* Patrick Collins, the chairman of the now defunct reform commission, disses the new reform bill…
While several important components of the bill could serve as building blocks for true reform, there is ample reason to question whether this bill will truly change the pay-to-play political fund-raising that has scarred this state.
Once again, Collins offers up zero examples of illegal pay-to-play that he wants stopped, except to focus on the fact that legislative leaders and parties aren’t capped in the general election.. He does this all the time. Is he accusing Speaker Madigan, President Cullerton and the two GOP leaders of “pay-to-play” politics that are “scarring” the state? He never says so. It’s always just an implication.
* Meanwhile, Republican state treasurer candidate Dan Rutherford is bringing Karl Rove to Illinois for a big fundraiser. I’m assuming that US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is not on the invite list. History…
A government witness claims in 2004, Antoin “Tony Rezko” — then the target of an investigation that would lead to his indictment and trial — tried to grease the political skids to get his chief tormentor, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald fired.
Rezko discussed efforts among high-ranking Republicans, including Karl Rove, to have Chicago’s U.S. attorney fired, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
Rove, then-White House political director, and Republican national committeeman Robert Kjellander were among those mentioned in the alleged 2004 conversations as being involved in the effort, prosecutor Carrie E. Hamilton said.
The State of Illinois begins releasing prisoners today in an effort to cut costs. State legislators agreed to release about a thousand inmates as a money-saving scheme to balance this year’s budget. Governor Pat Quinn says the inmates being freed early will be under house arrest.
QUINN: Hopefully they learned their lesson in jail. They will never repeat their crime. We want them to lead productive lives when they return to society on a full-time basis.
I’m gonna get a haircut. This is an open thread to discuss Illinois politics.
Congressman Kirk is pro-choice and opposes federal funding of abortion. That is the same position he held when he first ran for Congress in 2000 and it hasn’t changed. In 2000, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald all reported on NARAL’s misleading partisan smears of Mr. Kirk’s record. With unemployment topping 10% and a corrupt governor facing criminal trial, the people of Illinois want a reform-minded social moderate and fiscal conservative like Congressman Mark Kirk who will lower taxes, reign in spending and create jobs for Illinois families.”
[ *** End of Update *** ]
* Remember when Doonesbury poked fun at Vice President George HW Bush for depositing his manhood in a blind trust? This story kinda reminds me of that.
Republican Congressman Mark Kirk has mainained a 100 percent pro-choice record for years. Planned Parenthood, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association and the National Abortion Rights League have all given him a perfect score, while the National Right to Life Committee rated him a zero in 2007-08.
The amendment states that a government-run health insurance plan can not cover abortion and that subsidies may not be used to purchase insurance plans that cover abortion.
Pro-choice groups have blasted Stupak-Pitts, and pro-life groups have praised it. GOP Rep. Judy Biggert, another pro-choice member, voted for the amendment as well. Both Biggert and Kirk have been moving to the right all year. But Kirk’s movement has been far more pronounced.
NARAL blasted Kirk today…
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, today denounced the anti-choice health-care vote of Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).
Kirk was once regarded as a moderate, fair-minded supporter of women’s privacy and rights, but no longer. After Kirk voted in favor of the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts amendment, which effectively bans abortion coverage in the new health system, NARAL Pro-Choice America no longer considers Kirk pro-choice.
“It is obvious from his recent votes, including the indefensible vote for the Stupak-Pitts abortion ban amendment, that Mark Kirk would rather have the endorsement of Sarah Palin than the support of millions of pro-choice voters in Illinois,” Keenan said.
Keenan said Kirk’s vote is confirmation that he is engaged in a political calculation that betrays his professed standards of centrism and moderation, and therefore, he doesn’t deserve a promotion to the U.S. Senate.
“Rep. Kirk is clearly abandoning the moderate positions that afforded him re-election to the House in favor of radically conservative views that he hopes will bolster support for his Senate campaign,” Keenan said. “His move to the radical right is not what we expect from a moderate member of Congress. Women’s freedom and privacy are at stake, and I am committed to working with NARAL Pro-Choice America’s 98,000 Illinois activists, members, and supporters to defeat Mark Kirk’s Senate campaign.”
…Adding… It turns out that despite Kirk’s pro-choice record, NARAL has a history of attacking the guy - even claiming at one point that he wanted to end the right to choose. I wasn’t aware of that when I posted this, and I probably wouldn’t have posted all of the press release if I was.
