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Those kinda weird little Tribune-only “debates” continue with the Democratic primary contenders for treasurer.

Meanwhile, the Democratic primary candidates for state treasurer — Alexi Giannoulias and Paul Mangieri — answered questions Monday from the Tribune’s editorial board.

Asked about the state’s underfunded pension system, Giannoulias, a Chicago bank executive, said Illinois needs to look at possible reforms but said he did not know “which ways are most feasible.” Mangieri, Knox County state’s attorney, said the state should instead focus on new revenue sources. He cited as one possibility a proposal by a Downstate lawmaker to auction off a gambling license to help fund the pension system.

The RMMF Blog has a fine farewell to Ben Kinningham. The guy is a rock and he’ll be greatly missed at the Statehouse. Looking forward to the party tonight.

Rick Klau is disappointed with Christine Cegelis’ latest feeble attempts at fundraising.

Some of the numbers are in for the 6th Congressional Democrats. And while Iâ€™ve been a supporter of Christineâ€™s in the past, I have to say these numbers donâ€™t look good:

* Raised: $68k
* Spent: $77k
* Cash on hand: $39k
* Debts owed: $39k

Once you subtract debts from cash on hand, the Cegelis campaign has $184.54.

(Emphasis added.)

Here are the latest filed state campaign disclosure reports. Consider this a campaign finance open thread.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 2:04 pm

Comments

Is the deadline midnight tonight or earlier? There are a bunch I wanna check out that are still unsubmitted. Harmon will be dang tough to beat in his primary with that $260k war chest. I guess he knows how to make donors happy.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 2:10 pm
What, exactly, is she spending her money on? I know this has been an ongoing issue for her, but nobody seems to be able to tell me where its all going. Alexi’s answer seems more of the same. Everytime I read about him, I get less and less impressed.

Comment by Very Confused Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 2:57 pm
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the huge shake-up at the Cegelis campaign yet…

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 3:24 pm
Giannoulias has $311k available, after raising 407k. Rich Greeks LOVE to support Greek candidates

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 3:25 pm
Ben K. is a class act. He will certainly be missed by us out here in Illinois — far away from his Statehouse newsroom. However, as someone that has worked with Ben in the past, and unfortunately lost personal touch, wish him well at the party. Then let us know which blog will best cover the party for a little virtual/vicarious partying with Ben! Let’s hope he breaks out the chicken one more time!

Comment by IlliniFan1422 Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 4:03 pm
Cegelis has fought a noble fight, but it’s time for her and her supporters to accept what other Democrats have been saying all along: she is not the right candidate to win this seat this year.

Cegelis should consider switching gears and running for State Rep in the 66th district, where she can work on her fundraising skills and build a reputation as a strong candidate. Krause doesn’t have an opponent yet, and no doubt many of Cegelis’s same supporters will be just as happy to see her elected to the statehouse, where she can work on all of the same issues, save Iraq.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 5:50 pm
Amazing the the banker seems to know so little about the office of state finance….better luck next time

Comment by Mr. Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 5:52 pm
Its been clear from the beginning how Giannoulias intends to win this race. He intends to buy it, just like he did by raising 100 thousands for Obama and buying his support. The kid knows nothing about finance. He played basketball for a living and then got a job working at his daddys bank. That hardly makes you qualified to be treasurer. This whole race reminds me a lot of the Blair Hull campaign.

Comment by The Listener Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:04 pm
Listener: you are right on the money! (no pun intended). Alexi has done nothing to distinguish himself and working in a family bank does not make you a finance expert. I’m voting for Mangieri.

Cegelis: well, that’s enough to get a couple of kegs and get a good farewell party going. The legislature would be a much better place for her to start.

Comment by Minion Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:08 pm
Note to Anon 2:10… the deadline for electronic filing is midnight.

If you plan on checking out reports, be careful, since some of our politicians are very clever in using the D-2 forms to mislead the public.

A number of years ago, my Alderman here in Chicago (Joe Moore of the 49th Ward), kept loaning money from his campaign fund to Bob Creamer’s Citixen Action (Creamer, Cong. Jan Schakowsky’s husband, is awaiting sentening in federal court on check-kiting charges, I believe).

Each time Moore loaned Creamer money, it was repaid within a short span of time (only to see another loan a few days later). Creamer did kick in a small amount of additional money in return, but this only amounted to (as I recall) less than $30 for loans of about $30,000. The resulting activity on Moore’s D-2 made it look like he had received this huge sum of money, when in fact almost all of it was from his own campaign committee to begin with!

As for Cegelis, I was under the impression that federal candidates (those running for Congress) do not file with the State Board of Elections, unless they have a secondary committee to help out local campaigns. Cegelis and the other federal candidates file with the Federal Election Commission, under an entirely different set of restrictions, requirements and guidelines. That is probably why Cegelis’ campaign committee with the State Board of Elections has such a small sum of revenue.

