Cook Co.

Cook Co. Board Prez: Preckwinkle's Platform, Brown Suspicions, Stroger MIA

Angela Caputo — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:47:27 -0800

Here's a roundup of the latest happenings in the Democratic primary for Cook County Board President:

Preckwinkle's Platform

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward) attempted to steer the campaign back to the issues on Thursday, rolling out a 12-point plan for reforming county government. Crain's Greg Hinz points out that the wonkish proposal puts to shame the "chestnuts" like "increased transparency" and opposing "corruption and wasteful spending" that Water Reclamation District President Terry O'Brien is offering on his website. "He offers no details," Hinz adds. By contrast, read Preckwinkle's entire plan here.

Reporters at the downtown press conference couldn't resist tossing out a few political questions, though. Among them was WLS' Bill Cameron, who wondered aloud if Preckwinkle's candidacy will ultimately be eclipsed by the same sort of "black pride" that helped propel current president Todd Stroger into office. "This is not an African-American primary. This is a Democratic primary," Preckwinkle responded. "The African-American community will be about 30 percent of the vote in this county. Whoever wins this election is going to have to appeal, not simply to the African-American community, but to the Latino and the Asian community and the larger white community. I think I'm the best candidate to do that." Watch:

A Stalking Horse?

In the video above, you might have heard Cameron mention the theory that "Dorothy is probably the stalking horse ... on behalf of O'Brien." So what's that all about?

On Monday, the Sun-Times Tim Novak dug into the candidates' nominating petitions and found some strange "coincidences" that suggest Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown may have been inserted in the race to split the black vote for Terrence O'Brien's benefit (he's the only white candidate in the Democratic primary). From his article:

The O'Brien and Brown campaigns say they had no idea that some of the same volunteers were working on their campaigns.

The proof is in the nearly two-foot-high stacks of nominating petitions each filed with the Cook County clerk's office three weeks. [...]

Of O'Brien's 2,000-plus petitions, 10 virtually mirror petitions Brown submitted, according to a Chicago Sun-Times examination of the thousands of petitions submitted by each candidate. Nearly all of the 200 voters who signed those 10 nominating petitions for O'Brien also signed for Brown -- and in the same order.

Stroger MIA

Speaking of Stroger, he caught some flak from his fellow Democratic contenders for skipping out on a North Side candidate forum last Sunday. Watch an ABC7 report on the event:

Stroger eventually offered up an explanation for his absence. Oddly enough, his defense was the Sun-Times' investigation detailed above. From a statement:

"On yesterday the campaign of President Todd H. Stroger was told of the Chicago Sun Time's investigation involving an alleged conspiracy involving Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown and Commissioner Terry O'Brien, against President Stroger. Due to the strong nature of the allegations now detailed on today's front page of the Chicago Sun Times, it was then decided that the President not attend the 43rd Ward forum held on yesterday.

It's worth noting out that Stroger did make it to a separate forum later that day in Oak Park.

Davis Hedges On Stroger's Viablity

Back when Rep. Danny Davis was still mulling a run for board president (an idea he eventually abandoned), the veteran congressman said during an appearance on Fox Chicago that he would try to dissuade Stroger from seeking reelection. Davis said he would tell the board president point-blank, "I don't think you'd get elected." Now that Davis is no longer seeking Stroger's seat, he appears a bit more reluctant to criticize Stroger.

On Fox Chicago Sunday last weekend, host Jack Conaty explicitly asked Davis: "Congressmen do you see a scenario where you could endorse Todd Stroger?" After Davis talked around the question, Conaty pushed a little harder. Davis' response? "I just don't know yet." You can watch the entire interview here.

CFL Staying Out Of The Race

The Chicago Federation of Labor announced its endorsements in the various Cook County Democratic primaries this week, but declined to pick a favorite in the board president race. It will be interesting to see if any major labor unions decide to wade into this race, considering its thorny political dynamics.

Cook County Takes A "Huge Step" Towards Relieving Foreclosure Crisis

Angela Caputo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:21:28 -0800

After the Cook County Board of Commissioners finally agreed yesterday to fund foreclosure mediation services, housing advocates are celebrating the move as "a huge step" towards stemming the problem.

As regular readers know, it's been a tough slog for those community activists -- led by the group Action Now -- who've been pushing the county to devote more resources to mediation -- a proven method of staving off foreclosure. By a vote of 16 to 1, the board approved a $3 million budget amendment introduced by Comm. Earlene Collins (D) at the behest of Board President Todd Stroger and Cook County's Chief circuit court Judge Tim Evans (Republican Comm. Tony Peraica was the lone dissenter).

Like elsewhere in the state, foreclosures continue to pile up in Cook County. During a roundtable on WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday, MB Bank Vice President Thomas FitzGibbon noted that one of the biggest challenges in enabling mortgage modifications is getting through the daunting paperwork. "Having a neutral third party helping that consumer, helping that household, fill out the documents is an extremely important part of this whole process," said FitzGibbon, who also sits on the board of the non-profit Neigborhood Housing Services. "Seventy percent of the applications for this service -- for this help that we send out to consumers who we know are in trouble -- never comes back." Watch his remarks (full video here):

Once up and running, Cook County's program will help fill this void. Action Now is hoping that the initiative will follow in the footsteps of a successful mandatory mediation program in Philadelphia. In highlighting the program, the New York Times explained earlier this week how it works:

Under the rules adopted by Philadelphia’s primary civil court, no owner-occupied house may be foreclosed on and sold by the sheriff’s office before a “conciliation conference,” a face-to-face meeting between the homeowner and the lender aimed at striking a workable compromise. Every homeowner facing a default filing is furnished with counseling, and sometimes legal representation [...]

The Philadelphia program forces an outcome by bringing together all the principals in one room. If the mortgage company proves intractable, the homeowner has the right to request mediation in front of a volunteer lawyer serving as a provisional judge, who relays recommendations to the program’s supervising judge. If the judge finds that the mortgage company is not acting in good faith, she can hold the house in limbo by denying permission for a sheriff’s sale.

If all goes according to plan, early next year Cook County homeowners will have the chance to begin working directly with judges and their lenders to modify loans.

In the meantime, if you live in the Chicago area, check out the "How Not To Lose Your House Party" being hosted this Sunday by WBEZ and Vocalo.org. The event is being held in conjunction with the station's extensive series on the local housing crisis.

Foreclosure Prevention On The Cook Co. Agenda ... Finally (Corrected)

Angela Caputo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:48:52 -0800

Over the past two weeks, we've been covering some intense efforts by Chicago-area who want to see Cook County set aside some of the millions in foreclosure filing fee revenue for mediation services. After a year of unsuccessfully trying to get a meeting with County Board President Todd Stroger, the group Action Now finally sat down with Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Courts Tim Evans earlier this week, who pledged to recommend such an initiative to the board president.

It looks like the organizers' hard work may be paying off. Action Now informed us today that Stroger is currently circulating a budget amendment that will set aside $3 million next year to bolster much-needed foreclosure mediation and prevention efforts. Of that, $1.3 million will go toward outreach and adding legal staff to a foreclosure hotline. The remainder will go directly toward funding additional court and mediation staff.

Action Now's Aileen Kelleher tells us that the remaining question is whether the amendment will survive if the board succeeds in passing a partial repeal of Stroger's controversial one-percent sales tax hike, which is on their agenda this coming Monday. "We have to keep up the pressure on elected officials to see that this stays in the budget," Kelleher adds. Check back for more details on Monday afternoon.

(CORRECTION 11/16: This post originally stated that Comm. Larry Suffredin had also introduced a $1.3 million foreclosure prevention amendment. It turns out that the measure is for the functioning of the county courts, not exclusively for foreclosure-related services. We regret the error.)

Will Stroger Push More Foreclosure Prevention Funding?

