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* 10:50 am - Remember this story about how a group of ministers planned to come to the Statehouse today and take over the House chambers?
More than 100 religious leaders from the Chicago area are threatening to take over the Illinois legislature if lawmakers fail to pass a state budget in the next week. The potential protestors say they will storm the capitol and occupy every seat in the Illinois House. […]
[The ministers] threatened to take over the Illinois House in Springfield next Monday, sit in the lawmakers chairs and vote on a symbolic budget with more money for education, health care and mass transit if Governor Blagojevich and the other elected officials can’t agree on a real budget by then.
Well, they’re on their way…
Gov. Blagojevich and state lawmakers are going to get an earful today from dozens of Chicago ministers who are traveling to Springfield on their own budget mission. […]
The ministers gathered outside Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on 45th and Princeton and boarded four tour buses. They rolled out about 7:15 this morning.
Paul is headed to the Statehouse now. Check back for updates.
* 11:00 am - Paul reports that security seems to be heightened outside the House chambers. A half dozen or so guards are present. The ministers haven’t yet arrived.
* 11:26 am - Some details of the new electric rate agreement were announced today. Here’s the press release from Jones, Madigan and Madigan. And here’s a one-page explanation of the package.
* 11:59 am - The rate details are also posted in pdf format at the House Democrats’ website.
* 12:39 pm - The ministers aren’t at the Statehouse yet, so while you’re waiting, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s appearance on WBBM Radio’s “At Issue” program can be heard here.
* 12:50 pm - The ministers have finally arrived. Stay tuned.
* 1:13 pm - The ministers have broken up into smaller groups and some are meeting with individual legislators. A couple of dozen are in front of Speaker Madigan’s office, just milling about.
* 1:17 pm - The ministers are planning a press conference in the Blue Room in 20 minutes or so. Any action on the House will come after that - if at all. Paul reports that they don’t seem to be very organized.
* 1:24 pm -Krol has the round-up of the governor’s media availability after he signed the smoking ban bill…
On the prospect of a budget deal: more of the same, he’s “cautiously optimistic” something will happen in the next week. No specifics. […]
Were you invited on the electric rate fly-around? Ask the staff, although he knew he was signing the smoking ban today.
What if no budget by the end of the month? It “makes no sense to have it quick and fast” if budget shortchanges education and health care. […]
Given the focus on public policy today (electric rates, smoking ban, budget, tax increase), one reporter just pointed out that no one asked about Blagojevich’s $600 make-up job.
* 1:34 pm - The ministers’ press conference is beginning. We’ll let you know their plans, if any, as soon as they say something. It would be nice if we could get the Blue Room feed put on the Intertubes.
* 1:36 pm - No leaders meeting today.
* 1:45 pm - The one alderman who sided with Madigan was The Speaker’s own Frank Olivo…
The Chicago City Council is jumping into a bitter Springfield political war over property taxes, siding with Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan and Illinois Senate President Emil Jones against Speaker Michael Madigan and Mayor Richard M. Daley on the question of how much tax relief should be offered to whom.
At a Monday morning press conference, aldermen released a letter signed by 49 of the 50 council members alleging that tens of thousands of homeowners in their wards will suffer under the “weak” relief plan being pushed by Mr. Madigan. The speaker’s bill “is nothing more than a disingenuous attempt at property tax relief and will result in most homeowners seeing increases as great as 40%” the letter states.
But a spokesman for the speaker suggested that the aldermen “are not fully aware of the facts” and that “rich people” do not need property tax relief.
* 2:08 pm - The ministers said they were planning to enter both chambers. First target is the House. Four security guards are in front of the House, four in front of the Senate. Three guards on the second floor.
* 2:10 pm - The ministers asked to enter the House floor, and were denied. They’re now praying.
* 2:12 pm - Apparently, the ministers have abandoned plans to enter the House floor, and are now walking across the hall, singing loudly, and heading for the Senate.
* 2:15 pm - Rejected entrance to the Senate floor, the ministers have begun praying again.
* 2:17 pm - The ministers are now heading downstairs to the governor’s office. Some have bristled at the implication that they are acting as an agent of Blagojevich today.
* 2:18 pm - Four security guards are in front of the main entrance to the governor’s office. Loud singing now as some are marching arm in arm towards the guards.
