CHICAGO’S DAY FOR THE JACKIE ROBINSON WEST LITTLE LEAGUE: HAVE THE POLS ANY SHAME?

8/27/14

Today was a glorious day in Chicago, the day when my home town honored the U.S. Little League champion Jackie Robinson West kids with a parade and other festivities.  The parade kicked off at Jackie Robinson Park on 105^th and Morgan and proceeded north on Halsted Street, passed Comiskey Park (er, sorry, U.S. Cellular Field), turned east on 35^th to Indiana and eventually made its way over to Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park.   It was supposed to be a glorious day and, for the most part it has been, except…

At the kickoff of the parade, at 105^th and Morgan, an observer, casual or otherwise, could not be faulted for wondering who was being honored by the event.   The kids made a cameo appearance, as did their parents.  But who was there, front and center, seizing the limelight?    This is Chicago, Illinois, so you know the answer…the politicians.

There they were, a cast of blowhards that is drawn to such events like hungry dogs to prime steak…Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Congressperson Robin Kelly, Alderman Carrie Austin, et. al…the usual suspects, turning what should have been a great day honoring some great kids into yet another occasion for self-aggrandizement.

Have these people no shame?  

They have spent our state and our city into bankruptcy.  They have made careers of shaking down the (admittedly, in many instances, not all that uncooperative or put upon) private sector for their nefarious ends.  They have been largely responsible for our city and state having become less and less livable.  They have ruined what was perhaps one of our nation’s greatest states, which combined the bustling, vital, and exciting city of Chicago with a downstate that serves as a vital component of the nation’s breadbasket and an exemplar of the type of small town values that made this country what it once was.  They have stolen and pillaged everything that wasn’t, and much of what was, nailed down. And now they have stolen the well earned limelight the citizens of our great city would like to have cast on a much deserving crew of magnificent kids.

How can one describe these poltroonish politicasters?   They are popinjays, professional narcissists, barnacles on the ship of state.   They are empty suits, carnival barkers, entitled, whimpering no-accounts.   Shameless leaches.   Self centered snakes and scalawags.  Benighted bindlestiffs on an endless, undying quest for the next microphone and/or camera.  Bleating, bumptious boors.  Contemptuous caitiffs.  Jejune jackasses.

Seizing the glimmer of glory granted to a group of great kids, not being able to envision anybody but themselves and their fellow professional narcissists getting any glory…is there any depth to which these despicable human beings will not sink?

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

ROBIN KELLY AND STANLEY MOORE: THE LADY AND THE TRAMP…OR TWO PEAS IN A POD?

4/12/13

Featured prominently in both Chicago newspapers this morning was the stunning news that Stanley Moore, whom the relevant ward and township committeemen chose to replace Bill Beavers on the Cook County Board (See my 3/22/13 post, COMMISSIONER BILL BEAVERS:   HOG WITH THE BIG NUTS, REAL LIFE FRANK PANTANGELI, OR BOTH? and the posts to which it will refer you.), has a few ethics problems.   Specifically, Mr. Moore was fined $3,000 by the state of Illinois’ Executive Ethics Committee for campaigning for the state legislature while on the clock when he was working for the Illinois Department of Transportation.  He paid $2,900 of that fine only after he was being considered for the County Board post, pleading poverty until then.   Note that Mr. Moore has been convicted of no crimes; the Ethics Committee is an extra-judicial body, if you will.

So a long time Cook County political hanger-on gets fined for campaigning for office while on the public payroll.   What, other than Mr. Moore’s actually getting fined for this transgression, is news?

Throughout the same week on which we heard this stunning news on Mr. Moore, we read breathless media commentary about Robin Kelly, who went through the electoral motions Tuesday to trounce her Democratic opponent and was sworn in yesterday as the replacement for the disgraced Jesse Jackson, Jr. (“Triple J”) as the 2^nd Congressional District’s representative in the U.S. House.   It is all, according to the media, sweetness and light with Ms. Kelly.   She is new, different, and refreshing.   She will change things in the 2^nd District.

But wait a minute…  

Robin Kelly had nearly the same ethical problems as Mr. Moore.   While she was working for State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who himself has something of a questionable past, she was campaigning to succeed her boss…while on the clock at the Treasurer’s office.   But we don’t hear much about that…she is new, smart, brilliant, compassionate, honest, etc., etc., etc….the same kind of hoping against hope, gormless bullroar we heard about Triple J and about Mel Reynolds before him.   Both left Congress in disgrace, Triple J with money problems, Mel Reynolds with teenage girl problems.   But when each of these nonentities assumed office, both with thin resumes but either a big name or a big academic pedigree, we were told by their shameless media cheerleaders that they were new, smart, brilliant, honest, etc., etc….and none of it was true.   They were both nothing but corrupt pols and we had no reason to think otherwise…other than the distastefulness, or worse, of their predecessors.  

