Bailout Plan Faces Congressional Resistance
As the White House and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson tried to
persuade Congress to accept its massive economic bailout plan Tuesday,
rank and file Democrats expressed deep skepticism about the lack of
provisions to protect taxpayers. Sen. Barack Obama shared the opinion
of many in his party when he said yesterday that President Bush must
drop his "my way or the highway" attitude toward the proposed $700
billion bailout. He also outlined some conditions
for backing the plan: companies that take a bailout must slash their
executives' salaries, taxpayers must be given an ownership stake in the
companies that are bailed out, a new fee on financial services should
be created to repay the government aid, and an independent, bipartisan
board should provide oversight on how the money is spent.
McCain Could Be Key To Bailout's Future
Meanwhile, growing House Republican doubts could make it impossible
to build enough support for any proposal to pass quickly. Some in the
party are looking for leadership from presidential nominee John McCain,
whose stance on the legislation could prove decisive to its passage.
Like his presidential rival, McCain told reporters he might vote no if
measures weren't included to protect taxpayers.
Blagojevich-Backed Ethics Bill Approved
Despite concerns that the bill needs more work, the Illinois
Senate voted 50-1 yesterday to expand ethics legislation favored by Gov.
Blagojevich. If approved by the House, the measure would ban
state contractors from contributing to any state officeholder -- not
just those in control of their contracts -- and would bar lawmakers from holding other
government jobs. Another provision would require lawmakers to vote on pay raises based on a straight-up, yes-or-down vote.
Senate Sends $220 Million Economic Assistance Bill To Blago
Intended to ease the pain of the governor's budget cuts, the Senate
also passed a $220 million bill during yesterday's session
that would restore cuts to the budgets of Chicago area mass transit, state
parks, and drug treatment facilities. Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago)
told the Tribune that while he was confident Blagojevich would
sign the bill, "there are no assurances he would embrace the funding
priorities."
Daley Rips McCain's 'Chicago Machine' Ad
Mayor Richard Daley teed off on presidential candidate John McCain
yesterday for his recent ad attempting to
connect Barack Obama with the "corrupt Chicago machine." The Chicagoan
pointed out that the Republican doesn't have a lot of leverage on the
subject, given his role in the 1980s savings and loan scandal. "If
people start throwing dirt and mud," Daley said, "remember it comes
back and hits you right in the face."
Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user Jim Frazier.
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