Sun-Times goes straight “D”
Tuesday, Oct 24, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
I didn’t notice this until the Giannoulias campaign sent me an e-mail. The Sun-Times and the Sun-Times News Group have endorsed the entire statewide Democratic slate. They lead with Alexi. [Actually, the Sun-Times News Group endorsed Giannoulias. The other papers are apparently allowed to go their own way on the other races.]
Over the last several elections, Illinois voters have increasingly trended toward Democratic candidates. This year, the Democrats offer for statewide offices an attractive field of candidates that includes three incumbents and one political novice. The newcomer to politics is Alexi Giannoulias, who is the choice of the Sun-Times News Group for state treasurer. Giannoulias, though still a young man, will bring valuable private enterprise experience from banking to the job. […]
While that banking experience is the reason we’re endorsing Giannoulias, that background also has opened him up to criticism over some of the bank’s loans. He’s been accused of making million-dollar loans to felons. He insists there was nothing improper in those transactions, says that the bank doesn’t do criminal background checks on bank customers, but admits he’s been too cavalier in answering questions about the loans. Still, Giannoulias hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing, and the loans were repaid. In other words, the community bank, which was in the business of making loans, did just that.
We believe Giannoulias’ banking experience will help him bring creative money management ideas to the treasurer’s office. For instance, Giannoulias outlined a securities lending program that he’d like to explore. The investment strategy, temporarily lending out state-owned securities, is being used in Connecticut, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio to boost investment portfolio returns. Other of his priorities include improving the “Bright Start” college savings program and promoting home-grown ethanol-based renewable fuels. Giannoulias proposes that the treasurer’s office offer low-interest loans to gas station owners who convert to offer E-85 fuel in Illinois.
His Republican opponent, state Sen. Christine Radogno, has an impressive background in politics and legislative work on fiscal issues, but our vote goes to the new ideas offered by Giannoulias.
In case you’re wondering, my occasional little column gives me zero influence over Sun-Times editorial policy. They don’t tell me what to write, and I don’t tell them what to write. Obviously.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 11:33 am:
Straight Democrat eh, so much for “fair and balanced” reporting!
- corvax - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 11:43 am:
the S-T is to be commended. Alexi is dedicated to public service, a young man of uncommon energy and smarts and grace under pressure, a serious student of public policy (and its relationship to fiscal policy) and ambitious only in the best sense of the word. he’s exactly what the party and, more importantly, the state need in this position.
my guess is that many of the unconviced will be supporting his reelection in 4 years…and you’ll all be welcome.
Go Tigers!
- (618) Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 11:53 am:
The Sun-Times is right on. Alexi Giannoulias is just the kind of person we need as State Treasurer. I agree with what Senator Obama said “Alexi Giannoulias is one of the most outstanding young men I could ever hope to meet.”
- Bluefish - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 12:02 pm:
Criteria used by Sun Times to determine whch candidates to endorse:
1) Which will ensure us four more years of scandals to write about.
2) Which offers us the most opportunities to contradict ourselves while writing the endorsement.
3) Which one did the Trib endorse? Pick the opposite.
Criteria NOT used by Sun-Times to determine whch candidates to endorse:
1) Corruption stories written by their own reporters, other sources or federal prosecutors.
2) Common sense.
- ChiCountryGuy - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 12:16 pm:
Are you dems insane? This should be a no brainer. Yeah, sure, let’s go with mob banker who talks like Rocky Balboa to run the state’s treasury. This obviously shows the true bias of the sun times.
GOP or not, Christine Radogno is the most sensible choice for treasurer.
- HoosierDaddy - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 12:29 pm:
ST = Somebody’s Tool.
- Fire Ron Guenther - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 12:30 pm:
Reverend Andrew Greeley blessed these choices!
- Tweed - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 1:28 pm:
Vanilla Man,
Hilarious comment about the Sun-Times. The Tribune hasn’t endorsed a Democratic candidate for President since Horace Greeley (who owned a newspaper called the New York Tribune and was one of the founders of the Republican party, the Tribune’s kind of Democrat if you will). If you want to talk about ‘fair and balanced’, take a look at the Trib first. Do you honestly believe that in the past quarter and a century, the Republican nominee for President has been better than the Democrat? Goldwater? Dole? Anyone who ran again against Franklin Delano Roosevelt? I’d love to read a post on how Herbert Hoover inherited a recession and did the best he could under the circumstances.
- Wumpus Diva - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 1:29 pm:
Alexi proved himself an idiot when he called Radagno a “right wing extremist”. Go back to daddy’s bank, lightweight.
