Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Friday, Jan 8, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Andy McKenna was endorsed by the Chicago Tribune. Read it here…

We’re attracted to several of the GOP candidates: As a group they comprehend that Illinois governance needs to be dismantled and reinvented. But this primary race has convinced us that businessman Andy McKenna has the best skills set — disciplined policy proposals, but also a level demeanor — to pull Illinoisans together.

And they wussed out and went with nobody in the Democratic primary…

We cannot endorse either of these candidates in the primary. Neither one has inspired confidence that he can make the difficult, unpopular decisions that must be made to resolve this state’s financial crisis.

We don’t see this as tantamount to an early endorsement of the Republican nominee in the general election. The Democrat who wins the primary will have nine months to make a better case for himself. We hope he proves our skepticism wrong.

But if he doesn’t, we think voters will have an easy choice.

* Gov. Quinn, meanwhile, says his DoC director “went rogue” on him…

Gov. Pat Quinn says violent offenders were released early from prison under a non-publicized, money-saving program because his corrections chief went rogue.

“I told him repeatedly” that he did not want violent criminals released early, Quinn told the Daily Herald editorial board Friday. “In carrying out that plan he didn’t follow my directives.”

If he repeatedly didn’t follow a direct order, then he should be fired. Plain and simple.

Quinn also blamed the General Assembly for his woes…

Overall, Quinn attempted to point the blame at lawmakers who refused to back his call for an income tax rate increase. The early release program was needed to save money as the state struggles under an $11 billion shortfall, Quinn said.

* This one’s kinda funny. Rep. Mike Boland is running in the Dem primary for lieutenant governor, but his congressman, Phil Hare, just endorsed Sen. Terry Link.

* That’s it for me. I’ll be back Monday with much more. Session cranks up for a few days next week, and we’ll have plenty of coverage for you.

This song came on the jukebox while I was in a bar in Macedonia years ago, and everything seemed to make sense. The song came on the jukebox the other night while I was in a bar on Miami Beach and brought back lots of memories…

Everybody’s looking for something

Comments Off

Big bucks, big spending for McKenna, and Dillard disagrees with supporter Rios and is endorsed by the CS-T

Friday, Jan 8, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna, Mary McKenna, has just contributed $800,000 to her husband’s campaign. That cash is helping to fund a $500,000 per week TV ad buy that’ll last through the rest of the primary race. Rate McKenna’s latest…

Script…

MALE VO:

Illinois: overspent, nearly broke.

Yet, Jim Ryan and Kirk Dillard won’t rule out tax hikes.

Governor Quinn is pushing a 50% tax increase!

Only Andy McKenna can fix this mess with no tax increase.

Andy VO:

This is Andy McKenna. I’m a businessman. We need

to make smart choices,

cut spending and not raise taxes.

* Yesterday, I told you that ultra-conservative radio host Sandy Rios had endorsed GOP state Sen. Kirk Dillard for governor on the same day that she penned a vicious screed questioning Congressman Mark Kirk’s sexuality. Sen. Kirk’s campaign refused to respond when I first called yesterday, but the candidate issued a statement last night…

“I believe the most important issues in this campaign remain balancing our state budget, bringing jobs back to Illinois, and cleaning up corruption in Springfield. My goal is to unite the Republican Party and the voters of Illinois around these important issues and make Illinois work again. I am very grateful for the support from across the party including moderates and conservatives alike. I appreciate the support of Sandy Rios however. I disagree with the recent article published in Town Hall News.”

Dillard was also endorsed by the Sun-Times today…

He is a resolute Republican, committed to limited government and conservative on most social issues.

But he is a pragmatist as well, an essential quality for any Republican wishing to be effective in this Democratic-leaning state. He is cut from the same cloth as several of Illinois’ most successful governors — Richard Ogilvie, Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar. Dillard was, in fact, Gov. Edgar’s chief of staff.

The Chicago Sun-Times endorses Sen. Kirk Dillard for governor in the Feb. 2 Republican primary. No other candidate comes close to matching his experience in the executive and legislative branches of state government, his knowledge of the back doors of power in Springfield, and his proven ability to build cross-party coalitions without abandoning core Republican values.

Dillard has correctly identified the greatest challenge facing Illinois’ next governor — the mountain of debt and unfunded pension obligations undermining our state’s economic competitiveness. His solution is, in part, to freeze all hiring and non-emergency spending, impose zero-based budgeting, reduce Medicaid fraud and trim pension benefits for new employees.

Many of these ideas, frankly, strike us as general and vague. Cut Medicaid fraud? Sure. But how?

On the other hand, grand plans are a dime a dozen — every candidate has one. Far more valuable is the political skill to carry out that plan — and here Dillard stands apart.

* GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft is up on cable with a small buy. Watch it…

* Republican comptroller candidate Jim Dodge has a new Internet video that pokes fun at rival Judy Baar Topinka and uses video footage to skewer the other candidate in the race. Take a look…

By the way, that drunken video footage was first posted to YouTube by William Kelly himself, so it’s fair game.

* Related…

* McKenna says Ryan considers taxpayer protection a “special interest”

* Tea-bagger Andrzejewski goes for GOP gov gold

* Live blogging the lt. gov debate

* 2 lieutenant governor hopefuls say office could be eliminated

* Jason Plummer Calling

* GOP lieutenant governor candidate: Taxes may need be raised to fix budget

* 4 Republicans seek nomination for DuPage County Board chairman

* DuPage chairman candidates look at ethics, transparency

* 10th Congressional District election: GOP state Rep. Elizabeth Coulson wins endorsement from former U.S. Rep. John Porter

* Bob Dold Criticizes President Obama for Stepping On Illinois Primary With Rescheduled State of the Union: Dold said the decision to hold it on February 2nd is not only intended for political gain, but it tramples the Illinois Primary Election.

