Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I just got off the phone with third party congressional candidate Bill Scheurer (running against Melissa Bean). He confirmed everything that was in this post by Jeff Berkowitz. This could turn out to be a huge story.

Scheurer said someone came to him, about a month ago, offering to help with the petition signature process. The person said his name was Anthony R. Constantine and he claimed to head A R Consulting, giving Bill a business card with that information on it. For a certain sum of money, he said he would obtain 8,000 to 10, 000 signatures to help get Scheurer on the ballot.

Scheurer was counting on the signatures from AR, but learned earlier this week he would get none, with vague, peculiar stories about health problems, etc. He also learned that one Anthony Constantine works in the legislative office of Cong. Dan Lipinski, and Constantine has a company named A R Consulting, but Constantine told Scheurer earlier this week that he did not meet with Scheurer previously and he is not the person who Scheurer met with and spoke with over the last month, and who committed to the 8,000 to 10,000 signatures to support placing Scheurer on the ballot in the 8th CD race.

Scheurer estimated he has about 9,000 signatures now and he would like to get 6,000 more in the next three days to get some buffer over and above the requisite 13, 950.

The guy appears to be screwed, and this is certainly a bizarre story. He says he will have at least 60 volunteers in the street this weekend, but that may not be enough to gather all those signatures. Stay tuned.

33 Comments

Blog bans

Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

This Kentucky blog ban episode brings up an interesting point for Illinois.

I’ve been told by some state employees that they can’t access this or any blog during business hours (although a back door is still open that a few people know about and which I would never divulge). For others it’s not a problem. I’ve never bothered to check up on who, if anyone, is being blocked here because I figured it wasn’t really a big deal. Now that it’s become big news elsewhere, I’m not so sure.

I’ll keep comments open through Saturday afternoon so that people can fully respond to this question, but are you being blocked? If so, what agency are you with? Any corporations blocking blogs out there? Â·

UPDATE: And, please, let’s stick to the question. The State Journal-Register now has reader comments on its website, as do some other papers, so why should I be blocked and not them? And even if they didn’t have comments, what’s the difference? But, wait, don’t answer that. It was a rhetorical question. Let’s stick to the topic at hand.

UPDATE: And another thing… with all the news feeds I have and the hundreds of links, this site is designed to be more of an Illinois news portal than a blog. It’s a starting point. So, this site shouldn’t be treated any differently than any other news sites, particularly since the idea is you can get to all of those places from here.

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Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Today brings yet another poll showing overwhelming public support for an issue that the poll’s sponsors also happen to support.

Nearly 80 percent of Cook County residents want Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, according to a new poll released Thursday on the eve of a presentation before the U.S. Olympic Committee that will reveal Mayor Daley’s solution to the need for a new stadium.

“We have a very elegant solution — one that is economically doable to … win the 2016 Olympics that includes a very creative way as it relates to the stadium issue,” said Patrick Ryan, the executive chairman of Aon Corp. appointed to head Chicago’s Olympic exploratory committee.

Pressed to describe the stadium proposal that he and Daley will unveil at the U.S. Olympic Assembly exposition in La Jolla, Calif., Ryan said: “We cannot reveal our plans before we reveal them to the U.S. Olympic Committee. It would be bad form and, frankly, I think it would hurt us and would offend them. So, we’re not going to do it.”

Daley said he asked Stanley Tigerman and other Chicago architects to come up with a response to USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth’s demand that an 80,000- to 100,000-seat stadium be built or “totally committed” to by March 31, 2007.

QUESTION: Do you support Chicago’s bid for the Olympics? Why or why not and under what conditions?

35 Comments

Here we go again

Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The only way stories like this will ever stop is if Illinois finally bans campaign contributions by state contractors. Period.

The governor pats himself on the back for not taking state employee money, but contractors have a lot more cash on hand.

The Blagojevich administration is claiming that a study of the stateâ€™s fleet of cars ordered more than three years ago has generated millions of dollars in savings. But, officials wonâ€™t release the results of the study, which was conducted by a company that has contributed thousands of dollars to the governorâ€™s campaign fund.

