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Blogs
| Sep 8th 2009 |
- Progress Illinois
"...two state lawmakers -- Sen. Dan Kotowski and Rep. Julie Hamos -- are hoping to pass legislation lowering the override threshold from a four-fifths majority to a three-fifths majority during the General Assembly's veto session in October. This spring, Kotowski passed a measure out of the Senate aimed at doing just that, but it stalled in the House Rules Committee (where Speaker Madigan sends bills to die). This morning, both legislators talked to reporters about their renewed effort at a Chicago press conference. Watch a few excerpts:" more..
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| Aug 7th 2009 |
- Illinois Reason
"Kudos to Sen. Dan Kotowski and Rep. Mark Walker for shepherding the Higher Education Veterans Service Bill (SB 1624) through their chambers.... Illinois and Federal governments and others offer a number of services and opportunities for veterans who are attending college and this bill essentially requires schools to consolidate that info into one source and also appoint someone on staff as an ombudsman for veterans who are students..." more..
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| Apr 28th 2009 |
- Child Care Association IL News Weblog
"The Illinois House today voted 116-0 to create a new approach to help Illinois abused and neglected children living in residential and group homes get more sophisticated care and avoid hospitalization." more..
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| Oct 22nd 2008 |
- Archpundit
"Dan Kotowski has shown independence and resilence at a time when most lawmakers have been relegated to do-nothing status by the powers that be. He should be sent back to continue his work.
" more..
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| Oct 22nd 2008 |
- Illinois Reason
"Dan Kotowski has shown independence and resilience at a time when most lawmakers have been relegated to do-nothing status by the powers that be. He should be sent back to continue his work." more..
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| Oct 14th 2008 |
- Archpundit
"Michael Sweeney running in the 33rd District against Dan Kotowski, attacked Dan for pay raises even though Dan was one of the stronger voices against them. And Michael took a pay raise as Clerk in Elk Grove Village.
He took that raise even though he didn’t perform his most important function on time in 2006." more..
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| Oct 13th 2008 |
- Archpundit
"Seriously–the Republicans have lots of targets out there and lots of issues, but attacking Dan Kotowski on the pay raise when he sponsored the amendment to block it, gave a portion of his salary to a scholarship, and refused his overtime stipend. That’s what the Republicans have?" more..
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| Oct 11th 2008 |
- Illinois Reason
"Today the Senate Republicans dumped a bunch of money into Sweeney’s moribund campaign account in order to attack the workhorse Kotowski with wacky ad." more..
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| Jun 13th 2008 |
- Progress Illinois
"I urge Governor Blagojevich to do the right thing and sign House Bill 824 into law immediately. This will hopefully ensure the beginning of the end of corruption in our state and show the people that we are committed to service for the sake of helping children, families, and seniors "achieve the decent satisfying life that is the right of everyone."" more..
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| Feb 6th 2008 |
- Illinois Reason
"I don’t believe either Democrats — incumbent Sen. Kotowski or State Rep candidate Walker — think they have a cakewalk on their hands. They are ready to run a solid, hard-working campaign in order to earn folks’ votes, as I’m sure their Republican opponents also are.
Looking back at 2006, Russ Stewart noted that then primary candidate Dan Kotowski bested Jim Morici for the Dem nomination by 4,436-2,632 (a ballot total of 7,068). This was compared to then-appointed State Sen. Cheryl Axley’s 5,818 primary total (she ran unopposed in the GOP primary). Kotowski went on to defeat Axley by nearly 1,400 votes that November.
This meant that not only had the Dem primary indicated a greater Democratic turnout than that of Republicans, but also that Kotowski was able to expand on this disparity a bit over the course of the summer and fall for an even larger general election win. The result was that he flipped the Senate seat to Dem hands for the first time since the 1800s." more..
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| Jan 10th 2008 |
- Wurf While
"Kotowski voted for the comprehensive reform package that will bring much needed funding to the CTA, Metra, and Pace which will deliver a ‘world class’ public transportation system to Suburban Chicago." more..
