This Father’s Day arrives in the midst of what has been dubbed a “he-cession.” Job losses have hit men with particular fury. The unemployment rate for men is 2.5 percentage points higher than that of women — the biggest gap since World War II — in large part due to plummeting employment in male-dominated fields like manufacturing and construction.
Perhaps reflecting the paper’s readership, the story focuses on upper-income men who’ve found themselves out of work and are enjoying their unemployment. The lede item is about a Lake Forest dad picking up his kids from day camp. Turns out, he was the president of a company whose severance payment “will last till the fall.”
Somehow, I don’t think that’s one of this state’s typical unemployed fathers.
* I’m actually writing from some experience here. As I think I’ve told you before, my father used to work at least two and often three jobs, mostly in factories, to support his five sons. When my mom took a civilian job with the Department of Defense and was sent to Savanna, IL for training, my dad quit his jobs and moved us there. The only available jobs in the region paid so poorly that Dad discovered he could make almost as much from unemployment insurance.
So, Dad stayed home and was “Mr. Mom” for a while. He grew a beard, bought a 1963 Cadillac convertible for a thousand dollars, read a lot of books, rented films and a projector from the local library for “family movie nights,” developed a love for “outlaw” country music, cooked our dinners, cleaned the house and generally ran things with military precision. We were able to rent a huge, gorgeous brick home on a hill in Hanover for practically nothing, and Dad turned out to be a genius at stretching every last dollar.
He was quite the talk of that little town back in the mid-1970s - an unemployed, bearded man who lived in a nice house, spent his days at the library and picked up his government check in a Cadillac.
Most importantly, though, Dad was able to get some real rest and do some extended philosophical reflection for the first time in his adult life. Also, my brothers and I got to know our father for the first time. I was 13 years old when we moved to Hanover.
It wasn’t all fun and games. We had lived for years near my maternal grandparents, whom we all loved dearly and missed terribly when we left. Also, like any unemployed person, Dad occasionally had too much time to think about things. In the long run, though, it was a positive experience for the family.
* My experience and the happy talk Tribune profile of upper-class dads are obviously not your usual unemployment stories. This economic crash has caused severe pain out there, even in leafy suburban villages. We shouldn’t ever forget that.
Still, that Tribune piece did bring back a lot of memories, and for that I’m thankful. I’ll close with a photo of my dad and my mom’s dad taken not long before we left on our excellent adventure, which eventually took us to the Great American West and then to Europe…
* Here we go, kids. Our last weekend before all that is nasty hits the Statehouse fan. Rest up well because next week is gonna be a rough one. And have a happy and wonderful Father’s Day!
* For Sen. Burris…
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
Burris is expected tonight to announce in Chicago that he will campaign to hold onto Barack Obama’s former seat in 2010.
Storms in Chicago delayed Burris’ arrival on a flight from Washington. He is now expected to hold a news conference at O’Hare Airport shortly after 3:30 p.m. He is expected to revel in the decision by Springfield’s prosecutor John Schmidt not to lodge perjury charges against Burris.
* 4:03 pm - The comedy writes itself. I didn’t notice this at the bottom of the story…
Tonight’s election announcement by Burris is set for a nightclub called “Vain” at 2354 Clybourn in the city.
I’m speechless.
This is gonna be one fun campaign to cover. Delmarie Cobb strikes again.
*** 4:18 pm *** OK, I shoulda known it was all too good to be true. I’m getting that the CBS2 story linked above is not accurate and there’s no announcement coming.
* The news has been so relentlessly bad lately that I think we need a respite. Statehouse reporter Scott Reeder sent me this earlier today…
Small Newspaper Group statehouse intern Kevin Lee saved the lives of two people over the weekend. While canoeing down rain-swollen Sugar Creek in Indiana’s Turkey Run State Park, he came across a brother and sister whose canoe had capsized and were clinging to a log in The middle of the stream. He jumped into the swift current and pulled the pair to safety. Apparently the girl didn’t know how to swim and her brother was too frightened to act.
* From the the editors of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune comes news that Jeff Meitrodt, a top-notch Statehouse reporter recruited from New Orleans and then abruptly laid off by the Chicago Tribune, has found new employment…
We are pleased to announce that Jeffrey Meitrodt, a hard-charging journalist with a long track record of exemplary investigative work, will become our next Investigations Editor. […]
Jeff is deeply committed to the kind of investigative work that we consider a top priority in the newsroom. He will lead our I-Team projects, supervise our expanding Whistleblower initiative, and help reporters around the newsroom develop investigative stories. He’ll also play a big role bringing our investigative work to life in an ambitious new way online that will be unveiled soon. Projects work by our Health and Business reporters will continue to be led by Kate and Eric Wieffering, respectively.
Jeff will be moving soon to the Twin Cities with his wife and two young daughters from Springfield, Illinois. He will start work in late July.
State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) says Gov. Pat Quinn must start convincing those who disagree with an income tax increase that a tax hike is the only way to solve the state’s budget woes.
Lang referenced several whirlwind trips Quinn has made, stopping around the state to rally support for additional state revenue to save state-funded social programs.
“He’s still not doing it in the places where legislators voted no,” Lang said. “He’s not doing it in Du Page County which has a dozen or 15 or 20 legislators. Not a single one of them, not one, voted for the income tax increase. Did he go Downstate to rural Illinois where, obviously they are very conservative but don’t understand that if their daycare center closes they wont be able to go to work? The person who is against taxes but their husband, who is a substance abuser, won’t get his services? Did they talk to those legislators? No. What the governor has been doing lately is preaching to the choir.”
