* A day after Republican Congressman Mark Kirk took Bill Brady to task for not paying his taxes, Gov. Pat Quinn returned the bipartisan favor and dinged fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias for not paying income taxes…
“I believe in the principle that if you get a public salary, you are an elected official, you get a public salary, you should pay income taxes to the state and the federal government. I think that’s a fundamental principle that I believe in,” Quinn said.
Quinn avoided referring to Giannoulias by name. But when reporters asked Quinn whether there was a difference between the tax situations of Brady and Giannoulias, the governor said, “My principle: I don’t think there should be a Brady loophole where people who make millions of bucks then end up paying no taxes whatsoever.”
Moreover, Quinn said, “I think that voluntarily those that are in high office should make it their business to pay taxes” to help fund the military and veterans at the federal level and local schools at the state level.
In his most pointed criticism of Giannoulias, Quinn indicated that instead of the treasurer sending his $30,000 income-tax refund check to charity, it should go to the state, which is facing a $13 billion deficit and $5 billion in unpaid bills.
* Meanwhile, a couple of local bloggers hit Mark Kirk for his sweet tax break today…
But if he is going to slam Giannoulias for simply following the tax code, Kirk should remember that he has also benefited handsomely from tax breaks available to certain homeowners. Ellen Beth Gill reminded us of this fact last night
Kirk gets a large tax break for having purchased a rehabbed property that was sold by the federal government on the cheap to developers who turned it into housing for the wealthy.
While just about everyone else in Lake County is crushed under a huge property tax burden (sometimes over $8,000 per year for a modest house and over $4000 per year for a small condominium), Kirk pays about $700-$800 each year for a pretty swank place in Ft. Sheridan. Now, Kirk will argue that he’s entitled by law to that tax reduction, but isn’t Giannoulias also legally entitled to his tax losses? […]
I haven’t noticed Kirk donating the difference between what he pays in property taxes and what he normally would pay to the local schools. They need the money badly too.
The short version is that Kirk and his neighbors used a very clever interpretation of Illinois’ historical preservation tax break to lower the assessed values of their Highland Park homes by about 90 percent.. The total savings [of the tax break between 2003 and 2007] add up to more than $35,000 during that period:
* Rod Blagojevich’s defense attorneys have filed yet another mistrial motion…
In a motion filed overnight, attorney Sam Adam argues that the defense was denied the right to engage in “meaningful cross examination” of FBI agent Patrick Murphy who testified yesterday.
Zagel chided defense lawyers for suggesting in their motion that the agents were under some obligation to disclose to Blagojevich all the evidence of illegal activity they were investigating when they questioned him.
Zagel said it was a red herring for the defense team to raise the fairness of the interrogation as a reason for a mistrial, especially since Blagojevich wasn’t closeted alone with his interrogators but was surrounded with his own lawyers at the time. If Blagojevich’s lawyers want to suggest that the former governor came to feel entrapped, they are free to ask him about it when he takes the stand in his own defense — something Blagojevich has vowed to do, Zagel said.
Much of the defense plea for a mistrial amounted to “a needless waste of time,” Zagel said, because it was based on being blocked from refuting charges unrelated to the government case against Blagojevich.
“It’s a common thing for criminal defense lawyers to re-characterize the accusation and then try to refute the accusation that the government isn’t making,” Zagel lectured.
Defense attorneys for both Blagojevichs submitted the list of tapes they plan to play when they present their case. Zagel told them to go over their lists again and choose the conversations with the most significant passages, as the lists they submitted would have the jury listening to tapes for two to three weeks. Zagel said that would be a waste of time.
An explanation for why they wanted some of those tapes played…
Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys say they are basing his defense on the idea that the former Illinois governor had no intention of violating the law and acted only after getting advice from lawyers.
His lawyers had said that before but outlined it in their clearest statement to date in papers filed late Tuesday. It is designed to show Judge James Zagel why FBI wiretap tapes they want to play at Blagojevich’s corruption trial supply evidence for their defense.
The prosecution asked Zagel to ask the defense teams to make it clear soon what witnesses they plan to call to testify. Zagel determined the defense has until Monday to do so.
Expect another fight over that, and probably another mistrial motion.
* Related and trial roundup…
* Mayor Bloomberg’s Secret Weapon: A source close to the mayor puts it more bluntly: “Not only does he want Bradley on his team, he wants him to be a quarterback.”
* Executive: Afraid when FBI came to ask about Blago
* “The Tollway Was Connected to My Campaign Contributions”: Witness
* Mark Kirk received generally positive reviews last week for owning up to not telling the truth about his past…
The past few weeks, Congressman Mark Kirk has been on the defensive about his military resume. Now the Republican Senate hopeful is owning up to his mistakes with full disclosure.
