Statewide update—July 6, 2011

Mayor Rahm Emanuel (wikimedia)

Chicago Sun-Times—Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposing new round of ethics reforms, “At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, the mayor will introduce an ordinance limiting — to $50 per gift and $100 per calendar year —the value of gifts lobbyists can give to city employees. City employees would also be prohibited from getting loans from individual lobbyists or their businesses. Twice a year, lobbyists would be required to report their campaign contributions to city employees and elected officials.”

• SouthtownStar—Quinn ready for battle over raises, “Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Tuesday he was prepared to go to court against the unions to defend his decision to cancel pay raises for nearly 30,000 state workers and he repeatedly blamed lawmakers for leaving him no choice by not setting aside the money.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Attorney says Cicero handyman did private work for town president, “An attorney suggested in federal court Tuesday that a Cicero Town employee who was supposed to do handyman work for senior citizens did private work for Town President Larry Dominick on town time.”

• Daily Herald—$338,139-a-year state ethics board levied $28,350 in fines, “Meanwhile, the efforts of the nine-member board cost taxpayers $338,139 a year in salaries for the appointees — or more than $2 million so far. The members also receive reimbursements for expenses they incur.”

• Crain’s (AP)—Blagojevich lawyers take possible step toward appeal, “Lawyers for Rod Blagojevich have taken what could be a step toward appealing the former Illinois governor’s recent convictions.”

• Chicago Tribune—Council set to OK firing ranges, with limits, “Firing ranges could soon be legal inside Chicago city limits as Mayor Rahm Emanuel is fast-tracking a plan designed to head off a federal court decision that could force the city to accept them.”

Statewide update—July 5, 2011

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Peoria Journal Star (AP)—Quinn bars gun-permit disclosure, “Gov. Pat Quinn on Saturday signed into law a measure barring the public from knowing who holds a firearm owner identification card in Illinois. The bill, passed overwhelmingly by Illinois lawmakers in May, was a victory for gun owners who say they have a right to privacy over open-government advocates who say such records should not be secret.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Sen. Martin Sandoval: ‘Error’ giving reputed mobster’s son scholarship, “State Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Cicero) awarded a taxpayer-funded college scholarship for $8,200 to Michael A. Giorango, who’s the son of three-time felon and reputed mobster Michael C. ‘Jaws’ Giorango.”

• Chicago Tribune—Editorial: Public pension rescues, “Public employee unions and their protectors in the Illinois Legislature share a theory about retirement benefits that boils down to this: Whatever pension scheme was in place on the first day of a worker’s career cannot be modified for the rest of that person’s life…But the more scrutiny this till-death-do-us-part view of pension benefits receives, the more unrealistic it appears: Tens of millions of Americans now face the very real prospect of delaying their own, pensionless retirements while they pay taxes for generous but imperiled public pensions.”

• Bloomington Pantagraph—State prisons near capacity, “The union representing prison guards and other correctional staff is concerned that violence its officers experienced recently will be further fueled by overcrowding at prisons originally designed to hold far fewer inmates.”

• State Journal-Register—Congressional map puts farmland, Chicago in same district, “A new census-based political map drawn by the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature, and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, has taken swaths of suburban and rural Illinois and added them to the districts of veteran Chicago Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who could be St. Anne’s next representative. The move was one of the boldest by the national political parties this year as they sought to benefit by changing political boundaries.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Editorial: Can’t pretend Illinois budget cuts won’t hurt needy, “The result is a tough, bad news budget — a budget Illinois needs but one that inflicts much pain.”

• SouthTown Star—Editorial: Lots of money being spent on politicians’ PR, “Government spends a lot of your money to convince you that government is pretty darn nice.”

• Belleville News-Democrat—Cahokia: Former Mayor Frank Bergman still has village computer, radio, cameras, “Former Cahokia Mayor Frank Bergman, who was hired at the county last month, kept a village-owned computer, a police radio and two hunter-style cameras when his term ended in the beginning of May, according to new Mayor Gary Cornwell and village correspondence.”

• Chicago Tribune (AP)—Chicago’s former top cop taking job with crime commission, “The Chicago Crime Commission announced Tuesday that Weis is taking a position as the group’s new deputy director. Weis is slated to appear at a news conference Wednesday to discuss his new role.”

• Courier-News—Opinion: Blago just following his instincts, Illinois tradition, “Please don’t give me that hackneyed “that’s Chicago politics for you,” because Cook County ain’t got nothin’ on Kane. This kind of wheeling and dealing goes on out here on a daily basis.”

Statewide update—July 1, 2011

Photo by ChrisEaves.com/Flickr

State Journal-Register—Gov. Quinn OKs new budget with extra cuts, “Gov. Pat Quinn cut $376 million Thursday from the already austere state budget lawmakers sent him, reducing spending for Medicaid, school buses and regional school superintendents. However, Quinn signed the rest of the budget without further changes, despite his previous complaints that the budget shortchanges education and human services and is ‘incomplete.’”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Ald. Burke could give up bodyguards, or have them yanked, “Either Mayor Rahm Emanuel will follow through on a campaign threat and strip Burke of the four Chicago Police officers who have chauffeured and protected the alderman for nearly three decades — or, at the very least, cut the bodyguard detail in half.”

• SouthtownStar—Cook County pulls plug on troubled Project Shield program, “Seven years and $44 million questionably spent federal dollars later, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Thursday pulled the plug on Project Shield, a failed Homeland Security program initiated by her two predecessors, John and Todd Stroger.”

• Daily Herald—Editorial: Fewer lawmakers should get stipends, “The stipends add another $1.7 million to the legislative payroll and raise Illinois to fourth in the nation for lawmakers’ total pay, behind Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. The total spent on extra stipends for Illinois legislators is higher than in every state except New York.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Plan to combine Peoria city and county services gets ‘road map’, “City Council and County Board members hope that by creating a formal charter and laying out some necessary decision-making steps, it will serve to further light a fire under people in both governments to take the ideas more seriously.”

• Chicago Tribune—Death penalty dies in Illinois as of today, “The death penalty in Illinois officially ends today, and the 15 prisoners who once faced execution already have been scattered across prisons throughout the state.”

Statewide update—June 30, 2011

Bloomington Pantagraph—Underwear shortage hits Illinois prisons, “Inmates in at least one state prison are being forced to wear the same used underwear for several days in a row because of a clothing shortage. The situation, says a prison watchdog group, is not only icky, but could potentially lead to illness. And it isn’t limited to just one facility.

• Journal & Topics—Highway Districts On State Chopping Block, “Legislators in Springfield recently passed a law allowing township highway districts to be abolished by referendum. Local township officials are not happy campers. The bill now sits on Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk.”

• State Journal-Register (AP)—Our Opinion: Smoking ban is not what ails casinos, “So in the interest of getting ahead of the inevitable next round of attacks on the state’s indoor smoking ban from the Illinois casino crowd, we call to your attention a study published online this month in the journal Tobacco Control.”

• Northwest Herald—Group seeks to abolish townships, “A group that campaigned against the failed District 156 working cash bond referendum in April is refocusing its efforts toward abolishing townships…The group says townships are obsolete, inefficient and waste money.”

• Chicago Tribune—State treasurer: Bright Start insider notice ‘a mistake’, Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford said today that he is reviewing possible disciplinary action against an employee who sent an email to fellow workers giving early notice about a contribution-matching program for the Bright Start college savings program. Rutherford said it was “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the employee to tell colleagues about the promotion before there was time for the general public to receive notice about the program, which quickly ran out of funds.”

• State Journal-Register—Private manager takes over Lottery operations Friday, “Illinois’ private lottery manager takes over operations Friday, with both the company and the state envisioning greatly increased sales and more money for state coffers.”

• Southtown Star (AP)—Ill. likely to see fierce battle over gun control, ” As state after state voted to let residents carry concealed guns, Illinois has held out, for a long list of reasons: A strong gun control movement. A dynasty of powerful Chicago mayors. A line-up of state leaders who oppose expanding access to guns.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Editorial: At times, lawmakers do the hard work behind the scenes, “Sometimes politicians do face up to a knotty problem, if only because the pressure to do so becomes impossible to resist. More improbable still, they sometimes do the job right.”

