Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Southern Illinoisan has posted its Q&A from a recent interview with Judy Baar Topinka. It ends this way:

SI: If Illinois residents asked collectively, ‘why should I vote for Judy Barr Topinka?’ How would you respond?

TOPINKA: First of all I don’t need a road map to get here. I know where Southern Illinois is, I’ve spent a lot of time here. We have done a lot of low interest loans here through the treasurer’s office to help business and industry here. I’m thoughtful in terms of trying to make things happen and I’m honest. I respect Springfield as the state capitol and I plan to live there, where I’ve lived half of my life. I’m a former Girl Scout and I still believe in public service and doing good for its own sake.

She really needs some better lines.

56 Comments

Um, Stu?

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Alleged Republican attorney general candidate Stu Umholtz has filed his campaign finance report for the first six months of 2006.

Funds available at the beginning of the reporting period $3,517.71
Total Receipts $67,090.00
Subtotal $70,607.71
Total Expenditures $26,305.89
Funds available at the close of the reporting period $44,301.82
Investment Total $0.00

I’m kinda speechless. State Rep. Raymond Poe (R-Springfield) raised a third more than that during the same time period.

I really think it’s time to put Stu’s photo on a milk carton. Can any PhotoShop pros out there lend a hand?

14 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - “Push poll” claim in House race (use all CAPS in password)

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Enter your password to view comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Smith; Targets News Feed (use all CAPS in password)

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Enter your password to view comments

Question of the day

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

As I write this in the early morning hours, my weekly newspaper column is not yet posted, but you can find it here soon.

Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka don’t agree on much, but their campaigns concurred last week that Gov. Blagojevich is leading in the polls.

The Blagojevich campaign says their latest poll shows the Democratic governor leading the Republican treasurer 47-31 - a seriously large 16-point advantage. Topinka’s campaign has Blagojevich ahead 44-37 - a far narrower seven points. […]

According to the Blagojevich poll, the governor leads in Chicago 67-14, has a 51-40 advantage in the Cook County suburbs, leads in the usually heavily suburban collar counties 44-36 and is tied downstate 37-37. The governor’s poll was taken July 5-7 of 604 likely voters and had a margin of error of 4.1 percent. Pollsters went into the field right after a week of heavily negative news stories appeared about alleged corruption within the governor’s administration. […]

Topinka’s poll has her leading in the Republican collars 44-39, ahead 57-33 in northern downstate, up 43-37 in central Illinois, out front in southern Illinois 43-40, but trailing badly in Chicago/Cook 60-30. Topinka’s poll was conducted July 10-13. 600 likely voters were surveyed and the poll had a margin of error of 4.1 percent.

Rasmussen, you’ll recall, has the race at 45-34, about right in the middle of where both candidates’ polls show.

Meanwhile, SurveyUSA’s latest monthly tracker has the governor’s job approval about the same as last month. 44 percent approve, 51 percent disapprove.

QUESTION: Can Topinka still pull this out? Can the governor keep her numbers down enough even when she starts running her own TV ads? Or will only some seriously high-level indictments stop him now?

UPDATE: Hardcore national Democratic blogger Kos throws in his two cents:

Blago’s administration is corrupt, he’s got a terrible relationship with the Democratic legislature, and people don’t like him. There is one semi-popular Republican in the state, Judy Baar Topinka, yet she’ll have a hard time overcoming her state’s heavy Blue leanings. Voters seem willing to keep her as state treasurer. As governor? Skepticism abounds

53 Comments

Can’t anyone over there tell the truth?

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Let’s see... First, they said they had a totally blind hiring system. Then, when we found out they didn’t, they blamed George Ryan. Then they said they fixed it. Then when that turned out not to be true, they said they fixed everything by the end of 2003. Turns out, that wasn’t true, either.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office was approving candidates by name for state jobs as late as autumn 2004, nearly 18 months after aides said a “blind” hiring system was created, documents show.

Well into Blagojevich’s second year in office, his chief of staff and personnel director continued to sign off on names of candidates for such jobs as secretary, auto mechanic and film office intern, nearly 300 employment forms obtained by The Associated Press reveal.

At least one-quarter of the forms relate to positions covered by laws and court rulings that prohibit hiring decisions based on political clout and give priority to veterans and minorities. Others might also be covered but are not immediately apparent. […]

But tracking candidates by name raises the possibility that Blagojevich aides could have influenced hiring decisions, and it contradicts the governor’s statements that he instituted safeguards early in his tenure to eliminate that possibility.

And then there’s this.

