The Cook County Republican Party is currently seeking to
fill the recent vacancy for Republican Committeeman in Oak Park Township. The
vacancy is appointed by Cook County Republican Chairman Lee Roupas, and will
run until the next Township Republican Committeemen elections in the Primary
Election of 2014.
If you live in Oak Park Township, and are interested in
learning more about or applying for this important grassroots leadership role,
please email jon@cookrepublicanparty.com.
Resume submissions must be submitted by Friday,
March 19.
Illinois Republicans finally have a gubernatorial candidate, and for now at least he holds a 10-point lead over incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds State Senator Bill Brady leading Quinn 47% to 37%. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided.
The survey follows last week's announcement by the state elections board that Brady was the winner of the February 2 Republican Primary. He won by just 193 votes out of 750,000 that were cast.
Quinn, who is running for his first full-term after assuming office following Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment, also ran a very close primary race with state Comptroller Dan Hynes for the Democratic nomination. Just before the primary vote, a poll found Quinn trailing Hynes 43% to 37%.
Brady's numbers likely reflect at least a modest bounce from the news of his victory. Given Illinois' strong Democratic leanings, the race is sure to tighten in the days ahead.
The new survey finds Brady leading by 17 points among women but just three points among men. Voters not affiliated with either party favor Brady 59% to 18%.
Brady is viewed very favorably by 17% of Illinois voters, while only 11% view the Republican very unfavorably. Nineteen percent (19%) have no opinion of him.
Just 12% in Illinois view their governor very favorably, while 24% view Quinn very unfavorably. Only five percent (5%) have no opinion of Quinn.
At this point in a campaign, Rasmussen Reports considers the number of people with strong opinions more significant than the total favorable/unfavorable numbers.
Forty-three percent (43%) of Illinois voters approve of the job Quinn is doing as governor, while 56% disapprove.
Rasmussen Reports will release new numbers from Illinois' U.S. Senate race tomorrow.
Rasmussen Reports also has released recent polls on the 2010 governor's races in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
March 8, 2010
(CHICAGO) (WLS) --Now
that he's the official Republican nominee for
governor, Bloomington State Senator Bill Brady
hits the campaign trail.
Brady begins an eight-city tour across the state to thank his
supporters and launch his general election campaign. Last week, the
state election board certified the results of the primary race, giving
him a narrow victory over DuPage County State Senator Kirk Dillard.
"The late decision won't hurt me," Brady said. "One of the nice
things our polling data shows is, if I wasn't people's first choice I
was generally their second. So I think I've got a great ability to
bring, not just Republicans, but independents and Democrats together.
Our state's struggling. Families and businesses are worried about what's
going to happen tomorrow. They know we need to have a clean break from
the politics of the past and a plan for the future."
Brady will face Governor Pat Quinn in the November general election.
A month after the primary, the final tally for the GOP was announced.
Out of more than 750,000 votes, Brady and Dillard were separated by just
193 votes. Dillard conceded the race Friday. That's a winning margin of
two-thousandths of one percent.
Dillard said he would not challenge the results for financial and
political reasons. Political experts say unless Dillard had evidence of
specific miscounting or fraud, it's not worth asking for a recount. And
it's certainly better for party unity.
On his first official day on the general election campaign trail,
Brady greeted voters as they headed to their trains at Ogilvie Station.
"Bill Brady. I'm running for Governor."
His Democratic opponent Quinn has a 31-day headstart on the campaign
because it took that long for the state election board to certify
Brady's razor-thin margin of victory over Dillard. But Brady was already
taking shots at Quinn.
"We're moving forward. The governor has a lot of issues to address.
He's had a record $2.5 billion deficit in his first 12 months. He's
without a lieutenant governor," said Brady.
For his part, Governor Quinn said he's ready for the campaign to
begin, and the lines are already drawn. Quinn supports an income tax
increase to help dig the state out of a huge financial hole. Brady is
against that idea.
"He has in the past, his voting record has shown, that's he very
extreme when it comes to taking on issues protecting everyday people,"
said Gov. Quinn.
His former opponent says he is throwing his full support behind Brady
even though Dillard likely would have won if he hadn't had to split
Chicago-area support with three other DuPage County Republicans.
"I have to trust in the machinery that is out there. Could I overturn
it? Perhaps. But, in the end, is it worth it?" said Dillard, (R)
Hinsdale.
Brady is a conservative Republican who says the campaign will be
about jobs and reform and little else. His state party chairman said he
agrees.
"Everybody is focused on fiscal and economically responsible issues.
Those are the issues that people care about, jobs and fiscal issues, so
there is no real right or left in those, just right or wrong," said Pat
Brady, Illinois Republican chairman.
Political scientist Dick Simpson predicts a tight race in November.
"It's a situation where any single mistake could cost the election,"
said Simpson, UIC political science professor.
Governor Quinn is scheduled to present his state budget next week,
and experts say the focus on the state's fiscal crisis could work to
Brady's benefit in the campaign. But those political experts also point
out Brady is not very well known in northern Illinois.. And right now
that works to Governor Quinn's benefit.
Breakdown of votes
Of the four DuPage County candidates on the Republican ballot, one of
them, county board chairman Bob Schillerstrom, got over 7,000 votes.
Schillerstrom withdrew from the race before Election Day.
The election board video conference was held Friday morning with four
members meeting in Chicago and four members meeting in Springfield. Each
of the members signed the notice proclaiming the results, which also
indicate Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn won over his opponent, Ill.
Comptroller Dan Hynes, by 8,000 votes.
Brady received 155,527 votes. Dillard got 155,334. Among the other
Republican challengers:
Andy McKenna had 148,054
votes
Jim Ryan had 130,785
votes
Adam Andrzejewski had 111,030 votes
Dan Proft received
59,335 votes
and Bob Schillerstrom, who dropped out of the race, had 7,420 votes.
On the Democratic side, Quinn received 462,049 votes while Hynes, who
conceded the race, got 453,677 votes.
Posted by ABC 7 Chicago in Uncategorized
on 3/8/2010
Cook County Board Votes Against Repealing Sales Tax Hike
By David Schwartz, FOX Chicago News
Chicago - Fifteen minutes of drama at a Cook County Board
meeting erupted Tuesday afternoon when the sales tax debate was
reignited. It got white hot.
Commissioner Tony Peraica demanded an immediate vote on his plan
to repeal what's left of that infamous 1 percent hike.
"This is a tax that the taxpayers of Cook County are crying for
us to repeal,” Peraica said. “We can do the right thing here and
set ourselves on right path by allowing them to keep some money
in these extremely, extremely difficult times."
He got a vote taken. He also got an earful. Some other
commissioners do not like his style.
The repeal plan failed. Several commissioners said a lot more
budget planning needs to be done first. The vote was 11 to six.
One more note from the board meeting: Commissioners approved a
$108 million plan to renovate the building that used to be Cook
County Hospital. The plan is to turn the old building into
offices for the public hospital system.
Posted by By David Schwartz, FOX Chicago News in Uncategorized
on 3/3/2010
'Madigoons' Investigated: Where Does State Work End, Politics Begin?
Updated: Monday, 22 Feb 2010, 9:04 PM CST
Published : Monday, 22 Feb 2010, 8:13 PM CST
By Dane Placko, FOX Chicago News
Chicago - In the world of political warfare, Shaw Decremer
is a lieutenant. His troops: an army of state workers
commanded by house speaker Michael Madigan. Their enemies
respectfully call them "the Madigoons."
A FOX Chicago News investigation found scores of supposedly
full-time state employees, like Decremer, jumping on and off
the state payroll to practice politics for their boss.
We caught up with Decremer and asked him, "… are you a
political worker who happens to have a state job, or a state
worker just doing politics on the side?"
Decremer didn’t comment.
