On Wednesday, Brian Dugan was sentenced to death for the murder of Jeanine Nicarico. In the case of Brian Dugan, the criminal justice system worked. In previous prosecutions, it did not. I said in interviews in 2002 that I had less confidence in the accuracy of the criminal justice system than I did earlier in my career. I continue to believe that.
In the Cruz-Hernandez cases, prosecutors, detectives and police officers acted in good faith and still came up with the wrong result. In the Cruz-Hernandez cases, the system and I failed to achieve a just outcome. And for that I am sorry.
Although I continue to believe that the state has the right to take a life under limited circumstances to protect society, I also believe we must do more to ensure the accuracy of the system of capital punishment and limit its application to the “worst of the worst,” such as Brian Dugan.
I believe we must do more to ensure the accuracy of the criminal justice system. Good intentions are not enough when human life is at stake.
If I am elected governor, I will not lift the moratorium on capital punishment until we have created a more limited and accurate system of capital punishment. While Illinois has made significant progress, other reforms have been left on the table, such as a reduction in the number of eligibility factors that trigger the death penalty.
Is it enough to erase the stain?
* From the Mark Kirk for US Senate campaign…
- Five-term GOP Congressman and Navy veteran Mark Kirk released a new poll today that shows him maintaining a six-point lead over likely general election opponent Alexi Giannoulias.
- In a survey of 772 likely Illinois voters, Kirk leads Giannoulias 44-38 with 18 percent undecided. The poll, conducted by Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies on November 3, 2009 with a 3.5 percent margin of error, follows an October 8, 2009 survey that showed Kirk leading 42-35 with 23 percent undecided.
- In the same survey Kirk leads other potential Democrat opponents by larger margins: David Hoffman 43-32; Cheryle Jackson 45-33; and Jacob Meister 45-28.
* Sen. Bill Brady responds to today’s endorsement of Andy McKenna by House GOP Leader Tom Cross…
I have great respect for my legislative colleague Tom Cross, but his support for Andy McKenna in the race for Governor is just the opinion of one man. Andy McKenna champions himself as an outsider, but House Minority Leader Tom Cross is anything but an outsider.
Illinois needs a clean break from the politics of the past. We need to take the control away from the political dynasty that has ruled Springfield far too long, and give it back to the people of Illinois.
I believe voters are looking for a candidate who stand up to the political insiders and power brokers so their votes count. I believe that the people of Illinois want a Governor who represents all of Illinois, and not just one corner of the state. I am that candidate.
My campaign is about Illinois’ future, a future with more jobs, more integrity and a greater voice in their government for all Illinois citizens. In this spirit, my campaign continues to grow stronger every day with grass-roots endorsements from voters who are seeking decisive leadership and a new direction for all of Illinois.
Pretty standard stuff. Brady’s the one fighting the insiders? Huh. OK. And he’s the break from the politics of the past after being in politics for years?
More on today’s endorsement here and in the Sun-Times.
* SEIU is spending more than a few bucks attacking specific congressmen on TV, including in Illinois…
The Service Employees International Union has put together a new group to launch health care ad campaigns targeting specific members of Congress who voted against Democratic reform plans–the Foundation for Patients Rights. So far, they’re going after four lawmakers, spending $400,000 on the first week of TV ads against Reps. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), Mike Castle (R-DE), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Mary Bono-Mack (R-CA).
* Democratic US Senate candidate Jacob Meister said this morning: “This race is not about who is the most ethical.” McDermott has the reasoning…
Meister’s point (made in the course of explaining why he won’t accept opponent David Hoffman’s challenge to all candidates to release their income tax records) is that jobs and the economy are the issues that people actually care about; that ethics is “a starting point” but not the end-all issue that politicians and the media have made it out to be.
“People are sick to death of hearing about ethics,” he said.
* Usually, conservatives are the first to decry anyone of color who plays the “race card.” But Illinois Review reversed the polarities this week…
Democrat Quinn showing his racist side?
Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn refuses to deny that his campaign is behind the effort to remove William Walls, the only African-American candidate, from the Democratic governor primary contest. Like Obama, Walls is a community activist, which, according to the Democrats and ACORN, is an honorable professions…like child prostitution.
Seems like yet another example of racism by the Democrats.
Quick note. Jack Roeser’s Champion News is misreporting that William J. Kelly is exiting the Comptroller’s race. We should have a statement on this shortly. Thought you should know.
I’m not his biggest critic on this blog, but it makes Kirk look weak to think he has to respond with polling to Alexi every time.
With the poll numbers it’s hard to know how many democrats and republicans and formerly republican independents they are polling and also what numbers of those folks will turn out. If I read somehting like, these polls are based off a worst case turnout basis, I might think it’s legit.
Not a great video from Hoffman, “I just woke up at 5 a.m. and haven’t had my coffee yet” isn’t a winning message.
Now comes word that GOP candidate for Illinois comptroller William J. Kelly is seeking the endorsement of — Todd Palin, husband of Alaskan you-know-who.
• Quoth Kelly, who produces a sports show called “Sportsaholic:” “Anyone who has won the Iron Dog Snowmobile Race four times is someone I definitely want on my side in 2010.”
===Like Obama, Walls is a community activist, which, according to the Democrats and ACORN, is an honorable professions…like child prostitution.===
First of all, stay classy, Illinois Review. Secondly, they need to learn numerical agreement (is, professions).
Re: Hoffman, I counted 31 vocal pauses in that 1:27 second video. That’s an “uh” or “um” more than once every three seconds. A second take would have killed you? A script?
Re: Jim Ryan - That is a ver well parsed statement to clarify Jim Ryan’s position at the time, and how his beliefs have (i.e. death penalty) changed. I would, as I am sure some voters would be interested in the understanding of the railroading of Cruz, his position on the Birkett belief that cruz, and to paraphrase “…could still be somehow involved…” That is the “stain” Jim Ryan is going to do more to make clean.
