Political Tracks -- a View from the Southside

No Local Post Offices on the Prospective Closing List

2011-07-27T11:28:00.002-05:00

For the second year in a row, the USPS has proposed closing local postal facilities. The list for Illinois includes only two facilities in the 604xx zip codes. They are the Kinsman and Verona Post Offices in LaSalle County. The complete list for Illinois:

Office City Zip
CLARE CLARE 60111
ESMOND ESMOND 60129
HILLSIDE HILLSIDE 60162
KINSMAN KINSMAN 60437
VERONA VERONA 60479
LA GRANGE PARK LA GRANGE PARK 60526
LEE LEE 60530
MILLINGTON MILLINGTON 60537
WEDRON WEDRON 60557
NANCY B JEFFERSON CHICAGO 60612
CHINATOWN POSTAL STORE CHICAGO 60616
ENGLEWOOD CHICAGO 60621
OTIS GRANT COLLINS CHICAGO 60623
MARY ALICE HENRY CHICAGO 60624
OGDEN PARK CHICAGO 60636
FINANCE STATION U CHICAGO 60637
REV.MILTON R.BRUNSON STATION CHICAGO 60644
ROBERT LEFLORE JR. CHICAGO 60651
ASHBURN CHICAGO 60652
HAYMARKET POSTAL STORE CHICAGO 60661
RIVERDALE RIVERDALE 60827
BUCKINGHAM BUCKINGHAM 60917
CAMPUS CAMPUS 60920
CLAYTONVILLE CLAYTONVILLE 60926
ELLIOTT ELLIOTT 60933
EMINGTON EMINGTON 60934
GOODWINE GOODWINE 60939
IROQUOIS IROQUOIS 60945
PAPINEAU PAPINEAU 60956
STOCKLAND STOCKLAND 60967
WELLINGTON WELLINGTON 60973
WOODLAND WOODLAND 60974
CHANA CHANA 61015
ELEROY ELEROY 61027
HOLCOMB HOLCOMB 61043
KENT KENT 61044
LINDENWOOD LINDENWOOD 61049
NACHUSA NACHUSA 61057
NORA NORA 61059
SEWARD SEWARD 61077
BARSTOW BARSTOW 61236
BUFFALO PRAIRIE BUFFALO PRAIRIE 61237
ARLINGTON ARLINGTON 61312
BLACKSTONE BLACKSTONE 61313
BUREAU BUREAU 61315
CEDAR POINT CEDAR POINT 61316
COMPTON COMPTON 61318
DANA DANA 61321
DOVER DOVER 61323
KASBEER KASBEER 61328
LEE CENTER LEE CENTER 61331
LEONORE LEONORE 61332
LONG POINT LONG POINT 61333
MAGNOLIA MAGNOLIA 61336
MARK MARK 61340
MINERAL MINERAL 61344
NEW BEDFORD NEW BEDFORD 61346
RUTLAND RUTLAND 61358
SEATONVILLE SEATONVILLE 61359
STANDARD STANDARD 61363
TRIUMPH TRIUMPH 61371
TROY GROVE TROY GROVE 61372
VAN ORIN VAN ORIN 61374
WEST BROOKLYN WEST BROOKLYN 61378
BARDOLPH BARDOLPH 61416
BERWICK BERWICK 61417
BISHOP HILL BISHOP HILL 61419
CAMERON CAMERON 61423
CAMP GROVE CAMP GROVE 61424
CARMAN CARMAN 61425
CASTLETON CASTLETON 61426
EAST GALESBURG EAST GALESBURG 61430
ELLISVILLE ELLISVILLE 61431
FIATT FIATT 61433
GILSON GILSON 61436
HENDERSON HENDERSON 61439
LA FAYETTE LA FAYETTE 61449
LAURA LAURA 61451
LITTLETON LITTLETON 61452
LITTLE YORK LITTLE YORK 61453
MARIETTA MARIETTA 61459
NORTH HENDERSON NORTH HENDERSON 61466
PRAIRIE CITY PRAIRIE CITY 61470
RARITAN RARITAN 61471
RIO RIO 61472
SAINT AUGUSTINE SAINT AUGUSTINE 61474
SEATON SEATON 61476
SMITHFIELD SMITHFIELD 61477
SMITHSHIRE SMITHSHIRE 61478
SPEER SPEER 61479
DUNFERMLINE DUNFERMLINE 61524
EDELSTEIN EDELSTEIN 61526
KINGSTON MINES KINGSTON MINES 61539
LA ROSE LA ROSE 61541
LIVERPOOL LIVERPOOL 61543
TOPEKA TOPEKA 61567
BARTONVILLE BARTONVILLE 61607
ANCHOR ANCHOR 61720
ARMINGTON ARMINGTON 61721
ARROWSMITH ARROWSMITH 61722
BELLFLOWER BELLFLOWER 61724
COOKSVILLE COOKSVILLE 61730
CROPSEY CROPSEY 61731
DEWITT DEWITT 61735
KENNEY KENNEY 61749
LAWNDALE LAWNDALE 61751
SECOR SECOR 61771
SHIRLEY SHIRLEY 61772
SIBLEY SIBLEY 61773
STRAWN STRAWN 61775
UNIVERSITY STATION URBANA 61801
ALVIN ALVIN 61811
ARMSTRONG ARMSTRONG 61812
BONDVILLE BONDVILLE 61815
STATION A CHAMPAIGN 61820
CISCO CISCO 61830
COLLISON COLLISON 61831
DE LAND DE LAND 61839
DEWEY DEWEY 61840
INDIANOLA INDIANOLA 61850
IVESDALE IVESDALE 61851
LONGVIEW LONGVIEW 61852
MUNCIE MUNCIE 61857
PENFIELD PENFIELD 61862
ROYAL ROYAL 61871
BROCTON BROCTON 61917
HUME HUME 61932
LA PLACE LA PLACE 61936
METCALF METCALF 61940
MURDOCK MURDOCK 61941
VERMILION VERMILION 61955
EAGARVILLE EAGARVILLE 62023
FIDELITY FIDELITY 62030
HILLVIEW HILLVIEW 62050
KANE KANE 62054
LOVEJOY LOVEJOY 62059
NATIONAL STOCK YARDS NATIONAL STOCK YARDS 62071
OHLMAN OHLMAN 62076
PATTERSON PATTERSON 62078
PIASA PIASA 62079
ROCKBRIDGE ROCKBRIDGE 62081
ROSAMOND ROSAMOND 62083
SAWYERVILLE SAWYERVILLE 62085
VENICE VENICE 62090
WRIGHTS WRIGHTS 62098
FULTS FULTS 62244
HUEY HUEY 62252
MAEYSTOWN MAEYSTOWN 62256
NEW MEMPHIS NEW MEMPHIS 62266
RENAULT RENAULT 62279
ROCKWOOD ROCKWOOD 62280
BASCO BASCO 62313
CAMDEN CAMDEN 62319
ELVASTON ELVASTON 62334
FERRIS FERRIS 62336
KINDERHOOK KINDERHOOK 62345
LIMA LIMA 62348
NEW CANTON NEW CANTON 62356
NEW SALEM NEW SALEM 62357
PLAINVILLE PLAINVILLE 62365
ROCKPORT ROCKPORT 62370
TENNESSEE TENNESSEE 62374
TIMEWELL TIMEWELL 62375
WEST POINT WEST POINT 62380
MOUNT ERIE MOUNT ERIE 62446
YALE YALE 62481
CHESTNUT CHESTNUT 62518
CORNLAND CORNLAND 62519
GLENARM GLENARM 62536
LAKE FORK LAKE FORK 62541
OCONEE OCONEE 62553
PALMER PALMER 62556
TOVEY TOVEY 62570
WAGGONER WAGGONER 62572
ALEXANDER ALEXANDER 62601
ALSEY ALSEY 62610
BATH BATH 62617
BLUFF SPRINGS BLUFF SPRINGS 62622
BROWNING BROWNING 62624
CONCORD CONCORD 62631
KILBOURNE KILBOURNE 62655
MANCHESTER MANCHESTER 62663
NILWOOD NILWOOD 62672
CAPITOL STA SPRINGFIELD 62706
BONE GAP BONE GAP 62815
EWING EWING 62836
KEENSBURG KEENSBURG 62852
LOGAN LOGAN 62856
MAUNIE MAUNIE 62861
MILL SHOALS MILL SHOALS 62862
MULKEYTOWN MULKEYTOWN 62865
OPDYKE OPDYKE 62872
ORIENT ORIENT 62874
RADOM RADOM 62876
RINARD RINARD 62878
SCHELLER SCHELLER 62883
SIMS SIMS 62886
SPRINGERTON SPRINGERTON 62887
VERNON VERNON 62892
BELKNAP BELKNAP 62908
COLP COLP 62921
GRANTSBURG GRANTSBURG 62943
HEROD HEROD 62947
JACOB JACOB 62950
MILLCREEK MILLCREEK 62961
MILLER CITY MILLER CITY 62962
MUDDY MUDDY 62965
PERKS PERKS 62973

2011-05-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

Rep. Will Davis on Education Funding

2011-05-12T10:58:00.000-05:00

Chicago Heights getting nervous...

2011-03-18T20:13:00.005-05:00

The Integrity Party has brought a lot of new people into the political scene in Chicago Heights. I usually call these people (political) virgins because it's not like what they teach you in school.

One of my candidates was horrified after Dave Gonzalez instructed a city worker to throw her out of city hall. "He was rude," she explained.

I've had to explain to these candidates, often more than once, that you don't take power out of the hands of those who have it graciously. You take power away by force. Especially when there is so much money at stake. Chicago Heights spends millions more than cities of a similar size. It employs more people than cities of a similar size. So it should be no surprise that it taxes its residents more than other cities of a similar size.

Not that it provides good (public) service for their dollar. I've been told by friends and supporters that I should be calling the police when we are threatened or we see things that shouldn't be. So this week I did.

But not a single police officer came to deal with the matter. No one.

This isn't unusual. And not just because Dave Gonzalez is forcing city workers to campaign on his behalf, apparently during working hours.

Yep, corruption costs someone money. And Dave Gonzalez sure has the house to show for it.

Tomorrow, 300 Hispanics from Cicero are supposed to arrive to help out Gonzalez. I assume he'll need the help. I think I was supposed to be surprised that 300 people were supposed to come down, but I already expected this. I've already duked it out with Gonzalez in a race in that area. And it will be an impressive show of force.

Of outsiders. But they have already had a slew of outsiders come in and knock on doors for them. Gonzalez has to have outsiders come in because he doesn't seem to be generating the kind of support in Chicago Heights that he expected.

Supposedly, last weekend, Gonzalez put up 1000 signs. But I don't know a single one that was placed in a yard of one of his supporters. Maybe he doesn't have any. Even some of the people who *they* mobilized to early vote claim they voted for Joe (one was a city worker!).

Like all politicians, Dave Gonzalez has an inflated view of himself. It's kind of pathetic, especially in this case. He has to hide from what is real, and project what is not. For example, Gonzalez has been telling other politicians that he has this race wrapped up and that he can mobilize this huge work force (presumably all the city workers that he's impressed into service illegally) but he's got to ship in hundreds of Hispanics to help him make "Latino Day" look good.

What a character.

Well, Gonzalez has already started to figure out that he doesn't have a strong grasp of politics. And he has an even weaker grasp of politics that is played at this level. A teenager could figure out what we are going to do. It's not rocket science, and it isn't a secret. So this upcoming week ought to be very, very interesting. But I'm having a *very* good time. Dave Gonzalez is an extremely rich oppo target and the only difficulty is in trying to decide which parts of his past and his hypocrisy I want to go after.

He's made it easy for me. For example, the city of Chicago Heights (ok, really Dave Gonzalez but they pretend that it is the city, so I will, too) has halted the provision of basic services to the 4th Ward (which is Joe Faso's ward), in the belief that they can blame Joe for their failure.

Which shows a basic disconnect from the residents in the 4th Ward (or just an assumption that voters are stupid). They know what is going on. This makes them more determined to get out and vote for Joe, not less likely. The only stupid person here is Gonzalez.

But we can pretend that he isn't an idiot. After all, he's bringing in 300 Hispanics from Cicero tomorrow. That ought to impress someone. Really. I mean, I assume...

Would you elect the brother of a Domestic Terrorist to be your mayor?

2011-03-13T09:00:00.002-05:00

That's the question in Chicago Heights this week.

Dave Gonzalez sent out a mailer claiming drug dealers are Domestic Terrorists. Which is a odd thing to say about your brother, someone you let into your home, someone who acts in the community as a representative for you.

Perhaps Dave didn't see the irony. But others did.

So would you?

Would you elect the brother of a Domestic Terrorist to be your mayor?

I know I wouldn't. I can't imagine too many people who would.

I'm really starting to wonder if Dave Gonzalez understands politics. I mean, I'd expect him to throw his brother under the bus. Dave Gonzalez isn't exactly known for his loyalty to people. In fact, quite the opposite.

But emphasizing your relationship to Domestic Terrorism?

That's not smart. Not smart at all. Not if you want to be mayor.

Gregg Lunceford, candidate for 161 School Board

2011-03-06T10:01:00.001-06:00

Sam Brown, running for Re-election in Matteson

2011-03-04T09:47:00.001-06:00

Dave Gonzalez "unleashes" the dogs (is that code for something?)

2011-02-22T22:44:00.002-06:00

It was an exciting day in Chicago today. Down here in Chicago Heights, the excitement is only starting to build. I just got a call telling me that a local gang leader walked into a Chicago Heights business today and told him that they were taking over this town. Dave Gonzalez has "unleashed the dogs." Not exactly sure what that means, other than it's a warning. I'm supposed to tell those opposed to corruption, drugs and gangs in Chicago Heights to back off. Or something.

It's almost like living inside a movie. I know that Gonzalez and his gang think that we should be afraid. Maybe they are, and they are projecting their fear on others. I can't really say. But what I do know is that Gonzalez clearly didn't grow up in the South, didn't experience race riots or drug wars. I had friends who had crosses burned on their lawns when I was a kid. We had a race riot (with the cowboys bringing their shotguns to school) when I was first in high school. I worked a special Congressional election in Miami in the middle of the 80s. Columbian drug lords thought nothing of shooting up the place.

So I'm having a hard time taking all the threats from the Heights seriously. Seriously.

Sure, Chicago Heights is the murder capitol of Chicagoland. And more than a few people have suggested that I should be afraid, very afraid going up against someone who is so connected. But, again, I grew up in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. So I understand perfectly that people with power (like Dave Gonzalez) don't give it up easily.

What I find so fascinating, though, is why anyone would think that an increase in gang tags or public bravado would help Dave Gonzalez. Sure, we have lots of Hispanic support for the Integrity platform, but I find it hard to believe that Dave Gonzalez believes it. And trying to intimidate Integrity volunteers? If they are anything like me, they will only get madder -- and more determined.

At the very time that people in Egypt and Tunisia have overturned tyrants (and one party rule) in their countries, it's really difficult to understand why Dave Gonzalez would think that he could succeed with these tired old tactics right here in the South Suburbs. He's got power (now), and he's determined to keep it. I understand that. But getting the gangs to do your dirty work? And that's supposed to help?

I dunno, but I think some politicians haven't entered the 21st century. Dave Gonzalez is at the top of that list. The real question is whether Chicago Heights is stuck in the past, as well...

Details of Saturday's Chicago Heights Meeting leak out

2011-01-18T20:42:00.001-06:00

While I tried to attend Saturday's meeting at the Chicago Heights Country Club (I was told I could not enter, and then told that I'd have to leave the parking ), called by mayoral candidate Dave Gonzalez who mandated that all city employees attend or "face the consequences," I have gotten word back on some details.

City employees have been instructed to turn in contact sheets of 40 names by Friday. A vague threat was made about not turning them in, but Gonzalez is clearly trying to stay under the radar of the U.S. Attorney General's Public Integrity Section of its Criminal Division.

City Employees were told that they would be responsible for getting the names of their contact lists to the polls for Gonzalez, with a goal of perhaps half those names voting either by absentee or early vote.

Several Chicago Heights employees have complained to me about the stressful conditions they now work under. Gonzalez has placed apologists throughout the departments, and workers thought to be independent or non-partisan have received extra attention.

Again, it is illegal to condition employment at Chicago Heights' city hall upon political work for any candidate or party. It is interesting to me that while the County is moving away from openly violating Shakman, and I'd expect the city of Chicago to be less resistant to Shakman under a new mayor and city council, the South Suburbs is belatedly falling into a gray area -- openly violating Shakman and Rutan, but trying to obfuscate those violations. I'm not sure how the city -- well, the taxpayers -- of Chicago Heights can afford these corrupt practices, but until people stand up against the corruption, their tax bills will only get higher and higher.

If you are a Chicago Heights employee (or the employee of any city) who felt intimidated or forced to participate against your will, please call the Public Integrity Section at (202) 514-1412. You won't have to give your full name to express your concerns. They are eager to hear from you. I will follow up on this on Saturday, and afterwards...

Chicago Heights' mayoral candidate Dave Gonzalez crossing the Shakman line

2011-01-14T09:39:00.004-06:00

I got word yesterday that Dave Gonzalez, a current vendor (he has some kind of contract with the city) and candidate for mayor in Chicago Heights, has called a meeting for this Saturday of *all* department heads and employees who work for the city. Department heads made phone calls -- on city time, using city resources -- demanding that employees attend this "mandatory meeting." According to one source, they were told that there would be "consequences" for those who didn't show up.

This is, of course, illegal. Municipal employees are protected by both Shakman and Rutan, according to election law expert Richard Means. Means was the lawyer who had an election overturned in Gary, IN and literally wrote the book on election law in Illinois.

According to Means:

Of course it is illegal to condition future public employment on political work for a mayoral candidate regardless of whether he is an incumbent or aspirant. Depending on the precise facts and how the threat was communicated and by whom, it is likely both a federal and state crime and a civil violation of numerous federal and state civil rights laws.

Many people associate Shakman with the City of Chicago and Cook County. But it also applies to Chicago Heights. Shakman strictly prohibits politically-based hiring, firing, promotions and/or other job actions for municipal positions where political considerations are not expressly exempt. Virtually every Chicago Heights employee contacted on Wednesday or Thursday at the bequest of Dave Gonzalez falls under the protection of Shakman (and Rutan).

Department heads, because they used city resources and workday to demand employee's participation, are particularly at risk. One explanation of Shakman [PDF] says that it:

prohibits the conditioning, basing, or knowingly prejudicing or affecting any aspect of employment of any person as a Governmental Employee (other than Exempt Positions), upon or because of any political reason or factor including, without limitation, any Employee’s political affiliation, political support or activity, political financial contributions, promises of such political support, activity or financial contributions or such Employee’s political sponsorship or recommendation is prohibited.

Further, it prohibits any employee (exempt or not exempt):

from knowingly inducing, aiding, abetting, participating in, cooperating with the commission of, or threatening to condition, base or knowingly prejudice or affect the employment of any County employee or applicant based upon political factors.

It is not Gonzalez, of course, who is likely to bear the brunt of additional Shakman litigation. The city of Chicago Heights would do so -- both financially and, additionally, to it's reputation -- of the possible Shakman violations.

In Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, "The [U.S. Supreme] Court found for the petitioner, expanding the First Amendment protection against dismissal from low-level government positions based on party affiliation, which had been established in two earlier cases." In other words, municipal employees cannot be forced to participate in party activity.

I talked yesterday with people I know in the U.S. Attorney General's office about Saturday's meeting in Chicago Heights. Because of my involvement in the Obama campaign and the transition, I was aware that public corruption -- as seems to be manifesting itself with this week's incident in Chicago Heights -- is a key concern of the Obama Administration. I was referred to the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division within the department:

The Public Integrity Section (PIN) oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government. The Section has exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of federal judges and also supervises the nationwide investigation and prosecution of election crimes. Section attorneys prosecute selected cases against federal, state, and local officials, and are available as a source of advice and expertise to other prosecutors and investigators.

I was specifically asked to relay their phone number to anyone who felt they had been forced to participate in political activity (such as the meeting called for Saturday by Dave Gonzalez). If you are a Chicago Heights employee (or the employee of any city) who felt intimidated or forced to participate against your will, please call the Public Integrity Section at (202) 514-1412. You won't have to give your full name to express your concerns. They are eager to hear from you. I will follow up on this on Saturday, and afterwards.

We need to stem the corruption here in the South Suburbs. We can no longer simply overlook corruption just because that's the way it's always been. We're better than that. We *deserve* better than that...

Republican Thugs Try to Intimidate Olympia Fields state Senator

2010-11-02T05:54:00.001-05:00

If you drove by 222 Vollmer in Chicago Heights, you'd have noticed that there were no political signs up -- despite the fact that it is the headquarters (and district office, on separate floors) of state Senator Toi Hutchinson. The office complex doesn't allow yard signs on its property and that's a condition that the campaign of Toi Hutchinson accepted throughout the campaign.

But Adam Baumgartner -- who's support is so thin that I've never actually met anyone who'd admit they are voting for him -- didn't care. He thought he had a right to do whatever he wanted, just as all kids do. I doubt his blind disregard for the law was intentional, he's simply too immature to realize otherwise.

Having said that, the lack of support for Baumgartner in Cook County might be frustrating him. Until this week, I had never seen a sign for him INSIDE his district. Every single one of them had been placed inside Rich and Thornton Townships, not the 40th district. Understand, the "volunteer" who Baumgartner was paying to put up signs didn't live near the 40th, so it's probably not that much of a surprise that they were placed in the "volunteer's" neighborhood.

But the fact that a Republican campaign wouldn't respect private property is a little dismaying. Even after being told that signs were inappropriate on commercial property and the public right of way, Baumgartner's "volunteers" persisted.

If you've reached the conclusion that they were trying to provoke a confrontation, that was an easy place to go. Facing a formidable opponent who a lot of people thought couldn't win in an election, Baumgartner's staff has to try for a hail mary. Plus, Republicans are embarrassed by the stunt of Tony Peraica and his campaign, so why not try to trap a Democrat into the same thing?

Except for that pesky violation of private property. Most Republicans claim to have high regard for private property, and especially that used by small businesses. But Baumgartner's staff has repeatedly violated that high regard. Again, it's very easy to conclude that he's just a kid, trying to put on his big boy pants, or recognize that his campaign staff has never been involved in a campaign before. So can we really hold them to the same standard we hold others?

I buried the lede. It happens. The first I heard of this incident, which Senator Hutchinson took to the Chicago Heights police, was from a staffer who was concerned about Toi's personal safety. In front of witnesses, Toi was threatened. Now Toi, being Toi, shamed the young men who were there, noting that it isn't that easy for African-Americans to advance and why would they want to be a party to preventing that? When I was told this over the phone, I could hear her mommy voice kicking in. Toi, being Toi, was trying to help these young men understand the law, understand respect for private property and learn something from the incident.

In the end, this is really about political intimidation. I worked for Ronald Reagan (in two presidential runs) and we didn't pull this kind of crap. In fact, I was in the (staff) trailer at the Detroit convention when Reagan told his people that he was going to ask George Bush to be his vice president, and talked about the difficulty of 1976 and how he had held his head up high, nowing that he'd done the right thing.

Screwing around with yard signs, trying to intimidate opponents (or voters) isn't a Republican thing, it's a thuggish thing. Toi was right, Adam Baumgartner should be ashamed. Maybe, someday, he'll grow up. Maybe not. But he's chosen to be a thug, to associate with thugs and exploit thuggish behavior. That's not why he's going to lose today, but it is why he should lose...

Bill Brady and his Indiana/Kentucky/Tennessee envy

2010-10-21T09:09:00.001-05:00

It never occurred to me that anyone in Illinois envied Indiana. Here we are, with Chicago, the jewel of the Midwest, the gravitational force that draws people from throughout the region, and one of our gubernatorial candidates actually wants Illinois to be more like Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee???

I've heard of people being ashamed of their family, but I guess I had never witnessed someone being ashamed of their state. More to the point, why would anyone want to be like Indiana?

I get to see how bad Indiana is every single school day. I live in a school district of some renown close to the border, and one of the problems the district has is that people outside the boundaries of the district try to get their kids in it. So every morning, when the train comes, you see a line of kids walking from the train to school. Employees who are supposed to verify residency have told me that many of these kids who try to sneak into the school come from Indiana.

With Bill Brady wanting to cut a billion dollars from our public schools and make us "more like Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee" I have to wonder what schools *our* kids will be trying to sneak into under a Governor Bill Brady? Missouri's??? Mississippi's???

It's almost like Bill Brady wants to undermine public education -- and an economic legacy once the envy of the world.

There really is a difference in approach between the two parties, and it was made clear in last night's debate. Democrats are talking about building Illinois into a great post-Industrial power, not just in the Midwest but in the country. While the term silicon prairie is overused, Democratic candidates talk about investing in the state, expanding beyond the bizarrely single-sector focus on financial technology and welcoming development in future technologies, whether they would be classified as high tech or not.

But listen to the Republicans. They keep focusing on "small business," as if small business was the savior for all the jobs lost by the rusting away of the Industrial complex. Not only is that belief a pipe dream -- there isn't a single economist out there who would argue that small businesses could replace all the jobs lost by the de-industrialization of the Midwest -- it's defies reality.

Had Republican ideology been based in reality, it would have noticed that credit markets have been reducing loans to small businesses, especially the vital short-term loans that many small businesses use to cover expenses. St. Louis Fed economist Julie Stackhouse reports, “Businesses across the country report that credit conditions remain very difficult. In fact, the data on small loans made by banks show that outstanding loans have dropped from almost $700 billion in the second quarter of 2008 to approximately $660 billion in the first quarter of 2010.”

Republicans keep talking about jobs, but Democrats have been creating them by investing in Illinois and its people. And that's the difference. Democratic candidates like Pat Quinn, Alexi Giannoulias, David Miller and Robin Kelly want Illinois to be, well, MORE LIKE Illinois. They dream of a state that is, once again, not only the economic engine of the Midwest but in the driver's seat for the entire country, even the world.

These two difference visions for the future of Illinois expose another difference: that over the future of education in the state, and how much value we should attach to it. If Illinois' future is "small business" (whatever that is), then education isn't that important. You don't need a college degree to work in a small business (at least not the kind of small business that Brady or Rutherford are talking about). You probably don't even need a high school education. Brady's small business strategy backs up his intention of cutting state spending in public education.

But the Democrat's vision of an Illinois that is once again a leader in high technology and leading edge economic development requires a strong commitment to public education, through the post-grad level. It's a big gap: one in a future where Illinois is a world leader, the other where Illinois is, well, "like Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee."

When you think about Indiana, Kentucky or Tennessee, you don't think about economic engines or driving the world economy. You don't think of supercomputers or cutting-edge development. These are small states with small goals and small futures. And that appears to be what Republicans like Bill Brady and Dan Rutherford want: a small future for Illinois. A simple choice. A simple belief in our future. Or not. But I sure don't want to live in a state "like Indiana."

Alexi Giannoulias talks about the importance of 2010 Elections

2010-09-27T09:14:00.001-05:00

Alexi Giannoulias returned to the South Suburbs to talk to voters about why this election is as important as any other. Alexi first talks about his work as Treasurer and his support for his Chief of Staff. He turns to his own race in part 2:

Implications of Daley's Decision in the South Suburbs

2010-09-08T12:27:00.003-05:00

'OMG! Rich Daley isn't running for re-election! The fallout will reverberate all the way down to the South Suburbs!'

Sometimes people over-exaggerate Chicago's influence on the suburbs. Anybody who even considered the above (I paraphrased from a conversation I had yesterday, but don't recall the words exactly -- or possibly even closely) really doesn't understand what's been happening down here.

Alex Lopes, mayor of Chicago Heights, just died, leaving that city in turmoil. Doug Price argues that this is the only thought on the minds of the political elites in the Heights, and he's probably right.

Linzey Jones, long-time mayor of Olympia Heights, is moving on to the bench, and the village trustees are currently trying to figure out who (amongst them) will succeed him.

Lopez' death and Jones leaving politics may have as big an impact on the South Suburbs as Daley's retirement. Two big holes were already here to be filled, and we don't have a clue who's going to step up in the South Suburbs.

Well, that's not exactly true, but let me continue the thought. Because the impact of the 2008 campaign continues to reverberate in the South Suburbs, as well. Oh, we definitely have people whose sole political interest is in Barack Obama -- and more than a few who are waiting for the next Obama for President headquarters to open so they can go volunteer down there.

But there are even more people who first got involved in Barack's campaign who are eager to get involved in elective politics. And the sudden openings in Olympia Fields and Chicago Heights, as well as the attention devoted to the Big Opening in Chicago, will only spur their thoughts.

You can, however, get a glimpse of who is likely to step up and fill the power vacuum(s) in South Suburban politics. Toi Hutchinson is building a grassroots-driven campaign that is basically devoid of message but focuses on her biography. Which is also kind of sad, because Hutchinson may be one of the few politicians in Illinois who has Chris Christie-like credibility talking about the problems we face and the solutions needed to get us out of the hole we dug. Running a campaign on her biography is a safe choice -- except the fact that her district stretches all the way down to Iroquois county.

Toi's opponent (presumably) sought to take advantage of that choice by inserting the following into her Wikipedia entry: "Mrs. Hutchinson is an African-American Democrat in a 90% white district. Many Illinois political pundits believe she will lose re-election in 2010 to a white candidate."

That's utterly false -- not a single "political pundit" in Illinois believes that Toi will lose "re-election" simply because she's an "African-American Democrat in a 90% white district." (They forgot to add "largely rural" to that description.) Some have argued that it is a more conservative district than Toi personally is, but that doesn't have anything to do with her effectiveness in representing the people of her district!

I have long observed the difference between the right and the left on this particular question. The conservative movement has argued for decades that they can win virtually anywhere, if they can mobilize their activists and get their message out. It's one reason why over 100 Congressional Districts are "in play" in this general election, because Republicans have effectively recruited strong candidates who are waging strong campaigns just about everywhere. So why can't progressive Democrats win in "largely rural" districts, as long as they take care of the people's business? It's an ideological difference in assumptions that defies reason (but also a cultural peculiarity to Madigan-style politics where the party seeks out "the perfect candidate" for the district). Elections at this level are decided by personal contacts and message delivery.

Which brings me back to the void in the South Suburbs. It's probably less a vacuum than a changing of the guard. Mayor Jones moves on to a different career path, but Olympia Fields remains a rich pool of political talent, from which someone will no doubt emerge to replace him. They may even be able to replace him in regional politics and leadership. If not, someone else will. And Mayor Lopez' tragic death unleashes the undercurrents that had been bubbling up to the surface.

There still remains a tension in the South Suburbs between those who want to follow the "soak the taxpayers" model of government, with elected officials getting their's and not really worrying too much about the people's business and the sustainable model of governance where elected officials are careful of the people's money and try to improve their communities. We are still -- but less so -- influenced by the great city to our north. And that conflict remains. (One reason that Flossmoor has weathered the current economic storm is that we had strong reserves from which to draw on -- and save people's jobs. But you don't find village trustees making a mint, either, as trustees!)

This is likely to be resolved as more people get involved from outside the "regular" organization...

Alexi Giannoulias Fires Up the Vols

2010-08-30T13:22:00.001-05:00

On September 28th, volunteers from all over the nation got together to knock on doors on behalf of Democratic candidates. Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois' Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Barack Obama, came to Chicago Heights to talk to its volunteers before heading out the door.

He was introduced by Sen. Toi Hutchinson. Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Brendan Houlihan also joined us.

Volunteers from this location ended up knocking on 1500 doors on Saturday. The enthusiastic send-off by Alexi Giannoulias didn't hurt. It is amazing how well Alexi connects with the volunteers and voters of Illinois. We received a terrific response from voters in reaction to Alexi's candidacy and his focus on jobs for Illinois!

You can donate to Alexi's campaign here or sign up to volunteer here...

Sen Hutchinson Speaks on the Passing of Chicago Hghts Mayor Lopez

2010-08-28T21:21:00.002-05:00

Throw the Bums Out

2010-08-27T19:44:00.002-05:00

Newsflash: voters are angry. Democrats will try to knock on 200,000 doors tomorrow and I'm betting some of them will be surprised.

I got a glimpse of that today. I was out running errands in my "League of Conservation Voters" shirt -- which almost everyone misreads as "League of Conservative Voters" -- and the check-out lady asks me, "so who do you vote for?"

Now I have to say that I was taken aback. I mean, I don't usually have checkers try to engage me in political discussions and I almost never know what shirt I'm wearing (guy, so who cares what clothes I have on -- I figure I'm lucky when they "match"). But after a momentary pause, I say, "I'm voting Democrat."

And she replies, "I usually vote Democrat, too, but I'm just so frustrated this year."

In one sentence, a nice elderly woman has captured the mood of the electorate here in Illinois.

"when are they going to tell you how they're going to solve all these problems?" she asks.

YES! Now we're on my ground!

"Well," I respond, and then give a brief version of my 'we live in a complex world' speech which always begins the same way: "We've tried all the simple answers, and when those didn't work, we're left with the difficult ones." But what politician is going to tell you that the problems that remain are the ones that earlier politicians couldn't solve because they demand more difficult, and probably more complex, solutions?

Because, you know, politicians avoid telling hard truths like children avoid brushing their teeth or taking their medicine.

Probably for the same reasons.

Now, you want to give away Ice Cream? That always gets a crowd.

Politicians tend to want to be liked. It's part of their genome. So the expectation that a group of people who mostly need to be liked could solve some of the country's most difficult problems -- like unemployment, a sour economy, health care, racism, etc etc -- might be a bit far fetched. You know, if you really think about it.

Which I suspect most people don't.

Don't get me wrong. There are really smart people thinking about solving the challenges we face. One of them, right here in Illinois, ran for an open seat in the Illinois House recently. He talked a lot about issues and how we could go about dealing with some of the greater challenges faced in the state.

And he lost. Which didn't surprise me.

I know of another one who decided to leave the Illinois House this year and run for a different office. When I saw him down in Springfield, I asked if he'd be coming back in the future. "There are other offices where we need your help," mentioning one specifically.

But I'm pretty sure that he got the hell out of Dodge because he was frustrated by the actual pace of change in Illinois' capital. Molasses moves faster. And I know that he's interested in real solutions, in helping real people, not just perpetuating the same ole, same ole down there.

And then there's Toi Hutchinson and Robin Kelly. I'll feign no pretense of objectivity here. I know them both personally, they are very smart women from my little part of the South Suburbs (South of I-80) who care deeply about their jobs in government and how government can help people. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't a novel concept in Illinois.

For their belief that government can and should be used to help people who need its help, both are endangered in the upcoming elections. Here you have two accomplished black women who really believe in government as a force for helping people and they are swimming against the tide of anger that is out there. It's a lot easier to sell a message of fear right now than it is to hype Hope and Change.

Robin Kelly is proud of the work that the Illinois Treasurer's office has done under her leadership (she's Chief of Staff to Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias). They returned the office to professionals, which meant that they kept the competent Republicans who were brought in by the previous (GOP) Treasurer. But this little bit of professionalism means that Robin's opponent has almost a direct line into what they've accomplished and what her campaign's message would be.

You know, as long as she keeps it positive.

Ah, the moral dilemma of being one of the good guys. Her opponent faces no such qualms. He works for a company that has numerous contracts with state government, and will do very well with one of its own in the Illinois cabinet. Which, no doubt, means that he'll personally profit from his election. Power and money, to boot! Who could want more?

To an outsider, that's what is wrong with Illinois. I used to think that Illinois was just a *lot* more tolerant of corruption, but in the last year or so, it seems to me that Illinois actually prefers the corrupt. Maybe it's just that corrupt politicians are more predictable, leading to that all-important "stable" economic environment. I'm clueless why the electorate would go along with it, but that's Illinois. And we're different!

I know I'm supposed to be proud of that. If I could just wrap my brain around it.

Toi Hutchinson is an appointed state senator, replacing Debbie Halvorson, which means she's facing the voters in her district for the first time. In a normal election cycle, we'd say that Toi had the same odds as a non-incumbent, 50-50. You'd be forgiven if you concluded that they are a little worse this year, given the state of the economy. All the challenges of being an incumbent in a "throw the bums out" election cycle with none of the advantages.

Toi is proud of what she's been able to accomplish in her short term. The Illiana Expressway, which will bring jobs to her district. The re-writing of the law to insure that rape kits actually get tested.

But these women stand for election not only in a piss-poor economic environment, but also standing up against the prevailing winds. You see, they believe in government, that government can be a force in our society FOR GOOD, and that government should act as a check and balance against the free market that isn't exactly particular about who profits from the invisible hand or why. Ok, I'm projecting on that last one. I *think* that they agree with me that government should serve as a greater check against the free market, but you'd have to ask them.

Some people think I have radical views. Wouldn't want to project those on politicians I like.

The thing is that they are pretty much standing alone. Oh, sure, there's Barack Obama, but that's not what I mean. What politicians are out there defending government, acting as if they believe that it can be a force for positive change in people's lives, not "the problem?"

More to the point, who among us is arguing the same thing?

Yep, people are angry, and they can't really count on too many people because we've been deceived into the idiom that "government is the problem, not the solution."

The fact is that the free market won't start producing the "small business" jobs that everyone seems to be waiting for because banks are not really inclined to lend them money. Consumers are being more careful with their money, paying down their debts instead of starting up another widespread spending spree. Would-be entrepreneurs -- at least those who can't start off in their garages -- are thinking about if they want to risk exposure to such a crappy economy.

And the one place that could be creating jobs right now? Oh, we don't want no damn government jobs, because that's just wrong. No one knows why (government salaries get spent, too, and spread far and wide into the economy). They just believe that it does.

Now I'm interested in power. I don't worry too much about the wonky stuff, even in the areas I have some expertise in, because it's not nearly as interesting as *power.* I might be one of the few, because it seems to me that we Americans have no problem ceding power to the invisible hand, but we're almost paranoid about governments exercising power, even when it would make us all better off. That's just silly ideology deceiving us.

As a student of power, I don't want the government to have too much, just as I don't want the market to have too much. But there doesn't seem much chance for the government to gain too much power, because of the knee-jerk response the electorate seems to have when even a little bit of power gets exercise. Like bailing out a crashing market. Or the housing bubble. Etc etc.

But we don't have any trouble with the market exercising too much power. Bernie Madoff? Just an aberration (yeah, right). It's ok because every American wants to get rich. And if a few people (*gag*) get ripped off along the way, well, we take great comfort that the bastard's in jail. The fact that the market doesn't adjust itself -- let alone regulate itself -- is far too easy to ignore when everybody is doing it.

Plus, what are drugs and alcohol for?

Nope, better to be suspicious of the only country-wide institution that could actually help us out of this depression-like economy. Just because.

This is a very powerful country and that power is based extensively on the massive free market economy that serves as its foundation. I understand that nothing that powerful ever wants to be checked, let alone balanced, but it's better for all of us if it is. Power should never be concentrated in one set of hands (no matter how many hands they actually are). No, power should be dispersed, not concentrated, and a powerful free market economy *demands* a powerful government that can regulate and right it. If an amoral force like our free market economy is left unfettered, than the Bernie Madoffs of the world have an open season on all of us. But that's not the point.

The point is that voters are angry, and part of their anger is that they feel abandoned. The economy stinks and they think that there is no one there to help them out. Keynesians would argue that this is exactly when the government should be going all out to right the economic ship of state. But Keynesians soiled their argument by overspending during the years of plenty and not paying down the debts incurred during the years of want.

Yep, voters are angry and we're just not taking their concerns seriously. I mean, COME ON! Tell me a single politician's plan for reviving the economy and creating jobs that is not only credible (seems like it could work) AND gets paid for at some point in time? Maybe I missed one.

I have to say that I do get a kick, though, out of the people that keep demanding that Barack Obama get a backbone because at least he's making an effort at the argument. Yes, the president thinks government can be a force for Hope and Change in our country, he really does. But, in the end, he might be one of the few who does. And like Robin Kelly and Toi Hutchinson, he's standing against hurricane-force winds. The only way to withstand that force is to stand together. There aren't enough people, it seems to me, willing to join 'em.

Voters have every reason to be angry at all of us. The easy answers have been tried. The one's that remain are real bitches. Just like FDR in the great depression, we got to start trying things and, when those fail, try some more. Except that FDR didn't have a sceptical electorate who had been "trained" to think of government as the problem. And that's where we got to start. Change starts by changing minds. It's really the only hope that good government types like Robin Kelly and Toi Hutchinson have.

Tomorrow, Democrats want to knock on 200,000 doors across the country. Some of the canvassers are going to be in for a rude awakening. But, then, some people who open their doors to us will be, as well. But it's a conversation that we have to have. This is our moment. This is our time. And we *are* the change we've been waiting for. I heard that someplace...

Reflections on Growing Old

2010-08-04T09:53:00.005-05:00

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." I don't know who said that, but it does seem that change is hard to come by. I suppose that depends on how we define change.

I am the grandson of a Methodist minister (and proud that my brother took up the profession, because I always felt like I was expected go into the ministry -- until my mother corrected me decades later!) and the son of civil rights activists in Florida. My grandfather once said in a sermon that we were lucky enough to attend that "you change the world one heart at a time."

I've never forgotten that. And I really believe that.

Having fought for Hope and Change for two years starting in 2007, I won't ever forget the euphoria in electing the first black president in our history. And, despite the warnings from Barack Obama, many of us are disappointed at the progress -- or lack thereof -- that's been made.

Change don't come easy. You change the world one heart at a time.

It's a lifelong project. But I'm a baby boomer, and we want immediate gratification. Hell, it took years to mobilize people, to get them excited enough to take a chance -- to risk the country, even (according to some) -- to "get what we want."

But nothing's changed. You change the world one heart at a time.

I don't agree that nothing has changed. It seems to me that this president has been extraordinarily successful, pushing through major elements of his campaign agenda, tackling health care, Wall Street reform, instituting equal pay for women, beginning the drawdown of forces in Iraq, instituting transparency in the federal government, signing the stem-cell bill, rescuing the economy from the Bush recession, and working on climate change (and accepting it as a credible threat to the country). Our standing in the world has increased, and people can start to feel good about America again.

But not everyone agrees. You change the world one heart at a time.

I got into an argument this morning with someone here in Illinois, in part because I'm proud of the small part me and my family played in the civil rights movement in Florida. I can't pretend to understand the discrimination that others have felt because I've led an incredibly blessed life. I get how lucky I am. But that doesn't mean I don't understand how others have been effected.

When I was a freshman in high school, we had race riots at my school. For a week that fall we had policeman around campus. Our coaches told us to stay out of it, and I suspect most of us did. But during that week, a cross was burned in the front lawn of one of my teammates and ended up damaging his home. I went to the varsity coach to tell him about it, expressing my concern. My (freshman) football coach was none too pleased, but that's life. The next day, the "cowboys," as we called them, beat up a football player, and our coaches told us to "end it." We did and the police left.

I understand what it's like to fight for change. I can't claim to be a pacifist or a believer in non-violent solutions to all the world's ills, but I understand that violence should only be used as a last resort. More importantly, I understand that those who resist change can -- and have -- resort to violence a lot quicker than those who work for it. And it's not always appropriate to just stand by.

During the Pennsylvania primaries, we had one African-American volunteer calling for Barack face two nasty barrages of racist rhetoric in one day. I'm convinced they didn't realize that she was black because I seriously doubt that you could have told from her voice. A nice Philly suburban housewife who lived in a pretty good neighborhood, she didn't deserve that. "This country isn't ready for a (black) president," one of the callers told her (using the pejorative for black).

You change the world one heart at a time. It's a long frickin' process.

I'm not sure I would have wished any of this upon Barack Obama. But, then, sometimes it takes a tectonic shift to rest people out of their slumber. I'd like to think that we were doing that, but it seems that the forces of good are exhausted, disappointed and uninterested. I've even heard one (black) Democratic party "leader" express greater disappointment in the president than you'd hear from Tea Party leaders, because he didn't immediately make everything better for black women.

Man, that's a lot of expectations to carry while one is burdened with leading the country. But you change the world one heart at a time.

Last night, I had another political activist call me a radical. "It's not necessarily a bad thing," he mentioned. Hadn't heard that since high school -- and it probably got me thinking about things. I guess I stand out, although I can't say I meant to. But I'm fairly certain I don't see myself the way others do. Thank god for my wife, who often interprets the world for me. (Only one reason why I adore her!)

I tend to think of things on a continuum. Things don't always go the way we want, and generals like to say that all battle plans fail once contact with the enemy is made. It's the ability to adapt to a changing environment that makes one successful.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. You change the world one heart at a time. It don't come easy. But it's worth the fight...

Robin Kelly's Opening Statement before Southland Chamber

2010-07-14T19:50:00.001-05:00

Changing the Subject: Mark Kirk May Answer Press Questions

2010-06-29T06:51:00.002-05:00

Like just about anybody who could possibly be considered an influence on public opinion (and you can be sure they defined that *very* broadly), I received a ***Media Advisory*** from Kirsten Kukowski last night at 6:13 PM. It declared:

Kirk to Discuss U.S. Senate Race

Congressman Mark Kirk will discuss the U.S. Senate race Tuesday, highlighting his vision for creating jobs, renewing economic growth and tackling the important issues facing our state.

Given my frequent observation that Mark Kirk won't take questions from average voters, let alone the media, you'd think that I'd be all excited. You'd think.

However, the press conference is not in Chicago, but in Northbrook, an area in which Kirk feels very comfortable. And this location limits the opportunity to those news organizations that can send a van or car out there. Press credentials are required, as determined by Kirsten Kukowski. The fact that I get all the Kirk campaign's releases (sadly, none from Alexi) doesn't allow me the opportunity to ask any questions.

The big kicker: the press conference is being held two blocks from Kirk's office, and provides a quick getaway -- just in case the questions get too uncomfortable.

Given the location, I suspect not too many journalists will show up. This will probably limit the number of questions Kirk answers, since Kirsten will pull her candidate if a journalist starts asking too many questions.

So, although I was invited, they didn't really mean it. I guess I was just "informed." Nonetheless, here's some questions I'd want to ask if I had the opportunity:

1. Why would you (Kirk) exaggerate about your solid military record?
2. What political activities were you (Kirk) engaged in while on (reserve) duty that the Pentagon felt the need to counsel you?
3. Why did you (Kirk) exaggerate your duty station during the Iraq war?
4. Why did you (Kirk) exaggerate your duty station at the Pentagon (war room)?
5. Why did you (Kirk) exaggerate (first) Iraq's threat, and (then) Iran's threat to its neighbors, including Israel?
6. Why did you (Kirk) exaggerate the intelligence on Iraq's possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction?
6. Why did you (Kirk) exaggerate your college experience as a part-time nursery aide, claiming to be a teacher?

Of course, there are other questions I'd like to ask Kirk:

1. I'd like to ask about his unconditional support of Bush's selective (and distractive) invasion of Iraq
2. I'd want to ask about his defense of Rumsfeld's belief that Iraq was the center of al-Qaeda activity
3. I'd like to know more about his falling for Saddam Hussein's giant con that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction
4. I'd also like to ask about his comments about how the American government shouldn't be trusted while he was visiting abroad
5. I'd like to ask about his "micro-solutions" to so-called suburban issues that would expand the reach of government into our homes

But, then, Mark Kirk would never answer these questions. He won't "lower" himself to answer questions from voters or the Illinois media in the capital, or downtown Chicago, or anywhere else other than his "home" or safe district. He can always duck out and run to his office (which is two blocks away).

I get it. Mark Kirk needs to change the story. The fact that he's unavailable -- to the press or the electorate -- won't change with a *rare* press conference or public appearance. Kirk's "Rose Garden Strategy" is attractive, as long as no one notices that you won't leave your safe place and mingle with the "small" people. But everyone's noticed. Republicans are now awaiting Mark Kirk's second act. Democrats are licking their chops...

Fabricating Connections with Rod

2010-06-07T15:04:00.001-05:00

You can't blame Republicans for trying. After all, Democrats would do the same thing. But, still, I had to chuckle at this item in the Hotline On Call blog from the National Journal:

RGA Ties Quinn To Blago

The GOP's biggest asset in their race to oust IL Gov. Pat Quinn (D) isn't the Dem or his GOP rival. It's Quinn's predecessor, ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).

Now, as Blagojevich's corruption trial kicks off in Chicago, the RGA is running ads linking the 2 governors, even though Quinn supported Blagojevich's impeachment last year.

You would think that, after all the controversies surrounding politicians fabricating their resumes, politicians would be more circumspect about fabricating connections between other politicians. The lesson from the resume-inflation scandal should be relatively simple: voters don't like being lied to.

So why lie here?

Anyone who has met Blagojevich or paid attention to Illinois politics over the last decade will realize that there isn't a lot to connect Rod Blagojevich with Pat Quinn -- or any other politician in the state. There were no "Blagojevich Democrats," as it were -- unless you want to count Capitol Fax Bill, the former governor's most loyal defender through it all.

And that's the way Blagojevich wanted it. The most outgoing of pols (Blagojevich couldn't pass up a hand to shack, even if you didn't want your hand shaken), he was the most introverted -- or, rather, isolated -- governor possible. People in southern Illinois may have complained about the (then) governor not spending any time in the Governor's Mansion, but everyone in Illinois had a right to complain about Blagojevich not spending much time in the Governor's office at the Thompson center.

And when he did come downtown, it seems like he had the whole building blocked off (presumably for his convenience, but Blagojevich also seemed to like the whole security detail aspect of it, which I assume fed his ego). Blagojevich claimed to have worked mostly out of his house (perhaps an imitation of his ambition to work out of the White House), and he intentionally kept the other Constitutional officers at arms length. Blagojevich was much more likely to take pot shots at his fellow elected officials (including Pat Quinn) through the press than talk to them on the phone, let alone face to face. Even in joint appearances, Blagojevich tended to be in and out, and it's safe to say that he spent little time with other politicians in Illinois.

So Republicans are largely reduced to inventing connections between Rod Blagojevich and other Illinois pols (Democrats or Republicans). Which is why the Rod Blajojevich effect on this November's elections is not likely to be that substantial.

Sure, Rod Blagojevich was corrupt. But this is Illinois, and corruption is not only a bipartisan endeavour, it is also largely ignored by the electorate. Don't get me wrong, it is shocking the level to which corruption is tolerated by people in the state. And there's not much to lead one to think that 2010 will be any different. Especially given the fact that the Republican candidate for Governor, Bill Brady, has already used his legislative position for personal gain -- something that hasn't exactly created an uproar around the state (or the Republican party).

But the Democrat's best defense in light of the onslaught coming during the Blagojevich trial is that no one was out there defending the governor when he was under fire by federal prosecutors. You won't find Democrats saying that it was a witch hunt, or that the (then) Governor was being rail roaded by those mean Federal prosecutors. Nor will you find Democratic legislators talking about voting to impeach Blagojevich as a "difficult decision," "tough vote" or even something they had to think long and hard about. Nope. I heard one longtime legislator call it "the proudest vote" he'd ever taken.

So the best Republicans have is innuendo, the inference from photoshopped images that suggest some form of connection.

I know this is contrary to conventional wisdom, but it's hard to see Blagojevich effecting Democratic prospects this November. Blagojevich did this himself, isolating himself from the rest of the party, carrying on his "imperial" governorship, whining constantly about the lack of respect he got from other party leaders -- which seemed to only isolate him even more.

Come what may, Democrats built their organizations, their loyalties, their relationships independent of Rod Blagojevich. And broadcast images won't change that. If Democrats do poorly in November, it won't have anything to do with Rod Blagojevich. And if Democrats do better than expected, it won't have anything to do with Rod Blagojevich. It's not the rest of the party that isolated itself from Rod Blagojevich, but the former governor who isolated himself from the rest of the party. Voters may be mad, voters may even be disgusted by the rather despicable budget quandry that Blagojevich left as his primary legacy, but the Blagojevich trial won't be the straw that broke the voter's back. And the voters who do come out and vote this November aren't as likely to be the low-info voters that could be more easily persuaded by these Republican tactics.

Blagojevich dug his own grave. He won't be taking Illinois Democrats with him, because he didn't have much to do with Illinois' Democrats. This is the pol that seemed to want to circumvent the party and take everything "directly to the people." Which doesn't mean that Illinois' Democrats have an easy path before them. They just don't have the Blagojevich albatross dragging them down. Blagojevich won two primaries and two elections, but he didn't take over the party. This election will be fought over the state of the economy and how well the recovery is creating jobs in Illinois. I don't think either party can (credibly) promise to end corruption in the state, but voters might be interested in which one can (credibly) return Illinois to a predictable, stable job-creating environment...

OFA-Illinois' Sheena Patton talks to Team HOPE

2010-04-30T17:42:00.003-05:00

Concerns about Alexi Giannoulias misguided

2010-04-15T16:23:00.001-05:00

Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, taking his cues from Karl Rove, wants everyone to know that "people are concerned" about his Democratic opponent, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. One of these "concerns" that people are supposed to have is over Alexi's fund-raising prowess.

You see, Alexi only raised $1.2 million to Kirk's $2.2 million in this quarter. Kirk, of course, has benefitted greatly from his support from Wall Street firms and Big Banks, which he voted to bail out in the fall of 2008. And they are certainly rewarding Kirk for his support for the big banks.

Alexi, though, has taken a different tack. His ethical guidelines prevent him from taking money from corporate PACs, like those who have contributed more than 2 million dollars to Mark Kirk. Alexi is running to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate, not Wall Street. Kirk has already proven he'll sell his vote to the highest bidder (which rarely includes Illinois).

But, like most of Kirk's criticisms of Alexi, this one doesn't stand up, either. Alexi is squarely in the middle of Democratic Senate candidates, both incumbents and non-incumbents. No reason for concern -- unless you're Mark Kirk.

Alexi raised more money than Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector -- who's in a tight primary race right now. He raised twice as much as Democratic candidates in New Hampshire, Indiana and Ohio:

NV SEN: Sen. Harry Reid $1.75M
NY Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand $1.6 M
MO Sec/State Robin Carnahan ~$1.5 M
CO Sen. Michael Bennet $1.4 M
IL Treas. Alexi Giannoulias $1.2 M
PA Sen. Arlen Specter $1.16M
NH Rep. Paul Hodes $665 K
IN Rep. Brad Ellsworth $625 K
OH LG Lee Fisher $550 K
LA Rep. Charlie Melancon $543 k

So what's all the fuss about? Oh, yeah. Instead of talking about jobs, Kirk wants to attack Alexi. Instead of talking to the people of Illinois, Kirk wants to -- remember? -- attack Alexi. Whatever the question is, Kirk's answer is to attack Alexi.

The Karl Rove school of politics. Divide the nation, and suppress the vote. Sound familiar?

Democrats are supposed to be demoralized because we've nominated a bright, young, attractive reformer to be our nominee to fill Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. While Alexi Giannoulias can point to his head-of-the-pack leadership to save the jobs at HartMarx, Mark Kirk can point to... ANOTHER ATTACK on Alexi Giannoulias. Sense a theme here?

Mark Kirk thinks we're stupid. He thinks that if he can make Alexi a bad boy, Democrats will stay home, not vote or skip the race. And you can understand why. Conservatives are too fond of Kirk. Kirk's actual base may not go far outside his North Shore Congressional District. You won't see any Mark Kirk signs at a Tea Party rally (and don't say his name too loud, if you go). They aren't fans.

Alexi faces a stiff head wind. The national political environment doesn't favor Democrats. The economy is still in the dump for many of us. And Kirk is one of the most formidable candidates Republicans could offer.

But this is Illinois, and -- more importantly -- this is Barack Obama's old seat. Mark Kirk wants to make this race about Alexi Giannoulias, because he understands that Illinois would never elect him if this were about issues, if this was about who bests could represent OUR state in the U.S. Senate.

As this quarter's fundraising totals suggest, Mark Kirk has stepped-up his game. And now Alexi Giannoulias needs to do so, as well. Alexi remains an overly cautious candidate, one who stays well within his comfort zone. He's going to have to step outside that comfort zone and start pushing the envelope. But, in the end, this election is going to be about Illinois, not Alexi Giannoulias. It's going to be about who can best support our favorite son, in his Agenda for Hope and Change in Washington, D.C.

