IL-5

"Change" ... Worth Fighting For!

Joshua Hoyt — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:45:17 -0700

Next Tuesday is the anniversary of the historic election of President Barack Obama and a memorable evening that many of us spent in Grant Park after the polls closed. Just how hard we are going to have to work to win that “Change” we fought for is now clear, and it is time to recommit to each other and to redouble our efforts.

I happened to be standing next to Rahm Emanuel as Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech in Grant Park that night. I have known Rahm many years and we have never been particularly close. But I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “Do us proud.” He joked back, “Nah…. I think we will just go f*** it up!” More seriously I said, “We desperately need legalization for the 12 million undocumented.” Rahm replied, “It all depends on the votes.”

Now it is a year later and we are engaged in a bitter power struggle to win meaningful health care reform. In many ways the undocumented ended up being made the bogeymen of this debate (along with ACORN) by the Republicans, and got thrown under the bus by many Democrats. Meanwhile deportations have increased under the Obama administration, and it is unclear whether the political will to move forward on immigration reform will exist after the exhausting health care battle subsides.

How should we deal at this point with disappointments from this White House? And how do we continue to press towards the “Change” we've been fighting for?

On November 3 in Grant Park, on the first anniversary of the election, we are joining with a broad cross-section of progressive leaders and many longtime supporters of President Obama to rally for the “Change” our nation still urgently needs.

We will be joining together in support of the fight for health care reform with a meaningful public option. We will also be signing a letter to President Obama urging “courage” in moving forward on the range of challenging policy initiatives our nation urgently needs – from immigration and financial regulation reform, to workers' right to organize, to the full inclusion of the LGBT community, to addressing our rapidly warming planet. And we will be pledging to support of each others' efforts over time.

Too often, we work in silos, not seeing the humanity of others or the justice of their causes. But building an America that is fair and inclusive demands that we band together. The political reality is that Rahm will never get the votes that he needs, and will not have the will to cast them, if we are divided.

So please join us at the rally.

Joshua Hoyt is the Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Here are his previous Progress Illinois columns:

"How The Democrats And The DCCC Finally Got Immigration Right," March 16, 2008

"For The Love Of A Demographer," May 13, 2008

"Obama Is 'Chicago Tough' Enough To Tackle Immigration Reform," April 17, 2009

Quigley Sworn Into Congress

Josh Kalven — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:52:42 -0700

About an hour ago, Mike Quigley was sworn-in as the newest representative of Illinois' 5th Congressional District. Watch it:

An excerpt from the remarks Quigley delivered to the House chamber following the swearing-in ceremony:

You all know trust is a hard thing to come by these days in this business. And the people of my district gave me their trust. I can't tell you what that means to me. It's a humbling experience to take a job when people are losing theirs and to become a member of this House when people are losing theirs. It's mean the world to me that the public gave me their trust. It is for them -- for every American confronting these challenges -- that I draw my strength. And I look forward to working with each and every one of you to make those things happen.

Representative Quigley (D-IL)

Progress Illinois — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:29:43 -0700

Some clips from last night's coverage of Mike Quigley's victory in the 5th Congressional District special elecion:

More from the Tribune, AP, and Chicago Public Radio.

Mike Quigley Seals The Deal

Progress Illinois — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:03:35 -0700

Congratulations to congressman-elect Mike Quigley! With 92 percent of precincts reporting, he's garnered 70 percent of the vote. We'll try to get some video of his victory speech a bit later.

UPDATE: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Chris Van Hollen responds: "I look forward to welcoming Congressman-elect Quigley to the House and working with him to take our economy and our country in a new direction.”

Rahm Forgets To Vote In IL-5 (Don't Make The Same Mistake!)

Josh Kalven — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:48:34 -0700

In Iraq today, Air Force officer and "lover of all things Chicago" Nate Van Loon asked White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel if he'd remembered to vote absentee in the 5th Congressional District special election today. Van Loon broadcasted the answer on Twitter:

I jokingly asked Rahm if he sent in his absentee ballot to vote for Quigley. He paused and said, "I f***ed up!"

If you live in IL-5, don't be like Rahm. The polls are open until 7 p.m. tonight and you can find your polling place here if you live in the city and here if you live in the suburbs.

(H/T Ben Smith)

Pulido: Global Warming Is A "Hoax"

Josh Kalven — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:17:36 -0700

During last night's WTTW debate betwen the three candidates in the IL-5 special election on Tuesday, GOP candidate Rosanna "Chicagolady" Pulido not surprisingly laid out a few of her extreme right-wing policy positions. For instance, she said she opposes a cap-and-trade policy because global warming is a "hoax" and a "charade being played upon the American people." On the topic of immigration, she proposed cutting off federal funding to Chicago and Cook County because they provide sanctuary for undocumented immigrants and are purportedly "causing chaos and anarchy." Watch it (full video here):

This is all par for the course for Pulido, but it's nonetheless interesting to see her spouting these theories in the local mainstream media. It would have been nice to see anchor Carol Marin ask Pulido about her inflammatory online writings, but unfortunately the format didn't seem to allow for it.