He certainly sounded contrite for inflating his military and school teaching records…
“I am not perfect and was careless. I will do better and I will make sure that this never happens again.” […]
“But I take this all very seriously. This is a high office, great trust is put in the people that we entrust with this office and I think the scrutiny is absolutely appropriate.”
“I have made mistakes concerning certain aspects of my accomplishments and experiences, and I apologize for those mistakes and I pledge to correct those errors.”
* Carol Marin was mostly unimpressed with Kirk’s performance, but she wrote last week that it was time to change the subject, with one, major caveat…
Unless there are new revelations to come, it’s time to move on.
Earlier this year Kirk told the Sun-Times, “Last year, I was with a Dutch armor unit in Kandahar, getting shot at and being calm, cool and collected. We each had this kind of Dutch candy called ‘drop.’ I went through about 3000 calories getting what they call ‘nervous in the service.’”
But Tuesday, when asked several times at his news conference if he stood by that assertion, Kirk would only repeat that from now on he would say nothing beyond what’s in his fitness reports when it comes to his war record.
That claim is absolutely untenable. He’s no longer going to answer questions about his service record? And all he will do is point to his fitness reports? Not enough…
There is no mention in those reports of Kirk coming under fire during that time period.
You cannot on the one hand promise never to let these things happen again, and then refuse to clear up your record a week later. You cannot say media scrutiny is just fine and dandy with you because you’re campaigning for a “high office” and then a week later refuse to answer any and all questions on a specific topic.
REPORTER: You once told the Sun-Times, this was your quote: “Last year, I was with a Dutch armor unit in Kandahar, getting shot at.” Can you tell me a little bit more about it- when did it happen, what were the circumstances?
KIRK: Well as I went through my speech last week, I’ve made mistakes in my military record. I apologize for them and going forward will make sure that never happens again. But the way I’ll answer that is I released my fitness reports…The way I will go forward is I released my officer fitness reports for all 21 years of service in the Navy and will let the official record stand.
REPORTER: But you’re not saying this was a mistake then are you?
KIRK: No but I would refer you all to the officer fitness reports.
REPORTER: They might not have that detail…
KIRK: For me, going forward I will speak through the voices of the commanding officers in the field that assessed my performance, and you will be able to have that if you don’t already.
REPORTER: So that kind of goes as a non-response response?
KIRK: No, for me the officer fitness reports are the official record.
REPORTER: So anything you’ve said in the past, we should just disregard?
KIRK: No I’m saying that let’s stand on my official record to the United States Navy.
REPORTER: So anything you’ve said before, if you’ve said it just forget about it?
KIRK: As I stated before in the speech…
REPORTER: Do you have a record that will show where the question came up?
KIRK: So the record talks about the…just go through the detail…and especially my officer fitness report from my Afghan service…
REPORTER: Do you think your campaign- are you going to stop using photos that imply you’re a pilot? There are pictures of you sitting in a plane with pilot gear on. Are you guys going to stop using those or…
KIRK: They don’t…there is no issue because there…on many aircraft you have aircrew, and often times, in fact most of the people on the squad- in my squadron that I served in are not pilots. There are three other people on the aircraft who flew along.
Officer fitness reports do not represent Kirk’s full military record and he knows it.
* And these dodges aren’t just confined to his military record. As Lynn Sweet reports, he won’t talk about a lot of things. Remember, for instance, how he said he would “lead the effort” to repeal the national health care bill earlier this year? Kirk’s quote from mid-March…
“I’m Mark Kirk and I can’t wait to vote against the health care bill next week,” he told the crowd at the Friday evening dinner. […]
“There is one thing about the bill not commonly known: All of the pain of the bill is upfront and all of the gain is later. What do I mean? The bill includes 10 new federal taxes, and dramatic cuts for senior health care under Medicare between 2010 and 2014,” Kirk said. “The actual benefit of the bill doesn’t start until 2014. In between this time and then, is a presidential election. If we can win in the White House — and we’re on the way to making this guy a one termer — then if we move to repeal this bill in 2013, all you’re doing is removing the pain and not a single American would have benefited from it yet. And so, as your senator, I would lead the effort, if it passes, to repeal this bill.”
As of July 1, a discharge petition–the first step needed to get the matter back before the House– by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has 109 signers. The group includes Illinois House Republicans Judy Biggert, Peter Roskam, Don Manzullo and John Shimkus.
Last week Kirk said he had yet to study the repeal matter fully but since it was law, he wanted to make sure the regulations were written to the advantage of Illinois. On Tuesday Kirk told me, “I haven’t got back to that, I haven’t read it yet.”
