* Pat Quinn’s latest Internet promo video is probably the best yet. Quinn campaign staffer Simon Edelman is underpaid, overworked and hugely talented, and he gets better all the time. Have a look…
* Earlier this week, somebody in the governor’s office accidentally cc’d me on an e-mail that was meant for a subordinate…
Yes, it helps to email rich miller with our comments re breaking news. He’s at: capitolfax@aol.com
He may or may not use. Not a friend of the house.
I’ve never been a “friend of the house” for any governor, so that made me chuckle and wonder if they have any reporters who can be classified as such. I e-mailed him back and jokingly asked if he knew what he did. His response…
Truth to power
I literally spit out my coffee when I saw that one. Fast-thinking comedy gold, complete with an inside joke. You will recall that “truth to power” is one of Gov. Quinn’s favorite expressions and something I took him to task for in a recent newspaper column.
And, in case you’re wondering, I don’t hold that e-mail against the governor’s office. Things happen, things get said. No biggie. I’m only sharing this with you because I thought it was so funny, not to embarrass anyone.
* In other spit-take news, today’s John Kass column, “Lottery commercial redefines joy in spirit of Chicago Way,” was about a new ad from the Illinois Lottery. Among other things, Kass thought he saw glorified corruption in the spot…
Then comes a revealing voice-over that speaks directly to the heart of The Chicago Way and invokes one of the pillars of Illinois politics:
Cash kickbacks.
“Joy someone with holiday scratch-offs from the Illinois Lottery,” says a narrator. “Who knows? They might joy you back.”
That’s a kickback. You joy me, I joy you. Isn’t that what contractors call it when they’re caught on FBI surveillance tape bringing “joy” to politicians? One famous Chicago politician stored his “joy” in the freezer, right next to the rib-eyes and the lobster tails.
By early afternoon, the Illinois Family Institute had sent out an “E-Alert” about the Lottery ad…
Illinois Lottery’s “Joy to the World” Ad Promotes False Hope, by David E. Smith, Executive Director -Illinois Family Institute
The Illinois Lottery is currently airing radio and televsion ads promoting scratch-off lottery tickets during the Christmas season campaign. The new ad campaign corrupts the traditional Christian hymn “Joy to the World” in attempt to mislead Illinois citizens into thinking that the miniscule chance of winning a lottery prize could buy them happiness.
But even more than that, the song’s deep meaning celebrating the birth of the Savior as it proclaims “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” is being perverted to sell a false hope of a different kind of “savior” — money and the love of it.
Take ACTION: Click HERE to contact Jodie Winnett, the Acting Supervisor of the Illinois Lottery, to ask her to stop misusing the true message of the season to promote its predatory lottery tickets which only push people deeper into debt and despair.
Here’s the ad…
* Meanwhile, in a bizarre turn of events, Rod Blagojevich’s PR firm claims that some congressman in Georgia wants to investigate US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office. From a press release…
In an apparent expansion of a four-year congressional investigation of United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee will call witnesses today to determine if the prosecutor’s office manufactured evidence and forced witnesses to lie to obtain a 2003 conviction of a then prominent Chicago real estate developer and attorney.
Actually, the part about the hearing today is not true. At the end of the press release is this notation…
Chairman Johnson is expected to mention the Palivos case [during a hearing today] and Mr. Palivos and his wife, Vicky, will sit in the front row for the hearing. However, the hearing today is about judicial recusals, not prosecutorial misconduct or U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
Background on Johnson’s claimed investigation…
After his trial and conviction, Peter Palivos, 51, presented the committee with evidence showing that prosecutors forced witnesses to lie against him or face charges themselves.
“They wanted to frame me to get me to become a witness against George Ryan, but I have nothing incriminating to say against the man,” Palivos said in Oct. 2005.
After hearing the evidence, which includes sworn affidavits from witnesses who say there were forced to lie about Mr. Palivos, three separate House Judiciary Subcommittees asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate “possible prosecutorial misconduct” by Fitzgerald’s office. […]
Palivos alleges that he was convicted on a concocted obstruction of justice charge after he refused to lie for prosecutors in their investigation of former Ill. Gov. George Ryan, who is serving time in federal prison on corruption charges.
Palivos says he was told by federal agent Thomas Heinzer that he would be ‘framed with that crime’ unless he cooperated in the office’s investigation. When he did not, he was subsequently indicted and convicted. […]
Following Palivos’ trial, witnesses gave the House Judiciary Committee sworn affidavits “stating that they were forced to lie and the prosecutors on the case engaged in misconduct” in his case, prompting the committee to expand its investigation. […]
The documents the committee received also contained evidence, which appeared to show federal prosecutors prepared a false affidavit, falsified interview statements, threatened a defense attorney with a trumped-up obstruction of justice charge if he filed a motion, suborned perjury and withheld exculpatory evidence that would have prevented the imprisonment of an innocent man–Mr. Palivos.
Earlier this year, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Courts and Competition Policy, Congressman Hank Johnson wrote: “It appears [Palivos’] case is a good example of prosecutorial misconduct.” You can read that letter by clicking here.
I called the congressman’s office this morning, but haven’t heard back.
* A State Journal-Register reporter is sending around an e-mail asking various folks to help them put together a piece about the most important news events of the past decade. Here’s a list of suggestions from the e-mail…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is arrested and later impeached and removed from office
Former state Sen. Barack Obama is elected President of the United States
Then-Gov. George Ryan clears Illinois’ death row
George Ryan issues a moratorium on executions that lasts for the decade
George Ryan is indicted and goes to prison for corruption
A shooting at the state Capitol claims the life of a security guard and prompts new security measures
Control of state government and the legislature switches from Republicans to Democrats
Budget problems plague state government throughout the decade
The legislature and Blagojevich break several overtime records for session with continued fighting
Longtime legislative leaders Pate Philip, Lee Daniels and Emil Jones hand over the reins of power to successors
Democrats take supermajority control of the state Senate and one seat shy of a supermajority in the House
Gov. Pat Quinn proposes a 50 percent income tax increase to fix budget holes, but lawmakers refuse to support it
Lawmakers end a 10-year standoff and approve a $31 billion capital construction program
Legislators end public outrage over soaring electric rates by approving a relief plan that reduces sharp increases after a 10-year rate freeze
The state’s pension debt grows astronomically, topping $70 billion by the end of the decade
Lawmakers approve the state’s first caps on campaign contributions to political campaigns in the wake of Blagojevich’s arrest
A smoking ban in public places forces smokers at bars, restaurants and public places outside to light up
* The Question, Part 1: Is there anything missing from this list?
* The Question, Part 2: What do you think are the top four or five state politics events of the decade? Explain.
* An AP reporter who doesn’t appear to cover Illinois at all nonetheless gets the job of writing one of those ridiculous “where there’s even a tiny bit of smoke, there’s gotta be a raging inferno” stories about Congressman Mark Kirk…
As Mark Kirk campaigns for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, the Republican congressman casts himself as a scourge of the pork-barrel, special-interest congressional spending known as “earmarks.”
