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Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Congressional and Cook County results *** Lipinski wins big *** Sauerberg, Seals declared winners *** Tribune loses *** Schock wins huge *** Alvarez wins ***

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 8:41 pm - With 36% of the vote counted, Congressman Dan Lipinski has 53 percent, to 24 percent for his closest challenger Mark Pera.

* 8:45 pm - The Republicans were more than a bit worried by the spectacular number of undecideds in their poll of the US Senate primary, but with 13 percent of the vote counted, their anointed candidate Steve Sauerberg has 56 percent of the vote.

*** 9:30 pm *** The AP has called the race for Congressman Dan Lipinski. He’s got 53 percent of the vote with 77 percent counted.

Also, Dan Seals has a gigantic lead over Jay Footllik in the 10th.

And with just 31 percent counted, Rep. Aaron Schock is trouncing his opponents. He has 74 percent. That should more than hold up.

*** 9:34 pm *** With 80 percent of the vote in, Anita Alvarez has a slim one-point lead over Tom Allen in the Cook County State’s Attorney race. Larry Suffredin is further back and Howard Brookins is 9 points behind Alvarez.

Also, slated candidate Gene Moore is whomping on Daley-backed Ed Smith 61-39 with 81 percent counted.

And Justice Alan Greiman lost big.

*** 9:47 pm *** The AP declares Sauerberg the winner. Dan Seals was given the nod by the AP in the 10th Congressional.

* 10:00 pm - With 53 percent of the vote in, Jim Oberweis has a 56-42 lead over Chris Lauzen in the 14th. Bill Foster leads John Laesch by just three points, 44-41, with 54 percent counted.

*** 10:22 pm *** It appears that incumbent Board of Review member and county party chairman Joe Berrios has stomped “reform” candidate Jay Paul Deratany in the city and even carried the county. I guess this means that Cook County wants a tax hike? Well, wasn’t that the Tribune’s take?

Stroger isn’t on Tuesday’s ballot. But some of his friends hope to convince reluctant members of the Cook County Board that they can support Stroger’s massive tax plan and not lose their own re-election bids two years from now. That pro-tax strategy rests on the fate Tuesday of two close Stroger allies. Which makes it imperative that every voter who requests a Democratic ballot dump two loyal members of Team Stroger, county Board of Review Commissioner Joseph Berrios and county Recorder Eugene Moore:

Moore won, too. Big.

* 10:25 pm - I don’t know why the AP hasn’t declared him the victor yet, but Tim Baldermann is so far ahead in the 11th District GOP primary that he’ll never be caught.

*** 10:25 pm *** The Associated Press has declared Rep. Aaron Schock the winner. No surprise there, but he has 72 percent of the vote in a three-way primary. Wow.

* 10:55 pm - With 78 percent of the vote counted, 1,557,497 Illinoisans voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and 653,146 voted Republican.

*** 11:17 pm *** Zorn reports that Tom Allen has conceded the Cook County State’s Attorney race to Anita Alvarez.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Results trickling in… Picking up steam… Dunkin losing big… Delgado almost home… Burns up… Collins with big lead… Gordon up… Hendon wins big… Prochno ahead… Delgado wins… Johnson concedes… Jacobs in tight race… Kevin’s update… Stout wins… AP winner’s list… Jehan Gordon wins…

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Another Peoria update from Kevin

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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CAMPAIGN NEWS UPDATES

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 11:19 pm - Clinton may have egg on her face. Obama appears to have won Missouri.

* 10:41 pm - AP calls Missouri for Clinton. That’s a big win for her. Big. Here’s her spin…

Barack Obama outspent Hillary by $300,000 in TV ads in Missouri. He also benefited from the endorsements of high-profile surrogates across the state such as Representatives Carnahan and Clay, and Senator McCaskill, all of whom actively campaigned for him and appeared in ads on his behalf.

