The people who run the Illinois
legislature passed a budget over the weekend and largely ignored
everything Gov. Rod Blagojevich wanted. No surprise there. It was clear
way back in February, when the governor served up his annual budget
address, that he wasn't going to be a factor this year. When nobody
trusts you—nobody trusts you.
The now-concluded spring legislative session proved Rod Blagojevich is a
far weaker governor than he was a year ago.
His marginalization accelerated in recent months because of damaging
testimony in Tony Rezko’s corruption trial that has sparked impeachment
talk in Springfield.
A
former high-up federal prosecutor whom I talked to the other day told me
that in his estimation the feds will arrive at “an Agnew” solution to
the Blagojevich problem.
Vice President Spiro Agnew was formally charged by the feds with
accepting bribes totaling more than $100,000 while Baltimore chief
executive and Governor of Maryland, receiving some of the money from
past favors while holding the office of vice president. After a deal
with the U.S. attorney, Agnew pleaded no contest on October 10, 1973 to
a single charge that he had failed to report $29,500 of income received
in 1967 and as part of the deal resigned as vice president.
Campers arriving at state sites last
Friday were treated to an unwelcome surprise.
Unbeknownst to many, camping fees had increased without much fanfare.
Sites with electrical service cost $5 more. And there's a new $10 fee
for premium weekends. If you missed that news you were not alone.
With the jury still deliberating
corruption charges against him in Chicago, Tony Rezko now faces fresh
criminal charges in Las Vegas that accuse him of failing to pay $450,000
in gambling debts.
ALTON - Don Butler loves
to head out on the open road in his camper and spend his summer days at
outdoor parks and campgrounds. But this year, he is both excited and
frustrated about his upcoming travels.
Illinois voters won’t get
a chance this fall to decide if they want the power to throw out Gov.
Rod Blagojevich or any other elected official with whom they’re
dissatisfied.
A proposed constitutional
amendment that would have put the recall question on Nov. 4 ballot fell
three votes short of passage in the state Senate on Thursday. The
Illinois Constitution presently does not provide for recalling elected
officials.
CHICAGO --
Governor Rod Blagojevich says it's "stupid" to ask if
he's concerned that he could be the next target of a
political corruption investigation by federal
authorities.
CHICAGO — The high-stakes
courtroom drama was all about politics, patronage and payoffs.
Illinoisans watched in fascination as George Ryan, the once-mighty
Republican governor, fought to avoid a one-way ticket to federal prison
but lost. And now they wonder: Will his Democratic successor, Rod
Blagojevich, be next?
“I think the governor is
in extraordinarily big trouble,” Cindi Canary, director of the
nonpartisan, foundation-funded Illinois Campaign for Political Reform,
said last week as Blagojevich’s problems grew.
Illinois won't have passed a budget by
the end of May, state Sen. Dan Rutherford predicted today to a Pontiac
audience.
Speaking at a Pontiac Area Chamber of Commerce-held Issues and Eggs
breakfast at the Pontiac Elks Lodge, the Pontiac-based Republican
senator said he expected an extended session of the Legislature,
although he did not indicate how long it might last.
Gov.
Rod Blagojevich
has again been stung by accusations that he knowingly exchanged
positions in his administration for campaign cash, this time by a former
state official who says the governor was in the room when money changed
hands.
The new corruption allegations are some of the strongest yet leveled
against Blagojevich, but they didn't come at the trial of
Antoin "Tony"
Rezko, his former fundraiser and adviser.
Friday afternoon,
students, staff and alumni gathered in the central campus mini quad to
say goodbye to 167,558 square feet of history and memories.
Dunn-Barton and Walker Halls were officially decommissioned on Friday,
and the ceremony to honor them featured current students and prominent
alumni sharing the memories of their time spent in those residence
halls.
NORMAL — Illinois State University bid farewell Friday to
its oldest residence halls with a formal ceremony on the lawn between
Dunn-Barton and Walker halls.
“We heard it was being taken down and decided to come to this,” said
Kathy Bromer, a Naperville woman who spent the early 1980s as a student
living in Dunn Hall. “It is a little sad, but they’re old.”
SPRINGFIELD — Top Illinois Senate Democrats rode to the rescue of
beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday, stalling a
recall-election movement that was aimed at the Democratic governor by
angry lawmakers.
SPRINGFIELD -- What some lawmakers referred
to as grade-school antics Wednesday likely squashed voters' chances to
choose whether they want the ability to recall the governor and other
statewide elected officials.
