by Adam Doster on October 06, 2008 - 11:01am
When Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Countrywide Financial in June for engaging in deceptive mortgage lending practices, her goal was "to help homeowners now." It now appears she's done just that:
Countrywide Financial Corp., the home mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America Corp. in July, will offer interest rate and loan principal reductions plus other distressed borrower relief valued at $8.4 billion to settle consumer fraud complaints from 11 states.
by Adam Doster on September 26, 2008 - 4:33pm
The Sun-Times reported yesterday that Attorney General Lisa Madigan is investigating a grant then-State Sen. Barack Obama issued in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer. The $100,000 appropriation was intended to fund a botanic garden in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, but was never built. On Fox News' Special Report last night, host Brit Hume highlighted the news during the "Grapevine" segment of the program. Media Matters provides the transcript and video:
But Hume conveniently omitted a crucial component of this story. Indeed, despite Rich Miller's warning when the Sun-Times article first surfaced, Hume didn't "scroll down for the buried nugget":
Madigan’s office has notified Obama’s presidential campaign of the probe, which was launched this week. But Obama’s actions in awarding the money are not a focus of the investigation, Smith said. [emphasis added]
by Adam Doster on September 22, 2008 - 3:35pm
In late August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) proposed a new Bush-favored regulation to “help protect health care
providers from [religious] discrimination." In essence, as many as
584,000 employers -- from major hospitals to doctors' offices and nursing
homes -- could lose government funding if they don't certify in writing that they are complying with several federal laws that protect health care workers' "freedom of conscience." The AP has more:
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said that health care professionals should not face retaliation from employers or from medical societies because they object to abortion.
"Freedom of conscience is not to be surrendered upon issuance of a medical degree," said Leavitt. "This nation was built on a foundation of free speech. The first principle of free speech is protected conscience."
Why would such a provision need to be passed, when providers are already covered under federal amendments and there is no evidence any are being forced to provide abortions under duress? Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says it's all about politics:
“This proposal would put politics above access to critical health-care services,” said Madigan, who urged state legislators to comment against the regulation as well. “At a time when so many Americans are struggling to find affordable health care and millions of women need access to family planning services, this proposal would severely limit women’s ability to obtain needed reproductive health care.”
Gov. Rod Blagojevich also offered his objections in a September 9 letter to HHS Secretary Michael Levitt:
by Adam Doster on September 19, 2008 - 10:03am
Next week, Attorney General Lisa Madigan will visit Boston and learn to which federal court her lawsuit against the former mortgage giant Countrywide Financial will be assigned. As you may remember, Madigan filed a suit against Countrywide in June for engaging in deceptive lending practices. Does she have a shot of winning? The Reader's Whet Moser points us to an excellent Columbia Journalism Review piece by Dean Starkman
that suggests Madigan's case is pretty tight. The whole article is
worth your time, but here is one choice excerpt after the jump in which Starkman explains how "the evidence is becoming overwhelming of a
profound structural shift in the U.S. lending industry -- one that
institutionalized widespread deceptive practices and outright fraud
perpetrated on borrowers":
And while they are only allegations, few would argue with California when it asserts that the more onerous the terms of a loan for the borrower—e.g. higher rates, prepayment penalties, etc.—the more global bond investors would pay for it; and is it really in doubt that everyone in the loan-supply chain, including the sales force, got higher pay the more onerous the terms? Or, as California puts it: “The value on the secondary market of the loans generated by a Countrywide branch was an important factor in determining the branch’s profitability and, in turn, branch manager compensation.”
by Angela Caputo on September 18, 2008 - 1:39pm
During Lisa Madigan's campaign to become Illinois' attorney general,
people took note when she pledged to throw back the shades and shed
light on the inner-workings of state, local, and county government. Her plan was simple: to hire a public access counselor who would
help average citizens and those elected officials with an independent streak
understand state laws and, when needed, ride public bodies until they
disclosed credit card statements, closed session minutes, cell phone
records, and the like.
Dropping the hammer on Illinois public officials who have earned a reputation for doing their bidding behind closed doors -- from single-school districts all the way up to the governor's office -- may have come at a cost, Madigan's deputy chief of staff Cara Smith said. The governor decided to trim AG's budget by more than any other state agency this year. "Do I think this is a coincidence that our budget was cut by 25 percent? Absolutely not," Smith added.
And the public access office has become a casualty of the cuts.
Last spring, Public Access Counselor Terry Mutchler called it quits, after landing a job to head up Pennsylvania's new open records office. With the attorney general's budget gutted, a hiring freeze has been imposed, which has left her position vacant for nearly four months.
by Josh Kalven on September 18, 2008 - 10:10am
Last week, Democratic state representative candidate Daniel Biss' campaign began fielding calls from 17th District women reporting that they had received a "push poll" intended to mislead them about his position on reproductive choice. According to Biss campaign manager Julie Sweet, the voice on the other end first asked the voters receiving the call if they were pro-choice. If they answered yes, the caller would then ask if they knew that incumbent GOP Rep. Beth Coulson is the "only pro-choice candidate" in the race. Sweet said the campaign initially received complaints from voters in Wilmette, but have since heard similar accounts from women in Northbrook and Skokie. The office reported receiving about two to three complaints per night, mostly from female voters over the age of 40.
Today, the group Citizens for Choice and Integrity bought an ad in the Pioneer Press and several other Sun-Times News Group publications in the 17th District. It features a letter signed by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and 38 other local women objecting to these tactics. An excerpt:
As longtime active supporters of reproductive freedom, we are gratified that both candidates for the Illinois State Legislature in the 17th District -- the Republican incumbent as well as Democratic challenger Daniel Biss -- are staunchly pro-choice. [...]
