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Bill Brady’s new TV ad is extraordinarily good. It’s just too bad he doesn’t have the money to put enough points behind it.

I was so stunned by Steve Rauschenberger’s apparent flip-flop on whether he’d drop out if Topinka wins the primary, I didn’t notice that he also kinda came out for an income tax increase:

Among other things, Rauschenberger said, he thinks the school year and the school day should be lengthened. Such changes would not come cheap, he admitted, but he said voters might decide they were willing to spend more on education if they were convinced kids would learn more.

“Maybe taxpayers would be happy to pay a 5 percent income tax if this was the vision for schools,” he said.

Claypool to Stroger: “stop the lies”.

Better never late.

ICC staff wants much bigger refund for Peoples Energy consumers.

Dan Hynes makes ethics push.

Interesting proposal by private companies to build new tollways.

Bartels endorses Salvi.

Another tort reform fight?

Tribune Co. quarterly profits fell 38 percent.

Frank Calabrese Sr. is being shunned.

Pink.

Thanks, Jake, for this sweet, sweet link.

I hear the sign says “Welcome back, Ray!“

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 5:25 am

Comments

The ads are extraordinarily good .. is right . So is the radio ads too & the literature pieces I’ve rec;vd by door to door volunteers. I’ve seen them , heard them & agree. Why ?? throughout this cycle is everyone discounting this man ?? He’s moving up in numbers & they’re raising money looking at his financials {just being nosey on the ISBE site}. He’s widening his base with real folks working for him. 4×8’s are popping up all over the state. He’s a formidable candidate & apparently serious about it. Maybe it’s they don’t like the idea that he is moving along?? It’s a fresh face & experienced with some “ideas” for a change {there’s a novel idea}… not the same old sayings & promises. I’m impressed & I’m not impressed easily at my age. Looking at the other 3, 1 couldn’t make up the mind, 1 of which has never won a primary (s) pliral, & 1 of which apparently is bored looking for something to do with his cash. Brady is our best real chance to win. If nothing else he’s young & might be around past one term.

Comment by the old republican Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 6:59 am
Is the “gooD” ad from Marcia’sBrother the one that talks about termites and has him look like the Handy Andy spokesman?
Yikes I would hate to see the bad ad flying around inside CaptFax’s head.

Comment by Reddbyrd Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 7:55 am
Bill Brady has it. His poll numbers are climbing and just ask Judy she has her eye on him. You can’t beat a grass roots campaign and he is the only candidate with one. He is going to make it too close for comfort for Judy as this winds down. Tell me who is the real deal and getting more bang for the buck?

1. JBT-12 years state wide and name recognition.
2. JO-3 runs state wide and millions spent.
3. RG-Spending millions all over the state
4. Bill Brady-underfunded, no state wide elections under his belt- and closing the gap.

Comment by the Patriot Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 8:10 am
I read the Chicago Tribune story where Cook County Board President John Stroger says he won’t let primary opponent Forrest Claypool “destroy my reputation” and chuckled. Stroger need not worry, since I also read Eric Zorn’s column (also in today’s Tribune), which listed a long list of elections where Stroger supported Richard M. Daley or a Daley ally over a qualified African-American candidate.

President Stroger, Forrest Claypool is a talented man, and he’ll be a far better County Board President than you could ever dream of being, but even Commissioner Claypool does not the ability to destroy a reputation of someone whose reputation was self-destructed a long time ago.

Comment by Randall Sherman Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 9:19 am
Brady is the GOP’s only hope to clean up the state, get Illinois’ economy moving again and rebuild as a party. He is strong on the issues and showed himself in the debate to be quick-witted and very personable.

JBT is too weak on the issues and too closely tied to the old Ryan regime. Oberweis and Gidwitz have never been elected in Illinois. I don’t think running for Governor is the place to start.

Brady is a serious candidate. We need to get behind him in the primary. He will match up well against Gov. Blago.

Comment by BackyardConservative Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 9:20 am
Forrest Claypool is as much a regular machine politician as John Stroger. All he did when he was at the Park District was clear out other pols cronies for the Mayor’s cronies. You think he was “reforming” anything? Why didn’t he “reform” IGA and Victor Reyes when he was IN CHARGE at the City?

Funny how “Reformer” Claypool has been awfully silent about his two turns as Chief of Staff for the Mayor. Something to hide?