As the state embarks on a plan to begin its first large-scale replacement of vehicles since the governor took office, the fact that the study isnâ€™t being made public is drawing fire from some lawmakers.

“I think if they donâ€™t respond to these inquiries on how they spend our state dollars, thereâ€™s something amiss,” said state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock. “They should have to respond. I donâ€™t think their objection is valid.”

In May, Lee News Service requested a copy of the study, which was called for by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in one of his first acts after taking office in 2003. The request, made using the stateâ€™s Freedom of Information Act, was denied in June. The administration says it cannot release the study because it is exempt from state open records laws.

The company that did this study just won a no-bid extension of its contract. That’s the way things are usually done in Springfield.

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Political protection rackets

Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

My latest Sun-Times column came from this blog post a couple of weeks ago.

Back in the day, business owners in a neighborhood controlled by the Mafia would have to cough up weekly cash tributes. The money was for “protection,” except they weren’t really “protected” from anything except the mobsters themselves. If they didn’t pay up, very bad things would happen.

Politics has its own protection rackets. Sometimes people contribute campaign money to powerful politicians so that their interests are kept safe from harm. A state legislator, a city council member or a suburban mayor won’t usually torch a store that doesn’t pony up, but they can make life awfully difficult.

The most lucrative political protection racket is insurance sales, and for a lot longer than anyone can remember insurance has been the vocation of choice for Chicago and Cook County politicians.

I’d say “read the whole thing,” but that would be kinda presumptious of me. Ah, what the heck, do it anyway.

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Morning shorts

Friday, Jun 23, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· The governor seems to take a step further in saying he won’t lease or sell the tollway, but he hasn’t explicitly ruled it out yet, despite the Trib’s headline (”Sell or lease tollway? Blagojevich says no”). Here’s the latest statement: “I have no interest in giving up the tollway when we’re doing so many good things,” he said. “I have no interest in turning it over to private investors.”

Â· “An obscure but powerfully influential state panel that regulates hospitals in Illinois is coming under scrutiny just two years after Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he had fixed its problems.”

Â· Everybody calm down a little: “The men were all Muslims who thought they were plotting “in conjunction with Al Qaeda” but they really were dealing with law-enforcement undercover agents, one law-enforcement official told The Miami Herald.”

Â· “Sounding a lot like a mayoral challenger, state Sen. James Meeks (I-Chicago) demanded Thursday that Mayor Daley fix a problem with a “strong hint of racism”: poorly qualified teachers concentrated in black and Hispanic schools.”

Â· Supremes help lawyers, reporters.

Â· Editorial: Deals replace fiscal restraint

Â· State officials Thursday trumpeted significant improvement in Illinois’ unemployment picture.

Â· Illinois casinos to check IDs for addicts

Â· Study: Without a federal government willing to enforce federal No Child Left Behind laws, the Illinois State Board of Education sees no reason to follow them.

Â· Green Party expects to be on state ballot

Â· Fran makes a good funny

Â· A Rockford friend says he thinks the last paragraph of this story shows a Chicago-centric attitude at DHS.

Â· Editorial: THUMBS UP! To the Macon County Board’s Environmental, Education, Health and Welfare Committee for dismissing a proposal to make English the official language of Macon County. The committee correctly determined that the county has no power to create an official language and also pointed out that the state legislature has already declared English the official language of Illinois. The committee made a wise decision.

Â· Krol: A bad month in more ways than one for Hastert

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Finally, some good news for Alexi

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Giannoulias has a new spokesman, and his first major positive push appears to have worked. Apparently, the solution is to head south - away from those pesky Chicago reporters with all their questions about his father’s bank.

In his first policy proposal since winning the Democratic nomination for state treasurer, banker Alexi Giannoulias tackled an issue Monday that rests largely outside his home of Chicago and the world of finance.

