By Steve Rhodes

If all you want is a reliable vote, why not Roland Burris? Or, as I’ve written elsewhere, a trained seal? We could pay the seal less.

Election 2010! A Beachwood Voters’ Guide. Mystery Senate Debate Theater. A Beachwood Candidate Questionnaire. The Political Odds. The Illinois Enthusiasm Gap.

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Tony Peraica denies he was destroying a campaign sign of his opponent, but what if he was? Is that any different than pretending you don’t know that your cronies are doing it? That’s not to absolve Peraica if he’s guilty; it’s to say he isn’t any guiltier than the rest of ’em.
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My favorite part from the Sun-Times’s account:
“The chief also noted that Peraica was dressed head to toe in black for his night-time mission.”
(Peraica says he was dressed in jeans, white tennis shoes and a gray pullover. But I hope he was really in all black.)

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Posted on November 2, 2010

By The Beachwood Election Desk

For entertainment purposes only. And voting.
GOVERNOR
Like George W. Bush after 9/11 and Barack Obama after his election in 2008, Pat Quinn has squandered an unusually awesome opportunity to unite citizens for positive change. Instead, his fluke ascension to the state’s top job exposed him as an inept bumbler incapable of holding such high office. Democrats nominated the wrong person and now want to stick us with him for another four years. And if his term is somehow cut short, we’ll be left with one-term Carbondale city councilmember Sheila Simon. How irresponsible of Pat Quinn, who picked Simon after voters chose Scott Lee Cohen.

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Posted on November 2, 2010

By Nancy Simon

Election Day is upon us.
Yet, despite the untold efforts – e.g., early voting, mailers, advertisements to guide citizens to the polls – in all likelihood, countless people will chose not to exercise this hard earned freedom.
In light of the unending complaints about those in office and disgust with the state of our public affairs, it seems astonishing that only 50% of the good folk of Illinois are expected to cast their vote on Election Day.
Granted it is not a presidential election but it is one with the potential to greatly impact Illinois.
So in light of the Land of Lincoln’s desperate need of repair and all the ballyhooing about the importance of showing up, why then such a mediocre anticipated voter turn-out, you ask?
Diverse and creative, the reasons, as to why close to half of Illinois’ nine million eligible voters will abstain include:

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Posted on November 2, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

In which I talk back to the transcript. Edited for clarity and sanity.
ABC News Illinois Senate Debate/October 19, 2010
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Joining me in the questions tonight, ABC 7’s Charles Thomas, political writer Carrie Lester of the Daily Herald and Andy Shaw, executive director of The Better Government Association, long-time reporter for WLS, as well. Each candidate will have an opening statement of one minute each. They had a draw. Alexi Giannoulias, you go first.
ALEXI GIANNOULIAS: Thank you. This has been a tough and at times very negative campaign. But there is a lot at stake. Because of this devastating recession people across the state have lost their jobs, have lost their homes and are struggling just to make ends meet. Tragically, the decisions in Washington, D.C. over the last decade have made things worse. Exploding budget deficits. Shipping jobs overseas. A failure to address our environmental challenges. Why in the world would we send the same people who created this mess back to Washington, D.C.?
RHODES: Therefore, I am announcing today that I will not support Barack Obama for re-election in 2010. And don’t even get me started on Dick Durbin.
GIANNOULIAS: You may not always agree with me, but you will always know where I stand.
RHODES: For example, you may not agree with it, but you will always know when I am dodging questions about Broadway Bank.
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ANDY SHAW: Congressman Kirk, this campaign has featured an abundance of attack ads, character assaults, mudslinging and a notable lack of high-level discourse on the important issues facing the next Illinois Senator.
RHODES: And that was just the primaries!
SHAW: To what extent should you be held accountable by the voters of Illinois for the negative tone of the campaign, which has been disappointing to virtually everyone?
MARK KIRK: I think this campaign certainly has been about the resume and background, but at heart, when we vote on November 2nd, it will be about economic philosophy. If you’re happy with the direction of the government right now, of trillions in debt, of increasingly accelerating the spending of the Congress, and the growing of the government into our national life, then my opponent is your candidate.
But there is a growing voice in Illinois that wants a check and balance. That does not think that we should raise taxes in Springfield, like my opponent would like, or in Washington, D.C. And we need a new small business bill of rights. Ten new policies to help out the real number one employers, small business. Half of all the jobs. Eighty percent of the job losses. We know how Congress has hurt them. We don’t know very much how the current Congress has helped them at all.
RHODES: Terrific. Now how about a citizens’ bill of rights wherein you are required to answer the question.

