* House Republican Leader Tom Cross just talked to the media after this morning’s leaders meeting with the governor. Cross described the talks as quite positive. There is no agreement yet on whether to do a five-month plan or a full-year plan, but Cross said there needs to be “stability” for now. He also said the governor views any overrides of his appropriations vetoes as a “hostile act,” but added that route might be the way to go. “We’re working on the mechanics.” Watch it all…
The leaders will meet with Gov. Pat Quinn again at 4 o’clock this afternoon after they talk with their members. Senate Dems and SGOPs are caucusing at the moment. One topic will be the added borrowing for the pension systems. That’s up to $3.5 billion from $2.2 billion.
We’ll post more videos, if any, on this post from those caucus meetings.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) said there is support to borrow billions short-term to make state worker pension payments this year. The money would help fund social services, which had been put on the chopping block during the budget impasse.
“At the end of the day, it will not be as severely as it was portrayed by the governor six weeks ago,” Cross said of the cuts.
Cross said a tax increase “is off the table” and added that the governor wants to review the budget after five months, but there would not be any legal authority for him to do so. […]
“The main thing we’re trying to do is avoid chaos, and that’s everyone’s goal. We all agree with that, and we’re working towards that end,” said Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont).
*** 2:23 pm *** From Rep. John Fritchey’s Twitter page…
So session lasted approximately 90 seconds. Now we’re off to caucus. Is it any wonder why people are frustrated?
1 minute ago
*** 3:30 pm *** [posted by Mike Murray] Sen. Garrett comments on today’s Senate Democratic caucus. Senate Dems are committed to avoiding a shutdown of state operation and will appropriate funds to that end. Also discussed was a possible $3.6 billion pension note bill…
* I read some very positive reviews online about Jawbone’s Bluetooth headset with “Noise Assassin” technology. The concept seemed sound, so I bought it Friday.
The device does, indeed, appear to filter out a lot of background noise - which is important to me since I have a convertible and can barely hear a thing on my mobile phone whilst driving and neither can the people with whom I’m speaking.
But there are huge problems with this device. First, it appears to have a major design flaw. While you’re trying to put the thing into your ear, the “hangup” button is easily activated. Oops. I missed several calls over the weekend because of that flaw.
Also, for whatever reason the Bluetooth connection kept dropping between my iPhone and the Jawbone, necessitating constant “searches” to reconnect. Seriously aggravating, especially while driving.
Today, the “answer” button stuck. It’s busted. After just four days.
I’m returning this thing for a refund.
* Do you have any “bleeding edge” tech horror stories that you’d like to share?
A South Texas newspaper says it will begin charging for access to its Web site this week, warning that the days of giving content away for free are over.
The Valley Morning Star announced in its online edition Monday that Web site access would remain free for subscribers who receive the print edition seven days a week. But weekend subscribers and non-subscribers will have to pay a 75-cent daily subscription fee for the Web site. Monthly rates will also be available.
* The Question: Which Illinois newspaper(s) would you pay to read online? And how much would you be willing to pay a year for access? Please answer both questions and explain fully, of course.
* This was not a good TV appearance for Democratic US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias at all. And it was even a downstate market, where the questions are often “lighter.” Watch it [or click here since the video isn’t working]…
Crain’s Chicago Business [yesterday] reported the bank run by Giannoulias’ family is suing four companies for loan defaults.
But it gets trickier for Alexi Giannoulias politically because he was the bank’s chief loan officer at the time of the loans….and two of the companies’ owners were convicted felons.
We asked Giannoulias about the loans Monday on Live at Five.
“It’s become challenging for a lot of borrowers, a lot of bankers, a lot of financial institutions,” said Giannoulias. But when asked if he should have lent money to convicted felons, he said: “They were credit–worthy decisions, and again, it’s easy to look back and say if we would have known real estate values would plummet 40%…it’s easy to have 20–20 hindsight and make those decisions.”
Oof.
Giannoulias also announced a long list of endorsements yesterday. Scan them here.
* Congressman Mark Kirk’s goofiness from the past week will likely blow over if he keeps silliness like that to a minimum in the future. But his flip-flopping over whether to run or not has some real damage to his image with the media. From Roll Call…
“I know the National Republican Senatorial Committee is very frustrated with Mark Kirk because he was being indecisive,” said a Republican source familiar with the situation. […]
“The other story coming out of this is the mismanagement of Mark’s rollout,” [a separate Republican operative from Illinois] said. “The NRSC is in a bind because this was a recruitment victory for them. They were saying all along that Mark Kirk was who they wanted.” […]
One county chairman from a rural part of the state requested a conference call with all of the state’s GOP county chairmen and the Congressman on Thursday. According to sources familiar with the conference call, numerous county chairmen throughout the state said they did not want to see Kirk run because of his vote for cap-and-trade legislation.
“I was not on the call, but my understanding was that it not go well,” an Illinois Republican said.
But Mr. Kirk is coming across as one big indecisive baby, who won’t run unless Lisa Madigan doesn’t, and maybe won’t run if Andy McKenna does. It’s all pretty inside stuff. But Mr. Kirk is going to have to show a more solid face — and quickly — if he’s to have any chance in what after all is a very blue state.
