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Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Let’s go back to my syndicated column about that recent poll. It was not only about corruption, but about Judy Baar Topinka’s troubles with Republicans.

The survey also shows big trouble for Topinka with Republicans since the last Glengariff Group poll was taken in April, when 81 percent of Republican voters supported her candidacy. Now just 65 percent back their party’s standard-bearer, a likely result of the governor’s TV ads, which appear to be a lot better done than most of the ads run by her primary opponents. The good news for Topinka is that her support among independents is still the same â€” 39 percent.

Back in November, Glengariff had Blagojevich at 39 percent, and he was at 41 percent in April, so he hasn’t moved much at all. “While the challenger’s numbers have taken a hit,” pollster Czuba said in a news release, “Rod Blagojevich appears to be stuck at 41 percent of the vote and unable to translate undecided voters into his camp.” Right now, though, the main task at hand is to drive Topinka’s negatives up so high that she can’t recover. However, an incumbent whose administration is unfavorably likened to a convicted former governor and who is stuck at 41 percent is not in the greatest shape, no matter how much money he has.

Blagojevich leads in Chicago 60 to 17 and in suburban Cook County 43 to 28, according to Glengariff. Back in April, Topinka had a big lead in suburban Cook, 50 to 33, so this is another ominous development for her. The Democratic governor even has a slight lead in the Republican collar counties, 36 to 34 â€” a likely result of Topinka’s big drop in GOP support and strikingly bad news. In April, Topinka had a 51-to-35 lead over Blagojevich in the collars. Topinka leads in all downstate regions.

What do you think Topinka has to do to win back Republican voters? Also, what do you think of the guv’s numbers?

71 Comments

Could it be done?

Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I’ve never been a big fan of third party candidates because they whine so much about our (admittedly ridiculously difficult) ballot access laws. If they worked and organized as much as they whined they might get somewhere and force a change in the law. Frankly, it’s been my opinion that most (not all) of these third party types couldn’t make it onto the ballot even if the laws were changed. It’s just an excuse for their failure.

It looks like the Greens may - may - know how to work. From a press release:

“Illinois politics-as-usual is about to change,” said Jennifer Rose, campaign manager for Green gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney, as the Illinois Green Party recently collected its 25,000th signature on the way to getting its slate of candidates to appear on the statewide ballot this fall.

“New” parties are forced by state law to collect 25,000 signatures between March 28 and June 26 to qualify for the fall ballot. The Green Party has now surpassed that number, and Greens are continuing to collect signatures through June 26 to buttress against a possible challenge. […]

The success of the petition drive in spite of harsh ballot access laws could indicate that the Green message resonates well with voters this election cycle, some in the party say. “We have done very well this year because the general public is mad at both the Democrats and the Republicans,” said Huckelberry. “We talk about real issues like alternative energy, and have real solutions to problems like education funding. This makes us more credible than the entrenched parties in the eyes of many voters.”

We’ll see if they can survive a challenge, but what they’ve done so far, if this press release is accurate, isn’t anything to sneeze at.

30 Comments

More trouble for Alexi, Part 623

Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Like I said yesterday, lawsuits can provide great fodder for campaign reporting.

Banker Alexi Giannoulias — the Democratic nominee for state treasurer — is accused of approving a $1 million loan to an 86-year-old mentally incompetent woman whose “business partners” have been suspected of fraud in the past.

A lawsuit filed this week in Cook County Circuit Court demands that Broadway Bank — run by the Giannoulias family — not hold Loren Billings responsible for the loan and interest.

Billings, who for years has run the Museum of Holography on the Near West Side, was duped by three Ukrainian businesspeople who convinced her to take out the loan in order to purchase shares in their own holography company, the lawsuit says.

Billings’ attorney says Giannoulias ignored her mental state and the histories of those with her and awarded her the loan in 2002.

Giannoulias campaign spokesman Scott Burnham called those allegations “groundless.”

Yeah, that’s good. Pick a fight with a little old lady. What a marvelous candidate we have here.

Billings invested $50,000 and after just eight months, they convinced her she’d made $993,343. That led her to ask Broadway Bank about a $1 million loan for more investments, the suit says.

How many more stories like this can he take?