* The Question: Should the governor take Rep. Lang’s advice, or do you think Quinn is on the right track? Explain.
* After checking around a lot yesterday, I don’t think Lisa Madigan demanded these pledges from the president…
I reported on Wednesday that Madigan had two conditions she wanted if she ran for the Senate: an immediate Obama endorsement and for the Democratic primary field to be cleared. Madigan political director Mary Morrissey told me Thursday Madigan and no one in her camp set down any conditions.
* Also after checking around, I think Sheriff Dart is leaning very hard towards a run for Cook County Board President, how that Forrest Claypool has dropped out. The rest, I dunno yet…
Names potentially in contention now include Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who, according to a source close to the sheriff, is “very, very interested and seriously considering it.”
County Assessor James Houlihan said Thursday that he was currently “re-evaluating his options.” And county Commissioner Larry Suffredin is forming an exploratory committee for the job. Already declared is the candidacy of Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown has already commissioned polls.
Another source says there was an “understanding” that if Claypool didn’t run against Stroger, Dart would.
* Notes from the circular firing squad. Doug Ibendahl tries to turn up the heat on SB600, which requires the Illinois Republican Party to elect its committeepersons…
An in-party fight among Illinois Republicans that has been percolating quietly out of sight of most voters is starting to bubble to the surface, helped along by a GOP activist who [yesterday] compared his state party’s chairman — unfavorably — to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. […]
One of the leaders of the GOP rebellion is Chicago attorney and former state GOP general counsel Doug Ibendahl, co-founder of “Republican Young Professionals,” which is among the most rebellious elements of the party. Ibendahl today emailed reporters with a link to an essay he wrote comparing GOP state party Chairman Andy McKenna to the Iranian president — who, of course, is currently being accused by demonstrators in Iran of stealing that country’s recent election.
“What do Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Andy McKenna have in common?” asks Ibendahl’s essay. “Answer: Both have constituents who want their vote back.” Ibendahl goes on to suggest that McKenna is “dividing and destroying our party on the idea that Republicans should have lesser voting rights than even the Iranians enjoy.”
“Good grief, at least they had an election their voters can demonstrate about,” writes Ibendahl.
* While much of this Tribune “Clout Goes to College” series has been overblown nonsense, today’s story shows how the U of I’s admissions system may have been gamed for political ends…
A relative of Chicago Ald. Frank Olivo’s didn’t have the required grades for a specialized accounting program at the University of Illinois but got accepted anyway after Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office intervened.
Another applicant — the relative of a prominent attorney who, along with his firm, contributed more than $120,000 to ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s campaign — got into the law school despite objections from the admissions dean.
A relative of convicted Blagojevich influence peddler Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s was going to be rejected until a series of powerful patrons got involved, in a case previously reported by the Tribune.
While these scenarios suggest that admissions at the state’s flagship university may have been used as a political plum, the connections may not be apparent to a special commission looking into how influence affects admissions at the U. of I. The commission has decided not to press for the names of more than 800 politically connected applicants given special consideration at the Urbana-Champaign campus during the last five years.
Retired federal judge Abner Mikva chairs the governor’s commission. I can’t help but wonder if he ever made any calls to law schools on behalf of students while he was a judge.
* Meanwhile, Senate President John Cullerton has promised to get more aggressive in defending the GA’s reform record. Today’s op-ed in the Tribune is an opening shot…
When the commission completed its work in April, it offered reform ideas — not actual legislation, just ideas — in six areas: campaign finance, procurement, enforcement, government structure, transparency and what the commission called “inspiring better government,” a catch-all for miscellaneous reform ideas. As commission chairman Patrick Collins, acknowledges, the General Assembly implemented the commission’s procurement, transparency and “inspiring better government” ideas.
As for the other three ideas, Collins claimed that the General Assembly viewed them as a “grave threat” and our decision to not accept them whole cloth revealed an “unwillingness to get to the core of the culture of corruption.”
That’s simply not true. The General Assembly was already striking at that culture of corruption before the Reform Commission was created. Let’s be honest. We rejected some parts of the commission’s campaign-finance proposal for good reason. First, the proposed contribution limits — which mirror federal contributions caps — are too low. That’s not just our view. It’s also the opinion of the most vocal reform advocates, the Chicago Tribune and other editorial boards. The commission’s proposal also would favor wealthy, self-funding candidates, not the average citizen running for office.
More…
Patrick Collins is incorrect that we “outright ignored” the commission’s legislative rule-changes idea. Early in my presidency, the Senate adopted rules changes that provide members with greater ability to advance and control their own bills. In addition, I reversed the policy of my predecessors by assigning virtually every bill and amendment to a substantive committee. At no time did the commission ever propose actual language for these rule changes. As I’ve said before, the General Assembly enacts legislation, not press releases.
As to the “legislative leader term limits” recommendation, the commission’s report fails to explain how it targets “the core of the culture of corruption” or even relates to the rampant and bipartisan corruption in the executive branch over the last decade. If anything, the “reform” idea smacks of a personal or partisan animus toward House Speaker Michael Madigan, rather than a proposal supported by evidence. Of the scores of legislative leaders elected in the last 100 years, only two have served for more than 10 years — Madigan and former Senate President Phil Rock. There is no need for term limits as a fair reading of history proves.
