http://www.weareillinois.org We Are Illinois: ILGOP en-us
The act of saying one thing, while being caught in the act of doing another

Senator Halvorson can't figure out where she was (literally) during recall debate

Continues Blago-Talking voters on recall, ethics, GRT, pay increases and sales tax


CHICAGO - The Illinois Republican Party today is calling on State Senator Debbie Halvorson to come clean with the voters and stop Blago-talking them on her record in the Illinois Senate.

"Senator Halvorson needs to stop Blago-talking voters when it comes to ethics, GRT, and Recall," said ILGOP Spokesperson Lance Trover. "Further, it's time she told the truth about where, exactly, she was immediately following the recall vote."

Immediately following the failure of the Recall Amendment, Senator Halvorson made the motion to adjourn without considering the House Republican’s version of the amendment. Since that day Senator Halvorson has given conflicting stories on where, exactly, she was immediately following the vote.

Blago-talk: Recall

- According to The Capitol Fax, initially Senator Halvorson said she was not on the floor at the time of the adjournment. The Capitol Fax then reported Halvorson was on the floor.

- On May 8, 2008, Senator Halvorson continued saying she was off the floor speaking on the phone. Kankakee Daily Journal

- On May 9, 2008, Senator Halvorson disclosed to the Joliet Herald News that she was "on a phone in the back of the room." Joliet Herald News

Below are some other issues where Senator Halvorson continues to engage in Blago-talk:

Blago-talk: Ethics

- Halvorson claims to Kankakee Daily Journal she was removed as Chair of Senate Rules because she supports "pay-to-play" legislation. Kankakee Daily Journal, May 8, 2008

- Halvorson as Chair of Senate Rules stonewalls House Ethics Package for more than a year, saying the house is only playing politics with the Governor.

Blago-talk: GRT

- Halvorson claims she didn't support the Gross Receipts Tax. Joliet Herald News, May 9, 2008

- Saying "everything’s on the table…" Halvorson votes to for GRT in Executive Committee. Associated Press, May 8, 2007

Blago-talk: Pay Increases

- Halvorson votes for 10% pay increase for Rod Blagojevich and herself. HJR 121 11/16/06 & SB 241 03/27/07

- Now, as candidate for Congress, Halvorson doesn't support pay increase Kankakee Daily Journal, May 8, 2008

Blago-talk: Sales Tax Increase

- Halvorson tells reports she didn't support the recent sales tax increase (CTA Bailout). Joliet Herald News, May 9, 2008

- Halvorson votes for Sales Tax Increase in committee. HB 656, January 9, 2008

- Halvorson recorded as "Not Voting" on the Third Reading of HB656 Kankakee Daily Journal 01/11/08

- Given numerous chances, Halvorson never once voted against the sales tax increase she purportedly didn’t support

"Blago-talking is politics at its worst and it's not the type of change voters are seeking in Washington," added Trover.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3704 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3704 Fri, 09 May 2008 09:58:50 GMT
As the presidential campaign heats up, a key issue is whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts, which expire in 2011. John McCain wants to make the tax cuts permanent. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton want to let the rates rise.

Opponents of the tax cuts point to spending programs that could be financed by the extra revenues. Chief among these is Social Security. Sen. Obama's Web site, for example, argues that "extending the Bush tax cuts will cost three times as much as what is needed to fix Social Security's solvency over the next 75 years."

Such statements imply that if we return to the seemingly modest tax rates of the 1990s, we could fund the $4.3 trillion Social Security deficit, and so much more. As Mr. Obama recently told Fox News, "I would roll back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans back to the level they were under Bill Clinton, when I don't remember rich people feeling oppressed."

This argument seems compelling, but it is misguided. In reality, repealing the tax cuts would raise taxes far above Clinton-era levels. Due to quirks in the tax code, average taxes would be almost 25% higher than during the 1990s.

Mr. Obama's claim that the lost revenue from the income-tax cuts exceeds the Social Security shortfall derives from an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Center's conclusions have been widely cited, but rely on dubious assumptions.

The basic methodology is simple: Compare the income-tax revenues if the tax cuts expire to revenues if the tax cuts are extended. The Center measures the difference in revenue 10 years from now – to match the government's 10-year budget measurement period – then extends the difference over 75 years to make it comparable to the 75-year Social Security shortfall.

To account for the effects of inflation and economic growth, analysts compare tax revenues to the size of the economy. The Congressional Budget Office projects that if the tax cuts expire, income-tax receipts in 2018 will be 1.5% higher relative to gross domestic product than if the cuts are made permanent. By comparison, Social Security's 75-year shortfall is just 0.6% of GDP.

So Social Security is a costly problem, but the tax cuts cost much more. Open and shut case, right?

Not exactly. Tax revenues would skyrocket if the tax cuts expire, due to "bracket creep." Average incomes are higher today than in the 1990s, but income-tax brackets aren't adjusted for the growth of earnings. As a result, Americans will shift into higher tax brackets and pay a greater share of their incomes in taxes.

Going back to the tax rates of the 1990s doesn't mean that households will pay 1990s taxes. Because the tax brackets haven't risen along with incomes, average taxes would be significantly higher, and grow each year.

If the tax cuts expire, income-tax revenues by 2018 will rise to 10.8% of the total economy from 8.7% today – an increase of 24%. Compared to the average over the last 50 years, allowing the rates to rise would increase tax revenues by 32%.

Believe it or not, income taxes will rise even if the tax cuts remain in place, because the revenue-increasing effects of bracket creep more than offset the lower rates. With the lower rates, total income-tax revenues will increase to 9.3% of GDP by 2018. This level is 7% higher than today, and 13% above the 1957-2007 average. Thus even with the tax cuts, revenues will increase by more than enough to fix Social Security.

So even if the tax cuts are made permanent, future Americans will pay a greater share of their incomes to the government than in the past. But for some in Washington, that's not enough.

Not surprisingly, neither party highlights these rising tax receipts. They undercut liberal arguments that the government is starved of revenue. And they render conservative claims for the tax cuts unimpressive. ("Vote GOP: A smaller tax increase than the other guys!")

The next president will face difficult choices regarding how much to collect in taxes, and how much to spend on entitlements like Social Security. Future citizens may decide that paying higher taxes is worthwhile. But in any event, the misleading tax cuts vs. Social Security argument should not guide policy makers on this issue.

Mr. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., is the former principal deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration.


]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3703 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3703 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:42:53 GMT
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. Rod Blagojevich should conduct a public question-and-answer session to "clear the air" and fully explain his relationship with indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday.

"My personal view is the governor should find a forum and answer any and all questions about his stewardship as governor of the state of Illinois" in the wake of testimony in Rezko's federal corruption trial, Quinn said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch.

Blagojevich hasn't been charged with wrongdoing. But testimony in the Chicago trial has included allegations from a former Blagojevich administration official that the Democratic governor accepted a $25,000 campaign contribution during a discussion about finding a state job for the donor.

Quinn insisted Wednesday that his advice to Blagojevich on handing the Rezko fallout is based in "telling a friend what he needs to hear."

"To me, that's imperative, to clear the air," Quinn said. "Being governor of Illinois, and being accountable to the people of Illinois, means, to me, answering any and all questions."

Blagojevich has declined to comment on the trial. Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch dismissed Quinn's suggestion, noting in an e-mail that "there's a proceeding underway right now and we're not a party to the case."

"Both the governor and lieutenant governor work for the people and people are sick of political games. They want results," Rausch wrote.

Illinois' election system nominates governor and lieutenant governor candidates separately, then requires nominees from each party to run together in the general election.

Divisions between the two Chicago Democrats have long been apparent, and have come to a head in the past year, as Quinn has been sharply critical of Blagojevich on policy and ethics issues. Quinn said he hasn't had a substantive conversation with his 2006 running mate since the middle of last year.

