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* Dawn Turner Rice: “I know, I know. You’re thinking: ‘In the end, ComEd is a company and all viable companies have to turn a profit.’ Last year, ComEd says it made $527 million in profits. Exelon, ComEd’s parent, made $2.1 billion last year.”

* Gov. Gets Maximum Publicity From Old Practice

* “The turnout campaign that Republican operatives used to help pull Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee to victory in the Rhode Island primary was a potent demonstration of how money and manpower can transform a race even in an unfavorable political environment — and a preview of the strategy that national party officials say they plan to replicate in the most competitive House and Senate races over the next 55 days.”

* “A sophisticated and previously unrevealed experiment by Democratic interest groups could provide Democratic candidates in as many as nine states with an unanticipated edge in the November elections.”

* Editorial: “Nope, our ‘competition’ here in Illinois won’t actually include new companies moving here to give ComEd a run for its money. Instead, we’ll be limited to those vaunted commodities markets, to which these little auctions are inexplicably linked. And as we’ve seen recently with oil and gas, these markets are easily manipulated by the big players and vulnerable to even the smallest rumor of a supply disruption halfway around the world.”

* Kadner: Feel-good school groups no match for politicians

* McQueary: Tabling my cynicism, for now

* Prosecutors dig for new cases as Ryan fades away

* Um, huh? “Jesse Jackson Jr. Criticizes Daley - Congressman Says Race Should Not Be Injected In Big-Box Ordinance Issue”

* Surplus auction to go live on Web - State sees it as way to increase revenue

* Trouble: “Spending by local governments in Northeast Illinois rose nearly twice as fast as governments’ revenue in the first half of the decade, according to a study by the Civic Federation, set for release Monday. The taxpayer advocacy group says per-capita spending by local governments in the six-county region rose 14% from 2000 to 2004, while revenue grew 7.8%. Local governments’ long-term debt level, meanwhile, rose 33.2%. ‘When your debt level is growing faster than your revenue, that’s a sure sign of financial stress,’ says Laurence Msall, president of the federation. Employee salaries, pensions and health care expenses accounted for much of the additional spending.”

* Administration fails to follow letter of the law on AllKids mailer

* Brown: Ryan doesn’t deserve one more penny from pension

* In Illinois, people are being sent to jail for this sort of hiring.

* No Rockford debate for Blagojevich, Topinka

* To debate or not debate? That’s the question for Blagojevich

* Mitchell: Gov, Stroger must learn there’s no crying in politics

* Schools will test the next governor

* I think Topinka ought to hit up Jim Edgar for a piece of this big win at the track.

* Maximum discord on minimum wage

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 8:15 am

Comments

>Schools will test the next governor

This is a good story. Inequalities in property taxes are creating a few ‘have’ and very many ‘have not’ school districts.

I say we do what Major League Baseball did…institute a ‘revenue sharing’ plan for the public schools: a district is allowed to spend $x per pupil. Any money spent over $x per pupil is ‘taxed’ at say 40%, and the proceeds are then given to a poor district.

For competative balance and the good fo the game, you know.

Comment by Leroy Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 8:35 am
re: the two stories on RNC strategy with databases and targeting voters… i.e. they use their money smarter then Dems. What’s happening in Illinois with this technology in either party?

I gather not much.

Comment by Bill Baar Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 9:07 am
the voter vault database for illinois is moribund. the initial data was gathered for the lynn martin senate race, and it appears that only commercial data and some voter history has been added to it since. the reasons seem to be that illinois has not seen a contested presidential race since that time *and* the illinois gop, disorganized as it is, doesn’t seem interested in investing the time or money into improving it.

i also think (being an outsider) that the fact that illinois skipped the reagan revolution has a lot to do with it. there is sporadic interest in expanding this, but only at a local (township or possibly state rep) level…

Comment by bored now Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 9:31 am
“Blagojevich’s response to critics? If they have a problem with me putting Carterville at the top of the list, sue me, he said Thursday.”

I and others (probably the entire state) have a problem with the Governor so boadly encouraging lawsuits.

Is it because he is aware that he and his administration along with Lisa Madigan and her administration will do anything they can to circument the laws to dismiss lawsuits filed against them?

It appears to me that he has circuvented many factual legal claims to the point that he is confident that no matter what the issue is, he’s going to win.

Well tell that to the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court Governor!

Comment by One Man Can Make A Difference Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 12:23 pm
I can’t stand the guy, but I hope he wins. The financial shell game is due to crumble, soon. The Fed’s are going to nail his azz and his crews behinds, that will make for good reading. Then in a few years he gets to go to prison. Let’s hope it isn’t a cushy club Fed facility. He needs to go to a place where he will get his hair messed. But, I am sure no matter what happens, he will get it in the end.

Comment by Buck Flagojevich Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 4:14 pm
Speaking of Exelon, guess what company’s executives seem to have quite a vested interest in Peter Roskam? Check it out over at my place.

Comment by Bridget Dooley Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 4:26 pm
I got a kick out of the no crying in politics story. I reminded me of that scene in the movie “A League of Their Own” where Tom Hanks is trying to deal with one of his players who is crying. He says “There’s no crying in baseball”

Comment by huh? Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 5:27 pm
I am a regular reader of Mary Mitchell and while I quite often disagree with her on a variety of things, I just want to say that she really has some testicular verility.

It is hard to think of any other columnist anywhere who is willing to take stands or go after figures regardless of who it might upset in such a forceful way. I really do get the sense that she is an independent thinker, and that certainly cannot be said about most media figures. Her hate mail must be astounding.

I am not really being able to articulate this extremely well, but Mary Mitchell has to be considered one of the best things about the Chicago Sun-Times. Keep it up!

Comment by Establishment Republican Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 9:42 pm
Leroy, it’s not the difference in property taxes, it’s the difference in property values. Why not have the state artificially lower the value of suburban homes so those residents no longer have to pay so much to their schools. That’d make things even. Or, conversly, have the state artificially inflate downstate home values so residents get a taste of what it’s like to pay Chicago area property taxes.

Let’s see, you have Southern Illinois residents cheering that their schools are considered decrepit (see Carterville) but you want to punish the people who voluntarily pay for the overwhelming amount of their local education.

Comment by anon Monday, Sep 18, 06 @ 10:50 pm
Children are not responsible for the property values in their neighborhoods or the ability of their parents to buy a home in a highly valued neighborhood. They are not responsible for the ability of a parent to “voluntarily” pay for their local education. We do not punish children for the “shortcomings” of their parents. Universal education is one of the engines that has driven the growing economy. The bottom line is that failing to educate children is a waste of resources. If the next Jonas Salk happens to be born in a neighborhood where the educational opportunities are so bad he can’t succeed, we have really lost an opportunity.

Comment by NoGiftsPlease Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 6:57 pm