* Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias spoke separately to a Metropolitan Planning Council gathering today. Giannoulias hung out afterwards before and answered media questions, but Kirk beat it outta there in a hurry…
As soon as that was done — with a swarm of TV cameras and reporters moving toward the front of the ballroom– Mr. Kirk bolted for a back door.
With media in hot pursuit, he raced through a Hyatt kitchen and into the back set of a black SUV — I believe it was a Cadillac Escalade — which instantly pealed out.
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk has dodged reporters for a week after acknowledging he embellished stories about his military service. Today, Kirk ran from a pack of reporters today after speaking for about 20 minutes at a forum held by the Metropolitan Planning Council where Giannoulias had spoken earlier. Kirk ran through a back door through a kitchen prep area and onto a loading dock where a car waited for him.
The rapid departure came after Kirk offered his answers on a series of pre-arranged questions dealing with planning and urban growth issues such as public transit to Lake Michigan’s water levels.
IL GOP’s Executive Curt Conrad said IL GOP Chairman Pat Brady and the new Finance Committee has raised more funds in the first four months of 2010 than was raised in 2009 altogether.
And its cash on hand was a startlingly puny $55,200.35.
Yikes.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Chairman Brady just called to say they actually raised “close to $750,000″ so far this year through about six accounts and has about $360K on hand in those accounts.
We applaud the policies that our fellow constitutional officers have already instituted for GLBT employees such as insurance coverage, sick time or bereavement leave.
However, we do not believe any others have a similar policy for unpaid FMLA leave, which was the basis of our Executive Order. FMLA allows an employee to take unpaid time off to care for a sick spouse, child or parent. What the State Treasurer’s Office did was to make “domestic partner” the equivalent of “spouse.”
As a result, in practice FMLA-like benefits were extended to GLBT employees so they could take unpaid leave to care for a sick domestic partner, just like a married employee could do to care for a sick spouse. Taking unpaid leave to care for a state employee’s domestic partner is not currently covered by the FMLA. We believe we are the only office to have done this and have it as a written policy –as opposed to leaving it open to interpretation.
Additionally, while FLMA can presently be used for maternity/paternity issues like the birth or adoption of a child, we do not believe that the state employee would qualify for leave to care for a newborn child related to the employee’s domestic partner. Similarly, if the employee’s domestic partner adopts a child but the state employee does not, under most maternity/paternity leave policies, the employee would not qualify for leave. Our policy now extends these benefits to cover such instances and do not believe it is covered in other state offices.
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* Another day, another embellishment claim in the US Senate race. But this one’s on Alexi Giannoulias. Last week, the state treasurer made a big announcement…
Gay and lesbian employees of the Illinois Treasurer’s office with domestic partners will have the same benefits as married employees under an executive order signed by state treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias Sunday.
They’ll get the same family and medical leave benefits, be able to take time off to have or adopt children and take bereavement time on par with married workers. That is in addition to health care benefits that same-sex partners already received.
The order makes the office the first constitutional Illinois state office or state agency to adopt such a policy and one of only nine states and the District of Columbia to implement leave-related benefits for domestic partners, Giannoulias said.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has had benefits in place for same-sex couples since July 2006. Spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said the change was made after CMS extended benefits to include domestic partners working for the governor’s office a couple of months earlier. […]
Ziegler said Madigan changed her office’s employee insurance coverage to include same-sex couples and bereavement leave. She said the maternity and paternity leave did not need updating because it covered people regardless of their sexual orientation.
Ziegler said she is unaware of any employees that have been denied rights under the Family Medical Leave Act because of their sexual orientation.
The Illinois Republican Party pounced with a press release detailing nine false claims. Here are a few. Click to read them all…
1. Falsely claimed to serve on the Board of Directors for a distinguished banking group. “Democratic Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias corrected a claim on his website that he served on the board of a banking group when he didn’t…‘Alexi was not that intimately involved to be candid,’ Wingert said.” (Associated Press, “Giannoulias Fixes Bankers Association Board Claim,” 6/9/2010)
2. Falsely claimed to chair a defunct charity. “Giannoulias is currently the state treasurer of Illinois. And, according to his official website, ‘He founded and chairs the AG Foundation, a not-for-profit charity that donates money to treat child-related illnesses, curb poverty and assist disaster relief organizations.’ The problem is, the charity no longer exists. According to the AG Foundation’s tax return, ‘The organization was in existence only for the two-year period from 2005 to 2006.’ So, why is Giannoulias still claiming to be the ‘chair’ of this defunct organization? According to the same tax return, Giannoulias’s formal position with the foundation was ‘president.’ In this capacity, the ‘average hours per week devoted to position’ was 0.15, which amounts to 9 minutes per week and an average of 39 minutes per month.” (Weekly Standard, “Giannoulias’s Embellishment,” 6/3/2010)
3. Falsely claimed Bright Start only lost $85 million. “The losses in a mutual fund that was part of the Illinois Bright Start college savings plan totaled about $150 million in 2008, more than double what the state had previously disclosed. As a result, families will recoup about half of what they lost, where six months ago some expected to recover a higher percentage of their losses.” (Chicago Tribune, “Illinois Bright Start college fund settlement less than expected,” 12/23/2009)
* Meanwhile, do you remember that story last week about how a Republican tracker got manhandled a bit at a Giannoulias fundraiser? Marathon Pundit has identified the person who most vociferously insisted that the tracker leave as Washington, DC lobbyist Michael Kosmas. Here’s his video…
But there’s a catch. Another conservative Internet guy, Doug Ibendahl, looked into Kosmas and saw that he may lean Republican…
But before joining his current law firm, Michael worked for nearly a decade for former U.S. Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley – a Republican from Maryland.
However it’s Michael Kosmas’ political contributions that are really interesting. Kosmas has given to Democrats – including his mother. But check out some of his contributions to Republicans:
$500 to U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) (6/20/08)
$250 to U.S. Congressman Dan Burton (R-Indiana) (9/28/04)
$3,200 in total contributions to U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-California) (2003-2005)
$1,000 to Rudy Giuliani for Presidential Committee Inc. (11/29/07)
$500 to Elizabeth Dole Committee Inc. (7/15/02)
$4,000 in total contributions to former Republican Governor of Maryland, Bob Ehrlich (2003-2006)
$500 to U.S. Senate Campaign of Republican Rob Portman of Ohio (12/16/09)
$75 to Harford County Republican Central Committee (4/25/03)
$200 to Republican State Central Committee of Maryland (10/2/03)
If someone from Illinois had that kind of contribution history – he or she would be considered a generous Republican.
Actually, that person would be called a “lobbyist who works both sides” here in Illinois.
