Cook County Downballot Results

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

All of the county-wide judicial races in Cook County were uncontested, and Democrats won them all. Democrats also did very well in the contested subcircuit races, even in normally Republican subcircuits. Democrats ran candidates in every subcircuit seat, and won most of those they contested. The two most expensive, in the 4th and 12th subcircuits, went to the Democrat, despite the traditional Republican leanings of both of the suburban districts. In the 15th Subcircuit, Democrat Anna Helene Demacopoulous won 61-39 over Republican Peter Fera. The 13th subcircuit saw two contested races; neither drew huge amounts of money, and as of this morning, the Republicans held slim majorities in both with a handful of precincts yet uncounted.

On the retention ballot, no judges were removed from the bench. Judges need 60% of the vote to be retained and it looks like no judge got less than 65% of the vote -- that was Judge Edward Pietrucha, who was found unfit for the bench by 5 of the 10 bar groups that rated judges. Judge Cassandra Lewis, found unfit by 7 of the 10, won retention with 68.6% of the vote.

In other Cook County news, the recall referendum passed county-wide, 63-37. Park Ridge voted for staggered terms for aldermen. And Riverside Township, home to Judy Baar Topinka and Tony Peraica, voted against the advisory/non-binding referendum to "disconnect" from Cook County.

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Fako & Associates, Inc. Congratulates our Winning Clients

Cross posted from: F&A's Political Polling Blog

Fako & Associates, Inc. would like to congratulate our winning clients in last night's historic election. We saw unprecedented victories in Missouri, New York, and our home state of Illinois.

Our congratulations and thanks go out to the Democratic Party of Illinois for allowing us to help expand their majority in the Illinois House of Representatives with the victories of challengers Keith Farnham and Emily McAsey and the previously Republican held open seat victories of Mark Walker and Jehan Gordon.

We assisted in developing the strategy that helped maintain the following Illinois House of Representatives seats: State Representatives Fred Crespo, Paul Froehlich, Careen Gordon, Gary Hannig, Naomi Jakobsson, John Bradley, Arthur Turner, Barbara Currie, Monique Davis, Ester Golar, Deborah Graham, Al Riley, and Elaine Nekritz.

Missouri proved once again to be a difficult state for Democrats. At the time of writing this note of congratulations, we are still unsure of the Presidential results for the Show Me State. We can, however, offer our congratulations to Missouri Representative-elect Jill Schupp in her dominating victory over Frank Plescia.

Democrats in New York won a majority in the New York Senate last night for the first time in forty years and we’re proud to have helped accomplish this goal with the successful re-election of three incumbent Senators and the victory of two challenger candidates that turned the tables in New York State.

We congratulate Senator Darrel Aubertine, David Valesky, and Bill Stachowski in maintaining their seats in the New York State Senate. We worked on two amazing challenger campaigns with Senator-elect Brian Foley defeating longtime incumbent Caesar Trunzo in Suffolk County's Third Senatorial District and Senator-elect Joseph Addabbo defeating Serph Maltese of Queens.

These victories represent the work of hundreds of dedicated volunteers, staff, and numerous highly talented consultants. We thank you for allowing us to be a part of your team.

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Vote Today Until 7 pm

Cross Posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

The radio this morning noted that today is the warmest Election Day in over 40 years, so the weather will likely not discourage voters. I always vote at 6 am when the polls open and today, for the first time, there was a line winding through the parking lot when I arrived. I was finished by 6:20, but still, I saw nothing to suggest that the surge in early voting will not be duplicated on Election Day.

Polls in Illinois are open until 7 pm. As long as you are in line at your polling place by 7 pm, you should be allowed to vote (and please be sure to check both sides of the paper ballot). If you need to know where you vote, the State Board of Elections has links to the 110 local election authorities around the state that manage each individual precinct. Most of these are county-wide authorities, but 8 follow municipal boundaries. Some have websites that will tell you where to vote; others, especially the smaller ones, may require a phone call. Plan ahead, and the day will go more smoothly.

If you have not yet figured out which judges to vote for (and there are dozens on the ballot) here are two resources: illinoisvotersguide.org offers information on all judicial candidates, including those running for retention. If you live in Cook County, voteforjudges.org has evaluations from over a dozen different bar and lawyers' groups. The State Board of Elections also offers a voters guide for statewide and some judicial candidates.

