“I am calling on Derrick Smith to resign from his position as state representative of the 10th District. The allegations in the charge against him convey unacceptable conduct, making it extremely difficult to represent the citizens of the district. The public would be much better served if Derrick were to step down.”
I don’t know yet if this means Smith is resisting a push-out or whether White just wants to get out in front of the inevitable. Stay tuned.
As you already know, Rep. Smith is White’s guy. White installed him in the House, so the task of getting Smith the heck out - now - is naturally falling on White’s shoulders.
Jason Plummer, the GOP’s newly minted 12th U.S. House District nominee, talked up his party’s prospects in the November general election during a unity breakfast Wednesday.
“It’s great to see a united Republican Party,” said Plummer at St. Clair County GOP headquarters a day after his win in the Tuesday primary race.
“It’s not just a united Republican Party,” said Plummer, of Fairview Heights. “But a growing Republican Party.” […]
Plummer, however, might not be able to count on the help of Rodger Cook, who finished second to Plummer in the three-way GOP contest.
Cook, after sharing a perfunctory handshake with Plummer Wednesday morning, said he still felt some hard feelings toward Plummer.
* Commenter “Oswego Willy” has been firing on Plummer for years here with some of the funniest posts on the blog. So, this must-watch mashup of Plummer’s disastrous 2010 Chicago Tonight appearance, featuring EPMD’s “So What Cha Sayin,’” is for OW…
* House Speaker Michael Madigan defeated Michele Piszczor 76-17 yesterday, but that didn’t stop Piszczor from claiming she was robbed…
“I know he cheated,” Piszczor said to Progress Illinois in the Marriott lobby.
“If I lost fair and square, OK. The fact that you cheated to get to where you’re at, no, you didn’t win.” […]
“They’re over here soliciting votes, sitting there literally guarding the door,” she said, referring to at least five people standing or sitting in front of the polling location at 10 a.m.
“It’s unbelievable. They approach voters like hound dogs. It’s illegal. They can’t be doing this.”
While I didn’t observe any cheating Tuesday except perhaps the usual electioneering too close to the polling place, it was evident that Madigan’s old-fashioned patronage army was pushing extra hard to bring in good numbers for the boss. That type of effort that has been known to lead to excesses, but it doesn’t explain losing 76 to 17.
I’m not suggesting Piszczor wasted her time in challenging Madigan.
There’s certainly a value to making sure no politician takes his constituents for granted, as some voters I met Tuesday complained of Madigan.
Others told me they might have considered voting for an alternative if only he’d had a more serious opponent than Piszczor.
Brown’s conclusion is something that I think I share…
I’m as eager as anybody for Madigan, who turns 70 next month, to ride off into the sunset — if only to give us a fresh start in Springfield.
But portraying him as the all powerful cartoon villain from whom all evil flows in Illinois government is also an overly simplistic rewrite of history. Madigan helped get Illinois into this mess, but he also may be the best person to help get us out.
Toni Preckwinkle is a rare popular politician at a time when voter love is in scarce supply. Even so, in Tuesday’s primary, the coattails of the first-term president of the Cook County Board couldn’t carry some of the high-profile candidates she endorsed.
Preckwinkle’s candidate for Illinois Supreme Court, Joy Cunningham, lost resoundingly to Mary Jane Theis.
Her candidate for Cook County Circuit Court clerk, Ricardo Munoz, was soundly defeated by incumbent Dorothy Brown.
Her pick for the 8th Congressional District seat, Raja Krishnamoorthi, lost to Tammy Duckworth.
A bright spot for Preckwinkle, however, was winning a fight on her Hyde Park home turf, where her chosen candidate, Christian Mitchell, was leading against Kenny Johnson in the 26th District state House race. […]
For Preckwinkle, Tuesday night was not a night of addition.
Preckwinkle also backed Rudy Lozano, who lost the 21st House District race to Silvana Tabares.
