Animal Farm

In the drive to diminish President Barack Obama, Republicans and conservative pundits have taken to slapping his work with the label of "Chicago-style politics."
It must poll well.
The dig has become code word for dirty political tricks and dishonest campaigning. And it may well make sense to outsiders who instinctively view the Windy City as a den of Al Capones and on-the-take politicians.
House Republican Leader John Boehner had a new take on how politics is played in Chicago today. He said in a statement issued to the press that Chicago-style politics is "when you can't win an argument based on the facts" you instead "launch vicious political attacks."

If anyone has been thinking U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is bluffing about refusing to vote for health care reform without the public option, he sure has a good poker face.
Today on the Senate floor he reiterated his stand, which undoubtedly is riling many of his Democratic colleagues who believe they can't get the needed 60 votes with a public option.

The state Board of Higher Education just sent out an email that contains a memo from Gov. Pat Quinn informing people he'll sign the legislation that specifically authorizes him to spend money on spring semester Monetary Award Program grants to college students.

The relevent portion:

I will sign Senate Bill 1180 at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago on
Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 1:30pm. The signing is open to the public, and
I hope you will be able to join us.

Sincerely,

Pat Quinn,
Governor

A proposal that would require the Republican Party to let Republican voters directly elect its central committee members was rejected in the House, mostly because Republicans didn't vote for it.

Several Republican members called it a plot by Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan to try to meddle in the Republican Party. The plan was initially filed by state Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican, and among the supporters when it passed the Senate was Republican leader Christine Radogno, who's from Lemont.

Turns out the Illinois Senate will not take up the so-called "fumigation bill" that would force the governor to dump a bunch of holdovers from Gov. Ryan and Blagojevich still on Quinn's payroll.

Here's the statement sent out by the Illinois Senate president's office:

"After further review of the legislation and the possibility of
litigation, the Senate President has reconsidered the need for the
fumigation bill. To date, Governor Quinn has made 67 appointments that
are subject to Senate confirmation. The Senate President recognizes the
progress and pace of change made by the Governor. He does not intend to
call the bill for a vote."

When a Hinsdale lawmaker gets up in the middle of a debate on college aid grants and bemoans the state's similar shorting of agriculture research grants and the dire consequences for our agriculture economy, you can safely assume said suburban lawmaker is in fact running for statewide office.

UPDATE: Hurdle cleared
I talked to Rep. Graham on the House floor this morning and she said her motion to reconsider the vote has been withdrawn. She said she wasn't trying to protect Stroger or put the plan in "deep freeze." Her explanation is that a couple colleagues who voted against the plan asked her to file the motion so they would have the chance to vote "yes." Graham supported making it easier to override Stroger's veto.
The plan should now advance to the Senate for consideration.

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UPDATE: Talked to Noland today. He said the Olympic money question came from the audience and his response was that he'd look into it and if money did exist he'd see if it could be spent elsewhere.
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If you were among the select few at state Sen. Mike Noland’s townhall meeting Wednesday night, you might have come away with the impression the state suddenly has $250 million to spend now that the Olympics aren’t coming to Chicago in 2016.

"We're going to see what we can do to redirect that in a very positive matter throughout the state," Noland said.