Sen. Durbin Backs Barack Obama for President

I don't know what the general perception of Newsmax.com is but I found this interesting article there about Illinois' senior senator speaking glowingly of the possibility of the junior senator running for President. How appropriate in light of Sen. Obama's name being thrown around as a possible contender for the presidency in 2008 and he's already got one endorsement. I post this article in its entirety.

Sen. Durbin Backs Barack Obama for President
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 11:24 a.m. EDT

Barack Obama is getting a push toward a presidential run from fellow Democratic senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Durbin said he's told Obama he should look "long and hard" at the possibility of running. The 44-year-old Obama has already said he won't run for president in 2008.

But Durbin says Obama brings something special to politics. He says Obama connects better with people than anyone he's ever seen. And Durbin adds that he thinks Obama has the potential to unite people from both Democratic and Republican regions of the country.

And, yes, Durbin also says he would endorse an Obama candidacy should he decide to run.

© 2006 Associated Press.

I really would like to know what to make of this.

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Is US Atty Trying to Peel Emerald Casino Grape?

A year ago Parkway Bank Chairman Rocco Suspenzi refused to tell the state Gaming Board "about his role in secretly splitting up an investment in the now-defunct Emerald Casino with at least one man the FBI has claimed associated with members of organized crime,” according to the Chicago Tribune reporter John Chase.

Now, another Suspenzi is in more serious trouble.

Here’s the beginning of the U.S. Attorney’s press release today:

A former bank officer was charged today with fraud and federal income tax offenses for allegedly obtaining nearly $500,000 from a customer’s credit line and converting the money to his own use. The defendant, Jeffrey Suspenzi, was charged with one count of bank fraud and two counts of filing false individual income tax returns in a three-count criminal information filed today in U.S. District Court, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Suspenzi, 34, of South Elgin and formerly of Palatine, was an assistant vice president of Parkway Bank and Trust Company, based in Harwood Heights.

It seems likely that the two Suspenzi’s are related, so could this be a way of prying information out of bank Chairman Rocco Suspenzi?

Also posted at McHenry County Blog.

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IL Dem Corruption on California TV

Assuming Judy Topinka has enough money for TV ads, she might want to take a page out of California State Treasurer Phil Angelides’ use of Illinois Democratic Party corruption in his quest for his state’s gubernatorial nomination.

Awaiting sentencing in the Downstate Teachers Pension kickback scheme in Illinois is former Democratic National Committee Finance Chairman Joe Cari.

Joe Cari, as in the guy who fingered Governor Rod Blagojevich as “Public Official A.”

As in a guy who helped Al Gore raise big money.

Now, California Democrats are batting Illinois Dem crook Cari around like a tennis ball.

Whom Cari helped most is a major issue in California’s June 6th gubernatorial primary fight.

Is Democrat State Treasurer or Democrat State Comptroller Steve Westly more corrupt? That seems to be the issue before Democratic Party primary voters.

State Treasurer Angelides is excoriating State Comptroller Westly for
Raising cash from “a corrupt Chicago businessman,” according to the Los Angeles Times

But, Blagojevich also got $15,000 from Cari—in three 2003-04 chunks of $5,000. Each donation ranked as national player Cari’s biggest Illinois contribution.

What did Blagojevich do with the money?

On August 4th--after Cari copped a plea--the Governor gave it back to Cari.

In effect, Blagojevich made a contribution to his fellow Democrat’s legal defense fund.

And Demo crook Steven Loren, a Blagojevich administration appointee also caught up in the pension scandal, got his $4,500 back, too.

How much more fertile are the crooks, alleged crooks and pre-alleged crooks who helped Governor Rod Blagojevich!

Just in case Topinka’s creative people need any help, here’s part of the TV ad:

"This is Joe Cari," the narrator intones. "He's a corrupt Chicago businessman who gave Steve Westly thousands in campaign contributions."

Westly's picture appears, and the narrator continues: "Westly then steered public pension funds to Joe Cari's investment company….

"Now Joe Cari has pleaded guilty to extortion in a pension fund scandal."

Monday, the LA Times reported that the Clinton-supported Democratic candidate making the charge also sought Cari’s help in fund raising.

Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ad Watch reported:

Cari held fundraisers for Westly in New York and Chicago and, in 2004, the fund invested $5 million in Healthpoint….Westly can't deny that he backed the investment efforts of a fundraiser who was later convicted of a felony.

And, if you think that only in Illinois do public officials try to raise money from those doing business with state pension funds, read this, also from the LA Times:

Westly and Angelides both sit on the state's main public pension boards, and both have raised millions in campaign donations from companies and individuals seeking lucrative pension fund investments.

Topinka can run similar ads, of course.

But she could make them more powerful.

Not only did Blagojevich give money back to pension fund crooks Cari and Loren, but he also gave $500 back to alleged mob firm M&M Amusements on April 28, 2005.

Only after I asked political spokesman Peter Giangreco what the Governor was going to do now that M&M (think brothers James and Michael Marcello) had been implicated in the massive mob indictment was the money returned.

On the other hand, contributions from multi-indicted and part-time Republican Stuart Levine of the alleged Crystal Lake Mercy hospital kickback and the pension fund kickback fame were not returned.

Blagojevich directed his $4,267 in contributions to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

McHenry County Blog is where this originated.

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Rep. Aaron Schock: Ticket scalper

For those who missed it and keep asking me about it, here it is: Aaron Schock -- ticket scalper:

When Aaron Schock was in high school, his job was to buy tickets.

His employer would order tickets to, say, a Garth Brooks concert, and Schock would call Ticketmaster. He would purchase the maximum number of tickets allowed and send them to his employer, who would reimburse Schock's credit-card account and send him a commission. Then his employer would try to resell the tickets to a diehard Garth Brooks fan, hopefully for way more than face value.

"It wasn't bad money for a high school student," Schock says. "It beat working at McDonald's."

Schock, one of the Peoria area's representatives in the state legislature, compares the practice of ticket-scalping to other great examples of American capitalism, such as playing the stock market or speculating in real estate. There is the potential of great reward, but also risk. And the risk and reward cut both ways.

Yeah, well the payday loan business is legal too, but I wouldn't call it moral. But you would elect a payday loan operator to the state legislature? I wouldn't want my sister to date one. A ticket scalper is almost on the same moral level.

JS sports columnist Kirk Wessler later explains that the State of Illinois legalized this sort of behavior in 1991. Even the ballclubs are getting into the act, selling tickets never offered to the public to brokers who then immediately jack up the prices. Thanks to computers and the Internet, scalpers don't even have to stand in line, which is why so few tickets are available at the door on game day anymore.

And the problem just keeps getting worse. Eventually, every single sporting event will be like the Super Bowl and the only way to get tickets it to know somebody who knows somebody, or be connected to a powerful politician or be a client for a huge corporation.

Ticket scalping is ruining sports. It benefits the greed-heads at the expense of the fans.

If ticket scalping is one of the "great examples of American capitalism," then so is Enron. But then, the last thing a sharp operator like Shock wanted to do as a kid was work at McDonalds. At least it would have been honest work, and might have better prepared him to understand his constituency a little bit better.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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Protecting Homes Before Studios

Once again, my posting has slowed as the result of a busy schedule, holiday, etc. And I'm not sure that the next 5-7 days will be much more productive on the blogging front.

I have been wanting to weigh in on the Governor's education proposal, but I figured that it has been getting enough coverage and discussion as is. But before I get back to other work however, I do want to touch on one aspect of this issue.

Over the past couple of days, many of my constituents have been receiving reassessment notices for their homes. And three years after getting increases of 40-100%, they are once again getting increases of...40-100%. Same home, same neighborhood, absurd taxes. By example, when we moved into our home about nine years ago, the property taxes were about $3800. With the latest reassessment, we will be looking at a tax bill of about $20,000.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that while about half of our tax bill goes to the Chicago Board of Education, the public school two blocks from my house is one of the worst-performing in the area, graduating just 8 kids last year. What's wrong with this picture? A lot.

The point of this is that while the Governor proposes to pump billions more into our school system, and while he aggressively worked to give tax relief to film producers who shoot in Illinois, many of his neighbors are being faced with having to sell their homes because of our overreliance on property taxes in the funding of school. His proposal does nothing to address this issue, although in his defense I guess, he never claimed that it did.

But this issue has been around long before the near ten years ago since I joined the General Assembly, and long before my predecessor, the Governor, joined the House before that. It has not gone away, nor will it, until something is done to address it head on. Given the propensity of elected officials to think in terms of election cycles rather than real world timeframes, I am dubious that any meaningful reforms are on the horizon.

The exception to this would be the convening of a Constitutional Convention a couple of years from now, something which I think would be in the best interest of the State on a number of fronts.

There is arguably no more pressing issue in my area than that of property taxes, and I believe that I echo the thoughts of a number of my surrounding colleagues in saying that, given this fact as well as the numerous other questions surrounding the proposal, it will be exceedingly difficult (impossible?) to get many of us to support this measure. Couple that with the reported upon concerns of Downstate Democrats about the proposal, and this is looking a lot like a non-starter.

I will be keeping tabs here, but may not post for the next week, but thanks as always for checking in.

To read, or post, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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Kudos Daily Southtown; Now, How About School Choice?

The Daily Southtown, with its usual good sense, gives Governor Blagojevich's Education gamble a nice squirt in the puss of wake-up juice.
This morning's editorial calls into question the many 'what ifs' that the Guv boldly side steps.
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsedit/x31-ed1.htm

The ugly step-child at the table - school choice - is once again consigned to the gang-way. Parental choice of school is the only real bold choice equation in education reform. Competition sparks quality.

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George Dunne

This I remember,

When U.S. Rep. Harold Washington won the Democratic nomination for mayor in 1983, many white Democrats refused to support him. But Mr. Dunne's protege and successor as 42nd Ward committeeman, Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd), recalled Mr. Dunne's reaction to Washington's nomination.

"George said, `I don't care who he is, we're backing the winner,'" Natarus said. "And he backed him all the way. At one of the St. Patrick's Day parades, he took Harold by the hand and took him to the head of the line."

A lot of other Chicago politicans disgraced themselves instead during those years.

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"Kettle, you're black!" - the pot

If Rod Blagojevich wants to attack Judy Topinka, he needs to ask a different question than "Where's your education plan, Judy?"

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

A great question Governor. Where's your education "plan"? Why can't the public see the study that purports a lottery sale would bring in $10 billion, the study by the same company that made a bundle off the last privatization plan? Where's the breakdown of how your "plan" will affect each legislative district and each school district, for the next 25 years, or the next four years, or even the next one? Where's your memo explaining how a State Board of Education that can't even get a simple test out on time once a year is going to start taking over school districts and operating them day-to-day?

And please, for the love of all that is Holy, can you explain to us all in detail why you can't seem to find the political will to lead the charge for major property tax relief for millions of Illinois families, but you've decided that Hollywood needs a white knight in shining armor to champion tax breaks for the movie industry?

I hope somebody in that camp is certified in the Heimlich maneuver, because they're going to choke on all that hypocrisy.

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Classic

Thanks Union Bosses !

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The Pegasus Project

Back on February 2, 2003, I wrote an article for Illinois Leader entitled, “I’m Rod. Fly Me…For Free.”

The fruits of part of what I found—horse race track owners flying gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich around the state—were harvested last Friday. That’s when Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation awarding the industry $36 million a year from Chicagoland’s four casinos over two years.

A company controlled by Richard Duchossois (who owns a big part of Churchill Downs, to which he sold Arlington Park) provided one fly-around on October 23rd. Add to that $25,000 in cash from Churchill Downs that had an Octobler 25th date and you have a big chit.

Cicero’s Sportsman’s Park spent $75,990 on nine free plane trips from August 18th through September 21st. That’s a lot of “face time.”

On May 28th, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau reporter Tracy Swartz quoted Cindi Canari of the Illinois Committee for Campaign Reform as saying the industry had contributed $250,000 to Blagojevich.

May 8th, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief Dave McKinney reported the beneficiaries:

· track owners 40 percent…, leaving the rest for breeders, farmers and others in horse racing
· Arlington Park - $4.2 million
· Hawthorne Race Course - $4 million
· Balmoral Park Racetrack and Maywood Park to split $4.09 million

Whether one uses the $250,000 contribution-to-date figure or the $81,322 spent on the fly-arounds or the $106,322 contributed at the end of the 2002 campaign, the horse racing industry got a huge return on it “investment.”

Somewhere between 132-1 to 405-1.

The odds for the tracks were lower, a bit over 11-1, if one goes with the $106,322 pre-election figure I found.

Here are the details of the fly-arounds:

Duchossois Industries Inc, Elmhurst $5,332 10/23
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,524 8/18
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $8,760 8/23
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $24,812 8/26
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,512 9/2
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $10,254 9/4
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,202 9/14
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,799 9/15
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $4,964 9/16
Sportsman’s Park, Cicero $5,163 9/21

And, the story of Pegasus:

Bellerophon tried to use Pegasus to fly to Mount Olympus, but Zeus was not amused and sent an insect to bite Pegasus. Pegasus then bucked off Bellerophon, who fell to earth and died.

Moral:

Don't try to crash Mount Olympus without an invite.

Another reference mentions that Pegasus is most closely related to Corinth.

Are there parallels today?

This article originated at McHenry County Blog, where today you can learn which Illinois politician is responsible for May 30th not being celebrated as Memorial Day, plus how McHenry County resident George Dunne, who died Sunday, helped State Rep. Penny Pullen pass her HIV public protection bills.

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Has Obama decided to run in 2008?

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post discusses indications that Sen. Barack Obama may be planning a presidential run in 2008. Specifically, he's brought in two Democratic consultants with experience in national races: Anita Dunn and Minyon Moore:

Dunn served as a senior adviser to Bill Bradley in 2000 and is playing a similar role for Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh as he weighs a run for president in 2008. Moore was involved in Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential race, served in the Clinton White House and led minority outreach for John Kerry's presidential bid in 2004.

Political insiders will continue to wonder about Obama's plans given the incredibly active travel and fundraising schedule he's maintaining. Obama has already visited 21 states to raise money for Senate candidates and raised better than $1.5 million into Hopefund in the first four months of the year.

My two cents: Obama is a good looking, well spoken man, who can speak off the cuff on a variety of issues and sounds like a moderate. He's been the recipient of a lot of good press and the incredible luck to have run against Alan Keyes. People I know who know Obama speak of him and his wife in glowing terms.

Obama's 2004 keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention introduced the man to the American public, and they liked what they saw and heard. The speech generated the first chatter about him as a possible presidential candidate. But he's always hemmed and hawed about the subject of a presidential run and insisted that as a freshman senator, his job is to learn the ins and outs and so on. It's this aura of humility that makes him all the more appealing to voters.

I believe that the instant the electorate get the idea that this guy is actually taking steps to run, the bloom is off the rose. It's at this point that the conventional wisdom switches from "Gee, that Barack Obama guy might make a good president some day" to "Gee, look who's gotten a swelled head."

In other words, Obama stops being a dream candidate in the public's eye as soon as he says he wants to be a candidate. I think this will be the case in 2008, at least.

I'm not one who thinks that Hillary Clinton has the Democratic nomination in her pocket. Still, the presidential nominees of both parties have for the past several election cycles been those candidates whom candidate conventional wisdom has said would win because of support from their party's movers and shakers (good thing we have primary elections, huh?). Still, if Obama is serious about seeking the White House, he might want to wait and prove he can win a tough statewide election, and then mount a run in 2012 or 2016, when he really can claim to be a seasoned candidate.

It's going to be hard to resist running. Obama was a first-hand witness to and beneficiary of the Illinois GOP's self-destruction brought about by decades of pinstripe corruption, which culminated in corrupt George Ryan administration. President Bush and a handful of GOP greed- and ego-heads seemed determine to bring down the Republicans on a national level. The conventional wisdom is that the GOP is going to loose control of one or both chambers of Congress this year and probably the White House. Obama wants to be in place when that happens, much as he was in 2004.

Hat tip: Bill Baar's West Side and Illinoize.

Cross posted at Peoria Pundit.

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Memorial Day in Illinois

Crossposted on Marathon Pundit.

I took this photograph about two hours ago while in front of the Morton Grove Public Library, I used my Treo 650.

The statue was erected in 1920 to honor the local soldiers who served our country in the Great War.

And in the spirit of the National Review listing of the 50 Greatest Conservative Rock Songs Ever, here is one more great conservative rocker, Paul McCartney's Freedom:

This is my right, a right given by God
To live a free life, to live in Freedom

We talkin' about Freedom
Talkin' bout Freedom
I will fight, for the right
To live in Freedom

Anyone, who wants to take it away
Will have to answer, Cause this is my right

We talkin' about Freedom
Talkin' bout Freedom
I will fight, for the right

To live in Freedom, ah yeah, come on now...

You talkin' about Freedom
Were talkin' bout Freedom
I will fight, for the right
To live in Freedom

Everybody talkin' bout Freedom
Talkin' bout Freedom
I will fight, for the right
To live in Free----------dom

Oh, Cal Skinner wanted to know if any Illinois bands made the NR list. The answer is yes, Cheap Trick with Taxman, Mr. Thief.

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State Car Title Loans

TG wrote a comment to a Quad City Times article on the prospect of leasing tollways by Matt Adrian.

It made me smile so broadly, I thought I would share it with you:

TG wrote on May 28, 2006 6:19 PM:

"Great idea Rod. How about just taking all of the Illinios owned vehicle titles to a title loan place. You can get cash now and not have negative effects until later! Has anyone ever taught you the pitfalls of immediate gratification, Rod?"

Maybe, after the election, the Governor can fulfill his promises by going to Pink Slip Loan Financing.

Also at McHenry County Blog, where you can see my "Message of the Day," a bumper sticker in Spanish, appropriate for Memorial Day.

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Olive-Harvey immigration forum fosters dialog between Black and Hispanic students

I've blogged a few times about immigration over on my blog. The only point of view I have on immigration is only that I believe that our government should enforce the borders. I almost wonder what the impact of illegal immigration has been in say the Chicago area?

