Progress Illinois

Remember that mortgage relief bill that Rep. Peter Roskam voted against because, as he so eloquently put it, he didn't want Gov. Rod Blagojevich to be our landlord? As we noted, the position was bunk: the governor will have very little control over how the funds promised to Illinois cities and municipalities will be used. And while the details are still being ironed out, the Christian Science Monitor highlights a few of the projects local legislators are planning to enact once given their share of the promised $4 billion. Turns out, many of them sound pretty darn helpful.

Among the ideas forming: Baltimore intends to use some funds to gain control of the inventory of foreclosed homes within it's borders, Cleveland may demolish houses in blighted areas and then plan neighborhoods more thoughtfully, and Trenton, NJ officials want to rehabilitate abandoned lots and restore copper wiring that's has been stolen:

States and cities consider the funding a key to blunting the effect of foreclosures, seen in abandoned properties, inadequate rental housing, and deteriorating neighborhoods. For many locales, it will add leverage to their own efforts. Some community activists hope the money will also help to moderate home-price declines.

"For many communities impacted by homes already foreclosed on, this was viewed as the linchpin to turn the tide around," says David Berenbaum, executive vice president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington. "It will augment state, private, and partnership funds."

There's no word yet on how much of the total appropriation will be sent to Illinois.

During an appearance yesterday on the Illinois GOP Network's Blog Talk Radio show, Republican congressional challenger Steve Greenberg used a faulty GOP talking point to differentiate himself from 8th District Rep. Melissa Bean. He asserted that Democrats "just pushed through the largest tax increase in the history of this country, to the tune of over $600 billion," adding that Bean "drove the getaway car with Nancy Pelosi and Charlie Rangel in the back while the people’s money was in the trunk." Take a listen as he responds to a question from IL GOP Network founder Mark Johnson:

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Greenberg appears to be referring to the FY 2009 budget approved by the U.S. House along partisan lines last week. And he's not alone in his hyperbole; the day after the bill was approved, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) accused Democrats of "the largest tax increase in the history of this Congress, which means in the history of this nation, which means in the history of the world." Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL) also asserted that the budget "contains the single largest tax hike in American history."

So how did Greenberg, Lungren, and Putnam all arrive at this extraordinary claim?

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In a post this morning on Illinois GOP Network, conservative blogger Warner Todd Huston really outdid himself: comparing Rep. Melissa Bean to African tyrant Robert Mugabe. To make sure readers don't get lost in the nuance of his vile argument, Huston even says it twice: "US Congressman Melissa Bean is beginning to act like the murdering tyrant, Robert Mugabe."

And what did Bean (or in Huston's words, "Beangabe") do to earn this comparison? Well, she introduced a bill this week to prohibit annoying political robocalls during dinner time. The Daily Herald offers a concise summary of what HR 5747 would accomplish:

- Prohibit such calls between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

- Ban more than two calls per day to the same phone number from the same candidate, party or interest group.

- Require the sponsor of the call to be clearly identified at the beginning of the call.

- Require the caller's phone number be displayed on the voter's caller ID system.

Huston posits that if the Founding Fathers were alive today to see Bean's legislation, they might "even have a hankering to tar and feather her as a tyrant. And I can’t say as I’d blame them."

Huston -- or whomever runs Illinois GOP Network -- probably should have checked on HR 5747's co-sponsors before running his inane, offensive diatribe. If they'd done so, they might have noticed that rank-and-file California Republican Rep. John Campbell has also thrown his support behind the bill. Somehow I doubt Campbell's going to get the same treatment anytime soon.

As we pointed out in our fundraising roundup yesterday, in his bid to unseat Rep. Melissa Bean in the 8th Cong. District, Republican candidate Steve Greenberg only had $5,000 cash on hand at the end of March (as compared to Bean's $1.3 million war chest). And now, as Capitol Fax and others have noted, his campaign manager has jumped ship:

Brad Goodman's departure from the campaign's helm has been in the works for a while, said Greenberg, who's challenging two-term Democrat Melissa Bean for the 8th District House seat.

