Illinois Primary is Feb 2nd. it's gunna be hella interesting

[Ildem09]

For Senate we Have Alexi Gianoulius (sp?) a son of wealthy Greek Bank owners that had some deals go sideways. However, has huge name recognition he is our State Treasurer. Plus the implicit support of the Administration. Obama and Alexi are good friends from back in the day.. the guy is really young maybe 35. We also have David Hoffman and Cheryle Jackson splitting the left vote, Hoffman has been rising lately and if the Southern half of state gets out Hoffman might have a chance.

The Gov race is going to be real interesting. we have the incumbent Pat Quinn who was Lt. Gov under Blagojevich fighting for his life against longtime comptroller Dan Hynes, why Lisa Madigan stayed out of this race i'll never know.

on the evil side we have Mark Kirk, who if nominated would be running on the most liberal republican record. he is to the left of Scot Brown. this sits well with GOP hungry for a win, however, the southern part of the state is re pleat with TEAbaggers and Fundies who will flip a shit if he wins the party nod let alone the general.

the gop gov race is probably going to be former state GOP chair Andy Mckinna another moderate.

The trick to winning in Illinois is suppressing the vote in the south and ginning it up in Metro East, and Chicagoland, with an assist from Champaign, Sagamon, and Tazwell Counties.

[liberalpragmatist]

1. I think IL Dems should go with Hoffman

Giannoulias does seem a little bit more progressive and he's more polished and charismatic. But he also is closely tied with the IL Democratic Party and with his background as a banker for a family-owned bank that made lots of dubious loans, I could easily see him losing.

Hoffman isn't as charismatic, but also appears to be squeaky-clean. I think he'd be stronger in November against Kirk (who the teabaggers are NOT excited about).

Of course, I'm not from Illinois, so it's not up to me, but I really worry that Giannoulias will lose to Kirk in November. And our Senate odds keep going down: first, the CW was +1 or +2 Dem gain, then -2 to -3. Now it's -5 to -7 and it's not impossible we could lose, esp. considering Robert Byrd's health and the possibility of Lieberman flipping if it's 50-50.

So we really need to hold our ground where we can. Delaware is at least lean Republican, Pennsylvania isn't looking good, Boxer may have the fight of her life against Tom Campbell in California - we really need to make sure we nominate the strongest possible candidate in Illinois.

[frazzled]

3. I'm taking a chance on him Tuesday

Actually, I've studied their issues pages, and Hoffman is actually, at least on paper, a strong progressive choice.

I like him on his own credentials and merits, and I agree that, barring some sex scandal in his closet, he is really the squeaky-clean choice come November. He's an attractive guy, with a gorgeous wife (from downstate) and adorable kid. He just needs to polish the campaign style. He's got nine months to do that.

[ruggerson]

2. Cheryle Jackson is a foe of marriage equality

completely unacceptable.

[Ildem09]

4. indeed

i'm torn I volunteered for Alexi's campaign for state treasurer in 06'. however he is really tied to banking which is anathema this year. Hoffman is a real alternative who supports my right to marry. It all depends on Who Madigan gets the vote out for and if the Machine is interested in the race. and how the downstaters vote for. Democrats south of I-80 are an unpredictable lot

[saged52]

5. going to vote tomorrow morning -

husband & I are split on gov. vote, I have had 3 calls from Alexi - none from Hoffman - (and one call from some fella who said we need more conservative Dems???) - however; I am excited because our State Senate - 51st District - may finally go Democratic!! Tim Dudley is running for Frank Watson's seat (ex-minority leader) - and his chances are looking very good!

[WeDidIt]

6. I've got my pickes ready to go

Governor - Dan Hynes
Lieutenant Governor - Rickey Herndon
Attorney General - Lisa Madigan
Secretary of State - Jesse White
State Comptroller - Raja Krishnamoorthi
State Treasurer - Mark Doyle
U.S Senator - Alexi Giannoulias

[Ildem09]

7. Raja seems popular!

Hynes wants to get rid of the comptroller and LT Gov. but since I live in the Illinois equivalent of Siberia. i'm a bit out of the loop

[WeDidIt]

9. I'm just sour on Quinn

and would have voted for Hynes for the Senate in 2004, but then Barack Obama got into that race and my mind was made up as soon as I found that out.

