September 28, 2022
GARCIA OR QUINN WILL BEAT LIGHTFOOT IN 2023 MAYORAL RUNOFF

It’s all about who is in second place. The second-best means being better than all the rest of the candidates in Chicago’s 2023 mayoral election. Sort of like a racing trifecta: Win, place, show – except that “show” is meaningless next Feb. 28, as Bill Daley discovered in 2019. “Place” in February likely means a “win” on April 4. The fact that more than a dozen aspirants want to take on an incumbent mayor is unprecedented, especially given the mayor’s power to fund-raise and control the city agenda. Polling suggests that the mayor is neither likeable nor popular. She seems arrogant, egotistical, intolerant and crude. And that’s probably being charitable. She allegedly once stated that she had the biggest penis in Chicago, “bigger than you and the Italians,” when discussing the controversial Columbus statue. Lightfoot is an accidental mayor, getting just 17.5 percent in the 2019 primary. Few Chicagoans want 4 more years. Attached is a list of 2023 candidates and of the 2019 results. Full Article...


September 21, 2022
EMERGING 2023 CHICAGO ALDERMANIC FIELD NOT ALL WOKE LEFTISTS

There is a lot of room on the Left and it’s getting crowded. As Chicago’s 2023 aldermanic  field develops, with a filing deadline of Nov. 29, there is a surprising smidgen of diversity and it’s toward the Center. There are some MCGA candidates, an acronym for “Make Chicago Great Again.” There are some KLL candidates, an acronym for “Keep Lori Lightfoot.”  And there is a plethora of EMA candidates, an acronym for “Enact My Agenda,” mostly on the north Lakefront and Latino wards but not on the Northwest Side. Here's an early analysis of developing aldermanic contests and candidacies in wards 38, 45, 36. 33, 40, 26, 30, 34, 1 and 29. Full Article...


September 14, 2022
CHICAGO POLITICAL DYNASTIES AND FAMILY BUSINESSES ENVY BRITISH ROYALTY

The point of this column is to contrast the real royals over there with the fake royalty over here, meaning the political class which is forever seeking to build dynasties to perpetuate their personal wealth and power, and KEEP IT in the family for future generations. It is important to identify a political DYNASTY, which is a clan which accumulates and maintains some degree of control over their geographical fiefdom for at least 3 generations – from founder/patriarch to child/legacy to grandchild – spanning at least 50 years of dominance. That’s far different from a FAMILY BUSINESS (FB), which is just one politician grooming their kid or kin to succeed them. A family business does no usually last more than 2 generations, usually 25 years tops. There are a load of those in Chicago and a few in Illinois. FB’s are transient, especially with the voter pool continually turning over. But dynasties are rare, with most crumbled and gone.GOING OUT OF BUSINESS: They’re gone. And the names of these 2-generation family businesses are Mell, Lipinski, Hynes, McAuliffe, Madigan, Berrios, Arroyo, Lyons, Stroger, Rostenkowski and Stevenson. Still operating are Stephens, Pucinski, Martwick, Osterman, Sawyer, Steele and Jackson. Full Article...


September 7, 2022
TRUMPISM, ABORTION WILL NOT THWART REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR GAINS -- DeSANTIS, ABBOTT WILL WIN BIG

Democrats have done an extraordinary job of rebounding and reconfiguring the national political environment. What was once a likely referendum on the Biden-Harris administration’s many failed policies, and a Nov. 8 wipe-out, has evolved into a choice between Trumpism and non-Trumpism. But Republicans will do well in the 36 2022 governor races.The reason is that the electorate approves the policies and performance of those governors – Ron DeSantis (FL), Greg Abbott (TX), Kim Reynolds (IA) and Brian Kemp (GA) – and the Democrats cannot use Trump to polarize and propagandize those races. Each governor stands alone, and Nov. 8 is a referendum on him or her, not Biden or Trump. And each presents a strong contrast to Biden and the Far Left, especially on COVID, crime, schooling and immigration. New York is developing as another marquee race where Trump is not a factor, nor will it be in  OH, MN, NV, KN, NE or OR, where Republican candidates are conservative but not MAGA types. Full Article...


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