Andrea Zopp for US Senate

The Capitol Fax writes about the head of the Chicago Urban League Andrea Zopp considering a run against current US Senator Mark Kirk. He writes about the many negatives if she makes her leap in next year's race. Do you like her chances?

Sun-Times exclusive: Sen. Kirk won't be talking about race in the future

Lynn Sweet writes more about Sen. Kirk's comments made in a newspaper interview earlier this week:

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., up for re-election, told the Chicago Sun-Times he won’t be talking about race or ethnicity in the future.

“I would say that whenever a targeted member talks about race or ethnicity, it is impossible for him to get it right. So I’ll leave it at that,” Kirk said.

Kirk is in one of the biggest Senate contests in the 2016 cycle. He is a major Democratic target and his main competition is Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.

Democrats jumped on Kirk after he made a comment about African-Americans at the end of a Peoria Journal Star interview – about how “we drive faster” through a black community.

And then Sweet got Chicago State President Wayne Watson to provide a quote:

When Kirk was running for Senate, he met with Watson and asked what he could do to help. To Watson’s surprise, he told me Kirk called “the day after he won.”

Together, they created what would become the Entrepreneurial Idol program at CSU.

Budding entrepreneurs compete for $7,500 and a chance to showcase their plan to business leaders and government officials. This year marks the fourth competition.

“The issue is not driving through the black community. The issue is what he’s done. . . . In this instance, Sen. Kirk’s actions . . . speak louder than his words, however one may want to interpret,” Watson said.

Read the whole thing and let us know what you think.

HuffPost: Mark Kirk Says People Drive Faster Through Black Neighborhoods

Sen. Mark Kirk

Disappointing coming from a Republican US Senator who just so happened to get elected to a seat once held by not only the current President of the United States but also the first Black woman elected to that presitigious body. Not only that he toured Englewood almost two years back:

The comment, with its racial undertones, came during a sit-down interview with the Peoria Journal Star and followed a question about how to encourage business development in Kirk's home state.

“I want to make sure we have elected people constantly looking at helping the African-American community,” Kirk said. “With this state and all of its resources, we could sponsor a whole new class of potential innovators like George Washington Carver and eventually have a class of African-American billionaires. That would really adjust income differentials and make the diversity and outcome of the state much better so that the black community is not the one we drive faster through." [emphasis added.]

The notion that people hit the gas when driving through black neighborhoods is a common racial stereotype about urbanization and criminal behavior among African-Americans. The fact that an elected senator from a state with a sizable black population would make such a comment was deemed unfortunate by at least one African-American leader in Illinois.

"I think what he was trying to say is, he was trying to relate that to crime. But boy, it was a poor choice of phraseology," said George Mitchell, president of the NAACP's Illinois State Conference.

Later a response from Sen. Kirk's office was added to this article:

Eleni Demertzis, Kirk's press secretary, emailed the following response to questions about the senator's comments from last week: "Anyone watching network news in Chicago is aware of the frequent killings and violence that affects various communities in Illinois. Senator Kirk is active in fighting gang violence, keeping assault weapons off the streets, and working within the African-American community to find aspiring entrepreneurs. No one can question Senator Kirk’s commitment to the African-American community."

What are your thoughts?

Early Voting started, and write-in vote options

Monday was the beginning of Early Voting in Chicago, and it runs until Saturday November 3. You can vote Monday-Saturday, 9am -5pm in 51 locations. On Sunday, October 28, there are 3 locations you can vote (though somewhat far from the 6th and 9th wards).

The 6th Ward's location to vote is the Whitney Young Library, 7901 S. King Drive. The 9th Ward's location is Palmer Park, 201 E. 111th Street. However, you may vote at any of the other 49 sites (and those from outside the ward, but within Chicago, may vote at Whitney Young).

More information on Early Voting from the Chicago Board of Elections website.

According to that website, the 6th ward was #6 among the early voting locations with 419 voters, 9th ward was # 15 with 350 voters. Mt. Greenwood Park (which is one of the 3 Sunday locations) had the 2nd most with 494 voters. The Chicgao Board of Elections (also a Sunday voting location) had 1,741 out of the total 15,711 votes cast in the city.


