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Carol Felsenthal
Why No Heads-up for Rahm If Daley Has His Back?
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Jim Houlihan Won't Run for Mayor
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Democrats for Brady?
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Blago Redux: Adam Jr. Wants Out
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Mayor Daley Won't Seek Re-election; Jim Houlihan Wants the Job
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Behind Jerry Stermer's Resignation: Insiders on the Exit of Pat Quinn's Chief of Staff
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Right Nation 2010, Featuring Glenn Beck, to Take Place on Yom Kippur
By Carol Felsenthal
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. Read more
Top Political Prognosticator: Mark Kirk Will Win
By Carol Felsenthal
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... Read more
Blago: The View from Washington
By Carol Felsenthal
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.”... Read more