Big Democratic guns turnout for Forys in 17th Democratic race

It's not the highest profile political battle in the news media but it is the one with most twist, turns and political pedigree issues. People are lining up in the 17th Cook County Board District, a seat held by Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman who over the past few years has risen to become one of the county's most aggressive champions of taxpayer rights.

Gorman, a Republican, is being challenge by two Democrats who will duke it out in the February 2 Democratic Primary before facing the Gorman juggernaut. They are Pat Maher and Dr. Victor Forys. Maher and Gorman are local rivals from Orland Township. Gorman is the Orland Township Republican Committeewoman and Maher is the President of the Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD). He is also the son of Orland Village Clerk Dave Maher, who is a $75,000-a-year employee of the Cook County Court system, under Stroger's watchful political patronage (Administrative Assistant Level V for the county courts). Forys comes from the northern part of the 17th District.

Forys, who raised large sums of money in the congressional race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in the 5th District, lost to former Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley. But next week, Quigley will join Gov. Pat Quinn and County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who has worked closely with Gorman to fight Todd Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax, will come out swinging to endorse Forys, not Maher, in the Democratic Primary. What happens after that primary is anyone's guess.

FIGHTING FOR TAXPAYERS

There are a lot of big issues in the 17th District. Gorman has been on the right side of most during her two terms in the office. She has distinguished herself as a persistent champion of taxpayer rights, winning three major battles for taxpayers.

The first was last year when Gorman was the only county commissioner to challenge a $190,000 county loan to controversial Regional Schools Superintendent Charles Flowers. Flowers budget has since come under scrutiny. A report by the auditor general shows that Flowers has since mismanaged millions of dollars in funds. His office has an annual budget of about $1 million and is reportedly more than $1 million in debt. The audit shows that Flowers has borrowed money to pay for all kinds of expenses, without proper records, but he insisted he has repaid everything.

Gorman was the only voice to challenge Flowers' poor leadership. But this past June, the entire County board joined Gorman to repudiate Flowers and reject the loan and acknowledge Gorman's leadership.

Gorman also has been a key leader in the fight to repeal Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax that is chasing Cook County businesses into neighboring counties. Although Stroger prevailed when Deborah "The Hack" Sims flip-flopped supporting the repeal and then denying the repeal the 14 votes needed to override Stroger's anti-taxpayer veto, the fight has become a voter mantra that is expected to drum Todd Stroger out of office in February when he faces off with Congressman Danny K. Davis, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown among many others.

Normally, so many challengers benefit the incumbent, but a recent Chicago Tribune poll shows that Stroger has an approval rating of only 10 percent, lower than the 13 percent for impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But Gorman's determination to set the county right for taxpayers doesn't end with that high profile sales tax fight. This week, the county board approved an ethics ordinance hailed by the Arlington Heights Daily Herald that forces lobbyists (and candidates for public office who lobby) to disclose the jobs of their relatives on government payrolls to help shine light on insider sweetheart deals that are often the heart of the county's government practices.

19th WARD TIES CAUSE TURMOIL

Stroger's plight and the race for governor are impacting this race directly. Stroger is the son for former Cook County Board President John H. Stroger, who often received huge campaign donations from the nation's top bond counsel, Chapman and Cutler. It so happens that Tom Hynes, the patriarch of 19th Ward politics, is of counsel to the firm, one strong link between the 19th Ward and Stroger, and a reason for the Hynes' family to dislike Gorman, who also has some strong ties to the 19th Ward.

Tom Hynes is a close relative of Patrick Maher through his father, Dave. And, of course, Tom Hynes is the father of  Dan Hynes, the Illinois Comptroller who threw his hat in fast to challenge beleaguered Gov. Pat Quinn.

