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Through the past, fondly; And through the present, darkly

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Illinois

* Say what you want about George Ryan, but Daley has a point…

Mayor Richard Daley, seeking more cash for Chicago Public Schools and construction money for the CTA, sounded Tuesday as though he’s longing for the good old days of Gov. George Ryan.

Though the mayor declined to single out Gov. Rod Blagojevich or any particular legislator for criticism at the lack of progress in Springfield on those two fronts, Daley did concede more business got done under Ryan, the former Republican governor whose felony-conviction appeal the U.S. Supreme Court rejected earlier in the day.

“He understood that infrastructure is always important the first day you arrive, because he had the experience in government, and he always knew it was important,” Daley said of Ryan. “And people trusted him, they did.”

The voters lost their trust in Ryan, for good reason. But at the Statehouse, at least, Ryan’s word was his bond.

* Raw video…

* More from Daley on privatizing the state Lottery…

“You just don’t wake up and say, ‘We’re going to lease assets.’ You have to work with the General Assembly. You have to find out what it’s going to be used for. It can only be used for those purposes. So it takes a lot of time. You just don’t do it overnight. It takes a couple of years to do these things,” the mayor said.

* Hizzoner on the Statehouse atmosphere…

“It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys down there, unfortunately. Lack of trust,” said Daley, a former state senator. “I hope they can get around that.”

Not yet.

* Meanwhile, Bethany Jaeger has an excellent roundup of where things stand today…

A major piece of the Senate’s version of a state budget is unlikely to advance, but that might not hold up the entire budget. The General Assembly has until midnight May 31 to approve a budget without needing Republican votes.

The Senate’s plan to float a $16 billion pension bond scheme would refinance the state’s five pension systems — which have accumulated more than $42 billion in debt — and pay them off at a lower interest rate. […]

Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat, said informal discussions with House Democrats about the pension deal indicate it may be difficult to get Republican votes necessary to get a three-fifths majority in each chamber. [,,,]

As Radogno said, if the pension deal failed, legislators could pull the sale of the dormant 10th casino license “out of a hat” in an attempt to balance the budget. That deal could be worth about $500 million.

* Speaking of the 10th license…

New York investment bank Bear Stearns & Co. is in line for its first contract with the state of Illinois since becoming embroiled in government contracting scandals here earlier this decade.

The Illinois Gaming Board is set to hire Bear Stearns to help it auction the state’s 10th casino license this summer. The Illinois Department of Revenue, which oversees the Gaming Board, recommended the firm despite its connection to alleged pay-to-play schemes.

A former Bear Stearns senior managing director, P. Nicholas Hurtgen, was indicted last year on charges that he pressured Naperville’s Edward Hospital, which was seeking state approval for an expansion, to hire a contractor who then paid kickbacks to Stuart Levine. Mr. Levine is the former vice-chairman of the state agency that signs off on such projects. Mr. Hurtgen has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set.

Federal investigators also have probed an $800,000 fee that Bear Stearns paid to Republican power broker Robert Kjellander for helping the firm land the underwriting work on the state’s $10-billion pension obligation bond deal in 2003. Mr. Kjellander has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

* Related…

* Federal appeals court allows discrimination lawsuit against Blagojevich

* State lawmakers returned to work Tuesday with optimism but no real progress toward a new budget as a Saturday deadline fast approaches.

* Hey, guv, if tax credits work so well for Hollywood, why not try more?

* No vacation? Blame a Democrat

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:01 am

Comments

We need to give up this whole gas tax holiday scheme and do somthing that will actually be efftive, Drill for oil in Alaska. Further, mandate that all oil produced in Alaska can only be soled in the US. That will provide a short term solution while we invest in longer term alternative energy sources such as hydrogen powered engines and bio diesel plants etc.

Comment by Ghost Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:16 am
Fran Eaton and her gas tax holiday is like GW Bush and his playing guitar while Katrina ravaged New Orleans. Both hurt my ears. I know the Southtown has to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get “columnits”, but she is embarrassing. I mean who else writes for the Southtown anyway?

Oil is more expensive because it is a world commodity and wee little countries like China and India are booming.

Invest in public transportation, bicycles, and drilling in Alaska. Put some wind turbines off in Lake Michigan. Let’s see “Da Mare” deal with the chorus of NIMBY’s over that one.

As for Ryan V Blago I would suggest they trade places for a few months until there is a State Budget. Blago has done the near impossible and made me miss Ryan. I guess Daley might regret not supporting Vallas back in 2002. Daley didn’t fully support Hartigan in 1990 and then got stuck with Edgar. He got 4 happy years out of George Ryan and now he is stuck with Blago. Let’s see. That adds up to 1 out of 5 terms where Daley has a Governor he could work with. Not good.

Comment by IrishPirate Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:30 am
=== I mean who else writes for the Southtown anyway?===

LOL.

Me.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:47 am
lol

Comment by Kevin Fanning Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:53 am
Daley hit the nail on the head with the experience remark about Ryan. Most of the people Blago put in charge have no experience in government.

And yes it is possible to work in government and make the government work for the taxpayers without being a crook.

Comment by Leave a light on George Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:54 am
That was the point.

