Carol Felsenthal

Early Monday morning, I spoke on the phone with Jim Houlihan, whom I interviewed in person last Wednesday. I wanted an update on the Senate race in light of the closing of the Giannoulias family’s Broadway Bank on Friday. Houlihan was in Washington for the wedding of a friend, but he got a chance to see his pals, David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel... Read more

The Cook County Assessor has his eyes on the office—whether or not Daley runs

On Wednesday, I met with outgoing Cook County Assessor James Houlihan at his spacious downtown County Building office. The last time I interviewed him was in July 2006, when I was writing about Bill Clinton’s post-presidency. (The two men are golfing buddies.) Houlihan is a big man with an open face and manner—a great talker who has the natural gift of remembering... Read more

So Alexi Giannoulias demands that Mark Kirk, his Republican opponent in U.S. Senate race, return the thousands he has received from Goldman Sachs. The firm was just charged with civil fraud for allegedly misleading investors on a mortgage instrument that went south with the housing market... Read more

If I ever land another interview with Rod Blagojevich—I suppose I could wait until next Sunday and call his weekly WLS-AM talk show—I’d ask him why he didn’t just serve his terms as governor in a reasonably honest manner and then do what legions of retired legislators do: grab a job at a law firm and rake in a seven-figure salary... Read more

Toni Preckwinkle, almost certainly the next President of the Cook County Board, is backing Democrat Joseph Berrios—lobbyist, head of the County Democratic Party, toady of House Speaker and state Democratic Party chief Mike Madigan—for assessor.

When I read of Preckwinkle’s preference for Berrios over reformer Forrest Claypool (in Stella Foster’s Sun-Times column), I was surprised. Silly me. I must have consumed too many orgasmic editorials... Read more

EDITOR'S NOTE: Carol Felsenthal joins Chicagomag.com starting today as a blogger covering politics. She has written several books and profiles, and blogs for The Hill and The Huffington Post.

Joel Pollak, 32, (graduate of Niles North, Harvard College, Harvard Law School), wants Jan Schakowsky's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives... Read more