Nearly all the forms were sent to Lon Monk, Blagojevich’s chief of staff who now runs his re-election campaign, whose initials appear on most forms. Most were created by Joe Cini, the man in Blagojevich’s office in charge of hiring for the few thousand jobs the governor does control.

28 Comments

React

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The governor’s move to skim $5 million from the budget and use it for stem cell research didn’t exactly go over well with the editorial writers at the Belleville News-Democrat.

Is Rod Blagojevich running for re- election as governor of Illinois, or as dictator? His heavy- handedness last week makes us think dictator.

That’s gotta be the harshest editorial lede I’ve ever seen about this governor.

Doug Finke at the SJ-R was much more mild.

It’s not whether you think Blagojevich did the right thing in providing money for stem cell research. The issue is credibility: saying there is no money in the budget for stem cell research and then padding a state agency budget so there will be money for it.

Then again, credibility problems are nothing new for the Blagojevich administration.

Bernie Schoenburg let Rep. Gary Hannig, the House Dems’ budgeteer, do the talking.

“You hate to have that kind of distrust exist between the executive branch and the legislative branch,” Hannig said. “Do we have to call a lawyer every time we talk to each other and put everything on a piece of paper? You would hope that when you talk to people that they would … either agree or disagree with you, but that they would at least be honest.”

As for the governor’s side of the negotiations, Hannig said, “I think they knew very well what our feelings were on this issue.

“He worked that angle last year, and we said, ‘OK, you fooled us on that one, but no more.’ And they said, ‘OK.’ So now, they’re going to play another game.”

“It’s not a good situation,” Hannig added. “But the governor brings these things on himself, sometimes.”

And John Patterson spares little.

In his first term in office, Blagojevich has been branded a liar â€” which the governor chalked up to a simple misunderstanding â€” compared to a used car salesman and been forced to put financial promises in writing, all by his fellow Democrats.

11 Comments

Heartbreaker

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Usually when we see stories about the state’s huge Medicaid payment backlog, they’re written like this one.

The state’s problem reimbursing hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes is causing concern in the medical community.

While late Medicaid payments are nothing new, groups like the Illinois Hospital Association say medical professionals are feeling the sting.

But Jim Muir gives us a different kind of Medicaid story.

The decision by Illinois lawmakers to forgo paying billions of dollars in Medicaid payments has turned into a harsh reality for a Marion couple, who this week were denied medical care for their daughter because of those unpaid bills.

Matthew and Lisa McGlinn are the parents of 4-year-old Riana, a special needs child who in her short life has had three heart surgeries, eye surgery and also has battled kidney disease. The McGlinns both work full-time and Riana has received medical care through the state’s Kids Care Program, and is now enrolled in the All Kids Program. The programs are state-funded based on the income of the parents.

Riana was born six weeks premature and has been treated since birth, including the surgeries and all follow-up visits, at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

That is, until this past week.

Go read the whole thing. Shame on this state.

21 Comments

Morning shorts

Monday, Jul 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· McQueary on Topinka: It’s substance that is missing. Fire in the belly. Organization. Message.

Â· Analysis: Illinois has worst fiscal health in nation

Â· Leasing highways is gaining traction around nation

Â· “In this city that once winked at Prohibition, members of the city council are cracking down on behaviors they deem unhealthy, dangerous or just plain annoying. They’ve taken aim at everything from noisy street musicians to captive elephants to fatty foods like fried chicken and french fries.”

Â· Aldermen give us a chance to pity Wal-Mart

Â· Women’s Health Initiative Grants Get Nearly $400K

Â· Residents continue mopping up

Â· Yet another horse put down at Arlington Park

Â· Call to limit cases amuses public defenders

Â· Candidates zooming in on veterans

Â· Fairâ€™s demolition derby not just for men

7 Comments

READER COMMENTS CLOSED FOR THE WEEKEND

Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

See you Monday. In the meantime, head to Illinoize.

Comments Off

Roskam dodges WSJ

Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Wall Street Journal tried to reach state Sen. Peter Roskam for two days to talk to him about stem cell research, but no can do.

While Ms. Duckworth jumps on the issue, Mr. Roskam dodges it. “There are bigger issues going on in this campaign.” says spokesman Ryan McLaughlin, declining to make the candidate available despite several requests over two days.

That’s strange. Just last month, Roskam had this to say to the Daily Herald:

“We cannot leave our moral obligations at the laboratory door and take one human life and cast it aside for the benefit of another.”

He even talked to the now defunct Illinois Leader when asked about Comptroller Dan Hynes’ attempt to pass a $1 billion stem cell research proposal.

