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Degrees of surprise

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Illinois

* Not a surprise…

Gov. Pat Quinn says he decided to spend his day remembering fallen Chicago firefighters and honoring veterans rather than listen to public testimony about a plan to bring terrorism suspects to an Illinois prison.

Quinn says his top staff is at Tuesday’s hearing before the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability in Sterling.

Look, it’s hugely admirable that the governor concerns himself with these ceremonial things. I, for one, appreciate it. But there’s also that governing aspect that he’s missing here. This Thomson sale is his baby. He should be at that hearing.

* Kind of a surprise…

A federal judge today ordered a new trial for former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez, the highest-ranking Daley administration official convicted in the hiring investigation of City Hall.

Sanchez, convicted by a jury in March for his role in rigging city hiring, had sought a new trial on grounds that authorities failed to disclose one of the prosecution witnesses was a high-ranking gang leader and drug dealer.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ruled the government was obligated to disclose their witness’ prior gang activity and arrest record. Prosecutors and FBI agents have acknowledged that defense lawyers were not made aware of the extent of the witness’ criminal ties but said that wasn’t a sufficient reason for a new trial.

Not sure what I think of that one. I’m sure there will be more than a little gnashing of teeth.

* And a surprise that I probably should’ve expected: The absolutely horrid 3G reception at O’Hare Airport today. I suppose there’s lots of snow-stranded travelers checking their e-mail, etc., but I really thought I could get a connection faster than dial-up. Nope. Heck, at times I can’t even get that.

Consequently, there will be no holiday video today. Post links to your favorite video in comments, but please keep it holiday related and clean. Thanks much.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:04 pm

Comments

Was Sanchez prosecuted under “honest services” or some other section of the law?

Comment by Scooby Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:17 pm
AT&T and Apple need to get their act together. Dropped calls and poor 3G coverage make paying that bill tougher each month. The iPhone is amazing, but AT&T really needs to upgrade their network.

Comment by Red Ranger Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:21 pm
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:23 pm
Can’t embed so….

Let Them Know It’s Christmas Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jEnTSQStGE

And a sign that God has a sense of humor, Bing and Bowie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zMhSjDqvRs

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:26 pm
Quinn probably thought it better to avoid confrontation and being put on the spot to answer questions. This Thomson thing was not exactly planned or rolled out well, so he would’ve only been hit with questions that he couldn’t (satisfactorily) answer.

Comment by Okay Then... Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:31 pm
I’ll keep my cynicism on the Al Sanchez thing to myself, for now.

Comment by Okay Then... Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:33 pm
I’m feeling a bit guilty for not making the trip to Sterling myself today, wanted to show support and concerns for our guard situation. Was planning to, but the sister works behind the field of the school and said it was already a madhouse with non-locals/non-state residents. Didnt want to deal with it, but Quinn on the other hand should have been on hand to deal with what he put in motion.

Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:45 pm
Quinn sometimes gives the appearance that he preferred the role of Lt. Governor more than that of being Governor. Today’s dissing of the public meeting in Sterling seems kind of like another reflection of that. Does he really want to be Governor for four more years? Does he really want to be chief executive of this state with all that entails?

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 2:53 pm
Gov.Quinn stand up and get a backbone. Every time you announce something, you never follow through. You where going to fire all of the Blagojevich appointees. You where going to layoff staff in every state department. You are going to sell Thomson prison to the feds. At least show up at the hearing. If you don’t have the guts to run this state step down and let someone else.

Comment by BOB Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 3:15 pm
No need for the governor to go to the Thomson hearing…he’d have to do specific things instead of symbolic and if he went to throw bombs, as is his customary role, he’d only be throwing them at himself. So, I suspect he looked at the schedule for some low hanging fruit.

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 3:20 pm
The prosecution screwed up, denying Sanchez a fair trial. If the prosecutors followed the rules, this wouldn’t have happened.

A new trial will be entertaining. Kass will birddog Daley for an explanation, and Daley will do his Sgt. Schultz routine — “I know nothing!”