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| Jan 1st 2008 |
- Prairie State Blue
"sometimes, it takes real courage to stand up for what you believe in. that's even more so when one is a freshman. barack obama has told the story that he was given advice when he first got to the illinois senate: watch, listen, learn -- and keep your mouth shut. it's not bad advice, it's just not what dan kotowski did. if anything, it seems like senator kotowski put himself in the thick of it.
sen. kotowski has passed nine of his bills into law, which is not exactly unusual. what is unusual is that kotowski wasn't even in office for half a year -- and hadn't even completed his first session in the illinois senate -- before he started receiving threats and ignominious honors and outrageous inferences that he's unamerican (see mailer at bottom of the post). freshman don't usually challenge, let alone threaten, entrenched interests in illinois politics.
for this reason, and others, illinois senator dan kotowski deserves the 2007 profile in courage. he not only stood up for what he believes in against the powers that be, he stood his ground and got things done. that's quite an accomplishment." more..
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| Dec 20th 2007 |
- Prairie State Blue
"by: Dan Kotowski
Happy Holidays to everyone here at Prairie State Blue. I hope that you are all able to spend quality time with your loved ones during this season.
We are near the end of the year and will begin a whole new legislative session. There is much to do from a policy standpoint (bills to introduce, worthy programs to advocate for) as well as from an electoral point of view. I know that many of you are quite active in the local campaigns but I want to encourage all of you to make a New Year?s Resolution. I encourage you to donate one more hour a month or one more dollar a week (or pick something of your choosing) to independent, progressive candidates across our state.
I have two New Year's Resolutions (note: these do not include my personal resolutions which of course involve my resolving to be a better husband, father, brother, neighbor, etc. My more public New Year's Resolutions are to help candidates like Mark Pera and to secure state support for mass transit funding. To the first, Mark Pera, who has a tough yet very winnable primary, is a thoughtful, intelligent, hardworking, honest and compassionate person. He will make a terrific congressman. To the second, we need to secure funding for public transportation to get people to work, school, the airport, entertainment, to protect our environment, and to improve our quality of life.
I also wanted to come back to a question that was asked by Yoda in my first diary:
Also, in an early talk that I heard you give, you mentioned that one of your interests was in trying to make the Illinois budget be presented in a more easy-to-read format, so it would be easier for legislators, and interested constituents, to track what the planned expenses and revenues really were. Have you been able to address that at all?
With several of my colleagues (Senator Michael Bond, Senator Michael Frerichs, Senator Kwame Raoul and Senator Martin Sandoval), I helped introduce and was a chief sponsor of SB 1853, the Taxpayer Transparency Act, legislation which would prevent the budget from being passed unless "a copy of the bill... has been made conveniently available on the General Assembly's Internet website for at least 4 days before the bill is considered for final passage..." This bill is currently in the Rules Committee.
The people of Illinois should be able to easily access information regarding the budget so they can have a better idea how the state spends taxpayers' money. This past year, through the passage of SB 767, we were able to mandate that the state post in real-time, online postings of all contracts awarded to businesses. This is a great start and I look forward to our next session when we can continue to move forward in ensuring even more transparency and accountability from our state government.
Again, I hope you all have a great holiday season and I look forward to reading your ideas in the comments." more..
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| Nov 14th 2007 |
- ArchPundit
"Kotowski is a machine in the good way. He raises his own money (making him more independent) and works his tail off for his constituents. He?s also pushing for a sales tax cap on Cook County:" more..
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| Nov 12th 2007 |
- Prairie State Blue by Dan Kotowski
"(And now for something completely different... Candidates welcome here at PSB! - promoted by michael in chicago)
Hi everyone, my name is Dan Kotowski, and I am the State Senator in the 33rd District that consists of parts of Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village, Arlington Heights, Chicago and Niles. I am proud to serve this great district and to work toward providing solutions and achieving results for the people of my community and beyond.
I worked hard in my campaign and I was helped by fellow bloggers bored now and Yoda with posts like this one here and here. I was also helped by the efforts of the Northside DFA group and their ground efforts." more..
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| Oct 24th 2007 |
- Russ Stewart Blog
"In the northwest suburban 33rd District, which encompasses Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect and Elk Grove, the "Kotowski Machine" is sweeping away all opposition. Democrat Dan Kotowski, a veritable Energizer Bunny, campaigned himself into the Illinois Senate in 2006 in a historically Republican district. Now a protege is trying to duplicate that feat in the House district being vacated by Republican Carolyn Krause, as Kotowski himself faces desultory Republican opposition.
