September 30, 2009
"JUST SAY NO TO CHICAGO" IS BRADY'S 2010 MANTRA
Here's a quick cure for Illinois corruption: No Chicagoans, no Democrats, and no lawyers. That's what Bill Brady, a Bloomington state senator, proposes in his campaign for governor. Brady is the frontrunner for the 2010 Republican nomination, and he must avoid being isolated as some kind of Jim Oberweis nut case. Brady got 18.4% in the 2006 Republican primary, and has campaigned since. His base is Downstate, where 44% of the GOP primary vote is cast. The 2006 Brady/Oberweis vote was 56.3% of the Downstate total, and 50.2% of the statewide total. Brady's polling indicates that "corruption" is the voters' paramount issue. Five of Illinois' last 8 governors have been indicted, and 3 convicted; Blagojevich will make it four. The Republican "establishment" wants a "moderate" for governor. But the crowded field -- Kirk Dillard, Andy McKenna, Bob Schillerstrom, Dan Proft, Adam Andrzejewski -- all from Cook and the collar counties, helps Brady, as the sole Downstater. Brady looks like Illinois' next governor. Full Article...
September 23, 2009
"GADFLY" HOFFMAN AIMS TO RUN FOR MAYOR IN 2011
Former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman is running for US Senator in 2010 as a prelude to a bid for Chicago mayor in 2011. He presumes that one strong effort will lead to another, and that he can topple Mayor Rich Daley in a one-on-one contest. That's wishful thinking. Hoffman, the IG from 2005 to 2009, is derided by poltical insiders as a gadfly and a scandal-sniffer. He's unknown, isn't rich, and is not a crime-busting federal prosecutor. As IG, he's sniffed out and publicized a few scandals, like the parking meter lease, zoning deals, and garbage truck waste. The mayor's crowd is glad he's running in 2010, so that can wallop him. A third-place showing in the Democratic primary would doom his 2011 chances. The frontrunner is state Treas. Alexi Giannoulias, a FOO (Friend of Obama), who is rich (through his family), Greek, liberal, pro gay marriage, and well-connected. He has backing from most Downstate county chairmen. Past Dem primaries -- 1992, 2004, 1996 and 2002 -- indicate that, for a reformer to win, he or she must be black. With Cheryle Robinson Jackson, Blagojevich's former press secretary, in the race, she will amass the bulk of the black vote. Giannoulias will get most of the Daley-controlled vote, and Downstate. That leaves a narrow base for Hoffman.Voter anger may materialize in 2011, but not in 2010. Without it, Hoffman loses big. Full Article...
September 16, 2009
STROGER'S "TOXICITY" REPELS DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEMEN
There are 3 levels of incompetence: Stupidity, idiocy and lunacy. On Sept. 11, Cook County's 80 Democratic ward and township committeemen resoundingly demonstrated their competence. They refused to slate incumbent county board president Todd Stroger, and opted for an "open" 2010 primary, in which each committeeman/organization can back whomever they choose. The candidates are Stroger, who has $640,403 in his campaign account, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (5th), who will be blasted for her ties to Tony Rezko, Congressman Danny Davis (D-7), Clerk of Circuit Court Dorothy Brown -- all blacks -- and MWRD president Terry O'Brien, who is white. The "magic number" is 200,000. In an anticipated 2/2/10 turnout of 600,000, whoever amasses a third of the vote will win. "Toxic Todd," so labeled because of his insistent support for a sales tax hike, will have to play the "race card" to win. He needs almost all of the black vote. In 1994, in a 3-person field, John Stroger won with 47.1%, getting 82.3% of the black vote. In 2006, Stroger beat white Comr. Forrest Claypool with 53.5% after his stroke, getting 84.3% of the black vote. Blacks are 1/3 (200,000) of the primary vote, Hispanics under 10%, and whites about 57%. If O'Brien gets 65% of the white vote, he wins. Make O'Brien the favorite. Full Article...
September 9, 2009
NORTHWEST SIDE STATE REPS VIEW TAX HIKE AS "POISION PILL"
On Chicago's Northwest Side, and close-in suburbs, the specter of raising taxes is a cultural issue, not a fiscal issue. It's not whether new taxes are needed, necessary or even affordable. It's about who pays them, and who gets the benefits. It's a matter of the "haves" versus the "have nots," and most area white taxpayers are weary of subsidizing the "disadvantaged." Thus, if any Northwest Side politician votes for a major tax hike, woe to him or her. That was demonstrated in the 5/31/09 vote to hike the state income tax to 4.5% on individuals and to 7.2% on corporations. SB 2252 lost by 42-74, with 26 Democrats siding with all 48 Republicans in the Illinois House to reject Gov. Quinn's tax hike. Iron Mike Madigan, the speaker, did not enforce party discipline. Area state reps D'Amico, Lyons, Fritchey, Mell -- all Democrats -- joined with Republicans McAuiliffe, Coulson, Mulligan and Saviano in opposition. Only Lou Lang and Toni Berrios backed the bill. On this website is the 2009 ILLINOIS HOUSE VOTE CHART. Lang is angling to be speaker, so a tax hike vote is obligatory. Berrios is daddy's little girl, and protected by Joe Berrios, the county's next assessor. But everybody else had a serious case of "tax hike jitters." Full Article...
September 2, 2009
DOHERTY, CULLERTON SET FOR EPIC STRUGGLE FOR STATE SENATOR
It's dynasty versus dynamism. In Chicago's Northwest Side 10th District, the 2010 state senate race has unfolded: It will be Republican Ald. Brian Doherty (41st) vs. 38th Ward Democratic Committeeman P.J. (Patti Jo) Cullerton, scion of Chicago's legendary Cullerton Dynasty, which dates back to 1871. Incumbent Jim DeLeo (D) is retiring, and the district is heavily Democratic, but Doherty, alderman since 1991, has an excellent chance. He has been promised $500,000 from Springfield Republicans, and he has mountains more dynamism and energy than Cullerton. Doherty promises World War III, and says that P.J., if elected, would "vote like she's told." Doherty promises to vote against any state tax hikes, as he has in the city council. Cullerton sais she will be independent, but she has some baggage: Her husband's drug case, and her ties to Todd Stroger's county government, where she worked for 25 years. Also, the 4l/36 Axis, an informal alliance between 41st Ward Republicans Doherty and McAuliffe and 36th Ward Democrats Banks and DeLeo, will be a factor. If Doherty wins big in the 41st and Norwood Park Twp., breaks even in the 36th, and keeps Cullerton under 60% in the 38th and 45th wards, then Doherty is the new senator. Full Article...
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