That being said this Chicago Defender article has gotten my attention. Olive-Harvey College is located on east 103rd Street on the south side of Chicago and according to this article they are a minority there. With Hispanic students wanting their faculty and peers to have a grasp on the issue of immigration, the Organization of Latin American Students hosted an informal forum on a Thursday evening attended by 40 people. Here's a quote...

“We wanted to let the community know, but particularly let the immigrant community know, that they can come to this college and find opportunities,” said Edgar Casillas, president of OLAS at Olive-Harvey. “This college is for everyone.”

The idea of this forum is to "is to bridge a coalition with the African American students, who make up about 90 percent of the student body population."

“We wanted to inform them about the political issue that is going on nationwide,” Casillas said. “Before, we had an Afro-Latino Expedition to link together the African Americans and Latinos. Because most of the people don’t know that we do have African roots in our Latino countries. The second largest African population outside of the continent of Africa is in Brazil, which is a Latino country.”

Although the attendance (most of the school's black students didn't show up) was not very good for this forum the assistant dean of Research and Planning at Olive-Harvey, Andrew Sund believed this forum was necessary...

“Olive-Harvey has been serving a predominately African American community for years here on the far South Side of Chicago,” he said. “But there is a growing Latino community, Hispanic community, on the South Side, South Chicago, Southeast Side of Chicago that is beginning to take advantage of the various courses and curriculum opportunities offered by Olive-Harvey. And they are becoming 10 to 15 percent of the student population.

“And this was a students’ initiative. They wanted a forum here for their community that was really informational. So that the community could become aware of what are the proposed reforms, but also what are the current opportunities that exist for immigrants with different statuses in terms of education, in terms of social services and in terms of possibilities in becoming citizens."

Finally, here are some student responses on this issue...

David Simmons, an African American who is part of theatrical production at Olive-Harvey...

“It’s going to cost us as a country either way,” Simmons said. “It’s cheaper to make them citizens than to deport them and go through all of that drama.

“But I don’t like the idea of illegal immigrants coming to America and getting the jobs that we can do, only because they will accept less money for those jobs. It’s makes it harder for those American families who are willing to work hard just to survive with the prices of everything going up anyway.”

Simmons added that if illegal immigrants are going to be legalized, he wants to see the process made fair and not just concentrate on Hispanics. He said the same process should apply to Africans and people from the Caribbean.

Denise Williams, president of the Olive-Harvey chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, said she is for making illegal immigrants legal.

“This is a free country. They are here, so why send them back,” Williams said, who is African American. “They make up a population just as well as we do.”

Sharice Latham, vice president of Phi Beta Kappa, told the Defender that the immigration issue is simply a human issue, and she sees the illegal immigrants struggles similar to those of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the ’50s and ’60s.

“The thing about it is, not only have they (Hispanics) supported their cause, but I’m also seeing other people begin to support their cause, which just shows how determined they are to be here.”

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Campaign Finance CSI

Two former executives of Intercounty Title Company and Independent Trust Co. (also known as Intrust) just got sentenced to 14 years in the Federal pen for defrauding 20,000 investors.

Laurence Capriotte and Jack Hargrove are the bad guys in this $90+ million scheme.

Just for fun, I decided to see to whom these crooks made campaign contributions.

None of the recipients have been accused of doing anything wrong in connection with the contributions, but let's take a look anyway.

I tried “Independent Trust” first and guess what popped up?

$500 to Citizens for Governor George Ryan--since convicted of racketeering--on September 22, 1998.

Now, it wasn’t Independent Trust Company. It was Independent Trust Corporation (15255 S 94th Ave Ste 303, Orland Park, IL 60462), but the odds are good that the two are related, if not the same company. The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office has only the Corporation registered.

Next I plugged in “Capriotte.”

Not a dime of contributions.

Next in was “Hargrove.”

There’s more than one, so I looked for “Jack Hargrove” and found a $2,000 October 17, 1997, contribution to Poshard for Governor.

I’m not sure what to make of the two contributions. It is interesting that Ryan’s contribution comes after the one to Poshard.

While the Tribune story did not mention Intercounty Title Company, the Associated Press story did.

Typing in just “Intercounty,” I hit paydirt.

56 contributions totaling $58,499 from different entities, all located at 120 W. Madison in Chicago.

Most are for Intercounty Title Co Of Illinois, a couple are listed Intercounty National Title and one as Intercounty Title Co Sas PAC, which I cannot find registered as a political action committee.

So, let’s see who Intercounty sought to influence.

Let’s go for the big ones first.

Getting $5,000 were

· Friends of Lee Daniels (plus $1,600 in 1995 and 1997)
· Committee to Elect James A. Deleo and
· Aldo DeAngelis, P.A.

All were in 1996, except DeLeo’s, which was in 1998.

Citizens for Emil Jones received $2,500 in 1996.

Citizens for Jim Myers got $1,650 in 1997, following $500 in 1995 and $1,250 in 1994. Myers’ committee also got a $298 CD player in 1999.

$1,600 was given to Citizens to Re-Elect Thomas J. Walsh in 1997 (plus $500 in 1999).

$1,500 was given to Jesse White in 1998, while State Rep. Bob Churchill got the same amount in 1996. Churchill also received $250 in 1997.

Citizens for George Ryan received $1,400 in 1997.

Which other folks who have been governor got checks from Intercounty?

For contributions $1,000 or less, plus those to others who were or became governors, go to McHenry County Blog. At the bottom of this story is that link, plus a link to where you can play Campaign Finance CSI. (Well, maybe there was no political crime, but it's a catchy title, isn't it?)

There are some names of individuals next to some of the Intercounty entries that might yield further clues to why these folks were making political contributions.

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If you fight a lost election then take the high road.

via Paul Dailing in the Kane County Chronicle,

On Friday, Laesch spoke in front of Hastert's Batavia office, in defense of a contested ABC News report that stated that the FBI is investigating Hastert, R-Plano. Laesch gave the same speech later in the day in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse.
[...]
Laesch said he believed Hastert is involved.

"My guess is that ABC has a quality source within, and that person is telling the truth," Laesch said, calling Hastert one of "the ringleaders for the culture of corruption."

I heard Eliot Cohen on talk show after writing this column and he said Congress has probably dropped the ball the most of all branches of government since 911.

I look at the creation of Department of Homeland Security --for starters-- and agree. Laesch should take the opportunity to call Hastert on it.

Forget the culture of corruption stuff. It's forgotten fast in Illinois. Use the platform to ask hard questions. It may not get the press coverage but who knows. Laesch would be doing the country a better service.

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"I still have a name. You're Public Official A."

Forget Church tomorrow, this sounds way to good to miss!

Gov. Blagojevich and Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka fought their first bout of face-to-face verbal combat Friday, battling over everything from ethics to vision in a contentious hour of finger-pointing, chest-thumping and name-calling.

"You have the most investigated administration in the history of the state of Illinois -- the most investigated," Topinka told the governor. "I still have a name. You're Public Official A."

It's Dick Kay's farewll show. What a great way to leave the business.

The hourlong debate between Gov. Blagojevich and Republican rival Judy Baar Topinka airs at 9 a.m. Sunday and again at 11 a.m. Monday on "City Desk" on WMAQ-Channel 5. It is the final episode of the show to be hosted by retiring NBC5 political editor Dick Kay.

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Obama watch: The Fix

via Chris Cizzla's The Fix,

Obama Staff Move Prompts Renewed '08 Speculation

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has brought on two nationally known Democratic consultants as advisers in recent weeks, prompting renewed speculation that the freshman senator may be considering a 2008 White House run. Sen. Barack Obama (AP)

Anita Dunn, a partner with Squier Knapp Dunn, a media consulting company, and Minyon Moore, who is with the Dewey Square Group, are now serving as advisers to Obama.

I voted for him but seems all he's done so far is write another book and raise piles of cash.

cross posted at Bill Baar's West Side

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It's About Concrete, Silly

So, O’Hare Airport’s $15 billion expansion is in trouble and is going to cost more than city officials predicted.

Ho, hum.

Opponents have been predicting that for years.

Right after the plan was announced, WTTW had a panel discuss it. One of the proponents was Lester Crown of Material Service fame. Material Service, as in, “We sell gravel.”

There may be more of McHenry County in Cook County than in McHenry County, thanks to Material Service and other gravel pit owners.

Now, last Thursday's Daily Herald’s editorial asks,

Will this plan fly?

It’s first paragraph is

"The reason — the only reason — to expand O’Hare Airport is to substantially increase the airport’s capacity and reduce its delays in a cost-effective manner."

To say there is some doubt is a substantial understatement.

As the Daily Herald concludes:

"Some observers have suggested another course and say that adding one runway and extending an existing runway would significantly reduce delays at much lower cost. It is time, before the city goes further down the uncertain path it is on now, to fully analyze this and perhaps other options in an open-minded search for the most cost-effective modernization of this vital airport."

Could former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald have been right…again?

I wish Daily Herald Jack Mabley were still with us so he could write an “I told you so” column for the Daily Herald. He convinced me that this mega-expansion of O’Hare was unnecessary, as was the Peotone Airport.

Mabley argued that Gary’s airport would work quite find, thank you. It’s 35 minutes from the Loop, but in another state, of course.

But Chicago/Illinois politicians can’t control the contracts there, can they?

It’s really all about concrete.

Also posted at McHenry County Blog.

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Let the Floggings Begin!

Rich Miller gets in the first licks on the Governor's education gamble this Holiday Weekend. It's a doozie:

To me, this looks more like a $10 billion plan to eliminate a potentially devastating African-American opponent from the campaign and the foundation for millions of dollars of TV ads, hundreds of newspaper headlines and dozens of stump speeches rather than something that will actually become law one day.

Stay tuned for more weekend editorials and columns as they become available, and please post links to any I miss.

UPDATE: Downstate Democrats have come out against the Governor's proposal in full force. Read here.

"If all the money is going to Chicago, there's no way I'm going to support this." (State Rep. Brandon Phelps)

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Dozens of Coptic Christians protest outside King Tut exhibit

Crossposted on Marathon Pundit.

Yesterday, in my second Egyptian post of the day, I made the point that protesting outside the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs exhibit about the plight of jailed Egyptian blogger Alaa was definitely fair game, since the government of Egypt is collecting about half the gate receipts from this lucrative show.

As I was typing that post, a group of Coptic Christians were outside Chicago's Field Museum drawing the attention of the plight of the members of their faith in Egypt.

According to the Chicago Tribune, many of the picketers came from three Chicago area Coptic churches: St. Mark in Burr Ridge, St. Mary in Palatine, and St. George in Monee.

From the Chicago Tribune, free registration may be required:

Discrimination and human rights abuses against Coptic Christians remain widespread in Egypt, according to a report released this month by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Copts face societal intolerance, and Egyptian authorities have been accused of being lax in protecting their rights.

No Christians serve as governors, presidents or deans of public universities, and very few Christians hold positions in the upper ranks of the security services and the armed forces, Coptic community leaders said. A 14th Century law bars Christians not only from building new churches, they said, but also from performing necessary maintenance on structures without government approval.

Recent violence in Coptic churches in Egypt has renewed fears of escalating religious strife. In April, a Muslim man was accused of knife attacks at three Coptic Christian churches in Alexandria that left one man dead and about a dozen others wounded. The incident unleashed three days of rioting on the same weekend Christians were observing Orthodox Palm Sunday.

Anissa Essam Hassouna, an official with the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and part of the Egyptian delegation visiting Chicago, said Thursday that the government has "neglected" the issue of how Copts are treated in Egypt but "is trying to do better."

Well, Egypt has to do a lot better. Besides the mistreatment of the Copts, last month Egyptian blogger Alaa was jailed while attending a peaceful protest. He's still incarcerated.

People shelling out at least $31 per ticket to see the King Tut exhibit (again, about half goes back to Egypt) deserve to learn about Alaa.

Related posts: Egypt, King Tut, and blogger Alaa

Alaa in prison: Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review #4 follow-up

Abusive comments will be deleted.

UPDATE May 29: TigerHawk found one of the few MSM articles to cover Alaa's plight. Along with Sandmonkey, TH has been aggressively following this story.

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The Enclave at Galewood Crossings

I always thought Galewood started at Austin and went west to Harlem but I'd let developers claim the name to rebuild on this industrial wasteland. via Arlene Jones at Austin Weekly,

Last month at Ald. Emma Mitts’ town hall meeting, I learned that a new development is coming two blocks from my house. "The Enclave at Galewood Crossings" will be developed at Laramie and the railroad tracks (I always thought I lived in Austin, or at least North Austin. My post office says my zip code is Belmont-Cragin, but I digress).

It will be a development with a mixture of 240 condos, townhouses and single family homes. It will even have its own dog park! The cost of those homes will range from $200,000 to $450,000. Some quick calculations show that someone will have to earn at least $50,000 a year to afford to live there.

She's doing a conference call with readers on Sunday too. That's interesting...

I will host a conference call this Sunday May 28 at 9 p.m. Call 605/772-3200 (this is long distance so use your cell) and enter this Access code: 806598#. I can host up to 96 people and you can give me your opinion with others on the line to hear you. You can talk to me about this column or any other subjects that I’ve written about.

And finally,

Also, join me at Wallace’s Catfish Corner this Friday, May 26, along with Mayoral Candidate Bill "Dock" Walls to talk about issues affecting your life here in the city of Chicago.

So besides getting a new Gated Community the West Side is getting pretty techno saavy and creative.

Now, the City just needs to figure out what to do with this sacrifice to the Sugar tariff and pray we don't lose the one I grew up next too.

cross posted at Bill Baar's West Side

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Keno Dooms Lottery Deal

CapitolFax today draws out the comments of Lottery industry expert Kip Peterson, from WBEZ's "848" show. You can listen to the May 24th show here, just go about 23 minutes in.

Capitolfax omits a couple of facts brought up in that interview that will doom the Governor's proposal.

First, according to Peterson, the only way to make the Lottery deal profitable enough to draw an offer that large is to legalize keno. That was an idea that the General Assembly has already soundly rejected.

Secondly, there are reportedly only three companies in the world with the capacity to run the lottery. One is John Wyma client GTECH. The mere mention of GTECH in conjunction with this proposal is enough to ensure not only no Republican votes, but no targeted Democrats can vote for it either.

Peterson also rebuts Becky Carroll, who points out in her arguments that Great Britain has privatized its lottery. The difference, says Peterson, is that the Britain deal is a seven-year license to run the lottery, not an outright transfer of ownership. The risk is much smaller on both sides of the table.

Peterson says the best way for Illinois to get the most money out of it's lottery system is to follow in the footsteps of Georgia and turn the lottery into a quasi-private agency (similar to the Post Office) still under state control. Of course, the big stumbling block with that idea is that Illinois doesn't get $10 billion upfront, so the Governor has no way to buy Senator Meeks off.

UPDATE: YDD has learned that the lobbyist for the second lottery competitor, Scientific Games, is Blagojevich insider Milan Petrovic. For more on GTECH, I recommend reading this Fortune Magazine profile: "Rare is the company that has faced as many allegations of baldly sleazy conduct as Gtech". Heartwarming, isn't it?

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Privatizing the Lottery

Lew Caldwell was a 12-year (1967-79) independent black state representative from Chicago. He received his degree in social work from Northwestern University.

We stayed in the same cheap ($14.50 a night in the 1970’s) and now demolished hotel—the Hotel Governor—right next to the infamous Hotel St. Nicholas, where shoe boxes of former Secretary of State Paul Powell’s money was found.

That’s probably how we got to know each other.

I eventually learned that Lew had written a novel called “The Policy King.”

It was about Chicago politics.

A group of citizens decided to try to legalize policy.

When Lew told me about it, I had never heard of policy. It was a daily numbers game. Runners sold policy slips with numbers on them. If you had the correct number, you won the day’s prize.

Does that sound like today’s daily lottery or what?

The hero of the book wanted to legalize numbers and, basically, franchise their sale to individuals. The example used was the early insurance industry, which Lew said did not have a good reputation in the early days when salesmen went door-to-door.

The citizens group went to the mayor’s office and made the pitch.

The mayor’s reply was that, when they had some political power, they should come back and see him.

The group then organized and beat the local alderman.

He loaned me the only copy of the book he had, which I avidly read.

When the lottery decided to start a daily game, he introduced a bill to carry out the plan in Lew’s book.

Why not empower individuals, giving them an ability to make an honest living?

You’ll find this hard to believe, but we got House Bill 841 passed the House 173-0 in 1977.

Naturally, the idea died in the Senate.

We couldn’t have private citizens competing with the state and local stores, could we?

Also posted at McHenry County Blog.

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Simple math Blagojevich

The Governor's scheme to get Rev. James Meeks out of the race should simply be laughed at from a financial perspective. $10 billion up front for a 99 year lease (assuming someone will pay that), some interest, and POOF, it's ALL GONE BY 2025!!! And in just four years, the state is right back to where it started regarding lottery revenue for education. Then what after 2025? Especially at a time all those pensions are coming due that are not being funded right now. Great, so the kids they are spending more money on now can pay a lot more in taxes when they get out of school making it even harder for them to get started in life and support their families. This makes absolutely no sense at all, unless you are running for re-election.

The state gets about $500 million more for the first four years, then the state is back to around $650 million per year until 2025, and then practically nothing after 2025. Blagojevich is willing to give up almost all revenue after 2025 for about $2 billion more over 4 years up front.

Oh, and the company most likely to "lease" the lottery is GTECH Corp., that already has a large chunk of the contract to run the Illinois Lottery. And who represents GTECH? Why it's Blagojevich's former Chief of Staff when he was a Congressman, John Wyma. More campaign donations to Democrats for years and years to come (like 99) I suspect.

Overall, this sceme will hurt state education funding long-term without doing much of anything at all to stop the decline in quality of government schools. With competition and choice comes accountability and innovation. That concept is a better place to start finding solutions than this campaign gimmick is.