Comment by Reformer Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 3:37 pm
Huh? If Randall feels Thomson is ‘inefficient’ for state prisoners, why pray tell did Blags spend so much time trying to have state prisoners moved there?

Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 3:41 pm
“Quinn spent Tuesday morning at an event to remember Chicago firefighters who died in the line of duty 99 years ago. He later spoke to reporters at an event at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.”

Especially bad that the memorial was for firefighters who died 99 years ago. Grow a pair Gov.

Comment by Crystal Clear Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 3:45 pm
When I was a younger guy I worked at the local Kroger Grocery Store as a grocery stocker. One of the funny things that happened during the month of december was that Kroger piped in 20 christmas songs that played over and over again in the same order. When I worked the night shift, at exactly 7:15 pm “Blue Christmas” by Elvis would come on. All the employees in the store knew it was coming on and a couple of girls in the Deli department started singing it everyday. Pretty soon the entire staff joined in the fun everyday at 7:15. At any rate, this one brings back my memories of the good ole days at Kroger West in Carbondale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUyuGFoiWJ0

The King nails this one!

Comment by Moving to Oklahoma Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 3:54 pm
hmmm, see the word ‘inefficient’ was scrapped quickly from the blogging, maybe it was a poor initial summary of what had been stated. Anybody besides me wanting a round-up coming from the hearing, the Sauk Valley is covering it bit by bit online.

Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 4:07 pm
This is the same governor who bravely stood at a podium two weeks ago and said he wasn’t afraid of the terrorists being housed there and what a great plan it was.

But today he was too afraid to appear at a public hearing of Illinois residents on the topic?

Are we from Illinois scarier to this accidental governor than the Gitmo terrorists?

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 4:08 pm
No suprises here all the way around. I am not cynical enough to think that Quinn’s historical approach to the veteran’s cause is insincere. Today’s edition however is political expedience in the face of avoiding a more challenging responsibility. While he occasionally feigns courage, in the end he always seems to take the easy way out, and sometimes that means a flip-flop-flip, and other times he hides behind; or points the finger at someone else.

The Al Sanchez re-trial was immediatley discernable when it was disclosed. Whether intentional or just sloppy, the outcome is almost the same, and could have been worse. The pivotal role of the individual could have precluded a retrial altogether; in which case Al could have been lacing them up for a free skate at Millenium Park for the holidays.

The technology overwhelm of the system at O’Hare has happened before; and much like the configuration of the airport itself, it becomes a capacity issue when the system capabilities are simply overwhelmed. The volume of idel passengers not restricted due to being grounded for longer periods just exposes the scalability challenes and the resiliency of the system.

Can’t handle the traffic; don’t drive in rush hour.

Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 4:28 pm
He’s probably hiding out until the federal cash arrives early next year. Then he’ll be out and about like the kings of yore, dispensing it to those worthy of Democratic favor and especially those who will help him get re-elected–or who will get out of the way.

Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 6:34 pm
Since I’m kinda late getting to the party, I’ll just go with a holiday card link. Specially for dog lovers…
http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/pdShell.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3173936/graphic1

Enjoy!

Comment by BehindTheScenes Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 8:38 pm
Sanchez is probably guilty, but the prosecutors deserve to be reversed if they’re hiding evidence. What an abuse of power, not to mention the arrogance. The prosecutors already have an immense advantage, plus in this case, the evidence was on their side — convictions should only stand if they’re obtained honestly.

Comment by Whatever Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 9:05 pm
This Thomson thing was Quinn’s deal. 10 days ago it was the best thing going. It’s seems he’s avoiding it, the tough discussion , possible rebuttal from citizens & his responsibility as governor …if even as the “accidental Governor” . It’s your tune Quinn…why won’t you dance ???

Comment by downstater Wednesday, Dec 23, 09 @ 6:15 am
Presiding over this hearing isn’t governing. Thomson is purely a political football at this point. I’m sure Quinn has people there to get the info he needs. Sitting in a hearing for three hours, listening to gadflies and teabags spew GOP talking points is not a good use of his time.

Comment by ChiTownNewbie Wednesday, Dec 23, 09 @ 8:33 am