82 Comments - Tweed - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 6:42 am: I voted early on March 7th. Early voting is a great thing and I hope it catches on. Now that I have already voted, I can work for the Giannoulias campaign all day long. A modest and perhaps biased guess: Giannoulias wins with 55%. Tweed - Dave Bender - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 6:57 am: Rich, First one to vote in Logan County’s largest precinct at 6AM. Not as much snow here in Lincoln - I would say only a couple of inches thus far. Visibility is not too bad and roads are in pretty good shape, even though all schools are closed. Turnout will be lower, but I believe more people will vote after work due to leaving earlier for work and waiting for the winds to die down. Usually here, more people vote earlier in the day, so this could be a bit different - so don’t believe the exit polls today. Good luck tonite on WLS and Fox… - diane - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 7:18 am: The St. Clair County democratic party leadership included an affidavit in packets given to precinct committeemen working today’s election which must be filled out and notorized stating that they will not use party money to buy votes. In contrast to the 2004 elections where county money was used to buy votes in East St. Louis, Democratic chairman, Robert Spraque warned in a cover letter that “under no circumstances should party money be used to pay for votes”. - SenorAnon - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 7:31 am: In my suburban Cook precinct, the election judge had the touch-screen machine on the table in front of him, and was asking for a screwdriver. Eeek. Could be a long night waiting for results. And while I think the new broadsheet ballots are kind of strange, if there is a manual recount, it will be obvious who the intended vote was for. - sangamogop - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 7:55 am: I’m sitting in a precinct in sang co as a watcher. We’ve had 7 voters thus far-6 have voted GoP and 1 voted prop only. Snow and blowing have made it difficult but not as bad as they were predicting. - sangamogop - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:06 am: I’m sitting in a SPFLD prec as a poll watcher. We’ve had 9 voters-6 GoP, 2 Dem & 1 prop only. The snow is bad but not as bad as predicted. - kdruben - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:14 am: I voted at 7:00 a.m. in Hoffman Estates. I was the number 6 voter in my precinct at that time. For the first time in a long time, I pulled a Republican ballot. My reasoning… I know that I like most Democrats and most of the people who I like will more than likely make it through. However, there are some extremely conservative people whom I would rather not see making it through the primary. Plus, Churchill needs my support to get past Salvi and McSweeney up here… - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:17 am: Haven’t voted yet today, looks like Brady lucked out B-N got 2-3 inches at most…roads are “ok” for central illinois…they really need to learn how to plow down here!! - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:27 am: Voted around 7:45 in downtown Chicago and only a handfull of people voted so far. No lines, more judges than voters. Actually I was the only voter there. - antiSANGgop - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:36 am: I voted early in sangamon county for “Linda Hawker” for county clerk. Drove passed my polling place and all was up and running at 7am. roads were not bad and plows were out. Just talked to a friend in Cook county who said turnout is bad, some snow but lots of wind. - UrbanaGOP - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:41 am: 3rd GOP voter in my precinct at 7:30a.m. Snow hasn’t been that bad. New optical scan voting was easy to use. I think that Brady will make it close, but Judy will win. - the Patriot - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 8:47 am: Southern IL/carbondale, no snow, just some rain and a litle chilly. voted at 7 am. Several voters in front of and behind. Small rural precinct, but as usual will have high voter turnout. - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:01 am: Crappy weather in Springfield… but hopefully that will not stop all the Democratic voters from getting out—- voted for Mangieri!!!!! - Jack - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:07 am: I was in about 20 polling places today in Evanston and I’d say the touch-screens are working in about 3 of them as of 8AM. Most people are able to vote with paper ballots, but I’m told that they will have to fix the problem in order to report their results tonight, which could make for late night in the Stroger/Claypool race. - Wildcat - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:22 am: My wife and I voted at 8:20 this morning in Chicago, Ward 1. We were only the 7th and 8th people to vote in the precinct. I got handed a Democratic ballot without being asked which ballot I wanted. Ah…gotta love Chicago. Anyway, the weather up here is very windy and very cold - though no snow. - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:31 am: Rough weather from the Metro East to Quincy. Turnout is down, but expected to get going later in the day as the roads are cleared and people get off work. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:40 am: My wife and I were voters 1 and 2 in our Streeterville precinct. The election judges were nice, but very confused. It will be a slow night. I actually prefer the new ballots. It seemed easier to me. No more questions about lining up the ballot with the book. The weather up here is not as bad as down south, but is still pretty nasty. It was bad enough with the cold and the wind to walk two blocks to vote. I’m not sure I would have gone much farther. Last minute choices: I went with the two Greeks, Alexi and Alscot (spelling?). Alexi was the tough call. I like somebody with banking experience, but I am not convinced that he is the best choice. Illinois is filled with bankers. Aren’t any of them Democrats? With regard to the other Greek [Alscot], Danny Davis needs a wake up call. He’s got a big district and the people on the east end should also be remembered. - Too bad - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:46 am: Tweed- Sorry you voted early and missed out on the carnage of late in the Giannoulias camp, I guess we know the kid got one vote. - Ron Burgundy - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:48 am: “In contrast to the 2004 elections where county money was used to buy votes in East St. Louis, Democratic chairman, Robert Spraque warned in a cover letter that ‘under no circumstances should party money be used to pay for votes.’” Somehow I’d feel better if he had said “anything” instead of just “party money.” - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:50 am: Friends report: 8:30 am, 42nd Ward, Chicago: At that time, 15 D votes, 8 R votes. Once “rush hour” is over, few votes until eve. rush. Polling place empty; same place in 2004 had lines outside the door to vote. - downstateyp - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:57 am: Adams County looks slow, we had a combined 5 precincts at my polling place and I was the 27th voter (R and D) so who knows… - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 9:59 am: @ 9:45 Normal Pre. 3….35 voters, all Republican (Shocker I Know…A) obviously a lot of people in town are going to pull R’s because of Brady. B)Hotly contested primary for McLean County Sheriff…Voted: JBT, Birkett, Essig…everything else like usual is these parts is uncontested… - NW burbs - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:08 am: Jim Morici seems to think everyone wants his yard signs… He had his hired guns (were they wearing ski masks?) stick signs on every other corner in at least Arlington Hts yesterday afternoon. Way to tick off voters who neither asked for nor wanted his signs. The signs seem to be mostly gone this morning — it is garbage day in Arlington. (Hint: don’t put a Dem trial lawyer’s yard signs in front of homes which willingly hosted Alan Keyes signs last year… tends to get the right-wing base in a lather.) - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:20 am: Low turnout Saw some good coverage for Claypool and Avila in my neighborhood - Mark - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:32 am: Whoa … BIG problems with the paper-ballot counting machines in Cook County Schaumburg Township… they Jam frequently… and Judges are actually breaking the ballot box seals to retrieved the crumpled ballot… (YIKES). I saw a very Frustrated Cook County technical rep work for 30 minutes trying to figure out how to unjam the machine… he is a contractor and actually put his hands on the crumpled ballots (East-Indian ethnicity… I hope he is a U.S. citizen, and that Cook County contracted with a U.S company) - Niles Township - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:34 am: Voted at 7:15 am & was the 8th voter. The polling place was empty except for the judges who looked bored already. The election judges did not remind me to vote both sides of the ballot. I did remember to do so, but wonder if this will impact vote totals in the judicial races making them even lower than normal. - Right Wing Republican - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:34 am: Kane County is using a new electronic voting machine today for the first time. I believe we are the only County that will be fully computerized this election (I think the city of Peoria is also fully computerized). In any case, if all goes well (what are the odds of that happening?), the home of Obiewon will be the first county to give complete results. We have been told that after the two receiving stations download their computer cards (I’m a tally judge tonight), the results are tabulated and put on the web page (http://www.kanecountyelections.org/ElectionResults/election.asp ) by 7:45 pm. If the Obiemeister doesn’t win up here with 60% in his own county, then put a fork in him everywhere else, as he is finished. - Bluefish - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:36 am: How much did the ballot counting machine contractor contribute to the Blago campaign to get the contract? - diane - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:41 am: If the voting machine jams, the judges are usually instructed to put future ballots into a slot in the machine where they stay hidden until a real tech from the county can come and fix it. Then the uncounted ballots are fed into the tabulator by a judge from each party. At least we are taught down here in Madison County. - Bubs - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:42 am: Turnout in my precinct was tiny. I was the 28th voter at 8:30 am. - diane - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:43 am: I meant to say, at least that is how we are are taught down here. Sorry. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:46 am: Link to Geo-Karis video on Fox News javascript:newVideo(’032006/032006_sr_brown’,'Special_Report’,'Age%20a%20Liability%3F’,'Politics’,'-1′); - donchicago48 - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:48 am: I awoke early to a chilly, cloudy, windy morning free of snowfall so far in south-central Lake County. As I drove off to visit polling places, a large stack of campaign signs rattled in the back of my vehicle. I hurried from one polling place to the next, planting colorful placards in strategic locations, hoping to catch the eye of voters with one more message. The still-frozen ground made it tough to anchor the signs adequately against the March bluster on this first full day of Spring. Inside my precinct polling place, a Junior High gymnasium, it was quiet. Election judges chatted about coming vacations, march madness, or the weather. My dear wife, a recently retired teacher, smiled up at me from her first election judge position. I asked how the early-morning voting was going, knowing this non-presidential Primary would likely draw few voters to the polls. She confirmed my suspicon, indicating that just a couple-dozen Republicans and no Democrats had braved the chilly winds to exercise their citizen franchise. The three other precincts looked equally sleepy. The only item of interest to me was a devolping standoff in campaign-sign placement. A worker from an opposition 53rd District State Rep campaign had dared to place his candidate’s sign in front of my favored Scott Bludorn sign. I judiciously repositioned Scott’s sign to afford one more view for entering voters. I hope that puts an end to the campaign-sign controversey, but stay tuned, this could turn ugly - illinifan86 - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:50 am: Voted at 9:15am at a Southwest Springfield precinct. Pulled GOP ballot as 27th voter. Seems a little lower than normal early turnout with 4-6 inches of snow and lots of wind. New touch screen vote machine worked great. - Right Wing Republican - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:51 am: “If the voting machine jams, the judges are usually instructed to put future ballots into a slot in the machine where they stay hidden until a real tech from the county can come and fix it. Then the uncounted ballots are fed into the tabulator by a judge from each party. At least we are taught down here in Madison County.” OUR voting machines will not jam madam. They are state of the art electronic marvels. You push a button and “voila,” through the magic of electronics your vote has been tabulated, recorded, and stored. As for Mr. Bluefish - each county produces its own method of voting. Blago had nothing to do with the contract. We independently found a vendor and got a very fair and honest price. Just ask our County Clerk the next time you see him in his white, stretch-limo. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 10:55 am: Turnout was 12 percent at 10:45 a.m. in the middle of Wheaton. About normal, maybe a bit low. - Nearly Normal - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:01 am: Voted at 10:00 in Normal 20. Were only about 30 who voted ahead of me, mostly Republicans. There are two polling places at the church, the other had very few voting. No one was at their table the whole time I was there. There will be more voters later in the day after work. Snow had stopped earlier this morning. The town plowed and salted the main streets only and school in both Normal and Bloomington was cancelled. It is snowing again and there is some wind but not as bad as earlier. Don’t know about rural roads. I voted for JBT, Birkett, Emery (sheriff candidate, the only contested race locally). Sheriff candidate who wins the primary does not have an opponent on the Dem ballot. Sorry, but I have worked with Brady since ‘92 and I am not that impressed. He will be state senator until he doesn’t want it. - Tony Soprano - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:03 am: I just voted in 1st Ward on Chicago’s northside.. when i asked for Republican ballot everyone looked at me like I was an outcast.. pretty amusing considering they are just cogs in a machine. The new ballot system is horrible.. you have to use marker and fill in huge ovals for candidate you vote for.. when you take it to the guy at the machine.. everyone around can see who you voted for… It looks like another way for the machine to intimidate voters. - NW burbs - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:07 am: Cook County contracted with a U.S company) Mark, Sequoia Systems is based in California. Ahnold hasn’t seceded yet so rest easy. And what does the ethnicity of the county worker have to do with anything??? I’m Irish-German-Czech — does that mean I shouldn’t vote? Bah humbug. - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:07 