A week before the Super Bowl, a neighbor told me about an annual betting pool he and his buddies enter. Such pools are not hard to find -- a trip to your local watering hole is about all it takes.
This pool offered up "squares" that corresponded with the score of the game at the end of each quarter. If the score matched your square, you earned a piece of the pool. Simple as that. The Aurora bar where this pool took place sold squares at $1,000 a piece. Shocked at the price, I declined my neighbor's invitation.
I offer up this anecdote as validation of Elburn Mayor Jim Willey's understatement in addressing the bust of a similar gambling operation in his town: "I don't believe this is only happening in Elburn."
Of course it's not. But the question is why do these anti-gambling laws -- which are selectively enforced -- exist?
Eyebrows were raised, but the word "tenuous" also was uttered more than once during our afternoon meeting Monday when editors discussed where the mention of Dennis Hastert in the Tony Rezko trial should be played in the paper.
Tony Rezko associate Elie Maloof just testified that when he received a grand jury subpoena, Rezko told him not to talk to the feds. Why?
"The federal prosecutor will no longer be the same federal prosecutor," Maloof just testified that Rezko told him. What did Rezko mean prosecutor Chris Niewoehner asked? "That Patrick Fitzgerald would be terminated and Dennis Hastert will name his replacement. The investigation will be over."
All of the accounts I've read dance around the suggestion that Hastert was involved in a plot to sack U.S. District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Hastert denied the suggestion himself on Monday.
Yet this isn't the first time the former speaker's name has been invoked during discussions of Fitzgerald's potential dismissal.
The Legislature wasn't in session last week, so no roundup of how your local lawmaker voted. Instead, check out this interesting piece about some politicians looking to appease unions -- again -- at the expense of taxpayers.
Some lawmakers are trying to add tollway workers and others to an alternative pension formula that was supposed to be used only for retired law enforcement officers, writes columnist Kristen McQuery of the SouthtownStar.
The alternative formula is a sweeter, softer, cushier pension offering that takes into consideration the dangerous, stressful occupations of policemen and women. In general, it allows them to retire with 25 years of service at age 50, earning up to 80 percent of their pay - and their pay rises annually to reflect a cost of living adjustment.
Throughout the years, the General Assembly, to please labor unions, has added state pilots, conservation officers, corrections officers, Department of Revenue inspectors, secretary of state investigators and several other clout-heavy professionals to the formula.
On its face, charging a kid with a crime that could land him in prison for as long as 30 years for lighting a roll of toilet paper on fire seems a bit like overkill. People convicted of reckless homicide have been given less time.
But when you consider what could have happened after the 17-year-old allegedly started a blaze in a bathroom earlier this week at West Aurora High School, such a penalty seems far less extreme.
While the conviction Monday of six Insane Deuces gang members made headlines in Aurora, it got little attention elsewhere. It should have, however, because proving conspiracy might be the most powerful tool police and prosecutors have in bringing down street gangs here.
Federal prosecutors successfully used racketeering laws to prove a conspiracy to commit murder and sell drugs in Aurora over a period of time. Some of the gang members will be facing life sentences under strict federal sentencing guidelines.
It's not the first time the RICO Act, originally used against the Mafia, has been used against street gangs. But it's a new tool in Aurora, and the guilty verdicts this week could be a sign of things to come.
Aurora is No. 3 -- in terms of what it spends on lobbying efforts, anyway.
Just in time for the continued local debate on the cost, value and political ramifications of paid lobbyists, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform has put out a report on government lobbying efforts. The group wants to see statewide reform to give citizens more information on who is spending what for what.
The finding of interest locally: The city of Aurora spent more money than all but two other municipalities in fiscal year 2007 on lobbying efforts (Only Chicago and Crestwood spent more). Among all units of government, Aurora ranked 15th with $102,101 spent on lobbying. UPDATE: Beacon News staff writer Dan Campana has seen the invoices used by the group; the number is off. Aurora paid $95,101 in fiscal 2007. The change does not affect the city's ranking.
See the press release here. Read the full report here.
* Teachers in "hard-to-staff" schools could get a $20,000 bonus.
* Legislation fails that would have allowed gay partners of some teachers to collect death benefits.
* Legislation fails that would have restricted how gun owners sell or give away firearms.
* Minimum wage could be increased for minors.
How did your lawmakers vote on these issues and more? Read all about it after the jump. Find previous votes here.
The Associated Press is calling it "one of the strongest ever recorded" earthquakes in the state. Centered in the far southeastern part of the state, the 4:37 a.m. temblor shook buildings hundreds of miles away.
The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop, 230 miles north of the epicenter, and in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of the epicenter.