We understand that the East Coast corporate Fat Cats like Mark Kirk. There was really never any question about that. The question is, will Illinois elect someone who will carry Mitch McConnell's and the conservative Southern Republican leadership's water. Because no one expects Mark Kirk to bring an independent voice to the Senate. He's been George Bush's and Donald Rumsfeld's trooper in the House, and you can reasonably expect him to be Mitch McConnell's trooper in the Senate.

Illinois can do better than Mark Kirk, and we will...

Mark Kirk fails to answer questions (again)

2010-04-12T11:48:00.003-05:00

Half way through the latest Congressional vacation, the AP headline said it all: Kirk won't say if he wants health care repealed. Kirk won't say -- again. Still. In perpetuity.

Mark Kirk is more than willing to talk to the New York Times and the Washington Post. He'd tell them, *if* they were interested in the Senate election here in Illinois. He's their boy. The ultimate D.C. insider, Mark Kirk is quick for a quote to the ultimate beltway insider media. But if the people here in Illinois have a question?

Mark Kirk won't say.

Mark Kirk had two weeks to spend here in Illinois. Did he sit down with the major media outlets like Alexi Giannoulias did for a whole day in the last month? Nope. Kirk couldn't be bothered.

Did Kirk spend more than a few minutes taking questions at any of his appearances around the state? Not according to any report I've seen.

Makes you wonder what Mark Kirk is hiding.

Look, I understand. Mark Kirk voted to bail out the big banks, but criticized Alexi Giannoulias for the fact that his family's community bank is in trouble. We'd like to know why Kirk wants to save the banks that have been his faithful campaign donors, but is so cavalier about banks that actually help people here in Illinios. And we'd like to know why Mark Kirk assured the conservative Club for Growth that he'd lead the efforts to repeal this historic Health Care Reform law, but has now changed his mind. Kinda sound familiar? He did the same thing with Cap and Trade. First he was for it, then he's against it. About what you'd expect from the ultimate Washington, D.C. insider.

People here in Illinois want to understand Mark Kirk's role in the GREATEST INTELLIGENCE FAILURE in our lifetime. We want to know why Mark Kirk has never stood up and voted against his very conservative leadership without their permission on a single whipped vote. We want to know why Kirk always seems to say one thing in private and another thing in public. We understand that Kirk has been dominated by powerful figures -- eg, Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush -- and we are concerned that Kirk will go to the Senate and be dominated by powerful figures (like Mitch McConnell or John Coryn). We wonder why Kirk is so secretive and why he seems to know more about China than he does Illinois. Most of all, voters in Illinois are concerned that Mark Kirk is more likely to represent the hyper-conservative Republican leadership than he is the state (and voters) of Illinois.

This two-week Congressional recess should have given voters (and media) in Illinois the opportunity to get our questions answered. But Mark Kirk won't say.

These questions have been around for awhile (hence the video above). But Kirk continues to run a stealth campaign. An inside-the-beltway campaign. We get that Mark Kirk is a busy man, an very-important-person inside the D.C. beltway. But now he wants our votes to represent our state in the Senate seat formerly held by the President of the United States. Here in Illinois, we are still proud of our presidents. So electing someone who's primary goal will be to prevent our favorite son from achieving the goals that this country elected him to do doesn't exactly seem in our best interests.

But Mark Kirk won't say. Is it arrogance? Hubris? Are we an inconvenient burden for Kirk? Or has Kirk simply decided that we don't deserve to understand his thinking, or that he doesn't deserve to explain his part in our government failures?

Mark Kirk won't say, so he's attacking Alexi Giannoulias for things over which he (Alexi) had no control. Mark Kirk assured his constituents that he knew where the WMDS were in Iraq, but he won't explain why none have been found. Yet he was directly responsible for making that assurance -- assurances you can be sure he also made to the New York Times and the Washington Post in the run-up to our invasion of Iraq.

I get it. We're just little people here in Illinois. And Mark Kirk is a Very Important D.C. Insider. We shouldn't question him. We should just take the scraps that he's given us and accept them. Hey, isn't Kirk waving a flag? See! That should be good enough!

In other words, Kirk is telling us to trust him.

I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly in a trusting mood with regard to politicians. Especially Very Important D.C. Insiders. If Mark Kirk won't answer our questions, then Mark Kirk doesn't deserve our votes. Kirk represents what is wrong with Washington, D.C. He certainly hasn't demonstrated any interest in fixing the place.

Illinois Statehouse News offered another, more telling headline last week: Mark Kirk Says he won’t lead. This is a Senate seat with some history to it. Some of us would like a Senator who can lead, someone who can stand up to powerful interests (like Michael Madigan) and come away with a victory. We don't need a Senator who always says No -- there are things we'd like the Federal Government to do. We need a Senator who knows how to say Yes to Illinois, Yes to Illinois' interests and will represent them when he goes to Washington. The choice couldn't be more stark -- Mark Kirk, the ultimate beltway insider, or Alexi Giannoulias, an independent reformer who listens to the people here in Illinois and has gone out of his way to answer our questions...

Not even his supporters Trust Mark Kirk

2010-03-30T16:13:00.001-05:00

You can't trust Mark Kirk. Even the right-wing conservative Club for Growth doesn't trust Kirk:

Now the Club for Growth, the powerful, well-funded conservative group, is ripping into Kirk for his sudden indecision, and making it clear that they expect him to live up to his promise.

“He said that he’s going to do this,” Club for Growth spokesman Mike Connolly just said by phone. “We expect him to live up to his pledge.”

Kirk has signed on to the Club’s repeal pledge, which states: “I hereby pledge to the people of my state to sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government.”

“He’s made a promise to the people of Illinois,” Connolly continued. Asked if failing to follow through could cost Kirk the Club’s support in a general election, Connolly said: “We’ll have to see.”

The Club's concern comes after Mark Kirk "repeatedly" refused to say "whether he wants the legislation repealed."

Mark Kirk is campaigning for Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat with a Beltway Insider strategy. He doesn't talk to Illinois voters, or local media, although he continues to take calls (and get covered) by the New York Times and Washington Post. But they don't ask him tough questions (like would he really -- REALLY? -- follow through with his pledge to repeal universal coverage, or ending denial for pre-existing conditions, or the practice of recission and lifetime limits on health coverage.

Instead, Mark Kirk dodges questions by Illinois voters and local media.

Apparently, because Kirk believes he can. Kirk's strategy in this campaign has been to attack Alexi Giannoulias for whatever he can think of. Broadway Bank followed the advice of the Federal Reserve and U.S. Attorney General's office with regards to enticing members of organized crime into disclosure and participation in the (above ground) economy? Mark Kirk won't tell you that numerous mobsters have been convicted and sent to prison (eg, Al Capone) because of the disclosure statements they gave to bankers -- because that would make his personal attacks on Alexi seem, well, ridiculous.

Nor will Mark Kirk tell you if he really means it when he promises to take away health care insurance from kids, young adults and older Americans.

The question we should ask ourselves is this: if Mark Kirk's most adament supporters can't trust him, why should we?

The dilemma Illinois voters face in contemplating their vote for U.S. Senate is this: Mark Kirk has never demonstrated any type of political courage during his service in Congress. He didn't stand up George Bush or Donald Rumsfeld when they were making decisions to invade Iraq based on the greatest intelligence failure in my lifetime. He's never stood up to the conservative Republican leadership on a whipped vote (without their permission) since he's been in the U.S. House. And now he can't stand up and admit that he's taken a controversial decision, one that isn't supported by the electorate here in Illinois or stand up to the right wing conservative Club for Growth when they are demanding that Kirk stick to his pledge.

You just can't trust Mark Kirk. He's never given us reason to trust him, and now his supporters are starting to recognize Kirk's lack of fortitude. There's no reason for Illinois to send him to the Senate. These tough times demand someone who can help bring the country forward, out of the abyss into which George Bush has driven us...

Nobody Asked Me, But...

2010-03-27T09:52:00.003-05:00

How could public perception of the President's Health Care Bill change so dramatically since it was passed? Polls taken before the vote (eg, Bloomberg & CNN) showed less than 40 percent of those polled favored the legislation, while more than 50 percent opposed it. Yet right after the vote, the USA Today/Gallup Poll asked if respondents thought "it is a good thing or a bad thing that Congress passed this bill?" 49 percent said it was a good thing, while 40 percent thought it was a bad thing. that's a ten percent swing among results expressing favoring the bill, and almost a 20 percent swing among those who didn't (using the CNN results). How could that be?

Republican pollster Bill McInturff's analysis appears to have been right. McInturff told the Rothenberg Political Report that:

“People have a stunning amount of information about the fight over health care reform and Democratic efforts to pass a bill. There is the perception that there have been backroom deals — with Senators from Louisiana and Nebraska, and with labor unions — to get support for a bill that isn’t to the public’s advantage.”

“People have come to the conclusion that it must be a bad bill, since if it were a good one, Democratic leaders wouldn’t have had to do what they did to get the votes to pass it,” McInturff continued.

I'd alter McInturff's conclusion just a bit: People seemed to have concluded that it must have been a bad bill (especially in light of all the negatives out there on both sides of the political spectrum), because if it were a good bill, Democrats would have the votes to pass it. Once Democrats *did* have the votes, the electorate flipped in its opinion about the bill.

We love our winners.

I love Art Turner. I voted for Art Turner. But I don't want the state Democratic Central Committee to vote him in as our Democratic Lt. Governor nominee.

I'd like to be able to tell you that I voted for Art Turner because he was the most qualified candidate in the race. But that's not why I cast my vote for Art. Rather, I voted for him because he was the only candidate to have asked me (personally) for my vote. I was trying to get him to come down to speak to our Team Obama group here in Flossmoor, but he was having none of it. "But will you vote for me?" Art persisted. So I did.

Art has shown that same persistence in the run-up to today's vote by the Democratic Central Committee members down in Springfield. He is the only one I know who has kept his campaign machinery intact, and used it effectively. Having said that, I don't think Art is the right person for this slot.

When Art Turner was running in the February primaries, we had no idea what the November ticket would look like. Justin Oberman was pounding Robin Kelly on television, and Robin never had the resources to answer. Raja Krishnamoorthi was on television touting his connection to Barack Obama, and David Miller was just introducing himself to the state. Outside of Lisa Madigan and Jesse White, we had no idea who would be on the Democratic ticket this November.

Now we do. We now know that three of the six positions for state government will be represented by African American Democrats. This should make us proud! No one can argue that African Americans would be demoralized by choosing someone other than Art Turner to run with Governor Pat Quinn.

No one has asked me, but it seems to me that one overriding concern and two secondary concerns should dictate who the State Central Committee chooses as our Lt. Governor nominee. First of all, who gives us the best chance for winning in the fall? This has to be the primary factor in electing a replacement for a(nother) candidate who would just have embarrassed Democrats. But a number of candidates would help Democrats win. So secondary consideration should be given to who will best help Governor Quinn and who would best help the Democratic party in Illinois?

Here's the unique aspect to this place that Democrats in Illinois have found themselves in: No downstate Democrat (meaning, no Democrat outside of Cook County) is likely to win statewide office in a contested primary. Look at what happened to Paul Mangieri of Knox County in 2006 (with the Democratic endorsement and its money) and Terry Link of Lake County in 2010. Cook County represents such a huge portion of the Democratic primary vote that it is difficult, if not impossible, for someone outside of Cook to win in a contested primary.

But this isn't the primary. Now we are talking about the general election, where Cook County is, at best, a third of the likely vote. My issue with Art Turner's selection is that this would lock Quinn and Democrats into a Chicago-centric race with an exhausted, and perhaps even demoralized, political organization being expected to turn out the votes. No political strategist wants a single pathway to victory, partially because it makes one's strategy obvious to everyone. Republicans would be handed the initiative, the ability to choose among various political strategies by which to neutralize Gov. Quinn and the Democratic ticket.

If I had my druthers, I'd have wanted a candidate out of Will County, just because it would geographically have optimized all possible paths to victory. Of course, there isn't a candidate from Will County, and hypotheticals get us nowhere.

Choosing a candidate from downstate gives the Democratic ticket not only geographical diversity, but it also gives downstate Democrats a reason to stay engaged in the party. Downstate Democrats could hope to be the next U.S. Senator -- or the next Lt. Governor. Regional diversity is just as relevant as other forms of diversity, and we shouldn't ignore it. We should also realize that there are not that many opportunities to promote regional diversity, so we should take advantage of this one while it's here.

The fact is Democrats could lose this fall. Mark Kirk is perhaps the strongest Republican on the ballot in recent memory. Rod Blagojevich will rear his ugly head this summer. Judy Barr Topinka begins her "I told you so, Illinois" tour at the same time. Republicans have targeted Democratic seats here in the Congress, in the state Senate and in the state House.

Sure, we'll still have Toni Preckwinkle, and Democrats in Cook County could very well begin a new era of Reform and Renewal under her guidance.

What Democrats of all kinds have to accept is that the Democratic Party is a BIG, F*@king tent and we don't always agree (let alone get along). We are a multicultural entity, even as we are constantly fighting for our own to get ahead. Today is the day for that tradition -- that albatross, at times -- to persist...

Our President, in "Preacher Mode"

2010-03-20T19:18:00.003-05:00

President Obama, in preacher mode before he returns to professor mode...

Sen. Hutchinson: "We haven't been doing that for the last 25-30 years"

2010-03-17T11:05:00.003-05:00

State Sen. Toi Hutchinson gave an impassioned speech yesterday for ending Illinois' budget crisis that has paralyzed Illinois' economy, paralyzed Illinois' social agencies, and paralyzed Illinois' future.

"We are in a crisis," Hutchinson says. "We're in a crisis right now."

Hutchinson's comment comes at a time when Illinois -- and the country -- is divided, and distrust of government is near all-time highs. But Sen. Hutchinson argues that Springfield is broken, and it's time to stand up, fix it, do the right thing and have the courage to lead.

This is not your father's Democrat.

Sen. Hutchinson is not risk-adverse. She believes in speaking the truth -- even when it's not what people want to hear (but we need to hear). Hutchinson is not only a newly-appointed state Senator (surviving a brutal nomination process), but she serves the 40th Senate District, which includes several of the most active Tea Party chapters in Illinois. A straight-shooter, Hutchinson previously wrote:

I remember all of the things I used to say about the General Assembly -- as a taxpayer, a voter, and a mom. I wanted representatives who believed in people, who could engage in meaningful and principled debate, and who weren’t afraid to fight for basic democratic principles. We need more from our legislators.

It’s a toxic political environment, which makes for pretty rough waters. But master sailors are never trained in calm seas. Leaders lead, regardless of the consequences.

That has not been the tradition in Illinois politics of late. While the 1990s saw the growth of "the Combine," the election of Rod Blagojevich toppled many of the prior assumptions in Springfield. Blagojevich's desperate need to be viewed as "top dog" (or should i say, the King) paralyzed Illinois state government long before the economy was paralyzed by the worst recession since the Great Depression.

But neither Blagojevich or his nemesis, Speaker Madigan, can be blamed for the ponzi-scheme financing that state governments undertook to achieve "balanced" budgets in the last decade or so. These accounting tricks and various sleights of hand were invented elsewhere, and utilized by all sides (Governor and legislature, Republicans and Democrats) in virtually every state to hide the true costs of government. In the 21st century, Americans expected to get everything for less, including government -- although we grumbled when that expectation effected our incomes.

That bubble has now burst. Governments at all levels have kicked the can down the road, borrowing against our futures to fund public services (like roads, public safety and education), and the bills are now coming due. More significantly, the Republican theory that charity, not government, could step in to provide the economic and social safety net that our unemployed, our poorest, our most disadvantaged citizens require has been proven wrong. Charities, non-profits and social agencies are critically threatened -- some even closing their doors -- due to the economic downturn, just as they are needed most. It doesn't help that the state is behind in its payments to the agencies that contracted with the state of Illinois to provide public services to people in need. But the economy has simply meant that fewer people are able to donate, and their donations, when they give, tend to be smaller.

Sen. Hutchinson understands. "We cannot afford to continue to do phantom economics and voodoo accounting," Hutchinson said, "and balance this budget on the backs of the people who need us most. Their backs are broken now."

Hutchinson lashed out at the Party of No that says "No to Families, No to Children, No to Social Services that keep our most vulnerable people safe, we are playing politics with people's lives."

No one wants to pay higher taxes -- everyone wants to get stuff (like services) for free. But our days of paying for government on credit or hiding its real costs have come to an end. As Sen. Hutchinson says, "Funding government is the right thing to do." Government has an important role in our society, and an important role to play in a healthy economy. Contrary to what some believe, a strong government is vital to a strong free market economy. Economies are transactional in character, amoral in nature, and require a perception among participants that those transactions are fair, transparent and above board. Weak governments tend to spawn oligarchic economies, where consumers are exploited, and socio-economic mobility is virtually unheard of. A global capitalist economy like ours requires a strong government with the ability to enforce its rules, not just here at home but abroad. There is no free market without a strong government.

For those who want to argue with examples like Hong Kong, and other free market economies that grew under the protection of the U.S. government, I merely note that, yes, we paid for their protection, too. That's what happens when one is a superpower. We're number one. But that has both costs and rewards. We must bear those costs to reap those rewards.

Illinois has fared worse than other large states because it was an anchor in our manufacturing base. Not as bad as Michigan, but bad nonetheless. So Illinois has to face the challenges of the worst economic downturn most of us have ever seen, a political paralysis that could have been a script to a Keystone Kops film, an economic engine (Chicago) that has had its own difficulties crawling into the 21st century, and a political/legislative system that has struggled to keep up with all these changes.

Sen. Hutchinson offers a vision for a better future for Illinois. Her challenge is for our political leaders to, well, lead:

I will continue to push for a solution that will result in Illinois getting back on solid financial ground because it is a fight worth fighting. There is a direct correlation between the taxes we pay and the services we provide. The state of Illinois has a responsibility to educate our children, ensure the safety of our residents, and care for our seniors and veterans. On top of all of that, and especially in this time of recession, we cannot cut services that vulnerable citizens rely on to get back on their feet. Fear, hunger, drug addiction, homelessness, aging, foreclosures, or unforeseen health challenges are all equal opportunity stressors for many people in our communities.

These are not Democrat or Republican issues. Just reality. I’m not fighting for taxes; I’m fighting for people.

That's the kind of politician we need in Springfield. A reality-based leader who isn't afraid to call a spade a spade, and brings a shovel when she comes to work. Because there is lots of work to do.

Hat tips to Progress Illinois and much appreciation for all the work they do!

Who Will Replace Linzey Jones as Mayor?

2010-03-14T16:32:00.002-05:00

Olympia Fields Mayor Linzey Jones won the Democratic nomination in the Lipinski vacancy in the 15th judicial subcircuit, virtually guaranteeing him a spot on the bench next year. As a judge, Jones will vacate his position as mayor. So the question is, who will replace Jones as mayor of Olympia Fields?

Several people have suggested to me that former Trustee Al Riley would be the "best" replacement for Jones, but Riley has dual positions as state Rep and Rich Township supervisor. But most people, including the Rich Township Democratic committeeman, think that unlikely.

Others think that one of the Olympia Fields Trustees (Carolyn Gibson, Shirley Nale, Susan Ormsby, Willis Pennington, Debra Meyers-Martin and Kelvin Oliver) will replace Jones. If that is the case, then someone will have to be appointed to replace them on the Board of Trustees.

I won't speculate as to who will replace Linzey Jones as the mayor of Olympia Fields, but it is certainly something I am watching, given its impact on the rest of the South Suburbs.

Et tu, Donaldson?

2010-02-27T08:09:00.000-06:00

Last night was the first time that I had met Mayor Donaldson of Hazel Crest. He spent about 20 minutes or so trying to convince me that he wasn't the kind of person who would try to threaten or intimidate me -- only to conclude by what can only be interpreted as an attempt to try to threaten or intimidate me.

Oh, the hypocrisy!

I was equally struck by the perverted reasoning he used. The mayor very theatrically argued that he operates off of facts alone. The fact that I was told to "stay out of Hazel Crest" (because I was organizing voters who might disagree with the mayor) or the fact that I don't particularly like being threatened -- these weren't relevant, he argued. Then he dropped the term "slander" into the conversation. Which, of course, immediately ended any discussion.

One would be tempted to have said, as Montoya did, that it doesn't mean what you think it means. Since 1964, political speech has been defined as protected by the Constitution. But Mayor Donaldson is an educated man, so he would have known this. Almost every elected official I know of does. Still, some politicians have no problem threatening opponents with slander suits. The facts -- and the Constitution -- be damned. The point is the intimidation, not the Constitution.

I've been through this before. As a child, I watched people try to intimidate my family (my parent were civil rights activists and co-founders of the Central Florida civil rights group, Bridgebuilders) from continuing their work in desegregation and racial reconciliation. After Dr. King was assassinated, I heard people in my church call me a "nigger lover" because I was the only white person pictured on the front page of the local paper in a march honoring Dr. King. In Illinois, I've been witness to more than one attempt by local politicians who tried to threaten people as a tactic to squash opposition. There has been this line that runs straight through my life, from beginning to end -- and I don't back down. To do so, seems to me, would be immoral.

Many of us who live in the South Suburbs like to think of our communities as having gotten it right. We live here, for the most part, because we've chosen to live here. We think that, to a large degree, we live in harmony with each other, black or white, purple or green. Sure, we've had disconcerting incidents in our communities, but, generally, we think we're better than that. We are better than that.

But one of the reasons I've turned my skills in organizing and politics to the neighborhood where I reside (the South Suburbs) is because the people here deserve better than what we're getting. And the politics of fear and intimidation is just too widespread in the South Suburbs to be ignored. I understand. There is so much talent here, so many people who have leadership potential, that it must be troubling to those who have achieved political power in their communities. But the competition should be fierce here, not simply because people disagree about various priorities in their villages, but because there is just too much political potential among the residents in the South Suburbs for this not to be the case.

So no one can be surprised that some people with power in the South Suburbs would do just about anything to preserve their position of authority. Politics is a fierce and bloody business, and politicians rarely rise without an ability to step over those who compete in the same arena. What I object to is when politicians abuse their position or authority, especially for purposes of personal gain (such as getting elected). So Donaldson can reasonably have assumed that I would oppose such things as raising his pay during these troubling times (when village finances are so stressed). Or his claiming that all of our communities provide vehicles for village officials, when they clearly do not. Or that I will help people organize who have a different vision, one where government service is done with a public servant's sense of duty to give back to their community. I stand against the all-too-often prevailing tendency to pursue government service for private financial or personal gain. The simple fact is that there is more than enough political talent down here in the South Suburbs that we don't need to provide extraordinary pay or benefits to entice good people into elected office. Which may be exactly why we have to endure this political culture of fear and intimidation, because those with political power in some communities can't stand to part with it. It's about them, not about us.

But it should be about us. So I got the message. I'm supposed to be intimidated, to feel threatened enough that I don't go into Hazel Crest -- but I'm not supposed to talk about it. Yeah, right. Thanks for clearing that up...

Southland Succeeds in Democratic Primary

2010-02-06T19:16:00.006-06:00

The South Suburbs' favorite son (David Miller) and daughter (Robin Kelly) both won their respective Democratic nominations for state Comptroller and Treasurer this Tuesday. I believe it's the first time that two people from the South Suburbs has been on the general election ballot for statewide office. Robin Kelly won 38,602 votes in Thornton, Bloom, Rich, Bremen and Orland townships, while David Miller won 34,427 votes in the Southland:

Twp	Miller	Kelly
Bloom	5586	6311
Bremen	5419	6603
Orland	3113	3783
Rich	6553	9140
Thornton	13756	12765

A more interesting race shaped up in the 15th Judicial subcircuit (in the Phelan vacancy), where former Republican party leader (and Bloom Township supervisor) T.J. Somer teamed up with Olympia Fields Mayor Linzey Jones and former state Rep. George Scully to run in the three vacancies in the subcircuit. Somer was a controversial candidate, not simply because he switched political parties to run for judge, but also because his peers found him significantly less qualified for the position of judge than the other two. Somer scored a mere 40% in the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening [PDF]. The most damning evaluation came from the Chicago Council of Lawyers which wrote [PDF]:

Thomas Joseph “TJ” Somer – Not Qualified

Thomas Joseph “TJ” Somer was admitted to practice in 1991, following 14 years as a police officer in Chicago Heights. After one year working on insurance defense cases for a large firm, he set up his own general practice firm in the south suburbs. Since 1997 he has served as a Supervisor for Bloom Township and, since 2006, he has also served as corporation counsel for the city of Chicago Heights. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Chicago Heights and for Congress. Mr. Somer is reported to have good legal ability and temperament, although his practice is narrow. In addition to the narrowness of his practice, the Council is also concerned that Somer was a defendant in a law suit alleging illegal practices with respect to tax delinquent properties during the time he was the Bloom Township Supervisor. Although the trial court absolved Somer of wrongdoing, the Appellate Court reversed the trial court’s decision. Mr. Somer denies any culpability and insists that this program was appropriate and successful. The Council finds him Not Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Several people expressed to me their surprise that Somer did so poorly in the combined judicial screenings (both Jones and Scully scored 100%, as did the candidate winning in the Phelan vacancy, John Griffin).

Given Somer's controversial candidacy, it is no surprise that he tied himself to two other elected officials in Bloom Township. Linzey Jones has explained this alliance between himself, George Scully and T.J. Somer as a practical matter, because running for judge is so expensive. He also said that he was not that interested in raising a large amount of money, and this alliance offered the opportunity of multiple voter contacts for less money. More bang for the buck, as it were.

As I've noted earlier, the "deal" was announced at a Rich Township Democratic party monthly meeting back in August, much to the consternation of a number of people there. On Thursday, I received an email that concluded with this: "Rich Township failed TJ Somers."

Well, I disagree. I think Rich Township did exactly what it was supposed to do: help elect the most qualified and fair-minded person to the bench.

But then, I wasn't party to any deal.

Judge John Griffin won the most votes, with 11,595 fairly evenly scattered throughout the subcircuit. Mary Beth Kent Duffy came in second, with 8,133 votes. The controversial Thomas "TJ" Somer came in third, with 7,579 votes (with the greatest concentration in his home township, Bloom). Carl Evans, Jr. came in fourth, with 6,286 (with the greatest concentration in Rich township). And Nichole Patton finished the field, with 4,823 votes.

15th Subcircuit: Griffin Townships in Blue, Somer Township in Yellow, Evans Township in Red and Duffy Township in Tan

Another way to look at the results, through townships won. Judge Griffin won 5 townships (Bremen, Lemont, Orland, Palos and Worth). Duffy, Somer and Evans each won a single township. Griffin won 168 precincts, Somer won 64 precincts (primarily in Bloom Township), Evans won 41 precincts (primarily in Rich Township), Duffy won 39 precincts and Patton won 3 precincts (primarily in Rich Township).

Given this distribution, I wanted to know who really ran the table in the precincts they won. In other words, who had "breakaway" precincts where they really racked up the votes, defined as precincts where they won at least 50% of the vote (in a multicandidate race). This is where Griffin showed the strength of his campaign, and where it is obvious that Somer is a Bloom Township candidate (just as Evans was in Rich). Griffin had 43 breakaway precincts scattered throughout the townships he won, while Somer had 24 breakaways, all concentrated in Bloom.

Rich Township: Griffin precincts in Blue, Somer precincts in Yellow, Evans precincts in Red, Duffy precincts in Tan and Patton precincts in Lavender

But it was in Rich Township that the greatest variation in votes can be found. Only in Rich Township did all candidates win at least one precinct. What stands out to me is not simply the fact that Carl Evans did so well in Rich, or that TJ Somer only won one precinct in Olympia Fields (Judge Griffin also won one and Carl Evans won two), but the fact that there is this big blue (Griffin) block in vote-rich Park Forest. Griffin won 8 out of 13 precincts in the Rich Township portion of Park Forest and 1 of the 2 Park Forest precincts in Bloom Township.

