HITTING THE BOOKS (AND SURFING THE NET) IN 2008

December 31: Champagne Toasts, Auld Lang Syne, and the annual tradition of taking stock in your life and planning for the new year. Millions of New Years Resolutions will be made this week... what's yours? Lose weight? Get your financial house in order? Travel more? Many promise that this is the year that they stop making excuses and go back to school.

With the convenience of the internet, going back to school no longer means giving up 2 nights a week to sit in an uncomfortable chair for 3 hours listening to a lecture. 20% of adult students and close to 10% of all students in U.S. degree-granting programs are online rather than in a classroom. Learning online isn't a new concept - University of Phoenix established it's online campus in 1989. However, in recent years we have seen more and more private, top-tier universities enter the online space. The perception today is that you absolutely can receive a quality education online. According to a study cited in a report by The Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, the majority of employers believe that online learning is equal or superior to the experience of learning in a classroom. Zapwater client Deltak edu partners with these top-tier traditional universities to market and support their online programs and since we started working with them we have learned about the opportunities available.

Are you looking to differentiate yourself in the business world? Here at Zapwater, we are most interested in cutting edge programs. Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia is meeting an industry demand by offering a fully online Master's in Business Intelligence. Business Intelligence is the science of how to use data to make effective business decisions. Business Intelligence may be a new, 'hot' degree program, but it is not a new concept. We see it when Amazon recommends products based on our previous purchases. We see it when Bill Belichick makes decisions about what players to sign and when to play them. We see it when Starbucks chooses the cross streets to open their next location. Employers are pounding down the doors of these MS-BI graduates and we believe the demand will only increase over the coming years.



Or we can look at what one school in upstate New York is doing about the increasing problems of Identity Theft and web security. Utica College is truly an industry leader with their Economic Crime Institute and Center for Identity Management and Information Protection. Utica offers online Bachelors, Masters, and Certificate programs in Cybersecurity, Economic Crime Investigation, and Fraud Management. Talk about a current issue - I assure you that when I was a Political Science major at Gettysburg College, they were not offering degrees in Cybersecurity!

Are you considering going back to school but you feel like you don't have the time? Consider Mark - a graduate of the online Master's in Organizational Leadership offered at Gonzaga University. Mark is a police officer in Orange County, California and was the first in his family to graduate from high school. After a few 'false starts' at different universities, he completed his undergraduate degree online and immediately started the Master's program at Gonzaga. Mark's schedule at work and family obligations with his 3 children prevented him from being able to attend a campus program. However, completing an online degree allowed him to complete his course work when his schedule allowed - which for Mark was from 3-6 am. He attended graduation in Spokane, WA this May with his wife, his 3 children, and his parents. Gonzaga also has many students in the military who are able to continue their education online even if they are deployed to the other side of the world. We have seen that it is a matter of commitment and finding the time in your busy schedule. (Hmm... that's what my personal trainer says too...)

Online degree offerings are not only offered in Business fields. Gonzaga and Loyola University New Orleans both offer Masters of Science in Nursing degrees for nurses looking to further their education. Even teachers can use the power of the internet to further their degree. Are you a teacher interested in Reading and Literacy? Locally, Benedictine University offers a fully online Masters in Education to help you reach your goal. Looking to learn more about using Technology in the classroom? Check out Saint Joseph's Master's in Instructional Technology. Not a teacher yet, but interested in going back to teach angst-ridden high schoolers? St. Joe's also offers a fully online Teacher Certification program.

As you raise a glass this Monday night and pretend like you know the correct lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, we encourage to make the resolution to go back to school in 2008. And if you are intrigued by one of the programs we mentioned, go to the website and call them to learn more about how the program can help you achieve your career goals. Tell them Zapwater sent you!

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Eggs and Issues in the 14th CD

I caught the Q and A portion last night from the Eggs and Issues breakfast with the candidates sponsered by the St Charles Chamber of Commerce on Batavia Access TV.

The Geneva Republican covered it,

Candidates in the 14th District Congressional race gathered in St. Charles last Friday to share breakfast and their views on politics with community members.

In attendance were Democrats Bill Foster, John Laesch and Jotham Stein, and Republicans Sen. Chris Lauzen, R-25th District, of Aurora, and Jim Oberweis, who was endorsed by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Thursday. Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, citing Hastert’s endorsement of Oberweis, pulled out of the race Thursday but attended the breakfast as a spectator.

Democrat Joe Serra and Republican Michael Dilger were absent.

It ought to be posted on YouTube, but here are some things I noted from the last half.

Foster took the humor award when he commented on Coburn and Obama's earmaks reform bill . Foster said it was an example of a Far Right Senator, and a Far ...hmmm... Moderate Left Senator reaching agreement. The pause and switch from Far Left to Moderate Left got laughs and Foster hadn't intend that. His face showed it.

All three Democrats talked about using earmarks to bring back dollars for needed infrastructure improvements. Oberweis too, although he may not have used the word earmark. Lauzen was the only one to flat-out call for an end of earmarks as back room deals; not open budget making.

That prompted Foster to talk about Coburn-Obama, which Oberweis then picked up on and called, watered down and fluff reform. Lauzen defended Coburn-Obama, saying getting real reform through legislatures is no easy task. That was payback for an earlier Oberweis dig about Lauzen's inaction in Springfield.

I thought Laesch scored a point on globalization and trade when he said no one considered the kid in China painting those toys with lead paint, when the scare over these toys was in the news.

Laesch also came out for expanding Medicare to all as a universal health insurance system. Lauzen said health insurance and employment needed to be uncoupled with health insurance made portable. At least Laesch had a plan, and Lauzen the innovation (I think Lauzen's idea is the only sensible direction when people move from employer to employer as they do today). Whatever the others said on health care is a fog to me now.

Stein made an interesting pitch to those pulling GOP primary ballots. He asked they consider voting for him at the same time in the special election. Lots of permutations there. This may well be a very odd dual election.

When asked about the housing bubble, Laesch came out for a semi-public corporation similar to what was done for the S&L bailout. Lauzen and Oberweis both came out for hands-off approach, with Oberweis getting the best of it here, comparing the housing bubble to the internet bubble. The answers drew the philosophical lines with all the Democrats looking for Federal intervention while Oberweis and Lauzen favoring letting the markets sort it out.

Note the Chamber restricted to local and domestic issues. That probably kept things real.

The frame of late is a bloody fight between Lauzen and Oberweis, although it seems to me Laesch gets plenty of slams as nutty and unelectable by Fosterites.

After all, bickering is how democratic people resolve who's in power without resorting to civil wars or tyrants. When politicians have a love fest like the Uzbek elections:

Since all candidates in the present election publicly endorsed the incumbent, the electorate was deprived of a genuine choice.

...then we see what order can be. The world needs more messy-sounding political-bickering instead of tyranny and war.

So the Eggs and Issues Q and A left me with a better sense of where all the candidates stood. A little more bickering besides Oberweis's jabs at Lauzen would have made it better.

None of these folks looked quirky despite what you'll read elsewhere.

This really should be posted on YouTube. I stumbled on it flipping channels. So you're depending on the aged brain of an AARP member here. It was a good and informative performance by all the candidates and deserves broader viewing.

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The Island, a gem on Chicago's West Side

I stumbled accross this drafting a comment I never posted.

An African American family moved into this neigborhood in the late 50s and the community stoned the house. Cicero cops crossed over Roosevelt Road with their squads filled with bricks for people to throw.

I've worked in the factories on the east side of the neigborhood; as did my step brothers and sisters (Victor Gasket, Pheoll Screw, Harrington & King, Hotpot.... the empty land seen in this video. Harrington King the only factory left). I drank in the bars on Roosevelt Road. My wife baptized at St Francis of Rome accross Roosevelt Road in Cicero. I know the area well, and I know the ugly chapters.

Anyways, if you know the West Side's sad stories too, just watch this young man describing the neigborhood today and you know there is plenty of hope that things can change for the better.



xp Bill Baar's West Side

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Cicero Hate Crime

So. I've been gone for a while. If you're at all curious, Official Dan L Girlfriend and I served up the little girl known as Official Dan L Daughter, born November 20, 2007 at a respectable 7 pounds, 9 ounces. First name Katharina, middle name Irene - middle name was determined by popular poll taken the day of birth by....well 3/5ths of the hospital staff and everybody in my cell phone contact list. Mad props go out to my very good friend , Sarah, who was at the hospital at 6am and provided much needed moral support up until 10:30pm. That's what I call a friend.

Sarah is also available for moral support Planned Parenthood escorts, which she does monthly. (Yes, my word choice is very deliberate. Have a nice day.)

Suffice to say, you always hear that having a daughter changes your perspective - and it's true. For example, I used to hope that Joe Francis became the victim of a fiery car crash. Post baby birth, I've adjusted my opinion to instead pray for an elevator accident or heroine OD - whichever will occur before baby Kat goes off to college.

Dark humor aside, all is well, Mom is all good, Dad is stressed, and the baby is thriving.


Anyway, there's still plenty of stupid to talk about. Case and point, the winger response to this:

A Cicero man angry about an alleged homosexual advance raped the man he claimed propositioned him, and then sodomized him with a broomstick, officials said.

Felipe Rivera, 43, is charged with a hate crime as well as aggravated criminal sexual assault and other offenses, said a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office. If convicted, he could face more than 30 years in prison, a source said.



According to a spokesman for Cicero police, Rivera and the victim encountered each other at a party Friday night in the 1200 block of South 50th Avenue.

Pretty obvious: Random Homophobe comes in contact with Random Gay Guy. Random Gay Guy may have made some sort of advance or may not have, which is immaterial to Random Homophobe who is just deathly afraid he'll come in contact with t3h gay. Random Homophobe freaks out and flies into a violent rage. Violent rage is expressed in the form of sexual assault, which as anybody with a few brain cells knows - sexual assault is not about sex, rather is about power. Minority perceived as diminutive is not good enough for your standard beat down, rather is more fitting for being sodomized with a broomstick. And...just curious...does anybody want to put some money down on our Random Homophobe having already served time, where sexual assault substitutes for run of the mill ass kicking on a regular basis? Really? Who wants to bet? I need to start the baby's college fund this week. Somebody step up.

Does anybody beef with that interpretation of events? Ok. Let me qualify that. Does anybody who is neither rascal bound due to obesity, currently wearing a Stone Cold Austin 3:16 tshirt with matching sweat pants from Walmart, or currently seeking female companionship at purity balls have a beef with that interpretation of events? Ok. Didn't think so.

Enter Porno Petey:

We also know that some men may secretly (or even not so secretly) engage (or desire) homosexual perversions yet eschew the “gay” label for themselves – so the fact that Rivera told police that he “hates homosexuals” tells us little. He may hate that part of himself drawn to deviant homosexual acts.

Behavior, not self-labels, is what counts: we wonder how many cases like this end up on the FBI’s list as an “anti-gay” “hate-crime” statistic — to be exploited later, ironically, by “gay” activists lobbying for dubious pro-homosexual “hate crimes” laws … We’ll follow this story closely.

Sure, Rivera penetrated the poor guy with a broomstick and stated that he "hates faggots" and "this is what [they] get", but come on---- this couldn't possibly be a hate crime against LGBT folks!!! Yes of course!!! Rivera is just another homo himself!!! That god damned "homosexual behavioral agenda" and their underhanded fight for alleged/so called "equality".


More fun, from the Illinois Simple Institute:

You may be asking yourself -- as am I -- how can a homosexual man be charged with a "hate crime" against another homosexual? If a male rapist victimizes another man -- isn't the rapists a homosexual by definition? Still, the Cook County state's attorney's office has decided to press "hate crime" charges in this case.

Yup.

When you read stuff like that, what else can you say? Maybe we should just give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was fucking high like when he told us there are no poor people in America, indeed David must get some really good shit.


Look, here we have a perfect and indisputable example of a brutal and entirely senseless assault driven only by hate for a particular group. Then you have well funded noise making, so called "pro-family" and supposedly "Christian", organizations making every argument from "sexual assault is about fulfilling some sort of latent sexual perversity" all the way to actually encouraging people to cover their eyes and chalk up a hate crime as either domestic violence or just run of the mill random crime - even going so far as to make loose apologist arguments for the assailant. Is there any situation that could be a more perfect example of why we need hate crime legislation?

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New Year, New Rules, New Server

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

A couple of thoughts on the coming of the new year.

First, as many of you know, ICPR has been working hard to pass HB 1, a bill to address pay-to-play in state contracting. The bill has 46 sponsors, a super majority of both caucuses, and yet it's been locked down in Senate Rules since last April. December 31 will mark the 250th day that HB 1 has been held hostage, and so we invite all of you to show you outrage at this farcical abuse of legislative power by donning silly hats, blowing noisemakers, and counting down the seconds to January 1, which will be the 251st day. Maybe that will get the bill moved to committee when the legislature reconvenes on January 2.

Second, beginning on January 1, political committees active in the February 5th Primary Election will have two days to report donations of more than $500. In previous years, these A-1 reports didn't kick in until later in the year. Under the old rules, we'd expect A-1s to start arriving in mid-January; a pre-election report would arrive in late January detailing all receipts since the start of the year, and in-between, the D-2 Semi Annual reports would arrive with details of fundraising in the second half of 2007. With the earlier primary date, that all changes; there will be no Pre-election report for the primary, and the A-1s start as soon as 2008 does. So not only do we have Special Session to look forward to on January 2, but, as the first business day of the year, the first batch of A-1 reports should also arrive.

Finally, we know many of you occasionally have had difficulty finding our website or sending us e-mails. We share your frustration. Our aging server limped through the fall, but neither technological know-how nor duct tape could keep it going. In the new year, we'll be moving the site and the e-mail to a new system, which should, fingers crossed, fix all the problems.

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Julie Richmond's Christmas Letter

This letter came with a card and picture of a nice family.

It left my wife and I baffled as to who these pleasant looking strangers were, until I realized it was political.

Julie's husband David is running for the Illinois GA's 50th district in an open race created by Patricia Linder's retirement.

If there was ever a case for putting some distance between a primary and Christmas, this letter sealed it for me.

From the Trib,

Candidates for state representative in the 50th Legislative District stayed busy prior the Christmas holiday. Republican Anton “Tony” Graff and his supporters were busy posting campaign signs in the district in recent days. Graff, a commercial real estate broker and former city manager, faces Kay Hatcher, Terry Hunt, and David Richmond in the Feb. 5 GOP primary election. More information about Graff’s candidacy is available at his campaign Web site at http://www.citizens4graff.org/.
Democrat Mary Schneider hosted a campaign fund-raising event Dec. 13 and announced that the Illinois AFL-CIO recently endorsed her campaign.

Schneider’s Web site is under construction but more information about her candidacy is available at http://www.actblue.com/page/maryschneider.

The 50th District takes in portions of Kane, Kendall and LaSalle counties. State Rep. Patricia Reid Lindner is not seeking re-election to the office.

Footnote: Schneider came to politics through Stem Cell research and her son's cerebal palsey.

I'm not quite sure where she's on it now but I'm certainly glad Science has figured out how to end the stem cell wars.

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Another Univ. of Illinois military scholarship scandal figure gets a promotion

For almost a year I've been covering the University of Illinois military scholarships scandal.

A very brief summary: In early 2006, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Chicago Executive MBA program announced that the were offering 110 full-ride scholarships to returning War on Terror veterans. Only about forty ended up receiving them, some vets were accepted, then had their admissions rescinded, got un-rescinded than re-rescinded.

Here are some earlier posts on the scandal:

Broken promises: How "jarheads" got shunted aside at the University of Illinois: A Marathon Pundit series
Marathon Pundit Exclusive: What happened behind the scenes of the University of Illinois veteran scholarship scandal
University of Illinois: "Hookers are Praised as Soldiers" –Marathon Pundit's Third Investigative Report
University of Illinois military scholarships scandal update
Exclusive: Van der Hooning, and Illinois vets, get a hearing at the Court of Claims
Scandal update: Lt. Gov. Quinn wants count of vets in Univ. of Ill. MBA program
Marathon Pundit exclusive: Lt. Gov. Quinn's letter to U of I president about military scholarship scandal

The dean of the College of Business while most of the events in the above posts were occurring was Dr. Avijit Ghosh, who was promoted to serve as vice president for technology and economic development for the three-campus University system.

Taking his place on an interim basis will be Larry DeBrock, who previously served as the associate dean of academic affairs and acting associate dean of the faculty in the College of Business.

Both appointments are subject to University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval. Both press releases are still on College of Business web site, so I think it's safe to assume that both men will be in place in their new jobs on January 1--which is of course the same day the U of I football team will play in the Rose Bowl.

