Progress Illinois

BaucusCare is here! That, and the latest local news in today's health care round-up.

Health Care Professionals Demand Real Reform

Before we get to the Senate Finance Committee, be sure to watch the latest video courtesy of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and United Action for Power and Justice. In it, we hear from three health care professionals who are on the ground in Illinois helping people navigate through the treacherous health insurance industry:

BaucusCare Introduced ... Finally

After months of anticipation and fractured bipartisan negotiations, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) finally released his committee's proposal (PDF) to remake the nation's health care system yesterday.

On policy, it's a mixed bag. (I'll rely a good deal on Ezra Klein's blogging from yesterday, as it's the most substantive I've seen. Be sure to check out his Washington Post site for the nitty gritty.)

To be clear, there are some glaring problems with this bill. For starters, no public option is included, as was expected. Instead, a co-op proposal, described by Klein as "neutered," has emerged. No employer mandate exists, either. Also, rather than require employers to cover their workers, the bill relies on something called "free rider" requirement, which would merely slap a fee on those who refuse to provide coverage to workers if those workers qualify for federal subsides.  The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities points out this provision's massive flaw: it discriminates against low-income workers, specifically single parents.  Dana Goldstein has more.

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The latest on the 2010 electoral landscape in Illinois ...

U.S. Senate

Greg Hinz is reporting that Chicago Urban League chief Cheryle Jackson will announce the launch of her Senate campaign today in an email to supporters:

Cheryle Jackson, the president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, will e-mail supporters later today announcing that she will indeed run for President Barack Obama's old seat in the U.S. Senate.

A formal announcement with the usual press release and statewide fly-around will follow next month.

This morning, Alexi Giannoulias rolled out endorsements of his Senate bid from several Illinois labor unions: Unite Here Local 1, UFCW Local 1546, UFCW Local 881, UA International, and the Illinois Pipe Trades Association. Here's the accompanying statement from Ron Powell, president of UFCW Local 881:

Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has supported the causes and concerns important to workers in the retail industry.  He shares our concerns for obtaining affordable healthcare for all Americans and ensuring that every worker, no matter who they are, has an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.   As a son of first generation immigrants, Alexi understands the obstacles working families are facing, especially in the current economy.  He has put that work ethic to the test throughout his tenure as Illinois State Treasurer and has led the office in a proactive, positive direction.   We believe Alexi will carry that same fighting spirit to Washington where many tough issues are facing working families at a nation level.

Alexi Giannoulias has earned the support of Local 881 UFCW and we are proud to endorse his candidacy as a fighter and a friend of working families. Alexi is the candidate for U.S. Senate that has the talent and refreshing ideas to effectively guide us through these tough times.

Giannoulias also posted a behind-the-scenes video shot on the day of his official campaign launch:

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Here's the video of Sen. Roland Burris announcing this afternoon that he will not be a candidate in the 2010 election.  He cited fundraising concerns as his main rationale for not launching a campaign and, around the one-minute mark, declared that "Political races have become far too expensive in this country."  That comment caused a member of the audience to yell out, "Harry Reid, Harry Reid. Come up with the money, Harry Reid" -- which elicits a little chuckle out of Burris. Watch it:

On a related note, Greg Hinz writes today that there are increasing doubts about whether Chris Kennedy will ultimately enter the race (after stirring up a good deal of buzz in the Chicago press this spring):

Much of the media — me included —have assumed Mr. Kennedy would jump in if Lisa Madigan moved out.  But three days after her move, he's still saying nothing, and speculation is rising fast that Mr. Kennedy in the end will take a pass.  That would be awfully good news for state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who then would have to face only Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson.

Well, that was a whole lot of hassle for two years in Washington. The Sun-Times has the scoop:

Sneed has learned U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has decided NOT to seek election to the seat he fought the government to keep.

Sen. Burris is planning to announce his decision Friday by issuing a statement to the press. But he’s reportedly not planning to field any questions from the press.

The decision by Burris was based on his inability to raise campaign funds; campaign disclosures with the Federal Election Commission are expected to be filed next week...and he has reportedly only raised approximately $20,000

Yesterday afternoon, CBS 2 Chicago reported online that Sen. Roland Burris would be returning to Chicago that evening and planned on kicking off his 2010 election campaign at the Chicago nightclub "Vain" that evening.  The news wasn't altogether surprisng.  After all, as we noted earlier, he had just sent out a fundraising email to supporters noting that the second quarter filing deadling "is approaching."

But the CBS piece turned out to be inaccurate.  And they've since replaced that original article with a new one headlined, "Burris Won't Say If He'll Run In 2010."  In it, Mike Flannery reports: "Burris chose not to answer any questions later in the day at O'Hare International Airport, including whether he'll run for election in 2010."  No word about whether there was indeed a fundraiser held at "Vain" yesterday evening.

Strange stuff.

UPDATE: Capitol Fax has more.

Capitol Fax notes some unsurprising news: The Sangamon County States Attorney won't be charging Sen. Roland Burris for perjury.  If you've studied the transcript of his appearance before the Illinois House impeachment committee in early January, you know that the questioners gave him outs -- opportunities to avoid disclosing certain damning conversations -- and he appeared to take free advantage of them. 