I actually think given Kadner and McQueary that the Southtown has a good line up of columnists. Since this is your site I won’t mention you as I know you would be embarrassed.

Comment by IrishPirate Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:56 am
Hasn’t the lottery lease been discussed for a couple years already?

Couldn’t you say it has already taken “a couple of years to do these things…”?

Comment by jj Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:58 am
Discussed and planned are different things.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 8:59 am
It would be interesting to see what Daley would do with a city council that acted like the Illinois General Assembly…

Comment by jj Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 9:19 am
And, in the end, we all know HOW Ryan got more done, right?

:)

Comment by jj Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 9:22 am
Ghost has a great idea.

We should start drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. Then, 20 years from now when the wells are actually producing petroleum at capacity, we can pump the oil into our time machine and send it back to 2008 to drive the price down.

– SCAM
so-called “Austin Mayor”
http://austinmayor.blogspot.com

Comment by so-called "Austin Mayor" Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 9:44 am
Mayor Daley would never have a GA like this one cuz he wouldn’t allow it. LOL

Comment by Anonymous45 Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 9:51 am
Leave, your point is a great one. I’ve said that for a long time. You can’t just bring in former press people and TV reporters who have little or no government experience. Blago should have actively recruited former state reps and senators to be key advisors. If he did, he failed miserably. And no, I don’t count Carol Ronen…

Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 10:43 am
1) I tend to think the Southtown has a great lineup of columnists; the gracious host of this blog, McQueary, Kadner. But alas, the punchbowl has a baby ruth floating in it.
2) SCAM, that made me laugh out loud.

Comment by JonShibleyFan Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 10:49 am
Which Bear Stearns hotshot is in line to get the kickback this time?

Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 10:51 am
Neil Bluhm is one I’ll bet…

Comment by Anonymous45 Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 10:55 am
On the Bear Stearns front Hurtgen was like a rouge trader operating on an island cutting all kinds of deals for himself on the side (Knight E/A for example) what is going to be interesting to find out now that Glennon is working with the feds is what happened to those DuPage County bond deals Hurtgen set up and where did the documents go?

Both Glennon and Hurtgen were also mentioned in the Ryan case.

Comment by GofGelnview Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 10:55 am
Beck’s son worked there with Hurtgen…

Comment by GofGelnview Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 10:56 am
Daley’s comment makes it official.

The last three Democratic governors; Kerner, Walker and Blagojevich were corrupt ineffective governors. Two of the three ended up in jail, the current one “has not been charged with any wrongdoing”.

The last Republican governor; Ryan, was a corrupt effective governor. He is now in jail.

So, it is better to have corrupt Republican governors than Democratic ones based on our state’s history. Republicans abuse power for wealth while governing, and Democrats abuse power for wealth while fumbling.

The Republican Party has the best crooks.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 11:02 am
What headlines — Corinthians and Hogan’s Heroes in the same day. How literary — it’s like Paris in the 20s on the Cap Fax.

Bear Stearns getting a contract to auction off the tenth casino license — I don’t think so. It’s basically a license to print money . I have an idiot cousin who’s a lawyer who would do it for a lot less and get about the same return. He charges $100 an hour plus expenses at Kinko’s — and he’s hungry, he really needs the work.

I worked in municipal finance in the 90s and it was an even better education in Clout and human nature than the General Assembly. I covered a billion dollar, insured, McCormick Place bond issue. It was a who’s who in rainmakers; underwriters, financial advisors, bond counsel, etc. Everybody got a taste — and the bonds sold out 20 minutes after they hit the market. Again, my cousin could have done that.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 11:05 am
Way to go VanMan, another homerun!

Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 11:13 am
“You have to find out what it’s going to be used for. It can only be used for those purposes.”

when Daley leased the Skyway, his announced plans for the largess were of the level of detail of “rainy day fund”

Comment by BannedForLife Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 12:15 pm
Good coment, wordslinger. Pay to play is the Illinois way.

Bear Stearns is now owned lock stock and bagel by JP Morgan Chase, a high powered operation if there ever was one. Bear’s Tom Beck may still be on board, He was the only rainmaker left in Chicago.

Selling the 10th license is a job that requires zero talent, just a good rolodex. Even Blago could do it in his spare time.

Comment by Truthful James Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 2:46 pm
It’s always interesting to see the Hurtgen articles and comments inadvertently forgetting to mention that the federal appeals court dismissed all the fed’s original charges against him. The comment above regarding Blumh is virtually libelous. Rich, I’ve said it before, it’s your site, but allowing such cheap shots anonymously saddens me. If people are so f_____g smart, let them also be brave.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 7:33 pm
Kjellander is a money launderer, plain and simple.

Comment by Disgusted Wednesday, May 28, 08 @ 9:22 pm
Steve Schorf- You seem like the kind of person who doesn’t like to be pissed off but I think your info is a little off…Hurtgen was indicted in Fitz’s “Christmas Card Indictments” along with Kelly.

I can’t speak for libel on the Blumh comment but it seems rather benign for libel- if it even makes sense.

Also, to freshen your recall, a review of the Rezko court room docs might be a good idea. Certainly from those there are a lot of public documents that suggest some serious claims.

Comment by GofGlenview Thursday, May 29, 08 @ 10:44 am