The Blog

Of course the real loser in this game of gotcha isn't the random outsider candidate, it is the democratic process. As people are saying up here in the 48th Ward, "it's a done deal." A month before the election, it's a done deal. Now that's Chicago politics.

Chris, What happened to you was a CRYING shame. No pun intended, My heart bleeds for you. Craig Gernhardt The guy Alderman Moore says no one knows in Rogers Park. I'd like to chat with you sometime. You seem like one of the 'good guys' on the north lakefront.

If these loser challengers cannot follow simple instructions, I would not want them to be responsible for voting and making laws for the rest of us.

Kasper is a disgusting lawyer with no ethics or morals. He does illegal challenges and abuses the process and violates constitutional rights to ballot access. Kasper is also the attorney for the Venezuelan machines that stole the last election for Todd Stroger and cost taxpayers 60 million. Madigan should cut this corrupt crook off or at least exile him.

Tony Sutor is a good guy and a good political operative. He has unveiled a lot of wrongdoing.

DM wrote, Ok.... "dm January 18th - 5:03 p.m. If these loser challengers cannot follow simple instructions, I would not want them to be responsible for voting and making laws for the rest of us." But it's okay for the incumbent to do it? What sense does that make?

What a f------ joke! If Solis weren't a timid little Daley-bot he wouldn't have received preferential treatment. JT: DM makes no sense, that's how he/she is.

That a shame, that they allow Alderman Solis to stay on the ballet, after Mr. Sutor prove that he didn't sign the papers, if it was somebody else they would of been kick off the ballot, no question ask! That just prove that Solis and Daley have them in there pocket. So the message is it okay to do what ever Solis want because Daley will get him out of it. And screw the people of the 25th ward because solis is going to do what he want not what we need.

DM(Darrell Mitchell) is his real name and it's true, he is a suck-hole for the Mayor! Darrell do you still believe in salavery?

The state of Illinois has this arcane election code that will invalidate your nomination papers, your petitions, your statement of candidacy and the will of people – stamp DENIED on your democracy – because you've made a minor filing error. All the 58th Ward opposition candidates have had objections made against them and how they filed their Receipts for Statement of Economic Interest. All of the objections were prepared by 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith's campaign. None of the candidates have any recourse that will allow them to remain on ballot. Human beings, even sitting Aldermen, make mistakes. But there are big mistakes and little mistakes. Big mistakes should have big consequences and little mistakes should have little consequences. Instead it seems to be the other way around. Going against the will of the community to turn a local high school into a military academy is a big mistake, and the consequence for this could very likely have been the 48th Ward Alderman loosing her seat in the upcoming election. But instead, she will be rewarded with an automatic four more years in office. The candidates, who were trying to hold her accountable for her actions, committed a little mistake -- they did not correctly file a receipt -- and the consequence for this little mistake is having their names removed from the ballot, ostensibly shutting down their campaigns. How does this make sense? All elected officials will receive warnings, paid for by tax dollars, to file their Statement of Economic Interest. It's shocking to me that regular citizens get their names stricken from the ballot without warning and without recourse. Mr. Persons has an official reciept indicating that he submitted his statement. It was a mistake the board made and it mislead Mr. Persons to believe he had correctly filed. It's shocking to me that the Board of Elections has no culpability for the errors it makes. Every candidate is required - and rightly so - to submit a petition signed by a minimum number of registered voters in the ward. These petitions are designed to reflect the will of the people. It is appalling to me that some administrative glitch is allowed to overrule the citizenry on who should appear on their ballots. Our election laws are unjust.

Correction: I mistyped 58th Ward should be 48th Ward. My mistake. I guess DM would have me removed?

There are two sets of rules in this City.

Don't forget the rule that when the mayor annoints, I mean appoints and alderman, the only way to get rid of them (maybe) is with a bunch of federal supoenas. There really and I mean really needs to be a law that appointed alderbugs are barred from running in the election following their annointed term or that when and alderbug chooses to leave their office before their term is up, they have to pay (I am sorry that cracks me up) for an election to replace them. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to vote myself a raise.

BK: If you had a job, I would believe the part about voting a raise. I am constantly amazed at the lack of confidence and intelligence the goo-goo crowd gives the electorate. The appointments from the Mayor are not for life. These people have to run, and their constituents have to elect them. This they have done. What the ivory tower people would have us believe is that people are too stupid to make decisions in their own best interests. If a current office holder is bad, vote him out. The people choose not to do so. This preaching is getting rather tiresome. Losers who cannot draw flies to a pile of shit are always looking for a reason for losing. Maybe, just maybe, it could be because the people are not buying what you are selling. Now go get started, now, on your petitions for the 2011 election so you or your candidate will not get bumped off the ballot again.

If a challenger of Solis presented similar signatures the hearing officer would have gone over them with a fine-toothed comb and knocked him off the ballot. As it is Solis is a Daley -ss kisser and gets to stay on. Amazing.

Post from 2:09pm is mine.

We agree on that. Solis should be bounced.

(DM)DARRELL MITCHELL, You seem to be hung-up on who has a job. But what do you do for a living, besides shine the $20 million dollar BEAN at Millinium and Daley's BALLS! Let me know if you ever have the Balls to meet me in person.... PUSSY!

Mike Kasper should go to jail His lobbying activities are unreal Usually Madigan is much more careful

==PROPOSAL FOR AN ELECTION EXPERIMENT== This may not be the proper forum for this, but I will state my 'idea'/'proposal' anyway, and see if anyone is intrigued by my reasoning. I hold the opinion that it has been a very, very long time since we, the citizens of these United States, have truly and honestly been represented by our so-called 'public servants'. While it can be said that a certain small percentage of any given area's population is well and generously served by their elected officials,(at the financial and social expense of the area's 'common', politically unconnected citizens),for the most part, our elected officials are motivated by three basic principles: get power, keep power and use that power to gain wealth, for themselves and for those of like mind. I assert that the vast majority of voters are poorly served by the 'powers that be', in all areas of their daily lives. It is obvious that many 'public servants' define themselves as being those individuals who are served BY the public. This sad state of affairs is the result of simple mathematics. If one determines, in any given area,(ie. city, county, state and federal),the total number of citizens who are qualified to cast a vote, one finds that perhaps 50%, more or less, of that number are actually registered to vote; further,in any given election, one finds that typically between 50% - 60% of those registered don't even bother to make the effort to actually cast their vote(s). Thus, all that is required to win a 2 person race is 51% of the votes actually cast, effectively meaning that a mere 26% of the total number of citizens qualified to vote are determining who is elected. In a race of more than 2 contestants, the percentage needed to win becomes even lower than 26%. It is a puzzling mystery why the 2 major political parties, the Dumbocrats and the Retardicans, continue to strongly resist the establishment of additional political parties, though one sees occasional use of 'shill' candidates by both major parties. So, I propose a little experiment, to be conducted in both the smallest, local level elections, (ie. town, city, county, township, village,etc.), as well as in the larger level elections, (ie. state and federal), an experiment which is designed to accomplish several goals and answer several questions,(besides the obvious one, of seeing if enough people/voters will get off their butts and choose to participate in this experiment!). Basically, my question is this: what would happen if enough voters choose, in every election, both primary and general, to cast their votes by adhering to the following rules, completely disregarding all factors commonly used by voters to make their decisions on who to vote for, and simply casting their vote(s) by applying these rules/formula: * 1) Determine which candidates are the INCUMBENTS and DO NOT vote for any of them. * 2) If there are only two candidates running for any given office, all that the voter MUST know is which one is the INCUMBENT, then vote for the CHALLENGER candidate. * 3) If there are MORE than two candidates vying for a given office, determine if the incumbent is listed FIRST, and IF THIS IS SO, then vote for the challenger candidate who is listed LAST. * 4) If the incumbent is NOT listed FIRST, then vote for the challenger candidate who IS listed FIRST. * 5) If no incumbent is running for office, always vote for the LAST candidate listed. Remember to COMPLETELY DISREGARD all impulses to concern yourself with the specific persons who you are voting for and/or the specific persons you are not voting for and/or the specific incumbents who will, should enough voters in any given election participate in this experiment, be losing their jobs. Remember,also,that the issues don't matter, policies don't matter, individual candidates' personal charm/attractiveness does not matter..................... nothing matters other than adhering to the 5 rules stated above. If enough voters in any given election participate in this experiment, the result should be that a whole lot of incumbents will be voted out of office. What reaction(s), on the part of politicians and their cronies, will this stimulate? If enough voters CONTINUE to participate in this experiment during the next several election cycles, thus keeping any specific person from holding office for more than a single term, will those non-politically connected individuals who would like to sincerely serve their fellow citizens by holding public office, but have determined that their chances of being elected are slim-to-none, now find that they have a reasonably decent chance of succeeding in holding public office? Will the 'professional politicians' eventually find other lines of work and abandon trying to gain and hold power over their fellow citizens, (since it's difficult to establish power,influence and control in just a single term in office)? Will the majority of those citizens who do gain public office now be honest, ethical, hard-working and intelligent individuals, who seek office to actually serve the electorate, (since the traditional motivations of power, influence and wealth will effectively no longer be available)? Will these new, honest candidates, now encouraged to run for office, alter the usual dynamics of 'campaigning'? And in what ways? As the reader may surmise, this experiment is designed to disrupt the decades-old flow of bullshit, which has passed for so long as democracy; bullshit both by the politicians and bullshit by the voting public's failure to effectively participate in their own governing. The above experiment should be conducted in all political contests; Administrative, Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The rule to remember is: WHEN IN DOUBT, VOTE THEM OUT. The 5 rules above are designed to mathematically ensure that the maximum number of votes are cast in such a way as to be effective in denying all elected officials more than one term in office; to prove, by the only means those smugly in power ever understand, that the voters actually determine who holds public office, and that those presently holding said office(s) have, for way too long, held the vast majority of their constituents in contempt, evidenced not by their words, but by their deeds. Keep in mind that this experiment I am proposing is not meant to be a solution to our present social, economic and political disparities, but more as a catalyst for positive change in the attitudes of those who claim to represent ALL citizens' best interests, instead of the present predominance of their representing only the interests of the chosen few. To paraphrase one of our past presidents, who once said: * You may fool SOME of the people ALL of the time * You may fool ALL of the people SOME of the time * But you cannot fool ALL of the people, ALL of the time The sad reality is that you need only to fool just the right number of people, at just the right time, to attain power and control over the many.

Just..Get your affairs in order for the next election David E. Neeley!