Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

UPDATE: The Topinka people say that when she was in the state Senate Topinka “voted one time to move a bill on the temp increase to the House because the House was playing games with them. All Senate Repubs did. She voted against all the tax increase bills that became law.”

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Let the negative campaign begin. From a Blagojevich press release.

The Blagojevich for Governor campaign released its first â€œTopinka Watchâ€ today, the beginning of an ongoing series that will highlight State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinkaâ€™s record of misleading attacks, distortions, and policy failures.

â€œItâ€™s hard for voters to keep up with Judy Baar Topinkaâ€™s attacks and distortions, but we will work to set the record straight. She is hiding from her record of failures and inaction and is resorting to silly personal attacks. We believe voters deserve better and we will hold her accountable for her actions,â€ Blagojevich spokesperson Sheila Nix said.

The first Topinka Watch sheds light on a false claim on Topinkaâ€™s campaign website. As a State Senator in 1991, Topinka voted to make a 20 percent increase in the state income tax permanent. Yet, her campaign website claims that she â€œvoted against all income tax increases.â€

â€œJudy Baar Topinka does not want voters to see the clear contrast with Governor Blagojevich when it comes to taxes. She voted for a 20 percent increase in the state income tax while Governor Blagojevich held the line on taxes despite inheriting the worst budget deficit in our stateâ€™s history,â€ Nix said.

Topinka Watch will regularly detail the false claims and distortions of the Topinka campaign. In recent weeks, Topinka has flip-flopped on whether she wants President Bush to secretly raise money for her, has criticized Governor Blagojevich for late Medicaid payments while she personally delays the release of millions in Medicaid dollars and has failed to explain her record of votes against seat belts and child safety seats.

â€œWith Judy Baar Topinka, the gap between her rhetoric and reality is as big as the budget deficit her friends and allies left for Governor Blagojevich. We hope Topinka Watch will help voters keep an eye on the facts,â€ Nix said.

They even have a nifty new logo:

The only problem is, their e-mail announcing Topinka Watch had this in the subject line: Rob Blagojevich Press Release

I didn’t know Gary Forby was working for the campaign.

UPDATE: It appears the photo in the guv’s new logo was taken from Jake Parillo’s website. Wonder if there’s a copyright problem? Here’s the original.

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Ryan (?-Illinois)

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Is this nitpicking by liberal media critics or a disturbing pattern?

But in reporting on Ryan’s conviction, news outlets repeatedly failed to inform viewers that he is a Republican. As noted by blogger Joshua Micah Marshall, an April 17 “web exclusive” Time article by staff writer Eric Ferkenhoff omitted Ryan’s party affiliation but managed to highlight that of current Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, whose office is also under investigation […]

The network news shows each briefly mentioned the conviction during their April 17 broadcasts. But in doing so, neither NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams nor CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer informed viewers that Ryan is a Republican. On the April 18 edition of NBC’s Today, news anchor Ann Curry also reported the news without mentioning Ryan’s party.

Numerous Fox News hosts and anchors similarly ignored Ryan’s party affiliation during their April 17 reports on the conviction. They included Juliet Huddy, Martha MacCallum, Page Hopkins, and Harris Faulkner. CNN anchor Zain Verjee also failed to identify Ryan as a Republican during the April 17 edition of CNN’s The Situation Room.

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Priceless

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I hadn’t watched the entire CBS2 report on the back and forth between Blagojevich and Topinka over the Ryan fallout. But some commenters pointed out Mike Flannery’s reaction to one of Gov. Blagojevich’s statements and so I headed over there.

It’s priceless. The photos here are two screen shots of Flannery’s reaction. Go watch the whole thing. The transcript isn’t online, but I’ve reproduced it here.

BLAGOJEVICH: When news broke about the license for bribes scandal, I’m not gonna take credit for it, but it was very easy for those of us who were in other political parties to criticize that. I’m not asking for any credit for that.

