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Cullerton holds pension borrowing until veto session

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

Posted by Barton Lorimor

While we’re tracking the AP’s decision to call the gubernatorial election for Gov. Quinn, Senate President John Cullerton has decided not to call the pension borrowing bill until the veto session…

Senate President John Cullerton told a committee Thursday he would continue talking to the GOP and try to resurrect the multibillion plan when the fall veto session begins in 10 days.

More from Lee…

The lingering roadblock was reminiscent of what happened last spring, when the plan won narrow support in the House, but stalled in the Senate when Democrats insisted some Republicans vote in favor of the borrowing plan.

“It doesn’t look like we have support. But we’re not there yet,” Cullerton said. “I’m just asking for Republicans to come around. They are not there yet.”

Republicans, who picked up two seats in the chamber after Tuesday’s balloting but remain in the minority, say no matter the outcome of the election they want Democrats to commit to additional savings in upcoming budgets as a way to start digging the state out of its huge budget hole.

“It’s unfortunate we’re here,” Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said.

…Adding…
Statehouse News has posted video of Cullerton in Committee…


  11 Comments      


*** UPDATED 4x *** THIS JUST IN….AP ANALYSIS FINDS BRADY CANNOT WIN; BRADY WON’T CONCEDE

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

Posted by Barton Lorimor

From the AP…

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn eked out a narrow win over his Republican challenger as one of the few Democrats to survive a GOP wave that swept out others in Illinois and around the country.

An AP analysis of uncounted votes from absentee and other ballots showed state Sen. Bill Brady won’t be able to overcome the just more than 19,400-vote lead Quinn held Thursday with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

*** UPDATE 1x (4:23 p.m.) ***
McDermott has Brady quotes…

Brady still hadn’t conceded as of Thursday afternoon. But his earlier insistence that he would still win was notably absent as he talked to reporters.

“We were confident we had run a great campaign . . . We’re just going through something we didn’t anticipate,'’ Brady told reporters in Springfield, where he and other state senators met in session for the first time since Tuesday’s elections.

Brady continued to maintain that he would wait for all the absentee and other votes to be counted before deciding whether to concede. But when pressed about the difficulty of overcoming Quinn’s current lead, Brady acknowledged: “We’d rather be 19,000 up than 19,000 down.'’

It looks like Quinn has a half-percentage point lead on Brady, according to the AP’s figures.

*** UPDATE 2x (4:55 p.m.) ***
Illinois Statehouse News has video…


More from the AP…

“I think the people of Illinois know I won the election,” Quinn said at a Chicago deli where he thanked people for voting on Election Day.

Exit polls showed Quinn received overwhelming support in the city of Chicago and had solid support among those from households with less than $100,000 income, labor union households and those with a family member who had lost a job in the last two years.

Brady had said Wednesday he wouldn’t concede and wanted all the votes to be counted, including absentee ballots from military members serving outside Illinois. State officials have 30 days to certify all results.

“Votes need to be counted, there are good votes, and we’re going to deal with all the data that’s there and we’ll then deal with the decision-making process as we gather data,” Brady said earlier Thursday at the state capitol because the state Senate was in session.

…Adding…
The Washington Post has more numbers…

The Associated Press called the race for Quinn this afternoon. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Quinn received 1,721,812 votes to Brady’s 1,702,399, a margin of victory of half a percentage point.

*** UPDATED 3x (5:02 p.m.) ***
Schuh just told the AP Brady does not plan to concede despite the AP calling the election.

*** UPDATED 4x (5:18 p.m.) ***
The final numbers, according to the AP are:
Pat Quinn: 1,721,812 (46.6%)
Bill Brady: 1,702,399 (46.1%)
Scott Lee Cohen: 134,219 (3.6%)
Rich Whitney: 99,625 (2.7%)

Also, the absentee vote count in Jackson County turned it over to Brady this morning by 23 votes. That means Quinn’s county victories included Cook, St. Clair and Alexander.

  89 Comments      


Clueless

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* If Melissa Bean’s election results don’t show the rank stupidity of her campaign and the DCCC, then I don’t know what does.

Even if she somehow manages to overcome her 553-vote deficit - and that’s doubtful - this never should’ve been close.

Joe Walsh had tons of people in the field, marching in parades, knocking on doors. Bean didn’t. Bean made some bad votes for her district (health insurance, stimulus, etc.). She had always run as a conservative to moderate Democrat, but then she changed. Unfortunately for Bean, her district didn’t.

* Bean also didn’t realize until it way was too late that she was in trouble, and she quickly tried to flood the airwaves with negative ads. By then, everybody else was already on the air with their ads. She was drowned out.

And what did the DCCC do? Nothing. They could’ve weighed in late, but they didn’t. They probably thought she had it in the bag and was just being a typical whiner incumbent who always thinks she’s in trouble.

Bean won her first two races with 52 and 51 percent, respectively. She behaved like a moderate in Congress. Then she clobbered her GOP opponent two years ago, so maybe she and the DCCC figured she was unbeatable and Bean could do whatever she wanted. But 2008 was a Democratic landslide, especially here in Illinois. This time, Illinoisans were clearly furious with the Democratic Congress, and they made those feeilings known. Just ask Phil Hare, Debbie Halvorson, Bill Foster, Dan Seals and Alexi Giannoulias.

Bean apparently believed her own hype and thought she could sit on what she thought was her lead. Wave rules didn’t apply to her. And her campaign was clearly convinced that Joe Walsh’s numerous personal problems disqualified him in voters’ minds. Wrongo.

* And then there was this…

The presence of Green Party candidate Bill Scheurer of Lindenhurst also likely hurt Bean’s re-election bid.

Scheurer’s name was already familiar, since he ran for Congress in 2008 and for state representative as a Democrat in 2004. And Mezey said most of the 6,400 voters who backed Scheurer on Tuesday are probably progressive liberals who would have otherwise voted Democratic.

Third party candidates aren’t viable in Illinois, but as Bill Brady found out the hard way, they can still do you in. Bean’s campaign and the DCCC’s non-involvement was a screwup from beginning to end. And the third party angle was just one of the bigger reasons behind it.

* If anything, I now have a bit more respect for the We Ask America polling firm. While they didn’t get the final point spread right, they did have Walsh leading Bean in their last survey, and they showed the Green Party candidate getting over 5 percent. He ended up with 3, but that’s well within the margin of error.

They were also the only public pollster to predict that Bob Dold would beat Dan Seals. They got the spread way wrong, but the end result was the same. They also had Hultgren over Foster.

* Related…

* 4 Ill. House seats flip to GOP

* Dem machine wins what it most wants while losing U.S. House seats

* Behind by 553 votes, Bean won’t concede to Walsh

* Tea party favorite claims victory in U.S. House race — but nothing settled yet

* Walsh claims victory with all precincts counted

* Lyons: Tsunami unexpectedly splashed 8th District

* Dold credits catchy ad and other strategies in House win

* How Walsh surprised Bean

* Dold wants to extend tax cuts, boost economy

* Replacing Health Care Bill a Priority: Bob Dold

* In victory, Dold takes a centrist tack

* Hultgren says national issues propelled win

* Faith guides Congressman-elect Randy Hultgren

* Congressman-elect tours 14th District

* Hultgren win part of national wave

* Victory ‘humbling’ for Kinzinger

* Politics has long been a passion for U.S. Rep.-elect Kinzinger

* Kinzinger’s win no surprise to those around him

* Afghan, Iraq vet unseats Dem incumbent

* Need to Bring Government to People: Kinzinger

* Schilling out thanking voters after upset win over Hare in 17th Congressional District

* Schilling says voters are real winners

  53 Comments      


Question of the day

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The setup…

WLS News has learned that senior Illinois Republicans are now urging Bill Brady to concede the governor’s race to Pat Quinn.

Our John Dempsey has more.

A source tells WLS that party leaders want Brady to concede because they do not see any way he can overcome what is now a 19,000 vote deficit to Governor Pat Quinn.

The source also says the national Republican Governor’s Association is driving Brady’s decision not to concede after the group spent nearly $8 million on Brady’s attempt to defeat Quinn.

* The AP’s latest count has Quinn ahead of Brady by 19,514 votes. That’s down 47 votes from last night.

* The Question: Should Brady concede today, or should he wait until the absentee votes are counted tomorrow, or should he wait a month until the ballot is certified? Explain.

  122 Comments      


The ground game and Democratic and union turnout

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Democrats’ coordinated campaign…

Across Illinois, over 23,200 people knocked on doors and made phone calls over the final four days, many of them filling multiple volunteer shifts, as part of the IL Democratic Coordinated Campaign. There were 8,000 people on the street on election day alone

We knocked on over 975,000 doors and made over 380,000 phone calls over the last four days.

Over 50 percent of these voter contact efforts were concentrated in Cook County. These efforts resulted in higher than expected voter turnout within Chicago (over 50%). African American turnout was up from 2006 in many south side neighborhoods and southern Cook County townships.

ROBO CALLS IN FINAL FOUR DAYS:

80k VPOTUS
240k POTUS- “Vote tomorrow”
240k POTUS- “Vote today”

There are a lot of Democrats in this state, and when they vote (and they almost always do) they make a big difference. From the exit polling…

That’s a two-point drop in Democratic representation from 2006, and that led to some problems everywhere. But it could’ve been much worse. The ground game certainly helped keep this from being a total, complete Democratic disaster.