The same is true of Robin Kelly.   There is nothing in her record of “public service,” which amounts to one spot at the public trough after another, while playing the types of games endemic to Cook County politics, to indicate that she is anything but yet another hack looking for a better place at the trough from which she can enrich herself and/or advance her career as some kind of self-imagined messiah for the benighted masses who just can’t seem to figure out the right way to live.   (See my 2/27/13 piece,  MR. SUNSHINE ON ROBIN KELLY, DEBBIE HALVORSON, AND THE ILLINOIS 2^ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RESULTS)   Yet the media just want to believe because, one supposes, Ms. Kelly is relatively young, relatively attractive, and unceasingly spouts the liberal line on guns, taxes, and the constant necessity for more government.   Her life has been one of using other people’s money to prove her compassion and advance her career.   The same could be said for each of her predecessors…and look how they turned out.

No one is excusing Mr. Moore’s ethical transgressions.  But why is he singled out for media derision while Ms. Kelly, who is not in any substantial way different from Mr. Moore, suddenly worthy of unceasing, unflinching, and unthinking adulation?

Someone like yours truly whose memory exceeds the last few months or years, and thus has heard it all before, will reserve judgment on this latest media darling.   Perhaps she will prove to be the most ethical, the most effective, and the all around most wonderful politician to come out of the 2^nd District (a very low bar) or the Land of Lincoln (an only slightly higher bar).   A thinking person doubts it, given Ms. Kelly’s at the very best mediocre, same old same old, record.   But, believe it or not, I would be delighted if she proves me wrong; the long suffering residents of the 2^nd District badly need a break.

 See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

MR. SUNSHINE ON ROBIN KELLY, DEBBIE HALVORSON, AND THE ILLINOIS 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RESULTS

2/27/13

Lifelong bureaucrat and political hanger-on Robin Kelly won the Democratic primary, and effective election, in the race to succeed the disgraced Jesse Jackson, Jr. (See my 2/16/13 post, LET’S FINALLY TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT JESSE AND SANDI JACKSON)  in Illinois’ second Congressional District.  

Ms. Kelly campaigned almost exclusively on the issue of gun violence, despite the District’s other problems, including a foreclosure rate in its Chicago and suburban precincts that is the highest in the state.  Robin Kelly appears to really believe that we can “end the plague of gun violence” simply by passing more stringent gun laws.  (See my 2/24/13 post IT’S NOT GARRY McCARTHY’S FAULT.)  She won the race with the help of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pro-gun control USA PAC, which spent $2.2 million on pro-Kelly advertising.  She apparently successfully portrayed the race as a Davidic race against the Goliathine NRA, which stayed out of the race, though its Illinois affiliate did spend a relative pittance supporting one of her opponents, Debbie Halvorson.   (More on Ms. Halvorson below.)  Ms. Kelly also had the tacit support of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.   Unlike past great Chicago mayors, like Richard J. Daley and Tony Cermak, the last two have eschewed publicly supporting candidates in primaries, preferring to sneak around and maintain plausible deniability, but I digress.  Robin Kelly also has had problems with, er, sloppiness, similar to those of her two predecessors.   Her lackadaisical approach to the rules manifested itself primarily in recordkeeping when she unsuccessfully campaigned for State Treasurer when her time sheets showed that she was working…for the State Treasurer.  Ms. Kelly evidently has no problem with being paid, by you, while she campaigns for her next spot at the public trough.  

Ms. Kelly’s big victory (52% of the vote in a very crowded field) once again confirms the wisdom of one of yours truly’s idols, H.L. Mencken, who observed

“No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

Perhaps the low turnout (15% in Chicago and suburban Cook) limits the reach of the application of this latest example of Mr. Mencken’s acuity of mind.   Then again, the low turnout may confirm Mr. Mencken’s astuteness, but I digress again.