FLANNERY: What? Exactly what does Gov. Blagojevich mean to be claiming there? I don’t recall him speaking out when the first reports surfaced 13 years ago of illicit fundraising in then Secretary of State George Ryan’s office. The dilemma for voters, of course, is that neither did Judy Baar Topinka.

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Looks like the Tribune missed one

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

UPDATE: I bumped this to the top because I think it’s by far the most important story of the day…

There was something about that jury foreperson which rubbed me the wrong way while I watched the press conference clips on TV. The Sun-Times confirms my suspicions today. And after bouncing a pro-Ryan juror for not telling the whole truth on her questionnaire, I certainly hope this important story is taken seriously by Judge Pallmeyer.

The foreperson of the jury that convicted former Gov. George Ryan has sought orders of protection, but failed to disclose them as required.

Failure to disclose legal histories got two other jurors bounced, and sources say the defense will likely ask a judge to throw out Ryan’s guilty verdict because of foreperson Sonja Chambers’ misleading answers on a sworn jury questionnaire.

Chambers, a Bolingbrook resident, doesn’t have a criminal record but she has a history in civil courts in DuPage and Will counties, including filing orders of protection. However, she checked “no” on her questionnaire when asked if she had ever been involved in any lawsuit or court proceeding as a plaintiff, defendant, victim or witness. Records show she has shown up in court or had involvement in court proceedings on various occasions. […]

Also, Chambers’ estranged husband was arrested just outside of Chambers’ home on a warrant in October of 2004 for failing to appear in court on a driving with a suspended license charge. He pleaded guilty to that charge and got 12 months of supervision.

Chambers indicated on her questionnaire that neither a close friend nor relative had ever been charged with a crime and she said “no” when asked if she, a spouse or significant other had ever been personally interested in the outcome of a criminal case.

Also, Sneed reports that Chambers has lawyered up.

I wonder why the Tribune never got around to looking into Chambers’ past? They were so diligent in helping bounce those other two jurors (one of whom was apparently a Ryan holdout, despite Chambers’ insistence to the contrary), but why not Chambers? Looks like we need yet another explanatory article about how the prosecution had absolutely NOTHING to do with its stories.

UPDATE: Mark Brown has more.

UPDATE: Can case be overturned due to juror issues?

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Morning shorts

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’m putting this at the top today because it’s so late and I’m trying to generate a few more comments on these posts. You should consider “Morning Shorts” to be an open thread to discuss whatever Illinois political topics you wish, not just limited to the stories listed.

Â· Neil Flynn has a new book coming out soon.

Â· No FutureGen for Southern Illinois, but other state sites still on list.

Â· Study: Uninsured children often Latino

Â· Former Gov. Edgar Weighs In On Ryan Verdict

Â· Animal Farm:

Obama said heâ€™s spoken with political protÃ©gÃ© Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic state treasurer candidate, about controversial loans to a man with ties to organized crime. Obama said he told Giannoulias within the past week to review the loans at his familyâ€™s Broadway Bank and to hold a news conference to explain the situation in great detail. Obama endorsed Giannoulias, an early financial supporter of his 2004 Democratic U.S. Senate bid, in the treasurer primary March 21 and appeared in ads for him. The issue is a sensitive one for Obama, who is the Senate Democratsâ€™ point person on the pending ethics reforms.

Â· Editorial: A tale of two airports

Â· Brothers to assist Lane Evans

Â· Politicians see Ryan’s conviction as a call for change

Â· Marin: Andrea Lyon is a true believer

Â· Poshard: ‘A long time before state can shed’ image

Â· Hispanics press Daley for clerk job

Â· Illinois Providers Criticize State For Launching All Kids Program Without Addressing Unpaid Medicaid Claims

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Question of the day

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve been asking this question in Capitol Fax for the past couple of days, so I figured I’d put it to you here.

Should newspapers that endorsed George Ryan in 1998 now apologize to their readers for not believing the allegations against him at the time?

The Sun-Times already has come clean twice (text in subscriber-only section), as have others. But should the rest of them now explain why they ignored the media reports at the time and endorsed Ryan anyway?