It's the 19th Ward Hynes honchos who have been working hard over the past several years to install Pat Maher at the OFPD and to take control of Orland Park, which is distinguishing itself as one of the southwest suburbs more monied and affluent communities. They back another Democrat, Paul O'Grady, who took over as Orland Township Supervisor. O'Grady relied heavily on his 19th Ward ties and had 19th ward precinct captains working the election polls this past Spring.

Quinn, Quigley and Suffredin will make their endorsement of Forys at a Forys fundraiser Sept. 29 at White Eagles in Chicago, 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave. Maher just had his own fundraiser at O'Callaghan's, at 29 West Hubbard Street in downtown Chicago, too. The keynote celebrity there was, of course, Tom Hynes. 

I reached out to Maher, who was surprised when I informed him his colleague on the OFPD James Hickey is circulating petitions to challenge State Rep. Kevin McCarthy in the 37th House District. McCarthy is a staunch ally of House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is backing Quinn. Hickey told me he'll discuss his candidacy with me when he gets all his signatures. (Maher says he's supporting McCarthy and he's not supporting Hickey, though many say they are very close.) 

When asked if  Tom Hynes was his "keynote speaker," Maher emailed me back, saying: "Tom Hynes was not my keynote speaker.  He did show up and it was greatly appreciated.  I don’t have all the details but I am quite sure that the guy Liz had go spy on my event (which we all saw) could concur that I had about 70 to 75 coming in and out, not counting staff. Not too bad for something I put together about two or three [weeks] ago downtown where I don’t live or work.  I did not collect the money so I really have no idea how much was collected plus some was mailed in which I did not see either."

(I asked Liz Gorman and she said she had no idea and didn't care.)

Gorman will host her fundraiser this week Thursday (Sept. 17) at Sam McGuire's, which is in the 17th District. Maher has another fundraiser planned for Oct. 9 at Fox's in Orland Park. he's expected to have the backing of Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin, the Orland Township Democratic Committeeman.

Gorman is already leading the pack with donations. Maher's campaign disclosures include many contractors who do business with Orland Park and the OFPD, friends of his father and the mayor, no doubt. Forys has funds from his professional contacts and past election supporters. I'll have a detailed analysis of everyone's recent disclosures in an upcoming post.

                                                      

In the meantime, the cross-dynamics of this battle reflect the complex lines that crisscross some of the biggest races in the news, for county board president and for Illinois governor, and intersect with some big family and Chicago political names.

-- Ray Hanania

Big Democratic guns turnout for Forys in 17th Democratic race

It's not the highest profile political battle in the news media but it is the one with most twist, turns and political pedigree issues. People are lining up in the 17th Cook County Board District, a seat held by Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman who over the past few years has risen to become one of the county's most aggressive champions of taxpayer rights.


Gorman, a Republican, is being challenge by two Democrats who will duke it out in the February 2 Democratic Primary before facing the Gorman juggernaut. They are Pat Maher and Dr. Victor Forys. Maher and Gorman are local rivals from Orland Township. Gorman is the Orland Township Republican Committeewoman and Maher is the President of the Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD). He is also the son of Orland Village Clerk Dave Maher, who is a $75,000-a-year employee of the Cook County Court system, under Stroger's watchful political patronage (Administrative Assistant Level V for the county courts). Forys comes from the northern part of the 17th District.


Forys, who raised large sums of money in the congressional race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in the 5th District, lost to former Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley. But next week, Quigley will join Gov. Pat Quinn and County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who has worked closely with Gorman to fight Todd Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax, will come out swinging to endorse Forys, not Maher, in the Democratic Primary. What happens after that primary is anyone's guess.


FIGHTING FOR TAXPAYERS


There are a lot of big issues in the 17th District. Gorman has been on the right side of most during her two terms in the office. She has distinguished herself as a persistent champion of taxpayer rights, winning three major battles for taxpayers.


The first was last year when Gorman was the only county commissioner to challenge a $190,000 county loan to controversial Regional Schools Superintendent Charles Flowers. Flowers budget has since come under scrutiny. A report by the auditor general shows that Flowers has since mismanaged millions of dollars in funds. His office has an annual budget of about $1 million and is reportedly more than $1 million in debt. The audit shows that Flowers has borrowed money to pay for all kinds of expenses, without proper records, but he insisted he has repaid everything.


