CapitolFax.com - Latest Comments in Boiled lobster

Re: Boiled lobster

Garp — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:23:13 -0000

I can't believe I am agreeing with Bill---Go Tom Allen.

Re: Boiled lobster

Rich Miller — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:27:14 -0000

I got ya on that. Still, if you have the bucks...

Re: Boiled lobster

Matlock — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:26:38 -0000

I do find it interesting that Suffredin was Finance chair for Devine. How come no one has brought that up in the debates? I watched the debates online and thought that Suffredin and Alvarez were the smoothest candidates. I did like the way Milan corrected Andy Shaw and pointed out how charges are brought. Milan does his best when talking about the law. Allen needs to work on his delivery and stop painting himself as just a "regular guy" But I was most surprised by Brewer. I've heard his name a few times and I know he likes to run for office, but he seemed like a common sense guy and definitely has the credentials. He's a lot better candidate for the black community than Brookins, who looks and sounds like he just doesn't care for the job. That's my armchair analysis.

Re: Boiled lobster

chiatty — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:20:42 -0000

Rich,

No doubt it's helping a bit with name recognition. It's just a matter of the expense and holding your fire until you see the target.

Re: Boiled lobster

Bill S. Preston, Esq. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:19:57 -0000

chiatty- I don't know if it's an entire waste of money. He's on quite a bit and after awhile ads like that function subliminally. Plus, it's not like he's going to run out of money.

Believe me, I don't think he's a great candidate. I don't know if I'll even vote for him. I was really just wondering why everyone seems to be ignoring him.

Re: Boiled lobster

Rich Miller — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:14:52 -0000

It's almost never too early to be on TV if you're an unknown. Just as long as you don't peak too early.

Re: Boiled lobster

chiatty — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:12:57 -0000

BSP esq:

Allen's on, but those in the know will tell you he's wasting money to be on this early. The voters will start looking at this race in a week or so. Allen will have some company in the final ten days. He won't be the only candidate with ads. btw, you're a lawyer, what about Allen's obviously illegal and unconstitutional "plan" to have GPS tracking devices on sex offenders!

Based on his professional activities the last 20 years, Allen might need a GPS to find the courthouse!

Re: Boiled lobster

Bill S. Preston, Esq. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:03:11 -0000

chiatty- I do agree that Allen's ad campaigns aren't the best (I thought the same thing when I saw the '10K police officers support Tom Allen' ad), but at least he's on tv.

Re: Boiled lobster

chiatty — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:01:22 -0000

One other thought: If the State's Attorney's office is/was such a mess, why did Suffredin, Allen and Brookins all support Devine last time around? Why did Suffredin serve as Devine's finance chairman for an earlier election? Why didn't any of the "outsider" candidates ever have a single criticism (other than Brewer, who's run before) of Devine? Why? Because they never paid attention to the office until the vacancy popped up. Opportunists and very little else, IMHO.

Re: Boiled lobster

chiatty — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:55:18 -0000

A couple items: First, Anita isn't anywhere near the top of anybody's poll. That's misinformation of a major magnitude. Second, pretty much everybody did well at the debate last night, with the exception of Brookins, who looked like he was ready for a process server to approach the podium with the most recent lawsuit or disciplinary complaint. Suffredin has an authoritative oratorical style, but gimme a break, he paints himself as a competent administrator, but he's been a one-man-band lobbyist for decades (a competent and ethical one, no doubt), he doesn't have the type of administrative experience that would lend itself to running a 900 person law firm that represents non-paying indigent citizens who don't trust anybody. The question in this race is who is going to be on television with ads that capture the electorate's attention. Thus far, Allen looks like a bit of an empty suit. The wisdom of wrapping himself in the police flag when police corruption and police shootings are in the forefront is surely lost on me. I think it's going to wind up being a battle between Milan and Allen

Re: Boiled lobster

Gene Parmesan — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:45:58 -0000

I don't particularly care for any of the candidates, but how can Larry Suffredin consider himself a reformer? I checked out his website, and his endorsements. There sure are a lot of familiar Cook County faces endorsing him. They must not be too scared of his "reform." Rickey Hendon endorsed him, that should say enough about his reform credentials there.

Re: Boiled lobster

Barrister — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:41:32 -0000

Laryy went to the States Attorney's office for cover; looking for an opinion as to a "conflict of interest" which forestalled him from breaking the reported tie and becoming the deciding vote AGAINST Stroger sales tax increase when it was first proposed.

If you are representng the people that elected you; and you can not vote AGAINST a gigantic tax increase, then you certanly do have a conflict of interest, and should do the right thing and resign.

