Author: Newsdesk

From the Breaking News Center:

The new
indictment was designed to head off any issues if the Supreme Court
strikes down or limits the "honest services" fraud law. Monk’s plea was
necessary before Blagojevich’s trial, set for June 3.

Monk is expected to testify that
Blagojevich and three of his closest friends – including Monk – schemed
from the outset of his administration to enrich themselves by
leveraging the powers of Blagojevich’s office.



Monk is expected
to tell the jury how the four — a group that also included key
fundraisers Christopher Kelly and Antoin "Tony" Rezko — planned to
bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions they
could split up when Blagojevich left office.

Monk’s origninal
plea was to a single count of mail fraud in exchange for two years in
prison. Prosecutors dropped that count Friday and had Monk plead to one
count of conspiracy to solicit a bribe.

For more, please click here.

The House Executive Committee voted 10-1 to send the bill to the full House, where it could be voted upon as early as Friday.

The action would give vouchers not only to the schools where
students are poorest and lowest performing. But it also would extend
vouchers to students from poor families in the most-overcrowded
schools, a change from the bill when Meeks won Senate approval.

Public teacher unions lined up in opposition and warned of a lawsuit if the bill becomes law.

Jim Reed, spokesman for the Illinois Education Association, said
today the bill violates the Illinois Constitution by giving state money
to private schools, which support the measure.

"The fact that you’re diverting funds from public schools means that
the kids that are left in those existing public schools are going to
have fewer resources," Reed said.

The only "no" vote came from Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, who said
the state’s billion-dollar budget deficit should be addressed before
considering new programs.

"We have a responsibility and an obligation to our existing schools
that we pay the debt we owe them first and then we talk about
experiments in vouchers," said Brady, who said he had a child in
private school.

Supporters maintained the pilot program is worth it if students can get a shot at a better education.

"It’s time to try something, and it goes back to the kids, not a
bunch of adults haggling over dollars," said Rep. Ed Sullivan, R-Mundelein.

Track
owners have long coveted the idea of pumping up their bottom lines with
slot machines, but it’s a tough sell unless all of the far-reaching
gambling interests are on board any gambling bill. And it’s clear that
not all are on board, including the casino boats.

"We’re fighting it," said Tom Swoik, executive director of the
Illinois Casino Gaming Association. He maintained the boats have seen
their profits nosedive over the last couple of years due to factors
that range from the state’s anti-smoking laws to the rocky national
economy.

Swoik maintained the bill effectively would create land-based
casinos, creating competition that would further erode riverboat
gambling profits.

The call for slots at tracks comes after many communities opted out
of allowing video poker within their borders, raising concerns that a
key portion of the funding for the program to fix roads and bridges
would fall short.

A variety of other delays have slowed revenue expectations,
including the time needed to put in place complicated regulations for
the video poker games.

"We’re working hard to line up support," said Rep. Will Burns, D-Chicago, who secured support from major labor unions and Republican Rep. Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills, a point man on budget issues.

Under the proposal, Cook County tracks could have up to 1,200 slots
and other electronic games. Supporters estimated the plan could create
up to 1,500 permanent jobs.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 7:32 p.m.

Cook County commissioners took steps today to limit the authority of Board President Todd Stroger in the wake of the latest hiring scandal in the final months of his administration.

Most hiring and transfers would be frozen and Stroger would have three business days to report all allowed personnel changes and raises under a trio of measures introduced by five Democrats, including influential Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, D-Chicago.

Stroger also would have to report within three days nearly all spending on supplies, materials, equipment and professional services not already approved by commissioners.



Fellow Democrats were reacting in part to recent reports that Stroger hired Carla Oglesby, the manager of his failed re-election campaign, at $116,000 a year and then days later paid her public relations firm nearly $25,000 to promote federal relief funding for 2008 flooding.



The county inspector general’s office recently pulled Oglesby’s personnel file and asked for details about the payment to her public relations firm, which was in an amount just $25 below the threshold for board approval, a source said.



