Illinois Dems after the election: Dump the crook, it’s important
posted at 11:00 am on March 22, 2012 by Ed Morrissey
Three days ago, Democrats in Illinois went to bat for Derrick Smith, the state lawmaker who got arrested after taking a bribe from an undercover federal agents. Party officials on Chicago’s West Side even held a rally urging voters to support him in Tuesday’s primary against a former Republican challenging him for the nomination. Democrats succeeded in getting Smith the nomination.
Now, of course, they want him gone (via Madison Conservative):
Gov. Pat Quinn and other leading Democrats called today for the resignation of a state lawmaker from Chicago who won a House primary one week after being arrested on federal bribery charges.
The growing pressure on state Rep. Derrick Smith contrasts with the silence from Democratic leaders who avoided such criticism in the days after the arrest, when it might have affected his primary race.
Some, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and Ald.Walter Burnett, 27th, encouraged voters to support Smith to ensure the West Side seat stays in Democratic hands. But that changed the day after his easy victory over Tom Swiss, a former Cook County Republican Party official.
Now Democratic leaders are moving to oust Smith and pick a replacement to run in the November general election.
What did Quinn have to say about Smith before Tuesday’s election? Er … nothing:
Gov. Pat Quinn on Saturday tiptoed around Smith’s bribery charge, calling his race against Swiss a “tough call for voters,” but one “they’ll be able to sort out.”
As I pointed out Monday, that was a real Profiles In Courage moment for Quinn. Now that Swiss is safely out of the way, Quinn and his fellow Democrats want to look tough on corruption, but none of them lifted a finger to stop Smith from winning that primary on Tuesday, and many of them explicitly backed Smith.
Unless Smith confessed in the last two days, the conclusion here is that he’s just as innocent or guilty now as he was three days ago. And the conclusion one can draw from that is that Democrats in Illinois don’t care about corruption — they just care about winning election. That starts from the Governor all the way down to the precincts, apparently.
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Interesting for entertainment value, not much else. Chicago will elect another leftist crook.
cozmo on February 26, 2013 at 8:47 AM
Besides having black skin and a pulse, what are the other qualifications necessary to win the seat?
fogw on February 26, 2013 at 8:48 AM
Since a Democrat will be elected, even if it’s Halvorson, guarantees we’ll see a third IL-02 representative in federal custody eventually.
Steve Tsouloufis on February 26, 2013 at 8:49 AM
Seriously, wouldn’t it save a lot of time and money if Chicago voters just chose someone who was already in prison?
Pork-Chop on February 26, 2013 at 8:51 AM
Seriously, wouldn’t it save a lot of time and money if Chicago voters just chose someone who was already in prison?Seriously, wouldn’t it save a lot of time and money if Chicago voters just chose someone who IS already in prison?
Pork-Chop on February 26, 2013 at 8:52 AM
Like the Obamas, Bloomberg can’t keep his fingers off of things not his concern; he wants to control everything.
What’s another Democrat in the House, anyway? With Boehner&Co being such squishes, there’s no net change. Might as well have a Dem who will with the Dems instead of a Pub who votes like a Dem.
Liam on February 26, 2013 at 8:56 AM
It’s gone on a lot longer than 20 years, Ed. Reynolds got the job because he was supposed to be a reformer following the scandal-plagued tenure of his predecessor, Gus Savage, who combined his grifting with race-baiting and sexual indiscretions.
And if you look at it, there’s been progress. Here’s the progression:
Savage: Grifter + sexual predator + race-baiter
Reynolds: Grifter + sexual predator
Jackson Jr.: Grifter
By Chicago standards, this is real progress.
Mr. D on February 26, 2013 at 9:02 AM
Are the 4 repubs in the race deranged?
docflash on February 26, 2013 at 9:03 AM
I assume Kelly is going to win because her commercials are on 24/7. And she’s going to work with President Obama to “take on the NRA!”
