From Adam Andrzejewski and For the Good of Illinois…
Thanks to you, we’re winning the fight to Open the Books!
Over the past couple weeks, advocates of transparent and accountable government in Illinois have been winning more and more small victories.
Quinn’s canoe czar, $85,000 per year, STOPPED!
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Adam Andrzejewski: Illinois Can’t Afford Quinn”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Schools that want tax dollars to fund major new building or refurbishing projects are supposed to go before the voters, hat in hand, to ask for a tax increase. A referendum then goes on a ballot for tax payers to approve or deny. This prevents abuse of tax money and is how the system is supposed to work. But an investigation finds that millions of dollars in building funds have been raised through questionable bonds issued by schools without getting legal approval from the taxpayers.
Schools have been caught floating bonds to fund their unapproved building projects despite that the courts have ordered them to stop this shady practice. And now, instead of punishing these lawbreakers, state legislators plan to just change the rules to make this questionable wild spending legal in a grandfathered law to be considered in the state senate perhaps as early as this week.
Worse than that, the legislation was written by private companies that specialize in assisting schools to rape the taxpayers by helping them figure ways around the law. This bill wasn’t even written by our elected officials but by special interests that make their living skimming tax money from schools.
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Schools Fund Building Projects With Pilfered Tax Money”
-By Warner Todd Huston
HotAir.com posted an excellent side-by-side video from Fox News that shows the lengths that the left goes to in order to excuse the common every day violence, hate and criminal actions of folks from their own side.
Take a look at this excellent report…
This ignoramus, hypocrite that Fox News dredged up to represent the left is typical of the back bending gymnastics indulged by the Old Media and the left — one in the same, I know. This is typical in the way they denigrate the perfectly peaceful Tea Party protests while excusing the lawless, criminal actions of the left’s protesters — in this case the recent pro-illegal immigrant criminal protesters in Arizona.
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The Left’s Lies About ‘Peaceful’ Immigration Protesters”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Mayor Richard “King” Daley has just earned his monarchical (or is that maniacal) nickname by announcing his desire to have a European “court” invade the U.S. and begin prosecuting American citizens for doing a legal, Constitutionally protected business in America.
The despicable, mob-infested mayor of Chicago’s newest harebrained scheme in his fight against the U.S. Constitution is to have the so-called World Criminal Court at the Hague to begin prosecuting gun manufacturers and gun dealers here in America.
It’s bad enough that this Eurocrat wannabe thinks that this kangaroo court in Europe has legal jurisdiction in the USA, but he’s teaming up with a foreign plutocrat in Mexico to try and pursue this idiot’s scheme.
Mayor Daley again proves his essential hate for his own country. First by wallowing in his mob connected lifestyle, next by his surrounding himself with criminal Democrats that rob the city blind, then by siding with foreigners against his own country.
Maybe we would be better off with Rahm Emanuel in the big chair at City Hall? At least Rahm is just an average crook!
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Mayor Daley Wants Foreign Kangaroo Court to Rule in Chicago”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Fox News Chicago ran a piece on 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Joe Walsh who topped a field of five candidates in the primary. They found that Walsh’s campaign never filed his financial disclosure forms as required by federal election law. The Fox correspondent pointedly asked Walsh, “how come you didn’t file your personal financial disclosure forms as obligated by federal election laws?”
Fox News also found a couple of local pols that said they would ask Walsh to resign his primary win if these things were not figured out. Of course, neither of the guys they found supported Walsh during the primary, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they’d immediately jump to calling for Walsh to quit the race.
But my biggest problem with these stories about Walsh’s financial troubles is that they never came before the primary. They’ve all come after the primary. Even I wrote about Walsh’s financial troubles before the primary and I don’t have the investigative tools that TV and newspapers do! Yet all these high falutin’ Old Media outlets in Chicago ignored the issue until Walsh won the primary.
It is hard not to imagine that the Chicago media waited to “report” these matters until after the primary specifically so that they could hurt the Republican pickup of this seat.
Walsh’s campaign did file the disclosure forms and paid a $200 fine after Fox News brought it to their attention. Walsh says it was but an oversight. Here I’ll make no judgment, you decide.
