UIUC College Dems

Who will Chair the County Board?

2006-12-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

The Champaign County Board will swear in its new members tonight at its organizational meeting. The board will also elect a new Chair, who will serve a two year term. The position of Champaign County Board Chair is a quasi-full time job and pays $30,000 a year. The chair has considerable influence, most importantly the power to appoint members of county boards such as the CUMTD and the Public Health District.

Who will be the new boss? Will it be the same as the old boss? (yes I couldn't resists The Who lyric). As of the time of this post, it looks like this will be the vote breakdown on the first ballot: 12 votes for Republican John Jay (there are 12 members of the Republican caucus), 11 votes for former County Board Vice Chair Tony Fabri (the Democratic caucus minus the Wysocki crew), and 4 votes for incumbent Chair Barb Wysocki (Wysocki, Beckett, McGinty and newcomer Carrie Melin).

It takes a majority, 14 votes, to win election as Chair. That means there will be a deadlock after one round of voting. That means there will have to be some kind of compromise. Either the Wysocki crew will swing their votes to Jay and have a GOP Chair preside over a Democratic controlled board, or they will come to their senses and vote for Fabri, the duly elected choice of the Democratic caucus.

What will happen? It's still anyone's guess at this point, but I should have an update later tonight.

copy/paste

2006-04-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Your liberal media...

2006-04-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

ON MAY 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, US President George Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his Administration in Iraq: two small trailers captured by US troops were long-sought mobile "biological laboratories". He declared: "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."

The claim, repeated by top Bush Administration officials for months afterwards, was hailed as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Mr Bush spoke, US intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.[Link]

George W. Bush is a liar.

Although legal experts agree that the president has broad authority to declassify information, there are limits. For example, it is unclear whether a president can override laws designed to protect certain categories of sensitive information, such as a 1982 statute that makes it unlawful to expose the identity of an undercover CIA officer.[Link]

So were trusting this guy to conduct unwarranted wiretaps when he declassifies sensitive information to silence critics even though Wilson was correct and endangering an operative tracking Iranian WMDs? Nepotism had nothing to do with Wilson's assignment, unlike George W. Bush's entire Presidency.

The notion that President Bush held unrealistic or naïve views about the consequences of war was further advanced recently by a Bush supporter, the evangelist Pat Robertson, who revealed that Bush had told him the Iraq invasion would yield no casualties. In addition, in recent days, high-ranking US military officials have complained that the White House did not provide them with adequate resources for the task at hand.
...
“He told me that as a leader, you can never admit to a mistake,” Herskowitz said. “That was one of the keys to being a leader.”[Link]

We have a LUNATIC for a President.

And then we'll get to the bottom of this and move on. But I want to tell you something -- leaks of classified information are a bad thing. And we've had them -- there's too much leaking in Washington. That's just the way it is. And we've had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I've spoken out consistently against them and I want to know who the leakers are.[Link]

Well we sure have gotten to the bottom of it haven't we? George W. Bush is willing to do anything to avoid being held accountable. He puts his person and party over reality while the Right-Wing noise machine and lazy traditional media prevent the American people from ever knowing the truth.

3.31.06

2006-03-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

-So is it Kossacks or Bush who live in a bubble?
-Great satire series at DailyKos.
-Jill Carroll is released then savaged by a lunatic.
-Cool animations about how blue our country is becoming.
-Insurgents in Iraq continue aim at soft targets.
-Seems more like an idol of crass consumerism than pro-life sculpture to me.

3.28.06

2006-03-28T11:03:00.000-08:00

-Bush's chief of staff resigns.
-The immigration bill moving to the Senate has lost much of its teeth.
-Jack Abramoff to be sentenced tomorrow.
-McCain is snuggling up to Jerry Falwell, what a political hack.
-Emptywheel gives a great run-down of the role of pseudonyms in American history.
-PastorDan is promising to take the airwaves back from religious extremists.
-Homeland security is working hard for the pharmaceutical companies.
-We now have a party chairman who will hold Republicans accountable for their actions, which is somehow controversial.

copy/paste update:

2006-03-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today: at 8:00pm in 213 Greg Hall, Illini PAC is holding a panel on the Israeli elections (also on March 28th). There will be a debate between the three candidates for Prime Minister of Israel (people playing them obviously) and a vote among audience members.

Wednesday: at 8:00pm in 210 Illini Union, a team of College Democrats will debate a team of College Republicans on a wide range of national issues, from Iraq to Social Security. Come cheer on your fellow Democrats!

A day you will forget in the not too distant future: The Annual College Dems Spring Bar Crawl will be on Thursday, April 6th, we'll send out the schedule next week. The t-shirts will be $10 and will be black. The back will feature an FDR campaign poster promoting his opposition to prohibition and will say "Democrats: The party that ended prohibition" and "celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the 21st amendment." If you would like to order a shirt, please e-mail your size to Jake ( smallhor@uiuc.edu).

Election Results: Well it was a good day for incumbents, boring for us blogger underdogs.

Governor- Rod Blagojevich
Treasurer- Alexi Giannoulias
Cook County Board President- John Stroger
3rd District Congress- Dan Lipinski
6th District Congress- Tammy Duckworth
14th District Congress- John Laesch

What it's like to be poor

2006-03-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

It's hard to sleep at night. Your mind is so anxious with burning thoughts of how to survive can only be calmed by substances, preferable a $1.70 40 oz. of Ice House. Being poor doesn't justify violence, stealing, or vandalism but it affects every action you take. It weighs on your mind like a burden, it forces a fatalism onto your every thought and spoken word. It means walking your sneakers thin and wearing whatever you raided from Old Navy's clearance rack for years. You cling to all your possessions and your past because it's all you have.

Your dreams are haunted with scenarios that you awake from relieved that it's just your weary imagination. But then reality hits and it's little better. You're always on the brink, waiting for the next disaster that if it doesn't kill you, desensitizes you even more. Thankfully, for now, living in poverty in America still provides many comforts, food is plentiful and cheap, the police guard your safety, there are public libraries, and tv or radio to inform and entertain. You probably don't have a car, so you either adventure to work, school, or the store on unreliable, time-consuming public transportation; walk yourself scrawny, or car pool. Car pooling forces you to associate at work with whoever is friendly enough to take you, but most likely your fast-food job has a turn-over rate so high that soon you'll fell like a car-whore. High-turnover jobs force you to become desensitized to the coming and going of the new same-old-face as they come and go.

But maybe instead of working retail of fast-food you're a janitor, which is like being a better paid but less glamorous house-wife: you're only acknowledged when you mess up. If you're paid by the hour but improve your inefficiency you take home less pay, and for some reason it's physically strenuous jobs like Fed-Ex package handling that don't offer health-care.

Human beings are social animals, and that doesn't change when you're poor. We spend to conform in an attempt to feel secure and live comfortably among friends. The poor like everyone make stupid choices in an attempt to fit-in. It's hard having to see the upper-middle class norm in tv shows, magazines, and movies and not become hopelessly envious which clouds our decisions. It's equally hard to watch people drown in New Orleans or come back from Iraq minus a limb and resist the urge to give what little you have to charity when it may mean missing your rent. Our generosity and weaknesses are scientifically exploited by advertisers who prey upon our insecurities and desires. You slap "all natural" or "reinvested directly back" on anything and it's hard for me to resist buying even if it costs an extra dollar that I really shouldn't be paying.

Money is the prime tension between broken families and marriages, and it's not hard to imagine why (except to the Bush dynasty I'm sure). Living with limited resources forces one to adopt a de-facto Social Darwinism philosophy that no matter how hard you try to combat keeps being proved true again and again. You calculate a parents love by comparing what they do for you compared to another sibling. It makes men feel impotent and any sexual act becomes an expression of frustration rather than love. All your social relationships are affected. Any friendship will naturally wane when you can't go out to eat or on that even-modest spring-break trip when others can. Soon you feel like a parasite and act out, hyper-defensively, to prove you aren't, straining the friendship even more. If you ever do crawl out of poverty you wonder if one of the countless friends that disappeared from your life will one day turn-up on your porch to ask for some ridiculous favor. You fear the nightly-sirens are coming for a friend who crossed that precarious line between desperate and criminal. People wonder why you don't talk about yourself and its because you'll just depress them and yourself.

And even though you might be white, strait, and male you too know what it's like to be pre-judged negatively when your credit card bounces at the grocery store or you're flagged and followed at Wal-Mart by "disguised" security guards because of your worn-out clothes. And it makes you fear taking control of your life and planning your future because your past is full of disaster. You lack job-skills because your family didn't have that spare computer to tinker with. Your public school is full of both wonderful teachers and those who couldn't care less about you because they have their own problems, let alone whatever potentially violent adventures you might face walking home or on the playground that day.

And from the comments of Booman Tribune, you can find the original essay here:

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you're being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it's all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn't spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won't listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn't go away.

Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree.

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is knowing where the shelter is.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.

Being poor is people wondering why you didn't leave.

This is the sad reality of our current system:

Being poor means having to pay your bills with money orders because all the banks have you blacklisted and won't let you open a checking account.

Being poor means having to pay a fee to a check-cashing service because you can't open that checking account.

Being poor means having to pay your car insurance bill monthly, including the $3 service charge that you wouldn't have to pay if you could pay the whole bill at once.

Being poor means late charges.

Being poor means higher interest rates.

Being poor means no sick days; if you don't go to work, you don't get paid.

Being poor means having to pay a $50 fine becuase you got a ticket for a busted muffler that you couldn't afford to fix in the first place.

Being poor means throwing mud on your license plates because you couldn't afford to renew them on time, and hoping that you don't get stopped in a roadblock.

Being poor means higher heating bills because you live in poorly-insulated housing.

Ides of March

2006-03-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

-So basically the Government now has Googles sex searches, which lord knows what they're going to do with it. If they really are just using it to prevent children from accessing pornography then I suppose it's a good thing. Especially considering this DISGUSTING revelation (gee I wonder why they acted now?). Imagine having those leaked to your mom!
-Disputed number of Iraqi's killed.
-Problems with our only 9-11 Trial, thank goodness bin Laden promised to save us the trouble (good I say, since I oppose capital punishment).
-Read this.
-Why I love the internet.
-Bush caught in another war exaggeration (at least).
-Heh, Clooney's post explained.
-Support Feingold's censure.

Gill's volunteer appreciation night:

2006-03-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended the Dr. David Gill Volunteer Appreciation night at our Champaign office. David Gill is an emergency room physician running to unseat Rep. Tim Johnson in IL-15. In true grassroots fashion we're making the most of our money and energy even though "political insiders" don't think it's a winnable race. But progressives must stand up for their beliefs in every district, we know no "red state/blue state". So that's what we're doing.

We had some pizza, ate some brownies/frozen peaches, soda, and watched Outfoxed. I unknowingly took the last slice of pizza, but hey, ya snooze you lose (my finances are such that I rarely pass up free food). I'd say at one point there were maybe 30 people there, basically 4 seniors, a middle age couple, and about 20-25 of us college kids. After the movie the room naturally divided into those below 25 and those not, except a women who deals with healthcare issues in the area approached us and began asking us questions about local politics. She was very smart and at one point commented "What do people under 25 see their role as in a future neo-conservative world?" Well I gave a lot of thought to that and basically my answer is: either you're a lawyer, engineer, in the military or you're a bitch. Boy, I hope we never reach such a world! My thoughts on Outfoxed below...

