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* What’s going on in your part of Illinois today?

posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 7:46 am

Comments

Saluki basketball wins again last night.

Comment by Duke Bo Shimmy Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 8:43 am
Rain, snow and fleet. And 35 mph winds. I am so ready for warm weather.

Comment by very old soil Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 9:01 am
Wind & rain. Rain & wind. At least it should wash all the salt off the roads. 1 day closer to cruise-in / car show season.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 9:17 am
But I don’t need 2 to 4 inches of it.

Comment by very old soil Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 9:24 am
Politically, I’ve been watching the Mayor’s race in Springfield. Looks like it might be the end of a dynasty. While I won’t count Jim Langfelder out, he’s definitely getting outspent by Misty Buscher; her ads seem to be everywhere.

While nominally non-partisan, the race has some interesting characteristics. You have a bit older male (assumed) Democrat up against a slightly younger female (assumed) Republican. A lot of the serious local / business money looks to be going to her.

Depending on who you talk to, Langfelder this past term has been just so-so with some controversy over homeless shelter plans, etc. Buscher has, mostly, kept her head down and just competently ran the City Treasurer’s Office, although she did declare support for Trump’s re-election at some point.

I guess we’ll find out if local politics trumps national politics. (No pun intended.)

Right now, I’m not scheduled to work the consolidated election, just have to open and close the polling place. But I’ll probably drop in once or twice to make sure the workers don’t have any issues with the building.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 9:37 am
RIP Burt Bacharach

https://youtu.be/5WvZF3_EZJM?t=118

Comment by Buford Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 9:49 am
Watching the Wheaton 200 School board election get nasty.

Comment by Dupage Mom Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 10:12 am
== Springfield loves … ==

Yeah, but Jim isn’t Ozzie … we’ll see in about 2 months.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 10:26 am
It’s raining and I have a non covid sore throat. Perfect.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 10:37 am
The Illinois College mens basketball team is 20-20-2.

Comment by btowntruth from forgottonia Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 11:47 am
Oops 20-2.

Comment by btowntruth from forgottonia Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 11:48 am
20-2 not 20-20-2 lol.

Comment by btowntruth from forgottonia Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 11:48 am
You know what I wasn’t thinking when I got up this morning?

That it had been too long since I’d heard from Pat Quinn.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 11:51 am
RNUG -

A big presence behind Buscher is Frank Vala, Chairman of the Springfield Airport Authority, former Chairman of the Procurement Policy Board, and Sangamon County GOP “presence” … .

Langfelder tried to get Vala replaced as chairman with former mayor Mike Houston, a Republican who is about as popular with the Sangamon County GOP as the Langfelders are with the Sangamon County Democrats. Vala had the Authority report the City to US DOT Inspector General over an issue of free hangar space.

Lots of bad blood here, and the fact the Sangamon County GOP thinks this is their best shot for a “friendly” mayor since Karen Hasara.

Comment by Anyone Remember Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 12:11 pm
Interesting that Pat Quinn did not endorse his own running mate for mayor. Maybe he got to know him too well.

Comment by Big Dipper Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 12:12 pm
RNUG, I’ve been following Spfld mayor race closely too. Went to the forum a few weeks ago, and plan on going to the one later in February. I don’t think she said she’d support Trump’s reelection, but she did support him in 2016. Buscher wasn’t too complimentary about Trump at the forum. Said she supported him because she thought he’d bring jobs to Illinois. She basically said he failed miserably and was a disaster. The unions seem to be supporting Buscher as well. If Langfelder wins, I’d be very surprised, but you never really know until election day is over.

Comment by Steve Rogers Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 1:02 pm
== big presence behind Buscher is Frank Vala, ==

- Anyone Remember -, I knew he was one of the big ones pushing her campaign.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 1:47 pm
You can never count a Langfelder out in a Springfield election. But a third term may end up being the same white whale for Jim as it was for Ossie. The city isn’t in bad shape, but it’s stagnant. And many view Langfelder as an impediment to progress, whether on addressing homelessness, downtown development or any number of issues. Misty is his toughest opponent yet. She’s got the trade unions and a number of the important civic/business leader types behind her. And more importantly, she’s got their money. Not sure if Sangamon County GOP has formally backed her, but they’re behind her too. Jim has AFSCME and the Sangamon County Democrats actually backed him too, which is kind of a shock. He’s held up better than I thought he would. Will be close though. Feels like a 52-48 race to me.

Comment by Sangamon Watches Thursday, Feb 9, 23 @ 5:50 pm

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