By Steve Rhodes
Wasn’t that exciting? Let’s take a look.
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“Several Cook County voters have received some very nasty robocalls over the past day or so,” Rich Miller reports on his Capitol Fax Blog. “A large number of Cook County pols have been slammed by these robocalls, and the one thing they may have in common is that they all are opponents of Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown.”
Miller reports that one robocall also attacked Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson. Click through for the audio.
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Brown won re-election over Ald. Rick Munoz – there is no Republican opponent – despite a raft of stories over the years and in recent week about her sheer ineptitude and total lack of an ethical compass. Those who work in the court system – lawyers, for example – have nothing but horror stories to tell about the terrible state of affairs there.
That’s why my favorite quote of the day might be this one from her campaign manager, Pete Dagher: “This means that Dorothy Brown can continue the reform that she started 11 years ago.”
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Tribune columnist John Kass noted on WGN-TV’s election coverage last night that Jesse Jackson Jr. can come out of hiding now that he’s shellacked Debbie Halvorson. Jackson went into a defensive shell the last few weeks before Election Day once he pulled away in the polls, dodging debates and reporters. Halvorson was a horrible candidate, but the already-tainted Jackson – who tried to argue before the Tribune editorial board that asking a campaign contributor to buy his mistress a plane ticket was “not a personal benefit to me” – did not distinguish himself this time around.
Jackson faces Republican Brian Woodworth in the fall.
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And you wanna be a world-class city?
Indicted Illinois House Member Wins Dem Nomination.
One Week After Bribery Charge, State Rep. Derrick Smith Wins Big.
Indicted State Lawmaker Cruises To Victory.
There is no Republican candidate.
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MSNBC noted this morning that the last (elected) Democratic governor of Illinois who didn’t serve time in prison was Adlai Stevenson. (Sam Shapiro became governor in 1968 after Otto Kerner, Jr. resigned to accept an appointment to the federal appellate court; then Kerner went to prison.)
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Annazette Collins, one of the odds-on favorites to be the next Chicago pol indicted, lost her re-election bid for the state senate to Patricia Van Pelt Watkins. Watkins was a political unknown when she entered the mayoral field last fall and was initially dismissed as nutcase and/or gadfly but she turned out to be both legit and fairly impressive. She could have a future. Collins, not so much.
There is no Republican candidate.
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Now it’s time to rally around Robert Handzik.
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The headline says it all.
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As of this writing, Toni Berrios has a 72-vote lead over Will Guzzardi in her bid for re-election to the state House. No worries, though; I’m sure Daddy Berrios has some river wards he’s holding back.
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Silvana Tabares edged out Rudy Lozano Jr. – 3,761 votes to 3,443 – for seat in the statehouse by avoiding the press and soaking up 50-large from phony corporate school reformers.
There is no Republican candidate, unless you count Tabares.
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Brad Schneider’s victory in the 10th Congressional District on the North Shore was as much an embarrassment for Public Policy Polling as a disappointment for MoveOn and other progressive organizations backing Ilya Sheyman.
Schneider takes on incumbent Republican Bob Dold in the fall.
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Tammy Duckworth (D-Rahm) carpetbagged her way to a win over Raja Krishnamoorthi in the Eighth Congressional District and will take on incumbent Joe Walsh in the fall. “Weeks before Duckworth declared her candidacy, Krishnamoorthi had already secured endorsements from a host of local committeemen and county Democratic chairs,” the Daily Herald notes. But when the big boys are pulling your strings, you can quickly acquire a sense of entitlement along with a bulging bank account.
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Ron Paul received 12,510 more votes than Newt Gingrich.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on March 21, 2012