It was a busy and rainy day in Chicago, as city candidates vying for a spot on the ballot had their last chance to file petitions. As expected, state Sen. James Meeks filed about 50,000 signatures--but some unlikely candidates showed up as well.
Getting To Know Your Candidates. . .
Apparently Rob Halpin is not ready for his 5 minutes of fame to be over. The man who rented Rahm Emanuel's Chicago home when he left to become White House Chief of Staff made headlines by refusing to move out of the home when Emanuel returned to Chicago. Soon after, Mr. Halpin told reporters he was approached by Republican operatives asking him to consider a mayoral bid. Halpin said he was thinking about it, and began gathering signatures. Then--a change of heart. Bob Howington, Halpin's campaign manager, told HuffPost Chicago last week that Halpin decided not to run. Howington said his wife was not into the idea, and that it would be too expensive. One week later--Halpin files more than 20,000 signatures with the Chicago Board of Elections.
"People approached me and they thought I would be a good mayor," Halpin told the Chicago Tribune after dropping off his signature petitions. "There's no denying that some people met me as a result of being there (Emanuel's house) but it's very coincidental."
Let's see how long this lasts.
Is Roland Running?
What the what? Roland Burris, who just finished his appointed term in the Senate, is on the unofficial candidates list for Chicago mayor. Burris was very publicly unhappy about his short Senate term, (people were not into the fact that he was appointed by Rod Blagojevich after Blago's arrest) but never said he would run for mayor. From the Tribune:
And as the 5 p.m. deadline appoached, a group of people filed what they said were nearly 20,000 signatures on behalf of outgoing U.S. Sen. Roland Burris as a "draft Burris movement."
Burris is apparently aware of this movement, and not trying to stop it. Big shocker there.
No Plaster Caster On The Ballot?
As of 5 p.m., there has been no word as to whether or not Cynthia Plaster Caster filed her petitions. Plaster Caster is a Chicago artist and "recovering groupie" known for making plaster casts of famous and semi-famous people's penises and breasts. She does have a Chicago For Cynthia website, and buttons for sale. The best campaign buttons, ever:
She may not be on the ballot, but there's always the write-in vote.
Danny Davis Gets The Stars Wrong
This morning, Gapers Block found a photo posted by Joe Germuska that tapped into our Photo Hunt obsession. What is wrong with this image?
While regular stars are great and all, Chicago stars are way cooler. And, well, we are assuming that's what Davis' campaign was going for with the pattern and colors.
Candidates Make Plans Public
Mayoral candidate Gery Chico unveiled "Sunshine Chicago" Monday, calling for more transparency in City Hall and Rahm Emanuel explained what he would do with TIF money: put more cops in blighted areas.
If you have any juicy gossip about the race, or a story you think we should see, send us an email at chicago@huffingtonpost.com.