As I've commented before, if you are a fan of the Missouri Tigers or the Florida Gators and you're angry that the Fighting Illini (who lost to Mizzou in September) are in the "Granddaddy of Them All," contact U of I president Joseph White about the jilted veterans at PresidentWhite@uillinois.edu.

As I noted a few months ago, I obtained a copy of an e-mail in which DeBrock referred to his colleagues as hookers.

DeBrock wrote:

So, if you are telling folks they need to drive 3.5 hours... teach 3 hours, and drive back 3.5 hours, they need (to be) compensated. And your 37.5 is nice compensation. But, high priced hookers are still hookers. But, BUT, B U T , if you bring in 70 students and the college nets 3.5 million, the hookers are praised as soldiers. They are cheered by smiling faculty waving UIUC flags lining the roadside while they ride back into town.

Robert van der Hooning, the former associate dean in charge of the veteran's program, told me DeBrock was one of the College of Business senior staff who derisively to the veterans at one time they were so eager to admit into the EMBA program as "jarheads."

Other university officials deny that, but I'm with van der Hooning on this one--as well as everything else on this story.

To comment on this post, or to vote in the Pajamas Media presidential straw poll, click here.

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What value Hastert?

My latest Oberweis mailer. There is also a new TV ad featuring Hastert but it's not available yet on Oberweis's site.

I'm going to guess most if not the majority of GOP primary voters on the eastern side of the 14th haven't lived here long enough to have attachments to Hastert.


I think they may just see an endorsement from a guy who ended a career in Congress with a bad fumble.

Worse, they may just see the former earmark King as the predessor to todays earmark Queen.

So with Bush picking constitutional fights like this with Congress,

His [Bush] sharp message on earmarks, though, stirred consternation on Capitol Hill and excitement among fiscal conservatives.

He called Congress irresponsible for lumping 11 spending bills into a single, 1,400-page measure nearly three months into the fiscal year.

"Another thing that's not responsible is the number of earmarks that Congress included," he said. Congress "made some progress" curbing pet projects, he said, but not enough.

Bush said he asked Jim Nussle, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to present him with possible actions to take, although he would not elaborate.

Hastert's endorsement may just seem more of the same from less than the best from Congress .

The other wild card here are the Paulistas. They'll vote.

If the GOP Prez primary is competitive enough to generate interest and boost the turnout, then I'm guessing all these new GOP voters will be turned off by Hastert.

I thought Oberweis would benefit from the Paul voters --Oberweis comes off angry and so are they-- but this endorsement's killed that.

Paulistas won't have a clue who Lauzen is, but they'll know Hastert, not like him, and vote for anyone but Oberweis if they get that far down the ticket.

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KNOWING HOW TO PLAY YOUR CARDS

Every year, Chicago Sun-Times’ Marketing Columnist Lew Lazare puts together his list of the best holiday cards from Chicago’s advertising and public relations agencies. Once again, Zapwater Communications made the list.

According to Lazare “These companies know how to play their cards. Ring in the superlatives. Looking back at the flurry of holiday greetings from local ad agencies; some were great, some weren't.”

Singling out Zapwater's card as the card with the "Most Public Relations Savvy," Lazare says, "[Zapwater's] holiday card cleverly demonstrated how to put the best spin on some difficult PR scenarios, such as having inappropriate relations with an office colleague. The Zapwater spin for that? "There is no 'I' in team. Teamwork is a necessary component of all business ventures.

To read the full column, click here.

We especially loved Lazare's callout "Zapwater Communications isn't one of the biggest names -- yet!"

Interested in reading past holiday card columns? We’ve included them below.

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

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Another Honest Republican Governor

Another Honest Republican Governor

I guess I didn’t realize that Alaska was a corrupt state.

Oh, I know about the investigation of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens.

But indelibly etched in my mind is Governor Walter Hickel’s getting into trouble for renting a building from a campaign contributor.

“Does a building ever get rented from a non-campaign contributor in Illinois?” I thought at the time.

Former Governor George Ryan is now in that prison near the Wisconsin Dells because of deals involving campaign contributors, but I don’t remember the U.S. Attorney’s proving Ryan got any money personally from state landlords.

Thursday the Chicago Tribune featured a second (see story about the first one) Republican governor building a reputation on being honest. It’s in an Associated Press story by Steve Quinn.

She is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

She’s 43, took office in 2006 and, as Claremont political scientist put it,

“What separates her from others is that at a time when Republicans have suffered from the taint of corruption, she represents clean politics.”

She’s got four kids, the youngest six years old.

Where is Illinois’ Sarah Palin when we need her?

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2007 very different for state’s politicians

A very good article about 2007 in Illinois politics from the State Journal-Register.

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A plant?

This was originally posted at It's My Mind on December 21st, 2007.

You know it's been in the news within the past month or so that Sen. Hillary Clinton has been planting friendly people in crowds during debates and such to help solidify her support. Well Todd Stroger seems to have picked up on that strategy and it doesn't seem to help him look any better. He can do sit down interviews but the least he can do is not have someone talk up his unpopular tax increases...

Stroger has been under siege for nearly three months for having proposed a highly unpopular 2-percentage-point hike in the county sales tax.

After taking a few calls from unhappy taxpayers, Williams said he had time for one more caller.

On came "Jonathan from Chicago."

Jonathan talked intelligently about the county’s budget mess last year and then went on to defend the tax hike and cite a national study comparing cities across the nation.

"The last 15 areas that raised their sales tax saw actually no less than 25 percent growth in the year after they did it," Jonathan said. "A lot of this is just gloom and doom, the world’s going to fall in. But when you look at what’s actually happened, the world’s never fallen in."

The random caller, of course, wasn’t so random. It was Stroger’s $100,000-a-year communications director, Andre Garner.

Confronted later, Garner declined to comment but said, "Well, you guys won’t put this stuff in the newspaper," referring to his on-air comments.

This article courtesy of Clout Street.

Here's an update to this story from the Sun-Times.

Andre Garner, Stroger's $100,000-a-year director of media affairs, slightly disguised his voice and posed as "Jonathan from Chicago" while calling in Thursday to the John Williams show on WGN radio, where Stroger was being interviewed.

Garner, who is responsible for shaping Stroger's "message" and media "strategy," also lied on the air by saying his wife works for county government. He then rattled off intricate details of county government budgeting before defending Stroger's push to increase the sales tax.

A reeling Garner apologized on Williams' show Friday for what he said was "a terrible lapse in judgment" that puts yet another dent in Stroger's credibility and desire to be taken seriously.

Garner did not return a call but instead issued a written statement saying the radio station call was something "I regret and will never repeat."

Garner and those close to Stroger said Stroger had no role in staging Garner's call and didn't know about it ahead of time. It wasn't clear if Stroger recognized Garner's voice, but listeners picked it up quickly.

Garner, who was hired in April and previously worked in the mayor's office and for the Chicago Housing Authority, said his call came spontaneously, rooted in "frustration" that certain budget information "hasn't been told in the mainstream media," and said he hoped his move "hasn't impugned the president's character."

While I think the County Board President is in over his head in this position, I'm also starting to think some of the people around him are killing him. Perhaps he needs a new county board floor leader and he may need another director of media affairs. Would that help him probably not, but I wonder if doing this could make him look better. That is he has control of his office. Who knows?

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Which Presidential Candidate's Supporters Have the Most Fun?

Put a bunch of political amateurs together behind a candidate they fervently believe in and you get some interesting results.

That’s what seems to be happening in the Ron Paul campaign.

These folks know they are backing a long shot, but they have accomplished something hard-charging Mike Huckabee hasn’t.

The volunteers have raised money for their candidate.

$4 million November 5th.

A record for one day.

$6 million last Sunday.

Another record for one day.

They opened a headquarters in Arlington Heights. It was the only the 3rd GOP presidential headquarters opened in Illinois, I heard.

Not coincidentally, it was in the International Plaza, a shopping center where libertarian- minded individuals campaigned last winter and spring against the Arlington Heights mothers’ and fathers’ trying to condemn the property so a big box store could replace immigrant- owned stores.

More sales tax, don’t you know?

I see one of the leaders, Scott Bludorn, in that effort is now the Field Director of the Illinois campaign.


“The Greater Chicago Ron Paul Meetup group, which was formed in May, currently claims more than 950 members,” Illinois press person Lisa Wogan wrote.

Think any other Illinois Republican presidential candidate can identify almost 1,000 volunteers in the Chicago area?

They’re planning a “Ron Paul Penguin and Polar Bear Sign Wave in Arlington Heights” at Palatine and Rand Roads in Arlington Heights at 11 this Saturday morning.

Last Monday, Wogan sent out a press release of the opening of a Chicago headquarters at 3168 N. Lincoln Avenue. The phone number is 773-935-3733.

Now, this may be the Republican version of 2004’s Howard Dean campaign. It has been cited in a front page Tribune story as having internet similarities.

But I don’t remember Dean’s campaign coming up with innovations like the Ron Paul Blimp.

And what presidential candidate did you see with a parade float this summer? Ron Paul had one in Elgin.

Who had the most spirited volunteers at the Illinois State Fair’s Republican Day this summer?

Who’s had the biggest rally in Illinois?

Back in September, yet.

And, although Illinois weather is not conducive to blimps in January, the Ron Paul Blimp effort shows the imagination and commitment among his volunteers.

Sunday, Illinois Ron Paul coordinator Joe Cesarone will be on Tom Roeser’s on WLS Radio (890 on the AM dial) from 8-9. Roeser has written hostilely about Dr. Paul’s campaign, so it should be a spirited show.

= = = = =
Don't you wish we were in weather good enough to have a blimp in Illinois?

The rally was at the Hyatt Regency in mid-September. The headquarters shown is the one in Arlington Heights.

You can see Scott Bludorn standing in front of a map of Arlington Heights when the TIF fight was going on.

In the reproduction of the top of McHenry County Blog's article about Dr. Ron Paul's newfound respect in the Tribune, you can see the "lonely guy" picture run the month before in its Tempo section and the more typical "candidate" photo that accompanied the recent front page article.

The parade line up was of Fox Vally Libertarians in Elgin this summer. They have marched in Crystal Lake's 4th of July Parade previously, emphasizing abuses of Homeland security and even had George Ryan in the jail in 2000, but boycotted it this year because parade organizers wanted to limit their Freedom of Speech, as they did for McHenry County Peace Group. That led to the McHenry County Democrats parade boycott.

Illinois Ron Paul coordinator Joe Cesarone is seen at the Arlington Heights headquarter's opening.

Posted first at McHenry County Blog.

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Merry Christmas, Governor

Inching closer to the Executive Mansion, oops, wherever he lives.

• Chicago Tribune


• Associated Press


• Chicago Sun-Times

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Waltz bribery scandal bagman got 18 months.

Why do the lyrics of the 1954 Frank Sinatra song, “Young at Heart,” come to mind?

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams
And life gets more exciting with each passing day
And love is either in your heart or on the way

Well, at least the first three lines seem to fit.

Posted first at McHenry County Blog, where Potterville, Illinois, is featured Saturday.

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In 21st Century, Does It Matter Where Gov. Works?

I guess this story is continuing to gain traction. I'm sure people are tired of it, but let's think about it for a second. It being the question at hand posed by CBS2Chicago. The same people who gave us a piece about Blagojevich's work habits.

Anyway here's the current article at hand...

In the capital, bureaucrats connect by text message and cell phone and video conference. With that kind of technology available, does the governor's physical location really matter?

Yes, say government veterans.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich can summon his cabinet by video or call the National Guard from Chicago, they said, but running a government well also involves handshakes, smiles and pats on the back.

"A governor has to be present to move things along," said Larry Bomke, a Republican senator from Springfield. "You can't do that by teleconference."

Blagojevich, a second-term Democrat, and his wife chose to live in Chicago rather than the state capital, saying they thought that would be best for their two daughters. Even when it comes to business, Blagojevich prefers Chicago to Springfield.

His visits to the capitol are rare. When he does visit, he often flies back to Chicago at the end of the day so he can spend the night at home. A spokeswoman said last week that Blagojevich considers Chicago his base of operations.

Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, said the governor seems proud that he has not built a strong relationship with legislators in Springfield.

"You need relationships," she said. "My constituents believe he needs to be there when we're there."

This write-up puts things in perspective. I know there are people who had a problem with the fact that he chose not to live in Springfield, the state capital. Of course it seems plenty of people say this only because Springfield is that state's seat of government. But what some of these people might miss the building relationships aspect of the job. That's about as important as anything.

People say he's unwilling to govern. Well he's unwilling to as this article says give "handshakes, smiles and pats on the back". Hmm after looking at his performance this year as he attempts to push thru his healthcare programs, gross receipts tax, and even CTA funding. That aspect of his lack of performance in that regards might for most of us be showing. I would wonder if the Governor sees it that way.

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Taxpayer's Shouldn't be on the Hook for Wrigley Deal

Not long after Mayor Daley soundly rejected the publicly-financed purchase of Wrigley Field, someone over at Zell Corp. is floating a new trial balloon.

They are putting naming rights on the table, which the city could then turn around and sell and us the proceeds to pay off the bond. Presumably, the city will be left with a little extra annual cash windfall from the deal. Member initiative money for the members of the City Council to fulfill their annual wishlist.

If such a deal is struck, the city and its taxpayers should not be left on the hook for needed capital repairs of the stadium.

Read the Crain's Chicago Business story here. Nice work by Mike Colias and Ann Saphir.

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Daley's endoresment of Ed Smith

From the Sun Times on Daley backs Council foe for county job,

Moore acknowledged that the mayor's endorsement of his opponent was a blow to his campaign. "The mayor probably wants to get rid of him from being an alderman."

I thought they made you a Congressman instead when they wanted you to leave.

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Fermilab update: 200 employees to be laid off, rolling furloughs

Fermilab director Pier Oddone announced that the laboratory would be reducing staff by 200 full-time employees, about 10 percent of the workforce. Additionally, the lab would have a 2-day rolling furlough each month starting in February.

It would take several weeks to work out the details about layoffs, Oddone said, and would provide two-months notice to employees. At the earliest, layoffs wouldn't go into effect until April or May 2008, Oddone said.

Oddone spoke about the lab's financial condition in Fiscal Year 2008 during an "all-hands meeting" with employees this morning.

You can listen to a mp3 recording of the meeting here. (Right click, "Save As")

Oddone said Fermilab had hoped for $372 million originally for the lab's budget, however, it is now expected that they would receive $320 million -- a $50 million cut.

More information: Federal budget impact on Fermilab and High Energy Physics
Google News: Fermilab

Disclosure: My father works at FermiLab as a full-time employee. Additionally, I've received scholarship money during my undergraduate years at UIUC from FermiLab.

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Candidate Bears down

From the Sun-Times' Clout Corner this morning. They should have a blog because the Chicago Reader has a clout blog and so does the Tribune. This story caught my eye this morning about former Bears players helping out a judicial candidate...

Jim McMahon, Otis Wilson and Steve McMichael are scheduled to join other members of the 1985 Bears' Super Bowl winners tonight at a $250-a-head fund-raiser for Cook County Judge LaGuina Clay-Clark.

Clay-Clark is the fiancee of Bruce Herron, a Bears' linebacker in the late 1970s and early 1980s who is co-chairing her campaign.

Former Bears Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Gary Fencik, Emery Moorehead, Jim Osborne and Brian Baschnagel also are slated to attend the 5:30 p.m. event at the Union League Club.

The other story over there is a story about Tony Rezko, who has stopped paying his property taxes.

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Imagine they're no earmarks.

Imagine if Foster, instead of releasing this Press Release on Fermi Lab's budget cut, had instead said, noting this quote below from Fermi Lab's Odden,

In addition, Oddone said, he would have to lay off up to 300 employees permanently and possibly shut down the main Tevatron accelerator, sending home the entire laboratory staff, for up to six weeks. Such an interruption could thwart Fermilab's hopes to detect the Higgs boson, a key constituent of the universe that the facility is racing to discover before scientists in Europe do.

And then just said, maybe the United States should let the Europeans win this race for the Higgs boson, and just buy the Science from them, after they finish (and pay for) the race alone.

Then imagine if Foster had instead signed on here with Coburn and DeMint; per Novak's NewsLetter today,

However, conservative Republican leaders -- led by Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) -- would have preferred a continuing resolution (CR) that did not contain any new earmarks. But the Senate appropriators -- led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) with lots of earmarks for his re-election campaign -- insisted on an omnibus bill that would include 12,000 new earmarks. The reformers, getting no support from the White House, feel the GOP has missed a golden opportunity to re-brand itself as the party of fiscal integrity.

It would have been bickering of course, and alliance with fellows Foster may find distasteful. But it would have been a fight for badly needed earmark-reform and a snub at Bush too boot.