In an interview with the Associated Press, congressional candidate Jim Oberweis says he has done a lot of soul-searching since his loss in the special election and talked to voters about what went wrong.
His conclusion? His negative campaigning might have backfired. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure this is a positive campaign based on a serious and respectful discussion of issues that are important to people in the 14th Congressional District," Oberweis said.
That would be quite a shift. But is it too late for Oberweis to change his public image after so many failed campaigns filled with personal attacks and distortions of the truth?
The debate over the value of lobbyists for local governments isn't a new one. On one side, municipal officials often say they are needed so the interests of their city or county are heard. Opponents see wasteful spending that only contributes to a corrupt system.
Aurora hired a lobbyist to work at the state and federal levels after Mayor Tom Weisner took office three years ago, but aldermen aren't convinced of his worth because he hasn't been reporting on what he's doing for his $84,000 every year. Before the City Council renews Dan Shomon's contract, they're going to require quarterly reports.
UPDATE APRIL 16: The African-American Chamber of Commerce has numbers. Read after the jump
Richard Irvin says the city of Aurora should be mandated to give some of its contracts to minority-owned businesses. This is at least the third time he's made this pitch. But he's not once made clear there's a discrimination problem.
Perhaps there is, but shouldn't we see some data first?
* Rich people don't have to worry about higher income taxes -- for now.
* Lawmakers could get booted from office early. See our arguments for and against.
* Legislation would force anyone charged with a felony to submit a DNA sample.
How did your lawmakers vote on these issues and more? Read all about it after the jump. Find previous votes here.
A state spending study released today by two taxpayer advocacy groups (I'm guessing these are conservative organizations) makes the point that Illinois faces a fiscal crisis not because it doesn't have enough money, but because the folks we send to Springfield spend too much of what taxpayers are compelled to give on non-essential programs.
Ninety-nine days into the new year and the city of Aurora has yet to record a murder for 2008. Something to celebrate? Let's let recent history be the judge.
The city's first 2007 murder was recorded on Jan.21. No charges have been filed in the death of 15-year-old Oscar Rodriguez.
The city's first 2006 murder was recorded on Jan. 6. A man was sentenced to 70 years in prison last year for the murder of 28-year-old Antoine "Tyrell" Bell.
In fact, the city has not been murder free this late into the new year since 1987, a year that saw just one homicide.
We knew Rick Lawrence and Stephanie Kifowit would be running for mayor in Aurora, but things could get really interesting if Richard Irvin throws his hat in the ring again.
The at-large alderman, who lost to Mayor Tom Weisner in 2005, is being coy about a poll being conducted that asks Aurora residents about another potential mayoral run for the young attorney. Irvin played dumb about the survey, but said, "I will run for mayor again at some point in the future."
With three aldermen potentially running against Weisner, things could get very interesting on the City Council over the next year. But who has the best chance of beating an incumbent mayor with a huge war chest?
* Are higher gas prices on the way in Kendall, DeKalb counties?
* More red-light cameras could be installed.
* Defining "serious mental illness" apparently is controversial.
* Member initiatives get another look.
* See other action here.
A dumb question, yes? Yet, if parents -- and communities -- knew the real answer, they might be able to do something constructive to solve this nation's largest drug problem. I imagine many parents who attended the forums in Aurora and Oswego on Wednesday came to learn why kids drink; others perhaps came to find out if there is a way to stop them.
A study published in late 2007 sought to find the answers to these questions. The results, published in the journal Prevention Research, found that high school seniors drink to experiment, to relax -- and to get away from their problems -- by and large similar reasons why adults drink.
There's a lot of goofyness going on in Springfield. Yes, this is both an understatement and hyperbole.
But the big announcement from the other day got us thinking -- perhaps we should help folks tune in a bit more to what lawmakers are doing in Springfield.
This, of course, will serve as either a wonderful sleeping agent for our insomniac crowd or a healthy service for voters. Or both. Or neither.
Anyway.
Each week our fine public servants are in session, we'll post updates on contested bills passed out of the General Assembly. We hope you can use this to cast judgment on the people who serve you.
CYNIC: Having defeated all other scourges upon mankind, the city of Aurora -- with an assist from the politicians in Springfield who need fodder for re-election -- has decided to tackle a problem it doesn't have: meth.
OPTIMIST: They acknowledged meth production isn't a problem here yet. They're just being proactive. Assistant Police Chief Greg Thomas said "this is a preventive measure to make sure it is not a problem here."
CYNIC: Proactive? I believe the term you're looking for is political opportunism. They use a recent bust -- in Chicago -- to make themselves look current and tough on crime. And, as an added bonus, they might scare some voters into believing something that isn't true.