The biggest problem isn't money. The problem is the government monopoly largely controlled by Illinois' biggest campaign funders, the teacher's unions. Simply banning union (and corporation) campaign donations would go a lot further toward improving education quality than this plan by loosening the control the teacher's unions have over legislators. We'd start seeing good teachers being paid more instead of the good teachers subsidizing bad teachers when they all get the same pay raises regardless of performance. We might even be able to fire a few bad teachers, while the increased pay for good teachers would attract more good teachers.

Go ahead and start ripping into me for a perceived anti-union bias (I'm actually pretty neutral on unions that don't abuse their power), but don't try blaming Topinka's lack of any vision on me. I do give credit to Blagojevich and Meeks for stirring up the debate that even has inspired innovative ideas like using prostitution and drugs to fund schools.

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Big, bold plan to spend $6 billion on education has some cutting-edge parts

I think Senator Meeks and Governor Blagojevich deserve a lot of credit for putting forward a big-picture, innovative plan for education in Illinois. Everyone agrees that we need to improve education and most people agree that we need to invest more money into education. Finally, there's a big, bold plan out there (right at the top of www.illinois.gov) that would demonstrably improve education if implemented.

I think the most innovative part is a call for merit pay instead of seniority pay, with the full support of the teachers unions. (That is, the plan calls for the unions to work to craft a merit pay plan. I'm not suggesting the unions support the concept today.)

For some background on merit pay, check out Denver. They are probably running the most aggressive merit pay system in the nation. And the teachers unions crafted the plan.

Here's an interview in Education Sector (a neat independent think tank) with Brad Jupp, a labor organizer with the Denver Classroom Teacher Association and a lead negotiator and advocate for the merit pay system.

The whole interview is worth a read, but here are some of the best parts.

ES: What were some of the specific lessons you learned in the pay-for-performance pilot?

BJ: The most important lesson was that you can build pay systems around pragmatic judgments. By pragmatic judgments, I mean decisions that are not necessarily based on researched psychometric standards but reflect common sense and professional judgment to make effective decisions. In fact, almost all pay systems–including the single salary schedule in place in most schools today–are built around pragmatic judgments. We will never create a perfectly objective basis for compensation decisions, but if we rely on the common sense of professionals we can go a long way.

The second thing we learned, which is very important, was that differentiated pay did not destroy workplace morale; it created new challenges, but in our pilot schools, we never saw the plummet in morale predicted by opponents of alternative compensation schemes.

The third thing we learned was that, when teachers set goals and plan to meet them, students perform well whether teachers meet those goals or not. When teachers set high-quality objectives, objectives that have clear, measurable outcomes and well-articulated strategies to meet them, and those objectives are assessed routinely throughout the year–kids learn more. Learning became the cornerstone of the way we built the pay system.

A fourth thing that we learned was that we need to think hard about how to connect the stakes in a pay system to the behavior that we're trying to change. Policymakers often think of pay systems in very simple ways: "If I put a lot of money on the table, it's going to change people's behavior dramatically, so I'll put a lot of money on the table for the behavior I want." But you often don't need to do that, and you may, in fact, be making a big mistake.

We've found, for instance, that a $1,000 incentive to work in a high-poverty school with low-performing kids doesn't motivate teachers in schools with wealthier kids that perform well to move to that low performing school. On the other hand, it does motivate teachers to stay at that high-poverty school after they've been hired there. Maybe what you need to do is to put a small amount of money on the table, stabilize the workforce, and then build the workforce in these schools over time, rather then to assume that what you want the incentive to do is to steal teachers from the suburbs. Another example is that it doesn't take a whole lot of money–only about $330 in the compensation model that we have–to get people to commit to look at their objectives twice a year. But if there's no money, they don't do it. Sometimes smaller stakes make a big difference.

There's a lot more, including why teachers should embrace accountability measures, because then they'll get paid more (as they should).

I also love the call in the plan for longer school days and longer school years.

So, say what you want about the efficacy about licensing the lotto to come up with the money, but this is the best plan that's out there about how to improve education. I think it's a big step forward.

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Urbs in Horto (but please no mushroom compost)

Looking better then the Gov's Mansion.

From yesterday's NYT,

But even more than its soil-enriching, moisture-conserving utility, mulch is an organic metaphor, tying together the various pieces of Chicago's novel development strategy, praised by the Sierra Club and the Chamber of Commerce alike. By wrapping its arms and famous big shoulders around its Latin motto — Urbs in Horto (City in a Garden) — Chicago has become a global model for how a metropolis can pursue environmental goals to achieve economic success.
[***]
The generator of Chicago's mulch is Richard M. Daley, the unorthodox and popular Democratic mayor who took office in 1989 vowing to replant the urban forest of his youth that was lost to Dutch elm disease and other blights. At the time, the pledge raised the eyebrows of supporters and critics, who chalked up the mayor's love for trees to his birth on Arbor Day in 1942.

We've used mushroom compost but it really stinks.

I'm glad the City's taken down some of the trees in the Blvds too. Chicago got a little carried away there for a while and I worried truck drivers would have a hard time seeing the traffic.

Barbara and other Roti family members have been leasing trucks to the city of Chicago for decades. At least 17 companies in the city's scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program were owned by Roti relatives and associates -- including Barbara's father, wife, mother-in-law and daughter's in-laws. They were among 165 companies Daley fired in 2004, after the Sun-Times reported the city often paid for trucks that ended up doing nothing, leading to an ongoing federal investigation.

Compost all over the place. That's the price we have to pay for Urbs in Horto.

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Culture of Corruption Watch: Hastert, Jefferson, and Berwyn's Sonny Stillo

How can Hastert (R-Il) cry constitutional crisis over the FBI's raid on Rep. Jefferson's (D-La) Office yet everyone was silent when the FBI raided Berwyn's City Hall and confiscated every PC in the place in pursuit of Ald. Sonny Stillo (D)?

Update: LaShawn Barber on Hastert, Jefferson, and ABC.

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Blago's Flunks History Lesson

“In 1975, the State of Illinois created the lottery. The idea behind the game was to create a funding source for schools that would solve the inequities in school funding. However, over the years, lottery money was not used exclusively for schools. Instead, it was used for a variety of purposes, failing to fulfill the mission promised to the taxpayers over thirty years ago.”

That’s what Governor Rod Blagojevich’s press release said today.

It is, of course, a blatant falsehood.

I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have enough gray heads around the office.

Blagojevich’s staff may have never learned the RTA’s history, but the Governor has.

In the freshman orientation session at the Holiday Inn East in December of 1992, lottery sponsor State Rep. Zeke Giorgi delighted in taunting the newly elected legislators. He said he bet they thought the lottery was passed to finance education and everyone, but I, probably nodded his or her head “Yes.”

Then, Giorgi held up the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times with a headline saying something like, “Lottery Finances RTA.”

He even passed out copies to everyone present.

Now, maybe Blagojevich was in the hot tub, but, more likely, he attended the session.

He just doesn’t have as good a memory for lottery facts as he does for presidential succession.

McHenry County Blog may have the longest discussion of education around. It's right on top. The governor's press release has also been posted in full. There are hundreds of thought-provoking observations.

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Rep. LaHood sides with those who side against Israel

There's a law being considered that would prohibit aid to the Palestinian Authority while it is being governed by Hamas. The article, which excoriates Israel for a long list of supposed atrocities while declining to criticize poor, innocent Hamas [/end sarcasm] or even mention recent suicide bombings even once, heaps praise upon U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R.-18th) for opposing the bill.

Not only does the writer describe Rachel Corrie as an innocent person slain while protecting Palestinian homes (she was a terrorist sympathizer who burned the American flag and got killed trying to stop a bulldozer from demolishing tunnels being used to smuggle weapons for terrorists), it also heaps praise upon Hamas:

Why this extreme reaction to the beaten down Palestinian people? Because the Palestinians exercised their democratic rights and elected representatives of Hamas. Hamas has been demonized by Israel and many in the U.S. media despite the fact that it took a pledge against violence more than 18 months ago and has lived up to that promise. They have not committed acts of violence despite violence directed at the Palestinian people by Israel. Israel has demanded Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist -- but Israel is a country without clear borders. What exactly would Hamas be recognizing?

The rest of this article is just as charming ... and inaccurate.

Were I being praised by someone who expressed views like this -- as is Ray LaHood in this case -- I would seriously reconsider whether my position was correct.

Consider this, Ray:

Hamas wants to destroy Israel. Hamas uses money to buy weapons that it uses to kill Israelis. Since Hamas runs the Palestinian government, any money that government gets can be used to further Hamas' goal of killing Israelis (I doubt these people hold the concept of separate fund balances to be sacred).

This bill would stop money from getting to Hamas. So, wouldn't this bill, therefore, make it harder for Hamas to commit terrorism? Of course it would. Call me crazy, but I think that's a good thing.

Cross posted on Peoria Pundit.

UPDATE:



Above: Rachel Corrie, the "idealistic college kid who probably had no business hanging around the occupied territory, but that doesn't make her a 'terrorist sympathizer.' " That's her, burning the American flag at a Hamas rally.

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City silence on PHA scandal is hypocritical

Last week, the Peoria City Council voted to send a letter to the federal government pointing out that current federal law doesn't give municipalities the power to regulate cable Internet service as it does cable television service. Obviously, the council believes in getting involved when cable subscribers experience a hiccough in service.

But when the Peoria Housing Authority partners with a predatory lender, and then shrugs its shoulders and says mistakes were made when they get caught by the city's newspaper of record, there is no one on the Peoria City Council willing to stand up for the poor, working class victims of the predatory loans.

Why is no member of the council asking for a letter to the PHA demanding a resolution to the crisis that leaves the victims unharmed? Why are there no calls being made from Peoria City Hall to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors? Why is there no debate about this apparent crime on the floor of the city council?

It's not the council's business, as has been suggested to me? Bull. It's as much the council's business as is the Internet service that was the subject of Council Member Patrick Nichting's successful (8-2) resolution last week.

But then I doubt that many of the victims of the PHA loan scandal live in the affluent 5th District.

The silence is hypocritical.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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PHA and the feds still doing exactly NOTHING to help predatory loan victims

Thank God Journal Star reporter Elaine Hopkins has started reporting on the Peoria Housing Authority predatory loan scandal again. She previously wrote one story about how the PHA brought in this crook to teach a course in home ownership, who then turned around and started selling these predatory loans, with the PHA telling poor working class families that they had to deal with this guy if they wanted to participate in its first-time homebuyer program.

Instead or returning Hopkins' call, PHA director Roger Johns got in touch with someone on the Journal Star's editorial board and gave them a lame "mistakes were made" excuse and same vague statement about how the agency would try to help. And the agency still isn't saying why they weren't making the payments toward these loans that they were supposed to. That leads me to think someone with access to these funds has been pocketing the cash.

Well, Hopkins actually attended a meeting and came back with a story about how the PHA attorney agrees that the situation was "sad," but how it was all a misunderstanding and how "hindsight is 20-20." No kidding, Sherlock. There is still no assurance from ANYONE in the PHA that their victims will be allowed to keep their homes.

Again, I ask: What is Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan going to do? Where does U.S. Rep Ray LaHood stand on this issue? How about Barack Obama and Dick Durbin, Illinois' two U.S. Senators? Perhaps I need to send copies of these articles to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to get some sort of reaction.

The silence is deafening, suggesting the powers-that-be care more about Johns than it does about poor people who work hard and are trying to become valuable members of society.

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He don't bring us flowers

This past weekend I traveled with friends to tour Springfield sites like the Dana-Thomas House, the Lincoln Museum, Lincoln's Home, and Lincoln's Tomb.

The weather was beautiful; my friends were fun; the Lincoln sites were compelling, sobering, and pride-instilling; and for the first time ever I realized an appreciation for Gov. Thompson, who played a large part in seeing Frank Lloyd Wright furniture returned to their proper home (D-T House).

But my well-meaning friend Diane (from Indiana) thought it would be nice to spend Saturday night at the Mansion View Inn, directly across the street from the Governor's Mansion, which gave me plenty of reasons to fume.

First, this beautiful, historic mansion was deserted. No cars. No lights at night. Shades drawn.

Second, the People of Illinois are only allowed to visit this home we pay for a total of 7.5 sporadically spaced hours out of a 168-hour week.

Finally, from our side of the street, the place looked like unkempt, overgrown, junkyard jungle. And there were no potted flowers anywhere.

I kept thinking of the White House and the respect it commands by its very presence. On a smaller scale, we have such a House in Illinois. But alas.

There are many reasons to be angry with our governor. Now add to the list his lack of respect for history and decorum, which disgusts me.






P.S. I picked up a book of Lincoln quotes, and this one struck me as witty and timeless: "The fact is... I have got more pigs than I have teats." ~ Remark on political patronage to Congressman Luther Hanchett, no date.

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Culture of Corruption Watch: The Sun Times series on the Rotis

It's pretty good reading.

I grew up just a few blocks from Giancana's home. We'd trick-or-treat there and the care-taker would always give a full size box of cracker jack. Not the small ones sold for Halloween. They had a doormat in back that said go away.

On warm summer evenings neigbors would stand outside watching the FBI guys watch the house.

Giancana was the first person with a snow blower. The care-taker would do the whole block with it.

Doing favors is a big part of the culture.

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Some of the risks of leasing the lottery

I have an estimate of what a 25 year lease of the lottery might be worth over at OneMan's Thoughs but I figured I would share some thoughts about the risks someone leasing the lottery might face.

Changes in how they are taxed by the state or how they are taxed by any entity of government in the state.
Changes in law that impact their abiltiy to sell.
Changes in the marketplace (more casinos)
Changes in public opinion about the lottery
Changes in my regulatory environment.

So if I were leasing the lottery here is some of what I would expect to have in the contract and if I didn't get it the discount goes up (perhaps significantly)

1) Protection from any legislative changes that would impact my ability to sell tickets. For example, making sales at bars illegal.
2) Some consideration if gaming is expanded in any way within the state, be it new casinos, slots at racetracks, etc.
3) Any change in the way my revenue was taxed (I saw what you did to the casino people)
4) Any change in the way lottery winnings are taxed.
5) Any changes within MegaMillions that impact me differently than any other state
6) Any changes within the state pension program for my employees if I have to keep them in the state plan.
7) I want the current marketing restriction on targeting groups lifted. I want free reign to market to people over 18.
8) I want to be and want my retailers to be protected against any local taxing change. So if Chicago decides to tax lottery tickets I am covered.
9) I would expect an exclusive contract, that is the state couldn't let someone else sell lottery like products within the state.

There would be a much longer list but this is just some of the concerns I think any buyer would have.

OneMan.

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What If the Raid's on the Lottery?

On Friday, the Chicago Tribune dropped the suggestion that the Lottery may be the source of the money with which Governor Rod Blagojevich bought off the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks.

But, you say, money from the Lottery already goes to education.

Yes, it does. So the question arises of what accelerating Lottery revenues by selling it to a private gambling firm would do…in the long run.

One could get big money up front, the same way many states did by selling future Tobacco Settlement collections. But those states needed to accept less upftont in order clinch the deal.

A similar discount would undoubtedly be necessary if the Lottery were sold to private interests.

State Rep. Zeke Giorgi pre-sold the Lottery as being for education, but it was not passed until it became the source of money for the General Fund’s subsidy of the Regional Transportation Authority. (Reviews of the Lottery’s history usually forget this fact.)

In the 1980’s Zeke’s pitch was finally made law when legislators got tired of explaining why Lottery proceeds didn’t go to education. Of course, that got no additional money for schools, because an equal amount of previously General Fund receipts was spent elsewhere.

So, what happens if the Democrats sell this stream of revenue for the current benefit of getting re-elected?

Put simply, it means that Governor Rod Blagojevich will have put another cliff in the path of future politicians in order to obtain a short-term political benefit for himself.

This year’s windfall would turn into some future year’s budgetary free fall.

More musings on McHenry County Blog.

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Don't Forget About Us

Today's Chicago Defender has a piece today on the future repercussions of Meeks' threatened thrid-party candidacy.

Though Meeks has dropped out of the race after brokering a deal with Blagojevich that will mean a new comprehensive school funding plan – to be announced on Tuesday - the decision to challenge a Democratic ally may be an example of an effective way to get attention for African American issues...

The Black state lawmaker’s threat to run against the governor, who needs Black votes to retain office, was a “bold tactical move to hold white Democrats accountable,” said Rogers.

Meeks told reporters Friday that polling data showed his candidacy would take more votes from Republican Judy Barr Topinka than the governor. The widespread fear, however, was that a bid by Meeks would siphon off votes from Blagojevich and benefit the Republican candidate.

“The Black vote has become all too predictable and because of that politicians on both sides feel the Black vote can be ignored,” said Rogers.

Read the rest of the article, it raises some interesting thoughts and closes with this:

Changes to school funding may be an important immediate payoff, but there may also be a longer term benefit to Meeks’ challenge of Blagojevich, Rogers said.

“You’re changing the equation. The issue is whether Blacks will come out in support of Democrats and that’s where the strategic power of African Americans lies, if the Republican Party made real overtures, it would be sensible to trade on that,” he said.

To read, or post, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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Cold Cash

It wasn't in a shoebox, but Paul Powell would have been proud.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal agents searched the Capitol Hill office of a Louisiana congressman under investigation on bribery charges Sunday, while newly released court papers said agents found $90,000 in cash last year in his Washington home.

In a 95-page affidavit used to obtain a warrant for the office search, investigators stated that an August 2005 search of Democratic Rep. William Jefferson's home turned up the cash sum in a freezer.

Hey, at least it takes the attention away from Illinois.

To read, or post, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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Separation church and state, but not the separation of mosque and state

My daughter's annual dance recital brought Mrs. Marathon Pundit and I to Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois this afternoon.

Assuming we live in the same place, Little Marathon Pundit will be a student at Niles West in six years.

LMP danced wonderfully, by the way, as if you expected me to believe differently!

But after the show, I saw something which caused me to suddenly halt and take notice.

Yep, that sign, which I found amongst other placards for the French Club, the Chess Club, and the like, is for the Niles West Qur'an Study group. The little graphic on the righthand corner is the high school's logo, the nickname for its teams is the Wolves. They were the Indians until 2000, but that's another story for another time.

There is a Qur'an Study group, but I saw no evidence of Bible or Torah Study Group. Niles West has an Israeli Club, but not a Jewish Club.

Here's the copy from the Qur'an Study sign:

Every Friday at 2:45pm, Niles West Qur'an Study gives students the opportunity to perform Friday prayer and to increase their knowledge about Islam. All students, regardless of religious orientation, are encouraged to attend.

Meetings, Friday 2:45 Rm 2225

Is the ACLU aware this is going on at a public high school? Do they care?

Would the ACLU care more if this was a Bible Study group performing prayers on school property?

To comment on this and other MP posts, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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More lies from the Journal Star edit page

Once again, the Journal Star editorial board is lying to its readers.

Anyone unfamiliar with the history behind the controversy over where to build a proposed replacement for Glen Oak Grade School might read this editorial and think that opposition started after the Peoria School Board voted to spend $900,000 to buy up properties, when those checks were written long after strong opposition developed and without any official open-session vote by the school board. The JS editorial board brainiacs thinks that as long as the money is spent, all opposition to stop. Never mind that is pretty much the opposite of the way things are supposed to work in a system in which there laws regulating how the government can spend taxpayers cash.

The editorial also neglects to mention that the school board has consistently lied to residents about a state law that is supposed to require a set acreage for any new school construction projects, when no such requirements exist. This means that the school district's claims that any other site there must be more expensive are lies as well, because the school board did not seriously consider lower-cost options on smaller plots of land. The district insists the new school must be build on a ranch like a suburban school would be built, even though it is supposed to serve a densely populated inner city neighborhood.

And the editorial writer tells a flat-out, bald-faced lie when claiming that residents don't want a new school or a $15 million investment. The fact is that they do. They have said so repeatedly in letters to the editor and in numerous public meetings. The residents just don't want to loose park land. They don't want their children crossing heavily trafficked Prospect Road twice a day. They don't want a neighborhood school on the westernmost boundary of the school's attendance zone. These residents have offered up suggestion after suggestion for different sites.

When the editorial writer states that opponents might not want the Ray LaHood-brokered meeting to be open (which is something I have not heard even once) the writer neglects to mention that it is the Peoria Park District and School District 150 are the agencies that have conspired -- in secret -- to conduct business and have repeatedly lied to and mislead voters and the Journal Star itself about details behind the land swap deals.

And who are the people who have "attempted to meddle in the matter," as the Journal Star puts it? Taxpayers. Residents. Voters. You know, the people the Journal Star editorial board thinks should just shut the Hell up and mind their own business. Because, as you know, elite progressives are the only ones smart enough to have a say in how taxpayer dollars are used and in how children are educated.

I don't find moral fault in the Journal Star's award-winning (snicker) editorial board disagreeing with me on this or any subject. But what infuriates and sickens me is how these peoeple play fast and loose with the facts and often ingores the content of their paper's own reporting simply because the editorial board finds these facts inconvenient to their agenda. It's dishonest and unethical.

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Barack Obama's new book out this fall

This fall, the first book of Senator Barack Obama's three book deal will be published.

Excerpts are available from his web site, Barackobama.com. Such as this passage:

I find it hard to shake the feeling these days that our democracy has gone seriously awry," he writes. "What's troubling is the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics - the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our seeming inability to build a working consensus to tackle any big problem.

Well, no one will accuse Obama of hiring a ghostwriter.

What's been largely left out of the media coverage of Obama's book deal is that he received a $1.9 million advance for his three book deal after he won his Illinois US Senate seat, but before he was sworn in, which allowed him to skirt Senate ethics rules.

But to most people, he'll always be "Saint Barack."

To comment on this and other posts, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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Big box ordinance or Wal Mart ordinance?

From today's Defender,

Residents, business owners and community leaders from the West Side, where Chicago's first Wal-Mart is scheduled to open this summer, spoke out Thursday against the so-called "Big Box Retail" ordinance currently before the City Council's finance committee.
[...]
Residents of Ald. Emma Mitts' 37th Ward, who would be likely candidates for jobs at the Wal-Mart when it opens, said the $10 minimum wage would deter businesses from investing in their neighborhood.

"The communities, especially on the West Side of Chicago, are excited about opportunities for jobs. We need jobs. Our communities are filled with the young and the old standing on corners with nothing to do, some laid off from companies that have closed down or moved away, some ex-offenders looking for a new start," said Frankie Freenie of the Nobel Neighbors Association in Humboldt Park.

Drive around Austin and you'll see housing stock is in pretty good shape but the local retail is devasted. There's no local retail for Wal Mart to put out of business. Any kind of investment can only do good for the neigborhood.

This is as true of Galewood as it is of further east along North Ave, or at Madison and Pulaski. The only local retail that can survive now in Chicago are niche retailers for people with money, and ethnic retailers who will cater to their local communities. Everyone else will make the drive to a discounter. Might as well keep the discounter in the City. It seems so foolish to keep them out.

Espeically when you consider the City makes it none to easy for the few local folks who venture into retail either. Read Arlene Jones Why is the city harassing business owners in Austin?

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When is a Plan not a Plan?

When its details are secret, of course.

What do Governor Blagojevich and State Senator James Meeks have cooking? That's what a lot of political folks are likely to be wondering this weekend.

Lots of folks are going to be wondering if the Gov's plan is to sell the Tollway Authority. SEIU Local 73 sure will be wondering, since the proposal likely puts their members out of a job. Suburban drivers will certainly be wondering, since the sale of the Skyway by the City of Chicago was followed immediately by a 25% toll hike. And as the Bloomington Pantagraph reminds us, the Governor's proposed sale of the Tollway Offices in Chicago - the "Taj Mahal" as they were dubbed - never materialized, so Meeks and others should be asking what the Governor's Plan B is, if Plan A falls through.

And of course, education funding reform advocates will be wondering too, since Governor Blagojevich did not talk to them first to find out if his plan would pass muster. From A Plus Illinois:

Does the Governor Have an A+ Education Plan?

To address the fundamental problems with our current school funding system, the governor must put forth a plan that meets all of the following principles:

• Increases the state's investment in education to ensure every school has adequate resources, following the recommendations of the Education Funding Advisory Board.
• Provides meaningful property-tax relief for homeowners and businesses by shifting the balance of school funding away from local property taxes.
• Promotes accountability to ensure excellence in local schools and efficient delivery of public services by state and local governments.
• Protects health, human and public services that are vital to the well-being of children and families.

Our state cannot fully meet its responsibilities to our students unless a plan includes these key components. We'll keep you posted as we receive further details about the governor's plan.

Meanwhile, WBEZ reports that gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka (who also has yet to offer a plan of her own) is still keeping the door open for a property tax swap.

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Tollway Lease Billions

Never let it be said that legislators can’t put forward proposals that seem a bit, well, selfish.

That was the word that came to mind when I read the tollway lease distribution ideas DuPage County Republican State Senators Kirk Dillard (also DuPage GOP County Chairman) and Peter Roskam (now running for Congress).

Estimates of the amount at stake could be as high as $14 billion.

It’s not that my former colleagues should not have real fear that toll money paid by suburbanites might end up Downstate. That happens right now.

Only 43% of the money paid in gas taxes for motor fuel consumed on the tollway came back to the six-county area, as of Illinois FIRST (which I did not vote for) days in the late 1990’s. If all of it had been given to the tollway over the years, we could have freeways now.

But, it was siphoned off to build Downstate freeways, one of which I found has less traffic than the Lakewood street in front of our home. (Less than 5,000 cars a day traveled then on parts of the four-lane Route 67 in Western Illinois. Over 6,000 go past our home daily. 4-lane highways are generally justified by 20,000 cars per day.)

So, I share the DuPage County legislators’ concerns that suburbanites should be wary of a Chicago and Downstate rip-off of the billions that could come from privatizing the tollway. So does the Daily Herald in this editorial.

My thought is that the money should return to its source. (The Daily Herald editorial agrees, specifically citing McHenry County users.)

My original conception in the late 1990’s was that surveys would have to be taken to determine where drivers lived. Now, with the wide use of I-PASS transponders, that information should be readily available.

If such a common sense approach should be adopted, then I believe the money should be spent on 1500 miles of existing highways designated as highways designated Strategic Regional Arterial roads. Some are state highways like Route 176; others are county roads like Randall Road.

Plans for the SRA improvements—complete with public hearings--have been made and, if the Illinois Department of Transportation thought far enough ahead (which they don’t), these plans would be recorded in each local county to prevent growth from ruining the plans.

In any event, it seems the money should go back to the counties whose citizens paid it.

One final word: when the Randall Road exit was being considered, Kane County put up the bulk of the money. McHenry County, however, paid $250,000.

So, just because a tollway is in a given county does not mean that county should get all of the benefits of any long-term lease.

Or, for that matter, it doesn't mean that Governor Rod Blagojevich and his Democratic Party-rule legislature should be able to pick the pockets of motorists to finance the education plan to buy off the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks, as some media reports have suggested earlier.

Have fun with the Meeks-Blagojevich deal over the weekend. Or drop into McHenry County Blog.

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Has the Governor Seen the Light?

UPDATE - Apparently the answer is 'Deal". Meeks is out.

Even on vacation, Rich Miller is on top of Illinois happenings. He just recently broke the story for his subscribers that there may be a deal between the Governor and Senator Meeks on the issue of education funding that would generate major new revenue for Illinois schools.

Without any inside knowledge to the discussions, I would think that the only viable potential source of a long-term revenue stream sufficient to generate those types of dollars would be the previously discussed privatization of the toll roads. This would allow the Governor to infuse sufficient dollars into the schools to stave off the Meeks bid without sacrificing his no tax increase pledge.

A question that remains in my mind though is what, if anything, is planned to address the issue of funding inequity between districts as well as the oft-discussed over-reliance on property taxes. Intelligent people have differed, and will continue to differ, on whether the schools need more money, but I would think that there is some consensus that the state needs to pick up its share of whatever monies are going into schools.

If local governments (eg. Cook County) are not somehow compelled to translate a massive new infusion of state money into some form of relief for property owners, there is still going to be a lot of work that needs to be done.

In any event, I commend Sen. Meeks for putting his words into action.

To read, or post, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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Immigration rallies' backlash, cont'd: English as America's national language

The backlash against the recent open borders rallies continues. Yesterday, the US Senate passed a provision authorizing English as America's "national language." Making English the nation's official language would've been better, but even as a national language, the legislation makes sense. It will be included, along with a similar provision, in the immigration legislation making its way through Congress.

Republican James Inhofe of Oklahoma brought the provision to the Senate floor.

The usual suspects, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Patty Murray, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, among others, voted against it.

But I want to focus on the comments made by Dick Durbin.

He's worried that warning signs in Spanish might be taken down.

From the Chicago Tribune, free registration may be required:

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), for example, said drowning deaths on the Potomac River, which flows through the nation's capital, had gone from more than a dozen in 2004 to none last year. The U.S. Park Service credited the decline, he said, to warning signs in Spanish and English after it noticed that many drowning victims were immigrants.

"So is making this political statement in the Inhofe amendment so important that we wouldn't want to provide safety for those using the Potomac River?" Durbin asked.

Inhofe responded that his bill would not prevent such signs from being printed in other languages in addition to English.

Whereas I'm glad there were no drowning deaths on the Potomac last year, I find it not at all surprising that Durbin framed the debate over the provision in a manner that a trial lawyer would. The trial lawyers are the ones who tell juries that not no matter what warning signs are put in place, they're never enough of them, they're never big enough, and they're not in enough languages.

Of course, over the last twenty years, the Democratic Party has become the party of the trial lawyers.

The photograph was taken at the Chicago May 1 immigration rally by Jake of Freedom Folks.

To comment, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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Eric Krol on Rep Bean and taxes

Krol has a column in today's Daily Herald but I can't find a link to it. He writes about a question to wchich U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean simply won't give a definitive answer: should Bush's tax cuts be made permanent.

Democrats need some moderates like Bean but it can't be an easy task running as one today. She should read fellow Democrat Brad Carson's response to
Michael Tomasky's Party in Search of a Notion. One of those notions being common interest.

The "common interest" is fine as a rhetorical ploy. Tomasky's "common good" won't be the Democrats' grand narrative, though. Because, its linguistic utility notwithstanding, the "common good" lacks any real substance and is incapable of doing the important work of prioritizing among (and adjudicating between) competing ideas. In the first 100 days of a new Democratic president, does the "common interest" dictate that we should first do universal health care, welfare reform, or gays in the military? We've been down that road before, and we know the baleful destination already.

The failure of Tomasky is that, like Lakoff, he seems to believe that the problems facing Democrats can be fixed with only a rhetorical shift. "If only we progressive had a Frank Luntz to wordsmith for us," they would seem to say. But the Democrats' problem is far deeper; it is not that they fumble for words, but rather that they have lost their voice.

Dodging questions on taxes no way to find that voice. Voters want and deserve to know your thoughts and criteria for prioritizing and adjudicating the questions before us.

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cigars, boots, hunting and golf

Holland released his audit of the Illinois Conservation Foundation yesterday. Daily Herald writes,

Auditors also found a variety of purchases made without proper documentation of why they were necessary. Among them: $191 worth of cigars, $469 in hunting clothes and related items, $72 in golf fees and a pair of boots worth $108.

It was outreach... gotta reach out.

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NOW Whacks Natarus for Sexist Slur

The Natonal Organization for Women's Chicago Chapter, one of their largest chapters in the country, whacked Alderman Burt Natarus this week for asking Chicago Sun-Times reporter Carol Marin whether she was a "pussy," which was pretty artfully done considering the paper won't allow the printing of the word. Here's what NOW board member Joe Hance said:

I don't know what's worse: Aldermen Stone and Natarus' cavalier regard for the Shakman decree, or the use, while rousing his fellow alderman, of unprintable vulgar references to the female reproductive tract. Surely the words "spineless" or "unmanly" convey the same message and pack the same punch.

If Stone and Natarus feel that strict guidelines on appointments and hiring impede good government, and if they want us to take their argument seriously, they'll have to come up with something better than schoolyard slurs that use female body parts as insults.

Sexism or corruption, which is worse? Good question, NOW. My guess is Alderman Burt Natarus would say "neither", since he recently joked about the Marin column at a packed public forum, before 350 people. Even with it staring you in the face from the newspaper, even with a federal prosecutor breathing down your neck, some folks just do not get it.

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The Clout list; among other things

Rich goes on vacation and I miss comments on what I think are the start of events that will upset Illinois politics for the rest of the year: The Clout List, State patronage, City patronage, and maybe the release of a report telling us officials looked the other way while confessions beat out of people.

Things will look a lot different for the powers-that-be in Illinois sooner rather than later because of all this?

Or will Illinois just shrug this all off?

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CDC Finally Agrees With Reagan AIDS/HIV Commission 18 Years Late

It was in 1988 that "The Report of the Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic" was written and filed with President Ronald Reagan.

Its recommendations were basically written by Republican Illinois State Representative Penny Pullen, the legislative expert on the subject in the country, in my opinion, and nurse Kristine Gebbie, a liberal Public Health Department Director from both Washington and Oregon before becoming President Bill Clinton's AIDS czar. Perhaps Kristine's ability to compromise is one reason that she ended up on this hate poster.

Shepherd Smith, who founded Americans for a Sound AIDS/HIV Policy (not the guy on TV), and I worked with Penny far into the morning on what we called the "public protection" side of the issue.

Penny and Kristine met the next day and agreed upon most of the final recommendations.

One of the recommendations was "routine" HIV testing without pre-test counseling. The reasoning was that people deserved to know if they were HIV-infected, because that meant they were infectious.

Now, it is 18 years later and the CDC is finally getting around to implementing that sound recommendation.

I note that the son of another commissioner, Richard DeVos, is now a Republican candidate for governor in Michigan.

I worked with Penny on the issue of HIV through 1992. I became so disgusted with the Centers for Disease Control lack of action to stem the AIDS epidemic that I started calling the agency, "The Centers for the Spread of Disease."

Even when it spent almost a half million dollars investigating the spread of HIV in Illinois prisons--about as much as it spent on its condom TV ads--Penny had to pry the results out of Atlanta with a Freedom of Information request.

The results?

1/3 of 1% of Illinois state prisoners seroconverted within one year of incarceration. And, only those who had been in a local jail for at least three months were tested.

Doesn't sound like much, does it?

If one projects that rate onto the general Illinois population, for the purpose of perspective, it would have turned out that the total of HIV infections among Illinois residents in one year would have equaled the actual total over the life of the epidemic.

More at McHenry County Blog.

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Worth a Thousand Words

Comments about our two candidates for Governor got decidedly vicious late this afternoon, so this post exists no more. A few people had to ruin some good-natured fun for everybody else.

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Rockford's Stanley Campbell to Iran: "I apologize for my government."

Why does the Religous Left in America get such a thrill from Tyrants?

Here's what Rockford's Stanley Campbell is quoted saying in Iran per Peace Noodles at SoapBlog Chicago during his visit to Iran as a Peace Activist: I apologize for my government.

Do a search at the Soap on Jon Burge and it will come up blanks save my post today. Something's gone badly wrong with the left in Illinois and the US that they can be so indifferent to injustice in our own backyard and feel a need to travel to Iran and say sorry.

All in all it is difficult not to feel that pacifism, as it appears among a section of the intelligentsia, is secretly inspired by an admiration for power and successful cruelty.
--George Orwell

cross posted at Bill Baar's West Side

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Saint Hugo and Chicago's Jesse Jackson

I wonder if this connection explains how we got stuck with those voting machines.

From The Weekly Standard's Saint Hugo The Religious Left begins its embrace of Hugo Chávez , and a link here.

