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Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

What makes you happiest…

* Sen. Ira Silverstein defeated fading hack Bernie Stone for 50th Ward Committeeman

* Ald. Sandi Jackson trounced fading hack William Beavers for 7th Ward Committeman

* Ald. Pat Dowell destroyed state Rep. Ken Dunkin for 3rd Ward Committeeman

* Mary O’Connor edged out the invisible and absentee former state Rep. Ralph Capparelli for 41st Ward Committeeman

Explain.

37 Comments

Is the Republican Party dead?

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Much has already been made of this and more will be, I’m sure…

Spurred on by two presidential candidates with local ties and a primary that actually meant something, suburban voters were picking Democratic ballots in potentially historic fashion Tuesday.

Across the region, voters were consistently pulling more Democratic ballots than Republican in an area once considered a GOP Eden.

Early results showed nearly 30,000 more Democratic ballots than Republican cast in both Will and Lake Counties. In DuPage County, nearly 16,000 more Democratic ballots were pulled.

Kane was the only suburban county where Democrats weren’t clearly favored. And there it was essentially even.

* Also…

Last night on CL-TV in Chicago, Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson declared doom for the Illinois Republican Party for the next 20 to 40 years. He reviewed the George Ryan administration and the 2004 Alan Keyes debacle, saying the party lacks direction and leadership.

Then, he said, with a smug expression, “It may take a generation for the Illinois Republican Party to rebuild its strength in Illinois.”

* Steve Sauerberg’s Senate campaign, such as it was, has to be a huge disappointment for the IL GOP, even though he won.

* The 14th Congressional District was not a terribly bright spot, either. In 2004, George W. Bush won the district with 56 percent. This year, the two parties split it about even. And in the congressional primaries, the Republican candidats got about 2,500 more votes than the Democrats, or about 51 percent of the total vote. The Obama Effect may not carry into November, however, so these raw numbers may not hold up. Still, Democrat Bill Foster may end up giving Jim Oberweis a real run for his money, if he can survive any potential recount.

* Cook County is a mess for the GOP. The Democratic vote there was overwhelming.

* But it wasn’t all death and destruction for the Republicans. Aaron Schock’s monumental win over two candidates was a definite bright spot. There weren’t many others.

* Here’s a broad roundup of congressional stories to chew on…

* Lipinski, Shock likely headed to victory

* Schock wins 18th District

* Davis surpasses opponent for nomination to Congress, will face Shimkus

* Another war veteran to face Roskam

* Morgenthaler, Greenberg To Face Roskam, Bean

* Geneva millionaire gets edge for Democratic nomination in 14th Dist.

* Biggert breezes to win in campaign for sixth term

* Baldermann takes on job as candidate

* Sauerberg wins GOP Senate contest to face Durbin

47 Comments

No Greening of Illinois

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Illinois Green Party primary was a bust. The party has not been able to build on its showing from the 2006 governor’s race, where its candidate scored about ten percent of the vote and kept the incumbent from breaking 50. It’s now an “established” political party, so it was entitled to hold an honest to goodness primary.

Trouble is, nobody showed up.

* Take a look at the presidential ballots. With 97 percent reporting, just 2,555 people took a Green ballot yesterday. Sure, there may have been some confusion and misdirection at the polls, but 2,555 people? Statewide?

* In the Cook County precincts of Illinois House District 41, Green Party candidate Kevin M. O’Connor got 14 votes. Jerome Pohlen, the IGP’s candidate in the 3rd Congressional district, got 41 votes in the city. And the ward committeeman contests were a joke…

GRN - Ward Committeeman, 5th… Christian K. Wedemeyer 11 votes

GRN - Ward Committeeman, 6th… Beverly Neely 2 votes

GRN - Ward Committeeman, 7th… Nathan Peoples 2 votes

It goes on and on like that.

The Green Party isn’t “dead.” There’s still a chance that the politics of this state are so messed up that they can make some minor inroads in November in one or two races. But yesterday’s exercise in party building was an abject failure. So far, the IGP appears to be little more than a “none of the above” choice, rather than a party that people actually want to belong to.

22 Comments

Women, Latinos gaining strength in Democratic Party here

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* These numbers come to us courtesy of Emily’s List. It’s the Super Tuesday breakouts by gender…

* According to the Illinois exit polling, white men were 23 percent of the Democratic electorate, while white women made up 34 percent. The gender gap went across all races. Black men were 9 percent of the total Democratic vote while black women were 15 percent. Latino men were 8 percent and Latinas were 9 percent.

