He’s pro-choice, pro-gun control, not anti-gay at least, and doesn’t deny science.  If McKenna primaries him one on one, McKenna takes that race.  The only minor problem for McKenna is the Jack Roeser wing which hates him might put up another candidate that could make the race somewhat messy.

Kirk Says He’s Still Mulling Senate Race

July 10, 2009, 4:18 p.m.
By Shira Toeplitz
Roll Call Staff

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is still considering running for Senate, despite a report Friday afternoon that said he was taking himself out of the race in order to avoid a primary with state Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna.

Kirk told Roll Call over the phone Friday that he was still discussing the race with McKenna going into the weekend and that a published Washington Post report that he was dropping out of the race was incorrect.

Kirk and McKenna met with the Illinois delegation this week to gauge support for their campaigns. At the time, it was unclear who the delegation would back — in part because of Kirk’s vote for the controversial cap-and-trade bill that passed the House recently.

Kirk told Roll Call that he and McKenna would continue to discuss the race over the weekend.

Update, 4:17 p.m.: Although Kirk has already told several national Republicans today that he will not run for the Senate, there is an ongoing effort now to convince him to re-think that decision, according to several sources close to the discussions. Pressure is now being brought to bear on Andy McKenna, who, according to knowledgeable sources, had told Republicans insiders that he would not run if Kirk got into the race. Once Kirk signaled he was indeed running, however, McKenna reconsidered and made clear he would in fact stay in.
The plot thickens…

Original Post

Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk (R) will not run for the open seat of Sen. Roland Burris (D) in 2010, a stunning reversal from just 48 hours ago when Kirk signaled to National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) that he would make the race.

Kirk’s decision, a blow to Senate Republicans’ chances in Illinois, came in the wake of Burris’ formal retirement this afternoon.

It also followed a meeting of the Illinois Republican congressional delegation on Thursday in which his colleaguesrefused to back Kirk in a primary against Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna due, in large part, to his vote in favor of President Barack Obama’s climate change bill.

Kirk’s move makes McKenna the almost certain Republican nominee against either state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias or Merchandise Mart CEO Chris Kennedy next fall.

Global warming denial is the only appropriate position in today’s GOP.  Hilarious.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For years, the traditional means of announcing a statewide political campaign in Illinois was the tried-and-true “fly-around” — an all-day (or multi-day) affair in which a candidate hops on a plane to do a series of press conferences and rallies in major cities around the state.

A fly-around has its place and we still may do one. Today, we effectively employed a different strategy.
Our firm was proud to spearhead the online component of the announcement of DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett’s campaign for Illinois Attorney General.

In fact — the online component was the centerpiece of the announcement.

We taped a brief, candidate announcement video (please see below) that we first sent to key Illinois blogs, followed by distribution via the Twittersphere.

We then emailed the video to our list of more than 25,000 voters in Illinois.

That was followed by the campaign press team pushing the story out to the traditional media — where the story spread quickly on news sites across the state.

We also simultaneously launched a new Facebook fan page for the campaign.
Bottom line: the online announcement allowed us to control the news, cost-effectively and directly reach voters across the state, create buzz, and drive news coverage.

A few years ago, the main tools of a campaign announcement were a plane, a car and a phone.

Today – we used YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Below is our announcement video. We prefer candid, casual videos — not even editing out small slips of the tongue — to ensure an authentic feel and to prevent the candidate from appearing stiff or stilted. We’re quite pleased with how it turned out:

The timing was still bizarre, but it appears otherwise Merc did a good job.

“Right now, obviously, the plan is the plan,” Birkett said. “I didn’t formally announce, but I was indicating I would not be a candidate for governor and was looking at the attorney general’s race, and that’s the way it stands right now.

“Lisa Madigan’s decision to retain that office is something I have to speak with my supporters about and assess the possibilities. But anybody can be beat.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Perhaps he should have told his staff he was ‘taking a look’ at AG>

The FBI brought in a forensics team, some of whom had worked sifting through the mass graves in the Balkans, and it will take months to sort it out, and match bone to bone.

With Alvarez and Dart there, I thought I might see another prominent politico with 19th Ward Democratic organization connections: Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.

A few years ago Hynes campaigned on cemetery rip-offs and made news splash after news splash about abuses in what he calls the “death care industry.” He vowed to fight them. His Web page is full of such vows.

Though Hynes’ office is responsible for the oversight of privately owned cemeteries like Burr Oak, he wasn’t at the news conference. His office said he has oversight but little legal authority to enforce cemetery upkeep.

Perhaps Hynes was busy making plans to get into the U.S. Senate race. Sen. Roland “Tombstone” Burris, who cozied up to disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich for the Senate appointment, has apparently decided to drop out of politics.

It’s too bad Dan Hynes wasn’t there.

First, being cynical is fine, but not at the expense of facts.  The fact is the Comptroller has very few powers over cemeteries.  It’s not even clear that he has any authority over Burr Wood.  He only has limited authority over those that sell pre-need products.  Even if Burr Oak does sell such products, he has very little power to enforce the law.  Why?  Because the industry wanted it like that.

