Question of the day - Golden Horseshoe Awards
Monday, Dec 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Democratic State Representative goes to Rep. Elaine Nekritz…
For those of us exasperated by legislators who play it safe and duck tough issues to get re-elected, she shows another way to lead.
Rep. Nekritz has proven that an elected official can boldly make tough choices, stand up as a responsible guardian of the state and be re-elected. Regardless, she just couldn’t be any other way.
She’s immensely loved in her district, and takes on the most pressing issues in the state with grace, intelligence, stamina and the kind of optimism that comes from being capable and reliable.
As evidence, she has taken on: pension reform, led the finding of fact for the Derrick Smith expulsion, and got a bill through the House to allow the recording of on-duty police officers.
She voted to raise taxes because it had to be done, but then also was one of the only legislators to vote for facility closures because it had to be done. (Even the “cut-all-government” Republicans could not bring themselves to do that.) Without blinking an eye, she is openly smart-on-crime and supportive of criminal justice reform.
Her campaign slogan was “She’s honestly different” and it is the honest truth
* Runner-up goes to Rep. Greg Harris…
Greg Harris IS a star. Harris understands the Process, can convey that Process to his District Constituents, and to Groups that Greg is advocating, all the while working the “levers” to get the task at hand completed.
Greg Harris is a work horse that has the temperature of the General Assembly clocked like few do. Harris can count noses. Harris knows where “noses” can be had, and works hard to build coalitions, not just voting blocks, to ensure whatever he is advocating has the necessary support to give the votes a valid foundation to withstand scrutiny.
While some may disagree with Greg Harris, they all know it will be difficult to outwork him on an issue, and almost impossible to outmanuever him, as Harris has an exceptional grasp of the workings of the General Assembly and the complete understanding of the interworkings of the politics of Springfield.
Freshman members coming in January would be very wise to talk to this “STAR” who passed “rising” a while back.
Freshman Rep. Kelly Cassidy got a lot of votes and earns an honorable mention.
* The Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Republican State Representative goes to Rep. Jim Durkin…
Being in the Minority Party in any legislative body, it is difficult at times to be seen as “shining” or “the best” when you may be shut out of your goals. So, looking for Outstanding state Representative, Republican, you may have to look at different criteria.
Jim Durkin is seen, and known, as the person his Caucus looks to for leadership, be it as a Manager during the Smith removal, or as the touchstone for his Caucus as they advocate the “counter” to the House Majority.
Durkin is known to be a strong advocate for those who need a voice. As a legislator, Jim Durkin has leaned on his Prosecutor’s background to give clarity to muddied issues when emotions run high.
Jim Durkin’s leadership on the policy of the Caucus is seen in the manner the Caucus looks to make the arguement, especially when discussing Criminal Law. And it is not surprising that you will find others sitting across the aisle asking Jim Durkin’s opinion.
Jim Durkin has earned this Golden Horseshoe for the hard work and dedication he has shown. As Jim Durkin sits in the Minority, a vast majority of members, sitting on both sides of the aisle, look to Jim Durkin to get the benefit of his counsel, and his knowledge that has benefitted the entire House, not just the House Republicans.
* Runner-up is Rep. David Harris…
Harris has been out front on budget negotiations, and on pension reform, and focuses not on political party loyalty or leadership, but rather on what will work for the state. He used to try to negotiate between Sunni, Shia, and Kurd factions in Baghdad. That’s almost prepared him for dealing in Springfield.
* OK, on to today’s categories…
* Best Democratic State Senator
* Best Republican State Senator
Make sure to fully explain your vote or I won’t even bother to count your nomination. Thanks.
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Committee launches Schock probe
Monday, Dec 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The US House Ethics Committee announced Friday that it’s investigating Congressman Aaron Schock…
The chairman and ranking member of the House Ethics Committee, in making the disclosure Friday, said the panel would “announce its course of action” on or before next Jan. 28.
Steve Dutton, Schock’s spokesman, told the Tribune that the ethics review involved super PAC money.
That appeared to refer to reports that Schock solicited a $25,000 contribution from Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s political action committee to help fund a super PAC that favored Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., in a March primary against Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill.
The Federal Election Commission is examining that conduct because federal officeholders may seek a maximum donation of $5,000 for a super PAC.
* Schock talked to his home town paper…
In an interview Friday evening, Schock described the news as frustratingly routine.
“When somebody files a complaint against you, it takes several years to go through the process,” the Peoria Republican said, noting “it’s not a new complaint, it’s not a new report,” but merely the next phase of an ongoing investigation.
