Alexi Giannoulias announced today that he is forgoing all donations from “Corporate PACs and federal lobbyists”. He says:
“These special interests do not represent the interests of most Americans, and they should not be allowed to buy a seat at the table when it comes to deciding critical issues or determining the direction of our nation, especially in the midst of our current financial crisis.”
That sure is a nice sentiment. It would be even nicer if he hadn’t already taken millions from those corporations and lobbyists.
From the launch of his State Treasurer campaign in 2005 until December 31, 2008, Alexi Giannoulias took roughly $1.7 million from businesses and lobbyists. It’s pretty easy to swear off corporate contributions once those contributions have already gotten you elected.
It is also interesting to note which groups Giannoulias didn’t say were barred from donating to him: labor unions. This should not be surprising since labor unions have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Giannoulias so far.
So what Giannoulias really means is that only some groups should be barred from trying to buy a seat at the table, other groups, groups that donate a lot of money to Democrats and will be instrumental in a Democratic primary, can buy all the seats they want.
So, to recap, Giannoulias is swearing off donations from corporations and lobbyists now that he’s taken $1.7 million from them, and he’s still letting unions donate, proving his claim that he wants to keep his campaign free of special interests to be false. Empty stunt is too kind a term.
Read the Illinois Republican Party’s statement on Giannoulias’ stunt here
Read more about Giannoulias’ questionable background at friendsofblago.com
On Wednesday the Blagojevich Democrats in the General Assembly attempted get some retribution against Illinois Republicans for holding them accountable for their broken promised to pass special election legislation.
For the last hundred plus days, the Illinois Republican Party has held Democrats’ feet to the fire on filling President Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Senator Dick Durbin was the first to suggest a special election to fill the seat, and Democratic leaders across the State quickly voiced their support. Speaker Mike Madigan, Governor Quinn and Senate President Cullerton all said they supported a special election but then quietly killed the idea when they thought no one was looking.
The Illinois Republican Party noticed, and made sure the people of Illinois knew exactly who had robbed them of their chance to choose who would represent them for the next two years. Democrats have decided it’s time for payback, and are pushing Senate Bill 600, which would force the Republican Party to elect its internal leaders though costly primary elections rather than by a vote of grassroots volunteers as it currently does.
Recently, House Republican Leader Tom Cross asked Attorney General Lisa Madigan to give her opinion on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 600, Cross and other Republican leaders believe SB600 violates the Republican Party’s right to organize itself as it sees fit and for its internal matters to be free from interference.
Despite these serious constitutional concerns, Democrats have been pushing the bill with virtually no Republican support in the Senate, and today, not willing to wait until Attorney General Madigan weighs in, they began railroading the same legislation in the House as well.
State Representative Lou Lang submitted a hostile amendment to a Republican bill that is an exact copy of SB600. The Democrat-dominated committee quickly passed it along party lines. During debate about his amendment, Lang stated he proposed the amendment because Republican leaders had attacked Democrats for going back on their word on special election legislation. Lang’s comments prove that retribution is the Democrats’ goal, not good public policy.
It is no surprise that Blagojevich Democrats would seek to distract Illinois Republicans. Between Governor Blagojevich’s arrest, Illinois’ deepening financial crisis and Governor Quinn’s massive income tax increase, Democrats desperately need some way to take the spotlight off themselves and their failed policies. But this latest gambit will not work, and Illinois Republicans will not falter from their mission to hold Blagojevich Democrats responsible and bring real change to Illinois.
Former Governor Rod Blagojevich will be filling in for Don and Roma this morning from 7 to 9 AM. While he is certain to touch upon a wide range of issues, and may even attack his running mate, Governor Quinn, for his massive tax increase, it is doubtful Rod Blagojevich will admit that he and his willing accomplices in Springfield are directly responsible for the massive budget hole Illinois finds itself in.
Under Rod Blagojevich and the Democrats, spending in Illinois has increased by over $1 billion a year. Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities stand at a staggering $70 billion, and with Pat Quinn’s plan to raid pension plans again to pay for Blagojevich Democrats’ big spending, that number will only get bigger.
Now, rather than scale back their Blagojevich-era excesses, the Democrats are asking the working families of Illinois to bail them out. To see exactly how much the Blagojevich Democrats want you to pay to clean up their mess, go the Blagojevich Democrats Tax Calculator here.
Rod Blagojevich is no longer in power but taxpayers who are upset at 6 years of mismanaged government in Springfield should contact his close allies, Blagojevich Democrats Pat Quinn, Mike Madigan and John Cullerton, and tell them to stop forcing working families to finance their spending sprees.
