Secretary of State

Many have asked if Jesse White and Dan Rutherford have appeared together at a forum or a debate. Unfortunately Jesse has avoided all of them. Dan has accepted the invitations and Jesse has declined. The best the public has for a candidate comparison, from a non-partial organization, is provided by Chicago TV WTTW-11. They allowed taped interviews on "Candidate Free Time" for both Jesse and Dan, separately.

So, in a way Jesse and Dan have appeared together....at least on the same TV or computer monitor, just not at the same time. View both segments, they are only 2 minutes each, and post what you think.

To watch Jesse, click here.

To watch Dan, click here.

(DISCLOSOURE:  Steve works for Sen. Rutherford's campaign.)

Nepotism at its finest:

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said Monday his decision to promote his daughter to a $112,000-a-year job and employ other relatives should not be compared to the corruption scandal that brought down his predecessor.

White said he did not pressure anyone to hire at least five of his relatives and sees nothing wrong with his office employing them as long as they are qualified for the jobs.

"If I did something improper to hire them, there would be something wrong with that," White said. "I did nothing improper."

White made the comments Monday before the Tribune editorial board in his first joint appearance with his opponent, Republican state Sen. Dan Rutherford of Pontiac. State Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and her Republican opponent, Tazewell County State's Atty. Stewart Umholtz, also met with the board Monday.

White, a Democrat who is seeking a third term, said it is improper to compare his hiring to the licenses-for-bribes scandal that began when former Gov. George Ryan was secretary of state.

Last week, a Democrat operative who worked in the Secretary of State's office was convicted of ghost payrolling.

Of course, Secretary White certainly doesn't want his ghost-payrolling and nepotism compared to George Ryan's.

I don't even think I need to comment on this:

Cecil Turner can legally remain first vice chairman of the Sangamon County Democratic Party until he is sentenced in January, the county Democratic chairman said Wednesday.

But Tim Timoney, the head of the county party, also said that a federal jury's decision Monday to find Turner guilty of allegations involving three state janitors paid for time they didn't work is a "blemish" on the party.

Timoney said his understanding of state law and party bylaws is that Turner would be forced to lose his positions as precinct committeeman and first vice chairman of the party upon the entry of a judgment of conviction - which will come at sentencing set for Jan. 4. Timoney, who is a lawyer, also noted that judges can set aside jury verdicts, though that doesn't happen often.

He said Turner can keep his party positions until early January unless he decides to resign earlier.

And:

Timoney said he won't have specific advice for Cecil Turner about the party positions when they meet.

"Cecil's been a friend of mine for a long time," he said. "We've not always been on the same side. I consider him a force on the east side. He's consistently been the highest Democratic vote-getter out of all the precincts of Sangamon County."

Turner was an employee in Secretary of State Jesse White's office who was convicted of ghost-payrolling earlier this year.

Here's a weekend discussion question: What will be the result of the Secretary of State's race? How little of a shot does Dan stand?

I say 66-34 White.

This, from the Dan Rutherford campaign today:

A week ago Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business exposed the number of family members on the payroll, as well as the number of no bid contracts being given out. In a follow up article by Mr. Hinz, we find out that the problem permeates even deeper. There are an even larger number of family members on the payroll than originally thought and they are all tied to Mr. White and nine of his senior executives.

Recently three ghost-pay rollers have pled guilty in a scam that went on for up to six years under Jesse White's watch. Some of the men worked a few of the hours that they claimed and another did not work at all. In a few days former Director Cecil Turner will be going on trial for his role in this scam. Mr. Turner was hired by Jesse White even though White knew that Turner had been convicted up stealing veterans' benefit checks out of the US mail.

Despite all of the talk about a new way of doing business, nothing has changed. It is time for true change in the way that business is conducted in Illinois.

Jesse White is plenty popular, seems to be a very likeable guy, and has great name recognition, but maybe the SOS office is not the place for him.

Tom Kacich is speculating that next year's GOP ticket could be too heavily weighted toward downstate:

Here's how that could play out:

For governor Bill Brady, Bloomington
For lieutenant governor, Raymond Poe, Springfield
For attorney general, Stewart Umholtz, Tazewell County
For secretary of state, Dan Rutherford, Chenoa
For treasurer, Christine Radogno, LaGrange
For comptroller, Carole Pankau, Roselle

I'm all for downstaters on the ticket, but if the GOP comes up with a team that is 67 percent downstaters -- where there is less than a third of the statewide vote -- they're in trouble.

I think that scenario is a little unlikey, as Brady is well behind Topinka and Poe might not even be in the race on Monday.  That said, I could very well envision a ticket that is half-downstate and half-Chicagoland - which is much, much better than the most likely Democratic ticket which will be entirely from The City.

