I know we're all distracted right now by the prospect of Senator Mark Kirk in 2009. But, until a decision about a possible special election is made, Mark still has a congressional battle to fight, and life otherwise goes on in the 10th District.
Footlik Follies: The last congressional election just got finished and Mark Kirk has not even been re-sworn in for his 5th term, but since congressmen have to run every two years, there's never much down time between elections, even under normal circumstances. So, right on cue, guess whose name has started cropping up in the news, lately? That's right, former candidate Jay Footlik, who got smeared by Dan Seals in the February 2007 Dem primary battle.
Footlik showed up on my Google Alerts just this morning for a talk he will give at Temple Jeremiah in Northfield this Sunday, entitled "The 2008 Elections: Were They Good for the Jews?" After Footlik got clobbered by Seals, I lost track of him, so I'm not sure if he ever moved into the 10th District for good. Last I think I heard, he had rented a house in Arlington Heights or something, so I'm not sure if he ever actually purchased anything.
Will Footlik run again? Who knows, but if he does, his recent job history as a foreign lobbyist is going to be a problem for him, as commenters have pointed out here before. Just the other day, I saw a blog post critical of Footlik for lobbying for the government of Turkey, to the tune of $25,000 per month, in part to oppose the adoption of Armenian genocide legislation. I don't want to get in the middle of that issue here, but you can bet that whatever Footlik seems to have been up to for the past year, folks here in the 10th District may not like it.
Terry Link Petition Scandal Update: I was a bit surprised to see that one of the two men accused of perjury and forgery for submitting alleged fraudulent nomination petitions for State Senator Terry Link has been found unfit for trial. Jerry Knight, who has been known to call in to WKRS and speak with host Libby Collins about his involvement with Link, was found to need treatment before he could stand trial, which treatment he is currently receiving in Minnesota. It appears that the case against the other defendant, Kenneth Davison, will proceed.
Speaking of Link, can you believe Link's milquetoast response to the utter outrageousness of the Blagojevich arrest? He's "disappointed" because, darn it, it's a "shame." Well, well. Hope the voters of the 30th Senate District find themselves 'disappointed' enough with Link next time around to boot him (if he's still on the scene). Meanwhile, Link continues to push his pet project for a Waukegan casino for all he's worth. Besides Link and the mayor of Waukegan, does anyone else really want this project?
OTHER STUFF: I'm sure the Blago scandal will continue to unfold, and have a toxic effect on many democrats statewide, especially if "Senate Candidate #5" is the subject of a serious bribery investigation. We all thought Blago would go down eventually, but the sheer craziness of the senate seat scandal, coupled with the national profile of the issue due to the fact it was Obama's seat, gives this story a much greater importance than it otherwise could have had. It made the front page of the Wall Street Journal, for cat's sake, plus enjoying wall-to-wall coverage on many manjor news outlets.
Look for 2010 to be a much better year for the Illinois GOP than we otherwise might have thought, if only they can stop stabbing each other in the back long enough to take advantage of this moment in history.
I promised myself I'd let the Kirk senate thing go for now, but what if he did win a special election? Would the GOP have any hope of holding on to the 10th District? If it does get redistricted out in 2012, would it would be worth gearing up for a huge fight? Who could carry the banner for the GOP? I'm already starting to hear some names being floated. How about Keith Gray, who ran against Terry Link?
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It appears that the Dems are scared of Kirk's candidacy and are prepared to get Quinn in position asap to appoint their pick. Anybody else feel this is a chicken shit move?
Heard on WLS news this AM that Quinn will pick the new Senator because he doesn't want to wait for a special election. No surprise 7:47
Hey Guys, it's not so clear cut. Read today's Trib and get all the details of what's involved in the process of an Impeachment that might lead to a Quinn Governorship and his right to appoint the next Senator. At the end of the day I think the decision belongs to all of us who call Illinois our home. All of us have a stake in who represents us in the Senate. Let's see that our State party musters up the intergrity to stand up and be counted on behalf of all of us who want our voices heard in this process.
Any taint of corruption on Quinn?
Mr. Quinn accepted $4,168 from a group called "Friends of Blagojevich" on 11/6/06. http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?d=3706192
He also has accepted $5,250 from SIEU and another $3,500 from SIEU Local 73.
The same Pat Quinn "reformer" who blindly supported Governor Dead Meat through his 2006 reelection?
The same Pat Quinn "reformer" who turned a blind eye to all the corruption so that he could get himself reelected Lt. Governor in 2006?
Is THAT who you all are talking about right now?
The Democrats have boxed themselves in. It's either a special election or public anger that one man picks the next U.S. Senator and not the public.
