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Rauner hires “extremely, extremely pro-business” adviser who once battled with AG Madigan

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Illinois

* Bruce Rushton at the Illinois Times…

A lawyer once at the center of disputes between Attorney General Lisa Madigan and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is now Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top adviser on environmental issues.

“Oh my God,” exclaimed former assistant attorney general Thomas Davis when told that Robert Alec Messina has been tapped by Rauner to be the governor’s policy adviser on energy and the environment.

As general counsel for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under Blagojevich, Messina in 2007 wrote a letter to Madigan’s staff saying that the IEPA would no longer refer cases to the attorney general for enforcement. Criminal enforcement referrals that had already fallen stopped entirely, with no criminal cases being referred from IEPA to the attorney general for at least two years.

Referrals began dropping in 2005, when Madigan launched an investigation into allegations that Blagojevich had been trading jobs for campaign contributions. The rift deepened when Blagojevich cut funding for the attorney general’s office and Madigan responded by threatening to keep fines collected from polluters that otherwise would have gone to fund other agencies. […]

In 2009, eight days before Blagojevich was impeached, Messina wrote a letter to Michael Beyer, chief executive officer of Macoupin Energy, promising that IEPA would work “in a cooperative spirit” with the company to address water pollution at a coal mine near Carlinville that the company wanted to buy from ExxonMobil. Macoupin Energy subsequently bought the mine, which had been idle, and restarted operations under ExxonMobil’s permit, even though the permit wasn’t supposed to be transferable under terms of its initial approval in the 1990s. […]

Macoupin Energy is a subsidiary of Foresight Energy Services, a top donor to Rauner’s inauguration committee that gave between $50,000 and $100,000 to help pay for inaugural festivities. Foresight donated $10,000 to Rauner during the campaign but also gave $48,500 to former Gov. Pat Quinn. […]

“(He’s) extremely, extremely pro-business,” said [Phil Gonet, president of the Illinois Coal Association], who served on Rauner’s transition team. “I couldn’t be happier with his appointment there. I think it is in keeping with what the transition team said was important in improving the business climate in Illinois.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:12 am

Comments

===As general counsel for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under Blagojevich,===

So….the Rauner Administration couldn’t find a lawyer in all of Illinois that didn’t have a Blago link? Not one lawyer?

Got it, thanks.

To the appointments,

Rauner won, it’s his Administration, his Shop. I’ve tried not to say “boo” on the choices, going back to the Transition Team, but picks like this, just a question or two…and for me…moving on…

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:23 am
The more outrageous fact is that he actually worked for Blagojevich and now works for Rauner. Way to shake things up!!!

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:24 am
I think one extremely would have been plenty Phil…..

Comment by Jaded Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:29 am
Bad choices lead to bad outcomes!!

Comment by Hugh G Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:31 am
Hiring Blago leftovers will certainly shake up a lot of folks in Springfield who thought those days were gone.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:37 am
The Blago lawyer who trolled for campaign contributions by announcing he wasnt going to enforce the law?

Shake ‘em up.

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:42 am
We truly reap what we sow.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:43 am
It goes deeper than that. All I’ll say is: times (and views apparently) sure have changed for young Alec…

Comment by low level Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:46 am
Another theater of war opens up. Keep the popcorn coming this will be interesting to watch.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:47 am
The Illinois Coal Association “couldn’t be happier” with the environmental policy advisor.

Makes sense.

Comment by Sun Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:49 am
This is not fair to Messina and ignores how the AG sought to punish him - and lost - after he left EPA. Maybe this Davis has a vendetta of some sort.

Comment by Original Rambler Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 9:53 am
Actually, wasn’t he hired by Doug Scott as the IEPA Chief Legal Counsel?

I guess, by this definition, anyone who came to work for the state during Blago’s tenure is a “Blago retread”

Also ZERO mention of Messina’s work with the IERG in the piece? Or the fact that the Republican Rauner placed a Democrat in this position? That’s shoddy reporting. Rushton’s better than that.

Bottom line: Somebody actually had the stones to stand up to a Madigan, therefore they get trashed by the Madigan-kowtowing Statehouse *”intelligentsia”

*quotations noting sarcasm

Comment by I-72 Blues Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 10:11 am
This is bad reporting. Alec is a class act with a great career. He’s an attorney that has worked for the EPA as general counsel and most recently worked for the IL Environmental Regulatory Group (Chamber affiliation). Alec is not a partisan hack - he’s a solid attorney with a good grasp of environmental issues.

