* Tackiest Facebook page of the week…

People posted links to that page and their own supportive commentary on Grogan’s personal Facebook page, but Grogan apparently deleted them early this afternoon.

* Meanwhile, Laura Washington…

No smoke-filled rooms. No gin martinis. Instead, the politicos and journalists sipped paprika-infused vodka and munched venison tartare last week at the ASGK holiday soiree.

At the prominent political consulting firm’s reception, the buzz was about backroom politics: Who will Gov. Pat Quinn appoint to replace the late, great Illinois comptroller, Judy Baar Topinka? The most intriguing answer I heard: Whoever can help make him a senator.

That is so Machiavellian. And so possible. […]

It’s the most valuable card the lame duck governor has to play. If you want to run for the U.S. Senate, having a statewide office holder in your pocket comes in handy.

I really wish the governor would rise above all this and go out with some class for a change. But I’m not confident that my wish will be fulfilled.

…Adding… ABC 7…

Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon would like to be named State Comptroller, ABC7 Eyewitness News has learned.

Simon has called Governor Pat Quinn asking to be named to replace Judy Baar Topinka, who died of a stroke Wednesday.

She should save her breath.

       

58 Comments - Formerly Known As... - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:00 pm: Grogan should make it clear he does not support this site’s efforts. And how long did it take Sheila Simon to call the Governor and then leak it to the press? Like that would ever happen in a million years. Tacky on both their parts. And that puts it kindly. - Norseman - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:00 pm: Some folks are throwing out Lauzen’s name. Probably not serious. But if Rauner does this stupid thing, put me down for a special election for the upcoming municipal election time. - Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:02 pm: ===Some folks are throwing out Lauzen’s name. Probably not serious=== Probably? lol - Oswego Willy - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:04 pm: If Grogan didn’t think he would get Primaried after his run this past Spring, this will probably do it. I am repulsed. - Georg Sande - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:12 pm: Who is tackier Grogan or Simon? - Formerly Known As... - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:13 pm: == That is so Machiavellian. == Machiavelli had other guidelines that would have precluded him from publicly appearing to exploit a person’s death in such distasteful fashion. Choosing to throw the state into chaos and litigation on his way out the door, transparently exploiting a popular person’s death for his own possible gain, and then fighting tooth-and-nail would be Quinniavellian, not Machiavellian, and it would backfire terribly in the court of public opinion. - Anonymoiis - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:15 pm: ==Quinniavellian, not Machiavellian== Almost Quinnochian - Just Observing - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:17 pm: === It’s the most valuable card the lame duck governor has to play. If you want to run for the U.S. Senate, having a statewide office holder in your pocket comes in handy. === Laura Washington is quite overstating the impact of an appointed state Comptroller on a U.S. Senate race. - Aldyth - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:18 pm: Perhaps it could be resolved by a double elimination mud wrestling contest for all contenders? There seems to be plenty of mud being slung already about the process and it seems silly to waste it. - Just Observing - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:19 pm: === Former City Treasurer Stephanie Neely is exquisitely qualified for the job. === I would find it hard to believe that Neely is interested in the position. Chicago Treasurer is a pretty great position — if she wanted to stay in politics, she would have stayed as Treasurer. Not to mention, I’m sure her new job at Allstate pays a heck of a lot more than City Treasurer or State Comptroller. - anon - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:20 pm: Quinn hasn’t done the wrong thing yet regarding this appointment. We can at least wait until he does to pile on. - Team Sleep - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:21 pm: It looks as though the “Grogan for Comptroller” page is something his supports concocted. - Western Ave. Doug - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:23 pm: In the about portion of the page it states: “Page is operated by a group of grassroots activists and not Bob Grogan.” Judging by the names of the likes of the “grassroots” types, these are all Jeanne Ives people from Lisle, Milton and Naperville townships. Where there is Jeanne, there is a Proft hiding somewhere. - Downstate GOP Faithless - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:28 pm: I received my FB invite to from a Downers person, which also likely means its tied to a group of locals with the party. Keep in mind the party in the township has a complete disregard for just about any of their members of the GA. - Wordslinger - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:29 pm: I’m trying to figure out who you could appoint as comptroller that could help get you elected senator. Does Warren Buffett want the gig, lol? The office isnt big enough. Plus, who of any stature wants to be at the center of the inevitable circus that will result in a litigated appointment? Quinn picked Vallas for l.g., who helped him with no one, when a black candidate might have, theoretically, at least sparked a little something among voters he desperately needed to turn out big. I’m not buying it. - Formerly Known As... - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:29 pm: == Almost Quinnochian == Better than my original, Anonymoiis. Nicely done. - Team Sleep - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:38 pm: Pat Quinn should just appoint himself. The press conference would be a great way to go out with a bang. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:40 pm: Wordslinger, that one had me scratching my head too. Atleast one person, Laura Washington, wants us to believe that Pat Quinn’s political career is not over. I’d say the Bertuca appointment was Quinn’s way of slamming the door on the way out. If you were even contemplating running for office again, you don’t create the ad “Quinn appointed his campaign manager to $175,000 a year job.” Aside from that, organized labor may have been “Anybody but Rauner” in 2014, but a 2016 Democratic Primary would be “Anybody but Quinn,” I suspect. Pensions aside, you don’t want someone who starts out with his negatives. - ??? - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:44 pm: When I read over the weekend that Sheila Simon had contacted Quinn to ask him to appoint her, I lost all respect I’d had for her, and to be honest, I didn’t have much to begin with. That she could even think Quinn would do HER, of all people, a favor, shows just how little political acumen that woman has. And to start jockeying so soon? Just classless. Sheila, you’ve proven time and time again that you are unable to get into office unless someone hands you the job. Please, get out of politics, you’re embarrassing yourself. - Roamin' Numeral - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:46 pm: ==Tackiest Facebook page of the week== Perhaps the tackiest in all of 2014. #SavingTheWorstForLast Stay classy, Grogan. - IMHO - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:52 pm: From my experiences working with B Grogan, he would be a good Comptroller. - The old and new William j Kelly - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:54 pm: Wow! ZERO class! A pox on both of them! - FRG - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:56 pm: Let’s hope Quinn rides off into the sunset. But, I fear he won’t. I don’t think he has many interests outside of holding elective office…and the word from people close to him is he is not taking his loss well, operating under the belief that Rauner unjustly took the Governor’s Office from him with his millions. - Michael Westen - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:57 pm: I wonder if Quinn thinks this thing is “golden, ——- golden.” - OneMan - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:57 pm: Lauzen? Nah, think he is having too much fun in Kane County IMHO… - A guy... - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:57 pm: Read this article in the paper this morning. I too wondered how an appointed Comptroller (in your pocket, no less??) helps you in a US Senate Race. Odd, very odd. - OneMan - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 1:58 pm: Think there needs to be a anyone but Bob page on facebook… - Soccermom - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:00 pm: I am not sure I believe the Sheila simon story - Juvenal - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:03 pm: === and the word from people close to him is he is not taking his loss well, operating under the belief that Rauner unjustly took the Governor’s Office from him with his millions. === Losing sucks, and one of the crappiest parts about losing for campaign staff is holding your candidate’s hand and walking them through Five Stages of Grief and Loss. Candidates always look for someone to blame. Obviously, his staff isn’t going to say “Blame yourself” or “Blame us” if they are trying to get jobs. Blaming Rauner is just plain silly. If you think money was the decider, blame every single person who convinced you that you were better off facing Rauner’s millions than Dillard’s record, and all the folks involved who didn’t caution “Are you out of your mind?” - ??? - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:06 pm: Soccermom, I wasn’t 100% sure about it, either. I only saw it on one media website (ABC7 Chicago’s website), which seemed weird. But then I saw others’ comments about it here, so I thought maybe it had been reported elsewhere. I HOPE she didn’t contact Quinn about it. ABC7 reported that she reached out to him on Friday. - Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:07 pm: ===ABC7 reported that she reached out to him on Friday=== I heard it was earlier than that. - ??? - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:07 pm: Rich, that’s even worse. - OneMan - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:14 pm: Perhaps she wants to hold a record for most state offices held without winning a primary on your own… Even Rolland can’t put that on the monument… - Toure's Latte - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:20 pm: ==Keep in mind the party in the township has a complete disregard for just about any of their members of the GA.