State Senate 7th District 10.6% JIM MADIGAN 89.4% HEATHER A. STEANS Heather Steans is Endorsed By the Membership
9th Sub-Circuit - Otaka 4.3% DENNIS MICHAEL FLEMING 0.0% GEARY W. KULL 10.9% YEHUDA LEBOVITS 84.8% ABBEY FISHMAN ROMANEK Abbey Romanek is endorsed By the Membership
9th Sub-Circuit - Vacancy A 0.0% SCOTT BAGNALL 8.2% MICHAEL IAN BENDER 73.5% STEVEN JAMES BERNSTEIN 4.1% JEFFREY GREENSPAN 6.1% WILLIAM JOSEPH LUBY 8.2% MARY S. TREW Steve Bernstein is Endorsed By the Membership
State Rep – 18th District 28.6% PATRICK KEENAN DEVLIN 12.2% ROBYN GABEL 12.2% EAMON KELLY 0.0% EDMUND B. MORAN, JR. 46.9% JEFFREY PAUL SMITH
Sent to the Board of Directors for Review
A meeting of the current Board of Directors will be scheduled shortly where the races that have been seen to the Board will be reviewed. It is possible for the Board to do one of two things: vote to endorse one candidate or take no action and let the results stand as they are which would result in no vacancy being made.
The Endorsement Session of the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward has been divided into two sessions. Both sessions will take place at the Pottawatomie Park Field House located at 7340 N. Rogers. The schedule for Saturday, December 12th and Monday, December 14th is as follows:
Saturday, December 12th, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Note: Times subject to change 9:00-10:30 U.S. Senate 10:30-10:50 State Treasurer 10:50-11:10 State Comptroller 11:10-12:00 Lieutenant Governor
12 Noon Lunch
12:25-12:55 County Commissioner (10th and 13th Districts) 12:55-1:35 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner 1:35-1:55 County Sheriff 1:55-2:15 County Assessor 2:15-3:00 Governor 3:00-4:00 County Board President
4:00-4:30 Group discussion 4:30 Voting ends and results tabulated
Watch this website! Results will be posted.
Monday, December 14th, 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
6:30-7:00 State Senate (7th District) 7:00-7:50 Circuit Court Judge (9th Judicial Subcircuit) 7:50-8:40 State Representative (18th District) 8:40-9:00 Group discussion 9:00 Voting ends and results tabulated
Our efforts to collect petitions for Democratic candidates is reaching the final stages and we have the office open between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. for the next three Saturdays, (10/03, 10/10, 10/17). Petitions can be picked up during the week as well. Please give us a call and we will make that possible. Folks going out Saturday morning should plan to arrive at 10:00. If you need more petitions or other things such as clipboards or pens you can come in a get them.
Final turn-in is going to be at our meeting on Monday, October 19, 2009 at our regular monthly meeting.
If you have questions or need additional information please contact us at [email protected] or at (773) 973-4949.
On September 10 and 11, 2009 the Cook County Central Committee met to perform the task of slate-making. As one of 80 Committeeman from the townships and wards of Cook County I am elected to represent the 49th Ward at these meetings. While elected, this is a voluntary party office with no salary.
The process in which candidate nominations proceed towards endorsement are through a committee process. Four committees exist currently, Supreme & Appellate Court Judges, Circuit Court Judges, County-wide/MWRD, and new this year, State-wide. Members are appointed to the committees by the County Party Chairman most often based on individual Committeeman's requests.
Each committee hears from any and all candidates wishing to present for the offices their committee is responsible for and they vote to make recommendations to the Central Committee, which is a committee of all 80 committeeman, as to who to support. I currently serve on the Supreme/Appellate Court, County-wide/MWRD and State-wide committees.
Recommendations from each of the committees are presented by the committee chairs and at this point the Central Committee accepts motions and proceeds to vote. Motions can be made in nearly any way you can imagine, and there is no standard way of doing it. Voting occurs in different ways as well. By voice vote, by standing vote, by raising hands or by roll call voting. The complicating factor in voting is that votes are cast by weighted vote based on Democratic Party primary votes cast in the most recent general primary election (even year primary election). The number each Ward/Township casts can therefore vary from about 1,700 to 41,000 based on turnout as indicated above. Townships tend to have greater variation in weighted vote because 1. they are geographically determined unlike city wards which are population determined and 2. because some of the townships have significant Republican populations which leaves fewer people voting in the Democratic primary.
An important note to remember is that for all of the time I have served as the Democratic Committeeman of the 49th Ward the Central Committee meeting is secondary to our own endorsement session at the ward level. It is the results of that ward level endorsement session vote that determine who will appear on our sample ballot and be endorsed by our organization. That is one of the first things I changed once becoming Committeeman. I believed that an inclusive grass-roots driven organization voting at the local level is the best way to endorse candidates for any office with the exception of Judge. The exception for judge is simply because people generally don't have the knowledge nor the interest to determine who would be a qualified judge. This process we use in the 49th Ward is not the norm in Cook County though. I would guess that no more than about 10% of the ward/township organizations have binding endorsement sessions at the local level. We are unusual and fortunate in this respect.
The following is a summary of the outcome of the two day slate-making process for the Cook County Democratic Party and I have included where I am currently standing in terms of supporting various candidates.
Fagus Supports:
Office:
Cook County Democratic Party
David Hoffman
U.S. Senate
Alexi Giannoulious
Pat Quinn
Governor
Pat Quinn
Undecided
Lt. Governor
Open Primary
Lisa Madigan
Attorney General
Lisa Madigan
Jesse White
Secretary of State
Jesse White
Raja
Krishmoorithi
Comptroller
David Miller
Robyn Kelly
Treasurer
Robyn Kelly
Danny Davis
County Board
President
Open Primary
Tom Dart
Sheriff*
Tom Dart
David Orr
County Clerk*
David Orr
Maria Pappas
County Treasurer*
Maria Pappas
No Endorsement
County Assessor*
Joeseph Berrios
Todd Conner
MWRD
Mike Alverez
Mariyana
Spyropoulos
MWRD
Mariyana Spyropoulos
Undecided
MWRD
Barbara McGowen
James Epstein
Appelate Court
James Epstein
Pamela
Hill-Veal
Appelate Court
Pamela Hill-Veal
Sebastian
Patti
Appelate Court
Sebastian Patti
Undecided
Circuit Court
Linda Pauel
Undecided
Circuit Court
Sandra Ramos
Undecided
Circuit Court
William Hooks
Undecided
Circuit Court
Ray Mitchell
Undecided
Circuit Court
Tom Lyons
Undecided
Circuit Court
John Patrick Callahan
Undecided
Circuit Court
Diann Marsalek
Notes:
* These four candidates were presented in a single motion with a voice vote. Only Choices: All yes or all no. Voted Yes. - Committee Motion for U.S. Senate was to support Alexi Giannoulious. Motion passed. No other opportunity for other candidates. - Seven candidates running for Lt. Gov. Unable to determine who is best and who is viable at this point in the race. - Committee Motion for State Comptroller was to support David Miller. Motion passed. In a roll call vote, voted for Krishmoorithi. - Committee Motion was to defer to Central Committee without recommendation. I voted for Danny Davis. No candidate was close to receiving the 50% + 1 vote required. - Circuit Court Judges were presented immediately prior to Central Committee meeting. Timing allowed no time to personally assess qualifications of these candidates. I will be looking, with a group of 49th Ward Democratic Party members, at the Bar Alliance and the CBA rating and we will at that time determine who is best qualified to sit on the bench. App. Court candidates will also be double checked. The 49th ward does not support unqualified judges.
In respect to the 49th Ward endorsement session, the exact date has not been set, but the first or second Saturdays in December are about the right time to expect the event to be held.
Prior to that you can earn your right to participate, meaning vote in the endorsement session, by doing petitions for your favorite candidate(s) or other political work for the 49th Ward during the period beginning now through the end of November. We have traditionally expected 10 hours of volunteer time in the immediate 12 months preceding the endorsement session to become a member which then qualifies you to vote. Please come get involved.
You can either send an email to [email protected] or complete the volunteer form.
Last nights event on Health Insurance Reform was a huge success. The general consensus is that 250 people attended which is a very good turnout. It is my hope that the meeting will inspire all those who attended to become advocates for reform. There are many out there working against reform and they are going down to nearly any level they have to so that the reforms are either killed or minimized. If you attended the meeting last night you should spread the word and get people who are passively watching to become more actively involved.
The Board of the Democratic Party also deserves great thanks for the hard work and planning that went into making the event a success.
Finally, the persons who deserve the most thanks are those 250 folks who can to the meeting. While we did our best to make things comfortable, there can be no question that it was hot in the room. Thank you for sticking with it, especially those who stayed until the end.
We are looking at doing another meeting of this sort on a different topic in the future. If you didn't have an opportunity to sign up for the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward emails please do so now at this link.
Dr. Anne Scheetz, Physicians for a National Health Program, a single payer advocate
Mr. William McNary, CoDirector of Citizen Action/Illinois, a public option advocate
Ms. Leslie Combs, Office of Cong. Jan Schakowsky, updating us on legislative activity in Washington, D.C.
Congressman Danny K. Davis Member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation -D-07
Monday, August 10, 2009
6:30 pm
Loyola Park Field House
Skyroom, 2nd Flr. Handicapped Accessible
1230 W. Greenleaf (Greenleaf & Sheridan Rd.)
Chicago, IL 60626
Health care reform is in trouble. Congress is heading toward the summer recess without a bill from either house. The nation is in desperate need of reform and the big insurance and other big health care industries are working to kill our vision for a better and more just health care system. This fight isn't for the uninsured or the poor; it is a fight for every working American. Over the next 30 years, if left on the current course, health care costs will double. That means that more people will be uninsured, not less. It means that all of the money available to provide raises will be spent on your health insurance. It means that your share of the cost will continue to increase and that your co-pays will continue to be more and more expensive. This is a fight for every American and it is essential that it be won by the people and not big insurance companies who administer plans at a cost 10 times higher than Medicare administers its plan.