Amid shushing and yelling "one at a time" --
one too many times -- state Sen. Ira Silverstein gave up trying to
control his committee. A hearing devoted to recall devolved into
lawmakers talking over each other and name-calling.
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois oil producers could be tapped to help pull the
state out of red ink. With world oil prices hovering at the $111 per
barrel level and motorists facing hefty increases at gasoline pumps,
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has proposed raising fees paid by companies
producing oil and gas in Illinois.
The idea, which could raise between $26.7 million and $33 million, is
opposed by the industry, as well as lawmakers who represent areas of the
state where oil drilling has been on the upswing since prices began
rising several years ago.
Illinois
government continues to operate in near-crisis mode - with nearly each
day presenting a new economic peril and another program in jeopardy.
Within the past two weeks, we have been told grants could be held up for
University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service and universities
might have to cut millions of dollars from their budgets to meet the gap
in the current budget. Funding for early childhood and secondary
education also could be threatened.
SPRINGFIELD -- The cash-strapped state could get an infusion of
$50.5 million as part of a proposed settlement between Illinois banks
and the Blagojevich administration.
The litigation dates to 2004 when banks took the governor to court after
he successfully raised fees on financial institutions in order to help
pay for general state costs.
SPRINGFIELD — Facing ominous implications from a federal corruption
trial, Gov. Rod Blagojevich vehemently insists that he never engages in
“pay-to-play” politics.
But records show political donors from around the country pay into the
Illinois governor’s campaign fund, and they’re definitely major players
in state contracting under his administration.
SPRINGFIELD -- In a blunt
show of disgust with Gov. Blagojevich, the Illinois House moved Tuesday
to give voters the right to recall state officeholders who are either
incompetent or unethical.
"This is about cronyism
and corruption and stopping it," said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock),
who spearheaded the plan.
SPRINGFIELD -
Disenchanted House lawmakers took out their frustrations on beleaguered
Gov.
Rod Blagojevich Tuesday,
approving a
California-style measure aimed
at allowing voters to recall the governor and other state politicians.
MARION — Illinois
Senator Dan Rutherford, R-Pontiac, is touring the state informing the
public about efforts in the General Assembly to pass a Recall Amendment.
Rutherford, who is
Chairman of the Committee for Legislative Action, is spearheading the
effort to make Illinois one of the states that has a provision for
recalling elected officials.
The
proposed amendment the Illinois House is expected to act on this week
could not only change the state Constitution, it could change the face
of Illinois politics.
A constitutional
amendment to let voters fire inept state officeholders is almost halfway
to the Nov. 4 general election ballot. There appears to be strong
support in the Illinois House. Whether such an amendment is approved for
a ballot slot by the May 4 deadline rests primarily with Senate
President Emil Jones and his fellow Senate Democrats.
Tensions flared Wednesday
as a top ally to Gov. Rod Blagojevich angrily used an expletive on the
House floor while condemning a plan that would allow voters to oust the
governor and other top officials.
The rare outburst came as
lawmakers discussed a proposed constitutional amendment that would let
voters recall constitutional officers and state legislators.
SPRINGFIELD -- Fireworks and foul language
erupted at the state Capitol as lawmakers battled over a constitutional
amendment to allow the recall of public officials.
State Rep. Jay Hoffman angrily criticized
its necessity, even offering an obscenity over the loudspeaker system.
SPRINGFIELD — A measure
allowing voters to dump the governor and other statewide officeholders
through California-style recall petitions advanced Wednesday in a key
test vote in the House, though its approval is far from certain.
Back in the
comparatively open-government days of 2007, when the governor of
Illinois occasionally deigned to answer questions instead of running
away from them, Rod Blagojevich said he favored adding a recall
provision to the state constitution.
SPRINGFIELD -- Campers
and hunters could be shelling out more green to enjoy the outdoors this
summer under Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s latest budget proposal.
Six weeks after first hinting that some park fees could rise to fill a
growing budget hole, the administration Monday released a tentative list
of the fees they want to see go up.
The state
hasn't come through with the paperwork needed for Livingston County to
buy the old Illinois State Police Headquarters in Pontiac.
But it could be worse.
The state could say it's ready to move ahead with its offer to sell the
building and grounds to the county for $10, then never come through with
the rest of the deal: $1 million to restore the building, which is
currently not fit for occupancy.
ELGIN -- One Illinois
senator calls it "buyer's remorse."