He said the issue relates to the $25,000 donation he sought from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to a super PAC aiding Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Manteno during his successful primary campaign against Rep. Don Manzullo of Egan. […]
A similar complaint with the Federal Election Commission by two good-government groups — Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center — claims Schock was only allowed by law to seek a $5,000 donation.
* More…
Ethics officials would not discuss whether the super PAC was a focus of the investigation — or the sole focus. Schock also has come under scrutiny over his spending of campaign money for meals and hotels. Dutton said, however, the probe had nothing to do with Schock’s campaign spending, including a hotel bill from Greece that was reported this year by a watchdog group.
After Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington detailed Schock’s use of campaign dollars, he reimbursed his war chest for a $1,136 stay in 2009 at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, a luxury hotel in Athens. Federal election law does not allow the use of campaign money for vacations.
At the time of CREW’s disclosure, Schock aide Steven Shearer called payment for the Greek hotel a “mistake.” He said a credit card receipt for the hotel had erroneously been “included with a stack of other legitimate campaign expenses.”
Man, that Greek hotel will make one heckuva TV ad if Schock runs for governor.
Your thoughts on all of this?
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Today’s number: $16.2 million
Monday, Dec 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Crain’s…
Commonwealth Edison Co. spent big — very big — to win passage last year of its controversial “smart grid” law. The act permits the electric utility to raise its rates annually via a formula as it pursues a 10-year, $2.6 billion grid modernization program featuring smart meters in every home and business.
ComEd may be back in Springfield, lobbying lawmakers to force state utility regulators to interpret the law more favorably to the utility and boost its revenue further.
* And the accompanying chart…
Ameren’s expenses were $3.4 million.
Keep in mind that lobbying expenses are not directly financed by ratepayers.
* Related…
* Cable TV, satellite TV industries embroiled in fight over fees
* Illinois rings up $1M from video gambling in November
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Who invented Squeezy?
Monday, Dec 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kurt Erickson filed a FOIA request in an attempt to find out who in the governor’s office came up with the Squeezy the Pension Python idea. He had mixed results…
According to a review of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, “Squeezy the Pension Python” first appeared in an email exchange between top Quinn aides in mid-September.
It was kept under wraps for two months until the governor’s office unveiled his so-called “grass roots” education effort in November.
The records don’t show much else, however. The birth of “Squeezy” was apparently so secretive that Quinn’s attorneys blocked out information that might reveal exactly who came up with the concept.
We can tell you this: The first email to mention the name “Squeezy” came from one of Quinn’s longtime sidekicks: Claude Walker.
Walker served with Quinn during his days as state treasurer and rejoined his old boss in 2010 to head a new program designed to promote the state’s waterways. I dubbed Walker the state’s “canoe czar” and the name stuck. […]
Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson says the creation of “Squeezy” was a team effort.
Anderson then went on to throw former budget director David Vaught under the bus because Vaught used the term “squeeze” to describe the pension impact on the state budget.
* Related…
* Shifting the cost of teachers’ pensions could lead to cuts
* Illinois’ really big fiscal crisis: infrastructure expenses: If Illinois’ enormous pension costs trouble your sleep, the even bigger tab for fixing the state’s infrastructure will keep you up all night. The crumbling highways, rail lines, bridges and water systems that underpin our economy will need more than $300 billion in repairs over the next 30 years, according to a report released by the Civic Federation of Chicago a few weeks ago. The figure is in line with estimates by other groups that have studied the issue.
* Whitley: Big policy issues facing state in 2013
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A look ahead
Monday, Dec 17, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told subscribers this morning, the Poynter Institute put together a very informative page for journalists about school shootings. Click here to read it and an accompanying piece about covering mental health issues before you read my weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Before Friday’s horrific school shooting in Connecticut, people on both sides of Illinois’ concealed-carry debate were saying privately that they did not expect Attorney General Lisa Madigan to appeal her major loss at the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court in Chicago voted 2-1 to declare Illinois’ strict laws on carrying guns unconstitutional and gave the General Assembly 180 days to come up with a new, less restrictive law.
“A right to bear arms … implies a right to carry a loaded gun outside the home,” the majority opinion decreed, saying Illinois had failed to show that bans on concealed carry and other restrictions on gun owners had any positive effect.
