From his daily newsletter:
Illinois-11: Rep. Jerry Weller (R), another Republican under a cloud of scandal and suspicion of corruption, will retire from Congress at the end of this term. Weller is married to a Guatemalan lawmaker and says the long-distance relationship was becoming a strain.
This district stretches West from Chicago's South Side, including Joliet and Ottawa, and reaches South to Bloomington. It was a near tie in the 2000 elections, but Bush carried it by seven points in 2004. It is wedged between the districts of retiring Representatives Dennis Hastert (R) and Ray LaHood (R), and politically it lies between them -- slightly more Democratic than Hastert's 14th District and slightly more Republican than LaHood's 18th.
As for Ray Lahood, the Peoria Republican who is also retirng next year, Novak adds:
Illinois-18: The entrance of former basketball coach Dick Versace (D) brings to a near tossup the race for the Peoria-based seat left open by the retirement Rep. Ray LaHood (R).
Versace was the head basketball coach in the 1980s at Bradley University in Peoria, the golden era of the program. He later coached the NBA's Indiana Pacers, worked as an on-air commentator and served as the head coach of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. The other Democrat in the rate is retired Navy Captain Chuck Giger (D).
Versace, however, is sixty-seven years old, and although the senoirity system in Congress is no longer ironclad, it does help constituents if you have someone who has been in office for a while--how long could a Rep. Versace play out the clock?
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is retiring as well. But the Yorkville Republican, who might (although he denies it) leave before his term is up, shouldn't worry that a Democrat will represent the his west suburban and rural northern Illinois district.
The best chance for a Republican pick up is in the northwest suburban 8th District. Businessman Steve Greenberg promises a spirited and better-funded Republican campaign against incumbent Melissa Bean. In a three way race last year, Bean won just 51 percent of the vote. But President Bush won the district by 10 points in 2004. Yes, that's the year Bean won her seat, but that was over Phil Crane, who simply was in office too long and had little to show for it.
Hat tip to Illinois Review for the Novak story.
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