Illinois election day voters also had a far higher opinion of the Democratic Party than they did the Republican Party…

A 58 percent unfavorable for the GOP? Not great branding. And considering the beating the Democratic Party has taken in the media here, a 51 percent favorable is downright astounding. The result is also another indication that the Democratic Party did a better job of getting its people to the polls. And while David Miller probably didn’t have a chance against Topinka, the numbers suggest that he and Robin Kelly could’ve benefited from some coordinated campaign and/or state party help…

David Miller believes state Democratic Party leaders and unions failed him Tuesday. Miller is a dentist, a state representative since 2001 and a resident of Lynwood.

On Tuesday, he was badly defeated in his campaign for state comptroller by Republican Judy Baar Topinka (52.9 percent to 40.6 percent of the vote).

“I think African-American political leaders are going to have to take a look at these races and ask what happened,” Miller said, referring to his defeat and that of Matteson resident Robin Kelly, who’s also black and was beaten by a Republican in the state treasurer’s race.

It would’ve also helped if Miller and Kelly had put together better campaigns on their own, of course. Nothing attracts campaign assistance like success.

* And don’t forget the unions…

Quinn also latched onto organized labor. The Illinois Education Association alone scared the pants off suburban educators, convincing them Brady would decimate public education and pensions. The e-mails that circulated among teachers in the final weeks of the campaign pushed swing voters and women to vote against Brady.

Service Employees International Union, Teamsters, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and dozens of other groups dumped gobs of money and resources into Quinn’s campaign.

“The unions pulled out all the stops because (Quinn) has been very kind to them,” said Andy Shaw, a veteran political reporter and now executive director of the Better Government Association. “It proves (that) in a ‘blue’ state unions still matter.”

Quinn didn’t win a super-gigantic percentage of the union household vote, but it was enough…

Unfortunately for the Democrats, however, union households are dropping. 32 percent told exit pollsters they lived in a union household four years ago. Still, if it wasn’t for that money the unions spent and the effort they put into the campaign, it would’ve been a much worse day for the Democrats.

* Election day voters seemed more liberal than recent polls have suggested. For instance, every poll taken before the election had pluralities or even majorities of likely Illinois voters favoring repeal of the federal health care legislation. Not on election day…

* Related…

* SJ-R: State needs timely election resolution

* Cook County tallies votes that could decide governor’s race

* Officials Doubt Brady Can Top Quinn’s Lead

* Quinn mum but reportedly optimistic

* Obama calls Quinn to offer congrats

* Simon: Outcome “Looking Good” for Democrats

* Simon, like everyone, waits out a nail-biter

* Schoenburg: Simon ‘brand,’ creationism might have aided Quinn

* If Brady needs a shoulder to cry on, he should call Kirk Dillard

* Brady’s mom knows the pain of politics, many times over

  40 Comments      


Suburbs, ideology and third partiers cost Brady dearly

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I am hearing this myself a lot these days from Republicans…

Sneed is told GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bill Brady got machine-gunned by suburban women voters deluged by direct mailings last week highlighting his “socially-right-wing-not-exactly-pro-female agenda,” according to a GOP source.

Personal PAC did a whole lot of mail, as did other groups. Gov. Pat Quinn doesn’t believe in direct mail, so they had to pick up the slack.

* So, is this true? Well, Brady vastly outperformed Judy Baar Topinka’s 2006 numbers in the collars, but he underperformed Mark Kirk’s percentages…

Kirk also did much better than Brady in suburban Cook County…

Brady Cook suburbs: 276,432 (40%-53%)
Kirk Cook suburbs: 303,758 (44%-52%)

Kirk received almost 14,000 more votes than Brady in Chicago as well.

* The fact that Kirk outperformed Brady in the suburbs and in the city is no huge surprise, since Kirk is a suburban moderate. But Brady’s campaign made the fatal error of thinking they could make up the difference Downstate. Check out these Downstate totals…

Brady Downstate: 832,006
Kirk Downstate: 827,140

Brady simply did not concentrate enough time and effort on the suburbs. He was also never able to assuage suburban women that he wasn’t a wingnut, as Peter Fitzgerald was able to do in 1998. Brady wouldn’t send a moderate message and it cost him dearly…

Just more than one-third of those casting ballots characterized themselves in exit polls as conservatives. Yet a greater proportion - more than two in five - said they were moderates, while one in five said they were liberals.

While almost three in five Kirk voters described themselves as conservatives, about two in five labeled themselves as moderates.

Even among supporters of the Tea Party movement, who overwhelmingly backed Kirk over Giannoulias, more than one-third described themselves as moderate or liberal.

Also, more than four in 10 voters identified with the Democratic Party, compared with just three in 10 who picked the GOP. And despite electing Kirk, Illinois voters did not show a preference for Republican control of the Senate.

* And for all you conservative folks who thought that Kirk wouldn’t play well Downstate, well, now you know how wrong you are.

Brady only received 7 more votes than Kirk in his home county of McLean. And his margin over Quinn was 259 votes less than Kirk’s margin over Giannoulias. Why? Third party and independent candidates.

Scott Lee Cohen spent big bucks and got 4 percent of the vote statewide. The other two third partiers received another 4 percent, for a total of 8 percent for the gubernatorial also-rans. In the US Senate race, the third party candidates received just 5 percent of the vote. That 3 percent was crucial. And it was more prominent in Chicago and the Cook suburbs, where third party and independent gubernatorial candidates received 8 percent while third party US Senate candiates received just 4 percent.

The Brady campaign could never figure out how to deal with Cohen, and his 4 percent really hurt them in that close race. What happened was that some people who couldn’t stand to vote for Quinn took a look at Brady and decided they couldn’t be with him, either, so they went with Cohen. I’m not really sure what they could’ve done, but they didn’t do anything and that was yet another major mistake.

* Now, there were other factors in this. Chicago’s turnout, for example. The superior Democratic ground game. Bigtime union involvement for Quinn. Etc. But Brady’s over-reliance on Downstate to carry the day and his refusal to spend more time and energy portraying himself as a moderate in the suburbs are both his fault. He couldn’t control the Democrats’ game. He could control his own.

…Adding… These exit poll results pretty much say it all…

Look at the difference in the female vote between the two candidates and the difference in how both genders voted for third party candidates. Brady was hurt both ways.

* Related…

* Officials Report Close To 52% Voter Turnout

* Wins For GOP Doesn’t Mean State Turning Red

* Illinois divided at polls

* Local party leaders mull GOP’s ‘phenomenal’ victories

* Southtown: Two years later, voters call for yet more change again

* Illinois Is GOP’s Only ‘Trophy’ Senate Win

* Kirk, Giannoulias Meet for “Beer Summit”

* Alexi and Mark have a beer at the Goat

* Kirk And Giannoulias Grab A Brew

* Kirk could be new senator by end of November

* Court order could expedite Kirk’s swearing in

* Kirk ready for first vote against Obama

* Kirk Victory Could Shift Senate’s Balance of Power in Lame Duck

* Sun-Times: Will the real Mark Kirk stand up for Illinois?

* Kirk supporters say it feels like decades since GOP has been able to celebrate

* If Kirk is Sworn In Early, Who Represents the 10th District?

  63 Comments      


Morning Shorts

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Creditors sue over Tribune deal, allege fraud in Zell’s buyout: A committee representing Tribune’s unsecured creditors filed two complaints targeting Tribune Chairman Sam Zell, the real estate mogul who engineered the buyout; other Tribune board members; former CEO Dennis FitzSimons and other former executives, accusing them of shirking their duties so they could line their own pockets. “This L.B.O. transaction is among the worst in American corporate history,” the complaint said, according to Reuters… The buyout was “tainted from start to finish,” one of the complaints contends.

* Tony Rezko, ex-Blagojevich fundraiser, has status hearing

* Fast harvest, but conditions dry statewide

* DuPage prosecutor Joe Birkett named appellate judge

* DuPage’s Birkett appointed to appellate court

* Birkett appointed to Appellate Court

* 4 Cook judges deemed unqualified by bar are retained by voters

* Schools boss Huberman exiting early

The front-runner to replace Huberman, sources said, is Terry Mazany, CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, which has poured a huge amount of money and energy into the Chicago Public Schools under Mazany’s leadership.

Huberman may stay on as paid consultant through January to assist in the transition to a new leadership team that could be changed yet again after a new mayor is seated May 16.

* Chicago schools chief to leave post this month

* Chicago Public Schools chief Huberman leaving end of Nov.

* Huberman to leave Chicago Public Schools

* Sun-Times: Huberman picks bad time to resign, but …

* Civic Federation warns of hazards in Daley budget

Instead of taking the easy way out by putting off tough choices until after the Feb. 22 election, Msall urged the City Council to: make $85.4 million in additional spending cuts recommended by Inspector General Joe Ferguson; create a formal “withdrawal policy” to protect proceeds from the sale of city assets and build up an unreserved cash balance expected to drop to an alarming $2.7 million.

Msall further demanded that aldermen diffuse the ticking time bomb created by $12.4 billion in unfunded pension liabilities that amount to $4,348 for every Chicago resident.