Commissioner Bridget Gainer, D-Chicago, said board members already were worried that Stroger would make detrimental changes before his term expires in December, when the winner of the general election for board president will be sworn in.



“It is a concern that has been magnified by what we’ve learned over the past couple of days,” Gainer said, who added that a veto-proof majority of commissioners back the restrictions on Stroger. “We are in a time of budget constraints, and we need to make sure there isn’t any additional hiring.”



Stroger spokeswoman Chris Geovanis said the administration had yet to see the measures and therefore had no comment.



Stroger, politically bruised by his hiring of a former steakhouse busboy with a criminal history, placed fourth in the February primary. The “hiring of friends and family” has become a mantra of his critics.



There would be exceptions to the hiring freeze, so court-ordered hiring at the jail and juvenile detention center would not be interrupted, and the independent public health system would maintain its authority. Stroger also could hire to fill vacancies in “essential” posts.



All hiring would have to be reported to the board, like the other spending, and commissioners could reverse spending decisions they deemed commissioners inappropriate, said Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston.



Stroger “has, I think, abused the public trust again,” Suffredin said.

Posted by Ray Long and Michelle Manchir at 3:46 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — House Democrats today failed to muster enough votes to put on the November ballot a new set of ground rules for how lawmakers redraw their district boundaries after every once-a-decade census.

The Democratic version of redistricting reform got 69 votes — two shy of the number required for approval.



Redistricting is one of the most contentious and personal issues in Springfield because careers can be made or broken when the lines are drawn a block or two one way or another. That was reflected in today’s debate.

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, urged lawmakers approve the Democratic proposal so that voters could consider the measure on the November ballot in the form of a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution.

The measure called for a multi-step process for determining how to draw boundary lines, but a key feature would eliminate the current constitution’s provision that calls for a deadlock to be resolved by drawing a name of either a Republican or Democrat out of a stovepipe hat, a replica of one worn by Abraham Lincoln. The result is that district boundaries end up slanted toward the party whose name was drawn.



“This is clearly an improvement over the current constitution,” Currie said. “It gets rid of the tiebreaker.”



House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, lashed out at the Democratic proposal, saying it failed to take the redistricting process away from the legislature or put it into the hands of the citizens. He compared the current redistricting process to the Berlin Wall of politics in Illinois and the attempts to defeat the plan to President Ronald Reagan’s call for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear it down.



“The status quo isn’t working,” Cross said. “It is broken. It is time to break from the past. The wall has got to come down.”



Cross saw a Republican proposal, one supported by the League of Women Voters and other reform-oriented groups, fail in a Democratic-controlled committee, and Senate Republicans suffered the same fate in the Democratic-controlled Senate.



Cross argued his plan established a commission that gave more of a voice to the public, but Democrats contended their proposal gave more protection to minority rights.



Rep. Will Burns, D-Chicago, argued the Democratic map set a higher standard to help the rights of people of color live legislative districts among their communities of common interests, and it will work to ensure they won’t be split apart to dilute their voting strength.



“Redistricting is a serious, serious issues,” Burns said. “This amendment reflects the best of Illinois and our commitment to racial justice and to continuing the efforts of the civil rights movement.”



The Democratic proposal called for each house to set up a 10-member commission of legislators and non-legislators to make recommendations of new district boundaries. Lawmakers then could try to send to the governor a single map for both the House and Senate. If they deadlocked, the House and Senate could draw their own, separate maps. A three-fifths approval would be needed for both houses under that provision.



Further stalemate sends the issue to the commissions to craft the maps. If they still can’t agree, a special referee would be chosen by the two senior justices from Republican and Democratic parties sitting on Illinois Supreme Court. If the special ref cannot his the deadline, the issue goes back to lawmakers to try again.

The House vote came after Gov. Pat Quinn today broke with his fellow Democrats on their redistricting plan.

Posted by John Byrne at 3:14 p.m.



Mayor Richard Daley put the city’s sausage on the line today, wagering a smorgasbord of Chicago food with his Vancouver counterpart that the Blackhawks will beat the Canucks in a playoff series that starts Saturday night.

