THE ILLINOIZE: Candidate filing roundup...Teresi accuses Mendoza of "hiding" fiscal problems...Expect elected officials to act like grown ups
March 8, 2022
Good morning.
First, a mea culpa.
In my rush to get yesterday’s Free for All out, I inadvertently sent it only to paying subscribers. My mistake. Because most of you didn’t get the e-mail, here’s my Shaw Media column from the weekend on the indictment of House Speaker Michael Madigan.
If you’re up early this morning, I’ll be on WLS-AM in Chicago with my friend Bruce St. James around 6:35 this morning to discuss petition filing and the state of the June 28 primary. You can listen online here.
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Let’s get to it.
CANDIDATE FILING DAY
463 candidates filed their nominating petitions for the June primary ballot at the Illinois State Board of Elections office in Springfield yesterday. It was the typical right of passage publicity stunt event with candidates or staff standing in line in the cold on the sidewalk outside of the SBE office. It’s really one of the more silly traditions of Illinois politics to get to the lottery for everyone in line to file by 8:00 a.m.
It was the photo op you usually expect, including Governor JB Pritzker and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin looking like they wanted to stab each other.
I have the full list of candidate filings here.
There weren’t a ton of surprises, but here are some things of note:
All five candidates for Governor filed petitions at 8:00am yesterday. I haven’t seen the petitions, but nobody has told me that any of them have issues.
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth filed yesterday. The most notable Republican, Kathy Salvi, says she’ll file next Monday.
Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) had been avoiding me over the past couple of weeks as I’ve tried to figure out what she’s planning to do. She filed yesterday to run in the toss-up 45th District. Biden won the district by 17, but Rauner won it in 2018 by about 6 points. The decision was made easier when Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park), who was drawn into the same district, announced she was running for DuPage County Board Chairman.
Three incumbent Senators haven’t filed yet: Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood), Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield), and Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville).
Neither Catalina Lauf or Cassandra Tanner-Miller filed yesterday to challenge Congressman Bill Foster (D-Naperville). They’re considered the top two candidates in that multi-candidate primary.
The only House Democrat who hasn’t filed is Rep. Sonya Harper (D-Chicago). Eight different House Republicans didn’t file yesterday: Rep. Tim Ozinga (R-Mokena), Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock), Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford), Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb), Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville), Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich), Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), and Rep. David Friess (R-Red Bud). I haven’t heard any rumors that they won’t run, but it’s at least of note.
9 Democrats filed to replace Congressman Bobby Rush in the Chicago-area 1st District. Most notable are Sen. Jacqui Collins (D-Chicago), Ald. Pat Dowell, and Jonathan Jackson, son of Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Candidates have until next Monday to file, but it appears some may be having a difficult time getting the required scribbles.
I was sent a text that had gone out to Effingham area Republicans that are giving people a free ice cream sundae if they sign the Senate petition of Don DeBolt, a CPA and owner of a local Culver’s franchise.
DeBolt wants to challenge Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield).
TERESI ACCUSES MENDOZA OF COVERING UP FINANCES
The campaign of McHenry County Auditor and GOP candidate for Comptroller Shannon Teresi had a tweet that caught my eye last week.
They accused incumbent Comptroller Susana Mendoza of covering up the reality of the state’s financial condition. There wasn’t any proof of that in the tweet, so I reached out to the campaign to find out more. Yesterday, they responded that Mendoza issued an interim financial report:
"Mendoza's financial statements include qualified financials, meaning that they are unvetted, unaudited numbers that can't be relied on. It's not acceptable for a business, it's not acceptable for your taxes, so why should it be acceptable for a state's financial statements?…The 2021 Preliminary Financial Reports show a net decrease in the state's financial position, meaning that the state is in more debt, despite the one-time windfall of billions in Federal dollars. They are promoting the equivalent of paying your gas and electric bills while refinancing the house to do it. That's not responsible financial leadership."
Mendoza’s campaign responded the interim reports are because the Auditor General hasn’t finished audits of all state agencies yet.
“Under state law, the Comptroller's office cannot publish the final Annual Comprehensive Financial Report until the state Auditor General has finished auditing every state department. In years when the Auditor General's audits take so long to complete that Illinois would be among the last states to publish its ACFR, state law allows the Comptroller at her discretion to publish an Interim report, which the rating agencies and other financial watchdogs appreciate. The office published an interim report - clearly marked "interim" - in January. It will be succeeded by a final report when the Auditor General's office completes its audits."
Doesn’t seem like some Pentagon Papers style cover up.
Read the whole story here.
CAN WE BE A LITTLE BETTER, PLEASE?
I enjoyed this editorial from the Sun-Times:
There’s an onslaught of rude and uncivil behavior in America these days, and it was on vivid display last week among some of the nation’s elected leaders.
The recent heckling, verbal smackdowns and in-your-face bravado would make the brashest reality TV and World Wrestling Entertainment stars blush.
Even a high school freshman wondered what had gotten into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he berated a boy and his peers for wearing masks at an indoor news conference last week.
Politicians, of course, have never been a shy or scrupulously polite bunch. There has been a steady stream of rude, racist, sexist and downright inexcusable behavior coming from the political arena since politics began. It would be naive to expect that to change.
But the boorish behavior the American public saw on display last week exemplifies, once again, how much blatant incivility has become the norm among some in public office.
Here in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been caught swearing and calling people names on hot mics. Texts and emails gathered by reporters have also shown the mayor has a tendency to be insulting and arrogant toward other city officials.
Last week, a lawsuit filed by a former Chicago Park District attorney alleged Lightfoot made an obscene and derogatory remark to Italian Americans while discussing the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Arrigo Park. The mayor has denied making the comments, and she deserves her day in court.
Lightfoot certainly isn’t the first Chicago mayor to get caught using salty language or chiding staffers. Rahm Emanuel, for one, was notorious for using profanity behind closed doors.
In [a] Georgetown poll, 83% of voters said they believe that behavior previously considered unacceptable is now the norm.
What a shame that politicians — and frankly, many of the rest of us — are now accustomed to behaving badly, whether in or out of the spotlight.
While I appreciate the Sun-Times bringing up the issue, they missed the next step. It’s up to us to demand our elected officials start acting like grown ups. Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, demand your candidates want to work with both parties to make the city/state/country better and are willing to have productive conversations about it. Trump said bad things. People said bad things about Trump. And on and on and on.
It doesn’t get better until we demand it.
BEFORE WE GO
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