Angela Caputo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:54:41 -0800

Last week, a group of housing activists showed up at Cook County Board President Todd Stroger's office demanding to know why he hasn't spent a dime of the estimated $15 million collected in foreclosure filing fees on mediation services, which are proven to help people hang onto their homes. "Where is that money going?" asked Michelle Young of the group Action Now.

After trying to land a meeting with Stroger for nearly a year, Action Now was finally invited to sit down with him yesterday afternoon. But Stroger ended up inexplicably "detained," Young tells us. To his credit, Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Courts Tim Evans made the meeting. And Action Now members tell us that Evans has agreed to recommend that the county finally set more resources aside, beginning with $3 million over the coming year. A measure is expected to be introduced at next week's county board meeting.

"Mediation has been effective in other places," Young tells us, "but we need the money to fund it." Florida's Miami-Dade County is a prime example. Since making mediation mandatory earlier this year, 78 percent -- or 465 of the 599 foreclosure cases scheduled -- were settled in the local courts. While these local efforts are no substitute for a real loan modification program at the federal level, the fact that Cook County continues to pull in millions from foreclosure filing fees presents a logical revenue source for such a program. And the need remains real. As the Federal Reserve of Chicago has pointed out (PDF), a glut of vacant, lender-owned properties tends to "weaken [homeowners'] interest in reinvesting in their property," thus diminishing "the safety and security of the neighborhood" and straining public services elsewhere.

We'll be watching carefully to see if the Stroger administration helps push the proposal through as part of the county budget. "At least that would give people a fighting chance," says Action Now's Marsha Godard.

Activists Call On Stroger To "Give People A Fighting Chance"

Angela Caputo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:03:57 -0800

Deluged by the thousands of foreclosure cases that have clogged the Cook County court system, Chancery Division Presiding Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird made a bold move back in June when she called for a two-month reprieve on mortgage defaults. Despite her effort to buy homeowners time to seek mediation, resources remain too scarce -- particularly for people from the low-income communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis.

With the county pulling in millions in foreclosure filing fees, some local housing advocates are calling on Cook County Board President Todd Stroger to get creative and start redirecting that money toward mediation services. The local community organization Action Now estimates that the spike in $300 foreclosure filing fees has generated an additional $15 million for the county's coffers. Still, the Stroger administration has yet to allocate any of that money toward foreclosure prevention. "Why not use some of that money for mediation?" Marsha Godard of West Lawndale asked at a rally outside Stroger's office this morning. "At least that would give people a fighting chance."

It's no secret that low-income and African American neighborhoods have seen the highest concentration of foreclosures here in Illinois. "We saw someone getting put out on our way down here," activist Michelle Young of Austin reported at the rally. "This is about people losing their homes -- people who are moving out in the middle of the night because they're ashamed to say 'I'm having trouble with my mortgage.'" Watch:

While local officials continue to tout an infusion of federal money intended to mitigate the housing fallout, new foreclosures continue to pile up. In September alone, 13,000 additional homeowners received notices. And that's only adding to the stress in African-American communities. "It encourages the bad element," Godard tells us. "There's the drug dealers. And children who are walking alone could be snatched up in one of those abandoned buildings. We need a local response."

The Race For Cook Co. Board Prez: A Mess In The Making

Josh Kalven — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:25:39 -0800

For those who haven't been following it closely, here's the latest news on the Democratic primary candidates for Cook County board president. As you'll soon learn, it's a messy, messy affair at the moment.

Danny Davis
For months now, the 7th District congressman has insisted that he is "in" for county board president, despite simultaneously circulating petitions for reelection to Congress. During the third quarter, Davis transferred $130,000 from his federal campaign account to his state coffers -- indicating a certain degree of seriousness. Last Monday, he officially filed for the board president race. But doubts about his candidacy persist, and for good reason. As the Tribune's John Byrne reported, he also filed petitions for Congress yesterday.

