Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

“New” pre-Rezko polling in guv’s race

Posted in:

Illinois
Polls

Warning: Both of these polls were taken before or right around the time of the Tony Rezko indictment, so they’re outdated and almost useless. Keep that in mind, please, when reading what follows. Rasmussen has indicated to subscribers that it will do another poll soon. Events like the Rezko indictment take a few days to “gel” in the public’s mind.

As of early Saturday afternoon, Rasmussen’s numbers are still behind a firewall, but subscribers say they have Blagojevich leading Topinka and Whitney 49-43-3, with 5 percent undecided. The September Rasmussen poll had Blagojevich ahead 48-36.

Interestingly, 53 percent told Rasmussen they could still change their mind before election day.

The Tribune poll was also released last night. The Trib’s poll was taken over four days, with the last one being the day Rezko was indicted, so a small portion of respondents had probably heard of the events, but not enough to make a huge difference.

The Trib has Blagojevich ahead 43-29-9, with 19 percent saying “other” or undecided. September’s Tribune poll had Blagojevich ahead 45-33.

According to the Trib, 51 percent are dissatisfied with their choice for governor, while 48 percent are satisfied.

Topinka has managed to move Blagojevich’s favorables, however. The Trib’s September poll had 43 percent of respondents with a favorable opinion of him and 38 percent with an unfavorable opinion. Those numbers are now 35 favorable and 43 unfavorable. Topinka’s are even worse, however - 25 percent favorable and 49 percent unfavorable, compared to 29 and 40 back in September.

Click the image for a better view.

* From the Trib story, published late last night:

Among Republicans, fewer than halfâ€”47 percentâ€”say they have a favorable view of Topinka, who has held statewide office for a dozen years and was a state legislator from suburban Cook County before that.

Only 63 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Topinka, compared with 80 percent of Democrats backing Blagojevich, and 65 percent of GOP voters expressed dissatisfaction with the choices for governor on the ballot. […]

Blagojevich is viewed unfavorably by 56 percent of independent voters, an increase of 15 percentage points from a similar survey a month ago. While Blagojevich saw a drop in support among independents, Topinka did as well, and third-party candidate Whitney was the beneficiary.

The poll found only about one-third of the voters had heard of Whitney, a Carbondale attorney who is running under the Green Party banner, and 25 percent said they had no opinion upon which to judge him.

* Real Clear Politics charts all of the polls in this race dating back to June of last year. Click for a larger image. [Real Clear claims the Rasmussen poll was taken on the 12th, but according to people who have seen it, the survey was actually taken Tuesday night, which is before the Rezko indictment.]

* You can find this blog’s statewide poll stories by clicking here.

* Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney continues to make a splash. ABC7 had a big story yesterday. The story is worth a look.

posted by Rich Miller
Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 2:00 pm

Comments

glad to see you’re up and about on a saturday, Rich.

If I were Bill or any of the other Blago backers, I’d be very concerned. With the exception of the Tribune poll you cited, the others seem to indicate the race was becoming very tight even without the Papa Tony indictment. My hunch is that Whitney is going to become a big factor in the race.

Comment by Mike Williams Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 2:38 pm
www.realclearpolitics.com has a pretty good round-up on pols.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 2:52 pm
Hello to those of you who don’t have a premium membership with Ramussen Reports vote at jakeschicagopolitics.blogspot.com. SO far there have been thiry votes and these are the results so far : Rich Whitney 63.3%,JBT 26.7%,Blago 6.7% and other 3.3%.

Also check out my new negative ad against blagojevich http://youtube.com/watch?v=062HKRhZEZE

Comment by JakeCP Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 2:57 pm
I would like to believe that the Rezko indictment is the guv’s reelection death nell but I think it will take an indictment of Monk, Kelly, or Blago himself to get the job done. The other shoe has yet to drop, but Fitzgerald seems intent on forging ahead. The “endemic hiring fraud” and “pay to play . . . on steroids” certainly begs for and leads one to anticipate numerous additional indictments of this governor’s influential circle of advisors and perhaps even coconspirators. Fitz must keep in mind that justice delayed is justice denied - especially with decision day coming. Let’s never underestimate the effectiveness of the Chicago org to turn out the huge block of demo votes.

Comment by Citizen A Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 3:12 pm
If a post-Rezko poll doesn’t dramatically change the picture for JBT vs. Blago, I think he’s won anyway.

She can’t change her personality, or George Ryan
s derelictions. The national anti-Republican mood won’t help either, as presumably many vote a straight party ticket.

A couple more indictments before the election might make a dent in Blago’s vote, but there is no reason to believe any more will come out in time to affect voters. The electorate needs time to absorb them, which means they need to come out in the next couple of weeks to help JBT.

Still, Blago should most definitely not be planning his second inaugural just yet.

Comment by Cassandra Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 3:39 pm
The Rasmussem poll appears to have been conducted on 10/12, the day AFTER the Rezko story broke and was the top story in the news.

The WGN/Tribune poll was taken before (10/8 - 10/11), although one day of polling did occur the day the indictment was announced.

Comment by RealClear Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 5:02 pm
Hmmm
Let’ see
GRod still ahead.
JudyBore still behind, broke and Brickkead The Executioner is still on the ticket. Media will spend the weekend reporting Trib poll#s
Sorry folks, still looks like another home run for GRod.
I know, I know all the haters and hand wringers will be huffing and puffing about Rezkko blah blah blah.
But the AccordionGal still has the Levine Money. Rutherford still has his Levine money, Cross still has his too. So it will be a little tough to look like the good guys.
Most importantly — GO CARDS!

Comment by reddbyrd Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 5:09 pm
It looks like an easy victory for the governor. The public is more interested in Rod’s progressive agenda than they are in what may be some ethical lapses in some of his camapign contributors.

Comment by Bill Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 6:09 pm
“RealClear,” that Rasmussen poll was taken the day before the Rezko indictment, despite what others are saying. That’s why Rasmussen is going back into the field as early as next week.

Comment by Rich Miller Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 6:13 pm
“Progressive agenda” - what nonsense. Blago’s “agenda” to the extent he ever had an agenda consists of nothing but pandering to the uninformed. “Bread and circuses” . . . If he is re-elected, and it is by no means certain at this juncture, it will be interesting to see what he plans on doing with the impending train wreck of a state budget for next year.

As of now, his “progressive programs” and the inattention to the true fiscal state of the state by both his administration and the democratic legislative majorities have resulted in a three billion dollar backlog of provider payments among other things. That is even without the full implementation of the his universal child care for all program.

Comment by Just the Facts Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 6:19 pm
I don’t think Rezko is going to have a great impact. His name is not Blagojevich and the issue is too complicated for most people to understand.

Comment by wndycty Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 6:40 pm
Just the “facts” ,
Spoken like a true reactionary.
Your attitude is one of the reasons why we will not have a republican governor or legislative majority in this state for a long,long time no matter who the candidates are.

Comment by Bill Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 6:46 pm
Bill, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, only then can you start to wean yourself off the Baloneyvitch:-) And Rezko is a BIG problem for your guy, one of many.

Comment by Gregor Samsa Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 6:57 pm
You know as a strong Topinka stronger I truly have a bad feeling about this upcoming election. Also could some more of you vote in the poll that is at jakeschicagopolitics.blogspot.com because the results have Rich Whitney winning by a landslide (40-50pts) which seems like only green party candidates have been voting.

Comment by JakeCP Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 7:06 pm
IF Fitz indicts Blago and he is forced to drop out, AND if Mike Madagain (sp?) has a say in it then Lisa M. might be put on the ticket. If that should happen then all bets are off as I think she just might take it. I don’t think Blago can win unless the Republicans stay home on election day.

Comment by Citizen A Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 7:35 pm
Why are these newspaper polls so wacky?

Comment by Huh? Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 7:56 pm
Since Blagojevich all but admitted he has retained criminal defense counsel (shocking if he hadn’t since the FIRST FBI interview), I cannot believe the press, JBT and that stellar prosecutor Brickhead haven’t been asking more questions and demanding more answers. How about a letter to the editor or something JBT?