Appealing the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court could be harmful to the anti-gun cause, both sides admitted last week. New York’s wealthy, influential and strongly anti-gun mayor, Michael Bloomberg, could oppose an appeal out of fear that the conservative Supreme Court justices wouldn’t preserve New York’s law, which allows him to keep most concealed guns off the city’s streets.
Other states that allow limited concealed carry, such as Maryland and California, will also probably oppose an appeal for the same reason. They don’t trust that the Supreme Court would uphold their restrictive laws.
This isn’t to say that Madigan won’t appeal. Her office has been publicly silent since last week’s appeals court ruling. In the wake of the grade school massacre, she may feel increasing pressure to file an appeal. Then again, she could just kick this to the General Assembly.
The National Rifle Association claims it has enough votes to block any attempt to enact a concealed-carry law in Illinois that is, in its opinion, too restrictive. Proposals to require million-dollar insurance policies, difficult training procedures or other significant restrictions are “off the table,” Todd Vandermyde, the NRA’s lobbyist, said.
There’s no doubt that the pro-gun side has built clear majorities in both chambers in favor of concealed carry. A ruling from Madigan’s father, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), however, required the pro-gunners to find three-fifths majorities because the legislation would override local ordinances. The NRA is just shy of that in the House and barely at the threshold in the Senate.
But the NRA’s majorities were built on promises to restrict the right to carry guns to specific places and to mandate strenuous training. Schools would be off limits, for instance. Training would be required to obtain a gun permit. Those provisions were put into the last bill the NRA pushed as a way to attract more votes.
The question now becomes whether the NRA can hold on to its majorities in the Legislature in the face of a strong and panicked push by the other side to pass a restrictive bill in line with last week’s court opinion. The ruling specifically mentioned as reasonable keeping guns out of schools, government buildings and businesses that don’t want them and further stated that “a person who carries a gun in public but is not well trained in the use of firearms is a menace to himself and others.”
But Vandermyde said gun-rights supporters came out of the woodwork after the appeals court decision was handed down. He claimed that several black legislators had previously confided that they’d like to vote for concealed carry but couldn’t. Now, Vandermyde said, many of them pledged to side with the NRA.
The NRA’s coalition may be tough to hold together, however, if Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn, Speaker Madigan and the strongly anti-gun Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) team up to pass a restrictive concealed-carry bill. Several legislators who might like to support concealed carry also have jobs with the city and state or have loved ones who do.
But the NRA and Vandermyde don’t actually have to pass a bill. They just have to make sure that the other side cannot. And anyone who has been around the legislation process for more than a minute knows that killing a bill is always a lot easier than passing one.
If the NRA successfully delays legislative action until the 180-day time limit has passed, then, barring any further delays, the state’s current gun restrictions would be declared unenforceable.
Despite last week’s mass shooting, I wouldn’t bet too much money against the gun guys at the moment.
* And gun control wasn’t even mentioned in last weekend’s Democratic 2nd Congressional District slating attempt, which irked Dan Mihalopoulos…
If the Democratic bosses had bothered to ask some questions about gun control, they might have found more reason to sort out a favorite.
State Sen. Toi Hutchinson of Olympia Fields voted with the National Rifle Association’s positions 92 percent of the time and has enjoyed the Illinois State Rifle Association’s endorsement. Rival Deborah Halvorson, a former congresswoman from Crete, also had NRA backing.
At the other end of the spectrum were Robin Kelly (a lifetime grade of F from the NRA for her votes while a state lawmaker) and the pistol-packing Trotter (only voted with the pro-gun lobby 33 percent of the time).
The top three trending topics on Twitter on Saturday were Newtown, #NRA and #GunLawsAreAJoke. But will the anger over the shootings and at the rise in gun violence in Chicago be sustained? Will it translate into Democratic voters who demand to know the gun-control positions of the candidates before the Feb. 26 primary?
They clearly can’t leave that job to Beavers or to the party bosses.
* Related…
* Lisa Madigan’s political aspirations could hinge on concealed carry
* Oh, murder tree - Oh, murder tree…
* Editorial: A gun battle worth fighting
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Reader comments closed for the weekend
Friday, Dec 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Even though comments are now closed, you can continue voting for best House members throughout the weekend. You won’t be able to see the comments, but I will.
* No video this week. Today’s horrible shootings in Connecticut make musical joy seem almost vulgar.
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Question of the day - Golden Horseshoe Awards
Friday, Dec 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Steve Brown Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Government Spokesperson goes to Joe Tybor at the Illinois Supreme Court…
The Supreme Court finally allowed cameras in the courtroom this year and Tybor has been everywhere working with media and judges to make the experiment work. He’s getting good coverage for the court, but also helped develop a working cameras policy in Illinois. No one else has had as much influence as a spokesman.