- Wile Coyote - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 1:38 pm:
Oh geez. Alexi will be looking at the U.S. Senate seat as soon as Obama takes over the Whitehouse. So, the bright side is that we won’t have Alexi around to be our shining light for long. Go Cards!!!
- Fan of the Game - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 1:42 pm:
It’s no surprise that the Sun-Times has endorsed a full Democratic slate. Unfortunately, the Illinois GOP has brought this state of affairs upon itself. It has no real movement of principle, it has built no strong young contenders, and it lacks a positive message to send to voters.
Until it does so, the S-T, a traditionally left-leaning paper, will have no reason to change its stance.
- Niles Township - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 1:43 pm:
I am done with the Sun-Times. To endorse Toddler and Alexi is a joke. This Dem will be punching for the GOPers in those races.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 2:07 pm:
Dear Tweed
“If you want to talk about ‘fair and balanced’, take a look at the Trib first.”
What are you talking about? Who gives a flying fig who the Tribune endorses? Why are you even talking about the Tribune and Republicans HERE? This blog is about the Sun-Times and their Democratic endorsements.
Any fair and balanced newspaper would not issue straight party ticket endorsements. No single party has perfect candidates to the point where ANY newspaper could issue straight party ticket endorsements.
Any newspaper endorsing Blagojevich, Giannoulais or Stroger should be suspected of not reading their own reporter’s facts. The Sun-Times’ endorsements of these Three Stooges should expose any reader to this paper’s blatant partisan stupidity.
When the Tribune endorses a straight party ticket, then we can dump on them. However, the Tribune HASN’T done that.
And Herbert Hoover is dead. Move on!
- cermak_rd - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 2:08 pm:
I still don’t see why folks are so up in arms about Giannoulios. He does have experience in the private sector. All the muck raked up about the loans his bank has made to unsavory characters has just re-enforced to me that banks are in the business to make money. That means loaning to people with sound business plans, not judging the morality of those business. As long as federal and state banking laws have been followed, and I’ve heard no allegations that they weren’t, I don’t see an issue. My only knock on Alexi has been the clumsy way he tried to answer the questions about it all.
As far as Todd goes, I feel torn. I can’t vote for Tony. I simply detest the man and what he stands for too much. Additionally, he would have power that the other commissioners couldn’t override. I hate to vote for Todd, because I fear that we won’t be able to pry him from the post in the next election. So, I think I’ll vote for Todd and hope the Greens or some other party can run someone more palatable next time round.
- Levois - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 2:17 pm:
What new ideas? I’ve yet to hear any let alone see any on his website.
- Ron Burgundy - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 2:26 pm:
If new ideas from the treasurer mean that we get less of a return on our money that we would otherwise, I’m not sure I want them to have any new ideas.
- Conservative Republican - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 2:49 pm:
Some of the pro-Dem sycophants writing here today seem to have no knowledge of history, either political or institutional. Perhaps indicative of a party that could care less about tradition, any tradition.
Ever since the days of Al Capone, federal authorites have had controls in place to monitor and even block the financial activity of mobsters, including in the area of banking and securities. Doing business with gangsters is a red flag, period.
It’s not new or unheard of for the educated public to flag Giannoulias for his bank’s trafficking with known criminals. Whether he is personally chargeable with a crime is beside the point; why let this camel get his nose under Illinois’ government/political tent? Maybe he is his honest, and maybe he is not. If the latter, you sycophants will look like fools in the future…of course, then you will be on some new bandwagon, but the rest of us will be stuck with the baggage if not worse.
- frustrated GOP - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 3:02 pm:
Perhaps we need to look harder at how many shares of the Sun Times is owned by the Greek mob. Wow, amazing. Sure the loans were repayed. How else do you wash money? Except maybe buy newspaper stock
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 3:13 pm:
I’d love to see an anti-domestic terrorism bill that required background checks of every loan over a certain amount — cumulative.
Although, let’s not get too puritanical about our banking system. Usury was the pre-curser to loansharking.
- Lovie's Leather - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 3:24 pm:
Is anyone really suprised by this??? I read the suntimes, and I know that they are not just liberal, but are liberal democrat. It isn’t unexpected, and nobody’s choices should be affected by who the suntimes endorsed. This means nothing
- Angie - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 4:17 pm:
Endorsing a straight ticket one way or the other is an absolute recipe for disaster, unless you just happen to have candidates who are absolute angels running under the banner of that one party (these are politicians, and not angels, however).
What is the Sun-Times thinking? That since Illinois has trended blue, they will sell more papers if they come out and endorse only Democrats? For shame.
