Black And Blue 2: Blacks Flee Blue States in Droves

I saw this over at Newsalert and then this very link was sent to be fairly recently:

Two milestones in the long, painful decline of the blue social model were reached this week and reported, of all places, in the pages of the very éminence grise of the monde bleu: the New York Times.

The first was a piece of national and historical news: The Census reported that waves of blue state blacks fled the stagnant job opportunities, high taxes and rotten social conditions of the mostly blue northern states to seek better lives for themselves in the south. The second milestone was local and literary: Bob Herbert, for many years the only regular Black columnist on the New York Times‘ op-ed page, has written his last column before stepping down.

The Census story is a shocker. First, according to the Times, the Blacks leaving tend to be the “younger and better educated”. Second, the three states Blacks left in largest numbers don’t just include snake-bit Michigan; the other two are Illinois and New York. Within those states, Chicago and the city of the New York (widely considered among the most successful cities in the country) are the places Blacks are deserting. 17 percent of the Black flight from Big Blue is from the Empire State; after almost a century of trailblazing social policy, New York State has succeeded in creating the most hostile environment for Blacks in the country.

It gets worse. One would think that the Blacks who choose to stay in the cold, unwelcoming North would cluster in the cities where more liberal and humane governance models mandate such generous policies as “living wage” laws and where all the beautiful features of the blue social model can be experienced at full strength.

But one would be wrong. Blacks across the North are fleeing the urban paradises of liberal legislation and high public union membership for the benighted suburbs. The Times interviewed a professor to get the straight scoop:

“The notion of the North and its cities as the promised land has been a powerful part of African-American life, culture and history, and now it all seems to be passing by,” said Clement Price, a professor of history at Rutgers-Newark. “The black urban experience has essentially lost its appeal with blacks in America.” [bold italics added]

There is a reason blacks are either moving from the city and to the burbs or are moving back to the Southern states altogether.

Milwaukee, WI is Most Segregated U.S. City,

Click image for larger resolution

The Blaze shares details from the 2010 census about Milwaukee. Check out the graphic above three other counties surrounding Milwaukee County. Chicago is number 3 on the list at The Blaze, Milwaukee for however that list is justified is listed as Number 1. Number 2 is New York City.

Chicago isn't the only city losing their black population...

What about our nation's capitol Washington, District of Columbia? I've heard about gentrification going on there for years. From Washington Post:

The number of African Americans residing in the District plummeted by more than 11 percent during the past decade, with blacks on the verge of losing their majority status in the city for the first time in half a century.

According to census statistics released Thursday, barely 50 percent of the District’s population was African American in 2010 — a remarkable shift in a place once nicknamed “Chocolate City.”

The black population dropped by more than 39,000 over the decade, down to 301,000 of the city’s 601,700 residents. At the same time, the non-Hispanic white population skyrocketed by more than 50,000 to 209,000 residents, almost a third higher than a decade earlier.

The census statistics showed a steeper change for both blacks and whites than had been estimated. With the city ‘s black population dropping by about 1 percent a year, African Americans might already be below the 50 percent mark in the city.

In a city that prides itself on being a hub of black culture and politics, a majority of residents have been black since whites began moving to the suburbs en masse at the end of World War II. By 1970, seven out of 10 Washingtonians were black.

The loss of blacks comes at a time when the city is experiencing a rebound, reversing a 60-year-long slide in population and adding almost 20,000 new residents between 2000 and 2010.

So, I'm sure this is a recurring theme:

Maurice Jackson, a professor of African American history at Georgetown University, said the black middle class has followed the white middle class before them, heading to the suburbs in search of more affordable housing and good schools.

BTW, former Mayor and Washington, DC city councilman Marion Barry was quoted. Not so sure he can provide an answer to this issue. Although he does talk about something Chicago that was an issue in the recently concluded mayoral campaign. Whether or not city workers MUST live in the city:

Barry, the four-term mayor who emerged from the civil rights movement, also faulted Congress for overturning a residency requirement for local government workers in 1988. That, he said, helped build up what he called “Ward 9,” referring to Prince George’s County.