All at the last minutes, but the slots are being filled with good candidates.

Lemont state Sen. Christine Radogno likely will seek the Republican nomination for Illinois treasurer, allowing the GOP to round out its statewide ticket.

For those of you keeping track at home, the GOP ticket is shaping up like this (credible candidates only): 

• Governor:  Brady, Gidwitz, Oberweis, Rauschenberger and Topinka.
• LG:   Poe and Wegman
• SOS:  Rutherford
• AG: Umholtz
• Comptroller: Pankau
• Treasurer:  Radogno and/or Weinberg

By my count, that's five sitting State Senators, one State Rep, a couple of County officials and some from the private sector.  Given the state of the Illinois GOP two years ago, I'd say that's about as strong a ticket as I reasonably expected, although having Edgar at the top would have been nice.  We're a little weaker in one spot than I'd like, but significantly stronger at SOS than I thought we'd be.  All in all, I'm looking forward to 2006 - if the GOP can pull together.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, running for Secretary of State, is ambitiously raising money in some unusual places for a candidate for SOS:

Nobody can ever accuse state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, of being unable to make some high-level connections.

Rutherford, who is running for secretary of state, has long had big annual fundraisers in Chicago despite his central Illinois base.

On Dec. 6, Rutherford will be in Washington, D.C., where there will be an open house to meet him, hosted by Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee. Following that is a reception that lists U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Plano, as the special guest. Other members of the Republican delegation to the House are also listed. The cheapest ticket to the reception is $500.

According to the conventional wisdom, Rutherford doesn't stand a chance.  But I think the conventional wisdom is wrong:  Rutherford will need to get lucky to win, but his combination of hard work and fundraising will leave him in an excellent position to take advantage of any good luck that comes his way.

Via IllinoisPundit, from the Springfield Journal-Register (with no permalink permalink below):

Cecil Turner, director of physical services for Secretary of State Jesse White, was fired Thursday from his $97,932 job overseeing operations in various state buildings.

Three janitors who work for the secretary of state in Springfield - Dana Dinora, Steve Boyce and David Medvesek - were suspended without pay pending discharge Thursday, according to White spokesman Randy Nehrt. Each of the three is paid $41,676 annually.

FBI agents, Secretary of State's Police, and an inspector general's official escorted Turner from the Howlett Building, where he works, Thursday morning.

Spokesmen for White did not discuss the reasons for Thursday's actions.

Turner, however, said he was told by the FBI agents that they suspected he was covering up for janitors who were being paid for time they weren't working. Turner denied the allegations.

Turner is also a high-ranking Democrat in Sangamon County, so there's no blaming this one on George Ryan.

If there were political betting odds, I would eagerly put ten bucks on a big underdog in State Senator Dan Rutherford running for Secretary of State.  I just don't think Rutherford is as much of a long-shot as the Conventional Wisdom says he is...

UPDATE:  Article is permalinked here. 

Two people have told me that the Secretary of State's Office allows CUMTD to test/certify its own drivers. Is it true that the CUMTD can give bus driver licenses to its own employees? Something doesn't seem right about that.

I've never seen anything like this before, but State Sen. Dan Rutherford, candidate for Secretary of State, wants everyone to email him to help pick which picture he'll use in campaign literature.

Meanwhile, the current Secretary of State still charges an extra $1.75 fee to those citizens who'd like to avoid waiting in line for two hours and would rather renew their license plates online.

Secretary of State Jesse White has announced his plans to run for re-election:

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White acknowledges long lines still exist at many driver's license facilities across the state.

On Tuesday, he asked voters to give him more time to solve the problem as he formally launched his bid for a third term.

After seven years in office, the Chicago Democrat says he has several new ideas he believes will cut down on waiting times at facilities he oversees.

If he couldn't fix the problems in his first two terms, why does anyone think he deserves a third?

His opponent will be downstate State Sen. Dan Rutherford. 

Secretary of State Jesse White now has a website up for his as-yet-unofficial re-election campaign.  No blog, and no feeds, but he's been added to the "Candidates" blogroll anyway.

(Hat tip: DownLeft) 

From Capitol Fax:

If you haven't checked out CBS-2's new blog covering the George Ryan trial, I highly suggest you do so.

The Chicago TV station is taking the lead in providing 24/7 Internet news coverage in this state. Its redesigned website is a treasure trove of breaking news and they've made a commitment to doing lots of web-only content, like the Ryan trial blog.

There's even a feed. Good stuff.

Surprisingly, the bloggers and media haven’t picked up on the enthusiasm of state Senator Dan Rutherford’s formal announcement that he’s running for Secretary of State.  I was in Pontiac Monday night during Dan’s announcement and could feel the excitement build in the room as Rutherford proclaimed, “We can do this!”  It’s true, Jesse will be hard to beat, but I seriously doubt he’s looking forward to running against Dan Rutherford in November 2006.

