Radical Environmental Thought for the Day
ArchPundit
Charge idiots who try and farm in arid regions market rates for water and let the market sort it out.
January 2003
Tilting at windmills
The Illinois Leader gives prominent space to one of the challengers to Daley. She even has a web site. She needs a web designer, however.
License for Bribes Minute
Several senior aides of George Ryan are being subpoenaed to ensure they don’t destroy documents as they leave state government.
The other corruption trials
Cicero is on the verge of having a chance to clean itself up for the first time since Capone took it over. While the breadth of organized crime is not anything like Capone’s time, the Outfit has controlled the suburban Cicero for years. The US Attorney is finally doing a house cleaning and lots of folks are finding their way to prison. The citizens of Cicero still have to avoid electing the remnants, but this is a good start.
Pate says goodbye
Philip officially retires from state government and it can only mean that the legislature will be a more humane place. Frank Watson may not be my ideal, but he isn’t going to be a racist retread at least.
The ICFST’s Last Gasp
The State Journal-Register covers the last minute appointments by Ryan and discusses G-Rods potential respones. Ultimately, killing off patronage offices is counterproductive from a political point-of-view so don’t expect action. Ultimately, this is a last minute push to get the last bit of patronage out of the system by the GOP. Losing nearly everything this time, they’ll have few places to reward party members for a while.
What is Coming for the nation?
The same thing Shrub did for Texas. For those under the illusion that voters will wake-up, notice that Rick Perry is still Governor of Texas.
The War of Highway Succession or Rural Agression if you will
End the Highway Wars? Hell no, this is just getting fun. Fleming makes it very clear the region is considering a separate taxing district.
Rural areas in most states are subsidized to a degree. Roads per person would simply be too much of a local burden when you have low population density. The difficulty here is that rural interests want low taxes and more than the usual subsidy. Welcome to the State of Misery.
The irony of the situation is that MODOT is trying to assuage rural interests upset over the 1992 plan, but may well alienate a larger block of voters in the states economic engine. Ultimately, MODOT needs a significant reorganization and a tax increase—but rural interests won’t agree to that. Seccession with a separate regional road authority is the likely result. How you like dem bridges?
Signs and Portents
Playing hardball is often good politics. Peter Fitzgerald certainly enjoys the game and seems to truly believe that in every argument he is on the side of angels. Add that to strong grassroots support by social conservatives and he is the sort of person Shrub needs to cultivate. Conservatives hated Bush the Elder precisely because he didn’t give his due to true believers. However, that sort of cultivation has to eventually be squared with Congressional Politics. Bush needs Denny Hastert more than he needs Peter Fitzgerald and Denny Hastert is no friend of Peter Fitzgerald.
A particularly telling story of the regard they hold Hastert in is the revealed in The Hill from last month. Hastert became very upset over the denial of a loan to United and the implication is this was the final straw for O’Neil.
How does this relate to Fitzgerald? O’Hare is the economic engine of Chicago and as such the state. Expanding O’Hare is one of the most important public works projects the state faces in the next several years. Peter Fitzgerald opposes O’Hare expansion because some of his base is from directly around the airport and they, understandably, want to see their communities remain intact. On the other hand, Hastert’s base is a bit farther out and northwest of O’Hare and their primary concern is getting into O’Hare without fighting traffic. To address those concerns a new western entrance is planned. With that entrance, Hastert sees O’Hare expansion as a no-brainer.
The Governor and nearly every significant state official including the incoming ones have signed off on expansion so expansion would be on the way, except one person is holding it up. Peter Fitzgerald is promising to filibuster any attempt to expand O’Hare. This doesn’t make Hastert happy because it doesn’t make the corporate chieftans in the City of Chicago happy and the provide a whole bunch of money to the Republican Party.
Something has to give. Either O’Hare expansion goes forward and Fitzgerald is rolled, or O’Hare expansion is delayed and Hastert goes into a further pique. If that happens, the White House could easily be facing a fight between Hastert and Fitzgerald in the Senate Republican primary. Andrew McKenna has been making noises about running and a close ally of Hastert, Ray Lahood, has already suggested a primary opponent might be necessary. Anyone who thinks that the exceedingly level-headed LaHood dropped that bomb without tacit approval from this friend.
Which way does the White House do better? Neither really. The supporters in Illinois of Fitzgerald are true believers. Taking on their favored son isn’t likely to do the White House well. Getting Hastert mad and having a divisive primary battle that highlights the split between the social and fiscal conservatives doesn’t do the White House a lot of good either. In fact, if the fiscal conservatives are successful, the social conservatives could simply sit out the next election which is exactly what Rove is trying to avoid.