“We can’t keep people from moving, but if we had a residency requirement, we could keep government workers from moving,” Barry said.

Black leadership in Chicago are grappling with the fact that Blacks are leaving the city. Probably not much different there than here. Surely DC had public housing projects which they recently demolished or turned them into co-ops where tenants must pay rent. If DC is very difficult to survive without a college degree then hey where else can low income people go but out of the inner city.

What I also accept as mention by another former DC Mayor Anthony Williams, that you want new businesses and resident to help generate revenue. Especially if that revenue may help low income people.

I don't know how DC is doing fiscally, but I would support -  paramount to worrying about Blacks leaving a city where for years they have dominated politically and culturally - finding a way to make a particular city viable.

Kaskaskia: First Capital of Illinois

[VIDEO] Earlier this month the Tribune took a trip to the town of Kaskaskia, IL

As noted the town of Kaskaskia was the first state capital of Illinois located along the southwestern border of Illinois which is essentially the Mississippi River. According to the Wiki article about the town the population is only 14 as of 2010. It is the least populated area of this state.

Kaskaskia was the state capital until 1819. Illinois became a state in 1818 so it was only a year where state government was located. After 1819 thru 1839 our state capital was located in Vandalia, Illinois. As a matter of fact a State House was built in hopes that state government would remain in Vandalia.

Unfortunately for Vandalia, state government would move again to Springfield, Illinois where it has been since 1839. Also note that a future President of the United States, one Abraham Lincoln, was instrumental in moving the state capitol from Vandalia to Springfield.

More history of Illinois' state capitols can be found here. That page is part of a website @ http://www.ilstatehouse.com/ which is dedicated to promote the current state capitol building in Springfield.

Black Caucus mum on Tea Party Republican who wants to join

In the news of last weeks US House gains there are now two new Republican members of Congress who just so happen to be Black. One of them was a veteran of the Iraqi war. And it's his story that I'm posting:

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is staying silent about a Tea Party Republican's bid to join the group.

Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.) indicated last week he intends to join the CBC to challenge the group's "monolithic voice."

"I plan on joining, I'm not gonna ask for permission or whatever, I'm gonna find out when they meet and I will be a member of the Congressional Black Caucus," West, one of two black Republicans elected to Congress last Tuesday, told WOR radio. "I meet all of the criteria, and it's so important that we break down this monolithic voice that continues to talk about victimization and dependency in the black community.

"We've got to turn this thing around, and I think it's time for some different voices to be in that body politic."

They laughed former Congressman JC Watts out of the room when he tried it when he served in the House. I don't mean literally, but they sure didn't take his bid very seriously. Many of the members of the CBC are largely entrenched and old school and very partisan. Instapundit was right to refer to this committee instead as the Black Democratic Caucus.

And you know what else, the caucus that is referred to as the "conscious of Congress" doesn't speak for me anyway!

Been wanting to write a post about Bill Brady over the weekend

Obviously it's old news that the Republican nominee for Governor, Bill Brady, has conceded the race for Governor on Friday. Brady who is a State Senator from Bloomington, IL (home of Illinois State University) was expected to win this election and it has been said his campaign was already planning a transition.

Either way Pat Quinn our incumbent Governor who took over for Rod Blagojevich - Ousted governor - since his removal from office in 2009 was able to eke out a victory. I had expected Quinn to lose this election based upon what he's done the past almost two years since he ascended to our Governorship. He's an honest man who has the tendency to not follow though and change his mind quickly about how to settle our state's fiscal problems.

I though Brady was a better choice for Governor, but neither he nor Gov. Quinn were the most ideal candidates at all. Both had their issues, but it was Brady's for the taking apparently and if Brady hadn't starting planning for the transition who knows if Brady could've eked out a win on Election Day. He needed workers on the campaign trail all the way through Election Day.