* Police Supt. Weis revises minimum age restriction plan

* Aldermen propose banning alcohol-caffeine drinks

* Ban of caffeinated alcoholic drinks is on the table

* Burke: Charge charities $10 per day to solicit donations on public way

* Stroger still deciding if he will fight Oglesby’s unemployment claim

* Stroger refuses to answer question onfinalists for watchdog post

* Cabrera new City Colleges board chairman

* Blue Island mayor on vote: ‘We got killed’

* Elgin officials get first look at 2011 budget

* Buffalo Grove village president apologizes for mocking recalled trustee

* Village president sorry for mocking opponent in a wig

* Judge OKs case against Harvey mayor, detective

* City, Naperville council struggle with wards decision

* Geneva attorney is nominee for Kane state’s attorney

* Perez claims Kane County Sheriff seat

* Jockeying begins for Lake County Board chairmanship

* Trail projects get $5M in funds

* Antioch to see grant for new pool

* Carpentersville OK’s Firearms School

* Naperville eyes $10 mil tax rebate for hotel project

* Nine communities express interest in FutureGen CO2 disposal site

* R.I. Republicans: ‘This party is not dead in Rock Island County’

* 2 laid-off East Moline officers get their jobs back

* Sangamon Co. voters reject sales tax hike for schools

* Decatur Township votes to raise its tax levy 4.95 percent to collect additional $75,000

* Education sales tax squeaks to win

* 183rd firefighters to be laid off next year

* SIU Announces Closure Days

* Fioretti: Cancer like getting ‘hit by train’

* Meeks to tour Southwest Side schools

  7 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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The precincts are all in and Quinn leads by 19,561 votes

Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* With 11,209 of 11,209 precincts reporting, Gov. Pat Quinn leads Bill Brady by 19,561 votes.

They still have to count absentees and provisionals. There may yet be some adjustments in precinct counts. But that’s a big margin to overcome.

* Mark Brown…

That’s why I was somewhat chagrined to hear Brady continue to declare Wednesday in Bloomington, “I believe we will win,” in explanation of his decision not to concede.

By all means, don’t concede while votes are uncounted, but that’s no reason to create a false expectation of winning that could end up feeding into the cynicism that election results are somehow rigged.

If he’s going to continue along this course, maybe the next time he could offer a more measured statement suggesting that he “could” still win while acknowledging the formidable odds. It would help him avoid coming across as a sore loser.

  90 Comments      


The count goes on

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 5:15 pm - Gov. Pat Quinn’s lead over Bill Brady is now 16,210 votes.

* And more from the Tribune…

So while Brady is expressing hope publicly, behind-the-scenes the Republican faces are grim.

One prominent Republican, who asked not to be identified to avoid upsetting Brady, said the decisions on how to proceed were being made, in part, by the Republican Governors Association, which was reluctant to throw in the towel following its very large investment in the race. […]

In Republican-heavy DuPage County, for instance, there are 3,200 unaccounted absentee ballots. But DuPage County Election Commission Executive Director Robert Saar said of those he expects less than 100 will still come in to be tallied. […]

In Champaign County, where Brady was defeating Quinn by about 9,000 votes, County Clerk Mark Sheldon said while there are about 900 outstanding absentee ballots, he expects to receive and count only about 300.

Election officials elsewhere downstate and in the suburbs told a similar story, noting that a large portion of the absentee ballots still uncounted went out to military personnel and those traditionally have a low rate of return.

  101 Comments      


The Downstate blowout and other political oddities

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The winners write the history books, but one significant and overlooked development in Tuesday’s election was how poorly Gov. Pat Quinn did in Downstate counties. Quinn won just three: St. Clair, Jackson and Alexander. Four years ago, Rod Blagojevich won 27, including Will, which is sort of a hybrid. The only Downstate county that Quinn won which Blagojevich lost was Jackson, the home of Quinn’s running mate.

Many of these counties are tiny, isolated southern Illinois areas. But they’ve been mostly reliably Democratic since Illinois became a state. All but one went Republican during the 1994 Republican wave, but they eventually reverted to form. Gallatin, however, was the only county in all of Illinois won by Dawn Clark Netsch in ‘94. Quinn just lost Gallatin by 12 points.

Some of these counties are not so small, like Rock Island, Madison and Winnebago. That has to worry Democratic leaders.

Anyway, Blagojevich won these counties four years ago and Quinn lost them yesterday. The percentages are Bill Brady vs. Quinn…

Boone 61%-30%
Calhoun 53%-42%
Fulton 50%-41%
Gallatin 52%-40%
Hamilton 59%-35%
Hardin 62%-32%
Henderson 55%-38%
Jefferson 60%-32%
Jersey 62%-33%
Knox 54%-39%
LaSalle 51%-40%
Madison 54%-40%
Massac 65%-31%
Mercer 56%-36%
Monroe 64%-32%
Perry 52%-40%
Pope 65%-28%
Pulaski 57%-38%
Putnam 52%-39%
Randolph 53%-40%
Rock Island 50%-43%
Saline 55%-38%
Union 55%-36%
Whiteside 56%-37%
Will 51%-41%
Williamson 55%-39%
Winnebago 57%-35%

Losing Rock Island County is almost akin to losing Cook. Same with Madison. But those counties are changing. Their old-time party chairmen are gone and the remaining infrastructure is rotten. Lots of new folks continue to move into Madison, and they’re almost universally appalled at the way things are run there. Plus, how many times can you be called a national “hell hole” before it starts to grate on your nerves?

* Here’s another electoral oddity. Green Party candidate Jeremy Karpen received 35% of the vote in a Latino district against state Rep. Toni Berrios. He was vastly outspent. Independent Forrest Claypool outspent Rep. Berrios’ father in a majority white county and got 32 percent of the vote. Of course, there were more people running in the assessor’s race, but it’s still a fun fact.

* An un-fun fact. Check out the 2:10 mark of this video when Tony Peraica says of his loss yesterday “There will be a punishment to be paid for the election of my opponent.” Sheesh…


I ignored this race mostly because my former intern Kevin Fanning handled the campaign for Peraica’s opponent. But, hey, when the man gets arrested the weekend before the election, it’s difficult to skip over the thing.

* I have a question. With all the big Democratic wins in Cook County, what the heck happened here?…

  72 Comments      


*** UPDATED x3 *** The count… Continued

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Gov. Quinn’s lead is now 12,344 votes. That’s more than one vote per precinct.

Discuss.

* 2:23 pm - The governor’s lead is now 11,851 votes, which is still more than one vote per precinct.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From Melissa Bean’s campaign…

“This election is still too close to call. There are still thousands of votes left to be counted, and we are still working to understand the provisional and absentee ballot situation. We will continue to work to understand the will of the voters.”

–Jonathan Lipman, spokesman, Melissa Bean for Congress

*** UPDATE 2 *** The governor is now ahead of Sen. Brady by 12,143 votes.

*** UPDATE 3 *** The governor’s lead is now 13,075.

  100 Comments      


The count in Cook

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Cook County Clerk David Orr just called to fill us in on what’s going on with their count.

They have 24 precincts that haven’t yet been processed, mainly because of the same sort of cartridge problem that the city had. Those will be counted and then totals released in a couple of hours.

The county also has 9600 absentee ballots that aren’t counted, plus another 900 which came in today. Some of those that arrived today will, if history is a guide, be invalid because they were mailed after Monday’s deadline. Every day, they’ll see fewer and fewer absentee ballots come in, and fewer of those will be valid because of the postmark issue.

The absentees that they have now will likely be counted by Friday. They need to check to make sure that these people didn’t vote on election day.

The clerk also has 3600 provisional ballots. Historically, Orr said, about a quarter of those will be deemed valid.

I’d heard that there are tons of Republican lawyers hanging out at the city’s election board digs, and Orr confirmed that there were a bunch of GOP attorneys in his shop as well. So far, though, I’ve received no communication from the Republicans about any problems they’ve seen.

Orr also said that he’s called around and a bunch of counties aren’t releasing their absentee ballot totals. Kane County has about 1400 uncounted absentees, Orr said. Bill Brady beat Pat Quinn 69,497 to 49,574 in Kane (54-38). But, keep in mind that the Democratic coordinated campaign sent out all those late absentee applications.

* Also, according to the AP, Gov Quinn’s lead is 9,494 votes.

…Adding… We now have video of Brady’s Bloomington presser. Watch…


…Adding More… 2:02 pm While y’all are doing your figuring about where the uncounted vote is and what it means, I thought you might like a copy of this question on the exit poll…

  41 Comments      


Question of the day

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Now what?

Answer any way you like, but keep it Illlinois-related.

  185 Comments      


Brady to speak soon - Won’t concede - 30-day wait - AUDIO - Chicago board of elections explains - Quinn all but declares victory… Again

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 10:30 am - Bill Brady’s 10:30 am announcement on the future of his campaign will be covered live by WLS Radio. Click here to listen.

[Oops. That WGN link was for the national Republicans. Back to WLS Radio for us.]

* I’ve switched over to WJBC. Click here.

* Brady is not conceding, of course. He’s going to wait for the rest of the results to come in and the election to be certified. He just said “realistically we think we’re looking at a 30-day process.”

* 10:45 am - And it’s over.

* 10:46 am - Military ballots still out there? According to state Rep. Dan Brady it’s a bit over 2000. Not enough.

