* Polling charts can be very helpful in analyzing campaigns. These are from pollster.com. Their javascript is not working properly, so I’m using screen caps. Click the pics for larger images.
Let’s start with the Democratic governor’s race…
The trend is obviously not the governor’s friend. The question now is whether he’s stopped the bleeding. Still, his job performance numbers with undecideds are just awful. Very tough to overcome. And his campaign mechanism has imploded in recent days as Quinn has taken complete charge of his schedule and his message.
The Republicans…
For me, the question here is whether McKenna can get himself over the top. He has the bucks and the message, but he’s still a relatively unknown quantity to regular Repubs. Notice how everyone is moving up but Jim Ryan, who sat on his big lead, didn’t raise enough money and could pay for those mistakes tomorrow.
Also, I just got a call from the Adam A campaign. Apparently Rush Limbaugh just called him “the Scott Brown of Illinois.” He’s been getting a ton of late help from conservative media the past few days, but, as I said, it’s late. The Right was so outraged by Mark Kirk that they ignored a guy who had a shot.
…Adding… I just listened to the audio file of Rush’s show. He didn’t mention Adam A by name. Probably because he didn’t know how to pronounce it.
* The Senate Democratic primary…
That downward trend line for Giannoulias and the steep upward line for Hoffman are what has the Giannoulias campaign more than a bit freaked right now. He’s still got the lead, but it’s dwindling and there are still lots of undecideds.
The race is for all intents and purposes between Giannoulias and Hoffman; Jackson, a former communications spokeswoman for Rod Blagojevich, will probably be limited to 15-20 percent of the vote, mostly coming from Chicago’s predominately Afrian-American South Side. Hoffman, however, has gradually been creeping up on Giannoulias, the front-runner.
And the Republicans…
No analysis necessary.
* Oh, goodie. Exit polling. I’m not sure how scientific this will be, but I’ll be watching tomorrow. From a press release…
The Chicago Current, Chicago’s political journal, will conduct exit polling for the Feb. 2 Illinois primary election. Voting data from polling places across Cook County will be collected to provide media outlets and the public with accurate trends to gauge voters’ preferences.
Analysis of the data will be available throughout Tuesday at www.chicagocurrent.com. Data will include trends for the Democratic Illinois Senate and gubernatorial races, as well as for the Cook County Board president’s race.
“Our study will show which candidates are trending upward or downward throughout the day, while providing statistical analysis of which way voters are leaning,” says Current editor Geoff Dougherty. […]
Current reporters will be following the race throughout the day, and reporting on Twitter, using the hashtag #ILVote.
Fun.
* Bernie Schoenburg has posted his statewide predictions, which were compiled by Eric Zorn…
* GOVERNOR: Hynes, Dillard
* U.S. SENATOR: Giannoulias, Kirk
* LT .GOV. Turner./ Murphy
* COMPTROLER . Miller/Topinka
* TREAS: Kelly (Dan Rutherford is running unopposed for the GOP)
* These Stroger/Fritchey signs began mysteriously appearing on light posts and street signs on the Northwest Side this weekend…
Rep. John Fritchey, you already know, is running for the county board against former Ald. Ted Matlak - a supreme hackmeister. Fritchey responds on FaceBook…
Leave it to an old-school hack opponent to resort to old-school dirty tricks like this one. Let’s put an end to this nonsense tomorrow. Vote for Toni Preckwinkle for Board President and for me for County Commissioner. It’s time for change.
* In the 47th Ward, Ald. Gene Schulter put the official City of Chicago Seal on his election day mailer. That would not be legal. Click on the pic for the full thing…
Sheesh.
* As I told subscribers this morning, Ald. Ed Smith did a robocall into the 10th House District slamming the only white candidate, Jonathan Goldman. Listen…
From Goldman’s weekend press release…
On Jan. 30, many 10th District voters came home to a thinly veiled racist robocall on their answering machines from Alderman Ed Smith on behalf of State Rep. Annazette Collins.
In the 48-second recording, Smith states that Bucktown resident Jonathan Goldman, the only white opponent of Collins in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary, “lives in the Bucktown and Lincoln Park areas but wants to take over the East and West Garfield Park areas.”
The racist tactic incensed a multicultural group of political and community leaders that gathered for a press conference Jan. 31 to denounce it. Goldman was joined by 26th Ward Ald. Roberto Maldonado, West Side activist Virgil Crawford, Rev. Charles Walker, Jr., and other district residents.
“The State of Illinois is facing serious problems, and I have been talking about my plans for solving our fiscal crisis, creating jobs and reducing gun violence,” said Goldman. “Unfortunately, Ald. Smith and Rep. Collins don’t have any plans, so instead all they want to talk about is the race of the candidates opposing her. Isn’t it time we put the politics of racial division behind us?”
