2012 - General Election

President of the United States:

Barack Obama & Joe Biden
Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan



I don't ever remember such a contentious election, cranked up by the deep pockets of conservative causes and new laws that allow unlimited spending. And having an African American as the target for their no-compromise fury has probably cranked it up even more -- just as it did in Chicago politics when Harold Washington became mayor.


This has become a referendum on the  role of American central government, driven by powerful economic players who don't want to be controlled by it and riding on the compelling ideology of Freedom, the one ideal that Americans share the most.

This is also the first election to which I have ever made a contribution, figuring that's an inescapable responsibility to even the playing field for candidates who represent public rather than private interests.

So now I get an email, or two, every day soliciting me for additional contributions, driving me to finally just mark all communications from the Obama campaign as spam

Yes, winning is important, and money is important to winning.

But winning isn't everything -- and it's a shame that the campaign does not realize its potential to be a source of information as well as sales pitches.

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But even if his campaign emails are annoying, Barack Obama has got to be the best President for whom I have ever voted.  He had lots of help from Dubya whose unpopularity gave him both the Presidency and both houses of Congress, so we could finally have something like  national healthcare and begin to re-regulate the financial industry.  Unlike Clinton, he hasn't done a pratfall  with personal misbehavior. He's a smart, serious, and  competent guy.  And I don't think it's coincidental that Bin Laden was finally hunted down and killed during his tenure as commander in chief.

By the way, I do support both Dubya's invasion of Afghanistan and Obama's war on the Taliban, as an appropriate response to that regime's  support of international terrorism.  Even if it appears that they will return to power the moment our troops leave the country. 




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Representative, 7th District
2 Year Term, Vote For 1


Danny K. Davis
Rita Zak
John H. Monaghan




Rita Zak's website offers absolutely nothing besides a purely ideological "freedom" rant.
But at least that's more than John H. Monaghan offers. He's got no website and didn't even care to fill the Chicago Tribune's questionnaire. What a cipher!



Once again, Danny K.Davis has no serious opposition. He doesn't appear to offer an independent mind concerning anything, and if you look at his campaign website, it appears that he is not running. He's just sitting -- waiting for an automatic return to office. But after his endorsement of Rory Hoskins in our local state primary, I'm inclined to give him some respect. He's not completely asleep at the wheel.


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State Senator, 4th District
Vote For 1
Kimberly A. Lightford Democratic
State Representative, 7th District
2 Year Term, Vote For 1




And shamefully enough, Lightford and all the other non-judicial candidates on our ballot are running unopposed.



This is NOT democracy at work.

This is the consequence of a failed local Republican party.


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Emanuel "Chris" Welch Democratic
Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, MWRD




And nowhere is that failure more painful than in the unopposed candidacy of this self-serving charlatan who has been abusing our local school district for the past decade.

I'm going to write-in Rory Hoskins, his opponent who narrowly lost the primary, but who would have won if Republicans had voted in it.

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation 6 Year Term, Vote For 3

A good job for environmental activists - so mostly I'm picking the Green Party



Debra Shore Democratic 41 --- yes

Kari K. Steele Democratic 42

Patrick Daley Thompson Democratic 43

Harold "Noonie" Ward Republican 44

Carl Segvich Republican 45


Dave Ehrlich Green Party 46------------yes

 Karen Roothaan Green Party 47


Nasrin R. Khalili Green Party 48........yes

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State's Attorney, Cook County 4 Year Term, Vote For 1 Candidate Name Party Ballot #

 Anita Alvarez Democratic 51


Lori S. Yokoyama Republican 52........ yes

Much as it pains me to vote for a partisan Republican, it makes no sense to forever have a Democratic State's attorney in a such a solid Democratic county.

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Clerk of the Circuit Court, Cook County 4 Year Term, Vote For 1 Candidate Name Party Ballot #


 Dorothy A. Brown Democratic 53 ..... yes


Diane S. Shapiro Republican 54

It does appear that Brown badly needs to be replaced by someone less like a party hack -- but I cannot bring myself to vote for the shrewish right wing ideologue who is running against her.

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Recorder, Cook County 4 Year Term, Vote For 1 Candidate Name Party Ballot


# Karen A. Yarbrough Democratic 55


Sherri Griffith Republican 56................. yes


This job is a patronage rat's nest for career politicians - and I don't see why it should be a fiefdom of the democratic party.  Here's another opportunity to encourage no encourage non-radical Republicans to participate in local government


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Here's the judicial candidates  that have gotten the most negative evaluations:



Cynthia Brim
Christophoer Donnelly
James Egan
Pamela Hill-Veal
Gloria Chevere

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State Supreme Court: Theis .... yes

4th subcircuit:
Gallagher, Maloney


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Referendum:..... Yes

The new section would require a three-fifths majority vote of each chamber of the General Assembly, or the governing body of a unit of local government, school district, or pension or retirement system, in order to increase a benefit under any public pension or retirement system


Two groups oppose this measure:

the unions for public employees -- because it affects their opportunities for better pensions
right wing nut cases --- because they oppose anything proposed by Democratic leadership


So it looks like a good idea to me.  The problem with pension benefits is that they are easier to give than salary raises because they affect budgets of the future, not the present.

Which is exactly why it should be made more difficult to give them.