William M. Daley, Former Chief of Staff to President Obama, Says He May Support Top-Two Primaries for Illinois

William M. Daley, President Obama’s chief of staff during 2011, and a banker and attorney, said last week that a top-two primary might be good for Illinois. See this story. Daley has never been elected to public office, but he is the younger brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, and son of earlier legendary Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.

William M. Daley might run for Governor of Illinois in 2014, but if he does, he will probably be forced to run against the incumbent Demoratic Governor, Pat Quinn, who seems to want to run for another term.

This analysis in the Chicago NBC-TV station web page points out that the version of top-two that Daley seems to favor would not be legal under federal law. Daley seemed to propose a system in which, if anyone gets 50% of the vote in the March primary, that person is elected. But the analysis correctly points out that the U.S. Supreme Court already ruled in 1997 in Foster v Love that states must hold congressional elections in all districts in November of even-numbered years. Thanks to Nancy Hanks for the link to the NBC story.


Comments

William M. Daley, Former Chief of Staff to President Obama, Says He May Support Top-Two Primaries for Illinois — No Comments

  1. Naturally a Daley – whose father was the ruling dictator of Chicago’s corrupt, single-party government – would want to extend one party rule to the whole state of Illinois.

    “Top-two” is an evil, single-party form of government designed to end free elections in America. Its backers intend to impose a Soviet styled election system on the US.

  2. The first article said that Daley was proposing non-partisan elections for statewide and (potentially) congressional elections; and mentioned the experience of when his brother was elected mayor of Chicago. He then also noted the Top 2 system used in California.

    I’m dubious about the “analysis” by Edward McClelland.

    Why would you run with the headline “Why Daley’s Primary Plan Would Violate Federal Law” without really exploring the actual issues?

    Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich violated federal law. Former Illinois governor George Ryan violated federal law.

    So why not suggest that William Daley potential challenger to Pat Quinn would also violate state law. Is McClelland in the tank for Quinn?

  3. 1. P.R. for legislative bodies
    2. Nonpartisan App.V. for executive/judicial offices.

    NO primaries are needed or wanted — which only produce extremist robot party hacks as nominees.

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