Election attorney Rich Means said both parties are using
their legislative staffs to build what is essentially a
shadow army of political workers parked on the state
payroll.
"What they really are, are political workers with side jobs
in the off season," Means said. "They keep them employed so
they'll be around for the next political season. And that
really does seem to me to be the tail wagging the dog."
FOX Chicago News examined three years of legislative payroll
records, and then compared them with political campaign
expenditures. We found 34 Democratic House employees under
the control of Speaker Madigan taking off from their jobs
for weeks, sometimes months at a time.
Graphic Artist Sarah Berkley took off five months to work
for the Democratic party -- controlled by Madigan.
Program Specialist Andrew Chusid earned $16,000 from
taxpayers before he skipped out for half the year to run
campaigns for his boss.
And Decremer, he's a research analyst for the state earning
$40,000 when he's working in Springfield.
But Decremer took off seven months in 2007, four months in
2008 and another four months in 2009. He has made more than
$40,000 from political campaigns.
His specialty? Challenging the petitions of candidates
Madigan wants off the ballot.
And with Illinois facing a $13 billion deficit, with all
these people bouncing on and off the payroll, it begs the
question--
"Is that a job we need in state government?”
Former Federal Prosecutor Patrick Collins chaired the
Illinois Reform Commission, which lost its battle to curb
the clout of the legislative leaders.
"Is that a job we need in state government? Because if it
can go unfilled for four or five or six months at a crack, I
can guarantee you there's a cheaper way to provide that
service to the people of the State of Illinois," Collins
said.
We wanted to ask the Speaker about how he uses the so-called
“Madigoons” to do both state and political work. He passed
us off to his spokesman.
"The major part of the Speaker's policy is to insure we
don't use taxpayer's money to do political campaigns," Steve
Brown, spokesman for Madigan, said.
Brown said Madigan works hard to dot all the Is and cross
all the Ts to avoid the scandal that happened to the
Republicans five years ago. The chief of staff for
Republican leader Lee Daniels went to prison after a federal
investigation found he was ordering staffers to do political
work on state time.
So to adhere to the law, Madigan grants his employees
virtually unlimited leaves of absence to do political work.
Only in Springfield could you find an employer so generous.
When asked why the state needs those jobs anyway, Brown
said, “Well because during the legislative session… it's a
busy time, there're long days."
Brown said the staffers work hard for taxpayers when the
legislature is in session. But aren't as needed at other
times
"Generally, in campaign season is the time the legislature
isn't in session, so the workload would be smaller to begin
with," he said.
But that's not what our investigation found. When the
legislature was battling Gov. Rod Blagojevich over a budget
stalemate in 2008, with plenty of work to do, nearly half of
Madigan’s staff was off the state payroll doing political
work.
Analysts, program specialists, legal assistants and even the
house photographer bounced on and off the state payroll. His
specialty is campaign mailings.
While on leave, those state workers collect paychecks from
political campaigns. We counted a total of $728,000 in
political pay the past three years.
"We've had so much in Illinois where politics drives our
government. I think it would be a good time for government
to essentially take the priority role,” said former
prosecutor Collins.
For now, the mixing and mingling of politics and policy on
Madigan’s staff makes it hard to figure out where one starts
and the other ends.
Our investigation found several Madigan staffers getting
salaries from political funds at the same time they were
collecting a paycheck from the taxpayer.
In 2008, Madigan’s Chief of Staff Timothy Mapes never left
the state payroll, earning $177,000. On the side, he picked
up an extra $14,000 in campaign money.
"Everyone worries about, 'Oh, are you forcing folks to do
political work?' That used to be a concern in the past more
than it is today. We've got people who love politics. They
may love politics sometimes more than they enjoy the
government side
of it," Madigan’s spokesman Brown said.
And that love of politics is what makes you wonder which job
is their real job.
Kirk campaign releases new poll showing double-digit lead over “deeply flawed” Democratic nominee in Illinois Senate race
Broadway Bank Woes, Bright Start Troubles Sink Alexi Giannoulias
Northbrook, IL – Just hours after winning the Republican nomination
in a landslide election, five-term Congressman and Navy veteran Mark
Kirk today released a new survey showing his campaign out to an early
double-digit lead over Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias, 47% to 35%.
The survey of 885 Illinois voters, conducted by Magellan Data and
Mapping Strategies between February 1-2, 2010 with a 3.3% margin of
error, showed Kirk holding a net positive favorable/unfavorable rating
of +5% while Giannoulias held a net negative favorable/unfavorable
rating -15%.
“Alexi Giannoulias is a damaged candidate plagued by his
mismanagement of family education savings, criminal ties and questions
surrounding his family’s failing Broadway Bank,” Kirk spokesman Eric
Elk said. “David Hoffman, an honorable corruption fighter, was right
to question Alexi’s character and it’s clear that the voters of
Illinois question it as well.”
Before his election as State Treasurer, Giannoulias served as Vice
President and Chief Loan Officer of his family’s Broadway Bank. On
July 27, 2009, the Chicago Tribune reported: “Before his election,
Giannoulias faced scrutiny over his family bank's loans to convicted
felons with alleged mob ties. Giannoulias oversaw the loans at the
bank.”
The Sun-Times reported that Giannoulias loaned $12 million to a
convicted bookmaker and pimp and loaned another $15 million to a
convicted mob money launderer. More recently, Chicago and national
media reported that the FDIC ordered the Giannoulias family to raise
millions in capital for the bank. According to news reports, the
Giannoulias family had taken millions out of the bank just before
real-estate backed investments collapsed.
Last week, David Hoffman told the Chicago Sun-Times: "Broadway
Bank acted in a very different fashion than just about every other
community bank in Illinois. It is simply not true that many other
community banks were handing out loans in a high-risk way to Tony Rezko
and convicted mobsters.” Hoffman told the Associated Press: “The
reason that this Broadway Bank story and revelation is of such
significance now is because it goes to the heart of matters of job
performance and character.”
In November, Democratic pollster Geoff Garin wrote, “Alexi
Giannoulias' own vulnerabilities are so significant, and far more
damning than Kirk's among the electorate. ... His nomination would put
Barack Obama's former Senate seat in extreme jeopardy for the
Democrats.”
A November 21st report in the New York Times cited White House
concerns about a Giannoulias-Kirk matchup: “White House qualms about
the Democratic frontrunner, Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois treasurer,
are self-evident, with worry that the Republican challenger,
Representative Mark Kirk, will be needlessly formidable.”
In his acceptance speech, Congressman Kirk spoke about the need to
clean up Illinois and restore integrity to the Land of Lincoln.
“For true reform, we must choose leaders who do not become criminals
– men and women unafraid to stand alone to fight corruption, back
prosecutors and pass the toughest ethics laws in America,” Kirk said.
“The election before us offers voters a clear choice: will we continue
with leaders raised in the tradition of Rod Blagojevich – or will we
elect a reformer who can make our state proud?”
In addition to Giannoulias’ Broadway Bank woes, on December 22,
2009, the Chicago Tribune revealed Giannoulias lost $150 million in
Illinois Bright Start family college savings – nearly twice what the
State Treasurer had previously disclosed – due to his risky
mortgage-backed investments. Despite promises to recover public funds,
Giannoulias settled with Oppenheimer Funds for only half of the state’s
losses. Previously, on May 3, 2009, the Chicago Tribune reported that
Giannoulias used the Bright Start fund to buy himself an SUV before the
investment collapsed.
The Democratic disaster in Massachusetts the other day -- with Republican
Scott Brown winning the U.S. Senate seat and breaking 50 years of Kennedy
hegemony -- has rattled President Barack Obama and Democrats.
But will politicians in the blue state of Illinois get rattled Feb. 2?
While Obama clearly gets the anger of the electorate from where he sits in
Washington, and the frustration of taxpayers against the connected insiders
who use government to cash in, I wonder about the Illinois politicians who
spawned the Chicago Way White House.