It wasn’t always that way.
Just two years ago, the four-term congressman secured more than $30 million for 19 pet projects in and around his Illinois congressional district. They included an aquarium, a planetarium and a church outreach project. In some cases, people linked to the projects reciprocated with thousands of dollars in campaign donations for Kirk’s re-election bids.
And what were those alleged reciprocations? How did this supposed pay to play game work?
Well, over the space of nine years, Adler Planetarium board members apparently gave Kirk a grand total of $23,000 and got over $1.1 million in earmarks. That’s an “eye-popping” $2,600 a year in contributions, and the AP doesn’t tell us how many board members contributed, so some might have given next to nothing. Whatever, I’m sure that money played such a big role in Kirk’s decision-making. Sheesh.
A board member of the Christian Outreach of Lutherans, which hasn’t exactly been on the US Attorney’s corruption radar screen, gave Kirk a whopping $4,600 in two years and the group received $119,000 from an earmark.
The mission of Christian Outreach of Lutherans (COOL) is to give comprehensive assistance to families in need, by reducing hunger and homelessness, while encouraging personal growth and self-sufficiency. Serving all of Lake County.
None of the contributors, by the way, were given an opportunity to respond to this smear. The story isn’t as bad as looking for hidden corruption messages in Lottery commercials, but it’s close.
Politically, though, this article will give Kirk’s opponent some ammo, either by using the contributions or the headline: “Hopeful for Obama seat changes tune.” Kirk has been repeatedly slammed for flip-flopping.
However, this point, about how Kirk decided to oppose earmarks, is more salient…
Kirk said his personal tipping point came after the furor over earmarks for the “Bridge to Nowhere.” The project, pushed by Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young, would have cost nearly $400 million and connected Ketchikan, Alaska, to an island with 50 residents.
Congress scrubbed funding for the project in 2005 — a full two years before Kirk gave up earmarks for good — but he still said it was the pivotal moment for him.
It apparently wasn’t all that pivotal if it took him two years to come to the conclusion.
“I had no interest in this race. I hadn’t considered running … then Mark Kirk voted for cap-and-trade,” said Hughes, a Hinsdale real estate developer.
More…
Kirk said he supported it as a way to wean America off foreign oil. Yet, he has since signed a pledged with a conservative group to oppose the legislation if elected to the Senate.
Hughes says he doesn’t believe global warming is caused by humans. But his platform against Kirk is bigger than cap-and-trade now.
“Our party is at a crossroads,” Hughes declared to the editorial board, before labeling Kirk “essentially a Democrat and in some respects an extraordinarily left-wing one.”
* Planned Parenthood Illinois/Action, the political arm of Planned Parenthood has announced that it has endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn. The group also endorsed Alexi Giannoulias for US Senate. Other endorsements…
Mike Boland, Terry Link
Rickey Hendon and Art Turner - Lt. Governor
Lisa Madigan - Attorney General
Jesse White - Secretary of State
David Miller - Comptroller
Robin Kelly - Treasurer
Apparently, all those legislators running for LG qualified for the nod.
* Former Gov. Jim Edgar has endorsed Rep. Beth Coulson for the open 10th Congressional District seat. From a press release…
“As governor, I worked closely with Beth Coulson,” said Edgar. “I find her to be a person of tremendous talent, integrity and compassion. The same qualities that have made her an effective state legislator will make her an excellent member of Congress. The 10th District will be well served by electing Beth Coulson to Congress.” […]
Gov. Edgar’s endorsement follows on the heels of endorsements Coulson has received from the majority of Illinois Congressional Republicans - Reps. Judy Biggert, Timothy Johnson, Aaron Schock and John Shimkus - as well as virtually every Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly - including leaders State Rep. Tom Cross and State Sen. Chris Radogno - and local elected officials and civic leaders in the 10thCongressional District.
The New Trier Democrats endorsed Dan Seals over state Rep. Julie Hamos in the 10th CD Democratic primary. Hamos was endorsed by Citizen Action/Illinois.
* In other campaign news, the 14th Congressional District GOP primary is now a two-person race…
When a candidate is running without name recognition or the money to create a big bang, being the bad guy, or the spoiler, quickly can become all there is to achieve.
Such was the case with the trio of Republicans leaving the 14th Congressional District race within the past week. In the course of five days, a field of five Republicans looking to unseat Democrat Bill Foster became a two-man contest.
Jim Purcell, Mark Vargas and Jeff Danklefsen all dropped out with about the same amount of campaign funds they had when they entered the contest. That amounted to little more than what they had in their own pockets.
The two left standing - Ethan Hastert and Randy Hultgren - already are well into six figures with their fundraising.
* As I mentioned to you the other day, Andy McKenna’s TV ads claim Illinois’ budget deficit is $11 billion and growing by $30 million a day. That would mean a $22 billion deficit by the beginning of next fiscal year. I asked the campaign about those figures, but never received an explanation.
Well, reporters asked McKenna Wednesday about the $11 billion number and McKenna claimed the deficit was actually less than half that amount…
On Wednesday, McKenna told reporters that if elected, he’d roll back state spending to 2006 levels, reverse expensive health care expansions initiated during Rod Blagojevich’s years as governor and push for pension reforms in order to save $5 billion and balance the budget.
Asked about the other $6 billion in red ink, McKenna, a Chicago Republican, questioned the figure and challenged the current administration to explain it.
But everyone from the legislative agency tasked with tracking economic activity to investment analysts who set the state’s credit rating have put the state’s deficit for the next year at $11 billion if not more. Lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn attempted to create the illusion of a balanced budget this year by borrowing $3.5 billion to make pension payments, plugging education and health care holes with billions from the federal stimulus program and not paying nearly $4.5 billion to vendors on time.
Oy.
McKenna’s running mate claimed that the money owed state vendors which is rolled over from one fiscal year to the next isn’t part of the deficit..
“You know, we’ve got at least, at this point, four-and-a-half billion dollars in unpaid bills that have been rolling over. We didn’t accumulate that in one year. You’re not going to pay that off in one year,” said Palatine Republican state Sen. Matt Murphy, McKenna’s favorite for the lieutenant governor post. “The only time it’s ever suggested that we’re going to pay that off in one year is when people down here are trying to sell a tax hike. That figure of 11 (billion dollars) is obviously inclusive of that rollover in any estimate I’ve seen. So the five billion we’re talking about, in my view, is pretty close to filling the entire hole. As Andy has said, if you don’t have the money, you can’t spend the money.”
Actually, the rollover amount is less than that. The $4.5 billion is only what’s owed right now.
Dillard, a veteran state senator from Hinsdale, said Illinois’ budget problems are driving jobs away, partly because businesses don’t know whether they’ll soon be forced to pay higher taxes and fees.
