Results tagged “election2010”

There were a pair of debates last night of interest to voters with the approaching primaries in February. Of particular interest to local voters is the The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Cook County Board President forum. ABC 7 has video of the complete forum that you can check out here. The participants were current Democrat candidates Pres. Todd Stroger, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, and MWRD Pres. Terrence O'Brien, Green Party candidate (and former No Games Chicago leader) Tom Tresser, and only one Republican candidate, John Garrido.

2010 is a big election year and state Republicans are hoping to take back, among other offices, the governor's seat. But first they've got to get through the primary and with seven candidates in a heated campaign, the race to see who will oppose Quinn or Hynes in 2010 could be pretty interesting. The debate happens tonight at the downtown Hilton (720 S. Michigan Ave) and Chris Robling will moderate. You can purchase tickets here, find a viewing party, or wait for WLS 890 AM to rebroadcast the entire debate tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

With yesterday's petitioning deadline come and gone and the deadline to petition challengers and withdraw from a race approaching next Monday, there's still just a teeny bit of positioning left to do for this February's primaries, but the races are starting to shape up. Luckily for us, WBEZ has a nice, concise breakdown of who's running for what. For instance, did you know that there were actually a few Republicans running for Cook County Board President, too? But seriously, the list is pretty comprehensive though we'll know more a week from now, especially as we await on which race U.S. Rep. Danny Davis will settle on.

The results of New York’s special election in the 23rd district congressional race might have effects nation-wide, even here in Illinois. The Tea Party movement successfully derailed the campaign of Dede Scozzafava, a moderate GOP candidate in the race in favor of Doug Hoffman, a much more conservative republican. Politico reports that their success could embolden their efforts to push out more moderate GOP candidates in favor of hard right conservatives.

While the candidates for various offices up for election next year were hustling their petitions to the state and the county Monday, there were some surprises in the Seventh Congressional District. Incumbent Danny Davis, who's been playing coy about his intentions, filed for Cook County Board President, while 24th Ward Ald. Sharon Denise Dixon, 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti and Emil Jones's stalwart Ricky Hendon have all filed for Davis's 7th Congressional District seat. Davis himself filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections early Monday morning for re-election in the 7th Congressional District. He says he'll decide which office he wants to focus on by the November 9 withdrawal deadlines.

Todd Stroger filed for re-election of his seat as Cook County Board President late Monday afternoon. By filing the nearly 22,000 signatures he's collected to put him on the ballot so late - he filed less than an hour before the deadline - he'll secure the last position on the ballot, considered second to the top spot in terms of voting booth strategy. "I feel great," Stroger told the press after filing. "I feel like 150 pounds of dynamite." While Stroger is perceived as politically vulnerable after a tenure of tax increases and budget debacles, that 150 pounds of dynamite has yet to really go off on Cook County residents. The 22,000 signatures are only about half of what a few of his opponents turned in. Never one to take the blame himself, Stroger instead told the Sun-Times it had to do with his helpers: "Normally, you have people who collect signatures. It's hard getting people out there to collect signatures."

The field to garner the GOP nomination for next year's gubernatorial election is getting a bit more crowded as former candidate Jim Ryan is entering the contest. Ryan, who lost to former governor Rod Blagojevich in the state's 2002 general election, has spent the last several years out of public office and teaching at Benedictine University in Lisle. But as WBBM-AM explains, Ryan, a former state's attorney general, may face a few new hurdles.

Having already given way to fellow Republican Rep. Mark Kirk in the race for U.S. Senate, Andrew McKenna has set his sights on Springfield, officially launching his bid for Governor in 2010. McKenna made the announcement this morning in Chicago and is already coming out swinging with this campaign video, titled "Hair Today."

While the deadline for filing petitions to get on the ballot for the February 2nd primary isn't until next Tuesday, there was still a scramble at the Cook County Clerks office this morning (as well as Springfield's State Board of Elections office). Today was the first day candidates could file their petition and the reward for the first candidates to do so is being entered into a lottery that will determine who's listed at the top of the ballot. There are a bevy of offices up for grabs with the biggest being Governor, U.S. Senate, and Cook County Board President. [WBEZ, Tribune]

Former state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka is back in the political spotlight. Topinka is expected to announce her candidacy today for state comptroller, a position vacated by Dan Hynes as he gets knee-deep in his run against Pat Quinn for Governor. We last heard from Topinka in 2006 when she challenged the then-incumbent governor, Rod Blagojevich, in that office's race. Other candidates include William J. Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and potentially state Rep. David Miller.