They get it in Massachusetts. But the boys of Illinois don't seem to get it.
Not one bit.
They're still up to their old tricks. It's as if they cling to their own
creed, one handed down to them years ago by a famous colleague. The Illinois
political creed is only seven words long, but even today it is pungent with
historical accuracy.
"I can smell the meat a' cookin'"
This was the signature refrain of the late Paul Powell, the Illinois
secretary of state and longtime speaker of the Illinois House. A couple days
after Powell's death in 1970, it was learned he had stashed $800,000 in cash
in a shoebox in his apartment. Also stored there were various other items,
including 49 cases of fine whiskey -- and two cases of creamed corn.
But no tea because Illinois politicians just hate tea parties. They don't
know what to do when confronted with finger sandwiches and crumpets.
Nationally, ObamaCare, the president's health care plan that doesn't ask the
trial lawyers to give up a thing, is undergoing a prudent recalibration.
One thing for sure is that the national Democrats have stopped ridiculing
those Tea Party protesters. The establishment witnessed a new Boston Tea
Party end the Democratic supermajority in the Senate.
"Here's one thing I know," Chicago's own President Barack Obama told ABC's
George Stephanopoulos about his fizzling national health care plan. "And I
just want to make sure this is off the table. The Senate certainly shouldn't
try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated.
"The people of Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process."
How gracious. It's a far cry from a year ago, when the president abandoned
the notion of allowing Illinois voters the right to a special election to
fill his empty U.S. Senate seat. Instead, then- Gov. Rod Blagojevich,
disgraced and already facing federal charges, sent Sen. Tombstone Burris to
Washington and Obama welcomed him.
"People in Illinois are as angry as they ever have been," said FOX Chicago
political analyst Thom Serafin on Wednesday. "Their anger is
anti-establishment, anti-incumbent. I wouldn't be surprised if it manifests
itself in a third-party challenge in the general election."
There is less than two weeks until voters go to the polls in the Illinois
party primaries, and Serafin is right, they are angry indeed, and still, the
establishment plods along.
In the race for governor, it's a contest between two tax-and-spend types on
the Democratic side. Among the Republicans, except for conservatives Adam
Andrzejewski and Dan Proft, a posse of Illinois establishment types tries to
hoodwink voters into believing that the establishment guys are really
outsiders. In Massachusetts, the Kennedys lorded over the commonwealth's
politics for half a century as if power was their birthright. But we've got
our own lords and dukes right here in Illinois. The Daleys and the Madigans,
for example.
But unlike in Massachusetts, the spoils of Illinois are shared among
warlords in both parties. It's called the Combine. You know the names.
Thompson, Kjellander, Cellini, Levine, Vrdolyak. The list goes on.
What amazes me is that for months after Blagojevich was kicked out of
office, the national Republicans didn't want to see the whole picture.
Almost every evening, the cable networks would run a snippet of videotape to
introduce their three minutes of BlagoHate.
The tape showed Blago led to a podium by a rumpled fellow who looked like a
political aide. The rumpled guy walked with his head down, yet attentive.
The rumpled fellow's name?
Denny Hastert, former speaker of the U.S. House, a Republican.
And the networks never mentioned it.
Since Tuesday night, the Massachusetts debacle has given establishment
politicians the ability to see the future with the clarity of the damned.
Whether that clarity makes it to Illinois depends on the voters.
So which taste sensation will prevail when Illinois primary voters go to the
polls Feb. 2?
Will it be the Tea Party of Massachusetts?
Or will Illinois voters continue to sniff, as the political class salivates
over all that meat a' cookin'?
Posted by John Kass - Chicago Tribune in Uncategorized
on 1/21/2010
Keats & Garrido Debate on Chicago Tonight
Roger Keats and John Garrido Debate on Chicago Tonight in the run up
for the election for Cook County Board President.
Posted by WTTW Chicago in Uncategorized
on 1/18/2010
Chicago Daily Oberver - Phil Krone on County Board Race
The most difficult endorsement I am making is that of President of the
County Board. The first observation I have is that Roger Keats is the
best Republican candidate for this office since Richard Ogilvie won in
1966. A North Shore millionaire; tall, handsome and articulate with a
great ballot name, Roger Keats will not be a pushover in this off year
election. If the Democratic Party nominates Giannoulias for Senator and
Quinn for Governor, Keats becomes immediately competitive in this race.
One thing he has going for him, especially if he runs against Terry
O’Brien, is that as a State Senator he was the architect of the
judicial sub circuit legislation which radically increased the number
of black judges in Cook County.
TEN THINGS AMERICANS WANT FROM THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS
In Chapter 4 of his bookWhat
Americans Really Want ... Really, pollster Dr.Frank
Luntzgives free
political advice for elected officials and candidates. Here's 10
things Luntz says Americans want from their elected officials:
1.
To be genuine in everything you say
2. To be genuine in everything you do
3. To bring back the gerund - an active verb, the "ing," i.e. doing,
working, changing
4. To create and publicize a "getting things done" checklist
5. To ask people what they think, and listen to their answers
6. To acknowledge voters' frustration and empathize with it
7. To indiviualize, personalize and humanize your communication with
voters
8. To admit a mistake
9. To show a passion for your work and the people you serve
10. To say "Thank You" and show appreciation
So,
do you agree with Dr. Luntz' list? Is there something he left out? Or
something he lists that's not that important to you? Give us examples
of state or fedearl lawmakers you know that understand what Americans
want from their elected officials.
Posted by Illinois Review in Uncategorized
on 12/28/2009
Photo of the Year Finalist
A Photo Finalist for 2009 International Photo of the Year
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the
Reno Airport , Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the
flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.
During the arrival of another Marine's casket last
year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as
so powerful: 'See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane,
watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds,
knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home,' he said 'They will
remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to
remember bringing that Marine home. And they should.'
Posted by Jeremy Rose in Uncategorized
on 12/22/2009
Illinois Fair Map Amendment
For the last three decades, legislators have created their own districts after drawing a name out of a hat!
Illinois is the ONLY state in the nation that allows this magic trick to determine such an important issue.
We need your help to change this process and take
it from the legislators and put it in the hands of an independent
commission in order to make redistricting more transparent, fair, and
accessible to the public.
In order to do this, we need to collect 500,000 signatures in Illinois by April 1, 2010!
Visit http://www.ilfairmap.com/ to learn more and to download petitions.
By: Kendra Marr - Politico October 16, 2009 05:17 AM EST The former Harvard law student who won widespread notoriety for his videotaped clash with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) now wants to join him in Congress.
Joel Pollak, 32, who gained national attention after his heated exchange with the House Financial Services Committee chairman hit YouTube and Fox News, is hoping to unseat Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky in Illinois’s 9th District.
His bid caps a whirlwind six months that began in April when, after Frank’s speech at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Pollak asked the congressman if he acknowledged responsibility, if any, for the financial crisis.
Frank’s peevish reaction — and Pollak’s cool responses to the fearsome debater — turned Pollak into an instant conservative cult hero.
“So I do want to ask you,” Frank demanded of Pollak at one point, “when you suggest that I should apologize for something or take responsibility, what is it you think I should have done that I didn’t do?”
Pollak calmly replied, “Well, after spending the entire speech blaming conservatives — I happen to think of myself as a conservative, and I rent and I think of myself as someone who cares about poor people — I’m just interested in whether you think you have any responsibility —”
“Well, I’ve answered the question,” Frank cut in. “Sir, I think you’re not being fully honest with us. You clearly are implying that I do. And I’m asking you. I have given you my record.”
While Frank got the last word, he unknowingly launched Pollak’s political career.
