False Robocalls That Wreaked Havoc On Chicago Elections Linked To GOP Activists

Voters were still lined up to vote at 1 a.m. on
Wednesday, November 5 at a Chicago polling place
 that allowed same-day registration

Chicago election judges received misleading and factually incorrect robocalls before the midterm, causing close to 2,000 of them to not show up on Election Day. As a criminal investigation gets underway, the Chicago Sun-Times has tied the calls to two Republican activists while the Republican Party has denied involvement and distanced itself from the party members who it claims acted alone.

An unknown number of election judges received one or more automated phone calls that informed them about an additional required training session or told them they needed to vote a certain way in order to keep their position. As a result, polling places across the city were understaffed and lines reached seven hours in some precincts. A smaller number of voters were turned away from certain locations.

The city was forced to dispatch standby election judges when some polling places had just one or no election judges present at 6 a.m. when polls were scheduled to open. At the time, the Chicago Board of Elections said it didn’t know who made the calls or why they were sent out. The Cook County State’s Attorney has launched a criminal investigation and Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for hearings on the robocalls.

“There’s nothing more important than the integrity of the democratic electoral process,” Emanuel said when he and the City Council passed a resolution calling for hearings. “Somebody called with the intent to create confusion.”

While the city hasn’t revealed any additional information, the Sun Times reported that one of the callers identified himself as Jim Parrilli, a Republican committeeman for the 19th Ward who was defeated in his run for a seat on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. In one call, he identified himself as the Cook County Election Judge Coordinator and told the election judges that voting is required and “part of being a Republican judge means supporting our Republican ticket.”

Another call was made by Sharon Maroni, coordinator for the Chicago election judge program. Sources told the Sun-Times that Parrilli and Maroni were working together, but neither have been accused of any wrongdoing.

Cook County Republican Chairman Aaron Del Mar told the Sun-Times the party was not involved in the robocalls or the fraudulent activities. “Anything they did, they acted alone,” he said.

The state’s attorney’s office told ThinkProgress that an investigation is ongoing, but declined to comment on any details. Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Jim Allen also said he is not commenting on the pending investigation.

Two election judges also told CBS Chicago that they were removed from their positionsas committeemen with the Republican Party because they questioned the validity of the phone calls and whether election judges should be pressured to vote for a particular party.

Other issues including confusion over a new state program allowing same day registration at some polling places also contributed to the long lines that drove voters away. Lower turnout in Chicago favored Republican governor Bruce Rauner, who ended the night with a nearly five-point lead over incumbent Governor Pat Quinn.

John Stewart on what is REAL pizza!

LA, Chicago Urged to Dump Their Russian 'Sister-Cities' Over Russia's Criminalization of Gay Rights

In response to Russia's new anti-gay propaganda law, both Los Angeles and Chicago have been urged by LGBT supporters to drop their sister cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow respectively.

Efforts to sever LA's ties to St. Petersburg have been ongoing for quite some time. Back in February, Los Angeles City Council introduced a resolution that would have severed the city's symbolic relationship with Russia, Frontiers LA reports:

"The passing of this resolution sends a strong message that the city will not tolerate discrimination against our LGBT brothers and sisters in a sister city relationship,' openly gay City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl said in introducing his resolution on Feb. 12. 'We must stand together and continue to fight for our basic civil and human rights for all human beings on this earth."

Left unsaid in City Hall that day was the possibility - albeit perhaps a remote possibility - that the severing or even suspension of ties to St. Petersburg by the City of Los Angeles would send a resounding message of support for LGBT human rights from the ninth most economically powerful city in the world that other cities could use as cover to also sever ties.

While the resolution unfortunately failed to move out of committee in April, activists hope the new media attention being brought to the issue will help reignite the campaign. Additionally, a Change.org petition asking L.A. to sever ties with St. Petersburg has gathered over 2,000 signatures.   

Meanwhile, Equality Illinois has called on Chicago to end its relationship with Moscow.

From the statement:

"As the state's oldest and largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Illinoisans, we believe that it cannot be business as usual in Illinois' relations with Russia until that country's oppressive laws are reversed and gays are not targeted for oppression," said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.

"From many small but meaningful steps, a national and then an international consensus will grow and ultimately, we believe, force Russia to change its behavior toward its gay citizens and visitors," Cherkasov said.

Gay Couple Ejected From A Chicago Cab For A Kiss

A Chicago cab driver pulled over on the Kennedy Expressway last week, and ordered gay couple Steven White and Matt McCrea out of his cab. Their crime? They kissed.

“Rarely in my life have I ever wondered if I would have been treated differently if I were heterosexual,” Steven said afterwards.  ”That thought hardly ever crosses my mind, but last night I wondered.”

Though Chicago has anti-discrimination laws in place that should have protected the men, the driver pulled over on the rain slick roadway, at 11:30 at night, and insisted they exit his cab on the shoulder of the busy expressway. He told the men kissing was not allowed on public transportation. When the men objected, pointing out the danger, the driver eventually pulled into a grocery store parking lot at the next exit.

The Park Ridge Police were called, and the driver told them the men were “making sex.” The couple insist the only contact between them was that one brief closed-mouth peck.

Steven and Matt plan to file a complaint with the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which has promised they will investigate. The driver’s employer, Sun Taxi Associates, had no comment.

You can watch the men tell their story to the Chicago affiliate for CBS below: