• Hiring Scandal Continues...
• Christmas in June: Even in a Fiscal Crisis, Gov Still has a Bag of Goodies
• PI FYI: Top Tier Races - 93rd District House Race
• Casinos Sue Over State Mandate to Share Revenue with Horse Tracks
• Editorial of the Week - Tribune - "Trust Me Doesn't Cut It"

Hiring Scandal Continues...

Governor Blagojevich's administration continues to try to spin their way out of a political hiring scandal that hatches new revelations on a daily basis.  Last week, the AP reported that while Blagojevich has maintained that hiring under his watch was done "blind"; with no names attached, it turns out that the administration did attach names and possibly discussed the clout behind various applicants. 

The first attempt by Blagojevich's staff to diffuse this situation was to say that early in the administration they used forms from Gov. Ryan's tenure but that new forms had been developed.  While Blagojevich's staff would not release the new form, the AP was able to obtain a copy.  "A copy of the hiring form obtained Thursday lists "name" alongside boxes to fill in the job title, salary information and possible start date. The form also asks agencies to check a box indicating whether the job falls under state rules requiring it to be filled by merit, not political considerations, or whether it is exempt from those rules."

Now that the "new" form has been revealed, Blagojevich spokespeople are saying that names are only included if the position is Rutan-exempt or political.  If the position is civil service, so they say, names are not included.  However, the Sunday Tribune reports that names were regularly discussed in the upper reaches of the administration for jobs that are supposed to be covered by the Rutan decision and, therefore, free of political intervention.  "Even after the system was established, the sources said, patronage officials and others in the governor's office still knew applicants' names and discussed their clout at meetings to decide whether to fill positions."

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Christmas in June: Even in a Fiscal Crisis, Gov Still has a Bag of Goodies

The Illinois General Assembly and Governor Blagojevich came to a budget resolution a little over a month ago with both groups bemoaning the fiscal situation of Illinois.  Last week the Governor announced a stop-gap funding solution for education, the sale or lease of the lottery as well as discussed the lease of the Illinois Tollway.  Such is the deplorable fiscal situation of Illinois.

This week, however, was a whole new day.  Below is just a sampling of the give-away stampede:

       $16 million for a pork production plant in East Moline

       $2 million for zinc smelter in Metro East

       $1.9 million for a wastewater treatment plant in Fulton County

       $1.3 million for brick restoration in Galesburg

       $1.2 million for bike trails and streetscape in the Quad Cities

       $1.1 million for landscaping and engineering in Quincy

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PI FYI: Top Tier Races - 93rd District House Race

Background:  Western Illinois is suddenly a political hotbed.  Once a region with very few contested legislative races this year, it now has the potential to be one of the most targeted areas of the state.  First, Congressman Lane Evans announced his plans to retire.  This set off a contest to see who would win Democrat precinct committeemen support to replace him.  State Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) looks like he could get the nod.

Then, State Representative Art Tenhouse (R-Libertyville) announced that he would step down from his post in the 93^rd District for a lobbying position with the Illinois CPA Society.  This suddenly makes the 93^rd District in play for the Democrats.  The district is a solid Republican seat, but Democrats hope Scholz's popularity in the district's population base will carry the day.

The 93^rd District includes the counties of Adams, Schuyler, Scott, Brown, Cass, and parts of Pike and Hancock.

District voting patterns:

Jim Ryan won for governor in this district with 58.7% in 2002

George W. Bush won for President in 2004 with 64.4%

Alan Keyes outpaced his performance in the rest of the state here, garnering 44.6% in 2004

Candidate Profiles:

Jill Tracy (R-Mt. Sterling)

Tracy is an attorney who has practiced law for 25 years in Quincy and spent seven years as the regional director of the Illinois Attorney General's office.  Four other potential candidates were mentioned to fill the vacancy, but Tracy received the unanimous endorsement of county chairman.  She will serve out the remainder of Tenhouse's term, and be the GOP nominee on the November ballot.

Tracy's husband in an executive with DOT Foods in Mt. Sterling.  His father founded the company that employs 1,000 people. 

She is pro-life and supports the Second Amendment... key social issues in this conservative district.

Website:   NA

Chuck Scholz (D-Quincy)

Chuck Scholz was mayor of Quincy for twelve years.  He left the position with high favorable ratings.  Before his time as mayor, Scholz was Senator Paul Simon's downstate campaign coordinator, and worked for the Illinois Attorney General's office.  He currently works for the personal injury law firm of SimmonsCooper.

In his last attempt to be elected to the General Assembly, Scholz lost to State Senator Laura Kent Donahue in 1982.

Website:  NA

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Casinos Sue Over State Mandate to Share Revenue with Horse Tracks

Hollywood Casino in Aurora has joined with casinos in Joliet and Elgin in suing the State of Illinois over legislation recently signed by Blagojevich that forces casinos to pay 3% to Illinois' horse tracks.  The tax, which will raise $36 million a year, does not apply to the casinos outside of the Chicagoland area.  The suit contends that the three casinos were unfairly singled out and that the tax benefits tracks that are, in some cases, hundreds of miles away from the casinos.

"Fairmount is 250 miles away from the nearest casinos required to pay the surcharge," said Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National Gaming, which owns the Empress and Hollywood Casino.  Blagojevich pointed to the tax assisting Fairmount in his signing message.  Fairmount is less than 25 miles from two casinos that are not required to pay the tax.

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Editorial of the Week - Tribune - "Trust Me Doesn't Cut It"

"Gov. Rod Blagojevich hatches a plan, practically overnight, to privatize the state's lottery and invest the estimated $10 billion in proceeds in education. The plan is so vague and risky it raises a thousand questions. An obvious one: How did you arrive at the $10 billion figure?

Astonishingly, Blagojevich says he's not telling. He contends the financial estimate prepared by Goldman Sachs is "proprietary" information.  "Releasing their work would be the equivalent of releasing a road map to bidders on how to bid less, and that doesn't make sense," said a Blagojevich spokeswoman, Becky Carroll.

So ... just trust him?"  Read the whole thing...

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