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Can a corrupt man still be a good man?

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Everybody has been slamming George Ryan this week, but Kristen McQueary has another take.

It wasn’t greed or naivete or ego that brought down George Ryan.

In many ways, it was heart.

The expected reaction to the guilty verdicts is triumph. Ryan victimized “we the people.” We’re supposed to clink our glasses and feel deeply satisfied.

Why don’t I?

To me, the case is not that tidy. There was no Colonel Mustard with the revolver in the dining room. Prosecutors laced together a corruption case against Ryan that spanned many years, hundreds of conversations and a thousand interpretations. Those who testified against Ryan faced a perilous fate from the federal government, had they refused.

Even the simplest synopsis of the case raises questions in my mind: Can a corrupt man still be a good man?

This was not an elitist who flaunted wealth. He was a grandpa from Kankakee with a pudgy wife. The spoils often referenced — corporate jets, premier sports tickets, Jamaican vacations, steak dinners — don’t strike me as ostentatious. He was the governor of a major state. Your average state lawmaker is privy to the same recompense, and congressmen, more.

One of the personal checks shown to jurors as part of the “spoils” was a $1,000 boost for his daughter. One of his kids apparently married a bum who liked to gamble, and so Ryan helped them when he could. What father wouldn’t?

Ryan’s co-defendant, Larry Warner, insisted on paying for the band at Ryan’s daughter’s wedding. There were vacations among friends in Jamaica.

Think of your own life and the people with whom you would surround yourself if elected governor: I’d sure like my best friend from high school, now an attorney, to provide trusted counsel. What if she owned a timeshare in Mexico? Would I have to pay her for my room-and-board? It seems a bit absurd.

Read the whole thing.

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Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Finger-pointing

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Scott Fornek picked up on something yesterday that a lot of people missed.

Gov. Blagojevich repeated it over and over Tuesday, saying Republican rival Judy Baar Topinka “didn’t lift a finger” to stop the scandals of former Gov. George Ryan.

If that sounds familiar, it should.

The Northwest Side Democrat used the same political strategy — and the exact same phrase — four years ago against his GOP opponent. […]

In 2002, Blagojevich lambasted his GOP opponent, former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, for not investigating the outgoing governor. He used the “finger” mantra in television commercials, interviews and joint appearances — five times in one debate alone.

“[Jim Ryan] didn’t lift a finger to investigate the biggest scandal in Illinois history,” Blagojevich said in one 2002 debate.

Read the whole thing.

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Let’s polka!

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

As I mentioned in the Capitol Fax today, that video of Judy Baar Topinka dancing the polka with George Ryan has become a favorite hook of Chicago reporters this week.

Â· Daily Herald:

Of all the obstacles Republican governor candidate Judy Baar Topinka faces in trying to win this November, perhaps none looms larger now than a piece of videotape.

The footage features the Illinois treasurer dancing the polka at a state fair with Gov. George Ryan, who was convicted Monday on all 18 counts in his federal corruption trial. The tape provides her opponent, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, with a powerful image to use this fall in what so far has been a close contest in the polls. […]

Blagojevich campaign spokeswoman Sheila Nix said the campaign had â€œno immediate plansâ€ to start airing a similar ad. His camp might not have to in the short term â€” TV newscasts are featuring it in the wake of the verdict.

Â· John Kass:

Topinka ran away from her friend Ryan, something a loyal Tugboat Annie wouldn’t have done, and now says she has no friends in politics, but that she does have two dogs.

“It has an effect on all politicians,” she said of the Ryan conviction. “I think the public gets very sad about it all and thinks all politicians are bad.”

Especially if they’re on video, dancing a polka with a felon.

Â· CBS2:

Though she once danced a polka with him, and they sometimes campaigned together, Judy Baar Topinka insisted Tuesday that George Ryan was an occasional ally, but not a friend.

Etc., etc.

And Topinka’s response:

“I dance the polka with everyone,” she said. “I think people realize I dance with everyone. If there’s polka music and there’s someone around, I will dance with them. I’ve made Vice President [Dick] Cheney dance with me.