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Chicago Fox Attacks 8th District Candidate Joe Walsh”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The second I hear the facile ideas of our elected officials to bring in the Army to start cracking down on “crime” I get visions of jack-booted legions of the Wehrmacht goosestepping through the city, machine guns at hand, knocking over old people and making little kids cry.
But, I guess Representative John “Twitchy” Fritchey is wholly unaware about the rules and philosophies of the American system. You see comrade Fritchey, there is a reason why the Commissars aren’t allowed to bring the Army down upon a city. It’s because our U.S. armed forces are supposed to protect us against foreign enemies. Our laws and police agencies are supposed to protect us from internal crooks, criminals and thugs. And if our police are failing, “Twitchey” Fritchey, it is your fault (yours and your fellow “lawmakers”) Not the police’s.
Further it is not the job of the Army to harass citizens into cowering inside their homes for fear of being cut down in the streets by or own soldiers.
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Ill. Lawmakers: Bring in the Army to Kill Chicagoans”
Some Lake County Republicans are sponsoring a meet the candidate event on Wednesday 28 from 7PM to 9PM. There you can meet candidate for the 8th District Joe Walsh.
Illinois 8th Congressional District Republican Challenger Joe Walsh Talks Back
JOE WALSH “Talks Back”
No Holds Barred on the issues .. Have Questions? Ask Joe!
Is Congress Really Representing “We The People”?
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: The South Barrington Club
Street: 3 Tennis Club Lane
City/Town: South Barrington, IL
For Information Call Carol Ann Parisi 847-496-5400 or email Hangnloose@comcast.net
Directions: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/2-Xz1b
From Dan Proft, Urquhart Media…
Who would have thought that pawn broker Scott Lee Cohen, the deposed Democrat Lt. Governor candidate, would have turned out to be a more competent lender than former Democrat golden boy Ali G?
I guess Cohen should have played basketball with the President.
The “Ali G” I refer to is Alexi Giannoulias. The nickname is ripped from the fictional interviewer created by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Giannoulias’ comedic campaign for the U.S. Senate would normally be the stuff of fiction but this is Illinois.
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Dan Proft: It’s Curtains for Ali G”
From the Walsh for Congress campaign (8th District)…
(Grayslake, Illinois) – 8th District Republican Congressional Nominee Joe Walsh today promised that, if elected, he would introduce legislation to tie the salaries of members of Congress to the median household income level in the United States.
Rank-and-file members of Congress make $174,000 annually. According to the Census Bureau, the median household income in the U.S. is $50,233 (2007).
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Walsh Proposes Indexing Congressional Salaries to Median Household Income in the US”
The Isaac Hayes for Congress campaign has released a video ad to highlight the rather untrue statements of opponent Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.
-By Warner Todd Huston
Until recently, Andy Stern was the President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a union that has served as one of President Obama’s biggest donors as well as filling the ranks of his ground troops. In a surprise move, Stern resigned his post this month and no one is really sure why at this point.
Andy Stern has been one of the closest union chiefs to a president in history. Along with SEIU treasurer Anna Burger, he was one of the most frequent visitors to the White House. He was even chosen by President Obama to serve on his Deficit Reduction Commission — a sort of contradiction in terms that.
Upon his resignation, it has been learned that Andy Stern’s leadership of the SEIU has not brought financial solvency. As F. Vincent Vernuccio reports in the Washington Times, Stern has left the SEIU in pretty shabby shape.
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Andy Stern: Union Chief Fleeing Ahead of Illinois Indictment?”
-By Warner Todd Huston
A few days ago, we pondered the amusing possibility of Scott Lee Cohen running for Illinois Governor as an independent. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if this fellow ran for governor after being kicked off the Democrat ticket?
Well it is beginning to look like Cohen really is looking to run for governor as an independent. Now a spokesman for Michael Madigan is saying that Cohen told the party bigwigs that he does, indeed, want to run for governor as a lt.
This would be awful fun if it came to pass. But I warn everyone about Cohen. He seems awfully flakey. Don’t be surprised if Cohen flakes out and decides he “never said he’d run.”
I don’t think we can trust this guy to really commit.
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Is He or Isn’t He: Scott Lee Cohen for Governor?”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Democrat’s Illinois Senate candidate, Alexi Giannoulias, has seen his family business stripped away from them and placed in the hands of a new owner (MB Financial) because he and his family could not come up with the $85 million needed to shore up falling liquidity.
