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Question of the day

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Illinois

* The setup…

State Rep. Brandon Phelps says if downstate lawmakers help Chicago vie for the 2016 Olympics, they should get something in return - perhaps a law allowing Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons.

“They’re going to ask us for a lot,” the Harrisburg Democrat said Thursday.

Four proposals aimed at allowing Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons have been introduced this year. But, long running philosophical disagreements over gun rights between downstate lawmakers and their Chicago colleagues could keep them from becoming law.

Phelps hopes some horse-trading could benefit gun owners and Olympic supporters.

* The Question: If you were a downstate legislator, for what specific thing would you trade your Chicago Olympics vote? Explain.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:18 am

Comments

For starters, the full $75 million to build out the proposed Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Riverfront Campus that will generate about $200 million in economic growth for the Quad Cities and the entire region.

Comment by There you go again Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:25 am
This is not the wild west where people need to be packing heat to protect themselves, they need to come back to the table with something else.

We are all going to pay for the Olympics if they have it in Chicago. It will end up costing everyone for building it, having security, clean up, and finally demolition of most of it. Living in Chicago, I will stay away from the Olympic areas that will be overrun with people. I know people in Atlanta who said they wished they left town when they had the Olympics, it was so overrun with the people attending, press, extra staff and participants. Traffic was unbearable they told me.

Comment by Third Generation Chicago Native Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:27 am
I agree with There you go again…

Comment by Jethro Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:32 am
The state is broke, so it is not likely that they can afford 75 mil in exchange for a loan guarantee.

Concealed carry has worked in each state despite the dire predictions of the opponents. However maybe there is something as important that costs the state no money that can be bartered.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:33 am
Definitely not guns? It seems as though the people downstate don’t really care about the gun problem up north at all.

Comment by J boogy Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:34 am
I’m not sure what I would push, but it sure wouldn’t be concealed carry. C’mon Phelps, we can do much better than that!!! I wonder if Phelps takes NRA money and if so, how much?

Comment by Deep South Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:35 am
How about repealing home rule?

Comment by Excessively rabid Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:35 am
A state-owned casino at McCormick Place plus slots at O’Hare with a 50/50 state-city split on the handle at both.

Helps bring in real out-of-state money to casinos and mitigates the state’s risk in its Olympic guarantee.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:36 am
Wow, thats a bad trade off. As a downstater, I hope my rep has a little more common sence and asks for infrastructure improvments downstate instead of a stupid gun law.

Comment by Ahoy Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:39 am
If I was a Chicago legislator, I’d trade a concealed-carry law (only applying south of I-80 and west of IL 47) for Olympic cash faster than you could say boo.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:42 am
I would demand reform from the Illinois Democratic Party with a commitment to political diversity for their statewide party ticket. I would demand that the Party nominate two or three statewide candidates residing outside Chicagoland, and make it a rule.

If you want to be an Illinois political party, try building a tent large enough to launch the careers of Illinoians, not just Chicagoans.

Southern Illinois would benefit greatly from this.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 11:49 am
How about high speed internet and a system of breaking-up a few mega farms and creating homesteading opportunities?

Comment by Carl Nyberg Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:06 pm
Substantial investment by the State in springfield. Money for a new convention center, State gurantees for the airport to attract more carriers and jet service; increase state hiring donwstate to fill in the agencies which are understaffed (DNR, DOC, DCFS etc)

Comment by Ghost Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:06 pm
Ok. They don’t have to leave the state - just state government.

Comment by Leave a light on George Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:11 pm
elimination of all kids

Comment by So. ILL Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:14 pm
===a system of breaking-up a few mega farms and creating homesteading opportunities?===

Yup, yup. I made $5,000 last year from my homestead farm. Then my tractor broke.

Comment by 40 Acres and a Mule Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:20 pm
How about a casino on Rend Lake?

Comment by Little Egypt Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:22 pm
Have the shooting sports done at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta and tie in some other event(s) designed to showcase sportsmen and shooting sports.

Comment by Scooby Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:25 pm
Everybody talks about the gun problem in Chicago. Do you think conceal carry might help with that problem? I don’t think is has been tried before so maybe it could. I’m no expert and don’t have a strong opinion either way, just saying sometimes the solution is exactly the opposite of what you might think. Look at recent stats from Australia which imposed gun control laws and took guns from citizenry (well the law-abiding ones anyway!).

Comment by Nuance Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:27 pm
Carl, you want to homestead there are already plenty of old homesteads for sale. “Mega-Farms” don’t have a darned thing to do with it.

I’d take that concealed carry for Olympics deal in a second. Chicago’s gonna get that money either way, might as well get something out of it.

Comment by Gene Parmesan Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:30 pm
– I would demand that the Party nominate two or three statewide candidates residing outside Chicagoland, and make it a rule.–

It’s an open primary, anyone can vote in it. How can you “demand” that, and who would you demand it from?

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:32 pm
Indoor plumbing.

Comment by Skeeter Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:37 pm
Not funny, Skeeter.