That Hyde Park win came at a very high cost. Preckwinkle spent a fortune and had to deploy just about every resource she had to drag Christian Mitchell across the finish line, even though Kenny Johnson had some serious problems in his background
* Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s night went considerably better. He backed Rep. Toni Berrios in her close win over progressive Will Guzzardi. Rep. Kelly Cassidy raised a lot of money for her winning primary effort partly because of Emanuel’s efforts. The mayor also supported Ald. Deb Graham against Congressman Danny Davis for 29th Ward Democratic Committeeman and Graham defied all expectations by beating Davis 51.5 to 48.5. Emanuel did some robocalls for Christian Mitchell, was totally instrumental in Justice Theis’ Supreme Court victory, helped Duckworth, etc. Not bad at all.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Rep. Smith’s assistant says she hasn’t seen him yet today and that his car isn’t on the Capitol grounds.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Smith has an excused absence from the House.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* 11:23 am - Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) has yet to say anything publicly since his federal bribery arrest last week or his huge win last night over former Republican operative Tom Swiss. It’s possible he could resign as early as today, but there’s no official word yet. House Republican Leader Tom Cross isn’t waiting for Smith to decide. From a press release…
A group of Republican House lawmakers today called for the creation of a House Special Investigative Committee to further investigate all allegations and charges of impropriety that prompted the recent arrest of Representative Derrick Smith on Federal bribery charges. The House Committee, similar to that formed following the arrest of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, would determine what if any disciplinary action the House would recommend against Smith.
From that same press release, Cross explains how the process will work…
Under the rules of the Illinois House (House Rule 91), disciplinary proceedings against a member may be commenced by filing a petition with the Speaker calling for a Special Investigative Committee. The petition must be signed by at least one member of the House, and must contain suggested charges which, if true, may subject the member named in the petition to disciplinary action by the House.
If the petition is signed by 3 or more members of the House, the Speaker shall appoint 3 members of the majority caucus and the Minority Leader shall appoint 3 members of the minority caucus to a Special Investigative Committee.
Representatives today signing the petition requesting the creation of the Special Investigative Committee are: Representative Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein), Representative Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth), Representative Jim Sacia (R-Pecatonica), Representative Tim Schmitz (R-Batavia), and Representative Dave Winters (R-Shirland).
I’ll add a roundup of Smith stories in a few minutes.
…Adding... Rep. Smith won last night 77-23. Tom Swiss’ take…
With about 92 percent of the precincts reporting, Smith had taken in 77 percent of the vote against 23 percent for challenger Tom Swiss, who raised eyebrows by running billboard ads depicting black individuals in the mostly African-American district when he himself is white.
“I was annihilated,” Swiss said. ““The ideologues came out, and those are the people that just would rather vote for a crook than someone who had worked for Republicans.”
Swiss also insinuated that getting arrested actually helped Smith, saying the race was based on name recognition and the stories generated by his arrest were the equivalent of “hundreds and thousands of dollars” of campaign advertising.
Getting arrested “helped” Smith by focusing lots of attention on Swiss’ race and partisan background.
* Democrat Ilya Sheyman’s loss to Brad Schneider in the 10th Congressional District was yet another big surprise last night. Politico’s take…
[Sheyman’s] loss is a crushing blow to the organized professional left, which poured substantial resources into the primary, making it a national priority for the movement.
A poll by Public Policy Polling last week showed Sheyman with a double-digit lead, so the margin is one of most stunning outcomes of the night.
Yes, it is. And you can bet that the DCC is breathing a little easier today. Sheyman would’ve probably been too far to the left to win the moderate, ticket-splitting 10th CD against freshman Republican Bob Dold. Some analysis from the NRCC…
Dold’s challenger Brad Schneider, comes off a bruising Democrat primary where he didn’t break 50% over a 25-year-old. Endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, Schneider’s support for her national energy tax won’t bode well for Illinois families who are already paying record-high gas prices. During his primary, Schneider said that he wouldn’t join the Blue Dog Coalition, signaling that he will be another partisan rubber-stamp in Congress. In addition, Schneider is going to have a lot of ground to make up against Bob Dold’s fundraising prowess and retail campaign skills. Dold has a cash advantage of over $1 million compared to Schneider, a significant gap in what is sure to be a costly race.
