* I told subscribers about this earlier today. Tribune…
A spokesperson for Justice Michael Burke, a Republican who has served on the court since 2020, said Wednesday that the justice has conceded his race to his Democratic challenger, Appellate Court Justice Mary Kay O’Brien
Justice O’Brien declared victory today. That means the Democrats (and pro-choicers) will have a 5-2 majority on the top court. A majority of justices will also be women for the first time.
* Dan Proft’s People Who Play by the Rules PAC didn’t just lose the governor’s race by a huge margin (after circulating at least one highly questionable poll). He also spent money on several down-ballot contests. I asked Isabel to do the math. Most of these were House candidates, but one (Nagel) was a Senate candidate and another (Moody) was a candidate for sheriff. Independent expenditures since the beginning of October...
* Speaking of the Proft/Bailey race, here’s the Huffington Post…
Throughout the late spring and into the summer, Democratic operatives made a series of risky choices to elevate Republican candidates who wholeheartedly embraced former President Donald Trump’s cornucopia of lies about the 2020 presidential election.
In Republican primary after Republican primary, Democrats aired ads serving two purposes: promoting seemingly unelectable candidates to the GOP base while attacking them for a general election audience. The ads noted how close the Republican candidates were to Trump, played up their support for strict restrictions or bans on abortion and other things the GOP base loved but general election voters hated.
On election night, those risky bets paid off. All six of the election-denying candidates on the ballot whom Democrats boosted ― three gubernatorial candidates, two House candidates and a Senate candidate ― lost, most of them resoundingly.
One of those was, of course, Darren Bailey.
* WQAD last night…
Illinois voters decided Tuesday to amend their state constitution to guarantee the right to bargain collectively.
Labor unions declared victory last night, but they haven’t yet provided the numbers to buttress their case. It’s short of the 60 percent required for outright passage and, by my quick count, also appears to be just shy of the majority of all persons voting. More votes will be counted, however, so stay tuned.
This thing is gonna get really complicated and involved. I’ve already been in one long back and forth today about how over/under votes will factor into the equation.
* Many naysayers believed the Democrats had gone too far when they drew their new congressional maps. No way could they win 14 districts out of 17. Well, Democrat Nikki Budzinski won yesterday and Republican Esther Joy King conceded today…
Democrat Eric Sorensen will be headed to Congress after Republican Esther Joy King called to concede the race Wednesday morning.
Sorensen is a longtime meteorologist while King is trained as a lawyer and JAG Officer in the Army Reserve.
The 17th Congressional District seat opened up ater U.S Rep. Cheri Bustos (D) retired. King previously ran against Bustos in 2020 but was narrowly defeated.
* Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie’s Democratic opponent refuses to concede…
As votes continue to come in, the Maria Peterson and Dan McConchie race is still not decided. The election results that have been reported so far are showing that Maria Peterson has 41,415 votes and Dan McConchie has 43,353 votes. However, this does not include votes that have been mailed in on or before Election Day and provisional ballots. Peterson said, “We are looking forward to the next few weeks and the arrival of the rest of the ballots to the clerks’ offices so that each and every vote can be counted and the voice of each voter heard. According to voter file information, there are possibly as many as 6,500 ballots that were requested and are outstanding.
* Greg Hinz…
Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans kept his job despite a quiet effort by some in his party to deny him retention to the bench.
* Illinois Supreme Court candidate Mark Curran last month…
I’m Catholic, and I’m, I’m sort of pro-life.
WTTW last night…
[Republican Illinois Supreme Court candidate Mark Curran] gave a concession speech in front of his supporters late Tuesday night, in which he repeatedly pointed to his faith and said his opponent ran against him solely on the abortion issue.
“The bulk of Illinois voted on killing babies,” he said. “Now, if you asked me would I like to switch my position on that so that I could win (an) election and spend the rest of eternity in hell, I’d say no way.”
…Adding… Oops. Forgot to put this one in, but it’s noteworthy…
She also worked constantly.
Sharon Chung (D-Bloomington) also won a House seat last night, expanding the Asian American legislative caucus to 9. And according to Rep. Theresa Mah (D-Chicago), two Asian Americans won seats on the DuPage County Board and one won a seat on the Will County Board representing Bolingbrook.
It’s more than just a trend.
…Adding… Another big D win…
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* Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin press release…
“The House Republicans ran on the message of fighting for lower taxes and safer communities for families and businesses across the state, and I am proud of all our campaigns who fought hard over the last year. I congratulate all of the Republicans who will now represent these important voices in the General Assembly and fight against the Democratic Party of Illinois. While I am not pleased with the results, I will accept them.