I hadn't seen Outfoxed, I prefer "objective" to propaganda documentaries, although if I remember correctly the film's directors did try to interview Fox executives (still, it's not like that's they only "pro-Fox" source you could get). But Fox played with fire, so they were just asking to get burned. The film is basically setting up Bill O'Reilly and his lesser cohorts at Fox to look stupid or maniacal, but that's what Fox has been doing to it's competition for years and all is fair in love and war. The film inspired a new understanding of people like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter.

Basically you have these people who wake up, read the newspaper or watch those cheesy Morning News shows, then write an opinion on whatever they find distasteful (it's not like this would even be hard...). They then go to their radio show and repeat the same opinion, then their Cable TV show and repeat the same message, and that's in between their book tours which are just a collection of those same opinions. They have a large, collectively-wealthy, niche who can comfortably support all their advertisers and buy their books! They've created this niche by basically demonizing 49% of Americans, but what I just don't get is what do these people have to be so upset by? I remember Ann Coulter writing something along the lines "I wish I was doing as well as Cindy Sheehan" financially. But if I had to guess, I'd say Ann Coulter is already more wealthy than Sheehan will ever be. No wonder her biggest concern is Islamic terrorism, she's made a career on personally provoking it! Mean while the rest of us who aren't worthy of making millions for simply repeating our formulaic opinions over and over, again, have to worry about other things in addition to Israel and Iran. You know like school loans, depleted uranium and health care.

I really liked O'Reilly's line "Hey, I believe in global warming," it struck me with the sincerity of "I'm not homophobic I read Andrew Sullivan." Conservatives attitudes toward energy alternatives to oil and nuclear power basically amounts to "why bother?" Well we have to start some time and just imagine if conservatives got half as excited about energy inventions as compared to latest way to bomb a country into a democracy. I was also struck by just how boyishly charming George W. Bush can be, I had never seen some of that footage. Like O'Reilly and his ego-maniac ilk, I too like to write my opinions into my writing, but unlike them, I enjoy being corrected where I'm mistaken and my personal rants edited by others where they seem to think their opinions are beyond reproach. It's definitely worth renting or buying.

3.10.06

2006-03-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

When she's on she's on, Cindy Sheehan has a great diary at Daily Kos about her recent UN protest:
Why was I targeted for the abuse? Is it revenge for my work at exposing the lies of BushCo, of which John Bolton is a leading co-criminal? Or is it to discourage other activists from taking the same path I have taken: demanding an end to the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq, and demanding that our freedoms be returned to us? I wish the Senate had the courage to stand up to the fascists in our government--or are the 90 who voted "Yea" to extend the Patriot Act also co-slitherers into fascism?
...
When we were in the cockroach and feces-decorated jail system in NYC the other night, we met some other women who felt they had to resort to crime to try to survive in BushWorld. We met intelligent young women who felt their last resort was to resort to victimless crimes. Now for their petty thefts, they will have to spend months in institutions where they are stripped of any human dignity or comfort. All of the women we met knew they broke the law and were resigned to their punishment but where is the justice in our system where all people are supposedly equal?

However, we four white, middle-class women were the lucky ones. We only had to spend one night in jail and we knew our lawyers would be there in the morning to spring us. When we were heading for court, we walked by our sisters in the holding cell and our hearts sank, because we know what it is like to spend even one night in jail. Our souls also connected with our sisters and brothers all over the world who are imprisoned in far worse conditions by the policies of BushCo and are being inhumanely tortured by these same medieval and draconian policies.

Even if John Bolton, L. Paul Bremer, George Bush, Halliburton execs, etc. ad nauseum are ever punished, we all know the conditions won't be (but should be) as harsh as those of the other people who live in subhuman conditions because of them. These people operate on the standard of having all the money and all the power and they don't care for anyone who they victimize on their way to obtaining their obscene and ill-gotten gains.

UIUC Democracy for America's latest newsletter makes clear why any one who actually values lives other than their own should vote Democrat in the fall.

There have been some incredible Daily Kos diaries the last couple days:
Urban Education, Slate sucks, Iran summary, georgia10 slaps Melhman, and I dug up this gem.
~~I actually found a great Pajama's~~ media story (I guess he's not with Pajama's)last week.
Great tag.

Illinois Gov Primary

2006-03-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

So I thought I'd let everyone know about Edwin Eisendrath who's running to replace Blago as the Democratic candidate for Governor. He's really an amazing guy, here's an excerpt from a Daily Kos diary:

On state funding of the education budget, Eisendrath wants to increase education revenues by $2 billion by diversifying the tax base. Currently most education revenues come from property taxes, which he believes is not only detrimental to the business environment, but creates a school funding gap from wealthy to poor areas. By using the state's general fund, education would be paid for from all state revenue sources, thereby providing broader funding distribution, and ensuring that schools in economically depressed areas are not short changed just because they are in neighborhoods with low property values. Eisendrath also pointed out that he was once a Chicago public school teacher. In fact, much of his professional career has been in the educational and public service fields.

After graduating Harvard University, Eisendrath taught in the public schools of Chicago, spent 8 years as an alderman on the city council, and was involved in the creation of the "Clybourn Corridor," one of the most successful commercial areas in the Midwestern US. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to be Midwest Regional Director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he oversaw the task of cleaning up the corrupted Chicago Housing Authority. By the time Eisendrath was finished, the Chicago Housing Authority received its first "clean audit" in more a decade. By his tone, you tell could it was something he takes great pride in. He now works as a college administrator, and pointed out that the IT director of his college, an Illinois National Guardsman, was just called up to serve in Iraq. He also stated emphatically that he has always been against the war and can see the toll it is taking among the Illinois National Guard.

So when are we going to invade Iran?

2006-03-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

From Intel Dump:

And, incredibly, Bush was re-elected based on the impression that he was better at national security. War with Iran is now increasingly likely, and war with Iran risks the very survival of our republic. All because 19 guys with box-cutters flew some planes into some buildings, and people who have never known fear got scared.

Well here we are, 3 years later with a fresh new war for BushCo to frighten people into voting Republican in the mid-term elections. It's interesting that those of us who opposed the Iraq war from the beginning were implicated as racists who didn't believe Iraq could achieve democracy. Even though last time I checked, it's people who think they can benevolently bestow democracy on other cultures they don't even understand who are probably racist, or at the very least completely ignorant.

If we were to begin a war of choice 3 years ago it would have made much more sense to support the once rising pro-US youth of Iran, but no doubt Bush has shredded whatever respect Iranian reformers had for the United States. If only Iran had Iraq's oil reserves, we'd probably be there already, but heaven forbid they develop nuclear power to you know, power hospitals and schools and stuff, Bush just can't allow that!

2.21.06

2006-02-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

-Hilarious, now you too can become a Republican.
-Smoking Gun unearths this great guy.
-Why I fear the future...gotta stop sitting behind a computer after a few beers...
-George W. Bush threatens his possible first veto.
-We have created a monster.
-Favorite blog I found this week: Post an Apology

So has anyone mentioned that...

2006-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

Justin is running for Student Senate?

Does anyone know what his platform is? Replacing the "Chief" with Paul Konerko? That's my hope.

Sunday Morning Comics:

2006-02-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

(click on image to enlarge)

Sutton Impact:

Minimum Security:

Tom the Dancing Bug:

Wonkette:

This Modern World:

Frerichs Launches Website

2006-02-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

Champaign County Auditor Mike Frerichs of rural Gifford, the Democratic candidate for Illinois State Senate, has officially launched his campaign website.

TV Ad Wars

2006-02-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

Well it's officially primary campaign season now that the TV ad wars have begun. Here's the UIUC College Dems analysis of the various ads:

Bill Brady- The "tough on termites" reference is a little bizarre and slightly confusing, but overall this is pretty good ad. The message is good and Brady is telegenic. The question is how many more of these wil Brady be able to pay for? Overall grade: B+

Judy Baar Topinka- This ad is highly conventional, but I think it will be fairly effective. Topinka reminds GOP voters that she is by far the most experienced candidate, touts her fiscal conservatism, attacks the governor, and speaks directly into the camera. There's also a good shot of her with Jim Edgar. Overall grade: B+

Ron Gidwitz- Gidwitz had poured millions into TV ads over the last six months and most of them have been unimpressive: too flashy, not enough substance, unattractive graphics. The newest ad stands out because it is the first by any candidate to go negative on Topinka. The claims are a bit shaky and Gidwitz has gotten some negative media coverage over this, but if seen by enough GOP voters the ad may reinforce some of their apprehensions about Judy. Overall grade: C+

Rod Blagojevich- The governor has finally admitted that he's running for reelection with the launch of his first TV ad yesterday. At 60 seconds it's a tad long and the tone could be more upbeat, but the message is clear and presents an image of a strong record. His mea culpa is also a good preemptive move. Overall grade: A-

Edwin Eisendrath- He may be a first time statewide candidate and his campaign is underfunded, but even conceding those two points, this ad is just plain awful. He's not looking into the camera, he sounds heavily scripted, the message is all over the place, and it looks like it was filmed in a damn ski lodge. Plus this ad is only airing on cable in Chicago. Laurel Prussing ran a better ad for Mayor of Urbana. I give this one a D.

College Dems Endorse Kirchner/Bell

2006-02-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

The UIUC College Democrats voted unanimously to endorse challengers Bob Kirchner and Lisa Bell in the Democratic Primary for two seats in Champaign County Board District 9.

In a related story, the News-Gazette reported today that County Board Chair Barbara Wysocki was caught using county resources for political purposes. Wysocki used county stationery and the county postage meter to send a campaign letter to the UIUC College Democrats asking for our endorsement.

This action was clearly in violation of the county ethics statute, which "prohibits the use of any county "property or resources" in "support of or in connection with any campaign for elective office." Penalties for violating the ordinance can include up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,500 and discipline or discharge.

State's Attorney Julia Rietz has refused to investigate even though the State's Attorney's Office conducted an investigation of County Clerk Mark Shelden in 2004 for a similar offense. Rietz has endorsed Wysocki and former law partner Steve Beckett.

2.10.06

2006-02-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

-Well I'm feeling lazy today so I'll just link to Kos's open threads.
-I urge everyone to check out Soap-Blox Chicago and start reading it daily (this goes for me too).

Well I may be gone for bit, and while none of you are asking "When will I be back?" I'll tell anyways. When I get my PC fixed and hooked up with linux so I can start blogging for real (I've decided to have as little to do with Microsoft as humanly possible).

A parting blow: Illini Pundit proudly presents us with the definition of a pundit (because you know, you're too dumb to know it already):

pundit: (noun) an expert or opinion-leader, particularly in the field of political analysis.

What's interesting is to see the site evolve from being run by a public official (illegal), to copy/pasting emails, and now gratuitous key-board orgies. Now compare this to ArchPundit, who can somehow gather political information expertly without the slaves of college-Republicans that Illini "Pundit" has come to rely on. Perhaps while they're upgrading they should change the definition of Illini to "a group of people who think they're way smarter than they actually are," at least then they'd get points for being honest.

