Better than the Superbowl: Berkowitz and Martire debate school choice- Cable and Streaming

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, if you are going to ask the questions, do I get to give any answers?

Ralph Martire: No, these are rhetorical because frankly I get a better conversation that way.
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Jeff Berkowitz: I want to know if you give this choice to these [Chicago Public School] parents...how is it that they are worse off? Because, they can go back to that public school [if they want]. Or, they can try the charter school, Or, they can try the voucher school. So, giving the parents this choice, this control over purchasing power, how is it that the parents and their kids are worse off?

Ralph Martire: Well, No. 1, they don’t have a real choice because the private school is not going to take them—the charter school might because the charter school can get rid of their kid, which the public school can’t. You see, one of the things that you have glossed over is—one of the advantages charter schools have over the regular public school system is that they can get rid of the dead weight. They can get rid of kids that are misbehaving...
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This Week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," airing in the Chicago metro suburbs, features Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, discussing public school, charter school and school voucher/school choice performance, accountability and funding issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz.See, below, for the Public Affairs suburban airing schedule. You may also [Go Here to watch the show with Ralph Martire, as well as other shows with such notables as Obama, McCain, Giuliani, Barrett, Chico and many others on your computer; you can drag the dial on the bottom of the screen to watch only portions of the thirty minute shows; trouble accessing our cinema page on your computer? Try I-Tunes: the same Public Affairs shows are also available there].
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Ralph Martire will be the featured guest on the Monday, March 5, 2007 [8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 21] City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs."
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," to watch on your computer including this week's suburban show with Ralph Martire. The cinema page also has recent shows with Ald. Berny Stone, Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago], Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest], Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, Phantom of the City Council--Brendan Reilly, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Go Here to Watch the Shows on your computer; you can drag the dial on the bottom of the screen to watch only portions of the thirty minute shows].
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Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and the architect of Illinois State House Bill 750 [the Tax Swap], debates and discusses with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz the merits and deficiencies of school choice-school voucher programs, charter schools and traditional public schools; the merits and deficiencies of academic analyses of school choice-school voucher programs and analyses of private/public school performance; the benefits of allowing parents to choose between voucher schools, charter schools and traditional public schools; Illinois' ranking in terms of spending per pupil, state and local spending per capita, and state and local tax collections per capita; Berkowitz' offer of a backpack full of money to Martire, Martire's portrayal of capitalism and competition; how best to deal with educating kids in the inner city; the tax swap aspects and substantial net tax increases associated with HB 750, and much, much more. .
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Jeff Berkowitz: …if [a public school, a local monopoly] needs to expand its facilities, it goes to a referendum or it raise taxes without a referendum, depending on where it is—that’s a very different world than the world I was trying to get you to look at: one in which there is choice by parents for either a public school, a charter school, a voucher school. Give the parents the control. Give them the funds and let them decide where they want to put it. You’ve seen the example here, we take the $12,000 and put it in the backpack—

Ralph Martire [Executive Director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability]: I am telling you it won’t work. You want to talk about private sector models—Let’s talk about what the private sector motive is. So, if you are running a private school, you want to encourage people who can attend your school and pay your tuition because you want to make a profit. It’s a private school- nothing evil about that. That’s what the profit motive is about. That’s what capitalism is all about.

Jeff Berkowitz: Adam Smith, you know about him?

Ralph Martire: Yes, I do. So, now. You want to make money. You want to get money in your school. You want to get paid well. You want to get endowments. How are you going to do that? How are you going to differentiate yourself?

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, let me—

Ralph Martire: Well, you are going to show better test results.

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, if you are going to ask the questions, do I get to give any answers?

Ralph Martire: No, these are rhetorical because frankly I get a better conversation that way.

Jeff Berkowitz: Tell me when I get a chance to talk on my show.

Ralph Martire: I will. This is rhetorical. So, now, you are out there trying to make your money, being profit motivated, right? You solicited the best students you can from the wealthiest families. They are going to do the best on tests and then you are going to market that out there so you could raise your tuition prices, you can make a lot of money, you can control your costs, you are all good. If, now, you have to take any kid in the door, any kid. And, maybe take some public money- you’re not going to get endowments from their parents, whatever and those kids may or may not pass tests, your tests scores are—you can no longer differentiate yourself and I think the private schools would hate that--that’s not the private school model. Let the private schools do what they want to do-- make a public education available for every child in the state that’s a quality public education-- and fix the public education system.

Jeff Berkowitz: Now, can I give you an example.

Ralph Martire: Sure you can.

Jeff Berkowitz: And, maybe you can answer my questions. These aren’t going to be rhetorical questions.

Ralph Martire: I was hoping you were going to give me some money. You took some money out of your wallet- I’ll take that.

Jeff Berkowitz: $12,000 per kid per year. Actually, that’s a little high. Maybe it’s $11,500 that we spend per kid in the Chicago Public Schools [CPS] each year. We put the money in this backpack. We have 420,000 students [in the CPS]; we’ve got 420,000 backpacks. Each parent or two parents, whichever the child has, gets one of these backpacks. They get the $12,000 and they get to decide whether they want to send their kid to a public or private school-- charter school, voucher school, whatever. They strap this backpack on the kid. The parents decide. If the kid goes to the public school, back where he or she was, nothing changes [for that kid, except due to competition from the voucher/charter schools, the empirical evidence is that the public school improves over time] The $12,000, or so, we’re spending per kid per year stays in that public school. But, if they want to go to a charter school, if they want to go to a school voucher-school choice school, out goes the kid, out goes the backpack, out goes the cash. Now, I’m asking you—do you want to give people that level of choice, where they can make the decision and Ralph, I assure you this, personally: if many kids want to go to a voucher school that’s a really good school and that school is a little short [of capacity], I assure you that that school will either expand or open up another school elsewhere, maybe two blocks away from the voucher school that is much in demand. So, the problem you’re talking about [of kids being turned away from voucher schools] just isn’t going to happen. And, we’ve never tried this, Ralph. We’ve tried school voucher-[school choice] programs, but I don’t know of any that are fully funded [i.e., the pro rata share of what is currently being spent in the public schools of that jurisdiction is included in each school voucher]. There are some voucher programs that they are starting now in Utah where they might give the school voucher student half the level of public spending. So, if you give that [full] level of spending to those parents and they can choose, there’s going to be all sorts of competition that will evolve, all sorts of ways in which these kids [in the inner city], with very difficult problems, and I concede that—these are often kids who don’t have parents who read to them regularly [and most likely not] every night. They may have drug use in the home; they may have [issues of family] violence. So, I concede that. Public schools [in the inner cities] are dealing with very difficult problems. My point to you is that I don’t necessarily know the best way to deal with it [educating kids with these environmental problems]; I don’t think you know and I don’t think the people who are currently educating them know. And, that’s not a criticism. That says that under competition, we’ll find new ways, we’ll find better ways to deal with these intractable problems.

