GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 31, 2009

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
-- Political parties exist to elect candidates who can and will defend/advance their platforms. Generally, those who become U.S. Senators are Congressmen, State Senators, and State Representatives. QUESTION: Why aren't any Illinois Republican Congressmen, Senators, or Representatives who support all the planks in the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) platform running against Mark Kirk? ANSWER: Tragically and outrageously, very few Illinois Republican Congressmen, Senators, and Representatives support all the planks in the IRP platform, and, the Democrats and RINOs who dominate the IRP have made it clear that the more planks in the IRP platform that a candidate supports, the harder that they work against that candidate. - Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

ABC7
-- Sen. John McCain stumps for Rep. Mark Kirk - Sarah Schulte
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6990493

DAILY HERALD
-- McCain endorses Kirk in bid for Burris' senate seat - Steve Zalusky (ONE OF THE COMMENTS POSTED ON THE ARTICLE: The Illinois GOP still doesn't get it do they? Just whose vote are they trying to capture with an endorsement by the RINO McCain for the RINO Kirk? Do they realize McCain only got 36.9% of the vote in Illinois against a community organizer socialist? Kirk has proven his contempt for conservatism with his support of Cap and Trade, abortion, gun control, higher CAFE standards, prohibiting ANWR oil development, amnesty for illegals, and more. Perhaps the GOP here hopes to capture a few Democrats who just can't make up their minds which liberal they want the most.) (DIERSEN QUESTION: Crossover voting is a terrible problem. What percentage of those who voted for McCain in the 2008 primary election voted for Obama in the 2008 general election?)
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=317669
-- GOP targets Foster on health care - Joseph Ryan
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=317628
-- Is Bush lurking in Obamaland? - Rueben Navarrette (FROM THE COMMENTARY: How's that for "change we can believe in"? So what gives? Here are three options: Either Obama is learning that being president is much more difficult than running for president, or he's a bigger pragmatist than we thought, or he never really believed President Bush was as bad he made him out to be during the campaign. And whatever brought them to this point, Obama supporters only have two options: Stand by their man, or their principles.) (DIERSEN: When Bush ran in 2000, he ran as someone who would defend/advance the Republican Party platform. But after he was elected, outrageously, he made it clear that he rejected many important planks in the Republican Party platform. Because of that, the Republican Party lost control of the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and the Executive Branch.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=317334
-- Should have asked us what we thought - Katherine Anne Hedlund, Buffalo Grove
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=316790&src=

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
-- Obama’s health care tactics just like those he used in state Senate in 2004 Accusing critics of 'fear-mongering' was tactic he used in state Senate days - Lynn Sweet and Dave McKinney
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/1744034,CST-NWS-sweet31.article
-- Rep. Peter Roskam and Obama on health care, a replay from 2004 Illinois senate debate - Lynn Sweet
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/08/rep_peter_roskam_and_obama_on.html
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Esther J. Cepeda wants candidates in Illinois to promote their race and national origin. According to page 486 of the 2010 Ammanac of American Politics, 65.3% of Illinois residents are White, 14.6% are Black, 14.6% are Hispanic, and 4.1% are Asian. 16.7% of Illinois residents are of German national origin, 10.4% Irish, and 6.3% Polish. http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/1743767,CST-EDT-esther31.article
-- State contractors hire Madigan's law firm Illinois House speaker: no laws broken, no conflict of interest - Chris Fusco and Tim Novak (FROM THE ARTICLE: The law firm of House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is also chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, won a property tax break for Andrew McKenna Sr., whose son Andy McKenna was chairman of the Illinois Republican Party at the time. Two years ago, the elder McKenna hired the Madigan & Getzendanner law firm to fight a 70 percent increase in the assessed value on his $4 million mansion in Winnetka. Madigan's firm got Cook County Assessor James Houlihan to scale back the increase to 60 percent. That saved McKenna $4,898 in property taxes.)
http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/1743915,CST-NWS-watchdogs31.article

MT. CARMEL REGISTER
-- Budget trouble ‘the norm’ -- Cost-paring everywhere, senator Righter says - Phil Gower
http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2009/08/31/mtcarmelregister/news/news1.txt

NBC5
-- Cross Squashes Tax Hike House GOP leader said to have personally killed income tax hike - Steve Rhodes
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/Cross-Checked-56336272.html
-- Trusting Quinn -- A lesson for the University of Illinois community - Steve Rhodes
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/Trusting-Quinn-56330532.html

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
-- TRAGIC: Support lacking in Springfield for video poker ban - Deana Poole (DIERSEN: QUESTIONS: Tragically, what does that say about those who represent Springfield voters? Tragically, what does that say about those who elected them? ANSWER: They reject the prosperity and safety that Republican principles bring. They want the poverty and crime that Democrat/RINO principles bring.)
http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1566715248/Video-gambling-to-get-green-light-in-Springfield
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Gov. Pat Quinn used his amendatory veto power last week to make it easier for voters t to block video gaming in individual communities. In an Aug. 25 veto message for Senate Bill 1595 - a bill mainly designed to make sure that off-track betting parlors are not too close to schools — Quinn added a change in another part of gaming law. Current law allows a municipality or county to ban video gaming by referendum, but to get the question on a ballot, at least 25 percent of “the legal voters” of that municipality or county must sign petitions. Under Quinn’s proposed change, townships are added to municipalities and counties among units of government that can prohibit gambling. Quinn also wants a lesser signature requirement. The required number would be 11 percent of votes cast in the last regular election conducted in that unit of government. In his veto message, Quinn wrote that, “it is important that we allow local communities the opportunity to define the gaming that occurs within their communities. . .When it comes to important decisions facing our communities, each person deserves to have his or her voice heard. That is why I propose that a referendum held under the Video Gaming Act be subject to the same requirements imposed on other referenda under the Election Code.” For the change to take effect, the Senate and House both must approve it by majority vote. A two-thirds vote of each house to override the changes also could enact the underlying bill without the governor’s changes.)
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Needless-to-say, I do not agree with everything in Martin's comment on the Schoenburg article, but I give Martin credit for not hiding behind some phony name. http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x1886192877/Bernard-Schoenburg-GOP-far-from-settled-on-Senate-nod

SOUTHTOWN STAR
-- How far will Hynes go in bid for governor? - Rich Miller (FROM THE COMMENTARY: As any loyal party member should do, Hynes ought to think long and hard about how far he can go before he damages his own side, no matter the outcome. The last two Republican gubernatorial primaries were so nasty and divisive that they contributed significantly to their party's general election losses. And the last time an incumbent Democratic governor lost a primary, in 1976, the Republicans won the governor's mansion and held on to power for 26 years. On balance, though, I think Quinn probably needs this primary race. It'll give us all a chance to see what he's really made of.)http://www.southtownstar.com/news/miller/1743756,083109miller.article

NAPERVILLE SUN
-- Let the games begin. . .or not? - Kathy Cichon (FROM THE ARTICLE: As of last Wednesday, the city had received about 100 comments. Wanna bet which way residents are leaning? "The vast majority is in opposition," said Dan Di Santo, assistant to the city manager. "At this stage, it's probably around 85 percent.)http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/napertalk/1744006,6_4_NA31_PAGE2COL_S1-090831.article

BEACON NEWS
-- Aurora seeks resident views on best use of community development block grant funds - Andre Salles (DIERSEN: Democrats constantly argue that Republicans are "rich" and that Democrats are "poor." Given that, of course, Democrats want community development block grant funds [funds which overwhelmingly come from Republicans] to be spent on Democrats.) http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1743924,2_1_AU31_SURVEY_S1-090831.article
(FROM THE ARTICLE: HUD has specific guidelines for block grant funds: 70 percent of the city's grant must go to benefit low- and moderate-income people, and every expense must either alleviate slum or blight conditions or meet other urgent community needs. Hence, the survey, which is designed to find out which areas of the city need which services. The survey breaks down data into the city's six ZIP codes and asks respondents to rate their neighborhoods in a number of categories, including "places to bike" and "places that are safe after dark." It then asks which projects and services the neighborhoods need more of, including those to replace or repair blighted buildings, or encourage small business developments, or bring in more senior centers and youth centers. The data is broken down by race and ethnicity which, under HUD standards, are different categories. That's why one of the questions asks respondents to describe themselves or their household as "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino." Neighborhood Redevelopment Director Michael Kamon said data collected for HUD (and for federal census data) must be separated this way.)
-- OUTSTANDING: Alternative to Planned Parenthood moves in Waterleaf Center will strive to counsel, assist pregnant women - David Garbe
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1743997,2_1_AU31_WATERLEAF_S1-090831.article

ALTON TELEGRAPH
-- Dillard seeks GOP nod for governor - Steve Whitworth
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/area-30653-dillard-illinois.html

THE SOUTHERN
-- Study: More than half of children will engage in sexual behavior before 13 - Bonnie Miller Rubin (DIERSEN: This tragic fact is a direct result of liberalism. Liberalism is what the Democrat Party platform promotes. People who vote for Democrats promote liberalism and therefore promote promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, out-of-wedlock births, and abortion. How many sexually transmitted diseases does your son/daughter have? How many girls has your son gotten pregnant? How many out-of-wedlock births has your daughter had? How many abortions has your daughter had?)http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2009/08/31/breaking_news/doc4a9b35a8074d3159758852.txt

CHAMPION NEWS
-- Mark Kirk attempts to con a group of conservatives - Doug Ibendahl
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=2061
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Something else happened on Sunday that hasn't been reported. Prior to the event with McCain, Kirk held a private meeting with about 30 conservatives from the area. These were reportedly folks who had concerns about Kirk's liberal voting record. Sources tell Champion News that Kirk tried to keep the focus on areas where he differed from the Democrats. And as we've all seen before, he tried to gloss-over his many bad votes. Republicans need to be aware of the lengths this guy will go to secure the Republican nomination. Mark Kirk apparently tried to bamboozle the assembled on several fronts - but here's just one example. We're told that Kirk attempted to satisfy the pro-lifers in attendance by saying he would just have to agree to disagree with them on most of their concerns. But he wanted everyone to know that he - unlike the Democrats - opposes the use of tax money to fund abortions. But here's the problem. It's just not true. Actions speak louder than words. Just last month Kirk voted to keep taxpayer money flowing to abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Kirk has also voted to allow U.S. aid money to be used to fund abortions oversees. Kirk has even voted to allow federal tax dollars to be used to fund human embryonic stem cell research. So clearly Kirk wasn't being honest in that private meeting on Sunday. Keep in mind folks, Mark Kirk is the only Republican in either the House or Senate to receive a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2006 and 2008. Anyone familiar with Planned Parenthood knows they don't give you a 100% rating unless you kowtow to their far-left, radical agenda whenever they order. That's precisely what Kirk's done his entire career. Champion News has put a lot of time into researching and making this resource available: Kick Mark Kirk to the Curb. There you'll see a summary of every major bad vote Kirk has cast during his career in Congress. You'll also find other helpful links. You might consider printing the summary and keeping it on your refrigerator during this Primary campaign season. The Republican base has got to decide pretty soon whether it's serious about nominating a true Republican in February. As McCain's visit here this weekend proves - Mark Kirk's team is very serious about its effort. If conservatives are going to give Kirk a pass on the big issues just because he has an "R" by his name, then he's going to easily win the Primary. If the Primary were held today - Kirk would win by a huge margin. Let's not kid ourselves. Hopefully a challenger will emerge with the spine and courage to really take Kirk on. I realize there are challengers on the field right now but all of them need to step things up. Kirk can be beaten in the Primary but it's going to take a lot more people getting off the sidelines. The candidates aren't the only ones who need to step things up.)
-- The limits of the "TEA Party" - it's not a political party - John Biver
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=2062