Rezko is accused of using his influence in the administration to squeeze state contractors for bribes. The government rested its case this week, and the defense declined to call any witnesses. Closing arguments are expected next week.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3702 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3702 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:27:19 GMT
FRANKLIN COUNTY - Citing it as an "occupational hazard," Gov. Rod Blagojevich dismissed criticism of his plan to move the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety from Springfield to Southern Illinois.

In Southern Illinois Thursday for a ceremony to dedicate a portion of Interstate 57 to retired Congressman Ken Gray, Blagojevich took a few minutes to talk about the planned relocation that will see 148 workers either pack their bags for a move to Southern Illinois or find other employment.

"It's a decision I could make by myself as a governor and I've made a decision to move some IDOT operations out of Springfield, where it's been for more than 100 years, to bring that IDOT facility and the jobs that go along with it to Southern Illinois as a way to do a couple of things," Blagojevich said. "First and foremost, it will balance the representation of the IDOT throughout Southern Illinois and give Southern Illinois a presence. The better part of it is the opportunity to create 150 jobs in Southern Illinois that otherwise didn't exist."

Blagojevich said he understands the heat he is feeling from Springfield officials since he announced the move.

"I respect their position, but as governor, my job is to provide opportunities across the state. Southern Illinois is a part of our state that for way too long has been (treated) sort of like a forgotten stepchild by state government," he said.

He said he "pretty much knows where" the new facility will be located and expects to be able to make a formal announcement long before July 4.

"This is a decision I made and I'll tell you this: It was my idea. I can't wait to make the announcement and we're going to do it where it's (the facility) going to be," he said as he pulled State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, to his side. "This couldn't have happened without Gary Forby."

Speculation that the relocation was politically motivated, perhaps in part as a sort of "payback" to Forby for not casting a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for recall of public officials, is untrue, Blagojevich said. Forby said previously he was not available for the vote because his wife was having surgery.

"You're always going to have critics and criticism and your motivations questioned. At the end of the day I know where my heart is and I know this is the right thing to do and I'll let all the critics be critics," Blagojevich said. "All I know is there will be 150 new jobs and I'm really excited about it."



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3701 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3701 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:07:20 GMT
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --Republican lawmakers are proposing a ban on closing any Illinois prisons until a study is done on the needs of the state corrections system.

Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to close a prison, even though state prisons now house about 35 percent more inmates than they were designed to hold.

Blagojevich first proposed shutting the Stateville prison in Joliet, but now he's targeting one in Pontiac.

Republican lawmakers said Thursday that Blagojevich seems to be picking prisons based on "whims." They say closing a prison is a serious decision that should be based on careful analysis.

They're calling for a study of prison needs that would be done in September 2009. They say no prison should be closed until the study is done.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3700 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3700 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:05:37 GMT
CRAWFORD — Saturday, in an Oscar de la Renta gown with twin sister Barbara at her side, Jenna Bush, 26, will marry 29-year-old business school student Henry Hager at her parents' Central Texas ranch.

It's probably as close as Oscar de la Renta will ever get to Crawford.

Celebrating their marriage at the president's secluded ranch is an effective way to keep it private. The property is guarded by local law enforcement and Secret Service agents, with fencing, roadblocks, surveillance cameras, an overhead no-fly zone and more.

Undeterred, the media are sending correspondents to Crawford to cover the wedding, somehow. The usual skeleton crew of White House reporters staying in nearby Waco has been swelled by arrivals from People magazine and Inside Edition.

The wedding also is a last hurrah of sorts for Crawford. The town saw its fortunes and profile rise when Bush built his 1,600-acre ranch there. More recently, like the president's approval ratings, Crawford has fallen on hard times.

The few gift shops still open for the trickling tourist trade are stocked with wedding souvenirs, including mugs with Jenna and Henry's engagement photo.

Despite the best efforts of her parents and the Secret Service to shield her, Jenna Bush has grown up before the country's eyes, from boisterous college party girl to earnest teacher and author.

"We're both really, really excited," first lady Laura Bush said at the White House this week of herself and the president. "We're very thrilled, and, of course, Jenna is so happy, and Henry is very happy. And that makes their mother and dad really happy."

The White House is being secretive about the ceremony, secretive even by the opaque Bush administration standards.

"Be assured that there will be absolutely no readout of the wedding, whatsoever," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Thursday. "This really is a private event for the family."

A few scant details
Still, some details have leaked out. About 200 guests will gather Saturday at a remote location for a security sweep and transport to the ranch.

Jenna and Henry will be married at twilight in front of a limestone altar and cross near a man-made lake on the property.

Jenna's dress is organza with embroidery, beading and a small train. Barbara, serving as maid of honor, will wear a moonstone-blue silk gown with an open back. Fourteen friends will serve in the house party, wearing custom gowns of cocktail length in shades of Texas wildflowers.

"It will be really beautiful," Laura Bush said. "This is the time when the wildflowers are all blooming. And I think it will be a very, very lovely wedding, and it will be very like Jenna and Henry. And, of course, that's what we want. We want what she wants."

Getting married at the ranch was Jenna's idea. It was a move that deprived the nation of a White House wedding. The last presidential daughter to get married at the White House was Tricia Nixon in 1971.

Even during their brief residencies in Washington, Jenna and Barbara never lived in the White House. It's not home to them. And having the wedding at the White House probably would have meant more news media presence.

"Henry and I are far less glamorous than the White House," Jenna told Vogue magazine. "We wanted something organic and low-key."

Keeping things quiet
As for the wedding, the menu, the vows and the guest list have all been guarded like state secrets. Don't bother asking about a honeymoon. (They are going to Europe.)

"It's very much in keeping with her image as first daughter from day one, when her parents made it clear they wanted to keep both their daughters out of the spotlight," said Katherine Jellison, an Ohio University historian.

It's all a far cry from "Jenna and Tonic," the tabloid sobriquet she earned after two college-era busts for underage drinking. Jellison said it's clear Jenna has put some work into improving her public image.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in English, Jenna taught at a charter school in Washington, D.C.

In 2006, she went to work as an unpaid intern for UNICEF in Panama. During her time in the region, she traveled around Argentina, Paraguay and Panama, creating photo diaries of the stories of children and adolescents she met there. Her work sparked her book idea for Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope.

More recently, she collaborated with her mother on a children's book.

Future plans
After the wedding, Jenna and Henry are expected to settle in Baltimore, where they recently bought a $440,000 home in a historic neighborhood.

Henry, a former White House staffer and the son of the Virginia Republican Party chairman, John H. Hager, will get his MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business on May 18. He is expected to take a job at Maryland's Constellation Energy, the state's biggest power company, according to several sources. It's unclear what Jenna's plans are, and the White House isn't saying much.

President Bush, who mugged for the cameras Thursday, practicing his father of the bride walk down the aisle, is said to like the groom and has said he's proud of his daughter. The first lady said both parents are excited.

"It's a very interesting passage of life when you get to that time in your life when your child, first child is getting married — and we're getting, for us, our first son," Laura Bush said. "So it's a thrill, and we're very happy about it."




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3699 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3699 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:04:29 GMT
NEW YORK (AP) — John McCain offered to hand out a few New York slices as he visited a fire station on a light day of campaigning Thursday.

"Can I distribute?" the expected Republican presidential nominee asked the firefighter holding a stack of pizza boxes at the midtown Manhattan station.

McCain also paused in front of a memorial to firefighters who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

He sat down for a brief chat in the station's break room, asking a rapid-fire succession of questions: "What do you need, some equipment? What have you got? So what else do you need? Newer equipment? How's recruitment going? You got enough people? How's retention?"

Before leaving, McCain posed in front of two fire trucks with several firefighters holding a T-shirt from the station.

McCain was on a fundraising swing and media blitz in New York. The Arizona senator netted $7 million at an event Wednesday night and had another fundraiser scheduled Thursday afternoon in New Jersey.

