Chicagotalks » Jamie Bradley

Lisa Madigan Wins Third Term, Captures 69 Percent of Vote

Jamie Bradley — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:34:15 +0000

Photo by Angela Weaver

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claimed her widely expected victory Tuesday night, saying she was “very thankful and very proud to be given another opportunity to serve.”

“I am proud of this work and the work that I’ve done to bring more jobs to our state,” she said to a crowded room of cheering supporters.

It was the third win for Madigan, 44, who was the state’s first female attorney general when she won in 2002. The Chicago Tribune reported that Madigan won with 69 percent of the vote against 21 percent for her Republican opponent, Steve Kim.

“Knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of so many people every day is why I entered public service in the first place,” Madigan said. “I chose a career in public service because I wanted to be in a position to help others. But help is a two-way street, and I appreciate your help.”

Madigan interrupted her victory speech to hug her husband, Pat. “Without Pat, I would not be standing here tonight,” she said.

Madigan’s oldest daughter, Rebecca, danced around on the stage, drawing many laughs from the crowd.

Madigan had no legitimate challengers in the 2010 election. Kim, the strongest among Madigan’s opponents, trailed Madigan by 48 points in the last pre-election poll.

In fact, the strongest criticism that Madigan faced during this election cycle was that she chose not to run in either the gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race.

Madigan first won in 2002 when she beat her Republican challenger, Joe Birkett, by a 3 percent margin. She ran again in 2006, winning in a landslide decision and pummeling Republican Stewart Umholtz by a 47 percent margin. Prior to serving as attorney general, Madigan served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, representing the 17th district.

Madigan’s father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, has served in the Illinois House of Representatives for 39 years. Her father’s personality and reputation, and, more importantly, accusations about alleged corruption and wrongdoing, have long shadowed his daughter.

During Madigan’s 2002 campaign for attorney general, she was repeatedly forced to answer questions regarding her father. Her opponents also insinuated that her father had used his political clout to assist her campaign.

Madigan has since become known as a rising star in Illinois politics and was listed by Politico.com as one of the five most likely successors to President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. Then she announced last year that she would not run for the seat. She was also listed in a 2008 New York Times article that included her in a list of potential female presidential nominees.

Madigan, a wife and mother of two, said when she made her decision not to run for governor or senator that she felt it was in the best interest of her family and the state for her to continue doing her job as attorney general. She said the constant travel from Illinois to Washington that a senatorial job would require would be detrimental to her family.

Gov. Quinn takes aim at Opponent Bill Brady at Rally

Jamie Bradley — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:00:37 +0000

Gov. Pat Quinn used a rally last week to go on the offensive against Bill Brady, Quinn’s Republican challenger in the fall gubernatorial election. At the Health Care Workers for Quinn rally, held last Wednesday at Apostolic Faith Church on the South Side, Quinn called Brady a “millionaire who doesn’t pay taxes” and lambasted his GOP opponent for proposing to lower the state’s $8.25-per-hour minimum wage.

“Let’s not let some millionaire driving a Porsche with a house in Florida cut the minimum wage,” said Quinn, who stood at the pulpit of the church, surrounded by supporters in bright green shirts.

He also used the rally as a platform to stress the importance of affordable health care for all Illinois residents.

“I love the health care workers of Illinois. I believe health care is a fundamental right for everyone on the planet. I will fight to my last breath to make it available,” Quinn said.

Quinn is running against state Sen. Bill Brady, a businessman from downstate Bloomington. Brady has said he would freeze the minimum wage in Illinois until the federal minimum wage level — now $7.25 — rises to meet the state’s.

After the speech, Lavita Harper, 36, a South Shore resident who works at a long-term health care facility, said she was moved by the speech, but that she was not yet sold on Quinn.

“I’m weighing all my options. I always go through everything with a fine-tooth comb. I want to make sure the state gives the nursing homes the money they need, that they deserve. The money is there and it’s not being put where it’s supposed to be. We need the money for more activities for the residents,” said Harper.

As the green t-shirted sea of Quinn supporters slowly filed out of the rally, Mica Mastoff, spokeswoman for the Quinn campaign, elaborated on the remarks Quinn made about Brady, saying that Brady is not on the side of the people of Illinois.

