Is Chicago's Mayor Daley planning suburban regime change?

There's a lot of news percolating in Chicago: Convictions, newspaper bankruptcies, potential indictments, and the 2016 Summer Olympics bid are among some of the big stories in America's third largest city.

But under the surface is Mayor Richard Daley's stalled O'Hare Modernization Program.

Residents of the suburbs in the path of the expansion of the busy hub airport for the most part oppose OMP, as do the public officials who run those towns.

As I blogged on Monday, many Illinois communities, but not Chicago, will hold municipal elections next week.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley appears to be quite aware of that fact, as CBS 2 Chicago explains:

Some suburban leaders say the former Daley campaign coordinators have injected themselves into suburban politics because they want to ensure the election of leaders friendly to the city's $15 billion plan to expand O'Hare International Airport.

Former Republican state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan of Des Plaines points to the involvement of former Daley political operatives Thomas Manion and Diana Paluch in the campaigns for Bensenville mayoral challenger Frank Soto and Des Plaines mayoral candidate Marty Moylan.

Moylan also is getting campaign help from Daley campaign ward coordinator Rich Pope.

UPDATE April 4: Moylan denies any Daley role in his campaign.

Related posts:

Daley sneak attack on O'Hare Modernization Project

O'Hare secrets to spill?

O'Hare Modernization Program is now the O'Hare Pork Program

Technorati tags: Politics democrats Richard Daley illinois chicago O'Hare travel Northwest Chicago Suburbs business economy news

Breaking: O'Reilly to clobber ACORN tonight

I've been tipped off that Bill O'Reilly is set to clobber the Association Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on the O'Reilly Factor over the multiple accusations of vote fraud against the left-wing group.

The show starts at 8:00pm Eastern and will rerun three hours later on the Fox News Channel.

Last night O'Reilly interviewed Republican attorney Heather Heidelbaugh, who testified to a House subcommittee about alleged ACORN illegal activities last month.

Here's the Factor segment:



During her O'Reilly appearance, Heidelbaugh accused the New York Times of killing a story about alleged ACORN and Obama campaign collusion. While a community organizer on Chicago's South Side in 1992, Obama worked for Project VOTE, an ACORN group.

UPDATE 7:25pm CDT: I just saw the segment...it's a "must see." O'Reilly and former Bill Clinton advisor Dick Morris talked about ACORN and it appears, according to an audio tape played, that the Times spiked an ACORN-Obama campaign coordination story. If it turns out to be true, O'Reilly commented, "Then the New York Times is out of the news business."

Related posts:

Rep. Conyers still wants to investigate ACORN

Report from the bloggers' teleconference about ACORN

ACORN to assist in 2010 Census

Mother of mercy, a RICO suit against ACORN?

CNN: Tough on Obama's ACORN ties

ACORN Lake County, Ind. vote fraud update: Each of the first 2,100 registrations are phony

Technorati tags: democrats elections Politics law ACORN vote Obama Barack Obama New York Times

Breaking: Blago could be indicted Thursday

The talk in Chicago is that disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich could be indicted Thursday. Or Friday.

The Democrat's indictment has been a fait accompli since his early morning December 9 arrest.

The real drama involves if the indictment will include his wife Patti and his brother Robert, who goes by Rob. Rod and Rob, cute.

Such an all-in-the-family affair could be an unprecedented event in the sad history of Illinois politics.

Technorati tags: Blagojevich Illinois Politics corruption Illinois Democrats crime breakingnews

Sen. Judd Gregg: "A budget to beggar us"

Sen Judd Gregg (R-NH) was for a brief moment Commerce Secretary designate in the Barack Obama administration. When he found out that the Obama were out-of-control spendthrifts--and that the White House wanted to take away the 2010 census from Commerce, he bailed.

Readers should pay close attention to what the man from the Granite State has to say. He calls it Obama fiscal plan a "Budget to beggar us."

But don't be fooled when the president says the economy he inherited is the reason that future deficits and debt skyrocket.