The Attorney General's Office has deployed staff to deal with any problems at polling places. If you see or experience problems that the election judges cannot or will not fix, call the Attorney General's Office. In the Chicago area, call 1-866-536-3496; downstate, call 1-866-559-6812

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Updates to Legislative, Judicial, and Cook County State's Attorney Races

59th District Senate Race Likely to Break Record

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:


As the 2008 General Election campaigns head into the final weekend, candidates in hotly contested races have reported record amounts of campaign fundraising. Although most legislative races are uncontested, the top ten legislative races, those that appear winnable to both parties, have reported almost $12 million in receipts to date. And the race for the 59th Senate Seat in far Southern Illinois is posed to break the old record for spending in a state Senate campaign.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and the Sunshine Project have also examined contributions in state judicial races and the Cook County State's Attorney. This analysis found a handful of trial court races that are likely to see over $100,000 in combined spending. The only seat on the state Supreme Court and all three seats on the appellate courts are uncontested, but several circuit (trial) court races have reported large receipts.

Legislative Races

As usual there have been large infusions of money from political committees controlled by the four legislative leaders. But because Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, will retire soon, several contenders for that position have raised more than $1 Million and they are using that money to make contributions to the campaigns of other Democrats seeking to retain or win seats in the Senate

Top Senate races include:

(1) In the 59th District, Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, reported $1,175,600 while his opponent, Republican Ken Burzynsksi of Benton reported $840,400, for combined $2,016,000. This race is well within striking distance of the spending record for a Senate seat. The previous record was set in this same District in 2006, when Sen. Forby and then-challenger Ron Summers combined to spend $2,465,000.

(2) In the 42nd District, Republican Terri Ann Wintermute of Bolingbrook, reported $789,500 while Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, reported $782,300 while her opponent, for a combined $1,571,700.

(3) In the 26th District, Republican Dan Duffy of Lake Barrington reported $796,800 while Democrat Bill Gentes of Round Lake reported $173,200 for a combined $970,000 in the race for the open seat left by the retiring William Peterson, Republican of Long Grove.

(4) In the 45th District, appointed Republican Sen. Tim Bivins of Dixon reported $760,000 while Democrat Marty Mulcahey of Galena reported $178,700 for a combined $938,700 in the race for the open seat left by the retiring Sen. Todd Sieben, Republican of Geneseo.

(5) In the 33rd District, Sen. Dan Kotowski, D- Park Ridge, reported $658,900 while his opponent, Republican Michael Sweeney of Arlington Heights reported $247,400 for a combined $906,300.

Top House Races include:

(1) In the 85th District, Rep. Brent Hassert, R-Romeoville, reported $778,200 while his opponent, Democrat Emily Klunk-McAsey of Lockport reported $510,100 for a combined $1,288,200.

(2) In the 92nd District, Democrat Jehan Gordon of Peoria reported $636,200 while Republican Joan Gordon Krupa of Peoria Heights reported $584,900 for a combined $1,221,100 in the race for the open seat left by Republican Aaron Schock of Peoria, now a candidate for U.S. Congress.

(3) In the 69th District, Challenger Greg Tuite, D-Rockford, reported $578,700 while incumbent Republican Ron Wait of Hinkley reported $417,000 for a combined $995,700.

(4) In the 96th District, Democrat Dianne McGuire of Naperville reported $534,800 while Republican Darlene Senger of Naperville reported $386,800 for a combined $921,700 in the race for the open seat left by the retiring Republican Joe Dunn of Naperville.

(5) In the 17th District, Rep. Beth Coulson, Republican of Glenview, reported $458,400 while Democrat Daniel Biss of Evanston reported $352,700 for a combined $811,100.

One candidate in one race has reported receipts of more than $1 million. Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, reported having $1.7 million available, including $479,400 raised since July 1, and $113,500 of that in the last week alone. Rep. Hoffman's Republican opponent, Dwight Kay of Glen Carbon, reported $305,400. Whether this race sets a record or even crosses the million dollar spending mark depends entirely on Hoffman's assessment of how much he is willing to spend to hold on to the seat.

