G-Rod

I Didn’t Even Watch The Apprentice and This Is Funny

ArchPundit May 4, 2004 3 Comments

Phil Kadner compares G-Rod to Omarosa and make a fairly convincing argument.

But the main problem I have with the governor is I often can’t tell if he’s lying, telling the truth or just playing some sort of game with the citizens of this state.

When asked to explain himself, he often sounds like Omarosa.

In his State of the State speech a few months ago, the governor said that only 46 cents of every education dollar made it into the classroom. The other 54 cents, he implied, were spent on administration.

That wasn’t true. And he knew it wasn’t true.

And his staff claimed that the governor never intended anyone to come away with the impression that 54 cents of every school dollar is actually wasted.

Did the governor plan to clarify his remarks, since many people had come away from his speech believing what he had told them?

“No,” I was told. The governor was delighted that people were getting behind his education reform plan.

Unfortunately, the governor has no education reform plan.

Yeah. The strange thing is the Lt. Governor does. For the first time ever the Lt. Governor is at least bringing up some needed issues while the Governor moves from pointless proposal to pointless proposal.

I don’t even like Quinn either.

The strategy the Governor is employing it to run against the legislator and that is fine, but the problem comes in that he has alienated most of the press–and they are the funnel the message comes through. If all the press is convinced he is a cynical pain in the butt, that perception will eventually leak down.

Because I Can Take Credit!

ArchPundit April 29, 2004 0 Comment

Mark Brown tackles the Governor’s defunding of a well run program to encourage high quality students to become teachers.

One reason could be the fact that Golden Apple was brought into the state fold under former Gov. Jim Edgar. Blagojevich isn’t going to go further up the political ladder by touting great programs started by his predecessors.

Golden Apple takes students right out of high school and puts them in a summer internship program that gives them classroom teaching experience. The summer program is taught by the award-winning Golden Apple teachers.

If you’re familiar with the teachers honored by Golden Apple in your own community, you probably know that they seem to find the best teachers, the real difference-makers.

An effective evaluation of the program every year could probably be done for about $50,000 if it isn’t already included in the budget. Thus, the state could keep tabs on the program’s effectiveness without reinventing the wheel.

Next, I’ll Reinvent Addition and Subtraction

ArchPundit April 29, 2004 0 Comment

What a weiner. I really have had it with Blagojevich’s using the budgetary process to try and win the next election instead of seriously sitting down with some of the adults in Springfield and making a budget. The Trib calls him on his math today, and does an excellent job criticizing his educational priorities.

The end actually contains the most important nugget:

If Blagojevich wants to increase education funding at a time of serious budget deficits, he should focus that expenditure on the two areas that will have the greatest impact: expanding preschool access to at-risk children and raising the foundation level of per pupil spending to help even out the gross funding disparities between rich and poor districts. A $250 per pupil increase, from $4,810 to $5,060, is probably too ambitious; it should be scaled back to ensure that some of the smaller, proven ideas such as preschool expansion and Project Success are fully funded.

Look, Illlinois is already ahead of Missouri on these issues (and I sit in with funders for Early Child Care Education somewhat regularly), but the key to success is stimulating brain function at the earliest ages. That is where the focus should be and increasing the foundation floor–rural districts are in a world of hurt and have little in the way to increase property taxes on. Blagojevich can run around downstate promoting coal and other idiotic ideas all he wants, but rural communities need good schools more than any other development incentive. He has some movement towards that, but instead of trying to be everything to everyone, he needs to focus the efforts–or he will end up doing exactly what the current State Board of Education does–play favorites on political connections.

First, I’ll Act Quickly and Secretly, Next I’ll Avoid Controversy

ArchPundit April 29, 2004 10 Comments

He’s not at the top of my list this week and his avoidance of dealing with the Chief isn’t helping. The Chief is a horrible stereotype of a proud tribe. It has to go. Whether Emil Jones shot across the bow is the most effective means to do so is open to question, but at least he took a strong position on it.

For those not seeing the problem with the Chief, imagine a team called the Nigerians that had someone dress up in traditional dress of Zulus and then did a caricature of those customs for a bunch of screaming college students. Just as minstrel shows are a thing of the past, so should the current incarnation of the Chief. Perhaps a new incarnation that is respectful of Illini customs would be appropriate, but the current version is a horrible slap in the face to American Indians.

Zorn sums up the problem quite well

To me, the Chief debate is simple: He’s got to go because in our culture, public institutions in particular don’t preserve or maintain symbols or language that a significant portion of the population–particularly those most directly affected — feels is profoundly offensive.

Have I Pissed Off Enough People Lately? NO

ArchPundit April 29, 2004 1 Comment

G-Rod appears to be connected to the change in health care providers for state workers that is only now starting to filter through the news. Cross’ people are all over it. I don’t believe my family members are affected, but knowing how they value their benefits, this isn’t the way to make friends. The sudden decision without consultation only makes people angrier. The real measure will be if Da Speaker acts on it. Given this involves state employees, I wouldn’t be surprised.

I just don’t get it. Democrats get the first Governor since I before I can remember Jim Thompson at McLean County Republican Picnics and they guy does everything he can to annoy just about everyone.

G-Rod Picks the Wrong Fight

ArchPundit April 15, 2004 3 Comments

Dan Hynes and Da Speaker pick the right one.