 

A hundred Vienna Beef hot dogs and a hundred polish sausages are among the local delicacies riding on the backs of a team Daley said represents the values of Chicago.
 


"This is a working city, an immigrant city, and there’s just something about the Blackhawks that inspires everyone out there," Daley said. "They work at it. They give a hundred percent on the ice, and that’s what Chicago’s all about."

 

The mayor was joined by Blackhawks officials at City Hall next to a table heaped with Eli’s cheesecake, BJ’s Market grilled turkey legs, buckets of Garrett’s popcorn and other edibles.

 

Daley also took a shot at the policies of departed Hawks owner Bill Wirtz, who did not allow the team’s games to be televised locally.

 

"The fans are there, whether you’re there or watching it on TV, which is sensational, because for many years it was not on TV. That alone has opened the sport to many, many people, who never had the opportunity to see it on TV," Daley said.

The mayor said he has not heard what Vancouver’s mayor will put on the line.

The friendly wager between mayors might be the most cordial thing about the Western Conference semifinal series — the Blackhawks and Canucks have an intense feud that dates back to last year when Chicago eliminated Vancouver in the playoffs.

Here’s the full list: Two deep dish Connie’s sausage pizzas; 100 Vienna Beef hot dogs and 100 Polish sausages; Azteca Foods shells, tortillas and tortilla chips; Garrett’s six-and-a-half gallon caramel and cheese popcorn mix; 800 Golden Dragon fortune cookies; a case of Half Acre Brewery pale ale and a case of golden ale; three gift packs of Robinson’s barbecue sauce; a floral arrangement from Illinois Specialty Cut Flowers; fried catfish, turkey legs and barbecued turkey tips from BJ’s Market; and a large Eli’s cheesecake.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 3:02 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD—Republican governor candidate Sen. Bill Brady today said he will not revisit the issue of the way he released income-tax information to the public last week and defended his decision not to release copies of his tax returns.

Brady’s campaign allowed reporters to view and take notes off them during a three-hour period at his Springfield campaign headquarters last Friday. Today, the Republican state senator from Bloomington said he didn’t offer actual copies of his return because he didn’t want competitors to his home-building business waving them at prospective home buyers.

Brady’s tax information showed that he paid no federal income taxes in 2008, based on a loss of $116,679 and paid no federal tax last year because of the effects of losses and a federal stimulus tax break on his adjusted gross income of $119,910.



Speaking to reporters after an appearance at a Sangamon County Republican luncheon, Brady was asked why he made the decision to choose Springfield for viewing his tax information instead of the much larger media center of Chicago.



“I think we’ve often criticized governors for not living in Springfield, not being in the state capital,” Brady said, referring to complaints raised about disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s avoidance of Springfield. “We picked a location–the state of Illinois’ capital.”



Brady said no reporters who viewed his tax returns said they needed more than the three hour time period he allotted. But he said those calling for him to release copies of his tax returns, as many politicians do, don’t “understand the competitive nature of my business.”



“I have business partners. We’re in a retail business. We’re in a business where we sit down and we try to sell a home to people, and I don’t feel it’s proper that my competitors should have a copy of my tax returns that they’re going to show people when we’re negotiating about whether or not we’re going to build them a home or not,” Brady said.



Brady, however, had no problems touting his business during his talk to Sangamon County Republicans. He noted Brady Homes is involved with two subdivisions in Sangamon County “if you’re looking for a new house,” and touted a federal tax credit for home purchases that expires at the end of this month.”



“Just a little plug. Brady Homes is the name of that company, if you didn’t know. Help build the economy,” Brady said. Later, he told reporters that it was “important people know I’m a businessman who is struggling just like most businesses I talk to in Illinois.”

Posted by John Byrne at 2:02 p.m.; last updated at 5:40 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today urged Chicagoans to turn in firearms in exchange for a prepaid credit card, but the city is going to have to pass the hat to come up with enough money to cover the yearly program.