Can you tell the difference?

2006-02-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

So let's contrast what discussion looks like on a Democratic Blog versus what gets posted on Illini Pundit:

In the comments of this thread you can find this exchange:
(The quotes are from "anonymous")

McCain called out the bi-partisan poser...Barak Obama. McCain has a long history or working with Democrat on bills and has the voting record to back it up. What has Obama done to back-up his words of "one America"? He's voted party line every time. He SAID he would work with a bi-partisan group for ethics reform, but then DOES the opposite and decides to only support the Harry Reid bill, which if funny considering Reid has been in bed with Jack Abramoff for years -http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/09/D8FLR3380.html - Obama tried pulling his poser BS with the wrong guy and got called on it. The shine on this guy has dimmed greatly. Now he just looks like another Democrat. Sorry kiddies.

Interesting point "anonymous," if I follow your logic it's the DEMOCRATS who have been working in a bipartisan fashion for 10 or so years plus McCain.

The logic is that there are some Senators who DO work in a bi-partisan fashion and some who TALK about it. Obama is part of the latter while McCain is part of the former.

If you say so...sorry if Obama's thinking, disagreeing and changing his mind blows your[s] ~~mind~~.

Barak Obama...the next great Democratic flip-flopper!

"sorry if Obama's thinking, disagreeing and changing his mind blows your mind."
- No, betraying your word and your rhetoric just plain blows, espically when thats all you have to offer.

"Flip-flopping," BETRAYL, rhetoric! Poor anonymous, have you been reading Illini Pundit all day again? Because you can't seem to think beyond its posts. Here is a gratuitous copy/paste job so you don't even have to go there anymore:

More Better Cops

Out of nowhere the following comment recently appeared in an open thread:

Does anybody know why there is such a sharp contrast between Urbana police and Champaign cops?
Every time I’ve interacted with an Urbana police officer, I’ve been pleased with the experience. They seem to be well-trained, educated, diplomatic, and intelligent.
When I’ve dealt with Champaign cops, in contrast, I’ve generally been pretty dissatisfied. They seem to be hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated.
I just don’t get it.

Notice that Urbana has police and Champaign has cops. I was in a helpful mood, so I replied as follows:

Dear I Have a Question,
Have you tried moving the venue of your criminal activity from Champaign to Urbana? I have found that commission of a crime has a noticeable effect on an officer’s demeanor.
The other possibility is that since you are running into people who are “hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated,” you might be mistaking a heretofore undiscovered tribe of badged aborigines for police officers. Just because these people are in donut shops does not mean they are policemen.
Do a little further research and let us know what you discover.
John (Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the inexcusable rudeness) Bramfeld

Another poster then weighed in with this showstopper:

Consider the possibility that one might have occasion to interact with, and observe the behavior of, police officers without engaging in criminal activity.
Try again.
I agee with the post. Urbana is a much better run community than Champaign, in every possible way.

So now the gauntlet has been thrown. Not only must we decide whether the Champaign Police are“ hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated,” we must decide whether Urbana is “a much better run community than Champaign, in every possible way.”

I will start the ball rolling, but before I flatten anyone with it, let me tell you my background so you may fairly evaluate my opinion as coming from a superior vantage point.

I lived in a trailer in Urbana for three years.

I lived in a house on Vermont St. in Urbana for 14 years.

I practiced law in Urbana for 23 years.

I have lived in a house in the center of Champaign for 16 years.

I have practiced law in Champaign for 9 years.

I am the current Chairman of the Fire and Police Commission for Champaign.

I apparently flunked the Urbana Police employment test in 1975.

I have a degree in Administration of Justice,.

I have received one ticket from an Urbana Police officer and too many to remember from the Champaign Police.

OK, now let’s get briefly back to the initial charge against the Champaign Police, duly seconded by some anonymous or other: They, and this probably includes me and Chief Finney, are ”hostile, intolerant, illogical, dumb, and uneducated.” Because this complainant is obviously intelligent and educated, we should assume when he accuses the police of being “dumb” he is not simply repeating his “illogical” charge, because that would not be particularly logical or educated. Thus, based on my experience, we can knock out the charge that Champaign policemen are unable to speak. That leaves ”hostile,” “intolerant,” “illogical” and “uneducated.” Speaking in my official capacity for both myself, Chief Finney and all policemen west of Wright St., all I can say is “What’s wrong with that?”

Now that I have demonstrated beyond a doubt that the Champaign Police are superior in every way, it is time for citizens to step forward and tell us why Urbana, or Champaign, is “a much better run community in every possible way.” Before you liberals start crowing about your human rights record in Urbana, keep in mind that there is now twice as much Wal-Mart per capita in Urbana than Champaign. And you Champaign residents, let’s make Jerry proud.

That's really interesting John Bramfeld, did you orgasm all over your key-board after writing that? Oh, and anonymous, it's Barack Obama, as I found out the hard way yesterday. And believe it or not, just because someone is dealing with the police doesn't mean they've broken the law. I can't believe that even needs to be said, especially if half of his jizz-fest post is true. Ever try to return a lost dog jack-ass (probably not because he wouldn't even care to)?

2.9.06

2006-02-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

-Nora Ephron on why men get all weak-kneed at the sight of John McCain (and yeah, it's probably the torture thing).
-King George on the political corectness of leaking.
-Informed Comment gets a little creative.
-On music and group-think (shhhh, let's hope Fox doesn't figure this out).
-EFF sues AT&T to stop surveillance.
-The "Austin Mayor" posts on Abramoff/Republicans.
-Favorite blog I found this week.

Update: It's nice to have our first copy/paster, here I'll even link to it (oops...another one of my spelling mistakes).

Few of you will notice, but I have a strict policy of never linking to New York Times' articles because they're put up behind a firewall after a certain amount of time. It's bad enough that your paper has been publishing right-wing conspiracies on the front-page for years, but The Gray Lady is the most over-rated piece of trash on the planet and isn't even worth registering for, sorry (but the Village Voice...).

John McCain is the Idiot.

2006-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I expressed some frustration with Armando for copy/pasting quotes of Dean and Obama from a horrid NY Times article, then calling them idiots with no real explanation. While I understand the need to vent and sympathize being frustrated with Democrats who fall into Republican narratives, calling Dean and Obama idiots just perpetuates a culture of victimization that we as Democrats need to get over.

So who do I think is an idiot? John McCain. While I think his intentions are sincere and fully-respect his service to our country, he is Bush's biggest tool. And that was before his attacks on Barack Obama.

First to summarize the exchange of letters between Obama and McCain (from georgia10's post):

Obama:

I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work on writing ethics and lobbying reform legislation that a majority of the Senate can support. Committee consideration of these matters through the normal course will ensure that these issues are discussed in a public forum and that those within Congress, as well as those on the outside, can express their views, ensuring a thorough review of this matter.

So McCain blows-up because Obama won't sit on his precious government-committee (instead wanting to work on real legislation):

Dear Senator Obama:

I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere. When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership's preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter to me dated February 2, 2006, which explained your decision to withdraw from our bipartisan discussions. I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won't make the same mistake again.

And:

As I noted, I initially believed you shared that goal. But I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator.

Funny how "anti-big-government" McCain's writing is full of jargon and confusing sentence structures (a sign of his growing senility?) while Obama's is clear, to the point, and respectful:

[I] am puzzled by your response to my recent letter. Last Wednesday morning, you called to invite me to your meeting that afternoon. I changed my schedule so I could attend the meeting. Afterwards, you thanked me several times for attending the meeting, and we left pledging to work together.

As you will recall, I told everyone present at the meeting that my caucus insisted that the consideration of any ethics reform proposal go through the regular committee process. You didn't indicate any opposition to this position at the time, and I wrote the letter to reiterate this point, as well as the fact that I thought S. 2180 should be the basis for a bipartisan solution.

I confess that I have no idea what has prompted your response. But let me assure you that I am not interested in typical partisan rhetoric or posturing. The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

So, let's get this strait, the Republican Party for the past five years has been:

Rushing to war with Iraq.

Fucking up that war.

Living a life of unabashed decadence.

Violating every imaginable ethics-law.

Living off of pork (something McCain supposedly fights so hard to stop).

Untold amounts of unwarranted spying on American Citizens with no meaningful judicial review.

Systematically destroying the environment.

Bribing columnists to promote their failed education policies.

Celebrating McCain's birthday while Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans.

Ignoring any real steps toward energy independence.

Ignoring the impending Medicare crisis in order to dismantle Social Security.

Outsourcing torture (which McCain has failed to stop).

And John McCain is upset that Obama won't sit on a government-committee? It's interesting that he's so worried about "bi-partisan" reform while his entire party is corrupt to the core. Don't forget it's King George who's campaign allowed slander to be spread about him and it'll be interesting to see what he does when Karl Rove does it again when McCain runs for President.
---
From the comments:

You fully respect John McCain's service to the country then call into question his commitment to ending torture?

I'm willing to bet John McCain got the shit kicked out of him in Vietnam more times than you can count, just so you have the right to post ridiculous hyperbole.

If Obama were smarter, he would realize that McCain can help him get things done in the Senate. Isn't a strong record of bi-partisan legislation what Obama will need when he runs for higher office? Looks like he made a freshman mistake.

I agree completely, McCain helped make the "blogosphere" with his and Feingold's campaign finance bill, but his letters to Obama were just rude and misinformed, sorry (but I'll moderate the ending's tone, thanks).

2.8.06

2006-02-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

-Bush proposes cuts in Social Security for widows an orphans, how compassionate.
-Jack Abramoff emails reveal he and Bush were friendly after all.
-Funny how there's always more money in the budget for the Pentagon.
-BagnewsNotes analyzes Bush at Coretta Scott King's funeral.
-Armando and I battle (he wins of course).

Oberweis: Spank 'Em

2006-02-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

GOP gubernatorial hopeful/perennial candidate/dairy man Jim Oberweis' solution to Illinois' education woes: corporal punishment!

In response to a questionnaire from the Daily Herald, Oberweis suggested that teachers in public schools should be able to spank children whose parents approve specific methods and waive liability.

Well there you go, Oberweis has now officially been sapped of any remaining credibility as a candidate for public office.

Heh...

2006-02-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

My apologies to those over at Illini Pundit...I'll admit that as of now I don't have much knowledge of local/Illinois politics. I was more involved in Howard Dean and Barack Obama's campaigns, and reading national blogs. It is indeed Rod Blagojevich and not Rob as for some reason I always thought...oopsies. And I don't mind being corrected or admitting when I'm wrong. The internet and blogosphere is a strange land where we all get caught up in our own musings and mistakes. I think it's most important to not take it personally, have fun, and remember it's just a blog.

2.7.06

2006-02-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

-On the importance of blogging and checking traditional media's power.
-Josh Marshall has his thoughts on Obama vs. McCain.
-How surprising, King George's dream of a US-friendly Iraq isn't coming true.
-Four marines, nine Iraqis die.
-Russ Feingold has a Patriot Act update.

2.6.06

2006-02-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

-Barak Obama refuses to play John McCain's games.
-Tom Tomorrow's thoughts on the Mohammed cartoons.
-Republican Senator Arlen Spector says BushCo's spying program was illegal.
-Nice summary at Soap Blox Chicago about Doctor Gill.