* 9:58 pm - I almost forgot about this thread. From Drudge…

CLINTON: AR, MA, MO, NY, NJ, OK, TN
OBAMA: AL, CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, KS, MN, ND, UT

HUCKABEE: AL, AR, GA, MO, TN
MCCAIN: AZ, CT, DE, IL, NJ, NY, OK
ROMNEY: MA, ND, UT

* 8:27 pm - Hillary Clinton claims win in New Jersey…

This weekend, Hillary Clinton’s campaign had an intensive GOTV blitz that included over 100,000 calls to voters. Exit polls showed that the Latino population in particular delivered overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton.

* 8:19 pm - Hillary Clinton is crowing about her win in Massachusetts. From a press release…

Despite the fact that Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry were actively supporting and campaigning for Obama, Hillary Clinton won the state.

Despite the fact that the Governor of Massachusetts endorsed Obama, Hillary Clinton won the state. Despite the fact that Obama visited Massachusetts just last night, Hillary Clinton won the state. This is a strong victory and shows that Hillary Clinton has strength in places where Barack Obama was expected to win.

* 7:08 pm - The Trib has a story about the dumbest election judges in the state.

* 7:05 pm - No surprise here, but the Tribune has already called Illinois for Obama and McCain.

* ArchPundit has some raw, unweighted exit poll rumors.

* Preliminary national exit poll results are summarized: Fox; MSNBC, TIME, ABC, CBS, CNN.

* I’ve taken some of the suggestions from this post, added a few others and put them into a specialized news feed…

* And here’s a national news feed…

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Watch CBS 2’s coverage right here

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

Don’t live in the Chicago area? Planning on sitting at your computer instead of your TV while returns come in? Well, you’re in luck.

Starting at 10 o’clock tonight, just click on the banner below and watch CBS-2’s coverage live, right here…

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This just in…

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 3:42 pm - The beginning of a comeback? From an e-mail just blasted out by the City Club…

The City Club of Chicago welcomes Paul G. Vallas on Monday, April 28, 2008 for a Public Policy Luncheon.

* 3:48 pm - The Illinois Green Party is alleging foul play. From a press release…

Voters who hoped to participate in the Illinois’ first ever statewide Green Party primary are receiving a very rude reception at many polling places, especially in Chicago.

In the early hours of voting, Green Party officials began receiving reports from frustrated voters across the state who, in many cases, had been told by pollworkers that there are no Green Party ballots available at their polling places, or that they had to vote on suspect electronic voting machines, even while other parties use paper ballots.

Some of the most outrageous incidents, however, occurred across the wards of Chicago, where Green Party ballots have been apparently tampered with so they can’t be read and accepted by voting machines, voters are given Democratic ballots despite requesting Green ballots.

* 4:00 pm - A couple of 42nd Ward election judges got into a brawl today…

An election judge was charged with battery Tuesday morning after punching another judge at a 42nd Ward West Loop polling place, according to Chicago police.

The female judges, whose party affiliations were not immediately known, were quarreling over “procedures” when one punched the other in the face, said Central District Capt. Joseph Vaclavik.

The judge who was punched, believed to be in her mid-50s, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for evaluation, Vaclavik said. The other, in her late 30s, whose name was not released, was charged with misdemeanor battery, Vaclavik said. He could not elaborate on the procedural matter that sparked the fight.

The brawl between the twojudges was the culmination of a clash that had been raging for years, fellow poll workers said.

* 4:02 pm - Aaron Chambers is at the Hyatt waiting for the Obama party to begin…

Obama is not expected to begin speaking for seven more hours, but already several hundred people are flowing through and around the grand ballroom, in the hotel’s basement, where Obama will stage his event.

The crowd appears to be roughly divided between media and security. Yes, there are a couple hundred reporters, producers, etc., but there are just as many security personnel — secret service, Chicago police (uniformed and in plain clothes), and even officers wearing TSA (Transportation Security Administration) uniforms.

* 4:29 pm - Just a reminder from Emily’s List…

The [Democratic] primaries and caucuses thus far have seen from a 3-4% increase in the share of the electorate that is female. Turnout has been exceptionally high with women making up 57% to 60% of the electorate.

