Team America's 10th District Blog

Mark Kirk Comes Out Charging Hard for U.S. Senate

2009-07-20T12:24:00.009-05:00

Ending literally months of speculation, 10th District Congressman Mark Kirk this morning announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate for the seat currently held by Blagojevich-appointee Roland Burris. The announcement was made at Kirk's childhood home in Kenilworth, on the same porch where he announced his first run for Congress almost ten years ago. Kirk spoke forcefully about his quest to return ethics and integrity to Illinois politics, which message was reinforced by the man who introduced Kirk, none other than former Illinois governor Jim Edgar, who is still seen as one of the most ethical political leaders the state has known in recent times.

Many other GOP party leaders were present as well, including State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna (which should put to rest any questions of McKenna's support for Kirk), Congresswoman Judy Biggert, State Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, State House Minority Leader Tom Cross, State Representatives Ed Sullivan and Sandy Cole, and many more. With this much party support and about $1 million in the bank to start things off, Kirk is clearly the presumed front-runner, not to mention the only GOP candiate that has already gained national attention as the only Republican candidate that has a very good chance of winning back the seat.

It was really a great event. The yard and neighborhood were packed with Kirk supporters. You can see TA was proudly bearing his sign, as promised.

I was standing right in front of the news cameras, so look to see if we got any free media attention on tonight's news. The place was a press mob scene. (Kirk die-hards should be able to easily identify the blonde-haired woman directing media traffic!)

There were a few protestors from both the looney left and the nutty right, which, as far as I am concerned, means that Mark Kirk is exactly the kind of leader that is going to appeal to the voters of Illinois. If the extremes of both political parties are against you, that's just what a lot of voters seem to be looking for, nowadays.

Meanwhile, on the Dem side, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias wasted no time in sending out a press release, which he also posted on DailyKos. Maybe he hired some old Dan Seals team members, as the message is the same old tired mantra of Bush is bad, bad, bad, that not only didn't work for Seals, it's now grossly out of date. Even the Dem commentors on that post seem concerned that Alexi's message already falls flat, and he's going to have to do a lot better than that against Kirk, if Alexi turns out to be the Dem nominee. And even funnier, our old Friend Ellen of the Tenth has now largely abandoned her blog, it seems, and has taken to trying to rip Kirk on DailyKos to get someone to read her manifestos.

Based on the energy and enthusiasm I saw today, Kirk is going to make this race one for the record books, and I have little doubt we saw the very beginning of the era of Senator Mark Kirk this morning.

A Day on the Lake, and Getting Ready for the Big Mark Kirk Announcement (UPDATED: Dems to Help Establish Kirk Conservative Creds)

2009-07-19T18:04:00.004-05:00

I usually don't post a lot of personal stuff on this blog, but since I've discovered Facebook, I'm starting to lighten up about that. So, I wanted to share a pic of my day on the lake, racing the boat (we took third out of seven, so not all that great, but it beats being in the office).

I'm really looking forward to the big Mark Kirk announcement tomorrow. I can't speak for the campaign, but let's just say no one I know is taking any sucker bets that it will be anything but a U.S. Senate announcement. Unless something for a client blows up on me, I plan to be there to get pix and full coverage for the Blog.

I'm considering making a "Team America's Blog for Kirk" sign, but my wife will probably talk me out of it.

This is really going to be exciting!

UPDATED 8:45 p.m.: Well, we anticpated that the location of Kirk's Monday announcement was going to get out, and sure enough, the New Trier Dems intend to march and protest Kirk at his presser. Classy, classy. And, get this: they are trying to convey the message that Kirk is not a moderate! No, remember Kirk=Bush!!! That really worked great for Seals.

All you right-wingers that think Kirk isn't good enough for you, please take notice.

UPDATED 10:25 p.m.: I just finished pasting up the sign I will bring along to the Kirk press conference tomorrow. Maybe the TA fans will all stand together or something (and as I predicted, Mrs. TA thinks I'm being a bit goofy, but hey, this is grass roots politics at its finest).

And, in other news- over at the Bizzaro world's answer to Team America, "Blue Lake Special," they are trying to help us with our blog renaming dilemma. Well, a few of their "Top Ten Rejected Names" for the blog are kinda sorta amusing, but Letterman they are not. Ah, flattery, flattery.

Well, it was getting boring with Ellen of the Tenth having crawled into a hole of self-pity and denial after Seals lost. These folks seem to show a little more spirit. And Ellen certainly never could take a joke.

IL-10 Congressional Race Is Wide Open As Mark Kirk Announces "Statewide" Bid; Says He Won't Endorse Successor

2009-07-16T06:55:00.003-05:00

In a conference call with key supporters yesterday, Congressman Mark Kirk talked about his planned announcement for a "statewide" bid and stated he will not endorse a successor for his Congressional seat, at least not at this point.

Kirk still has not officially announced he will run for Senate (technically, he could announce he's running for Comptroller, after all, that's a "statewide" office, too), but I think we all see the writing on the wall. While we will neither confirm nor deny that suspicion, which many media outlets have presupposed, since Kirk has not made it official, we can say that Kirk did discuss the future of IL-10 on the call.

Kirk's view is that "the best candidates are the hungriest, and hardest working," and that's what he'll be looking for as the GOP field takes shape. Names of a few potential IL-10 candidates were mentioned specifically (and more or less offhandedly), but it was clear that no one currently enjoys even a tacit endorsement from Kirk at this point. No one close to the campaign or Kirk's staff has announced any intention to run, but even if they did, Kirk would likely follow the model of his mentor and former boss John Porter, and make him or her earn that endorsement, as Kirk had to, despite having had a close relationship with Porter.

As we who were around in 2000 all remember, Kirk emerged from a very crowded primary field to then beat the Democratic nominee, Lauren Beth Gash, who thought she was going to win right up until the day before the election. She still hasn't gotten over it.

For now, this is still Team America's "10th District Blog," so we will be taking a closer look at candidates on both the GOP and Dem side in the coming days and weeks, since it's at least clear Mark Kirk will not run for a sixth term in Congress.

But I'm looking for suggestions for a name that reflects a potential broader focus for this space. Any ideas, campers?

Mark Kirk Inches Closer to Senate Announcement

2009-07-15T13:44:00.007-05:00

Several media sources (Crain's, CBS-2, others), are quoting a Kirk campaign media advisory that states that Kirk will announce his plans for "statewide office" on Monday, July 20th, at 10:30 a.m. Some outlets are making the obvious leap that Kirk will announce for U.S. Senate, but there has been no official announcement yet.

As I mentioned over at Capitol Fax Blog, for anyone who doesn’t think Team Kirk knows what there are doing with respect to media savvy, consider how many times they have gotten press out of an announcement that there will be an announcement to announce something, soon. Maybe. Considering the media frenzy every time an “announcement” goes out, it seems Kirk will have little trouble moving his name recognition beyond the 10th District and reaching the rest of the state. Some may sneer, but Kirk seems to have everyone on the edge waiting for him to speak. Not a bad kickoff to a statewide campaign.

McKenna Clears Way For Kirk Senate Run

2009-07-14T07:04:00.002-05:00

After a few days of odd back-and-forth over who's running for U.S. Senate and who's not, the two top Republican maybe-candidates, 10th District Congressman Mark Kirk and IL GOP Chairman Andy McKenna, have sorted things out amongst each other. Kirk won, and McKenna will step aside.

