Mayor Richard Daley’s administration believes it has cleaned up the city’s corrupt hiring system and early next year will seek to end court oversight of its personnel practices, his top lawyer told aldermen Thursday.
Mara Georges said she plans to tell a federal judge that the city is in “substantial compliance” with the decades-long Shakman decree, the legal threshold for getting out from under court control. Georges’ brief comment came during a question and answer session with a City Council budget committee.
The Daley administration has longed chafed about its hiring system being under the scrutiny of court-appointed monitor Noelle Brennan. She was named to the position in August 2005 after authorities arrested Daley’s patronage chief and others on charges they rigged the hiring system to reward the mayor’s political allies with jobs and promotions.
And it gets worse: Schools aren’t even testing many 11th graders who wouldn’t perform well. As the Tribune recently reported, school districts across the state use a loophole that allows them to liberally define who is a high school junior. The Tribune found that 20 percent of sophomores in the state didn’t advance to junior status last year.
Voila! You’re not a junior, you don’t take the test! And the school’s results aren’t weighed down.
About 70 workers at a vacuum-cleaner warehouse in Will County are losing their jobs. The vacuum company says it’s because a contract for their services is ending. The workers say it’s because they joined a union and complained about their pay and conditions.
According to a Forbes magazine report released this week, the NHL had its most profitable year in 2008-09 and team values rose $3 million to an average of $223 million.
The Hawks, however, increased in value the most. They had ranked 14th in 2007-08, with a value of $205 million. Last year, their value climbed to $258 million — a whopping 26 percent increase. So, the Hawks now rank seventh in financial value among the 30 NHL teams.
* Stringing the Holiday Lights on the Illinois State Capitol - Nov 12, 2009…
On Wednesday, Brian Dugan was sentenced to death for the murder of Jeanine Nicarico. In the case of Brian Dugan, the criminal justice system worked. In previous prosecutions, it did not. I said in interviews in 2002 that I had less confidence in the accuracy of the criminal justice system than I did earlier in my career. I continue to believe that.
In the Cruz-Hernandez cases, prosecutors, detectives and police officers acted in good faith and still came up with the wrong result. In the Cruz-Hernandez cases, the system and I failed to achieve a just outcome. And for that I am sorry.
Although I continue to believe that the state has the right to take a life under limited circumstances to protect society, I also believe we must do more to ensure the accuracy of the system of capital punishment and limit its application to the “worst of the worst,” such as Brian Dugan.
I believe we must do more to ensure the accuracy of the criminal justice system. Good intentions are not enough when human life is at stake.
If I am elected governor, I will not lift the moratorium on capital punishment until we have created a more limited and accurate system of capital punishment. While Illinois has made significant progress, other reforms have been left on the table, such as a reduction in the number of eligibility factors that trigger the death penalty.
Is it enough to erase the stain?
* From the Mark Kirk for US Senate campaign…
- Five-term GOP Congressman and Navy veteran Mark Kirk released a new poll today that shows him maintaining a six-point lead over likely general election opponent Alexi Giannoulias.
- In a survey of 772 likely Illinois voters, Kirk leads Giannoulias 44-38 with 18 percent undecided. The poll, conducted by Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies on November 3, 2009 with a 3.5 percent margin of error, follows an October 8, 2009 survey that showed Kirk leading 42-35 with 23 percent undecided.
- In the same survey Kirk leads other potential Democrat opponents by larger margins: David Hoffman 43-32; Cheryle Jackson 45-33; and Jacob Meister 45-28.
* Sen. Bill Brady responds to today’s endorsement of Andy McKenna by House GOP Leader Tom Cross…
I have great respect for my legislative colleague Tom Cross, but his support for Andy McKenna in the race for Governor is just the opinion of one man. Andy McKenna champions himself as an outsider, but House Minority Leader Tom Cross is anything but an outsider.
Illinois needs a clean break from the politics of the past. We need to take the control away from the political dynasty that has ruled Springfield far too long, and give it back to the people of Illinois.
I believe voters are looking for a candidate who stand up to the political insiders and power brokers so their votes count. I believe that the people of Illinois want a Governor who represents all of Illinois, and not just one corner of the state. I am that candidate.
My campaign is about Illinois’ future, a future with more jobs, more integrity and a greater voice in their government for all Illinois citizens. In this spirit, my campaign continues to grow stronger every day with grass-roots endorsements from voters who are seeking decisive leadership and a new direction for all of Illinois.
Pretty standard stuff. Brady’s the one fighting the insiders? Huh. OK. And he’s the break from the politics of the past after being in politics for years?
More on today’s endorsement here and in the Sun-Times.
* SEIU is spending more than a few bucks attacking specific congressmen on TV, including in Illinois…
The Service Employees International Union has put together a new group to launch health care ad campaigns targeting specific members of Congress who voted against Democratic reform plans–the Foundation for Patients Rights. So far, they’re going after four lawmakers, spending $400,000 on the first week of TV ads against Reps. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), Mike Castle (R-DE), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Mary Bono-Mack (R-CA).
* Democratic US Senate candidate Jacob Meister said this morning: “This race is not about who is the most ethical.” McDermott has the reasoning…
Meister’s point (made in the course of explaining why he won’t accept opponent David Hoffman’s challenge to all candidates to release their income tax records) is that jobs and the economy are the issues that people actually care about; that ethics is “a starting point” but not the end-all issue that politicians and the media have made it out to be.
“People are sick to death of hearing about ethics,” he said.
* Usually, conservatives are the first to decry anyone of color who plays the “race card.” But Illinois Review reversed the polarities this week…
Democrat Quinn showing his racist side?
Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn refuses to deny that his campaign is behind the effort to remove William Walls, the only African-American candidate, from the Democratic governor primary contest. Like Obama, Walls is a community activist, which, according to the Democrats and ACORN, is an honorable professions…like child prostitution.
Seems like yet another example of racism by the Democrats.
Quick note. Jack Roeser’s Champion News is misreporting that William J. Kelly is exiting the Comptroller’s race. We should have a statement on this shortly. Thought you should know.
