[Gov. Pat Quinn] brushed aside a question about whether his campaign efforts are too undisciplined. “I have nothing bad to say about anybody,” Quinn said. […]
Quinn, who faces Republican state Sen. Bill Brady, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney and independent candidate Scott Lee Cohen on the Nov. 2 ballot, said he wants to ensure his message gets throughout Illinois, saying voters are interested in jobs.
“That’s what I want to focus on,” said Quinn, adding he has “a lot of message work to do, especially on ads.”
If the election for Congress was today, would you vote for a Democrat or a Republican?
46% Democrat
40% Republican
14% Undecided
Even though the Democrats are ahead, that’s a bit misleading. It isn’t good news. The pollster explains…
In Illinois Democrats lead the generic Congressional ballot by a 46-40 margin. That may not be terribly reassuring though given how much the party runs up the score in a small number of districts. Six of Illinois’ districts voted for President Obama at a 70% rate or higher in 2008.
…the 6 point generic ballot lead for Democrats in Illinois exceeds the 2 point lead we found for Alexi Giannoulias. That may give you a better idea of the shape Democrats would be in that race if they’d chosen a nominee with less baggage.
What that means is a whole bunch of targeted Democrats are in trouble.
* Speaking of targeted Democratic congresscritters, Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson did have a replacement in mind when she ousted her campaign manager. She’s bringing in Julie Merz…
“The Halvorson camp is talking with Julie Merz about taking over as campaign manager, Vanderbilt said. Merz’s resume includes being campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), both of whom are members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate to conservative Democrats committed to fiscal responsibility and government accountability. She also worked on former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley’s (D-N.J.) presidential campaign in 2000.”
They’re more than just talking about it. I’m told it’s a done deal.
Illinois voters say they would be negatively influenced if a candidate was endorsed by Barack Obama. And if his support isn’t an asset in his home state it’s hard to imagine where it is.
40% of voters in the state say they’d be less likely to support an Obama endorsed candidate to only 26% who say it would be an asset. The reality at this point is that Obama turns Republican voters off to a much greater extent than he excites Democrats. That’s reflected in the fact that 83% of Republicans say an Obama endorsement would be a negative with them while only 49% of Democrats say it would be a positive. Independents also respond negatively by a 38/19 margin.
The numbers on an Obama endorsement are perhaps more relevant with undecided voters. Among those who have not yet made up their minds in the Senate race 21% say an Obama endorsement would resonate positively with them while 33% say it would be a turnoff.
The full results are here. According to PPP, 24 percent of Illinois voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Sarah Palin, while 52 percent would be less likely.
In Illinois Durbin is the favorite politician of 41% of voters in the state, followed by Pat Quinn at 10%, and Roland Burris at 6%. Like Pennsylvania the lack of Republicans in major offices in Illinois leaves 42% of voters saying no opinion. Durbin’s tops among Democrats, 60-11 over Quinn, independents, 40-8 over Quinn, and Republicans, 17-12 over Quinn.
*** UPDATE *** I just have no words to describe how I feel about this press release…
Rod’s Appeal: Blagojevich To Appear At Chicago Comic Con!
Former Illinois Governor To Sign Autographs, Pose For Pictures, Meet Fans At Pop Culture Festival Saturday!
The verdict is in! Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will appear at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con on Saturday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Blagojevich will sign autographs, pose for pictures and meet fans at the pop culture convention.
The photo session will begin at 10:30 a.m., with autographs to follow at 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to meeting loyal supporters and other fans on Saturday,” said Blagojevich, whose many recent television appearances included a stint on “Celebrity Apprentice.”
“Wizard World Chicago Comic Con is all about pop culture, and Rod Blagojevich is as relevant to today’s news as it gets,” said Gareb Shamus, CEO of Wizard Entertainment. “We think the court of public opinion will show him to be a popular figure at the show.”
Keep in mind, that some of these counts don’t match up with what others are reporting. For instance, NBC reported that a majority of jurors voted against convicting Blagojevich on the alleged Children’s Hospital shakedown. But WTTW’s count shows that a majority was in favor of convicting on one act and split down the middle on the two others…
[”Guilty” is red, “Not Guilty” is blue.]
And the Sun-Times reported that the jury voted 9-3 to acquit Robert Blagojevich. WTTW’s totals don’t reflect that at all…
The father-son team of Sam Adam Jr. and Sam Adam Sr. will not represent Rod Blagojevich in a retrial, a defense attorney with knowledge of the situation told the Chicago News Cooperative.
According to the attorney, the duo has known for some time they would not stay on for another round. Speaking to reporters following Tuesday’s verdict, the lawyers refused to commit to continuing to represent Blagojevich. Although they were maligned by outside observers throughout the case, Adam Sr. and Adam Jr. will leave the former governor’s side having done better than many expected.
