*** * 2:28 pm - I told subscribers about the possibility of September special sessions earlier this week. Today, the governor confirms it himself…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Thursday he wants state lawmakers to return to Springfield every day for three days a week after Labor Day to come up with a better way to fund education.
* 3:05 PM - John Patterson takes us on another trip down memory lane…
One of the biggest fights between Edgar and Madigan came in the mid-1990s when Republicans controlled the Capitol. Edgar and the GOP pushed construction-spending plans. Madigan refused to put votes on the proposals and thereby blocked them.
Question: Who was a loyal Illinois House Democrat in the mid-1990s, voting alongside Madigan to help block hundreds of millions of dollars worth of spending on roads, universities and dilapidated state buildings?
Answer: State Rep. Rod Blagojevich.
*** 4:01 pm *** I just got off the phone with Rev. Sen James Meeks: “September sessions are fine with me.”
Also, Meeks says 2,500 people showed up at a rally today demanding school funding reform and in support of his first day of classes boycott.
More in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.
*** 4:21 pm *** Charlie Cook reassesses IL 11…
Once considered on the verge of being a lost cause for the GOP, this race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Jerry Weller in Chicago’s southern suburbs has quickly become one of the marquee races of the cycle. Pitting Democratic state Sen. Debbie Halvorson against GOP concrete businessman Marty Ozinga, it is also already one of the most expensive and contentious.
More than any other race in the country, this race is about guilt by association: for Halvorson, the task at hand is to tie Ozinga to unpopular President Bush; for Ozinga, it is to tie Halvorson to even less popular Gov. Rod Blagojevich. An especially aggressive Ozinga press shop and quick fundraising on the part of the GOP candidate has helped put the race back on the map.”
That’s true about Ozinga’s press shop. I can’t remember the last time I heard from the Halvorson campaign. More…
“Republicans say Halvorson’s status as a party leader during the Blagojevich administration will doom her campaign. Thanks to ethics scandals in his inner circle and support for an unpopular gross receipts tax, Blagojevich’s approval ratings currently languish in the teens. Ozinga’s allies say Halvorson stalled an ethics bill in the legislature and supported the gross receipts tax. They also hammer her for her associations with ‘Chicago politicians’ such as city state Sen. Emil Jones, who has favored Cook County (Chicago) representation on a board for a proposed Will County airport.” […]
“If it weren’t for the DCCC’s large cash advantage and the fact that Ozinga himself has contributed to Blagojevich, this race would be in the Toss Up column. For now, Halvorson maintains the narrowest of advantages.”
*** 4:37 pm *** No suprise here. The guv won’t march in tonight’s parade. From the governor’s press staff…
The Governor will not be at the Twilight Parade tonight in Springfield.
This afternoon he had a press conference regarding a major public safety initiative and is currently working with the legislative leaders regarding the upcoming special session and the revised Capital Bill. Finding a way to get the Capital Bill passed - and the 400,000 jobs it would create - is a top priority for the Governor and he is working with the other leaders to pass the measure.
The Governor will be at the ribbon cutting tomorrow morning and will take part in a number of parade activities throughout the week.