Louis G. Atsaves
Once again, Lou, you have stated this case correctly. Unless and until a special election is held so that we all have a say in who represents us in the US Senate, this is more of the same old, same old. Now, Lou, how do we get this accomplished in a State controlled by questionable ethical folks? We can't solve something with nothing. We know that. Although it's costly to have this special election, we're talking about integrity and the future and it seems that it's not about a price tag. Our collective voices must be heard right now.
1. I have a lot of trouble seeing the Dems let Mark take this senate seat. It would severely cut down Obama, and they just spent $ 750 million to get their capital.
2. Jay is finished. You think an Illinois Democrat with a LOBBYING background is going to have a prayer with BLAGO in the papers-that trial is going to go on for AWHILE?
3. I want to vomit this notion that this is a democrat area. It's not, we just don't have any county chairmen or congressmen that have the stomach or vision for serious policymaking and grassroots leadership. Lauren Beth Gash is a thug, but at least the Democrats support their people-Tim shouldn't be left on the frontlines alone because Mark wants to build schools in the FATA area of Pakistan.
4. Mark does not have reformist credentials. He sits in congress today because Hastert's go to guy-John McGovern, ran a kickass campaign in 2000. Hastert is a thug and ran Peter Fitzgerald out of town, and I couldn't be happier to know he's out of public service. He's george ryan without the cuffs and it sickens me what he did to peter fitzgerald.
Fan of King Louis Astaves the Ellen Slayer (FOKLAES)
FOKLAES,
While I may agree with you on many of your points, please keep in mind the following:
1. If Kirk is serious about the US Senate bid, his current campaign team will be replaced with a more effective team incorporating more than just crackberry's - a serious retail campaign will be launched.
2. McGovern aside, Kirk was never intrenched with Springfield/Hastert politics - he is clean. Check with the pastors in Waukegan and North Chicago - he never even tried to compete with the financial incentives Dems provided to get out the vote.
(Noone likes to report on these issues - the money Dems allegedly contributed is significant!- $40,000 in 2000 for a fact - after that it just continued to spiral upward)
3. No other Republican Congressman is better suited than Kirk to run for this open seat - again, I stress his good government principles. as well as doing what is right for the district as opposed to what is right for himself - unusual in today's political climate to say the least.
Kirk is a hard worker with a commitment to improving the quality of life for folks in his district. Like him or not - he's honest, hard-working, intelligent, dedicated to the people, and honorable. Ask yourself if you know a Democrat that is HONEST, HARD-WORKING, DEDICATED TO US AND HONORABLE. Terry Link - hardly - Kathy Ryg - no - Karen May - no - Susan Garrett - no, but she'll tell you she is - Micheal Bond - certainly NOT.
there you have it - Mark Kirk for US Senate
The Constitution and the notion of separation of powers is clear, impeachment is a political question, not a judicial question. Shameful how the Madigan family is willing to entangle the Supreme Count in this mess for their own political gain. The Supreme Count is probably the only institution left that has the faith of the people of Illinois (the Supreme Court would be very wise reject Ms. Madigan's shameful plea, lest is be drawn in and tainted by this disgusting mess--what a dangerous and unthinkable precedent it would be set to permit the Court the power to accept or reject elected officials for political reasons)
Mr Madigan has it in his power to take the appropriate course and commence impeachment proceedings (i.e. a political question). But to hook up his daughter (i.e put self interest before the people and institutions of Illinois) he stalls. It is telling of mindset of the the present leaders of the Illinois Democratic Party when the Madigans are willing to desecrate the Constitution and the Supreme Court for their own personal gains.
One wonders how long the people of Illinois will put up with such "public" servants. Maybe not long, and that is why the democrats are so willing to trample what is left of the public's faith in Illinois politics.
Just to clear the air before 2010, since it's clear that the 10th Dems will attempt to find a real Democrat with real experience (i.e. Jay Footlik). Jay has a full time house in Buffalo Grove, he lives about 3 blocks from me. From what I last heard, he is commuting between there and DC and working as a political consultant on Middle Eastern affairs. In terms of foreign policy experience, there are a slim few who have more then he does.
In regards to Quinn, my guess is that he will consult with the Madigans and prominent IL Dems before appointing a Democrat to that seat. Since J.J. Jr is implicated in the Blago scandal, his chances are gone. My guess is that it will be Danny Davis, who is connected all across the state and has sufficient experience as a Congressmen. However, a name still on the table is Alexei Giannoulias, who has had aspirations of something beyond his current office for a while.
Until Next Time,
A Concerned Colonial
CC- don't let me dispell your fantasy, but Jay Footlik's foreign policy experience, such as it was, was useful only in comparison to Dan Seals, who had very little experience of any type. But head-to-head against Kirk, Footlik's FP experience simply can't compare. Maybe when Kirk gets back from duty in the Middle East this week I'll ask him to give Jay a call and give him some pointers.
Kirk will never win the GOP primary because he's pro-choice.
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