Ald. Maldonado called for an immediate end to the divisive tactics: “I hope that Ald. Smith will really come forward and apologize for the tone of that robocall and hopefully these acts of desperation will not continue through Election Day.”
Rev. Walker agreed, saying, “What difference does it make what color the person is as long as he can get the job done? The job isn’t getting done right now.”
Neither Angela McMahon, of Evergreen Park, nor Karen Sullivan Casey, of Oak Lawn, circulated a single petition sheet herself to get on the ballot in the 36th District. The seat is open due to the retirement of state Rep. James Brosnahan (D-Evergreen Park).
Wouldn’t you think if you were running for office for the first time you might ask your neighbor, even your husband, to sign a petition sheet? Host a coffee? Attend a debate? Neither did.
More than 80 circulators who live outside the district in the 13th and 23rd wards of Chicago descended on Evergreen Park in the fall to collect signatures on McMahon’s and Casey’s behalf. Keep in mind they’re supposedly “competitors” for the seat, but the same troops helped them both get on the ballot. Those would be House Speaker Michael Madigan’s troops, along with 23rd Ward Committeeman Michael Zalewski’s. […]
Meanwhile in the 37th House District GOP primary, Jeffrey Junkas of Tinley Park faces Molly McAvoy Flynn, of Orland Park. The winner will try to unseat state Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D-Orland Park) in November.
Flynn - notice the Irish female thing again - has run a campaign in name only. She also didn’t circulate a single petition sheet herself.
The same 13th and 23rd ward foot soldiers who worked the Evergreen Park district gathered signatures for Flynn to get on the ballot in Orland Park.
Defending his handling of the state’s deficit-plagued budget, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn said today he’s “cut all the frills” out of state government but more tax money is needed to fund essential services. […]
“What I basically have done is cut all the frills out of state government — more than $2 billion of cuts of non-priority items,” Quinn said.
That’s pretty easy to disprove, discredit and ridicule. Anybody can find a bit of “frills” in the budget. It ain’t hard. Take, for instance, the money he’s spending on airplane rides.
A nasty hit piece hit residents of the 8th Cook County Commissioner’s district. Coming from the phantom “Taxpayers Coalition Initiative” which provides no return address, the piece delves into Nogueras’ tenure with the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce and unpaid water bills. The piece is huge–22×17–full color, glossy. The 60647 post office, from where the piece originated, did not provide information on the owner of the “Permit #1″ used to send the piece out.
Nogueras’ opponent, Ed Reyes, is an ally of 33rd Ward boss Dick Mell, who engineered his elevation to the seat after Roberto Maldonado was appointed by Mayor Daley to replace Billy Ocasio, who in turn was appointed to Governor Quinn’s staff after he replaced Rod Blagojevich. To get that straight: Blagojevich gets impeached, Quinn taps Ocasio, Daley taps Maldonado, Maldonado pushes for Nogueras to replace him but gets outmaneuvered Mell.
How does Quinn the Outsider choose Berrios the Insider instead of former Circuit Court Judge Raymond Figueroa, the only assessor candidate with any reform credentials? I just don’t get it.
Figueroa, you should know, is nursing a severely slashed hand after confronting a guy who was yanking down his campaign yard signs last Tuesday. The guy fled. Figueroa, 62, went to the emergency room and got bandaged up.
Mr. Quinn’s spokeswoman said he endorsed the candidate because he’s known Mr. Berrios for decades, when Mr. Quinn was a commissioner and Mr. Berrios was on the board’s staff, and “believes Mr. Berrios is qualified to be assessor.”
Uh-huh. And it has nothing to do with the fact that the Cook County Democratic Central Committee — Joe Berrios, chairman — has endorsed Mr. Quinn for governor?
And it doesn’t make Mr. Quinn — who always rails about how he’s on the side of the little guys against special interests — look like a raging hypocrite?
Sad. Sad. And, sad.
* This is not a hit piece, nor is it negative, but it is certainly one of the more hilariously bizarre stories I’ve seen in a while…
A longtime spokesman to arguably the state’s most powerful Democrat supports former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s trip to central Illinois as “a good thing.”
Steve Brown, aide to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, is vice president of the board of directors governing Five Points Washington, where Palin will deliver a speech April 17 kicking off the organization’s “Lessons from Leaders” series.
Brown, whose family has lived in Washington for the past five years, emphasized that the address isn’t a “political event” and should not be viewed as such.
“I think the governor has established a niche for herself,” Brown said. “I’m a person who believes there is a lot of room for different points of views.”
Brownie is not exactly known for his love of Republicans. I spit out my coffee when I saw that piece.