Democratic Blog Round-Up

2006-02-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here's an incomplete list of important Democratic Blogs that any member can submit information to:

Daily Kos: Daily Kos is the most active and brutal of blogs: don't post there if you're not ready to back up everything you write there with fact. Make sure to read the FAQ fully before posting.

MyDD: Similar to Daily Kos but strictly political, here's the FAQ.

Our Congress: Like MyDD but concentrating on the US House of Representatives.

BooMan Tribune: I haven't much experience posting to BooMan, but you can find their FAQ here.

My Left Wing: The blog of outspoken Marryscott O'Connor, its FAQ can be found here.

Soap Blox Chicago: This blog is not just for Chicagoans, but state-wide Illinois races.

Democratic Underground: I've never posted here, but it's a great site.

2.3.06

2006-02-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

-King George would like to read your emails for some reason, would you like to read his?
-If you ever need proof that for every Democrat with too much time on their hands there are a dozen Repulibcans read this.
-Rumsfeld still thinks relying on metaphors and fictional narratives will inspire Iraqis.
-Tom Delay is replaced by another clone.
-Informed Comment has the Iraq news BushCo hopes you don't know about.

Hey everyone...

2006-02-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a senior and Professional Writing major here at U of I, and I've spent the majority of the last three years trying to get Democrats legally elected over the internet. I have nothing to show for it, but in true blogging fashion that's no reason to stop now. I'm going to be very busy with school this semester, but will be around for at least the summer when I can blog full time. Until then if you have any info that you think I'd find helpful please feel free to email me at engray at: uiuc.edu thanks.

Jakobsson on a Roll

2006-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

So despite what Illini Pundit (and the new junta that now runs that site) would have you believe, State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson (D-Urbana) has proven once again why she is an effective legislator.

Take a look at the flurry of bills that Naomi has introduced just this session:

*HB4221- Provides that if ISAC student loans are privatized, the private entity must offer students the same beneftis/incentives currently offered by ISAC, including rate reductions for students with a history of timely loan repayment.

*HB 4220- Creates a state income tax credits for landlords that offer recycling services to their tenants. Would help address the lack of apartment building recycling service in the City of Champaign.

*HB4867- Seeks to address the soaring cost of college textbooks by requiring publishers and bookstores to over textbooks in an "unbundled" form. "Bundling" is when publishers bundle (usually by using plastic wrap) hundreds of dollars worth of extra materials with the required textbook, forcing the student to purchase the entire package.

*HB5566- Creates a program to assist nurses with repayment of their college loans if they pledge to work in the State of Illinois. Seeks to address the dangerous nursing shortage in Illinois.

*HB5568- Appropriates over $705 million for the University of Illinois for fiscal year 2007.

And in anticipation of the GOP attack, yes Naomi is the primary sponsor for all of these bills.

Topinka in Trouble?

2006-01-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

It looks like GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Judy Baar Topinka may be in trouble. A new poll shows Topinka at 29%, followed by Oberweis with 17%, Brady with 13%, Gidwitz at 11%, and 30% undecided. Why is this a sign of trouble?

Topinka is already very well known among the GOP electorate. The 29% she's at now is pretty close to the moderate base in the party. The 30% undecided will likely break towards one of the conservatives (likely Brady).

Topinka didn't help the situation with her poor performance in the CBS-2 debate. She seems to think she can pull this off with a Dan Hynes/frontrunner/Rose Garden type campaign, which I strongly disagree wtih.

The outcome of this race will hinge on the amount that Brady is willing/able to spend on TV in Metro Chicago, his margins downstate, and the quality of his TV ads. Thoughts?

A Daily Kos guide to unprobable victory in 2006-2008.

2006-01-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

In order to win in 2006 and 2008 we need to select some issues to attack the Republicans on, as well as reframing how certain issues are discussed. Here are my thoughts on what Democrats need to do, if you agree please contact your representatives and ask them to:

1. Attack Don't Ask, Don't Tell:

I'm sure everyone here recognizes what a stupid policy this is, but more importantly, so does a large majority of Americans. We should frame the Radical Rights' opposition to overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as a risk to national security: they are weakening our military because of their discriminatory beliefs. If we're going to lose votes over gay-rights issues, we should try to gain some while we're at it.

2. Demand Federal Voting Standards:

It is ridiculous that predominantly urban areas in Ohio and Florida had such long lines to vote. We cannot expect Americans to be able to wait for more than an hour in line to vote: we have lives. The voters in these districts are most likely Democrat leaning. Republicans don't allow their voters to be treated this way, and neither should we. Many people died and suffered so that everyone could vote, we cannot take that for granted.

After the Florida debacle I think many Americans will realize why there needs to be federal election standards, plus it is scary to think that the President's own brother can influence how votes are counted in Florida. One of the founding principles of America was eliminating family-based political dynasties, and now they're happening all over again.

3. Stop Living in Fear:

Let's be honest, we're all scared right now. No one wants a nuclear bomb to go off, whether it's smuggled through Iraq or imported from Kazakhstan. No one wants all the tigers and sea turtles to die. And no one wants to turn away a birthing mother from a hospital whether they're "illegal" or not. So the next time someone tells you your opinion doesn't matter because you didn't serve in the military or didn't graduate from Yale, ask them to politely go fuck themselves because there are people who served in the military and graduated Yale who will listen.

Obviously winning isn't a new idea, but as I read how many Democrats are planning to win in 2006 and 2008, whether in the newspaper or the Daily Kos diaries, I think many of us are going about winning the wrong way. It seems 90% of the conversations revolve around words like liberal/moderate, the south/north/west, black/white/latino, poor/rich, gay/straight, Republican/Democrat, man/woman (politically). We need to stop thinking like this, we're wasting too much time talking about these things.

Why do I think they're a waste of time? Because the more and more I really get to know blacks, women, gays, whatever, the more and more I realize that these things just don't matter. To constantly be reducing the complexity of people and their beliefs, their hopes, and their lives into a few words is not only absurd, but demeaning.

What we need to be talking about are the things Republicans have been talking about. They talk about a culture of life, we talk about choice. They talk about the protecting families (with guns or war), we talk about "standards of living." They talk about redemption (Bush Jr./Jesus) and good and evil, while we scoff at the idea of "evil" while Dick Cheney supports legislation that discriminates against his own daughter.

We need to talk about being beaten by your father after being informed by the school you'd had an abortion.

We need to talk about how the war on drugs is tearing families apart and perpetuating a cycle of savage poverty. All families, all Americans, and all the world loses something every time a father is jailed or a mother dies of aids.

We need to talk about not being able to go fishing with your family anymore because of mercury.

We need to talk about our neighbors not coming back from Iraq and why oil or even a "free" Iraq is not worth it. And we need to talk about our brothers and sons who do come back but can't begin families because of depleted uranium.

In 2000 -2004 we made the mistake of putting the wrong people in charge of our party. Al Gore (in 2000), Tom Daschle, and John Kerry are all incredible people and assets to the Democratic Party, their families, and our country. But they just don't know how to talk about things like patriotism, families, and evil. Although judging by Gore, it's never too late too learn.

But now, after a devastating loss to a Republican leadership that is incredibly corrupt and destructive, I think we're finally starting to get it. Reid gets it. Obama gets it. Durbin gets it. Boxer gets it. Dean gets it. Conyers gets it. Jesse Jackson Jr. gets it. Feingold gets it. Sheila Jackson-Lee gets it.

And it's starting to scare the Republicans. They're desperately looking for another war to begin, because its looking more and more like they're going to need it in 2006/8. But something tells me they're aren't gonna get away with it this time because we have people like Dean and Reid heading our party.

So please when 2007 rolls around and the primaries are upon us, lets just, for a few seconds, forget about things like south/north and black/white. And lets talk about someone who gets it. Someone who gets that these aren't the things that matter. We have so much more important things to think about than Jew/Christian.

What the world needs now.

A common knee-jerk criticism of us "knee-jerk" Bush-haters is "Well maybe Bush is wrong, but he has to try something, that's leadership and he's the President blah blah" But they do have a point: a significant proportion of the left is too stubborn and overeducated to accept leadership or even work with people who don't adhere to their beliefs. So here's what I'm looking for from a leader, and really, any politician:

Moderate but progressive taxation. Heavy income and corporate taxation can weigh down the economy, scare away jobs. But there does have to be some acknowledgement that the rich are able to "earn" their money because of an infrastructure that supplies roads, security, and an educated, healthy, workforce. If there are to be cuts in taxes it should be to regressive forms of taxation that rich Republicans always try to pretend don't exist. Why can't Grover Norquist fight for ending sales tax on groceries that would help all Americans instead taxes that only affect his prosperous friends?

An economy based on math, science, history, and humanity-not whoever your biggest campaign contributors are. There are absolutely no positive results from Bush's Presidency on the economy. Sure, specific sectors of the economy are thriving: energy, weapon's makers, predatory lenders, and pharmaceuticals (if you're a CEO). Basically anything Dick Cheney and his cronies make money from. While the tech bubble created under Bill Clinton was short lived it helped raise American's entire economy not just that of his friends. We also need to remember that happy workers make better work, so all this gutting of health-benefits, cutting overtime pay, massive layoffs to benefit stockholders, and destroying OSHA needs to be stopped.

Pro-enlisted troop. The lefts past general contempt for the Armed Services needs to stop...and thanks to people like John Kerry, Cindy Sheehan and Paul Hackett the days of lower real-wage pay for enlisted troops (which happened under Clinton) is over. We need to focus our attacks on sycophants like General Tommy Franks, and support a basic dignity for our enlisted troops so that scenarios like the Abu Gharib prisoner scandal never happen again.

Reparations through public education. Since Katrina maybe now it will become obvious to the majority of Americans that there are still lingering affects of slavery and racism that need to be addressed. The public schools of poor communities are little more than daycare where kids have to worry more about getting mugged than their math homework. This will take, yes, lots of money, but money spent on education is an investment: the better educated someone is the longer they live and the more money they make.

Separation of Church and State. What these right-wing lunatics don't realize is separation of Church and State is not only good for the State and society, but for churches and religion itself. Why do you think more people continue to go to church in America but not in Spain or France? Science, math, and logic should dominate the public sphere of life, personal beliefs should remain independent and private.

Environmentalism that promotes job creation and invention. We need to protect the environment, but we cannot continue to pursue policies that negatively affect the working class. Gradual improvements in energy efficiency and pollution output are the way to go.

Mangieri Launches Website

2006-01-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

Paul Mangieri, one of two Democratic candidates for IL State Treasurer, has launched his campaign website. The content is still pretty sparse, but gives a good preview of Mangieri's campaign theme: "A Fighter Working for Us."

Mangieri is currently serving his third term as Knox County State's Attorney. He previously served in the U.S. Navy JAG corps.

How do you see this race shaping up? It seems that locally, most Dems are far more interested in the County Board District 9 primary than this race. Will Mangieri garner enough downstate support to overcome what should be a hefty margin for Giannoulias in Metro Chicago?