* 10:58 am - Somebody mentioned the military ballot situation in comments, which was about the same thing I heard from a Republican operative on the phone today. Quinn has made it a regular practice to see the troops off to Iraq and Afghanistan. He also, of course, attends their funerals and/or wakes. He’s visited both countries and spent time with Illinois troops. This is not your usual Democrat, and the military votes might reflect that.

*** AUDIO *** From BlueRoomStream.com…

Download Link Brady presser

*** 10:38 am *** From the Chicago elections board…

We have 40 precincts out. At 1 p.m. today (Wed., Nov. 3) at the Board’s warehouse at 1819 W. Pershing, we hope to resolve most or all of those through procedures most of you may recall from the February primary, where we break the seals on the precinct records and remake the cartridges that could not be read in front of the campaigns, the media, etc.

* We processed a total of 37,127 absentee ballot applications (meaning ballots were sent to those voters). Of those, 31,335 were received by Sunday and are included in the Election Day counts we have (or in the case of the remaining 40 precincts, will soon have.) Those are the absentee ballots that were able to be logged onto the poll sheets so that judges could compare who had or had not voted.

* We have 4,418 absentee ballots that arrived Monday and Tuesday that need to be compared against affidavits that voters filed in the polling places on Election Day. If any of those absentee ballots are from voters who completed affidavits to say they were voting in the polling place out of some concern that their absentee ballot was not sent to the board in time, the corresponding absentee ballots will not be counted. We advised the campaigns last evening that it is our intent to process those on Friday, along with any absentees that arrive in the mail Wednesday and Thursday that can be compared to the affidavits and that are postmarked Nov. 1 or earlier.

* That leaves a remaining universe of approximately 1,400 absentee ballots that could arrive in the mail over the course of the next two weeks (by Nov. 16) and still be counted so long as they have postmarks of Nov. 1 or earlier.

* There also is an unofficial total of 11,210 provisional ballots where the ballots are inside an envelope, and the voter-registration records that are on the outside are then scrutinized by hand to review whether or not that voter was indeed eligible to vote in that precinct, and in turn, whether the enclosed ballot can be entered into the count.

* By law, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Thurs., Nov. 4 for the Board to receive (at 69 W. Washington St. on the 6th Floor) any supporting documentation that any voters who cast provisional ballots may want to supply, such as proof of identity, residency and/or voter registration in the precinct where they cast the provisional ballot.

*** 11:32 am *** From the Quinn campaign…

“The Quinn/Simon campaign wants every vote to be counted. We want to make sure the voice of every voter in the State of Illinois is duly counted and heard.

The ballots left to be counted appear mostly to come from Cook County, where the Governor held a large margin over Senator Brady. We expect to hold our lead, and may increase it. We do not see a path to victory for Bill Brady.

As Gov Quinn said last night, “the people have won and I we believe we won…We know there are more votes to be counted, but we are ahead.” We expect to hold that lead, and expect that Pat Quinn will continue to be our Governor.”
-Mica Matsoff, campaign spokesperson

That’s pretty much a declaration of victory, no?

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: This just in… See you tomorrow

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Oh, sweet irony

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Tribune’s editorial today was entitled “The Rebuke.” It was pretty thin soup…

Illinois Republicans broke the Democratic Party’s complete control of state government and captured the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama. The gubernatorial race between incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn and GOP challenger Bill Brady was too close to call at this writing.

First, notice how they breezed past that Brady thing.

More importantly, though, the US Senate seat is not part of “state government.” That’s quite the stretch.

The state Senate, which is part of state government, gained just two Republican seats, despite the fact that the Tribune endorsed every Republican running in a contested district. And those two seats the Democrats lost were the hardest to hold. The only surprise last night in the state Senate was the large winning margins of some of the Democratic candidates. So, who was “rebuked,” exactly?

House Speaker Michael Madigan, whom the Tribune has relentlessly railed against, lost a net of six seats. But Madigan only lost one seat in the Tribune’s coverage area: Rep. Mark Walker. The Tribune, you will recall, claimed that Walker was anti-business, even though he’d been endorsed by the Illinois Chamber. So, there’s a win, I suppose. But they lost every other suburban battle.

The words “Madigan” and “Cullerton” aren’t even in the editorial. Curious, that.

Well, what about those Congressional races? Surely, the big blue lady can crow about those, right? Well, the Tribune endorsed Democrats Bill Foster and Melissa Bean. Oops.

And now for the grand finale…

Machine Democrats won control of the Cook County assessor’s office. Voters inexplicably handed the key to Joseph Berrios at the expense of independent candidate Forrest Claypool. File this one under: There is much in life that we as mortals cannot comprehend.

To all the joyful property tax lawyers who are nursing hangovers as Wednesday dawns: Your momentary discomfort is nothing like the pain the rest of us will feel if Berrios suffuses this crucial office with the pay-to-play politics he has employed on the county’s property tax appeals board.

Stay classy, boys.

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Energize Illinois’ Economy: Say YES to Tenaska’s Taylorville Energy Center

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department

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Tribune: 15,000 absentee ballots uncounted in Chicago and Cook - Brady to speak at 10:30 - GOP Leader threatens lawsuit

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 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?

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Morning Videos: Quinn, Brady, ILGOP, Cohen, Kirk, Giannoulias, Dold, Halvorson, Burris

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* For once, Gov. Pat Quinn didn’t talk forever last night, and he stopped just shy of declaring victory. Watch it…


* Bill Brady addressed his supporters a little earlier in the evening and said “This isn’t going to be decided tonight.” Have a look…


* I’ve taken down some of the embeds because they were screwing up my site. Here they are…

* Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady talks about the governor’s race

* Scott Lee Cohen was characteristically unclassy

* Mark Kirk’s victory speech

* Alexi Giannoulias’ concession speech

* Bob Dold talks to ABC7

* Debbie Halvorson’s concession speech

* And Roland Burris claims that people actually want him to run for mayor

* Kirk Q&A 1

* Kirk Q&A 2

* Kirk Q&A 3

* Kirk Q&A 4

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Final guv race results trickle in

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

Posted by Barton Lorimor

** 2:20 a.m. Rich is taking a break between now and the time he needs to write the Subscriber’s edition later this morning. Any one out there up for spending the early morning with the intern?

Boo ya.

The governor’s lead is now at 8,349 as the only precincts not reporting are inside Cook County and the City of Chicago. You may recall from the exit polling released last night that Quinn did quite well in these areas today despite what some previous polls predicted during the last month.

To be specific, we’re looking at 27 precincts in the county and 48 precincts inside the city. Since the Chicago Board of Election’s Web site went down earlier this morning, we don’t know which Chicago precincts are missing. Not even the Quinn campaign staffer I spoke to a few moments ago was sure what parts of the city have not been counted.

* Meanwhile, here’s a quick round-up of some of the early editions…

* SJ-R: Tight gubernatorial race not a surprise

* Quinn, Brady in a squeaker

* Sweet: Illinois Governor Race Between Pat Quinn, Bill Brady a Cliffhanger

* Dem Quinn clings to thin margin in Ill. gov. race

* Quinn Believes Victory May Be At Hand

* Quinn Supporters Boo Brady’s Non-Concession

** 2:36 a.m. For those interested, below is video of Quinn’s and Brady’s speeches to their supporters earlier tonight provided by CBS 2.

Quinn…

Brady…

  113 Comments      


Who were the biggest winners and biggest losers?

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Your thoughts?

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Die-hard election results live-blog - ONLY CHICAGO, COOK COUNTY REMAIN; Fox: 9,000 absentees in Chicago

Wednesday, Nov 3, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Midnight - I’m staying up. You with me?

* Oh, and in case you were wondering, Gov. Quinn’s lead is now 7,576 votes.

*** 12:06 am *** Bill Brady just said the election won’t be decided tonight, so that’s it for him.

*** 12:10 am *** The AP has declared Republican Bob Dold the winner in the 10th CD.

* 12:33 am - The Quinn margin is now 10,933.

* 12:39 am - This is odd. Here is the AP total for Speaker Madigan’s district…

November 03, 2010 - 01:30AM ET
State House - District 22 - General
Illinois - 43 of 87 Precincts Reporting - 49%
Madigan , Michael (i) Dem 8,294 81%
Ryan , Patrick GOP 1,889 19%

Notice that less than half the precincts are reported as counted. But the city and the county both have MJM’s district as completely counted.

So, either somebody forgot to update a single district. Or, the AP isn’t including those MJM district totals in their grand totals. I strongly suspect it’s the former, not the latter. But one never knows.

*** 12:43 am *** From Caroi Fowler of Fox Chicago…

9k absentee ballots in Chicago still to be counted.

That would be the ballgame.

* 12:48 am - Quinn’s lead is now 9,033.

* 12:50 am - Precincts not yet counted statewide: 266. Precincts not counted in Chicago: 53. Not counted in Cook: 69, which is the same as earlier. I hope David Orr has not gone to bed. That would suck.

* 12:54 am - Quinn to crowd: “It looks like another landslide victory is heading our way.”

* 12:55 am - The governor’s lead is now 9,133.

* 12:57 am - Quinn: “I think when all is said, we’ll end up on top with the most votes.” And the crowd goes wild.

* 1:04 am - Great. Just great. The Chicago elections results website is down.