Anyone turning in an assault weapon May 8 at one of 22 locations (for a list, click here) around the city will receive a $100 prepaid card. The payment is $75 for a gun other than an assault weapon, and $10 for a BB gun, air gun or a replica gun, the mayor said at a news conference.

Two years ago, $130,000 was raised for the annual drive. Last year, it
was down to $69,000 in donations and the mayor said the poor economy
continues to drive down donations this year. About $46,000 has been raised so far this year for the program, with more than 150 businesses contributing, according to mayoral spokesman Lance Lewis.

"The economy is going down, that’s why," Daley said.

The mayor was joined by Terry Hillard, the former police superintendent who is a co-chairman of the gun turn-in program. Hillard urged people to donate, and called for more publicity to convince companies to take part.

"Call one person and ask them to come up with $50 or $75 or $100, to put toward this initiative, so we can make this a successful drive next Saturday," Hillard said.

While the city cut back the reward for guns other than assault rifles
to $50 last year, officials increased the payment by $25 this year to $75.

"We asked more
contributors to contribute more and more money to the program, we hope
to expand, to make it more reasonable," Daley said.

Critics have questioned the gun buyback program’s effectiveness, pointing out that people sometimes turn in broken weapons to get a reward.

Since the gun turn-in began in 2006, "almost 19,000 illegal guns" have
been collected, including 1,900 last summer, according to a city news
release.

To read last year’s story on the program, please click here.

Posted by Monique Garcia at 1:22 p.m.

As lawmakers in Springfield prepare to vote on a proposal to change the way state House and Senate districts are drawn, Gov. Pat Quinn today said he’s not a fan of the plan his fellow Democrats drafted.



The governor said that he doesn’t see the proposed changes "as moving the ball forward all that much" and worries districts will be crafted to protect sitting lawmakers instead of reflecting a particular geographic area.



"It’s awfully complicated," Quinn said. "I’m not sure if it’s a reform or not, to be honest."

The proposal, which already passed the Senate, would place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot asking voters to approve a process that would give lawmakers a stronger hand in drawing legislative boundaries. The House could vote on the idea as soon as this afternoon, though Democrats would need at least one Republican vote to reach the three-fifths margin needed for approval.



"I just think the best way to have redistricting is to set up competitive districts that are not gerrymandered to make sure the people have the best representatives," said Quinn after a groundbreaking ceremony in Glenview for a
pharmaceutical company building its headquarters there with $4 million in tax credits. "Too often this is an exercise of protecting incumbents of both parties. I don’t think that’s healthy."



While Quinn isn’t backing the proposed changes, his opposition is unlikely to derail the proposal as it’s a question that goes directly to voters and does not require his approval. Still, Quinn said if he’s elected in November he will work to bring about comprehensive changes.

"I’ve always felt that redistricting has been way too political in our state, by both parties. So if I’m governor I’m going to try and be the person who makes sure we do it right for the people and not for the politicians."

Republicans joined by government reform groups have an alternative redistricting plan, but Democrats defeated it this week. The Democratic criticism is that the Republican plan takes the map-drawing process out of the hands of lawmakers who will be impacted by it.

Posted by John Byrne at 4:53 p.m.

The Illinois Senate today sent Gov. Pat Quinn a bill backed by Mayor Richard Daley that would increase penalties for certain crimes involving guns.

The proposed change in state law would mandate a sentence of at least one year in prison for a person convicted of unlawful use of a weapon if the gun is loaded and the offender doesn’t have a valid firearm owner’s identification card. Currently in such cases, the offender could receive a lesser sentence of probation.

“This bill protects the rights of law abiding citizens, but also gives us another tool to combat violence in our neighborhoods and protect our children,” Daley said in a news release. “I encourage the governor to sign it.”

The legislation is similar to one Quinn signed in December that applied to gang members.

The measure was one of several gun control proposals Daley pushed last month as part of an annual effort at the statehouse. Most of the proposals, including an assault weapons ban, are unlikely to become law.

The Senate action came just hours after Daley, in a Chicago, made a final pitch for his legislative agenda before lawmakers are scheduled to leave Springfield.

