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* Gov. Pat Quinn has railed at politics eroding public confidence in the Chicago area’s mass transit agencies. Yesterday, he proposed a blue-ribbon panel to propose ways to clean things up.
But check out this fascinating twist from his recent appointment of Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Frank Zuccarelli to the CTA’s board…
Brad O’Halloran recently resigned as chairman of the Metra board, at least in part because of reports that he’d violated state law by accepting compensation both as a Metra board member and as an Orland Park village trustee.
But Mr. Zuccarelli is different. At least, so says Mr. Quinn’s office.
The state law establishing the CTA says that “no member” of the CTA board “shall hold any other office or employment under the federal, state or any county or municipal government except an honorary office without compensation or an office in the National Guard.”
But Grant Klinzman, a spokesman for Mr. Quinn, cites a different provision of law, which says: “‘Municipal’ or ‘municipality’ does not include a township, town when used as the equivalent of a township, incorporated town that has superseded a civil township . . . or any other similar governmental district.”
“The statute prohibits anyone who is paid by a municipality, county or state government (not a township),” Mr. Kinzman said in a statement. “Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli is an elected leader and strong advocate of a region that is quickly growing . . . (and) will be made significantly more accessible to public transportation by the proposed Red Line extension.”
Zuccarelli is also the local township Democratic committeeman and his township has the highest Democratic turnout in suburban Cook County. Zuccarelli was looking for another second job after Toni Preckwinkle let him go from a part-time county post, so the Quinn appointment was seen at the time as a way to help lock in the Z-Team’s support for the governor next spring. Now, it could backfire on Quinn.
Oops.
*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz updates…
State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, a longtime critic of how public transit operates here, is ripping the double-dip, and says he’ll try to make it illegal.
“The governor is basing his decision on a technicality, to help a political operative,” said Mr. Franks in a phone call. Before making “a political move,” Mr. Franks acerbically added, “I’m sure the governor did a nationwide search to find the best candidate.”
Mr. Franks says a pending bill of his would close the “township loophole” for a variety of posts. But he now intends to submit separate legislation aimed specifically at those who hold both transit agency and township-paying jobs.
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Kirk Dillard also has words for Mr. Quinn, telling him to withdraw the Zuccarelli appointment.
“This is hypocrisy beyond belief,” Mr. Dillard told me. “Gov. Quinn’s appointment of a political insider may technically be legal, but it sure is a total violation of the spirit of the law” — particularly at a time when the mess at Metra has shaken public confidence in public transit generally, he added. “At a time when one in 10 Illinoisans is out of work, (Mr Zuccarelli) is on multiple payrolls.”
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:23 am
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O’Halloran resigned due to leading the move to remove Clifford and pay him $700+ in hush money. That’s it.
Comment by Nonplussed Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:33 am
A minor negative news story will pale in comparison to the vote totals in Thornton township next March. The governor has a solid base of support in the south suburbs, which could prove decisive in a close primary.
Comment by Snucka Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:35 am
Snucka, that may be true. Yet those Thornton township numbers may be negated by how this might impact vote totals by disillusioned lakefront liberals or women in the suburbs.
Comment by phocion Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:40 am
*sigh*
Yes, Zucarelli is exactly the type of person we need on the CTA board. He’ll really shake things up and change the culture over there. That’s the ticket.
Again, this is why Illinois can’t have nice things.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:44 am
=== Again, this is why Illinois can’t have nice things ===
I’m not sure some folks get the connection, 47th Ward.
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:51 am
=== Yet those Thornton township numbers may be negated by how this might impact vote totals by disillusioned lakefront liberals or women in the suburbs. ===
I doubt the lakefront liberals or suburban women:
1. Care that much about who sits on the CTA Board;
2. Know who Zucarelli is; and/or
3. Make it a reason to vote for or against Quinn.
Comment by Just Observing Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 10:58 am
I don’t know the rationale for excluding certain officeholders from the CTA Board, but it seems the appointment of Zucarelli violates the spirit of the law. But I think it goes back to what the rationale is.
Comment by Just Observing Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:01 am
The the third candidate gets into the race, Thornton Township plays out a bit different…
I think crafted into the right ad it might work even with lakefront liberals
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:02 am
mu·nic·i·pal·i·ty [myoo-nis-uh-pal-i-tee]
noun, plural mu·nic·i·pal·i·ties.
1.
a city, town, or other district possessing corporate existence and usually its own local government.
2.
a community under municipal jurisdiction.
3.
the governing body of such a district or community.
Comment by Daniel Webster Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:04 am
==I doubt the lakefront liberals or suburban women:
1. Care that much about who sits on the CTA Board;
2. Know who Zucarelli is; and/or
3. Make it a reason to vote for or against Quinn.==
Exactly. It’s a minor story that will be long forgotten by everyone, let alone lakefront liberals and suburban women, come March. Having the largest township Democratic organization on Quinn’s side is FAR more likely to influence the outcome of the primary.
Comment by Snucka Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:13 am
I see that Zuccarelli’s CTA gig comes with a pension.
