By Steve Rhodes
Here’s the thing that really killed me this week: As I sat in the waiting room for potential jurors called to duty at the Daley Center on Monday, the TVs were all set to Channel 7. That meant that for five hours until my group was finally cut and sent home, we had to listen to all those campaign commercials over and over yet again.
So last night I watched Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel instead of the returns, and then went to bed early.
Did I miss anything?
That’s Pat!
At 12:54 a.m., Pat Quinn addressed the crowd at his Election Night party: “It looks like another landslide victory is heading our way!”
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At least if he pulls out the squeaker he’ll provide better material than Bill Brady. But sheesh. Illinois must be paying off some very deep sins from a previous lifetime.
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According to AP this morning, Quinn leads Brady by 8,349 votes with 99 percent of precincts reporting (1,694,196 votes to 1,685,847 votes). The percentages: 46.5% to 46.2%.
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– Quinn quote via CapitolFax
The Rebuke
I wonder if the Tribune regrets its endorsement of its favorite son two years ago.
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It came from both sides of the spectrum.
“Let’s not shoot the messenger,” Robert Scheer writes at Truthdig. “Yes, the tea party victors are a mixed bag espousing often contradictory and at times weird positions, the source of their funding is questionable and their proposed solutions are vague and at times downright nutty. But they represent the most significant political response to the economic pain that has traumatized swaths of the nation at a time when so-called progressives have been reduced to abject impotence by their deference to a Democratic president.
“Barack Obama deserved the rebuke he received at the polls for a failed economic policy that consisted of throwing trillions at Wall Street but getting nothing in return. His amen chorus in the media is quick to blame everyone but the president for his sharp reversal of fortunes. But it is not the fault of tea party Republicans that they responded to the rage out there over lost jobs and homes while the president remained indifferent to the many who are suffering.”
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The rebuke was felt in Illinois congressional races as well. Is our formerly Blue state now officially Purple?
8th District: Republican insurgent Joe Walsh is in a dead-heat with Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean.
10th District: Democrat Dan Seals goes down for a third time to shadowy Republican Bob Dold. Can we officially declare the 10th a Republican district instead of a swing district? Yes, the district went for Gore, Kerry and Obama but it also hasn’t elected a Democratic congressman since 1977.
11 District: Republican challenger Adam Kinzinger easily knocked off incumbent pro-business, moderate Democratic Debbie Halvorson, which may have happened in any year. But Dems may have been able to do a better job protecting her in any other year too.
14th District: Republican challenger Randy Hultgren easily knocked off Democratic incumbent Bill Foster, who did nothing I can think of to truly alienate anyone.
17th District: Republican challenger Bobby Schilling easily knocked off true-blue Democratic incumbent Phil Hare.
Obama 2008: Good for Illinois?
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At least we’ll end up with Rahm Emanuel as mayor.
Alexi Gone
“Illinois voters didn’t appear overly enthusiastic about either Senate candidate, but Republican Mark Kirk triumphed with help from independents, men and people worried about the economy, an exit poll showed,” AP reports.
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Let’s face it: The Democrats certainly could have retained this seat if they had nominated a better candidate than the child banker. Kirk became surprisingly vulnerable with revelations about his exaggerations – and wouldn’t it have been nice (and good for turnout and enthusiasm) to once again provide America with its only African American United States Senator?
Likewise, Quinn. Dan Hynes would have had his own vulnerabilities but I find it hard to see how his campaign could have done worse.
Toolbox
In our never-ending quest to determine just how many tools reside in Cook County, we have a new base figure to start from: at least 621,652 people voted to elect Joe Berrios the new assessor.
County Bounty
Toni Preckwinkle waltzed into the Cook County board presidency, as expected, but with her brand damaged. She is now officially under suspicion.
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Tony Peraica lost his board seat to Jeff Tobolski, the McCook mayor whose police force arrested Peraica over the weekend.
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Just for the record, John Daley was re-elected to his county board seat with about 70 percent of the vote. More impressive, though, was the 90 percent of the vote that Bill Beavers pulled in.
Madtown
Michael Madigan easily won re-election to the Illinois House, which will remain under his control. Close to 1,900 people voted for his fake opponent, P.J. Ryan, and they are either to be commended or rescued.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Recounting daily.
Posted on November 3, 2010