Gorman was the only voice to challenge Flowers' poor leadership. But this past June, the entire County board joined Gorman to repudiate Flowers and reject the loan and acknowledge Gorman's leadership.


Gorman also has been a key leader in the fight to repeal Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax that is chasing Cook County businesses into neighboring counties. Although Stroger prevailed when Deborah "The Hack" Sims flip-flopped supporting the repeal and then denying the repeal the 14 votes needed to override Stroger's anti-taxpayer veto, the fight has become a voter mantra that is expected to drum Todd Stroger out of office in February when he faces off with Congressman Danny K. Davis, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown among many others.


Normally, so many challengers benefit the incumbent, but a recent Chicago Tribune poll shows that Stroger has an approval rating of only 10 percent, lower than the 13 percent for impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But Gorman's determination to set the county right for taxpayers doesn't end with that high profile sales tax fight. This week, the county board approved an ethics ordinance hailed by the Arlington Heights Daily Herald that forces lobbyists (and candidates for public office who lobby) to disclose the jobs of their relatives on government payrolls to help shine light on insider sweetheart deals that are often the heart of the county's government practices.

19th WARD TIES CAUSE TURMOIL


Stroger's plight and the race for governor are impacting this race directly. Stroger is the son for former Cook County Board President John H. Stroger, who often received huge campaign donations from the nation's top bond counsel, Chapman & Cutler. It so happens that Tom Hynes, the patriarch of 19th Ward politics, is of counsel to the firm, one strong link between the 19th Ward and Stroger, and a reason for the Hynes' family to dislike Gorman, who also has some strong ties to the 19th Ward.


Tom Hynes is a close relative of Patrick Maher through his father, Dave. And, of course, Tom Hynes is the father of  Dan Hynes, the Illinois Comptroller who threw his hat in fast to challenge beleaguered Gov. Pat Quinn.


It's the 19th Ward Hynes honchos who have been working hard over the past several years to install Pat Maher at the OFPD and to take control of Orland Park, which is distinguishing itself as one of the southwest suburbs more monied and affluent communities. They back another Democrat, Paul O'Grady, who took over as Orland Township Supervisor. O'Grady relied heavily on his 19th Ward ties and had 19th ward precinct captains working the election polls this past Spring.


Quinn, Quigley and Suffredin will make their endorsement of Forys at a Forys fundraiser Sept. 29 at White Eagles in Chicago, 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave. Maher just had his own fundraiser at O'Callaghan's, at 29 West Hubbard Street in downtown Chicago, too. The keynote celebrity there was, of course, Tom Hynes. 


I reached out to Maher, who was surprised when I informed him is colleague on the OFPD James Hickey is circulating petitions to challenge State Rep. Kevin McCarthy in the 37th House District. McCarthy is a staunch ally of House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is backing Quinn. Hickey told me he'll discuss his candidacy with me when he gets all his signatures. (Maher says he's supporting McCarthy and he's not supporting Hickey, though many say they are very close.) 

When asked if  Tom Hynes was his "keynote speaker," Maher emailed me back, saying: "Tom Hynes was not my keynote speaker.  He did show up and it was greatly appreciated.  I don’t have all the details but I am quite sure that the guy Liz had go spy on my event (which we all saw) could concur that I had about 70 to 75 coming in and out, not counting staff. Not too bad for something I put together about two or three [weeks] ago downtown where I don’t live or work.  I did not collect the money so I really have no idea how much was collected plus some was mailed in which I did not see either."

(I asked Liz Gorman and she said she had no idea and didn't care.)