* Alderman Scott Waguespack Abandons Neutrality in Race to Succeed Rep John Fritchey to Back Ed Mullen
* In many legislative contests, Tuesday will decide who’s going to Springfield
* Watch state spend wildly at new website: A Web site launched by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago displays a ticker that counts up Illinois’ debt. On Friday evening, the number was around $128,586,300,000 and swiftly on the rise.
* Investigation Needed Into Governor Pat Quinn’s Personal Ponzi Scheme
* Veteran Dems point to differing backgrounds in Cook assessor race
Monday, Feb 1, 2010 - Posted by Capitol Fax Blog Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The Chicago Bar Association has a banner ad on Comcast.net with a link to their Guide to Judicial candidates for Cook County.
Go to www.comcast.net. Then click on the email sign in page. Click on the banner ad for Chicago Bar Association.
Then download and print either the detailed Green Guide to Candidates or the quick two page summary Pocket Guide. You can take it right into the voting booth with you.
Remember, we get the government we deserve, so don’t forget to vote tomorrow. And don’t forget those judicial candidates. Judges play a vital role in all of our lives. Just ask any politician!
* As I wrote over the weekend, Dan Hynes’ Harold Washington ad is so difficult to rebut not just because Washington’s words are so powerful and prescient, but because there is a legitimate disagreement over whether Washington really meant what he said. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington weighs in against Quinn today…
A pre-election postscript: There’s one political old-timer whose wisdom, even in death, is as relevant today as 22 years ago. Back then, I was privileged to serve as a spokeswoman for Mayor Harold Washington. Forever eloquent, Washington knew exactly what he was saying in that long-ago interview about firing Gov. Quinn. He meant every unequivocal word of it, and then some.
Washington doesn’t need to be rescued by craven politicians who feign outrage at that brilliant Dan Hynes campaign ad. The cynical rush by the pols to protect Washington’s name is a fig leaf for protecting the benefits of incumbency.
Like Quinn, Dan Hynes is an imperfect candidate. But that ad was not racist. It was right.
* I write my syndicated newspaper column on Friday. The Southtown-Star and others run the column over the weekend or on Monday, but the weeklies don’t run it until Wednesday or Thursday. So, I can’t really write about the election at hand. Such was the case this time as well…
Lawyers for Rod Blagojevich told reporters that there might be a delay in the former governor’s criminal trial when a federal grand jury, as expected, hands down a new indictment. But they also stressed that they were working hard to keep the trial on track for its June start date.
As I write this, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago is hoping to re-indict Blagojevich in order to make sure its criminal case isn’t damaged by an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal “Honest Services” statute. The brief statute has been used by federal prosecutors for years to prosecute politicians and corporate executives on a wide variety of charges, claiming they defrauded citizens, investors, etc. via “a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.”
The law has come under fire because it is so incredibly vague that prosecutors have used it to prosecute all sorts of behavior. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer wondered aloud whether a worker taking an unauthorized break “to read the Racing Form” could be indicted.
Thankfully, federal prosecutors have better things to do than indict employees for reading newspapers. Still, the law is so vague and broad that Chief Justice John Roberts more than hinted that the statute was impossible to understand, which would therefore make it unconstitutional. Former Gov. George Ryan, Enron’s former president Jeff Skilling, former Chicago media baron Conrad Black and many others, including Rod Blagojevich were all indicted on honest services fraud counts.
At least some court-imposed restrictions on the law are expected, so prosecutors are scrambling to make sure their cases are solid, including in Chicago.
But this column isn’t about honest services fraud. It’s about Illinois politics. So, let’s get on with it.
Blagojevich’s criminal trial has been expected to last most of the summer and end just about the time that the fall campaigns are heating up around Labor Day.
To date, Blagojevich has used every opportunity that he could to claim he was railroaded by prosecutors and to point fingers of blame at his fellow Democrats who he believes are far more deserving of prosecution than him.
Blagojevich deeply and thoroughly despises Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, so many believe he’ll use his trial and the accompanying daily media spotlight to try to hurt them and, by extension, their candidates as much as he can. Blagojevich’s book is drenched with hostility towards the two men.
The former governor also detests Pat Quinn, whom he accuses of cutting a deal with Madigan and Cullerton on tax hikes in order to become governor (yes, it’s a silly theory, but this is Rod Blagojevich we’re talking about here). As I write this, we don’t know whether Quinn will survive the primary Democratic primary. But Blagojevich often sparred with Quinn’s opponent, Comptroller Dan Hynes, so I’m sure he’ll think of something to thwack Hynes with as well.
A brief delay while Blagojevich’s defense lawyers retool their case would probably hurt the Democrats even more than a June start because the trial could be pushed back into the fall campaign season itself. What the Democrats really need in order to avoid this embarrassment is a much longer delay, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards as of yet.
