Vermilion County

This is one of the easiest, most "common sense" ways to use technology to open up governmental processes to citizens, and one that I've been advocating for our local governments for years.  The Vermilion County Board, though, is trying it first:

The county last week launched a new Web page where public comments pertaining to county business can be posted for officials to read.

"It's something we are just trying. If people are respectful, it could be a good tool to get input, good and bad, on county issues," said Vermilion County Board Chairman Jim McMahon.

Ted Fisher, director of the county's information systems department, launched the online forum last week on the county Web site at http://www.co.vermilion.il.us.

McMahon said he has viewed other public forums, and he realizes that comments can be negative, even slanderous. People who post comments are not required to give their names, and many use "screen names," which McMahon believes is a weakness of online forums.

But he still believes it's a tool that can be of benefit to county officials. He plans to check the site on a regular basis, searching for valuable input.

Vermilion County Board member Bill Donahue, D-District 7, said he also will check the forum regularly.

"I will be curious, and hopefully, we will not get just negative comments but requests for assistance that give us an idea of what we can do to be of better service," he said. "Some people might be more willing to post a comment rather than make a phone call or write a letter."

County officials want feedback on any type of county business, issue, meeting or agenda item. But "we want to keep ours to county business only," he said.

The county's Information Systems department will monitor all comments that are posted.

You can find the forum here.

My proposal has actually been more restrictive.  I've been asking for government bodies to allow online comments on agendas prior to meetings, requiring commenters to submit name and address just as they would at a regular meeting.

Discuss.

Rumored for weeks, Tom Kacich confirms it:

Sources confirmed today that Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer intends to announce next week that he is dropping out as a candidate for state representative in the 104th District....

Eisenhauer won the February primary but has campaigned very little, if at all, since that time. Party officials have expressed concern about his commitment to the race....

Black, who is out of the state this week, could not be reached for comment. But it is expected that he will once again run for re-election -- if the Vermilion and Champaign county GOP chairmen appoint him.

Hopefully, given the lateness of the switch, Rep. Bill Black will consider running for another term.

I received a copy of the email below this morning.  I first met Lori when she ran for Vermilion County Board, and I can say with all confidence that she is a tireless campaigner, and will be a great champion for both Champaign and Vermilion Counties in Springfield.  I think Democrats have a lot of cause for celebration that Lori has decided to run.

(Text of email in first comment.)

Todd Lee, the former Vermilion County Board Chairman and currently the regional manager for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Opportunity Returns program, is leaving state government to work at Vermilion Advantage:

Starting next week, Todd Lee will be pursuing economic development from a new office.

Lee confirmed Friday that he has resigned his position as East Central Region manager for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's Opportunity Returns program to take a job with Vermilion Advantage.

Lee had been in the state position, which is part of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, for four years, and his resignation took effect at 5 p.m. Friday. Before joining the state, Lee served as Vermilion County Board chairman.

He'd been rumored as a possible Democratic candidate for a number of offices, most recently the 104th State House seat being vacated by the retiring Rep. Bill Black.  Congratulations to Mr. Lee, and good luck in his new position.

Last night, the Illinois State Senate passed a huge gaming expansion bill, that includes a Chicago land-basd casino, to fund capital projects and a Chicago-area mass transit bailout:

The gambling legislation would authorize three new casinos -- a land-based one in Chicago and two riverboats at unspecified locations. The casino proceeds would fund the construction plan and assist mass transit until a more permanent funding agreement could be reached.

The Chicago area mass-transit systems would get $200 million from a one-year loan that would tide over the systems until that permanent solution is determined, said Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), who sponsored the casino legislation.

The construction program, worth about $25 billion in local, state and federal funds, would be the most far-reaching public works initiative in eight years.

Jones' favorite college, Chicago State University, could reap millions of dollars from a new riverboat as part of an arrangement set out in a prior law.

State Senator Mike Frerichs voted in favor of the plan.  He will claim that he did so to support the possibility of locating a casino in Vermilion County.

CapFax has a lot, lot more.  At this point, the plan's fate in the State House is uncertain.

UPDATE:  From the News-Gazette:

"I had a lot of constituents from Danville who said they would like to have a chance at a casino," Frerichs said. "This gives them an opportunity to compete for that. Also, there are a lot of critical projects in my area that will be funded by this capital program, for roads, schools, the university and other important projects.