* There is one other important demographic to consider. Latinos made up 17 percent of the Democratic vote, while blacks were 24 percent. So they’re gaining fast. Congressman Luis Gutierrez got about 61,000 votes yesterday, which was far higher than the 37,382 votes he got in the last presidential primary. Some of the state legislative contests in Hispanic districts also saw a near doubling of the vote from four years ago.

Black voting was up as well, but not nearly as much as the Latinos. About 143,000 votes were cast in Congressman Bobby Rush’s primary, for instance, up from about 102,000 in 2004, when he was unopposed.

* And then there was the Cook County State’s Attorney race, where Anita Alvarez fit the growth demographics perfectly. She’s a woman and is also Hispanic. From the Sun-Times…

Alvarez appeared to have won with support from soccer moms and Latinos and in wards run by old-style bosses. She won the city vote with 25 percent to Allen’s 24 percent. Of the 50 wards, she won 15 — including those run by Cook County Commissioner John Daley, Ald. Ed Burke (14th), House Speaker Michael Madigan and Ald. Dick Mell (33rd). She also won nine suburban townships, while Allen won 12.

Those so-called “Machine” wards are heavily Latino, and the boys are losing control. Mell went all out for Rep. Rich Bradley against Sen. Ira Martinez, but Martinez won big.

* I would add that Joe Berrios’ big win for Board of Review was certainly helped by the strong Latino vote. They have become a force to be reckoned with.

27 Comments

Mansion up for bids

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Hey, somebody wants to spend time there…

Supporters of one of the largest high school districts in Illinois — Township District 214 in Arlington Heights — are auctioning off 49 “experience” packages on eBay this week. One of the items is a four-course dinner for as many as 10 people at the Executive Mansion in Springfield.

* But this is all they’ve bid?

High bid on the mansion package was $360 Tuesday evening after nine bids. The auction ends at 7 a.m. today. […]

[Mansion curator Dave Bourland] said the cost for dinner at the mansion is $34 per person. Tours are free.

Discuss.

12 Comments

Late morning shorts

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning

* Sen. Durbin hot over DOE’s remark about Illinois

A Washington bureaucrat’s disparaging remarks about a scuttled coal plant downstate has a pair of Illinois lawmakers burning.

After the feds nixed a $1.8 billion clean-burning coal plant in Mattoon known as FutureGen last week, an Energy Department official said his agency wasn’t interested in “building Disneyland in some swamp in Illinois.”

* FutureGen developers say they’ll still go for federal funds

* Daley opposes aldermen seeking to influence CTA, force plastic-bag recycling

* It’s time to bag all that plastic

* Most school questions rejected

* Mixed reception for condom program

* Chicago polls go well — despite punches, broken machines, wrong ballots and ‘invisible ink’

* State-by-State Votes; map here

* Super Tuesday: Democrats divvy it up, McCain up

* Obama, Clinton neck and neck

* Obama candidacy spurs activism

“A lot of people who got involved because of Barack Obama will continue to be involved in politics,” says Kevin Roos, 26, of Glenview.

11 Comments

Some things to discuss while I take a nap

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Barack Obama and John McCain both won every single Illinois county.

* How does Democrat Bill Foster win the special election primary in the 14th Congressional District by 3,700 votes and then win the regular primary by only 327 votes?

* I’m of the opinion that the Democrats ought to just forget about putting anyone up against Aaron Schock after he won 71 percent in a three-way primary race. Am I wrong?

* Does Tony Peraica have a snowball’s chance against Anita Alvarez? Consider this: With almost all the votes totaled in the city and the county, Peraica won 130,622 votes running unopposed. Alvarez, who scored 26 percent in a six-way race, got 226,043.

* Did you see anything interesting in the Illinois exit polls?

That ought to keep you busy for a while.

102 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Gordon; Connelly; Jacobs; Gay politics; Steans (Use all caps in password)

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Break time

Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’m gonna try to get a few hours sleep, but the blog is on autopilot, so you can continue viewing results using the pull-down menu below the big red box in the upper right corner, or just click here.

* Congressional and Cook County discussions are going on here.

* Subscribers can click here for some analysis.

* National news feeds and discussion can be seen here.

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