* Village president takes on incumbent in 25th Senate

* Bassi, Morrison debate filling state budget hole

* Hebda off ballot in state House District 59 race

62 Comments

Raja raises close to a mil, and other campaign news

Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I told subscribers about this yesterday morning, along with some details of his TV ad reservation…

Democratic Comptroller candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi says his bank account is approaching nearly $1 million as he tries to win his party’s nomination in his first run for state office.

Krishnamoorthi’s campaign on Tuesday reported he raised more than $900,000 in 2009 – apparently setting an Illinois record for non-incumbent candidates for comptroller.

Krishnamoorthi spokesman Mark Schauerte said most of the money came from individual donors and the funds will pay for a statewide television ad campaign starting later this month.

Krishnamoorthi is a former deputy state treasurer who lives in the Chicago suburbs. He faces state Rep. David Miller of Lynwood and Wilmette lawyer Clinton Krislov in the Democratic primary.

That’s gonna be tough to match, unless Krislov dumps a ton of his own cash into the race. Quite impressive, indeed.

* In other campaign news, Patrick Hughes is up with a new cable TV ad. As subscribers already know, this is a very modest buy. Rate it…

* Jim Ryan’s gubernatorial campaign is attacking Andy McKenna for preparing to run a spate of negative TV ads. From a press release…

A media report indicates that Andy McKenna is ready to launch a deep attack ad to revive his floundering campaign.

The Illinois news media needs to immediately ask Andy McKenna why his blind ambition is leading him to do exactly what he said as Illinois GOP chairman should not be done—unfairly attack his Republican opponents.

They should ask him why anyone in Illinois would believe any “pledge” he takes now when the upcoming ad he plans to run violates a pledge he asked Republican candidates to sign for the 2006 elections?

—In 2005, McKenna, as Illinois GOP chairman, asked candidates for office to sign a pledge to not condone “any misrepresentations, distortions, malicious untruths, unfounded accusations or innuendos about my opponent or my opponent’s family.” (Illinois Republican Party “Code of Conduct” memo, Dec. 22, 2005, authored by Andy McKenna).

—Less than a year ago, McKenna said this about attacking members of his own party: “Primaries of themselves aren’t bad. They’re bad if they become negative and people use it to destroy other candidates.” (Chicago Tribune, April 13, 2009)

Yet, according to the media report, McKenna is ready to launch a TV ad that says Jim Ryan has a different position on taxes than he does. He knows that is not true. He knows that every Republican candidate for governor has said repeatedly they will not raise taxes. He knows that Jim Ryan as a candidate for governor in 2002 proposed a constitutional spending cap and has proposed the same cap in 2010.

McKenna is taking the low road after airing millions of dollars of ineffective ads photoshopping bad haircuts on people. So what does he do: Attack the person who is running nearly 20 points ahead of him in the polls and the first Illinois Republican in a decade to lead a Democrat for Governor in a reputable poll. The Rasmussen poll late last month showed Jim Ryan leading Pat Quinn by 7 points.

He needs to be held accountable for his hypocrisy. He needs to stop hiding behind his Rod Blagojevich-like remote control TV campaign.

For his part, Andy McKenna uses House GOP Leader Tom Cross to set up his impending attack ads. From a press release…

This week Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Andy McKenna announced he signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge and challenged his opponents to do the same. However, according to the Daily Herald, both Jim Ryan and Kirk Dillard have refused to sign the pledge.

“Now more than ever, we need a Governor absolutely committed to holding the line on taxes and enacting real reforms to move Illinois in the right direction,” said House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

Jim Ryan’s history of supporting tax increases includes endorsement of House Bill 750, a $5.5 billion tax increase on Illinois families and chairing a campaign in DuPage County to increase the sales tax. Kirk Dillard was also a key vote in Springfield to increase the sales tax in DuPage County.

“I am supporting Andy McKenna because he is the one candidate for Governor that joins me in opposing tax increases and demanding true economic reform, Illinois can settle for nothing less,” added Cross.

* Sen. Matt Murphy, McKenna’s running mate, was endorsed by Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno today.

* I’m not gonna comment about this tiny radio buy, and I hope you don’t, either. We’re talking two spots a day on a few Chicago radio stations, so it’ll barely get noticed…

Andy Martin, the U.S. Senate candidate who made waves by claiming his opponent - U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk - was gay, is at it again, this time attacking Kirk for covering up pedophilia in the United States Congress. The minute-long ad began airing on local radio today. So how did Kirk - and Dennis Hastert - cover up pedophilia? By not stopping Mark Foley’s infamous affairs with underaged staffers. Martin hits a new nadir when, in the ad, he makes clear that, “Kirk is not a pedophile,” but then feels compelled to add that since Kirk helped to “cover up” Foley’s trysts, that makes Kirk “a de facto pedophile.” No. Really. He says thatt. Listen to the ad below:

* Related…

* Bid for Thomson injunction flops: Republican state comptroller candidate William Kelly’s bid for an injunction against the Thomson Correctional Center deal that would bring Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Illinois was soundly rejected Tuesday after he arrived in court without legal representation.

* Why you should care about assessor’s race

* Stroger: ‘Cook County is in good shape’

* Looking for honesty on the county board

* House District 59 candidates say they have solutions to state’s budget woes

* McQuillen stays on ballot in 50th House race

* DuPage chairman candidates offer plans for county

* Kane County Treasurer candidates debate issues

* District 5 candidates talk about concerns, issues in Kane County

* Woodstock’s Jonathan Farnick running as write-in for 8th District

24 Comments

« NEWER POSTS