“You’re ruining my dance card,” she said to reporters. “Everybody is going to be so fearful to dance with me that they’re going to be in a commercial, I’m not going to have any polka partners.”

Are reporters making too much of this? And how do you think Topinka is handling the issue?

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Morning shorts

Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

back in a few…

UPDATE: Today’s morning shorts has been moved to this post.

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve seen plenty of commentary so far on what impact the George Ryan verdict will have on the governor’s race. Some of it is pretty well thought out, some of it is not.

Let’s hear what you have to say.

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Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Books pricey, old

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

How long are public school parents gonna take this?

By the time Loryn Kogan got out of the New Trier Township High School Bookstore in August, the bill was nearly $800 for her two sons’ textbooks–materials that are free to students in most states.

What disturbed the North Shore mother the most, however, was that she later found the same books at Amazon.com for nearly $200 less. She quickly bought the books online and returned the others to New Trier.

Kogan didn’t know it, but the district contracts with a private company to run its bookstore and allows the firm to mark up new books by 20 percent over cost.

The contract is unusual because private booksellers usually are found on college campuses. But markups as high as 25 percent are not uncommon in some of Illinois’ largest public school districts, a Tribune investigation has found.

And it gets worse.

Across Illinois, students are resorting to duct tape and rubber bands to hold together decrepit textbooks. Other books are so woefully out-of-date they don’t teach fundamentals such as the fall of Soviet communism, a three-month Tribune investigation has found.

A survey of 50 districts of varying wealth and size shows public schools are failing to provide the most basic tool of learning: a current book in good condition.

Nearly 80 percent of districts surveyed are using textbooks in a main academic area that are out-of-date–at least 8 years old. About 22 percent of districts have books at least 15 years old.

Some schools have too few books to go around, forcing students to share and limiting teachers’ ability to assign homework.

Shortages and old books, however, hardly register in Springfield, where lawmakers decide how much to spend on books.

Jesse Ruiz, chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, which advises lawmakers on the budget, said he didn’t hear any complaints about textbooks in hearings earlier this year.

But Maureen Waters, a teacher at Richards Career Academy High School on the South Side, told the Tribune that her contemporary history class uses a 1988 text that ends with the Reagan presidency.

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Evans district open thread

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Inside Dope has a good piece on a recent candidates’ forum for people who are interested in replacing retiring Congressman Lane Evans. The following is from a news story clipped by the ID:

Boland stressed his name recognition, honed by winning six elections in western Illinois, two of which were in hotly contested, targeted races. He also discussed his legislative record, which he said showed his support of labor, veterans and the environment. […]

Hare â€” bolstered by a number of applauding supporters including Rock Island County Stateâ€™s Attorney Jeff Terronez and state Sen. Mike Jacobs, East Moline â€” said the endorsement he received from Evans is evidence he is the right person to carry on the congressmanâ€™s policies. […]

Schwiebert said he wants to take his experience building consensus across party lines and accomplishing economic development on a local city level to the state and national level. He also warned that simply picking any Democrat is no guarantee of November victory. […]

Sullivan said despite the fact few in Rock Island County know who he is, he has the best track record of taking on and beating Republicans. As a rookie senatorial candidate in 2002, he took down a 21-year incumbent Republican primarily by knocking on â€œthousands and thousands and thousandsâ€ of doors and getting help from his large family.

Read it all.

But, while you’re here, what have you heard lately?

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Trib: Slow down

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Tribune editorial wants guv to back off spending plans.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s budget crew has spent recent months showing off a set of colorful charts and graphs that tell a heroic tale about how the governor pulled Illinois out of a monumental fiscal mess without a tax increase.

Mission accomplished, so now is a fine time to expand state government. At least, that’s what the administration believes.

Not so fast, governor.

It’s an election year, so there is enormous temptation to offer a platter of delectable new initiatives on which to campaign. The governor hasn’t even waited for them to pass–he’s campaigning now on some of his spending initiatives.