Why can't Foster get that Scientific mind to think outside the box a bit?

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"Promises with a price"

We knew it was bad, but we have one more study that says it’s really bad. The Pew Center on the States published a report comparing all 50 states that says, “Illinois has double the trouble.” This state has one of the poorest-funded pension systems in the country, and it repeatedly fails to set aside enough money to pay for public employee pensions. The second whammy is that Illinois also has failed to put aside money for health care benefits promised to state retirees. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago estimates that price tag reaches $48 billion. (I wrote about the long-term cost of retiree health benefits in April 2007.)

Here’s the Pew Foundation’s fact sheet for Illinois.

It’ll only get worse because of rising health care costs and increasing numbers of state retirees, which was the subject of the Illinois comptroller’s January Fiscal Focus.

Oddly enough, the Illinois House approved a non-binding resolution six months ago that urges Illinois to resolve pension reform and debt before the legislative session adjourns for good in 2007. Well, the session never adjourned, so I guess they don’t have to solve anything this year.

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East St. Louis vote fraud update

Election day in 2004 and the weeks leading up to it were an exciting time in East St. Louis, Illinois, as they had been in previous years.

The longtime tradition of the ESL Democratic party paying voters, supplemented with cigarettes and alcohol, to vote the "right way" was enthusiastically carried out by party chairman Charlie Powell and several others that fall.

Yesterday a federal appeals court affirmed the convictions of those involved with the conspiracy. However, Chairman Powell's sentence was vacated by the court, and he will be re-sentenced. Federal prosecutors claimed the federal district judge misinterpreted the guidelines when he dished out Powell's punishment.

The case heads back to district court, and Powell may end up with a longer prison stay. Currently he's being incarcerated at a federal prison in Marion, Illinois.

Free elections are considered a sacred right of any democracy. Those who violate this benefit of living in such a society deserve a harsh sentence.

H/T to Cal Skinner of the McHenry County Blog.

Related Marathn Pundit ESL vote fraud posts:

E. St. Louis hires two ex-cons with vote buying convictions
East St. Louis vote fraudster found guilty of improper asbestos removal
Convicted vote thief joined by top local Dems at his pre-prison going away party
East St. Louis blues

To comment on this post, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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Jack Franks' Bet on Hillary Clinton

The Daily Herald is reporting that Bull Valley’s State Rep. Jack Franks spoke on Hillary Clinton’s behalf at a Chicago fund raiser.

Franks is co-chairman of her Illinois campaign.

It’s an interesting strategy that Franks and his father Herb have embarked upon.

Being a high profile supporter of the non-favorite son would certainly gain Franks tremendous White House access should Clinton succeed in her quest. Imagine a President Clinton appearing at a fund raiser for candidate for governor Jack Franks, for instance.

Such access could come in handy should Franks decide to run for statewide office.

According to Dave Berry’s article, Franks said

“he's not concerned by shifting poll numbers.

"’We've always known that it would be a close race,’ Franks said, ‘We understood that from the beginning. But a few months ago, she was 25 points down in Iowa, and now look at her; that's what the story line ought to be.’"

Posted first at McHenry County Blog.

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Hey! Running for office was my idea

If you were seeking professionals to run your campaign only to see these professionals turn around and run against you, wouldn't this be considered cheating in some way?

Amy Sue Mertens wanted to run against state Sen. Rickey "Hollywood" Hendon, so she went in to see the campaign consultants at Grainger Terry last summer to determine whether she'd like to hire them to help run her campaign.

She sat down with Jonathan Bedi and Phil Molfese and answered their questions about how she would conduct her campaign, raise funds, etc.

They parted without any deal to represent her.

Ten days later, she was surprised to find that Bedi had filed signatures to run for that state Senate seat against Hendon with Molfese as his campaign manager.

"He at no point ever mentioned he had political aspirations -- it was all business," Mertens said.

She called their actions "an outrageous violation of professional ethics" and filed a complaint against Bedi with the state agency that disciplines lawyers. Bedi holds a law license, though he works at Grainger Terry, a consulting firm. He previously was a corporate counsel for Navistar.

He and Molfese said after meeting Mertens they decided she did not have what it takes to beat Hendon -- so they decided to try it themselves.

"I was excited about the possibility of having someone run against Sen. Hendon," Bedi said. "After meeting with her, I realized she was no different than Sen. Hendon."

Asked how they could start a campaign, collect the necessary signatures and file them within the 10 days between their meeting with Mertens and their announcing Bedi's candidacy, Molfese said, "I do this for a living. It's not hard."

Article from the Sun-Times today.

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Il-14th: Bill Foster video

He'll knock you out cold watching this. The stuff over at Prairie State Blue about it much more interesting.

Ok, I want to hear how he lost the budget battle at Fermi lab for billions for a proton driver on top of the $10 billion for the International Linear Collider that left him...branded as a troublemaker with an axe to grind...

A bloody story about geeks fighting over billions in Federal Research dollars has to be more fun than this. Science not all about the noble pursuit of truth when grant funding at stake.

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Mattoon wins: Too good to be true?

The energy industry selected Mattoon in east Central Illinois to host the more than $1 billion project billed as the “world’s first near-zero-emissions coal-fired power plant,” but the feds have yet to sign on to the project that they’re supposed to fund.

FutureGen, as it’s called, is expected to receive international attention for the first-of-its-kind technology to research a cleaner source of energy while capturing harmful carbon dioxide emissions underground. The hundreds of jobs created would also be a huge economic boon for the region and the state. But the project’s future remained in question Tuesday because the U.S. Department of Energy hadn’t yet issued its final decision, which is necessary. And the department issued a statement saying the project already is over budget. More information won’t be available until next month.

Energy Department officials did not attend the press conference (seen live on the Internet) held in Washington, D.C., by the FutureGen Alliance, a nonprofit group of energy companies that’s in a public-private partnership with the feds. The Alliance announced Mattoon as the winner despite federal wishes to hold off on the announcement.

The Energy Department’s absence speaks volumes considering the government (a.k.a. taxpayers) is slated to foot most of the bill: 74 percent compared to the industry’s 26 percent. A November report includes a section about what would happen if the feds didn’t share the burden. “In the absence of DOE funding (the No-Action Alternative), the Alliance may still elect to construct and operate the proposed power plant if it can obtain the additional funding and required permits. However, in the absence of DOE participation, it is unlikely the FutureGen Project would be implemented.” The report later adds, “The No-Action Alternative is considered a ‘No-Build’ Alternative.” [Emphasis added]

FutureGen Alliance officials said during the press conference that politics did not come into play, but skeptics have wondered from the beginning whether President George W. Bush’s home state of Texas would win the bid. Texas is the other state with two cities on the short list for the FutureGen project. Tuscola in east central Illinois also was in the running but wasn’t selected by the Alliance.

The Alliance board unanimously selected Mattoon, population 18,000, after a rigorous process of comparing more than 100 criteria because the town “offered the best chance of success for this project,” said Lucy Swartz, head of the site selection process. “The site is move-in ready, and that was very important for the Alliance to reduce any risks that might be involved with acquiring the land.” It was also chosen for its secure and adequate water supply, its geology that would allow safe storage of carbon dioxide 8,000 feet underground and its location in 444 acres of rural land with a place to inject the gas emissions. The property tax benefits and community support also helped.

The problem is that costs have risen from an estimated $904 million in 2004 to $1.75 billion in 2007.

Construction on the plant would start in 2009, and it wouldn’t be operational until 2012, but the timeline has adjusted a few times. Once in full swing, the plant would be able to power about 150,000 average homes, according to the Alliance’s site.

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Madison County Removed From 'Judicial Hellholes' List

But Cook County Ranks Third In ATRA Report

Madison County, Illinois, long considered to have one of the most plaintiff-friendly legal systems in the United States, has been removed from the American Tort Reform Foundation's annual list of "judicial hellholes."

While Madison County remains on an American Tort Reform Association "watch list," the new status for the Southwest Illinois county is a confirmation that reforms initiated by Chief Judge Anne Callis and her colleagues are having a positive impact.

Indicative of the changes in Madison County, local newspapers reported last week that plaintiffs in three civil trials had lost their lawsuits in the span of one week. Plaintiff attorneys have long viewed Madison County as a friendly venue, explaining the high volume of litigation filed in Madison County.

In an Illinois Civil Justice League study in 2005, it was revealed that Madison County had almost twice the volume of litigation per capita than Cook County, the largest county in Illinois and still included on the "judicial hellholes" list.

"This is good news for the people of Madison County and it is good news for the people of Illinois," said Ed Murnane, president of the Illinois Civil Justice League and a member of the board of directors of the American Tort Reform Association. "Judge Callis and her colleagues vowed to improve the administration of justice in Madison County and they have been working to do that just. They have met with doctors, with hospitals, with business leaders and with the ICJL to learn of the many concerns about justice in Madison County and they have been working to assure fairness to all parties."

Not so favorable was the repeat appearance on the "hellholes" list by Cook County, about which the ATRA report commented,

"...it seems that the unfortunate pattern of Cook County verdicts for 2007 is that for every reasoned decision limiting excessive awards, thee is another extraordinary verdict waiting in the wings."

A third Illinois county, St. Clair, the neighbor of Madison County, also has been placed on the "watch list," removed from the "hellholes" category it had last year. St. Clair seems to have benefited from the improvements in Madison County and the frequent linking of the two Mississippi River counties across the river from St. Louis. St. Clair has not demonstrated any eagerness for reform but there is no doubt they'll accept the reduced criticism.

Link To Full 'Judicial Hellholes' Report (.pdf).

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Pera: pain with the pump, or pain with Daley's Machine?

If Pera came out hard against the Machine, I'd feel some sympathy for him. He doesn't. He blames Bush for the high price of gas instead. So, am I to believe Pera would be ok with BP's refining Canadian crude in Indiana? (Which I bet BP will take --with the new jobs-- to Toledo instead.) It's more shortage of refineries than gas we confront.

Is he for more nuclear, more coal, more refiniers --in whose backyard?

It's a little hard to get fired up with him on this one. If he's a progressive fighting the machine, I'd like to see more progressive fight out of him about the machine --police brutality for instance; not gas.

HT Prairie State Blue



Update: From Pera's Website, where he stands on issues. Thanks to a comment from Crash Dev. Find the link in the comments.

By any measure or standard, the strategy for war in Iraq has been a failure.

Experts ranging from sitting and retired generals to diplomats and scholars acknowledge that there is no purely military solution to the conflict, and that the battle will only be won with political solutions.

Mark believes that Congress should mandate a pull-out of our troops beginning in the Fall of 2007 [Baar's emphasis] and should also place a cap on funding to accomplish that goal.

It's Winter 2007 now.

If Iraq that important an issue (I think it is) shouldn't Pera's site say something like we should have been out since Fall 2007, so Out Now!.

That's the slogan I recall from Student Mobilization Committee days.

It's gotta be important enough an issue to at least keep your site current on. More important than this gas video.

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B.S. Talks, Money Walks

First a definition:

“B.S.” means “Baseball Stadium” when it appears in this story.

In the “B...S... Talks and Money Walks” category is the announcement by former McHenry County College Trustee Erv LeCoque that a $1 million contribution to an MCC scholarship program aimed at providing tuition and fees to any local high school graduate has been withdrawn because of the college’s push for said B.S.

LeCoque said he had been involved with McHenry County College for 12 years and had been helping solicit money for the campaign. In fact, he resigned from the MCC Foundation to devote himself to the scholarship program that is modeled after the $100 million endowment in Kalamzoo, Michigan.

The first person LaCoque talked to offered $1 million.

Then the B.S. idea came up.

LeCoque related how many people came to him asking about the B.S. concerns. He saw the community being divided.

He realized that he could not raise millions in a divided community.

As LeCoque explained, when you go out and ask for money, you can’t be on the defensive.

The B.S. led to the withdrawal of the $1 million scholarship offer.

The money is off the table, he said.

LeCoque predicted if the B.S. continued, it’s going to get worse.

If the B.S. continues, the money will never come back again. The McHenry County Promise scholarship program will lose its momentum.

“If the stadium gets built,
this program is dead,”

he said.

Perhaps more significantly, one person told LeCoque,

“I think you’re (the college) selling your soul.”

Published first on McHenry County Blog. The local daily paper, the Northwest Herald had a reporter at the meeting, but no article appeared. The NW Herald is a strong supporter of the minor league baseball stadium.

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Madison County falls from Judicial Hellhole list

The American Tort Reform Association this morning released its annual list of "Judicial Hellholes."

Excessive awards from lawsuits are a drag on our economy, stifle business growth, drives up the cost of health care, and in the end, it is you who ends up paying the bill. Okay, that's my opinion, but I'm not alone in my thoughts.

Here are this year's Hellholes:

South Florida

Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast, Texas

Cook County, Illinois

West Virginia

Clark County, Nevada

Atlantic County, New Jersey

But there is some good news, and the ATRA didn't overlook it. Perennial denizen of the Hellhole list, Madison County, Illinois, didn't make the cut. Along with neighboring St. Clair Couny, Madison County is on the 2007 Hellhole watch list.

From the ATRA's press release:

Besides naming two new Judicial Hellholes this year, the biggest headline may be the fact that Madison County, Illinois is no longer a Hellhole," noted ATRA president Sherman "Tiger" Joyce. "In each of the last five years Madison County was cited as a leading Hellhole. But led by Chief Judge Ann Callis and Judge Daniel Stack, the courts there have undertaken several positive reforms which justify moving the county this year to the report's ‘Watch List.'

In 2005, President Bush gave a speech in Madison County and had this to say:

The number of class actions rose 5000% from 1998 to 2003 even though the vast majority of defendants were not actually from Madison County.The proper place for massive class actions is not in local court but in federal court.

But of course the scorecard is mixed in Illinois, since Cook County made the ATRA roll of dishonor.
To comment on this post, or to vote in the Pajamas Media presidential straw poll, click here.

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Some Good News?, Maybe -- But A 100-Year Warning

The weeks between Hanukkah and Christmas and the days surrounding both holidays are considered -- in fact, expected to be -- times of good feelings and joy.

So the news last week from the Tillinghast insurance consulting practice of Towers Perrin that tort costs in the US were down in 2006 is good news and adds to the feeling of joy. The $57 per person reduction from 2005 is a positive sign. But the cost per person in 2005 was $825 so there is still ample room for continued improvement.

The current downward trend is the first since 1997, according to the Tillinghast report. It is a positive report for several reasons.

Most significant is that the numbers translate -- or will translate -- into actual dollar savings for American families. The savings might not be realized in premium reductions overnight, but they can be realized in stable premiums or slower premium increases.

So if this study indicates a trend, it's good news for everyone who pays for insurance -- that even includes trial lawyers, who ought to have mixed reactions since they might be able to save money on their personal insurance payments, despite the fact that payments to trial lawyers might decline.

Some other good news may be brewing. The Edwardsville Intelligencer reported on Saturday on the very real and quantifiable changes taking place in Madison County. On three occasions last week, plaintiffs left Madison County courtrooms empty handed. That would not have happened two years ago or five years ago or anytime in the past 40 years in Madison County.

Madison County -- one of the reputed worst judicial "hellholes' in the United States -- appears to be changing.

The ICJL has reported on these changes repeatedly during the past year and what we have been reporting is true. Under the leadership and direction of Chief Judge Anne Callis, Madison County's judicial system is establishing itself as a fair and unbiased judiciary -- just like most of Illinois' 101 other counties.

We say "most" rather than all since there are still some problem jurisdictions in our state. Cook County, the largest of the 102 counties, remains a serious problem and is likely to underscore its performance record when the new American Tort Reform Association "judicial hellholes' report is released tomorrow. The report will be available on the ICJL website tomorrow.

Madison County's southern neighbor, St. Clair County, seems to be benefiting by being Madison's neighbor. The two counties are frequently linked, as in "Madison and St. Clair Counties are doing this, or are doing that..." and it's sometimes hard for outsiders to distinguish between the two.

But the fact is that Madison County is far ahead of St. Clair County in any effort to improve the judicial system and any effort to equate them is unfair to Madison County.

Nevertheless, that is likely to happen this week. St. Clair County's judicial system owes Madison County appreciation for helping shine a favorable light on it this week. The two St. Clair County judges who face a hearing today before the Illinois Courts Commission on drunk driving charges probably appreciate the favorable attention that Madison's Judge Callis is attracting to the region.

But wait. Despite the good news about insurance rates and the improvements in Madison County, there is a grinch lurking in the darkness.

He is Robert Peck, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Litigation in Washington. Peck's firm is the law firm for trial lawyers -- they are the lawyers who strive to make sure than Illinois trial lawyers -- or personal injury trial lawyers in every state -- have the tools they need to pursue the cases they have filed.