He promised to freeze state spending at current levels “for the foreseeable future.”
His campaign did not immediately respond to questions about how Dillard could freeze spending while also accomplishing his goals for schools, infrastructure and tax breaks — including what he called “the nation’s most aggressive tax credit for research.”
Quinn’s plan to borrow $500 million is half-baked, at least to the extent anyone believes it’s going to do anything but put Illinois further in a bind.
And lollygagging is a fairly apt way to describe Hynes’ refusal to acquiesce to the governor’s plan to use the borrowed money to pay the state’s bills.
OK, so Hynes is supposed to speed up his endorsement of a half-baked borrowing plan? I don’t get it.
Chicago would waive its $4-a-month employee head tax for two years — but only for newly hired employees — under a mayoral plan proposed Wednesday to stimulate job creation.[…]
Mayor Daley acknowledged that the symbolic savings of $48 a month would not be enough to persuade a struggling business to expand its payroll. But he’s hoping that a combination of local, state and federal tax incentives just might tip the scales.
* Daley wants to lift head tax on new employees for two years
TIF districts also give the mayor unprecedented political leverage.
“The mayor ultimately controls these accounts, which gives him leverage over every public entity, from the City Council to the public schools to the Park District,” the Reader notes. “[A]t least half a dozen aldermen have told us that mayoral aides pressure them on key votes - such as the ordinances for funding the Olympics or moving the Children’s Museum to Grant Park - by either promising to give their wards more TIF dollars or threatening to take TIF dollars away.
“The more TIF districts are created, the more money goes into the TIF accounts and the more powerful the mayor becomes. . . .
Mayor Daley on Wednesday cracked the door open to providing a government subsidy for cash-strapped McCormick Place, but only if the convention center cleans its own house first and ends price-gouging that has triggered a trade show exodus.
Meanwhile, chief executives from South Suburban, Ingalls Memorial, St. James and Little Company of Mary hospitals are campaigning against an ordinance proposed by county Commissioner Joseph Moreno (D-Chicago), whose district includes the city’s Southwest Side.[…]
Moreno wants to charge hospitals in the county a fee if they fail to meet county-mandated criteria for charity care - the equivalent of 4.5 percent of their annual expenses. Because most hospitals are exempt from paying property and income taxes and certain state and local sales taxes, they are expected to provide a commensurate level of free care to indigent patients.
On Wednesday, the Park District approved a $392 million budget that scraps any layoffs so long as its thousands of unionized employees agree to take eight unpaid furlough days in 2010.
Layoff notices are going out this week to Chicago Transit Authority workers. The CTA board approved the plan to help close a $300 million budget shortfall.
Saying blacks could be shortchanged by a proposed admissions policy for the city’s most coveted schools, some African-American parents are demanding that race be added as one factor in the admissions process.
A new domestic violence division will open in January. Behind-the-scenes changes are expected to speed up the process of getting a protection order and point abusers to programs designed to end the cycle of violence, said Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Tim Evans.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 26 in the case of a Knox County official accused of stealing money from the political party she’s affiliated with.
Recorder of Deeds Paula Monzo is accused of writing about $3,500 in checks on the account of the Knox County Democratic Central Committee over the past year. Galesburg Police reports indicate Monzo was having trouble paying bills and had a cocaine habit.
For school officials considering budgets, the toughest decisions come when cuts go head to head with goals to ensure that every child has a chance to succeed. Those students labeled at risk in particular need every possible advantage.
Elgin Area School District U-46 found a way to further chip away at its massive deficit by returning its three year-round schools to a traditional nine-month calendar. The move, at Garfield, Channing and Sheridan elementary schools, is projected to save $200,000.
ROCKFORD — A project that could represent the most significant economic development on West State Street in decades could get a boost of $500,000 in federal funding.
U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., announced in a news release today that the money is included in a 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill expected to be considered by Congress over the next few weeks.
The board voted 13-1 to extend a hiring freeze requiring all departments to clear hires, both new and replacement, with Chairman John Evans. Evans reported to the board he has heard of people violating the same procedure that had been implemented in the previous fiscal year.
* NDK hopes some employees can return to work next week
BELVIDERE — Some NDK workers may return to their jobs at the Belvidere plant as early as next week, company officials said today.
They’ll be joined — perhaps for months — by investigators from state and federal agencies who are investigating the cause of an explosion Monday that blew out the west side of the Crystal Parkway building and left a 63-year-old Indiana man dead.
The Springfield forecast for today calls for a high temperature of 21, but winds of 15 to 20 mph will make it feel like the air is between -9 and 1. Wind gusts up to 24 mph are expected.
Counties north of here, including Mason and Schuyler, are under a wind chill advisory this morning. Wind chills there range from -15 to -20. The advisory is in place through 9 a.m.
* Some of you are heading to the Chicago “Fedstivus” party tonight to commemorate the Blagojevich arrest. I thought about hosting my own party, but, frankly, this is one depressing anniversary. I think I’ll just stay home and listen to some tunes, starting with this fine, but melancholic jam from Traffic and Jerry Garcia…
* Democratic US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is now running a second TV ad which builds on his first one. The new ad is called “Details.” Let’s rate the new one….
Spending will be capped at Fiscal 2010 levels for the foreseeable future. […] The Dillard Administration will utilize zero-based budgeting and embark on a process to rebuild state government from the ground up.
He takes a look at lots of different things, including health care…
While we wait for the outcome on the national debate on health care reform, Illinois will create a pilot program designed to encourage a small businesses and sole proprietors to pool their employees into larger groups, remove certain coverage mandates, and allow health maintenance organizations to place reasonable deductible costs on their policies.
Manufacturing modernization…
The Illinois Modernization & Retooling Program will be reinstated to assist Manufacturers in making necessary reinvestments in their facilities to enable for them to remain competitive and keep there existing workforce in Illinois.
Tax incentives…
Examples include a tax credit for new jobs created, a sales tax holiday to spur retail sales and a letter of credit program to allow projects to proceed and create jobs.
Dillard also talks the talk on education to the point where people like Mayor Daley might be OK with him…
The Dillard Administration will continue to invest in Early Childhood education and commit resources to training our workers to compete in the 21st Century global economy. Illinois needs to set high standards for all children regardless of where they live and then provide the necessary tools to teachers, administrators, school boards and parents so that they can succeed at the local level without unnecessary government interference. The state will renew its commitment to make sure that every child can attend school safe from violence and prepared to learn. And we will focus on stemming performance erosion in the vital middle grades.
Some of it is insidery, but important. For instance, organized labor will work much harder to defeat a Republican who refuses to abide by the legislative “agreed bill process” for workers’ comp and unemployment insurance. Dillard tries to set their minds at ease…
Kirk Dillard strongly believes in maintaining the sanctity of the agreed-bill process. Recognizing that the process often only promotes communication when stakes are high and stances are far apart, Dillard will form on ad-hoc basis the Illinois Jobs Creation Council. The Council’s goal will be to seek areas of common-ground interest to promote creative ideas on the creation of jobs—something that benefits both sides. It is Dillard’s belief that finding those common areas of interest will spur better and more innovative ideas on attracting and keeping good-paying jobs in Illinois.