How much did Resko (along with Kelly and others belatedly added to Blago’s disclosure form) actually give the Governor? (asked belatedly)

When is the Governor going to return the funds and gifts given to him and his family personally from Resko, particularly since he has “betrayed” his trust? Why only campaign funds and not the undisclosed personal gifts?

Why hasn’t the Governor or his campaign fund returned or donated the campaign contributions generated from Rezko and/or Levine sponsored fund raising events and out of state money grabs?

Did Blagojevich disclose any gifts from these characters on his Federal disclosure forms as a Congressman? What gifts and what amounts did he receive?

Has the FBI interviewed or requested to interview the Governor again? If so, has the Governor complied?

Has the Governor been subpoened to appear before a grand jury in connection with the multiple ongoing criminal investigations?

There is little doubt that the Governor has been personally subpoened for records in the criminal cases. How many subpoenas and what has been requested?

Has the Governor received notice that any of his conversations were recorded as part of court authorized wiretaps?

Why did his general counsel and much of the staff resign two years ago? What were the circumstances surrounding the decision of the the executive inspector general to resign?

Who signed off IN THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE on ALL the decisions for each of the state employees hired pursuant to his executive order imposing a hiring freeze and requiring such approval? Why have these public records not been released? When will the Governor release them?

Has his wife been interviewed by the FBI?

When will they disclose exactly what work was done to receive the alleged “income” from her work for Rezko?

Over the years, Blago received huge sums as “referal fees” as an attorney although he really did not practice law. Which firms provided these fees? How much were they and what did he do to earn them? Were fees provided by Myron Cherry, currently a part of the ongoing investigation and purportedly one of the “individuals” named in the Rezko indictment? Where Blago received referal fees profit sharing or whatever, have ANY of those law firms or attorneys received state business, contracts, etc?

The list goes on and on and on, there are many serious unanswered questions that should be answered before Nov 7th.

While JBT maybe didnt lift a finger while George Ryan was Governor, sure appears that Blago had his hand out the entire time and has been busy selling state government for personal and political gain.

Comment by A Few Questions Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 8:35 pm
Make that BOTH hands out.

Comment by A Few Questions Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 8:44 pm
AMEN

Comment by JakeCP Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 8:45 pm
Suppose we left off the most important, has the Governor or his wife claimed the Fifth Amendment to any of the requests by the Federal Government?

Comment by A Few Questions Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 8:47 pm
For what its worth. I live in a city that votes democrat. Without exception. I see numerous lawns covered with the entire democratic slate’s candidates. There has been a notable exception though. There are very few Blagojevich signs among the forest of signs. Curious.

Comment by Buck Flagojevich Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 9:37 pm
Hey, Buck, I’ve noticed the same thing in some of the “democrat” towns that I drove through today. There of course were a few Blago signs, but of all the democrat sign groupings, maybe only 40-50% included a Blago sign. Whether this means that the democrat supporters are just not excited about publicly supporting him but intend to vote for him anyway, or it’s telling of the way democrats intend to vote, remains to be seen.

Comment by schroedk Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 10:02 pm
Blago’s diverted all his campaign $$$ into the legal defense fund - no money for signs. “Signs? .. Signs? .. I don’t need no stinkin signs”.

Comment by Citizen A Saturday, Oct 14, 06 @ 10:13 pm
A Few Questions, you are a saint. And I love this mindset that comes from people like Bill, Wndycty, and possibly Reddbyrd… and it is the typical thing I always rant about when ideological liberals chime in… it is the same old the people are too stupid or too ill informed to care about corruption. They care about a “progressive agenda.” You count on people being ignorant tools, but I guess that is the trick of the trade for the dems in Illinois. People are smart, and they see what this governor is up to. And even if they do plan to vote for him, it is not because of him. It is because of the JBT haters have absolutely destroyed her name. But once again, the Judy haters count on people’s ignorance to assure democratic votes… the ignorant and the dead, that is where Chicago democrats get their votes…. So go suck an egg, because this will have an effect. And if Tony Rezko is reading this, I just have one thing to say to you…. thanks!!!