* The polls weren’t off everywhere, but as I told you yesterday, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s last tracker had him up by just three points over GOP Congressman Don Manzullo. The Kinzinger campaign was collectively biting its nails even after the AP had declared he’d won. But with 99 percent reporting, Kinzinger soundly defeated Manzullo 56-44.
KInzinger had a superior field operation and he’s a telegenic candidate. He also won the new part of the district…
Both performed strongly in the parts of the district they’d previously represented, but Kinzinger won over the new part of the district by a solid margin.
TBut another key factor was the role played by the Campaign for Primary Accountability, which showered the district with $ 211,500 in TV and radio ads, robo-calls, and mailers in the last three weeks, slamming Mr. Manzullo for voting for spending proposals backed by Democrats.
The PAC is a small collection of about a dozen individuals, almost all of them conservative, Republican, Texan, or all three of the above. They helped unseat GOP incumbent Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio on super Tuesday, and since then, have made an impact in several other primaries in both parties.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. coasted to a big win against long-time foe Debbie Halvorson, a former congresswoman.
In the 2nd Congressional District contest, Jackson had 71.2 percent of the vote to Debbie Halvorson’s 28.8 percent with 99 percent of the unofficial vote counted.
That’s just jaw-dropping, if you ask me. Halvorson could very well be finished in this business. She has, for far too long, engaged in a war with Jackson over the third regional airport location. She demanded to be appointed Illinois Secretary of Transportation, but she was refused and then she turned down other cabinet positions to run against Jackson in an almost surely no-win race.
Halvorson pulled in 2,686 votes in Will County to Jackson’s 1,709, and in Kankakee County, Halvorson brought in 2,395 to Jackson’s 1,182. Will County and Kankakee-area officials have never taken kindly to Jackson’s advocacy for a south suburban airport.
In Cook County, Jackson pulled in 31,847 votes to Halvorson’s 11,049. In the city of Chicago, Jackson posted 19,700 to Halvorson’s 5,721.
In the 8th, former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth handily beat Raja Krishnamoorthi 67 percent to 33 percent.
“I am so proud to be standing here in front of you, ready to bring back common sense and practical solutions to Washington because that’s what the residents of the 8th district need. That’s what they deserve,” Duckworth told supporters in Homewood.
Duckworth goes on to compete against Joe Walsh.
Most of us figured she’d win big, but 67 percent is pretty darned huge for such a hotly contested primary.
* THis is a major blow to DC Democrats who had hoped to prevent David Gill from winning the Democratic primary for the fourth time. Gill was seen as far less electable against longtime Republican Congressman Tim Johnson, but as of now, Gill is ahead of Matt Goetten by 143 votes…
Unofficial returns, which will not be certified by the State Board of Elections for weeks, give the Bloomington physician 15,507 votes to 15,364 votes for Greene County State’s Attorney Matt Goetten.
Before Macoupin County ballots were counted around 4:30 a.m. today, Gill had a lead of 14,245 to 13,220. Macoupin County Democrats favored Goetten, 2,144 to 1,262. But the margin wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s lead. […]
Gill owed much of his victory to Champaign County Democrats, who gave him a margin of 5,116 votes to 1,365 votes for Goetten. Champaign County voters, who are familiar with Gill from his three previous races against Johnson, gave Gill more than one-third of all of his votes Tuesday. Gill’s campaign had hoped for 72 percent of the votes in Champaign County; he got 75.78 percent. Gill also won by a large margin in McLean County, 805 to 265. But Goetten won in Macon County, 2,678 to 2,632, and in Sangamon County, 1,903 to 1,582.
Goetten was never an A-List candidate. As the NRCC pointed out last night in a press release, the best possible candidates stayed away from this contest even though the district was drawn to be more Democratic.
