Dems vs. GOP Ticket

In the race for governor voters can choose from Democratic Governor Pat Quinn of Chicago and newly selected Lt. Governor Candidate Sheila Simon of Carbondale. On the Republican side there's Senator Bill Brady and Lt. Governor Nominee Jason Plumber. Both men are from downstate and are considered very conservative.

"There's not a lot of contrast between the two candidates for governor and their running mates. Ideologically they're very close," said Kent Redfield, UIS professor emeritus of political science.

Redfield’s comments were featured in a WICS-TV 20 report on March 29, 2010.

Watch the story online on News Channel 20’s website

Costello still opposes health care bill

U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, was still on record as of Thursday that he will vote no on the Senate version of the health care reform bill the House is set to vote on this weekend.

Kent Redfield, an expert on Illinois politics, said the only explanations for Costello's threat to vote no on the bill are either he is bargaining for something or he wants to be shown some respect.

"If people feel they are being ignored and taken for granted, then they like to be asked," said Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 18, 2010, Belleville News-Democrat Article.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100318-BND-Costello-still-opposes.pdf

Brady has bunch of work to do to win, experts say

State Sen. Bill Brady squeaked by last month's six-way Republican gubernatorial primary as a relatively unknown statewide commodity known - if at all - for his downstate roots.

The strategy was successful; after all, he won. But now, experts say, Brady should be on to a new mission of endearing himself to upstate voters.

"He's an unknown factor," said Kent Redfield, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 16, 2010, article in the Southtown Star.

Download a PDF of this article:
20100316-STS-Brady-has-bunch-of-work.pdf

In Illinois, Race Is Set for Governor

A full month after votes were cast in a primary, the race for governor was at last set in Illinois Friday. The campaign will pit a conservative downstate Republican lawmaker against the sitting Democratic governor, who must overcome a dire state budget gap as well as memories of the ousted Democratic governor Rod R. Blagojevich.

“This may have been the more desirable outcome for Pat Quinn,” said Kent Redfield, a political scientist from the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 5, 2010, article in the New York Times.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100305-NYT-In-Illinois-Race-Governor.pdf

Democrats taking applications for Ill. lt. gov.

Illinois' Democratic voters picked a pawnbroker as their candidate for lieutenant governor, and that didn't exactly end well.

The Democrats' approach to the candidate selection process is unprecedented in Illinois, according to political analysts. The closest the state has come in recent history is in 2004, when Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan left the race and the party's central committee replaced him with Alan Keyes, a conservative who didn't live in Illinois at the time, said Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Keyes went on to lose to President Barack Obama.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 3, 2010, Associated Press article published in the Belleville News Democrat.

Download the article as a PDF:
20100303-BND-dems-start-taking.pdf

Is taking a jab at House Speaker politically risky?

As the clock runs down on the primary election season, some candidates are making bold claims or hurling accusations against opponents.

Kent Redfield, a former political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said Democrats who seriously oppose House Speaker Michael Madigan won't get far.

"For those who think they are going to be independent, criticizing the Speaker, voting against the Speaker, that would be disastrous for the representative and bad for the district," Redfield explained. "Madigan has a long memory and keeps score when members cross him. It can be isolating and ineffective if you go directly against him."

Redfield's comments were featured in a January 29, 2010, article in the Chicago Daily Herald.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100129-CDH-Is-taking-a-jab-at-House-Speaker2.pdf

Race for lieutenant gov takes wacky, pricey turn

The open office has attracted six Democrats and six Republicans and has seen a record amount of money raised and spent.

"It's a very unusual situation," said Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois-Springfield, who confirmed the race is the most expensive in the office's history. "If we hadn't had the impeachment [of Rod Blagojevich], it would be a lower profile sort of thing."

Redfield's comments were featured in a January 28, 2010, article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100128-SunTimes-Race-for-lieutenant-gov.pdf

With no incumbent, 10th Congressional district up for grabs

As Mark Kirk bows out of the 10th Congressional race to run for U.S. Senate, the political doors again are open for both democrats and republicans.

"I think it's likely to be an expensive, high-profile race that gets national attention," said Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Voter mood also has changed since the 2008 Democratic whirlwind led by President Barack Obama.

