July 31, 2019
ARENA OPTS OUT, GIVES 19TH DISTRICT HOUSE SEAT TO LaPOINTE
The good news is that former alderman John Arena (45th) won't be going to Springfield. The bad news is that he and his ally, state sen. Rob Martwick, gave the open 19th Dist. Illinois House seat to Lindsey LaPointe, who promised to bring her "social worker values" to the job. LaPointe was chosen at a July 24 meeting of Democratic committeemen. "She's a socialist," said committeeman Tim Heheghan, who won't support either LaPointe or Martwick in 2020. LaPointe denied being a socialist, but had words of praise for Kim Foxx. HERE'S A SYNOPSIS of the meeting and the presenters. Full Article...
July 24, 2019
D-2 FILINGS PREVIEW AND PRESAGE UPCOMING 2020 AND 2022 POLITICAL CONTESTS
A D-2 form is a beautiful thing. It is a campaign disclosure document filed quarterly with the Illinois Board of Elections by every elected officeholder in Illinois and every announced candidate. It can be revelatory. It can spur or deter opposition. It can be the basis for an indictment. It can prove that having lots of campaign cash doesn't necessarily get somebody elected. And a whole bunch of D-2s for the quarter ending June 30 have been filed. ATTACHED IS A FUNDRAISING CHART which shows cash-on-hand and receipts for 2019 Chicago mayoral and aldermanic candidates, various state legislators, 2020 candidates for state's attorney and Clerk of Court, and 2022 candidates for sheriff and county board president. Full Article...
July 17, 2019
ALDERMAN SEEK 'CLOSURE' IN 39TH AND 45TH WARDS
Former Chicago aldermen, especially defeated aldermen, are a species of pesky and hardy political critters, particularly if they remain their ward's Democratic committeeman. IN THE 45TH WARD, where former alderman John Arena lost 7,570-5,382 to Gardiner on Feb. 26, there is a flurry of comeback activity, with the two-termer Arena intensely lobbying the Lightfoot administration for $100,000-plus city job, needed for at least 2 years, thereby enabling him to get a first-tier city pension. (SEE WEIGHTED-VOTE CHART ATTACHED.) Full Article...
July 10, 2019
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING WILL PERPETUATE MADIGAN'S RULE
Who would have thought that the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court would give Mike Madigan the gift that keeps on giving – namely: perpetual Democratic control of the Illinois legislature? And with it the opportunity to eradicate more Republicans from the state’s congressional delegation, further cementing Nancy Pelosi’s control of the U.S. House. Speaker Madigan is a longtime master of the arcane art of gerrymandering, a phrase coined in 1812 when Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry and his Jeffersonian Democratic legislature drew legislative and congressional district lines in a politically advantageous way. Gerry invented the concept of “packing,” which back then meant stuffing a maximum number of opposition Federalists into a minimum number of districts. One district looked like a salamander. The practice continues to this day, with the party in power staying in power by crafting post-census maps which “pack” and “bleach” the opposition. Full Article...
July 3, 2019
DISINGENUOUSNESS RUNS RAMPANT AS DEMOCRATS PICK MARTWICK FOR SENATOR
It has long been said that if one wants a friend, especially in the realm of politics, one should get a dog. As 41st Ward Democratic committeeman Tim Heneghan discovered to his immense chagrin on June 28, when he attended the Democrats’ meeting at the Roden Library to pick John Mulroe’s replacement for the 10th District state senate seat, he would have been much happier had he gone to an animal shelter.“I really got screwed,” said Heneghan. Heneghan coveted the Mulroe appointment, and worked for three months to assemble a weighted-vote majority among his fellow committeemen. Instead of Heneghan, State Rep. Rob Martwick (D-19) was picked by "acclamation." It was a DONE DEAL. The fix was in. Full Article...
Previous Articles