The Capitol Fax Blog » Morning shorts

Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007

* Ex-legislator’s fund owes $80,000 but gov hires him anyway

Giles, a Blagojevich ally while in the Legislature, served seven terms before losing his 2006 re-election bid. He’s now northern region manager for the Illinois Department of Employment Security, an $84,996-a-year post in which he oversees nine work force services offices and about 250 employees. The job was vacant before Giles was hired.

Giles’ defunct political fund, Citizens for Calvin L. Giles, still owes $80,250 in election fines for improperly filing disclosure documents in 2000 and 2002.

* State police probe donation to Blagojevich ; more here

A Chicago pharmacist first told state police in 2005 that he made a $25,000 contribution to Blagojevich as a form of protection from a state Medicaid probe.

The Illinois State Police told the Tribune last month they had already investigated those allegations and determined they were unfounded.

But after repeated inquiries from the Tribune about the thoroughness of that investigation, state police said last week they were taking another look.

* Election Board makes changes in ballot rules

Election law changes that call for more pay for election judges, more teenagers and college students as monitors and safeguards to ensure absentee ballots are counted were announced Monday by the Chicago Election Board.

* Statehouse Insider: Gov moving with health-care expansion

Riding the crest of his 31 percent approval rating (or less, depending on the poll), Blagojevich apparently intends once again to push his universal health plan in the General Assembly. Won’t that be fun? It got next to no support in the General Assembly this year, and there doesn’t seem to be a sudden groundswell to support it now. Not to mention that no one has figured out how to pay for it. Are we going to have Son of Gross Receipts Tax? It’s going to take some kind of tax hike to pay for Illinois Covered. How many lawmakers do you think will be lining up to support any kind of tax hike in an election year?

* Legislators balk at Blago’s health care expansion

* Editorial: Tell governor that no means no

* Blagojevich health care expansion getting hard look

* Managed Medicaid pilot program under debate in Illinois

* Lawmakers dispute health-care plan’s cost

The administration insisted Thursday evening that the plan would cost $43 million through June 30, the end of the fiscal year. But Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said his staff analysis shows it would cost $367 million annually once it’s fully implemented. Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Pontiac, concurred.

* Editorial: Governor again bypasses system to get his own way

If Blagojevich’s push for universal health care is so important, why didn’t he mention it while he was campaigning for re-election less than a year ago? We can’t believe the idea suddenly popped into his head after Nov. 7, 2006.

Pension reform, school finance reform and a capital program still need to be addressed, but this governor is bound and determined to get his way, even if it bankrupts the state.

* Tribune Editorial: A message from Oregon

Eleven months ago, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago warned that Illinois faces “a financial implosion.” The highly respected business group reported that the state owed $106 billion, much of it for pensions and health-care costs.

The state made no progress in the last year on those dire financial problems. Yet Blagojevich is doing an end-run on the legislature to impose more spending on health care.

Given the chance, Oregon voters said, “not so fast.” But Illinois voters, and their elected representatives, have been left as bystanders.

* State to hire auditor to look at all-time low test scores

“Any time you see a drop like this, it’s a concern,” said Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover. “We want to take a close look at the whole testing process and see if we can determine if there was a problem with the test, or if this is a real decline in scores.”

* State to look into whether test was compromised

* Illinois Report Card Projects director seeks new way to measure school performance

* Rep. John Fritchey: Time is right to hold a Con-Con

* Change of Subject: Ryan’s special treatment, moment of silence

* George Ryan fighting for his legacy

* Key events in George Ryan’s life
* TIF programs need reform says Civic Federation

* Illinoize: Lawyers, lawyers, and more lawyers in Illinois

* Opposition to pending legislation

The Edgar County Board was warned Wednesday morning a potentially budget busting bill is moving through the Illinois General Assembly. Tim Shumaker, Edgar County Chief Probation Officer, advised county board members the proposed law would change the the age limit for charging youths as adults from the current 17-years-old to 18.

* Tribune Editorial: Let CeaseFire fight

It’s impossible to prove what relatives and friends of some of the victims have been asserting to Chicago reporters: that a fully funded CeaseFire could have prevented one or more of the five high-profile killings of young Chicagoans in the past four weeks.

What’s easy to prove, though, is that CeaseFire is a politically neutral organization with no business being caught in the political crossfire that now passes for governance in Springfield. The unending struggle over who writes the state budget of Illinois — the legislature or the governor — isn’t CeaseFire’s fight.

* Carol Marin: State GOP may need strange alliances

If Pat Robertson, the televangelist who believes God made heaven for righteous right-wingers and hell for everyone else, can bless the thrice-married, pro-choice, pro-gay, anti-gun Rudy Giuliani for president, what other water can the GOP turn into wine this election season?

Could this kind of radical rapprochement between an ideological conservative and a social liberal catch on? Could it possibly spread to schizoid Illinois, where conservatives consider centrists Communists? Where wacko Alan Keyes was imported from out of state to run for U.S. Senate in 2004 against Barack Obama? Where moderate Republican Judy Baar Topinka was eaten alive by the right wing of her party, bludgeoned worse by them than by her 2006 Democratic opponent, Gov. Rod Blagojevich?