Kirchner/Bell Launch Website

2006-01-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Bob Kirchner and Lisa Bell have launched their campaign website. Bob and Lisa have also released an impressive list of endorsements. The list includes 8 members of the County Board, Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing, Urbana City Clerk Phyllis Clark, City of Champaign Township Supervisor Linda Abernathy, 3 members of the Urbana City Council, 3 members of the Champaign City Council, and 22 members of the UIUC College Democrats.

Champaign County Rising Stars

2006-01-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, The Hotline, one of my favorite political websites, did a feature on rising stars in Illinois politics. Some of their past rising stars that eventually made it big include Senator Barack Obama and Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

So who are some rising stars in Champaign County politics? Here's my list:

Democrats

Brandon Bowersox- Brandon, is serving his first term on the Urbana City Council and is also Secretary of the Champaign County Democratic Party. He's young and well spoken.

Mike Frerichs- This one is pretty obvious. If elected this fall, Mike will become East Central Illinois' first ever Democratic State Senator and the youngest member of the Illinois State Senate.

Gina Jackson- Gina is serving her first term on the Champaign City Council after knocking off a two decade incumbent. She is a military veteran and a good public speaker.

Ruth Wyman- Ruthie, a former President of the College Democrats, recently retired after two terms on the Urbana City Council, but she is still very active in local politics. She is managing the Kirchner/Bell for County Board campaign.

Tony Fabri- Tony, who is also a former President of the College Democrats, is a member of the County Board and Chair of the Champaign County Democratic Party. Look for Tony to be a contender for County Board Chair if the "real" Democrats take back control in March.

Brendan McGinty- He pissed off a lot of people with his role in the Tricia Avery coup, but McGinty is still Chair of the powerful County Board Finance Committee and openly ambitious about running for higher office. Look for him to seek appointment as County Auditor if/when Frerichs is elected State Senator.

Republicans

Chapin Rose- Chapin, who is serving his 2nd term in the IL House, is a former UIUC Student Trustee and already in the House Republican Leadership. Look for him to eventually succeed Tom Cross as House Minority Leader or make a bid for Congress when Tim Johnson retires.

Mark Shelden- Shelden, a longtime College Democrats nemesis, is running for a third term as County Clerk, and is considered by many the de facto leader of the Champaign County Republicans. Shelden briefly considered a run for State Senate. Still only in his early 40's, Shelden will run for State Senate or Congress within the next decade.

Deb Feinen- We mocked her when the Tribune annointed her a rising star, but Feinen really does still have a future in local politics. Look for her to run for Champaign City Council next year and eventually make a bid to succeed Jerry Schweighart as Mayor.

J.J. Farney- Farney, who is in his late 20's, ran a surprisingly strong campaign against Phyllis Clark for Urbana City Clerk last year and is running for county board this year. Look for him to take more of a leadership role in the CC Republicans in the next few years.

Jason Barickman- The incoming Chair of the Champaign County Republicans is everything that the current chair is not: young, energetic, ambitious, and ruthless. Look for him to energize a sagging party org.

College Dems Meeting

2006-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

Alexi Giannulias, candidate for Illinois State Treasurer, will be on campus to participate in the College Democrats Statewide Candidate Speaker Series. Alexi has been endorsed by Senator Barack Obama. The event takes place on Tuesday, January 24th, at 6:00pm, in 160 English Building. Free pizza and pop will be served!

Other speakers include David Gill, Mike Frerichs, and Bob Kirchner.

Bush and Blago

2006-01-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

A lot of Republicans have claimed that Blago's dismal approval ratings will be a drag on the rest of the Democratic ticket, from Jesse White all the way down to county board races. According to the lastest Survey USA poll, Rod's rating is 42% approve, 53% disapprove.

But what about the effect of President Bush on the overall GOP ticket? Remember, off year elections are usually a referendum on the policies of the guy in the White House. According to Survey USA, the President's rating in Illinois is 35% approve, 62% disapprove.

Will Illinois Democrats, wishing to send the president a message, flock to the polls, driving high turnout in Congressional races? Will this high Dem turnout save Blago and help the rest of the Dem ticket?

Brady's Empty Pockets

2006-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Bill Brady appears to be emerging at the anti-Judy candidate in the GOP Primary, but he appears to be running low on money. According to a source in one of the other Republican guv campaigns, Brady recently had to cut two campaign staffers. That's a bad sign this close to the primary. We'll know more when campaigns file their financial reports later this month. Will Brady have enough money to beat Judy?

State of the State Coverage

2006-01-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

Governor Blagojevich delivered his fourth State of the State address this afternoon. You can get the full text and watch the full speech here. Some highlights:

*Blago gave a pretty good defense of his overall record (minimum wage increase, All Kids, etc.)
*The governor presented his $3.2 billion capital spending plan, but never used the word "keno"
*A proposed $1000 per student annual tax credit for freshmen and sophomores that maintain a B average
*A Veterans Care program to provide health care coverage for all Illinois veterans

I haven't watched the video yet, but I read through the text, and I thought it was pretty good. The governor's approval ratings may be stuck at 40%, but I would caution his critics not to count him out just yet.

Cubs = Corruption

2006-01-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

As a diehard White Sox fan, this made me very happy. Last week Chicago City Clerk Jim Laski, the second highest ranking elected official in Chicago, was indicted for bribery and obstruction of justice. According to secret recordings of Laski, the code phrase used by Laski signaling an associate to cover up the bribes was "Go Cubs," the ultimate heresy for a life long South Sider, especially during the White Sox playoff run.

Eisendrath the Real Deal?

2006-01-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I support Governor Blagojevich for re-election. That being said, I have been fairly impressed by primary challenger Edwin Eisendrath's campaign so far. For someone who has never run for anything higher than Alderman, Eisendrath is running a pretty good operation.

Eisendrath has been getting great free publicity in the mainstream media. Just today the Tribune ran another article on EE, this time focusing on his education funding proposal. Last week he got good press with his ethics proposal. This week EE will be doing a downstate swing, including a speech to the College Democrats (Wednesday, January 18th, @7pm in 160 English Building).

I still think the Governor will win pretty substantially, but I'm sticking with my earlier prediction that EE will do better than many pundits think (between 35% and 40%) if he is willing to spend $3 million of his family's money. But as a Blago supporter, I hope he wakes up and starts to take EE more seriously.

Illini Pundit = Mark Shelden

2006-01-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

There's been some discussion about this topic in the previous thread, so I thought I'd do a whole post on it. One anonymous commenter suggested that Shelden, whom many local political junkies have long speculated is Illini Pundit, will slowly out himself. Why? Because Illini Pundit may soon be subpoeaned in relation to a lawsuit involving a fired MTD employee, who claims she was terminated for posting on IP.

Let's say that Shelden admits he is IP. Then what? Running a political blog on a county computer is clearly illegal, but then again, so is sending political ad buys from a county fax machine, and look what happened with that, absolutely nothing.

Will a scandal involving Shelden and IP entice a strong Democrat into the county clerk race? Will such a Democrat be able to gain any traction with this issue? I still have my doubts. 1. Incumbent County Clerks don't lose reelection bids. 2. The average voter doesn't even know what a blog is. 3. Recruiting a strong candidate for this race is still a longshot. Your thoughts?

The "New" Illini Pundit

2006-01-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Illini Pundit, one of the more popular/controversial local bloggers, has decided to discontinue his blog. Sort of. He claims that he will be actively involved in a number of local campaigns and doesn't want to tie his blog to any of his candidates.

Coincidentally, however, a number of local Republicans have stepped up to take over the blog. Among these selfless GOP'ers is the man many suspect IS Illini Pundit, our glorious county clerk, Mr. Mark "Marky-Mark" Shelden. And what is our old friend's first post? A lame post bashing Mike Frerichs yet again. Yes that blog has changed a lot :)

Politicians and Hats

2006-01-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

This is a little follow up on my previous post. Here is an example of when its okay for a politician to wear a sports cap. Mayor Daley is a hardcore Chicago White Sox fan. He's not just wearing the cap to get attention on C-SPAN.

Senator Grandstand

2006-01-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

I'm usually a pretty big Joe Biden fan, but sometimes (like Pat Robertson) he's a caricature of himself. Biden wore the Princeton hat during his questioning in order to emphasize his criticism of Samuel Alito's membership in a group that opposed admission of women and minorities at Princeton. By looking ridiculous, Biden detracted from a very valid point.

Robertson Rants Again

2006-01-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

Doesn't it seem like Pat Robertson is just becoming a caricature of himself? On his television show, Robertson recently declared that Ariel Sharon's recent stroke was punishment from God for pulling out of Gaza. This comes only a few months after Robertson said we should assasinate Hugo Chavez. If my pastor was this wacko maybe I'd go to mass more often.

You Want Cheese With That?

2006-01-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

According to a recently published report, Chicago is the fattest city in the United States. The report lists the 25 fattest cities in the country. In recent years Chicago has hovered near the top five, this the first year it has topped the list.

College Dems Event

2006-01-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

This is for those of you who will be in central Illinois next week:

Who: All College Democrats free admission
What: Reception for Democratic State Legislators hosted by Illinois College Democrats and Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson
Where: Floyd's Thirst Parlor, 210 S. Fifth, downtown Springfield
When: Wednesday, January 11th, 5p-7p
Why: Great chance to meet Democratic legislators and fellow College Dems

I-L-L-I-N-I

2006-01-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

Big game tonight against Michigan State. I'm hoping for a big Wake Forest type win so we can shut up the Indiana/Michigan State/Ohio State/Wisconsin adoring national media.

State Treasurer Showdown

2006-01-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

The IL Democratic Primary will feature a two candidate showdown for State Treasurer between Knox County State's Attorney Paul Mangieri and Chicago banker Alexi Giannoulias.

Giannoulias is a former college basketball star and scion of a Chicago banking family. He has been endorsed by Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Mangieri, who is from downstate Galesburg, has been endorsed by the Illinois Democratic Party.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, has filed a challenge to Giannoulias' petitions in an attempt to get him kicked off the ballot. Look for this race to get nasty, with Mangieri attacking Giannoulias for his wealth/youth and Giannoulias for his conservative positions on abortion and gun control.

Rod's New Running Mate

2005-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

To show that I'm bipartisan, I've included a funny Rod pic too.

More Judy

2005-12-30T07:23:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I stole the "funny Topinka pics" idea from Rich Miller, but I couldn't resist after finding this one.

"Happy Holidays" from Judy

2005-12-29T20:25:00.000-08:00

At least she likes the right baseball team :)

Wanted: Democratic Candidates

2005-12-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Why the picture of Mark "Illini Pundit" Shelden? To chastise my fellow Champaign County Democrats for our less than adequate 2006 local candidate recruitment. The county clerk race is the best, or should I say worst, example of this failure.

Shelden narrowly retained his election duties last year, barely surviving an election commission referendum by 4% margin. This is hardly the sign of an entrenched incumbent. The least we could do is field an opponent.

Other recruiting failures: No candidates for open county board seats in Districts 2 and 3. No candidates for treasurer or sheriff.

This is a call to action. There are many well-qualified Dems in this county; I hope some well step up and run for these offices next year.

Ba-humbug!