A great first step, but if Jim Ryan thinks he has heard the last, or is not going to have to answer even the few questions I listed here, it could be a long campaign, or be an even shorter campaign to February.
I think Ryan’s explanation is enough to remove the problem he might have with open-minded voters who are looking for the best person to lead Illinois out of this mess. Cruz-Hernadez does not trump the finacial meltdown of the State, Cook County and the City of Chicago. For those who dont want Ryan to win,or who want to talk about something -anything other than the fincial ruination of the State, Cook County and Chicago, their attacks will not stop.
As for Cross endorsing McKenna, one suspects that he wants to endorse an obvious also-ran so that he does’nt find himself at odds with the candidate who emerges from what will likely be a hard-fought and close race. And lets face it, it is too early to call this race among the Tier One candidates. The next Governor, likely a Republican, will not create problems for Cross in his own caucus for going with McKenna. Nobody believes that Tom Cross believes that McKenna is the best the GOP has to offer. He also stays out of the fight among DuPage County leaders.
Not the stuff of bold leadership, I grant you; just more of the same we have come to expect from Springfield.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:40 pm:
re Hoffman video:
1. Get a haircut. Pat Quinn’s got a guy.
2. Never white shirts on video.
3. Alton is not Southern Illnois…not to Altonians, and certainly not to Southern Illinoisans. If you don’t believe me, ask your wife.
4. That said, I think this video’s got a great hook. I assumed it was a videotaped confession, and stuck around until the very end waiting for him to blurt out: “I DID IT!!”
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:44 pm:
“a new poll today that shows him [Mark Kirk] maintaining a six-point lead over likely general election opponent Alexi Giannoulias”
At this rate, I think its even money whether Kirk gets out of the Primary. He’s tacking so hard to the right, I’ve got to assume his internal poll numbers are telling his campaign something he’s not telling us: Kirk’s in Trouble.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:46 pm:
Jim Ryan’s apology is nice, but it’s too little too late. It’s pretty slick/smart of him to get out ahead of this thing in an attempt to kill it, no pun intended, before it blows up again and possibly hurts his campaign efforts. I imagine that should ryan make it beyond the primary, it won’t be long until rolando cruz surfaces to remind everyone of the role that ryan played in the miscarriage of justice surrounding the nicarico case. and, with Anita Alvarez’s issues concerning journalism students who work to exonerate the wrongly convicted hot ‘n’ heavy in the news, and likely to remain so for the next several months, the nicarico case serves as a painful example of how prosecutors/law enforcement professionals do get things wrong sometimes. I think it also hurts ryan that he seemed heck bent to send cruz to the deathhouse. He tried to get the guy killed not one, but several times—evidence darned!
How ironic! I just had a conversation with someone about which party was more racist: the repubs or the democrats? You gotta admit that there are an awful lot of “archie bunker” types in the democratic party. so, can you guess my answer? It was kinda funny how Bill and Hillary Clinton got so mad at Barack Obama last year when the it came to them courting the appalachian vote. Also Bill slip up on the campaign trail and made that rev. jesse jackson faux paux, remember?
re: hoffman
I didn’t like it. He’s rocking back and forth on his tippy-toes. He say “uh” too much. I don’t like the outdoor shot—too bland. He looks like a young al pacino.
Cousin Ralph “I think Ryan’s explanation is enough to remove the problem he might have with open-minded voters who are looking for the best person to lead Illinois out of this mess. …”
“open-minded voters” = dear lord, please let people’s problems and the state’s problems be so big, that a possible silver bullet about competentcy could be averted and it goes away.
CR - If that is the take you are getting from what Jim Ryan hopes will happen, they may be more trouble than it appears. Do Jim Ryan a favor, do not apologize for him. The statement was a good start, don’t ruin it for him
Had he issued this statement years ago when he was not running for office, but still owed the families and the public an apology for his office’s mistakes, I would buy it more. Now it just looks like he’s doing it for political gain and not heartfelt reasons.
- Just wondering - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:01 pm:
I thought it was against military regulations for a member of the armed services in uniform to be in a political ad. Espessally those members of the IL National Guard for thier boss. The Gov is the Comander in Chief of the IL Guard.
If you have seen a poll recently you would know Mark Kirk has got a problem with GOP primary voters, especially when you test messages and attacks. And no, I won’t leak it.
With respect to Ryan, the apology is nice and I don’t doubt his sincerity, but he is going to get clobbered with this if god-forbid he gets out of the general. One good web ad with Ryan’s quotes from back in the day and the left will make it go viral.
Hoffman’s video would be a tad more effective if it wasn’t so patronizing. What is it about southern Illinois that makes pols from Chicago so uncomfortable?
In his video, Hoffman mentioned that he “down here” four or five times — as if we might have forgotten, midway through the video, even in light of the wall of evergreen trees behind him, that he is indeed filming his little video in southern Illinois. Each time he said “down here,” it felt a little bit more like he was reporting to us from another planet where people just aren’t like the rest of us.
Yes, David, we’re glad that you visited southern Illinois. Illinois is a very large state - 102 counties, Oh Boy! - with a lots of diversity and many different people, and cows and pigs and lakes and skyscrapers and big city lawyers.
In some places, like amid the trees outside Carbondale, it’s even “quiet.” Imagine that.
David’s moment in nature reminded me a little of the time that Rod visited the Du Quoin State Fair and decided it would be a good idea to wear cowboy boots. It turns out that not everybody in southern Illinois wears cowboy boots (though I can’t say for sure whether this ever dawned on Rod).
Then there was the time that Brad Tusk visited southern Illinois and described his great epiphany to the local newspaper:
“I just didn’t realize how diverse this state was. Southern Illinois is almost like the South. Central Illinois is more like Middle America. Chicago is like most big cities and its suburbs are sort of typical of most American suburbs. It’s almost like four different worlds in one place.”