* Buried deep within a Wall Street Journal story yesterday on who might lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a long list of possible candidates.
The list was headed by a somewhat familiar face…
Democratic leaders in Congress say their top pick for the post is Elizabeth Warren, the high-profile Harvard law professor and an outspoken critic of what she sees as a too-cozy relationship between government and bankers.
But then a long list of others was outlined…
Other potential candidates include Michael Barr, a Treasury assistant secretary and University of Michigan law professor with a longstanding interest in consumer finance; Democratic state attorneys general Martha Coakley of Massachusetts, Lisa Madigan of Illinois and Lori Swanson of Minnesota; Susan Wachter of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, who served in the Clinton Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Nicolas Retsinas of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing studies, a former bank regulator and a low-income housing specialist.
The Lisa Madigan mention was quickly picked up by at least one local outlet…
In the most interesting political rumor of the day, the Wall Street Journal listed Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a possible director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, if and when Congress finally approves the financial reform package.
* Unsurprisingly, our attorney general isn’t interested, but here explanation wasn’t completely accepted by the Sun-Times…
Is another Chicagoan joining the Obama administration bandwagon?
Attorney General Lisa Madigan tried to put to rest speculation Tuesday that she is being considered for director of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Congress is expected to create as soon as next week. The federal bureau’s director will serve a five-year term.
But here’s her quote…
On Tuesday, she issued a statement saying that she appreciates being mentioned in light of her work fighting “predatory and often discriminatory mortgage lending.”
But Madigan threw her support behind the perceived front-runner for consumer czar, Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren.
“Not only was it [Warren’s] idea to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but she has long understood the need for such an agency to ensure that another financial crisis doesn’t devastate the futures of millions of hardworking Americans,” Madigan said.
There’s just no way that she’s leaving Illinois. She passed up an almost sure-bet opportunity to run for US Senate. Mark Kirk strongly indicated last year that he wouldn’t run against her, and there’s nobody else out there who could’ve put up much of a fight. She’s staying in place.
* Most Illinois news outlets don’t appear to have run the full Associated Press story on the pay raises handed out by Gov. Pat Quinn to his staff. Some led with Bill Brady’s response…
The Republican candidate for Illinois governor says the pay raises Gov. Pat Quinn gave his staff show the Democrat is incapable of solving the state’s budget problems.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is defending pay raises given to his staff even though the state is awash in debt.
* But drill down into the full AP story, and you’ll see that most of Quinn’s explanations don’t hold up. For instance…
Quinn also claimed he’d reduced staff by 10 positions in the governor’s office. […]
[But] payroll records show 124 employees in the governor’s office and budget office in May, compared to 125 in July 2009 and 122 in February 2009, just after Quinn took office.
Yesterday, Quinn said he’d cut his budget by 25 percent…
“…the overall budget of the governor’s office is 25 percent lower than it was when I was sworn in.”
Quinn’s proposed spending plan had a 10 percent increase in the budget office this year, documents show.
And what about total payroll? The AP found something quite different than what Quinn was claiming…
The overall payroll for the governor’s staff and his budget office was slightly lower in May than last July - $123,000 less, or just under 2 percent, according to state payroll records.
But other records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that dozens of employees reporting to the governor’s office are paid by other agencies under Quinn’s control.
So, we really don’t know yet whether this was an actual cut or an increase. Since the AP’s crack reporter John O’Conner is on the case, I’m assuming there will be at least one follow-up.
More than 40,000 unionized state workers got a pay raise last Thursday, bringing to 7 percent the amount they’re gotten since last year. These same state employees are in line for another 7 percent by next July 1st, all at a cost of a half-billion tax dollars a year.
It’s more than the virtually bankrupt state can afford, and some Republican lawmakers say the raises need to be rolled back.
“I’m outraged,” said State Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. “It’s very difficult to buy this rhetoric that, ‘We need to borrow, we need increased revenue,’ when these kind of poor management decisions are going on.”
Governor Pat Quinn points out that the got the union members to defer 2 pecent of their scheduled raises temporarily until 2011, and the union also agreed to help the state find $70 million in health care savings.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Gov. Quinn was on Chicago Tonight last night to explain his raises and his budget. Watch…
*** UPDATE 2 *** AFSCME responds to the Fox Chicago report…
As informed watchers of state government, Capitol Fax blog readers know that last night’s Fox News report was incomplete, misleading and disingenuous. It lumped together nearly four years of pay increases for frontline state workers, but failed to provide that context.
The cost of those increases over four years is about 2 tenths of 1 percent of all state spending–that is, 2 pennies on every 100 dollars the state spends. And even that is an overstatement, since Fox also failed to note that state employees are paying more for health insurance over the same period, and that thousands are taking unpaid furlough days to help the state save money.