One case in which they are heavily involved is the current Illinois challenge to the 2005 medical malpractice reform bill.

Read the news article below, from the National Law Journal. Here's an excerpt:

While organizations such as the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) have spent 20 years backing state and federal legislation to rein in tort claims, Peck and his colleagues have been in court trying to knock the laws down nearly as long.

"The pendulum is moving more pro-defendant, but it's not a dramatic shift," said Richard Epstein, a visiting law professor at New York University School of Law and a professor at University of Chicago Law School.

Professor Ronen Avraham of Northwestern University School of Law, who has done research in the area, estimates that, overall, about a third of cases challenging tort-limiting laws are successful. It's a battle that will ebb and flow over time, depending on politics such as the upcoming presidential election, said George Mason University School of Law professor Michael Krauss. "It's a 100 years' war," he said.

So while Tillinghast and the upcoming ATRA "judicial hellholes" report may have some promise, the fact is this battle has years to go.

*

A final note: The ICJL does not expect to get involved in the 2008 presidential campaign but if we did, John Edwards would be pretty low on our list of favorite candidates. Edwards, the former multi-millionaire trial lawyer, was on Face The Nation Sunday and continued his mantra of blaming the drug manufacturers and the insurance industry for most of the economic problems of middle class Americans.

Edwards easily overlooks the fact that the pharmaceutical manufacturers in the U.S. are responsible for most of the medical cures of the last century. He also overlooks the fact the American insurance industry provides comfort and protection for most Americans, and in fact, probably has provided him with a substantial portion of his millions.

Edwards made it clear that he does not favor discussion or negotiations with those entities with whom he disagrees. He wants to fight them.

-- Ed Murnane
Illinois Civil Justice League
December 17, 2007

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Blagojevich Could Owe Taxes For Flights

Ouch from CBS2 this governor is taking a beating. Well since the summer he's been taking a beating for his expensive flights as the state legislature is toiling hammering out a budget. The complaints are that these flights between Springfield and Chicago costs money. Now it might cost him some money...

Tax experts say the Internal Revenue Service could consider that travel a taxable fringe benefit.

But Blagojevich's office says the governor's main office is in Chicago -- not the state capital -- so trips there are for legitimate business.

The AP review found that the value of the flights by Blagojevich, his family and guests could be at least $225,000.

That could mean a potential tax bill to the governor of $60,000. Taxpayers could get hit with a penalty of $40,000 if he doesn't pay the bill.



Blagojevich could have significantly cut the amount he might owe for personal trips on state aircraft if he would have used a federal tax formula.

The Internal Revenue Service allows a steeply discounted rate for the value of executive's personal travel on company aircraft.

An Associated Press review of flights by Blagojevich, his family and guests shows trips with no business purpose valued at $225,000.

He could owe taxes of $60,000 on the flights.

His office says the issue is moot because the governor's main place of business is Chicago -- not the state capital -- so flights there are for business purposes.

If Blagojevich had used the IRS discount -- the flights would have a value of $15,000 or less.

He likely would still be able to use the discount for 2007 flights. That would save him tens of thousands of dollars.

The potential tax bill of $60,000 is based on Blagojevich applying the discount for 2007.

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Deep down inside, wouldn't they want a Sams Club?

From the Sun Times on the demise of a Hyde Park institution founded in 1932.

Meanwhile, some Hyde Park residents, who complained about the Co-Op's above-average prices and sometimes subpar service, didn't see what was worth saving at all.

[***]

Many Hyde Park residents had taken pride in having a community-owned supermarket that embodied progressive values and stocked a wide range of products reflecting the rare diversity of the neighborhood.

Its members over the years included prominent liberal politicians such as former Ald. Leon Despres, retired federal Judge Abner Mikva and former U.S. Sen. Paul Douglas, who is said to have advised the Co-Op's founders while he was a U. of C. economics professor.

But several financial missteps -- namely the failure of two satellite stores -- crippled its finances. And the idealism of its mission collided with the brutal reality of failed expansions, mushrooming debt, and increasingly frustrated customers for whom lofty values ceased to trump high prices and often shoddy service.

I have fond memories of Hyde Park and Kenwood. My Dad had a Dime Store not far from the Co-op at 63rd and Blackstone in the 50s and early 60s. We'd spend time in Hyde Park and he'd take me around the University and over to Harding's Castle to see the armor and swords.

Paul Douglas was a hero of my Dad's. Probably the only politician he considered a hero. Leon Despres the lone fighting reformer for open-housing which was then the defining liberal issue in Chicago as far I knew. So the Co-op's closing stirs some memories.

Today my kids don't even know what a Dime Store is. Small time capitalism is about as out of date as cooperative progressivism. Hanging on to high prices and sub-par from either not very progressive.

There should never have to be a trade off between lofty ideals and high prices or shoddy service. (Often ideals given up when there is a deal at Walmart. I've met fellow Liberals buying tires there.)

Low prices and good service lead to increased wealth for all, and if the economic disruption creates an injustice then progressive politicians should mitigate it, but ideals should never obstruct the greater good of economic growth. A progressivism that can't reconcile those things probably should go the way of the Co-op.

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Barack O Bollywood!

This clip proves once again that Bollywood is appropriate in all circumstances. Witness "Barack O'Bollywood", Bollywood's homage to the B-man himself.

xoxo,
Bridget

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Third Proposal: Mixed-Member Legislature

Con-Con Illinois at first was advocating for a unicameral legislature elected using a proportional representation system. Now a mixed-member bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate...

The 84 District Representative will be elected from 28 districts of 3 Representatives elected proportionally. These would currently be districts of about 450,000 citizens.

Four of the Representative Districts would be combined into one Senate District for a total of 7 Senate Districts. In each of these 7 Districts, there would be 18 Senators, with 9 of them elected for four-year terms every two years. These 7 Senate Districts would be quite large (1.8 million citizens) but with 9 Senators being elected proportionally, the low election threshold (10%) would allow a very diverse set of Senators to be elected, representing varying views across the whole district.

The remaining 39 At-Large Representatives would not have districts, but would instead be elected statewide. They would be elected using a Party List system (more on Proportional systems in a later post) and would be used to "even-out" the Legislature to make sure the political parties and coalitions statewide are reflected properly in the General Assembly. There would, for example, be a 5% threshold meaning that if a minority party got 5% statewide, but for some reason at the district level, they did not get 5% of the seats, they would pick-up At-Large seats to get their fair representation.

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Rep. Weller condemns Jackson's ‘power grab'

Congressman Jackson must really want control of his coveted airport doesn't he? From the Morris Daily Herald...

Just before the final vote on the National Defense Authori-zation Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Jackson inserted language repealing the so-called Weller Amend-ment relating to the South Suburban Airport in Will County. The amendment secured Will County control of the Peotone airport and ensured federal procurement guidelines are met during airport construction.

“The results of a Democratic majority in Congress have been felt by the people of Will County,” Weller said. “Jesse Jackson has again shown disdain for the wishes of the bi-partisan leadership of Will County.

“It has always been the view of myself, County Executive (Larry) Walsh, and Board Chairman (Jim) Moustis that Will County should control its own destiny with an airport built in Will County.

“My legislation empowers Will County to stand up against Cook County interests that wish to invade its sovereignty.”

“Mr. Jackson has proclaimed the desires of the elected leaders with actual jurisdiction over the proposed airport site as worthless,” Weller continued.

“He continues to take a ‘my way or the highway' approach to this project to further his personal political aspirations.

“For Jackson, this has never been about what's best for Will County - only what's best for himself.”

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Back and forth

As frustration over the continued tit-for-tat between the governor and the speaker festers, the public has the added question of whether they can trust the governor and the General Assembly to build new casinos or riverboats without scandal. And can they trust them to distribute the revenue to public services in a fair way? So far, not so good.

House Speaker Michael Madigan tried to cancel session scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, but lawmakers could be called back to Springfield the week before Christmas anyway even if there's no gaming or mass transit plan to advance.

The speaker said in a letter to lawmakers, "In light of certain subsequent developments this week, the legislative process will be better served by holding session on these topics at a later date." Without naming Chris Kelly's federal indictment on tax fraud and illegal gambling announced Thursday, Madigan said in the letter, "The current environment underscores the critical need to create a genuinely independent Illinois Gaming Board," which was supposed to be talked about in Monday's session.

A few minutes after Madigan's letter became public, Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office released this statement: "Sadly, it's not surprising that Speaker Madigan would, at the last minute, cancel a scheduled session to consider a plan to fund the [Chicago Transit Authority]. That unfortunately has been more the rule than the exception over the last three months." The statement also indicates the governor could call a special session for next week. Spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said in a follow-up e-mail that the governor's office expects to talk to legislative leaders over the weekend and will be in a better position to talk about timing on Monday.

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Chris Kelly's Campaign Contributions

Cross posted, or soon to be, from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Most of the search for meaning in yesterday's Chris Kelly indictment on income tax evasion charges has rightly focused on his close personal relationship with Gov. Blagojevich. As we noted in yesterday's post, the indictment calls into question how the governor vetted advisors; who was bending his ear is worth examining, and the facts alleged in the indictment, if true, suggest that Kelly should not have been a Special Government Agent on behalf of the governor in internal meetings at the Gaming Board.

As a sidebar, the indictment also appears to be a jumping off point to revisit Kelly's campaign donations to the governor. For consistency's sake, here's our accounting of campaign donations from Kelly and associated entities, based on reports filed with the State Board of Elections and included in the Sunshine Database.

The governor's campaign fund reports $688,500 in donations and loans from Kelly affiliates These include $337K from CGK Consulting, including $250K in loans; $125K from BCI Roofing; $109K from Castle Construction, including a $2,500 donation from Anthony Blum, an employee; and $117,500 from MBB, including $100K in loans. All of those were reported in 2000-2002. In 2004, Blagojevich's campaign fund repaid the $250K loan from CGK, and in 2005, they repaid the $100K loan from MBB. Net of those loan repayments, Friends of Blagojevich reports $338.5K in receipts from entities affiliated with Chris Kelly.

Friends of Blagojevich also hired Castle Construction to do work on the Blagojevich campaign headquarters at a cost of $236K during the 2004-2005 winter. But that was payment for actual services, not debt service.

Kelly's affiliates haven't given much lately. The great bulk of their giving was to Blagojevich, and all of that was during 2000-2002. Other top recipients include Chicago Alderman Patrick Levar (including $9,540 directly and $5,600 to the 45th Ward Regular Democrats), Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch ($11K, all in 2006 and 2007), and former Attorney General candidate John Schmidt. Smaller receipts were reported by legislators ($3K by Lee Daniels, $500 each by Jay Hoffman and Susan Mendoza), Chicago Aldermen ($9K by Ed Burke or the 14th Ward Ad Book Committee, $3K by Danny Solis, $2K by William JP Banks, $1.5K by Carrie Austin, $500 by Patrick O'Connor) and other assorted officials ($2K by Tom Dart, $1.5K by Richard M Daley, $1K by Dan Hynes) and some others.

That John Schmidt contribution was made in December, 1997; it was the second reported donation from a Kelly-affiliate. The first reported contribution by a Kelly-affiliate was a $400 donation from BCI in May, 1997 to then-Secretary of State George Ryan.

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Cynthia McKinney speaking in Chicago tonight

Someone I've been blogging a lot about lately, Cynthia McKinney, will be in Chicago tonight. Cynthia McKinney is running for president under the Green Party banner.

From an Illinois Green Party press release:

During her swing through Chicago, McKinney will speak at a fundraiser
held a Decima Musa, 1901 South Loomis (19th & Loomis), in Chicago's historic Pilsen neighborhood. The event will be held Friday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

More..

At an event last week in Carbondale, Ill., McKinney was endorsed by 2006 Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney, who earned the support of over 10 percent of Illinois voters in that campaign.

"I have long felt that Cynthia McKinney was a Green at heart," Whitney commented recently. "Unlike most Democrats in Congress, Cynthia has long been a principled, tireless advocate for peace, civil rights, and the fundamental right of the people to vote and have their vote count – accurately. She has long been a fighter against corruption, injustice, environmental destruction, the imperial presidency and the corporate aristocracy in this country. Her voting record was impeccable. She was, and is, a true representative of the public interest."

Eventually Whitney will regret those comments, in my opinion. The posts below should explain why.

Related Marathon Pundit posts:

Moonbat McKinney visits her home planet: "Truther" World
A bleak day in Carbondale, Illinois: Salukis lose, McKinney arrives: UPDATED
Georgia's Cynthia McKinney Parkway may be headed for the exit ramp
Police brutalizer Cynthia McKinney to lead protest of police brutality
Uh-oh. Green Party candidates multiply in Illinois
Still in the 1960s: 2008 Green Party convention coming to Chicago: UPDATED

To comment on this post, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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Al Chaib: Tax-delinquent Rezko pal

I love this headline: Tax-delinquent Rezko pal runs toll restaurants

He's another IIT guy. MBA520 must have plenty of case studies with alums like Chaib, Rezko, and Alsammarae.

Leadership techniques for influencing other organizational members, creative problem-solving and decision-making, ethics and values-based managing are covered.

From the Sun Times,

The selling of food on state property is not the only perk Chaib's family has secured under Blagojevich. The governor, in 2003, gave Chaib's wife a part-time job in the Department of Employment Security Review Board, an agency charged with collecting more than half of her husband's tax debt.

Aides to Blagojevich told the Sun-Times that Lori Chaib never tried to influence officials about her husband's back unemployment taxes. Al Chaib also owes sales taxes.

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Pera: Opposing a machine cog in a Democratic Primary

Jeff posts this over at Prairie State Blue on Pera's challange to Lipinski.

I can understand opposing Lipinski on his record. I guess he's more conseravative then Pera (I haven't looked at Pera's material or Lipinski's votes).

But it seems to me if you brand Lipinski a cog in a machine you really need to thing hard about what gear Obama is in the Democrat's machine.

As the wheels come off the machine, and Rezko goes to trial in Febrauary, I just can't see how Obama is going to avoid a lot of dirt from the machine dogging him from Illinois.

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Chris Kelly News Roundup

Early on in his first administration, Gov. Blagojevich was criticized for spending taxpayer dollars to monitor his press coverage.

I wonder what Blagojevich was thinking when he read this in the morning clips:

USA TODAY:

Illinois governor's former adviser on gambling accused of tax fraud

The Associated Press is reporting that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s former adviser on gambling issues was charged today with tax fraud for allegedly tapping his company's funds to pay off gambling debts.

I wonder what Jay Hoffman was thinking when he read this:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Blagojevich friend is indicted

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former top fundraiser and gambling-issue adviser was indicted Thursday on charges that he hid more than $1 million in personal income — in part to conceal his gambling debts. It was part of a trio of new federal indictments against people connected to Blagojevich's administration.

And I wonder what the ex-patriots in Paris when they woke up to this:

International Herald Tribune (Paris):

Ill. Gov. Blagojevich's ex-adviser indicted in corruption investigation

CHICAGO: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former adviser on gambling issues was charged Thursday with tax fraud for allegedly dipping into his roofing company's money to pay off gambling debts.


I love that one. Paris. George Ryan had to get nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize to get mentioned there.


GOP Hopefuls or Hopeless?

Somebody remind me how Rod Blagojevich got re-elected?

Oh yeah, the GOP can't find a statewide candidate w/o both hands and a map.

The Republican Party is so divided by regionalism and social values, they can't seem to get their act together. The only things they agree on are they hate Emil Jones and Rod Blagojevich. And they love Jim Edgar.

Many people have mentioned Tom Cross, Sen. Brady, Aaron Schock as potential GOP statewide candidates. I've got news for you. Tom Cross doesn't play too well in the Biblebelt, and Sen. Brady and Aaron Schock will never make it in the suburbs. Heck, Schock only plays in Peoria.

So, my question is, what OTHER Republicans do you think have a shot at getting elected to statewide office some day. What office? When?

My pick: Mark Kirk. I think Kirk is going to get tired of being in the minority in Washington under a Democratic President. I think he will run for Governor. And I think he'll do it in 2010 if Obama is in the White House.

Okay. That's my pick. Anybody else?

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Inner circle

A federal investigation stung another member of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s inner circle without mentioning the governor. Christopher Kelly, the governor’s close friend, former campaign manager and early advisor on gaming issues, was federally indicted for tax fraud by allegedly hiding more than $1 million of income over five years. The indictment says he used corporate funds from his roofing and consulting firms to pay illegal gambling debt and bookies.

The governor issued a statement: “Chris Kelly is my friend. I am saddened to hear these allegations about Chris's personal life. I know the pain it must be causing him and his family. My thoughts and my prayers are with them during this difficult time. In fairness to Chris, I believe it is important to let the legal process play out and not rush to judgment.”

