Better than Dellimore w/ Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: Berkowitz w/ President Todd Stroger, Cable and Streaming Now; Taxes, Media Bias, Olympics& Healthcare

Jeff Berkowitz: I thought you were saying [now] you would favor a repeal of a quarter of that penny increase [in taxes], right?

President Todd Stroger: You know, I said that at first, but now I see that we’re having more costs. [Watch the show with President Todd Stroger]
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Jeff Berkowitz: So, is [Warner Saunders] part of the media bias, would you say?

President Todd Stroger: No, he is actually someone who I know and who knows me, so that works much better because he is not going to say anything negative about me—unless it’s true.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, the political editors, Mike Flannery, CBS-2 News. Would you say he is fair, or is there bias there, as well?
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Jeff Berkowitz:... Mayor Daley wants to [relocate] the African-Americans there [they say], acquire a lot of this valuable lake front property and move those folks somewhere else. People are also saying the Mayor is going with Ald. Toni Preckwinkle for Cook County Board President. I don’t know that that’s the case- that’s just the rumor. Is the Mayor turning on you and might you turn back on him and say you’re not supporting the Olympics?

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger: Ah.

Jeff Berkowitz: For the reasons I mentioned?

Is the Mayor turning on President Stroger

President Todd Stroger: No, I think the Olympics is a good idea and it’s got nothing to do with the Mayor.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, is the Mayor turning on you?
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This week’s suburban edition of Public Affairs features Cook County Board President Todd Stroger (D-Chicago). Topics discussed with Jeff Berkowitz, show host and Executive Legal Recruiter, include allegations by Pres. Stroger of media bias against President Stroger and other politicians who are from the South Side of Chicago and who often are African-American, 2016 Chicago Olympics, Cook County's 1% increase in the sales tax and repeal of same; healthcare provided by the Cook County Health Bureau, allegations of scandal, corruption and inefficiency in various operations of Cook County Government, the politics of the Cook County Board President Democratic Primary and many other Cook County governmental and political issues.
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Media Bias against President Todd Stroger?

President Todd Stroger: …the media doesn’t come from our area. So, you’re not going to find the anchors living in that area [south side of Chicago]. You’re definitely not going to find the producers who make a lot of the decisions living in that area. You’re not going to find the publishers—

Jeff Berkowitz: Anchors like Warner Saunders? Where did he live?

President Todd Stroger: I believe he lives downtown.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, is [Warner Saunders] part of the media bias, would you say?

President Todd Stroger: No, he is actually someone who I know and who knows me, so that works much better because he is not going to say anything negative about me—unless it’s true.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, the political editors, Mike Flannery, CBS-2 News. Would you say he is fair, or is there bias there, as well?
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The Olympics, Urban Renewal and the African-American community

Jeff Berkowitz: …Martin Anderson, an economist, wrote… the “The Federal Bulldozer,” about 50 years ago, talking about urban renewal—he said urban renewal was Negro removal—that’s what was happening at that time on the south side [of Chicago]. Some people say that’s what’s happening here [with Olympics 2016]. Mayor Daley wants to [relocate] the African-Americans there [they say], acquire a lot of this valuable lake front property and move those folks somewhere else. People are also saying the Mayor is going with Ald. Toni Preckwinkle for Cook County Board President. I don’t know that that’s the case- that’s just the rumor. Is the Mayor turning on you and might you turn back on him and say you’re not supporting the Olympics?

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger: Ah.

Jeff Berkowitz: For the reasons I mentioned?

Is the Mayor turning on President Stroger

President Todd Stroger: No, I think the Olympics is a good idea and it’s got nothing to do with the Mayor.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, is the Mayor turning on you?

President Todd Stroger: I don’t know.

Jeff Berkowitz: And, if he does, will you turn back on him?

President Todd Stroger: When we come to that bridge in the road, I’ll handle it but at this point the Mayor hasn’t spoken to me saying that he was for or against.
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The 500 million dollar Cook County sales tax increase

President Todd Stroger: …We, the County, have done the right things, because we come in at zero. Our last budget we came in over 3 million dollars. 3 million dollars is like zero out of three billion. So, no, we’ve done the right things.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, you defend that whole tax increase—

President Todd Stroger: You know, we’re not—

Jeff Berkowitz: I thought you were saying [now] you would favor a repeal of a quarter of that penny increase [in taxes], right?

President Todd Stroger: You know, I said that at first, but now I see that we’re having more costs.

Has John Daley turned on President Stroger?

Jeff Berkowitz: Twelve board members said to you they want to repeal the whole thing. Have you lost support—that’s twelve board members. Even John Daley is turning on you.

President Todd Stroger: That’s because they don’t have to run the whole county. I have to look at the whole picture…He [the Sheriff] is asking for $200,000 to help do the investigation at the Cemetery. They don’t have to worry about things like that…

Will race be an issue in the 2010 Cook County Board President Dem Primary?

Jeff Berkowitz: If Terry O’Brien [President, MWRDGC] and Cmsr. Larry Suffredin run in the Cook County Board race [for President], is there going to be a race issue? White and Black?

President Todd Stroger: I have no idea. All I can tell you is that I’ve done a good job as President. That’s what I’ll be running on.

Jeff Berkowitz: You’re not going to raise the race issue, at all?

President Todd Stroger: No, I don’t care if they run…

Jeff Berkowitz: But, you’ve raised the race issue before, right? In terms of the media and other people criticizing you?

President Todd Stroger: I know bias in the media but I don’t care about anybody else running. They can run all they want. That’s America.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, is race going to be an issue if Larry Suffredin is in?

President Todd Stroger: I have no idea.

Will African-American candidates for President split the vote?

Jeff Berkowitz: Or, if you’ve got three or four African-Americans splitting the African-American vote?

President Todd Stroger: I don’t know.

Jeff Berkowitz: Are you concerned about that?

President Todd Stroger: I’ve done everything I’ve said I’d do. The government’s in great shape…I’m not running on they didn’t like Donna [Dunnings] and they didn’t like that Tony Cole was hired and fired…I don’t care about that stuff. That’s little stuff. We’re talking about 24,000 employees and three billion dollars…
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The "Public Affairs," show with President Stroger can now be watched here.
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The "Public Affairs," show with President Stroger was taped on July 12, 2009
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Public Affairs Chicago Metro suburban airing schedule:

The show featuring Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is airing this week in the North and Northwest Chicago Metro suburbs in its regular slot:

Tuesday night (tonight) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette

and Tuesday night(tonight) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.

and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.
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Chicago and Aurora:

The "Public Affairs," show featuring Todd Stroger, Cook County Board President, will also air throughout the City of Chicago this coming Monday night i.e., July 20 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21(CANTV, aka Chicago Access Network TV) and on that same night on cable in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, ACTV-10, aka Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
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A sampling of shows and clips from those posted during the last seven months on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with Cook County Board President Todd Stroger (D-Chicago), a show with Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary, a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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The detrimental effects on employment of raising the minimum wage

As discussed here, Dan Rutherford, State Senator (R-Pontiac) and Illinois 2010 State Treasurer Republican Primary candidate, today gave a very real world example of how Illinois' high minimum wage tends to cause jobs to go to states with lower state minimum wages. In a very timely piece, the Wall St. Journal editorial page discussed, this morning, the negative employment effects of the federal minimum wage and how the strongest disemployment effects of the minimum wage [scheduled to increase again in 11 days] falls on the least skilled groups [teens and welfare moms].

