dave / November 8, 2006 1:44 AM

Thank goodness. I know the Ds aren't that different from the Rs, but given the last few years, even a little different is good.

annabelle / November 8, 2006 2:06 AM

agreed

CVAL / November 8, 2006 7:07 AM

Locally this was a choice between the lesser of two evils. Nationally choices were made based on Iraq and all the debt and hell that this quagmire has birthed.

chicago girl / November 8, 2006 7:55 AM

happy about the shift of control of the house/senate. very very troubled by the stroger win...i am not going to get into it now, but safe to say...it troubles me.

Greg / November 8, 2006 8:28 AM

Is Emanuel going to take any heat over Duckworth, or is that race going to be considered a speedbump in a successful national strategy?

Marilyn / November 8, 2006 8:58 AM

Cautiously optimistic on the national front. Very disappointed on the state and local front Hope you all remember this when Daley comes up for reelection. Todd's his flunky.

Does anyone know where I can find out the results of the circuit court judgeship elections?

Mikey / November 8, 2006 9:15 AM

I'm pleased. For the first time in 6 years, I have hope. I don't pretend that the Democrats are the panacea for all that is wrong in this country, but I am confident they will get this country back on the right track, both domestically and internationally...

Not crazy about the Toddler winning--I voted for Claypool as a write-in candidate instead...

And I must confess, I felt a little giddy in voting for the Green Party candidate for the Illinois governorship to show my discontent with the two other crappy candidates. It was the first time I didn't cast a vote for a Democrat...

Felix / November 8, 2006 9:19 AM

Marilyn - I can't provide anything of substance, but I've seen the Daily Herald with a write-up of the judicial races. They also noted that it appeared all 71 judges up for retention in Cook County would keep their seats.

Ralphie / November 8, 2006 9:23 AM

Emmanuel should be fine over the Duckworth campaign. That is an overwhelmingly Republican district, so the fact that it was close is a good sign. And like Melissa Bean 2 years ago, she now has great name recognition there which is key for Congressional campaigns.

Marilyn / November 8, 2006 9:25 AM

Thanks, Felix. I did my homework on the judges this year, so that's disturbing, but unsurprising, news. There has to be a better way to deal with judiciary vacancies. Nobody ever knows who these people are, so some bad ones keep getting reelected.

Allan / November 8, 2006 9:32 AM

I am hoping one day I can take a stance and be able to make a political choice without feeling like I am deciding between the lesser of two evils, sadly that has not happened yet. That being the case my thoughts/feelings on the 2006 elections can be summed up by saying things could be worse. On the local front my favorite moment was watching Tony Peraica put on his best "I am angry as hell" face and march with determination down the street to personally count the votes only to be get stuck in a elevator for 45 minutes. When he finally got out Todd Stroger was there to meet him and handed him a posted note that said LOSER on it. Yeah... we're all adults here.

Clarke / November 8, 2006 9:44 AM

Two words: WOO HOO!!!

M / November 8, 2006 9:49 AM

Looks like Cook County will get the leadership it deserves. I loved Beavers' comment about the machine delivering. Just come right out and say it whydontcha? The machine could deliver a carrot. I hope everybody who voted for Stroger sees their property tax/rent (that's right, landlords don't absorb tax increases out of the goodness of their hearts) go up $150 a month like mine will next month. Morons.

jen / November 8, 2006 9:52 AM

being from ohio:
THANK GOD!!!

on the illinois front:
whatever. blago, topinka... it's all the same.
interesting to see the green party got almost 11% though.

disappointed that it appears toddler will win in the end.

Clarke / November 8, 2006 9:55 AM

Amending my post -- I guess bad news for Bush leaves me a little trigger happy. I give a "Woo Hoo!" since I agree with earlier posts that the results, on the Federal level, are greeted with cautious optimism; any departure from the Republican march toward the cliff's edge is welcome. State/locally, first time voting for Green Party candidate, since the choice between Blago and Topinka was equitable to picking your own poison.

paul / November 8, 2006 9:57 AM

I'm fuming about my polling place in Evanston.

A vocal Stroger supporter directly outside the door, no one asked for my ID or made me sign anything until I asked, I used the touch screen, which was positioned in such a way that everyone else waiting for ballots could see my votes, two judges looked over my shoulder the whole fucking time. I told them to back off but they came back, the other judges were having a loud political argument about Blago. and some scam I hadn't heard of. I yelled at them until another judge came over to explain to them there was no political discussions allowed. Didn't they have to pass a test and know that?

One judge said he had to look over the printed ballot on the machine. I told him to shut up as HE STARTED READING IT ALOUD. The whole thing was ridiculous. I was expecting them to charge a poll tax to any black person that walked in.

Felix / November 8, 2006 10:00 AM

It would've been more accurate if Ralphie had stated that Emanuel should be "fine[d]", especially in the context of how Duckworth "now has great name recognition." That didn't matter to Emanuel when he shoehorned Duckworth into the slot 2 years after she'd won 44% of the vote versus Henry Hyde.

MAF / November 8, 2006 10:07 AM

Vote Quimby!

Andrew / November 8, 2006 10:31 AM

I wrote in Forrest Claypool too, and talked to two other people last night who did the same. I think there will be enough Claypool write-ins to send a message to the county Dems -- especially if the race is close once the suburbs are counted.