• Chicago Journal—Gambling against the South Loop, “So, Dearborn Park, is this what you want the world to be saying? “What happens in Dearborn Park stays in Dearborn Park?” If the Chicago Sun-Times gets its way, it could happen.”

Statewide update—June 29, 2011

Gov. Pat Quinn (illinois.gov)

Rockford Register Star—Quinn makes no commitment to casino bill during Rockford visit, “Quinn was noncommittal about signing the gambling expansion bill that lawmakers passed earlier this month. He said he planned to give the bill an extensive review, listen to the supporters and critics, gather information and make a decision.”

• Wheaton Patch—FOIA Change Could Affect Segment of Public, “Not even two years after sweeping changes streamlined and simplified parts of the state’s rules for obtaining public information, a bill that some think throws a wrench in the system awaits a decision by Gov. Pat Quinn.”
  

• Chicago Tribune—Decades after Council Wars, Burke’s bodyguards questioned, “Twenty-five years later, the issue resurfaced in a new context: Rahm Emanuel’s campaign for mayor. During a debate, Emanuel said that “shared sacrifice” in tough economic times could lead to a cut in Burke’s security detail.”

• Crain’s—Gaming Board shorted state’s school aid fund, report finds, “The Illinois Gaming Board underfunded the state’s Educational Assistance Fund by as much as $9.3 million in the previous fiscal year, according to an Illinois Auditor General report released Tuesday. Also, the report said, none of the money transferred in the year that ended last June 30 matched reports prepared by the Gaming Board, which is appointed by the governor to administer the regulatory and tax collection system for the state’s riverboat gambling.”

• Belleville News Democrat (AP)—Quinn spokeswoman gets big salary boost, “Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget office spokeswoman will be making nearly 50 percent more money after receiving an additional job title this spring.”

• State Journal-Register—Lawmakers move to cut off Blagojevich’s pension, “Lawmakers on the General Assembly Retirement System board are moving to revoke a $63,864-a-year pension that he would be eligible to collect later this year.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Editorial: The family pays for corrupt pol’s crimes, “How poignant and sad it was that Lura Lynn Ryan, the wife of imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan, died on the same day a jury convicted another former governor, Rod Blagojevich, of federal crimes.”

Statewide update—June 28, 2011

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (Wikimedia)

Chicago Tribune—Why Blagojevich case hasn’t transformed Illinois’ political culture or campaign laws, “Lawmakers quickly enacted the state’s first-ever limits on campaign donations, updated access to public records and changed purchasing laws, but each of the reforms fell short of the recommendations from a commission composed of leading good-government advocates. Likewise, the state’s partisan landscape hasn’t changed significantly since Blagojevich was kicked out of office a month after his arrest.”

• Southtown Star—Country Club Hills eliminates city-issued credit cards, “Walker was one of many irate citizens who turned out for Monday’s city council meeting to voice their displeasure over allegations of Mayor Dwight Welch’s misuse of his city credit card, which he has been accused of using excessively for personal expenses.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Next up for feds: Powerbroker Bill Cellini, “William F. Cellini — a Springfield insider who’s been called “the pope” of Illinois politics — is expected to be the next to stand trial in Operation Board Games, the federal corruption case that will send former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison.”

• Chicago Tribune—Editorial: Illinois after Blagojevich, “Until the rest of us start showing as much courage as our jurors do, though, that sweet piety will remain unpreachable heresy in Illinois’ sanctuaries of power.”

• Rockford Register Star—Pat Quinn to sign workers’ comp reform, visit Rockford, “The changes include a 30 percent reduction in medical payments. Other reforms include letting payments for carpal tunnel syndrome last only 28 1/2 weeks, instead of 40. New guidelines also will make it harder for intoxicated workers to win claims.”