am: Haha well thats two votes for JBT in Normal, hopefully there will be plenty more… - NW burbs - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:09 am: Right Wing Republican wrote: If the Obiemeister doesn’t win up here with 60% in his own county, then put a fork in him everywhere else, as he is finished. Salad fork or dinner fork… or a spork since it’s easier for eating all that free (bribery?) ice cream? Why is it that I see more Uberweis ice cream shoppes after every election cycle? Could it be that he runs every election cycle? - Niles Township - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:10 am: In speaking with city & suburban friends, reaction to electronic voting is positive, but reaction to the mark the X optical scan option seems poor. At least no more hanging chads! - NW burbs - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:13 am: donchicago48 wrote: A worker from an opposition 53rd District State Rep campaign had dared to place his candidate’s sign in front of my favored Scott Bludorn sign. I judiciously repositioned Scott’s sign to afford one more view for entering voters. I hope that puts an end to the campaign-sign controversey, but stay tuned, this could turn ugly I thought Bludorn was a Libertarian? Though I s’pose with Bludo in the GOP primary now that makes Sid a right-wing Democrat. - Lakefronter - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:21 am: If only my polling place was doing half the volume of the Starbucks next door! - Mark - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:24 am: response to NW burbs …. the “County worker” is a County CONTRACTOR… ethnicity of the CONTRACTOR matters A LOT… 1) think “American jobs going overseas… courtesy of Cook County. 2) an NON-US citizen handeling ballots? - Nearly Normal - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:28 am: Tony Soprano, now you know how a Democrat feels down here in Central Illinois when they ask for a primary ballot! About thirty years ago, a friend asked for a Democrat ballot at a rural polling place here in McLean County. Her then mother-in-law (an election judge!) got upset and told her that a Smith (an alias) NEVER votes Democrat. My friend held her ground and insisted on a Democrat ballot to vote. Reluctantly, the judges gave her a Democrat ballot. My friend has remarried–to a Republican precinct committeeman! She says she often cancels out his vote during a general election. A colleague of mine lives in Flanagan. The family moved there from Kankakee. The first time he voted in a primary and asked for Democrat ballot, he said that they had to look around to find him a ballot, dusted it off and gave it to him. I think he was kidding, surely they gave the polling place at least a couple of Dem ballots. - Silas - the assassin opus dei monk - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:39 am: 23rd ward 10 pct had 92 voters as of 1115 am… voted for Blago Garza….Sandoval must go!! Gionnnolaus John Kelly…Lipinski insulted voters with his manipulation Dart Claypool - Bluto - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:47 am: I am up in Antioch Township and what I heard is voter turnout is real low in most of Lake County. Strong in areas that are good for Geo! - DOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 11:55 am: Had to wait in line and I heard Republican 6 times and Democrat once.As I was walking up 4 people were coming out of the building.So I would say we were having a good turn-out here. - St. Nickname - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 12:16 pm: Sangamon County pct. 50 at 11am was at 27 (down about 15 from 2004) other parts of Sangamon including the east side is very low. Could be interesting for the State Rep. and Sheriff race - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 12:17 pm: Claypool Alexi Dart Avila - south of I-80 - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 12:21 pm: A little less than normal turnout so far, but all & all not to bad. - the Patriot - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 12:24 pm: As a Brady supporter, I have had some feedback of conservative D’s crossing over for him. This was not something I expected. Although Senator Brady has said he could reach the Reagan Democrats, did not figure it to play out in the primary. Appears combination of Blago openly oposing the 2nd amendment, Judy’s openly socially liberal agenda, and Oberweis caught falsely posting Mike Bost endorsed him has scared a few people into the primary for Brady. Don’t know if it will be enough, but the note has to be those are traditional democrat voters who do not show up in the Repubican poll numbers so it will be a complete unknown variable. - IrishPirate - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 12:52 pm: 46th Ward, 9th Precinct, Uptown N Side of Chicago. I was the 52nd voter of the day at 12:40. I was the only one there while I voted. Lotsa signs near the polling place urging votes for Stroger and a few for my man Claypool. If that number of votes is indicative of what is happening in Claypool country then the democratic commiteemen will get to pick a replacement for the ailing John Stroger. I gotta believe the machine wards and black wards on the south side are seeing higher turnout. - Elmer "Mr. Gop" Hoffman - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 12:59 pm: Lisle precinct #38, voted at 8:30 a.m. and was the only one in the polling place. Normally I will look on top of the “votin’ machine” ballot box to look at the digital display to see how many others voted. Much to my chargrin, the older style ballot collections boxes, sans the digital display, were on hand to collect my ballot. You know the good old reliable ones that leaked democratic ballots in trunks of the election judge’s car on the way to the Bob Saar’s people. When I asked, “Where have the new-fangled votin’ machines gone?”, the election judges said they were broken and that a “technician” was on his way to fix them. My wife will vote some time later on tonight in the same precinct , and if they fix the problem, I will be sure to post the total ballots cast to see if we’re trending high or low. I’m guessing turnout will be low. - John Davis - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 1:09 pm: At 12:30 still low turnout Mangieri Claypool Dart Avila O’Brien (both) - MadCo Democrat - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 1:13 pm: Nice turnout in Madison County. No. 235 in an Edwardsvile Precinct. There’s nothing like a school referendum to get people off their butt’s to vote. Even in the snow. Of course, most of those are Republicans voting “no” to all of it. I see many a candidate not take advantage of school referendums during primary season. I would certainly be targetting those areas a bit harder. I know most people don’t care about SW IL but, Gidwitz and Oberweis have very little presence down here. Brady will surprise today… Either way whoever wins gets runover by the Governor in November. - RichlandGOPlady - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 1:17 pm: Snow fall was only about an inch in Richland and Clay counties. The weather should not have so much effect here…could this be good for the Brady and Oberweis campaigns? They have several supporters in this area. - Pat Hickey - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 1:23 pm: Voted at the 23rd. Precinct of the 19thWard at 6AM. Light turnout. EE Stroger Dart Giannoulias John T. Kelly assorted judicial candidates - Thoams Byrne, Dooling & etc. - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 1:40 pm: Voted at 8:30 a.m. in Bolingbrook, DuPage Township Precinct 20 to be exact. I was number 39. Number seemed a little up compared to the last election, but it could be people just got out earlier this time around. At the last minute, I changed my vote from Topinka to Brady. I have a feeling that lots of people will be doing the same, changing from some candidate to a different candidate. - Cook Voter - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 2:31 pm: I voted at 8:30 this morning and was 34th person voting…quite sad for that time of day. The touch screen machine was not working, they had a repair man in there trying to fix it. I guess everyone was right…turnout is going to be simply pathetic. - Bluto - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 2:47 pm: Just voted at 12:30 in Antioch (Lake County)my precinct is one of three in thie polling place. As of that time they had 315 total voters or about 105 per pct. Total reg is about 900 per pct so that is about 12% tunrout half way through. I did talk to judges and they said they had approx 30 - 50 early ballots per pct to add in at end of day, so including those we are looking at a turnout of around 17-18% per precicnt. On the ballot was a major school referendum as well as races for 8th congressional, and state senate - Geo!. Not sure what it all means, I guess we will find out later tonight. - babs - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 2:47 pm: Voted 1:30 - Chicago northwest side. # 70. All machines were working. An aside, if you have the large paper ballot and want to vote anon, simply ask for the privacy sheet. It covers the ballot until it’s in the slot. EE, Dart, Mangieri, Claypool. Heading out to work precinct for rest of afternoon. (I took the over on an EE bet. Hope he gets enough votes to put a good scare into Rod…) Good luck to all. - kdruben - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 2:49 pm: If turnout is strong in areas that are good for Geo, then that bodes well for Churchill as well… - Oh, please... - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 3:13 pm: They are pushing Claypool BIG in my northside ward. I probably recieved around 10 robocalls on behalf of Claypool, from the likes of Jan Schakowsky, Dawn Clark Netch, etc. But I can’t take the hypocritical “reformer” crap Claypool has been spouting off - I went old school and voted for Stroger. - Hizzoner - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 3:15 pm: I agree with Babs, I hope EE gets enough votes to wake-up old Blago. Prediction: Stoger over Claypool Mangeri over Alexi - Bluto - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 3:16 pm: The turnout won’t necessarily help Churchill, big push for McSweeney among the GOP Organization and village officers going for Salvi. - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 3:31 pm: As of 3 pm, only 10% of registered voters in our SE Evanston precinct had shown up at the polls. The robocalls