(Yes, I know write-ins don't matter unless the candidate is a registered write-in. But those votes are still read, so if there's a significant percentage for Claypool, it still sends a message.)

kelly / November 8, 2006 10:52 AM

awesome. My boyfriend and I wrote in Forrest Claypool too.

I was surprised, but pleased, to not be using elec. voting machines, filling in the arrows instead (and nice archival pens provided!).

chicago girl / November 8, 2006 10:52 AM

you can see the results (not the Cook Co. Prez, it's not current) at the Cook County Clerk's office.

www.voterinfonet.com/results/110706/SummaryElection110706RaceNum0010.html?Party=ALL

that's the direct link.

M / November 8, 2006 11:01 AM

" 'This was the Machine rolling,' said Ald. William Beavers (7th), who has been Stroger's muscle and who won his own seat Tuesday on the County Board."

What do the county dems care about Claypool write-ins? They know Claypool would have won which is why they lied to the voters about the elder Stroger's health in the first place. It was an end-run around truth and choice, for the purpose of blatant personal enrichment. Beavers' and Todd Stroger's actions in that regard (lying about his own father's health and hiding him from the public) are repulsive. Their actions and those of the committeemen who signed off on Todd were cynical, arrogant, dishonest and calculated. In the end, what do they care? It appears to have worked and the dynasty will continue as long as they want it to. The majority of voters in Cook are so divided, misinformed and immune to insult that they lapped it all up and were happy to do so.

Blagg the Axman / November 8, 2006 11:24 AM

In my land, ballots are punched with the point of a sword, victories decided by the number enemies slain upon the battlefield. Yet in these many sad years long past without hope, it is the only choice left for those who would resist. In the absence of just rule, might is power, and the twisted despot Kayne demonstrates time and again that he holds the largest stick in the land and will use it without mercy or discrimination. Few indeed are those who nurture pangs of rebellion, when memories of better times fade with each passing season; more seldom still is any serious effort mounted against the dark armies that nightly march unbidden across the kingdom, for still fresh are images of rivers swollen with blood and mangled bodies strewn about the fields.

I consider myself the representative and spokesman of these downtrodden, who toil glassy-eyed under the whip and the rod of Kayne’s ruthless flunkies. My platform is justice and the glory of King Mandrake’s rule, and with my ax I cast each vote of vehement opposition.

Jake / November 8, 2006 11:38 AM

I'm going to miss the commercials. What's she thinking?

mike / November 8, 2006 11:45 AM

I'm just glad we were able to send a clear message to Washington: we want the gay terrorists to clone Social Security.

Lisa May / November 8, 2006 11:54 AM

I feel lighter today - there's so much damage to undo on a national level, but I have some confidence for the first time in years that no more major damage will be done in the meantime. I'm still holding my breath on the senate...

To somebody's earlier comment about judges: I highly recommend voteforjudges.org. They provide evaluation results from a plethora of local organizations, making the homework a lot easier. I print out their full report and take it with me to the polls every primary and general election.

Strawberry / November 8, 2006 11:59 AM

I wish someone had told me write in Forrest Claypool- I didn't like either candidate, so I just left it blank. And you just KNOW Toddler will win. Nepotism at its finest.

On the national front, I was very happy to see South Dakotans vote down the proposed abortion bill. Disappointed by all the gay marriage ban proposals that passed. Victimless crime alert.

PS. Great comment, Mike.

ken / November 8, 2006 11:59 AM

DONALD RUMSFELD HAS RESIGNED!!!!!!!!!!

Mikey / November 8, 2006 12:03 PM

And the day just keeps getting better!! Now if only Virginia can come through!

Shasta MacNasty / November 8, 2006 12:15 PM

Paul: I also had a frustrating experience at my polling place in Evanston. It seemed like no one knew what they were doing, no one checked my I.D. I asked for a paper ballot but wasn't given a privacy sleeve for it. I don't think anyone was given a privacy sheet, which irked me. And the electronic machines? Oh you could forget it. They were having problems with the cards so I didn't even bother when they figured out the problem. I made a mistake on my paper ballot, so I asked for another one. The judge just took it, folded it in half and put it on his desk. I was like, uh...shouldn't that go somewhere else? I don't know the proceedures on ballots with mistakes.

And don't EVEN get me started on how s.l.o.w. they were! All these people had to do was get your name, look in a book, make you sign something, go to the next person. It was massive ciaos. They didn't know what book to look in, they couldn't find my name, they kept passing over it, they kept switching books. Then when I finally get that sorted, I go to the next desk that has the ballots, dude is just standing there with the machine playing with the cards. After just standing there, I finally ask him what the I was supposed to do. I seemed like it took him five whole minutes to tell me the electronic machine wasn't working. I swear to Rufus, they need to stop sourcing crack houses for election judges. I was fit to be tied yesterday. I spoke to another Evanston voter on the train platform today and she had a similar experience at her poll. Just massive confusion and judges acting like they don't give a rat's ass.

eep / November 8, 2006 12:23 PM

paul, I'm sorry to hear your voting experience was so horrible. I know there are some numbers you can call to file a complaint. It's late, but maybe 1-866-OUR-VOTE might help you file a complaint with Evanston about it. Ridiculous.