Comment by 1776 Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 10:23 am
Don’t know Mr. Messina, but C’mon man. Sounds like there are two sides to this story. I can see how someone like Mr. Messina could believe that AG Madigan may not always be completely impartial, unbiased and beholden to no one.

Comment by Soccertease Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 10:47 am
While Mr. Messina might be a fine choice, Rauner has invited these comparisons. Every choice will be closely examined for the whiff of hypocrisy.

Rauner is in a corner on his appointment. If they have no Springfield experience they will be criticized for not understanding how the State works. If they have Springfield experience, they will be criticized for that.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 10:53 am
Very interesting post, I-72. I’ll be keen to see some more.

Comment by dupage dan Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 10:55 am
Perception!

Comment by 618662dem Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 11:26 am
If he took action to ensure that the AG could not take enforcement action on state environmental regulations, what was his reason? What was his alternative?

That does sound pretty bad, but there’s surely more to the story.

Giving Team Rauner benefit of the doubt on this one, for now.

Comment by walker Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 11:32 am
In case people were confused by this, Bruce Rauner is a Republican.

Republicans care more about business than the environment. I believe it is in their platform. If not, it broadcast daily on Fox News. They don’t exactly try to hide it.

Of course Rauner is going to appoint somebody like this. He’s a Republican. That’s what they do.

Of all the appointment so far, the only ones that bother me in the slightest are Meeks and Munger. Meeks was contrary to Rauner’s claim not to have a social agenda. Munger seems to have sole qualification “failed candidate.” Those two were inconsistent with Rauner’s campaign.

The rest? He broadcast those policies during the campaign. Anybody could see those types of picks coming.

Comment by Gooner Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 11:42 am
Republicans care more about business than the environment.

US Grant created the first National Park.
Teddy Roosevelt created the modern environmental movement, national monuments, national seashores, national forests and then put Gifford Pinchot in charge.
Richard Nixon created the EPA which began under his administration to bad leaded gasoline in cars, monitor air pollution, and establish the ground work we use today.

All Republicans.

Like on national defense, Democrats and Republicans worked together on environmental issues. TR and Grant had GOP dominated Congresses, and even with the Democrats in total control in Congress - Nixon still got a bipartisan group together to establish our environmental work nationally.

What we see today is how much damage partisanship has destroyed our environment. By painting anyone who is a Republican as an evil Earth hating psycho, you can’t get bipartisanship.

The emotional rancor over this appointment based on nothing but partisanship clearly demonstrates an inability to think outside ideology.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 12:11 pm
==I guess, by this definition, anyone who came to work for the state during Blago’s tenure is a “Blago retread”==

The Republican Party has been saying that since the day Governor Quinn was sworn in. What’s good for the goose…

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 12:43 pm
Perception is a spot on comment. Maybe there may be a few too many regulations but that doesn’t mean they should throw the whole book out the door. The rules are there for a reason. Businesses shouldn’t be given a free hand to do whatever they please. To go with what other people have said. wait till the dust settles and see what happens. Interesting though.

Comment by Ginhouse Tommy Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 12:59 pm
The Republican Party has been saying that since the day Governor Quinn was sworn in.

But wasn’t Quinn, as Lt. Governor, a part of the Blagojevich administration between 2003-2009? Quinn was Blagojevich’s running mate - twice. So it isn’t even a similar comparison, let alone a same comparison, right?

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:15 pm
The problem with Messina is actually not that he once worked for Blagojevich. It’s what he’s done since then - clearly an advocate for the interests of business, the environment be damned. But as Gooner pointed out, that’s basically the MODERN Republican party’s position, so the appointment certainly makes sense for this administration.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:23 pm
Vanilla, you know the Republican party today is not the Republican party of TR and Richard Nixon when it comes to environmental protection. And even with Nixon it is a stretch to believe he was the one that organized the effort. It was largely forced upon him. Although even then there were many more moderate progressive Republicans who really did believe in environmental protection and valued the natural resources. Today it is largely the Republican party that has parted ways with the earth — witness their highly ideological stand on climate change, i.e. denial as influenced largely by their unwavering support of fossil fuels.

