Felsenthal Files

09/29/10

Why No Heads-up for Rahm If Daley Has His Back?

It’s a widely held view among politica observers that Mayor Daley, despite his insistence that he’s not taking sides in the mayoral race, is secretly pulling the strings for Rahm Emanuel. Yet, several recent developments suggest the Emanuel-Daley alliance may not be as tight as suggested...

Posted at 05:35 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/24/10

Jim Houlihan Won't Run for Mayor

Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan has decided not to run for mayor, spokesman Eric Herman said this morning. Houlihan, 67, who told me in April that he was interested in the job whether or not Daley ran again, has changed his mind “after much serious thought and...

Posted at 12:07 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (1)

09/24/10

Congressman Mike Quigley to Run for Mayor? Not Until He Wins a Second Term

Like Rahm Emanuel, his predecessor in the 5th District, Congressman Mike Quigley has his eyes on the job of mayor—but Quigley says he is postponing the decision to run until after the midterm elections on November 2nd. The 51-year-old...

Posted at 09:06 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (1)

09/15/10

Democrats for Brady?

A friend called to tell me that Democrats are secretly supporting conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady because they predict he’ll be a one-termer. So they’ll grit their teeth for four years and then run a Democrat (who is not Pat Quinn) who can keep the office for multiple terms...

Posted at 09:27 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (11)

09/07/10

Blago Redux: Adam Jr. Wants Out

Sam Adam Sr. and Jr., the two lawyers who led the defense of former governor Rod Blagojevich, disagree about whether to stick with the ex-gov when his retrial starts in January. The elder Adam wants in; the younger Adam does not, according to a prominent Chicago defense attorney, my source on all things related to Blago’s legal troubles. That take was confirmed by Sheldon Sorosky and Aaron Goldstein, two of...

Posted at 05:35 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (5)

09/07/10

Mayor Daley Won't Seek Re-election; Jim Houlihan Wants the Job

Within minutes of Mayor Daley’s announcement that he will not seek re-election, Eric Herman, the communications director for Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, told me that the 67-year-old Democrat is “very interested in being mayor.” Houlihan told me in an interview in April that he was interested...

Posted at 03:07 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (3)

09/01/10

Behind Jerry Stermer's Resignation: Insiders on the Exit of Pat Quinn's Chief of Staff

I thought I had it figured out. The respected good guy Jerry Stermer, Pat Quinn’s chief of staff, resigned the post last week after acknowledging that he inadvertently sent political e-mails using his state account. Next to no one seems to understand why Stermer, who has spent much of his career advocating on issues involving the health and education of children, especially poor children, would leave over such a measly infraction—three e-mails out of some 39,000...

Posted at 03:48 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (3)

08/31/10

Right Nation 2010, Featuring Glenn Beck, to Take Place on Yom Kippur

It’s a whopper of a public relations blunder. Speakers for Right Nation 2010’s “evening extravaganza” on September 18th at the 10,000-seat Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates include Glenn Beck, gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, blogger Andrew Breitbart, Rep. Aaron Schock, and Tea Party leader Herman Cain. One problem: the evening convention, which follows an afternoon “activist training conference” for conservatives at the nearby Marriot Chicago Northwest, is on Yom Kippur, the holiest of the Jewish High Holy Days.

Posted at 04:48 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4)

08/31/10

Top Political Prognosticator: Mark Kirk Will Win

In the Senate race between Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias—a contest labeled “a toss-up” by Rasmussen—a leading political prognosticator in Washington gives the edge to the 10th District congressman. Stuart Rothenberg—a frequent guest on Sunday morning talk shows, an on-air election night analyst, and editor of the Rothenberg Political Report—is one of the go-to guys for nonpartisan predictions...

Posted at 11:16 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2)

08/24/10

Blago: The View from Washington

If Rod Blagojevich has one hero in life besides Elvis, it’s Richard Nixon, and if there’s one newspaper that wrecked Nixon’s life and legacy it’s the Washington Post. How ironic, then, that the Washington Post is trumpeting almost the same line as Blago himself. The Washington Post of Pentagon Papers and Watergate? Yes. Last week, the paper ran an editorial titled “Federal prosecutors should not retry Rod Blagojevich.”...

Posted at 07:50 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (1)

09/29/10

Why No Heads-up for Rahm If Daley Has His Back?

09/24/10

Jim Houlihan Won't Run for Mayor

09/24/10

Congressman Mike Quigley to Run for Mayor? Not Until He Wins a Second Term

09/15/10

Democrats for Brady?

09/07/10

Blago Redux: Adam Jr. Wants Out

09/07/10

Mayor Daley Won't Seek Re-election; Jim Houlihan Wants the Job

09/01/10

Behind Jerry Stermer's Resignation: Insiders on the Exit of Pat Quinn's Chief of Staff

08/31/10

Right Nation 2010, Featuring Glenn Beck, to Take Place on Yom Kippur

08/31/10

Top Political Prognosticator: Mark Kirk Will Win

08/24/10

Blago: The View from Washington

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