Northwest Suburban Insider » Chicago

New “Un-Fix Illinois” Website

Drew — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:01:25 +0000

This is part of Dan Proft’s budding gubernatorial bid in a quest for radical political change in Illinois.
www.UnFixIllinois.org

Audit Shows $200K Missing from Cook County Public Administrator’s Office

Drew — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:15:33 +0000

-cross posted from the Daily Herald:

The past practices of the Cook County Public Administrator’s Office cost taxpayers at least $227,871 in missing funds and possibly millions more in sweetheart contracts, a new audit indicates.

The office is supposed to protect the assets of those who die without a will or with an executor who is incapable. But an audit by McGovern & Greene LLP found that before 2003, estate funds were commingled and estates with negative balances were subsidized by others with positive balances.

At least some checks were outright stolen from one estate to the tune of $3,198, and about $3 million was spent on estate services that were questionable, the account found. Some of the companies hired to “manage” estates weren’t even incorporated or registered with the state when they were given the contracts, county auditor Laura Burman found…(read full)

Greg Hinz Connects the dots between Speaker Madigan and Cook Co. President Stroger

Drew — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:24:42 +0000

Greg Hinz has a great piece on the political relationship between Illinois’s house Speaker Mike Madigan and Cook County President Todd Stoger.

Read the whole thing here.
good stuff…

IRS Put Lien on Todd Stroger’s Residence

Drew — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:20:30 +0000

-crossposted from the Chicago Tribune:

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger failed to pay nearly $12,000 in federal income taxes, according to the county Recorder of Deeds Office.

The IRS placed a lien on the home of Stroger and his wife, Jeanine, in March, a document filed with the recorder of deeds office shows.

Is Blago’s Appointment as Simple as Black and White?

Drew — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:40:33 +0000

-crossposted from the State Journal-Register:

Patrick Buchanan: Somebody has got to be lying

About the appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate, somebody big is lying, big-time. It is either the governor or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Last week, Reid declared that he would not permit Burris, the African-American elder statesman of Illinois politics, to fill Obama’s seat, or even to enter the Senate chamber, though no one had suggested Burris is other than an honorable and able public man.

Reid declared Burris “a tainted appointment,” not because of any ethical defect of his, but because of the cloud over the governor who had appointed him.

Saturday, however, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, in a story sourced to the governor’s office, that Reid personally phoned Blago on Dec. 3, six days before the scandal broke, to urge him not to name any of three high-profile candidates for the Obama seat.

On the Reid blacklist were, according to the source, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., Rep. Danny Davis and state Senate President Emil Jones.

What do the three have in common? All are black.

Reid reportedly urged Blagojevich to pick either state Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth or Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

What do these women have in common? Neither is black.
As Prince Riley, a senior consultant to Burris, told Politico, “It’s interesting that all those who are viable are white women and the ones who are unacceptable are black men.”
It sure is, Prince — if the story is true.
Confronted by David Gregory on “Meet the Press,” Reid called Blago a liar and said he thinks Jackson would make a fine senator. Said Reid:

“This is part of Blagojevich’s cloud. He’s making all this up. I had a conversation with him. I don’t remember what was in the conversation, other than the generalities that I just talked about. I didn’t tell him who not to appoint. He’s making all this up …”

However, this brings us back to the contents of a conversation Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly had with Blago, also before U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald busted the governor for allegedly hawking Obama’s seat to the highest bidder.

Valerie Jarrett, Barack’s confidante, had by then withdrawn.
Rahm reportedly told Blago he should choose from one of three names: Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Rahm then reportedly called back to add Lisa Madigan.

All four are white. Conspicuously missing from Rahm’s list were all four black candidates: Jackson, Davis, Jones and Burris.

Are Blago or his people all lying? The truth is on Fitzgerald’s tapes… (read full)

Senate Dems cave-in, Burris Getting Seat

Drew — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:14:14 +0000

-crossposed from the Daily Hearald:

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats plan to accept Roland Burris for President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant seat.

Democrats were looking for ways to defuse the standoff that denied Roland Burris the vacated Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama.

While Burris’ paperwork was rejected at the opening of the 111th Congress, he was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the Senate’s top two Democrats — Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and assistant leader Dick Durbin of Illinois.

The likelihood that Burris, a Democrat, would be seated increased Tuesday after a key chairwoman got behind the former Illinois attorney general, driving a crack in what had been a united front by Senate Democrats against any appointee chosen by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich… (read full)

On Rod’s Personal Pep Rally and the Chicago 9

Drew — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:07:05 +0000

Proft’s latest featured commentary on Don Wade & Roma:

Click here to listen to an .mp3 of this commentary as heard on this morning’s Don Wade & Roma Morning Show on WLS AM-890.

US Senate Seat on Ebay

Drew — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:51:31 +0000

Blagojevich: Getting Things Done for People

Drew — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:31:49 +0000

Proft’s latest featured commentary on Don Wade & Roma:

Click here to listen to an .mp3 of this commentary as heard on this morning’s Don Wade & Roma Morning Show on WLS AM-890.

NY Times Corruption Coverage

Drew — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:16:49 +0000

The NY Times has some good material:

Illinois Governor Corruption Scandal

Illinois Corruption Time-line (covers the last decade)

Web of Influence - Corruption chart