Giannoulias joined the growing chorus of support for corn-made gasoline promising that, if elected the state’s financial leader, he would offer low-interest loans to gas stations wanting to upgrade to E-85 - fuel made of 85 percent ethanol. He made his announcement before a short tour of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

The state treasurer’s office already provides subsidies that allow banks to offer cheaper loans for many community development projects; Giannoulias’ proposal would cover gas-pump improvement and construction.

Completely retrofitting a gas station for E-85 can cost tens of thousands of dollars. There are now only about 120 E-85 pumps in Illinois.

The Giannoulias campaign provided five stories about the proposal. Not one of those pieces even so much as mentioned the banking/mobster questions.

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Bad news for Bean, and maybe some more good news for the Greens

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

If Scheurer gets onto the ballot, Melissa Bean ~~could~~ will find herself in huge trouble.

Bill Scheurer, a Moderate Party candidate in the 8th Congressional district, said this week he has the 13,950 petition signatures he needs by Monday to get on the ballot.

“I don’t have a final count, but I have every indication we’ve gone over the amount we need,” he said.

The anti-war, pro-life candidate with labor support was worried last week that he may not reach the mark, but Scheurer says he made it with the help of dozens of volunteers and his wife, Randi, who collected signatures from thousands of local residents. […]

Determined to be a factor in November, Scheurer said he will run as a write-in candidate if he fails to get the minimum number of signatures or if his petitions are thrown out because of a challenge.

The Republican candidate McSweeney has pledged not to challenge his petitions.

Scheurer has plenty of labor support from the Machinists, the Teamsters and UNITE-HERE. They’ve contributed thousands of dollars to his campaign so far and they’re bound and determined to dump Bean, who even failed to receive the AFL-CIO endorsement.

UPDATE: While we’re on the third party thing, Illini Pundit has posted the latest Green Party press release.

Illinois Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney will hold a press conference at 1 p.m, Monday, June 26 in the Capitol Press Room to formally submit over 35,000 signatures that have been collected by hundreds of Green volunteers around the state over the past three months to obtain a place on the November ballot.

One suggestion: Learn how to write shorter sentences.

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Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

First, the set-up:

A two-year review of the Illinois State Fair and the Du Quoin State Fair by Auditor General William Holland determined the two summertime events lost a combined $9.2 million in the two previous fiscal years.

The red ink comes despite a 1994 law requiring the fairs to break even and a 2004 comment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich that he believed the fairs would make money.

But Chris Herbert, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which oversees the fairs, said it is not their intention to make money off the fairs.

“Would we like to make money? Sure. Do we bill the state fair as a money-maker? No. It’s a service to the people of Illinois that we provide,” Herbert said.

Now, the question: Should we expect the State Fair to pay for itself? Or should this be a chance to showcase Illinois within reasonable spending limits?

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Numbers

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Kristen McQueary got ahold of some 19th Ward poll numbers. They’re old, but perhaps useful for our purposes. Figure that the governor’s numbers are unchanged and that Topinka’s have dropped when you’re reading this.

To get a head start, the South Side’s 19th Ward organization commissioned a poll earlier this year to examine voters’ moods and evaluate opinions toward incumbent Ginger Rugai, challenger John Somerville and other public officials.

The February poll of 401 registered 19th Ward voters also tested the soil for Blagojevich, Mayor Richard Daley and Topinka.

The 19th Ward is a sensible sample of voters statewide; it’s diverse, politically active and independent-leaning. The ward and the poll reflect the mood of the “undecideds” who swing elections. […]

Only 33 percent of voters gave Blagojevich a positive rating. That’s considerably lower than a statewide tracking poll from Survey USA, which has measured his negative ratings at around 43 percent for several months. […]

Topinka got a positive nod from 42 percent of 19th Ward voters back in February. Only 18 percent held an unfavorable view of her, which is notable considering the strong Democratic ties in the ward.

No wonder Blagojevich came out swinging as soon as the polls closed March 21. He may be too damaged to hoist his own numbers, but he’ll do everything he can to crush hers.

Daley received a positive rating from 71 percent of respondents.

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Emanuel won’t continue as DCCC chairman

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Rahminator is calling it quits.