Finally, Fox neglected to mention that Illinois has the nation’s fewest state employees per capita. Manufactured controversies like this misinform the public and insult the men and women of state government who care for the disabled, aid the unemployed, prevent child abuse, analyze crime-scene evidence, keep our prisons safe, and perform all the other essential services Illinois residents rely on every day.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Bill Brady…
“This morning, working families in Illinois woke up to learn that Governor Quinn is doling out massive pay raises as high as 24 thousand dollars to political cronies on his own staff, while the rest of us are tightening our belts, struggling just to get by.
I believe pay hikes for state government executives during a fiscal crisis is outrageous, but Governor Quinn? He defends his executive pay hikes, telling viewers on Chicago Tonight, “…that’s how it works.”
Well Governor, feathering the nests of your own political cronies while working families are just scraping by is NOT how government should work. If Pat Quinn is serious about controlling state spending, he should immediately enact a wage freeze on state government payroll, and reverse his pay hikes for his executive staff today.”
Gun rights proponents have wasted no time in filing a federal lawsuit to nullify the new ordinance passed by the City Council to replace the 28-year-old ban on handguns.
The Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers and four Chicago residents filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court against the city and Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The plaintiffs include Brett Benson, 37, a trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange who owns a farm in central Illinois; Raymond Sledge, 53, a public elementary school teaching assistant who owns his own home but lives with his mother, who lives near a high-crime area on the South Side, in order to take care of her; and a Chicago couple — Kenneth Pacholski and Kathryn Tyler — he works in aircraft restoration, she is a veterinarian. All the plaintiffs own multiple guns but keep them outside the city limits, the suit says.
The lawsuit says Sledge wants to be able to carry his handgun outside his home in order to defend himself, but he is prevented from doing so by the city’s one gun ordinance.
With the city’s new gun ordinance they can each possess one gun, but they’d like to be able to have more than one gun in the city, the suit says. […]
Also among the plaintiffs is the Illinois Association of Firearms Retailers, which counts among its members people who would like to sell firearms and open shooting ranges within the city, but are barred from doing so by the city’s newest gun ordinances.The suit claims that the city’s new ordinances “infringes upon, and imposes an impermissible burden upon, the plaintiffs’ right to keep and bear arms.” The suit also claims that a provision that limits gun possession to those between 18 and 20 years old only if they have the written consent of a parent or guardian who is not prohibited from having a state Firearm Owner’s Identification Card, violates the rights of those under 21 to keep and bear arms.
The National Rifle Association is supporting a lawsuit against Mayor Richard Daley and the City of Chicago’s newly adopted gun control ordinance, which violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago. Last Friday, the City Council rushed through passage of this ordinance in response to the Court’s June 28th decision rendering Chicago’s draconian handgun ban unconstitutional.
“The Supreme Court has now said the Second Amendment is an individual freedom for all. And that must have meaning,” said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association. “This decision cannot lead to different measures of freedom, depending on what part of the country you live in. City by city, person by person, this decision must be more than a philosophical victory. An individual right is no right at all if individuals can’t access it.”
According to the U.S. EPA, Illinois ranks among the larger contributors to downwind pollution such as emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which largely come from coal-burning power plants, as well as fine particulate matter, which comes from a variety of sources.
There have been some 588 grade-crossing accidents involving trains, vehicles and/or pedestrians in Illinois since 2006, resulting in 98 deaths, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. The state has the second-highest number of rail-crossing accidents in the nation, behind Texas.
Stroger wants to appoint local lawyer and government lobbyist Vincent Williams to the job. Cook County commissioners typically sign off on the president’s nominations, but several elected leaders say this one isn’t going to sail through.
Gov. Pat Quinn today said the Illinois Senate will not head back to Springfield to vote on a nearly $3.7 billion pension borrowing plan until after the November election.
…Adding… I suppose this means I can finally get a haircut. My wife will be pleased, as will my mother.
But not on every topic…
Meanwhile, Quinn defended giving raises to certain members of his staff amid the state’s budget crisis, saying the bumps in pay corresponded with increases in responsibility. An Associated Press report found that Quinn has given 43 salary increases averaging 11.4 percent to 35 staffers in the past 15 months.
But Quinn said that despite the pay hikes, the budget for the governor’s office is less than it was when he took over for disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in January 2009.
“I raised individual members of my staff when they had a new assignment that required them to do a different jobs,” Quinn said. “Having said that, the overall budget of the governor’s office is 25 percent lower than it was when I was sworn in. I think that’s what the taxpayers are looking for. If you don’t cut the budget, then you’re not getting the job done. I’ve cut the budget of the governor’s office. I’ll continue to do so.”
