Breaking: Schock backs off nuke missile threat
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The heat may have been getting too much for Schock’s “deeply thought out” position…
State Rep. Aaron Schock today admitted he was wrong to suggest selling nuclear arms to Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China to go along with U.S. policy toward Iran.
Schock held a news conference at his campaign headquarters to retract a statement he made during an announcement speech last month. The Congressional candidate said he “overstated the remedy with regard to telling China we would sell Taiwan nuclear weapons if China continued to stall on voting for the third set of sanctions on Iran as the time for Iran producing nuclear weapons gets closer and closer.” […]
“… When I make a mistake, I’m going to be mature enough to explain it and come forward and say that … but that doesn’t mean that Iran is not a threat, that doesn’t mean that China is not the entity stopping us from a third set of sanctions, that’s not to mean that we shouldn’t find a way to encourage China to come along with those economic sanctions,” Schock said.
I loved this line from the piece…
Schock’s comments follow intense scrutiny he’s received the past few days from his opponents and the press following published reports of his plan to sell nuclear missles to Taiwan for their defense.
That “intense scrutiny” was coming from everywhere but the Peoria Journal-Star, of course.
Also, there was more coming. Schock took a trip to China that was partially paid for by the Chinese government.
Plus, you gotta figure the folks at Caterpillar (who essentially rule the Peoria political world) choked when they saw his initial comments…
According to the Wall Street Journal, Caterpillar sold more than $1 billion of goods in China in 2006, and hopes to quadruple that number by 2010.
…Adding… Here’s Bill Dennis’ take…
First, he said it. Then he defended saying it, adding that opponents who disagreed weren’t being tough enough on terrorism. Then he said the plan was being misinterpreted.
He also said that anyone who disagreed with him was running in the wrong primary and compared himself to Ronald Reagan. Schock went way, way out on a limb on this one, only to walk it all the way back today. For his sake, let’s hope he learned some lessons.
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* 12:33 pm - Expect plenty more appeals before this is over…
CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) - A judge here has thrown out Illinois’ law placing caps on some medical malpractice lawsuit awards, reigniting debate over 1 of the Legislature’s most contentious issues.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Joan Larsen today sided with plaintiffs’ argument that the caps on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases violate victims’ rights.
The 2005 caps law limits damages victims can collect for pain and suffering to $500,000 against doctors and $1 million against hospitals. It followed complaints from doctors about soaring malpractice insurance rates.
The state Supreme Court had deemed previous caps unconstitutional. The latest caps only cover malpractice cases.
*** The judge’s opinion can be downloaded here ***
* 12:39 pm - The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted to suspend (block) the governor’s proposed emergency healthcare rules this morning. The governor’s rules would vastly expand eligibility for the state’s Family Care program. Background on the rules is here.
All JCAR members voted to suspend the guv’s proposed emergency rules except House Republican members Brent Hassert and Rosemary Mulligan, who both voted “No.” Sen. James Clayborne was not present.
* 1:39 pm - Statements from interest groups regarding the above med-mal decision…
* Medical Society
* Hospital Association
* Trial Lawyers
* Illinois Civil Justice League
* Citizen Action
* The Center for Justice & Democracy-Illinois
* 1:49 pm - More on the JCAR vote…
JCAR members encouraged Hoffman’s department to file an emergency rules that would cover an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 individuals who are at risk of being cut from a federal-state program known as “SCHIP.”
Hoffman said her agency had no plans to do that. The department, however, has filed identical rules for the healthcare expansion that will go through JCAR on a slower, non-emergency basis, officials said.
The governor’s only support on JCAR — a 12-member legislative panel evenly split by Democrats and Republicans — came from two Republicans: state Reps. Rosemary Mulligan of Des Plaines and Brent Hassert of Romeoville. One panel member was absent from today’s meeting.
Hassert said the discussion was clouded by animosity between lawmakers and the governor, who had a particularly contentious legislative sessions this year.
“I just felt it was appropriate,” Hassert said of the governor’s plans.
* 2:01 pm - Is Louisville’s police chief on the short list for Chicago police superintendent? Local Kentucky media sure thinks so.
Mayor Jerry Abramson said this morning that a team looking for a new police superintendent in Chicago has contacted Louisville Police Chief Robert White about the job.
* 2:19 pm - More on med-mal from Crain’s…
In her 10-page opinion, Judge Larsen ruled that the law violates the Illinois Constitution’s “separation of powers” clause — essentially finding that lawmakers interfered with the right of juries to determine fair damages.
