Results tagged “governorblagojevich”

Congressman Bobby Rush has called on Governor Blagojevich to name a black politician to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama, announcing a state-wide petition drive on the issue. Rush, who has no interest in the seat, spoke at a press conference yesterday, saying, "In the past, Governor Blagojevich has demonstrated in some respects that he's a friend. We just want him to continue to be friendly." With Obama's seat vacated, the U.S. Senate has no black senators. Two of the leading candidates to take over the seat are black: Congressmen Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Danny Davis. Outgoing State Senate President Emil Jones has also been mentioned as a possible replacement, but is considered more of a long-shot.

On the heels of his 2009 budget and yesterday's closing of several state parks and historic sites around the state, Gov. Blagojevich named secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Dean Martinez as deputy governor for economic development and business regulation. Martinez replaces Chief Operating Officer John Filan, who now becomes executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority.

Governor Blagojevich is currently putting together a plan that, if passed, would force all transit agencies that hike fares in 2009 and 2010 to institute a salary freeze. Yes, the same Governor Blagojevich who played chicken with the CTA during last year's doomsday threats just so he could implement free rides for seniors, a program that is costing the CTA a nice bundle of money. Still, in Blago's defense, his plan only affects nonunion employees - union salaries are determined by collective bargaining agreements - and is mainly aimed at executives, many of whom actually saw a pay increase in 2008.

Salaries for dozens of transit executives continued to rise in 2008 after state bailout money started to flow, records show. The Chicago Sun-Times Watchdogs column reported Monday that the number of Pace executives who make more than $100,000 a year increased from 13 in 2006 to 20 this year.

Continue reading "Blago Continues Making Friends in Transit"

Q What do motorists pay elsewhere?

Continue reading "Tiered Tolls Coming Soon"

A few weeks ago, we pointed out how Jesse Jackson, Jr. dismissed the notion of replacing Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate while at the same time posting stories to the contrary on his website. A politician contradicting himself? No! Well, in the newest example of Jackson's "No-I'm-Not-Yes-I-Am" campaign, it seems Jackson's U.S. Rep Office has sent out an email touting Jackson as the candidate to replace Obama in the Senate. Steve Rhodes breaks it all down over at Division Street, including the results of a Jackson-ordered Zogby poll of possible replacements. Of course, as Rhodes points out, all of the polling data Jackson includes is pointless as it's up to Governor Blagojevich to name a replacement and 2010 would be the next election for the seat anyway.

Just yesterday we were speculating over who would replace outgoing Senator Barack Obama who has a new job. Now we turn our attention to the departing Rahm Emanuel, who even though he was just reelected to his U.S. House seat on Tuesday, is leaving Congress to become Chief of Staff in the Obamistration. Governor Blagojevich, who seems to have plenty on his plate already, will have to set a special election to fill Congressman Rahm's seat (unlike with the Senate seat, where Blago is allowed by law to name a successor). FYI - Rahm holds the same seat (5th District reprezent!) Blago did before he bolted in '02 to become governor. The law requires the special election be held if there is more than 180 days until the next election (in this case, it is - 2 years, actually) and the election must be set within 5 days of the official vacancy.

If Illinois Senator Barack Obama is elected President next week, then someone will have to fill his shoes in the U.S. Senate and recent speculation has centered around Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. getting the nod from Governor Blagojevich and then Jackson's wife Sandy taking his congressional seat. Jackson dismissed the speculation and said his current focus is on getting Obama elected.

Governor Rod Balgojevich will more than likely perform an amendatory veto on legislation regarding allowing hearsay in first-degree murder trials. According to the Trib, the bill, "would allow a judge to decide at a pretrial hearing whether hearsay testimony could be admitted into court if the prosecution could prove that the defendant made the witness disappear." The current incarnation of the bill, which passed both the state House and Senate, currently does not include an effective date. Such an exclusion would mean the bill wouldn't go into effect until July 1, 2009, but Blagojevich wants to make the bill effective immediately. The bill's sponsor, Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D- Joliet), said, "The governor's likely going to do an amendatory veto, and the amendatory veto is going to make it clear that the bill is effective immediately. It's unfortunate that this got left out, but we're making sure that the bill...is corrected."

While several of his rivals have been given speaking engagements at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver, it seems there's no room for Governor Blagojevich on stage. We already know Mayor Mumbles is speaking and new speakers recently added to list include state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Comptroller Dan Hynes, and Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan. But is Balgo's exclusion that big of a surprise? Given that Obama's campaign gets final say-so in choosing speakers, it shouldn't come as a shock, in spite of Obama and G-Rod's former ties (coughRezkocough).

When reporters around the state bust the Governor's balls, it's just another day at the office. But when a 16-year-old high school student gets all up in G-Rod's business, it's news. Aaron Mulvey of downstate Rochester confronted the Gov at the state fair yesterday, video camera in hand, to ask for the millions of dollars the state promised Rochester High 6 years ago—and then promptly sat on.