So what's the next move? As Cook County Clerk David Orr told WTTW last week, Davis has until November 9 to drop out of one of the two races. For the slew of candidates preparing to run for his House seat -- State Rep. Annazette Collins, Chicago Alds. Robert Fioretti and Sharon Dixon, Jim Ascot, Clarence Clemons, and Joyce Washington -- that decision couldn't come soon enough.

Todd Stroger
The incumbent board president created some suspense yesterday afternoon, waiting until an hour before the filing deadline to present his 22,000 petitions to the county clerk. Not surprisingly, he had a tough time finding folks to circulate on his behalf. From the Sun-Times:

"Normally, you have people who collect signatures," Stroger said. "It's hard getting people out there to collect signatures."

Capitol Fax predicts that "there will be a lot of interest in the validity of those Stroger signatures and possibly a challenge." Rival campaigns have until November 9 to file petition objections.

Terrence O'Brien
With all the media attention on the other candidates in the race, Water Reclamation District President Terry O'Brien has mostly stayed under the radar in recent months. That changed this past week.

On Friday, Greg Hinz reported -- with the help of the Better Government Association -- that O'Brien's side job is less than sanitary:

O'Brien's job is to maintain the safety of the region's drinking water by reining in big polluters and making sure their waste is properly treated.

As 50% owner of an environmental consulting firm, the same Mr. O'Brien's job is to make life as easy as possible for his dozens of corporate clients, some of them heavy polluters. [...]

BGA Executive Director Andy Shaw termed the situation "the political equivalent of the fox guarding the chicken house."

The Sun-Times followed up yesterday with research showing how O'Brien's numerous companies have cashed in from government contracts. In response, he downplayed his involvement:

"I'm just a shareholder," O'Brien says, "with the exception of [K-Plus] Environmental. I deal with chemical-waste disposal for clients. I'm a salesman, project-manager type of deal, helping people fill out their paperwork to get their waste transported."

O'Brien says he hasn't thought about whether he'll stay with the companies if he's elected president of the Cook County Board next year.

You can be sure there is going to be a lot more digging in this area as the race winds on.

Dorothy Brown
In case you missed it, Fox Chicago's Dane Placko reported last week that a field director for Brown was using a state-funded job training program (Earnfare) to pass petitions for her county board president candidacy. Specifically, Earnfare enrollees at the South Side social service agency Mother's House told Placko that they had been instructed by Hassan Muhammad to circulate the petitions as part of their training. Watch the full video to see Muhammad's outrageous reaction when confronted by Fox Chicago:

Several days later, Placko got a reaction from Brown herself, who told him that "she had to terminate Muhammad and she didn’t condone what was going on nor did she had any knowledge of it." The state is currently investigating the allegations.

Chicagoist adds:

This isn't the first time Placko has gone after Dorothy Brown for questionable practices. Earlier this month he pointed out that Brown held a campaign press conference on the fifth floor of the Cook County Building on a workday, and also spotted Brown's aides with campaign signs -- pretty clear ethics violations. Last year he went after her about Brown hiring a driver on our dime.

Toni Preckwinkle
Amid the circus being generated by her fellow Democratic candidates, Ald. Preckwinkle's campaign has so far remained drama-free -- at least as far as we can tell.

The only headlines she has been generating lately have to do with her work on the Chicago City Council, which is currently enmeshed in budget hearings. Preckwinkle told the AP late last month that Mayor Daley's plan to balance the budget by tapping into the parking meter lease reserve fund "means there has to be a concrete plan to pay it back." Furthermore, as we noted in our previous item today, she is among the aldermen pushing for accountability on behalf of the Chicago Police Board following a damning report from the Chicago Justice Project.