ILLINOIS REVIEW
-- Illinois Review asks the gubernatorial candidates "How would you fix the budget?"
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2009/08/illinois-review-asks-how-would-you-fix-the-budget.html
-- Lang blames Cross for "personally killing" income tax increase - Cal Skinner
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2009/08/tom-cross-intimidated-12-brave-souls-in-income-tax-fight.html
-- Dillard blasts Quinn for inept leadership as unemployment rises
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2009/08/dillard-blasts-quinn-for-inept-leadership-as-unemployment-rises.html
-- VIDEO CLIP: David McAloon talks to the MC Freedom Coalition
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2009/08/david-mcaloon-talks-to-the-mc-freedom-coalition.html

TOM ROESER
-- Comparing Fawell to Rove. The Hispanic Lag.
http://www.tomroeser.com/blogview.asp?blogID=25045

CHICAGO ARGUS
-- Will anyone care what McCain thinks? - Gregory Tejeda
http://chicagoargus.blogspot.com/2009/08/will-anyone-care-what-mccain-thinks.html

HUFFINGTON POST
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Not surprisingly, anti-American Joshua Hoyt wants Mark Kirk to want American taxpayers to "provide federally-subsidized health care to illegal aliens." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joshua-hoyt/congressman-kirks-immigra_b_272713.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: At last week's heavily attended town hall meeting on health care reform in Arlington Heights Congressman Mark Kirk continued to propagate what Newsweek just called one of "The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate:" that proposed reforms will provide health insurance to illegal immigrants. Kirk questioned even the notion that reform is necessary, claiming that few of the estimated 50 million uninsured in the U.S. are needy U.S. citizens. He then thundered to the applauding crowd, "Should we provide taxpayer health care for people who are illegally here in the U. S.? I do not think we should provide federally-subsidized health care to illegal aliens." No matter that the House version of reform explicitly excludes "individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." Outright anti-immigrant demagoguery reminiscent of the failed campaigns of Republican perennial candidate Jim Oberweis is surprising, perhaps even shocking, from Congressman Kirk. Kirk has carefully crafted a national image for himself as a thoughtful moderate on issues ranging from the environment to ethics to a women's right to choose. But it turns out that Kirk has an intemperate mean streak when it comes to those immigrant groups he believes he can bully. This racial blind spot may well cost Congressman Kirk the U.S. Senate seat which Barack Obama once held and that he hopes to steal from the Democrats in 2010. Arabs and Mexicans have been Kirk's favorite targets.)

CHICAGO GOP
-- Is There Any Doubt Ultra-liberal Rich Miller is a Democratic Hack? - Tom Swiss
http://www.chicagogop.com/blog/1525-Is-there-any-doubt-Rich-Miller-is-a-Democratic-Hack.html

POLITICO
-- New GOP tactic: The counter-town hall - Michael Falcone
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26491.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who’s running against freshman Democratic Rep. Deborah Halvorson in Illinois, held five town halls to highlight his criticism of the congresswoman’s avoidance of public health care meetings during the August recess. Halvorson’s approach has been to schedule telephone town halls - events that are akin to a telephone conference call - and to place a health care reform survey on her congressional website. “I just decided that if she’s not going to throw the town hall meetings, then we’ll do it,” Kinzinger told POLITICO, claiming that each of his events drew a crowd of hundreds. “By the time this is said and done, my campaign will have provided close to 1,500 people the opportunity to speak out on health care.” )
-- Experts see double-digit Democrat losses - Josh Kraushaar
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26393.html

AMERICAN THINKER
-- A case study in big governent; Illinois - Rick Moran
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/08/a_case_study_in_big_governent.html

FOX NEWS
-- Publisher Accuses Reid of 'Bullying' Nevada Newspaper The publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told his advertising director he wants the newspaper "out of business."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/30/publisher-accuses-reid-bullying-nevada-newspaper/

GOPUSA
-- What's next. . .Obama to control your inbox? - Bobby Eberle (DIERSEN: Some Democrats and RINOs who read GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails for "opposition research" do not want to keep GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails out of your inbox. But nevertheless, many Democrats, RINOs, and "conservatives" who work against other conservatives do want to keep GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails out of you inbox.)
http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=1885
(FROM THE COMMENTARY: CNET's translation? "If your company is deemed 'critical,' a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network." Here's the kicker. . .not only would this bill put more private industry under the supervision of the government, but once again, the government is showing that it has no grasp of what actually goes on in private industry. "The Rockefeller proposal plays out against a broader concern in Washington, D.C., about the government's role in cybersecurity. In May, President Obama acknowledged that the government is "not as prepared" as it should be to respond to disruptions and announced that a new cybersecurity coordinator position would be created inside the White House staff. Three months later, that post remains empty, one top cybersecurity aide has quit, and some wags have begun to wonder why a government that receives failing marks on cybersecurity should be trusted to instruct the private sector what to do." At the risk of stating the obvious, the government should stick to those specific functions outlined by the Constitution and stay out of private industry. Obama and his team continue to seize more control over our private lives, but with each passing day, they also show that they are ill-equipped to handle the situation. The last thing we need is more government control over the Internet and Obama telling cyber-professionals how to do their jobs. I don't want Obama patrolling my inbox with "professionals" licensed by his administration. Do you?)

ASSOCIATED PRESS
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Tragically, many of those who George W. Bush appointed rejected many planks in the Republican Party platform. Not surprisingly, Obama has reappointed many of them. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_Cmb0nZ4cHr-etnWUOxXGrvmquAD9ADSBOO1

TTOWN300@aol.com
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: TTOWN300@aol.com blasts Diersen, promotes Mark Kirk, blasts Martin: "You know what? You really are an idiot. Mark Kirk is not "left wing" Moderate maybe. . .but to call him "left wing" That shows a complete lack of education. Also, you continue to support the Nazi Andy Martin. Let the readers know who you support in the primary. You are always asking for everybody else to stand for something. IS ANDY MARTIN ANTI-SEMITIC? Come on Mr. Principle. . .take a stand. I bet you don't have the PRINCIPLE to do that. Are Mr. Martin's past statements anti-Semitic? If you say no. . .you are blind. I am a proud Republican and I really do respect your efforts. But you really do depress me with your lack of understanding sometimes.
TTOWN300@aol.com

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Lou Lang Explains Income Tax Fight

In Part 1 and Part 2 of looking at State Rep. Lou Lang's view of what really happened in the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, he talked about how not enough votes could be garnered from Democrats, but that there were sufficient Republicans willing to vote for a (50%, not mentioned by Lang) income tax hike had not Republican Leader Tom Cross intimidated them.

This article continues with the questioning of Democratic Party McHenry County Board member Paula Yensen at last Wednesday's meeting of the McHenry County Democratic Party Central Committee meeting.

"(I was) just trying to follow it in the newspaper and wonder why people could not be working together.

"The not-for-profits have made cuts for the last ten years. They're five months, seven months in arrears in getting (state payments). Financial institutions are not lending (so they) can make payroll. I don't think people fully understand."

"I think they do understand," Lang replied, "but when politics rules over common sense, you know where it's at.

"There are elected officials who don't give a dame. They're looking at November 2, 2010.

"When a person gets most of his money from business interests...it won't matter to that legislator.

"They'll say it matters, but it doesn't matter.

"Regular people can't believe this. People say,

'These people really care about us.
I heard them say it.'

"But they don't care.

"The not-for-profit community dropped the ball her," Lang explained, pointing out that they came to Springfield for demonstrations, but that was not enough.

"But, how many of those thousands of people went to see their own legislator in their own offices?

"None, very few."

Lang then explained, "The last time Illinois raised income taxes not one single legislator in either chamber or party lost his next election."

Land did allow that people remember Republican Governor Richard Ogilvie losing to Dan Walker in 1972 after Ogilvie signed the bill imposing the income tax.

"If you explain to (constituents) why your doing what you're doing, they will (support you).

"But when gutless wonders stroll the Capitol, (it won't happen)."

= = = = =
At the Wednesday meeting you see above, from left to right, you see Marti Swanson in the foreground, Ed Riley, who ran for Greenwood Township Supervisor, former District 6 McHenry County Board candidate Robert Ludwig, District 5 McHenry County Board member Paula Yensen, Ed Rotchford, Bob Kaempfe, candidate for state representative against Mike Tryon, Nunda Township Trustee candidate Meredith Reid Sarkees, District 5 McHenry County Board member Jim Kennedy and Mike Bisset.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 30, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,469 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 30, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 29, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,416 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 29, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 28, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,370 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 28, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Reform do-over

By Bethany Jaeger

In an unusual move, the Illinois legislative leaders asked the governor to veto a bill that Democratic members sent to his desk in May. Gov. Pat Quinn obliged, saying he would work with members of both political parties, as well as government reform advocates, to start from scratch — and get it done by October 14 — to tighten up the rules for the funding of political campaigns.

Quinn vetoed House Bill 7, which would have established contributions limits of $5,000 for individuals, $10,000 for businesses and labor unions and $90,000 for transfers from statewide political parties. Quinn said since he received the bill, he’s gotten a lot of feedback from individuals, reform advocates and newspaper editorials that the bill was flawed and could have unintended consequences, as well as risked turning voters away from a system that maintains the status quo. In turn, Illinois remains one of only a handful of states with no limits on the amount individuals, businesses or interest groups can donate to political candidates.

