February 22, 2017
WHITE'S "UNRETIREMENT" UPSETS TAKEOVER PLANS IN NORRIDGE
To be AND to be, that is the Skakespearean question to be answered by voters in northwest suburban Norridge on April 4. Tom Benigno is Illinois' $165,000-a year deputy Secretary of State and wants to be Norridge's $50,000-a year village president. He faces 4-year incumbent James Chmura, who enraged a lot of Democrats by endorsing Mike McAuliffe in 2016. Back in 2016 Benigno's boss, Jesse White, announced his retirement in 2018, after 20 years. Norridge loomed as a soft landing for Benigno, even though he lost 1,910-1,403 to Chmura in 2013. Benigno now promises to resign if he wins, even though he didn't make that promise in 2013. White's "unretirement" is imminent, as Democratic bosses like Madigan and Preckwinkle are pressuring him to run again, so as to avoid a nasty, expensive and racially divisive primary. "He won't quit his state job if he wins," said Chmura of Benigno. Norridge is a tough sell for Benigno, as Chmura is popular, and it went 3,268-2,884 for Trump in 2016 and 1,918-1,402 for Rauner in 2014. Benigno is spreading a lot of disinformation -- i.e., lies --about Chmura. But there will be a "happy ending": Chmura wins, White runs, and Benigno keeps his day job until 2022. Full Article...
February 15, 2017
EMANUEL'S FUNDRAISING IS LESS THAN INTIMIDATING
Either step it up or step out. That's Mayor Rahm Emanuel's financial predicament as 2019 approaches. He's not going to part of a Clinton Administration, so he either runs for re-election or quits. He had $1,068,829 on-hand as of 1/1/17, and raised a modest $1,595,872 in 2016; he's going to need at least $40 million to get re-elected in 2019 -- that's $500,000-a month in 2017 and $1 million-a month in 2018. As depicted in the ADJOINING FUNDRAISING CHART, other mayor contenders are not asleep. Toni Preckwinkle had over $700,000. Statewide, Gov. Rauner had more than $50 million, about 15 times more than Lisa Madigan. Assessor Joe Berrios had $1,333,748, and will likely face Proco Joe Moreno, who had $318,349, in the 2018 Democratic primary. Some state reps raised enormous amounts: McAuliffe $2,274,886, Moylan $844,755, and Lang $545,476. Local aldermen are raising adequate sums, but none can compare to Burke ($8,772,840 on-hand), Reilly ($606,771), or O'Connor ($363,054). Full Article...
February 8, 2017
"GRABBING SOME BENCH" IRKS STATEWIDE ILLINOIS OFFICEHOLDERS
In sports lexicon, "grab some bench" means you're out-of-the-game, in the dugout or on the sidelines. The same metaphor applies to IL politics: "Grab some bench" means you're Illinois Secretary of State, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer or Comptroller -- on the sidelines. The posts used to be steppingstones to governor or senator. Now, in the Era of Rauner, where $50 million is just seed money, the posts are steppingstones to nowhere. 5 of the past 6 AGs have lost a combined 10 races for governor or senator, and won none; 4 of the most recent COMPTs have lost 7 times; TRs have lost 8 bids, but 2 did get elected governor, in 1920 and 1952; LGs have lost 5 times, with George Ryan making it only because he became SOS first, and Pat Quinn because of impeachment; only SOSs have previously prevailed, furnishing 4 wins. Being on the statewide bench ain't what it used to be. By the way, can you name the current IL LG? Full Article...
February 1, 2017
MOYLAN'S 2016 WIN PUTS 55th HOUSE DIST. INTO "LOCKDOWN"
"Lockdown" is usually a term relating to prison, wherein inmates are confined indefinitely to their cells after a riot or escape. It's also applicable to politics, wherein an incumbent legislator or congressman "locks-down" a onetime contested seat by getting 55-60% of the vote. In Illinois' 55th House district (Park Ridge-Des Plaines), State Rep. Marty Moylan (D) has put that traditionally-Republican seat into "lockdown." A Republican represented the district from the 1870s to 2012, when 20-year liberal incumbent Rosemary Mulligan (R) got knocked off the ballot. Moylan, then Des Plaines mayor, was recruited and funded by Speaker Madigan and the unions, who spent $1 million, and he won by 2,610 votes. "Lockdown" has 3 stages: Defeat, demoralization and defunding. In 2014, Madigan/Moylan spent another $1 million, and he won by 1,562 votes. By 2016, demoralized Republicans gave up, didn't fund their candidate, and Moylan won by 7,906 votes. His 59% puts the 55th Dist. into "lockdown" -- but a vote to hike the state income tax would be a game-changer. Full Article...
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