…Adding… And what the heck was this? Local blogger Eva Sorock attended a Mark Kirk town hall meeting over the weekend and posted this golden nugget…
During the health care discussion, Kirk did insert the news flash that American obesity is the result of our gluttonous English and German heritage.
What?
* In a nice bit of research, PI also dug up an old quote from Sen. Kirk Dillard, a GOP candidate for governor who currently opposes an income tax hike…
The Illinois tax system isn’t fair. Illinois is among only eight states with a flat income-tax rate. Illinois residents are paying the lowest income tax but the highest property taxes in the Midwest. State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), Edgar’s former chief of staff, has said that he could support an increase in the income tax for education if it’s linked to property- tax relief.
Expect to see that one used in a GOP campaign ad in the coming months. The quote, by the way, was from March 21, 1994. Kinda ancient history, but quotes never die in campaigns.
* If you watched the “Chicago Tonight” clip below, you know that Comptroller Dan Hynes is unveiling a new legislative package today dealing with cemetery regulation…
Hynes’ legislative package, which he will unveil today, would significantly strengthen state oversight of cemeteries throughout Illinois beyond the current requirement that cemeteries only submit financial documents to the state comptroller’s office.
Hynes intends to call on lawmakers to give the state authority to oversee the maintenance and operations of cemeteries. That new power would rest with a state agency outside of his office, Hynes said.
Hynes hasn’t come close to putting this Burr Oak issue to rest yet, and the scandal will likely be in the news for a long time to come. The crass political questions now are: 1) Does it derail his gubernatorial bid? and/or 2) Can he fend off attacks on his record if he does run?
* Via Illinois Review, a new campaign video from GOP treasurer candidate Sen. Dan Rutherford…
…Adding… The governor’s campaign video team was at yesterday’s capital bill signing ceremony. Here’s a clip of Mayor Daley praising Gov. Quinn…
[Reposted, bumped up and opened to non-subscribers because I originally published this late yesterday and it might’ve been overlooked, and AFSCME has just issued a press release about the lawsuit.]
* As I told you last week, AFSCME was preparing to file suit in St. Clair County to force the government to keep paying state employees in the event there is no appropriations authorty. The union filed the suit this afternoon. Read it by clicking here.
* There’s also a bit of a conflict between the comptroller’s office and the governor’s administration. Comptroller Hynes wants the administration to certify individuals who qualify under a federal law for basic minimum wage in case there is no other avenue to pay them. Read the comptroller’s letter by clicking here.
The reason the administration has balked is the legal consequence of making a mistake. From AFSCME…
…we communicated in the strongest terms possible in a letter to CMS today that certifying such payrolls on the basis of job titles only is not supported by law, and pointing out that anyone so certifying a false payroll is personally liable – upon penalty of discharge from office for an elected official and termination of employment for an employee.
Yikes.
* And here’s Tuesday morning’s press release…
AFSCME sues to ensure state employees are paid on time, in full
Union goes to court as state budget crisis jeopardizes paydays
The largest union of state employees has filed suit to compel the state of Illinois and comptroller Dan Hynes to pay union members and all state workers on time and in full even if no state operating budget is approved for the new fiscal year that began July 1.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, which represents some 40,000 frontline state workers, filed the suit late Monday in St. Clair County circuit court.
“It’s unfortunate that elected officials have yet to agree on a responsible state budget. Even so, AFSCME members and all state employees continue to provide the vital services that Illinois residents rely on,” the union’s executive director Henry Bayer said. “No matter what happens at the Capitol, the state of Illinois is obligated under the law to pay its employees for their work, in full and on time. Our union will use every tool available to make sure that it does.”
AFSCME filed a similar suit during the state budget crisis of August 2007, obtaining a court order that compelled then-Governor Blagojevich and Comptroller Hynes to meet the state’s scheduled payroll in full.
* Sen. Sullivan outlines the options legislators face this week…
[Sen. John Sullivan (D-Rushville)] said lawmakers could approve a temporary budget to keep the state operating until November, when Quinn said he wants to take another stab at raising taxes. Or, Sullivan said, lawmakers could draft a new budget plan that carries the state through 12 months.
The General Assembly could do nothing, he said, and allow government operations to grind to a halt, or it could vote to override Quinn’s veto of the budget that lawmakers approved previously.
“I don’t know if the votes are there to do that,” Sullivan said. “I’m convinced we’d have to have significant Republican support to do that.”
Everybody is all over the place. Things could wrap up this week, or not. We’ll all know soon, but this idea of a November solution isn’t going over well with many…
Lawmakers are signaling to the governor there might not be enough support to get a tax increase passed until January, when it will once again only take a simple majority in each chamber for approval.
The governor’s proposal to delay a solution until November is being derided as a way to allow legislators to wait and see who will be running against them, but that may not be the full story…
“A cynic would say that’s what it’s all about, and I’m sure that doesn’t hurt,” said Christopher Mooney, a professor of political studies at the University of Illinois’ Springfield campus. “But in some respects I think it’s a reflection of the natural human propensity to put off hard decisions until the last minute.”
“Everybody is on board, I think, with the idea of appropriating money to keep the operation of state government going,” Cullerton said. “That part, how we get there, is what we’re going to be (discussing) in the next couple of days.”
And after the governor signed the capital bill, Senate GOP Leader Radogno was almost effusive…
Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno now says it was a “pleasure” to work with Quinn, and didn’t seem fazed that he changed his position on the plan so many times.
She only says “I’m happy where we’ve landed.”
But the leaders’ meeting with the governor was canceled yesterday…
A planned meeting between Gov. Pat Quinn and legislative leaders aimed at compromising on a stop-gap state budget was abruptly cancelled this evening. The move could portend more trouble coming up with a spending plan for the fiscal year that began almost two weeks ago.
Quinn aides blamed logistics, including late arrivals to the Capitol by some of the governor’s staff who were in Chicago earlier in the day for Quinn’s signing of a huge public works construction program.
I’m not sure what it portends as of yet. The leaders are meeting with the governor at 10 o’clock this morning. Mike’s in town, so we’ll have video.
Now, in light of Radogno and other Republicans’ excitement about the capital bill being signed, let’s review the Republican position on the budget and an income tax increase - one that would pay for social services, which are experiencing a ton of pain; state workers, who are going to lose their jobs; and other state services
* No tax increases until there is reform!
* No tax increases until wasteful spending is cut!
But there’s an exception to this position. A big fat one. So big, in fact, that you could drive several trucks packed to the brim with bacon through it. That exception is the capital bill, whose signing is depicted in the photo above. The reasoning goes a little something like this:
Tax increases are OK if they fund construction projects in my district. They’re especially OK if they fund pork projects, many of which will go to private organizations in legislative districts. These are the kind of ribbon-cutting extravaganzas that can get me re-elected. So yes, I voted to increase taxes on liquor and beer and to up the fees on driver’s licenses and car registrations, not to mention legalizing the crack cocaine of gambling - video poker machines, thousands of which will be coming to a bar near you.
Nevermind there were few reforms in the capital bill. The only one was that, for a change, they actually listed the projects that were going to be funded instead of appropriating the cash in a lump sum. But you still didn’t know who requested them and why unless you started calling around.
* Chicago water: In public reports, city silent over sex hormones and painkillers found in treated drinking water
Annual water quality reports mailed to Chicagoans this month didn’t say a word about sex hormones, painkillers or anti-cholesterol drugs, even though city officials found traces of pharmaceuticals and other unregulated substances in treated Lake Michigan water during the past year.
Like other cities, Chicago must notify the public if its drinking water contains certain regulated contaminants, including lead, pesticides and harmful bacteria.
But pharmaceutical chemicals, which have been detected in drinking water across the country, are not on that list. So Mayor Richard Daley is technically correct in stating that the “pure, fresh drinking water” pumped to 7 million people in Chicago and the suburbs “meets or exceeds all regulatory standards.”
About 1,500 Chicago city jobs are on the line if a few unions don’t agree to some cost-cutting measures by midnight.
A vast majority of the unions representing many Chicago workers are on board with the budget-saving measures. They include taking several unpaid furlough days to avoid layoffs.
One of three hold-out unions on Monday agreed to Mayor Daley’s demand for cost-cutting concessions, averting the need for 300 layoffs that could have dramatically impacted the quality of garbage collection in Chicago.
The decision by Laborers Union Local 1001 to sign on to the two-year agreement — with just two days to go until a July 15 deadline for layoffs to begin — leaves Teamsters Union 726 and AFSCME Council 31 as the only unions that have yet to sign on to the deal.
First, AFSCME never offered to accept any layoffs now in exchange for a guarantee of no layoffs in the future. In fact our union offered to make economic sacrifices that would impact all union members in exchange for the Daley administration rescinding all layoffs. The administration has so far flatly rejected that offer.
Second, Byrne wrongly reported that union leaders — without any membership input — had made the decision to refuse the administration’s demands. In reality, the entire AFSCME membership voted on the Daley administration’s push for a 10 percent pay cut for all our members. By a 4-1 margin, they said they simply could not accept a cut of that magnitude.
The Clerk’s office says their hands are tied because they can only distribute money according to a formula set out in state law. Suffredin says the clerk never alerted him to such problems and he’s promising to get the money back for the drug, mental health, and youth court services.
Families are holding back on buying school merchandise, with back-to-school spending forecast to drop 7.7 percent from a year ago, to an average bill of $548.72 according to research to be released today. Total spending on back-to-school is expected to be $17.42 billion.
College kids are the exception to the spending rollback. They and their families will increase their spending by 3 percent, to an average of $618.12, the survey says.
Not all major E85 states compile detailed sales numbers, or they compile them differently and on different schedules. But in Illinois, sales of all high-percentage biofuel blends, which are mostly E85 sales, plummeted 89 percent from 1.55 million gallons in May 2008 to 177,000 gallons last December before rising to 239,000 in March, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The sharp but temporary drop in gasoline prices late last year was the major reason for the drop in E85 sales because it reduced E85’s price advantage. A gallon of ethanol contains less energy than a gallon of gasoline, so a flex-fuel vehicle burning E85 generally gets mileage about 15 percent to 20 percent lower than it would from gas.
Tribune Co. plans to take the Cubs to bankruptcy to complete its sale to the billionaire Ricketts family, according to a high-level team source. The Cubs were excluded when Tribune, groaning under $13 billion in debt, filed for bankruptcy last December. Taking the Cubs to bankruptcy has been part of the sale plan from the start, according to the source.