In addition, there a few candidates who have registered with the Chicago Board of Elections to run as write-in candidates for several offices, particularly a few for our area.

Early Voting line at Whitney Young Library on Monday, 8:59am.

Here is their info:

• Darnell B. Macklin of 7927 S. Eberhart Chicago 08/22/12 =  State House of Representatives 34th
• Xavier (X) Roman of 10749 S. Ewing Av. Chicago 08/29/12 = State Senate 17th
• John Hawkins of 4531 S. Spaulding Av. Chicago 09/06/12 = U.S. Congress 1st

The full listing of write-in candidates for Chicago is here.

As we know, living in this city, many offices are essentially decided during the Democratic primary, and voting in the general election is basically a formality.

People may choose not to vote for an office as a sign of protest. But that will not register with voting results -- 90% of voters could choose not to vote for an office, but if there is no challenger, the results could register as 100% of the people voted for a candidate. This is important info, not just for challengers, but the incumbent as well. Without something to contrast, he incumbent wouldn't know what parts of their district have concerns. Some of those anti-incumbent votes will include people who would automatically vote against teh establishment, but there might be a portion that have legitimate concerns.

Thanks to everyone who has voted already. If you have not, whoever you decide to vote for, PLEASE VOTE!

Well, we slept on this story from Chicago State University

Bouncing off of Worlee's post at Concerned Citizen's of Chatham where he wishes to see Chicago State reach out to the community more, our current freshman Republican Senator Mark Kirk.

In January, sometime before President Obama's "State of the Union" speech, Sen. Kirk had visited the campus of Chicago State. The purpose was that Kirk was going to host interns from Chicago State in his office through a Minority Internship Program.

As a result of this visit to the school, Sen. Kirk invited the University's President, Wayne Watson, to the "State of the Union" speech according to this story from the Ward Room.

You can also read this press release from Kirk's official website which talks about Watson joining him at January's "State of the Union" speech and the internship program.

Let's hope that Chicago State continues to not only reach out to our elected officials to allow their students to start their careers in politics or public service. Hopefully they will also recognize that there is a community surrounding their university as well.

In farewell, Burris laments lack of blacks in Senate

UPDATE 11:09 AM - Below is a video from ABC7 of Sen. Burris' remarks to the US Senate. You can also read this Sun-Times article on Burri's remarks Via CapFax morning shorts.

Chicago Breaking News:

As his controversial tenure nears its end, Sen. Roland Burris gave a farewell address Thursday lamenting there will be no blacks at all in the next Senate.

"This is simply unacceptable," he said. "We can and we will and we must - do better."

He also noted that only six blacks have served in the Senate in the body's 221-year history.

Senator, we've had three blacks who sought US Senate seats around the nation that I know of in this past election cycle. One was a joke (Alvin Greene from SC), the other in our state (Cheryle Jackson) didn't make it out of the primary, and the last one lost (US Rep. Kendrick Meek - Florida) on Nov. 2nd.

To be sure, I wrote here on this blog and other venues that I really didn't agree with Burris' appointment to the US Senate. Especially since it was Rod Blagojevich who appointed him not long after his arrest on attempting to "auction" the US Senate seat that was held by our current President. As we found out later, if the Senator had actually attempted to run to hold his seat he would've had some problems.

Even my Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. found that out later. He aspired to succeed President Obama and it came out that he planned to raise money for Blagojevich in order to be considered. As a result of that scandal while Congressman Jackson may still continue to be a US Congressman in the foreseeable future, he may not advance beyond the 2nd Congressional District.

Also if I may focus on Illinois for a minute, I remember Ald. Lyle lamented herself the fact that the odds of a Black US Senator went down around the time of Blago's arrest. This year Illinois had the opportunity to send a Black woman to the US Senate and as I've stated she didn't make it out of the primary.

Hopefully in the future, there will be a Black person who can win a primary and be able to conduct a winning campaign for a US Senate seat or any other office such as Governor, Lt. Governor, Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney General (there were Black candidates for Treasurer and Comptroller this past election as well). In addition to their hard work the backing of those who seek to place a Black in a top office as those.

