Illinois
updated
6:20 p.m.
When it comes to user diaries, we have a few basic requirements that are listed before you are able to hit that magic "Post" button. They are (emphasis added): The Swing State Project is about campaigns & elections. Your diary should be, too. Please preface your diary with headers like "MT-Sen" as appropriate. Aim for three original paragraphs of w...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Fri 2:23 p.m.
Public Policy Polling (3/5-8, registered voters, no trend lines): Alex Sink (D) : 31 Bill McCollum (R) : 44 Undecided : 25 Alex Sink (D) : 27 Charlie Crist (R) : 47 Undecided : 26 (MoE: ?3.4%) Getting back into the gube race must look like a pretty tempting option for Crist at this point... were it not for the fact that McCollum is waxing Crist's ass by a 49-35 spread in a hy...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Fri 1:44 p.m.
Research 2000 has an expansive new look at the Pennsylvania scene for the Great Orange Satan. Let's pop open the hood. First, PA-Sen (3/8-10, likely voters, 8/10-12/2009 in parens): Arlen Specter (D-inc) : 51 (48) Joe Sestak (D) : 32 (33) Undecided : 17 (19) (MoE: ?5%) Arlen Specter (D-inc) : 47 (45) Pat Toomey (R) : 41 (40) Joe Sestak (D) : 39 (42) Pat Toomey (R) : 42 ...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Fri 1:16 p.m.
? NV-Sen, NV-Gov : The filing period in Nevada is now open, and there was one more surprise credible entrant in the Republican field for the Senate race, attracted by the stink lines coming off of Harry Reid. Assemblyman Chad Christensen of suburban Las Vegas, who at one point was minority whip, decided to take the plunge. That takes the number of Republicans jostling to face Reid up to a whoppin...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Fri 12:38 p.m.
Public Policy Polling (3/5-8, registered voters, 8/14-16/2009 in parens): Michael Bennet (D-inc) : 43 Jane Norton (R) : 43 Undecided : 14 Michael Bennet (D-inc) : 45 Tom Wiens (R) : 37 Undecided : 18 Michael Bennet (D-inc) : 46 (39) Ken Buck (R) : 36 (35) Undecided : 14 (26) Andrew Romanoff (D) : 44 Jane Norton (R) : 39 Undecided : 17 Andrew Romanoff (D) : 44 Tom W...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Fri 8:09 a.m.
KY-Sen : Mmm, I love a good R-on-R dogfight, especially when the less palatable Republican has the upper hand. Trey Grayson, way behind in the polls to insurgent nut-winger Rand Paul, is getting the "weirdo" meme started nice and early, planting the seed that will compromise Paul's electability in a general election. In a new ad, Grayson accuses Paul of having "weird ideas" on foreign policy tha...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Fri 5:40 a.m.
Research 2000 for Daily Kos (3/8-10, likely voters, 8/9-12, 2009 in parentheses): For CA-Gov: Meg Whitman (R) : 52 (24) Steve Poizner (R) : 19 (9) Tom Campbell (R) : NA (19) (MoE: ?5.0%) Jerry Brown (D) : 45 (42) Meg Whitman (R) : 41 (36) Jerry Brown (D) : 48 (43) Steve Poizner (R) : 33 (34) (MoE: ?4.0%) In the Republican primary, both candidates are becoming better w...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Thu 9:03 p.m.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, GALVESTON DIVISION June 26, 2001, Decided June 27, 2001, Entered JOHN W. BRADSHAW, Plaintiff, v. UNITY MARINE CORPORATION, INC.; CORONADO, in rem; and PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY, Defendants. CIVIL ACTION NO. G-00-558 DISPOSITION: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment GRANTED. ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Thu 4:36 p.m.
? CO-Sen : Gee, tell us what you really think, Jane Norton! The supposed front-runner for the GOP nod just referred to Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" while appearing at a teabagger forum. I'm sure the 600,000 or so Coloradans who receive Social Security will be glad to hear that. ? FL-Sen : PPP's Tom Jensen has some observations on the Florida race, that also seem generalizable to the nati...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Thu 1:50 p.m.
