WTTW has posted video of last night's episode of Chicago Tonight, during which I discussed the 2010 gubernatorial prospects with the Tribune's Eric Zorn and Fran Eaton, editor of the Illinois Review.
You can watch the segment here.
And while we're on the subject, I'd like to better articulate why I think a gubernatorial bid by Attorney Lisa Madigan is seriously hampered if her father is still House Speaker.
During the show, I talked about the slightly unseemly optics of having members of the Madigan family leading both the statehouse and the Governor's mansion. Zorn responded by saying that he had the same concern when Lisa ran for attorney general and apparently the voters didn't care.
But there is a significant distinction between her being AG -- where she has little control over her father's agenda and vice-versa -- and her being governor, where she's a central part of the policy apparatus. If she were to run for governor while her father is still in the speaker's chair, I think there would be serious concerns from the progressive community about whether she would be a rubber stamp for her father's rather conservative brand of Democratic policymaking. Especially considering that it's his political machine that would have provided the foundation for her campaign.
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