Banking regulators seized the Giannoulias’ Broadway Bank this evening and placed it in the hands of MB Bank, a bank with branches throughout the Chicagoland area.
Alexi Giannoulias was the bank’s chief lender and vice-president from 2002 to 2006. He has been criticized for working for the bank when it loaned $20 million to Michael “Jaws” Giorongo and reputed mobster Boris Stratievsky. Giannoulias’ family has also been attacked for taking $70 million in dividends in both 2007 and 2008 as the bank’s loans were going bad.
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Feds Shut Down Dem. Sen. Candidate Giannoulias’ Family Owned Bank”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Tony Peraica has chimed in on the “Coffee Czar” controversy as reported here earlier this week.
“Yes, despite the political insiders’ claims that government is bankrupt and their calls for tax increases — we’ve learned that the county taxpayers spent more than $75,000 on a local coffee company in the first three months of the current fiscal year alone. That adds up to some $300,000 a year for coffee and snacks!
As I told the reporter for that story, I’ve long said that we have “corruption on steroids” here in Cook County — but now we learn it might also be fueled by coffee!
Are these really the types of wasteful “projects” on which our hard-earned tax dollars should be spent?
As your commissioner, I will continue to fight to expose these instances of abuse, and to fight for sensible spending reform and tax relief.”
Gov’t Waste: $300,000 for Coffee in Cook County Government?”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Did the President lie? Blago thinks so. Rod Blagojevich’s team asked the court to issue a rial subpoena to President Obama to get him to answer some key questions in Blagojevich’s trial. The ex-guv is accused of attempting to sell Obama’s vacant Senate seat.
The motion was made public but was supposed to have been heavily redacted. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the computer file released to the press was easily restored to an un-redacted state through simple computer features. So, here is the un-redacted subpoena:
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Did Obama LIE?”
Institute Featured on “The Daily Show”
In case you missed it, John O’Hara, our vice president of external relations, appeared on Jon Stewart’s show to discuss the meaning of the nationwide tea parties and more. You can watch the full interview, which aired on Comedy Central, here.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Is Capitalism Doomed?”
From the Palatine Tea Party…
(Palatine, Illinois) – Since Melissa Bean voted yes on January 28, 2009 for the $787B stimulus bill the unemployment rate in Lake County continues to rise. While Bean spent the last year ignoring her constituents and the American people she continued down a path of the takeover of our healthcare industry while ignoring the jobs which are disappearing at an alarming rate in Lake County. Bean’s stance to support the Obama Administration’s failed policies is hurting businesses and individuals which live and work in Lake County.
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More of Melissa Bean’s Hypocritical Ways”
From Adam Andrzejewski and For the Good of Illinois…
One week ago today, I had the honor of speaking at five tea parties throughout Illinois. Their message – government is out of control, spending has reached unsustainable levels and we’re Taxed Enough Already.
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Governor Quinn Says There’s a Tax for That”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Last weekend, Senate President John Cullerton (D) got himself in a bit of hot water… or rather his son got him in hot water. As we reported earlier, sonny boy got himself pulled over for drunk driving. That wasn’t the big problem, though. The big problem is that the junior sir drinksalot was driving a state owned SUV that is supposed to be used only for official state business. Yet here was the youngster flying around town, drunk twice past the legal limit, and driving a state owned vehicle.
So, have you had enough of a state government that allows drunken frat boys to use state owned vehicles to do their carousing in when the state is $12 billion in debt and climbing.
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Call for Sen. Prez Cullerton to Step Down”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Welcome to Chicago Con the Air!
What the heck is going on with Chicago’s AM radio stations? For some ungodly reason… and I DO mean ungodly… convicts are turning up all over the place as radio hosts. No, I mean real convicts. Not just your average car-jacker or B&E guy, I mean political convicts. It’s no wonder Chicago is the laughing stock of the country. The city is so crooked that crooked politicians even infest the radio, fer cripes sakes!
Just announced by WVON a Monday morning radio show will be hosted by convicted Cicero Mayor Betty Loren-Maltese. Maltese just got out of jail for misappropriation of city funds.
As Chicago Radio maven Larz notes, “It should be noted that the man Betty Loren-Maltese is filling in for, Cliff Kelley, is himself a disgraced former politician.”