Already looked in a heated battle with fellow Democrat Dan Hynes for the Democratic primary, Gov. Pat Quinn - who replaced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich when Blago was impeached and removed from office last winter - went through the formality this morning of officially announcing his run for governor in 2010. The announcement comes in the wake of one poll that puts Quinn's approval rating at only 45 percent. The primary is February 2, 2010. Be sure to check out Kevin's 2007 interview with Gov. Quinn.

A new wrinkle has developed in the race for Cook County Board President as Tom Tresser, the man behind the No Games Chicago group that opposed the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid, has announced his candidacy. The group "Friends of Tom Tresser" sent out an email to supporters yesterday indicating Tresser intended to announce this morning a run "for high local public office." It's since been learned that the office is Todd Stroger's. Said Tresser in the email, "I do this as a result of almost thirty years of civic work in the city and, most specifically, my last two years of volunteer community work." The email continues:

As we mentioned on Monday, Todd Stroger got his endorsement this week from a large group of black ministers that worry other black candidates in the Cook County board president race will split the vote, guaranteeing that Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O'Brien, the lone white candidate in the race, will win. “This community needs a unified front to address the issues that are pressing against our people,” said senior bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Todd Stroger, he of low approval ratings and general malaise across the populace, is finally getting some support. Stroger will get an endorsement from a group of 300 African-American ministers today - Minister Louis Farrakhan is among the most high-profile members - in his race for re-election next year. Worried the four black candidates will split the vote, paving the way for the lone white candidate - Cook County Water Reclamation District President Terry O'Brien - to win, the ministers want a "consensus" black candidate. But two of Strogers challengers - Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, both of whom are black - aren't buying it, saying most of the group planned to support Stroger anyway.

The race for Illinois Governor got even more crowded yesterday with an entry announcement from personal injury lawyer and political newcomer Edmund Scanlan. Scanlan played up his status as political neophyte at a press conference, opening by saying “I've never run for office before, maybe that's a good thing.” He spoke of the history of corruption in Illinois and said that he would work for pension reform, campaign finance reform and run the state “like a private business.”

• Chicago 2016 CEO Patrick Ryan, speaking at today's press conference in Copenhagen, cited a new Zogby poll that claims 72 percent of Chicagoans support the Olympic bid.
• The Teen Cop Impersonator is back in the news as a judge has ordered him to three months in juvenile detention for violating the rules of his home confinement.
• The FBI is asking for the public's help in tracking down a Cicero man wanted in connection with a 1996 murder.

With the recent announcement by Republican Andrew McKenna that he's entering the fray for Governor in next year's election, the Illinois gubernatorial election is heating up. With the primary election on February 2nd 2010 quickly approaching, plenty of candidates have stepped up to fight for the right to lead Illinois. Here is a quick run down of some of the major candidates:

Sure, we've talked to Ald. Preckwinkle. And there are several other options of opponents the Toddler will have to face in his campaign to keep his position for Cook County Board President. And while we don't make a habit of officially endorsing political candidates here (save the Leftcagoist comments) we're finding it hard not to root for YouTube user icephoenix23, especially after watching this video declaring his candidacy. Watch the whole thing. Trust us.

The Service Employees International Union is expected to announce today it will endorse Gov. Pat Quinn in next year's gubernatorial election. The 180,000 member organization plans to join forces with the 110,000 member Teamsters to support Quinn. Both organizations are largely concentrated in Cook County. Meanwhile, both the carpenters and laborers unions have endorsed Quinn's primary opponent, state comptroller Dan Hynes. [Sun-Times]

With Todd Stroger's approval rating apparently lagging badly, the field seems wide open for the four challengers who have already announced their candidacy against Stroger: Clerk of courts Dorothy Brown, Congressman Danny Davis, Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's Terry O'Brien. WBEZ takes a look at the early jostling for front-runner status as well as how race has become a factor, including the involvement of State Rep. James Meeks who has been busy organizing the black candidates. Says Meeks, "Four African Americans who are running in an election, and one white candidate who runs, the four African Americans cancel each other out."

In spite of temptation to run for a bigger office, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is staying put and running for reelection. He even posted a new status update on his Facebook page that reads, "Tom Dart loves having a job that I truly enjoy and which allows me to see my family each night. Hoping voters will elect me to another term as Cook County Sheriff in 2010. More to come later today, but thanks for all of your words of encouragement as I've made this decision!" Does he have a Twitter account, too?

The competition for Cook County Board President just got a little stiffer. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis has announced - as expected - he'll be running for the spot next year. Davis made the announcement last night, while also celebrating his birthday, but side-stepped questions about whether or not he would have supported the tax rollback that Stroger vetoed, saying, "Taxpayers in Cook County are leery of paying the highest sales tax in the nation, and they want to know where their money is going." The growing field of competitors for the President slot also includes Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) and Terrence J. O'Brien, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board president. [ABC 7]

Even though he formally announced his bid for Governor almost a month ago, Comptroller Dan Hynes has finally launched his full campaign and unveiled his tax plan for battling the state's budget crunch. CBS 2 has more on Hynes' plan and The Reader has some more info as well.

Dan Proft, conservative commentator and just one of a cast of thousands running for governor released an outtake from a recent taping of a campaign commercial.

David Hoffman, the city's Inspector General who has tussled with Mayor Daley many times in the past, is stepping down from his position to make a run at the U.S. Senate. The Sun-Times has a list of some of Hoffman's biggest battles with Daley, the most recent being the parking meter deal that Hoffman claims cost the city almost a billion dollars.

Mark Kirk, Illinois's 10th District Congressman and GOP front runner for the state's U.S. Senate seat, has been been trying to get in front of conservative rage at Obama lately. Earlier this month he held a press conference in a downtown Chicago federal building (in his capacity as a U.S. Congressman) to denounce the House version of the proposed health care reform legislation. Then, he called the bill partisan and expensive, and cited medical malpractice reforms as the key to cutting costs. This week he's upped the ante, lying about the details of the proposed legislation. "Should we provide taxpayer health care for people who are illegally here in the U. S.? I do not think we should provide federally-subsidized health care to illegal aliens," Kirk asked the crowd before rhetorically answering his own question. He failed to mention that the proposed legislation doesn't actually offer health insurance coverage for those in the United States illegally.

Chris Kennedy, President of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc, emailed a letter to the press late Tuesday announcing that he won't seek the Democratic nomination for either the U.S. Senate or Illinois Governor. “The decision wasn’t easy to arrive at,” he said, adding that classic line of politicians that have other reasons not to run: "I realize that I would rather be a good husband and a good father than a good Washington politician.”mSun-Times "reporter" Michael Sneed cited a source that puts it more bluntly: “He honestly didn’t have the stomach and the heart to run." Let's hope her sources are right that the Toddler wants to spend more time with his family, too.

Saying that “it just wasn’t the right time for me for a number of reasons,” county commissioner Larry Suffredin, subject of perennial speculation about his designs on the board president's chair, announced that he would seek only re-election of his current seat. And while Todd Stroger has said that he'll be seeking re-election to the seat his father willed him, Michael Sneed (and we all know how credible her political ramblings are) hears otherwise.

• A 15-year-old girl continues to fight for her life after being shot in the head last night while trying to shield another family member; police say she was not the intended target of the gunfire.
• WBEZ's blog has a very comprehensive breakdown of who's in for 2010 races.
• Blah blah blah Mayor Daley blah blah blah defends alderman blah blah blah clout.

The challengers are starting to line up to take on embattled Cook County Board President Todd Stroger in next year's election. With Stroger already seeking reelection and others like Toni Preckwinkle announcing their intention of challenging Stroger, it'll be a crowded field. At a speech yesterday announcing the kickoff of his petition drive for a place on the ballot, Davis said, “You can't operate an enterprise on a patronage system. You cannot operate an enterprise because it does not belong to you, it belongs to the people." [FOX 32]