Ralph Martire: Except—

Jeff Berkowitz: Excuse me. Now, my one question for you.

Ralph Martire: Okay.

Jeff Berkowitz: I want to know if you give this choice to these [Chicago Public School] parents now- one out of every two with kids in a failing school, or more; one out of every two with kids not reading at grade level, how is it that they are worse off? Because, they can go back to that public school [if they want]. Or, they can try the charter school, Or, they can try the voucher school. So, giving the parents this choice, this control over purchasing power, how is it that the parents and their kids are worse off?

Ralph Martire: Well, No. 1, they don’t have a real choice because the private school is not going to take them—the charter school might because the charter school can get rid of their kid, which the public school can’t. You see, one of the things that you have glossed over is—one of the advantages charter schools have over the regular public school system is that they can get rid of the dead weight. They can get rid of kids that are misbehaving in class. They can get rid of kids that are discipline problems. They can get rid of kids that threaten teachers. Public schools can’t. That’s a real differentiator.

Jeff Berkowitz: They [public schools] actually can. They have alternative schools. So, its not quite true to say they can’t.

Ralph Martire: Well, it’s very hard to do that. You know that. I mean, so the bottom line is—

Jeff Berkowitz: They send them to "alternative schools." They even do that right in this [studio] area, from New Trier Township schools.

Ralph Martire: No. 2, the private schools aren’t going to take these kids. They don’t care if they come with $12,000-- because mommy and daddy aren’t going to write an endowment [check]. That’s just the truth.

Jeff Berkowitz: They [the voucher schools] don’t need an endowment. You missed the whole point [of how school vouchers work; the schools are competing for vouchers, not endowments].

Ralph Martire: No. 3, you completely, you completely understate the capital costs involved. If you really wanted to create this new monster public school system, it would have to have a whole new capital set of improvements. How many billions of dollars to build all the schools to build enough choice in--

Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t understand capitalism [For example, if half the kids left the Chicago Public Schools (“CPS”) for charter or voucher schools, those CPS buildings would be available for leasing to the new schools; those leasing costs are included in a fully funded $12,000 school voucher. This is how capitalism works. Competitors of failing firms often purchase or lease the failing firm’s assets, but put them to more efficient and productive use than the prior owner.]

Ralph Martire: So, the bottom line is we’ve got to go back right to the core

Jeff Berkowitz: Excuse me.

Ralph Martire: Right to the core and say the public education system has to be there to deliver quality education to every kid.

Jeff Berkowitz: I have to interrupt just to …thank our guest, Ralph Martire. Thank you so much for coming. Ralph Martire is Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. He’s been a good sport. He knew he was going to debate these issues and he came on the show. There are a lot of people who won’t do that—whether they are politicians, whether they are involved, as Ralph is, in a think tank, in a research organization, in an advocacy group…so we thank you…
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Ralph Martire, as is airing this week on Public Affairs in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See below for the suburban airing schedule] and as will be airing on Monday, March 5, 2007 [8:30 pm on Cable, CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. The show was recorded on February 25, 2007. You may also[watch the show with Ralph Martire here].
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In twenty-five North Shore, North and Northwest suburbs, the "Public Affairs," show airs every Tuesday night in the regular weekly Public Affairs slot, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35, as indicated, below.

In ten North Shore suburbs, the Public Affairs show airs three times each week in its regular slots at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as indicated, below. ******************************************************
The suburban episode of Public Affairs with guest Ralph Martire airs 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 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 this week on Monday night, Wednesday night and Friday night 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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The City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," with guest Ralph Martire airs this coming Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City of Chicago.
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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
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As goes Ald. Stone, so goes the City? Cable and Streaming

Jeff Berkowitz: Do you think so? Who is being anti-Semitic?

Ald. Berny Stone: I don’t know who is making—all I know is the SEIU takes…credit for those commercials. They say “paid for by the SEIU.”

Jeff Berkowitz: So, you’re saying the SEIU, in those commercials, is doing implicit anti-Semitism? Is that your charge?
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Tonight's City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," airing at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV], features Ald. Berny Stone [50th Ward, Chicago] discussing whether it's okay for a 79 year old to be re-elected Alderman, the constitutionality of Chicago's short-lived $13/hour Living Wage ordinance, alleged anti-Semitism in SEIU sponsored ads in his race , City of Chicago public corruption and many more public policy issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. You may also [Watch the show with Ald. Stone as well as a prior show with phantom guest, Alderman wannabee Brendan Reilly on your computer].
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," including this week's suburban show with Ralph Martire, Exec. Director of the CTBA and tonight's show in the City with 50th Ward Alderman Berny Stone. The cinema page also has recent shows with Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago], Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest], Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, Phantom of the City Council--Brendan Reilly, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Watch here].
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For more about tonight's show's topics and another partial transcript of tonight's show, go here.
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Ald. Berny Stone [50th Ward, Chicago]: …then they are also saying that I changed the zoning law so one of my “personal friends,” and that’s an interesting word I have to come back to, could build an addition to his house. Yes, I changed the zoning law so people could build additions to their houses—because I have a lot of large families that need to build additions to their houses, so that they won’t move out of the City.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, was it for a “personal friend.”

