April 29, 2015
“SEISMIC SHIFT” IN HISPANIC-MAJORITY WARDS
“Me, Myself, and I” has long been the guiding philosophy of boss “Big Daddy” Joe Berrios. The April 7 runoff results in Chicago's 31st and 36th wards can be thusly summarized: “Going, Going, Gone.” Despite spending over $750,000, Ald. Ray Suarez lost in Berrios's home 31st Ward, and godson Omar Aquino lost in the neighboring 36th Ward. Berrios allies Ariel Reboyras and Robert Maldonado are also looking at the door. The new boss in the North Side Puerto Rican wards is State Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-3), who made alliances with Proco Joe Moreno, Luis Gutierrez, and Nick Sposato. Arroyo-backed winners were Milly Santiago (31st) who spent $55,906, and Gil Villegas (36th), who spent $198,505. Adios, Joe. Full Article...
April 22, 2015
HOW AND WHY RAHM WON: IT WAS THE WHITE VOTE
There are no coincidences in politics. Everything happens for a reason. Consider this: In the Feb. 24 Chicago mayoral primary, Rahm Emanuel got 218,217 votes (45.6%), in a turnout of 478,546. In the ensuing April 7 runoff against Chuy Garcia, Emanuel got 329,701 votes (56.2%), in a turnout of 586,802. The Rahmster got 111,484 more votes, and the runoff turnout was up 108,256. Amazing coincidence. Rahm won because about 85,000 of his 108,000-vote spike came from Chicago's white wards. In the 19 white-majority wards, Emanuel's vote increased from 108,753 to 165,676. Chicago's white voters, given an Emanuel-or-Garcia choice, came out or came back. Overall, Emanuel got 67% of the white vote, 51,9% of the black vote, and 37.2% of the Hispanic vote. Forget the notion that Chicago's Hispanics, about 24% of the population, were energized. In the Hispanic wards, Garcia's vote increased from 45,076 to 69,297, an anemic spike of 24,221. Emanuel beat Garcia citywide by 72,600 votes. One word describes Emanuel's win: Underwhelming. Full Article...
April 15, 2015
LOSERS ABOUND, ON AND OFF THE BALLOT, IN CHICAGO RUNOFFS
It takes a special incompetence, well-honed, to lose, especially if you're an incumbent. Show me some real ineptitude, as in dumb-and-dumber. Aldermen Mary O'Connor (41st) and Ray Suarez (31st) showed it to Chicago voters on April 7, both losing runoffs which should have been easy wins. Both embraced Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and both lost. In the far Northwest Side 41st Ward, "No-Peep" pro-Emanuel O'Connor lost to obscure outsider Anthony Napolitano by 625 votes, even though Rahm won the ward by 5,555 votes. In boss Joe Berrios's 31st Ward, despite a campaign bankroll of $2.5 million, 24-year incumbent Suarez lost to rebel Milly Santiago by 86 votes, largely due to the Berrios-Suarez Machine having embraced Emanuel over Chuy Garcia, who won the Hispanic-majority ward with 62.3%. Oops. In the 45th Ward, anti-Emanuel Ald. John Arena, who won by 30 votes in 2011, upped that to 1,228 in 2015; that's a 41-fold increase, and a veritable landslide. Arena is surely gearing up to run for mayor in 2019. As for the Rahmster, his tepid 329,701-257,101 win (56.2%) is no mandate, and means this: It's all downhill from here. The mayor has 4 years to screw-up, and he will. Full Article...
April 8, 2015
"HEREDITARY POLITICS" IS COMING TO END IN CHICAGO
What's "exactly clear" in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois is this: "Hereditary politics" is over. Fiscal problems have been, as Mayor Emanuel said, "30 years in the making." But a sizeable group of political royalty, legacies and kin have been around even longer. They're to blame. Consider the Madigans, Daleys, Burkes, Mells, Laurinos, Berrios's and Hynes's. These Dynasties are crumbling. It's about time. Full Article...
April 1, 2015
DESPITE HUGE GRP EDGE, EMANUEL CAN'T CRACK 50% IN POLLS
There is an ancient political saying: Don't let the grass grow under your feet. That means not standing still. It means broadening one's voter base and universe of support. It means using and maximizing one's incumbency. In the Far Northwest Side 41st Ward, where Alderman Mary O'Connor is completing her first term, the proverbial grass under and around her feet is knee-high and choked with weeds. Full Article...
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