Republicans in Illinois and Washington, D.C., closed the week on a happy note, as Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos announced late Friday her retirement in Illinois' 17th District (Quad Cities). All political eyes were immediately on Republican Esther Joy King, U.S. Army officer and tax attorney, who came close (52 to 48 percent) to denying Bustos a fifth term. Many Prairie State political observers believe that Bustos’ position as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) left her vulnerable to King’s spirited attacks that the congresswoman was out of touch with the 17th District. But obervers also agree that the...