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Franking hath its privledges for Schock

From Wikipedia:

"The franking privilege is a perk which grants an elected official the right to send mail through the postal system for free, often simply by signing his or her name where the postage stamp would normally be placed.

"In theory, elected officials and the postal service are both paid for by the taxpayer. The postal service represents a fixed cost - that is, adding the official's mail to the existing mailstream does not change the postal system's total costs. The franking privilege allows elected officials to send official mail without creating accounting transactions that, at the total government level, will cancel each other out.

"In practice, the franking privilege is applied to more than just the official mail necessary for the conduct of the office. Franking is one of the largest advantages of incumbency, contributing to a very high reelection rate in the U.S. legislative branch.

In the United States, members of the House and Senate are allowed this privilege."

And so are members of the Illinois House of Representatives. Last residents of certain parts of Peoria -- but not all of them -- received mailers similar to this one from State Rep. Aaron Schock.(R-92nd District). This one ended up in the mailbox of a Central Bluff resident. Judging by the text alone, it's supposed to be an announcement of an innocent neighborly get-together with various elected and unelected officials to discuss "issues important two our community." More than 5,200 of these were mailed.

But the presentation suggests something completely different. There's Rep. Schock's handsome face, taking up nearly one-fourth of the page, right next to the names of City Council Representative Barbara Van Auken and Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard.

In my opinion, this mailer was designed to create an impression that Van Auken and Settingsgaard are supporters of Schock, who will face a difficult challenge from Peoria City Council member Bill Spears.

But that is not the case. Van Auken is supporting Spears, a fellow Democrat, a friend and an ally on the Peoria City Council. Chief Settingsgaard, as a public employee, isn't allowed to endorse candidates, and if he were, it's doubtful he would support someone running against one of his bosses.

This is what I understand to have happened: Van Auken initially declined to attend, but agreed to do so at the urging of constituents who assured her the event was non-political. She was caught by surprise at the flyer and its implication of support for Schock politically, and thinks that some of her constituents might have been mislead about the event's real intent. Settingsgaard also was reluctant to attend, but similarly was assured that the event was supposed to be non political.

Its normal and natural for both Van Auken and Settingsgaard to want to meet with citizens in these sorts of settings. Settingsgaard, who has held his job for slightly more than one year, has made it a point to improve communication between the police and private citizens.

There are other reasons why there are concerns over this mailing. A similar one to residents of the Peoria County Board's 1st District announces a meeting with the principal of Harrison School and "vocalist" Pat Ward, who is a candidate the county board. It begs the question: How can someone who is not currently an office holder be expected to inform the public authoritatively on "state and local issues important to our community."

It suggests these events are more political than educational. Any electioneering at all, and the event becomes political. That means if any candidate asks anyone for their vote, the mailing becomes an illegal use of state funds, according to one politician which whom I spoke.

The mailing has understandably caused Spears and Van Auken to have a discussion about the situation, and he's OK with her explanation. Settingsgaard may back out, but there's bound to be a complaint made to Peoria City Manager Randy Oliver (not from Spears, however).

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David Orr's Letter in today's Defender on Burge, torture, and 35 years

Orr's letter in today's Defender. Not sure if it's published anywhere else (it should be!). The Foie Gras story may have gotton more coverage. Hopefully the full report will be released this Friday.

Dear Editor,

Back in 2002, a Cook County judge appointed special prosecutors to investigate the allegations of torture against former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge.

Now, four years and $5.5 million later, the prosecutors want to release their findings. Not surprisingly, attorneys for Burge and other former officers, accused of using electric shock and suffocation techniques on suspects, don’t want the report to be made public.

For those keeping track, it’s been 13 years since Burge was fired for torturing Andrew Wilson while Wilson was in police custody more than 25 years ago. The allegations of torture surfaced some 35 years ago. Beginning to see a pattern?

These allegations and attempts to cover them up smelled back then just as they do today. After decades of being denied the complete truth about Burge’s alleged atrocities, the public has a right to finally hear it - now.

I applaud the city’s African American aldermen for providing leadership on this issue - one that impacts all of us.

David Orr

Cook County Clerk

cross posted at Bill Baar's West Side

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What were they thinking?

Cross-posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Two stories in the Chicago press today had me scratching my head with wonder. Why is clean government so baffling to people in power?

The Tribune reports on city aldermen who think Patrick Fitzgerald has gone too far in enforcing rules against political patronage. The rights of public servants to their own political affiliations are well-settled, but in Illinois, it seems that prosecutors have to swoop in every few years to remind our public officials what the rest of the nation learned over a century ago. Politicians cannot hand out jobs to supporters. Hiring, firing, promotions, contracts, and other benefits should not be doled out based on campaign considerations. Taxpayer funds should benefit taxpayers. And yet, one unnamed alderman insists, “nobody has considered it a crime before.” Maybe nobody at City Hall, but surely after Rutan, and Shakman, and (gulp) the 2003 Ethics Act, we’d have hoped they’d have learned differently.

The Sun-Times has another doozy, revealing that Gov. Blagojevich was maintaining a favors list that connected new hires with political sponsors. At the same time that the governor was bragging about changing the way business was done, insisting that other politicians fought with him because he was reforming the system, it turns out his office was also tracking special interest sponsors of state employees. Maybe the governor now wants to explain why he let a riverboat casino lobbyist pick the Gaming Board’s lobbyist? Was that the new and improved way of doing the people’s business?

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised. Scott Fawell was indicted (and convicted) of abuse of public office for acts he committed after he knew he was a target in the Safe Roads investigation, and some Hired Truck defendants were charged with crimes committed after the first Hired Truck indictments came down. Some people just think they’re immune; even when they know prosecutors are looking at them, they keep on breaking the law. But our public officials are lucky, in a way. If they haven’t learned the lesson yet, the latest round of federal prosecutions will give them all another chance to get it right.

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Hodgepodge

Okay, I'm kind of swamped today, but in Rich's absence, I'll try to give you folks something to do with your time. A quick State, County, and City rundown would include:

In the Fawell Said it Was Okay Department, news breaks of hiring lists.

In the Make Up Your Mind Department, Stroger now expected to stay on the ballot.

In the This Can't Be Good for the Defense Department, City Personnel Director tells her tale.

Tee off on the level of government of your choice.

To read, or post, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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House Speaker Gets 15 Months for Political Use of Employees

Here’s another “not yet in Illinois” story. The first went up May 13th.

And, actually, it was an “Assembly” Speaker, not a House Speaker.

The Associated Press and others (WisPolitics.com, for example) report that former Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R- Waukesha) was sentenced to 15 months in state prison for using GOP caucus, that is, state employees for political purposes or, as AP puts it,

on state time with state resources.

Caucus employees worked for the state, supposedly to do legislative research, but, like legislative Policy Staffs in Illinois, had a primary responsibility for political work.

The caucus workers testified they served as field campaign operatives, held campaign strategy meetings in both Jensen's office and the caucus' state offices, recruited candidates and produced campaign literature on their state computers, all under Jensen's oversight.

Does that sound familiar?

The former Speaker was sentenced to 18 months in jail—state prison, not Club Fed—after a March jury conviction. Jensen also is barred from entry into the State Capitol for 5 years. Restitution remains open. An appeal is expected.

He could have gotten 16 years in the prisons he probably underfunded.

Former GOP Assistant Majority Leader Bonnie Ladwig (R-Racine) was sentenced to 30 days electronic monitoring and $4,500 in fines and restitution “for using her position in the Legislature to help collect money for GOP candidates,” AP reports. She could have gotten a year in prison.

House Republican fundraiser Sherry Schultz, a full-time House employee, got 4 months of electronic monitoring, 5 years’ Capitol banishment, plus restitution to be decided later, according to the Capitol Times.

The judge said,

You essentially were the grease that helped that machine function smoothly.

Former Assembly Majority Leader Steve Foti (R-Oconomowoc) hired Schultz. Foti got 60 days in jail and is allowed to be a work release lobbyist.

But Republican Corruption blog readers should remember

· Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, got 9 months in December, after pleading guilty to doing pretty much what the Republicans sentenced this week did.

· Milwaukee Democratic Party State Senator Brian Burke got 6 months for using his staff for political purposes.

Will the convictions make any difference?

Here’s what a Common Cause Wisconsin press release, posted on WisPolitics.com, said,

While the Jensen sentencing marks the end of one phase of Wisconsin's most serious and widespread poitical scandal in the last 100 years, it most certainly does not mean Wisconsin has been cleansed of the corruption that precipitated the Legislative Caucus Scandal.

Almost nothing has been done to transform and reform the political culture in Wisconsin. If anything, there is even more special interest money undermining our elections and public policy-making process now, than when Jensen and Chuck Chvala exercised absolute control over the Wisconsin Legislature.

If it isn't time to clean up and reform this political cesspool now, then there will never be a good time to do so.

The Wisconsin State Journal weighed in with this editorial.

Remember, this is Wisconsin. Its politicians learned from ours.

Part of the headline of Common Cause Wisconsin press release in WisPolitics.com is

CAPITOL CORRUPTION CONTINUES UNABATED

I couldn't find a paragraph on this in the Chicago Sun-Times or Tribune this morning, although the entire AP story was posted on the Trib's internet site yesterday. Stories like this, including, "Is Blago 'Toasting?'" today, are a regular feature on McHenry County Blog.

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Blame Harold Washington???

Daley's former Patronage Chief, Robert Sorich, is currently on trial in federal court. And in this recent column by Mark Brown, we see the responses of two black alderman with regards to the defense made by Sorich's lawyers...

In response to allegations by federal prosecutors that Sorich and the others rigged city hiring and promotions in favor of politically-connected job candidates, three of their defense lawyers argued Monday that their clients' actions were in large part driven by a 1985 executive order from former Mayor Harold Washington setting affirmative action goals for city hiring.

Alderman Ed Smith thought this was a joke and laughed. Brown said later on that Smith wants to get along with the Daley administration so Smith asked Brown to not mention the laughter in the column. Here's more...

Lawyers Thomas Anthony Durkin, Patrick Deady and Cynthia Giacchetti each said that the Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, where Sorich and two of the others worked, properly played a role in hiring because of Mayor Daley's concerns about providing racial diversity in the city workforce -- in furtherance of Washington's order.

In other words, when the mayor's men flouted the Shakman decree by arranging for job applications and interviews to be fixed, they were doing it largely for the benefit of minorities and women.

Never mind non-minorities Donald Tomczak, Daniel Katalinic, the boys from the Coalition for Better Government and others whose political organizations were at the front of the patronage line for a long time before the mayor's favors turned to his loyalists in the Hispanic Democratic Organization.

The key name was Harold Washington. The late mayor of Chicago who died when he just might be able to pass some of his programs through a council which was no longer hostile to him. Obviously Smith who served on the city council during Washington's mayoralty found this defense to be outrageous.

Here's a little more from Smith and the column...

"I don't have any jobs that have come through them," he said of the intergovernmental Affairs office. "No one has come in the office and indicated to me they got jobs through Intergovernmental Affairs."

Maybe Smith got a few jobs through some other route at City Hall. I don't want to put him in a box. But it's well-known that the mayor's favorite alderman on the West Side is the 29th Ward's Isaac "Ike" Carothers, whose job candidates did receive favorable treatment from Sorich's operation.

Brown also talked to Alderman Toni Preckwinkle...

"It's preposterous that these defendants should lay this on Harold Washington's doorstep," Preckwinkle said.

But she didn't deny that the mayor's patronage office practiced affirmative action.

"It's political affirmative action," Preckwinkle said. "It's nothing to do with race and gender. It's affirmative action for their cronies."

Now there is a media component to the charges against Sorich too...

In response to prosecutor Patrick Collins' opening line that the case is about "breech of the public trust," defense lawyer Durkin, who represents Sorich, said he believes the government's case "is about the betrayal of normal prosecutive procedures to embarrass if not perhaps unseat with the help of the Chicago Tribune a very popular sitting mayor.''

If there were such a conspiracy, we at the Sun-Times, birthplace of the Hired Truck Scandal, should probably share in the blame -- or credit, as the case may be. But that may sound like sour grapes, and anyway, there's no conspiracy.

You can't really blame Durkin for making it a case about the mayor -- because it is. But Durkin later said this case is really about the mayor's father, Richard J. Daley, not Richard M., a theory that I'm not sure that I can explain other than that the Shakman case dates back to Richard I's reign.

The funny thing here is that if affirmitive action is important to the black community then it's great to see that two black alderman seem to be keeping an eye on this case. Job or contracts that should have gone to minorities don't just go to minorities they go to those minorities or indeed anyone who have given political support. I'm only tepid supporter of affirmitive action, but it is unfortunate that a little trickery is involved here.

Crossposted at It's My Mind!!!

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Hey, Hollywood: Oh Che, can you see the real Guevara?

Wow, my second Che Guevara-related post in less the 12 hours. The picture I took last fall outside the Joan F. Arai Middle School on Chicago's North Side. The lettering reads "Uplift Social Justice."

Andy Garcia knows see the real Che. And as Front Page Magazine's Lloyd Billingsley writes in his review of the Garcia-directed The Lost City, "El Che" was not "Uplifting Social Justice" in a way reasonable people see it.

In The Lost City, Fidel Castro appears as himself in newsreel footage. We do get to see Che Guevara, played by Jsu Garcia, who bears a remarkable likeness to the upper-class Argentine Stalinist whose mug adorns so many T-shirts. We also see Guevara rather casually executing people, though nothing on the scale of what actually happened. As Andy Garcia explained to an interviewer:

"You know, this is what Che was doing in Cuba. He was the tribunal judge after the revolution and he was executing people left and right and a lot of them without a trial."

Let's hope that Garcia can convince the rest of the Hollywood establishment, as well as the Chicago Public Schools, that Che was not a hero.

To comment on this and other Marathon Pundit posts, click here.

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Chicago's foie gras faux crisis

Advice columnist and Pajamas Media blogger Amy Alkon has a post about Chicago's foie gras ban. For those who aren't aware of this culinary item, it's a made from fattened livers of force-fed geese.

Animal rights activists view the treatment of the geese as torture.

Alderman Joe Moore sponsored the legislation, now law, that put the foie gras ban into place.

Until it was forbidden, Chicago was not overrun with restaurants serving the pricey delicacy. Estimates vary widely on the number of eating establishments that had foie gras on their menu. Some say two, bolder researchers claim four restaurants in the nation's third-largest city offered it.

Until 1999, I lived in Moore's ward, the 49th. It's a pretty run-down place.

For more on that ward, visit The "Broken Heart" of Rogers Park.

Chicago is a crazy place.

Just to the south of Moore's ward is Mary Ann Smith's 48th Ward. Working hand-in-hand with the secular anti-humanist group, PETA, Smith is trying to get a de facto ban on elephants put into law, as I blogged in this post, City of Chicago weighs elephant ban.

Meanwhile, yesterday in federal court, opening arguments in the trial of several former top aides of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley were heard. Four men are accused of breaking the law by circumventing bans on politically-based hiring.

A quote by this famous Illinoisan and onetime presidential candidate, Adlai E. Stevenson, is a good way to end this post.

In a democracy, you get the government you deserve.

To comment on this story, visit Marathon Pundit.

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Chicago City Council Must Act On This Latest Outrage!

Having saved Chicago from fois gras, perhaps it's time for our progressive Alderpersons to act decisively - that this never happens at Lincoln Park Zoo. Imagine what Ditka would have to say - or Lorreta Swit,! Imagine - carnivores in the Wild Kingdom.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/15/D8HKETVO0.html

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Sweating Bullets Over Meeks

Chicago Defender Executive Editor and WVON-AM mid-day talk show host Roland Martin says black politicians are “sweating bullets” over the coming gubernatorial candidacy of the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks.

"There are a group of people who are sweating bullets and hoping Meeks isn’t successful in getting the 25,000 signatures, and those are the Black state representatives, senators and aldermen. If they are forced to choose between the chair of the Black caucus or the Democratic governor, many would likely prefer to vote for Topinka!"

This comes after the following paragraph:

"A Meeks run puts on front street the claims by white conservative evangelicals that they support those who support their issues. Here you've got a guy who is against abortion, against gay marriage, for prayer in school, and provides a strong moral voice to the political discourse. So with his kind of track record, then he should be the darling of white evangelicals. But the big question is if they will leave the moderate Republican candidate, Judy Barr Topinka - who is for abortion rights and gay marriage – to vote for a Black guy. Oh, yea, a gay marriage amendment could very well be on the ballot in November. This will mean a tremendous number of people who oppose gay marriage heading to the polls, and out of the three choices, Meeks lines up best with them."

And, finally, the set-up for a question I’d like feedback on:

"But the main issue that a Meeks run means for Democrats is that it could usher in a new age where Black elected officials buck their party, and demand more for their broad support. Trust me when I say this, there are a multitude of Black eyes across America that are fixated in Illinois, and this couild launch a domino effect across the country that would unsettle Democrats’ long lock on Black voters."

What about that?

Could a Meeks' candidacy for governor lead to a realignment of American politics?

Comment here or at McHenry County Blog.

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Taxing Les' Patience (and Property)

Today's guest blogger is Les Kniskern. Les is a constituent of mine from the Greater Rockwell neighborhood, not far from the Governor's residence. Les has been actively involved in community issues for some time now. Most recently, he has been engaged in efforts to mitigate the negative business impact from the station closures that have accompanied the CTA Brown Line Expansion Project.

His other passion has been the issue of skyrocketing property taxes and the underlying issue of how we assess properties in Cook County. Les is not a 'special interest', nor is he an 'insider'. His story and experience is that of many of my constituents, and he was interested in sharing them with readers here.

While there are various points that I would love to expound upon, and may at a later date, for today, I will try to stay on the sidelines for this post, and let those of you that choose to do so, debate the issue amongst yourselves or with Les.

For a related story, you can read Ben Joravsky's article in this week's Chicago Reader.