2005-12-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

Clarence Page had a great column in the Tribune today about the budget-slashing bill passed by Congress last week. So what did we get for Christmas. Well, there's a little bit for everyone. For old folks: $6.4 billion in Medicare cuts. For the poor: $4.8 billion in Medicaid cuts. Who gets the biggest shaft? You guessed it, the people who never vote: college students! What do we get? $12.7 billion slashed from federal student loans.

Doesn't anyone make out on top in this holiday season? Of course: rich people get another $70 billion in capitol gains tax cuts! Ba-humbug indeed.

Edwin Eisen-who?

2005-12-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

So it looks like the guv will have a primary opponent afterall. Former Chicago Alderman Edwin Eisendrath filed his petitions last week and the IL Dem Party announced today that they will not challenge their validity. Another candidate, the unknown Philip Sitkowski, is likely to be removed from the ballot.

Eisendrath will have no support from elected officials or other Dem establishment types, but he has indicated he will target the progressive university crowd (people who read this blog). In his announcement speech he attacked the now infamous pension reform legislation. How will Eisendrath's message play out in Champaign-Urbana? Will he attack legislators who voted for the pension bill (Naomi Jakobsson)?

Predictions for 2006

2005-12-26T15:43:00.000-08:00

Since we already copied all of the other bloggers with our year end awards, I figured we might as well go all the way and make some predictions for 2006. Here goes:

* Governor Blagojevich will defeat Eisendrath by a closer than expected 66% to 34%

* An underfunded Bill Brady will stun Judy Baar Topinka in the GOP Primary. Results: Brady 37%, Topinka 36%, Oberweis 18%, Gidwitz 9%.

* Alexi G will defeat Paul Mangieri by a larger than expected 54% to 46% in the Dem Treasurer Primary.

* Results of Dem District 9 Showdown:
Bob Kirchner-27%
Lisa Bell- 26%
Steve Beckett- 24%
Barbara Wysocki- 23%

* Democrats will lose a seat to a Green, but will retain the County Board with a 14-12-1 majority.

* Mark Shelden will be easily re-elected against a slated Democrat.

* Mike Frerichs will defeat Judy Myers 51% to 49%.

* Naomi Jakobsson will be reelected 71% to 29%

* Statewide results:
Blago 51%, Brady 46%
White 55%, Rutherford 45%
Madigan 60%, Umholtz 39%
Hynes 61%, Pankau 38%
Radogno 51%, Giannulias 49%

* Fighting Illini stun Michigan State and repeat as Big Ten champs, eliminated in Round of 8 in tournament.

* White Sox defeat Yankees 4 to 3 in ALCS, return to World Series.

* Dems gain 4 seats in U.S. Senate, but fail to take majority

* Dems gain 7 seats in U.S. House, but fail to take majority

College Demmy Awards

2005-12-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

I know that everyone does this, but we're gonna take a crack at it and hand out year end awards. So here we go, the 1st Annual College Demmy Awards. And the winners are:

Worst performance in a starring role- Our dear leader, President George W. Bush. I must admit that even I, a proud Democratic hack, did not expect Dubya to screw up this bad: botched Social Security privatization, incompetent Hurricane Katrina response, Harriet Miers debacle, failure to renew Patriot Act, we could go on and on. My favorite statistic: 3% approval rating among African-Americans.

Comeback player of the year-New Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing. After a loss for state rep., three losses for Congress, and another loss for state rep., Prussing got back in the winning column with a narrow upset victory over three term incumbent Mayor Tod Satterthwaite.

Rookie of the year- Senator Barack Obama for actually living up to expectations. The numbers: 39 town hall meetings, $1 billion in Illinois transportation projects, E85 tax credit, 69% approval rating.

Worst candidate name- Tie between Rex Bradfield and Edwin Eisendrath.

Best supporting actor- Lt. Governor Pat Quinn for actually doing good things with his office: new law to protect military veterans, legislation to tackle rising college textbook prices, wind power at the U of I.

Worst supporting actor- Steve Rauschenberger. In a few short months, Rauschy went from a rising star in the Illinois GOP to Ron Gidwitz's sidekick.

Biggest disappointment- Fighting Illini come up just short in National Title game after a spectacular regular season and March Madness tournament.

Local Democrat who got the shaft- Tricia Avery. The former County Board Chair is ousted in a coup orchestrated by fellow "Democrats" conspiring with County Board Republicans.

Local Republican who got the shaft- Mark Shelden. The County Clerk and longtime College Dems nemesis is set to run for State Senate, but is shoved aside by geriatric George Ryan crony Judy Myers.

Biggest winner- Illini Pundit will love this one: State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson. Naomi is bashed all year by local Republicans, the News-Gazette, and some unions, but emerges at the end of the year with a 62% approval rating and a fringe opponent for re-election.

Biggest loser- Tie between Deb Feinen and Rick Winkel. Only a year after being dubbed "a rising star" by the Chicago Tribune, Feinen is now a failed state rep candidate, failed City Council member, and lameduck member of the County Board. Winkel opted to not run for a second term and now looks unlikely to get appointed U.S. Attorney.

Democrat to watch in 2006- Mike Frerichs, who is the Dem candidate in the marquee local race next year. Frerichs could become East Central Illinois's first ever Democratic State Senator.

Republican to watch in 2006- Jason Barickman. The incoming County GOP chair is everything his predecessor isn't: young, energetic, ambitious, and well-organized.

Best overall performance- World Champion Chicago White Sox, who ended the curse of Shoeless Joe with a masterful 11-1 playoff run.

The War on Christmas?

2005-12-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

This liberal has decided to take a break from celebrating Christmas to discuss the war that I, along with my fellow liberals, have been waging on Christmas. Nothing fuels my politically correct indignation more than nativity scenes, fruitcake, egg nog, Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer, Jack Forst, and Santa. You better enjoy this Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. America, because next year, after we've won our War on Christmas, all of you will be singing Al-Qaeda carols and celebrating Ramadan. Next up: our War on Apple Pie and Baseball!

Happy Holidays,

UIUC College Democrats

Reformer vs. The Machine

2005-12-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

Most of you probably have never heard of John Stroger, but he is a participant in what may be the most important Democratic primary contest in the state this March.

Stroger, President of the Cook County Board, is running for a third term. Stroger is the epitome of the old school machine politician. He uses his control over the $3.1 billion county budget to disperse thousands of jobs to unqualified political cronies. Rather than cut bloated bureaucracy, Stroger has chosen to annually raise taxes.

Stroger's opponent is Forrest Claypool, a former CEO of the Chicago Park District and a leader of the reform anti-Stroger faction on the County Board. He also served as a campaign consultant for Senator Barack Obama last year.

Why should anyone outside of Cook County care about this race? Because the outcome will be a test of the strength of the reform faction in the Illinois Democratic Party, an organization badly in need of reform. Stroger is backed by the Democratic establishment (Daleys, Madigan, Lipiniski, etc) and is likely to play the race card to drive up his margins. I'm predicting that Claypool's fundraising ability will give him the resources to convey his reform message to the voters, a message that will resonate. Early line: Claypool 51%, Stroger 49%.

Senate Blocks ANWR Drilling

2005-12-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday powerful Senate President Pro Tem Ted Stevens of Alaska wore his good luck "fighting" necktie, which features a cartoon Incredible Hulk. Why? Because the Senate was voting on a defense spending bill that included a provision for drilling in ANWR that had been slipped in at the last minute by Stevens, a longtime proponent of Arctic drilling.

The reason for Stevens' sneaky maneuver? A straight up vote on ANWR would have failed by a wide margin. To get around that, Stevens held the defense bill, which includes Hurricane Katrina relief and funding for Iraq/Afghanistan operations, hostage to the ANWR provision.

Stevens' trick failed. The Senate voted 56 to 44, four votes short of the 60 needed to cut off a fillibuster. It's only a matter of time before Republicans use this vote to claim Democrats "voted against the troops." The truth: Republicans chose to endanger funding for the troops by slipping in this ANWR provision at the last minute. Republican hypocrisy? Get out of here........

Democratic Primary in District 9

2005-12-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

We've been doing a lot of posts on the gubernatorial race, so I thought I'd mix it up a little and do a post about local politics.

In County Board District 9, Democratic (I use the term loosely) County Board Chair Barb Wysocki and Vice Chair Steve Beckett will face primary challenges from former attorney/former County Board member Bob Kirchner and rural dental health advocate Lisa Bell.

Why the primary challenge? To put a long story short, last year Wysocki and Beckett plotted with county board Republicans to stage a coup against then-Democratic County Board Chair Tricia Avery. Wysocki and Beckett, along with fellow District 9 "Democrat" Brendan McGinty voted with all 12 Republicans against the 12 loyal Democrats, and installed themselves in the leadership.

Once in power, the Traitorous Trio rolled over and let the Republicans call the shots. The first casualty was a long planned study on racial disparities in county hiring. The Traitorous Trio voted with all 12 GOP members to kill the study.

What will happen in this race? Kirchner and Bell are well regarded among the progressive Dems most likely to vote in this primary. This factor, plus lingering resentment, should be enough to overcome the Wysocki/Beckett name recognition advantage. At the very least Krichner should be able to snag one of the nomination spots. I predict that Kirchner/Bell will win with a solid 55% combined vote. Thoughts?

Update: Tom Kacich has a post on this at his blog. His analysis is pretty good, but I think he grossly underestimates the level of resentment towards Beckett/Wysocki over the Avery debacle. A lot has changed since 2002.

Filing Day!

2005-12-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day to file petitions to get on the ballot for the March 21, 2006 Primary Election. Although filing continues until December 19th, most candidates traditionally file at 8am on the first day. Why? The first candidate to file appears first on the ballot. Why does that matter? It's sort of a political urban legend. Candidates believe that many voters will simply vote for the first name on the ballot (I give voters a little more credit than that).

You can keep track of who has filed at the Board of Elections website. Every announced candidate for governor has filed except for Ron Gidwitz.
Edwin Eisendrath (not really announced yet) has said he will file later this week to run again Blago for the Democratic nomination. At the local level, Mike Frerichs and Naomi Jakobsson have filed. Their expected opponents, Judy Myers and Rex Bradfield, have yet to file. Will there be any surprise filings this week?

Big Race for Second Banana

2005-12-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

The race is on for the GOP nomination to be Illinois Second Banana (Lt. Governor). Following last week's announcement that Steve Rauschenberger will run for Lt. Governor as Ron Gidwitz's running mate, front runner Judy Baar Topinka is set announce this week that her running mate will be 2002 Attorney General loser/DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett. That's right, the same Birkett well known for his role in almost executing the innocent Rolando Cruz for murder.

Also, Kathy Salvi, wife of Al Salvi (lost to Durbin in '96 and Jesse White in '98), will soon announce that she will be Jim "Go back to your own damn country" Oberweis' running mate. Salvi is currently running for the GOP nomination to take on U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Barrington), but she has also started circulating Lt. Governor petitions.

That makes three big names running for the lowly position of Lt. Governor, quite possibly the most useless political office in the state. Gidwitz, Topinka, and Milkman have all named running mates in order to consolidate their support for the primary. As our president would say, this is bad strategery. Nobody has ever cast a vote for governor based on who their running mate is. Quick, who was Jim Ryan's running mate in 2002? That's right, you don't know, because nobody cares.

