February 23, 2011
WALSH'S "TEXTBOOK CAMPAIGN" WAS WIN FOR TEA PARTY
Tea Party Republican Joe Walsh's upset victory last November in the northwest suburban 8th congressional district is attributable to the 5 P's: positioning, preaching, persistence, Pledge and Pelosi. Walsh, who lost races in Chicago in the 1990s, and was viewed as flawed, ran a "textbook campaign" against 6-year Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean, and won by 290 votes. "Just Say No" to Obama's healthcare was his mantra. Walsh had over 70 "healthcare forums," which Bean ignored. Walsh became an Internet sensation when his supporters recited the Pledge of Allegiance at an October debate, after the moderator refused. Obama won the 8th Dist. with 56% in 2008, but 100,000 Obama voters failed to vote in 2010. Walsh will be a Democratic target in 2012, but he's proven himself to be an astute politician. Full Article...
February 16, 2011
"AURA OF INVINCIBILITY" SURROUNDS EMANUEL FOR MAYOR
For those with Einsteinian aptitude, here's the mathematical formula which will solve the riddle of Chicago's mayoral race: E=1,406,037x42%-70%w&33%b=2/22win(w/no4/5runoff)@310,000. For those arithmetically-challenged, it means Rahm Emanuel wins. Chicago's voter registration is 1,406,037, and turnout will be 42%, or between 600,000 and 630,000. To avoid a 4/5/11 runoff, Emanuel must get over 50% on 2/22, or around 310,000 votes. He must amass 70% of the white vote, 10% of the Hispanic vote, and 33% of the black vote. If he does so, he'll get 270,000 votes in the outlying "white ethnic" wards, 50,000 along the Lakefront, and 90,000-100,000 votes in the black wards -- just enough to win outright. In the West Rogers Park 50th Ward, the crotchety and curmudgeonly Ald. Berny Stone will meet his doom; he faces 5 opponents, the most formidable being Debra Silverstein, wife of St. Sen. Ira Silverstein, who has a solid base among Orthodox Jews. Expect a runoff. In the tempestuous 45th Ward battle, union "sweetheart" Marina Faz-Huppert is dropping like a rock, even though she is spending $200,000 on mailings. John Garrido and John Arena are neck-and-neck at 25%, seeking a runoff spot. In the 41st Ward, city cop Rich Gonzalez is closing fast, and could make the runoff. Full Article...
February 9, 2011
"BAILOUTS" ABOUND IN "TALE OF THREE WARDS" -- THE 36TH, 38TH, AND 47TH
Here's a "Tale of 3 Wards" -- the Northwest Side Chicago's 36th, 38th and 47th. It's a recapitulation and analysis of tawdry Machiavellian bailouts, dropouts, cop-outs, hand-offs, passovers and payoffs. The wards' 3 longtime aldermen (Banks, Allen and Schulter) have split for greener and safer pastures. Through a maze of chicanery, deceit, mendacity and/or simple clout, each has anointed the "next generation": John Rice, Tim Cullerton and Tom O'Donnell. In the 36th Ward, the Banks/DeLeo machine will insure Rice's win; he's Banks' former driver, and he gets his payoff. In the 38th Ward, the Cullerton Clan has a vise-like grip on its family heirloom -- the aldermanic seat. Since the ward was created in 1933, a Cullerton by blood or marriage has occupied it for 76 of 78 years. Tim Cullerton, a 33-year city payroller, finally gets to claim the family jewels. In the 47th Ward, the popular and respected Gene Schulter has besmirched his legacy, engaging in a mendacious and deceitful ploy to anoint his successor. He said he was running, filed, passed O'Donnell's petitions, filed them, and then withdrew. That's tawdry and disappointing. Full Article...
February 2, 2011
UNIONS' $250K "SWEETHEART" LEADS 45TH WARD ALDERMANIC RACE
It's "Marina time" in Chicago's Northwest Side 45th Ward. The unions' "sweetheart," Marina Faz-Huppert, will get up to $500,000 in union money for her aldermanic bid. She's a lobbyist for the stop-Wal-Mart United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The unions are Chicago's new Machine, and they want their puppets in the next city council, to do what "Mayor Rahm Emanuel" tells them. "Marina" will have 3 mailings per week for 5 weeks, at $13,000 a pop for printing and postage -- or close to $200,000. She faces 6 foes, and all are grousing about Marina's "pay-to-play" mentality. In a 17,500 turnout, Faz-Huppert will run first, with 30-35%; she's backed by outgoing Ald. Pat Levar, also the committeeman (D). The runners-up, looking to finish second and earn a 4/5 runoff spot, are Chicago cop John Garrido (backed by the Republicans), community activist John Arena (backed by the liberals), and deep-pocketed Michael Fitzgerald Ward, who will self-fund $200,000; eating their dust are Don Blair, Anna Klocek and Bruno Bellissimo. The outlook: Faz-Huppert touts herself as a "progressive" who "cares about working families." She's lived in the ward since 2009, and is not a property owner. Do ward voters want a union stooge as alderman? If she doesn't crest 40% on 2/22, she's toast in the runoff. Full Article...
Previous Articles