The clip blazed across the blogosphere and Facebook friend requests suddenly piled up for Pollak. Supportive phone calls, letters and e-mails poured in. At first, Harvard Law School forwarded letters to Pollak’s apartment, but the barrage of mail became too much and the school told him to come pick it up.
Pollak said not long after the episode, a man leaned out of his car window and shouted, “Hey I saw you on Fox News!” Two weeks later, he said, while visiting Hollywood, a passerby on the street gushed, “Oh my God, you’re a huge rock star.”
They weren’t the only ones who responded to the video. Illinois Republican National Committeewoman Demetra DeMonte said she was mesmerized by the clip and kept rewatching it on YouTube. She logged onto Facebook, searched for a Joel Pollak at Harvard and tapped out a short message: “Are you the Joel Pollak that took on Barney Frank?”
“I was so impressed with his tenacity — his respectful tenacity,” she said. “He did not back down at all.”
Michael Menis, chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Chicago, spotted Pollak’s yarmulke in the video. And shortly after the clip aired on Fox News, Menis received an e-mail informing him that the law student hailed from the Chicago suburb of Skokie. Menis called his national office and quickly got Pollak on the phone.
“I was very impressed by what I saw — his poise, the fact that he was very articulate, persistent,” he said.
The truth is, Pollak was never much of a debater. His family immigrated to the United States from South Africa shortly after he was born and he later returned to work there as a freelance journalist, tutor and speechwriter to the South African Parliament’s opposition leader. He also earned a master’s degree in Jewish studies at University of Cape Town.
The closest public speaking training he ever got was in an improv comedy troupe. “You have to roll with the punches,” said Pollak, who is also the author of two political books. And for most of his life, he called himself a Democrat. Volunteering for Arizona Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign, he said, was actually his first dip into Republican politics.
But it wasn’t long before DeMonte flew him to Chicago to speak at a young Republican event. And at a Republican Jewish Coalition chapter event, 100 people showed up to hear Pollak.
“He was mobbed three people deep,” Menis said. “People rushed the podium to meet him and talk to him. At that time, people were asking him to run for office. They were saying, ‘Run for office, I want to work on your campaign.’ It was very exciting. There was already a buzz about his candidacy.”
Yet Pollak wasn’t quite ready to run. He had just graduated from law school and moved back to Illinois to work for the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank.
According to Pollak, a Schakowsky town hall in August finally persuaded him to run. There, the media-savvy Republican videotaped a Health Care for America Now organizer instructing people how to block critics from being heard. The organizer tells them, “If they stand up and start asking questions, and you’re in the area, simply stand up and start chanting, ‘Health care now! Health care now!’”
That clip also went viral on YouTube. Last month, Pollak returned to Fox News and announced he would challenge Schakowsky, one of the most liberal members in the House.
“Jan Schakowsky believes she’s invincible and she doesn’t have to listen to the district,” he told POLITICO. “That was the last straw.”
There’s little sign, however, that the congresswoman is in any way vulnerable to challenge: She’s never won reelection with less than 70 percent of the vote in her solidly Democratic Chicago-area district.
“So far, Joel has been invisible in the district, while Congresswoman Schakowsky is recognized constantly for her commitment to serving the public and representing her constituents,” Schakowsky’s communications director Trevor Kincaid wrote in an e-mail to POLITICO. “It might be news to Joel that the voters vote, not the right-wing anchors at Fox News. The Fox News endorsement in the Illinois 9th is like a Bush endorsement of an economic plan. It will only hurt.”
Pollak’s long-shot campaign still has a long way to go. Two other residents have also announced intentions to run in the Republican primary, though neither has officially filed. Pollak’s sparse website, which gets a face-lift next month, includes only a short biography, footage of his appearances on Fox News and a “donate now” button.
But he’s been busy introducing himself to the district, speaking at events and hoping to win support in the African-American community. Pollak, who is passionate about Israeli-Palestinian relations, has also been frequenting synagogues.
“For a while, I’ve been that Barney Frank guy,” Pollak said. “But in 2010, I hope I’m that guy who beat Jan Schakowsky.”
Help our Republican Candidates at the Chicago Marathon
Join Cook County GOP Chairman Lee Roupas, Chicago GOP Chairman Eloise Gerson, 44th Ward GOP Committeeman Jim Fuchs, Candidate for Cook County Board President Senator Roger Keats and the rest of the Cook County Republican ticket this Sunday at the Chicago Marathon for a Petition Drive!
Gathering petition signatures is the first hurdle our Republican Candidates face as they look toward victory in 2010. You can make a critical difference by spending a few hours with us on Sunday to help the candidates achieve this first benchmark. Don’t sit idly by while Todd Stroger and the Democratic Party continue to raise taxes and have no regard for fiscal accountability in Cook County – make a difference and help our candidates!
We’ll be meeting at Clark’s Restaurant at 930 W. Belmont between 8am and 8:30am on Sunday, October 11. For more information, call our office at (773) 278-2467 or email info@cookrepublicanparty.com. For a map of the meeting location, click here.
Who would disagree with this statement from AFSCME negotiator Henry L. Bayer?:
"The real root of this issue is the state budget
crisis. The governor and every state lawmaker should commit to passing
comprehensive tax reform that raises adequate revenue to fund essential
services and preserve the jobs of those who provide them."
The problem comes in defining terms.
For, to Bayer, "essential services" means any and all
union jobs, and "tax reform" means "tax increase." Bayer is really
saying Illinois' political leaders need to raise taxes to save all
union jobs.
It is really the exact opposite of the correct approach
to the state's budget crisis. Unfortunately, Bayer's pressure - in this
case coming via a lawsuit that, at least temporarily, blocked Gov. Pat
Quinn's plan to make $100 million in cuts in the prison system -
represents the kind of piecemeal pressure-point politicking that state
leaders are comfortable falling back on in addressing a problem that
gets worse literally every day.
The players are slightly different, but the approach
was all but identical in a rally Tuesday by the "Responsible Budget
Coalition" that plans "to build public support across Illinois for
comprehensive tax reform that will raise revenue to restore public
services and save jobs."
Sound familiar? AFSCME Council 31, which Bayer heads,
is among the 90 special interest groups that make up the coalition.
Others include Arts Alliance Illinois, Chicago Jobs Council, Illinois
Alliance for Retired Americans, Protestants for the Common Good, the
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, the Legislative Education Network of
DuPage and many more. All, no doubt, serve a positive societal
function. Many provide critical services. But some, we're willing to
venture, bring little more than self-interest to the debate.
The question is who is going to sort through the list
and make the disciplined, painful decisions on which priorities the
state can afford?
So far, no one is stepping up to the plate.
While Senate President John Cullerton and state school
board chief Jesse Ruiz were exhorting the passions of the Responsible
Budget Coalition Tuesday, Gov. Quinn spent time alongside college
presidents urging lawmakers to restore a student-aid program. The
cause, as we've written, is a just one, but Quinn's participation in a
rally targeting lawmakers on matters he set in motion, demonstrates a
lack of true leadership.
Why, we ask again, are leaders like Quinn and Cullerton
- to mention only two - not laying out a realistic definition of what
is an "essential" state service? Why are they not presenting
comprehensive plans that go beyond rash guesswork on both the revenue
and spending sides of the equation? Why are they not looking for
examples of outrageous spending - like the $40 million allocated to
Chicago State University that the college didn't know about - and
eradicating them?
The hard fact is that the state's special interests do
not hold the answer to our budget woes. On that point, we must count on
our political leaders to define terms that are clear and unequivocal.
And they must realize that until they provide those, no other response,
whether for cuts or for tax increases, will be acceptable.
Register Today and Join over 500 Republicans at the 2009 Cook County GOP Convention this Weekend!
Visit the 09 Convention Main page for complete scheduling information and Convention details!
