SEIU: Pat Quinn thanks you!
February 9: (from quinnforillinois.com)
We did it and you deserve the credit.
Along with hundreds of thousands of people across Illinois, you went to the polls last Tuesday and sent a message to the political establishment by nominating Pat Quinn as the Democratic candidate for Governor.
You shocked the pundits and soothsayers who had written Pat off by reminding them that the only poll that matters is the one at the ballot box.
But make no mistake – our work isn’t done.
In the weeks and months ahead, we’re going to need your help to bring our message of jobs and growth to Illinois and take on the relentless Republican spin machine.
Watch the video: Pat Quinn thanks you
Watch the video: Everybody Quinn, nobody left out
More Details On The Cohen Replacement Process
February 9, 2010
(progressillinois.com)
To find out more about the process of replacing Scott Lee Cohen as the lieutenant governor nominee, we dug into the Democratic State Central Committee bylaws (PDF) today. We also caught up with Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward), who is a 4th Congressional District committeeman, and former state legislator William Marowitz, who serves as a 9th Congressional District committeeman. Here's what we found.
The by-laws set out the committee's endorsement process, but don't specifically address the issue of replacing a nominee. When handling endorsements, the committee holds at least two public hearings at which the candidates can make presentations. Finally, at another public meeting, the individual committeemen each pick their favored nominee. If one candidate gets more than 60 percent of the weighted vote, they are endorsed.
It appears that the committee's renomination process will not be identical to the endorsement system, for the simple reason that there is no predetermined batch of candidates. But it will share some similar guidelines.
The individual committeemen will each nominate his or her choice at a public meeting (thereby dispelling our concern that the votes might not be on the record). The next scheduled meeting is March 15, but House Speaker Michael Madigan, who serves as the committee chair, could call a special meeting to deal with the lieutenant governor nomination. If he does, the party must give at least 5 days written notice to the entire party membership about the location and content of the discussion.
Both Munoz and Marowitz suspect that a final vote won't be held until the Illinois State Board of Elections Commission (ISBEC) certifies this final vote tallies from this year's committee races. The reason for that is two-fold:
- First, the voting process is weighted; committee members get one "vote" for each ballot cast in his or her congressional district in the primary. (WBEZ Sam Huzdik reviewed those details here.) Therefore, the official vote totals are needed to determine the weight of each committeeman's choice.
- Second, some committee seats changed hands last week. If the vote is held after the results are finalized, those new committee members can take part in the process. ISBEC's final certification deadline is March 5.
Marowitz said that his criteria for selecting a replacement is simple: pick the person who will be the biggest asset to the Democratic Party ticket.