 Property tax relief and a proposal to make banks responsible for maintaining their foreclosed properties in Chicago are other top Daley priorities.

 

"I understand the General Assembly has a lot on its agenda — starting with dealing with the budget issues," Daley said at a news conference on the Southeast Side. "But also you have to act on key legislation that we believe is important to the people of our city."

 

Daley wants the General Assembly to bring back a property tax exemption designed to limit the annual increase in a home’s value for tax purposes in Cook County. The law is set to expire before tax bills hit the mail this fall. But an extension of the tax break seems unlikely, as Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan has not been on board.

Posted by Michelle Manchir at 3:20 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Deb Mell took to the floor of the Illinois House today to promote legalizing gay marriage in Illinois, but longstanding resistance to gay rights issues at the Capitol and election-year politics make approval unlikely.

“I am aware that our governor and many of you on both sides of the aisle
do not consider me equal to you and our relationship equal to the
relationships you share with your spouse,” Mell told her colleagues today. “I think we are more alike than we are
different.”

The remarks by Mell, the daughter of Chicago Ald. Richard Mell, 33rd, and sister of former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich, came after she publicly announced her engagement last night on a Chicago TV news program. Mell said she likely will go to Iowa to state her vows with Christin Baker, her partner of nearly six years. Baker was with Mell today as the lawmaker gave her speech.

Legislation to legalize civil unions passed a House committee nearly a year ago, but the sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said today that he’s still trying to muster up the 60 votes needed to send it to the Senate.

Illinois has been slow in approving gay rights measures — it took more than 30 years to win approval of a law that outlaws discrimination against gays and lesbians by landlords, real estate agents, employers and lenders. Then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Mell’s brother-in-law, signed that bill in 2005.

Gov. Pat Quinn, who succeeded his former running mate Blagojevich as governor last year, voiced his support for civil unions today.

“I favor civil unions,” Quinn said. “I think that’s an issue that we could pass in Illinois, I hope, you know, soon.”

Posted by Rick Pearson and John Chase at 12:43 p.m.; updated at 6:10 p.m. with Quincy rally

QUINCY, Ill. — Democrat Alexi Giannoulias got a boost in his ailing U.S. Senate campaign today in the form of a public shout out and hug from President Barack Obama.



Both the White House and Giannoulias tried to downplay the political importance of today’s event as they try to keep Obama’s old Senate seat in Democratic hands following last week’s seizure by federal regulators of the Giannoulias family bank.



“I’m excited to see the president but this is not a political trip to Quincy," Giannoulias said at a rally in Chicago before heading downstate for the event.



Earlier, White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters traveling with Obama that it would not “be appropriate for the president to talk about anybody’s campaign at what are all official events.”



Yet there was no mistaking the political implications for Giannoulias and his relationship with the White House as Obama closed out a two-day three-state campaign-style Midwest tour with a town hall event at the Oakley Lindsay Civic Center.



Obama mentioned Giannoulias’ name during his remarks. Later, the president gave a departing good-luck hug to Giannoulias, his former basketball playing buddy. Obama has been close with Giannoulias, providing a vital endorsement in getting Giannoulias elected state treasurer four years ago.



Prior to Obama taking the stage, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod summoned Giannoulias out of his seat in the audience for a private backstage meeting. Axelrod said it involved “catching up” with the candidate.



A White House background sheet on the day’s activities, noting the elected officials from Illinois planning to attend the event, listed Giannoulias at the top, even though in ranking and seniority the state treasurer is last among the statewide offices.

Posted earlier…

Less than a week after his campaign was hit hard when federal regulators seized his family bank, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said today he believes he has received appropriate backing from President Obama.

But Giannoulias downplayed his scheduled appearance today with Obama in downstate Quincy, saying he was going as state treasurer not as a candidate to fill the Senate seat Obama once held.

"The president and the White House are supportive. I’m excited to see the president but this is not a political trip to Quincy," Giannoulias said following a union rally in Chicago to support Obama’s Wall Street reform legislation.



