Illinois has a Dem candidate for Senate with $40 Mil to beat the Repug

[NNN0LHI]

And it is all his own money too! Woo, woo. I would suggest sending a couple of bucks to him but I don't think he needs it. This should be one Senate seat we pick up in November? Hope he is a good liberal Senator.

Don

http://www.blairhull.com/

'Mr. Hull has made affordable health care his personal crusade...'

The January 28 edition of the Rock Island Argus reports, "The snow flew and wind swirled Tuesday as eight Illinois Quad-Citians prepared to board Blair Hull's bus to Canada for cheaper prescription drugs.

"'I will tell you one thing, snow or sleet or rain or George Bush will not keep us from buying drugs at reasonable prices,' the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate said. 'We have a health-care crisis in this nation.'

Connecting with Labor's Rank and File

January 8, 2004: At the AFL-CIO meeting this morning at the Hyatt O'Hare, Blair Hull emphasized his long-time connections to labor's "rank-and-file". Those ties began when, at the age of 19, Hull joined Cannery Warehousemen, Food Processors, Drivers, and Helpers, Local 679 and loaded crates onto conveyor belts in a cannery.

Over the summer, Blair made several trips to join striking workers on the picket lines. The video to the left shows Blair's visit to UAW Local 916 in Mattoon, where he walked the line as workers struck against Ingersoll-Rand.

[Tim_in_HK]

1. As you are in Illinois . . .

How is Dan Hynes looking as a candidate and what are his prospects of getting the nomination?

He was a year above me in high school in Chicago . . . just curious.

[NNN0LHI]

2. I am in Illinois

I have not been following the Senate race too much. Just found out about this guy in my post yesterday. Good luck to your friend, as I have no idea who is looking the best right now. But I do think we are going to gain one Senate seat here in Illinois.

Don

[jbfam4]

3. What happened to Nancy Skinner?

She still in the race?

[NNN0LHI]

5. I am not sure about Nancy. I knew she was having money problems n/t

[Cuban_Liberal]

9. Hynes is a 50-50 shot.

He or Obama will likely be the nominee.

[La_Serpiente]

4. I am not from Illinois

but I really like Obama. Hynes would be great too.

This is a Democratic pickup in my view.

http://www.obamaforillinois.com/

Obama just got the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the LCR. He's also endorsed by SEIU.

http://www.obamaforillinois.com/artman/publish/article_142.shtml

Obama Receives Backing of Two Top Environmental Groups and Pushes for Measures to Address Asthma Epidemic



(CHICAGO) – Senator Barack Obama, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, today received the endorsement of two of the nation’s largest and most influential environmental advocacy groups, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the Sierra Club. Highly coveted by every campaign in the multi-candidate Democratic field, the endorsements underscore Obama’s strong record on clean air and water issues, and provide a huge boost to his campaign as it marches to Primary Day next month.

“Obama is one of only six members of the Illinois State Senate to receive a 100% Environmental Voting Record Award for 2003 from the Illinois Environmental Council,” said Betsy Loyless, LCV Vice President for Policy. “He has built a career fighting for clean air, safe drinking water and the right of citizens to know about the threats to their environment. In the state senate, Barack fought to raise standards on diesel emissions, co-sponsored legislation to promote renewable energy, worked to clean up the Lake Shore on the South Side of Chicago, and strongly supported Brownfields cleanup with the Illinois First environmental program,” she said.

Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope added, “There was a crowded field of candidates who were vying for our endorsement, but we feel strongly that Barack Obama is the strongest choice to put this seat in the hands of a pro-environment Senator, and to passionately defend the health and safety of every community, rich or poor, urban, suburban, or rural. He will be a force for change and a voice for those most vulnerable to the right wing’s assault on the environment – especially those who live near power plants that pollute our air and poison our children,” Pope concluded.

“I’m so proud to receive the endorsement of two of the largest, most dedicated, and most effective environmental advocates in the country,” said Obama. “I’ve spent seven years in Springfield standing up to special interests that boast big war chests and huge influence in government. I’ve fought to keep Illinois’ air and water clean, from our big cities to our small towns and rural areas.”

more...

[Tim_in_HK]

6. Yeah, he looks excellent . . .

Funny! He's the Senator from the neighborhood I grew up in in Chicago. Got some good candidates there this year!

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. He'd be a great senator.

We're lucky this year to have several excellent candidates to choose from.

[hedda_foil]

7. Blair Hull is the worst Dem candidate of the bunch.

All he has is money. He's got no personality, no ability to speak, won't attend debates, has never held office, got his grubstake gambling (poker face must have helped), and seriously reminds me of Steve Forbes in terms of affect.

The Republicans are going to throw the most seriously attractive and charismatic millionaire they've got at our candidate. Jack Ryan has JFK-looks, a movie star ex-wife, top of his class at Harvard Law, a compelling resume (left law to teach inner city kids), and great commercials, plus tons of personal cash and repuke funders. Plus he looks moderate while being VERY right wing. This is not the typical republican candidate and will be very hard to beat.

Blair Hull (who I actually know) would crash and burn so fast in a race with Ryan it wouldn't even be a contest.

Obama is by far our best bet, but no one is less equipped to go up against Ryan than Hulll.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Got his start counting cards playing blackjack in Vegas n/t

[davsand]

10. Hull may have money but he doesn't have labor support.

Hull WAS at the AFL-CIO endorsement session, however the endorsement went to Hynes by a huge margin. Hull has a lot of cash, but he's about as exciting as a plate of cold pasta without sauce. I've seen him give stump speeches a couple times and talked to him a couple more--and I am NOT impressed with him at all.

He lost me when he talked about going to Vegas and working with a group of folks cheating in the casinos. THAT is how he got started financially. (I'll grant you that casinos are not the most upstanding businesses, but cheating them and openly talking about it is a BAD plan.) The GOP will eat him alive in the General.

He's had the cash to hire folks to follow Hynes and Obama around the state videotaping every appearance they make. He's run a bunch of TV and done mailings out the ying-yang, but I really do NOT see him still standing after the primary.

Hynes, as the only statewide elected candidate in the race has been courting Labor for the last few years. He's got great support from the building trades. Obama has endorsements from SEIU, UNITE, and AFSMCE. When it came to the endorsement session for the AFL-CIO the building trades were ORGANIZED and they carried that vote for Hynes.

THAT AFL-CIO endorsement for Hynes is a huge one--and it is already working for Hynes. I know that weekly they are having phone conferences with key organizers in both labor and the Dem party. The Illinois AFL-CIO political director is part of those calls. History has shown that in Illinois, with labor support and a strong Chicago showing those candidates usually win the primary. (Our Gov. Blagojevich is a classic example of that.)

Something else Hynes has, beside labor backing and extremely close ties into the Chicago machine, is that he is really tied into the DLC. He's gonna have cash when he needs it. You can bet on it!

I've been in an odd situation with this race--I fully support Obama, while my husband--a labor leader--has been helping Hynes. To be fair, hubby went to the Obama fundraiser that I co-hosted and I've met with Hynes staffers at local meetings, so we've really tried to work for the two candidates we feel have the best to offer in the General.

I will tell you that my opinion is that Obama is amazing. His speeches are very passionate and well done, and in person he has a magnetism that is exceedingly rare. After I spoke to him the very first time I decided that I'd follow him to the gates of hell--and I am a cynical old political hack!

Last I heard, Nancy Skinner, Gerry Chico, and Maria Pappas were also still in the race.

I agree--this does look like a Senate seat picked up by Dems in Illinois. From what I've heard, the GOP has pretty much written off holding the seat.

Laura