The ruling means the case likely will go directly to the Illinois Supreme Court as early as next summer. The court has twice before struck down laws that limit payments to malpractice victims: once in the 1970s and again in 1997.
* 2:22 pm - This press release reminds me that I have to make up some t-shirts for our charity store…
On Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 11:00 a.m. at the James R. Thompson Center, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will launch a weeklong cell phone recycling campaign where all used phones and equipment will be donated to victims of domestic violence.
“This recycling drive serves the twofold purpose of making it easy to properly recycle your old cell phone while providing a safe line of communication for victims of domestic violence,” said Quinn, chairman of the Illinois Green Government Coordinating Council. “We want to encourage state employees and everyone to look through their closets and drawers and bring in those old cell phones. There are people out there who need them.”
In honor of America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, the Lt. Governor’s office is joining with Verizon Wireless HopeLine to collect used cell phones, batteries and accessories at state office buildings. The recycling drive will take place from Nov. 13-Nov. 16 and boxes will be placed throughout the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago and in the Stratton and Howlett buildings in Springfield.
Verizon Wireless began its HopeLine program 11 years ago by donating voicemail boxes so that women in shelters could receive confidential messages from their families and prospective employers. Today, the HopeLine program has collected more than four million phones, donated more than $4 million in financial grants and provided more than 45,000 wireless phones to local domestic organizations nationwide.
* 2:51 pm - From the Illinois Green Party…
Today two concerned voters in the 3rd Congressional District filed objections to the candidacy of Mr. Richard Mayers of Berwyn. The Illinois Green Party fully supports these objections, and will do what it can to ensure that Mr. Mayers is removed from the primary ballot.
The Illinois Green Party wishes to make it clear that Mr. Mayers is not a member of the Illinois Green Party, and the party disavows Mr. Mayers’ candidacy. Furthermore, the Illinois Green Party calls on the Illinois Board of Elections to overrule each of the frivolous objections filed by Mr. Mayers against candidates in all three parties.
Mayers has been described as a “white supremacist connected with Matt Hale’s Creativity Movement.”
* 3:33 pm - No surprise…
The City Council today approved Mayor Daley’s $5.9 billion 2008 budget precariously balanced with $276.5 million worth of increased taxes, fines and fees. It includes a revised $83.4 million property tax increase that’s the largest in Chicago history.
Daley loves to “pitch a shut-out” on the budget, the most important City Council vote of the year. Six of his previous budgets have been approved unanimously. It didn’t happen Tuesday. The budget passed 36 to 14, but the property tax package vote was much closer: 29 to 21. It was the narrowest victory for any of Daley’s budgets.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The setup…
Proposed rules for the state of Illinois smoking ban call for no smoking within 15 feet of the entrances and exits to enclosed buildings - including the entrances and exits to beer gardens and outdoor patios.
Some bar owners are still unsure of exactly how the rules will affect them when the ban takes effect Jan. 1. […]
Jeannie Boren, bar manager for Boone’s Uptown Grill, 301 W. Edwards St., said Boone’s believes it will have a legal smoking area, but owners aren’t sure how big it will be. […]
Barry Friedman, owner of The Alamo, 115 N. Fifth St., which also has a sizable beer garden, said “stepping a few more steps isn’t going to hurt anyone. If I have to paint a stripe and say you can’t smoke before this line, I’ll do that.”
From the proposed state rules…
A proprietor may designate smoking and non-smoking sections of an outdoor patio only if the smoking section is clearly and conspicuously separated from the non-smoking section and if the smoking area is at least 15 feet away from the entrance, exit, windows that open, and ventilation intakes.
If a proprietor designates an area where smoking is permitted, the proprietor shall not permit tobacco smoke to drift into areas where smoking is prohibited through entrances, windows, ventilation systems, or other means.
Question: Reasonable or not?
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The full story is still not out
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pat Quinn has a notoriously brief attention span, so I’m not sure whether he’ll follow up on this or not…
A war of words and finger-pointing broke out Veterans Day, as Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn asked Gov. Rod Blagojevich to investigate the firing of 17 veterans and three others from security jobs at National Guard armories across the state. The governor blamed federal cuts and asked Washington to change its policies.
“The governor proclaimed this ‘Hire a Veteran Month,’” Quinn said at a Sunday morning news conference. “He didn’t say ‘Fire a Veteran.’”
Later, Blagojevich offered criticism of his own. […]
“It’s an outrage that at a time when we are working to support our veterans and make their lives better, the federal government would change the rules and cut funding to make it harder for veterans to work,” the governor said in a statement released after Quinn’s news conference. “We are calling on our United States senators and congressional delegation to reverse the Bush administration’s cuts.”