* 1:16 am - The AP hasn’t updated in a while, so I’m gonna take a nap. Update in comments if you wish. Thanks much for everything tonight. I have the greatest commenters on Planet Earth. Bar none!

*** 1:30 am *** Barton here. As Rich said, the CBOE’s Web site is down, but Cook County and the AP continue to provide updates. There are now 32 precincts that still need to be counted in the County. Quinn leads by 8,515.

* 1:43 am - Some new data from the city board. There are now 48 Chicago precincts uncounted. Quinn leads Brady in the city precincts that have been counted 75.4% - 17.5%.

* 1:50 am - It would appear as if the downstate vote is done being counted, according to a graphic POLITICO is maintaining with data from the AP. It’s on you, Cook County.

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Election results live blog, Part 3 - AP declares Kirk winner - Giannoulias to concede - Kilbride wins - Brady won’t concede - Dold declared victor

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 10:19 pm - Cook County has 203 precincts left to count. They’ve tallied 1,734 out of 1,937. Chicago has counted 2,330 out of 2,570 precincts, meaning there are still 240 precincts left to count there.

According to the AP, there are 1,377 precincts left to count in Illinois. That means about a third of those precincts are in either overtly hostile or somewhat hostile Brady territory. Quinn is leading by just 35,988 votes.

By the way, DuPage has just 24 precincts left to tally.

You can take a look at where the counties are in their counting by clicking here.

* 10:34 pm - Check out CNN’s county map of the governor’s race. Click the pic for the interactive version…

Bill Brady is stomping the tar outta Pat Quinn in traditionally Democratic Rock Island, Macon and Madison counties. Quinn is winning St. Clair, Jackson and Alexander. And Cook, of course.

If Quinn wins this, it’s all due to the Cook/Chicago ground game.

* Gov. Pat Quinn’s lead is now less than 13,000 votes. There are just 138 precincts left to count in Cook and 170 in Chicago. 933 are left statewide.

* 10:45 - With 93 percent of the state counted, Quinn is leading by 19,134.

* I’m only going to say this once. David Orr better not go to bed early tonight.

* 10:53 pm - CNN now has the governor’s race margin at 17,139 for Quinn. That’s with 94 percent of the vote tallied.

* 10:55 pm - Rep. David Miller has conceded to Judy Baar Topinka.

* 10:57 pm - Republican Mark Kirk’s lead is now 1,662,617 to 1,582,429 - an 80K+ margin.

* 11:00 pm - Quinn’s lead is now down to 11,967.

* 11:03 pm - And now Quinn is down to a 10,280 vote lead.

* 11:06 pm - Keep in mind that absentee votes are still coming in by the droves. Many of those are Democratic absentees because the coordinated campaign screwed up and sent its mailers so late. Those late absentees won’t be counted tonight. Some weren’t even received by today. If Quinn does somehow lose this lead, he could still regain it later in the week.

* 11:10 pm - Quinn is now down to a lead of just 8,807 votes.

* 11:13 pm - Some close congressional races…

U.S. House - District 8 - General
Illinois - 492 of 503 Precincts Reporting - 98%
Walsh , Joe GOP 95,576 49%
Bean , Melissa (i) Dem 94,727 48%
Scheurer , Bill Grn 6,359 3%

U.S. House - District 10 - General
Illinois - 478 of 511 Precincts Reporting - 94%
Name Party Votes Vote %
Dold , Robert GOP 101,805 51%
Seals , Daniel Dem 97,768 49%

*** 11:15 pm *** My intern Barton Lorimor just told me that NBC, via the AP, has just declared Mark Kirk the winner of the US Senate race. From the AP…

Republican Mark Kirk has captured the Senate seat once held by the president defeating Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

*** 11:17 pm *** WGN is reporting that Giannoulias will concede soon.

* Meanwhile, Gov. Quinn is ahead of Bill Brady by 10,516 votes.

*** 11:22 pm *** Cook County still hasn’t counted 107 precincts. Chicago hasn’t counted 92. There are 454 precincts out there. So, slightly less than half are from Quinn Country. And don’t forget the late absentees.

* 11:27 pm - Quinn’s lead is now down to 4,372 votes.

* 11:28 pm - I told you that Kilbride was winning his retention race, but I didn’t tell you he won. Oops.

* 11:30 pm - OK, Quinn’s lead is now back up to 11,148.

* 11:49 pm - Quinn’s margin is now 11,291.

* 11:55 pm - OK, now Quinn’s at 8,155.

*** 12:06 am *** Bill Brady just said the election won’t be decided tonight, so that’s it for him.

*** 12:10 am *** The AP has declared Republican Bob Dold the winner in the 10th CD.

* 12:33 am - The Quinn margin is now 10,933.

* 12:39 am - This is odd. Here is the AP total for Speaker Madigan’s district…

November 03, 2010 - 01:30AM ET
State House - District 22 - General
Illinois - 43 of 87 Precincts Reporting - 49%
Madigan , Michael (i) Dem 8,294 81%
Ryan , Patrick GOP 1,889 19%

Notice that less than half the precincts are reported as counted. But the city and the county both have MJM’s district as completely counted.

So, either somebody forgot to update a single district. Or, the AP isn’t including those MJM district totals in their grand totals. I strongly suspect it’s the former, not the latter. But one never knows.

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Protected: *** UPDATED x1 *** SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: How it looks now

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Election results live blog, Part 2 - Claypool concedes - Topinka wins - Recall winning - Kilbride winning - Hare to concede - Hultgren declares victory

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Tribune…

Independent Forrest Claypool conceded to Democrat Joe Berrios tonight in the hard-fought contest for Cook County assessor, Claypool’s campaign manager said.

Berrios had about 46 percent to 32 percent for Claypool with about 75 percenut of the vote in.

Claypool led in the suburbs, but Republican Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall was doing well enough as an alternative to Berrios to erode Claypool’s vote count. About 64 percent of the overall vote had been counted.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected development, Democrat Brendan Houlihan was trailing Republican Republican Dan Patlak in a race for the county’s tax appeals board that Berrios now sits on. Houlihan currently holds the post in the mostly suburban district, one of three on the board.

* 9:24 pm - Somebody needs to call this one, so I will. Topinka wins…

Comptroller - General
Illinois - 6850 of 11209 Precincts Reporting - 61%
Baar Topinka , Judy GOP 1,070,958 51%
Miller , David Dem 895,645 43%
Schafer , Erika Grn 67,637 3%
Fox , Julie Lib 67,024 3%

* The recall amendment has been hovering above the required 60 percent all night…

Amendment - Recall of Governor - Ballot Issue
Illinois - 6899 of 11209 Precincts Reporting - 62%
Yes 1,277,366 66%
No 650,206 34%

* With 50 percent of the vote in, Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Kilbride is at 66 percent in his retention race. He needs 60 to be retained.

* A gaggle of federal judges forced Illinois to hold a special election to replace Roland Burris, but if this thing stays as close as it is now, the outcome might not be decided for weeks. So that extra cost will be for naught. But, hey, the lawyers who sued won. Hooray.

* 9:42 pm - Phil Hare is conceding…

U.S. Rep. Phil Hare’s spokesman says the congressman has accepted he will lose the election. Hare is expected to make his concession speech in the next few minutes.

* 9:47 pm - It’s gonna be tough to close this gap…

72% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:42 p.m.
Quinn (D) 1,228,944 48.2%
Brady (R) 1,133,414 44.4%
Cohen (I) 93,233 3.7%
Whitney (G) 69,937 2.7%
Green (L) 24,410 1.0%

This one could be closed, however…

77% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:42 p.m.
Kirk (R) 1,299,347 47.4%
Giannoulias (D) 1,290,899 47.1%
Jones (G) 86,223 3.1%
Labno (L) 63,279 2.3%

* 9:49 pm - Or not…

76% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:45 p.m.
Quinn (D) 1,305,113 47.5%
Brady (R) 1,242,652 45.2%
Cohen (I) 100,358 3.7%
Whitney (G) 74,807 2.7%
Green (L) 26,373 1.0%

And Kirk moves ahead slightly…

77% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:48 p.m.
Kirk (R) 1,309,868 47.6%
Giannoulias (D) 1,293,276 47.0%
Jones (G) 87,233 3.2%
Labno (L) 64,175 2.3%

* 9:52 pm - Since a lot of the uncounted ballots are Downstate, this one looks good for Rutherford…

Treasurer - General
Illinois - 8636 of 11209 Precincts Reporting - 77%
Rutherford , Dan GOP 1,329,272 49%
Kelly , Robin Dem 1,240,257 46%
Summers , Scott Grn 86,841 3%
Pauly , James Lib 50,540 2%

* 9:56 pm - Republican Randy Hultgren has just declared victory…

Going forward, I want to reaffirm my commitment and vow to you and the people of the 14th Congressional District that this is your seat, and you’re my boss. I look forward to working for you. I will listen to you. And when you express your opinion and counsel and make your voice heard, I won’t just hear, I’ll listen. Public service is a sacred trust, and I will always expect to be held accountable.

Congressman Foster won’t concede…

With about 80,000 votes counted in Kane County, Incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-14th, is trailing Republican challenger Randy Hultgren by more than 5,000 votes.

And with 52 percent of precincts reporting in the entire district, Foster is trailing about 11,000 votes.