“I’d rather take more time to get it right and have public consensus behind it than hastily do something that might have happened in the spring,” Quinn said during a news conference with all four legislative leaders. They were joined by reform advocates from Change Illinois, a coalition of about 50 organizations seeking campaign contribution limits, among other things.

George Ranney, president and chief executive officer of Chicago Metropolis 2020, as well as a co-chair of the reform group Change Illinois, said the governor and the legislative leaders agreeing to work out a compromise before the General Assembly returns for its annual fall veto session was a “major step in the right direction.” Next, he said, “even more so, at this point, we think there is an opportunity to do the right thing for this state, to enact a bill that has strong limits, that has the right kind of committee structure and, importantly, has a real set of provisions for enforcement.”

It was "not perfect"
Quinn’s veto comes after he testified in favor of HB 7 in late May. Sitting next to House Speaker Michael Madigan, the governor said then that the bill was not perfect, but it was a “significant step forward” and that it was the “best we can do at this time.”

His testimony contradicted the recommendations of his own Illinois Reform Commission, which wanted more stringent contribution limits and other enforcement reforms.

Quinn said today that he seriously considered altering the bill or adding to it, which would have sent it back to the legislature. But he said it dawned on him that it was better to totally veto it and make a stronger bill. He added that he would seek the commission’s input on a new version. “Sometimes when you have to alter your course to make things better, you do that. I’d rather make it better than to not do it right.”

Senate President John Cullerton said in Quinn’s defense that a new negotiated bill wasn’t ready by the time Quinn had to act on HB 7 (he faced a Friday deadline). “We asked the governor to veto this bill. We asked him — the sponsors of the bill — asked him to veto it. Because if he signed it, there are people here who think it could be much better, and that would be interpreted as accepting something that had flaws. We didn’t want to do that,” Cullerton said. “He’s not flip- flopping. He’s doing what we’ve asked.”

Cullerton added that the general areas they intend to work on include the level of contribution limits and the ability of officials to enforce the new rules.

Cynthia Canary, who previously described HB 7 as “phony reform,” today defended Quinn. “We often slam our elected officials for not having a backbone, for not listening to us, for flip-flopping. What could be braver than listening to the people coming to the table and saying, ‘We hear you. We’re going to try to do things differently.’”

Republicans, who argued they were cut out of the negotiating process, deemed the bill “seriously flawed” and urged the governor to reject it in totality and start over. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno today commended Quinn for “courage” in not signing HB 7 just to have something on the books. “As desperate as our state is for reform, and that includes campaign finance reform, there was tremendous pressure on the governor to go ahead and enact a bill that really would have maintained the status quo or even made it worse.”

During the spring legislative session, Radogno sponsored multiple versions of campaign finance limits. One version matched recommendations by the Illinois Reform Commission and Change Illinois. It would have established contribution limits similar to those set at the federal level: $2,400 for individuals, $5,000 for political committees, businesses and unions, and $30,000 for legislative leadership. Her new bill eventually will appear in Senate Bill 2464 (the link won't be available for a while).

House Republicans also supported a Democratic-sponsored bill, HB 24, that would have mirrored federal limits.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross said today that agreeing to start over on campaign finance was a good beginning, but there’s more on the agenda. He said Republicans also want to address the idea of moving back the primary election date (now held in early February), allowing voters to recall elected officials, instituting special elections to fill vacant seats and reforming the redistricting process.

House Bill 7, as approved
HB 7 as approved by the Illinois General Assembly would not have taken effect until January 2011, after the next general election.

One point of contention among reform groups and legislators is that the bill set a pseudo limit on statewide political party transfers. While the dollar amount of transfers would be limited, the Democratic Party of Illinois, for instance, could offer unlimited in-kind contributions. That could include anything from support for advertisements, yard signs, mailers to manpower to knock on doors.

Anther debated provision would create a new type of fund for legislators to pay for maintaining their offices and assisting people in their legislative districts. Contributions to those funds would be capped at $5,000. The money could not be used for campaigns. Critics said the new so-called “constituent services” funds could be used as a loophole for politicians to throw political events.

And contrary to the wishes of the governor’s reform commission, HB 7 as approved would have only required real-time disclosure during the month of May, when state budget negotiations tend to peak. Other than that, political campaigns would have to file financial reports four times a year. The Illinois Reform Commission wanted politicians to immediately report contributions throughout the entire year. They currently only have to file major disclosure reports twice a year. The bill does include a provision to allow the Illinois State Board of Elections to audit candidates and committees if they missed two consecutive reporting deadlines.

House and Senate Republicans issued the following list of “flaws,” in addition to the points made above:

• “Limits are based on an annual cycle, not election cycles” — Annual cycles could benefit incumbents who could raise money year-round, while challengers would struggle to gain name recognition and financial support.
• “Too many possibilities for candidate committees” — It could spur the creation of even more political finance committees because each official and candidate would be able to have up to three separate committees, all with different contribution limits. House Minority Leader Tom Cross said that would cause a “diffusion of contributions, not a limitation on them.”
• “No comprehensive enforcement mechanism” — The Illinois State Board of Elections would gain little power and financial support to enforce the new rules, although it would be able to audit campaigns if they missed two consecutive reporting deadlines.
• “Doesn’t take effect until 2011” — That’s after the next general elections, which House Speaker Michael Madigan has said would make it fairer because candidates who started fundraising under the old rules would have an advantage over those who started under the new ones.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 27, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,317 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 27, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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After Hours Use of Jack Franks' Office Scheduled for Health Care Lobbying

by Cal Skinner

One of the friends of McHenry County Blog has discovered that Democratic Party State Rep. Jack Franks' Woodstock office is going to be used Tuesday, September 1st, to lobby citizens for President Barack Obama's health care reform plan. The "host" is Lawrence Glowacki, as you can see from the bottom image.

Here's what the Organizing for America web page says:

The Details

McHenry County: Phone Bank for Health Care (Health Care Phonebank)

HcHenry and Northern Kane county OFA, HCAN and NW Suburbs for Obama will be hosting a phone bank for health care reform at the offices of State Representative Jack Franks in Woodstock. Our objectives are to mobilize supporters, while reaching out to the undecided to answer their questions. Please join us at this very pivotal time, to advocate for health care reform in our country.

Phone bank training will be provided for first-timers.
Bring your cell phones.

So far, one person has signed up.

You can click to enlarge the images.

Meanwhile, the sign in front of Franks office says,

OUT KIDS ARE
BACK IN SCHOOL
DRIVE SAFELY

Posted first on McHenry County Blog, where there is more information about local Democratic Party activities here and here.

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Two UI trustees remain

By Bethany Jaeger
Two University of Illinois trustees who refuse to resign after the exposure of an admissions scandal will remain. Gov. Pat Quinn said today he wanted to avoid potentially lengthy litigation that would distract from the new board’s mission.

“Indeed, I feel that if we went down that road, that would become the main show, as opposed to what we really have to do,” Quinn said during a Chicago news conference. “Our main focus should be on repairing the damage that ‘s been caused to the university.”

The Chicago Tribune reported in early June that over five years, about 800 students received special treatment and were admitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign because they were sponsored by such politically connected officials as former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, legislators and university donors and trustees.

Quinn sought the voluntary resignations of all nine appointed trustees, as recommended by a special panel led by former federal Judge Abner Mikva. Two board members resigned before the report came out. Five resigned after. Two did not step down. They are Democrats Carroll Frances and James Montgomery. Quinn said he met with Frances and Montgomery and reiterated his stance that they had a fiduciary responsibility and that “if something goes wrong on your watch, seriously wrong, then you should voluntarily file your resignation.”

However, he said, it’s their choice to serve the remainder of their terms. Frances’ term ends January 2011, while Montgomery’s term is supposed to end in 2013.

“I am not going to seek to remove them,” Quinn said. “I think the litigation that would ensue if I did that would totally distract us from our mission at hand, which is rebuilding the public confidence in the integrity of the University of Illinois. That would be a sideshow.

He later added, “I think it’s much better to just soldier on with good men and women that I appoint.”

As of today, Quinn has filled two vacancies and said he would fill the remaining five before the board’s next meeting September 10.

Today, he appointed Christopher Kennedy, president of Merchandise Mart Properties based in Chicago and son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. and Ethel Kennedy (as well as nephew of the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy). Chris Kennedy’s name was floated as a possible U.S. Senate candidate to fill the seat vacated by President Barack Obama and was mentioned as a potential candidate for governor. He opted not to run in either race.

“He’s a person of great accomplishment,” Quinn said. “He understands business, and he definitely believes in social service. He believes in education.”

Quinn also appointed Lawrence Oliver II of Orland Park. He has been a chief legal counsel for the Boeing Company since 2004. Previously, he was a private attorney and an assistant U.S. state’s attorney in Chicago, as well as a member of Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission and a vice chairman of the state’s Executive Ethics Commission.

“He is a person who understands the law, and he definitely understands ethics,” Quinn said.

They replace Democrat Niranjan Shah, whose term was set to expire in 2015, and Lawrence Eppley, who lists his political affiliation as "independent" and whose term was to expire in 2013.

Of the 10 voting members, no more than five can be from the same political party. The trustees are charged with governing the University of Illinois, including all three branches in Chicago, Urbana-Champaign and Springfield.

Quinn, who is an ex officio member, said it’s up to the new trustees to decide how to reform the admissions process and whether to take action against the high-level administrators who were involved in the so-called Category I scandal.

Senate President John Cullerton is still encouraging the remaining trustees to step down, according to Rikeesha Phelon, his spokeswoman. “Since that is not likely to happen, he is reminding them that if Senate Bill 1333 passes the Senate, it will have the effect of removing the remaining trustees by law.”

The legislation was advanced as a way to force Quinn to “fumigate” state government from up to 750 employees or appointees put in place by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The measure stalled during the spring legislative session. Cullerton is expected to call that legislation for a vote when the General Assembly convenes for its fall “veto” session in October.

Comptroller Dan Hynes, who is a Democratic opponent against Quinn in the February primary election, sent a statement through his campaign that said Quinn mishandled the situation from the beginning. “Yesterday, Gov. Quinn said he would act on the University of Illinois trustees issue with ‘certainty and with dispatch.’ Today he did neither. Unfortunately there is little that is certain about the ultimate resolution of a scandal first revealed last May, and acting with dispatch would have resolved this matter well before the students returned to class.”

Hynes did not say whether he would have forced the resignation of the remaining two trustees. A call to his campaign was not immediately returned.