McCain also taped interviews on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" and "Live with Regis and Kelly." His wife, Cindy, was interviewed by NBC's "Today" show.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3698 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3698 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:53:53 GMT
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration is taking too much money from the state's road fund and diverting it for other purposes, says Sen. Dale Risinger, a Peoria Republican and retired Illinois Department of Transportation district engineer.
As a result, nearly $2 billion less is available to fix Illinois roads, which endured a rough winter and need repair, he said at a State Capitol news conference Thursday.

"If we had another $2 billion to spend, we could have done another $2 billion worth of projects," said Risinger, who worked at IDOT for 35 years and retired as a district engineer.

That amount of money would allow IDOT to resurface 5,756 miles of two-lane highway or 938 miles of interstate, Risinger said.

One of the projects left uncompleted is a much-needed improvement at North Allen and Alta roads in Peoria, he said.

"It's really a bad situation. It's got a connection that needs to be corrected. It needs about $15 million to get that done," Risinger said.

"We've needed that fixed for many

years. We can't get it in the program because IDOT doesn't have enough money. If we hadn't diverted funds, we would have been able to do projects such as that."

IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey said road fund diversions are "something that's been happening for many years under prior administrations."

Every time a road fund diversion takes place, state lawmakers approve it as part of the budget process, Claffey said, adding that the Legislature needs to pass a capital plan.

But Risinger said the Blagojevich administration has "taken the diversions to a new level."

"Historically, road fund money has been diverted from the road fund for (other) uses, but they've been connected with roadway purposes," he said.

About $370 million typically used to be diverted out of the road fund each year and into the budgets of agencies that deal with roads, such as the Illinois State Police or the Secretary of State's Office, Risinger said.

But he said the Blagojevich administration has made $4.2 billion worth of road fund diversions between fiscal years 2004 and 2009. If road fund diversions had remained at their typical level, the combined amount in that period would have been about $2.2 billion, he said.

"This is not the thing to do," Risinger said. "We ought to do away with the diversions."

The road fund money comes from the state's gasoline tax and vehicle registration fees.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3697 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3697 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:47:31 GMT
SPRINGFIELD -- The debate in the General Assembly over pay raises for lawmakers got personal Thursday, with a Senate Democrat chastising another for her wealth and blaming state representatives for using the Senate to get their money.

A state panel that sets officials' pay recently recommended cost-of-living adjustments as well as salary increases of 1 percent for lawmakers and 1.5 percent for judges and executive officers like the governor. The Illinois House voted Wednesday to reject the raises, but the Senate must approve the exact same rejection proposal or the raises are automatic.

State Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat, said the Illinois House votes to reject the raises all the while expecting the Senate to block rejection. Everyone ends up with more money, but only the Senate ends up with a political black eye.

"They want to use the Senate and pimp us, and they keep taking the money," Hendon said of the House.

As chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Hendon controls whether the plan to reject the raises ever sees the light of day in the Senate. Hendon said the plan needs to be changed before it's voted on.

He wants the proposal to say anyone voting against the raises won't get them, even if they are ultimately approved.

With the raises, lawmakers would be making $73,000 to $100,000 a year by next summer. Gov. Rod Blagojevich would see his pay climb by more than $20,000 to about $192,000 a year.

Hendon also took issue with state Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat who was leading the push to reject the raises.

"People should not miss out on the fact that she's a millionaire. She don't need it. Have you seen her house? Mind-boggling," Hendon said. "So it just blows my mind how the filthy rich are always the ones saying, we don't need the raise. No, she don't."

Before talking to reporters, Hendon had gone over to Garrett on the Senate floor and suggested she should sign over her expense check to him.

"If she signed her name, I would have took it. She doesn't need it," Hendon said, calling Garrett the "esteemed senator from Richville."

Told of Hendon's comments, Garrett said the issue should not be personal.

"He's making this personal, and that's unfortunate. We're not here to draw distinctions between wealthy legislators and non-wealthy legislators. We're here to make sure that what we do here in Springfield is above board and that the taxpayers are made aware of how we vote on crucial issues such as this," she said.

In the middle of Garrett talking to reporters, Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat who supports the raises, walked past and loudly quipped that he needed to get some food stamps.

Garrett had this to say in response.

"Let me just say that some of the legislators have missed the point if they think that they need the raise because they're not making $150,000 a year," Garrett said. "We are here as public servants. We're not here to assume that we should be entitled to be receiving major increases every year when the rest of the state and other state employees are suffering."




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3696 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3696 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:42:24 GMT
SPRINGFIELD -- Saying he's tired of the House "pimping" the Senate, Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) said he'll try to change a bill so lawmakers who vote against raises won't get the extra cash.

Hendon said it's unfair for House members who vote against the raise to get the extra pay if the Senate allows raises to take effect.

He said he's tired of the House ''pimping us.''

The Illinois House voted 94-8 Wednesday to reject the plan to increase lawmakers' salaries. The Senate must also pass a resolution opposing the increase or the raises automatically go into effect.

If the Senate doesn't reject the pay raise recommendations from the state Compensation Review Board, lawmakers' salaries would jump $7,000 a year. Legislative leaders, including Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), would see their salary go from $91,824 to $102,547. Gov. Blagojevich would get an extra $20,000, increasing his salary to $192,773.

Hendon also criticized wealthy lawmakers for pushing to block the raises when other legislators think they deserve them.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3695 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3695 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:35:59 GMT
Senate Majority Leader and 11th Congressional District candidate Debbie Halvorson was removed this week from her chairmanship of the powerful Senate Rules Committee.

The Crete Democrat has been at the head of the committee for at least two years, but was removed completely after she came under fire by Republican Marty Ozinga III's campaign for her apparent inability to pass a popular recall amendment, a measure Halvorson supported but Senate President Emil Jones and Gov. Rod Blagojevich vehemently opposed.

"Jones said we have some more issues that we need to work on for this session, and that my opponent is making a big deal and taking everything out of context, and that it's distracting to what we need to get accomplished," Halvorson said. "I'm very surprised. I did not ask for it."

Andy Sere, Ozinga's campaign manager, said even the Rules Committee change should be an acknowledgement that Halvorson has been a "rubber-stamp (to) the Blagojevich-Jones agenda."
"Now that her long-standing loyalty to that failed agenda is damaging her political ambitions, Halvorson is losing a precious opportunity to help her constituents," Sere said.

The Rules Committee is arguably one of the most powerful committees in the legislature. When bills are introduced in the Senate, they are first assigned to there, and members decide whether or not to pass it on to other committees. If the bill isn't assigned to a committee, it stays in Rules, trapped in a kind of legislative limbo.


Protecting Halvorson?

"The Rules Committee does the bidding for the Senate president. Period," said Sen. Christine Radogno, a Lemont Republican who serves as the committee's minority spokeswoman. "That's the rub for Sen. Halvorson. The agenda of Emil Jones was a conflict with the issues that Debbie needed to support for her congressional campaign. Clearly it's a move to protect her."
In a 2000 story by the Associated Press, Halvorson, then on the minority side, said the Rules Committee drives the legislative agenda of the in-power party. "That's what happens when you rule the place. While you have the gavel, you have the power," Halvorson was quoted as saying.

Ozinga's campaign says Halvorson only started "bucking Jones" during her congressional campaign, but Halvorson offered two examples from before her campaign days: She opposed the proposed gross receipts tax and wanted a capital bill approved before a CTA bailout, both issues on which she and Jones disagreed, she said.

Halvorson was replaced on the committee by Sen. Louis Viverito, D-Burbank, and in the chairmanship by Sen. Ricky Hendon, D-Chicago.

Like Halvorson, Hendon voted for the recall bill, but Hendon also gaveled the session to a close, as Republicans called for a vote on the House version of the recall bill.

Because of legislative procedures, Halvorson is on record as making that adjournment, even though she said she had nothing to do with it and was "on a phone in the back of the room" when the motion was made.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3694 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3694 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:34:07 GMT
Cook County President Todd Stroger had a chance at recommending a sterling board to run the county's ailing health care system.

The kind of board whose independence critics couldn't question.