Kotowski won by just 1,434 votes, getting 51.3 percent of the total cast, defeating appointed Republican incumbent Cheryl Axley; each spent about $1 million. Kotowski's modus operandi was precinct work. He campaigned door-to-door for 8 hours a day, working westward from Park Ridge to Elk Grove. Since his election, Kotowski has continued his outreach.
The key is this: If somebody campaigns in Chicago, voters make demands. They want something done. When Kotowski campaigns in the suburbs, as either a candidate or a senator, voters are hugely impressed. They don't want anything; they're just flattered. Since he started door knocking in April 2005, Kotowski has built a veritable army of loyalists who think he's just great. Kotowski is obsessive about gun control, but otherwise he is quite moderate, and he disdains Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Axley won't run again, so the 2008 Republican nominee will be Elk Grove Township Clerk Mike Sweeney, who is busily trying to duplicate Kotowski's precinct pace. Forget it. Kotowski's been there and done that. Kotowski will win with 60 percent of the vote in 2008." more..
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| Jun 25th 2007 |
- Capitol Fax by Rich Miller
"The abominable silence by the Illinois State Rifle Association and some of the weirder comments posted at this blog and others convinced me on Friday that I needed to write about the Dan Kotowski controversy in my syndicated newsaper column, which is published in over a hundred papers in Illinois?
The war of words between state Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) ? a fierce gun control advocate ? and the Illinois State Rifle Association apparently has escalated to the point where the nutballs are coming out of the woodwork.
Sen. Kotowski?s office claims it has turned over to the Illinois State Police information about 10 or so contacts from apparent pro-gun people, including a call during which somebody allegedly said, ?I have a gun. I am going to come and kill you.?
The column then goes over much of the stuff I told you about last week, and concludes thusly?
Several weeks ago, the ISRA was all atwitter after Chicago priest Michael Pfleger called for pro-gun legislators and a gun shop owner to be ?snuffed out.?
I seriously doubt that Pfleger wanted to actually kill a pro-gun legislator, but his remarks were irresponsible. Chicago?s Cardinal Francis George was right to publicly rebuke him for his stupid statements.
After complaining about Pfleger, however, the rifle association has not ? as of this writing ? condemned the threats on Kotowski?s life. It has expressed zero concern for the senator?s safety or the safety of his staff and his family.
The group?s silence is deafening ? and informative. It?s Johnny on the spot when a priest makes inflammatory remarks about the group?s own allies, but looks the other way when somebody on the opposite side of the political fence is threatened.
As Pfleger prepared to speak at another antigun rally last week, the ISRA sent out a news release whining that the state police exhibited a ?double standard? when they refused to investigate the Catholic priest, but did check in on people who contacted Kotowski?s office. Later in the release, the gun group asked whether Pfleger would show some ?dignity? at the antigun rally or once again behave like ?an absurd ? yet malevolent ? cartoon character.?
But over the past several months, when I, and others, repeatedly pointed out that ?malevolent? comments were popping up all over the Internet about Kotowski, the rifle association remained mum.
One person wrote on a pro-gun Web site the other day: ?Sounds to me like Sen. Kotowski deserves to be threatened. Why, if he were to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head three times, it wouldn?t surprise me one bit.?
The people who run the rifle association ought to look in the mirror the next time they scream about ?double standards.?" more..
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| Jun 22nd 2007 |
- Capitol Fax by Rich Miller
"I?ve been keeping this in the subscriber-only section and in the Capitol Fax, but I think it?s time to bring it out in the open here.
As I?ve told you before, Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) has been taking a public beating from the Illinois State Rifle Association since before he was elected last year. Kotowski was a gun control activist for years, and it rankles ISRA to no end that he was elected. Many of the group?s attacks have been way over the top (see here), and the breathless posturing may be bringing out the kooks.