As for me, I'm extremely happy to see that Whitney got 11% for the Green party. Rock on!

carrie / November 8, 2006 12:29 PM

oh yeah, the names were all out of order at my polling place. It was clear to me that they were, but this lady kept looking through only the first 10 or 20 names under the M's (my last name begins with MA). Anyway, I could see that it was going from MA to ME back to MA, but she didn't. Finally this kid who'd clearly had enough working the polls got her out of the way and found my name at the very end of the book. Nevermind that the machines didn't let people know if they under or over voted. great system we have.

On to the topice I'm quite excited. I'm not overly excited about Blago, but he was better than Crazy Pants. I did take a look at Whitney's site and he thrilled me about as much as a bag of sand. Like his view points, but most of them were "I'm the green party and this is what the green party believes". I want to know why he believes it and what he'll do to make sure there's change. I should've started my research earlier, but at least with Blago, he managed to do a couple of things I liked.

This whole house/senate control/Rumsfeld stepping down is helping my day zoom by.

Lisa May / November 8, 2006 12:40 PM

Shasta: I'm sorry, too, that you had such a difficult experience at your polling place. But it is important to note that they're not supposed to be checking your ID. When you sign for your ballot, they're supposed to match signatures, but identification is not required in order to vote. I was an election monitor at last year's general election, and there was a great deal of confusion about this which almost prevented several people from being able to cast their ballots.

Andy / November 8, 2006 12:48 PM

I'm very happy with the national results.

Locally, I'm sorry to hear that people were writing in Forest Claypool. I think, at best, that's the same as abstaining. I don't believe there were any official write in candidates in that race, so most likely, your votes will not be "read" by anyone, merely discarded. And even if they are read, so what? He wasn't a candidate, so no official tally of his write in's will ever be tabulated or reported.

If you really wanted to send a message to the County dems, what sends a bigger message than liberals voting for a hot headed, socially conservative Republican! Hell, at least the man was qualified for the job (and, as we learned last night, quite entertaining).

Stephen Colbert / November 8, 2006 12:49 PM

“Tomorrow, you’re all going to wake up in a brave new world, where the constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones created in a stem-cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags, where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. And everybody’s high!”

fluffy / November 8, 2006 12:54 PM

This is what I woke up to today:
The first woman Speaker of the House ; Hastert is gone; Democrats win the House; Dems won Montana, tying the Senate; Bush is forced to be diplomatic and eat shit; Rumsfeld resigned.

I feel like I'm dreaming.

Marilyn / November 8, 2006 12:56 PM

Lisa May - I also used votefor judges. org to help me vote. I was very pleased that some girls who looked like this was their first election, had the same matrix in their hands. It was good to see that the next generation takes voting seriously.

And Rumsfeld? TOO COOL! Now if we can just get the Village Idiot and his rabid dog to do the same.

jj / November 8, 2006 12:57 PM

I was an election judge, and it was a nightmare to deal with. If you care about democracy, sign up to be an election judge TODAY. Chicago residents can do so at www.chicagoelections.com. It's a long and annoying day, but it is really important to have people who know what they are doing. And you get $100, $150 if you go to training. Many of the judges I worked with were so old or so uninformed that they were on the verge of disenfranchising voters because of their own incompetence. Those of you who experienced problems in voting and with your polling place should absolutely report them to your local election authority. One FYI, though, in Illinois you are NOT required to show identification unless it is your first time voting and you mailed in your registration - this is due to the change in law that makes it EASIER for more people to vote - all we are supposed to do is compare your signature to the signature in the book. Having your ID and voters card does help if there is a problem, but those polling place works did the correct thing according to the law in NOT asking you for ID.

Another FYI on writing in candidates who are not official write ins - the only people who see this are the election judges in your local polling place who tally up the sheets at the end of the night. Any votes for candidates who are not official write ins (like our pal Forest Claypool) are discarded. As are ones for Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, and sorry to say, Blagg the Axman. We then transmit the results to downtown and the ballots are sealed - the ballots will not be reopened unless there is a court order, for example during a recount challenge. So, if you want to "send a message" to your local polling place election judge, go right ahead, but it doesn't actually reach anyone beyond your local election judges. However, I would like to thank the one guy in my precient who wrote in his own name for almost every race - he gave us a good laugh at the end of the night.

K / November 8, 2006 1:03 PM

I can't believe all these comments about not voting or writing in a candidate for county board president. Of course Stroger won - because you people didn't vote against him. I wanted Claypool too but a write in that has no chance of winning doesn't send a message. A bunch of Democrats electing Peraica would have. Can anyone even begin to justify that behavior...seriously....because I'm pissed about this bullshit election.

Though it was fun to see Rick Santorum get booted and try to blame it on the voters making a bad decision - as if his bible thumping, home schooling, gay bashing ways didn't have something to do with it.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 1:11 PM

I cannot believe that Rumsfeld has 'resigned'. Wow!

I missed most of the Bush press conference this afternoon, but it doesn't sound like he's come up with a plan to fix the problems in Iraq.

Marilyn / November 8, 2006 1:11 PM

K - I felt bad for Santorum's son, crying in the background.

You know, just being old doesn't make a judge incompetent. The older women in my precinct were just fine and took a lot of crap from voters who didn't know, and didn't want to know, their precinct.

Andrew / November 8, 2006 1:13 PM

jj: How do you throw out the write-ins on the electronic voting machines? Or do I not want to know?