The kind of board that would give confidence to taxpayers that the nearly $1 billion each year going to county health care is money well spent.

Mr. President, you blew it.

Stroger had many good nominees, among the 20 he was given, to run the county health system. But he bypassed many with strong backgrounds in health care and finance and focused on people with ties to unions or the Democratic Party. One Stroger selection, F. Daniel Cantrell, is a congressional aide who ran a health center that went bankrupt in the 1980s.

What's worse is a proposal to add a new person to the health care board, Cook County Commissioner Jerry Butler, a strong Stroger ally, as a liaison between the commissioners and the health care board.

Under the proposal, Butler wouldn't have a vote, but wasn't this board supposed to be free of politics?

Cook County residents are paying more than $400 million a year for this health care board. That's the tax increase Stroger got in return for creation of the board, which was intended to manage the county health care system in an independent and professional manner.

Cook County commissioners need to beef up that independence by giving the board specific hiring and contract powers, as a new proposed ordinance amendment suggests; forget about adding Butler to the board, and look long and hard before approving each of Stroger's nominees.

If the health care board becomes a boondoggle, the blame won't be Stroger's alone to bear.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3693 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3693 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:18:59 GMT
HOW DO we even begin to measure the degree of crassness embodied in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s failure to show up at Wednesday’s Days of Remembrance Holocaust Observance at the Old State Capitol?

There simply is no metric for an act of omission that so clearly demonstrates this governor’s lack of respect for so many things: for those who planned and participated in Wednesday’s event, for the history it represents, for the very office that he holds.

The Holocaust observance is a 27-year tradition that, until 2004, always had featured the governor in attendance. Blagojevich missed it in 2004 because he was in Utica, where a tornado had killed eight people. He didn’t have such a valid excuse this year.

He couldn’t make Wednesday’s ceremony because he had a “full schedule” in Chicago related to his anti-violence initiatives there, his office said.

GOVERNOR, when your schedule is too full to accommodate an event of such substance and symbolism as Wednesday’s remembrance observance, maybe it’s time to re-think your priorities.

If the governor’s office is so inept that it can’t connect the callous disregard for life that operated in both the Holocaust and in the urban violence that occupies the governor’s attention this week, maybe it’s time for some remedial history lessons at the Thompson Center.

If this administration can’t grasp the importance of remembering the Holocaust at a time when the world’s attention is focused on a genocide campaign in Darfur, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised Blagojevich stayed in Chicago on Wednesday.

WE HAVE given up trying to figure out this governor’s motivations. Whether showing up late for a respected Statehouse colleague’s funeral, skipping his own prayer breakfast or flying to Chicago for a Blackhawks game as an important vote takes place in Springfield, Blagojevich has shown little regard for anyone’s concerns but his own.

We have a fairly good idea why he couldn’t be bothered with Wednesday’s Holocaust ceremony. The Hall of Representatives in the Old State Capitol does not provide a secret exit through which the governor could make a hasty retreat and avoid questions from pesky reporters. The governor these days rarely appears in venues where he can’t conveniently avoid any unscripted public contact.

To their credit, the organizers of Wednesday’s remembrance were gracious about the governor’s absence. “There are obviously other things going on in the state, and it’s unfortunate that he was not able to join us,” said Jay Tcath, vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

WE'RE NO LONGER willing to extend such grace. At Wednesday’s ceremony, Holocaust survivor Aaron Elster told a heart-wrenching story of terror as his neighbors in the village of Sokolow Podlaski, Poland, sought to avoid capture by the Nazis by crowding into a secret room via a hidden entrance. Fearful that her crying baby would betray their hiding place, a mother smothered her child as Elster, a child himself, looked on.

Witness accounts like those of Elster become more rare with each passing year. We owe it to the survivors and those who did not survive to listen to these accounts and learn from them. Govs. Thompson, Edgar and Ryan all realized this and attended the annual observance without fail. There is important symbolism in the state’s chief executive officer commemorating modern history’s darkest chapter in a place so important to American history.

A governor with respect for his office, or for anyone else, would not need to have this explained to him.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3692 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3692 Fri, 09 May 2008 07:17:55 GMT
Republican lawmakers are proposing a ban on closing any Illinois prisons until a study is done on the needs of the state corrections system.

Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to close a prison, even though state prisons now house about 35 percent more inmates than they were designed to hold.

Blagojevich first proposed shutting the Stateville prison in Joliet, but now he's targeting one in Pontiac.

Republican lawmakers said Thursday that Blagojevich seems to be picking prisons based on "whims." They say closing a prison is a serious decision that should be based on careful analysis.

They're calling for a study of prison needs that would be done in September 2009. They say no prison should be closed until the study is done.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3689 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3689 Thu, 08 May 2008 11:56:48 GMT Editorial

The past four months have been difficult for Pontiac. First there was the flooding in January that displaced hundreds of people and closed several businesses and a school.

Then, the federal government initially denied disaster assistance.

Last month, a major employer announced it was laying off 69 people - more than 20 percent of its work force.

Now, the governor is threatening to close the Pontiac Correctional Center, placing more than 500 jobs directly in jeopardy, with potential ripple effects throughout the area.

No one can blame Pontiac residents for mumbling, "What next?"

But the same determination and community spirit that helped Pontiac get through the Vermilion River flooding will help its residents face these latest challenges.

People pitched in to help their neighbors. Volunteers had to be turned away. Eventually, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reviewed and reversed its decision on disaster aid.

As for the layoffs at Interlake Material Handling, we hope they will only be temporary and laid off workers will be back on the job soon as market conditions improve.

That brings us to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposal to close the Pontiac prison and send its inmates to Thomson Correctional Center in northwest Illinois and elsewhere.

It's tempting to dismiss the proposal as yet another of the governor's minimally researched plans, seemingly pulled out of thin air and likely to go nowhere.

A year ago, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said there were no plans to close more prisons. State Rep. Keith Sommer said he was told a few weeks ago there was no reason for Pontiac to worry.

But residents of Pontiac and the rest of this area cannot afford to bet on this being another Blagojevich bluff. A study four years ago estimated the economic impact of closing the prison at $40 million.

Instead of sitting back and hoping for the best, they must mobilize themselves as they did during and after the flood to come to the rescue of their community.

That means gathering facts and fully participating in hearings that must be held before the prison can be closed.

These may be political games to the governor and some politicians, but these are real people, not chess pieces, who are being stressed out and seeing their futures stuck in limbo.

Many prison employees live in surrounding communities and the jobs of many other people depend on those workers, who are customers of restaurants, retailers and others. This isn't just Pontiac's problem. We're all in this together and we all must work together.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3688 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3688 Thu, 08 May 2008 09:11:08 GMT State Journal-Register


Gov. Rod Blagojevich was absent Wednesday for the 27th annual Days of Remembrance Holocaust Observance, which was held at the Old Capitol State Historic Site.
WEB EXTRA: Hear Holocaust survivor Aaron Elster tell his story
“We never confirmed and let them (the Jewish Federation) know Monday he would not be in attendance,” Rebecca Rausch wrote in an e-mail when asked why the governor did not appear. “The governor has a full schedule following (Tuesday’s) anti-violence announcement.”

Blagojevich was keynote speaker at the event last year.

Louanner Peters, the deputy governor, gave a brief speech in Blagojevich’s place. After the event, Peters said she was honored to appear but ignored questions about the governor.

“I think for 25 out of 27 years, we have been fortunate to have the governor of this state personally participate in this program,” said Jay Tcath, vice president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. “There are obviously other things going on in the state, and it’s unfortunate that he was not able to join us.”

Aaron Elster, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, was this year’s keynote speaker. He spoke of the trials and tribulations of trying to survive the Nazi regime.

Elster described feeling the bodies of his neighbors crashing into him, hearing screams, cries and fear taking a hold on each person.

“Mothers and fathers feverishly assist the young children into a square opening hidden by a crudely designed wooden cover, so that it seems that nothing exists behind this wall,” said Elster, who paraphrased his book, “I Still See Inside Her Haunting Eyes.”