Tybor’s work will have a lasting impact on Illinois, so he wins hands down.
* Runner-up is John Patterson with the Senate Democrats…
He “came over to the dark side” from a successful career in journalism, so he understands how reporters tick. That’s been invaluable for the Sen Dems - and will be even more important with all those new members needing to make a name for themselves with the statehouse press corps. John has a quick wit but is always respectful of other people and their time. He may be paid to put a spin on things, but he still goes out of his way to get the story right and make sure his staff puts out top-quality work.
* For the second year in a row, the Golden Horseshoe for Best Campaign Staff Director goes to Will Cousineau. He was a clear commenter favorite. Oswego Willy summed it up well…
My vote goes to Will Cousineau. While Will might not be the best cheerleader, therapist, marriage counselor and drinking buddy, what Will is really, really, good at … is winning.
Will “owned” the HGOP Senoir Staff, threw the “Fire Madigan” back at the HGOP and beat the HGOP Senior staff like a drum. Will had twice as many seats than the SDems to worry about, and Will ran circles around his HGOP counterpart.
When you are Senior Staff, you don’t get Participatory Trophies , you win Seats.
Will Cousineau appears to understand that better than some. Not taking anything away from SDems, as a whole or the leadership, but Will Cousineau ran as perfect of a cycle to defeat his opponents as you can.
* Brendan O’Sullivan was a very, very close second place…
Brendan O’Sullivan was responsible for picking up 40 seats for the Senate Dems - a truly historic feat in modern Illinois politics. It was only his first cycle in charge of the Senate Dems, and he was able lead his team to win where they never had before, as well as fend off challenges that most thought were foregone conclusions. It wasn’t just the map or the President at the top of the ticket - and it was flat-out hard work. And he did it all with a level-head and easy-going manner. Hands down, he is to be one of the true rising stars in this business.
* And now for today’s categories…
* Best Illinois State Representative - Republican
* Best Illinois State Representative - Democrat
As always, remember that this is about the intensity of your vote. A simple name won’t suffice. Please explain your nominations as fully as you can.
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But…
Friday, Dec 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A new study conducted for the Illinois Chamber claims that fracking could bring big bucks and lots of jobs to Illinois…
Hydraulic fracturing in Southern Illinois has the potential to create more than 47,000 jobs and more than $9.5 billion in economic impact, according to a study released Thursday by the Illinois Chamber Foundation.
The study, conducted over the last four months, is the first of its kind to focus entirely on the state’s potential with regard to increased horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the chamber said. The study, based on the potential of the state’s New Albany shale field, was administered by economist David Loomis, a professor at Illinois State University.
Laying out three possible scenarios for exploring natural gas production — low, medium and high — Mr. Loomis determined a range of economic outcomes that could benefit Illinois based on the amount of labor and equipment supplied from inside and outside the state.
But…
Illinois Geological Survey Director Don McKay cautioned that the formation may never be capable of producing a boom, based on the work of the agency’s recently retired expert on the subject, David Morse.
“His assessment is that our New Albany Shale resource in Illinois probably doesn’t contain a lot of gas,” McKay said. “Our shale because of its geological history was not subjected to the high temperatures for the long range of time that would be required.”
And…
Chamber member Tom Wolf said the business group hopes lawmakers consider those potential effects as they work on Senate Bill 3280. The legislation would set up regulations for hydraulic fracturing, which detractors call fracking, and other drilling techniques that would be used to explore the New Albany formation.
“The industry’s at the table because they want a road map that helps them in the long term,” Wolf said, adding that the oil and gas industry hopes to talk the state out of setting fees to mitigate wear and tear on roads and impacts on the environment before it knows what the formation might produce. “What I’m trying to avoid is impact fees and taxes based on the hope that this (drilling) will come about and that would scare people away.”
* Moody’s lowered Illinois’ credit outlook from “stable” to “negative” yesterday…
“The negative outlook reflects our view that the state’s pension funding pressures are likely to persist and perhaps worsen in the near term,” Moody’s said in its report. “Moreover, fiscal 2014 marks the last year before Illinois’ 2011 income tax increases are partly unwound, putting the state on track to deal with simultaneous growth in pension funding needs and loss of revenue.”
Moody’s also pointed out that any steps likely to be taken to reform the pension system will almost certainly be challenged because the state’s constitution protects retiree benefits.