"This is not a perfect bill; there are some changes that I would like to make, but all in all I think it's good for the area."

There's been some scuttlebutt about Vermilion County State's Attorney Frank Young potentially running for State Rep. in the 104th District, but this story in today's News-Gazette indicates he is retiring from politics:

A Danville Republican, Young was elected to the state's attorney's office in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004. Before 2000, he served two six-year terms on the Danville Area Community College board.

In 2006, Young ran for circuit judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, but was defeated by Nancy Fahey. Though his name had been circulated as a possible replacement for state representative in the 104th District – currently held by Danville Republican Bill Black – he said Monday that he's not running.

While the names of several local attorneys have surfaced as possible candidates for Young's office, only two – both Democrats – confirmed they are considering a run. Derek Girton of Oakwood and Bill Donahue of Danville have picked up petitions.

Discuss.

The WDWS Podcast this week features retiring State Rep. Bill Black.

The NG speculates on who might or might not be running for the seat being vacated by the retiring State Rep. Bill Black:

Former Illinois Sen. Judy Myers said she wouldn't think about a run, but she's heard a few other Republican names mentioned locally and in Springfield, specifically Vermilion County Sheriff Pat Hartshorn and Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer. Eisenhauer could not be reached for comment, and Hartshorn said he had "no comment at all" on whether he would consider a run.

"I was sad to hear that Bill was retiring. I think he's done an excellent job of representing our district. It will be hard to find someone to take his place," Hartshorn said.

Both would be good candidates, said Myers, who added that the subject is being discussed in both Vermilion and Champaign counties. The 104th district covers the majority of Vermilion, except for three townships to the north that include Rossville and Hoopeston, and it covers about half of the townships in Champaign County, all on the east side. The territory excludes the cities of Champaign and Urbana, which make up the 103rd district, represented by Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana.

And:

Todd Lee's name has surfaced as a possible Democratic candidate. The former Vermilion County Board chairman now heads up the local Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity office in downtown Danville, working on economic development strategies in East Central Illinois.

Lee said he is flattered to be considered by others as a possible candidate. He said it would be a big job to fill Black's shoes, and making a decision to run should not be done hastily and should be a family decision.

Lynn Foster, a Democrat and Vermilion County clerk, said Black's decision certainly opens the door for the Democrats. A number of people would make good candidates, she said, but she has a couple favorites, and one is Lee.

The voting population split between the two counties is about 65 percent Vermilion and 35 percent Champaign. 

Discuss.

UPDATE:  More from Tom Kacich here.   Thanks to the anonymous commenter for pointing that out.

The NG has two articles about Rep. Bill Black's retirement announcement from yesterday.  The first, titled "Black: This Time Is For Real":

More than once, he has threatened to resign out of outrage and anger, including a notable incident in June 2002. That time, Black vowed to quit if the House passed a bill to make an increase on riverboat taxes only temporary, after his proposal to set a two-year expiration date on a cigarette
The House passed the bill, but the Senate rejected it later that night, giving Black a bit of a loophole. A few days later, after he cooled down and received a flood of calls and e-mails begging him to stay, Black reconsidered his decision.

"I tend to overreact, and I tend to be emotional. But that's what makes me me," Black said in 2002 about his decision to stay in office. "I'm not a cool, buttoned-down, scripted politician. Maybe I should be, but I'm not. I think people understand that if you try to do what is right, well, more power to you. I make lots of mistakes and I have lots of faults, but caring about the legislative process and caring about my district is not one of them."

While past decisions to resign have come in the heat of the moment, this one was different, Black said on Tuesday.

"This has nothing to do with that," he said. "It's been a gradual realization. It's time for me to go."

The second is here:

Black is the longest-serving member of the House Republican leadership team, and has led debate as the caucus' floor leader since 1991. He currently serves as deputy Republican leader and minority spokesman on the powerful rules committee as well.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said Black served as a watchdog on the movement of legislation through the House.

"In terms of the work product that comes out of the House of Representatives, why, he's been a significant contributor and a good participant, good element to the process," Madigan said. "The legislature is such that we need a lot of people involved in reviewing bills, because if you don't have people reviewing bills, bad things happen. So that is a role he has played. Clearly, he will be missed, and clearly, he's done a great job as spokesman for the Republican interests in the House."

Madigan said he would miss Black's frequent participation in floor debates and his "glib abilities to analyze things."

