Campaign notebook
Friday, Apr 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Darren Bailey sticks by his story…
Bailey, for what it’s worth, said that he pulled a Democratic ballot that year in an effort to thwart the potential nomination of Hillary Clinton. It was part of an effort spearheaded by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh known as “Operation Chaos.”
The Irvin campaign dismissed this explanation, with spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis saying that “the facts show he never could have been a part of any ‘Operation Chaos’ since that took place a month after the Illinois primary.”
Bailey spokesman Joe DeBose, however, said that Bailey did indeed participate “in Operation Chaos with thousands of Republicans, which Rush Limbaugh started talking about in 2007″ even if it was not an “official” operation until after the Illinois primary.
* Press release…
Dan Brady announces the endorsement of the Associated Firefighters of Illinois for his campaign for the Republican nomination for Illinois Secretary of State.
“As someone who has spent their legislative career supporting our first responders, I am honored to have the endorsement of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois” Said Brady. “Their endorsement adds to the growing momentum of our campaign.”
* Marni Pyke…
Allegations that gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan’s petitions contain hundreds of fake signatures are untrue and a “political stunt” by McHenry County businessman and Republican rival Gary Rabine, a Sullivan spokesman said Wednesday.
The Rabine campaign filed an objection on March 21 to Sullivan’s petitions with the Illinois Board of Elections contending they show “an utter and contemptuous disregard” for Election Code provisions.
“There is evidence of roundtabling … when a group of circulators sit around a table falsely signing petitions in the name of voters to submit to election authorities,” the objection states. […]
“Jesse Sullivan and (running mate) Kathleen Murphy will be on the ballot,” Sheinbaum said. “This fishing expedition is nothing but a last-gasp political stunt from a floundering opponent’s campaign.” […]
“In my opinion, Rabine has a long way to go,” said Pat Durante, former top aide to U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde and a veteran DuPage County GOP strategist. But “this is a very powerful challenge.”
A couple of examples are here and here.
* Patch…
DuPage County voters now have the option to get on a permanent vote-by-mail list that will allow them to receive vote-by-mail ballots for every election. Previously, voters had to apply for a new mail-in ballot for each election.
The change, effective for the first time in 2022, comes after the Illinois General Assembly passed a law in 2021 to make permanent vote-by-mail signup an option.
“Permanent vote-by-mail increases voting choices. Nothing else is taken away,” DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said in a news release.
Kaczmarek added, “Voters may still vote in person on Election Day or during Early Voting. Also, voters may continue to choose a one-time-only mail ballot.”
* Politico…
Anna Valencia has come out with a series of policy initiatives in her bid for Illinois secretary of state. She wants to create a DMV online payment portal, launch an app, stand up self-service kiosks to renew vehicle registrations, and implement “blockchain solutions to protect data.” The goal, her campaign said in a statement, is to “modernize government.” (It’s not an oxymoron.) Valencia led a similar modernization effort in the Chicago City Council, where she serves as clerk, by instituting electronic voting. Policy initiatives spelled out here
* Tribune…
As state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago prepared recently to plead guilty to driving under the influence charges leveled against him in Springfield, the 36-year-old called the arrest a learning experience from which he planned to grow.
It was Buckner’s second guilty plea to DUI charges under strikingly similar circumstances, public records show. The first occurred nearly a decade earlier in Urbana. In each case, police said they found Buckner asleep behind the wheel of a running car. […]
Buckner pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in September 2010, and was sentenced to 24 months of court supervision and 200 hours of public service, according to Champaign County court records.
Buckner said he has not hidden the 2010 DUI, and said he has also spoken about it publicly, just like he has the 2019 Springfield case.
“It’s a moment that I wasn’t proud of, right, it’s a moment that I can’t take back,” Buckner told the Tribune this week. “It’s a moment that I can only learn from both personally, spiritually, professionally, which I have done.”
Getting this out of the way now, well ahead of the mayoral race, will do far less damage. I mean, it’s coming out anyway. Control it.
* There are a ton of court cases decreeing that this is not a hard and fast requirement for candidacy statements…
A Republican candidate from North Aurora has dropped out of the race for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District seat, a spokesman said Thursday.
Susan Starrett formally withdrew from the contest late Wednesday afternoon. In a statement sent through a spokesman, Starrett said family medical issues prompted the decision.
“Be assured that I’ll never stop looking for ways to fight for the conservative values I believe so strongly in, but family will always come first, as it has today,” Starrett said. […]
Both [petition objections] alleged the candidacy statement she submitted to the Illinois State Board of Elections with her nominating petition wasn’t notarized as required by law.
* More…
* IL GOP spokesman refuses to step back from duties while running for state rep
* Businessman Willie Wilson to run for Chicago Mayor: Sources say announcement will come Monday at press conference
* Lopez Rules Out Reelection Bid for City Council, Says He Is ‘All In’ with Mayoral Bid
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 10:55 am:
== Darren Bailey sticks by his story ==
“I do what the voices I hear on the radio tell me to do.”
- Rabid - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:05 am:
Bailey knows the rumor campaign is never ending
- Jibba - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:06 am:
In his defense, I can completely believe that Bailey voted for Clinton as an attempt to sow chaos in the Dem primary, whether it was part of an organized effort or no. The man is fairly transparent.
- Montrose - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:11 am:
Lightfoot needs to be far more worried about Willie Wilson than Raymond Lopez. (I realize I am kind of stating the obvious).
- Anon221 - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:14 am:
First off, I’m a total newbie when it comes to circulating petitions, but shouldn’t the form have been like the one on this link? With both a Printed and Signed voter name? That’s what our local candidates used in our county this year. And, yes I realize the form says “Suggested” at the right top, but how else could you truly discern who those scrawls on Sullivan’s petitions actually belonged to? Seems like that would be an easy challenge even if comparing them against voter roll signatures on record.
https://elections.il.gov/agencyforms/Established%20Party%20Fillable%20Petitions%20FOR%202022%20ONLY/P-10-2022%20GENERAL%20PRIMARY%20PETITION%20fillable.pdf
- LoyalVirus - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:18 am:
Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s show seems like a winning mayoral race strategy.
- Oldtimer - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:22 am:
Bailey’s story doesn’t add up. Most importantly, Operation Chaos was an attempt to thwart a quick victory by Barack Obama, not Hillary Clinton, in the Democratic Primary. Obama had all the momentum early and Chaos was trying to prop up Clinton as long as possible.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:24 am:
===Lightfoot needs to be far more worried about Willie Wilson ===
There’s a hard ceiling on Wilson.
- Rush Limbaugh Listener - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:28 am:
Are we forgetting that just prior to the Illinois primary, Rush was asking people to vote for Hillary. They were reporting that Hillary was running out of money and Rush was concerned that her campaign was falling apart. He wanted to keep Hillary in. Yet, Darren says he was just following Rush’s plan by voting against Hillary. It doesn’t add up. I believe he wanted to meddle in the Democratic primary, but he wasn’t following the marching orders of Rush Limbaugh.
Read Rush’s transcript from February 8th, 2008. That was three days after the Illinois primary. Rush, was planning to help Hillary Clinton because he thought she was the easiest to beat in the general. But, then he admitted he was fooled. This was all before operation chaos started.
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2008/02/08/the_clintons_lied_to_us_about_the_need_for_a_limbaugh_fundraiser/
- Pawar Lost - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:29 am:
Two DUIs for Kam Buckner? This demonstrates an appalling lack of judgment. Surely the Chicago Teachers Union can find someone else to run on its behalf?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:33 am:
===That was three days after the Illinois primary===
So, Bailey could see into the future?
- JS Mill - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:37 am:
=Bailey, for what it’s worth, said that he pulled a Democratic ballot that year in an effort to thwart the potential nomination of Hillary Clinton.=
I actually (and this is hard to say for me) believe Bailey. I doubt he voted for Obama in the general election. Irvin is using his weakness to attack his strongest rival (mentioned by Rich yesterday) I just wonder how many ilgop voters will believe the hit on Bailey? Seems more likely to be an effective hit on Irvin give some of his public positions over the years. Bailey doesn’t have the gas to get that message out though, and the less I hear Bailey’s voice the better off I am.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:38 am:
-There’s a hard ceiling on Wilson.-
Agreed. And I am shocked, shocked that his gas largesse is coming with political strings attached.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:38 am:
===So, Bailey could see into the future===
Televangelists, tent revivalists, they see all kinds of things in the future… a higher being tells them.
- Big Dipper - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:52 am:
Of course Operation Chaos resulted in installing a Democrat in the White House for two terms. Super well thought out per usual.
- Amalia - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:54 am:
wow, just wow on Rep. Buckner. find his incidents very problematic.
- Just Another Anon - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 11:58 am:
@JS Mill
Waters down Bailey’s hits on Irvin. Once you have a candidate who explains why **they** pulled a democratic ballot, then it makes it harder for them to hit **you** on pulling a democratic ballot.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 12:07 pm:
To Jesse Sullivan,
The reality that his petitions are in any type of trouble, it’s not surprising, and I don’t mean this specifically in a snarky/snide way, I do mean it as one observing a campaign that couldn’t even find a running mate then had to scramble to get petitions out… I mean… to be so late and “behind” in process, the campaign had to have been lacking and it’s the Staff and Crew’s fault, not volunteers, not even anyone endorsing… this Staff and Crew couldn’t get a running mate and couldn’t seamlessly transition to an effective way to get signatures.
Now, if this is all performance art, designed for his California folks to push cryptocurrency with a person “from illinois” running for governor, then this kinda makes. more sense
So far, I dunno which Staff and Crew is more disappointing, Sullivan’s or Valencia’s
- Rudy’s teeth - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 12:12 pm:
Buckler’s actions point to very questionable judgment on his part. With car service available on one’s phone, there is no need to get behind the wheel after drinking.
Surprised that Buckner hasn’t hired a driver so that this DUI situation won’t repeat itself.
- West Side the Best Side - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 12:14 pm:
Looks like only one semi-legible signature on those two pages of challenged petitions. Does no one on the north side know how to write their name?
- Arsenal - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 12:20 pm:
==There’s a hard ceiling on Wilson. ==
And it starts at Roosevelt Road.
- Rudy’s teeth - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 12:57 pm:
If Jesse Sullivan was more aware, he should have taken his petitions to Taylor Street when filming his commercial.
So many excellent restaurants and patrons enjoying lunch or dinner.
A little cappuccino, a little conversation…that’s how it’s done.
- Emmerder - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 1:12 pm:
Somewhere in hell Rush is having a good laugh.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Apr 8, 22 @ 1:59 pm:
===Agreed. And I am shocked, shocked that his gas largesse is coming with political strings attached.===
Plenty of people who took his gas are going to think it is too cold on February 28,2023 to do anything. Turnout was only 35% in 2019.