Of course, the above Wall St. Journal piece simply summarizes the empirical evidence that corroborates basic, price theory, which should be, but is usually not, learned in Econ 101. That is, if you place a floor on wages that is above the market clearing wage, the quantity of employees demanded will decrease from the market clearing amount and the quantity of employees supplied will increase from the market clearing amount, giving us a surplus of labor, also known as unemployed labor.

Sen. Dan Rutherford knows this, Jimmy John's knows this and the Wall St. Editorial Board know this. But, does President Obama know this? Does Obama's Council of Economic Advisers know this? And, if so, can they still really be big time supporters of higher minimum wages? Possibly. Could that be because unions want minimum wages as a way of protecting their members from competition from non-union labor? And, if so, does President Obama (and others who work for him) go along with the unions' wishes for a higher minimum wage because they find the hundreds of million of dollars of union contributions irresistible? Or, can they really believe that basic economic theory doesn't work? As Cong. Roskam (R-Wheaton,IL; 6th Cong. Dist.) might say, that would be a tall drink.
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A sampling of shows and clips from those posted during the last seven months on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary, a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Better than Carol Marin w/ Lisa Madigan: Berkowitz w/Ald. Preckwinkle, Cable and Streaming

The "Public Affairs," show featuring Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, candidate for President of the Cook County Board in the 2010 Democratic Primary, airs throughout the City of Chicago tonight at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21(CANTV, aka Chicago Access Network TV). Ald. Preckwinkle debates and discusses "City of Chicago and Cook County public policy issues with Jeff Berkowitz, show host and Executive Legal Recruiter. For more about tonight's show, including partial transcripts and a list of topics, please go here.
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You can also watch the show with Ald. Preckwinkle here.

Senator Dan Rutherford, running for Illinois State Treasurer, argues the high Illinois minimum wage causes job loss in Illinois.

State Senator Dan Rutherford [R-Pontiac] is holding several media availabilities upstate and downstate today to discuss the official start of his campaign for State Treasurer in the 2010 Republican Primary. His press release states, “In addition to being a good steward of the resources in the Treasury, I intend to use the position as a bully pulpit for jobs in Illinois.”

Answering a question this morning from another journalist, on a telephone conference media availability as to how a State Treasurer would be involved with increasing the number of jobs in Illinois, Senator Rutherford elaborated on how he might use the bully pulpit of the State Treasurer’s office to criticize government policies that he believes cause job loss in Illinois.

The State Treasurer's bully pulpit to promote job growth and avoid job loss.

State Senator Dan Rutherford: [I will] be an advocate for [jobs]—highlighting areas that are problems that our government has brought on to help slow down job growth and I’m going to give you an example…a very prominent business owner [based in Champaign, IL] that operates nationally …in a very successful food business. At a time when Illinois looked to raise their minimum wage, he called me up and said Dan, do you realize that by Government mandating the increase in the minimum wage—that you know I pay my people minimum wage-- but that bumps the whole thing of supervisors- all the way up [and] we can’t raise our prices to keep up with these government mandates. This person told me [this] directly and I said, “May I use this story,” and he said, “Absolutely, you can.” He was ready to open thirty stores in the State of Illinois. He moved them to Indiana. He never did open them here in the State of Illinois. So, there is an example, right there, where a government mandate has affected job growth in the State of Illinois. And, as the State Treasurer, to be able to use the bully pulpit to say, hey, wait a minute, policy makers in Springfield or City of Chicago, County of Cook, wherever you may be…what you’re doing is going to hamper and harm job growth. It is going to be using the platform that one has as a State-wide Constitutional Officer… [Ed. note: Illinois is tied with three other states for the 4th highest state minimum wage in the country at $8:00 per hour; the federal minimum wage is $6.55 and is scheduled to increase to $7:25 later this month. Employers in a state are legally required to pay the higher of that state’s minimum wage or the federal minimum wage].
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Losing Jimmy John jobs to Indiana.

Jeff Berkowitz: Dan, did you give the name of the [business owner] you mentioned about the minimum wage and the name of the business he owns?

Senator Rutherford: No, I did not.

Jeff Berkowitz: It sounded like you said he authorized you to do that. I just wondered if you could give that information.

Senator Rutherford: Authorized to tell the story. I don’t think he would mind using the name but I would prefer not to.

Jeff Berkowitz: Okay.

Senator Rutherford: I just, no, you know what- I’m sure he won’t care. It’s Jimmy John's.

Jeff Berkowitz: Jimmy-John. Okay. And, what’s the owner’s name?

Senator Rutherford: Jimmy [John] Liautaud.

Jeff Berkowitz: Okay, thanks.

Senator Rutherford: …he told me I could. I just wanted to make sure I was thinking through our conversation so I didn’t breach any sense of confidence. It’s a true story. Jimmy called me up…and said, “You know, I pay my people minimum wage but this is a government mandate and I can’t just go raise the price of my sandwiches to keep up with that.” And, he had thirty stores that they were preparing to be put online in Illinois and he’s now in the process, if not having already, opened them in Indiana.

Jeff Berkowitz: How much does that hurt you when you raise that issue of the minimum wage with trying to get union support for your campaign?

Senator Rutherford: I’m not sure that unions are necessarily out trying to get minimum wage jobs. I think what unions are trying to do, for all the right reasons, [is] to make sure that employees are treated fairly and we have jobs out there to begin with. The whole issue between unions and labor and management and right now unemployment and tough times with social services and government spending—all of this gets down to jobs…you look at the unemployment rate, men and women, of the counties …where you are from—those unemployment rates are abundantly high. And, what I am not hearing from anyone in any of the levels of our Democratic controlled government is a true advocacy of what we’re talking about-- for jobs. And, somebody needs to blow the whistle on what’s going on. And, yes I try to do it as a State Senator…but I’ll tell you what, your microphone is a lot bigger and louder when you’re a statewide constitutional officer and I intend to do that as the chief financial officer of the State of Illinois.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary, a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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WTTW’s Chicago Week in Review: Liberal media bias or simply, wacky errors in its portrayal and analysis of the 2010 Republican field for Governor?

Revised at 1:10 pm on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 to correct an erroneous or "poorly worded statement," by the author of this blog, Berkowitz, about Dan Hynes' intentions for 2010. See discussion, below, of the WTTW graphic listing Hynes as a potential guv candidate.
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WTTW misplaces two declared Republican candidates for Governor but finds an undeclared Democratic candidate. Balance?

Joel Weisman, host of Chicago Week in Review, which has aired weekly on one of Chicago’s Public TV stations, WTTW, for the last thirty years, listed only four of the six Republican declared candidates for Governor, when the topic arose on last night’s show: State Senators Bill Brady, Kirk Dillard and Matt Murphy; and DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom. Omitted were two additional declared Republican Primary Guv candidates: businessman Adam Andrzewejski and communications/political campaign consultant and media personality Dan Proft.

In Weisman’s defense, he did characterize his list as including only “some of the people that are going to apparently seek the Governor…post.” The question is why he would work with an incomplete list of “declared Republican candidates.” Further, why did the graphic displayed on the screen include Democratic State Comptroller Dan Hynes sandwiched by the Republican candidates when Hynes has given no indication that he is running, let alone declare himself to be a candidate for Governor. [Ed. Note: as one of our gentle readers noted, this is incorrect. Or, as as many of the supporters of Judge Sotomayor said about her "Wise Latina," comment, it was "poorly worded." As most political junkies know, Hynes has not declared himself to be a candidate for anything in 2010, but prior to Lisa Madigan's announcement last week that she would seek re-election in 2010 as AG, most thought that Dan Hynes would run for AG in the Dem Primary if Lisa left that office open to run for either Guv or the U. S. Senate. Once Lisa announced she would not run for Guv or Senate, it was rumored and seemed logical that Hynes would consider running against Gov. Quinn in the Dem Primary for Guv. It is possible that Hynes would consider running instead in the U. S. Senate Dem primary-- he came in 2nd to Obama in 2004 with about 24% of the vote to Obama's 53%, or so. However, Guv seems to be a more likely race for Hynes. So far, Hynes does not seem to be saying much, publicly, about his 2010 plans. As Ronald Reagan used to say about his not so good record on taxes as California governor-- At least when I make a mistake, I admit it and change policy. Regrets to my gentle readers for any inconvenience caused by my error or "poorly worded statement." In short, Chicago Week in Review's listing of Dan Hynes as a possible candidate for Guv in the 2010 Dem Primary was quite appropriate.

Andrzewejski and Proft: What’s a candidate got to do to get noticed by WTTW?

Adam Andrzewejski, 39, claims to have a family net worth in the ten to twenty million dollar range [most of it earned, apparently, by Adam, in a successful ten year business career; and the asserted magnitude of his net worth is supported, at least to some extent, by his tax returns recently posted on his website- the only candidate, Democratic or Republican, to do so, so far] and he carries a bright torch for transparency in government; Dan Proft has about thirteen years of political campaign experience and is able to produce, at will, a fountain of sharp, original, conservative, thoughtful proposals and analyses quite relevant to Illinois public policy issues. Those are attributes that would seemingly make Adam and Dan worthy of mention on anybody’s list of Illinois’ gubernatorial candidates, but not Mr. Weisman’s. Why? Inquiring minds want to know.

WTTW’s Joel Weisman: Conservatives win Republican Primaries because moderates split the base vote.

Further, there was this peculiar exchange by Weisman and NBC-2 News political editor Mary Ann Ahern:

Joel Weisman: …sometimes in Republican primaries, if you have moderates and liberals and one conservative, the conservative often emerges—

Mary Ann Ahern: Right and maybe Bill Brady, that’s what he is hoping for, he’s tried this once before, this is his second time around on the state office, but he is not someone that is as well known in the Chicago area as he is downstate.
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Ahern: Bill Brady is the lone conservative candidate for Guv?

What did Weisman have in mind when he referred to Republican primaries with “one conservative.” In the 2010 Republican Primary, you have six declared candidates and all but one, Schillerstrom, appears to be conservative on cultural issues. What did Ahern mean when she said, “Right and maybe Bill Brady, that’s what he is hoping for…”

Ahern thinks Senator Bill Brady is hoping he will be the only conservative in the 2010 Primary? He or she can hope all they want, but as of the moment that is far from the case. I don’t think many are going to agree with Ahern that Dillard, Murphy, Andrzewejski and Proft are not conservative, especially with respect to cultural issues. Indeed, as of now, it would seem it is more likely that Schillerstrom is hoping he will be the only moderate and that the conservatives will split the conservative base vote.

The evidence from 2002, 2004 and 2006 supports Weisman? Not so much.

Further, maybe Weisman was referring to the 2006 Republican Primary for Governor. But, in that primary, Topinka and Gidwitz would have been the cultural moderates and Oberweis and Brady the cultural conservatives. So, that doesn’t fit Weisman’s description of a Republican primary with one conservative.

Maybe Weisman was referring to the 2004 Republican Primary for the U. S. Senate, but that race had one or two moderates (Borling and possibly Kathuria) and five cultural conservatives (Jack Ryan, Oberweis, Rauschenberger, McKenna and Wright). So, that can’t be what Weisman had in mind. Maybe Weisman was referring to the 2002 Republican Primary for Governor. But, in that primary, Pat O’Malley and Jim Ryan would have been the cultural conservatives and Corinne Wood the cultural moderate. So, what was Weisman thinking? If we hear from him, we’ll let you know.

Are Republicans alien beings for Chicago Week on Review?

This kind of weird exchange happens frequently on Chicago Week in Review. One or two of the panelists or the host says something wacky and the others give tacit agreement by saying nothing. Isn’t the idea of a panel to have sufficient diversity of perspective and thought to provide a check on the wacky or mistaken views of one or two panelists prevailing for the group? Further, these kinds of peculiar exchanges seem to happen much more when Republicans are the topic, as opposed to Democrats. It is as if Republicans are an unknown or unfamiliar commodity for most of the panelists or host of Chicago Week in Review.

Dan Proft Responds.

When asked by this journalist to comment on WTTW’s Weisman’s omission of his name from the list of Republican Primary Guv candidates, Dan Proft, as you might have anticipated, was no shrinking violet, responding:

This week the Chicago Tribune and WTTW’s Chicago Week in Review slighted both Adam [Andrzewejski] and me as gubernatorial candidates because the liberal Democrats that run the show in the Chicago media are little more than handmaidens for the established political order. Joel Weisman of WTTW, for example, is a pay-to-play hack who for a long time has represented as an agent many of the regularly-featured guests from the Chicago media he has on his Week in Review program. This obvious and undisclosed conflict of interest is typical of the dubious ethics of liberal Democrats in the Chicago media who are unbounded by their own hypocrisy when it comes to chiming in about the ethics of others. [Proft has engaged with Carol Marin at WTTW before about accusations regarding each other’s ethics, see here].