for Claypool have gone beyond annoying: Adlai Stevenson & Dawn Clark Netsch?? What’s next, Banquo’s ghost??? - Bob Vick - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 3:44 pm: La Salle County: Light turnout. - Bill Shakespeare - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 3:54 pm: Banquo’s ghost endorsed Forest Birnam. - NW Side - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 4:16 pm: I voted a few minutes ago and there was a low turnout and no line, there was a Stroger person, Giannoulias palmer, Avila palmer, and one judge. I voted that way. - Making The Wheels Turn - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 4:19 pm: Kane County. Campton Township (1 precinct at the school). Solid Republican area. Using (1st time) new Hart InterCivic eVote machines (3 in our precinct). Hart just got this system approved by the IL SBE about a month or so ago, and this thing was EXPENSIVE to boot. It was SLOW compared to punch cards (everybody was taking 3-4 minutes at minimum). Voted around 2 PM this afternoon, we were running a steady 7 to 10 voters all the time (3 voting; 4 to 7 waiting in line). Glad I voted this afternoon, if I had waited around to 4:30 or later, it’s going to be a 20 to 30 minute wait. Jack C. (our useless County Clerk) better have more stations at the polling places for the General, because otherwise there’s a real likelyhood of court orders keeping the polls open later. I’m sure he’ll be all in favor of doing that - he likes to spend our taxpayer money like a drunken sailor. Not impressed for the money Kane County spent on this gold plated system, I can see where this system will give the phrase “hurry up & wait” a whole new meaning. - ChicagoDems - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 4:22 pm: Remus has a freakin army out there - McLean Co ite - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 4:28 pm: At noon turnout in Empire Township (Village of LeRoy) was 12-percent of registered voters, and Gridley Township (northern McLean Co) was 15-percent, making a 30-percent overall turnout for the day achievable in McLean Co. That’s comparable to the last two primaries. So wx doesn’t seem to be playing a big part. - Southern Illinois Democrat - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 4:57 pm: My parents voted in Fayette County in a small reural precinct (About 350 registered voters) at 4:00. They were #’s 38 and 39. We had about 5 inches of snow. I think tuenout will be light in this area and it will benefit EE on the Dem side and Brady and Obie on the Repub side. - NumbersGuy - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 5:05 pm: Turnout in SW Spfld also looking better. I vote at the K of C (which covers five-six precincts) and judges say the pace has picked up steadily since noon. Touch-screen worked great, roads are fine. Tornado-related dislocations may still affect SPI more than WX. Sangamon County Clerk reports 1800 early or absentee votes. No turnout guesstimates yet; imho, we will be below average. - Beowulf - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 5:21 pm: My precinct with 748 registered voters in central Will County had a 13% turnout at 3 PM. A normal turnout in a general election is 20%-25% at the close of the day. My precinct does NOT have any referendums on the ballot. I am hearing that in those townships and precincts where a school referendum is on the ballot, they are getting much heavier turnouts. It is funny how when someone is making a “direct attack” on your wallet with a school referendum, it will generate great interest and concern. However, the “stealth attack” on your wallet with the election of candidates that are more than happy to spend your taxpayer money somehow doesn’t seem to generate the same amount of indignation. Seems those taxpayers prefer to pretend that this more subtle form of robbery that is taking place is merely a “hallucination”. - HeKnowsBarack - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 5:26 pm: Is Alexander handing free cocktails somewhere tonight? - NIEVA - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 5:38 pm: Gallatin Co. has has a good turnout in most areas. We have been cold and windy but no snow. Two of my co workers said when they voted this morning the machines screwed up. The judges put their ballots in the “slot”. We just hope that’s not another word for republican sredder> - DirtyBob - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 6:24 pm: Just voted—-Blago, Mangieri, Redpath - Establishment Republican - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 6:35 pm: Why is Blago having his party at a hotel and not the steel plant his father worked at? - 43rd Warder - Tuesday, Mar 21, 06 @ 7:28 pm: Was down in the south Cook suburbs and went to 10 polling places in Stroger country. Turnout at 4pm was between 8 and 10 percent at 9 of them and about 15% at the one at 147th & Markham (which had 3 precincts with about 2000 total voters). But as everyone has been saying, its patheticaly low everywhere in Cook (what is the saying about people getting the government they deserve….) Its gonna be close with Stroger/Claypool. My heart says Claypool 52/48 announced by 10:30pm tonight, my head is more uncertain. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.