Senate to Reconvene: Emil Jones

We've been asking you to call the Senate President's office and demand that he reconvene his chamber. It appears your calls have worked. Media reports now indicate that the Senate will reconvene next week. Thanks to your efforts, the Senate will have an opportunity to address the Pay to Play bill, among other things.

Now, we should apologize to those of you who tried to call the President's Chicago office. Some of you called to let us know that no one was answering. Your calls filled his voice mail. But those calls worked. President Jones says he's doing this for his "my friend" and former colleague, U.S. Sen, Barack Obama. But make no mistake, if all of you had sat silently, this session would not be happening.

Not to be left out, Gov. Blagojevich then announced a Special Session for Monday the 22nd at 1 pm to deal with "real ethics reform." So the ball is definitely rolling.

We thank you all for speaking up to protect this important legislation from almost certain death or legal challenge.

Now, on to Springfield!

Reconvene the Senate Now

To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, Monday saw the most extraordinary collection of talent and knowledge gathered in one room since Thomas Jefferson dined alone. Now, it's your turn to take action. Please call Senate President Emil Jones and urge him to reconvene the Senate. Here's why:

At Monday's press conference in the James R. Thompson Center, those gathered at the podium included Comptroller Dan Hynes, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Lt Gov Pat Quinn, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Sen. Don Harmon, Sen. Debbie Halvorson, Sen. Terry Link, Sen. Susan Garrett, Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, Sen. Ira Silverstein, Sen. Kirk Dillard, Sen. Christine Radogno, Sen. Matt Murphy, Sen. Bill Brady, Sen. Pamela Althoff., former Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch, ICPR Director Cindi Canary, BGA Director Jay Stewart, Citizen Action Director William McNary, Citizen Advocacy Center Director Terry Pastica, Illinois PIRG Director Brian Imus, League of Women Voters of Illinois President Paula Lawson, and the Rev. Al Sharp, the Director of Protestants for the Common Good.

What brought all these people together was one simple idea: The Illinois State Senate must immediately reconvene to address HB 824, the pay to play bill. Now, not later. Not after the Election, and certainly not more than 15 days since the House sent HB 824 back to the Senate to override the Governor's veto.

Waiting invites legal challenge. The state Constitution says that if either chamber takes longer than 15 calendar days to act on a veto, the underlying bill dies. Senate President Emil Jones claims the 15 day clock does not start running until the Senate reconvenes, but that argument has never been tested in court, and we do not want the pay-to-play bill to become the test case. Why let reform be tied up in court for years? Indeed, why wait at all? The message that united all of those elected officials and public advocates was simply this: reconvene now.

Here's some press coverage on the conference, from Crain's Chicago Business, the Chicago Sun-Times, the
AP via the Tribune, and the
Kankakee Daily Journal. And some editorials, from Bloomington Pantagraph (Today) the Rockford Register Star (Today), the Chicago Tribune (Monday), the Belleville News Democrat (Today), and the Jacksonville Journal Courier (Today):

Now it's your turn. Please call the Senate President at either 217-782-2728 or 773-995-7748 and tell him to bring his chamber back into session. His members want it. The public deserves it. Why wait?

Sen. Emil Jones' Campaign Fund: a half-million dollar personal bank account?

With press reports indicating this morning that Senate President Emil Jones is planning a retirement, we once again look at the campaign finance records to see how much a departing legislator could take with him for his own personal use.

Senate President Jones' main campaign account is Citizens for Emil Jones. Formed in 1974, it has State ID 188; one of the lowest of the currently active PAC numbers. The committee reported $577,605.04 in cash on hand as of June 30, 1998. That report listed no investments, but it did claim outstanding loans of $3,300, which may be in addition to the cash balance. State law bars candidates from using campaign funds for personal use, but grandfathers funds raised prior to June 30, 1998. So, that's the amount that President Jones could take from his campaign fund for personal use (provided that he pays income taxes on it).

It's worth noting that Sen. Jones is not required to take any money from the PAC for personal use; it's strictly up to him. Nor does he have to take any action any time soon; he has until the committee dissolves, whenever that may be.

Senate President Jones also chairs the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund (State ID 6920). That fund exists to "Support Democratic Candidates For State Office" so it's unlikely that any of that money would be available to Jones personally, though Jones has chaired the Fund since its inception in 1997. It claimed a balance on June 30, 1998 of $629,451.12. In looking up that balance, I also noticed that the Treasurer of the Fund is and has always been Courtney Nottage. Nottage worked on Jones' staff in 1997, but since February, 2005, he's been a lobbyist with Fletcher, Topol, O'Brien and Kasper, where his clients have included Com Ed, Arlington Park, and many others.

Jones owes substantial debts to his Citizens for Emil Jones, having borrowed some $120,000 from the fund over the past decade. These debts, typically in $300-$500 increments, have been only partly paid back. It appears from the most recent disclosure reports that he owes his campaign fund in excess of $30,000.

Any succession to the office of Senate President will play out on many fronts: personal, tactical, political. The decision will also have clear policy implications. While Democrats run all statewide offices and both chambers of the legislature, infighting between the Governor, the House Speaker and the Senate President have resulted in gridlock that stymied a broad range of bills. The Senate has an opportunity that does not come along very often, and we hope they not only find a leader capable of guiding the upper chamber to thoughtful, reasoned, and wise decisions, but also one who is committed to democratizing the caucus, reforming campaign finance, and ensuring far more openness in the process.