* Sen. Bill Brady thinks the GOP gubernatorial race is a two-person battle…
Jim Ryan “is really the only competition we see in this race,” Brady said.
But then goes on to make two points about why Ryan can’t win…
“His name ID is good and bad, and we all know why,” Brady said. “Two people for every one think he was George.” […]
“Who’s most electable in the general election? It’s a downstate businessman who’s not tied to the past,” Brady said. “Let’s face it: Republican voters are smart enough to realize that Jim cannot disassociate himself from George.”
* Fellow GOP candidate Adam Andrzejewski wants to kill off the state’s fleet of turboprops…
In response to Channel 7 investigative reporter Chuck Goudie’s report last night concerning the cost of operating the state fleet of 16 aircraft, Republican candidate for Governor Adam Andrzejewski says he would ground the aircraft, and then sell the $22 million fleet with the exception of the two helicopters and specific planes used by the Illinois State Police. (Story Online at http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=7126679)
Andrzejewski re-emphasized his plan to conduct a forensic audit of the state’s expenses. He pointed out that Channel 7’s report indicated that state employees are using the planes regularly at a cost of $3,000 per hour totaling $4 million per year.
* We have two very interesting legislative stories of note today.
The first is about a couple of apparent put-up candidates out south. Rep. Jim Brosnahan (D-Evergreen Park) is retiring, and he and Speaker Madigan are backing Michael Macellaio to replace him. Macellaio was up against just one candidate, Kelly Burke, president of the Evergreen Park Library Board, until the last day of filing when two other women with Irish names filed within moments of each other. Kristen McQueary takes it from there…
So the Democratic Party quickly rounded up two other Irish gals to siphon votes away from Burke - Angela McMahon, of Evergreen Park, and Karen Sullivan Casey, of Oak Lawn.
Neither of them circulated a single petition sheet herself nor gathered signatures from neighbors or even their husbands. Most of the folks who got McMahon and Casey on the ballot live in the 13th and 23rd wards of Chicago, home to Madigan and his allies. […]
The idea is to dilute Burke’s chances, and confuse voters, by having two other women on the ballot with Irish names.
“Yeah, I’m angry,” Burke said Wednesday. “I just worked my tail off to give people a choice and get on the ballot, and I’m against somebody backed by outsiders of the district. It galls me that this is happening.
* Our second is a bit ooky, but it’s out there, so we should take a look.
The coverage of Rep. Deb Mell’s primary race has generally focused on two things. First, Rep. Mell’s nominating petitions are being challenged and she might be kicked off the ballot.
The other item of note that the major media has touched on is that both Ms. Mell and her opponent, Joe Laiacona, are gay. For instance, the Tribune ran a blurb not long entitled “‘Gay primary’ will be no big deal,” which included this graf…
But don’t expect the fact that Mell is a lesbian — the first openly gay woman to serve in the Illinois General Assembly — to be an issue. Laiacona is also openly gay. And neither candidate mentions it in online campaign bios.
CBS2 noted that Laiacona is also an amateur genealogist, and linked to a Windy City Times interview for backup evidence. Also in that story was this tidbit about Laiacona…
You have worked for a gay publication [as columnist “Jack Rinella” for Gay Chicago magazine] .
As I’ve told subscribers, Rinella/Laiacona is a BDSM and “leather” expert. He has written books including “Becoming a Slave” and has his own website, which is probably not safe for work, unless you work out of your home, like me - but there’s still the issue of my wife coming upstairs and seeing what I’m doing, so I probably won’t keep that site open for long.
Anyway, the Chicago Reader has a cover story about Laiacona this week. “A Kink in the Campaign” includes this quote from Laiacona…
“I live an honest and authentic life, and I’m not ashamed or guilty about anything I’ve done in that regard,” he says. “I’ve written about healthy sexuality of a consensual adult nature, and I don’t believe the government has a role in my bedroom. That’s the end of the discussion.”
And…
As part of his fund-raising efforts, Laiacona is reaching out to fellow sadomasochists. He hasn’t said what he would do specifically for the community if elected, though he has referred to “antiquated laws” that, if enforced, could be used against it. But he says he raised $1,800 at one leather party, and he pitched members of the Next Generation Chicago, a pansexual BDSM group for the 18-34 set, at one of their meetings at the Leather Archives & Museum in Rogers Park. He’s also used his column to enlist supporters by drawing parallels between being a reformer and a practitioner of sadomasochism.
Rep. Mell is as blunt as Laiacona…
But Deb Mell wonders how effectively Laiacona can work within the state legislature given his kinky past. “We can’t get a civil unions bill passed and here’s a guy who’s . . . into bondage and sex slaves?” she says. But she also accuses Laiacona of “hiding” his ties to the kinky community. “It’s a conservative bunch out here in the 40th District, so it probably works in his favor not to mention it.”
Even some people in his own community are debating Laiacona’s political viability. In the inaugural edition of DungeonPlace.com’s FetishCast podcast, after a segment on whether sadomasochists should be considered experts on military torture, hosts Meow, Gryphon, Goddess, Tutivillus, and DarlingEvil discussed his campaign and what impact his work might have on his bid for state representative.
“This is a man that’s been open in the community,” said DarlingEvil. “[I]s the mainstream . . . going to look at that and say, ‘Is this someone we want representing us in our government?’”
Let’s try to watch ourselves in comments, OK? I don’t want things getting outta hand or I’ll have to crack the whip. Oh, wait. I shouldn’t have said that. Nevermind.