It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Leader of the House Republican caucus, but it’s time for the Illinois Republican Party to rebuild with new leaders who can bring independents back to the party that are needed to bring change to the state. With that, I will not be seeking re-election as minority leader. I am proud of the work the House Republican caucus has accomplished under my tenure, and thank everyone who played a part along the way. I began this journey as a voice of moderation and conclude this journey the same way I started, a voice of moderation.
To the people of Illinois disappointed with these results, don’t give up hope. Tomorrow is a new day.”
*** UPDATE *** Gov. Pritzker was asked about Durkin’s decision today…
Q: Governor, Jim Durkin announced this morning that he will not seek another term as the House GOP Leader. What’s your reaction to that? And obviously, that’s someone that you’re used to working with. Are you concerned that someone who’s much more conservative, someone from the MAGA wing of the GOP might get that job?
A: I’m only concerned if someone takes the job who’s unwilling to sit down and actually talk about what we might do together. If they’re unwilling to talk, if they reject the idea of bipartisanship, that would not be good for the state of Illinois.
Q: Is Durkin a loss?
A: I obviously got to know the Minority Leader in my first year in office, when we worked together on so many issues, and again, passed a bipartisan budget together. I think someone who has served as many years as he has, admirably, honorably, is someone that is probably a loss for the Republicans because he’s decided not to run for leader again. And so, I look forward to whoever the new Minority Leader is sitting at the table and getting things done with them. I just remind you that everybody at that table has now changed since I’ve been in office. And so, you know, we’ve worked as best we could, together with the folks on the other side of the aisle. But we’ve gotten a whole lot done.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Nov 9, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Results open thread
Tuesday, Nov 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times’ results are here. Daily Herald’s are here. Tribune’s are here. They all come from the same place (Associated Press), so pick your flavor. Another option is Ryan Keith’s spreadsheet, which will be updated as races are called. That is here. And the AP’s race calls for US Senate, Congress and governor can be found here.
* I’ll be adding tweets and other stuff into this app as the night progresses. Our daily live feed will also be helpful. Follow along with ScribbleLive…
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* What are you seeing out there? Give us some details. Any shenanigans? Make sure to let us know where you are. Thanks!
* Meanwhile, here’s a particularly moronic and harmful Fox News story…
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was blasted Monday for saying that waiting a couple of days for results is how elections are “supposed to work.”
“We may not know all the winners of elections for a few days. It takes time to count all legitimate ballots in a legal and orderly manner,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at the White House press briefing. “That’s how this is supposed to work.”
Twitter exploded as commentators on the platform expressed their dismay that many states can no longer tally all the ballots they receive by the end of election day itself.
Scott Kennedy at Illinois Election Data has it right…
We will have some limited coverage tonight. But any race that’s even kinda close ain’t gonna be over until the ballots are counted or enough are counted to make an accurate prediction. Illinois counts mail-in ballots received up to two weeks after the polls close and since election authorities are not allowed to count early and mailed-in votes before election day, those are often counted after the election day votes are tabulated.
* Update from Chicago…
417,286 ballots cast
Citywide Turnout: 27.1%
Registered Voters in Chicago: 1,540,821
Turnout by Hour
6:00am – 16,105 ballots cast
7:00am – 22,228 ballots cast
8:00am – 26,264 ballots cast
9:00am – 26,487 ballots cast
10:00am – 27,992 ballots cast
11:00am – 28,478 ballots cast
Turnout by Age Group
18-24: 14,339 ballots cast
25-34: 65,439 ballots cast
35-44: 64,705 ballots cast
45-54: 62,782 ballots cast
55-64 : 79,372 ballots cast
65-74: 77,822 ballots cast
75+: 51,948 ballots cast
…Adding… Press release…
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek announces that DuPage County voter turnout stood at 37.4% as of noon on Election Day, November 8, 2022, with 231,060 ballots cast out of 617,734 registered voters.
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* As always, do not listen to these people. Ever…
* Go ask the experts…
…Adding… This was a thing two years ago. But, of course, facts and history mean nothing to groups dedicated to spreading misinformation and disinformation…
If you used a Sharpie pen to cast your ballot in Illinois, it was counted.
The Illinois State Board of Elections said it wants all voters who used Sharpie pens to mark their ballots that their votes were counted.
