Category: Democratic News

Todd Stroger Thinks Cook County is His Corporation

Posted on by TL

Todd Stroger was happy to open the checkbook wider for one of his aides, and cash-strapped Cook County tax payers will have to pay more.

From the Southtown Star:

Jaye Morgan Williams, the county’s chief financial officer, sent letters to all 17 county commissioners Friday, explaining why Stroger boosted her pay from $176,156 to $230,000 for this year.

In the two-page letter, Williams, appointed by Stroger in August, noted that she helped deliver the county’s 2010 budget within 90 days of her start date, finished a "woefully stalled" 2008 audit just 90 days into her tenure and was earning less than two of her fellow CFOs on the county payroll.

She said she’s also taken on extra duties despite a 60-hour work week and at one point this year asked for "compensation consideration."

"As a professional with a long career in the industry, I do not want to get caught up in the current maelstrom and only ask that I be treated fairly," she wrote in a letter to the commissioners that was obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

A defensive Stroger echoed those sentiments Friday during a radio interview, saying Williams’ salary is a "lot of money, but she actually is a chief financial officer of a $3 billion corporation."

And there’s the rub: Cook County is not a corporation. Cook County is not a business.

Are you counting the days until the November election?

I am.

Free Rides May Finally End for Illinois Seniors

Posted on by TL

First, Illinois’ senior citizens must realize that Rod Blagojevich was practicing cheap politics when he railroaded free rides for seniors through the legislature. The state of Illinois simply can’t afford this for every senior in the state.

For those of you tuning in from other states, this has meant free rides on the CTA, Metra and Pace. Public transportation.

Generally, it’s easier to get something past the House of any legislature. Senates, state and the big one in D.C., can be more temperamental.

Well, today, the Illinois Senate took a vote:

The days of all Illinois seniors riding free on the CTA, Metra and Pace could be numbered. On Wednesday, the state Senate voted to limit those free rides to seniors who need them most. CBS 2’s Mike Parker reports it’s all about money.

Transit agencies have been complaining that the free ride program is costing them millions in lost revenue every year.

Some estimates have gone as high as $60 million a year in lost fare money. Those losses have affected the CTA, Metra and the RTA. Now the Senate has voted to limit free transit for seniors.

Single people over 65 who make more than about $41,000 a year could no longer ride for free. In a two-person household, the income limit would be about $55,000.

CBS 2 Chicago reminds us, " The free rides were inserted into legislation two years ago by then-governor Rod Blagojevich, who used it as a bargaining chip in a budget battle with the legislature."

It was a ploy — and a bad idea — from the start.

I recall a conversation with one Chicago legislator after Rod pushed this through the legislature. At the time, there was no know way to pay for the free rides. But the bill passed.

Thank you to the Illinois senators for working to plug the gap.

Governor Quinn, sign the bill.

Summer of Blagojevich Unfolds: Judge Will Not Subpoena Obama

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune :

The judge overseeing the corruption case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has denied a defense motion to issue a subpoena for the testimony of President Barack Obama.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he does not believe Obama’s testimony would be material to the charges.

The Trib promises that details will follow.

This is the correct decision. Blago wants a show. All the judge needs to do is guarantee justice.

Senator Lindsay Graham Holds the Earth Hostage for Political Gain

Posted on by TL

From the Washington Post:

IS THE Senate climate bill doomed? It certainly took a hit Saturday, when Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), hitherto the bill’s lone Republican backer, threatened to abandon the effort. Mr. Graham, who had worked with Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) for months on the bill, derided Democratic leaders for opening the way to take up immigration reform before the climate bill, calling the move "a cynical political ploy" and claiming that it endangered the climate effort. He has a point.

Painstaking negotiations on the substance of a compromise climate bill are nearly complete. Mr. Graham, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lieberman have gone to extraordinary lengths to attract a coalition of supporters, including environmental groups, electric utilities, businesses, the Christian Coalition and even oil companies. Fence-sitting senators concerned about the bill’s effects on manufacturing and American competitiveness seem to be coming around to the idea of pricing carbon. This emerging coalition, backers claim, is still behind the bill.

Lindsey O. Graham is holding the earth hostage…, over politics. Immigration reform. And the Republicans’ refusal to do anything.

Take a deep breath — if you still can — and call or email Lindsey Graham:

President Obama is World’s Most Respected Leader: World-Wide Poll

Posted on by TL

President Obama and the Dalai Lama

I think this is so incredibly awesome, I can hardly believe it.

To the Weird Right, here is your moment of Zen:

President Barack Obama is the World’s-Most-Respected Leader.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

From AOL News:

President Barack Obama is still the world’s most respected leader, according to a new six-country poll.

Released today by France 24 and Radio France Internationale, the Harris Interactive Poll asked 6,135 adults between the ages of 16 and 64 who live in the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany or Spain to name their favorite world leaders.

Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed chose Obama, which is one percentage point higher than when Harris Interactive asked the same question in November.