== After November’s no-show by the ILGOP HRO I think there’s probably more than just them having that complete disregard. - Cheryl P - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:21 pm: I agree with anon up there–let’s let Quinn put his foot in it before we criticize his appointment. - buckle up - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:21 pm: Quinn for US Senate?!? That would make Mark Kirk’s dreams come true!! - Wordslinger - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:25 pm: Regarding the Simon story, I’d prefer to see a named source before accusing someone of incredibly bad taste and unbelievable chutzpah. Or, you could ask her directly. - x ace - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:27 pm: Maybe Burris gets himself appointed to fill out the Current Term , and thereby adds another line to the big stone ? - VanillaMan - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:30 pm: Remember all that ugly when Obama won? JJJ pretended to campaign for the appointed Senate seat while using millionaire donors to contact a governor interested in selling it. Then we had a faux Democratic primary with an embarrassing number of ambitious pols jousting through the media. Remember what we had to do after Roland showed up? How about those icky hearings to determine that Roland made Blagojevich promises, but promised us that he had no way of fulfilling them. Remember the US Senate not allowing our newly appointed senator? Is this what we’re going to see now? We don’t inspire any confidence in government with carnival side shows like this do we. But in a political world, government suffers. That’s what we’ve been going through for far too long. Politics is killing our state. Here is example number 342,870. No wonder normal folks hate politicians. - Jake From Elwood - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:44 pm: Governor Quinn needs to handle this appointment properly to avoid being unfairly compared with Governor Rod. The former needs to prove one last time that his governance was better and more ethical than the latter. - walker - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:47 pm: The only person, it seems, who has done nothing and said nothing so far, has been Pat Quinn. Let’s wait and see. It will be in the next couple of days. - The old and new William j Kelly - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 2:58 pm: Walker, great point. - Anonymous - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 3:01 pm: There will never be another JBT and the behavior of these folks are proof- Is there truly no shame? - Just Observing - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 3:15 pm: Ha… a Burrus appointment would be hysterical, ironic, and logical all at the same time. - Buck I - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 3:18 pm: Believe me, Lauzen wants it. He ran for the office in 1998, but lost to Haynes. He’s also looking for 1 days pay in a high paying state job so he can nearly double his pension. He’s fully vested at 85% of his legislative salary; one day at $137+k means 85% of the higher salary. - Formerly Known As... - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 3:34 pm: Sheila Simon may be guilty of misjudgment at times, but there is no way she publicly admits calling the Governor and asking for the spot so quickly after JBT’s passing. Even she realizes how that would be greeted by the public. Either Sheila Simon made another poor political judgment or ABC is running ghoulish and poorly sourced rumors. My money would be Sheila Simon making another poor decision. - Soccermom - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 3:35 pm: Rich, I am assuming you heard the Simon story from someone reputable. But it is hard to believe, on so many levels. The only news reports I saw had no attributions whatsoever… - BustedCrat - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:13 pm: Has anyone reached out to Tom Cross ? He IS available ya know. - Norseman - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:16 pm: === Has anyone reached out to Tom Cross ? He IS available ya know. === I’m not in favor of this loser or Sheila loser being appointed to anything. As Tom Hanks said to Matt Damon’s Private Ryan character - EARN IT! - Century Club - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:22 pm: There’s only one person that Quinn could appoint Comptroller that would help get him a Senate seat. I can see it now… “Senator Kirk, have you maxed out your DC pension yet? Because I’ve got a line on a cushy gig right here in Illinois… - ??? - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:29 pm: Hmmm….just saw this article by Sheila Simon in the Trib, suggesting Frerichs be appointed: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/chi-illinois-comptroller-sheila-simon-mike-frerichs-topinka-perspec-20141215-story.html - Jaded - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:33 pm: What is wrong with gin martinis? - Ron Burgundy - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:50 pm: Simon’s op-ed wants Frerichs to keep both jobs through Rauner’s term. If that happens, perhaps he can ride on a unicorn to the swearing-in. - Ron Burgundy - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 4:51 pm: Right in the op-ed she acknowledges she wants the job, but also says she lost the election: “There are plenty of people who would be happy to be appointed comptroller. I’m one of them — after all I spent a great deal of time running for the office. But I lost that election in November. And any appointee other than Mike Frerichs is going to be someone who either lost an election or never even ran.” - Wensicia - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 5:45 pm: Dear Sheila, Fat chance! - Anonymous - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 6:23 pm: Is Bill still alive? If Quinn were to appoint Blago to Comptroller. Would he get out of prison to serve? After all it is the states checkbook we are talking about. - Bill F. - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 6:59 pm: The ABC story quotes no one. The Trib actually quotes Simon. One of these is guilty of bad journalism, and it isn’t the Tribune. - Dan Proft's Only Friend - Monday, Dec 15, 14 @ 7:21 pm: What’s w/ Downers Grove Twp Republicans? They must share one brain cell amongst them to think Grogan has a chance. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.