The Cook County Republican Party will hold a Convention open to the public on Friday & Saturday, September 25 & 26. The Convention will include several hospitality suite parties hosted by Republican elected officials and candidates, a breakfast reception with VIP guests, several training seminars, and a convention floor roster of many distinguished local and national Republicans. The official Saturday Convention program from 2-5pm with showcase the 2010 countywide ticket as well as an endorsement session of the Gubernatorial primary candidates.
The Convention will be held at the Don Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
Stay tuned for more information and a full schedule. Contact our office at (773) 278-2467 or jon@cookrepublicanparty.com for more information.
The White House had been working for months to talk Illinois Attorney
General Lisa Madigan into running for President Obama's former Senate
seat to keep it from falling into Republican hands.
Ms. Madigan is popular, has high voter-approval polls and was
seen as the strongest Democrat who could hold the seat. But in an
unexpected blow last week to the White House's political recruiting
efforts, she turned down the president's request and decided to run
instead for re-election to her present job.
Within hours of her decision Wednesday, Republican Rep. Mark
Steven Kirk saw his chance and sent out word he was running for the
seat now held by Democratic Sen. Roland W. Burris, who announced Friday
that he will not seek election to a full term. Appointed to fill Mr.
Obama's seat by disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Mr. Burris has been the
target of a Senate Ethics Committee inquiry into whether he offered any
quid pro quo in exchange for his appointment before Mr. Blagojevich was
impeached and removed from his office on charges he had sought to sell
the seat to the highest bidder.
Until now, no one thought the Republicans had any chance to win
the Senate seat in heavily Democratic Illinois, especially in the
present climate, when the Republican brand has been badly damaged.
However, Mr. Kirk may be the one candidate who can pull it off in a
state where widespread corruption has badly damaged the Democrats'
brand even more.
The youthful five-term congressman represents the
Democratic-leaning 10th Congressional District, which Mr. Obama carried
last year by 61 percent, but Mr. Kirk's cross-party appeal has kept it
in the Republican column against all comers.
He is a prodigious fundraiser, too, having raised more than
$580,000 in the second quarter, amassing a total of $1.1 million in
cash on hand.
"Kirk is a very strong statewide candidate for Republicans.
This is an easier race for them now that Madigan is not running," said
Jennifer Duffy, senior elections analyst at the Cook Political Report.
But other Democrats were expected to run for the seat next year
no matter what Mr. Burris decided, promising a potentially divisive
party primary fight that could further weaken their party's chances of
holding onto the seat.
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias already has announced that he
is running, and businessman Chris Kennedy also was expected to enter
the race.
Ms. Madigan's decision to forgo the Senate contest was not only
a major disappointment to the White House but a personal blow to White
House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman from Chicago
who has become Mr. Obama's chief candidate recruiter.
Ms. Madigan, a top Democratic vote-getter in the state, was
called to the White House last month. There she met with Mr. Obama, Mr.
Emmanuel and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett in what insiders say was a
full-court press to draft her for the race.
This has not been an especially good month for Mr. Obama and
his White House team to demonstrate their political firepower. So far
they have failed to get their way in three key battleground Senate
races.
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York ignored their political
pleas against challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for the party's
nomination in next year's contest to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton's
seat. None other than former President Bill Clinton is headlining a
gala fundraiser for Ms. Maloney on July 20 despite the White House's
heavy efforts to consolidate the party establishment behind Ms.
Gillibrand.
Then Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania dissed White House efforts
to keep him from running against Sen. Arlen Specter, the recent
Democratic convert whom Mr. Obama and Gov. Edward G. Rendell have
embraced. Now Ms. Madigan has flatly turned down Mr. Obama's request to
take his old Senate seat.
Meantime, while the Illinois Senate race suddenly has become a
more competitive contest with Ms. Madigan out and Mr. Kirk in, a number
of questions "need to be answered" before its direction becomes clear,
Ms. Duffy told me. "Does Kirk get a competitive primary? Can Democrats
avoid a bruising primary?" she asked.
"One thing to remember is that Illinois has a very early filing
deadline, the first week in November, and an early primary in March.
This means Democrats might be less concerned with the fallout from a
primary and more with making sure that a viable general election
candidate emerges from that contest," she added.
Nevertheless, as things stand now, Mr. Kirk's candidacy may in
the end benefit from what is turning into a perfect Democratic storm
that has badly damaged the state party's credibility. Mr. Blagojevich
has been impeached and faces a corruption trial. His former chief of
staff has pleaded guilty to having had a hand in the scheme to sell Mr.
Obama's Senate seat. Mr. Burris has been an embarrassment to the state.
Sounds like Illinois Republicans may be borrowing one of Mr. Obama's old campaign lines next year: "It's time for a change."
Hmm. It seems that I, for one, owe a wee apology to
former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. I blamed most of the paralyzing toxicity
in Springfield in recent years on him. Many of my columns have hammered
on Blagojevich's stubbornness, his confrontational style and his
tendency to grandstand rather than lead.
He
and his fellow Democrats had it all. Solid majorities in both chambers
and, since 2006, every statewide office. Yet all we got was one long
sandbox fight.
So now Blago's gone. Arrested. Impeached. Removed from office. Indicted. Exiled to his home in Ravenswood Manor.
We
have a new governor -- the good-hearted Pat Quinn. For good measure we
also have a new Illinois Senate president -- John Cullerton --
replacing Emil Jones, who was Blagojevich's main enabler in the
legislature. And what are we seeing in Springfield?
Another
round of paralyzing toxicity! Name-calling. Infighting.
Finger-pointing. Dueling accusatory news conferences about who's to
blame for a budget stalemate that put the General Assembly into an
overtime session for the third summer in a row.
The
constant in this equation has been House Speaker and Illinois
Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan. Blagojevich seemed to be in
a perpetual blood feud with Madigan, and even used Madigan's
intransigence as an excuse for why he had to raise such eye-popping
sums of campaign cash -- an effort that got him into legal trouble.
Now
another governor is vexed and stymied by the speaker, reduced to making
populist threats. Another Senate president is standing helplessly by
and shrugging. And Blagojevich is having the good sense to lie low for
once and let the news itself do the talking: "Toldja so!"
Therefore a wee apology. Not a full one. Blagojevich was
a turkey, and the bill of particulars against him runs far longer than
the federal indictment that alleges he crossed the line into
criminality. Frustration is no excuse. But it does look to be an
increasingly plausible explanation, one that I now regret not giving
more credence to at the time.
The question looking forward is what excuse,
what explanation, what apology the Democratic Party can offer voters
for making such a mess of things yet again, even with the ostensibly
rogue ex-governor out of the picture. Democrats asked the voters for
power in Illinois. And the majority of voters -- including me, I should
say -- said OK. The result reduced legislative Republicans to
decorative-plant status
. But with this
power came full and admittedly awesome responsibility -- to address the
impact of the nationwide economic crisis and balance the state budget
in a time of declining revenues. This responsibility didn't exactly
creep up on the Democrats. We all saw it coming.
What
did the Democratic leadership do to address this admittedly knotty
problem? They bickered. They hemmed. They hawed. They quailed at making
decisions and taking ownership of decisions that will inevitably prove
unpopular among some segments of the population. Eventually, they ran
out the clock at the end of last month and forced an overtime session.
(See:Chickens playing a game of chicken: What's really going on in Springfield
Now,
in overtime, when the rules call for supermajority votes to pass a
spending plan, Republican votes will be on whatever potentially
infuriating combination of program cuts, tax hikes and accounting hocus
pocus gets us into next year.
"If voters
can't trust the Democrats to get the job done, then they should look
elsewhere for solutions in the next election. Letting the process go
into overtime was a political decision and had nothing to do with the
best interests of the people of the state."
That's
not me talking. That's Democratic state Sen. James Meeks of Chicago. He
knows that his party owes an apology to those who put them in power.
