* Ensuring that African-American voters come out in strength during the fall campaign is always a high priority for Democrats. Without all of this base, they have big trouble. But they’ve been voting in such high numbers for the past several cycles that appeasement may no longer be necessary. Still, few want to take that chance, which is why we’re seeing more stories like this…
“I think because of the sheer numbers, having a candidate that appeals to the African-American voting base is going to be very important to the Democratic Party,” said Larry Rogers, an attorney who serves on the Cook County Board of Review. Rogers said he has been approached by people who would like him to run for Cook County Board president, which he said he would consider only if Stroger opts not to run for re-election; and also by people who would like him to run for attorney general, should Lisa Madigan run for governor rather than seek re-election.
One of those encouraging Rogers is state Sen. James Meeks, himself considering a run for governor if Gov. Quinn and/or Lisa Madigan do not meet his challenge to run on a platform of adequately funding education in Illinois.
Meeks argues that Jesse White’s presence alone on the statewide ticket will not be enough to motivate the black electorate. Meeks made the same threat four years ago but backed down when then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich promised to increase education funding, a promise, Meeks notes, that never came to fruition.
State Rep. David Miller (D-Chicago) is considering a run for lieutenant governor, either on his own or — some say — as an unofficial running mate with Madigan if she declares.
Go read the whole thing before commenting, please.
* We can probably expect more of these stories as well, which could negatively fire up the African-American base…
Mayor Daley said Friday he would not be drawn into a political fight with embattled Cook County Board President Todd Stroger over which politician has raised taxes more.
Earlier this week, Daley joined his brother, County Board Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, in supporting the repeal of Stroger’s one percentage point increase in the Cook County sales tax very detrimental” for retailers and consumers
Stroger responded by reminding reporters of all the taxes Daley has raised.
A bitter black/white split is the worst case scenario for the Democratic Party. They could wind up saddled with candidates who hurt them in the fall instead of helping them.
* Also, this parking meter disaster has taken lots of the shine off of Daley’s administration, which could easily impact next year’s contests. Disaffection is clearly mounting…
In this new era of skyrocketing meter rates, at least one man found a way to park his car for hours in a traffic-clogged neighborhood without having to spend a pocketful of quarters.
Should it surprise longtime observers of Chicago politics that this guy works for a City Council member?
Zodak Yonan, an aide to Ald. Thomas Tunney, infuriated neighbors in Lakeview by parking at an expired meter thanks to a “44th Ward Official Business” placard he displayed on the dashboard.
And, on a related note, now we discover that even the elevators aren’t safe…
What is it about stepping into an elevator that makes us start to hyperventilate? Some say it’s acrophobia (fear of heights); others blame claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces). We don’t know the scientific term for fear that the elevator hasn’t been inspected for eight years, but after reading Tribune reporter Azam Ahmed’s work last week, we think we’ll just take the stairs.
Ahmed reported that nearly 70 percent of Chicago’s 20,000 elevators didn’t get their “annual” inspection last year, as required by law. The records don’t reflect follow-up inspections on those that failed. Some elevators haven’t been inspected since 2001, according to city records.
The city that works doesn’t.
* But, you can’t beat somebody with nobody, and the Democrats are obviously counting on more Republican division…
[Potential Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft] considers House Bill 750 and the idea of shifting school funding away from property taxes “Idiotic. Stupid. It’s just another fraud.”
And so he will throw a little dynamite into an otherwise orderly GOP primary election, if you know what I mean.
He considers the field of GOP contenders incapable of translating true Republican principles into public policy.
“Voters are more cynical than ever before. You can’t trot out there and say, ‘I’m for education, jobs and lower taxes.’ That doesn’t cut it,” Proft said.
* Related…
* Stroger deadline today on vetoing tax repeal
* Deadline Looms for Veto of Sales Tax Repeal
* Device alerts drivers to red-light camera locations
* Will Stroger veto sales tax hike repeal?
* Todd Stroger’s decision
* More than 1,100 city workers to be laid off
* Daley: City not hiding anything from unions
* U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. speaks at Lincoln College graduation: Moments later, the Illinois Democrat’s microphone failed, and to illustrate his point, he continued his speech without missing a beat.
* Burris Keeps 2010 Guessing Game Alive
* Schakowsky funder draws Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen, Sen. Amy Klobuchar
* Rep. Biggert will face rematch with Dem foe: Businessman Scott Harper is set for a rematch with Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), after filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
* Shimkus, Costello weigh in on cap-and-trade issue: While Shimkus rejects the conclusions of a long list of eminent climate scientists — including the Nobel Prize-winning U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — Costello said he thinks “the science is there to back it up. The question is how do we address this.”
- Stones - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:26 am:
I wish we could just select the best candidates rather than base important decisions based on the color of one’s skin.
- lake county democrat - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:26 am:
Honestly, I think even post-Blago Jesse Jackson Jr. is more electable to statewide office than Jan Shackowsky. And I have to think that after the Caroline debacle, if Ted Kennedy gave the word to Obama that Chris is the man, Valerie Jarrett would fall in line.
