The Quinn bin….
Patrick Quinn is on the run.
Parades. Breakfasts. Fetes. Events. Here. There. Everywhere.
It’s his sweet button; glad handing; being around people; actually loving church pancakes and political punditry — and the connection of a quick handshake.
To the former governor, lieutenant governor, Illinois treasurer and commissioner of the Cook County Board of (Property Tax) Appeals — who always carried a pencil in his pocket to jot down voter requests — campaigning is Quinn’s bin.
So once again, Quinn is in.
Since Memorial Day, Quinn had been hinting he just might enlarge his political resume, eyeing a bid to unseat Mayor Lori Lightfoot in her quest to retain office. He recently stated he will make up his mind at summer’s end.
But when Quinn showed up at the city clerk’s office at City Hall on Tuesday before filing a proposed ordinance to prevent a corporate sponsorship deal to sell the name of Soldier Field, it was apparent “Flynn was in” the running again.
So when did Quinn hit the proverbial “in” button?
In an interview this past week, Quinn tells Sneed he was bolstered by a cellphone canvas of 614 Chicago voters at the end of May by Blueprint polling, which showed him doing well in a horse race against Lightfoot, whom he had once supported for mayor — but no more.
“It was around Memorial Day and it was good news,” said Quinn, who is a major supporter of the U.S. military and who treasured his role as head of the Illinois National Guard when he was governor. (Quinn travels to libraries statewide with portraits of Illinois soldiers killed in the line of duty he commissioned during his tenure as gov to honor their memory.)
The Blueprint head-to head canvas, conducted by phone, showed Quinn polling 39.8% compared to Lightfoot’s 29.4%.
The rest were undecided or not sure.
Broken down by ethnicity, African American voters show 54.7% were for Lightfoot and 22.4% for Quinn.
The polling stats also showed Quinn got 46.6% of Latino voters versus 12.3% for Lightfoot; among white voters, Quinn got 51.2% versus 17.1 voters for Lightfoot; and among women voters Quinn got 29.7% versus Lightfoot’s 34.9%.
Quinn also snagged 51.8% of the male vote versus Lightfoot’s 23.2%.
The poll had a margin of error of 4%, although those rates are typically higher among the subgroups polled.
“A mayor basically needs to do at least three basic things,” he said, listing “effective public safety, holding down property taxes and making sure good jobs are available to support a family.”
Quinn feels Lightfoot swerved into the wrong lane on all three counts during her tenure in office.
“An automatic property tax increase minus City Council approval is a recipe for disaster,” he said of an ordinance pushed by the mayor that ties property tax hikes to the rate of inflation.
“I’ve been exploring and talking to people all summer long at parades and events citywide” said Quinn. “People want a change. And the response has been satisfying.”
Next up on Quinn’s calendar? The Bud Billiken parade early next month.
Bet on it.
Huma & who????
Hello Hillary? I remember when a newly launched People Magazine snagged an exclusive interview with Mayor Richard J. Daley in the 1970s, which was about as interesting as his mention of his wife Sis’ Irish soda bread.
Please fast forward to the latest People scoop on actor Bradley Cooper and Hillary Clinton’s former top aide, Huma Abedin, being romantically linked! Or, perhaps, just inked.
Well, well. How tittletattle has changed.
A reunion of sorts ...
Yes, sir ... senator! Former State Sen. Billy Marovitz hosted what was billed as a “Bipartisan Senate Reunion” recently, a summoning of Illinois senators past and present to gab and blab.
“It was an incredibly warm evening, strictly social with everyone mixing with each other and recalling warm times and stories,” said Marovitz … who still likes being called “Senator.”
Former Gov. George Ryan, current Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and State Treasurer Mike Frerichs also showed up to join in the tall tales. And naturally, the event —which took a year to plan — was held at Marovitz’s Carnivale restaurant downtown.
Quoth Marovitz, the nephew of the late, great federal judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz ... the legendary judge when no law degree was required: “We all asked: Why can’t the current legislature AND the U.S. Congress learn to get along and work together?”
Now there’s a question.
Sneedlings …
The baton has been passed: A warm hug to Chicago newspaper legend Bruce Sagan, the Herald’s longtime publisher, who is retiring at the age of 93. An icon in our trade and a revered connection as an alum of the legendary City News Bureau of Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. An amazing icon in a bowtie and warm sweater.
Saturday birthdays: director Christopher Nolan, 51; actress Vivica A. Fox, 58, and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 75. Sunday birthdays: entrepreneur Mark Cuban, 64; author J.K. Rowling, 57, and actor Wesley Snipes, 60.