Berny Stone: No, you know what the personal friends are? There is a lot of orthodox Jewish families that need additions to their houses. So, the word “personal friend,” is a code word for orthodox Jewish families because that’s been part of this dirty race which has been in part anti-Semitic.

Jeff Berkowitz: Do you think so? Who is being anti-Semitic?

Ald. Berny Stone: I don’t know who is making—all I know is the SEIU takes…credit for those commercials. They say “paid for by the SEIU.”

Jeff Berkowitz: So, you’re saying the SEIU, in those commercials, is doing implicit anti-Semitism? Is that your charge?

Berny Stone: That’s who the “personal friend,” they are referring to is.

Jeff Berkowitz: Yes, but maybe they are just saying personal friend and they don’t necessarily mean that the person referred to is Jewish. Do you think?

Berny Stone: What other personal friends are they referring to?

Jeff Berkowitz: I don’t know, but—

Berny Stone: Why don’t they lay it on the table?

Jeff Berkowitz: …They are not saying you are helping somebody who is Jewish, they are saying you are helping somebody who is a personal friend.

Ald. Berny Stone: The changes in the law were made—

Jeff Berkowitz: Is that it?

Berny Stone: The changes in the law were made to help orthodox Jewish people be able to—and incidentally, and Irish Catholics who need larger homes…we changed the law so that large families could have more square footage in order to build additions. That’s the changes in the law.

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, look, you’ve raised the issue of religion. Is that an issue in this race, whether one of your opponents is Catholic, whether they are Pakistani—Is that an issue?

Ald. Berny Stone: The only issues in this race have been my age. At least that’s the only issue that my opponents have raised.

Jeff Berkowitz: Are you going to make the youth and inexperience of your opponents an issue?

Berny Stone: Hell no! … The only issues I’ve raised is what I’ve done to date and what I intend to do and what I’m doing, right now.

Jeff Berkowitz: You’re seventy-nine. Is that the issue? They are saying it is time for you to go?

Ald. Berny Stone: They’re saying I’m too old. It’s time for new blood.

Jeff Berkowitz: Thirty-four years [as alderman]. You think they may have a point?

Berny Stone: No.

Jeff Berkowitz: You think you should be there thirty-eight years?

Ald. Berny Stone: It depends on what is up here [points to his brain]. Not what’s on my wheels.

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, you have to get around to the ward, don’t you?

Berny Stone: Yeah.

Jeff Berkowitz: Do you have any disabilities that prevent you from getting around?

Ald. Berny Stone: Do you have an automobile?

Jeff Berkowitz: I do.

Berny Stone: Does it get you around?

Jeff Berkowitz: Is that what you use?

Berny Stone: Yeah.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, you are saying you can get around. You can see your constituents. You think you are responsive? They are raising that issue, too, saying you are not holding enough forums, you are not getting input, you’re not being responsive.

Ald. Berny Stone: I’m in my office two nights every week. People are in my waiting room both nights. Very few aldermen, incidentally, are in their office two nights a week…

Jeff Berkowitz: Do people call you at home?

Berny Stone: They sure do.

Jeff Berkowitz: They’ve got your number?

Berny Stone: They got my number.

Jeff Berkowitz: Is it in the book?

Ald. Berny Stone [Chicago, 50th Ward]: It’s listed in the book and has been for the thirty-four years I have been alderman.
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Ald. Berny Stone (50th Ward, Chicago}, as it is airing tonight at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. The show was recorded on February 11, 2007. You may also[watch the Ald. Stone program here].
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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
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Hillary and Obama, circling over the Vilsack carcass

Not exactly a shocker, but the short-lived Don Quixote campaign for President of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack came to an abrupt end today. Fox News reported, “While [Vilsack] believed he was well-positioned with his message and personal history, the one thing that prevented him from continuing was a lack of money.” And, watch ABC News report here.

There you go. A tale oft told in politics: insufficient money to make a go of it. What else is new? Moreover, money wasn’t Vilsack’s only shortcoming. Nobody thought Vilsack had a chance to be President, with his primary strengths being that he is somewhat intelligent and thoughtful and managed, with the help of a good political wife—Christie, who is close to the Clintons—to get elected Governor of a small state. Some could argue that the above Vilsack profile fit the '76 Carter profile, although Carter was somewhat lacking in the intelligence and thoughtful parts [To this day, nobody can really explain how it is that Carter became President of the United States, other than perhaps that it was due to the Country's fascination with peanuts].

Further, Tom Vilsack will never be mistaken as a motivational speaker: watching his speeches is about as interesting as “watching the paint dry.” Altogether, those aren’t exactly the attributes that would put Vilsack in the class of Hillary, Obama and Edwards, or even former VP Al [Lockbox] Gore and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, for that matter. I mean, would you put any chips on Vilsack? Of course not. Not even to strut his stuff in the VP scout camp. So, why would any other savvy donors pony up? Why, indeed.

However, it was thought that Vilsack could stick around long enough to keep him in the VP derby, perhaps at least until the June, 07 PBS/Tavis Smiley Democratic Presidential Candidate debate, with its subsequent candidate pruning. Somebody, like Vilsack’s wife or Hillary, must have decided Tom could do himself more good as a possible VP candidate by getting out of the Presidential race now. So, he did.

Look for an early endorsement by Vilsack of Hillary, but Team Obama will contest it, and Senator Obama already has issued a complimentary press release on the life and times of Tom Vilsack.

Remember that line of Senator Obama from “Public Affairs,” when he was campaigning for the U. S. Senate [as shown recently on Good Morning America], “I am rooted in the African-American Community, but I am not limited to it [and we are going to be competitive in every part of this state among every demographic because the message[s] that I have in terms of dealing with economic development and jobs in this state, dealing with health care issues, dealing with education issues are ones that cut across the board.]” Hillary may know the Vilsacks much better than Barack, but he will be there, knocking on the Vilsacks’ door.

Just substitute “Country,” for “this State,” in the above quote from Obama’s ’04 U. S. Senate campaign in Illinois-- and you now know what is putting the fear of God into Hillary. Yet another faith based initiative from Senator and Democratic Presidential primary candidate Barack Obama [D-IL]. **************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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Ald. Stone takes on the Phonies? Cable and Streaming

This Week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," airing in the Chicago metro suburbs, features Ald. Berny Stone [50th Ward, Chicago] discussing Chicago's short-lived $13/hour Living Wage ordinance, alleged anti-Semitism in his race and the 42nd Ward aldermanic race, City of Chicago public corruption and many more public policy issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz.See, below, for the Public Affairs suburban airing schedule. You may also [Watch the show with Ald. Stone as well as a prior show with phantom guest, Alderman wannabee Brendan Reilly on your computer].
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Ald. Stone will be the featured guest on the Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 [night before the City election] [8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 21] City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs."
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," including this week's suburban show with 50th Ward Alderman Berny Stone. The cinema page also has and recent shows with Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago], Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest], Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, Phantom of the City Council--Brendan Reilly, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Watch here].
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Berny Stone, who has been Chicago's 50th Ward Alderman [D-Chicago] since 1973, discusses and debates with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz the following topics: Did Ald. Stone call the SEIU leaders phony SOBs? Will Stone make the "youth and inexperience," of his opponents an issue? Will Stone engineer the appointment of his daughter to replace him on the City Council if he is re-elected on Feb. 27? What is the significance to the 50th Ward aldermanic election of the public corruption surrounding Mayor Daley; Is anti-Semitism an issue in the 50th Ward election? in the 42 Ward election? Was Robert Sorich a mere "clerk," or was he Mayor Daley's patronage chief? Are TIFs good for the City and the 50th Ward? Does Mayor Daley have too much clout? Is there too much unbridled development in the 50th Ward? Was Chicago's short-lived Big Box Living Wage ordinance unconstitutional? Has Stone patched up things with Cong. Gutierrez after calling him a "Pipsqueak." Is Stone's son-in-law an issue in this election? .
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Jeff Berkowitz: Is this really true? You called those guys- the unions- those phony SOBs at SEIU?

Ald. Berny Stone [50th Ward, Chicago]: No, just the SEIU. Actually, the building trades unions are all supporting me.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, did you say, as Mark Brown reported, “those phony SOBs at SEIU [Service Employees International Union],” they are not going to hinder your re-election?

Ald. Berny Stone: No, they are not going to.

Jeff Berkowitz: Did you call them phony SOBs?

Ald. Berny Stone: Sure, they are.

Jeff Berkowitz: Why, what’s phony about them.

Ald. Berny Stone: Because the Big Box ordinance was phony and they’re phonies because they weren’t worried about their membership—they are worried about their own jobs. If they were worried about their membership, they wouldn’t have given their support to the Big Box ordinance because they knew it would never have been carried through on a court challenge and they told their membership that it would. It would have never stood a test of a court challenge.
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Ald. Berny Stone: … it was their negotiators [for the SEIU] that sold out the new crossing guards. These are the hardest working people in the world and they work a split shift. Now, if the SEIU is such a damn good union, why did they sell out these poor crossing guards?

Jeff Berkowitz: Why did they?

Ald. Berny Stone: Go ask them. They’re the union that sold them out.
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Ald. Berny Stone (50th Ward, Chicago}, as is airing this week on Public Affairs in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See below for the suburban airing schedule] and as will be airing on Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 [8:30 pm on Cable, CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. The show was recorded on February 4, 2007. You may also[watch the Ald. Stone program here].
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In twenty-five North Shore, North and Northwest suburbs, the "Public Affairs," show airs every Tuesday night in the regular weekly Public Affairs slot, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35, as indicated, below.

In ten North Shore suburbs, the Public Affairs show airs three times each week in its regular slots at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as indicated, below. ******************************************************
The suburban episode of Public Affairs with guest Ald. Berny Stone airs 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 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 this week on Monday night, Wednesday night and Friday night 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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The City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," with guest Ald. Stone airs this coming Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City of Chicago.
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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
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Better than Spring Training: Claypool on Cable and Streaming

Jeff Berkowitz: But you couldn’t have done it because of the “sore loser,” rule. A candidate who loses for the nomination of one of the political parties can’t file as an independent [in that same election cycle].

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago]: Well, I think I could have because I think that law is unconstitutional—it’s never been tested—but that would have to have been a legal challenge.
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Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t respect Joe Lieberman for sticking to his guns.

Comm. Forrest Claypool: I don’t. I don’t respect Joe Lieberman for supporting a war in Iraq that was wrong headed and foolish.
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Tonight's City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," airing at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City, features Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago] discussing key Cook County Budget/Tax/Spending and patronage issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. You may also [Watch the show with Commissioner Claypool, as well as prior shows with Comm. Claypool and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger on your computer].
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," including tonight's show with Comm. Claypool and this week's suburban show with 50th Ward Alderman Berny Stone. The cinema page also has recent shows with Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest], Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, Phantom of the City Council--Brendan Reilly, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Watch here].
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For more about tonight's show and a partial transcript of the show, see here. An additional partial transcript of the show is included directly below:
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Jeff Berkowitz: So, you’re telling me all of those [28 Cook County neighborhood health] clinics are fully utilized, large numbers of people at each clinic are coming in every hour of the day?

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago]: That’s exactly right---
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Jeff Berkowitz: Somebody, if he or she wanted to, could have bet that John Stroger wasn’t coming back [to run in the general election] and could have filed as an independent [before the July filing deadline]. They could have done that and then they could have withdrawn if he came back [from his stroke].

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool: They could have but he was the rightful nominee, and he had won the votes of the Democratic Primary and people like me want to support the Democratic nominee elected by the voters, not the Democratic nominee elected by the Ward bosses [Claypool referring to Democrat Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, who Claypool did not endorse in the general election].

Jeff Berkowitz: But you couldn’t have done it because of the “sore loser,” rule. A candidate who loses for the nomination of one of the political parties can’t file as an independent [in that same election cycle].