* 2:20 pm - Predictably, the ministers were once again denied entrance.
* 2:22 pm - The governor’s chief of staff has now emerged to shake hands and talk with the protesters. He invited as many as can fit into his office to talk to them.
* 2:25 pm - The chief of staff went back into his office without any of the ministers. He invited the ministers to tomorrow’s leaders meeting.
* 2:30 pm - A small group of ministers will reportedly meet with CoS John Harris soon. The rest are heading back to the busses. So, it looks like the fun is over. No civil disobedience, no real controversy. Just a loud, relatively small protest (the crowd shrank every time they were denied access, apparently).
If you say you’re gonna take over the House, then walk away meekly without argument or resistance, what’s the point?
* 2:56 pm - Press release from Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31…
[I]f a full-year budget cannot be agreed upon and passed in the very near future, another one-month budget must be approved,” Bayer concluded. “State employees and the citizens who rely on their services should not be held hostage to the ongoing budget impasse. Under no circumstances should that impasse be allowed to shut down state government.”
* 3:00 pm - WDWS’ podcast this week is State Senator Bill Brady, who “discusses who’s to blame for the state budget impasse and his political future.” Click here to listen to the audio from the WDWS site.
* 3:59 pm - Pay particular attention to the last line in this AP story…
Dozens of Chicago ministers visited the Capitol to demand that state officials stop squabbling and pass a budget that gives more money to schools.
The ministers stopped short of calling for a tax increase. But they say the governor and lawmakers must find ways of pumping more money into the state treasury. […]
The Reverend Marshall Hatch says it’s time for officials to “grow up and be responsible.”
Governor Rod Blagojevich’s call for a major new health care program has been a key sticking point. The ministers say that’s important but shouldn’t hold up education funding.
I’ll have more on this in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax.
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Question of the day
Monday, Jul 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
First, the setup…
The Illinois Republican Party’s top brass came to visit at a town hall meeting last week, only to be peppered with questions about the uncertain future for the fractured party.
A lot of older faces and a few younger ones greeted their party leaders with questions on all sorts of topics — the budget, medical malpractice, tort reform, elections, voter turnout, taxes, and more. In a nondescript room Thursday at the Gateway Convention Center, Illinois GOP Chairman Andy McKenna and state Sen. Frank Watson, the minority leader and Greenville Republican, and other area officials were grilled over the party’s performance in past elections.
“We recognize we’ve not done well in recent years,” McKenna said after the meeting. “We admit that.”
No one needed reminding that in 2002 the GOP gave up the governor’s mansion after a generation and that former Gov. George Ryan was indicted on corruption charges a year later. In 2004, Jack Ryan, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, bowed out early amid a divorce scandal; his replacement, ultraconservative Alan Keyes was trounced. And 2006, when Republicans finally lost every statewide office, “was a great disappointment,” McKenna said.
But McKenna and others see a new opportunity, one they are desperate to seize. With a gleam in his eye, McKenna talks about the infighting and bickering among Democrats in Springfield.
Now, the question: Can the Republican Party be salvaged in Illinois? More importantly: How?
…Adding… The article also claims that the state Republican Party is now supporting a statewide referendum asking whether voters want gay marriage banned. So, here’s a late bonus question: Is that wise?
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The confusing mess continues
Monday, Jul 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My syndicated column this week takes a look at a curious event that happened last week…
So what the heck was House Speaker Michael Madigan up to last week when he finally came out in support of an income tax increase and urged the governor to drop his opposition to the idea?
Madigan has always been coy about whether he really supports an income tax hike. Most people thought he probably did and that he might somehow be maneuvering the legislative session in that direction. So when he finally announced that he supported the increase, the whole Statehouse took notice.
On one level, it was a response to a letter sent by Gov. Rod Blagojevich earlier in the week demanding that Madigan and the two Republican legislative leaders come up with an alternative revenue stream to fund education. It also was undoubtedly designed to get tongues wagging and freak out the governor, a staunch opponent of a tax hike.