This election was close at last count it was around 20,000 votes separating Quinn and Brady. Both men had 46 and tenths of a percent of the vote. It's almost like maybe Bush v. Gore in 2000 perhaps that type of percent and even worse Bush didn't run away with it in the popular vote. Remember the Electoral Vote counts more than the popular vote. If Bush won the most popular votes in certain states as he had in Florida for example he could win the election without a plurality of American voters casting a ballot for him.

In 2010 Illinois, it appears that Brady won most of the state, but Cook County carried it for Quinn. It's often true if a Republican is competitive in Cook County not merely win, but is competitive he might have a shot. Let's not forget that Chicago at the very least is a very Democratic town.

I've got to say however, I almost saw this coming. One day I wrote a comment at the Capitol Fax that someone is going to call for a state electoral college because of what happened with Brady. Not that I support that, but it seems someone did call for one. We haven't yet figure out what to do with a federal one let alone create one for the state. And Rich Miller was right, counties and such don't vote people do. Even if you created a delegation from the 118 counties to cast their votes for a Governor. And at that do we choose electors similarly to what is done in practice around the nation.

Another thought I had. I would've had no problem with Brady prolonging the inevitable if it had to be verified. Of course I was of another mind of it. With the problems that this state is having currently who would want to be Governor. I did believe Brady would've been better, but that's not to say he'd have been more successful than Quinn. My advice to Brady is to just let Quinn have this one, because then he'll have to deal with the many issues instead of Brady himself.

Reading the cynical comments at the CapFax many believe that whoever won this year wouldn't have a chance in four years. Speaker Madigan who maintained his majority in the state House of Representatives this year wants to see his daughter (state Attorney General Lisa Madigan) ascend to the governorship in four years (even if many are expecting her to run for Mayor next year even if she had appeared to had denied interest in a race for Chicago Mayor). The cynics think that Madigan won't do everything it takes to solve Illinois' issues if it may impact the political future of his daughter.

Either way even if the economic picture will have changed by 2014, Brady could learn from this year and try again. He had run in 2006, but was behind Judy Baar Topinka (our then state Treasurer) for the GOP nomination for Governor.

While running multiple times and losing is never a good thing. Besides Quinn lost a couple of big time elections himself. He had lost a race for Attorney General and another for US Senate. Then he came back as Lt. Governor to find himself as Governor himself.

Even more in Brady's favor or any other potential candidate for Governor in four years is the fact that Quinn signed into law changes that allow Gubernatorial candidates to choose their own Lt. Governor running mates. Thus future nominees won't have the issues that Quinn had originally with Scott Lee Cohen and then the issues when it came time to select Sheila Simon (many Black politicos in this state wanted to see State Rep. Art Turner to be the Dem. nominee for Lt. Governor). Of course Brady had to deal with the baggage of his running mate Jason Plummer with his inexperience on the statewide level and those dreaded tax returns.

Well let's see what happens in these next four years.

I want you to read this piece by a Republican activist from downstate who wanted Brady to stand up for his conservative values. For many that was an issue especially in his stances on abortion and gay-marriage. I may largely agree with those stances however I also recognize that those aren't the most pressing issues right now.

What going on in Illinois' 2nd Congressional District?

In the same vein as Tom Mannis writes about Joel Pollak who attempted to take Jan Schakowsky's congressional seat I will write about Isaac Hayes.

Let me be honest when I say that I really didn't pay attention to this race. Up until maybe September, Jesse Jackson Jr. my congressman didn't seem to be vulnerable until speculation heated up that he would attempt to run for the open Chicago Mayor office. Then we knew more about his dealings with Ousted governor and we found out about that pretty blond haired restaurant hostess.

Even if he had been weakened I had my doubts about an upstart Republican actually winning Illinois' 2nd Congressional District. It's said to be solidly Democrat. It runs from Chicago's Far South Side going as far north as the South Shore neighborhood into the south suburbs of town. From some other people who are in the know about politics Hayes may have won this election if he had the south suburbs. No doubt for any Republican, Chicago is a tough deal as Bill Brady is finding out right now as he hopes to still win the Governor's race as I write this.

