Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

US Rep. Jackson complains about Blagojevich

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Congressman Jackson has some harsh words about Gov. Blagojevich.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a probable candidate for Chicago mayor who has blasted contracting and hiring scandals at City Hall, complained today about alleged corruption surrounding the office of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“I have not made an endorsement yet in the governor’s race, and I am very concerned about the example that is being set in that office,” Jackson said at a meeting with the Tribune’s editorial board. […]

“I believe that what is taking place with Mr. Rezko has greatly contributed to lack of voter enthusiasm in the current contest, and that it is very damaging to our democracy,” Jackson said. “Qualified and very capable peopleâ€¦will not win because voters won’t show up because of behavior at the top.

“What implosion at the top of the ticket does for qualified people who are knocking on doors and trying to get signatures and get petitions is devastating,” the congressman asserted. “People at the top of the ticket have an obligation to people at the bottom.”

That’s an interesting argument. He’s not so much complaining about the corruption itself as the impact the corruption has on the rest of the ticket - and to “democracy” in general.

Whatever the case, it’ll give y’all something to talk about tonight.

58 Comments

What the… ? *** Updated x2 ***

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Today’s Tribune endorsement editorial, entitled “How to liberate Cook County,” started out predictably enough.

Years of hard work by anti-machine reformers have led to this moment: the chance for a new president of the 17-member Cook County Board–plus a majority of at least nine steady votes for slashing bloat and improving services.

Tony Peraica should be that new County Board president. And if voters make good choices in board races, his reform agenda will prevail. […]

The County Board to be elected Nov. 7 is likely to include at least eight reformers. Swinging a ninth vote away from the machine politicians who have owned Cook County would make a decisive difference. With that reform agenda driving these choices, here are the Tribune’s endorsements for contested County Board races

The Tribune, which recently discovered that clout played a major role in the 2003 aldermanic election, details a litany of nasty politics by those bad ol’ county board members and even refuses to endorse either candidate in some races.

And then we come to this paragraph:

11th District (South and Southwest Sides, southwest suburbs): This page has argued that incumbent Democrat John Daley has the knowledge and political skills to help engineer a radical overhaul and downsizing of county government. Daley’s familiarity with county finances brings with it a responsibility to be a dynamic force for reform. He is endorsed over Republican political consultant Carl Segvich.

What do you think? Did the Tribsters completely wimp out or do you think they actually believe that John Daley - the brother of the mayor - is a potential anti-machine reformer?

*** UPDATE *** Speaking of goofy newspaper editorials, remember the Northwest Herald’s strange endorsement of Pat Quinn because the paper mistakenly believed the LG was elected separately and Quinn could work with either a Repub or a Dem governor? Well, it wasn’t just the NW Herald. Other papers in the chain also ran the editorial before somebody figured out the oopsie and pulled it offline.

I try not to nitpick because everybody makes mistakes. Stuff happens. But these are endorsements, so the bar is set much higher. Endorsements are supposedly thoroughly debated and carefully considered within the institution before publication. These are not stories written under impossible deadlines or unimportant blurbs that nobody cares about.

Anyway, I was browsing through the NW Herald’s other endorsements today when I noticed this line in the paper’s glowing support for Dan Rutherford:

Rutherford served 20 years in the House

Um… actually, Rutherford served just ten years in the House.

The NW Herald’s endorsement editorial which claimed Topinka has no property tax relief plan also caught my eye. You may not like Topinka’s property tax relief plan, you might think it doesn’t go far enough, you may not think it’ll work as promised, you may even despise her proposed funding source, but she does, in fact, have one.

*** UPDATE 2 *** [Sigh.] I hate to keep at this, but I don’t think the SoS office has 37,000 employees, as claimed in the NW Herald’s Rutherford endorsement. Not even close.

The real headcount is about 3,800.

37 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, Part 2 - Canvass results; Wintermute-Holmes; New & harsh TV ad in Granberg-Cavaletto

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Comments Off

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Schock-Spears; Smith-Dagit; Link-Shields; Glengariff poll results; Axley-Kotowski; IFT radio ads; Gordon-Briscoe; Roth-Noland; Sullivan-Howland; Hospitals; Target feed (Use all caps in password) *** Updated x1 ***

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Enter your password to view comments

Question of the day *** Updated x1 ***

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Let’s assume (probably correctly) that Judy Baar Topinka doesn’t have the money to air both positive and negative ads at the same time.

Faced with this cash dilemma, if you were her would you continue airing negative ads or switch to purely positives? Explain your reasoning.

Bonus question: Will hiring Lou Piniella make any difference at all for the Cubs or should the owners resign?

By the way, the Glengariff Group also polled Illinoisans on the Cubs”

The Chicago Cubs

â€¢ Voters were asked if they believe the Chicago Cubs would make the World Series in the next ten years. 34% of voters believe the Cubs will be in the World Series in the next ten years. 40% said they would not. 26% didnâ€™t know.