[liberalpragmatist]

12. Ricky Hendon got into a fistfight with Barack Obama!

By all accounts, Hendon HATED Obama back in the State Senate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100803890_4.html

For Obama, only one road in Springfield remained blocked. Hendon and Trotter, two leaders in the black caucus, had both been in the state Senate for three years before Obama's arrival. They represented two of Chicago's destitute neighborhoods, and they repeatedly accused the newcomer of failing to understand the issues of the inner city. He cared more about his career than his constituents, they said. Hendon once told a newspaper that Obama was so ambitious he would like to run for "president of the world."

...

The tension between the two men peaked on June 11, 2002, after Hendon made an impassioned speech on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to preserve funding for a child welfare facility in his district. It was, Hendon remembers, "basically the most emotional speech of my life, and I was pulling out all the stops." Every Republican still voted against him. Every Democrat voted with him -- except Obama and three other members who made up a faction known in Springfield as "liberal row."

Incensed by those four votes, Hendon walked across the floor and confronted Obama, who explained by saying "something about fiscal responsibility," Hendon recalls. A few minutes later, after Hendon's proposal had lost, Obama stood up and asked to have his previous vote changed to a "Yes" for the record, saying he had misunderstood the legislation. His request was declined, and Hendon stood to criticize Obama for political maneuvering.

Infuriated that Hendon had embarrassed him publicly on the Senate floor, Obama walked over to his rival's seat, witnesses said.

"He leaned over, put his arm on my shoulder real nice and then threatened to kick my ass," Hendon said.

The two men walked out of the chamber into a back room and shoved each other a few times before colleagues broke them apart, Hendon and other witnesses said. Obama and Hendon never talked about the incident with each other again, but they reached an awkward understanding. Hendon stopped teasing Obama; Obama started voting with Hendon more regularly. Hendon now supports Obama for president.

Some of the legislators on the floor that day believed Obama had finally snapped after more than five years of tolerating Hendon's provocations. But Obama's allies, the poker buddies and other friends who knew him best, wondered if his actions resulted from a deeper calculation. Had he actually reacted, so uncharacteristically, out of pure emotion? Or was his scuffle with Hendon a final, brilliant tactic in coalition-building?

[KharmaTrain]

8. This DU'ers Going For Hoffman

Also with Pat Quinn...a longtime progressive. I am not sweet on either Ginnoulius or Hynes...both from clout-heavy families. But I'll probably be on the wrong side on both elections.

Another fun election in Chicago is for Cook County Board President where Toddler Stroger (more family connections) will get his ass handed to him...that's fine with me.

McKenna was an editor of the Tribune (also ran the cubbies)...two strikes in my book and Capt'n Kirk is trying to make nice to the teabaggers. The good thing about Kirk running is it opens up his House seat and could be a Democratic pick-up (hopefully not one of the few).

Yep, it's going to be an interesting election...and I'll be happy to see all the mudslinging commercials go away...

[Ildem09]

17. Oh come on Cubbies are better than the Suxs.

I can't help it they had McKenna run em.either way The Illinois Country Club Republicans won't sit well with the TEA partier in the fall. if our side is smart we will air ads showing how liberal Kirk and Mckenna are in the markets south of I-80 and east of I-264. the down staters wont vote for no soacilust!

[KharmaTrain]

18. Do The Cubbies Have One Of These?

I think not. :rofl:

And if you'll notice my avatar...we have the best fans. But it's ok...I've lived on the North all my life and get a chuckle with eubbie fans. As Jack Brickhouse once said..."any team can have a bad century"... :rofl:

As far as the general...I think the teabaggers are a bunch of hypocrites who will vote for the rushbpublican just out of their hatred for Democrats. The real battlefield is suburban Cook County...keep the GOOPers down out here and a Democrat should win.

[unkachuck]

10. come all without....

....come all within....you'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn....

....how's it looking for the old Mighty Quinn?....and who owns Hynes, by the way?....is he a Chicago boy?

....it just ain't the same without Blago and his 'do'....