I haven't seen a lot of praise for McKenna for making the right decision, but we will laud him here, at least for that, although I know it may drive frequent commentor "FOKLAES" a little nuts. Hey, at least you don't have to deal with McKenna as your Senate candidate.

Anyway, the path is clear for Kirk to declare his Senate run, after much in the way of mixed signals coming from his camp. Let's hope his Senate run is a tightly-focused machine that comes out of the box with a clear plan to take on the state. It's a daunting task, given the blue nature of Illinois and the ever-present shadow of the Obama White House looming in the background, which one may assume will take a keen interest in not loosing this seat. But, the popular wisdom appears to be that if anyone can do it, Kirk can. From the Washington Times:

Until now, no one thought the Republicans had any chance to win the Senate seat in heavily Democratic Illinois, especially in the present climate, when the Republican brand has been badly damaged. However, Mr. Kirk may be the one candidate who can pull it off in a state where widespread corruption has badly damaged the Democrats' brand even more.

The youthful five-term congressman represents the Democratic-leaning 10th Congressional District, which Mr. Obama carried last year by 61 percent, but Mr. Kirk's cross-party appeal has kept it in the Republican column against all comers.

He is a prodigious fundraiser, too, having raised more than $580,000 in the second quarter, amassing a total of $1.1 million in cash on hand.

"Kirk is a very strong statewide candidate for Republicans. This is an easier race for them now that Madigan is not running," said Jennifer Duffy, senior elections analyst at the Cook Political Report.

Of course, there's nothing in this particular article that we in the 10th District didn't already know. But it's nice to see that the rest of the political universe is quickly catching on.

No official word on when the 'official' announcement will be, but I would bet it will be less than a week. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, let's start talking about Kirk's successor. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that Kirk's legacy in IL-10 doesn't turn out to be "Congressman Michael Bond."

Was Mark Kirk Out of the Senate Race Before He Was In?

2009-07-10T16:09:00.004-05:00

Wow, Team Kirk keeps their cards close to their chest. NOW major news outlets are reporting that Kirk will NOT run for Senate.

I wanted to believe that Mark would not have decided on Senate without clearing it with me, so I was reluctant at first to believe the news that he had cast his lot for Senate ;-) . Now it appears that the rumors that he had made up his mind as of Lisa Madigan's announcement not to run for Senate were overblown.

We'll have to watch this for continuing developments. But maybe I won't have to rename the blog after all.

UPDATE: Now I read that Kirk is waiting for GOP Chairman Andy McKenna to commit NOT to run for Senate in order for Kirk to run. My head is spinning a bit. Roll Call seems to have the best handle on this developing situation.

The Dominoes Continue to Fall as Burris Opts Out of 2010 Senate Contest; No Word Yet From Mark Kirk; Andy McKenna for IL-10?

2009-07-10T06:53:00.004-05:00

The metaphor is already cliched, but more dominoes in the Illinois political scene fell yesterday as Sneed reported that Senator Roland Burris had decided not to run in 2010 for the seat he currently holds through his appointment by former governor Rod Blagojevich. No money, says Burris, and no hope of winning, as we all knew.

But darn, I was really hoping that other Dem contenders would have to really do an impressive tap-dance around Burris, who currently is the nation's only African-American senator, and has not been afraid to scream 'racism' at the merest hint of criticism (after all, how else you you think he was able to shame the Senate into admitting him?). That includes Obama, who would, for now, be a lot freer to declare his support for State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulis. There was always the outside hope that Burris might actually survive by carrying the black vote in a heavily contested and nasty primary among the likes of Giannoulis, Chris Kennedy, Cheryle Jackson, and probably others. But that dream is gone, and it looks like if Congressman Mark Kirk runs for that seat, the Dem field may be a little clearer, and the ultimate Dem nominee won't be Burris in any event.

That's too bad for Kirk. I think it's no secret that Mark's biggest challenge (aside from the blue-leaning voters in this state) is the Obama White House coming down like a ton of bricks on Mark. The Dems wasted no time by putting up a video on YouTube compiled by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

However, the Republican senate shop (NRSC) quickly responded with an e-mail noting that Kirk already had the Dems running scared.

Hey, all you right-wingers, you paying attention to how conservative the Dems think Mark is? Put that in your cap n' trade pipe and smoke it.

I have to say, though, that if the Kirk=Bush thing didn't work for Dan Seals in the liberal 10th District in the middle of the unpopular Iraq war, the DSCC is going to have to do a lot better than that.

Anyway, Mark still hasn't officially announced even IF he's going to run for Senate, and I would not expect an announcement on a Friday, so I'll see what I can find out over the weekend.

As to who is setting their sights on the 10th District Congressional seat currently held by Kirk (assuming he leaves to run for Senate), lots of names are being kicked around here and elsewhere, but I think it will take quite some time for a clear front-runner to emerge. Illinois Review posted yesterday that IL GOP Chairman Andy McKenna was potentially part of a deal to clear the Senate nomination for Kirk and have McKenna run in IL-10. (h/t commentor FOKLAES) The Daily Herald has a story on possible contenders and states that only one GOP candidate has announced her intention to run, Patricia Bird. Patricia who? Wonder if she has the first clue about the 10th District (not to mention Team America).

Well, goofier things have happened.

And, I saw a comment on Capitol Fax Blog yesterday that indicated that State Rep. Beth Coulson said she was going to run again for her state house seat. Sorry, Phil Collins.

Wow, this is going to be a busy, busy 18 months on this blog. Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, you're in for a ride.

With Mark Kirk in the U.S. Senate Race, What's the Future of IL-10? (UPDATED)

2009-07-08T13:41:00.004-05:00

I still haven't gotten the official report from Congressman Kirk (surely I have to be on the must-call list somewhere...), but assuming for the moment that Kirk will run for Senate, where does that leave us in IL-10?

Talking Points Memo already is looking at that picture and offers some thoughts.

On the Dem side, it's good news for everyone, considering the bluish nature of the district. Bond has got to believe he's the luckiest man alive, considering his prospects of winning against Kirk if he stayed home were bleaker than bleak, and it was beginning to look like he'd made a bad move, even though his chances against keeping his seat against County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt weren't much better. That's, of course, even assuming he survived a primary against fellow State Senator Susan Garrett. And then there may still be also-ran Dan Seals, who apparently has been sitting at home watching the kids, just waiting for such a development.

On the GOP side, although there have been a few names thrown around behinds the scenes, everyone has been waiting for Kirk to make his move. If it's now official, I think people will start lining up. Whether a clear favorite will emerge quickly remains to be seen.

And, importantly, will the national GOP abandon the 10th District, which consistently leans Democratic at the presidential level and is a horribly expensive market to campaign in? Or will Mark Kirk be able to command resources to help the GOP protect this seat?

Exciting times, folks. We may have to re-name the blog.

UPDATED 4:00 p.m.: I just spoke with someone from Kirk's team who said that there was no official announcement as of yet.

But I got the feeling it would be coming... stay tuned.

Washington Post Claims Lisa Madigan Will Run for Re-Election as AG; Where Does That Leave Mark Kirk? (UPDATED: KIRK IS IN FOR SENATE- ?)

2009-07-08T10:03:00.004-05:00

An alert commentor pointed us to a new post up on the Washington Post website that cites highly-placed Democratic sources as saying that Lisa Madigan will announce today that she is running for re-election to Illinois Attorney General, which (if true) will end months of speculation (and disappoint a lot of Dem leaders, supposedly including President Barack Obama), and perhaps open the door for a U.S. Senate bid by Congressman Mark Kirk.