* I’m hearing that the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which represented those fired workers, may be planning some action, so the story may not go away soon…
Terry Reed, field service director for Illinois Federation of Public Employees Local 4408, which represents the union guards, believes the layoffs have less to do with funding and everything to do with retaliation.
The union has filed grievances regarding the department’s decision to contract with private security companies, and that still is tied up in arbitration, Reed said. He also is critical of the department laying off the guards, 17 of whom are military veterans themselves.
An attempt to lay off the state security guards several years ago was blocked at the final hour by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The union is calling on the governor to do the same this time as well, but Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said there appears to be little the governor can do since it was the federal government that decided to pull federal funding.
* There appears to be a long history of bad blood between the union and the people who run the program. The governor stressed the money aspect of the situation, but that’s not how the layoffs were first explained…
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Military Affairs said the 20 guards laid off Wednesday were not trained to carry weapons and therefore didn’t meet required standards.
* However…
Under their job classification, the state guards do not carry weapons, but Siefert, a union steward at Marseilles, said he and others have repeatedly asked for training so they could be re-classified.
Something definitely doesn’t smell right there.
* The majority of those vets have found other state jobs, but the complaints continue…
State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he wondered why Blagojevich, who cut hundreds of millions from the state budget in an attempt to fund health care programs couldn’t have found more.
‘’Gov. Blagojevich certainly found $500 million pretty quickly for a healthcare program,'’ he said.
A Department of Military Affairs spokeswoman said that of the people laid off, 12 had taken other jobs within state government and three retired. Others are either on disability or still awaiting a resolution.
* Daily Herald…
No matter how the details of the fired guards play out, there’s little doubt those in charge at all levels are far more interested in pointing fingers than actually supporting troops.
We ought to be embarrassed and angry and demand that there be real truth behind the easy words. Instead, we’ll slap a yellow magnetic bow on our cars and call it “support.”
* Meanwhile…
Now, with the specter of a recession looming over the economy and talk of a troop withdrawal still swirling in Washington, D.C., many veterans’ advocates fear a repeat of the devastating aftermath of the Vietnam War, when unemployment among young veterans rose as high as 19.8%, pushing thousands of ex-soldiers to homelessness.
“There isn’t any option,” says Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who’s been a vocal advocate for veterans. “We have to make a Herculean effort” to find them jobs.
A full-on troop withdrawal would bring as many as 9,700 service members home to Illinois. Only about 1,000 of those will return to jobs protected under federal law. Many of the others, having enlisted in the military straight out of high school, will enter the civilian workforce for the first time. Upon their discharge they get, at most, a three-day course of career advice and other counseling.
While many will have military experience they believe can translate into a valuable skill in the private sector, those who have already returned from the war have found employers to be largely unimpressed by service experience.
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City on the hill it ain’t
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* How the insiders are treated in Chicago…
Six years ago, Allison S. Davis, an ally of Mayor Daley, got two city blocks of free land to build homes in the Woodlawn neighborhood. And the biggest, most expensive house went to Davis’ son.
* How everyone else is treated…
Chicago could generate $2.7 million a year — and maybe nearly twice that much — by cracking down on what has become a “widespread black market” in counterfeit city stickers, Inspector General David Hoffman has concluded.
After a yearlong investigation that identified 388 counterfeit stickers — 94 percent of them found at city auto pounds and at least one on a car that belonged to a city employee — Hoffman is recommending stiff new penalties for those who sell and manufacture bogus stickers and against motorists who purchase and display them.
I’m not condoning counterfeiting in any way, but the city conducts a year-long investigation of city stickers and finds less than 400 of them and that’s a huge problem? Priorities, people.
* The treatment of the upper echelon…
The city of Chicago is under-reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes it pulls in every year. That’s according to a new study by the Civic Federation, a fiscal watchdog group. It says there needs to be more transparency.
* Everyone else…
Barring last-minute changes, the Chicago City Council is poised to hike taxes, fees and fines by more than $275 million when it votes Tuesday on Mayor Richard Daley’s proposed 2008 budget.
The chief concern for aldermen and homeowners is Daley’s plan to raise property taxes by $86 million, by far the largest hike since he took office in 1989.
* The few…
As a young lawyer, Allison S. Davis was a City Hall outsider.
He criticized Mayor Richard J. Daley over the 1968 riots. He worked to integrate Chicago neighborhoods. And he fought to elect judges based on legal ability, not political connections.
Today, Davis is a consummate City Hall insider.
