* From the Tribune…
Cook County and Chicago officials say they will not even count the outstanding absentee ballots today — there are nearly 15,000. Rather they will spend hours on the laborious task of ensuring the ballots are valid. Counting would not start until Thursday at the earliest.
Last night, Brady and other Republicans said the absentee ballots around the state, along with provisional ballots and votes cast by military members overseas, could make the difference.
But the outstanding ballots in Chicago and Cook County are not likely to break in Brady’s favor.
That’s what Republicans are trying to figure out this morning — how many of such ballots are out there, and if they come from areas where Brady has an expectation of picking up substantial numbers.
* ABC7 says it’s more…
I-Team reporter Chuck Goudie was at the Cook County Board of Elections until early Wednesday. He estimated that upwards of 20,000 absentee votes remained uncounted. Those ballots remained under lock and key at the Board of Elections early Wednesday morning.
Last night, Fox Chicago reported that 9,000 absentees remained to be counted by the Chicago elections board.
* Bill Brady is meeting with his staff right now to decide what to do next…
Just a few hours after calling it a night, state Sen. Bill Brady and his campaign staff are meeting to decide what the gubernatorial campaign staff will do next.
Campaign spokeswoman Patty Schuh said early today that Brady and his staff are gathered in Bloomington and aren’t yet sure how to proceed.
Brady is expected to speak at 10:30 this morning. Stay tuned.
…Adding… Oops. I missed this one…
As expected, not all absentee ballots will be counted [last night] in Chicago and Cook County–but Republicans expecting a close fight for governor were complaining about it just the same.
Illinois GOP chairman Pat Brady, who was with Republican governor candidate Bill Brady in Bloomington, said his party would file a lawsuit, though it was unclear what its impact would be. […]
In Chicago, 37,132 absentee ballot applications were mailed out and more than 31,000 of those have been processed, Allen said. That leaves about 6,000 possible ballots that could be processed later this week, he said.
In Cook County, 33,000 applications had been mailed out with 14,000 processed through Saturday that will be counted tonight. Another 3,700 ballots had been processed by county election officials Monday and today, but would not be counted until later this week.
The GOP boss said that’s not good enough. He said it’s not a matter of whether the think that such a small number of votes could be the difference in the election, but that all the votes should be counted on Election Night.
I agree they should be counted on election night, but you’re gonna file a lawsuit over this? I thought Republicans were for tort reform?
- Ozzie - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:45 am:
The Republicans ALWAYS hate lawsuits until they think they need one.
- CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:46 am:
What to do?
Maybe NoTaxBill should have a few more transition meetings with Daddy’s Little Deduction, Unkie Ron et al.
GOP Memo to File: Omit “Victory Laps”, End Zone Dances and Premature E next time…if there ever is a next time
- Excessively Rabid - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:47 am:
…and I’m going to sue the GOP for malnomination, negligent campaigning, gross dereliction of actually thinking about the state budget–oh, you get the idea. Nobody to blame but themselves.
- just sayin' - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:48 am:
This would be the same headline if Brady HAD won -”Campaign spokeswoman Patty Schuh said early today that Brady and his staff are gathered in Bloomington and aren’t yet sure how to proceed.”
Give it up Bill. You shouldn’t have allowed Pat Brady to have wasted all the time having fundraisers for Madigan’s Republican opponent and dressing people up in a shark costume.
The IL GOP’s gotv effort was a big fraud.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:49 am:
Yeah the GOP is for lots of stuff, unless it effects them.
- Small Town Liberal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:50 am:
- I thought Republicans were for tort reform? -
You made my morning Rich.
- Did You Expect A Miracle? - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:50 am:
Seriously?! When the national news was talking about states where the vast majority of ballots are cast by mail and it would be next week before they had an idea of who had won? And Pat Brady said on Springfield WICS Channel 20 that every vote should be counted? Give me a break! He’s just PO’d because he can look at what’s out there and see that it’s not trending Bill Brady’s direction. Get over it. Time to move on.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:55 am:
Like I said after Brady’s primary win about Dillard - If you want to wait it out, fine. You want a recount, fine. The “math” is the math, it doesn’t look good …you lost, sun-up or sundown not withstanding!
- G. Willickers - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 9:57 am:
> I thought Republicans were for tort reform?
Only when it’s the little people suing a big corporation to try and hold them to some kind of accountability… ie, only when it effects Big Biz Bottom Line.
In my day we put Profits Before People, that’s what Grampappy GOP always sez.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:03 am:
In this vein of hypocrisy, I know someone who voted for Brady, hates big-government Democrats and receives Medicaid for her children. She’s had Medicaid for years. How many big government haters receive public aid? Would the conservatives audit themselves for possible public aid overpayments? In other words, would they support a law in which if they got more public assistance than they paid in taxes–including administrative costs of paying public aid workers’ salaries, rent for public buildings, etc.–they would have to pay back the government and be held to the same policies as student loan defaulters?