Governor Blagojevich is in hot water over what he deems a "bureaucratic" mistake which gave a school $1 million dollars intended for a historic, burned-down church. In the midst of his re-election campaign, Blago pledged to give $1 million to Pilgrim Baptist Church, which was destroyed by a January 2006 fire. At the time, the Loop Lab School was renting space in the church and now, Elmira Mayes, leader of the school, is contradicting Blago's claim of a mistake, saying he personally promised her money for the school.

Mayes said the governor visited the fire site and talked with her as she was sifting through debris from her burned-out school, which had rented space from the church. She did not recall the governor's exact words but "he told me he would help build the school and give $1 million."

The 2006 MySpace suicide case has prompted the Illinois House to draft new legislation on “cyberbullying.” The Cyberbullying Law amends the existing Criminal Code and The Harassing and Obscene Communications Act to ban threats, harassment, and stalking done through the means of electronic communication, and makes violations punishable by up to three years in prison.

Last week's announced plan from Governor Blagojevich to tear down Cole Hall has been met with great backlash amongst state lawmakers, NIU staff and students. An email sent yesterday from Northern Illinois University President John Peters to students and faculty put a hold on the Governor’s plan and called for campus-wide discourse regarding the fate of the 40-year-old building. Peters said the future of Cole Hall should “represent a consensus opinion” of the university community.

Governor Blagojevich promised $1 million to help rebuild Pilgrim Baptist Church after it burned down in 2006. But church officials say they haven't seen a dime, and even Blago's office admits the money went to an unrelated school that rented space from the church. They were sticking with that story until other local politicians jumped in to call Blago a liar and an opportunist, at which point our governor said he'd find another $1 million to actually give to the church.

Cole Hall will be closed for the rest of the semester and will be knocked down this spring, with construction on the new Memorial Hall to be completed by the 2010 school year. [Northern Star, Trib]

From U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve's recent ruling in the Rezko case....

To the shock of absolutely no one, Governor Blagojevich was officially identified as Public Official A today in the documents pertaining to Tony Rezko's prosecution.

NIU classes resumed today after a vigil last night drew 10,000 people from the university and beyond, including Governor Blagojevich, Senators Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, and secretary of the department of health and human services Michael Leavitt.

Tony Rezko's rise to power in state politics didn't happen overnight. When got started as a strong advocate of grassroots Arab-American activism in Chicago and was often the largest contributor to Arab-American campaigns. But several years ago, Rezko’s name started showing up on campaign disclosure forms for prominent politicians in Chicago, Cook County and the state.

Governor Blagojevich delivered his State of the State and budget address today. He wants to pass a capital bill based on privatizing the Illinois lottery, and says he has "three clear and achievable goals" for our state's economy: 1. "Invest in our infrastructure" 2. "Relief for families" and 3."Tax cuts for businesses."

At a Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Scholarship Breakfast this morning, Governor Blagojevich gave a three-minute speech, and included this charming verse, aimed at the seniors in the audience.

The CTA bailout passed, and now we can move on to that other chronic political problem: Governor Blagojevich. Just how much of Mr. Testicular Virility are Illinois residents willing to take? Judging by a new Chicago magazine article about the embattled gov, "Mr. Un-Popularity," not much. In that article, the Capital Fax Blog's Rich Miller suggests that Blago is the most unpopular governor in the country, with approval ratings that have sunk as low as 16 percent (which, Bernstein notes, is worse than President Bush polls in Illinois, one of the country's bluest states).

• Drew Peterson Watch: the Cowardly Lion's attorney says a racy message recently found on missing wife Stacy's phone is proof that she was having an affair, and ran off.
• The mini Wrigley Field formerly at the New City YMCA is being relocated to Humboldt Park.
• If you're a Streets and San worker around 53rd and Union, be careful that woman you offer money for sex isn't an undercover officer.
• Kanye West, blogger.

Last week, Governor Blagojevich's amendatory veto--"improvement" was it?--that seniors be able to ride the CTA for free made our brains explode with both shock and dismay. Shock that he waited until the last minute to unveil this idea, and dismay that it might derail (zing!) the transit funding plans the state legislature so laboriously hammered out. And then today, this treat: He never discussed it with Ron Huberman or anyone else from the various branches of the RTA.

Sangamon County Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley ruled Wednesday that Governor Blagojevich's administration must disclose subpoenas from federal prosecutors in the ongoing investigation into state hiring. When the governor's office denied a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of the subpoenas last year, the Better Government Association, a Chicago-based government watchdog group, sued. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is investigating charges that the Blagojevich administration traded state jobs for campaign contributions.

We're calling it a day a little early today--and something tells us you are, too.

The Tribune's "Clout Street" blog is reporting that Governor Blagojevich, whose probably still feeling like the most badass father on the planet after scoring free Hannah Montana tickets for his daughters, will not call lawmakers back to Springfield until January 2nd, effectively putting to rest any speculation that a transit funding deal will get hammered out by year's end.