He’s a loyal ally of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who appointed Davis to Chicago’s prestigious Plan Commission. Davis has gotten deal after deal from the mayor, helping to make Davis one of the city’s top developers. And Davis has forged strong ties to the Daley family, doing deals with one of the mayor’s nephews and giving legal business to Daley & George, mayoral brother Michael Daley’s law firm.
* The many…
This year, according to the Law Department, as of Sept. 30, Chicago had paid out more than $27 million in police misconduct judgments and settlements on claims ranging from sexual harassment to excessive force and illegal search.
* Meanwhile, grand plans from Mayor Daley…
Wind turbines on Sears Tower and a “green” roof on the Merchandise Mart are two high-profile concepts on the drawing board as part of a wide-ranging, environmentally friendly development plan under consideration by the city.
* But basic stuff like a decent city recycling program is still out of reach…
But the fact is, we’ll never be able to claim we’re green giants until we have an effective, citywide recycling program. And we still have a long way to go.
Recycling, after all, is the most basic of environmental programs. It’s probably the first thing someone does when they start to think green, because of the variety of benefits, from saving natural resources to saving energy to saving landfill space. “What’s good about recycling is that it’s something everyone can do and actually make an impact,” said Julie Dick, a board member at the Chicago Recycling Coalition. But people who move to Chicago from the suburbs or other big cities, nearly all of which have better recycling programs than Chicago’s, are often surprised at how hard it is here.
Thoughts?
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Schock roundup and Seals poll
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* OK, so far, we know that state Rep. Aaron Schocks “deeply thought-out” proposal to threaten China with nuclear holocaust if it doesn’t cooperate on halting Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is deeply flawed on just about every level…
* The United States doesn’t even have any of the missiles that Schock wants to sell to Taiwan to pressure China because those Pershings were all destroyed after Ronald Reagan signed a treaty with the Soviet Union. Ironically, Schock’s spokesman claims that this China gambit is Reaganesque.
* Schock voted for a Sudan pension fund divestment proposal but voted against a similar proposal to divest from Iran’s energy companies, which are developing that country’s nuclear weapons.
* As expected, Monday’s political column in the Peoria Journal-Star doesn’t mention any of this stuff except to use Schock’s spin…
Schock is doing what he thinks voters want, giving details. Thus far, at least, other candidates have only scratched the surface on any issues.
* And then in today’s…
State Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, is worth somewhere up to $1,245,000, including between $500,000 and $1 million owed to Busey Bank to finance Old Orchard Land trust - an apartment complex, according to reports. […]
He mostly carries investments in real estate, securities and stocks valued between $933,000 and $1,995,000, with income from those assets producing at best $17,600 annually, according to reports.
His annual salary was reported at $132,704, including about $42,463 from the state, $25,000 from Junction Ventures, for which he no longer works, and $65,240 from Peterson Healthcare.
“I think this hopefully demonstrates that while I’m not rich, I certainly know the importance of saving and investing, and I tried to be responsible with the money that I earned and have tried to do the same as a public official,” Schock said.
To which Billy Dennis responds…
Meanwhile, here in the real world, there’s a word to describe people with $1 million: “Rich.”
* On another congressional race, the Politico had this…
Marketing executive Dan Seals holds a commanding lead over former Clinton administration aide Jay Footlik by 52 points for the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), according to a poll released by his campaign.
The poll found that 58 percent of likely primary voters would vote for Seals, while only 6 percent preferred Footlik.
Seals, by virtue of his Congressional campaign last year, tallied higher name identification: 69 percent of respondents recognized his name, while only 24 percent could identify Footlik.
The poll, conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group surveyed 404 likely Democratic primary voters between November 5-7.
* But commenters over at Team America blog question the wording of the survey.
* More congressional stuff, compiled by Paul…
* GOP candidates to replace Hastert disagree on debate timeline
* New Lenox man running to replace Weller
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Morning shorts
Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Ex-legislator’s fund owes $80,000 but gov hires him anyway
Giles, a Blagojevich ally while in the Legislature, served seven terms before losing his 2006 re-election bid. He’s now northern region manager for the Illinois Department of Employment Security, an $84,996-a-year post in which he oversees nine work force services offices and about 250 employees. The job was vacant before Giles was hired.
Giles’ defunct political fund, Citizens for Calvin L. Giles, still owes $80,250 in election fines for improperly filing disclosure documents in 2000 and 2002.
* State police probe donation to Blagojevich ; more here
A Chicago pharmacist first told state police in 2005 that he made a $25,000 contribution to Blagojevich as a form of protection from a state Medicaid probe.
