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* For months, the Quinnsters laughed at the prospect that Bill Brady could win the governor’s race. Now, a least, Gov. Pat Quinn finally seems to understand that he’s this/close to toasthood…
Asked Thursday who should replace Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. Pat Quinn indicated he’s got enough of his own political problems.
“I am in the political fight of my life,” Quinn said. “I don’t think I need to be prognosticating on a race that’s down the road a piece.”
* The Quinn people, meanwhile, have reworked a video of Mike Ditka from July of 2009. I wonder how Da Coach feels about his old comments now that Quinn has been in office awhile…
* And a semantics fight breaks out…
Some lawmakers are pushing back against Gov. Pat Quinn’s comments that Republican state Sen. Bill Brady is taking a “bonus” on his legislative salary.
Quinn occasionally has tried to attack Brady with the idea when he has been pressured with questions about raises the governor has given his staff.
“As a matter of fact, he took his full salary, and then took a bonus as well,” Quinn said of Brady at the Illinois State Fair.
“He’s hardly an authority on anything to do with cutting your pay,” Quinn added.
The “bonus” in question is a legislative stipend for committee chairs and leaders.
* On to the mayor’s race. Forrest Claypool ain’t running…
“I took 24 hours to think about it,” he said. “But I’ve decided the race I’m in is too important to leave. It’s an opportunity for voters to take a stand against the insider culture that’s bankrupted our state and polluted our politics.”
Cook County Sherriff Tom Dart was inching closer to an announcement, which will come only if he gets the expected blessing of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Somebody clue this guy in, please. Dart has been a thorn in Madigan’s side for years, and vice-versa. The South Side Irish are often thought of as monolithical. They ain’t. Heck, you practically need a passport to cross the street in the 19th Ward.
* Ummm…
The black community’s best candidate may be a white candidate: Ald. Bob Fioretti
Yeah. OK.
* Congressman Jackson talks to CNN about the mayor’s race…
* Moving right along to the Cook County Board, this Daily Herald headline and lede are gross understatements: Cook Co. Board candidate in hot water over questionnaire…
Conflicting election questionnaire responses suggest a Cook County Board candidate may have been less than truthful about his criminal record, though his campaign blamed it on a staff member’s mistake.
Fox Chicago has the story…
In 1991 Maher, then a freshman at Illinois State University in Bloomington, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated battery after the brutal beating of another student. According to police records, Maher and a friend went to the dormroom of a man who had once dated Maher’s girlfriend. The victim suffered a broken jaw, broken eye socket and 25 stitches. Witnesses described finding a “puddle of blood” in his dorm room. He was hospitalized for two days.
But it’s the questionnaire. Yeah. Good one.
By the way, Maher’s cousin is Comptroller Dan Hynes. Then again, I have a cousin in prison for a double murder. One can’t be judged by one’s relatives. Of course, my cousin didn’t run for office, so I doubt he ever filled out a candidate questionnaire.
* Back to the statewides. A fight broke out in comments on our Question of the Day over numerous topics. I put a stop to it, but it can now resume here. From a statement by Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady…
“It is curious that Robin Kelly would focus on Ethics given her choice to remain on government payroll and collect full-time state benefits even as she campaigns for elected office in all parts of the state. Even more stunning is her brazen choice to hold an Ethics press conference at 1:30 p.m. Thursday while other ‘full time’ employees are required to, well, be at work.
“While the arrogance is fitting for an Illinois Democrat trained in mold of Blagojevich and Giannoulias, it is not in line with the honest leadership our state requires for its future. If Kelly is serious about Ethics change, she should start by changing her payroll status or changing the time of her political activities. Until then she is just another candidate who says one thing while doing another - and Illinois voters have had enough of those.”
Have at it.
* Roundup…
* Lawyers pleading for George Ryan’s freedom
* Quinn to Farnham: Nix effort to fix U46 funding
* Quinn gets backing of firefighters union
* Quinn to mark end of Ramadan
* A Political Consulting Firm Redefines the Word ‘Insurgent’
* SJ-R: Use political sign etiquette this election season
* Candidates for 101st state House District meet in first debate
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 2:56 pm
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The county board candidate’s interview with the guy from fox is well worth watching….
Comment by OneMan Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:08 pm
Hey, Billy can call it what he wants. I bet when teachers in this state get stipends for additional work and duties outside their regular job, he’d call that a bonus and want them to go without it.
Comment by ShadyBillBrady Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:08 pm
Brady needs Ditka to come out and do a Harold Washington-type rant on Quinn, saying how Quinn proved him wrong and has been a poor governor.
Good move by Quinn, by the way.
Great comments by Pat Brady. That should leave a mark.
Comment by eastsider Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:17 pm
Did the Quinn campaign get Da Coach’s approval before recutting his comments into a general election campaign ad? If not, seems like that could really blow up if Iron Mike publically denounces it.