The State Board of Elections said it received many calls from voters around the state concerned that their polling places provided them with Sharpie pens to mark their ballots and that this might cause problems with their votes being recorded.
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Morning precinct reports
Tuesday, Nov 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* What are you seeing out there? Turnout? Mood? Line size? Anything different from previous elections, or about the same? Make sure to tell us at least your approximate location. Thanks.
…Adding… I’m also interested in any confusion caused by things like this…
With approximately half of Chicago voters heading to new voting locations for the midterm election, polling places opened before sunrise on a crisp Tuesday. […]
Election officials are aiming for a smoother day after a rocky June 28 primary. Election judge shortages caused 56 precincts in Chicago and six precincts in suburban Cook County to open late that day. […]
However, Chicago faces the potential for widespread confusion after nearly half of city voters were assigned new polling places in the three months leading up to the election. […]
For voters who show up at the wrong polling place, the Tribune has a guide on what to do. Voters with questions or issues also can call the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners at 312-269-7870.
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Nov 8, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Campaign notebook
Monday, Nov 7, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois early vote totals…
* Chicago early vote totals…
The most up-to-date Early Vote and Vote By Mail totals in Chicago, night of Sunday, November 6, 2022.
The Early Vote total stands at 134,014 ballots cast.
Additionally, 103,205 Vote By Mail ballots have been returned to the Board – total VBM applications stands at 208,962.
The grand total is 237,219 ballots cast so far in Chicago for the November 8th General Election.
FOR COMPARISON:
- As of June 26, 2022 (1 day out from the 6/28/22 Primary Election): 98,512 ballots cast
- As of November 1, 2020 (1 day out from the 11/3/20 Presidential Election): 756,935 ballots cast
- As of November 4, 2018 (1 day out from the 11/6/18 General Election): 274,756 ballots cast
Chicago is now up to 20 percent of the statewide total, which is about where it was in 2018.
* False alarm…
On Friday afternoon, lawyers representing Champaign County Board member Jim McGuire filed a lawsuit alleging that Champaign County deputy clerk Michelle Jett mishandled official ballots. Attached to the lawsuit is a sworn affidavit from an election judge in County Clerk Aaron Ammons’ office, which included pictures of ballots on the passenger seat and floor of Jett’s car.
The judge threw out the order after Jett and the county provided evidence they were sample ballots being used to test voting machines.
…Adding… More…
Champaign County Clerk and Recorder Aaron Ammons has agreed to tweak a procedure concerning pre-election printer testing at polling places, bringing to an end to an emergency lawsuit and partisan skirmish that stretched into this past weekend.
A hearing set before Judge Anna Benjamin Monday started nearly an hour late while lawyers hammered out an agreement that then eliminated the need for the hearing.
The resolution of the lawsuit filed by Champaign County Republican Party Chair Jim McGuire against Ammons and Ammons’ director of operations, Michelle Jett, calls for all paper used to test election printers to be secured and preserved from the time of testing until 60 days following the election.
* We talked about this story last week…
At issue is an attempt by Dan Proft, a longtime Republican operative and onetime losing candidate for Illinois governor, to inject himself into a potential legal settlement being sought by Brett Corrigan, a Bailey family friend who worked for the campaign for more than a year before leaving around mid-September. Corrigan’s attorney described his client’s complaint as an “internal HR,” or human resources, matter but didn’t provide any additional details. […]
Corrigan declined to comment and referred all questions to his attorney, Scott Kaspar of Orland Park. Kaspar said Corrigan attended Bailey’s private Full Armor Christian Academy in downstate Louisville, Illinois, and lived with Bailey’s family on their farm in nearby Xenia. Corrigan on the campaign trail served largely as a “body man” for the Republican governor candidate, who is also a state senator, closely following Bailey at events and assisting Bailey as he needed. Since June 2021, state campaign finance records show, he was paid $18,861 by Bailey’s campaign.
But around mid-September, Corrigan left Bailey’s campaign — whether he was fired or left on his own is a matter of dispute, his attorney said. Corrigan now serves a similar role for GOP attorney general candidate Tom DeVore, whose campaign Corrigan joined almost immediately after leaving Bailey’s.
Bailey told reporters yesterday that he wouldn’t answer any questions about the matter because Corrigan was still a student at Bailey’s school.
* New Illinois poll published on FiveThirtyEight has Pritzker up by 20…
Caveat: That pollster had a not great 2020 cycle and is rated as B-.