The only saving grace might be if Republican George Ryan makes it into the headlines with a post-decision appeal to have his conviction overturned. But even that probably wouldn’t be much help. Ryan left office a long time ago. And since the nation’s mood seems to be anti-incumbent (for good reason), and the Democrats dominate just about everything in Illinois, it’ll likely just add fuel to that particular fire.
In other words, if you’re a Democrat there’s trouble on the way for you whether you like it or not, or whether you deserve it or not. Then again, if you’re a Democrat, then there’s a good chance you voted for Blagojevich twice — or four times counting the primaries. In that case, it really is your fault. Particularly that last time, when if you’d been paying any sort of attention, you would’ve known you were taking a risk on a known ethical dud.
* NBC5 took a look at the complete internal ethics committee report by the Illinois Republican Party and found some interesting nuggets…
“Andrew McKenna compounded one ethical misstep with another,” the report said.
But what McKenna didn’t specifically address in that statement is that when he presented the poll to his party’s central committee in June 2009, he failed to mention to them that his name had been included at all. […]
The report also seems to back up candidate Jim Ryan’s assertion last week that McKenna failed, to some extent, to cooperate with the ethics committee’s investigation. In the report, the committee chairman noted that on Dec. 22, 2009, McKenna’s campaign manager was twice asked to clarify some questions that had come up, or even just to let them know he wanted more time to respond. He was given until 4 p.m. on Dec. 24. But when the report was printed on Dec. 28, he had done neither.
* He doesn’t say who did the poll, when the poll was done, or how it was done, but Gateway Pundit blogger Jim Hoft claims that Adam Andrzejewski is surging…
In the final days of this primary campaign Adam Andrzejewski is surging in the polls. He has closed the gap from 9 points down to 2 points in the last 5 days with two days to go before the primary election.
Take it for what it’s worth. I’ve sent an e-mail to Hoft asking for an explanation. Andrzejewski also had this to say to the American Spectator…
“We feel we’re either within the margin of error or leading the race right now,” said the Tea Party candidate, adding that he senses “panic” among his rivals in the crowded primary field. “We think 22 percent wins the race. Anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 votes — in a state of 13 million — will win the nomination. The bar is that low.”
I think he may do better than expected. He raised $752K during the last half of 2009, mostly in loans to himself. He’s reported raising $61K since January 1st, but he’s also claiming to be taking in lots of smaller contributions which wouldn’t show up on A-1 reports. In a normal year, that’s not enough to win. Jim Ryan has raised less than that, but Jim Ryan is far better known than AA. Still, in a year like this, who the heck knows.
That, by the way, was a classic pre-election “cover your behind” story.
[Sen. Kirk Dillard] owes three campaign supporters a total of $634,814.
That’s a very large debt. Dillard has said he won’t raise money after he takes office, so when will he raise the cash to pay off those loans? Before the fall campaign? Probably not. He’ll need every dime he can get. After the campaign and before he’s sworn in? More likely, but that’s when an administration is put together - not a great time to be raising money if you’re supposed to be Mr. Ethics.
* Related…
* Small primary turnout expected: “I’m predicting a 16 percent or so turnout,” said Winnebago County Clerk Margie Mullins. “That’s what we had four years ago.”
* Early line sees light turnout for Tuesday’s primary: [Lake County’s] Helander said she is hoping for a 30 percent turnout in her county compared to a 22 percent turnout in 2006, but the current totals are not overly encouraging.
* Illinois Primary on Tuesday: Is Obama’s State up for Grabs?
* PJ Star View: Be careful about drawing conclusions from Massachusetts: From where we sit, Republicans who want to duplicate this result and Democrats who want to prevent it need to rally behind candidates who can prove their ability to work together. In a nation facing enormous challenges, many Americans are sick of watching those they elect do nothing about them.
* Ill. candidates look to make good last impression
* We had several stories over the weekend about the new Burr Oak Cemetery allegations, but I shut down comments in the middle of it all, so let’s consolidate it all into one post for your commenting ease…
* Until now, the Quinn campaign’s angle on the newly released Burr Oak Cemetery documents (background here and here) has been less than effective. For instance, Gov. Quinn trotted out Congressman Bobby Rush yesterday, who promptly labeled Dan Hynes “evil.” Yeah. That’ll work.
On Sunday, Quinn blasted Hynes for “ignoring the desecration of human remains at a black cemetery,” which was the “incompetence” angle…
Critics say that Dan Hynes and his staff acted with utter incompetence back in 2003 when he first learned about this scandal and he could have averted six more years of needless cemetery grave robbing with a simple phone call to the police.