But Moody’s kept the state’s abysmal rating in place. This was mainly just a warning shot across the General Assembly’s bow ahead of the January lame duck session.
* We covered this yesterday…
Gay marriage supporters said Thursday they are “within striking distance” of passing a bill that for the first time would let same-sex couples be legally wed in Illinois. […]
The two Chicago Democrats said they plan to put up the same-sex marriage bill for a vote, and they indicated they wouldn’t do that without believing it would pass. It’s a tough vote for some lawmakers to take.
But…
The move carried the practical effect of mobilizing gay activists to lobby lawmakers over the holidays but also represented a tossing down of the gauntlet on the issue, revving up opponents for an intense battle. […]
[Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois] knew of no lawmakers whose positions had switched from opposition to support of gay marriage
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* Uh-oh…
Five days after Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from Congress, his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson, filed a series of amendments to her ward committee’s campaign fund, revealing dozens of previously undisclosed transactions that went back three years. That includes at least $13,000 in previously undisclosed transfers from her husband’s congressional account into her ward organization account, a Sun-Times review of campaign records show.
Among the undisclosed transactions shown in the amended reports were monthly transfers of $1,250 to his wife’s 7th Ward Independent Political Organization — or SWIPO. In a federal disclosure, Rep. Jackson’s campaign fund indicates a $1,250 payment to SWIPO is for rent — he and his wife share campaign office space on Chicago’s South Side. However, the 7th Ward disclosure did not list the purpose of the $1,250 transfers. […]
Some of the corrected reports now indicate negative balances — something that an official with the Illinois State Board of Elections said could result in a review.
In the second quarter of 2011, for instance, the committee originally filed a report showing nearly $12,000 cash on hand. The amended report showed the committee was actually $7,000 under water. It also did not originally disclose $3,750 in transfers from Jesse Jackson Jr.’s congressional fund.
Typically, negative balances call for follow-up from the board of elections.
“It’s something that we would potentially put an inquiry out to the political committee to see what the circumstances were behind this,” said Andy Nauman, deputy director of the division of campaign disclosure with the State Board of Elections.
* From a notation on a few of her amended reports…
To Whom It May Concern, Per our recent conversations, I am amending this file to reflect corrections made to this report reflecting contributions and disbursements that were not included in the original report due to staff transitions and computer error.
* Her amended reports are a mess. For example, on her original report for the first quarter of 2011, she listed $29,720.00 in total receipts. And this was her fund balance…
* In her amended report, Jackson listed $20,060.00 in total receipts and listed this as her fund balance…
I could go on, but like I said, her reports are a total mess. And I don’t think the amended reports really cleared this up.
* Meanwhile, Mark Brown thinks Sen. Donne Trotter’s days as a candidate are numbered…
Getting the party’s endorsement, though, was probably Trotter’s only chance of winning, and if he fails in that regard Saturday, you’d expect him to rethink his candidacy and concentrate on his legal problems. He probably should anyhow.
Trotter’s court case was continued until Jan. 17, and Durkin predicted Cook County prosecutors will seek to have him indicted in the meantime. Durkin argues somewhat persuasively that Trotter should not have been charged with a felony because he didn’t know he was carrying the gun in his luggage.
I tend to believe that, although I find absolutely preposterous Trotter’s claim that he had the gun because he’d been working late the previous night as a security guard.
If he seriously wants to run for Congress, he is going to have to explain why he was carrying that gun — without his lawyer at his side.
I don’t disagree.
* This won’t help, either…
During a speech last month at the Roseland Business Development Council banquet, Trotter dropped a derogatory term to describe some of his white legislative colleagues.
“I always tell people I know a cr—– when I see one, and there’s a lot of cr—–s in Springfield, a lot of them,” he says on a video recording of the event. […]
Trotter, speaking to Tucker Thursday, says he doesn’t think the word is derogatory. The Southern Illinois native says the word refers to anyone “who’s oppressing, someone that’s fighting you, keeping you from raising yourself up.”
Pressed about who in the Legislature he was referring to, Trotter said he wasn’t thinking of anyone specific and the term doesn’t automatically refer to a white person.
“There were no specific faces that I was putting to the word,” he said. “I was talking about people who do not support our interests.”
The dictionary says the word comes “from the sound a whip makes (when used by a slave master)” and is “a mildly offensive word for white people.”
Told that some people in his district were offended by his use of the term, Trotter said, “Then I apologize for that. That certainly was not the intent.”