Commissioner Forrest Claypool: Well, I think I could have because I think that law is unconstitutional—it’s never been tested—but that would have to have been a legal challenge.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, had you known that John Stroger wasn’t going to continue as the Democratic Party’s candidate for Cook County Board President, might you have filed as an independent and challenged the sore loser law?

Commissioner Forrest Claypool: It’s possible, but I was supporting the nominee of my Party [John Stroger] who had defeated me…but I couldn’t support Todd Stroger because he was not nominated by the voters and it was a process in which the voters were taken for granted and actually misled.
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Jeff Berkowitz: So, you are saying there is no patronage in State’s Attorney Dick Devine’s office?

Commissioner Forrest Claypool: Well, I think it is very rare to find a prosecutor who comes out of a ward organization.

Jeff Berkowitz: But, your friend, Commissioner Mike Quigley has been going after the Sheriff’s office [for patronage]—he has almost made a career out of it, and you are telling me Quigley has been wrong about it?

Commissioner Forrest Claypool: I am not saying there is not waste in the Sheriff’s office and as I said before, he [Tom Dart] is in office one month and he has reduced the office by 10%. The question is, are you going to do 20% in the first year, which means going after Sheriff’s police.
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Jeff Berkowitz: Would the smart thing to do [be for you] to start planning now and …run as an independent and that way you could run in the general election and you could get Republicans perhaps to vote for you…and Democrats to support you. Isn’t that the better play than to run against Todd Stroger in the Democratic Primary?

Comm. Forrest Claypool: Well, I am not going to speculate on three years from now, but I am certainly a Democrat; I am going to remain a Democrat. If I run, it will be in the Democratic Primary for any office.

Jeff Berkowitz: You’re no Joe Lieberman. You wouldn’t pull the stunt of running as an independent.

Comm. Forrest Claypool: I wouldn’t. It’s sad that Joe Lieberman is still in the United States Senate.

Jeff Berkowitz: You think so?

Comm. Forrest Claypool: I do.

Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t respect Joe Lieberman for sticking to his guns.

Comm. Forrest Claypool: I don’t. I don’t respect Joe Lieberman for supporting a war in Iraq that was wrong headed and foolish.
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Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago}, as is airing tonight at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. The show was recorded on February 4, 2007. You may also[watch the Comm. Claypool program here].
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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
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Watch clip of Obama on “Public Affairs,” on GMA

Look for a video clip this morning on Good Morning America [7:00 am-9:00 am, CST] of Senator and Democratic Primary Presidential Candidate Barack Obama from a show he taped a while back on "Public Affairs." And, last Saturday, GMA aired the below segment, featuring a clip from a 2003 "Public Affairs," show with then State Senator Barack Obama
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Jake Tapper [ABC News’ senior political correspondent]: I am standing in Springfield, IL at the old Historic State Capitol building…[where] Abraham Lincoln used to serve in the state legislature …so did Senator Barack Obama, who later this morning will declare his intention to follow in Lincoln’s footsteps as President…; President of the Illinois State Senate Emil Jones [D-Chicago] was Obama’s mentor…[cut to a video clip of Senate President Jones speaking]--

Senate President Jones: [Obama] was a smart young man, rather pushy and everything, but he sort of grew on me, more or less. [cut to a video clip of State Senator Bill Brady [R-Bloomington]--

State Senator Bill Brady [who played some poker with then State Senator Barack Obama]: I used to kid him [Obama]. I said, “If you would be near as conservative with the taxpayers money as you are here [playing poker] with your money, the state of Illinois would be a lot better off.”
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Jake Tapper: … Many of the tough questions Obama is facing now have been posed before, such as whether he will do better with black or white voters, which is discussed in a 2003 interview by Jeff Berkowitz of the show, “Public Affairs,” on Chicago television—[cut to a clip of Barack Obama on Public Affairs].

Barack Obama: I am rooted in the African-American Community, but I am not limited to it [and we are going to be competitive in every part of this state among every demographic because the message that I have in terms of dealing with economic development and jobs in this state, dealing with health care issues, dealing with education issues are ones that cut across the board; Obama was responding to a question from Public Affairs host Jeff Berkowitz as to whether Joyce Washington would hurt him as a Senate candidate in the 2004 Democratic Primary because they would split the African-American vote; And, Obama was right in that he won the seven candidate primary with 53% of the vote, with the second place finisher, Dan Hynes, getting 24% of the vote, and African-American Joyce Washington polling only 1% of the vote. Clearly, Senator Obama was not limited to the African-American vote.][See here for a discussion of Obama's landslide Democratic Primary win in March, 2004]

Jake Tapper: So, the dicey racial politics, whether or not his views are too liberal for the rest of the country, there will be time for Obama to address all of that later, but today there is “the ceremony,” as the local paper says…
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As the above aired on Good Morning America, February 10, 2007, the morning of U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s official announcement in Springfield, IL of his run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
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Forrest Claypool on Budget Cutting for Dummies: Cable and Streaming

This Week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," airing in the Chicago metro suburbs, features Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago] discussing key Cook County Budget/Tax/Spending and patronage issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz.See, below, for the Public Affairs suburban airing schedule. You may also [Watch the show with Commissioner Claypool, as well as prior shows with Comm. Claypool and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger on your computer].
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Commissioner Claypool will be the featured guest on the Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 [8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 21] City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs."
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," including this week's suburban show with Commissioner Claypool and soon will have next week's suburban show with 50th Ward Alderman Berny Stone. The cinema page also has and recent shows with Sen. Garrett [D-Lake Forest], Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, Phantom of the City Council--Brendan Reilly, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Watch here].
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Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago; discusses and debates with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz the Gang of 4, the Gang of 8 and Commissioner Earlean Collins, the Sandra Day O'Connor of the Cook County Board; whether Cook County is ready for reform; how Todd Stroger got to be President of the Board; Why Forrest Claypool did not endorse his fellow Democrat Todd Stroger; President Stroger's proposed "fix" of the $500 million dollar County Budget Deficit; the need for access by low income people to private healthcare in the suburbs; the need by low income people for Cook County's network of healthcare clinics; does it make sense to cut the budgets for the State's Attorney and Sheriff's Office; cutting Cook County headcount, Shakman Exempt laundering of patronage hires; high priced Cook County employees; tax increases and Finance Committee and public hearings on the budget.
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Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool [D-Chicago]: …penny wise and dollar foolish. It’s the type of stupid cuts that this budget [proposed by Cook County Board President Todd Stroger (D-Chicago)] consists of. I called it …budget cutting for dummies because there is no rational thought behind it—other than to protect the politicians and their relatives and cronies.
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Jeff Berkowitz: If you cut away all of those wasteful middle management, upper management jobs—either cut them away or cut them down to an appropriate salary—ballpark, what would you save?