In the Cubs’ case, a Chapter 11 filing says nothing about the team’s solvency or its ability to pay player contracts. But it could prevent Tribune creditors from chasing a new Cubs owner for partial satisfaction on Tribune debts.
The Chicago Cubs may consider a bankruptcy filing as part of closing the sale of the team, according to sources close to the major league ball club.
Making it even flubbier, the Chicago Tribune got beat on the story about their own company by Bloomberg…
A brief Cubs bankruptcy would be a legal maneuver to clear the team from any future liability in the Tribune bankruptcy, according to two of the people familiar with the matter. Sam Zell, chief executive officer of Chicago-based Tribune, pledged the company’s interest in the Cubs as collateral when he negotiated the deal to take the publisher private in 2007, according to one of those people.
“You take it in the front door, and it’s just like you’re getting radiation,” said Michael J. Cramer, a former president of the Texas Rangers who teaches sports business at New York University. “It comes out the other door about a half minute later. It’s clean.”
And…
People familiar with the negotiations said a Cubs bankruptcy filing would be designed to allow for the fast disposition of the team’s assets. It could be accompanied by a motion to sell the team with an agreed-upon bidder. The entire process could take as little as 20 days, said Gregory A. Cross, the attorney who heads the bankruptcy practice at Washington- based Venable LLP and isn’t involved.
Not all bankruptcy sales move as fast. The National Hockey League’s Phoenix Coyotes filed a Chapter 11 case in May with plans for a quick transaction, only to have it descend into a legal fight about whether the team may be sold and moved without the league’s consent.
One also wonders, considering Zell’s history, if there’s a tax angle involved.
A moribund economy now may have a better chance of blocking the project than lawsuits by parks activists and neighborhood opponents. Fundraising has foundered while projected costs have climbed by tens of millions to $150 million or more, Crain’s has learned. Sources close to the project say odds now are 50-50 at best that the Grant Park plan will proceed.
“Chicago Children’s Museum is moving forward with the plan to relocate to Daley Bicentennial Plaza in Grant Park. There is no news to report in that regard. Greg Hinz’s piece in Crain’s Chicago Business relies only on unnamed sources, and should be viewed with extreme skepticism.”
Greg’s piece looked pretty sound to me.
* When Sen. Roland Burris announced that he wouldn’t run again, he said he didn’t want to split his time between governing and fundraising…
“In making this decision I was called to choose between spending my time raising funds or spending my time raising issues for my state”
Illinois U.S. Senator Roland Burris says he still plans on holding fundraisers, even though he’s not running for a full senate term in 2010… Burris says he’s owes $800,000 in legal fees, and he says he’ll be turning to his colleagues in the senate for help.
* And, finally, go take a look at Ramsin Canon’s excellent and finely balanced piece on why we should and shouldn’t care about the Homero Tristan resignation.
Organizers say plans for Illinois’ two state fairs are moving ahead despite the fact that their funding is in limbo because of the state’s budget crisis.
But officials say there’ll be some efforts to save some money at the fairs in the southern Illinois town of Du Quoin. Those cutbacks include not having auto racing the first weekend and a move to put other acts on hold.
Much of the money for the two state fairs doesn’t come from General Revenue sources. Still…
* The Question: Considering the fiscal crisis, should the governor cancel one or both of the two state fairs next month? Explain.
* The governor is making good on a promise today, which is sort of a first…
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has officially signed a capital improvement plan designed to give the state’s ailing economy a shot in the arm.
The plan creates a $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program that’s expected to create and retain more than 439,000 jobs over the next six years.
I was a bit skeptical going into today’s noon signing ceremony after reading a quote from Quinn’s spokesman in yesterday’s Tribune editorial….
We hope the governor will echo that concern for citizens’ opinions as he weighs this decision. Quinn spokesman Bob Reed said late Friday that the capital package’s gaming provisions were still being reviewed by the governor: “Right now, the plan is to outline his position on Monday at the capital bill signing.”
But, people on the scene say Quinn has announced that he’s signing all of the bills as-is. He’s apparently doing a partial veto of one bill to take out the pension bond language, however. Quinn wants a different borrowing bill now.
* Senate President John Cullerton’s response to the signing ceremony was not exactly effusive. From a press release…
“By signing our job-creating statewide construction plan, he is ending the practice of using out-of-work Illinoisans as political leverage while also removing a major roadblock to bipartisan cooperation and trust among political leaders.”
Oof.
By the way, the legislative leaders plan to meet with Quinn in Springfield this afternoon at 4 o’clock.
* As an aside, I’ve been wondering lately how long it will be before somebody does a state plane usage story on Quinn. He’s commuting to Springfield far more than Blagojevich ever did, and it’s almost always by plane. Those costs add up fast.
* Meanwhile, AFSCME members are demonstrating in front of several state legislators’ offices demanding a tax hike. From a press release…
With the Illinois budget crisis unresolved, Governor Pat Quinn threatening deep cuts to vital human services, public safety and thousands of jobs, and legislators due at the capitol for special session tomorrow, thousands of union workers, human-services providers and other advocates will take part in “Send-Off to Springfield” events at the offices of some 40 state representatives TODAY, Monday, July 13.