*** UPDATE *** Bill Brady’s campaign responds…
“Today’s revelation shows there are two rules under Governor Pat Quinn - one for him and the powerful insider crowd, and another for all the rest of us.
While working families are tightening their belts and doing more with less, Pat Quinn is doling out massive pay raises to his own staff - and we’re paying for them. Today’s revelation shows, once again, that Pat Quinn is incapable of solving our fiscal crisis, and has lost control of state government. How many other agencies received pay raises?”
* Why Alexi Giannoulias didn’t just take a credit for future years’ taxes on his ‘09 tax return is beyond me. As it is, he’s hurt his own campaign by accepting a 100 percent tax refund on his state salary.
[Mark Kirk] said there is a big difference between the financial situation of Mr. Giannoulias and Mr. Brady, even though neither has had any income-tax liability of late due to reversals in their families’ businesses.
The difference is that “the Giannoulias family transferred this incredible $394-million bill” to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. when its Broadway Bank recently collapsed, he said.
But, in the same way that Mr. Giannoulias ought to pay something because he draws a state paycheck as Illinois treasurer, so should Mr. Brady, a state senator, Mr. Kirk said.
“If you are dependent on a salary paid by the taxpayers, you ought to pay tax,” Mr. Kirk said. “You ought to find a way to pay taxes.”
Kirk is exactly right on that second point. If you’re a politician, you need to find a way to pay taxes on your state salary.
And don’t think for a minute that Pat Quinn won’t use that quote against Bill Brady. This is obviously a game of every man for himself. Kirk played it today, Quinn will play it as well.
*** UPDATE *** Jason Plummer wasn’t spared, either…
And in another statement that could come back to hit the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Jason Plummer, Kirk said, “All statewide [candidates] should release their tax returns.” Brady initially refused to release his tax returns but relented. Plummer still has not released his and says he won’t.
But Kirk repeatedly dodged a question about himself…
Kirk also refused to say during the news conference whether he stands behind a statement that he was fired on while riding in a dutch armored vehicle in Afghanistan. He repeated several times that reporters should just look at the fitness reports he released about his military service.
I thought he was pledging to be Mr. Honesty these days?
* The McLean County Medical Society formed a PAC back in late March and transferred $201,000 out of what appears to be the Society’s operating fund to the PAC on June 23rd. It then contributed $200,000 to Sen. Bill Brady’s campaign on June 30th. Brady is from Bloomington, which is in McLean County. Quite a nice chunk of change there.
* This doesn’t look like a huge deal to me. I think 11th District GOP candidate Adam Kinzinger did a pretty good job explaining the reasoning in the final graf of our excerpt…
In the primary election, Kinzinger’s biography on his website and his news releases said he was serving in the Air Force Special Operations Command. […]
It turns out Kinzinger was detailed to Air Force Special Ops for two three-month stints in 2008 and 2009, but was not permanently assigned to Special Ops, Air Force officials said.
“The way it was worded was incorrect,” Dawn M. Hart, chief of community relations for AFSOC public affairs in Florida, told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday. “He only worked for [Air Force Special Operations Command] for those two assignments.” […]
Kinzinger was never disciplined by the Air Force for saying he works for Special Ops. But he changed his website to say that he “has worked for” Special Ops. […]
Changing “is” to “has” on his website was no bigger deal than changing his age from 31 to 32 in February, Kinzinger said.
If there’s more to this than I’m seeing here, then we’ll of course revisit. Your thoughts would be appreciated, however.
* The Tribune wants a new state law to guarantee special elections for vacant US Senate seats, but it does point out a serious problem with the case moving through the federal court system right now, which could force a special Senate election on the state…
Elections officials need 180 days lead time for a special election. That allows time for candidates to gather petitions and for challenges to be resolved, plus time to prepare the ballots, program the machinery, handle early and absentee balloting and deal with emergencies. As of Tuesday, there are 119 days until the Nov. 2 election.
* Roundup…
* Lawmaker divests nursing home stake: State Sen. Heather Steans has divested her ownership stake in a troubled southwest suburban nursing home that has faced repeated citations for serious patient neglect, including medical failures that allegedly contributed to two patients’ deaths. The December death of Cordelia Lee at Evergreen Health Care Center in Evergreen Park and another death of a 90-year-old patient last year are part of a pattern of substandard care that moved state health authorities earlier this month to revoke the facility’s license… Steans had no operational role in Evergreen, and the Chicago Democrat said that, following a Tribune report on the facility earlier this month, she shed her 2.8 percent interest in the home.