Clearly, there were better candidates in the race.  Newly elected State Senator Napoleon Harris, who has actually done a few things in life beyond feeding at the public mammary gland, comes immediately to mind.  But he was only a minor candidate who dropped out rather early, and even the so-called major candidates never really had a chance once Michael Bloomberg came in with his money, Mayor Emanuel starting throwing his weight around (behind the scenes, of course) and Toi Hutchinson dropped out.  See my 2/18/12 piece,  2^ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT PRIMARY IN ILLINOIS:  ROBIN KELLY-- BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE?

One of those candidates who never had a chance, though she basked in the delusion that she did, just as she basked in the delusion that she could have defeated Mr. Jackson in the 2012 primary, was former Congressperson and State Senator Debbie Halvorson, of whom I wrote extensively in my 2/18/12 post.   As a somewhat close observer of this race, I heard Ms. Halvorson speak a few times and read some of what she spoke.   If following this race did nothing else, it did explain quite a few things about Illinois politics to this long time observer of that curious and fascinating endeavor.   Ms. Halvorson was perhaps the least impressive candidate in the race, certainly the least impressive of the major candidates.   Watching Ms. Halvorson in action could almost lead one to the conclusion that the Democrats of the 2^nd District should be excused for nominating Robin Kelly, or at least were smart not to have nominated Ms. Halvorson.  Ms. Halvorson was once Majority Leader of the Illinois Senate!  O tempora, o mores!  That such an unimpressive candidate, shallow thinker, and reflexive flip-flopper could actually have been the Majority Leader of the Illinois Senate explains a lot about the sorry condition of the state of Illinois.

One final thing.  Now that Ms. Kelly has been effectively elected to Congress, we are already hearing about how a “new era” has broken out for the 2^nd District, that she will be “a breath of fresh air” and a source of “refreshing change” for the District.  

One would hope that the cheerleading media would refrains from such hagiography until we learn more about Robin Kelly, especially about how her aforementioned laxness of attitude concerning campaigning on the public dime might manifest itself once she gets to Washington.   Why?   Because we heard the same things about Jesse Jackson, Jr. when he replaced Mel Reynolds and we heard the same things about Mel Reynolds when he replaced Gus Savage in 1993.   Though Mr. Jackson did not share Mr. Reynolds weakness for pubescent girls, and Mr. Reynolds did not share Mr. Savage’s apparent anti-Semitism and strong distaste for those who did not share his racial background, Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Jackson were both moral pygmies who brought disgrace to their district, their city, their state, their country, and their families.   The initial breathless adulation did not pan out, and the hosanna choruses in the press that greeted both gentlemen wound up looking worse than foolish.  One would think the media cheerleaders would have the decency, or at least the good sense, to go easy on the bowing before Ms. Kelly until things develop a bit.  

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT PRIMARY IN ILLINOIS: ROBIN KELLY-- BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE?

2/18/13

State Senator Toi Hutchinson dropped out of the race to succeed the disgraced Jesse Jackson, Jr. as 2^nd district Congressman in Illinois.   (See 2/16/13’s already seminal post LET’S FINALLY TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT JESSE AND SANDI JACKSON.)  This surprised many observers, including yours truly, though Hutchinson was losing ground of late to her chief rival, long time political hanger-on Robin Kelly, whom Ms. Hutchinson endorsed after dropping out of the race.  

Ms. Hutchinson (pictured) had two big things going for her.   As of the last filing date on 2/6/13, she had more than twice as much money ($199,901 vs. $88,820) in her campaign fund as did Ms. Kelly.   She also had the endorsement Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.  Ms. Preckwinkle is not only very popular but also used to employ Ms. Kelly; thus, her endorsement of Ms. Hutchinson over her former employee said a lot.   However, there seemed to be momentum building behind Ms. Kelly, resulting in her fundraising picking up considerably in the last few weeks.   The entrance of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pro gun control  Independence USA PAC into the race on Ms. Kelly’s side, to the tune of $2.1 million, convinced Ms. Hutchinson it was time to go.

 The suspicion on the part of many, and not only those backing the sole white candidate in the race, former Congressman Debbie Halvorson, is that there was more to Ms. Hutchinson’s dropping out of the race than Mr. Bloomberg’s supporting Ms. Kelly because of Ms. Hutchinson’s record on gun control, which could be construed, after more than a modest amount of twisting and turning, as anti gun control.  In this still racially charged part of the country, the thought is that the black political leadership in the district is coalescing behind Robin Kelly for fear of Debbie Halvorson winning the primary, which is tantamount to winning the election, in a district that was redrawn to assure black representation.

