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* For whatever reason, state treasurer-elect Michael Frerichs’ campaign staff is still trying to distance their guy from the notion that Chicago put Frerichs over the top. From a press release…
Official Returns Show Central Illinois Key to Victory for Frerichs
Nearly 30,000 Rauner-Frerichs independent voters stretching from Quincy to Danville, Peoria to HillsboroSPRINGFIELD, IL –The Illinois State Board of Elections certified results from the November election on Sunday, declaring Michael Frerichs the next State Treasurer by a margin of only 9,225 votes out of more than 3.5 million cast in the race. The slim margin of victory is the third-closest statewide race in Illinois over the last century, according to the Associated Press. An analysis of the official results by the Frerichs campaign confirms a strong showing by the downstate Democrat, particularly in Central Illinois.
The 38 counties belting Central Illinois from Danville to Quincy and from Peoria to Hillsboro generally vote nearly 2-to-1 for Republican candidates. Frerichs, a native of rural Champaign County, appealed to independent voters in the region by focusing on his financial experience and his downstate roots with a promise to invest in the Illinois economy. As a result, Frerichs received 29,168 more votes across the region than Governor Pat Quinn, shrinking Tom Cross’ margin of victory in all but three of the 38 counties. The Central Illinois native also received about 30,000 more votes in Central Illinois in 2014 than Alexi Giannoulias, Pat Quinn or Robin Kelly received in their Democratic statewide bids in 2010.
“Tens of thousands of Rauner-Frerichs independents in Central Illinois were critical to this race, and the decisive role of downstate sends a clear message,” says campaign spokesperson Dave Clarkin. “Independent voters want leaders who are focused on solutions, and they want results. Mike Frerichs pledged to make smart investments that offer a strong return to taxpayers while growing Illinois jobs, and voters responded to the list of reforms he has planned. Now, it is time to get to work.”
OK, please get to work and stop rubbing it in. You won. Move along.
For a list of central Illinois counties where Frerichs did better than expected, click here.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:09 am
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===OK, please get to work and stop rubbing it in. You won. Move along.===
@FakeMikeFrerichs - you just wait, I’ll make @FakeRutherfordDan seem modest. #TalkingToHearHowKoolWeAre
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:13 am
How are the votes of these 30,000 supposed “Rauner-Frerichs independents” more valuable than the votes of the 1,664,884 Frerichs supporters who voted against Rauner? This canard is becoming a weird and unsettling obsession.
Comment by Reality Check Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:14 am
==”For whatever reason”==
You know the reason Rich. He needs to continually emphasize state-wide appeal.
Now that he’s acquired the launching platform, he’s already aiming at US Senate or Governor. Look forward to campaign-style “Treasurer” reports, (a la both Alexi and Dan), distributed to potential donor bases and voter groups.
Comment by walker Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:16 am
He didn’t even win in his hometown, continues the theme of an awkward campaign and victory.
Comment by OurMagician Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:22 am
If he is going to use those numbers in three and a half years during the primary, he needs to have them published now.
“Four years ago, the press reported that our great appeal in central Illinois won the contest.” News coverage is better for that purpose than just tossing out the data.
So yeah, Clarkin is using the media. That’s what he gets paid to do.
Comment by Gooner Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:28 am
Enough with the chest pounding get on with the job Mike.
As for Cross rumor has it he will be sitting pretty with the new Administration and way better off.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:44 am
Good riddens to Tom Cross. Useless in Kendall County.
Comment by Beetlejuice Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:44 am
Yeah, I think Clarkin’s strategy is smart, especially in an historically close race
Comment by Soccermom Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:51 am
Well, that is pretty classless. I hope he governs better than he gloats.
Comment by Raising Kane Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:56 am
http://champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/results/2014/docs/nov/SUMMARY.HTM
Hey @ Our Magician.
You’re completely wrong.
Frerichs won Champaign County by 9 points, where Quinn lost by 14. And Champaign County is much more conservative than the City of Champaign. He probably won the City by 20 or more.
