-By Warner Todd Huston
**UPDATED** 11/15 2:30 PM
Over at the always interesting Cao’s Blog there is a spot ‘o controversy over the candidacy of David Ratowitz who is running as a Republican to take the Chicago based 5th District Congressional seat that Rahm Emanuel once occupied. In the election timeline, we’ve arrived at the infuriatingly common stage where every candidate in the state is running around challenging everyone else’s petition signatures and Cao feels that Ratowitz is acting the hypocrite with his actions in this case.
If you want all the ins and outs of the petition challenge argument Cao makes, I suggest you go on over and visit the posting. As for me, it doesn’t much interest me. There is a far more important part of the story that Cao talks about after the petition discussion that I find far more important.
First, though, I will agree with those that find the whole petition challenge milieu one of the most vexing aspects of the Chicago Way style of Illinois politics — one repeated all across the country not being a strictly Chicago phenomenon, granted. Petition challenges are usually petty, niggling, cynical, and strikes against the whole one-man-one-vote ideal where a candidate throws his hat in the ring and the people decide his suitability to serve them.
But, that annoyance aside, one of Cao’s commenters, Jim Fuchs, made an excellent point on the whole subject.
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Where Does Ratowitz Stand on Immigration?”
Until this Summer Andy McKenna was the Chairman of the Illinois GOP. He presided over a party that saw every single state wide office lost to it. He presided over a party that tried as hard as it could to make sure that Illinois’ Republican voters would be barred from voting their own leaders into place (even though Democrat voters do elect their leaders). McKenna presided over a GOP that seemed little more than a junior partner to the corruption plagued Democrats.
Another trade show is leaving Chicago this time for Atlanta, Georgia. The Chicago Tribune 
Republican Congressional candidate Reverend Isaac Hayes wants to be your 2nd District Representative. But to do that he has to defeat Jesse Jackson, Jr. and a gaggle of Greenies first. And he’s taking Jackson head on.
Mark Kirk is 
Just like an unprincipled, self-interested, tin-eared politician, Mayor Richard Daley decided to use the massacre at Fort Hood to flog his prosaic anti-gun message in Chicago.
Only a few months ago, Representative Mark Kirk voted for Cap and Tax… er, I mean Cap and Trade. Conservatives and Republicans in general lit into Kirk with a vengeance. Then he started running for the Senate and at a subsequent September 5 campaign stop he reversed himself and decided he wouldn’t support Cap and Trade.
Mad at your job? Torked at your neighbor? Snoop around in their tax info and if you find something damning… REPORT THEM! And the kindly folks down at Chicago’s City Hall are happy to help with their new tax rat program.