Crain's says there will be a Madigan press conference at 2:00 p.m. today.

Assuming this is true, I don't think we'll hear from Mark today, but I'll try to find out where things are headed...

On the other hand, the Washington Post is generally pretty reliable, but there has been so much speculation around Madigan's plans lately that everyone has an opinion, it seems, and you know what they say about opinions.

UPDATED 12:55 p.m.: Commentor FOKLAES tipped us off that Politico is announcing that Kirk is calling key supporters to tell them that he's running for Senate.

All modesty aside, TA hasn't gotten the call yet, so I am a tad reserved until I hear something more definitive.

Do Dead Men Have Tales to Tell? Lake County Coroner Richard Keller's Decision Not to Seek Re-election Should Raise Questions (UPDATED)

2009-07-06T22:11:00.019-05:00

A very interesting development tonight with the announcement of Lake County Cororner Richard L. Keller, MD, a Democrat, that he will not run for relection in 2012, despite just having defeated GOP challenger Michael Oster, MD, in the November 2008 election.

Now, why would someone like Keller make a decision not to run and announce that now, three years before the next election?

Keller's explanation is that he underestimated how much politics and fundraising pervaded the job of coroner. "I feel that politics is getting in my way here," Keller said. "I just want to get out from under it and do the best job I can do the remaining three years I have here."

Hmm...

He JUST won re-election, and he's NOW worried about the time commitment of the political aspect of his job, specifically fundraising?

According to Keller's D-2 filings with the State Board of Elections, Keller raised $0 the first six months of 2009, so he hasn't been beating the bushes for money so far this year. And with his election not until 2012, he'd have plenty of time to build up a war chest slowly but surely. His fundraising history also casts doubt on his stated rationalization, as Keller has never been a big fundraiser or spender, rarely if ever breaking $10K in a reporting period, as far as I can tell. And many of his donors appear to be labor unions, which usually don't take a lot of time or effort to hit up for funds.

In fact, in most periods when an election is not right around the corner, he appears to raise nothing.

Based on Keller's D-2's he's hardly being squeezed for time playing politics and raising money.

Something here smells like a corpse the coroner forgot to put back into the freezer for a few days. TA suspects there is much more than just a re-evaluation of Keller's life priorities behind this decision.

UPDATE 07/07/09 7:00 a.m.: Here's a News-Sun article on Keller with a scant more detail than the link above. This article confirms that the justification Keller claims is to avoid fundraising. Given the election is three years out, the timing of his announcement is at least, odd, and given his fundraising habits and track record, as discussed at the main post, above, it seems like an awfully weak justification. The Daily Herald also has something short up.

To badly paraphrase Paul Harvey, I'm looking for the 'rest of the story.'

Getting Back to Political Basics In Lake County (UPDATED- BOND SUCCESSOR INFO)

2009-07-05T09:10:00.008-05:00

This past week has been quite a whirlwind around here and on other blogs, discussing the ramifications of Congressman Mark Kirk's vote on the Climate Change bill. Leaving the politics aside for a moment, it's clear that the Internet has become a driving force for political discourse that has long eclipsed the print media. I don't know about others, but being a news hound that still reads four dailies (Trib, Herald, News-Sun and WSJ), it's typical that I've already heard about 75% of the stories that appear in my morning paper since I've kept up on the previous day's news stories online all day long. The interactive nature of the Internet, and the ability to trade opinions with bloggers, commentors, politicians, and even the reporters who wrote the story that you read in the paper, gives the exchange of ideas and political discourse an entirely new dimension.

Of course, now that we can all talk to one-another, it's also easy for things to get out of hand when some seem to lack decorum and simple politeness. I'll admit I found myself being on the short end of my temper on a few occasions over the last few days in dealing with a few commentors who (I thought unfairly) either attacked Mark Kirk or were so stoneheaded in their views that we seemed to be getting nowhere. But, I have always wanted this blog to be a place where opinions were respected as long as they were presented intelligently and respectfully, and I'm pleased to say that out of the way over 150 comments on the various posts on the Kirk issue, I only had to delete one commentor for over-the-top nastiness and trying to out another commentor. Unlike the Other 10th District Blog, I have always prided myself on not deleting folks simply for disagreeing with me or others.

So with that, let's not let the rest of the goings-on in Lake County slip past us while were are still contemplating the lasting effects of Mark Kirk's vote. There's still a bunch of other interesting stuff bubbling to the surface that it's good to take a look at.

County Board Appointments: County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt has her hands full naming appointments to the three county board seats that were recently vacated, as they were held by Bob Sabonjian (who is now Mayor of Waukegan), Michael Talbett (who took a job as village administrator of Kildeer) and Pam Newton (who took a job as chief operating officer of Hawthorn Woods). Some background here.

Schmidt told the Daily Herald that appointments are imminent, although she still has a few people to talk to before making a final decision.

Now that former appointee Keith Turner is off the table for the Dem appointment to fill Sabonjian's spot, I'm not sure who will be the next Dem appointee, but I can bet it won't be anyone Dem. Chairman Terry Link approves of. I've heard a few names bandied about for the two Republican spots, but I am hopeful that Suzi is keeping in mind that these folks will be up for election in 2010, and it's important to pick people who have some chance of retaining the seat. Terry Link has made no bones about his desire to wrest control of the board from the GOP, so this decision will have some major ramifications.

"I think there's a very good possibility (of gaining the majority)," said state Sen. Terry Link, chairman of the county's Democratic Party. "We're looking at every race, and we're trying to put the best possible candidate we can in every one of those races."

And, of course, the fact that Schmidt is running for the 31st district senate seat being abandoned by Senator Michael Bond adds another dimension to this very interesting situation. You can bet that Schmidt's decision will be a campaign issue for her senate race.

Michael Bond Trying to Shake the Money Trees for Congressional Bid: TA hears that State Senator Michael Bond is being extremely aggressive in soliciting funds for his Congressional campaign to unseat 5-term Congressman Mark Kirk, or whomever the GOP opponent will be if Kirk decides to run for U.S. Senate (no update available on that either, and people seem equally divided as to whether the Climate Change vote might increase or decrease the chances of a senate bid for Kirk, although Lisa Madigan's decision on her run is also an issue). How aggressive is too aggressive? Well, let's just say that this issue will likely be the subject of some future posts.

Still No Dem Opponent for Suzi Schmidt in Sen. 31? Nominating petitions are due to be begin being circulated on Tuesday, August 4th, and are due no later than Monday, November 2nd (the first day you can file is Monday, October 26th. Thanks to Phil Collins for correcting a previous error). So far, TA has heard little about recruitment for a candidate to fill Michael Bond's shoes on the Dem side and run against Suzi Schmidt. No chance the Dems will let this go without a fight, but with Bond concentrating on his Congressional race, and possibly keeping the door open to stay home or pick an entirely different office, it has stymied the recruitment efforts of the Dems to find a top-flight candidate for this seat.

UPDATED 7/6/09 7:15 a.m.: An alert commentor clued us in to this amatuerish webpage announcing the candidacy of Laura C. Tomsky of Greyslake to run for Senator Michael Bond's current senate seat in the 31st District. A July 15 fundraiser in Mundelein is planned.

Ms. Tomsky states: "We continue to work hard, cut expenses and ask our families to do without, while lawmakers in Springfield make poorly considered decisions, participate in irresponsible spending and do little to fight rampant corruption."