Comment by Downstate weed chewing hick Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:17 pm
we all have crazy cousins. But if one of mine beat a person half to death I am guessing I wouldn’t be encouraging them to run for office. Dan Hynes ought to be ashamed of himself for hosting funders and helping this guy along. I still think Hynes is a good guy but that was really bad judgement.
Comment by raising kane Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:17 pm
I am guessing that Kass is thinking about Dart’s choice to run for State Treasurer in 2002, rather than the office he really wanted to run for, which was IL Attorney General. That would have set him against Lisa Madigan. But really, all that shows is that Dart isn’t prone to dreams of political suicide. It hardly shows that he’s Madigan’s drone.
Comment by ZC Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:31 pm
“I am in the political fight of my life,” Quinn said.
I am very disappointed in this quote. that quote is exactly why Quinn should have (and should) just let go and let Illinois move foward. I saw that quote lastnight too. I understand the context of it, but it also re-inforces my suspicion that Quinn’s running for governor is all about him and his ego. I understand that much of his nearly 40 year political career history he was not an insider, and so in many ways a win at this level would be vindication for him. But, his lack of leadership abilities make it impossible for him to be taken seriously as someone leading this state, particularly in these extremely rough times. It’s as if he’s saying give me a chance to prove myself, when he’s already had two years to prove himself. I fail to see how he could with a straight face make an argument as to how he would be able to govern effectively since he has been unable to do so, and that’s with his party controlling practically everything.
I wish someone had told him to retire after finishing out Blago’s term. It’s the same situation Daley faced: you’re not getting any younger, the situations won’t get any easier, effective solutions that advance your policy and political interests/agenda are hard to come by; this is a young man’s game–let a younger man deal with all of it.
Comment by Will County Woman Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:37 pm
===Dart isn’t prone to dreams of political suicide===
Correct. Even though it meant going up against JBT, which wasn’t exactly smart.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:37 pm
From what I’ve read on the Maher business one friend held the ex boyfriend down while Maher beat him. That’s not youthful stupidity. That’s being a thug. As Kadner said “stealing signs” is stupidity. What Maher did is something entirely different.
Then trying to cover it up and lying about it makes it worse. Maher is complaining that Gorman is sliming him.
Well the truth is slimy in this case.
I’m all for overlooking minor youthful stupidity, but I wouldn’t overlook this or how Maher is dealing with it.
Time to go back to being a private citizen.
Comment by IrishPirate Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:39 pm
IrishPirate, it almost looked like a professional beat-down to me. Very thuggish, indeed.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:41 pm
If Bill Brady took a stipend for days he didn’t attend session, I wouldn’t call that a bonus. I would call it a crime, a theft of taxpayer funds.
Comment by just sayin' Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:43 pm
I think getting your birthrate wrong on two questionnaires (if I recall from the story) is interesting as well…
Comment by OneMan Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:47 pm
so the illinois republican party has decided to take mark kirk as it’s mentor? if they’re going to flat-out lie about robin kelly, they shouldn’t have gone on a foia expedition — proving that she’s been signing out of work to do politics.
kind of a desperate attempt by rutherford over what seems like a minor attack on kelly’s part. sure, she’s calling him out for corrupt behavior, BUT THIS IS ILLINIOS! we like our pols corrupt, because it tells us what their price is!
the problem is that robin kelly can’t be bought. so rutherford and the gop is pulling a mark kirk, and making stuff up! pretty disgusting, but also predictable…
Comment by bored now Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:49 pm
=If Bill Brady took a stipend for days he didn’t attend session=
People, if you have no clue on how legislators are compensated (both Democrat and Republican), please take your hands away from the keyboard and leave the comments to the adults.
Comment by Knome Sane Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:53 pm
Ditka never mentions Pat Quinn’s name in that ad. Da Coach could have been talking about me—how is that an effective ad????
Comment by Fred Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:58 pm
I understand the context of it, but it also re-inforces my suspicion that Quinn’s running for governor is all about him and his ego.
You have to be kidding me…
Comment by dave Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:59 pm
I recall a great poster from the 80s which was, essentially,
a family map of how a whole bunch of rock bands fit
together, created from each other, a sort of family tree.
we need one of those for Chicago/Illlinois politics. at the
very least, it would be purchased for every wall of every
newsroom and every ward hound. Maher = Hynes, the
connections never end.
Comment by Amalia Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:46 pm
Rich, Kass can’t help it. For years, John’s been engaged in the epic journalistic battle of man vs. tired cliche. And now Mr. Chumbalone is in a panic because Rich Daley (his meal ticket) retired. Looks like ‘ol John is going to have to develop that old chestnut — an original thought. We’ll know shortly if he’s up to it.
Comment by Corduroy Bob Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 5:11 pm