"You can look around the Republican side and realize that they are going to have a difficult time replacing him," he said.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, called Black's decision to retire "sad and awful."

Rep. Black will be missed.

For those of you wondering about the spending in the 2006 Myers-Frerichs State Senate race, the reports were filed yesterday.

Mike Frerichs, who won by 517 votes, took in about $1.08 million in the last six months of 2006 in direct and in-kind donations, with about $1.03 million of that coming from Political Action Committees (or PACs), including over $900,000 from the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund (ISDF), the party committee controlled by Senate President Emil Jones of Chicago. 

(As an aside, for those of you who said I was wrong to assume that Frerichs' early attack ads were paid for by Jones - the first ISDF contribution came on 9/4, exactly the day that the attack ads began airing on TV and radio.  That said, the attack ads worked, so being right is absolutely no consolation.)

Judy Myers took in about $900,000 in direct and in-kind contributions from July through December, with about $800,000 coming from PACs.  About $630,000 was from Sen. Frank Watson's two PACs (Citizens for Watson and the Republican Senate Campaign Committee) and the Illinois Republican Party.

The race in the 52nd State Senate district was easily the most expensive legislative race in the state in 2006, and may have been the most expensive in history (although I think there might have been a Chicago-area race in 2002 that was more expensive - Pam Althoff maybe?)

For the 103rd House race, Naomi Jakobsson raised about $215,000, with about 90% of it coming from PACs and Speaker Michael Madigan.  Her opponent, Rex Bradfield, raised and spent about $14,000.

Discuss (or gloat) if you want.

UPDATE:  Tom Kacich beat me to it, although his numbers don't include the in-kind contributions that make up a significant portion of the Party's support.

His body has been found:

These are the words no one ever wanted to speak, print or read: Ryan Katcher is dead.

Almost six years of dreading that that statement was true ended for Katcher's family and community Tuesday in the waters of a Kickapoo State Park pond.

Late in the afternoon, crews working with the Vermilion County Sheriff's Department pulled a 1999 black Ford F-150 pickup truck out of Clear Pond. It was the truck Katcher, an Oakwood High School graduate, was driving the night he vanished.

And by Tuesday evening, the sheriff's department confirmed that Katcher's body was inside.

:-(

Alright fellow GOP'ers...we need to be left out on this one. That's because this question goes directly to Democrats.

Why do you like Mike Frerichs?

I want serious answers...and don't even bring up Judy Myers. Tell me which issues Frerichs supports that you do too that make him your guy.

I want serious insight here... 

From the joint press release on Senator Judy Myers' website:

“Judy Myers is the candidate who would best represent the entire district,” Johnson said. “Her experience gives her valuable insights into the challenges facing the Champaign and Vermilion communities. We need a senator with that type of knowledge in Springfield.”

The Congressman also praised Myers' legislative record. The Republican candidate served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2002.

“We don't have to wonder what kind of a senator she would be,” Johnson said. “For six years she was in the trenches, fighting for the schools, taxpayers and families of East Central Illinois. We need Judy back in the Senate to continue that work.”

It was a great press conference, and we're very grateful to Rep. Johnson for his support, advice and endorsement. Discuss if you like.
(Disclosure: I work for Senator Judy Myers' campaign.)

Yesterday, there was this article:

Three Midwestern states, including Illinois, are considered front-runners for the site of North America's newest Honda plant.

Today, Rich Miller points to this:

Ross said Honda is looking at a specific site in Illinois but would not disclose it. He also said the company has not asked about state incentives and tax credits but said the governor is ready to meet again with Honda officials.

A Honda spokesman said Monday evening that the company has a list of finalist sites and is examining them now but wouldn't comment on whether officials had met with Blagojevich or say where else the company is looking.

My sources tell me that the Illinois location is in eastern Champaign County, near the intersection of Interstate 74 and Illinois Highway 49. Indiana and Ohio are still in the running for the plant as well, so this is far from a done deal, and there's plenty of speculation that Illinois is being used as a stalking horse.
Vermilion County, of course, has a long history of automobile manufacturing, while the UI College of Engineering and Research Park would seem to be excellent resources for any prospective industrial employer. I wonder if the Blagojevich administration can offer enough tax credits and incentives to overcome the regulatory and tax disadvantages Illinois faces compared to Ohio and Indiana. And, if so, then why does Illinois even maintain the laws that burden us with those disadvantages in the first place?
Have at it.