I gotta wonder what other surprises await us with Mr. Kirk. His journey to self-enlightenment has certainly been fun to watch.
Giannoulias responded the other day…
“Mark Kirk proved tonight he will abandon all of his principles to curry favor with right wingers like Sarah Palin. He flip-flopped on the Clean Energy bill because the right wing demanded it, and now he has abandoned his once pro-choice voting record to take private insurance coverage away from women. Mark Kirk has sold his soul in the pursuit of Sarah Palin’s endorsement,” said Kati Phillips, spokeswoman for the U.S. Senate campaign of Alexi Giannoulias.
* Petition challenges can be a murky business because we have to dive into some pretty arcane laws and court cases that only a handful of lawyers really understand.
Yesterday, we linked to a story about a challenge to Rep. Deb Mell’s petitions. Mell is Rod Blagojevich’s sister-in-law and the daughter of Ald. Dick Mell, so the news spread far and wide.
The linked story included this explanation..
Ms. Mell is not registered to vote at her apparently new address. By law, all candidates are supposed to be registered at the address they use for their nominating petitions.
But this is from someone close to Rep. Mell’s campaign…
First, there is no law that says that a candidate must be registered to vote at the address on the petition/Statement of Candidacy. In fact, the Appellate Court has already considered this argument in Henderson v. Miller, where the Court said:
“The act does not require that a candidate be a voter at his place of residence. The defendant’s Statement of Candidacy is on a form provided by the Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Chicago. If the plaintiffs’ argument is correct, the form provided by the Board requires a candidate to swear to something which the statute itself does not require. The illogic of the plaintiffs’ argument is apparent.”
Second, even if there were such a law (which there is not), that law would be unconstitutional for the State legislature. Article IV, Section 2(c) of the Constitution sets forth the three eligibility requirements for the office of Representative: citizenship, 21 years of age, and a resident of the district for two years preceding the election. On that question, the Illinois Supreme Court has said:
“The General Assembly has no power to add to the qualifications of the members of that body as fixed by the constitution” People ex rel. Breckton v. Board of Election Com’rs of Chicago.
The U.S. Supreme Court has similarly held that “the three qualifications for membership [in Congress] specified in Art. I, § 2, are of ‘a precise, limited nature’ and ‘unalterable by the legislature…’” U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton, where the Supreme Court struck down term limits as imposing an unconstitutional additional qualification (i.e. non-incumbency) to run for Congress. Here, the plaintiffs would be arguing that State law imposes an additional qualification (i.e. voter registration) to run for the General Assembly.
Clear as mud? Good. Glad I could help.
* Meanwhile, Dan Hynes is behind a petition challenge…
Comptroller Dan Hynes’ campaign for the Feb. 2 Democratic nomination for governor is backing a challenge to the petitions filed by Oak Park trial attorney Edmund Scanlan, a political newcomer who got into the race in early October.
The objection to Scanlan’s petitions was filed Monday, the first day for opponents to try to remove candidates from the primary ballot over alleged problems with nominating petitions to the State Board of Elections. The Hynes camp contends that Scanlan fell far short of the minimum 5,000 valid nominating signatures despite submitting slightly more than 10,000 signatures.
“All candidates for office from school board to governor are required to do a few simple things to get on the ballot, including getting a small percentage of the voters to sign their nominating petitions,” Hynes’ campaign spokesman Matt McGrath said in a statement. “In Mr. Scanlan’s case, it is apparent that his petitions fall woefully short of this standard.” […]
An objection also was filed to the petitions submitted by another Democratic candidate for governor, community activist William “Dock” Walls of Chicago. Walls called the effort a “frivolous challenge.” Efforts to reach the person who filed the objection were not successful.
Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown challenged Stroger’s nominating petitions on the first day to try to knock an opponent off the ballot. Brown’s petitions also were challenged. […]
In a lottery held today to determine ballot position, Preckwinkle received the top spot, followed by O’Brien and Brown. Stroger, who waited until the deadline to file his petitions, secured the bottom spot.
Believing that some of Stroger’s nomination petitions have problems, Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown on Monday mounted a formal challenge.
“It was just ridiculous. It was chicken scratch, it was scribble-scrabble. It didn’t look well at all. It looked obviously fake and false,” said Brown spokeswoman Lily Kim.