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Chicago Radio: the Laughing Stock of the Midwest”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Could it be? Could Scott Lee Cohen be roaring back to politics so soon after being thrown off the Democrat ticket in disgrace?
I don’t know about you, but this blogger is crossing his fingers and toes in hopes that it could be true. Oh, LORDY make it true. I mean, why not, eh? What fun it would be.
For those that don’t quite remember the dim days so long ago last February, Scott Lee Cohen won the Democrat primary to take the Lt. Gov. spot on the Dem. Ticket. But no sooner was he celebrating his big win when the Chicago Old Media finally started to research candidate Cohen only to discover that he had all sorts of unsavory legal and criminal allegations in his past. There was the beating he gave his prostitute girlfriend, the assault with a knife… well, let’s just say that things were a bit messy in his recent past. Once the Dems found out about his past the whole Democrat establishment rose up to demand that Cohen quit his campaign for Lt. Gov.
Well, as he headed for the door Cohen promised that he’d try for office again someday. Apparently, he’s considering that someday should be today. Several sources are reporting that Cohen would like to run for Governor as an independent this year.
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Scott Lee Cohen, Independent Run for Ill. Guv?”
-By Warner Todd Huston
In the ongoing Blago-a-go-go, the sage of the Governor whose aborted attempts to sell a U.S. Senate seat for money, profit and high falutin’ job opportunities for himself and his family, we see ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich taking a little time out from his busy radio and TV star schedule to visit the court rooms of the Richard J. Daley building in beautiful downtown Chicago.
Blago has been yelling from the rooftops that the prosecution should “play all the tapes” to prove that he, Blago, is innocent as the driven snow. Today Judge James B. Zagel (Reagan appointee, 1987) shot down Blago’s demands and said that he is the one that will determine what tapes will be played and what won’t.
“I will not allow the time of these jurors to be needlessly consumed,” Zagel said. Zagel also scolded Blago saying he would not allow any “legal head butts” to take place in his courtroom.
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Blago-a-go-go: Suckin’ Up to Da Man”
From the Dold for Congress campaign (10th District)…
Virginia Congressman and House Minority Whip, Eric Cantor, came to Chicago on Sunday 4/18 to meet with friends of the Pro-Israel Community. Congressman Cantor is the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress. Bob first had a chance to talk with Congressman Cantor on Sunday night, at a Republican Jewish Coalition program in Skokie. Prior to the event, Bob, Congressman Cantor, and two of the area’s other Republican congressional candidates met privately to discuss the various issues impacting Israel’s security. The program that followed included remarks from Congressman Cantor, to an audience of 250 people. During his speech, the Congressman spoke glowingly about Bob and his campaign, and urged those in attendance to work hard to get Bob elected.
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Congressman Eric Cantor Visits Chicago and Praises Bob’s Campaign”
-By Warner Todd Huston
As the kids on them Internet tubes say, it was an epic fail. GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady held what was claimed to be a “blogger coffee” in a restaurant in Rosemont on April 17. Three whole bloggers showed, one of which is closely connected behind the scenes to GOP movers and shakers. In other words this was not a “bloggers” anything, but just another closely controlled Brady campaign event facade that amounted to nothing.
In attendance to “meet” Brady was Bill Baar of Bill Baar’s West Side, Fran Eaton of the heavily connected Illinois Review, and a writer for NBC Chicago’s The Ward Room Blog.
As the Ward Room notes,”there wasn’t any coffee, and there were only three bloggers.”
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Bill Brady ‘Blogger Coffee’ Epic Fail!”
-By Warner Todd Huston
On April 19, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam joined Fox News Chicago to talk jobs and the economy. The anchor brought up the claim made by many in the chattering classes that the GOP is just the “party of no.” Roskam had a great come back for this dismissal of the GOP’s principled stance against Obama’s socialist-like attack on our political system.
(Grayslake, Illinois) – The Freedom Rally is open to Americans who feel our Government has lost touch with the people. Do you who feel the U.S. Constitution is being shredded? Do you believe debts, the elected officials are incurring, will bankrupt our country? Do you see that corruption and special interest groups are the ultimate enforcers of this uncontrollable spiral? If you answered “YES!” to any or all of these questions, than you need to hear solutions and gather in numbers to make your voice heard.
