Progress Illinois

Illinois' own Rep. Judy Biggert has received a PAC donation from BP -- the artist formerly known as Amoco -- every cycle she's served in Congress. According to OpenSecrets, the oil giant has contributed $9,000 to her campaign fund since 1999. (That figure includes a $1,000 donation from Amoco in 1998, which is now part of BP.) Her 13th Congressional District challenger Scott Harper is calling on her to return all of that money. From a press release:

Noting the consequences the spill is having on the Gulf region, Harper said “Congresswoman Biggert’s BP money would be better spent cleaning up a coastline or compensating a shrimper who’s out of a job than it would in her campaign account.”

Harper previously demanded Biggert give back $2,000 she took from the Goldman Sachs earlier this year while the firm was under an SEC investigation for fraud, but the Republican refused. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) also took some flak this month for pocketing a $500 BP donation, one of just two state lawmakers nationally to receive one.

On MSNBC's The Ed Show last night, during a segment on the fight to extend unemployment benefits, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) floated an idea that I've seen mentioned in our own comments section: Why not simultaneously respond to the Gulf oil spill and the unemployment crisis by creating a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that can aid with the cleanup?  From his remarks (watch the full video here):

MCDERMOTT: I made a suggestion to my staff a couple of days ago: Why don‘t we write a bill for a CCC -- you know, sort of a conservation corps like Franklin Delano Roosevelt had -- put it out along the beaches of the Gulf Coast and start picking up oil? This is needed work.  This could easily be paid for by BP because they say they‘re going to pay for the cleanup.  So it‘s not going to the taxpayers.  But we could put people to work in legitimate things that really make a difference in this country.  There are a lot of things we could do if we went after it.

On a related note, the Washington Monthly's Steve Benen notes that Senate Republicans' latest ploy to delay an unemployment benefit extension involves a proposal to require those receiving aid to undergo drug tests. "If I didn't know better," he writes, "I might think Republican lawmakers actively dislike -- on a personal level -- those who've lost their jobs in the recession."

UPDATE (10:37 a.m.): The Senate voted down the so-called "tax extenders bill" by a 52 to 45 margin this morning. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) will likely offer a smaller package in the coming days, although no Republicans have said they are willing to support that bill, either. Annie Lowrey offers more details here.

Another state bond rating downgrade, another instance of Mark Kirk trying to blame U.S. Senate rival Alexi Giannoulias for the Illinois budget crisis:

"While many are focused on the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, Illinois families are focused on the state debt crisis right here in Illinois. Alexi Giannoulias stood by and watched as our state's debt skyrocketed and our pension liabilities spiraled out of control. [...] [N]ow his failure to do his job as State Treasurer could cost our state even more. The recent downgrading of Illinois' credit rating by Fitch and Moody's should be a major wake-up call to the citizens of Illinois. We need fiscal leadership at the federal and state level to rescue our state and turn this economy around."

Again, as Kirk's own YouTube Channel proves, Giannoulias has not simply "stood by and watched."  He has been a vocal and longstanding supporter of increasing the income tax rate in Illinois (while simultaneously reducing the property tax burden) to generate much-needed revenue and help plug the deficit.  It's unclear what more Kirk would like to see him do in his capacity as state treasurer.  It's also unclear what Kirk supports doing to solve the crisis.