Gorman will toast her fundraiser this week Thursday (Sept. 17) at Sam McGuire's, which is in the 17th District. Maher has another fundraiser planned for Oct. 9 at Fox's in Orland Park. he's expected to have the backing of Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin, the Orland Township Democratic Committeeman.

Gorman is already leading the pack with donations. Maher's campaign disclosures include many contractors who do business with Orland Park and the OFPD, friends of his father and the mayor, no doubt. Forys has funds from his professional contacts and past election supporters. I'll have a detailed analysis of everyone's recent disclosures in an upcoming post.                                                      

In the meantime, the cross-dynamics of this battle reflect the complex lines that crisscross some of the biggest races in the news, for county board president and for Illinois governor, and intersect with some big family and Chicago political names.

-- Ray Hanania

Pundits say Gorman has trouble but I don't believe it

Going in to every election, incumbents always look vulnerable. There's a lot of big talk and big ambition by officeholders who dream of becoming the next political "phenom" like Barack Obama, who went from relative unknown to president of the United States in less than six years.

The candidates are already dreaming and some of those dreamers have set their sights on one incumbent in the Southwest Suburbs, 17th District Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman.

Gorman is not the darling of the downtown news media which analyzes everything in terms of either Mayor Daley or the Chicago Loop. Most major media, with some exceptions, ignore the suburbs and pretty much follow the pack when deciding who is or isn't vulnerable in elections. So bright stars in the suburbs often are overlooked.

There have been a few exceptions like Media darling Forrest Claypool, who every writer pretty much ordained would become the slayer of the evil tax lord, Cook County Board PresidentTodd Stroger. But Claypool discovered in his polling that he could neither raise the money nor could he count on real Democratic Party support. He would have lost to Stroger.

Then there is the other darling of the news media, Mike Quigley. Unlike Claypool, Quigley is made of much more genuine substance. He's more personable and less arrogant. He actually talks to people. Quigley was smart enough to throw his hat into the crowded Democratic primary battle to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress. It wasn't that Quigley was a phenom like Obama, but rather that the race for the congressional seat was more like the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Some people would luck out and make it through to the end of the race without getting gored, and a few unlucky ones would get gored.

Quigley got lucky. He has but two years to prove himself and he's working hard at showing he can handle the job, now that he was lucky enough to win.

Gorman is off the major media radar screen, except when the negative steamrollers come in to rehash all that deadweight about Ed Vrdolyak. Yes "Fast Eddie" will never leave the news. Ed happened to be friends with Gorman's husband, Gerry. They were business partners, too. But there isn't one politician Ed Vrdolyak hasn't helped, worked with or has not considered to be a friend. And he's done business with a lot of others, incuding a few who are among those being hailed by pundits as possible Gorman challengers.

The least known of the presumptive candidates to challenger Liz Gorman is in fact the front-runner, Pat Maher. President of the controversy-plagued Orland Fire Protection District (in two years its political legal spending went from nothing to hundreds of thousands) Maher is the son of a long time Orland Park village clerk, Dave Maher. Pat Maher has one brother who quietly and unsuccessfully ran for a village trustee post in nearby Lemont. In any other lifetime, the Mahers would be just an ordinary, bland suburban political family. Fat frogs sitting high on lilly pods in small pools. But this Maher family has ties to the powerful family of Tom Hynes, father of Comptroller Dan Hynes, who hail from the legendary 19th Ward where the the 19th Ward Machine stands ready at their beck and call.

Yet Pat Maher is not the name that everyone is talking about when it comes to the 17th District challenge to Liz Gorman. Take this paragraph from a recent column by my friend and capable columnist Russ Stewart (July 23) who looked at the county races from top to bottom:

17th District (Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, then south in a narrow corridor to Lemont, Orland Park and Tinley Park): Incumbent [Liz] Gorman’s husband was a business partner of Ed Vrdolyak, and there is some negative fallout attaching to her. She was first elected unopposed in 2002, and re-elected in 2006 with 55.6 percent. She is the Orland Township Republican committeeman, was briefly the Republican county chairman, and has been feuding with Peraica.

