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* From Politico’s “losers” list…
—The Ricketts, who tried to boot Ald. Tom Tunney from the 44th Ward only to see him run away with 64 percent of the vote. He teared up during his victory speech.
— U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, whose aldermanic candidates lost in the 14th Ward (against Burke) and 25th (against the strident Byron Sigcho-Lopez). Garcia also backed Jessica Gutierrez, the daughter of former Congressman Luis Gutierrez, in the 30th Ward. She made it to a runoff against Ariel Reboyras.
The Ricketts spent a bunch of money on that race, bad-mouthed the alderman every chance they could and got their clocks cleaned on election day. Welcome to Chicago.
Chuy’s organization got a very late start against Burke and while Tanya Patino raised about $150K she only received 30 percent of the vote to Burke’s 54. Beating the alderman turned out to be a whole lot more difficult than beating the alderman’s legislator brother.
* More losers…
In the 1st Ward, Daniel La Spata held a commanding early lead against Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno. La Spata had 61 percent of the vote with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
Meanwhile, in the 45th Ward, Jim Gardiner led Ald. John Arena. Gardiner had 51.8 percent of the vote with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
Proco, you’ll recall, had some, um, issues…
Chicago Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno said his car was stolen. He filed a police report last month declaring the alleged theft. Now, Moreno says it was all just a big misunderstanding.
WGN’s Meghan Dwyer spoke to the woman behind the wheel — a single mother who said she was shocked to be arrested after Moreno loaned her the car.
And Arena ginned up some furious backlash in his ward…
Arena is a member of the City Council’s progressive caucus and has faced fierce opposition in his Northwest Side ward for promoting affordable housing, including his support of a planned affordable housing development at 5150 N. Northwest Highway.
The 45th Ward includes Jefferson Park, Gladstone Park, Old Irving Park and parts of Portage Park and Forest Glen on the city’s Northwest Side.
The winner is a Chicago Fire Department EMT.
* And then there’s Ald. Joe Moore…
In the Far North Side 49th Ward, Moore, the third-longest tenured council member, trailed Chicago Teachers Union-backed challenger Maria Hadden. With 85 percent of precincts in, Hadden had 64.5 percent of the vote to 35.5 percent for Moore.
Moore said he figured his long career as an alderman was coming to an end.
“I don’t think we can overcome it,” Moore said. “The handwriting is on the wall as the fat lady waits to take the stage.”
Moore, who often opposed former Mayor Richard M. Daley, became a close ally of Emanuel, which lost him a good deal of support in his historically independent-minded ward.
Um.
* And…
In the 33rd Ward, Ald. Deb Mell was headed to a run-off, as she trailed Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez by 66 votes. Rodriguez-Sanchez had 42 percent of the vote with all the precincts reporting Tuesday.
* Madigan haters lost big in the 13th Ward…
Ald. Marty Quinn appeared to be headed to an easy victory over David Krupa, election results indicated Tuesday night, poised to defeat the DePaul University freshman in a landslide in Chicago’s 13th Ward.
Quinn won 85 percent of the vote with 75 percent of precincts reporting by 8 p.m., compared to Krupa’s 15 percent of the vote, according to the Chicago Board of elections.
Krupa, a recent Fenwick High School grad and part-time FedEx forklift operator, cashed in savings bonds and used graduation gift money to open a campaign office. But he wasn’t taking on just any alderman - setting his sights set on powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan’s hand-picked alderman. Quinn is perhaps Madigan’s most senior political operative and has represented the 13th Ward on the city’s Southwest Side since 2011.
But, did they really “lose”? I’ve always just assumed this race wasn’t ever about winning, but about making life difficult for Team Madigan with the potential for lawsuits, etc.
* On to the tune…
What have I done to deserve such a fate?
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:27 pm
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==But, did they really “lose”? I’ve always just assumed this race wasn’t ever about winning, but about making life difficult for Team Madigan with the potential for lawsuits, etc.==
True, that. Krupa was running to establish a basis for discovery motions. He didn’t need many votes to succeed. Now we’ll have to wait and see if the ankle biters want to run more discovery motions, or if the state rep lawsuit gives them enough.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:34 pm
The guy who won in the 45th ward has Krupa issues.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/12/20/candidate-in-45th-ward-had-restraining-order-issued-against-him-last-year-by-ex-girlfriend/
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:35 pm
===or if the state rep lawsuit gives them enough===
I’m guessing it’ll never be enough.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:35 pm
Alderman Patrick O’Connor (40th) spent tons on direct mail and yard signs intending to bury his four opponents and avoid the April runoff. He only managed one third of the vote. It was the worst performance of his thirty-six year career in the City Council.
Comment by Practical Politics Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:36 pm
Other losers:
1. Susana Mendoza. She had no business in this race and (contrary to the views of 80% of this blog’s readership) was not ready for the bright lights. I think she will have trouble being taken seriously for any other office now.
2. The Chicago Police. Rightly or wrongly, they view the 2 runoff candidates as the most anti-police. Amazingly, they went all in for Joyce and cost Daley the runoff.
Comment by Robbins Robin Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:38 pm
so will the Far NW side more conservative aldermanic wins translate into any state rep/senate races?
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:39 pm
TP gets an asterisk as Burke won, giving L2 a handy reminder of who’s progressive and who isn’t….
Comment by Fav Human Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:41 pm
The WGN coverage of 13th Ward results was hard to watch.
They kept acting like Krupa was some benighted folk hero felled by Madigan’s mighty pet dragon. They made absolutely no mention of Krupa’s history of domestic and sexual abuse (which sorry but that’s what condom stealthing is), and they straight up called it a David versus Goliath battle.
I mean they could’ve criticize both candidates if they hated Marty Quinn that much, but to eulogize the failed campaign of a domestic abuser was something else. I had to flip the channel every time they got started it was that hard to stomach.
Comment by Chicago_Downstater Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:41 pm
The 45th Ward - the NIMBYest of the NIMBYs.
Comment by lakeside Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:42 pm
As a Cubs fan, I think it’s probably best for the Ricketts family to stay out of Chicago/Illinois politics.
Comment by So_Ill Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:43 pm
I mean, the GOP backed is now on the hook for supporting an abusive stalker (Krupa), so yeah, I think they lost, lawsuit or no lawsuit. At least for me, whatever they turn up in the lawsuit is not going to equal out being so desperate that you support some “kid” that has a pretty substantial history of abuse, especially for one so young. It made them look incompetent as well as morally deficient, and it is hard to look morally deficient when your opponents are the machine.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:45 pm
–But, did they really “lose”? I’ve always just assumed this race wasn’t ever about winning, but about making life difficult for Team Madigan with the potential for lawsuits, etc.–
As this moment, Peraica is preparing a lawsuit claiming that the one-on-one matchup with Quinn violated David Krupa’s civil rights.
“Fahey Flynn and Brian Boru should have been on the ballot to make it fair,” Peraica said. “Or maybe Gene Krupa and John Kruk to make it unfair. I get confused — which way is the county building from here….”
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:45 pm
Another huge loser not on the list is Susana Mendoza. Went from being the front runner when she announced to finishing in 5th. Ran a terrible campaign from start to finish and didn’t catch a single break.
Comment by TopHatMonocle Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:46 pm
==was not ready for the bright lights==
Not enough nighttime soccer games.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:47 pm
As someone who is Wrigleyville - adjacent, I agree with So_Ill. We had a candidate who worked for the Ricketts in the 47th Ward as well. She’s not in the runoff. It’s Rahm’s guy and the guy I’ll be voting for.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:49 pm
Billionaire conservatives lost. They backed Daley and Baidass. To continue the Beatles theme, “Money can’t buy me love.”
Comment by City Guy Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:49 pm
Big time loser: J Smollett. Hard time for him to come up with any MAGA supporters in Chicago
Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:51 pm
Tunney has worked hard to protect Wrigleyville from some of the Ricketts’ more outlandish “development” ideas. And the neighborhood just thanked him.
Comment by Leslie K Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:56 pm
John Arena was an abrasive elected official who routinely castigated his opponents. He even wanted to monitor the social media activities of his critics and city employees opposed to the construction of low cost, affordable housing in the 45th Ward. He usually labeled his opponents as bigots simply because they differed with his agenda.
Comment by Practical Politics Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:57 pm
- “Other losers:
1. Susana Mendoza. She had no business in this race and (contrary to the views of 80% of this blog’s readership) was not ready for the bright lights. I think she will have trouble being taken seriously for any other office now.”
not ready? she has already won state-wide. her problem wasn’t whether she was “ready” or not.
her problem was the timing of the scandals during this race. she managed to survive the burke bombshell, but after the solis scandal, she was toast. she has too many ties to indicted pols (Frias, Shock, Burke and Solis) to win. if anyone else gets indicted with her VAP dealings . . . look out. her concern now is democrats lining up to run against her for her state gig.
her success is obviously the result of the machine-help she’s received over the years - and not the allure of her nasally voice.
Comment by dying HDO Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:57 pm
=She had no business in this race and (contrary to the views of 80% of this blog’s readership) was not ready for the bright lights. I think she will have trouble being taken seriously for any other office now.=
“(contrary to the views of 80% of this blog’s readership) ”
Poor you, tough to be a whatever it is you think you are huh?
She handled Rauner easily and started paying bills other than to Rauner’s handpicked consultants. That is far more than Leslie “I have never found a race I can win” Munger can say.
