* SEIU and ACORN have now become an issue in the 10th Congressional District GOP primary. From a press release…
Robert Dold, Republican candidate for Illinois’ 10th Congressional District, today is calling on his Republican opponent, liberal State Representative Beth Coulson, to cut ties with SEIU after Congressman Mark Kirk’s recent revelations of SEIU’s deep ties to the corrupt group ACORN.
Coulson was endorsed by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in her State Representative campaign in 2008, and until recently proudly displayed the endorsement on her Congressional website. It was taken down after Republican activists expressed their outrage.1 Coulson has received numerous donations from the corrupt group totaling thousands of dollars throughout her career.
“Sadly, this is business as usual for Springfield,” said Dold, former Investigative Counsel for the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. “Beth Coulson should have the courage to cut ties completely with this tarnished group and return their tainted money. I will never accept a single contribution from this organization, and when I’m in Washington I will do everything in my power to make sure that no hard-earned taxpayer dollars go to ACORN.”
IllinoisReview has compiled a list of some Republicans who took money from SEIU.
* Once again, Pat Quinn referred to Dan Hynes as an ankle biter…
“There’s always going to be ankle biters on the sidelines who weren’t in the arena when it really counted, chirping away. But I don’t think they’re helping solve the problem. The comptroller wasn’t part of the solution, and it doesn’t appear that he ever will be.”
Quinn gets on a phrase and can’t get off of it. Chirping on the sidelines is another one. He referred to Hynes as an ankle biter last month in southern Illinois when asked about a Hynes critique…
“There’s a lot of ankle-biters out there running for office,” he said. “They’re going to tear me down, but I think the people of Illinois know I’m good and true when it comes to standing up for them.”
* Little surprise here. Congressman Danny Davis may be leaning towards reelection. From The Hill via Progress Illinois…
Davis said Monday that he is prepared to file for re-election to his Congressional seat if he decides to drop his bid for Cook County Board president before this fall’s deadline.
“I have enough signatures to turn in for the nominating process for re-election to Congress, should I choose to do so,” Davis said in a phone interview. […]
Davis has encountered competition in the Cook County Board race. Davis, who served on the board before he came to Congress, is one of several black candidates in the open-seat race for Cook County Board president — a circumstance that could lead to the election of a nonblack candidate next year, much to the dismay of local black community leaders.
According to a couple of Democratic operatives familiar with the race, Davis thought he could clear the field if he ran, but that hasn’t happened.
He hasn’t muscled anyone out at all, and it won’t ever happen. A group of black ministers are having a tough time with the county president’s campaign as well…
More than 250 African-American ministers met to endorse a black candidate for Cook County board president on Tuesday, but the lack of consensus only served to illustrate the difficult political dynamics.
At least one of those ministers also had a tough time watching his language…
“This is not about person,” [Albert D. Tyson III, senior pastor at St. Stephen AME Church] said. “This is not about personality. This is about whose best going to service us and who has the best possible chances of being elected against the forces of evil.”
“The forces of evil.” Sheesh.
Todd Stroger was also at the meeting…
“I think in government there should be an African American who is at the top,” Stroger said before making a reference to the influence of his post. “So, I think there should be some unity behind a candidate. A good candidate. Me.”
He lives in another world, campers. A world that none of us will ever visit.
* Speaking of other worlds, Ab Mikva thinks David Hoffman is less of a long shot than Barack Obama was…
“Barack was probably an even longer shot than for both president and for senator than David is … he was barely known in the rest of the state or the city,” Mikva said.
Yeah, but he raised a lot of money, ran a super-smart campaign and was a natural. He also had something that Hoffman completely lacks: Campaign experience, including a defeat.
* Here’s something else to consider when backing longshots in the primary…
Once the ballot is finalized in a few weeks, the campaigns will heat up. The primary is Tuesday, Feb. 2 – the earliest it’s ever been. That doesn’t leave much time for little-known candidates to separate themselves from the pack, and the holiday season will make that job even tougher.
Tougher and a whole lot more expensive. It won’t be easy to go from relative obscurity to beating a well-known, well-funded candidate by February 2nd.
* Other stuff…
* Gov. Pat Quinn will join Chicago’s Olympic delegation in Copenhagen and said one of his main jobs will be “kissing as many babies as possible.”
* Stroger talks sales tax, pensions with suburban residents
* High-speed rail hits another speed bump: House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, introduced legislation Tuesday that would bar the state from spending money on a segment of the line in Springfield that is designated as the high-speed rail route.