The theory, as the Rich Township Democratic committeeman explained to me, was that if judicial candidates can win (big) in Bloom and Rich and stay within striking distance in the rest of the townships in the 15th subcircuit, then that is sufficient for victory. More than 38,924 people voted in the 15th subcircuit races, with Bloom accounting for at least 8,921 and Rich accounting for at least 10,759 (together 19,680 voters). That's a little over 50% of the electorate that voted in the 15th subcircuit in 2010.

Jones Townships in Yellow, Flanagan Township in Gold and Karas Townships in Pink

The theory is sound, as witnessed by the result for Linzey Jones. Jones only won Rich and Bloom Townships, and only won 4 precincts elsewhere (all in Thornton Township). But that was sufficient to win. But the lesson here is not that Bloom and Rich need be the primary focus of 15th subcircuit candidates who live on the east side of the subcircuit. No, the lesson is that well-funded qualified candidates who run from the east side, who do not substantially alienate voters and have several competent opponents who split the rest of the subcircuit, can win by primarily focusing on the east side (where they are well known).

And that's how this alliance failed T.J. Somer. Admittedly, this was probably his best chance to win a seat on the bench, but the fact is that Somer did not win both Rich and Bloom. Somer did alienate voters (by virtue of his prior party affiliation, his behavior with regards to the aforementioned lawsuit AND the attempt to monopolize the open seats on the bench in the subcircuit by eastern side committeemen). Somer clearly has a problem in Rich, one that no amount of validators can overcome in Park Forest. Rich didn't fail Somer because Rich Township will never be able to advance Somer as long as the current political environment prevails. This is unique to the candidate, and really has nothing to do with the "deal" or the others who were party to it. In the end, the die was cast by T.J. Somer's history and the political environment that he helped create...

Not Ready for Primetime

2010-01-27T17:18:00.002-06:00

I hate being lied to, don't you?

I hate it even more when candidates who frame themselves as reformers lie to us. Aren't we supposed to be different?

So why would Justin Oberman be lying to us?

I understand. The Oberman campaign did their oppo and found that going after the losses in Bright Start was the best wedge a 35-year old wannabe politician who is campaigning behind his father's legacy could have with an accomplished reformer and leader in Illinois who has been able to bridge all the various strata of Illinois politics. I get it.

But, frankly, it's disgusting. Oberman's ad quotes Robin (who I'd like to think of as a friend, and whose campaign has specifically asked me not to blog about these issues) saying, "We lost no money" after the ad mentions that Bright Start lost $150 Million.

But that's not what she said. Robin Kelly -- and her boss Alexi Giannoulias and the entire Treasurer's staff -- is proud of the fact that the Treasurer's office has MADE MONEY from the money that the taxpayers entrust in that office (which is different than the money that it holds for taxpayers for things like education). The State Treasurer reached out to Justin Oberman to explain the apparent confusion that Oberman had -- or, at least, was evidenced on the campaign trail. But Oberman refused to take the meeting.

I suppose that it would be harder to continue to make the charges under those circumstances. As if that would preserve some kind of political integrity.

NOT!

The facts are these, as explained in detail by the terrific political blog, Progress Illinois:

Back in January, we learned that risky financial maneuvers by the Wall Street managers of Illinois' college savings program had led to a swift $85 million loss. The Prairie State wasn't alone in this situation -- Oregon, Texas, Maine, and New Mexico also included Oppenheimer's "Core Bond Fund" as an investment option for families saving for college and suffered steep losses as a result. Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who oversees the program, was the first state official to accuse Oppenheimer of investing outside of the fund guidelines and pursue legal action against them. Others have since followed suit.

In the months since he entered litigation to recoup the $85 million...

Here's what we know (bear with us on this one):

By the time Giannoulias took office in 2007, the Bright Start college savings plan had amassed 180,000 portfolios and nearly $2 billion in assets. It had also been long-criticized for its high costs and limited investment options. Intent on lowering those administrative costs, Giannoulias selected Oppenheimer to manage the portfolio through a competitive bid process that year. The investment bank suggested Illinois invest in a series of their mutual funds, including the Core Bond Fund, which was billed as one of the company's most conservative investment strategies. The treasurer's office contributed $200 million to this fund and immediately saw its fortunes rise. By April of last year, Chicago-based investment rating group Morningstar had named Bright Start one of the top five college savings plans in the nation.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse later in the year. It turned out that Oppenheimer's then-Senior Vice President of Fixed Income Angelo Manioudakis had decided to roll the dice with the fund. He not only invested it in risky mortgage-backed securities, but -- worse yet -- heavily leveraged the fund.

Once the housing market seized up and Giannoulias's office realized what Manioudakis had done, they immediately transferred all Bright Start monies allocated to Core Bond to short-term U.S. treasury debt. But that wasn't before investors lost 36 percent of the $200 million originally committed to the fund. The following month, the state served subpoenas on Oppenheimer under the Consumer Fraud Act. “Core Plus’ performance is unacceptable," Giannoulias wrote in a statement earlier this year, "and even more staggering when you consider that families thought they were investing in relatively conservative portfolios as their children neared college age." Speaking on WLS’ Don Wade and Roma earlier this week, the treasurer said he is "optimistic" that the state will ultimately recoup the families' money.

The lingering question is whether the extreme risks being taken by Oppenheimer were visible to Giannoulias -- as well as the broader community of investors and analysts -- and whether the treasurer should have been expected to act faster to protect Bright Start investors from the exposure...

While Oppenheimer might have disclosed the fact that it was investing in these particular types of instruments, even the Morningstar analysts in charge of keeping tabs on this fund weren't aware of the degree of leverage being employed... [Friday April 24th, 2009, 9:07am]

For those just getting caught up, six states, whose 529 college-savings programs were exposed to Oppenheimer Funds' Core Bond fund, experienced heavy losses last year when the bond sank 38 percent in the fourth quarter. Billed as a one of the Wall Street company's most conservative investment strategies, Oppenheimer's then-Senior Vice President of Fixed Income Angelo Manioudakis decided to invest a chunk of the bonds in risky mortgage-backed securities. Worse yet, he heavily leveraged the fund, a move that analysts in charge of keeping tabs on Core Bond did not even notice. A few months after the housing market seized up and the value of the fund plummeted, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias transferred all Bright Start monies allocated to Core Bond to short-term U.S. treasury debt and began negotiating with Oppenheimer to retrieve some of the cash. In February, the state also served Oppenheimer with subpoenas under the Consumer Fraud Act. And while Giannoulias reached a "handshake deal" in June that would return $77 million to the affected Bright Start accounts, there remained one large obstacle: the state of Oregon. [Monday November 23rd, 2009, 10:17am]

Lost in the coverage, however, was the centrality of leverage in the Bright Start controversy. Shortly after the fund tanked, a Morningstar analyst called it the "chief culprit" in the fund's poor performance and acknowledged that Oppenhemier made no disclosures in any legal documents about the degree of leverage they were employing. That's why it was good to see Madigan stress this point in her release:

Oppenheimer had marketed Core Plus as a conservative investment vehicle appropriate for beneficiaries who were at or near college age. Core Plus, however, contained risky investments and was highly leveraged by its Oppenheimer management team, which, in turn, resulted in excessive losses. The management team is no longer with Oppenheimer.
While Oppenheimer did disclose its investments in mortgage-backed securities, the Morningstar analysts in charge of keeping tabs on Core Bond expressed surprise at the degree of leverage being employed, largely through $1.4 billion worth of "swaps." A Morningstar article from April explains more about Oppenheimer's use of these instruments:

At the end of March 2008, the Core portfolio carried around $400 million in securities exceeding its then $2.2 billion in net assets via transactions that were effectively akin to margin borrowing. It also had roughly $800 million in long exposure to corporate credit via default swaps -- including American International Group AIG, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia WB, Washington Mutual, and Bear Stearns. It had around $600 million in total return swap exposure to a volatile slice of Barclays' AAA rated CMBS index. By normal reporting convention, all of these positions were not included on the fund's balance sheet and, thus, not in its net assets.

By the end of September, when the market sailed off into uncharted territory, Core Bond's credit exposure to those markets totaled more than 180% of net assets on a dollar basis. In other words, for every dollar of shareholder capital in the fund, it was exposed to the credit-driven movement of more than $1.80 worth of securities.

The message here isn't that derivatives are bad, though they can be dangerous if not well understood. Rather, it is that investors had little way of knowing that the funds were piling high extra layers of market exposure. Because most of this additional market exposure came from off-balance-sheet derivatives, the funds' portfolios didn't look highly leveraged. In a conventional accounting sense of leverage -- borrowing money against net assets and investing it -- they might have looked slightly leveraged. But in a economic sense, and as a mutual funds go, they were heavily leveraged.

In a sense, Justin Oberman is caught in a huge political dilemma. If he exploits this tactical advantage, then it appears that he either does not understand Big Finance or he's lying. Oberman claims that if he's the state Treasurer, "My office will conduct thorough research into every state investment that we make to insure minimum risk and maximum return." But Oberman's comments -- and the ad he's airing at the moment -- proves just the opposite. He didn't conduct thorough research into the Bright Start issue, and he refused to meet with the state Treasurer, who would have been happy to explain it to him.

Why would we trust him to do that if he can't do it now?

Oberman claims the reformer mantle that his father held. But then he goes on TV with a politically potent, but clearly false, accusation against a real reformer, a real progressive that has been building up impressive credentials ever since Justin Oberman was born.

I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired of the Daley brand of political slugfest (even if I appear good at it). Robin Kelly doesn't deserve this kind of treatment, and, quite frankly, Justin Oberman ought to be ashamed of himself. These kinds of fabrications on the part of politicians are more typical of machine pols than reformers. Oberman damages the reformer brand with this kind of stunt. It's just disgusting...

Alan Cottrell has provided professional services to the Kelly campaign in the past, but is not currently connected professionally to the campaign...

Bloom Township Dem Committeeman Race Heats Up

2010-01-26T09:13:00.005-06:00

If you're a Democrat living in Bloom Township, you probably received a very official looking piece of mail entitled "Voter Alert." While the voter alert was faked, voters in Bloom should have been alerted to one of the more interested contested primaries this cycle.

It sits at the bottom of the ticket. A place where fewer voters wander, after the long list of judges that one is supposed to vote for. If a voter chooses to vote on the computer (which most voters do), then you have to at least pass through the Democratic committeeman race. Voters who choose a paper ballot may ignore it altogether.

I'd like to argue that voters shouldn't ignore this race, but I won't (I won't suggest that you do ignore it, either). Because, well -- like that Facebook designation -- it's complicated.

You see, incumbent Democratic Committeeman Terry Matthews is running against challenger Joe Faso on the message that he (Matthews) is the "Real Democrat" in the race. You can see Faso's primary voting record here. There is no question about that. The Vote Builder logarithm characterizes Matthews as "Leaning Democrats," while it characterizes Faso as "Leaning Republicans." I've talked to Matthews about this race, and he said (basically) that I should support him because Faso is exactly the kind of Republican-turned-Democrat (Faso voted in the last Democratic primary, like all the other TJ Somer Republicans, to support Somer in his race for judge) of whom I've been critical. And he's right.

Except that it's complicated.

Because Matthews has made backing Republicans-turned-Democrats into a pattern that I (at least) can't ignore. Matthews appointed Republican-turned-Democrat Anthony DeLuca to George Scully's state representative seat (80th ILGA District). DeLuca voted in the same Republican primaries that Faso did (in 3/16/04 and 3/19/02), as well as in 2000 and 1998.

And Matthews has been the major promoter Republican-turned-Democrat TJ Somer in his race for judge. Somer was the former President of the Republican Party in Bloom Township (I've incorrectly said previously that he was the Republican committeeman), but Somer has admitted in the press that he has to be a Democrat to win a seat on the bench.

Somer voted in the Republican primary in 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000 and 1998.

But Matthews support of Republican-turned-Democrat TJ Somer is so great that, according to neighboring Democratic committeeman Tim Bradford, Matthews made a deal that he would support Democrat Toi Hutchinson for state senator in the vacant 40th District (Debbie Halvorson's former state senate seat) if Bradford would help slate Republican-turned-Democrat TJ Somer in the upcoming 15th subcircuit judicial race. Matthews is not just supporting Republican stalwarts in Bloom Township, he's getting other Democratic committeeman to do the same.

Politics is all about give and take, but it's hard to see how Democrats get stronger when their choice is between a Republican-turned-Democrat (like TJ Somer, Anthony DeLuca or Joe Faso) and a Democrat who goes out of his way to see that Republicans-turned-Democrats are placed into Democratic seats at every available opportunity. (Matthews couldn't have appointed a Republican-turned-Democrat to Debbie Halvorson's seat because there were other Democratic committeemen who had votes, too.)

So what's a Democrat to do in Bloom Township? Hard to say. This is, I am told repeatedly, not about Bloom Township but about the Chicago Heights mayoral race in 2011. And that's a shame. Because the Barack Obama campaign mobilized thousands of Democrats to work in the last election, and they must be disappointed with the performance of their local Democratic party (and the barroom brawl it's currently engaged in). "How can I vote for Faso," one newly activated Democrat asked me. (I just listened.) Another new Democratic activist admitted that she'd probably vote for Faso in the race given her disappointment with Matthews' appointment of Republican-turned-Democrat Anthony DeLuca, but it didn't sound like she would like it. Why should Democrats be holding their nose to vote for Democrats in the age of Barack Obama?

The unions have been asking that very question. In fact, the reason that Joe Faso (Republican-turned-Democrat) is in the race is apparently because he was recruited by the trade union officials to run against Matthews. The local unions have coalesced sufficiently around their choice that they convinced the Chicago Federation of Labor to endorse Joe Faso in this race. As far as I know, this is the only instance where the Chicago Fed has endorsed a non-incumbent in a party race.

Why have the unions turned against the "Real Democrat" to a Republican-turned-Democrat? This is less clear, but the anger is real. The unions in the South Suburbs had been the backbone of Democratic politics through the years when Republicans ruled Bloom Township. But when Democrats in Bloom got a little power -- and the ability to appoint a state senator and state representative, as well as slate the subcircuit judicial races is a little bit of power -- the locals felt ignored. There is a natural temptation to think that local Democratic politics is starting to resemble local Republican politics -- dictatorial, secretative, elitist. So again, one asks: Why should Democrats be holding their nose to vote for Democrats in the age of Barack Obama?

We are better than that. And we have better (and more loyal) Democrats than that. We really do...

Lisa Madigan Speaks to Team Obama in Flossmoor

2010-01-22T08:16:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday, January 19th, Lisa Madigan spoke to "Team Obama" (now Team HOPE) at the Flossmoor Station about her work as Illinois' Attorney General. She is introduced by freshman state Senator Toi Hutchinson of Olympia Fields.

Lisa talked about her efforts to help solve the mortgage foreclosure crisis and her work with women's and children's issues. Then she took questions from the audience.

This video is 37:22 long. It can be downloaded by clicking here.

Team Obama was formed from the grassroots volunteers who were mobilized on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign out of the South Suburbs and have chosen to "stay together and stay involved." Its meetings are open to the public and held on the second Tuesdays of the month at the Flossmoor Station Restaurant. The group does not make endorsements and encourages participation in the political process as participants see fit.

Deborah Sims threatens taxpayers: "We've got to get that penny back"

2010-01-14T07:48:00.004-06:00

We've been given fair warning. If Deborah Sims is re-elected, she will vote to raise our taxes (again) here in Cook County. "I think that penny -- we need to figure out how to get it back," she told the League of Women Voters candidate forum in Flossmoor on Wednesday night. "We've got to get that penny back." Despite the observation from Sims' opponent, Sheila Chalmers-Currin, that we "pay the highest sales tax in America," the current County Commissioner for the 5th district was completely unmoved. The increase of the penny sales tax was justified, and Sims made it very clear where she stood.

With Todd Stroger and raising our taxes.

Supporters of Deborah Sims passed out the flyer that Todd Stroger has been using to explain why the County's increase in our sales taxes shouldn't be a cause for alarm. Like Todd Stroger, Sims boasts that Cook County is "in good shape," one of the few governmental entities in the country that is completely unaffected by the worst recession most residents have ever seen. But the reason that Cook County can "afford" to pay for Deborah Sims' expensive Cadillac or her chauffeur or Stroger's relatives or contracts that go not to the lowest but the highest bidders (who just so happen to be political backers of Todd Stroger and Deborah Sims) is because Stroger and Sims raised Cook County taxes to a level that allowed excessive spending for their personal benefit.

But we aren't overtaxed, Sims told us. Nope, the County's portion of your tax bill is miniscle and more than justified. So much so that she pledged to add another penny to it!

"We've got to get that penny back," Sims told the crowded room in Flossmoor.

Sims' opponent couldn't have disagreed more with her intention of raising our taxes again. "We are taxed enough," Sheila Chalmers-Currin said last night. She noted that Sims' comments were a "perfect example of being out of touch with your constituents."

"This tax is too much," she concluded.

Wherein one of Deborah Sims' employees interrupted Chalmers-Currin, and was publicly admonished by the League of Women Voters' moderator.

Given additional time, Sheila Chalmers-Currin observed that "We can't afford four more years of the same." The back of the crowd erupted in applause.

Jones-Scully-Somer's Alliance breaks up CFL Block

2010-01-12T18:41:00.006-06:00

Word on the street is that the "east end" deal that slated Linzey Jones, George Scully and T.J. Somer threatens the benefits that the Chicago Federation of Labor brings to the table in their own endorsement of Linzey Jones, George Scully and John Griffin in the 15th sub-circuit judge races. As I mentioned previously, the Chicago Fed expects its endorsees to support the other CFL-endorsed candidates -- and certainly not to actively oppose them.

But that was before the local Republican committee, Families United for Effective Leadership, started mailing to voters on behalf of Jones, Scully and Somer. F.U.E.L. is Somer's local campaign committee, started in 1998, and used to promote his favored candidates while he was the Bloom Township Republican committeeman.

The longtime Republican PAC paid $30,501.80 to The Public Response Group for the joint mailings. Word is that labor committees and labor supporters have expressed outrage to the Chicago Fed about the new mailing. How, people in the South Suburbs continue to ask, can anyone support the controversial former Republican committeeman T.J. Somer as a Democratic nominee for judge? As Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made clear, there are dramatic differences between Republican and Democratic judicial philosophies and how people are treated from the bench.

The Chicago Fed apparently has had enough. The benefit of the Fed's endorsement was not simply a line-item on one's endorsement mailing, but its ability to mail on its own dime to union members and labor supporters (through the America Works program). The Chicago Fed could expect endorsees not to oppose one another simply because the Fed's mail program would ask that union supporters vote for all the CFL-endorsed candidates. As a result of the recent Republican mailer, the Fed appears likely to drop Jones and Scully from their GOTV efforts, in its mail program, robocalls and canvassing program. Today, the Chicago Federation of Labor pulled their listing of Jones and Scully off their website.

John Griffin -- having kept his word to support the other CFL-endorsed candidates -- will continue to be promoted by the Chicago Fed's campaign communications. He, alone, remains listed on the CFL endorsement list.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T16:35:00.000-06:00

Christmas Marred by Hate Crime in Flossmoor

2009-12-24T13:06:00.003-06:00

A neighbor discovered this note on the front door here in Flossmoor:

Jesus wasn't a nigger

The homeowner was, of course, horrified. This hate crime was reported to the Flossmoor Police, and presumably to the Cook County Commission on Human Rights and the FBI (and other federal agencies).

But while I am interested in the criminal issue here, I am more outraged from the flawed moral and biblical assumptions behind it. Because the note was wrong. The perpetrator of this crime would undoubtedly have considered Jesus a nigger, if he knew the real (historical) Jesus. There's no question about it.

I assume that our perp relies on modern western art or his own racial prejudice for his depiction of Jesus' appearance. But there is ample evidence to refute our innate desire to picture Jesus in our own likeness. In fact, "the earliest depictions of Jews, which date from the 3rd Century, are - as far as can be determined - dark-skinned." Much like the depiction published by Popular Mechanics in a Christmas past.

As New Testament scholar Dr. Mark Goodacre put it:

There is absolutely no evidence as to what Jesus looked like. The artistic depictions down the ages have total and complete variation, which indicates that nobody did a portrait of Jesus or wrote down a description, it's all been forgotten....

In contemporary parlance I think the safest thing is to talk about Jesus as "a man of colour."

"And Jesus probably did have some African links. The Gospel of Matthew describes the family's flight to Egypt [Matt 2:13-15], "where, presumably, his appearance did not make him stand out." But "it is important to realize that in Old Testament times Egyptians were black, not Arab. Arabs first conquered Egypt when Moslems invaded Egypt shortly after the death of Mohammed," in 639 or 640 AD.

Jacob, son of Isaac, led his family into Egypt to be with his son Joseph, who had risen to prominence in Pharaoh's court. [Gen 46] Eventually, the

Israelites went into captivity in Egypt and during the 400 years the Israelites were in captivity in Egypt they and their descendants intermarried with non-Israelites. (The Israelites were in Egypt 430 years, 400 in captivity.) The group of over 600,000 men plus women and children that left Egypt under Moses was a "mixed multitude". Ethnically, their ancestors were a combination of Hamitic Egyptians and Semitic Israelites. Although the Bible lays out Jesus' ancestors through Shem, it does not mention that His ancestors would have had Hamitic blood from this intermixing, e.g. on their mothers' sides.

That Joseph and Mary could hide their young child from a powerful King actively looking for them testifies to their ability to blend in. But only Herod felt threatened by the newborn Christ child. Outside of the moment of his birth, the rest of the world seemed not to have noticed him. In fact, his humble beginnings -- even his flight from the land of his birth -- speak to a niggardly existence.

Jesus lived in poverty, even when the family moved to Nazareth in "Galil hagoim—Galilee of the strangers." He had neither wealth nor influence, and he was far from the center of both in his land. He was born in another person's stable (which, according to numerous scholars and commentators, could have been a cave in one of Bethlehem's hillsides.); he rode another man's donkey on his final journey and he was buried in another man's grave as a final resting place.

Our perp in here in Flossmoor wouldn't recognize the King of kings had he met him:

His hair and beard would have been black, curly and bushy – untrimmed in obedience to the command in the Law. [Leviticus 19:27] The Bible says He was not physically attractive. [Isaiah 53:2] Beauty, in God’s eyes, comes from within. [1 Peter 3:3-4]

But, God’s thoughts are the opposite of man’s thoughts. [Isaiah 55:8-9]

A nigger, if you will.

But the fact that one could historically and theologically describe Jesus Christ in such a way does not excuse the thoughtless and racist act of someone right here in Flossmoor. In fact, we should all be horrified by this note left on one of our neighbor's door. Not only is this not in the Spirit of Christmas, no matter how you define it, it is also not in the spirit of the community that we've built here in Flossmoor. Racial intolerance (as well as theological ignorance) is not welcome here. The fact that Flossmoor will be a part of the FBI's statistics on hate crimes for 2009 is a mark against us all, a black eye for our community, a despicable act that shames us all.

We are fortunate to live here. 2009 has been a great year for our little village. I'm saddened to hear that it may end on this sour note...

Team Obama Serves

2009-12-21T17:14:00.003-06:00

A group of volunteers from Team Obama (Team HOPE in the New Year) participated in the Respond Now Christmas "store" for the less fortunate among us. We had a great time, thanks to Sheena Patton, our intrepid leader!

Judge John Griffin Explains Judicial Elections

2009-12-12T17:07:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday, December 8th, Cook County Judge John Griffin spoke to "Team Obama" (now Team HOPE) at the Flossmoor Station about the process by which we choose judges in Illinois.

This video is 16:15 long.

Team Obama was formed from the grassroots volunteers who were mobilized on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign out of the South Suburbs and have chosen to "stay together and stay involved." It's meetings are open to the public. The group does not make endorsements and encourages participation in the political process as participants see fit.

Dorothy Brown Before Team Obama

2009-12-11T13:17:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, December 8th, Circuit Cook Clerk Dorothy Brown spoke to "Team Obama" (now Team HOPE) at the Flossmoor Station about her campaign for Cook County Board President.

Dorothy talked about her four point improvement plan for county government and took questions from the audience.

This video is 37:27 long. It can be downloaded by clicking here.

Team Obama was formed from the grassroots volunteers who were mobilized on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign out of the South Suburbs and have chosen to "stay together and stay involved." It's meetings are open to the public. The group does not make endorsements and encourages participation in the political process as participants see fit.

Dan Hynes Speaks to December Meeting in Flossmoor

2009-12-10T08:55:00.002-06:00

On a blistery December 8th, the state Comptroller Dan Hynes came down to the South Suburbs of Cook County to talk to a packed room for "Team Obama" (now Team HOPE) at the Flossmoor Station about his campaign for Governor.

Dan started off about his experience with Barack Obama, from the 2004 Senate campaign to the presidential campaign, including observations on his first trip to Iowa as a surrogate speaker. From there he launched into a detailed explanation of the fiscal crisis that faces Illinois, as well as other problems that face the state. Hynes then answers questions from the audience.

This video is 42:22 long. It can be downloaded by clicking here.

Team Obama was formed from the grassroots volunteers who were mobilized on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign out of the South Suburbs and have chosen to "stay together and stay involved." It's meetings are open to the public. The group does not make endorsements and encourages participation in the political process as participants see fit.

Rich/Bloom Political Deal Falling Apart?

2009-11-24T08:26:00.005-06:00

At the August Rich Township Democratic meeting, Democratic committeemen Tim Bradford and Terry Matthews beamed with pride as they announced the (unofficial) slated candidates for the 15th Subcircuit openings: George Scully (Flossmoor/Bloom Twp), Lindzey Jones (Olympia Fields/Rich Twp) and T.J. Somer (Chicago Heights/Bloom Twp). I say that they were the unofficially slated candidates because slating wouldn't occur until after filing; Tim Bradford told me that he was confident these would be the slated candidates because he was chairing the slating committee involved.

Upon this announcement, people like me (who aren't exactly a part of the Regular -- or Machine -- Democrats in Cook County) were told to fall in line, although in much nicer language. "Don't question the deal," I was explicitly told, which indicated just how precarious the whole thing was to start off with.

Of course, Democrats across the 15th Subcircuit had all kinds of reasons to "question the deal." First off, T.J. Somer was formerly the Bloom Twp REPUBLICAN committeeman before he switched parties to run for judge. So the spectre of the local Democratic party chairs endorsing a former Republican party chair was a bit much.

But then George Scully -- who resigned his state House seat (to which another Republican powerhouse was appointed) to be appointed to the bench this year -- quickly separated himself from "the deal." If I hadn't been at the Rich Twp Democratic meeting, I might never have known that Scully had any connection to the Bradford/Matthews slate.

Word was that it was against convention for appointed judges to work against each other. John Griffin (Palos Heights/Worth Twp) was appointed to the bench by the Supreme Court at the same time as Scully, so it wouldn't do for Scully to be supporting a candidate (Somer) running against Griffin.

Those were hardly the only problematic issues. The stated reason for the "deal" (as it became known) was because the east side of the subcircuit was under-represented -- which is true. The statement that we (those of us on the east side) had no representation among judges on the subcircuit bench was false. But why coalesce around Somer, who was not only a recent Republican party chair but also comes out of the whole Bloom Township/Chicago Heights/Republican mess? Not coming from here, quite frankly, I'm always a little uncomfortable with anyone who has even tenuous connections to the Mob or the political culture that grew up around it in Bloom Township/Chicago Heights.

It doesn't help that there's an ongoing federal investigation into all of that.

That's not all. Both Bradford and Terry Matthews can be criticized for not looking amongst Democratic activists for people to appoint, promote or slate. The South Suburbs is blessed with rich political talent and highly competent people among Democrats; we don't need to look to Republican officials to fill Democratic vacancies.

The new wrinkle to all this is the endorsement of judicial candidates by the Chicago Federation of Labor. As part of this process, I am told, candidates were specifically asked if they would support all the endorsed CFL candidates, basically pledging not to work against any other candidate who received the CFL endorsement.

All three CFL endorsed candidates, Jones, Scully and Griffin are said to have agreed to this. For Scully, this was an easy pledge to make. He had distanced himself from the announced deal in August almost immediately. Scully ran his own race from the start, and really made the effort to stay out of the other two races that Matthews and Bradford had announced support for. And Griffin, coming from the west side of the subcircuit, was never party to a deal to begin with.

