Josh Kalven

Ethics Committee: Burris' Actions "Reflected Unfavorably On The Senate"

Josh Kalven — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:20:03 -0800

This just out from Sen. Roland Burris' office:

After months of investigation into the circumstances surrounding the appointment and seating of Senator Roland W. Burris, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics has closed its inquiry and cleared the Senator of any legal wrongdoing.

In a ‘public letter of qualified admonition,’ the Senate Ethics Committee outlined the specific areas of concern that it investigated, and conclusively found no “actionable violations of the law” occurred. [...]

“I am pleased that after numerous investigations, this matter has finally come to a close. I thank the members of the Senate Ethics Committee for their fair and thorough review of this matter, and now look forward to continuing the important work ahead on behalf of the people of Illinois,” said Senator Burris.

The ethics committee is yet to post the full "public letter," but we'll have more updates on their findings once it's released.

UPDATE (10:30 a.m.): And the letter is now available. While declining to take any action against Burris, the committee still had some pretty harsh words regarding his activities and public statements prior to being sworn-in as Barack Obama's U.S. Senate replacement:

The Committee found that you should have known that you were providing incorrect, inconsistent, misleading, or incomplete information to the public, the Senate, and those conducting legitimate inquiries into your appointment to the Senate. The Committee also found that your November 13, 2008 phone call with Robert Blagojevich was inappropriate. Although some of those events happened before you were sworn in as a U.S. Senator, they were inextricably linked to your appointment and therefore fall within the jurisdiction of this committee.

While the Committee did not find that the evidence before it supported any actionable violations fo the law, Senators must meet a much higher standard of conduct. [...]

Again, the Committee has found that your actions and statements reflected unfavorably on the Senate and issues this Public Letter of Qualified Admonition.

Read the whole thing below:

"A TIF Geek If There Ever Was One"

Josh Kalven — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:40:49 -0800

That's how the Reader's Ben Joravsky describes our own Angela Caputo in his latest article on Chicago's tax increment financing (TIF) network. And you can bet she's wearing that badge with pride.

Joravasky's piece also details how state legislators used a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) bill to quietly extend the lifespan of four Chicago TIF districts by 12 years. With little to no debate, the bill was passed by both chambers in the final days of the regular session and signed by the governor in late August. Joravsky later notes that the projects to be subsidized by these districts during the extended period appear worthwhile, at least when compared with "some of the stuff the mayor comes up with, such as the recent $35 million handout to United Airlines." But the process of approving the extension should nonetheless raise eyebrows:

You'd hope that in these calamitous economic times, Governor Quinn, house speaker Michael Madigan, and senate president John Cullerton would feel compelled to hold hearings and engage in debate before effectively raising Chicagoans' property taxes. But you'd hope in vain.

Joravsky further writes about Cook County Clerk David Orr's new TIF search engine and gives some great instructions on how to research the amount of individual property taxes that go into Daley's slush fund. Read the whole thing here.

IL-GOV: The Midge Factor

Josh Kalven — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:34:44 -0800

A new video from the Dan Hynes campaign has been making the rounds online today. It splices together some footage from yesterday's Campaign for Better Health Care forum in which Gov. Pat Quinn appears a bit tired and distracted as Illinois resident Midge Hough recalls the tragic story of her 24-year-old daughter-in-law's death. The video ends with the tagline: "Illinois can't afford a governor who is asleep at the wheel." Watch it:

This afternoon, the Quinn campaign responded quickly with some footage of their own. It shows the governor talking one-on-one with Hough following the event. He can be seen giving her his card and telling her, "I know this is the cause of your life," adding, "I want to help tell Jenny's story." Watch it:

In a release accompanying the video, the Quinn campaign accused the Hynes campaign of "deceptive" editing and further stated:

We all commend Midge Hough for her extraordinary courage and her indomitable belief that this personal tragedy may ultimately serve to help millions of other people, like Jenny and her baby, who still do not have health care coverage.

Some TIF Sanity From Ald. Reilly

Josh Kalven — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:46:01 -0800

A Chicago alderman objecting to the creation of a new tax increment financing (TIF) district in his ward?

It's not something you hear about every day. But Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) is reportedly pushing back against some East Loop property owners who want to see their area -- in the heart of downtown -- become eligible for TIF subsidies. From Crain's Real Estate Daily:

“Owner reinvestment and market forces should ultimately decide ‘winners’ and ‘losers,’ not TIF subsidies,” Mr. Reilly said in a release. “The East Loop TIF proposal appears to provide a competitive advantage to those properties within the proposed TIF boundary. The intent of TIF was never to place surrounding properties (directly outside of the district, of similar age and class) at a leasing disadvantage. This proposal would very likely have exactly that effect.” [....]