[SemiCharmedQuark]

11. I'm split between Quinn and Hynes. I'm leaning towards Alexi Giannoulias

for Senate slightly.

[liberalpragmatist]

13. Please consider Hoffman

Giannoulias seems like a decent guy, but his family background as a banker (from a troubled bank that made dodgy loans) could be VERY damaging in November. Remember it may well be a Republican year, and we don't need the Republicans to pick up that Senate seat.

Hoffman seems squeaky-clean. He seems to be more in the vein of the pointy-headed academic, good government reformer-type - Paul Douglas, Paul Simon, Barack Obama. He seems less polished and less charismatic than Giannoulias, but he also seems squeaky-clean. And for that reason, I suspect he'd be much harder for Mark Kirk to beat.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

14. I'll take another look.

On Edit: What do you think about Hynes and Quinn? My mom, grandma and cousin usually vote the way I do because I'm supposed to know what's going on. But this year I'm stumped.

[madrchsod]

15. dems out here in ronny town are behind hoffman...

[depakid]

16. Sirota's analysis of the race portends like disaster if it's Giannoulias

Holding a slight lead in the polls against other Democratic challengers, he has become a poster child for everything that is wrong with the American economy – everything that the Republican Party’s right-wing populism desperately needs to find traction. Here’s what I mean:

Broadway Bank, the troubled Chicago lender owned by the family of Illinois Treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, has entered into a consent order with banking regulators requiring it to raise tens of millions in capital, stop paying dividends to the family without regulatory approval, and hire an outside party to evaluate the bank’s senior management.

The Jan. 26 consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Illinois Division of Banking comes less than a week before Mr. Giannoulias — Broadway’s chief lender and then vice-president from 2002 to 2006 — must face voters in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.

He’s faced criticism, principally from former city Inspector General David Hoffman, who’s running against him, for his past role at the bank and the $70 million in dividends the family took out of the bank in 2007 and 2008 as the real estate crisis was becoming apparent.

Bloomberg News shows just how mortally dangerous to the Democratic Party Giannoulias would be if he wins the nomination:

Banking Past Haunts Obama Friend Who Wants His Old Senate Seat

“Bankers don’t need another vote in the United States Senate — they’ve got plenty,” Obama said Jan. 17 in Boston, signaling a broader strategy to tie Republicans to Wall Street greed.

In the (Illinois) race to fill Obama’s old Senate seat, the banker in question is a Democrat, Alexi Giannoulias, a presidential friend whose family’s bank once held deposits for an Obama campaign committee…

Giannoulias, 33, a former senior loan officer and bank vice president, now serves as treasurer of Illinois…Giannoulias said he now owns 3.6 percent of the bank…

The $1.2 billion community bank, founded in 1979, has been part of Giannoulias’s public profile since he won election in 2006 because it made loans to a bookmaker as well as convicted Illinois influence peddler Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

According to the latest poll by Public Policy Polling, 32 percent of likely Democratic primary voters say they will support Giannoulias as compared with 20 percent who say they plan to support former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman and 18 percent who say they plan to support former Chicago Urban League president Cheryle Jackson. So it’s still a very close and fluid race, with many undecideds.

As these stories make clear, if Giannoulias is the winner, we can expect to hear for the next year about how the Democratic Party is so corrupt it is now promoting a scandal-plagued banker to fill Obama’s old Senate seat. While Giannoulias leads likely Republican nominee Mark Kirk in one early poll, you better believe those polls will change in a general-election battle that focuses in on this banking theme.

Thus, if Giannoulias, it would be a clear disaster. He is literally the walking personification of all that the public clearly despises right now – an Establishment politician closely connected to the industry that has destroyed the economy.

With him as the nominee, Democrats could lose yet another senate seat, and more broadly, they could lose any national high ground they need to reclaim. At a time when the Democratic Party desperately needs to reclaim the populist economic mantle and prevent Republicans from being able to mount their own right-wing populist campaign, Giannoulias would become the face of a Democratic Party that has already become increasingly synonymous in voters minds with the most hated aspects of the financial industry.

More: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/01/30/il-sen-if-this-becomes-the-face-of-the-democratic-party-say-goodbye-to-the-democratic-party/