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Political oddities and ends

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Illinois

* If you’re heading for the hearing today on the Thomson prison sale, expect to be subjected to Illinois State Police “security” precautions…

* Backpacks or extra large hand bags will not be allowed into the auditorium.
* All purses and hand bags will be searched before entering the auditorium.
* Every person entering the auditorium will pass through a metal detector.
* No posters, signs or visual aids will be allowed into the auditorium.
* No type of voice amplification device will be allowed into the auditorium.

Are they afraid of terrorists or a planned protest by “tea party” types? My guess is it ain’t the terrorists.

* Oopsie…

State Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) has been occupying a rent-free Chicago Board of Education building for seven years and owes more than $500,000 in rent, leaseholder taxes and penalties on it, a new report by the schools inspector general indicated Monday. […]

The Board of Ed sent Davis a letter in 2002 saying it expected her to vacate the building by July 1, 2002, Sullivan said Monday. It followed up with more correspondence in August 2006, September 2007, and April and September of 2008, he said. On Nov. 18, it finally filed a legal claim for back rent and eviction.

After her lease expired in 2002, Davis said, she asked then-School Board President Michael Scott to sign a new lease and he said, ” ‘I’ll get back to you.’ . . . The indication was ‘I’ll get this done for you.’ ‘’ Davis said she needed a signed lease so she could submit it to the state and get reimbursed for the cost of operating a district office.

Finally, Davis said, board officials produced a lease this year, but in it they wanted Davis to be responsible for all repairs to the building, as well as property taxes.

* This story has been getting a lot of play on the blogs. Here’s Fox Chicago’s take…

Jim Madigan is running for state senate, and about 40 supporters were attending a fundraiser at a North Side gay bar when Leo Smith made a surprise appearance.

“And as I looked, ‘I thought God, that looks like my opponent’s husband,’” Madigan said. “He looked a little disheveled. He took awhile to put sentences together, so that was a little bizarre.”

Madigan said Smith sat quietly at the bar for about an hour… went into the men’s room… and then charged out with fire in his eyes and began bullying him.

“And he said, ‘Well I’m Heather’s husband.’ And I said, ‘I know, thanks for coming to my event.’ And he said, ‘I’m not here to support your event. I know you think you’re going to get famous with all your bull____,’” Madigan recalled.

Oof.

* Cook County President candidate Dorothy Brown has denied Sneed’s report about a grand jury investigation into her campaign operation…

Dorothy Brown took to the airwaves [last night] to rebut reports of a grand jury investigation into the petitions she filed to run for Cook County Board president.

Appearing on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight”, Brown said information received by her campaign [yesterday] indicated there was no grand jury probe. She called the rumored investigation a “political placement.”

Stay tuned.

* An endorsement from the pro-choice Personal PAC will bring a few bucks, and it may get some media attention, since the Republican Schillerstrom trumpeted the nod in a press release…

Republican Bob Schillerstrom on Monday welcomed the endorsement of Personal PAC, a bi-partisan organization dedicated to electing pro-choice state and local leaders in Illinois.

Schillerstrom noted the support distinguishes him as the only moderate Republican running for Governor, and positions him as a centrist with the best chance of winning the General Election.

“My top priorities as Governor will be to end runaway spending, create an environment for good jobs, and make government more transparent and accountable,” Schillerstrom said. “Those are the most pressing matters facing our state and should be the primary focus of this campaign.”

Apparently, Schillerstrom was the only Republican candidate to return Personal PAC’s questionnaire.

Personal PAC backed Republican George Ryan in 1998. Republican Jim Edgar was endorsed by NARAL in his first bid for governor in 1990. Schillerstrom is just so unknown and so far behind the pack that this probably won’t make much of a difference.

The oddity here is that the campaign sent the press release to the very conservative Illinois Review site, which published it. Oops.

Personal PAC also endorsed Gov. Quinn…

Terry Cosgrove, the president and CEO of the group, said Quinn got the backing over Democratic primary rival Dan Hynes because the organization has a policy of “sticking with the incumbent when he’s been 100 percent pro-choice.”

“Had this been an open race,” Cosgrove said, “the results could have been different.” In 2002, the organization endorsed all three Democrats in the open-seat race for governor. Quinn became the unelected incumbent governor last January when the Senate ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

* Twice in the past week, state legislators have accidentally published single character posts to their Facebook accounts. Rep. David Miller, a candidate for state comptroller, pocket-posted “$” the other day. Sen. Emil Jones, III posted “p.” Both claimed later on their FB pages that their smart phones were in their pockets at the time. I’ve heard of pocket dialing, but this pocket FB posting is a new one on me.

Let’s be careful out there. And lock your smart phones, for crying out loud.

* As you already know, Dock Walls has dropped out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary after his petitions were challenged by allies of Gov. Pat Quinn. Illinois Public Radio reports that Walls is now considering a run as an independent…

Walls said he [dropped out] so he could run as an independent instead.

“I realized I’m not going after the ward organizations, and the Democratic party organizations, because I represent a clean break from the past,” Walls said. “And I can’t align myself with people who are part and parcel of the problem: people who are taking money from special interest groups and big business.”