RANDALL SHERMAN
Secretary/Treasurer, Illinois Committee for Honest Government

Comment by Randall Sherman Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:21 pm
Regarding Cegelis’s cash on hand, the $39K in debt is money that Cegelis lent to the campaign way back in 2004, and is not owed to anyone but herself, which means the $39K cash on hand truly IS $39K cash on hand.

Regarding her spending, if you really want to know what she spent her money on, it is all listed in detail here (as it is for every campaign):

http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/efile_search.shtml

Actually, her spending per quarter is pretty middle-of-the road when you compare her to other congressional candidates. I was curious myself to see how she compared, so a few months ago I took a look at all the Illinois congressional candidates (incumbents and challengers), comparing 3rd quarter (Q3) expenses only. Of course, some of the incumbent’s numbers are inflated because of gifts given to other campaigns, still I think it is an interesting comparison. It is below, FWIW.

District - Last Name - Line 7c (expenditures from Q3 FEC report:

Dist 01 Rush $2,418
Dist 04 Gutierrez $2,626
Dist 03 Sullivan $4,348
Dist 14 Laesch $5,441
Dist 15 Gill $7,478
Dist 17 Mowen $10,564
Dist 03 Lipinski $18,732
Dist 11 Pavich $22,575
Dist 08 Salvi $22,679
Dist 15 Johnson $23,237
Dist 07 Davis $36,749
Dist 05 Emanual $39,316
Dist 12 Costello $39,588
Dist 19 Shimkus $42,334
Dist 06 Cegelis $46,615
Dist 11 Weller $61,411
Dist 07 Ascot $67,149
Dist 13 Biggert $71,207
Dist 09 Schakowsky $78,073
Dist 02 Jasckson, Jr $83,261
Dist 08 Bartels $96,646
Dist 06 Roskam $103,882
Dist 18 LaHood $104,289
Dist 16 Manzullo $107,707
Dist 08 Bean $117,372
Dist 17 Evans $141,817
Dist 10 Kirk $148,683
Dist 14 Hastert $415,223

Comment by Yoda Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:34 pm
I was impressed with Alexi’s numbers and thought he had some broad support until I saw this.

Giannoulias, Alexis
Occupation: President
Employer: Broadway Bank 6007 N. Sheridan
Chicago, IL 60660 $200,000.00
11/24/2005 Individual Contribution
Citizens for Giannoulias
Giannoulias, George
Occupation: PRESIDENT
Employer: UNITED INVESTORS 21 E Cedar
Chicagio, IL 60611 $25,000.00
12/28/2005 Individual Contribution
Citizens for Giannoulias

That is kind of cool to have a rich dad.

Comment by Treasurer Watcher Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:42 pm
Also, regarding Cegelis running for the State Legislature, a decision like that might have been possible had Ms. Duckworth not waited to announce her candidacy until the week before filing was over (if memory serves). At that point everyone was pretty much locked in to where they were. And none of the candidates currently in the race (Cegelis, Duckworth and Scott) have previously held elected office. It would be difficult to find such a candidate, since with the exeption of Don Harmon (who has a tiny sliver of the 6th District) there are no elected Democrats ANYWHERE in the 6th District at ANY level.

Comment by Yoda Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:43 pm
Ron Gidwitz racked up $5,076,793.34 in expenses 7/1/05 to 12/31/05. And still polling less than ten percent.

Imagine how Illinois would change if he plowed that money into local GOP organizations, instead of doing the political equivalent of burning it up in a campfire.

Pardon me, I think I’m about to throw up . . .

Plus he tossed another $500,000 into the “Turnaround Team

Comment by Bubs Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 6:54 pm
so where does Scott’s money come from?

Comment by Bill Baar Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 7:17 pm
Stroger to Claypool approx 1.9 million to 390k plus. Wonder how the TV time war will be settled?

Comment by Wow Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 8:09 pm
Hey treasurer watcher…..it’s good to have a rich older brother too, cause George is Alexi’s brother. Alexi should have started off running against Natarus. Spending $$ in the wrong places too, billboards splatered all over the southside with Jesse Jr dont vote.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 8:37 pm
wow, Mangieri only has $5k available. He must be expecting a lot of money and support to be coming along with his being the slated candidate, but that’s Cegelis bad.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 9:44 pm
To “Wow:”

All I can say is, well, wow. Did you read the D-2s? While the race is still uphill for Claypool, to suggest that Stroger holds any significant FR advantage is to display an almost complete misunderstanding of the topic at hand.

Before you calculate the “TV time war,” please re-read the report. Then compare the amount raised by each in the last six months, combined with the cash on hand. If you still think Claypool has only $400K, you should also subtract how much of Stroger’s cash-on-hand will retire with him. He’s old-school, and a big chunk of that war chest (or is it in the 8th Ward fund?), has been sitting around long enough to be grandfathered into the old “personal use” exemption (you can keep it if you pay income taxes on personal use).