Ann Lousin, a John Marshall Law School professor who helped draft the 1970 state Constitution and who is a former chair of the Illinois State Civil Service Commission, points to the constitutional provision spelling out the governor’s ability to remove appointees. It states that the governor can remove an appointee for “incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

She said that provision — while arguable both ways — would not apply to gubernatorial appointees of the University of Illinois board of trustees. “Because then that would make the University of Illinois nothing more than a state agency under control of the governor and required to do his bidding.”

“If you want an independent board on the University of Illinois,” she added, “you do not allow the governor to get rid of them when they don’t part their hair right.”

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 26, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,268 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 26, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Home services grant to be cut October 1

By Bethany Jaeger
A short-term borrowing plan approved by the General Assembly to prevent drastic cuts to human services might not be enough to prevent layoffs of workers who advocate for people with disabilities throughout the state.

A network of about two-dozen Centers for Independent Living were told earlier this month that starting October 1, a state grant that pays for recruiting and training personal assistants for individuals with severe disabilities would be cut. The so-called Home Services grant is funded through the Illinois Department of Human Services. It also pays for training of the people with the disabilities so they understand their civil rights when working with caseworkers and so they learn ways to manage their personal assistants.


The 23 Centers for Independent Living that operate throughout the state run on shoestring budgets, said Ann Ford, executive director of the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living based in Springfield. They already anticipated a 10 percent reduction in funding as part of the fiscal year 2010 budget agreement, which is expected to result in furlough days and potential layoffs. Cutting the Home Services grant on top of that would affect between 2,500 and 3,000 individuals who are served under the program each year, according to Ford.

For Mark Karner, director of advocacy for Progress Center for Independent Living in Forest Park, that means he’s out of a job Thursday. Karner also has multiple disabilities and needs a machine to help him breathe and a home aide to help him get out of bed each morning, among other daily functions. He expects to be on a job hunt, or, if he couldn’t find a flexible employer, then he would have to file for unemployment or Social Security, which he has not had since before he started working at Progress Center 16 years ago.

Tom Green, spokesman for the Department of Human Services, said it all comes down to the budget. “It’s the toughest financial challenge that Illinois has ever had. Everyone has to make sacrifices. There’s a limited amount of revenue in the budget that was passed by the General Assembly, not enough to cover all the expenses. And DHS has made cuts in all budget areas.”

He added that cuts to community-based services would have been far deeper, as much as 50 percent, without a $3.4 billion borrowing plan approved by the General Assembly in July. About $2.2 billion of that was slated for community-based human services. But that same budget agreement also relies on Quinn reducing another $1 billion in spending. The General Assembly gave Quinn unprecedented discretion in where to cut.

Ford said she was “very disappointed” in that budget agreement.

“We continue to borrow. We don’t really act like adults and look at what do we need to do to have enough revenue in this state to support the programs that allow some people some dignity in their lives,” she said. “It’s a huge disappointment to me that that was the option that was chosen, and it’s a bigger disappointment to me that the General Assembly then went home and said to the governor, ‘Do whatever you want to do.’”

On July 31, Quinn said that he would spread the cuts out in a way that would maximize federal matching and stimulus funds. And he said he would fund health-related initiatives that focus on disease prevention and that reduce demand for more expensive services later.

Karner said zeroing out the Human Services grant would do the opposite. Mike Ervin, for instance, needs the personal assistants. But he’s lived in his own condominium in Chicago as a freelance writer, a playwright and a community activist, and he’s not enrolled in Medicaid. Losing the personal assistants grant program, Ervin said, would take the system back 30 years. “Not only does it keep me out of nursing homes, but I employ five people. And it keeps us paying whatever taxes we do. It’s just positive all the way around. It’s the wave of the future, it’s the way the future should be going. And cutting it just such a huge regression.”

Karner said a meeting for consumers affected by the Home Services grant is scheduled in Chicago Friday. “I guess there’s still some glimmer of hope that the governor will change his mind before October 1,” he said.

Rallies against the cuts also are scheduled next Monday in Springfield and Chicago. Ford said if the centers don’t know by mid-September whether the grant will be restored, more layoffs are expected.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 25, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,207 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 25, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 24, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,173 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 24, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit http://www.gopillinois.com/. Thanks

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Dan Hynes' Supporters Prospect in Jack Franks' Back Yard

by Cal Skinner

Imagine my surprise to be on the receiving end of a fund raising pitch for State Comptroller Dan Hynes' gubernatorial campaign.

I don't mean because I'm a Republican precinct committeeman.

I mean because it came from one of Jack Frank's heavy hitting McHenry County constituents.

My understanding is that it being distributed to active McHenry County Democrats.

The solicitation in question is for a Wednesday, August 26th, event at the River East Art Center, starting at 5 o'clock for the heavy hitters, 5:30 for ordinary mortals who can ante up $250.

It might be a signal for the state representative with the big campaign fund to announce what intentions he has for next year.

Having one's gubernatorial ambition mentioned once in a while after being repeatedly ignored is not enough to win a contested statewide primary election against appointed Governor Pat Quinn and Hynes.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 23, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,133 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 23, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 22, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,101 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 22, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Republican transition

By Bethany Jaeger
As a handful of Republicans toss their hats into the ring for Illinois governor, their party’s ringleader of sorts surprised top GOP officials by stepping down Thursday during a meeting in Springfield.

Andy McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party since 2005, told state central committee members he was resigning to allow the party to transition before the February 2 primary elections, rather than waiting until his term was supposed to end. “I don’t to want distract you [during] the general election race,” he said.


The State Central Committee elected Pat Brady, a national committeeman, to fill out the rest of McKenna’s term. Members will elect a new chairperson after the primary election.

Countering some speculation, McKenna did not announce a bid for another race. He previously expressed interest in a bid for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by President Barack Obama. His actions sparked controversy within the party, as Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, a five-term representative from Hinsdale, has announced in that race and is considered the front runner in the four-way contest.

McKenna instead told state central committee members that he would focus on building resources and getting involved in primary contests as chair of a “victory fund,” which he created to support Illinois’ GOP candidates.

The timing of McKenna’s resignation surprised party leaders, but Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said: “There’s been speculation for a while that a change might be coming. I don’t think anyone knew it was going to happen today or in this particular venue.”

She added, however, that the timing did help to avoid a distraction leading up to November 2010. “I think that it’s important that we get this chapter closed and settled and we have a new person at the helm the minute the primary’s over so that we can focus on the Democrats and not on the internal politics.”

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HB 7 in Detail: Independent Expenditures

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

Today we resume our series on the problems with HB 7, beyond the astronomical dollar limits. Recent posts have dealt with the effective date, calendar year limits, and the penalties for violating the law, among others.

Independent expenditures are so common in federal elections that they are routinely referred to by the initials "IE." These IE campaigns spring up in part because federal law limits how much anybody can give to a candidate, so that groups that want to spend more in support or opposition to a candidate have to work outside of that candidate's campaign. And there are explicit disclosure and contribution limit rules for IE efforts in federal law.

It makes sense for Illinois to adopt rules for IE campaigns at the same time that we adopt limits on campaign contributions generally. But while HB 7 has a section on "independent expenditures," it uses the term in very different ways than federal law does. These differences threaten the effectiveness and legality of the bill.

While federal law applies to any organization, the provision in HB 7 dealing with independent expenditures applies only to those "made by a natural person," meaning single individuals acting alone. The immediate consequence of this is to suggest that no other entity can engage in "independent expenditures," and the consequences of that would be vast. It would turn the contribution limits into spending limits, for one, which would certainly draw a skeptical judicial eye in the inevitable challenge (note that the bill exempts parties and some other committees from this limit).

There are also apparent drafting problems in this section. The section ensures a modicum of disclosure from natural persons acting independently of any political committee. Individuals are required to report when they have spent $3,000 and again at $20,000. It is not clear that the bill would require any continuing obligation to report -- say, at increments of $20,000. Nor is it clear that the person would have any obligation to disclose at the time that they commit to making an expenditure. If they have to disclose only when they actually pay the bills, that disclosure may well come well after the ads have run, and long after Election Day.

To the extent that HB 7 tried to ensure that individuals making large expenditures in relation to candidates are covered by disclosure requirements, the bill is on a useful errand. But the section is drafted in ways that fall short of that goal and threaten the abilities of others to make their voices heard in the course of campaigns. It needs to be re-written.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 21, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,069 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 21, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 20, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 50,013 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 20, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Governor's Day highlights 2010 primary

By Bethany Jaeger
Democrats got a preview Wednesday of what to expect leading up to the February 2 primary election: a partial-term governor who says an income tax increase is necessary to maintain essential state services versus a state comptroller who says citizens shouldn’t have a governor by default. They should have a choice.

Comptroller Dan Hynes stood a few feet away from Gov. Pat Quinn this morning when he said Illinois needs a governor who leads with “no sugarcoating, no short-cuts, no excuses.”

“We need a governor who can provide strong and steady leadership for smart budget policies that will put us on solid financial ground, and we will need a leader who will offer a clear, consistent and compelling vision for our future,” Hynes said. “That’s what this election is about.”

He spoke to a packed banquet hall during an annual breakfast of the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association in Springfield. Many Illinois elected officials typically attend the event before the annual State Fair rally day for Democrats.

Hynes continued to say that the Democratic Party has been through too much to take the path of least resistance. “The people of Illinois have been through too much to avoid asking tough questions and facing a public debate about which vision our party will embrace. I respect Pat Quinn. I find him to be a decent man, but this nomination must be earned, not bequeathed or signed or transferred. It must be earned.”

A few moments later, Quinn in his speech countered that on March 18, he proposed a budget that would raise the state income tax as a way to balance a severely out-of-whack budget and help recover from the aftermath of a nationwide recession. “Talk about courage. Talk about not sugarcoating our budget deficit. We have to tell the truth to the people of Illinois.”

Throughout his speech, Quinn thanked all statewide officers except Hynes. He even thanked local politicians, including Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. The governor later said he would defend his record against Hynes’ statements, particularly since the comptroller has not endorsed the idea of an income tax increase. “He can stand on the sidelines and throw bricks at the guy in the middle of the arena, but I think part of the job of governor is not to be a shrinking violet, to take positions and to defend those positions and tell the people what they need to know,” Quinn said.

Hynes chose not to attend a Democratic rally at the State Fairgrounds later in the day because, he said, Quinn deserved to host of the annual Governor’s Day, a State Fair tradition. I ran into Hynes after the rally, when he said his budget plan would start with spending cuts, then find new revenues. "We have to eliminate wasteful spending and show the people that we’re doing everything we can to sacrifice and streamline before we ask them to pay more. And that hasn’t yet happened. Gov. Quinn has really been unwilling to do those tough things.”

