1 year out and we have our first cattle call…a couple days late. Might as well start off with that expectation. I’ll move them to Tuesdays from now on out.
1) LaHood. I know. I know. The right hates him. But does the right hate him or a particular bunch of kooks on the right hate him? The guy is pro-life, anti gay rights and generally an aw shucks kind of guy. He certainly annoyed those who were bitter partisans of Peter Fitzgerald, but last I checked Fitz is in Virginia. And LaHood’s guy is Party Chair. LaHood is going to have to be the good soldier for a while, but he has access to money, the basic ideological drift of the IL GOP without being too strident, and he’s a natural counter to the Governor.
2) Topinka. I’m hearing the blowing of stacks from many a social conservatives with these first two, but let’s look at the polling data……. She’s in a better spot than many believe. She has rabid haters, but also a moderate wing of the party that likes her and in a multi-candidate field can probably do well enough to be in serious contention or the nomation. Beyond that she has name recognition that is generally positive, the press generally is sympathetic to her, access to money, and lots of chits to call in for over the years.
3) Rauschenberger. Only two things keep him from being at the top. 1) Alan Keyes 2) Ala—naw, he still hasn’t proven he can raise enough cash. Smart, and a natural antidote to the Governor and one of the best versed State Lege Members on the budget he may be a bit too wonky to pull this off. He strengthened his social conservative credentials (considered weak because he opposes school vouchers categorically) by his support of Keyes, but well, we know how that turned out. Keep the beard this time. I have him pencilled in as the State Treasurer candidate.
4) Jim Oberweis. UBERWEIS JOKES ARE BACK!
I could stay up here all day shooting Hoosiers and there’d still be more coming across the borders. Jim has a shot in a divided primary and, I thank the Illinois GOP for that. It’s not Alan Keyes, but it’s pretty good. BTW, I need a copy of the copter commercial if anyone has one out there.
And remember, no one met my challenge of recording a parody of the song Edelweis with Uberweis. You too can be enshrined as someone having entirely too much time on your hands, but damn funny.
5) Bob Schillerstrom. I don’t think he’s gonna run. Who wouldn’t look at this cast and run away fast?
6) Joe (Concealed-Position) Birkett, the sourpuss’ sourpuss. I know I’m not a Republican, but how is an ethically challenged DuPage County Prosecutor an appealling candidate? To boot his personality is one of complete bitterness.
7) Patrick O’Malley. Okay, so he’s the sourpuss’ sourpuss’ sourpuss. On top of it the True Believer (TM) Brigade thinks he can walk on water. He’s also one of the single most unlikeable politicians in recent Illinois history. His brutal attacks on Jim Ryan will be remembered and payed back by the establishment. Given he will be running against a range of people presumably ahead of him, he’ll have a hard time trying to run solely as an outsider.
8) Bill Brady Huh? I don’t get it. Why bother in this race? He doesn’t have a statewide fundraising system. He isn’t the guy who goes out and works the grass roots at the level necessary to pull this kind of upset.
9) Dan Rutherford—only this low because I don’t think he’s crazy enough to enter this race. Look for him to target Treasurer perhaps creating an interesting race if Rauschenberger goes to that spot as well. He wants SoS, taking on Jesse as an incumbent is a fool’s errand.
10) Shimkus–he’s not going this cycle. He’ll sit out this one, keep his pledge to not run in 2006 and take on Durbin in 2008.
11) Gidwitz. Are you kidding me?
The Great White Consultant Gravy Train has been spotted and is being pursued.
For those unfamiliar with the Cattle Calls, they are entirely my biased opinions and for fun and discussion–so discuss.
I work for Joe Birkett and certainly think it’s fair game for you to say you don’t like his demeanor. And his politics. But “ethically challenged?” I’m sure you are basing your information on smear ads run by his opponent in the AG’s race. The problem with this state is that those candidates who are willing to dig deeper into the sleazy money pit of insider politics are able to portray their opponents in an unfair light. Our last two governors are proof of that. Joe Birkett’s personal story is as compelling as any in Illinois politics. I suggest you take the time to read it, absorb the fact that he was one of 10 children raised in near poverty on the west side of Chicago because of the death of his father. He was the captain of his grade school, high school and college football teams and a Golden Gloves boxing champion. He worked his way through law school and has become one of the most respected county prosecutors in the country. Nobody handed Joe Birkett a thing in his life and he certainly hasn’t achieved what he has by virtue of being “ethically challenged.” Financially challenged, yes. And you may not believe this, but he’s quite funny.
What, no Kathuria?
“Most respected county prosecutors in the country”? By whom? The execute-’em-all-and-let-God-sort-’em-out society? I have two words for you on that count, Dan: Rolando Cruz.
And nice try with the “up from the peepul by his own bootstraps” schtick, but I have to think his childhood is less relevant to his chances in the governor’s race than his colossal multiple screw-ups of the Nicarico case. Birkett is an electoral disaster waiting to happen. No chance he’ll win the nomination, and even less of a one that he’d beat Blagorgeous in the general.