Comment by Old Shepherd Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:53 pm
“This is not the wild west where people need to be packing heat to protect themselves, they need to come back to the table with something else.”

I love this comment. 48 other states have concealed carry laws. So, of course, Illinois is not the wild west - or the wild east, south, north, northeast, pacific, whatever.

Sure, I’d trade concealed carry for the Olympics. Personally, I couldn’t care less about the Olympics, but I seriously care about the Bill of Rights. If Phelps can get a trade like this going, I’ll send him a contribution!

Comment by asf Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:53 pm
Someone reopens the Dixie Truck Stops in McLean and Tuscola. They had some good food there back in the day. Other than that, I would demand more fundings for rebuilding/renovating elementary and high school infrastructure in downstate Illinois.

Comment by HoBoSkillet Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:57 pm
==It’s an open primary, anyone can vote in it. How can you “demand” that, and who would you demand it from?==

The Dem party leaders usually develop an official slate of candidates for state-wide office and all the names are on a single petition. Being slated makes it easier to get on the primary ballot and easier to get early financing. It doesn’t guarantee winning the primary (Alexi beat the system with Barack’s assistance), but it’s a big help.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:57 pm
Excuse me, but wouldn’t trading a vote on a proposed law for an agreement for a political slating be somewhat Rodlike?

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 12:59 pm
Skeeter—I’m picking carrot crumbs off my monitor screen thanks to you..hilarious!

If I was my rep, I would trade my Olympics bid for (1) adding SIU-Edwardsville to the U of I system, (2) completion of the new Mississippi River bridge and (3)state takeover of many “distressed” areas of the Metro East along the riverfront. Everyone has their hands in the cookie jar, from park districts to mayors to city councils…the area needs so much help and we have tried throwing money at it, but it doesn’t work. Eliminate all governments (including the ESL Election Board) in the “New East St. Louis Zone” and put them under an appointed board. All tax money, including TIFs, go to this board. Professional engineers decide which buildings stand and which should be bulldozed. Professional planners decide how to extend Illinois 15 into the downtown bridge complex to alleviate commuter congestion because we don’t want to ride with anyone else. Planners also get to designate the “adult entertainment district” so the money generated goes to help the residents and not wherever it goes now. The existing ones (about a dozen, I hear) would get turned into community and education outreach centers with wi-fi access and job placement assistance. Oh, and the Olympic mascot cannot be named Obama…

Comment by Vote Quimby! Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:05 pm
Pot, believe me, I understand slating. The answer I was referring to was:

– I would demand that the (Democratic) Party nominate two or three statewide candidates residing outside Chicagoland, and make it a rule.–

Key words there are “nominate” and “rule.”

And as Sen. Dixon, Gov. Simon, U.S. Sen. Rock, Treasurer Donnewald, Lt. Gov. Sangemeister and Secretary of State Pucinski can tell you, slating doesn’t always do the trick for the nomination.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:07 pm
How about re-structuring education funding from a property tax basis to an income tax basis and then distributing funds strictly on a rate based on number of pupils per school?

Comment by Cinho Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:09 pm
Term limits for leadership. Enough of you Chicago people running the show. And that, my friends, would be the end of the Olympic bid.

Comment by Niles Township Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:17 pm
@So ILL - I agree. I hate children. Let’s get rid of all of them!

Comment by Anonymous ZZZ Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:26 pm
I would vote for the Olympics if all areas north of I-80 would agree to not receive any tax monies paid in any area south of I-80 for the next twentyfive years and concealed carry would be allowed downstate to protect ourselves from those that would try to overcome said agreement.

Comment by Chanson Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:31 pm
==if all areas north of I-80 would agree to not receive any tax monies paid in any area south of I-80==
Um…I’m moving north then. Chicagoland subsidizes downstate

Comment by Vote Quimby! Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:35 pm
–Term limits for leadership. Enough of you Chicago people running the show–

Yeah, give us some of that Niles Township good government!

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:38 pm
“Excuse me, but wouldn’t trading a vote on a proposed law for an agreement for a political slating be somewhat Rodlike?”

You betcha. Who said us’ns in southern Illinois weren’t quick learners?

Comment by Little Egypt Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:38 pm
While these lawmakers may ask for a lot, I suspect many of them would gladly settle for official access to the Olympic Village, particularly for the big party that will be going on the night of the Closing Ceremonies (if they want more, let them get a piece of the condom supply contract for the Olympic Village; I suspect they will figure it out).

Comment by fedup dem Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 1:52 pm
If we’re going to be germane to the issue, how about a few events hosted outside of Chicagoland, say Champaign-Urbana (you can’t tell me the Chief doesn’t have a few suitable facilities).

Comment by HoosierDaddy Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 2:26 pm
I say that Southern Illinois gets the infrastructure and technology to enter the 21st century. With all the gravel roads, no enhanced 9-1-1, and an extremely difficult time getting high speed internet (in the more rural areas).

Comment by Southern Illinois Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 2:38 pm
Infrastructure–including roads, bridges, high-speed internet access, and an equitable restructuring of education funding that tax the onus off local property owners.

