February 28, 2018
STEWART MARKS 35 YEARS AS POLITICAL COLUMNIST
Editor's note: Russ Stewart is off this week. Nadig Newspapers is reprinting a column that was published on July 16, 2008, almost a decade ago, in which Stewart marks 35 years as a political columnist. The views express here are Mr. Stewarts and do not reflect the views of Nadig Newspapers. This column, as always, delivers political analysis and commentary regarding Northwest Side, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois and national issues. This column, which commenced in 1973, has appeared weekly, without interruption, for 1,820 weeks. Full Article...
February 21, 2018
CAMPAIGNS OF PRECKWINKLE, BERRIOS ARE APPROACHING FUBAR
As Yogi Berra once iconically said, "it's not over until it's over." The campaigns of both Toni Preckwinkle for Cook County Board president and Joe Berrios for assessor are at a FUBAR stage -- or maybe it should be SNAFU stage. Or maybe both. They are almost over. Polling puts Preckwinkle under 40 percent, due to her soda tax fiasco, and Berrios is under 30 percent -- THAT'S RIGHT, UNDER 30 PERCENT -- due to his office's non-performance. NOT GOOD. Berrios responded that he is "committed to change whatever needs to be changed." Hey, this guy's been around since 1988, and had $1,413,623 on-hand as of Dec. 31. Where did that come from? The abyss looms for both. Full Article...
February 14, 2018
BLACK VOTE MAY DOOM PRITZKER, BUT WILL BOOST McCARTHY IN MAYOR BID
Emil Jones, that old curmudgeon who was once IL Senate president, is a journalist's dream. Who else could put "uppity" back into the political lexicon? And who else could sink J.B. Pritzker's campaign for governor with such alacrity? JB's wiretaps are giving Chris Kennedy and Dan Biss a great opportunity. If you don't say it,, you don't have to later deny saying it. Gov. Rauner really, really wants to have JB as his Democratic opponent, and JB is doing a splendid job of frustrating his hopes. In the 2019 Chicago mayor's race, ex-police supt. Gerry McCarthy ripped Chicago's "economy of gun violence" at a 2/11 event, saying that "not one part of the city is safe," and that every lawsuit against the police is settled, thereby "blowing a hole right through the budget." If McCarthy gets Emanuel into a runoff, the mayor is toast. Full Article...
February 7, 2018
"DISPARATE TREATMENT" NO ROADBLOCK FOR SHERIFF DART
In the Cook County sheriff's race, which will be decided in the 3/20/18 Democratic primary, incumbent Tom Dart is assured of a fourth term, and would-be challenger Eddie Acevedo is assured of maximum frustration. He is in federal court trying to get back on the ballot, using the pretext of "disparate treatment." After objections to his nominating petitions, Acevedo was left with well fewer than the 8,260 signatures required. The lawsuit contends that if a candidate for governor needs only 5,000 signatures statewide, why does a candidate for sheriff need more in only one of Illinois' 102 counties? That's disparate treatment, and a ballot access civil rights violation, he claims. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) has already been denied. Acevedo is going nowhere. Dart will be sheriff through 2022. Full Article...
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