Comm. Forrest Claypool: Well, that remains to be seen. We are, in my case, with a staff of one, working through this budget and cutting bureaucracy. We will offer amendments to restore tens and tens of millions of dollars—

Jeff Berkowitz: Tens and tens, are you saying that you might save fifty million dollars?

Comm. Forrest Claypool: Fifty, a hundred [million dollars], I don’t know.

Jeff Berkowitz: It could be a hundred million dollars?

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool: …if you did it right, you could end up with [savings of] hundreds of millions of dollars. If you did it right and approached it right. With a staff of one person culling through this budget and trying to do it in a way that is effective and also responsible, we are going to go as far as we can. And, I think we can restore the clinic system in the neighborhoods which is the key to preventive and primary care. [Stroger’s proposed budget eliminates 16 of the County’s current 28 health care clinics]. I think we can restore some of these Draconian cuts in the prosecutors’ office and public defenders who are necessary in the court system…
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Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago}, as is airing this week on Public Affairs in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See below for the suburban airing schedule] and as will be airing on Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 [8:30 pm on Cable, CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. The show was recorded on February 4, 2007. You may also[watch the Comm. Claypool program here].
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In twenty-five North Shore, North and Northwest suburbs, the "Public Affairs," show airs every Tuesday night in the regular weekly Public Affairs slot, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35, as indicated, below.

In ten North Shore suburbs, the Public Affairs show airs three times each week in its regular slots at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as indicated, below. ******************************************************
The suburban episode of Public Affairs with guest Commissioner Claypool airs 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 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 this week on Monday night, Wednesday night and Friday night 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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The City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," with guest Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool airs this coming Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City of Chicago.
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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
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Senator Garrett on Education funding and Parental Notice: Cable and Streaming

Jeff Berkowitz: [A physician must give notice of a minor female's abortion to] the parents, grandparents or legal guardian, with a judicial bypass provision, then you are on board for parental notice?

State Senator Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: Yes.
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This Week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," airing in the Chicago metro suburbs, features State Senator Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest] , discussing key upcoming state legislative issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. See, below, for the Public Affairs suburban airing schedule. You may also [Watch the show with State Senator Garrett on your computer].
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State Senator Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest, 29th Dist.] discusses and debates with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz the personality attributes and performance of U. S. Senator Barack Obama when he was an Illlinois legislator; the presidential prospects of Senator Obama and Sen. Garrett's endorsement of a Presidential Candidate; the various aspects of a tax swap, accountability in public education, local control of education while running tax dollars through Springfield, 357 K superintendent salaries and charter schools; abortion, parental notice, judicial bypass and Attorney General Lisa Madigan; Freezing or allowing electric power rates to be set by the free market; capital project budgets and gaming as a source of revenue for capital projects and the Green Governments Illinois Act.
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Senator Susan Garrett will be the featured guest on the Monday, Feb. 12, 2007 [8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 21] City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs."
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," including this week's suburban show with Senator Garrett and next week's suburban show with Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool and recent shows with Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, Phantom of the City Council--Brendan Reilly, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Watch here].
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Jeff Berkowitz: Where do you stand [on parental notice of abortions of minor females]?

State Senator Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest]: I support the parents being able to find out.

Jeff Berkowitz: Being able to? In other words, you support the parental notice law?

Sen. Susan Garrett: Under certain circumstances.

Jeff Berkowitz: Which are?

Sen. Susan Garrett: Well, I think the Lisa Madigan approach--

Jeff Berkowitz: The judicial bypass?

Sen. Susan Garrett: is a little bit different from the laws that we talked about before in other states. We may have no choice in this matter whatsoever. Whatsoever.

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, you have choice. You can always pass another law [different from the one passed in 1995, which will go into affect in Illinois- as a result of the judicial bypass guidelines issued last year by the Illinois Supreme Court-when the courts set up appropriate procedures for minor females to follow if they are attempting to trigger the judicial bypass provisions, referenced at the end of this post].

Sen. Susan Garrett: Override the—Well, that’s going to be pretty tough.

Jeff Berkowitz: Are you saying you’d like the notification provisions to be broader?

State Senator Susan Garrett: Yes.

Jeff Berkowitz: So that, in addition to notifying parents, grandparents

Sen. Susan Garrett: Right

Jeff Berkowitz: or the legal guardian, maybe an aunt or uncle

Sen. Susan Garrett: Yeah, I think there--

Jeff Berkowitz: Maybe a pastor,

Sen. Susan Garrett: We have to, excuse me--

Jeff Berkowitz: Maybe a guy down the street, maybe a bum—

Sen. Susan Garrett: No, not a bum—but, I think, in all fairness to the young girl--

Jeff Berkowitz: But, seriously, where do you limit it?

Sen. Susan Garrett: Who is in need of an abortion for whatever reason, we can’t just isolate the parents and say these are the ones who have to sort of—

Jeff Berkowitz: Or the grandparents or legal guardian—

Sen. Susan Garrett: And that, all of that, is part of it. And, if that is part of it, yes, I would support that. But, not just the parents, we have to have an extension—

Jeff Berkowitz: [A physician must give notice of a minor female's abortion to] the parents, grandparents or legal guardian, with a judicial bypass provision, then you are on board for parental notice?

Sen. Susan Garrett: Yes.