The events are part of a massive, coordinated effort to raise public awareness of the dangerous potential cuts to state services and jobs-and scores of community-based human-services programs-that loom as a result of the budget crisis, and to urge every state representative to return to Springfield and support House Bill 174, comprehensive tax reform that raises revenue, cuts property taxes and preserves vital services and public safety functions.
Here’s a recent report from AFSCME about how the protests are going…
40 demonstrators at event co-sponsored by AFSCME and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Report from Aurora event – 75 demonstrators at AFSCME event where Rep Chapa Lavia joined the crowd and signed a pledge to support HB 174!
In Springfield, crowd estimated at 300 marching to Stratton building now.
I’ll have a photo of one event if it ever uploads on this slow Intertubes connection.
VOTE trying to disrupt bill signing. VOTE is anti-labor. Anti-Dem. Based on westside.
33 minutes ago
*** UPDATE 2 - 2:27 pm *** More from AFSCME…
CHAPA LAVIA - Aurora
A crowd of 75 demonstrators was joined by Rep. Chapa Lavia, who signed the pledge of support for HB 174 and joined the demonstrators to wave a sign reading, “It’s time for the House to do the right thing!” See photos attached.
BRADLEY - Marion
Report from the scene: About 120 in attendance, even split between AFSCME and the Our Directions day vocational program [for individual with developmental disabilities]. Closed down the parking lot. Signs visible on both sides of IL Rt 13 during the event, horns honking in support. Our Directions had around 40 clients there, as well as foster parents. We did a line into Bradley’s office with people introducing themselves and telling his staff why new revenue is needed, gave them a poster with all our signatures on it, and left the HB 174 pledge.
BRAUER / POE - Springfield
From the scene: Estimates as to numbers vary from between 300 and 400. With a permit from the city we were able to march on the streets. The crowd was spirited and orderly. And noisy, blowing whistles. They’ll know we were there, for sure.
D’AMICO - Chicago
Three dozen demonstrators from AFSCME and neighborhood advocacy groups organized by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
* Gov. Quinn is just one governor of many currently considering early release of prisoners. The proposal has drawn some intense heat from legislators. But does early release raise the crime rate? Maybe temporarily, say experts…
“The research is completely clear: You can do this without increasing the recidivism rate or the crime rate,” Austin says. “It’s easy, it really is—it’s unbelievably easy. The politics get in the way of it. People just don’t understand the basic math here.”
Instead of razor wire and watchtowers, think of the prison system as a river, Austin says, with sentences acting as a dam. The longer the sentences, the higher the dam and the bigger the reservoir of inmates. Early release amounts to removing a chunk of the dam, which spells more work for downstream parole officers. But not for very long.
“Within three or four months, the flow is back to normal,” Austin says.
In Illinois, where the state plans to lay off more than 1,000 prison employees, there are no plans to hire extra parole officers to deal with inmates who would be freed early. However, Derek Schnapp, corrections spokesman, said the state is considering terminating parole for some current parolees to make room for inmates released early.
When temperatures reach the 90s, it makes sense that construction workers and others who work outside need to drink more water and take other safety precautions.
But state parole officers — whose jobs mostly involve driving around to check on recently released prison inmates — apparently run an even higher risk of heat-related danger.
“Due to the extreme hot temperatures and staff safety, you are expected to be in the field one week and the office the falling [sic] week,” Deputy Director of Parole Jason C. Garnett e-mailed to his employees June 24 — a day after Chicago’s temperature hit 94.
The order was reportedly rescinded after the weather cooled, but that seems odd to me.
The Chicago Sun-Times obtained copies, via a Freedom of Information Act request, of the ethics training programs that Blagojevich is certified as having taken each year between 2004 and May 30, 2008, when he last received ethics training.
There’s no record of how Blagojevich answered questions in those training courses. But the ethics regimen offers some clear tips that should have warned him of the “pay-to-play” pitfalls that brought federal charges against him and resulted in his ouster from the governor’s office.
Too bad they couldn’t get his test scores. It probably would’ve shown what a waste of time that ethics exam really is.
Former presidents and chancellors of the University of Illinois are laying much of the blame for the current admissions scandal at the feet of trustees, calling for sweeping changes on the board and the way it is appointed.
A letter from four former U. of I. leaders to the commission investigating admissions abuses falls just short of calling for the governor to fire the trustees, but says that some of them are more interested in personal gain than the well-being of the university. […]
They blamed the current situation on the patronage culture that evolved during the administrations of Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.
* Phil Kadner’s latest column talks about conservatives and liberals who are demanding government action in the wake of the ghoulish Burr Oak Cemetery debacle…
So we want government to fix the problem.
We want government to stay out of our lives.
We want cemetery inspectors, but we don’t want to pay for them with our tax dollars.
I don’t even understand why there’s a problem in the first place.
Don’t we all know that the free market is at its best when government stays out of its business?
I’m sure the people involved in recycling graves at Burr Oak would agree with that statement.
By the way, the Cook County sheriff had more than 100 officers out at Burr Oak cemetery for crowd control Thursday and Friday.