* 4:45 pm - Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area President and CEO, Steve Trombley writes about those Barack Obama “Present” votes and Illinois NOW’s harsh criticism of him during the current campaign…

During his time as a state senator, no major pro-choice organization questioned Obama’s present votes. Instead, Obama received endorsements from Personal PAC, NARAL of Illinois PAC, the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, and, YES, EVEN Illinois NOW.

That’s right! Illinois NOW endorsed Barack Obama in his elections in 1998 and 2002 AFTER he voted “present” on several bills. As Illinois NOW officials have stated, they were aware of the “present” vote strategy, and they still endorsed him. They also endorsed several other prominent Illinois politicians who voted the same way.

It is only after years have past that Illinois NOW has changed its mind. Apparently, these days they don’t agree with the strategy that they originally endorsed.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Reports from the field - South Suburbs; Martinez

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update from Peoria - Voting troubles? Plus, Kevin files a story from the scene

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Predictions open thread *** Updated x1 ***

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

Try to keep your Super Tuesday predictions as Illinois-centric as possible. Thanks.

*** UPDATE 1 *** This story might help with your predictions…

llinois board of elections officials were more willing to talk today about the weather than the voting, saying it’s too soon to get a strong bead on statewide turnout. But press them, and they say there’s little chance a light rain, mid-30s temps, and a possible freeze toward evening will keep the state from breaking a 15-year turnout record today. […]

The [Cook County early voting] numbers featured a spike in young voter ballots and college absentee votes, said County Clerk David Orr. […]

Turnout in Sangamon County, home of the capital city of Springfield, was also far exceeding turnout in previous years, election officials there said.

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Election day experiences *** UPDATED X2 ***

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Bumped up for greater visibility.]

Post your election day observations below. How many were at your polling place? How many have voted so far? What was the weather? How many poll-watchers, flier-mongers were present? Any problems? Any goons? Etc.

Give us as much detail as possible, please.

*** UPDATE 1 *** There have been a lot of comments here about demands from Chicago election judges that voters produce an ID. I just called the Chicago Board of Elections and they said they didn’t know why this has been the case. You don’t have to show an ID to vote in Illinois on election day (early voting is different). I’ve been in contact with the attorney general’s office about this and I’ll update in a bit.

*** UPDATE 2 *** The attorney general’s office just called back to say they’ve dispatched some teams around the city to check out complaints of voters being indiscriminately asked for ID’s. There are some instance where election judges can ask for an ID, but if voters believe that the law is not being followed they should contact the AG’s hotline numbers. Chicago area voters call 1.866.536.3496 and downstaters can call 1.866.559.6812

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Message to readers

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

There’s been an intermittent problem all morning with the news feeds, which has resulted in the site not being accessible at times. It’s being worked on, but part of the problem, I think, is national Internet traffic is way up today. Hopefully, this problem can be - and will be - fixed soon.

I’ve pulled the feeds down during particularly slow periods, and I’ll do so again if there’s more trouble.

If you run into trouble with slowness, just keep hitting the “refresh” button, or click the banner at the top of the page.

Thanks for your patience.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Martinez; Jefferies; Hendon; ComEd; Cable TV (Use all caps in password)

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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ATTENTION: BLOGGERS AND CANDIDATES

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Bumped up to give the post more exposure]

If you’re going to be blogging more than just a little about today’s Illinois primary, please make sure to put a link in comments here. We’d like to track your work as much as possible.

Also, if you know of any good campaign parties tonight, slip those into the comment section below. I’ll be home, blogging away, but some readers might be in the mood for a little fun.

* Illinoize is already cranking up pretty hard, by the way.

[News feeds are now on this post.]

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Mark Brown writes today about the 150,000 Cook County residents who took advantage of early voting and may have cast their ballots for candidates who are now out of the race…

When Democrat John Edwards and Republican Rudy Giuliani folded their campaigns last week, they essentially nullified the votes of hundreds if not thousands of their supporters in Illinois who had already cast a ballot.

Those voters don’t get a do-over today, and therefore won’t have a real voice in picking this year’s Democrat or Republican nominees (not that they were on a winning track in the first place).