Kim said their review of Stroger’s petitions turned up “flagrant” violations, including invalid or false addresses, false names and names that didn’t match addresses.
“Maybe two were actually real or authentic, and there about 20 signatures on each petition,” she said.
You see a lot of trash talk at this stage of the game. Remember that. It’s the lawyers who control this process, not the spokespeople.
* Speaking of trash talk, this is from a press release…
Former Deputy Illinois Treasurer Raja (RA-ja) Krishnamoorthi (krish-nuh-MOOR-thee) today blasted State Rep. David Miller and one of Miller’s Facebook supporters for challenging Krishnamoorthi’s petitions of candidacy for Illinois State Comptroller, charging that Miller’s campaign was trying to deny Democratic primary voters a progressive alternative to business as usual.
“I’ve been running for this office for months with detailed plans to protect the taxpayers and open up state government to its citizens,” Krishnamoorthi said. “My campaign collected thousands of signatures from voters throughout our state who are tired of business as usual and want to bring real reform and openness to Springfield.” […]
“The challenge to my petitions is nothing less than harassment and intimidation,” Krishnamoorthi said. “As the endorsed candidate of the Cook County Democratic Organization, Miller’s campaign is using heavy-handed insider tactics to limit access to the ballot and deny voters an alternative to the business as usual he represents.”
* Related…
* Eapen accused of voting hijinx: Four members of a West Rogers Park family testified Monday that Ald. Bernard Stone’s (50th) ward superintendent Anish Eapen coaxed them to vote absentee, collected their ballots and then mailed them during the heated 2007 aldermanic race.
* Objections filed in 8th, 10th Congressional districts
* Cheryle Jackson’s US Senate campaign is distributing a new polling memo. Keep in mind that the stuff about how numbers move after the reads the candidate’s message in memos like these means little unless the candidate actually has the money to burn his/her message into voters’ brains. There’s not much time left for that, considering the upcoming holidays.
Anyway, all highlighting is in the original…
A recent statewide survey of likely Democratic Primary voters reveals a wide-open race for U.S. Senate in Illinois, with Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson strongly positioned to win. In an initial trial heat, nearly half of voters are undecided, with Cheryle Jackson running second to Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Once this race becomes engaged, however, and the candidates introduce themselves to the voters, Cheryle Jackson makes dramatic gains in her support—more than doubling her initial support—and rapidly assumes the lead over the field. Her status as a frontrunner is all the more noteworthy since her primary opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, is the sitting State Treasurer, enjoys broader name identification, and has had a six-month head start on campaigning.
Key Findings
If the election were held today, “undecided” would win the race, claiming 45% of the vote, with the candidates’ current positions relating largely to name ID. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias starts out with 31% of the vote (just 16% of which is strong support), followed by Cheryle Jackson at 13% (7% strong). David Hoffman and Jacob Meister each draw support in the single digits (8% and 2%, respectively). The softness of Giannoulias’ support, however, along with Jackson’s potential to surge ahead, are quickly made clear in this data.
After voters hear each of the candidates’ positive messages, Cheryle Jackson is the only candidate to make rapid gains and quickly vaults into the lead in the race for U.S. Senate. (The text of each of the profiles is provided in the back of this document). Jackson more than doubles her initial support, attracting 30% of the vote, while Giannoulias’ support actually drops by 2 points to 29%. Former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman inches up to 11%, and lawyer Jacob Meister to just 5%. Nearly one-quarter of the electorate (24%) remains undecided.
In addition to her demonstrable personal appeal, Cheryle Jackson has other unique advantages—as the only woman and the only African American in this crowded field. The composition of this Democratic primary electorate skews female (58%), and the undecided vote even more so (60%). Among voters who express a preference for the gender of their next Senator, a woman is preferred to a man by a substantial margin of more than 3:1. In addition, if one were to simulate undecided African American voters coalescing behind Jackson, the initial trial heat moves immediately from 31%-13% to 31%-22%, placing Jackson within single digits of Giannoulias. This, of course, assumes traditional turnout of African American voters in this primary at 24%; every point increase in turnout translates into added vote for Jackson.
