TheMadSwede
Premium
join:2001-01-30
Holland, MI | reply to calvoiper
Re: Blago is a goof
»www.suntimes.com/output/news/governor21.html
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
1 edit | reply to calvoiper
FLASH UPDATE
Today (Wed., 9/21) Blago pushed Hurley aside and replaced him with Marty Cohen, 11 year leader of the Illinois Citizen's Utility Board (CUB).
Rumors circulating in the Illinois capitol also indicate that Commissioner O'Connell-Diaz is about to be replaced. In addition to above mentioned sins, she attempted to cut short an investigation into Enron/People's Gas dealings. Following public uproar, the case was reassigned to a different ALJ who has ordered $119 Million in refunds to consumers.
First, utility execs are in a tizzy and their valets are busy doing laundry. This represents a major blow to established utility interests.
Second, speculation is rife about how much of this is driven by the Illinois Attorney General's investigation of how close the Commissioners had gotten to the utilities.
Immediate impact on telecommunications is unclear, though the approvals for the SBC/ATT and VZ/MCI megamergers may be affected.
calvoiper |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| reply to TheMadSwede
Well, lets see.
Blago bumped Hurley up to chair. Hurley has a long history, dating back to his ALJ days, of being pro-utility.
Blago appointed Ford, who is a safe vote for utilities on major matters.
Blago appointed O'Connell-Diaz, who was so close to the utilities in her ALJ days that she got into deep doo-doo for accepting White Sox playoff tickets from Commonwealth Edison.
They immediately went to work on raising SBC's wholesale rates to competitors and in trying to reduce SBC's obligations to lease facilities to competitors. Illinois went from a leading commission on telecom competition to a Neanderthal approach almost overnight.
The e-mails and records of several Commissioners have now been subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating improper contacts with utilities.
(Free of subpoena, and free of similar taints so far as I know, is the newest commissioner, Lieberman, who arrives on a potential white horse, though he has a pretty left-leaning past, as far a regulators go.)
calvoiper
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TheMadSwede
Premium
join:2001-01-30
Holland, MI
 ·Charter Pipeline
| reply to calvoiper
First of all, name the members of the ICC you're talking about. The chairman? The commissioners? The director? And what makes someone favorable to the utilities?
I'm no Blogo (I think "Blogo" rolls off the tongue better...) fan and I hate Daley's influence and his ridiculous attempts to take away my guns (wow - I sound white trash). Nor would I proclaim that the ICC has any sort of integrity (whether GOP-led or Dem-led). However, I do get a charge out of the vague Bill Daley comments void of actual facts, as if someone being someone's brother is enough to actually prove anything.
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| reply to TheMadSwede
If you know Illinois politics, then you know that when the Dems won the Governor's mansion, Blago immediately began appointing Illinois Commerce Commission (Illinois' PUC) members favorable to the utilities--in large part because the Democratic Mayor of Chicago had a brother named Bill Daley who just happened to run SBC's governmental affairs operation.
To the extent Blago's been "bought off", it's old news.
On the other hand, Pat Quinn, the Lt. Gov. and chair of this panel is a founder of Illinois CUB and a loose cannon of long duration and exceptional proportion.
Karl is right. This should be a gas.
calvoiper
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chuckpint
join:2001-07-06
Evanston, IL
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Only 3 of 27 on Council are industry reps
Actually if you are looking for the real foes at this table look no further than Melville Nickerson, Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and anyone from any utility (SBC in this case). CUB was against SBC taking over Ameritech. It was against SBC getting to offer long distance in Illinois. It's been against every rate hike SBC has asked for.
So if anything I'd say the utilities are going to go nowhere if they try and BS this group with the usual. |
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TheMadSwede
Premium
join:2001-01-30
Holland, MI | reply to TKJunkMail
If people would read the article, they'd know this. But it's more fun to cap off about yet another politician being bought off, etc. Annoying.
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batageek
Slave To The Duopoly
Premium
join:2003-01-25
| reply to TKJunkMail
I think you might have misinterpreted the title of the story.
It's not about Illinois MuniFoes (Anti Muni).
I think Karl meant to imply Illinois Munis (Pro-Muni) and Foes (anti-munis) coming together at the same table.
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
1 edit |  Only 3 of the 27 members on the council are from the telco/cable industry. The other 24 are politicians, academics, muni reps, pro-muni groups, etc. It doesn't look like the Governor stacked the deck for the telco industry. I'd wait to see what they come up with before everyone jumps to the conclusion the group is biased against muni broadband.
Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will serve as Chairman of the Broadband Deployment Council
Representatives from eight state agencies dealing with commerce, transportation, finance and economic development will join Quinn on the council.
Two education boards will also be represented.
In addition, Governor Blagojevich is appointing 16 individuals who will provide consumer and business perspectives from both underserved urban areas, as well as rural communities. The 16 individuals include:
. Representative Connie Howard, 34th Representative District
· Alderman Manny Flores, City of Chicago, First Ward
· Melville Nickerson, Citizens Utility Board
· Jason Bird, City of Princeton, Illinois Municipal Electric Association
· Deborah Seale, SIU Telehealth Networks and Programs, SIU School of Medicine
· Terry Sullivan, TECH 2006
· Jody Johnson, Southernmost Illinois Regional e-Partners, University of Illinois
Extension
· Herb Kuryliw, Illinois Municipal Broadband Communications Association, Northern Illinois University
· Annie Collins, Fiber for Our Future
· Michael Dickson, Western Illinois University
· Donna McCann, Illinois Association of Regional Councils
· Rev. Bill Samuels, Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide
· Ed Feser, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
· Greg Robertson, Globalcom, Inc.
· Philip Wood, Verizon
· Kirk Brannoch, SBC
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