It’s the chance those voters took when they went to the polls early. Obviously, there is no way to retrieve a secret ballot once it’s been cast. But for those who hadn’t really considered the possibility in advance, the result still stings.

“I feel kind of disenfranchised,” complained Naperville Township Republican Chairman Fred Spitzzeri, who tells me he eagerly cast a vote for Giuliani on the first day of early voting and urged others to follow suit, then was shocked as the former New York mayor withdrew from the race six days before our election.[…]

For now, at least, the better option for early voters in future elections might be to at least hold off a little longer, especially in presidential races where the field is fluid. For anyone who had waited, there were still two more days of early voting after Giuliani and Edwards dropped out.

* And, now, to the question: Should early voting be abolished at least for presidential campaigns? Or, should things stay the way they are? Explain.

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Reluctant mushrooms want sweeteners

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The city council mushrooms are grumbling about the real estate transfer tax increse that they have to approve as part of the mass transit bailout bill. The General Assembly made the tax hike “permissive” - meaning the onus on passing the thing fell to the council. That seems fair to me, but aldermen, like any politician, are upset that the ball is now in their court…

On Monday, Finance Committee members vented their anger — by temporarily derailing the increase and attaching a few strings.

Before they could agree to raising the tax from $7.50 to $10.50 per $1,000 of sale price, aldermen demanded that senior citizen home buyers would have to be exempt from the increase — and that active members of the military and disabled veterans join seniors in riding the CTA for free.

* And then there was this…

Alderman Walter Burnett says minority firms should get half the investment work [for the CTA pension fund].

“This is beneficial to have the CTA, but it’s also beneficial to our community to have a piece of the pie. We have to have a part of it and employ people, so it’s two-fold for a lot of us and it’s out duty to make sure people get their fair share.”

* Added Ald. Ed Burke…

CTA pension fund trustees are “going to have to understand they need to be sensitive to doing business with local money managers, with minorities and women.” […]

Burke added that only six of 43 investment management companies are minority-owned firms and that 16 of 43 are Chicago-based concerns.

* However, as always, they’ll probably just do what they’re told…

The committee will reconvene Wednesday morning and, despite the gripes, is expected to advance the tax increase measure in time for fast-track consideration by the full council, which is scheduled to meet immediately afterward.

“This is one of those votes I think a lot of us will make, holding our noses,” said Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th). “If this doesn’t happen, you are not going to have buses.”

* The most interesting thing about yesterday’s Finance Committee debate was that it was held the day before primary day.

So, some voters who saw the stories last night on TV or today in the papers may take out their anger over another tax hike on any incumbents today. It may not amount to many people, but if there are close races it could make things interesting.

* This idea, from CTA Tattler, is pretty silly, however…

if you live in the 14th Senate District on the Far South Side of Chicago, you should not vote for Senate President Emil Jones. He did the governor’s bidding throughout this mess, and refused to call for votes in the Senate some House-supported transit bills that Rep. Julie Hamos got passed.

If you live in the 22nd House District, House Speaker Michael Madigan is your representative. His feuding with Blago prolonged the “Doomsday” crisis, though he did work with Hamos to get bills passed.

Neither Madigan nor Jones has a primary opponent today. It’s pretty easy to check that out.

* Related…

* No such thing as free rides — ask home buyers

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Reed out at Sun-Times

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I wondered how my new editor at the Sun-Times was gonna react when candidate endorsement season arrived.

Cheryl Reed thought she had been given total control over the editorial page. I suspected that her independence would not extend to endorsements. And now she’s gone…

Cheryl Reed, the editorial page editor, has quit, and quite spectacularly.

* From Ms. Reed’s memo…

“I am deeply troubled that the editorial board members were not allowed to address concerns raised about the Obama [February 1] and McCain [February 3] editorials, even though the endorsements were turned in more than two days before they were published. Instead, wholesale rewrites were done by people who aren’t even on the board, including one person who is no longer employed by the paper.”

* I used to joke with Steve Huntley, the former editorial page editor, that his alcohol intake must’ve increased drastically during endorsement season. The big boys would make him write some difficult pieces, to say the least. Rod Blagojevich, Todd Stroger, and on and on and on. It couldn’t have been easy.

