Progress Illinois

This evening's edition of WTTW's Chicago Tonight will feature another interview with former Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen.  Let's at least hope it's more newsworthy than the one-hour "slobberfest" (as Eric Zorn described it) on WLS Radio's Don Wade & Roma yesterday.

In their Tribune article on the process of replacing the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, Rick Pearson and Ray Long write: "The unusual selection process is fraught with peril for Democrats. They are essentially substituting their judgment for those of the voters."  That's exactly right -- and all the more reason why the Democratic leaders should explain to voters as soon as possible how they plan to carry out this decision.

The State Journal-Register's Chris Wetterich makes an interesting point in a new blog post: "[Scott Lee] Cohen ought to be livid at whomever was advising him for letting him think, apparently from the start, that he could weather such a storm."  Those advisers would be the consulting firm Grainger Terry.  Political researcher Will Caskey noted yesterday that they earned $628,000 from Cohen's campaign in 2009 (and probably a bit more in January 2010).  He added, "It is not a wise gamble that someone's conscience will outweigh his paycheck." 

Indeed, the folks at Grainger Terry are probably the only ones to benefit from this whole debacle.  Excluding the Republicans, of course.