• UNIONS SIT OUT GOV RACE
• GOV CANDIDATES VIEWS ON ED FUNDING; ONLY TOPINKA WANTS TO FREEZE PROPERTY TAXES
• SEC. OF STATE WHITE TO STOP TAKING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EMPLOYEES
• CITIES TAKE IN MORE MONEY BUT SPEND EVEN MORE
• EDITORIAL OF THE WEEK: SUN-TIMES - "Why isn't gov questioning controversial gift, job?"

UNIONS SIT OUT GOV RACE

In a blow to the Blagojevich re-election campaign, AFSCME and the Illinois Education Association have decided not to endorse either candidate for governor.  The move is seen by many political pundits as a blow to the Blagojevich bid.  Both organizations endorsed Blagojevich in 2002 and have now opted to sit this election out.  The IEA represents 125,000 educators in Illinois while AFSCME represents 75,000 governmental employees.

Blagojevich did pick up the endorsement of law enforcement last week but it wasn't without controversy.  The Governor did a quick fly-around to announce the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police but did not notify print or radio media outlets - only TV stations.  Additionally, the two largest FOP lodges did not endorse Blagojevich.  The Chicago lodge and the State Trooper lodge refused to endorse the Governor.  In fact, of the 1,000 state troopers that voted only 2% voted to endorse Blagojevich.

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GOV CANDIDATES VIEWS ON ED FUNDING; ONLY TOPINKA WANTS TO FREEZE PROPERTY TAXES

The two major candidates for governor have expressed their views on education funding in written responses to Illinois media outlets.  The Chicago Tribune reports that there is a telling divergence between Governor Blagojevich and Treasurer Topinka.  While both candidates have called for some sort of link between gaming and greater education funding, only Topinka appears ready to discuss out-of-control property taxes.

In responding to the Trib's questionnaire, Topinka pointed to Illinois' low ranking in education funding and to the fact that property taxes are draining the checkbooks of property owners.  Topinka's proposal would freeze property taxes and open a dialogue on funding reform.  Rather than focus on funding, Blagojevich pointed to some of his reforms to make education more accountable like exercising more control over the State Board of Education.

Read Topinka's Plan

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SEC. OF STATE WHITE TO STOP TAKING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EMPLOYEES

Citing a "perception of impropriety" Secretary of State Jesse White has decided to stop taking contributions for his employees.  The move comes as White enters the final 7 weeks of a re-election campaign against State Senator Dan Rutherford.  White has had a policy in place that only allows employees to donate $500 annually to his campaign fund but has now decided to end that policy, as well.  "Our thought for why we had the system the way it was is that people such as myself who wanted to participate in the system were being discriminated against," said Dave Druker, White spokesperson who has given $2,500 to White's campaign.

White's challenger Dan Rutherford has said that he won't take contributions from employees once he is elected and questioned the timing of this announcement.  "He has taken considerable amounts of money from his employees, including David Druker," Rutherford said. "These are people who report directly to the secretary of state. He determines their pay raises and their promotions. I think he was wrong when he did it."

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CITIES TAKE IN MORE MONEY BUT SPEND EVEN MORE

The Civic Federation released an analysis of more than 1,000 municipal budgets, including cities, school districts, counties and park districts and found that even with growing revenues, municipal budgets can't keep up with growing spending.  "The trend seemed to be that they were spending more rather than cutting more," said Laurence Msall, president of the federation, a longtime budget watchdog group.  The six-county Chicagoland area saw an increase in population of 2.7% during the time studied by the Federation.  During the same 2000-2003 period, revenues grew by 7.8% and spending increased a whopping 14%.

The study looked at 245 municipalities and found that many more than half were spending faster than their revenue.  Chicago continued to lead other municipalities in spending per person in 2003--$1,968, compared with an average of $1,390 per capita across the area.

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EDITORIAL OF THE WEEK: SUN-TIMES - "Why isn't gov questioning controversial gift, job?"

"Gov. Blagojevich doesn't seem to see anything wrong with his best friend giving $1,500 to his daughter for her birthday, just two weeks after the Blagojevich administration gave his best friend's wife a state job. It's hard to believe we have to explain it to him, but here goes: We have questions about the gift, without the job. We have questions about the job, without the gift. Put the two together, and it looks even worse. And we'd expect someone with the governor's political skills to know that."  Read the whole thing...

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