Without further delay, I give you Les Kniskern:

I’m tempted to post the phrase “7% solution” and let the comments fly, but since Rep. John Fritchey has graciously invited me to post as a guest blogger, let me share thoughts from a homeowner’s perspective.

My wife and I formed a partnership with another couple to purchase a Chicago two-flat as our residence. An innovative plan to combine resources, share expenses, and truly the only way we could afford a down payment given our moderate salaries from the non-profit sector.

As first-time homeowners we never anticipated a 59% assessment increase in 2003, only one year after our purchase. This was not a rehab, we’re still hoping for the day when we can afford new windows – but the broken sewer line took precedence this year.

Our dear neighbors, elderly sisters who still resonate with the accents of their home country, worry with me over the fence as we discuss how to care for different plants in our garden. “What,” Otillia asks, “are we to do? How can we pay our taxes and keep our home?” Their home of 17 years, and 63% assessment increases.

Other neighbors, who’ve battled gang influence, cleaned up graffiti, and planted corner gardens to make this a neighborhood to be proud of, are no longer fearful of losing their possessions to crime, but of losing their homes to taxes.

There seems to be a perception that increased property values are a boon to the homeowner. Appreciation means more money in your pocket, right? Take the money and run. Yet, this boon is only offered to the investor who flips a commodity, or the seller who moves from location to location.

At the crux of the assessment debate is the homeowner whose interest lies not in profit, but in the home. Individuals seeking a residence with stability, a community in which to live, neighbors on which to rely. In order to build such a place, a commitment must be made to its residents. To make a stable community, and ultimately a better State of Illinois, you must lay a foundation of property owners who are invested in where they live. Invested not only monetarily but invested in the responsibility of taking care of their homes and their neighborhood, invested in the non-tangibles of a strong community.

Escalating assessments and out-of-control property tax increases threaten this type of homeowner.

The property tax debate must not be looked at as an “us” vs. “them” proposition, but rather as a delicate eco-system comprised of property owners, commercial interests, and political gain.

For a run-of-the-mill homeowner, understanding these complexities can be hard. Even more difficult is that the State of Illinois cannot take away the protection put in place by the assessment cap without causing great damage to our neighborhoods.

The “7% solution” is a misnomer, whereas it should have been called the “7% bridge,” to a more permanent solution.

To read, or post, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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Predatory lender teams with Peoria Housing Authority to rip off poor people

Peoria Journal Star reporter Elaine Hopkins reports on how the Peoria Housing Authority helped various low-income Peorians arrange loans so they could buy their own homes. Sounds like a good idea, right? homeownership is better than rental.

The problem is that the PHA stood by -- at the least -- and watched as these buyers were handed forms that called for them to pay adjustable rate mortgages and balloon payments, all against PHA policy. At the worst, PHA employees were in on it.

As a result, these poor people who had trouble making ends meat before are now paying hundreds more per month than they can afford. And the contracts they sign forbid them from refinancing at lower rates without paying huge penalties. And these predatory lenders? A friend of a PHA employee, of course.

The lender says they all signed of their own free will. Victims said they were told by the PHS to sign with this particular lender.

There was a PHA employee who wrote a memo about these shady practices. She was fired.

My two cents: I want to know what U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood is going to do about this. The PHA operates under the auspices of the federal government. LaHood is Peoria's only congressman. It's up to LaHood to step up and do something about the PHA and fix this problem. At the very least he needs to light a fire under the feds ass so they will respond to complaints.

It's one thing to get this all out in the open. But it can't end with some sort of apology and a statement that the people responsible have been disciplined or have quit. These people are in danger of losing their homes and losing their equity. Something HAS to be done to help them. These people were screwed over by the government.

The PHA is the biggest slumloard in Peoria. It's no surprise to me that a slumloard associates with predatory lenders.

Cross posted at Peoria Pundit

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Third Party Candidates

There are three third party--as opposed to power party--candidates on the horizon.

The best known prospective third party candidate is the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks. He is liberal on everything but social issues like homosexuality and abortion. He says he is running because he wants more money for public education. That is a none-too-subtle way of saying he wants to raise taxes.

The Chicago Defender (a newspaper aimed at blacks) late last week revealed that Meeks will journey Downstate to Rockford, Springfield and East St. Louis on May 20th, as well as holding a press conference in Chicago, to launch his petition campaign for the needed 25,000 signatures.

Over 5,000 signatures were obtained on Protect Marriage petitions at his church, so obtaining 25,000 should be no problem

I’m one who thinks Meeks is not really running for governor.

Oh, he probably will be on the ballot, but I think his goal is to become mayor of Chicago.

That would leave Jesse Jackson, Jr., in his congressional career, so the father’s coalition would have covered two out of the three bases that count. And, if lightning strikes and Meeks is elected governor, Jesse, Jr., could always be drafted for a mayoral run.

To follow in Harold Washington’s footsteps and the blueprint used successfully for Washington, one must rev up the base, that is, the black vote in Chicago, the year before the mayoral election. That election is the first week of April, 2007.

The May 12th Chicago Defender has this quote, which I think supports my analysis:

He (Blagojevich) has not met with Black leaders to say this is what I’m going to do for Black voters.

If anyone can think of a better way to do run for mayor than to run for governor, let me know.

My guess is that Meeks will team up with

· the Illinois Farm Bureau, which favors raising income taxes and cutting property taxes on farms,

· the Illinois Education Association, which favors raising income taxes in order to get higher salaries,

· the Illinois Teachers Union, ditto,

· AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which represents most state workers and

I’m sure I have missed some tax eaters that incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich has alienated.

Constitution Party candidate for governor, Randall Stufflebeam, has been collecting signatures for 45 days. There are 45 days left
until the June 26th deadline for filing 25,000 petition signatures.

His campaign reports

We are half way through the 90 day window which has been given to us to get signatures. YES!!! REALLY, half way through. I know a lot of you have sheets with signatures on them, please get them notarized and sent in. We have probably a 10th of the number needed to just get on ballot and as you know we have a goal of 75,000 because they will be hotly contested.

If this means that he has only collected 2,500 signatures so far, he’s not doing well…especially when you consider that Protect Marriage petition passers gathered over 400,000 signatures for the advisory referendum. Stufflebeam obviously has not been able to tap deeply into those petition passers, who would likely approve of much of his platform.

And, don't let me forget Green Party candidate for governor Rich Whitney.

My guess would be that the Greens have more signatures for Whitney than Stufflebeam has.

And, an email I just received validated my guess. Campaign Manager Jennifer Rose writes,

We are right around 15,000. Barring any unforseen obstacles,
we fully expect to exceed the required 25,000 by 20,000 and to be on the ballot in November. We have a statewide effort with
hundreds of volunteers.

The Libertarian Party is not running a candidate this year.

More Illinois politics is on McHenry County Blog.

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Missouri-the Annoy Me state

Illinois residents, especially those in the St. Louis Metro East, and many of our state and national legislators were shown the door, given the boot, and otherwise treated with disdain by neighboring Missouri officials on Friday.

Illinois lawmakers are disappointed and probably irritated beyond measure after learning the Missouri state legislature passed a bill authorizing the long needed, and much hoped for, new bridge over the Mississippi River to be paid for by tolls. This toll money will be paid by Illinois residents, for the most part, and will go into Missouri's coffers.

The federal government's transportation committee has set aside $270 million, Illinois set aside $210 million and Missouri, a state which was supposed to be partnering in this whole deal, well...they decided not to set money aside, but to have a toll on their side of the new bridge. Illinois lawmakers were really grousing on Saturday and rightly so. Much time and political arm twisting and favor calling-ins and pleading has been done by many Illinois state and federal officials. To no avail.

"It's like they asked us to dinner, ordered for everyone at the table, then stuck us with the check," said state Rep. Tom Holbrook, D-Belleville. "I can't tell you how disappointed I am."

U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, a Collinsville Republican, called Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt and urged him to help fund the bridge, Shimkus said.

"I am extremely disappointed," Shimkus said. "I called him to ask for a good faith effort. I asked him just to do something."

"It's time that Missouri steps up to the plate and makes some financial commitment to pay for this bridge that will contribute to their economic viability, as well as ours," said state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville.

Missouri agreed to do their part when this project was first discussed. If there is to be a toll on the new bridge, which no one in Illinois wants, it should be on the Illinois side, the side which has done their part.

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Are You There Rod? It's Me James

If you're at all a political junkie, you can't help but me fascinated by the potential candidacy of State Sen. Rev. James Meeks. When he first discussed the concept with me some time ago, I thought it made for interesting conjecture, but was far from convinced that it would go anywhere.

But to know Rev. Meeks is to know his passion, and his intelligence. And one of the things that about which he is passionate is the manner by which we fund our schools. I have seen him speak to audiences of every stripe, from his congregation to business leaders, and he has an uncanny knack for relating to people. Almost as if you crossed a preacher with a politician. Uh, never mind.

Many people initially wrote off Meeks' talk as one of political extortion. What they missed was that Meeks' acknowledged as much. He wants to improve how we fund our schools, and if the Governor were to present a plan with which Meeks agreed, Meeks was quick to say that he would relent from the threatened run. About a week ago, Meeks presented an education plan to the Governor's office. As of Saturday, he said that he had heard nothing in response to the submission. Meeks is not one to be taken lightly, and I can't believe that ignoring him is a good game plan either. If you listen to the man now, he sounds like a man that is going to be in this race.

Meeks has put forth May 20 as the day that he will announce his slate (maybe with Republican St. Clair County Board member Steve Reeb as a running mate), which is still different than a drop dead date for committing to the race. The conventional thinking is that if he does declare and file, the rest of the ticket would then withdraw, but who knows what will ultimately happen.

Should he run, everybody can argue about the impact that it will have on the race, but one thing is for sure, it will forever change the course of Illinois politics, forcing people across the state to rethink how they vote, why they vote, and who they vote for. Couple this with the potential of having the 'Protect Marriage' initiative on the ballot, throw in any fallout from the Ryan verdict, Sorich trial, and pending investigations, and you have what could be the most interesting Statewide election in a long while.

To post, or read, comments, visit Dome-icile

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News you probably missed: Big shot Democrat trial lawyer accused of sex abuse

Madison County, Illinois is a place you may not have heard about. It's not the county with those covered bridges. That one is of course in central Iowa.

From the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004:

Madison County is a small place, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, with only 260,000 residents. That makes it smaller than DuPage or Lake County. But it has a huge judicial reputation. More class action lawsuits, medical malpractice suits, and asbestos suits are filed in Madison County than in any other place in America -- more than in New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles.

Madison County is the most plaintiff-friendly place in America. The American Tort Reform Association calls it "the No. 1 hell hole in the country."

Very few of he plaintiffs actually live in, or near, Madison County.

One of Madison County's top law firms is the Lakin Law Firm of Wood River.

From Saturday's Belleville News-Democrat:

A Madison County judge on Friday unsealed a secret lawsuit that accuses prominent lawyer L. Thomas Lakin of sexually abusing minors and alleges the powerhouse law firm he established helped cover up the abuse.

The 37-page complaint names Lakin -- long influential in county and state Democratic circles -- the Wood River law firm and Lakin's sons, Brad Lakin and Kristopher Lakin, as defendants. The firm and both sons are accused of trying to cover up evidence of the sexual abuse.

The case was filed last month but dismissed. Tom Keefe, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs, intends to refile the suit.
More from the News-Democrat:

The complaint accuses Thomas Lakin of engaging in sexual relations last year with a minor boy referred to as John Doe, and of staging sex acts between the boy and another minor; between a minor girl and other minors, and between minors and adult women while he watched.

It also alleges Lakin gave alcohol and cocaine to a minor girl listed as Jane Doe, watched her have sex and called out sexual instructions while he masturbated and asked whether it was pleasurable. It accuses Kristopher Lakin of having "an inappropriate sexual relationship" with Jane Doe.

The paper in a separate article notes that Tom Lakin is a former member of the Democratic National Committee. Lakin and the firm have deep pockets for Democratic candidates, giving $260,000 to the campaign of Democrat Gordon Maag for his 2004 Ill. Supreme Court race. Maag lost, tort reform was the big issue in that contest.

Although Sunday he distanced himself from the firm, close ally to Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich, State Rep. Jay Hoffman, is listed as "of counsel" for the firm.

I hate to be cynical, but if this was a law firm representing corporations, with similar ties to the Republican Party, do you think the story would be covered by the New York Times?

To comment on this story, please visit Marathon Pundit. And yes, there is a DePaul related post right next to it.

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In the Air

In the random thought department, I just wanted to mention two ad campaigns out there right now which are both pretty good in their own ways. The first that comes to mind are the new Secretary of State ads for the organ donor program. Both the radio and television ads use Bob Marley's 'Wait in Vain' as the background music. The TV ads are very well done, very effective, and a far cry from the program ads of the past done by any elected officials.

I have to admit that the other ad is the radio spot by Tony Peraica. I don't know that it will get him anywhere, but he's got a surprisingly good jingle and a good message to boot. It stands out from all those cookie cutter 'couple talking' or neighbors talking' ads that tout or decry some candidate.

It's still a little unnerving to be listening to political ads in May though. I think that it leads to one of two things: People not paying attention to you now. Or people numbly tuning you out down the stretch. But that's for the consultants to debate.

To post, or read, comments, visit Dome-icile.

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Echoes of the RTA Referendum

The Northwest Herald came out against the Protect Marriage referendum before its petitions were even filed.

The day after they were filed, the Daily Herald editorialized in favor of a “No” vote. Today, here is part of the first sentence of an article about what effect the ballot question might have:

(It) appears headed for the November ballot is bound to spark many a heated debate throughout the state.

But the story does not even mention the Rev. and State Senator James Meeks, a prospectvie third party candidate for governor, whose church members added 5,400 signatures to the petition.

This reminds me so much of the 1974 referendum to establish the Regional Transportation Authority with its rip-off from the top of the General Fund and Motor Fuel Taxes, plus the authority to levy a gas tax and parking lot tax.

Then, every newspaper I can remember strongly supported the referendum, but it was overwhelmingly defeated outside of Chicago. It did pass, but by only 12,800 votes.

Even though one Chicago precinct voted 100% “Yes” (about 80 “Yes” votes, absolutely zero “No” votes with about 60 spoiled ballots), no recount of the paper ballot referendum was allowed by the newly-established State Board of Elections.

The next session the only RTA “reform” bill to pass was the one to allow recounts for close referendums.

If the Protect Marriage referendum sustains the challenge I expect, watch for at least the suburban newspapers to have about as little influence on their readers’ votes as they did 32 years ago. The vote probably won't be as lopsided, but the referendum will pass by a wide margin here where people move to get away from unhealthy city influences.

And, check out the hostile cartoon from the State Journal-Register in Springfield.

I wonder how editorial page writers, reporters and cartoonists will react if Meeks makes passage of the referendum a key part of his campaign for governor. Will they be able to label a respected pastor as the idiot the State Journal-Register's cartoonist makes petition gathterers here? (And, why does the cartoonist use the pejorative phrase--"That's so gay!"--commonly used by pre-teens and teens?)

I remember the kid gloves that they used when covering incumbent State Comptroller Roland Burris when I ran against him in 1982.

This is also posted at McHenry County Blog.

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Danny Davis to the Cook County Board (again)

Long article in today's Sun Times.

Can't Cook County do better than someone who won't do a thing till its over over there?

Not to mention this odd event at DC's Dirkenson Federal Bldg,

In a video on the IIFWP website, Cummings is seen giving a speech saying Moon is “always standing up for what is right.” Davis, wearing white gloves, places a jeweled crown on Moon’s head. The video, and articles about the event, were taken down from the website Friday.

Asked if he thought the crowning unusual, Davis, who has attended several Moon events, replied, “I see people crowned. I go to parades quite a bit … [and see] the queen of the homecoming parade, queen of the festival.”

cp at Bill Baar's West Side

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The Middle Class

From USA Today

Middle Class is a meaningless phrase for analysis to me. How descriptive is something almost everyone claims. But below not a trivial statistic for Illinois politics or the US.

Home buyers with names such as Rodriguez, Garcia and Hernandez bumped Brown, Miller and Davis down the list of most common buyers' names in 2005, reflecting Hispanics' rapid advance into the middle class.
[...]
The changes are dramatic elsewhere, too. No Hispanic names appeared in the top five in Illinois in 2000. Now, Garcia is third and Rodriguez fifth. [my emphasis] Nevada went from zero to three and New Jersey from one to three. "It's startling how rapid the changes are," says Dowell Myers, a housing demographer at the University of Southern California. "People assume that Latinos are poor and that they're not a factor in homeownership. They're really integrating economically."

From zero in the top five to third and fifth in five years is a huge change.

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I was watching Walter Jacobson...

I was watching WTTW's Friday Night Show with John Calloway and he was interviewing the Walter Jacobson. It was an interesting interview with Mr. Jacobson talking about engaging in other projects since he's no longer busy at WFLD-TV. He wants to do documentaries, write a book, and even write newspaper columns. He talked about his early life as well.

Eventually Calloway and Jacobson talked politics. They talked about the patronage and how politicians who were either set on reform or otherwise got used to the system as it existed in it's various forms. Calloway even suggested why not be upfront about the patronage and set a side say 5000 jobs for the purposes of political hiring. Jacobson would say that this would be hard to justify.

So then they turned to the political players in the state. Calloway has a thesis that Mayor Richard M. Daley is more powerful than his father Mayor Richard J. Daley. The second Mayor Daley doesn't seem as interested in being as powerful as mayor having his hand into the Cook County Democratic Organization. Jacobson would disagree saying that Daley's power came from the education establishment and also from his connections with the business community.

Then they talked about Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Jacobson seemed to be positive on the governor believing he's made some positive decisions. However Jacobson does say that Blagojevich is in trouble because his promise of reforms hasn't materialized. He even preferaced all this by saying that Blagojevich "is no Einstein". That is he's not brilliant.

Finally what about that Patrick Fitzgerald character. The US attorney was said to have pushed aside his Washington business to focus on Chicago. And Jacobson said he could be the most powerful of all if he can prove Daley knew about the illegalities in city hall. I suppose on that we shall have to see.