For Lindzey Jones, though, agreeing to this would complicate things. Jones and Somer apparently planned on splitting the costs of their mail program. When I asked him if allying himself with former Republican partisan Somer wouldn't hurt him, he expressed confidence that their mail program would overcome any negatives that might result.

But sending out multiple pieces of mail jointly with T.J. Somer would be exactly the opposite of what Jones has now (apparently) pledged to do -- which is to not work against any other CFL-endorsed candidate.

This is not an instance where local party chairs got outmaneuvered -- which is what I think they were initially afraid of -- but where the facts on the (political) ground have altered dramatically. The Chicago Fed brings to the table considerable resources and has stated an intention to get involved in this primary to the same degree that they were involved in the 2007 Chicago Aldermanic races. Which means they will get money, talent and volunteers to their endorsed candidates. Very, very few candidates could refuse that kind of help -- or jeopardize it once they got it.

So the question is, is the much-discussed "deal" between Bradford and Matthews now caput? Is Somer officially left out in the cold?

Perhaps because I've known of Chicago Fed head Dennis Gannon's work in 2007 and 2008, I can say this: standing up to (and, perhaps, slighting) Tim Bradford and Terry Matthews would be much easier than standing up to Gannon. While Bradford and Matthews may be concerned about their "juice" in the (political) game, Gannon brings gallons of certified Vitamin C (and D) to the table. The Rich/Bloom "deal" is dead. It is only time before all the parties involved realize it...

Joan Murphy on the Hot Seat?

2009-11-13T10:13:00.002-06:00

The Chicago Federation of Labor released their local endorsements yesterday. But it was more interesting in what they didn't do rather than what they did.

They withheld endorsement in the Cook County Board President's race, a seeming slap in the face to Board President Todd Stroger. But they also postponed endorsements in the County County Commissioner's races.

From their press release:

The CFL postponed making any endorsements for Cook County Board of Commissioners until after an important budget vote tentatively scheduled for next Monday. The vote would be whether to repeal a portion of the county sales tax creating a budget deficit that would harm county services and the frontline workers who provide them.

It would be premature for the Chicago Federation of Labor to endorse candidates for the county board with this measure looming overhead,” said CFL President Dennis Gannon. “The county budget is about vital services and the frontline workers who provide them to residents. We cannot endorse individuals who plan to balance the budget by slashing services and laying off men and women for political gain during an election year.”

While the CFL's press release mentions one issue it expects to be considered in Monday's budget meeting ("a vote to ban regulated video gaming in unincorporated Cook County") most people are interested in whether the Board will take up the half-a-cent repeal of Todd Stroger's sales tax increase.

The Illinois General Assembly passed -- and the Governor signed -- a measure rolling back the number of votes needed to override Todd Stroger's veto of the half-cent repeal of the sales tax increase (there are 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans on the Cook County Board). Monday's meeting is a special board meeting "to vote on rolling back the county’s controversial sales tax by a half-penny." Suburban Democrats -- specifically Joan Murphy -- are now on the hot seat.

Joan Murphy has been the very definition of a flip-flopper on the Cook County Board. First she proposed a two cents sales tax increase, then she voted for Todd Stroger's one cent sales tax increase before she voted to repeal half the increase.

But the CFL has thrown a wrench into her political calculation. The Chicago Fed made it clear to county commission challengers that they would be supporting the incumbents who supported the sales tax increase. Preserving jobs is the CFL's number one priority, and area labor unions are smart enough to realize that it is their workers -- and not those hired through the patronage system -- that are on the chopping block if county revenues fall.

Which leaves Murphy in a political quandary. Murphy represents the 6th Cook County Commission District in the South Suburbs, which borders both Will County (with a sales tax rate of 7.00%) and Indiana (with a sales tax rate of 6.0%). Like those who live in Deborah Sims' district, residents in Murphy's district have a daily choice between shopping in Cook County with its highest in the nation sales tax or taking a short drive to shop. Both Sims and Murphy deny that it effects businesses in their districts, but one assumes they know better.

The political heat from constituents about the sales tax burden was why Murphy switched from supporting Todd Stroger's tax increase to voting for a partial repeal. But Murphy also desperately needs the Chicago Fed's support.

Murphy couldn't afford to alienate voters, having one of the weakest bases of support in the Southland. She reported only $25,419.66 COH at the end of the last disclosure period and faces a formidible opponent from attorney John Fairman who has garnered support from village mayors throughout the gerrymandered district.

The CFL has been talking about being a force in the 2010 Cook County Commission races like it was in the 2007 aldermanic races. In 2007, the CFL endorsed candidates and sent full-time staff into several wards. The CFL and member unions gave endorsed candidates between $10,000 and $50,000 and had volunteers on the streets over the last two to four weeks before election day. On election day, it sent as many as 60 volunteers who worked all day to help elect favored candidates.

This is help that Joan Murphy desperately needs. Hence the dilemma. She voted for repeal because of the differentiation between tax rates in her district and Will County and Indiana stores. But the Chicago Fed is making Monday's vote a factor in its endorsement process. And the CFL's endorsement clearly has to be a consideration in Murphy's vote(s) on Monday. She really can't afford for the Chicago Fed to make a "No Endorsement" in her race, as they did in the Board President's race. She needs their help to win re-election. I doubt the CFL minds that it will be influencing at least one commissioner's vote on Monday.

Nick Kaleba, spokesperson for the Chicago Fed, described the delay in endorsing county commission candidates this way:

We look at the commissioners' complete records, including where they stand on balancing the budget on the backs of frontline workers and at the expense of vital county services. Monday's vote does not necessarily guarantee an endorsement or non-endorsement from the CFL. But with the vote just around the corner, it was necessary to hold off endorsing candidates until we have a more complete picture of their records.

The only other commissioner that faces a similar dilemma is appointee Edwin Reyes, who replaced Roberto Maldonado, who was appointed as 26th Ward alderman this summer. Reyes faces Xavier Nogueras (who was Maldonado's choice to replace him on the board) in what is likely to be a hard-fought primary.

Scandal-plagued Sims' solution: Eliminate the competition

2009-11-12T09:40:00.003-06:00

Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims has been all over the news lately. She betrayed her promise to her fellow County Commissioners and voted to save Todd Stroger's tax increase -- just another "Soldier for Stroger" -- giving Cook County "the highest sales tax rate in the country at 10.25%." She uses taxpayer money to lease a Cadillac for $804 a month. She refuses to obey the law, even though she "approved the ordinance, which requires documentation," "refusing to hand in any receipts." Now we find out taxpayers are footing the bill for Sims to be "chauffeured around town at taxpayers' expense."

So no one can be surprised that this scandal-plagued politician wants to throw her opponent off the ballot. It seems that Deborah Sims, and her fellow Stroger allies, made the determination that she can't survive the Democratic primary, given the lack of trust between her and her fellow County Commissioners -- and the lack of faith between her and her constituents.

Sheila Chalmers-Currin filed several times the number of signatures required to get on the ballot. But Illinois isn't a reform state and it allows anyone who lives in an electoral district to challenge the petitions of someone who wants to get on the ballot.

People told the intrepid challenger that Sims would do this. But Currin comes out of the New Politics tradition in Illinois (as evidenced by President Barack Obama), and likes to think the best of her opponent. So she expressed a bit of surprise and a little sadness when I told her that her petitions had been challenged.

Deborah Sims likes to justify her unyielding support of Todd Stroger's tax increase as protecting poor people. By this, one assumes she means the poor people in her ward in Chicago. She doesn't seem much interested by the poor in Ford Heights or, really, anything in the South Suburbs (despite the fact that more than 60% of her constituents live outside the city of Chicago). One notes that she could be using her contingency dollars to help the poor in her district insteading of paying for her Cadillac. Sims could be using her staff to help the people in her district instead of using them as her private chauffeur or taking them with her to form a protective bubble around her in public.

She could. But she doesn't.

In Chicago, politicians can generally be divided into two kinds. The politicians who use their office for their own personal gain are clearly the most common. Deborah Sims falls into this category. The fact that we have paid for her use of a fancy, expensive car added to the fact that she uses her staff for personal aggrandisement (which appears to be far more important than any official roles they might serve) provides clear evidence of that.

But not all politicians are like that. While this is not a disease unique to Chicago, the fact that Chicago is all about doing business does promote this kind of insiduous behavior among those involved in politics here. There are some -- the brave, the few, the honest among us -- who want to use public office to promote the public good (and not their own personal aggrandisement), but any outsider would be struck by their rarity.

President Obama was certainly one of the latter, someone who wants power to promote the public good. So is Sheila Chalmers-Currin.

Which explains why Deborah Sims and her fellow Soldiers for Stroger are eager to throw Sheila off the ballot. Sims can't survive such a comparison. As the evidence of Sims' corruption grows, and Sims' overwhelming neglect of the majority of her County Commission district becomes more obvious, even a weak challenge represents a major threat.

There are clear thinking political operatives outside of the South Suburbs who believe that there is no way that Sims can win this time, given the numerous scandals that whirl around her like a hurricane. But in the South Suburbs, this isn't quite so clear. People don't really know who their County Commissioners are. It is difficult to vote out the incumbent if one doesn't know who is the incumbent. This lack of name recognition by the average voter (as evidenced in our Issues Survey in three townships in the South Suburbs last summer) is matched by a lack of political muscle throughout the South Suburbs. Most of the party organizations in the South Suburbs are anemic, at best, and the more famous among us are petrifying.

Instead of a vibrant, active political atmosphere in the South Suburbs, there continues to exist a culture of fear where people learn not to question their elected officials and to not get involved in local politics. While that culture of fear was broken by the mobilization of activists and volunteers in the South Suburbs on behalf of Barack Obama, politicians like Deborah Sims are working overtime to tamp down whatever residual enthusiasm remains for Hope and Change here.

Deborah Sims has proven to be an adept wheeler and dealer and an effective fearmonger, which has only solidified her position within the political powerbases that do exist. While there is general acknowledgement that Sims has done little for the South Suburbs (I have no doubt that Sims is a worthy representative of her constituents in Chicago, and especially those in the 34th Ward), the existing Democratic party organizations will support an incumbent, the slated candidate in the race.

We can expect this race -- should Sheila Chalmers-Currin survive her ballot challenge -- to be a low-dollar, low-information campaign. Regardless of the fact that Sims has breached the trust of her fellow Commissioners or broken the faith of a majority of her constituents, Sims remains a formidible opponent of the South Suburbs. Residents of the South Suburbs have grown accustomed to being sacrificed to the private deals between pols like Sims and the various "power brokers" in our communities.

We can also expect the media, both newspapers and television, to continue to cover the scandals that surround Deborah Sims. But given the shrinkage of newspapers in the last few years, and the lack of viewers for local news, will this matter? In the end, it will come down to voter contact and election day operations. We know that Sims will benefit from the patronage workers in (and from outside) the district. Can Currin mobilize enough volunteers to match it? We won't know until February 2nd.

What we do know is that the South Suburbs will continue to be embarrassed by Deborah Sims until then.

NOTE: You can help Sheila Chalmers-Currin survive the Stroger/Sims challenge of her nominating petitions by donating through ActBlue. As we have learned through trying to pass health care reform, it's not enough to change the President -- we have to change legislators, too! Do what you can to bring Hope and Change to the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Stop-over

2009-11-07T15:57:00.003-06:00

Republicans Running as Democrats in South Suburbs

2009-10-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

When Democrats go to the polls in the South Suburbs this February, they are likely to be surprised by a few names. Top of the list will be Bloom Township Supervisor "T.J." Somer, who was the Bloom Township Republican Committeeman before he resigned to run in the Democratic for judge in 2008. Somer wasn't just a Republican, he was the Republican challenger to Jesse Jackson Jr in 1995, a GOP office holder (Bloom Township Supervisor) and Republican party leader. At the height of the Florida ballot fiasco in November 2000, Somer made it clear where he stood:

"I think it's pretty clear here that I'm the Republican and he's the Democrat," Somer said this week by phone from his office.

Now he wants to be the Democratic nominee for judge. This is problematic on so many levels.

My biggest complaint is that Democrats don't need to dip into the Republican ranks to get good people to run in the South Suburbs. The South Suburbs has a tremendous pool of talent on the Democratic side, and we don't need crossover votes to win elections. While that may have been true decades ago, it certainly hasn't been true since I've lived here (in this millennium). I've got no problem with TJ running as a Republican for office, but he apparently thinks he can't win with that label attached to his name:

Somer is the latest example of someone changing his politically partisan label in hopes that “joining the other team” will give him a better chance at winning. After all, it is not that Somer has anything significantly new in his background.

HIS HOMETOWN USED to be a Republican bastion in the south suburbs. Officials who controlled Chicago Heights politics were white ethnics (largely Italian) who leaned toward the GOP because they saw the party as their political instrument that kept them from being bowled over by Chicago city government.

Shifting parties is just a sign Somer can “smell the coffee,” so to speak, of his changing community. Growing African-American and Hispanic populations in Chicago Heights (along with a federal investigation of the Chicago mob during the 1990s that sent former Chicago Heights Mayor Charles Panici to prison) have changed the town’s politics.

Now Gregory Tejeda seems to think that "There really is little difference between people of Democratic and Republican persuasions, particularly if they come from the same region." But I disagree. In this particular case, I'd argue that it's deceitful.

Judicial races are what we call low-information races on the ballot. Without a great deal of information about the candidates, voters are forced to rely on political cues or brands to help them make their choice for who to vote. One of the primary political cues we have is party affiliation. Being a Democrat means something to most Democrats, and they can articulate what it means. Somer apparently thinks he needs the Democratic label to win election in the South Suburbs. But voters will go into the fall thinking that the (D) means the same thing to Somer (if he were to be the nominee) as it means to them.

Consider about the vast differences between Republican judges and Democratic judges. Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer talked about the different judicial philosophies recently at the University of Arizona College of Law:

Using his "originalist" philosophy, Scalia said he likely would have dissented from the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that declared school segregation illegal and struck down the system of "separate but equal'' public schools. He said that decision, which overturned earlier precedent, was designed to provide an approach the majority liked better.

"I will stipulate that it will," Scalia said. But he said that doesn't make it right. "Kings can do some stuff, some good stuff, that a democratic society could never do," he continued.

There are also dramatic differences between Democrats and Republicans in the areas of sentencing on drug possession -- which have led to sentences being much stiffer on African-American defendants than on white defendants -- and other crimes. And Somer's service as a Chicago Heights cop forces one to question his exposure to racial profiling.

I don't know if TJ Somer shares Justice Scalia's interpretation of the law, I don't know where he stands on the disparities between sentences given to whites and non-whites in drug cases and I couldn't begin to guess if Somer would be sympathetic to law enforcement if they were accused of racial profiling, but -- most likely -- we will never know. Judicial candidates are prohibited (by convention) from answering all but the most vague questions about how they will rule in future cases.

What I do know is that TJ Somer -- like Antonin Scalia -- was a Republican before he decided he wanted to be a judge. I have no reason to think that Somer's judicial philosophy will be more akin to Breyer's than to Scalia's. Which is why I'd argue that attaching the Democratic label to TJ Somer's name is deceptive. We can't trust Somer to act as a Democrat from the bench.

The argument that some have given is that we don't have enough judges from the eastern side of the 15th subcircuit, that the western (and more Republican) end is over-represented on the bench. And I have some sympathy for that argument. But we have enough legal talent among real, long-time Democrats here in Rich, Bloom and Bremen townships without having to bring in Republican ringers to run as Democrats.

What no one can tell me is why I should prefer a Republican-turned-Democrat from the Eastern side of the subcurcuit to a real Democrat from either side. A real, long-time Democrat is much more likely -- it seems to me -- to be more sympathetic to the disadvantaged, the dispossessed, to consumers and taxpayers than TJ Somer. Somer may understand what is necessary to achieve power in this area, but I have real doubts that he understands what it is like to be threatened or abused by power, and I'm not sure how sympathetic he'd be to *people* in his courtroom. Before he deserves the chance to run under the Democratic brand, he needs to prove that he understands what that means to the rest of us, that he can be trusted with the Democratic label.

The constraints of judicial propriety makes that virtually impossible. Why risk it? Democrats should choose a real Democrat, someone who can properly be labeled with that brand, this February to run as their Democratic nominee next November. It's not only the safe choice, it's the smart choice...

Fall in Flossmoor

2009-10-23T18:25:00.003-05:00

Robin Kelly (Finally) Returns Home to Talk about Treasurer Race

2009-10-20T08:31:00.003-05:00

On October 13, the state Treasurer's Chief of Staff Robin Kelly returned to the South Suburbs to talk to a packed room for "Team Obama" at the Flossmoor Station. Prior attempts to schedule the hometown favorite had been thwarted by the special session.

She started off talking about why she left the General Assembly to become Alexi Giannoulias' Chief of Staff. She laid out her reasons for running and what she hopes to accomplish as state Treasurer.

As one would expect from a Chief of Staff (and an experienced politician), Kelly has a clear vision for what she wants to do as Treasurer. Robin Kelly spoke about how, since she joined Treasurer Giannoulias as his Chief of Staff, the two have worked as a team. She clearly wants to continue the numerous reforms begun in the Treasurer's office during their tenure.

This video is 13:12 long.

Will Our Teachers Strike?

2009-10-02T10:33:00.000-05:00

Parents in Flossmoor School District 161 recently got a letter that read:

An open letter to the Taxpayers of and Parents of children in
Flossmoor School District 161:

The Board of Education and the Teachers’ Union currently have an unresolved negotiation ongoing to renew the recently expired teachers’ contract. Given the current state of discussions and the fact that the information available to the public is incomplete, we feel it is necessary at this time to provide facts to our community.

The key issues, near as I can tell, is the inequity between what teachers in SD 161 get paid (relative to teacher salaries in the rest of the state), and what administrators get paid in SD 161 (relative to administrator salaries in the rest of the state).

The Illinois report card for Flossmoor SD 161 [PDF] notes that the average teacher's salary for the district is $50,400 while the average teacher salary in Illinois is $60,871. Meanwhile, the average salary for administrators in the district is $131,804 while the state average is $105,117.

So while teachers in Flossmoor make an average of $10,000 less than teachers around Illinois, our administrators are averaging $25,000 more!

The argument I've always heard for the reason that we pay our administrators so much more was twofold: that we wanted to attract the best school administrators possible and that Flossmoor wasn't that cheap to live in.

Which makes sense. But shouldn't the same hold true for our teachers?

Our property values aren't held up by having the best administrators in the country, they are held up by having the best schools. The best schools are not defined as having the "best administrators" but having the best teachers and having a healthy, productive work environment for students to learn.

So what am I missing? Not only does it seem unfair that our teachers are being paid less than the state average (but expected to perform above the average), but they seem to be expected to live, well, elsewhere.

I'd rather have our teachers living in our community -- or at least able to afford to live in our community. That keeps them invested, because it's not only their job but it's their neighborhood.

If you asked me -- and no one did -- I'd say that Illinois schools have way too many administrators in the first place. They have more than double the number of administrators that were in the public schools I attended, which were regarded (at the time) as some of the best in the nation. It is clear to me that this was because we had extraordinary teachers, not a large number of administrators who were highly paid.

We don't have children in public school anymore, but we do have an interest in maintaining the integrity and property values in the community where we live. I would hope the school board would share that same interest. There are undoubtedly many places that the school board could make cuts, but teacher salaries aren't among them. Our schools should be better than average, our teachers should be better than average and their pay should reflect that expectation.

Below average? Flossmoor isn't a below average community. That's the message we should be sending to the SD 161 school board.

Flossmoor Fest Extravaganza

2009-09-12T14:08:00.005-05:00

What a difference a year makes!

We have a mayor who finally believes in the future of Flossmoor. That optimism about our village and its potential can be seen in this year's Flossmoor Fest. Walking over to the baseball fields and that difference jumps out at you.

Last year, Flossmoor Fest was a victim of the weather, but the way that its cancellation was handled left area merchant's high and dry. This year, though, not only the weather cooperated, but local merchants and village government seemed more in sync.

The morning started out with a parade that wound its way throughout the village. The H-F Marching Band sounded great, and our village kids were having a good time. My wife noticed that the corvette was having trouble going "marching speed." Probably too many horses under the hood.

At the Fest, lots of good smells and good eats. Flavor, Fresh Starts and the Flossmoor Station were all represented. And, of course, people were making their way up to The Caboose for some yummy ice cream.

The gloom that was over Flossmoor last year has lifted. Over and over, people talked about the difference a year makes. The Flossmoor Fest is evidence of that. What a difference a year made!

Four Illinois Post Offices Remain on Closure List

2009-09-05T09:15:00.002-05:00

Visitors to the Flossmoor Post Office have asked several times whether the small downtown office was on the post office closure list. No one seemed to know, and more than a few residents were worried. We like our little post office (and the people who staff it).

But now we know that Flossmoor isn't on the list. In fact, no south suburban post office is on the list. The four locations that remain on the closure list in Illinois are all in Chicago:

Chicago-Finance Station L 4642 S. Bishop 60609-3240
Chicago-Finance Station N 2148 E. 71st St 60649-9997
Chicago-Finance Station W 10422 S. Ewing Ave 60617-6217
Chicago-Lincoln Park Postal Store 2405 N Sheffield Ave 60614-9998

The Postal Service has marked 413 post offices nationwide for possible closure or consolidation, according to the new list announced on September 2nd.

Flossmoor: Tuesday Village Mtg on Ash Borer

2009-09-04T06:47:00.002-05:00

The mayor writes:

I am letting our residents know that Nancy Pollard, who is a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension Department, will be updating the Village Board on the emerald ash borer situation at the board meeting on Tuesday, September 8th at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be at Village Hall. This will be an excellent opportunity for the Board and our residents to be educated on the ash borer and to receive the most current information on the problem.

Could you please pass this information on to your neighbors and Flossmoor contacts.

Deborah Sims' Suburban Problem

2009-09-02T07:49:00.005-05:00

In reality, it shouldn't have been a surprise that Deborah Sims reversed her vote and upheld Todd Stroger's veto of the recent tax increase repeal. It was a surprise that she ever voted to repeal the tax increase in the first place.

Sims is as loyal to the Strogers as one can be. As a resident of the 5th County Commission district, this would be less distressing if we actually got something from her loyalty. You wouldn't know it unless you drove around the county, but the condition of county property, facilities and roads are much worse in the South Suburbs than in the Western and Northern suburbs.

While this neglect suggests to people that the South Suburbs just doesn't care, it is really evidence of the lack of money spent by county government in the Southland and a massive failure of leadership on the part of those who represent us.

Deborah Sims. Joan Patricia Murphy.

Deborah Sims can vote with impunity -- or so she believes -- because of several factors. First of all, she doesn't really represent the South Suburbs, she represents her Chicago Wards -- and, specifically, her loyalists are very proud of her residence in the 34th Ward. If Sims can get the votes out of the Chicago Wards and Thornton township, then she wins. Her work -- her neglect of the Southland -- is evidence that she understands this political calculation.

Hence her continued loyalty to Todd Stroger. Thus her neglect of the Southland.

Unlike the Northern and Western suburbs, people in the South Suburbs don't really know who their county commissioners are. We conducted issues canvasses down in the South Suburbs this summer, and while the number of respondants in each county commission district was small (~200), the results were not. Joan Murphy had almost no name recognition in her district and Deborah Sims was only a little better. The numbers aren't statistically significant, because an issues canvass conducted by volunteers via door to door canvassing isn't methodologically sound, but Sims had less than 10% name recognition in the South Suburban doors we knocked. (I'd assume that it was higher in the city.)

There's a good reason for this. In the decade that I've lived in Flossmoor, I've never seen Deborah Sims in the South Suburbs (except for once before at Frank Z's annual summer picnic) until petitions started being passed this year. Over that time, she may have conducted one Southland appearance (probably always in Thornton township) a year. Sims simply doesn't leave the city that often. When she does, she certainly isn't coming to the South Suburbs.

In the place of presence, Sims has built up a culture of fear. Opponents are confronted, with the purpose of beating them down. Pretty standard political tactics for Chicago machine wards. My own experience with Sims' loyalists seems pretty typical. Down in Springfield, for Governor's Day, a Sims' supporter asked me about why the political group I work with had allowed Sims' opponent to speak before the group. "Lies and misleading facts" were being used against the commissioner.

You know me, I'm fairly blunt. "The South Suburbs," I told her, "are getting f*cked and where's Deborah Sims? You can't be surprised that there's a lot of anger out there."

With irony dripping from every word, she replied: "It's those MEN on the county commission. That's why. They don't care about the South Suburbs."

I didn't have the heart to explain to her that it wasn't the job of "those MEN" (I can't properly explain the disgust with which she referred to the male commissioners) to care about the South Suburbs. They don't represent us. They are supposed to care about *their* districts.

I was struck by the admission of failure on the part of Sims' loyalist. The South Suburbs are getting screwed because we don't have effective leadership. The South Suburbs are screwed because our elected leaders can't negotiate effectively with the rest of the board. The South Suburbs are screwed because everybody on the board already knows how she is going to vote.

With the Strogers. The South Suburbs (two thirds of the voters in her district) be damned.

This admission of failure to lead on the county commission is reinforced by her work with Southland representatives in the General Assembly to get state money for South Suburban projects. Deborah Sims is quite proud of her working with our local state reps to bring in money from Springfield. I'm not complaining, but where's the money from Cook County? I pay county taxes, too, and it seems that the only benefits we see down here from Cook County are the politically connected county employees who have two and three county jobs. Many of them appear to work outside of the South Suburbs, so while they may be politically useful, they aren't helping to better *our* communities.

In an environment of fear and an absence of knowledge about who their county representatives are, voters in the South Suburbs may be more willing to consider the recommendations on the palm cards they are given at the polls. Even if both sides wage competitive campaigns and spend real money courting votes, the lack of name recognition on the part of Deborah Sims and Sheila Chalmers-Currin (in the 5th) and Joan Murphy and John Fairman (in the 6th) will be problematic. As Doug Price, one of the few organizers in the South Suburbs, pointed out, voter anger won't know who to direct itself at if voters don't know who is the incumbent.

On the other hand, there's a real possibility that both Sims and Murphy could be outspent in this election cycle. Neither one had much cash on hand in the last report, and both are aware that they face an angry electorate. Conventional wisdom down in the Southland is that neither Sims nor Murphy will get the endorsements of the newspapers. While the unions are generally expected to endorse the incumbents, unless they import workers into the South Suburbs it's hard to imagine that this will have much effect. Local AFSCME members say they expect their union to support Sims and Murphy, but they say they won't vote with their union leadership. They may feel differently if the union has an actual presence down here -- especially if they have to walk by a union member to enter the polls.

We should never forget that political machines -- of all varieties -- are more effective in low-informational races. Whether or not these county commission races are low information is up to opponents. It is the incumbents who benefit otherwise.

In the end, Deborah Sims has to do two contradictory things: have a strong presence in the South Suburbs (especially in Thornton township) and hope that voters don't realize who she is. Todd Stroger won't be successful down here -- John Stroger wouldn't have done that well if Forrest Claypool's campaign had tried to compete in the South Suburbs.

If Democratic reformers want to break the stranglehold that the machine has on the Cook County board, they will have to take over these two seats. Which won't be difficult in this particular political environment. Voters in the South Suburbs are pissed and there is no reason to expect them to be loyal to the machine. Toni Preckwinkle figured this out early, and has found the Southland to be a rich hunting ground. The era of Sims and Murphy is fast fading from the scene...

Quote of the Day

2009-08-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

“We’ve got [rookie Xavier Fulton] playing everywhere. We’ve got him playing guard, playing tackle. You’re talking about a smart kid. He has Jeremy Zuttah-type qualities. He’ll be another guy in the mix.” -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris

Former Rep. Robin Kelly Runs for Illinois Treasurer

2009-08-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

In a packed room in Chicago, Robin Kelly, former state Representative for the 38th district and current Chief of Staff to state Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias, announced her own bid to become Illinois' state Treasurer on Monday.

Robin was introduced by Michelle Mills, who testified to Robin's presence as a role model in so many people's lives, Ralph Martiere, who observed that, if Robin is elected, there won't be a scandal in the Treasurer's office, and Debra Graham, who became friends with Robin after Robin had endorsed her opponent to the Illinois General Assembly.