P.S. Tony, if you are coming back into the US to face the charges against you, how about the day before the election… that sound like a great day to me!!!

Comment by Lovie's Leather Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 12:03 am
Resco missed the boat that day he left the shack
But that was all he missed and he ain’t comin’ back

At a Arab bar in a jukejoint car he made a stop
Just long enough to grab a handle off the top

Next stop, Chi-town, Lido put the money down, let it roll
He said, “One more job oughta get it
One last shot ‘fore we quit it
One for the road”

Comment by Garp Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 12:18 am
Thanks, Garp. I am gonna be singing that stupid song all day!!!

Comment by Lovie's Leather Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 12:42 am
Bill, just stay gone if you can’t do any better than that weak posting..Do help old AA out with a couple though:
-The indictment clearly goes beyond “ethical lapses by..campaign contributors.” It finds crminal conspiracies among your Gov’s 2 closest political associates and fund raisers to extort millions of dollars in one failed attempt alone. How on God’s green earth do you explain that?
-”Progressive Agendas” are great when they'’re funded. Blago’s is not and accelarates his exsiting $3 billion deficit. If I’m wrong, prove it. Charts, graphs, whatever Schnorf, Budget Watcher, Numbers Guy and the rest will like.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 2:36 am
Arthur,
I see that you are still out of the mainstream. Natural revenue growth, more streamlining of state gov’t, the ending of the Bush recession, job growth, and other factors will put the state on strong financial footing. Job growth is skyrocketing in Illinois under Blagojevich, so much so that our esteemed President has made note of it and congratulated our state publicly.
The governor believes that the voting public do not want an increase in sales or income taxes and he is committed to not raising them. The no tax pledge is the cornerstone of his camapign.
The same cannot be said for his opponent. Her financial prescription is to greatly expand gambling and hope that the revenue generated will fund state gov’t. It won’t and I think that, even if she doesn’t understand that, her people do.
Her next resort will be to significantly raise taxes which she has not pledged to avoid and cut medical benefits for the poor, seniors, children,etc..
I know it is easier to call our arguments weak than to discuss the Topinka plan for disaster. Just sit back, hope for indictments closer to the governor, make unfounded accusations against Rod, his family, friends, and political associates, and hope for the best (worst?).
In the meantime I am not gone, just busy. We have an election coming up, in case you haven’t noticed.
P.S. Is Topinka going to return contributions that she has received from Cellini’s bank, KJ, and the discredited republican congressional delegation including Shimkus and Hastert. Is she finally going to admit she lied and tell the truth about no bid contracts to her friends and awarding business to banks that contribute to her camapign? Is discredited Hastert henchman McGovern going to resign from the Topinka campaign? I would rather avoid these questions and concentrate on the issues, but the pot calling the kettle black is a little too much to ignore.
We the people shall prevail!
Bring it on!

Comment by Anonymous Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 6:39 am
A few questions for JBT to address:

1. Will you state for the record, that anyone who has or will contribute to your gov’s campaign, and past campaigns, will not be allowed to do buisness with the state in shape or form (contracts or otherwise).

2. If you and the GOP don’t think party affiliation should not play a role in hiring, will you state for the record, no person hired by Rod who is qualified will be terminated should you win and will you list any person who is hired who contributed to your current or past campaigns?

If you go on record and make these statements, maybe some of us will think you do want to clean up the state. If you won’t, you are no better than anyone else in the race and the race is really about you and the GOP getting your power back.

Comment by Anonymous Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 6:53 am
Bradley… I mean Bill,

What size orange jumpsuits are you and Rod gonna need? I’ll get started on them for you.

Also, if your working on a campaign and still taking your government check, that’s illegal. Check with your ethics folks, on second thought, never mind.

Comment by Orange Jumpsuit Tailor Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 7:11 am
There are 37% of Republicas in this poll that said they will not vote for Topinka. The reason is Marlboro woman does not represent their values. The Rezko thing will not change these Republicans no vote and those 37% of Republicans are and, always have been, the reason Topinka won’t win .