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Water Reclamation District: Project announced complete will be finished in thirty years

The Deep Tunnel Project began thirty years ago. The 109 miles of tunnels under Cook County, Illinois were built to keep sewage and storm water runoff out of the Chicago River, Lake Michigan, as well as residential basements.

Well, it's done. Sort of. I don't know who to blame, the government agency in charge of the program, or whoever wrote this story, but here is the first paragraph of the CBS 2 Chicago article about the "completion" of Deep Tunnel:

It required 30 years of work and $9 million, but at long last, the Deep Tunnel is done.

And the last...

The final phase of the Deep Tunnel project is a series of reservoirs holding 10 billion gallons of storm runoff. That will take the next 30 years.

Due to the continued misbehavior of just one commenter, I'm forced to move the comments over to Marathon Pundit, where I can police things better.

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“Governor's re-election bid a shambles, observers say”

That’s the headline yesterday, but not in Illinois.

Yet.

Kentucky’s Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher was indicted by a Grand Jury on three misdemeanor conspiracy charges for breaking a state law forbidding hiring on political considerations.

Patronage hiring, to translate.

Kentucky’s governor, like our own, is running for his second term in office.

And, headline yesterdayhe’s angry, just like our governor is when he "uncovers" something wrong in his administration.

The article from which my headline came says the governor could pardon himself. That’s probably better than spending time in a state prison. He's already pardoned everyone else involved in the scandal.

Who does this sound like?

(The governor) entered office in 2003 on a pledge to cut "waste, fraud and abuse" in state government. He promised to “clean up the mess” in the state capitol.

It could be Blagojevich, but it’s Kentucky’s governor.

And, today, Governor Rod Blagojevich announces the firing of the people he picked to run state hiring…back in April.

Here is the Saturday Chicago Tribune story.

Read the more detailed Sun-Times story, too.

The Kentucky governor tried an affirmative defense, too, but it obviously didn't work.

Mayor Richard Daley’s hiring team is on trial for violating patronage hiring rules and Governor Rod Blagojevich decides to fire his hiring team.

Timing is everything.

ABC’s Andy Shaw did a story last October on a developing Federal investigation into Blagojevich hiring abuses. (Actually, the Channel 7 reporter used the word, “practices.”)

Of course, Governor Blagojevich could not pardon himself from a Federal conviction.

But there is more irony than his annoucing the personnel firings the first week of Daley's counterparts' trial.

Blagojevich announced them the day after after former Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie’s patronage chief, Don Udstuen, got told he would spend the fall, winter and most of next spring in a Wisconsin prison.

Of course, Udstuen’s offenses had nothing to do with patronage. They were about bribes.

Another involved in the Ogilvie administration’s systematic replacement of Democrats with Republicans was Alan Drazak, Director of the Department of Personnel. Drazak figured out a way to put the people Udstuen selected on the payroll. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9th. He so angered Cook County Democrats when he played the same role when Ogilvie was sheriff and county board president that Senate Democrats refused to confirm him as director. He remained an "Acting Director."

Among Drazak's offenses was laundering Udstuen’s share of the Secretary of State vendor bribes that went to Larry Warner. (Warner got 1/3, Udstuen got 1/3, and 1/3 went elsewhere, according to testimony.)

No wonder the first reform of government in the United States was civil service.

Also posted at McHenry County Blog.

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Rumors are Flying...

Friday afternoon I got a call from someone who said he had heard a rumor that I was Rev. and State Sen. James Meeks' consultant in his contemplated bid for governor. I chuckled. By tonight I had heard that I was his campaign manager, major domo, guru...whatever.

First off, I am a Republican. I support the Republican ticket from top to bottom. I support Judy Topinka for governor. No, she was not my first choice in the primary, but she is our GOP nominee and I support her. There is only one time in my life I did not support the Republican nominee...and that time I did not go out and support someone else; I just maintained a sullen silence. This will not be a second time.

So how did this get started? Sometime back a mutual friend asked if I would sit down and talk with Meeks. I said sure; I have lunch or dinner with Democrats and representatives of third parties three or four times a month. But I explained that I am a Republican, and I would be supporting the Republican ticket in toto.

Earlier this week I had dinner with Rev. Meeks at a downtown Chicago restaurant. We talked about politics, religion, what his chances were, how African-Americans view conservatives and how conservatives view African-Americans. He's a fascinating guy. Anybody who can build a church from the ground up to having 20,000 active members has to be something special. Over a decade ago I recruited the black man, Torrie Newsome, who was chairman of the Waukegan Twp. Republicans a few years ago into the party. A few years ago I wrote a campaign plan for his wife, Edie, who became the first black woman ever to be a Waukegan Alderman...and she did it as a Republican in a Democrat district. My son-in-law is black. I have long believed that a great many blacks would find a more comfortable home in the Republican Party than with the Democrats. I never let an opportunity pass to dispel the slander of racism that so many on the left tar those of us on the right with. But Rev. Meeks knew before dinner and after that whatever camaraderie we might establish, I was and would be supporting the Republican nominee for governor.

The pro-life issue is the focus of what motivates my involvement in politics. I consider it the great civil rights issue of our time. Now it may seem odd that I would not support an overtly pro-life independent over a non-pro-life Republican. But these things happen in a larger picture. Right now, the Republican Party is the only safe place for a pro-lifer to be. And even when a Republican is not right on the issue, I have yet to see a situation where the pro-life cause is helped by weakening the Republican Party. Some conservatives thought to teach Jim Ryan a lesson four years ago - and what we got was Rod Blagojevich who made this into one of the most radically pro-abortion states in the country. I would not have something like that on my conscience. But my attitude on the matter is something like Abraham Lincoln's was about the Whig Party: so long as the Whig Party was the anti-slavery party, Lincoln was a partisan Whig. When it became the me-too party, he ceased to be a Whig. So long as the Republican Party is the pro-life party I will be a partisan Republican.

Rev. Meeks and I hit it off nicely at dinner. He strikes me as a serious and likeable guy, with a great deal of talent. I hope our friendship will grow and that it will help draw new lines of understanding and cooperation between African-Americans and Republicans. But just as I am an American, I am also a Republican. Though I may occasionally think a foreign country has the better of an argument with us, if a dispute comes, I side with America. In politics, I am a Republican. I'll continue to break bread with members of other parties - and while they're hoping for my conversion, I'll be hoping for theirs.

Sometime I'll write an assessment of what effect I think a Meeks entry would have on the race. He certainly would draw a chunk of normally-Republican conservatives. In the end, though, I think he is likely to draw far more black and discontented downstate Democrats.

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What's wrong with sex selection?

From today's Chicago Tribune:

BADHOCHHI KALAN, India -- This is the land of the vanishing girl, where 14 boys and seven girls attend 1st grade, where educational plays warn of a future with no women. A nearby midwife delivers one girl for every five boys.

Villagers do not talk openly about why the number of girls is so low here--how couples use ultrasound tests illegally and then abort female fetuses. But everyone knows the reason....

The village is a typical one in Fatehgarh Sahib district, a focus in India's fight to stop couples from aborting female fetuses, largely a phenomenon of the elite and educated. In the 2001 census, this district in the northwest state of Punjab had the most skewed sex ratio in the country. For every 1,000 boys younger than 6, there were 754 girls. That was a precipitous drop from 1991, when the census showed 874 girls for every 1,000 boys.

In Badhochhi Kalan in 2001, the ratio was even more disparate, 651 girls for every 1,000 boys. A nearby village had only 440 girls for 1,000 boys, the worst in India....

Sex selection abortions are also epidemic in China. They're causing quite a few problems for adult women, such as sex-trafficking, rape, and wife sharing.

It's logical to presume sex selection abortions are committed here - yes, Illinois - even if only among sexist immigrants.

The sex-selection phenomenon presents many interesting questions....

Would feminists/abortion proponents support or oppose a ban in Illinois on sex-selection abortions? (If the feminist movement is to promote the advancement of women, wouldn't opposing a sex-selection ban result in a loss of constituents?)

If it is only blobs of tissues that are aborted, can proponents even broach the topic of sex-selection abortions? Haven't they chosen a course of ignorance of cause and surprise at result?

What if certain abortions prove sociologically harmful to born women, as has been demonstrated with sex-selection abortions?

Does it matter that the female fetuses being aborted are late-term? Is there a difference between early and late abortions?

What if a late-term female fetus survives the abortion? Female infanticide is also a problem in India and China. So what?

If, as the Trib stated, Indian sex-selection abortions are "largely a phenomenon of the elite and educated," should Illinois take the opposite approach of passing a law to ensure sex-selection abortions are available to poor women via taxpayer funding?

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Open Meetings Law for you, but not me.

Republican Attorney General candidate, Stu Umholtz, had a great idea that the PJStar shared in an editorial this week.

It's such a simple idea it's brilliant. Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz would have the Illinois General Assembly follow its own law.

Umholtz wants to prohibit state lawmakers from meeting in secret. Legislators routinely meet in private to discuss legislation and strategy when they caucus or meet outside the House or Senate chambers. No other governmental body, no city council or county board, can get away with that in Illinois.

That's because the General Assembly gave itself an exemption in the Open Meetings Law, so lawmakers aren't actually breaking the law when they meet behind closed doors. They're just evading the public they're supposed to be serving.

Quite simply, the way the Democrats have handled the budget is an horrendous abuse of power that should have no place in "public service". Why doesn't Speaker Madigan, President Jones, Governor Blagojevich and everyone in the General Asembly live by the same laws they write for other elected officials? Could it be Illinois Democrats are more interested in their behind-closed-doors power over our tax dollars than they are in open, honest, public service?

Now if Mr. Umholtz could just get enough of a campaign together, maybe this idea could put some pressure on the anti-democratic power mongers running Springfield to open their processes up some more.

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Pot, meet Kettle

If this doesn't show what a joke the protect marriage amendment is, then I don't know what does.

From Bernie's column in the State Journal Register:

A spokeswoman who discussed the merits of the "protect marriage amendment" with reporters at the State Board of Elections this week has an interesting status for somebody pushing an issue identified with family values.

CATHY SANTOS lives with, but is not married to, DOUG IBENDAHL, a former lawyer for the state GOP who also represents the Family Taxpayers Network, a group led by conservative activist JACK ROESER. The FTN helped spearhead the petition drive to get the anti-gay marriage advisory referendum on the state ballot.

Santos, a former contract worker for the state treasurer, is a volunteer spokeswoman for the FTN. She said she and Ibendahl have been a couple for 10 years and have lived together for five years.

However, she said she does not think that conflicts with their advocacy of a constitutional amendment to declare that the only legal marriage in Illinois should be between a man and a woman.

Pro-family groups can take heart in this though:

Santos said she's been writing and illustrating children's books.

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An Open Letter to the Reform Community from the Governor (via the Board of Elections)

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Nine days ago, the eight biggest reform organizations in Illinois came together to send a joint letter to Gov. Blagojevich to remind him of his pledge to rock Springfield. Today, we got a response. From the State Board of Elections.

Why, you ask, is the State Board of Elections answering the governor’s mail? Apparently, because he asked them to. Why he would do that, we can’t say. You could say we’re gobsmacked.

Here, in its entirety, is the body of the letter from the State Board of Elections:

“The Governor’s office forwarded me a copy of your “Open Letter from the Campaign Reform Community to Governor Rod Blagojevich” so that the State Board of Elections might respond. However, the State Board of Elections is powerless to take actions which are not authorized by statute. Therefore, the only the Governor or members of the legislature could accurately answer the questions you have posed in your letter.”

The one grammatical error we can deal with; perhaps this is a first draft. But the substance of the letter is what’s confusing. Is this what the governor’s office thinks is an adequate response to corruption in Illinois?


UPDATE: The Better Government Association has posted a pdf of their copy of the letter here.

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Don Udstuen Gets 8 Months

Mitigating circumstances lowered the sentence of Donald Udstuen, Crystal Lake's biggest bribe taker, to 8 months in prison, 8 months home confinement, 2 years probation, a $30,000 fine, plus community service, such as he has been doing with Habitat for Humanity in the Knox County area. At least that what I heard on WBBM radio.

Why Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer did not at least require the return the over $300,000 in bribes to Metra and state government is beyond me. After all, Udstuen admitted taking the money.

And, it's not as if he couldn't have afforded to pay it out of the $4.9 million retirement package that he took away from the Illinois State Medical Society.

Udstuen was probably the key to gettig former Repubican State Representative and mailhouse guru Roger Stanley (R-Streamwood). Stanley led the way to Scott Fawell. Fawell and Udstuen led the way to George Ryan.

I guess the judge concluded that Udstuen performed a public service.

Considering the advisory role Udstuen played in McHenry County Republican and state politics, perhaps Udstuen's public service has not ended.

Earlier today I wrote on McHenry County Blog about a Crystal Lake bachelor's party which I and three future felons attended.

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Topinka's abortion position: a loser from every angle

Topinka's supposedly center-left abortion position will score her points with no one. Appearing moderate on abortion may work for some incumbents, but it does challengers no good.

Call it a wash? No. In Topinka's battle for the middle, pro-lifers will not lift a finger to defend her, but pro-aborts will and are doing all they can to spin Topinka's "moderate" abortion position as radical right. Moderate voters will be pulled toward Blagojevich.

Case in point: Planned Parenthood Illinois Votes recently sent out an email alert saying things like:

While Topinka has spun herself as a moderate, her record on reproductive rights and her choice of anti-abortion hardliner, Joe Birkett, as running mate make it clear: Topinka's no moderate on abortion.

Judy Baar Topinka's Record While Judy Baar Topinka claimed to support reproductive choice during the primaries, her record sings a different tune. During her 13 year tenure in the legislature (1981-1994) Judy Baar Topinka voted against reproductive choice 84% of the time.

The bold emphasis was theirs.

Who will defend Topinka? Certainly not pro-lifers. Judy's positions against partial birth abortion and for parental notification only indicate she's not whacked-out barbaric, not that she expresses thoughtful "common sense" on the issue, as one on this blog has said.

And Judy certainly doesn't like to discuss the a-word. It makes her uncomfortable, as it rightfully should; bringing it up could only cause trouble. For instance, how could she answer a knowledgeable reporter's question, "Explain why you oppose second-trimester partial birth abortions but not second-trimester dilatation and evacuation abortions?"

(Perhaps one of you pro-aborts can answer that.)

Pro-aborts are invested to see Judy lose, while pro-lifers are not invested to see her win. Abortion is big business, and Blagojevich has brought a ton of money to IL's abortion industry these past few years and also vowed to keep all abortion floodgates to and in IL open. The industry returns the favor with money, workers, and a push for votes.

Bottom line: Topinka's "moderate" abortion position will lose her votes.

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We're ICPR and We Had Fun Last Night

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

What a wonderful evening last night. Sorry it was so crowded, but at least it looked like everyone was having a good time. And for political people watching, it was a great crowd: Sens Susan Garrett and Bill Brady, Don Harmon and Kirk Dillard; Reps Jim Durkin and Julie Hamos, former Gov. Jim Edgar and former Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch; Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson and Chicago Ald. Manny Flores; Alexi Giannoulias and Stu Umholtz, Rep. Elaine Nekritz and Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica. I’m sure I’m forgetting some people, but that’s who I talked with.

Thanks to everybody who helped us to gather the campaign ads for the film festival and especially to Aaron Freeman, who explained them all to us. Thanks to Mike Lawrence, Newt Minow and the Peoria Journal-Star for doing so much work worthy of tribute. Thanks to our host committee, and to everybody who came. We’ll post pictures to the website as soon as we figure out how to get them off the camera.

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Snubbing the snubbers

There are unconfirmed reports that Topinka indicated earlier this spring she didn't need conservatives to win.

Whether or not that's true, we will likely find out, and this isn't just whiny saber-rattling by IL conservatives.

Nationally, conservatives are showing their displeasure with an aberrant president and legislature by walking and threatening to walk.

This week, in an unprecedented move, conservative leaders boycotted a Tuesday meeting at the White House with Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to discuss judicial nominees. These meetings are rare; this was the first in over a year. Typically, 60-70 attend. But this time WH and Senate staffers nearly outnumbered the 15-20 who showed.

(See my blog for posting of articles detailing this from The Hill and Congress Daily AM not available online.)

News watchers will not then wonder why the issue of judicial nominees suddenly rose in prominence the past few days on the GOP Senate and WH agenda.

Peggy Noonan addressed this issue on a larger scale in her piece, "Baseless confidence," in today's Wall Street Journal:

[T]he administration and the Congress are losing their base, and it isn't because of the media....

The Republicans talk about cutting spending, but they increase it--a lot. They stand for making government smaller, but they keep making it bigger. They say they're concerned about our borders, but they're not securing them. And they seem to think we're slobs for worrying. Republicans used to be sober and tough about foreign policy, but now they're sort of romantic and full of emotionalism. They talk about cutting taxes, and they have, but the cuts are provisional, temporary....

What's a voter to do? Maybe stay home, have the neighbors over for some barbecue....

Party leaders say they're aware they're in trouble, aware of a sense of stasis in the country. They are going to solve the problem, they say, by passing legislation. They're going to pass a budget. And they're going to pass an immigration bill, too. People will like that.

But no they won't. The American people are not going to say, "I am relieved and delighted our Congress passed a budget." They will be relieved and delighted if Congress cuts spending. They would be relieved and delighted if Congress finally took responsibility for the nation's borders. They won't be impressed if you just pass bills and call it progress.

Party leaders are showing a belief in process as opposed to a belief in, say, belief. But belief drives politics. It certainly drives each party's base.

One gets the impression party leaders, deep in their hearts, believe the base is... base. Unsophisticated. Primitive. Obsessed with its little issues. They're trying to educate the base. But if history is a guide, the base is about to teach them a lesson instead.

Certainly the ILGOP old guard goes so far as to taunt its base as base, unsophisticated, primitive, and obsessed with its little issues. How much more should it expect a boycott, at least in the governor's race.

