Feb 29 2008
Last Weds. night Jonah Goldberg, author of
Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, did a book signing at the Hunts Club in Chicago. There he made some brief remarks on the memory of Bill Buckley and his new book.
Book signing footage
*The lighting was terrible. The video quality is poor… but the audio is decent.
Feb 28 2008
Yesterday Gov. Blagojevich floated the idea of demolishing Cole Hall (the site of a tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University - NIU) and rebuilding a new one in it’s place to the tune of $40 million. Here I’d like to echo the Daily Herald editorial, “Don’t rush to raze NIU’s Cole Hall.”
Cole Hall isn’t a new building, discussions of renovation preceded the shooting. So this idea isn’t completely reactionary. But, if NIU wants to replace Cole Hall, the university should eat the bill. They can sell more bonds and shuffle the bond revenue costs into the traditional “student fees” category.
We don’t need our pandering Governor to erect a direct money funnel from Springfield up to NIU.
Feb 27 2008
New Budget in Brief
Next month McHenry County plans to launch an annual “Budget in Brief.” In an effort to make county government more accessible, it’s a short financial document (not to exceed 15 pages) complete with graphs and factoids.
[“McHenry County puts an easy-to-read budget” Daily Herald: 2/27/08]
Feb 26 2008
My fallen political hero, former state senator Steve Rauschenberger, speaks candidly about Barrack Obama and the state of Illinois politics on Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz.
Feb 26 2008
Commissioner Deborah Sims (D-Chicago) absurdly protested, “This country was built on taxes[.]”
Feb 26 2008
Illinois Works
While Illinois’s economy slows, Gov. Blagojevich responded last week with an unprecedented capital spending program, Illinois Works. Blagojevich’s $32 billion dollar budget eclipses the legacy of his big spending predecessor, convicted Gov. George Ryan.
Meanwhile, these grand visions for government spending fall on a backdrop of fiscal chaos. Illinois is already heavily in debt, unable meet it’s present financial commitments. Dennis Byrne of the Chicago Tribune comments:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich did it again last week. The roof is leaking, the electricity has been shut off, they’re coming to repossess the car, and he’s talking about adding a swimming pool and taking a Caribbean cruise.
Illinois is perhaps in the worst financial shape in memory and has the largest budget deficit of any U.S. state. But he’s proposing new programs and bigger giveaways. Blagojevich’s state of the state speech should have been delivered by Mad magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman. What, me worry?
To mask the state’s frightful condition, the governor reverted to the usual political blather that everything he’s doing is about the kids, families and people. The premise being, of course, that if you oppose his headlong dash into the financial bayou, you’re against kids, families and people… (read more)
Comptroller Dan Hynes complains “With the General Revenue Fund cash balance so low, there simply is not enough cash on hand to pay all of the bill presented for payment on any given day… it provides Illinois the dubious opportunity to retain its status as having the worst deficit in the nation for the fourth year in a row. (Tribune)”
Prosperity through Gov’t Spending
Convicted Gov. George Ryan’s massive pork barrel project, Illinois First, cost $12 billion in 1999. Now, Gov. Blagojevich’s Illinois Works program approaches $25 billion. Blagojevich rationalizes “I like the idea of a capital bill of the size and scope I am proposing because first and foremost, it means that we will put more than 700,000 people to work. More than 700,000 jobs. Good jobs. Jobs that pay good wages. Jobs that have good benefits. Jobs that help families. Jobs that help businesses. Jobs that strengthen our economy. . . (budget speech)”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. The question is, how many jobs will a $25 billion dollar tax bill cost us? Which tax payers will eat this bill? Who will appease the big construction union, Local 150, the International Union of Operating Engineers?
Feb 25 2008
Bureaucrats leading modern Labor movement
Recent highlights from a union article by Bethany Jaeger in February’s copy of Illinois Issues:
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• Nationwide, workers in the public sector had nearly five times the union membership relative to the private sector in 2006.
• While national union rates have dropped from 20% of the labor force in 1983 to 12% in 2006, Illinois union laborers were at 17% in 2006.
• Last year unions succeeded in urging the legislature to raise the state minimum wage to $7.50 an hour. Furthermore, this wage will increase by 25 cents a year to $8.25 in 2010.
• Labor union groups donated a combined $2.2 million 2005-2006. They’re also one of the top five political campaign donors since 1993, donating a collective $5.6 million, nearly all of it to Democratic candidates.
• 90% of AFSCME political campaign contributions from 1993 to 2006 went to Democrats according to studies from the University of Illinois in Springfield.
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Doug Whitley, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, comments union influence will dominate “as long as the unions have a stranglehold on Democratic politics and that there is this symbiotic relationship between elected office and public employee unions.”
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So what’s next? Edward Smith, Laborers’ International Union of North America vice president and Midwest regional manager, adds, “Our No. 1 priority is a capital bill because without a capital bill, there’s no jobs. And without jobs, there’s no health insurance. Without jobs, there’s no pension. Without jobs, there’s no money to put food on the table, send your kids to college, school.”
This is where Gov. Blagojevich’s new “Illinois Works” capital program comes in.
Feb 25 2008
The stakes Monday are high. County officials threaten dire consequences if they don’t get all those new tax dollars. Stroger — incredibly — wants you to think any such consequences are your fault, not his.Baloney. Stroger has no one to blame but himself and his arrogance. Remember, he has created the crisis that threatens county services — including health care for poor citizens. Taxpayers should be outraged by Stroger’s inaction and the risks he has invited. Taxpayers don’t, though, have a duty to sacrifice more millions for him to squander:…
Feb 22 2008
Chicago Tribune’s John Kass unearths the latest City Hall scandal. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch his humorous onsite reporting.
Feb 22 2008
-crossposted from Daily Herald
Campton Hills loses two properties
The Village of Campton Hills will allow two properties to disconnect from the village, an about-face from the village’s previous stance of opposition against such reversals.
A parcel of about 70 acres owned by CJR Enterprises near Dittman and McDonald Roads and one of 25 acres owned by James Cartee and others will be removed from the village’s boundaries, said Village Trustee Al Lenkaitis Jr…. (read more)
Drew Veeneman
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