Quinn, Cullerton, Madigan and Giannoulias head to Miami
11 days after his highly publicized press conference demanding a special election, Governor Quinn has caved to Mike Madigan and John Cullerton, claiming he needs to focus on the economy.
Leaving aside the ridiculous notion that the Governor of Illinois cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, if Pat Quinn is so concerned about the economy, why is he at a resort in Miami instead of at his desk in Springfield?On the same day that he declared his overriding concern for the economy of Illinois, Quinn, along with John Cullerton and Mike Madigan jumped on a plane headed toward a luxury Miami resort.
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, one of Illinois’ financial officers, doesn’t seem to think our economy is doing too badly.He just got back from a week-long recruiting trip to Greece with Senator Durbin.He launched his Senate campaign yesterday, and then he got on a plane down to Miami as well.
The Governor, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House and Treasurer, the four people most responsible for Illinois’ economy, are all in Miami a day after the Governor claimed the economy is so important that everything else must be put on hold.
If the economy is bad enough to justify killing special elections legislation that 2/3rds of Illinois voters want, why isn’t bad enough for our erstwhile leaders to cancel their vacations or put their political aspirations on hold?
In December the Democrats claimed they couldn’t call a special election because they needed to focus on impeaching Governor Blagojevich.Looks like Pat Quinn didn’t mean it when he said “we need to learn from history [and] not repeat mistakes”.
Following the arrest of the Governor, Blagojevich Democrats promised to strip Rod of his appointment power and proposed a special election to give people a vote in choosing their next U.S. Senator.
Illinois Republicans agreed and waged a vigorous grassroots campaign for a vote of the people – a campaign where thousands of people responded.
Unfortunately, Blagojevich Democrats broke their promise to the people and allowed a tainted governor to appoint Roland Burris. Now our junior senator faces questions about his testimony before the Blagojevich Impeachment Panel and House Democrats are accused of covering it up.
Major newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Washington Post all endorsed passage of special election legislation before Burris was selected and this week the Tribune and the Springfield State Journal-Register continued to editorialize in favor of giving a vote to the people.
The time for real change has come and for Blagojevich Democrats to keep their promise and pass special election legislation.
Senator Durbin, Governor Quinn, Attorney General Madigan, Treasurer Giannoulias, Congresswoman Schakowsky and others who supported a special election should re-commit today to helping pass this legislation.
In the coming days, Republicans in the General Assembly will introduce special election legislation to give the people a vote. It is time to put the power back where it belongs - with the people.
Please sign the petition at FriendsofBlago.com and let your elected officials know you support a vote of the people in Illinois.
Doesn’t know about Illinois’ financial situation, but does know he wants more money
On December 29th Pat Quinn called Roland Burris’ appointment to the Senate by Rod Blagojevich an “insult to the people of Illinois”. Now, little more than a month later, Quinn is heading to Washington to meet with Burris. That is a remarkable change of heart in a very short period of time.
Of course, Quinn has been warming to Burris for some time now. He made no public statements after his initial “insult” remark and he raised no objections when Dick Durbin caved to Burris and seated him. By meeting with Burris as if he were a legitimate Senator instead of Rod Blagojevich’s handpicked crony, Pat Quinn is endorsing his running mate’s choice.
Also curious is that less than two weeks ago Quinn claimed he didn’t know enough about Illinois’ financial situation to say whether he would support a tax increase. And now his first instinct isn’t to sit down and figure out how to cut some of the wasteful programs Blagojevich Democrats created that put Illinois in this financial hole. Instead he’s going to Washington with his hands out. Until we get the Blagojevich Democrat’s reckless spending under control, no amount of stimulus will be enough.
In a news conference, Sunday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin announced he is opposed to ensuring that Rod Blagojevich cannot touch Illinois’ share of the upcoming federal stimulus package.Durbin criticized US Representative Mark Kirk’s amendment, which would keep Blagojevich from controlling the estimated $50 billion Illinois has coming, saying he didn’t think it was needed and that “I hope by the time these funds come to Illinois there will be a new governor in place.”
Dick Durbin has “hoped” for many things with this Governor.He “hoped” that Blagojevich would not appoint a U.S. Senator.And thanks to this misguided hope, as well as Durbin’s spectacularly inept handling of the situation, Illinois citizens were robbed of the chance to select Barack Obama’s replacement.