Jeff Berkowitz: That’s easy. Freeze. Freeze on electric rates…
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[Ed. Note: The Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, discussed above, requires that a physician tell a parent, grandparent or legal guardian at least two days before someone younger than 18 gets an abortion. The law provides judicial bypass exceptions in certain cases, such as when a parent has sexually or physically abused a minor. In such cases, a judge may waive the notice requirements. The law also allows a judge to waive notice if the minor is sufficiently mature or if notification is not in the minor's best interests. See here]
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Senator Susan Garrett [D}, as is airing this week on Public Affairs in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See below for the suburban airing schedule] and as will be airing on Monday, Feb. 12, 2007 [8:30 pm on Cable, CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. The show was recorded on January 28, 2007. You may also[watch the Senator Garrett program here].
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In twenty-five North Shore, North and Northwest suburbs, the "Public Affairs," show airs every Tuesday night in the regular weekly Public Affairs slot, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35, as indicated, below.

In ten North Shore suburbs, the Public Affairs show airs three times each week in its regular slots at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as indicated, below. ******************************************************
The suburban episode of Public Affairs with guest Senator Garrett airs 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 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 this week on Monday night, Wednesday night and Friday night 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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The City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," with guest Senator Susan Garrett airs this coming Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City of Chicago.
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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
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Ald. Candidate Brendan Reilly's Bond: Cable and Streaming

...Using the vernacular of Governor Rod Blagojevich, does Brendan Reilly have the testicular virility to face the issues. Because, in the City Council, things get tough.If you can’t handle Berkowitz, can you handle the City Council?
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Tonight's City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," airing throughout the City of Chicago at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV], features Brendan Reilly, Phantom of the City Council, being questioned, in absentia, on the issues by show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. You may also [Watch the show with ghost guest Brendan Reilly on your computer].
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The failure of Brendan Reilly, Ghost Guest Candidate for Chicago's 42nd Ward Alderman, to keep his commitment to appear on "Public Affairs," is noted by show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz as he discusses the issues and candidates in the 42nd Ward race and questions, Reilly, in absentia, on various Chicago City Council issues, including ethics, public policy and the commitment of aldermanic Wannabees. For a more detailed discussion of tonight's show topics, the 42nd Ward race and another partial transcipt of the show, see here.
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The "Public Affairs," cinema page gives you a choice of more than twenty-five episodes of “Public Affairs," including this week's suburban show with State Senator Susan Garrett [D-Lake Forest] and Tonight's City of Chicago show with ghost guest Brendan Reilly, recent shows with Sen. Syverson [R-Rockford], Metropolitan Planning Council President MarySue Barrett, State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Eric Zorn-Dan Proft, John McCarron, Gery Chico, former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown [D] and State Rep. Julie Hamos [D-Evanston], as well as interviews, discussions or remarks with or by U. S. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand many, many more pols on our video podcast page[Watch here].
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Jeff Berkowitz: … so, who’s going to call the shots here if Brendan Reilly does get elected…it raises a legitimate question: Is his campaign chairman going to call the shots? Is his former boss, Speaker Mike Madigan, going to call the shots…we’d ask Brendan Reilly these questions and he could clarify those issues if he were here, but he’s not. He said he would be here, he committed to being here…when we told him Ald. Burt Natarus would not be here, two weeks ago he said he would be here—then Brendan Reilly’s Campaign Chairman, Rob Nash, decided “he could only lose,” by showing up. That’s what we were told by Reilly’s field representative. So, using the vernacular of Governor Rod Blagojevich, does Brendan Reilly have the testicular virility to face the issues. Because, in the City Council, things get tough. If you can’t handle Berkowitz, can you handle the City Council. Would he walk away and say, he can only lose, so he is not going to go to a City Council debate...
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Jeff Berkowitz: Is Brendan Reilly a pay to play kind of guy? He spent a lot of time [working] in the state legislature. He spent a lot of time with Speaker Mike Madigan. Is that the world he inhabits? Was he a registered lobbyist? We asked his field representative. He said he didn’t know…Is he going to stand up to folks who want to do Pay to Play? We would ask Brendan Reilly… and if he were here, he could tell us… He said he would be here. He committed to being here, but he’s not…Let’s see if Ronald Reagan has anything to say…
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Jeff Berkowitz: … We might want to ask [Brendan Reilly] about Hired Truck, Hired Tow, Hired Thief. What does Brendan Reilly think about…What would he do, Intergovernmental Affairs, IGA and Torres and Vic Reyes and Robert Sorich…who is going off to prison, tried on the matter of…all sorts of improper things going on in City hiring… what does Brendan Reilly…
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Jeff Berkowitz:…People in the 42nd Ward are concerned about development. A lot of people there will say… there has been too much development; developers are running amok-- some will say. Too high a density [in the 42nd Ward]. What’s Brendan Reilly going to do about that?...I don’t know. He’s not here…He said he would be here…As former Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood used to say: in politics, your word is your bond…. And Brendan Reilly just breaks his [commitment]? ... What kind of bond is that. You can have AAA bonds, you can have junk bonds…you’re going to have to make an assessment; what does that tell you about Brendan Reilly in terms of keeping his word?
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Ghost guest Aldermanic candidate Brendan Reilly, as is airing tonight on Public Affairs throughout Chicago at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. The show was recorded on January 21, 2007. You may also[watch the ghost guest Brendan Reilly program here].
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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
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Restore Democracy: Get on the ballot for School Board member

If you are running for the Winnetka School Board, file by 4:30 pm on Monday, Feb. 5 with the Secretary to the Board of Education at the District office at 515 Hibbard Road, Winnetka, IL:

Your nominating petitions [notarized], Statement of Candidacy [notarized] and Receipt for filing a statement of economic interests.

To get on the ballot for other school districts, check for filing locations by calling your school district office.
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Do it now, or forever hold your peace about your School Board paying your superintendent $357,000 to oversee 2070 students, wasteful spending, insufficient focus on academics, insufficient responsiveness by administrators and board members to parents and residents, improper use of confidential parental communications and no respect for democracy; abuse of taxpayers at board meetings; bad decisions for kids; District lawyers attending board meetings to monitor resident comments; having a school superintendent hire a principal who is the defendant in a wrongful death action without informing your board and then having your board say, “Who cares.”
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Perhaps you are upset with the quality of your local school board’s decisions. If you are in Winnetka, perhaps you think Supt. Rebecca van der Bogert is a tad overpaid at $357,000 per year and you wonder what your board was thinking when they increased her salary at the equivalent of about 20K per year during the last decade.

