This is from todays Chicago Sun-Times Newspaper.

POLITICIANS, JUDGES, GOT A BREAK: AUDIT

Politicians, judges, and professional athletes were given Illinois hunting permits without having to take their chances in a lottery alongside other hunters, according to an audit released Tuesday. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources gave out "excessive" permits through an administrative process that is not advertised to the public, giving preferential treatment to those who know about it, Auditor General William Holland found.

If you're an Illinois resident please call Springfield and voice your opinion over this practice.
What this current administration has done is "Whored" itself out to the outfitters, and raised non-redident tags to just shy of $400. And now the cocksuckers are giving them away to their cronies.
Sad day for Illinois.

That's very interesting news. I've had the good fortune of drawing the last three years running and consider it a privilege to hunt IL. Many of my friends (we're non-residents) have not drawn. I guess there's no end to the perks of holding power over the public. LDK

Nothing in Illinois is done without corruption, nothing, nothing, ever.

Let's hope the voters keep that in mind next electon. Hillary Clinton is from Park Ridge,Illinois and Obama Hussein Barak has lived in Chicago, Illinois since 1985.

No, they (we) won't. This state has been totally taken by the liberal Democrats and their boss, Mayor Daly of Chicago.

From the Chicago Sun Times

Who knew clout could kill?
Hunting permits latest way state favors power players

April 12, 2007
BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist
After a while, you figure you know all the little ways that having clout can come in handy in Illinois, from getting a particular license plate number to a preferred tee time at certain public golf courses.

But until Wednesday, I'd never heard about the hunting permits.

It shouldn't come as any surprise, I suppose, that even a hunting permit application can be fixed in Illinois, seeing as how at one time or another most everything else has been.

Still, an Illinois auditor general's report revealing that politicians, judges and professional athletes are given preferential treatment in obtaining their permits to hunt deer and turkeys came as something of an eye opener, if only because I'd never considered it.

The special permit, conferred by the director of the state Department of Natural Resources, allows the hunter to avoid the lottery process through which permits are normally awarded on a computerized, random basis that can sometimes leave them shut out of their preferred hunting grounds.

Initially, the auditor general's office didn't name any of the recipients of these special permits, but on Wednesday it released a list in response to media requests (we're pesky that way).

Among the recognizable names from the world of Chicago politics were state representatives Angelo "Skip" Saviano (R-Elmwood Park) and Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago), along with Cook County Forest Preserves Superintendent Steve Bylina.

At least two other Illinois House members from Downstate made the list: Gary Forby (D-Benton) and Michael Bost (R -Murphysboro). There could be more, but quite honestly, I don't recognize all their names these days. Being an old Springfield hand, I did spot the name of a former legislative leader turned lobbyist, Jim McPike.

Sox slugger Jim Thome leads a large number of baseball playing hunters who availed themselves of this perk. Thome, who owns a log cabin home on a Fulton County farm that he calls his hunting lodge, obtained his special deer hunting permit in November of 2005, just before joining the Sox.

Most of the other ballplayers on the list were members at one time or another of the St. Louis Cardinals, which isn't far from some of the most highly prized deer hunting territory in the U.S., located in and around Pike County, Ill.

These include former Cubs utility man John Mabry, Mike Matheny, Cal Eldred, Eli Marrero and Ken Dayley. Padres pitcher Jake Peavy, who hails from Alabama, also landed a Pike County permit.

I'm not sure which judges the auditor general had in mind, but I see the name of Samuel J. Betar on the list, which is also the name of a Cook County judge.

The auditor general didn't specify whether a particular hunter was obtaining the permit for use with a gun or bow-and-arrow, which I gather is an important distinction in the hunting world as far as determining how much of a benefit was being conferred.

Not being a hunter, this is unfamiliar territory for me, but if I were a hunter who had been shut out of my favorite hunting grounds while a politician or a celebrity got favored treatment, I think I'd be mad.

Unless, of course, it was a baseball player I like, of which there are several on the above list.

One of the things you always wonder when you find out about a hidden little program like this is who you go to see to take advantage of it.

Not surprisingly, nobody at the Department of Natural Resources was stepping up to answer that question Wednesday, although fingers were being pointed at the department's former director, Joel Brunsvold, who I couldn't reach for comment.

The auditor general accused the department of making "excessive" use of the special permits, awarding about 1,200 total in 2004 and 2005.

But a Natural Resources spokesman stood by a statement that "DNR feels it is well within its rights to issue permits in this manner."

If the idea of gun-toting politicians scares you, then you should stay away from Lee County during deer-hunting season. That's where Saviano and McAuliffe have held permits.

Bylina, who was looking to do his hunting in La Salle County, confirmed through a spokesman that he had obtained such a permit in the past, but wouldn't come to the phone to talk about it.

That was too bad, because I really wanted to ask him if it was still possible to clout a good tee time at the Forest Preserves' golf courses.

quote:

If the idea of gun-toting politicians scares you, then you should stay away from Lee County during deer-hunting season. That's where Saviano and McAuliffe have held permits.

I'm more afraid of the one's who don't "tote" guns

We still own our family farm in Illinois but ONLY go up there on business. Illinois is the most corrupt place I've ever seen and I can't possess a handgun on the family farm I was raised on.

Would the last gun totin' patriot that leaves Illinois please bring the flag?

$bob$

This goes on in several states. Iowa for example is very difficult to get an archery tag in. But thanks to the Govenors tag system, important businessmen, athletes and outdoor television hunters are given tags every season. I guess this is just not publicised in Illinois.

If it happened in Florida and if it made the newspapers we'd have some tarred and feathered public officials... It's called corruption and we don't put up with it.

$bob$

Permit perks prove clout alive, well
IDNR has no problem giving free passes to help politicians, celebrities

Chicago Sun Times

April 15, 2007
BY DALE BOWMAN Staff Reporter
'What they are doing is giving away public resources here, and that is [b.s.].''
That blunt assessment came from a ranking Illinois Department of Natural Resources official after the Tuesday release of the auditor general's report chastising overuse of discretionary licensing powers by the IDNR director.

In question were more than 1,200 ''courtesy'' permits in the two-year period ending June 30. They went to athletes such as Jim Thome, connected politicians such as Cook County Forest Preserves Superintendent Steve Bylina and outdoor celebrities.

''Did we do anything wrong? No. We just took care of business and tried to treat everybody fairly,'' said Joel Brunsvold, IDNR director during most of that period.

''It is a reality everywhere,'' said Brent Manning, IDNR director for the two Republican regimes before Gov. Blagojevich. ''When you are under the pressure that [current director] Sam [Flood] is or Joel was, when millions are hanging in the balance and somebody on the appropriations committee needs a permit for their brother-in-law, they don't have any choice.''

The granting of the courtesy permits has long been accepted. It falls under Sec. 3.1 (d) of the Wildlife Code: ''A courtesy non-resident license, permit or stamp for taking game may be issued at the discretion of the Director, without fee, to any person officially employed in the game and fish or conservation department of another state or of the United States who is within the State to assist or consult or cooperate with the Director; or to the officials of other states, the United States, foreign countries, or officers or representatives of conservation organizations or publications while in the State as guests of the Governor or Director.''

Said Manning: ''Because the General Assembly created the opportunity, they should delineate the use of it. I know that I was pretty stingy with them.''

He granted about 25 free permits annually but acknowledged the realities of clout. ''I know when somebody said the budget would be held up next year if my brother-in-law doesn't get a permit, their brother-in-law got a permit,'' he said.

Others are harsher and hope Attorney General Lisa Madigan issues an interpretation on the legality of the courtesy permits for residents. IDNR spokeswoman Marcelyn Love e-mailed that ''the department is working on improving our documentation of administrative permit approvals.''

Brunsvold said courtesy permits generally fell in three groups. There were 100-200 permits annually for television shows, documentaries or magazine writers. That's what the permits were originally for. Manning, for instance, gave one to famed outdoorsman Babe Winkelman to film a deer hunt.

Other permits went to those who felt they ''were cheated in the system, who call and complain,'' Brunsvold said. ''And you have legislators calling, trying to correct problems with constituents.''

To me, that sounds like clout.

Some athletes were comped for participating in the annual celebrity quail hunt at Rend Lake, which benefits Illinois Conservation Foundation youth programs.

''These athletes come in and donate their time and energy,'' Brunsvold said. ''I am not going to ask them to pay for their [licenses]. Jim Thome was good enough to come to the quail hunt.''

Another ranking IDNR official downplayed the impact of hundreds of courtesy permits given annually during Blagojevich's reign.

''Most of the issue here is of a sociological issue more than biological,'' he said. ''But anything that impacts hunters and their faith in the DNR is significant from that viewpoint.''

That's the rub. When this report came out, I remembered every deer and turkey permit I didn't draw in the lottery. And I'll bet every other hunter did, too.