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As I told Capitol Fax readers this morning, Southtown columnist Phil Kadner had an interesting piece on Sen. James Meeks, who is threatening to run for governor.
State Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) is “moving full speed ahead” to put together a third-party slate of candidates for statewide office in November. […]“People say I will split the Democratic Party if I run, but my response is the Democratic Party controls the governor’s mansion, the Senate and the House in this state, and it has failed to fulfill its promise to adequately fund the schools,” Meeks said.
“I believe the Democratic Party has chosen to split itself.” […]
“I was looking for a Hispanic school superintendent to put on the ticket, because I want diversity, and couldn’t find one. I found out that in the entire state there isn’t a single Hispanic school superintendent.” […]
I expect the governor, state Democratic Party leader Michael Madigan and other party members to make an all-out effort to dissuade Meeks from his third party intentions in the next few weeks.
“The governor has told me he is working on some things to increase school funding,” Meeks said. “And I’m willing to listen if someone comes up with a proposal that will increase school funding by $6 billion.
Emphasis added.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 8:11 am
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>I expect the governor, state Democratic Party
>leader Michael Madigan and other party members to
>make an all-out effort to dissuade Meeks from his
>third party intentions in the next few weeks.
*groan*…how much of our tax money is this going to cost us?
Comment by Joe Sixpack Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 8:24 am
The white Democrats will pat Meeks on the head with a little piece of the action and he will get back in line and wait for them to call him to vote.If he did it might wake up both parties that the Black Community has leaders that can bring all colors and religions together .There is other states with Black governors.Why not Illinois?To many years the Democratic party has rammed elections down the Black communities throat with how they owe their vote to the Dems.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 8:31 am
I hope Brother Meeks gets onboard with the party, but If for some reason, he is in no hurry to come back onboard, I like what Ms. Topinka’s staff is insinuating. Have Reverend Meeks with the Governor and Ms. Topinks, live on TV. Let the good Brother of the Lord speak the “Word.” Who knows, maybe during one of the debates, live on TV, he may say the Governor truly does share the same views as Brother Meeks and endorse him in front of everyone. Hopefully, if this were to ever occur, I would hope that he stayed around long enough to point out the extremist points of Ms. Topinks. Just some food for thought. PS: see the post from yesterday at 9:20pm. to see where I am coming from. Rich, I enjoy your Blog; it is fun. Thanks.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 8:39 am
Meeks move here should be applauded. The Democratic PArty needs a makeover, one that needs to better represent D ideals and the true face of the D party. Meeks, Obama, Governor Richardson of New Mexico….these are the faces of what the D party really signifies.
If Meeks can put together a contest, be inclusive, come across as a fiscally responsible guy, and not make it a race issue, then he would be doing the D party in IL and nationwide a huge favor by taking out Rod and Topinka.
If its simple posturing, he should take his bat and ball and go home.
Comment by Whig Party Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 8:50 am
Meeks is not some corner preacher, he seems like an upstanding guy who I could support over Judy. I am a precinct captain for the GOP. He is more socially conservative than Judy, but I need to figure out how he stands on other issues. He’d probably be more “progressive” on economic issues which can be a turnoff if he wants to raise taxes, etc. I still have a bad taste from the way Judy treated Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald.
Rich, who supported Keyes, where did his “base” of votes come from? If it was downstate, Meeks could win. He is as equally conservative as Keyes on Social issues and he will easily pull a lot of votes from the city.
Comment by Wumpus Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:04 am
Whig,
You are SO right!
Comment by Shallow Pharnyx Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:08 am
Meeks is legit. If he runs, not only does he create the possibility of becoming well known in the state, and coming off as a sharp guy, he also kicks up his standing against others in the next Mayoral race. By running, he does what Eisendrath did; create recognition, test the waters on an issue that would work in the Mayoral race, and build credibility with voters.
I think he is going to run, and do very well. Also, please be careful when you use terms such as “patting him on the head”. It sounds like you think he is a pickaninny, and thats offensive. No one should say that an African American leader will be patted on his head, without it coming off as racist.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:17 am
I agree with your last point, Vanilla. Watch it, people.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:20 am
I have absolutely no problem with increasing school funding if the increase is not accompanied by an income tax increase. I’ll even continue to pay my astronomically high (and getting higher every year) property taxes without complaining too much. At least theoretically, I have more of a chance to keep the lid on local taxation. And increasingly my neighbors are unable to afford huge property tax increases and will vote that way.
I have no doubt that Blago could find the money. He could increase the amount of money state employees and teachers pay for their lavish pensions and health care benefits. He could cut the number of state management level employees, s substantial percentage of whom spend the day reading the paper or performing make-work, especially in agencies like DHS and DCFS which
are heavy with Democratic patronage. He could limit non-union state employee raises to those who demonstrate that they actually accomplished something other than arriving at the workplace.
State government is a pile of money surrounded by temporary kings. Send all the money to the schools, no problem. But don’t make me put any more money in the pile. There is plenty there to
run the government and then some.