Well, I guess that just abouts sums up my opinion of current Senator Bond (and Senator Terry Link as well). Wonder if she'll have party backing?

Update ends.

So, what else is going on locally? Let us know what you hear on the street.

Mark Kirk Looking Past Climate Change Bill to Battling ObamaCare

2009-07-03T12:57:00.002-05:00

As Team America readers know, this past week has been marked with a lot of debate on Congressman Mark Kirk's vote in favor of the Obama Climate Change bill, which infuriated many of the hard core anti-tax crowd in the Republican establishment, and took many Republicans, even those who have been strong supporters of Kirk for years (like TA), by surprise.

Today, the Daily Herald took a good look at the controversy and surprise caused by Kirk's vote, and noted the importance of on-line discussions, including those here on Team America's 10th District Blog, in disseminating information and providing a forum for debate:

The vote also surprised Mettawa Trustee Larry Falbe, who writes about Lake County political happenings at his Team America's 10th District blog. A longtime and outspoken Kirk supporter, Falbe has spent several days writing about the vote, and his entries have prompted dozens of posts from angry readers who, like Thorner, feel double-crossed.

"As much as I respect and admire Mark, he did not telegraph very well which way he was going to go on this," Falbe said. "There wasn't a lot of buildup to let his constituents know where he stood on this."

Falbe acknowledged Kirk has bucked the GOP in the past. That's a political necessity: A hardline Republican couldn't win in the largely independent-thinking 10th District, which covers parts of Lake and Cook counties, Falbe said.

"He's the most conservative person we're going to get elected in the 10th District," Falbe said.

Since the vote, Kirk has been hosting conference calls, exchanging e-mails, making radio appearances (notably on the conversative Don Wade and Roma show on WLS-AM), and has updated his website, all in an attempt to explain his vote and help his constituents understand his decision.

While some are still very upset, it seems to me that a good portion of Kirk's base of support is still intact, now that the shock has started to wear off. Of course, there are some Republicans that never thought much of Kirk in the first place, and now see this as their chance to get broader support to throw Kirk off the reservation. Whether this movement gets any traction past the immediate aftermath of the climate vote remains to be seen. And, frankly, lots of us political junkies completely lose sight of the fact that much of the electorate just isn't paying attention to any of this stuff. There's a long time until the election comes around.

Meanwhile, in addition to defending his vote on the climate change bill, Kirk is also talking up the next big challenge, which is defeating the Obama health care bill. As we noted here previously, the health care battle is going to make the climate change bill seem like just a warm up, and even the arch-conservatives are going to have to support Kirk's efforts in this regard. Kirk relates that GOP House Leader John Boehner's team has adopted a huge chunk (75% or so) of what Kirk's legislative team put together as the basis for the GOP counter to ObamaCare, which places Kirk squarely in the position of a leader on this issue. Once the more onerous planks of ObamaCare start to be widely publicized, like FINING people for not acquiring health insurance, I think the masses will quickly forget where Mark was on climate as he gets out in front on the heath care battle.

Would Kirk vote the same way on climate change again if he knew what a firestorm it would cause? I'm not sure. But, he did state one thing:

"I'm out of the weather predicting business."

LOL, Mark, and keep fighting for us in the 10th District.

Don't Panic! Mark Kirk Has Not Left the (GOP) Reservation

2009-06-30T21:29:00.008-05:00

That last comment string was getting a bit long, so I figured I'd report in on a conference call that Congressman Mark Kirk hosted tonight for 10th District Republican leaders - mostly precinct and township chairmen and committeemen (and women). Kirk realizes the 'firestorm' his vote on the 'Cap and Trade' climate change bill has caused, at least on the right side of the political spectrum, and understands that he need to explain his reasoning, clearly and simply, and (frankly) give people the opportunity to vent.

I think that many Republicans who were initially (and may still be) very upset with Kirk's vote in favor of the bill needed (and need) to: 1) vent their frustration and confusion; 2) hear Kirk's explanation as to why he cast the vote he did; and, 3) be reassured that Kirk has not walked off the reservation. I think the call accomplished those goals, and he will continue to reach out to his constituency in the 10th District in the coming days and weeks.

I won't repeat the entire call blow-by-blow, but a few points stand out.

First, for those folks who have wondered (not without some cause, perhaps) as to what the heck Kirk received in return for his vote from the Emanuel/Pelosi machine, the answer was nada, nothing, zip. In fact, Mark shared that on Friday, President Obama called him twice and Kirk refused to take the call (too busy reading the bill, I assume). Apparently, that was the very first instance The One ever experienced of someone in Kirk's position not taking his call. Hopefully it won't be the last. So, for anyone who was worried that Kirk had been bought by the Dems, that's not the case.

Second, Kirk pointed out that on every other major vote that has occurred in this Congress, Kirk has voted WITH the Republicans and against the Obama administration. On major legislation like the Stimulus, the budget, the Ledbetter Act, Kirk voted with the GOP 100%. Kirk is also gearing up to be a leader on the Republican alternative to ObamaCare, which has all the markings of being a far more important (and much bigger blow to the economy) than the Climate Change bill.

Mark talked a lot about the upcoming fight on health care, and the GOP realizes that you cannot fight something with nothing. While some might contend that given the resources of the Obama administration, and there is no way the GOP can come up with anything that will counter the Obama plan, Kirk begs to differ. He stated that he and his people have written about 75% of the GOP answer to Obama's health care takeover bill, so get ready for the next major battle in Congress to take place very soon. I'm confident that the GOP will support Kirk's position and understand that one vote does not a lost cause make.

Kirk admitted fully that the Climate Change bill was "imperfect." But, as an opportunity to support renewable energy and encourage technology-forcing change in this country that would finally begin to wean ourselves from foreign interests, it simply could not be ignored. While Kirk also acknowledged that the Dems had rushed the bill through, he also noted that even the GOP leader, John Boehner, has always said that people do not remember procedural issues months after a vote; it's the substance of a bill that resonates with the voters. Kirk also noted that the word from his constituents in the 10th was overwhelmingly in favor of the bill, and that serious opposition only developed in the final 48 hours before the vote. As Mark said on the call, in a situation where the will of the public seems to be in flux and somewhat capricious, you have to trust to your own best judgment, and as one of the few people who spent a lot of time reading the bill and meeting with folks like Midwest Generation (which supported the bill), Mark had to vote the way his heart and mind told him.

Mark reiterated that the financial impact on taxpayers would not be significant; especially here in Illinois, where we already have a more stringent renewable energy requirement (25%) under state law than is called for in the climate change bill. Mark also emphasized his commitment to developing domestic power sources such as nuclear energy. Try getting that from the Dems.

Kirk's primary goal with his vote was to show support for a plan to reduce dependence on foreign oil, which hardly anyone can argue with as a goal important for our economy and national security. In the end, you may not agree with his vote, but as we've said here time and again, we'd rather have a thinking Congressman that will vote his heart and mind (and agree with most of the GOP 90% of the time) than the alternative (imagine the Dan Seals perspective not just on climate change, but health care and other critical issues).

Kirk will continue to engage the voters of the 10th District until every constituent that wants to make his or her voice heard by the Congressman has had their say. He may not convince you, and you may not forgive him, but he still has my vote, and hopefully the vote of many thinking Republicans in the 10th.