Is this what Quinn was put on this earth for? To ladle out pension sweeteners to the leaders of political fiefdoms who are already doing just fine, at taxpayers’ expense?
Hinz reports that Zuccarelli makes a reported $128,000 — “far more than any other township supervisor in the county, according to a 2011 report by BGA and the Sun-Times. The township also pays the lease fee on Mr. Zuccarelli’s Denali SUV.”
Yeah, that’s the kind of guy we want on the CTA board — an overpaid suburban pol who drives a Denali paid for by taxpayers, and who is already stacking up a nice little pension without the CTA frosting.
This is disgusting.
Comment by Wondering Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:22 am
Governor Quack Quack is only concerned with one thing REELECTION! This person will say anything, fact or fiction, to persuade people to vote for him. Populist themes of us vs. them and I’m doing this for the regular guy permeate his public proclamations. However, he does the dirty deals with every Democratic Township committeeman he can. See IL SB 1585 as a prime example. Quinn signed this extremely narrow law less than a week after meeting with Evanston Dems seeking their support in 2014.
Comment by Nickypiii Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:22 am
It only needs reform if someone else is doing it.
Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:25 am
PQ is a RINO.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:27 am
Nickypii: and your point is? All politicians care about re-election
Please reread Snucka’s comment @ 11:13 am…
Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:34 am
Actually, PQ’s interpretation has legal merit. It depends on the definition of “municipality” which varies depending on the statute utilized. It has a specialized meaning in the Illinois Constitution.
Still doesn’t pass the sniff test however.
Comment by Jake From Elwood Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:42 am
Jake, I just did a search of the Illinois Constitution. The word “municipality” comes up three times, all with reference to home rule powers. Am I missing something?
Comment by Soccermom Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:47 am
Ah — municipalities, plural.
SECTION 1. MUNICIPALITIES AND UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Municipalities” means cities, villages and incorporated
towns. “Units of local government” means counties,
municipalities, townships, special districts, and units,
designated as units of local government by law, which
exercise limited governmental powers or powers in respect to
limited governmental subjects, but does not include school
districts.
Comment by Soccermom Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:49 am
47th Ward: ==this is why Illinois can’t have nice things==
Brilliant.
Forget technicalities, it stinks just like a lot of other transportation board nominations.
Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:52 am
Say, maybe Patti can get Zuc to persuade enough state reps to pass a marriage equality law. Not.
Comment by ""Edge" Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 11:54 am
“I doubt the lakefront liberals”
Unless someone is using that as a proxy for ‘gay’, I resemble the remark, and this is one more nail in the coffin of Quinn for me.
Not that there weren’t already a thousand others, but it’s a *really* easy one for me to explain to someone else. Horrible, sickening move by PQ.
Comment by Chris Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 12:02 pm
Man Franks moves quick. I had the over/ under at a week for him to file that bill.
Comment by Boone's is Back Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 12:25 pm
No member of the RTA Board can hold two public offices whether paid , not paid, or elected.
Comment by Now Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 12:48 pm
1. This is about the CTA board, not RTA.
2. Can someone explain how SB 1585 helped the Evanston Democrats? Not doubting it, I just am not familiar with the issue.
Comment by Snucka Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:00 pm
How foolish of Quinn to appoint Zuccarelli to such a position in an agency that the media is currently covering!
Comment by Robert the Bruce Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:08 pm
Maybe Edgar’s former chief of staff can tell us if St. James ever appointed political operatives to transportation posts.
Comment by reformer Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:12 pm
This along with Quinn’s many lies are reasons that he is a fraud. He was Blagos partner and its no shock when stories like this pop up.
Comment by Fed up Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:13 pm
Wow. Now we really have a good example of “a loophole big enough to drive a train through.” Thanks, Pat!
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:16 pm
Isn’t thornton township way outside of the CTA’s service area? I’m not familiar with the nature of these appointments but shouldn’t one get appointed to the CTA board if they live in the basic service area of CTA?
Comment by Levois Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:40 pm
Fed Up: C’mon this point is moot. Blago and Quinn were never allies while Rod was Gov. Get real…Pat was routinely left out of the loop…I bet he is glad of it now
Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:47 pm
Quinn is a big hack parading as a reformer.
Comment by NW Illinois Democrat Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:56 pm
Isn’t thornton township way outside of the CTA’s service area
Not necessarily way outside (Thornton Township does border the city on the township’s northern thing, I grew up in that part).. But yeah unless I am mistaken there is no CTA (it would be PACE and Metra) service in Thornton Township.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 1:59 pm
How about we just eliminate Townships? It’s been rumbling around for some time after all.
Comment by Skeptic Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:02 pm
Eliminating townships - a war no one wants to start. Unwinnable.
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:10 pm
@ Daniel Webster 11:04 a.m.
It doesn’t matter how the dictionary defines the term “municipality”. It’s the General Assembly who decide what words mean in any particular bill.
Comment by Knome Sane Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:11 pm
Why is Illinois so different in that a loophole is met with cheers and celebration? Furthermore, why is it met with an attitude of “hey, how can I exploit that?”
In most other jursidictions this type of glaring omission in the drafting process is met with “hey, we need to correct that”.