As part of the budget agreement with the state legislature, Quinn already has cut $1 billion in spending and is charged with reducing another $1 billion before the end of the fiscal year. Among many other spending decreases, Quinn seeks furlough days and layoffs for state employees. But some of those plans require negotiations with public employee unions, who strongly oppose both ideas and instead say an income tax increase is necessary.

Governor’s Day at the State Fair
The Democratic rally completely differed from the past six years. The absence of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as well as busloads of union supporters that Blagojevich’s campaign brought in, made a difference. For the first time, the House speaker, the Senate president and the governor sat next to each other. Even Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined the rally, which she has not attended in a few years.

There was little drama, other than jokes made about six of at least eight candidates for lieutenant governor sitting on the stage together and addressing the crowd one by one.

Democratic leaders acknowledged that their political party faces many challenges, particularly the ethical lapses and fiscal woes exposed within the last year, but they tried to frame Blagojevich’s impeachment as a result of their proactive steps.

“As we face a challenge of ethics and integrity, it was the Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives that initiated the impeachment proceeding against their own Democratic governor,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan. “We’re not happy with what happened, but when the time came, we were more than capable to make a decision that one of our own had done wrong and must be removed from office.”

Republicans will try not to let them get away with that, however. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, whom I stood next to in the Statehouse basement during a tornado warning, countered the Democratic message. “They can try as hard as they want, but the people of this state are smarter than that. And the fact of the matter is, people need to remember, the Democrat legislature enabled Blagojevich from Day 1. So it’s difficult for them just to walk away now.” Madigan also co-chaired Blagojevich’s reelection campaign, she added.

Republicans will have their rally day at the State Fair on Thursday.

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"Bean is a coward, plain and simple."

That's what Marathon Pundit John Ruberry concluded after he learned that tonight 8th District Democratic Party Congresswoman Melissa Bean is holding a telephone town meeting.

Ruberry just happened to be listening to Mancow Muller's WLS-AM show and heard about the telephone town meeting.

He wrote this story, from which the sentence I have used for a headline has been extracted.

When Ruberry tried to sign up, he was told he couldn't.

Only those folks who had participated in past telephone town hall meetings were allowed to participate.

There is an "in person" opportunity to hear Bean this month...if you have $25 and belong to one of the chambers of commerce which are sponsoring it.

Don't you love how representatives of the "Party of the People" treat the people?

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 19, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,960 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 19, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Revamped employee ethics rules enacted

By Bethany Jaeger
In a “week of reform,” Gov. Pat Quinn today signed Senate Bill 54, which addresses state employee ethics rules and lobbyist registration requirements. The governor enacted a revamped Freedom of Information Act yesterday.

Here’s the breakdown of SB 54 and some background, including why provisions to strengthen the role of inspectors general were needed (it relates to when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich formed the inspectors general but did not give them the ability to shine a light on ethics violations).

Employee ethics:

• Reports written by inspectors general will be made public record if the inspectors find wrongdoing and either suspend or terminate a state employee. Some information could still be blacked out, or redacted, if its release would harm an ongoing investigation.
• However, routine reports about the status of investigations will not be subject to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
• Inspectors will be able to open investigations based on anonymous tips.
• The law clarifies the process for investigating potential ethics violations.
• The Executive Ethics Commission will house new procurement officers to oversee the way state agencies buy goods and services.
• Employees and candidates cannot promise compensated time off, benefits, raises, job promotions, favorable regulatory treatment or a state contract in exchange for a campaign contribution.
• State employees have to take an online ethics exam within 30 days of starting their new jobs, rather than within six months, as currently required.

Updated revolving door ban:

• Policymakers will not be able to resign and within a year accept a position with private companies that received significant state contracts from the agencies where the officials worked.
• The state is expected to have an easier time tracking which employees will be subject to the revolving door ban because the legislation also requires agencies and executive offices to list those employees. Those lists will be filed with the agencies' respective ethics commissions.

New lobbying rules:

• People who lobby state boards, commissions or retirement boards now will have to register as lobbyists.
• All lobbyists will have to abide by stricter disclosure requirements, including listing all expenditures related to lobbying activities, their clients and the subject matter of lobbying activities. The reports will have to be filed with the secretary of state on a weekly basis when the legislature is in session and monthly during the off-season.
• Many will have to pay a higher $1,000 fee, which is the way the state is expected to pay for more inspectors to monitor lobbying activities. House Speaker Michael Madigan previously said he would consider lowering the fee for smaller nonprofit groups in the future.

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Chris Kennedy Decides to Stay "Underground;" How about Jack Franks?

by Cal Skinner

Michael Sneed reports that Merchandise Mart honcho Chris Kennedy is "underground" concerning his candidacy for whatever.

He is so underground that he refuses to talk to WBBM-TV political reporter Mike Flannery. Flannery expressed his distaste (or, maybe, it was jealousy) when he appeared on WTTW's "Week in Review" recently.

= = = = =
The Sun-Times is reporting that Kennedy is running for nothing.
= = = = =

Also among the missing as far as political ambitions go is McHenry County's Democratic Party State Representative Jack Franks.

Franks floated the notion that he was considering running for governor in the Northwest Herald, but the "great mentioner" hasn't been mentioning Franks' name since State Comptroller Dan Hynes made it clear that he would challenge appointed Governor Pat Quinn in the Democratic Party primary election.

No word from him since he returned from a family fishing trip in northern Ontario.

Except a letter opposing McHenry County's permitting slot machines. He sent it to McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, a known gambling proponent.

Such a letter was obviously aimed at the conservative voters in his western and northern McHenry County district.

A sizable number picketed him and State Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Barrington Hills) about co-sponsoring House Bill 2354 in front of Franks' office on a blistering March, 2009, Saturday. Both state representatives retreated.

My guess Franks will be unwilling to roll the dice for higher office in what is shaping up to be a Republican election year.

In spite of massive contributions from his family.

All that name identification and no where to go but the ice cream social at the Wonder Lake Water Ski Show.

Oops. That was when he was in Canada, wasn't it?

= = = = =
The Wonder Lake Water Ski Show picture is from 2008.

Posted first at McHenry County Blog.

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HB 7 in Detail: Penalties for Violations

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

Today, ICPR continues its series on the problems with HB 7, beyond the astronomical dollar limits. Earlier posts are here, here, and here.

Suppose you think the dollar amounts you are allowed to contribute in HB 7 are too low. (Stop laughing, this is a serious blog post!) If you wanted to give more money to a committee than HB 7 would let you, what do you do? Let's consider the consequences of violating HB 7.

The penalty section in HB 7 is here (it starts on page 42 of HB 7):

18 (h) Contributions or transfers in violation of this
19 Section. A political committee that receives a contribution or
20 transfer in violation of this Section shall dispose of the
21 contribution or transfer by returning the contribution or
22 transfer, or an amount equal to the contribution or transfer,
23 to the contributor or transferor or donating the contribution
24 or transfer, or an amount equal to the contribution or
25 transfer, to a charity. A contribution or transfer received in
26 violation of this Section that is not disposed of as provided
1 in this subsection within 30 days after its receipt shall
2 escheat to the General Revenue Fund.

That's it. The committee would have 30 days to give the money back, or the state could lay claim to it. Alternately, the committee could give an equal amount to charity within 30 days. The contributor pays no penalty, even if the contribution was knowingly and intentionally excessive. And other than the loss of the excess amount, the committee pays no penalty, even if the committee plotted and planned with the contributor to violate the law.

So what do you do if you need cash for that final push before Election Day? ICPR would never counsel anyone to break the law. But, strictly hypothetically, what if someone did break the law? Here's what happens: If the candidate wins, the committee would have a few weeks to raise enough money from other donors to refund the excess to those who gave illegal contributions, or make a donation to charity. And winning candidates usually have a comparatively easy time raising money from new donors; from a contributor's point of view, the candidate's a sure thing. And if the candidate loses? So what if the state may lay claim to the money; if the committee is broke, there's no money for the state to seize. Dissolve the committee, and there will be no continuing obligations to worry about.

Real reform laws need real teeth. The penalties section in HB 7 needs to be improved.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 18, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,918 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 18, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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"Week of reform"

By Bethany Jaeger
The end of August marks a deadline for Gov. Pat Quinn, who has to act on legislation approved by the General Assembly before bills automatically become law. In Chicago today, Quinn deemed this week as a “week of reform,” starting with today’s enactment of the revamped laws to ensure public access to information. He could soon act on ethics legislation to limit the amount individuals and political organizations could donate to candidates.

Freedom of Information Act = Senate Bill 189
Quinn signed SB 189, which rewrites the Freedom of Information Act (background here). Starting in January 2010, the process of requesting public information is supposed to get faster and more accountable.

In addition to new training requirements and higher standards for denying access to information, the new FOIA will require public bodies to reply to requests for information within five business days, as opposed to the current seven days. And if a public body denies a request, individuals will have to take fewer steps and less time to appeal that denial.

“The main thing this new act does is enforce many of the good words that were already part of Illinois law that were ignored by public officials,” said Hanke Gratteau, a member of Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission and former investigative reporter and managing editor for the Chicago Tribune. “There is now recourse if that is avoided, and that’s why it’s good enough for me.”

Local and state governments still can deny access to information under a series of exemptions, and the legislature still can withhold internal documents such as staff analyses and final reports drafted by consultants.

But there are new penalties, something absent from the current FOIA. Under the new version, if a court finds that a public official intentionally violated the FOIA or Open Meetings Act, the official could be fined between $2,400 and $5,000 for each offense.

The new law also gives new powers to the Illinois attorney general's office, where members of the public, media or government can seek help from a specialized lawyer to settle disputes about whether information should be released. The so-called public access counselor will have new authority to issue binding opinions and to subpoena information.

“Today, we can say that Illinois will officially make it out of the Stone Age of transparency,” Attorney General Lisa Madigan said. “We will end the culture of secrecy that surrounds our government, and we will have, I think, a better relationship and better trust with members of the public.”

The Illinois Municipal League, however, believes the new FOIA will place a heavy burden on local governments and won’t go as smoothly as lawmakers think in the next four and a half months, said Roger Huebner, the organization’s deputy executive director and general counsel. Every governmental body covered by the FOIA now has had its primary function fundamentally redefined to field information requests, regardless of whether their budgets have been slashed, he added. More background on the Municipal League’s statements are online.

Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff of policy and communications for the attorney general's office, said she disagrees and that the new law could lessen the burden on local governments because they will have a built-in resource with access to a public access counselor, as opposed to an outside legal counsel.