Last week, Giannoulias said he didn’t plan to go to Quincy because he was "busy." But with questions swirling about how much Obama, a onetime basketball playing buddy of Giannoulias, is backing his candidacy, the appearance could help fend off some of those questions.



"I said (last week) I was going to try to make it, so we made myself available," Giannoulias said about what changed between last week and today.



Giannoulias at first didn’t want to take questions after the rally but acquiesced after being cornered by cameras as he cut through a post office on his way to his car.



During the rally, attended by about 150 people, Giannoulias criticized his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, saying Kirk has voted against Wall Street reform.

"As a U.S. congressman…when (the economy was) going great our national debt doubled," he said of Kirk after the rally. "So how can he talk about fiscal responsibility?"

Answering Giannoulias’ charges, Kirk spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said the North Shore congressman supports a compromise reform bill in the Senate. Kukowski also chided Giannoulias for having lost credibility on the issues of financial reform following the failure of his family’s Broadway Bank.

According to the White House, Obama will speak in Quincy about the need to approve Wall Street reforms. The advisory listed the Illinois public officials expected to attend. Giannoulias was listed first.

Also expected to attend are Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White, Comptroller Dan Hynes and House Speaker Michael Madigan. All are Chicago Democrats.

Posted by Michelle Manchir at 12:29 p.m.



SPRINGFIELD — After watching his own running mate’s candidacy implode in February, Gov. Pat Quinn today indicated he favors legislation that would require the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run as a team in the primary.



“That’s probably something that I would favor, but I want to look at the bill,” Quinn said. “Then the candidate for governor can tell the people who he or she wants as their running mate.”

The Senate sent Quinn the proposal Tuesday on a 56-0 vote in the wake of the Scott Lee Cohen debacle. The Chicago pawnbroker won the Feb. 2 Democratic lieutenant governor primary after spending more than $2 million of his own money, but quickly resigned after revelations of his tawdry past. Cohen was supposed to be Quinn’s running mate but now is exploring an independent run for governor.



If the legislation had been in place, Cohen would have had to find a governor candidate to team up with, which likely would have brought greater scrutiny of his background.



While Quinn said the team approach is “probably the healthiest way to go,” he might not be governor today if it had been law in 2002. Quinn won the Democratic lieutenant governor primary that year running a campaign against two lesser-known candidates. But there’s no guarantee any of the Democratic governor candidates would have picked the self-proclaimed maverick Quinn as a running mate if the team requirement was in place.



As it turned out, Quinn ended up as the running mate for Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and removed by lawmakers in January 2010, paving the way for Lt. Gov. Quinn to become governor.

Posted by Michelle Manchir at 12:11 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn is angling for more federal education money ahead of President Barack Obama’s appearance in downstate Quincy today.

"You can always ask for more money. I think the thing we would like to see if at all possible is getting more money for education from Washington," Quinn said. "The president I know is committed to that but I’m not sure the Congress is and we have to be realistic; we’re not going to get the billion dollars from Washington that we got last year."

The expected drop off in federal schools aid was one reason Quinn cited last month when he proposed a 33 percent income tax rate hike to avoid a $1.3 billion cut to schools, from kindergarten through college. While a major education cut is in the budget Quinn proposed, lawmakers could cut elsewhere. Lawmakers have shown few signs of wanting to raise the income tax during
an election year.

“I’m not going to let the legislature off the hook on that one,” Quinn warned today.

The governor said next month will bring “quite a battle in making sure we have appropriate funding for education.” Already this year thousands of Illinois teachers and school employees statewide have been issued pink slips.

The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn May 7, but the harder deadline is May 31. That’s when it would take a three-fifths vote to pass a budget, giving the out-of-power House Republicans a voice in the final spending blueprint.

Posted by Michelle Manchir and Ray Long at 4:42 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD—House Democrats today advanced their party’s proposal to change the way legislative districts are drawn, rejecting a rival Republican proposal in a feisty political fight.



The Democratic plan—which already passed the Senate—would ask voters this fall to put in place a process that would give lawmakers a strong hand in drawing the legislative boundaries following the once-a-decade census.