Mike / November 8, 2006 1:35 PM

"Prospective write-in candidates in Illinois must file paperwork with the county clerk, or election authority, in each jurisdiction where their name will appear on the ballot."

http://www.voterinfonet.com/sub/write_ins.asp

Stroger
619,185 votes
53.94%

Peraica
528,663 votes
46.06%

Warm fuzzy Claypool write-ins:
0 votes
0%

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 1:50 PM

I voted for Stroger and Blaggo. I'm not thrilled with them, but it was the best decision that I could make under the circumstances.

I cannot vote Republican - regardless of the Republican candidate's personal views. I disagree with the party on too many issues. I cannot vote for someone who would use his or her position to limit my reproductive rights, weaken or eliminate affirmative action or promote the use of the death penalty in Illinois.

You think I'm overreacting? Check out the (now defunct) abortion law in South Dakota. I suspect that after these folks banned abortion they would vote to eliminate access to oral contraception. Kiss that birth control pill good-bye!

Marilyn / November 8, 2006 1:53 PM

Chicago Girl - Thanks so much! After looking at the judgeship races, it appears that about a quarter of voters voted "no" to all of them, another 10% seems to have used the same "cheat sheet" I did, and that Irish names won in the 12th and 15th subcircuit. Amazingly, Daniel Patrick Brennan, deemed "not qualified" or "not recommended" by all 10 bar associations polled by the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, won easily in the 15th circuit over a qualified/recommended candidate (by 9 bar asssociations) with an Italian surname.

tony / November 8, 2006 2:02 PM

I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight your neighbor to the north, Wisconsin... ("Hi!") where a proposed amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman soundly passed. My understanding is that other states had similar referendums on their ballots and were passed as well. Made me sad.

I'm also unlucky enough to be stuck in Sensenbrenner's district, so I'm plusunhappy. But at least the overall picture isn't as bleak--the House has changed, the Senate's going to be interesting. Time will tell if this buys us anything better or if it will just be the same s**t but different people.

Dutch101 / November 8, 2006 2:04 PM

I fully agree with those who say that the Claypool write-in vote was completely wasted. Seriously, do you think that someone is going to wistfully pick those ballots out of the trash, shed a tear and think "oh, if only we had chosen Claypool!" I think that this wasn't even an option, due to Illinois law which prevents "sore losers" from getting on the ballot. (Kind to think of it, Lieberman should have been subject to something like this) Anyway, Peraica, while crazy, is subject to too many balancing influences to run roughshod over the established policies of the county government, which tends to take the air out of the "Bush policies" argument, and he is at least on paper qualified to do the job. For those who trashed their vote, congrats on supporting business as usual.
And seriously, congratulations to those who took the time to look at judicial qualifications. I didn't get around to it, so I abstained. Marking those willy-nilly is what ensures that the unqualified among them stay in power year after year.

Dutch101 / November 8, 2006 2:07 PM

Just to clarify, I mean the congratulations to those who took the time to read up on the judicial races quite seriously. A doff of the hat is in order, as this year you are better citizens than I.

esskaycee / November 8, 2006 2:12 PM

jj/Andrew/everybody else:

I was also an election judge yesterday, and everything jj says is true -- you do not need an ID, and only write-ins for registered write-in candidates are counted. That doesn't mean your other write-ins get thrown away, per se, but at the end of the night, judges are only officially tallying votes for registered write-in candidates. The actual ballots aren't really looked at unless there's a challenge or a contested election -- the election results are based on the official tallies from the judges and the machines.

Being an election judge was wacky, frustrating and tiring, but ultimately rewarding and informative. Like JJ says, we definitely need some young blood out there. C'mon!

esskaycee / November 8, 2006 2:15 PM

AND I early voted and sent my message by voting Peraica, the only Republican I have ever voted for. He and I have no agreement on any of the issues except that the tactics employed by the Dem Machine/Stroger cheerleaders were distasteful, disrespectful and downright repugnant.

carrie / November 8, 2006 2:26 PM

Avril2080- i remember that S. Dakota wannabe law. Insane. Did you hear about the reservation that would've let a clinic go on their land so women could still have access in the state? I thought that was pretty great.

Anyway, this is one of the things I like that Blago did:
http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=4738
It kind of sucks tht he even had to create this (gasp! making pharmacists do their job by making them fill prescriptions!!) but I'm glad he got on it.

jj / November 8, 2006 2:35 PM

RE: Andrew's question on electronic voting machine write-ins - We didn't have any in my precinct but as I remember from traning, their names would appear on the screen when the machine is closed out at the end of the night. Computer voting machines are not independently transmitting results downtown - the local judge gets the memory card out of the computer, consolidates that with the memory card from the regular paper ballot scanner, and trasmits the totals downtown. Many people don't realize that your local election judges are the ones who are doing the tallying, and transmiting via wireless connection the count to downtown - when there are situations where results are not yet official, that's because there was some kind of problem (broken transmiter machine, numbers don't add up, challenge from a candidate, etc.) at the local polling place, and the people from downtown will come and help figure it out (or, you bring the problem to one of their regional stations). Remember though, in almost all cases, the only person to physically record your vote and send it in is your local election judge. All the more reason we need concerned people working as election judges.