* Madigan: No state money for Third Street rail
* Duffy opts out of college scholarship perk
* More college clout
* Barrington GOP candidates night
- Ghost - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 2:26 pm:
Hoffman just does nto have the natural charisma of an Obama either.
Obama showed us that it is possible to come from way behind to win; that does not mean it becomes probable that all canidates who are behind have likelihood of success.
I don’t see Hoffman getting of the ground this time around.
- ZC - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 2:33 pm:
Oh man, could the Tea Partiers knock Coulson out of the IL-10 race? Guaranteeing Democratic victory? This gets better and better.
- Anonymous45 - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 2:34 pm:
I am in agreement with Mikva on his endorsement of Hoffman…I don’t need to vote for anyone a somebody sent…Hoffman aint part of the club (yes-I think Barack played the outsider in the insider club well, even if he gave folks a good reason to throw their support behind him, i.e.Emil Jones)
In this election, maybe I want a fresh face and a somewhat clean slate…
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 2:41 pm:
This SEIU thing gets funnier and funnier. Where did the idea originate that they’re radicals? Check out their contribution list: Saviano, Edgar, Ryan, Cross, Radogno, Topinka, Rauschenberger — and Pate!
I always knew under that reactionary facade, Pate was a secret Bolshevik.
- RobRoy - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 2:46 pm:
I realize it’s become common place, but the comments from the black ministers seems to me racist. But then perhaps it’s okay for any minority group to band together in order to get their person elected and therby their place at the public trough.
- Scooby - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:03 pm:
That Illinois Review SEIU list is hilarious. They list pretty much every major Republican in the state including the party committees and then IR calls on these same people to hold hearings on the on the money, power and influence of SEIU, an organization that their Congressional caucus calls a criminal organization. Hilarious.
“Dear Illinois Republican, I am holier than thou and I call on you to hold a hearing on why you’re allied with the targets of my made up controversy.”
We’re way past jumping the shark, this is swimming into it.
- Shore - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:04 pm:
I’ve called for this hit on coulson on team america’s blog for awhile. She’s also been endorsed by afscme which is about as bad a group as seiu in the minds of 10th gop voters.
Dold gets DOLT of the day award for use of “congressional website” for a woman who is not a member of congress. You’d hope he learned the difference on the Hill.
Hoffman was an aide on the Hill for 4 years, but lots of people on the north shore think that because it’s a wealthier better educated area you can just show up and win when in reality precinct committeemen really don’t care what secret society or eating club you were in or whether you know the difference between charlemagne and lexington in the economist.
- Johnnyc - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:09 pm:
This SEIU stuff is crazy. This guilt by association game the Republicans want to play is dangerous for them. If you want to make the rules you better be able to abide by them (just ask Newt, Bob Livingston, Mark Sanford and company what they think about the standard they tried to set during the Clinton impeachment).
This stuff came from Fox and GOP radio. Republicans have the benefit of unity of message because they are told what to think by Limbaugh and Beck. It’s truly sad when the core principles of your party are whatever two former morning radio DJs say they are.
- Brennan - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:13 pm:
The SEIU story is a roll of the dice. It might go somewhere. Maybe it gets some more play before Feb 2 if there is nothing else going on(fat chance).
National ACORN-is-SEIU story is changing rapidly. It was claimed yesterday that POTUS Political Director Patrick Gaspard was an ACORN employee. The source for this was ACORN founder Wade Rathke. Rathke has posted a correction on this. Apparently he had his own history of ACORN wrong.
Happens all the time.
- Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:14 pm:
The Madigan move on high speed rail is quite interesting and reflects the tangled history of railroading in Springfield more than it does any opposition to high speed rail. For those who don’t know the situation, there are three north-south rail corridors through the center and near-east side of Springfield, all of them with some segments of street running (tracks running down the middle of city streets) — east 3rd, 10th and 18th streets. At one time the city had hoped to shove everything down 18th, but that would be a bit of a hoof from downtown, closer to I-55 than the capitol. 10th is manageable without the construction seriously disrupting anything. 3rd, if upgraded and grade-separated, could well be a physical barrier dividing downtown like a freeway. But 3rd is the only route that’s well advanced on permitting and design work, and the most direct route through the city and offering a station in the heart of the city, and would save owners Union Pacific and tenants Amtrak from the hassle or worse of having to deal with trackage rights on Canadian National in order to access the Norfolk Southern-owned 10th street route. (CN does not have a great record of maintaining the timeliness of other railroads’ trains, including Amtrak, on their lines).
