 |
| Is political matchup between Preckwinkle … |
It
is either seven more weeks until the current election cycle – the one that will
give Illinois a governor, legislators and other constitutional officers – is over
and done with. Or it is seven more weeks until we can forget about this layer
of government and get on with what they want to believe is the real government.
 |
| … and Daley more intriguing … |
AS
IN THE election for mayor and the 50 members of the City Council who will
oversee the municipal activity of Chicago.
Yes,
it is an overly parochial attitude to take that people who live outside of the
Chicago city limits have government that doesn’t mean a thing. And that our
state officials ought to be subservient to those officials from the city.
But
I also don’t doubt there are people who are tired of the rhetorical trash talk
coming from the governor candidates and will never get intrigued by who is
running for attorney general or comptroller.
They
probably don’t have a clue who their state legislators are.
 |
| … than the 'millionaires' brawl … |
FOR
THOSE PEOPLE who want to think the state government doesn’t matter, just keep
in mind that Bill Daley has kicked off his own campaigning for mayor in the Feb.
26 elections (with possible run-offs April 2) by saying he expects
newly-elected Gov. J.B. Pritzker to be supportive of initiatives that will help
Chicago resolve some significant financial issues the city has.
A
concept that I’m sure grossly offends Illinoisans from that one-third of the
state’s population lying outside the Chicago metropolitan area’s boundaries.
I
actually wonder if Bruce Rauner’s lone chance of prevailing on Nov. 6 and
getting himself re-elected to a second four-year term as governor is if enough
non-Chicago voters decide to band together and Vote for Bruce to keep the city
from becoming – from their perspective – too powerful.
 |
| … we're now getting between Rauner/Pritzker? |
So
long as ideologues getting all worked up about social issues such as abortion
or immigration see flaws in Rauner because he hasn’t been hardline right-wing
enough to appease them, then Pritzker is likely to prevail.
WHICH
IS WHY many voters are acting as though Nov. 6’s Election Day is already a done
deal; and why they’re probably waiting for the activity that decides who will
be the replacement as mayor for Rahm Emanuel – who already has made public his
first act.
He
has a book deal – one that will let him settle scores against everyone who he
thinks has wronged him during his eight years as mayor and will keep his name
in the public eye while he decides what he wants to do with the rest of his
life.
That
book, which Emanuel has yet to write, is expected to be published by the year
2020 – around about the same time that Chicago White Sox fans think their
favorite ballclub will morph itself into a contending ballclub.
Which
may, or may not, be a fantasy in its own right.
WITH
THE MAYORAL election cycle turning into a brawl between Cook County Board
President Toni Preckwinkle and former White House chief of staff Bill Daley,
with former school board President Gery Chico saying Tuesday he’s interested in
getting into the mix and others speculating about likely Rep. Jesus Garcia,
D-Ill., and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza becoming involved, the upcoming
political fight is taking on a heft that will make many eager to see this “governor
nonsense” over and done with.
 |
| What if Mendoza swings ahead of all? |
It
definitely has taken on more heft than it had just a couple of weeks ago when
it was Emanuel likely running for re-election against a dozen or so
lightweights whose only real strategy for winning was that they could force Emanuel
into a run-off election and beat him by taking the “Anybody But Rahm” vote.
Now,
it’s more likely the Chicago city elections will produce a mayor who actually
has people intrigued by his/her qualifications for the office – instead of
feeling like a default choice.
And
as for governor? It would amuse me if Pritzker wound up spending all those
millions of dollars of the family fortune to buy himself a political post, only
to have someone like Mendoza (who currently holds a post four notches below his
in the state pecking order) somehow swing around him and gain the more prestigious
(to some) political post for herself!
-30-
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