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Monday, Aug 24, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Democratic state Rep. Julie Hamos has a great story to tell during her upcoming 10th District congressional race. Her parents fled Communist Hungary when she was a child after they survived the unthinkable…

“As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, I am passionate about Israel as the Jewish state that has a right to co-exist with safe and secure borders — and I am committed to supporting human rights and democracy throughout the world,” she said.

Some partisans commented here yesterday about Hamos’ alleged problems with Jewish voters. But she has a pretty strong hand, if you ask me.

* It’ll also be tough to peg her as a Mike Madigan clone since she’s been on the outs with MJM for quite a while now. Here’s a recent and quite snarky Speaker Madigan quote about her…

“Well, she is very knowledgeable. I mean, we should all be as smart as Rep. Hamos. Have a great day.”

That little feud goes back to the Blagojevich days, which won’t be good for Hamos…

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been urging House Speaker Michael Madigan to attend a meeting about the state’s budget. Now a member of Madigan’s own Democratic caucus is joining that call. […]

This is the kind of meeting Speaker Madigan has skipped recently, so the governor’s sending the invitation through the press. Today he got some help from Representative Julie Hamos, a Democrat from Evanston.

HAMOS: I do wish that Speaker Madigan was more engaged now, as one of our key leaders in the state of Illinois. You know, we have some big issues that we did not resolve his year, and if Speaker Madigan is not at the table, they’re really never going to get resolved.

More on that Blagojevich/MJM/Hamos feud from a column written by GOP Rep. Jim Sacia in June of 2008…

What a gutsy lady. Though I often disagree with Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) on issues she brings before the House, she hit the nail on the head last Saturday evening at about 10:30.

Ms. Hamos expressed her anger and disgust on the House floor (and on the record) as she chastised Speaker Michael Madigan for refusing to allow our $31 billion capital jobs and infrastructure plan from moving forward. […]

Ms. Hamos stated for all to hear that Speaker Madigan didn’t want this Governor traveling the state for the next two years cutting ribbons and accepting accolades

She also voted for the income tax hike, which may not play well in that congressional district.

* Hamos’ biggest problem right now, however, is her campaign itself. Her announcement video, which I posted yesterday, is just flat-out horrible. No self-respecting campaign would ever release something so amateurish and thoroughly flawed. What the heck was she thinking?

* Meanwhile, another Republican tosses his hat into the US Senate race…

Robert Enriquez believes the Republican Party is in trouble.

A Republican since his teen years, the 53-year-old Auroran now sees a party leading itself into disaster, and closing itself off from the diversity that surrounds it. That’s why, he says, he’s decided to run for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama in 2010. […]

“The party wants to go the easy route. They want things handed to them,” Enriquez said. “These individuals handed us where we are in Illinois today.”

These beliefs are strongly Republican, and Enriquez said he did not consider running as an independent. But, he said, the “Republican Party has abandoned me.” He said the two-party system has proved damaging, with elected officials more concerned about topping one another than creating good laws, and thinks the Republican Party has neglected the cultural diversity that could help it connect with voters.

* Related…

* Battle lines being drawn in DuPage County - 3 announce pursuit of County Board chairmanship; 4 others considering run

* Breen to Announce Bid for IL House 41: With Friday’s retirement announcement by State Rep. Bob Biggins (R-Elmhurst), Lombard conservative leader Peter Breen has declared his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the 41st District.

* Hamos: I’m running for Kirk seat

* Hamos says she’ll be an ally of Obama in 10th District

* Alexi Giannoulias Makes Campaign Stop in Peoria

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Campaign 2010 roundup

Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Put this into the “I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’” file. The Illinois Republican Party whacks Democratic US Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias for talking out of both sides of his mouth…

Alexi: So I’m also proud to be the first candidate running for the U.S. Senate in the history of the state of Illinois not to take money from lobbyists or from corporate PACs…

Roma: In that spirit of swearing off corporate PACs and lobbyist contributions, what about all special interest money, from unions, from trial lawyers, from, zero PAC money, is that something that you think politicians should all do?

Alexi: I personally do.

But according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, Giannoulias already accepted union and special interest PAC contributions to his Senate exploratory committee.

Apparently, when Giannouolias said “I personally do,” he was referring to the question of “should politicians reject” all special interest money - and wasn’t trying to say that he actually does it.

Hokay.

The Giannoulias campaign attempts to explain…

“Mark Kirk has taken millions of dollars of special interest money and voted their way in Washington for almost a decade. Alexi Giannoulias is the first US Senate candidate in Illinois history to refuse money from federal lobbyists and corporate PACs because he believes that we will never change the way we do business in Washington until we change the way we elect people to represent us in Washington.”

* Comptroller Dan Hynes’ campaign has been whacking Gov. Pat Quinn for the past few days, but Hynes’ campaign Twitter page has lately focused on sports…

Upset that Charles Tillman is out for a while. Hope he gets better soon - Bears need his secondary help.
about 1 hour ago

Looking forward to seeing Mark Buehrle read David Letterman’s Top Ten List tonight.
about 22 hours ago

Lotsa red meat there, Dan. Way to get all controversial on us.

* Republican William Kelly has a bit of fun with his state comptroller campaign kickoff video…

Kelly’s background from a press release…

A Second City-trained humorist, Kelly is he host and executive producer of the TV series, “Sportsaholic” and the Emmy award-winning “Upscale TV,” which just completed a successful three-year run on FOX.

No stranger to Illinois politics, Kelly was previously the Executive Director of the National Taxpayers Union of Illinois. He is a former GOP candidate for Congress and currently oversees a non-profit reform organization, RebuildIllinois.com. He has a long-standing history of anti-tax and government waste activism, which was the subject of the National Review article, “Rebel with a Cause.”

* Sen. Durbin apparently doesn’t know anything more than we do about Chris Kennedy…

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Monday he was in the dark about any potential statewide bid of Merchandise Mart boss Chris Kennedy, the nephew of his Senate colleague Ted Kennedy. […]

Lately, media reports have said he is eying a run for governor after backing off a senate bid. That would put him in competition with Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Asked about Chris Kennedy Monday, Durbin said flatly, “I have heard so many rumors.”

“I don’t know where he is whether it is governor or senator or something else,” Durbin said.

* Democratic State Rep. Julie Hamos claims $200,000 in contribution pledges for her 10th Congressional District run…

“We’ve already received pledges of over $200,000 in just the one week that I’ve been making phone calls. I think that’s a great start and I think it shows again the strength of my support.”

Here’s her campaign video announcement…

Carlos Hernandez-Gomez ponders Hamos on Twitter…

.She’s bright, charasmatic w/ a great story, but how will her transit tax & Quinn tax vote play?

* State Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago) talks to Fox Chicago News about running for Congress…

* Memo to newspapers: Get your own houses in order before complaining about blogs. Case in point, the Naperville Sun gave GOP Congresscritter Judy Biggert sponsorship credit for a major local project…

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would allocate $1 million for improvement of the EJ&E railroad crossing at Ogden Avenue in Aurora.

The bill, H.R. 3288, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th), provides fiscal year 2010 appropriations for the Department of Transportation, included a total of $1.5 million requested by Biggert for a Metra Station in Tinley Park and freight-related traffic relief along Ogden Avenue. The bill passed the House on Thursday evening and now heads to the Senate.

Um, no…

But the paper forgot one tiny detail — along with the rest of Illinois’ Republican delegation, Biggert voted against the bill. The Sun staff report also falsely asserted that she “sponsored” the measure (in fact, she did no such thing).

The newspaper story appears to be a clumsy rewrite of an official press release. Oops.

* Related…

* Dirty Money Watch: Rep. Danny Davis

* Al Hofeld, Jr., may seek state Senate seat: A Chicago lawyer whose father changed the face of Illinois politics says he’s getting ready for a possible race for the state Senate.

* GOP Businessman Dick Green Close to Announcing Bid for IL-10

* Giannoulias Kicks Off Senate Campaign In Marion

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