Pawnbroker mess exposes the rot within Ill. Dem party

One of the symptoms of the rot within the Illinois Democratic Party is the pawnbroker disaster. Heading the state party is Michael Madigan...I mean, doesn't this guy already have enough power?

Chicago Sun-Times political writer Lynn Sweet is mad at Madigan:

The debacle of Democrats nominating pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen for lieutenant governor -- a candidate so politically toxic he could bring down the Democratic ticket in November -- highlights the awful job House Speaker Michael J. Madigan is doing as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Unlike every other state party chairman in the nation, Madigan refuses to run a viable statewide political organization.

With Democrats now facing uphill battles to elect Gov. Quinn and Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias, they head into the nine-month general election campaign without a real, working statewide party. The Illinois Republican Party has a very engaging, energized chairman, Pat Brady. Illinois Democrats have Madigan, who shows little interest in doing the job of state party chairman, including mapping strategy to win in November.

Madigan has used the position mainly to re-elect his state House members and to help daughter Lisa Madigan when she first ran for attorney general. He is up for re-election as Democratic Party of Illinois chairman in April.

Elsewhere in the Sun-Times, the paper discovered that three Chicago aldermen helped Cohen to victory last Tuesday. One was Dick Mell (33rd), Rod Blagojevich's estranged father-in-law. Mell endorsed the pawnbroker, who received 37 percent of the vote in his Northwest Side ward, doubling the voters received by Rep. Art Turner.

Last week, ironically, Mell joined the chorus of big shot Dems calling for Cohen to quit, "If I knew what I know now, I certainly would not have been with him." But Mell's 33rd Ward Democratic Organization accepted a $1,000 check from the pawnbroker.

There is no word yet on whether Mell would return that contribution, or donate it to charity.

Roberto Maldonado (26th) received a $10,000 check for his political fund. Cohen came in a close second to an Hispanic candidate, Thomas Castillo. The 26th Ward is predominately Hispanic.

There is no word yet on whether Maldonado would return that contribution, or donate it to charity.

Within shouting distance of Morton Grove is Bernie Stone's 50th Ward. He didn't accept any cash from Cohen, who collected a whopping 47 percent of the vote in the six-person race. But Stone wasn't calling for Cohen to step aside, "When it comes down to the average Joe on the street, they're going to say this guy's straight, and he tells it like it is. He doesn't claim to be a saint, and that's the difference."

There is a rot going on here.

Related post:

Dem pawnbroker candidate drops out

Technorati tags: elections Politics Illinois Politics Democrats illinois scott lee cohen chicago Blagojevich