It’s tempting to draw parallels between the 1983 general election for Chicago mayor and the 2013 primary in the 2^nd Congressional district.   In 1983, 1^st District Congressman Harold Washington won the Democratic primary against two white candidates, the incumbent Jane Byrne and Cook County State’s Attorney Rich Daley.   Given the racial character of much of politics in Cook County back then (and now), the Republican nominee, State Representative Bernard Epton, suddenly had a chance to win by drawing the votes of white voters who couldn’t stomach the idea of a black mayor.   Mr. Epton, by no means a bigot, seemed to have gotten caught up in his newfound good fortune, using as a campaign slogan:   “Bernie Epton—Before It’s Too Late.”  And he came reasonably close to wining in this heavily Democratic town; Mr. Washington won 52% to 48%, a very close margin by Chicago standards.

The opposite parallels, if you will, between the 2013 2^nd District race and the 1983 general are not as clear cut as one might suppose, however. 

First, and most obvious, the current race is a primary election while the 1983 Washington/Epton race was a general election.   Thus, Washington could count on the support of those party loyalists who put party before race and could therefore count on a substantial white vote.  But there was substantial support for Republican Bernie Epton coming from white regular Democratic Organization committeemen who put race before party.   The party was split, allowing Epton to make it a race. 

The party is again split in this primary, as is the nature of a primary.  While it seems that most of the powers-that-be are uniting behind Ms. Kelly, there is substantial support for Ms. Halvorson among regulars in the white townships in the district.   And a third major candidate, Alderman Anthony Beale, is a ward committeeman and is likely to draw support not only from his ward but from regulars in the portion of the district that lies in the city of Chicago.

So the primary/general distinction is not as great as one might suppose.   

Second, Bernie Epton was a very unlikely receptacle for the support of whites who were voting nearly solely on the basis of race, some might say on the basis of bigotry.   Mr. Epton was a liberal Jew from Hyde Park, not exactly the type of candidate that white bigots would ardently support were he running against a regular Democrat named, say, O’Brien, Kowalski, Melchiorre, or Siliunas.   Robin Kelly is a black liberal whose race and political philosophy are very much in keeping with the district.  She would thus be a very logical receptacle of the support of liberal black voters. 

Third, the demographics of the district make a victory by Ms. Halvorson very unlikely, even had Toi Hutchinson stayed in the race.  Only 34% of the voters in the district are white.   As much as we would like to wish otherwise, people vote their race.   If Ms. Halvorson got every white vote, the black vote would have to be split nearly evenly among the three (before Ms. Hutchinson’s departure) black candidates for her to win.   (When Ms. Halvorson ran against Mr. Jackson in the primary in 2012, she was trounced 71% to 29%.)  Ms. Halvorson also claims that she will be outspent 30-1 by Ms. Kelly.   But she’s wrong; if you count Mayor Bloomberg’s money, she will be outspent 40-1.   Simply put, Debbie Halvorson, because of her race but also because she is not a very compelling candidate and is not well financed, never had much of a chance in the primary, with or without Toi Hutchinson in the race.

A better parallel might be drawn between the current primary in the 2^nd District and the 1983 primary for mayor in which, as I said before, Harold Washington won the race because the white vote was split nearly evenly between Mr. Daley and Ms. Byrne; the actual outcome was

Washington                  37%

Byrne                           33%

Daley                           30%

Until the last few weeks of the race, moreover, Mr. Washington was not expected to be a factor; that was a Byrne/Daley race until Mr. Washington came out of seemingly nowhere to win.  (And it was an ugly enough race even before Washington entered the race and the anti-black bigotry rose to the surface.   Remember the Daley supporters and their unsanctioned “Dump the b----, vote for Rich” signs?)

Doubtless, the black political power structure was thinking about this outcome when they persuaded Toi Hutchinson to leave the race, but they still might have a parallel situation on their hands.   There are three major candidates remaining:   Robin Kelly, Anthony Beale, and Debbie Halvorson, the latter of whom is the only white candidate.   In addition, there is a host of minor candidates, most, if not all, of whom are black.   So there is the potential for racial ticket splitting resulting in a Halvorson victory.  

However, again, the demographics of the 2^nd district are very different from the demographics of Chicago in 1983.   Every white vote wouldn’t win the race for Ms. Halvorson even in a crowded field.   And Debbie Halvorson is no Harold Washington.

Yes, race permeates politics in Chicago and its environs, even to this day, but that doesn’t mean the 2^nd Congressional race is an eerie reverse parallel of the 1983 mayoral general or primary election.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics.