This is pretty obvious and expected. You don't make an offer like this public. You extend it privately and if the person turn it down, then you can go on to the next person without that person being publicly perceived as your 2nd choice.
If you make the offer public, that is because the person has indicated he/she will accept.
Bingo
Chicago retail politics is a lot like making sausage, we probably wouldn't have wanted to see that meeting live Wednesday night on C-SPAN..
OK, he's not gonna win. I'm sure gonna vote for him but he's not gonna win. He's not from Illinois and he slammed the
'Beaste for running for senator in NY.
Why not run Andy McKenna? He's actually from Illinois and is just as conservative as Keyes?