FL-Sen : Insider Advantage, polling on behalf of the Florida Times Union, confirms what PPP sees in the GOP primary. They have Marco Rubio eviscerating Charlie Crist, 60-26. Charlie Crist better figure out his exit strategy in a hurry, or else he'll have a lot more time to spend on back waxes come September. KY-Sen : Some Dude Bill Johnson said he's bailing on the GOP primary to succeed Ji...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Thu 5:23 a.m.
Go to this site and buy the first book listed here This is important. Don't make me do the pistol and puppy thing. Sometime this Spring, I will get your copy messaged and autographed by the author. This is his first book. I've already told him that, if he starts putting his sunglasses up on the top of his head, smoking a pipe, wearing tweed or crossing his legs all artsy-f...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Thu 3:47 a.m.
Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money. Here are the January fundraising numbers for the six major party committees (December numbers are here ): Committee January Receipts January Spent Cash-on-Hand CoH Change Debt DCCC $4,689,595 $3,049,268 $18,321,761 $1,640,328 $1,333,333 NRCC $4,50...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Wed 7:24 p.m.
Like a surly prison cafeteria worker serving up a pot of gruel, Scotty Ras is dishing out another ladle-full of unappetizing polls. IL-Sen (3/8, likely voters, 2/3 in parens): Alexi Giannoulias (D) : 44 (40) Mark Kirk (R) : 41 (46) Other : 5 (4) Undecided : 10 (10) (MoE: ?4.5%) MA-Gov (3/8, likely voters, 11/23 in parens): Deval Patrick (D) : 34 (32) Christy Mihos (R) : 19 ...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Wed 6:43 p.m. - 5 clicks 
Fix the problem and show neutral scientist/engineers you have fixed it. Everything else will take care of itself. People don't care to see the faces in your plants if they think your American employees are building Kevorkian-ware. American consumers are not as stupid as you think (not all the time, anyway). ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Wed 4:27 p.m.
First, Bumpy Nixon will never really die...not in Quincy and not in Galesburg. Second, Hell of a letter to the editor by Charlotte Tournear (Full Disclosure: Dear friend most of our respective lives.). Why should we send money to a dead-beat who owes us money? Because it's the State? What's the State gonna do, chase the County Treaurer's bond? The way I understand the ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Wed 4:27 p.m. - 7 clicks
Look, I just don't have much today. First Corey Haim practically dies in my arms and then Milton Bradley explains what an evil place Chicago is. I'm having trouble coping but we'll get through it somehow. First, I think the far left and the far right may agree on something--that the current health care volume that's being pushed in Congress is a crock. The left says it's no g...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Wed 4:27 p.m. - 6 clicks
? DE-Sen : Good news on the cat fud front, as according to the press release: "O'Donnell announcement adds Delaware to growing list of states hosting conservative insurgencies against liberal Republican incumbents." Activist and occasional Fox News commentator Christine O'Donnell is making official today that she's running in the Republican Senate primary against Rep. Mike Castle (although she's ...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Wed 1:40 p.m.
Public Policy Polling (3/5-8, registered voters, no trend lines): Kendrick Meek (D) : 33 Charlie Crist (R) : 46 Undecided : 22 Kendrick Meek (D) : 39 Marco Rubio (R) : 44 Undecided : 18 Kendrick Meek (D) : 25 Marco Rubio (R) : 34 Charlie Crist (I) : 27 Undecided : 14 Charlie Crist (D) : 34 Marco Rubio (R) : 43 Undecided : 22 (MoE: ?3.4%) It's clear that the situat...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Wed 1:40 p.m.
Public Policy Polling (pdf) (3/5-8, likely voters, no trend lines): John Hickenlooper (D) : 50 Scott McInnis (R) : 39 Undecided : 11 (MoE: ?4.1%) Well, these numbers are a little different from Rasmussen 's, aren't they? PPP's first look at the Colorado governor's race since the tradeoff from retiring Democratic incumbent Bill Ritter (currently saddled with a 38/50 approval) to Denv...