The liberal Democrats in the Chicago media are not interested in a political outsider intent on taking the fight to the Democrat and Republican protectors of the status quo. The liberal Democrats in the Chicago media see the main qualification for Governor as either having been responsible for the policies that destroyed Illinois’ economy or having done little to stop them. The liberal Democrats in the Chicago media are not interested in assessing ideas. To paraphrase Barry Goldwater, the liberal Democrats in the Chicago media are not interested in any candidate that seeks to offer Illinois voters a choice but only those who offer Illinois voters an echo. [Emphasis added].

Jon Zahm, Political Director for the Andrzewejski for Governor campaign, while more succinct, also was not shy in firing back at WTTW:

We have noticed that some media outlets have omitted serious, viable candidates from the horse race listings. That will end after the campaign finance reports are released later this month. Our campaign is successfully executing our grassroots plan and are right where we expected to be after four months.

WTTW mitigates its damages?

Perhaps WTTW could argue that the damage from its errors above was mitigated, albeit unintentionally, by the fact that the program did not air in its scheduled 7:00 pm slot-- due to technical problems. It did air, however, in its scheduled encore airing at 5:00 am this morning.

As of the time of this post, we were unable to reach Joel Weisman for his comments on this matter. Stay tuned for possible updates.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary, a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Eye on Local TV news coverage of politics/public policy: How important is a Gov. Quinn presser to 2, 5, 7, 11 and 12?

Electronic media coverage

In general, the local electronic media seem to do what they can to hype government budget deficit, tax and spend issues, especially on the state and local level, if they are going to cover government fiscal issues at all. Their efforts mostly seem to focus on putting together “human interest,” packages that highlight vulnerable individuals losing services, e.g. developmentally disabled adults, learning disabled kids, autistic children, etc. Indeed, his critics argued that the Governor was trying to use, cynically, human service agency cuts last week to exploit that age-old media directive: If it bleeds, it leads.

Print media coverage

The local print media, on the other hand, generally focus more on the intricacies and subtleties of the budget process. But, recently the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times have taken to omitting coverage of press conferences dealing with these issues from their print publication and putting such items on their blogs, or nowhere at all.


Absence of serious, one-on-one political interview TV shows in Chicago


Sometimes, to be fair, the electronic media cover the more significant public policy/political events, but the time allotted is getting pretty skimpy. Further, there are no local TV commercial or public TV shows in Chicago that do what “Public Affairs,” does and has done for more than the last decade, i.e., provide a half hour, weekly, one-on-one serious, probing, challenging interview with an elected city, county, state or national elected official or someone running for office.

Decline of WTTW’s public policy coverage

Chicago Tonight, with the late John Callaway at the helm, used to do that nightly on WTTW. But, that pretty much stopped when Callaway left the show more than a decade ago. The show expanded to an hour but adopted a magazine format which seldom has a serious public policy interview or panel discussion that exceeds fifteen minutes. Also, the “public policy,” segment often focuses on things like sports, e.g., this week’s Carol Marin led discussion of the sale of the Cubs, a topic one would think would be sufficiently covered by the commercial media.

Callaway’s Friday Night show on WTTW, although interesting and well done, wondered far a field from Callaway’s prior focus on public policy and politics, moving more often into such worlds as theater, film, sports, music, etc.

Radio political interviews

Craig Dellimore’s “At Issue,” Sunday show on WBBM-780 AM Radio is perhaps the only weekly radio, [mostly] one-on-one political/public policy interview show. There are other radio shows in Chicago dealing with politics and public policy, such as Tom Roeser’s excellent weekly Sunday Political Shoot-out show, but these shows are more in the nature of talk or discussion radio, as opposed to one-on-one political interview shows.

Apparently, the executives who make the local commercial TV-radio programming decisions about content have decided serious public policy-political interview shows just can’t be done in a way to generate sufficient ratings to be profitable. Of course, it is an open question as to whether creative attempts to do political interview shows in a serious, yet entertaining way, have even been tried by the TV local stations.

What explains WTTW’s abandonment, in large part, of that format I just don’t know. They don’t seem to have tried to do it right, once Callaway left in 1999.

Coverage of Gov. Quinn’s Tuesday press conference

This past Tuesday’s press conference by Gov. Quinn seemed pretty important. Essentially, the State is into a new fiscal year and it has no budget. It is doubtful whether the General Assembly and the Governor are doing anything to reform the broken Medicaid and pension systems in the state. Education is costly and doesn’t perform in Chicago and in a number of other geographic areas across the state.

Quinn announced significant lay-offs to save money and attempts to negotiate furloughs with the unions in an attempt to avoid even more substantial lay-offs. Most Republican legislators and many Democrat House members oppose Quinn’s proposed 50% increase in the income tax, arguing it is not necessary and will exacerbate Illinois’s lagging job and economic performance. Quinn and many Democrats argue his income tax increase is necessary to produce a fair and balanced budget. Each of these issues is integrally related to the on-going budget discussions and actions that were the subject of Governor Quinn’s press conference. [Read about here].

The local commercial TV stations 10:00 pm news shows covered this past Tuesday’s press conference as follows (WGN and CLTV were not included in the survey):

CBS 2 News: 34 second segment; starting 15 minutes into the news

NBC 5 News: 48 second segment; starting 15 minutes into the news

ABC 7 News: 57 second segment; starting 7 minutes into the news

The local Fox Affiliate, WFLD: one minute and two second segment; starting 6 minutes into the news.

Although CBS- 2 News’ political editor Mike Flannery and NBC-5 News’ political editor Mary Ann Ahern were at the presser and asked questions, only Fox WFLD gave its political editor, Jack Conaty, some face time on the newscast.

Yes, sadly, the local and national news shows were falling all over themselves that night to maximize the coverage of Michael Jackson’s death. But, one local TV news show also managed to spend more time on such scintillating and important topics as, “How to do a garage sale.”

Moreover, if done right, more extensive coverage of Quinn’s press conference would not only have been better public policy by the stations, but it would have been better for ratings. Somebody should have the courage to try it. This journalist would be happy to discuss with them how to do it.

A good night for WTTW, Ch. 11

Ending on a positive note, Tuesday night was a good one for one of Chicago's public TV stations, WTTW- Ch. 11[The other Chicago public TV station, WYCC, was not included in Tuesday night's survey]. Christian Farr discussed the presser, with clips of same, for five minutes with Phil Ponce. Elizabeth Brackett led an eighteen minute panel discussion of state budget issues and the Governor’s press conference with four state legislators: Rep. Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Senator Lauzen (R-Aurora), Rep. Durkin (R-Western Springs) and Sen. Lightford (D-Westchester). One can always quibble about content, but WTTW deserves credit for it's ample coverage of public policy and politics on Tuesday night. Now, if we can persuade WTTW to stretch the coverage to a full half hour and do it every night, we'll be happy campers.
*************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary, a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Gov. Quinn proposes a billion dollar cut in spending and initiates 2600 layoffs; Is there an alternative to Quinn's income tax increase?