* I get a lot of strange press releases every day, but this one from the National Taxpayers United of Illinois’ Jim Tobin was so far over the top that I thought I’d let you see some of what you’re missing…
RACIST GOV. QUINN AND CORRUPT DANIEL HYNES USING VICIOUS ANTI-PETITION MANEUVERS
CHICAGO–So-called “reformers,” Gov. Patrick Quinn (D) and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes (D), are masterminding drives to invalidate petition signatures of other independent Democrats who have turned in the required number of signatures to appear on the Feb. 2, 2010, Democratic gubernatorial primary, charged Jim Tobin, President of National Taxpayers United of Illinois (NTUI).
“By attempting to knock William “Dock” Walls, III off the ballot, Gov. Quinn displays racial prejudice by targeting Walls over all the other gubernatorial candidates. Quinn believes he is superior to the only African American candidate for Governor. This should infuriate the African-American community of Illinois.”
“Walls submitted over 9,400 signatures, far more than the 5,000 signatures needed to run for Governor. Quinn’s Cronies challenged a large number of signatures with no legal justification. An army of petition checkers flooded the Board of Elections, often refusing to talk to reporters on the scene because they were government employees working for ‘reformer’ Quinn.”
“According to the Board of Elections hearing examiner, Walls is supposedly short the required number of valid signatures by less than a dozen.”
“In addition to Quinn’s Cronies, we also have Hynes’ Hacks, who are working hard to keep independent Democratic candidate Ed Scanlan off the Feb. 2, 2010, ballot. Hynes’ Hacks are exploiting every trick to invalidate Scanlan’s 10,000 signatures, including using government employees to challenge the signatures.”
“The Illinois challenge process is inherently corrupt and a disgrace, favoring establishment candidates and placing independent candidates, regardless of party, at a disadvantage,” said Tobin. “Quinn and Hynes are the problem. They are corrupt and rotten to the core.”
“Two-thirds of the states require only a filing fee to run for office,” said Tobin. “Illinois should follow suit and eliminate the requirement for petition signatures. That would reform Illinois politics more than anything else.”
* The Question: Leaving aside Tobin’s breathless rant, do you think Illinois should “eliminate the requirement for petition signatures”? And would doing so “reform Illinois politics more than anything else”? Explain thoroughly, please.
As he marked the anniversary of his arrest, ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich today reasserted his innocence by autographing a copy of the U.S. Constitution with his now-infamous catchphrase, “fn golden.”
The indicted politician scrawled the near-profanity on the nation’s most sacred of documents at a book signing on the University of Chicago campus. A student asked Blagojevich to sign near the 17th Amendment — the one dealing with the appointment of U.S. senators. In other words, the very type of seat that federal prosecutors say Blagojevich tried to sell and was allegedly heard describing as “(bleeping) golden” on a wiretap.
“Always remember the rule of law is sacrosanct, nay it is more — it is fn golden,” Blagojevich wrote on the page today. […]
“I’m OK with writing it,” he told reporters. “I did not write the bad word. I abbreviated it.”
When other states get hit with massive, nationally embarrassing corruption scandals, political leaders upend the status quo, throw the bums out and do their level best to ensure it can’t happen again.
In Illinois, state lawmakers have tweaked and twiddled on reform measures, in hopes voters forget what they’re mad about.
Um, they did throw the bum out. Remember that impeachment thingy? Also, as Charlie Wheeler wrote several weeks ago in Illinois Issues, most of the reforms that were approved by the General Assembly focused like a laser on Blagojevich’s many, many transgressions…
Overall, the legislative reaction to the reform suggestions followed the pattern predicted here a couple of months ago. Changes affecting executive branch operations were embraced; those that would upset the legislative status quo were not.
In so choosing, did Democratic leaders and their majorities sustain a culture of corruption? Or was that the rational approach, focusing on eradicating the opportunities for clearly documented illicit activities while ignoring certain aspects of the legislative process that some might not like but are hardly corrupt?
Instead of bemoaning what didn’t happen, naysayers might want to look again and see a glass that’s got more in it than anyone would have believed possible this time last year.
Weakening the legislative leaders is a noble cause, and should be done. But, in this context, would a weak House Speaker have been able to stand in Blagojevich’s way for two years, as Michael Madigan did?
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) on Wednesday said the campaign contribution limits legislation signed by Gov. Quinn is a significant victory for Illinois voters and should help reduce the influence wielded by big campaign contributors.
Gov. Quinn, by the way, has a new video where he talks about the past year. Take a look…
Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady responds…
“Today Governor Quinn will sign into law legislation claiming to be a significant victory for ethics reform in the State of Illinois. However, the reality is quite different. Notwithstanding the laudable efforts by numerous citizen reform groups, the legislation does nothing more than enhance the power of those who supported Rod Blagojevich. Notably absent from today’s bill signing is any legislation recommended by Governor Quinn’s Reform Committee Task Force.”
[US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald] not only went after Blagojevich, satisfying the growing political Machine in Illinois that wanted him to leave, but also check-mated Obama. How could Obama replace Fitzgerald in the wake of his taking action against Blagojevich over Obama’s old senate seat without looking like he was protecting “corruption” in Illinois?
Never mind that what Fitzgerald did was wrong. People are innocent until proven guilty in America, but not in Fitzgerald’s eyes. And, there is a process of prosecution that Fitzgerald side-stepped and avoided in going after Blagojevich to protect his own political career in Illinois. Instead of filing charges, Fitzgerald used the Chicago FBI to arrest Blagojevich one year ago at his home not on charges but on trumped up claims thatw ere not backed by evidence at all.
Imagine if the US Attorney can do that anytime he doesn’t like someone? Accuse them of a crime, disgrace them publicly? Say things to disparage someone you don’t like and set up a political movement to have him removed from office and never, ever have to provide one real bit of fair evidence in a court room where the target, Blagojevich, can defend himself?
* Lee Newspapers has more on the story about the planned state budget cuts which we discussed a bit yesterday…
In addition to calling for an increase in the income tax rate, Gov. Pat Quinn is asking some of his state agencies to cut back their spending by as much as 14 percent for next year’s budget.
Quinn won’t present plans for his next budget until the spring. But he wants agencies to begin planning to spend far less than they are this year in order to try to cope with the state’s massive deficit. […]
The planned 14 percent in cuts for next fiscal year would target only agencies of “small and medium” sizes, Kraft said. On the small and medium list sent by Quinn’s office are agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The full statement from the governor’s office…
The State of Illinois is faced with unprecedented budget challenges that will take a vigorous combination of revenue increases, budget cuts, borrowing and help from the federal government in order to come up with a solution. To that end, The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget has reached out to agencies requesting they work to balance their budget with fiscal restraint.