This video lasts little over 13 minutes.

Disclosure: I am coordinating Robin's petition drive to get on the ballot.

The Wisdom of Braun, the Wisdom of Us

2009-08-08T07:20:00.003-05:00

Flossmoor voters clearly made the right choice in the last municipal elections and we see more confirmation of that every day. Recently, USA Today observed:

Federal cash is now the No. 1 revenue source for state and local governments, surpassing sales and property taxes, the government data show.

You may recall that this was a key issue in the recent campaign, with a clear choice between the two mayoral candidates. The two candidates laid out their positions at the League of Women Voters debate held at the Flossmoor Library on March 19th.

Paul Braun framed the debate this way:

Washington has decided to pump 787 billion dollars into our economy and my question is, will Flossmoor be there to take advantage of that....

we also need to be federally involved, as well. I'm committed to go to Washington, if necessary, to go knock on doors to get the funds that are necessary for our town. Because with those funds, that takes the pressure off of us, our taxpayers, the resident's tax burden. Some of you may have seen that a number of our recent mayors went to Washington and that we did not.

Our former mayor replied:

Washington will not reduce your tax dollars but good solid commercial developments in our TIF area will.

Take a drive down Volmer Road to see how far the former mayor progressed on that point.

Paul Braun was clearly right. Whether we like it or not, federal dollars are flooding municipal coffers. We need that grant writer, we need that money, we need help -- even in affluent Flossmoor. The wisdom of the voters never ceases to amaze me...

Matteson Mayor still generates skepticism

2009-07-30T09:41:00.002-05:00

Once viewed as an up-and-coming progressive leader, Matteson Mayor Andre Ashmore continues to make decisions that raise questions about his commitment to open and responsible government. Today's Southtown Star raises new concerns:

The owner of the new car dealership that's getting a tax break from Matteson to open in the Matteson Auto Mall let current Mayor Andre Ashmore use his billboard for a campaign spot during Ashmore's successful mayoral run in the spring.

[...]

Ashmore said his ties to Miller and auto dealer Bob Hawkinson had nothing to do with the Matteson Village Board's July 20 vote to give a tax break to Hawkinson to open a new Kia dealership in the auto mall.

"I can assure you that one has nothing to do with the other," Ashmore said. "They've always supported not only my campaign but other campaigns I've worked on. They've been supportive."

Hawkinson is a longtime Matteson businessman. He owns Hawkinson Nissan in the auto mall as well as the billboard located off Lincoln Highway and Ridgeland Avenue that Ashmore used during his campaign.

On its own, this tax break might not seen indicative of Ashmore's rejection of Obama-style politics and exploitation of Chicago-style politics. But when added with other actions, like the inherent conflict of interest in promoting his wife, the pattern is becoming increasingly clear.

The South Suburbs will never advance politically if it continues to adopt Chicago-style politics. By pitting neighbor against neighbor, village against village and township against township, the kind of politics that Andre Ashmore seems to be employing only condemns the South Suburbs to economic and political stagnation, perhaps even to political and economic poverty. Mayor Ashmore may lead us into a race to the bottom, but there's no victory there...

Flossmoor Standout Fulton Featured

2009-07-29T08:30:00.002-05:00

The Southtown Star has a nice piece about Tampa Bay Rookie Xavier Fulton. The article really does show the common sense nature of the former H-F player:

"Everything moves faster and the players are more athletic," he said. "You have to do your homework, study the game films and be ready for anything. Sure, it's been fun to sit down and have lunch with an All-Pro like Ronde Barber, but you can't lose your focus. I'm getting paid to play football."

We'll be watching...

Braun Keeps Promise of Change

2009-07-22T20:15:00.008-05:00

Newly-elected Mayor Paul Braun promised that change was going to come to Flossmoor. Anyone who has driven down its main roads knew that change was needed. Our former mayor brought in a "good friend" who was in serious financial difficulty to tear down five tax-paying businesses on speculation that he could develop the property.

That property (and the other property on Volmer) has sat vacant for four years -- a monument to a failed vision.

That was predictable. I attended the village board meeting where the zoning changes (extremely favorable to the former mayor's friend) were approved. And I predicted there that this developer would have trouble -- despite the fact that it was the height of the building boom! Had the former mayor -- or village board -- done its due diligence, they would have known that, too.

Newly-elected Mayor Paul Braun, though, has risen to the occasion! He told me, "I think you're going to like your new view," (my property overlooks the blighted area that our former mayor brought to Flossmoor) and the Southtown Star tells us:

The village of Flossmoor has hatched an agreement with a Frankfort developer to maintain a highly visible piece of vacant land that has become an eyesore on Flossmoor Road near downtown.

As you can see from the picture to the right, village employees removed the sign that the former owner (my understanding is that this property is a part of bankruptcy procedings) had up -- and which had not changed for several years.

But this is definitely a work in progress. While the plan seems to be to clean up the property from the original destruction of those five tax-paying businesses (as well as the damage done to the property since), it's not done yet. There remains several mounds of gravel, tree limbs and dirt. We can only hope those are removed soon.

Still, you got to give props to the new mayor. Our former mayor had a very lazy approach to business and government. His friend was never pushed to clean up the property and the former mayor certainly never considered thinking of how to use the village government to take action.

Mayor Braun is much more active in protecting Flossmoor. We are told:

All of the costs for the work will be placed as a lien against the property and will be paid by the developer when the property is sold or a permit to develop it is issued, whichever comes first, village officials said.

This could have happened sooner. Regardless, Mayor Braun has done it. And that's the important thing. The change we were promised has clearly arrived...

Matteson Moves in Wrong Direction

2009-07-16T15:53:00.002-05:00

The SouthtownStar reports that the wife of Matteson Mayor Andre Ashmore has been promoted and given a raise by the village of Matteson.

The mayor claims that "We have nothing to hide," but this promotion of a spouse is still an embarrassment for Matteson and the South Suburbs. It signals that politics as usual is still alive and casts a pall over Ashmore's leadership. This single act demonstrates that the corrosive system of patronage and reserving jobs for family members has spread from Chicago, infecting the Southland and poisoning our politics.

Mayor Ashmore hints that his wife is qualified "and maintained he had nothing to do with his wife landing a new job." Even if this was true, it's hardly a credible claim.

So why even try to make it?

Giving a job to your spouse is never going to look legitimate. Especially not in Illinois. Toni Ashmore will forever be tainted as the woman whose husband is the mayor. And she will have to live with the whispers that, if not for her husband, she wouldn't have gotten the job. Regardless of how talented or deserving she is.

Ethics are not the standards we have in good times, but the standards we hold unto when we are tested. Both Toni and Andre have been tested here, and they have come up short. Both have exhibited a lack of sound political judgment. Both have settled for the decaying political culture that has driven Illinois to the depths where we currently reside.

The Ashmore example stands in stark contrast to the example provided by President Barack Obama. Obama's message of change is being translated into moving the country forward. Ashmore's message of nepotism harkens back to the old corrupt system of patronage that has basically ruined Illinois. And it tells us that the connection between Rod Blagojevich and the Ashmores is stronger than we realized.

This is no small matter. Trying to bring good, honest government to the South Suburbs will undoubtedly be difficult. And we have to keep our eyes upon the fresh young faces that emerge, looking for evidence that this is their intention. It appears that Mayor Ashmore is looking more to Mayor Daley as a model than to Barack Obama. And that's a shame...

Change

2009-06-01T21:15:00.003-05:00

Farewell Open Thread

2009-05-31T08:41:00.001-05:00

Got a memory you want to share? A farewell comment to the outgoing mayor? This is your chance.

Flossmoor Getting the Change Braun Promised

2009-05-25T09:01:00.001-05:00

Not even sworn in yet, mayor-elect Paul Braun has already taken steps to alleviate Flossmoor's tax burden while still improving services. On Tuesday, May 19th, Braun led a delegation of Trustees (Philip Minga and Diane Williams), our village Clerk (Pam Nixon) and our village Manager (Bridget Wachtel) down to Springfield to lobby our state legislators for funds. This is a radical departure from the past, where our soon-to-be former mayor sought "Home Rule" status so that he could raise our taxes at will.

Flossmoor's delegation met with Senators Toi Hutchison and Maggie Crotty and Representatives Anthony DeLuca and Al Riley. Braun tells us:

We were very well received and we were able to press three Flossmoor projects for possible funding. The projects that we requested funding are for replacement of street lighting in the central downtown business area (Sterling & Flossmoor Rd) $500K; reconstruction of the Brookwood Bridge $115K; and storm sewer replacement/rehab for the Flossmoor Hills area $200K for engineering and $1M cost.

All of the legislators told us that Flossmoor's timing for funding requests is excellent as all of the legislators are submitting funding requests this week. All four legislators also told us how pleased they were to see Flossmoor being more active and involved in State affairs.

When we met with Senator Crotty, we were also able to speak with IDOT Director Gary Hannig about problems we have been having with the last resurfacing of Flossmoor Road. Director Hannig promised us he would look into the matter and get back to us.

It's exciting to realize that the village of Flossmoor has stepped into the modern age, recognized that we are connected to the rest of the south suburbs and become more aggressive in getting funding for the projects we need. Change has come to Flossmoor. Oh, Happy Days!

Paul Braun will be sworn in on June 1st at 7:30pm. There will be a short village board meeting and a reception afterwards (cake and coffee). Everyone is invited to inaugurate this transition to the 21st century!

Stimulus Dollars Assigned to the South Suburbs

2009-05-21T08:23:00.002-05:00

In a prior post, I noted the project requests from the South Suburbs in Cook County. I wrote:

Mayors in Illinois made a request totalling $3 billion, representing all the requests in the state listed in the report. But the villages of County Club Hills, Dolton, Flossmoor, Hazel Crest, Markham, Robbins or Steger were absent from these requests.

Now we get our first indications of where recovery money is actually going in the South Suburbs. Recovery.org is using federal contracts to track recovery dollars, and found these IDOT projects funded for the South Suburbs:

Recovery Funded Projects in COOK

Reconstruction, Intersection Improvement, Lighting, Utility Adjustment
PHOENIX (IL), HARVEY (IL), MARKHAM (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: US 6, 159TH ST. Location: I-294 (TRI-STATE TOLLWAY) TO ILL 1 (HALSTED ST) Miles =2.33. Impr...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $21,110,000
Estimated Jobs: 274

Resurfacing
DOLTON (IL), CALUMET CITY (IL), CHICAGO (IL), SOUTH HOLLAND (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: I 94, BISHOP FORD EXP. Location: 130TH ST TO US 6 (159TH ST) Miles =4.29. Improvements: RES...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $8,900,000
Estimated Jobs: 116

Bridge Deck Overlay, Bridge Joint Repair
CALUMET CITY (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: BURNHAM AVE, FAU 2943. Location: OVER STATE ST, RRS & GRAND CALUMET RIVER. Improvements...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $4,960,000
Estimated Jobs: 64

Construction Engineering
CHICAGO (IL), CALUMET CITY (IL), DOLTON (IL), SOUTH HOLLAND (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: I 94, BISHOP FORD EXP. Location: W OF M L KING DR TO US 6 (159TH ST). Improvements: CONSTRUCT...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $2,000,000
Estimated Jobs: 26

Bridge Deck Overlay
OAK FOREST (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: I 57. Location: AT 167TH ST. Improvements: BRIDGE DECK OVERLAY. Est. Cost: $1,000,000. Ci...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $1,000,000
Estimated Jobs: 13

Resurfacing
HOMEWOOD (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: DIXIE HWY, FAU 2843. Location: GOVERNOR'S HWY TO 183RD ST Miles =1.08. Improvements: RESURF...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $900,000
Estimated Jobs: 12

Resurfacing
HOMEWOOD (IL), EAST HAZEL CREST (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: 175TH ST, FAU 1618. Location: GOVERNORS HWY TO DIXIE HWY Miles =0.75. Improvements: RESURFACI...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $420,000
Estimated Jobs: 5

Construction Engineering
CALUMET CITY (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: BURNHAM AVE, FAU 2943. Location: OVER STATE ST, RRS & LITTLE CALUMET RIVER. Improvement...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $400,000
Estimated Jobs: 5

Signing (New)
DOLTON (IL), CALUMET CITY (IL), CHICAGO (IL), SOUTH HOLLAND (IL)
Illinois Department of Transportation
FEDERAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY SPENDING. IDOT Proposed Projects for American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. District 1. State Highways. COOK COUNTY. Route/Street: I 94, BISHOP FORD EXP. Location: 130TH ST TO US 6 (159TH ST). Improvements: SIGNING (NEW). ...
Project Type: AdvanceNotice
Estimated Value: $175,000
Estimated Jobs: 2

data generated at 6:30am on May 21, 2009

According to the site, there have been 81 projects funded in Cook County valued at $318,260,019.00 of recovery dollars. Of these, there are 9 projects (or 11%) valued at $39,865,000 (or 12.5%), generating 517 jobs in South Suburbs (and Chicago in related projects).

Again, we find that the villages of County Club Hills, Flossmoor and Hazel Crest are absent from these projects. As we learned during the campaign, this was deliberate on the part of the outgoing mayor of Flossmoor. Even if the need exists (which it does), the defeated mayor choose not to focus on stimulus money, believing instead that Flossmoor would benefit more by his long-time interest in the blighted TIF district he declared on Volmer Rd. Of course, those lots have been vacant for years (much of it more than 10 years) and no one believes that large tracts of land will be developed in the midst of the worst recession since World War 2.

Which may be why Flossmoor voters soundly rejected his candidacy.

Otoh, the H-F school district not only chased -- but has received -- stimulus money to help fund building on the H-F High School campus:

Non-Recovery Funded Projects in COOK

High School Addition and Remodeling of Science Classrooms
Location: Flossmoor, Illinois
Industry: Demolition, Salvage, and Excavation, Contractor - Electrical, Construction - Educational Buildings, Contractor - Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, Construction - Hospitals and Medical Facilities, Research and Development Facilities, Construction - Industrial, Warehouse and Animal Care Facilities, Contractor - Plumbing and Piping, Construction - Renovation, Rehabilitation and Historic Preservation

There's a lot of irony to these desperate results given the fact that the mayor rudely lectured the superintendent after the community rose up against the outgoing mayor's request to sell alcohol at retail across the street from H-F High. For context, it is appropriate to note that no retail outlet in Flossmoor currently sells packaged liquor. The outgoing mayor sought to make the location across from the high school the first in the village -- something that residents didn't take too kindly to...

Deborah Sims Sticks with Stroger, Sticks It To Taxpayers

2009-05-20T11:02:00.002-05:00

At a time when people in the South Suburbs are absolutely furious over the level of taxation we endure -- especially when compared to the level of services we receive -- 5th District Commissioner Deborah Sims cast the deciding vote to uphold Todd Stroger's veto of the Cook County Board's repeal of his controversial sales tax increase.

the county board voted 12-to-3 to roll back the 1-percentage-point tax increase that was approved last year. The higher tax pushed the county's share of the sales tax to 1.75 percent and made Chicago's overall sales tax 10.25 percent - the highest of any major U.S. city.

Deborah Sims had been absent from that first vote, but the Stroger loyalist found her way to vote on Tuesday. She couldn't let Todd down this time -- the rest of us be damned!

Sims, who resides in Chicago, said of her constituents:

We don't have any businesses in my community to leave.

But Sims seems to forget that she is supposed to represent the South Suburbs, too, where there are numerous businesses. And there have been businesses that skipped over the county (or state) lines in the suburbs. Between the massive increases in our property tax bills simultaneous to the ten percent increase in our sales taxes, taxation is one of the most frequent complaints from residents in the South Suburbs.

But Deborah Sims doesn't care about us. In fact, she seems to forget that she even represents us. You could be forgiven if you thought that the last time Sims came down to the South Suburbs was in 2006 -- when she was campaigning for our vote.

The fact is that the South Suburbs is a disproportionate part of the 5th Cook Co. Commission district. Even in 2006, when the Chicago numbers were a bit larger, there were 61,926 Chicago registered voters in her district, while 130,786 registered voters lived in the South Suburbs. More than two-thirds of her voters live in the suburbs -- where businesses have left because of her support for Stroger's sales tax increase.

Both New York City and Los Angeles county have sales taxes that are two cents less than what we find here. It is extremely difficult not to think that the extra two cents is our corruption tax, the daily tax that we pay to fund corruption and patronage that seems to benefit only the machine hacks like Deborah Sims. Sims was right when she said, "You're mistaken if you think this is not political, because it is." Sims' loyalty lies with Todd Stroger and the relatives he employs, not with the good people of Cook County. It is political, and we know where Sims' political loyalties lay: with Todd Stroger.

Voters in the South Suburbs need to think about that -- and remember it on election day...

Toni Preckwinkle in the South Suburbs

2009-05-19T06:57:00.000-05:00

On May 12, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle came down to the South Suburbs to talk to "Team Obama" at the Flossmoor Station as part of her outreach to the suburbs as she gathers momentum in her race for the Cook County Board President. She mentions near the end that the previous evening she had been in Glenview (in the north suburbs).

She started off talking about what the Cook County Board does and her approach to County government. But she quickly turned to answering the questions of the 50-odd people who showed up for our May meeting.

What was obvious from the beginning was that Ald. Preckwinkle was prepared to be the Cook County Board President. She was knowledgeable about Cook County government, the office of President as well as the politics involved. She didn't pretend to know the local quirks of the South Suburbs but expressed an interest to learn and the presence of mind to assign someone who's responsibility would be to represent our concerns and interests in her office.

The video is 43 minutes and 32 seconds long, but I forgot to push the "record" button at the start of her speech. There is approximately 5 minutes missing at the beginning.

CVS Withdraws Request to Sell Alcohol in Flossmoor

2009-05-04T21:23:00.005-05:00

When the 5 representatives of CVS were presented to the meeting, they were all smiles. Roger Molski, outgoing mayor, gave them bad advice. "Address your remarks to the Trustees," he told them, "because they are the ones who have a vote."

This was only the most recent indicator of Molski's detachment from Flossmoor. Because it wasn't the Trustees that CVS needed to win over, it was the community. The meeting started with 3 Trustees publicly committed to voting against allowing the drug chain to selling packaged liquor across the street from H-F High School. But given the smiles that the CVS people walked in with, it was hard not to think that the deal was in. The other 3 Trustees (Mitros, Minga and Hoag) seemed inclined to vote for the granting of the liquor license, and Molski would break the tie (obviously, in favor of CVS).

What was obvious from the start was that CVS didn't really appreciate Flossmoor. Nor did they exhibit any understanding of the unique character and charm of our community. And they certainly had absolutely no appreciation for the importance of Homewood-Flossmoor High School to the community or our property values. Given that their primary contact had been with the mayor (for 6 and a half years, he told us last night), this cannot be much of a surprise.

The district manager for CVS tried to make two main arguments in support of granting them a liquor license. His first argument was that packaged liquor was already available from Jewel, which was less than a mile away from H-F. And that is true, although no one seems to think that kids are walking up to the Jewel from H-F. They won't even walk to the McDonald's that is across the street from Jewel, so it's really hard to imagine that Jewel is an alternative to what CVS was asking to do.

His second point centered around the specious claim that, well, CVS had a store across the street from Crystal Lake South High, and they didn't have any of these problems. Of course, as you can see, CVS is not located "across the street" from Crystal Lake South High School. It appears that a water treatment plant is located across the street from the High School.

Rather, CVS appears to be down the street from the high school and you'd have to walk past at least one neighborhood to get there. IOW, they lied to us. This can't be that much of a surprise, given the fact that Roger Molski -- the person they've apparently been dealing with -- has always been a little loose with the truth, as well. We have to accept the fact that CVS probably took their measure of our community through him and decided that they didn't have to really tell us the truth if they wanted to get what they wanted. We've been poorly served, and last night's meeting was the direct result of that.

We can only hope -- and expect -- change with the new administration.

In the end, the CVS representatives saw that this proposal had severely alienated them from our community, and perhaps has caused them irreparable harm. Many, many residents of Flossmoor reacted to their interest in selling packaged liquor in a retail store with horror. We don't allow that in Flossmoor, and we certainly didn't want our first store to sell hard liquor at retail to be across the street from the high school. More than one resident said to me, "I don't want the CVS store across the street from the high school, but I certainly don't want them selling alcohol."

It is clear that CVS has a lot to learn about Flossmoor. It doesn't appear that they are really interested in dealing with the village any differently than how they treat Harvey or Chicago Heights. They keep talking about their Neighborhood Drug Store model, but we already have four drug stores within a mile of where they want to locate. There isn't a real community interest in adding a fifth drug store to serve the village. So acting like they are doing us a great service is, well, stupid.

CVS isn't likely to be integrated into our community fabric with that attitude, and it certainly didn't help that they were willing to lie to us to squeeze an extra one percent of profits out of the store. They were willing to risk our children, our property values, and our community values for an extra one percent of profits. That's not a good neighbor. They've got a lot of bad will to overcome with these kinds of tactics.

The CVS representatives left the meeting looking pretty sullen. It certainly didn't help that they had to walk past a gauntlet of village residents who had more to say, and not all of it pleasant. But the fact is CVS withdrew their proposal to sell hard liquor in Flossmoor -- for now. Village residents will have to remain eternally vigilant as long as CVS is here to keep them from trying this again. Village politics has probably been changed forever, as we can expect the chain to try to dominate them in the future, in order to build support for allowing them to sell packaged liquor. I suppose Flossmoor got a little less charming last night. What a legacy to begin a business with...

Flossmoor Candidates on the Record about Liquor Sales across from HF

2009-05-04T05:55:00.002-05:00

The League of Women Voter's debate at the Library last month included this exchange about the controversial proposal to sell alcohol across the street from Homewood-Flossmoor High School:

Q: How does a convenience store with a liquor license across the street from 3,000 students fit in with the character of Flossmoor.

BRAUN: It doesn't, in my opinion. State law normally requires that there be no liquor within I believe it's about 100 feet of a school itself and this is just outside of that. Now, I'm going to go out on a limb. I was not in favor of liquor for this going forward. I inquired at the time that the developer came before the village board in terms of what percentage of the retail sales are going to be liquor-related and its less than 8%. And my follow-up question to the developer was, if Flossmoor does not grant a liquor license, will this project go forward, and the answer was yes. This is not a deal killer based on what I've heard so far. So again, I expect to be contacting lots of residents and get community input in terms of what the village thinks about liquor across from the high school but going forward, I don't think it's a proper location.

You'll hear others say that well, they can go down to the Jewel or they can elsewhere, well let them go elsewhere! I don't think we need that across the street from the high school, at this point, I don't think it sets a proper example. Not that I'm against alcohol, for heaven's sake, but again, the high school district doesn't want it. 233, I've talked to the school board, they do not want liquor at that location, so that tells you something right off the bat. If they don't want it, I don't see why the village needs to press this if in fact we can confirm that this is not a deal killer, so to speak, for this establishment.

WILLIAMS: I'm not supportive at this point of hard liquor being sold, of packaged liquor, being sold in our community at all...

As we speak about this today, though, we don't sell packaged liquor, hard liquor in Flossmoor. They sell it in communities around us that are relatively close, it's available to people who would like to buy it. My biggest concern, even beyond the high school, is that it may attract people to our community to buy that liquor that we don't necessarily need to have attracted to our community...

But as I see it today, not only because of where it's located, across the street from the school, but because of the people it might attract, I can't support hard liquor being sold in town.

MINGA: At this point, I still have an open mind on this.

CRUM: As far as the liquor license is concerned, I'm a wine con, but I don't think that a wine store, a beer store, or a liquor store across the street from the high school is a proper place for it. And if it's proposed I would vote no.

What this means is that three trustees (Braun, Williams and Crum) have public committed to vote against Molski's proposal to sell liquor across the street from HF High School. There are six trustees on the village board.

Roger Molski's Final -- Vindictive -- Act

2009-05-02T17:13:00.003-05:00

If you aren't a parent of a teen at HF High School, you probably don't know about Roger Molski's plan for selling liquor across the street from the high school. Having damaged Flossmoor by bringing in his friend to "develop" the property half a block from the train station in Flossmoor (the huge empty lot on Flossmoor Road), Molski seems intent on further hurting the village by degrading the reputation of HF, our community's greatest asset and the main pillar to sustaining our property values.

Roger Molski seems intent on making HF High School like the southside high schools in Chicago where fights often break out at athletic events. Imagine the consequences of alcohol being available right across the street from the high school when people come to visit for athletic events. Fights are much more likely to break out, kids are much more likely to drive drunk, and the school's reputation is much more likely to be negatively effected.

It is Molski's final, and most vindictive, act on the village. I guess he's showing us.

The school board for District 233 is so horrified by Molski's plan that they sent this letter to parents of high school students:

April 29, 2009
Dear H-F Parents/Guardians,

As you may know, a new CVS Pharmacy will be constructed on the comer of Flossmoor Road and Kedzie Avenue. Without your help and support, alcohol will be sold at this location which is directly across the street from the high school. Our concern for student safety is paramount.

Over the past six months we have worked hard to articulate our student safety concerns by attending several meetings of the Flossmoor Village Board and the Flossmoor Planning Commission. We have also met with the Mayor, Village Manager and the Village Trustees to voice our concerns that arise from having the pharmacy directly across the street from the high school. Our discussions have been productive to ensure the safety of students; however, it has come to our attention that the Village Board is now planning to grant a liquor license to the new CVS pharmacy to sell carry-out alcohol.

High school, middle school and elementary school children will be walking past this location on a daily basis. The potential issues that would put these children and our schools in jeopardy quickly become real when alcohol is factored into the mix. We are adamantly opposed to the CVS Pharmacy proposal to sell alcohol now or at any point in the future.

We request that you show your support by attending the next Flossmoor Village Board meeting on Monday, May 4th at 7:30 p.m. at the Flossmoor Village Hall to convey to the Mayor and Board of Trustees that granting a liquor license is not an acceptable option at this location. Additional parking is available at Parker Junior High across the street from the Flossmoor Village Hall. If you are unable to attend, please call the Village Hall at (708) 798-2300 to to express your disapproval of having liquor sold across the street from the students in our community. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and having your support.

While we may never know why, Molski is pushing hard to have this license granted to CVS before he leaves office. As I've mentioned before, a CVS selling alcohol across the street from the high school will create tremendous downward pressure on our property values. It's not simply a safety issue, it is an assault on our greatest asset in Flossmoor.

Looks like Molski wants his revenge before he leaves the village.

You can sign an epetition to have this question placed on the ballot in the next village election: "Shall the sale at retail of alcoholic liquor be prohibited on any property within 1000 feet of a public school in the village of Flossmoor?" This will give Flossmoor voters a chance to vote on whether they agree that our property values should be degraded by Roger Molski's last act as mayor...

Xavier Fulton, OT (Illinois), is Drafted by Tampa Bay

2009-04-26T14:02:00.007-05:00

The 155th pick, the 14th Offensive Tackle taken in the 2009 draft.

The Bucs Beat blog from the St. Petersburg Times had this about Xavier:

Bucs select Illinois T Xavier Fulton in 5th round

The Bucs made a surprising move to bolster their offensive line by selecting Illinois left tackle Xavier Fulton.

The 6-foot-4, 302-pound Fulton could be an eventual replacement for Donald Penn, who will become an unrestricted free agent next season. Behind Fulton, Illinois led the Big Ten in offense and pass offense.

Fulton began his career as a right defensive end before tearing a knee ligament. He was granted a medical hardship in 2006 and returned the next season after making the transition to left tackle.

"It was a little difficult at first getting to adjust," Fulton said. "Especially, the biggest thing I had trouble with and so does everybody else learning pass blocking. It's totally different from the way you're taught to play defense. Defense is easy by comparison -- chase the ballcarrier. You can't be wrong if you chase the ballcarrier. Go tackle someone. Whereas on offense, you make one mistake and the entire play is busted and it's lost yardage.

"It was difficult at first but I think I got the hang of it over the past two seasons and I feel pretty comfortable at it now."

UPDATE #1: The Pewter Report, a website devoted to the Bucs, also talked to Xavier:

“This is a dream come true – to be able to play professional football,” Fulton said. “I actually didn’t talk a whole lot with the Bucs before hand. I had a few interviews with them at the Senior Bowl and a few talks with them at the Combine. But other than that, not a lot of communication.”

