Archive for September, 2009
September 30th, 2009
I wrote in a recent post that I think Rio will get the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Today I heard a different theory from Wally Haas, our editorial page editor, who heard it from someone, I think it may have been Jim Ryan, Rockford city administrator.
This theory says that The International Olympic Committee already knows what it’s going to announce Friday — and that is why President Obama is going to Copenhagen, meaning he wouldn’t go if Chicago isn’t the pick.
In other words, in Chicago-ese, Obama’s going , so the fix is in.
Nice theory. Not so sure about it, though.
September 30th, 2009
A few years ago the Republicans gave a tremendous subsidy to the drug industry with the Medicare prescription drug benefit, paid for by borrowing money.
Now, the Democrats are set to give an even bigger subsidy to the health insurance industry by delivering to them 40 million currently uninsured people who the government will force to buy insurance. If they don’t buy it, government will fine them, even put them in jail.
Yes, the Democrats, the “party of the people,” caved to the corporate interests in the health insurance industry seem ready to embrace the Senate health bill written by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana. Baucus is heavily funded by the insurance industry, which was dead set against a public option.
Now, we’re about to get the worst of all worlds. No cost control. No reform. No public option. No nothing, except a whopping sop to the insurance companies who can charge as much as they want for policies while the government holds a gun to people’s heads and forces them to buy coverage.
This is awful. Dear Senate and House: Vote No. Nada. Nothin’. What we’ve got is better than what you’re selling.
If the Democrats do this, they can kiss their sweet majority goodbye for a generation, maybe more. And they’ll deserve it royally. I’m disgusted.
September 28th, 2009
So, police union leader Aurelio De LaRosa thinks Mayor Larry Morrissey is “a threat” to Rockford because the city has lost tax revenue and needs to make some minimal trims in city staffing.
Puhleease. Spare me the drama. These are miniscule compared to the cuts in staff that many other cities have had to make.
Interestingly, the police union negotiator, Doug Block, was the candidate against Morrissey in the April election. I recall that he did not do that well. Maybe the voters have a different perception of what’s a threat and what’s not.
September 28th, 2009
When it comes to restoring Amtrak passenger trains to northern Illinois, Rockford and Belvidere officials came close to making the perfect the enemy of the good when some insisted that intercity trains use the Union Pacific line through Belvidere, not the Canadian National line through Genoa, the route preferred by Amtrak and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
But after a secret meeting today at Giovanni’s, all appear to be back on board the Genoa train. Among attendees were George Weber, state Bureau of Railroads chief; leaders from DeKalb County and Genoa; state Reps. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, Ron Wait, R-Belvidere, and Dave Winters, R-Shirland; state Sen. Brad Burzynski, R-Clare; U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan; Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton; Rockford Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Einar Forsman; Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning Executive Director Steve Ernst; and Rockford City Administrator Jim Ryan. Reporters were not told of the confab. I reached Ryan, Ernst and Jefferson after the meeting. They had good news for the region.
“We agreed that we’re not going to jeopardize the possibly of federal funds coming to this region for passenger rail,” Jefferson said.
“We agreed that this route (through Genoa) is the one we’re going to move forward on right now,” Ryan said. The state must submit an application for federal stimulus money to the Federal Rail Administration by Friday and can only submit one route.
The Belvidere route is not being abandoned, however. It could still be funded by intercity rail money in the state capital plan, Ernst said. A second Amtrak train from Chicago to Dubuque could operate over that line. Plus, the track upgrades could help efforts to begin commuter train service to Chicago.
The Giovanni’s meeting “gave us a forum to get clarification on the state’s position. George Weber didn’t rule out our position that we could have a two-route system that could add service frequency for Amtrak and commuter rail in the future,” Ryan said.
“We’re not losing focus on the fact that we need commuter rail service, and we also expressed a desire to get the maximum speed up to 120 mph,” Ryan added.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. began the drive to restore Amtrak in northern Illinois in 2006 at a meeting at Chicago Rockford International Airport. Durbin also backs a two-track approach to rail by supporting the Genoa route as the quickest way to get Amtrak trains running while focusing on the Belvidere line for passenger rail expansion, including future commuter trains.