A Push To Strengthen Charity Care In Cook County

Angela Caputo — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:02:09 -0700

Private hospitals in Illinois have received their fair share of criticism for taking property tax exemptions with one hand and simultaneously turning away the uninsured with the other. The bad rap is well-deserved; in an April report, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) found that, in 2008, these facilities pulled in a collective $490 million in tax breaks for serving the poor last year while only providing $176 million worth of care (PDF). To put the figures in perspective, CTBA estimates that the excess tax benefit – $327.2 million – could have been used to provide medical care to an additional 47,836 Illinoisans that year. Meanwhile, in shirking their obligation to the needy, these private hospitals are adding strain on the same public institutions they are intended to support.

One major problem is that the private hospitals do a dismal job of identifying those patients eligible for so-called "charity care." The CTBA report details how this results in them racking up "bad debt":

By simply doing a better job of identifying patients eligible for charity care, the Hospitals Studied could have increased the amount of charity care delivered by $109.5 million, at no additional cost to such Hospitals. The Hospitals Studied reported a bad debt cost of $218.9 million. Bad debt is the amount of uncollectible hospital bills. Many hospital finance experts estimate that approximately 50 percent of hospital bad debt is owed by individuals who would qualify for charity care if they were identified for eligibility prior to going through the collections process. Accordingly, better identification of patients eligible for charity care would have increased the amount of charity care delivered by the Hospitals Studied by $109.5 million, with a corresponding decrease in bad debt.

As Attorney General Lisa Madigan's lawsuit against Provena Covenant Medical Center shows, this bad debt often trickles down to the patients themselves. Rather than receiving the charity care they are eligible for, they find themselves faced with collection agencies:

According to the state’s briefs filed in preparation for Wednesday’s oral arguments, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Provena billed patients in a manner that “concealed the availability of charity care” and sent poor patients to debt collectors. “These practices undoubtedly prevented needy patients from even applying for charitable care, much less receiving it.”

This trend could soon change in Cook County.

With members of the Fair Care Coalition standing beside him, Cook County Comm. Joseph Moreno (D-Chicago) unveiled the Healthcare Access Protection Initiative (HAPI) Ordinance on Wednesday, which would require the region's private hospitals to either provide their share of charity care or pay up in the form of fees. "Then patients wouldn't have debt collectors after them," CTBA's Heather O'Donnell tells us, "and they wouldn't be facing the prospect of bankruptcy." From a CTBA fact sheet (PDF) on the measure:

Financial assistance requirement. The Ordinance requires all general hospitals operating in the County to provide financial assistance to poor and low-income uninsured patients. Individuals earning 200% of the FPL or less must be provided care at fully-reduced charges; individuals earning between 200% and 400% of the FPL must be provided partial financial assistance.

Fee for failure to provide financial assistance. Hospitals subject to the Ordinance must provide financial assistance at least equal to 4.5% of total hospital expenses. Hospitals not meeting this standard are required to pay the County a fee equal to the difference between the cost of financial assistance provided and 4.5% of the hospital’s total expenses. All fees are paid into a newly created special fund to cover the cost of the regulation.

Under the proposal, safety net hospitals (which care for a disproportionate number of uninsured patients) would be required to spend 2.3 percent of their total hospital expenses on charity care.

Considering that even before the recession, a staggering 17 percent of Cook County residents -- 785,000 people -- were uninsured, there's no question that the additional care would bring relief if the new rules are indeed enacted by the 2011 target. Still, the measure is no substitute for comprehensive reform.

2010 Grab Bag: Paul Simon Institute Poll, Giannoulias And Axelrod, Davis Still Waffling

Josh Kalven — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:16:52 -0700

The latest from the Illinois electoral landscape ...

IL GOVERNOR

A poll released by the Paul Simon Institute on Public Policy late last week showed Gov. Pat Quinn with a sizeable lead over comptroller and Democratic gubernatorial challenger Dan Hynes:

Quinn: 33.9%
Hynes: 16.5%
Someone else: 14.2%
Don't know/No answer: 35.4%
MOE +/- 5/4%

Since our last 2010 round-up, this race has also seen its share of additional endorsements. A week ago, Quinn accepted the backing of Rep. Phil Hare, who said that the "Illinois Congressional delegation finally has a partner inSpringfield, instead of a punch line." Watch a video put together by the campaign:

Today, Quinn is scheduled to receive the endorsement of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. Last week, that same union's state council announced their support for challenger Dan Hynes, who also received the endorsement of the sheet metal workers union.