Yup, four different worlds all inside one big state.
As a final note, I’ll second YDD in pointing our to David Hoffman that Alton is not southern Illinois. Alton is in Metro East, a rather urban area just east of St. Louis. Metro East, with all its concrete and buildings and urban concerns, stands in stark contrast to the quiet, tree-covered areas around Carbondale.
Hoffman’s “Alton” comment reminded of the time that Kris Cohn, the lady from Winnebago County who would go on to lose all 102 counties in her race against Jesse White for secretary of state, took the stage at the State Fair and greeted the crowd with, “Hello Southern Illinois!”
It turns out, as Kris Cohn would learn in her landslide loss, Springfield is in central Illinois.
The Alexi campaign seems to be out there ready and able to fight poll against poll and regularly comes out with critiques and statements on competitors’ positions or videos. Maybe I’ve missed it but not much at all in the way of actual pro-Alexi informative ads and appearances which seek to explain to voters why he is the best person to be the next senator from Il comes to mind. It’s starting to seem strange. Are they still testing or crafting a Giannoulias message or something? Surely they don’t feel he is already well known enough or dominant enough to just lay low and play off the other candidates for the whole election cycle, do they? This is not a slam. I am genuinely baffled by their “strategy”.
Is it enough to erase the stain?
An apology is never enough. Once an apology is issued, the apologizer must take steps to demonstrate that their past behavior will not be repeated. Had Ryan took a stand against the death penalty, or announced that he would continue the moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, that would have been a good second step. Since he chose not to do that, Ryan must now demonstrate the sincerity of his apology by his actions. That would take more time than he, or voters, have on this issue. So, Ryan forces us to trust him on the sincerity of his apology, which at this point, should be considered voter charity.
Giannoulais is in trouble. As a current office holder with the winds currently blowing against the status quo, he can be seen as a weaker candidate than his primary opponent, Hoffman. If the Democrats wish to win a year from now, they should consider dumping their incumbants, including Giannoulais. 2010 is shaping up to be a blood bath for incumbants.
SEIU is the wrong messenger on the wrong message, so they can spend all the cash they have on ads like these, in my opinion. SEIU should be using their ad money to remind voters why they should be considered a viable organization in light of their actions taken on behalf of Rod Blagojevich, soon to be facing trial during 2010. Their name may come up during his ordeal, and SEIU should be planning to counter any negative publicity with their ad money.
The GOP should never be caught behaving as though they have any credibility regarding racial issues. They hold no standing with the majority of American voters as a party concerned over race relations. When they try to paint a Democrat as a racist, they merely remind voters how far short they have fallen in this area. It will take at least a decade of hard work for the GOP to even approach this issue without looking like fools.
===Hoffman’s running out of time to make an impact. Still think he’d be much better served to challenge Daley.===
The problem with that is the fundraising vacuum that Daley creates. Look how badly he has outspent every opponent he has faced. Dorothy in 2007, McAllister and Jakes and someone else I have since forgotten in 2003. Where would Hoffman find the money that Daley hasn’t found already? Or better yet, who is going to risk the Daley wrath for reallocating their funds to Hoffman should he lose?
Will one of you right wingers show any polling data that shows Kirk is “in trouble?” GOP primary voters, when polled about certain issues, like cap and trade or abortion differ from Kirk. So what? They differed from Edgar and Thompson too. There is no data that shows Kirk with a bad fav/unfav ratio, his ID is very high for someone who hasn’t run statewide, and the only head to head numbers with any credibility show Kirk way ahead.
HughesZadekThomasLowreyArringtonKunaMartin collectively haven’t the money, experience or base of support to come close to Kirk in the primary.
Support for Dock Walls in the black community is so low, I’m not sure they’ll care. I’m sure Dock will find some pompous south-side preacher to compare Quinn to… something racist and unflattering. But south-side blacks aren’t politically naive; they know petition challenges are routine against people of all colors, and the ILGOP is just going to make themselves clear race-baiting idiots doing this.
Rich, I really wish you would cover what’s going on outside of the two parties: grassroots, 3rd parties, independents, Greens (Whitney), others? Other social movements for change?
I’m very tired and disturbed by the status quo of two parties and I know that I’m NOT alone in that opinion.
Hoffman, the only thing missing from your video was a camera pan-down to your boots with pig/horse/cow leavings on them. Oh and a straw hat, and either a toothpick or a long blade of grass hanging out of your mouth. SO, authentically southern Illinoisan! Down here, down here, down here, uh, uh, uh…Nice try. Trek back north and remain, please? You’ve been mighty kind…thanky vury much ya’ll.
- Down the Middle - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:16 pm:
Ryan’s statement was well written, but many will point out that it is also extremely late, and may be more motivated by his candidacy than his true feelings. Only he knows.
No matter what, Mother Tribune will continue to pound him on it.
Jim Ryan can’t wash his hands clean of his repeated efforts to end the life of Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez. His apology is half-hearted in that he fails to acknowledge the depth of his involvement and his determination to see these innocent young men put to death. The apology has the passive tone of “mistakes were made” with one really responsible.
In another sense, if Ryan had had his way with the case, he would be apologizing to the survivors of two dead innocent men rather than to the men themselves. He did everything in his power but failed to produced their deaths, and thanks to the appellate courts, he can apologize to them while they are alive.
Obamarama, I tend to agree. Dethroning Daley has proven to be an insurmountable challenge.
However, he’s likely to be much more vulnerable in 2011 than he was in 2003 or 2007, and one could argue that Hoffman would be a signficantly more viable candidate than the ones you cite.