RE: older and incompetant judges - let me be clear, those were two seperate catagories of people. There was a totally incompetent middle aged woman, and a very good elderly woman in my precient. As the process becomes more computerized I seriously doubt that our elderly judges are going to be able to handle it as well, due to the lower levels of computer literacy in the elderly population. ( To be honest, i can't even see how they woudld be able to physcially set up the computer voting machines if we went totally computer - each machine seriously takes two able-bodied adults to just to get it standing.) Obviously, there are exceptions and I am generalizing here, but I think it's time for the younger people to step up and do their civic duty. If nothing else, all these old folks you see at your polling place are going to retire or die one day, and SOMEONE is going to have to replace them!

Mike / November 8, 2006 2:40 PM

The democrats' might as well have said Peraica enjoys drowning puppies and wants to abolish Christmas. Last week I got the disappointing Obama-Durbin letter that reminded me people died for my right to vote and I should honor that by voting for an underqualified hack the party installed. Peraica never stood a snowball's chance of affecting anyone's reproductive rights in Illinois, even if he wanted to ... the Cook County Board President is NOT A LEGISLATOR. Even if he'd tried to stop abortions at the hospitals, the board would have stopped him. This has so little to do with divisive national issues and more to do with contracts, enriching friends, making deals and nepotism ... they'll all continue to come before the real wishes of the people. Same old same old. I was disappointed to see Obama dirty himself in this low-road display, but not surprised. He was told to pay his tab. Maybe Claypool can move to Philly and work with Paul Vallas.

NSH / November 8, 2006 2:45 PM

What election?

K / November 8, 2006 3:02 PM

Avril2080 - as adamantly pro-choice as I am, that was a non-issue in the county board race.

As a separate issue there are only two parties. The entirety of your beliefs can not possibly be covered by just one. The candidates have to pick one to run
under because unless you're Lieberman, being an independent won't get you anywhere. If you like the candidate, then vote for that person so he or she can change the platform. I'm so tired of hearing God invoked in a political context and if we won't even consider voting for a moderate Republican what incentive does that party have to stop catering to religious zealots. And regardless of whether or not it was a ploy, lets not forget that it was a Republican that put an end to the death penalty in Illinois.

chicago girl / November 8, 2006 3:07 PM

i went through voter judge training this past year, but was unable to serve due to getting a new job!

most of the people in my training class could barely read, much less understand how to wirelessly transmit resutls...many were handicapped, not that the uneducated and handicapped shouldn't be judges... i will FOR SURE be a judge next election!!

Spook / November 8, 2006 3:13 PM

So mike how do you explain the fact that 1980 George Dunne as CCB pres.
signed an Executive Order ending abortion services at Cook County Hospital. In 1992 Richard Phelan as CCB restored abortion services at Cook County.

but don't worry Mike. Daley needs all kinds of capos in his army, Clayfool isn't going any ware

Hal / November 8, 2006 3:37 PM

The thought going through my head is, "Don't fuck this up, Democrats. Don't fuck this up." But I might as well wish for a pony. Sigh.

Oh, and, yeah, I fucking hate Stroger, but voted for him anyway. It seemed too close to risk an abstention or protest vote for Claypool.

leah / November 8, 2006 3:44 PM

totes schadenfreude.

Mike / November 8, 2006 3:51 PM

Peraica pulling a Dunne-esque abortion ban (circa 26 years ago) was about as likely as, um, I dunno ... Todd Stroger telling voters the truth about the true state of his father's health before the primary.

Dan / November 8, 2006 4:03 PM

Well our choice for governor was a crazy person, a liar and a man who loves guns. I went with the liar. Thankfully, he won.

I'm very upset about Toddler winning. I am mad about the whole process-- his father being too much of an autrocrat to drop out of the race before the primary was over and then annointing Toddler his successor. He might be an otherwise good Democrat. I will never forget this election and I will never vote for him. I completely disagree with Peraica's politics, but at least he became the candidate of his own doing.

dan / November 8, 2006 4:07 PM

Also, REALLY glad that Melissa Bean won. McSweeny was creepy on TV.

I really hope Dan Seals runs for another office. He seems so earnest in his ads (and he's easy on the eyes).

I was really annoyed by Tammy Duckworth at first but she really grew on me. I think she proved herself to be a formidable candidate and I hope Illinois politics finds a use for her. I think she's an asset.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 4:12 PM

Let's not forget former Sec'ty of State Katherine Harris of Florida. Remember her? She made sure that Florida elected Bush in 2000. Now we have an extremely conservative Supreme Court. The newest (pro-life) members nominated by Bush.

(Check out the link above and read her views on the role of faith in politics and government, abortion and abstinence only education.) Then tell yourself that Peraica could't affect anyone's reproductive rights. Yeah, right.

But hey, what the heck! You won't have any problems supporting 12 or 13 children, right? Or maybe, you'd like to abstain from sex (unless you're trying to conceive)?

Carrie,
Blagojevich won my support when he signed the The Contraceptive Equity in Health Insurance Act.

Andy / November 8, 2006 4:40 PM

Avril: a) this is Illinois, not Florida. b) the Secretary of a STATE is a much different job than the President of a COUNTY board. Bringing up Katherine Harris' name only shows how far people will fear monger to justify their crappy vote.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 4:48 PM

K,
Of course, one party doesn't speak to all of my values.

