September 17, 2025
REILLY MAY BE ABLE TO END PRECKWINKLE'S "SHELF LIFE" IN 2026 PRIMARY
Politicians have a finite “shelf life.” Just like cereal, over time they become stale and expendable. That’s the venerable Toni Preckwinkle’s plight as she approaches 2026 and seeks yet another 4 years as county board president. Longtime 42nd Ward alderman Brendan Reilly announced his intent to challenge 78-year old Preckwinkle in next year’s March 17 Democratic primary. I have no doubt about it: Reilly will be a credible, well-funded contender with the potential to build a winning coalition. “He (Reilly) would not run unless he was sure he could beat her (Preckwinkle)” said Nick Sposato (38th). “His polling must be positive.” Can a White guy beat a well-known Black woman in a Dem primary in COOK COUNTY? Sure. As detailed in the chart, getting slated is not a sure meal ticket to victory. In 2024 Eileen O’Neill Burke beat the Clayton Harris for state’s attorney. In 2022 slated Fritz Kaegi beat Kari Steele despite a lot of cognitive dissonance from trades unions (and their money) and Black leaders. In 2020 Kim Foxx beat a Bill Conway for state’s attorney. Foxx was previously Preckwinkle’s chief-of-staff and protégé. But in 2020 the slated White guy (Mike Cabonargi) lost to an insurgent and woefully underfunded Latina (Iris Martinez). In 2024 Martinez got dumped and the slated Mariyana Spyropoulos beat her. It’s all a game of musical chairs. IN ANOTHER development, county commissioner Bridget Degnen (D) from the 12th District is retiring in 2026 to become a full-time lobbyist for the pot industry. Candidates who may succeed her are Elizabeth Granato, a top aide to Preckwinkle and husband of state senator Ram Villivalam (D-8), who had over 800K on-hand as of June 30. He gave his wife more than 200K to jump-start her campaign Full Article...
September 10, 2025
NO ARTICLE THIS WEEK
September 3, 2025
COMING 2026 HOUSING MARKET BOOM WILL BE A BUST FOR SELLERS
There is no looming pot of gold. There is an enormous amount of pent-up demand among first-time potential home buyers for housing they can afford and among current downscale owners to upscale. And there is an equally enormous pent-up demand among home owners/sellers to unload their property for a bundle of cash. But that is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. There will be no bundle of cash for sellers in 2026, no pot of gold, no $500-700,000 pay day, no seller’s market. And that is because potential buyers simply cannot now and cannot later afford (nor get) a 400-600K mortgage; nor make a sufficient profit on their property sale. Quite simply you cannot sell if there is no money to buy. The coming glut of over-priced homes on the market means plunging prices and frustrated sellers. The current mortgage rate as determined by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and outgoing chair Jerome Powell (whose term expires next May) is 6.6 percent. That means a fixed-rate 30-year loan of, say, $400,000, is going to cost over 26K-a year in interest. I was a lawyer for 44 years, did 2 to 4 closings per month, and have seen booms and busts in the market. Full Article...
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...
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