With
Illinois legislators gathering Tuesday in special session, we hope
they'll make it truly . . . special. They can do so by revisiting the
ethical reforms they want to avoid, and by embracing the many sensible
ideas that have been proposed as ways to slash future spending by the
billions.
Gov. Pat Quinn
wants something else: approval of his 50 percent boost in the state
income tax rate. He lost this fight during the regular legislative
session, and our hunch is that he won't win it this week.
Why so? Too many lawmakers realize that voters want spending and ethics
reforms before they're asked to pay more for state government. The fact
that many legislators brazenly clouted friends and family into the University of Illinois hasn't helped the voters' mood.
Some of those lawmakers think they've found a way to finesse their dilemma: They might vote for a big tax increase -- but only after they learn whether they'll have serious primary election opponents next year. Think of this as calculated cowardice.
-- -- --
If you're a straightforward person, you probably take stands and stick
by them. Maybe you favor a tax increase, maybe you don't. Our
oft-stated position is that there should be no talk of dumping more
revenue into Illinois state government tomorrow until lawmakers reform
how money gets spent today.
But kibbitz with some legislators and they'll confide that not every
one of their colleagues is a straightforward person. Hence this scheme
for stalling the major decisions and getting re-elected next year:
On Aug. 4, candidates for the General Assembly (and other offices) can
begin circulating petitions to get on the 2010 primary ballot. They
need to file those petitions no later than Nov. 2.
Voila! On Nov. 3, every legislator running for re-election will know whether he or she has a serious primary challenger.
And thanks to the way the state legislators gerrymander their districts
to protect themselves, most of them will face no real opposition in the
general election.
Those who face no opposition logically will feel more confident about voting for a big tax increase.
We don't know of one legislator who has been stupid enough to say
publicly, "I'm waiting until November to see whether I have a primary
opponent -- and, if I don't, I can vote for Quinn's tax hike." But more
than a few legislators are thinking just that.
So let's be clear: Lawmakers need to resolve the budget and the tax hike question before the Nov. 2 filing deadline.
-- -- --
The rest of the people of Illinois also have some decision to make before Nov. 2.
There are 44 days until candidates can start circulating petitions to
run in 2010, and 134 days until the last day to file for office.
We've been writing a lot about how to eradicate the culture of
corruption in this state. We've been writing a lot about how to
establish a more responsible and responsive state government.
Those aims won't be fully realized unless the people who run state and
local governments feel they face real competition -- unless they feel
the risk that voters can choose a future that doesn't include them.
That will happen only if good people take up the challenge to run for
office. That means recruiting candidates right now for the General
Assembly, for the Cook County Board, for every office on the ballot in 2010.
If the current crop won't craft an ethical government and make it live within its means, Illinoisans will need to elect scores of new people who will.
Calling the 2010 election the most important for Illinois in a generation, given the ongoing crises in government and the wide slate of key offices on the ballot, the Chicago Republican Party last night introduced its new “2010 Initiative” for statewide victory by Republican candidates at an Open Meeting in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Noting that 20% of the population of Illinois lives in the City of Chicago, and that no Republican statewide candidate has ever lost after receiving just 23% of the City, the Chicago GOP leadership has set up a series of key working committees, led and staffed by new volunteers, to begin the hard work of obtaining a 25% GOP vote in 2010, through recruitment of volunteers and candidates, as well as careful campaign and event planning.
“We have been hugely impressed by the level of talent presented by our new volunteer Committee Chairmen,” stated Executive Director Jon Blessing.
“A key goal of this Initiative is to decentralize the work flow, in order to allow a much greater overall effort to occur in that critical 75 day sprint before Election Day 2010,” added Political Director Tom Swiss. “It is going to take all of a year to get the pieces in place and the planning done. We have to start now.”
Chicago GOP Chairman Eloise Gerson personally thanked those attending the event on a rainy night, stating, “The energy in the room was tremendous. The Initiative is really starting to roll.”
Steve Seiling, the 40th Ward Republican Committeeman, has tendered his resignation. The Cook County Republican Party will be accepting candidates to be considered for this position. If you would like to inquire further, please contact our office at (773) 278-2467 or jon@cookrepublicanparty.com
Dateline: The chow line ... It's supposed to be hush hush, but Sneed hears President Obama and his family were personally cooked lunch Tuesday by Oprah's former chef, Chicago restaurateur Art "Table Fifty Two" Smith.
Clammed up: When contacted by Sneed, Smith was under strict
orders not to divulge any White House secrets. "I can't talk about it,"
said Smith, who recently hosted former President George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara at his D.C. eatery, "Art and Soul."
Opening up: However, Smith did tell Sneed: "I'm in pursuit of cooking for the Dalai Lama, but apparently it takes six months of clearance before you can cook for him."
The Vallas Poll ...
What is a friend for?
Here's what: Business consultant Steve McClure, who headed the State Commerce Department during the administration of Gov. Jim Thompson, secretly commissioned a recent poll for potential Cook County Board Presidential candidate Paul Vallas -- without telling him.
The backshot: The recorded telephone poll pitted former
Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas/Republican and Cook County Board
Commissioner Forrest Claypool/Democrat, against each other for the job. Left OFF the list of potential candidates was current Cook County Board President Todd Stroger .
The kicker: McClure told Sneed: "Paul only learned about
the poll after it was completed -- that's when I told his wife to tell
him about it."
The upshot: "Vallas won with 44 percent of the vote;
Claypool came in with 23 percent; and 33 percent were undecided," said
McClure. "I'm told Paul was very pleased," McClure added.
The endshot: Neither Vallas nor Claypool have formally entered the race, and Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, who is also eyeing the Stroger seat, was not included in the poll.
The Sneedshot: The empowered African American voter is not
going to want to lose this bastion of power in the black political
community. Translation: Ald. Preckwinkle could pull it off.
Gotti Gab ...
Scratch the Forgedddaboutit! The Long Island estate of the late mob boss John Gotti's daughter, Victoria Gotti,
which was featured in the cable TV show "Growing Up Gotti," has gone
into foreclosure, according to a report in the New York Times. Wow.
The Palin File ...
The School set: Single mom Bristol Palin, 19, daughter of Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin,
just graduated from high school with a 3.497 grade point average; is
planning to go to a local business college for two years; and is hoping
to settle into a career in real estate, according to a report on People
magazine's Web site. And, yes, Palin's baby, Tripp, was in the audience being bottlefed during the graduation ceremony.
Movie news ...
Sneed hears actor Dennis Farina, a former Chicago cop, was in town last week scouting locations for a movie entitled "The Last Rites of Joe May."
?176-129?Locate 'em: Farina, who will star in the flick was spotted
scouting locations at the Lincoln Park Hospital and the Pilsen
neighborhood. "If things go well filming could begin by the end of the
summer," said a source.
Movie news II ...
Freddy Krueger and lemonade?
?176-129?To wit: Scared or not, a group of enterprising kids set up
a lemonade stand next to the filming location of "Nightmare on Elm
Street," which was being filmed in Barrington last week. Cast and crew
drank it up -- ostensibly when dry mouth set in after screams of horror.
I spy ...
Chicago Bears Jay Cutler and Greg Olsen spotted playing whirleyball at the Whirleyball location in Vernon Hills ... TV talkie Jerry Springer at Portillo's last Tuesday.
Sneedlings ...
Happy belated 65th wedding anniversary wishes to Stanley and Helen Pokrzywa ... Today's birthdays: Robert Morse, 78, and George Strait, 57.
Republican Lawmakers Still Not Supporting Tax Hike
Chicago Public Radio - 4/21/09
Illinois lawmakers return to
work Tuesday in Springfield. They have about six weeks before a
deadline to close the state's $11.5-billion budget deficit. Senate
Republican Leader Christine Radogno is still not convinced Governor Pat
Quinn's proposed income tax hike is the answer.
