 |
| The influence of political spouses |
It
creates speculation about what it was the would-be candidate wound up having to
do to get the spouse to go along with the thought of a campaign.
IN
FACT, ONE of the few campaigns I can think of where a candidate actually
listened to his wife was back in 1998 when Jim Edgar was contemplating a third
term as Illinois governor, or perhaps running for the U.S. Senate.
Then-first
lady Brenda Edgar made it known she didn’t want to be part of the Washington
scene, and was somewhat tired of Springfield as well. Edgar (as in Jim) wound
up running for nothing, and hasn’t held a government post since.
So
it was interesting to learn that Chicago Teachers Union boss Karen Lewis made
it clear this week that there’s no legitimacy to the speculation that she
herself would take on Rahm Emanuel when he seeks re-election as mayor in next
year’s election cycle.
Lewis
let it be known that her husband, John, “has said ‘no’.”
WHICH
MAY BE the part that gets taken more seriously than the Chicago Sun-Times
reporting that Lewis said of herself, “I clearly am not a politician.”
Although
I don’t doubt that Lewis will use her influence as head of the Chicago Teachers
Union to try to affect the outcome of Emanuel’s campaign next year, or that of
Emanuel’s friend, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner, in this year’s
election cycle.
Whom
Lewis couldn’t help but take a wisecrack at during her own denial of running
for office, saying that comparing her to Rauner is wrong because, “I’m not
egotistical or rich.”
What
else is notable these days as we recover from months of sub-zero, Arctic-like
temperatures that have literally caused 81 percent of Lake Michigan to freeze
over?
OUT
WITH THE OLD; IN WITH THE NEW?: Former Cook
County Board member Joseph Moreno, who got caught up in the same federal
prosecution that turned one-time Alderman Ambrosio Medrano into a repeat
political corruption offender, got whacked with an 11-year prison term, just
slightly more than the 10 ½ years that Medrano got.
He
got the lengthy sentence from U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman even though he
pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. He’ll be back in
public circulation some time about the year 2023.
Meanwhile,
aspiring county board member Richard Boykin is being challenged as to whether
he’s even eligible for the post he’s running for. Critics say he and his wife
actually live in Bolingbrook (in Will County).
Boykin
backers say he has lived in Oak Park since 2005, and that he and his wife are
estranged, although there has been no legal effort headed toward divorce.
Boykin is among those who wants to replace long-time politico Earlean Collins,
who is not seeking re-election this year.
WHAT
HAPPENED TO THE OLD DAYS OF A PHONE NUMBER SCRAWLED ON THE MEN’S ROOM WALL?: The state Legislature gets to consider the
concept of “revenge porn” this spring.
A
state Senate committee gave its support to a bill that would make it a felony
to put compromising pictures of someone else on a web site without their
consent. It would also make it a crime for the website owners to demand a fee
to have such pictures removed.
That
support came despite the fact that the American Civil Liberties Union said they
regard such conduct, even if it is caddish, as amounting to freedom of
expression – which is covered by that first amendment to the Constitution.
Which
makes sense if you consider that our freedoms include the right to be stupid
and ignorant at times. Somehow, I don’t expect the Illinois Legislature will
feel the same way this year.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment