Progress Illinois

Here's the latest info on the early voting dispute in Lake County, IN. 

As I already reported, a circuit court judge ruled this morning that the Lake County, IN board of elections could commence early voting at three satellite polling places located in the Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago city clerk offices.  The ruling opened up the possibility that the board might open these early voting centers as soon as tomorrow, despite telling District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen last Friday that they would wait until he had ruled on a temporary restraining order filed by the local Republican Party to block early voting in the three minority-rich, Democratic cities.

Now comes news that the Lake County board of elections has informed the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that they don't plan to begin early voting until at least Thursday, depending on Van Bokkelen's ruling (he's scheduled to take up the case this Thursday).

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Watching MSNBC this morning, I happened to notice that they repeatedly referred to Bill Ayers as "Willie" in their on-screen text:

Willie, huh?  I grew up in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.  I know the Ayers-Dorhn family quite well.  And I can't remember anyone referring to Bill Ayers as "Willie." 

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On Saturday, I laid out the basis for the voters' rights battle brewing in Lake County, IN.  Essentially, the GOP apparatus there is trying to block efforts to open up early voting centers in three populous, minority-rich cities on the northern edge of the county -- Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago.  Instead, the Republicans want voters in those areas to travel south to Crown Point, where the sole early voting center is currently located.

On Friday, a federal judge scheduled an October 9 hearing to consider the GOP's temporary restraining order (TRO) seeking to block early voting in the three northern locations.  He also got an agreement from the county board of elections to hold off on opening those voting centers until he had ruled on the TRO.

However, new developments today may lead the board to open early voting in the three cities in the next 24 hours.

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In an episode that filmed last week and aired yesterday morning, GOP Rep. Mark Kirk and Democratic challenger Dan Seals appeared separately on NBC 5's City Desk.  Host Carol Marin immediately asked Kirk why he refused to directly debate Seals on the program.  Kirk first tried to deflect the question, then stated, "Actually it would have been fine with me."  Watch it:

But while Kirk suggested it somehow wasn't his decision, the Seals campaign made clear yesterday that they were more than willing to debate the GOP incumbent on NBC 5's airwaves. 

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Democrat Debbie Halvorson appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday yesterday to discuss the 11th Congressional District race.  Not surprisingly, the discussion quickly turned to the two bailout bills considered by the House of Representatives last week and how she would have voted if a member of Congress.  Co-host Jack Conaty seemed to expect her to say she would have voted against the first bill and in favor of the second.  But in line with her comments at last week's debate, Halvorson instead responded that she would have opposed both bills, saying that neither version assisted "the average person who needs help renegotiating their mortgage." Halvorson went on to describe as "shameful" the fact that incumbent Rep. Jerry Weller was the only member of the House to miss last Monday's vote. Watch it:

After GOP Rep. Mark Kirk last week reported raising $850,000 during the third quarter, Democratic challenger Dan Seals announced some impressive numbers of his own this morning.  From a press release:

Today, Democratic Congressional Candidate Dan Seals' campaign reported that it had raised over $700,000 in the 3rd financial quarter, posting their strongest quarterly numbers yet. While Mark Kirk's fundraising stalled—he reported raising less than he had during the 2nd financial quarter—Seals' campaign fundraising continued to build momentum, raising approximately $70,000 more than he had in the previous 3 month period.

On the tails of the Research 2000 poll released yesterday showing a six-point race, the Seals campaign has to be feeling pretty good today.

In response to the news that Mayor Daley's layoffs would largely affect workers in two departments -- Police and Streets and Sanitation -- Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon hit back hard over the weekend. Speaking to the Sun-Times, he offered a litany of ideas for how Daley could make up the $425 million shortfall without laying off any city workers, including raiding the mayor's beloved Tax Increment Financing (TIF) accounts:

Gannon suggested that Daley could wipe out the entire $420 million shortfall without any layoffs. His recipe would call for: raising taxes and fees, possibly including the Laborers Union's proposal for a $10 monthly garbage-collection fee; raiding the $500 million Chicago Skyway fund; sweeping money out of scores of tax-increment-financing districts; reducing consulting fees, and having city employees perform services that have been privatized by the city.

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Obama Attempts To Preempt McCain Attacks
After aides to John McCain told reporters over the weekend that they planned to launch a round of attacks on Barack Obama's associations to Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko, the Democratic campaign rolled out a new TV ad that calls McCain "erratic in crisis."  The narrator goes on to say: "No wonder his campaign wants to change the subject, turn the page on the financial crisis, by launching dishonest, dishonorable attacks on Barack Obama."  The campaign has also launched a multimedia campaign intended to draw attention to McCain's role in the Keating Five Scandal.

Alaska State Employees To Testify About "Troopergate"
After unsuccessfully challenging subpoenas stemming from a legislative inquiry into whether Sarah Palin abused her power as governor in firing the public safety commissioner, seven employees of the State of Alaska agreed to testify on the matter.

Illinois Struggling To Pay Backlog Of Bills
Comptroller Dan Hynes reported $1.8 billion worth of unpaid bills during the first three months of the budget year, saying he doesn't have the funds to pay them.  Hynes added that he expects the backlog and delays to worsen before the year ends, due to the faltering economy.

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On Friday's edition of WTTW's Chicago Tonight, the "Week In Review" panel discussed Illinois' tightest congressional races, specifically the contests in the 10th and 11th districts.  While discussing the former, NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern described GOP Rep. Mark Kirk as "doing very well so far in the polls" vis-a-vis Democratic challenger Dan Seals.  This left me scratching my head a bit because, over the past two months, we've seen only two polls out of the 10th, both of them internals.  A poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee found Seals trailing Kirk by only seven in mid-August.  Meanwhile, a poll paid for by the Kirk campaign in mid-September found the incumbent with a 22-point lead.

Well, now there's a new poll on the scene, commissioned by the liberal website Daily Kos and conducted by the nonpartisan Research 2000 between September 30 and October 1.  It shows Kirk leading Seals by only six points, 44-38 percent. 

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It appears that Lake County, IN may be the latest arena in the GOP's effort to suppress the vote in swing states

First some basics.  Under Indiana election law, early voting can only take place in a county clerk's main office.  This clearly could be problematic in areas where the county seat is far in distance from the most heavily populated parts of the county.  Therefore, the law gives each board of elections the authority to approve early voting centers elsewhere in their county.

Lake County's geography provides the perfect argument for these "satellite" polling places.  The county seat, Crown Point, is the 7th most populous city in the county (pop. 24,000) and centrally located.  Meanwhile, three of the four biggest municipalities -- Gary (pop. 96,000), Hammond (pop. 77,000), and East Chicago (pop. 30,000) are all located at the northern edge of the county, along Lake Michigan.  Together, these towns hold more than 40 percent of the county's residents. (To the right is a population density map of Northwest Indiana.  Lake County is visible in the upper left corner and you can see that the most populous areas are crammed at the top.) Moreover, Gary and Hammond are the fifth and sixth largest cities in the state.

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