RADOGNO: If the Democrats are willing to engage in some discussion
in ways we can do things different and better, they will find very
willing partners with us, with us as Republicans. If they aren't, they
have the votes to pass whatever they want and then we'll have a
discussion about that come election time.
Radogno says she wants
more budget cuts before taxes are raised. A spokesperson for the
Democratic Senate president, John Cullerton, says he's open to working
with Republicans to trim the budget. But in the past, Cullerton has
said an income tax hike is inevitable.
Though McKenna stopped short of proposing a slating process for
endorsing candidates for statewide office as Democrats have done in the
past, he said "where possible, both the Republican organizations and
donors are going to try to coalesce around candidates they feel can get
the job done.”
“Primaries of themselves aren’t bad,” he said. “They’re bad if they
become negative and people use it to try to destroy other candidates.”
So, which GOP candidates do you
think the "Republican organizations and donors" will agree upon for
governor, lt. gov., attorney general, treasurer, and comptroller?
John Kass: Combine gave Vallas, eventually us, the shaft
The
man who should have been finishing his second term as governor of
Illinois was on the phone, and he wasn't holding anything back.
No, it wasn't Rod Blagojevich.
Thursday's massive 75-page federal indictment of former Gov. Dead Meat
and his crew exposed once and for all that there is no true two-party
system in Illinois, but rather a bipartisan Combine of insiders who
gorge on public dollars and public trust.
It was Paul Vallas on the phone from New Orleans, where he's
overhauling the public school system. We spoke just as the Blagojevich
indictment was dropped.
"The Combine didn't want me as governor," said Vallas, the former boss of public schools in Chicago before Mayor Richard Daley invited him to leave town. "They backed Blagojevich.
"They selected a candidate who would perpetuate the status quo. They
didn't want me. They didn't want real reform," said Vallas, who
narrowly lost to Blagojevich in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial
primary. "The Combine got the candidate they wanted. They just didn't
realize that he had so much hubris, he'd self-destruct."
Vallas isn't surprised. "No one should really be surprised," he said.
According to Thursday's indictment, Blagojevich was already scheming in
the 2002 campaign to set the government table for his hungry Combine
friends. And where would Illinois be after almost eight years with
Vallas as governor? It's a safe bet that we wouldn't have a massive
racketeering indictment, the state wouldn't be bankrupt, the people so
weary of corruption and tax increases that we can hardly breathe with
the weight of it all on our necks.
But the Daleys wanted Blagojevich, as did then-future President Barack Obama.
Later, even House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Lisa's Daddy) became a
reluctant Blagojevich campaign co-chair. And though the Republican
establishment screeched loudly Thursday, its de facto GOP boss, Springfield insider Big Bill Cellini, stands indicted in the same alleged scheme with Dead Meat.
"The reality is that the political system in Illinois is designed to
perpetuate the status quo," Vallas said. "What's happened in Illinois
is that the only accountability comes from the U.S. attorney's office. God knows it's not being done in the political process."
Vallas lost the 2002 primary to Blagojevich by about 25,000 votes
out of 1.3 million votes cast. He lost in a squeeze play featuring
Blagojevich and his loyal wingman, longtime political hack and current
U.S. Sen. Roland "Tombstone" Burris.
Burris had no hope of winning, but he did an excellent job blocking for
Blagojevich. Burris played the race card, saying he was more qualified
than those "white boy" opponents of his, ham-handedly reminding
constituents that he was indeed black. He also helped bring those votes
to Lisa Madigan, a daughter of the machine, now the state attorney general who wants to become governor and share Illinois with her daddy.
There are no coincidences in politics. Burris came in third and later
began receiving state contracts from Gov. Blagojevich, who, in a last
desperate act before being forced out of office, appointed Burris to
the U.S. Senate. See how Chicago politics works?
"I have no personal regrets," Vallas said. "I just think I could have made a difference as governor."
Vallas is considering a run as a Republican for Cook County Board
president, but I think there are two other offices he should consider.
The one in Springfield, the other on the 5th Floor of City Hall.
From a distance, he can see the tipping point in Illinois
"When the economy is booming, people put up with higher taxes and
higher fees. But when they're losing their jobs, when they're feeling
insecure, those extra quarters in the parking meters, those extra
dollars in their taxes matter," Vallas said. "Those things become
factors in their decision-making."
If he'd been elected in 2002 and was at the end of his second term, what would he be thinking?
"I'd be lobbying to replace Bud Selig as commissioner of baseball and watching White Sox games for the rest of my life," Vallas said. "I'd hang out at Sox Park, get a tan. That's what I'd be contemplating."
The rest of us should contemplate the fact that baseball is a game. And
what happened to Illinois when Vallas was iced was something else, a
Combine squeeze play, Republicans and Democrats working together, to make Rod Blagojevich our governor.
Widespread Glitches reported after dramatic increase in rates
By Dan Mihalopoulos |Tribune reporter
April 1, 2009
Mayor Richard Daley
trotted out his top aide Tuesday to try to assure the public that
officials are doing all they can to correct the "simply unacceptable"
work of Chicago's new private parking meter company.
The hastily called afternoon news conference featuring Daley chief of
staff Paul Volpe came almost two weeks after the Tribune reported
widespread problems with parking meters since the city sharply raised
rates and turned over control to Chicago Parking Meters LLC for a $1.2
billion payment.
The Tribune story revealed outdated fee and violation-enforcement
information still posted on many meters, meters that charged the wrong
hourly rates, a surge in broken meters and stepped-up ticket writing
for violations.
But Volpe said the private company has made great progress in the last two weeks.
Dennis Pedrelli, chief executive officer of Chicago Parking Meters,
joined Volpe at the news conference and acknowledged "some operational
challenges" after the privatization deal closed Feb. 13.
"We regret any issues that occurred," Pedrelli said. "We are working as quickly as possible to address those issues."
In what he described as "a little bit of a misstep," Pedrelli said his
company was surprised by the demands of the takeover and did not hire
as many coin collectors as the job demands. He said the firm has
responded by adding 60 employees.
The company will stop writing tickets while it deals with the problems,
officials said Tuesday. But police and other city workers will continue
to write tickets.
All revenue from violations still goes to the city's coffers.
If you park at a broken meter, Volpe said, you should report the
malfunction within 24 hours at 877-242-7901 or 312-744-PARK to avoid
having to pay tickets.
The problems followed a dramatic increase in meter rates this year that
sent motorists searching for quarters and resulted in merchants
complaining the new parking regulations have hurt business.
Under the deal, which the City Council approved by a 40-5 vote in
December, neighborhood spots that used to cost a quarter an hour now
run $1, and will increase to $2 an hour by 2013.
The top meter rates in the Loop will go from $3 an hour to $6.50 within five years.
Much of the money from the private operator is helping the Daley administration deal with declining tax revenue.
House Democrats vote to keep Cook County sales tax nation's highest
From the Illinois Review:
Cook County residents should be up in
arms against Democratic House members who voted Tuesday against a House
legislative proposal to roll back Cook County sales tax by 1 percent.
In an unsuccessful House floor manuever, Republicans tried and failed
to get House Speaker Mike Madigan to call for a floor vote HB 3948. Democrats sustained the speaker's call, and for now, the tax rollback is dead.
The House Republicans are especially focusing on Cook County's Paul Froehlich (D-Schaumburg), who sided with Cook County Board President Todd Stroger to protect the highest county sales tax in the nation.
House Republicans point out and explain:
On Tuesday, Freshman Democrat Paul Froehlich voted in lock-step with
Chicago Democrat leaders in opposing House Republican legislation that
would have repealed the Cook County tax hike by rolling back the sales
tax by 1%.
The House Republican legislation would have rolled the sales tax
back by 1%. The measure also instituted key reforms, including
requiring any new tax increase to be approved by popular referendum.
