U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley
(Chicago, IL) — December 21, 2009. The gloves are off.
In the race to succeed to succeed State Rep. John Fritchey on Chicago’s north side, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) today endorsed former Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Dan Farley and took scarcely veiled swipe at one of Farley’s opponents, Ann Williams.
“Dan Farley is not a special interest lobbyist. We need a State Representative who will fight for us and against the special interests who try to control our State, ” Quigley said in a Farley campaign e-mail. “I enthusiastically support Dan Farley to fight the status quo in Illinois.”
Williams, a former aide to House Speaker Michael Madigan and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, is a former lobbyist at Wyeth, which manufactures chapstick, advil and centrum vitamins as well as pharmaceuticals. She is now a full-time candidate.
Farley’s opening volley clearly indicates the line of attack his campaign will take against Williams, the only female in the three person race, which includes civil rights attorney Ed Mullen. Farley’s early polling undoubtedly reveals that “special interest lobbyist” is a potent rhetorical club in which to hammer Williams and will likely be a staple in all of Farley’s communications going forward. Betcha.
The Quigley endorsement of Farley comes on the heels of last week’s endorsement of Williams by State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) whose district abuts on the east side Fritchey’s.
The dueling endorsements by Quigley and Feigenholtz set-up round two by proxy of their earlier political clash in the February 2009 special congressional election to succeed Rahm Emanuel, a contest in which Quigley defeated his fellow progressive lakefront liberal and Fritchey, among others.
In addition to Feigenholtz, Williams has won the endorsements of House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and House Deputy Majority Leader and Cook County Democratic Party Executive Vice-President Lou Lang (D-Skokie), in addition a slew of other House and Senate lawmakers.
However, Quigley’s congressional district overlaps the state house district in play and the first term congressman still possesses some of his progressive glow among area voters coming off the recent election. The Quigley endorsement is a higher-order gift for Farley, the son of former State Senator Bruce Farley (D-Chicago).
A Quigley-Feigenholtz grudge match by proxy is a gift for political spectators.
It’s the season for gifts.
UPDATE: Tuesday December 22, 2009.
According to a spokesperson for Quigley, the Congressman never approved the endorsement quote. The Farley campaign invented it.
For the full story, read on …
Gov. Pat Quinn
Quigley and Freigenshlantz both bore me. I like Christmas turkey better.
Posted by bossy marmalade | December 21, 2009, 6:23 PMFact check. Ann was employed for two years as a legislative liaison for a pharmaceutical company. She left that job earlier this year to return to the public sector, where she has spent the majority of her career. Meanwhile, Farley the Younger has spent his ENTIRE career brokering sweetheart development deals for his well-connected clients. If you really want to know the names of the “special interests who run this state,” you should take a look at the Farley Family’s annual Christmas card list. Or just park your car outside Farley Junior’s law office on any given Tuesday afternoon.
Posted by Prairie Pundit | December 21, 2009, 11:23 PMDear Prairie Pundit,
Thank you for the tip.
Thanks for reading.
David Ormsby
Posted by David Ormsby | December 21, 2009, 11:41 PMPrairie Pundit, can you please expound on the sweetheart deals Dan Farley has supposedly engineered?
Posted by sylvie | December 22, 2009, 12:20 AMDavid — I think you’re looking for a ‘there’ where there is none on the Quigley/Feigenholz thing. Elected officials rarely care who other electeds choose to endorse in races in which they have no big stake. It hardly sets up “round two.” I doubt Quigley even knew Sara made an endorsement, and if he did, I really doubt he cares. Just my thoughts.
Posted by esther | December 22, 2009, 12:31 PMHi, Esther,
I agree with you that elected officials tend to care little regarding endorsements when the stakes are minor, but in this case the stakes are bigger. The 11th House district is in Feigenholtz’s backyard and portions lie in Quigley’s district. Politicians are always wary of potential primary rivals and their allies.
Given the recent Quigley-Feigenholtz congressional contest and lingering resentments that all campaigns engender–despite all the make-up air kisses afterward–a wariness between the two remain. The stakes in this race for the future are, thus, high.
Thank you for reading.
David Ormsby
Posted by David Ormsby | December 22, 2009, 12:45 PM