Chicago Daily Observer

[E]thics reforms means getting officials to limit gifts to themselves.” Those are the words of Emil Jones, president of the Illinois senate, in his speech at the Democratic Convention Monday.

Jones would know. He is Barack Obama’s political mentor, and he can now give himself a $578,000 gift. It is a perfectly legal and completely corrupt arrangement that he made ten years ago, with just a little help from Obama.

If you listen to Barack Obama’s supporters, you might get the impression that the presumptive Democratic nominee did something to reform Illinois when he served there. Sometimes they mention Obama’s involvement in a 1998 ethics bill. They probably won’t mention that the law they are discussing could soon make Jones a wealthy man. Such stories do not fit the image of the bipartisan reformer that Obama’s campaign has spent millions of dollars projecting.

At the Saddleback Forum two weeks ago, ... Read More...

As we look toward Senator Obama delivering his acceptance speech this Thursday night, few, if any, mentors loom so large in Obama’s methodical march toward the presidency over the last quarter of the century, as State Senate President Emil Jones. From community organizer in Chicago to becoming the first African-American President of the Harvard Law School to being a practicing civil rights lawyer active in politics on the South side of Chicago to becoming a State Senator and a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School to becoming a U. S. Senator who would make and win the improbable run against the best the Democratic Party had to offer, i.e., the Clinton partnership of Hillary and Mr. Bill, there has been Senate President Jones, who spoke to Barack as recently as last Monday.

Of course, Jones and Obama are quite different in style, age and in their public persona. ... Read More...

Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, or Evan Bayh?

Oh, you silly country rubes. There is not an audacious name in that bunch.

On Saturday, Barack Obama will return to the initial scene of his crimes against humanity with his vice presidential choice in tow.

That choice?

Does the phrase, “We’re putting the band back together,” mean anything to you, Chicago?

That’s right, Obama’s choice will be a friend to lobbyists big and small, the master of economic disaster, a man of few usually unintelligible words, and the man at whose ample teet Obama suckled for his seven vanilla years in the Illinois State Senate—I am of course talking about retiring State Senate President Emil Jones.

State Rep. Robert Rita has a strange take on government employment. When news broke that Senate President Emil (I Need a Raise) Jones was trying to hand his seat over to his son, Emil III, Rita’s justification was:

“Give him a chance to prove himself.”

Astonishing. Yet, odds are that Chicago and Democratic voters, if given the chance, would elect Emil Jones III to succeed his father. Demonstrating again that they are gratified to be led by the nose by a political system that is more akin to an oligarchy than a republic. Naturally, Rita would jump to defend such a system, in that he, like so many others, is a beneficiary of the system. His father, John, is the longtime Calumet Township Democratic committeeman.

Perhaps there’s no other person qualified in Jones’ South Side district to fill father Emil’s shoes. Of course, Emil the Younger’s credentials are ... Read More...

Hereditary Politics in Illinois.

John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, will discuss Senator Emil Jones’s recent retirement announcement plus the news that Jones wants his son to be his successor.

Who: John Tillman, Institute CEO
Where: The Jerry Agar Show, 890 WLS-AM
When: Tomorrow—Tuesday, August 19, 9:05 AM

Senate President Emil Jones is expected to announce his retirement plans today, stripping Gov. Blagojevich of his most vocal and reliable ally as the governor contemplates a third term.

The South Side Democrat, who has been in the Legislature since 1973 and led the Senate since 2003, told several members of his leadership team of his plans over the weekend.

“I believe Emil is coming to the end of his time. He’s tired,” said one high-ranking Jones ally, who asked not to be identified but confirmed an announcement would be made today.

So, it has come to this. Headlines in newspapers across the state were devoted to informing voters and taxpayers of the following, momentous development – state senators voted to reject a 7.5% pay increase they would’ve automatically received if no vote was taken.

What a brave and selfless action to take. In an election year, during a recession, while the state is broke. Of course, to get to this point, criticism of the pay increases from pundits, citizens, watchdogs and editorial boards had to continue unabated for months. Even that wouldn’t have been enough to kill the raises if the General Assembly hadn’t been called into special session.
Still, talking heads are hailing this vote as a victory for taxpayers, and I suppose it is, albeit a small one monetarily, when put in context of the state’s budget. Meanwhile, as the legislative raise brushfire is quenched, Rome continues to ... Read More...

Read the newest trash-Obama book, check Tribune columnist John Kass, hear some of my Hyde Park buddies and you get a picture of Barack Obama as a traitorous cog in this incarnation of the Daley machine.

Others still revere him as a pure and cleansing light, lasering through the old politics, beaming us up to Democratic Nirvana.

Both portraits are pure bulljive, depending on which surface of this complex, multifaceted politician glints in your eye. There is something of the “Being There” quality to Obama: He is so new and exotic and appealing that everyone has a personal interpretation of who and what he really is—a blank slate we inscribe with our own dreams.

This is largely because Obama never fully plants himself in anyone’s garden. The columnist David Brooks had an interesting riff on this, pointing out, for example, that while he was on the University of Chicago Law ... Read More...

The Facebook navigation tool, Barackbook, has been updated, to include some old favorites like Emil Jones and Rashid Khalidi.

This is evolving from an satire into a useful tool in tracking Cook County politicians and their relationships to Sen. Obama.

For Facebook users, this is the link.

For those who do not use Facebook, this is the link

The approach of August means that it is time to begin making plans for the start of another school year. Back to school sales will be widely advertised in coming weeks. For those of you who have not made a vacation trip this year, there is time to do so before Labor Day. August is also the time to make plans to attend the Illinois State Fair. This year’s fair opens on August 7th and concludes on the 17th.

Attending the State Fair means making a trip to Springfield, which is still the state capital after all.

Judging from Rod Blagojevich’s chronic absenteeism one would never know that to be the case. Prior to the ratification of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, our governors were actually required to reside in the state capital.

The current constitution states that the governor be a resident of Springfield during his or her term ... Read More...

Obama first played a perfuming role as a state senator. His mentor, Emil Jones, the machine-made president of the Senate, allowed him to sponsor a minor ethics bill. In return, Obama made sure to send plenty of pork to Jones’s district. When asked about pork-barrel spending, Jones famously replied: “Some call it pork; I call it steak.”

Obama repaid the generosity. When he had a chance to back clean Democratic candidates for president of the Cook County board of supervisors and Illinois governor, he stayed with the allies of the Outfit. The gubernatorial candidate he backed, Rod Blagojevich, is under federal investigation, in part because of his relationship with Tony Rezko, the man who helped Obama buy his house.

The Chicago way has delivered politically for Obama even this year. Ninety per cent of his popular-vote lead over Hillary Clinton comes from Illinois, and two-thirds of that 90 per cent ... Read More...

Jeff Berkowitz interviews Sen. Steve Rauschenberger about Sen. Obama’s performance as an Illinois Legislator.

Excerpt:

Former State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger[Watch here]: [Barack Obama] didn’t work on building that bill—any more than he worked to write the ethics legislation. He was a show pony. He was [Democratic Senate President, Chicago machine pol and Obama mentor]Emil Jones’ —

Jeff Berkowitz: Well, then, who did it? Because Emil Jones didn’t do it.

Senator Steve Rauschenberger (R-Elgin): He was Emil Jones’ show pony.