Gov. Quinn initiates state employee layoffs and seeks to negotiate furloughs with unions

Gov. Quinn used a veto, today, of a four billion dollar appropriations bill that funded state operations as a vehicle to “recommend,” to the General Assembly one billion dollars in spending cuts. However, in addition to his “recommendations,” the Governor set in motion lay-offs of 2600 state employees, including 1000 corrections officers. [Read the Governor's plan]. Further, the Governor will also try to negotiate with unions one furlough day per month for all state employees. That is the equivalent of about a 4% pay cut, but it is better than a pay cut for the employee—from the employee’s perspective-- because the employee does get one additional day per month “off,” which would not be the case for an ordinary pay cut. The budget savings to the State for these layoffs and furloughs total to about $310 billion dollars.

Additional spending cuts in education, Medicaid, etc.

Also recommended to be cut were $140 million in Medicaid, $250 million in grants, $175 million in education, $100 million in reserves and $25 million from departments and agencies not under the Governor.

Closing the 2010 “budget gap.”

Governor Quinn estimates the 2010 budget to have a “deficit or budget gap,” of 9.2 billion dollars. He contemplates closing the gap by obtaining 1.8 billion dollars in additional federal matching funds and getting the General Assembly to:

· Approve issuing 2.2 billion dollars in pension obligation notes
· Pass the 1.0 billion dollars in spending cuts discussed above
· Pass a 50% increase in the individual and corporate income tax rates.[Generating 4.2 billion dollars in additional budget revenue].

Quinn discussed and debated the above discussed budget cuts and plans yesterday afternoon in a press conference held on the 15th Floor of the Thompson Center in Chicago, IL. In that press conference, which lasted about 45 minutes, Governor Quinn was questioned intensively as to why he didn’t do an amendatory veto in which he, himself, implemented the specific spending cuts he wanted.

Why not an amendatory veto?

Gov. Quinn repeatedly argued that the budget sent to him was too far out of whack for him to “fix” it with an amendatory veto. Further, he argued it is the responsibility of the General Assembly, not the Governor, to draft a budget. He referred to the structure of state government set out in the State Constitution, giving the media a little "civics," lesson, he said.

Quinn met separately last week and earlier this week with female legislators and suburban legislators, respectively, in an effort to listen to their suggestions and to sell them on his budget plans. He will meet later this week with City of Chicago and downstate legislators.

Resolving the budget gap next week?

The governor contemplates meeting with the Four Tops- the legislative leaders—this coming Monday, before they go to Springfield for a scheduled session day on Tuesday, July 14, 2009. The Governor thinks the Leaders and he have plenty of time before Monday night to resolve the various issues necessary to pass the budget, including the Governor’s proposed tax increase, and he tried to sell that idea to an incredulous group of media at the press conference yesterday.

Six billion dollars in State Budget savings left on the table, an alternative to the Quinn income tax increase?

This journalist asked the Governor why he didn’t try to negotiate with the unions a 10% across the board decrease in state employee salaries, which would save the state approximately $500 million dollars, much more than the layoffs and furloughs-- and keep the state employees working and off the unemployment rolls. This is analogous to what has gone on in much of the private sector. The Governor responded simply that Team Quinn had its plan and it was going to stick with it. If this journalist had some more opportunities to question the Governor, he would have asked about six billion dollars in additional savings that could be achieved from additional cuts in the 2010 budget. Perhaps next time. The six billion dollars in cuts would more than obviate the need for Quinn's income tax increase and also help avoid the need for layoffs and furloughs. Of course, no other media present asked questions of this type.

Waiting for info from Governor’s OMB

After the press conference, this journalist asked the Communications Director for the Governor’s OMB what the GRF budget is for Fiscal 2010 and what it was for Fiscal 2009. He was told they would get back to him on that. This journalist is still waiting for a response, as of the time of this post. If the GRF for fiscal 2009 was about 30 billion dollars, the Governor’s billion dollars in proposed cuts amount to about a 3%cut in the GRF. It will be interesting to see if the Governor’s cuts for 2010 are measured by him as cuts from 2009 or are cuts from his proposed budgets of April or May for 2010. Inquiring minds want to know.
*************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary, a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Better than Dane Placko w/Cmsr. Suffredin: Berkowitz w/Chicago Ald. Preckwinkle, Cable and Now Streaming

UPDATE: You can now watch the show with Ald. Preckwinkle streaming.

Links added at 2:30 am on Wednesday.
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Jeff Berkowitz: Torture of criminal defendants in the City of Chicago by the Chicago police, did Mayor Daley know about that when he was State’s attorney?

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: I have no idea what he knew, you should talk to him. But, I find it—

Jeff Berkowitz: …What’s your opinion. Because, you said you ran for Alderman at that time. You were certainly involved in Chicago politics and public policy. What’s your opinion? Did he know? Did [Mayor Richard M. Daley] know torture was going on?
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This week’s suburban edition of Public Affairs features Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (D-4th Ward), who is a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Democratic Primary. Topics discussed with Jeff Berkowitz, show host and Executive Legal Recruiter,include parking meters, 2016 Chicago Olympics, Cook County's 1% increase in the sales tax and repeal of same; torture of individual criminal defendants by the Chicago police during the 1970s and 1980s; healthcare provided by the Cook County Health Bureau
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Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle [D- 4th Ward] [Candidate for Cook County Board President in 2010 Dem Primary]: Now, if those kinds of substantive issues don’t matter to you and all you care about is how often [someone] votes against the Mayor, then we have a different definition of reform. In my view, it is substantive, as well as, you know, taking your whacks at Richie [Daley].
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Jeff Berkowitz: Torture of criminal defendants in the City of Chicago by the Chicago police, did Mayor Daley know about that when he was State’s attorney?

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: I have no idea what he knew, you should talk to him. But, I find it—

Jeff Berkowitz: …What’s your opinion. Because, you said you ran for Alderman at that time. You were certainly involved in Chicago politics and public policy. What’s your opinion? Did he know? Did he know torture was going on?

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: I think that it’s extremely unlikely that folks in the State’s Attorney’s office, the hierarchy in the police department, public defender’s [didn’t know]—I think it was pretty widely known all up and down the criminal justice system.

Jeff Berkowitz: Right, Police Supt. Brzeczek got a letter, you know that famous letter, and he forwarded it on to the Mayor. Has anybody in the City Council ever said, “We want a hearing on that issue.” We want to know what the Mayor knew, as State’s Attorney and we want to do something about it…

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: No, we’ve had several hearings around the Burge cases. And, they were all about particular cases as we looked at settlement deals that were put forward.

