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Friday, Feb 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Single-game tickets go on sale today, so I figured it would be a good time to restart Friday White Sox blogging.

Let’s start with this article in the Post-Dispatch sent in by an alert reader about our star pitching.

But this article about our new DH is very heartening.

As this past offseason progressed, it became increasingly tougher for Kenny Williams to talk with Jim Thome.

It wasn’t that the general manager regretted trading for the native son from downstate Peoria, even though popular “grinder” and defensive whiz Aaron Rowand was sent to Philadelphia as part of the deal for the prolific slugger. And it wasn’t that Thome’s rehabilitation from right elbow and back problems was coming along slower than expected.

If anything, the White Sox had to slow down Thome because he was experiencing such great results during his workouts. Instead, Williams simply needed a break from Thome’s endless supply of intensity and enthusiasm. It was a rough offseason for Williams, who battled painful kidney stones during much of November and December, and he truly needed some time away from the game to get ready for the grind of the 2006 effort to repeat.

“I just got out of bed from all the issues I was having, so I’m not ready for Spring Training yet,” said Williams with a smile, speaking with the media during SoxFest.

“So, I try and stay away from Jim Thome as much as possible,” Williams added. “Seriously, he gets me so fired up and ready to go, and I needed those extra couple of weeks.”

And the accolades keep coming.

“We did a good job getting Jim, there’s no secret,” said Konerko, who led the White Sox with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2005. “We won a lot of low-scoring games where we didn’t hit the ball well.

“You try to shore up that area and score some more runs. You always try to better your weakness, and we got better offensively. With Jim, it’s a guy not only with potential on the field, but he’s also one more guy in the clubhouse with a voice of reason.”

If Konerko’s happy, I’m happy.

Go Sox.

15 Comments

Question of the day

Friday, Feb 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

What can you say about Edwin Eisendrath’s new cable TV ad? “Breathtakingly horrible,” was how one friend described it last night.

He doesn’t look into the camera (note to producer: invest in a teleprompter), the script is sub-par to say the least, he doesn’t read well, and it made my friends and I laugh until we cried last night.

This ad makes Edwin Eisendrath the Ed Wood of Illinois politics.

I usually don’t put my own opinion on Questions of the Day, but I just had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, you can see the ad on his homepage.

I’ll buy dinner for the funniest commenter.

UPDATE: Illinoize blogger Abraham Lincoln has a new post up about Oberweis’ first TV ad and a tagline contest. And the winner of that contest will have dinner with myself and the winner of this contest. Keep them coming!

81 Comments

Gidwitz rebuked by McKenna

Friday, Feb 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Here is the full text of the letter sent by Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna to Ron Gidwitz. I wrote about this in today’s Capitol Fax, and here is another story about the fight.

February 16, 2006

Mr. Ronald Gidwitz
Ron Gidwitz for Governor
57 West Grand Ave.
Suite 300
Chicago, IL. 60610

Dear Ron:

On behalf of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, I am writing to express our collective disappointment with your decision this week to air a negative television advertisement about a fellow Republican. Instead of attacking our own candidates, we as a Party should focus our attention on the failures of the Democrats and the fiscally reckless and ethically challenged record of Governor Rod Blagojevich.

As you know, the Committee adopted a Code of Conduct last December that asks all Republican candidates for elective office to abide by certain guidelines during the course of their campaigns, including a promise to avoid any â€œmisrepresentationsâ€ or â€œdistortionsâ€ regarding fellow primary candidates and their records. Unfortunately, you chose not to sign the Code, so I have included a copy for your further review.

Our goal as Republicans is to earn back the trust of voters, and in doing so, we have a responsibility to encourage all candidates to present their campaign messages in an accurate and straight-forward manner. That is why it is so important for all of us to avoid misrepresentations and distortions. A vigorous debate about issues and ideas strengthens our Party; distorted negative attacks weaken our credibility.

In our opinion, questions exist about the accuracy of the charges in your current advertisement that need to be resolved. Therefore, we believe you should present the public with appropriate and specific documentation to defend your charges. Otherwise, we respectfully request that you edit the content of the message to accurately and truthfully reflect your opponent’s record.

We have a great opportunity to win back the Governor’s office this year. Let’s keep our eye on the ball. By turning our attacks on each other, we provide aid and comfort to our Democratic opponents who will eagerly exploit our internal differences, divide our ranks and help us defeat ourselves.

Sincerely,

Andy McKenna
Chairman

cc: Republican State Central Committee Members
Republican County Chairmen
Republican Candidates for Governor

Discuss.

63 Comments

Morning shorts

Friday, Feb 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· The US Attorney for southern Illinois found himself under intense fire from Chicago federal prosecutors yesterday.

Â· Gov. Blagojevich’s office accused of trading state funds for votes.

Â· Check out stories about Gov. Blagojevich’s new TV ad and the campaign kickoff here, here, here and here.