The word he used, by the way, was “cracker.” I’ve never seen that word censored out of a TV broadcast before.
* And there may be some internal disagreement on President Preckwinkle’s staff…
A member of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s cabinet has resigned to devote her time and energy to running for the 2nd District Congressional seat vacated by Jesse Jackson Jr.
Robin Kelly, who was Preckwinkle’s chief administrative officer, had told the Sun-Times she had planned to take a leave of absence, but in a Dec. 7th letter to Preckwinkle, Kelly stated she “will be resigning my position as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), effective immediately to run for Congress…”
Asked whether Preckwinkle called for or suggested the resignation in light of Kelly’s bid for Congress, Preckwinkle spokesman Kristen Mack stated in an email: “Robin chose to resign to fully commit to running her congressional campaign.”
* Related…
* Hotline Sort: Democrats Huddle Over Jackson
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Wade and Roma retire from WLS
Friday, Dec 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I didn’t always agree with them, I intensely disliked the way they fawned over Rod Blagojevich, but, man, I hate to see anybody get sick like this…
Veteran radio star Don Wade and his wife and radio partner, Roma, are stepping down from their morning show to focus on Wade’s health, the couple announced Thursday.
Wade, 71, has been battling brain cancer. The couple went off the air from their WLS-AM (890) show three months ago when he started undergoing treatment for the brain tumor.
Love them or not, they were an institution and more often than not a whole lot of fun to listen to. Sad times.
* Proft will keep his gig…
Bruce Wolf and Dan Proft, who had been filling in for the Wades, will continue as hosts of the 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. morning show, according to a statement released by Cumulus Media.
“We are pleased to pass the morning show gauntlet to two of our favorite WLS hosts: Dan Proft who was a regular feature on our show [“Pundit” and “Fundit”] long before he ran for governor, and crazy Bruce Wolf who brings the perfect balance to start your day on WLS,” the couple said. “We like to think we hand-picked our great replacements. They are terrific!”
I want you to be very careful in comments here. Be respectful or I’ll ban you. I mean it.
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Alvarez complains about “60 Minutes” story
Friday, Dec 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is miffed about a story aired by “60 Minutes” last Sunday which portrayed her in a harsh light…
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez called a recent “60 Minutes” report on false confessions in the Chicago area a “misrepresentation of the facts” and sent a letter to the chairman of CBS News.
Byron Pitts interviewed Alvarez six months ago for the segment “Chicago: The False Confession Capital,” a piece about Cook County leading the nation in false confessions that aired nationally Sunday night on CBS. It featured high-profile murder cases where teenage boys falsely confessed and were later exonerated by DNA evidence.
More…
One particularly damaging portion of the interview involved the Dixmoor Five case in which five men were convicted as teens of the 1991 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found on a path. DNA linked a serial rapist to the crime and undermined confessions from the teens. They were cleared in 2011 after spending years in prison.
Alvarez explained in the interview that one possible explanation for the DNA was necrophilia — that the rapist had sex with the girl after she’d already been killed.
That answer — which was roundly mocked in blogs and news critiques — was misconstrued, Alvarez said in the letter. She wrote that the necrophilia theory was used at trial years before she had any involvement in the case.
“I have never advanced that theory or argument, but simply responded, when asked by Mr. Pitts, that we can’t say with certainty what had occurred,” Alvarez wrote. “This story was not designed to inform, it was designed to undermine me and mislead the public.”
She said more than that. The actual exchange…
Narration: In the case of Robert Taylor, Jonathan Barr and James Harden, DNA found inside the 14-year-old victim Catteresa Matthews was also retested, and a match was made to Willie Randolph, a 34-year-old convicted rapist, with 39 arrests. (Innocence Project Defense attorney) Peter Neufeld says prosecutors rejected the DNA evidence and instead came up with an unusual theory to explain it all away.
Peter Neufeld: They suggest perhaps after the kids killed her this man wandered by and committed an act of necrophilia.
Byron Pitts: Necrophilia. A lot of our viewers won’t know what that means.
Peter Neufeld: Having sex with a dead person.
Anita Alvarez: It’s possible. We have seen cases like that.
Byron Pitts: Possible?
Anita Alvarez: It is. We’ve seen it in other cases.
Byron Pitts: It’s possible that this convicted rapist, wandered past an open field, and had sex with a 14-year-old girl who was dead?
Anita Alvarez: Well, there’s all kinds of possibilities out there, and what I’m saying is that I don’t know what happened.
