Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate candidate from Chicago who has become the Democratic Party's latest rising star, is drawing enough support from the entertainment industry to put on his own variety show. From comedian Chris Rock to singer Barbra Streisand to musician Herbert Hancock, entertainers have written out checks of $1,000 or $2,000 to help the 42-year-old Illinois state senator win the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Film directors Rob Reiner ("The American President") and Edward Zwick ("The Last Samurai" and "Courage Under Fire") both contributed in the past three months, according to Obama's...

LOS ANGELES - Dealing a blow to the U.S. Senate candidacy of Republican Jack Ryan, a California judge ruled that several sealed divorce records likely to embarrass the candidate and his ex-wife should be opened to the public. Ruling on a request brought by attorneys for the Tribune and WLS-TV, Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider acknowledged that the resulting publicity from the disclosure would be harmful to the couple's son, a key argument Ryan had raised in seeking to keep the documents from public view. But Schnider said he had weighed the public interest of disclosure against the private interests...

Ryan’s press secretary dodged more shots than a goalie in the National Hockey League. Scandals became daily fodder for the press. Senator Peter Fitzgerald performed one of the most statesmanlike acts in recent memory by pressing for the appointment of Patrick Fitzgerald as US Attorney to replace Scott Lassar (who accepted a position at the prestigious law firm defending corrupt politicians and white collar criminals). Senator Fitzgerald incurred the wrath of the entire political class in Illinois in making his selection. Democrats and Republicans alike, with prominent persons such as Ryan, US Senator Durbin, House Speaker Hastert and many others...

The man who made Obama possible September 7, 2008 Barack Obama probably would not be running as the agent of change if not for one of the most conservative Republican senators in Illinois history. As this presidential campaign continues to focus on whether Republican John McCain or Democrat Obama would be most likely to reform the federal government, I can't help thinking about the political fate of former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was a wealthy banker when he ran for the Senate against incumbent Democrat Carol Moseley Braun in 1999. He bought the Republican nomination by spending $7 million...

If you want to discover how a perfectly healthy pink state turns into a lasting blue one, look no further than Illinois.For years, Republicans often won statewide and federal elective offices. But thanks to a bungling party "leadership" way out of touch with its constituency, Tuesday's primary election to select a GOP nominee for governor presents voters with indecision, disappointment or disgust. Among the candidates, "I don't know" has made a strong showing.We columnists have raked this field of candidates to the point of tedium, but why not? Why should Republicans be forced to choose among marginal, inexperienced, unqualified or...

The big story of the year happened last year, after every journalist in the world filed his biggest-story-of-the-year piece and went away for the holidays. That of course was the great tsunami. On this day one year ago the dimensions of the disaster had finally become clear. The tsunami is the story of 2005 not because it was shocking that natural disasters occur or that a quarter million people can die and many more be hurt in them--that information is well known to all adults. The great tsunami is the big story of 2005 because after it occurred the tired...

Everyone in Washington is swooning over Illinois's new Democratic senator, Barack Obama. He hadn't even been sworn in when he made the cover of Newsweek. Mr. Obama may indeed be destined for political stardom, but before Obama fever fully takes hold it's worth noting how little national attention has been given to the senator he's replacing: Peter Fitzgerald. The 44-year-old maverick Republican is choosing to retire after one term in part because his brave crusade against political cronyism had so alienated key figures in his own party that the GOP state committee actually declined to endorse him for re-election. The...

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A plane carrying three U.S. senators bound for a campaign event in Missouri landed in Alabama after pilots reported problems with the landing gear, a Republican official said. Ann Wagner, co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and the Missouri Republican chairwoman, said late Monday that a plane carrying Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Sens. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., and Rick Santorum, R-Pa., reported problems with its landing gear and landed at Mobile. A police report at Mobile Regional Airport indicated that a Challenger 250 landed safely Monday at 3:28 p.m. CST after reporting its landing...

...The resulting effect has led to a political bloodthirsty moment (as Jill Stanek wrote about) for the ILGOP who hate the conservative wing of their party to begin with and thus the calls of absolute shock and horror over the "lies" and "the way they were decieved". Conservatives are also upset that Jack didn't just take the simple step of revealing to them what was in the allegations from the beginning - so that in the primary voters could make their mind up and decide if they felt the mere allegations were too much to overcome. All of this brings...

