July 31, 2002
DEMOCRATIC "SWEEP" OF STATE OFFICES LOOKS MORE LIKELY
In 1992, Clinton won Illinois with 2,453,350 votes, while then-President George Bush had 1,734,096 votes. The energized Democratic vote soared by nearly 900,000 over 1990, while Bush barely topped Edgar’s vote. In the 1998 governor’s race, Republican George Ryan got 1,714,094 votes, while Democrat Glenn Poshard got 1,594,191. Democrats resoundingly won two statewide offices -- Secretary of State (by 437,206 votes) and Comptroller (614,413 votes) -- and barely lost the governorship (by 119,903 votes), the U.S. Senate seat (by 98,545 votes), and the state treasurer’s post (by 62,279 votes). Jim Ryan’s average vote in the last three elections was 1,773,196, which is almost exactly the Republican base vote. Full Article...
July 24, 2002
CAN JIM RYAN STILL WIN
Ryan fought cancer, and, to date, won. If George Ryan gets indicted before November, then Jim Ryan is doomed. Ryan must pledge not to raise taxes, and must demand that Blagojevich do likewise. Ryan must “take the pledge” not to raise income or sales taxes if he’s governor, and, if Blagojevich doesn’t, then Ryan has a huge opening. As governor? Right now, the Ryan stance is the losing stance. Ryan must demonstrate that Blagojevich is not competent to be governor, and that means a nasty, negative campaign. Full Article...
July 17, 2002
BLAGOJEVICH VOTE RECORD GIVES RYAN SMALL TARGET
Poshard, through his 10 years in Washington, had voted against gay rights, and had voted to restrict the availability of abortion. Ryan’s strategy worked. Blagojevich adroitly straddled some issues: He voted to expand federal law enforcement powers to fight terrorism, but opposed broadened electronic surveillance. Attacking Blagojevich as too liberal on social issues is counter-productive. Ryan has already run TV ads Downstate attacking Blagojevich as pro-abortion and pro-gay rights. Ryan could try to paint Blagojevich as a big-spender and foe of tax reduction. Full Article...
July 10, 2002
LARGE DEMOCRATIC FIELD TARGETS FITZGERALD IN 2004
Fitzgerald thought that Ryan’s pal would make the museum a haven for political patronage. Fitzgerald’s voting record has been generally conservative, but with some significant deviations, particularly on environmental issues. Unlike Durbin, Fitzgerald consistently opposed any hikes in farm subsidies, and backed cutting those subsidies by $1.9 billion. Both Durbin and Fitzgerald opposed increasing senators’ pay by $4,900. Moseley-Braun spent $7.2 million. For 2004, Fitzgerald fervently hopes that Moseley-Braun tries for a comeback. Full Article...
July 3, 2002
STATE SCANDALS HARKEN TO "MIGHT-HAVE-BEENS"
With over 5,000 state jobs at his disposal, Ogilvie aggressively set about rebuilding the Republican Party. Paul Powell died in 1971, and Ogilvie appointed a Republican as Secretary of State, which added another 3,000 jobs. In Chicago, long-dormant Republican ward organizations suddenly became energized, suffused with state workers compelled to work precincts, and with pro-Ogilvie Republican committeemen. Stanley initiated and co-coordinated the Republican ward committeeman campaigns of pro-Ogilvie candidates Chester Lizak in the 45th Ward (who lost) and Peter Piotrowicz in the 39th Ward (who won). Ogilvie might have won the nomination and election. Full Article...
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