Progress Illinois

Over at the Progressive Fox, John Laesch shares some second-hand info about a poll reportedly conducted in the 14th Congressional District this week:

The interesting part of the poll was the question about Dennis Hastert.

“If the election were held today, would you vote for Dennis Hastert or Bill Foster.”

The next question was similar.

“If the election were held today, would you vote for Ethan Hastert or Bill Foster.”

Ethan Hastert, you say?  That would be the former House speaker's 30 year-old son, currently an attorney at Mayer Brown.  There's not much information out there about Ethan, other than these two tidbits: In 2001, at the age of 22, he was arrested for driving under the influence.  And from January 2001 until May 2002, he worked at the White House as an aide to Lewis "Scooter" Libby, then-Vice President Dick Cheney's infamous chief of staff.

Anyway, something to keep an eye on ...

UPDATE: More from Capitol Fax: "A GOP friend tells me that Ethan is calling around to the district’s county chairmen."

UPDATE II (4/18): Hastert confirms it to the Daily Herald:

Hastert said he is not running the poll and declined to say who is. However, the Elburn resident did confirm that he is interested.

"I'm talking to people, to local leaders and others whose counsel I respect," Hastert said.

That includes receiving a blessing from his father. [...]

"He is supportive," Hastert said. "He's quite right to point out that it's a rough and tumble game. But I grew up with it, and I know that."

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with the Illinois congressional delegation yesterday to talk about the state's stimulus take. As we noted in the Early Bird, the big news is that contractor bids are coming in lower than projected, meaning the state's federal money will go a little farther than officials had anticipated. But the Sun-Times Lynn Sweet also reported this interesting nugget from Rep. Bill Foster about the controversial Prairie Parkway road project in the Collar Counties:

The controversial "Prairie Parkway" is off the table for now, a victory for west suburban anti-sprawl forces. [...]

Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), who replaced [former House Speaker J. Dennis] Hastert, said Wednesday there is "a near consensus in the area," that "the first priority for money being spent on roads is probably not in that (Prairie Parkway) corridor but rather beefing up the existing north south corridors and so on."

Here's a refresher for those who don't remember the specifics.

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A new USA TODAY/Gallup poll shows that only 17 percent of Americans think Congress should reject a stimulus bill altogether. Listen to the Illinois GOP and one might think only 17 percent want it passed.

This time, the stimulus-bashing comes from former Speaker Dennis Hastert. When asked about the partisan split over the House vote by the Daily Herald, the Plano Republican delivers this incoherent refutation of the bill’s purpose:

When you really analyze it, if you want to stimulate economic growth, you have to have people investing, creating capital and creating jobs. Basically, a big part of that (stimulus package) went for extending unemployment. It’s a nice thing to do, but when you extend unemployment, you take the incentive away from people to go out and get a job. So it almost has a counter negative effect.

Hastert totally misinterprets the stimulative effect of extending unemployment benefits.

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Like other Illinois conservatives, former Speaker Dennis Hastert is thrilled with John McCain's vice presidential pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Why so pleased? Live from the Republican convention, he explained his reasoning on WLS' Don Wade & Roma Morning Show today, saying that she is "the only person that’s a real American family person that’s come out in this election." Listen here:

Internal mp3

What a patently absurd statement. After an auto accident claimed his daughter and wife, Joe Biden raised two young sons by himself, commuting between his home in Delaware and Washington D.C. by train every night to be with his family. Barack Obama's grandfather marched in Patton's Army and his grandmother worked on a bomber assembly line, later studying under the G.I. Bill. His mother raised the presidential nominee and his sister by herself, relying in part of food stamps so she could finish her bachelor's degree and put her kids through college on loans and scholarships. But Biden has been in the Senate too long to be a "real American family person."  Meanwhile, Obama doesn't share -- in Roma's words -- Palin's "recognizable American lifestyle."

Hastert's touting of Palin's American values also excuses her fringe belief, exhibited from the mid-1990s onward, that Alaska should secede from the union. Lincoln would be so proud.

Buried in this Daily Herald article about former Speaker Denny Hastert's quick turn into the world of lobbying is this gem of a paragraph.

Since Hastert's hiring, some of his former conservative supporters expressed dismay at his joining a firm whose Web site touts a diversified workplace in which "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals enjoy an atmosphere of inclusion and respect," enrich the firm and enhance its service.

For conservatives, it's of no concern that the man who was second in line to the presidency is already advising one of the nation's most influential energy and tobacco lobbying firms -- just a year after stepping down from his post in Washington. It's of no concern that, prior to his departure from Congress, Hastert himself spearheaded efforts to tighten the rules governing lobbyists' access to lawmakers.

Nope, what matters is that the firm he chose to work for treats gay people with respect. You can't make this stuff up.

Remember how -- following his loss in the 14th District special election in March -- their were murmurs from the highest ranks of the Republican Party in Washington that Jim Oberweis shouldn't again be on the ballot come November? House Minority Leader John Boehner was even reported to have called him "unlikable" and a "terrible candidate." And remember how those murmurs seemed to disappear as quickly as they'd surfaced?

Well, now we know why. From Real Clear Politics:

After the loss in the special election, some members of the Illinois Republican delegation tried to get Oberweis out of the race, according to aides familiar with the discussions. But, said one, [former House Speaker Dennis] Hastert stood by his candidate and "basically roadblocked the entire coup."

"Members of the delegation saw Oberweis as a losing cause and we needed to move him out of their quick," the aide said. Still, the lack of a viable replacement, Oberweis's willingness and ability to spend from his own pocket and Hastert's personal backing saved him for a rematch with Foster in November.

Former House Speaker Denny Hastert, perhaps a bit angry that he's being represented by a Democrat in Congress, is heading back to Washington to join the law firm Dickstein Shapiro next month, which primarily lobbies for energy and tobacco concerns. Roll Call reports that, while the firm denies the deal is set, an announcement is expected on Monday.

Hastert was a ringleader in the Republicans' 2006 effort to distance themselves from the scandals of convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, spearheading efforts to tighten the rules governing lobbyists' access to lawmakers. But that was after he got caught in the mess himself, taking $49,000 from American Indian tribes represented by Abramoff and later sending a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton urging her to act in their favor.

I wonder how John McCain feels about a powerhouse Republican with decent public standing jumping into the K Street fray?