CHICAGO – A state senator will face an investment banker-turned-teacher after each emerged as his party's nominee for a U.S. Senate race that could shape the balance of power in Congress. "This is going to be a contest of ideas," state Sen. Barack Obama said Tuesday after rolling up more than 50 percent of the vote in the Democrat primary, crushing six rivals. The 42-year-old former civil rights lawyer, who could become only the third black U.S. senator in a century, faces Republican Jack Ryan, a 44-year-old millionaire high school teacher who has been dogged by questions about his divorce...

<p>When a long-serving politician retires, we’re often treated to windbag editorials from newspapers and columnists about the virtue of public service, and how the latest retiring politician contributed to it.</p> <p>Never mind that one of the ways one becomes a long-serving politician is by building up constituencies by doling out pork and patronage, and that many long-serving politicians spend their careers lusting after the perks and privileges of power.</p>

Four of the 34 U.S. Senators up for election next year have announced their exiting--Zell Miller (Ga.), John Edwards (S.C.), and Ernest Hollings (S.C.), Democrats all, and Republican Peter Fitzgerald (Ill.) Now, signs are ominous that the next two senatorial shoes to drop will be those of Republican Don Nickles (Okla.) and Democrat John Breaux (La.). Word on the D.C. cocktail circuit over the weekend was that four-termer and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Nickles was anxious to make more money in the private sector, as was Breaux (who has been courted for every seven-figure lobbying job from legislative pointman of...

D.C. conservative to join GOP race for Senate August 16, 2003 BY FRANK MAIN Staff Reporter Advertisement The already-crowded race for Illinois' open U.S. Senate seat has attracted a candidate who doesn't live in the state. Antonio Davis-Fairman, an African-American conservative, announced Friday he's joining the contest to succeed Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. The 37-year-old self-described entrepreneur said he would run in the Republican primary that has drawn 11 announced and potential candidates. Davis-Fairman said he would fight to privatize Social Security and support federal funding for church-based social programs. He said he recently signed a pledge with Americans for Tax...

Just seven weeks after he came from nowhere and declared, "I am in--no doubt," Downstate millionaire John Simmons again upended the U.S. Senate race Wednesday, folding his Democratic campaign and throwing his support to state Comptroller Dan Hynes. "Dan's the man," Simmons said. "He'll do great for us." The trial lawyer said he is pulling the plug to devote his energy to reopening a steel mill and to try to prevent a Democratic donnybrook from hurting the party's chances in 2004. "The Democrats do not need a bloodbath in March," Simmons said. "It's not going to help us win in...

PEORIA - The latest multi-millionaire to turn neophyte politician came to Peoria on Monday to tout himself as a candidate for the common people. Blair Hull, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by fellow multi-millionaire Peter Fitzgerald, stressed his roots: Fuller Brush salesman, high school math teacher, former card-carrying union member. "I have life experience," Hull said during an appearance at Carver Community Center in South Peoria. The Chicago businessman, who sold his stake in 1999 in the trading company he founded for almost $340 million, would hold an elected office for the...

SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Lane Evans announced his endorsement Tuesday of state Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, in his bid for Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat in 2004. . Evans, D-Ill., said he met with many of the candidates and chose to endorse Obama, who is serving his second term in the Illinois Senate. “He stands up for the average citizens and make sure that their voice is heard,” Evans said. “He is an advocate for working families and works for their future.” Evans, of Rock Island, who is in his 11th term, said Obama could win the seat that will be...

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...

John Simmons has no name recognition, no donor network and no government experience. The last office he held was student body president at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. But the 33-year-old Illinois Democrat, who late last month announced he's seeking his party's Senate nomination, has one possible edge over the five other Democratic contenders -- he's a trial lawyer. Like Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), a former trial lawyer now running for president, Simmons is quite familiar with many attorneys currently active in Democratic Party politics. But it still remains to be seen whether he can count on support from the legal community,...

He's the most happy fella. Jack Ryan, 43, the North Shore investment banker, is running for the U.S. Senate on a platform of happiness and light. ''I just feel so much love in this room right now,'' Happy Jack declared at his campaign kickoff the other day at Hales Franciscan High School, where he gave up an investment banking career to teach a few courses. ''Every major religion says that happiness comes not from seeking our own fulfillment but from seeking the fulfillment of others,'' he said. ''We've got to start looking out for one another's happiness." Ryan, who has...

Little can be said for sure about the race for retiring Illinois Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald's seat, one of only two open Senate contests in the country in 2004. No one has taken a clear lead. No one knows how the budget battle in Springfield will play out. And, as is the case elsewhere, no one can forecast how the war on terror or the economy will play out, either. But one thing appears clear -- the next junior senator from Illinois will be either an entrenched politician or a captain of industry. In both camps, the best funded, most...