Second, Hynes announced he was looking at the Governor’s race yesterday. It was in my e-mail box.  Perhaps the Tribune could have helped Kass get some basic information correct before he mailed in another crappy column.  Instead of shedding some light on the crappy regulation system, Kass goes for cheap cynicism.

Dan Hynes actually.  The unsexiest of statewide politicians took on a very unsexy subject when he became Comptroller in 1999.  Loleta Didrickson before him vastly improved financial oversight of pre-sold products in the industry and Hynes moved to gain greater regulatory authority over cemeteries.  It’s probably inadequate as the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal is quickly demonstrating, but it is also an improvement over a system where there was virtually no agency with authority over funeral and cemeteries.

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Hynes is promoting legislation this spring aimed at preventing such disasters. For the most part, he would strengthen state regulation of business standards at privately owned cemeteries. Hynes isn t the first comptroller to propose such reforms. Since the 1940s, that office has been responsible for financial oversight of some privately owned cemeteries. Authority was later expanded to include businesses that sell plots on a pre-need basis. Under state law, a portion of all regulated cemeteries revenues are put into a trust fund. The interest earned by that fund is supposed to help pay for maintenance.

But Hynes  plan also would expand the state s authority over maintenance standards. That would be a rare move, according to a report issued by the U.S. General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The report, released last year, found that while authority to regulate cemeteries varies from state to state, among the larger states only Florida requires an annual inspection of the cemeteries it oversees.

More specifically, Hynes would require an owner to provide  reasonable maintenance  of the property.  There s a gap in people s understanding of what they can expect when they buy a plot,  he says.  So we want it clearly stated in the law that if you buy a plot, the least you can expect is that the lawn will be mowed, trees and bushes trimmed, and that it is kept in decent shape.

The plan has received bipartisan support in the General Assembly, but it faces some hurdles. The Illinois Ceme-tery and Funeral Home Association is opposed to the package as drafted. The 200-member trade group argues that cookie-cutter standards are unrealistic.

There are many different types and styles [of cemeteries]. The memorial cemetery has flat markers and needs far fewer man-hours of maintenance,  says Charlene Garner, the group s executive director.  A monument or rural style cemetery will have hills, winding roads and upright monuments.

The group opposes another provision, as well, one that would give anyone who buys a grave plot or a headstone 30 days to void the contract.

But Hynes  plan is predicated on the need for expanded consumer protections. And he would address the corporate trend in the cemetery business by requiring more information about owners and managers. Under his reforms, cemetery owners and sales staff would have to post corporate information in their offices and in their contracts.

===

Yet even if Hynes succeeds in strengthening state authority, most Illinois cemeteries won t be covered by the regulations. According to Hynes office, only about 900 of the state s estimated 9,000 cemeteries fall under his authority. The rest are operated by municipalities and townships, military organizations or religious groups. There also may be thousands of abandoned burial sites.

The bill was killed by the Senate and then resurrected and passed by the end of May IIRC.  Part of the issue was the Senate Majority leader was a retired funeral director and obviously sympathetic to the industry.  Hynes also pushed through a bill in 2002 to regulate crematoriums as well.

The Comptroller’s office still does not have the power to enforce most rules and action has to be taken usually in conjunction with a local municipality to get any action at all.

In the same article, the authors point to one cemetery where the income was sufficient to support the upkeep, but was not spent.  In this case, apparently local employees were scamming families and the parent corporation.  Yet no one had much authority until the Sheriff was able to determine a crime occurred.  Could Hynes have stopped it if he had the full authority he had sought?  It’s pretty hard to say given the fraud involved here, but at least if they had discovered early problems, they could have interceded.

On the Democratic side, Burris, who was appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the Senate, no longer has to worry about Madigan. But looming as a strong challenger is first-term Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Other Democrats weighing a Senate bid include Cheryle Jackson, head of the Chicago Urban League and a former Blagojevich spokeswoman; and Chris Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, who manages the Merchandise Mart.
Burris campaign aide Delmarie Cobb said Madigan’s decision, along with money are part of “a long line of factors” determining if Burris would seek election.

“As you know, there have been many marquee names thrown out for this seat and so far they have all fizzled,” Cobb said. “With [Burris] as the incumbent, it seems the Democratic Party would do well to rally around the person who has the seat and keep the seat rather than mine for a candidate.”

SCHILLERSTROM BACKS BIRKETT FOR AG
Bob: Joe Birkett brings integrity and passion to job

Reacting to the news that Lisa Madigan will seek re-election as Illinois
Attorney General, Gubernatorial candidate Bob Schillerstrom stated his support
for his fellow DuPage County elected official Joe Birkett for AG by issuing the
following statement:

“As one who has worked with Joe Birkett for years, I can say from experience
that there is no one better qualified to take back the Attorney General
office. Joe brings a talent, passion and integrity that is unsurpassed to this
race- and I proudly support his campaign.

Regardless of where they live or what party they identify with, Illinois voters
know the importance of changing Springfield in 2010. Joe Birkett, as our next
Attorney General, is a key ingredient for that change, and I look forward to
standing by his side through November.”