Close on his heels is the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, who was mentioned by 75 percent of those polled. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came in third at 62 percent, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was mentioned by 54 percent of respondents, good enough for fourth place.

Pope Benedict XVI achieved the seventh spot, "despite the ongoing revelations about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church," AOL News said.

To the Weird Right: This is the point where you should be shouting, "Go USA!!! Go USA!!!"

This is good news for America and Americans everywhere.

Go USA!!!

Just don’t let it go to your head, Barry. Michelle, keep him grounded. đŸ˜‰

Politician On Facebook: Anime Proof That Two Nukes Weren’t Enough for Japan

Posted on by TL

I was originally drawn to this story because of a post on Wil Wheaton’s (Wesley Crusher from Star Trek’s) Twitter account imploring someone to run against Democratic New Hampshire State Rep. Nick Levasseur. Wheaton called him a “racist a$$hole” and provided a link to NPR.

Here’s the scoop from NPR:

It must be a relief to many that our petty indiscretions, those that appear online and seem to haunt us daily, will soon become so normal as to be irrelevant.

It must be a particular relief to Nick Levasseur, a Democratic New Hampshire state representative, who, according the Huffington Post, used Facebook to offer his rather strong views on anime. Reports failed to record why Levasseur is so pained by the rather beautiful Japanese style of animation.

However, he is reported to have written on his Facebook page these rather difficult words: “Anime is a prime example of why two nukes just wasn’t enough.”

Yes, he really said that.

Health Insurance Industry Agrees To Fix Kids Coverage Gap

Posted on by TL

The threat from the health insurance industry came Monday on an apparent loophole which apparently gave insurers wiggle room to deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions.

From the Associated Press:

The fine print of the law appears to have been less than completely clear on whether kids with health problems are guaranteed coverage starting this year. If there’s a problem, some parents and their children may have to wait a long time: The legislation’s broad ban on denying coverage to any person on account of a health condition doesn’t take effect until 2014.

The sticking point is that the immediate benefit for children may not be as sweeping as Obama has claimed in extolling the legislation.

That’s because the law can also be read to mean that if an insurance company accepts a particular child, it cannot write a policy for a child that excludes coverage for a given condition. For example, if the child has asthma, the insurer cannot exclude inhalers and respiratory care from coverage, as sometimes happens now.

But the company could still turn down the child altogether.

Now, that will not happen. Again from the AP:

The insurance industry says it won’t fight President Barack Obama over fixing a coverage gap for kids in the new health care law.

In a letter Monday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the industry’s top lobbyist says insurers will accept new regulations to dispel uncertainty over a much publicized guarantee that children with pre-existing medical problems can get coverage starting this year.

The president of America’s Health Insurance Plans said the industry will "fully comply" with the regulations, expected within weeks.

Onward to what’s next…

Photo of the Day: President Obama at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City

Posted on by TL
President Obama

President Obama, preparing to read the books of those who want to do him in.

No wonder they keep losing to him.

Gotta love this guy. And gotta love that smile.

Sorry, haters.

Photo from The Daily Wh.at. Please visit them and say, "Thanks."

Dems Pick Sheila Simon to Run With Quinn; Does GOP Have a Candidate Yet?

Posted on by TL

Sheila Simon will complete the ticket, and the Dems are ready for November in Illinois.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Shortly before Sheila Simon lost her bid for Carbondale mayor nearly three years ago, incumbent Republican Brad Cole predicted a defeat could end Simon’s political career.

But state Democratic officials jump-started that career Saturday, ratifying Gov. Pat Quinn’s request to make the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon Quinn’s running mate for the Nov. 2 general election. Cole, meanwhile, lost his bid for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in last month’s primary.

The vote of the Democratic State Central Committee selecting Simon over veteran state Rep. Art Turner of Chicago reflected the belief that she would bring a pedigree of ethics reform — as well as some geographic balance — to the Chicago-centric fall ticket. After the vote, Quinn hugged Simon, 49, a university law school professor and former Carbondale City Council member.

"I think anyone who’s encountered any of the Simons knows that that’s a family that does believe in the ethics of service, of public service, integrity (and) friendliness," Quinn said. "It’s an honor to be on the same ticket with Sheila Simon."

I’m looking forward to getting to know Sheila Simon.

The New York Times tells me the GOP has a candidate for governor in Illinois, but I really don’t know who he is.

As Bill Brady made his way through a crowded ballroom at the Hilton on Michigan Avenue the other evening, heads did not turn to glimpse a political big shot. The Republican nominee for governor of Illinois, at least for now, is an unfamiliar face in the city.

Mr. Brady, a state senator from Bloomington who won the primary without running a single advertisement in the Chicago market, thrust out his hand and introduced himself to anyone who cared to chat at the dinner for construction executives.

One of the bystanders, Bob Fiascone, could muster only a shrug about the candidate.

“Hey, I only just now met the guy,” Mr. Fiascone said.

And I’ve never met him, but, then, you already knew I was voting for Quinn.

Good luck to Brady and his bunch, but this year will be the year of the Dems.