Campaign 2010 roundup
Thursday, May 7, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Slate has Attorney General Lisa Madigan on a list of 20 possible US Supreme Court nominees. I kid you not…
Lisa Madigan, 42, is a rising star in Illinois politics, a friend and former colleague of Barack Obama’s from the Illinois state Senate, and the current attorney general of the state. She is said to be considering a run for governor, and the New York Times named her among a roster of down-the-road candidates for the first female president.
Consider this for Madigan’s column: She successfully argued a case before the Supreme Court, the first attorney general to personally do so in 25 years—while seven months pregnant. The case, Illinois v. Caballes, gave police the authority to use drug-sniffing dogs on the outside of a stopped vehicle without a warrant or reason to suspect possession.
As Law.com notes, Madigan has other serious law-and-order bona fides, such as advocating for stricter supervision and registration of sex offenders, stronger methamphetamine laws, and scrutiny of the state’s gaming industry… Like Obama, Madigan has a background in community organizing. She also taught young women in South Africa during apartheid.
Pat Quinn can only hope, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I was him. Thankfully, I’m not.
* The Toronto Star’s Washington bureau believes Chris Kennedy is a go…
Others close to Kennedy, 45, say the decision to run is a done deal and that in 2010 he will seek the Democratic slot for Obama’s old Senate seat, currently held by controversial appointee Roland Burris.
* Republican gubernatorial hopeful Joe Birkett takes yet another shot at fellow hopeful Bob Schillerstrom…
“I haven’t seen him anywhere in the state other than DuPage and Cook,” Birkett said. “I’m the top Republican vote-getter in the state of Illinois for the past 10 years. I get more votes per dollar than any candidate and that’s a fact. And the reason for that is I have strong record and strong roots here in Illinois.”
Highlighting your perennial candidacies is probably not the greatest idea in the world.
* Speaking of perennial candidates, David McAloon is running for the 11th Congressional District.
…Adding… Springfield Alderman Frank Edwards is running for governor? I don’t get it.