* 5:47 pm - From the Chicago Board of Elections…
[T]he previous high for first-day balloting during Early Voting in Chicago was 890 ballots cast before the Nov. 2006 election. The daily average for that election was 1,378 ballots during Early Voting.
Today, the first day of Early Voting for the 2008 General Primary, an unofficial total of 3,990 ballots were cast in the City of Chicago. Historically, the lowest counts of ballots have been the very first few days and on weekends.
That sound you heard was incumbents all over the city gulping very hard. Barack Obama’s candidacy may be a blessing to some, but his very powerful “change” message might prove fatal for a few entrenched incumbents who have thought for months that their reelections are in the bag.
* 5:57 pm - The Illinois House will return at eleven o’clock on Thursday. I’m figuring the Senate comes back that day, too, to deal with the governor amendatory veto of the transit bailout bill. CBS-2’s Mike Flannery has this update…
The bill’s chief sponsor, Evanston’s Rep. Julie Hamos, warned CBS 2 that as many as six members who voted for it last week are now saying they may vote no on Blago’s rewrite.
Remember this valuable lesson: Legislators are a lot like soldiers. They grumble very loudly but, in the end, usually do what they’re told.
* 6:04 pm - Jim Oberweis goes way negative on Chris Lauzen in his new radio ad…
*** Click here to listen ***
* 6:11 pm - Larry at ArchPundit criticizes Illinois NOW for their attack on Barack Obama in a post entitled: “Illinois NOW, the Essence of Hypocrisy“. [Note: Profanity alert.]
The essence is that I-NOW is slamming Obama and touting its refusal to endorse him when they endorsed Lisa Madigan for doing the same thing. Larry adds this bit of history…
Illinois NOW also stood by Blair Hull when information came out about domestic violence in his divorce dispute.
Present votes engineered by Planned Parenthood? Very, very bad, except when it’s somebody else making those same votes. Spousal abuse? Why, that’s no problem at all.
*** 8:38 pm *** I just got off the phone with Rep. Julie Hamos. She claimed she never said that six members might flip to “No” on the transit bill. Hamos said that was the number of people she gave to the governor’s office to flip to “Yes” last week.
Hamos said people have been “playing games” with the bill all day, but when asked whether she thought the bill would die when all is said and done, Hamos paused for a bit and said she didn’t think it would perish.
She also said there could be another chapter written this Thursday when the Legislature reconvenes. Asked if that meant the General Assembly might send the bill back to the guv with further changes, Hamos said, “Stay tuned,” and repeated the same answer when asked again.
So, I guess we should “stay tuned.”
* 9:06 pm - From the Tribbies…
“I’d say today that it is not going to get 60 votes,’’ [Rep. Marlow Colvin] said Monday. “But that is before the Speaker has really started working it, and asking people to come on board. And I think he is going to be doing that to avert any kind of shutdown.” […]
Though she said she doesn’t like the way the governor is trying to strong-arm the legislature into approving the free-ride program, state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) said she still plans to vote for the transit bill this week. But she said it’s not like her older constituents are clamoring for her support of the bill. […]
“I don’t think anybody wants to see this blow up,’’ [Rep. Julie Hamos] said. “It’s too dangerous.”