But let's be clear: While the transcript shows no violation of the law, it does show someone playing games.  After all, when Rep. Jil Tracy asked Burris to name anyone other than Blagojevich associate Lon Monk whom he spoke to about the Senate seat "at that time" (meaning July-September 2008), he first said, "I don't recall."  But then he went on to cite a conversation with his friend Rich Barber about the seat (which he thought occurred after November 4 election and therefore outside of Tracy's timeframe).  Then he added this: 

"I can start giving you names of people who you can follow up after that, after November 4th, I can certainly give you a few names, but I can't give you the thousands of people who were involved in this."

The legislators never asked for a list of "thousands."  But you have to also remember that, days earlier, they had received a sworn affidavit from Burris stating that, prior to being offered the seat on December 26, "there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Gov. Blagojevich or any of his representatives regarding my appointment to the United States Senate."  He primed them.  And he played them.  And he got a Senate seat to show for it.

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On Friday, Rasmussen Reports released a new poll that touches on various Illinois political narratives, including the income tax hike debate and the 2010 U.S. Senate and gubernatorial fields.  Below is our quick rundown:

The Income Tax
Rasmussen asked voters "how likely is it" that the legislature can balance the budget without raising the income tax rate. Over two-thirds (68 percent) described it as "unlikely."  Because the poll didn't ask whether respondents themselves supported such a hike, we're left with this conclusion from Capitol Fax: "[I]t’s difficult to know whether the majority has no faith in the GA’s ability to do this without a tax hike, or they understand the budget problem better than most people think." The poll also quoted a recent statement from Gov. Pat Quinn -- "A budget in a lot of ways reflects the values of the people. It's very important that in our budget, every year, we take care of our neighbor" -- and asked whether respondents agreed. Thirty-nine percent said they did agree, 35 percent said no, and 26 percent weren't sure.

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From the department of dubious claims ... On Ray Hanania's WJJG radio show this morning, Delmarie Cobb, adviser to Sen. Roland Burris, said that she "jokes with Roland that he has made Dick Durbin a better senator than he ever was."  She also asserted that Durbin "is so busy trying to show Roland up that he is suddenly running all over town at ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings."  Hanania asked in response, "Is it really him leveraging Roland's problems to make himself look better?"  "Oh, that's exactly what it is," Cobb responded.  Listen (full audio here):

Internal mp3

Hmm.  Having kept a pretty close eye on Sen. Durbin here at PI over the past 15 months, I can't say we've noticed any particular shift in his work ethic since Burris' swearing-in.  (He's been quite active in Washington, but that is probably a byproduct of, you know, having a Democratic president for the first time in eight years.) Then again, maybe Cobb has a special "ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings" counter we don't know about.

During the radio appearance, she also defended Burris' January testimony before the Illinois House impeachment committee, in which he said nary a word about the fact he had discussed the vacant U.S. Senate seat in the context of a fundraising call from then-Gov. Blagojevich's brother and campaign fund chairman.  Listen:

Internal mp3

We've thoroughly rebutted the notion that it was incumbent upon the committee members to pry the full truth out of Burris. 

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Yesterday's interviews with Roland Burris focused largely on this question: Does the newly-released tape of him speaking to Robert Blagojevich in November 2008 amount to evidence of "pay to play"?  I'm somewhat sympathetic to Eric Zorn's interpretation: "Burris wasn't trying to buy the Senate seat. He was trying to stay in Gov. Blagojevich's good graces while avoiding the appearance of any conflict of interest."  But the whole discussion seems off-target. 

What's clear is this: The "pay to play" debate should have occurred before Burris was sworn in as a U.S. Senator.  But thanks to a misleading affidavit and some incomplete answers to the House impeachment committee back in January, he made his way into office.  Only then, did we get the full story (in drips and drabs, no less).

What's frustrating is that Burris continues to claim that both his original affidavit and testimony were perfectly appropriate.  Here he is talking to the State-Journal Register's Bernard Schoenburg yesterday (the video is cued to the relevant section):

When Jim Warren referred on MSNBC to Burris' "Antonin Scalia, strict-constructionist-like" parsing, this is what he was talking about. 

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First of all, the full audio of the secretly recorded conversation between Roland Burris and Robert Blagojevich has been posted on Chicago Public Radio's website.  You can listen here.

This afternoon, Sen. Dick Durbin responded to the transcript of that conversation released by a federal judge yesterday.  He said he was "disappointed," adding: "I just don't think his testimony in Springfield was complete and accurate."  Here's the video, via NBC 5:

Rep. Danny Davis, who turned down an offer last December from then-Gov. Blagojevich to be appointed to the vacant U.S. Senate seat, said today that he was "more than glad" he didn't accept it.  He told reporters: "As a matter of fact, I thank God every day."

Finally, Burris called in to John Williams' WGN Radio program this morning to discuss the transcript.  The conversation -- like his appearance on MSNBC's Hardball last hour -- wasn't particularly compelling because it largely avoided the issue of Burris' original affidavit and testimony before the House impeachment committee. This exchange about Burris' availability to local media was kind of interesting, though:

Internal mp3

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