But Foster spokeswoman Shannon O’Brien is still optimistic given the campaign’s internal polling.

Latest numbers…

75% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:54 p.m.
Hultgren (R) 87,079 51.4%
Foster (D) 76,291 45.0%
Kairis (G) 6,112 3.6%

Strike that. Foster has conceded, according to Hultgren’s campaign.

* 10:09 pm - It’s getting closer...

82% of precincts reporting
Updated 10:03 p.m.
Quinn (D) 1,399,705 47.3%
Brady (R) 1,341,258 45.4%
Cohen (I) 107,814 3.6%
Whitney (G) 80,206 2.7%
Green (L) 28,286 1.0%

* Can Bean hold on?

88% of precincts reporting
Updated 10:03 p.m.
Bean (D) 82,970 48.6%
Walsh (R) 82,512 48.3%
Scheurer (G) 5,335 3.1%

  74 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Results - House appears decided

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Election results live blog, Part 1 - Exit poll has Quinn up by 2.5, Kirk and Giannoulias tied - Peraica way down

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 7:00 pm - And here we go.

Election results can be found here. Exit polling can be found here.

* CNN has the gubernatorial exit polls up…

Since they’re evenly divided between the genders, those numbers mean Pat Quinn is up by 2.5 points over Bill Brady. Wow. [Corrected stupid math error]

* On to the Senate…

That would mean Kirk up by half a point, but there’s rounding in there, so it’s essentially tied. [Corrected stupid math error]

* Vote by region, governor…

Looks like Quinn just barely hit his targets.

* Vote by region, Senate…

* Keep in mind that this is a poll. It’s a big poll, but it’s still a poll. So both election results are well within the margin of error. There’s no guarantee of a Quinn win just yet.

*** 8:04 pm *** From the Chicago elections board…

We’re seeing 50.36% turnout in the City of Chicago from the first 919 precincts of the City’s 2,570 precincts that now have unofficial totals.

The unofficial totals we report tonight represent Election Day voting, Early Voting, Grace Period Voting and Absentee ballots received through Saturday. Absentee ballots received more recently (Monday, Tuesday, etc.) will be added in supplemental counts to be conducted later this week.

By the time later-arriving absentee ballots, provisionals and other ballots arrive and are counted, the City turnout number is likely to move closer to 51-52%.

*** 8:16 pm *** With slightly over half the precincts reporting, Tony Peraica is losing badly…

Tony Peraica (REP) 39.38% 12,153
Jeffrey R. Tobolski (DEM) 53.11% 16,389
Alejandro Reyes (GRN) 7.51% 2,318

There’s only one precinct in the city and it hasn’t reported yet.

*** 8:19 pm *** With over half the vote counted, Joe Berrios has the lead…

*** 8:24 pm *** With half the vote in, Republican Bob Dold is leading Dan Seals…

* Let’s take a look at some congressional races. Congressman Phil Hare is behind…

55% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:02 p.m.
Schilling (R) 51,212 53.0%
Hare (D) 41,093 42.5%
Davis (G) 4,363 4.5%

Dold is ahead…

81% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:02 p.m.
Dold (R) 76,481 51.6%
Seals (D) 71,595 48.4%

As is Bean…

66% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:02 p.m.
Bean (D) 54,600 50.3%
Walsh (R) 50,732 46.7%
Scheurer (G) 3,273 3.0%

Lots of votes left to count…

31% of precincts reporting
Updated 9:02 p.m.
Hultgren (R) 41,522 52.0%
Foster (D) 35,454 44.4%
Kairis (G) 2,804 3.5%

  76 Comments      


*** UPDATED x4 - Drudge numbers wrong? *** More turnout projections, exit polls, polling place trouble and final precinct reports

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE 1 *** You can find Illinois exit polling data by clicking here when the polls close at 7.

*** UPDATE 2 *** The White House is telling people that Drudge’s US Senate result is wrong. They claim it’s “in the margin.” Drudge has Kirk up by 6. I’ve taken down his result while I check.

*** UPDATE 3 *** OK, from what I can gather, Drudge was using the first round of exit polls. The second round, combined with the first round, shows Kirk up by 3. We’re now waiting on Round 3.

*** UPDATE 4 *** More reason to distrust even that second round. From a commenter…

The early votes and mail votes will be counted after today’s votes, which will skew any such exit polling numbers

Keep in mind that we have two weekend polls showing that the Democrats did better with people who’ve already voted.

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Normal turnout everywhere? So says the state board…

“Most of it seems to be what we’ve expected,’’ says Rupert Borgsmiller of the Illinois State Board of Elections. “We haven’t heard of any overwhelming numbers anywhere. You certainly can’t blame it on the weather.” […]

In the Metro East, election officials are predicting their normal off-year turnouts. Madison County Clerk Mark Von Nida said absentee and early voting figures as of Monday indicated the county will about 40 percent (or about 80,000 votes), which is considered normal for an off-year election.

* If Chicago and Cook County have a normal turnout and aren’t depressed by the national mood, it could be because of people like this…


All those nasty TV ads beating up on Democrats and the unfavorable news coverage of the tea partiers was bound to keep them motivated.

* The AP reports on national exit polling…

About a third say their household suffered a job loss in the past two years, but that didn’t give a clear direction to their voting. They divided over which party to support in Tuesday’s House races.

About four in 10 say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago. More than 80 percent said they were worried about the direction of the economy over the next year.

Only about a quarter of voters in Tuesday’s House races blamed Obama for the nation’s economic troubles. But about half think Obama’s policies will hurt the country.

About four out of 10 voters said they support the tea party movement, and they overwhelmingly voted Republican.

Mark Ambinder…

A Word Of Advice On Leaked Exit Polls

You’re going to start to see them. A lot of them. Here in Studio 47 at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, I’m looking at all of them right now, and I can tell you that there is NOT much you can say about the major questions of the night based on the data we have now. That’s because, for the most part, the third wave of numbers, which incorporates a new tranche of voters, hasn’t been processed. Do not believe your eyes… yet. This blog will neither leak nor refer to exit polls until polls in states are closed.

* Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent out an advisory to local election authorities today warning them to follow the law. Apparently, the AG’s office was worried that people would bring their completed absentee ballots to the polls (remember that problem with the Democrats’ coordinated committee mailing out the ballot apps late?) or don’t bring their ballots ballots and could be told that they need to vote with a provisional ballot. State law says they can vote with their completed absentees, and if they don’t have one they can sign an affidavit and vote like everybody else. Click here to read Madigan’s letter.

I asked the AG’s office for more information about how widespread this problem is. They said they had a handful of calls, did the research and decided to put out an advisory.

Nicely, um, coordinated.

* A Kane County blogger tried to vote without a photo ID today and the polling judges insisted he needed one. After a long rigmarole, he was finally allowed to vote, but claims that this is happening in more than just his precinct…

Foster campaign was sending an attorney over to that polling place. I advised them that they just might have a county-wide problem, since there was general agreement at that polling place that they had all been trained in this fictitious new federal law.

They thanked me, called me back again to say they had a subsequent complaint of the same problem from another polling place, also in Kane County, but in another community.

* The President gets into the act…

President Obama was interviewed on Chicago hip hop station WGCI Tuesday morning, urging young voters to get out to the polls.

In an interview with WGCI’s Loni Swain, Obama explained how important Tuesday’s election was to him, and how it will effect the lives of young people in Chicago and beyond.

“The truth of the matter is that even though we had 30,000 people come to the [Chicago] rally, there are a lot of folks out there who still haven’t got the message that this is a really important election,” Obama said. “Making sure that folks have health care when they need it, making sure that young people are able to get college scholarships, all those things that we’ve worked on so hard for the last couple years are at stake, and the key is going to be everybody turning out to vote.”

* Zorn doubles down on his Brady prediction…

Read the Quincy Herald-Whig endorsement in the governor’s race. It’s well researched, serious, dispassionate. The editorialist basically praises the job Gov. Pat Quinn did under awful circumstances, eviscerates Brady’s vague, hollow “plans,” notes disagreement with his positions on social issues, then shrugs and says:

Brady is being endorsed because we cannot change the direction of this state without a change in leadership.

And this is what I predict at least a plurality if not a majority of voters are going to tell us today: They’re not happy with the way Illinois’ ship of state is listing and heading for the rocks, so it’s time to give someone else a chance to grab the helm.

* What? No big jobs announcement tomorrow? Hmmm…

* Here’s your opportunity to give us your final precinct reports. What’s going on out there? Some of us are in bubbles and need to know. Thanks much for all you do!

  53 Comments      


Energize Illinois’ Economy: Say YES to Tenaska’s Taylorville Energy Center

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department

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For more information, visit cleancoalillinois.com

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Protected: *** UPDATED x2 *** SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Coulson, Sente

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Afternoon caption contest!

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The first one went so well, let’s do another.

Alexi votes…

  88 Comments      


*** UPDATED x2 *** Turnout predictions and late afternoon precinct reports

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE 1 *** From Crain’s…

City turnout was 49.75% in 2006. This time, turnout seems to be particularly good on the North Side lakefront and in scattered areas of the South Side, like the 8th Ward, but weak on the West Side.

In suburban Cook County, Clerk David Orr and aides are saying they, too, look like they’ll hit the 50% mark and perhaps go a bit higher.