“Democrat Paul Froehlich’s continued support of Todd Stroger and his
tax increases is hurting Cook County families and small businesses,”
said Pat Brady, Republican National Committeeman. “During a time when
families are struggling and small businesses are on the brink of
collapse, it’s hard to fathom why Paul Froehlich is supporting Todd
Stroger and his tax increase that is funding excessive spending and
waste in Cook County.”
Paul Froehlich voted against House Bill 3948 on Tuesday. The
Republican-sponsored legislation would roll back the current Cook
County home rule sales tax by 1% within 30 days, which is the rate it
was before the tax hike was voted upon late before the budget deadline
Feb. 29, 2008. The bill would also require any future proposed
increases to be approved by popular referendum.
Since the Stroger Tax Increase, Chicago has held the title of
the single highest sales tax in the nation at 10.25 %. Comparatively,
New York City and Los Angeles are both below 8.5 %. The tax took effect
July 1.
Exclusive: Paul Vallas will run for Todd Stroger's job
February 4, 2009
BY CAROL MARIN Sun-Times Columnist
Paul Vallas is ready to run again. "Cook County is broken, and I like fixing things that are broken."
The speed-talking, reform-minded maverick who was CEO of Chicago
Public Schools under Mayor Daley, then lost the 2002 gubernatorial
primary to Rod Blagojevich by just 25,000 votes, went on to make a
national name rescuing school districts in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
Now, he told the Chicago Sun-Times, he is coming home for good at
the end of the year to run for president of the Cook County Board in
2010.
Not as a Democrat, which he has been all his life, but as a Republican.
For the kinetic Vallas who thrives on challenge, it will be that and more.
The last Republican to win that office was Richard Ogilvie in 1960,
and since that time, Cook County has only become more Democratic. Then
again, in politics, timing is everything. Just as the implosion of
now-imprisoned Gov. George Ryan opened the door to the Democrats after
26 years of Republican rule, the scandal surrounding Rod Blagojevich
and the economic crisis that consumes government in Cook County present
a rare shot for this state's beleaguered GOP. And party leadership
seems ready to take it, unbothered by Vallas' lack of Republican
credentials.
"I think he'd be an excellent candidate," House Republican leader
Tom Cross said by phone Tuesday. "He'd be great for Republicans, great
for Cook County, [with] impeccable credentials, substance and
integrity."
Vallas spent the last two days meeting with Cross and other
Republican officials, including state chairman Andy McKenna and Cook
County chairman Lee Roupas.
Though Vallas said he is forming an exploratory committee to assess
how much support and money are out there, as this column first reported
back in August, he has been putting this plan together for many months.
That's why he turned down an invitation to address the Democratic
National Convention last summer, unwilling to give allies of the
current president of the Cook County Board, Todd Stroger, any
opportunity to box him as a Democrat as he was preparing to jump
political ships.
Vallas fell out of favor with the mayor in 2001. Though he raised
test scores, opened new schools and instituted a wide variety of
reforms as CEO of Chicago schools, he had also achieved an outsized
profile for a subordinate.
He has been a lightning rod for praise and criticism.
Dale Mezzacappa, a Philadelphia education reporter, wrote in 2008,
"Vallas lasted longer in both Chicago and Philadelphia than most school
leaders . . . but wore out his welcome in both places. He left the
Philadelphia district in many ways transformed, most agree for the
better, but still with a sour taste and a big deficit."
Vallas now works for Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
rebuilding New Orleans schools from the ground up in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina, getting largely good reviews. Vallas says his work
will be finished by the end of this year with a transition team ready
to move into place.
Though two years ago Vallas considered running again for governor
against Blagojevich, his residency was raised as an issue. His allies
say fellow Democrats were behind court efforts to stop him. As Vallas
wryly points out, "Nobody tried that with Alan Keyes," a Republican who
ran for Senate in 2004.
Vallas' family moved to Palos Heights two years ago. He commutes to and from New Orleans. Residency is no longer a problem.
Money will be an issue. Vallas, with the help of his brother Dean, personally paid off a $537,000 campaign debt from 2002.
"We've promised our wives that won't happen again," Dean Vallas said Tuesday.
Never afraid of provoking controversy, Vallas is willing to declare
Cook County "broken" but less willing to say who broke it. Is he, for
instance, implicitly pointing the finger at Todd Stroger? Or his father
who held that office before him? "I'm not taking shots at anybody," he
said. "I'll run on my own resume."
Will it matter that that resume, until now, never included anything about being a Republican?
"People aren't looking for someone ideologically or politically correct," he declared. "They're just looking for competence."
Cook County should post its check register on line for all citizens to see, Commissioner Tony Peraica (R-Riverside) said today.
Whether that happens depends on the County Board, which would have
to approve Peraica's resolution mandating the new policy. Peraica often
throws out proposals but not many of them pass muster.
Posting the register would allow residents “to see where their money is being spent and perhaps wasted,” Peraica said.
He also said the data could be compared to campaign disclosure
reports, to see which vendors receiving county checks also are making
political donations.
The only other of Illinois’ 102 counties to post its check register on line is DuPage, which recently took the step recently.
“We are not changing the law,” Andrzejewski said, noting that county
payments are considered public information subject to the state Freedom
of Information Act. “We are simply changing county policy.”
There was no immediate response from County Board President Todd Stroger to Peraica’s proposal.
Letter to the Editor Published 1/26/09 Chicago Sun-Times
Given the current attention our state has received, Illinoisans must
begin pushing an agenda of political reform that would reach across
party lines.
First, we must change how redistricting is done. Our current process
leads inevitably to politicians picking their constituents instead of
the other way around. Iowa seems to have a good system for removing
many of the political charades from the process. Second, we must
institute term limits on all government offices.
State legislative offices were meant to be part-time jobs held by
concerned citizens. Instead, Illinois has become a place where
politicians are elected in perpetuity and then pass seats to their sons.
Finally, we must stop the practice of officials serving in different
capacities of government and receiving multiple pensions. An official
should only be allowed to draw one pension from one of his past
government jobs.
On Tues., Nov. 4 voters will face distinct choices from the top to the bottom
of their ballot. At a time when our country faces serious challenges both home
and abroad, the choices we make in the voting booth could not be more important.
In the race for president of the United States, the choice is clear.
On
the one hand, there is John McCain: a war hero who proudly served his nation, a
candidate who has demonstrated the political courage and independence to stand
up to powerful special interest groups when very few others in Washington would,
and a public servant with a legislative record of reform and stalwart opposition
to wasteful pork-barrel spending.
On the other hand, there is Barack
Obama: a product of the Chicago Machine and a man with few legislative
accomplishments. In fact, it was only two short years ago that Obama, the great
agent of "change," endorsed and urged voters to support both Todd Stroger and
Rod Blagojevich. That's not "change we can believe in" - that's change that
would tax ordinary Americans even more and weaken the already tenuous position
of our nation's economy, not unlike what the Democrats have done here in
Illinois.
Locally, voters will face a similar choice. We can continue
down the path of electing Democrats to Cook County office that has resulted in
giving us the shameful notoriety of having the highest sales tax in the nation,
7.6 percent unemployment, confounding and dramatic increases in property tax
assessments at a time when underlying property values are rapidly declining, and
ever-bloated government payrolls. Or we could choose to change the direction of
Cook County government by electing more reform-minded Republicans like Tony
Peraica for State's Attorney, Diane Shapiro for Clerk of the Court, Greg
Goldstein for Recorder of Deeds, and Paul Chialdikas for Water Reclamation
Commissioner. These candidates have demonstrated a passion for change from the
broken, bloated system that has characterized county politics and they need your
support on Election Day.
Our great country and county both desperately
need real change. Let's take a pass on Chicago-style machine politics. Vote for
John McCain and the county GOP ticket.