Comment by Wow Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 9:29 am
Rich, you must have missed this. The Daily Southtown, where I often read your columns, has called for Birkett to recuse himself from the tollway investigation.

Birkett should distance himself from tollway probe
Tuesday, January 31, 2006

THE ISSUE: Joe Birkett, DuPage County state’s attorney and candidate for lieutenant governor, is investigating a business deal involving a company of which his cousin is president.

WE SAY: Birkett needs to recuse himself from the case. Regardless of his intentions, his family connection raises questions about the integrity of the probe.

Read the following three sentences and ask yourself if something is amiss.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett’s office is investigating the process under which the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority awarded leases to the restaurants allowed to set up shop at the tollway’s oases.

Birkett is a cousin of a man who is president of one of the restaurants in question.

According to state records, Birkett owes his cousin’s company $100,000 in campaign loans and has received more than $37,000 in direct contributions from the company and $2,000 from the cousin’s family and from a business associate of another person at the center of the tollway probe.

Is something amiss? We say so, and we hope you’d agree with us. Joe Birkett doesn’t seem to think so. And that’s something you voters might want to keep in mind when you go to the polls this year.

Birkett is running for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary. He has aligned himself with front-runner Judy Baar Topinka, who is seen by some observers as having a legitimate chance of unseating incumbent Democrat Rod Blagojevich.

But if Birkett is exercising this kind of judgment in his role as state’s attorney, one has to wonder if he merits serious consideration for statewide office and the faith that Topinka has placed in him.

Daily Southtown reporter Kristen McQueary detailed Birkett’s relationship to the parties in question in a story Sunday. Birkett is a cousin of Phil Mesi, president of Subway Development Corp., operators of Subway restaurants. As part of its probe, Birkett’s office is examining whether the selection process of Subway and other restaurants at the oases was fair and followed state bidding laws. A federal investigation is also under way into oases restaurants owned by Tony Rezko, whose partner, Daniel Mahru, made two campaign contributions to Birkett. Rezko also has made campaign contributions to Blagojevich, as did Subway.

Birkett said the $100,000 loan from Subway for Birkett’s unsuccessful run for Illinois attorney general in 2002 is a debt to a family member, “not a loan from the company.” In our opinion, that makes the Birkett-Mesi relationship appear even chummier. Whatever you call it, it seems to us that Birkett needs to recuse himself from this investigation.

Birkett tries to sound well-meaning when he says he launched the probe after hearing questions raised about the contracts awarded to the oases restaurants. But the fact is, Birkett is related to the president of one of those restaurant companies. And although the investigation, which is separate from the federal probe, is being handled by three of Birkett’s assistants, those assistants still answer to Birkett. Perhaps Birkett can get the Illinois attorney general’s office to pick up the investigation from here or turn over information his office has gathered to federal investigators. Obviously, the tollway restaurant deals need to be investigated, but Birkett should have no connection to those investigations.

Regardless of how upstanding prosecutors are, citizens need to be assured that the officials they have entrusted to investigate possible wrong-doing within government have absolutely no connection to any of the parties involved in the investigation. It’s basic good government, and if Birkett cannot see that, voters may want to remind him on election day.

Comment by Ed Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 9:59 am
I think Brady is a nice guy who went to “Republican school” so he can quote the party line. He doesn’t have any real vision. I don’t think he or anyone running is serious about fixing the states number one issue and thats the structural deficit and getting school funding off of property taxes.

Comment by independent Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 10:25 am
You can do better than that Reddbyrd.

Comment by Paul Hewson Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 10:42 am
After looking at the state filings, I think that most should see Brady as a threat to take this thing…his money is coming from individual sources and he continues to build support despite spending less than the others.

As for the thoughts by Independent, I have to disagree. Brady has discussed what he wants to do about education and the deficit. He has reall policy ideas as opposed to talk about “reform” with nothing to back it up.

By the way, I would be concerned about the other candidates chances and positions based upon multiple reasons…just a few:

JBT: Part of the old guard and too connected to previous administrations. Seems disinterested and has made some terrible decisions in the past for the party.

The Milkman: Money has come from himself and the Family Taxpayer Network…whose reform ideas are frightening and would destroy our education system. Besides, based upon the FTN’s history recently (not obeying the rules, failure to pay fines, etc) I won’t trust anyone that they have given that much support.