Meanwhile, in their brief report on the debate this morning, WBEZ chose to air this quote from Pulido:

I don't even have to push them. They're ready to see a fresh face and do something different. You know, when people tell me that they have voted Democrat all their lives, I just ask them, 'And how's that working for you?'

Really? She calls global warming a "hoax," says she would move to cut off federal funding for Chicago, and this is the comment that public radio listeners get to hear?

Actually Measuring Electoral Success

Thomas C. Bowen — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:08:18 -0700

From the 2005 World Series Trophy raised on Chicago's South Side rather than the North, to the rebirth of one of the NHL’s most storied franchises after years of failure, to the dominance of the Bulls in the 90’s, to the renowned formula of the ‘85 Bears, I've witnessed several different paths to building winning organizations.

Of these, some have been successful, some heartbreakingly familiar in their result, and some woefully misguided (Cade McNown, anyone?).

But any fan will tell you that process matters little to them – only that they can hoist a championship banner.

That being said, Vince Lombardi’s mantra -- “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” -- doesn’t apply to politics, policy, and people’s lives. Winning a campaign is an achievement in itself, but one that matters so much more if the candidate goes on to implement policies that fix real problems.

Progressives should strive to build organizations and back candidates that serve this purpose. But they need to do so intelligently.

In his recent In These Times column on Tom Geoghegan's candidacy, David Sirota wrote: "There is a value in backing long shots, even if those long shots lose." But his logic fails when applied to the 5th Congressional District primary, as he attempts to do. A more robust understanding of the nature of the race and the relative progressivism of the candidates offers more concrete lessons by which to make decisions about activism in future contests.

Though Geoghegan was heartily supported by some national progressive media outlets and bloggers, his candidacy never took hold with the progressive coalitions he would need to be victorious in the 5th.

The labor community? They were split among the two state representatives in the race. The environmental movement? Never showed up, with the exception of some very committed Sierra Club volunteers supporting Mike Quigley. Women’s groups? Backed Sara Feigenholtz. As for the established reformer and progressive organizations (IVI-IPO, Northside DFA, Citizen Action, etc), they were divided as well.

That national progressives ignored Quigley -- a politician who supported gay marriage in the 1990’s, wrote every piece of environmental legislation adopted in Cook County, openly defied his own party when prisoners were being abused in the local jails, and fought tooth-and-nail for accountability on both property taxes and tax increment financing -- baffled local volunteers who were fighting to elect a progressive to Congress. (Full disclosure: I managed Quigley's campaign.)

While Quigley had already assembled a coalition of progressives, Geoghegan was busy forming a different one, outside of the 5th District.

It's true that Geoghegan brought fresh policy approaches to the table. And it's always refreshing to see a candidate introduce new proposals into the debate. But a campaign is not just about ideas. As with policymaking, it’s about presenting constituents with clear choices, motivating supporters, building coalitions, surpassing countless hurdles, and finding a way to win.

When faced with a multi-candidate primary field like the one in the 5th District, progressives should ask the following questions before going with the "long shot": Does this candidate's agenda vary significantly with the rest of the field? Will he or she be able to push those other candidates towards more progressive positions? And if the campaign is ultimately unsuccessful, will there be lasting infrastructure left in its place?

Once Election Day passes and the time arrives to measure "electoral success," the questions are much the same.

In the case of Geoghegan, there is scant evidence that a sizeable coalition exists in the district in the wake of his candidacy or that it will spur others to pick up where he left off. Truthfully, only time will tell.

So did backing his "long shot" campaign make sense for progressives? I would argue no, as they already had a candidate in this race that was tested by elective office, in agreement with them on the overwhelming majority of their issues, and had an organization in place.

We Chicagoans pride ourselves on being tough, and we certainly have strong opinions on how to build winning teams.

But politics, governance and people’s lives are not a game. Flippant progressive decision-making shouldn’t be the norm when there is a better way to achieve the goals we all have.

Thomas C. Bowen lives in Chicago and has worked for Democrats and Democratic causes since 2004 after reporting for National Journal’s Hotline.

Pulido's "Muslim Friend" Withdraws Endorsement, Citing Her "Disturbing Mindset"

Josh Kalven — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:43:36 -0700

In her recent note on the right-wing website Free Republic, 5th Congressional District GOP candidate Rosanna "Chicagolady" Pulido apologized for her inflammatory comments in that forum over the years, acknowledging that her racist and homophobic statements (which she simply described as "stupid") had hurt even some of her own supporters.

To wit, Pulido described her conversation with a Muslim friend regarding the controversy:

A Muslim man who is my good friend called me. We talked about some other stupid comments I made and I had the opportunity to take responsibility for what I said. Actually this campaign is not as important to me as doing the right thing when I screw up and hurt people and my friends.

To refresh your memory, among Pulido's various heinous postings was a March 10 comment asserting that praying Muslims reminded her of dogs "smelling buts [sic]."

Since her "apology" on Free Republic a week ago, the Muslim friend in question -- York Township Trustee Moon Kahn (pictured above) -- wrote Pulido to withdraw his endorsement of her candidacy, citing her "disturbing mindset." We have a copy of the full letter, which you can read below:

Dear Ms. Rosanna Pulido,

In the tradition of Islamic forgiveness, while I still believe in pardoning you for pronouncing some hateful remarks against Muslims, assuming it might have happened in a moment of rage and ignorance, the continuous revelations of plethora of your provocative statements, which were completely unknown to me until a few days ago, delineate a disturbing mindset.

Several community organizations that include Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Council of American-Islamic Relations, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, Jewish Council of Urban Affairs, Priests for Justice for Immigrants, and other civic organizations and friends of mine, whose judgments I highly respect, have been referring to clippings of your quotes, published on blogs under the pseudonym of Chicagolady, demonstrate that while advocating your viewpoints you frequently transgressed the boundary of robust discussion and veered off to demonize and dehumanize the groups you wanted to oppose.

Considering this transgression, which is antithetical to one of the core values and attributes of a leader, I experience deep anguish in continuing my endorsement, which I extended to you earlier without the knowledge of the newly revealed testimonials of yours.

As such, I withdraw my endorsement for you for the Illinois’ 5th Congressional District seat and request you to remove the endorsement text and my picture off your website.

Take care,
Moon Khan
York Township Trustee
Asian American Liaison of DuPage County Republican Party

Khan's endorsement has since been removed from Pulido's website (though you can still view it in the Google cache).

Sun-Times On Pulido: "Well Outside The Mainstream"

Progress Illinois — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:28:47 -0700

In their editorial endorsing Mike Quigley in the 5th Congressional District special election today, the Sun-Times takes a moment to point out that they're no fan of GOP candidate Rosanna "Chicagolady" Pulido:

A brief word about Pulido. She is the founder of the Illinois Minuteman Project, a far right group that battles illegal immigration. The national Republican Party is offering Pulido no help, which speaks volumes about her candidacy. She is well outside the mainstream.

It's not clear that the national GOP would have supported Pulido anyway. After all, IL-5 is a lost cause for a Republican candidate, no matter how "mainstream." What's notable is the withdrawal of support by local conservative bloggers after Pulido's heinous online comments surfaced last week.

On a related note, a coalition of civil rights groups held a press conference yesterday to denounce Pulido's hate speech. From a press release:

“Mrs. Pulido’s statements under the blog moniker “Chicagolady” contain vicious remarks targeting groups such as Catholics, Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, and gays,” said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago. “Diversity must not be attacked, and such discourse is particularly disturbing from those seeking to lead our country.”

Quigley's Seat To Be Filled On April 11

Josh Kalven — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:05:45 -0700

After endorsing Mike Quigley in the 5th Congressional District special election today (no surprise there), the Chicago Tribune editorial board goes on to note that Quigley's successor on the county board will be chosen at an April 11 public meeting of the Democratic committeemen whose wards overlap with his county district. They asked Quigley to list the qualifications he would prefer for his replacement. Here's what he gave them:

- Experience with county issues -- particularly the need to radically reinvent county government -- would let the newcomer be effective from Day One.

- This board seat needs to deliver a reliably unwavering vote for reform—not a "most of the time" vote for reform.

- Independence from political bosses and other forces of clout. Example: "If you're doing the job the right way," Quigley says, "organized groups won't always like you."

Now here's the subtext:

Both Sara Feigenholtz and Quigley chief-of-staff Kimberly Walz are known to be interested in the position, as Greg Hinz noted a couple of weeks ago:

[S]tate Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, who finished third in the Democratic primary won by Mr. Quigley, has emerged as the clear front runner to get his current job as a county commissioner.

The choice will be be made by Democratic ward chiefs in Quigley's district, and while Mr. Quigley is pushing his chief of staff, Kim Walz, for the job, the inside money is on Ms. Feigenholtz.

Walz is impressive and the Tribune more or less endorsed her for the position in a March 5 editorial:

One excellent way to continue the reform agenda at the County Board is to replace Quigley with his chief of staff, Kimberly Walz. She's a whip-smart policy wonk who has helped Quigley shape proposals to reinvent county government -- and she's uniformly respected by the County Building's scarce supply of true reformers.

While the Tribune doesn't single Walz out in their piece today, it seems pretty obvious that the editorial board -- using Quigley's carefully tailored criteria -- is attempting to frame Feigenholtz as unqualified for the post: Unlike Walz, she hasn't been focusing on the county for years. Instead, she's been forming alliances with some "regular" Democrats in Springfield.

But it should be noted that, while Feigenholtz may not qualify as a "reformer" in the Tribune's eyes, she brings other assets to the table. Specifically, her passion for health care policy, which represents a huge part of the county board's responsibility.

It will be interesting to see who else shows up to express interest in the post at the meeting on April 11:

[Ald. Tom] Tunney knows of at least 10 people expressing interest in the post. They'll have the opportunity to address the committeemen -- after which the committeemen will meet behind closed doors to haggle out a decision. Then they'll vote in public.

Check out this previous post to see which committeemen will have the most sway over the final decision.