Progress Illinois

Newpaper editorial boards announced a few more endorsements over the past few of days that are worth noting. The Tribune tossed its weight behind GOP nominee Bill Brady for the office of Illinois governor, citing Jim Edgar's similar resume -- "downstater, largely unknown, not much of a record" -- when he came into office. "Does Brady have what it takes?" they asked. "We don't know, but we think he does." The Belleville-News Democrat in Southwestern Illinois and the Daily Herald also went in for Brady. (The Sun-Times previously choose Gov. Pat Quinn.)

The Tribune endorsed Democrat Jesse White for his current office of Secretary of State and Republican Dan Rutherford for State Treasurer. Lisa Madigan locked up their support for Attorney General, which included this laudatory excerpt:

Democrat Lisa Madigan has been a tireless advocate for consumers and taxpayers in her eight years as attorney general. She has worked to get felons out of state nursing homes and to increase state supervision of sex offenders. She campaigned to have dangerous drop-side cribs and infant car seats taken off the market. She has aggressively prosecuted Medicaid fraud, returning hundreds of millions of dollars to the state. She stood up to powerful gaming interests who wanted Illinois to allow a casino in Rosemont, which has well-established ties to organized crime. She blocked former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's short-sighted plan to sell the James R. Thompson Center to help balance the state budget. We could go on and on.

For the office of State Comptroller, GOP candidate Judy Baar Topinka picked up endorsements from both the Tribune and the Sun-Times. Meanwhile, Democrat Robin Kelly nabbed the Sun-Times' endorsement for State Treasurer. Kelly's boss, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias, garnered the Sun-Times' endorsement for President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

The Parking Ticket Geek begs a good question on his website this morning: What's going on with Attorney General Lisa Madigan's consumer fraud investigation into Chicago's much-maligned parking meter lease?

On May 19, 2009, Madigan's office issued subpoenas to the private corporations that leased the city's meter system for a 75-year term, including Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, Chicago Parking Meters LLC, and LAZ Parking. 

The investigation made a splash in the press when it was announced. But since then, over the last 16 months, there hasn't been "another peep on the subject from Madigan’s office," the Parking Ticket Geek notes.

Compare that to the time it took former city Inspector General David Hoffman to issue a blistering report about the meter lease. "[W]hen David Hoffman was the Inspector General for the City of Chicago, and while admittedly not a consumer fraud investigation, the IGO took approximately six months to scrutinize and prepare its report on Chicago’s parking meter privatization," the Geek writes.

Read the full post here.

In the most interesting political rumor of the day, the Wall Street Journal listed Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a possible director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, if and when Congress finally approves the financial reform package.

If named, Madigan would probably thrive in the roll. She's spent the bulk of her tenure as the state's lead attorney fighting on behalf of consumers, whether those exploited by mortgage lenders, utility companies, polluters, or low-cost lenders. Indeed, she was a high-profile advocate of creating the bureau in the first place.

But would she take the job? Back when her name came up as a potential U.S. Senate candidate, she took her name out of the running, citing family implications.

UPDATE (7/7): Madigan threw some cold water on the rumor last night, recommending Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren for the post.