The full House could vote as early as Wednesday on putting the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Democrats are a vote shy of the three-fifths tally needed for approval, however.

The Democratic-controlled committee also defeated a Republican version of redistricting reform, which has the backing of a variety of reform groups, including the League of Women Voters.  Nine Democrats voted against the proposal, seven Republicans voted for it. But Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, refused to vote against the proposal, opting to vote “present.” He said he supported the Democratic proposal because he believed it deserved a floor vote.



Republicans argued that their proposal kept the redistricting process out of the hands of lawmakers and put it into the hands of the public.

Posted by Michelle Manchir at 4:30 p.m.



SPRINGFIELD — Taxpayers won’t have to pay for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s portrait to hang alongside his predecessors in the Capitol if Gov. Pat Quinn signs a measure the Senate sent to him today.



The legislation, which passed the Senate 52-1, still would allow private funds to pay for a portrait if one is ever put on display, an honor bestowed on even the biggest of the rogues in the gallery of former governors that stretches along a wing of the statehouse.

The taxpayer-funded collection includes ex-governors who were sent to prison after their time in office, among them Otto Kerner, Dan Walker and George Ryan. But Blagojevich, who is about to stand trial on federal corruption charges, is the first governor that lawmakers booted out of office.



The single “no” vote came from Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, who said the former governor should at least be convicted before the portrait privilege is taken away.



“I just think that, if you’re governor of Illinois, that people have elected you twice, that you ought to get your picture hung in the gallery,” Jacobs said.



The bill’s sponsor said Blagojevich or is supporters could pay for a photograph to hang in the Capitol, a more affordable option to a costly painting.



“We’re not trying whitewash it,” said Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Champaign. “But for someone who misused office — really abused the trust of the public — the public shouldn’t pay for his portrait.”



Lawmakers have estimated it could cost up $25,000 for a portrait.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 3:03 p.m.



Thousands of apartment dwellers who stand to lose security deposits because of building foreclosures would get their money back under a proposed ordinance a City Council committee approved today.

Mayor Richard Daley’s proposal would require all lien holders — typically banks — in foreclosure cases to pay back security deposits to tenants who are pushed out of their homes.

Under current city law, the landlord and not the lien holder is responsible for paying back the security deposit. That often doesn’t happen, said Ellen Sahli, first deputy commissioner of the Community Development Department.

Last year, more than 8,500 rental units were affected by foreclosures, according to city statistics. With an average security deposit of $860, up to $7.3 million was lost, Sahli said.

Ald. Bernie Stone, 50th, proposed an amendment that would have given landlords 14 days to remedy alleged landlord-tenant ordinance violations related to the handling of security deposits.

As it now stands, if a landlord returns a security deposit just one day late, and the tenant sues, the landlord must pay twice the security deposit, court costs and legal fees, according to supporters of the amendment.



But critics said the 14-day remedy period would encourage landlords not to comply unless someone filed a formal complaint during that period.

“The amendment proposed by Ald. Stone today would, I believe, benefit landlords at the expense of tenants the (landlord-tenant ordinance) has protected for over 25 years,” Sahli said.

After hours of testimony from landlord and tenant organizations, the
committee sent Daley’s proposed ordinance to the full council for a vote next month, but failed to vote on Stone’s amendment.

Stone appointed a subcommittee to consider his amendment and an alternative offered by Ald. Helen Shiller, 46th, that would have only granted the 14-day remedy period to miscalculations of interest owed on security deposits.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 12:32 p.m.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk won’t attend a planned state GOP fundraiser featuring Sarah Palin next month, campaign aides said today.

Kirk, a five-term North Shore congressman, sought but did not get supportive words from Palin during the Senate primary campaign. Instead of attending the May 12 fundraiser in Rosemont, Kirk will be in Washington for scheduled House votes, his campaign said.

The issue of Kirk soliciting support for Palin was a controversial one for the GOP nominee. Though Kirk cruised through a multi-candidate primary with 56 percent of the vote—his nearest challenger got 19 percent—some activists said that Kirk wasn’t conservative enough on social issues, such as abortion, to earn their support.