Heubner referred to commercial requests, in particular, as problematic because they tend to be broad, time-consuming requests. “That’s going to become a financial nightmare.” Local governments still can reject requests by deeming them unduly burdensome.

Heubner also said the new FOIA isn’t written for lay people and that information requests immediately will become legal matters if disputed. “This bill has gone from the hope to help the laymen to the lawyer’s dream.”

Smith said: "If the public body has denied a request and the citizen comes to us for help, then the public body will have to decide if they want to interact with us informally or if they have to get a lawyer. It's certainly not necessary." She added, "I recognize that the public bodies have not looked at this as a benefit to them, but I think that over time, they will see it as just that."

Quinn’s enactment of the new FOIA comes after the governor came under media scrutiny for reportedly using his personal cell phone rather than using a state-provided phone that is subject to public access laws. Quinn said in Chicago today that taxpayers do not pay for his private cell phone and that he doesn’t use it for official state business.

“I do not use this phone to make e-mails to government employees or conduct any kind of communication with government employees,” he said. “As the person of the attorney general’s office who oversees this law [determined], private phone calls that don’t come out of public funds are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.”

Transparency = House Bill 35
The state also launched a new Web site where anyone with Internet access can look up state employee salaries, state contacts and state-issued licenses. It’s called the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal.

Individuals also can look up all board and commission members, as well as their terms and whether they get paid at a new site dedicated to executive appointments. It was created under Senate Bill 1602, which also establishes new ethics requirements for board and commission members.

Campaign finance reform = House Bill 7
Quinn indicated he also could act as soon as tomorrow on legislation that would limit the amount individuals and political organizations could donate to political campaigns. HB 7 won legislative approval but was not the version recommended by the governor’s own Illinois Reform Commission. (Background here.)

Quinn could use his amendatory veto power to change the legislation, although he said he uses that power judiciously. “I’m going to use that only where it’s needed and where it can advance the common good. I think that’s the way we have to do it. We don’t do it to kick the legislature in the shins. I don’t believe in that.”

Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for the Senate Republicans, said Minority Leader Christine Radogno asked the governor to veto the bill in its entirety "because it’s been called worse than nothing. We believe there is ample opportunity to revisit this if everyone is committed to change,” Schuh said.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 17, 2009

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 16, 2009

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 15, 2009

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HB 7 in Detail: Constituent Services

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


Today, ICPR continues its series on the problems with HB 7, beyond the astronomical dollar limits. Previous posts are here and here.

HB 7 creates a wholly new type of committee, one dedicated to "constituent services" -- a new type that's ripe for abuse. It's true that for many years, public officials have used personal funds or campaign contributions to supplement the public funding allocated to their district offices. While the proper solution to underfunded district offices is to increase the public allocation, the use of a small portion of campaign funds has become a normal practice in Illinois.

HB 7 institutionalizes this practice by creating new committees dedicated to supplementing the district office allocation. But it raises very troubling questions. Will incumbents be able to use their constituent services committees to produce and distribute mailers and hold public events? It will be difficult if not impossible to determine when such activities are political (aimed at voters in the district), as compared to expenditures that are (as HB 7 states) “related to constituent services and the maintenance of the official’s public office” as these are aimed at the exact same people, and may occur at the exact same time. Note that there are none of the restrictions on Constituent Services Committees that apply to mailings on behalf of legislators by the Legislative Printing Unit, for instance.

Furthermore, would donors be able to contribute money to an official’s constituent service committee at the same time that they lobby them? Session day fundraisers have been banned for over a decade. The law now bars legislators from holding "fundraising functions" on session days. But a separate bill, SB 54, makes a change to the section of the 2003 Ethics Act regarding session day fundraisers, inserting the word "political" before the phrase "fundraising functions" (this change is on page 18 of SB 54):

1 (5 ILCS 430/5-40)
2 Sec. 5-40. Fundraising in Sangamon County. Except as
3 provided in this Section, any executive branch constitutional
4 officer, any candidate for an executive branch constitutional
5 office, any member of the General Assembly, any candidate for
6 the General Assembly, any political caucus of the General
7 Assembly, or any political committee on behalf of any of the
8 foregoing may not hold a political fundraising function in
9 Sangamon County on any day the legislature is in session (i)
10 during the period beginning February 1 and ending on the later
11 of the actual adjournment dates of either house of the spring
12 session and (ii) during fall veto session. For purposes of this
13 Section, the legislature is not considered to be in session on
14 a day that is solely a perfunctory session day or on a day when
15 only a committee is meeting.

On its face, this change would seem to allow non-political fundraising. Perhaps the intent is merely to let legislators sponsor events for groups like United Way or the Cancer Society. But coupled with the creation of Constituent Services Committees, which are by intention for non-political purposes, this provision is very disturbing. Could a Constituent Services Committee hold a session day funder? The law doesn't say, and where the law is silent, loopholes are formed.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 14, 2009

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Metra Set To Buy Crystal Lake Commuter Station Land without Public Input

So I'm trying to track down what is going to happen about the proposed purchase of the Ridgefield commuter station site that the Northwest Herald says is half owned by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler.

I'd like to know what's at the end of the tunnel before my tax dollars get there.

I went to the search engine and typed in the location of the proposed site: "Ridgefield." Below you see what I found.

"Your search for ridgefield did not match any documents,"

was the message on the screen.

The Metra agenda is not published online, as is the agenda of McHenry County College.

McHenry County College does not have a stellar record of publishing its agenda and board packet before its meeting, but it usually does so.

Media relations woman Meg Reile emailed me the agenda for tomorrow's board meeting says,

Ordinance authorizing a Purchase and Sale Agreement between Metra and Amcore Bank as Trustee of Trust No. 3582.

That's it.

I called the Metra Board Secretary Lisa Murphy and was told the board packet would be online starting in September. That would be good.

But I'm interested in tomorrow's board packet, so, asking for whatever would be in the board packet concerning the Ridgefield station, I gave her my phone and fax numbers.

Comments may be sent to Metra Board members here metraboard@metrarr.com

Published first on McHenry County Blog where links to articles on the subject that might be of interest appear below:Articles that might be of interest:

Alexander Lumber's Move to Ridgefield, Proposed Metra Station Implications

Musings on the Proposed Ridgefield Metra Station

Ridgefield Businessman Takes on McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler over Proposed Metra Station

$1.5 Million Being Paid for Ridgefield Metra Site Half-Owned by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler

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A look at what's on the governor's desk

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

A bunch of bills dealing with the reform agenda were sent to the governor's desk earlier this year. Where are they now, and what does the future hold? Let's take them in alphabetical and numerical order:

HB 7, relating to campaign finance, was sent to the governor on June 30. The governor has until Saturday, August 29 to take action.

HB 35, creating an "accountability portal" on the Internet with state expenditure and salary information, was signed into law on Tuesday, August 11. It's PA 06-225.

HB 267, which allows grace period voter registration as late as 7 days prior to an election (now, grace period registration ends 14 days prior), was sent to the governor on June 17. The governor has until Sunday, August 16 to take action.

HB 723, which imposes petition signature requirements on candidates nominated for office after a primary election, was sent to the governor on June 26. The governor has until Tuesday, August 25 to take action.

SB 51, which makes improvements to the procurement code, was sent to the governor on June 19. The governor has until Tuesday, August 18 to take action.

SB 54, which changes the 2003 Ethics Act and the Lobbyist Registration Act, among other things, was sent to the governor on June 19. The governor has until Tuesday, August 18 to take action.

SB 189, which makes improvements to the Freedom of Information Act, was sent to the governor on June 26. The governor has until Tuesday, August 25 to take action.

SB 1592, which allows for the late filing of Statements of Economic Interest when the filer has suffered a "serious and catastrophic" injury or is serving in the military, was sent to the governor on June 18. The governor has until Monday, August 16 to take action.

(Today we're taking a break from our litany of objections to HB 7. That analysis will resume tomorrow)

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 13, 2009

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HB 7 in Detail: Defining when a committee "receives" a contribution

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

Today, ICPR continues its series on the problems with HB 7, beyond the astronomical dollar limits. Previous posts are here.

In revisions to the Election Code, HB 7 changes the definition of when a committee "receives" a contribution. The date of receipt determines when a committee must report a contribution, and is especially important during the A-1 reporting period: the final 30 days before an election, when committees are required to report contributions over $500 within two working days of receipt. The date of receipt also becomes a factor around the end of the regular reporting period, in determining when the public is told of a contribution.

Current law uses the word "receipt" but does not define it in statute, relying instead on the common sense of the word. The State Board of Elections has defined the word in regulation, relying again on the common sense meaning of the term.

HB 7 changes the definition to when the "candidate or campaign treasurer" has "actual personal physical possession of the contribution." This greatly narrows the definition in ways that are deeply problematic. When, for instance, would the candidate or treasurer have "actual personal physical possession" of an electronic funds transfer? An on-line contribution? An inter-bank exchange?

But there are deeper problems, and an example will illustrate: In 2006, Todd Stroger, then a candidate for Cook County Board President, missed statutory deadlines to make public reports of more than $250,000 in contributions received in the final weeks before the election. He later claimed that the contributions had been “received” by the committee but were being vetted, and so were not “received” by the officers of the committee. After much haggling, the State Board of Elections disagreed with Stroger's interpretation. Under current law, he was found to have violated the Election Code and was fined just over $25,000. This provision in HB 7 would validate his failure to disclose.

With this change, a committee could receive a contribution without triggering reporting requirements. Until the candidate or treasurer of the committee directed a staff person to hand the contribution to the treasurer or candidate, creating the necessary “actual personal physical possession,” there might be no obligation to report a contribution. There is nothing to require a committee to disclose once a staff person has told the candidate or treasurer of the receipt, so long as the staffer does not deliver "actual personal physical possession" of the contribution. The chair of the committee or other staff could have "actual personal physical possession" of a contribution indefinitely without ever triggering disclosure. Contributions received by the committee before Election Day could, under this proposal, be held until after the voting is over, then delivered to the treasurer, deposited, and used to pay debts incurred before Election Day. This could postpone disclosure for months, completely defeating the purpose of A1 reports.

This is a huge step backward, and one of several reasons why ICPR believes that HB 7 is worse than nothing.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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Former Rep. Robin Kelly Runs for Illinois Treasurer

In a packed room in Chicago, Robin Kelly, former state Representative for the 38th district and current Chief of Staff to state Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias, announced her own bid to become Illinois' state Treasurer on Monday.

Robin was introduced by Michelle Mills, who testified to Robin's presence as a role model in so many people's lives, Ralph Martiere, who observed that, if Robin is elected, there won't be a scandal in the Treasurer's office, and Debra Graham, who became friends with Robin after Robin had endorsed her opponent to the Illinois General Assembly.