Bloomington physician David Gill has a narrow lead over primary opponent Matt Goetten with all precincts reporting Wednesday morning.
Unofficial totals have Gill with 15,507 votes to Goetten’s 15,364 votes. Macoupin County made up the last 61 precincts to come in after 4 a.m. Wednesday, and Goetten won the county handily with 2,144 votes to Gill’s 1,262.
But it apparently wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s margin. However, absentee ballots mailed on time can be counted up to 14 days after the election.
Goetten’s campaign could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.
Macoupin hand-counted votes last night. It was slow as slow can be down there. Just ten minutes or so before the county finished counting, Gill sent out a harsh press release, which probably highlighted his not ready for primetime character…
Dr David Gill Questions Elections Process in Macoupin County
“At this point, we must seriously question the validity, transparency and accuracy of the elections process in Macoupin County. Right now, I lead in this election by 4 points and 1025 votes, but it doesn’t matter. This about the democratic process and being able to have basic faith in our election system.
“There are serious questions with how this process is being handled in Macoupin County.
Who decided to count the ballots by hand?
What process and procedures did they follow?
Has there been an uninterrupted and verified chain of custody?
Were there witnesses present for every part of the process and to monitor all handling of the ballots?
How were the results tabulated?
Was the media present?
Was law enforcement involved?
Was a legal opinion sought by the County Clerk for the proper course of action for this unprecedented process? Why was there no press conference or public announcement?
In 2000, Americans saw a president selected in this country and citizens disenfranchised because of a flawed election process and political dealmaking in Florida.
How can this possibly be happening in Illinois 12 years later?
At this point I believe the best course of action is for a judge to order the impounding of all ballots in Macoupin County until a process and equipment can be determined to properly count these ballots electronically, overseen by a judge and open to the media and observers. Anything less is undermining our basic democratic rights.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** A letter sent to Gill by the Macoupin County Clerk…
March 21, 2012
Dr. David Gill
Congressional Candidate
13th Congressional District
Dear Dr. Gill:
I have read your press release issued early this morning. I appreciate the scrutiny being placed on my Office because as the chief election authority of Macoupin County it is my responsibility to make certain that the great American freedom of the individual right to vote is protected. First and foremost, all procedures were completed in conjunction with the State Board of Elections. Because of the unprecedented problem that was being experienced by dozens of counties across the state, I ensured that the process here was conducted in a manner that not only met legal standards, but went above and beyond to guarantee accuracy and transparency in the voting process.
The procedure put in place required that any precinct experiencing any problem was immediately checked in and ballots, tabulators and official ballot records were taken to experienced Democrat and Republican election judges. These judges then individually ran each ballot through the tabulator, verifying that the total count on the tabulator reflected the ballot being read and counted. Overseeing this process were two representatives from the State Board of Elections, an Assistant State’s Attorney of Macoupin County, the Democrat and Republican County Chairmen, nearly all candidates (or their representatives) in contested races, members of the media, as well as any member of the general public who wished to be present. This was the process from start to finish. No one was denied access.
Every step of this process was done to promote accuracy and continue to promote a fair and unbiased election process in Macoupin County. Macoupin County’s Democrat and Republican election judges as well as members of my staff worked tirelessly all day and night to make sure that every vote was counted and done so properly. I know it was a long night for everyone and sometimes tensions arise; however, my office, as always, took any necessary steps in providing an open vote tabulation process. During my time as County Clerk I have worked with others to ensure open government by placing our county checkbook and monthly board meeting minutes online and have been recognized by local news outlets for these types of efforts toward transparency.
As always, I will make myself available to you, any candidate, or any taxpayer should you have questions about how this election was administered by the dedicated staff in my office and all election judges.
* My computer crashed last night. As you might imagine, it was a total nightmare. The ‘puter is back up and running again, but the hair-raising incident meant I stayed up way too late and now I need a couple hours’ sleep. So how about you discuss the biggest surprise of yesterday’s primary election for a while? Thanks.
