Resentencing hearing for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what"s going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
As the resentencing hearingfor Democratic former Gov. Rod Blagojevich unfolded Tuesday, the thoughts and memories and context and perspective came rushing back.
*Compare and contrast, Part 1: Blagojevich in December 2008: "I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong."
Blagojevich on Tuesday, who talked about mistakes: I recognize it was my actions and my words that led me here.
Prosecutors noted that the former governor has never taken responsibility for the crimes he was convicted of or shown true remorse, that he thinks his actions were still in a gray area of politics.
*Compare and contrast, Part 2: Former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich, as recorded by federal agents in 2007 (suggesting that Tribune Co. ownership should just fire Chicago Tribune editorial writers if the company wanted the state to help it unload Wrigley Field to ease its crushing debt):
"Hold up that (expletive) Cubs (expletive)," she is quoted as saying in the background as her husband talked on the phone, authorities alleged. "(Expletive)them."
In a letter released Monday night: Please give Annie the chance for a normal,happy childhood, that has slipped away from Amy, she wrote of the couples two children. I am pleading with you, indeed begging you, to please be merciful.
*Compare and contrast, Part 3: Blagojevichs hair, December 2011: big and black. On Tuesday: big and white. Or gray, depending on your perspectiveof the closed-circuit TV screen in the courtroom.
*Hospital: A new hospital opened in McHenry Countyon Tuesday, the same day as Blagojevichs resentencing hearing. No small measure of irony there. The Centegra Hospital in Huntley opened more than a decade after a Blagojevich-era hospital siting board was engulfed in a bribery scandal that ended up with the rejection of a competitors proposed hospital in Crystal Lake.
*Ex-gov finds G*d?As a politician, Blagojevich liked to talk about love, especially the kind hed find from audiences on the campaign trail during his two statewide runs for governor. Its a preacher thing to do, and Blagojevich was nothing if not a seasoned speech-giver who could connect with a crowd. On Tuesday, he talked about having a chance to study the Bible while in prison and that it helped him leave the anger behind and embrace love.
What"s on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will make an announcement about a tech incubator for manufacturers.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner has no public schedule.
*U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk will be at a discussion on getting an immigration bill through Congress. It"s put on by the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, a group that says it wants a bill that expands visas for high- and low-skilled workers and agricultural workers, and creates a path to citizenship for undocumented workers.
*U.S. Sen. d**k Durbin and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will talk at the Haymarket Center about the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic.
What we"re writing
*No dice for Blagojevich as Judge Zagel sticks to 14-year federal prison sentence.
*A look at what Blagojevich told his daughters (via video screen) after sentencing.
*Blagojevich resentencing photo gallery.
*CPS CEO Claypool warns (again) of classroom cuts if no CTU contract concessions.
*Second of five City Hall hearings on CPD oversight brings call for elected civilian board.
*Monday was deadliest day in Chicago in 13 years.
What we"re reading
*Top Emanuel adviser who doesn"t like to talk to press on the record gives interview, kinda.
*Is conservative Utah really up for grabsin presidential race?
*Mexicos richest man confronts new foe: state that helped make him wealthy.
From the notebook
*Lopez renews no-kill push: After the recent death of a dog at Chicagos city-run animal shelter, a Southwest Side alderman and noted animal lover is trying to get some lift for his ongoing push to make it a no-kill facility.
Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, said the fact the Chicago Animal Care and Control shelter is allowed to euthanize animals because there isnt enough space to house them leads employees there to be not as attentive as they should be to the humane needs of the creatures under their care.
Lopez, who owns several dogs, helped get the City Council to pass a resolution this year calling for hearings on requiring all Chicago shelters to adopt no-kill policies. By national standards, shelters are considered no-kill if no more than 10 percent of the animals brought in are euthanized. It could be costly for the cash-strapped city to put in place the rules to meet those standards.
Lopezs measure had no legislative power, and though Mayor Rahm Emanuel has expressed general support for the idea, it has not been enshrined in city law. (John Byrne)
Follow the money
*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account:https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash
Beyond Chicago
*Trump back on track? Day after economic speech, suggests "Second Amendment people" could stop Clinton.
*GOP donors turning to Clinton?
*RNC tries to getBill Clinton"s schedulesreleased.
*Putin, Erdogan warming relations send shiverdown West"s spine.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rod-blagojevich-compare-contrast-then-now-20160809-story.html
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