This video lasts little over 13 minutes.



Disclosure: I am coordinating Robin's petition drive to get on the ballot.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 12, 2009

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HB 7 in Detail: Ballot Questions

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

HB 7, the campaign finance measure, has garnered a lot of media attention, none of it positive. (see, for instance, today's editorial in the Daily Herald). The bill was sent to Gov. Quinn on June 30, and he has until later this month to decide whether to sign it, veto it, recommend changes with an amendatory veto, or allow it to become law without his signature.

Our opposition to HB 7 is well known. Yes, we object to the provisions that would allow for astronomically high contributions. Where federal law allows contributions of $2,400 for people and $5,000 from political committees each election, HB 7 allows contributions of up to $10,000 from people and $90,000 from committees each calendar year. But that is far from the only flawed section of the bill. Over the next few days, we intend to outline our concerns with the non-limit parts of the bill. Some of these reflect ambiguous drafting. Some reflect intentional changes to the statute that will have adverse consequences. In the next few days, we'll focus on different parts of HB 7, other than the astronomical dollar amounts, in order to explain our concerns.

Start with how HB 7 treats ballot questions. HB 7 defines “single candidate committee” (on page 39 of the bill) as:

4 "Single-candidate committee" means a political
5 committee organized to support or oppose the election of a
6 single, specific candidate or public official or to support
7 or oppose one or more questions of public policy. (emphasis added)

The term "single candidate committee" is a misnomer, as the definition also encompasses committees formed to support or oppose ballot questions. It has been long established that governments can require financial disclosure as it relates to these questions of public policy, but cannot impose limits. At least since Buckley v Valeo, the US Supreme Court's landmark ruling on campaign finance, courts have held that there is no public interest in limiting giving to ballot question committees.

That's because the purpose of contribution limits is to address the fact or appearance of corruption and ballot questions are not "corruptible," or even sentient. Ballot questions do not exercise judgment or discretion. They pass or fail, and then it is up to other officials to implement them. Including ballot questions in the definition of a "single candidate committee" may be sloppy drafting or careless thinking but it is also certainly an invitation to a legal challenge.

In the next few days, we'll post concerns with other portions of the bill.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 11, 2009

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 10, 2009

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 9, 2009

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Jack Franks Not Being Mentioned for Governor

by Cal Skinner

State Comptroller Dan Hynes announced he was going to take on an "indecisive" Governor Pat Quinn in the Democratic Party primary election Thursday.

In the ABC-TV Six O'clock News report of Hynes' candidacy, McHenry County State Representative Jack Franks' name was not mentioned.

African-American Metro-East State Senator James F. Clayborne, Jr., was mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate.

As I have observed before, being ignored is one of the worst things that can happen to a politician.

That's been the rule, rather than the exception, since July.

Meanwhile, if you read McHenry County Blog carefully two days ago, you know where Franks was.

He and his buddies were probably discussing the options I suggest a month ago.

Franks did escape being named as the sponsor of his hopelessly compromised gubernatorial recall constitutional amendment in a Chicago Tribune editorial yesterday:

Quinn supports giving citizens the power to recall public officials, as do we. But the measure waiting in the Senate is just a bit of Hokum--it allows for the recall only of the governor, protecting every other elected official in the state.

But he did get a bill signed Friday.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 8, 2009

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Fix FOIA Now

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

Newspapers around the state have been running editorials in favor of SB 189, the Freedom of Information Act reform bill. Saying that newspapers strongly support FOIA is probably akin to a dog bites man story. As is saying that ICPR also strongly supports the bill.

But today's Daily Herald editorial gave some of the reasons why they support the bill, and we at ICPR can identify with these problems:

Our reporters battled some bureaucrats for months when we tried to learn about red-light cameras for our recent "Seeing Red" investigative series. One village clerk said we didn't need the documents because others had reported on the cameras. Another village official called the request a waste of time.

In all, it took more than two months to obtain documents about a government program operating all over the region. It should take seven days under the existing loophole-ridden law.

As part of our review of lobbying by units of government, we at ICPR send out hundreds of FOIA requests each year. (here's a PDF of our most recent report) Most units respond promptly, and we commend them for that. After all, that's what the law requires. But what we cannot understand is why so many units of government fail to respond in a timely fashion; and sometimes, not at all.

It's not just small governments that violate the law (thinking here of the Village of Bellwood, which received our letter 11 months ago and still has not responded, despite phone calls, follow-up letters and an in-person site visit). The City of Chicago and Cook County have both taken months to respond in each of the last two years. Chicago and Cook have law departments bigger than most law firms; they ought to know what the law requires.

Every time we do the report, there are a dozen or more units that ignore our requests. It is not practical for us to sue each and every unit that does not respond in a timely manner. Should it be necessary that we do so?

Of course not. But to make the law work as it was intended, what is necessary is that Gov. Quinn sign SB 189. We urge him to sign SB 189 pronto.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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Overtime costs Corrections

By Bethany Jaeger
Gov. Pat Quinn plans to lay off as many as 1,000 prison workers at the same time a lengthy state audit reveals that overtime costs within the Illinois Department of Corrections increased from $19.2 million to $37 million two years ago because of staffing shortages.


The review by Illinois Auditor General Bill Holland’s office only pertains to fiscal years 2007 and 2008, when the corrections department was managed by a former director and under the administration of a former governor. Former director Roger Walker was appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Walker was replaced in June by Gov. Pat Quinn’s appointee, Michael Randle.

Holland said the deficiencies, including everything from spending more than authorized by the General Assembly to failing to spend money earmarked for hiring new frontline staff, does not paint a “pretty picture.”

“This goes to the heart of the failure of the management of the department,” he said, adding that because there have not been dramatic changes in the management since the two years in the audit, the foundation going forward is weak. “I think the new director has got some real soul searching to do with his management team.”

One problem cited in the audit was that the department violated the legislature’s intent by not spending extra money dedicated to hire new frontline staff. The General Assembly authorized spending $11.7 million to hire 231 new staff in fiscal year 2007, but only 154 new staff were hired. The next year, the legislature allotted $12 million to hire 500 new employees, but only six were reported as being hired. Instead, according to the audit, the department used the money to pay for existing staff, which also included more expensive overtime costs.

At the same time, the department reported that it lost 324 employees in fiscal year 2007 and 455 employees in fiscal year ’08.

The audit also states that mandatory overtime costs from inadequate staffing levels cost more money — overtime costs increased from $19.2 million in FY07 to more than $37 million the following year. The audit identified 126 employees working at various correctional centers that had worked so many extra hours during FY08 that they earned more $100,000, when their normal salary rates ranged from $40,000 to $75,000 a year. At Stateville Correctional Center, alone, overtime costs topped $13.7 million in FY08.

Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents many prison workers, said the most recent tab for understaffing at all Illinois prisons was more than $60 million in fiscal year 2009, which just ended June 30. “That’s a five-fold increase over just a few years ago,” he said.

“On its face it may seem counter intuitive,” Lindall added, “but it’s simple math that hiring new staff at the lowest end of the salary scale and paying them straight time is far cheaper than paying time and a half to more senior employees.”

According to the audit, the Blagojevich administration ordered the department not to hire new front line staff in fiscal year ’08.

“There were clearly directions from the Blagojevich administration that certainly did not help the day-to-day operations of the department,” Holland said. However, he added, 19 of the findings were repeated from the last two-year audit. And 28 new findings were added.

“These were not immaterial findings,” Holland continued. “These were findings of great significance that related from the top to the bottom of financial management of the Department of Corrections. And clearly it demonstrated that there was a failure on the part of the management of the Illinois Department of Corrections.”

Januari Smith, spokeswoman for the corrections department, said in an e-mail that the department already is looking to reduce overtime costs while also preparing for potential layoffs planned by Quinn. “A cadet class graduated from the academy last week and will be on the job soon. As well, another cadet class will begin in mid-August. Those staff affected by layoffs may be eligible for vacancies at other facilities across the state.”

Smith added that other corrective action is challenged by current budget constraints. “IDOC has limited resources and is working with antiquated systems. It’s a challenge to keep up with increasing requirements and a decreasing staff.”

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 7, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,470 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 7, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Christina Tobin on Reality Report

Christina Tobin, Founder and Chair of Free & Equal Elections, interviewed on Reality Report, discusses the origin, purpose, and structure of the organization; petition drive efforts, including challenges and lawsuits here in Illinois; actions of elected Illinois politicians; and other issues affecting Illinois and elsewhere.

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UI admissions panel: The leadership failed

By Maureen Foertsch McKinney

A separate office of the inspector general should be established for the University of Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn’s Admission Review Commission recommended Thursday. As expected, the commission also recommended that Quinn seek the resignations of the entire board of trustees.


The new inspector general would act as an ombudsman and would review problems with the law or the university’s own policies.

Regarding resignations, Commission Chairman Abner Mikva, a former federal judge, said earlier this week: “Obviously, [the governor is] free to accept those he wants and reappoint or refuse the resignations of those he thinks are doing a good job or can continue to do a good job. It is clear, as an institution, the board of trustees has not been governing in a way that the university needs or [that it] has the kind of governance it should have.”

Both the chairman and immediate past chairman of the board of trustees — Niranjan Shah and Lawrence Eppley — resigned within the past 10 days as the commission wound down its deliberations.

The Chicago Tribune reported in early June that over five years, about 800 students were admitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after receiving special treatment because they had obtained recommendations from clout wielders such as former board of trustees chairmen, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, legislators and university donors. The Tribune reported that the names of those students, including some applying for admission to the law school, were marked in red on so-called “Category I” lists and received special consideration.

Other recommendations the panel agreed to send to Quinn include:

• A firewall be placed around the admissions process so that no one except a designated individual in the admissions office be allowed to influence admissions decisions.
• Only a high school guidance counselor, individual student or parent should be allowed to check on the status of an admission.
• The university should have a clearly stated policy on what information — such as testing scores, grade point average or class standing — would be used for consideration of admission.
• The university should establish a clearly stated, transparent process for appeal of admission decisions.

Quinn’s panel interviewed more than 30 people over a six-week period.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 6, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,396 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 6, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Quinn Urged to Veto "Protect Incumbents Act"

Randall Stuffelbeam, Chair of the Constitution Party of Illinois; Kent McMillen, Press Relations Chair for the Libertarian Party of Illinois; and Richard Winger of Ballot Access News urged Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to veto House Bill 723, known as the Protect Incumbents Act, during a press conference held by the Free & Equal Elections Foundation in Chicago on Monday.

