Politics as usual: The Sun-Times is reporting that the Cook County Board of Ethics is dropping its investigation into whether Democrat Party boss and Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios accepted money from attorneys who make their living representing clients seeking lower property tax bills — from county tax officials such as Berrios.
While the pay-to-play scheme has long been a practice among and between Illinois politicians and lawyers, Berrios insists that the investigation was politically motivated and that "...no one is going to be influenced by someone who gives you a check to run for office.”
Hmm: George Ryan, Rod Blagojevich, hundreds of other convicted Illinois pols. Yeah, Berrios is right. Nothing but angels in Illinois government.
BTW - Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullterton both have law firms that specialize in property tax reductions. And don't forget, Madigan's daughter Lisa is the "see no corruption, hear no corruption, prosecute no corruption" Attorney General of the State.
Click HERE for an analysis of Joe Berrios' political bio.
There are those in the conservative movement that are more comfortable addressing fiscal issues, and want to pretend social issues don't matter as much. We at Illinois Review strongly disagree with that idea, because fiscal and social issues commonly intersect.
For instance, it is a fiscal waste if Planned Parenthood is fraudulently raking in taxpayer dollars to pay overcharges on pharmaceuticals, medical services and non-existent procedures. But it's also a social travesty if the $1 million in taxpayer dollars that flow each day into Planned Parenthoods nationwide are being used to victimize America's young girls and vulnerable women.
Along with several other Congress members, Illinois' U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) reviewed a report released by Americans United for Life and found an array of questions about Planned Parenthood and the organization's shady practices to warrant a Congressional investigation.
Continue reading "Hultgren calls for congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood" »
UPDATED BELOW...
COOK COUNTY - Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios was reprimanded by the Sun Times for giving one of his daughters a $10,000 year raise while requiring 12 days of furlough from the rest of his non-family member staff. Berrios -- who is also the Cook County Democratic Party's chairman -- reportedly uses his taxpayer-funded office to employ not only this daughter, but his son and his sister. Nepotism -- what's that definition again?
The Sun Times wrote about the family affair Monday and editorialized about it Tuesday, but left out another member of the family - Berrios's daughter: State Representative Toni Berrios.
Rep. Berrios (D-Chicago) didn't have any qualms about voting on video poker expansion that her dad was lobbying for in Springfield last year. "There was no conflict of interest," she told Illinois Review; and insisted her father never discussed the legislation with her although she served on, and didn't recuse herself from, the House Gambling Committee.
But back to the issue.
Continue reading "UPDATE: Berrios' family ties that bind - even at the Capitol" »
