As GOP sees things, it's one down and one to go -- Dump Mike Madigan!

Now that Rahm Emanuel has taken himself out of the running for another term as Chicago mayor, it seems the political crackpots of the world will develop a new target.

MADIGAN: The top GOP bullseye?

As in Michael Madigan, the speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives AND chairman of the state Democratic Party.

ALL THOSE VOICES who were gearing up to go through an election cycle next year screaming and screeching about the need to get Emanuel out of political office will now shift their focus for the need to “Dump Mike Madigan!” The man who has literally been a state government official since the early 1970s and has been the leader of Democrats in Springfield since 1983.

Emanuel formally said Tuesday he wasn’t seeking re-election to a third mayoral term. That led Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican allies (he doesn’t have many) on Wednesday to talk publicly about the need to put Madigan into retirement.

Not that such talk is totally original. Rauner and Republicans in general have campaigned for years on the theme that Mike Madigan is all that is evil about government and that the esteemed “Mr. Speaker” needs to go.

But Rauner and his allies made a point of touting their pledge that they want candidates to campaign on – the idea that no one should serve as a legislative leader for more than 10 years. Madigan has been one for nearly four decades, and in political circles is regarded as a record-holder for lengthy tenure in a state government.

EMANUEL: GOP didn't beat him at the polls

ACTUALLY, RAUNER ISN’T pushing to limit legislative leaders. He’s just looking to limit Madigan. In fact, the governor specifically wouldn’t say that the Republican legislative leader, Jim Durkin of Westchester, ought to face a limit on his service.

Which makes all of this a batch of hooey (I could use cruder terms that would be more accurate). Pure partisan politics at its worst.

Rauner can’t figure out a way to get the voters to dump Madigan on Election Day, so he’s trying to figure out ways of neutralizing Madigan while in office. Perhaps reducing his role so much that Madigan would become bored and decide its finally time for retirement.

RAUNER: Will he be the '18 political departure?

Which is a large part of the reason why I have always been suspicious of the concept of term limits – I think voters ought to be able to pick whom they want, and if they’re stupid enough to pick someone inept over and over, then perhaps they’re getting what they deserve!

THERE’S ALSO THE fact that Madigan’s true “offense” is that he’s not playing along with the politically partisan vision that Rauner wanted to impose on state government – which largely involves undermining the influence of organized labor so as to benefit the financial interests of big business.

When Rauner goes about making ridiculous comments about Madigan’s behavior being “criminal” (as he has done in the past), it makes me wonder if the people of Illinois picked a would-be tyrant for the office of governor.

As I already wrote, perhaps we deserve a bit of suffering for making such a pick, although 2018 is the chance we can try to impose a bit of logic back to our state government when we cast ballots for governor.

As for Madigan, he can be a strong-arm himself – one more than willing to play power politics to get things done. Only in Madigan’s case, there is also just enough of a soft touch that one doesn’t realize how hard he’s been knocked out of the box. There’s a reason he got that nickname “The Velvet Hammer” all those years ago.

BUT IF MADIGAN truly unsettles the public mindset, he can be beaten. All political people ultimately are beatable – even some of the biggest, most-established names of politics have experienced losses by voters.

DURKIN: Nobody looking to dump GOP leader

Particularly since in Madigan’s case, all it would take to truly defeat him is to gain the support of voters in one legislative district (as in the neighborhoods surrounding Midway Airport). Those are the people for whom Madigan is the local legislator – and I also don’t doubt they keep re-electing him because they like the idea that their guy is the overall boss who gives orders to everybody else.

Instead, we’re getting more and more evidence that Nov. 6 will be the Election Day that does result in a significant incumbent loss – as in the departure of Bruce Rauner following one term as governor.

Could it really be that Election ’18 will go in the history books as the one in which a majority of Illinoisans (particularly the two-thirds who live in metropolitan Chicago) will see a choice of Rauner and Madigan, AND decide to keep the latter?

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Now, it’s a free-for-all for who gets to be the new 'Man on Five' at da Hall

We haven’t even cast ballots yet for governor or senator, yet the focus Tuesday clearly shifted to the election cycle scheduled for 2019.

EMANUEL: As 'Hawk' Harrelson would say, "He Gone!"

As in the mayor’s office, the post that many local political people think is more important than any other.

THAT CAMPAIGN JUST became a free-for-all, what with Rahm Emanuel letting it be known he’s NOT going to seek a third four-year term in office. He’s willing to leave it at two – and let his political headstone read 2011-2019.

Which means the bidding for who gets to be the next mayor of Chicago truly is up-for-grabs. There were some dozen or so people who already had expressed interest in challenging Emanuel. While many of them will likely turn out to be long-shots who will be lucky to take 1 percent or so of the vote, it will be interesting to see who winds up becoming the front-runner.

And, by extension, which vision for the city of Chicago we’re driven in as a result.

I’m not about to try to predict who the new front-runner is. Personally, my own thoughts are that Emanuel would have been the number one vote getter of the candidate field, but that the other dozen or so people might well have managed to get a slim majority of the vote in February.

Rahm from his days in Congress

RESULTING IN A run-off election come April between Rahm and whichever challenger turns out to be Number Two.

Which actually seems to be the strategy of everybody who was daring to challenge Emanuel come February – count on the number of people who want “Anybody But Rahm” to total more than the number of people content to have the political establishment candidate prevail, and they might well fluke their way into the history books as the 56^th mayor ever of the city of Chicago.

Emanuel served presidents Obama … 

Without Rahm in the running, it means the dozen or so challengers are going to have to run on their own merits and voters will have to decide for themselves whether the collection of complaining no-names are actually qualified to hold the post – should they manage to prevail on Election Day.

That might actually be better for Chicago, since it reduces the chance that an unfit candidate will creep and crawl his or her way into the Fifth Floor suite of offices used by the mayor and his/her staff at City Hall.

… and Clinton

AS FOR EMANUEL, I’m not sure if I totally believe his story on Tuesday that he wants to spend more time with his family – or as he phrased it, “What matters most is four more years for our children, not four more years for me.”

But the man who was a presidential aide to Bill Clinton, a chief of staff to Barack Obama AND a U.S. senator from the city’s Northwest Side already has established a political legacy for himself. Serving another term would have been purely an ego-booster, and maybe one not worth the headaches he’d have had to endure to achieve it.

At the very least, I’m sure Pat Quinn will claim “victory” in that he got Emanuel to not seek another term – and we’ll probably never learn what the courts would have had to say about the merits of his mayoral term limits proposal that really was crafted in such a way as to kick Rahm out of office.

EDGAR: Will Rahm follow his lead into academia?

In fact, I found it interesting to see that the first politico who felt compelled to issue a statement in reaction to Rahm was none other than Illinois House Speaker (and state Democratic Chairman) Michael Madigan, who issued a sort of back-handed praise about Emanuel’s departure.

“AS CHICAGO CONTINUES to move forward and grow as an international city, we will remain grateful for Mayor Emanuel’s leadership,” Madigan said. Which almost translates to something along the lines of “Good riddance. He’s gone, and I’m still the Boss!”

Emanuel’s departure kind of reminded me of similar actions of two decades ago – when Jim Edgar announced he would not seek re-election to a third term as governor back in 1998. Many people were convinced he was a politico-for-life and could not bear to be away from elective office.

Who will be the new occupant of mayoral office suite?

It should be noted that Edgar has not held elective office since then, and in fact worked his way into academia at the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

I must confess; the thought of Emanuel winding up in a similar academic gig intrigues me – a master of blunt-spoken, political hardball tactics morphing into the ultimate goo-goo!

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Evidence of time’s passage; Gov. Ryan gets his dues, What about Blagojevich?

Some people are going to be determined to go to their deathbeds shrieking and screaming about how corrupt George Ryan was, how abhorrent his time as Illinois governor was, and how we can “never forget!” the wrongs he did upon us.

RYAN: To be included in Kankakee tribute

But time really has a way of making everything wither away with its passage.

I COULDN’T HELP but notice the officials in Kankakee who recently approved erection of a new memorial on the grounds of the county courthouse – it’s meant to pay tribute to the three local men who later went on to become governor of Illinois.

Those three will include Ryan – who managed to offend many conservative ideologues with his one-term performance as governor, but who committed acts while serving as Illinois secretary of state that eventually got him into legal trouble and resulted in him serving a six-year stint at the work camp that is part of the federal correctional center in Terre Haute, Ind.

The monument itself would actually be paid for by the Woman’s Club of Kankakee, but governmental approval was needed to put it on public property.

Some people locally are upset, but it seems a majority is more than willing to move on and accept the fact that Ryan served a term – and is one of the few local (from Kankakee) residents to ever be Illinois’ chief executive.

SMALL: When last time you heard his name?

AS FURTHER EVIDENCE that time passing manages to assuage everything and everyone, I haven’t heard anyone make mention of the fact that another person whose name will be on the monument – Len Small from 1921 to 1929 – also had legal issues during his time as governor.

Small actually went on trial for actions occurring when he was state treasurer (embezzlement, as in state funds were deposited into a phony bank account), but he was acquitted.

Although there were tales of how that acquittal came about solely because of jury tampering – as in several members of the Small jury later were given government jobs.

But that’s nearly a century ago. I’m sure all who could remember are long gone. And perhaps those still living are wondering if it’s their mind fizzling out.

SHAPIRO: Replaced a corrupt pol?

ALTHOUGH IF YOU want to get technical, the third person to be put on the Kankakee monument (Samuel Shapiro, from 1968-69) also could have a taint of scandal.

Not that Shapiro himself did anything suspect. But he was the man who finished out the gubernatorial term of Otto Kerner – who gave up his Executive Mansion post to become a federal judge. Which is what he was when federal prosecutors went after him on criminal charges.

Quite a colorful contribution of characters to Illinois’ story, even though if you listen to certain people, it is only the city of Chicago proper that contributes all of the taint to Illinois’ public reputation.

Yet now it will be reduced to a few lines of type etched into stone, one that most likely will merely give off the impression of three “local boys made good” that Kankakee residents of future years will look at for a second or two – before moving on to other pressing business of the future.

A THOUGHT THAT I’m sure will thoroughly offend those people determined to think of George Ryan as the guy who “set all the criminals free” when he took his acts that essentially abolished capital punishment in Illinois.

BLAGOJEVICH: Will his day EVER come?

Preferring to remember instead those secretary of state employees who essentially sold commercial driver’s licenses to the highest bidder; and tried justifying it on the grounds that Ryan put so much pressure on them to buy tickets to fundraising events that they needed the extra money.

Perhaps it all will be forgotten someday, except for certain people who make a point of memorizing the details of every bit of trivia they can burn into their brains.

Just one point to ponder – will this ultimately become the outcome for Rod Blagojevich? Or is his “f---ing golden” line significant enough to warrant him a sense of eternal political infamy?

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So who wins if the activists interfere with O’Hare access – the CTA?

Monday is the day that activists upset with the problems of urban violence in predominantly-black neighborhoods of Chicago say they want to impact O’Hare International Airport.

Activists want to ruin postcard-perfect image of O'Hare -- for a day

Figuring that such an act will get themselves national attention in ways that clogging up the Dan Ryan Expressway or the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field earlier this summer could not.

THE ACTIVISTS SAY they want to make it difficult for motorists to drive to O’Hare on Monday, which is Labor Day (a holiday weekend with a significant boost in travel traffic). They hope that such an act will offend the sensibilities of people whose economic well-being relies upon the airport that they will then pressure Mayor Rahm Emanuel to do something to address the problem of urban violence within parts of Chicago.

There may be some people who have that reaction. Although I also wouldn’t doubt there will be many others whose reaction will be to order Emanuel about to have the Chicago police do an encore, of sorts, of their behavior during the 1968 Democratic Convention protests.

What with all the attention the activity of 50 years ago has received in recent weeks, I wouldn’t doubt the idea would crop up into at least a few heads.

I do find it interesting that these activists at least have the sense not to try to interfere with airport operations proper. That, after all, would constitute a federal offense. Which would mean the federal courts and prosecutors getting involved.

Could this be O'Hare's easiest access on Monday?

IT ALSO WOULD put them in the bullseye of the officials in charge of this Age of Trump our society is now in. Not exactly a crowd that cares much about urban problems – except to the degree they can score cheap rhetorical points off of them for themselves.

So what should we think of the activity, where protesters say they’re going to gather around Noon to try to interfere with traffic using the Kennedy Expressway westbound from Cumberland Avenue to East River Road.

Which is the path that takes motorists into the airport grounds.

Is offending these peoples' sensibilities the goal of Monday activity?

Some activists have told the Chicago Sun-Times they are considering having some people jump over the median to try to interfere with eastbound traffic taking people out of the airport and back into the city proper.

REGARDLESS, IT WILL be interesting to see just how law enforcement behaves on Monday – a day that I’m sure they will wish they could focus on the usual inanity that tends to take place during holiday travel weekends.