Judicial Races

Circuit Court races have traditionally seen smaller fundraising than legislative contests. Fewer interest groups have gotten involved, and the size of the districts and number of voters has typically been smaller. Because the size of circuits varies so widely around the state, it is difficult to draw comparisons between one race and another, and it is difficult to say what the record would be for spending in these races. In the 2008 General Election, the Circuit Court races with the most fundraising include:

(1) In the 16th Circuit in Kane, DeKalb and Kendall counties, Republican Patricia Piper Golden of Dundee reported $114,700 while Democrat John Noverini of Carpentersville reported $105,100 for a combined $219,800.

(2) In the 2nd Circuit in southeast Illinois, Republican David Overstreet of Mt. Vernon reported $132,600 while Democrat L. James Hanson of Mt. Vernon reported $40,900 for a combined $173,400.

(3) In the Cook County 12th Subcircuit Devlin vacancy, Democrat Pamela Lora of Mt. Prospect reported $102,500 while Republican Laura Morask of Park Ridge reported $56,800 for a combined $159,400.

(4) In the 1st Circuit in the southernmost part of Illinois, Democrat Steve Stone of Cartersville reported $81,000 while Republican James R. "Randy" Moore of Cartersville reported $33,700 for a combined $114,600.

(5) In the Cook County 4th Subcircuit, Democrat Patrick Rogers of Western Springs reported $87,900 while Republican Maureen Masterson-Pulia of Westchester reported $9,900 for a combined $97,800.

What's striking about judicial races this year is that none of the contests for county-wide seats in Cook County -- one for Supreme Court, two for Appellate Court, and nine for Circuit Court -- are even contested. This tactical retreat by the Republicans (and Greens) recalls the 2000 election, when a similar decision in the Supreme Court race allowed the Democrats to send resources to their candidate in the nominally Republican Third District. The $700,000 infusion, considered massive at the time, helped elect a Supreme Court Justice.

In these 2008 contests, we see the same dynamic playing out, as well-funded Democrats are running strong in the nominally Republican 4th and 12th subcircuits. There are no similarly well-funded Republicans or Greens in largely Democratic subcircuits. A change in campaign finance laws, to offer either public financing options or incentives for small donations, may alter this dynamic, which deprives most voters in Cook County of any real choice when voting for judges.

Cook County State's Attorney

The hottest race in Cook County appears to be for the State's Attorney's office, left open by the retirement of Democrat Dick Devine. Democrat Anita Alvarez of River Forest has reported $736,000 in receipts while Republican Tony Peraica of Riverside has reported $179,400 for a combined $915,400.

This report is the fourth in a series during the final weeks of the 2008 General Election campaign season. Earlier reports covered contribution totals, top donors to legislative races and the constitutional convention referendum, and giving by contenders to the Senate presidency, are all available at www.ilcampaign.org. ICPR and the Sunshine Project do not endorse candidates and have not taken a position on the con-con question.

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Contenders to the Senate Presidency Donate Over $1 Million to Democratic Candidates to the State Senate

Belleville's Clayborne, Chicago's Cullerton Lead in Giving

Cross posted from ICPR's Blog, The Race is On:

In the weeks since Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, announced he would not seek reelection, contenders to replace him as Senate President have given more than $1 million to the campaigns of the candidates who likely will select the next Senate President -- other Democratic senators running for reelection and Democratic newcomers challenging Republican incumbents.

An analysis by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and the Sunshine Project demonstrates the giant leap in campaign contributions by the men seeking to replace Jones. In the 18 months prior to Jones' retirement announcement, these senators transferred just $61,300 to other Senate Democrats.

"While money is easy to quantify, Senate Democrats will likely consider several factors when choosing their next leader," said Cindi Canary, Director of ICPR. "But it looks like they believe supporting other senators now with campaign funds will prompt those same senators to return the favor later by voting one of the benefactors into the top Senate job."

If the contest to succeed Jones turns on money, the top two candidates will be Sen. James Clayborne, D-Belleville, who has given $418,000 to other Senate Democrats, and Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, who has given $336,000.

Illinois has no limits on transfers of funds between candidates and no limits on contributions by special interests to candidates. Many of the donations made by the contenders would be illegal if made between candidates in most other states, or between candidates for federal office.

It will take 30 votes to elect the next Senate president. If neither Clayborne nor Cullerton can put together a coalition of 30 of their colleagues, a compromise candidate may emerge. Based on their transfers to Democratic Senate candidates, this second tier would include Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, who has transferred $70,000; Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, who has transferred $60,000, and Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, who has transferred $58,000. Others giving at least $10,000 include Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, and Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D- Joliet.