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:07 am:
I can hear the chatter at coffee counters througout Bloomington-Normal. My neighbors are SURE that Chicago will steal the election away from Bill Brady.
If I weren’t sick I would go over to the restaurant on East Empire Street where former senator Maitland and the rest of the old guard go for their coffee and listen in. There is a big round table the men sit at and solve all the problems.
- Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:17 am:
IOKIYAR. It’s OK if You Are Republican.
This whole election is, in fact, a disaster for reasonable people. Centrists and even non-centrists of moderate temperament got decimated, unless they had completely prostituted themselves to big money donors. The Democrats nationally are a more left wing party and the Republicans are a more right wing one from this election. In an election where people purportedly wanted less partisanship, they will get more.
The extreme polarization means more gridlock and more preference for simple-minded solutions to complex problems, and more disproportionate influence for big campaign donors, aided and abetted by Citizens’ United. And — here’s the legacy of 2000, the toxic election in which the seeds of our republic’s ultimate demise were probably sown — paranoia about election theft is to be found EVERYWHERE. John Paul Stevens’ dissent was prescient, for how honest and decent people of both parties feel about the state of our increasingly rickety democracy.
- Montrose - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:17 am:
*It appears to me Chicago was holding back enough votes to win if Brady had won in a close race.*
What does that mean? They were holding votes for dramatic effect? Or are you insinuating something illegal happened?
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:24 am:
If I remember correctly, in Brady’s last debate with Quinn, moderated by Carol Marin, Brady said he supports the teaching of creationism in public schools, but not as science. Stuff like this could have scared enough moderates to cause this outcome when polls consistently showed Brady leading.
- Loop Lady - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:28 am:
Thanks for the update Nearly Normal on old boy politics in central IL that hasn’t changed since the middle if the last century…
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:32 am:
My 89-year-old mother who typically votes Republican went to the polls yesterday using her walker and told me she was voting for Quinn. Yep, a Republican, 1/4 Irish, and a Catholic!
She is independent in her thinking and said Bill Brady is too far to the right for her.
- Did You Expect A Miracle? - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:34 am:
Is Brady speaking and if so, where can we tune in?
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:34 am:
I don’t understand this “count the votes” fervor. I wish all of the votes would be counted on election night but it just doesn’t happen. They will be counted soon. I don’t understand the lawsuit. They act like the votes are not going to be counted ever. Jeesh!
Also - @Nieva you need to get a life.
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:37 am:
WJBC.com has Brady
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:38 am:
AM1230 for those closer to Bloomington
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:41 am:
Brady says that difference is one vote per precinct. They are waiting for the final voting including military ballots are counted. Now taking questions from the reporters.
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:42 am:
Allow for the process to take place. Waiting for the state board to certify the election.
Looking at a 30 day process at minimum. Military ballots are a problem federal investigation is ongoing don’t know how that will affect the election.
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:44 am:
Brady keeps repeating there is a process that need to take place. He is optimistic.
Patty S says thank you. and it’s ovah!
- Nearly Normal - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:45 am:
Loop Lady–It’s like Chicago but the party is different.
- Wally - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 10:59 am:
Brady is doing the right thing. His camp has invested a LOT of time and energy. Need to make sure everything is right.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 11:18 am:
As a state employee, if Quinn wins, thank God(ironically) that Brady has extreme and unconstitutional social views (creationism in public schools).
If the Republicans had a candidate who was socially moderate or liberal, like Kirk, and who was more informative as to what he would cut to help the budget, I believe Quinn would lose outright. If some of you didn’t vote for Brady because of his social views, thank you very much. If Brady loses, will he consider moving to a state like Indiana, where in at least one large shopping mall there was a huge Biblical mural on the wall?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 11:31 am:
Maybe a few less transition planning meetings would have made up that one vote per precinct Brady is short. Shocking to tempt fate that way.
- Joe average voter,,, - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 11:53 am:
The Brady team must be sure that they have lost if they are threatening a law suit already without all the votes counted. On the one hand they say let’s count all the votes and on the other hand they are ready for a law suit if they lose. Aren’t they contradicting themselves? And how is that going to look? Concede without egg on the face please.
- Joe average voter,,, - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 11:58 am:
I mean with that logic. If their motivation is pure, shouldn’t they also file a lawsuit if they lose? Hmmm?
- Joe average voter,,, - Wednesday, Nov 3, 10 @ 11:59 am:
I meant win!!!