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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| Re: Blago is a goof 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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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
1 edit | Re: Blago is a goof 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.
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