- Plutocrat03 - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:35 am:
Before we continue to rend our clothing about the information regarding the missed/botched elevator inspections we should reflect a bit.
There is a minimal accident history of problems with privately owned elevators. To me that means the majority of elevator owners are responsible operators and are doing what needs to be don without a nanny overseeing their efforts.
I expect the annual fees have been kept up to date, since the city will not rest if there is money due to them.
Another example of ’safety supervision’ being conducted by a corrupt public entity. All cost and no safety.
- fedup dem - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:36 am:
I concur with what lake county democrat said. Schakowsky is unelectable statewide (she would be in trouble in her own district if a couple of the pols there could grow a backbone).
- Amy - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:37 am:
the presence of just one woman on the statewide dem ticket has not stopped women from voting, rev. meeks. looks like you’re just better at extortion.
- Downstater - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:43 am:
Proft is not as big a factor in the Republican primary as you suggest. Rank and file Republican voters don’t know him and his record of coziness with lucrative government contracts will hurt him.
- Louis Howe - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 10:59 am:
FedUp Dem…Schakowsky probably won’t run, but she certainly is as electable, as say, Carol Mosley Braun was in her 1992 Senate run. Considering Illinois is even more democratic today, if she could win the Democrat Primary, she would be the odds on favorite to win the 2010 general.
- TTL, III - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:17 am:
LCD- I don’t think that’s how it works. Plus I googled “Chris Kennedy” to find out some info on him since I’d never really heard of him, and the guy is going to have some problems.
- wordslinger - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:18 am:
Pluto, I don’t really see elevator inspections as nanny-stateism. When I’m in a box being lifted 50 stories by a cable, I think it’s just a basic, big-city public safety function that they be checked out once in a while. And the larger point being made here is that the city is just blowing it off.
Of course, I was stuck last summer in an old elevator for 45 minutes, so my perspective is very personal.
Hear’s another thought, though: If the city mandates annual inspections, it better do them. Because the first time there’s an accident with injuries on an elevator that hadn’t received its mandated inspection, you know who’s got the deep pockets.
- Steve - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:18 am:
The Democrats just elected Barack Obama.I’d say there’s no crisis for the Democrats in Illinois.Roland Burris will not be the Democrat candidate for Senate.Without Burris,it’s hard to see how the Democrats could lose.Illinois voters like high taxes and certainly don’t mind corruption.When Blago ran last time Illinois voters knew he was “Public Official A”,yet they didn’t care.Smaller government and lower taxes isn’t where Illinois voters are.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:35 am:
The Cook County Board is split on racial lines. If Stroger veto’s the tax repeal, those upholding the veto will be the African Americans whom know the health services benefit their community and cutting them would be disastrous.
The majority board members are starting to do the same thing they did to John Stroger which is make Todd a sympathetic figure whom the black community supports, albeit grudgingly.
It is already too late to do anything about an ugly primary fight. The snowball is rolling down the cliff and will become an avalanche. To nip this in the bud, the Board needed to stand up to the tax increase initially and force the President to govern responsibly.
If there is a bitter black-white primary split as well as a Quinn/Madigan/Meeks primary fight you could have lots of disgruntled voters come November.
There is a scenario that the GOP could make a comeback, however, it is a long shot because of their incredible ability to turn off the electorate. An example would be Dick Cheney’s dissing of a war hero like Colin Powell in favor of Rush Limbaugh. More likely than a come back, they appear to be moving toward irrelevancy and may spawn the birth of a new moderate party
- Chanson - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:35 am:
I think we better get some downstaters running cause the Chicago pols can’t properly run their city and county much less the whole state…and I don’t care if they are Dems, Reps or the color of their skin. Just give us candidates that actually care what their constituants prefer and what is good for this nation first and the the rest of the world second just as all the other countries do.
- Rich Miller - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:37 am:
===and I don’t care if they are Dems, Reps or the color of their skin.===
…”Just as long as they’re not from Cook County.” Sheesh.
- Chanson - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:47 am:
Okay, Rich, I love your blog but I finally realize that I am not intellectually in the same league as you and your regular commentators. So thanks for the good work you do and, in future, keep my high school educated and 65 years old opinions to myself. Thanks again for the service that you provide.
- Anonymous45 - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 11:59 am:
Patronage workers in the County system will vote for the person who will protect their jobs, not the color of a persons skin…many patronage workers are from the South Side of Chicago, (read: 8th Ward) where the population is primarily African-American…therefore, County races play out very differently than State or National elections…Todd is done if the voters in that part of the city aren’t going to vote for him…the other wild card in the County Board Prez race is whether or not Vallas runs as a Republican…Cook county voters, especially in the suburbs, will never forget he circumstances of Todd’s election nor forgive the powers that be for their role in electing this inept,
irresponsible pol…the Daleys, especially Da Mare, are way too smart to become imbroiled in this snake pit of an election…
- Vote Quimby! - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:21 pm:
Chanson—I think downstate has its share of inept leaders (J.O. Jones, Shimkus ‘term limits for all but me’, anyone associated with Rend Lake, etc.) but I agree with your sentiment. The last good public servant representing Illinois was Paul Simon…
- Redbright - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:22 pm:
JJJ must be seething over the CST article - he didn’t even get a negative comment.