Whatever it's called,
electing the wrong person makes some wish their government came with a
return policy. If a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution
comes to fruition, voters soon will have the right to change their minds
about executive, legislative and judicial officers.
The Fulton County
Republican Central Committee and slated Friday, April 18, for its annual
Lincoln Day Dinner. The event will be held at the Grand Room of Heritage
Grand Inn in Canton. Social hour begins at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at
7 p.m.
When California voters
ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis four years ago in a recall election,
it was the state's first successful gubernatorial recall election and
only the second in U.S. history.
Illinois is not one of
the 15 states that permits recall elections, but legislation that
recently passed the state House of Representatives and will soon reach
the Senate would give voters the option of gathering signatures to
recall an elected state official.
SPRINGFIELD — Despite approval by the General Assembly and the governor
last August, efforts to restore the old Illinois State Police
Headquarters in Pontiac remain stalled.
The gun-shaped building along old Route 66 was recently added to the
National Register of Historic Places, but is in need of maintenance. The
building has not been used by the Illinois State Police since 2004, and
is currently not fit to be occupied.
SPRINGFIELD -- At the urging of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, an Illinois House
committee Wednesday voted unanimously in favor of asking voters if they
want to allow California-style recalls of elected officials.
Illinois has a rich and
infamous history of political corruption trials, but the trajectory of
the case against
Antoin "Tony" Rezko -- a chief
fundraiser for Gov.
Rod Blagojevich -- may be
without parallel.
Perhaps never before has a sitting Illinois governor become so enmeshed
in a criminal proceeding of such breadth.
Larry Dale loves deer and
turkey hunting, even though it means paying fee after fee. On top of his
state taxes, he pays for licenses, permits and the use of public
wildlife areas.
Dale isn't looking
forward to doling out even more under Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposed
budget. Dale said it's unfair for hunters and fisherman to shell out
more for state conservation efforts they already subsidize.
Laying to rest the
latest parlor game of
Illinois
politics, a federal judge on Monday made it crystal clear that "A"
stands for
Rod Blagojevich in the
public corruption case against the governor's indicted fundraiser,
Antoin "Tony" Rezko.
Utahns may get the chance to vote for a Romney this November after all —
Josh Romney, the son of former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney,
says he's considering a run for Congress.
Of course, there's always the possibility that Mitt Romney may end up on
the ballot as a vice presidential candidate — or even, some suggest, the
party's nominee if the campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., continues
to falter.
"ROD IS NOT GREAT at
process, but I think he’s pretty good at results.”
So said then-Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk in a Chicago Tribune editorial on
Feb. 2, 2005. We agree fully with the first part of Tusk’s statement.
It’s more accurate today than it was three years ago. It’s also why the
second part of the statement is flat wrong.
The
resignation of Fidel Castro as Cuba's president provides an excellent
opportunity for the United States to ease its restrictions against Cuba
- including the trade embargo.
The embargo and travel restrictions clearly have done nothing to bring
positive change to Cuba in nearly 50 years.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is
urging the children of veterans throughout the state to apply for
full-tuition scholarships to the University of Illinois.
“The General Assembly
first created these scholarships to benefit the children of Illinois’
Civil War veterans,” Quinn said Wednesday. “Today, we still honor our
veterans and their families by offering this educational benefit to
Illinois residents whose mothers or fathers served our country in the
military during wartime.”
SPRINGFIELD — Against the backdrop of looming budget problems, Gov. Rod
Blagojevich resumed his push Wednesday for an expensive expansion of
state healthcare programs.
IT'S MADDENING when an elected official
withholds information from us that we believe we are entitled to. Even
more so when our state’s highest attorney and a judge have sided with
us.
Dictator. Madman. Unruly child. Gov. Rod
Blagojevich has been called all those and more — and that’s just by his
fellow Democrats. A series of policy defeats and bitter confrontations
has driven Blagojevich’s relationship with legislators to a new low.
Last week’s Statehouse meeting of a task
force on distracted drivers didn’t involve a bill to outlaw the use of
cell phones while driving, but it may have been the first step in that
direction. Before the state gets too far down that path, it needs to
consider what it would take to make any law on cell phones and driving
practical and enforceable.
State Sen. Dan Rutherford, who broke his jaw during
a vacation in Colorado last weekend, blamed the mishap on the high
altitude, he said in an email exchange Wednesday.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — This much is clear:
After midnight on New Year's Eve, it will be illegal to light a
cigarette inside a restaurant, bar or other indoor public place anywhere
in Illinois.