Swing State Project (Illinois) - Wed 10:44 a.m.
One of the smartest men I know is a fellow named Jay Foonberg. Jay's a Chicago guy but he hides out in Beverly Hills now. He has a number of "Foonberg's Rules". Not so long ago he came up with "Foonberg's First Rule of Technology" as follows: "If it works...it's obsolete." The same thing can be said for fans' perceptions of NFL defensive players. By t...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Mar 4 - 2 clicks
Inevitably, Chuck Mahon's play-by-play career will soon come to an end. Our area has seen some awfully good play-by-play guys but Chuck is floating in the deep end of that talent pool. When I listen to him do a game, I can visualize the action. I get the idea it goes right from his eyes to his mouth. Of all the folks who have had that job, he does the very best job of balanci...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Mar 3
....."From the Global Resources of ABC News...." not so much now Now I kinda get the internet versus dead tree thing but it's a little unclear to me why the demand for electronic news reporting, on television both on the tube and "on demand" is off. I'm sure Tookie will explain it to me. ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Mar 1
Since I was quite young, I read everything I could find about James "Cool Papa" Bell. The Bell Legend is that he was so fast (Due credit here to the great Buck O'Neill) he could "Flip the light switch in his hotel room and be in bed before the light actually went out." Without question, Bell could play the outfield with great competence and virtually always hit over .300. But th...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 27
The last one I remember being created was "Borked". I think we now have a new one. Don't yet know whether it's transitive or intransitive. To have "Kwame'd" Paterson in New York has "Kwame'd" or has "Kwame'd himself". "Spitzered" just doesn't have the same panache. ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 26 - 4 clicks
Whenever people tell you "it's not about the money," it is, of course, always about the money. Similarly, enough people said about yesterday's Blair House hoedown, "this is not going to be mere political theater," that was obvious it was going to be, uh........, mere political theater. This is not to say it wasn't damned interesting political theater. It beat hell out of, for example, Kentucky ve...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 26
There was an interesting, if obscure, story of about a representative of local travel agencies addressing a Community College Board Meeting, complaining that John Wood Community College did not use the services of any of these local providers. My first impression of all this was something to the effect that "a junior college needs a travel agency like a pigeon needs rollerskates." ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 24
The President issued an eleven page, bullet-pointed white paper as to what, exactly, his minimum expectations were for the health reform package. Now that's real leadership. He's sworn in on January 20th and by February 22, he's got his core principles for health reform out there for the Congress to consider and vote upon........ Oh, wait! That was January 20, 2009 and this...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 22
Eldrick's speech didn't seem very good to me. He did the usual: "If I weren't famous and rich and rich, I probably wouldn't have strayed"--boring. Then he tossed in the Buddha thing--That'll really resonate with the golf fan demographic, public and private. I'm sure his advisers begged him to stay away from the "Leave My Family Alone!" crap--Like he was their big protector. ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 19 - 3 clicks
Bad News = She set her boyfriend's clothes on fire! Good News = He wasn't in them at the time Inconvenient News = the authorities have the unfortunate impression she threatened to stab him. ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 18
David Leonhardt's article " Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success " got a lot of play on a number of blogs. People might be interested in hearing him discussing the issue today on the Brian Lehrer Show (WNYC). ...
IllinoisDemNet - Feb 17
WBBM Radio went on and on last Sunday about the protest at Addison and Western against 'redlight' cameras. You'd think a million people had shown up. With all that air-time, you'd think they could have interviewed a pedestrian or two for an alternative perspective. But no -- which is kind of strange since last time I checked, we're living in a major metropolitan area where walking and takin...
