Just in time for the premiere of AMC's "The Prisoner" remake, we learn Illinois may be the home to some 200 al-Qaida terrorists currently near a Cuban beach in Guantanamo Bay. The Hound says ship them to the Thomson Correctional Center. We might as well make something off the Jihadists.
Besides, these prisoners look like they will be surrounded by about 1,500 GIs, if U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin knows what he is talking about. If military guards are involved, what happens to the 3,000 jobs Gov. Pat Quinn was touting for tiny Thomson, out there in northwest Illinois, a region which over the years has commonly been referred to as Forgottonia. That's because the rest of Illinois has forgotten about it, like one of your funny uncles.
Congressional Republicans have decided to fight this proposal by the Obama administration tooth and nail with Highland Park Congressman Mark Kirk leading the charge to keep these terrorists where they belong --- Cuba. He says putting them in Illinois leaves us open to danger at O'Hare International Airport and the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). He even has an online petition on his U.S. Senate campaign Web site to send a message that Illinoisans don't want terrorists here: www.noterroristsinillinois.com.
Kirk and his fellow Illinois Republicans argue if the Islamic terrorists are here, they will endanger Illinois. The Hound thinks we have enough of homegrown terrorism on the streets of our cities that we can handle 200 Jihadists. Besides, they may like it here. Except in winter.
There was a lot of clucking in the Blogosphere, especially among Illinois Democrats, about GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk seeking Sarah Palin's backing in February's Republican primary. In effect, they said the Highland Park congressman was going rogue.
Well, The Hound believes that is the farthest thing from Kirk's mind. This will blow over by the time November comes around, just like most of the pre-election political hijinks on both sides of the political aisle.
What Kirk is doing is no different than what any candidate does in a political primary. He leans to the right as a Republican, to the left as a Democrat. The party faithful are more apt to vote in primaries, not independents. And to win, a candidate has to appeal to the broad spectrum we call the electorate. Candidates have been doing this for decades and once the primaries are over, they start to meld in the middle. Can't win without appealing to independents, which President Obama realized last fall.
Palin, whether you like her or hate her, is hot right now. She's on "Oprah", she's got a book coming out, she's hot on the conservative speechifying circuit. It's normal to seek her support, regardless of one's political independence. As of this date, she hasn't said if she'll support anybody in next year's GOP primary.
Meantime, Kirk, a military man himself, was all over Chicago TV on Veterans Day, giving a long-ignored medal to a Zion World War II vet. Except for Gov. Pat Quinn, no other statewide candidate made the evening news. That should tell Republicans of all persuasions something as the runup to Feb. 2, 2010 begins.
The Hound was worried enough about the regular flu. Then came H1N1 flu, which has claimed five Lake County folks, including a teen girl and a boy, 12. Now comes word of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in a Vernon Hills old folks home. Is it time to head for the bunker?
A few years back there was this movie, "Outbreak", which if The Hound recalls, starred Dustin Hoffman and a cast of a thousand microbes. These viruses hanging around Lake County is enough for The Hound to head north across the Cheddar Curtin into Kenosha County. You don't hear of any wierd viruses up north, ya hey der. Unless one considers being a Packer fan is caused by something in the air...or water.
So far, this outbreak of Legionella phnemophila has claimed two elderly individuals, while four other cases have been confirmed. County health officials affirm the outbreak is confined to the retirement center.
That eases The Hound's paranoia a little bit, but the bunker is looking better and better in the short term.
Senior citizens sure have clout in this state. They stared down lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn when it came to the possibility of losing their free mass transit rides. Sturdy legislators turned to Jell-o when facing the voting booth wrath of Illinois geezers denied gratis bus and train rides. Quinn, too, waffled after transit agencies thought they had an agreement to restrict the free rides to low-income seniors and half fares for other seniors.
For all of you who thought there was no free lunch, talk to Illinois pols. They fear seniors mainly because they vote. A lot. While the nation's youth vote may have propelled then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama into the White House, they only come out when they're energized on an issue or candidate. Seniors don't care. They just vote. A lot. Which is why seniors get so much free stuff and reduced rates for everything from hotel rooms to national park entrance fees.