Comment by Fan of the Game Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 2:40 pm
Money for Springfield

Comment by Polignac Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 2:57 pm
As someone who had family in Phelps’ part of the state, how about extending I-24 from its end at I-57 into the Metro East area, connecting to I-270 / I-255? Look at a national cell phone coverage map and see the large swaths on Illinois from Cairo east of I-57 up to I-70 without coverage? How about $$ for cell phone towers, or, better yet, a tower as high as a TV tower dedicated to cell phones?

Phelps demanding “guns” instead of infrastructure (or reducing the reliance on property taxes to fund education, etc.) makes Southern Illinoisans look like a bunch of rubes.

My home in Central Illinois? Matching federal $$ to get the St Louis / Chicago Amtrak line up to 110 MPH? Springfield area? Making the I-55 Sangamon River bridge 3 lanes so I-55 can be 3 lanes from Lincoln to Divernon? Springfield proper? How about $$ to replace the sewer system? (In 1984 Subaru passed up an assembly plant here due to the rinky dink sewer system.)

There’s something to be had here in terms of cold hard cash. And Phelps would pass it up to carry a gun?

Comment by Smitty Irving Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:07 pm
Skeeter - Out door plumbing is better than the Chicago septic tank.

Comment by Hickory Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:07 pm
The resignation of Daley and Stroger to start with. Next, removal of all control of contracts, vendor licenses etc from ALL CROOK county pols and the creation of a bipartisian citzens panel made up of top economic leaders from across the state to review and award the contracts. In addition, revenues from the Olympics should also be shared across the state based on the percentage of tax base money used to fund the Olympics from each region.

Comment by Sweet Polly Purebred Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:08 pm
How about high speed internet, roads, schools, extra funding for SIU, more economic incentives to relocate businesses there. Conceal Carry is a joke. Southern Illinois has a lot of needs and more guns is not one of them.

Comment by ProfWho Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:20 pm
Skeeter - hilarious. If I had a school on the list of school districts promised construction money in 2002 (or was it 2003?) I would make the trade. Olympic vote for school construction cash.

Comment by So. ILL Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:20 pm
I am a gun owner but concealed carry is not an important issue for anyone, period. How about high speed rail to shuttle people from around the state to see the Olympic games?

Comment by bockrand Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:37 pm
Why not concealed carry? Frankly, whoever in this blog said ” It seems like downstate doesn’t understand the gun problem in Chicago”, was really saying they don’t understand the issues downstate! I’m a 5th generation downstater and believe me, it IS the wild west in some counties. At least as far as law enforcement goes. Where I am from, lots of people own guns and know how to use them: democrats, republicans, or whatever. It is a matter of survival. In my home county, Vermillion, the only law outside of Danville is the county sheriff. If you live in a rural area and call the sheriff, he might come in an hour, or he might come tomorrow, depending on where he is and what else is happening. The gun problem can’t be solved by allowing Chicago laws to rule downstate. Concealed carry seems to work in other states and large cities. Lets give it a try and, yes, trade it for the Olympics, which I do support.

Comment by lincolnlover Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 3:53 pm
In honor of the late gentleman from Vienna, I’d accept shoebox stuffed with cash. Anybody know what Powell’s $800K would be worth in today’s dollars? I might need a bigger box to account for inflation…

Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 4:35 pm
Definitely not concealed carry.
A law school in Springfield. WIU Quad Cities campus. Expand light rail lines from St. Louis into Alton and Edwardsville. Demolish and replace the Stratton Building.

Comment by Will Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 4:44 pm
I am a rube and I want conceal carry for the state. I have no problem if Chicago needs to be exempted from the law. We live in a rural county where law enforcement can be as far away as 30 minutes away. A whole lot of bad can happen in that time period. If I can be trusted to drive a car at 65 mph I should be trusted to carry a gun to protect me and mine! This is something that is long overdue and I am proud of my Rep. for having the guts to go up against the Chicago machine!!

Comment by NIEVA Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 5:54 pm
They should ask for six (6) brand new prisons–that is all Phelps and the people over Southern Illinois really ever seem to want. They can guarantee that they are filled via the increase in homicides from concealed weapons.

Comment by priorities Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 8:57 pm
Did he really propose that? I swear, this is exactly why downstate Illinois legislators do not make it into leadership positions. Even if they are not, they can come off looking like fools.

As someone from downstate who now lives in Chicago, I would like to see some state-sponsored industry downstate. No companies are down there, so let’s start up something! What does the state want?! We can make it!

Comment by whooah Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 9:06 pm
Lincolnlover–what part of Vermillion County are you in? I’m in Champaign, and it’s not that bad here, and it certainly isn’t that bad down by Effingham, where I grew up.

Comment by LYnn S Friday, Mar 13, 09 @ 9:46 pm
I’m not against concealed carry but, as a southern Illinoisan, I sure don’t want Phelps spending his political capital on this issue. Give us some $$$ to help education and create jobs.

Comment by reason a. goodwin Saturday, Mar 14, 09 @ 1:05 am