CHICAGO — A federal corruption probe moved closer to Gov. Rod Blagojevich on
Friday as prosecutors issued a document in which the governor allegedly
boasted to a key witness that he “could award contracts, legal work and
investment banking” to boost campaign fundraising.
For years, Rod Blagojevich has projected two distinct images that define his
tenure as Illinois' governor.
In one, he is a populist champion with an agenda of "putting people first"
by pushing causes like health care for all. In the other, he is a consummate
politician with cronies who offer advice while raising campaign cash and
asking for favors.
Federal prosecutors for the first time
brought their corruption investigation to the desk of Gov. Rod
Blagojevich, making public Friday the allegations of two convicted
insiders who say the governor offered them state business for their
political backing.
The U.S. attorney's office significantly
raised the stakes against Gov. Blagojevich on Friday afternoon, alleging
in a new court filing that the governor -- referred to as "Public
Official A" -- told two people in separate conversations that supporting
his administration could be very financially rewarding for them.
Gov. Blagojevich told a prominent Democratic
fundraiser that the governor “could award contracts, legal work and
investment banking to help with fund-raising,” according to a federal court
document released Friday.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Tuesday it's
"ridiculous" to suggest he might owe taxes for personal use of state
aircraft. The Associated Press reported this week that Blagojevich, his
family and guests have taken hundreds of flights on taxpayer-financed
airplanes with no clear business purpose. Tax experts said the Internal
Revenue Service could consider the flights taxable fringe benefits.
On Memorial Day, Gov. Rod Blagojevich
huddled with legislative leaders in his Capitol office in what turned
out to be another futile attempt to negotiate a state budget deal. Then
Blagojevich did what millions of people do after work: He went home. The
difference is that the governor flew 150 miles to Chicago on a state
plane, then used it to return to Springfield the next day.
State Senator Dan Rutherford
of Chenoa says he's a grown adult but he felt the excitement of a child
while spending three hours at an invitation-only Presidential Christmas
party at the White House last night. Rutherford was a Bush delegate for
both Republican conventions.
Needless to say, Gov Rod Blagojevich's style
of governing(?) has generated some heated reactions from folks in
Springfield for all of the nearly five years he's been in office. But
similar strong feelings are showing up in Chicago following a television
news story that raised questions about the governor's attention to his
job.
Is there anyone left in Gov. Blagojevich's
inner circle who's willing to tell him when he's being stupid? Or do
they tell him and he ignores it, convinced in his own skewed sense of
reality that he can do no wrong?
A new law makes sweeping changes to how pharmacists can serve their
customers in Illinois.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the revisions of the Illinois Pharmacy Practice
Act in late October - the first time the law has been updated since 1987.
Illinois is a family in pain. Politically, we are perilously close to our
own civil war, thanks in large part to the combative, testosterone-driven,
absentee leadership of Gov. Blagojevich.
Bond money in a state coal development fund might have been useful in
helping keep the Monterey No. 1 coal mine open, but instead is helping mass
transit in Chicago, Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, said Saturday.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich today defended his
decision to fly up to Chicago for a Blackhawks game last night while the
House was trying (and failing) to pass a mass transit solution.
SPRINGFIELD -- Facing widespread ridicule at
the Statehouse, Gov. Blagojevich on Thursday defended skipping a key
vote to avert a CTA meltdown so he could attend a Chicago Blackhawks
game instead.
When suburban delegates pack their bags for national political conventions,
they usually expect a few days of too much food, too little sleep, lots of
party spirit and a cut-and-dried role: Vote for the candidate who months
earlier locked up the presidential nomination.
The record 17 special
session Governor Blagojevich has called this year is expected to cost
taxpayers one million dollars. The 17th session begins this afternoon,
when house and senate lawmakers meet to discuss Chicago area transit
funding. State Senator Dan Rutherford says oftentimes, there is not even
any legislation to take up during the special sessions.
SPRINGFIELD -- Four Republican presidential
contenders filed Wednesday to run in Illinois’ Feb. 5 primary election.
Leading the way with full slates of delegates on the first day for
Republicans to file were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
“Looking for Bobby
Jindal.” That’s not a recent movie, or a sequel to “Looking for Mr.
Goodbar.”Instead, it’s a quest, perhaps utterly forlorn, by Illinois
Republicans to find somebody to run for governor in 2010 like Jindal,
Louisiana’s new Republican governor. Stressing the issues of competence
and honesty in a state where corruption and cronyism are the norm,
Jindal won a solid 54 percent victory in October, in a field with 11
other candidates.