Kelly’s indictment was coupled with an expansion of a separate investigation that indicted Antoin “Tony” Rezko, Blagojevich fundraiser and businessman, in October 2006. Rezko pleaded not guilty to allegations that he received kickbacks and illegal fees from investment firms seeking business with the state.

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Latest Lauzen Mailer

Two pages from a four page mailer I received from Lauzen. He runs on a record which is a lot more than one can say for the Hastert-quit-congress-early endorsed candidate.




Hastert as quoted in the AP story in the link. It's appalling.

"I've looked at the candidates, I've spent a lot of time, because it's a difficult decision to make," he added. "But I thought Jim's ideas on immigration fit best with what we tried to do over a long period of time....

Postscript 1: Jeff Berkowitz had an exhange last week with Oberweis on Hastert and earmarks that's fun to read. Berkowitz called Hastert the earmark king of congress.

Considering Foster found Hastert a key ally for funding rocket scientist stuff over at Fermi who could end up with both Oberweis and Foster as the Hastert style candidates, and Lauzen and Laesch as the reformers and radicals.

So much for Political Parties and Labels.

Postscript 2: Peggy Noonan's column today. Head to the bottom for her thoughts on Pols and immigration. She sums up my fellings and my problem with Oberweis.

It is clear in Iowa that immigration is the great issue that won't go away. Members of the American elite, including U.S. senators, continue to do damage to the public debate on immigration. They do not view it as a crucial question of America's continuance. They view it as an onerous issue that might upset their personal plans, an issue dominated by pro-immigration groups and power centers on the one hand, and the pesky American people, with their limited and quasi-racist concerns, on the other.
[***]
A real and felt concern among the candidates about immigration is a rare thing. And people can tell. They can tell with both parties. This is the real source of bitterness in this debate. It's not regnant racism. It's knowing the political class is incapable of caring, and so repairing.

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Chris Kelly Indicted

Cross posted, or soon to be, from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

News stories are cropping up faster than we can track them. As context, below are comments from an interview between Gov. Blagojevich and the Daily Southtown Editorial Board in Ocober, 2006, and statements from Kelly's Statement of Economic Interest.

The interview, published October 13, 2006, took place the same week that Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko was indicted for taking kickbacks from firms seeking state business. At one point in the interview, the Editorial Board asked the governor his thoughts about Chris Kelly. Here's the exchange:


In Blagojevich's words

October 13, 2006

Excerpts from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's interview with the Daily Southtown editorial board Thursday afternoon:

[snip]

Q: Are you confident that Chris Kelly is not going to be indicted?

A: Yeah. Yes. They're two different people, by the way, and it's a different relationship. Chris and I are much closer. Chris is the head of my political campaign. That's someone I talk to a lot more frequently. I'm confident, yes.

Q: What happened five months ago that you had this final, last conversation with Tony Rezko? What was the last conversation and why was it the last one?

A: It was four or five months ago; could have been at an event somewhere that I saw him. It was fine.

Q: Were you starting to distance yourself from him at that point?

A: Not all. I think I need to explain the extent of the relationship. He's not an exclusive friend of mine. He was a supporter of mine. He doesn't have a formal position in our campaign. He never did. He made some recommendations during the transition and during the first year we were building an administration, but for the most part, that's it. I think some of the talk that he's this big adviser is frankly overblown.

It's different with Chris. I'd be shocked. I'm very confident in Chris.

[snip]


To be fair, Chris Kelly today was not indicted on public corruption charges. The feds allege that Kelly failed to report personal income from gambling, along with personal subsidies from his businesses to cover gambling debts.

Perhaps the governor did not know the extent of Kelly's gambling. After all, why would the governor appoint someone who gambled to this extent as his Special Government Agent to the Illinois Gaming Board, to represent the governor on gambling issues?

The indictment also brings up Kelly's Statements of Economic Interest for 2004 and 2005, filed when he served as Blagojevich's Special Government Agent. Asked to list "the name of any entity from which a gift or gifts … valued singly or in the aggregate in excess of $500, was received during the previous year." Kelly's answer in 2004 and again in 2005 (the year before Rezko was indicted) was, in its entirety: "gifts of personal friendship received by person filing this statement [ie, Kelly] from Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich (person filing this statement provides similar gifts of personal friendship to such individuals)." No other gift givers are mentioned; for 2003 and 2004, this particular gift exchange was limited to three people, two of whom have now been indicted.

The governor has some explaining to do.

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Pay now or later?

State Comptroller Dan Hynes wrote a letter to the editor that published in Springfield’s State Journal-Register that continues his effort to force conversation about the state’s delayed Medicaid bills. The topic is old, yet there could be an increased interest, some say urgency, to fix the problem in light of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s recent statements that he’ll continue to push to expand a state health care program to 147,000 people without legislative approval.

Another 147,000 people in a Medicaid program means more bills to pay and, without adequate cash coming in to pay those bills, more debt. The comptroller’s point for rekindling the debate relates to “Section 25” of the State Finance Act (scroll down to the bottom to “fiscal year limitations”). State agencies are allowed to — and often do — defer medical bills until they can pay them with next year’s revenues. And they don’t have to notify the General Assembly to do so. The comptroller’s letter to the editor says, “In essence, then, the General Assembly has given the governor a blank check for health care spending.”

Hynes adds that the “loophole” also misrepresents the state’s current fiscal condition. His office says currently, Medicaid bills aren’t as backlogged as they have been, but the backlog exceeded $2 billion two years ago according to a March report. (You can see a here chart dating back to 1990.) Health care providers are currently waiting an average of two months for payment from the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The agency can make expedited payments to doctors and hospitals that care for a lot of Medicaid patients, but everyone else has to wait as a result, says Carol Knowles, the comptroller’s spokeswoman. Because of Section 25, there’s no limit to how long agencies can hold their medical bills (other types of bills have to be paid by August 31 each year).

The comptroller wants to eliminate that. “For years I have urged the elimination of the Section 25 loophole, arguing that its existence allows state leaders to deny the true costs of state-provided health care and to sidestep requirements that the state maintain a balanced budget,” Hynes says in his letter.

He drafted legislation last spring that would have tightened the Section 25 rule and required the state to pay medical bills within four months of the new fiscal year. The October 31 deadline would give a little leeway in case of a cash flow problem or a complicated billing process at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Democratic Rep. Will Davis of Homewood sponsored the measure and says the objective was to try to avoid constantly carrying a deficit. Despite gaining bipartisan support, it went nowhere. Davis says the measure was still a legitimate effort and important issue for his community, where some providers care for mostly Medicaid patients. “Some people have tried to make it be a political issue between [the comptroller] and the governor. I really don’t think it’s political. It has a definite impact on my community and how people are being served in my community.”

Sen. Christine Radogno, a Lemont Republican and Deputy Minority Leader, says there’s consensus that Section 25 gives too much flexibility to the administration and that it should be tightened. Senate Republicans also sponsored a package of measures dealing with fiscal responsibility even before the governor’s recent actions to advance his health care plan without legislative approval. Radogno says she’ll try again but realizes it could share the same fate as a lot of good government and ethics measures. “None of that kind of stuff is moving.”

It also would be super hard to eliminate Section 25 for two reasons: One, the first year could actually cost a lot of money and time for state agencies that have to process their medical bills by a certain date if they don’t have enough cash. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, for instance, said in a fiscal note to the General Assembly that an unintended consequence could be that cash-flow problems in the agency could require medical providers to file a claim with the state’s Court of Claims. And two, lawmakers would have to have the political will to end the practice of deferring bills. As it stands, if they push off $2 billion of bills into the future, that frees up $2 billion they can spend now on initiatives in their districts.

“It helps them avoid the tough decisions,” Knowles says. “The first year of undertaking a change like this would be very painful and difficult for the state, but the consequences of not doing are much greater.”

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Fast Track International Linear Collider: "Give me $10B or give me death"

Bill Foster's resignation letter from Fermi Lab's Proton Drive Project after having lost the funding wars to the International Linear Collider's tactics of Give me $10 billion or give me death

Interesting reading for those who think being a Scientist and Businessman is all nerdy stuff.

It's a link to a pdf.

...in the likely occurrence that we do not immediately get $10B of federal and international funds to build the ILC, congress may tire of funding R&D for a project with an uncertain time scale, and the HEP budget at both US universities and labs will collapse. (By this time, of course, Rep. Hastert will have retired as Speaker of the House and we will no longer have him to defend our budget….)

Guess Foster's going to pick up Hastert's fight. Just please don't try and build that tunnel proposed in the 90s through my aquifer again.

Foster may also want to explain this admission with the flood of commercials about ending the bickering in Congress,

It has been a great disappointment to me that I have been unable to convince DOE to agree that the Proton Driver Project is a reasonable option to preserve. But I also realize that my voice will not be heard, since after years of insisting that unpleasant technical realities be respected in strategic planning in HEP, I find myself branded as a troublemaker with an axe to grind. Since the starting points for progress must be an acknowledgement by the ILC planners that a realistic ILC schedule is well into the future, and that a U.S. system test is essential, future progress may in fact be quicker if I am not in the room. In any case, I have no desire to continue a debate in which one side feels free to ignore demonstrable facts.

They don't grind axes in Congress. It's the silent stab in the back. I'm not sure this Professor is ready.

Be a bit of a trouble maker --but never admit it 'cause people will know if you're good-- buy the opposition a drink, smile, and never ever give up.

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Why do Peoria education bureaucrats want Paul Vallas to go away?

Some background: Paul Vallas, formerly of the Chicago and Phildelphia school districts and a noted education reformer, was recently brought to Peoria to discuss education issues. He's offered to take a look at the Peoria School District 150 -- for free. School officials are hesitant. Regular commenter PrairieCelt left this comment on a post at Peoria Pundit, and I liked it so much, I made it into a post -- Billy.

RE: Paul Vallas

Prospect Rd. Properties: In addition to the $877,500 to purchase the residential sites on Prospect, you have to factor in the cost of demolition, rehab, renovation, legal fees, and the cost to the district of removing the sites from the property tax rolls; and the furnishings, groceries, toiletries & amenities for two of the properties to house, feed and transport the teachers from China.

Administrative Salary Expense: Going back to 2004, the BOE placed Dr. Royster on paid administrative leave and hired (on the recommendation of Board President Schock) an unqualified and uncertified individual as Superintendent (note: he did not receive his Superintendent’s endorsement until the summer of 2006). To be in compliance with Illinois School Code, the BOE had to employ a co-superintendent. When this individual left, the BOE created two deputy superintendent positions and these individuals served until Hinton received his alternative superintendent’s endorsement the summer of 2006 (a period of almost 2 years). The two deputy superintendents received a stipend on top of their regular administrative salary. In other words, in ‘04-’05, they paid 3 superintendent salaries through December, and then paid 4 superintendent salaries through June 30th. Subsequent to that date, they were paying 3 superintendent salaries until the summer of 2006. A very conservative estimate of the additional expense involved is $310K excluding the superintendent stipends paid to Fischer & Hannah, and excluding benefits. The BOE paid for Hinton to obtain his alternative superintendent’s endorsement at WIU, which was at least $5K.

In ‘04-’05, the BOE employed the services of a search firm (Roger Gravelink) and entered into an $80K contract with said search firm for the express purpose of finding and contracting a new superintendent. While under contract to the search firm, the BOE decided to hire a retired former administrator (Hinton) causing the BOE to settle with the search firm for an amount of approximately one-half the original contract. That was an expenditure of approximately $40K to receive absolutely nothing.

Then there is Hinton’s “friends and family” hiring plan. Not only did the top-level administrators receive very generous raises, Hinton proceeded to hire many of his “friends and family members” (think his son Landrian Hinton, Otto Arcaute, Susan Grzanich, Charles Davis, Thom Simpson, Mary Ward, Sandra Burke and an administration building secretary, to name a few). In the fall of ‘04, Hinton reinstated approximately 40 positions that had been eliminated due to attrition. This after the district’s auditor (in late fall ‘04) told the BOE in open session, that if the current (Hinton’s) administration continued to spend at the same rate as the previous administration, the district’s reserves should last at least another 24 months.

Word on the street is that Hinton hopes to bring Fischer back to the district after her retirement June 30th. They stated publicly that Fischer’s position will be eliminated as a cost-savings measure ($120K+ per year), and allegedly they are offering to re-employ her at her per diem rate (around $450 daily) effective 07/01/08. There is no cost savings there. Once again, the public is hoodwinked.

We all remember that in the spring of ‘05, the district ran out of money to meet payroll and current expenses and started incurring substantial long-term debt (approximately $60+ million). What happened to all those millions of dollars in reserves that were projected by the auditor to last another 24 months or so? The reinstated positions and his “friends and family” hiring plan factor significantly into the need - so early into Hinton’s administration - to assume crippling long-term debt.

School Buildings: Hinton closed two middle schools, White & Blaine because he said they were unsafe for kids. He then proceeded to reopen Blaine to house the Medicaid/Special Services offices. The renovations included air-conditioning, a security system, asbestos removal, reconfiguring classrooms into offices, and hiring a full-time campus police officer. That cost was approximately $150K (the salary expense for the Campus Police officer is ongoing). Since the BOE & Administration missed the grant-filing deadline to renovate the donated SSA building, they are now looking to re-open and renovate White Middle School to house the programs originally slated for the SSA building. [There was an offer to purchase theWhite School property that was turned-down by the Administration.]

The BOE recently approved an expenditure of approximately $700K to purchase some of the former Harrison Homes land for the purpose of building a new state-of-the art school campus. Plus, they are in the process of approving two new school buildings for the WHS attendance area. Hinton & Co. do not seem to have any problem assuring the public that they have the millions of dollars available to build new construction, but they can’t find $600K to hire consultants with a proven track record of success in turning schools around?

Summary:

1. The BOE frivolously spent $877,500 to purchase properties for which they have no need.

2. Approximately $310K was spent for multiple superintendents and to get Hinton legally qualified to hold the superintendency after he was contracted for the position.

3. $40K was squandered on a search firm to fill a position with a legally unqualified internal candidate.

4. $120K is the projected cost of bringing Fischer back from retirement on or about 07/01/08.

5. Approximately $150K was spent renovating Blaine Sumner.

6. The BOE approved spending $700K to purchase land on the Harrison Homes site.

7. The BOE assumed long-term debt in the amount of approximately $62M.

Approximately $64,197,500 is the amount Hinton and this BOE has cost the taxpayers since August 2004.

After this excessive, sometimes frivolous spending by Hinton and the BOE, what do the taxpayers have?

A. 83% of the students failing to make adequate yearly progress

B. For the ‘07-’08 school year, three middle schools and one high school in restructuring. Unless there is a major turnaround soon, more schools will move to restructuring status for the ‘08-’09 school year.

C. No completed and approved restructuring plan for Manual High School.

D. Creation of new gangs in the schools subsequent to the combination of middle schools due to school closings. For example, some of the new gangs are the dickie boys, face off, and the 401 boys.

E. Under-achieving, over-crowded buildings at Lincoln and Trewyn.

F. Seriously strained relationships with the City of Peoria and the Peoria Park District.

G. Low morale in the schools - disgruntled staff and principals who feel they have no support at the administrative level.

H. Threats to close additional schools that would further destabilize established neighborhoods.

I. A Board of Education and Administration that is not qualified to move the district forward.

J. Potential misuse of HLS and PBC funds.

K. Deferment, district-wide, of structural repairs and required maintenance.

It isn’t a question of if Vallas and his consultants come in but rather, when and how soon they can start. The City should come in and take over District #150, removing the BOE and top administration and replacing them with Vallas and other qualified administrators with a proven track record of successful school turnarounds.

Let us hope this is not too little too late.

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Peanuts, Popcorn, Cold Beer

In the

Are They Nuts?

category is state officials considering that state taxpayers might buy Wrigley Field.

That’s what immediately came to mind when I saw the teaser on the top left of the front page of Thursday’s Chicago Tribune.

Is this some trade-off in which the Tribune would agree to support Governor Rod Blagojevich for a third term, if he rushed to the rescue of the Tribune?

I heard on the radio, but didn’t listen to carefully, that for the deal to sell the Tribune to go through, the company has to get rid of the Cubs operation by the first of the year.

Some of you know that I’m not a sports fan.

I figure politics has pretty much the same elements as sports, but could cost me money. Only rarely does sports cost me money.

I can think of state government’s building the new White Sox stadium. I can think of McHenry County College’s trying to put us taxpayers at risk by building a minor league baseball stadium for investors unknown.

So, I didn’t toss the Sports section on the floor for re-cycling today. I’m actually reading a story in it. Maybe it belongs in the business section of the paper.