"We have a path and a plan for the general election, and we needed another look for that," said Greenberg, a Long Grove businessman.

Whatever Greenberg meant by "another look," he apparently doesn't need it too urgently:

Brad Goodman left the campaign's top staff position this week, and Greenberg said it will be "a few months" before he names an official replacement to lead the general election effort.

In the past week, we've reported on the trickle of first quarter fundraising numbers in Illinois' most competitive congressional races. Now that the filing deadline has passed and the Federal Election Commission has had a few days to catch up, all the numbers are available for the period beginning January 17 and ending March 31. We've compiled them in the table below:

Still not convinced it's a Democratic year? A Politico article published today points to newly released fundraising numbers that show once-heralded GOP House challengers sagging far behind their opponents, illuminating the difficulty Republicans across the country are having revitalizing their tarnished brand:

Several of the GOP’s most highly touted candidates posted mediocre fundraising numbers in this year’s first quarter, raising questions about their ability to seriously compete in races that were once at the top of the Republican radar screen.

First on their list? Illinois' own Steve Greenberg in the 8th Congressional District:

Businessman Steve Greenberg, running against Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D-Ill.), is perhaps the most striking example of a recruit failing to live up to expectations. Once highly touted by National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Greenberg is a candidate Republicans hoped could run a strong campaign against Bean, fueled with his own money.

But Greenberg raised only $113,000 for the quarter and is nearly broke, with just $5,000 left in his campaign account. By contrast, Bean has $1.35 million in her campaign account. Given the financial disparity, the prospect of Greenberg being able to run a competitive race looks dimmer by the day.

Bean's not slowing down, either. FEC records showed that the Barrington Democrat took home a whopping $352,246 between Jan. 17 and March 31 -- more than three times what Greenberg raised. The article also highlights the race in Illinois' 10th Congressional District where, as we earlier noted, the candidates first quarter fundraising figures were more comparable:

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) continues to lead Republicans in fundraising as he prepares for a tough reelection bid against Democrat Dan Seals. Kirk raised more than $738,000 in the quarter and now has nearly $2.3 million cash on hand. Seals raised $613,000 for the quarter and banked about $750,000.

Republican congressional hopeful Steve Greenberg shared his plan for America today with students in two government and politics classes at Mundelein High School. Greenberg is hoping to unseat Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean in Illinois' 8th Congressional district this November. Judging from this account in The Daily Herald, his proposals sound more like a workout routine than an articulate policy platform:

The war was a particularly hot topic for the teens. One student asked what Greenberg would do about the U.S. occupation of Iraq; another questioned if it was right to force western culture on the Iraqi people.

"The Islamic people, the Iraqi people, are just like us," Green-berg [sic] said. "And it's our job to lift them up."

Domestic issues were a concern for students, too. One asked whether the government should help small businesses compete against super-sized retail chains such as Wal-Mart.

Small business owners need to "suck it up," Greenberg said, and create niches for themselves in the market.

The report didn't indicate whether anyone asked why it's the government's job to "lift up" Iraqis but not struggling American small businesses.

Greenberg did mention that these early days of his campaign have given him an opportunity to "build his brand." Apparently, part of the "Greenberg" brand involves him going out of his way to alienate small business owners.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has released its list of targeted congressional races for 2008 and there are six in Illinois:

- IL-6: Incumbent Peter Roskam is one of the DCCC's "Targeted Republicans"

- IL-8: Incumbent Melissa Bean is one of the DCCC's "Frontline Democrats"

- IL-10: Incumbent Mark Kirk is a "Targeted Republican." Meanwhile, challenger Dan Seals is part of the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program.

- IL-11: Democratic candidate and State Sen. Debbie Halvorson is also on the "Red to Blue" list.

- IL-14: Bill Foster, who is filling out the rest of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's term after winning a March 8 special election, is one of the DCCC's "Frontline Democrats"

- IL-18: The DCCC describes this as a "competitive open seat" (current Rep. Ray Lahood is retiring). The Democratic candidate is Colleen Callahan.