The president's budget makes clear that a huge expansion of government is not just about today's economic downturn. Once the recession is behind us, this budget will continue pushing for more and more government in our everyday lives.

Instead of tightening Uncle Sam's belt the way so many American families are cutting back these days, the president's proposal spends so aggressively that it essentially adds $1 trillion to the debt, on average, every year.

Except for some accounting gimmicks, the budget makes no attempt to cut wasteful spending or find savings. It ignores reform for major entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security, which are on track to cost us $67 trillion more than we have over the next 75 years.

As I noted in the previous post, House Republicans have a different plan for our nation.

Technorati tags: democrats Obama Barack Obama politics judd gregg

The House GOP budget plan

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in a teleconference with four House Republicans, including Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. He has a sharp mind and is someone you should keep your eye on. I believe the man from Janesville is going places.

During that teleconference, Ryan announced that the House Republican proposal for the 2010 federal budget would be released this morning. He outlines it in today's Wall Street Journal:

House Republicans will offer an alternative plan. This too is no ordinary budget. As the opposition party, we believe this moment must be met by offering the American people a different way forward -- one based on our belief that America is an exceptional nation, and we want to keep it that way. Our budget applies our country's enduring first principles to the problems of our day. Rather than attempting to equalize the results of peoples' lives and micromanaging their affairs, we seek to preserve our system of protecting our natural rights and equalizing opportunity for all. The plan works to accomplish four main goals: 1) fulfill the mission of health and retirement security; 2) control our nation's debts; 3) put the economy on a path of growth and leadership in the global economy; and 4) preserve the American legacy of leaving the next generation better off.

Regarding Obama's plan, Ryan writes, "If this agenda comes to pass, it will mark this period in history as the moment America turned European."

Related post:

Report from the GOP Whip Team bloggers' teleconference

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama economy paul ryan republican

Rep. Conyers still wants to investigate ACORN

Two weeks ago Rep. John Conyers, during a hearing about ACORN in a House subcommittee, suggested that the group, which has been accused of vote fraud in over a dozen states, should be investigated.

He hasn't changed his mind.

Opponents of the liberal activist group ACORN have found an unlikely champion in House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., who is clashing with his own party to pursue hearings on accusations that the group has committed crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket.

"I still want to do it and I probably will," Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat, told The Washington Times on Tuesday.

He dismissed the argument made by fellow Democrats that accusations of voter fraud and other crimes should be explored by prosecutors and decided in court, not by lawmakers in Congress.

"That's our jurisdiction, the Department of Justice," Mr. Conyers said. "That's what we handle - voter fraud. Unless that's been taken out of my jurisdiction and I didn't know it."

Related post:

Report from the bloggers' teleconference about ACORN

Technorati tags: democrats elections Politics law ACORN vote john conyers

SCHIP cigarette tax kicks in, Illinois considering add'l $1 a pack increase

According to CBS 2 Chicago, a pack of cigarettes in Chicago costs as much as $9.36.

That's because the federal SCHIP cigarette tax kicks in today. The funds from the levy will fund health care for children. But as I noted last month, revenue from smoking taxes often falls short of government forecasts--the higher cost will induce some smokers to quit. If that's the case with the SCHIP tax, the program of course will remain, it will be funded by other taxes. That could mean raising other taxes.

So if you don't smoke, this still effects you.

Here in Illinois, a state senator has proposed adding over the course of two years an additional $1 tax on a pack of cigarettes.

If passed, that tax will of course convince some smokers to give up their habit--see above scenario--but more enterprising Illinoisans will drive out of state to buy cigarettes. Not only will that probably lead to revenue shortfalls, but it will hurt small businesses, particularly convenience stores and gas stations.

As we all know, there is a recession going on. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.

Related post:

Marathon Pundit attacks higher cigarette taxes

Technorati tags: Illinois Politics Illinois politics cigarettes smoking taxes business economy news government