Â· Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) will step down from the House Democratsâ€™ campaign operation after the November elections to spend more time with his family, he told The Hill yesterday […]

Although most DCCC chairmen serve only a single term, many Democrats welcomed Emanuelâ€™s presence and held out hope he would serve a second term. […]

The DCCC chairman acknowledges that he has had a rocky relationship with some colleagues.

â€œThereâ€™s no doubt I could change my style and be more patient,â€ he conceded, noting that his wife had suggested they name a fourth child Patience as a â€œsubtle reminder.â€

The congressman has not been a favorite of many commenters here, so I can probably guess what the reaction will be. Still, did he do that badly?

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Lots of education stories today

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Meeks has an idea for Chicago schools.

Would an extra $50,000 persuade Chicago’s best teachers to work in the city’s worst public schools?

State Sen. James Meeks (I-Chicago) thinks so, but he also wants such teachers to prove they’re worth the extra money by passing a test and presenting a track record of results with kids.

Just as he put pressure on Gov. Blagojevich to produce a school funding plan, Meeks will turn up the heat on Mayor Daley today to encourage the best teachers to work in the city’s neediest schools.

In an exclusive interview with the Sun-Times, Meeks said he hopes to take up to 300 men to City Hall at noon today to ask Daley how he will address new reports indicating Chicago public schools are disproportionately stocked with the state’s lowest-quality teachers. […]

Meeks has his own ideas on the issue. He says top-notch teachers should be offered a $25,000 signing bonus and $5,000 a year for five years to work in failing schools.

The governor’s hype apparently doesn’t match the reality.

Educators applauded a law signed Wednesday by Gov. Rod Blagojevich that sets aside $10 million for a pilot program aimed at reducing class sizes, but they said much more is needed to take a significant bite out of crowded classrooms.

State officials hope to lower class sizes in some crowded schools to no more than 15 pupils in kindergarten through 3rd grade through the program, under which public schools can apply for funds that will be disbursed in $50,000 grants.

But at Wilson Elementary School in Cicero, where Blagojevich signed the law before a dozen 7 and 8 year olds, $50,000 would get the school one new teacher, said Supt. Clyde Senters of Cicero District 99.

And Jesse Jackson will lead a march on Springfield in September, when nobody will be at the Statehouse except reporters.

The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition plans to lead a march on Springfield this fall demanding state legislators act on education reform, president and founder Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said at the organization’s annual conference Thursday.

Just as students are returning to school, Jackson plans to hold a weekday march on the state’s capital to demand changes to education funding in Illinois

But he doesn’t seem satisfied with Gov. Blagojevich’s proposal, which has no property tax relief component.

At the conference’s closing luncheon, Jackson said the organization will demand the state educate all of its children and end the policy of property tax-based funding.

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Did he or didn’t he?

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what else he said, and the AP is usually pretty good. But I don’t think the governor’s quote matches the story’s lede.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Wednesday that he won’t sell or lease the Illinois tollway to come up with extra money for the state.

“We have no plans whatsoever to lease the tollway or sell the tollway. I think we have a great idea on the lottery,” Blagojevich said.

Having “no plans” and ruling it out completely are two completely different things.

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Morning shorts

Thursday, Jun 22, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· “A public employees’ union set up picket lines outside four prisons Wednesday as part of a contract dispute with a company that provides substance-abuse treatment programs at Illinois’ only prison for drug-addicted inmates.”

Â· Sweet: Hastert should have revealed land trust

Â· Brown: No matter what verdict is, it’s clear the fix was in

Â· “I made a terrible mistake. I had longtime friends who I tried to help, and I made a terrible misjudgment when I took money from those individuals.”

Â· “In a state where official records end up in dumpsters and hackers can get college studentsâ€™ personal information, a survey suggests Social Security numbers are handled carelessly by some government bodies.”

Â· Only 5 states produce more carbon dioxide emissions, environmental group says

Â· The Illinois Supreme Court on Monday snuffed out a tobacco bond arrangement that has provided more than $17 million to Madison County government over the past three years.

Â· Editorial: Memo to County Board: Leadership issue is urgent

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