Comment by Downstate Progressive Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 11:57 am
==Reality Check: How are the votes of these 30,000 supposed “Rauner-Frerichs independents” more valuable than the votes of the 1,664,884 Frerichs supporters who voted against Rauner? This canard is becoming a weird and unsettling obsession.==
Perfectly said by Reality Check.
Plus it is tone-deaf for a Democrat to boast that he did better than Alexi Giannoulias, Pat Quinn and Robin Kelly. People from all these campaigns helped him count his ballots. Apparently he is the only one in the Democratic Party.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:02 pm
Cross is better off he is landing a cabinet spot and is in Rauners inner circle . It’s his time to make money.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:08 pm
What this also did, today, is remind anyone paying attention that Frerichs and his Crew think a lot of themselves, and that you don’t have to ask them what they think of themselves, they’ll tell you…even when you don’t ask.
Together, it’s shows…they are pretty self-absorbed, lack humility of understanding a message like this, instead of embracing humility of the task at hand.
Why start out with that perception problem?
That’s easy to see why. It’s the hubris.
Mike Frerichs is the next coming of Dan Rutherford(?)
No one asked for this “explanation”, they are forcing a narrative.
Pretty lousy and disappointing start, image-wise
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:12 pm
Gotta start workin it for when you run for governor in 4 years…
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:16 pm
Frerichs is already campaigning for the next rung on his dream political career. He wants to be the non-Chicagoan statewide candidate.
What a goof. Amateur!
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:19 pm
My sources and insight paint a different picture. It’s fine to take a victory lap, but I would suggest the key reason for a Frerichs win is the vote was an anti-Cross vote more than pro-Frerichs. The hubris of Tom Cross. Tom Cross as tied to Springfield as a legislative leader during bad times. I just think it’s awfully hard for a Springfield legislative leader to generate many yes votes. But congrats to Mike Frerichs on his win.
Comment by NW Illinois Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:21 pm
OW - I think what this reminds us is that this is a useless office that should be combined with the Comptroller. The only purpose that it serves is to create a statewide campaign and marketing platform for the next office. For Frerichs it seems he’s embracing that opportunity before he’s sworn in.
Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:23 pm
Do you think Frerichs did so well in conservative counties because the conservatives wouldn’t vote for Tom “Double Cross” Cross? Nah, it has to be because Frerichs is such as charismatic, superlative candidate.
Comment by A Nanny Moose Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:23 pm
=== He wants to be the non-Chicagoan statewide candidate. ===
Frerichs already is the non-Chicago statewide candidate.
And unless you consider Durbin to be from Springfield (he’ll always be Metro-East to me), Frerichs is the last statewide officeholder elected from Central Illinois in 20 years.
That was Jim Edgar.
I don’t know who the last Democrat elected statewide from Central Illinois was.
Anybody?
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:27 pm
@Nanny Moose:
Except that Frerichs also did about 30,000 votes better than Quinn did against Brady in 2010. So I don’t think you can blame it on conservative crossovers.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:30 pm
Who’s supposed to care about this?
Comment by Wordslinger Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:31 pm
-Amonymous- are you for real a cabinet spot for Cross? That will never happen if Shake up Springfield is truly the new theme.
Comment by Joe Maddon Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:31 pm
“Frerichs is the last statewide officeholder elected from Central Illinois in 20 years.”
Um, you’re forgetting somebody. It’s going to be really obvious during the transition, you’ll see his name everywhere.
Comment by The Captain Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:34 pm
NW Illinois Democrat -
You make an interesting point.
According to the link, the one spot where Cross did remarkably better than Rauner was in Sangamon County.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:36 pm
- YDD -,
With respect,
Treasurer-Elect…isn’t even Treasurer yet, and Frerichs got a victory lap, and a wide berth to take that lap.
This Dopey idea now of framing Frerichs’ political “place” and how he was “made” is Ruthford-ian in its hubris and lack of self awareness.
Was there a debate I missed in the post-mortem that questioned Frerichs’ self importance? I’m sure you know where I am going with this, I feel quite sure you know.