Comment by (618) Democrat Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 8:15 am
Rich even though these numbers are no longer good I’m glad you posted them.It gives these Blago spinners a ray of hope.WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!THAT’S NOT A RAY OF HOPE THAT’S BLAGO GOING DOWN IN FLAMES.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 8:42 am
It’s important to remember that in Illinois and in all other states the hiring of individuals for political reasons into state jobs is LEGAL. As I understand it, around 3500 positions in Illinois state government fall in this category (out of about 57,000). Illinois has less official patronage than many other states but legal patronage does exist.

It is unrealistic to ask either candidate to
eliminate political hiring. What we should be asking is that they confine themselves to Rutan-exempt positions, that the intern program not
be used for political patronage, that veterans preference be implemented as the law requires, and that positions which are converted from Rutan to Rutan-exempt be subjected to a formal, transparent conversion progress with legal review and the opportunity for public comment and appeal.And there should be no four-year terms, which by their structure, force political hires on subsequent administrations–all political appointments should be at will.

Blagojevich has not reformed anything in the political hiring arena, of course, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that he has at a minimum allowed widespread violation and circumvention of Rutan and veterans preference. The feds will have the final word on that and many believe their findings will not reflect well on Blago.

But to ask that his opponent renounce any political hiring at all is naive and ignores the
(legal) realities of current Illinois state hiring regs.

Comment by Cassandra Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 9:13 am
As John Kass notes in today’s Trib (quoting Peter Fitzgerald), Rezko is yesterday’s news.

It’s Topinka’s pal Bill Cellini being listed as “individual A” that was the big news in that indictment.

The Rezko thing will do nothing to stop Topinka’s freefall.

Comment by RealClear Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 10:20 am
These Numbers are very encouraging for JBT hopefuls.

Despite having spent maybe $10-12 million to TRY bury JBT, Blago is only perhaps 5-6 points up. She has really just begun negative TV. And as the poll points out, his negatives are dropping as well as his likley voters. AND it did not have the REZKO factor included! This will help her raise money …her ads will be more hard hitting in the near future. (Swift boat if you will;-) The Rezko corruption stories will continue to drip, Levine Pleads Guilty TWICE before the election and let us not forget BLAGO IS Public Official A in those criminal proceedings …..as RICH once stated, Blago, ie Public Official A is in BIG trouble campers.

Comment by Larry Mullholland Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 10:29 am
It should also be noted that there are a multitude of investigations going on Will there be any indictmetns on those before the election??….DHS had at least one computer confiscated last week.. The suits walked in unannounced, iintorduced themselves to the boss, unplugged a certain assistant’s computer and like Elvis, they left the building….the saga continues

Comment by Larry Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 10:33 am
BIll, I don’t blame you for posting that load of hooey under “Anon.”

“Natural revenue growth, more streamlining of state govâ€™t, the ending of the Bush recession, job growth, and other factors will put the state on strong financial footing.”

What “other factors?” Oh, selling the Lotto. Silly old AA. You realize that without that cash, Rod can’t even fix his current deficit, let alone get the state back on solid ground.

That “cornerstone of the campaign” no tax increase was pulled out of Rod’s a** the very first time he was cornered by the press on the trail without a mouthpiece a step away.

Don’t believe me, ask the IFT who was told 72 hours before that he would not take the pledge.

And what the he** else can be “streamlined?” Burn the furniture in the Capitol to stay warm? Layoff the prison guards and let the inmates run the prison?

Pick up just one of Bill Holland’s reports and you will find that all of this streamlining and consolidation has been one big colossal failure.

If you’re looking for a centerpiece of your campaign, you might try a rusted-out State Police car. That symbolizes well both the breakdown of ppublic service and the absolute contempt for the law that your mop-haired meathead and his band of thieves have shown from Day 1 and will show until the day they are dragged, crying, out of their cozy cribs in cuffs.

Bring that on!

Justice will be served.

PS:Lawyered up yet?

Comment by Arthur Andersen Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 10:46 am
Larry M, yeah right, lots of encouraging news there for the JBT people. A miserable 25% favorable rating for Topinka. That’s even lower than Bush in Illinois. George Ryan probably wouldn’t poll that low today.