Dan, the DuPage prosecutors and cops were peddling the story Rolando Cruz was involved with killing the Nicarico girl long after it was clear this wasn’t true. I personally witnessed this in a criminal justice class. A fellow student guy who had friends in the police departments who was parroting the claim Cruz was involved in the killing after this version had been thoroughly debunked.
Is this ethical? If you don’t mind smearing Cruz, how do you feel about the DuPage law & order cast lying to Nicarico’s parents?
Has Birkett ever expressed remorse for the behavior of the DuPage law enforcement (cops + prosecutors) community?
Or is Terry Schaivo’s “life” more important than Rolando Cruz’s?
I’m not interested in retrying the Cruz case here, but a couple of points.
1) About 95 percent or more of what anyone reads about that case comes from harsh critics. You are not getting a balanced view.
2) The Nicarico parents are very smart people and they make up their own mind on things.
3) All 7 of the lawmen in the Cruz case were acquitted, several on directed verdicts. I personally talked to a couple of jurors and they said the case wasn’t even close. If you want to be fair, you ought to refer to these men as “wrongfully indicted,” just as people refer to Cruz as wrongfully convicted. An awful lot of words have been said about these men and when those harsh judgments went to court, where evidence is more important than rhetoric, many of the criticisms were shown to be hollow. One of those men is suing a major newspaper for libel in a case that is getting little or no press coverage.
4) The civil case Cruz and company brought was settled for nuisance value, a couple of million dollars. I believe the Ford Heights Four case was settled for $30 million or $40 million. I bring this up because this is a true test in the marketplace of the value of the argument that Cruz was horribly wronged. The marketplace said it didn’t have nearly the value some people said it did.
That said, it certainly is a case that can be debated.
But keep in mind, even the harshest Cruz critics acknowledge Joe Birkett had virtually no role in the case.
I know both Jim Ryan and Joe Birkett and I would never have gone to work for either if I believed they were unethical.
The contrition coming out of the DuPage States Attorney’s office is telling.
Dan, what facts would be included in a “balanced view” of the prosecution of Rolando Cruz for the murder of the Nicarico girl?
Forget Birkett. He’s still $700K in debt from his last race, and he only raised a lot of money in that race because special interests wanted to stop Lisa Madigan (rightly in my view).
As for LaHood, he may have “access to money”, but he’s never chosen to use it. His fundraising is anemic historically.
Oberweis is a serious candidate only because he keeps wasting his money by running and running and running and has name i.d., but it’s shallow.
In a crowded field, Topinka looks hard to beat if she can put together any decent funds.
Curry, find something else to do.
I think #3 of my post above is compelling evidence that Rolando Cruz and his attorneys could not prove in court that he was dramatically wronged. That’s where the rubber meets the road, not in newspaper columns. As for contrition, you are asking Joe Birkett, who was barely involved in the case, to apologize for lawmen who were conclusively acquitted? Why aren’t you asking the DuPage 7 prosecutor to apologize? He brought an action against men that, in three of the cases, was thrown out by the judge before a defense even was launched. These were men who served the public honorably for years, without tarnish. Yet you are indignantly calling for an apology on behalf of an admitted gang member, burglar and perjurer. Seems a little out of balance to me.
Dan, I’ll engage you a bit more later, but to everyone else, Dan’s been polite and I appreciate his comments I don’t mind you engaging him, but let’s not make it personal.
on a lighter note…
O’Malley/Syverson ’06!
Creepiest. Ticket. Ever.
Dan, on the ethically challenged, he is running as an ethical guy, but took money from lawyers he faced in DuPage. It’s legal, but how is that any different from the Governor taking money from contractors?
All of it is legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s a high ethical standard. If I hit Blagorgeous over it, Birkett is getting it too. I think further, the loan from a judge was a very bad move, though whether it was poor ethics is a reasonable issue given the judge wasn’t seeing criminal trials.
On the Cruz case, one can point towards Cruz not being a great guy otherwise, but he didn’t do it. We punish people for what they do–and for his DUI Cruz deserved punishment. There is a critical difference between the Cruz and the 7 LEOs. The LEOs were never wrongfully imprisoned–only charged and tried. When we as a society convict someone an apology is due. As a guy who had control over the office and the case for a period (admittedly, not a significant period in development of the case), it’s the right thing to do.
I think Jim Ryan learned from that though I think he and Devine have more to learn in general on such cases. I don’t think Birkett has shown he has learned and that troubles me. He certainly hasn’t shown any public lessons learned from a very sad case.
===And you may not believe this, but he’s quite funny.
Well then he needs to show it. Take it as constructive criticism that his personality on TV is often akin to that of Pat O’Malleys and few think that’s a good thing. He wouldn’t be the first pol to have a great sense of humor and not show it well to the masses–Bob Dole, by most accounts, was and is one of the most warm and funny human beings in person, but was incredibly sour in public appearances.
But chime in when you think I’m being unfair. I appreciate the feedback and it acts as a good check when I’m feeling especially sarcastic 😉
Birkett is not operating a pay-to-play scheme in DuPage County. If he was, he’d have a heck of a lot more money.