Blagojevich’s other main attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, has not indicated whether or not he will stay on for a retrial. Messages left with Adam Jr. and Sorosky seeking comment were not returned. A receptionist at Adam Jr.’s law office said that both attorney’s were out of town and could not be reached.
* 10:30 am - More really bad campaign news for Gov. Pat Quinn. His media firm, AKPD, has just exited the campaign [it was fired]. And check out this harsh goodbye statement…
“We and the Quinn campaign agreed that our divergent approaches to disciplined, professional communications are incompatible. We wish Pat well.”
Oh, man, what a shot that was. When was the last time you saw a national media firm issue a statement like that? Yikes.
AKPD produced the last two ads of the primary which most believe helped keep Quinn in office. Here’s my favorite of the two. It really was an excellent spot…
* 10:52 am - The Quinn campaign has reportedly hired Joe Slade White as a replacement.
* Quinn apparently fired AKPD after hiring White.
* One of White’s more recent ad campaigns was that 2008 ad blitz by T. Boone Pickens…
I’m getting mixed reviews on White. He’s a “big concept” guy who clicks with Quinn, but he’s not a top tier consultant who can also be hired more cheaply than others.
* The Republicans did their best yesterday to look like a governing party and not a collection of angry outsiders. State Sen. Bill Brady even walked away from reporters when he was asked whether he thought Pat Quinn was corrupt…
Unsuccessful candidate for governor Dan Proft took a shot at Kirk’s Democratic opponent for the U.S. Senate, Alexi Giannoulias, saying, “Getting a lecture from Ali Giannoulias on honesty in government is like getting a lecture from Drew Peterson on domestic violence.”
Oof. That was a bit more than just tossing red meat at the base. But, Proft is Proft. Last year, the Republicans barely allowed anybody to speak. This year, they probably let too many take the podium.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Giannoulias campaign wants you to see this statement from Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky…
“Did Mark Kirk think Dan Proft was being clever and funny? If not, he should immediately repudiate Dan Proft’s offensive and misogynistic rhetoric that makes a joke of violence against women. Every one of the Illinois Republicans that shared the stage with Proft should do the same.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Proft responds…
“Of course Jan Schakowsky rallied to the defense of Alexi Giannoulias. One Chicago Democrat crime family trying to protect another. What else is new? Rep. Schakowsky bailed out a bank (Shore Bank) that aided and abetted her convicted felon husband’s illegal check kiting schemes and Mr. Giannoulias’ bank (Broadway) was seized by federal regulators because he couldn’t figure out how to make loaning money to mobsters a self-sustaining business. Those two deserve each other and Illinois doesn’t deserve either one of them.”
Cedra Crenshaw, who fought a Democratic attempt to kick her off the ballot in November, is now blasting “the Chicago machine,” which initiated the petition challenge. Crenshaw is running in a traditionally Democratic district, but has become a cause celebre among Republicans nationally.
“What rational business would want to expand or locate in a state with $130 billion of debt?”
As I noted to subscribers this morning, Crenshaw was making her comments at about the same time that Boeing announced an expansion into the Metro East. The Republicans probably ought to avoid looking like they’re running down their state while they criticize the party in power.
* But for the first time in years hope was in the air at the Illinois State Fair...
“We’re going to have a great new governor in Bill Brady, but he is not going to have success if Mike Madigan remains the Speaker,” said Rep. Tom Cross, the House Minority Leader. “We need 12 seats to retake the House.”
Cross said he had 20 seats in play and with the crowd’s help he could retake the house.
“People are as angry as I’ve ever seen them,” Cross said. Kirk agreed.
Voters are quite angry, but I’d like to see what “in play” means before agreeing with Cross that’s he’s that far in the hunt.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk stressed the importance of winning not only a six-year term this fall but also the special election on the same Nov. 2 ballot for the remaining two months of the Senate seat held by Blagojevich-appointed Democratic Sen. Roland Burris.
Kirk, a five-term North Shore congressman said the special election “could mean all the difference for the economic future of the United States.” Kirk contended Democrats in a post-election, lame-duck congressional session will try to approve a massive spending bill that would “shock” the stock market and the economy.
* Tom Cross said something yesterday about the Blagojevich verdict that’s on many minds right now…
“I think maybe in their minds they can say, I’ll send my own guilty verdict so to speak and my own message by voting for Republicans in the fall,” said Illinois House Republican leader Tom Cross. “I don’t know that we need to say that. It’s not like Rod Blagojevich is going to be hiding in the back room over the next two months.”
I don’t know if he’s right, but I do know that this “voter verdict” should be one of the Democrats’ biggest fears. It’s certainly one of the Republican’s greatest hopes. But they can’t actually come out and say it. But they can’t stay away from the topic, either.