IllinoisDemNet - Feb 17 - 2 clicks
Just today, I opened up my spam filter and I found the lawyer's opportunity of a lifetime . A one hour webinar on how to use my SmartPhone to enhance my law practice for only $500.00. Oh, and did I mention that they would email me the Power Point file? Be Still, My Heart! ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 16 - 3 clicks
People are actually having open discussions about "net neutrality," --just like here in the Basin for, like, the last three years. It's a complicated situation and we've already given ground. The debate is full of sunshine patriots (can you say "Sponsored Links"?) but still worth having. Welcome aboard, midwest journalism. ...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 16
We're all relieved to know that Bubba's going to be okay but I couldn't help notice that the guy's only 63. That's still two years till Medicare kicks in. Imagine if he didn't have health insurance. Pass. The. Damn. Bill. Now. ...
IllinoisDemNet - Feb 11
As I have written here many times before, I hate "right-on-red-after-no-stop-and-barely-looking-or-slowing-do Still, I don't think red light cameras are the answer. States and Cities have done a lot to minimize the impact of RLC's (different fine, no mover, no points) but that is almost an acknowledgment that there is something stinky about them. Maybe if the RLC's were simp...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 11
This is in the nature of free advice for any and all candidates sharing the ticket with the now infamous lieutenant governor nominee. At least the advice is available to the ones who have not already engaged their vocal cords . Having a disreputable nominee on your ticket is similar to having head lice in your home. It is not especially healthy in general, but treatable. The condition is e...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 6
About 1000 years ago, I bought a wonderful little journaling program from Parsons technology called " Daily Journal 2.0 ." I think it was designed for windows 3.1. DJ was basically a personal and professional diary system in an easy to organize and totally searchable format. Like so many other Parsons products, it was slick, not a memory hog and quite inexpensive. I used it for years. In 1998 o...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 6
"The people of Adams County are strongly against zoning of any kind." We've heard that since 1975 at least. Perhaps we should add "Except when they're not." Supposedly thousands of them are now prepared to urge the County to bar a planned wind farm because those structures would disrupt their...get this....quality of life. Surely The Basin is not the only one who gets the iro...
Upper Mississippi River Basin - Feb 4
That's what we've got to ask the lunatics who are constantly pressing the panic/paranoia button. ...
IllinoisDemNet - Feb 3
Toni Preckwinkle thanks supporters and promises they'll be hearing from her soon in her run for President of the Cook County Board. ...
IllinoisDemNet - Feb 2
It's the easiest thing in the world to come up with a plan when you're completely indifferent to the final results. That's always been the GOPers' advantage when it comes to HCR: basically they can recommend anything they want since universal health care is not part of their agenda, it's part of ours. So when one of the GOPers in Baltimore whined (in so many words) 'you're ignoring us -- we ha...
IllinoisDemNet - Jan 30
I had a great time watching the SOTU with old friends from the Niles Township Democratic Meetup. Leah called us all together and it was great seeing people, some of whom I hadn't seen for way too long. We all left re-inspired and energized by Obama's words. P.S. Hey Michelle: Greg Sargent... ...
IllinoisDemNet - Jan 27 - 3 clicks
Chicago Sun-Times Endorsement 3 Dems for cleaner water January 26, 2010 A new legal battle among the Great Lakes states over the threat of Asian carp has highlighted the importance of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Although rarely in the......
49th Ward - Jan 26 - 2 clicks
Another day, another example of David Brooks' infatuation with something he calls 'populism'. Odd that we only hear of this now that people are protesting against Democrats in power. Throughout the long period of Republican Ascendancy, the people protesting then were never populist (though the demographics might have been similar) -- no, those protesters were nothing but a bunch of radical US...
IllinoisDemNet - Jan 26
From Campaign for Better Health Care : DOWNTOWN CHICAGO @ NOON Federal Plaza - 230 S. Dearborn, Chicago 60602 EVANSTON @ NOON Fountain Square Corner of Davis St., Sherman Ave. & Orrington Ave. President Obama and some Democrats in Congress recently indicated that they might consider scaling back plans for health care reform. Tomorrow, January 26, we will send a clear message th...
IllinoisDemNet - Jan 25 - 4 clicks