I guess I think Jim Ryan’s statement makes him a better and bigger person than most of us on here. To my Republican colleagues, shall we go find Cruz and Hernandez (and the dozen or so others out there), and execute them too, just to be sure? Kill them all and let God sort them out as the new Republican mantra? The 90s proved that our death penalty system in Illinois was badly broken. George Ryan was one of the few non-liberals to say that publicly. And Jim Ryan is a brave candidate to say that maybe we ought to be a little more sure that its not still broken before we again just start executing people who are convicted (Cruz-Hernandez again, folks?)
I think Jacob Meister is showing his inexperience by saying the race is not about who is the most ethical. He effectively is saying Hoffman is more ethical and as Chicago Cynic indicates, raises issues about his own ethics.
I suggest Meister or others turn Hoffman’s perceived strength as being ethical into a weakness. I would paint Hoffman as an opportunist politician. He took the IG office, which is suppose to be above politics, and turned it into a launching pad for his political career. This included preparing a quicky report on the Parking meter deal for what appears to be political gamemanship purposes. Not exactly ethical in my mind.
- re: just wondering - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:46 pm:
regarding armed services uniforms– there are many regulations outlining when and where uniforms can and can’t be displayed, however, the images of service men and women in Quinn’s vet video are not breaking any rules. They are not assembled for Quinn or his campaign, but rather Quinn is there supporting their gathering and documenting it.
I just watched Quinn’s ad focusing on army veterans. I really liked what the Governor has to say about getting returning vets jobs. The ad is really well done, low key and lets the significance of the issue speak for itself. Quinn is starting to look very strong in this race.
I follow your reasoning on the Jim Ryan “execution” part of the statement, but what about not listening to Dugan, the currupt cops railroading Cruz while Ryan was silent, and how about denouncing Birkett’s statements that he feels that Cruz is not completely innocent?
Jim Ryan will not feel the heat on the death penalty as much as the ineptitude of the entire case in its complete context.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 6:27 pm:
=== I’ll take $2500 that he stays in and wins. ===
I’m not saying he’ll drop out, just that its even money whether or not he wins.
Betting, as you know, is illegal in Illinois, and given the swamp of cases where blogs are being sued to turn over bloggers identities, I think I’ll pass.
I was thinking that instead of cash, I’d offer this wager:
Kirk wins the primary, you shave my head.
Kirk loses, I shave your beard.
But then I realized you probably could shift 5-10% of the primary vote in Illinois if you really wanted to, just through the power of your pen.
YDD’s Rule #47: Never bet against the house, and in Illinois politics, CapitalFax is the House.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 6:35 pm:
“They differed from Edgar and Thompson too.”
There’s a big difference in GOP voters minds between being a state executive and casting votes to give lifetime appointments to Supreme Court Justices.
Just ask Loletta Didrickson.
Even if Kirk manages to fool conservatives in the primary, he’ll lose them just as quickly when he inevitably slides back to the middle for the general.
In fact, I challenge anyone to name the last moderate Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois.
Objective Dem has it right — Hoffman has nada so he can only talk corruption. Hoffman has no legislative experience and as far as I see he has no plans to fix what ails us. Meister’s point was that ethics is a place to start. We should first evaluate candidates for ethics and then evaluate them on the issues. So here we sit picking at one sentence when people are losing their jobs and houses. This whole ethics discussion is why people hate politics and politicians.
After ideas I look at experience. I was surprised to learn that Meister is the only Dem with legislative experience. For me, that makes him stronger then the rest of the Dems to run against Kirk.
- Downstate Dave - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:15 pm:
Good, heartfelt statement by Jim on Dugan/Cruz. Ryan is a man of integrity — one of the only men of integrity in Illinois politics.
Anonymous 2:59, PLEASE get another handle. That one’s taken already!
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:30 pm:
Let’s sum up this red(state) letter day
Commando Kirk fails to get CaribouBarbie on board while she does Oprah and looks (a) hot (b) tanned and (c) dumber than usual
jimRYAN tries to get over Cruz and the media fails to note he PROSECUTED Crux THREE(3) times and had BrickHeadJoe and his cops koncking of doors with sampe testimony.
TugBoatOutsider quits the outsider by picking Lee daniels roommate as an endorser.
Brady fails to capitalize on the TugBoat Outsider blunder. Perhaps he should hire Dallas and Speaker Denny to advise.
StandUpComc Dan wins the day by getting zero press
atta BOY
btw could some tell than Adam A. guy that thestate auditor general has a budget of about $25 million… he wants to give some pal $100 million for an audit…sounds like Blagoofer.
Mission Accomplished!
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:33 pm:
Opps
We forgot to mention that not only did OutsiderAndy cede that title but he also went soft on the convict cook off…look for Brady and StandUPDan to make hay there…..
Had Jim Ryan issued that statement 10-15 years ago, I might have believed him. But he waited until after Dugan was sentenced to death before he apologized? Unacceptable…just trying to salvage a political career in front of all the news stories that will be repeating the sordid history of the Nicarico case.
If he would spend the next seven years in sackcloth and ashes, I might consider his apology complete. But not even close, at this point in time.
Hoffman (looks more like Ratso Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy).
It is ironic that fighting corruption and political cronyism is Hoffman’s main platform in his bid for the senate. If he were to win and become Senator, it is hard to imagine how he could do much to affect corruption in Illinois or Chicago, even if he wanted to. What can federal senators realistically hope to do about Illinois and Chicago based corruption? Hoffman would have to wait to be become senior senator before he would even have a say in who gets appointed US Attorney.
Fighting corruption is the job of those who actually have jurisdiction to do it, such as IGs, AG, State’s Attorneys, US Attorneys, etc. If Hoffman wanted to effectively fight corruption, he should have sought election or appointment to one of those positions.
Since it has widely been reported that Hoffman planned to run for Attorney General before Lisa Madigan decided not to run for Senator or Governor, we should all view Hoffman’s senate bid, at least in part, as a deference to politics as usual. He chose not to challenge the Madigan family, the most powerful intact political family institution left in the state, for the AG position, a position where he actually would have had the power and the mandate to fight corruption.