Because they’re going to venture onto the Kennedy, this becomes an Illinois State Police matter – rather than one for the Chicago Police Department to address. Just think if they ventured a little farther west onto airport property and all of a sudden it became an issue for the FAA, the FBI and any other federal agency that could be dragged into the alphabet soup.

It would be a jurisdictional nightmare.

Although I couldn’t help but notice reports in recent weeks urging people who have to travel to O’Hare on Monday to consider using the Chicago Transit Authority to get there.

SPECIFICALLY, THE BLUE Line trains that run from downtown through the Northwest Side and wind up all the way at the airport.

Or is it all about embarrassing Rahm?

In theory, you can ride your train in to the airport, and wave bye-bye to all the protesters who think they’re causing chaos and bringing our society to a shutdown. I suppose activists could try blocking train tracks, but that would be insane on account of the legendary “third rail” (the electrified one that feeds power to the rail cars).

I’d hate to think there are people determined to die for this cause, which is supposed to be about reducing the level of people who are killed in Chicago.

Because they’d learn pretty quick just how apathetic many Chicagoans can be about this particular issue, which really reeks of a strong overtone of “It’s not my problem” for those who don’t live in the neighborhoods where the violence tends to focus upon.

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O’Farrill to Chicago's jazz fanatics at festival: We don’t need no stinkin’ wall

It seems we’re truly in the Age of Trump; we can’t escape it no matter where we go.

Arturo O'Farrill works immigration reform, a border wall and Donald Trump-bashing into jazz fest. Photo by Gregory Tejeda

Not even at the Chicago International Jazz Festival, which wrapped up Sunday at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

AMONGST THE PERFORMERS who appeared on the final night was Arturo O’Farrill and his sextet – which consists largely of his sons. Who are the grandchildren of Chico O’Farrill, the legendary bandleader and performer of Afro-Cuban music. A family affair?

It was a pleasant-enough performance, but one that felt the taint of partisan politics. What with the way Arturo felt compelled to work political pot shots related to immigration reform and the possible erection of a barricade along the U.S./Mexico border into his performing patter.

Such as his riff off the ever-quotable line from the 1948 film “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” With O’Farrill telling his Chicago audience, “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges. We don’t need no stinkin’ border. We don’t need no stinkin’ wall.”

And yes, I know that the line “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges” never actually appeared in the film in that form. But that didn’t stop the jazz gathering from appreciating the humor.

THE LINE DREW applause from the jazz fanatics in attendance, along with O’Farrill’s line that avoided using the name “Donald Trump,” but said we can always tell when he’s being dishonest. “His lips move,” O’Farrill quipped.

And just in case the audience had Trump fanatics amongst it (not that any of them felt compelled to react publicly), O’Farrill said that the fact we as a society are filled with people who disagree, “is what makes us great.”

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EXTRA: Politics ain’t beanbag; or is it?

I’m not quite sure what to think of former President Barack Obama’s comments during his eulogy Saturday for late Sen. John McCain.

Difference between toughness and political bluster?

Both Obama and former President George W. Bush (the men who defeated McCain’s own presidential aspirations in 2008 and 2000, respectively) were a part of the program put together to pay tribute to the Arizona senator on Saturday at the National Cathedral, one day before his burial on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

MUCH WAS MADE of the fact that McCain, before he died a week ago at age 81, asked Obama and Bush to speak in tribute, whereas incumbent President Donald Trump wasn’t even invited.

Obama was willing to go along with the theme of challenging the political style of Trump – which seems determined to challenge the styles of everyone who came before him as somehow being illegitimate.

As Obama put it, “So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking in bombast and insult and phony controversies and manufactured outrage. It’s a politics that pretends to be brave and tough but in fact is born in fear.”

But that shouldn’t mean that political activity is meant to be for the meek at heart – for people who can’t handle a punch or two.

REMEMBER BACK TO Peter Finley Dunne’s “Mr. Dooley” character, the 19^th Century Chicago Sout’ Side bartender who told us, “politics ain’t beanbag.”

Meaning it was played for keeps, with the people succeeding the most being the ones capable of fighting it out. Which is what I’m sure Trump thinks he’s doing every time he concocts another insipid tweet on his Twitter account to try to motivate the segment of the masses who actually enjoy this Age of Trump we now live in.

Should we fight back against Trump?

Could it be the difference between Trump and a legitimate political leader is that the former president had ideas – or in the case of Bush knew when to trust more knowledgeable people and defer to their better judgment. Would Mr. Dooley today think our problem is that we need to aggressively fight back against The Donald?