Is the Treasurer-Elect better than “this” ego trip?
Is that the question we want as the follow up?
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:37 pm
Like Sling, I would have read the release if I cared. I don’t. I didn’t. Tacky.
Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:41 pm
This press release would have been better if it was done on the 19th. Looks like they worked on this over Thanksgiving Break, but more realistically after the ISBOE posted the official results. Election is over, time to show the voters why you were the right choice.
On a side note, I love the comparison to Alexi. Keep twisting that knife in his future political aspirations.
Comment by Almost the Weekend Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:46 pm
YDD wrote: And unless you consider Durbin to be from Springfield (he’ll always be Metro-East to me), Frerichs is the last statewide officeholder elected from Central Illinois in 20 years.
Dan Rutherford is from Pontiac, which I believe is part of Central Illinois.
Comment by G'Kar Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:56 pm
===Dan Rutherford is from Pontiac, which I believe is part of Central Illinois.===
@FakeRutherfordDan - see, the hubris of @FakeMikeFrerichs is so large, it overshadows my own ego easily #FrerichsFolly
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 12:59 pm
===Cross is better off he is landing a cabinet spot and is in Rauners inner circle . It’s his time to make money. ====
I think Cross has done well enough for himself with his law firm. And actually, if he does get a position with Rauner, he would have to give up that lucrative practice. So if its time to make money that’s not the way to do it.
Comment by Been There Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:00 pm
Frerichs was beaten by almost 2 to 1 in Piatt County as were ALL the Democrats on the ballot.
Comment by Downstate Greg Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:14 pm
We don’t have an electoral college system in Illinois. You get more votes, you win. I don’t care where they came from. Move on already.
Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:26 pm
Hey downstate progressive-he lost his hometown-Gifford 232-201-that’s the reference.
Comment by OurMagician Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:31 pm
Could his campaign staff be auditioning for a job? Has he announced any staff yet?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:35 pm
G’Kar & Willy -
I always considered Livingston County to be part of “Northern Illinois” along with Grundy and Kankakee County, although there are those who argue that Grundy and perhaps even Kankakee now are part of the exurbs/collar counties.
Pontiac is about as close to downtown Chicago as Rockford, and as far north as Galesburg, but if folks want to call Livingston “Northern Central Illinois” instead of “Southern Northern Illinois,” fair enough.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:44 pm
- YDD -,
What ate you saying, Rutherford isn’t from Central Illinois?
See what this Frerichs Dopiness has begat?
The mere idea that tiu are trying to frame Frerichs as “Unique and special” is already eclipsing the hubris of Rutherford, lol
This release was utterly ignorant and self-absorbed, and you asking about the radius of Rockford and Pontiac is just manufacturing a separation, not one person asked for before that Dopey release rolled out.
If this is the prelude to build on Frerichs own self-imprtance, Mike Frerichs will make Dan Rutherford seem modest and meek…
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:56 pm
Treasurer-elect Frerichs’s first investment?! More long ties.
Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 1:57 pm
- Been There - hey I can tell you one place you have never been and that’s inside his lucrative law practice, because it’s anything but. Tom has been a full time government worker and never really practiced law. That isn’t a bad thing but just the truth . Politics has always been his first and main interest .
So believe me he will land in that new administration in a plum spot.
Comment by Joe Maddon Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:00 pm
YDD- Everyone down “here” always tells me that north of I-80 is “Chicago”. When I am in “Chicago” I am told that south of I 80 is Southern Illinois. What gives?
At the end of the day a candidate is a candidate and it does not seem to matter much from whence they came. They have a huge mess to fix and either are not willing to fix it or don’t know how.
Comment by JS Mill Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:02 pm
Willy -
Again, I lived in Central Illinois for 12 years, and I consider Pontiac to be Northern Illinois, but I also don’t see the point in arguing it with you.
Similar arguments exist about what constitutes a “Collar County.”
Some only include the original five collar counties. So, you tell me, is it incorrect to refer to Kendall County as a Collar County?