Not quite. Cullerton didn’t include minority leaders in that calculation. Senate President Emil Jones, for one, served 16 years as a leader when his minority leadership is taken into consideration. House GOP Leader Lee Daniels served for well over a decade as minority leader.
* This won’t go over well, but it seems reasonable, and it’s from a Republican state’s attorney, so it’s tough to scream politics….
A four-month investigation by the Sangamon County state’s attorney’s office has found insufficient evidence to charge U.S. Sen. Roland Burris with perjury. […]
Sangamon County state’s attorney John Schmidt said some of Burris’ statements were vague, “but vague statements cannot support a perjury charge.”
“Moreover, an individual does not commit perjury if he corrects the known falsity before the adjournment of the tribunal,” Schmidt said in a letter delivered today to House Speaker Michael Madigan explaining the reasons behind his decision. […]
“These were not substantive discussions concerning how to get the appointment, but rather Sen. Burris imploring the listener to tell Gov. Blagojevich he was interested,” Schmidt wrote to Madigan.
When Representative Durkin asked Senator Burris if he spoke to members of the Governor’s staff or family members regarding his interest in the senate seat, Burris responded, “I talked to some friends about my desire to be appointed, yes.” Transcript House Impeachment Committee January 8, 2009 page 941 lines 9-20. This is a truthful answer. While Senator Burris failed to mention the phone conversations with Rob Blagojevich or John Harris, he did say he spoke to friends about his interest. The Illinois Supreme Court has consistently held the burden is on the questioner to pin the witness down as to the specific object of the questioner’s inquiry. People v. Robert Willis, 71 Ill 2nd 138 (1978). Next, Senator Burris was asked:
REPRESENTATIVE DURKIN: I guess the point is I was trying to ask,
did you speak to anybody who was on the Governor’s staff
prior to the Governor’s arrest or anybody, any of those individuals
or anybody who is closely related to the Governor.
MR. BURRIS: I recall having a conversation meeting with Lon Monk about my
Partner and I trying to get continued business . . . Transcript January 8, 2009
Page 941-942
Senator Burris answered the question by recalling a conversation with Lon Monk. The fact he did not mention others does not make the statement perjerous. It makes it incomplete. Again, the burden is on the questioner to ask specific questions. Senator Burris truthfully stated he had a conversation with Lon Monk.
The same analysis applies to Senator Burris’s responses to Representative Tracy. Senator Burris is asked to whom he expressed senate seat interest and the time frame September of 2008 or as early as July of 2008. Transcript 998 Lines 13-17. Burris responded that one person he spoke with was his law partner. Chairwoman Currie stated, “Is that when you talked to Lon Monk?” Then Representative Tracy asked, “Was it Lon Monk was that the extent of it Lon Monk.” Transcript pages 998-999. Senator Burris reiterated his conversation where Lon Monk told him he was qualified to be in the U.S. Senate. Transcript page 999. Senator Burris was asked, “So you don’t recall that there was anybody else besides Lon Monk that you expressed an interest to at that point?” He responded, “No, I can’t recall because people were coming to me saying Roland you should pursue the appointment . . .” Id. Moreover, Senator Burris volunteered to give names of individuals the committee could contact regarding his interest in the senate seat. See Transcript page 1000, Line 17-21.
Burris’ responses cannot support a perjury charge. He said he could not recall anyone specific because there were many individuals urging him to run. The answer was incomplete, but that is not perjury given the form of the questions.
This is not a criticism of the questioners. The committee was finding facts concerning the possible impeachment of Governor Blagojevich. Asking broad questions allowed a great deal of information to be discussed without the need to constantly ask follow-up questions. However, such questioning makes difficult the prosecution the crime of perjury which is a knowingly untruthful answer to a precise question. Case law clearly mandates very direct specific questions be asked and knowing false answers be given to support perjury. Answers subject to different interpretations or incomplete are insufficient to support perjury.
The two affidavits signed by Senator Burris dated January 5, 2009 and February 4, 2009 are not inconsistent, thus do not support a perjury charge. The January 5, 2009 affidavit only describes the actual appointment process of Governor Blagojevich appointing Roland Burris to the vacant senate seat. It is insufficient to support perjury charges based upon Burris’ testimony before the House Impeachment Committee.
*** UPDATE - 12:01 pm *** Statement from Sen. Burris…
“I am obviously very pleased with today’s decision by State’s Attorney John Schmidt. His investigation was both thorough and fair, and I am glad that the truth has prevailed,” Burris said in a statement emailed to my colleague Manu Raju.
“This matter has now been fully investigated; I cooperated at every phase of the process, and as I have said from the beginning, I have never engaged in any pay-to-play, never perjured myself, and came to this seat in an honest and legal way. Today’s announcement confirms all that,” he said.
* One of the things that the Republican legislative leaders have argued for is treating the “50 percent budget” as if it is only a six-month budget. But former Gov. Jim Edgar told reporters yesterday that’s not a good idea…
[Edgar] cautioned them against passing a temporary budget fix.
EDGAR: I don’t see any way Governor Quinn could approve a budget that he knows isn’t going to last for the full year. You just can’t manage. And we’ve had enough mismanagement in Springfield over the past few years. We need to do things right.
* And Republican Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica warns the two Republican leaders not to cut a deal on tax hikes in exchange for redistricting reform…
Afraid of being the party of “no” -– some Republicans are anxious to cut a deal with Pat Quinn and the Democrats that supports some “reform” concessions in exchange for a tax increase.