He supplied bottled water and free shuttle rides from nearby parking lots for the hundreds of families searching for the graves of loved ones.
I thought that was government at its best.
But I also couldn’t help thinking the money for all of that may have come in part from that 1 cent county sales tax hike everyone hates so much.
* I’m also wondering why nobody appeared to notice that their relatives’ headstones had gone missing. My maternal grandparents died many years ago, for instance, yet my family still visits their graves on a regular basis. I don’t want to blame the victims for what was an unspeakable act, but they should shoulder at least some of the responsibility…
So far investigators confirm at least 300 graves have been disturbed and say the scope of their investigation may include some 100,000 plots that records show are at Burr Oak Cemetery. Now of some particular concern, an area called Babyland.
“I personally have found some babies headstones dumped in inappropriate places. In some cases there’s new headstones and others, there’s just nothing. There’s serious issues,” Cook County Sherriff Tom Dart said.
Several family with relatives buried at Burr Oak have filed lawsuits or are considering moving their loved ones to other cemeteries, but for Jennifer Gyimah, who says she has 35 relatives buried here, very little can bring her peace.
There is a possibility that the disturbed graves are so old that not many survivors are left. But some are still around.
* Related…
* Burr Oak Cemetery: Relatives of 7,000 people buried in site near Alsip seek information on grave sites
“As Party Chairman my goal has been to build Party unity. Mark Kirk and I met last evening as part of an ongoing discussion about the U. S. Senate race. I reassured Mark that if he chooses to be a candidate, I will not oppose him.”
[*** End of Update ***]
* You’ve probably heard the story by now. While I was driving to Chicago on Friday, the Washington Post broke the news that Mark Kirk wouldn’t run for US Senate. Apparently, Kirk was calling around to say he was out of the race…
[The calls] followed a meeting of the Illinois Republican congressional delegation on Thursday in which his colleagues refused to back Kirk in a primary against Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna due, in large part, to his vote in favor of President Barack Obama’s climate change bill.
* That story was only about a third true. For instance, the cap and trade claim was way overblown…
A source close to the delegation said that Members were taking the weekend to decide whom to support, with the exception of Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), who told a local newspaper Friday morning that she is behind Kirk.
“The Illinois delegation is still thinking about it,” the source said. “I don’t think anyone has made a decision to remain neutral. I think everyone’s made a decision to take the weekend to decide.”
if McKenna got out…
After much ‘Will he? Or won’t he?’ speculation this afternoon about GOP Rep. Mark Kirk’s desire to run for Senate in IL, Kirk said in an email to The Hotline that he was “still talking to Andy. We are trying to avoid a primary.”
The “Andy” he references is IL GOP Chair Andy McKenna, who has made serious signals in recent days of his intention to run. When asked if this means that he may ultimately forgo a run, Kirk replied: “I will run if Andy does not.”
This late Friday update is from the person who brought us the story in the first place…
Sources close to McKenna insist he will not blink and that he is in the race to stay. If McKenna can’t be talked out of the race, then Kirk will be out (again) — although there is not likely to be any resolution until Monday at the earliest, according to those close to the situation.
I cannot believe that McKenna stays in this thing for many, many reasons. For instance, he was made the state party chairman precisely because he had no electoral prospects after finishing a miserable fourth in a US Senate primary.
Even so, the fact that Kirk’s campaign roll-out has been so poorly managed suggests that his team and his own skill set will need a major upgrade if he does ultimately pull the trigger on a SEN race.
* Speaking of campaign skills, a conservative blogger claims that Kirk said this during a weekend town hall meeting in his district…
Kirk did insert the news flash that American obesity is the result of our gluttonous English and German heritage.
What?
* Meanwhile, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Sen. Kirk Dillard explains his “I look forward to having Lisa Madigan as attorney general when I’m the governor” quote…
Dillard said reporters started asking questions right after his speech, “with rock music blasting, people high-fiving me,” when he was asked about Madigan.
“I answered the question believing that it was if, and I underline if, Lisa Madigan were re-elected, whether I could work with her,” Dillard said.
He said he assumed the questioner knew he was for Birkett.
I’m not sure the quote matches up with the explanation, but whatever.
Broadway Bank is trying to recoup $12.9 million from two Chicago crime figures, rekindling a controversy as the bank’s former chief loan officer, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, gears up to run for the U.S. Senate.
In recently filed foreclosure suits, the Giannoulias family-owned North Side bank alleges loan defaults by four companies whose owners include two convicted Chicago bookmakers — one also convicted of promoting a nationwide prostitution ring. The loans are on a hodgepodge of properties, including a South Beach hotel and a South Side shopping center that has lost its grocery anchor. The defendants include 1201 South Western LLC, a Berwyn-based company whose activities include making short-term real estate loans at interest rates of 1% a week, property records show.
Questions about Mr. Giannoulias’ role in the loans surfaced in 2006, when he overcame concerns about his youth and inexperience to be elected treasurer. He defended the loans as sound business decisions, a claim undermined by the foreclosures.
Now, at age 33, he could face similar questions, particularly if there are more disclosures about the relationship between the convicted felons and Broadway.
* More campaign updates…
* County chairman race gets more crowded: Sen. Dan Cronin, R-21st, is hoping to transition from his role as a state legislator to DuPage County Board chairman.
