He don't bring us flowers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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






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

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

It's pretty good reading.

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

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

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

Doing favors is a big part of the culture.

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Some of the risks of leasing the lottery

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

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

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

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

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

OneMan.

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What If the Raid's on the Lottery?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More musings on McHenry County Blog.

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Don't Forget About Us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Cold Cash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meetings, Friday 2:45 Rm 2225

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

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

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

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More lies from the Journal Star edit page

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Barack Obama's new book out this fall

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Big box ordinance or Wal Mart ordinance?

From today's Defender,

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

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

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

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

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

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When is a Plan not a Plan?

When its details are secret, of course.

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

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

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

Does the Governor Have an A+ Education Plan?

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

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

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

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

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Tollway Lease Billions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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