This is wrong. It will enable the Democrats’ continued mismanagement of state government. It will hurt each and every Illinois taxpayer.
“I thought we had gotten rid of the (former Gov. Rod) Blagojevich threats and bluff and bluster, but evidently we haven’t,” Black said. “How silly can it be to close Lincoln’s Challenge when there’s $38 million to literally build a new campus in the capital budget?
“I don’t think Lincoln’s Challenge is going to close. It’s just more threats for if he doesn’t get his income tax increase. I would have thought he learned a lesson in all his years as lieutenant governor, watching Blagojevich threaten and bluff and bluster. But evidently he didn’t learn a thing.”
Black voted for the tax and fee hikes (and gaming expansion) to pay for that Lincoln’s Challenge capital project, but he voted against the tax hike to fund its operations.
“The thing that really I see as more likely is that they won’t get it done, there will be these draconian cuts, real live human people will suffer dramatically, and then they’ll come back and do what they should have done.”
How long will that take?
“I have no idea,” he said. “One would hope not very long.”
* The Daily Herald editorial board shows its cluelessness once again…
An excellent analysis by Daily Herald Staff Writer Dan Carden showed that Illinois has far fewer state workers per capita than many other states, including those similar in size. We understand that laying off thousands of state workers would cause horrible problems that would quickly compound in the private sector. But we also noted with interest that most other states are much farther along toward cutting state worker pay and requiring furloughs.
Gus van den Brink, executive director of Sertoma Centre Inc. in Alsip, said he would be forced to shut down employment and recreational services to 250 of its clients if $2.2 billion in current cuts from the Illinois Department of Human Services cannot be restored with Quinn’s proposed 50 percent income tax hike. […]
He said the state is already ranked 47th in the nation in terms of the tax dollars allocated for the developmentally disabled and that the proposed cuts would virtually decimate the programs that exist.
[Clete Winkelmann, president of Children’s Home] estimates $6.7 million in cuts to his total $20 million budget that translates to 119 jobs. Catholic Charities Diocese of Peoria is facing $3.15 million in cuts out of a $12 million budget and as many as 100 positions eliminated. Lutheran Social Services of Illinois estimates $1 million in local cuts in the total $5.3 million budget that could affect up to 12 staff members. The $3.5 million budget for Counseling and Family Services will be slashed nearly in half, resulting in the loss of roughly 35 jobs, officials said Thursday.
An estimated 10,000 children between the four agencies would be affected in the Tri-County Area.
Mike Brown, vice president of operations for Charleston Transitional Facility, said the proposed budget cuts would result in the elimination of CTF’s autism and children’s services programs.
Cuvo addressed the crowd about the importance of the autism center and the role it plays in Southern Illinois. Through state funding, the center has assessed more than 460 children from the region, provided therapy to more than 120 of them, helped many autistic children transition into regular classrooms and affected the lives of families from about 115 communities across more than 30 counties, he said.
“They will have to go out of the region, including out of the state, to get diagnosed,” Cuvo said of the effect the closure of the center, which would happen under the state’s worst-case scenario budget. “It will be a very sad day for children with autism and their families throughout Illinois.”
The state spending plan approved by lawmakers calls for state spending to be cut in half in some areas. That includes a hit to the fund used to pay for Monetary Award Program grants, which are need-based assistance for about 130,000 Illinois college students.
“I’ve saved the state over $300,000 by keeping my children at home where they belong,” Cathy said. “I don’t think our kids are pork. Why are they cutting that out of the budget? Cut the other pork. My kid isn’t pork.”
So do you think cash should go to livestock awards, the Illinois wine and grape industry or high-end Port-A-Potties? It’s in the budget. But if you cut it, it doesn’t come close to saving other programs.
* Related…
* Quinn calls special session to deal with state budget
* ComEd to ax 500 jobs, freeze exec pay to cut costs
ComEd parent Exelon Corp. said it is slashing 500 jobs, most at its Chicago headquarters, reorganizing its executive team and freezing executive pay to reduce costs amid economic challenges in the industry.
Roughly 400 corporate support jobs at Exelon and 100 management positions at ComEd will be eliminated, the company said. Most cuts are expected to be completed by August 31.
The company said in addition to freezing executive salaries, it will reduce annual and long-term incentive compensation.
A Florida-based credit repair company that placed unauthorized charges on the phone bills of thousands of Illinois consumers has been shut down, and victims may now apply for refunds, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Thursday. US Credit Find and its owner, Aaron Stanz, agreed to cease participating in the alleged deceptive practice, called “phone cramming.” Consumers who were victims have until Aug. 20 to file complaints with the attorney general’s Consumer Fraud Bureau to be considered for refunds.
Thirty-year mortgage rates fell this week, reversing course after three straight weeks of rising and hitting the highest level in seven months last week. The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.38 percent, down from 5.59 percent last week.
* LaHood Asks for 18-Month Extension of Four-Year-Old Transpo Law
* Lack of nearby grocery store takes years off life: study
Living in a food desert — primarily the city’s African-American neighborhoods with no full-service grocery stores — can shorten your life.
That’s a new conclusion drawn by food-desert researcher Mari Gallagher, who released a report Thursday showing that a full-service supermarket in the South Side Roseland community would allow that neighborhood, collectively, to gain about 15 years of life back from diabetes, 112 years of life from cardiovascual diseases, 13 years from liver disease and 58 years of life back from diet-related cancers.
