By Steve Rhodes

The conviction of former Gov. George Ryan for racketeering and fraud caps a political career that could best be described as Illinois Personified. Has there ever been a pol who better embodies all that is Illinois politics than George Ryan?
From the bare-knuckle Kankakee Machine that he grew up on to his tenure as speaker of the Illinois House, George Ryan ascended the political ladder as a hardcore semi-Downstate conservative who was always more Cook County than Cairo. He patiently served two terms as lieutenant governor and two terms as secretary of state – 16 years! – awaiting his chance to be the boss man. And even then, he only beat congressman Glenn Poshard by a 51-47 percent margin, by running to the left of his Democratic opponent.
Ryan’s steadfast conservatism morphed into a willingness to tack whichever way best served his friends and his own political opportunities. As governor, he reneged on campaign promises on such issues as taxes and the expansion of O’Hare airport, and then insisted he had the right to change his mind despite what he told voters. He plunged the state into precarious financial straits and tarnished the most courageous and noble act of his political career when he enacted a moratorium on the death penalty in a hamhanded way and later tried to use the action for sympathy before the jury that convicted him.
A federal investigation that began as a probe into the selling of drivers licenses in exchange for cash that state employees could then donate to Ryan’s campaign fund turned led to a full-scale unraveling of a Secretary of State’s office deemed “a criminal enterprise” by authorities and a governorship that doled out favorable contracts to friends and contributors. Ryan’s way of doing business was Illinois’s way of doing business writ large, taken to a level that even shocked longtime wheeler-dealers, with the help of right-hand man and fellow felon Scott Fawell.
Who George Ryan is is not a mystery. How he was able to operate with impunity all these years is more so. Some of the more interesting punditry offers some clues.

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Posted on April 21, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

It’s not as if George Ryan is the first high-profile Illinois pol – or even the first who served as governor – to become a convicted felon.
But somehow some pundits insist – even rue – that the rules have now changed. As if we haven’t seen a prosecution like this before; as if new laws have been written.
It just isn’t so.

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Posted on April 18, 2006

The Beachwood Reporter was Dumpster-diving behind O’Briens Restaurant the other night (try the whitefish!) when we came across a folder of its infamous full-page newspaper ads–the ones that typically show local celebrities and pols singing the restaurant’s praises. The discarded ads we found featured the primary candidates for governor; apparently they were thrown out accidentally and never made it into print before the election. Click on the thumbnail photos that follow to see what you missed.

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Posted on April 5, 2006

By The Beachwood Political Affairs Desk

A look at what we’ve learned from Tuesday’s primaries, and what we can expect from here until November. It’s depressing in either direction.
Rod Blagojevich: As we asked in our primary guide, Has there ever been such a lack of enthusiasm for a virtually unchallenged incumbent? Clearly it was the governor’s bulging-at-the-seams campaign fund rather than his record in office that scared away challengers. And that, my friends, is example No. 845,000 (or so) of how money has hijacked your democracy. It is also Example No. 845,001 of how the private two-party system operates to prevent you from having too many choices.
Edwin Eisendrath: His phantom campaign won 30 percent of the vote. Makes you wonder what it would have been like had a real challenger stepped up and forced a real referendum on Public Official A‘s job performance. Eisendrath now goes back to cooking school.
Pat Quinn: The forgotten man as Blago’s lieutenant governor. So we just thought we’d mention him.
Judy Baar Topinka: We’ll still be wondering in the fall what it would have been like to have a real campaign challenge to Blagojevich–unless his world is rocked by more indictments.

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Posted on March 23, 2006

By The Beachwood Political Affairs Desk

This state’s congressional delegation is a powerhouse. You might not know this, but the frickin’ Speaker of the House, you know, the guy who used to be Newt Gingrich, and before that Tip O’Neill, is from Illinois. His name is Dennis Hastert. He is from Yorkville. He is two heartbeats from the presidency – meaning if Dick Cheney shot George W. Bush while hunting and then had a heart attack, Dennis Hastert would be president.
So yeah, he’s kind of undercovered in the local press. At least others have taken notice.

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Posted on March 17, 2006

By The Beachwood Political Affairs Desk

Less than half of the lawyers running for Cook County Circuit Court judgeships are qualified, according to the Chicago Council of Lawyers.
Many of them, as they always do, will win seats on the bench. We have an incapable judiciary.
Our judges are even less qualified than our aldermen.
What kind of place are we living in?
[See also: A Beachwood Guide to the Primaries: Governor and Cook County President; A Beachwood Guide to the Primaries: Congress & You.]

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Posted on March 17, 2006

By The Beachwood Political Affairs Desk

Still haven’t decided who to vote for in the primaries on Tuesday? Let us help.
We’ve analyzed each candidate’s record, studied their policy papers, parsed their campaign contribution data, and spied on their neighbors and family. And then we flipped through the articles written by other news organizations and wrote our evaluations. We are particularly indebted to the Chicago Sun-Times‘s series of candidate profiles, especially in isolating each candidate’s Creepiness Factor. So a blanket nod to The Bright One and everyone else we stole from. Good work!
[See also: A Beachwood Guide to the Primaries: Congress & You; A Beachwood Guide to the Primaries: Judging Not.]

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Posted on March 16, 2006

By Kiljoong Kim

With Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez rattling around the outskirts of the next mayoral race, and a city council packed with women, African Americans, and at least one openly gay man, you might think that diversity has found its place in Chicago’s political arena. Indeed, African Americans and Hispanics in particular have joined the great parade of minority groups before them who have worked their way up, at least to some degree, from outsider status into the halls of power.
But there is a glaring absence from this picture of diverse representation, a missing piece of the puzzle rarely if ever considered among the political practitioners, the political pundits, and the political press. It is this simple fact: There are no Asian-American aldermen here.
Curious, isn’t it? Especially for a growing part of the population which, as a group, is in seemingly good economic shape. Yet, in the case of Chicago’s Asian Americans, money doesn’t equal power.
Why not?
Let’s take a look at the numbers.

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Posted on March 13, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

Cook County Board Commissioner Forrest Claypool, running against incumbent John Stroger in the Democratic primary for Cook County Board president, made news last week when he endorsed U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s proposed Peotone airport.
Simple enough, you might think. But the weird dynamics of this campaign left all three in a bit of a tangle.

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Posted on March 5, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

The 115-story curling spire proposed for the Chicago lakefront could hardly be more befitting of the city. After all, what could be a better symbol of the Daley Administration than a giant screw?
The only element missing from the sublime design is an impaled taxpayer on top.

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Posted on February 26, 2006