1. - Bill Baar - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 7:08 am:

   Swift Boating because of his name? American soldiers fight and die every day with Iraqi allies with middle eastern names. We sacrifice together.




2. - God help the little children... - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 7:16 am:

   Chicago Public Schools hires Samuels, who for a time, headed up DCFS when the The Belleville News-Democrat found that 53 children died between September 1998 and January 2005 after DCFS workers and employees of contracted private agencies committed serious errors, made questionable judgments, and failed to follow department regulations.




3. - Leroy - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 7:28 am:

   > Judge shifts millions in wrongful-death award from family to state agency

   Excellent! Looks like the state found another innovative way to raise revenue.




4. - Anonymous - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 7:36 am:

   I think most people on this bog are more interested in the Sneed comments.




5. - Pat Hickey - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 7:51 am:

   Way to go Arne! Hire the clown who helped usher Father John Smyth out of forty years of caring for kids and then tolling up DCFS’s body count. This sanctimonious jerk helped other phonies bury the good work at Maryville with their ‘liars figure;figures lie’ math and then spark up the Illinois death count for children. Where are those hard-hitting investigative news hounds? ‘Waiting in the rain on Ashland’ or oredreing up a story at Tavern on Rush?




6. - Skeeter - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 7:58 am:

   $6 million for a 79 year old man?
   And then $25 million in punatives on top of that?

   And people think the story is about splitting up the punatives?




7. - Cynical Son - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 8:00 am:

   Your headline “Madison County looks to state for money to extend Governors’ Parkway” tells me that the Blago cash funnel in the Metro-East area under the control of Jay Hoffman will assure that the road will ultimately be renamed “Gov. Blagojevich’s Parkway” or “Hot Rod’s Highway.”




8. - I can't believe we did it again - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 8:02 am:

   Are we allowed to speculate about who Sneed is referring too?




9. - So-Called "Austin Mayor" - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 8:16 am:

   My guess is that Sneed doesn’t have a particular name in mind but is just playing the odds.




10. - If it Walks Like a Duck... - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 8:23 am:

    In an interview with the Gov. the Southtown asked:
    Q: Are you confident that Chris Kelly is not going to be indicted?

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

    Dum, de, dum, dum…or is it Dumb, da, dumb, dumb?




11. - Bill Baar - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 8:34 am:

    My guess is that Sneed doesn’t have a particular name in mind but is just playing the odds.

    I agree. It’s easy money too.




12. - Truthful James - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:12 am:

    And don’t forget he second pension he will qualify for!! What does Samuels know about Arne and the Schools that we don’t know? Yet.




13. - zatoichi - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:15 am:

    I’ve been told Giordano’s may be delivering an early Christmas present to one of Gov. Blagojevich’s closest pals. Stay tuned.

    Makes as much sense as Sneed.




14. - sam - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:16 am:

    One thing people forget:

    His name is Barack Hussein Obama…. Jr.

    He is named after his father - something I am sure he honors and everyone can respect.

    Regardless, it is better than my middle name. Sure, you think “Danger” would be great, but you really just spend far more time being strip-searched at airports.




15. - Judgement Day Is On The Way... - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:17 am:

    A grant of Immunity before testifying before a federal grand jury. Good news for whoever’s getting it, really bad news for a lot of others.

    Lots and lots and LOTS of questions are going to get asked - and answered.

    More fun…




16. - Pat Hickey - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:18 am:

    Truthful,

    Can’t this mope get a real job? He has been back-doored since he got out of college, by one progressive hack after another. Now, the poor public schools have his ‘hands off’ administarive style on their weary backs. Where are the good government hand-wringers when a mope like this gets public money? All they beef about are people who actually stand for elective office. Janus - the public face - has twoo of them. No - that is not a girl’s name - it is a Roman deity.




17. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:24 am:

    Let’s try to avoid speculation on whom Sneed is referring to, please. Thanks.




18. - YR - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:29 am:

    I just want to point out the editorial from saukvalley.com is originally from the News-Gazette. But the hearing happened last week, Dec. 15th.




19. - grand old partisan - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:30 am:

    “He said he worried it would take away local governments’ right to regulate themselves.”

    Really? So if we looked through the rest of his voting record on gun-control and weapons use issues, we’d find that he voted against any and all attempts to regulate on the state level?

    If you shoot someone who breaks into your home, you would at risk of being arrested and indicted for violating STATE LAW, not local codes or ordinances. Seems to me that enumerated legitimate defenses for state laws can only be created by the state legislature, and Obama – a law professor – is smart enough to know that.

    Talk about a load of bull.




20. - Judgement Day Is On The Way... - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:46 am:

    Rich, can you please open up your “Contact me” link for just a little bit. Thanks.




21. - grand old partisan - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 9:58 am:

    okay, I stand corrected. The bill created an affirmative defense against municipal gun bans when the weapon in question was used in self-defense.




22. - Cassandra - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 10:01 am:

    And so it begins, Blagojevich’s second term. It doesn’t really matter who it is if Sneed is accurate and it is a top Blagojevich pal. The indictment of any top Blagojevich aide, current or past, sets the stage for what many believe will be a string of indictments. And the time and energy of top state officials will be consumed
    by responding to indictments or potential indictments, considering legal defense strategies, fears that they are next, wondering about how much their legal fees might be, and so on. Not to mention gubernatorial wannabees from both parties jockeying for position and advantage. The work of the people of Illinois will be a minor priority for incumbent pols and agency executives during the next four years.