Ideally, you come up with a scheme that either mitigates the impact of 3rd or else properly renovates and expands the Norfolk Southern 10th street route and addresses UP and Amtrak’s concerns about CN’s dispatching of trains on the UP-NS connection. But it will take time, and honestly, it makes sense to proceed with the rest of the high speed rail but to pull this segment out, get the planning done and get it done right. CN no doubt have some legitimate concerns of their own about capacity on their connecting line, so that’s another negotiation that needs to take place.
- Brennan - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:19 pm:
=This stuff came from Fox and GOP radio.=
No. Actually it came from a “progressive radical”, a “conservative activist”, and a Hollywood liberal.
- dupage dan - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:21 pm:
Seems like a below grade rail line thru town would be a useful alternative to running high speed rail on the surface. Cost would be high but less so than a tunnel and perhaps less that an elevated system. Lots of cash involved in that idea - not likely feasible as a result.
- OdysseusVL - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:21 pm:
I’m with RobRoy on this. There definitely is mor than a bit of racism there.
Imagine if a white male had said “I think in government there should be a Caucasian who is at the top.” For some reason, I suspect that the quote would be big news.
- Bluefish - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:36 pm:
Perhaps the IR list would be shorter if they listed GOPers who didn’t take SEIU bucks.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:39 pm:
Who the heck cares what Dold writes in a press release or is published on Illinois Review?
Moreover, who the heck cares about ACORN?
If its not in the Tribune, or on t.v., you might as well not have said it.
And if you’re not talking about jobs or taxes, Republican primary voters in that Congressional district aren’t listening.
If they DO happen to hear you, you sound like an out-of-touch nut job.
“ACORN”? “SEIU”?!? My 401-K has dropped 35% and I’m gonna have to push off retirement for five or ten years, or send my kids to U of I instead of Northwestern.
- Quinn T. Sential - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:41 pm:
Who else is out there; on either side of the aisle that is circulating petitions to run for the 7th Congressional District?
Will Danny Davis find that his path of retreat has been cut off at the pass?
- There you go Again! - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:46 pm:
Another Day and another knock of Racial Politics in Illinois, Cook County and Chicago! Yes Race STILL MATTERS within the Area in which we call home! Its amazing to me that Mayor Daley who wants these Olympic Games SO, SO, SO BAD, has resulted in three highly world popular African Americans who for at least 25 years have called Chicago Home! These is Oprah, Barack & Michelle (who people should not be amazed by anyone by doing a 180 degree turn) in their appearances. Its almost as if people “behind the scences” said if Obama shows up Chicago Wins. I cannot see the President of the United States of American being but out in the open of the 98 IOC Votes (you need 50 to win) and coming up short. I further do not see the majority of the IOC members saying to President Obama “NO” we are not going to give you the 2016 Olympic Games which by the way its Opening Moments will begin literally three blocks from his private home!
Now what does this do back home in Chicago Politics. African Americans, having lost the Mayor’s Office in 1989 have claimed the County President’s Office as their own, since 1994. Right or wrong, this was never made clearer in March, 2006 when after the “evil Editoral Boards who daily connect Claypool and Quigley” up to April, 2009″ were writing at will the problems of Cook County. These was alright, when the African American Base decided to re-elect a man who probably didn’t at the time know what day it was. Fast Forward til today, unless Chicago doesn’t win the Olympics and Mayor Daley decides to retire, he will be Mayor til at least 2016. This means in effort of “diversity” the County President will probably stay in African American Hands, with the State’s Attorney and Probably the Assessor going Hispanic. These two groups make the majority in Cook County today, as most others who write about Cook County are either in the minority of Cook County or live just outside its boarders. It will be more important if Obama weighs in own this Race, as he lives within Preckwinkle boarders and has been a lone time loyalist. If his focus is on the U.S. Senate, House and Governor’s Race; then its lights out for Preckwinkle! The County Building is a branch of City Hall and always has been. The people who you really don’t see are really running its operations and let the moderator of this blog and others beat up on Todd Stroger. (FYI 11th, 13th, 14th Wards).
Stroger has not been popular but he never had a fair shake. The Chicago Media continues to be mad about the 2006 “process”. To his credit, when awaken at 6 a.m. on March 14, 2006 and told your father sufferred what turned out to be a fatal stroke and the “same behind the scences” people telling him he has to “assumed” power and his mother not talking to the media; Stroger never stood a chance! Its sad that the African Americans in Cook County to this day (after the Harold Washington saga) still have not come together in unity!