* From the Veep’s visit…
* Here we go…
…Adding… CD17’s Crystal Ball House rating was just moved from Tossup to Leans Republican.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Conservative activist behind faux newspapers is done living in Illinois: “I no longer have a place in Chicago or Illinois,” Proft wrote in an email to Crain’s, “nor will I until and unless the political leadership changes and that new leadership reforms the way we fund schools and structure and fund public sector pensions and in so doing reduces the usurious property taxes Illinois families pay.”
* Illinois Review | Kathy Salvi on the campaign trail gives three reasons to vote for her: Monday night, Kathy Salvi, 2022 Republican candidate for US Senate, gave a rousing speech at a rally in Lombard Monday night. Salvi gave three reasons Illinoisans should vote for her Tuesday: Economy, Crime and Education - all topics that are motivating voters to the polls.
* Patch | Raoul Vs. Lawyer DeVore For Attorney General: Illinois Election 2022: As expected, Raoul and DeVore plan to take very different paths as Attorney General and have targeted their opponent’s philosophies of lawmaking on key issues facing Illinoisans. Perhaps, most notable is the controversial SAFE-T Act, the sweeping criminal justice reform package that was passed by lawmakers and that is set to go into effect on Jan. 1. Neither Raoul nor DeVore responded to multiple requests from Patch to complete a pre-election questionnaire dealing with issues facing Illinois voters in Tuesday’s general election.
* Block Club Chicago | With Fewer Polling Places And Translators, Non-English Speaking Voters Could Be Discouraged, Advocates Say: Community organizers said they’ll do heavier lifting this election to help voters with language barriers cast ballots amid shakeups to the voting process. Nearly half of Chicago voters will have a different polling place for the election Nov. 8 than they did in the June primary, said Max Bever, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman. There will also be 97 fewer polling places citywide, and the board has struggled to hire poll workers, especially those who are bilingual, he said.
* Pantagraph | Chilly, breezy Monday across central Illinois. What about Election Day?: Cooler today than Sunday, but near normal for this time of year. Seasonable temperatures tonight as well. What temperatures are expected for Election Day? Any chance of rain? Find out in our updated forecast video.
* Shaw Local | Controversial mailer with SAFE-T Act concerns sent to DeKalb residents: Earlier this week, DeKalb resident Eric Petruchuis said he was angry when he learned his photo had been included in a publication circulating around town beneath a headline that read, “Under the SAFE-T Act, these suspects would be released into your neighborhood.” His photo was on a page with 15 other mugshots, along with full names and bullet points of the charges allegedly pending against them. No other details were published with the arrest photos. One problem, for Petruchuis at least, is it wasn’t accurate. While Petruchuis had been arrested in October, and spent a night in the DeKalb County Jail, the charges were dismissed the next day, according to court records and the DeKalb County state’s attorney’s office.
* Patch | Election Day Blood Moon Last Total Lunar Eclipse Over IL Until 2025: The Election Day lunar eclipse will turn the moon an eerie red in the hours before polls open across Illinois on Tuesday. It’s the last total lunar eclipse until 2025, and that alone makes getting up early to see it worthwhile. Skies over Illinois should be partly cloudy on Tuesday during the height of eclipse activity when the moon takes on a reddish or coppery hue. If you’re not keen on watching the whole thing, the blood moon lasts from about 4:16 a.m. to 5:41 a.m. local time.
* Telegraph | Haine, McRae criticize Julian, Huddleston on ‘pledges for votes’: The texts, from campaign workers for Julian and Huddleston, stated they would “uphold Illinois law which allows women to make their own healthcare choices with their doctor.” Neither Julian or Huddleston responded to a request for comment. Haine and McRae argued promising specific legal rulings during a campaign is unethical.
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* Yesterday…
From the story…
When Chicago reporter Amy Jacobson recently asked Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker about requiring the covid-19 vaccine for schoolchildren, he said he would leave that decision to legislators.
But internal emails from the Illinois Department of Public Health suggest Prtizker is looking into adding the covid shot to the list of school vaccines through a process that doesn’t involve full Legislative approval.
On October 27th, a few hours after Pritzker put the onus for school shots on lawmakers, a question from the Governor’s Office was raised in an email thread between IDPH staff.
Deputy director Shannon Lightner wrote, “From the GO [Governor’s Office]: To add immunizations, do we have to go through the Committee and have three hearings?”