Reed was a relative newcomer to Illinois, so she wasn’t around to see the endorsements from the 2002 primary, which caused a furor when every hack in town got the paper’s nod.

* In Reed’s case however, it doesn’t appear that the endorsements themselves were directed from on-high, as was done before. Reed quit because the editorials were ordered rewritten by the top echelon.

More from Reed’s memo…

Not only does [the rewrite] undermine my position but it devalues and patronizes the editorial board writers who wrote the original endorsements: an African-American, a Latino and two white women. (As you know, both endorsements were rewritten by white men.)

* Reed was very big on bringing diversity to the editorial page. For instance, my twice-monthly (three times in months with five Friday’s) column was cut back to once a month to, I was informed, make room for an African-American woman and a Latina. I never felt so white or so male, even though I try more than many to write about black and Latino politics as much as I can.

But, I got over it. Them’s the breaks. It’s their paper, they can do what they want with it, I figured. They don’t tell me what to put in the Capitol Fax, I don’t tell them how to run their shop. Even, Steven.

* Mike Miner writes that Reed hasn’t been happy for a while. I knew she was upset, but didn’t know she had threatened to quit…

A couple of weeks ago I heard that she’d turned in her resignation — she couldn’t have been a happy camper after layoffs cost her about half her staff.

She was talked into staying, and then the endorsements were rewritten and she quit. There was more going on there - shifting sands of internal politics left over from the previous rulers, but that’s for someone else to write about. I try to stay out of that.

* The irony is, Reed left just as the paper appears to be going on the auction block…

Sun-Times Media Group. Inc. said late Monday that directors are weighing a number of “strategic alternatives,” including a possible sale of the struggling Chicago publishing concern.

The board’s decision to “explore strategic next steps” is “the right thing to do the ensure the future of the Sun-Times Media Group publications and Web sites and to generate the highest value for our shareholders,” said Cyrus Freidheim, the holding company’s Chief Executive Officer. […]

Sun-Times Media’s announcement came after the market’s close Monday. Based on the company’s share price of $1.38, Sun-Times Media has a market capitalization of $111 million.

Anybody wanna go in with me?

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Morning shorts

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* School scheme: ‘How do they know it’s isolated?’

Chicago’s magnet applications should be audited following revelations that parents tried to clout their kids into one magnet school by falsely claiming they had a child already enrolled there, the head of a government watchdog group said Tuesday.

* Illinois Commerce Commission considers natural-gas rate hike

Under a proposal by Chicago-based Integrys Energy Group, owner of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, consumers would be charged a new set fee on expected, rather than actual, usage.

* Collective action - As unions continue to gain power in Illinois’ public sector, they face their toughest battle yet for health care

* Cue The Groans

So much for having a hard delegate count on Super Tuesday, we’re hearing that CA Dems won’t have final delegate tally ready until Friday.

* Polling hours in Illinois

* Semi-Final Fundraising Totals

* SUN-TIMES: Our choices in today’s vote

* TRIBUNE: endorsements

* DAILY HERALD: nods

* SOUTHTOWNSTAR: backs Milan, Smith

* SOUTHTOWNSTAR: Baldermann gets our nod for 11th District Congressional seat

* SOUTHTOWNSTAR: Bennett the best bet for Third Congressional District seat

* PJ STAR: Illinois House 92nd District: Allen Mayer

* PJ STAR: Illinois House 91st District: Mike Smith

* HIRAM WURF: Why I’m endorsing Bill Foster

* Campaigns make last push for votes

* Illinois voters to pick nominees, and not just for president

* Voters have the chance to make history by voting on Super Tuesday

* Voters Head To The Polls For Super Tuesday

* Our Opinion: An end to fear of primary vote

* Illinois’ early primary brings mixed reactions

* East tax hike will appear on November ballot

East Aurora voters will consider a school tax increase for the third time in three years after the School Board agreed Monday to put a $32 million bond referendum on the November ballot.