IL SENATE

In the nation's Capitol last week, reporters spotted Alexi Giannoulias leaving the White House where he told them he'd been huddling with senior adviser David Axelrod to discuss the Democratic Senate primary. At this point, Giannoulias is leading in the polls and in the fundraising race, but doubts remain about his viability among the Democratic establishment in D.C. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported on that dynamic:

Sources familiar with the thinking of the White House and Durbin say Madigan was an obvious choice who would have kept the Democratic seat from being in play in a year when the party will be fighting across the country to retain the gains of the last two election cycles.

Giannoulias, in this view, was not a bad candidate, but he was not considered a sure thing. And this is a race that the White House, whose upper ranks are packed with Chicagoans, is determined not to lose.

On WTTW's Chicago Tonight last week, ABC 7 political reporter Charles Thomas also alluded to these vague concerns about Giannoulias, saying: "Something could come up -- and you know what I'm talking about here -- and that could really torpedo his campaign." CBS 2's Mike Flannery took issue, responding: "No, it's not fair to say that. What are you talking about?" Watch it (full video here):

Moving on, David Hoffman released his tax returns last week and challenged Giannoulias to follow suit:

"It's a simple request -- full and complete transparency of personal tax returns," Hoffman said in a statement distributed by the campaign. "After the recent problems and scandals in Illinois, that's the very least that candidates for U.S. Senate owe the voters." [...]

In the last five years, Hoffman made between $247,726 (2008) and $630,034 (2007), the most fluctuation coming in capital gains. He inherited a sizeable trust from his grandfather, a former CEO of GEICO Insurance.

Furthermore, Cheryle Robinson Jackson finally announced her third quarter fundraising totals last week, saying she has reported $354,000 in contributions with $322,000 on hand. The Sun-Times also reported on Friday that a database maintained by Rod Blagojevich's offices suggested that she had secured an administration job for her husband in 2003. This only led to more questions regarding her ties to the disgraced former governor (she worked as an aide during his first term). Bernie Schoenberg has more:

Jackson told reporters last week she did nothing inappropriate to get her husband the state job, and didn’t lobby Blagojevich for it. [...]

“Charles Jackson was interviewed and hired by ERIC WHITAKER, former director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, based on his experience, reputation and longstanding relationships in the public health field,” said Jackson spokesman BOB KETTLEWELL. “Cheryle did not have any influence on the public health director’s decision to hire Charles and was not aware of the existence of a hiring list.”

COOK CO. BOARD PRESIDENT

Despite holding a press conference a week ago touting support for his county board president candidacy, Rep. Danny Davis continues to take his time deciding whether he plans to run for that office of for reelection to Congress. The Chicago Defender has the latest statement from him:

For now Davis is circulating petitions for his congressional seat and for Cook County board president.

Nov. 9 is when candidates have to declare what office they are seeking. Davis said he may announce before then which office he would be a candidate for but don’t be surprised if he takes his time.

“I am going to say what I am going to do when it’s time,” Davis told the Defender. “I am under no pressure to make a decision on which office to pursue. If someone wants to run for my congressional seat they are free to do so. I am not preventing anyone from getting out here circulating petitions and raising money to run.”

As we've said repeatedly, this is beyond ridiculous. The good news is it will be finally resolved exactly three weeks from today.

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, has endorsed Pat Quinn in the Democratic primary for governor and Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

First Day Of Veto Session: What Happened?