Stanislaw, a cemetery worker in the Southwest Side of Chicago, said, “This Dan Hynes guy isn’t competent to run a dog catcher’s office let alone the office of overseeing one single cemetery. It’s unbelievable that his office knew about Burr Oak’s troubles in 2003 and withheld this information from the public,” said Stanislaw who requested that Polish News withhold his full name.
QUINN: If you’re in public office and you learn of some wrongdoing that affects something as serious as burying your loved ones, do you use a bureaucratic excuse and say, ‘That’s not my job,’ or do you roll up your sleeves and correct the wrong?
But with the clock ticking fast, their best angle is one they’ve just started using. “Cover-up.” It’s a proven media attention-getter, and it’s more than just plausible. From a press release…
COMPTROLLER COVER-UP
New Evidence Confirms Comptroller Hynes Ducked Burr Oak Responsibility,
Then Hid Evidence to Preserve His Political Career
CHICAGO – Instead of taking responsibility for his top aide’s failure to act or alert other authorities in 2003 when he was first warned of grave desecration at Burr Oak Cemetery, Comptroller Hynes is hiding behind bureaucratic excuses and trying desperately to shift blame and confuse voters.
“As Comptroller, Dan Hynes was given regulatory authority over private cemeteries in Illinois,” said Quinn for Illinois Communications Director Elizabeth Austin. “But more than that, as an elected official, he was given the trust of the people of Illinois.
“When Dan Hynes first learned of a serious problem at Burr Oak Cemetery, he could have spoken out on behalf of the generations buried there,” Austin said. “He could have passed new laws to protect consumers from badly run cemeteries. He could have contacted law enforcement officials to close down the cemetery. Instead, as Barack Obama said of Hynes in 2004, the Comptroller chose to sit silently on the sidelines – protecting his own political ambitions and doing nothing.”
Over the past months, as the scandal at Burr Oak Cemetery and the $100 million collapse of a statewide pre-need funeral trust fund have unfolded, Comptroller Hynes has repeatedly covered up, stonewalled, and “misspoken” to avoid taking responsibility for his office and his actions.
Last week, a signed official letter – date-stamped Feb. 16, 2004, from his own top aide – proved that the chief executive at Burr Oak Cemetery personally reported serious problems to the Comptroller’s office in 2003. Hynes displayed the heart of a bureaucrat and claimed it wasn’t his job, as an elected official, to take action on behalf of the people who put him in office.
In sworn testimony before the Cemetery Oversight Task Force on Sept. 10, 2009, Comptroller Hynes swore that his office first learned of serious improprieties at Burr Oak in 2005 – even though the top aide who learned of the problems in 2003, and who wrote the letter, was sitting right beside him.
Dan Hynes says he had no authority to clean up Burr Oak Cemetery. Patricia Brown Holmes, chair of the Cemetery Oversight Task Force, says that is not true. In fact, the Task Force found that Hynes had “comprehensive” authority over private cemeteries, as dozens of archived news releases from Hynes’ own office make clear. (Judge Holmes may be reached at 773-363-5718.)
This weekend, Comptroller Hynes was asked why his office concealed the Burr Oak letter when the Cemetery Oversight Task Force requested all documents related to grave robbing at the historic African-American Cemetery. Hynes made excuses by claiming that the Task Force did not specifically request that letter (which they did not know existed) and blamed bad record-keeping by bureaucrats under his direct supervision.
Last year, the State Journal-Register requested records showing what Comptroller Hynes’ office did to protect nearly 50,000 consumers who had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a fraudulent trust fund under his oversight. Hynes refused to release the documents, taking cover behind a smokescreen of bureaucratic paper-pushing and political self-protection.
“At the end of the day, the people of Illinois want a governor who will tell them what he can do, and who will fight for new laws and new rules that protect them from special interests, corruption, and state bureaucracy running amok,” Austin said. “When something goes wrong, we do not need leaders, at any level, who will waste time trying to point the finger of blame at someone else. We need leaders who will stand up, confront the problem, roll up their sleeves and get to work.
“Throughout his career, Pat Quinn has been a leader with the courage to speak out, stand up, and take action,” Austin said. “He has the character and the fortitude to lead Illinois, today and over the next four years.”
I’ll have more on this for subscribers tomorrow.
* Related…
* Dem. candidates for gov. campaign at black churches
* Quinn visits black churches in Chicago, urges people to vote
*** UPDATE *** From the Hynes campaign…
DESPERATE QUINN’S SHAMELESS POLITICIZATION OF BURR OAK TRAGEDY CONTINUES
Quinn’s release of confidential internal corporate memo to smear opponent may jeopardize ongoing criminal investigation
CHICAGO – Two days before voters go to the polls, the Quinn campaign continues to politicize and exploit the tragedy at Burr Oak Cemetery, in so doing likely jeopardizing an ongoing criminal investigation. The Hynes campaign called on Quinn today to provide a full accounting of his campaign’s shameless use of an internal corporate memo, which very well may be impeding the investigation.