Gidwitz: Unelectable and disconnected from the average joe. The slum lord issue, while it may be only part of the story, would give him no chance in the general.

Comment by the wonderboy Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 11:27 am
About the ad:

It is good because it says so little so well. Thats the plusses.

The minuses: This is a guy who looks like what he is - a WASP Republican from Central Illinois. This image works in Bloomington. So he needed to offset these perceptions with an ad that reaches out to all families. If he looked more like Jimmy Carter building a Habitat for Humanity house, he would have nailed it, message-wise and image-wise. Instead he looks like a JCPenney model for blue jeans constructing a house in “Whitey-ville”.

A+ to the message guys - GREAT JOB!
F to the set crew, costumers, and ad staff. This is supposed to be a political ad to show this guy’s strength in a way everyone is supposed to connect with! Brady is already pretty, dirty him up like a real family guy! Ever hear of black people? Why couldn’t you show Brady nodding in agreement with a black foreman at the construction site? Why couldn’t you show a happy black family getting this dream home that Brady is building for them? GEEZ people, you could have hit a real home run with this ad, but you just couldn’t think outside the box, could ya?

Your campaign is not overly funded. You needed this to be a big winner. It could have been something if you had the right campaign staff!

Finally: As for ED, DUDE- Ever hear of hyperlinks? We don’t want to see entire articles! We got the Internet, right?

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 11:31 am
Those of you who claim that Brady’s fundraising is going great guns need to look at his spending. This is what I wrote in the Capitol Fax:

===Sen. Bill Brady raised $290,000, including $100,000 from residential housing developer Kimball Hill Homes. Brady loaned his campaign $150,000, bringing his total raised to $440,000. His campaign spent $641,000 during the period, including $128,000 for an outside fundraising company. Not including the loan from himself and the big check from his fellow developer Kimball Hill, the outside fundraiser took all but $62,000 of the cash Brady raised. He also has nine people on paid staff. Brady ended the period with $391,000 in the bank.===

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 11:41 am
One problem Vanilla–

The ad is for the GOP primary. Who votes in GOp primaries? Yep. Whiteyville.

Comment by HoosierDaddy Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 11:50 am
Brady has certainly received more bang for the buck then the other candidates. Rich, can you post a summary of what each candidate has spent to date if it is available. Not sure about Judy, but she has 12 years of state wide name recognition and the two millionaires are spending as usual. I think the guy getting traction w/o the cash deserves respect.

The governor, especially in a minority party is going to have to use the legislative process to get things done. This process has been dead for quite some time. We need a someone who knows how the process works to implement his vision. No other candidate has a laid out their vision, much less made a case they can work whe process to get it implemented. Who of the below can work the process better.

1. Treasurer who has ever been really challenged in an election.

2. Millionaire Milkman with no legislative experience.

3. Millionaire landlord with no legisltive experience.

4. Businessman with 12 years of legislative experience. BRADY is our only hope.

Comment by the Patriot Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 12:11 pm
Racist statements like the one above does not cover staff oversight on vital TV ads.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 12:22 pm
Huh?

Comment by HoosierDaddy Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 1:54 pm
looks like the Brady campaign staff is working the cap fax blog hard today

Comment by takethehighroad Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 1:58 pm
For the record, Brady is not a WASP. He is a WASC–White, Anglo-Saxon Catholic. He is a product of the parochial schools of Bloomington and an IWU graduate. Bill had no experience with public education until he became a state representative in the 1990’s.

As for being a businessman, he started out working for his father, the late Bill Brady, Sr., who started the family businesses in real estate and construction. After facing financial ruin in the inflation ’80’s when their building supply company tanked, the family has rebounded and done quite well.

All the sons now work for the company (part owners and officers) and its divisions as well as some of their wives. Bill’s mom has been a realtor as well.

Comment by Nearly Normal Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 2:29 pm
First you Brady people If your going to call Gidwitz and Oberweis millionaires you have to include Brady. Unlike Oberweis Brady inherited his company from his father (who was a millionaire)
Second as Rich pointed out he has spent $641,000 is in last place in MOST polls has only $390,000 and a staff of 9. He cannot win! He has no money left to get on the air in chicago or metro east if he does it lasts a week maybe two and he’s broke! If he wanted to help Judy he stays in if he wants to help the conservative cause he drops out. Oberweis has $890,000 and can put in more I hear he is filming and will be on the air next week and when he hits he is on till the end.
Brady has spent almost one million since he has started (he was the first one in w/an exploritory) and he is still trailing badly. Time to face the music

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 4:25 pm
I knew sooner-or-later Rauschy would come out for a tax increase.