    As to Bryan Samuels, it looks like he landed on his feet. Maybe he was one of the smart ones.It is doubtful he left because of the Belleville News Democrat series, by the way.
    If you look at the time frames of the child deaths reported they cover the incumbencies of several DCFS directors, not just Samuels. Child maltreatment is a bipartisan problem.

    DCFS is a bipartisan problem too. Interesting that the agency’s response to the Belleville Series has been esentially to thumb its nose at the public by saying “we are continuing to review our procedures.” No sense of urgency there. Not even doing anything new. Agency executives must be very certain of the support of their political patrons (and of public gullibility) to make this kind of response.




23. - zatoichi - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 10:15 am:

    If Debbie Schlussel is getting paid to write bottom feeding “swiftboat” columns here are some equal time topics that are just as stupid:

    Rush Hudson Limbaugh III – clearly tied to Hollywood liberal elite. What was that viagra for?

    George Walker Bush – must be related to former Illinois governor who walked the state. Coincidence?




24. - Pat Hickey - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 10:33 am:

    Cassandra,
    ‘Child maltreatment is a bipartisan problem’ I beg to differ child maltreatment is a sin and one of the good guys and one of the most effective shepherds was put out of business by B.S. in order to ‘prvatize’ a State agency and that is why kids died. Your Cat-like Bryan, the ship jumper, is gravy-train public trough slurper and no more than that - and he ain’t any where near done lapping it up!




25. - Punley Deiter Finn - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 10:58 am:

    Hickey, is it slurping or lapping? The mixed metaphor salad is giving me agita.




26. - Treason! - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 11:01 am:

    Rather than speculate about Sneed’s comment, the good people of Illinois can only hope that whatever the Feds have cooking, it spoils Governor Corruptovich’s holidays and hopefully 2007.




27. - JMedill - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 11:21 am:

    Rich is right let’s not speculate. but could be the same name that Kass can never seem to type in the Tribune?




28. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 11:40 am:

    I found the remainder of Sneed titillating:

    Record ‘em . . .

    It’s a shocker: Sneed is told a longtime top politico has been snagged in the fed’s net via the probe of top canary Stuart Levine, who was indicted in a kickback scheme involving the state teachers retirement system….Word is the feds have the former political heavyweight on tape.




29. - winco - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 11:53 am:

    RE: swiftboating of Obama.

    If we are voting on names I would pick:
    John McCain over Barack Hussein Obama
    Even Mitt Romney over B.H.O
    But, B.H.O over Newt Gingrich
    And definitely B.H.O. over Jeb Bush. That one is just scary. (Not “Jeb,” his other name).

    But I think people who vote on names are not paying attention two years before the general and a year before primaries, so I don’t think their efforts are going to pay off.




30. - Cassandra - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 11:55 am:

    He’s not “my” Bryan. My point was the child deaths occur under every administration. The test is, what are they doing about it. The Blagojevich group seems rather more lackadaisical than many, despite their professed dedication to children.

    And the tragedies seemingly go on. Today Fox News St. Louis reports on the death of an ESL area three year old whose death is being investigated as a homicide and whose family has reportedly been under DCFS investigation for two months.

    If this turns out to be another DCFS failure…how many will it take for our Democratic political powers to take some action?
    Judging by the lack of progress at the Cook County Juvenile Center…way too long.




31. - Pat Hickey - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 12:10 pm:

    Thanks Cassandra,

    The Crime was the systematic destruction of Maryville and the horrific smear on Father Smyth to exact a progressive experiment at ‘privatization’ of DCFS The arch-louse in this is Bryan Samuels. Now, if I were a ‘hard-hitting, no-nonsense, get at the truth reporter’ - I’d want to see who quilted the Public School funds so Life-Time Trough Slurper Samuels could land on those well-manicured cat’s paws. but Bryan is well-insulated by the ‘think tank’ crowd which pipe-lines deep thought to news media folks.




32. - Just Wondering - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 12:11 pm:

    What’s Hillary’s middle name?




33. - Pat Hickey - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 12:17 pm:

    Hillary, Percival I believe -

    Edmund Percival Hillary, K.B.E. & etc.




34. - Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 12:33 pm:

    Hillary has no middle name.




35. - Anonymous - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 12:50 pm:

    Yellow Dog Democrat - I think the political heavyweight and the gov’s pal are two different guys. I’m pretty sure I know who they are but, Rich will not allow speculation.




36. - Just wondering... - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 1:17 pm:

    Am I missing the joke or is Rodham a euphemism for gubernatorial theatrics?




37. - Establishment Republican - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 1:20 pm:

    Hillary Diane Rodham




38. - Come On Now - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 1:52 pm:

    What happen to JMedill’s hints that were previously posted?
    Were they warm or very hot?




39. - Angie - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 4:07 pm:

    Re: “I think most people on this bog are more interested in the Sneed comments.”

    Oooh. I’ll bet I know who it is. But we’re not to speculate loudly, so just think about the wording and then think some more.

    I know who it is!

    Someone’s getting a Merry Fitzmas. lol




40. - Bill - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 4:49 pm:

    Hilary Osama Rodham Clinton




41. - Come On Now - Thursday, Dec 21, 06 @ 4:59 pm:

    Angie - To funny!
    Is Merry Fitzmas kinda like Festavis?
    Come on, fess up….
    Guess we’ll all find out tommorrow.

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