We are therefore dismayed that some pro-choice advocacy groups have not only endorsed the 17th District's Republican incumbent, but are already working hard to defeat pro-choice Democrat Daniel Biss. An unidentified group or individual has even gone so far as to pay for a push poll, a false and misleading survey, that claims he is not pro-choice.
by Mose Buchele on July 28, 2008 - 4:49pm
Here's the background: in March, the EPA lowered the standard of acceptable ozone pollution to 0.075 parts-per-million from 0.084 parts-per-million. The problem with the new limit is that the EPA's own scientists found it still allowed for a dangerous level of pollution. In response, Madigan -- along with the AGs of New York, California, Oregon, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania -- signed a petition demanding that the regulations fall in line with the scientists' recommendations:
"It is simply unacceptable for EPA to ignore its own science advisory committee and set the new ozone standard at a level that will make breathing more difficult for children, seniors, people who work outdoors and those who already suffer from chronic lung disease," [Madigan] said.
Fearing that the new rules may hurt local industries, the Missouri DNR took the opposite position, joining the state of Mississippi in suing the EPA to bring the ozone limit back to pre-March standards.
Only time will tell whether either lawsuit will succeed, but with over a dozen other states backing her petition, Madigan certainly has the numbers on her side. Another good sign for the Illinois-backed suit? Missouri's own Attorney General Jay Nixon does not support his state's legal challenge. The DNR asked him to back the suit but he refused, saying that "the new [EPA] standard is an effort to protect public health" and pointing out that the agency had failed to provide any factual basis for its suit.
by Adam Doster on July 23, 2008 - 1:05pm
It goes without saying that many Chicagoans
-- particulary from low-income brackets -- are distrustful of a city police force that repeatedly abused citizens over the past few decades with little repercussion. The most notorious example is the widespread torture of suspects under Commander Jon Burge (pictured right). In a well-reported article published on AlterNet today, Chicago-based journalist Jessica Pupovac shines a light on the two
dozen men still behind bars for crimes to which they confessed only after hours of abuse by Burge-led officers:
[Michael] Tillman is one of at least 24 African-American men that the People's Law Office in Chicago claims are still serving sentences for crimes they say they confessed to only after enduring hours of torture at the hands of Chicago police officers under Commander Jon Burge between 1972 and 1992. Although 10 of Burge's victims have been pardoned or given new trials after their illegally obtained confessions were exposed, the vast majority of the 100-plus cases have yet to be reviewed by the state of Illinois. Those men have either served out their sentences, died in custody or, like Tillman, continue to live their lives behind bars, hoping that one day they will have a fair trial.
And what about the officers who elicited the false confessions? Were they brought to justice for their abuses? Not really, says Pupovac:
Nevertheless, almost 20 years later, not a single police officer has been made to face charges in the massive scandal. They were all let off the hook, first by a succession of judges and legal professionals who looked the other way, and later by a statute of limitations that expired before the Illinois state attorney considered filing charges. According to Taylor, there is no state or federal law criminalizing torture by law enforcement officers. While possible offenses for torture can include attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery, assault, assault with a dangerous weapon or hate crimes, the statute on these crimes is generally five years for federal prosecution and three years in the state of Illinois.
by Josh Kalven on June 30, 2008 - 1:48pm
On WTTW's Chicago Tonight last week, the Friday panel discussed the possibility of gubernatorial bids by both Bill Daley and Lisa Madigan. During the conversation, ABC 7's Andy Shaw asserted that "Mike Madigan has done great damage to Lisa's chances with his obstructionism in Springfield."
Host Joel Weisman and the Tribune's David Greisling both pushed back against the notion that Lisa would be held accountable for her father's record as House Speaker. Watch it:
I'd have to agree with Shaw and, frankly, it was refreshing to hear a journalist even refer to Mike Madigan's "obstructionism."
As I tried to articulate during my own Chicago Tonight appearance a month ago, I think that the speaker is a serious liability for Lisa if she decides to run. Griesling is probably right that most Illinois residents don't associate Mike Madigan with the stalemate in Springfield. But that might change if Lisa threw her hat in the ring, as it would result in some serious scrutiny of her father and how he operates.
by Josh Kalven on June 25, 2008 - 5:54pm
On various business-oriented blogs today, I've seen a lot of griping about the news that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing Countrywide Financial for engaging in deceptive business practices. Some of these complaints have called into question Madigan's decision to target Countrywide, pointing out that the company is one of numerous bad actors in the financial sphere. Others have chalked Madigan's move up to political grandstanding.
But it's important to remember that, in terms of Illinois alone, Countrywide is the biggest fish in the pond. From The New York Times:
For 2004 through 2006, Countrywide was the largest lender in Illinois, selling about 94,000 loans to consumers in the state, the complaint said. The company operated about 100 retail branch offices in Illinois and its loans were offered by many mortgage brokers licensed to do business there. Countrywide also purchased loans through a network of 2,100 correspondent lenders in the state.
More from Illinois Issues:
The company’s practices were particularly harmful to Chicago and the surrounding counties, the suit says.
The Chicago area had the most subprime loans of any metropolitan area in the country, according to a 2006 study by the Chicago Reporter, an investigative magazine. And Countrywide held more of those loans than any other lender. The Chicago area also has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country.
The attorney general also says her office has received more than 200 complaints about the company since 2005.
