Progress Illinois

Newspaper editorial boards are starting to offer readers their two cents on which candidates they think are best suited for some of the offices up for election this November. Today, for instance, the Tribune endorsed Independent Forrest Claypool for Cook County Assessor, arguing that Democratic candidate Joe Berrios "is a one-man conflict of interests" because of his roles as a member of the county's tax appeals board, head of the Cook County Democratic Party, and lobbyist. Over the weekend, the Tribune also endorsed Toni Preckwinkle, the Democratic candidate for Cook County Board President. Of the candidates looking to replace current Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, the Tribune thinks Preckwinkle is the most likely to take the steps they deem necessary to clean up county government:

His successor needs to repeal the remaining half of Stroger's sales tax hike, modernize and consolidate fat bureaucracies, and enforce the same headcount discipline that lets private-sector firms keep their doors open (and keep paying high taxes to Cook County). Of the candidates on the ballot, we think Preckwinkle has the best chance of achieving those ends. Today the Tribune endorses her for County Board president. If she does all she says she will, county government will begin to earn back the taxpayer respect that previous administrations squandered.

The Sun-Times has endorsed Democrat Dan Seals over GOP candidate Bob Dold for the 10th Congressional District seat, citing his intellectual depth and thoughtful approach to governing as reasons for their approval. The paper also chose to endorse Republican Adam Kinzinger over freshman-incumbent Debbie Halvorson for the 11th Congressional District seat, even though they think he's dodging some issues and disagree with some of his views, like the fact that "he says he's not sold on the research on global warming."

When Nate Silver makes a prediction, it's worth paying attention. Using a sophisticated algorithm that takes into account polling data, generic ballot numbers, and the president’s approval rating among other factors, the former Chicagoan and proprietor of the blog FiveThirtyEight correctly predicted all 35 U.S. Senate contests in 2008. On Friday, he released his first batch of House rankings for the 2010 cycle. The results weren't pretty for Democrats; the model gives Republicans a roughly 66 percent chance of retaking the lower chamber. In Illinois, freshmen Democrats Bill Foster and Debbie Halvorson are both favored to lose. Democrat Dan Seals does, however, have a slight advantage in the race for the 10th Congressional District open seat. Read the full results here.

Voters in Illinois' 10th, 11th, and 14th Congressional Districts can expect activists organized by the right-wing Americans For Prosperity to arrive in their neck of the woods next month, Chicago Magazine's Carol Felsenthal recently noted, with "anti-spending" voter education guides in hand. Backed by the billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch, Americans For Prosperity promotes libertarian policies, and has been at the fore of attacking Obama Administration positions on climate change, health care and combating the economic downturn, according to a profile of the Koch brothers available in the the latest edition of the New Yorker. The piece describes the brothers' personal philosophy thusly:

The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests.

Besides the September arrival of Americans For Prosperity activists, the Koch brothers, through their company's political action committee, have raised their profile in Illinois politics of late. For the current election cycle, the Koch Industries PAC has thus far made separate donations of $5,000 to Republican candidates Robert Dold and Adam Kinzinger; $5,000 to Republican Congressman Peter Roskam; $6,000 to Republican Congressman John Shimkus; and $10,000 to U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. The numbers all come from the Center for Responsive Politics.