Rather than join the immediate nay-sayers, I’ll chime in with my two cents on how Rutherford can win.

Jesse White factors
Is Jesse in?  Most assume so.  Heck, he had campaign shirts that read “102 Counties” at Democrat Day at the State Fair.  But I’ve yet to see his formal campaign announcement and until I do, I’m convinced there’s a chance he gracefully bows out.  Jesse’s 71-years-old (72 by the next election) and has to have thoughts of “enough’s enough”.  He knows the battle he’s in for against Dan Rutherford.  Is his health up to it?  Is the current SOS office clean enough to avoid the tentacles of U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald?  Does Jesse have the fire in the belly anymore?

Jim Edgar factor
If Jim Edgar runs (that’s a big “if”), the Republican ticket in 2006 is – to say the least – a great bet.  Please see 1994 for an example. 

Rod Blagojevich factor
Rod Blagojevich’s popularity is tanking.  The entire Illinois Democratic Party has to wonder how hard his negativity will impact them.  White, although not close to Blagojevich, is not immune.

The issues
Rutherford dominates on the issues.  Dan will listen to people’s complaints about the SOS office and provide meaningful and cost-efficient solutions.  Everyone has had a negative experience with a local SOS office – long lines, lack of technology, lost renewal stickers in the mail – Dan’s job is to turn these problems into reasons to support his candidacy. 

Other considerations
Rutherford will have no primary.  He’s built an outstanding base of support, and it’s hard to imagine another credible Republican running against him.  That aside, who would want to run against White if they actually beat Rutherford?!

For all its difficulties and factions, the Illinois Republican Party is absolutely, 100% united behind Dan Rutherford.

Dan Rutherford factors
I cannot imagine a stronger grassroots organization than Rutherford is building (and, for the most part, has already built).  His pool of campaign volunteers will easily stretch into the thousands.   Jesse won't win 102 counties against Rutherford.  Taking a county-by-county approach, Dan stacks up well against White.  While White's assured victory in Chicago/Cook, the real question is how big are the margins?  Does the Chicago machine give Jesse enough votes to trump Dan's flawless operation throughout the other 101 counties?

Rutherford’s fiscal conservativeness drives his campaign staff nuts, but will pay huge dividends for him.  Even if White can generate more campaign funds, Dan can stretch $1 into $4, if not more. 

Finally, Dan is – and we all know it – a tireless worker.  He answers every e-mail, returns every phone call and absolutely runs a flawless constituent services program.  Who wouldn’t want him handling the service office of state government?

Conclusion
There’s potential for a great deal of negative response to this post.  I agree – it’s not going to be easy.  I’m just not ready to write Dan off quite yet.  He’s spent his life preparing for this campaign, and if Jesse’s going to beat him, he’s going to have to work for it.

Some stories about State Senator Dan Rutherford's announcement yesterday that he's running for Secretary of State against two-term incumbent Jesse White:

Blogosphere:

•  CapitolFax: "Do you think he has a chance?"

MSM: 

• Chicago Tribune: "Downstate Republican state Sen. Dan Rutherford carefully tossed his hat into the ring Monday, announcing his bid for secretary of state but cautious not to be too critical of incumbent Jesse White, who is among the state's most popular politicians."
• Chicago Daily Herald: "It’s not about hiring a bunch of new people. It’s using technology to provide services smarter,” said Rutherford, who has worked as a vice president for Downers Grove-based Servicemaster for 19 years."
• Chicago Sun-Times: "It's not right for you to go into a facility, wait two hours and then be told, 'I'm sorry, you've got to leave,' " Rutherford said, citing an example of a driver being turned away in a state driver's license office on a Saturday when it shut down for the afternoon."
• Bloomington Pantagraph: "Political observers say Rutherford has a tough battle ahead, but he got a warm reception in Pontiac. More than 200 people turned out for the Pontiac rally, all chanting "Dan for S.O.S." before Rutherford addressed the crowd."

Unfortunately, other than Capitol Fax, I've seen nothing in the blogosphere about Rutherford's announcement, which dampens the buzz considerably for me.

State Senator Dan Rutherford is announcing his candidacy for Secretary of State.  Details in this flier.

Central Illinois State Sen. Dan Rutherford announces his 2006 statewide plans:

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, won't formally announce his intentions until after Labor Day, but he said today that he plans to challenge for the post currently held by Democrat Jesse White.

Well, kinda, sorta, maybe announces anyway.

It appears that Peoria Congressman Ray LaHood will announce something on Thursday, but the overwhelming conventional wisdom is that he's going to skip a run for Governor and instead run for re-election, so there's little drama.