Is so, please notify the Chicago Sun-Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/3838469-418/census-shows-chicago-fell-to-200418-residents.html#.VH4bNUuvtFI
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:06 pm
We’re not a traditional Collar County.
Kendall is now thrown in due to the exploding growth and it’s only going to grow more, not shrink.
- YDD -, is Dan Rutherford confused about Pontiac? lol
Here is what’s real;
A post about the shameless promotion of a Treasurer-Elect has boiled down to Kendall County and it’s place in the Metros of Illinois…
If this is what I expect from the Frerichs Crew, the humility of Dan Rutherford will be missed, lol
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:15 pm
@JS Mill:
I can assure you, that the folks in Rockford disagree with your assessment.
They also object to the term “downstate.” And have a fair point.
The reason I-80 because a cut-off is because that’s the cut-off for how far media outlets in Chicago are willing to travel to cover news. A definition of “Northern Illinois” based on the viewership of Chicago t.v. stations is a pretty Chicago-centric definition of “Central Illinois.”
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:16 pm
Willy:
And yet, according to atleast one Sun-Times report, Kendall County is a “Collar County.”
Like I said, if Livingston County wants to be part of Central Illinois, who am I to argue?
According to the Livingston County Clerk’s Office, Tom Cross got about 300 more votes than Bruce Rauner in Livingston County, so it appears the ticket splitters there were voting Quinn-Cross.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:24 pm
===According to the Livingston County Clerk’s Office, Tom Cross got about 300 more votes than Bruce Rauner in Livingston County, so it appears the ticket splitters there were voting Quinn===
That is almost a month ago.
A month.
The victory lap time has passed.
Sometimes focusing on “what’s next” is far classier than touting how great you are…
…
…when no one…asked.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:28 pm
Willy -
You mean like this story yesterday?
http://will.illinois.edu/news/story/mike-frerichs-prepares-for-state-treasurers-office
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:36 pm
“More like that” is better than Dopey victory laps, for no apparent reason.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 2:41 pm
YDD, Thanks for posting that article on Frerichs.
I wonder if the Four Tops and Rauner and AFSCME will take him up on the generous offer he made:
“He says he’d be willing to help facilitate discussions among all interested parties in the pension overhaul, but points to a bill the Senate passed last year, before the law that was ultimately agreed upon. That bill, SB 2404, was negotiated between the General Assembly and the state’s unions.”
Who needs a legislative committee when we have Mike Frerichs? I suppose as a statewide treasurer who won with the Central Illinois Vote, he will have more of a platform than he did as as a state senator from Central Illinois.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 3:28 pm
Dan-
I’ll take the guy who offers to facilitate efforts to find common ground over the guy who threatened repeatedly to sue the General Assembly and the Governor, but it does seem Illinois is fairly divided on that question.
Whether there is more consensus on the second part of his response, I am not sure. I imagine there are many in the General Assembly who see SB 2404 as a starting point. Rauner clearly says otherwise, I don’t know that the Speaker has said anything since the two court decisions.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 5:24 pm
YDD, I wouldn’t put much stock in a story that makes a error as egregious as stating the Treasurer’s job includes “investing the State’s pension funds.” Aside from holding an ex-officio spot on the Board of the ISBI, that characterization is flat wrong.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 6:22 pm
Arthur Andersen -
I am not sure what you mean by “aside from.”
We are talking about the Illinois State Board of Investment, right? The one which, according to the Pension Code, is responsible for investing our state’s pension funds?
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 6:59 pm
Yes, YDD, that one. The one that invests approximately 20% of the State’s pension funds, with the other 80% invested by the Teachers’ and State Universities Retirement Systems. (Not that nefarious and unsuccessful attempts haven’t been made by former Treasurers and others to change that lol.)
In all three cases, 100% of the “investing” is done by third party asset managers overseen by professional staff and consultants retained by the funds. Board members are fiduciaries to the members with important roles, but in in law or in practice they are not “investors.”
Sorry, but that, Dog, will not hunt.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Dec 2, 14 @ 7:56 pm