My intern Barton Lorimor asked state party chairman Pat Brady yesterday about his statement the other day on WBEZ that he wouldn’t make political hay out of the verdict. Brady said he had changed his mind and blamed it on the Democrats. Watch…
Chairman Brady also talked about Blagojevich to the AP…
A federal jury’s failure to reach a verdict on most of the charges and the government’s intention to retry him means Blagojevich will be in the news for months to come.
“That was probably the worst day for the Democrats since this race started,” said Illinois GOP chairman Pat Brady. “It’s going to keep this issue alive.” […]
Democrats argue they deserve credit for removing Blagojevich from office after he was arrested. Republicans scoffed at that, saying Democrats knew years earlier that Blagojevich was behaving unethically, if not criminally.
“Those guys sat on their hands until the U.S. attorney’s office came and yanked the guy out of his house,” said Pat Brady, who is not related to GOP nominee Bill Brady.
Illinois Republicans say they don’t intend to spend the next 10 weeks hitting voters over the head with reminders of Rod Blagojevich.
But they have no intention of letting them forget, either.
That was the mixed message emerging Thursday as GOP organizers from across Illinois, gathering in Springfield for their annual “Republican Day,” pondered how to get the most out of the political gift that dropped into their lap this week — without appearing to relish the state’s ongoing trauma.
“They ran arm in arm with Rod Blagojevich for his re-election. Just as there’s accountability in the courtroom, there ought to be accountability at the polling booth,” said U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria. Schock represents parts of Springfield in Congress.
While he talked mostly about the need to create jobs, Bill Brady stopped short of pledging not to use Blagojevich in campaign advertising.
“I have no idea what our experts are going to run,” Bill Brady told reporters at the morning event. “Make no mistake, this election is about winning. … But we’re going to do it honestly. And we’re going to give them something to believe in.”
“This is going to keep the issue on the front burner. People will be asking Pat Quinn, ‘where were you when all this was going on,” said Pat Brady, the Illinois Republican chairman. “The Democrats haven’t had any accomplishments other than making us one of the worst financially-run states in the country.”
The administration attributes the shortfall to the County Board’s decision to cut the sales tax rate by a half percentage point against the wishes of Board President Todd Stroger, who earlier had pushed through a 1 percentage point increase. The county also expects lower federal funding, which had spiked because of economic stimulus efforts. […]
But Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, D-Chicago, said he believes the shortfall could be even more and supports the 10 percent cuts.
Once an aide to former governor James R. Thompson, Gates had been tapped by Daley for McPier with a mandate to get the authority’s finances in order. Gates said Daley also spoke with him about the RTA job.
“Six-sixty was right there,” Dixon said, pointing to the site of a vanished building. “Seven-fourteen was right there. But it’s been so long I can’t remember them all.”
But Julie Dworkin, policy director for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said the new program does nothing to address the lack of affordable housing that prevents many homeless people from finding permanent shelter. If 125 people are moved to the top of the housing waiting list, that will simply mean 125 other people will have to wait longer, she said.
The review focuses on new Englewood District Cmdr. Anthony Carothers.
He’s the brother of Ald. Isaac “Ike” Carothers (29th), who was sentenced June 24 to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges. Isaac Carothers, a former deputy Streets and Sanitation commissioner, chaired the City Council’s Police and Fire Committee and was one of Mayor Daley’s staunchest supporters.
Anthony Carothers was promoted from lieutenant to commander on July 16.
A plan by three struggling suburban school districts to create a revenue-generating wind farm has picked up some velocity this summer.
Empowered by recent legislation, Keeneyville School District 20, Carpentersville’s Community Unit School District 300 and Prospect Heights School District 23 have joined together to build a 13-turbine wind farm that would sell energy to defray their own electrical bills.
The unique project would be in rural Stark County, about 140 miles southwest of Chicago.
In a pugnacious, triumphal interview on NBC’s Today, Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on charges of lying to the FBI but escaped conviction on 23 corruption charges, vowed never to cop a plea in his upcoming retrial, saying he was guilty only of “political horse trading.” Blagojevich compared himself to the Biblical King David, and suggested U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald should charge himself with hypocrisy for making deals with convicted felons in exchange for testimony. […]
Asked if he would accept a plea deal, given that jurors voted 11-1 to convict him of trying to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, Blagojevich said, “I’m absolutely determined to continue to seek full vindication. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. This is a persecution by a prosecutor who for six years has targeted me. He has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to get me.” […]
“Why are they wasting taxpayer money?” the ex-governor asked. “Chicago is now the crime capital of the world. Children are being gunned down. Police officers are being shot in front of their homes where they were playing. They’re spending millions of dollars to prosecute me when they should instead be using that money to address the real crime problems in places like Chicago.”
You did a good job on Celebrity Apprentice,” Vieira teased Blagojevich at the end of the interview. “Will we see you in another reality show? Are you going to be with Snooki?”