I support gun control. I agree with Congressional Republican's who believe that Illegal immigrants should be deported. I was a Sunday school teacher at my Baptist church, but I often disagreed with fellow Christians on family values, moral issues and George Bush.

Certain issues are more important to me than others. Those issues are based on each party's platform. They are not based on my anger at 'politics as usual' or the Democratic Machine.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 4:49 PM

Andy, sore loser, right?

Andy / November 8, 2006 4:57 PM

Sore loser? Sure. Hell, I'm still sore about Vallas losing four years ago! But I'm not sure what that has to do with your fear mongering.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 5:06 PM

Oh, Andy. The fact that you disagree with the majority of the voters in this county doesn't mean that I'm fear mongering. It just means that your candidate lost.

You can't win'em all!

Andy / November 8, 2006 5:12 PM

Ummm... sorry, but I think comparing Tony Peraica to Katherine Harris is most definitely fear mongering. I really could care less if the majority of voters dissagree with me. I was merely questioning your faulty logic.

K / November 8, 2006 5:16 PM

Andy, right there with you on Vallas. I'm still mad about Gore beating Bill Bradley! Had Bradley taken the nomination there never would have been a Bush presidency. Everyone take a minute to think about that one....now tell me the Democratic machine and politics as usual doesn't irk you just a little.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 5:29 PM

Oh, I can see how much you don't care. Shall I buy you a beer? You can cry into it! ; ) I'll buy you two of them. So you can drink the other.

Tony and Katherine are in the same party. I disagree with (some) of this party's values and ideas. But I see your point. Given the opportunity to make a decision that could have some small affect on certain freedoms, I'm sure Peraica wouldn't hesitate to go against his party's values. Party values don't have any affect on how some County Board members vote, right?

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 5:35 PM

K,
I won't say that it doesn't irk me, but I see the same thing happening with the Republicans in Washington. Think of all of the no-bid contracts that have been awarded to Halliburton since the beginning of the Iraq War. This corruption is a part of politics. We really can't complain until we're ready to do away with the system and move to publicly funded campaigns. We probably need to do away with the two party system too.

Jason / November 8, 2006 5:40 PM

I love how the anti-machine crowd has decided that anyone who wrote in Claypool or voted for Todd didn't have the balls to send a real message by voting for Peraica.

I make a point to vote for the available candidate who most reflects my views, especially those which I consider the most important. I DO NOT, and WILL NOT, use my vote to send a message to the local democrats concerning a position in government for which I couldn't give two shits about.

You may think it impossible for the Cook Prez to affect reproductive rights, and I would agree with that assessment, but as an issue, I feel so strongly about that I don't need to see an anti-choicer in a position of power in my county.

Avril2080 / November 8, 2006 5:45 PM

You go, Jason!

Leelah / November 8, 2006 6:01 PM

I also didn't have the balls to vote for Peraica; I wrote in a friend's name instead. I also mostly threw my votes away (that's from the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horrors from 1996) by voting for the Green Party everywhere I could.

The Contraceptive Equity in Health Insurance Act sure as hell didn't help me. Chicago Public Schools will not cover Seasonale...

Marilyn / November 8, 2006 6:23 PM

Jason, don't be so self-righteous. What's wrong with sending a message of disgust as well as support with a vote, particularly since there hasn't been much else to do with one's vote in recent years. I voted for Peraica, and did so to send a message to the machine. In fact, I voted for every Republican who ran against a machine Democrat because I see the Daley autocracy as no better than the one Bush has been running. Voting can do a lot of things, and taking support away from an evil is a good use of the vote.

Jason / November 8, 2006 7:09 PM

Mariilyn, if you don't see the difference between the Daley machine and the Bush presidency, then you and are are probably not going to agree on much politically. To equate a political machine who gives favors to its friends to a president whose incompetence and otherwise have killed Americans and Iraqis, along with countless others seems irresponsible to me.

With that disagreement noted, I don't believe I ever pretended that someone else shouldn't use their vote to send a message. I only noted that I would not. My issue was with those above who felt as though there was a lacking of guts among those of us who wouldn't vote for Peraica. My issue is with their stance that I should choose to do something with my vote. I never implied that they should do something in particular with theirs.

There is very little self-righteous about my posting. Defensive? Maybe, but not self-righteous.

JB / November 8, 2006 8:19 PM

Dan: Rich Whitney is "a man who loves guns?" I'm confused...

Vanessa / November 8, 2006 11:21 PM

I was one of the so-called Equipment Mgrs (you know, the person who takes care of all of the equipment in that polling place), I was still one of the youngest people there by at least 4 decades (and I've been doing this for 8 years). Anyway, I want to apologize about all of the confusion yesterday. I've heard from a number of people that Evanston was really, really bad. Call the County Clerk's office and complain. Every one of you that has had a problem. Hopefully, that will get Orr off his ass and do something.

And as far as the election goes, I am so freaking glad that it's over with and the Dems are in control of the House and almost the Senate! Oh and Rumsfeld resigning? Absolute brilliance.

PMan / November 9, 2006 12:20 AM

Did anybody else see putsch-like tones in Peraica's 'March on Washington'. The way he was referring to the 'Northern Townships' and rallying drunk people to storm a government building could have been eerie if not so hapless.

