August 16, 2017
NORTH KOREAN "CRISIS" COULD REVIVE TRUMP'S DISMAL POLL NUMBERS
Nuke, invade or ignore. Those are President Trump's options regarding the megalomaniac dictator of North Korea. Like JFK in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, Trump knows that, sooner or later, either Kim Jung-Un or his 10 nuclear missiles must go. Throughout U.S. history, stretching from the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Suez, Cuba, Vietnam, Iranian hostages, Gulf War and 9/11, how a president handles himself during an "international crisis" determines his re-electability. If Trump has any hope of a second term, he needs to solve the North Koran situation without Guam being nuked. Full Article...
August 9, 2017
PRO-EMANUEL ALDERMEN AT RISK IN 2019
The operative word is "separation." Republicans will want to distance themselves from President Trump in 2018, and Chicago Democrats will want to do likewise, and distance themselves from Mayor Emanuel in 2019. Northwest Side aldermen, particularly Marge Laurino (39th), Pat O'Connor (40th) and Deb Mell (33rd) are not doing a very good job. Their pro-Emanuel voting record will cause them serious problems in their 2019 re-election race -- if they run. Others, like Nick Sposato (38th) and Anthony Napolitano (41st) have compiled an anti-Emanuel voting record which will please their constituents. Full Article...
August 2, 2017
PRECKWINKLE, ARROYO BATTLE FOR MWRD SLATING PLUM
Cook County Democrats will engage in their usual slatemaking charade on Aug. 10-11, unveiling their "slated" candidates for countywide office in 2018, including assessor, sheriff, board president, clerk, treasurer and 4 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) commissioners. "It's a farce," said Ald. Nick Sposato. A "pre-slating" was held in June, and the recommendations of that entity will be rubber-stamped at the formal slatemaking, with a voice vote taken. The only suspense is a battle between Toni Preckwinkle and Luis Arroyo over whether the slatee for the 2-year MWRD term will be black or Hispanic. The vacancy arose when Comr. Cynthia Santos took a job at the state Pollution Control Board, boosting her pay from $70,000 to $117,000. Full Article...
July 26, 2017
MONEY TRAIL POINT TO VICTORS IN 2018, 2019
Follow the money. Those politicians who have are usually those who win, although there could be some notable exceptions, like Joe Berrios and Rahm Emanuel. ATTACHED IS A 2017 FUNDRAISING CHART detailing cash-on-hand as of 6-30-17 and 2017 fundraising by candidates for state, county and Chicago office, and by area state legislators and aldermen. The upcoming governor's race will feature spending of historic proportions. Full Article...
July 19, 2017
ILLINOIS' "REFORMS" ARE NON-REFORMATIVE
If, as now looks likely, Rahm Emanuel wins a third term as Chicago’s mayor in 2019, he can attribute his triumph to two unlikely people – Pat Quinn and Pate Philip. The ubiquitous Quinn, Illinois’ governor from 2009-15, was a longtime political gadfly, and will go into posterity as the man who reduced the size of the Illinois House from 177 to 118, thereby wiping out the Republican Party in Chicago, wiping out the Democratic bench in Chicago, and making it possible for Mike Madigan to remain as speaker now and forevermore. Quinn’s “Legislative Cutback Amendment” to change the state’s Constitution passed overwhelmingly in 1980, but eliminating 59 state representatives, effective 1982, didn’t realize any appreciable savings. Philip was the Republican Senate president in the mid-1990s, when Republicans dominated the legislature. Until that time, Chicago had a bifurcated election system, with a partisan election for the citywide offices of mayor, clerk and treasurer, entailing a primary and subsequent election, but non-partisan elections for the 50 aldermen, with runoffs if no candidate received a majority, as was the case since the 1930s. At that time, every ward has two aldermen. Effective 1999, Chicago had non-partisan primary/runoff system, with no party designation, no party primary, and a runoff if no candidate received a primary majority. The result of these so-called “reforms” was pernicious and counter-productive. Full Article...
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