A likely 2010 Democratic candidate for the seat is Dr. Victor Forys, a Polish-American who garnered 11.7 percent of the vote in the 2009 Democratic congressional primary in the 5th District. If Forys can assemble both a geographic (north versus south) and ethnic coalition, he could win. Other candidates include Orland Park trustee Jim Dodge and RTA Board member Dennis Cook. But well-known Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin is also a possibility, and would be favored in a primary. The outlook: Gorman has huge problems.

The first thing you notice is that the focus is not on Liz Gorman, who has come out swinging this past year with some major legislative initiatives. Rather, the focus is on her husband, Gerry, a businessman whose family is involved in politics. It's a funny thing. I'd heard a lot about Gerry Gorman that made him out to be some kind of behind-the-scenes T-Rex. Then I had a chance to meet him. Turns out he's just like any other family man who takes his kids to little league practice and spends a lot of time with his wife.

The second thing you notice in Russ Stewart's analysis is the absence of any recognition of Pat Maher. The focus instead is on: Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin; Jim Dodge, who Gorman appointed to the METRA Board; Dennis Cook, a member of the RTA board with the Illinois Federation of Young Republicans. And perennial candidate Victor Forys.

Now, I'm not knocking anyone but I can tell you this:

Dan McLaughlin may covet higher office, possibly lieutenant governor in the Democratic race for Governor in 2010, as the rmor mill is now swirling. But Dan has a big job with the Chicago Plumbers Union that pays well and takes up much of his time. Being president of a village with a great reputation and a high-paid village manager is a second job that pays some money but offers great rewards. Give that up for the undistinguished arena of the Cook County board? I don't think so. Maybe for statewide office, yes!

Dodge, the former Orland Township GOP Committeeman, has ambitions. But in a fight with an incumbent Republican, he'd have a difficult battle. A nice guy, what has he done on the METRA Board and how would the public even know him? Could he raise the money you'd need to run in this fight? And would you backstab someone who went to bat for you when you needed it?

Dennis Cook may want to enter the race simply to give himself higher name recognition because he just ain't too well known with the voters. A nice guy according to Republican insiders who I know. He has a future.

But Orland Park based challengers really have a disadvantage. The 17th District is shaped like the Via Dolorosa, the cobble-stone path that winds its way through the narrow streets of Jerusalem, where Jesus carried his cross before being crucified. In addition to including Orland Township, where Maher may do well, the 17th District runs all the way north to include many areas where names like Maher, McLaughlin, Cook, Dodge and others might not mean so much. Places where building name recognition is not easy like in Park Ridge, Des Plaines, and Mt. Prospect, just to name a few.

I give Liz Gorman credit. She's fearless. I wasn't her biggest fan several years back when she headed the Cook County Republican Organization. I thought she could have done more. But since leaving that party leadership post for others, she has done much. The truth is I don't think any Republican could have done much better with the county or with the state. Illinois House Speaker Mike J. Madigan has the legislature in a vice grip, and despite numerous opportunities to break through the Democratic headlock, Republican leaders have fallen short. The disarray at the state level only gets worse in many prominent Republican bastions. So maybe she did as well as anyone else might have done.

It takes more than party identity. It takes action, someone willing to stand up and fight the fight for the taxpayers. And boy do the taxpayers desperately need someone to standup and fight on their behalf as everyone seems to tripping up all over. Everyone that is, except Liz Gorman.

In the past year, I have seen Liz Gorman stand up and fight, and fight hard for the rights of taxpayers not just in the 17th District, but in Cook County, too. She was the driving force behind the battle to force Todd Stroger to repeal the oppressive 1 percent sales tax hike. If it wasn't for her, the repeal battle might not have been fought. That it was fought has given the county board ambition to push even harder and there is a chance that next week, a compromise will pass that forces Stroger to cut the sales tax by half.