We have asked small and medium agencies to prepare FY11 budget requests at 14% less than their FY10 budget level. The 14% is not a firm directive but rather an analysis, exercise, and request for information as we engage in a deliberative process with our agencies to address the budget crisis while maintaining vital services to our residents. Everything will be examined on a case by case basis.
We realize that some of the larger agencies have overarching issues that will prevent them from examining the 14% reduction. Therefore, we are meeting with the large agency directors over the next few weeks where we will discuss major spending pressures and opportunities for reductions.
I’ve asked for more detail and the governor’s office sent me a list of what they consider to be small, medium and large agencies. Click here to see the xls file.
* The state isn’t the only government hurting in Illinois, of course. Local governments are really feeling the pinch. The Daily Herald editorial board notices the problem today…
A dramatic trend is evident in even a cursory review of Daily Herald pages these days. Everywhere, it seems, communities face the prospect of steep program or service cuts in order to stave off budget deficits.
A teen center in Arlington Heights. Police and firefighters in Hoffman Estates. Maintenance services in a Pingree Grove subdivision. Furloughs in Aurora. Unspecified layoffs in Palatine.
Local communities and schools, clearly, are heir to the same financial ills afflicting public bodies at the county, state and national levels. Ills also suffered, not irrelevantly, by the citizens and taxpayers from whom governments get their sustenance and whom they are bound to serve.
Indeed, we’d argue that you don’t need hindsight to recognize that it may not be the best time to slice the ranks of your police department by 40 positions, including 33 police officers. A full, overlapping patrol shift - noon to 8 p.m. - will be eliminated and investigation of gang crimes will be significantly compromised. Both come when the city’s record for murders may be safe - 19 in 1993 - but not much else is, with 14 homicides so far this year, in a decade that has witnessed as much or more bloodshed, most of it gang- and drug-related, as any in the city’s history. Pulling some funds from rainy-day reserves could have softened this blow. […]
You don’t need hindsight to sense that the city getting out of the animal control business will likely lead to more animals in the streets. We may not see 8,000 more, which is the number scooped up by PAWS in 2008. We may not see an evolutionary new hybrid between dog and cat in the River City, either. But who would be surprised if the county does the minimum required of it by state law next year?
And here’s a round-up of a few of the local budget woe stories in today’s Illinois papers…
* Peoria City Council approves $165.8 million budget: By a 10-1 vote, the council endorsed a spending plan that was once $14.5 million in the red, a deficit that council people called “unprecedented” and one that was closed with the elimination of 69 positions.
Again, that’s just a few of them. Every day we see more and more of these and it’s just impossible to post them all.
And that’s why GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan’s proposal to cut way back on revenue sharing for local governments, which we discussed yesterday, needs to be looked at very carefully.
Pushing the pain down the food chain is a common government practice. It happened quite often in the 1980s. Federal officials could point to their few tax hikes with pride, but everybody else down the line had to raise their taxes to make up for lost revenues. It’s no mere coincidence that local property tax rates skyrocketed and the state income tax was raised twice during that decade.
[McKenna’s proposal] could mean big cuts to state government while only addressing about half of the budget deficit. He didn’t offer specifics about the impact on services and programs. […]
Spending levels likely would need to remain frozen there for three or four years so the state can dig out of “a real deep hole,” said McKenna, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.
That means human services agencies that depend on state money also would have to live with less until the state could generate more funds. Extra money can be found through savings realized from proposed efficiencies like expanding Medicaid managed care and changing the state’s pension system, McKenna said. […]
“It would literally mean throwing people out of supportive services they are currently receiving,” said [Daniel Schwick, assistant to the president of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois], whose agency offers services to families, children, seniors and people with disabilities throughout the state.
The threat of large cuts to social service agencies this year sparked outrage among providers and sent the governor and lawmakers scrambling to avoid them.
McKenna, by the way, claims in his TV ads that the state budget deficit is $11 billion and growing by $30 million a day. If that’s true, then the budget deficit for next fiscal year would be about $22 billion. I asked yesterday for clarification and I’ll update you when I hear more.
* Not good timing, considering the Blagojevich “arrestoversary” and Gov. Quinn’s planned signing of the campaign reform bill today. But this does appear to be an innocent mistake…
The campaign of Gov. Pat Quinn has temporarily halted making automated campaign calls after it came to light that some were going to state office telephones.
The calls to those telephones were inadvertent, said Quinn campaign spokeswoman Elizabeth Austin.
“Apparently some of those calls went to offices because people had used their office numbers instead of their home numbers when they registered to vote,” Austin said, and the automated calls were going to numbers listed on voter registration records.
The calls were stopped as soon as the problem was identified, according to the campaign.
* The video isn’t posted as I write this, but I’m told Gov. Quinn and Comptroller Hynes got more than a little testy with each other during their “debate” before the Tribune editorial board. I’ll post the video when the Trib does.
Quinn said the state’s current pension benefits are “far beyond reasonable” and slammed Hynes for failing to support a so-called “two-tier” pension system as both court unions for endorsements.
“I have the courage to tell the unions I am for a two-tier system. That cost me politically and I know that,” Quinn said. Hynes said he doesn’t believe the current basic pension benefits are extravagant, and he called them important for attracting a qualified work force.
As good as those lines were, Quinn will need those unions in the general election, so he shouldn’t go too far with this.
“We’re in a political contest, there should be robust contest there, robust contest of ideas,” Quinn said. “But to take this [short-term borrowing] issue and politicize it, and he has politicized it, is wrong.”
But Hynes said the state can no longer afford to borrow its way out of the fiscal mess, noting Moody’s Investors Service cited a lack of political willpower to fix the deficit when it downgraded the state’s bond rating Tuesday.
The person who really politicized this issue is Quinn. This was a carefully planned political assault and Quinn goofed by pulling the trigger too soon. If he had waited until Treasurer Giannoulias was on board, the attack on Hynes would’ve been devastating. Instead, the governor looks like a mope.
And you knew this was coming…
“They received 21 letters complaining about that [Burr Oak] cemetery and [the comptroller] failed to properly act,” Quinn said, adding he pushed pending legislation to take cemetery regulation away from Hynes’ office because “it did a lousy job.”
As I’ve written before, if Hynes really closes the gap on Quinn I fully expect a nuclear Burr Oak attack.
* Charles Thomas writes about an interesting little development in the campaign…
A sign that Quinn has lost his campaign balance happened [Monday], when the Governor missed the grand opening of a shelter for homeless veterans on the city’s southside. He stood up former Illinois and now-Federal Veterans Affairs honcho Tammy Duckworth who flew in from Washington for the ceremony.
Quinn, perhaps the hardest-working advocate for veterans you’ll find anywhere in politics, was a no-show because he was held over by west side African-American elected officials who had just endorsed him.