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:48 pm:
===If its not in the Tribune, or on t.v., you might as well not have said it.===
You know that’s wrong.
If he puts it into mail and/or other advertising, a whole lot more people will see it.
- fedup dem - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:53 pm:
I have been told that Jim Ascot, who ran against Davis in the 2006 primary, is running again. Others were rumored to be circulating petitions, all Democrats. No Republicans have surfaced as of yet.
- 3 beers to springfield - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 3:59 pm:
The high speed rail debate in Springfield is ridiculous. There will not be MORE trains, just faster trains. The trains will be slowed considerably before they hit the Springfield city limits because they 1) have to come to a STOP in Springfield; and 2) because there is 40-mile-per-hour speed limit through the City. As for buidling over or under passes, that’s the City’s call. I don’t see the need as the same trains that pass through the City now will be the ones passing through the City with HSR. The only difference is the trains will be traveling faster before they get to Springfield and after they leave. What’s the issue here?
- So. ILL - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 4:05 pm:
Republican right wingers will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory come November. Keep it up Fran. There will be no more Republicans left, but at least you’ll have your morals!
- Anonymous45 - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 4:13 pm:
Wow! King Madigan has spoken!!…put the HSR stop near (walking) distance to the Capitol complex and ALM…proximity is everything…keep downtown Springfield a viable, visited place…
- Easy - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 4:28 pm:
YDD-
When you have tens of thousands of people showing up for loosely organized events across the nation protesting government spending. Then you have undercover investigations demonstrating how our tax dollars are spent on an organization where some of their branches were providing information on how to evade tax law to set up brothels, a lot of people are going to care. And they should.
I’m not buying into all the SEIU linkage, but ACORN has a lot of explaining to do and the more people dig on ACORN the worse it is going to get.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 4:41 pm:
Ya Got Trouble! - Willson Meredith, enhanced by VanillaMan
GOP:
Well, either you’re closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of SEIU in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in Illinois.
Why sure I’m a union member,
Certainly mighty proud I say
I’m always mighty proud to say it.
I consider that the hours I spend
Standing in a picket line are golden.
Help you cultivate horse sense
And a cool head and a keen eye.
Never take and try to give
But they are in kahoots!
With an ACORN full of rot!
But just as I say,
It takes judgement, brains, and maturity to score
In the political game,
I say that any boob kin take
And shove a union in their pocket.
And they call that a “deal”.
The first big step on the road
To the depths of Pay-To-Play
I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon,
Then beer from a bottle.
An’ the next thing ya know,
Your son is pimpin’ for money
In a pinch-back suit.
And list’nin to some big out-a-town Organizer
Hearin’ him tell about Universal Health Care.
Not a wholesome conversation, no!
But one where they talk about socialism!
Like to see some stuck-up Elitist
Teachin’ your kids? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say.
Friends, lemme tell you what I mean.
Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six ACORN offices across the US.
Videotaped evidence of a diff’rence
Between ACORN and a scandal,
With a capital “S,”
That’s capital “S” and that stands for SEIU!
And all week long your suburban cities
Democrats’ll be frittern away,
I say your elected officials’ll be frittern!
Frittern away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!
Gettin’ SEIU in their pockets,
Never mind gittin’ laws passed
Or potholes patched or the judicial bench pounded.
Never mind wastin’ all our taxes
‘Til Illinois is caught with the coffers empty
Every single night and that’s trouble,
Oh, yes we got lots and lots a’ trouble.
I’m thinkin’ of the kids in the kindergardens,
Shirt-tail young ones, listenin’ to Obama
Right during school, look, folks!
Right here in suburban cities.
Scandal with a capital “S”
And that’s capital “S” and that stands for SEIU!
Now, I know all you folks are the right kinda voters.
I’m gonna be perfectly frank.
Would ya like to know what kinda conversation goes
On while they’re loafin’ around in the halls?
They’re tryin’ out GRTs, tryin’ out new fees,
Tryin’ out raisin’ your Income Tax like fiends!
And braggin’ all about
How they’re gonna cover up a SEIU contribution.
One fine night, they leave the Capitol,
Headin’ for the homes of our cities!
Libertine men and scarlet women!
And Hip-Hop, shameless music
That’ll grab your son and your daughter
With the arms of a jungle animal instinct!
Mass-staria!
Friends, the liberal brain is the devil’s playground!
Voters:
Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in Illinois cities!
With a capital “S”
That a capital “S”
And that stands for SEIU,
That stands for SEIU.
We’ve surely got trouble!
Right here in in our city,
Right here!
