13.JPG)
December 19, 2008— Issue 49
Updates Regarding the Governor
On December 9, Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested. Governor Blagojevich currently remains in office and, therefore, maintains the executive power for our State.
Statement from the Governor:
On Friday, December 19, the Governor made a public statement in which he said that he is “not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing” and that he will “stay on the job.” He said he will “fight every step of the way.” He did not take any questions. The Governor’s statement may be heard by accessing the following WUIS webpage designed to provide special news coverage of the Governor: click here
Impeachment Proceedings:
The House has created a Special Investigative Committee to investigate allegations of misconduct by the Governor, including abuse of power, and make a recommendation as to whether cause exists for impeaching him. The Committee met on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. The Committee went over various matters, including the criminal complaint against the Governor, the Administration’s decision to move forward with an expansion of FamilyCare despite a prohibition of the rulemaking by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (“JCAR”), audits by the Auditor General’s Office, and the Administration’s handling of Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests. The Committee will reconvene on Monday, December 22, at noon. Information regarding the Committee, including exhibits and audio/video coverage of its daily meetings, may be accessed at the following link: click here
Vacant Senate Seat:
On Wednesday, December 17, the Governor’s legal counsel, Ed Genson, mentioned that the Governor would not appoint someone to fill the vacant Senate seat.
Denial of Court Actions to Preclude the Governor from Serving:
On December 12, Attorney General Lisa Madigan as well as a group of citizens led by John Bambenek filed separate court actions generally asking the Supreme Court to preclude the Governor from continuing to serve. On December 17, the Supreme Court denied both court actions without explanation. Records from both cases may be accessed at the following link: click here
Denial of Request by Governor’s Attorneys to be Paid by the State:
On Tuesday, December 16, Ed Genson requested that he and two other attorneys be designated Special Assistant Attorneys General and, thereby, paid by the State to represent the Governor in the criminal action, impeachment proceedings, and Supreme Court action to which the Governor was subject at that time. On Thursday, December 18, the Attorney General’s Office denied the request for various reasons, including the fact that the criminal action and the impeachment proceedings are against the Governor in his individual, not official, capacity. Of note regarding the criminal action, the denial letter states: “It is absurd to suggest that taxpayers must finance the defense of a criminal action against Governor Blagojevich who is accused of corruptly betraying the public trust for personal and financial gain.” The denial letter may be accessed at the following link: click here
PTAB Special Meeting
On December 22, the Property Tax Appeal Board (“PTAB”) will hold a special meeting during which the imposition of a filing fee apparently may be discussed. The meeting agenda, which includes time and location information, may be accessed at the following link: click here
Property Tax Information
The Tax Foundation has released a Fiscal Fact entitled, “New Census Data on Property Taxes on Homeowners,” as well as a map entitled, “Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing by State.” In the Fiscal Fact, Lake County ranks 15th amongst counties in median property taxes paid (2005-2007 average). No other Illinois is in the top 20. Further, the data lists related to Fiscal Fact show that Cook County is ranked 96th amongst counties in median property taxes paid (2005-2007 average) and 434th amongst counties in median property taxes as a percentage of median home value—in both cases, other Illinois counties are ranked higher than Cook County. The Fiscal Fact and related information may be accessed at the following links:
Other Recently Released Information
On December 19, the Civic Federation released its analysis of the proposed FY 2009 Cook County budget. The budget analysis, entitled “Cook County FY2009 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations,” along with a related press release may be accessed at the following link: click here
And Finally . . .
If there are significant governmental developments in the coming days, we may publish the TFI Report on December 23 and/or December 30.
Happy Holidays!
|