Hayes didn't appear to be just another jobber in this race. He may have given Jackson a reason to sweat, even if  he was more sweating about his negative press than a Republican challenger. Hayes had TV ads on cable before Election Day as well.

He even got press (he was covered by the AP) for his campaign and notice in right wing circles as well. He was endorsed by at least the Southtown Star a major south suburban newspaper. In the end, it wasn't to be. When I saw the results last night Hayes was still in the teens as far as percentage of the vote.

All the same too many of these Republican insurgents who run in these races in Chicago's "bluest" areas have all too often disappeared from the scene or otherwise just went back to the dominant Democratic machine. Hopefully Isaac Hayes will continue his efforts to not allow incumbents to go unchallenged in the general election. Hopefully they can learn a lesson from Hayes. 

Obligatory ballot receipt shot

I voted early this morning. Just now took a picture of it and posted it on twitter. I hope those of you reading this blog has voted already.

Oh yeah that is one of my Moleskine notebooks that the receipt is sitting on.

Mechanics : Cohen mailer

Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Cohen mailer

Well, um I just posted this at Gaper's Block earlier. You can find it at Capitol Fax as well. Cohen sent this mailer out and it wasn't long after allegations of him attempting to buy the support of Black ministers in his independent bid for Illinois Governor.

Deval Patrick in a tough race for re-election in Massachussettes

So, I was about to call Gov. Patrick American's ONLY Black governor then I realized that in the neighboring state of New York there is Gov. David Patterson, a Harlem politician who was elevated to that position thanks to the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Patterson is not running for re-election this year however.

Like Illinois, the NY Times considers the Massachusetts Governor's race a tossup with a 75.2% chance of a Patrick victory over his Republican opponent Charlie Baker. This FOX News vid discusses the campaign with Patrick welcoming the President to help him campaign. It was noted that many Democratic candidates have been keeping the President at arms length.

Quinn v. Brady debate in Chicago

Union League Club Debate: Quinn vs Brady from Alan Cottrell on Vimeo.

Hat-tip to Capitol Fax. This debate took place at the Union League Club of Chicago today.

Just to remind you that in about a month we have an immediate election before we even consider the mayoral contest in February. We have seen that there has been a lot of focus on who's going to replace Daley or whether or not the Presidential Chief of Staff will run for Mayor of Chicago and leave the Obama administration.

Next month we will elect a Governor and a US Senator.

I hope we will see more debates preferably on TV.

Word on the Street: Brady is under Quinn's skin

PJstar:

Quinn is clearly annoyed when Brady, who voted against the state funding a capital bill, shows up at ribbon cuttings, ground breakings and such to take a bow. "He's showing up in Bloomington at the ribbon cutting of the high speed rail depot there that he had nothing to do with."

The CapFax has a video of Gov. Quinn rambling.

Perhaps the Pat Quinn of the primary, when he faced our current Comptroller Dan Hynes, is starting to come out again!

2010 Gubernatorial debates

I was under the impression that there won't be any. Looks like there will be. Who knows Quinn could benefit since FiveThirtyEight projects that Gov. Quinn has a 10.3% chance of winning this election. While I may like Bill Brady, I would actually watch this debate to see who wants IL's governorship more!

Illinois 2010 resembles 1980

On Monday Rich Miller wrote his syndicated column where he compared the governor's race to the 1980 presidential race. He says that Gov. Quinn is similar to Jimmy Carter and State Sen. Bill Brady is similar to Ronald Reagan. He reiterated those points on the new Chicago Public Radio program, Best Game in Town.

The comparison is valid. To be sure I had high hopes for Quinn and he has been a marked change from Ousted governor. I believe Quinn is an honest man, but as far as governor he doesn't seem much different from his predecessor and running mate. He has left a lot to be desired as far as governing.

Of course it isn't entirely clear that Brady will govern better. So far he's ran a better campaign as Miller notes that the Governor, "wouldn’t recognize a campaign theme if it was bleeding to death on his front lawn".