“It is unclear how the state and ISFA (Illinois Sports Facilities Authority) would raise funds for such a purchase, which would fetch hundreds of millions if sold,” Jim Kirk's article says.

But it’s not just state taxpayers who would be at risk, the Tribune Company is talking to Mayor Richard Daley, too.

I can hear another big Tax Increment Financing district rolling through city council on this one.

Take the money from Chicago schools. Only the Chicago Reader will figure it out and they are laying off a higher percentage of reporters than the Tribune now that personals can be found on the internet.

And why would the Tribune want to sell the ballpark to the state?

To shift renovation costs from the Cubs prospective buyer. That would increase the price paid for the team.

There’s certainly something shifty here.

In my grad school public finance class at the University of Michigan, it was discussed in the class on incidence. It was about who really pays the cost of something.

With “public-private partnerships” all the rage, why wouldn’t the Tribune think the taxpayers would bail it out?

After all, when the Cubs finally do get to a World Series, wouldn’t all the (well, maybe, not the Cardinal fans) legislators want tickets?

I remember when the White Sox were almost in the World Series in the 1990’s, I had the opportunity to buy tickets for the play offs at face value.

That inducement would probably be enough to get state legislators to vote for such a deal.

= = = = =
The picture of Wrigley Field came from a State of Illinois taxpayer financed web site. This story was first posted on McHenry County Blog.

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Fran Spielman: Daley: High-rises were feds' idea, not my dad's

Spielman writing on Daley's recollections of Fed dictates on public housing. Note Daley took a shot at reporters saying his words here would never be printed. Probably the most damning indictment of Liberalism as practiced in the 50's and 60's as one can find.

On the other hand, you wonder if the Mayor and Sen Douglas could have protested a little louder about Federal dictates on these projects. They weren't crying out for more low rise attempts at integration like LeClaire Courts as I recall.

Here's the Spielman on the Mayor yesterday,

"They [the elder Daley and Douglas] objected because people were coming from a rural way of life. They never lived in high-rises," the mayor said.

Two federal guidelines made the problem even worse, Daley said. One required that CHA high-rises take "the poorest of the poor" and that those who landed even minimum-wage jobs had to move out. The second edict denied benefits to those who got married, Daley said.

"They destroyed the work ethic of people and they destroyed the family relationship of marriage and everything else going with it," the mayor said.

Reminded that his dad has been saddled with the blame for CHA high-rises all these years, Daley said, "Who else are you gonna blame?"

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Ed Smith: Life & Times of Progressive Politics

More oral history in the video below from Smith than campaigning for Recorder of Deeds, but then how much of a case can he make for an office with a mission that puts most to sleep.

This video would be more effective if Smith had some one asking questions. Would add a little more give and take, like what does a recorder of deeds do?

Anyways, some day I want to interview every Alderman, Mayor, Village Prez along the Metra's West Line from Ed Smith's 28th to Mayor Willy's Elburn . I think there is more uniting those communities, and everyone in between, then seperating them and it would be nice to have it all out there on YouTube.

At least both ends of the line are blogging and active on the web now, and Smith's Progressive Life & Times timely given the progressives posting on just what it means to call oneself a progressive.



Footnote: He's got an effective website at least in my book. A blog explaining why he wants to run (kept me awake), a good bio (he speaks Hindi and Tegulu), and no broken links as far as I can tell. Only piece he needs to finish is this.

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Good news on eminent domain abuse

Behind an eminence front
Eminence front - it's a put on
The Who, "Eminence Front." 1981

It appears the Alderman Eugene Schulter's front collapsed, or maybe just cracked last week after meeting with some Western Avenue business owners from Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood.

From Chicago's News Star:

Alderman Eugene Schulter, 47th, backed down from a plan to condemn privately owned businesses on the 4800 block of North Western Avenue and hand them over to private developers--sort of.

After more than 100 angry Lincoln Square residents marched on Schulter's 47th Ward service office following a heated community meeting on Dec. 5, Schulter reassessed the situation.

After meeting with affected Lincoln Square business owners Dec. 10, Schulter announced later that day that he would revise a proposed acquisition ordinance making any city acquisition of properties north of 4807 N. Western Avenue "voluntary."

Schulter said that in consideration of the changes in the acquisition ordinance, the matter would not go before the full City Council on Dec. 12, but will return to the Committee on Housing and Real Estate for review.

Tom Mannis of The Bench reports that the City Council probably won't vote on this issue tomorrow, but a property rights rally will still take place at City Hall.

From The Bench:

RALLY
at City Council
Wednesday, December 12th, @ 9am
Outside of City Council Chambers
2nd Floor Elevator Lobby
City Hall
121 N. La Salle Street
Chicago, IL 60602

For more information, visit the Save Lincoln Square web site.

Remember: Our government official may appear to put on a tough front on eminent domain. But if ordinary citizens fight back, odds are, we'll find that it's just a put on.

To comment on this post, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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Did Illinois Ban Ashtrays at Work With Its' New Smoking Ban ?

I saw this over at the Newsalert blog talking about the state ban on smoking at public place. It seems that state official can't determine how to enforce the law. The story is from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch...

Toni Corona will be a Metro East smoker's worst nightmare, a carcinogen cop looking to clear the air.

When Illinois' new smoking ban kicks in Jan. 1, Corona's job as Madison County Health Department director puts her on the front line of keeping smoke out of public places.

Problem is, she's not sure what the new law covers. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed in July the Smoke Free Illinois Act, which bans smoking in virtually all public places. But a state committee hasn't adopted the specific rules that clarify the law.

"Those rules need to be in place before the enforcement really can commence," Corona said.


Smoking on patios, for instance, is still uncertain. The law says smoking will be banned in all indoor public places or places of employment, and within 15 feet of an entrance, open window or ventilation intake.

"Our interpretation is that if you have a patio, you can have smoking as long as it's 15 feet from the door," said Andrew Ariens, of the Illinois Restaurant Association.

But if wait staff attend to those tables 15 feet away or farther, is smoking allowed? Isn't that a work area?

"Oh, I see. That's a good question," Ariens said. "Well, you can nitpick over this all day, but are you going to be ticketed for it? Probably not."

Individual fines range from $100 to $250, and businesses face fines between $250 and $2,500. Businesses must post "No Smoking" signs. The law says ashtrays aren't allowed in workplaces. But could someone be fined if they have one? What about ashtrays used for spare change? Souvenir ashtrays?

The process for issuing tickets must be determined, too. Corona says she isn't aware how a ticket will be handled, and which courts will hear the case.

i'm not a big fan of smoking either, but it almost makes me wonder if this is a half-hearted law on a very convenient issue. I'm starting to think so. Why not let individual municipalities or establishments determine whether or not to allow smoking.

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The Trib: Ron Paul revolution: It has just begun to fight

I have a feeling the Illinois DFA types didn't anticipate this from today's Trib,

Costas Panagopoulos, director of the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy at Fordham University, said the Paul phenomenon is the technological descendant of Howard Dean’s blogger base in 2004. That “revolution” also created excitement, but Dean quickly faded once the voting started.

Paul insists his fate will be different than Dean’s, and not just because online campaigning is more important today––YouTube, Facebook and MySpace are all sponsoring debates—but because he’s tapped into a deep public sentiment. How else could he raise so much money, he asks?

“The disgust with government and the spread of our message, plus the willingness of these individuals on the Internet to organize, is going to make a difference,” he said in interview.

He keeps gaining traction and I bet he'll run as a third party candidate disrupting local Democrats more than the GOP.

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Today's Sun Times Editorial on Sharpton

ST writes: Sharpton's anti-Chicago Olympics sentiment could backfire, and concludes,

Sharpton doesn't seem to care that his anti-Chicago bravado could cost the city contracts for minority contractors and retail in a blighted part of the city. Sharpton should butt out now, before he does real damage.

I'd say Chicago Democrat's track record with minority contractors not so great. Mary Mitchell in the ST back in 2005,

Crow is a tough old bird. But if you chew on it long enough, you can learn something. About five years ago, a ragtag group of activists walked into the Chicago Sun-Times newsroom raising a fuss about corruption in the city's Minority Business Enterprise program. They raved and ranted about blacks being fronts for white companies, about a bogus certification process, cronyism and "Negro" politicians who are re-elected every four years but do nothing to stop the corruption.
[...]
Our former editor in chief, Nigel Wade, let them rant for an hour, then showed them the door.

I'd pause before showing Sharpton the door.

xp Prairie State Blue

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The chips may fall, but ...

The Illinois House will convene in Springfield next Monday to debate a major gaming proposal announced in Chicago this morning. Two new casinos, one in Chicago and one elsewhere in the state, could unlock months of political stalemates, according to sponsors Reps. Lou Lang of Skokie and Bob Molaro of Chicago (I heard their press conference on the Internet through Capitol Fax). Or, that same plan could be a dud if it isn’t quickly followed up by separate but related plans to fund road and school construction projects and mass transit and education subsidies.

House Speaker Michael Madigan wrote a letter to legislators and labeled the gaming plan as a “compromise,” but even if all four legislative leaders and the governor agreed on the latest version, there’s a whole lot of back-and-forth that needs to happen before they agree on ways to distribute that money. It’s generally agreed that revenue will be split, with the largest chunk paying for road and school construction projects and the rest for increased education spending. However, Lang said they still have to decide whether the governor or the legislative leaders will have discretion in which projects get funded. And considering trust hasn’t been strong this year, that decision could take a while. In a phone conversation Monday, Lang said, “[The leaders] have yet to come to members and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to get a capital bill. You get X. Where’s your list?’ None of those things have happened yet.”

While Republicans will have this week to suggest tweaks to the gaming legislation, Lang said he’s “very confident” that this proposal or something like it will pass the House. Whether the Senate could support it is unknown. Cindy Davidsmeyer, spokeswoman for Senate President Emil Jones Jr., said in an e-mail that the leadership could support some issues but that it needs to see the actual language before moving forward. She also said session next week is possible, but nothing’s set in stone.

Major parts of the gaming plan include reissuing a legally challenged “10th license” that was previously marked for Rosemont. The plan also would create an 11th license. Chicago would get one of them to build a land-based casino owned by the city and operated by a private investor. All casinos in the state would be governed by a completely new, independent Gaming Board, Racing Board and Director of Gaming Enforcement. They’d work with ethics officers to oversee the bidding process for the two new licenses and manage the nine existing licenses.

Other details include:
- The owners of the two new licenses would have to open 25 percent of their ownership to minorities and women for as little as $5,000.
- The nine existing riverboats would gain a total of 3,500 new positions for a fee.
- The five racetracks would pay a fee to add slot machines.
- The Illinois Gaming Board would have to dedicate $5 million for compulsive gaming programs and kiosks.

If you’re curious about the pros and cons of legalized gambling and about what other states do with the money, check out the analysis provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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It's Quiz Time For Illinois Judicial Candidates

Almost 200 candidates for judicial offices in Illinois will be receiving the Illinois Civil Justice League's Judicial Candidate Questionnaire today and tomorrow. The candidates are seeking election to one of the 63 judicial vacancies that are on the Illinois ballot in 2008. For 37 of the candidates, as we described two weeks ago, "Election Day" is actually February 5, the date of the Illinois Primary Election. Those 37 primary winners will be unopposed in November and thus can begin planning for a move to a new office -- or Chamber -- as judicial offices are generally called.

One candidate, Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke, doesn't even have to worry about the primary. She is unopposed in the primary and unopposed in the General Election so the former appellate justice who was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Mary Ann McMorrow can look forward to ten more years of doing what she is doing right now. If she stays for that long (she's 63 now), she would likely assume the office of Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court sometime late in her term.

While there are a handful of other races, all at the Circuit Court level, in which candidates are unopposed, most will have opposition at least in the primary and in some situations, in the primary and General Election.

We expect candidates to begin returning their questionnaires within about two weeks and we have asked them to respond no later than January 5 so we can post their responses on our Judicial Candidates website, which can be found at www.IllinoisJudges.net. The site is in transition right now between 2006 and 2008 but it is current concerning judicial candidates for 2008 and it will include comprehensive information about all judicial candidates, whether they respond to the ICJL survey or not.

Most will respond. We have made it clear to all candidates that the information on the Illinois Judges website is straightforward and objective. We will include information they provide to us, unedited (except for correction of obvious misspellings or grammatical mistakes).

We also will include links to their websites, links to their campaign finance reports, newspaper or bar association endorsements of their campaigns, and statements of rebuttal if the ICJL endorses an opposing candidate.

Since ICJL began this service, more than 65% of the judicial candidates have responded. They included almost all of the candidates for the Supreme Court of Illinois, in both parties. Gordon Maag, candidate in the Fifth Judicial District in 2004 did respond but Justice Thomas Kilbride, candidate in the Third District in 2000, did not. Kilbride did express some of his views in a late letter to the ICJL.

This questionnaire has not changed substantially through the years. It has been carefully reviewed and minor tweaks have been made. Among the reviewers have been at least four sitting judges and leaders of several prominent lawyer organizations.

So here are the questions, and the answers will be posted in a few weeks.

ICJL 2008 Judicial Candidate Questionnaire

1. What steps do/would you, as an elected judge, take to maintain your independence from campaign contributors and special interest groups? Do you impose any limits beyond those required by law on contributions?

2. Illinois currently has a mixed system of selecting judges. Most are elected by voters, some are appointed to fill vacancies, and others (associates) are selected by other judges. Is this the best way to select judges and to ensure the highest quality judiciary? Are there specific reforms in the judicial selection process that you would like to see? What are the pros and cons of merit selection of judges vs. election? Should sitting judges run for re-election rather than retention?

3. What would you say to a frustrated voter faced with a ballot with dozens of judicial candidates, almost all of whom are unknown to the voter, about how to cast an informed ballot?

4. Has the recent Supreme Court decision on the First Amendment rights of judicial candidates altered your views on and/or approach to “campaigning” for judicial office?

5. In close cases, judges (particularly appellate judges) often have choices to make as to the direction in which they believe the law should go. In those circumstances, some of the greatest judges have been activists, others have practiced restraint, and others have followed no particular philosophy about the place of the judiciary in our system of separate branches sharing power. Which of these approaches/philosophies best captures your views of the proper role of judges in society?

6. It is often said that because the judiciary neither commands the sword nor the purse, its power and legitimacy rest on the persuasiveness of its opinions. Yet a large number of cases -- even cases worth large sums of money and presenting significant and/or novel legal issues -- are resolved in the Circuit Courts of Illinois through the issuance of one line orders that fail to give even an inkling of the Court's reasoning. Do you see this as a problem for the judiciary? If so, do you have any ideas on how to remedy the problem? How should orders – particularly those subject to appeal – be written? As a prospective circuit judge, do you believe the parties are entitled to the basis of your ruling including the findings of fact and your application of the law to those findings of fact? If an appellate candidate, please offer your thoughts.

7. Recently proponents of “Sunshine in Litigation” have sought legislation to eliminate or severely restrict the judicial entry of protective orders in litigation between private parties involving products that may be considered dangerous to the public. Opponents of these efforts argue that protective orders are necessary to ensure privacy, protect trade secrets and foster settlements. What is your view of the role which protective orders serve in the efficient resolution of private litigation? Do you agree that judges should have broad discretion to enter such orders when appropriate? How would you respond to each side of the debate?

8. Are there civil litigation reforms that you would like to see enacted to remedy particular problems that you have detected, either as a practicing lawyer or as a sitting judge? Are there reforms that would benefit the civil justice system? What needs to be changed? Should the enactment of any such changes be the province of the legislature, the Supreme Court or by Constitutional amendment?

9. Do you feel that our judicial system adequately deters and penalizes frivolous litigation? If not, what reforms would you like to see?

10. Do you believe the Illinois Constitution precludes legislative establishment of limitations on civil damages? Are there or should there be distinctions among economic, non-economic and punitive damages?

11. The so-called “English Rule,” where the loser pays, seems to be a popular concept among Illinois citizens. Do you believe that a “loser pays” requirement in civil cases would help reduce the number of frivolous civil lawsuits filed in Illinois? Are there reasons why Illinois should/should not consider such a rule?

-- Ed Murnane
Illinois Civil Justice League
December 10, 2007

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Nanny state update: Chicago legislator wants to ban aluminum bats for kids under 13

An article in this morning's Daily Herald gives horrifying details about a high school pitcher's facial injury that resulted from a line drive from a ball hit from a aluminum bat. The ballplayer was 17 at the time.

State legislator Robert Molaro (D-Chicago), wants a ban on aluminum bats for kids under 13--and the coaches or parents who ignore the ban "during a recreational baseball game" face a $500 fine.

Would this ban cover me? Several times last summer I lobbed some pitches to 11 year-old Little Marathon Pundit. She was using an aluminum bat. Would my homeowner's policy cover a $500 punishment?