Sources say the black pols had the Governor cornered demanding specifics on minority participation in the $31 billion capital bill Quinn signed last summer. The conventional wisdom is that Quinn cannot win the February 2, 2010 primary without the overwhelming support of African American voters.
* Today’s campaign video is, once again, from Gov. Quinn. It’s about the governor’s endorsement by several West Side politicians. Have a look…
Employers in the Chicago metropolitan area expect to be hiring at a slow pace in the first three months of 2010, with just 8 percent saying they plan to add staff during the quarter, according to a survey unveiled Tuesday by Manpower Inc.
Calling small business the “backbone” of Chicago’s economy, Mayor Daley today unveiled plans to give Ma and Pa companies the capital and regulatory relief they need to survive the prolonged recession.[…]
City Hall has set aside $3.2 million from the Chicago Skyway windfall to provide loans of $10,000 to $150,000 to small businesses through a fund administered by the city treasurer’s office. And $350,000 in parking meter proceeds will be used to leverage another $23 million in small business loans.
The chief judge of Cook County Circuit Court is creating a domestic violence division to try to improve communication among judges and ensure that abuse victims don’t fall through the cracks.
Students at Chicago Public Schools showed little improvement over two years on fourth- and eighth-grade national math tests, despite a push to improve mathematics achievement, federal data released Tuesday indicates.
Overall Chicago public school’s 4th and 8th graders are making small but steady gains. But NAEP’s Andrew Kolstad says in the last two years it’s Chicago’s Hispanic fourth graders making the most progress.
The Tribune reported last month that 10,000 seniors in public high schools magically got there without ever being juniors. That is, they were sophomores, and then they sort of disappeared for a year, and then they popped up as seniors.
They were going to school the whole time. But by fudging their class status when they should have been juniors, their schools shielded them from taking the Prairie State Achievement Exam. The two-day test is given to all juniors and it is used, among other things, to gauge how schools are performing.
Just how much of a direct link does there need to be between a proposal before a government body, an elected official and financial interest before the official needs to step away and recuse himself? These are some questions that have been roiling for Woodford County Board member Terry Pille over the issue of wind farm development.
* I spent way too much time putting this little video together. It’s definitely not the slickest thing you’ll ever see, but I wanted to do something different for the one-year anniversary of Rod Blagojevich’s arrest. Plus, I need the editing practice. Be gentle, please. Have a look…
Governor Pat Quinn will sign a bill Wednesday to cap some political donations for the first time in Illinois.
When the legislature passed the campaign finance bill in October, Quinn called it “excellent,” but said he needed time to review it fully. Quinn’s office confirms he plans to sign the legislation Wednesday. That’s the anniversary of the arrest of his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich.
The bill signing will likely take a back seat to the anniversary coverage, or at least maybe force reporters/pundits to put the reforms into the context of what Blagojevich did, rather than the various vendettas against the Democratic legislative leaders, particularly if Blagojevich ventures out into public again like he did today…
In the midst of federal attempts to re-indict Rod Blagojevich, the former governor suggested today that he wanted to be in court as soon as possible.
“I wish my trial could’ve been held right away,” Blagojevich said to a modest-sized crowd inside a University of Chicago bookstore. “And then I’d still be governor now.” […]
Instead of considering a trial delay, prosecutors will just charge the former governor with something new.
“It’s interesting,” Blagojevich said. “My accusers like to change their story and are now giving another story and another set of circumstances. My story has never changed.”
Yeah, he’d still be governor if his trial was right away. Sure.
Sheesh.
He had a trial in the Senate and he didn’t even bother to show up.
“It’s substantial progress and I think it’ll make a great difference in making elections more competitive in Illinois and more open,” Quinn said this afternoon following an appearance before the Tribune’s editorial board. […]
Quinn said he decided to sign the bill on the anniversary of Blagojevich’s arrest to encourage citizens to look back on the past year and the changes that have been implemented since Blagojevich’s ouster. […]
Quinn said it is “progress” that leaders will face limits in primary elections, but added that the state “should also take a look at them” for the general election.
The governor also claimed “there was not a lot of enthusiasm” for keeping a proposal from the original bill that would’ve prevented the Democratic Party of Illinois from endorsing in primaries, “so I didn’t insist on it.” Speaker Madigan more than implied during the veto session that the governor dropped the subject after Lisa Madigan decided to run for reelection.
A spokesman for state Comptroller Dan Hynes said they were thrilled the organization gave a “stinging rebuke” of the sitting Democratic Governor, Pat Quinn, by not endorsing him.
But Quinn’s office was reportedly happy the union did not endorse Hynes, who has racked up an impressive number of union endorsements for a challenger, including the Illinois Federation of Teachers on Monday.
I’ll have more on this for subscribers tomorrow, but I think Hynes got what he wanted here, and Quinn fumbled what should’ve been a sure thing, but in the end dodged a political bullet.
This morning on the Don Wade & Roma Morning Show on WLS-AM 890, former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger endorsed Dan Proft for Governor in the Republican 2010 primary. […]
“I am proud to endorse Dan Proft’s candidacy for Governor because Proft is the only candidate who has properly diagnosed what afflicts state government and is prescribing the right policy remedies,” said Rauschenberger, who is seeking to regain his old senate seat currently held by State Senator Michael Noland (D-Elgin)
“The other candidates believe we have a management problem in state government. Proft correctly understands that it is a system problem.”
Rauschenberger, a well-respected former member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and lead budget negotiator for the Senate Republicans, cited Proft’s plans to cut taxes and impose statutory spending caps in his endorsement.
In a 12-11 vote, board members narrowly approved a measure that bans the practice of legal video gambling in businesses in unincorporated Kane County.
The measure, of course, applies only to unincorporated areas of the county.
* Also, the US Supreme Court is hearing the “honest services” case today and is asking some tough questions…
They peppered federal government lawyer Michael Dreeben with questions about the so-called honest services law that’s commonly used to prosecute corporate executives for fraud.
Justice Stephen Breyer was particularly forceful, suggesting that under the law a U.S. employee could be charged for going to a baseball game on company time because prosecutors could argue the worker was depriving his employee of honest services.
There are 150 million workers in the United States, Breyer said, and 140 million of them would “fail your test,” he told Dreeben.
Justice Stephen Breyer said he worries that the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law could be used to criminalize huge swathes of the U.S. workforce for such offences as reading The Daily Racing Form on the job.
Justice Antonin Scalia repeatedly criticized the law for being “inherently vague” and said Congress should have been more specific.
He said that not even the Justice Department can figure out exactly what activities the law covers. “I don’t see how you can expect the average citizen to figure it out,” Scalia told the government lawyer.
Justice Anthony Kennedy said vagueness “is the lurking problem here” while Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said lower courts have been “massively confused” about the law’s reach.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the Quinn campaign…
As a former member of the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers, Governor Quinn is honored by the support he has received from organized labor. To date, Governor Quinn’s campaign has received endorsements the Service Employees International Union, the United Auto Workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 25 and several other major unions. Together, the labor groups that have endorsed Governor Quinn represent more than 450,000 hard-working men and women.
Union leaders have praised Governor Pat Quinn’s vision of economic development and his effective leadership in passing Jobs and Growth for Illinois, the state’s first comprehensive public works program in more than a decade. Over the next six years, Illinois Jobs Now! will create and retain more than 439,000 jobs, helping to revive Illinois’ economy.
Throughout his entire career, Governor Quinn has been proud to stand with organized labor, walking picket lines and speaking out when workers’ rights to health coverage, decent work conditions, and fair compensation have been threatened or unfairly taken away.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Comptroller Hynes responds to the Moody’s downgrade…
This report confirms what I’ve long said. Illinois state government’s habit of spending more money than it takes in is harming the state’s ability to rebound from the downturn in the economy, making it more difficult for businesses to thrive, for people to find and keep work and for this state to move forward.
The rating agency obviously took issue with the delay in any meaningful resolution of the state’s fiscal situation until February.
It also confirms that undertaking additional short-term borrowing, when the state already owes $2.25 billion in short-term borrowing, is a bad idea.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the governor’s office…
Moody’s downgraded the State of Illinois’ General Obligation Bonds and Build Illinois Bonds one notch from A1 to A2. This downgrade is the result of the nationwide economic downturn and the long-term mismanagement of the state’s finances. It underscores the urgency for solutions and emphasizes the need to take action immediately.
The Quinn administration has been examining and exhausting every possible remedy to solve the budget crisis. The administration has proposed budget cuts, borrowing, revenue increases, and has asked for help from the federal government. We need everyone to work together and compromise for the common good to come up with solutions to solve this budget crisis.
* We’re running late today because of various breaking news items, so I apologize for that. Anyway, let’s get on with it.
Andy McKenna’s TV ads claim the state is “facing bankruptcy.” McKenna repeated the bankruptcy claim to Greg Hinz today…
Mr. McKenna did not say how he’d persuade state workers unions to get their members to pay more [pension contributions], but added, “The alternative is, we go bankrupt. That’s not good for everybody.”
A judge cannot force a state into bankruptcy, and no state has ever technically declared bankruptcy, even during the height of the Great Depression. We’ve had this discussion several times in comments, but I thought we’d front-page it today.
* The Question: In your opinion, is this a gross misstatement that ought to be corrected by the media and the candidate, or is it no big deal and simply a use of dramatic license? Explain.
VAUGHT: We don’t want people to, to think that this is a minor situation. It’s not. We’ve got some serious problems that involve big numbers. And so we’ve got to plan in double digits. And so to say to agencies ‘we want you to cut 10 percent’ just would not have been realistic.
Vaught says he hopes to save two billion dollars by cutting the budgets of state agencies. He’s also looking at borrowing more money and raising taxes.
If there’s no tax increase, and I’m really doubtful about that, then a 14 percent spending cut will look like chicken feed this time next year.
* Remember last week when Gov. Pat Quinn was trumpeting a positive bond rating from Fitch as evidence that his fiscal stewardship was working?…
Armed with a new AA bond rating from Fitch Rating Service that he says demonstrates the state is a “good credit risk,”
You probably didn’t catch that unless you’re a subscriber. As I told subscribers this week, the Fitch rating was on bonds that are not only secured by the sales tax, but have first dibs on sales tax receipts, so the rating wasn’t exactly a huge deal, nor a direct reflection on Quinn.
Today, though, Moody’s downgraded some debt ahead of the sale of those very same sales tax-backed bonds. Well, I’m wondering what the guv thinks now. This is from Reuters. No link yet, but it’ll pop up soon…
Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded Illinois’ general obligation bond rating to A2 from A1, citing the state’s financial woes.
Moody’s said it also downgraded other Illinois ratings, affecting about $24 billion of outstanding debt, including the state’s Build Illinois sales tax revenue bonds, which were also cut to A2 from A1. […]
As a result, Moody’s also revised the outlook for the state’s GO and related ratings to negative, “reflecting the continuing likelihood of large structural budget deficits, growing negative year-end fund balances, strained operating fund liquidity and mounting pressure from pension and retiree health benefit obligations.”
Moody’s said Illinois identified an $11.6 billion budget gap–a $4.3 billion deficit for the latest year and a projected $7.3 billion one for the current year–when the firm began its review of the state’s ratings five months ago. That $11.6 billion gap accounted for more than a third of the state’s expenditures last fiscal year and was one of the largest among U.S. states.
Making matters worse, the governor’s proposal in March to address the gap this fiscal year by raising tax rates by half and reforming pensions failed to win support in the legislature
* Meanwhile, in other news, perhaps the idea that the state’s legalizing of video poker will take the Outfit out of the picture will gain a little bit of media traction now that the Sun-Times is reporting that a federal investigation is afoot…
A federal investigation of mob-backed video poker machines is now under way in the Bridgeport neighborhood, sources have told the Chicago Sun-Times and NBC5 News.
Yeah, it’s the mayor’s old neighborhood, so that’ll probably dominate the news. But there’s much in the Sun-Times story worth keeping in mind when you decide it’s OK by you to maintain the status quo. For instance…
Authorities believe the video poker machines, which produce illegal payouts, tie back to the operation of the late Joseph “Shorty” LaMantia, a top lieutenant in the 26th Street Crew.
LaMantia, in turn, worked under Frank Calabrese Sr., who was convicted in 2007 in the historic Family Secrets trial, involving 18 unsolved mob murders. Calabrese, Joseph Lombardo and three others were found guilty on racketeering and conspiracy charges.
Prohibition enriched mobsters beyond their wildest dreams. Heck, we’re still seeing the effects of it today. Calabrese belongs to the same outfit Al Capone once perfected.
What the Sun-Times editorial board and others are missing is that the current quasi-legal machines can only operate under a special state amusement license. Those licenses expire as soon as the new legalization program kicks off. If tavern owners keep the unlicensed machines, the machines can be seized and destroyed. No more need for long, expensive investigations of possible illegal payouts. They’re just gone.
* As I’ve already told subscribers today, the Illinois AFL-CIO has decided to remain neutral in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Hynes’ press release just arrived, so I figured it was time the rest of you heard the news…
In a major rebuke to a sitting Democratic governor, particularly one who touts his dubious record on job creation, the Illinois AFL-CIO chose today not to make an endorsement in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor. The federation of Illinois labor organizations voted 58-42 in favor of challenger Dan Hynes.