Reformer; Larry Suffredin, who you crappin?

Re: Boiled lobster

Bill — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:30:18 -0000

The best choice for States Attorney is Tom Allen who has distinguished himself as a voice of the working class and the less fortunate. He is not flashy or flamboyant but is a hard worker who listens to his constituents. He has impeccable integrity and credentials. That being said, I do like Anita a lot. The rest are also rans bordering on the comedic.
Larry "smoke em if you got 'em" S. and Little Howie are the funniest.

Re: Boiled lobster

Bill S. Preston, Esq. — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:02:08 -0000

I've posed this question before and never really received any feedback, but if Allen is a union guy with union organization and money, plus he's the only one on tv right now and has been for about 3 weeks, how does he lose? I'm not saying he's the best candidate by any means (I don't think any of them are), but I would guess that he'll be increasing his ad buy and start mailing in the next week. I think he's the only one in the race who will have any name recognition whatsoever for regular, everyday people.

I fancy myself fairly politically knowledgeable, and would have never heard of Alvarez, Milan, or Brewer if I didn't read this blog. Suffredin and Brookins are both trying to coattail it on Obama voters - Suffredin on lake shore liberals, Brookins on south side blacks - but they both assume that people already know who they are. I guess I just don't get it...

Re: Boiled lobster

Hugh — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:48:27 -0000

Quigley also endorsed Stroger, what's your point?

Re: Boiled lobster

mr Blackwell — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:39:55 -0000

Hugh,
Quigley endorsed suffredin. So what exactly is your point?

Re: Boiled lobster

Blue Ray — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:35:36 -0000

Some of you may have this image of lobsters as guys who pass out cash to legislators, but itâ€™s wrong and stupid and just plain goofy.

Someone should tell that to Larry the Lobbyist, then. He gave more than $64,000 to Republican politicians during his lobbying career. Did he not do that because he's a lobbyist?

Was it because he shares the values of George Ryan, Judy Baar Topinka, Tom Cross and all the others? I guess Larry could say that.

So he is a reformer who takes money from big corporations like BP Amoco, and he is a progressive who writes lots of big checks to Republican politicians. Got it.

Re: Boiled lobster

Hugh — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:28:15 -0000

" ... Suffredinâ€™s performance as Cook County Comissioner has been exemplary. Heâ€™s been fighting the good fight for reform ... "

Suffredin lost all reform cred when he hung Quigley out to dry on some VERY modest and VERY reasonable TIF reform proposals. Suffredin argued before the County Board that giving Cook County property tax payers honest information about where their property taxes were going would confuse them.

http://www.chicagoreader.co...
atures/stories/theworks/070511/

Even perennial candidate Tommy Brewer piled on, and he's right:

"Suffredin is an insider, not a reformer."

Re: Boiled lobster

Rich Miller — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:00:28 -0000

It was a two-part comment, Hugh.

Re: Boiled lobster

Hugh — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:57:50 -0000

"So, let them decide."

you mean, as in, "shut up & let voters decide"?

this is a political blog, right? can't you post that in response to any pretty much any given comment?

Re: Boiled lobster

Rich Miller — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:51:32 -0000

Profanity and over the topness. Tone it down. Everybody should hear this as well.

Re: Boiled lobster

Snidely Whiplash — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:50:35 -0000

It's not a matter of perception. On the one hand, you make a living shilling for the tobacco, gaming and drug industries. On the other, you are a commissioneron a county board that taxes tobacoo products and bans smoking, and also runs a hospital that treats the victims of smoking (cancer patients). Conflict of interest. You represent drug companies, yet your county health dept. buys prescription drugs. Conflict of interest. You represent casinoes, and the county may get a cut of gambling money. Highly probable (BUT POTENTIAL, to be fair) conflict of interest.

And Rich, I don't understand why posts criticizing Larry S. for endorsing Bobbie Steele and Todd Stroger yet painting himself as a reformer are being deleted. I think it is a very fair point. If you are supposedly in a fight to the death with the devil, you don't sleep with him between rounds. Just my opinion.

Re: Boiled lobster

Rich Miller — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:50:03 -0000

But what if they decide otherwise? Then what will you do?

Re: Boiled lobster

Rich Miller — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:47:58 -0000

So, let them decide.

Re: Boiled lobster

Hugh — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:46:05 -0000

Um, voters, I guess? Suffredin has evidently made a judgment that earning a living as a corporate lobbyist while serving as an elected representative is no biggy with voters, he can spin it. He has brought the thrashing on himself, it was avoidable. If nothing else he has to admit he has made it harder on himself to get out all his wonderful progressive reform ideas.