And while everyone else was hissing last year, Liz Gorman was the only county commissioner who stood up and asked why the board was going to give a $190,000 taxpayer funded loan to the regional schools superintendent, Charles Flowers. She fought hard trying to convince everyone that Flowers' office was drowning in mismanagement and wasteful spending. No one listened.

Turns out Liz Gorman was right on the money, where it counts for taxpayers. Gorman protested and last month, a state Audit concluded that Flowers had charged thousands of dollars worth of personal expenses on the taxpayers' credit card. And he couldn't provide receipts for more than 70 percent of those purchases. he also gave thousands of dollars in cash advances to his employees, including to one who is his sister.

Believe it or not, there are politicians like Flowers who think the public trough is their personal ATM machine where they can borrow money whenever they want.

Liz Gorman was the scissor who chopped up Flower's taxpayer funded Debit Card.

Two major initiatives defending the rights of the taxpayers just in the past two months. That has to make even the most seasoned of political challengers a bit wary wondering if Liz Gorman is really worth trying to unseat.

For the taxpayers, right now, the answer is Liz Gorman should remain in office.

I think if Pat Maher breaks from his father's shadow and starts to clean up the mess at the Orland Fire Protection District, he could make a name for himself as a champion for the taxpayer's too. And when Dan McLaughlin retires -- he's been in office a long time -- or moves on up the ladder as some are rumoring he will do in another bid for state wide office, Maher may want to try to run for village president.

And if he can do it without the help or meddling of the foreigners from the 19th ward, he just might make a great mayor. Someday.

By the way, there is one rumor that is worth looking at closely. Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy, the hero who took a bullet for President Ronald Reagan in the assassination attempt in the 1970s, is being rumored to be a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate seat on the Democratic side. McCarthy is a titan. he ran for statewide office once before but with two statewide candidates coming from the same village, it made it tough to win. With Illinois Attorney general Lisa Madigan out of the race, why not McCarthy.

-- Ray Hanania

www.RadioChicagoland.com

5th District Race creates impending vacuum on Cook County Board

Most political observers recognize that Cook County Board Commissioner Mike Quigley's victory in the March 3 special election in the 5th Congressional District in the Democratic Primary seals his fate as the district's new congressman succeeding Rahm Emanuel who resigned the seat to become President Barack Obama's chief of staff.

That would create a vacuum on the Cook County Board where Quigley has led the reform movement challenges to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, whose administration is beleauguered with failed leadership and controversies involving excessive taxation. Many observers do not believe Stroger will have the backing of the Democratic organization whe he seeks election to the spot his late father, John Stroger, held for years.

Quigley was the more fearless of the reformers who challenged Stroger's continued missteps and mistakes, a group that included Forrest Claypoole and Larry Suffredin. Suffredin flipflopped on Stroger's sales tax hike opposing before when he ran for state's attorney and supporting it after he lost. Claypoole is a power hungry political wannabe whose interest in reform has more to do with his personal ambitions than genuine concern for the voters.

Quigley, on the otherhand, was always genuine and consistent although hsi background years ago began as a worker in a Chicago Machine Ward organization of Alderman and Commiteeman Bernie Hansen.

It's not wrong for people to expect Quigley to win. The votes, despite a record low turnout, show that Quigley far outdistanced any of the competitors in the Republican or Independent field. Quigley receive over 12,000 votes. The Republican victor, Rosanna Pulido, won only 1,001 votes (several hundred higher than her closest challenger in part because of the fire-charged issue of illegal immigration that she espoused). The five candidates running on the Independent slate, all members of the Green Party, barely got close to 450 votes total among them all.

One might argue that the Democrats who did vote for other candidates -- Quigley's impressive 12,000 votes is impressive compared to the 11 people who ran against him but not when compared to the total Democratic Party primary vote. The vast majority of Quigley's vote like the other Democratic contenders, came from the Chicago portion of the District, 12 percent and that means 88 percent is still out there. But there is no reason to believe the majority of those Democrats will vote Republican, or that the Republican Party can mount a significant campaign head-to-head considering they had no money going in to the race.

