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Quinn to use arrest anniversary to sign reform bill

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Illinois

[Bumped up to Wednesday because it was posted so late Tuesday.]

Governor Pat Quinn will sign a bill Wednesday to cap some political donations for the first time in Illinois.

When the legislature passed the campaign finance bill in October, Quinn called it “excellent,” but said he needed time to review it fully. Quinn’s office confirms he plans to sign the legislation Wednesday. That’s the anniversary of the arrest of his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich.

The bill signing will likely take a back seat to the anniversary coverage, or at least maybe force reporters/pundits to put the reforms into the context of what Blagojevich did, rather than the various vendettas against the Democratic legislative leaders, particularly if Blagojevich ventures out into public again like he did today…

In the midst of federal attempts to re-indict Rod Blagojevich, the former governor suggested today that he wanted to be in court as soon as possible.

“I wish my trial could’ve been held right away,” Blagojevich said to a modest-sized crowd inside a University of Chicago bookstore. “And then I’d still be governor now.” […]

Instead of considering a trial delay, prosecutors will just charge the former governor with something new.

“It’s interesting,” Blagojevich said. “My accusers like to change their story and are now giving another story and another set of circumstances. My story has never changed.”

Yeah, he’d still be governor if his trial was right away. Sure.

Sheesh.

He had a trial in the Senate and he didn’t even bother to show up.

Anyway, back to the bill signing…

“It’s substantial progress and I think it’ll make a great difference in making elections more competitive in Illinois and more open,” Quinn said this afternoon following an appearance before the Tribune’s editorial board. […]

Quinn said he decided to sign the bill on the anniversary of Blagojevich’s arrest to encourage citizens to look back on the past year and the changes that have been implemented since Blagojevich’s ouster. […]

Quinn said it is “progress” that leaders will face limits in primary elections, but added that the state “should also take a look at them” for the general election.

The governor also claimed “there was not a lot of enthusiasm” for keeping a proposal from the original bill that would’ve prevented the Democratic Party of Illinois from endorsing in primaries, “so I didn’t insist on it.” Speaker Madigan more than implied during the veto session that the governor dropped the subject after Lisa Madigan decided to run for reelection.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Dec 9, 09 @ 12:01 am

Comments

From the TV news, Blago was in rare form down in Hyde Park today. Fame, infamy, doesn’t matter; he just digs the attention.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 8, 09 @ 6:58 pm
Blagoof still a sociopath

Comment by circularfiringsquad Tuesday, Dec 8, 09 @ 7:57 pm
Rich Miller is capable of very shrewd observations. In this entry, however, Rich’s zeal to provoke overcame his zeal for rigorous thought.

Rich notes that the Governor did not insist on a ban on Democratic party contributions to candidates in a primary in this bill, implying that it was transparently self-serving and somehow related to a potential race with a particular candidate. If I am not mistaken, Rich characterized negotiating inclusion of the ban on Democratic party support in primary elections “a heckuva move.” Perhaps he has flip-flopped on this issue?

In the paragraph directly above, he quotes an article stating that the new bill includes a provision that limits ALL party (not just Democratic as in HB 7) contributions to candidates in primaries. Isn’t a comprehensive set of limits on all party contributions to candidates (including Gubernatorial candidates) in primaries a broader, modified version of EXACTLY WHAT QUINN NEGOTIATED IN HB7? Why does this new bill include the party-primary limits if Quinn, as Rich implies, hypocritically dropped the issue when he did not draw a particular opponent in the primary?

Comment by Rich, Where's Your Head Tuesday, Dec 8, 09 @ 9:07 pm
Quinn is going to talk about how different state government is from what it was a year ago. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting to see a difference in governing style.

Comment by Its Just Me Tuesday, Dec 8, 09 @ 9:34 pm
===Isn’t a comprehensive set of limits on all party contributions to candidates (including Gubernatorial candidates) in primaries a broader, modified version of EXACTLY WHAT QUINN NEGOTIATED IN HB7?===

Um, no. The party ban would have taken effect immediately. The bill that was approved delays the primary contri ban until 2012.

You can apologize now.

lol

Try thinking before you comment. Or at least check the Google. Thanks.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Dec 8, 09 @ 10:42 pm
Today should be a day of celebration in Illinois; however, it will be muted because no one has taken the opportunity to even make a serious attempt to turn the ship around in Illinois. When do we all wake up? Illinois must do something different than it has been doing or we will continue to sink. Has even one candidate for Gov come up with a detailed plan that will put us back on the road to fiscal health? No just vagueness. More business, cut taxes, cut spending…blah blah blah. Man up on say what will be cut to get us in the right direction and back it up with some real data. It all has been shallow up to this point.

Comment by Hoping For Rational Thought Wednesday, Dec 9, 09 @ 7:53 am
In the end, this is scotch tape “reform” and not what Illinois needs. A great opportunity has been missed, and things will stay as they are despite today’s handshakes and pats on the back.

Comment by frtcy Wednesday, Dec 9, 09 @ 9:58 am
Illinois government once again demonstrates that the best government reform comes from voting incumbants out of office by either not re-nominating them, or not re-electing them.

To the Democratic Party, government is a profession. To the Republican Party, government is a business. But reality reveals that it is a racket.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Dec 9, 09 @ 10:41 am