A proposal for the Congress Plaza Hotel to expand at 520 S. Michigan survived a raucous crowd and a perturbed alderman Thursday to win clearance at the Chicago Plan Commission.
The mayoral-appointed commission overwhelmingly approved the same proposal it rejected on a narrow vote 18 months ago. But that earlier vote produced a lawsuit in which a Circuit Court judge held the commission’s action was illegal.
Reconsidering the expansion under Judge Sophia Hall’s order, several commission members said their hands were forced on approving the project. The proceedings occurred under watchful eyes of the Unite Here Local 1 hotel workers union, which has been striking at the Congress Plaza for six years.
Union members and sympathetic aldermen opposed the proposal on the grounds that it rewards hotel ownership that allegedly pays substandard wages. They also have complained about conditions at the hotel, which charges budget rates for downtown.
Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz said Thursday that budget cuts imposed a day earlier by the County Board would mean longer response times to emergency calls by the sheriff’s office and could endanger public safety in the county.
“We were already understaffed before this happened as far as I’m concerned,” Hertz said.
“People want leaner government, but I don’t think they want it at the expense of first responders to emergencies,” the sheriff added.
He said the County Board had mandated a cut of $325,000 for the sheriff’s operations, effective immediately. That means Hertz cannot replace four deputies who have left recently or who are expected to leave soon by retirement or taking other jobs, he said.
Arlington Heights is applying for an energy efficiency grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, even though the bulk of the money may yield only small savings.
Village trustees directed staff this week to apply for the $714,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. The village proposes to spend $460,000 of that on replacing sodium vapor lights in about 240 downtown streetlights with more efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
We’re talking about a T-shirt sold around Wrigley Field during the Crosstown Classic with a likeness of Guillen behind a lawn mower, saying “Ozzie Mows Wrigley Field.”
* Museum of Science and Industry free today, its 76th anniversary
The proclamation refers to ethics reform legislation, pension reform, a constitutional amendment for recall (which the Senate never got around to finishing last month), a capital bill and legislation to enable “the state to have sufficient resources to meet its financial obligations.”
In a major political surprise, Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool has decided not to run for County Board president in next year’s election.
Mr. Claypool was not available for comment and his office declined comment. But multiple political sources say that Mr. Claypool in the past 24 hours has informed them that he will take a private-sector job in health care.
Hinz says Larry Suffredin is now considering the run and putting together an exploratory committee.
“I don’t believe that Todd Stroger’s going to be re-elected. I think it is going to be very, very difficult if not impossible for him to be re-elected.”
* 6:06 pm - He’s not running for reelection, either. From a press release…
It has been the most difficult decision of my life, but I have decided not to be a candidate again for Cook County board president. Nor will I be a candidate for a third term on the board.
My June 30 fundraiser at Hop Haus, my first since the 2006 primary, is cancelled and I will be returning all checks (or in the case of credit cards, ensuring there is no debit to your account).
I am so grateful to you for your support, your encouragement and your friendship during the last two campaigns and my nearly seven years of service. It means so much to me, and made the decision so much harder.
In January, I joined my longtime friend, Care Pages founder Eric Langshur, in founding a new company, Rise Health. In the ensuing six months we have developed a mixture of services and technology which we believe can improve access, lower costs and improve quality in health care.
President Obama is poised to finally pass national health care reform. But to achieve the goal of universal access, quality and affordability, it will take both government reform and private sector innovation. I have come to believe so much in the potential of our ideas that I have chosen to remain in my role as chief operating officer, and begin a new and challenging journey to help improve our national health care system.
Many of you know that I first ran for the board presidency largely because of the dysfunction in the Health Bureau, which not only robbed taxpayers but effectively rationed care to the neediest and most vulnerable in our society. I wrote a detailed plan to improve access to preventive and primary care and restructure the system.
Because of the administration’s gross incompetence and neglect, the Health Bureau is now under the jurisdiction of an independent board. The independent board recently hired a CEO, who is beginning to make systemic changes. The jury is out, but we all hope for its success.
I hope that all of you who supported me will stay involved, and support candidates willing to challenge the old ways.
Thank you again for having given me the opportunity to serve. I will be eternally grateful.
* 2:44 pm - President Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs denied today that Obama is trying to nudge Lisa Madigan into the US Senate race…
“The president is not going to pick a candidate in the Illinois Senate race,” Gibbs told reporters during today’s White House briefing.
“The president has a very long relationship with the attorney general, dating back to their time in the state Senate,” he said. “She’d be a terrific candidate, but we are not going to get involved in picking a candidate in Illinois.” […]
Gibbs said he didn’t know whether Madigan was called to the White House or came in of her own accord to discuss the Senate seat now held by Sen. Roland Burris. […]
“I don’t control the DSCC,” Gibbs said. “We’re not picking a candidate. We’re not going to endorse in this race.”
One Democratic lawmaker, who appeared at an event highlighting possible cuts to the state’s foster care program, said Quinn’s repeated forays before microphones and TV cameras at the offices of social service providers are rallying the wrong set of troops.
“What the governor has been doing lately is preaching to the choir,” said Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie, who was one of 42 Democrats out of a possible 70 to vote for the tax hike. “The choir has to now tell him go talk to someone else in that other church who doesn’t get it.”
* The Flubs got drubbed yesterday, but the series continues today. Play-by-play is available on your iPhone, or at MLB.com, the Daily Herald and the Trib.