Comment by Cassandra Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:29 am
Sorry Rich but being in my 60’s and having the former job of being a hippy boy marching against the war and for civil rights it makes me angry to think that the Democratic party thinks they own the Black vote in America.Everytime I hear a Democrat talk about what African-Americans can do for the Democratic party I wonder what it is that the party is doing for them.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:31 am
I like Meeks, and I think he is serious about running; this is not a political shakedown. But I see atleast two problems with his idea.
First, he’s got $75,000 cash on hand and $43,000 in campaign debt. How is he going to finance this effort.
Secondly, in order to run as a third party candidate, he has to put together an entire statwide ticket. That means he’s got to put someone up against Lisa Madigan, Jesse White, Pat Quinn, and Dan Hynes. That’s pretty tricky politically, unless he manages to recruit some downstate Republicans to fill the remaining slots.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Meeks won’t do it. He’s clearly frustrated and feels ignored. He’s not a career politician, so he may be gambling, but he’s got nothing to loose personally, and men of faith don’t mind taking a gamble.
Of course, now that Topinka, who favors a tax increase, is the GOP nominee, Team Blagojevich might reconsider their position.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:34 am
YDD: Wow that’s news to be that she favors a tax increase…apparently by not taking the hollow I won’t increase taxes pledge that automatically means she’s going to raise taxes…We all know your partisan bias, but at least keep your facts straight…
I would love to see Meeks run, I agree with many of comments here that African-Americans have been pretty much forced to vote for Dems, I think Meeks would provide a good outlet to express their frustration with the establishment and show that they should not be taken for granted.
Comment by ISU REP Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:45 am
Meeks, never gonna happen. He won’t be running. I’ll give 9:1 odds. But here comes the big build up of absolutely nothing…
Comment by Lovie's Leather Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:56 am
Cassandra, I don’t want to attack you personally, but you are always going off on state workers and I just want to know how you formed such negative opinions? I WAS a state employee for 7 years and in every area I worked, my fellow employees and I were VERY busy. Maybe because I was in accounting/fiscal offices, maybe this laziness you speak of was rampant elsewhere and I just was not aware of it- please enlighten me. By the way, I also audited many of DHS’ programs and local offices and found its employees to be very conscientious and concerned about their work product.
Sorry, Rich.
Comment by Shallow Pharnyx Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:58 am
meeks will not run. this is all about getting name recognition and trying to get something. meeks is just taking his play from the master, jesse jackson, in holding some oganization, in this case the democratic party, hostage for personal gain. jesse jackson did it back in the 80’s, with his run for president, and was able to reap the benfits ever since then. go meeks!!!
Comment by ron Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 10:20 am
Meeks should run against Daley in ‘07. I’m sick of his b.s. The democrats DO think that they own the black vote, but Daley just keeps pricing all of us out of the city and into the south burbs. Daley doesn’t do anything for us, but he tries to act like he does. Meeks is my man, and he’s not just for black people, he’s for everybody. I hope he doesn’t bother running for Gov, I hope he runs for mayor.
Comment by T'd off Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 10:27 am
YDD: ISU Rep is absolutely right. Stop saying that Topinka supports a tax increase just because she won’t take the pledge. If you want to rephrase your comment to say, “Topinka, who refuses to promise not to raise taxes†that would be fine. I can’t deny that she won’t take the pledge, and you have every right to make that an issue I’d he happy to debate the merits of such a pledge, and how Blago’s pledge is pretty nothing more than a cheap, instant gratification political stunt (he has raised business fees & tolls…..but thank god those aren’t “taxes,†and his fiscal policies – if continued for another 4 years - will madk a tax increase almost inevitable in the next 10 years….thank goodness that will be someone else’s problem!). But let’s stick to the facts. She does not support a tax increase.
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 10:43 am
It’s quite odd when someone makes the comment about the ‘lavish’ state workers pension and health care systems as a source of revenue for Blago to tap into for his potential programs.
Blago has already tapped into the pension system to a substantial extent by refusing to fund it for two years. This isn’t money that can just be forgotten as it has to be paid back at some time by law and will end up costing the state more I the long run. Plus this ‘lavish’ pension for the state workers of Illinois ranks as one of the worst pension systems in the country. There are only about 3 or 4 states that have a worse pension system for their rank and file employees in the entire United States. However, the Illinois legislature’s pension system ranks as one of the best in the country. If we’re looking at cutting pension systems maybe we should look at our own elected officials first instead of punishing the hard working men and women who keep this state running in its day to day activities regardless of who or which political party is in power.
Its obvious when one describes the state employee pension system as ‘lavish’ they really have no idea as to how bad that system really is in regards to how it provides for an employee after they give the state many years of faithful service.
Comment by Sound Reasoning Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 10:45 am
The reverend senator is a blatant opportunist, plain and simple. He sees a way to get what he wants - more power and recognition - by threatening to be a spoiler in the election. I see how popular that made Ralph Nader. Thanks to his splitting the dem vote, we have our current national and world messes. Unsafe at any election.
Comment by No way Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 10:47 am
Point made. Move along.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 10:48 am
I can’t believe that no one mentioned that Meeks is perhaps the most homophobic black elected official in Illinois. How on earth are we to maintain Illinois’ status as a haven of tolerance if we give this man the time of day? The fact that so many of you are willing to overlook his well-known hatred for gays and lesbians is shocking. Should Meeks run, Judy and Rod (who are both strong GLBT allies) need to call him on it right away and paint him as an extremist.
