January 10th, 2008
Will CeaseFire Rockford get its state money back? It’s not looking good.
The House voted today to double the funding of an anti-violence program whose state money was previously eliminated by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
CeaseFire’s $6.25 million state funding – 100 percent of the state’s support – was one of many programs the governor in August sliced and diced from this year’s budget.The bill approved Thursday, which would give the program $12.5 million, passed the House by 108-1. Six House members, including Rockford Republican Dave Winters, launched a protest vote against the bill.
Winters voted “present.”
“There was a protest vote against overspending in a time when we don’t have the money to pay our current bills,” Winters said in a telephone conversation.Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Freeport, passionately defended the program on the House floor, despite a recent audit that criticized the program’s spending policies.
“We have a very significant problem, ladies and gentlemen, that goes right to the core of civilization itself,” Sacia said. “This is an issue of punks that have guns.”
Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, supports the program as well, but said if the state cannot continue funding the program, then perhaps local and county governments should consider funneling more money to CeaseFire.
The bill, however, is likely dead before it even reaches the Senate, where its leader, Senate President Emil Jones Jr., is a close ally of the governor. Sen. Donne Trotter, who happened to be on the House floor at the time of the debate said it is very likely the bill will never be called for a vote.
CeaseFire isn’t exactly popular with Senate Democratic leadership — certainly not with Trotter, a Chicago Democrat who is budget pointman for Jones, another Chicago Democrat. Trotter spearheaded an effort to order a special audit of the statewide program’s finances.
Here’s the audit summary, which cited numerous “weaknesses,” and here’s the full audit.
January 10th, 2008
How many times have you been cut off by another car in traffic and been angry about it? And how much angrier do you get when you notice the erratic driver is talking on a cell phone?
Secretary of State Jesse White and a task force began preliminary discussions Wednesday about the threat these drivers pose on Illinois roads, and that talking eventually could lead to legislation.
My Gatehouse colleague down the hall, Meagan Sexton, wrote a story about the task force today, and she cites seven states that have a ban on hand-held cell phone usage. She also points out this scary number from the Illinois Department of Transportation:
In 2006, 1,277 traffic accidents in Illinois involved cell phones. Twenty-six of them were in Sangamon County.
I don’t have the numbers for Winnebago and Boone County, but I’ll track them down and update you.
Tell me what you think. Does using a cell phone while driving dangerous? If so, should state government be the one to deal with this problem or should each city decide? Any other thoughts?
By the way, I’m alone in the office today so expect today’s blog to be “In Chambers”-lite. Sort of a Diet Dr. Pepper — tastes almost like the real thing, but you’d probably rather
have the one with all the sugar next time. Don’t worry we should be back to full strength again by tomorrow or Monday.
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UPDATE X1:
From my Gatehouse colleague — 27 of Illinois’ 1,382 cell phone-related accidents occurred in Winnebago County in 2005. In 2006, Winnebago County accounted for 29 of the 1,277 related accidents.
There were no numbers readily available for Boone County.
January 10th, 2008
Democratic leaders are pushing forward with plans to bail out Chicago-area mass transit systems, even though there’s no agreement on a statewide capital construction plan.
On Wednesday, the House cleared two such Chicago-centric plans. Today, we’ll see whether the Senate follows the House’s lead.
Also today, the House is expected to vote on whether to accept Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s changes to the so-called BIMP, which means huge money for Illinois schools. The Senate accepted the governor’s changes on Wednesday.