Fulton is a former defensive lineman who started 10 games before switching in his sophomore year to offensive tackle, where he went on to start all 25 games he played in. Fulton also registered 149 knockdowns/blocks and 15 touchdown-resulting blocks.

“I made the switch in spring ball in 2007,” Fulton said. “It was a little difficult at first getting to adjust. The biggest thing I had trouble with was pass blocking. It’s totally different from the way I was taught defense. Defense compared to playing offensive line is pretty easy. It’s chase the ballcarrier, chase the ballcarrier – you can’t be wrong going to tackle someone. On offense, if you make one mistake the entire play is busted and it’s lost yardage. It was pretty difficult at first, but once I got the hang of it over the past two seasons, I’ve felt pretty comfortable with it."

The 6-foot-4, 301-pound Fulton is considered an incredible athlete. He posted a 5.09 time in the 40-yard dash, 29-inch vertical jump and bench-pressed 225 pounds 22 times. In fact, Fulton ranked in the top 10 at his position in five out of the six workouts he participated in at the NFL Combine.

“The only extra hard part of the training was dealing with the shoulder,” Fulton said of his right shoulder injury. “I couldn’t fully bench press what I used to, and it was difficult trying to get the strength back during the training process. After working at it for a couple of months I got the strength back in my shoulders, and I got a pretty good bench press number. A lot of my good numbers I put up was from training with Kurt Hester at D-One in Nashville. He taught me a lot of good techniques, a lot of tips that helped with the numbers.”

Despite being hindered the right shoulder ailment as a senior that required surgery in February, Fulton started 12 games for Illinois and earned the Bruce Capel Award for displaying the most courage, dedication and accomplishment.

Although he played left tackle at Illinois, Fulton, who was a member of the North team at Senior Bowl, has the size, power and athletic ability to be a swing tackle for the Buccaneers.

“I’m a pretty athletic guy," said Fulton. "I’m very fast. I like to get up to the next level very quickly. If you get your linemen on the second or third level, obviously you have done something pretty well and usually it’s a big yardage gain.”

Fulton joins Donald Penn, Jeremy Trueblood, James Lee and Julius Wilson in Tampa Bay’s stable of offensive tackles. He said he hopes to one day become a starting tackle for the Buccaneers.

“I think that is the attitude that you have to have if you are going to last long or at all at this level,” said Fulton. “I know I’m going to have to compete. There are men who look at this as a way to feed their family. Obviously, I’m a 23-year-old kid coming in just trying to learn everything. I’m going in with the aspect that I’m going to learn and be a much better offensive lineman, and hopefully compete for a position.”

Xavier Fulton's Combine Workouts

2009-04-25T13:49:00.005-05:00

can be seen here. Don't know why I can't embed the video here.

Thornton standout Tim Jamison's (Michigan) Combine Workouts can be seen here. Good luck to both southsiders this weekend!

UPDATE #1: Three Offensive Tackles go in the first 8 picks. Wow.

UPDATE #2: Michael Oher makes it four in the first.

UPDATE #3: The sequence of events necessary to see Xavier drafted in the second round did not unfold. There was no run on Offensive Tackles in the first two rounds, and only Oakland seemed to value prospects dramatically different from the mock draft boards. Both Xavier and Tim should go sometime on Sunday.

Opening Day

2009-04-25T09:22:00.005-05:00

Spring must be here!

Hope it's not a washout:

Flossmoor's X-Man wants a Saturday call

2009-04-23T10:52:00.004-05:00

2009 has seen plenty of buzz around Flossmoor's Xavier Fulton, affectionately known as the X-man around here, who has made a solid commitment to moving to the next level and playing on Sundays in the NFL. His pure athleticism and raw talent even have some projecting Fulton to go as high as the second round.

Fulton came out of Homewood-Flossmoor High -- where he played both ways -- to go to the Fighting Illini. He was recruited as a defensive end, but switched to offensive tackle in 2007. An All Big Ten Offensive Linemen in both 2007 and 2008, Fulton was invited to the Senior Bowl. After a rough week of practice where he played both tackle positions, Xavier was named one of the Top 10 2009 Senior Bowl Performances for his play in the game:

Got called for a questionable holding call, but I thought he moved better than any OT in the game. He can really get downfield and make some things happen. I think this kid is a serious sleeper because of his athleticism. Could be a better pro than college player.

Graduating in December (Xavier was a fifth year senior), he spent 2009 preparing for the draft at D1 Sports Training. Fulton was "impressive" at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, finishing "among the top performers from the offensive linemen group who worked out for the over 600 NFL coaches, general managers and scouts. His 40-yard dash time, broad jump and three-cone drill performance ranked in the top-3 on the offensive line." Randall Weida observed:

Xavier Fulton had a productive NFL Combine. He ran a 5.04 second 40 yard dash which was one of the best times for a lineman. He also showed good technique during position drills and coaches are encouraged by the fact he's only been playing tackle for two seasons. Fulton is a perfect fit in a zone blocking scheme and should be taken by the mid third round of this years draft.

Sports Illustrated named Fulton as one of the top "players who stood out and improved their draft stock."

Fulton was impressive from the start of the combine as he completed 27 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press Friday, then ran his 40 in a time of 4.91 seconds on both tries. He later looked terrific in position drills. Fulton has been dealing with a shoulder injury since tearing a labrum in the middle of the season. He could have very easily bowed out of performing at the combine but decided to give it a go. Fulton will have surgery to repair the injury next week.

One analyst said, "No one player improved his draft stock more at the combine than this man."

Predictions for where Xavier will go in the draft are all over the map. Some hope that his injury and surgery will push him down to the later rounds (making him a "steal" for some team), but the consensus seems to be that his tremendous upside will find Fulton drafter sooner rather than later. With four offensive tackles thought to go off the board in the first round, the prospect of Xavier getting a Saturday afternoon call isn't that absurd. The NFL site summarizes:

Positives: Naturally large man with the frame to add at least an additional 10-15 pounds without a significant loss of quickness. ... Raw, but possesses rare tools. ... Lacks consistency with his initial quickness off the snap, but gets excellent depth in his kick slide to protect the edge as a pass rusher. ... Natural knee bender who plays with balance. ... Still learning to use his hands, but flashes explosiveness in his hand punch and the ability to turn and sustain. ... Athletic enough to block on the move. ... Hustles to the second and even third level. ... Only beginning to scratch the surface of his talent after spending the first three years of his career at defensive tackle.

Negatives: Raw. ... Made the transition to the offensive line in 2007 and was surrounded by experienced line mates and ultra-athletic skill position players, aiding in his development. ... Too often late off the snap for a player of his athleticism. ... Relies on athleticism, rather than technique, to control his man and can be walked back to the quarterback when he plays too high, exposing his chest. ... Flashes a good initial pop in run blocking, but is not a masher. ... Good athleticism, but can get out of control blocking on the move, allowing his assignment to evade him. Legitimate durability concern: Torn ACL ended his 2005 season prematurely and forced Fulton to take a medical redshirt for the '06 season. ... Struggled with a shoulder sprain throughout the second half of the 2008 season.

It adds: "Scouts want to see him improve his technique and show strength as a run blocker."

Fulton is being called the seventh or eighth best offensive tackle, although some teams might convert him to guard. Those who think he might go as high as the second round would agree:

He is similar to 2008 first round pick Duane Brown in that he is a small zone blocking tackle, who is new to the position. Both were relatively inexperienced, but Fulton could be an even better prospect. He has tremendous speed and athleticism for an offensive lineman and loves to get out into the open field and lay hits on opposing linebackers in the run game. Fulton is still raw, so he occasionally doesn't pick up more complex blitzes and stunts. He does however, have the athleticism to recover on many of those plays. He is strong enough to withstand the bull rush of defensive ends, and quick enough to stay in front of speed rushers. His speed and size make him an ideal fit in a zone-blocking scheme. Fulton will need to show teams he has the strength to block elite ends in the NFL. Because he isn't a good fit for every team's system, he may not get drafted until the late third or early fourth round.

As such, Xavier's been named one of the 40 Players To Look Out For in the 2009 NFL Draft, in part because "he can play multiple positions on the line." Xavier has been brought in by several NFL teams, including the New York Jets.

Encouraging Community Involvement -- but not really meaning it

2009-04-09T07:09:00.002-05:00

As long as I have lived in Flossmoor -- going on a decade now -- Roger Molski has been trying to silence me. Not that I cared. To be honest, Molski wasn't much of a concern. In 2002, I was involved in the campaigns of four challengers running for the U.S. Senate (all of whom are now in the Senate), in 2004 I was involved in the presidential campaign and in 2006, I began to be involved in Barack Obama's long-shot run for the presidency. So in the scheme of things, Roger Molski wasn't that big a deal. But that's not the point.

As long as I've lived in Flossmoor, I've listened to Roger Molski (and others) preach about people getting involved in their community, in coming to village council meetings and "making Flossmoor better." The irony shouldn't be lost on anybody.

I believe that the Molskis of the world do want their neighbors to get involved in their local communities, but we can't be surprised that what they really mean is for us to get involved as their allies.

There are very few reasons why I've spoken up against Roger Molski since I moved here in 2000. The most common reason would have been when he was wrong. And, in my experience, Molski is wrong a lot. The great big empty lot right behind our condos (the Molskis and mine) proves the point. In May 2005, I took my concerns to the village meeting, starting with how it would negatively impact our condo units and ending with the fact that the banks I talked to considered Bruti a risky (or risk-taking?) developer, which Roger dismissed with a wave of his hand. "He's my friend," Roger said to me.

In other words, trust me.

If it isn't obvious, asking people to trust their representatives in government is antithetical to both good government and getting people involved in their community. That's one of the lessons we should take away from Molski's years of service to Flossmoor: if you want people involved, then you have to be able to withstand their criticism when they don't agree with you. It's nothing personal. It's just government (or, without the Godfather reference, it's the process).

I started this particular blog because a friend of mine had been doing a spectacular job covering his local community. Like Flossmoor, where he lived was basically ignored by the major media. His blog is a lot more successful and a lot more thorough than this one. I don't spend nearly as much time on this as he does. It is merely a coincidence that so much focus has been paid to Roger Molski.

About six months ago, Molski changed his routine (or pattern). He no longer walked his dog everyday. He started driving into the parking lot very early in the morning (when his car was conveniently missing at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning). I asked him, when we talked about my mother-in-law, if his dog had died. I was told it hadn't.

So I started to write about our missing mayor. He wasn't really missing, it seemed to me, he was just commuting. But understanding political messaging as I do, I knew that calling Molski "our missing mayor" would be easier to understand that calling him a commuting mayor. People get that.

I didn't realize that candidates had used his home in the city against him before, but I also didn't care. I wanted to highlight the really bad decisions that Roger Molski has made for Flossmoor -- and the fact that we wasn't a full-time resident of Flossmoor went a long way in explaining his bad decisions. His daughter claims that Molski really loves Flossmoor, and I wouldn't dispute that. I also know that no parent tells their kids everything. But the problem wasn't that he cared about the village, it was what he was doing to the village.

I also didn't believe that Molski would run again. Given his new pattern, I expected him to retire. To be honest, I was shocked when he filed to run for re-election.

I write about what goes on in our community because people should know more about that. As a private citizen, which Roger Molski converts to in May, recording his commutes to the village would be gossip. But as a public official, as mayor, it is something that people had a right to know.

If the village government was more transparent, more open, more inviting, there would be no need to write these kinds of things. It hasn't been, and I've witnessed Roger Molski using his insider knowledge of village government as a bludgeon against people. If our new mayor -- or the trustees -- try to do that, I'll stand up against them, as well.

There's a lot to be done here in Flossmoor. We need to protect the unique charm that defines this village -- which means we have to do something about the blight that Molski brought to Flossmoor (by way of recruiting "his friend" to come here). We have to make sure that the new CVS, across the street from H-F, doesn't sell alcohol. Instead of reacting -- as Molski was inclined to do -- we need to be proactive. Anticipate problems. Prepare for them. Encourage the rest of the village to be involved in their solution.

I am very hopeful for Paul Braun's term as mayor. He, too, loves Flossmoor. He loves it so much that it is his only residence. He would never tell anyone, especially a son, "there is no future in Flossmoor." He will work hard to protect Flossmoor's charm and value because it's the only place he has to think about. That's important. He's fully invested in our future.

Paul Braun promised that change was coming to Flossmoor. It was a big, ambitious promise. Now we wait, and watch. And hope for better things to come. Electing Braun was the first step. But it was only the first step...

Flossmoor Finally Gets a Real Mayor

2009-04-07T22:36:00.002-05:00

Imagine that! Flossmoor's mayor will once again live in the Village of Flossmoor. Happy Days are Here!

Paul Braun promised that Change was coming to Flossmoor, and -- tonight -- he made good on his promise:

Paul S. Braun 1,080 55.36%
Roger G. Molski 871 44.64%

Braun won doing it his way, taking the high road, laying out a solid vision for Flossmoor's future and knocking on the door of every house in the village. When I mentioned to Braun that not all those households would have voters in them, he waved off my concern. They were stakeholders in the village living there, he told me, and they deserved the same attention.

What a profoundly refreshing attitude. I've been told by numerous residents that Molski has tried to bully residents for years, so Braun's inclusive and inviting attitude may take a little getting used to.

Congratulations, Mayor Braun! The village eagerly awaits the fresh start that you represent in Flossmoor government.

Note to the Trustees: I don't know what happens now that Paul Braun has been elected mayor, but if you get to appoint his replacement as Village Trustee, I'd urge you to appoint Pam Lessner. Those of us who attended the League of Women Voters forum know that we had four good candidates running for Trustee. She deserves to be appointed -- and I suspect she won't go away if she's not. We'll be paying attention...

While Molski is Pessimistic about Flossmoor's Future, Braun Looks Forward

2009-03-22T13:46:00.001-05:00

The local League of Women Voters held their Flossmoor Candidates Forum on Thursday, March 19 at the Flossmoor Library. More than 50 people showed up, including members of several candidate's families. There were several pieces of news out of the Forum, but perhaps the most interesting news was the sharp contrasts between the two mayoral candidates. Roger Molski was stuck on his "we can't do that" meme, while challenger Paul Braun was thinking creatively, offering fresh ideas and basically reminding us, Yes We Can.

Roger Molski was first with his opening statement. He mentioned that he came to Flossmoor because it resembled Grosse Point, MI. Then he told us why he was running for re-election:

I am terribly proud to say that I am the Mayor of Flossmoor and my mother who passed away last year was *really* proud to tell everyone in the world that Roger is the Mayor of Flossmoor.

He ended:

It's a team effort, and I am very, very proud to be Mayor and head of this team.

Then Paul Braun got up and introduced himself:

I am running because I believe that village government can do more for our residents than what's been going on. I am running because I believe that we can continue to maintain high quality public services -- police and fire -- and public works while at the same time doing more to increase economic development for our town.

Then Braun noted the biggest difference between his candidacy and that of Molski.

Washington has decided to pump 787 billion dollars into our economy and my question is, will Flossmoor be there to take advantage of that.

Braun laid out a strategy for getting more federal (and state) dollars into Flossmoor. Molski would later say, "They can't help us."

Braun ended by saying:

I am running because I'm passionate and I care about our town.

The first question asked by an audience member of the mayoral candidates was, "What changes will you try to make that is different than what's going on at the present time?"

Braun took the first crack at it:

My focus primarily is on economic development for our town in terms of making changes for the future. As I said in my opening statement, we're in the middle of a perfect storm, and while we're going to do everything we can to attract business to our community, new business to our community that's compatible with our community, I believe that for the next two year period we really need to be chasing dollars that are going to come from Washington and from the state of Illinois.

Braun said that he wants to be on the board of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, and that Flossmoor should join the Illinois Municipal League. Finally, he said:

we also need to be federally involved, as well. I'm committed to go to Washington, if necessary, to go knock on doors to get the funds that are necessary for our town. Because with those funds, that takes the pressure off of us, our taxpayers, the resident's tax burden. Some of you may have seen that a number of our recent mayors went to Washington and that we did not.

He ended by saying that if we don't get more active, "We could lose out on the dollars that are available to us."

Roger Molski then said,

The changes that you're going to see in the next four years in the village will revolve around economic development. I have been working ver, veryy hard for a long period of time, I've become a semi-expert on commercial development.

As a so-called "expert on commercial development," Roger Molski is the first and only mayor in Flossmoor -- probably in the South Suburbs -- to bring *blight* to our village. Then he pooh-poohed the idea of getting stimulus dollars for Flossmoor:

Washington will not reduce your tax dollars but good solid commercial developments in our TIF area will.

This is one of the reasons that people who know Roger Molski question his judgment, whether he is capable of leading in the 21st century. Molski's record of development in the past four years was to bring in a (now) bankrupt developer who happens to be a personal friend of his. He rammed the project through the board -- despite the questions that were raised about the troubled developer. Molski took $88,000 a year in property tax revenues off our tax rolls and left a black hole in the heart of our downtown commercial district.

Why should Flossmoor not be a contender for federal stimulus dollars? Molski's reasoning is unclear. Probably it's too much work for him. He seems to prefer to continue what he knows -- that is, bringing more blight to Flossmoor!

Then they were asked about whether Flossmoor should have business licenses for local businesses. Paul Braun noted that the question was first posed to him by the downtown Flossmoor business association who were actually in favor of commercial business licenses. "I'm not exactly opposed to it," he concluded. Roger Molski flatly stated, "We're not going to do it."

Another audience member asked, What is Flossmoor doing to obtain its share of stimulus money?

Roger Molski was a little perturbed:

If it's to be gotten, we're going to get our share for the projects that the trustees cited.

Paul Braun noted that Flossmoor was really depending upon our village manager and staff for requests for federal stimulus dollars. Where other cities have their mayors being aggressive about getting federal money, Molski was on vacation during the height of the process. Braun promised to be more proactive. He has "a totally different take on things:"

I think we were a bit late in terms of getting that information, not through any fault of anybody at this point, other than the fact that we're not focused on looking a bit outside our village in terms of regional, state and federal matters. So, in terms of getting economic stimulus dollars, yes, we're going to get trickle down at this point. But what I'm talking about is actually going after it, instead of waiting for it to come to us by sending letters and applying for projects, we need to be out there.

He then quoted a Southtown Star article that quoted Blue Island Mayor Don Peloquin:

Communities with more clout, more village officials on political boards and mayors with more time to lobby on behalf of their towns usually have more access to money, Peloquin said.

Braun concluded:

I plan on doing a lot more than just waiting for the money to trickle down to us, we need to apply for it. We need to be out there actively seeking it and that means outside of our village.

The next question asked was, What plans does Flossmoor have for foreclosed or empty housing?

Molski claimed that the number wasn't that high and there wasn't a lot that we can do about it.

But as far as what we can do as a village, it's very limited.

Paul Braun was thinking about how to make Flossmoor more attractive to new people coming into the village:

If we can maintain the current tax level, which will be difficult, that makes Flossmoor more attractive to new people coming into town to turn these houses over.

He said that's why he's so interested in pursuing federal and state dollars, to ease the tax burdens of Flossmoor residents.

Why aren't the streets better maintained?

Roger Molski noted Flossmoor Road is a county road and the village isn't responsible for it:

It's their road. And we're willing to a transfer of that road if they completely rebuild it.

This speaks to one of the other complaints that people have about the current mayor. He doesn't seem to have influence with other local officials, to get them to keep their word to him or to Flossmoor.

Paul Braun noted that the federal stimulus package had some infrastructure money with it. He wants to apply for federal money to resurface all the roads in Flossmoor.

We need to be out there. SSMA is responsible for dishing out those funds, so let's get there and let's get an application in.

How does a store with a liquor license across the street from 3,000 students fit in with the character of Flossmoor?

Paul Braun answered bluntly:

It doesn't.

Braun wants to get community input about what residents think about Molski's latest idea.

Going forward, I don't think it's the proper location. You'll hear others say, 'well, they can go to the Jewel or they can go elsewhere,' well let them go elsewhere. I don't think we need that across the street from the high school at this point. I don't think it sets the proper example.

Then Braun noted that the high school is against this:

But, again, the high school district does not want it. 233, I've talked to school board, they do not want liquor at that location. So that tells you something right off the bat. If they don't want it, I don't see why the village needs to press it.

Molski re-acted defensively. "That is a done deal, it's been approved," Molski said. "It's been approved, it's going to be there."

The CVS is approved, everything about it is done, it's going there.

What kind of relationship does Flossmoor have with Metra and CN to maintain the Via Duct?

Paul Braun noted that he's heard complaints about the Flossmoor station, and that "Over all, we have as good a relationship as any other local town does have with Metra." He also said: "We've had our challenges from time to time in terms of maintenance issues regarding Via Duct."

Molski responded by basically pointing to his lack of influence:

The Canadian National people are difficult people to deal with. Their philosophy sometimes is that "we were there first."

"We're constantly on them," Molski ended. In other words, Roger Molski is doing everything he can. And it isn't good enough. His record -- which is what he wants people to use as their guide in voting in this race -- is one of failure.

What can be done about Flossmoor Square?

Paul Braun observed that "Flossmoor Square has caused us much community pain." I suppose we ought to say that Molski counts this vacant lot continually in his list of accomplishments, but I suspect Braun is right. For everyone except the mayor, this blight does cause us pain. Isn't it nice that the mayor has some place besides Flossmoor to go home to, so he doesn't wake up to this black hole in our commercial district every day?

Must be nice.

Braun suggested that we should "clean it up now" -- and, more importantly, that the village should be more proactive in staving off the "rumor mill." Most of us know that Chuck Bruti went through bankruptcy, but the mayor prevented the village from keeping up on that process -- probably because Bruti was the mayor's friend and Flossmoor Square was the mayor's project. Braun concluded:

We have to do something, this wait and see is not working. Its a top priority for me if I'm elected mayor.

Molski was basically in denial. He suggested that the economic downturn started four years ago, and that's the reason why Flossmoor Square has failed. "We can't do anything about it," Molski claimed.

He is wrong. Roger Molski may not be able to do something about it, but that's largely because he doesn't have the ability to lead Flossmoor or the vision to take it into the future.

Molski concluded the night by asking people to vote on his record. Are you happy with the empty lot in the heart of our downtown that Molski brought to Flossmoor in the last four years? Are you happy with the fact that Molski is bringing in a store that sells liquor across the street from H-F High School (against their wishes)? Are you happy with Molski being in vacation in Florida while other local mayors were in Washington, DC asking for stimulus money for their communities?

This is Roger Molski's record for the past four years. He may be proud of it. But I don't think too many of us who actually live here can afford it any more. Roger Molski is far too focused on what we can't do. Paul Braun reminds us, Yes We Can. The choice is stark, and the implications are clear.

Roger Molski's Record of Failure

2009-03-17T08:11:00.006-05:00

Flossmoor's Missing Mayor, Roger Molski, sent out a postcard last week claiming "Record Commercial Development." Like all things that Molski does, the truth really depends on the definition (and the time frame). But there should be no doubt that Molski is continuing to gloss over his responsibility for bringing of blight to our downtown commercial district -- four years before our current economic crisis!

Our Missing Mayor wants you to believe that his record is one of accomplishment when it is actually one of dramatic failure. Really, what has he done in the past four years to be proud of?

At the May 2005 meeting where he was sworn in, Roger Molski pushed through the proposed "development" on the 2600 block of Flossmoor Road. You probably see the huge empty lot that Molski brought us every day. It's a dark hole in our commercial district.

One month later, in June 2005, Molski told us that "he expects ground to be broken by the end of the summer." The Flossmoor Square development was the centerpiece of Molski's development philosophy -- a philosophy that clearly failed.

Two and a half years later, the project remained "stalled," and even had the Southtown Star editorialize on the blight Roger Molski had brought to Flossmoor:

An empty lot near Flossmoor's downtown area is a reminder of a building project that's been in the works for more than two years, but hasn't happened yet. -- December 9, 2007

Four years later, the Daily Southtown featured Flossmoor's blight in its "Arrested Development" story:

Though a groundbreaking was slated for spring 2008, construction is stalled as plans still are being finalized, according to Patrick Finn, assistant village manager in Flossmoor.

Roger Molski introduced Chuck Bruti at May 2005 meeting as "his friend." He said that he'd known Bruti for years, and he mentioned that he -- our Missing Mayor -- had suggested to Bruti the development of the property where five thriving businesses had to be destroyed and removed from our tax roles.

This sounds like Blagojevich cronyism. Molski was looking out for his friends, not looking out for the village. Old school machine politics right here in Flossmoor.

Had the mayor done due diligence -- or even shown an bit of judgment -- he would have known that this project would sit idle for the past three-plus years (I predicted it at the very meeting that Molski pushed the project through). It was said that Bruti was having trouble with other projects. And if he was having trouble during the go-go period of economic development, there was no way he would be able to continue in the stingy credit environment we have now.

But Molski was trying to help his friend. He even waved Flossmoor's zoning code to help his friend.

What did Flossmoor get out of it? Well, we've lost money. The five businesses that paid property and other taxes are now gone. The large parcel in the heart of our commercial district remains empty -- four years later. The actual prospects of development are low, especially as long as Molski is mayor.

Of course, Molski has moved on. He's trying to divert our attention from his record of failure by pushing the development of a store that will sell liquor across from Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Think about it. Roger Molski wants to turn H-F into a party school!

These two developments -- blight in the middle of our commercial district and alcohol to be sold across the street from H-F -- creates a tremendous downward pressure on our property values. Instead of being insulated from the rest of the South Suburbs, Molski is working hard to turn Flossmoor into another Harvey, another Robbins. It's not simply that Molski exhibits poor judgment, it's that he just doesn't care about Flossmoor anymore. If re-elected this time, it's hard to see how Molski serves out the full term.

Flossmoor's Missing Mayor Threatens Residents

2009-03-12T17:59:00.002-05:00

After the theatrics of Rod Blagojevich, you would have thought that Illinois' politicians would have understood that abusing their power and threatening people isn't a good idea.

But not here in Flossmoor!

Flossmoor's Missing Mayor, back from his prolonged vacation in another state, decided to give me a call! I don't know how he got my number -- probably another example of his abuse of power -- but the first thing out of his mouth was:

I'll make this short and sweet. Illinois has a law that prohibits free speech and what you have been saying about me has defamed my character.

Roger Molski may never have heard of the Free Speech rights afforded to American citizens in the First Amendment or -- more likely -- he was just trying to intimidate me from talking about the fact that he's been going home to his place in Chicago every night (well, before his campaign started).

Personally, I've had my fill of Blagojevich tactics, of politicians taking us for granted and thinking that they can intimidate us just because we are paying attention. No one begrudges Roger his right to go home and sleep in his bed, to be with his wife -- but Molski shouldn't run for mayor if he feels the need to do that.

Given the blight that Molski brought to Flossmoor in the last four years -- something that is evident to anyone who travels down Flossmoor Road (our main drag) -- we have every right to note that he is not fully invested in our community. We don't need a commuter Mayor, an absentee Mayor, a missing Mayor leading us in this time of economic crisis. Because of Molski's actions (taking five businesses off our tax roles just because he thought it was a good idea), our village finances are more strained than they would have been. Property values around Molski's blight have been degraded, while our property taxes have been increased.

Shortly after six this evening, Roger Molski threatened to take me to court because I think Flossmoor deserves a fully invested mayor who actually resides here 24/7/365. I told him that we should take it to the voters -- and Molski's threats have now motivated me to take these issues before our community. I thought we got rid of all these Blagojevich antics; I didn't realize that we had our own little Mayor Blagojevich right here in Flossmoor!

[pics are of Roger Molski's parking spots from this winter's blizzard; just another indication that the mayor doesn't live here anymore]

They're Baaaaaaaack!

2009-03-09T11:42:00.002-05:00

Flossmoor's First Couple, Roger and Marcia Molski, are back from an extended "vacation." This being a month before the next election, Flossmoor can expect to see more of the two. They did this last time the mayor was on the ballot as well, Marcia spending time in the village to give the appearance that they still live here.