House GOP Leader Tom Cross reported a good turnout Downstate, even perhaps “historic high” levels in Central Illinois, the backyard of GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Brady.

Other Republican sources said turnout in two collar county areas is “about average.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights has a GOTV program and is tracking their results. I asked for an update. Here it is…

Hi Rich. Our goal is to increase turnout 3% over 2006 levels in our targeted precincts. We are on track in some of the Chicago Latino areas and in the Asian / mixed areas, and light in some of the city Latino areas. We are light in Aurora, on track in the SW suburban Arab areas, and very heavy in the mixed Muslim / white parts of Dupage we are working in. Overall not horrible news for the Dems, but not good news either. I was reading the blog and this does not clear up the turnout mystery, but it confirms some of what is being stated.

Hope this is helpful. By the way, we will have made close to 500,000 live calls when all of this is done, between Illinois Immigrant Action and ICIRR. I don’t know how many got answered (will eventually have a report) but it looks from your blog that this puts us up pretty high in terms of people doing actual real work. We have GOTV in 17 communities.

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Dan White of the State Board of Elections prognosticates about statewide turnout…

“We’re expecting an average turnout,” White said of today’s vote. “It’s good. It’ll be a little bit above 50 percent.”

White said Chicago and Cook County are projecting a turnout of about 53 percent at mid-day. White said turnout also is higher in some downstate areas, including Sangamon County, where Springfield is located.

* I just spoke with Jim Allen at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

“Right now,” Allen said. “it looks like we’re heading into the low 50s” for city turnout.

However, Allen added a huge caveat. “The big question is whether we’re heading into an evening rush.” The city hasn’t had an evening voter rush in the last two elections, the 2010 primary and the 2008 general. The city board was a bit redfaced two years ago when they declared morning turnout indicated an 80 percent rate, but the lack of an evening rush led to a 71.5 percent turnout. And the ‘08 primary’s evening rush wasn’t that significant, either, Allen said.

There are a lot of factors at play here. Grace period voting, early voting, absentee voting, people don’t have jobs or they have jobs that they can’t leave, etc.

If history repeats itself and there’s no evening rush, Allen says the city is looking at “barely” 50 percent, or maybe even 49 percent.

As noted below, most prognosticators believe that Pat Quinn and Alexi Giannoulias need at least a 50 percent turnout in the city.

* Another silly lede…

Voter turnout at some precincts in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood appears down considerably from the presidential election two years ago.

You can’t compare presidential elections to off-year elections. Sheesh. However, this next graf is interesting…

Tyrone Blanton, a poll worker at the 21st precinct in the 3rd Ward, said 308 of the 341 registered voters turned out during the election that put President Barack Obama in office. But today, as of 1 p.m., only 67 people had cast ballots.

That’s low. Very low.

Yet, Toni Preckwinkle’s people are projecting a city/county turnout akin to 2006, which is what the Democrats need. As a good friend of mine just said when we were discussing all the conflicting turnout reports…

God I hate election day

Heh.

* I think WLS Radio is trying to be Drudge bait. Their stories and, especially, their headlines lately are just off the wall. Check out their latest headline…

Many problems reported at polls, precincts opening late

The actual story…

There have been scattered problems reported this morning. The Cook County Clerk’s Office says five precincts did not open on time, so the Clerk will be asking a judge to allow them to stay open past 7 tonight. Three of those late opening precincts are in Proviso Township in the Western suburbs and two in Northfield Township in the Northern suburbs.

“Scattered” problems in a few suburban precincts ain’t “many” problems.

* Tell us more about your precincts, towns, etc. How’s it going out there? We’ve had the best, most widespread field reports in comments than you’ll find anywhere else. Keep them coming!

  43 Comments      


Protected: *** UPDATED x1 *** SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Midday report

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Early afternoon precinct reports

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE *** These are very good bellwethers…

Just about every strategist I’ve spoken with says that Chicagoans, particularly African-Americans, have to turn out [at least 50 percent] for Democrats Alexi Giannoulias and, particularly, Gov. Pat Quinn to have a shot against Republicans Mark Kirk and Bill Brady in the U.S. Senate and governor races, respectively.

A 50% turnout would be about 660,000 voters. The Chicago Board of Elections traditionally gives turnout projections during the day, so look to see what they report. And, of course, they’ll be putting totals on the board’s website. […]

The [58th House District has] a Democratic incumbent, Karen May. The [17th House District] is an open seat now held by Republican Beth Coulson, who gave up her job to stage an unsuccessful race for Congress.

If Republicans are serious about knocking out House Speaker Michael Madigan, they almost certainly have to hang onto the 17th while taking a dozen other seats. And if they snag the 58th, a Republican rout likely is under way.

The Cook County Clerk’s Office should provide the best up-to-the-minute vote totals in the 17th, with Cook and the Lake County Clerk’s Office covering the 58th.

If the HGOPs take out May, this thing is over. If they take out Biss, it’s gonna be close.

…Adding… I posted this in comments…

Chicago turnout four years ago was 49.25 percent. The state as a whole averaged 41.4 percent.

The city’s turnout in 2002 was 53.1 percent. Statewide average was 40.2 percent.

[ *** End Of Update *** ]

* This AP story tells us nothing…

A spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections said there appears to be a stronger interest in Tuesday’s elections than in the spring primaries.

That’s a pretty darned low bar, considering how miserable the turnout was in the primary.

* This tells us almost nothing…

[Mark Kirk] said he had spoken with officials in New Trier who said turnout “was extremely heavy,” and had heard that turnout in parts of Chicago wasn’t as strong.

Careful what you believe on election day.

* This tells us a wee bit more…

Willard Helander, the Lake County Clerk, told PI this morning that the polls in her county were “not crazy, but busy.” She said it was “extremely probable” that turnout would be “higher than 52 percent.” One of the reasons: voter referendums, such as the historic effort to recall Buffalo Grove Trustee Lisa Stone. Over in Kane County, Clerk John Cunningham said he expected roughly 90,000 and 100,000 of the 213,000 eligible voters in his county to cast a ballot by day’s end.

* An absentee ballot report…

Chicago and Cook County election officials said they are continuing to receive a flood of absentee ballots, some delivered by mail this morning.

“We still have thousands of them coming in,” said Courtney Greve, a spokeswoman for Cook County Clerk David Orr. “We received 4,500 (Monday).”

Greve did not have an estimate for how many total absentee ballots would be cast in suburban Cook County. Through Monday, the number stood at 14,000. […]

In Chicago, about 20,000 absentee ballots had been cast so far, said Langdon Neal, executive director of the board, who said hundreds more arrived by mail this morning. Absentee ballots had to be postmarked by Monday to be tallied in the election.

A lot more absentee ballots are still out there. Here are the IMA numbers for absentee requests for the city and the county…

Chicago – 28,984
Suburban Cook – 33,351

* Latest headline from the Washington Post…

In Illinois, all eyes on Obama’s former Senate seat

All eyes? If you ask the city’s editors, all eyes are on Mayor Daley’s job.

* Speaking of the city, Rahm sends out an e-mail and Politico covers it…

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel used a new list of supporters from his recently launched Chicago mayoral campaign to help Democratic Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias get out the vote Tuesday.

Emanuel, once the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, wrote in an e-mail blast that Chicago voters need to show up at the polls to ensure Republicans “don’t derail the president’s agenda.

* Speaking of headlines…

Confident Gov. Quinn votes, says he has no regrets

Some of us do.

* The Southern Illinoisan sold an unusual ad to Bill Brady’s campaign yesterday. The entire front page of the newspaper’s website was wrapped with a Brady campaign message. Click the pic for a larger image…

My brother asked…

What if a local news channel had a campaign graphic surrounding the newscast the night before elections?

Don’t give ‘em any ideas, man.

* One 47th Ward denizen used his/her yard sign collection to frighten the kids but good on Halloween…

* Make sure to tell us what’s going on in your precinct.

  62 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** Be careful out there - Brother of state Sen. Munoz hit by car

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE *** From Sen Munoz…

Statement from Illinois State Sen. Antonio Munoz regarding the condition of his brother Martin, who was hit by a vehicle Tuesday morning.

“I want to thank everyone for calling and texting and sending along their thoughts and prayers,” said Munoz.

His brother Martin was struck by a vehicle and injured Tuesday morning as he walked to a local polling place. Martin Munoz, 40, suffered a broken leg and head lacerations. His injuries required surgery Tuesday to put screws and a rod in his leg.

“He’s out of surgery and doing very well,” Munoz said, again thanking well wishers.

* This is just horrible…

The brother of a state senator was seriously injured this morning when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver who sped through an intersection outside a South Side polling station, officials and witnesses said.

Martin Munoz, 40, the brother of State Sen. Antonio Munoz, (D-Chicago), was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was undergoing surgery.

John Patterson, acting as spokesman for the senator, said Martin Munoz suffered head lacerations and serious leg injuries but was conscious after the accident. He had been on his way to vote, he added. […]

The accident happened just before 6 a.m. outside Balzekas Motor Sales, 4030 S. Archer Ave., where a polling location was being set up, said Robert Balzekas, an employee of the Brighton Park neighborhood dealership. It had not yet opened to voters.
Balzekas said Munoz was crossing Archer when a 1994 or 1995 Nissan barreled down the diagonal street heading southeast. He said the car was traveling between 30 and 40 mph when it struck Munoz.