* David Axelrod headlining Giannoulias fund-raiser July 25
* Giannoulias: Obama will campaign for me: “I have a feeling he’ll be out here a few times before November,” Giannoulias said Tuesday in an appearance on the ABC News/Washington Post “Topline” Web show. Giannoulias said that he had not personally asked Obama to stump for him, but added: “The White House has been great; they’ll be out here.”
* Yet another charge that is gonna send Rod Blagojevich to prison. Lying to FBI agents. From this morning’s testimony by FBI supervising agent Patrick Murphy…
During that 2005 [FBI] interview, held in the offices of Winston & Strawn, Blagojevich said he maintained a separation between politics and fund-raising.
“He said he did not track who was contributing to him or how much they were contributing,” Murphy said. “This was a decision he made when he became governor,” he said Blagojevich told him.
Murphy, who is lauded as the investigative architect of the case, is testifying to the false statement charges in the indictment. Blago is charged with lying to the FBI about material matters in the investigation.
The surveillance tapes clearly show those statements to be outright lies. I’m not a huge fan of that “lying to a federal agent” law, but these are clear violations.
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column takes a look back…
During the long, excruciating overtime state legislative session of 2007, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan complained that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had a habit of diverting high-level discussions away from the budget and toward Madigan’s ties.
Madigan, it should be said, does wear some eye-catching ties. He takes no credit for his taste in clothing, however. His wife, he says, picks his ties out for him.
Speaker Madigan confided to me one day back then that whenever Blagojevich would compliment Madigan on his choice of ties, he would always complain that, as governor, he couldn’t afford such fashion gems. Madigan has a lucrative law practice which brings in a pretty penny. Blagojevich couldn’t do side jobs as governor, he would repeatedly explain to Madigan and everyone else in the room, so he couldn’t afford to dress like Madigan.
The House Speaker seemed quite frustrated at the time with Blagojevich’s fixation on his fetching ties, rather than on dealing with the budget deadlock and general political gridlock. After all, it wasn’t like Blagojevich dressed poorly. He always wore sharp clothes. He even showed up at the State Fair once dressed in designer blue jeans.
Thanks to his federal corruption trial, we now know that it was taste, not money, which caused Blagojevich to wax envious whenever he saw Madigan wearing a pretty tie.
According to testimony by an IRS agent last week, the former governor and his wife spent a mind-boggling $400,000 on clothes between 2002 and 2008.
Just for a little context, Blagojevich spent about half of his after-tax income as governor on clothes. Not to mention that the man usually worked out of his house or down the street at his campaign office.
All told, Blagojevich spent $206,000 at a single men’s store - the Tom James Company, a custom clothing maker. He spent another $31,000 at Geneva Custom Shirts. Blagojevich and his wife shelled out $57,000 to Saks Fifth Ave. and $29,000 to Neiman Marcus.
By August 2008, the Blagojeviches had run up over $90,000 in credit card debt - more than half of the governor’s gross annual salary. Their total “consumer debt” by the morning of Blagojevich’s arrest was more than $210,000.
Last week’s trial included the playing of a surveillance recording from November 2008 of Blagojevich bitterly complaining about how his wife’s real estate business was all but dead. Reporters had dug through Mrs. Blagojevich’s client list in an attempt to show she often did no work for the money she made off of connected insiders. During that process, reporters called several of her former clients, and that, combined with the negative publicity and Mrs. Blagojevich’s real fear of a federal indictment led to her company’s collapse.
A minute or two later, Blagojevich whined about an upcoming financial burden.
“Amy is going to college in six years and we can’t afford it. I can’t afford college for my daughter,” Blagojevich exclaimed.
During the six days after he complained about his dire financial situation, Blagojevich plunked down $858 for four ties at Saks.
Apparently, the man couldn’t help himself. It goes without saying that $400,000 would’ve paid for a whole lot of college tuition for both of his kids.
It also goes without saying that prosecutors have established a very strong financial motive for several of Blagojevich’s alleged crimes.
Financially, he was in way over his head. The very real possibility of impeachment, which he constantly fretted about on the tapes, would dry up his future earning prospects. His wife’s career was in ruins. He was at the end of the line. There would be no more designer ties, handmade shirts and custom suits he so clearly loved. When Barack Obama won the president’s race and his U.S. Senate seat suddenly became vacant, Blagojevich pounced on the opportunity as his ticket out of debt and back to the high life.
It won’t be difficult for Blagojevich’s jurors to make this connection. They’ve seen the fancy clothes he’s worn during the trial. None of them are millionaires who could afford such nonsense, so this is a devastating attack by the prosecution.
I hope Blagojevich doesn’t mind wearing orange, because a federal jumpsuit is most probably in his future.
