned earlier, much of the year to date increase is attributed to interfund borrowing, which throughout the first quarter totaled $263 million. Absent that action, receipts through the first three months of the fiscal year have been expectedly lackluster.

“Expectedly lackluster.” Great. But, wait a moment. According to this video, faeries are real…

So, maybe all hope is not lost. Yes, indeedy. All we have to do is just find out where they taped that faerie, go catch it and immediately hand it over to the Office of Management and Budget. Problem solved.

* Come to think of it, maybe Bill Brady already caught that faerie…

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady told supporters in Galesburg Monday that if elected he would cut taxes and close the state’s deficit in his first year in office. […]

Asked if that was a realistic statement, Brady responded, “absolutely.”

In his first year, he says? Huzzahs!!! Huzzahs!!! We are saved!!! All hail Bill Brady, the new King of the faeries….

* And let us all pray for a long and healthy life for our new king…

Plummer said his experience in hiring and managing people at the family lumber business has prepared him to run Illinois, the country’s fifth-largest economy. Business is “a background where you have to perform or you don’t make it,” he said.

Fear not. The young Plummer is guided by the lumber faerie, the fairest faerie of them all…

Feel better? I sure do.

…Adding… The tax amnesty faerie is not being kind…

A tax amnesty program designed to bring an influx of cash into the state’s floundering bank account could bring in less revenue than advertised.

In a report issued Monday, Comptroller Dan Hynes said the possible shortfall could further jeopardize the state’s already shaky ability to pay down its old bills by the end of this calendar year.

“This would create a scenario in which unsatisfied payees could be forced to seek legal and judicial remedies to obtain payments in amounts unprecedented in the state’s history,” he noted.

Curiously enough, there are no videos for “tax amnesty faerie” on YouTube.

23 Comments

Cohen: “Character counts”

Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Scott Lee Cohen recently appeared on “Public Affairs” with host Jeff Berkowitz. The host did a pretty good job of letting Cohen talk about his programs, but then methodically zeroed in on his, um, “issues.”

Cohen stumbled a few times when talking about his budget plans. And he refused at first to answer a question about his net worth, eventually saying it is between $6 and $7 million. He claimed he’s put $3-4 million into the campaign since the primary. That’s not exactly evident. He says he’s about half-way to his degree at DePaul and wants to eventually obtain a law degree.

Cohen called last week’s Chicago Tribune editorial board “debate” a “witch hunt, not an endorsement session” because of the pointed questions they asked him. He said that Bill Brady and Pat Quinn spent their time at the meeting “making asses of themselves.” Cohen also said of Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, “He’s pretty ignorant.” Zorn claimed Cohen quickly “folded” under pressure and bowed out of the lt. governor’s race.

“Character does count,” Cohen said when pushed by Berkowitz. “Look at half the legislators out there, they’ve been arrested for different things,” Cohen claimed, adding that unnamed people had been “convicted” of armed robbery and are still in politics. He said his own arrest for allegedly knifing his alleged prostitute girlfriend was “nonsense.” He also claimed that he pays child support. His ex-wife had taken him to court over the issue.

Anyway, have a look…

* Meanwhile, Cohen plans to unveil a new jobs plan tomorrow morning at the Odyssey Yacht at Navy Pier. A press release claims “upwards of one hundred veterans and others” will be there as well. From that press release…

According to Cohen, “The All Hands on Deck” program will focus on those who have suffered chronic unemployment, like veterans, the disabled, teenagers, tech workers and ex-offenders.”

“This is a significant economic recovery plan for the state of Illinois,” says Swilley. “It is capturing the attention of social service agencies, unions, and businesses large and small.”

“As far as I’m concerned”, says Cohen, “The All Hands On Deck” plan, is the heart and soul of what our campaign is all about. It’s a down payment on a big investment in the people of Illinois.”

* So far, nobody has asked Bill Brady about the solid evidence that Cohen is hurting his candidacy. Any ideas how Brady can deal with this?

24 Comments

Morning Videos: Hare stumbles, IEA uses Abe, Labor backs Quinn, Whitney talks issues

Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* If Congressman Phil Hare thinks this obtuse TV ad is a winner for him, he probably has another thing coming. Watch if you dare…

“Bobby Schilling refuses to let Medicare negotiate volume discounts on prescriptions”? I understood what Hare was saying, but my eyes still glazed over. Seriously, that’s all he’s got?

* The Illinois Education Association uses Abe Lincoln to bash Bill Brady. Kinda funny, but a prime example of how the Interwebtubes has spawned a whole lot of amateurish campaign videos…

* The Pat Quinn campaign has updated its labor union video to include the factoid that Jason Plummer’s family company is the “number 2 non-union homebuilder in the state of Illinois.” Brady’s company is the largest, according to the video. Watch it…

* Green Party gubernatorial nominee Rich Whitney has posted his 5-minute ABC7 video. The station asks that the candidates stand or sit in front of a plain background and speak to the camera about issues. Here it is…

* Other videos…

* BlueStream.com will offer live coverage of a press conference with Robin Kelly, State Treasurer Candidate at 11:00 am from the blue room in Springfield.

* Gov. Jim Edgar, Christopher Kennedy at ICIRR fundraiser

* Illinois Turnaround Tour: Get on Board - 3 Minute Condensed Version

* White Sox…Feet on the Street with Susana Mendoza

* Gov. Quinn Highlights Amtrak’s $40 Million Capital Investment in Chicago’s Union Station

27 Comments

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