Jeff Berkowitz: The reason I am asking that is because you sort of say you are a reformer. Right?

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: Um-Um.

Jeff Berkowitz: And, you’ve been at this for 18 years, you’ve been in the City Council for 18 years. People might say if you are going to go to the Cook County Board and if you are going to clean things up and if you are going to be the reformer that you seem to be suggesting Todd Stroger’s not, where’s the evidence you’ve been doing it in the City Council because-- have you been taking on the Mayor? I mean—

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: Is that the only definition of reform-- in your mind?

Jeff Berkowitz: That’s not the only one but isn’t that a key one because if you not willing to take on the Mayor, are you going to be willing to take on the other forces, when you are Cook County Board President, that come at you, that resist reform.

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: Let me just talk about my record for a minute. I’ve worked very hard on affordable housing issues, including being the principal sponsor of an affordable housing ordinance that was introduced for the first time in 1998- in which we finally got some action on in 2007…we ended up with a much more narrow ordinance, but which was passed in 2007. I’ve worked on living wage ordinances in 1998 and 2002…and then I was the sponsor of the big box living wage ordinance that was finally voted on in the summer of 2006…

Jeff Berkowitz: So, that’s an example of some reform that you say you’ve accomplished, you’ve led, right?

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: Well, in the case of affordable housing, after nine years, we actually got some action out of the City Council…
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Jeff Berkowitz: Would you say the Democratic Party got seduced inappropriately by Governor Rod Blagojevich?

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: No... You know, there were a lot of things he stood for, Kidcare, for example; trying to get healthcare for all the young people and the kids in Illinois who aren’t covered by healthcare—

Jeff Berkowitz: So, the programs you supported of Rod Blagojevich, but not necessarily the procedures he used, his practices—

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle: No, and besides which…how could you ever expect that an elected official, let alone an ordinary citizen, would know the magnitude of his alleged misdeeds when the federal prosecutor worked on it for months to put their case together.
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The "Public Affairs," show with Ald. Preckwinkle can now be watched here
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The "Public Affairs," show with Ald. Preckwinkle was taped on June 28, 2009
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Public Affairs Chicago Metro suburban airing schedule:

The show featuring Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (D-4th Ward) is airing this week in the North and Northwest Chicago Metro suburbs in its regular slot:

Tuesday night (tonight) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette

and Tuesday night(tonight) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.

and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.
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Chicago and Aurora:

The "Public Affairs," show featuring Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, a candidate for Cook County Board President in the 2010 Dem. Primary, will also air throughout the City of Chicago this coming Monday night i.e., July 13 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21(CANTV, aka Chicago Access Network TV) and on that same night on cable in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, ACTV-10, aka Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
*************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, a show with State Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston) about Illinois' budget deficit and Hamos' likely run in the 2010 Attorney General Dem. Primary , a show with the most recently announced Republican Primary Guv candidate Dan Proft (will announce his decision by end of June) , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Better than Chris Wallace w/Rove and Adm. Mullen: Berkowitz w/Art Laffer and Steve Moore, Cable & Streaming

Art Laffer [Watch Laffer and Moore discuss President Obama's economic policies]: When I look at this world… and you see a little five year old girl in Appalachia or in inner city south side of Chicago who lives with drug addicted parents who are separated and are always on something, whatever it is, and she has no clothes, no money and her living conditions are awful… and then you look at someone else in Lake Forest, IL who has the same age little girl and it’s just a wonderful life and you ask yourself, “how is that fair, I mean what makes any sense about this? It doesn’t. It is totally unjust. It is totally unfair”… and if I were father of the world and in complete control...
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Jeff Berkowitz: If you could sit down with Barack Obama…you know…what he ran on, you understand the politics of the nation and of the Democratic and Republican parties, realistically, what would you say to him in two or three minutes to try to change his mind and change the course [of economic policy]?

Steve Moore [WSJ Editorial board writer and Fox News Channel contributing correspondent]: I think that Barack Obama should...
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The "Public Affairs," show featuring economist Art Laffer and Steve Moore, FNC contributiong correspondent and WSJ editorial board member, airs throughout the City of Chicago tonight i.e., July 6 at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21(CANTV, aka Chicago Access Network TV). Laffer and Moore debate and discuss their book, "The End of Prosperity, how higher taxes will doom the economy, if we let it happen," with interested readers of their book and with Jeff Berkowitz, show host and Executive Legal Recruiter, at a home in Wilmette, IL. For more about tonight's show, including partial transcripts and a list of topics, please go here.

The program with economist Art Laffer and Steve Moore, FNC contributiong correspondent and WSJ editorial board member, also airs tonight on cable in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, ACTV-10, aka Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.

You can also watch the show with economist Art Laffer and Steve Moore, FNC contributiong correspondent and WSJ editorial board member, on your computer.
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Art Laffer: When I look at this world… and I’m not joking now and you see a little five year old girl in Appalachia or in inner city south side of Chicago who lives with drug addicted parents who are separated and are always on something, whatever it is, and she has no clothes, no money and her living conditions are awful… and then you look at someone else in Lake Forest who has the same age little girl and it’s just a wonderful life and you ask yourself, “how is that fair, I mean what makes any sense about this? It doesn’t. It is totally unjust. It is totally unfair”… and if I were father of the world and in complete control and there were no supply side economics, if there were no incentive effects…what I would honestly do, anyone who makes above the average income, I would tax them 100% of their excess; and anyone below the average income, I would subsidize them to the average income, so that they would all come out even…but the truth of the matter is there are supply side effects, there are incentive effects and if you actually taxed everyone who made above the average income 100% of the excess they made above the average income and you subsidized everyone below the average income up to the average income, I will stipulate today counselor that all incomes would end up being the same- at zero. What I want all of you to understand is that’s economics…yes, there are people you need to lift up…but what I want you to understand is that there are costs of doing that…
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Jeff Berkowitz: If you could sit down with Barack Obama…you know…what he ran on, you understand the politics of the nation and of the Democratic and Republican parties, realistically, what would you say to him in two or three minutes to try to change his mind and change the course [of economic policy]?

