*** 11:29 am *** I told subscribers this morning that it looked pretty clear to me that Speaker Madigan wanted to wait until January before moving any more legislation, including the mass transit bailout. Come January, he’ll only need a simple majority to pass everything except a bond authorization bill. And so it goes…
House Speaker Michael Madigan adjourned the special session this morning called by Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Madigan said there is nothing more for lawmakers to do so he’s sending them home until January. But he told them they’re on call to come back to work if legislation develops. […]
A Blagojevich spokeswoman says the governor hasn’t decided whether he will call another special session to keep lawmakers working.
Today’s special session was called last night. It was supposed to deal with transit and a capital bill. You can view the official proclamation by clicking here.
I’m told that a leaders meeting is scheduled for noon. No idea yet whether Madigan will show up. Rumors are rampant that Blagojevich will call another special session for tomorrow or next week. Stay tuned.
* 11:41 am - Wow…
Unemployment in the Rockford region jumped more than in any other U.S. metro area over the past year. A report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows the unemployment rate in Rockford almost doubled since October 2006. Eight-point-one percent of workers there are listed as unemployed.
And double-wow…
Sears Holdings Corp. reported a 99 percent drop in third-quarter profit Thursday on weak sales at its Sears and Kmart department stores and continuing investment losses under hedge-fund manager Chairman Eddie Lampert.
And another wow…
The mortgage crisis will cost the Chicago area almost $4 billion next year in lost economic activity, according to a report. The report, released Tuesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors , measures the effect of the crisis on employment, consumer spending and other indicators of economic output. In Chicago, the ripple effects will result in a $3.9-billion drop in gross metropolitan product, a measure of overall economic activity in the area.
*** 4:21 pm *** It was quite the press conference. Here’s a very brief summary…
Blagojevich says he’s meeting with legislative leaders early next week. If negotiations continue to produce nothing, the governor says he’ll call daily special sessions until Christmas to try to force action.
* 4:38 pm - LOL. Here’s more…
“Now, you ask me about a hockey game last night. You could say, in fact, I’ll say, I prefer to actually go to a game that wasn’t rigged. In other words, let me say it another way, um, I prefer to watch a game that wasn’t rigged,” Blagojevich told reporters. “That vote last night, unfortunately, if you look carefully at that roll call, where some leaders of the Democratic caucus voted against it, suggested to me it wasn’t a serious effort to pass it.”