Instead, Hoffman seeks a high federal office, and we must not believe that fighting corruption in Illinois and Chicago is his goal. Instead, fighting low level corruption as Chicago IG was how he made his name, and he is cashing in on that recent press to run for the Senate. His ambition is what is at stake here. That is why nobody knows his other platforms yet. He doesn’t have any.
And does anyone else think that it’s funny that he’s using the Latin Kings colors (yellow and black) as his campaign colors? I’m sure he’s not in the Kings, but of all the colors for a former gang prosecutor to pick..
- DuPage Dave - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:29 pm:
As (the other) Ron Burgundy might say, “You stay classy, Illinois Review.”
- shore - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:31 pm:
I’m not his biggest critic on this blog, but it makes Kirk look weak to think he has to respond with polling to Alexi every time.
With the poll numbers it’s hard to know how many democrats and republicans and formerly republican independents they are polling and also what numbers of those folks will turn out. If I read somehting like, these polls are based off a worst case turnout basis, I might think it’s legit.
Not a great video from Hoffman, “I just woke up at 5 a.m. and haven’t had my coffee yet” isn’t a winning message.
- Scooby - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:33 pm:
Sneed:
- Obamarama - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:36 pm:
===Like Obama, Walls is a community activist, which, according to the Democrats and ACORN, is an honorable professions…like child prostitution.===
First of all, stay classy, Illinois Review. Secondly, they need to learn numerical agreement (is, professions).
Re: Hoffman, I counted 31 vocal pauses in that 1:27 second video. That’s an “uh” or “um” more than once every three seconds. A second take would have killed you? A script?
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:37 pm:
Re: Jim Ryan - That is a ver well parsed statement to clarify Jim Ryan’s position at the time, and how his beliefs have (i.e. death penalty) changed. I would, as I am sure some voters would be interested in the understanding of the railroading of Cruz, his position on the Birkett belief that cruz, and to paraphrase “…could still be somehow involved…” That is the “stain” Jim Ryan is going to do more to make clean.
A great first step, but if Jim Ryan thinks he has heard the last, or is not going to have to answer even the few questions I listed here, it could be a long campaign, or be an even shorter campaign to February.
- Cousin Ralph - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:39 pm:
I think Ryan’s explanation is enough to remove the problem he might have with open-minded voters who are looking for the best person to lead Illinois out of this mess. Cruz-Hernadez does not trump the finacial meltdown of the State, Cook County and the City of Chicago. For those who dont want Ryan to win,or who want to talk about something -anything other than the fincial ruination of the State, Cook County and Chicago, their attacks will not stop.
As for Cross endorsing McKenna, one suspects that he wants to endorse an obvious also-ran so that he does’nt find himself at odds with the candidate who emerges from what will likely be a hard-fought and close race. And lets face it, it is too early to call this race among the Tier One candidates. The next Governor, likely a Republican, will not create problems for Cross in his own caucus for going with McKenna. Nobody believes that Tom Cross believes that McKenna is the best the GOP has to offer. He also stays out of the fight among DuPage County leaders.
Not the stuff of bold leadership, I grant you; just more of the same we have come to expect from Springfield.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:40 pm:
re Hoffman video:
1. Get a haircut. Pat Quinn’s got a guy.
2. Never white shirts on video.
3. Alton is not Southern Illnois…not to Altonians, and certainly not to Southern Illinoisans. If you don’t believe me, ask your wife.
4. That said, I think this video’s got a great hook. I assumed it was a videotaped confession, and stuck around until the very end waiting for him to blurt out: “I DID IT!!”
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:44 pm:
“a new poll today that shows him [Mark Kirk] maintaining a six-point lead over likely general election opponent Alexi Giannoulias”
At this rate, I think its even money whether Kirk gets out of the Primary. He’s tacking so hard to the right, I’ve got to assume his internal poll numbers are telling his campaign something he’s not telling us: Kirk’s in Trouble.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:46 pm:
Jim Ryan’s apology is nice, but it’s too little too late. It’s pretty slick/smart of him to get out ahead of this thing in an attempt to kill it, no pun intended, before it blows up again and possibly hurts his campaign efforts. I imagine that should ryan make it beyond the primary, it won’t be long until rolando cruz surfaces to remind everyone of the role that ryan played in the miscarriage of justice surrounding the nicarico case. and, with Anita Alvarez’s issues concerning journalism students who work to exonerate the wrongly convicted hot ‘n’ heavy in the news, and likely to remain so for the next several months, the nicarico case serves as a painful example of how prosecutors/law enforcement professionals do get things wrong sometimes. I think it also hurts ryan that he seemed heck bent to send cruz to the deathhouse. He tried to get the guy killed not one, but several times—evidence darned!
How ironic! I just had a conversation with someone about which party was more racist: the repubs or the democrats? You gotta admit that there are an awful lot of “archie bunker” types in the democratic party. so, can you guess my answer? It was kinda funny how Bill and Hillary Clinton got so mad at Barack Obama last year when the it came to them courting the appalachian vote. Also Bill slip up on the campaign trail and made that rev. jesse jackson faux paux, remember?
re: hoffman
I didn’t like it. He’s rocking back and forth on his tippy-toes. He say “uh” too much. I don’t like the outdoor shot—too bland. He looks like a young al pacino.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:46 pm:
===I think its even money whether Kirk gets out of the Primary===
I’ll take $2500 that he stays in and wins.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:47 pm:
Cousin Ralph “I think Ryan’s explanation is enough to remove the problem he might have with open-minded voters who are looking for the best person to lead Illinois out of this mess. …”
“open-minded voters” = dear lord, please let people’s problems and the state’s problems be so big, that a possible silver bullet about competentcy could be averted and it goes away.