Steve Moore [WSJ Editorial board writer and Fox News Channel contributing correspondent]: I think that Barack Obama should move toward the middle politically; he should understand that taxes do matter; it’s absolutely insane to talk about raising the capital gains, dividend and income tax rates now; I think we should not socialize our health care system; I think we should back off on this cap and trade, global warming business; I think it would be better if we were to simply tax consumption and then let people make their own decisions in their lives. And, I think what’s really going on in Washington, right now, is the biggest power grab by Washington, maybe in the history of our country. I’ve never seen anything like the policies we’ve put in place now. The massive spending, the nine trillion dollars of debt. Who is going to pay that debt off?
**********************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, a show with State Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston) about Illinois' budget deficit and Hamos' likely run in the 2010 Attorney General Dem. Primary , a show with the most recently announced Republican Primary Guv candidate Dan Proft (will announce his decision by end of June) , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Berkowitz, Marin and Zorn: A virtual conversation about politics and taxes

Chicago Tribune columnist and blogger Eric Zorn brings Carol Marin and Jeff Berkowitz together, so to speak, in an item Zorn posted yesterday.

First, Zorn provides the reader with a partial transcript of the exchange Marin had with Senate President Cullerton on Chicago Tonight (Wednesday night) dealing in large part with how can it be that Democratic control of the legislature and Governor’s mansion cannot produce, in light of the projected deficit, a major income tax increase? Blagojevich, who was erratic, to say the least, but who had consistently opposed an income tax increase, has now been impeached and removed by the legislature, so what gives, asks Marin and Zorn. [It was nice of Zorn to transcribe this].

Zorn on Carol Marin’s Questioning of Senate President Cullerton on the Dems’ failure to increase taxes:

What Cullerton is suggesting, though, is not a principled objection to raising taxes on the part of certain House Democrats ... a programmatic belief that there is a better way to a balanced budget that does not include raising income taxes. He's suggesting an opposition to a tax increase [by Speaker Mike Madigan’s House Democratic caucus] that's rooted purely in electoral politics: I want to get re-elected, I don't think I can persuade my constituents that a tax increase is the way to go so, even though I believe it is the way to go, I'm not going to vote for it until the Republicans give me political cover.

Whether or not you like the result, and Berkowitz plainly seems to, the idea that cowardice rather than principle is guiding this decision ought to dismay.

Berkowitz’s criticism of Carol Marin

Whether or not this journalist likes the result is not the point. Unlike Marin and Zorn, I am, in large part, not an opinion journalist. I have opinions, of course, but unlike Marin and Zorn, I don’t endorse candidates, parties or [in large part] issue positions, for that matter. I take positions to inform, illuminate, challenge, provoke, play devil's advocate, search for truth and entertain, as opposed to doing what Marin and Zorn do, which is to take positions to advance their notion of the common good.

My criticism of WTTW’s Carol Marin was not about her support of an income tax increase, but about the fact that she seemed unaware that many Democratic constituents do not support an income tax increase. Yes, Speaker Madigan might be motivated by other factors, e.g., a desire to hurt a potential competitor of his daughter [AG Lisa Madigan, who may run for Gov in the 2010 Dem primary], in his less than enthusiastic support for Gov. Quinn’s tax increase. But, neither Marin nor Zorn spends much time with the Lisa Madigan argument.

The split among State Democrats on the Quinn Tax Increase

Even Senate President Cullerton, who supports an income tax increase, acknowledges that a number of Democrat House members may oppose Gov. Quinn’s proposal to raise taxes, and that Speaker Mike’s lack of enthusiasm for Quinn’s tax increase may be based simply on that. Marin seems incredulous that that could be the case. Eric Zorn calls those House members cowards because he posits, based on Cullerton’s comments, that their opposition is based on self-preservation, as opposed to a belief that a tax increase might be, say, bad for the State economy.

Why didn’t Marin question Cullerton on alternatives to the income tax increase?

My criticism of Marin also stems from the fact that she spends little, if any, time questioning the supporters of tax increases about the alternatives put forward by those who oppose the income tax increase.

Yes, Chicago Tonight has had John Tillman [Illinois Policy Institute] on to discuss his opposition to a tax increase and Senator Matt Murphy [to do the same], as it has had Ralph Martire on, multiple times, to discuss his support for a tax increase. But the point is why didn’t Marin ask President Cullerton some questions from the right? For example, why didn’t Marin ask President Cullerton about John Tillman’s suggestion that an income tax increase be rejected and instead that:

-Quinn’s proposed spending increases for twenty government agencies of a billion dollars be kept at a flat level, saving the taxpayers a billion dollars

-Agencies scheduled for no change in spending be instead cut by 10%, which would save the taxpayers 640 million dollars

-Medicaid managed care be instituted at a projected annual savings of 725 million dollars [For those who argue that this takes time, the suggestion was first made last March by a senate committee and more than three months have gone by with no effort by the Dem majorities to move forward on this].

-State employee retirees asked for additional healthcare contributions of a billion dollars

-Current state employees asked for additional healthcare contributions of three hundred million dollars

-The state cut subsidies to local governments by 1.3 billion dollars

-Transfers from the General Revenue Fund to select state funds of six hundred million dollars be cut

-The State payroll be cut by 10% or 500 million dollars

-Purchase reforms be instituted, saving about 400 million dollars

--Six billion dollars in state budget savings

Altogether, the above actions would save the state in excess of six billion dollars, more than enough to offset the four billion dollars that a state income tax increase is expected to generate.

If Marin doesn’t feel like she has the background to ask the above questions, let this journalist co-host Chicago Tonight with her and I’ll ask them. I would have asked President Cullerton them myself but he has declined to appear on “Public Affairs,” since he became Senate President.

Zorn, on the other hand, deserves a lot of credit for sponsoring much dialogue on his site about the pros and cons of tax increases, some of it involving this journalist. And, I am pleased for the opportunity that he gave me, above, to join his conversation.
**********************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, a show with State Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston) about Illinois' budget deficit and Hamos' likely run in the 2010 Attorney General Dem. Primary , a show with the most recently announced Republican Primary Guv candidate Dan Proft (will announce his decision by end of June) , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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You’re not going to have Sarah Palin and her kids to kick around anymore, or are you?

The MSM consensus opinion is that Sarah Palin’s decision yesterday to resign her position of Governor of Alaska, effective July 26, 2009, is yet more “erratic behavior,” from John McCain’s erratic VEEP selection. Sure, it is the case that modern political history in the U. S. is that we draw our Presidents from the pool of Governors, not Senators, with JFK and Obama being the exceptions that prove the rule. So, why wouldn’t Palin at least complete her term of Governor, if not run for re-election in 2010, assuming she wants to give the Presidency a shot, and very possibly in 2012.

Well, part of the answer to that question may come from a look at the spread of Republican voters. Clearly Palin had and has quite a following among the cultural conservatives of her party. But, to expand her following to include more centrists in her party and independents, she has to grow, or as Palin might say, “progress,” her reputation as a national and foreign policy wonk. Clearly, she was sub par in those areas during the election last year.