* The FBI agent who ran wiretaps on Blagojevich: “He was in his running suit. He was stretching, running in place, animated. I couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t sit still,” Cullen said. “He kept combing back his hair. It was almost like he’s awaiting going on camera. But we were just here [in the FBI office] — no one was going to see him.”
* After taking a ribbing for not disclosing his income tax returns (the topic that won’t go away) Republican lt. governor nominee Jason Plummer was asked about his favorite baseball team. His answer wasn’t exactly standard IL GOP fare…
* The Question: I just got back from a baseball trip to Texas (Go Sox!), so how about telling us what your favorite baseball team is and why?
* The New York Times engaged in gross hyperbole over the weekend…
…but many analysts, liberal and conservative, warn of a potentially far grimmer reckoning — Greece by Lake Michigan. Borrowing costs are rising, nonprofits that depend on taxpayer money are dropping contracts, and the state’s pension costs and unpaid bills balloon each month.
That’s what’s known as lazy journalism.
The state is suffering through a fiscal crisis, no doubt about it. But one of those vaunted New York Times editors that I always read about should’ve demanded that this reporter reveal the names of those “liberal analysts” who are making that “Greece” comparison. Also, the state’s borrowing costs are predicted to rise (although strong interest from foreign buyers could mitigate the price increase), but haven’t really risen yet.
The “Little Tribune” editorial writers at the Daily Herald were quick to pounce, of course…
This is Illinois, which the New York Times over the weekend dubbed “Greece by Lake Michigan.”
* Things are undoubtedly horrific, but let’s take a look at some facts.
A recent report from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shows Illinois is ranked 9th in the nation per capita on its outstanding debt. That’s high, but far from the highest.
As for total state expenditures, Illinois ranked 21st in the nation per capita. K-12 state and local spending is ranked at 22nd per capita. State and local spending on public welfare programs was 30th in the nation on a per capita basis. All of those are below the national average.
And there’s plenty of room for future revenue increases, if the populace decides to go with a Democratic governor this fall…
Illinois ranked 7th in the nation in the amount collected from state government individual income taxes in 2009 with a total amount of $9.2 billion. On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 31st. Illinois’ per-capita rate of $711 was below the national average of $801 and well below the 1st ranked state in this category, New York, at $1,885 per capita. Illinois has had a flat personal income tax rate of 3.0% since it was
increased from 2.5% in July 1993. Of the seven states with a flat income tax (most have graduated rates) Illinois’ has the lowest rate. […]
In 2009, Illinois ranked 9th in the amount of sales tax revenue collected with a total of $7.5 billion. California collected the most, generating $29.0 billion. On a per-capita basis, Illinois ranked 37th in the nation with a value of $579 per capita. As shown in Chart 9, in the Midwest Region, only Missouri (42nd) was ranked lower than Illinois.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises topping 20 percent to his staff at a time when he’s promising $1.4 billion in spending cuts because of the fiscal crisis. An Associated Press analysis of documents shows Quinn has given 43 salary increases averaging 11.4 percent since he became governor.
They include a $24,000 bump to the man overseeing state spending. Budget Director David Vaught got a 20 percent raise — to $144,000 — when he was promoted in October.
* After endorsing his opponent in the Democratic primary and refusing to endorse either general election gubernatorial candidate four years ago, the Illinois Education Association has endorsed Pat Quinn for governor. From a press release…
“There never has been a more clear-cut choice for governor and lieutenant governor of Illinois. The Illinois Education Association enthusiastically recommends Governor Pat Quinn and Sheila Simon to our members and to everyone who supports public education,” Swanson said.
IEA represents more than 133,000 education employees including elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers.
* Acknowledging that the IEA has had its differences with Quinn, IEA President Ken Swanson. But Swanson lashed out at Republican Bill Brady’s opposition to new revenues, his plan to convert defined benefit pensions to 401(k) funds with no state contributions and his support for making Illinois a “right to work” state. Watch his video…
The backing of the IEA, one of the two major politically active teachers unions in Illinois, is a big victory for Quinn. Odds of the union backing Brady were slim because he opposes tax increases and backs dismantling the state’s education bureaucracy. But Quinn has done little to move his agenda with the Democratic legislature.
*** UPDATE *** From the Bill Brady campaign…
“The union leadership has unfortunately chosen the status quo. Governor Quinn’s answer to the crisis in Illinois is to keep spending, borrow money and raise taxes. Pat Quinn will fight for massive tax hikes, while I strongly oppose them. I am advocating a strong jobs climate that generates lasting job opportunities and revenues.
Pouring more and more of our tax dollars into the bureaucracy with no plan and no accountability is not the solution for improving education. But under four more years of Pat Quinn, that is exactly what will happen. I am standing with teachers to redirect our tax dollars away from the bureaucrats into where we need them most — our classrooms. The choice is clear, and I welcome this debate in the months ahead.”
