Durbin Growing New Layer of Democratic Party, Updated X1

June 25th, 2008 at 10:40am Andrea Zimmermann

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a figurehead among Illinois Democrats, is working to build his own Illinois voter database — a “voter file” distinct from the party’s central voter file, which is controlled by House Speaker Michael Madigan’s political organizations — as well as a new layer of the party’s grass-roots operation.

Durbin is working through the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association to create this new database and to expand the state party’s base in a year when supporters are expected to be highly energized by the presidential candidacy of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois.

Durbin

“What we are doing is trying to build up the local party organizations in each of the counties with the new computer voters lists that everybody is using across the county, and to encourage more participation,” Durbin told me. “We think it’s going to be a great year for expanding our party in Illinois. … And being on the ballot, I want to capitalize on that for Barack and for myself.”

Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, acknowledged that the Illinois Democratic Party has, under Madigan’s command, focused primarily on helping campaigns for Democratic House candidates. Though the Illinois Democratic Party ostensibly is the organization of all Democrats, in practice the party works primarily to advance Madigan’s interests.

A review of the party’s campaign finance reports from the 2006 election cycle on the Illinois State Board of Elections Web site shows the party spent its money supporting House candidates, other Madigan allies including Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s daughter.

Conspicuously absent from the list of beneficiaries were Democratic candidates for the Illinois Senate, for instance. Senate President Emil Jones Jr., D-Chicago, in recent years teamed with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, another Chicago Democrat, in a feud against Madigan.

“Under Speaker Madigan, (the Illinois Democratic Party) really has focused on the House, particularly,” Durbin said.

Durbin said he is working to cull an expansive electronic voter database that all Democratic candidates can access to help them during their campaigns. But Durbin was quick to point out that Madigan, a Chicagoan and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, “knows what we are doing.”

“We are not doing inconsistent things,” Durbin said, referring to his own and the Illinois Democratic Party’s activities. “We’re not doing things that are in conflict.”

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said getting Democrats into elected office is the state party’s goal and it appears that Durbin wants to help do that. However, Brown rebuffed the criticism that the Illinois Democratic Party only works on behalf of House Democrats, because Democrats are winning elected office up and down the ticket.

Durbin said he began working closely at the beginning of this election cycle (after the 2006 election) with John Gianulis, the past president of the county chairmen’s group, to set the groundwork for this grassroots push.

Durbin said he hopes his effort will become a “generic party operation so that anyone and everyone would feel comfortable being a part of it.”

“We offer everything that we are putting together to Democratic House members, Democratic state Senators, to everybody,” Durbin said. “We are not choosing sides here in the squabbles that are going on in Springfield.”

In an e-mail exchange, current President Alan Pirtle, who began his term in April, said the organization hopes to help “elect Democrats to every office from the county courthouse to the White House and all offices in between. As part of that, we will be strengthening and increasing our base, fund-raising for candidates, and providing Democratic county chairmen throughout Illinois with the resources they need to elect Democrats.”

Those resources include a state-of-the-art, electronic voter database. It’s likely such a list would look like this or this.

The state party’s own voter database, known as the “voter file,” has been developed and maintained by Madigan’s personal campaign committee, Friends of Michael J. Madigan, since the early 1980s, Brown said. The database contains layers of information including voting history and demographics to help candidates identify potential voters.

“The voter file is what is established and maintained by Friends of Madigan and then we try to work with as many candidates and campaigns as possible,” Brown said.

Brown said the state party uses Madigan’s voter database, but does not have a separate file. He said candidates can gain access to this for a fee, and who can gain access to the file is made on a “case-by-case basis.”

Durbin spokeswoman Christina Angarola said she is unaware of any concerns about candidates gaining access to the database.

Durbin said he has reached out to other Illinois Democrats, including Comptroller Dan Hynes, about his joint effort with the county chairmen’s group, but no one has signed on yet.

“I’m not trying to side with any faction in the party,” he said.

UPDATE 1 by AC

A blogger called Bored Now has offered some background in response to our post.

what durbin has done is to make votebuilder (also known as the van) available in illinois. durbin correctly points out that votebuilder is available “across the count[r]y.” elsewhere, the state parties have partnered with the dnc to bring it to their states. the van was also the basis for both hillary clinton and barack obama’s databases. it had been previously available in illinois through resolute consulting and was used in 2006 by congressional candidates like dan seals. others may remember van through efforts in 2004 on behalf of john kerry through act and the america votes coalition. it was one of several attempts by democrats to duplicate the success republicans have had with the voter vault.

the van is also the basis for the dnc’s neighborhood volunteer program. what is interesting about this effort is that the national party is giving people access to their database at a local level for voter contact. the information gathered by these efforts gets folded back into the database for future use by democrats running at all levels.

durbin’s efforts drags illinois into this national party program. what illinois democrats have been doing is rather archaic (and authoritarian):

The CapFax Blog also responds.

Durbin has played a role in several local and congressional elections over the past few years. He has been heavily involved in helping turn Will County from “red to blue,” for instance.

Durbin is not a particularly threatening figure in the Democratic Party, so there’s never been much of a push-back from Madigan when he’s done local party building efforts. But controlling that voter file is a big thing for Madigan. Information is power, even if the system he’s using is out of date…

Entry Filed under: Dick Durbin, Michael Madigan, Illinois politics