Congressman Mark Kirk Explains His Vote On Climate Change Bill

2009-06-29T06:36:00.006-05:00

I spent a good portion of the weekend alternatively wondering what Congressman Mark Kirk's explanation was for his vote in favor of the Waxman Markey energy bill, commonly known as the 'climate change' bill (technically, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, or "ACES" as the acronym-builders would have it), and then reading the posts and comments of many, many upset Republicans on various blogs and newspaper websites. As we explained here last week, many view this bill as nothing more than an astonishingly large new tax on the American people, which will further add to the bloat of government, stifle the economy, and reduce our ability to compete with the likes of China and India (which have no such qualms about moving full speed ahead with their economic development, carbon emissions be damned).

Those of us who have backed Mark Kirk for the better part of nine years now knew he had to have a good reason for taking this vote. But, there wasn't a lot of information coming from Team Kirk. Over the weekend, my friend Antonietta "Ant" Simonian, Executive Director of the Lake County Republican Federation, grabbed Mark for a half hour on his cell phone and got his explanation. There has also been an e-mail going around, although the regular distribution seems to have been messed up, as I usually get two copies of everything Team Kirk sends out, and I did not get this one.

In any case, reprinted below is Ant's blast e-mail to the Federation mailing list, and Kirk's detailed e-mail explanation of his vote. I'm still left wondering why, if Team Kirk anticipated the adverse reaction of many supporters, why they didn't get out in front of this story earlier, as some of the speculation I read over the weekend even suggested that Kirk must have made some trade with Emanuel/Pelosi machine for his vote. If you don't fill the vaccum with something, people are going to speculate. With even folks like Anne Leary at BackyardConservative calling for Kirk's head, there's a lot of damage control that needs to be done by Kirk.

Anyway, here's Ant, followed by the Kirk e-mail:

Over the past few weeks, partisans on both sides of the aisle bombarded media outlets with praises and warnings of the legislation. I spoke to Congressman Kirk this afternoon and expressed my concern on his vote for the legislation. I wish I could repeat the conversation verbatim (nearly 25 minutes) as it continues to demonstrate his intellect, his commitment to public service and to leading by example. A "no" vote would have been tremendously easier. The extreme rhetoric on both sides resulted in Congressman Kirk conducting his own research based on more non partisan sources including Midwest Generation (provider of energy to the 10th Congressional District), NASA, NOA, and the Congressional Budget Office. Kirk read each of the 1,200 plus pages of the legislation and voted his conscience. Below is his statement and I thank you in advance for reading it. If you wish to express your opinions, please e-mail me at antruns7@gmail.com.

Warmest Regards, Antonietta "Ant" Simonian
Executive Director, Lake County Republican Federation

Statement by Congressman Mark Kirk

For 2009, our top goal should be energy independence. I support exploring for energy off our coasts, expanding nuclear power and building a natural gas pipeline across Canada to lower heating costs in the Midwest - an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy.

As a Navy veteran, I think is time to set America's policy towards defunding Middle Eastern dictatorships by cutting our foreign oil bill, giving our troops less to worry about. That is why during the debate on the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) bill, I voted for the Republican Forbes (R-VA) Substitute, based on the text of the New Manhattan Project for Energy Independence, H.R. 513. Our "Manhattan" energy bill set a goal of reducing our dependence on foreign oil by 50% in 10 years and 100% in 20 years. The bill cost $24 billion but would eliminate the $400 billion Americans currently spend on foreign oil. Our bill backs solar, wind, hydro, clean coal and nuclear power. It enhances research, especially in nuclear fusion, bio-fuels, carbon-capture systems and efficiency upgrades. Unfortunately, this bill was defeated by a vote of 172 to 255.

While less ideal than the Forbes Substitute, the underlying ACES bill would still lower our dependence on foreign oil by diversifying American energy production. It is time to break the boom and bust cycle of high gas prices and the need to deploy three separate armies to the Middle East (Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom). As you may know, I am a veteran of the Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom missions.

With regard to the main thrust of the ACES bill, I am also concerned about growing air pollution, both from our country and overseas. I do not think we should ignore this problem. While the ACES bill is overly complicated, I voted in favor of the legislation to address these problems, looking forward to major improvements in the Senate.

In 1998 and 1999, I served as part of the U.S. delegation to both the Kyoto and Buenos Aires UN Climate Change conferences. In those years, there was a significant debate about the amount and effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide. I was a skeptic and spent hundreds of hours on the subject of 1990s climate science. In the Congress, our job is to learn as much as possible from the latest peer-reviewed non-partisan scientists and then plot the best course for our nation.

There is now a growing scientific consensus that the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide affects average temperatures. According to the National Academy of Scientists, carbon dioxide levels rose to a high of 290 parts per million 130,000 years ago, causing a 20 degree increase in temperature. As carbon dioxide levels fell, so did average temperatures. Both Presidents Bush and their advisors recognized this long relationship and put forward their own plans to reduce the recent rapid growth of atmospheric carbon dioxide, both here and abroad.

According to NASA, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose from a pre-industrial level of 280 parts per million in 1850 to 385 parts per million today. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the rate of increase is accelerating, from 376 parts per million in 2004 to 385 today. The National Academy of Sciences reports that the earth's average temperature already increased by 1.4°F, from 56.8°F in 1920 to 58.2°F in 2007. NOAA also reports that due to a 30% drop in winter ice covering the Great Lakes since 1972, evaporation may be the cause of Lake Michigan's declining water level.

If we examine the lowest-case NASA projection, they expect the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide to rise to 440 parts per million by 2020. I am a strong supporter of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. When they reported the Democratic health care bill cost $1.6 Trillion, we should take notice and rewrite that bill. That is why I have become one of the leading Republican authors of an alternative health care bill that will be the Congress's least expensive bill, costing our Treasury very little. I read their report on ACES carefully too. CBO reports that peer-reviewed scientists expect the world's average temperature to increase by 9 degrees by 2100, lowering U.S. economic output by 3% annually. In sum, they estimated the costs of the bill per household at $140 annually.

The main section of the ACES bill affects entities that emit more than 25,000 tons of carbon annually, roughly 7,400 sites across the U.S. (e.g. the current Clean Air Act already covers 22,000 sites). The best way to understand this bill is to look at its effect on our district's main source of electricity, the Midwest Generation electrical plant in Waukegan. If you go to any beach in our district, you will see it on the northern Lake Michigan shoreline. In sum, Midwest Generation burns coal to produce four million megawatt hours of electricity, serving 330,000 households annually in northern Illinois. Under ACES, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would issue permits for the four million tons of carbon this plant plans to emit in 2012. Half of the permits would be issued for free, half at a cost of $15 per ton, totaling $33 million in new costs (electricity generators using solar, wind, hydro and nuclear technologies do not emit carbon and would not pay such costs).

Midwest sells its electricity to Commonweath Edison. Under ACES, EPA would refund to ComEd $30 million of the $33 million Midwest paid to EPA. The Act requires that this funding be used to reduce the cost of electricity to lower and middle income families. In the end, Commonwealth Edison would pass about $3 million in new costs on to northern Illinois consumers, or roughly $14 annually per home. As you can see, the costs of this bill are modest, mainly intended to move energy production in the United States to renewable technology. Midwest Generation also advised me they strongly supported the bill, as did Commonwealth Edison.

Major emitters can also invest in plants and trees that remove carbon from the atmosphere. By planting nine acres of trees, an emitter can offset a ton of carbon emissions annually. Many of these investments will help farmers and may be arranged by the Chicago Climate Exchange, using our city's expertise in trading credits for agricultural products. Under this legislation, we also expect total wind power generation to expand at an annual rate of 16%, doubling wind production from its current 3% of U.S. totals power to 6% over the next 10 years. Because the U.S. solar and wind production is still so small, the legislation also contains provisions to encourage the construction of new nuclear plants to power our economic growth. Recently, our country started building new nuclear power plants, with 17 applications for 26 new plants.