Some believe that baseballs come off aluminum bats with more velocity. Possibly. What's for certain, is that little-leaguers 13 and under don't hit the ball with as much force--they're well, littler.

From the Daily Herald:

Several local little league directors, coaches and parents say such a ban is unnecessary and that there's no difference between the safety of a wood bat versus that of a metal bat.

But proponents say wood bats are safer because the ball doesn't come off as fast or go as far as those hit off metal bats. Wood bats also are better for teaching children the game, they say.

Phil Rizzo, who runs Little League District 13 -- covering 18 leagues in Bartlett, Hanover Park, Streamwood, South Elgin, Carpentersville and other suburbs -- wants coaches, players and their families to speak out against a state ban on metal bats.

"If we didn't believe it was safe, we would have gone to wooden bats a long time ago," Rizzo said.

A North Dakota high school organization bans the use of metal bats. Pennsylvania recently legislators rejected such a ban, but the New York City Council passed a bill prohibiting the use aluminum bats in high school games.

Interestingly, aluminum bats are used exclusively in NCAA college baseball, much to the frustration of Major League Baseball scouts, who are forced to ponder--"What kind of hitter is this guy going to be using a wooden bat?"

This is not Molaro's first brush with nanny-ism--Early this year he introduced a bill to ban the goose liver delicacy foie gras in Illinois.

For more on Nanny-ism, I recommend the book, Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children.

To comment on this post, or to vote in the Pajamas Media straw poll, click here.

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Bill Foster files for the special in IL-14

Bill Foster will file 1,832 signatures this morning for the special election in IL-14. They like to point out that's after a week with two ice storms and 8 inches of snow. I like to point out that it's a perfectly sufficient number to avoid a challenge.

I think they needed 870 or so, so 1,832 pads their total nicely and they were still able to do other stuff the past week.

I was out helping the Foster campaign in IL-14 yesterday. I was struck by a few things.

Something I had wondered about with the Foster campaign early on was whether or not they would be able to expand their base and their volunteer pool sufficiently. As I read through their volunteer board on the wall of the office yesterday, I really got it that they are doing the right things to diversify their support. I suspected they were doing all the right things before and I had no reason to think otherwise, but yesterday seriously cemented it in my brain.

Like every campaign should, they started out building upon Bill's personal and professional relationships for financial and volunteer support. One of the things that I look for in candidates is whether or not the candidate's former colleagues like and respect him or her enough to invest time and money in the campaign. Bill certainly passed that test with flying colors! How many candidates can you think of who have world class scientists (and their families) writing checks AND pounding the pavement for them?!

The Foster Scientific Brigade have continued to be out in full effect for Bill and the campaign has managed to recruit many new, enthusiastic supporters form very diverse communities! I've met college kids from Aurora University and Northern Illinois University. I saw several of the Fox Valley Forge strikers and their families. Teachers from Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and Elgin. Nurses from DeKalb, Aurora, and Oswego. At least two Kane County Board members and several other elected officials and their families. And, perhaps most importantly, many people who I know from firsthand experience who have the ability to influence large chunks of the voting bloc.

Couple this with the fact that Bill has raised the most money of any Democratic or Republican candidate (aside from his personal contribution) and has picked up some very impressive endorsements (AFSCME Council 31, Planned Parenthood, Senator Dick Durbin, and 19 Nobel Laureates among them!) and things are looking pretty good for the Foster campaign. I'm pretty happy with their progress thus far.

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Political Free Speech Versus Commercial Free Speech

In a Sunday post, I pointed out on McHenry County Blog that Democratic Party Congresswoman Melissa Bean was complaining about robo-calls made on behalf of 2006 Republican Party challenger David McSweeney.

Shawn left two comments. The first starts with a comment made by me:

"Apparently the congresswoman does not appreciate the difference between commercial speech and political speech—the most protected under the First Amendment."

This is just an asinine statement.

1.) Where do you see a distinction in the constitution between "commercial" speech and "political" speech? If you want to claim that we should interpret the constitution literally (ie "strict constructionalism"), then you can't claim distinctions that aren't explicitly made.

2.) Freedom of speech ensures that you are free to say what you like, when you like. It does not ensure that I have to listen to it. Calling my home invades my privacy and imposes your will upon me. I have a right to restrict/prohibit that kind of activity in my home. You have a right to urinate on your own floor if you so choose, but you can't do it in my home...

"3.) The calls in this case are deceptive. That might not be illegal, per se, but it tells an informed voter that their sponsors are unwilling/unable to identify their own candidate's merits." [Sorry. I missed this part of the comment when I copied it.]

Here is his second comment:

Lest there be any confusion, here's the text of the First Amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Please identify the passage(s) that emphasize greater protection for "political speech" rather than "commercial speech" (or any form of speech for that matter)....

For starters, let me admit that the calls made against Bean seem designed to hurt her chances of re-election.

But so were the calls the weekend before one election in the late 1990's when someone phoned lots of people saying I wanted people to be able to carry handguns in the supermarket checkout line.

No chance for rebuttal there, but clearly protected by the First Amendment, it seems to me.

So, just because a phone calling campaign is unfair or contains lies is not a reason for Congress to enact another law that would make it still harder for an incumbent to be unseated.

If an opponent wants to act inappropriately, let the voters punish him at the polls, I figure.

And, if an opponent gets elected by telling lies, the incumbent can always start a blog.

But, back to my contention that political speech has a higher value than commercial speech.

I knew I didn’t dream up that concept, so to Google’s search engine I went.

“Political ‘free speech’ vs commercial” brought me an article by Jay Huber entitled,

The High Cost of Free Speech
In U.S. courts, freedom of speech
increasingly means freedom to advertise

Here’s how Huber puts what I was talking about:

“Historically, advertising didn’t receive the same constitutional protection as political speech, one form of free speech the Founding Fathers had in mind when they drafted the First Amendment. Political speech was valued for its role in guiding us toward a more just, democratic society, ‘a more perfect union.’"

“…RIGHT: The Founding Fathers considered free speech an inviolable right of citizens, essential for self-expression and self-realization. although the First Amendment doesn't distinguish free speech from commercial speech or advertising, it's a pretty safe bet than a twelve-story billboard on 6th Avenue in Manhattan isn't what they had in mind.

“There’s no doubt that political speech was at the core of the Founders’s concerns when they drafted this phrase, and by its adoption they established an ideal that robust debate was healthier for the people than suppression. This notion took on a defining metaphor when Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes first wrote of the 'marketplace of ideas' in 1919, likening the proliferation of opinions to a cultural bazaar. Although Holmes was writing in dissent, the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence eventually backed him up…

“… the phrase 'commercial speech' did not even appear in any decision of any court of the United States until 1971.”

So, I reassert my contention that political speech is more important than commercial speech.

If you would like to read the “Central Hudson test” for regulating commercial speech, you can do so in Huber’s article.

If the content of political robo-calls are to be limited, then the content of political ads could be next.

Naturally, some organ of the government, that is, the incumbents would be in charge of the censorship.

That would not be good for democracy.

As Huber notes,

”…political speech once suppressed may stay squashed. “

And as Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in 1996 (which Huber quotes):

"The First Amendment directs us to be especially skeptical of regulations that seek to keep people in the dark for what the government perceives to be their own good."

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A bleak day in Carbondale: Salukis lose, Cynthia McKinney arrives

Yesterday in a cold rain, the Southern Illinois University Salukis lost a close game to Delaware in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals.

There was more sad news in Carbondale Saturday: former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) was in town.

McKinney, to the delight of many Democrats, has switched her party affiliation to the Greens--and to my amazement they seem glad to have her. She's now a presidential candidate, for the Greens of course.

Former socialist Rich Whitney was the Green Party candidate for governor last year--the Greenies who chime at Marathon Pundit deny it, but Whitney received 10 percent of the vote last November because of the tremendous disatisfaction of the two major party candidates, Democrat Rod Blagojevich and Republican Judy Baar Topinka. "Blago" won, but now has approval ratings lower than those of President Bush--who's not very popular in Illinois--I like him though, and so do a lot of my friends.

Topinka's image never recovered from a bruising primary battle, and she couldn't match Blagojevich's fundraising haul.

McKinney is of course the same woman who slugged a Capitol Hill police officer, then blamed the whole thing on racism. In 2001, she said that President Bush had prior knowledge to the 9/11 attacks. In the past she surrounded herself with anti-Semites--including her father.

She even pulled the race card on Al Gore, stating in 2000, that Gore's "Negro tolerance level has never been too high."

Here's what Rich Whitney had to say about McKinney yesterday, all quotes come from the Southern Illinoisan:

Cynthia McKinney is the best candidate to represent the Green Party in 2008.

Also..

When most fellow Democrats stood down in the stolen elections, Cynthia McKinney was one of the few who stood up.

And...

She may not have known it until recently, but she belonged in the Green Party all along.

There's good news for the Democratic Party though. Here's what McKinney said about her former party:

My values are not represented by the party I used to be a part of.

To comment on this post, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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Burge

So this is how the thread ends: Settlement is good, but doesn't close case on Burge

Sun Times wants to pursue Burge,

And there's the matter of Burge, who was fired in 1993 but is living comfortably on his $2,500-a-month police pension.

Finding a way to cut him off and prosecute him must be a priority. Only then will our long Burge nightmare, and its outrageous drain on city coffers, be over.

We ought worry more about a system where torture became routine.

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Throwing Laesch under the bus

A comment by Carl Nyberg over at Prairie State Blue on Planned Parenthood's endorsement of Foster in the primary.

A significant number of key people have decided they can't back Laesch. In fact, some of them have decided they will oppose Laesch no matter what.

I feel like these judgments have been rendered unfairly in most cases.

I also think that the attacks on Laesch are unfair enough that it will create a real problem for Foster.

Foster probably should do something to de-escalate the nastiness, especially the unfair attacks on Laesch.

If Laesch is denied the nomination by b/c people perceived that key players won't work with Laesch, Laesch's supporters have a certain incentive to jam Foster on that very point.

Laesch not my kind of Democrat. He's the now pervasive kind of Democrat who's taken over, and made it impossible for Lieberman style Liberals to find a home there.

But Laesch has been a tireless campaigner for Progressivism in Il-14 --as Progressivisms now become-- and it seems he deserves a little better.

He's your party Democrats, with a program more consistent with where the party's been the past six years, than the candidate those key people want to field in Il-6.

Maybe the Lieberman Dem's don't belong in the party, and Lieberman Liberals should leave it to the Laeschites, but those muddling key people, who's principles sway with the winds of polls, seem the least appealing of all. I hope Laesch supporters do, as Carl wrote, jam Foster on that point.

xp Bill Baar's West Side

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Former State Rep Bill Edley might toss his hat in ring for 18th District run

I spoke by phone to former State Rep. Bill Edley (D-95, Macomb) a few moments ago. He was just as shocked as everyone else by Dick Versace's decision to drop out of the race for Congress. In fact, he had sent a campaign donation to Versace's campaign a week or so earlier.

But the former state representative might consider asking the county chairs of the Democratic Party in the 18th District to place his name on the ballot for the general election.

"I would think the Democrats would find many people Interested in running," Edley said. "If they don't, I would consider it."

Edley thinks Versace's campaign wobbled at bit at the beginning, but the ideal strategy for the Democrats is to let the Republicans beat each other up in the primary, spending time and money and generating hurt feelings within their party. That's still going to happen between now and when the Democratic Party chairs pick a replacement after the primary election on February 5. The general election happens nine months later on Nov. 4, giving the eventual Democratic candidate plenty of time.

"In some respects it really not a bad situation for the Democrats," Edley said. "We've made these things way too long, anyway."

Edley did not have kind words for Aaron Schock, the current 92nd District state representative who is considered by some to the the most likely nominee from among a field of three in the GOP primary. Jim McConoughey, CEO of the Heartland Partnership, and former Peoria City Council member John Morris also are putting up credible campaigns to be the one to replace Ray LaHood in the 18th District.

"He's in way over his head. He's a self promoter," Edley said of the 26-year-old Schock. Edley complained that Schock is basing his decisions on conservative ideology, not practical experience, as demonstrated by the positions taken during his campaign kick off speech. One such position was that the United States ought to use the threat of nuclear weapons sales to Taiwan to pressure China to change it's behavior with Iran.

"You could see the kid written it himself and never vetted it with any one."

ALSO: Kudos to the Journal Star's Brenda Rothert for breaking the story about Dick Versace dropping out. Karen McDonald, whose beat includes the 18th District race, managed to get reaction from state and local pols. She also bylined this story, based on a Congressional Quarterly report, about how Aaron Schock is one of the top donation-getters in this year's congressional races.

Oh, and you know that totally unfair and unfounded rumor that Cindy Ardis-Jenkins was running for the Republican nomination for Aaron Schock's 92nd District Illinois House seat only because she would be willing to drop out of the race is he didn't win the GOP nomination for the 18th District seat in Congress? After all, she works for Schock as his neighborhood liaison. Well, the deadline for dropping out is Wednesday, and she considering dropping out. Good catch by Karen McDonald, who had a busy day yesterday.

Adris-Jenkins' brother is Jim Ardis, who happens to be mayor if the City of Peoria, the biggest city in the 18th district. He's endorsed Jim McConoughey. One hopes politics doesn't come up during holiday get togethers.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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Sacrifices

Flags will be at half-staff today, the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It always hits home. I spent more than a year of my undergraduate studies interviewing World War II veterans for a marketing research book for the University of Illinois Food and Brand Lab (then in Champaign-Urbana, now at Cornell University in New York). I spent about two hours interviewing each veteran, typically in his 80s. It was heartbreaking to see them cry when they talked about the number of friends they lost while overseas, and they never really told you all the details of the things they went through. It was difficult to see the widows and widowers sit in their homes, remembering those details and being surrounded by black-and-white pictures of the time.

What feels even worse is to consider statistics about the number of veterans who don’t even have homes. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which reports that about one third of the nation’s homeless are veterans. That’s at least 195,000 people on any given night. About 45 percent of them have a form of mental illness. Many more also suffer from substance abuse.

The federal VA system has numerous initiatives to address homeless veterans. In Illinois, the Veterans Cash scratch-off lottery game does generate about $3 million a year, some of which helps pay for homeless initiatives. But many veterans either feel ashamed to ask for help or don’t know they qualify for the programs or benefits.

The need will only grow as more men and women come home from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, the need has already affected the state’s program G-I Loan for Heroes that administers low-interest mortgages and helps with down payments for veterans. The Illinois Housing Development Authority says 275 veterans have applied, leading the administration to double the available money from $15 million to $30 million since it started. And according to Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, there’s potential to secure another $15 million.

“This program would not be as wildly successful as it is if there was not a desperate need among our veterans of that age group, those young guys coming home, the 20- to 40-year-olds,” Duckworth said at a Springfield policy luncheon last month. “I just think it’s ironic that the people who fought and were willing to lay down their lives for other people to pursue their American dreams are the ones who are having some of the toughest time accessing their American dreams for themselves and for their family members.”

Here’s more from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

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An Illinois Con-Con Blog

I posted on my blog a video provided by The Capitol Fax YouTube channel where there was a discussion about the possible constitutional convention in 2010, that is if Illinois voters vote in the affirmitive for it.

Well I write about it to mention that someone left a comment and this individual posted a link to a blog, Con-Con Illinois 2010, where they propose changed to the state constitution. I'm a proponent of bringing back proportional representation to the state at least for the House of Representatives. This individual wants to go much further.

This individual wants to institute a unicameral (or one-house) legislature to the state of Illinois. In addition to provided for a system of proportional represention for this legislature. This one house legislature will be much larger than the members of the House of Representatives before the cut-back amendment. Let's see 177 pre-1982 in the Illinois House vs. a proposed 249 in the proposed unicameral.

This individual is going further than I'd go, but it's worth a discussion here. So let's see here proposals that could be discussed at the state constitutional convention are school-funding, public pensions, recall, eminent domain, proportional representation, and now a unicameral legislature. If there's anything else that should be discussed at the convention should one be held now is the time to speak on it!

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Coal-To-Liquids: Not So Fast

The coal rush slowed yesterday when the company seeking to turn coal into diesel fuel at a plant in East Dubuque shelved the proposal.

Getting auto fuel from coal basically doubles the global warming pollution that comes out of a car.

Sierra Club fought the proposal, primarily because the company, Rentech, made no commitments to deal with their global warming pollution.

According to Verena Owen, chair of the Sierra Club's Illinois Clean Energy Campaign:

"Over 30 Sierra Club volunteers from Iowa and Illinois showed up and spoke up at the hearing for the Rentech facility, facing 200 some Rentech supporters. We have been working with the NRDC office in Chicago to develop comments. Rentech knows we are serious.