* But here’s the problem with Alvarez’s protests. She had an opportunity to support a common sense change in the law this year which would’ve probably prevented the false convictions of the Dixmoor Five.
A bill was introduced in February which would’ve likely prevented some confessions by juveniles without the benefit of counsel from being used in prosecutions of those minors as adults…
Provides that an oral, written, or sign language statement of a minor who, at the time of the commission of the offense was under the age of 17 years, made as a result of a custodial interrogation conducted at a police station or other place of detention shall be presumed to be inadmissible as evidence against the minor in any criminal proceeding, for an act that if committed by an adult would be homicide or would be driving under the influence that was the proximate cause of death of another person unless the minor was allowed to consult with and have access to counsel throughout the entire custodial interrogation.
* From a fact sheet circulated by the proponents…
In the last four months, Cook County has vacated the convictions of eleven men. Nine African American children were wrongfully convicted and served a total of 145 years in prison for rape/murders they did not commit. Seven of those nine children falsely confessed to these crimes and these confessions were used to obtain their convictions. If this bill had been law at the time of these convictions, none of these children would have been in prison.
Not passing this law is an expensive decision. On January 26th, 2012, another child who was wrongfully convicted for murder in Illinois was awarded $25million by a jury.
From a friend who passed this info along…
Such a modest proposal - you could still use the confession in juvenile court, but if there was no lawyer then there was just a presumption against admission in adult court (15 and 16 year olds automatically tried as adults based on murder confession).
Alvarez opposed the bill in committee and it went nowhere.
If she’s really so interested in preventing more of these horrific cases of false juvenile imprisonment, she’d help come up with a solution. So far, nothing.
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*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters today that some of the items on the tax and fee hike list weren’t his, except for the loophole closings, which he’s supported for a long time. The elimination of tax breaks for ethanol, for instance, came from the corn growers, Quinn said. Other tax and fee ideas came from members. He said he didn’t now much about some others, including the frack tax. But he did say that driver-related “loopholes” would have to be closed. Listen…
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* The 2009 capital plan relied on several different revenue sources, including a sales tax on candy. Another of those sources was video gaming, which has just now got off the ground. Gov. Pat Quinn says the program is in need of more funding because of a $300 million shortfall, and he’s given legislative leaders some options…
Several would hit motorists; including a higher sales tax on new cars, to bring in $250 million. Raising the car rental sales tax: $30 million.
Likely to raise prices at the fuel pump: eliminating current tax breaks for biodiesel and ethanol would raise $185 million to $230 million.
Other proposals targeting the energy industry would impose new natural gas-fracking fees on drillers downstate, to raise an estimated $55 million; a new oil drilling severance tax would raise $25 to $30 million; and closing a loophole specifically for the oil industry would bring in another $75 million.
The governor told legislators that he doesn’t need all of it and that they can choose any combination of new taxes and fees, as long as it comes close to $300 million.
There are other taxes on the list too, including $75 million on satellite TV subscribers, a fee on digital entertainment downloads and an internet sales tax.
Again, these are just proposals, and from what I’m hearing, they’re not going over very well in the GA. So it could be back to the drawing board for Quinn.
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It’s not the end of the world
Friday, Dec 14, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My Sun-Times column…
I’ve long subscribed to the belief that if someone’s behavior isn’t hurting anybody else, then the government ought to leave them alone.
Legalizing marijuana certainly falls into that belief structure. If somebody wants to get high and eat Cheetos all day, then I don’t think they ought to be locked in steel cages.
There was a time just a few years ago when the “mainstream” media constantly fretted about blogs — forgetting that the First Amendment didn’t belong solely to “traditional” news outlets. But the country is much better off after a literal explosion of free speech. Blogs have made us more informed and are now as American as the Chicago Sun-Times. Heck, the Sun-Times now has blogs. The more speech, the better.
I’m not particularly religious, but as long as you don’t use the government to impose your specific religious practices on me, then I’m all for you doing your thing.
I think there are far too many restrictions on public protests. Having to reroute your shopping trip because a group is marching in the street is not really being harmed. The government has too often used the possibility of smallish annoyances to motorists as an excuse to literally steal peoples’ constitutional rights to peaceably assemble.
Guns are a different matter. Clearly, guns can really hurt people. I’ve struggled with this issue pretty much all my adult life. My mother hated guns, so we had none in our house, but her brother and a brother-in-law had guns and I used to occasionally shoot with them. I’m not afraid of guns the way some are. I’ve been to a few war zones, seen a few fire fights, but was never once armed. I’ve never felt the need to strap on a pistol while in “bad” Chicago neighborhoods, either, and I’ve spent time in those.
