Since I have much better things to do, this traditional First Ward post-election day primary wrap up is going to be straight and to the point, starting with the simpler analyses and ending with the more complex. Or perhaps it will simply be a case of whatever contest comes to mind first.
I thought Raja Krishnamoorthi had a real shot at Dick Durbin’s former U.S. Senate seat, but it was not to be. Raja did very well in his Congressional district, but he couldn’t get his “I’m a regular nice guy” image to stick throughout the rest of the state. He finished off that possibility by going negative against Stratton, which undermined the very image he was trying to project.
His campaign team also appeared to have no clue that winning an Illinois Democratic primary means appealing to 68-year-old white folks. As far as his opponent goes, as a good friend remarked, “Dorothy Stratton is an empty chair.” It’s hard to believe we’re gonna elect a senator who’s even worse than Dick Durbin. Ya gotta love the great state of Illinois.
Meanwhile, the Illinois GOP accelerated their nose-dive into complete oblivion by giving the emotionally unfit and eminently unelectable Darren Bailey a second shot at the Pritzker apple. I offered KC Democratic Chairman extraordinaire, Mark Guethle, 1,000 to 1 odds on Bailey, but he wouldn’t take the bet.
But if any of you want to take that juice, you know where to find me. Dabrowski had a much better shot at the Governor’s mansion, but he insisted on walking directly into that downstate vs. Chicago messaging quicksand and that was all she wrote.
No one cares about who won the statewide Republican primaries because those no-names have about as much hope of winning in Illinois as I have of becoming Miss Congeniality at the next Miss America pageant.
It was also quite amusing to watch Margaret Croke eek out the insipid Karin Villa for the Democratic comptroller nod. Villa, one of the luckiest and most egotistical politicians on the planet, is a complete waste of everyone’s time.
Danielle Penman handily dispatched opponent Jessica Bruegelmans, who ran one of the worst campaigns in modern history. Penman’s attack on her opponent’s blatantly democratic track record was particularly effective.
Moving on to the Kane Countywide races. Undersheriff Amy Johnson will face off against Rob Russell for Sheriff. Russell, who told a group he’d use a blatant ballot harvesting scheme to win, won’t. Apparently, Rob wants me to work against him again to prove that Coroner Monica Silva’s victory wasn’t an illegal fluke.
Auditor Penny Wegman demolished her two treasurer challengers with two-thirds of the vote. Why do people like Connie Cain for a major office and then do absolutely nothing to win against one of the most recognizable surnames in the county? Please don’t waste our time. Wegman (particularly if I help her) will finally put us out of Chris Lauzen’s misery.
The “never going back again” permanently Democratic County Board races were utterly un-fascinating and immaterial. The politest politician on the planet, Deb Allen, easily prevailed in the 17th. Word is her opponent refused to work, and the numbers certainly back that theory up.
Though I’ve been a bit hard on her for her frequent Geneva School Board lapses, it was gratifying to see 11th District incumbent Leslie Juby, the second luckiest politician on earth, go down in flames. The irony is, unlike her previous lackadaisical races, she actually put in some effort this time only to lose by a two-to-one margin. Leslie! Don’t let the screen hitcha where…
That brings us to the Geneva Police station referendum.
Last week this journalist predicted “it will go down in flames,” but not even I thought it would turn out to be the equivalent of an election day atomic blast. As noted in my best-selling book, “So You Want to Win a Local Election,” a candidate or question typically gets 33 percent of the vote just for showing up. The fact that this new station question managed an embarrassing 34.3 percent “yes” vote, tells you just how inept the City and Geneva Police really are.
By the way, the city-distributed mailer we discussed in the previous column was the handiwork of SPAC, better known as Geneva’s Strategic Plan Advisory Committee, a hand-picked group of unknown uber-progressives assembled by Mayor Kevin Burns. That group tends to live in the kind of self-inflicted political fantasy land where they firmly believe they can do no wrong. And this resounding referendum defeat will do nothing to change chat.
Both Ron Hain and Jack Cunningham have admonished against apply certain epithets in my magnificent prose, and I’ve sworn to do my best to heed their advice, but in this case, I’m not sure I have the intestinal fortitude to forestall my foul mouth.
But let’s see if I can pull it off.
What the fuck makes a group of people who’ve never run for office, or even run a campaign for that matter, suddenly believe they can successfully promote a referendum question in one of the most contentious electoral climates in our lifetime? “Hubris” isn’t nearly a strong enough word. Every one of the SPAC bleeps should resign out of sheer embarrassment and shame.
Oops! So much for any verbal restraint.
Even the Geneva City Council’s progressive faction, with their collective 23 IQ, should finally realize that this police station question result dooms their singular goal of passing Home Rule for the foreseeable future. That possibility is officially more deceased than Illinois Republicans’ November hopes, but I guarantee you that stilted group will put Home Rule on the ballot sooner rather than later.
Let’s not forget those eminently think-skinned and delicate Geneva police officer flowers, who will not let this horrendous “affront” go unnoticed. I’ll give you 10 to 1 odds that their legendary policy of issuing warnings over tickets will mysteriously give way to a sudden bout of strict adherence to the letter of the law.
But my favorite 2026 primary race, and a perfect example of the best kind of political karma, involved the KC Clerk Democratic field. This was the one where the upstart Brian Pollock—the man who makes Kanye West look normal—was destroyed by Brenda Rodgers, a perennial candidate who hasn’t won an election since 2003! Seeing Pollock go down to another ignominious defeat was even more fun than watching Donald Trump try to explain the Iran war in real time.
But the best part of this delicious comeuppance was that the aforementioned Mr. Guethle will eagerly attest that I predicted this result over a week ago.
Applying the same unbounded arrogance that got him bounced from the County Board, Pollock believed he had the race in hand and didn’t bother to seriously campaign. Sure! Rodgers had lost more races than social media pest Mark Rice, but every time her imprimatur was etched on the ballot it built the kind of name recognition that led to an 11-point thrashing.
Worse yet, employing that unrepentant fraud Alex Arroyo as his campaign manager, this brain trust came up with “Elect Brian for Clerk,” the worst slogan EVER! As I said to a number of friends, “Brian who, for what clerk?”
I thought Geneva mayoral challenger Karsten Pawlick’s “I support Geneva residents” motif was the epitome of terrible messaging, but apparently I was wrong. That one’s essentially the equivalent of “Vote for me because I don’t completely suck.”
But Brian and Alex somehow managed to top it, and now Pollock’s political career is over because no one wants to have deal with a two-time loser whose ego far exceeds his results. This electoral self-immolation couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Here’s what I mean:
After the nearly friendless Pollock lost his county board reelection bid, KC Clerk Jack Cunningham picked him up, dusted him off, and hired him as a grant writer, something he excelled at. But Pollock showed his undying gratitude by running against his 86-year-old boss, claiming his constituents should “vote for experience” when Cunningham had nearly three times the tenure.
Worse yet, Pollock had Kane County Clerk Chief of Staff business cards printed up without authorization, told Jack he was running against him, and walked out of the office. After he used up all of his vacation days and sick time, he refused to come back to work because he knew the press would have a field day with Jack if he was fired.
That means, not only did Pollock fail to show up for work for more than four months, but he essentially campaigned against his boss living large at the taxpayers’ expense.
Brian Pollock is a real piece of…well, you know. Maybe I can show some restraint.
Until November!