* Related…
* Cost of Governor’s Campaign Going Down: State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), the Republican candidate for governor, estimates he’ll spend $13 million to $20 million on his campaign this year, far short of the $27 million Rod Blagojevich spent to win in 2006. Republican Judy Baar Topinka spent $9.8 million on her unsuccessful campaign. Brady says he’ll economize by allowing the Blagojevich corruption trial to do some of the talking. “A lot of people are focused on the trial right now, so spending money through the summer months is not necessarily the most productive use of resources, which may delay some of the spending,” Brady says.
* Tea party rally focuses anger on Obama policies, Illinois politics: “We don’t have a president, we have a usurper,” said McKiernan, who identified herself as a volunteer with the Brady campaign.
* Tea Party bags GOP speakers at rally of ‘true patriots’: “It’s time to turn the State of Illinois around, isn’t it?” Brady said, standing on the steps of the Ansel Cook Mansion with his wife, Nancy. “Are we tired of tax increases? Are we tired of not paying our bills? (Are) we tired of record unemployment?”
* Libertyville hosts Tea Party event: “We’re good, solid people who care about their government and won’t take for granted their government anymore,” Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady said.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias didn’t have to pay any state and federal income taxes last year because of big losses tied to his family’s failed Broadway Bank, according to his campaign and tax returns released Friday.
The wealthy state treasurer stands to collect about $30,000 in refunds, but immediately announced he would donate the money to charities. Giannoulias sought to avoid having his tax situation become a campaign issue that could anger voters who make less money, pay their taxes and don’t have much sympathy for a rich guy getting a break.
Giannoulias reported $2.7 million in losses last year. That represents the 3.6 percent he owned in non-voting bank shares, said campaign spokeswoman Kathleen Strand.
You can try burying a story before the 4th of July weekend, but people like me won’t let you.
Also, what Giannoulias doesn’t say is that a charitable donation would give himself another big tax deduction for this year’s return.
* If you thought that Mark Kirk would tread a bit lightly on this topic since fellow statewide Republican candidate Bill Brady is basically in the same boat, you’d be wrong. From a press release…
“Alexi Giannoulias wants to raise our taxes but doesn’t pay any taxes himself. After costing the FDIC $394 million and wiping out $73 million in college savings, Illinois voters can no longer afford Alexi Giannoulias.”
In response, the Giannoulias campaign flat-out lied…
When asked for comment by TPMDC, the Giannoulias camp turned the story right back to Kirk’s own personal dirt, relating to his previous inaccurate statements about his military record. Giannoulias spokesman Matt McGrath told us: “It comes as no surprise given his record of mistruths, half-truths and untruths about his military record, but when he says Alexi wants to raise taxes, Congressman Kirk is lying. Again.”
Giannoulias doesn’t want to raise taxes? Then why did he tell the Illinois Education Association that he’s “said from Day One,” that Illinois “needs an income tax increase”? Here’s the video…
Giannoulias also told the Chicago Tribune that if he is elected he would vote to let some current federal tax cuts expire, which is, in effect, a tax increase…
The Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans generated some of the largest deficits in U.S. history and contributed nearly $2 trillion to our deficits. Those tax cuts were unnecessary and irresponsible, and I would allow them to expire.
You can usually see the true character of a campaign during a crisis, and the Giannoulias campaign has totally failed the test this time.
* The Illinois Republican Party has called on Giannoulias to give the cash to the FDIC. From a press release…
The Illinois Republican Party today called on Alexi Giannoulias to send his $30,000 in tax refunds for 2009 to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a down payment on the $394 million loss the FDIC incurred after the collapse of Broadway Bank. […]
“Alexi Giannoulias’ unsafe and unsound banking practices ultimately led to the collapse of Broadway Bank and the loss of $394 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund,” ILGOP Chairman Pat Brady said. “Alexi wants to raise our income taxes but doesn’t pay any income taxes himself. Instead of using his distasteful tax refund to win another tax write-off, Alexi should do the right thing and send his refund to the FDIC.”
Congressman Kirk just announced that he’s holding a press conference at one o’clock this afternoon. Kirk has a very real opportunity to turn this race around again. Charlie Cook recently moved this race from lean Republican to toss-up. It’ll probably go back to lean Republican again.
* My own opinion is that Giannoulias ought to write a check to the state and federal government equal to the amount owed on his state treasurer’s salary. It’s the same position I had on Bill Brady’s taxes.
Using private business losses to avoid paying taxes on an elected official’s government salary is just plain wrong. And it’s especially bogus during a period of time when the state can’t pay its bills and the federal deficit is soaring.