Most people are turned off by Topinka and her behavior. They can’t picture her being Governor.

That’s not going to change just because some fundraiser few have heard of gets indicted.

Comment by RealClear Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 11:03 am
Bill, the polling shows that the general public doesn’t believe for a second that Blago didn’t know about Rezko, or wasn’t involved; and all the noise in the world that you make can’t change that.

Comment by Squideshi Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 11:21 am
Realclear,

I imagine that would change if the Governor answered this question: Has the Governor been informed by the federal government that he is no longer just a subject of the grand jury investigation, but now a target of that criminal investigation? US Attorney Fitzgerald avoided and would not answer that question. The Governor certainly can. Curious minds would love to know and voters should know before they cast their ballots with the expectation that the winner will serve ALL four years of the Governorship.

If indicted, will the Governor commit to immediately resigning from office?

BTW, how many subpoenas has his campaign received and what did they request? Who is the criminal attorney representing the campaign? The Governor? His wife? Are campaign funds being used for the personal legal representation of the Governor and his wife?

As to returning or donating campaign funds, clearly common sense, logic and ethics requires that not only direct funds received from the “indicted ones” (Levine, Cari and Rezko), but also funds derived from fund raising events and out of state trips sponsored by them–should apply to both Blagojevich and JBT. To truly clear up this mess and avoid the appearance of impropriety, they both should also be divesting their campaigns of any funds received or derived from the individuals alphabetically listed in the indictments as participating or playing a role in these charged criminal conspiracies.

Comment by A Few More Questions And An Opinion Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 12:25 pm
…”BTW, how many subpoenas has his campaign received and what did they request?” … As I recall, several months ago the governor directed all of the agencies/departments etc. under his jurisdiction to send ALL subpoenas to the gov’s attorneys and make NO comment or acknowledgement of the serving. My conclusion is that we may never know until the feds fully unveil their criminal investigations. With Lisa M. as Attorney General, she should be aware of all such activity as the AG is the constitutional “attorney” for representation of the state in legal proceedings. I imagine we will be kept in the dark for at least a few more weeks. Would be helpful to know though, wouldn’t it? It seems fraud, corruption and obfuscation may just be pandemic under Blagjevich!

Comment by Citizen A Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 2:26 pm
More indictments will come down before this election, count on it…..Can’t wait for stewy L’s Court date…Tee Hee. Elvis should should start looking for a book deal now. Might be kinda tough to find a gig after prison, although, he will probably be close to 70 when he gets out.

Comment by Cooper Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 2:36 pm
Blago’s new campaign slogan is “Blagojevich 06 to 20!” On the subpoena issue - perhaps an enterprising investigative reporter might serve a FOIA request to Lisa M. - I’m sure she would respond quickly.

Comment by Citizen A Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 2:41 pm
Just the Facts wrote, “As of now, his ‘progressive programs’ and the inattention to the true fiscal state of the state by both his administration and the democratic legislative majorities have resulted in a three billion dollar backlog of provider payments among other things.”

And did you also realize that the Illinois Hospital Association threw about a quarter million dollars at Rod? This to the guy who can’t pay the state’s Medicaid backlog? There has GOT to be more to THAT story.

As for people talking about prison terms, Ryan only got how many years? These people will never care if they get busted and go to prison unless the terms are meaningful. People talk about term limits as necessary to end corruption, but yet we see them getting into trouble in just one term. That’s only a small bit of the solution in that at the very least, we can get ‘em locked up faster. They need to EXTEND the jail term limits to do any real damage, I think. What is 6 years to a serious crook who can hide money? Heck, Tony probably skipped town and winked to Rod that there would be money in Syria for (wink wink) later, for all we know.

Comment by Angie Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 3:07 pm
Whole lot of excuses from AccordionGal’s posse. Too bad no one is mentioning the Levine Cash.
So I will.
When will JudyBore, Brickhead, Rutherford, Cross and the IL GOP give it back? Today? Tomorrow?
Come clean guys. It might make you huffing and puffing seem real
Simple question. Ready with your pencils JudyBore Posse? Give back Stu’s Stash
How about a simple yes/no?
Meanwhile to paraphrase that great strategist Alfred E. Neuman, I would assume Team Grod is saying “what, me worry?”
GO CARDS..Win #3 is just hours away.