Feel free to heckle each other in comments.
Also, Ozzie wore this shirt to the rained-out game yesterday…
* 12:10 pm - We’ve topped ten percent unemployment. From an IDES press release…
The Illinois seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for May reached 10.1 percent, an increase of +0.7 percent over April, according to figures released today by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Unemployment in Illinois and nationwide has reached 25-year highs.
Total non-farm payroll in Illinois declined by 17,400 jobs in May. Although the pace of job loss lessened compared to the previous six months, Illinois recorded its eighth consecutive month of job losses. The number of unemployed people reached 671,400, the highest since June 1983. […]
The Manufacturing sector lost -9,500 workers in May, and has suffered the largest job loss of any sector in four of the last five months. Job loss leaders also include trade, transport and utilities as well as the construction sector. With summer approaching, job growth was reported in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.
Nationally, the May unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than 25 years to reach 9.4 percent and the total number of unemployed workers reached 14.5 million.
* 12:17 pm - You can read the entire opinion by clicking here. AP has a brief bit online…
The Illinois Supreme Court has thrown out a law setting a mandatory retirement age for state judges.
Until now, Illinois had required judges to step down at the end of the term in which they turn 75. A Chicago judge challenged the law.
The Supreme Court didn’t entirely reject the idea of mandatory retirement, but it found that the law was written in a way that created constitutional problems.
For instance, a sitting judge couldn’t run for re-election after age 75, but someone who had never been a judge before could run, no matter how old.
* As we discussed yesterday, the two Republican legislative leaders have issued a major demand for reform as part of the budget talks…
As we work toward a budget solution, putting an initiative on the November 2010 ballot to end gerrymandering must be a part of the discussions. Illinois needs an independent party to draw legislative district maps — not an antiquated coin-flip system — because it is clear nothing will change so long as politicians draw their own districts.
* The Question: Is this a legitimate demand and, more importantly, should the Democratic majority agree to redistricting reform as part of the budget negotiations? As always, explain fully.
* I called the U of I’s public relations office the other day and left a message. They sent me a form letter e-mail response. So I responded to that with my question…
Has anyone from the Chicago Tribune or Tribune Co. contacted any U of I press office regarding admissions issues with a potential student in the past 7 years?
No response yet.
I figured I’d ask since the Tribune describes itself as a “landmark” Illinois institution. If they’re a landmark, then they apparently gots lots o’ power. So, I thought the question was reasonable.
The U.S. attorney’s office wants to know if former Gov. Rod Blagojevich or his power brokers sought a leg-up for applicants to at least two state universities.
Campus spokespeople confirmed today that Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University have received subpoenas seeking records of communications between campus officials and Blagojevich, William Cellini, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, Chris Kelly and Alonzo “Lon” Monk between 2002 and 2008. […]
“It sounds like sort of a sweep across the state to look at all the universities,” said NIU spokeswoman Melanie Magara.
The DeKalb campus received its subpoena Tuesday, and has until July 2 to comply. SIU received its subpoena Monday, said spokesman Dave Gross.
“We’ve got no reason to believe any such records exist, but the general counsel is going to have to conduct this search through both campuses. We’ll wait and see what information is derived from that process,” Gross said.
Requests for such information weren’t unexpected in the wake of the U of I controversy, which is also under investigation by a commission appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn, [SIU spokesman and government relations officer David Gross] said.
Illinois State University spokesman Jay Groves said the Normal-based school had not received a subpoena as of Tuesday but that it was possible it might in the near future.
Neither Eastern Illinois University nor Western Illinois University had received a similar request either, officials on the campuses reported.
* Related…
* Illinois lawmakers can’t investigate admission scandal: So Quinn awarded legislative oversight of this commission to a guy with a track record of giving taxpayer-funded scholarships to one of his top campaign contributors.
* 3 yards and a clout of dust: Then my utter disbelief turned to bemusement when I learned that this reported pressure was being applied by government officials and other well-connected individuals in the state. I had assumed all along that it was coming from coaches, the athletic director or ardent boosters of the institution’s intercollegiate sports teams.
*** UPDATE 1 - 10:07 am *** Keep this in mind when reading the rest of the post…
State income-tax revenue fell 26% in the first four months of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to a survey of states by the nonprofit Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. […]
Personal-income-tax collections were down by $28.8 billion between January and April of 2009, compared to the some period last year, in the 37 states surveyed.
[Illinois’] total personal income tax collections from January to April of this year fell 10.7 percent as compared to the same period in 2008.
[ *** End of Updates *** ]
* Foster parents threatened today to return children to the state’s care. From a press release…
Nearly 50 Chicago-area foster parents gathered for a press conference at the James R. Thompson Center today to denounce Governor Pat Quinn’s reduction of Illinois foster parent expense reimbursement by 50% and to implore that the legislature find the money to reverse the cuts.
“The Illinois ‘doomsday’ budget threatened by Governor Quinn have now become our reality,” said Marge Berglind, President of the Child Care Association of Illinois, commenting on budget cuts to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
“Last week, Governor Quinn ordered DCFS to move forward and cut its budget by $461million,” said Berglind. “Starting on July 1, DCFS is reducing by 50% the expense reimbursement money to the Illinois’ 9,000 foster parents and eliminate support services.” […]
Berglind estimates that within 90 days after the reduced reimbursements begin and support services are eliminated that many of the foster parents will begin to return kids to DCFS
“Many foster parents will be unable to continue to feed and clothe foster children and within 90 days or so many foster parents will, painfully, begin to return the kids,” said Berglind. “Since there will be no available beds in residential facilities, the state will likely need to deploy cots in state buildings to house and monitor the kids.”