My guess is that Stroger walks with at least $1 million. In other words, it looks to me like it’s dead-even in the polls and dead-even in the money. In my opinion, that’s not good if you’re an incumbent.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jan 31, 06 @ 11:32 pm
Interesting that Topinkavich could only put up less than 100k since her gubernatorial announcement….

Comment by Anon Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 12:18 am
So what if George is Alexis brother and not his father? They are both stinking rich because of their father. And yes, Mangieri may have less money but he definitely has more wide spread support in the state. I don’t think Obama had a ton of money at this stage. But Blair Hull still didn’t win

Comment by The Listener Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 2:53 am
I can’t hold Alexi’s money against him; cash has been a valuable source of independence for progressive candidates in this country for decades. Having just announced in December, he still raised more than $175,000 from other sources against Mangieri’s less than $40,000, with most of the “in-kind” portion of that from Friends of Madigan. Alexi does have widespread support.

The comparison to Hull isn’t accurate. He may have had Mell’s support at the beginning, which seemed to be less than enthusiastic by primary day, but Alexi has the support of an unprecedneted number of elected officials for a non-slated non-incumbent, including many courageous and independent members of Madigan’s chamber, like John Fritchey,Robin Kelly and Will Davis.

Don’t hold Alexi’s candor against him.

Comment by corvax Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 5:23 am
Hey 47th: What?

I reread the report…and there was nothing in there about Stroger retiring.

If that’s the best argument for the strength of Claypool’s “reform” candidacy, it’s pretty weak.

If there’s anything that the money race indicates, it’s that Claypool can’t “donate” as much to the northside wards to leave Stroger off their palm cards. A real “reform” move, for sure.

Speaking of “reform,” wouldn’t be a “breath of fresh air” if Claypool pledged not to do business with anyone who gives him campaign cash? Or do they give money in some familiar expectation in return? Hmmmm…

Did you see SEIU jump in with both feet yesterday? They’ve started to highlight Claypool’s lousy attendance record and missed votes on the Board. If there’s no TV cameras you don’t see the guy.

Comment by Wow Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 9:38 am
I feel I have to respond to the last post on Alexi. No-one holds his candor against hi, merely his total lack of relevant experience, his complete lack of knowledge on the issues and his thoroughly unimpressive speaking style. I think we need to demand more than someone who buys his election.

Comment by Sick of Entitlements Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 10:35 am
Independent members of Madigan’s chamber backing Alexi? Please, all of the pols backing Alexi have one thing in common, they want to move up the political ladder which takes cash, and what does Alexi have to offer….? CASH

Comment by Anon Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 10:50 am
I agree with anon 10:50. To paraphrase a man named Eddie McCormack who ran against Ted Kennedy in Teddy’s very first run for the Senate, “If his name was Alexi Smith instead of Alexi Giannoulias, his campaign would be a joke.” The only reason, and I mean the only reason this guy is in the race is because he gave a lot of $ to the big dems in the last cycle. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think the state deserves someone in the spot who isn’t running just because he thinks it might be cool to run a massively important state-wide office. Never thought I’d say this, but Barack should be ashamed of himself.

Comment by Back for More Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 11:55 am
I have one additional point to make on campaign disclosure. It is also important to check out if candidates have made donations to political groups in the past that they would not like people to be aware of now. One such example is in the Chicago area, with Water Reclamation District candidate Dean Maragos. A few weeks ago, he was asked at the IVI-IPO endorsement session if he had ever donated to the notorius Hispanic Demratic Organization. Maragos said no, he hadn’t given money to HDO, and was endorsed by the IVI-IPO.

In fact he had made a $3,000 donation from the law firm he runs and controls to HDO several years ago. IVI-IPO, thinking that wasn’t the case, endorsed him anyway. Later, the IVI-IPO executive board chose simply to endorse a fourth candidate for the three seats up in this race (you figure this out, I can’t).

So it may be wise to also check out who these candidates have supported with their own moeny in the past.

RANDALL SHERMAN
Secretary/Treasurer, Illinois Committee for Honest Government

Comment by Randall Sherman Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 5:54 pm
I vote for Greeks no matter whether they are buying the seat with daddy’s money or if they donate to HDO. You can’t stop me from supporting my people. OPA!

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 8:00 pm
House members backing Alexi have a lot more to lose than gain, Anon. the few thousand bucks his family might donate don’t compare to the power Madigan wields. Why can’t you believe it’s simply because he’s the better-and more electable-candidate?

Comment by corvax Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 10:10 pm
Because we’ve met the guy or seen him speak and he was a joke. At the speech I was he didn’t seem one bit interested in his speech, which he read of a sheet of paper, and had his girlfriends sorority sisters clap at certain points of the speech while everyone else just sat there. The guy would never have a chance if he weren’t a millionaire, and thats a fact.

Comment by The Listener Wednesday, Feb 1, 06 @ 11:05 pm