Because that’s the problem with guns in Chicago: the NRA keeps shooting people, apparently.
Kensington on February 26, 2013 at 9:04 AM
More likely they lost a bet at the last Cook County Lincoln Day Dinner.
Happy Nomad on February 26, 2013 at 9:12 AM
Being white is an automatic disqualifier in the corrupt world of Chicago. The Bloomberg smear machine is doing its best to sink a woman who has been an exemplary representative in the area for many years. Nanny Bloomberg should be ashamed. Oh that’s right, shame is not in their vocabulary.
Kuffar on February 26, 2013 at 9:20 AM
I am SOOOO glad that we escaped IL2 almost 2 years ago.!!
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 9:32 AM
In the worst way, I want Halvorsen to win, and I despise her–loathe her. But if a white woman runs against a black man (republican), we might stand a chance here–especially if McKinley wins the Rep primary.
Don’t forget the weather as a factor!
herm2416 on February 26, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Weather, as far as the dead of IL2 are concerned, is not a factor.
Happy Nomad on February 26, 2013 at 9:40 AM
Nice, but I take issue with your claim that Jesse “If we’re going to read the Constitution aloud on the floor of the House, I insist that I be the one to read aloud the part of the Constitution that says black people are only 3/5ths of a person” Jackson Jr. is not a race baiter.
At least they’ve made progress with the sexual predator angle.
JimLennon on February 26, 2013 at 9:41 AM
Kuffar on February 26, 2013 at 9:20 AM
That’s a black ‘entitlement’ district. There’s ZERO way that Little Debbie is gonna win.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 9:43 AM
There’s an HA commentor who still lives in that district. My guess is that he’ll sit-out voting.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 9:44 AM
Kensington on February 26, 2013 at 9:04 AM
Robin Kelly was ONLY elected to her first position(state rep?) because she was a black woman. If I sound racist, well too bad. The south suburbs are my home turf. I know how politics works there.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 9:46 AM
Hmmm…I don’t live in IL-2 (I live in IN-1), but I work in IL-2. Maybe they’ll let me cast a provisional ballot if I don’t show my ID!
JimLennon on February 26, 2013 at 9:49 AM
How do democrat primary elections work?
Does everyone get 7 votes? Who do the dead people, felons and illegal aliens vote for?
acyl72 on February 26, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Well, she certainly seems like an idiot, and her commercials are just amazing, because I find her every selling point (“She’ll STAND UP to the NRA!!1!”) repulsive.
And I live in Oak Lawn, so I’m well acquainted with the local political stupidity.
Kensington on February 26, 2013 at 9:56 AM
In Illinois, you vote how they tell you and nobody gets hurt.
And eventually the economy collapses.
Kensington on February 26, 2013 at 9:57 AM
*chuckle*
Nice shot. Will the last honest pol to leave iLLnoise turn off the lights?
Naaaa … They too are in bed with King Barry’s “green energy” and “global warming” canard – it is a qualification to hold office in that filthy hole.
(OR … they belong to a “protected group” and therefore can do no wrong)
~(Ä)~
Karl Magnus on February 26, 2013 at 9:58 AM
Twerp, I’m in the district, as you know. I’m “stuck” in Sanibel….our flight has been cancelled. The first election I have missed in 18 years! Darn! Of course, this is a great place to be stuck!
herm2416 on February 26, 2013 at 9:58 AM
Twerp, last week WGN was interviewing the people on the street in the cd2. Bear in mind, there are quite a few whites here, as well. They interviewed blacks only. It was in response to Junior’s plea. They were LIVID at how he played them. I about fell over, nobody screamed racism or that he was framed….maybe the light is turning on.
Re: Kelly and NRA/Halvorson. I think having an A+ rating is a selling feature, as do most of the people I talk to. The only way Kelly wins is through cheating, so she will win.
Meh.
herm2416 on February 26, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Kensington on February 26, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Oak Lawn? My sympathies. The entire SW ‘Burbs has gone full jihadi.
