May 30, 2018
'PACKING,' 'CRACKING' STILL PREVAILS IN ILLINOIS POLITICS
Political correctness under the guise of "proportionality" is creeping into the process by which congressional and state legislative districts are reconfigured every decade after each census. Historically the party that controls a state's legislature and governorship draws the congressional and legislative map, and does so to maximize their party's congressional representation and maintain legislative control. They do so by a process called "packing" and "cracking." The former means that they "pack" as many opposition party voters into as few districts as possible, and then they "crack" enclaves of opposition party support and then disperse them among other districts with the goal being to create a 55 to 60 percent majority in winnable districts, and a 75 to 80 percent majority in opposition districts. Full Article...
May 23, 2018
DEMOCRATS IN ILLINOIS IN LOGJAM OF EPIC PROPORTIONS
Democrats in Illinois and Cook County have a logjam of epic proportions on their hands. There are too few available offices to satisfy too many ambitious candidates. If Governor Bruce Rauner loses, there will be no prominent Republican anywhere to beat. For the foreseeable future it will be "hurry up and wait." It will not be "step aside," as no white guys are doing that. And it will definitely not be "have it your way." Webster's Dictionary defines logjam as an over-accumulation of cut logs in streams on their way to a sawmill. It also defines logjam as "an obstacle formed by the accumulation of many items to deal with," which in Illinois means Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). They are not stepping aside anytime soon. Full Article...
May 16, 2018
ABRs, ABIAs PROLIFERATE IN 2019 CITY ELECTIONS
There is a cure for voter apathy. And, for Chicagoans, that cure will be enthusiastically embraced by voters in the 2019 municipal elections when a bunch of politicians with expired shelf-lives will be tossed into the dumpster. The act of voting will be both fun and meaningful.
It is increasingly apparent that 2019's operative acronyms are ABR and ABAI, which mean ANYBODY BUT RAHM and ANYBODY BUT the ALDERMANIC INCUMBENT. In the 18 elections dating back to 1947 (not counting the 1977 and 1989 special mayoral elections), in which the mayor, clerk and treasurer, as well as all 50 aldermen were on the ballot, when interest in the mayor's race was tepid, the contest unexciting and turnout low, few aldermen were unseated. Conversely, in tumultuous years like 1947, 1955, 1963, 1975, 1983 and 1987, when voter turnout was high, so, too, was aldermanic turnover.Here are analyses of developing contests in the 33rd, 47th, 40th, 41st, 39th and 38th wards. Full Article...
May 9, 2018
PRECKWINKLE, UNIONS SHOW POWER IN COUNTY BOARD PRIMARY RACES; REPUBLICANS NOW TARGETED IN NOVEMBER
Is the penny-per-ounce soda tax coming back? As a result of the 3/20 Democratic primaries, county board president Toni Preckwinkle may have a veto-proof majority of at least 12 (of 17) commissioners, but that is dependent on she and the public sector unions knocking off 2 of the 4 Republican commissioners on Nov. 6. Preckwinkle and her union allies beat pro-repeal commissioners John Fritchey and Richard Boykin, and she won renomination with 60.7%. There will be a "lot of nickel-and-dime" tax and fee increases, predicted Comr. Pete Silvestr, but the BIG WHOPPER -- a new soda tax or sales tax hike -- looms. Full Article...
May 2, 2018
XX CHROMOSOMES, AS USUAL, PREVAIL IN MAJORITY OF JUDICIAL CONTESTS
If one seeks to be a judge in Cook County, either countywide or in the subcircuits, having an Irish surname is good, but having XX chromosomes is better. There were 39 judicial nominations on the March 20 ballot in the Democratic primary, 10 countywide and 29 in the 15 subcircuits. A woman won 22 of those 39 nominations. In the 22 contests where a woman faced a man, the woman won 14. The Democratic Organization did, however, get 8 of their 10 slated countywide candidates nominated, but 5 of 6 black candidates lost, as did the sole slated Jewish candidate. With 3.1 million registered voters, barely 600,000 voted in the county judicial races, so 19%of the voters picked their judges. Democratic committeemen in the Hispanic 6th subcircuit fared poorly, but the Irish committeemen in the 8th subcircuit did well. Full Article...
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