It certainly did both of those. While the Statehouse buzzed with talk of Madigan’s remarks, Gov. Blagojevich reportedly ranted about the income tax idea during a meeting of the legislative leaders, loudly taunting Madigan and others who attended, “Go ahead and pass it,” over and over again. Blagojevich was concerned enough about earlier revelations that Jones and Madigan had been privately talking about the budget and about Jones’ agreement during that days’ leaders meeting that he would work with Madigan to craft a new budget that he kept Jones in his office for several minutes after the other leaders had left.
Please read the whole thing before commenting. Thanks.
* Meanwhile, Team Blagojevich managed to tick off a US Senator…
He released a letter Friday signed by seven members of the U.S. Congress declaring, “It is important that the General Assembly … provide coverage for the working uninsured.”
When CBS 2 told Sen. Dick Durbin his apparent signature was on it, he was surprised.
“Well, that’s a very good question,” Durbin said. “When did we send the letter?”
Durbin said he was confused because the letter was not what the governor’s staff claimed in a press release. Durbin said he was endorsing expanded health care, but not the Blagojevich proposal.
“Well, I think some people either misread what I sent to them, or tried to take advantage of the moment,” Durbin said. “I think the people in Illinois are just fed up with this bickering that has gone on for so darn long.”
* Finke had this interesting tidbit. Senate President Jones, as you may know, is taking all the credit for the electric rate agreement and is participating in a fly-around today to tout the deal with Speaker Madigan and Attorney General Madigan..
Senate President EMIL JONES, D-Chicago, was asked last week if he regretted the way he dealt with an electric rate freeze bill sponsored by Sen. GARY FORBY, D-Benton.
If you remember back a few weeks, the Senate approved the bill, which would have rolled back electric rates to last year’s levels and then frozen them. However, Sen. RICKEY HENDON, D-Chicago, a top Jones lieutenant, used a parliamentary maneuver to nullify the vote, leaving Forby stunned. Jones last week implied he wasn’t involved.
“I’m just the presiding officer,” Jones said.
Um, yeah, and House Speaker MICHAEL MADIGAN, D-Chicago, is just a state representative from Chicago.
* More overtime stories, compiled by Paul and myself…
* What if there’s no budget by August? - State probably would have to set strict priorities
* Legislators rework health-care proposal - New plan would be funded by employer tax
* Pantagraph: Although there is still no budget, not everyone left the Statehouse empty-handed. Blagojevich, a big fan of Elvis Presley, exited the building Friday holding a couple of PEZ candy dispensers of the King.
* * Tribune Editorial: Is there will to help schools?
* Still time before Aug. 1st budget meltdown
* Bernie Schoenburg: Governor’s jogging route takes him past hostile signs
* Settlement will cut rate hike nearly in half
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The fine print
Monday, Jul 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Campaign contribution stories are almost always uniformly negative. For instance…
With no statewide elections to fund this year, Illinois campaign contributors nonetheless managed to donate, loan and transfer more than $54 million worth of political money in the first six months of 2007, according to newly filed records.
As usual, industries with high-stakes policy fights pending before the Legislature were among those pumping money into the state’s no-limit political contribution system, according to campaign disclosure reports that were required to be filed by midnight Friday.
Between Jan. 1 and June 30, the records show: […]
Ameren and ComEd utilities, currently close to a deal with legislators that will prevent an electric rate freeze, contributed more than $100,000 to those same legislators as the talks were progressing, including thousands of dollars individually to key legislative negotiators.
Not noted anywhere in the story was that several legislators refused to cash their ComEd checks. According to ComEd’s latest political action committee filing, a dozen legislators never cashed their ComEd PAC checks, for a total of $28,700. One would think that might be considered news. But that would be “good” news, so you probably won’t see it anywhere.
And, here’s something odd. Last week, Lee Newspapers reported this…
…utility records show ComEd gave state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, and state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, $300 each.
But those contributions don’t show up on ComEd’s PAC report or on either of the two legislators’ disclosure reports. Strange, that.
Also, Exelon and ComEd have always maintained that they are two distinct entities, but Exelon contributed well over half the money that ComEd’s PAC raised during the filing period.
ComEd, through its PR front group CORE, spent way more on advertising this year than it gave to political campaigns. No mention of that anywhere.