“Pat Quinn continues his desperate effort to misrepresent the facts and politicize the Burr Oak tragedy in the hope that he might gain some political advantage,” Hynes campaign communications director Matt McGrath said. “But now the real question is whether Quinn is impeding or putting at risk an ongoing criminal investigation by misrepresenting and misusing evidence in that investigation for political purposes. “
Last night the Quinn campaign acknowledged that they had been shopping around for reporters an internal corporate memo from the owners of Burr Oak, which quite significantly made clear they were actively deceiving the Comptroller’s office. Thus far Quinn has been unwilling to provide precise dates and a full explanation of when he acquired the memo and what he did with it. Neither the Comptroller’s office nor the Hynes campaign had possession of or awareness of that memo prior to it being provided by a reporter two days ago. But Quinn and his campaign acknowledged having the memo in their possession for many months.
“Quinn needs to provide a detailed explanation of when and under what circumstances he obtained the memo, and once he had it, what he did with it,” McGrath said. “Further, he should be called upon to explain why his misuse and misrepresentation in a political campaign does not jeopardize the ongoing criminal investigation regarding Burr Oak.”
Then this afternoon, Quinn launched another desperate attack on the topic, misrepresenting facts.
“Nothing demonstrates more clearly why Illinois voters should reject Pat Quinn than his campaign’s despicable ongoing politicization of the Burr Oak tragedy,” McGrath said. “Here we are, two days before a vital election, when the people of Illinois will have their first opportunity to choose a governor since Rod Blagojevich left the scene, and all Pat Quinn wants to do is throw around wild accusations about Burr Oak.”
In another mark of the politicization of the process, the Quinn campaign is encouraging reporters to talk with Patricia Brown Holmes, chair of the Cemetery Oversight Task Force. They fail to disclose that Ms. Holmes is a law partner of Tom Quinn, the Governor’s brother.
“It’s unfortunate that the weekend before the election, a woman who is a law partner of Pat Quinn’s brother would enter the desperate political fray and undermine the work of the task force she chaired by misrepresenting clear facts: that the Comptroller’s office has limited financial authority over cemeteries,” McGrath said.
“These are the desperate actions of a failing candidate with no ideas, no vision, and no greater goal than hanging on to his job,” McGrath said. “We are confident the people of Illinois will see it for what it is and reject Pat Quinn.”
Democratic Senate candidate Jacob Meister dropped out of the race with two days to go and endorsed rival Alexi Giannoulias.
Meister, a lawyer who is openly gay, made his announcement this morning at a Giannoulias rally in Chicago.
Meister was having difficulty gaining much traction in the race. A recent Tribune poll showed him garnering only 1 percent of support.
During debates, Meister has defended Giannoulias against attacks made by rival David Hoffman. He also has taken exception to comments Hoffman has made about being the only candidate to be married with children. He said such comments were insulting to gays who are unable to legally marry.
Meister’s one percent means zip, and he dropped out so late that he’ll still be on the ballot, but a “fresh” story like this could step on the “older” story about the family bank problems.
At times, Meister almost looked like a stalking horse for Giannoulias. Cheryle Jackson said as much today…
“This was not a surprise,” Jackson said of Meister’s move. “This is something we knew all along, that he was in the race to help the treasurer. That being said, he was only pulling 1 percent at best. So I think it was inconsequential.”
But Meister called “preposterous'’ the suggestion that he was a Giannoulias pinch-hitter from the start.
“The suggestion that I was in any way recruited or in cahoots with Alexi or anyone in his camp is ridiculous,'’ Meister said.
* Complicating matters for Giannoulias today was the fact that a New York Times columnist wrote a brutal piece in today’s edition…
Alexi Giannoulias would be nothing in Illinois politics if not for Broadway Bank. Now the near-failure of that family-owned bank is threatening to make him a political non-entity again.
More…
The [family bank’s] move into real estate coincided with a headlong push into brokered deposits. This is quintessential hot money — large amounts that jump from bank to bank, each bank offering the lure of high interest, which the banks then must fund by making ever-riskier loans.
During Mr. Giannoulias’s time at the bank, brokered deposits catapulted fourfold, to $640 million. The typical bank at this point was growing brokered deposits at about 9 percent a year. Mr. Giannoulias’s bank was increasing its load by as much as 48 percent in a single year. Broadway Bank’s brokered deposits reached 80 percent of total deposits in 2006.
