“I’m standing here as my own person. … You can make judgments about past administrations or relatives or whatever you want, but I’m telling you what I believe and how I will be a leader.”
—Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Daley, who attacked Gov. Pat Quinn for cronyism but refused to discuss patronage under his brother, former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley — not to mention the mayoralty of his father, “Boss” Richard J. Daley.
“You’re not supposed to touch ’em, talk dirty, all kinds of stuff like that, you know, general things that most people should understand. … Things like talkin’ about sex, and even dirty jokes are out of line, and now even kissin’ can be out of line — what may not be offensive to one can be offensive to someone else.”
—Cicero Town President Larry Dominick in a deposition on what he learned shouldn’t be done when he underwent sexual harassment training as a cop. (Even kissin’!) For the second time, the town is paying out to settle a sexual harassment case against Dominick — this time, it’s $675,000, which a Dominick spokesman said was paid for by an insurance policy.
“When you’re president, you have to be a little careful about these transactions.”
—President Barack Obama in an interview with real estate website Zillow.com when asked about refinancing his home. Obama obtained his Kenwood house — worth $500,000 with a 5.625 interest rate on his mortgage, Michael Sneed reports — with help from the now-jailed Tony Rezko. So he’s focusing on your mortgage, not his.
“Ask her.”
—Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The “her” is his daughter, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Ask her what? Ask her why she considered running for governor in the first place if she knew all along that he wouldn’t retire and remove the huuuge conflict of interest issue (which seems to exist anyway as it stands). The attorney general’s campaign fund has swelled this year to $5 million, presumably because donors assumed she would run. She’ll find a way to use it someday.