Yeah, a 5% Income Tax is just what Illinois needs. NOT!

Comment by The Colonel Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 4:45 pm
20 posts and everyone’s missed the BIG NEWS.

Amanda’s back!!!!!

Comment by anon Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 7:02 pm
Anyone who’s ever bought a Brady home knows he doesn’t build a very good house…probably an apt analogy for the type of Guv. he’d be. How many of his colleagues in the Senate and House have endorsed him? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Comment by FmrHOI Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 8:00 pm
So far, more of his colleagues in the senate and house have endorsed him than any other candidate.

I knew we’d eventually see that lame “Brady can’t win” garbage being spewed by supporters of a man who has PROVEN time and again that HE CAN’T win. Oberweis has lost the only two elections he’s been in, and they weren’t really all that close. He gets less each time, yet somehow sees himself as the savior of the party?

The one that needs to wake up is the Milkman anyone that thinks he could actually be governor some day.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 9:15 pm
anonymous @ 4:25pm , how do you know Brady’s current financials??? D-2 was thru Dec. 05′ Man, money & momentum is raised daily & obviously spent , it’s kind of the nature of the biz. Anon does sound somewhat like the various letters strewn around the state recently showing up in papers like the one from a gal up in DuPage Co. who’s “Tokyo Rose” style “give it up GI” or suffer the consequences candor calling on Brady to leave the race & give old Oby-Won a {last}chance. That one by the way showed up in a paper downstate .. what a heck of a circulation that paper has & the concern it generates clear up in DuPage County they felt they needed to alert the state. That guy couldn’t win 2 other primaries for US senate let alone a big election,in a state wide run, couldn’t get picked to be the candidate replacement & thumbs down on the GOP state party chair & had loads of cash to blow on every event..mostly his own $$$. His base is marginal, sporatic & really no grass roots. Cash helps but doesn’t ensure victory. Sooo ! what’s he got that noone else has ??… nothing really & that’s the fact except cash to blow on a “hobbie”. He can’t make up his mind & stay with it on issues. Man, answer the clue phone. Brady’s about the only real chance there is against Blago & the others are starting to see it and they just don’t get it. Brady seems to sincerely want to be governor because he really wants to & can effect change & has original ideas … not running as a career finisher or something he’s yet to try out or add to the resume’. The millionaires need to head to the club to reminice about the old days & Judy, god love her it’s time to retire dear. McKenna & the Ill. Republican party wake up & let the next generation have the chance. Anybody but Brady wins the March primary & it’s Blago “”come on down!”

Comment by anonymus Thursday, Feb 2, 06 @ 9:48 pm
I’m not saying “Brady can’t win” I’m saying he shouldn’t be allowed to win. Nor should any of the current candidates in the field. I find it tremendously disheartening that the current crop of Guv candidates (on either side) is the best that this state can do. Where’s the leadership?

Comment by FmrHOI Friday, Feb 3, 06 @ 7:34 am
VanillaMan: you seem to have a lot of knowledge of Brady’s campaign staff … I’m curious what your credentials are?

Comment by YNM Friday, Feb 3, 06 @ 10:05 am
Apparently Anon from above has no clue about Brady’s history or his business dealings. He inherited a company that was in shambles and has built it up to what it currently is. On top of that, he has worked with his brother to start new businesses that his father never had any part of. And yes, he is a millionaire, but not nearly on the level with the other two. Most of his wealth is tied into his businesses.

By the way, FmrHOI…why don’t you make a run? Sounds like you have some better ideas and capacity to lead, so make a go of it. Not trying to get on your case, just wish that you would offer some ideas or better options rather than simply speak negatively about those who have put forth the effort and money to run. So do you have a better option available?

As a side note to the above…take a look at the list of house and senate endorsements for Brady…he has got the backing of his brethren.

Comment by the wonderboy Friday, Feb 3, 06 @ 10:10 am
Let’s move this conversation to today’s Question of the Day, OK? More people will see it.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Feb 3, 06 @ 10:15 am