* Also, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform is trying to paint a falsely ominous portrait of Act Blue, a national pass-through PAC which allows Internet users to contribute to Democratic campaigns online. The users themselves (not Act Blue) completely direct their own contributions to individual candidates or committees, but this is how ICPR described the PAC…
It looks like it’s taking a page from U.S. Senator Barack Obama and others who have focused on Internet fundraising on a national scale; but this one seeks to funnel that money into state legislative races.
All ICPR had to do was go to the group’s directory and see that people can choose which state to focus on, and then contribute to any Democratic candidate in those states. And it’s not just legislative candidates, it’s all candidates for every state office, plus Congressional offices and presidential.
* Related stories, compiled by Paul…
* Campaign finance reports reveal politicians interests
* Blagojevich campaign fund pays $1.1 million to law firm
* Exchanges good to Daley, but they don’t need his help
* Tribune: Service Employees International Union, gave more than $2.7 million in campaign cash and services to council candidates, records show.
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Morning Shorts
Monday, Jul 23, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Provena wins ruling to restore tax-exempt status
* Business groups praise former lawsuit haven Madison County
* Editorial: Timing of alleged scheme from Ryan’s term quite galling
* Governor expected to sign state smoking ban bill on Monday
* Editorial: BP’s lake dumping plan unacceptable
* Chicago Public Radio: BP dumping fight heads to Congress
* Dropouts could lose licenses
Under the measure, students who have more than 18 unexcused absences, are expelled or drop out, can have their licenses revoked until they turn 18. The licenses and learner’s permits can be reinstated if the students return to school. Students in Illinois must attend school until they are 17.
* Traffic stops study raises questions
* PrairieStateBlue: Illinois Dems, Gov, scrutinized at Green national meeting
* Failure to read fine print costs county $330K
* Exchanges hike Daley donations
* Opinion: As city gentrified, black professionals squeezed in the middle
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Legal fees
Saturday, Jul 21, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
[Comments now open.]
With Gov. Blagojevich, it’s not the amount of money he’s raising, but how much his campaign committee is spending on legal fees…
Winston & Strawn LLP… $163,770.57… 1/23/2007… Expenditure… Friends of Blagojevich… Legal Fees
There’s nothing big after that late January payment. He does have a habit of backdating his payments, though, so there’s no way to be sure if this is all he was billed.
Total spent on legal fees by Friends of Blagojevich since the committee was created in 2000: $1,217,393.26.
To put this into a bit of perspective, the next highest amount spent on legal fees during this latest six-month reporting period was $10,267.78 by Larry Dominick’s Cicero Voters Alliance, which is about 6 percent of what the governor’s campaign spent.
And a bit more perspective: The governor’s campaign has spent $919,745.31 since July 1, 2006 on legal bills. All campaign committees registered with the State Board of Elections in all of Illinois (the total of which is currently 3,585, but was probably higher last year) during that same time period spent $1,667,220.91 on legal fees.
The governor’s share, therefore, of all money spent on legal fees by all 3,500+ state and local Illinois campaign committees is 55.2 percent. Yet, the governor’s total campaign expenditures for everything during that same year was only 8.6 percent of the total spent by all campaign committees on everything - $17,185,530.95 spent by Friends of Blagojevich out of $199,896,778.68 spent by all committees. The governor’s legal fees represented 5.4 percent of all the money he expended from July 1 of ‘06 to June 30 of ‘07. The average for all campaign committee expenditures during that same period was 0.8 percent for legal fees.
From the Tribune…
Doug Scofield, a spokesman for Blagojevich’s campaign, declined to release details on the scope of the legal work by Winston & Strawn except to say, “We use them for all our campaign legal work.”
[Comments now open.]
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READER COMMENTS CLOSED FOR THE WEEKEND
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Could session finally be over soon? Maybe, maybe not. I almost always bet not. We’ll see next week.