“Bill Brady is just absolutely too extreme for the people of Illinois,” said Mastoff. “He voted against coverage for mammograms. That’s not a polarizing topic — that’s a basic issue. He proposed legislation to mass euthanize animals in gas chambers. That’s how extreme we’re talking about.”

A spokeswoman for the Brady campaign responded in a telephone interview later that afternoon, saying, “This campaign is not extreme. This campaign reflects American values and the values of millions of people in Illinois.”

Responding to a recent Rasmussen poll which indicated that Brady currently holds a 13 percentage-point lead over Quinn, Mastoff said the campaign was not overly concerned about the poll results.

“Polls can go up and down from now until November, but we absolutely feel that we’re laying the groundwork for victory on Nov. 2,” said Mastoff.

Mastoff added that other polls indicate that a large percentage of residents don’t know who Brady is, and that there are still a significant number of undecided voters in Illinois.

“So what [the Quinn campaign] believes is that, as the campaign continues to ramp up, and there are debates and there are more advertisements and people really start focusing in on the issues, they’ll realize the stark contrast between Sen. Brady and Gov. Pat Quinn,” said Mastoff.

Leader of Columbia’s baseball team a rare breed

Jamie Bradley — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:47:09 +0000

April 30, 2009 – Ryan Knight will graduate in May, after four years at Columbia College – a rarity at a school that, according to collegeboard.com, posts a 65 percent return rate among students from year to year.

Knight, a 22-year-old senior from Sterling Heights, Mich., will earn a degree in film. As a student athlete, he is a rare breed in a school that seems to pride itself on the absence of sports.

“There isn’t a great deal of support [for sports] from our administration. Some members feel that sports at Columbia will steer away the artist and welcome the athletes, which Columbia is not about,” said Knight.

Knight, the starting catcher and team president of the Columbia Renegades baseball team, said the challenges of being a student athlete at Columbia are legion. “There aren’t too many facilities to use without paying for them,” Knight said. “Chicago is expensive and so is rental time for cages or gyms and even our field.”

Columbia rents a baseball field at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Instead of being held in a baseball-friendly facility, practices are often held in the Roosevelt University gym. When the Chicago weather gets warmer in the spring, Columbia’s baseball team moves its practices to Grant Park.

The lack of an adequate practice facility directly correlates to the Renegades’ 1-11 record at this point in the season. This presents yet another challenge for Columbia athletes – staying motivated despite their teams’ losing records.

Knight said that while he hates losing, he finds motivation from other aspects of collegiate athletics.

“It is still fun to play baseball at Columbia. Yeah, it sucks losing. But when I look back on it, I am still playing the game I love at a competitive level when I thought it was all over for me four years ago [after high school],” said Knight.

He continued, “I asked the team in the huddle after our last loss, ‘What is fun about baseball?’ Fifty percent of them answered with winning. My answer to everyone was the fact that at 22 I am still playing competitively and representing my school.”

< ![endif]–>

Despite having a love and enjoyment of sports since preschool, Knight said it did not play a role in his decision to attend Columbia.

“I actually was recommended to attend Columbia by an adviser for the [Chicago] Art Institute,” Knight explained. “She told me that Columbia had more of the program I was looking for.”

Knight said he found out about baseball at Columbia through an information booth the team had set up when he attended freshman orientation. After playing on the team his freshman year, he took over the job of team president, a position that Knight says entails more paperwork than anything else.

According to teammate and close friend Scott Kerr, the job of team president is not the only extra responsibility Knight takes. “ He organizes the games, takes care of the financial end and coaches the team,” said Kerr.

Dedication, Kerr adds, is one of Knight’s essential characteristics. “With anything that he does, he always puts his best foot forward and is determined to deliver the best possible results. Whether it be on the field or work, Ryan always seems to stride for excellence,” said Kerr.

Though he plans to graduate in May, Knight questions the future of the baseball program at Columbia. He wonders about Columbia’s access to the Roosevelt University gym, which Roosevelt plans to tear down to build a massive new academic complex.

“I don’t know where the team will practice next year. I hope that the administration gets their stuff together and figures out where the options will be,” said Knight.