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.
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.