Yeah, that’s why he dropped out. It had nothing to do with his petitions at all.

* Andy McKenna’s Republican gubernatorial campaign is running Google ads on videos. That can be a pretty random thing. A reader noticed yesterday that a “Very important message from Lady Gaga” was preceded by a McKenna ad. Have a look for yourself.

* Last year, Speaker Madigan provided some late financing to House GOP Leader Tom Cross’ Democratic opponent. Madigan isn’t taking any chances that Cross might fight back in next year’s campaign. Madigan has apparently found his own Republican opponent…

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the Illinois GOP has launched a public hunt for one Patrick John Ryan, who has filed as a Republican to run against Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan next year.

In a press release Monday entitled “Has anyone seen Patrick John Ryan?” the GOP notes that though Mr. Ryan filed as a Republican, he lives in Mr. Madigan’s home 13th Ward and pulled a Democratic ballot in the past three primary elections.

Yet, the release adds, Mr. Ryan “is now a Republican who believes in less government, lower taxes, true ethics reform and the need to end business as usual” in Illinois.

Given all of that, “Will Patrick John Ryan call (312) 201-9000 to discuss this historic opportunity?” the GOP asks. “We look forward to providing him the necessary support to win this election.”

* A candidate for the Illinois House is continuing a personal tradition that’s now landed him in a spot of trouble…

Politician Will McGaughy says he’s been mailing envelopes to voters in his precinct at Christmastime for 30 years, wishing them holiday cheer and including a crisp $2 bill as a “keepsake.”

The 76-year-old said it’s a political style he has developed since the 1960s, when he marched with Martin Luther King in the civil rights struggles in Alabama. […]

McGaughy’s own campaign manager, Matt Hawkins, 42, said he advised his candidate not to send the $2 bills, but he doesn’t believe any law has been broken.

“He has skirted most of, if not all of the legal issues,” Hawkins said. “I questioned it myself, but it’s the battle of old (political style) versus new.”

* Related…

* Legislators must tinker with recently changed window tinting law

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 6:30 am

Comments

Re the smartphone FB entries: I’ve got a friend whose phone is constantly taking pictures of the inside of his pocket.

Comment by Redbright Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 9:00 am
I think the Monique Davis situation is more than an ‘oopsie’. She’s saying Michael Scott was doing special deals for people like her. It’s going to raise even more big flags regarding his death.

Comment by Redbright Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 9:02 am
Minor typo:

You have David Miller listed as a candidate for Treasurer, he’s a candidate for Comptroller.

Comment by Scooby Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 9:36 am
Half a million bucks? That’s real money.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 10:00 am
As a blogger covering the race, Jim Madigan has been running a “insinuation of corruption” campaign against Heather Steans from the start.

My only surprise is Leo Smith waited so long and let Madigan off so easily.

Comment by David Ormsby Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 10:00 am
Seems to me Dorthy Brown’s response to every challenge or question of her is that it is “politics”. I am seriously afraid she could win this primary. The only good news is there would be an opening for Clerk of Court.

Comment by Lincoln Parker Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 10:19 am
The group of candidates for county board president who were interviewed on WTTW last night (including Dorothy Brown) did not set the world on fire. The interviewer was not terribly good and the “answers” were not terribly enlightening either. I thought Preckwinkel came across the strongest.

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 11:17 am
Monique Davis said: “It’s quite obvious they [board officials] waited until Michael died to do this.”

What the heck is she implying…that the school board knew Scott was going to kill himself?

Comment by PFK Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 12:25 pm
It is dangerous for our children to even know Rep. Monique Davis’ ideas about how to pay rent for taxpayer provided building space even exists. Those type of values are dangerous to our children. We believe in paying rent for space we occupy in the Land of Lincoln.

How many government paychecks does Monique Davis get each month and she can’t afford to pay rent? Since 2002? If there isn’t a criminal investigation there should be.

What Speaker Madigan is doing may be legal, but it is horrendously unethical and anti-democratic. The head of the Democratic Party of Illinois has absolutely no respect for the principles of democratic, free and equal elections and has no problem setting aside democratic principles for political power. Pathetic, and what’s worse than that is his entire party let’s him get away with anti-democratic behavior like this and cheer him on to do it even more.

Comment by TaxMeMore Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 12:31 pm
This is amazing…while constituents in Davis’ district are loosing their homes to foreclosure, she is living rent free. Not a care in the world as to how she is going to pay her rent because she has no plans to pay rent. This is something that Stanley Moore who sough that seat was trying to bring attention to. Wait until the news comes out what Davis has been doing at Chicago State University where her boyfriend runs a program that is funded by Davis but the problem is that the University has an identical program in existence. Davis son also works for the boyfriends state funded program and her other son works for Lisa Madigan’s office as an investigator. Well question is why isn’t Lisa Madigan investigating Davis for her corrupt actions? Oh right, Davis son is probably in charge of that investigation.

Comment by She Gone... Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 4:22 pm
Is there a legal loophole to qualify Davis as a squatter? She owns the building now.

Comment by Wumpus Wednesday, Dec 23, 09 @ 7:20 am