11 Oct 2009

Former AG Ryan Considering New Gubernatorial Bid

By Rich Miller

You may have read the news by now that former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan is seriously considering another run for governor. Ryan commissioned a poll that shows him leading the GOP pack and running neck-and-neck with Comptroller Dan Hynes and trailing Governor Pat Quinn by five points.

That ain't bad considering Ryan's been out of politics since he lost the 2002 gubernatorial race to Rod Blagojevich.

Ryan's last name, however, will always be a liability in the wake of George Ryan's conviction and imprisonment. Nineteen percent of those polled thought Jim Ryan was the former governor, for instance, and only 10 percent knew he was the former attorney general. Ryan's name identification in the poll is only surpassed by Quinn, although Ryan's negatives are as high as Quinn's - likely because of that toxic last name.

04 Oct 2009

Quinn Blames General Assembly for His Budget

By Rich Miller

One of Governor Pat Quinn's favorite lines is "I speak truth to power." He uses it almost all the time, and has for years.

It appears to be a verbal tic. Quinn has grown so accustomed to saying it for so long that he can't stop himself. He said it once while explaining how he would pitch his income-tax-hike plan to average voters.

The governor has several of these verbal tics. He talks about the "chirpers on the sidelines," and how there is always "more than one way to get to Heaven." His favorite little phrase for his Democratic primary opponent Dan Hynes is "ankle biter."

Quinn's constant use of those little phrases, but particularly his "truth to power" line, gives us a window into how he thinks. It's no surprise. He's been a populist forever.

The "truth to power" phrase also defines how the media has covered Quinn throughout his career. The unwavering story line is that Quinn is the outsider, the rock thrower, the lone voice in the wilderness shouting for the common man.

27 Sep 2009

Hynes Finds Himself on the Wrong Side of Daley

By Rich Miller

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley

Governor Pat Quinn brought out one of the biggest Democratic Party guns possible last week in his latest fight with Comptroller Dan Hynes.

As you likely already know, Hynes is running against Quinn for the Democratic nomination. Hynes recently refused to process several million dollars worth of state payments for tourism programs and various consulting contracts. Hynes said he'll pay them only if Quinn insists that they are vital to the state's interests.

So Quinn held a press conference with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley last week. Daley and Quinn were preparing to leave for Denmark for the final push to bring the Olympics games to Chicago.

20 Sep 2009

Late Fundraiser Was Loyal to the End

By Rich Miller

Chris KellyA couple of years ago, Rod Blagojevich told me during a private conversation that all the talk about how close he supposedly was to indicted fundraiser Tony Rezko was just that. Talk.

Ah, but Chris Kelly, Blagojevich said, now that's a real friend, a close friend, a confidante. Blagojevich said he genuinely admired Kelly on multiple levels -- his success in business, his family, his people-judgment abilities, and his uncanny knowledge of all things sports. The two men talked almost every day, Blagojevich said, sometimes several times a day. He said it seemed like he was as close to Kelly as he'd once been to his own brother.

13 Sep 2009

Hynes Unveils a Sensible Strategy But Faces Big Challenges

By Rich Miller

Dan HynesThere were no spectacular backdrops in place when Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes officially announced his campaign for governor the other day.

No pretty pictures for the TV cameras. No gathering of his adoring family who could not keep their enraptured eyes off of him. No flowery rhetoric. No huge crowd. No brass band. No rows of oversize American flags. No razzle-dazzle at all, in fact.

Instead, Hynes stood in front of a blue curtain, a single flag, and a campaign poster and calmly laid out a plan to cut the state's budget, raise taxes on annual personal income above the first $200,000, tag certain "luxury" purchases with a new service tax, hike cigarette taxes by a dollar a pack, and expand gaming.

That's not a bad strategy for a Democratic primary.

06 Sep 2009

Blagojevich Blames Everybody but Himself

By Rich Miller

As expected, former Governor Rod Blagojevich's new book paints himself as the hero of Illinois politics and blames everyone but himself for his troubles.

He also tries to settle an old score. Blagojevich's longtime enemies House Speaker Michael Madigan and Attorney General Lisa Madigan are both attacked.

30 Aug 2009

Quinn Needs Primary Race to Test Himself

By Rich Miller

There's been quite a bit of private grumbling by Democratic county-party chairs and other party leaders about Comptroller Dan Hynes' decision to run in the February primary against Governor Pat Quinn.

They worry that Hynes will unnecessarily divide the party yet again and serve as a constant reminder to voters that Quinn was Rod Blagojevich's mostly silent lieutenant governor for six years. Hynes' bid, they fret, will only help the Republican Party.

That may very well be true. If Hynes loses the primary after spending millions of dollars tying Rod Blagojevich around Pat Quinn's neck, then Quinn could be served up on a platter in the general election. The best thing the Republicans have going for them right now in this Democratic state is Rod Blagojevich's ignominious legacy, so any help they can get from the Democratic Party would be eagerly welcomed.

But a tough primary race could also turn out to be a good thing for Quinn.

23 Aug 2009

One Republican Invokes the Good Ol' Days

By Rich Miller

Kirk DillardRepublicans, as a class, tend to pine for the good ol' days -- mainly, the eras when they were in power.

That's been especially true in Illinois as the Republicans, uniformly blown out of power by George Ryan's scandals and George W. Bush's leadership style, have tried repeatedly to use the good ol' days to convince voters that they should be returned to stewardship status. For instance, every chance they get they trot out former Governor Jim Edgar -- one of the few living historical Illinois figures who still represents moderation and good governance in many voters' minds.

But Jim Edgar wasn't even at last week's Republican Day event at the Illinois State Fair. I ran into him earlier in the week, after Wednesday's rain storm. He was walking alone through the fairgrounds, heading for his car. He had a horse in a race, but the race was canceled because of the storm so he was leaving.

02 Aug 2009

Clayborne Could Make Gubernatorial Race Really Interesting

By Rich Miller
James Clayborne

While fellow Democrats Governor Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes were hurling insults at each other several days ago about the state budget, I picked up the phone and called Illinois Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne.

"Are the rumors true?" I asked. Was Clayborne really thinking about running for governor in the Democratic primary?

Over the previous several days, quite a few people had said they'd spoken with Clayborne, and all claimed that he sounded like a candidate to them.

But Clayborne would only say that he was still just talking to people, mulling it over, and considering his options. No decision yet.

26 Jul 2009

Many Clamoring for Quinn's Pot of Gold

By Rich Miller

Moments after members of the Illinois State Board of Education voted to cut the board's budget by a net $180 million last week, an activist group called Voices for Illinois Children sent out an urgent e-mail to supporters.

The group sketched out the pain the cuts would cause (the net cut actually disguises a $389-million reduction to individual program lines). A one-third cut to early-childhood programs, for example, could mean the loss of preschool for 30,000 children.

"This budget immediately erases five years of progress in early learning," the group's interim president was quoted as saying in the e-mail. Voices has an interim president because its founding president is now Governor Pat Quinn's chief of staff. The group was ecstatic when Jerry Stermer took Quinn's top job, but the champagne bottles are long empty.

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