A group of seniors storming Springfield sends shivers down the spine of normally unswayable pols. Which is why the two-year-old free rides for seniors 65 and older is still running. When faced with re-election prospects, pols err on the side of seniors and their growing numbers (see, Boomers, Baby).
Chicago Transit Authority officials believe the free rail rides instituted by former Gov. Rod "The Apprentice" Blagojevich has cost them some $60 million. They were hoping to recoup that. Guess again. Now the CTA is looking at service cuts and fare increases.
We like what one lawmaker unconcerned with geezer rage said: "There is no free ride on a bus that doesn't exist." Who said seniors are in their golden years? Not The Hound.
Looking at those long queues of thousands of Lake County residents waiting for H1N1 vaccinations, The Hound wondered: Is it time to panic?
The county expects to run out of the vaccine shortly after getting about 10,000 doses. This is the clout Lake County has: Health officials ask for 100,000 doses, we get 10,000.
But what the county did get was dispensed at five different flu shot locations --- Mundelein, Gurnee, Round Lake Beach, Waukegan and North Chicago --- as mothers dragged their kids from school to get the shots. Already, two people have died in the county from H1N1 and they weren't kids.
One was a 72-year-old man, the other a 41-year-old woman. Both were from Gurnee, which apparently is ground zero in the Year of H1N1. Perhaps its swine flu revenge for Gurnee stealing Waukegan's car dealers, eh?
Of course, in following Centers for Disease Control guidelines, these initial flu clinics were only for people in high-risk groups, including pregnant women; those 6 months to 24 years of age; health care and emergency medical services employees; and people 25 to 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes.
And, The Hound wants to know, which lobbyists from the pork producing states changed the name from swine flu to H1N1. Swine flu sounded more benign. H1N1 sounds like it should be a monicker for an android in a program on the Sci-Fi Channel.
As for panic time. It's only the first quarter, folks. Lots of time left for a hail Mary or two. Or maybe those promised 100,000 vaccine doses.
There's nothing like a Democrat scorned, The Hound always says. Take Lake County Democratic Party boss, state Sen. Terry Link of Waukegan. He's still in a snit over Sheriff Mark Curran jumping to the Republican Party.
So Link now has a candidate to fight fire with fire. He's tapped Waukegan criminal attorney Douglas Roberts to take on Curran, who once was a Waukegan criminal attorney and a Democrat. Says Link in today's Lake County News-Sun about Roberts' candidacy: "He's a real Democrat."
Like there's a litmus test for this in Lake County? A lot of Republicans running at the County Board level are actually Democrats in disguise, knowing they probably couldn't get elected in certain districts unless being a Republican. And, Curran, according to newsroom geezers, isn't the only Democrat who's jumped to the GOP side in past years.
Looks like Democrats' memories are as long as an elephant's. And, what happened to actual law enforcement types seeking the sheriff's job instead of lawyers? Maybe it's tough to make a living as a lawyer in a recession, eh?
Stay tuned. Candidate filing for countywide and state offices begins Monday in Waukegan and Springfield. The primaries are in February 2010 and the general election in November, which is when the real fun begins.
Is anyone seriously shocked that a father would use his kids to finagle his way into a "reality show"? The Hound isn't. This is what happens to people when they get that first taste of 15 minutes of fame. They then want a half hour.
Colorado authorities are weighing felony charges against Ballon Boy's dad, Richard Heene, after he reported to police his 6-year-old son drifted away in a space-alien looking helium balloon made in his back yard. During media interviews, the kid blurted out the stunt was for "the show" which got investigators digging. Now they think the whole thing was a hoax in order to get on a reality show.
After all, the family was on "Wife Swap" not once, but twice! It's enough torture to watch that program, let alone putting your family through it twice. And, let's not overlook former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to get on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" show. Blago's wife, Patti, was one of those on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" where "celebrities" were dropped into the jungle and then had to cope.
It was one of the lamest shows and the celebrities didn't even include Kathy Griffin, and she's on the D-List. The Hound was forced to watch "I'm a Celebrity" for news value and had to bail after episode two. Yuck, and to think Patti nearly drowned!