I had to stop going to Orland Square because I’m Jewish and the sea of hijabs that had infested there made me feel like I had been dropped into enemy territory.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 10:06 AM
Kensington on February 26, 2013 at 9:56 AM
You need to escape to Texas. I’ve run into other South ‘Burbs folks even in Lubbock.
You’re welcome here.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 10:07 AM
herm2416 on February 26, 2013 at 10:02 AM
I’m almost glad that my mother’s gone. While she moved leftward during her last few years, she was more moderate GOP. As an elderly, white, republican woman, she meant nothing to the powers that run the area. She knew that, and hated that there was no way for her to get out of dodge.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 10:12 AM
Then stay far, far away from Dearborn, MI. That once beautiful suburb of Detroit with one of the country’s finest museum grounds (Greenfield Village), is now the nucleus of Islamism in the United States.
(as has happened to other ‘burbs once home to proud assimilated Euros, like POLISH Hamtramkt)
~(Ä)~
Karl Magnus on February 26, 2013 at 10:30 AM
I was just there last night! Hadn’t been in there in over a decade. I remember when I was in high school (circa 1990), it was full of middle to upper-middle class white kids. Now, fully one in ten of the women shopping and working there are wearing headscarves. I almost thought I was in Dubai.
JimLennon on February 26, 2013 at 10:38 AM
Karl Magnus on February 26, 2013 at 10:30 AM
If it wasn’t for TTU, SPC, and LCU-Lubbock would be headed the same way.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 10:43 AM
JimLennon on February 26, 2013 at 10:38 AM
Tinley,Chicago Ridge, etc are ALL going the same way.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 26, 2013 at 10:43 AM
That’s of course Robin Kelly, Mayor Bloomberg’s favorite Chicago-based gun control advocate.
You might have caught some of that 2010 race, as Alexi was explaining his innocent connection with Chicago-based, and now defunct, Broadway Bank, where he was merely a vice president and senior loan officer. It was Alexi’s brother Demetris after all, who was CEO and calling all the shots regarding that real estate loan portfolio that so interested the FDIC.
So, where does a self-respecting banker open up shop when the feds close down his Chicago operation? Why, New York, of course. Right, Mayor Bloomberg?
The Boss Emeritus wrote about the Giannoulias family’s colorful banking operations in August, 2010, and the politicians whom the family seemed to attract. Of course, that was before the family opened up operations in the mayor’s back yard, and their former top aide/future Congressional Rep., Robin Kelly, caught the mayor’s attention. Obviously, for her stand on gun control.
Barnestormer on February 26, 2013 at 10:44 AM
I knew that the area south of Midway had been going that way for some time, but I was surprised to see how far south and west they had spread. Orland, Tinley, Oak Lawn, and Palos had been heavily Irish or Italian and Catholic for generations. It’s a little weird to see “Falafel House” nestled in between “O’Malley’s Irish Pub” and “Rocco’s Fine Sicilian Cuisine”.
JimLennon on February 26, 2013 at 10:56 AM
That should read “insanely rich old WHITE men”.
Hucklebuck on February 26, 2013 at 11:05 AM
Actually, only about a quarter of the district is Chicago.
Most of it is south suburban Cook County (not much different than Chicago politically) and a little less than a quarter is Will and Kankakee Counties – which are sort of Republican and getting to the rural in flavor.
krome on February 26, 2013 at 11:16 AM
The Democrats in the Illinois state house precisely gerrymandered IL-2 to swallow up as many conservatives downstate as possible while still guaranteeing that a liberal Democrat from the Chicago machine will win.
JimLennon on February 26, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Well, of course they did. That’s how political redistricting works everywhere. The thing that could be intereting is whether the Bloomberg anti-gun ads backfire so as to generate backlash (and perhaps crossover primary voting) in favor of Halvorsen
krome on February 26, 2013 at 11:52 AM