Heidi Clark, Division Chief of Infectious Diseases, replied, “That seems to be the case…No statutory changes are necessary, which is a plus, but those meetings would be pretty rough, I’m sure…”
* Dan Proft this morning…
The communications between the governor’s office and the Illinois Department of Public Health indicate that they are preparing to move in that direction of a vax mandate, hold a few perfunctory hearings around the state and impose that vax mandate if this governor is reelected.
Um, no.
Darren Bailey’s running mate was on Proft’s show and said this about vaccinations…
I was very surprised when I took my son in for his senior year checkup and they asked me would I like to get him the shot. And I said no thank you, and I thought that would be the end of the discussion. It went on for about 10 minutes, him encouraging me that why he needed this, and I was very uncomfortable with it. And I finally had to say to him, You know, 17 years ago, I brought him in the same hallway and you guys gave him four vaccines instead of two that my other kids got in here. My son Reagan has Aspberger’s, he’s on the spectrum, very high functioning, but there are a lot of people who think that those many vaccinations at one time…I mean, there are theories that that causes kids to be on the spectrum. But I couldn’t believe that we just couldn’t move on to the next step in his examination. It was as if this guy was getting, you know, a kickback or something.
The connection between vaccines and autism have been thoroughly debunked.
* Today, Darren Bailey and Tom DeVore held a press conference to talk about the “revelations”…
DeVore: Now what people didn’t know on the 27th of October is that when the governor was on television making that comment, his administrative agency was already working on this process. The emails that we have, that were given to us by some very courageous mothers who do FOIA requests better than [loud applause] showed that they were already formulating their plan. … And the director of the Department of Health now sent an email that said that that you know they’re likely going to receive some pushback in the promoting of vaccines in the short term. And you may have those who say, well, that doesn’t necessarily say they’re doing it. And I would ask you, will they any other vaccines in the short term that the Department of Health would be promoting? Of course not. Of course not. I made a call to the Department of Health today. And I asked them, Do you have the date for this meeting of this committee? And they said the best we know right now it’s the second week of December. So as we stand here today, around the second week of December the Illinois immunization Advisory Commission committee is set to have a hearing about making a recommendation. … I am firmly convinced, but you’re going to hear real soon that Senator Bailey when he becomes the governor of the state of Illinois [applause] that he will not appoint anyone to the Department of Public Health, that would try to promote, I’m going to use their words, promote adding any vaccines in the near future. So it is my pleasure to introduce to you to talk about this Senator Darren Bailey.[applause]
Bailey: God bless you and thank you all for being here today. This is absolutely amazing. And it is an honor to stand here with mothers and their children and parents in the future of Illinois that we are in keep fighting for…
Audience member: Protect our kids.
Bailey: And that is exactly what I promise. I promise you this, that your children’s future will always be my top priority. I will not waver under pressure and I will never stop fighting for them and the future of our state. JB Pritzker uses our kids to make political points. … And let me be clear, I will not appoint an Illinois Department of Public Health Director who will attempt to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine. Friends these decisions belong to the parents. These decisions belong to the parents with the consultation of their family physicians because you know what’s best for your children and their unique circumstances.
DeVore eventually got the audience riled up and then stormed out of the press conference when Mary Ann Ahern asked a question about the Proft papers.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
FYI—statement on the vaccine lies.
As the Governor has clearly said, there are no plans to update the vaccine requirements for school age children. But it should come as no surprise that Darren Bailey and Tom DeVore are once again playing political games with public health. The CDC recommended school age children get the COVID vaccine and the email chain they are referencing is IDPH making sure they had a full understanding of the process for adding a vaccine to the existing requirements in order to answer questions about it. In other words, it’s an email discussion where DPH staff are doing their jobs.
…Adding… DeVore calls a reporter doing her job “disrespectful”…
Doesn’t he have the word “Freedom” tattoed on his arm? Must mean freedom from questions.
…Adding… Capitol News Illinois…
“JB Pritzker uses our kids to make political points,” Bailey said at a rally in Oak Brook. “He locks schoolchildren out of their classrooms, and he tries to twist their tender minds with ideology in his quest to be the most left-wing governor in America. Now his minions are looking to impose vaccine mandates on our children.”
Pritzker, however, said he had no plans to mandate any vaccine requirements, saying Bailey was “lying” in “a desperate attempt to win some votes.”
“There’s absolutely nothing that’s happening that’s out of the ordinary. He’s just making things up,” Pritzker said when asked about Bailey’s allegation.
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Live coverage
Monday, Nov 7, 2022 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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