For additional information please email or call (773) 973-4949
This event is one step in making an impact on the most important issue of this session. Health care touches all of us regardless of any other factor and being certain that this nation has a system for providing care that insures that all of its citizens can receive care at reasonable and affordable prices is essential. Don't think this is a done deal or that somehow it isn't your fight. It is, without question and the process is slowing down and is in real danger of coming up very short of where we want to be in the end. The people with money on the table from the other side, big insurance companies, are stepping up advertising and moving forward with commercials that are trying to kill the most important portions on our agenda. Coming to this rally, calling you Congressman or Senator, calling the White House all are important. The fight has changed and the battle is for our elected officials to stand firm and stop compromising away the benefits of the plan to win over conservative votes. Hold Obama, Burris, Durbin and your member of Congress to the fire and let them know you will not accept any more giveaways in our health insurance reform.
Greetings readers. Last night the Democratic Party of the 49th Ward Board of Directors and other invited guests meet to discuss the critically important health care situation that is happening in America today. Congress appears to be moving farther and father from our position of single payer or public options towards the type of reforms that will grab headlines and accomplish notjing in terms of reform.
We decided as a Board to take actionin our corner of the country and to mobilize people and produce pressure on those who are drifting freely away from us. In order to keep them on our side we need to work to put them in our camp, continually apply preasure that reminds them what the right position is and finally rewarding those who are supporters of reforming our failing health care system.
We have tentitively planned a forum in August that explains single payer, public option and are going to get an insiders perspective on where health care reform is, and where the Congress seems to be taking it. We will be working on other projects so that people who care about health care reform will have an opportunity to participate and join the collective voice calling for reform.
I will be keeping you informed as the plans progress.
This weekend we took a trip to Clinton, Iowa on behalf of the Obama campaign and about 60 people went from Rogers Park and Edgewater. In fact, so many people went that the bus was filled to capacity and people had to go in cars. And this was done on a day when it rained from the moment we met until the moment we parted. About another 15 people canceled because of the weather.
Because of the overwhelming response, the Obama campaign is expanding the schedule of trips to Iowa. Rather than every other Saturday, they are seriously thinking of ever Saturday and Sunday until Election Day.
We need you to make your commitments now if at all possible. Please send us an email as soon as you are able to lock in your dates. We need to make this effort if we want to see Obama win. Now that the conventions are over things have tightened up like we expected and the efforts people like you and I make to elect Barack will make the difference. Just voting for him in Illinois is not going to be enough. Helping to win key swing states will put us over the top.
Again, lock in some dates and let us know when you are going. Thanks!
Today all of the team from the 9th Congressional District were the hosts and sponsors of a big Obama rally at the Broadway Armory. The event was well attended and that is a good thing. Although I don't often agree with him, Robert Novak (the madman hitting bikers in his Vette) wrote an article I think we need to take heed of.
He makes a point that while it is early and we all know that national polls don't win presidential elections Democrats should be concerned because after a very significant trip that went incredibly well the polls didn't change. His point is that it didn't make an impact on undecided voters and everyone thought that it would. He is not alone in this theory either. It is clear to everyone that the trip really made the base feel good and was great TV, but Novak believes that there is a very large population of white voters that remain undecided and this trip does not seem to have had any impact on them. These undecideds are the voters Obama needs to be reaching and the voters who will decide the winner.
He further suggests that since Obama has not been able to cross the 50% line in the polls that it is still a race McCain can win. As I said, I don't agree with Novak often, but this time he has a point I can agree with. I am concerned and I hope those of you so anxious to see a Democrat in the White House are not assuming that things are over. We have a lot of work to do!
That is why I am urging anyone who has an interest in this race to sign up and take a trip to Iowa on a weekend soon. Every other Saturday, which is when we will be going, really doesn't leave a lot of time left before Election Day. We were told today by the National Field Director for Obama that if Barack is to win, winning Iowa is essential. If you would like to sign up and go to Iowa please contact us at [email protected]. Spending a Saturday registering people to vote and encouraging them to make sure they support Obama on Election Day is time well spent changing the future of our country.
Iowa is a state often decided by only a handful of votes. With your
help we can not only take Illinois into the win column but we can bring
Iowa with us and insure that the next time Barack travels the world it
will be on Air Force 1.
The plan is to make the trip and arrive in the far eastern edge of Iowa by 11:00 am, be trained and work for 4 hours, be fed a home cooked meal by some might fine Iowa Democrats and set off for home by 3:30. It is the kind of work that vote by vote wins the state for Obama rather than letting it slip into the hands of McCain.
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