So it is fair to say Quigley will win Tuesday April 7 in the general election. And when he does, the Democratic Committeemen in the 5th Congressional District will meet to appoint someone to take his place.

Everyone was impressed despite their losses with the performances os State Rep. John Fritchey and State Rep. Sara Feingenholtz. Both Fritchey and Feigenholtz spent the most money in purchasing TV ads which helped them lead the field but not win. There were three candidates with Machine names that stood out: Frank Annunzio, the grand nephew of the former congressman of the same name, Cary Capparelli, related to representative Ralph Capparelli, and Pat O'Connor, a Chicago alderman. Their Machine credentials gave them boosts but not enough to score significant votes. Capparelli got713 votes, Annunzio got 750 votes and O'Connor got 6,371 votes which was substantial but only half of Quigley's winning turnout.

The lessons: The Machine does not rule the 5th District; a real reformer can put together a coalition to win enough votes; the Republicans have a long way to go; the green Party needs to assess its own future as a 3rd party or better yet a faction in the Republican or Democratic parties. And who swings the decision on Quigley's succession in the 5th district among the district's commiteemen will be significant.

The vote to replace is based on a weighted system among the committeemen and Tom Tunney of the 44th Ward carries the largest weighted vote. He may decide who succeeds Quigley, and he may pick from a large field too that includes two current and former county board aides to Quigley, and a former State Representative who may be dragged down by her ties to disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

On a completely different plain, the low voter turnout in the highly contentious 5th Congressional District race suggests voters remain as apathetic as they always have. And that may reflect general apathy across Cook County and the six-county Chicagoland region.

Why? Voters seem content with the election of Obama as president. They're not going to jinx their luck; voters rarely get the best candidates.

You can hear a discussion of these and other issues from Friday's radio broadcast of Radio Chicagoland (WJJG 1530 AM Radio, http://www.radiochicagoland.com/) with Pioneer Press Newspaper reporter Patrick Butler and FOX TV News County Reporter Dane Placko. ... (Click HERE to Listen to the Podcast interview with Patrick Butler -- first 30 minutes -- and Dane Placko, 2nd 30 minutes of the show?)

-- Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/

TV ads in 5th District so far are not as bad as one might think

Not throwing mud is so unusual in Illinois election camapigns. With or without Rod Blagojevich, Illinois is still wrapped in the "culture of corruption" which includes below-the-belt slams.

So it was refreshing and funny to see the light jabbing in the campaign commercial tonight from State Rep. John Fritchey, and the self-focused ad by rival Sara Feigenholtz. Fritchey and Feigenholtz are two of the 12 Democrats seeking to win the party nomination March 3 to fill the vacant 5th District Congressional formerly held by Rahm Emanuel, who is now Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama and an elusive unanswered question int he Blagojevich pay-to-play scandal.

The Tribune's blog described Fritchey's ad, which portrays Feigenholtz and media favorite Mike Quigley as bickering children, calling it an "attack ad." But in Chicago politics, the ad is far from a bad hit. In fact, it made its point in a humorous way without being mean.

Feigenholtz focuses on her immigrant mother fromE astern Europe who put herself through school and her focus on healthcare and experience in the legislature. Nice. Clean. And a solid message. Both Fritchey and Feigenholtz are respected legislators. Quigley is a strong independent voice in the pathetic Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Not everyone has the $100,000 needed to air an effective array of campaign commercials. And despite some great candidates in the Republican field and the Independent filed (five members of the aggressive Green party), the money is on whomever wins the Democratic Party.

Now, there's still time to see some good old Chicago Machine mud come flying, and that would be tragic.

