August 27, 2025
"VOLUNTEER" CHICAGO SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ARE IN IT FOR SOMETHING
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? As a lawyer for almost 45 years the most revolting two words in the legal profession were PRO BONO. That means doing a task for somebody else or some entity either voluntarily or involuntarily and for FREE. That is contrary to human nature, which is naturally pre-disposed towards greed, selfishness and ego satisfaction. You own your time and talent and it has value. And anybody who says otherwise is either a liar or really stupid. This brings up the Chicago School Board (CSB), which is an entity which has input into CPS funding and appointments. It once had seven mayor-appointed members and a chair. State legislation has since made it elective with 20 single-member districts created along with a citywide president, effective Nov. 2026. There were 10 members elected in 2024, of which four were backed by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). But then those 10 districts were halved and Brandon Johnson appointed 10 new pro-CTU members (see CHART) from the half where the 2024 winner did not reside. That gave the CTU its current 14-6 majority. All 20 districts elect an unpaid member to a 4-year term in 2026; if nobody gets a majority a runoff is set for Dec. 38TH WARD: Bannon, however, already has his Plan B. Whether or not he loses he’s planning on running for 38th Ward alderman in 2027, when incumbent Nick Sposato is expected to retire. It will be recalled that Bannon, who lives in the Dunning area, ran for alderman in 2023 and got 3,638 votes, or 27.2 percent, finishing 2nd in a field of 5. Bannon is a sometime protégé of state senator Rob Martwick (D-10), the 38th Ward Democratic committeeperson and sponsor of the elected CSB bill.Full Article...
August 13, 2025
JESSE JR. AND BLAGO HIGHLIGHT COMING YEAR OF EX-CONS, LOSERS, RETREADS
I’m fond of quoting Yogi Berra about “it ain’t over until it’s over,” but a lot of egomaniac politicians for whom it’s over persist in thinking it ain’t over. Can you follow that? If not, just think of New York City where alleged groper Andrew Cuomo and alleged briber Eric Adams are the alternatives to electing an anti-Semitic, anti-police, pro-Hamas Marxist communist Zohran Mamdani as mayor on Nov. 5. It would be like electing ex-con Jesse Jackson Jr., convicted of campaign finance fraud for using donor money to remodel his houses, as congressman again. Or like electing ex-con Rod Blagojevich, impeached as governor and then convicted of conspiracy to “sell” his appointment to Barack Obama’s senate seat in exchange for donations, who was jailed and disbarred, to statewide office again. But wait a minute. Is this the very best we can do? These guys are like a permanent fungal infection. Welcome to 2026: The Year of Ex-Cons, Ex-Losers and Retreads. Polling at this early stage is scarce so the best indicator of candidate strength and credibility is fundraising measured by quarterly FEC filings which indicate cash-on-hand (COH). Obviously if you can raise money NOW then you are perceived as a potential winner by Washington special interests and therefore raise much more later. Attached is a 6/30/25 2Q congressional cash-on-hand chart. Full Article...
August 6, 2025
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