“Inside this space, I see a ladder that everyone at once tries to descend into a secret room. Mothers grasp babies in their arms as more than three dozen souls squeeze into a room the size of an average bedroom.”

Elster said one woman frantically tried to quiet her child as a group of people hid from the Nazis.

“I see a young mother breast-feeding her baby and suddenly there is an outburst from the infant in this crowded room,” Elster said. “The mother’s admonished and told she must quiet the child so we’re not discovered, but the noise continues.”

Elster said he wished his eyes were deceiving him, because the distraught mother put her palm over her daughter’s mouth and nose, and exerted pressure.

“The baby’s legs begin to violently flail and kick until they move no more,” he said. “Tears fill my eyes, instantly I wonder if my mother would do the same to me.”

Elster said that out of the 6,000 Jewish people who lived in his small village, only about 30 people survived, two of them children.

The ceremony was sponsored by the state of Illinois and the Jewish Federations of Illinois.

Other speakers included Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago; Rabbi Paul Kaplan of Bloomington; Gloria Schwartz of the Springfield Jewish Federation; the Rev. Clifford Hayes of First Presbyterian Church; and vocalist Judith Tellerman of Chicago.

Rabbi Barry Marks of Temple Israel in Springfield lit five memorial candles and Peters lit one, each commemorating a million Jews put to death by the Nazis during World War II.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3687 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3687 Thu, 08 May 2008 09:05:46 GMT
The change, ordered by Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, came as Halvorson begins to square off against newly-slated Republican candidate Martin Ozinga III of Homer Glen. Republicans and the Ozinga campaign have sought to tie Halvorson to Jones and embattled Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich; and to the gridlock in the Democratic-controlled state legislature.

Halvorson said the explanation given to her was that "there was so much that needs to be done in the next month and there were too many distractions of people from the other side, or people, or the press, taking everything out of context, and that bothered (Jones) and he chose to replace me."

She noted that she favors the "pay to play" legislation, voted in committee and on the Senate floor for the elected officials recall amendment, and against the automatic legislator pay raise.

"Maybe that's causing a lot of heartburn," she said.

She also disputed the notion that she sought to adjourn the Senate when the recall amendment failed as a way to block the call of the House recall bill by Republican legislators. While her name was on the adjournment resolution, she was off the Senate floor on the phone, she said, and it merely was a procedural move.

Her Republican opponent jumped on the development, calling it a "pathetic and transparent attempt" to distance herself from Jones and Blagojevich. "She has to do this because she has to salvage her credibility with voters," said Andy Sere, campaign manager for Ozinga.

Halvorson responded by noting that her chairmanship of the rules committee was not an issue until Ozinga became the apparent Republican nominee in the race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris. He was officially slated last Wednesday to replace primary winner Tim Baldermann, who withdrew from the race in February.

"It wasn't until I got an opponent a couple of weeks ago that people started taking all this garbage out of context and putting it into their own context, and again, that was stopping us from focusing on the real issues of what needs to be done," she said.

--by Ed Felker
The Daily Journal (Kankakee, IL)



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3686 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3686 Thu, 08 May 2008 08:59:53 GMT
1.) Senator, you suddenly claim to be at odds with Senate President Emil Jones. Exactly what major issues throughout your tenure as Senate Rules Chairwoman have you opposed Senator Jones on PRIOR to your run for Congress?

2.) Senator, prior to your run for Congress you voted yourself and Rod Blagojevich a pay increase. What factors have changed that now make you oppose this year’s pay increase?

3.) Senator, you personally blocked ethics legislation for more than a year allowing Rod Blagojevich to continue raising millions of dollars for his campaign fund saying that the house legislation was "playing politics with the Governor" and that you wanted to pass a better bill. Why did any progress on ethics legislation take so long?

4.) Senator, you claim that following the recall vote you were off the senate floor on the phone. If you cared so much about recall, why were you not on the floor working across party lines with Senate Republicans to have the house version of the bill called?

5.) Are there other cases where you were attached to a procedural vote on the Senate floor that you were not aware of?

6.) Is this going to be a common refrain from your campaign on tough issues you don't want to answer for?

7.) Now that Emil Jones has given you the freedom to have an opinion, are you going to use your role as Majority Leader to be a vocal opponent to the continuing investigations of the Blagojevich administration?

8.) At one time you said that "His agenda is my agenda" speaking about Senate President Emil Jones. As Majority Leader, are you going to openly lobby your members on issues you oppose that Emil Jones supports like legislative pay increases? Again, are there cases prior to your run for Congress that you have openly opposed legislation Emil Jones supports?

9.) How many rules committee meetings took place between the time you received the house bill on ethics one year ago?

10.) How do you plan to change Washington when you clearly can't even change Springfield as Senate Majority Leader?

--Illinois Republican Party Press Release



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3685 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3685 Thu, 08 May 2008 08:39:52 GMT
In the poll of Jewish voters (conducted April 1-30), it showed Obama getting only 61% of the Jewish vote against John McCain (32%). By comparison, in 2004, John Kerry received 75% of the Jewish vote and George W. Bush received 25%.

"The recent polling numbers demonstrate Obama's weakness among Jewish voters. This data comes on the heels of the exit poll data from the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton beat Obama among Jewish voters 62% - 38%," said Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Executive Director Matt Brooks.

"These results show that the American Jewish community is troubled by what they know of Barack Obama, his views and his positions. The RJC remains confident that John McCain will continue the trend of the GOP making inroads among Jewish voters," said Brooks.

--from Republican Jewish Coalition press release



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3683 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3683 Thu, 08 May 2008 07:29:45 GMT
"After years of working to advance the interests of Rod Blagojevich and Emil Jones at the expense of her constituents, Senator Halvorson has now chosen simply to advance her own political ambitions.

"Unfortunately for Senator Halvorson the damage has been done.

"The voters of the 11th Congressional District will see right through this desperate attempt to distract the people from her long record of being Rod Blagojevich's go-to person in the Senate."


]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3681 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3681 Wed, 07 May 2008 14:17:23 GMT
Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) took steps Tuesday to please conservatives skeptical of his past, delivering a speech decrying judicial activism in North Carolina.

The Family Research Council (FRC), a leading evangelical-right organization, and Capitol Hill Republicans reacted positively to McCain blasting the “common and systematic abuse of our federal courts by the people we entrust with judicial power.”

The FRC was critical of the Republican senator because of his role in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act and his involvement in the so-called Gang of 14 that intervened on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees.

Taking a page from President Bush’s 2004 campaign, McCain said “judicial activism” on issues like the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance has led to a hijacking of the Constitution by judges who are not elected.

“The moral authority of our judiciary depends on judicial self-restraint, but this authority quickly vanishes when a court presumes to make law instead of apply it,” McCain said. “A court is hardly competent to check the abuses of other branches of government when it cannot even control itself.”

Tony Perkins, head of the FRC and a past critic of McCain, said his speech will be “well-received by millions of Americans alarmed by activist judges who undermine the rule of law by legislating from the bench.

“We applaud Sen. McCain for his support of federal judges who will apply the U.S. Constitution,” Perkins said in a statement. “He is correct in criticizing both federal judges who presume to ‘make law instead of apply it’ and the obstructionist Senate Democratic leaders who continue to deny hearings to well-qualified judicial nominees.”

House Republican Leader Rep. John Boeher (Ohio) also applauded McCain’s remarks.

“John McCain’s belief that judges should be judges — not policymakers — is shared by every American who believes in a limited, more accountable government,” Boehner said in a statement.

McCain hit his Democratic rivals for voting against the confirmations of both Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. He also announced his justice advisory committee, chaired by former Solicitor General Theodore Olson and conservative stalwart Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), harshly criticized McCain’s speech, using it as another opportunity to tie McCain’s “radical, right-wing judicial philosophy” to Bush.

