2002 Election

For those wondering what prompted it:

Patrick Barry, campaign director for Myers, said Thursday night that the ad and press release were prompted by past incidents and current rumors of possible interference on Tuesday.

He said that four years ago, when Sen. Rick Winkel was running against Democrat Dan McCollum for the 52nd District seat, individuals from Chicago came into Danville on buses and interfered with some polling areas. He said there were incidents of line stacking ”“ making it appear as if there's a long wait at polling places with the intent to discourage people from voting.

Barry claimed there were other incidents of harassment and intimidation, and police were called to several different precincts.

"It's typical Chicago-type politics, and we don't think there's any place for that down here," said Barry, who added that they just want to make people aware of such tactics and how and where to report it if they see it.

In Thursday's release, Hartshorn also referred to past incidents.

"Vermilion County has been the scene of such activity in the past, including the state senate race four years ago, which saw busloads of people from Chicago enter the district to disrupt the election," Hartshorn said. "This year, the law enforcement community will be ready, but voters can play an important role in keeping authorities updated on any strange behavior they see."

The release urges voters to report suspicious activities to the local state's attorney or the Illinois State Board of Election's complaint hot line at 1-866-513-1121.

Discuss if you like. Four years ago, Sheriff Hartshorn and then Election Commissioner Barb Young were the ones who had to deal with the problem, after election judges called police.

(DISCLOSURE: I work for Senator Judy Myers' campaign.)

Dannel McCollum is a former Mayor of Champaign and a fierce Democrat who almost beat Rick Winkel for State Senator in 2002.  I don't agree with him very often politically, but he's the premier historian of our local area.

His latest book came out earlier this year, and is high on my Christmas list.

I wonder if I could somehow get a copy autographed to "IlliniPundit?"  :-)

(Hat tip for Rich Miller for the topic idea.)

If you're interested in the day-to-day of the George Ryan corruption trial, be sure to regularly check Capitol Fax, Eric Zorn and CBS 2 Chicago's Trial Blog (the latter two will be attending the proceedings daily, I believe).

2002 General Election:

• Rick Winkel: 29,134 (50.5%)
• Dan McCollum: 28,514 (49.5%)

There were just over 21,500 votes cast in Vermilion County, and just under 36,000 votes cast in Champaign County. McCollum won Champaign County by 47 votes, and Winkel won Vermilion County by 667 votes.

2002 Republican Primary Election:

• Rick Winkel: 9,513 (51.5 %)
• Judy Myers: 8,941 (48.5%)

There were just about 18,500 votes cast, with 7,000 in Vermilion County and 11,500 in Champaign County. Incumbent Judy Myers won 88 percent in Vermilion County, and Winkel won 76 percent in Champaign County.

In the 2002 Democratic Primary, there were approximately 12,100 votes cast, about 7,800 in Champaign County and 4,300 in Vermilion County. I suspect many Vermilion County Democrats voted in the GOP Primary to support hometown Supreme Court candidate Rita Garman and State Senate Candidate Judy Myers, and thus GOP turnout was slightly higher than normal and Dem turnout was slightly lower.

Basically, in all elections (GOP and Dem Primaries and a General Election), Champaign County has a clear majority of the voters.  What is also clear is that Vermilion County candidates hold a tremendous home-field advantage that Champaign County candidates do not.

One more campaign finance note, this time focusing on the 2002 and 2004 battles for State Representative in the 103^rd District.

Naomi Jakobbsen, the stupidest person ever elected to any office, anywhere on earth, was first elected in 2002 to a newly drawn district designed to heavily favor Democrats. She defeated Republican incumbent Tom Berns narrowly in 2002 and faced Deb Frank Feinen, a younger, less conservative candidate in 2004.

In 2002, getting Naomi the Brainless elected cost about $390,00, with about $365,000 of that money coming from Chicago-area Democrats, including The Chairman, Speaker of the House Mike Madigan.

Feinen, on the other hand, raised about $63,000 total, and got another $29,000 in-kind from Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross, for a total election expense just over $100,000. About $30,000 was from local sources, or about 30 percent of her total funding.

In 2004, Naomi the Brainless continued to demonstrate her grasp of independence and quality representation. Knowing well that she would be in for a tough re-election battle, in 2003 and 2004, she raised about $50,000 from local sources. Her re-election battle in 2004 cost just $280,000. But again, about $230,000 came from Chicago Democrats, with Madigan again leading the way with about $60,000 in cash and $80,000 in-kind.

So, to calculate the Jakobbson Accountability Ratio (JAR) from 2002-2004, just divide the amount of local campaign support by the total amount of her campaign expenses. For the 2002 and 2004 elections, its $75,000 of local funding out of $670,000 total. About 11.2 percent of Naomi the Brainless' campaign funding has come from local donors. The rest came from Chicago.

Eleven-point-two percent. And that's just about how much representation our district gets out of Naomi. The rest goes to Chicago.