Archive for July, 2008
July 17th, 2008
As we reported in today’s Register Star, Rep. Jim Sacia and other white Republicans on Wednesday accused a black Chicago Democrat of race-baiting during a committee hearing.
During a morning hearing on a bill to help ex-convicts get jobs and start businesses, Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, said lawmakers representing state prisons are more interested in keeping their prisons packed with inmates “from Chicago” than they are with helping ex-convicts improve their lives after prison.
“African-Americans down here (in Springfield) have got to fight harder … to stop this continued recidivism because opportunities are denied,” Davis said. “You need to take the names of people with prisons in their districts and watch how they vote. They don’t want to stop crime. It stops their livelihood.”
Sacia, who is white, told Davis her statement was “asinine,” and she responded that she was not speaking to him. Sacia then voted against the bill and abruptly departed from the hearing.
“Her comments were definitely racial,” he said after the hearing. “They were directed at white Republicans. It was totally unacceptable.”
Davis accused lawmakers representing prisons of stymieing efforts to improve the lives of ex-cons.
“Illinois must recognize there are some people in the Illinois General Assembly who have prisons in their district and their whole objective is to keep them filled,” she said during committee. “Anything that would create an atmosphere to get those prisons with fewer people, or (would) threaten to close (them), it’s a war.”
“’We’ve got to have those prisoners,’” she continued, characterizing what she perceives as the view of lawmakers whose districts include prisons. “’They’ve got to come down here from Chicago and we’ve got to keep them filled because that’s how we get work. That’s our economy. We no longer plant corn. We no longer have farms. We don’t raise cows and pigs. We keep prisoners.’”
Davis, an African American, noted after the hearing that she had not specified the race of inmates packing prisons.
“I didn’t say what color they are, but we all know what color they are,” she said.
According to a 2005 report (the latest available) from the Illinois Department of Corrections, 60 percent of the adult prisoners in Illinois are black, while 28 percent are white and 11 percent are Hispanic.
Her remarks and the ensuing response from livid Republicans has attracted quite a bit of attention.
What do you make of this? Did the Republicans over-react?
UPDATE 1
Sacia used his weekly column, which he distributes to local newspapers, to address the controversy …
We returned to Springfield on Tuesday, July 16 at the beckoning of Speaker Madigan to resume work on a capital (jobs) bill and to vote on override motions dealing with the Governor’s $1.4 billion in cuts to the Fiscal Year 2009 state budget.
The Governor used a broad ax to cut funding from numerous social services and state government agencies that provide very necessary monies to keep the machinery of the state moving forward. The House voted on thirty-three separate override motions dealing with cuts to the new budget (House Bill 5701). My good friend Representative Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) articulated the “insanity” of voting no, in effect voting to sustain the Governor’s cuts. As an example, he noted that the Governor cut a mere 3% from his own budget while slashing more than 25% from Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s budget. No one has missed the ongoing battle between these constitutional officers. This and the other disproportionate cuts made throughout the budget left me with no option but to vote to override the Governor’s actions.
Adding insult to injury, the $59 billion budget the Governor axed had been sent to him $2.4 billion out of balance. There is a lot of blame to go around in this unfortunate situation, but the true absurdity lies in knowing that no matter what we do our efforts will be futile if the Senate doesn’t return to Springfield as well to deal with the Governor’s budget cuts. Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) is a close ally of Governor Blagojevich and has made it clear that he has no intention of calling the Senate back into session. Sounds absurd? You’re right, it is.
On the budget, the Illinois House did its due diligence and now we await the next move by the Governor or the Senate. We did not however, act this week on a sorely needed capital (jobs) bill that would put up to 700,000 Illinoisans back to work.
Oh, and did I mention that if the Senate fails to return and take action, legislators and the Governor will receive a 3.8% pay raise? This raise will be funded on the backs of hard working Illinoisans. That infuriates me, and of course I will give my pay increase to charity.
I would be remiss if I also didn’t mention the potential racial issue that arose at our Prison Reform Committee hearing on July 16th. I am the Minority Spokesman on this committee and I take that responsibility very seriously. My good friend and an outstanding young legislator LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), an African American, presented House Bill 2746 that would allow the state to provide low-interest loans to paroled prisoners to help them start their own businesses.