CR - If that is the take you are getting from what Jim Ryan hopes will happen, they may be more trouble than it appears. Do Jim Ryan a favor, do not apologize for him. The statement was a good start, don’t ruin it for him
- 10th Indy - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:55 pm:
Rich,
I want some of that action!!
- Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 2:59 pm:
Doesn’t Kirk have to win the nomination first?
- Anon - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:00 pm:
==Is it enough to erase the stain? ==
No.
Had he issued this statement years ago when he was not running for office, but still owed the families and the public an apology for his office’s mistakes, I would buy it more. Now it just looks like he’s doing it for political gain and not heartfelt reasons.
- Just wondering - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:01 pm:
I thought it was against military regulations for a member of the armed services in uniform to be in a political ad. Espessally those members of the IL National Guard for thier boss. The Gov is the Comander in Chief of the IL Guard.
- Burrito Bandit - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:09 pm:
If you have seen a poll recently you would know Mark Kirk has got a problem with GOP primary voters, especially when you test messages and attacks. And no, I won’t leak it.
With respect to Ryan, the apology is nice and I don’t doubt his sincerity, but he is going to get clobbered with this if god-forbid he gets out of the general. One good web ad with Ryan’s quotes from back in the day and the left will make it go viral.
- Coach - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:10 pm:
Hoffman’s video would be a tad more effective if it wasn’t so patronizing. What is it about southern Illinois that makes pols from Chicago so uncomfortable?
In his video, Hoffman mentioned that he “down here” four or five times — as if we might have forgotten, midway through the video, even in light of the wall of evergreen trees behind him, that he is indeed filming his little video in southern Illinois. Each time he said “down here,” it felt a little bit more like he was reporting to us from another planet where people just aren’t like the rest of us.
Yes, David, we’re glad that you visited southern Illinois. Illinois is a very large state - 102 counties, Oh Boy! - with a lots of diversity and many different people, and cows and pigs and lakes and skyscrapers and big city lawyers.
In some places, like amid the trees outside Carbondale, it’s even “quiet.” Imagine that.
David’s moment in nature reminded me a little of the time that Rod visited the Du Quoin State Fair and decided it would be a good idea to wear cowboy boots. It turns out that not everybody in southern Illinois wears cowboy boots (though I can’t say for sure whether this ever dawned on Rod).
Then there was the time that Brad Tusk visited southern Illinois and described his great epiphany to the local newspaper:
“I just didn’t realize how diverse this state was. Southern Illinois is almost like the South. Central Illinois is more like Middle America. Chicago is like most big cities and its suburbs are sort of typical of most American suburbs. It’s almost like four different worlds in one place.”
Yup, four different worlds all inside one big state.
As a final note, I’ll second YDD in pointing our to David Hoffman that Alton is not southern Illinois. Alton is in Metro East, a rather urban area just east of St. Louis. Metro East, with all its concrete and buildings and urban concerns, stands in stark contrast to the quiet, tree-covered areas around Carbondale.
Hoffman’s “Alton” comment reminded of the time that Kris Cohn, the lady from Winnebago County who would go on to lose all 102 counties in her race against Jesse White for secretary of state, took the stage at the State Fair and greeted the crowd with, “Hello Southern Illinois!”
It turns out, as Kris Cohn would learn in her landslide loss, Springfield is in central Illinois.
- Paperboy - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:18 pm:
Tom who?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:19 pm:
The digital revolution has resulted in some really bad spots. Hoffman’s is right in the mix — D.
I thouught when he first got in, that he must have a game plan. Yet to see it.
- Responsa - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:20 pm:
The Alexi campaign seems to be out there ready and able to fight poll against poll and regularly comes out with critiques and statements on competitors’ positions or videos. Maybe I’ve missed it but not much at all in the way of actual pro-Alexi informative ads and appearances which seek to explain to voters why he is the best person to be the next senator from Il comes to mind. It’s starting to seem strange. Are they still testing or crafting a Giannoulias message or something? Surely they don’t feel he is already well known enough or dominant enough to just lay low and play off the other candidates for the whole election cycle, do they? This is not a slam. I am genuinely baffled by their “strategy”.
- George - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:21 pm:
So, according to Illinois Review, all those community activist Tea Party organizers are just like people who run child prostitution rings?
- The Doc - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:25 pm:
Hoffman’s running out of time to make an impact. Still think he’d be much better served to challenge Daley.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:35 pm:
Is it enough to erase the stain?
An apology is never enough. Once an apology is issued, the apologizer must take steps to demonstrate that their past behavior will not be repeated. Had Ryan took a stand against the death penalty, or announced that he would continue the moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, that would have been a good second step. Since he chose not to do that, Ryan must now demonstrate the sincerity of his apology by his actions. That would take more time than he, or voters, have on this issue. So, Ryan forces us to trust him on the sincerity of his apology, which at this point, should be considered voter charity.
Giannoulais is in trouble. As a current office holder with the winds currently blowing against the status quo, he can be seen as a weaker candidate than his primary opponent, Hoffman. If the Democrats wish to win a year from now, they should consider dumping their incumbants, including Giannoulais. 2010 is shaping up to be a blood bath for incumbants.
SEIU is the wrong messenger on the wrong message, so they can spend all the cash they have on ads like these, in my opinion. SEIU should be using their ad money to remind voters why they should be considered a viable organization in light of their actions taken on behalf of Rod Blagojevich, soon to be facing trial during 2010. Their name may come up during his ordeal, and SEIU should be planning to counter any negative publicity with their ad money.
The GOP should never be caught behaving as though they have any credibility regarding racial issues. They hold no standing with the majority of American voters as a party concerned over race relations. When they try to paint a Democrat as a racist, they merely remind voters how far short they have fallen in this area. It will take at least a decade of hard work for the GOP to even approach this issue without looking like fools.