Last November, Kirk downplayed seeking Palin help for the primary, saying he was merely sending a memo as he does to a number of “prominent GOP people when they come into Chicago.” At the time, Palin was coming to Chicago for a taping of the "Oprah Winfrey Show."



Palin is scheduled to headline an Illinois Republican Party event with ticket prices as high as $25,000 for a half-hour private roundtable with the controversial former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor. The media will be shut out, just like it was last week at the big state Republican fundraiser featuring embattled National Republican Chairman Michael Steele.

Republican sources said when they learned Palin would be in Rosemont for her own events that day, they decided to try to piggyback with a state party fundraiser.

Kirk faces Democratic state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in November for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

Posted by John Byrne at 10:20 a.m.; updated at 11:00 a.m.

Rahm Emanuel said today during an appearance in Chicago that he doesn’t "want to be disruptive" to Mayor Richard Daley, a week after the White House chief of staff mentioned that he’d like to be Chicago mayor.

"It’s great to be back in Chicago, and I don’t want to be disruptive to what the mayor’s doing here," Emanuel told a throng of reporters crowded around him as he tried to leave a panel discussion at the University of Illinois-Chicago. "It’s great to be home. As you know, we have our home here. And we can’t wait — at some in the future, don’t over-interpret anything, don’t everybody get excited — at some point we will come back, which was always our goal, which was why we rented (our North Side) house."

Emanuel drew a wave of attention last week after he said during a TV interview that he’d like to run for Chicago mayor if Daley doesn’t seek re-election and that he’s always aspired to the job.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Emanuel also said he has not been subpoenaed by the defense team for ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in his upcoming federal corruption trial.

Before he left, Emanuel stopped to talk with Mayor Daley, who was sitting in the front row with wife Maggie, brothers Bill and John, and other family members. The event was the Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum, named after the family patriarch.

During the panel discussion, Emanuel took some gentle ribbing about his mayoral aspirations.



While introducing Emanuel during a discussion panel about promoting innovation in local government, moderator Judy Woodruff of PBS detailed Emanuel’s list of prominent public positions, from the Clinton administration to North Side congressman to President Barack Obama’s chief of staff.

Then Woodruff noted Emanuel recently said he would like to be mayor of Chicago. "But the consensus is, before that happens, he has to get some real experience," Woodruff said.

"I’m smiling," Emanuel said, and let out a laugh.

"I have two brothers, so ribbing’s fine," Emanuel said afterward when asked about Woodruff’s introduction. "I’m used to ribbing."




Emanuel told the audience that cities need to stretch resources by partnering with private companies and making regional deals with suburban governments.



"We need to end the traditional divisions between cities and suburbs," Emanuel said.



He also pointed to the "re-invention of public housing in Chicago," using federal money, as an innovative way to leverage federal subsidies to handle a local problem.



Public housing residents were understandably cynical about the process, Emanuel said. But by bringing them into the process, the city was able to make them partners.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 7:19 p.m.

The Illinois Republican Party is stepping up its general election fundraising by featuring former Alaska governor Sarah Palin at a Chicago-area fundraiser May 12.

Palin, the 2008 running mate to GOP presidential contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona, remains both controversial and a draw.

She is scheduled to be at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont for 2 hours that day and state Republicans are trying to make the most of it.



For $25,000 donated or raised, a donor gets to be part of a private round table during the first half hour, including a photo. A $10,000 donation or fundraising bundle nets a photo and participation in the next half hour’s VIP reception.



A general reception will follow at $500 per person or $750 per couple, but no photo.



State Republicans just had a successful fundraiser last week featuring National Republican Chairman Michael Steele.



No word yet on whether the GOP’s U.S. Senate candidate, five-term North Shore Rep. Mark Kirk, will attend the Palin event. During the primary, Kirk sought some encouraging words from Palin during a previous Chicago visit, an attempt to blunt concerns that he was too moderate to woo conservative Republican primary voters. Palin did not respond.