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Today at Illinoize

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

David Morrison of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform writes about the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

Bill Baar has a very readable post about the economy.

Abraham Lincoln (the blogger, not the president) writes about Oberweis and immigration.

Charlie Johnston “uncovers” a hot internal memo.

Rep. John Fritchey writes about Bill Brady’s promise to repeal the guv’s Kid Care program.

John Ruberry is dreaming of a White Sox Christmas.

Hiram Wurf writes about an interesting new candidate for MWRD.

And so very much more. What are you waiting for?

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Duckworth still waiting

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

And Roskam no longer has a primary opponent.

Iraq war veteran Ladda â€œTammyâ€ Duckworth is ready to run for the congressional seat held by retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde. The question remains: will she be able to?

As of Monday afternoon, the Hoffman Estates helicopter pilot who lost both of her legs and severely injured her right arm in an insurgent attack, had not been released from active duty in the Army. And that means Duckworth canâ€™t engage in any political activity or she risks a potential dishonorable discharge and loss of benefits.

With less than a week remaining to file for a spot on the March 21 Democratic primary ballot, Duckworthâ€™s supporters do not appear worried yet. […]

On the Republican side of the 6th Congressional District race, state Sen. Peter Roskam of Wheaton found out he wonâ€™t have a primary opponent after all. John Vivoda, president of the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board, dropped out Monday.

~~UPDATE: It appears that Duckworth will be cleared tonight. She plans an announcement Sunday on ABC’s This Week.~~

Turns out, the Hotline story that this was based on was wrong and has been amended (in my haste to get this up and get out the door to do some Christmas shopping, I neglected to include the link).

UPDATE: Sources clarify that it’s possible she will make her campaign announcement before the show’s taping, so the “This Week’ interview would not be an exclusive.

Update 2: A campaign source adds that while Duckworth will be on This Week she will not be volunteering a campaign announcement on the show. She is running for the seat, and will be making an announcement before Monday’s filing deadline.

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

‘Tis the season for giving, so I’m curious what books you plan to give and what you’d like to receive. Extra credit for Illinois books or authors.

(Suggested by a commenter.)

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Big spending ahead

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

A gaggle of millionaires and a governor with a boatload of cash combine to make Cindi’s prediction fairly obvious.

As candidates formally began their march to the March 21 primary Monday, experts predicted the 2006 election season will be an expensive one.

With crowded primary races for governor, lieutenant governor and state treasurer, candidates likely will easily surpass records set in recent years.

“We will definitely see some big spending,” said Cindi Canary, executive director of the Campaign for Political Reform, which tracks campaign spending in Illinois.

Consider this your primary predictions open thread.

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Interesting guests at Gutierrez event

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Do you really think he’ll run?

Congressman Luis Gutierrez has big political plans that may include a run for mayor of Chicago.

On Monday night, Gutierrez appeared at a rally in Humboldt Park. He did not make any formal announcement, but CBS 2’s Rafael Romo reports the congressman sounded a lot like a candidate.

â€œI’m ready! Are you ready?â€ Gutierrez called out at the rally. He says he’s not running for mayor yet, but he looked like a candidate.

â€œImagine just for a moment what we could do with all of those if they were spent on the mayor’s office on the fifth floor,â€ Gutierrez said.

According to the story, Ald. Ed Burke and First Lady Patti Blagojevich were both in attendance.

â€œCongressman Gutierrez is intelligent, he’s thoughtful, he’s caring, he’s also quite funny,â€ Mrs. Blagojevich was quoted as saying.

No word on whether the Congressman went all Joe Pesci on the First Lady for that “funny” remark.

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Playing in the primary?

Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

A commenter pointed out yesterday that it almost seems as if Governor Blagojevich is deliberately trying to engage Jim Oberweis and provide him free publicity. I don’t know if that’s really the case or not, but I can see how some might feel that way.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis, who was widely criticized for his tough stand on illegal immigration when he ran for the U.S. Senate last year, suggested Monday he was ahead of the curve on the issue and voters now might agree with him.

“I was too early. People weren’t ready for that issue,'’ he said after a news conference in which he criticized Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to launch a new mortgage loan program designed to help poor and immigrant families buy homes. “But it’s a serious issue. People are starting to understand how serious it is.'’

On Sunday, Blagojevich’s office outlined his proposed Opportunity I-Loan program that would allow Illinois to provide state-guaranteed mortgages to people without traditional credit histories.

But Oberweis characterized the program as little more than an effort to assist illegal immigrants. “Break our laws and we’ll reward you with a home. That’s the message Rod Blagojevich is sending out,'’ he said.

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