40 Comments

The dark side of Ryan’s character

Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I doubt I would be so willing to forgive.

As Janet and Scott Willis promoted her new children’s book in the heart of the Cabrini-Green housing complex Thursday, the couple didn’t want the ex-governor’s name to come up.

But “A Dad’s Delight” is about forgiveness, and an inevitable question came up: Do they forgive former Gov. George Ryan, convicted this year of sweeping corruption charges?

Among them was a license-for-bribe scandal that emerged from the fiery highway deaths of six of the Willises’ nine children in 1994. The trucker responsible was an unqualified driver who received his commercial license by bribing an official in then-Secretary of State Ryan’s office.

While the answer was “yes,” said Scott Willis, a retired preacher, full forgiveness can’t be had until the ex-governor asks for it–or at least acknowledges wrongdoing.

“People ask if we’ve forgiven George Ryan for what we believe and what the jury believes that he participated in,” he said. “George Ryan needs God’s forgiveness. … I want to forgive Gov. Ryan.”

Ryan doesn’t deserve all of the blame for the deaths of those six Willis children, but he has never even accepted partial blame for running a shop that traded undeserved commercial drivers licenses for illegal campaign contributions.

13 Comments

Oy, Part 467,228

Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

I remember the first time I saw this guy. I couldn’t believe he was head of the governor’s security detail. I immediately predicted trouble, and, unfortunately, I was all too right.

The former head of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s bodyguards has been suspended without pay for three months over misconduct that includes arranging a state-paid personal trip to Chicago with a 22-year-old intern.

A hearing officer for the State Police Merit Board agreed with 23 of 48 charges against Lt. Thomas Ceja.

Here’s a list:

Among substantiated charges, Ceja:

Â· Arranged a state-paid trip to Chicago in June 2004 with a 22-year-old female intern, ostensibly to attend a meeting although the meeting was canceled before they left Springfield. They attended the symphony and dinner at a “ritzy” restaurant, and Ceja later submitted an inaccurate travel voucher for hotel expenses.

Â· Improperly socialized with the intern outside of the office.

Â· Gave a civilian Blagojevich aide access to a meeting that the Secret Service had declared off limits.

Â· Failed to file in a timely manner a written report on the theft of a loaded handgun and handcuffs from his vehicle during a June 2003 trip to Los Angeles.

Â· Ordered deletion of information from official logs about an August 2004 accident between two squad cars.

Â· Allowed a member of the governor’s staff to drive his car during a trip to Washington, D.C.

Â· Lied to state police investigators about his activities on three occasions (but was cleared of lying on three other occasions).

Â· Allowed subordinates to become deficient in their training.

That Secret Service thing caused a huge stink with the feds.

Morale ain’t the greatest at the State Police. I may let you in on a little secret next week.

47 Comments

Morning shorts

Friday, Jun 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· What do you do when you launch a new political TV show? Book Barack Obama as your first guest. That’s a lesson I’ll have to remember if I ever get one of those shows.

Â· “The four largest riverboat casinos in Illinoisâ€”two in Joliet and one each in Aurora and Elginâ€”obtained an injunction in Circuit Court of Will County on Wednesday, blocking establishment of a Horse Racing Equity Trust Fund that had been passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich last month.”

Â· The governor is sending a trade delegation to Israel today. But I’m sure it has nothing to do with the Hate Crimes Commission fiasco.

Â· Screaming headline: Witness feared being slain… Breathless lede: The former son-in-law of a prominent ex-alderman told federal investigators that he copied and saved city computer files “because he was scared that he may be killed,”… And later in the story the witness admits: “Did I ever think anyone would kill me? The thought may have crossed my mind, but that’s a little extreme.”

Â· They’re still trying to cut Amtrak. Meanwhile, Bean pushes auto mileage incentive

Â· WiFi may expand to Naperville, Fox Valley

Â· Lincoln museum misspells governor’s name, brochures destroyed, costs unknown.

Â· The Southtown finally goes bloggy. Whalen writes about the Sox

Â· Robaugh: “Pulling an Einhorn. From this day forward, that will be the term for mayors who do something dumb, lie to the press about it, then concoct a rationale for the stunt that’s even dumber.”

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