I've had the opportunity to interview several of the candidates on my morning radio show. Fritchey was very open. Feigenholtz seemed a bit reserved. i'm not sure why but maybe it was the cloud of the Arab Israeli conflict that separates our people 9,000 miles away in the Middle East. After all, Emanuel ran the 5th District like an Israeli voter precinct, an issue that has come up in some of the campaign debate banter.

Yet, too bad the Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East can't both set aside their violent ways and take a leaf from this election. Good issues. Good campaign ads. Not a lot of namecalling -- criticism is required to explain why you are better than someone else, but keeping that criticism above the belt is a sign of political maturity and responsibility.

I think Fritchey and Feigenholtz have both been responsible so far.

-- Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/

radio interviews, internet and elections, and broadcasting radio show in video format

What a busy week. Great guests on the radio, as usual. We had author Caryn Amster discussing her book about the murder of his father "The Pied Piper of South Shore" on Monday, followed by a discussion with Democrat State Sen. Mike Jacobs from the Quad-Cities talking about forming an exploratory committee to look into his possible run for governor in 2010 against incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Tuesday, we spoke with Jay Paul Deratany, who had one of the BEST campaign commercials supporting his bid for the Cook County Board of Tax Review against Machine incumbent Joe Berrios, and the one-sided media coverage including on the Comcast Cable TV network where one host who does business with the county hosted Berrios on his show. (Shame!). And, Deratany discusses his new play performing through Dec. 7 at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago that discusses the execution of two 15-year-old Iranian boys accused of being Gay/Homosexuals in Iran.

Later, we had a moving discussion with Ron Kukal, the chief petty officer of the USS Liberty which was attacked by Israel on June 8, 1967, 40 years ago. Until this day, extremist supporters of Israel have refused to allow Americans to know the truth, that the attack was intentional and that Israel wanted to kill every American soldier on the ship that day in order, it is theorized, to provoke the United States to enter the war in full force -- and with unrestrained vengeance -- and launch a nuclear attack against Egypt, Israel's mortal enemy back then. Kukal had to identify and supervise the recovery of the 34 dead American soldiers killed in several Israeli attack waves even though the ship displayed the American Flag.

The Ron Kukal interview is in honor of Nov. 11, Veteran's Day. Veterans who have challenged Israel's lies on this issue have been denounced, typically, as being anti-Semitic and haters. but the truth is they are American soldiers whow ent into the war to defend Israel and to help Israel, only to be abused, murdered and mistreated by Israel and later by Sen. John McCain's father, Admiral McCain who helped in the coverup of the Israeli intentional assault.

Wednesday, we again lightened up with a fascinating interview with Jason LaBrousse, a tour guide for the Chicago Trolley service downtown, taking Chicago downtown history and trivia.

And, we interviewed American Soldier Daniel J. Turner who is serving in Taji Iraq. That was followed by an eye-opener interview with Cook County Board Commission Mike Quigley who talked about how some county commissioners are abusing the "reimbursement" fund of $1,200 a month they each receive, treating it, possibly illegally, as income.

Today, I interviewed the Rev. Johnny Dodd who hosts a morning gospel program Mon-Thursday before my own morning show.

This was a special day as Mornings with Ray Hanania is now broadcast in live video and audio format on the internet. You can hear and watch the radio show by visiting www.RadioChicagoland.com. You don't have to do anything, just go to the web page and the broadcast starts automatically (when the show is being broadcast on the radio) right on the page.

As you know, we also podcast the audio files and you can use the Flash iPod player on the website to review and then pick from every interview and play the audio file right from the web page without ever leaving. And, you can check out the list of individual interviews I have hosted since starting back in radio in September 2007.

I also have a podcast reminiscing about covering former Chicago Mayor Jane. M. Byrne and talking about my friend the late Harry Golden Junior.

And, we end with an interview with Google's Jake Parrillo, a former trustee from Frankfort, Illinois, who is now living in Elmhurst and running the draft Tom Cross for Governor web blog at www.ItsTimeforTom.com. Cross is the Republican House Minority Leader in the Illinois Senate.