June 26, 2013
DALEY LOOKING STRONG IN 2014 GOVERNOR RACE
Bill Daley, thankfully, isn't brother Rich Daley, and the 2014 governor's niece isn't the 1983 Mayor's contest. Daley, supposedly, is looking strong in the upcoming Quinn-Madigan-Daley face-off, and he's no spoiler. Turnout will be about 1,000,000, and with 3 Chicagoans running, Downstate (which produces about 350.000 votes) will be the key. Quinn will get the bulk of the black vote; Madigan will rely on her dad's political organization and her gender appeal. Daley is running as the Grown-up, who will fix Illinois' problems. He can win. Full Article...
June 19, 2013
POLISH-AMERICAN POLITICIANS: A HISTORY OF FAILURE
Poland's airline is Lot. For Polish-American politicans in Chicago and Cook County, the operative word is "not." Due to almost a century of gullibility, mendacity and sheer timidity, Chicago will never have a Polish-American mayor nor Cook County a Polish-American board president. Mayor Richard J. Daley played the Polish politicians like a fiddle. In 1955, Ben Adamowski could have beaten Daley for mayor, but the Polish bossses -- especially Joe Rostenkowski -- opted to support the Irishman over the kinsman. Ditto in 1956, 1960, 1963, 1977 (when Roman Pucinski lost for mayor), and finally in 1990, when two Poles blew the county board president race. For Chicago Poles, it's a trail of tears. Full Article...
June 12, 2013
EMANUEL AT MID-TERM: MORE LIKE DALEY THAN BYRNE OR BILANDIC
Toni Preckwinkle for Chicago mayor in 2015? Not a chance. Incumbent Rahm Emanuel is no stumblebum mayor like Jane Byrne or Milke Bilandic. To be sure, he has irritated and infuriated the police, teachers', and public sector unions. Not a problem. Of Chicago's population, 35% are white, 33% black, and 29% Hispanic. But, practicing Bloombergism and Clintonite triangulism, Emanual has been a proactive, not provacative mayor. Chicago turnout was 1.2 million in 1983 and 1.1 million in 1987. Emanuel won 55.8% in 2011, in a turnout of 590,000. As long as 2015's turnout hovers under 625,000, Emanuel is unbeatable. Full Article...
June 5, 2013
"BLOOMBERGISM"OOZES INTO CHICAGO'S POLITICS
"Bloombergism in Chicago." That's not a movie or contagious disease. It's a methodology of urban governance, as perfected by New York City's outgoing mayor, Michael Bloomberg. It's a 24/7, hands-on, bullpen-ready, get-the-job-done mentality in which every municipal problem is detected, addressed and solved almost instantaneously. "Bloombergism" makes news, and doesn't react or apologize or equivocate. Chicago's Rahm Emanuel is Bloomberg West. Media events and photo-ops are his forte. Management is the watchword. But as in NYC, where Bloomberg fatigue has crested, Emanuel "fatigue" is building. Full Article...
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