"HB 723 would make it nearly impossible for third parties to slate candidates in Illinois," said Free & Equal Chair Christina Tobin. "The bill would make it so that when no candidate of an established party runs in a primary for a particular office, that party can only fill the vacancy in nomination if the candidate they "slate" collects a large number of signatures."

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A Good, Clean Campaign

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

Although it's been barely 200 days since the legislature was sworn in, this week marked the start of candidate petition season. When candidates turn in their petitions around Halloween, election authorities will ask them to submit a bunch of other papers as well, including, Statements of Economic Interest, political fundraising disclosures, and the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

ICPR has long been a supporter of the Code. It's a little thing, voluntary and non-binding, but the Code is the only provision in Illinois law written explicitly and solely to encourage good behavior on the campaign trail. For years, we've mailed copies to all candidates for statewide and legislative office, urging them to sign the Code and abide by its principles. While a handful of candidates regularly submit the Code with their petitions, I'm always heartened to see how many ultimately do signal their agreement. It's a small step candidates can take to aver their intentions to run campaigns everyone can be proud of.

Reporter Sam Hudzik of WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio ran a story today on the Code. I'm sure ICPR will tout the Code to candidates in November, once all the petitions have been filed. But kudos to WBEZ for starting a conversation about it now, at the beginning of what will be a long political process.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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The Libertarian Party Made Them Do It

by Cal Skinner

University of Illinois trustees were elected when I ran for McHenry County Treasurer in 1966.

University of Illinois trustees were elected when I ran for state representative in the 1970's

University of Illinois trustees were elected when I ran for state comptroller in 1982.

University of Illinois trustees were elected when I ran for state representative in the early 1990's.

Then, as Libertarian Party candidates for the University of Illinois approached 5% of the total vote, the power parties decided it was time to appointed the trustees.

"Good government" Governor Jim Edgar signed the bill, if memory serves me correctly.

So, the threat that a third party might get on the ballot and draw votes from Republicans was ended.

And, we know the favoritism that happened since then.

But, it's not the fault of the power parties.

The Libertarian Party made them do it.

And, locally, the McHenry County Libertarian Party will again have a county fair booth this week, just like last year.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 5, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,325 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 5, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 4, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,268 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 4, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 4, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,268 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 4, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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BlogPeoria site beats Journal Star on Delta story by ONE MONTH

David Jordan reported this on Peoria Station on June 30:

PEORIA - Atlantic Southeast Airlines dba Delta Connection will drop its nonstop service between Peoria and Atlanta on September 1. The airline’s online schedules show two daily roundtrips through July, then one through August. Delta Connection had reduced Peoria service to just one daily roundtrip last fall, leading to speculation that service would soon end altogether, but then restored a second daily flight in March.

The Peoria Journal Star placed this article on it's website today, Aug. 3, more than one month after it was broken on a BlogPeoria.com site:

Delta Airlines will cut its local service to Atlanta, Ga., at the end of this month.

"Effective in September, we will be suspending service between Atlanta and Peoria as part of our continuing effort to match capacity and demand," company spokeswoman Susan Elliott confirmed Monday.

Since Atlanta is a major hub for air travelers, the direct flights will be missed, particularly by those who promote the central Illinois economy.

So what took so long? Notice that Mr. Jordan -- a citizen journalist with some expertise in transportation issues -- looked at the evidence in front of his eyes and wrote what he knew. The Journal Star waited until they had comments from an offocial spokesperson. In other words, Peoria's one and only newspaper of record didn't define the news as news until someone official went on the record.

That's called "objective" journalism and that's why newspapers are dying.

If you want to know what's happening at the Peoria airport as soon as possible, I suggest you read Peoria Station regularly. Wait for the Journal Star, and you might find yourself scrambling to make a connection.


This story was cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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Problems with Proposed Lobbying Changes

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

One of the hit-or-miss bills that passed the General Assembly this year was SB 54, which, among other things, made substantial changes to the Lobbyist Registration Act (LRA). The genesis of the LRA portion of the bill is plainly found in HB 736, which ICPR supported, but SB 54 differs in some key ways.

One difference is the disclosure of lobbyist costs, and several recent news stories make clear how the differences between HB 736, which did not pass the GA, and SB 54, which did, will impact public policy discussion. In one news story, the federal government gave billions to the financial services industry, and the industry responded by spending dramatically more on lobbying. In another news story, Congress took up legislation to regulate student loans, and lo and behold, the industry hired a bunch of lobbyists to fight the proposals. A third national news story compares the progress of the debate over health care reform with spending by health care interests (noting, also, that health care interests combine to spend more on lobbying at the federal level than any other sector).

All of these stories are built around disclosure of lobbyist contracts. At the federal level, lobbyists are required to report how much they bill their clients. Indeed, spending on lobbying is often in the same ballpark as spending on elections. Interest groups that spend millions on campaign contributions to candidates often spend similar amounts to hire lobbyists to influence elected officials. Just as disclosure of campaign finance is in the public interest, so too is it in the public interest to let the public know how much an interest group is spending to influence legislation.

The Illinois General Assembly has yet to go that far in statute. HB 736, the bill that did not pass, would have mandated disclosure of lobbying costs, but SB 54 did not include that provision. This was a missed opportunity to help the public better understand how particular interests are trying to sway the General Assembly.

Another provision in SB 54 that did not come from HB 736 raises the registration fee for lobbyists. And the increase is a whopper. Currently, most lobbyists pay $350 per lobbyist per year to register with the Secretary of State (non-profits, including ICPR, pay $150 per lobbyist per year). SB 54 raises that fee for all lobbyists, including non-profits, to $1,000. For most lobbyists, it's a steep increase; for non-profits, it's a huge added cost.

The increase is particularly steep because of the way that lobbying is defined. Generally, anyone who communicates with officials to influence legislative, executive, or administrative actions is a lobbyist. There are exceptions, of course (it's statute, after all) but broadly, once you are paid or reimbursed $500 for such communication, you become a lobbyist and must register. Which is to say, once you are paid or reimbursed $500, you must pay $1,000 to register. And the entity that paid or reimbursed you the $500 must also pay $1,000 to register. That's $2,000 in registration fees for $500 in reimbursements. Large lobbying firms will likely be able to absorb these costs, but smaller groups, especially non-profits, will have a harder time.

SB 54 increases the registration fee in order to cover additional administrative costs, but some of the cost of registration (the $200 difference between the for-profit and non-profit rate) goes into the General Revenue Fund. It seems that the state is still using lobbyist registration fees to produce income for the General Revenue Fund.

Both of these changes are unfortunate components of the new Lobbyist Registration Act. Gov. Quinn, or the General Assembly, would do well to revisit them.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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The next governor may be a guy named Clayborne

Since local news organizations pretty much ignore state politics -- except trials and budget crises -- most Peorians probably have never heard of State Sen. James Clayborne. He's the Illinois Senate majority leader. And he's mulling over a run for governor.

Rich Miller predicts that Clayborn would make interesting candidate:

Sen. Clayborne is not the sort of Democrat that Chicago media types are accustomed to seeing. He’s a downstate attorney with a pretty solid pro-business voting record who is also regularly endorsed by organized labor.

He’s pro-gun, but he’s also pro-choice. He ran and lost for senate president last year, and the campaign exposed some rifts with his fellow black senators, partly over his strong rating from the National Rifle Association.

Gun owner rights are not usually very popular with Democratic primary voters, and particularly with Chicago blacks. Pro-gun southern white Glenn Poshard was able to win the Democratic nomination in 1998, although that issue was used against him in the fall by Republican George Ryan. Just about every likely Republican nominee strongly favors the National Rifle Association’s view of things, so that issue might not hurt Clayborne as much as it did Poshard if he manages to win the primary.

He would face the current holder of that office, Patrick Quinn, and Comptroller Dan Hynes.

How would Clayborne fair in Peoria in a primary? Quinn is liked as an honest guy. But he's been pretty ineffectual and voters really don't give a rat's ass about honesty, to be perfectly honest about it. Hynes is liked and respected. He picked up fans here due to his office's handing of the Springdale Cemetery mess, but that was many years ago. And Hynes' popularity didn't really help Allen Mayer, an attorney in Hynes' office, when Mayer ran for state house representative. He was beaten in the primary by Jehan Gordon.

While Peoria swings Democratic these days, it doesn't swing too far left. We sent Aaron Schock to Springfield twice, remember, before an Obama avalanche sent Gordan there to replace him. Remember, Schock positioned himself as a moderate then.

The pro gun thing will also really help Clayborne. So with the union support and so will the business support.

I predict Clayborne would do well in Peoria in the primary. If goes without saying that whoever wins the Democratic primary will win the governor's mansion. The Illinois GOP couldn't organize an ice cream social.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 3, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,229 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 3, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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Illnois National Guard Welcomed Home in Woodstock

Algonquin's Gary Jenson sent me some more photos of the National Guard "Welcome Home!" ceremony in Woodstock on Friday.

The gazebo on the Square was bedecked in ribbons for the four men who were killed in Afghanistan.

The roar of the motorcycle escort preceded the bus carrying the returning soldiers.

When the bus got near the Square, people on the street starting taking pictures of the bus. Men in the bus were taking photos of the people greeting them. (Click to enlarge any photo.)

The Welcome Home banner was ready for their arrival. The banner read, in part ,

"WE LOVE YOU
AND MISSED YOU
DELTA COMPANY!"

At the edge of the Woodstock Square a flag hung from extended ladders of two hook and ladder fire trucks.

American flags lined the walk to the Gazebo. Those welcoming them home knew they were fighting for their country, not their state.

Children held another banner saying,

USO
Welcome Home Troops!

The Guardsmen entered the flag-bedecked walk.

The troops stepped up to the Gazebo.

The National Guardsman from Delta honored their fallen comrades.

Here's a Crystal Laker's view of the celebration. More shots here.

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 2, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,192 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 2, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - August 1, 2009

Articles of interest to Illinois Republicans recently posted by ABC7, NBC5, CBS2, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago News, Suburban Life, Pioneer Local, Southtown Star, Rockford Register Star, Bloomington Pantagraph, Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal Register, Belleville News Democrat, Southern Illinoisan, Illinois Review, Public Affairs, Champion News, Illinois Family Institute, Americans For Truth, Chicago Daily Observer, Tom Roeser, Capitalfax, etc. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought 49,140 such articles and information on many upcoming events to its subscribers' attention each morning, free of charge, and without any advertising. To view the August 1, 2009 GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips, please visit www.gopillinois.com. Thanks

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