Marilyn / November 9, 2006 8:50 AM

Jason - Richie admires Bush. Richie dines with Bush. Richie, through neglect and abuses, has caused death (during the 1995 heatwave, through the lousy healthcare and social services afforded to poor people, by allowing torture and abuse to go on in our jails). If he hasn't actually ordered people to war, it's because he doesn't have that kind of power. Heaven help us if he did.

Yes, the Bush and Daley administrations have a lot in common. I take back none of it, nor do I consider my comparison irresponsible.

Peter / November 9, 2006 8:58 AM

So IL voted for a presidential candidate (Cook cty.) that can hardly speak in coherent sentences, is short on qualified experience, has no apparent leadership qualities, will follow orders from his handlers, and will use his power to enrich friends and benefactors?

Sound familiar?

My question to IL Democrats: Are you really concerned about the quality of government or do you just want your man pulling the levers?

MC High Life / November 9, 2006 9:33 AM

I too used the voteforjudges.org sheet in the booth. I don't have the time to research all those names so it is a huge lifesaver.

It really irks me that 4 out of 5 voters simply voted "yes" for every judge. If you don't even have the slightest clue what you are voting for, why even vote for those races? How many voters heard of even 5 of those judges? 1%? 0.5%?

My thoughts are that a lot of voters believe if they leave a choice blank, then their entire ballot will be invalid. Goofy.

Mikey / November 9, 2006 9:42 AM

Marilyn -

You are certainly entitled to your opinions, but your constant cynical and vitriolic rants against Daley really do get tiresome after a while...

Daley is certainly not without his faults, but Chicago would not be the world-class city it is today without his achievements. Oh, but wait--I recall you once referring to Chicago in one of your past posts as a prairie town that is the laughingstock of the country, so I guess you would disagree on that point as well...

Often, I do think you make some very valid and interesting points, but at other times, your arguments lack any intellectual substance at all and seem to be fueled only by blind hatred. Pinning the blame on Daley for the loss of life in the '95 heat wave and/or comparing him to Bush are two of those instances...

Dan / November 9, 2006 9:49 AM

JB-
Rich Whitney supports an open carry law. This is a step further than conceal and carry laws. His proposal is that people should be able to carry a gun on a holster in plain sight in public areas. That's why I roll my eyes when people think they've voted for something great when they say "I voted green. The other two candidates sucked."

Well, for the most part, so did the green candidate. And don't get me wrong, I voted green in 2000 (whoops.. sorry Al Gore). But now the Green Party seems like someone who comes to a party and is dressed inappropriately, makes a lot of off putting inappropriate remarks and is angry that he isn't invited to more parties.

Marilyn / November 9, 2006 9:49 AM

Mikey - The blind loyalty to that thug gets tiresome to me. I'm utterly embarrassed by the way the citizens of this city allow a gangster government to continue decade after decade. We might want to play down the Al Capone past, but it's really what this town wears on its sleeve. You do know the famous Nelson Algren/Mike Royko slogan for the city: "Where's mine?" Now it's the turn of the African Americans.

I do not believe I am exaggerating in the least when I compare him to Bush, only the scale of the damage he does. They are both incompetent sons of powerful men who put cronyism over good government and have a callous disregard to anyone who disagrees with them. Daley cynically calls people for the Big Box ordinance racists. I believe that most of the Fuelers believed that the ordinance was a good thing. How do you feel about being called a racist by your mayor?

Shirley Ujest / November 9, 2006 10:17 AM

"Daley is certainly not without his faults, but Chicago would not be the world-class city it is today without his achievements. "

Yeah, Daley's so great ... the wonderful public schools, low crime, top-notch public transpotation and lack of corruption and wasted taxpayer dollars ... Chicago boomed and gentrified in the 90s like every other American city did. Even D.C. of all cities looks very different than it did fifteen years ago. Daley built some median strips and a $650 million park for tourists.

paul / November 9, 2006 11:01 AM

You know what else upset me? (I've complained to the proper channels about the judges in my precinct).

The leading question in the advisory referendum : "For the health and safety of children and the entire community, shall the State of Illinois enact a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, sale, delivery and possession of military-style assault weapons and .50 caliber rifles?"

For the love of the children!!!

Whatever your stance on high powered weapons, you've got to admit this question was leading and unbalanced. Besides - children's 'health'? I can understand safety, but are we worried about are children getting lead poisioning from all the spent shells flinging out of my Thompson?

Spook / November 9, 2006 11:09 AM

What's so interesting is how with the exception of
Marilyn and ShirleyUjest,
Boss Daley, gets such a pass, ( including his former Thug chief of staff of 8 years and park thug chief, Clayfool), Mean while very one here hyperventilates at the mention of
Daley's most loyal supporter, Stroger-pere, and his todate loyal son Stroger-fils.

This city's got cancer yall

Mikey / November 9, 2006 11:34 AM

Shirley Ujest -

Daley must be doing something right, because the the people of Chicago keep re-electing him by huge margins...

All you have given me are unsubstantiated generalizations (i.e. your opinions) under a fictitious name. And that $650 million park for tourists (which apparently many of the locals seem to enjoy as well) will pay for itself many times over in your lifetime. Tourists = dollars...

Hal / November 9, 2006 11:56 AM

MC High Life - I think you're right regarding whether people think blanks make a ballot invalid. I know when I first started voting, I wondered about that. I now actively avoid voting on races where I don't know the candidates or referendums (referenda? referendi?) that I haven't already read about.