“No matter how far they have gone to restrict our fundamental rights or their clear records of gutting the reforms John McCain claims to care about, he has put loyalty to his party and a radical agenda ahead of the American people,” Dean said in a statement. “When voters see John McCain’s real record, they are not going to elect a radical rubberstamp who voted for every one of President Bush’s activist judges and promises hundreds more just like them.”

Neera Tanden, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s policy adviser, said the New York Democrat “won’t take lectures on the right way to approach the Constitution from Sen. McCain, who voted for extreme conservative judges like Justice [Clarence] Thomas.

“In an effort to pander to conservative voters, Sen. McCain has signaled his intention to appoint right-wing judges who are committed to rolling back women’s rights and civil rights, elevating the interests of big business over the rights of workers and consumers, affirming executive branch power grabs, and undermining our common core freedoms,” Tanden said in a statement.

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) campaign also criticized the speech, saying McCain’s “Straight Talk Express took another sharp right turn.

“Barack Obama has always believed that our courts should stand up for social and economic justice, and what’s truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves,” Tommy Vietor, an Obama spokesman, said in a statement.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3680 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3680 Wed, 07 May 2008 08:25:04 GMT
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois House Republicans tried unsuccessfully to kill a proposed hike in state lawmakers' salaries Tuesday, saying it sends the wrong message to voters in the midst of governmental gridlock in Springfield.

Unless lawmakers in both the House and Senate reject it in the next two weeks, they will automatically receive a pay raise in 2009 under a compensation review process used to set legislative salaries.

Some in the Legislature have said it would be a public relations gaffe to accept the raises now, when infighting in Springfield has been dominating state news coverage for the past year. But the issue made headlines last week after Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, said publicly that he needed a pay raise.

Rank-and-file lawmakers today make $65,353 annually in base salary, and that would go up to $72,985 a year under the proposal.

Jones and other legislative leaders currently make $91,824, and that would rise to $102,547.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich — whose yearlong showdown with lawmakers has caused delays in education and agricultural funding and almost shut down government last year — would receive an increase of more than $20,000, boosting his salary to $192,773 from the current $170,917.

Judges and other statewide elected officials would also receive raises under the recommendation. The raises would go into effect July 1, 2009.

State Rep. Ron Wait, R-Belvidere, asked lawmakers Tuesday to vote to reject the pay raise, but his legislation never came to a vote. He contended that given the state's shaky financial situation, voters did not want to see politicians padding their pockets.

"Now is not the time to give ourselves a pay raise," he said.

Senate Republicans have also moved to reject the raise, but it is unclear whether Jones will permit it to come to a vote.

Last year, lawmakers received a 10 percent bump in their income while a budget stalemate and infighting consumed state government. Accepting an additional raise this year might add to the popularity problems faced by legislators and the governor.

The state's compensation review board makes pay raise recommendations in even-numbered years that automatically take effect unless the Legislature moves to reject them. Lawmakers have rejected the board's recommendation six times, including in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, noted that lawmakers would probably vote against a raise, but said it did not need to be addressed Tuesday.

"We're all prepared to vote against a pay raise" in the next two weeks, Lang said.



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3679 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3679 Wed, 07 May 2008 08:07:04 GMT
MARION - The "Dog" would have been embarrassed with all the attention, but most certainly appreciative.

About 200 assorted family members and friends of Robert "Dog" Connell turned out Tuesday afternoon at Wilson-McReynolds Funeral Home in Marion to pay their last respects to a man described by Mayor Bob Butler as honest, dedicated and loyal.

After Tuesday's service, the funeral procession led by a city fire engine and host of police cars made its way to Rose Hill Cemetery. It was a fitting tribute to a man who placed the welfare of others above his own.

Connell, 79, died Friday from cancer. He served the city of Marion for 37 years as commissioner, most of that time supervising the water department. He was also chairman of the Republican Party in Williamson County for decades. His day job was with CIPS as a lineman and foreman. He was with the company for 43 years before retiring in 1990.

Connell was quite an athlete as a teen. In fact, he led the South Seven Conference in scoring in basketball his senior year and helped the Wildcats make an Elite 8 appearance in 1946.

It's his service to the community, however, that will be best remembered.

"Dog and I were pretty much in sync with most issues," said Butler, who served as one of the speakers at Tuesday's service. "We had the same values and were politically joined. We were both conservative, but he was a little more so than me. When it came to spending the city's money, it was like squeezing the head of a buffalo nickel until it cried."

Butler said Connell could be stubborn, but was "always fair" and would exhibit more patience for people than he could ever muster.

"Dog was a good man, a good commissioner, a good friend and good Republican," the mayor said. "And it doesn't get any better than that."

Connell's grandson, Doug, said his grandfather helped shape his morals.

"He taught me that first impressions mean a lot to everybody and did a good job of setting an example for all of us to live by. I hope I can mold myself after him."

The younger Connell said he also took note of how well his grandfather treated his grandmother, Patsy.

"He always treated her with the utmost respect and love."

Connell's son, Bobby, said the support his family has received from the community is "awesome" and words alone can't describe the feeling.

"My dad touched a lot of lives. If somebody would come by the house who was hungry, he'd feed you. If someone needed a place to stay, he'd let that person stay the night. He was a true man of the people."



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3678 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3678 Wed, 07 May 2008 08:03:21 GMT
In Texas, John McCain leads Hillary Clinton by six percentage points and Barack Obama by five.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found McCain leading Clinton 49% to 43%. Against Obama, McCain attracts 48% of the vote while the Democrat earns 43%.

While the topline results are the same, the dynamics of the race is different depending upon the Democratic candidate. Clinton attracts 82% of the vote from Democrats in the state while Obama gets just 69%. However, Obama and McCain are essentially even among unaffiliated voters while Clinton trails by seventeen among those voters.

Just 67% of those who vote for Clinton against McCain would also vote for Obama. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Obama voters would also vote for Clinton.

McCain is viewed favorably by 58% of Texas voters, Obama by 51%, and Clinton by 45%. Sixty-five percent (65%) of Obama voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton. Seventy-three percent (73%) of Clinton voters have a favorable opinion of Obama.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that Republicans are overwhelmingly favored to win the 32 Electoral College Votes from Texas this November—current prices give the GOP a 92.0% chance of winning. These figures are updated on a 24/7 basis by market participants (it costs nothing to join). Texas has voted for the Republican candidate in every election for the past twenty-eight years. At the time this poll was released, Texas was rated as a “Safely Republican” in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator.

By a 52% to 37% margin, Texas voters want the federal government to keep building a fence along the Mexican border. Republicans, by a three-to-one margin, favor the fence while unaffiliated voters are evenly divided. A modest plurality of Democrats oppose building the fence.

Forty-four percent (44%) of Texas voters say that immigration has hurt the Texas economy while 33% say it has helped. Most Republicans say immigration has hurt the economy while Democrats are evenly divided on the question.

Seventeen percent (17%) rate the economy as good or excellent, 37% say fair, and 45% poor.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Texas voters have closely followed recent news stories about Barack Obama’s former Pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Sixty-one percent (61%) say it’s at least somewhat likely that Obama shares some of Wright’s controversial views. These figures are similar to the national average. In Texas, just 13% have a favorable opinion of Wright.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3677 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3677 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:58:10 GMT
WE'VE HEARD two explanations so far of the plan to move the Illinois Department of Transportation’s division of traffic safety — and its 148 jobs — from Springfield to Benton.

One is that the state wants to save money by leasing office space that is less expensive.

The other is that southern Illinois needs those jobs because unemployment there is high.

IN THE Blagojevich administration, uprooting an entire arm of state government and relocating it far from the state capital evidently is perceived as efficiency.

And in the Blagojevich administration’s interpretation, taking 148 jobs from one part of the state and moving them to another part of the state translates to economic development.

We’re grateful that there’s a system in place that will force the state to justify this decision before it follows through. If common sense prevails, 148 people won’t have to face the unattractive choice of leaving their community or becoming unemployed.