* Obama team sets the bar low

* Candidates with Illinois ties headline primary

* Highlights from Illinois primary

* Polls open early; snow falls late

* More voters than usual expected today

* IL -14th Dem debate

* 14th District race is twice as nice

* Drum roll, please: My vote for Congress

* The governor will renew his push for health care only to be rechallenged

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Afternoon news roundup

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Daily Kos has the latest polling in Super Tuesday states for Democrats. Obama appears to be gaining almost everywhere. But Lynn Sweet has a memo from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe which attempts to lower expectations.

* Taegan Goddard wraps up the Republican polls.

* Josh Marshall looks at polling in early voting states. Mark Blumenthal issues his 4 cautions on Super Tuesday polling. Trendlines, etc. can be found here.

* Larry takes Illinois NOW to task for not telling the truth about those “Present” votes here and here. A bit of bad language, so beware.

* This is an interesting look, if self-promotional, about SMS advertising, the latest trend in political campaigning…

Limbo today releases a report showing how voters’ attitudes and behaviors are influenced through mobile advertising. In January 2008, Limbo ran SMS advertising campaigns for leading Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, delivering over one million SMS impressions across the two campaigns. The results suggest that SMS advertising provides a powerful tool for candidates to change consumer attitudes and voting behavior.

* I can’t find it online yet, but Greg Hinz at Crain’s takes a look ahead in case Obama wins or is named to the ticket and wins as VP…

African-Americans are this governor’s most loyal, solid base. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Chicago, probably is the best-positioned black official to fill a Senate vacancy, and he’s been campaigning around the country for Barack. But Mr. Jackson and Illinois Senate Majority Leader Emil Jones Jr. are not best buds, and right now the guv really needs Emil.

U.S. Rep. Schakowsky, from Evanston, has maintained good relations with this governor and, like him, is a liberal populist. “If Barack were president,” she allows, “I’d be very interested in that Senate seat.” Moving her across the rotunda would make U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel the unquestioned big cheese in the city’s House delegation.

Three statewide Democrats also likely would be considered: Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. But the first ain’t gonna happen, given Mr. Blagojevich’s war with her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan. Mr. Hynes isn’t much more popular with Rod’s team. Mr. Giannoulias is awfully young at age 31, but he’s campaigning really hard for something lately and is an Obama protégé (and basketball buddy).

The selection also could be someone from left field, like Downstate Blagojevich loyalist Jay Hoffman, the guv’s man in the state House.

Or how about way, way, way left field: Rod Blagojevich. You laugh, but no law would prevent him from appointing himself. Mr. Seniors-ride-free has pulled wackier stunts.

* On to government news…

In ominous news for taxpayers, the fiscal difficulty continues to worsen at pension funds that cover Chicago and other government workers in the metropolitan area.

The area’s 10 big government pension funds now face $18.7 billion in unfunded liabilities, according to a report released Monday morning by the Civic Federation, a watchdog group. The deficit is more than five times the figure of just a decade ago, and about six times the size of the city’s annual operating budget.

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Messages to readers

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As long as the satellite works, I’ll be on Chicago Tonight this evening. One of the things we’ll be talking about is my latest syndicated column…

“It’s been anticlimactic,” sighed a top House Democratic operative last week when asked about some of the Chicago-area primary races.

For months, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s operation was expecting an onslaught from Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his allies against a handful of their Chicago incumbents. Madigan advised his incumbents to take leaves of absence from their day jobs, walk precincts like never before and raise and spend money like their lives depended on it. The speaker placed staff all over the city and parts of the suburbs, and ran the full program for his people.

At least two Democratic challengers have told others in recent days that they felt abandoned by the governor. They were recruited into the race with grandiose promises of money and staff and ended up holding an empty bag.

* Also, a note to the national media: I’m pretty busy right now with all the primary races tomorrow and I have zero time for your inane questions about endless rehash stories on various tangential minutiae. Please, stop calling me. Do your own research. Thanks.

* One last thing. Nice hat, Mayor…

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Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Question of the day

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

Let’s hear about any direct mail or robocalls you received over the weekend, or any new TV or radio ads you saw or heard. Try to describe them all as fully as possible. Thanks.