My thoughts are with Sen. Munoz and his family.

…Adding… Some have asked me to post this…

Arthur “Ron” Swanson, 84, a former Republican state senator and lobbyist whose insider deals played a key role in the conviction of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, died of kidney failure Saturday, Oct. 30, in his Homer Glen home, said his son, Ronald Jr.

Mr. Swanson, who served as state senator from 1963 to 1971, was sentenced in July 2006 to eight months of home confinement for lying to a grand jury when he claimed to have performed work as part of a $180,000 lobbying assignment at McCormick Place arranged by Ryan.

Although the prosecution recommended that Mr. Swanson be sentenced to prison, the judge cited his elderly age and health problems, saying prison would have been “cruel and unusual punishment.” He was 80 at the time.

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Question of the day

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From Saturday’s Fox News poll of those who have already voted…

* Brady 34
* Quinn 52
* Whitney 7
* Cohen 4
* Other 3

From PPP’s Saturday-Sunday poll of those who have already voted…

* Brady 45
* Quinn 49
* Whitney 2
* Cohen 4
* Green -
* Undecided 3

* From the Fox News poll of people who have not yet voted…

* Brady 47
* Quinn 35
* Whitney 3
* Cohen 7
* Other 2

PPP’s results for those who have not voted…

* Brady 45
* Quinn 39
* Whitney 5
* Cohen 5
* Green 3
* Undecided 4

* The Question: Have you changed your mind on any of your election day predictions? Explain now or forever hold your peace. Comments will be closed at 7 o’clock.

  58 Comments      


*** UPDATED x1 *** Fun election day stuff and more reader precinct reports

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a pal…

Hi buddy. What is the best site to monitor results tonight. Where will u be?

This will be the best site, of course. And I’ll be right here, posting away. We’ll have election returns, video, links to live video, etc., etc.

* Can Mike Madigan be blamed for this? It’s probably too late for the Tribune to try…

Candidates across Illinois are trying to make the most of their last day before Tuesday’s election. But a leading contender in a tight Cook County race had to step off the campaign trail for a few hours.

Assessor candidate Forrest Claypool said his “emergency” began last night after Halloween trick-or-treating. “I made the mistake of stealing my 9-year-old daughter’s Tootsie Roll,” he said. “It was like a hydraulic lift on my cavity filling, and just pulled it right out.”

Before he knew it, Claypool was in a Hyde Park dentist’s chair. The repair on Tooth No. 18 forced Claypool to cancel a Monday afternoon appearance at Manny’s Deli, a frequent stop for politicians before Election Day. He hoped the Novocain would wear off in time to meet rush-hour commuters at the Roosevelt stop of CTA’s Red Line.

* Tony Peraica has ruined it for everybody. From a press release…

At approximately 11:30 PM last night, an automobile registered in Maryland, was involved in the alleged theft of Joe Walsh for Congress campaign signs in Hainesville, Illinois. The theft occurred at the intersection of Illinois Route 120 and Illinois Route 134.

Steve Tucker, a volunteer in the Joe Walsh for Congress campaign, and another volunteer, were sitting in a car at the 7-11 gas station across the street, and observed the passenger of a car with Maryland License Plate (8 MD 1526) remove three Joe Walsh for Congress campaign signs from the shoulder of the road and replace them with campaign signs for Melissa Bean.

The getaway car was registered with a specialty license plate issued by the State of Maryland for the Maryland Democratic Party.

*** UPDATE *** I didn’t even see Walsh’s video link. Thanks to a commenter for pointing it out. First of all, the Walsh video doesn’t show the alleged operative actually touching the sign. At the very beginning she appears to be standing next to a Bean sign. And lastly, the Walsh sign appears to be posted in a public right of way, which is illegal. Is not stealing or even touching an illegally posted sign illegal? No. Watch it for yourself…


Lamest. Allegation. Ever.

[ *** End Of Update *** ]

And more silliness: He said. She said.

* From the RNC’s spokesperson…

Thank you for putting up with my endless stream of emails.

No. Thank YOU for your endless streams of mob banker references.

* A new record! From the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform…

Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Kilbride’s retention election has set a record as the most expensive retention election in the state’s history and the second most expensive in our nation’s history. Kilbride’s committee and his opponents have raised more than $3.2 million. The previous Illinois record for a retention race was in the low six figures. Kilbride had $2.6 million compared to nearly $700,000 for his opponents. Nearly $1.5 million of Kilbride’s money came from the Democratic Party of Illinois. The opposition JUSTPAC is the political committee of the Illinois Civil Justice League, which has the financial support of insurance companies and health care providers who support limits on medical malpractice and other personal injury lawsuits.

* From a buddy in Decatur…

* Today’s front page…

Yep. Even on election day, they have to get something in there about the mayor’s race.

Here’s a more interesting headline: Meeks never did endorse Pat Quinn.

…Adding… People, don’t be silly. If you see vote fraud, call the attorney general, the state’s attorney, the FBI. Don’t call WLS Radio. What’re they gonna do? Send Roe over to heckle? Sheesh.

* What’s going on at your precincts?

  44 Comments      


Morning Shorts

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Treasury estimates $362B in borrowing for quarter

* Illinois CFOs mull cutting health benefits, survey says

* Autopsies in 2 high-profile suicides released

* Pekin manufacturing program seen as an example

* City posts ‘no parking’ in front of GOP HQ — starting Election Day

* New hires in ‘11 won’t make up for departing cops, city concedes

* Weis: Fewer Cops Will Be On Streets

* Stone: Ald. Munoz ‘Playing With’ Himself

* Panel moves on city takeover of Harold Washington Cultural Center

* Chicago alderman may vote on affordable housing ordinance

* Peraica Sues Village of McCook, Mayor Over Weekend Arrest

* Tony Peraica files wrongful arrest lawsuit

* Charges Concocted to Smear Me: Tony Peraica

* Gurnee Village board to vote on wind energy ordinance

* Mt. Prospect eyes cutting 34 village jobs

* Aurora decides against lawsuit over Election Commission

* Chicago Heights sends voting rights agreement to judge; awaits today’s vote

* Dist. 204 excels on school report card

* Indian Prairie shows gains in test scores

* Library systems check in $2.8 million in state funds

* Park Forest seeks state grants for public projects

* Frankfort bans video gambling

* Rockford City Council approves Tapco building purchase

* Quincy council to modify lease agreement with QU

* Morton to seek downtown plan

* Decatur council turns attention to long-term projects

* No furloughs for Springfield city workers in November; revenue up

* Reckamp won’t seek re-election

* O’Fallon hires consultant to organize budget

* Gerald Fitzgerald, banking figure, has died

* Father of former Sen. Fitzgerald dies

* Meeks would leave pulpit if elected Chicago mayor

* Meeks hands off some ministry duties for mayoral race

* State Sen. James Meeks Leaves Church Duties to Campaign

* Meeks makes a mayoral move

* Ald. Fioretti has throat cancer, won’t run for mayor

* Ald. Fioretti Has Cancer, Won’t Run For Mayor

  9 Comments      


Election day caption contest!

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This man could very well be our next governor…

  113 Comments      


Morning election report

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** Comments closed. Let’s move the conversation to a fresh post. ***

* 6:28 am - How are things going at your polling place this morning? What’s the weather? What’s the vibe? Fill us in.

* Roundup…

* Brown: Victorious or not, Illinois GOP back in the fight - Threat of ‘extinction’ has passed as backlash has stung Democrats

* Election day: Close races, big spenders and unhappy voters

* Voters head to polls for mid-term election

* State GOP Predicts Big Smiles Wednesday Morning

* GOP sees opportunities up and down Ill. ballot

* Poll buoys Illinois Republicans in U.S. Senate, governor races - But margin or error could mean both are still dead heats

* Third-Party Options Could Save Democrats

* Day of decision - Will national Republican wave drown state’s Democratic strength?

* Can Obama Save Alex Giannoulias, Pat Quinn in His Home State?

* Lynn Sweet: Dems can blame Blago for their mess - Senate race might have been a lot easier for their party

* Senate, gov foes make final campaign swings - More bitterness and name-calling as candidates try to lock up votes

* U.S. Senate, governor hopefuls end busy day in Chicago, suburbs

* ‘Trash-talking’ candidates turn off suburban voters

* Brady, Quinn, Kirk & Giannoulias Campaign for One Last Night

* Candidates Make Last Minute Stops

* GOP sees opportunities up and down Ill. ballot

* Republican candidates visit UI before the races

* Candidates make their last push in Illinois

* Candidates Make a Final Push

* Sneed: Mother Quinn The Quinn Bin

* Dems brace for GOP wave

* Senate “Big Six” will determine fate of parties on Election Day

* Factbox: Twelve Senate races to watch

* Today’s election at a glance

  56 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

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« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Jim Edgar (Updated and comments opened)
* Porter McNeil (Updated and comments opened)
* Reader comments closed for the weekend
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Bailey releases poll showing him ahead in Republican primary, but lots of undecideds
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Various stuff
* Pritzker signs executive order to 'protect vaccine access'
* A quick briefing on Ted Dabrowski's running mate (Updated)
* Trump says the National Guard will deploy to Memphis though he “would have preferred going to Chicago” (Updated)
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* Good morning!
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

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