ACES also increases energy efficiency standards for homes and commercial buildings - but recently passed Illinois standards are already as stringent as the new federal standards. The effect of this bill will be to increase other states to the Illinois standards. By one estimate, such efficiency standards will lower household energy costs by $3,900 annually. This would cut our foreign oil bills substantially.

In sum, I would have preferred a bill that focused more on energy independence and less on some of the complications in this bill. Nevertheless, the 1990 Clean Air Act signed by President Bush established a cap and trade system to reduce acid rain that proved to be a great low-cost success. Much of the poisoned lakes in the east and New England have recovered from acid rain. In the coming Senate debate, I hope we can repeat this environmental success and aggressively back a national program to defund Iran and Venezuela by reducing America's need for foreign oil.

Mark Kirk
Member of Congress

Time Will Judge Mark Kirk's Vote on Climate Change Bill

2009-06-27T07:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, the White House and Congressional Democratic leadership left it all out on the field in exerting every ounce of persuasion they had to muster enough votes to pass landmark climate change legislation. They succeeded - barely. The measure now moves to the Senate, where a combination of Republicans and moderate Democrats may modify it almost beyond recognition in its current state.

If Obama and Pelosi had not succeeded in passing this legislation, it would have been a major black eye for the Dem agenda, which would have come at a critical time, considering polls show that the popularity of Obama's programs (although not Obama personally) is slipping, and more Americans are leery of Obama's ability to lead the nation out of economic crisis.

Obama and Pelosi were not able to convince 44 fellow Democrats to vote for the bill - whether these Dems refused to go along because they are vulnerable in the next election and wanted political cover, or because they truly believed the legislation did not go far enough, that's probably a case-by-case determination.

But, they did convince eight Republicans, including 5th term Congressman Mark Kirk, to vote in favor.

The right-wing Blogosphere wasted no time in lighting up and denouncing Kirk's vote as a traitor to Republican ideals, given their view of the cap and trade legislation as nothing more than a astonishingly large new tax on the American people, which will further add to the bloat of government, stifle the economy, and reduce our ability to compete with the likes of China and India (which have no such qualms about moving full speed ahead with their economic development, carbon emissions be damned). No big surprise that many Republicans are disappointed with Kirk. (Heck, I even got a call from my mother-in-law in St. Louis who wanted to complain to me about it).

But, the real test of Kirk's vote will only come with time. While some die-hard anti-tax fiscal conservatives will probably not forgive Kirk, the real question is how his vote will play with the larger electorate. While the Dems will avoid crediting Kirk as much as possible, even though they needed his vote, they will not be able to paint Kirk as an anti-environment Bush-Rush-Cheney sycophant, at least on this vote. Kirk's mantra has always been "thoughtful, independent leadership," and this vote will certainly bolster his creds in bucking his party when he believes he should.

The more cynical among us will call this a soccer-mom vote, which is geared towards positioning him for re-election in the fairly liberal 10th Congressional District, or for U.S. Senate. Perhaps they are right. But in the end, Kirk has enjoyed a vast base of support from many, including Democrats, Independents and Republicans, who did not support his views or votes on every single issue. Not even TA does. But what I do know is that Mark Kirk is a brilliant Congressman that I still support, and would like nothing more than to see him stay on in the 10th, or even move up to Senate (although he'd leave big shoes to fill).

This Blog has always been more about politics than policy. Is there anyone out there that thinks that, overall, this vote hurts Kirk more than helps? Will this even be much of an issue, especially if the final measure (if passed by both houses) gets watered down to something that enjoys true bi-partisan support? I'm interested to hear everyone's view on this.

Team America Gets Inside Local Dems' Heads: "Don't You Just Hate it When Repubs Ridicule Us?"

2009-06-25T06:43:00.006-05:00

Looks like Team America continues to get inside the Dems' collective heads, and has them playing political defense, well in advance of the 2010 election.

It appears we struck a chord with the oddly named "Eighth District Democrats and Independents" (EDDI), who apparently saw our recent post on the great GOP showing at the Libertyville Days parade, including a GOP float, Congressman Mark Kirk, State Rep. Ed Sullivan, County Treasurer Bob Skidmore, Justices Mary Schostok and Ann Jorgensen, representatives from Dan Duffy's team, and candidates such as Dan Sugrue.

As we reported, not much happening on the Dem front at that parade, although an alert Collin Corbett (president of the Lake County Young Republicans) reported in that there were a skant few Dem walkers that we missed... but the best part was, instead of live candidates, they brought a cardboard cutout of President Barack Obama and marched with him. You can't make this stuff up:

So, if I were the Dems, I would collectively be feeling sheepish, too. It does seem like we got to them. Check out the following e-mail that an avid reader forwarded to me:

RE: Don't You Just Hate it When Repubs Ridicule Us?

If you just hate it when Republicans make fun of us,
you can do something about it July 4th and 5th!

Lake County Republicans have been heaping scorn on Democrats this week because we supposedly had fewer people in the Libertyville Parade than they did.

So let's show them what Democrats are made of and show up in droves for the Mundelein parade, Sunday July 5! Can we beat the Zion record of 118 marchers??? [snip]

Thanks in advance for helping support the Democratic and progressive voters in Lake County!

[Signed]
Eighth District Democrats & Independents (EDDI)

Well, I wish them luck. If you'd like to walk for EDDI, you can RSVP at illinoiseddi@hotmail.com or call 847-550-8631.

There. Never say I wasn't happy to help.

Mark Kirk News: The latest news about Mark Kirk is that there is no news about Mark Kirk, at least as to his plans for U.S. Senate. His love life is the subject of a light-hearted Politico post, though.

Mark Sanford and the Bizzaro Blog. Yes, we've heard about Governor Mark Sanford. Over at the Bizzaro world blog, they are pretty giddy about it, although they also note that we in Illinois had recent guv problems of our own. But maybe now that Patti B. has been kicked off the island, things will get back to normal for a while. At least with Sanford, we found out about his issues long before people got too excited about him as a possible presidential candidate in 2012. Although, if you'll recall, another adulterous president didn't do so badly, and his wife ended up with a pretty good job, too.

Michael Bond's IL-10 Website Up, But Is He Still Hedging?

2009-06-24T07:22:00.011-05:00

We reported a few weeks ago that State Senator Michael Bond (D-Grayslake), who aspires to win the 10th Congressional District seat currently held by 5th term GOP Congressman Mark Kirk, had apparently unintentionally let a few draft webpages from an under-construction website leak out on the Internet. That website had an address of http://www.michaelbondforcongress/, which made sense. As we said, the top-level page had only a "coming soon" message, but some of the lower level pages we could access clearly had a Michael Bond for Congress logo, which we previously shared:

Oddly, we heard nothing more from Bond on the Internet for some time, until over this past weekend, when a finished website for his congressional race finally went "live."

Even more oddly, though, the new Bond campaign website has a new address: http://www.bond2010.com/

The logo is very similar (sorry for the break, I had to capture the image from the website in two pieces), and it is unquestionably a 10th Congressional campaign website, as it is paid for by Michael Bond for Congress, and includes a 10th District map.

But why the change, and why the more 'generic' sounding website name? And why is the MichaelBondforCongress website still posting a "coming soon" message and not re-directing folks to the new site?

Is Bond still hedging that if Mark Kirk stays home to run for a 6th congressional term, Bond will bail and run again for the 31st state senate district (against, presumeably, County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt, who announced for the race some weeks ago) or maybe a state-wide office?

Mark Kirk in the News: Congressman Mark Kirk has been making some news lately. Here's a wrap-up->>>> Politico quotes Kirk in an article regarding the comeback of the GOP. Kirk continues his fight against earmarks and lobbyists who get rich off them, as reported by various sources. Kirk (singlehandedly it seems, sometimes) continues to stand up for Israel against the Iranian regime, sympathizers and business interests. Kirk helps to promote hybrid buses with bi-partisan support. Finally, Kirk helps get more funding for Great Lakes cleanups.

Wow. Kinds leaves ya breathless, doesn't it? Meanwhile, Bond bullies Metra into taking credit cards, but gives them no money to pay for it. Swell.

Is Imitation Really the Sincerest Form of Flattery? Visit the Bizzaro Team America for Kicks

2009-06-22T20:13:00.008-05:00

TA regulars will get a kick out of this.

There's a new Dem blog in town named Blue Lake Special. (Is that supposed to be a play on Blue Light Special, of the old K-Mart days? I would have picked a different name...)

The format of the Blue Lake Special Blog seems somehow... familiar.... not to mention even more familiar if you compare it with the equivalent TA post (today's topic was State Senator Matt Murphy). Blue Lake could probably save some time if they just left a post up that essentially said, DON'T BELIEVE TEAM AMERICA! It'd probably be just as effective for their target audience.

I'm just surprised that it took them so long to come up with the Bizzaro-world version of Team America, since Ellen clearly isn't getting the job done in the counter-propaganda war.

Blue Lake has already stooped to stealing our photos without accreditation, but that should surprise no one who understands the Obama mentality of ignoring hard work and private property rights of individuals.

I'm not too worried about a little competition from another dimension. After all, Superman always triumphed in the end....

Back to our regular programming shortly.

State Senator Matt Murphy Announces for Guv Race (UPDATED)

2009-06-22T07:05:00.004-05:00

One of our alert readers noted that State Senator Matt Murphy of Palatine has thrown in for the governor's race in 2010, after a few weeks of sending out some feelers. Trib coverage here; AP coverage here. The Daily Herald was apparently caught sleeping on this one; perhaps this is due to budget cutbacks?

Murphy joins a slew of announced and not-yet-announced candidates on the GOP side, including fellow senators Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady, DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, DuPage State's Attorney Joe Birkett and businessman Adam Andrzejewski of Hinsdale.

Oh, and maybe another fellow, Congressman Mark Kirk.

Does Murphy's entrance into the primary battle mean anything, or is it way too early to tell? Is Murphy serious or running to build name recognition for later? And what of Kirk? Do more candidates in the primary help him or hurt him if he runs for guv? Would Kirk's entry clear out many of the amateurs?

Consider this a 2010 guv open thread.

UPDATE: The Daily Herald put a short blurb up on the Murphy announcement on its website this morning, which appears to be the AP article, but I don't see an accreditation.

Lake County GOP Out In Force At Libertyville Days

2009-06-20T21:16:00.016-05:00

I spent the morning doing the Libertyville parade, which is always fun. The local GOP was well-represented. Strangely, there was nary a Dem to be seen in the parade (as far as TA could tell), although I heard they have a booth. I guess Dems figure they only have to come out during election years. Republicans, on the other hand, understand that they have to make an investment in the community and stick around for the long haul, not come out just when they are looking for votes.

Here are some of my better pix, courtesy of my trusty Blackberry:

Below is Judge Wally Dunn, Congressman Mark Kirk, a supporter of Justice Mary Schostok, and Sheriff Mark Curran

Here's Libertyville Township GOP Chairman John Emerson getting the awesome GOP float ready.

Below is State Representative Ed Sullivan, Jr. and longtime supporter Adam Beeson.

Here's Young Republicans President Collin Corbett and Kris Duffy (State Senator Dan Duffy missed the parade because he had 'flood repair' duty back at home)

Here's State Representative Candidate Dan Sugrue and his team, getting ready to march.

Below is the car driven by the team of Justice Mary Schostok and Ann Jorgensen, both of whom are running for retention to the Illinois Appellate Court.

This is Ed (didn't catch his last name), Donna O'Leary, and Ant Simonian, who is Executive Director of the Lake County Republican Federation.

Below are Lisa and Rod Drobinski and Justice Mary Schostok

Here's County Board Member Ann Maine, with our Sheriff, Mark Curran.

Finally, here's one more view of the GOP float just as it's about to get going.

No Perjury Charges Against Burris; Now He's That Much Harder to Dislodge

2009-06-19T12:06:00.002-05:00

Today the Sangamon County State's Attorney stated that Senator Roland Burris will not be charged with perjury in regard to any of the statements he made during questioning or by affidavit during the General Assembly's impeachment proceedings against former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

What few people seem to be talking about so far, though, are the implications for the Dem senate primary, with an assumedly newly-invigorated Burris and his supporters making it a lot tougher to dislodge him from the seat.

You can tell Burris is already feeling his oats in the wake of the decision, as reported by Politico:

"I am obviously very pleased with today's decision by State's Attorney John Schmidt. His investigation was both thorough and fair, and I am glad that the truth has prevailed," Burris said in a statement emailed to my colleague Manu Raju. "This matter has now been fully investigated; I cooperated at every phase of the process, and as I have said from the beginning, I have never engaged in any pay-to-play, never perjured myself, and came to this seat in an honest and legal way. Today's announcement confirms all that," he said.

h/t Capitol Fax Blog

A messy multi-candidate primary with Alexi, Lisa and Chris Kennedy all fighting for votes against Burris might give Burris an actual chance (if he can raise some money, finally). Too bad Jan Schakowsky didn't stay in the race, too.

Wonder what Mark Kirk thinks about all this...?

Obama Won't Take A Stand on Iran, But Plenty of Time to Meddle in Illinois Elections

2009-06-18T07:24:00.005-05:00

Apparently the issue of supporting democratic elections in Iran is too hot for President Barack Obama to touch. No, we wouldn't want to back up the people who are risking their lives out in the streets demanding fair elections and democracy... wouldn't want to offend the Iranian government (as illegitimate as it may now be), or they might not ever talk to us again.

But, Obama apparently has plenty of time to meddle with another political morass, namely, Illinois politics, and specifically, the impending battle to see who succeeds to his former senate seat, now held, of course, by Roland Burris. The big story of the news cycle is that Attorney General Lisa Madigan met with the President and his senior aides to discuss the senate race.

Are the Dems so scared by the prospect of Congressman Mark Kirk running for senate that bringing out their most popular (why, I'm not sure) politician is a move of desperation to try to ensure they don't suffer the embarrassment of losing the senate seat formerly held by the now-President? As many people have noted, now that the political landscape has changed somewhat with Quinn in as governor and not Blago, Lisa Madigan may be seriously rethinking her plan to run for that office.

Where does that leave Mark Kirk? Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business really thinks Kirk ought to run for governor. Hinz may have a point that running as a fresh state-wide face against the entrenched issues of Springfield may be more attractive now than ever. And, since most polls that I've seen show Kirk losing to Madigan in a head-to-head race, it's not a dumb bet that he will run for whatever race Lisa doesn't, or stay home to run in IL-10. Of course, if Lisa is just using this all to further promote a future political move down the road and decides to run for Attorney General again herself, that leaves Kirk's political future a bit more open.