Sen. Clayborne has transferred money from his own political committee, Friends of Clayborne. Top donors to his political committee include the Illinois Education Association, AT&T and Ameren.

Sen. Cullerton has used money from his committee, Citizens for John Cullerton, but he has also formed a new committee, the Senate Democratic Victory Fund. Top donors to his two funds include Chicago Wolves Chairman Don Levin, Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, her husband Leo Smith, and her parents Harrison and Lois Steans; and the Illinois Hospital Association. Of the second tier, only Sen. Schoenberg has created a new committee, Deep Blue Illinois, to augment giving by his own committee.

The show of fundraising prowess comes as the Senate Democrats hold 37 of the 59 seats in the Senate, with hopes that a strong Democratic turnout for their former colleague and current Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama will further bolster their numbers. Giving by the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund (ISDF), the caucus political committee which is still controlled by Senate President Jones, has been down appreciably this year compared to recent cycles (ISDF expenditures are down from $2.4 million in the comparable period in 2004 and $3.6 million in 2006 to $803,000 in 2008), but these presidential contenders have helped to make up some of the decline. Most of funds from contenders have been transferred to incumbents, but a handful of challengers are also benefiting. Top beneficiaries include:

• Sen. Gary Forby, D- Benton: $300,000
• Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora: $241,000
• Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge: $92,000
• Candidate Bill Gentes, a Democrat from Round Lake: $84,500
• Candidate Peter Gutzmer, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates: $76,500

Traditionally, legislative caucuses have looked to their leader to play several important roles. Fundraising is one of these, but other factors are expected to include political acumen in a divisive climate and responsiveness to caucus members. This is the first time a caucus leader has stepped down since 2003, when the new legislative map gave control of both chambers to the Democrats. Sen. Emil Jones has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since the retirement of Sen. Phil Rock in 1993.

This report is the third in a series during the final weeks of the 2008 General Election campaign season. For earlier reports, which covered contribution totals and top donors to legislative races and the constitutional convention question, visit www.ilcampaign.org. ICPR and the Sunshine Project do not endorse candidates and have not taken a position on the con-con question.

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EIGHT GENERAL ASSEMBLY BATTLES HAVE PASSED OR ARE NEAR THE $1 MILLION MARK AND OTHERS LIKELY TO JOIN

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Southern Illinois Senate Contest Could Break $$$ Record

Campaign contributions to election battles for four state legislative seats have passed the $1 million mark, and four others should soon reach the $1 million level, according to research by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and the Sunshine Project.

One of those campaigns – a contest for state senator from the most southern district in the state – could break the $2.4 million record for most money spent by candidates running for the Illinois General Assembly.

A total of at least $1.89 million in campaign contributions has been reported by the campaigns of Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, and Ken W. Burzynski, a Republican also from Benton, and both candidates are still collecting contributions to pay for advertising and other expenses in the final days of the campaign.

In 2004, the combined spending of campaigns by Forby and Ron Summers, his 2004 opponent, established a new spending record of $2.4 million.

The 2008 Forby-Burzynski contribution total stands at $1.89 million. That total, as well as others totals in this report, represents the available balance of funds for each candidate on June 30 and individual contributions reported by the campaigns between July 1 to October 24. The exact amount of spending won’t be made public until next January.

The races reporting the biggest fundraising totals to date follow:

• Senate District 59, total of $1,895,099 -- Forby, $1,112,395; and Burzynski, $782,703.

• Senate District 42, total of $1,381,057 -- Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, $715,692; and Terri Ann Wintermute, a Republican from Bolingbrook, $665,364.

• House District 85, total $1,156,874 – Rep. Brent Hassert, R-Romeoville, $740,784; and Emily Klunk-McAsey, Democrat from Lockport, $416,090.

• House District 92, total $1,050,014 – Jehan Gordon, Democrat from Peoria, $531,156; and Joan Gore Krupa, Republican from Peoria Heights, $518,857.

• Senate District 26, total of $894,306 – Dan Duffy, Republican from Lake Barrington, $732,099; and Bill Gentes, Democrat from Round Lake. $162,207.

• Senate District 45, total of $874,464 – Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, $712,721; and Marty Mulcahey, Democrat from Galena, $161,742.