Voters in Flossmoor can be expected to vote on whether it is "good enough" to have an absentee mayor. No one can blame Roger for wanting to sleep in his own bed or return home to his wife each night. The problem is that they are in Chicago, not Flossmoor. So the question remains, should the mayor live here?

The issue with having an absentee mayor has been made crystal clear this winter. Flossmoor's mayor was absent from the village during the recent ice storm. He didn't endure local power outages because he was at home, in Chicago. Nor did he visit local businesses concerned about having power to open their doors. He simply wasn't here.

Molski was absent during our recent "blizzard," as well. Pictures were provided in a prior post of the Mayor's absence. Of course, the blizzard only made Molski's practice of going home (to Chicago) each night more obvious.

Because the mayor doesn't live here anymore, he's fairly disengaged from the community. So it is no surprise that the mayor has expressed little interest in helping Flossmoor benefit from federal stimulus dollars. While the city manager has done yeoman's work in trying to recover from the mayor's managerial weaknesses, the fact remains that Flossmoor would have greatly benefited from a mayor who was engaged in his community, who could have had an immediate response when the concept of stimulus dollars was becoming public.

The question of whether our mayor should live here really is a question about how invested the mayor should be in the community that he leads. Overnight power outages have no effect on the mayor because he doesn't sleep here. He can't look out his windows and see a community that is blacked-out. One suspects his condo in Chicago has its own backup generator, so he may very well be immune to local power outages there, as well. Must be nice.

The mayor's lack of investment in Flossmoor shows in the kinds of things he is doing to our community, as well. He brought blight to Flossmoor, helping an over-extended developer raze five active businesses on the tax rolls here and leaving a half-block long hole on Flossmoor's main street. What is he doing about it? When I asked, not a thing.

Instead, we come to find that the mayor is helping to bring in a store that will sell liquor and tobacco across the street from Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Once again, Molski was instrumental in having our community standards waved in order to get one of his pet projects passed.

Would Roger Molski really have worked so hard to wave our community zoning requirements if he actually lived in Flossmoor? Probably not. If Molski was fully invested in our community, he would have been more likely to understand why residents would want to retain the look and feel of Flossmoor, why it is important to encourage businesses to adapt to our community standards, why selling liquor across the street from one of our community's main assets (its high school) isn't a good idea. No, our absentee mayor has discovered Chicago values and seeks to import them here, to Flossmoor. He's not fully invested in our community, and it shows.

So the question is, should the mayor live here? If you care about Flossmoor's community values, about its inherent charm and small town flavor, then the answer must be yes. If you want to turn Flossmoor into Chicago, then obviously the mayor is a great promoter for undermining Flossmoor's charm and standards. He's done it before and you can expect for him to do it again. Home is where the heart is, and it's clear that Roger Molski's heart is no longer in Flossmoor.

South Suburban "Shovel Ready" Projects

2009-03-05T14:55:00.002-06:00

Stimulus Watch provides a breakdown of "shovel ready" projects eligible for federal stimulus dollars. These are defined as:

the "shovel-ready" projects the mayors of this state submitted in the 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors report.

The shocking thing about this report is not who is on it, but who is missing from it. There were no projects submitted for that report by the villages of Hazel Crest or Dolton, County Club Hills, Markham, Steger, Robbins or Flossmoor. Mayors in Illinois made a request totalling $3 billion, representing all the requests in the state listed in the report. But the villages of County Club Hills, Dolton, Flossmoor, Hazel Crest, Markham, Robbins or Steger were absent from these requests.

Ford Heights (pop: 3,227) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $20,031 (Illinois average was $54,124) according to the website city-data.com. Robbins (pop: 6,312) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $27,637. I suspect that these two villages (like Flossmoor) aren't members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Markham (pop: 12,190) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $47,608. Steger (pop: 10,458) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $49,534. All these villages were below the Illinois statewide average, and all of these could have easily benefited from stimulus dollars being used in their communities.

Dolton (pop: 24,032) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $54,965 (slightly more than the Illinois average of $54,124). Hazel Crest (pop: 14,164) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $57,891. Both of these villages have seen brighter days and suffer from neglect of existing infrastructure. Country Club Hills (pop: 16,764) is more fortunate, with an estimated median household income in 2007 of $66,047 and Flossmoor (pop: 9,353) had an estimated median household income in 2007 of $107,850, but neither village had infrastructure projects in mind for the report.

According to Stimulus Watch, the report includes $49,865,000 in project requests from Blue Island for 25 projects. Click on the link will provide more information about those project requests. Richton Park has requested $48,047,000 for 9 projects. South Holland has made $29,911,340 in requests for 19 projects. Homewood has asked for $22,000,000 for its Water and Sewer Infrastructure Rehabilitation project in the neighbor by Walt's. Glenwood has requested $19,350,000 for 28 projects in its community.

Calumet City wants $12,504,000 for 7 projects. Olympia Fields has $12,200,000 worth of projects in 16 different areas. Chicago Heights is requesting $11,674,165 for 27 projects, according to the Conference of Mayors report. Chicago Heights has also asked for $30 million in federal stimulus dollars for its proposed wind farm at a dormant landfill. Tinley Park asked for $10,272,105 to fund 13 projects.

Rounding out the requests for the South Suburbs in the 2008 report, Harvey put in for $5,120,000 for 13 projects. Lynwood asked for $5,825,000 for 15 projects. Park Forest wants $3,757,000 for 5 projects. And Sauk Village requested $3,350,000 to fund 5 projects there.

While you could argue that no one could have foreseen the economic meltdown that has resulted in the federal stimulus package, that doesn't exactly explain why the communities of County Club Hills, Dolton, Flossmoor, Hazel Crest, Markham, Robbins or Steger were not included in the Conference of Mayors report. Most, if not all, communities have a list of projects that they would like federal help on, so you have to wonder why County Club Hills, Dolton, Flossmoor, Hazel Crest, Markham, Robbins or Steger weren't submitting projects in this routine request. I called the villages of Dolton, Flossmoor, Hazel Crest and Markham to ask why they were omitted from this report. I asked them for an explanation as to why their villages weren't included in the requests detailed by the 2008 Conference of Mayors report.

I talked to Joseph Bertrand and Robert Palmer, who is the Village Manager, from Hazel Crest, and they were surprised to hear that they didn't have any shovel-ready projects in the report. "There are a lot of reports out there," Palmer told me. He also told me that Hazel Crest submitted requests to the Mayors Caucus of Chicago about a month ago and that they had just had their transportation meeting on Tuesday where Hazel Crest had made requests for transportation dollars. He said he knew about the Stimulus Watch website, and didn't really have an explanation for why Hazel Crest wasn't on it. "We were told we had two weeks to get it back to South Suburban Mayors and Managers," Palmer said.

He guessed that they had about 8-10 projects ready to go (he didn't say ready to go, but that's what the stimulus funding requires). Palmer said there was a lot of creek stabilization and sewer lining in what they believed would be eligible for federal funding under the stimulus package.

I also talked to Bridget Wachtel, the City Manager for Flossmoor, who gave me a very simple explanation as to why Flossmoor wasn't included. Flossmoor is not a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, so it couldn't have been on this list. Nonetheless, we did talk about the steps the village was taking to receive stimulus dollars. "We are pursuing stimulus dollars," Wachtel told me. "We have begun to register programs through the recovery website," she said.

"You have to have a project that fits into an existing program and it has to be shovel ready," she explained. She expressed some frustration with the conflict between the definition of "shovel ready" and the need for a funding source for the village to take the project to the shovel ready stage. Flossmoor has a "slew of programs in a capitol plan," but that doesn't mean they are eligible or shovel ready.

Wachtel explained that Flossmoor was "struggling to find where we can fit in" with regards to this new source of federal funds. She mentioned the Illinois Public Energy Agency low interest loan program that helped fund the first three phases of Flossmoor's sanitary sewer rehab. "That's where the $27 surcharge on your water bill goes," she said. They are thinking that perhaps the fourth phase of the sewer rehab project could come under the stimulus package. That way, 50% of project would be funded through stimulus dollars, and -- of the remaining 50% -- half (or 25%) would be eligible for a no interest loan and the other half would be eligible for a low interest loan. But "can we meet the deadline? Can we logistically meet those deadlines?"

I spoke with the offices of the mayor in Markam and Dolton, but neither office had anything to say about this. They took a message; no one called back.

Roland Burris throws Pres. Obama 'under the bus'

2009-03-01T08:58:00.005-06:00

It has long been obvious, at least to him, that Roland Burris is more important than President Obama. Now he's got someone to play along.

Burris' latest media strategy is to associate Rod Blagojevich with President Obama in the attempt to lessen the attention paid to the fact that he didn't do what he promised to do (disclosure fully and truthfully the contacts he had with the Blagojevich people before his appointment to the U.S. Senate). Burris' media consultant writes in a recent email (which was originally published on the Chatham/Avalon Park Community Council blog but the offending portion has since been removed -- undoubtedly due to its inflammatory nature):

The two biggest beneficiaries of Tony Rezko were Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama, so no one can afford to be self-righteous.

Now this is a line that you'd expect from Rush Limbaugh or even Michael Steele, but not from someone who claims to be a Democrat. While Roland is reduced to waving at the President and trying to get some of that Obama glow, Delmarie Cobb was setting up the conditions for Obama's defeat in 2012.

I've already been told in conversations with Southern Republicans that linking President Obama with William Jefferson and Roland Burris is their best chance at re-taking the White House next time. Clearly, Roland is eager to play along and they've got Delmarie Cobb singing their song.

For Roland Burris -- and Delmarie Cobb -- keeping a "black seat" in the U.S. Senate is clearly more important than re-electing Barack Obama. What are they thinking?

What Burris is thinking is obvious. This is all about him. Freddrenna Lyle makes that obvious:

Roland Burris wanted the Senatorial seat and talked to everyone who would listen once it became obvious that Sen. Obama had a chance to win the Presidency. In fact when he would hear discussions about possible replacements he would get upset when he did not hear himself mentioned.

Cobb continues the assault on the President:

Many black elected officials didn't like Barack, but they stayed quiet and got on board and they need to do the same for Roland.

Understand, Delmarie Cobb is undoubtedly talking about herself. Whether she can find "many" black elected officials who didn't like the president remains to be seen, but there is no question that *she* doesn't like him.

And now she seems eager to tear down the first African American elected to office. Cobb has never made a secret of the fact that she preferred Hillary Clinton over the first black president, but her argument that we have to protect the only black senator and be willing to sacrifice the only black president is more than a tautology. It defines hypocrisy. It is the perfect example of self-destruction.

That Roland Burris' public face is someone who is best known for her opposition of the president, someone eager to sow controversy, shows a lack of political judgment that will neither serve him -- or Illinois -- well. Delmarie Cobb may be eager to throw Barack Obama under the bus, but I haven't found a black voter who is willing to do so. By accepting this appointment from such a fatally flawed figure had already put Burris' political skills and judgment in doubt. Surrounding himself with people who clearly oppose this president only cements it. Roland Burris is too naive to be our senator.

Roland Burris needs to decide if he is standing with our new president or fighting against him. Delmarie Cobb's email suggests to me that she is using Burris as a means for tearing down Barack Obama. We have no indication that Burris is willing to stand with the president or his agenda, but we do have indicators that he and his campaign are eager to sacrifice Barack Obama for their own benefit. It seems to me that those very "black elected officials" who "stayed quiet and got on board" for Barack Obama are now basking in his limelight. Roland Burris faces an uphill battle to divide them from the president but it appears Delmarie Cobb is eager for the challenge. I'd say 'good luck with that,' but I don't really wish her luck. I -- and many others -- worked too hard to get Obama elected president to sacrifice him for Roland Burris. I'd much rather have a good man in the White House. I strongly suspect I'm not alone in that sentiment...

GOP Mayor likely to replace Democrat in the House

2009-02-24T15:41:00.001-06:00

When State Rep. George Scully (D-Flossmoor) finally got his appointment to the bench, he opened up the pandora's box in the South Suburbs. Terry Matthews, the Bloom Township Democratic committeeman, will decide who replaces Scully, and Matthews' loyalty is hardly to the Democratic party.

So it should be no surprise when Matthews' choice for the seat is:

a man known to some as a Republican....

Chicago Heights Mayor Anthony DeLuca is said to be on Matthews' short list. The Bloom Township Republican organization endorsed DeLuca when he ran for mayor in 2003 and loaned $5,000 to his campaign.

His campaign that year was run by conservative political consultant and commentator Dan Proft, who then served as his chief of staff for 10 months until DeLuca asked him to leave after Proft ruffled the feathers of some aldermen.

Proft said DeLuca "was a Republican the entire time that I knew him." Indeed, he said he met DeLuca while the two were supporting Republican Flora Ciarlo, whom Scully defeated to win his first term in office.

"He was elected, I would say, on a small-government, entrepreneurship, classic Republican philosophy," Proft said. "I did the messaging. I ought to know."

This is causing a number of headaches among Democrats in the Southland. 80 is a solidly Democratic seat, and the only way a Republican could gain the seat is through a maneuver like this.

I've asked several activists who know DeLuca if he would pledge to remain a Democrat once he was selected to the seat, but no one seems to know. however:

Nonetheless, DeLuca said: "My philosophy has never changed. I am who I am. The candidates I have chosen to support in the primaries may have changed."

He declined to call himself a Democrat, saying it would be inappropriate for him to declare he is a member of a party given that Chicago Heights municipal races are nonpartisan. But, "If I am appointed to a Democratic seat, I am a Democrat," he said.

Can Matthews appoint someone with a "classic Republican philosophy" in a solidly Democratic district? Of course he can. Such are the vulgarities of Illinois politics.

Normally, one would celebrate the switching of an elected official from the Republican party to the Democratic party. But DeLuca is noticeably opaque about his loyalties. And there may be a reason for that.

South Suburban Democrats are upset not only because of DeLuca's history as a Republican (and his unwillingness to say that he has switched parties). They are also afraid that some of the things that have historically tainted the local Republican party will begin to filter into South Suburban Democrats. And DeLuca is thought likely to retain his mayor's seat in Chicago Heights (just as Al Riley has retained his supervisor position in Rich township). Concern is growing over elected officials with multiple and divided loyalties who make it very confusing for residents to understand where the conflicts of interest lie.

Will DeLuca vote with the speaker? Who knows. Matthews could hardly be punished if his protege wondered off the reservation, as the speaker is thought to crave Bloom Democratic support for his daughter's race. That puts Matthews in the catbird's seat -- for the second time this year. Democrats in the 80 district may be steamed that a Republican will be their representative in Springfield, but there is nothing to be done about it.

Until February 2010. As one local Dem told me today: "Thankfully, they haven't changed the primary (date)."

Rep. Debbie Halvorson Opens a New Office in Joliet

2009-02-20T08:44:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday, freshman Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson officially opened her new district office in Joliet. The first sign that something was happening was on I-80. On the crowded stretch between Orland and Joliet, we all seemed to be going to the same place. There were green "Halvorson" stickers on many of the cars. If you eliminated the trucks who shared the road with us, we'd have legitimately been called a caravan.

Following the internet mapping programs only work if all the roads are marked. So I almost missed the road perpendicular to the Joliet baseball stadium. But I was familiar enough with the area to know that the next road (Clinton) was a road too far. Thank god for a tight turning radius.

Parking was the next issue. Everyone was looking for a parking spot ten minutes before the open house was supposed to begin. Thankfully, I noticed a spot back from whence I came and (again) turned around. As I did so, I noticed that Halvorson's district office manager was putting up the ribbon. So I had timed everything just right.

As I set up the camera (in the cold -- brrrr), dozens of people slipped inside to go to the fourth floor office of the new Congresswoman. Lots of familiar faces, lots of anticipation on them. The previous Congressman was known more for his time in Guatemala than in the district, and it showed.

About 20 minutes later, the crowded descended on the stairs. The staff readied the flags and ribbon and then Debbie Halvorson appeared. This video starts then.

What we saw was a Congresswoman adjusting to her new schedule, where her life was no longer her own -- and finding a place in it. She smiles as she talks about "Congress on the corners," where she gets to reconnect with the people in the district. But Halvorson was also realistic in explaining that her staff was really her connection to people's concerns, and inviting her guests to reach out to them and deal with them as if they were dealing with her.

This kind of outreach is exactly what is required to defend Democrats in Republican areas. Tip O'Neill may have believed that all politics is local, but that was 30 years ago. This is the internet age, and now all politics is personal. Debbie Halvorson is bridging that divide in her large Congressional District.

You can contribute to this Frontline Democrat here.

Flossmoor's Missing Mayor

2009-02-19T08:51:00.005-06:00

I had previously posed the question, shouldn't the mayor live here? Flossmoor's mayor, Roger Molski, uses Flossmoor as a second home; in essence, a place where he can escape the people whenever he's in the village.

Which isn't at night. Once again, it snowed, and I could get visual proof that the mayor (and his wife) were at their (primary) residence downtown. They certainly weren't here in Flossmoor.

Now I understand the mayor's desire to be with his wife, to sleep in his own bed, to have his dog around. And I understand that the real estate market is tight -- probably even tighter for the mayor's condo, since he had our neighbor's torn down and all that remains is an ugly empty lot that no one appreciates. What I don't understand is why he would run for mayor in a place that he's basically abandoned.

The sparkling lights of the big city must be seductive. But if Molski really wants to be mayor, why doesn't he run in Chicago? Where he lives.

South Suburban Democratic machine confronts Team Obama

2009-02-18T10:19:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but I've had enough of the corrupt politics that plagues Illinois. I am aware of the patronage and pay-to-play aspects that defines Democratic politics in the South Suburbs, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Barack Obama's message of Hope and Change stimulated many of us here in the South Suburbs to get involved -- many for the first time ever. The fact is that the corrupt politics that defines Illinois politics represses democracy and participation by the average person. Quite frankly, that's the way the political machine likes it.

So it should be no surprise that I am suddently getting some very curious feedback about our OFA group, Team Obama. The first hint was when Hazel Crest mayor, Robert Donaldson, sent an email to his fellow candidate Joseph Bertrand about our Team Obama meeting. The email was forwarded to me:

For your information. We should discuss these false, misinformational and misleading statements from these two individuals. Please distribute to interested parties.

Note that the mayor does not dispute the fact that he pushed through the village council a massive pay raise for himself -- and in these tough economic times! Nor does he challenge the public perception that he conducts village business in secret, or that he has engaged in the age-old practice of patronage. Rather, the mayor has apparently plotted to destroy Team Obama. Just because.

As followup, I got email from a machine hack who tries to convince me that we are choosing amongst Democrats "who supported President Obama." Of course, the truth is that the village races in Hazel Crest are nonpartisan. I have no idea whether the mayor (or Joseph Bertrand) are Democrats, although it is probably safe to assume that they are. Instead, as I mentioned in the previous post, we invited people who were involved in helping to elect President Obama to come speak to us. I'm unclear why I should have investigated these candidates' opponents before inviting them to pitch their candidacy before a group of people who lived in their community. Of course, the logic of machine pols probably escapes me anyway.

President Obama challenged us to get involved in our communities and work towards positive change. That does not mean that there won't be other people, Democrats to boot, who won't resist Change in our communities. Illinois has previously resisted the involvement of the national party in the state, and it is clear that they are resisting change again. Barack Obama may have come from Illinois, but the party leadership, both local and state, have every intention of resisting his Agenda for Change and his interest in seeing people get involved in their communities. The status quo in this area are Democrats. It just so happens that the forces for Change in the area are Democrats, as well...

Team Obama rises in the South Suburbs

2009-02-08T11:39:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday, February 3rd, former volunteers and supporters of Barack Obama's presidential campaign -- christened "Team Obama" after the volunteers who conceived the term in the Ohio Democratic primary last year -- met at the Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery.

Team Obama grew out of the "Thank You" party for the South Suburban volunteers held in Park Forest in November. There was a very broad consensus that the former volunteers active in the Indiana effort (and other primary states) wanted to stay together, stay active in our communities and stay involved in local politics -- in expectation that we would be needed again in the 2012 presidential contest.

In January, the Obama campaign evolved into Organizing for America, being folded into the Democratic National Committee. Both were expected, at least on my part. The people involved in facilitating "Team Obama" believed that our goals and OFA's goals were similar, and adopted the OFA goal of supporting President Obama's Agenda for Change.

Our program was fairly simple, driven more by the approach of local elections than anything else:

Program

7:00 Introduction/Survey
7:15 Rep. Will Davis
7:30 OFA/Economic Recovery Suggestions

Candidates for Local Office:
8:00 Vernard Alsberry
8:10 Diane Williams
8:20 Susan Pate
8:30 Brace Clement

8:40 Wrap-Up/Open Discussion

On the advice of one of our participants, Rep. Will Davis was invited and talked (briefly) about Blagojevich's impeachment before talking at length about the stimulus package and the need for Economic Recovery in the South Suburbs.

You can download the video for Rep. Davis' talk here for offline viewing.

Rep. Davis' talk led nicely into our Economic Recovery session. Comments, stories and suggestions from that segment were forwarded to Organizing for America, or Obama 2.0. We are committed to working towards President Obama's Agenda for Change.

Afterwards, we heard from four local candidates who have embraced the President's Agenda for Change. The candidates for office that spoke before the group were people who were involved in helping to elect President Obama. Susan Pate, specifically, had asked me how to get literature to Democrats in Mississippi. We heard from:

* Vernard Alsberry is a candidate for President of Hazel Crest this April. You is talk can download the video of Vernard Alsberry here.

* Diane Williams is a candidate for re-election to the Flossmoor Board of Trustees. Her talk can be downloaded here.

* Susan Pate is a candidate for Trustee in Hazel Crest. Her talk is available here.

* Brace Clement is a candidate for School Board in 227. His talk can be found here.

All in all, a productive meeting attended by ~90 people who are interested in helping enact President Obama's Agenda for Change.

Shouldn't the Mayor Live Here?

2009-01-16T00:50:00.002-06:00

For the last year or so, not long after Roger Molski's wife found a place in the city, the Mayor of Flossmoor has been an absentee mayor. I discovered this as I repeatedly watched him drive into the parking lot early in the morning (~5am or so).

I was actually surprised to learn that he intended to run for re-election. I would bet that if the market hadn't tanked, he'd have his condo in Flossmoor up for sale, and join his wife in their *real* home. But the market tanked -- and not only because Molski was singularly responsible for the replacement of 5 taxpaying businesses for the unsightly empty lot now at 2500 Flossmoor Rd! Why he would choose to run for re-election is a mystery.

Yesterday was one of the worse storms we've had in years. Elsewhere, mayors were out supervising the clearing of streets or the reconnection of downed power lines. Not in Flossmoor. I'm sure the mayor was somewhere cozy, staying warm. What was happening in Flossmoor probably didn't occur to him. He certainly was nowhere to be found.

The pictures in this post are of the mayor's two parking spots at his condo. You will notice that there is no evidence that either of their cars were here overnight, or at the beginning of this heavy snowstorm. In fact, those parking spots remained empty throughout the day. I'd bet the road conditions were such that it wasn't safe for the mayor to come all the way out here -- especially since we know he wouldn't have spent the night.

Shouldn't the mayor live where he runs? You would think so. But this is Illinois, as Rich Miller is fond of saying, and corruption, pay to play, and abuse of power are pretty much the norm. The mayor is certainly not out of the norm for Illinois. Even in the village's moment of crisis, it is warmer at home. Home -- for our mayor -- just isn't Flossmoor, anymore.

We deserve better. Someday, I hope, we will get better...

Indicted IL Governor pairs another 1000 Jobs in Southland

2008-12-12T07:09:00.004-06:00

Four years ago, it was Barack Obama who led a hearing in the Southland on the (indicted) Governor's effort to close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center and Howe Developmental Center. When Barack came out of that meeting, he remarked (per memory): "We'll have to take it easy on the Governor now. We've whacked him enough today."

Yesterday, it was the people of the Southland who came out to take a few whacks at the Governor's proposal to close the southside and south suburbs' only public providers of intensive, in-patient care for individuals with severe mental illness and profound developmental disabilities. Boy, did they come.

Among the first people I met at this hearing of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability were active Obama volunteers in our efforts in Indiana. I wouldn't venture a guess as to how many people showed up without knowing the capacity of the room, but the parking lot was full and the space fairly full. 2000?

One of the Governor's officials started the proceedings by saying that they needed to shut down these facilities because they wanted to replace them with new facilities. What a crock! Did the Chicago Bears stop playing when we replaced Soldier Field with the spaceship? Did the Sox stop playing when they replaced Comisky Park? Hell, no! They built the new facilities first before they moved out of the old ones.

But this isn't what the Governor is proposing to do. He will shut down Tinley Park/Howe, shave a thousand jobs off the government payroll and build new facilities when the budget is under control. Which, in Illinois, means never.

If you're wondering if this has anything to do with the (indicted) Governor's proclivity towards "pay to play," you might have a point. The thousand workers who will lose their jobs can't afford to contribute to the Governor's extravagant lifestyle. And I doubt you will see any builder in the Southland stepping forward to "pay up" to build the new facilities. With lines of credit frozen everywhere, what bank is going to want to help out here? Nope, these thousand jobs will be lost to Illinois' practice of corruption. The people, both workers and clients, will be sacrificed so that the Governor and his political cronies can continue in the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed.

We voted for real change at the federal level. Probably time to vote for change at the state and local level, as well. How many more jobs can we afford to lose here?

The President-Elect Gives Back

2008-11-27T09:10:00.000-06:00

Cong Jackson Most Popular Replacement Senator for Obama

2008-11-12T07:31:00.001-06:00

In a telephone poll commissioned by Friends of Sandi Jackson, Illinois voters preferred Congressman Jesse Jackson over nine other people who might be considered possible replacements. The list included Tammy Duckworth, Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis.

Commissioned by Jackson's wife (to whom Jr. moved hundreds of thousands of dollars before her election to the Chicago City Council) means that state political dollars were used, and not those falling under the rules of the FEC. Illinois has no limit on the amount that someone can give a state political committee. Contributions to federal campaigns are currently limited to $2,300 per cycle.

The survey, conducted Nov. 5-6, 2008, shows that, given a choice of 10 possible candidates, 21% think Gov. Rod Blagojevich should appoint Jackson to the seat when Obama leaves it vacant to ascend to the presidency, far more than the rest of the field. Tammy Duckworth, a former Democratic congresswoman candidate from a suburban Chicago district, is the only other potential candidate to win double-digit support -14% said she should be appointed.

Jackson's base of support is strongest among those who consider themselves "strong Democrats," 32% of which believe he should win the appointment to the Obama seat, while 14% favored Duckworth. Among moderately strong Democrats, 25% said they think Duckworth should be appointed, compared to 20% who favored Jackson. Among weak Democrats, Jackson leads with 18% support, compared to 12% support for Duckworth.

Among independent voters, Jackson is favored over Duckworth by a 14% to 10% margin. Among Republicans, Jackson is also favored over Duckworth. Support levels for other candidates are 6 percent for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, 4 percent for Congressman Danny Davis and 4 percent for State Senator James Meeks. Several other candidates received less than 1 percent.

The biggest problem with the survey is that none of the names are well known across the state. While Zogby tried to obfuscate this by combining the "Not Familiar" and "No Response" categories in his public release of the poll. The client (Jesse Jackson) undoubtedly got a better breakdown here. The only thing we can really determine is that the Congressman really wants the job -- enough to commission a poll and release the findings.

Those findings were aimed at mitigating the fear among state Democrats that Jackson wouldn't be able to retain the seat in 2010. Zogby tested Jackson's statewide strength:

In two prospective Senate races, Jackson would defeat Republican Congressman Ray LaHood by a 50% to 31% margin, the survey shows. Among the 15% who were not certain about whom they would support, nearly two said they were leaning toward Jackson for every one that was leaning toward supporting LaHood.

Jackson's district includes part of Chicago and extends to the south suburbs. Lahood is a congressman from rural Illinois whose district includes Peoria and the northern suburbs of Springfield.

In a prospective match-up against Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, Jackson wins 48% support, compared to 32% for Kirk. Among the 15% who are leaning toward one candidate or the other, Kirk has a 10% to 7% edge, the survey shows. Kirk's district is north of Chicago along the shores of Lake Michigan.

Neither Kirk nor LaHood should be considered likely Senate candidates in 2010.