Let’s be clear: By no means has Illinois emerged from its financial straits.

One of the big three bond-rating agencies last week gave Illinois a “negative outlook,” citing the growing unpaid pension burden that may eventually force state officials to raise taxes or impose massive spending cuts.

This follows a report last month by the Civic Federation that assailed Blagojevich’s proposed budget, arguing that it dangerously shortchanges the state’s pension funds by $1.1 billion. […]

A report on Friday by Tribune reporters Judith Graham and Christi Parsons cited a swelling pool of unpaid Medicaid bills to hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and other medical providers. The state expects to owe $1.7 billion in delinquent Medicaid payments by the end of June, triple what the unpaid tab was in 1997.

That’s all very sobering news. But Blagojevich’s assembly line keeps churning out spending ideas.

More here, here and here.

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Ryan updates

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

As expected, lots and lots of coverage today. Here’s some.

Â· Sun-Times: U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald added, “People now know that, if you’re part of a corrupt conduct where one hand is taking care of the other and contracts are going to people, you don’t have to say the word, ‘bribe’ out loud.”

Â· Dismissed juror: Some on panel weren’t ‘fair’

Ezell, 44, an office manager from the Southwest Side, said tensions rose as she found herself in the minority, voting to acquit former Gov. George Ryan on a couple of counts early in the deliberations. Ezell charged that juror Kevin L. Rein, 48, of Glen Ellyn, was particularly abusive, yelling at her “things like, ‘You’ve got to be an idiot. You’re stupid. You’re a dog.”’

Â· The Sun-Times has all of its links here. Sneed had a talk with Ryan after the verdict… Marin: Ryan is the latest, but likely not the last…. Larry Warner says he believes he went down on all charges because he was tried with a politician. That’s funny, because Ryan’s friends think just the opposite.

Â· Tribune stories are here.

Â· Daily Herald’s story is here.

Â· Zorn.

Â· Comments on convictions in former Gov. Ryan’s racketeering trial

Â· CBS2 has tons of stuff.

Â· Ryan conviction a setback for lead attorney Dan Webb

Â· Lots of Daily Herald stories here.

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Gaming the scores

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve never been a big fan of No Child Left Behind. And this doesn’t help my attitude.

(A)n Associated Press analysis of standardized test scores found a loophole in the [federal No Child Left Behind] law that means the test scores of one in 10 black students nationwide â€” about 445,000 in all â€” are not being counted separately at the school level.

That means some schools in which black children are failing still get a passing grade under the law. And it means those schools can avoid providing remedies meant to level the playing field, such as district-funded private tutoring or the chance for students to transfer to better-performing schools.

â€œStates are seriously trying to game this system, and theyâ€™re trying to game it in the places and ways that are most likely to erase sort of the largest blemishes on their public records,â€ said Dianne Piche, executive director of the Citizensâ€™ Commission on Civil Rights, a group that has been one of the biggest supporters of No Child Left Behind.

Read the whole thing. [emphasis added]

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Morning shorts

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· Kos on Illinois Congressional races:

I heard more than one person call Dan Seals “the next Obama” (talk about heightening expectations!). Seals is running against Rep. Mark Kirk in the IL-10. His race hasn’t garnered anywhere near the attention (or controversy) of Tammy Duckworth or Melissa Bean, but the locals think this one can be a stealth winner.

As for Duckworth and Bean, it’s disappointing to see local activists continue to be divided on those two candidates. Our priority now should be on taking back control of the House and getting subpoena power.

Â· Tom Cross: “I don’t think either party has the high ground on ethics right now…. We both have our credibility problems with voters. I think it may be a wash for all candidates.”

Â· My syndicated newspaper column: Democrats and Republicans working together? Not in Springfield

Â· Finke: Work ethic a campaign issue

Â· Tribune: The two candidates trying to succeed U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde in his traditionally Republican west suburban district clashed publicly for the first time in the general election campaign, stepping on what is typically perceived to be GOP philosophical turf: tax cuts.

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