In my questioning, I was attempting to determine if we would be offering more perks to ex-offenders than to law-abiding citizens who have not been to prison. Representative Monique Davis (D-Chicago), an African American who is not a regular member of the committee, said that members who have prisons in their districts do all they can to keep the prisons full. She urged African American legislators to work together to put a stop to it. I told the lady her comments were asinine and it went down hill from there. When the full House came to order I asked the Speaker to investigate the incident, which I felt was highly racial, and at a minimum, race-baiting. [Emphasis added]
July 17th, 2008
State lawmakers are back home today and are not scheduled to return to Springfield until after the Nov. 4 general election.
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| Dog in Pajamas, complements of spoilurpets.com |
It’s just me, a couple dozen other reporters, some legislative staff, secretaries and a bunch of security guards remaining at the Capitol. Once again, I can show up to work in my pajamas.
But my bliss in puffy slippers may not last long. With Gov. Rod “Madman” Blagojevich, House Speaker Michael “King of the Mountain” Madigan and Senate President Emil “I’m Powerful Too” Jones running the state government, it’s a safe bet we won’t have to wait long for the next drama in Springfield.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all with these characters, it gets even goofier. Yesterday, Blagojevich declared that he might send state troopers or even the National Guard into the neighborhoods of Chicago to help stem “out of control” violence. Only, Blagojevich hadn’t bothered to mention this to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley before mentioning it to rolling television cameras. As CapFax Blog noted, Blagojevich apparently just “blurted” it out.
By the time the House completed work Wednesday, its members had restored to the state budget more than $400 million in spending Blagojevich had cut. Only, Blagojevich said he cut that spending because there was inadequate revenue in the budget to support it, and the House didn’t bother voting for any additional revenue-raising plan to back up the additional spending.
Blagojevich’s people were quick to say the House had acted irresponsibly. Then again, Blagojevich cut just $1.4 billion from the budget after insisting it had a $2.1 billion hole. How did the governor plan to manage that other $700 million in spending for which he claimed there was no revenue? Who knows.
And in any case, Blagojevich has long lacked any credibility regarding budget numbers. It’s prudent to take everything the man says about the budget with a huge — I mean huge — grain of salt. Even as the state faced the worst general-fund deficit in the nation near the end of his first term, Blagojevich insisted it wasn’t possible for the state to have a deficit.
Oh, and remember how the governor tried to cut state funding for 4-H and other agricultural programs from the budget that ended June 30 because he claimed it had a $750 million hole? The governor agreed to restore funding for those programs when fellow Democrats in the Senate agreed to defeat a plan that would have allowed voters to recall Blagojevich from office. And though Blagojevich’s people had threatened to withhold nearly $400 million in payments for schools during the month of June to help close that budget gap, they released that money too.
How did the governor patch that $750 million hole? Who knows. Did such a hole even exist? Who knows.
If there’s another thing Blagojevich does not do well, it’s sit still with his mouth shut. Though Madigan engineered the defeat of the governor’s $34 billion capital plan by out-foxing him on the last day of spring session, Blagojevich is working feverishly to build public pressure to topple Madigan and push the plan through.
Blagojevich seldom misses an opportunity to promote his plan. Yesterday, when he offered to send troopers or troops into Chicago yesterday, he clumsily painted his capital plan as a means to quell violence in Chicago.
“The mayor can be a great help in this in getting the House Democratic leadership to pass that big capital program,” [Blagojevich] said.
That capital program would funnel millions into communities he says need money to fight crime in a comprehensive way.
It’s safe to assume Blagojevich will continue beating that drum. Perhaps he’ll go so far as to call lawmakers into special session. Who knows.
In the meantime, I’m getting cozy with flannel.
July 17th, 2008
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| My Future Garage? |
I’m thinking about building an altar in the garage, between the lawn mower and table saw …
When George Michael placed a cross on the side of his lakefront mansion, neighbors assumed the decoration was simply a display of the man’s religious faith.
What his neighbors didn’t know is that Michael had decided to convert his $3 million residence into the Armenian Church of Lake Bluff, qualifying him for a nearly $80,000 break on his annual property tax bill.
Now, locals are questioning whether the property is a church at all. Village officials wonder how they’ll be able to make up the lost revenue, and residents worry that their share of the tax burden will grow as a result.