Gotta figger out a way
To keep the young ones from bein’ a union tool!
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble…
GOP:
Mothers of our cities!
Heed the warning before it’s too late!
Watch for the tell-tale sign of corruption!
The moment your son leaves the house,
Does he put on his iPod headset?
Is there a patch of whiskers on his chin?
A unfamiliar video game hidden in under his bed?
Is he starting to memorize jokes from The Daily Show with John Stewart?
Are certain texting slang being said?
Like ‘LOL?”
And ‘WTF?”
Well, if so my friends,
Ya got trouble,
Right here in this suburban city!
With a capital “S”
And that’s a capital “S”
And that stands for SEIU.
We’ve surely got trouble!
Right here in our city!
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule!
Oh, we’ve got trouble.
We’re in terrible, terrible trouble.
Those people with the picket lines is a devil’s tool!
Oh yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble!
With a “S”! It’s gotta be “S”!
And that stands for SEIU!!!
- Patriot - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 5:13 pm:
Re the ministers- let me check, ommm yes, refering to everyone outside your race as “the force of evil” is indeed a racist comment.
And Danny Davis thinking he could clear the CC Board President race is a joke to me. That move was nothing more than venue shopping to add another pension to the kitty. Don’t quit your day job Mr. Davis.
- John "Not Evil" Garrido - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 5:19 pm:
I am seeking the Republican nomination to run for Cook County Board President and I promise you that I am not aligned with the “Forces of Evil”. Please consider all options before you vote; that’s all I ask.
www.Garrido2010.com
- Quinn T. Sential - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 5:23 pm:
Easy,
{Then you have undercover investigations demonstrating how our tax dollars are spent on an organization where some of their branches were providing information on how to evade tax law to set up brothels}
Perhaps you may have missed this release from the IRS at the other end of the spectrum:
{IR-2009-84, Sept. 21, 2009
WASHINGTON ─ The Internal Revenue Service today announced a one-time extension of the deadline for special voluntary disclosures by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore accounts. These taxpayers now have until Oct. 15, 2009.
Under special provisions issued in March, taxpayers with these hidden accounts originally had until Sept. 23, 2009 to come forward. Those taxpayers who do not voluntarily disclose their hidden accounts by the new deadline face much harsher civil penalties, where applicable, and possible criminal prosecution.
IRS officials decided to extend this deadline after receiving repeated requests from tax practitioners and attorneys around the country following an influx of taxpayer requests. By extending the deadline for a short period of time, the IRS is providing relief for those taxpayers who had intended to come forward prior to the deadline, but faced logistical and administrative challenges in meeting it. The extension will allow tax preparers and attorneys the necessary time to interview and advise their backlog of taxpayers with these hidden accounts, and prepare the necessary paperwork to qualify for the special penalty provisions.
The IRS also announced that there will be no further extensions.}
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=213463,00.html
Simply put; as long as there are taxes there will be tax dodgers; and they come in all shapes and sizes, but to single one out above all others begs the invocation of the old axiom about what happens when you point a finger at someone. Whenever this is done; there are always three others pointing right back at you.
The greatest tax dodgers are typically those with the most to shelter. Just look what Sam Zell did with his scheme/scam of retaining a minor interest in the Cubs just to avoid the capital gain.
- Squideshi - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 5:55 pm:
A big boo to Madigan for attempting to obstruct high speed rail in Illinois.
- Limerick - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 6:52 pm:
A union called SEIU
Has allowed some to create a to-do.
But when shouting “touché”
Beware ricochet,
For the joke can wind up on you.
- steve schnorf - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 7:45 pm:
The union leaders from SEIU I dealt with over the years were fine people; probably more liberal than I am, but otherwise fine. If I ever ran for elective office I would seek and hope to receive an endorsement from SEIU.
- Bobs yer - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 8:04 pm:
1) SEIU is part of the problem, not part of the solution;
2) Who is Quinn to call someone else an ‘ankle biter’. That one’s coming back to haunt you Pattie me bye;
3) VM: how bout some editing? Sometimes, less is more.
3)
- Its Just Me - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 8:47 pm:
Anyone notice anything wrong with this sentence: “I think in government there should be a white person who is at the top,” John Doe said before making a reference to the influence of his post. “So, I think there should be some unity behind a candidate. A good candidate. Me.”
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Sep 30, 09 @ 9:16 pm:
VM-yeah, a bit long, but masterful nonetheless.
However, thanks not for planting this tune in my old melon for a good couple hours.
The ACORN/SEIU conspiracy theorists have a long way to go imho.