- Obamarama - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:45 pm:
===Hoffman’s running out of time to make an impact. Still think he’d be much better served to challenge Daley.===
The problem with that is the fundraising vacuum that Daley creates. Look how badly he has outspent every opponent he has faced. Dorothy in 2007, McAllister and Jakes and someone else I have since forgotten in 2003. Where would Hoffman find the money that Daley hasn’t found already? Or better yet, who is going to risk the Daley wrath for reallocating their funds to Hoffman should he lose?
- Abe Froman - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:54 pm:
Will one of you right wingers show any polling data that shows Kirk is “in trouble?” GOP primary voters, when polled about certain issues, like cap and trade or abortion differ from Kirk. So what? They differed from Edgar and Thompson too. There is no data that shows Kirk with a bad fav/unfav ratio, his ID is very high for someone who hasn’t run statewide, and the only head to head numbers with any credibility show Kirk way ahead.
HughesZadekThomasLowreyArringtonKunaMartin collectively haven’t the money, experience or base of support to come close to Kirk in the primary.
Rich, you should double down on the bet.
- Thomas Westgard - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 3:55 pm:
Support for Dock Walls in the black community is so low, I’m not sure they’ll care. I’m sure Dock will find some pompous south-side preacher to compare Quinn to… something racist and unflattering. But south-side blacks aren’t politically naive; they know petition challenges are routine against people of all colors, and the ILGOP is just going to make themselves clear race-baiting idiots doing this.
- irving & ashland - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:00 pm:
I don’t know if Ryan’s apology “erases” the issue.
But as someone who raised the issue here on the blog a couple weeks ago, it does make me think a little better of him.
- True Observer - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:04 pm:
“They differed from Edgar and Thompson too.”
In those days the county organizations had the Patronage Committee on their letterheads.
Edgar was Secretary of State.
- concerned citizen - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:05 pm:
Rich, I really wish you would cover what’s going on outside of the two parties: grassroots, 3rd parties, independents, Greens (Whitney), others? Other social movements for change?
I’m very tired and disturbed by the status quo of two parties and I know that I’m NOT alone in that opinion.
- concerned citizen - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:07 pm:
If any candidate says they’re an outsider, that’s a red flag that they’re not. No one would have to state that.
- heet101 - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:14 pm:
Hoffman, the only thing missing from your video was a camera pan-down to your boots with pig/horse/cow leavings on them. Oh and a straw hat, and either a toothpick or a long blade of grass hanging out of your mouth. SO, authentically southern Illinoisan! Down here, down here, down here, uh, uh, uh…Nice try. Trek back north and remain, please? You’ve been mighty kind…thanky vury much ya’ll.
- Down the Middle - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:16 pm:
Ryan’s statement was well written, but many will point out that it is also extremely late, and may be more motivated by his candidacy than his true feelings. Only he knows.
No matter what, Mother Tribune will continue to pound him on it.
- DuPage Dave - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:19 pm:
Jim Ryan can’t wash his hands clean of his repeated efforts to end the life of Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez. His apology is half-hearted in that he fails to acknowledge the depth of his involvement and his determination to see these innocent young men put to death. The apology has the passive tone of “mistakes were made” with one really responsible.
In another sense, if Ryan had had his way with the case, he would be apologizing to the survivors of two dead innocent men rather than to the men themselves. He did everything in his power but failed to produced their deaths, and thanks to the appellate courts, he can apologize to them while they are alive.
- The Doc - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:29 pm:
Obamarama, I tend to agree. Dethroning Daley has proven to be an insurmountable challenge.
However, he’s likely to be much more vulnerable in 2011 than he was in 2003 or 2007, and one could argue that Hoffman would be a signficantly more viable candidate than the ones you cite.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 4:39 pm:
“People are sick to death of hearing about ethics,” he said.
Wow. Thank you Jacob Meister for that stunning bit of clarity about what you don’t care about. Anyone more interested in those tax returns now?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:05 pm:
Politics ain’t beanbag, but that Illinois Review bit is just ugly. It can’t possibly be meant to persuade or inform. It’s just hatred.
What sort of mind associates community activism with child prostitution?
I would caution any politician against playing ball or taking support from that crowd.
- steve schnorf - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:33 pm:
I guess I think Jim Ryan’s statement makes him a better and bigger person than most of us on here. To my Republican colleagues, shall we go find Cruz and Hernandez (and the dozen or so others out there), and execute them too, just to be sure? Kill them all and let God sort them out as the new Republican mantra? The 90s proved that our death penalty system in Illinois was badly broken. George Ryan was one of the few non-liberals to say that publicly. And Jim Ryan is a brave candidate to say that maybe we ought to be a little more sure that its not still broken before we again just start executing people who are convicted (Cruz-Hernandez again, folks?)
- Dan Brerry - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:41 pm:
Tom Cross, Bill Brady. Who cares?
- Objective Dem - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:46 pm:
I think Jacob Meister is showing his inexperience by saying the race is not about who is the most ethical. He effectively is saying Hoffman is more ethical and as Chicago Cynic indicates, raises issues about his own ethics.
I suggest Meister or others turn Hoffman’s perceived strength as being ethical into a weakness. I would paint Hoffman as an opportunist politician. He took the IG office, which is suppose to be above politics, and turned it into a launching pad for his political career. This included preparing a quicky report on the Parking meter deal for what appears to be political gamemanship purposes. Not exactly ethical in my mind.
- re: just wondering - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:46 pm:
regarding armed services uniforms– there are many regulations outlining when and where uniforms can and can’t be displayed, however, the images of service men and women in Quinn’s vet video are not breaking any rules. They are not assembled for Quinn or his campaign, but rather Quinn is there supporting their gathering and documenting it.