Showdown with Georgetown

2005-12-07T23:39:00.000-08:00

Big game tonight against Georgetown. Illinois is now the only undefeated ranked team in the Big Ten with Iowa losing to Northern Iowa and Indiana losing to Indiana State last night. Will rookie Jamar Smith have another big game tonight? We'll see........GO ILLINI!!!!!

Ron-Schenberger?

2005-12-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

Yeah I know that title was lame. Anyway, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Steve Rauschenberger announced yesterday that he would drop out of the race and instead run for Lt. Governor as Ron Gidwitz's running mate. Why? Rauschenberger has been lagging in both the polls and fundraising. His lame attempt to get press by denouncing Abercrombie shirts fizzled. He's vacating his senate seat, so I guess this is a desperate attempt to hang on to public office as Second-Banana in Chief.

Will this help Gidwitz? Unlikely. He's already dropped a big chunk of his cosmetics/fur fortune (that's right) into awful tv ads that haven't lifted him out of the single digits in the polls. Who benefits the most from this? Believe it or not, Billy Brady. The guy who isn't even the best legislator named Brady in his own hometown (that would be Dan Brady) is now seen by many as the most viable conservative alternative to Topinka.

Opponent for Naomi?

2005-12-07T23:10:00.000-08:00

Here's what Champaign County GOP Chair Steve Hartman had to say in Sunday's News-Gazette about a potential GOP opponent for State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson (D-Urbana): "The smart thing to do is not to run a candidate at this time." Jakobsson announced her bid for a third term on Tuesday.

This seems remarkable considering that local Republicans, including Illini Pundit, are always carping about how "dumb" and "incompetent" Naomi is. The reason for Hartman's pessimism? A recent GOP commissioned poll showing Naomi with a 60% approval rating overall and 48% approval rating among Republicans!

Today a new Kacich column reported that Naomi may have an opponent after all. Rex Bradfield (yes people are actually named Rex), a 59 year old Urbana engineer with no political experience, has been collecting signatures to run against Naomi. Bradfield, however, has only 350 (I actually doubt he even has that many), and the deadline to turn in the minimum 500 is December 19th. Another problem for Bradfield: Hartman doesn't even want him to run. The GOP would rather run nobody than have some fool lose to Naomi by a 70% to 30% margin.

New College Dems Officers

2005-12-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

This is the new College Democrats regime for Spring 2006:

President- Justin Cajindos (cajindos@uiuc.edu)
Vice President- Craig Colbrook (ccolbroo@uiuc.edu)
Secretary- Caitlin McDonald (cmcdonal@uiuc.edu)
Treasurer- Annie Creswell (acreswel@uiuc.edu)
Communications Director- Sky Andrecheck (andreche@uiuc.edu)
Outreach Director- Allison Lale (lale@uiuc.edu)
Legislative Director- Jenny Coco (coco@uiuc.edu)
Political Director- Allison Getty (agetty2@uiuc.edu)
Policy Director- Lara Jensen (lnjensen@uiuc.edu)
Recruitment Director- Aurelija Juska (ajuska@uiuc.edu)
Publicity Director- Julien Baburka (baburka2@uiuc.edu)
Voter Registration Chair- Andy Munemoto (munemoto@uiuc.edu)
Voter Registration Chair- Katie Dawson (kdawson2@uiuc.edu)
Fundraising Director- Sharad Kumar (sskumar2@uiuc.edu)
"Nick Dolce" Social Chair- Jake Smallhorn (smallhor@uiuc.edu)
Sergeant At Arms- Mark Briseno (briseno2@uiuc.edu)
Press Secretary- Jon Monteith (jmonteit@uiuc.edu)
Technology Director- Francisco Melli-Huber (mellihub@uiuc.edu)

Too Much Drinking?

2005-12-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

So it looks like someone has been posting on here hating on our blog and accusing us of drinking too much. Guilty as charged. I'll admit that I enjoy the spirits and have been a little lazy posting on here. But since the anonymous hater also accused us of doing nothing, here's a little reminder of the College Dems track record:

* Registered more than 10,000 student voters for 2004 election
* More than 1500 students on e-mail list
* Raised over $3000 with fall fundraiser
* Helped re-elect Rep. Naomi Jakobsson with more than 62% of the vote in 2004
* 75% student voter turnout on campus in 2004 (more than 7500 voters)

More Statewide Campaign News

2005-11-22T19:39:00.001-08:00

According to the Peoria Journal Star, Tazewell County State's Attorney Stuart Umholtz has filed papers to run against Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Umholtz, who was first elected in 1996, has already been endorsed by 2002 candidate Joe Birkett, who announced today that he will not run against Madigan. It appears that this guy has agreed to be the sacrificial lamb to set himself up for another race in 2010.

Also in the news today, State Senator Carole Pankau (R-Itasca) of West Suburban DuPage County has announced that she will run against two-term incumbent Democratic Comptroller Dan Hynes. At her press conference, Pankau said Hynes was a "very nice guy" and couldn't come up with any criticisms of his performance. When asked what she would do if elected, Pankau said she hadn't really thought about it yet. Look for Hynes to roll up the biggest victory margin next year out of the statewide races (Pankau can't even decide what office she wants: she just got elected to the State Senate last year, ran for Congress for a few months, and now is in for Comptroller).

Governor's Race Update

2005-11-22T17:04:00.000-08:00

Rich Miller reported today that DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, the 2002 GOP nominee for Attorney General, will not run for Governor next year. In his release, Birkett also indicated that he will not run again for Attorney General. I was never convinced that Birkett would be a serious candidate. He still has hundreds of thousands of $ in campaign debt from last time and Oberweis/Rauschy/Brady are already positioned as the conservative candidates.

On the Dem side, it looks like Blago will have a primary challenge after all. According to CBS-2, former Chicago Alderman Edwin Eisendrath, currently an administrator at Kendall College, is set to announce within the next two weeks that he will run for Governor. Eisendrath, who was on the Chicago City Council from 1987-1993, has been circulating petitions throughout the state. This seems pointless to me. While Eisendrath comes of as somewhat credible, he has no chance of winning. State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) was the last serious potential challenger, and he has since endorsed the Governor. I predict Eisendrath will end up with 30% to 35% if he actually ends up running.

State Treasurer Update

2005-11-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

With the recent decision of incumbent Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka to enter the governor's race, the now open campaign for Treasurer is soon set to become a free-for-all. So far the only announced candidate from either party is three-term Knox County State's Attorney Paul Mangieri, who lost a State Senate race in 2002.

In a trib article yesterday, Mangieri seemed to dare other candidates to enter the race. This prompted an angry response from State Rep. John Fritchey, who had earlier decided to to run but is reconsidering. Also considering a run is former College Basketball star/Chicago banking family scion/frequent Dem donor Alexi Giannoulias, who is reportedly already circulating petitions.

What's my take on this race? I've seen both Mangieri and Fritchey speak and they would both be strong general election candidates. There's some strength to Mangieri's arguement that there should be at least one downstate candidate on the statewide ticket. Fritchey, however, with 5 terms in the Illinois House, is much better prepared to assume this office.

Frerichs Facebook Group

2005-11-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

The next time you're mindlessly killing time on Facebook (I'm guilty too), check out the new Mike Frerichs for State Senate Facebook group.

LaHood's Son for U.S. Attorney?

2005-11-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

Well, here's an interesting new twist in the U.S. Attorney fiasco. Tom Kacich had a link to this story in his blog today. Apparently another applicant for the vacant U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois post is Darin LaHood, son of U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Peoria). The younger LaHood, 37, is an Assistant U.S. Attorney for Las Vegas. While he certainly is much more qualified than Rick Winkel (Cook County State's Attorney's office, Tazewell County State's Attorney's Office), he has the same political conflict of interest problem. Who is Speaker Hastert more likely to listen to? He is much closer to LaHood than he is to Tim Johnson (who just bucked the leadership on two big budget votes). Who's gonna jump into the ring next? Jerry Weller's gardener?

More on Winkel for U.S. Attorney

2005-11-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday, the Chicago Tribune ran an editorial opposing the choice of lame duck State Senator Rick Winkel (R-Urbana) to be the new U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois. The piece makes two important points:

1. The new U.S. Attorney should have extensive prosecutorial experience.

2. The new U.S. Attorney should be be independent enough to impartially prosecute corruption in BOTH political parties.

EXPERIENCE: Compare Winkel with the three current U.S. Attorneys in Illinois. Patrick Fitzgerald (Northern district) was an assistant U.S. Attorney for 13 years before his appointment, working primarily on anti-terrorism ('93 World Trade Center bombers, Al Qaeda). Ronald Tenpas (Southern district) worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 6 years, most notably on the prosecution of John Allen Muhammed and Lee Malvo, the infamous DC Snipers. Jan Paul Miller (Central district), the man Winkel wants to replace, was an assistant U.S. Attorney for 13 years, prosecuting child pornagrophers, drug dealers, and corrupt politicians. Winkel has ZERO prosecutorial experience. His legal work dealt mostly with civil litigation, most notably defending shady campus landlords against lawsuits filed by student tenants.

POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE: Fitzgerald is able to effectively take on politicians in both parties (Mayor Daley, George Ryan) because he has a reputation for being politically impartial. Rick Winkel is a rabidly partisan Republican politician that took more campaign money from George Ryan than any other state legislator. The U.S. Attorney's office should not be treated as a retirement home for well-connected washed up political hacks.

Winkel new U.S. Attorney?

2005-11-10T06:38:00.000-08:00

This shouldn't surprise us at all. According to Tom Kacich, Congressman Tim Johnson will recommend to Speaker Hastert that President Bush appoint retiring State Senator Rick Winkel (R-Urbana) as the new U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois. The recommendation is also supported by Congressmen Jerry Weller (R-Morris) and John Shimkus (R-Collinsville). Winkel's appointment, which must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, will pay $140,000, which is more than double his current salary. If confirmed, Winkel will have to step down before his senate term expires, meaning that former State Senator Judy Myers, the only announced Republican candidate to succeed Winkel, will likely be appointed to the seat. This whole situation reaks of shady dealing, something even State Rep. Bill Black acknowledges. U.S. Attorneys should not be political hacks. Myers also gets to pad her state pention even if she doesn't win the full term in November of 2006.

Topinka to run for Governor

2005-11-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

This surprises me a little bit. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, the only Republican statewide office holder in Illinois, will announce soon that she is running for governor. Topinka has delayed her decision for weeks (like her mentor Jimmy Edgar). Expect the milkman to tee off on her soon. Judy now seems to be the frontrunner simply because she starts off with a 27% base vote (Corinne Wood voters). I predict a bloody ideological primary, with Judy narrowly emerging battered and out of money for Rod in November. Thoughts?

Bush Chooses "Scalito"

2005-10-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

Dubya put and end to the Harriet Miers debacle this morning, nominating U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. Alito has been on that court since 1990, when he was appointed by Dubya's Daddy. A well known conservative, Alito has been nicknamed "Scalito" by some lawyers because his judicial philosophy mirrors that of Antonin Scalia (or "Anthony Scalia" as Dubs used to call him), the most conservative member of the current court. Dubya seems to have gone in the opposite direction with this pick, replacing Miers (woman, backwater law school, no judicial experience, moderate) with Alito (male, ivy league, extensive judicial experience, very conservative). I'm predicting an intense fight over this nomination, possibly even a fillibuster. Alito was the lone dissenter on the 3rd Circuit in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the landmark case that upheld Roe v. Wade (although Alito later voted to strike down a state partial birth abortion ban because it made no exception for the life of the mother). Thoughts?