â€¢ Chicagoans were most optimistic with 40% believing the Cubs would reach the World Series.

*** UPDATE *** Gov. Blagojevich’s campaign has a new super-positive ad. “According to my opponent,” the guv says up front, “I’m the worst person on earth and the world is coming to an end. Come one. Let’s get real.”

80 Comments

Duckworth low on cash, but Dems starting negative ads *** Updated x1 ***

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Tammy Duckworth is no longer running TV ads and is running out of money.

After filling the airwaves with television commercials, Democrat Tammy Duckworth is heading into the crucial final weeks of the west suburban 6th Congressional District contest with a severely depleted campaign war chest.

She had just $206,381 in the bank at the end of last month, while Republican rival Peter Roskam had $1,500,950. […]

Duckworth said she had to answer $1.4 million in television and mail advertising financed by the National Republican Congressional Committee to attack and distort her record in the race to succeed retiring GOP congressman Henry Hyde.

“I couldn’t afford to stay on the air, [but] I’m going to do everything I can to get my message out — talk to the voters, do all of the grass-roots things,” Duckworth said. “I am not going to let this be a campaign that is won or lost based on funds.”

The Daily Herald story ponders whether Duckworth may have peaked too soon, but adds this nugget (albeit buried) that the Sun-Times missed.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which reserved $2.3 million to run ads blasting Roskam, starts airing its first ad today.

Also, Andrew Sullivan writes that this NRCC ad is “all-but racist.”

Notice the visual contrast between the alleged illegals and the white family who will have to “foot the bill” for them. Lovely. But effective.

[Hat tip to a commenter]

*** UPDATE *** Roskam’s own ad on immigration/Social Security/etc. is below.

29 Comments

Glengariff Group, treasurer’s race: 33-29-8

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

More numbers.

In the race for state treasurer, the poll shows Democrat Alexi Giannoulias leading Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno 33 percent to 29 percent but that is within the 4 percentage point statistical margin of error. Green Party candidate Dan Rodriguez Schlorff polled 8 percent. […]

Burnham said Giannoulias began airing television ads in the Chicago area and in central Illinois Monday, and plans to air them statewide starting next week and running through the election.

Radogno said she was “thrilled” with the latest poll results because she has yet to start airing TV commercials.

I’ll post some trends on this a little later this morning.

20 Comments

Glengariff Group: 39-30-9 and 20 undecided

Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Subscribers had these results yesterday and will get the full results this morning. AP:

A new poll since a close adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich was indicted shows the incumbent Democrat with a 9 percentage point lead over his closest challenger, Republican Judy Baar Topinka, according to results released Monday.

The poll also shows 51 percent of voters surveyed believe Blagojevich knew about the alleged corruption involving one of his top fundraisers. Federal prosecutors have accused businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko of trying to collect kickbacks from companies wanting state business.

Blagojevich has said the indictment does not suggest he had knowledge of any alleged wrongdoing. If the charges against Rezko turn out to be true, Blagojevich says he was duped by a friend.

The new poll numbers that show Blagojevich leading Topinka 39 percent to 30 percent don’t indicate a dramatic shift since the Chicago-based Glengariff Group last surveyed the race in June, when Blagojevich led Topinka 41 percent to 34 percent. Green Party candidate Rich Whitney wasn’t included in that survey but the latest results show him polling 9 percent support.

One in five Illinois voters still is undecided in the governor’s race, the poll found.

Discuss.

34 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - NEW POST-INDICTMENT POLLING DATA (Use all caps in password) *** Update - Use TUESDAY’S password ***

Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Enter your password to view comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Boland; Schock; Spears radio ad; Smith radio ad; Holmes attack mailer; Axley-Kotowski; Cahnman radio ads; Roth-Noland; Special Session; Early Voting; Madigan-Radogno; Target feed (Use all caps in password)

Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Enter your password to view comments

Question of the day

Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Assume it’s the first 100 days of a Pat Quinn administration. What happens?

87 Comments

Seals goes up *** Updated x1 ***

Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The piece doesn’t say how big this ad buy is, but it is running on network TV.

Democrat Dan Seals will begin airing a television ad Monday tying Republican Rep. Mark Kirkâ€™s votes in Congress to support President Bush.

Sealsâ€™ ad suggests Kirkâ€™s support of Bush by reeling off several of the presidentâ€™s plans that Kirk supported â€” including the war in Iraq.

â€œWe deserve a leader that will stand with us, not with President Bush,â€ Seals, of Wilmette, says at the end.

In response, Kirkâ€™s spokesman says that heâ€™ll just be focusing on local issues.

The ad will mark the first foray into television in the 10th Congressional District race, though Kirk has been running radio spots for more than a month.

The full ad can be seen here.

Meanwhile, the Daily Herald has endorsed both Melissa Bean and Tammy Duckworth.

Watch it and discuss.

*** UPDATE *** Animal Farm has the fundraising numbers:

6th District: Republican Peter Roskam raised $570,000 for a total of $2.36 million so far, with $1.5 million on hand as of Sept. 30. Democrat Tammy Duckworth raised $949,000 for a total of $2.8 million so far, but had only $206,000 left as of Sept. 30. That probably explains why Duckworth went off broadcast TV recently.

*8th District: Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean raised $630,000 for a total of $3.5 million so far, with $324,000 left as of Sept. 30. Republican challenger David McSweeney raised $455,000 for a total of $1.6 million raised so far, with $688,000 left as of Sept. 30. […]

*10th District: Republican Rep. Mark Kirk collected $482,000 for a total of $2.7 million so far, leaving him with $1.6 million on Sept. 30. Democratic challenger Dan Seals raised $474,000 in the third quarter for a total of $1.2 million so far and had $559,000 left as of Sept. 30.

24 Comments

Tribune poll: Stroger-Peraica 39-36

Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

The key here is that even though the two are essentially tied, 14 percent of African-Americans are still undecided. With those votes and if the machine kicks in hard, this is not a tie race. Still, Stroger is way under 50 and lots of people have to be nervous.

Stroger leads Peraica 39 percent to 36 percent in the survey, which has an error margin of 5 percentage points. The poll of 481 likely Cook County voters was conducted Oct. 8-11. […]

The new poll found that 21 percent of self-described Democrats said they would vote for the Republican. […]

The core support for Peraica, a county commissioner from Riverside, comes from the suburbs, where he holds a 48 percent to 28 percent edge over Stroger. But in the city, Stroger holds a two-to-one advantage over Peraica–50 percent to 25 percent. […]

Asked who would be more likely to reform county government, 31 percent said Peraica, 29 percent said Stroger and 20 percent said neither.

As usual, the Tribune hasn’t posted any crosstabs or polling details beyond what’s in the article.

Meanwhile, the Trib endorsed Peraica today. And the Daily Southtown’s Phil Kadner let loose on Todd Stroger.

In fact, during an editorial board interview with the Daily Southtown on Friday, young Stroger, the son of former Cook County Board President John Stroger, seemed so lacking in knowledge that I had to wonder why he is even running for the office.

* The Tribune claims that its poll’s margin of error is 5 percent, but it’s actually slightly less than 4.5 percent. Isn’t it at least a little odd that the Trib would undercut its own poll by claiming a higher MoE than it really has and, in the process, make the race look slightly closer?

26 Comments

Rezko roundup

Monday, Oct 16, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Greg Hinz makes a very good point in this week’s column.

Since the earliest days of the Blagojevich administration, those who know state government have been warning that Rod Blogojevich apparently missed the central lesson of the George Ryan years: Keep campaign fund-raisers far away from government. […]

If he ever bothered to read anything except the sports page, Rod Blagojevich had enormous reason to keep a close, close eye on his fund-raisers. All he had to do was look at George Ryan and what his friends did.

My syndicated column lays out our options.

1) Blagojevich knows about the corruption and is a very good liar; 2) The governor isn’t curious enough to delve deeper than a headline and seriously question his friends; 3) He is utterly incapable of trusting any information that contradicts his own beliefs; or 4) U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is completely wrong, even though he has yet to lose a corruption case.

The Tribune editorial board weighed in yesterday.

So Blagojevich essentially is channeling George Ryan: In case of crime spree, I knew nothing. The problem with this, three weeks shy of an election, is that it forces voters to ask unpleasant questions: Is my governor clueless? Or worse?

When something as big as the Tony Rezko indictment breaks, reporters will always find a way to keep it in their stories.

Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich touted his senior health-care efforts Sunday while Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka accused him of distorting her plans for children’s medical insurance, as both campaigns pondered the effects of recent corruption charges against a top fundraiser for the governor.

Blagojevich, appearing at a Northwest Side seniors center, said he did not believe his re-election bid would be hampered because his close adviser and fundraiser, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, didn’t show up for arraignment Friday following his indictment on federal charges involving the state’s teacher pension system.

But Topinka said Blagojevich should be concerned about Rezko and the anticipated plea agreement later this month of the man alleged to be Rezko’s co-schemer Stuart Levine.

“I don’t have any Tony Rezkos in my life. We don’t deal with people like that, OK?” Topinka asked. “The fact that we do know that Stu Levine is going to have his plea bargain coming up. … I suspect that that will be very informative.”

And here’s something so out of the blue that it might get some coverage and allow the guv to change the subject: The Illinois State Rifle Association has called on Blagojevich to resign.

Also, Chuck Goudie tries to connect the Rezko scandal with the House page scandal.

30 Comments

« NEWER POSTS