CHICAGO - At a legislative hearing last
month, opponents of a proposed casino expansion endured more than five
hours of testimony that boiled down to a basic question: Who would get
all that new casino cash?
As if Illinois politics hasn't grown
poisonous enough, now there's momentum for a constitutional amendment to
enable voters to remove state elected officials before the end of their
term.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers
Thursday to support legislation to allow voters to recall elected
officials, but he wouldn’t say whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich should be a
target.
SPRINGFIELD -- Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn renewed
his push Thursday for a constitutional amendment that could allow
Illinois voters to recall his unpopular Democratic running mate, Gov.
Blagojevich.
Let's assume you are governor. It probably
wouldn't be a pleasant feeling to open up the Sunday edition of the
largest newspaper in the state and see a discussion of how inept you
are, along with a call for a constitutional amendment to oust you via
recall.
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY will return to town
this week, and it sounds like the formidable speaker of the House,
Michael Madigan, finally will be pushing to actually get some
significant legislation moving this time.
Should Rod Blagojevich remain as governor of
Illinois?
He shows no inclination to resign from office. And while the state
constitution does allow for his impeachment by the Illinois House and
trial by the Senate, it's doubtful legislators could bring themselves to
such drastic action. So the realistic question becomes this: Given the
multiple ineptitudes of Rod Blagojevich -- his reckless financial
stewardship, his dictatorial antics, his penchant for creating political
enemies -- should citizens create a new way to terminate a chief
executive who won't, or can't, do his job?
Mitt Romney is the
earnest, overachieving school kid in the front row, his right arm thrust
high and fingers fluttering in the air, straining to get the attention
of the teacher. Mitt's got the answer. He always does.
Peoria, IL – Jim McConoughey, candidate for the 18th District seat in
the U.S. House of Representatives says meeting voters in the 20 county
region of Illinois has been the most enjoyable part of his campaign. The
Peoria Republican recently named his full-time staff and opened his
headquarters, all while maintaining an active campaign schedule.
Former U.S. House
Speaker Dennis Hastert heads a full slate of 57 candidates who intend to
seek election as convention delegates pledged to Republican presidential
contender Mitt Romney in the state’s Feb. 5 primary, the campaign said
Tuesday.
House Speaker MICHAEL
MADIGAN’s series of hearings on Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s budget cuts got
under way last week. It promises to be a rough couple of weeks for our
PR-conscious governor.
SPRINGFIELD
— Every 17 years, a brood of cicadas makes a noisy emergence in northern
Illinois. That happened this summer.
Next year, another once-in-a-while event will occur in the state, and
the cacophony could rival that of the boisterous bug. Every 20 years,
Illinois voters must decide whether they want to rewrite the state
constitution.
Rudy Giuliani is stepping
up his presidential campaign in Illinois today, launching a blitz of
telephone banks targeting 20,000 Republican voters and releasing a list
of 154 prominent GOP leaders who are jumping on the former New York
mayor’s bandwagon.
If there's one thing you
can say about our governor, it's that he's cute. I mean, I know from
talking to women that not all of them find Rod Blagojevich cute, but
enough of them do that I'm fairly certain he qualifies.
CHICAGO — The state’s
decision to award an exclusive vending contract to Pepsi has left a bad
taste with rival Coca-Cola officials, who have challenged the pending
deal.
The feud between Gov. Rod
Blagojevich and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan escalated further
Tuesday, when Blagojevich sued the House clerk for failing to record the
governor’s budget vetoes in the official House record.
SPRINGFIELD -- Senate
President Emil Jones asked the CTA to delay launching its "doomsday"
plan to raise fares and cut routes this weekend, but the transit agency
shot down the plea Monday.
It says something about
the sorry atmosphere in state government this year that some legislators
have looked into whether it would be appropriate to start impeachment
proceedings against Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH.
Before publicly endorsing former New York Mayor RUDY GIULIANI for
president in Des Plaines last week, former Illinois Gov. JIM THOMPSON
put in a courtesy call to state Sen. DAN RUTHERFORD, R-Chenoa.
AURORA – Ah, the signs of the seasons – the first robin
of spring, the first colored leaves of fall, and the first campaign
visit of the election cycle.
On a rainy day, Kane
County saw the season turn from summer to 2008 presidential campaign
with a visit Thursday by Ann Romney, wife of Republican candidate Mitt
Romney.