“I do not agree that the needs within the proposed boundary come close to meeting the threshold level of obsolescence or deterioration the Illinois statute was designed to address,” Mr. Reilly wrote in a latter to Matthew Amato, a Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. executive who is general manager of the Aon Center.

As we've repeatedly noted, while TIF was originally devised as an economic development tool for blighted neighborhoods, Mayor Daley has consistently overlooked that original purpose in order to create new TIF districts in affluent areas and throughout Chicago’s downtown. The TIF network -- whose subsidies he directly controls -- now comprises nearly a third of the city's surface area and, on average, redirects $500 million away from local taxing bodies each year. Moreover, Daley's unilateral ability to approve projects within the individual districts gives him massive power over individual alderman.

Kudos to Ald. Reilly for recognizing that more downtown TIF districts is not what this city needs.

Conyers Seeks To Restore Glass-Steagall

Josh Kalven — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:23:54 -0800

Last week, we noted a rather somber anniversary: Ten years had passed since Congress and the Clinton White House enacted legislation overtturning the Glass-Steagall Act. By dismanting this Depression-era financial regulation (which segregated commercial banks and investment banks), the new law helped paved the way for the wild derivatives trading among too-big-too-fail Wall Street Banks. We further pointed out that various respected financial experts have proposed reinstating some form of Glass-Steagall as a response to the financial crisis.

Now it looks like such a bill doing might surface soon in the U.S. House. From an op-ed published today by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI):

The Glass-Steagall Act had a simple premise: America’s banking sectors and investment houses need to remain separate to prevent banks from gambling on the stock market with our savings. President Franklin Roosevelt knew that banks, like other institutions, could not be trusted to police themselves. After witnessing the widespread failure of financial institutions in the Great Depression. he recognized a firewall was needed between the casino on Wall Street and the private investment engines of Main Street

Unfortunately, we forgot this lesson. Without Glass-Steagall serving as a critical check on the power of banks, the floodgates of speculation were opened. The banks leveraged personal savings accounts to trade in exotic securities and assets. Banks, insurance companies, and investment firms merged at an astounding pace. No longer content to simply finance home mortgages, these new hybrids began creating and selling securities based off of the speculative value of shaky mortgages. The banks took on more risk because risk was profitable. No one paid much attention to what would happen when the speculation bubble burst. [...]

President Barack Obama’s chief outside economic advisor and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, and Nouriel Roubini, the economist who correctly predicted the financial crash, all agree that some form of the Glass-Steagall firewall must be restored if the architecture of our financial system is to be sound. That is why, in the coming weeks, I will introduce a modernized and updated version of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Once Conyers introduces his bill, we'll be watching carefully to see which members of the Illinois congressional delegation sign on.

New Campaign Vids: Quinn, Hamos, Giannoulias, Hoffman

Josh Kalven — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:20:08 -0800

Lots of new campaign advertisements and web videos out in the past few days. Here's a rundown ...

Gov. Pat Quinn has a new ad out, titled "Finally," which hit the airwaves yesterday, according to Capitol Fax:

After yesterday's fiery debate in Rockford, the Quinn campaign also released this clip from the governor's remarks (under the title: "Quinn wins at Rockford Forum"):

You can read the Hynes campaign's take on the debate here.

In the 10th Congressional District primary, Julie Hamos is airing a new biographical spot on the cable airwaves:

U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias also has a new web ad up today, highlighting how the treasurer's Employ Illinois program helped a Springfield child care center create jobs:

Finally, fellow Senate candidate David Hoffman offers up some clips from his recent meet-and-greet at a bar in Aurora:

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, has endorsed Pat Quinn in the Democratic primary for governor and Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

IL-SEN: Schakowsky Endorses Giannoulias, DSCC Whacks Kirk (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:21:01 -0800

The latest from the 2010 U.S. Senate race ...

Yesterday afternoon, Rep. Jan Schakowksy announced her endorsement of State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary. When they rolled out Rep. Luis Gutierrez' backing a week earlier, the campaign used the occasion to highlight Giannoulias' position on the need for stronger financial regulation. This time, the topic was health care. From a release:

"Alexi Giannoulias is the best candidate to retain President Obama's seat because he has the courage to take on powerful interests and stand up for Illinois families," Schakowsky said. "He supports health-insurance reform that will reign in the soaring costs of premiums and protect families from losing coverage during these difficult economic times." [...]