Statewide update—June 27, 2011

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Chicago News Cooperative—Casino Bill’s True Believer Enters the Final Stretch, “It took 20 years for State Representative Lou Lang, one of Illinois’ most outspoken politicians, to convince his colleagues to support more gambling in Illinois. Now he faces a tougher challenge: convincing Gov. Pat Quinn, who campaigned against any large-scale expansion of gambling.”

>>>Want to learn more? Come to the BGA’s panel discussion, Chicago Casinos—A Safe Bet?, this Wed, June 29, in downtown Chicago. RSVP here.

• Southtown Star—Council may cancel Welch’s credit card, “The council’s move to revoke Welch’s card comes after the SouthtownStar reported the mayor and former city manager Henrietta Turner charged more than $75,000 at restaurants and at least $2,000 worth of movie tickets in 2010.”

• State Journal-Register—Employee salary shortfall looms in state budget, “There’s another potential problem with the operations budget state lawmakers approved last month: Not enough money to pay all employee salaries for the full year that begins July 1.”

• The News Gazette—State takes money designated for charities, repays some of it, “In all, state officials have borrowed $1.176 million in fiscal 2011 from 11 tax checkoff funds, according to figures provided by the Office of Management and Budget.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Federal government takes over fund with ties to Daley’s son, Patrick, “A Chicago venture capital fund whose projects paid more than $1.2 million to former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s son has been taken over by the federal government, which says the fund owes taxpayers $21.4 million.”

• Southtown Star—Editorial: It’s good to be King Welch, “Government has been his personal piggy bank for so long that he has completely lost track of why elected officials owe integrity to their employers, the people.”

• State Journal-Register (AP)—Quinn OKs new congressional districts; GOP vows to sue, “The lines draw five GOP congressmen – including four first-term members, who are traditionally vulnerable in their first tries at re-election – into districts where they must run against other incumbents in 2012 if they want to stay on Capitol Hill.”

• Chicago Tribune—Emanuel to hold town hall meetings via phone, Facebook, “Emanuel says he’ll hold a telephone town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Monday and a live online chat via Facebook at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.”

• Bloomington Pantagraph—Erickson: Quinn appointment raises questions, “Recently, Quinn appointed former state Rep. Mike Smith to a $94,000-per-year seat on the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. The appointment drew howls of protest because Smith was among those lame duck Democrats who voted in favor of the January income tax hike after he’d lost his bid for re-election.”

• The Journal-Standard—First in Print: Attorney General asks for FOIA review, “The Office of the Attorney General has asked Township Supervisor Sheila Hooper to address a series of questions about her recent denial of a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request filed by Township Assessor Cynthia Petta Worster.”

Statewide update—June 24, 2011

Photo by ChrisEaves.com/Flickr

State Journal-Register—Quinn: Gambling decision weeks away, “Quinn said Thursday in Chicago that it would take weeks before he makes any decisions regarding the legislation. He plans to continue meeting with supporters and opponents. ‘It’s a very complicated piece of legislation, and it deserves scrutiny from top to bottom and that’s what I intend to give it,’ Quinn said.”

• Daily Herald—Gov. Quinn promises ‘some changes’ in state budget, “Quinn said he’ll look at the lawmakers’ budget and then make changes because he says the legislature doesn’t dictate everything. He would use his veto power to make the changes.”
  

• Bloomington Pantagraph—State lawmakers to review business tax structure, “Some high-profile griping by Illinois CEOs has triggered a special legislative review of the state’s business tax structure. In a joint statement issued Thursday, Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan announced that members of a joint House-Senate committee would hold hearings to investigate how to make the state more business friendly.”
  

• Daily Herald—Editorial: End this sugary perk for lawmakers, “[T]he state’s Reciprocal Act allows some [lawmakers] to combine their previous years of public service with legislative service to maximize retirement payouts, basing it on the more generous pension plan, which usually is the one for state legislators. This should not be. Nobody, no matter how excellent a teacher, no matter how influential a lawmaker — a part-time position, we might add — deserves such a benefit from taxpayers.”

• Chicago Tribune—Zorn: Burke’s perk: 25 years later, it’s time to revisit powerful alderman’s security deal, “Will reassigning a handful of cops make a measurable difference in the budget or public safety? Doubtful. But this is a powerfully symbolic issue, and it demands a new agreement between Burke and the mayor: From now on, we will use our precious resources wisely and for the good of the people.”