Was there any question?

I wonder what DuPage County State’s Attorney and recently announced GOP Attorney General candidate Joe Birkett thinks of Sen. Dillard’s endorsement of Lisa Madigan’s re-election.

Sen. Dillard is also incorrect on substance when it comes to AG Madigan. When AG Madigan ran in 2002 she vilified former AG Jim Ryan for not doing enough to root out public corruption under Gov. George Ryan. The same standard she applied to Jim Ryan should now be applied to her. So I will ask a question Sen. Dillard clearly did not and would not ask: Which corrupt public officials has Lisa Madigan brought to justice over the last six years while Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taking pay-to-play politics in Illinois to new lows?

It is a sorry state of affairs when someone seeking to be the Republican Party’s standard bearer for Governor is disinterested in holding Lisa Madigan and the rest of the Chicago Democrats accountable for what has occurred on their watch. This is the kind of go-along-to-get-along politics that has debilitated the Republican Party in Illinois.

And, as nice a guy as he is, Sen. Dillard goes down this road over and over again—on taxes, on spending, on debt, and on the future of the Republican Party in Illinois.

Let me differentiate myself again from Sen. Dillard: I will be endorsing and supporting the Republican nominee for Attorney General come the general election.

I could have written this months ago.

I want to welcome Sen. Dillard to the race, though I admit to being a bit surprised he decided to run as a Republican.

I want to make it clear from the outset, as a point of differentiation, that I will refuse any offer made by President Barack Obama to appear in Dan Proft for Governor television commercials.

At his announcement this morning, Sen. Dillard will likely tout his 15 years of experience in the Illinois General Assembly and his track record of bi-partisanship.

So let’s review both:

Dillard’s bipartisanship – Endorsement of Barack Obama. Sen. Dillard appeared in a campaign commercial for then-Sen. Obama during the Presidential primary campaign in which Dillard said,

“Senator Obama worked on some of the deepest issues we had and he was successful in a bi-partisan way…Republican legislators respected Sen. Obama. His negotiation skills and his ability to understand both sides would serve the country well.”

http://www.chicagogop.com/MyBlog/Kirk-Dillard-Desperate-To-Rebuild-Reputation.html

Sen. Dillard calls this “statesmanship”, not an endorsement. I disagree. I would ask Sen. Dillard how well he thinks

President Obama’s skills are in fact serving the country after all?

Dillard’s 15 years in the General Assembly – Taxes, Spending, Debt.

Blago’s $10 billion bond scheme. Sen. Dillard was one of only four GOP State Senators to cross party lines in order to vote for Rod Blagojevich’s $10 billion bond scheme in 2003. This deal doubled the state’s bonded indebtedness in one fell swoop. This insider deal is also famously remembered for the $800,000 fee given to disgraced former GOP National Committeeman Bob Kjellander as part of that deal.

By contrast, I opposed the bond deal in writing and I called for Kjellander’s resignation after the details of this deal came to light six years ago, and was one of the first Republicans in Illinois to do so.

Sales tax increase to bail out the RTA. Last year, Sen. Dillard was one of only three GOP State Senators to vote to increase the sales tax in Cook and the collar counties to bail out the mismanaged Regional Transit Authority, an entity that is already subsidized by the state for half of its operating budget each year.

By contrast, I am the only candidate for Governor who publicly called out Sen. Dillard and the other two GOP State Senators at the time for voting for this tax increase/bailout: http://www.urqmedia.com/proft/contentview.asp?c=206156

State Spending. During Sen. Dillard’s 15 years in Springfield, general fund spending in the state has increased at nearly four times the rate of population growth in Illinois (adjusted for inflation). The profligate spending in state government is the primary reason we have “budget crises” like the one we have currently for FY 2010.

By contrast, I am the only candidate for Governor who has proposed statutory spending caps for state government because I understand that fundamentally we have a spending problem not a revenue problem.

It is important to recall that for half of Sen. Dillard’s tenure, the GOP was in the majority in the State Senate so there were plenty of opportunities to propose system change ideas.

Sen. Dillard is an affable gentleman. In fact, I like him.

But the question for conservatives is this: Are we going to nominate someone who thinks our state’s problems can be solved through closer cooperation with political insiders intent on preserving a fixed system? Or are we going to nominate a candidate who will take the fight to the Chicago Democrats on behalf of people who play by the rules in Illinois?

For Republicans who think our state’s problems can be solved by tinkering on the margins and through closer cooperation with the current power structure, Sen. Dillard is your candidate.

For Republicans who think it is time we un-fix Illinois and who believe we need to re-establish our party as one with big policy ideas that flow from clearly defined first principles and substantively address the pressing issues of the day, I am your candidate.

Best press release cycle ever. Already.

Via Sleepyhead

Kirk news

Quite a display of political bravery there.

I doubt McKenna gets in if Kirk is, but I do expect a well funded conservative challenger as I mentioned in April.

This may also mean Coulson takes a stab at 10 which would open up her seat in the State House if she does.