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Obama To Appear At Stroger Rally
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CHICAGO (STNG) -- Todd Stroger’s campaign is counting on a last-minute push from Chicago’s rock star of politics, Barack Obama, to put Stroger over the top in what still appears to be a tight race for Cook County Board president.
Stroger campaign chairman Mike Noonan told the Daily Southtown on Tuesday that Obama and Sen. Dick Durbin will show up at Stroger’s get-out-the-vote rally Monday, the day before the election.
“When you get leaders who transcend party labels like Obama, we think that’s going to be helpful, sure,” Noonan said. “He’s a good person to have on your side on a close election.”
Noonan also hinted at a possible endorsement for Stroger. “We have another announcement related to Obama that’s coming out tomorrow, but I can’t tell you what,” he said.
Obama’s office was not immediately able to confirm.
The freshman senator’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent months and his endorsement could make the difference in a race that seems difficult to call one week before Election Day.
Two polls by media companies were released Tuesday. One showed Stroger, a Chicago alderman, leading by 15 points, while the other showed Republican Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica ahead by 9 points.
“We expect this race to be tight,” Peraica said Tuesday. “We’re not going to let them have one inch anywhere, we’re going to be vigorous.”
The often obscure race for County Board President has become one of the hottest local races of the election. No Republican has won the office since 1966, yet both camps agree the race is almost a toss-up.
Stroger’s campaign has been hobbled by internal strife and some poor performances by its candidate. Stroger failed to impress many editorial boards, with nearly every newspaper in the county endorsing Peraica.
But Peraica is falling further behind in the money race, collecting $6,800 over the past three days. And judging from the questions at debates and results of the polls, Stroger has succeeded in sticking Peraica with the conservative label he has tried hard to avoid.
Stroger, son of retiring president John Stroger, has pulled in huge amounts of money in recent days, including a $500,000 loan from Amalgamated Bank of Chicago.
The money will allow Stroger to keep running TV ads up to Election Day, including a new one that continues his theme linking Peraica to the man Democrats love to hate: President George Bush.
“Tony Peraica wants to dismantle the health care safety net for the working poor,” the ad says, calling Peraica a “real Bush Republican.”
Peraica has attacked Stroger on the ad, saying it was full of lies, and on the loan. Stroger’s home isn’t worth $500,000, Peraica said, so it isn’t clear why the bank agreed to give him the loan.
“Todd Stroger should come clean about how he got that money and from whom and why,” Peraica said. “What are they buying in exchange? ... Clearly, something reeks here.”
Peraica said Amalgamated Bank of Chicago does business with the county and was once run by Bill Daley, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s brother.
Noonan said Stroger had filed all documents required by state election law and he signed for the loan himself, but he declined to give any other details.
Amalgamated Bank’s attorney Jim Landenberger said the bank was prohibited by law from commenting on any personal loans given.
The next week will see both candidates trying to play to their strengths.
Peraica said he’ll keep “talking about the issues that matter to the voters,” presumably through more of the news conferences he has frequently held. He also plans to have television and radio ads on the air.
Stroger will also be on the airwaves, but the candidate will be focusing on rallying the campaign workers considered essential to his win. He’ll hold a rally in the west suburbs Saturday, at a South Side church on Sunday, and downtown Monday with Obama, Noonan said.
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Copyright 2006 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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