Durbin’s Chief of Staff Pat Souders was happy when I told him of the meeting’s outcome. “We want to move forward quickly on Amtrak and move forward on commuter rail, too,” Souders said. “The senator absolutely does support that.”
While today’s meeting shouldn’t have been secret, the participants finally agreed with the state and Amtrak that the Genoa route is the one we can get funded right now. We have an unusual combination of federal leaders from Illinois who have clout, are familiar with our effort, and who can make that happen.
September 28th, 2009
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of bringing “Da Lympics” to Chicago in 2016. It would not only be good for Chicago, it would help all of Illinois and the Midwest as an economic development bonanza.
However, I think that Mayor Daley sending in President Obama to make a last-ditch pitch in Copenhagen this week (they make the announcement Oct. 2) is potentially bad news for the City of Big Shoulders. I’m suspicious also because Daley has been making statements that even if Chicago doesn’t get the Olympics, the effort to compete for them was worthwhile.
OK, here’s my hunch. The International Olympic Committee is intensely political. Its members play geopolitics to the 99th degree. They must accomplish a continental balancing act.
Geopolitically speaking, Tokyo, the Asian city among the four finalists, won’t get the Summer Games. Tokyo had them in 1964, Seoul, Korea had them in 1988 and Beijing had them in 2008. Also in the Eastern Hemisphere, south of the Equator, Sydney had the Summer Games in 2000 and Melbourne had them in 1956. (Both are in Australia.)
Madrid won’t get the Games, either. Barcelona, also a Spanish city (even though Barcelona people think they live in a land called Catalan) had the Summer Games in 1992, and numerous European cities have had the Summer Games, including Athens in 2004. London will have them in 2012.
Chicago won’t get them because the U.S. has hosted the Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996, Los Angeles in 1984 and 1932, and St. Louis in 1904. Montreal, Quebec had the Games in 1976, and Mexico City had them in 1968.
That’s quite a few Summer Games for North America — and the Winter Olympics are coming to Vancouver, B.C. in 2010.
There are two continents not represented in the Modern Olympiad, which began in Athens in 1896: Africa and South America.
We have no African entries, leaving the final finalist, the one from South America — cue samba music:
Rio De Janeiro. Rio will win the 2016 Olympics because, quite simply, it’s South America’s turn. Finally.
I hope I am wrong about this, and I’d love Chicago to win. But I’m just sayin’………
September 25th, 2009
By Chuck Sweeny
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
Rockford lawyer Dan Lewandowski withdrew his candidacy for state Senate in the 34th district Friday afternoon. The move allows Rockford city attorney Jennifer Cacciapaglia to be the Democratic nominee to oppose Republican incumbent Dave Syverson in the November 2010 general election. Syverson has been in Springfield nearly a generation, since 1992.
Lewandowski, the Winnebago County Democratic chairman, said he withdrew to focus on building the party in the coming election year.
“With a number of open statewide seats in 2010, and with President Obama’s continued efforts to push real reform at the federal level, it is incumbent on Democratic chairmen across the state to … support our party through grassroots action. My focus needs to be on continuing the transformation of the Winnebago County Democratic Party so it continues to be a strong organization,” Lewandowski said.
Cacciapaglia hasn’t officially declared her candidacy, but she is expected to do so.
“I appreciate that (Lewandowski) wants to continue to help the party, he’s been making great strides. I look forward to gaining his support should I decide to move forward,” Cacciapaglia said.
The not-quite candidate said she is “obviously circulating petitions. I’ve marched in parades and had my first fund raiser. Reaction is incredibly positive, both from people who are strong Democrats and from people who are just tired of the status quo. It’s been across the board.”
Cacciapaglia said she raised $7,800 in cash and in kind donations from her fund raiser last week.
According to Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, Syverson is one of the party’s top targets in 2010, and party leaders at the state level were hesitant to back Lewandowski, who was not able to defeat Syverson in 2006 despite the increasingly Democratic nature of the 34th district.
The 34th includes all of the heavily Democratic 67th House District in Rockford’s urban core, as well as Republican Boone County and northeastern Winnebago County.