The Illinois State Police told the Tribune last month they had already investigated those allegations and determined they were unfounded.
But after repeated inquiries from the Tribune about the thoroughness of that investigation, state police said last week they were taking another look.
* Election Board makes changes in ballot rules
Election law changes that call for more pay for election judges, more teenagers and college students as monitors and safeguards to ensure absentee ballots are counted were announced Monday by the Chicago Election Board.
* Statehouse Insider: Gov moving with health-care expansion
Riding the crest of his 31 percent approval rating (or less, depending on the poll), Blagojevich apparently intends once again to push his universal health plan in the General Assembly. Won’t that be fun? It got next to no support in the General Assembly this year, and there doesn’t seem to be a sudden groundswell to support it now. Not to mention that no one has figured out how to pay for it. Are we going to have Son of Gross Receipts Tax? It’s going to take some kind of tax hike to pay for Illinois Covered. How many lawmakers do you think will be lining up to support any kind of tax hike in an election year?
* Legislators balk at Blago’s health care expansion
* Editorial: Tell governor that no means no
* Blagojevich health care expansion getting hard look
* Managed Medicaid pilot program under debate in Illinois
* Lawmakers dispute health-care plan’s cost
The administration insisted Thursday evening that the plan would cost $43 million through June 30, the end of the fiscal year. But Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said his staff analysis shows it would cost $367 million annually once it’s fully implemented. Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Pontiac, concurred.
* Editorial: Governor again bypasses system to get his own way
If Blagojevich’s push for universal health care is so important, why didn’t he mention it while he was campaigning for re-election less than a year ago? We can’t believe the idea suddenly popped into his head after Nov. 7, 2006.
Pension reform, school finance reform and a capital program still need to be addressed, but this governor is bound and determined to get his way, even if it bankrupts the state.
* Tribune Editorial: A message from Oregon
Eleven months ago, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago warned that Illinois faces “a financial implosion.” The highly respected business group reported that the state owed $106 billion, much of it for pensions and health-care costs.
The state made no progress in the last year on those dire financial problems. Yet Blagojevich is doing an end-run on the legislature to impose more spending on health care.
Given the chance, Oregon voters said, “not so fast.” But Illinois voters, and their elected representatives, have been left as bystanders.
* State to hire auditor to look at all-time low test scores
“Any time you see a drop like this, it’s a concern,” said Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover. “We want to take a close look at the whole testing process and see if we can determine if there was a problem with the test, or if this is a real decline in scores.”
* State to look into whether test was compromised
* Illinois Report Card Projects director seeks new way to measure school performance
* Rep. John Fritchey: Time is right to hold a Con-Con
* Change of Subject: Ryan’s special treatment, moment of silence
* George Ryan fighting for his legacy
* Key events in George Ryan’s life
* TIF programs need reform says Civic Federation
* Illinoize: Lawyers, lawyers, and more lawyers in Illinois
* Opposition to pending legislation
The Edgar County Board was warned Wednesday morning a potentially budget busting bill is moving through the Illinois General Assembly. Tim Shumaker, Edgar County Chief Probation Officer, advised county board members the proposed law would change the the age limit for charging youths as adults from the current 17-years-old to 18.
* Tribune Editorial: Let CeaseFire fight
It’s impossible to prove what relatives and friends of some of the victims have been asserting to Chicago reporters: that a fully funded CeaseFire could have prevented one or more of the five high-profile killings of young Chicagoans in the past four weeks.
What’s easy to prove, though, is that CeaseFire is a politically neutral organization with no business being caught in the political crossfire that now passes for governance in Springfield. The unending struggle over who writes the state budget of Illinois — the legislature or the governor — isn’t CeaseFire’s fight.
* Carol Marin: State GOP may need strange alliances
If Pat Robertson, the televangelist who believes God made heaven for righteous right-wingers and hell for everyone else, can bless the thrice-married, pro-choice, pro-gay, anti-gun Rudy Giuliani for president, what other water can the GOP turn into wine this election season?
Could this kind of radical rapprochement between an ideological conservative and a social liberal catch on? Could it possibly spread to schizoid Illinois, where conservatives consider centrists Communists? Where wacko Alan Keyes was imported from out of state to run for U.S. Senate in 2004 against Barack Obama? Where moderate Republican Judy Baar Topinka was eaten alive by the right wing of her party, bludgeoned worse by them than by her 2006 Democratic opponent, Gov. Rod Blagojevich?
Just asking.
* McQueary: Journalism ’shield’ laws a want or a need?
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