BOLINGBROOK DONNYBROOK
David vs. Goliath?
So who is the real Goliath in Bolingbrook’s political donnybrook?
“Not I,” said Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar, who is holding onto a surprisingly meager shoestring win of 104 votes as of Wednesday night, until the mail- in and provisional votes are counted.
“I would argue my opponent, Jackie Traynere, is ‘ Goliath’ even though she refers to herself as ‘ David,’ ” said Claar, alluding to the historical biblical battle David won with a puny little slingshot aimed at a giant named Goliath.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Claar, who has been the mayor overseeing Bolingbrook’s astounding growth in the past 31 years — but who tossed a major fundraiser for President Donald Trump at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, which netted him an unanticipated Dem backlash — stated his case.
“C’mon. I’m certainly not the Goliath she calls me, claiming if I didn’t have so much money, she would have won. “No way. Let me explain,” he said. “My opponent had:
The backing of the national, local and Cook County Dem Party.
The endorsement of Dem U. S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
The endorsement of three congressmen giving her money.
A fundraiser tossed for her by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
Cook County Board Commissioner Chuy Garcia hustling Hispanic votes outside a Catholic church up here.
Dem gubernatorial hopefuls Daniel Biss and J. B. Pritzker knocking on doors with her last weekend.
And busloads of people being brought in from the [ Dem gubernatorial hopeful Ald. Ameya Pawar’s] 47th Ward to help her get out the vote,” he said.
“So who is the Goliath in this story?
“It was an onslaught I never anticipated from the Dem Party sticking their noses into what has been a nonpartisan municipal election for the past 52 years.
“I didn’t want people from the Republican Party coming in and calling the shots. I ran on the Bolingbrook First ticket. She ran on the United Party ticket — but she had the Dem Party behind her big time.”
Stay tuned for all the votes to come in.
Billy’s Crystal . . .
Imagine. Comedian Billy Crystal, the great impersonator, during a Trump gig on “Saturday Night Live”? Farfetched? Let’s hope not.
“Billy said he would love an opportunity to host ‘ Saturday Night Live’ again,” said former state Sen. Bill Marovitz, who dined with the legendary actor and his wife, Janice, at Gibsons Saturday night after his “Spend the Night with Billy Crystal” show at the Chicago Theatre.
“He does a riff on Trump in his show, and it will be interesting to hear the reaction to it when he takes it to Washington, D. C., at the end of the month,” said Marovitz, who also was dining with promoter Arny Granat.
“Hey, Billy could do a great Trump imitation,” he added. “He could do a better imitation of Trump than Alec Baldwin by far. Remember when Billy impersonated actor Fernando “You Look Maaarvelous” Lamas and Sammy Davis Jr., and Howard Cosell and Muhammad Ali? He wore a Trumpstyle wig when he did Lamas.”
So Sneed’s going to toss out this ball to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts: How about asking Crystal to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh- inning stretch when his beloved New York Yankees hit Wrigley Field on May 5, 6 or 7?
Just asking.
Running with Rauner . . .
They’re moving! Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana are checking out of the Springfield mansion and into new digs Thursday.
“I’m told the view from our bedroom will now overlook the goat pens,” chuckled Rauner to Sneed earlier — referring to his new temporary residence in the Ag Director’s House on the State Fairgrounds.
Upshot: And the governor’s first order of business: hosting his annual Passover Seder dinner, which will be smaller and more intimate than the last two years due to space. Rauner was raised Episcopalian. His wife is Jewish. “We have respect for each other and each other’s faith. And our different religious backgrounds make life more rich and fulfilling,” Rauner told Sneed in February.
The guest list will be limited to local Jewish community leaders. The Seder will be conducted by Rabbi Avraham Kagan of Chabad of Illinois.
Backshot: The first couple’s move is due to the $ 15 million uplift to the Springfield governor’s mansion the Rauners initiated, which is being privately funded and due to be completed by the summer of 2018, just in time to celebrate the state’s bicentennial.
Translation: “The mansion can be a big tourism driver, and we are hoping to turn property next to the mansion into a beautiful tourist park,” Rauner added.
Sneedlings . . .
I spy: Former Blackhawk Chris Chelios at Harry Caray’s in Rosemont Sunday night. . . . Actor Oliver Platt spotted at Chicago Cut Sunday. . . . Ditto for Blackhawk Dennis Rasmussen. . . . Actor James “The Good Witch” Denton spotted at the Chicago Sports Museum over the weekend. . . . Today’s birthdays: Candace Cameron Bure, 41; Paul Rudd,
48; and Zach Braff, 42.
Comedian Billy Crystal would love to host Saturday Night Live again. President Donald “I’m so maarvelous!” Trump beware.