Let's also hope we can call any other aspiring candidate for higher office a neighbor of this 6th Ward.

BTW, I would like to offer a hat-tip to ChathamNOW for this article although I do hope they refrain from copying and pasting news articles without proper attribution.

Ald. Lyle on Mark Kirk's comments

You can always watch the embedded video above, but at the same time here's what she is responding to:

The Kirk campaign confirms the congressman was secretly taped this week while telling state Republican leaders about his hiring of a voter integrity squad to concentrate on four regions that happen to be areas populated by large numbers of African-Americans who vote heavily Democratic.

"These are lawyers and other people that will be deployed in key, vulnerable precincts, for example, South and West sides of Chicago, Rockford, Metro East, where the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat".

"For him to insinuate that there is some vote fraud going on in these communities is just an insult to the hundreds and hundreds of people who serve as election judges on elections. I find it disgraceful and insulting," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle.

Lyle, a Democratic Committee member and an Alexi Giannoulias supporter, and others were offended by Kirk's use of the verb "jigger" when talking about regions heavily populated by black voters.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says "jigger" does mean "to alter, re-arrange, or manipulate" and has been used by many politicians to describe election fraud.

"The problem I had is that it sounds so much like another word," Rev. Albert Tyson said.

Well this fits. Ald. Lyle believes this election for US Senate between Congressman Mark Kirk (R) and state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) is important if for no other reason than the morale aspects. If the Democratic Party can't keep his old Senate seat in the D camp then it may make the President look weak and the Republicans wouldn't let the President and the Democrats hear the last of it. I believe that!

Candidates' Forum - Wednesday October 6, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Notice of this event is courtesy of Kari Steele who not only was a candidate for commissioner of the Water Reclamation District, but also Chairwoman of the 6th Ward Young Democrats

• On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, the Chicago Alumnae and Lambda Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in partnership with the Chicago Urban League will host a Candidates Forum to hear from those running for the office of Governor, United States Senate, Treasurer and Comptroller. It will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM) at Chicago Urban League, 4510 South Michigan, Chicago. We recognize the importance of the upcoming election and are committed to increasing political involvement and awareness throughout metropolitan Chicago . 
  
  Please plan to attend the forum and invite your family, friends and neighbors to attend as well.

Remember, the mayoral election isn't until next February. We vote on November 2nd for various offices such as Cook County Board President, County Assessor, Sheriff, Governor and of course US Senate.

You can still register to vote for this election up until Oct. 26th. Refer to this post for more info!

U.S. Senator Roland W. Burris to hold Small Business Panel Discussion and Expo on Friday, September 10

U.S. Senator Roland W. Burris to hold Small Business Panel Discussion and Expo on Friday, September 10

U.S. Senator Roland W. Burris will host a Small Business Panel Discussion and Expo, “Revitalizing and Refreshing Illinois’ Small Business Community” on Friday, September 10 from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM at Chicago State University.

This event is an opportunity for small businesses to meet with distinguished leaders in business and government from communities across the state of Illinois to discuss federal assistance programs, as opportunities for small businesses to obtain loans through the federal government. The event will feature a panel discussion with remarks from Senator Burris and Eric Dobyne, Chicago Regional Director of the Minority Business Development Agency moderating the event; representatives from Banks; and representatives from Boeing, Hewlett Packard and General Dynamics. An expo will be held for the duration of the event, featuring booths from various federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Energy, as well as the Small Business Administration including the Office of the Small Business Development Center located at Chicago State University.

This forum is free of charge. Discounted parking is available.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 - 9 AM – 2 PM
Senator Burris Small Business Forum: “Revitalizing and Refreshing Illinois’ Small Business Community”

Chicago State University
New Academic Library Auditorium (4th Floor)
9501 South King Drive
Chicago, IL 60628


For more information, please call Frank McClatchey or Jazmine Hasty at (312) 886-3506 or Dr. Erma Brooks-Williams at 773-995-3806.

Does Sen. Meeks have it right? Bill would strip local school councils of principal selection, budget powers

Grassroots education advocacy groups are reeling from the news that state Sen. James Meeks filed a bill Monday that would strip local school councils of their most important powers, including selecting principals and controlling their school’s discretionary funds.