Adam Doster — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:03:05 -0700

Back in Springfield for the fall veto session, state lawmakers made measured progress yesterday on some legislative priorities we've been tracking for months. Here's a brief rundown of what transpired:

Campaign Finance Reform

The big news was that a House committee approved a revised version of the ethics package vetoed by Gov. Pat Quinn in late August. This bill (SB 1466), introduced by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), covers much of the same ground as HB 7. It also applies campaign contribution limits -- $5,000 from individuals; $10,000 from corporations, labor organizations and associations; and $50,000 from political action committees or other candidates -- to the election cycle rather than the calendar year, an improvement designed to protect challengers who don't file until close to the election date.

But Madigan did make one major, self-serving change that has reformers up in arms. He stripped the $90,000 cap from party and legislative leader campaign committees to candidates, allowing himself to continue directing unlimited resources to his preferred candidates. It should be noted that HB 7 attempted to limit the leaders' capacity in this regard, but included loopholes that would have rendered that cap useless anyway. But critics like the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform's Cindi Canary contend that Madigan's latest move is a more blatant power grab, one that will make potential candidates even more reliant on the largesse of party elders. "In the primary, it is very hard," she told WBEZ, "for independents, non-incumbents, non-party-regulars; you know, people who haven't come up in the ward structure, to break through."

Unless some compromise is brokered, the legislation -- which passed on a party-line vote -- could stall until January, when a simple majority (rather than the three-fifths, super-majority required during the veto session) could pass it. Lawmakers from both parties are hesitant to slap their name to bill they see as fundamentally weak. Bethany Jaeger has more on those political ramifications in her full account for Illinois Issues.

MAP Grants

I guess we should have seen it coming. After talk from both parties of approving new revenue to fund the Monetary Awards Program (MAP) grants, lawmakers met yesterday and, as they too often do in Springfield, decided to appropriate money to fund crucial programs without determining exactly where the cash will come from.

Legislative leaders agreed to pass legislation providing an extra $200 million for the grants but demanded that Gov. Quinn tap into the $1 billion reserve account he secured this spring to restore the funding on his own. For the time being, it looks like two sensible ideas -- a state cigarette tax or a tax amnesty plan (which would have created a six-week window in which delinquent taxpayers could pay back income and sales taxes without interest or penalty) -- will be shelved. "He clearly had the money to spend all along," Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) told reporters after the meeting yesterday.

Thankfully, 138,000 Illinois students won't be denied scholarship money next semester. But now the onus falls back on Quinn, who will keep pushing for new revenue through the fall until his options run out. The safe bet is that the cash will ultimately come from the reserve account. Let's just hope he hasn't exhausted that fund already.

Cook County Veto

Reformers on the Cook County Board can't recruit enough allies to repeal President Todd Stroger's controversial 2008 sales tax hike, so lawmakers in Springfield are trying to make it a little easier for them. Yesterday, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill lowering the override threshold from a four-fifths majority to a three-fifths majority. But State Rep. Deborah Graham (D-Oak Park) subsequently filed a motion to reconsider, placing an indefinite hold on the measure. So despite the Senate Executive Committee's unanimous, 9-0, vote to send the bill to the Senate floor, it is on hold until it clears a procedural hurdle.

Stroger, who the Capitol Fax's Rich Miller tracked down in Springfield yesterday, may be unpopular and ineffectual. But hey, you have to give him credit for finding inventive ways to preserve his administration's power.

UPDATE (1:45 pm): Crain's Greg Hinz is hearing that the veto bill will be released by the end of the day. More here.

2010 Grab Bag: Quigley Endorses Quinn, Kirk Reports Raising $1.6 Million (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:44:41 -0700

The latest from the 2010 electoral landscape ...

IL GOVERNOR

This morning, Rep, Mike Quigley formally endorsed Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn in the 2010 gubernatorial primary, saying that "the best indication of future behavior is past performance." Watch an excerpt from Quigley's remarks:

The Quinn campaign has also posted some highlights from UNITE-HERE's recent endorsement, which you can watch here.