• Senate District 33, total of $866,042 – Sen. Daniel W. Kotowski, D-Park Ridge, $628,285; and Michael H. Sweeney, Republican from Arlington Heights, $237,757.

• House District 69, total of $833,583 – Greg Tuite, Democrat from Rockford, $538,151; and Rep. Ronald A. Waite, R-Belvidere, $295,432.

• House District 17, total of $797,872 – Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, Republican from Glenview, $447,195; and Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, $350,676.

• House District 96, total of $701,086 – Dianne A. McGuire, Democrat from Naperville, $497,659; and Darlene J. Senger, Republican from Naperville, $203,427.


Because such large sums are being contributed to these candidates, most of these races appear to be competitive or were considered to be winnable by both parties at some time during the campaign season. However, the vast majority of legislative races are dominated by one candidate, and some incumbents don’t even have an opponent on the ballot.

All 118 House seats and 39 of the 59 Senate seats are at stake this year, but many of them are uncontested. Only 21 Senate seats and 60 House seats have two or more candidates on the ballot, and of those, only about 18 total appear to be attracting substantial contributions.

ICPR and the Sunshine Project are monitoring reports on those targeted races. For a chart of contribution totals on those races, visit www.ilcampaign.org.

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Art for Reform's Sake

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

Noted Chicago-based artist Ellen Rothenberg is coordinating an installation of her large-scale prints and works by other artists around the theme "Public Address." A poster for the event is available here. What is especially humbling for us at ICPR is that she has decided to donate the proceeds from the sale of multiples to ICPR to aid in our work promoting transparency, participation, and the democratic process. "Public Address" has an opening reception this Friday the 17th of October and runs through November 9 at Phaiz, 673 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago.

We hope you'll join us there on Friday the 17th!

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New PACs

Cross posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:

It's October and there are new PACs in the air. Here's a listing of some interesting ones. Details on all of these are available through the State Board of Elections website; search committees by either the name or the State ID.


Senate President PACs

Sen. John Cullerton has a new PAC, formed September 8, called Senate Democratic Victory Fund (State ID 9796; or S9796). It shows $35,500 total, including $25K from the Hospitals. Sen. Jeff Schoenberg has one, too: "Deep Blue PAC" (S9815; formed October 6, it's purpose is to "Support Democratic candidates for Illinois Senate and other offices." It shows $200K total; $100K each from Schoenberg's regular fund and from JB Pritzker.


Con Con PACs:

Metro Chicago United PAC (S9797) is one PAC that urges a yes vote for the Constitutional Convention. Another is Con Con Yes (S9806). Neither report any receipts, as of yet. The only Anti-Con Con PAC I know of, the Alliance to Protect the Constitution (S9745), formed a few months ago and shows $275K in receipts.


Tomorrow's Candidates

Tomorrow's Democrats (S9799) is a metro-east area group to "recruit young professionals to the Democratic Party." It's chaired by Brendon Kelly, whose name is too familiar for me to recognize.

Doug Whitley has formed Whitley for Governor (S9804). And possibly unrelated, Randy White for Lt. Gov is S9809. Neither shows receipts yet.

Friends of Emil Jones III is S9810. It was formed too recently to report any receipts. Of course, he is running against a former clown, so maybe he doesn't need any.


Other New PACs of Note:

There's a new Move Illinois Forward, but this one is chaired by Boyd Ingemunson, and I can't imagine why he chose that name. It's S9777.

Dan Duffy is running for Senate and his main PAC is S9459, but he and Rep. Ed Sullivan have also formed Clover PAC (S9769) to support "Dan Duffy and Ed Sullivan" and other like-minded pro-business candidates.

The Painters District #14 has formed a PAC (Painters District #14 Council PAC). It's S9765. What's remarkable is that they report $349,445.66 in receipts in the first half of the year, including $110,683.89 in non-itemized receipts (which suggests a minimum of 738 donors). They used to give directly; now they're giving through a PAC, and (I'd guess) soliciting members to fund it.

Professional Towing & Recovery PAC (S9759) is not based in Lincoln Park but both of the officers have a good "aarrgh" in their names (well, the chair is William Howard, but the treasurer is Richard Bartell.) So maybe these are Pirates after all.

To comment, please visit ICPR's blog.

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