"It will be interesting to see who's playing offense and who's playing defense," Redfield said.

Redfield's comments were featured in a December 20, 2009, edition of the Chicago Daily Herald

Download a PDF of the article:
20091220-Daily-Herald-10th-Congressional.pdf

One year later: 'Blagojevich hangover' continues

Believe it or not it was one year ago today (December 9, 2008) that FBI agents knocked on Rod Blagojevich's front door and opened the final chapter in the former governor's troubled tenure in office.

Political science professor Kent Redfield said it could be a decade or more before the state is cured of its "Blagojevich hangover."

The University of Illinois at Springfield professor says voters will have to find new faith in new leaders. He said Blagojevich did so much damage that voters may have a hard time trusting any elected official.

Redfield's comments were featured in a December 8, 2009, edition of the Quad-Cities Dispatch-Argus.

Download a PDF of the article:
20091208-QuadCities-One-year-Blagojevich.pdf

Funding in limbo for low-income college students

Gov. Pat Quinn pledged in October to reinstate the remaining $205 million in Monetary Award Program (MAP) funds to keep the program in full force for the next fiscal year. But where exactly the money will come from, and its effect on a growing state budget deficit, is undecided.

“This was done without a real clear revenue source,” said University of Illinois-Springfield political science professor emeritus Kent Redfield. “This is one more drop in the bucket in terms of a really, really bad (budget) situation.”

Redfield's comments were featured in a November 5, 2009 Elmhurst Press article.

Download a the article as a PDF.
20091105-Elmhurst-Funding-in-limbo.pdf

February primary ballots to be lengthy

The question almost becomes, “Who’s not running for governor or U.S. Senate?”

The close of the filing period for the Feb. 2 primary on Monday left seven Republicans, four Democrats and two Green Party candidates running for governor and eight Republicans, seven Democrats and one Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate.

Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, said Democrats have the problem of having inherited “an incredible mess” from ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Redfield's comments were featured in an November 3, 2009 State Journal-Register article.

Download a PDF of the article.
20091103-SJR-February-primary-ballots.pdf

Upstate split benefits Brady in gubernatorial race

These are the best of times for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady of Bloomington.

"For Brady, this is all a benefit because he'd like to see the others fight it out," said Chris Mooney, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

"The fact that there are seven candidates now means that no one has been able to clear the field," said Kent Redfield, another University of Illinois at Springfield political scientist. "But in the cold light of day they're going to look at what it costs to do media buys and someone is going to drop out."

Mooney and Redfield were featured in an October 18, 2009 article in the Champaign News-Gazette.

Download a PDF of the article.
20091018-NG-upstate_split_benefits_Brady.pdf

Quinn fights for college grants he helped cut

To hear Gov. Pat Quinn tell it, the General Assembly failed tens of thousands of would-be college students by slashing funding for a financial aid program.

For more than a month, Quinn has crisscrossed Illinois, promising to push lawmakers to find $200 million for the Monetary Award Program and chastising them for leaving 137,000 students wondering if they'll be able to pay tuition next spring -- even though he helped create the problem.

"It's not fair at all," said Kent Redfield, an emeritus political science professor at the University Illinois-Springfield. "It's the governor's budget, he signed off on it. There was clearly enough discretionary spending in what the governor signed off on to cover this."

Redfield's comments were featured in an October 14, 2009 Associated Press article, which was published in the Chicago Tribune and State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article.
20091014-Trib-chi-ap-il-quinn-higheredmon%2C.pdf

Hynes first to air TV ad in Ill. gov.'s race

Democrat Dan Hynes criticizes Gov. Pat Quinn's tax proposal while touting his own plan to raise income taxes in the first TV ad of the governor's race, which debuted Thursday.

It's risky for Hynes to spend money on TV airtime now, but it's understandable because he's trying to topple a sitting governor, said Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

"It's a risk because people aren't really thinking politics. On the other hand, he's playing catch-up. He doesn't really have any other option," Redfield said.

Redfield's comments were featured in an October 8, 2009 Chicago Tribune article.