Congratulations to the Vermilion County Republican Central Committee on a successful Lincoln Day Dinner last evening. Statewide candidates Judy Baar Topinka, Dan Rutherford, Christine Radogno and Carol Pankau attended, and were well-received. Topinka especially gave a good speech, highlighting the insane borrowing of the Blagojevich administration and the Democrats in the General Assembly, and the lack of follow-through by Gov. Blagojevich on many of his highly-publicized gimmicks (keno, book-of-the-month, etc.).

Rep. Bill Black emceed, and was hilarious ("Of course, all the proceeds shall go to education...") as usual.

But the undoubted star of the evening was Senator Judy Myers. She was enthusiastically applauded every time she was mentioned. She was plugged by every speaker, each talking of her honesty, work ethic, knowledge of the district and legislative experience. The importance of the race in the scheme of state politics and the budgetary impact on higher education was highlighted repeatedly. The crowd was clearly already working on her behalf, and was urged to re-double their efforts.

As an example, Rep. Tim Johnson hit all the right notes about Senator Myers and her campaign and why it matters so much for Champaign and Vermilion Counties: higher education, economic development, fiscal responsiblity, and having a Senator who's not a rubber-stamp for the Governor, Senate President Emil Jones and the insane borrowing schemes that have been enacted over the past three years.

In all, it was an excellent event with a large, energetic crowd. Chairman Parker Acton and former VCYR Chair Jodi Golden did an excellent job.
Please consider this an open thread on Vermilion County politics, a much-neglected topic here.

(Disclosure: I work for Senator Myers' campaign)

The Vermilion County Young Republicans is taking a page out of Champaign's playbook and is hosting a business luncheon fundraiser on November 16.  If you're interested, you can download a ticket for purchase here.

If anyone is attending former Sen. Judy Myers' announcements this morning, please feel free to post about it here.

Alternatively, if you've got any thoughts regarding the State Senate race, you can post them here, too.

This was forwarded to me by multiple people, and thanks to each of you:

Greetings!

Judy Myers will be at the Champaign County Republican Headquarters (106 West Springfield, Champaign) at 8:30am on Tuesday, November 1st to annouce her candidacy for the 52nd District of the Illinois State Senate.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend this important event.  Let's show her that Champaign County is ready to work for her!

Steve Hartman
Chairman, Champaign County Republican Central Committee

I guess this makes it official. 

UPDATE:  From Linda Bauer:  There was a corrected email sent out saying, “Judy Myers is going to make an announcement regarding her candidacy for the 52nd District of the Illinois State Senate,” which is different than saying she’s actually announcing her candidacy.

The News-Gazette yesterday ran this article (click on image for larger version) confirming that former State Senator Judy Myers will not have a 2006 Republican Primary opponent and has a clear path to challenge Champaign County Auditor Mike Frerichs for the 52nd District State Senate seat.  The article confirms that both of the other potential GOP candidates (former State Rep. Tom Berns and Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden) will not be running for the nomination. 

It's been a busy but productive week, but I'm proud that IlliniPundit.com was the first to announce that Myers is running, and the first to confirm that Shelden wasn't running.  We have been unable, however, to confirm any details of an annoucement by Myers, although we're working on it.  We'll keep working to be the first bring you the regional political news, opinions and analysis.  And thanks to the readers, commenters and advertisers who make possible everything that happens here.

UPDATE:  Rich Miller is reporting that State Rep. Bill Black has told Myers that if she doesn't make an official announcement soon, he's going to jump into the race, which would be, of course, the Democrats worst nightmare.

ANOTHER UPDATE:  My sources continue to tell me that the Bill Black scenario described above is a moot point, that Myers is running and a formal announcement would come soon.  But nobody seems to know when, or they seem to be holding the information close to the vest. 

Thanks to Rich Miller for the plug in today's subscription-only newsletter.

The post about former Senator Judy Myers running for the vacant 52nd District seat is here.  And a statement from Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden regarding that development is here.

Please visit for a few minutes, and take the time to read some of our other articles.  If you're interested in the 52nd District Senate race, here are some older posts, including an analysis of Democratic candidate Mike Frerichs and his problems with the abortion issue.  And if you'd like some information about State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson and the costs of her unwavering loyalty to House Speaker Mike Madigan, you can look here.

(I'm going to try to leave this post at the top for the remainder of the day.)