"Jan and I believe in a simple proposition: if you pay your premiums your insurance company should cover you - no exceptions, no caps, no limits," Giannoulias said. "Mark Kirk disagrees. He believes in protecting insurance companies, not protecting people."

Giannoulias has now racked up endorsements from five of the state's congressional Democrats (Reps. Bill Foster, Mike Quigley, and Phil Hare are also supporting him). Meanwhile, Cheryle Jackson is the only other candidate in the race to receive backing from members of Congress (Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis).

Elsewhere on Sunday, Giannoulias skipped a debate held in Rockford, which Jackson, David Hoffman, and Jacob Meister all attended. ABC 7 has a report on their comments regarding Afghanistan. (All three "expressed deep doubts ... about sending more troops.)

In other news, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a clever web ad today hitting GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for his shifting positions on Sarah Palin. Watch it:

And in a blog post on Friday, Gianoullias campaign manager Tom Bowen notes that Kirk's latest poll was conducted on a single day and not handled by his campaign pollster:

So, if you're releasing a one-day sample poll that is known to be unreliable, you juice it by running it on November 3rd and it's not done by your real pollster, how accurate can it be? My guess is that he's trying to distract from the real numbers in this race, which look a lot more like the ones we released.

Jackson appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday over the weekend, where she continued to cast herself as "a regular everyday person" and repeatedly emphasized her belief in the need to support small businesses (scroll down for the full video). When asked about Giannoulias' polling lead, she responded: "I think the question is: Why hasn't he locked it up by now, being in the race six months?" At one point, co-host Jack Conaty asked her whether she supported sending more troops to Afghanistan. Jackson's answer was pretty shaky, leading him to end the segment with this quip, "We're going to give you an exit strategy." (We'll add the video if and when Fox Chicago posts it to their website.)

Hoffman also hit the airwaves, showing up on ABC 7's Newsviews yesterday (scroll down for the full video). He continued to pitch himself as the candidate least likely to attract corruption-related attacks from the GOP in the general election:

HOFFMAN: There is no question that it is going to be a risky year for Democrats for a variety of reasons. I think the press has been very consistent about this: that there are vulnerabilities that are very strong on the Democratic side. And the main reason is the corruption scandals: the Blagojevich issue and others. And what people have been saying is that we need a nominee in the Senate ... who just takes the corruption issue off the table.

It should be clear to people that, whatever Republicans want to say, they won't be able to talk about corruption or ethics issues or tie me in any way to Blagojevich or Rezko. I just take those off the table. I have no connections to them and I've been a leader in helping to fight against corruption.

This argument is quite reminiscent of the case made by Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. She incessantly warned that Barack Obama's connections to Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers and Jeramiah Wright would give the Republicans far too much ammunition in the general election. We all know how that turned out ...

Finally, late last week, Meister released his policy platform. You can read it below:

UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): Here's the full video of Jackson's WFLD appearance:

And here's the full video of Hoffman's ABC 7 video:

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, has endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Ten Years After The Repeal Of Glass-Steagall

Josh Kalven — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:27:04 -0800

This weeks mark ten years since the enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act. This piece of legislation repealed a Depression-era law known as Glass-Steagall, which segregated commercial and investment banks. By breaking down that wall, huge financial institutions were able to invest heavily in exotic "derivatives" that put the whole financial system -- not just their investors -- in peril.

We all know how that story ended.

Some in Congress saw it coming. At the time, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) warned, "I think we will in 10 years' time look back and say we should not have done this." In a Washington Monthly op-ed, he foresaw a "financial conflagration" that would "make us nostalgic for the days of the $500 billion savings-and-loan collapse."

Dorgan wasn't alone. In fact, as we noted last year, nine members of Illinois' congressional delegation were among the 57 House members to vote against Gramm-Leach-Billey. Those still in office include Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson Jr., Luis Gutierrez, and Jerry Costello. On this unfortunate anniversary, we once again give them a tip of the hat.

It's also worth noting that some of President Obama's own economic advisers support restoring Glass-Steagall. Former Federal Reserve Paul Volcker, for example:

"There are deep-seated, almost unmanageable, conflicts of interest with normal banking relationships -- individuals, businesses, investment management clients seeking credit, underwriting and unbiased advisory services," Volcker wrote in September congressional testimony. "I also think we have learned enough about the challenges and distractions for management posed by the risks and complexities of highly diversified activities."