Download a PDF of the article.
20091008-TRIB-chi-ap-il-governorsrace-hy%2C0.pdf

Chicago supporters crushed, confused by early elimination

An audible gasp swept through the Daley Plaza when the large-screen video boards showed Chicago's elimination in the first round of voting for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Kent Redfield, political science professor at University of Illinois Springfield, said "Obama is personally very popular internationally, but the U.S. as a country is still suffering the fallout of eight years of the cowboy foreign policy under Bush. Any acting out of negative feelings" by the IOC "is more a repudiation of the U.S.'s image and standing in the world, which Obama is trying to repair."

Redfield's comments were featured in a October 3, 2009 edition of USA Today.

Download a PDF of the article.
20091003-USAToday-Chicago-supporters.pdf

Slide Ended in Apparent Suicide

Christopher Kelly was a roofer, a fundraiser, a gambler and a felon. He started small, made millions, befriended a young politician named Rod Blagojevich and died last weekend in an apparent suicide.

Kent Redfield, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, described Kelly as "part of the inner circle from the beginning." He called it ironic at best that Blagojevich made Kelly his point man with the Illinois Gaming Board.

Redfield's comments were featured in a September 15, 2009 edition of the Washington Post.

Download a PDF of the article.
20090915-WashPost-Slide-Ended-in-Apparent-Suicide.pdf

Blagojevich book offers his side

Former Governor Rod Blagojevich is trying to present a different portrait of himself in his new book The Governor.

Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois-Springfield, says it's too late for Blagojevich to resuscitate his reputation. "I think the judgment is pretty clear ... that he was a complete disaster (as governor) in addition to being completely corrupt," Redfield says. "He's become a sideshow."

Redfield's comments were featured in a September 8, 2009 edition of USA Today.

Download a PDF of the article.
20090908-USAToday-Blagojevich-book.pdf

Political ties, scholarships dovetail

An Associated Press analysis of General Assembly scholarships and state political contribution records found that between 2004 and 2009, at least 41 scholarships went to relatives of someone who gave money to the lawmaker awarding the perk.

"When you engage in behavior that has the appearance of conflict of interest, whether it does or not, that just reinforces people's cynicism," said Dr. Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Redfield's comments on the topic were featured in the August 25, 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Download a PDF of the article
20090825-Tribune-Political%20ties.pdf

Quinn and LaHood Illinois River Honors

Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be honored in October for their bipartisan leadership in advancing restoration and protection efforts of the Illinois River.

One longtime political observer believes it is too soon to honor a sitting governor with a permanent marker. "It's not a huge deal, but it will strike some people as trying to curry favor with someone who has power over budgets and signs legislation," said Dr. Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at UIS.

Redfield's comments on the topic were featured in the August 24, 2009, Peoria Journal-Star.

Download a PDF of the article
20090825-PJS-Quinn%20and%20LaHood.pdf

Redfield quoted in NYT article on Gov. Blagojevich

Once viewed by many as a rising political star, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has seen his hopes badly damaged by the corruption trial of his associate Antoin Rezko.

An article in the May 12 New York Times quotes UIS Professor Kent Redfield: "The governor's behavior up to this point suggests he won't go quietly, but it becomes increasingly more difficult for him to be effective and for people to take him seriously. It just seems like daily we get something new that links the governor’s office to something."

Download a pdf file of the article
20080512-NYT-CorruptionTaints.pdf

Redfield quoted in article on Rezko trial

The trial of Illinois political fundraiser Antoin Rezko is making headlines around the country. While Rezko's friend Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly participated in the kickback schemes, he has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

The article "Closing Arguments Set for Tony Rezko Corruption Trial" that appeared in eNews 2.0 on May 12 cites UIS Professor Kent Redfield on the subject.

Redfield noted in part that developments in the trial have made it "increasingly difficult" for Blagojevich "to be effective and for people to take him seriously."

Download a pdf file of the article
20080512-eNews-Redfieldquoted.pdf

Redfield examines state's need for recall provision

Professor Kent Redfield believes that rather than amending the state constitution to include a recall provision for elected officials, Illinois would be better served if more people got involved in the political process.

He outlines this state's existing mechanisms for removing elected officials and takes a brief look at recall, at the federal level and in other states, in an article that appeared in the March 2008 edition of the Illinois Business Journal.

Download a PDF file of the article
20080410-IBJ-Recall.pdf