Comment by reddbyrd Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 5:13 pm
Hey Redbyrd,
As soon as Blago gives back the Ill gotten gains from Rezko/Kelly/Levine, I will call for all the other to give it back. It is in the Millions!!!!! When should BLAGO give balc the millions rasied fraudulently?

Comment by Larry Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 6:00 pm
Fitz is working on filing a monster RICO case against this bunch of “pay to play” enterprise. $50 million reasons why.

Comment by Zanswer Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 6:23 pm
Squid,
The polling also shows that more people trust Rod to clean up gov’t than trust Judy. Noone knows who Whitney is. You can blame the media for that. Money talks and bulldoo walks.
Arthur,
Sorry about the anon.Im glad you figured out who it was.
Somehow I just can’t believe that the Governor talked to the IFT at all. It might have been an over zealous staffer or they might have just made that up. Besides it couldn’t have bothered them that much. They endorsed him for re-election in the general and made a sizable contribution.
You really should concentrate on issues. Today there are 20 less state agencies and 13,000 less state employees than there were when the governor took office. That is something Cassie should really like. Shared services have saved the state hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars and it allowed our state to pay down the $5 Billion Ryan deficit…and regardless of where Rod pulled it from there was no increase in sales or income tax…and there won’t be after he is re-elected.
You may think that Rod is the worst guy in the world but the taxpayers of Illinois know that he has been an excellent governor and will return him to office to continue the job that he has started. There is a lot more to be done.
Bring it on!
Four more years!
We the people shall prevail.

Comment by Bill Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 6:55 pm
Oh yeah….and go Cards(for redd)

Comment by Bill Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 6:57 pm
FYI Bill, Blago “talked” to the IFT at their first endorsement interview where he said he wouldn’t take the pledge. Then he comes to Spfld to “announce his candidacy”, Ray Long fires off the question, and bam, “I pledge!” Sources: IFT Website, Chicago Tribune

On the issues, the “shared services centers” (aka Filan satellite HQs) have not been implemented yet, genius. Source: FY07 Budget Book. (One of my favorite works of fiction.)
If you’re speaking of those other consolidations, let’s ask Bill Holland, a non-partisan expert and get his opinion. Hmmm. The State couldn’t prove out its figures. Source: OAG Website

Rod didn’t reduce the State payroll, George did. Those people were already gone by retirement before Rod arrived. Source: COGFA Report on State ERI

Bill, you wanna know where Rod pulled his deficit reduction plan? Easy. Bend over and look up. You should see it clearly.

Bring on Fitz!

Six to Twenty Years!

Justice for the People shall prevail.

And, GO CARDS!

Comment by Arthur Andersen Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 8:00 pm
Series tied….Go Cards!!!

Comment by Cooper Sunday, Oct 15, 06 @ 11:10 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if Rich Whitney gets 15 percent or more Downstate, where I sense strong dissatisfaction with both Rod and Judy. However, in the Chicago area, nobody knows who Rich Whitney is, so I expect him to be under 5 percent there.

Comment by Jim A. Monday, Oct 16, 06 @ 6:34 am
Oh, and Let’s Go Mets!

Comment by Jim A. Monday, Oct 16, 06 @ 6:42 am
Rich, Isn’t it time to update your poll.jpg table and include a column for Whitney?

Comment by Dorian Breuer Monday, Oct 16, 06 @ 1:37 pm
“Dorian,” talk to RCP about that, not me. It’s their table, as is clearly indicated above and within the table itself. Please read before jumping to conclusions.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 16, 06 @ 1:40 pm
Let’s face it, if POST-Rezko polling doesn’t show Topinka within 4 or 5 points - this race it over.

Comment by GOPGal Monday, Oct 16, 06 @ 8:27 pm
Rich, You are right - trying to run a campaign and read fully long blogs don’t mix too well all the time. Sorry about the mistake.

Comment by Dorian Breuer Thursday, Oct 19, 06 @ 12:51 am