The bill would make LSCs merely advisory boards and would transfer their authority to the Board of Education.



Meeks, a Democrat and the pastor of the House of Hope, a megachurch on the Far South Side, did not return calls on Wednesday.



Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond issued a statement that “Meeks has been a champion of school reform and education and his efforts to ensure that students are receiving the best educational opportunities is consistent with our mission, and we look forward to reviewing the legislation.”



But Bond did not respond to follow-up questions about whether CPS officials knew Meeks planned to submit the bill and whether the district supports it.




http://www.catalystchicago.org/notebook/index.php/entry/545/Bill_would_strip_local_school_councils_of_principal_selection%2C_budget_powers

Sen. Burris on Washington Journal this morning

He appeared sometime after 8AM this morning on C-Span's live call-in show. This clip unfortunately is only a minute and a half long, but he spent half an hour taking questions from callers. He basically talked about his support for a public option in the current health care reform debate. He has also promised to not vote on legislation that doesn't contain a public option.

VIDEO: Sen. Burris flees a FOX News reporter

The Senator didn't want to talk to that reporter about why he supported ACORN. If you watch Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly or even Sean Hannity they have been talking a lot about ACORN and their activities.

Via Instapundit!

6th Ward Junior Dems on the passing of Ted Kennedy

Homage paid by the only Junior Democratic Organization in our great state. The Massachusettes Senator and member of the famed Kennedy clan passed away at age 77 on Wednesday morning.

Senate race 2010

Via CapFax, it appears despite his announcement in July, Sen. Burris may still want to run to retain his US Senate seat. From ABC News:

Illinois Sen. Roland Burris announced last month that he would not run to retain his Senate seat next year, but in his first television interview since making that decision, Burris told ABC News he could change his mind.

"You never say never," Burris told ABC News in a "Subway Series" interview for the ABC News program "Top Line." The "Subway Series," which debuts on Monday, features interviews with senators and other political leaders on board the Capitol Hill subway.

"What I'm still hearing," Burris said, is "people from all over the country and they are saying, 'Don't give up that seat.'"

If he does he may have a black opponent in the race in addition to State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulis or possible Chris Kennedy courtesy of Crain's:

She's in the race.

Cheryle Jackson, the president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, will e-mail supporters later today announcing that she will indeed run for President Barack Obama's old seat in the U.S. Senate.

A formal announcement with the usual press release and statewide fly-around will follow next month.

The action -- which had been expected but not certain -- puts Ms. Jackson, 44, in a Democratic primary race with Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, with the winner likely to oppose North Shore GOP Congressman Mark Kirk in the November 2010 general election.

OK, it's great to see competition strong for the race to gain the seat formerly held by Barack Obama and Carol Moseley Braun. Sen. Braun was the first black woman elected to the US Senate. It's great to see there is a woman in the running who could follow her as the 2nd Black woman in the race.

Whether or not Burris is in the race, him and Ms. Jackson may have the issue of both having some ties to Ousted governor Rod Blagojevich. Perhaps Burris has stronger ties than Jackson, but Jackson also served as an insider in the Blagojevich administration.

Whatever happens, the race is going to be interesting, especially if there is a strong black candidate who can actually be elected to Obama/Braun's old seat.

Illinois Sen. Burris Won't Run in 2010

AP Video:

Embattled Illinois Sen. Roland Burris says he's loved serving in Washington but won't run for a full term next year because of the high cost of raising money for a campaign.

The CapFax covered this announcement earlier today!

Roland Burris won't run for Senate seat in 2010

I found this tidbit in the comments at the CapFax blog, regarding Joe Birkett backtracking from his announcement to go for the state Attorney General office. That in light of Lisa Madigan seeking to be re-elected after being touted for either Governor or US Senator.

Sneed has learned U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has decided NOT to seek election to the seat he fought the government to keep.

Sen. Burris is planning to announce his decision Friday by issuing a statement to the press. But he’s reportedly not planning to field any questions from the press.

The decision by Burris was based on his inability to raise campaign funds; campaign disclosures with the Federal Election Commission are expected to be filed next week...and he has reportedly only raised approximately $20,000

A source tells Sneed that Burris, who was appointed to Barack Obama’s senate seat by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been very concerned about his legacy.

“After 20 years in government service, Burris didn’t want the last four months in office to be that legacy,” said a source.

I copied this story in it's entirety and as for the whole legacy thing. Not sure if it's too late to salvage that or not, but for his legacy this might be for the best for the old "trailblazer". Burris was the first black elected to statewide office in Illinois having been a state Comptroller, Attorney General, and has run for US Senate, Governor, and Mayor of Chicago in the past.

BTW, I can't let this post slide without this bit from earlier today!

Burris campaign aide Delmarie Cobb said Madigan’s decision, along with money are part of “a long line of factors” determining if Burris would seek election.

“As you know, there have been many marquee names thrown out for this seat and so far they have all fizzled,” Cobb said. “With [Burris] as the incumbent, it seems the Democratic Party would do well to rally around the person who has the seat and keep the seat rather than mine for a candidate.”

If Burris isn't going to retain this seat then this theory won't be proven.

The Sun-Times story by Michael Sneed was just posted at the CapFax. You can post your thoughts there if you'd like.

Cheryle Jackson to form Senate exploratory panel

Greg Hinz:

Chicago Urban League chief Cheryle Jackson is forming a U.S. Senate exploratory committee -- the last formal step before actually announcing her candidacy.

In a phone interview, Ms. Jackson said paperwork for the exploratory panel will be filed later this week and she intends to declare her race for President Barack Obama's old Senate race "within a couple of months."

"I'm moving forward," said Ms. Jackson, 44, who served as press secretary to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich before becoming president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Chicago almost three years ago.

Entering a race that may contain Sen. Burris, David Kennedy (owner of the Merchandise Mart and scion of the Kennedy Family son of RFK), Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias,  or even Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

BTW, another piece of news from this piece:

Ms. Jackson's group will host the convention of the national Urban League at the end of the month -- the first time it has done so in 30 years, she said.

Burris didn't disclose Inland options: report

AP:

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris didn't disclose on a Senate financial statement that he has options to buy 8,000 shares of stock in Inland Real Estate Corp., according to a report.

Burris spokesman Jim O'Connor told the Chicago Tribune that the senator plans to amend his financial statement to reflect the unexercised options in Oak Brook-based Inland, a retail real estate investment trust.

Burris was on Inland's board from 1996 until January. He got $63,000 in director fees and dividends last year.

Here's some more detail from the Tribune:

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) failed to reveal in a Senate financial disclosure statement that he has options to buy 8,000 shares of stock in a real estate investment company where he was a board member, according to public records.

The statement, recently made public, indicated Burris and his wife held $900,000 to $1.8 million in assets, but failed to note their options to buy stock in Oak Brook-based Inland Real Estate Corp.
...
Burris can buy the stock at prices ranging from $9 a share to about $20 a share, according to Inland's federal securities filings. The senator is unlikely to exercise those options any time soon -- Inland stock closed at $6.72 on Wednesday, below Burris' $9 option.
...
He got $63,000 in director fees and dividends from Inland last year.

Now they're just looking for stuff to use against him!

Black Press of America Convening in Minneapolis This Week

I just found this thru the news feeds at the CapFax this morning:

Boxing promoter and Black publisher Don King, actor/comedian Bill Cosby, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and top Black publishers from around the nation are among the big names to highlight the 2009 National Convention of the National Newspaper Publishers Association in Minnesota this week.
...
Also, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.); Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); and Donna Christensen (D-V.I.) are among those confirmed to lead a Saturday morning health workshop. U. S. Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), the only Black member of the U. S. Senate, in the throws of a re-election campaign, is also expected to address the publishers.

Well they're under the assumption that he may run for re-election next year. There is not an announcement as of yet, however, I could just assume there is some coyness here.

Roland Burris more or less gets back his good name

I don't normally read the left-wing website, Daily Kos, but I link to this post regaring the news about Sen. Burris' not facing any charges from the Sangamon County State's Attorney. However, I want to highlight a poll that is being held over there to determine how people may perceive this controversy around Burris. Go over there and vote your feelings on the Senator.