Think about it, a 200K Supt. salary would seem to be enough to attract a top notch superintendent, freeing up about 150K for two additional teachers. Which do you think would be better for kids?

Again, if you are in Winnetka, maybe you think a facilities referendum for this April that will require the community to fork over an additional 85 million dollars to District 36 for its 2070, or so, students, is a bit extravagant. The 85 million dollar payback will be over the next twenty years to cover the cost of the bonds to finance the facilities construction and renovation.

Of course, this is on top of a thirty million dollar, and growing, annual budget for the District’s 2070 students.

The additional expenditure of 85 million dollars seems a bit much, especially when the number of students in the district during the last year increased by, at most, 8 students, or less than one half of one percent of the current enrollment. Indeed, a resident at the Winnetka Town meeting contended that the District reported to the State zero growth in students during the last year.

The sales job for the referendum by the establishment in Winnetka will, I am sure, be quite polished. Not necessarily all the facts, but polished, to be sure. That’s the Winnetka way.

However, at Tuesday night’s Winnetka school board meeting, board member Jeff Hoch seemed to worry a bit, when he muttered something about his concern as to how the need for this 85 million dollar referendum might be explained to the Village. After all, the focus of the discussion at the Board Meeting revolved, in large part, around the construction of three new indoor multi-use basketball courts, along with what seemed to be a perfunctory discussion of the extra space that would be added to two of the District’s five schools. 85 million dollars for some additional K-8 basketball courts? What is the Winnetka School Board thinking? Is that really the best thing the District can do for kids?

If there is some great academic need that will justify an 85 million dollar payback [principal and interest] to the bond purchasers, no board members spent a lot of time on it Tuesday night. Dr. Rebecca van der Bogert’s 357K contribution to the discussion was apparently to persuade the board that a $603 price point [the Board’s and William Blair & Company’s projected increase in taxes for the owner of a 1.2 million dollar home] was a tougher sale to taxpayers than a $520 price point.

The $520 price point is a bit misleading as it seems to reflect lower costs to current taxpayers at the expense of higher costs to future Winnetka taxpayers, apparently with the assumption that future homebuyers don’t factor the higher tax costs into their offer prices when they buy homes. Contrary to what the Winnetka School Board and its Supt. may believe, the housing market’s use of publicly available information, as is the case in other markets, is pretty efficient. Perhaps the District will pay for training in economics and modern finance theory for its Superintendent, board members and referendum financing consultants.

So, what to do if you are in Winnetka, or in any of a number of middle or upper income suburbs, e.g., Wilmette, Hinsdale, Libertyville, Barrington, Highland Park, Northbrook, Palatine, Wheaton, Elgin, Arlington Heights, Naperville, Flossmoor, that may suffer from decision making similar to the above from the a Village’s school board, or library, village or park board, for that matter.

The answer is to run for your school board, park board, etc. That is, get your name on the ballot for the relevant board for the April 17, 2007 village-wide election and then persuade the community that you will represent it better than your competitors in the election. Given the above discussion, that shouldn’t be a hard task.

But, you had best get moving.

The filing deadline is this coming Monday, Feb. 5, 5:00 pm. [4:30 pm, if you are filing for the School Board in Winnetka; after all, you wouldn’t expect your school district office to stay open until 5, would you?].

All the documents and information you need for filing are downloadable from www.elections.il.gov, or you can pick up the hard copy of the State of Illinois Candidate’s guide from the Illinois Board of Elections office in the Thompson building in the Loop on Friday.

This is not legal advice, but essentially, all you need to get on the ballot are the following documents:

--Nominating petitions with 50 signatures from individuals registered to vote in the district [technically it is 50 signatures or 10% of the voters, whichever is less, residing in the District; for most districts, the 50 signature number applies]. Since the Establishment may challenge some signatures, you will want to get 75, or so, signatures to be on the safe side, in case maybe a few people sign your petitions who are not currently registered to vote in the relevant District, write down a name different from their registered name, etc.

--The petition circulator should be sure to have the nominating petitions notarized and numbered-- and the circulator should comply with the requirements set out in pp. 14-18 of the Candidate’s Guide.

--You will need a notarized Statement of Candidacy, as discussed at p. 19 of the Candidate’s Guide.

You will need a receipt for filing a Statement of Economic Interests with the Cook County Clerk, if your village is in Cook, with the Lake County Clerk, if your village is in Lake, etc.

If you are running for the Winnetka School Board, file by 4:30 pm on Monday, Feb. 5 with the Secretary to the Board of Education at the District office at 515 Hibbard Road:

Your nominating petitions [notarized], Statement of Candidacy [notarized] and Receipt for filing a statement of economic interests.

For getting on the ballot for other school districts, check for filing locations by calling your school district office.

For other village board seats, check for filing information by reading the
State of Illinois Candidate’s Guide from the Illinois Board of Elections.

Boys and Girls, 50 signatures. How hard can that be? Stand out in front of your local grocery, coffee shop, banks-- or go door to door and get the registered voters in the District to sign. The residents don’t have to promise to vote for you; they are just putting you on the ballot, so the voters can have a choice, the patron saint of the voter.

Do it now, or forever hold your peace about your School Board paying your superintendent $357,000 to oversee 2070 students, wasteful spending, insufficient focus on academics, insufficient responsiveness by administrators and board members to parents and residents, improper use of confidential parental communications and no respect for democracy; abuse of taxpayers at board meetings; bad decisions for kids; District lawyers attending board meetings to monitor resident comments; having a school superintendent hire a principal who is the defendant in a wrongful death action without informing your board and then having your board say, “Who cares.”

The choice is yours. Run, Concerned parent and taxpayer, run.
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