It is time to stop hoping Rod Blagojevich will behave responsibly and start ensuring that he cannot do any more damage.For years, Dick Durbin and his fellow Blagojevich Democrats have enabled this Governor. And even now Durbin refuses to stand up to Blagojevich and keep him from doing any more harm to the people of Illinois.
Blagojevich Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn’s ethics reform panel holds its first meeting today. And while true ethics reform for Illinois is long overdue, Illinois voters should never forget the role that Pat Quinn and his fellow Blagojevich Democrats played in Rod Blagojevich’s disastrous time as Governor.
Rod Blagojevich’s Silent Lieutenant Governor
Pat Quinn made a career of being a good government watchdog. But when he rode Rod Blagojevich’s coattails and dirty money into power he suddenly lost his voice. Speaking out against Rod Blagojevich and exposing his corruption for the world to see would have hurt Pat Quinn’s political futures as well as Blagojevich’s. It was politically inconvenient, so Pat Quinn stayed silent. For six years he defended Rod Blagojevich in the press and looked the other way as it became increasingly apparent how corrupt the Governor was.
In 2002 when Quinn and Blagojevich were seeking their first term in office, Pat Quinn made ethics a major issue. He said that:
“We’ve had an ethics recession in Illinois, and it’s time to end the recession.” (Chicago Sun Times, Foes give Jim Ryan shower of criticism, May 3, 2002)
and
“In this election, the people will decide who is the best person to root out corruption in state government…I think Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn are the best two.” (State Journal-Register, Lieutenant governor candidate: Ryan should have probed scandal, October 21, 2002)
The voters believed Quinn and he and Blagojevich were elected.
By the time the 2006 election got underway, everyone in Illinois knew of Rod Blagojevich’s ethical problems. The federal investigation was well known and new revelations surfaced weekly of Rod Blagojevich’s lawless dealings, such as a $1,500 gift from a man whose wife had received a state job despite failing the hiring exam. Despite this continuing “ethics recession” Quinn still defended Blagojevich. When asked about the governor’s $1,500 “gift” Quinn said:
“The governor says that money was not connected in any way to official business, and I believe him…In all my interactions with him, I’ve found him to be an honest person, and I believe he’s telling the truth.” (Chicago Tribune, Change of Subject, September 24, 2006)
and
“He’s always been a person who’s honest and one of integrity…I have confidence the governor does the right thing all the time.” (Chicago Daily Herald, Quinn suddenly has little to say about Blagojevich, October 20, 2006)
Pat Quinn was happy to elect and support a dishonest and corrupt governor because it benefitted him as well. He only rediscovered his good-government roots when Rod Blagojevich no longer had anything to offer him.
Pat Quinn’s First Test of Leadership
Pat Quinn failed his first true test of leadership. When Rod Blagojevich was arrested for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s former Senate seat, Pat Quinn could have stood up and demanded a special election in order to clear the air and restore Illinois voters’ faith in their government. He didn’t. Instead he waffled, going through three separate positions within five days. On the day Blagojevich was arrested Quinn did say that the governor needed to be stripped of his appointment power and that a special election should be held. But, two days later, he changed his mind and said that he wanted to appoint the next Senator. And then, three days after that he said on Meet the Press that he supported a special election, but only if he could name and interim Senator first.
Quinns’ indecision and failure to lead gave Democrats the cover they needed to kill the special election. He failed to use his political capital and force the issue. And because of this failure of leadership, the people of Illinois were saddled with Governor Blagojevich’s choice for Senator instead of their own.
Quinn’s conduct regarding the special election is especially baffling when one considers his prior political history. Pat Quinn made his name in Illinois politics by being a fervent proponent of letting the people decide. He either initiated or publicly championed over 22 ballot initiatives since 1980.
1980 - Referendum to cut the size of the State Legislature by 1/3
(Chicago Sun Times, Quinn ‘has mellowed,’ ready to be gov: ex-critics; Some embrace former outsider despite flaws, December 11, 2008)
1983 - Advisory Referendum on creating a Citizens Utility Board.
(State News Service, LT. GOV. QUINN LAUDS 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF CITIZENS UTILITY BOARD REFERENDUM, March 27, 2008)
1990 - Advisory Referendum to create a Financial Consumer Association to fight for lower service charges and fees from banks, savings and loan associations and currency exchanges.
(St Louis Post-Dispatch, QUINN BACKS MONITORING OF BANK CHARGES, October 5, 1990)
1993 - Referendum to impose term limits on certain Illinois State offices.