IN THE MEANTIME, we have a couple alternatives that would both save the state some rent money and ease unemployment in southern Illinois.

As State Journal-Register political reporter Bernard Schoenburg noted in his story Tuesday, there are at least seven buildings in Springfield that could accommodate the division of traffic safety. IDOT has said the $25.13 per square foot it now pays for the division’s office space is too expensive. Well, how about $9.98? Or perhaps $12? They’re available right here, right now.

And these properties would come without the added cost of time and efficiency lost in moving an entire division and its employees — those who can make the move, that is — to a new city.

THE BIGGER PROBLEM is in the administration’s statement that moving these 148 jobs to Benton would be a shot in the arm to that community’s economy. We are not alone in our disbelief of this explanation.

“We’re not building jobs by transferring jobs to southern Illinois,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Monday after a press conference at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

If the governor wants to ease unemployment and improve the economy of southern Illinois, we have a better suggestion: Find a way to pass the $25 billion capital bill you’ve been talking about ever since your State of the State address.

The governor has taken any chance he gets to describe the jobs this massive program of public construction and infrastructure improvements will create. In a March 18 press release, the governor said his Illinois Works plan would support more than 700,000 jobs. That’s quite a figure. Surely, somewhere in that 700,000 are 148 jobs Illinois Works could “support” in southern Illinois.

FROM WHAT we’ve seen so far of the administration’s effort to pass Illinois Works — a single-pronged strategy based on leasing the state lottery — we’re dubious about its chances.

For now, we are hopeful that the analysis and hearings required for the IDOT move under the State Facilities Closure Act will show this plan to be every bit as costly and unnecessary as it appears.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3676 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3676 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:53:18 GMT
If the formerly mustachioed Antoin "Tony" Rezko had actually been elected governor of Illinois instead of merely ascending to the post of faux governor as federal prosecutors believe, life would be so much easier right now in Springfield.

You see, under an administration of Illinois Gov. Rezko (R/D-Ionia) there would be no need for the president of the state Senate to demand a pay raise.

Legislative salary increases would be, you might say, "in the bag" during a Rezko reign. You remember the cost-of-living increases that we all once enjoyed in days of yore? Well if the cost of a legislative necessity were to skyrocket, say the menu price of a double Kobe filet at Gibson's, our elected representatives shouldn't have to eat the increase, should they?

Presto! Under a Gov. Rezko administration, members of the General Assembly would simply find their pay raise in the bag… perhaps stacks of cash left in one of those fine lizard briefcases favored by downstate lawmakers or in a lunch bag tossed over senators' transoms. (They still have transoms in the capitol so incentive packages and trousers from last night's half-off martini party will have a place to be thrown.)

Under a Rezko governorship, such a pay raise arrangement for our dedicated, elected public servants wouldn't take an act of Congress or even a vote by our congressional wannabes in the Land of Lincoln.

In some cases though, the instant raises could be given in Washington-style. Packages of crisp currency might just appear in the freezers of needy state reps, wrapped neatly in thick butcher paper, just like the $90,000 that once materialized in the fridge of a New Orleans congressman.

Anyway, if you must ask why our hardworking, elected state leaders require such a pay raise then you obviously didn't witness last week's tear-provoking public pleading of Senate President Emil Jones, a Chicago Democrat.

How demeaning it must have been for Sen. Jones to muster a dignified appearance as he stood in his threadbare business suit, begging for a raise.

"I need a pay raise," Jones preached to reporters in his best Rev. Wright voice.

And then just in case he wasn't heard or understood, he said it again exactly as before. "I need a pay raise."

Sen. Jones made that proclamation shortly after his Senate voted down a recall system that would allow unpopular, unresponsive politicians to be removed from office.

What Sen. Jones said about the pay raise and what he meant were probably two different things. I suspect what he meant was, "I need a real pay raise, not the measly one that we are scheduled to soon get automatically."

State lawmakers would receive a $7,000 annual pay raise, which was recommended by the Compensation Review Board. Leaders including Jones would see their pay jump from about $92,000 a year to more than $102,000 under the schedule.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Sunnyside Ave.) would see his pay increase from $171,000 to nearly $192,000.

To enjoy those raises, all the General Assembly and the governor have to do to is nothing. They have become very skilled at that lately and are likely to just let their raises take effect, for the second year in a row, by not voting them down.

But really, even though most people in Illinois probably aren't getting raises this year and I'll bet most didn't last year either, the increases that Sen. Jones, Speaker Madigan, Gov. Blagojevich and their minions are to receive amount to a pittance.

A governor named Rezko would seem to know real cash, where to find it and how to distribute it to the people who need it most: legislators.

But since Rezko is temporarily occupied in a federal position, I propose a compromise.

Let's pay state representatives a flat rate of $200,000 per year; state senators $250,000; leadership positions $300,000 and the governor $500,000.

But we would require something in return.

Passage of a recall amendment that would allow citizens to get rid of officials who become corrupt or inept.

Under such a law, recalled representatives would also have to repay their salary.

Wouldn't you be willing to pay more for quality people who you could fire if they screwed up?

It's called accountability.

In my dictionary that word comes before either pay or raise.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3675 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3675 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:39:18 GMT
The state's public colleges and universities are closely watching budget negotiations after the Blagojevich administration threatened to cut funding next month to close a $750 million hole remaining in this year's budget.

Michael Monaghan, executive director of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association, said the governor’s office has indicated that all community colleges will lose their expected June payments. That's about 8.3 percent of this year's budget, which expires June 30. The amount equates to $25 million for community colleges across the state, Monaghan said.

"That's a pretty big reduction in funding," Monaghan said. "Instead of spreading it out over a whole year, we have to take the reduction in one month."

He said the cuts could lead to tuition increases and reductions in classes, which could go into effect as early as this summer.

Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, said the cuts could be avoided if the House passes a fund-transfer bill. The Senate already has passed a $530 million fund-transfer package.

"We don’t want any programs to suffer. We want people to get their payments," she said



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3674 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3674 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:30:10 GMT
The oldest axiom in government is that it's always easier to kill something than it is to pass something. And that was proved true yet again last week when Senate President Emil Jones and Governor Rod Blagojevich teamed up to kill off the proposed constitutional amendment for recall of elected officials.

Jones gave marching orders to his leadership team to get in line and recruit as many "no" votes as possible before the proposal came up for a vote. Blagojevich's team was apparently busy wheeling and doling out state money and jobs, releasing grants, moving one state facility, and promising not to close another.

Only two of the "no" votes among Senate Democrats have Republican opponents this fall: Terry Link, and Mike Jacobs of Moline. But neither of those Republicans is considered a top-tier type yet. Jacobs covered himself a bit by calling on the governor to resign before he is impeached. Senator Link, who has had some problems locally with his own nominating petitions and with some of his candidates' campaigns, will undoubtedly be moved up the target list. But his district is so Democratic that it will be very tough to dislodge him. Even so, expect a lot more money to be spent there - if, that is, the Senate Republicans can raise it.

Senate President Jones is philosophically opposed to recall, but he also sent a very clear message last week: Enough with the Blagojevich bashing.

But the heat is not off the governor, not by a long shot.

Ali Ata's devastating plea bargain and testimony at Tony Rezko's federal corruption trial has reinforced the view among many Statehouse types that Blagojevich probably won't survive this investigation. Ata talked about delivering a campaign check to the governor in Rezko's office, then the two talked about a state job. He also claimed that he gave Rezko - a top Blagojevich insider - $25,000 to help pay off contractors working on Blagojevich's house.

It seems even clearer now than it was before (and it was pretty clear then) that the governor is the ultimate target of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation.

Jones' actions with recall show the length he will go to protect Blagojevich's back. Those considering the idea of impeaching the governor in the House have to be wondering what Jones will do if the House takes that drastic step against the governor. The Illinois Constitution directs the Senate to hold a trial and designates the chief justice of the Supreme Court to preside, but nobody knows who is in charge of actually convening the proceedings. A call last week to the Supreme Court came up empty. They don't appear to know, either. Since there is no definitive timeline in the Constitution, Jones could postpone convening a trial almost indefinitely.