Take a break or head to Illinoize. Your choice. I’m taking a break. Talk to you Monday…
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This just in…
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 10:00 am - From the Politico…
STOKKE TO SUCCEED HASTERT? Robert D. Novak plans to report this weekend in his always-delicious tidbits column (which doesn’t run in The Washington Post, but is usually in Saturday’s New York Post):
“Former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has indicated to a close former aide that it is likely he will not run for a 12th term from his northern Illinois district and may even resign from Congress before his present term concludes. That runs counter to widespread speculation on Capitol Hill that Hastert will continue in the House for another two years as a private member with no leadership responsibilities. Since last year’s Democratic takeover of Congress moved him out of the speaker’s office, he has enjoyed returning to his former specialty of energy issues as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“A footnote: If Hastert does not run, a leading candidate will be his chief of staff, Mike Stokke. Before going on Hastert’s staff, Stokke was an aide for both the Illinois state legislature and the governor’s office in Springfield.”
Stokke? That’s coming out of right field. But Novak’s sources for this stuff are usually pretty good.
* 10:04 am - Today’s leaders meeting is at noon.
* 10:13 am - Just 87 House members answered the roll call.
* 10:17 am - The House and Senate are adjourning for the weekend and won’t come back into session until Monday at 4 pm. [UPDATE: The House will be in at 4, the Senate at 2]
* 10:43 am - Just 25 Senators are on the floor.
* 12:17 pm - A three-page list of clergy from throughout Illinois just sent out “An Appeal to the Leaders of the Illinois General Assembly to Overcome Their Differences in Order to Address Pressing Issues.” But there’s zero mention of the governor and his own reluctance to overcome his differences with others, so it may be dismissed out of hand by many. Download the letter here.
* 1:49 pm - The leaders meeting is over. The gist was that they talked mostly about the capital spending program. No talk of how to fund it, but did talk about how to spend it and how much to spend.
* 2:45 pm - Isn’t this the governor’s usual schtick?
Top Democratic legislative leaders are planning to tout the benefits of a new electric rate relief package in a statewide flyaround.
An announcement today from House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office says the speaker will join Senate President Emil Jones and Attorney General Lisa Madigan on tour stops Monday that include Decatur.
The trio will meet with elected officials, community leaders and local residents to describe the details of a deal to provide about one billion dollars in relief over four years to customers hit hard by sharp increases this year.
I’d like to be on that plane, especially after all the harsh words that Jones has had for Lisa Madigan this year. Detente is such a weird thing.
* 3:31 pm - Campaign finance disclosure reports are due today. The new law that moved the primary date also moved the disclosure filing deadline up to the 20th (from the 31st). So you can click here over the weekend to search for various candidates. The governor told me last week that he has raised almost no money, but that his big fundraiser would likely be in October some time.
By the way, the governor has a new campaign committee chairman. Lon Monk, his former chief of staff and now a lobbyist, is out as of today. Steve Witek, VP of A Finkl & Sons, is the new chair.
* 3:40 pm - Mayor Daley raised $3,780,899.81 in the first six months of this year (not including in-kinds), spent $4,640,781.83 and had $3,385,406.22 in the bank.
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Question of the day
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Which prominent Illinoisan would you most like to have dinner with? Why?
It doesn’t have to be a person you like. Perhaps you’d like to pick the brain of someone you don’t particularly care for.
Also, what questions would you ask?
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Smoke
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is kinda bogus…
Illinois Senate President Emil Jones said Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich will have to accept a scaled-back version of his plan to give every Illinoisan access to health care.
The governor is already drafting a majorly scaled-back health insurance plan and Jones obviously knows it because he’s lobbying his members to support it. Whatever.
* More…
On Wednesday, House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, broached the idea of an income tax increase, even though Blagojevich has said he will veto any increase in the income or state sales tax. On Thursday, Jones said he isn’t sure how the Senate would vote if the House approved an income tax hike.
“We haven’t done any real polling on that issue,” said Jones, who personally is for an income tax increase. “It would take (Republican) support to get that passed.”
But Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, said later, “I don’t think there’s any support (among Republicans) for an income tax increase.”
So, now Jones “personally is for” an income tax hike? First he put it back on the table, then he said the Senate would give it serious consideration if the House passed it and now he’s personally for it? I wonder if he said those actual words.
Also, it wouldn’t take 36 votes to pass an income tax hike if they put off the effective date to June 1 of next year. But it’s true that there are no Senate GOP votes for such a proposal, at least not yet (and probably never).
* Sneed…
Sneed hears powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan may be on the verge of pulling the legislative coup of the decade.