Former Gov. Jim Thompson
threw his support to Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani on
Thursday, calling the former New York mayor "a smart, tough candidate"
who "will appeal to a broad cross-section of people across the country."
SUGAR GROVE -- In 1980, Dan Rutherford was the executive
director for Ronald Reagan's Illinois campaign. With the title came
privileges. At 24 years old, Rutherford found himself waiting at O'Hare
International Airport to pick up "first lady in the making" Nancy Reagan
for a Midwest visit. Fast forward to 2007, and Rutherford, now a
Republican state senator from Pontiac, was having déja vu.
The photo op department:
Ann Romney, wife of GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, was spotted
having her picture taken with Dutchie Caray -- with Harry Caray's photo
in the background -- after dining with Romney's Illinois Campaign
chairman, state Sen. Dan Rutherford, at Harry Caray's eatery in Rosemont
Thursday.
CARBONDALE
- State Sen. Dan Rutherford said Mitt Romney won the Illinois Republican
presidential straw poll for a reason: He was organized and he's proved
he can raise money.
The Issue: Measure would
have mandated moment of silence at start of each school day, which
critics said amounted to prayer.
We say: Gov. Rod
Blagojevich this week vetoed the bill, saying prayer should be
voluntary, not mandated. Good move, but school funding reform is where
the governor could have helped the schools.
STREATOR
-- Families of Central Illinois National Guard members serving in Iraq
have gotten some good news. About 170 soldiers from the 1744th
Transportation Co., Streator, are expected home in mid-September from
their year-long deployment in Iraq, said Guard spokesman Stacey Rieger.
SPRINGFIELD - The fate of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's controversial plan to
expand health care in Illinois likely will fall to a bipartisan panel of
lawmakers, and he was generous with those legislators last week, even as
he slashed away at their peers' pork-barrel projects.
PEORIA
- Nearly a half million dollars for a cancer center at the University of
Illinois College of Medicine survived Gov. Rod Blagojevich's sweeping
vetoes Thursday.
Gov. Blagojevich made
$463 million in budget cuts in the name of health care Thursday -- but
slashed grants to help prevent autism, HIV, Alzheimer's disease and
potential pandemic flu.
Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH
rewrote an Elvis Presley song last week to promote his expanded
health-care program.
He also rewrote some dialogue from the movie “Treasure of
the Sierra Madre,” although he didn’t acknowledge it.
Only days after blasting lawmakers for selfishly trying
to increase the size of their paychecks while state needs floundered,
Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the raises into law as midnight approached
Monday.
Illinois should join the
other 18 states that allow their citizens to recall politicians. The
controversy and frustration swirling around Gov. Rod Blagojevich are not
the reason Illinois needs a recall provision added to its Constitution.
But his actions - or inaction - certainly are fueling the call for
recall.
Wind farm tax legislation unanimously passed by the
Illinois Senate on Thursday would level turbine assessments in all 102
of the state's counties, potentially raising annual property tax bills
for some farms while slashing them for others.
State Rep. Jack Franks is taking his long-running feud
with Gov. Rod Blagojevich to a new level with a bill that would empower
voters to remove the governor, or any other state legislator, from
office.
PEORIA
- Top state officials will stop in Peoria on Monday to tout a proposed
agreement on electric rate relief - a signal to local lawmakers that a
budget agreement may be on the horizon.
SPRINGFIELD -- While Illinois lawmakers and Gov. Rod Blagojevich haggle
over a spending plan for the coming year, documents show some state
facilities are literally falling apart.
SPRINGFIELD -- Stuck for
weeks combing over numbers in the state's fiscal impasse, Gov. Rod
Blagojevich found himself the object of ridicule Saturday over a newly
discovered $600 bill for a makeup artist he used when he unveiled his
budget months ago.
For at least five
years, the Illinois Republican Party has watched the same story line
play out over and over at the state fair in Springfield: GOP in disarray
following George Ryan scandal.
Josh Romney said his dad's presidential
campaign decided to hold its first Southern Illinois fund-raiser in
Edwardsville for a simple reason: the state's primary is now just eight
months away.
While on the campaign trail for his father,
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, 31-year-old Josh Romney
has toured some memorable places, including John Wayne's birthplace in
Iowa and what is billed as "the world's largest truck stop."
The state
cannot afford the governor's proposal for a statewide health insurance
program and a gross receipts tax - and it can't afford to have a
government shutdown.
