The Merry-Go-Round Continues: Who Replaces Quigley on the Cook County Board

I’m just back from the celebration at the Red Ivy, where Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley claimed the Democratic nomination, and in effect won election, to replace Rahm Emanuel in Congress. As this race fades, Chicago political junkies shudder at the prospect of no elections for 11 months,; to bide the time, we turn to the question of who will replace Commissioner Quigley on the County Board. Quigley’s 10th District runs from Pratt to North, from the Lake to about 2 miles west, with a long stretch in West Rogers Park. A quick glance at the elected officials who could be candidates include State Rep. Harry Osterman, Aldermen Manny Flores and Tom Tunney, and Quigley’s vanquished foe, State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz. Cook County Clerk David Orr and Commisoner Board of Review (I don’t know what that does) Joseph Berrios, both of whom seem to have good gigs, also seem to  reside in the district. A wildcard could be Naisy Dolar, who came close to knocking off 50th ward Ald. Bernie Stone last year.

The Race to Replace Rahm’s Final Lap

A consequence of the most interesting election cycle of my lifetime, the build-up for Tuesday’s vote in Illinois’ Fifth District has been a disappointment. As I’ve lamented previously, this rare occurrence of an open election with several appealing candidates, at a time of crisis, has been largely devoid of substantive debate.  In part, this reflects the snappiness of the election and the fact that the major candidates are largely in accordance on major issues like the stimulus, immigration and gay marriage. However, much digital ink has been spilt, by blogs, twitterers, and journalists, on issues such as who’s better buddies with Todd Stroger and Rod Blagojevich, who holds the biggest checkbook, who’s made the best use of Twitter and Facebook. (As smart outsiders, Tom Geoghegan and Charlie Wheelan have avoided this minutae in favor of issues. Progress Illinois has a thorough review of the policy positions of the five candidates who’ve raised the most money.)

Some thoughts as the election enters the final 48 hours:

• This email from Ald. Patrick J. O’Connor’s campaign is worth a chuckle if you know much about the powerful alderman.  “Pat has been an advocate for change in Chicago for 25 years. He understands what it takes to create REAL results with integrity.”
• On Twitter, I received my first direct message vote solicitation, from the @QuigleyCampaign. (I don’t live in the 5th, if I did, I’d be happy to vote for Quigley– as I would be for a few of the other candidates.
• A friend just mentioned that, in addition to the Tribune and Sun-Times editorial boards, Quigley has the support of long-time reformer and Depaul professor Dick Simpson.)
• I haven’t watched TV once this past week without encountering one of the ads the SEIU bought for Sara Feigenholtz.
• The forecast for Election Day: seasonably chilly, but no rain or snow.
• Predictions: Russ Stewart is guessing that Fritchey wins with 29%, followed by Feigenholtz with 26%, Quigley and O’Connor, with a turnout of 35,000.

Is no one writing about issues in the Race to Replace Rahm?

If you only read the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times’ coverage of the race to elect a new Congressman in Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District, you’d know a lot about campaign tactics, but little about where the candidates stand. The Tribune editorial board met with the highest profile candidates, and what is the result? An evaluation of their stances on the stimulus bill, a discussion of their different approaches towards gay marriage, peace in the Middle East, or immigration reform? Dan Mihalopoulos  and John McCormick’s summary of the meeting, Feigenholtz, Running as Reformer, Won’t Say Whether Campaign Pushed Negative Poll, manages to avoid discussion of a single substantive issue in favor of standard horeserace coverage. “The most heated discussion Thursday centered on whether some of the candidates had betrayed their reform promises by slinging mud at one another.” We’re also told that Mayor Daley and Emanuel have not endorsed anyone in the race, but told us nothing about the slew of endorsements that have come down in recent days. Likewise, we learn almost nothing substantive about cadidate John Fritchey in Abdon Paallasch’s profile of the state representative. (We did learn that “Fritchey pushed through ethics bills that angered the Dem regulars and put him on the side of then-State Sen. Barack Obama.”)

Tomorrow, I’ll look at how bloggers have been covering the race. My hunch is that they (we?) are not much more interested in delving into issues than are the paid writers.

Will the Candidates in the Race to Replace Rahm Take the Pledge?

Last week, Larry Lessig and Change Congress called for a Donor Strike: “We pledge NOT to give to any candidate who doesn’t support Citizens’ Funded Elections.” How about it, Sara Feigenholtz, Mike Quigley, John Fritchey, Tom Geoghegan and the rest: do you pledge to support the Fair Elections Now Act? And for the rest of us, will you join the Donor Strike if they don’t?