The marriage amendment will bring conservatives out, but expect Judy to be snubbed, be it formally or organically driven. Social conservatives around the state tell me they physically will not be able to vote for her. Principles drive social conservatives to politics... and away.

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Todd Stroger Set to Replace Dad? Not So Fast

Before we just hand this thing over to Todd Stroger, we need to remind ourselves that Fran Spielman doesn't get to pick John Stroger's replacement on the Democratic ticket, the Cook County Central Committeemen do. (Fran's shilling for Todd has been nothing short of breathtaking.)

Todd might be the frontrunner, but his ascension is by no means a done deal. No doubt, given the recent examples of Cook County nepotism, it's going to be hard for some committeeman to say no to Todd. However, I can think of at least five good reasons why Todd might not be able to pull this off. Here they are:

1) Bill Lipinski and Tom Hynes are still influential and they are indebted to the gods of nepotism, but they are no longer committeemen. Hynes will push hard for Todd behind-the-scenes, and will likely quarterback the entire Stroger effort, but he no longer carries the 19th Ward's weighted vote in his back pocket and will need an assist from Madigan or the Daleys. Hynes’ remaining influence among the committeemen was called into question when he failed to derail Tom Dart's slating as sheriff last Fall.

2) John Stroger is incapacitated and unable to broker the deal for Todd -- so who will work the smoke-filled room for Todd along with Tom Hynes? The African-American committeemen capable of rallying black support behind Todd (Bill Beavers, Ike Carothers, and Jesse White,) are all potential candidates to replace John Stroger themselves. Will their hearts be in it for Todd? Are Ed Burke, Mike Madigan, Dick Mell, or John Daley willing to twist their fellow committeemen’s arms purely based on a feeling of loyalty towards John Stroger – or will something else motivate them? (See below.) The central committee is filled with followers, Todd needs to get a few of the leaders on his side.

3) Most committeemen will have more to gain personally if a new Democratic board president is elected. If they kiss in Todd Stroger, there will be no turnover in the top, high-paying county jobs (and there are a ton of them.) A new board president – appointed by the committeemen – will bring in a new team and encourage the 8th Ward hacks to retire. Then the new guy will have to repay the committeemen by filling some of those newly opened positions with job seekers the committeemen recommend.

4) Electability is an issue with Todd Stroger. Like any Republican in Cook County, Peraica is a longshot...and his odds will get longer if he keeps fighting with his fellow Republicans. But running against Todd gives Peraica his best shot of actually winning. He will get to run against the Stroger record without actually running against John Stroger! Todd will have to run with all his dad's baggage and none of his political I.O.U.'s and good will. That probably won't be enough for Peraica, but with a well timed indictment or two he'll have a decent chance.

5) Finally, the committeemen who are inclined not to support Todd for board pres. have a fallback position: they can offer to slate Todd for Recorder of Deeds in 2008. As long as another African-American is chosen to fill the board president spot, the white committeemen can buy political cover on the nepotism-hypocrisy front by steering Todd into another countywide spot.

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Blago Expects 1/2 of 1% to Sign Up for Domestic Partnership Benefits

I have suggested on McHenry County Blog that domestic partnership benefits have been accepted so widely by corporations because they cost so relatively little. Why? My guess is that few people sign up.

If so, the granting of such benefits is basically a political, not a financial statement.

That is certainly the case with Governor Rod Blagojevich's signing of the 2004 AFCSME contract and his recent granting of same-sex benefits to non-union employees as well.

The administration thinks it will cost $2.2 million to provide benefits to ½ of 1% of the 72,000 or so state employees will sign up for benefits. That's 3,600 people.

I doubt it. I think it will cost a lot less.

Maybe a lot less when state employees figure out they will have to pay taxes on the benefits that their partner receives.

Besides a birth certificate or a driver's license, prospective domestic partnership beneficiaries must provide either a Cook County Domestic Partnership Certificate or two of the other items to establish eligiblity.

To test my hypothesis that the state may be overestimating participation, I asked the University of Illinois for statistics on its domestic benefits program

Here’s what I found.

This year there are 48 who signed up their partners. Here’s the campus breakdown:

Chicago - 31, estimated annual cost - $41,000
Urbana - 14, estimated annual cost - $1,200
Springfield - 3, estimated annual cost - $18,000

The program reimburses the employee for insurance premiums on a quarterly basis, so benefits are not automatic after sign-up, as they will be with the state program. Some effort is required on the part of the employee, so there are undoubtedly lost benefits. I have multiplied the average quarterly cost so far this year by four to obtain the figures above. Using this methodology, the total for the year would be $60,800.

Unlike the state program, however, the U of I does not require a year's living together. Six months and you qualify if you are this university's employee.

Even with the more liberal entrance standards, only 48 of 22,660 full-time equivalent employees signed up. Maybe it's just too much hassle to file the reimbursement forms. For the U of I to reach 1/2 of 1%, 1133 would have had to have asked for domestic partner benefits.

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"Blagojevich Sucks"

The Governor had some fun yesterday with some CR's at the U of I who donned blue t-shirts emblazoned with, "Blagojevich Sucks."

From the AP:

"Instead, he had some fun with a group of College Republicans who came out to his appearance at the University of Illinois yesterday.

The group wore blue T-shirts emblazoned with an anti-Blagojevich slogan ("Blagojevich sucks") to protest a decision that could put some of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission's student loan portfolio up for sale.

The governor announced the program and touted its potential to provide student aid to more students. Then he looked at the College Republicans and said he wanted a T-shirt.

In Blagojevich's words, "I promise you if I get a blue one like that, I'll wear it when I go out jogging."

The College Republicans quickly handed up a blue T-shirt and posed for pictures with the governor. "

Good for him.

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Why do Illinois Republicans go crazy when they move to DC?

I really don't understand it.

I find Illinois Republicans to be a very sensible bunch. Easy to work with, not driven by ideology, pragmatic, all good stuff.

Then when they get to DC, they decide the number one priority of government is to make rich people richer.

Today, the House of Representatives is voting on a $70 billion tax cut. For rich people.

A tax cut for rich people! They are pushing hard to extend a tax cut for capital gains and dividends and allow those with incomes over $100,000 to convert their savings into tax-free accounts. This will shower rich people with money and put the federal government further into debt.

I mean, we're occupying another country that's in the middle of a civil war.

We're so far in debt, largely financed by China, that it's not even funny.

The Defense budget it out of control.

College aid has been cut back putting higher education out of reach of more people.

And the answer?

Tax cuts for the rich!

Do you know what $70 billion could do for higher education and our economy?

This $70 billion for rich people will do very little to improve the quality of our lives.

Here is a good analysis of the proposed tax cut by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

I know this is a little off topic, but I'm honestly puzzled why Illinois Republicans, like Speaker Hastert, can't shake some sense into the southern evangelicals who run the federal GOP.

Is there something in the water in the Potomac?

The state budget -- at least, the new items -- largely help working people.

The federal budget -- certainly the new items -- largely help rich people.

Why isn't there an uprising at the Tribune? This budget has got to hurt Peter Roskam and David McSweeney, because most voters in the northwest suburbs are not wealthy.

And how does Jerry Weller get away with voting for this tax cut for rich people?

No wonder Congress and President Bush have the lowest approval ratings in the last decade. They are bankrupting our country for the benefit of the wealthy.

Come on Illinois Republicans! Stop this crazy tax cut!

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Bruce Dold and Governor Blagojevich: Read this Book.

Jim Collins has done it again.

Not Jim Collins of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the other Jim Collins. The former Stanford Business School professor and two-time NY Times Best-Selling author.

Collins first wrote Built to Last, a study of the greatest companies of American history and what made them great. His follow-up, Good to Great, identified mediocre companies that became great companies, outperforming not only the stock market but their own sector of the economy, and examines what caused the turn-around.

His latest book applies the principles of Good to Great to the public sector, including government and non-profits. Good to Great and the Social Sectors is subtitled "Why Business Thinking Is Not the Answer" and seems to point its lead directly at the Chicago Tribune editorial board and the Republican Party (Ron Gidwitz and Jim Oberweis take note):

We must reject the idea - well-intentioned, but dead wrong - that the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become "more like a business." Most businesses - like most of anything else in life - fall between mediocre and good. Few are great. When you compare great companies with good ones, many widely practiced business norms turn out to correlate with mediocrity, not greatness. So then, why would we want to import the practices of mediocrity into the social sectors?

Collins then goes on to argue that the principles he explores in Good to Great -- disciplined people engaged in discipline thought who take disciplined action to build institutions greater than themselves -- are not mere principles of business, they are principles of greatness across all sectors of life.

What kind of a leader does it take to turn a mediocre institution into a great one? According to Collins, his "Level 5 Leaders":

- Embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will;
- Set up their successors for even greater success;
- Display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. In contrast, two thirds of the comparison companies had leaders with gargantuan personal egos that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company;
- Look out the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves. When things go poorly, however, they look in the mirror and blame themselves, taking full responsibility;
-Began the transformation by first getting the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it;
-Were rigorous, not ruthless, in people decisions. They did not rely on layoffs and restructuring as a primary strategy for improving performance.

and, lest you think Collins means great leadership is all hugs and kisses:

Level 5 leadership is not about being "soft" or "nice" or purely "inclusive" or "concensus-building." The whole point of Level 5 is to make sure the right decisions happen - no matter how difficult or painful - for the longterm greatness of the institution and the achievement of it's mission, independent of consensus or popularity.

There's much, much more wisdom in the 210 pages of Good to Great, and the 30 pages of Social Sectors, which retail for about $35 combined. A good investment.

So, let me ask the question, who are the Level 5 leaders in Illinois goverment today?

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State Rep. Lou Jones Dies

Assistant House Majority Leader Lou Jones, D-Chicago, a strong backer of the Old Slave House outside Equality in Southern Illinois died yesterday Chicago media are reporting.

I first met Jones in a visit to the house towards the end of the spring legislative session in 1997 during a trip organized by the then local state Rep. David Phelps, D-Eldorado.

The site fascinated her and the other members of the Black Legislative Caucus who were able to attend. That fascination led to funding and she's been the House leader the state representatives in the 118th District had gone to in their efforts to secure additional funding for the site, now owned by the state.

She was an interesting lady who has suffered long with poor health. I wish her family, friends and staff well.

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Representative Art Tenhouse to resign

It's was only a matter of time before the Republicans got in on the action. Art Tenhouse (R-93) will announce he will resign the House seat he has held since 1989 to join a CPA lobbying firm. This leaves Evans' seat open, which in turn if the local Dems and quite honestly alot of Repubs get their wish, leaves Sullivan's seat open. Tenhouse leaves in July, which requires an appointment to the seat to finish his term and on the November ballot. It appeared as though he would run unopposed, this shall surely change. It had been rumored this was going to be Art's last run. That puts an end to that rumor. This will all get very interesting very fast. The Quincy Pundit

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Protect Marriage Petitions Filed

For a first time petition effort, it was pretty good.

421,801 signatures were collected. And, that's not counting the ones that were stolen from the office of Crystal Lake's St. Thomas Catholic Church.

In any petition campaign, there are good signatures and bad signatures.

Bad ones can be on petitions which are not notarized.

Under the flaky Illinois law, which is designed to discourage citizen petitioning, bad petitions can also contain signatures from more than one election jurisdiction.

For example, in Kane County, people from Aurora must sign different petitions from the folks in the rest of Kane County. Those in the Kane County part of Elgin must sign one petition, which cannot be mixed with those from the Cook County side.

The minimum number of signatures required is 283,111.

345,199 were filed.

One would assume that only the ones considered most valid were filed.

Residents of all counties signed petitions.

More than one-third of the petition signers represent minority communities, the organizers say.

11,581 people passed the petitions.

2,635 church congregations participated.

Illinois Family Institute and the Family Taxpayers Network did the heavy organizational lifting.

The Daily Herald says it could help elect Peter Roskam and David McSweeney to congress.

Two other citizen initiatives were attempted this year. One was a constitutional amendment (called the Redfern Amendment) which would have limited the General Assembly to meeting once every two years and re-instated cumulative voting in 3-member Illinois House districts. The other was an advisory referendum that would have sought approval of what sounded like this year's version of socialized medicine. Its web site is www.illinoishealthcarenow.com.

So liberals seeking health care reform failed to reach the minimum number needed for filing, while social conservatives succeeded.

The last advisory referendum was the so-called Thompson Proposition. Signatures were gathered by precinct committeemen in 1978. Legislation resulted, from which newspapers have been making money on ever since. The ads warn taxpayers when tax districts seek to increase their tax take by more than 5%, if memory serves me correctly.

How ironic that the petitions should be filed the same day I received my state retiree Benefit Choice Options announcing that Governor Rod Blagojevich's adminstration has extended taxpayer benefits to "same-sex domestic partners"...without any legislative authorization, of course.

With Crystal Lake's Donald Udstuen scheduled for sentencing Wednesday, McHenry County Blog may be the place to find as much about him in one place as anywhere.

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Anti-Gay Tripe is Ripe for Challenge

The Illinois Family Institute reports it will file 345,199 signatures today on behalf of the 'Protect Marriage Illinois' referendum, a contentious, fear-mongered assault on gay Americans. That's only 25% more than the 283,111 valid signatures needed to get the referendum on the ballot, and makes this referendum ripe for a challenge. Advocates would be fools not to: this effort is flailing now, but things can change very quickly if it's allowed to pick up steam.

If you'd like to volunteer to help out with the petition challenge, e-mail Volunteer@EQIL.org.

The IFI is already busy making excuses for itself. Nearly 76,000 signatures were not properly notarized. The IFI calls the notary provision "draconian." The IFI has also repeatedly begged and pleaded with Equality Illinois not to challenge it's petitions.

They're also begging for money:

PMI really does need your financial help. We have come under intense attack by homosexual activists because we are defending marriage as one man, one woman. If there is any way you can give a contribution to Protect Marriage Illinois, please send checks to:

Did the IFI under-estimate public support for the referendum, or were they just too poorly organized to execute a statewide drive? Is this still an issue that ignites conservatives, or has the passage of time and the outing of prominent Republicans and their family members spoiled this as a partisan issue?

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Two Views of Springfield

This morning I was reading a letter to the editor in the (Elgin) Daily Courier-News. It was from a Harriet Grifford Elementary School parent volunteer. Here’s some of it:

"…fourth-graders recently went on a wonderfully educational and inspiring trip to Springfield. It was a trip that potentially could have inspired members of this highly diverse group of your people to see the value of involvement in our community, our government and our political system…"

Then, I read Dennis Byrne’s column in the Chicago Tribune. Here’s part:

"Speaking of idiots, Illinois legislators obviously want us to believe that they’re doing their job (governing) when they pass a $56 billions (“rough” estimate) budget a mere two or three days after they first see it. It was handed to them by a legislative oligarghy that has run Illinois government for years, effectively reducing remaining lawmakers to mopes."

Any comments?

For other views of the Capitol, click here. Thanks to Capitol Fax Blog for introducing me to this historical look at the State Capitol.

Originally posted at McHenry County Blog, which notes today that the Tribune found a better rowing regatta site for the 2016 Olympics than Crystal Lake.

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IPA/IGA

Cross-posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

New York Times readers now know what contributor profiles visitors have known for years: that John Burgess and his International Profit Associates has a colorful history of political giving and courtroom drama. Here in Illinois, Burgess and Gov. Blagojevich have been trading five-figure check back and forth since the last gubernatorial campaign, and last IPA-affilates gave to a new PAC formed by Blago spokesperson Doug Scofield. But Burgess has been giving in other areas, too, including Wisconsin and federal candidates.

See a donor you don’t know? Check out our Contributor Profiles. Maybe our new slogan should be “ICPR: We’ve got you covered.”


Chicago Mayor Richard M Daley’s deposition in the Hired Truck scandal seems to have the press' attention, so much so that nobody seems to be asking the obvious question. When the feds had him under oath, Daley said that the Inter-Government Affairs office “recommended” job applicants to other departments, but he insists that IGA did not order others to hire specific applicants. The Sun-Times today notes that Daley’s statements seem to buttress the defendant’s arguments. But on what basis was IGA “recommending” applicants to other departments?

The 98-page evidentiary proffer filed last April 10 outlines “recommendations” from IGA to the departments of Water, Sewers, and Streets & San. The proffer suggests that those departments understood IGA recommendations as requirements, but even if so, can IGA explain how they decided who was best qualified for a job in the Sewer Department? Can just any department forward lists of recommendations to other departments? Did the Water Department presume to suggest who IGA should hire in return? How are such recommendations received?

Mayor Daley has been out of the country a lot lately, so it’s probably hard to ask him questions. But if you should run into him somewhere, maybe you could ask.

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Risky Bet

So Dave McKinney from the Sun-Times today writes about the ongoing battle between Illinois casino owners and the horse racing industry folks. The genesis of the article is legislation passed in the closing moments of session that will take a percentage of the boat profits and transfer the money to the tracks.

Stung by a legislative loss to the horse racing industry, Illinois' casinos are contemplating legal action to block a plan to shift $36 million annually from four Chicago area casinos to racetracks and horsemen.

Gov. Blagojevich is expected to sign legislation he helped pass to take 3 percent of revenues from the state's top-grossing casinos in the next two years and give it to the racing industry, which has donated roughly $250,000 to him.

Now setting aside the fact that I have had bills on issues like campaign finance reform that I can't get called ONCE over a period of YEARS, and this bill gets called in the House THREE times in a MONTH (allowing sufficient pressure to be applied to certain members in order for them to have an epiphany that their previous 'no' votes were somehow misguided), I just think that this is a bad bill.

Let me make a couple of things clear. I have a lot of respect for the horse racing industry and consider a number of their representatives to be friends. I have not been a proponent of increased casino gaming in the past (I voted against the Rosemont bill). That having been said, this is still just a shaky way for us to do business.

And while I think that the casino owners are serious about their threats of legal actions, I have no way of knowing what the courts would do with this issue.