A federal judge appears to be willing to allow Blago to appear with Trump in the program scheduled for March 2010 if he'll agree not to spout his innocence of trying to peddle a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. Prosecutors say he's trying to taint the jury pool.
What else would a reality "star" be doing now that reality has set in for the former guv?
Those Democratic lawmakers in Springfield sure have some nerve. After rejecting the chance for voters to boot former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the curb last year, they now vote to put a gubernatorial recall measure on next year's ballot. And, like most of their backbones, this offering for voters surely is weak.
State Sens. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, who also doubles as Lake County Democratic chairman and is an announced candidate for lieutenant governor, and Michael Bond, D-Grayslake, decided to join the rest of their colleagues this time around and let us nobodies vote to get rid of a sitting governor. Except, if voters approve it, the law specifies that 30 members of the General Assembly must support the recall measure and then supporters would have to get at least 15 percent of the total votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election.
And the kicker: It's only governor we can try to recall. Not, for instance state senators. Like most of what has been accomplished in Springfield this year, this is a nothing bill. Voters wold be wise to reject this bone tossed to us and make sure the candidates we elect next year won't be afraid to put the people's business before their political backsides.
The Hound has returned from an extended stay in Denmark after the International Olympic Commitee dashed the hopes of Chicago Mayor Daley, talk show maven Oprah Winfrey, President Obama and the twin villages of Old Mill Creek and Wadsworth. If you have never been to Denmark, The Hound recommends it. It's sort of like Wisconsin, but without Packers fans.
Old Mill Creek would have been the site of the equestrian events during the 2016 Summer Games, although Wadsworth would have been the beneficiary of some of the spillover and certainly Gurnee and Waukegan, with their hotel spaces. Instead, they'll be doing dressage and jumping fences in Rio.
The Hound has never been to Rio de Janeiro, but knows someone who once traveled there for Carnivale. On the Ipanema Beach, he was accosted and was the victim of a female pickpocket. Or at least that was his story and he's stuck to it ever since.
The Hound was a full-blown Olympics supporter, and will be boycotting next year's Winter Games in Vancouver. The Hound also is considering boycotting NBC, but why bother? Most viewer already are.
As for the reason Chicago and the United States lost the 2016 bid it is simple: Rio is in South America, a continent which has never hosted an Olympics, and the rest of the world hates us. Despite the rock star status of President Obama, he couldn't close the deal because, outside of our culture and money, the U.S. is disliked by nearly everyone around the world --- except the Saudis. And they did so before George Bush made it worse with the invasion of Iraq.
Will there be a 2020 U.S. Olympic bid? Not from Chicago, The Hound predicts.
Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk has had a bad few weeks of late. That's what happens when you decide to jump from the narrow confines of the 10th Congressional District and run for the U.S. Senate. Your every move is placed under the microscope. And there's that learning curve moving from a tiny district to the statewide stage.
The Highland Park Republican is being accused of flip-flopping on the "cap and trade" issue, whereby pollutants companies release would be capped, but they would be allowed to buy and sell them for more emissions. Sort of a mercantile exchange for industrial polluters. When Kirk was a congressman, he was one of a handful of Republicans to support the bill, mainly because he voted the narrow interests of his congressional district.
That's what congressmen do. They vote their districts. If they don't, they don't get re-elected. Senators are supposed to look at the big picture, the statewide canvas. Kirk says if first nominated and then elected next November, he will do that when it comes to "cap and trade."
Democrats have leaped on Kirk's "cap and trade" stance as changing his tune, while conservative Republicans, who haven't factored in a Senate or gubernatorial race since Peter Fitzgerald, are getting their pound of flesh from moderate Kirk. Fortunately, it is early for Kirk to rebuff these pre-campaign gaffes.
The only folks paying attention at this stage are political junkies and the opposition. Voters aren't focusing yet on any election, if early polls are any conclusion, and won't start concentrating on the Feb. 2 primary until after Jan. 1. There's plenty of time for the Kirk Express to get rolling across the Illinois prairies.
Republicans have targets of opportunity across the Land of Lincoln next year. Just don't get overconfident.
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