• • Translation: Word is Madigan has a deal to pass a budget acceptable to the House and Senate, and has mustered enough votes to pass a veto-proof package. […]
• • The stats: Word is the package includes no major expenditures for capital projects; modest growth for increased revenues; and some increases in social programs close to the Democratic Party.
• • The chat: Springfield observers tell Sneed Madigan has cut deals with erstwhile Blago supporter, Senate President Emil Jones. Stay tuned for Tuesday.
It ain’t there yet.
* More end of session stuff, compiled by Paul…
* Chicago Public Radio: Lots of inaction in Springfield
* $452,100 and we’re counting
* Eric Krol: Legislative endgame could be crying game for legislators
* Jones sees chance to help schools
* State may shut off electricity auctions
* Vote on rate relief package likely next week, says Jones
* Editorial: Use rebates to bolster sales of Illinois made vehicles
* State agencies may grind to a halt
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Bad press for the guv *** Updated x1 ***
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oops…
A group of students wanting more money for their schools learned Thursday that getting into Gov. Blagojevich’s office is no easy task when all they have to offer is cookies and doughnuts.
Seven students from Chicago and the suburbs, one as young as 8, were blocked from entering a public waiting area in Blagojevich’s office by a “rude” security guard with “attitude,” they said. […]
The students were hosting a “Billion Dollar Bake Sale” in a lobbying effort organized by the school funding reform group A+ Illinois. Near the end of the mock sale, the students hiked up the stairs to Blagojevich’s second-floor office brandishing pastries.
But when they reached the glass doors to the governor’s office suite, a security guard blocked them, the students said, even though professional lobbyists regularly are allowed in.
The governor’s office says they will invite the kids back.
* Meanwhile, there was more bad press…
A Missouri-based group representing journalists who cover the U.S. health-care industry criticized the Blagojevich administration this week for withholding information on people enrolled in Illinois’ Medicaid, All Kids and other public health-insurance programs.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services has refused to release county-by-county data to The State Journal-Register, claiming that anything other than total statewide enrollment totals would violate individual patients’ federally protected privacy rights.
The Association of Health Care Journalists said the department’s contention that county-level numbers would violate the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is “unfounded.”
“HIPAA was intended to prevent the release of personally identifying patient information, such as names, addresses or specific medical conditions,” the association wrote in a July 17 letter to department director Barry Maram. “The law was not intended to block the release of data that the public needs to assess the impact of public programs.”
Mary Chris Jaklevic, writing on behalf of the 1,000-member association’s board, called on Maram to release the data.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s press office…
The security guard who spoke with the students is new. We did not know about the students’ visit to our office until hours later after a reporter called. We are in the process of trying to contact the students to make arrangements for them to visit with the Governor.
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Fun stuff in Cook
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The prospect of this happening has to be prompting the city’s white leaders, particularly Mayor Daley, to encourage Dick Devine to change his mind and run for another term…
Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. (21st), who was recently elected to a second term on the City Council, says he plans to run for Cook County state’s attorney next year.
Three-term State’s Atty. Richard Devine has not decided if he will seek another four years in office. Devine, 64, is expected to make his decision by the end of the month, a source close to him said. […]
Brookins said allegations of police brutality and criticisms that the state’s attorney’s office has not done enough to prosecute rogue police officers will be an issue in the campaign.
Brookins, who is African-American, said he expects to benefit from a higher turnout of black and liberal Democrats in the primary election as a result of the presidential candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Brookins could be a real thorn in Daley’s side if he wins that race. Daley would then have to fight battles on three fronts, one with the US Attorney, another with the hiring monitor, and one with with the county.
Brookins is right that Obama on the ballot might help his campaign, and, once again, Obama would be in a sticky position with the Machine. He could support their guy (whether that be Devine or whoever else runs) or stand with Brookins.
Russ Stewart claimed in a recent column that Brookins will also have the support of Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s organization. Brookins was forced into an aldermanic runoff earlier this year (targeted for defeat by the unions partly because of his vote for the Big Box ordinance), but he went on to win by a large margin.
The Tribune also reports today that failed Cook County Board President candidate Tony Peraica, a Republican, is also eyeing the state’s attorney race.
Somewhat related: Mayor attempting to undermine watchdog? - Daley pushing new agency with similar powers
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