Did you hear the one about Mitch Daniels having to give up his dream to privatize the Hoosier Lottery cuz it would totally be illegal?

Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday that he is dropping the idea of privatizing the Hoosier Lottery as an option of funding a college scholarship program after the U.S. Department of Justice said such a move would not comply with federal law.

The Oct. 16 opinion, which Daniels’ office said was requested by Indiana and New Jersey, says states would not comply with federal law if they enter into long-term private management agreements to operate their lotteries.

The opinion was issued because several states, including California, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Texas, New York, and Indiana, have proposed the long-term lease of their state lotteries in order to fund investments ranging from infrastructure to education.

D’oh!

Remember earlier this week when I said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has put every piece of municipal real estate, including City Hall, on the potential auction block? Yeah, that’s totally true. If you don’t believe me, read this story in today’s Indianapolis Business Journal:

The Mayor’s Office has quietly agreed to consider selling some of the city’s more than 1,100 properties, including police stations, maintenance buildings and parks, in a bid to raise cash to help balance the budget. The city awarded the potentially lucrative no-bid contract to Venture Real Estate Services, a politically connected real estate firm led by John Bales.

The local firm has the responsibility of scouring the city’s real estate holdings for cost-saving opportunities that could result in sales or sale-lease-backs of everything from Bush Stadium to the former state museum. Even the City-County Building is on the table.

City officials say the idea is to make sure taxpayers are getting the best value out of properties they own. The move sets the stage for a potentially aggressive drive toward privatization of city assets.

“Nothing is off the table,” said Michael Huber, director of enterprise development for Mayor Greg Ballard. “If your costs of owning an asset are much higher than your cost of leasing that asset, then the taxpayers are paying too much.”

Every property is different, and any disposition of property would require public input and local government approval, Huber said.

Several of the city’s top real estate professionals say a city review of its property holdings is a good move, but they question the two-year exclusive deal with Venture. The agreement provides a strong incentive for the firm to find potential buyers for city properties: It won’t be paid a dime unless deals are made or savings are realized.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson says she won’t break the $3.8 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road, but she says she will try to renegotiate it if she can.

Thompson made her comments by announcing she would take a second look at all of the state’s privatization contracts.  She says Lt. Governor Candidate Dennie Oxley would spearhead the effort.

JLT says the Toll Road lease as well as the privatization/modernization of FSSA intake and eligibility were bad deals for the taxpayers and that she would try to cancel or renegotiate them.  She said everything was on the table and she would make the best decision based on what was most cost effective.

JLT did not say all privatization was bad and said she could support privatization for some services and equipment manufacturing, but she would not privatize the administration of state programs.

JLT said after 20 years the Toll Road consortium will make a profit and that money should be going to the state.  She downplayed the fact that consortium would also assume the costs and maintenance of the Toll Road.

A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office said the Toll Road lease has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for state transportation projects and the consortium is investing more than $400 million in making improvements.

Frankly, absent some major breach of the agreement or serious meeting of the minds by the two parties,  I don’t see how the Toll Road lease can be renegotiated.   And if it were, I hope someone can find  the $51 million they’ll have to pay back for every year the lease is shortened.

Word on the street is that Mayor Greg Ballard isn’t just looking at selling off tiny public parks for a one-time infusion of cash.

Everything is on the table, including the potential sale of City Hall.

Yeah, you heard me right. City Hall.

The Mayor who once said he’d bring government back to the people is now thinking about selling whatever he can to the highest bidder. That includes parks of all sizes, city land, city services and the very building that houses our municipal government.

Who wins in all this? Ballard’s ethically questionable real estate broker, John Bales, and all the other powerful people involved in any future real estate transactions.

Who loses? Us. Oh, and the dude who stuck the “Everything Must Go!” sign on our government.

Heck, even Mitch Daniels knew better than to put the Statehouse on the hypothetical auction block.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson had some strong words for incumbent Governor Mitch Daniels and his fellow Republicans. 

Shortly after speaking to a Veterans group on Saturday, Thompson said Indiana needs to do more for veterans in the areas of education and health care.  She also attacked Governor Mitch Daniels,  saying that during his time with the Bush administration  the Governor oversaw the privatization of Walter Reed which she says was responsible for the hospitals many problems.

In addition, she equated Indiana’s Voter ID law with Communist nations forcing their citzens to carry idenitfication.  She said citizens should not have to carry a government-issued ID in order to vote.  She said citizens should be able to use a utility bill or credit card in statement to vote.

JLT says she will roll out more specifics as the campaign moves forward.  She also told me her campaign met its fundraising goal.  Those numbers are slated to be released later this week.

She also dismissed a poll showing Daniels with a double-digit lead; pointing to polls that show a much tighter race.