Speaking of Jimmy Carter he is said to have had a very successful post-presidency. In fact he recently secured the release of an American citizen who was sentenced to prison in North Korea for crossing into their territory. It just had to be brought up his failure to bring home hostages from Iran during his presidency!

At least in Quinn's case the issues he face will not involve any foreign affairs with the eyes of the world upon him.

Impact of "ground zero" mosque on Illinois governor's race

Rich Miller made note of Bill Brady's (the Republican nominee for Governor) comments on this particular issue. Cited it as evidence of Brady's growth as a candidate & leader:

Republican candidate for Illinois governor Bill Brady says he thinks there's a "lack of sensitivity" regarding the building of a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Brady on Tuesday wouldn't give an opinion on whether he supports or opposes the mosque site near Ground Zero. He said he hopes "sensitive minds will deal with this in a sensible way."

There here's Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn's comments on this particular issue from the Post-Dispatch:

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday said he believes proponents of building a mosque near the site of the 9-11 attacks in New York City should respect a ``zone of solemnity'' and move it further from the site.

The comments were surprising because Quinn is the state's top Democrat and a staunch supporter of President Barack Obama, who has said the mosque has the right to locate near ``ground zero'' as a statement of American principles of freedom of religion.

Quinn, surprisingly may have handled this issue better than the Democratic nominee for US Senate. ;)

Marathon Pundit: Gianoulias doesn't support a new Greek Orthodox Church at "ground zero"

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

State Treasurer Alexi Gianoulias is running for US Senate. He wants to take up the seat of his mentor President Obama. Since he became the Democratic nominee he's had a rough go in a race that seems to be a close one because his Republican opponent Mark Kirk isn't without his problems himself.

Either way did he step into it by supporting the construction of a Muslim community center near "ground zero" the former site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center?

Not only that Marathon Pundit mentions a story about the only place of worship destroyed on September 11th, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Gianoulias is said to be Greek Orthodox himself and unfortunately has very little according to this Weekly Standard article that Ruberry linked to in his post.

The congregation at St. Nicholas has been struggling to rebuild their church since that unfortunate day. The church itself was destroyed when the south tower of the WTC collapsed right on top of it.

Charles Thomas: Pat Quinn's Week to Forget

Umm, well things went a little downhill after the Governor signed a bill in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood. Well Rev. Meeks and other ministers at that signing didn't indicate that they would support Quinn in his re-election bid. Then three days after that those same ministers who were in Roseland met with his Republican opponent Bill Brady in Bronzeville:

Then I found out that three days later, on Thursday, some of the same ministers who attended the Roseland bill-signing joined others in a secret meeting with republican gubernatorial candidate Senator Bill Brady.   The breakfast at Pearl's Restaurant at 39th and Indiana included an estimated two dozen black clergymen and was described as the "opening of a dialogue" with the Bloomington conservative.


Several of the ministers described Senator Brady as "nothing like the right-wing extremist" described by Governor Quinn and his operatives.

I would've like to add the previous paragraph in his post. There is a concern that Pat Quinn is taking the support of perhaps specifically Black ministers (more broadly Black voters) for granted in his campaign. In a private session, Quinn was said to be disconnected.

As for that last paragraph in that excerpt, could that spell trouble for Quinn. You know what else, this doesn't come too long before Brady made his appearance at the Bud Billiken Parade this past weekend. You saw a clip where ABC7 talked to Brady during that parade in a previous post.

Hmmmm, what's next Brady will make an appearance next month at the Chicago Football Classic? Will we see him offer his own greetings to Black College Football fans as Governor by next year? Time will tell!

Heard that Bill Brady was at the Bud Billiken Parade....

So I had to find any media coverage I could of that. Ran across this blog, the lady here seemed so excited to meet the Republican candidate for Governor she describes him as really cool and approachable. Apparently Mark Kirk was at the Billiken as well, and she got a picture with him. She also embedded video from ABC7 and points out that she was in this video at the 17 minute mark!