Meanwhile, Lake Bluff officials notified Michael that if he is running a church, he’ll need to pay more than $115,000 in fines for failing to get the village’s permission, setting up a possible court battle.
July 15th, 2008
Obama today plans to give a speech fleshing out his vision for Iraq, a day after the New York Times published his op-ed calling once again for a “phased redeployment of combat troops” …
With the press mesmerized by shiny metal objects like the New Yorker’s controversial magazine cover or what Jesse Jackson said while wearing a hot mic, Obama today turns the focus back to one of the central issues of this presidential election when he delivers a major speech in DC on Iraq and Afghanistan. It comes right before the Illinois senator embarks on an international trip that will take him to Iraq and Afghanistan. And it comes pegged to a new Washington Post/ABC poll on Iraq that’s a mixed bag for the two presidential candidates.
UPDATE 1
The text of Obama’s speech is here.
He castigates the Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq after 9/11 …
Imagine, for a moment, what we could have done in those days, and months, and years after 9/11.
We could have deployed the full force of American power to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and all of the terrorists responsible for 9/11, while supporting real security in Afghanistan.
We could have secured loose nuclear materials around the world, and updated a 20th century non-proliferation framework to meet the challenges of the 21st.
We could have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in alternative sources of energy to grow our economy, save our planet, and end the tyranny of oil.
We could have strengthened old alliances, formed new partnerships, and renewed international institutions to advance peace and prosperity.
We could have called on a new generation to step into the strong currents of history, and to serve their country as troops and teachers, Peace Corps volunteers and police officers.
We could have secured our homeland—investing in sophisticated new protection for our ports, our trains and our power plants.
We could have rebuilt our roads and bridges, laid down new rail and broadband and electricity systems, and made college affordable for every American to strengthen our ability to compete.
We could have done that.
Instead, we have lost thousands of American lives, spent nearly a trillion dollars, alienated allies and neglected emerging threats – all in the cause of fighting a war for well over five years in a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.
He says it’s time to get out …
At some point, a judgment must be made. Iraq is not going to be a perfect place, and we don’t have unlimited resources to try to make it one. We are not going to kill every al Qaeda sympathizer, eliminate every trace of Iranian influence, or stand up a flawless democracy before we leave – General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker acknowledged this to me when they testified last April. That is why the accusation of surrender is false rhetoric used to justify a failed policy. In fact, true success in Iraq – victory in Iraq – will not take place in a surrender ceremony where an enemy lays down their arms. True success will take place when we leave Iraq to a government that is taking responsibility for its future – a government that prevents sectarian conflict, and ensures that the al Qaeda threat which has been beaten back by our troops does not reemerge. That is an achievable goal if we pursue a comprehensive plan to press the Iraqis stand up.
He sets forth a time frame …
To achieve that success, I will give our military a new mission on my first day in office: ending this war. Let me be clear: we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – one year after Iraqi Security Forces will be prepared to stand up; two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, we’ll keep a residual force to perform specific missions in Iraq: targeting any remnants of al Qaeda; protecting our service members and diplomats; and training and supporting Iraq’s Security Forces, so long as the Iraqis make political progress.
He says America will build a new coalition …
We will make tactical adjustments as we implement this strategy – that is what any responsible Commander-in-Chief must do. As I have consistently said, I will consult with commanders on the ground and the Iraqi government. We will redeploy from secure areas first and volatile areas later. We will commit $2 billion to a meaningful international effort to support the more than 4 million displaced Iraqis. We will forge a new coalition to support Iraq’s future – one that includes all of Iraq’s neighbors, and also the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union – because we all have a stake in stability. And we will make it clear that the United States seeks no permanent bases in Iraq.
July 14th, 2008
John Borling, a retired Air Force general and John McCain delegate who resides in Rockford, declined to support local U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo — a fellow Republican — for re-election. Instead, Borling endorsed Manzullo’s Democratic opponent, Robert Abboud.
In some regards, the endorsement is not as surprising as it might seem. Borling and Abboud’s father are longtime friends, both of whom work in the energy industry and share a military background. Moreover, Borling ran against Manzullo as a write-in, independent candidate in 2006.
That, said Manzullo spokesman Rich Carter, sufficiently explains Borling’s endorsement snub of his boss.