“What I find interesting is that many of the voices who are raising questions about some of the borrowing that has been done in this administration were a party to the biggest borrowing binge that ever occurred in Illinois state history, called Illinois FIRST,” Blagojevich said, referring to the state’s road-building and infrastructure repair program.

While one can criticize Madigan for this, Hynes was almost the sole voice expressing concern over the extent of the borrowing.

And if Blagojevich thinks the Speaker is going to back down because Little Rod decided he might just have the guts to argue with him, hahahahahahha

In Carbondale, Madigan said Tuesday he had “great concerns about the level of borrowing, and I think everybody should have concerns about the level of borrowing.”

He cautioned this spring’s budget solution will be “difficult, very difficult,” but he said he has not taken a “position against the governor.”

Madigan also noted the governor’s bond proposal for transportation would be paid off with future road-fund revenues, money used for such things as regular maintenance and construction. Under Illinois FIRST, Ryan and lawmakers specifically approved higher liquor taxes and license plate fees to help pay for the bonds.

But the best is this quote

“A year ago, I was very diligent in being cooperative with Blagojevich,” Madigan said. “I thought that [he is in his] first year in office, first Democrat since the ’70s, we’re all Democrats. … Well, now we’re in the second year, and we’re going to do some things a little differently.”

Lawyers, Guns and Money

ArchPundit April 1, 2004 3 Comments

After the Trib suggested he trade the bills, it appears that is what Blagojevich is going to do. 18 year olds can get a FOID card without parental permission, but a state ban on assault weapons is put in place.

Dumb, dumb dumb. First, the assault weapons ban is pretty damn near useless. The differences between weapons allowed and banned are miniscule. Worse, at a state level, it won’t do any good because someone can go to Indiana and buy the same gun. Or Missouri or …….

Second, there is a bigger problem–that of non-dealer sales at gun shows. Already, Illinois has pretty restrictive laws regarding gun shows–compared to virtually no laws in Missouri. But one thing that can happen legally is an unlicensed dealer can sell without a background check. This should be closed. To buy a gun in Illinois you essentially need to meet the minimal federal rules, have an FOID, and have a background check. It’s been a while, but that background check used to cost $3 and be done through a 900 phone call to a state police line. None of these requirements hinder legitimate gun owners who want to hunt or defend themselves. There is no excuse not to require every gun transaction to go through a background check–private sale or not. It is cheap and easy to do and does nothing to threaten responsible gun owners.

Other possibilities mentioned in the Trib article are really not that helpful unless they are national policy. The reality is that putting limits on gun sales other than checking the eligibility of buyers doesn’t work well given other states don’t have similar restrictions. This just results in gunrunning of the type mentioned in this article.

A law on private sales could go along way to making the obtaining of illegal firearms difficult. Beyond that, making cross state transactions difficult is a national issue that Illinois cannot effectively deal with alone. If the Governor wants to trade, trade for mandatory background checks and put pressure on the Congressional Delegation for other laws. Responsible Illinois gun owners are simply held to reasonable laws and allowed to continue on their own.

Let the Schillerstering Continue

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 0 Comment

I may be on the way to finding Blagojevich more humorous than annoying with his permanent campaign. The campaign against the State Board of Education in general and Robert Schiller in particular really creates two sides of which neither is terribly sympathetic.

I’ve got to say that proposing $2.2 Billion in school construction money around the state over the next four years is brilliant reelection strategy as well as a great pork inducement to getting what he wants by shutting down the State BoE.

I have rather mixed feelings about the State Board of Education. On the one hand they could provide a helpful infrastructure to deal with school districts that need serious help. On the other hand, there are ways to do so without the degree of the bureaucratic structure that exists under the State BoE. Particularly the rural schools could use assistance in finances and teacher training and recruitment, but the State BoE and the regional superintendents aren’t well organized for either of those tasks other than emergency help.

That said, the State BoE and regional superintendents are designed the way they are because that is what the Lege wanted. G-Rod holding up the regulation book is just as cheap as when Reagan did it. It isn’t the bureaucrats fault that they have to make lots of regulations, it is the lawmakers fault.

Instead of seeking to create a more support oriented agency combined with accountability measures for local districts, Blagojevich decided to go to war. And he’ll probably win with $2.2 billion to pass around the state. And he’ll be able to have a press conference in front of every damn one of the schools built with the money during the next campaign while Pat O’Malley rants about home schoolers.

The question of what should be done is a bit harder. An independent agency works quite well in Missouri–other than dealing with failing districts. Neither party wants to take over failing districts and so they languish. In Illinois the same problem exists as District 189 in East Saint Louis continues to languish with a Board that has no capacity to run the District fighting with the financial oversight panel which does, but doesn’t have the full authority. Would an agency with a political appointee do any better? Probably not–neither party really wants to deal with such districts because the problems appear to be intractable.

Leaving the question still open…which is better? I don’t know. It may not matter if G-Rod wins.

Prison Blackmail

ArchPundit March 8, 2004 0 Comment

Rich Miller’s column this weekend hit on a bit of melodrama playing out between Blagojevich and Frank Watson.

The merits of the case to close the prison are beyond me. I have little opinion in that case, but the politics are pretty clear and they aren’t very pretty for Blagojevich. The prison is a major employer in Watson’s district–a district that is having a hard time making it.

Going after Watson might make political sense, but it doesn’t make sense in terms of being fair to a hard hit area. Watson can’t stop the Governor in most cases–let him and the Republicans sit out the budget again and again and again and instead pick off a couple choice defectors. But leave the prison guards out of it.