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Nasty, and really stupid

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You gotta wonder sometimes about the brain power of those in politics today.

Take for instance, this goofy mailer by “Concerned People of the 3rd Ward.” Click the pics for larger images of this hit piece on Alderman Pat Dowell, who is running against Rep. Ken Dunkin for Democratic committeeman…

* On the second page, there’s a reference to a website…

* Now go take a look at the “blog.” It’s called “les.be.pat” and contains smears about Dowell being a lesbian, including this “reader poll”…

* Normally, these anonymous mailers are diffcult to trace. There is no “Concerned People of the 3rd Ward” committee registered with the State Board of Elections and Blogger allows anonymous blog hosting. Also, the street address apparently doesn’t exist.

But, in this case, somebody really goofed. Here is the bulk permit number for the Dowell hit piece…

* And here’s a recent mailer by Rep. Ken Dunkin…

* Now, let’s zoom in on Dunkin’s bulk permit number, shall we?

* Hey, whaddyaknow. It’s the same number as the Dowell piece. Who would ever have guessed?

He’s known as “Padunk” for a reason.

…Adding… You’d probably be acting well within reason to go to that aforementioned blog and click on the “Flag Blog” button at the very top of the page, which lets Google know that it’s a despicable piece of trash.

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A whiff of panic among Republicans?

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Saturday’s post had excerpts from the Tribune’s presidential poll of Illinoisans…

The survey found Obama, a first-term Illinois senator from Chicago, with the support of 55 percent of likely Democratic primary voters. Clinton, a two-term New York senator born in Chicago and raised in suburban Park Ridge, had 24 percent.

On the Republican side, McCain, a veteran Arizona senator, had the backing of 43 percent of likely GOP primary voters in the state, compared with 20 percent for former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, 15 percent for former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and 4 percent for Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

* And Sunday’s Tribune had a long piece about local GOP anxieties…

“I think there’s a small base of Republicans that are focusing on this presidential contest and the more independent-minded are not going to be voting in the Republican Party with favorite-son Barack Obama on the Democratic ballot,” said state Sen. Dan Rutherford (R-Chenoa), the Illinois chairman of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign. “I think you’ll be finding a low Republican turnout.” […]

“I’m getting calls from committeemen all over the place. They say, ‘We’ve got nothing going to keep our Republicans from voting for Barack,’” said state Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano of Elmwood Park, a member of the Republican State Central Committee.

* More presidential crud, compiled by Kevin…

* Obama’s fundraising collides with his rhetoric

* Clinton health plan may mean tapping pay

* Illinois NOW Tries to Lie It’s Way Out

* Romney lumps McCain in with Obama, Clinton

* Ready for Super Tuesday

* Candidates spend time elsewhere despite state’s early primary

* DuPage hears ‘straight talk’

* McCain Rally

* McCain urges conservatives to get aboard

* Romney visits DuPage County

* Obama sees McCain as boosting his hopes for Dem nomination

* Obama airing TV commercial during Super Bowl in select markets

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The Empire strikes back

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Dan Lipinkski’s campaign has a new mailer which is basically an open letter from community activist and “fellow Southwest Sider” Joe Kulys.

Kulys slams the bloggers who have attacked Lipinksi for the past several months as “political punks” and “radical left-wingers,” claiming they’re from places like “San Francisco, Hollywood, New York City and Massachusetts.” Kulys then notes this in the letter…

[W]e were working, sweating, building and strengthening the Democratic Party while they were still crying in their cribs because their diapers were full.

And just where was Dan Lipinski during all this difficult party building? Why, he was also in his “diapers” and/or away at college. Lipinski wasn’t even living in Illinois when he was tapped to replace his daddy.

The only time Dan Lipinski really did anything on his own was when he was zooming towards the womb. He didn’t build anything on the Southwest Side. He barely knows the Southwest Side of today.

Ask pretty much any insider in that district and they’ll tell you the “real” reason Dan Lipinski was originally slotted into that seat was because he has a horrific case of diabetes and his mommy wanted to make sure he got lifetime health insurance coverage. He’s an embarrassment on every level.