Even better, she said that she was supposed to walk with Scott Lee Cohen, but Brady made it to the Bronzeville neighborhood to take part in this parade.

You may want to know why this is significant. Honestly I've rarely paid attention to this tradition. This parade has been held for better than 80 years and is a signal that the school year is about to start again. The audience is primarily black and Bronzeville is a predominantly black neighborhood.

Another major significance to this event is for the politicians. Years ago Rod Blagojevich in running for re-election was running around shaking hands during his time in the parade. Let's not forget that Blacks make up an important base for mainly the Democratic party. Even then it might be a very important thing to show up in the Billiken if you want to seek black votes.

In this election for Governor (I do wish I knew how to create odds) I feel that this will be a squeaker by election day. Every vote will count in this one and perhaps Bill Brady from downstate Bloomington, Illinois may have made a smart move. Hopefully this will count in November!

Professor's 13 Keys Predict Obama Will Get Re-Elected

A lot can happen in two years, but I can't say that this would be a big surprise with or without the "keys" of this political scientist. Obama may not have a party mandate next year, he may not have any military or foreign affairs success, nor might he be considered a national hero. In fact he does have loads of charisma that likely helped him get elected in the first place. Anyway read this when you get the chance!

Black, Green and Dangerous For Dems

From Charles Thomas at his Precinct7 blog:

For Illinois democrats trying to hold on to the U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in the 2010 general election, the emergence of LeAlan Jones is up there near the top on the list of "worst things that could happen".
...
Jones is the Green Party's nominee.  And with so much voter anger and frustration aimed at the major parties, that alone would be enough to make him a factor in the race.

But he's also an African-American who wants to replace the only black member of the Senate, Roland Burris, who was appointed to take the seat vacated by President Barack Obama, who was the only elected black person in the chamber until 2008.

With white male major party nominees in Illinois--democrat Alexi Giannoulias and republican Mark Kirk--many black folks here and around the country are distressed and even outraged by the likelihood that the U.S. Senate will revert to its usual count of zero African-Americans.

And many of those black voters might express those feelings on November 2nd with a vote for Jones.

In fact, a June Public Policy Polling survey suggested Jones was favored by 14% of the electorate during a poll of 552 Illinois voters.

And what perhaps is most important about the survey is that Jones' showing means he should be invited to participate in the televised debates.   Black voters, in particular, who do not know an African-American is on the ballot will realize as much after they see and hear the young, articulate black man standing alongside Kirk and Giannoulias.

Giannoulias, whose democratic party relies on the usually dependable and heavy African-American vote, has the most at risk.  That's why, sources say, democratic party operatives are reaching out to Jones, who will not confirm or deny that such contacts have been made.

I think I can understand it somewhat both major party candidates for US Senate are evenly matched. One can't help but stretch the truth on his military service. The other has an unfortunate association with his family owned bank which was taken over by the feds.

This election is depressing no one seems able to break out of the pack. And the polls are going back and forth because both of these individuals just having nothing that makes them wildly electable.

BTW, the man who they're replacing may be forced to vacate the seat. A federal judge has all but ordered a special election  for that senate seat. The seat Giannoulias and Kirk are running for is currently held by Roland Burris and was the seat that catapulted Barack Obama to the Presidency.

I can always look at it this way, in an eagerness to insure that a black is sitting in a US Senate seat a corrupt governor appoints a black and it quickly becomes a racial issue. The Democratic majority in the state backs off so as to not anger an important voting block and drops a special election because they want another Democrat to win. Two blacks run in the primary one each in both major parties and both lost. So blacks would have to suck it up and vote for two white men in the general election anyway.

If this was about a Black Senator we've lost this race anyway. Especially since the appointed Black Senator wasn't able to mount a bid to retain the seat and other Black candidates were unable to break out of primaries. And the only other choice is a third party candidate who also is Black, but that's not likely to happen because he's not a Democrat.

Wow 2010 is turning into something else in Illinois isn't it?