The seat was known from the late 1969s through 1992 as “the woman’s seat” because it was served by four women; Democrats Betty Ann Keegan and Vivian Hickey, Republican Lynn Martin, and then Democrat Joyce Holmberg.
If successful, Cacciapaglia would renew that tradition.
Reach Senior Editor Chuck Sweeny at 815-987-1366 or csweeny@rrstar.com.
September 22nd, 2009
A million here, a million there, pretty soon you’re talking real health care coverage.
For years we’ve heard that the U.S. has 45, 46 or 47 million people who lack health insurance.
But Monday night on David Letterman, President Obama said there are 30 million without health care? What happened to the 17 million missing people?
Some people speculate they are illegal aliens. Some think they were taken away in black helicopters and put in FEMA concentration camps in Alabama.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, says there are only 12 million people without access to coverage.
47 million. 30 million. 12 million. We’re certainly moving in the right direction. Hooray for us!
September 17th, 2009
Senator Max Baucus’s “health care reform” bill is in reality the insurance industry bonanza bill. He’s taken so much money from insurance companies he might as well be an agent. They’re in good hands with Baucus.
His ridiculous bill needs to be labeled dead on arrival. To cover all the new people, Baucus goes after middle class taxpayers.
And he’s a Democrat?
If he’s a Democrat, I’m the Culligan Man.
The Baucus bill is similar to the Massachusetts health plan of former Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican. It requires people to carry health insurance, and if they don’t buy it, they have to pay a fine.
This is not what candidate Barack Obama promised. Requiring all Americans to carry health insurance by law was Hillary’s plan; Obama said it should be AVAIALBLE, but not mandatory.
He’s done a 180 on that campaign position.
Anyway, Massachussetts’ plan is having problems, which is explained in this article in the Columbia Journalism Review:
September 11th, 2009
Yes, it’s wonderful that TV’s Extreme Home Makeover is building a new house for those unfortunate folks in the Lena area who lost their house in a fire.
But in what motorists are calling an extreme road closure, the state highway geniuses at IDOT have shut down U.S. 20 for the occasion. Now, people bound for a weekend getaway in Lincoln Park West (that’s Galena) have to negotiate an extra 3.5 mile detour on county roads just so some tractor-trailer rigs can unload the house parts by the side of the highway.
State Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica, represents the area from Meridian Road to the Mississippi River, and he’s angry about the closure.
But when he tried to get IDOT to open the road in time for the busy weekend in Galena (it’s some kind of women’s weekend, so the shops expect to do a lot of business) Sacia said, “I got boondoggled like everybody else.”
The closure began Wednesday — unannounced — Sacia said, and it’s supposed to continue through the following Wednesday.
“Only a select few knew about this in advance, and I wasn’t on the list,” Sacia said.
“It’s bad enough we’ve only got a two-lane U.S. 20, but now people have to take a long detour on scenic country roads, which they don’t want to do.”
This event points out graphically that “road people” live in an isolated universe. They don’t consider the economic impact of what they’re doing. Think about it. Here’s Galena, a busy, tourist town that relies on Chicagolanders and Rockfordians driving out for the weekend and spending money.
Without the tourists from the east, Galena goes out of business. And so, who do the road people cater to? No, not the taxpayers of Galena, but to a Hollywood production company.
This is ridiculous, but par for the course.
September 10th, 2009
NOW THAT THE CITY has learned the state of Illinois won’t fund two development requests for developments in Rockford, it’s time to ask our state legislators, what did they do to try and get the money? According to City Administrator Jim Ryan, Zion Development Corporation requested about $7 million in affordable housing funds, and an Indiana-based developer asked for $11 million to turn the long-closed Church School into senior apartments with money added for neighborhood improvement.
Ryan said he wants to find out if the state’s decision can be appealed, or if there’s another chance to submit the requests. If not, let’s get out the wrecking ball and tear that sucker down. The city is in foreclosure proceedings against the building’s owner, an outfit called Progressive West Rockford Community Development. The organization, headed by the Rev. Earl Dotson, Sr., says it wants to have a community center in the building, but nothing has been done to achieve that goal. The group doesn’t even mow the grass.
Once foreclosure is certain, and it could be as soon as mid October, the city should hire a wrecking crew and get that disgraceful structure down as soon as possible.
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