WGN: Breaking down Chicago early voting numbers #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] On WGN Weekend Morning News there is a discussion with Steve Valles - co-director of Chicago Votes breaking down early voting numbers. I suppose the news I have seen have discussed to which candidate early voting benefits? Another aspect I've seen out there, is how long until we finally determine who won the 2023 mayoral race or at least who's in the mayoral runoff?

This discussion has been about how to energize young people to vote in this election. Also we hear that this is the first election where Cook County Jail is a polling location. So Chicago Votes has something going on with the inmates there.

Early voting is going on through next Monday and Election Day is next Tuesday February 28th. Have you all early voted yet? Do you plan to wait until Election Day?

So Lightfoot doesn't want people to vote? #ChiMayor23

 So at a rally over the past weekend the Mayor said that you shouldn't vote. Wait did we hear correctly? Well WLS-TV did the story on this. We can listen for ourselves. [VIDEO]

And then this morning some blowback as we've seen on WFLD-TV. So let's put this in text form she stated any votes not for Lightfoot from the South Side is a vote for Garcia and Vallas. And if you want them to determine your fate then don't vote and stay home. It's all about the soundbites. 

She must be worried about those two gents, but not as much about Brandon Johnson whom she has cut ads against. Anyway on to the FOX 32 report [VIDEO]

OK! She misspoke....I suppose I can accept that. Now it's just more evidence that her leadership is very undiplomatic.

One thing is likely talked about. The number of Black candidates in the race could dilute the Black vote and lead to either Congressman Garcia or Vallas to possibly win the mayoral race. Though I'm hoping that Chicagoans will not vote according to their race/ethnicity they vote for the best person to be mayor.

As of today we have a week to go before Election Day. Early voting will continue through next Monday. As you see in the FOX 32 report Mayor Lightfoot and her significant other had voted early on President's Day. Have you voted yet?

Vallas denounces Florida Governor visit to Chicago area promoted by Chicago fraternal order of police #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] Perhaps you may not know Ron DeSantis - he is in his second term as Governor of Florida. He will be in the Chicago area to speak with the Fraternal Order of Police. And now he's another quick bullet point in this race.

The leader of Chicago's FOP is named John Catanzara who's made many appearances on FOX News Channel especially after the issues of 2020. He's made some appearances for mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. And as a result the visit to this state by DeSantis has become a point of contention in this race.

Vallas was forced to quickly denounce DeSantis as you will see in the above story by our local FOX affiliate. You can read more about this from the Sun-Times.

Flyers for #Ward09 #ChicagoElections

 So far I haven't received any flyers from Cameron Barnes - whom I could call a very young upstart in this race. However I have two from Cleopatra Draper and three from incumbent Alderman Anthony Beale.

Let's start with Draper. She's hitting the incumbent Alderman Beale over a lack of grocery stores in the area. And I'm sure Beale will note the new grocery store coming to the Altgeld Gardens area and then let's not forget about Walmart which has a grocery section. 

NBC Chicago: What Chicago's mayoral candidates say about ending cash bail #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] This was an issue that came up last year during the gubernatorial election in 2022 with the ongoing controversy over this state's Safe-T Act.

So we see all candidates who were part of the NBC 5 Chicago Mayoral Debate take a position on the issue of ending cash bail.

If you missed this debate you can check it out here through NBC Chicago which took place Monday night.

Rainbow Push Mayoral Candidate Forum #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] This forum was streamed on YouTube Saturday morning. You will see Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. speak to the audience although you mostly can't hear what he is saying in the beginning. You will also see the absence of Mayor Lightfoot though the other eight seven candidates for mayor were on the stage this morning.

CORRECTION 10:23 PM - another no show to this event was Willie Wilson.

And I must add Jesse Jackson retweeted this post. I had no idea he even uses twitter.

CBS 2: Crime take center stage at WTTW's 2023 Mayoral Forum #ChiMayor2023

 

[VIDEO] This aired earlier this week two days before the recent FOX 32 forum on Thursday night. This quick clip is probably a taste of what you will see later on. The bickering between candidates especially the shots Willie Wilson took at the Mayor. One notable absense, Congressman Chuy Garcia had been in Washington, DC for President Joe Biden's state of the union address.

If you didn't see the WTTW forum check it out below. [VIDEO]

Capitol Fax: Where does Paul Vallas really live #ChiMayor23

 I'd say this is more significant in this mayoral race than Paul Vallas' positions on abortion or even whether or not he's a Republican as opposed to being a Democrat. As Rich Miller says in this morning's post on his blog, "Vallas has been registered to vote in Chicago since 2018. These candidate residency requirements are not difficult to skirt. But he has some more explaining to do."

Where does Paul Vallas really live? https://t.co/IZG95Xp6aw

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) February 10, 2023

I suppose the question is from what I have already read, he moved into an apartment in Bridgeport perhaps about a year before running for mayor. The story is that his residence is in Palos Heights, Illinois although his wife currently resides in Palos Heights to care for her parents and mother-in-law.

Come to think of it, after his service as a congressman and White House chief-of-staff in Washington, DC didn't Rahm Emanuel have to face questions about his residency. Although in his case the home he owned in the city was rented out so that was the story back then. Many tried to keep him from even being on the ballot because of this back then.

Did anyone check on this before Vallas turned in his petitions?

FOX 32 Mayoral Forum #ChiMayor23

 

[VIDEO] There have been other mayoral forums this week which I have yet to share with you, however, this was the one that occurred on Thursday. All nine mayoral candidates including the incumbent Lori Lightfoot facing off against Mike Flannery and Scott Schneider. The duration is over an hour.

I must say there have been a number of mayoral forums which involve the incumbent. I feel as if that's a first, however, I'm starting to wonder if this shows how weak Mayor Lightfoot is. Did Rahm Emanuel face this much pressure in 2015 as he sought re-election?