Meeks Abandons Third-Party Governor Run by Mike Flannery
Meeks Abandons Third-Party Governor Run by Mike Flannery
Copyright by CBS
(CBS) CHICAGO Illinois State Sen. James Meeks says he is abandoning his plans to run against Gov. Rod Blagojevich as an independent because the governor has promised to pour major funding into schools.
"I'm saying I'm off the ballot. Forget it," Meeks said.
As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, Democrats are hailing the news, and Republican gubernatorial challenger Judy Baar Topinka is blasting the deal.
Meeks said that in secret talks, Blagojevich had promised him more money for local schools in a four year plan. Funding sources reportedly include “natural revenue growth” without new taxes, and unspecified “creative” financing.
Springfield insiders told CBS 2 News that the sale or lease of the Illinois Toll Highway authority had no part in the school funding plan. But the same insiders did not rule out the sale or lease of other state assets.
Blagojevich, for example, tried unsuccessfully several years ago to do a similar privatization deal involving the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop.
While Meeks denied it, many others believed his candidacy would drain votes away from Blagojevich and assist Topinka’s candidacy. Topinka denounced the deal.
“You're buying off a guy to keep him from running against you, and you're using taxpayer funds,” Topinka said. “I think that's kind of a new low. I've never heard that one.”
The Blagojevich campaign isn't giving out many specifics of the education plan.
“On Tuesday, the governor will announce an ambitious plan that builds on the progress of the last four years, that focuses on accountability, performance, and funding,” governor’s office spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.
The governor is expected to make the plan a major production when he announces it. Among those Meeks said took part in his private meetings with Blagojevich was Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Arne Duncan, who is desperate for more state cash.
When Meeks first discussed running for governor, it prompted speculation that he was using it as a way to leverage concessions from Blagojevich, a Democrat who could lose black voters to Meeks.
Meeks is black and leads a megachurch on Chicago's South Side that boasts a 22,000-member congregation.
But Meeks has said a poll he commissioned showed him taking voters away from the Republican candidate, state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.
Meeks opposes abortion, and he voted against a state law barring discrimination against gay people. Blagojevich and Topinka support that law and abortion rights, although Topinka favors some abortion restrictions.
News of a possible Meeks run surfaced after he criticized Blagojevich for renewing a no-tax pledge in seeking a second term. Meeks has called that pledge the "death knell" for education funding.
To fix the state's education funding system, Meeks has said he favors a tax swap whereby income taxes would be raised and property taxes lowered to undo the funding inequities between rich and poor school districts.
Meeks has said he has asked Blagojevich for two things: a four-year comprehensive plan for school funding and a plan for how underserved communities are going to be served.
He said earlier this month that he had not gotten those plans and that's why he was moving forward with a third-party bid.
Last week, Meeks said he would announce a slate of candidates for statewide office Saturday and begin collecting the 25,000 signatures of registered voters he needed to get on the November ballot.
Still, Meeks, who was elected to the Illinois Senate as an Independent but filed re-election papers to run for his seat as a Democrat, never committed to being a candidate for governor, always stopping short of saying he would run.
A Meeks candidacy would have hurt Blagojevich more than Topinka because he would have cut into Blagojevich's support among black voters, a reliable base for the Democratic Party, University of Illinois at Springfield political science professor Kent Redfield said recently.
Because of that possibility, some speculated that a run for governor could negatively impact Meeks' political future.
"I don't see him being welcomed back into the bosom of the Democratic Party" if he were to run, Cindi Canary, executive director of the Campaign for Political Reform, said recently.
Copyright by CBS
(CBS) CHICAGO Illinois State Sen. James Meeks says he is abandoning his plans to run against Gov. Rod Blagojevich as an independent because the governor has promised to pour major funding into schools.
"I'm saying I'm off the ballot. Forget it," Meeks said.
As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, Democrats are hailing the news, and Republican gubernatorial challenger Judy Baar Topinka is blasting the deal.
Meeks said that in secret talks, Blagojevich had promised him more money for local schools in a four year plan. Funding sources reportedly include “natural revenue growth” without new taxes, and unspecified “creative” financing.
Springfield insiders told CBS 2 News that the sale or lease of the Illinois Toll Highway authority had no part in the school funding plan. But the same insiders did not rule out the sale or lease of other state assets.
Blagojevich, for example, tried unsuccessfully several years ago to do a similar privatization deal involving the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop.
While Meeks denied it, many others believed his candidacy would drain votes away from Blagojevich and assist Topinka’s candidacy. Topinka denounced the deal.
“You're buying off a guy to keep him from running against you, and you're using taxpayer funds,” Topinka said. “I think that's kind of a new low. I've never heard that one.”
The Blagojevich campaign isn't giving out many specifics of the education plan.
“On Tuesday, the governor will announce an ambitious plan that builds on the progress of the last four years, that focuses on accountability, performance, and funding,” governor’s office spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.
The governor is expected to make the plan a major production when he announces it. Among those Meeks said took part in his private meetings with Blagojevich was Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Arne Duncan, who is desperate for more state cash.
When Meeks first discussed running for governor, it prompted speculation that he was using it as a way to leverage concessions from Blagojevich, a Democrat who could lose black voters to Meeks.
Meeks is black and leads a megachurch on Chicago's South Side that boasts a 22,000-member congregation.
But Meeks has said a poll he commissioned showed him taking voters away from the Republican candidate, state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.
Meeks opposes abortion, and he voted against a state law barring discrimination against gay people. Blagojevich and Topinka support that law and abortion rights, although Topinka favors some abortion restrictions.
News of a possible Meeks run surfaced after he criticized Blagojevich for renewing a no-tax pledge in seeking a second term. Meeks has called that pledge the "death knell" for education funding.
To fix the state's education funding system, Meeks has said he favors a tax swap whereby income taxes would be raised and property taxes lowered to undo the funding inequities between rich and poor school districts.
Meeks has said he has asked Blagojevich for two things: a four-year comprehensive plan for school funding and a plan for how underserved communities are going to be served.
He said earlier this month that he had not gotten those plans and that's why he was moving forward with a third-party bid.
Last week, Meeks said he would announce a slate of candidates for statewide office Saturday and begin collecting the 25,000 signatures of registered voters he needed to get on the November ballot.
Still, Meeks, who was elected to the Illinois Senate as an Independent but filed re-election papers to run for his seat as a Democrat, never committed to being a candidate for governor, always stopping short of saying he would run.
A Meeks candidacy would have hurt Blagojevich more than Topinka because he would have cut into Blagojevich's support among black voters, a reliable base for the Democratic Party, University of Illinois at Springfield political science professor Kent Redfield said recently.
Because of that possibility, some speculated that a run for governor could negatively impact Meeks' political future.
"I don't see him being welcomed back into the bosom of the Democratic Party" if he were to run, Cindi Canary, executive director of the Campaign for Political Reform, said recently.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 8:01 AM
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