It is noteworthy that Rentech pulled out not only over carbon regulation uncertainty but also because of economic factors. It is clear that CTL will need substantial state and federal financing in order to get off the ground, even in Mississippi. We will have to work on not giving hand-outs to this new market for dirty coal. We can't drill or mine ourselves out of global warming."

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Be prepared for the "Re-Elect" reports and beware of the numbers

Cross Posted from Fako & Associates' Political Polling Blog.

Around this time of year you'll start to notice newspapers reporting "re-elect" numbers in their headlines and press releases and fundraising memos from candidates stating Congressman XX has a re-elect number of only XX% (Always way below 50%).

They will arrive from a few different forms of questions…

Thinking about the 'upcoming' election for U.S. Congress, do you think you will vote to reelect (NAME OF CONGRESSMAN), will you consider voting for someone else, or do you think you will vote to elect someone else?

Do you think most of the Democrats in Congress deserve to be reelected, or not?

Do you think (NAME OF OFFICIAL), the Representative in Congress from your district has performed his or her job well enough to deserve reelection, or do you think it's time to give a new person a chance?

These "re-elect" question may take other forms as well.

Beware of these numbers when reported on their own, without other supporting information.

"Re-elect" questions, in our experience, usually reflect suppressed levels of support for candidates and don’t show a true status of an incumbent's re-election standing. For example, in 2006 we polled in a Midwestern congressional district for a prospective challenger. The incumbent had a very low (26%) re-elect number, but that same official had nearly a 50% positive job approval rating and a personal favorability rating that was twenty points higher than the re-elect assessment. We've seen similar discrepancies between re-elect questions and other incumbent assessment items in our surveys and other polls throughout the years.

The "Re-Elect" question, in its various forms, should never be interpreted on its own as the tell-tale sign of an incumbent's prospects. It should only be factored in the evaluation when it is accompanied by related questions whose data also support its conclusion.

Accompanying indicators should include such measurements as job approval ratings, personal favorability ratings, and trial heat numbers. Job performance is the best indicator of whether a politician is meeting the expectations of his or her electorate. Job performance is almost always the best indicator of an incumbent's current re-election chances. Personal favorability ratings will reveal the depth and which direction voter sentiment leans towards an incumbent. The personal favorability rating identifies if an incumbent's ratings are driven by soft -- passive name ID, simple partisanship, or if there is real, personal like / dislike and, intense and deep favorable / unfavorable sentiment behind the official's ratings. The trial heat will place the candidate in a ballot simulation with another candidate(s), complicating the election by injecting numerous factors, including party labels and, not the least of which being the level of recognition and personal favorability voters feel towards the challenger(s). These factors, taken in the whole, provide a comprehensive review of an incumbent’s prospects.

Re-elect questions can be useful when interpreted and reported in conjunction with these other related factors, but should never be considered a strong, accurate read on an incumbent if reported independent of other variables.

So, we advise anybody who reads a news story, gets a press release, or sees a fundraising memo proclaiming an incumbent is in dire straits because of some low re-elect number to ask for other supporting data to verify such a conclusion.

[Note: For the reasons stated above and to ensure credibility and accuracy in our surveys, Fako & Associates rarely asks re-elect questions in our polls. When clients request the use of the question, we will only use and report it in conjunction with other questions such as personal favorability and job performance ratings.]

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Just in Case You Think the Only Corrupt People are Politicians

There are business crooks, too.

And U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has indicted two such alleged crooks today.

George Konjuch, a former LaSalle Bank first vice president in charge of security is charged with

“allegedly” accepting “$400,000 in cash and other benefits in return for steering tens of millions of dollars worth of “above market-price(d) for preventative maintenance on security equipment and other services” to Armando Navarrete and his company, Navarrete Industries, doing business as “Integrated Security Solutions” and “INS.”

From 2001 through 2006, the security firm over billed LaSalle and the bank that bought LaSalle, ABM AMRO.

When’s the last time you heard of a politician getting $400,000 in bribes?

The overcharging is said to have been $45 million.

Less than a one percent kickback, as I figure it.

There is one similarity to the charges brought against former Governor George Ryan.

Both were alleged to have received wedding presents for their children in their indictments.

You can read the entire press release here. Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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Chicago's Lincoln Square faces eminent domain threat

HOW TO SAVE LINCOLN SQUARE

This post comes from Tom Mannis' The Bench blog.

The City of Chicago is in the process of authorizing the acquisition of a block of thriving businesses in Lincoln Square in order to give the land to a private developer. The targeted block is located in the Western Avenue North Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, and if the city approves the acquisition of our businesses, they can use eminent domain to seize our property if we don't sell.

Eminent domain is supposed to be for public uses, things like roads and schools – not to give our successful small businesses to wealthy, politically-connected developers.

We are not blighted, and we are not for sale.
Come to a community meeting at Chicago Soccer this Wednesday to hear why we’re TIFed off, how it affects you, and what you can do to help.

Wednesday, December 5th, @ 7pm
Chicago Soccer ● 4839 N. Western Avenue ● Chicago, IL 60625
Free food and drinks will be served.

Speakers will include:
Imre Hidvegi, Chicago Soccer
David Smarinsky, The Dental Corner
Tim Le, Decorium Furniture
Christina Walsh, Castle Coalition Coordinator, Institute for Justice
If you have any questions, please contact Imre at 773-271-2255.
www.SaveLincolnSquare.com

Contact Alderman Schulter at 773-348-8400 or ward47@cityofchicago.org and tell him you oppose the use or threat of eminent domain for private development in the Western Avenue North TIF area.

Send us your comments at speakup@savelincolnsquare.com and we'll post them on the site.

Speaking for myself--John Ruberry here--these folks are right on the money. Lincoln Square is a pleasant community that does not need "urban renewal."

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Warthogs

I’ve never met Cook County Commissioner William Beavers, but the Chicago Sun-Times editorial cartoon of him on Thursday as a warthog.

In the cartoon, warthog Beavers looks really dangerous.

Downright mean.

One might be tempted to say he invited the characterization by referring to himself as "the hog with big nuts."

Since we were just in Disney World and I took photographs of a warthog, I thought I’d compare the real thing to cartoonist J.P. Schmelzer’s imagination.

Make the comparison yourself between an African warthog and what the Sun-Times labels “Hogzilla Beavers.”

And, you can enlarge either image from McHenry County Blog by clicking on it.

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A Sobering Reality, And An Amusing Spat

Sometimes these weekly commentaries seem to write themselves. This is one of those weeks and it’s just as well as a week away from the office would force to late night homework to catch up.

But it’s not necessary. What needs to be read has been authored by others and we’ll just pass it along in case it’s been missed.

While on a brief vacation, I read the moving book by ABC newsman Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee. Woodruff, you’ll recall, was nearly killed in a road-side bombing attack in Iraq shortly after he was appointed co-anchor of ABC’s Nightly News.

You’ll agree it’s a miracle he survived if you read the book, In An Instant.

And assuming you pay attention to what is usually written here, you won’t be surprised to read this paragraph by Bob Woodruff. It appears in the "afterword" of In An Instant, on page 280:

‘I’ve been told that if my injury had happened in an American city or in an earlier war, I would most likely have died or have suffered serious permanent brain damage. Even in America, there are few trauma centers that would do a hemicraniectomy without hesitation; this is attributable to the number of skilled surgeons available to do the procedure, as well as to the fear of litigation in our country.’

Who instills that fear of litigation? Read On.

A Case of Trial Lawyers v. Trial Lawyers
(Washington Post November 30, 2007)

Largest Association Sues Upstart, Asserting Ownership Of Discarded Acronym

Trial lawyers sue each other all the time. Now they are suing each other over what to call themselves.

Millions of dollars of membership fees from plaintiff's attorneys could be at stake, as well as bragging rights in a profession filled with famously massive egos.

The confrontation began last year when the nation's largest and most politically powerful trial lawyers' organization dropped the not-so-popular words "trial lawyers" from its title and substituted "justice." So the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) became the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

Around that time a prominent group of attorneys quietly began forming an organization that might compete with AAJ. This fall they solicited thousands of AAJ's 56,000 members to join. The group's name: The American Trial Lawyers Association, or TheATLA. Its Web site is http://www.theatla.com.

TheATLA says it is not trying to rip off the name of the country's premier trial lawyer lobbying group or even to compete with AAJ. "The name defines who we are and what we do," said J. Keith Givens, TheATLA's main founder and a senior partner in the national law firm founded by the late Johnnie Cochran, of O.J. Simpson fame. Givens, a well-known Alabama plaintiff's lawyer, asserted that AAJ abandoned the name ATLA last year, freeing up its use. Besides, he said, his group is TheATLA, which is different.

AAJ disagrees. Two weeks ago, it filed suit in federal court in Minneapolis to force TheATLA to drop the name, contending it was confusing AAJ members and infringing a trademark AAJ has held since 1976 on the acronym ATLA. In typical trial lawyer fashion, the suit also demands that AAJ get any profits that TheATLA collects, as well as damages, "trebled where permissible," and attorneys' fees.

A separate organization, the Irvine, Calif.-based American College of Trial Lawyers, also went to federal court this month in Montgomery, Ala., to prevent the Givens group from calling itself the American Trial Lawyers Association, a name, it says, is too close to its own.
You can read the balance of this story here (PDF).

But you should also read this one if you haven’t seen it.

The Trial Bar On Trial
(Commentary: Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2007)

". . . it ain't but three people in the world that know anything . . ."

The barons of the tort bar must have thought 2007 would be a very good year: Some of their biggest cases (Katrina, Enron) were set to pay out, and a Democratic Congress meant no more worries about legal reform. Talk about reversal of fortune: As the year ends, we are witnessing nothing short of the dismantling of what are alleged to be major tort criminal enterprises.

Bill Lerach, the king of class actions, stands disgraced as an admitted felon. His former partners at Milberg Weiss face trial for being part of the same kickback scheme as Lerach. Federal prosecutors continue to pursue a criminal probe into asbestos and silicosis litigation fraud. And now comes the indictment of Mississippi tort legend Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who is trying to soak insurance companies the way he once did Big Tobacco.

On Wednesday, Mr. Scruggs and four cohorts were indicted for trying to bribe a state judge in exchange for favorable rulings. The indictment reads like something out of a bad John Grisham novel, complete with piles of cash delivered secretly and wiretapped conversations featuring phrases like "bodies buried." The accused claim to be innocent, but our reading of the indictment is that they are going to need very good defense counsel.

The alleged conspiracy flows from litigation after Hurricane Katrina. The Scruggs Law Firm established a tort consortium called the Scruggs Katrina Group to shake down the insurance industry for not paying enough in claims, even though most homeowner policies excluded flood damage. Not atypically, a dispute emerged between Mr. Scruggs and one of the group's attorneys, John Griffin Jones, over how to divide the $26.5 million in attorneys' loot from a mass settlement with State Farm Insurance Co.

Full Commentary (PDF).

-- Ed Murnane
Illinois Civil Justice League
December 3, 2007

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Child's Play

Just when you think that you've seen it all in political campaigns, along comes something so absurd that you just have to shake your head.

In their attempt to PROVE, without a doubt, that Sen. Obama has been planning on running for President forever, the Clinton campaign put out a press release yesterday with quotes from (I swear I'm not making this up) Obama's THIRD GRADE TEACHER and KINDERGARTEN TEACHER. The release states in part:

In third grade, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want To Be a President.' His third grade teacher: Fermina Katarina Sinaga "asked her class to write an essay titled 'My dream: What I want to be in the future.' Senator Obama wrote 'I want to be a President,' she said." [The Los Angeles Times, 3/15/07]

In kindergarten, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want to Become President.’ "Iis Darmawan, 63, Senator Obama's kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. He wrote an essay titled, 'I Want To Become President,' the teacher said."
[AP, 1/25/07 ]

If they wanted to try to make their point via Barack's words and actions as an adult, fair enough. But to cite a kindergarten essay in support of their position is simply absurd. Let me congratulate the Clinton camp for resetting the bar when it comes to trivializing Presidential politics.

To read or post comments, visit Open House

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Bill Foster TV Ads

Here are his two TV ads. The first on Iraq.



The next on Foster as businessman and geek: Foster Secures the Endorsements 23 of Nobel Prize Winners



All the Democrats I know in the 14th are ultra Liberals and their hearts are with Laesch. Their still passionate about Iraq (and oddly silent on Afganistan). I'm not sure Foster as candidate of the Nobel winners will sway them much.

I guess it depends on how much they watch TV.

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Chicago Museum Says Vote4Me!

From NY Times' blog The Caucus...

The hoards of shoppers along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue can find respite from the holiday hustle and bustle at a new museum exhibit that deconstructs the presidential election cycle.

Vote4Me! Inside a Presidential Election is the latest addition to the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, which is dedicated to the understanding and preservation of First Amendment rights.

At the start of the exhibition, visitors watch a video that congratulates them for deciding to run for office. They meet their five top staff members – a campaign manager, political director, press secretary, communications director and finance chairman – who’ll guide them along the path to Election Day.

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Don't believe the call for reform by "Junior"

I've been writing at length about the worst govermental body in the nation, Illinois' Cook County goverment. In today's Chicago Tribune, I came across this gem of an op-ed:

From the Tribune, free registration is required:

Well, here it is: John Stroger, who is beloved and remains in our prayers, managed one of the largest fraud-ridden bureaucracies known to man, Cook County government.

That massive bureaucracy was handed down by vested interest to his son, Todd, whose sole focus is to protect a huge patronage army—an army fed by increasingly overtaxed citizens, who, ironically, are rewarded with a steady erosion of the health care and county services they deserve.

Stroger's outrageous $888 million tax hike plan would add 1,100 new jobs—after laying off hundreds of nurses and frontline health-care providers. It shortchanges the sheriff's police—but adds "administrative" jobs, apparently for Stroger's families and friends.

Hoping to obscure this ugly truth is dinosaurus-erectus, a.k.a. Stroger's floor leader and self-professed "hog with the big nuts," County Commissioner William Beavers. He seeks to deflect attention from bloated incompetent mismanagement by saying opponents to Stroger's taxes are racists.

Which Republican wrote that?

Trick question: It was a Democrat, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Chicago).

Great stuff, Junior. But Jesse's son also leaves out a couple of details. The Jackson clan and the Beavers clan have been feuding for over a decade. In February, Junior's wife, Sandi, defeated William Beaver's handpicked successor as Chicago's 7th Ward alderman, his daughter Darcel. In three months, Sandi Jackson will try to unseat William Beavers to become the 7th Ward Democratic Committeeman.

Junior has asked the Federal Elections Commission for permission to transfer funds from his political warchest into his wife's, just as he did in the aldermanic campaign.

Jesse Junior's plea for reform appears in the op-ed section of the Tribune, but that doesn't let the paper off the hook. The editorial editors should've prefaced Jackson's piece mentioning the upcoming ward race and February's aldermanic contest.

Amazingly, of the 43 Tribune commenters who've chimed in Junior's stirring but deceptive rhetoric, only one, "Merrill" sees Jackson for what he is.

Dear Mr. Jackson:

When you think of youself, your wife's, and familiy's own political ambitions, I hope that you factor in your own desires about replacing Todd's patronage people with your own. I have met you in person and found you to be super arrogant and self-absorbed. Now you are writing in a conservative newspaper to try and further your own political greed at the expense of the poor, sick and underemployed.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. is not a reformer.

To comment on this post, please visit Marathon Pundit.

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The Peraica Balanced Budget Plan

I got an email from the Peraica for State's Attorney campaign advertising that he will appear on FOX Chicago Sunday and NBC5's City Desk on Sunday morning. Also he provided a link to his budget plan for Cook County. I thought it deserved some play here.

- Calls for a modest reduction of 2% of the FY2007 appropriation level for most departments. The heads of these departments are the best position to know how to best appropriate the funds that their departments receive.

- Reduces the FY 2007 level for the Cook County Recorder of Deeds by 25%.

- Eliminates the TB Sanitarium District. The department of public health is equipped to handle any and all TB issues that arise.

- Eliminates the Police Department at John Stroger Hospital, which was supposed to be disbanded by September 2007, but was given a reprieve at the 11th hour.

- Calls for the elimination of duplicative administrative positions throughout the Cook County Bureau of Health. Examples include the Human Resource Departments in the Bureau of Health that have been absorbed by the Department of Human Resources.

- President Stroger claims there is a $230 million deficit in the budget, yet wants to clear it up by imposing $1 billion per year in new taxes. The deficit statistics given by the Stroger administration change with great frequency, thus making it difficult to determine what the real deficit level is.

- Even if the currently offered statistics were true, they do not justify adding $1 billion per year in new taxes. What do they plan to do with the additional $670 million?

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