* More congressional stuff, compiled by Kevin…

* Lipinski Whining that People are Mean to Him

* Lipinski Never Endorsed for President

* Schock campaign letters infuriate opponents

* Preparing for the primary: A look at the Democratic 19th U.S. House District race

* Web site descriptions at issue in 8th, 10th congressional races

* Injured soldier’s mom takes on Bean

* GOP Apt to Pick Well-Funded Foe to Illinois’ Bean in Tuesday Primary

This is a 2008 Illinois congressional primary open thread.

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Undecideds big winner, and the silence of the reform lambs

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told you Saturday, the latest Tribune poll found that 44 percent of Democratic primary voters are still undecided about the Cook County State’s Attorney race…

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin held a narrow edge, with support from 17 percent of voters, the poll showed. Chicago Alds. Tom Allen (38th) and Howard Brookins (21st) each had 11 percent, as did Anita Alvarez, the No. 3 official in Devine’s office. Devine’s top assistant, Robert Milan, had 3 percent and Tommy Brewer, a defense lawyer and former FBI agent, had 2 percent.

* Brookins, who is not on TV, has apparently either not yet burned in his message that he is the “black” candidate or black voters know it and are rejecting him. The demographic play is acknowledged by Brookins’ own people as his best hope of winning the campaign because he isn’t exactly a stellar candidate. To that end, Jesse Jackson, Sr. came out for Brookins over the weekend.

* Meanwhile, the white guys are battling it out…

Bob Milan, candidate for Cook County state’s attorney, fired back Friday at a campaign ad run by Ald. Tom Allen (38th) accusing Milan of being a status quo choice to lead an office that, according to the ad, looked the other way on police torture allegations.

* Milan, meanwhile, got an ad on the Super Bowl for relatively cheap.

* On another county race, it borders on reportorial malpractice that nobody ever seems to point out all of the developer money raised by County Assessor Jim Houlihan. The spin is he’s the good guy, pushing for “reform” by pumping big bucks into the Board of Review contests…

Cook County Assessor James Houlihan has contributed $190,000 to a candidate running for a seat on the board that reviews the work of Houlihan’s office. […]

Houlihan said he is not trying to increase his power but aims to reform a system he says is slanted toward the commercial property owner.

Yeah, OK.

* And, finally, a self-described “pro environment” candidate for the Water Reclamation District has a not so eco-friendly contributor…

But Spyropoulos is under attack now too. She, Podgorski, and Maragos have taken a cue from Shore and framed their candidacies as part of an environmental movement; on its Web site, the Illinois Sierra Club has a pleasant-looking picture of the three of them winning its endorsement.

On Friday, though, Podgorski issued a press release accusing Spyropoulos of greenwashing. Podgorski noted that while she’s promised to battle BP and other companies that pollute the lake, the primary source of her campaign financing—her pops, Theodor—is the owner of a gasoline distribution company.

47 Comments

Morning shorts

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* Cubs suitors want Wrigley Field

Tribune Co.’s proposal to sell Wrigley Field to the state is alienating would-be buyers of the Chicago Cubs who say owning the team without the iconic stadium would be like a day in the bleachers without a cold beer.

“The Cubs and Wrigley Field are so intertwined. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” says a member of one bidding group who requested anonymity because of Major League Baseball’s sensitivity about the sale process. “Splitting them absolutely diminishes the value of the team and my interest level.”

* Judge won’t dismiss governor’s suit

Circuit Judge Leo Zappa refused a motion to dismiss the case filed by attorneys for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

* Coal gasification cleanup to start in Jacksonville, Pana

* City’s tech star fading from view

The loss of Motorola Inc.’s cell phone business would reduce Chicago to a pin-dot on the global technology map and set the stage for the dismantling of a giant that helped shape the region’s corporate landscape for generations.

* Rezko is rapidly gaining national name recognition

* Jailed Rezko agrees to push back his trial

* Endorse remorse; it’s not a friendly task

* How the primary election works in Illinois

* What’s the law?

* Republican Senate candidates have little experience but firm opinions

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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