* Burris Supporter Jumping in Senate Race: Anthony Williams is pastor at the Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church in south suburban Robbins. He says he supported Burris because of his long history of public service.
* As you probably know by now, Gov. Quinn wants to put off any more talk of a tax hike until November, which would mean legislators will know by then who their primary and (most) general election opponents are. But, that still means a three-fifths majority, so don’t get ahead of yourself yet.
* Quinn will sign the capital bill package today, but good government groups want him to veto the gaming component…
The kicker, said BGA Executive Director Andy Shaw, is that the gaming board spent 10 years investigating operators of a planned Rosemont casino said to have mob ties. That deal was killed in a plan that would have added 1,200 gambling positions. Now, lawmakers have added about 40 times that number with their endorsement of video poker machines, he said.
* The Chicago Tribune editorialized against legalizing poker machines, and dissed the capital bill in its entirety…
[Legislators] do, though, envision raising $1 billion in new revenue a year — not for those vulnerable social programs they supposedly care about, but to appease their friends in construction industries and unions. The $29 billion capital spending program that Gov. Pat Quinn likely signs into law Monday would, as passed by the General Assembly, legalize video gambling. That’s a pursuit critics compare to crack cocaine because of its efficiency at separating lower-income citizens from their paychecks.
So, now the Tribune is quoting Rod Blagojevich as an expert? And it’s better to keep those machines illegal when they’re literally everywhere as it is?
“You guys are going to have to come up with a new conspiracy theory,” Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Rockford Register-Star columnist Wally Haas last week about her decision to go for re-election and forgo runs for governor or U.S. Senate.
“I had it from a pretty good source as recently as Friday that she was going to run (for governor),” state Sen. Brad Burzynski (R-Clare) told Haas about Ms. Madigan, adding, “It makes me wonder: What’s (House Speaker Michael) Madigan’s end game?”
So many people have assumed that Mike Madigan had sent this legislative session into overtime to somehow help his daughter become governor that they neglected to remember his long history as the House Speaker.
Former House GOP Leader Lee Daniels summed it up best to me not long ago: “Mike Madigan is Mike Madigan. He’s one of the brightest leaders the state has ever had, but he’s Mike Madigan. He’s always been the way he is today.”
Sure, Mike Madigan undercut Quinn this year, but that’s what he’s always done. He’s constantly been a frightening handful for governors. He probably got along “best” with former Gov. George Ryan, but Ryan was a former House Speaker. The two men could easily relate. Plus, Ryan desperately needed friends because of his extremely low popularity, so he worked extra hard to please Madigan. Success resulted.
Speaker Madigan’s “real” end game has become pretty clear to me over the past weeks and months. He believes that a tax hike would be politically disastrous.
Next year is an “off-year” election, and down-ballot Democrats tend not to do as well during those years. The hugely unpopular Cook County sales tax hike makes a state income tax hike that much more politically dangerous. And the sorry mess created by Rod Blagojevich and his Senate appointee Roland Burris won’t help the Democratic brand much, either.
So, Madigan refused to put votes on a tax increase until the Republicans did so as well. It wasn’t because he wanted bipartisanship. Madigan wanted to shield as many of his more politically vulnerable Democratic members as possible. The more Republican votes, the fewer Democrats required for passage.
And since it’s now after May 31, when the Constitution requires a three-fifths majority to pass anything, there’s almost no way the Republicans can come up with the votes Madigan wants to reach that super-majority. Word is, Madigan wants as many as 20 Republican votes. Impossible. So, he’s most likely content to wait a while for a final resolution. With Madigan, it’s always about retaining control of - and over - his majority. Always.
Last week, House Republican Leader Tom Cross told Gov. Pat Quinn during a private meeting that he’d better be prepared to wait until January - when only a simple majority will be required to pass a tax hike - for a resolution to this horrific budget mess. Cross, who told Quinn that he has just eight votes for a tax hike, looks more right than wrong. And later in the week, Quinn said he could be “open” to extending the state budget for another five months if that’s what it took to reach an agreement.
And as for this widely assumed “grand scheme” by Mike Madigan to undercut Quinn in order to help get his daughter elected governor so they could control our state’s political world … How did that work out?
If you were one of those who believed that the “chess master” was really trying to help his kid, then you now have to admit that he made a horrible mess of things and isn’t much of a genius.
Instead of helping her, Speaker Madigan further poisoned an already toxic political atmosphere - making a gubernatorial campaign incredibly difficult for Lisa in the process. After this horrific session, the father would’ve been a constant and deadly anvil around his progeny’s political neck.
But, the tinfoil hat types won’t ever admit that. Instead, they’ll probably come up with yet another conspiracy theory about Lisa’s decision or her future, or, more likely, conveniently forget about their dark predictions and move on.
Mike Madigan is Mike Madigan. And Mike Madigan is all about his majority. Yes, he would’ve done everything possibly to help his daughter if she had announced for governor. But the Speaker’s behavior during the past six months has been infinitely more about Mike Madigan than Lisa.
* I’m visiting my uncle, who has no high speed Internet access and who lives in a town that appears to be so far off AT&T’s 3G system that the wireless access I do have is slower than dialup. Bad, AT&T. Bad.