Underscoring the wide-open nature of this contest, solid majorities of voters are unfamiliar with all the candidates in this race, including 8 in 10 undecided voters. This is particularly striking for Giannoulias, the only statewide officeholder, and the sitting Treasurer since 2006. Moreover, while Giannoulias converts much of his existing name identification into votes, he appears already to have maximized his potential in that regard. Thirty-seven percent of voters have a favorable impression of Giannoulias, and 10% have an unfavorable impression. Even for this sitting officeholder, a majority of primary voters has either no opinion of him (29%), or has never heard of him (24%). Voters views on Giannoulias’ job performance as State Treasurer is much more mixed. Nearly as many rate his performance negatively (30% “just fair”/”poor”) as positively (36% “excellent”/”good”), and undecided voters are solidly negative on his performance as Treasurer (16% “excellent”/”good” to 33% “just fair”/”poor”). Again, once voters learn more about Giannoulias, his support actually drops.
Cheryle Jackson, on the other hand, demonstrates a remarkable ability to more than double her vote share as voters become more familiar with her. She starts out with 23% of voters having a favorable impression of her, and 9% unfavorable. Many voters still have either no opinion (32%), or has never heard of her (35%). Once voters are introduced to her, her support jumps from 13% to 30%, and she assumes the lead.
David Hoffman and Jacob Meister both appear to be non-factors in this race. Neither candidate is well known, neither starts out with significant support, and neither makes noticeable gains in support after being introduced to the voters. Hoffman is little known (13% favorable, 5% unfavorable, 35% no opinion, 47% never heard). Jacob Meister is even more unfamiliar to voters (4% favorable, 2% unfavorable, 32% no opinion, 62% never heard).
In short, polling shows that Cheryle Jackson is a frontrunner in the race for Illinois’ open U.S. Senate seat. With just three short months until the primary, Jackson is the only candidate poised to make significant gains once the campaigns start communicating with voters. Giannoulias, already having converted much of his existing personal affect into vote, is unable to capitalize further on his name ID advantage. While Cheryle Jackson more than doubles her support after voters are introduced to her in a competitive environment, additional exposure for Giannoulias actually leaves him with fewer votes than he begins with. The data reveal that Cheryle Jackson alone has the momentum to win the race to fill President Obama’s Senate seat.
* Meanwhile, Dem US Senate underdog Jacob Meister has a new TV ad…
The campaign of Chicago attorney and Democratic Senate candidate Jacob Meister said it began airing one-minute TV ads in central Illinois today in which he contends that helping the economy and creating jobs is more important than battling corruption.
“There’s other people who would like to say that it’s all about corruption,” Meister says in the ad, which revisits his Springfield appearance to file candidacy petitions for the Feb. 2 Democratic primary nomination. “Obviously, corruption is an important message, but that’s not the measuring stick we should be using. This is about the economy.” […]
Running a one-minute campaign commercial is unusual, but Meister’s ad is airing in the Champaign, Springfield and Peoria TV markets, where advertising rates are less expensive than in the Chicago market.
* I’ve been saying for months that Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign has not properly publicized the work of their underpaid, over-performing in-house video guy. The young man has cranked out one good video after another in almost complete obscurity.
Well, the Sun-Times picked up on his latest effort today…
In the never-ending battle over gubernatorial hair, Gov. Quinn is sending a video to supporters that aims to kill two birds with one stone.
It shows Quinn getting a haircut from the same Hinsdale barber, “Herb,” Quinn has gone to for 32 years.
This comes after a Quinn commercial that made fun of rival Dan Hynes for going to a “spa” during budget negotiations. The “spa,” Hynes said, was his barber. Quinn uses this video, likely to become a commercial, to show that his barber works at a barber shop with a blue-and-red-striped pole — not a fancy place called “Tou Jours.”
Herb charges $16 for a men’s hair cut. Tou Jours charges $40.
A debate over hair isn’t exactly the way I’d like to see things go in the campaign, but this is a bit of fun, so whatever. Plus, I’ve been demanding it, so I can’t say much now. Have a look…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Hynes campaign responds…
Haircuts aside, the video is nice and Herb seems like a great guy. It’s a real shame Pat Quinn wants to stick him with a 50% tax increase.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the Andy McKenna campaign…
It’s good to see “Hair Today” has generated so much talk from the Democrats…however, it would be nice instead of talking about who pays the most for a haircut, if they would talk about how to fix our state’s budget problems without a tax increase on Illinois families.
[ *** End of Updates ***
* Also, the Illinois Republican Party has posted video of last week’s gubernatorial candidates forum…
