I put in some time and foot mileage for the coordinated campaign yesterday afternoon. Carl and I walked a ward in the Humboldt Park area. It's basically a mixed white, black and Puerto Rican neighborhood.
Our results were very positive. Most people we talked to were planning on voting and planning on voting 100% Democrat. Everyone was very positive about Alexi Giannoulias. We also heard positive things about Lisa Madigan. Also of note, Obama is still wildly popular.
There was lots of Democratic signage in windows and on lawns, mostly Quinn/Simon, Giannoulias, Madigan and Berrios.
For the governor's race, most people were leaning Pat Quinn, but had more reservations about him than about Giannoulias or Madigan. We got the feeling that when at the poll, however, most of these people would vote Quinn. The alternative was seen as Scott Lee Cohen, not republican Bill Brady or Green candidate Rich Whitney. One man we spoke to didn't even know who Whitney was. No one mentioned Brady.
Scott Lee Cohen had lots of lit rubber-banded to gates. It might have been more effective for him had his walkers actually entered the property and gone to the door. Carl and I went to each door, finding most gates open. We handed the lit to the people and talked to them for a bit. All but one of the people I encountered were very nice. The one man was going to vote, vote Democratic, but was irritated at all the people coming to his door.
There was little evidence of republican campaigning other than Keats (running for Cook County Board President against Democrat Tony Preckwinkle) signs in the parkways at each corner. It was clear that none of the signs were claimed by any homeowner. There was some joint republican campaign lit laying around on the sidewalk, but not a whole lot of it. Brady had a couple of yard signs in the parkways and had one billboard claiming Quinn "sold you out". The sign seemed pretty ineffective because such a claim generally requires some explanation. Even if one doesn't like Quinn, the "sold out" claim seems an incorrect characterization of the issues. No one's buying it in Chicago.
On our way back to coordinated campaign headquarters, we saw one Kirk sign, probably in Bucktown rather than Humboldt Park. Otherwise, no one seemed to know who he was.
After a long, tiring day, with lots of stairs to climb up and down, Carl and I enjoyed dinner at 90 Miles, a Cuban restaurant which I do recommend. The weather held up long enough to allow us to eat outside on their patio. I had the Ropa Vieja and Carl had the Bistec. Both were good.