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Poll: 66 percent say do special election; GOP candidate news; Daley reacts to issue

Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A new poll commissioned by the Illinois Republican Party finds strong support for a special election…

Two-thirds (66%) of the electorate favors the state legislature passing a new law requiring a special election to fill Barack Obama’s unexpired term as US Senator rather than letting the Governor pick the next US Senator. Only 26% oppose a special election.

This large majority support for a special election is strongest among Republicans (74%) but is also strong among Democrats (64%) and Independents (65%). In the collar counties and downstate, the support for a special election is huge (71% and 70% respectively).

* And this is what I’ve been talking about when I say that anyone with close or even not-so-close ties to Blagojevich is severely tainted in voters’ minds…

70% of voters would be less likely to vote for a candidate for office in Illinois who supported or endorsed Rod Blagojevich’s reelection for Governor in 2006 even though he was already under investigation for 3-years.

The “less likely to vote” result is strongest among Republicans (82%) but is also strong among Democrats (66%), Independents (66%), and voters in Cook County (65%), City of Chicago (65%) and the collar counties (76%). Clearly, Democrats who are tied to Blagojevich are vulnerable.

* More…

An overwhelming majority (79%) believes things in Illinois are headed off on the wrong track. Only 14% thinks things are going in the right direction. This very strong negative sentiment cuts across party lines.

Regardless of party affiliation, most Illinois voters (88%) have an unfavorable opinion of Rod Blagojevich. Only 8% has a favorable opinion of him.

* Methodology…

This Illinois statewide survey of 600 likely voters was conducted on December 15, 2008 by McLaughlin & Associates. All interviews were conducted by professional interviewers via telephone.

* Click the pic for a better look at the internals…

* We also have some info on a couple of potential GOP gubernatorial candidates. From Crain’s…

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce annouced that it has granted a leave of absence to its president, Doug Whitley, so he can “pursue personal goals, perhaps including a future political career.” The leave takes effect on Jan. 1 and comes after months in which Mr. Whitley was said to be testing the gubernatorial waters.

* Also from Crain’s…

U.S. Housing Secretary Steven Preston, who’s mulling a run for governor of Illinois in 2010, effectively makes his debut speech as a candidate for the GOP nomination Tuesday.

In the wake of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest and criminal charges last week, Mr. Preston revised a long-scheduled speech on housing issues in Chicago to focus on “leadership, accountability and transparency in government.” […]

“I’ve chatted with a couple of people about the needs of the state,” said Mr. Preston, a native of Janesville, Wis., who got his degree in political science at Northwestern University and considered a career in public service before getting into banking and moving up the corporate ladder. “Anyone who runs has to do a lot of soul-searching.”

*** UPDATE *** Mayor Daley reacts…

Republicans have accused Democrats of opposing a special election because they’re afraid an anti-Blagojevich backlash could pave the way for a GOP candidate to take Barack Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate.

But, Daley denied the motive is politics.

“You cannot, because an individual does something wrong, change everything dealing with that office. You only have less than two years [until the next election]. It’s about thirty-to-fifty million dollars. That’s a lot of money,” Daley said.

“Whoever becomes the governor — if the lieutenant governor comes in — then, he has the responsibility [to appoint the next senator]. That’s the responsibility of the governor. If [Gov. David] Paterson can do it in New York, why cannot they do it here?”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: This just in… New Senate plan? *** White responds *** Just a resolution today? *** Withdrawn ***

Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Special election foiled by House Dems

Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Heartening news…

Secretary of State Jesse White said Monday he would block any appointment Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s makes for the state’s empty U.S. Senate seat, should the governor make one.

“I will not accept that nomination,” White said. “I would block it.”

Blagojevich has been urged by a chorus of Illinois officials not to make the pick after being arrested on federal corruption charges last week.

White would have to sign off on Blagojevich’s choice, but it has been unclear whether his role was simply a matter of handling paperwork.

* The headline on today’s Drudge Report was: “Illinois Democrats Let Blago Retain Senate Appointment.” Oof. Here’s the story…

Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives postponed stripping Governor Rod Blagojevich’s power to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama that prosecutors say Blagojevich tried to sell. […]

Republicans said Democrats, who hold a 67-51 majority in the chamber, seek to avoid a loss of the seat to the GOP in a special election.

“Shame on you,” Representative William Black, deputy leader of Republicans in the House, shouted during a debate in the state capitol building in Springfield. “We had an opportunity to limit the power of this governor and you refused.” […]

“It’s extremely disappointing that Democratic leaders in Illinois are ignoring bipartisan calls for a special election,” Robert Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement distributed on PRNewswire.

* More GOP react…

“Tonight the world has seen up close the hypocrisy of Illinois politics,” decried Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna. “The people of Illinois deserve better.”

* There are fewer and fewer “bipartisan calls for a special election,” particularly from Illinois’ county clerks, who would have to run (and pay for) the thing…

Election officials statewide say they don’t have the money to pay for a special election that could be held to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. […]

Officials have floated statewide special election cost projections between $30 million and $50 million - running individual counties anywhere from tens of thousand of dollars to as much as $8 million in Cook County’s Chicago suburbs. Chicago’s expenses could hit $16 million.

Clerks say they don’t have that money in their budgets. “We just hope the Legislature considers the additional expenses,” said Stacey Kern, director of the Sangamon County election office in Springfield. “It’s going to cost us. Hopefully they’ll do right the thing and find some funds for us.”

County Clerk Joe Aiello estimated a special election would cost Sangamon $300,000 - a huge burden for a county that recently offered employees voluntary severance packages and is looking to cut more expenses. Aiello said the county could tap its general fund, but that likely would mean cuts elsewhere.

* Back to the Repubs…

Republicans say a special election would erase the stain that Blagojevich has left on the Senate appointment in the wake of the allegations against him.

“I think the people’s trust in the state of Illinois has been shattered,” said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington. […]

“The best disinfectant in a democracy is the people,” said state Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville.

Except “the people” elected George Ryan over and over again (lt. governor, secretary of state and governor) and elected Rod Blagojevich governor twice. But I see the point.

* A national pundit sucks his thumb…

Quinn might logically choose Lisa Madigan, the state’s popular attorney general. But there’s a problem there, too. Knowledgeable Illinois Democrats say that Madigan would vastly prefer to be governor, a job her dad, state House Speaker Michael Madigan, would also like her to get. Yet if Quinn were to take over from Blagojevich, he might well build up his own popularity and thus block Lisa Madigan’s ascension to the governorship.

* And Obama is staying mum…

Obama has not said whether he supports a special election or an appointment from Quinn should Blagojevich step down or be removed from office. Obama has only called on lawmakers to do what is “appropriate,” without explanation.

Thoughts?

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Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller

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