• Naperville Sun—COD, Glen Ellyn may try to resolve differences, “State’s Attorney Robert Berlin’s office became involved when the COD Board of Trustees voted unanimously May 23 to rescind an intergovernmental agreement with the village, effectively beginning the de-annexation proceedings from the village. But Glen Ellyn resident Rinda Allison challenged the vote as a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act because the reason for the vote wasn’t posted on the meeting agenda.”

Statewide update—June 23, 2011

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Chicago Sun-Times—Block on Chicago casino bill could stay in place through fall, “A parliamentary hold Senate President John Cullerton placed on legislation that would authorize a Chicago casino could stay in place through the fall, the top Senate Democrat said Wednesday… Cullerton’s move is aimed at buying time for negotiations with Quinn on a follow-up bill designed to narrow the scope of the gambling package that passed in May with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s backing.”

>>>Want to learn more? Come to the BGA’s panel discussion, Chicago Casinos—A Safe Bet?, on Wed, June 29 in downtown Chicago. RSVP here.

• SouthtownStar—Welch, aide spend freely on taxpayers’ dime, “The Country Club Hills mayor and his city manager spent thousands of dollars last year on restaurants, movie tickets and even Teddy bears, a review of city credit card statements shows. Mayor Dwight Welch and former city manager Henrietta Turner racked up a combined $75,000 in credit card charges at various restaurants alone and spent $2,000 for movie tickets.”

• Daily Herald—Opinion: Quinn must stand for transparency, “Gov. Quinn, if you are as committed to open and transparent government as you claim, you will reaffirm your support for more open access to public information by rejecting HB 1716.”

• Chicago Tribune—Illinois lawmakers vote to cut own pay, “State lawmakers today voted to give themselves 12 unpaid days off during the next year and rejected 1.1 percent cost-of-living increases. One opponent, Sen. Tom Johnson, R-West Chicago, suggested the move is little more than a public relations stunt.”

 

Statewide update—June 21, 2011

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Daily Herald—Metra directors exiting gradually under compromise, “There won’t be resignations en masse, but the majority of Metra board directors who served during former Executive Director Phil Pagano’s tenure are expected to be gone within a year. State senators who had pushed for sweeping out the entire board have reached a compromise with the county chairmen, Chicago mayor, and Cook County commissioners who have authority to appoint them.”

• Chicago Tribune—Some small taxing districts have little to do, “Taxpayer advocates for decades have tried to consolidate the state’s ballooning government, calling for counties and towns to absorb smaller units. Watchdog groups say the grim economy and shrinking revenues might have finally sparked some movement.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Jody Weis received $76,308 for unused vacation when he resigned, “Former Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis walked out with a $76,308 check for accrued vacation days when he resigned his $310,000-a-year job on March 1 — a lump-sum payment for 64 unused days that’s raising eyebrows at City Hall.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Toulon city worker in spat with mayor could lose job, “[Mayor] Collins, 63, insisted Monday that the planned change in Gerard’s status had “nothing whatsoever” to do with the past incident…[B]ut Collins acknowledged that Gerard is the only full-time person affected. The mayor maintained that the step is being taken strictly for budget reasons. But he had no estimate of what savings would result. Former longtime Toulon police Chief Bob Taylor was forced out of his full-time position by a similar step last year. He later became a Stark County deputy, and the city has relied on part-time police staffing since then.”

• (AP) SouthtownStar—Post-Blagojevich scandal reforms are a mixed bag, “The reform campaign has had mixed results. Illinois imposed caps on political donations and fines for violating the Freedom of Information Act. Voters approved a constitutional amendment that allows them to recall a governor, though the process is complicated.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—Editorial: Don’t ignore DNA that might tell the truth, “Sometimes, law officers act as though DNA stands for ‘Don’t Notice the Alternatives.’ If they already have someone behind bars, authorities too often don’t want to consider new evidence pointing to someone else. Even if the new evidence is based on DNA, they often will just try to explain it away.”