* As I’ve told subscribers, the Cedra Crenshaw campaign has kicked up a whole lot of national interest and local media is finally starting to take notice.

Crenshaw is a Republican candidate for the Illinois Senate. Actually, she was a candidate before she was knocked off the ballot. Her petitions had the wrong wording on them…

The [Will County] Electoral Board voted 2-1 to remove Crenshaw because her forms stated that signatures could be collected no earlier than 90 days before the filing deadline. A new state law requires that signatures be collected no earlier than 75 days before the deadline.

Those sorts of technicalities drive reformers up a wall. A different candidate in a different county faced the same objection, but was kept on the ballot. That drives reformers nuts as well, but we currently have two competing appellate cases on whether someone who votes in one primary can be appointed to the ballot on the other primary or run as a candidate with the other party.

Crenshaw is a tea partier, and she’s been touted nationally as a symbol of a simple mom who wants to run for the General Assembly. She’s also black, and tea party types have used her skin color to counter claims by the NAACP and others that they are racists. As Fox Chicago reported last night, a Will County event with Gov. Quinn was interrupted yesterday by one of her white supporters, who made special mention of Crenshaw’s skin color…

Crenshaw herself has consistently claimed that the “Chicago Machine Democrats” who’ve kicked her off the ballot are racists…

I have yet to hear from the NAACP about this injustice to my campaign and the voters of Illinois’ 43rd State Senate District.

I encourage the NAACP to confront and condemn the explicit racist behavior of groups like the New Black Panther Party and to acknowledge the racial politics played by the Chicago Machine Democrats.

She’s also known for way over the top statements, like this one on Fox Chicago last night…

“Right here in the State of Illinois, the vote is being denied to the voters of the 43rd State Senate District by a frivolous challenge.”

No voters are being denied a right to vote. Just a “right” to vote for her.

* The Tribune editorial board has bought the spin just about hook, line and sinker…

These days, she’s running hard against the Chicago Machine, which seems quite afraid of her. […]

Crenshaw was bounced from the ballot, which just goes to show you how panicked the Dems are about the prospect of being held accountable in November.

“The Chicago Machine is afraid of me because I am a conservative black woman, backed by the tea party, with a winning message that is winning over typical Democratic constituencies,” Crenshaw says.

She deserves a chance to prove that. She needs to be on the ballot in November.

I don’t know a single sane Republican who thinks Crenshaw is gonna win that campaign or that the Democrats are afraid of her. Rod Blagojevich won that district in 2002 with 60 percent of the vote. John Kerry took 57 percent in 2004. State Sen.Wilhelmi took 70 percent in his last race. Only a partisan goofball would say this challenge was filed out of “fear.” They did it for the same reason Republicans and Democrats often challenge opposing candidates. They don’t want to bother with the distraction.

Crenshaw, herself, challenged a third candidate in the district. That candidate only filed one signature, but she could’ve let it slide. She objected because he’s a conservative who might take votes away from her.

* What the Democrats have done here is manage to create a massive PR headache for themselves. They could’ve just let it go, but they (like the Republicans) are what they are, and they just had to challenge those petitions. So, now they’re getting whacked by the Tribune and by at least one local columnist…

Crenshaw is a black homemaker and former accountant who is fighting for the chance to contest incumbent state Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Joliet) on Nov. 2. Wilhelmi’s 43rd District includes most of Homer Township and all of Lockport.

But as any newcomer knows, running for office often is the easy part. Getting on the ballot requires armor.

If you read this column on a semi-regular basis, you won’t be surprised at my indignation. More and more, incumbents expect to be carried through campaign season on chariots. Perhaps we can kiss their rings as they careen down the next parade route.

The Republicans are pretty sure they’ll win this on appeal. They may be right, but the red-hot racial rhetoric and the mindless Tribune rants really need to be toned down in the meantime. The Democrats didn’t challenge Crenshaw’s petitions because she was black, they challenged the petitions because she’s a Republican. Period.