As opposed to the current chief executive who seems determined to have our society think he’s a one-man governmental show; which to my mindset is about as legitimate as a one-man band is to music – usually a whole lot of noise that’s ridiculously out-of-tune.

OF COURSE, I suspect most people will little remember anything either Bush or Obama said. The “quote” of the day seems to come from McCain’s daughter, Meghan, when she said, “the America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.”

Either that, or perhaps they will focus their attention on another former president. Bill Clinton, along with former first lady, senator, secretary of state AND presidential hopeful Hillary, were at the funeral services in Detroit held for legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin.

That might seem like the more significant event, compared to the McCain services that I’m sure the Trump fanatics will be determined to think of as a gathering of people out-of-touch with the common man.

Will Meghan get more support now from fans of The View?

Truly evidence that the Trump-types are off living in their own world, and who want the rest of us to be forced to live in it with them while in a subservient position.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE (of Chicago): Call it a ‘win’ for Quinn – for now

One-time Gov. Pat Quinn, the man who’s leading the effort to tell Rahm Emanuel he can’t run for a third term as Chicago mayor, has at least one point going in his favor.

Pat Quinn not likely to 'play nice' … 

The Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners says that amongst the 87,000-plus signatures of support on the nominating petitions to put a term limits proposal on the ballot for the Nov. 6 elections in the city, there are 54,995 that are valid.

WHICH IS IN excess of the 52,533 minimum that Quinn needs to have for his measure to have a chance of being put up for consideration by voters.

Of course, there still are issues of whether there’s room for Quinn’s referendum question because of the City Council’s effort to crowd stray issues off the ballot. There’s also the issue of whether Quinn goofed when his petitions asked people to consider both term limits AND creation of a consumer advocate for taxpayers.

An issue that some people cynically say is meant to create a position that Quinn himself could hold in the future. Which would be a brilliant political move, if he can pull it off.

Eliminate Emanuel (who already has served two terms as Chicago mayor) and gain himself a post to fill – since he lost his bid for Illinois attorney general back in the primary and may not be able to win election to a more-conventional political post.

… as he challenges Rahm Emanuel's political future

THE BOTTOM LINE amongst all this is that there’s a long way to go before we know if the mayoral election cycle of 2019 will consist of Emanuel and a dozen-or-so people who can only fantasize about replacing him; or will it be just the political dreamers on the ballot next year.

Because even if the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners thinks in favor of the Mighty Quinn, this is a case bound to wind up with lawsuits in the courts and all of the rulings appealed all the way to the very top.

It will be the Illinois Supreme Court that ultimately decides whether or not Quinn’s hard-ball political maneuvering actually bears some line of logic within the law.

What other issues are of note this coming week in this wonderous land along the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan?

ORDER IN THE COURT? I’LL TAKE A HAM-ON-RYE:  Anybody who seriously watches our legal system knows that the people who work in at have touches of “control freak” within them.

VAN DYKE: Was his speaking out contemptable

Take the case of Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago cop facing criminal charges for the shooting death of a teenager. He’s supposed to go on trial this week, but the legal proceedings will step up with a special hearing on Saturday – with the great legal issue of whether Van Dyke ought to be held in jail while the trial takes place.

Van Dyke gave interviews to the Chicago Tribune and to WFLD-TV, trying to portray the public perception of himself as something other than a thug. That has the special prosecutor brought in to handle the case upset – and he wants Judge Vincent Gaughan to find the cop in contempt.

Considering that Gaughan has gone to extremes to control what people have been able to say publicly about this case, he may well decide in favor as part of his efforts to maintain order. Anyway, it means the activity around the Criminal Courts building will be more active compared to what usually would take place in the days of a Labor Day holiday weekend,

JAZZ ‘FANS’:  It will be an intriguing weekend for fans of jazz music. The city’s annual Jazz Festival will take place through Sunday, with famed composer Ramsey Lewis scheduled to give on Saturday what some are billing as his final Chicago concert ever. 

Jazz 'fans likely to celebrate this weekend

Although I hear that phrase and can’t help but wonder if Lewis, who has produced more than 80 albums during his lengthy career, has a touch of the Rolling Stones in him. How many times have we heard of that crew making their “last performance ever” – or last until they change their mind and decide to perform yet again.

One other thought. Should the gubernatorial campaign of J.B. Pritzker consider the Jazz Fest, and all other events held at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, to be free advertising?

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