Progress Illinois

I'm still a little flabbergasted by State Sen. Martin Sandoval's (D-Chicago) performance last weekend on Fox Chicago Sunday.

As I detailed in my initial post, Sandoval met privately with John McCain last Wednesday, signaling that he may support the Arizona Republican over Barack Obama. Rich Miller pointed out in his Monday column that the underlying strategy here is obvious: "Sandoval's flirtation with McCain while his hand is stretched outward (palms up) toward Obama isn't a particularly new thing in politics. It's as old as politics."

Indeed, after playing his cards all wrong in the Democratic primary (he supported Clinton), Sandoval now finds himself on a deserted island, drawing a huge SOS in the sand as the Obama jet crosses the sky above.

But during his Fox appearance on Sunday, Sandoval basically set fire to that island. Here again is the video clip in which he gives McCain credit for taking the lead on immigration reform in the Senate -- ignoring that McCain has since said he wouldn't vote for the legislation in question!

Sandoval's comments were irresponsible -- plain and simple. And he should be called on it.

But here's my question: Sandoval is a known nemesis of Senate President Emil Jones and an ally of House Speaker and state Democratic Party chair Michael Madigan. What does Madigan think about the Chicago senator's decision to parrot GOP talking points on immigration as part of an opportunitistic effort to draw attention from the Democratic nominee?