Â· General Assembly cuts judges, candidates sue.

Â· Cell phone antenna called “butt-ugly.”

Â· Daley family in-law pleads guilty.

Â· Chicago wants wi-fi.

Â· Downstate hospital snared in Medicare probe.

Â· More later.

Â· Gidwitz family selling Picasso painting. Auction could bring in $50 million.

Â· OneMan, as always, is asking the right question.

Â· News haikus.

Â· Racism becoming an issue in pork plant battle.

Â· Conservative explains why he opposes guv’s preschool plan, and has an interesting little mention about $7500 that Blagojevich paid to an Iowa political operative last year.

Â· Hyde Park blogger calls the guv’s PowerPoint presentation a “bold experiment.”

Â· UPDATE: And I’m still looking for a new name for this feature.

Â· The governor has just released the schedule for his announcement fly-around:

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19th

Springfield - 10:30am
Lincoln Park Pavilions Pre-School
1601 N. 5th St.

Marion - 1pm
Marion Civic Center
800 Tower Square Plaza

Chicago - 4:45 pm
Alivio Medical Center
966 W. 21st St.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20th

Rockford - 9:30am
Rockford Airport

Rock Island - 11am
Rock Island Airport

Quincy - 1pm
Quincy Airport

Metro East - 2:30pm
Cahokia Airport

Peoria - 4:30pm
Peoria Airport

6 Comments

More trouble for Blagojevich

Friday, Feb 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

On the day that the governor begins running his first TV ad of the season, he’s hit with two potentially troubling stories in the Chicago Tribune.

The first is a potentially ominous tollway contract piece.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has fired a computer software company that won a contract to track construction projects three months after it contributed money to Gov. Rod Blagojevich–even though the firm initially was not a finalist in the bidding process. […]

The company, Cantillon said, failed to design the system needed to responsibly manage its ambitious $5.3 billion road reconstruction plan. “We just didn’t get off to a good start,” she said. “CapitalSoft’s product wasn’t delivering the features we needed.” […]

But documents the Tribune obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that CapitalSoft finished fourth behind three other companies seeking the contract.

The criteria for submitting bids said “no more than three (3) bidders with the highest overall score” would be invited to give a presentation.

But an exception was made for CapitalSoft, which donated $5,000 to the Blagojevich campaign while the tollway was evaluating proposals for the contract.

And the second is about a grand jury investigation that nobody had heard about until now.

A Cook County grand jury is investigating whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration improperly used its power to shut down a suburban landfill run by a relative of his estranged father-in-law, sources said Thursday.

One of the officials for the state Environmental Protection Agency involved in shutting down the Joliet dump acknowledged Thursday that he and another EPA administrator had recently testified before the grand jury.

But William Child, bureau chief for the EPA’s bureau of land management, declined to say what he was asked.

A law enforcement source confirmed the investigation centers on the EPA’s decision to close the landfill in January 2005 and whether the governor’s office engaged in official misconduct or abuse of power in calling for the EPA to look into the landfill.

Sources said the questioning has centered on whether the EPA was pressured by officials in the governor’s office to deviate from standard procedures on the case.

Uh-oh.

16 Comments

6th District roundup

Friday, Feb 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

UPDATE: The three candidates are on Chicago Public Radio between 9 and 10 this morning. Listen here. (Hat tip: Austin Mayor.)

First, a profile of Tammy Duckworth in the Sun-Times.

Touring a Wheaton rehabilitation hospital, Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth ripped President Bush’s proposed federal budget, saying it doesn’t provide enough money for health care or medical research.

The wounded Iraqi war veteran, who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004, said proposed budget cuts would make it more difficult for Chicago area residents to receive the intensive medical care and therapy provided at the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital.

“There is a direct connection between care that people get here in Wheaton and the decisions made in Washington,'’ Duckworth said during a visit to the hospital with former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in the Vietnam War.

And a profile of candidate Lindy Scott in the Tribune.

If there’s a stereotype of a Democrat politician–or any politician, for that matter–Lindy Scott does not fill the bill.

The trim, bearded Wheaton College professor, who’s trying to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) in a west suburban congressional district, is the former pastor of a Des Plaines evangelical church and an eight-time Chicago Marathon runner.

For 16 years he taught in Mexico City, where he founded the Evangelical Free Church of Mexico, and he now teaches Spanish and the history of church-state relations in Latin America. His wife is Brazilian and their three children have tri-citizenships: the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

Though white evangelical Christians typically vote Republican, Scott says his faith led him to the other side of the aisle. “I cherish life, and life should be cherished across the board,” Scott said, greeting students in the campus coffee shop with a friendly, “Hola!”

Scott has already done two mailers and has made himself a presence in the district. It’s possible that Christine Cegelis, who ran last time but has no money and a campaign in disarray, could come in third.

18 Comments

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