No one knows for certain how big a role Mr. Giannoulias played in these decisions. As Broadway’s top lending officer, he must have influenced the move into construction lending. As a connected family member, he was probably present during discussions of the hot-money play. Certainly, he took part in the family’s decision to take out some $70 million in dividends from the bank in 2007 and 2008, even as it careened toward a consent decree with the F.D.I.C.
But the column was a whole lot of false conjecture, according to the campaign…
Giannoulias has admitted to making loans over the years that, in hindsight, he would not have made. He has pointed out that 700 community banks around the country have entered into consent decrees in recent years.
Giannoulias emphasized he has had no role in running the bank for four years. He is a 4 percent non-voting stock owner. The decree requires the Giannoulias Family re-capitalize the bank. Will Giannoulias chip in? “If they ask, of course I’ll help out,” he said.
The family withdrew $70 million from the bank in recent years — primarily to pay debt on Giannoulias’ father’s estate, Giannoulias’ campaign has said. Only a small fraction of that went to Giannoulias
* More than $10 million from 2001 to 2005 to alleged Father & Son Russian mobster team Lev and Boris Stratievsky. Father Lev has passed away. Son Boris is in jail facing money-laundering charges. Broadway funded development projects some on the South Side — that tenants and city attorneys complained were roach motels. Broadway has been unable to collect on the loans.
* About $12.9 million to convicted bookmaker Michael Giorango for a Miami Beach hotel and a Hollywood, Fla., restaurant, among other ventures, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Broadway has sued Giorango and his partner, Demitri Stavropoulos, convicted of running a betting operation in Chicago, seeking to get the money back. Giannoulias initially downplayed his relationship with Giorango, noting the loans to him started before he joined the bank. Later he said he went to Miami to meet Giorango and inspect the property, and that another $3 million loan to Giorango was for a South Carolina casino.
* Related…
* AP: Meister drops out, backs Giannoulias for Senate
* After suspending his weekend campaign tour and spending time with his family, Sen. Kirk Dillard has decided to soldier on tomorrow. From a press release…
After temporarily suspending his statewide fly around to spend time with his family after recent news of his father’s death, Senator Dillard will conclude his statewide campaign swing and discuss the vast support he has received across the state, his unique and detailed plans and vision which set him apart from the pack and his plans to unite the Republican Party to secure a victory in November.
Arrangements for Mr. Edward Dillard’s services have been set for late this week. More details will follow as they become available.
My most sincere condolences are extended to the Senator and to his family. I cannot imagine what it is like to lose a father, and my heart goes out to them all.
Edward Dillard was a former high school teacher and baseball coach. The senator said his father died at home after battling colon cancer and a broken hip.
Kirk Dillard said that even though his father had been in poor health, the death still came as a shock.
* Gov. Quinn is trying his best to get that ABC7 report into the bloodstream. From the AP…
Gov. Pat Quinn and his allies say Dan Hynes is both incompetent and cold-hearted for the way he responded to problems at Burr Oak Cemetery.
They also accuse Hynes of running an “evil” campaign ad in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Quinn claimed Saturday that Hynes knew years ago about bodies being dumped and desecrated at Burr Oak, a historically black cemetery. He says that as state comptroller, Hynes could have taken action but chose not to.
The “they” in the story is Congressman Bobby Rush, who called Hynes “evil” today for using the Harold Washington ad and also said Hynes was “cold and callous and uncaring.” Quinn said Rush’s allegations were “on target.”
That event really shows a lot about this governor’s character. And none of it is good.
1. Hynes has given plenty of “not my table!” responses to reporters and in debates — and indeed it is a somewhat persuasive point that it makes no sense for a check-writing, accounts-monitoring office like the Comptroller to be cemetery cops — but where are the campaign commercials fighting back on Burr Oak?
2. Where is the Hynes campaign commercial quoting Quinn vouching for the integrity of Rod Blagojevich during the 2006 campaign season? You want a failure of due diligence, how about the reassurances the Lieutenant Governor gave voters that, despite all the scandals swirling around Blagojevich, he was a man of integrity?
1) I’m assuming Hynes’ early release ad combined with the Harold Washington ad are a much more effective one-two punch on Quinn than the governor’s cemetery ad response. If they thought that the cemetery ad was truly effective, they’d probably do something. Also, and more importantly, a campaign can only do so many messages at a time. More messages requires much more money and results in more dilution of a campaign’s core story. Also, Hynes’ standard stump response - it’s not my job - is just not really all that wonderful. How do you put that in an ad?
