Obama, Dems Want More From Wall Street Bailout
Presidential nominee Barack Obama urged lawmakers to reach a
bipartisan agreement on the Bush Administration's $700 billion plan to
save the financial market, but warned that as it stands, the proposal is a
"concept with a staggering price tag -- not a plan." Democratic
congressional leaders have said any bailout should include
beefed-up congressional oversight, aid for individual homeowners and
changes to bankruptcy laws. They also want to see limits placed on the
pay of executives whose financial firms unload its bad debts on the
government.
Candidates Prep For First Debate
After months of TV ads and stump speeches, Barack Obama and John
McCain will finally square off in a debate this Friday evening. To
prepare this week, Michael Steele -- the former lieutenant governor of
Maryland and a prominent black Republican -- will take part in mock debates with McCain,
mimicking the speaking patterns and tactics of the Democratic nominee.
Greg Craig, a Washington lawyer, former Clinton
administration official, and one of Obama's few gray-haired advisers, will stand
in for McCain.
Obama Fundraising In Chicago
Tonight, Barack Obama is scheduled to attend two fundraisers in
Chicago, a metropolitan area that has already given him $17.5 million,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The first event, with
minimum admission of $1,500, will be held at The Standard Club. State
Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is hosting the second soiree, which has a
$28,500 admission price. These events are crucial as both campaigns have raised comparable dollars thus far.
State Senate Returns To Springfield
State senators are venturing back to the Capitol this morning to consider an override of
Gov. Rod Blagojevich's veto of major campaign finance reform
legislation. But according to Senate President Emil Jones, lawmakers may also discuss efforts to stave off
layoffs of state workers and the closings of parks and historic sites resulting from Gov. Blagojevich's budget cuts.
Guv Pushes Ethics, Keeps Tainted Funds
Blagojevich is painting the Senate's potential override
as a selfish move aimed to protect the interests of lawmakers. But the
governor doesn't have a lot of leverage on the subject. The Sun-Times
reports that Blagojevich has kept $65,000 in campaign contributions
from one of his administration's former top employees, Ali D. Ata, even
though Ata pleaded guilty to felony charges earlier this year. On
Friday, the governor re-asserted that he has "followed every rule that exists."
Suffredin Announces Tax Reform
Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, an Evanston Democrat who cast the deciding vote to raise the county sales tax earlier this
year, is working on a proposal that would spread out property tax
payments to three or four times a year instead of the current two. The
change could make it easier for homeowners to budget and might be
structured in such a way as to spread out any increases over all four
payments, Suffredin said. Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, an
opponent of the move, criticized it as "a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to
snow taxpayers currently seething over the sales tax hike."
Image of McHenry Co. soybean field used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user reallyboring.
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