Is impeachment likely in the House? Maybe. The longer the legislative session drags on, the more that comes out of the Rezko trial, the lower the governor's poll numbers drop, and the closer the election becomes will all contribute to the momentum building in the House right now to do something - anything - about this governor. The passage of recall might have "lanced the boil," but its failure in the Senate means that there is almost no other alternative except waiting until January of 2011 for a new governor to take office.

Impeachment might instead be used as a threatened weapon to get things done at the Statehouse. Last year, House Speaker Michael Madigan refused to even consider the prospect of impeachment because he feared the governor could use it to generate a public backlash against him. Those days are pretty much over.

The theory goes that Madigan could use the threat to push Blagojevich to wrap up the spring session in a timely manner, rather than allow it to drag on into the winter, which is what happened with last year's session. The Senate's vote to kill recall was partially a move to prevent Madigan from doing just that.

But even if the Senate never puts him on trial or votes to remove him from office, no Illinois governor has ever been impeached by the House. Getting tagged with that ignominious badge of dishonor throughout the rest of history can't be something that Blagojevich would relish, particularly when he is fighting off a relentless federal prosecutor.

This game is far from playing itself out.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3673 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3673 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:28:42 GMT
After a year punctuated by state budget problems, school districts are the latest entity to worry if they'll receive state money.

Several area superintendents say State Superintendent Christopher Koch and legislators warned districts to spend carefully, as they might not receive their last two state aid payments in June.

"They really can't tell us for certain if we will receive it," said Steve Poznic, superintendent at Villa Grove. For his district, that could mean a budget shortfall of about $200,000. He and other superintendents have begun amending budgets to allow for the change. It could mean the districts will finish the fiscal year – which ends June 30 – in the red.

"At this point in time, we're not counting on (payments)," Poznic said.

Heritage Superintendent Andrew Larson sent a letter Monday to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, asking for the money.

"For a small, rural school district, that state aid is crucial," Larson said.

He said though the state included an increase of $400 a student this year, it's not worth it if the payments don't come.

"They would have been better leaving us alone," Larson said. "They've basically been dishonest in the whole situation. I don't know what else you'd call it."

The two payments would equal about $130,000 for his district.

Shiloh Superintendent Gary Lewis isn't happy, either.

"It's just another challenge for us to do everything they ask us to do, yet they aren't going to provide the money they say they're going to give us," Lewis said.

State Board of Education Spokesman Matt Vanover said final payments aren't due until the end of July. The state has paid schools early since the 1990s, he said, to ensure schools get them before the end of the fiscal year.

"Certainly, this is something that districts are anxious about, and we understand that," he said. "Typically, this decision is not made until June."

The state board will continue to ask the governor's office to pay up in June, "but with a $750 million deficit that the state's facing, I'm guessing everything will be on the table," he said.

Katie Ridgway, spokeswoman for the governor's office of management and budget, said the state is waiting for the General Assembly to pass legislation to mend the budget gap.




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3672 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3672 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:21:21 GMT
SPRINGFIELD -- Lawmakers vowed Tuesday to fight for the future of the state prison at Pontiac, with some questioning whether its threatened closure was part of political payback by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration.

Republican lawmakers who represent the north-central Illinois area complained it makes no sense for Blagojevich's Department of Corrections to try to close Pontiac after abandoning a bid to close part of Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.

The administration argues an older facility such as Pontiac needs to be shuttered in order for a modern, safer prison in Thomson in northwestern Illinois to fully open.

But lawmakers from north-central Illinois say it would be devastating economically for Pontiac to close, with little gain to the state. They're calling for a moratorium on any facility closings until the issue can be studied further.

"I'm just not sure what logic they're using when they're trying to close state correctional institutions," said Sen. Dan Rutherford, a Chenoa Republican. "That is an absolutely inappropriate way to develop public policy."

And some legislators say the timing of this and other moves raises political questions.

The Senate last week killed an effort to put on the November ballot a question about recalling top elected officials, aimed at unhappiness with the governor.

Shortly before the Senate recall vote, the administration decided to release more than $30 million for agricultural programs that had been held up for weeks -- some of that benefiting downstate Democrats who helped reject recall.

On Friday, after the recall vote, the state Department of Transportation announced it was relocating its traffic safety division and about 150 jobs from Springfield to southern Illinois to potentially save millions of dollars and boost that region's economy.

Springfield lawmakers said they couldn't help but think their vote for recall might have played a role.

"That theory's out there, but that's something that we never know for sure," said Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican. "It has to raise a question."

Corrections' about-face on Stateville in favor of Pontiac comes after Joliet Democratic Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi voted "present" on recall. The GOP representatives for Pontiac all supported it.

Democrats insist their recall votes had nothing to do with political favors. Wilhelmi said he voted "present" because he refused to participate in the "political gamesmanship and really pandering" of the recall issue.

Sen. Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat who has butted heads with Blagojevich but opposed recall, said he would welcome Thomson opening in his district but acknowledges the appearance of politics.

"Administrations always have prerogatives to make decisions," Jacobs said. "This could be just a coincidence. People tend to find the dark lining in any silver cloud."

At a Chicago appearance Tuesday morning, Blagojevich left before answering any questions other than those related to an anti-violence initiative he had just announced.

Sen. Christine Radogno, a Lemont Republican, said the moves only further hurt Blagojevich's efforts to get his agenda approved in the legislature, especially a new statewide construction program.

"There's a lot of dots, and people are connecting those dots," Radogno said. "And I don't blame them for doing that."

Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, who lobbied to keep Stateville open, said she'll work to do the same for Pontiac. Halvorson, who's running for Congress, voted for the recall measure.

"I didn't focus to keep Stateville open to close another prison," Halvorson, a Crete Democrat, said.

Pontiac-area lawmakers say they will rally local support for the prison throughout the area and hope the pressure causes another change of heart.

"It's just rather bizarre," said Rep. Keith Sommer, a Morton Republican. "If it's a ploy, it's a sick ploy with people's lives. You shouldn't run government that way."



]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3671 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=3671 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:19:31 GMT
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

DH Brown’s
231 E. Monroe St.
Springfield, IL


For details please contact Julie Cole at:
630-369-9070 or
juliehcole@gmail.com


]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=488 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=488 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:03:42 GMT
5:30 PM

Northfield Inn Conference Center
3280 Northfield Drive
Springfield, IL

Tribute to Congressman Ray LaHood

Contact: Chairman Tony Libri
(217) 528-6267
TonyLibri@cs.com




]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=491 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=491 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:33:50 GMT
You’re cordially invited to a candidate
“Meet & Greet” for
John Cavaletto
Republican Candidate for
State Representative – 107th District

5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The Pasfield House
525 South Pasfield
Springfield, Illinois

Hors d’oeuvres - Cocktails

Hosted by House Republican Leader Tom Cross – Rep. David Reis

Rep. Ron Stephens – Rep. Mike Bost – Rep. Roger Eddy

Shattuck & Associates – Illinois Chamber of Commerce

Stop by and say hello to John and wish him well with his campaign!

Please call HRO at 815-577-1400 for more information.


]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=548 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=548 Mon, 05 May 2008 13:45:23 GMT
Special Guest: Michael Steele, Lieutenant Governor (2003-2007) - Maryland

The Home of Dick Stephenson
125 Buckley Road
Barrington Hills, Illinois

Private Photo Reception 7:00 p.m. - $2,300 per person
General Reception: 7:30 p.m. - $150 per person

RSVP to rsvp@steveforus.com or 847-726-0808


]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=565 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=565 Fri, 09 May 2008 10:22:46 GMT
Location: Genkota Winery, 301 N. 44th Street, Mt. Vernon

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Cost: $75 per person, $150 per couple
Sponsorships Available

Contact: 618-244-4173


]]> http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=505 http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=505 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:18:59 GMT