The ever outspoken William Beavers says fellow Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool - in a shocking announcement this week - decided against running for county board president because he's a "born loser" who doesn't have a shot at the top job.
Beavers is allied with current Cook County President Todd Stroger. Stroger has been embattled ever since he raised the sales tax to over 10%, making it among the highest in the country. More recently, the scandal surrounding the hiring of former bus buy and con Tony Cole has further embarrassed Stroger. Beavers, for his part, believes that the voters will give Stroger their vote of confidence once his record of balanced budgets comes out. Of course, it's much easier to balance the budget when you raise taxes to record levles.
Meanwhile, in Niles, a suburb of Chicago, their board recently discovered that one trustee, George Alpogianis, is a former con and is looking to remove him.
Niles Trustee George Alpogianis is a convicted felon and the Cook County state's attorney's office will seek to remove him from the village board if he doesn't resign, spokesman Andy Conklin said.
Conklin said Alpogianis' attorney, Mike Lavelle, had told the state's attorney's office that his client would resign before Monday
Illinois law stipulates that no former felons are allowed to run for any state office. Alpogianis, for his part, is determined to stand on principle and is now refusing to step down because he has "got a duty to serve the village".
Finally, the sad saga of Roland Burris took another turn this week when Sangamon County State's Attorney reported that they wouldn't seek perjury charges against him.
Senator Roland Burris was back in Chicago after finding out he won't face a perjury charge over statements he made about how he got the Senate job.
Burris announced the very next day that he would seek re election for his seat in 2010. The Democrats are hoping that he will face plenty of challengers as his representation of the party is turning into a major embarrassment. Potential challengers include Alexei Giannoulias who faces his own connections to corruption. Other potential challengers include Lisa Madigan, who's current office of Attorney General of Illinois has indicted no politicians on corruption charges during her tenure. So, it looks as though we are going to see another strong field of competitors here in Illinois in 2010.
Saying one is a "born loser" isn't exactly an educated comment. That shows his level of maturity (or lack thereof), don't you think? He has to learn to keep his comments objective if he is to be respected.
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