Wether or not she stays relevant and feisty during the Pritzker is yet to be seen, but she did the job that needed to be done and won a couple of state wide elections to boot.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:58 pm
I have another Beatles song to recommend, no matter what happens: “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on”.
And life will go on.
Comment by Colin O'Scopy Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 12:59 pm
Maybe Ricketts will think twice about running for GOP gov when he realizes how tough this business is.
Comment by DarkHorse Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:00 pm
19th ward took one on the chin. I imagine if they had to pick two candidates for the runoff, Toni and Lori would not be their choices.
Comment by Sox Fan Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:00 pm
People need to finally admit that Susana beat exceptionally lackluster Republican candidates “statewide” and would not have beaten Dan Biss in the primary (if her patrons didn’t big time him).
Her problem is that she is all hat and no cattle.
Comment by Robbins Robin Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:01 pm
I should add that I like SM personally and as comptroller - I just never really thought the timing was right for her for mayor and I worry she has wounded her prospects a bit long term.
Comment by Robbins Robin Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:04 pm
==The Chicago Police. Rightly or wrongly, they view the 2 runoff candidates as the most anti-police.==
Interesting. One of those candidates, being part of the Police Accountability Task Force, scored the Chicago Police a brand new academy, more training, more help, and more equipment.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:06 pm
==“Money can’t buy me love.”==
Much to LIUNA’s chagrin.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:06 pm
Krupa and Peraica were hand fed issues for lawsuits by the Quinn campaign. Krupa should have been ignored during the petition challenge process. Instead, he got an issue and too much publicity. Hence the lawsuit. Peraica will rack up some large legal fees as a result. Never should have happened.
Comment by "Old Timer Dem" Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:12 pm
For Mendoza the timing was indeed bad, and perhaps flush with a bit of overconfidence from November she overreached. Turns out Chicagoans weren’t waiting for her to ride to the rescue.
Now, Garry McCarthy. Commenters here openly wondered who his constituency was. Still don’t know. He has to be wondering “why am I sticking around this town?”. I don’t know, why?
Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:12 pm
Now wait a minute. Okay, this guy is a real zero. That’s true. Think back to when you were freshmen. Boon, you had a face like a pepperoni pizza, right? And Stork here. Everybody thought that Stork was brain damaged. I myself was so obnoxious the seniors beat me up once a week.
So this guy is a total loser? Well let me tell you the story of another loser.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:13 pm
=19th ward took one on the chin. I imagine if they had to pick two candidates for the runoff, Toni and Lori would not be their choices=
Their guy lost yesterday but I bet Lightfoot and Preckwinkle will be courting all those voters, big time!
Comment by Because I said so.... Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:16 pm
Alderman John Arena’s campaign effectively spread word that his main opponent was a stalker and had an order of protection issued against him and yet still got trounced by the guy. That wards voters really didn’t like their alderman.
Comment by Bobio Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:19 pm
==The Chicago Police. Rightly or wrongly, they view the 2 runoff candidates as the most anti-police. Amazingly, they went all in for Joyce and cost Daley the runoff.==
That’s the Daley party line, and it’s not necessarily wrong. But it does show a lack of appreciation for how much cops (and other city employees) disdain the Daleys. Neither Preckwinkle or Lightfoot campaigned on amending the pension impairment clause out of the constitution.
Comment by FTR Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:21 pm
Bobio, they would have voted against anyone who backed desegregation in the ward.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:21 pm
@Ron Burgundy:
Garry was fixing for a grudge match with Rahm? When the mayor opted out of the 2019 race, McCarthy’s campaign seemed to fizzle. McCarthy’s current wife had ties to the former Laurino organization that is fading fast.
Comment by Practical Politics Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:22 pm
Not mentioned here: Chuy was a big loser. His candidate getting trounced by Burke wasn’t too surprising, but his candidate not making the runoff in 25 (Pilsen) was shocking.
Mendoza is a strong candidate with a good profile, but I don’t think she was ready for prime time. I also think her campaign took the runoff for granted.
Comment by WSJ Paywall Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:24 pm
Scratch that, I read way too fast and am too tired - Chuy is right at the top, my bad.
Comment by WSJ Paywall Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:25 pm
Can we talk a bit more about that 30th ward contest, which is going to a runoff because an angry college kid got on the ballot and won about 300 votes? His website blasts Reboyras mostly, but he also attacks Gutierrez. Of course the recount might push someone past the need for a second round. But I’m curious if both candidates are going to just try and steer around this kid or if Gutierrez is going to try and strike some kind of deal (it sounds from his website at least like he dislikes her a bit less) and he is going to try and leverage his new kingmaker status.