Comment by vole Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:37 pm
Where’s the ridicule I got yesterday when I said that Rauner is just another politician? Same game, new uniform. Oh, I was told how naive I was, how ignorant I was. Oh well. Keep on shaking things up Bruce.

Comment by Try-4-Truth Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:39 pm
Democrat hires Republican: “So bipartisan! Reaching across the aisle!”

Republican hires Democrat who didn’t toe the Madigan family line: “Meh.”

Comment by I-72 Blues Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:41 pm
Mean spirited reporting; apart from being experienced and talented, Alec is a class act.

Comment by Keyser Soze Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:54 pm
ahh, kansas! what a fine example you are!!!

Comment by bored now Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 1:56 pm
I don’t know him; but maybe there is now some hope that IEPA will not be so unreasonable regarding NPDES. That would be a good thing for most Illinois residents.

Comment by logic not emotion Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 2:06 pm
If I am correct, Mr. Messina comes from a Republican family w/ connections to former Gov. Ryan. Not sure he can be categorized as a Blago Democrat.

Comment by D.P.Gumby Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 2:15 pm
logic not emotion@2:06p.m.
Could you elaborate on your contention about IEPA being “unreasonable regarding NPDES”? How is the agency being unreasonable?

Comment by Phil Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 2:40 pm
To interject the noble causes of protecting the environment or protecting our economy/businesses into this story is a romantic attempt to rewrite history. The truth is it was a battle of ego and turf issues between the AG’s Office and Governor’s Office/IEPA on sharing the spoils of the fines & penalties collected. (Most of which (not all) come from violations that have zero impact on the environment. Mr Messina came to IEPA under the republicans ended up promoted under the democrats and was thrown under the bus in typical Blago style when the dust settled in this governmental Mexican standoff. neither the AG nor Illinois EPA had the public interest or doing the right thing in mind when they engaged in this childish battle of wills/power grab. I hope Mr Messina remembers who pushed him in front of that bus and who was driving It as many upper management folks remain at the agency. If you govern trying to keep the interests of the citizens as well as our Illinois businesses (they are not the enemy folks but our partner in protecting the environment) and focus on trying to do the right thing instead of protecting your fiefdoms this state would be in a much better place.

Comment by Dose O Reality Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 2:43 pm
Phil: Certainly. I apologize for not doing so in initial post. I realize that many would have a different perspective; but… I strongly believe that the NPDES regulations are overly burdensome on homeowners without the scientific evidence to warrant it. The requirements could drastically inflate the cost of installing an approved septic system forcing homeowners on budgets to choose between a legal system OR an illegal system, food, utilities and medications. It doesn’t seem logical to force an elderly couple living in a $10,000 house to put in a $7,000 septic system - especially when their nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away and any effluent would be unlikely to reach navigable waterways barring major rains. I have heard that NPDES implementation in other states resulted in more people going with illegal systems (i.e. 50 gallon drums - which provide no treatment and kind of defeats the whole goal). NPDES in Illinois was pushed by environmentalists over objections from local health departments (who were initially going to be forced into enforcing it) and many others. I realize that those environmental groups were holding the threat of a lawsuit over IEPA/IDPH/etc.; but still felt like IEPA was not acting in most residents best interests (i.e. putting politics over science).

Comment by logic not emotion Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 3:40 pm
logic not emotion - do you realize that NODES is a federal law?

Comment by Concerned Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 3:51 pm
NPDES

Comment by Concerned Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 3:51 pm
There is nothing wrong with pro-business
unless it means anti-environment or anti-worker.
This will be interesting to watch. Not judging, yet!

Comment by Enviro Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 4:38 pm
It doesn’t matter who he is as long as the federal hiring monitor and Shakman approved of him - he’s clean.

Comment by Dr X Thursday, Jan 15, 15 @ 8:13 pm
Hiring people like Messina indicates that Rauner is going straight Republican Ideologue. He has no interest in actually governing in a bi-partisan fashion. Madigan and Cullerton will blunt the damage he’ll cause, thank God.

Comment by PublicServant Friday, Jan 16, 15 @ 7:07 am
PublicServant: Congrats for the most off-based comment of this thread.

I know plenty of ideologues. Messina ain’t one of them.

But saying Madigan and Cullerton will “blunt the damage”…who in the wide, wide world of sports has been driving the Illinois short bus for the last decade?

Comment by I-72 Blues Friday, Jan 16, 15 @ 7:56 am