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When Mark Kirk gave his victory speech on November 2nd, he thanked a trio of aides for helping him to a close win over Democrat Alexi Giannoulias. Among them was Steve Schmidt, a former chief strategist to the 2008 John McCain campaign for president. Schmidt, who confirmed via email his work for the Kirk campaign, works out of Sacramento, California, and was rarely on the ground in Illinois for the Senate race. But a source close to the campaign said the 40-year-old…

Joe Trippi, best known for being Howard Dean’s campaign manager in the 2004 presidential primary season, spent days in Chicago in September and October advising Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on his possible run for mayor. But two weeks ago, the sheriff announced that he won’t run after all, due to family obligations. Trippi—who had just returned from Mexico, where he rested after helping to run Jerry Brown’s victorious race for California governor—called me this morning to discuss Dart’s decision. Here, highlights from our conversation…

The Chicago Coalition for Mayor, a group of African-American businesspeople, elected officials, and activists, seems to have jilted Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun—the African-American mayoral hopefuls that the group selected a bit more than a week ago as the two who had the best chance to win. What a difference a week makes…

After today, it’ll be all mayoral politics all the time. Why wait? I spoke yesterday to Democratic Congressman Danny Davis and lawyer Gery Chico, both of whom have eyes on the Fifth Floor of City Hall—and both of whom are warily circling each other. Last week, Davis said to community newspaper AustinTalks that neither Hispanic mayoral hopeful, Chico nor City Clerk Miguel del Valle, can win. Davis went so far as to compare Del Valle and Chico to serial losing candidate William “Dock” Walls…