Foster parent Gladys Boyd, 59, of Richton Park reluctantly agrees.
“It breaks my heart,” said Boyd, president of Illinois Foster Parents Association. “I love my kids and I will keep them with me as long as possible, but without the full reimbursement and the support services after more than three months, I’ll have no choice but return them to DCFS.”
“These politicians should be ashamed of themselves,” Boyd added. “Completely ashamed.”
House Republican Leader Tom Cross says talk of a doomsday scenario has been overblown.
CROSS: Can we make sure that those that are suffering right now that need help from the state, those in the social services spectrum — can we avoid those cuts in the next few weeks and months and even through January? Yes it can be done without a tax increase.
Notice that Cross said the tax hikes can be avoided “through January.” After that it’s a far different matter, and the tax hikes will probably have to be larger.
Illinois Republicans leaders are suggesting a month-to-month budget to avert service cuts, while legislators try to reach an agreement on a permenant spending plan. Governor Pat Quinn and state legislative leaders met again Wednesday for another round of budget negotiations. The governor says the month-to-month plan wouldn’t work.
QUINN: You can not begin the fiscal year and start spending money that may run out half way through. What do you do? That’s not the way to run a government or run a business.
* The GOP is also being blamed for not making any specific counter-proposals…
Republicans have yet to spell out many specifics about budget cuts, instead pointing broadly to moving the poor into managed health care and revamping pension benefits for state workers.
Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, said he understands that a solution to the budget mess will involve both cuts and a tax increase. He isn’t predicting if that compromise will be reached soon.
“The frustrating thing is to try to explain to people how we got in this situation and how limited an individual legislator is (to resolve it),” Watson said.
“Unfortunately, it appears at this point in time that the Republicans are not ready to vote for any revenue increases,” Cullerton said. “And that’s unfortunate.” […]
House Speaker Michael Madigan said that not enough members of his caucus, which has 70 members, are willing to vote for an income tax increase without GOP support. “There were a certain number of House Democrats who said quite flatly, ‘I’m not going to go on a roll call when it’s Democrats-only,’” Madigan said.
“I suspect that when Tom Cross says he’s going to vote for a tax increase, you’ll have more Democrats step up. But when a Republican says ‘Oh, that’s the Democratic tax increase, I’m not voting for it,’ that’s wrong. That’s irresponsible.”
Now, Quinn must use the only leverage he has left: his signature on a statewide construction bill. Legislators are lusting after the spoils in that $26 billion spending plan. Quinn’s John Hancock is all that stands in their way. […]
In his short time as governor, Quinn has pushed hard for consensus. But to date, that hasn’t gotten him very far. Soft persuasion and pleas on behalf of the poor and the needy haven’t made much of a dent.
Gov. Quinn, it’s time to bring out the big stick. The people of Illinois are counting on you.
* And the Tribune gives credit to the GOP for pushing pension reforms, which was in the governor’s budget address months ago…
Better the Democrats start listening to what Radogno and Cross keep explaining: Illinoisans don’t want to shovel more money to Springfield until the legislature and governor adopt spending reforms. That includes revising a too-generous pension calculation for new hires, moving Medicaid recipients to managed care, canceling all pork spending — the list of needed fixes goes on and on.
…Adding… Whoa! Did the Tribune really claim that the GOP wants this?
canceling all pork spending
The Tribune has finally gone off the deep end.
* Related…
* Drug Courts Have Nowhere to Send Addicts: The agency that provides drug treatment as an alternative to prison in Illinois is refusing to take clients — and they’re cutting off the clients they already have.
* We don’t know yet who asked for this meeting, but this is a huge blow to Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, whom Barack Obama backed in the last election…
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has met with President Barack Obama and his senior political aides to talk about running for the U.S. Senate seat he once held.
Ms. Madigan’s spokeswoman says the meeting occurred in Washington at the White House late last week, with the Senate race the subject.
Ms. Madigan reportedly has not made up her mind, but the meeting came after weeks in which White House operatives reached out to Ms. Madigan and urged her to run for the seat now held by Roland Burris, and after Ms. Madigan said she would agree to think about it.
In the meeting besides Mr. Obama were senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and presidential Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Ms. Madigan also talked with David Axelrod, who ran Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign.
So, who called the White House meeting? “I didn’t ask that question,” Ziegler said.
Hmmm. It’s a safe bet that Madigan is rethinking a bid for the governor’s job. “Well, she hasn’t ruled out a Senate bid,” Ziegler said.
And this Giannoulias press release is kinda weird…
Statement from State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias regarding U.S. Senate race:
“Voters in Illinois are facing the most troubling economic times in decades and they want leaders who will solve problems and fight hard every day against the political insiders who have failed us. When Barack Obama ran for this seat in 2004, he was not the choice of the insiders. He became the choice of the people because of the strength of his ideas and his ideals.
“Illinois has been ill-served by state party leaders who think they know better than voters. Now more than ever, anyone who seeks this seat must convince voters they have the ideas that will get our economy on its feet and put our people back to work, not just prove that they have the political clout to demand a clear field and win appointment.”