Because of her independent streak, willingness to go against the weasel-eyed incumbent governor, and her work in pushing this charity care mandate for Illinois hospitals (I think she’s aiming a little high at 8% to have negotiating room, to be honest, but still, more power to her), you couldn’t get me to vote for her fast enough. As for treasurer, though? Radogno.
- Patricia - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 4:22 pm:
What’s the difference b/w what the Sun-Times did, and what the Tribune did in 00 and 04, supporting Bush. I recall listening to Bruce Dold say that the endorsement comes down to one person. It didn’t matter if everyone else in the editorial board of the Tribune wanted Kerry. If he wanted Bush, then the Tribune would endorse Bush.
And that’s how it worked out.
What’s the altnernative, at both the Sun-Times and Tribune? Should both papers editorials reflect the majority opinion of the editorial board?
I don’t know.
- Correction from Angie - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 4:23 pm:
I forgot to add in my last post that I was talking about Lisa Madigan (D) for Attorney General, by the way.
The point is that it is perfectly OK to split your vote between parties depending on the particular candidate. And in our corruption plagued state, it might even be crucial that people put a little more thought into it than gosh, lookie here, I’m a D or R, so I’m only voting D or R.
Clearly, the Sun-Times is worried about readership methinks.
- Patricia - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 4:31 pm:
The Truth, I couldn’t agree with you more, regarding the Tribune’s very conservative stance. I was down to three days a week, and this summer, cancelled it altogether, when the paper decided to endorse Calderon in Mexico.
For those of you who don’t know, Calderon is to the right of Bush, socially and economically. He wants to impose a flat tax on the economy, which would result in the most affluent Mexicans, who already don’t pay a capital gains tax, paying even less. Socially, he disputed scientists who said that the morning-after pill did not induce abortion. He said that the scientists have a right to their “opinion”, and he has a right to his.
And the Tribune endorses him!!!
- T.J. - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 4:54 pm:
The alternative to Calderón was an even bigger crook than Giannoulias.
- Anon - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 5:08 pm:
Sun-Times goes “D” - either that stands for dumb or it’s just the grade their reporting should receive. Geez.
- CarolStreamKaren - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 5:17 pm:
Sorry, but a thirty year old who inherited daddy’s bank is not necessarily qualified for office. Or did the SunTimes feel obligated to rubber stamp Obama’s choice? I will vote Green, because Alexi is corrupt and inept.
- Patricia - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 6:43 pm:
CarolStreamKaren, yet a 50 something year old who never had to work for anything in his life, who never would have gotten anywhere had it not been for his surname, is endorsed for the Presidency by the Tribune. Give me a break.
- Disgusted - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 7:29 pm:
Sun-Times prints the Governor’s and his friends’ scandals daily and still picks him to support.
Kind of makes you wonder what kind of people they are. Does the Governor have to slit someone’s throat in the middle of Michigan Avenue before he is recognized for what he is - a crooked “C” law student with a low-brow Elvis cut, surrounded by 30-somethings who thinks it’s ok to do and say anything, even lie, to get ahead. Good luck to this state and its taxpayers. We’re all going to need it.
- M.V. - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 9:31 pm:
Sun-Times has a passion for running big scandalous headlines. It’s no wonder they endorsed Blago & Alexi. As for the tribune, I thought it was pretty hilarious that on the front page of Sunday’s Perspectives were pics of Blagojevich and Topinka as two halfs of the same person, with the headline Bad/Worse…then they endorse Topinka. Which one is she…bad or worse? Wow, these papers must be really afraid that the Whitney administration would really be tame and stable, and they would have to find something else to carp about besides rampant corruption.
- zatoichi - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 9:33 pm:
Does the ST staff even read their own paper? Must be catching a buzz off their press ink to rationalize this thinking pattern. Alexi wins! Bags in the parking lot at noon. Can’t wait.
- Robert V - Tuesday, Oct 24, 06 @ 11:37 pm:
The Sun Times endorsed TODD STROGER–they must not read their own reporters and columnists
and to vote for Todd Stroger unless you are making money off of County government is like smoking crack, crank and H at the same time
Stroger and County government are real jokes
- CarolStreamKaren - Wednesday, Oct 25, 06 @ 12:24 am:
What, exactly, qualifies Alexi for office, besides his surname and his family’s donations to Obama’s 2004 campaign? List at least five accomplishments, please. And no, Bush was not qualified for office, and now look what he has left us. I plan to vote Green, for both the Republican and the Democratic candidates are seriously flawed.