- Studious - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 5:56 pm:
I just watched Quinn’s ad focusing on army veterans. I really liked what the Governor has to say about getting returning vets jobs. The ad is really well done, low key and lets the significance of the issue speak for itself. Quinn is starting to look very strong in this race.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 6:00 pm:
Steve,
I follow your reasoning on the Jim Ryan “execution” part of the statement, but what about not listening to Dugan, the currupt cops railroading Cruz while Ryan was silent, and how about denouncing Birkett’s statements that he feels that Cruz is not completely innocent?
Jim Ryan will not feel the heat on the death penalty as much as the ineptitude of the entire case in its complete context.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 6:27 pm:
=== I’ll take $2500 that he stays in and wins. ===
I’m not saying he’ll drop out, just that its even money whether or not he wins.
Betting, as you know, is illegal in Illinois, and given the swamp of cases where blogs are being sued to turn over bloggers identities, I think I’ll pass.
I was thinking that instead of cash, I’d offer this wager:
Kirk wins the primary, you shave my head.
Kirk loses, I shave your beard.
But then I realized you probably could shift 5-10% of the primary vote in Illinois if you really wanted to, just through the power of your pen.
YDD’s Rule #47: Never bet against the house, and in Illinois politics, CapitalFax is the House.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 6:35 pm:
“They differed from Edgar and Thompson too.”
There’s a big difference in GOP voters minds between being a state executive and casting votes to give lifetime appointments to Supreme Court Justices.
Just ask Loletta Didrickson.
Even if Kirk manages to fool conservatives in the primary, he’ll lose them just as quickly when he inevitably slides back to the middle for the general.
In fact, I challenge anyone to name the last moderate Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 6:38 pm:
Percy
- Anon - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 7:53 pm:
Objective Dem has it right — Hoffman has nada so he can only talk corruption. Hoffman has no legislative experience and as far as I see he has no plans to fix what ails us. Meister’s point was that ethics is a place to start. We should first evaluate candidates for ethics and then evaluate them on the issues. So here we sit picking at one sentence when people are losing their jobs and houses. This whole ethics discussion is why people hate politics and politicians.
After ideas I look at experience. I was surprised to learn that Meister is the only Dem with legislative experience. For me, that makes him stronger then the rest of the Dems to run against Kirk.
- Downstate Dave - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:15 pm:
Good, heartfelt statement by Jim on Dugan/Cruz. Ryan is a man of integrity — one of the only men of integrity in Illinois politics.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:29 pm:
Anonymous 2:59, PLEASE get another handle. That one’s taken already!
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:30 pm:
Let’s sum up this red(state) letter day
Commando Kirk fails to get CaribouBarbie on board while she does Oprah and looks (a) hot (b) tanned and (c) dumber than usual
jimRYAN tries to get over Cruz and the media fails to note he PROSECUTED Crux THREE(3) times and had BrickHeadJoe and his cops koncking of doors with sampe testimony.
TugBoatOutsider quits the outsider by picking Lee daniels roommate as an endorser.
Brady fails to capitalize on the TugBoat Outsider blunder. Perhaps he should hire Dallas and Speaker Denny to advise.
StandUpComc Dan wins the day by getting zero press
atta BOY
btw could some tell than Adam A. guy that thestate auditor general has a budget of about $25 million… he wants to give some pal $100 million for an audit…sounds like Blagoofer.
Mission Accomplished!
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 9:33 pm:
Opps
We forgot to mention that not only did OutsiderAndy cede that title but he also went soft on the convict cook off…look for Brady and StandUPDan to make hay there…..
- Lynn S - Thursday, Nov 12, 09 @ 11:52 pm:
Had Jim Ryan issued that statement 10-15 years ago, I might have believed him. But he waited until after Dugan was sentenced to death before he apologized? Unacceptable…just trying to salvage a political career in front of all the news stories that will be repeating the sordid history of the Nicarico case.
If he would spend the next seven years in sackcloth and ashes, I might consider his apology complete. But not even close, at this point in time.
- Lynn S - Friday, Nov 13, 09 @ 12:18 am:
Cruz “shocked” by Ryan’s “sorry”
http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/2913
- DNA Man - Friday, Nov 13, 09 @ 4:11 am:
Hoffman (looks more like Ratso Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy).
It is ironic that fighting corruption and political cronyism is Hoffman’s main platform in his bid for the senate. If he were to win and become Senator, it is hard to imagine how he could do much to affect corruption in Illinois or Chicago, even if he wanted to. What can federal senators realistically hope to do about Illinois and Chicago based corruption? Hoffman would have to wait to be become senior senator before he would even have a say in who gets appointed US Attorney.
Fighting corruption is the job of those who actually have jurisdiction to do it, such as IGs, AG, State’s Attorneys, US Attorneys, etc. If Hoffman wanted to effectively fight corruption, he should have sought election or appointment to one of those positions.
Since it has widely been reported that Hoffman planned to run for Attorney General before Lisa Madigan decided not to run for Senator or Governor, we should all view Hoffman’s senate bid, at least in part, as a deference to politics as usual. He chose not to challenge the Madigan family, the most powerful intact political family institution left in the state, for the AG position, a position where he actually would have had the power and the mandate to fight corruption.
Instead, Hoffman seeks a high federal office, and we must not believe that fighting corruption in Illinois and Chicago is his goal. Instead, fighting low level corruption as Chicago IG was how he made his name, and he is cashing in on that recent press to run for the Senate. His ambition is what is at stake here. That is why nobody knows his other platforms yet. He doesn’t have any.
And does anyone else think that it’s funny that he’s using the Latin Kings colors (yellow and black) as his campaign colors? I’m sure he’s not in the Kings, but of all the colors for a former gang prosecutor to pick..
- Johny Temp - Friday, Nov 13, 09 @ 6:12 am:
I think Jim Ryan should just hang it up. He obviously doesn’t have the fire in his belly that he once had.