“His proposal’s not going anywhere,” State Senator Peter Roskam, who led the opposition to stem cell research on the Senate floor last week, said Wednesday.

He also had this to say in a June 13 press release, which responded to a Tammy Duckworth press conference on stem cell research:

In matters such as these, we cannot leave our moral obligations at the laboratory door.

According to the Wall Street Journal article, Roskam had this to say in 2004:

“We are asked to pit one life against another.”

He even talked to the WSJ earlier this year.

In an interview with the Journal earlier this year, Mr. Roskam called his views “well within the mainstream” of the district. Those voters who do disagree with him, he added, support him because they share his views on keeping taxes low and other issues.

So, why not now? Is the issue polling that badly?

Meanwhile, the dodging and weaving from the Roskam camp displeased conservative activist Fran Eaton, who wrote today:

Senator Roskam, I implore you to pick up the standard you’ve been proudly waving for so long and energize weakening troops back to the front. Don’t retreat, or allow your campaign manager to evade the issue as he is quoted as doing in the WSJ today.

27 Comments

Question of the day (what’s left of it, anyway)

Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Sorry for the late blogging. My back is killing me.

Seen any good blogs lately? Use this as an opportunity to point us in that direction. New bloggers, tell us about your blogs. Established bloggers, tell us what you’ve been up to lately.

UPDATE: Um, y’all haven’t seen any blogs lately? What’s up with the response?

16 Comments

Release the records, Governor

Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Attorney General Lisa Madigan ought to force the governor’s office to release all of this information.

Gov. Blagojevich’s administration has been hit with new subpoenas in a federal probe of its hiring practices but is concealing them from its own department heads and voters as election season heats up.

After the new subpoenas began arriving in late June, the governor’s top lawyer, William Quinlan, sent internal memos asking agency chiefs and other top officials for lists of all human resources employees and computer equipment they used. He also ordered them to preserve a wide range of computer backup devices that “must not be deleted, overwritten, destroyed or modified in any manner.” […]

…Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office has repeatedly indicated subpoenas should be treated as public records, accessible in many cases through the Freedom of Information Act. Subpoenas can be kept secret, however, if law enforcement officials request it.

I wrote a column about this topic a few weeks ago, but without the Lisa Madigan stuff. So, let me say this now:

Lisa, it’s time to step in to this mess and let the public know what’s going on!

51 Comments

Talk already

Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

They could solve these problems if they just talked to each other, but I don’t think they’re much interested in talking.

The candidates for Illinois governor both say they want to debate a dozen times. Now they just have to agree on when and where.

Democrat Rod Blagojevich said Thursday he has accepted invitations to 12 debates because Republican Judy Baar Topinka had said she wanted to face him a dozen times. He called on her to accept the same debate invitations.

Topinka’s staff says she also wants a dozen debates, but not necessarily the same ones Blagojevich agreed to attend. Spokesman John McGovern said the two campaigns need to settle on the same 12 events but Blagojevich’s campaign manager isn’t returning their calls.

Blagojevich and Topinka have argued about the issue since the primary election. Each has challenged the other to different numbers of debates at different times on different subjects.

Until the campaigns sit down and talk, none of this means anything.

UPDATE: Looks like they did talk some.

So far, the two campaigns said they have agreed to three debates sponsored by WTTW-TV in Chicago, the Southern Illinoisan/WSIU-TV and the Rockford Register-Star/WREX-TV. The camps also agreed to a radio forum sponsored by the Illinois Radio Network and a debate hosted by the Associated Press.

Both campaigns said they wanted 12.

“She’s not ready to debate,” Blagojevich campaign spokeswoman Sheila Nix said about Topinka. But Topinka spokeswoman John McGovern questioned why Blagojevich’s campaign announced its decisions before the two camps figure out the details.

15 Comments

Mid-morning shorts

Friday, Jul 21, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· Editorial: This drumroll of cases, convictions and allegations hasn’t yet reached a thunderous intensity. But our hunch is that it’s coming. Even on the days when the bass drums fall silent, you still hear the powerful cadence of the snares.

Â· Obama plan to visit Iowa steps up White House buzz

Â· Post Office Comments Create Backlash For Natarus

Â· Tollway lease foes urge state to reconsider

Â· Background checks find 1,000 felons living at state nursing homes

Â· Law protects health insurance for veterans

Â· CTA: Brown Line rehab a mess

Â· Suit: Halting work on house is political payback

Â· Editorial: Cooked County

Â· Kass: A tortuous path to not blaming Daley

Â· Congressional Democrats plan $30 million-plus ad buy in fall, including in Illinois

2 Comments

« NEWER POSTS