Battling it out, day to day, for the next 18 months, in the trenches in Alaska state politics, might not allow for the Palin self-improvement plan. Palin is already committed to write a book. Ideally, she might also write a half dozen solid articles on national and foreign policy issues-- and start a think tank on foreign policy. Perhaps, Palin can earn some big money giving speeches and heading up the think tank, and she might be able to use both in her campaign

Thus, giving up the governorship may make a lot of sense, giving Palin the time she needs to ready herself for a Presidential run. Yes, it will allow her Republican and Democratic opponents to argue Palin is a quitter, who didn’t complete the reform she set out to achieve in Alaska. But, if she can get past that, Palin can argue she took reform to the next stage, the Presidential stage, and helped Alaska in the process. Thus, the resignation may not ensure the Republican nomination for President for Palin, but it keeps her in the ballgame. And, that is something she may have sensed was slipping away, until yesterday.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
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"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, a show with State Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston) about Illinois' budget deficit and Hamos' likely run in the 2010 Attorney General Dem. Primary , a show with the most recently announced Republican Primary Guv candidate Dan Proft (will announce his decision by end of June) , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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Can Gov. Pat Quinn [D-IL] get “buy in,” from Republicans for his income tax increase? Quinn,Althoff & Mulligan on Republican buy-in:In their own words

Speaking to this journalist one on one, Senator Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) said, “I have never ruled out the possibility of having to have… an income tax increase. However, I will tell you that...
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Jeff Berkowitz: …if you could see a real budget there-- line items, would you then possibly support an income tax increase?

State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines): If I was going to support one, it would have to be one that would sunset and it would have to solve some...
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Gov. Quinn's summer budget offensive

Governor Quinn returned from Springfield to his office in Chicago yesterday without an approved budget in hand. He met with twenty-eight female legislators (8 Republicans and 20 Democrats) in a conference room near his office on the 16th floor of the Thompson Center in the Loop. Apparently, this is part of the Governor's summer budget offensive. The meeting went on for about four hours and the media met with a few of the legislators who left early, followed by the Governor taking a few questions from the media. Many of the media had been camped out on the 16th Floor for four hours, waiting for the meeting to break up.
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Possible Republican supporters of the income tax increase

Jeff Berkowitz: Governor…two Republicans came out of that room, [Senator] Pam Althoff (Crystal Lake) and [Representative] Rosemary Mulligan (Des Plaines)… and they said, if the reforms occur that they would like to see, they are open to an increase in the state income tax- to supporting that. Did you hear that from any other Republicans in the room today?

Gov. Pat Quinn [D-IL]: I talk to a lot of Republicans. They are all my friends and I think we are going to get support on both sides of the aisle for enough revenue so we can have a balanced budget that’s fair and decent. That is my goal. It’s not a partisan issue. Not personal. Not political. It’s mathematical. We have to have a balanced budget and so I think we need to have a Governor who just stays on that course. From day one I have said that. I’ve said we need to have revenue in order to have a balanced budget and that’s in the best interests of the people of Illinois and I have good friends on both sides of the aisle. I think they’ll agree with me when it comes time to vote.

A July budget

The Governor indicated that Speaker Mike Madigan was opposed, last week, to going forward, for the month of July, with a two billion dollar “temporary,” budget. However, if the Speaker and the other leaders were now in favor of this, the Governor would go along with this for a month, as the Leaders and the Governor endeavored to reach agreement on reforms, as well as on a permanent budget, including additional revenue-- most likely in the form of an increase in the income tax.

But, the Governor made clear he would not agree to keep rolling this matter forward, on a month by month basis, into the winter. This agreement would be a way of avoiding the “Draconian budget cuts,” of human service providers—that we have been hearing about for the last few days.

A 9.2 billion dollar Illinois budget deficit

The Governor views the current fiscal status of Illinois as being characterized by a 9.2 billion dollar deficit. The comments of the Governor and the legislators leaving the meeting made clear that the Governor contemplates resolving that deficit by:

·obtaining about 2 billion dollars in federal stimulus funds
·issuing a pension bond note in the amount of about 2.2 billion dollars
·executing spending cuts of about 1 billion dollars
·obtaining agreement to raise the income tax by 50%, generating about 4 billion dollars in additional revenue [Some of the legislative leaders might prefer to obtain this revenue by a lottery lease or gaming expansion, and perhaps the Governor and the leaders will be able to reach agreement on this soon]

Further, the comments of the Governor and some of the legislators after the meeting indicate that they thought the information exchange as to the budget numbers was useful to all who were there.

Senator Althoff's possible support of a tax increase:

Speaking to this journalist one on one, Senator Althoff (R-Crystal Lake) said, “I have never ruled out the possibility of having to have… an income tax increase. However, I will tell you that there are many variables and components that I have to be assured of before I’d even consider that. One of them is the reforms. I look at the fact that we had seven billion new dollars [in revenue] over the past six years and we find ourselves in …nine billion dollar debt, that means we have spent sixteen billion dollars, so we need reforms, we need to assure that we provide transparency, accountability, sunshine on our budget so people know exactly where we are…unfortunately…today, most of my human service programs are truly hurting and I find that reprehensible.
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Rep. Mulligan's possible support of an income tax increase

Jeff Berkowitz: …if you could see a real budget there-- line items, would you then possibly support an income tax increase?

State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines): If I was going to support one, it would have to be one that would sunset and it would have to solve some of the problems….I think my leader [Tom Cross] is a moderate and I think he is open and I would not speak for our caucus because I think a lot of Republicans would definitely be against an income tax increase. I am for solving whatever it takes to solve the problem long term, not piecemeal, but I want to see a real budget. I am tired of the Mickey Mouse stuff that we have- that doesn’t show us what’s really there.
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Jeff Berkowitz: So, what should be done now?

Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines): I think we need to go back and revise the budget and call the people back that work on the budget, have a real budget and when we go back on [July] 14th present a real budget, not this piecemeal thing and then let people vote it up or down and including …how we’re going to pay for it, which would include [a] tax increase or other revenue.

Another reporter: the whole legislature is full of veterans, why does it allow itself to get to this point?

Rep. Mulligan: Because not everybody is as outspoken or carefree about getting re-elected as some of us are.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**********************************************************
"Hot," recent posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include a show with economist Art Laffer [inventor of the Laffer Curve] and FNC's Steve Moore about their book, "The end of Prosperity," and the Obama Administration's economic policies; the fastest five minutes on the web- a New York Times video about Obama-Berkowitz, a show with State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), a show with Professor Stephen Presser, a Northwestern University Law School Professor, about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court, a show with State Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston) about Illinois' budget deficit and Hamos' likely run in the 2010 Attorney General Dem. Primary , a show with the most recently announced Republican Primary Guv candidate Dan Proft (will announce his decision by end of June) , the second fastest five minutes on the web- a segment of Bill O'Reilly with Berkowitz discussing a clip of Obama from 2002 on Blagojevich and many more shows.
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