Still, such crossing of party lines - a Republican convention delegate endorsing the Democratic congressional candidate in his own district - is unusual. Such a move goes a step beyond that taken by state Sen. Kirk Dillard last year. The Hinsdale Republican and McCain delegate raised eyebrows and some hackles among party colleagues by appearing in a campaign ad for Barack Obama that aired in Iowa several weeks after Obama launched his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Borling, who described himself Friday as a “Republican-leaning independent,” praised Abboud as “a fiscal conservative and a social moderate” with “extraordinary judgment and intelligence.”
He also took a swipe at Manzullo, serving his eighth term by saying: “The nation suffers from career politicians who believe they are owed lifetime appointment.”
More background here.
July 14th, 2008
I’m back from vacation, but wading through a mound of e-mail, etc.
I’ll have more in a bit …
July 5th, 2008
My legs are numb from chasing the governor lately.
I’m on the bench until July 14. Blog you then!
July 3rd, 2008
Gov. Rod Blagojevich today had a blowout with Chicago reporters who relentlessly shouted questions about the federal probe of his hiring, contracting and fundraising activities.
Blagojevich — allowing himself uncanny exposure to the media — shouted back.
He said reporters asked “stupid,” “absurd” and “ridiculous” questions.
My favorite Blagojevich line?
“I have nothing to fear but the truth.”
I’m wondering: Did Blagojevich, with that remark, accidentally speak the truth? Roosevelt must have just rolled over in his grave.
The full audio of the governor’s appearance, courtesy of Chicago Public Radio, is here. The fun part begins at about 16:00.
July 1st, 2008
The Illinois State Bar Association has voted to support abolition of the death penatly, the lawyer group said Monday.
The vote came after presentations by former federal prosecutor Thomas Sullivan,
past president of the ISBA Terrence K. Hegarty, and the President of the Illinois
State’s Attorneys Association, Joseph Birkett, State’s Attorney of DuPage County.
After quoting from the dissent of retired Illinois Supreme Court Justice Moses
Harrison, newly-installed ISBA president Jack C. Carey of Belleville, said,
“The application of the death penalty in Illinois has been demonstrated to be
flawed beyond any doubt. Our position is that the death penalty is not fixable
and should be discontinued. To do otherwise would invite the grossest
miscarriage of justice imaginable, the death of an innocent person.”
Though he seldom gets credit for it, Justice Harrison was a pioneer in the movement to quash capital punishment in this state.
Five years before former Gov. George Ryan commuted the death sentences of every condemned inmate in Illinois, Harrison authored a dissent in the case of People v. Bull in which he argued that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
The result, inevitably, will be that innocent persons are going to be sentenced to death and be executed in Illinois. A sentencing scheme which permits such horrific and irrevocable results cannot meet the requirements of the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amends. VIII, XIV) or article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2).
It is no answer to say that we are doing the best we can. If this is the best our state can do, we have no business sending people to their deaths. As outraged as we may feel personally over the terrible acts committed by the defendant in this case, that is no justification for perpetuating a system that violates our most basic constitutional principles.
Before any of us gets too righteous about what a despicable character defendant is, we should also stop for a moment and reflect on how easy it was to condemn an individual such as Rolando Cruz, who was ultimately determined to be innocent. This is not to suggest that the defendant in this case was not actually guilty either. My point is simply that when a system is as prone to error as our is, we should not be making irrevocable decisions about any human life.
My colleagues are decent and good people. Just as the execution of an innocent person is inevitable, it is inevitable that one day the majority will no longer be able to deny that the Illinois death penalty scheme, as presently administered, is profoundly unjust. When that day comes, as it must, my colleagues will see what they have allowed to happen, and they will feel ashamed.
July 1st, 2008
The generally understated Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, is on a roll with slick one-liners.
In today’s story on the state budget, Jefferson used a soup metaphor to explain why he doesn’t believe House lawmakers ought to return to Springfield to continue working on the budget.
“I’m willing to come back to Springfield if there’s something genuine on the table,” he said. “But if it’s the same thing, then why bother? It’s the same old soup warmed over.”
And in a recent story about Obama’spresidential bid, Jefferson said he figured an Obama administration could be good for Illinois. Obama’s roots are here, after all.
“These are his roots, and you always want to make sure that your roots are taken care of.”
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