Comment by Lakeview voter Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 11:08 am
Don’t take Meeks lightly. For him to derail the election for Rod he only needs to get in the race, not win it. He only needs a slate of candidates, it doesn’t even matter who the people are. He can easily get the signatures. It doesn’t matter how much money he raises either. He gets in, Rod goes down. That’s why this threat is very real for little Elvis, but I doubt they are taking him seriously. Meeks is not a pro politician, his work on the school funding bill demonstrated that. I don’t think he’s going to let conventional political wisdom sway him here. We’ll see… either way, it’s interesting to watch.
Cassandra. Have you ever even been in a state agency? The state is in major debt. Quick fact: In 2005, the average monthly benefit for a state employee who retired is $1756.40 a month.(for those who also receive Social Security) That’s “lavish”? You really don’t know what you’re talking about.
Comment by Nick Name Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 11:40 am
the average monthly benefit for a state employee who retired is $1756.40 a month.(for those who also receive Social Security) That’s “lavish�
That is $1756.40 a month more than a lot of people get.
If you haven’t heard the news, pensions are being phased out in private industry in favor of 401Ks. the only money you get for sitting around doing nothing upon retirement is what you managed to save along the way.
Comment by Joe Sixpack Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 11:55 am
Move along, please. Back to the subject at hand. Last time I’m saying this.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 11:58 am
I hear you Joe. Many corporations did what we’re doing here in Illinois and didn’t fund their pension systems like they promised. The days of working at one company for your career and being rewarded are over. (Funny how that system worked so well in the days of my grandparents but suddenly won’t work any more.) The corporate world continues to lower benefits for employees and increase truly “lavish” pay for executives. I guess I don’t favor lowering the bar for everyone. It’s not right that pensions are being terminated and people will have to work longer for less. I just don’t think it’s a good trend for society as a whole. For the record, I am not a state employee and won’t receive a pension.
Comment by Nick Name Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 12:09 pm
sorry rich, posted before I saw that
Comment by Nick Name Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 12:10 pm
This Meeks candidacy thing is a dream for Topinka, a dream of seeing the reliable Democratic African-American vote syphoned off by Meeks.
It’s just that. A dream. An accomodation will be made for Meeks; he won’t run. Topinka will have to face off with Blago alone, and perhaps with a right wing candidate (Constitution Party/ Libertarian) to siphon off votes. Topinka will lose the face off.
Comment by Never Judy Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 12:24 pm
Sorry to offend Shallow P. I’d like to re-emphasize my main point which is….the Rev Meeks could well be right that we need to put more money into education. And he is probably sincere. Politics aside, I don’t think a tax increase should be needed to obtain the 6 billion. It’s a matter of apportioning the money that is already there according to the most critical needs of the state’s citizens.
Comment by Cassandra Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 1:03 pm
For those of you who are too young to remember or have forgotten Adlai Stevenson’s formation of the Illinois Solidarity Party in 1986 (so he could continue his gubernatorial bid without having to run with a LaRouchie kook as his Lt. Gov. candidate), Stevenson placed non-entitites for the offices that had real Democrats running for them, with real bad ballot names (such as Einar Dkykkopp as the Illinois Solidarity Party candidate for U.S. Senator to challenge Alan Dixon).
The question will be if Senator Meeks would have legitimate candidates for offices other than Governor and Lt. Governor. I suspect we’ll find out in the very near future.
Comment by Randall Sherman Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 1:09 pm
James Meeks for Governor
Jesse Jackson Sr. for Lt. Governor
Jesse Jackson Jr. for Secretary of State
Mrs. Jesse Jackson for Treasurer
Will they all be AA’s close to the Jacksons not Michael but Jesse!
WHO ELSE????????????????????
Comment by JUST WATCHING Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 3:51 pm
Meeks for Guv
Roland Burris for Lt Guv
David Miller for Treasurer
Jesse for SOS (kicking him out makes no sense).
Oh, and why not make it $12 billion for education. Just as unlikely.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 4:08 pm
oh please people meeks wants to be president of the senate not governor, he won’t run this is all ego! He will never run someone against Lisa Madigan. Where does he get off demanding 6 billion for education? He has no plan and does not represent the people of his senate district. I should know i am a constituent now and i would like someone to run against him for senate in the fall!
Comment by annonymous Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 9:38 pm
How come it is wrong for Meeks to demand that education be equal for all children. Have you walked through some of the schools on the southside lately? What is the problem if the money is there. This is letting the world knoe how unimportant certain issues are when it comes to certain people.
Comment by jody D Monday, Mar 27, 06 @ 5:32 pm
Did anyone watch Meeks on WJYs Sunday? What do you think about him using the same tactic Mr. Bush used. No gay marriages, no abortions. I believe some are upset because Rev. Meeks is not and will not compromise. I’m curious to see what the white Christian chuch will do support him. Will it be on moral issues or race issues?
Comment by jody D Monday, Mar 27, 06 @ 10:26 pm