2) Quinn is certainly on record saying nice things about Blagojevich, but Blagojevich is also on record time and time again saying how he loathes Pat Quinn. I heard Hynes has killer video of Blagojevich heaping praise on Quinn, but the campaign decided not to use it. The “beauty” of the Harold Washington ad is that there is legitimately divided opinion over what Washington really thought of Pat Quinn. There is no disupte that Blagojevich despises Quinn and has for some time. So, the push-back on a Blagojevich ad is far easier and far more believable. Perhaps because of this, the Blagojevich-Quinn hit has never tested well against Quinn, going all the way back to last fall. And, finally, it’s more message dilution.
In a race tinged by scandal and turning nasty, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is in danger of losing Tuesday because of his association with Blagojevich, who was expelled from office. Quinn, who twice ran as lieutenant governor on the same ticket as Blagojevich, is up against state Comptroller Dan Hynes.
Quinn is in danger of losing his seat because of numerous acts of incompetence and the fact that he didn’t respond well to some very effective advertising - early release and Harold Washington.
One of the nation’s largest power generators plans to join the FutureGen Alliance, an organization developing an experimental clean-coal power plant in eastern Illinois.
Chicago-based Exelon Corp. says it wants to help build the plant near Mattoon.
Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin made the announcement Saturday in Chicago.
Two months of those events (and firing his Dept. of Corrections director) and he might not have been in this sort of trouble.
Officials say one person is critically injured after an accident involving an Illinois congressional candidate’s campaign bus in suburban Chicago.
Republican Robert Dold wasn’t aboard the bus when it crashed in Glenview late Friday. He is seeking his party’s nomination for Illinois’ 10th Congressional District, which covers suburbs north of Chicago to nearly Wisconsin.
The campaign claimed a passenger car driver turned into the bus’ path.
* If you think ads here are rough and tumble, have a look at this one from New Orleans…
Yeesh.
* We’re shutting down comments until Monday because the comment section has basically just devolved into a mindless running dispute between partisans. So, here’s a video. Get up and dance…
About some useless information
That’s supposed to fire my imagination
* I knew instantly when that bartender offered me a Jameson’s and soda before I said a single word that Kevin McDermott had his lede. Sure enough…
It’s a rainy December evening, and Rich Miller is still keyed up over the day’s top story when he arrives at the small, dark bar at Maldaner’s Restaurant in downtown Springfield. The founder, publisher, editor and sole reporter for the Capitol Fax political newsletter rejects the Jameson’s-and-soda that the bartender automatically offers. “Too early,’’ Miller declares — and he orders a Guinness instead.
Not that I blame Kevin. I would’ve used it, too.
And if you ever wondered where I am while I’m blogging…
The house is a spacious, immaculate structure full of collected art, antiques and political paraphernalia. A 30-acre nature preserve borders one side of the property; on the other is Lake Springfield.
There are views everywhere, except from the small, cluttered corner office on the second floor from which Capitol Fax is produced on a widescreen Mac monitor. Miller’s view is mainly of the William Crook Jr. drawing of the state Capitol that hangs over his desk. “I like it that way. If you’ve got a view, you get distracted by the damned view.’’
Hey, I actually cleaned my office before I let him into my house. Cluttered? I’m glad I didn’t let Kevin come by before I cleaned. Oh, man, the description would’ve been brutal.
Also, I have one of the smaller homes in my neighborhood. Yes, it’s a great ‘hood. No doubt. And, yes, it’s a nice home, but it’s no mansion.
This really is my day…
If the legislature is in session, he’ll drive to the Capitol by midafternoon and stop by a series of what he calls “watering holes.’’
“It’s like hunting — you know, you go to a watering hole, and you wait for the animals to come to you. You don’t go out in the middle of the desert searching for animals.’’ The watering holes include the brass rail outside the House and Senate chambers, certain hallways, certain lawmakers’ offices, “the little nooks and crannies of the Capitol.’’ And, later, the bars.
Todd knows me better than most…
“[Miller] is not an ideologue for any cause,’’ suggests lobbyist Todd Vandermyde. “He just has no patience for stupidity in government.’’
Yep. He’s right.
More from Todd…
To Miller’s fans, that kind of no-holds-barred, total-immersion reporting is what makes Capitol Fax urgent reading. “He’s different from you others in the mainstream media,’’ says Vandermyde, the lobbyist. “He actually spends time mixing and mingling with the politicos. He doesn’t just come in for the issue du jour.’’
Of course, Kevin goes on to overestimate my income, but he’s not alone. Just so you know, it’s not even close to what he or others think. And “$175,000 over the past decade” equals $17,500 a year. I don’t charge nearly enough.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’ve always wanted to be on the cover of Illinois Issues. That’s why I agreed to do this interview. Kevin is a heckuva writer, so I thought he could make my dream come true. The story came out pretty much as I figured. Kevin did a great job. But, alas, I didn’t make the cover. I’m not exactly photogenic, so some pension story fronted the mag.
