Free Republic

Washington - When Michelle Obama worked in Mayor Daley's City Hall in the early 1990s, she was "distressed" by how a small group of "white Irish Catholic" families -- the Daleys, the Hynes and the Madigans -- "locked up" power in Illinois. And as she prepared to become first lady, Mrs. Obama naively wanted to delay a move into the White House for six months, so her daughters could finish the school year. Her initial thought was to "commute" to the White House from her South Side home. And Marty Nesbitt, one of President Obama's best friends, had been recruited...

The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat? Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill. Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and...

He's the leader of the pack. State Comptroller Dan Hynes, who is among the state's top vote-getters, is maintaining a steady lead over the 2004 Democratic field for the U.S. Senate. His Downstate support currently gives him the edge over his four major rivals who are from Chicago. But with more than a third of the voters undecided, the nomination is still up for grabs. Hynes, 35, the only Democratic contender to have won statewide office, is known by nearly three-fourths of likely primary voters. Half of all Democratic primary voters have a favorable opinion of him, while just 6...

In what is believed to be the shortest political respite in Illinois history, Republican John Cox on Thursday dropped out of next year's U.S. Senate race -- as he announced he is considering running for state treasurer or comptroller in 2006. "I plan on being a part of a statewide ticket in 2006," Cox said. "As a CPA, there's a couple of offices that deal with financial matters that would probably lend themselves to my experience and background." Cox, 48, made his withdrawal official at a news conference with state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, the Elgin Republican who Cox said he...

Millionaire Senate candidate M. Blair Hull took to the airwaves Monday, running television and radio commercials introducing himself to voters--nearly nine months before the Democratic primary. The initial round of 60-second biographical ads will only appear in Downstate areas, but Chicagoans shouldn't feel left out. This early media buy is only a small slice of the $40 million Hull has pledged to spend on the race. He will soon be as easy to find on the TV dial as Emeril Lagasse. "You will hear from us consistently," said Mike Henry, Hull's campaign manager. Hull, 60, is believed to be launching...

Illinois Democrats looking to recapture retiring Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald's seat have been mobilizing for months -- raising moneiy, rounding up endorsements, recruiting volunteers. Republicans, meanwhile, have had trouble even finding candidates. First Fitzgerald said he wouldn't seek a second term. Then political veterans Jim Edgar, Judy Baar Topinka and Jim Ryan bowed out. In the past month, a handful of newcomers have stepped in. With 17 months to go before Election Day, Republicans, already tainted by former GOP Gov. George Ryan's scandals, must now fight a costly, uphill battle to hold the seat. "They kind of had that head...

Glenn Poshard, the 1998 Democratic nominee for governor, is weighing a possible bid for the U.S. Senate. Poshard, 57, who has just stepped down as vice chancellor for administration at Southern Illinois University, has been encouraged by political allies to make a run for the seat that is being vacated by Republican Peter G. Fitzgerald. His populist message and dynamic campaign style would add excitement to the Democratic primary. At least six other Democrats are already in the field. Poshard has encouraged state Comptroller Dan Hynes to make the race and many of his former allies including Cook County Commissioner...

<p>Poll numbers suggest that the decision this week by Sen. Peter G. Fitzgerald, Illinois Republican, against seeking another term in 2004 actually may improve the Republicans' chances of holding on to their razor-thin majority in the Senate.</p> <p>A survey conducted April 8 through 11 by Hill Research Consultants, a Republican polling firm, determined that 45 percent of Illinois voters thought Mr. Fitzgerald deserved re-election, and 25 percent said he didn't deserve to return to the Senate.</p>

Democratic challenger Dan Hynes has moved ahead of the beleaguered GOP incumbent Peter G. Fitzgerald in a 2004 U.S. Senate trial heat. Hynes, 34, who has twice won landslide elections as state comptroller, is the early front-runner in what is expected to be a hard-fought Democratic primary. A growing number of Democratic and Republican officeholders view him as a clear favorite over Fitzgerald if Hynes is the Democratic nominee. Fitzgerald, 42, who narrowly defeated a vulnerable Carol Moseley Braun in 1998, admits he is facing a more difficult race next year. It is most unusual for a sitting U.S. senator...

<p>March 10, 2003 -- There's an old joke about a lady who goes into a butcher shop to buy a chicken. She lifts up a chicken and starts sniffing it. She sniffs under one wing, then the other, and on and on till she has sniffed up and down the entire bird. Finally, the butcher blurts out: "Lady, could you pass that test?"</p>

SPRINGFIELD -- A new statewide poll shows that U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald may be vulnerable if he seeks re-election to a second term. According to a survey of 462 state residents by Illinois Wesleyan University's political science department, just 27 percent of the respondents believe the Republican from Inverness should be re-elected in 2004. The poll, which had a margin of error of 4.7 percent, showed that 38 percent of those surveyed on Tuesday and Wednesday believe someone else should be given a chance to do the job. Thirty-four percent were undecided. The poll comes as Fitzgerald has been in...