The Capitol Fax Blog » 2007 » July

Friday, Jul 6, 2007

* 12:36 pm - The governor has called two more special sessions.

- Special Session 3 will convene Saturday at 2 pm and will “address the funding of the State Employees Retirement System.” The proclamation can be downloaded here.

- Special Session 4 will convene Sunday at 2 pm and will “address the funding of the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois.” That proclamation is here.

So much for the dream of an early Saturday session followed by a late Sunday session.

* 2:24 pm - There seems to be a disagreement about who can set the time of the special sessions. Madigan has told the House GOP that he wants to come in at 10 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday, the guv’s times notwithstanding.

* 2:54 pm - The governor has asked for a leaders meeting tomorrow at noon.

- posted by Rich Miller 45 Comments

Question of the day

Friday, Jul 6, 2007

As you probably know, the giant media empire behind “The Simpson’s” TV show and movie is hosting a contest to see which Springfield is most like the mythical Springfield we’ve all grown to know and love. You can vote here.

Question: Match Simpson characters, places and events to their Statehouse counterparts. Snark is heavily encouraged, of course. Have as much fun as possible.

- posted by Rich Miller 28 Comments

Further apart

Friday, Jul 6, 2007

* The Sun-Times editorial board thinks that the special session is a dumb idea…

Now Gov. Blagojevich has called the lawmakers into special session, which started the new tab for taxpayers. Maybe he hopes that will put pressure on legislators to bow to his budget demands. But we expect the voters [will] blame both him and lawmakers for this costly mess.

And why have all lawmakers in Springfield anyway? We know their only role is to approve whatever Blagojevich and the top legislative leaders agree on. Let them go home until a deal is struck.

* As you know, on Monday, Blagojevich’s people were saying that the House’s Committee of the Whole meeting was a fantastic idea and just what the governor wanted. By Wednesday, he was refusing to attend the hearing and claiming that Speaker Madigan was “more interested in playing games and taking solutions off the table than trying to find solutions to solve real problems.”

Curiously enough, none of the TV reporters who were granted interviews yesterday asked the governor about this abrupt switch in attitude…

‘’This is a three-ring circus. It’s not designed to solve any problems,'’ Blagojevich said in an interview with WICS-TV in Springfield.

* And he’s ramping up the vitriol against Madigan, despite the clear fact that he doesn’t have the votes to pass almost any of his legislation through the Senate, either…

Meantime he’s calling Speaker Madigan a “Right wing conservative”

“You can’t be a democrat if you pass a budget that takes healthcare away from 225 thousand kids. Even President Bush wouldn’t be for a budget like that. Mr. Madigan and the house democrats passed a budget like that.” Said Governor Rod Blagojevich, D-Illinois.

Please.

* This is worth noting…

Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, have proposed a budget that includes a mix of new casinos and higher business taxes to generate $5 billion for health care and education.

The problem is, the Senate has only passed the gaming component of the budget, and that bill was fatally flawed because it locked out south suburban communities that have been vying for a riverboat. The rest of the governor’s package is still stalled in the Senate, a fact that continues to be overlooked or brushed aside by the media.

* Thankfully, the Tribune took a look at opposition in the Senate to the governor’s Lottery proposal, but buried it underneath the much sexier Madigan vs. Blagojevich fight…

Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), who chairs the Education Committee, said the administration failed to explain how it would replace the more than $600 million the lottery provides education each year if it is leased. It provides nearly 10 percent of the state’s annual contribution to schools.

Lightford lashed out at suggestions that replacement funds could be raised by closing more corporate loopholes or by exploring other revenue options.

“I can’t support a concept that does not clearly demonstrate to me how we would make up the revenue,” she said, saying the plan is “totally unacceptable.” […]

Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said there is a “great deal of anxiety” in the Senate about a lottery lease, but he said he is prepared to call a vote Friday on the governor’s resolution.

* I told you about that resolution yesterday. At best, it’s an empty gesture - merely calling on the General Assembly to do something about the pension funding situation by the end of the session. John Patterson makes an excellent point today…

The resolution is co-sponsored by state Rep. Jay Hoffman, a Collinsville Democrat and a key Blagojevich ally.

And that leads us to May 10… Here’s what Rep. Hoffman had to say on that date when the Illinois House, by resolution, voted 107-0 to reject Blagojevich’s $8 billion business tax plan.

“We’ve never governed by resolution,” Hoffman told reporters after the vote.

“I have never in the 16 years that I’ve been here ever seen us govern by resolution. I mean the next resolution may be congratulating some football team for winning the state championship.”

Indeed, the resolution filed right after Hoffman’s congratulates a Chicago school principal on her retirement.

The bottom line here is that nothing that has been done so far this week is getting us any closer to fixing the problems. If anything, they’re further away from a resolution than they were a week ago.

