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* Obama, wife cash in with book, new jobs

* Juryâ€™s out on malpractice reforms in Illinois

* Editorial: Prescription for grandstanding

* “The Green Party gubernatorial candidate unveiled Monday his ethics package that would ban corporations or state contractors from making campaign donations.”

* “Pledging to put ‘the grown-ups’ in charge of state government, Republican governor candidate Judy Baar Topinka unveiled a detailed plan for the next four years that features no tax increase and an expansion of gambling to pay down the debt and finance new spending. But Topinka, the state treasurer, would not rule out raising taxes.”

* “That’s the past administration. I wasn’t there, I’m a city councilman,â€ said Democratic candidate Todd Stroger. More here and here.

* It appears that the Sun-Times News Group papers have all received an online facelift. Check out the Sun-Times and the Southtown’s new look. And here are 7 reasons to try the new site.

* Pankau addresses Medicaid crisis

* Press release headline of the week: Lt. Gov. Quinn Launches Virtual Teabag Campaign

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 7:40 am

Comments

“But Topinka, the state treasurer, would not rule out raising taxes.â€

That’s the last straw, and why I am going to hold my nose and be voting for Blagojevich. I am taxed enough and I don’t care how much nonsense is occuring in Springfield, (it has and always will) but when some good for nothing politician raises taxes that never seems to be lowered or cut and is a permanent deduction from my wallet.

Comment by 105th Blues Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 8:06 am
Most of the news right now is about corruption and ethics, and Rich Whitney has the best plan for cleaning up Illinois Government. If you want to end Pay to Play politics in Illinois, the choice is clear–vote for Rich Whitney!

Comment by Squideshi Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 8:32 am
“SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Sept. 26 /U.S. Newswire/ — The Illinois Policy Institute today asked the State Supreme Court committee responsible for lawyer ethics to investigate whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich should lose his license to practice law.”
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=73152

Comment by Ahem Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 9:00 am
105th, maybe you should pay closer attention to your wallet. All those fee hikes for services that Blago sweeps into the general fund are essentially taxes- a little disguised, but taxes nonetheless. The raids on the Illinois pension funds… those will have to be paid back in spades, since we are now years behind where we were supposed to be in putting money into the system that retirees will eventually be looking for. Tax hikes may be the only thing that will solve that issue. If you only plan to stay in Illinois as long as GRod is governor, than keeping taxes low now (and spending willy-nilly on the state credit card) is a fine plan. But I am horrified to think of what life in this state will be like after Rod leaves… look at Dan Hynes’ recent report about the financial trouble this state is in.

If you really only care about your wallet, thinking that the amount of your pocket change that stays there and corruption in the state government are not related is a pretty limited understanding of how this all works. But I suppose since the masses apparently think like you do and wretch every time “taxes” is mentioned, GRod’s strategy of stealth taxes and robbing from future generations to pay for his circus act today isn’t a bad one. We’re the only losers.

Comment by LakeILGOP Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 9:14 am
Topink says again that she would raise our taxes. If you want higher income and sales taxes vote for the Marlboro woman. If you want to keep your hard earned money for you and your family vote for Blagojevich.

Topinka is also the candidate who thinks that working people should be making $5.15 an hour, she oposses a minimum wage increase, she calls it a give away, and then on top of that Topinka would raise your taxes. What is she thinking?

Comment by (618) Democrat Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 9:45 am
I don’t care what Mrs. Obama makes but I am concerned that Obama, a true political fluffball, appears to have done close to nothing while in the US Senate. He dropped the ball on ethics reform, has been elusive about immigration reform and the Iraq war, and his contract transparency initiative is a no-brainer. His Senate office is basically a PR machine, not a policy-making endeavor.

The prospect of this guy running for President
is quite scary. If he gets serious about running for Pres it will be entertaining to watch Hillary and Bill obliterate him. And he’ll deserve it, given his total lack of serious effort in the US Senate.

Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 9:50 am
Stroger will do everything possible to divert this campaign from substantive issues as he is woefully uninformed about the problems that face Cook County. He doesn’t know enough about Cook to formulate plans to reform government, and even if he did propose reforms he would be denigrating his father’s legacy.

Look for Stroger to regurgitate buzzwords such as “far right” and “extremist”. Once elected he will be a Daley/Beavers puppet doing their bidding, and no substantive streamlining or reforming of Cook government will take place.

Comment by Tom Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 10:42 am
I just hope Pat Quinn is making sure Eddie Grant is getting his royalties for the website since I am sure someone still holds a copyright on ‘Electric Avenue’

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 2:15 pm
As far as Obama and ethics reform, the Coburn-Obama bill will allow voters for the first time to sort through many of the various earmarks and determine who put them in there. When journalists can do that and assign more coverage to this area, candidates may be less willing to shove any old subsidy into the law.

No it’s not revolutionary and ground-breaking and the salvation of our democracy, but it’s a solid good step that will improve our system. It’s quintessential Obama-in-action, in other words. No one could ever live up to the hype around him.

Interesting that NPR this morning covered Rich Whitney’s ethics package. He got a 15-second blurb, anyways. Wonder if he can actually climb any higher than 5-6 percent. He’s getting a few media crumbs now, no question.

Comment by ZC Tuesday, Sep 26, 06 @ 3:36 pm
Cassandra noted that the “fluffball” hasn’t done anything except play the charismatic cult of personality rock star game. How much do you want to bet he starts doing ads for GQ as well as something kinda Hollywood in the near future? This guy is Mr. Hip, Good Lookin’ Charisma Cat more than a serious Senator. He can overcome that image, however, by actualling DOING something serious. How about fighting the price-gouging that his UCC affiliated hospitals appear to be doing? That would be a start.

Comment by Angie Thursday, Sep 28, 06 @ 5:11 am