Volcker's calls have gone unheeded, even by Obama, but Volcker recently picked up support from former Citigroup Chief Executive John Reed. In a letter to the New York Times, Reed supported Volcker's call to restore the Glass-Steagall protections.

This is one chorus than needs to grow much, much louder.

To learn more about the issue, check out the recent Frontline documentary "The Warning."

IL-11: Kinzinger Afraid Of Recorded Debates?

Josh Kalven — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:24:01 -0800

On Tuesday, the conservative group Concerned United Taxpayers hosted a debate featuring the four Republican primary contenders in the 11th Congressional District. One of the candidates, David McAloon, had a member of his campaign filming the forum (as is quite common in this day and age). But apparently it was too much for frontrunner Adam Kinzinger to handle, as the Kankakee Daily Journal reported (subscription required):

Before his candidate had arrived, Kinzinger campaign manager Erik Rayman picked up the campaign literature and fliers and left the four-candidate event saying the debate rules agreed upon more than a week ago had changed.

Rayman was upset because the debate, sponsored by Concerned United Taxpayers, allowed a video camera inside the community room at the Bourbonnais Municipal Center. He said all had agreed not to allow video cameras.

Here's some video of moderator Andrea Taylor announcing that Kinzinger and his campaign manager had exited the building "for whatever reason":

And here's Taylor's spot-on comment to the Journal:

But, she said, allowing cameras inside a debate is not an unreasonable request. “If he thinks there are not going to be cameras at future debates he might be wrong,” Taylor said. “You can’t get away from video. This is going to happen. I don’t understand a temper tantrum like this.”

It's 2009, Adam. There's no hiding anymore.

Also, it's worth noting that, in an August 30 letter to the Bloomington Pantagraph, Kinzinger attempted to criticize incumbent Democrat Debbie Halvorson for not holding any public meetings on health care. In fact, like many other members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, she had opted to hold several tele-town halls on the issue (with thousands of participants).

IL-SEN: Gutierrez Endorses Giannoulias, Hoffman Unveils Economic Plan

Josh Kalven — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:56:26 -0800

Lots of action among the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate these past few days.

Alexi Giannoulias has received the endorsement of Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Illinois Reps. Phil Hare, Mike Quigley, and Bill Foster previously announced their support). In a statement yesterday, Gutierrez said the Giannoulias "consistently fights for the middle class, represents people over special interests and will move our country forward by empowering working families." In turn, Giannoulias praised the Chicago congressman's vote against a ten-year-old piece of legislation that ultimately paved the way for the financial crisis:

Giannoulias said he agreed with Gutierrez's vote against the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 that allowed investment banks, commercial banks and insurance firms to create institutions that were "too big to fail" and mix government-insured savings with risky investments.

"Financial deregulation in Washington and pure greed on Wall Street led to the collapse of our financial system," Giannoulais said. "Congressman Gutierrez had the common sense to vote against deregulation. Now we hope to work together in Congress to fix what's wrong with our financial sector, restore accountability and oversight to the industry and prevent these speculative binges and high-wire gambles so taxpayers aren't left footing the bill."

On Friday, David Hoffman rolled out his economic plan. But that news got overshadowed by his baseless claim that Giannoulias broke a campaign pledge not to accept corporate PAC money by taking $500 from the Community Bankers Association. In fact, as the Tribune pointed out, the Giannoulias campaign never cashed the check, opting to return it instead.

Yesterday, the Giannoulias campaign said that Hoffman "owes Alexi an apology." This morning, they got their wish:

On Sunday, Michael Powell, Hoffman’s campaign manager, issued an apology to Tom Bowen, Giannoulias’s campaign manager —- but also used it to ask for a series of debates.

“It was an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless,” Powell wrote. “For that, we apologize to the Giannoulias campaign. We believe there should be a vigorous debate in this campaign, but it should always be based on an honest discussion of the facts and an accurate airing of our differences.”

The Hoffman campaign went on to invite Giannoulias to agree to five public debates before primary day (February 2).

Meanwhile, here is a summary of Hoffman's economic plan, which includes the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency and the passage of a national interest rate cap:

A more detailed rundown of the various proposals is available on his website.

Giannoulias has so far announced the two components of his five-part economic plan. The campaign expects to roll out the rest in the coming weeks.

Finally, as we noted earlier, both Cheryle Jackson and Giannoulias spoke out over the weekend in opposition to the abortion restrictions included in the House health care reform bill.