Call It A Comeback
Jack! is officially getting out of the race according to the Leader. Open thread for a pool when he’ll try and run again.
Update: What?
UPDATE 2: It’s now clear that Jack! didn’t send in the papers. I have nothing concrete, but something smells.
The event has been planned previously to the Senate speculation and had nothing to do with Ditka originally. Ditka will appear and Tom Cross will throw his support behind him, but this does not mean Ditka is necessarily in the race, though obviously it means he is seriously considering it.
UPDATE: Here’s the info from Draft Ditka
HOT: Ditka Confirmed to Attend HRO Event
DraftDitka.com is proud to announce that Coach Mike Ditka is set to appear at the House Republican Organization Fundraiser at Navy Pier.
Press Event/Media Availability is set for 6:30 P.M.
House GOP Leader Tom Cross, HRO Chairman Skip Saviano and Deputy House Leader Brent Hassert are set to endorse a Ditka Candidacy.
In other Senate News—Barack Obama will be the Keynote Speaker at the Democratic National Convention!
From the campaign:
Obama to Speak Tuesday Evening, July 27
Washington, DC- The Kerry-Edwards campaign announced today that Barack Obama, Illinois state senator and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, will deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, July 27.
?Barack is an optimistic voice for America and a leader who knows that together we can build an America that is stronger at home and respected in the world,? said Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry. ?He understands the importance of building an economy that lifts up families and expands opportunity, and I?m honored that he has accepted the invitation to deliver the keynote address.?
?I am honored and humbled to deliver the keynote address at this year?s Democratic National Convention and look forward to sharing with America the hopes and dreams of so many people throughout Illinois that I have met during this campaign,? said Obama. ?America is excited about the new direction our country can take under the leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards, and I am ready to work with them to make it happen.?
Obama will talk about his hope for America and the new direction for this country the Kerry-Edwards ticket offers. He will speak to the need for a stronger America that puts jobs, families and communities first. He will also highlight the importance of Americans dedicating their lives to serving their community and their country.
?Barack Obama is an accomplished public servant and a leader in the Democratic Party,? said Alice Huffman, DNCC Chairwoman. ?He is addressing the most diverse convention in Democratic party history. The breadth and diversity of the delegates to this year?s national convention demonstrates the broad appeal of the Kerry-Edwards ticket.?
Like John Kerry, Barack Obama has spent a lifetime fighting for working families. As a civil rights attorney, community organizer, and leader in the Illinois State Senate he has served America as an innovative leader, bringing new solutions, shared values and an optimistic vision. Obama was the driving force behind a state Earned Income Tax Credit, which has provided over $100 million in tax cuts to working families, reformed welfare, extend health coverage to uninsured children and families, and brought down the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.
According to statistics compiled by the Democratic National Committee, 39.1 percent of the 4,341 delegates to this month?s Convention in Boston are minorities. More African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native-Americans, and Hispanics will attend the Convention than ever before.
I remember when it was just the Armchair Analyst. But Congrats on a great site!
Seems intriguing. Allen Hug and Dan Proft (of Illinois Leader infamy) were involved in setting up the ‘meeting’ at Ditka’s. Guess who was going to be there?
Jack!
Guess who wasn’t told about the whole deal. Ditka and his wife. But the press was and probably Drudge.
I’ll leave you to your own conclusions about what the motivation was.
UPDATE: and now the Leader is down from Drudge links. Clever marketing Mr. Proft.
Perhaps not a noteworthy bit, but there was no scheduled conference to announce his candidacy. The Leader is closer to the truth with the a scheduled meeting/conference call this morning. Word is that will still occur.
Cross will be having an event at Navy Pier early this evening at 6:30. The event has been planned for a while, but he will announce his support for a Ditka candidacy there. If there is any movement today expect it to be there, though Ditka may just show up without an announcement (notice this is the same story I’ve been telling for a couple days?)
And I have no idea if the guy is running. I think Mike Ditka might be the only guy with an idea of that.
CLARIFICATION: The meeting was a conference call just to be clear.
Generally a State Rep getting a whole Trib Editorial would be good, but sometimes getting your name in the press is bad.
What Franks did apparently is legal, even under tough new ethics rules that went into law last year. But there’s no escaping that he used his influence as a state lawmaker to lobby on behalf of a legal client, and that’s unethical.
Franks says all this attention he’s getting is just “political payback by our governor because … I’ve been a vocal critic of his.”
Earth to Jack Franks: Illinois is trying to recover from the broadest corruption scandal in the state’s history. The state passed an ethics law last year that was supposed to remind lawmakers that their priority is supposed to be the people’s business, not wielding their influence to line their wallets. His party, the Democrats, won back the governor’s office for the first time in a quarter century because their candidate, Blagojevich, promised the end of business as usual.
The Health Facilities Planning Board has a long history of being a lucrative playground for politically connected consultants. Franks’ activities might never have been noticed. But the Health Facilities Planning Board has come under federal scrutiny for allegations of influence peddling in a case that’s unrelated to Mercy Health Care Systems. The health board is likely to get a lot of scrutiny in the coming months.
This is how things work in Illinois politics. This is how things have always worked in Illinois politics. Just business as usual.
Payback by the Guv? Errr…the Guv is in trouble on this one too.
I have 11 public pronouncements and perhaps some more behind the scenes out of 19.
Fornek from the Sun-Times reports that Allen flew out to talk to him.
—Hospital board scandal could reel in State House Dem
—State Rep. Jack Franks (R-Woodstock) may have confused his role as a state lawmaker with his role as an attorney for clients seeking permission to build a hospital in a neighboring legislative district. Franks was first elected in 1998.
Small problem. Franks is the Dem. You guys might leave the story to the Join Cross guys. They even have me angry at Franks.
I can say that at this point, this is the greatest amount of uncertainty in one of these since I started them over a year ago.
1. Ditka. He has the Central Committee votes, but is he really crazy enough to do this? I’m betting no.
2. Jack! If not Ditka, then who?
3. Oberweis. I mean, who the hell else is left? And he can do some self-funding. Probably the top goal of the NRSC right now. If Ditka says no, I can’t imagine the Central Committee doing much besides washing their hands of the whole damn thing and going home. In perhaps a note on how frighteningly low the ICFST has gone, he’s making noises about needing guarantees of money. Oberweis is making demands?!
4. Dr. Andrea Grubb Barthwell. Just a few days ago, she was ahead of Ditka. If it falls down this low, you might as well role the dice and shoot for the historic showdown between two African-Americans.
5. Corrinne Wood. Did she even apply? Does anyone know the whole list?
6. Borling. Hell, why not.
7. Wright. Will he insist on money?
8. Norm!
9. Kathuria. Resume being torn apart by Ty Fahner.
10. And it may be reached sooner than this–the abyss. The deep abyss.
ArchPundit