Posts Tagged ‘ lobbyists ’

All of the sudden, LaHood is Mr. Transparency

April 23, 2009
By Billy Dennis

You have got to be friggin’ kidding me: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in a bow to the Obama administration’s promise of greater openness, abandoned a controversial proposal to keep the records confidential. LaHood said since the White House felt comfortable releasing memos recently about secret interrogations of terrorism suspects, it was hard to justify the Federal...
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Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »

Apparently, no one on the Peoria County Board has any clout with Aaron Schock

April 10, 2009
By Billy Dennis

Good news, folks. Peoria County is in fine fiscal shape. Otherwise, would the county have $5,000 to throw in the toilet like this every month? The County Board voted to hire a federal lobbyist to represent their interests and bring more dollars back to the area. The county hired the Ferguson Group LLC of Washington, D.C.,...
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Posted in Local | 5 Comments »

Politics: Romney gets called out

January 18, 2008
By Billy Dennis

Associated Press reporter Glen Johnson clearly overstepped his bounds. It’s his job — under the objective model of reporting — to sit there and transcribe the utterances of politicians, then later regurgiate them for public consumption. If there’s any evaluating of the truth of the statements, then the reporter...
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Posted in Misc | 14 Comments »

LaHood reluctantly agrees to be a little less corrupt

January 26, 2006
By Billy Dennis
LaHood reluctantly agrees to be a little less corrupt

Ya gotta love the Journal Star. Really. The newspaper has spent months ignoring how their beloved “Congressman Ray” has been raking in cash from lobbyists and in one case them pay for a trip to France. I’ve spent that time begging for someone from the local media to call LaHood on his Nixon-style non-denial...
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Posted in Misc | 3 Comments »

Once again, LaHood ducks the lobbyist-paid travel question

January 14, 2006
By Billy Dennis
Once again, LaHood ducks the lobbyist-paid travel question

I just caught Ray LaHood answering WEEK’s Mike Dimmick’s questions about money from lobbyists and travel. First, LaHood said that he proud of the fact that 70 percent of the money he gets comes from sources within the 18th Congressional District. He didn’t mention that lobbyists are the largest single source of his donations during...
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LaHood for majority whip? It hardly seems ethical

January 12, 2006
By Billy Dennis
LaHood for majority whip? It hardly seems ethical

Talk about rooting for the home team: Peorian Ray LaHood should seek the U.S. House of Representative’s No. 3 Republican leadership post – majority whip. If ever there was a time when Congress needed to be more unified, it is now. And LaHood has had a reputation for reaching out within his own party and...
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Posted in Misc | 2 Comments »

LaHood sucks up to lobbyists

January 11, 2006
By Billy Dennis
LaHood sucks up to lobbyists

On a tip from Willy Nilly, I did a little on-line research into exactly who’s been putting money into the pockets of Peoria’s own “Congressman Ray” during the current 2006 election cycle. This is what I found: Rep. Ray LaHood (R-18th), ranks 15th out of all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in...
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Posted in Politics | 7 Comments »

LaHood still not being asked about misleading statements

January 10, 2006
By Billy Dennis
LaHood still not being asked about misleading statements

The Journal Star did run the LaHood travel scandal story on the front page. That’s good. Nowhere in the article, however, is he asked to explain why he’s been claiming none of his trips are paid by lobbyists when they are. LaHood added that the reporting requirements for accepting any outside perks are stringent. He...
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LaHood a top beneficiary of special interest travel

January 9, 2006
By Billy Dennis
LaHood a top beneficiary of special interest travel

Tomorrow morning, I’m going to go out and buy a newspaper, then write a post telling exactly what page the Journal Star prints this Associated Press story, if it does at all: From auto makers to Chicago’s Chinatown community, interest groups treated 15 members of Illinois’ congressional delegation to $129,000 worth of trips, meals and...
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Posted in Misc | 6 Comments »

JS getting tougher on LaHood

January 5, 2006
By Billy Dennis

Kudos to the Journal Star’s award winning editorial page for again demanding that Ray LaHood take a stronger stand on ethics: So perhaps now would be a good time for Congressman Ray LaHood to retract his statement of seven months ago to The Hill – “the Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress” – that...
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Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »

JS shows signs of life regarding Congressman Ray

December 22, 2005
By Billy Dennis

Do my eyes decive me? Am I reading this correctly? Did someone on the Journal Star’s editorial board actualy try to PJStar.com hold U.S. Rep ay LaHood accountable for him knee-jerk defense of President Bush? We would remind LaHood of something a fellow Republican once said many years ago that resonates even today. “Stand with...
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