This event will take place on Saturday April 24th, 2010, sign in will begin at 6:00pm, and speakers will start at 6:30pm-9:00pm. Our event will take place at 525 N. Atkinson Road, Grayslake, Il at the Living Waters assembly of God Church, Main Chapel, South East corner of W. Brae Loch Road and N. Atkinson Road.
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Announcing Lake County 9/12 Freedom Rally on April 24th”
From the Walsh for Congress campaign (8th District)…
(Oakbrook Terrace, IL)– “Illinois manufacturers are job creators, wealth creators, and they are the sector that will lead the economic recovery in Illinois,” said Republican challenger Joe Walsh on Monday afternoon while speaking to representatives from some 500 manufacturing companies at Metals Services Institute conference.
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Walsh Speaks with More Than 500 on Illinois’ Manufacturing Industry”
-By Warner Todd Huston
A cuppa Joe, we all love it — well, I don’t drink coffee at all, but most people do, anyway. You might spend a few bucks a day on your coffee, right? Well, add a few more dollars to that daily bill if you are a resident of Cook County, Illinois. A recent review of the county’s expenditures shows that it spent $76,291 on coffee products from the ACE Coffee vending company.
But, it wasn’t just coffee and snacks that the ACE company provided. No, it was one hand washing the other as the ACE Coffee company has given tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions to Cook County Democrats, 14th Ward Alderman and Democrat Committeeman Ed Burke in particular. Burke and his various committees and associates got $20,250 of ACE’s $30,000 in political contributions made last year.
If a private company wants to buy coffee for its employees, well, that is fine. They have a right to decide how to spend their own profits. But what we have here is the taxpayers paying for county employees to sit around drinking coffee and eating snacks on OUR dime. And the coffee company is hip deep in the pockets of county and city officials to boot!
We can thank Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica for his efforts to make sure that the Cook County check register is on line for all to see so that this sort of unsavory relationships can see the light of day. We’d never be able to find such things without the Cook County transparency effort, so thanks to Peraica for his work here.
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Coffee Break Costs Cook County $76,291″
-By Warner Todd Huston
On PBS’ Charlie Rose show, Rahm Emanuel finally admitted what has been rumored in hushed voices throughout the city of Chicago: He wants to run for Mayor.
Emanuel told host Rose that if Mayor Daley decides not to run again, he would like to throw his own hat in the ring and run for the big seat at City Hall.
But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the City of Chicago. That’s always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives.
Now the pressure is on Mayor Daley to decide if he wants another term and to wonder if Emanuel will run against him despite his claim to want to support Da Mayor if he runs again.
The diminutive, oft times profane Emanuel reiterated a few times that he’s not looking to knock Richard Daley out of the office, but one really does have to wonder. Few Presidential Chiefs of Staff last long and one can be pretty sure that Emanuel will be gone for that position sooner rather than later. So, is he really, really sure that he won’t run to beat Daley?
This is a question that Daley would be foolish not to be asking himself.
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Rahm Emanuel: ‘I Would Like to Run for Mayor of Chicago’”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The son of Illinois State Senate President John Cullerton (D, 6th District) was arrested for drunk driving over the weekend. He had a blood alcohol level of .188, twice the legal limit of .08.
The vehicle that son Garritt was driving was a state owned SUV that is supposedly only to be used for official state business.
Cullerton immediately told reporters that he didn’t know his son was diving around in a state owned vehicle.
“A Senate vehicle assigned to the Senate President for official legislative business was used by his son without his authorization,” Sen. Cullerton’s office said in a written statement. “The Senate President is dissapointed that this incident occurred and takes this matter very seriously. He will work to ensure that this does not occur in the future.”
What utter BS.
You expect anyone to believe, Senator Cullerton, that your son stole the SUV to joy ride in after boozing it up? You truly mean to tell us, Senator Cullerton, that your son is a drunk AND a thief at the same time?
No, Mr. Cullerton, what is far more likely is that your son got caught drunk driving — bad enough of course — but that he was driving the state-owned vehicle because you let him do it all the time and it wasn’t out of the ordinary at all.
Yet, here you are throwing your own son under the bus… or SUV as the case may be… just so people won’t realize that your family has been illegally using state-owned vehicles for their own personal needs.
Mr. Cullerton you are not only a crook, but a bad father. Shame on you.
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Ill. State Senate Prez’ Son in DUI Driving State Owned Vehicle”