Myers to Announce Candidacy

2005-10-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Former State Senator Judy Myers (R-Danville), will make it official on Tuesday, becoming the first Republican to enter the race for the open 52nd District Illinois State Senate seat. The Democratic candidate, Champaign County Auditor Mike Frerichs, has been actively campaigning since August.

Update: Myers announced her candidacy this morning. News-gazette story here.

Downtown White Sox Rally

2005-10-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen (damn you classes, I could have gone to this).

General Assembly Celebrates SOX

2005-10-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, those are socks covering all the microphones in the Illinois House of Representatives chamber (courtesy of Rep. Patricia Bellock of Hinsdale, a Republican who knows what's up).

Miers Withdraws Nomination

2005-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

The White House announced today that Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court, citing a desire to protect documents dealing with her work as White House Counsel (yeah right). The withdrawl follows weeks of uproar from the president's right flank, who were dissapointed that Miers is not a reactionary. Bush is expected to quickly name a replacement, possibly tommorow to draw attention away from the expected indictments of high level White House officials (Libby, Rove, etc). I have a mixed reaction to this development. I'm enjoying the dissarray in the White House, but I'm worried that the next nominee will be a hard line conservative. Who will Bush nominate? Right now names drawing speculation include Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and Michael McConnell.

SOX SWEEP ASTROS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-10-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

11 and 1 record in the playoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a victory for hard working, blue-collar, Democratic, Southside White Sox fans :)

Shelden Passes on Senate Bid

2005-10-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden (R-Urbana) announced via e-mail to Illini Pundit (hmmmm, coincidence?) that he will not run for the open 52nd District State Senate seat, deferring to former State Senator Judy Myers (R-Danville), who is expected to enter the race later this week. Shelden will instead stick with his expertise, running failed local campaigns out of his county clerks office and interfering with student voting on campus. I for one am dissapointed that we won't get the double opportunity to kick Marky Mark's ass in a legislative race AND replace him in the county clerk's office. Why is Shelden not running? Is Myers a stronger candidate? Shelden certainly would have worked harder that Myers. The Republican minions in Springfield must have concluded that Marky Mark's negatives are too high (ironic since he used to be one of them).

White Sox Bandwagon

2005-10-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

It may be a cliche, but a picture really does speak a thousand words :)

GOP State Senate Candidate?

2005-10-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

Illini Pundit has a post speculating that former State Senator Judy Myers (R-Danville) will soon announce her candidacy for the open 52nd District State Senate seat. Myers, age 67, was a State Senator from 1997 until 2002, when she lost a primary to now retiring State Senator Rick Winkel (R-Urbana). Myers appears to have been pushed into this race by nervous Senate Republican staffers in Springfield, who were less than enthusiastic about Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden, another potential GOP candidate. So far the only announced candidate is Democratic Champaign County Auditor Mike Frerichs, who has been endorsed by the UIUC College Democrats. Thoughts on this development?

Thousands Rally for All Kids

2005-10-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

On Sunday nearly ten thousand people from all around the state (including a group from Champaign-Urbana) participated in a rally to support Governor Blagojevich's All Kids plan to provide health care coverage for every child in Illinois. The trib story is here. What will happen with All Kids in veto session this week? With Speaker Madigan and Senate President Jones as co-sponsors, I predict fairly easy passage next week, with gubernatorial wannabees Rauschy and Billy Brady voting NO (which will cost one of them dearly in the general election). Thoughts?

WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-10-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

Blago Proposes to Insure All Kids

2005-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is why I'm still convinced that the Guv will be re-elected. Last Week Blago announced a plan, called All Kids, to cover the estimated 250,000 children in Illinois that do not have health insurance. The plan, which is the first of its kind in the nation, would provide extend health care coverage to middle income families that do not qualify for Kid Care. The plan, which is expected to cost $45 million in the first year, is supported by both Speaker Madigan and Senate President Jones, and is expected to come up for a vote during veto session in November. As DJW notes on his blog, this is what you get from Democratic controlled government: compassionate, innovative public policy. I can't wait to see Rauschy and Billy Brady vote NO on this. I love the smell of anti-Republican negative TV ads in the morning :)

Black Passes on Race With Frerichs

2005-09-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

I thought I had the scoop on this, but Illini Pundit beat me to it this morning. State Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville) will announce on Monday that he won't run for the 52nd District State Senate seat being vacated by incumbent Rick Winkel. Illinois Senate Republicans as well as local Republicans had hoped that Black would run against Democratic Champaign County Auditor Mike Frerichs of rural Gifford, who is now clearly the front runner to replace Winkel. Black, a popular, ten term member of the Illinois House, was the only strong potential Republican candidate, although he isn't the juggernaut that many local Republicans made him out to be (Illini Pundit). Black, at age 64, appears to be reluctant to give up a safe seat and a position in the House Republican leadership for a year and a half long nasty battle with Frerichs, who is a tenacious campaigner. Who will now run for the Republican nomination? Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden, a long time nemesis of the UIUC College Democrats, has stated publicly that he is interested in running if Black doesn't. Will Shelden give up his secure job as County Clerk (he is up for reelection next year) to run against Frerichs? We'll see..........

More Edgar Speculation

2005-09-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

Archpundit has a good entry on why he thinks Jim Edgar will not run for Governor in 2006. Check it out.

Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

I know that every blogger known to man has already commented on Hurricane Katrina, but I have a few observations that I'd like to get off my chest. Clearly, FEMA botched the federal government's response to the hurricane. By now that has been well established. Criticism of this response is warranted as long as it is substantive and constructive. Democrats must be very careful in dealing with this issue. Nancy Pelosi was right when she called for FEMA Director Brown's resignation, as was Senator Clinton when she called for an independent investigation. There is, however, a very thin line between legitimate political discourse and exploitation of a national tragedy. The Republicans are the party that exploits national tragedies for political gain (see September 11, 2001). We must prove that we are above such despicable tactics.

Petitions Season Begins

2005-09-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

September 20th was the first day for candidates to circulate petitions to get on the ballot for the March Primary Election. The College Dems will go door to door for local candidates (Gill, Frerichs, Jakobsson) every weekend until December 12th. This weekend we'll meet at 1:00pm on Sunday in the circle drive of the Illini Union and go out for a few hours. For more info e-mail Justin, democrat@uiuc.edu

Roberts Approved by Committee

2005-09-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13 to 5 today to send the nomination of John Roberts for Chief Justice to the full Senate. All 10 Republicans and 3 Democrats voted yes on Roberts. The three Democrats: Pat Leahy of Vermont, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, and Russ Feingold also of Wisconsin. Leahy had announced his suport a day earlier. The yes vote by Feingold was somewhat of a surprise because he is a rumored presidential candidate in 2008, although he has cast moderate votes on nominations in the past (yes on John Ashcroft). What will be the final vote total next week? Will Roberts get more than 75 votes?

College Dems Tailgate

2005-09-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

The 5th Annual College Democrats Tailgate Fundraiser will be this Saturday, September 24th from 10:00am to 3:00pm in conjunction with the Illinois vs. Michigan State football game. Come out for great food, drinks, games, and to meet local Democratic candidates (Naomi Jakobsson, David Gill, and Mike Frerichs). We will be located on Flordia Ave. near the Illini baseball field (just east of 4th and Florida).

Thoughts on John Roberts

2005-09-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I was impressed by John Roberts' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Were his answers too vague? Of course; the modern confirmation process discourages strong opinions on divisive issues. Do I have concerns about his views on voting rights, abortion, gay rights, affirmative action, and federalism? Certainly. I was, however, impressed by Roberts' personal qualities: he was patient, eloquent, and displayed an encylopedic knowledge of the law. While I likely disagree with Roberts on 9 out of 10 major public policy issues, I found him to be sincere. Thus I'm a little conflicted in my opinion of how Democrats should vote on his nomination. With 55 hard Republican yes votes, Roberts' confirmation is wrapped up. The only question is how many Dems will vote no and how our homestate senators will vote. Senator Durbin, a reliable Democratic partisan warrior, will vote no. Senator Obama, however, has said publicly that he is conflicted about how he will vote.

Is a conservative president entitled to pick a conservative Supreme Court justice? A strong case could be made for such a point. I believe that less than 5 Republicans voted no on Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993. Repubicans voting yes justified their vote by saying that a liberal president (Clinton) was entitled to pick a liberal Supreme Court Justice. I predict that Roberts will get at least 20 Democratic yes votes. Most of these will come from the usual suspects (Both Nelsons, Conrad, Lieberman, Salazar, Landrieu, etc.) The no votes will be from the liberal wing (Kennedy, Durbin, Boxer, Schumer) plus the presidential wannabees (Clinton, Bayh, Kerry, Biden). I'm not sure how Obama will vote. He has enough political capital to deflect the wrath of the Democratic base voters if he votes yes because he has sided with them on all of their litmus test votes this year (bankrupty reform, Gonzales confirmation, CAFTA). What do you guys think about all this?

Update: Senators Kennedy, Kerry, Reid, and Schumer have announced that they will vote no on Roberts. Senators Leahy, Baucus, and Nelson of Nebraska have announced that they will likely vote yes.

Potential Challenger Endorses Frerichs

2005-09-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Brendan McGinty, Chair of the Champaign County Board Finance Committee, announced yesterday that he will not challenge Mike Frerichs in the Democratic primary for State Senate, leaving Frerichs the only announced candidate. McGinty also endorsed Frerichs, making him the 14th out of 15 county board Democrats to back Frerichs. McGinty's support is yet another sign of the broad range of support for Frerichs among local Democrats. Tom Kacich has a piece about this development on his blog.

The Edgar Watch Continues

2005-09-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Former Governor Jim Edgar held a press conference yesterday just to say that he still hasn't made up his mind about running. The presser came on the heels of a poll released by Judy Baar Topinka that showed Edgar beating Governor Blago 51% to 38%. I'm still not convinced that Edgar is likely to run. He has a history of health problems, a reluctant wife, and a cushy gig at U of I. The fact that Illinois Republicans are so desperate for Edgar to run is indicative of the sad state of the Illinois Republican Party and the lack of depth on the party's bench. Edgar hasn't run for office in 12 years. Edgar's flirtation with running will just make Jim Oberweis seem even more dissapointing when he wins the nomination (that's my prediction of the moment). Will Edgar run? If he does, who will drop out? Or drop down? Will Oberweis stay in and go nasty on Edgar?

Frerichs Endorsements Piss Off Illini Pundit

2005-09-06T23:26:00.000-07:00

It appears that our publication of all the Democrats behind Mike Frerichs has sparked a nerve with Illini Pundit, crushing his dreams of disunity among local Democrats. Republicans, including Illini Pundit, refuse to concede the strength of Mike's candidacy, an obstinance seemingly motivated by purely partisan or even personal hatred.