(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A village near Joliet has hired a lobbyist whose name you might remember: Rod Blagojevich. The online Capitol Fax reports Homer Glen has hired the disgraced ex-governor to help with legislation in Springfield. Gov. JB Pritzker (pictured) was asked about it Tuesday.
“Certainly, who represents you, whether it’s as a lobbyist or in any other way, matters. And so, to the extent that the impeachment and disgrace of a former governor reflects on a place that would hire him, then I guess it might harm their ability to get something done.”
Among the Capitol Fax reporting: Homer Glen made a $9,999 payment to Blagojevich, apparently to avoid a bidding process a $10,000 payment would trigger.
Pritzker, speaking at Illinois State University in Normal, said he is not done trying to rein in insurance premiums.
“The idea that your homeowners’ insurance is going to go up in one single year 27 percent is a bit outrageous,” said the governor. “And so the reaction that I have and that many members of the General Assembly have is that that’s not fair, that we ought to have more transparency from our insurance companies, especially when they are coming to ask for such an enormous increase.”
It’s a sensitive issue in Bloomington-Normal, home to both State Farm Insurance and Country Financial.
And, as Bears-fan-in-chief, Pritzker wants Chicago’s football team to beat the Los Angeles Rams Sunday. But, as governor, he says the state will not build the team a new stadium. But that’s not to say there have been no talks.
“There have been ongoing discussions with the Bears about infrastructure. They just recently told us what their infrastructure needs are. And then the question is: how can the state meet those infrastructure needs? One thing I am optimistic about in this regard is some of the infrastructure needs that the Bears are identifying as their needs are also needs of the area around Arlington Heights.”
The Bears own enough land in Arlington Heights for a domed stadium but have also contemplated staying on the lakefront – or moving to Indiana.
