Rickey Hendon Resigns State Senate Seat

Illinois State Senator Rickey Hendon resigned his seat almost two years before the end of his term, saying he’s had it with politics. He was very disillusioned at the lack of black voter turnout for Patricia Horton, who he supported in the February election for city clerk.  Still, Pat got around $250,000 votes on a shoestring budget.

Of course Rickey said he was leaving politics six months ago, in the last chapter of his book Backstabbers, which he’s planning to promote anew. He doesn’t have to please any fellow politicians now, so he can say what’s on his mind.

 http://www.academychicago.com/Backstabbers.html

State Rep. Annazette Collins has been chosen by the Democratic committee to fill Rickey's Fifth District Illinois senate seat. But his shoes will not be easily filled.  His harsh criticisms of Republican governor candidate Brady’s votes against women and poor people, might have helped alert voters to re-elect Democratic governor Pat Quinn. Seems you can’t get in the papers for good deeds, so you have to make a lot of noise, which is what Rickey did.

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t trying to do good things for the West Side, one of the poorest, crime-ridden areas of Chicago. The Best Side is constantly trying to lift itself by its bootstraps, trying to get back some of the money that’s been siphoned out of their community by big money interests and their owned politicians. The Fighting Fifth District neighborhood folks are the ones who will miss Rickey the most.

I hope he takes a nice break and can find a positive role that he enjoys. . A brave, outspoken politician is a terrible thing to waste.

Rickey Supports Patricia Horton for City Clerk

Patricia Horton currently serves as a Water Reclamation Commissioner. She wants to control car sticker prices, invest city pension funds wisely, and lease vacant city owned lots for parking in congested areas. She would also make city government more open to the people by having city council meetings broadcast and archived on line.

Pat has waged a people's campaign for the office of city clerk, vacated by Miguel del Valle who is running for Mayor. (other mayor candidates still in the race include Carol Moseley Braun, Patricia van Pelt Watkins, Gery Chico, Rahm Emmanuel and Dock Walls. Rep. Danny Davis dropped out on New Year's Eve.)

Above is Pat's Sun-Times candidate interview. Check out her own campaign site at
PatriciaHorton4CityClerk.com

Pat's opponent, Susana Mendoza, is not a friend of poor folk or civil liberties. As a state legislator she introduced two bills that would feed more people to prisons: to charge school children with a felony for threatening to hit somebody; and to allow police take DNA samples of any person upon arrest.  City races are nonpartisan, but she accepted a $5000 contribution from the Republican Party. 

Rickey Speaks Out for Illinois Civil Unions

Illinois passed a civil unions law that extends legal benefits to domestic partnerships including gay couples.  Senator Hendon said, "it's just fairness, y'all, that's all." He had some words for "hypocrites" among legislators--"the ones who cheat on their wives and the down low brothers" who had attacked the bill.