Madigan wants a presidential endorsement and a clear field. As Giannoulias’ press release makes clear, that second part doesn’t look likely…
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet reports that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is demanding an endorsement from President Obama and a clear Democratic primary field as the two conditions for her to run for the Senate.
The White House looks willing to play ball, in light of breaking news that President Obama met with Madigan last week to discuss a potential Senate candidacy.
But the second condition looks very difficult to achieve, with state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias already in the race and raising big bucks for his exploratory committee with plans to make a formal announcement next month. And there’s no love lost between the Madigan and Giannoulias camps, making any kind of backroom deal between the two highly unlikely.
Several sources close to the Giannoulias camp said there is “no way” the state Treasurer would bow out of the race, and that he’s in it to win it. That would mean that if Madigan wanted to pursue a Senate race, she’d have to face a tough, expensive primary — without the benefit of the nearly $5 million in her state campaign account.
At a commencement speech in Chicago Sunday, Sun-Times Political Reporter Abdon M. Pallasch asked Obama Axelrod Sunday about spin put out by some Giannoulias critics that the White House wanted Madigan as the nominee because if Obama’s friend Giannoulias was the nominee, Obama’s and Giannoulias’ old friend, convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko, would become a campaign issue that caused spillover bad P.R. for Obama.
“The president has a lot of respect and affection for Alexi, for Lisa, but ultimately the party and voters here are going to have to decide who will be the strongest possible candidate right now,” Axelrod said. “Our interest is in making sure the seat remains in Democratic hands. It’s not up to the president to decide who the candidate should be, But that’s the standard everyone should apply: Who would be the strongest candidate?”
Pallasch asked Axelrod: “Are you guys taking a ‘hands off’ approach or trying to recruit the best candidate?”
Axelrod responded: “We’re talking to whoever wants to talk to us.”
Faced with losing the 2016 Summer Games to competing cities offering full government guarantees, Mayor Richard Daley made an about-face Wednesday and said the City of Chicago would sign a contract agreeing to take full financial responsibility for the Games.
So far, the Chicago City Council has approved only a $500 million guarantee against operating losses, while the state has pledged an additional $250 million. These were augmented by a previous pledge to obtain a $500 million insurance policy. The only guarantees in place against construction costs are the insurance policies required of contractors who would build the facilities.
The bid team’s confidence in the plan is partly predicated on its estimated costs rising only modestly because of inflation. But Olympic plans often don’t play out as expected. London’s plan for the 2012 Summer Games has run into serious financial problems, with the original estimate of $4.9 billion ballooning to $13.5 billion, and much of the corporate sponsorship money pledged has evaporated amid the global economic crisis.
Chicago’s guarantee figures — which would rise to as much as $2.5 billion — are a far cry from the full tab projected for hosting the Games. The $4.8 billion projected operating budget for the Games includes a projected surplus of $500 million.
Three years ago, Mr. Daley said taxpayers wouldn’t spend a dime on luring and running the Olympics, that the private sector would pay for it all, with a big profit likely to boot.
Then, a while later, he said the city would have to guarantee $500 million and the state $250 million — but the money never, ever would be needed because of hordes of Olympic sponsors and an undisclosed insurer that would make up any shortfall.
Wednesday, the ante went up — way up, into the billions.
That means the city — we the taxpayers — will be on the hook for the finances of an event with a projected $3.3-billion operations budget. And on the hook for financing an Olympic Village that will cost another $1 billion or so to build.
Consumer prices in the Chicago metropolitan area rose 0.9 percent in May over April, three times the national increase, but prices were down 2.4 percent locally from a year ago, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
The month-over-month increase locally was largely because of higher transportation and medical care costs, which rose 3.7 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
The increase in transportation costs was because of a 14.7 percent increase in the cost of gasoline. Over the year, gasoline prices were down 36.9 percent, leaving overall transportation costs down 14.2 percent from May 2008, according to the report. Medical care costs were up 7.7 percent from a year earlier.
Chicago’s largest bank announced today that it has repaid the federal government $1.58 billion, repurchasing the preferred shares it issued last fall as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Northern is one of 10 big U.S. banks exiting the TARP program today.
Bears fans who bought permanent seat licenses for the right to buy season tickets at Soldier Field are off the hook for back taxes — at least for now.
At the request of a judge hearing a class-action lawsuit filed by Bears fans, City Hall has agreed to wait for a decision before retroactively collecting Chicago’s nine percent amusement tax from 2,700 PSL holders who were not the original owners.
When asked if he could give us any indication of his whereabouts, Flowers said by phone, “I can’t. I’m out of the area. Not out of state but out of the area.”
Flowers admitted putting almost $7,000 in travel expenses for relatives on his government credit card, but he said, “The money was returned. Those charges were returned to the card.”
And, as for shoddy record-keeping in the office, he blames a former business manager.
“A more competent person should have been brought in a lot earlier,” Flowers said.
* Parking meter contractor’s ‘Green Team’ hits streets in bid to soothe angry drivers
Dozens of newly-hired employees — all wearing green T-shirts, many of them college students — are descending on Chicago neighborhoods where LAZ Parking has installed pay-and-display boxes.
They’re talking to motorists and local merchants. They’re passing out information on how to use the boxes that take credit cards and eliminate the need to carry around plastic bags full of quarters.
John Danks pitched seven shutout innings, Alexei Ramirez homered in the first and the White Sox played some NL-style baseball Wednesday to beat the Cubs 4-1.
