Chicago

I can't find a link to what Mayor Daley told a business conference the other day, but basically it was a repeat of the following:

"If they start leasing public assets — every city, every county, every state and the federal government — you would not have to raise any taxes whatsoever. You would have more infrastructure money that way than any other way in the nation," Daley said.

Mike Quigley thanks his supporters at John Barleycorn in Wrigleyville for their help in achieving this progressive victory.

Talk about sweeping things under the carpet:

Mayor Richard Daley today said Illinois already has “moved on” from the corruption scandal involving former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was indicted Thursday along with five others, including his brother.

Looks like we dodged the bullet on this for now:

Mayor Daley's $2.5 billion plan to privatize Midway Airport has run into turbulence -- and it just might be grounded entirely -- because of the nation's credit crunch and Wall Street slide, City Hall sources said Monday.

It says something about a public official when amid the euphoria of them winning election, there's a nagging tinge of regret for what they're leaving behind.

That's what I feel about Mike Quigley winning the Democratic nomination in IL-05. Finally a bit of good news coming out of Illinois! On the other hand, I think most people feel it's going to be a challenge at the local level to find someone to fill his shoes.

My first reaction to hearing that Paul Harvey had died -- to be honest -- was surprise that he was still alive.

It's not like I followed his career all that much. In fact, while he may have broadcast in Chicago, the first time I heard of him was in the wild squatter scene of West Berlin in the 1980s when one of the few radio stations in English was Armed Forces Radio and he was on that.

I'd be completely happy with Tom Geoghegan as congressman in IL-05 but I have no idea why his campaign is passing around the endorsement from this guy:

"Democratic primary voters face a choice ... between a brilliant independent progressive intellectual and a handful of legislators with strong organizational links, a veneer of independence, and little indication of profound progressive commitment or intellectual imagination."

So according to the Chicago Tribune, reaction in the Chicago area to Obama's Address was "mixed". Here's their headline:

"Chicago Area Residents Give Barack Obama's Stimulus Bill Mixed Reviews"

I'm sorry but Don Rose lost my vote in his attempt to show why Tom Geoghegan is the best candidate for IL-05 the moment he laid the following egg:

Feigenholtz disappears when key reform votes come up, such as the bill to permit recall of public officials. (Fritchey voted "no.")

From the account in the Sun-Times of today's 5th Congressional Candidates Debate:

"Privatization of public assets is like selling off your furniture in order to pay your mortgage," Fritchey said to loud applause from the 500 observers who turned out on Super Bowl Sunday.

Actually it's more like selling off one of your bedrooms in order to pay your mortgage. Once you do it, it's kind of hard to get that bedroom back.