Just asking.

* McQueary: Journalism ’shield’ laws a want or a need?

- posted by Paul Richardson

11 Comments

- Team America, World Police - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:06 am:
Good morning Paul- for Shorts, if you are interested, Team America Blog has a post up on a very lopsided poll done by 10th Dist Dem candidate Dan Seals showing a 52 point lead over challenger Jay Footlik. All the reports from readers coming in show it to be a negative push poll, though, but Seals will crow about this for all he’s worth. We’ll see if Footlik attacks Seals for negative campaigning- people HATE that in the 10th District.

- DOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:24 am:
And while all of this is going on IDNR is being cut even deeper.

- Kuz - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:31 am:
Were the questions in the Seals poll not truthful, or just negative toward Footlik? Man, 24% name rec for Footlik is pretty low, with the primary coming up soon.

- Hugh - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:38 am:
Trib: “CeaseFire is a politically neutral organization with no business being caught in the political crossfire that now passes for governance in Springfield. The unending struggle over who writes the state budget of Illinois — the legislature or the governor — isn’t CeaseFire’s fight.”

The first year funding a program as a member initiative, OK, maybe it’s a pilot, fine, let’s give it a try. When a program goes year after year with ongoing operational funding as member initiatives, that’s a symptom. For years state reps carved CeaseFire’s funding out of the Dept. of Corrections budget. Eventually, wouldn’t you hope DOC would notice, say, this is decent program, let’s fold it in? CeaseFire lived by member initiatives and died by member initiatives.

- Hugh - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:40 am:
Trib: “It’s impossible to prove … that a fully funded CeaseFire could have prevented one or more of the five high-profile killings of young Chicagoans in the past four weeks. … We do know that eliminating all state funding has made the streets of Chicago and other Illinois cities more dangerous.”

CeaseFire apologists just KNOW it’s cost-effective. CeaseFire is a faith-based initiative.

- Hugh - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 9:44 am:
Trib: “The unending struggle over who writes the state budget of Illinois — the legislature or the governor … ”

Another unending struggle in Springfield is who writes the budget - the legislature or the individual legislators.

- Garp - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:02 am:
It may be hard to document achievement with a program like CeaseFire but it is easy to determine whether it is necessary. It is money well spent. The gangs hide in the shadows of society and prey upon children. The police only enforce the laws and have an adversarial relationship with street gangs. Someone has to be willing to get their hands dirty and try to save the kids that can be saved and reduce the violence that kills or maims innocent victims caught in the crossfire. I am more willing to see my tax dollars spent in a program like CeaseFire than virtually any of the programs the state funds.

- Captain America - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 10:17 am:
Blago’s emergency rule is a “field of dreams” approach to governing - “Spend it, then they will have to appropriate the money. I applaud the Governor for his vision in establishing health care for the uninsured as a top priority, but denounce him for his delusion that legislative action is not required to enact his proposals/dreams before he implements them.

JCAR should shoot down this emergency rule immediately since here is no bona fide emergency. If they don’t do so, the Illinois fiscal train wreck is likely to happen sooner rather than later.

- Cassandra - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 11:19 am:
I am very sorry for the deaths of the young people
in gang-ridden neighborhoods.

But the adults in these neighborhoods seem to have decided that the deaths of these kids is somebody else’s problem. And there are all too many do-gooders around to help them feel that way.
Mayor Daley was right when he told one community recently that they know who committed the crime.
Likely they do. But perhaps they are profiting too much from the billions in drug money which cycle through gang-ridden neighborhoods to actually take
ownership of the problem. Or even to want to fix it.

Meanwhile, where ARE those do-gooders. Ceasefire gets money from the Smart family foundation, the
Pritzkes, and so on. Couldn’t they ramp up their contributions. Six million is chump change to these folks.

Saving the residents in drug neighborhoods from themselves should not be primarily the burden of
grossly overtaxed middle class Illinois taxpayers who are now facing, very likely, the additional burdens of an economic recession. State legislators and state employees will be protected from any recession by huge raises (remember, our feckless legislators got that superraise this year), free health and pension, and so on. The rest of us will be paying for that and coping with recession too, no doubt. Let the Pritzkers pay for Ceasefire.

- Ivory-billed Woodpecker - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 11:26 am:
What Garp said.

That anyone has even an inkling of a strategy on constructively intervening in gang disputes is breathtaking. Most people asked to attempt what the CeaseFire people do would, I expect, have not the foggiest idea where to begin. Maybe calling them violence reduction “consultants” would help CeaseFire fit in more easily as someone’s budget line item.

- Blagojevich's Mass Media Effects - Tuesday, Nov 13, 07 @ 11:28 am:
Everyday since Blagojevich has taken office, I read in the newspaper or hear on the televison how Blagojevich’s public programs are giving everything away.
Prepared yourselves for the bankruptcy of Illinois.

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