Most of the people who want the right to carry a concealed handgun happen to be white suburban or rural men. It’s easy to play armchair psychiatrist and dismiss them as perpetually angry, overcompensating paranoids.
But not everybody who wants a concealed handgun in public is a wingnut. Women are often threatened by ex-boyfriends and know the cops can’t offer much protection. People who work in dangerous neighborhoods at night could have a legit reason to carry . Decent, law-abiding citizens who live in areas infested with gang thugs can’t be blamed for wanting to pack heat.
I’ve spent some time in Florida, where the cities can often be as crazy or even crazier than anything we see up here. The state has a concealed carry law but the Sunshine State hasn’t exploded in violence. Florida’s murder rate in 1987, the year concealed carry was legalized, was 11.4 per 100,000 residents, according to government data on disastercenter.com. Illinois’s rate that year was 8.3. Last year, Florida’s murder rate was 5.2 per 100,000. Illinois’ was 5.6. I don’t think Florida’s law mattered much either way.
So, I’ve evolved.
Nobody wants to see gangbangers carrying concealed handguns. But if somebody has never been convicted of a felony, isn’t crazy, doesn’t have an order of protection against them, belongs to no gang, can pass a training course, can be required to renew their licenses every year or so and isn’t allowed to bring guns into schools or some other public places, then I don’t really buy into the hyperbolic fears about the tragedies that will befall us because Chicago’s U.S. Appellate court has ruled that the state’s gun carrying bans are unconstitutional. It’s just not going to be the end of the world.
* Meanwhile, the Tribune argues for a two-track approach in the wake of the appellate court ruling. Appeal to the Supreme Court and craft a “may issue” bill in Springfield…
The resulting indignation in some quarters, and jubilation in others, is understandable. Longtime opponents of concealed carry in Illinois, this page included, have suffered a major setback. But what they — we — cannot do now is pout. The wise and practical response now is a two-track approach:
If [Attorney General Lisa Madigan] thinks Tuesday’s 2-1 decision justifies an appeal to the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, fine. Illinois doesn’t have a lot to lose. But a subsequent appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court could invite the justices to, in effect, expand their earlier decisions and limit restrictions on concealed carry that other states have enacted. Nationally, gun control advocates could lose more than they’ve already lost.
Simultaneously, though, Illinois lawmakers need to obey the appellate panel and write what its majority prescribed: a new law that legalizes concealed carry, within “reasonable” restrictions. That lawmaking will require more efficiency, and less rancor, than the low-performing General Assembly has demonstrated of late. But legislators will be, pardon the phrase, under the gun: If they don’t comply, it’s conceivable that police and sheriff’s officers no longer could enforce the law that the judges invalidated but left in effect temporarily.
* The Sun-Times wants an appeal and a very restrictive concealed carry law…
The Legislature might even be able to find a way to continue banning concealed carry while rewriting the law to satisfy the appeals court, which said the current law doesn’t rest on sufficient justification. Short of that, the Legislature could consider a narrowly crafted law, such as that in New York, which has concealed carry in theory but does not grant many permits.
Supporters of concealed carry have brought the issue to Springfield many times but have not had enough votes to prevail.
While not denying the appeal of concealed carry to people who feel threatened, we have long opposed such laws, arguing that we should be working toward a more civilized society, not an armed camp.
In a dissent Tuesday Judge Ann C. Williams wrote, “[the] Illinois Legislature . . . sought to ‘prevent situations where no criminal intent existed, but criminal conduct resulted despite the lack of intent, e.g., accidents with loaded guns on public streets or the escalation of minor public altercations into gun battles.’ . . . The danger of such situations increases if guns may be carried outside the home.”
The Legislature has every reason to limit that danger as much as possible, and it should continue to do so.
* Related…
* Editorial: Go slow on crafting concealed carry law
* Editorial: Gun carry ruling correct and overdue
* Kadner: Time for a concealed carry law in Illinois
* SIU must consider impact of concealed carry: University President Glenn Poshard told the board of trustees at its meeting Thursday college campuses were previously exempt from concealed carry laws, but since the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wants the state to start over with new legislation, such restrictions might not end up in place. “We may end up with low restrictions on concealed carry on our campus,” Poshard said, noting the prospect could become problematic for the university
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