PS- Ellen defends Obama's lack of backbone, and as usual, tries to blame Mark Kirk. She's apparently taking comments again on her blog, brave soul, so why not let her know how you feel?

BOND WATCH: The only public response I have seen out of State Senator Michael Bond's camp in response to the Venturi FEC complaint over alleged late FEC filings is in Charlie Selle's column in the News-Sun. Bond's people deny that Bond messed up his filings. We shall see. But he still doesn't have his Congressional campaign website up and running, and the links to the draft Bond web pages that we saw some days ago have now been taken down, it appears.

State Senator Michael Bond Under FEC Investigation Regarding 10th Congressional District Bid (UPDATED)

2009-06-16T00:22:00.010-05:00

The Federal Election Commission is reviewing a complaint against the campaign of Democratic 10th Congressional District candidate Michael Bond, who currently serves Illinois' 31st senate district.

According to Lake County Republican Chairman Dan Venturi, who filed the complaint against Bond with the FEC, Bond has declared himself a congressional candidate and expended money on behalf of his candidacy -- without timely filing the proper paperwork and disclosures (due 15 days after declaring one's candidacy). Venturi notes that, as reported by Team America some time ago, Bond has reserved a website address and several draft pages of the site can be accessed (although not by design, it appears).

In addition, it is beyond question that Bond officially declared himself a candidate weeks ago (April 29), as evidenced by a press release and statements to the media. According to Venturi, Bond's campaign could be subject to a fine for failure to properly and timely file his disclosures.

You can read the complaint and other documents, including the FEC letter sent to Venturi to confirm the initiation of the investigation (MUR 6195), here.

A recent search of the FEC database reveals that a campaign committee has been established for Bond, with a Brett P. Smiley (apparently of Rhode Island... what's up with that?) as its treasurer, but the committee statement of organization (FEC Form 1) was filed only as of June 1, 2009 (when Bond announced in late April). Bond later finally filed his FEC Form 2 (Statement of Candidacy) as of June 9, 2009. Bond signed the Form 2 and mailed it on June 3, 2009, which was after Venturi's complaint was received by the FEC. Whoops.

Bond has 15 days from the receipt of the notice letter from the FEC to write to it and try to explain why no action should be taken for being egregiously late with his filing. You can learn more about the FEC complaint procedure here.

For anyone who thinks this is a lot of hooey about nothing, the left has made no bones about making this an issue when it suits them. I don't know where this rates on the FEC penalty scale, but it sure isn't good to begin your campaign by proving you can't timely file your paperwork and have to explain yourself to the FEC after the GOP calls you on it.

UPDATED: FEC Complaint Procedure: We've been taking some heat in cyberspace for talking about the Venturi complaint and whether it was sufficient under the law. The issue is whether Bond needed to pass a $5,000 fundraising threshold to be considered a "candidate" under the election code, regardless of the fact that he publicly and clearly declared himself a candidate. Here's the bottom line- the FEC guidance on filing a complaint states the following:

"Receipt of Complaint

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) reviews each complaint to determine whether it states a violation within the jurisdiction of the Commission and satisfies the above criteria for a proper complaint. If the complaint does not meet these requirements, OGC notifies the complainant of the deficiencies.

Once a complaint is deemed sufficient, OGC assigns it a Matter Under Review (MUR) number, acknowledges receipt of the complaint and informs the complainant that the Commission will notify him or her when the entire case is resolved. Until then, the Commission is required by law to keep its actions regarding the MUR confidential."

The FEC, at least, determined that the complaint was sufficient such that it was not returned to Venturi for deficiencies, and was assigned a MUR number. The ball is now in Michael Bond's court to try to weasel out of this. I am by no means suggesting the FEC's actions to date are a review of the complaint on the merits, but if Venturi's allegations were as facially deficient as some would have you believe, why would the complaint have gotten this far?

Mark Kirk on Warpath Against SuperPot, and Other Stories

2009-06-15T06:39:00.002-05:00

Kirk Not Hot on SuperPot: Congressman Mark Kirk will hold a press conference today regarding his push for stricter penalties for selling so-called 'super pot' or 'kush' (as it apparently is known on the street). Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran agrees that this is a problem, as more and more of this stuff has been turning up in Lake County drug arrests.

Keith Turner Out for County Board: Democrat Keith Turner withdrew his name from consideration for the Lake County Board spot vacated by now-Waukegan Mayor Bob Sabonjian. Turner's planned appointment really pissed off Dem County Chairman Terry Link, who wanted his ally Bill Durkin nominated to fill that slot. County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt refused to appoint Durkin because he is County Recorder of Deeds Mary Ellen Vanderventer's brother. TA hears Suzi already has some additional names under consideration, but something tells me Terry Link isn't going to get his way next time either.

Michael Bond Mandates Credit Cards on Metra, But Where's the Money? State Senator (and declared candidate for the 10th Congressional District) Michael Bond was finally able to get his legislation passed that forces Metra to accept credit cards. Big whoop. I am a Metra rider, and I have never felt inconvenienced by having to by my tickets with a check. But the point here is that Bond forced this down Metra's throat and provided no way to pay for the costs Metra will incur in gearing up to take credit cards. Metra estimates the cost will be $3 to $5 million annually. Wonder where they will get that money?

Can we say 'unfunded mandate'? Is the Michael Bond plan of governance to pick populist causes and force them through Congress, but have no plan to pay for the program? If you think this sounds like a typical Dem, I would have to agree with you. I don't think we need more of that type of thinking in Washington.

Mark Kirk Warns of Coming Inflation Due to Obama Policies; Now He's a Traitor

2009-06-11T06:51:00.005-05:00

Wow, another trip away on business and I come back to the left-wing blogosphere going nuts over the latest comments from Congressman Mark Kirk warning that the Obama administration's 'print and spend' monetary policy has got us headed for serious finanical trouble. Hear Kirk explain it all here:

You can read the transcript of the interview here.

But, the spin from the left is that Kirk is anti-American, a traitor, and devaluing America's financial interests and security... because why?... because he came out and told the Chinese what they already knew: the economic policies of the U.S. have this country headed for major trouble if we don't reduce the cycle of borrow and spend that shows little sign of letting up.

Treason??? Really?

Let's get real, folks. Mark Kirk didn't let the cat out of the bag to the Chinese. By all accounts, they may be a lot smarter than we are.

I can remember just a few short years ago when the left considered it 'patriotic' to rail against the Iraq war and President Bush, and to protest the 'unjust' and 'illegal' nature of it all. Now, under President Obama, it seems that the left will take any opportunity to squash dissenting opinions. Others have noticed this. Could this have anything to do with the fact that they are scared to death of Mark Kirk and his chances to take over the "Obama" senate seat?

The good news is, this tactic may well backfire for the Dems. Mark Kirk has now been established as a national expert on finance and especially with respect to the Chinese. He's been put on the same level as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and the issue is who is being truthful with the Chinese, not to mention the American people. The Chinese response to Geithner when he told them their investments were safe: he was laughed at!!! (as Mark Kirk pointed out, you have to have some appreciation for Asian culture and politeness to realize how shocking it was for an audience to openly laugh at a foreign dignitary).

When you compare foreign policy experience among possible senate candidates, it kinda makes Alexi's highly-publicized junket to Greece to carry Dick Durbin's briefcase look a little silly, don't ya think?