U.S. SENATE

This morning, Republican Senate candidate and congressman Mark Kirk announced a $1.6 million third quarter fundraising haul:

Five-term GOP Congressman and Navy veteran Mark Kirk, the leading Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Illinois, today reported his campaign set a new single-quarter fundraising record for federal Republican candidates in Illinois raising more than $1.6 million. That brings the campaign’s total receipts for the election to more than $2.9 million with $2.3 million in the bank.

The quarter ended last Wednesday and all federal candidates must file their reports by October 15. So far, Kirk is the only U.S. Senate candidate from either side of the aisle to announce his totals. Politico also reported Friday that the North Shore Republican continues to get help from Sen. John McCain, who has provided "counsel" to the campaign and apparently handed over his list of donors as well.

Rep. Danny Davis held a candidates forum on Chicago's West Side this past Saturday, with contenders from a variety of races appearing. Here is Democrat David Hoffman's 10-minute speech to the crowd, posted by his campaign:

We're hoping to get video of some of the other candidates' presentations as well.

Finally, Alexi Giannoulias appeared on WLS Radio's Don Wade & Roma today to discuss his Senate campaign, the ongoing Bright Start settlement negotiations, as well as his effort to crack down on predatory debt settlement companies. You can listen to the full segment here.

(UPDATE, 2:45 pm: Hoffman announced this afternoon that he raised $400,000 in his first month of campaigning and leant his campaign another $500,000 in personal funds. Meanwhile, Giannoulias campaign spokesperson Tom Bowen responds to Kirk's release: "Alexi Giannoulias is the first U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois history to refuse contributions from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists. Mark Kirk has taken over 3.5 million dollars from PACs in his career and they own him. ... Voters should ask why Kirk is covering up the facts and why he won't release his total contributions from federal lobbyists and corporate PACs.")

COOK COUNTY BOARD PRESIDENT

Pat Quinn recently appeared before voters at a forum in Chicago's 4th Ward, where he had some extremely positive things to say about local alderman and Cook County board president candidate Toni Preckwinkle. From Sam Cholke's September 30 article in the Hyde Park Herald:

"We don't want people when they hear Illinois to think greed and corruption. We've got to do it the Toni way: honestly," Quinn said. The current governor was complimentary of Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward) and supportive of her bid for the Cook County board but stopped short of an official endorsement.

Preckwinkle, who joined the governor for several campaign stops on Saturday, said she only has high praise for the work the governor is doing in Springfield.

10th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Late last week, Democratic State Rep. Julie Hamos also announced healthy fundraising totals for the third quarter. From a press release:

The Julie Hamos for Congress campaign raised more than $545,000 this quarter. Donations were received from more than 1,000 individuals in nine weeks.

This preliminary number accounts for fundraising from July 28 through September 30 and is subject to change as reports are finalized. The deadline for submitting reports to the Federal Elections Commission is Thursday, October 15.

The campaign also reports that 565 people have signed up to become volunteers.

Hamos also confirmed last week that she has officially moved from downtown Evanston to a new home in the 10th District.

14th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

An Illinois-based conservative group, the Economic Freedom Alliance (EFA), has erected a billboard advertising the following URL: DoNotLetBillFosterKillJobs.com. The website criticizes Rep. Bill Foster's support for the Employee Free Choice Act and is part of a broader campaign that similarly targets 11th District Rep. Debbie Halvorson and three other Midwestern members of Congress. The Beacon News reported over that weekend that EFA has hired Karl Rove and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert as consultants on the project. Hastert's son, Ethan, is attempting to challenge Foster next year. He told the paper that he had no idea about his father's involvement in the EFA effort:

[EFA President Ron] Gidwitz said Hastert's involvement has been ongoing.

"Denny Hastert and Karl Rove have been involved since we got started back in November, early December and have been advising us all the way," he said.

This surprised Ethan Hastert.

"I didn't know that," the younger Hastert said when told of his father's EFA involvement. "News to me."

Meanwhile, the Hill reports on the emerging GOP primary battle in IL-14 between Hastert and State Sen. Randy Hultgren.