The latest bit of drama came when Kotowski?s life was threatened. According to a spokesman, Kotowski turned over information, including copies of faxes, to the Illinois State Police, that his staff believed contained threatening material. Most of the calls and faxes were received by Kotowski?s staff (and volunteers, including his mother), so he left it up to them to decide which material to forward to the coppers, the spokesman said.
Some of those faxes were sent by a guy who didn?t actually threaten Kotowski. That person was visited by the police and ISRA tried to get out in front of the story earlier this week by claiming that Kotowski was infringing on its members? First Amendment free speech rights.
From an ISRA press release?
The ISRA is expressing great concern over reports that Illinois State Police (ISP) detectives have been visiting the homes of people who phoned or faxed Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) to express opposition to gun control legislation sponsored by the senator. The ISRA has recently conducted a thorough investigation into one complaint, and is gathering additional information on as many as several dozen other reported incidents of police questioning citizens who have spoken out against gun control legislation.
In the case investigated thus far, the respondent reports that ISP detectives arrived at his home, unannounced, and informed him that their visit was in response to faxes he sent to Sen. Kotowski. The detectives then went on to ask the citizen questions about his mental health and other personal matters. Although the citizen was not arrested, he reports that he feels that the detectives were there to deliver the message that it?s not a good idea to criticize Dan Kotowski or the gun control measures Kotowski supports.
Trouble is, that person wasn?t the only one calling or faxing Kotowski?s office. Kotowski himself sent out a release the other day that provided more details [emphasis added]?
llinois State Senator Dan Kotowski (D- Park Ridge) says threatening phone calls, faxes, and letters his office received during the past few months were handed over to local law enforcement including the Illinois State Police.
Kotowski says, ?When someone calls my office saying, ?I have a gun. I am going to come and kill you?, I have to worry about my safety, and the safety of our staff.? Kotowski added, ?That is why I followed proper procedure and forwarded any correspondence with threatening material to the Illinois State Police.?
Kotowski also took a swipe at the Rifle Association?
Kotowski and his office staff received threats during the first few months of the Spring Legislative Session, most of which specifically referred to his sponsorship of gun safety legislation. ?If Illinois State Rifle Association members were as law abiding and anti crime as they claim, then they would be the first to condemn these threats and help to champion the cause for measures designed to get guns away from those with criminal intent.?
The Rifle Association?s attack was picked up by several pro-gun blogs. Illinois Reason, a Democratic blog, has been following their activities and pointed readers to this particular quote from someone calling himself Bill St. Clair over at Claire Files?.
Sounds to me like Sen. Kotowski deserves to be threatened. Why, if he were to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head three times, it wouldn?t surprise me one bit.
You can see more of this type of vitriol here (Kotowski treating the state police as ?his personal goon squad), here (?Commissar? Kotowski), and here (numerous references to Nazis)
I?ll give Illinois Reason contributor Rob Nesvacil the last word?
It?s clear from this that the ISRA press release earlier in the week (and the follow-up release ostensibly condemning Father Michael Pfleger, but also throwing a false low-blow Sen. Kotowski?s way) were simplistic attempts to distract attention from the real heart of the police investigation ? death threats against the Senator.
Here?s a reminder from junior high civics ? the First Amendment doesn?t cover death threats.
And the police take such threats damn seriously, especially in the wake of 9/11, etc.
Sen. Kotowski, despite the ongoing police investigation, has answered the ISRA?s petty demand for details as to why ISRA members received police visits.
It?s time for Richard Pearson and the ISRA to make good on their word and condemn the ne?er-do-wells who have allegedly threatened the Senator?s life. After months of heated vitriol, petty smears and outright lies from gun lobbyists attacking Sen. Kotowski?s work representing his constituents in our state capitol it would be a respectable change of pace for the ISRA and others to come out strongly against those making such death threats.
Exactly.
By the way, as far as I can tell, the mainstream media has completely ignored this story. Shame on them.
Also, just so there?s no misunderstanding if some lazy extremists decide that I?m an anti-gun partisan, I was one of the first to write about Father Pfleger?s over the top remarks about ?snuffing out? pro-gun legislators and a gun shop owner. I backed up the Rifle Association on that debate, but turnabout is fair play. ISRA needs to denounce these threats against Kotowski, and it needs to do it now. Period." more..
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