* More special session stories, compiled by Paul…

* Lawmakers furious with governor over budget impasse

* Blagojevich skips Illinois House hearing on budget

* Blagojevich misses Illinois House budget hearing

* House fights lottery lease

* Lottery plan compounds animosity

* Pension costs growing sharply for IL government

* Bethany Carson: Many answers, few questions

* Lawmakers in special session without governor

* Plenty of doubt over lottery sale plan

* Lottery sale plan may get nixed

* Editorial: Simmering Mushrooms

* Cost of special session

- posted by Rich Miller 71 Comments

Can’t anybody over there play this game?

Friday, Jul 6, 2007

* The Todd Stroger saga gets weirder by the day…

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger said Thursday that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer months earlier than his administration has previously disclosed. […]

Stroger revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2006 and decided to keep it private.

Earlier this month, Stroger’s spokeswoman said he was diagnosed only about 10 months ago after he was chosen for the ballot.

Stroger blamed the discrepancies on his communications team.

Either he’s not telling the truth again, or his communications team is one of the worst ever and should be cleaned out right away.

* More…

His medical condition was not grave and did not immediately threaten his life, Stroger said. Because of that, he said, it was not imperative that he inform Democratic Party officials or the public. He said he was suffering from a slow-growing cancer that could be treated without surgery, at least initially.

“What I had was something that would not truly affect me until sometime into the future if I didn’t do anything at all,” Stroger said. “It’s not like a brain tumor that grows very quickly and you don’t know what’s going on. Prostate cancer generally takes some time to develop.”

* Well, he didn’t “do anything at all” for over a year. I understand denial. We all have that problem sometimes. But most of us are private citizens and what we do impacts only ourselves and our familes. Stroger, on the other hand, is the County Board President. He has an obligation to every citizen of the county to stay as healthy as he can, or at least be up front about his situation.

This is a recurring problem with the Stroger family…

With a an election approaching, the public was initially told the elder Stroger would be fine, his recovery was routine, and he’d soon be back running county government. None of that was true, but John Stroger was re-elected. When the truth came out, an interim board president was appointed, then party bosses slated Todd Stroger to run for his dad’s position.

[Emphasis added]

* And let’s get back to this point for a moment…

Mr. Stroger said he did not intend to deceive voters or Democratic Party officials about his ability to hold office, but rather meant to keep a burden from his mother, Yonnie, who was dealing with the illness of her husband, John Stroger Jr.

Again, if he’s telling the truth, protecting one’s mother from news that could be devastating, especially when she’s already going through a crisis, can be considered noble. But, again, he was being considered at the time for an appointment to the general election ballot. He had an obligation that rose above family. If he didn’t want to tell his mom, he should’ve just taken a pass on the appointment.

* This is also worth noting…

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who was jockeying to replace John Stroger last summer, said he doubts an earlier disclosure of Todd Stroger’s cancer would have affected the race, as party bosses “pretty much set the pace.”

Davis is probably right. Disclosure likely wouldn’t have meant a loss to Tony Peraica, but the ballot appointment was so controversial that I can see how Stroger might have wanted to keep it a secret. That decision was wrong on all counts.

Todd Stroger is not nearly the bad guy that he’s often made out to be. But he’s his own worst enemy and he makes himself impossible to defend.

Also, I’m getting tired of the goofy nicknames in comments, particulary regarding Stroger. Please avoid them in the future or your comments could be deleted. Thanks.

- posted by Rich Miller 30 Comments

Morning Shorts

Friday, Jul 6, 2007

* Kadner: Sen. Crotty hopes to revive bill to make secret settlements public

* Illinoize: Legislators posturing for judgeships?

* From the people to to gov, welcome to Illinois

As for Blagojevich’s name being on the signs, Claffey said, “It’s quite customary for states and cities, including the City of Chicago, to have the chief executive’s name up on a welcome sign.”
But critics have taken issue with the governor’s tendency to do this. He also had his name added to 32 signs on the Illinois tollway system. They not only cost $480,000, but touted an I-PASS project initiated by a previous administration.

* Editorial: No easy answer on older drivers

There’s little doubt that lawmakers are less motivated to restrict older drivers than teens because, in part, seniors yield political clout that adolescents lack. In fairness to legislators, though, Illinois already employs some of the nation’s most stringent laws for older drivers. It is one of only two states that requires those older than 75 to undergo a driving test every two years. At age 87, license holders must take a driving test annually.

* Some minimum wage earners not happy

* Fire Marshal to lose two weeks salary for DUI

* Ban on horse slaughter upheld

* Opinion: State should take lead in treating vets

* Bill aims to keep Great Lakes clean

* Illinoisan for President; Cox who?

* City plans to outsource hiring

* Friday Beer Blogging: Little Kings Edition

- posted by Paul Richardson 17 Comments