Comment by Knome Sane Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:15 pm
In most places people ask “hey, how can I exploit that?” the difference is here, no one seems to ever care enough to stop it…
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:17 pm
Loop lady,
Quinn sounds just as dishonest and goofy as Blago. Hmmm remember this
September 16, 2006 – Pat Quinn says he sees nothing wrong with Blagojevich’s 7-year-old daughter receiving a $1,500 check from a man whose wife had just obtained a state job. He also says that “He’s [Blagojevich] always been a person who’s honest and one of integrity…I have confidence the governor does the right thing all the time.”
Comment by Fed up Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:23 pm
Flashback, A few weeks ago PQ calls MM a man of character defending MM and his alleged role in the RTA scandal. Now he puts MM’s biggest ally in the burbs on the CTA board.
Comment by Cynic Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:33 pm
Seriously, I’ve been out of work for months now after my CEO decided they could do my job better than me. How do people find out and apply for these sweet hih-paying, do-nothing, gigs?
Comment by Just Me Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:39 pm
I say we get rid of both townships and three of the four transit boards.
Comment by Chavez-respecting Obamist Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 2:46 pm
–Maybe Edgar’s former chief of staff can tell us if St. James ever appointed political operatives to transportation posts.–
Be fair.
Edgar’s reappointment of political outsider and all-around goo-goo John Serpico as chair of the Illinois International Port District helped make the Port of Chicago the bustling center of global commerce that it is today.
Or a golf course. One of those two.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 3:00 pm
SB 1585 allows Evanston Township, and only Evanston Township, to eliminate itself via referendum. No other Township in the State is effected by this law. Previously only entire Counties could vote to remove Townships. State Senator Dan Biss did the bidding of local pols who want control over the General Assistance program by Township elimination. Quinn locked up Evanston pols support before signing it into law.
Comment by Nickypiii Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 3:29 pm
word, excellent.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 6:12 pm
Word, that was beautifully done.
Comment by Soccermom Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 6:26 pm
C’mon, folks, I think appointing a political insider to one of the transit boards is a prerequisite to serve on the board! Should these boards be made up of transit professionals? Yeah. What are the chances of this happening? Zero.
As for the Z appointment, the news coverage at the time mentioned how the Red Line was planning to expand into Z’s township, so PQ’s political pick is actually better than most of the political picks by the other governing bodies.
Comment by Truth teller Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 9:06 pm
–Again, this is why Illinois can’t have nice things.–
You can always spot the dude who has children in a certain age range, lol.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Aug 6, 13 @ 9:58 pm
I’ve been around a long time and I cannot recall anyone ever making as outrageous a claim as Quinn is on this one. Regardless of the inside baseball political calculations, Quinn “the reformer” is at least as bad as any of ‘em, and worse than most. I don’t ever want to hear anyone rag on Madigan again, not after this.
This is a guy whom no one ever thought of as gubernatorial material, picked by Blago to be a non-threatening empty suit, finds himself Gov thru no merit of his own, and then we the people elect him and may very well re-elect him, even tho he has proven himself to be a disaster.
Illinois deserves everything that’s gonna come down on it when its finances collapse.
Comment by Harry Wednesday, Aug 7, 13 @ 12:23 am
–This is a guy whom no one ever thought of as gubernatorial material, picked by Blago to be a non-threatening empty suit,–
Sigh.
He wasn’t picked by Blago. They ran independently of each other, as had all other govs and louie govs up until this coming election cycle.
You don’t think Ogilvie picked Paul Simon, do you? Walker didn’t pick Neil Hartigan. Quinn sure didn’t pick the winner in the last Dem primary, Scott Cohen.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 7, 13 @ 8:23 am
I think “Quinn the Eskimo” makes more sense than “Quinn the reformer.”
Comment by Anonymour Wednesday, Aug 7, 13 @ 8:37 am
Thanks Word. I’ve got two kids under the age of four. The wife goes shopping for a sofa and falls in love with a beautiful, white suede sectional for the family room, “on sale” for like $5,000. I told her she was out of her mind. We got a dark brown cheapie from Harlem furniture instead. The kids love it but the wife is still mad at me.
We’ve got our self-serving politicians smearing their muddy shoes all over the white sofa that is our transit system and Quinn doesn’t seem to notice or care. TII.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Aug 7, 13 @ 8:47 am
Oh 47th — It takes someone very special to bring Harlem Furniture into this thread.
Comment by soccermom Wednesday, Aug 7, 13 @ 8:54 am
Why were we surprised? Don’t we remember this?
https://capitolfax.com/2010/01/29/quinn-endorses-berrios-early-voting-doubles-and-a-big-roundup/
Has Quinn ever commented on Berrios’ little ethical challenges? Given his endorsement, you’d think he would have an opinion. And given Quinn’s concern for taxpayers, you’d think he would have something to say about this:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-16/news/chi-berrios-political-firings-to-cost-taxpayers-more-than-500000-20130716_1_county-inspector-general-county-board-commissioner-peter-silvestri
Comment by Wondering Wednesday, Aug 7, 13 @ 9:01 am