“Rather than offering the expected formality of endorsing the sitting Democratic governor, the Illinois AFL-CIO today instead issued Pat Quinn a stinging rebuke by opting not to make an endorsement in the race for the Democratic nomination,” Hynes campaign communications director Matt McGrath said. “Make no mistake, this is a direct reflection of the Governor’s lack of leadership and inability to create jobs. No matter how many ribbon cuttings Pat Quinn attends and takes credit for, the working men and women who actually build and repair our communities and infrastructure clearly know better.” […]
“The events of recent days add up to one thing: more and more people are alert to the fact that Dan Hynes has the vision and the ideas to lead our state forward, and our campaign has real momentum,” McGrath said. “The budget continues to be a mess and unemployment is at record highs, and Dan is the one candidate offering real solutions, with the record and competence to see it through.”
I’ve asked the governor’s campaign for a response and will post it here as soon as it arrives. SEIU and some other big unions have gone with Quinn, so the governor should’ve had the advantage, particularly since he’s an incumbent governor who signed the first capital bill into law since George Ryan’s days.
Quinn said he was “disappointed” he didn’t get the teachers’ backing.
“You always want to try to get every endorsement you can,” he said.
As the campaigns march toward the February primary, another plum teachers’ union endorsement is still up for grabs: the 133,000-member Illinois Education Association. If the union makes an endorsement, it won’t be until after a January board of directors meeting, said union spokesman Charles McBarron.
The IEA often stays out of statewide primaries, but this is a hot one and it’s always possible they could jump in. Stay tuned.
When you consider how much Stroger’s father, John Stroger, stuck his neck out for Daley when Daley needed it the most, the about-face is nothing short of appalling.
The elder Stroger stuck his neck out for Daley time and time again. I agree that there’s a serious debt there that can never be fully repaid, but John Stroger was county board president for quite a while and the son was dragged across the finish line and given every chance to prove himself. He screwed up. Debts only last so long, particularly political debts to somebody who had nothing to do with the original debt and who has so thoroughly screwed up his family’s formerly solid name.
There were a couple of interesting moments, however. Alexi Giannoulias’ campaign has hired Georgia Logothetis, better known as former front-page DKos blogger “Georgia10.” Logothetis and other Giannoulias backers were fully engaged during the discussion, rebutting Hoffman’s polling claims and posting Giannoulias’ positions on various issues. Hoffman’s campaign did the same to Giannoulias over at DKos last Saturday, so turnabout was fair play, I suppose.
The other item of interest to me was finding out that Hoffman has hired former Democratic congressional candidate John Laesch, who ran against former Speaker Denny Hastert and lost and then lost the Democratic special primary to Bill Foster. As longtime blog readers know, I’m not exactly a fan. He’s also probably looking for a little revenge on Giannoulias, whose endorsement of Foster inspired this Laesch retort…
Laesch shrugged off Giannoulias’ endorsement, calling him “just a wealthy guy who bought himself an office.”
“Abraham Lincoln, I don’t know if you know this, he didn’t [free the slaves] for the right reason, social justice. He just did it because so many white people were out of work because they couldn’t compete with slave labor.”
* Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan used some extreme rhetoric when talking about tax hikes to the Tribune editorial board yesterday…
Ryan, the former attorney general and DuPage County prosecutor who lost as the GOP governor nominee to Blagojevich in 2002, maintained that “to raise taxes during this recession is criminal.”
Asked for specific cuts in the state budget to eliminate the deficit, Ryan said “I don’t know if I can get there exactly,” though he joined the others in proposing reduced pension benefits for future state workers and instituting a managed health care program for the poor. But Ryan also said he would “cut aid to municipalities—at least reduce it if not eliminate it.”
You’d think if a tax hike was “criminal,” you’d have a plan to keep the awful event from ever happening.
Ryan added that cutting revenues to local governments “will put them on a diet and also save us money.” They’re already starving, so that’ll be one heckuva diet.
As we’ve already discussed, two years ago Ryan was supporting a big tax increase, but times change, and people decide to run for office. Also, he’s no longer listed as a board member of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, which still supports a tax hike despite the recession.
* Ryan’s remarks were made during the Tribune’s infamous closed-door editorial board candidate debates. In the past, they’ve posted audio of the debates, but I didn’t see anything online for the GOP gubernatorial hopefuls. Here’s a bit more…
Adam Andrzejewski, a Hinsdale businessman, said he would go further than the others on proposing pension reforms, vowing to take responsibility for retirement programs away from lawmakers and the governor and turn it over to each agency or local government.
I’m not sure what “each agency” means. But could that mean the State Board of Education would control the teachers’ pension fund? Yeah, that’ll work.
More…
McKenna criticized Dillard and Brady did the same to Schillerstrom over the DuPage County politicians’ backing of higher sales taxes for regional mass transit — a move likened to the unpopular sales tax imposed under Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. “You’re from downstate,” Schillerstrom, a Naperville resident, told Brady. “You didn’t have to worry when the trains stop running.”
Similarly, despite all the red ink in Springfield, he’d repeal the sales tax on gasoline, eliminate much of the estate tax and repeal business-tax hikes pushed through by ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich — a total of about $1 billion a year in revenues.
Mr. Brady says such steps would pay for themselves by reviving the state’s moribund economy, thereby generating more taxes.
The last time gas taxes were cut, it didn’t result in a spike in receipts as some had promised.
* Back to Jim Ryan for a moment. The candidate told ABC7 recently that he believes “most people in Springfield are good people. Most people in politics are good people.” But, he added, that the Democrats have failed and claimed “Honestly, I don’t think representative government works in Illinois. It doesn’t. Because I don’t know who they’re representing. They’re not representing me. They’re not representing you. Who, exactly, are they representing?” Take a look…
* Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Bill Brady begins running his first TV ad today. I’m not sure yet how many points are behind it. But, let’s go ahead and rate it…
Caterpillar Inc.’s new parts distribution plant in Clayton, Ohio, will result in some jobs moving from its logistics center in Morton and will replace the company’s regional distribution center in Indianapolis, the company said Monday.
About 170 material specialist positions will move from Morton to Clayton when the new $65 million, 1 million square foot plant opens in 2011.
* More firms plan layoffs than hires in early ‘10, study says
Employment services firm Manpower Inc. found that among companies it surveyed in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area, 16% plan to cut payroll during the first three months of the year. Just 8% plan to add workers, the outlook survey showed.
Households that earn less than $200,000 a year can get up to $200 back. Mayor Richard Daley is paying for the $35 million program with money from the controversial parking meter lease.
Chicago will dole out $35 million in property tax relief on the honor system, but only to a point: One of every 50 applicants will be required to produce their 2008 income tax returns.
Mayor Daley’s nephew Robert Vanecko says he no longer has a financial stake in a real estate investment firm he co-founded that got deals to manage $68 million for five city pension funds.
Not only will Democrat Carolyn Gardner get her 9th District seat on the Winnebago County Board on Thursday, she’ll be paid $7,500 for the year the Illinois Supreme Court said she should have served but couldn’t because Republican appointee Ted Biondo was holding down the fort.
Homeless people are more likely to be sick and have higher rates of chronic illness, placing them at the top of the priority list for receiving the H1N1 vaccination, experts say. But they are also far less likely to take such a preventive measure.