The risk of voting for the wrong candidate is just too great and there are too many refs on ballots with deliberately misleading verbiage. Though, I have to admit, at least the ones here are readable, albeit deceptive. The ones in Texas may have well have been transliterated Ancient Sumerian...

Shirley Ujest / November 9, 2006 12:09 PM

One of the things Daley does really well is maintain power. That's why he gets re-elected. Did you hear thet Luis and Jesse Jr. aren't running? I am shocked.

The park's great, really it is. It's pretty and expansive and there's the requisite Gehry foil ball and curvy bridge to marvel at when the place isn't closed for a corporate-sponsored event. It is a fantastic antisceptic revenue-generator.

I just also think making the trains run on time and really working with the governor and downstate lawmakers to fix the horrible property tax/school funding issue in this state is a hell of a lot more important. I never hear about that stuff though ... there's no money in it. Instead I hear about how we're digging up cemetaries out by the airport and kissing Wal-Mart's ass so they'll bless us with surface parking lots and crappy jobs.

I'm unimpressed by Daley. I think he is very unremarkable. Being a mayor is difficult. Many problems in cities call for tough and complex solutions. He just doesn't have the aptitude for that. His goals are to generate revenue and keep everybody scared or happy enough not to shake anything up. Compared to other large American cities, Chicago has a large % of lifelong residents. That's why Little Big Man gets reelected. The proles think all cities are like Chicago, Milwaukee or Detroit. Chicago really is more of a "where's mine?" city than a Democratic one. Of course I agree with Richie on the social issues, but that's mainly window dressing. The true example of Chicago at work is to see the same section of street get repaved for the 5th time in 8 years.

hydrink / November 9, 2006 1:40 PM

I feel elated. As for nitpicking about some of the Democrats...I gotta say, Douchebag McDouchey could be my representative. If he has a "D" behind his name, I am a happy, happy American.

Spook / November 9, 2006 4:00 PM

To think that a 475 million dollar park,( $350 million over budget i.e corruption tax) is going to be a continuous boom to our local economy is typical of the breard and circus shallow mentality of da mayor. We do know that while people frolic in Mili Park lives are lost and dreams deferred because of the crumbling, housing, city services, schools, and parks on the south and westside of Chicago. Daley's answer is to use economic forces to get rid of pesky poor and working class people and repopulate with wealthy suburbanites. Daley is the first republican mayor since William "Big Bill" Thompson

Shirley Ujest / November 9, 2006 4:17 PM

Don't forget about the TIF money (which diverts property tax money away from public schools) that's going to help Loyola, a private university.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/theworks/060707/

Oh and that blighted ghetto in the Loop that only has 15 Starbucks.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/theworks/061027/

Did Spook Even Vote? / November 9, 2006 4:54 PM

Or was he too busy getting sloshed at the bar. Just curious.

Jim Beam / November 9, 2006 5:07 PM

I worked as an election judge this year (first time) in the 47th Ward. Despite being a fairly thankless job, I enjoyed it. Everything worked pretty smoothly as long as you had the sense to pay attention during training. They could have done a better job with that, but that's probably always the case.

One thing that I learned was that there is a list of valid write-in candidates that the election board provides us. At the end of the night, when I tallied write-in votes, I had to check each write-in against that list. If the name wasn't on the list, the vote didn't count (for that office). I've read that a number of people here wrote-in Claypool (as they did at my polling place), but his name wasn't on that list and a vote for him was a vote wasted. Thought you might want to know that for next time. Not exactly sure how the public gets a hold of that list, but I would suspect that Claypool's office knew he wasn't on it (I assume it's fairly easy to qualify, but I could be wrong).

Jim Beam / November 9, 2006 5:12 PM

UPDATE: Here's where the list of valid write-in candidates is published:

http://www.chicagoelections.com/candidates.html

Spook / November 9, 2006 5:13 PM

Spook did both! Including knowing which candidates had the open bars
Its called multi tasking, son!

DuPage Dem / November 9, 2006 11:24 PM

Re: Duckworth I was initially upset that the Party had carpetbagged Duckworth and got her elected over Ciegalius who had twice ran vs Hyde, the second time getting a higher % of the vote than her first run.

As the campaign ran along
I too began to like Duckworth more. I was thrilled to see her get the highest vote % of any Democrat in this county in over 30 years....hey there hasn't even been one of our kind electedto ANY office in DuPage since Tricky Dick caused that Democratic tidelwave after Watergate.

As to Duckworth and '08, I tend to think it will be harder for her or any other Dem to post those numbers. Remember, this was the DCCC that was RUNNING THE SHOW and supplying the $$$$.

Whaat are the chances of that happening again? They were AFTER "Hyde's" seat....can't use that in '08, and the mood in the country probably will have changed.

So, with a different political climate, just a regular joe duPage republican as incumbent, and most likely no where near the 2 million DCCC $$, we revert back to the old Dupage Dem party, and the likelihood that this year's fairly close race was the eqauivlent to a 50 year rain storm.

I'm 55, so I doubt I'll be around to see the likes of this or any Dem win the 6th Congressional seat. It was still sweet to be in the Drury Lane Theatre complex on the 7th, I doubt there has ever been that many like-minded progressives there ever!!!