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Posted on October 31, 2010

By The Beachwood Questionnaire Affairs Desk

The single question we’d like to see put to each candidate if we could only choose one.
Pat Quinn: Are the many previous supporters of yours who are depressingly disappointed with your job performance simply wrong, or have you let a lot of people down?
Bill Brady: If raising taxes was truly the only way to balance the state’s budget, would you raise taxes on the rich first and most?
Alexi Giannoulias: If you weren’t rich, do you think you’d be in a position today to become a United States senator – and if so, describe how that would have happened.
Mark Kirk: Do you deny moving to the right during this campaign?

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Posted on October 29, 2010

By The Beachwood Election Desk

For 20th Ward alderman. Let’s take a look.
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1. Campaign video.

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Posted on October 21, 2010

By Kiljoong Kim

In contemporary American urban life, commuting to work has become one of the most insufferable activities. Considering that the cost of operating a car is well over 50 cents per mile for most cars, for anyone going to work beyond 2.5 miles from their homes, public transit becomes a cheaper option if available. Despite this economic rationale, 80.7% of commuters drive to work (including 0.2% or close to 11,000 who identify taxicab as their primary mode). Many scholars and policy makers attribute this heavy reliance to Americans’ obsession and fascination with cars, sense of independence, and convenience. But what is not often discussed is that it is also because public transit is built for those who might need it the least.

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Posted on October 18, 2010

By Ed Hammer

A park bench dedicated to a convicted felon sits just outside Kankakee County’s courthouse where justice is sought against the felonious. Those tried and convicted in the Kankakee court are usually the typical criminals we see on the crime dramas on television, like murderers, rapists, burglars and car thieves. The park bench is in honor of another type of felon common to Illinois, a corrupt politician. The bench is dedicated to former Governor George Ryan who is now serving time in a federal prison after being convicted on a 22-count indictment.

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Posted on October 13, 2010

An Open Letter To The Chicago Teachers Union

Dear Chicago Teachers,
In the race for Governor, you are facing tremendous pressure to “fall into line” with other unions and endorse and support Pat Quinn – the same Pat Quinn who has already been presiding over the systematic destruction of the public sector, including the public school system in Illinois.
Quinn poses as a friend of education but his proposed FY 2011 budget proposed cuts of $1.227 billion, a 16.8 percent drop, the largest single-year cut in Illinois history.
As the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability put it, “Primary education funding bears the brunt of the cuts implemented in [Quinn’s proposed] FY2011 budget.”
And when the Democrat-controlled General Assembly ultimately adopted a different approach – i.e., more borrowing, more unpaid bills (which amount to de facto cuts), and let the Governor make the spending cuts – Quinn obliged with cuts to school funding of $261 million imposed on July 1st, not to mention another cut of $100 million to higher education.

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Posted on October 7, 2010

By The Rahmedy Central Affairs Desk

Lists started and aborted by the Rahmedy Central Affairs Desk.
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1. The Real Reasons Rahm Emanuel Is Running For Mayor.
* Still has authority to call drone missile attacks wherever he wants.
* Looks pretty good in tights and a cape.
* Sick and tired of coordinating Michelle Obama’s wardrobe for state functions.
* Beating Barack at H-O-R-S-E on the White House basketball court every morning isn’t as fun as it used to be.

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Posted on October 6, 2010