(Chicago Sun Times, Quinn Favors Limits On Terms — for Others, October 22, 1993)
1994 - Referendum to expand riverboat gambling to Chicago.
(Chicago Sun Times, Orr, Quinn Seek Riverboat Vote, April 26, 1994)
1997 - Supported allowing Cook County voters to pass or repeal laws by ballot referendum.
(Chicago Sun Times, Ex-official pushes louder voter voice; Referendums would be vehicle, January 6, 1997)
1997 - Supported a constitutional amendment to force consideration of a bill if citizens gathered enough signatures in support of it.
(State Journal-Register, Bill could force lawmakers to tackle reforms Amendment would give people more power, February 13, 1997)
1998 – Referendum to create a Patients’ Bill of Rights
(Chicago Sun Times, Quinn peddles sour grapes in anti-Ryan effort, May 3, 2000)
1999 - Advisory Referendum on providing universal healthcare.
(Associated Press, ‘Bernardin Amendment’ wins in 27 Illinois communities, April 14, 1999)
1999 - Referendum to provide for the election of utilities regulators and require roll call votes in the state legislature.
(Copley News Service, Quinn collecting signatures to put amendments on ballot, September 21, 1999)
2000 - Advisory Referendum on recalling Governor George Ryan.
(Chicago Sun Times, Quinn urges voters to push governor out — this year, March 6, 2000)
2000 - Referendum to block renovation of Soldier Field.
(Chicago Sun Times, Clerk rules no referendum on stadium, December 17, 2000)
2001 - Referendum to limit property tax assessment increases and to create an elected office of “Taxpayer advocate” in Cook County.
(Chicago Daily Herald, Cook County property tax reform pushed, October 4, 2001)
2002 - Advisory Referendum to create a “September 11 Health Fund” to help protect against biological attacks.
(Chicago Daily Herald, Tobacco money for biohazard protection?, March 14, 2002)
2004 - Referendum to offer free municipal broadband in the Tri-cities.
(Chicago Daily Herald, Quinn backs broadband bid, October 22, 2004)
2004 - Advisory Referendum on doubling the state income tax on top 2% of earners to pay for property tax relief and education.
(Chicago Daily Herald, Referendum bolsters Quinn’s tax proposal, March 18, 2004)
2007 - Advisory Referendum to raise the state cigarette tax.
(The Pantagraph, Cigarette tax idea snuffed, August 31, 2006)
2007 - Advisory Referendum on raising the state minimum wage.
(Chicago Daily Herald, Cook voters face three referendums at polls, October 29, 2006)
2007 - Referendum on expanding gambling.
(Associated Press, Quinn wants referendum on gambling expansion, December 17, 2007)
2008 - Advisory Referendum on fully funding veteran’s care.
(State News Service, QUINN JOINS ILLINOIS VETERANS TO ANNOUNCE MORE THAN ONE MILLION VOTES CALLING FOR PASSAGE OF FEDERAL LAW MANDATING FULL FUNDING OF VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE, February 10, 2008)
2008 – Supported a constitutional amendment to allow for recall of certain elected officials.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Recall legislation moves forward, April 30, 2008)
2008 - Referendum to call a State Constitutional Convention.
(Associated Press, Ill. voters defeat convention referendum, November 5, 2008)
In two of his recent press conferences Rod Blagojevich has quoted from poetry. In his December 19th press conference he quoted Rudyard Kipling’s “If.” After he was impeached on January 9th, he graced the people of Illinois with a selection from Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Ulysses.”
Today is another embarrassment for the people of Illinois as Governor Blagojevich stands before the cameras and the Democrats who endorsed him in 2006, and swears in a new General Assembly. It will likely be one of his last official acts as Governor since the first order of business for the new General Assembly will be to impeach and try him. Which is ironic since both the House and the Senate are dominated by Blagojevich Democrats who endorsed him for reelection in 2006, knowing he was under intense federal investigation, and endorsed his Senate candidate by refusing to strip him of his appointment power.
The Illinois Republican party would suggest another poem as an ideal way to end Governor Blagojevich’s political deathbed speech. The people of Illinois might say about Rod Blagojevich what Sir Walter Raleigh said of the Earl of Leicester:
Here lies the noble Warrior that never blunted sword; Here lies the noble Courtier that never kept his word; Here lies his Excellency that governed all the state; Here lies Governor Blagojevich that all the world did hate.
Major newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Washington Post all endorsed passage of special election legislation before Burris was selected and this week the Tribune and the Springfield State Journal-Register continued to editorialize in favor of giving a vote to the people.