- wordslinger - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:26 pm:
Regarding Daniel Proft, forgive me is this has been raised before, but is everyone familiar with the origin of his firm’s name, Urquhart Media?
I thought it couldn’t be, but I looked it up, and there it is on their own website: It’s named for Francis Urquhart (get the initials?) a fictional character in a British book and three mini-series, starting with “House of Cards.”
Urquhart is a Tory MP backbencher who steals, extorts, blackmails and murders his way to Prime Minister. Although there’s some humor in the shows, the creators take pains to reveal time and again that it’s not all for laughs and that Urquhart is a thoroughly evil character.
Bizarre, but there you have it. Great mini-series, by the way.
http://www.urqmedia.com/name/
- Curious - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:41 pm:
Hey Rich, I have a quick question for you-posted on another site-sorry if it was wrong one! I saw State Rep John D’Amico on Fox NATIONAL news this morning about text messaging laws in Illinois-is that effective yet? Do you have a link for this segment it was around 6:30 and I was wondering if he’s considering running for Secretary of State?!? Why was he on National News and not Local?
- VanillaMan - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:46 pm:
The challenge I see arising here for the Democrats is appearing to disrespect AA voters. Few are demanding the proper skin color for Democratic nominees, and when changes occur, they can occur without racial tones.
On the other hand, the Illinois Democratic Party has been playing the race card for so long, it seems that putting it away for their own benefit could be a pipe dream. When an office changes occupants, it seems that the race card is played regardless, just to give an edge to a candidate, however irrelevent they could be.
Thankfully, voters are not as gullible as those believing they can edge one another in and out of favor by playing the race card. As a voter base, AA voters have been solid as a rock for the Democrats for almost fifty years, so depending on them to deliver their votes would be a confident bet, regardless of the skin tone of the Democratic nominees.
The Democrats have to just be careful not to step on toes here. We are in a spot where generic nominees are tossed around, so naturally any response would be a casually undependable. It isn’t realistic at this point to believe that AA voters will not vote for the GOP or an independant candidate.
After Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer, a very pale and thin skinned Richard M. Daley has ruled Chicago for a generation. That wouldn’t have happened if AA voters didn’t support him.
- ConservativeVeteran - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:55 pm:
When you say “African-American,” I hope that you’re referring to someone who was born in Africa. About 2/3 of Blacks, I know, dislike being called African-Americans. They know that, since the dictionary definition of “African” is “a resident of Africa,” an African-American must be anyone who was born in Africa, immigrated to the U.S., and became an American citizen. This definition includes a few races, so whether someone is an African-American can’t be determined by his or her skin color.
- Rich Miller - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 12:57 pm:
===About 2/3 of Blacks, I know, dislike being called African-Americans===
You must not know many. You’ve posted this on the blog before, and I’d like to see polling data before you ever do that again, please.
- steve schnorf - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 1:05 pm:
The formerly great GOP, on its way to becoming a very small group of people who agree with each other on virtually everything, instead of a very large group of people who agree on great principles.
- colby - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 1:54 pm:
Talk of a black/white “split” in the Democratic Party is speculative for now, and probably overstated altogether. I mean, we’ll have to see- I don’t want to underestimate the potential for the primary to get nasty- but you hear about this possibility a lot more than the actual happening.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 2:36 pm:
It is just like Zodak Yonan and all other Plutonians to exploit their public positions. According to Kodaz Zoltar, the President of Pluto, it is expected of their citizens to have privilege-even more so than Cook County officials.
- Curious about the terminology - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 3:18 pm:
Here’s some poll data on the prefered use of the term “black” vs. “African American” (per Conservative Veteran’s post): http://www.gallup.com/poll/28816/Black-African-American.aspx
Looks like “Black” is preferred, although the majority say they don’t care which term is used.
- Curious about the terminology - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 3:21 pm:
Oops! I had that backwards. “African American” is preferred by most blacks. Sorry for the error.
- BGA Dave - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 5:18 pm:
Pluto,
Why is it nannyism for the City to be asked to do its job? Just because an elevator hasn’t dropped 20 stories and killed people doesn’t mean it’s not a health and safety issue.
I’ve been stuck in elevators many times. It’s not pleasant, but I don’t have a health problem. If I was claustrophobic or had a bladder problem or was stuck with a sick person, it’s a health problem. My quote in the article was accurate. As far as the city knew, our building FAILED its inspections in 2006 and they never came back. It’s a problem.
- Lefty - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 7:48 pm:
One of these days we might have to focus on getting something done rather than just worry about running for office. If we don’t, eventually there will be no government to represent.
- Babbling Brook - Monday, May 11, 09 @ 8:06 pm:
Congratulations to the County Board for actually making the Toddler seem like a reasonable leader. By vetoing the repeal but coming out in favor of a partial decrease Todd sounds reasonable compared to the flip floppers on the Board doing their best CYA.
Obviously, the Daley’s have written him off so I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts looking for new friends and exercising some discipline. As hard as it to say, this battle goes to Stroger who was smart to take his time and thoughtfully make this decision and not knee jerk.