Comment by ZC Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:29 pm
== Their guy lost yesterday but I bet Lightfoot and Preckwinkle will be courting all those voters, big time! ==
Yep. More votes up for grabs in 19 than anywhere else. Matt O’Shea is a sought-after free agent right now.
Comment by FTR Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:32 pm
Chicago_Downstater @ 12:41: Spot on. That was a shoddy piece of reporting, WGN. Do better.
Comment by Northsider Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:36 pm
Very glad that Mell is losing and in a runoff. She was lobbied back in the Gov. Quinn days for a graduated income tax and said she was against it, because her constituents wouldn’t support it. How times are changing.
Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:38 pm
The Ricketts certainly aren’t getting a good ROI for their investments in the political arena this cycle.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 1:46 pm
And now we’ll get mailers and phone calls, Eight Days a Week.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:01 pm
–The Ricketts spent a bunch of money on that race, bad-mouthed the alderman every chance they could and got their clocks cleaned on election day. Welcome to Chicago.–
They’ve been getting played by high-priced political consultant types ever since they hit town. Good thing they just let Theo do his thing.
Also, they might want to figure out who the leakers are in their crew. Internal emails and documents seem to hit the press at all the worst times.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:07 pm
==Other losers:1. Susana Mendoza. ”
Her concession speech was not a winner, either. Of all the speeches I saw last night by mayoral losers (and think I saw most of them) hers was the least gracious and least unifying of them. It was not a good look for someone who says she is all about “the future”.
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:11 pm
I’ve never been a fan of the Mell family, and I’m enjoying seeing Alderman Mell Jr. not only being forced into a run-off, but coming in second.
Comment by Just Me 2 Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:11 pm
Poor Ken Griffin. After losing all those millions on Rauner, he continued his 7 figure losing on Daley.
Comment by Henry Francis Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:18 pm
Mell will probably squeek out a win in the run off like last time.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:32 pm
FOP lost
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 2:59 pm
Big losers: Several of the Northside Political Organizations that portray themselves as the bees knees of Chicago political organizations. Martwick in the 38th pushed Preckwinkle hard, but at the end of the day, Preckwinkle finished 7th in that Ward and Martwick embarrassed himself.
Paul Rosenfeld’s “Fighting 47th” has been called by some on this blog as the best organization in the City. They also endorsed Preckwinkle who got beat handily in the Ward by Lightfoot. Their endorsed candidate for Alderman, Eileen Dordek, also lost and failed to make the runoff. Pretty weak sauce.
Comment by Powdered Whig Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 3:09 pm
Who is Paul Rosenfeld?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 3:19 pm
I’m sure the Ricketts are knowledgeable about politics in Nebraska, but they are amateurs when it comes to Chicago politics. For all the money they spent, they never were able to articulate what exactly they were unhappy with Tunney about…other than not having the city pay to renovate Wrigley Field. They have done very well for themselves buying up the surrounding properties and building hotels, etc. If Tunney was going to be vulnerable to a challenge (and he probably wouldn’t have been anyways), it would have been for being too accommodating to the Cubs, not too mean to them.
Comment by Dan K. Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 3:31 pm
Paul Rosenfeld’s organization can’t convince people who to vote for. A democratic committeeman in the city can’t deliver votes for any specific candidate. It’s misleading to determine a particular committeeman’s weighted vote in the Cook County democratic party by the number of democratic votes cast in the ward. The reality is that the old style ward organizations that can deliver votes for a candidate are almost extinct. When Burke and Madigan are gone, the ward organization structure will probably be meaningless. Joe Moore got elected three decades ago by running against the entrenched party structure. He lost because he became a part of the old party structure. It will be interesting to see where some of the these elected officials end up after their terms end. Preckwinkle will have a hard time because so many people will vote for anybody other than her. The attacks that will be coming at Lori Lightfoot won’t be as effective when the alternative is Preckwinkle. Let’s face it, Preckwinkle has become the Cook County democratic party. In the process, she has also become a bully and out of touch with the voters.
Comment by Trapped in the 'burbs Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 3:36 pm
===Pretty weak sauce.===
Meh. Dordek was one of three “endorsed” candidates. Guess who were the other two?
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 3:44 pm
=== Meh. Dordek was one of three “endorsed” candidates. Guess who were the other two? ===
I was unaware that they actually endorsed three candidates. I guess they were hedging.
Comment by Powdered Whig Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 4:01 pm
===I guess they were hedging.===
Good thing I don’t have to guess. No candidate got enough votes from members to endorse. Instead, they recommended three. And those three finished 1-2-3 overall.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 4:05 pm
=== No candidate got enough votes from members to endorse. ===
Members get to pick who to endorse? That’s interesting.
Comment by Powdered Whig Wednesday, Feb 27, 19 @ 4:13 pm