I appreciate the opportunity to comment, although for the record I don’t believe Birkett was SA or supervisor with direct control of the case at any time.
Will try to get him to smile more. Most prosecutors aren’t very good at it, though. If he had insider money, he could run millions of dollars in TV commercials showing him smiling and then the problem would be solved.
But that’s the problem, we have someone in office who’s masqurading as someone he’s not.
I guess this is an easy job for Dan Curry, since he made the same arguments on behalf of his former boss, Jim Ryan.
1. Ray LaHood- This guy is dead in the water since he endorsed George Ryan for re-election and shot down Peter Fitzgerald, Jack Ryan, and for some insane reason, Phil Crane. Yeah, he’s really gonna unite the masses.
2. Topinka- The whole social conservative thing is overblown. She had her office visited by the feds in 2003 and has some other issues to worry about. The numbers may look good now, but wait ’til the campaign starts.
3. Rauschenberger- He could really make this a run if his fundraising works out. As I hear it, he now has two fundraisers. This guy did wonders the last time with coming in third in the Senate primary when he had the budget of a state rep campaign. Don’t count this guy out.
4 Oberweis- What will he say this time around? Also plagued again by sub-par campaign staff. You’d think he’d learn after two losses, but maybe I can look forward to another three Oberweis Dairy stores within walking distance of my house in 2006.
5. Schillerstrom- Not running, has no base.
6. Joe Birkett- He should run for AG again. The only problem with his candidacy is he’s $650,000 IN THE WHOLE FROM THE LAST CAMPAIGN!
7. O’Malley- Even the TM’s don’t like him. Still hasn’t endorsed Jim Ryan for Governor. If Corinne could do it, he could. Shot himself in the foot with that one. Also has some skeletons out there.
8. Brady- He’d be good if he actually spent some time in Chicago.
9. Rutherford- Taking the path of least resistance. Hardest working guy in politics.
I guess this is an easy job for Dan Curry, since he made the same arguments on behalf of his former boss, Jim Ryan.
1. Ray LaHood- This guy is dead in the water since he endorsed George Ryan for re-election and shot down Peter Fitzgerald, Jack Ryan, and for some insane reason, Phil Crane. Yeah, he’s really gonna unite the masses.
2. Topinka- The whole social conservative thing is overblown. She had her office visited by the feds in 2003 and has some other issues to worry about. The numbers may look good now, but wait ’til the campaign starts.
3. Rauschenberger- He could really make this a run if his fundraising works out. As I hear it, he now has two fundraisers. This guy did wonders the last time with coming in third in the Senate primary when he had the budget of a state rep campaign. Don’t count this guy out.
4 Oberweis- What will he say this time around? Also plagued again by sub-par campaign staff. You’d think he’d learn after two losses, but maybe I can look forward to another three Oberweis Dairy stores within walking distance of my house in 2006.
5. Schillerstrom- Not running, has no base.
6. Joe Birkett- He should run for AG again. The only problem with his candidacy is he’s $650,000 IN THE WHOLE FROM THE LAST CAMPAIGN!
7. O’Malley- Even the TM’s don’t like him. Still hasn’t endorsed Jim Ryan for Governor. If Corinne could do it, he could. Shot himself in the foot with that one. Also has some skeletons out there.
8. Brady- He’d be good if he actually spent some time in Chicago.
9. Rutherford- Taking the path of least resistance. Hardest working guy in politics.
10. Shimkus- Would be the best candidate.
11. Gidwitz- Has cash, will travel.
I guess this is an easy job for Dan Curry, since he made the same arguments on behalf of his former boss, Jim Ryan.
1. Ray LaHood- This guy is dead in the water since he endorsed George Ryan for re-election and shot down Peter Fitzgerald, Jack Ryan, and for some insane reason, Phil Crane. Yeah, he’s really gonna unite the masses.
2. Topinka- The whole social conservative thing is overblown. She had her office visited by the feds in 2003 and has some other issues to worry about. The numbers may look good now, but wait ’til the campaign starts.
3. Rauschenberger- He could really make this a run if his fundraising works out. As I hear it, he now has two fundraisers. This guy did wonders the last time with coming in third in the Senate primary when he had the budget of a state rep campaign. Don’t count this guy out.
4 Oberweis- What will he say this time around? Also plagued again by sub-par campaign staff. You’d think he’d learn after two losses, but maybe I can look forward to another three Oberweis Dairy stores within walking distance of my house in 2006.
5. Schillerstrom- Not running, has no base.
6. Joe Birkett- He should run for AG again. The only problem with his candidacy is he’s $650,000 IN THE WHOLE FROM THE LAST CAMPAIGN!
7. O’Malley- Even the TM’s don’t like him. Still hasn’t endorsed Jim Ryan for Governor. If Corinne could do it, he could. Shot himself in the foot with that one. Also has some skeletons out there.
8. Brady- He’d be good if he actually spent some time in Chicago.
9. Rutherford- Taking the path of least resistance. Hardest working guy in politics.
10. Shimkus- Would be the best candidate.
11. Gidwitz- Has cash, will travel.