Anyway, things are taking much longer today. Sorry about that. I’ll be back in a few with a new post, I hope.
Sanders, 21, of Harvey, was shot and killed Thursday evening at 154th and Center Avenue in the south suburb while walking with his cousin. Sanders had been home on furlough to visit his family.
The cousins had just gotten french fries at a restaurant and heard men arguing — some on the sidewalk and some in a car, family members said. Wanting to avoid trouble, the cousins tried to cross the street, and got caught in the crossfire.
The three victims — ages 18, 21 and 29 — were sitting on the porch when a four-door car drove up and a passenger sitting in the driver’s side rear of the vehicle opened fire, police said. The car then fled from the scene northbound.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has rated Illinois’ homeland security program among the top four percent nationwide.
Quinn says Illinois received an overall effectiveness score of 91 out of 100. He says the national average was 71.
Low income utility customers could benefit from a new state law that limits how much they can be charged for gas and electric.
Legislation signed Friday by Gov. Pat Quinn would create a payment program that allows power bills to be paid over time.
For certain low income customers, seniors and others on fix incomes, the program would cap gas and electric bills at six percent of a household’s income and also would establish a payment program in case someone falls behind on their bills so payments could be made over time to avoid disconnection.
Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias plans to announce a revamped state program that allows banks to give low-interest loans to farmers who need money for seed, fertilizer, and other expenses.
A spokesman for Giannoulias says the Democrat will make the announcement Monday in Moline. In a press release, the treasurer says a review of Cultivate Illinois, the state’s annual agriculture loan program, showed violations and abuses dating back to 2000.
* Ill. officials: Accounting error caused bad checks
Illinois officials say an accounting error caused worthless checks to be sent to several state health care providers.
Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services spokeswoman Annie Thompson says the checks that began bouncing last month are unrelated to the state budget crisis.
The checks were issued by St. Louis-based HealthLink. The health care network pays out insurance claims for state employees and their dependents.
* Drug, Mental Health and Youth Courts Being Shortchanged $2 Million by Cook County
If you’ve pleaded guilty to something like running a stop sign or speeding in Cook County in the last year you’ve probably had to pay a hundred and 35 dollars in court fees. Some of the fees are earmarked for programs like drug court, mental health court and youth court services. The county has collected a couple million dollars for those three efforts over the past year but the money never actually gets to where it’s supposed to go…
STUTTLEY: Can’t nobody tell me where that money is. I’ve talked to the chief judge, I’ve talked to the state’s attorney, I’ve talked to the presiding judge, I’ve talked to the county board. I’ve talked to everybody and nobody seem to know where the money is. And we talking about a substantial amount of money…
FASHINA: We distribute our funds based on Illinois statute and Illinois statute says in order for a fund to receive its own money it has to be reconciled with the clerk of the court Act.
Yeah, I didn’t really get that the first time around either but Fashina explains. He says the clerk can only give out money as explicitly laid out in a state law called the clerk of court act. So while the cook county board passed a law that allows the clerk to assess and collect a 5 dollar fee for youth court services, Fashina says the legislature needs to pass a second law so the clerk can actually distribute the money. Such a law is awaiting the governor’s signature, but for the past year all the money collected to help troubled teens, Fashina says it’s gone into the county’s general revenue fund.
Indeed, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Illinois’ readmission rate for Medicare patients was the fourth highest at 21.7 percent, behind Maryland (22 percent), Louisiana (21.9 percent), and New Jersey (21.9 percent).
A study of more than 180,000 U.S. veterans over the age of 55 found that 10.6 percent of those who had been diagnosed with PTSD developed dementia within seven years of follow-up, compared to 6.6 percent of veterans without PTSD.
In a separate study released today, researchers from Wake Forest University found that people in their 70s and older who said they had one to two alcoholic drinks a day had a 37 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia. But drinking alcohol did not slow the progression of dementia in people who already had mild cognitive impairment, researchers found.
Joliet officials have projected a three-year $67 million deficit and, as a result, 90 fewer employees are working in city government today than last year.
Springfield is requiring its employees to take eight unpaid furlough days next year. Sales tax also is going up in the Capital City.
Peoria is hardly alone in battling the crippling effect the recession is having on city halls throughout the U.S. and, especially, Illinois.
NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, one of the most influential players in the Olympic world, blames the United States Olympic Committee for jeopardizing Chicago’s chances to win the 2016 Summer Olympics.
“The only thing that can cost Chicago the Games is continuing squabbles between the two parties,” Ebersol said Friday via telephone, referring to the latest quarrel between the USOC and the International Olympic Committee.
Now it should be pointed out that Mr. Ebersol and NBC have a vested interest in this conversation. He is disappointed that NBC will not be a partner in the new U.S. Olympic Network. Perhaps he is expressing some of that disappointment here.
* Could third airport make way for a new Windy City?
The quest to build an airport out of farmland near Peotone has been an endless source of hot air.
An idea to scrap the airport altogether and turn the proposed airfield into a wind farm, generating electricity to power a decent chunk of the Chicago area, is gaining momentum.
* My brother Denny’s birthday was yesterday. We did the city but good, so I never got around to closing comments. He said he’s been listening to a lot of early Beatles lately, so this one is for him…
