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CNN Live At Daybreak

Talk of CNN: Illinois Governor's Race

Aired October 31, 2002 - 05:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Need we tell you this again, Election Day is fast approaching. Both major candidates for governor in Illinois are fighting for down state support. Republican Jim Ryan is telling voters they should be suspicious of a Democratic ticket full of Chicagoans. The Democrat candidate says he did well in the primary by paying attention to down state voters. Analysts say actually the Democratic candidate is expected to do very well in Chicago and the Republican candidate should win the surrounding counties.
Politics, of course, is always hot in Illinois. We want to talk with drive time radio host Spike O'Dell. "The Spike O'Dell Show" airs on WGN in Chicago.

Good morning -- Spike.

SPIKE O'DELL, "THE SPIKE O'DELL MORNING SHOW," WGN CHICAGO: Good morning, you guys, happy Halloween.

COSTELLO: Happy Halloween back to you.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

O'DELL: Yes, it's -- it is getting scary here, it's crunch time.

COSTELLO: I know this is a particularly nasty campaign for governor, isn't it?

O'DELL: It is. It's kind of -- the more you look at it, it's becoming kind of a name game thing. It's -- we've got -- we've got names, two Ryans involved, Jim Ryan trying to be the new Republican governor to replace George Ryan the outgoing governor who's been involved...

COSTELLO: Who was very controversial, right?

O'DELL: Right. And a guy by the name of Rod Blagojevich. That, in itself, takes six weeks to learn how to say his name.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I know. I try to avoid it, honestly.

O'DELL: His tape (ph), as a matter of fact, is him going around to these campaign rallies real early on and saying Blagojevich. And I mean he's teaching people how to say his name. It's like Blagojevich or something. COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: That's what we thought it was.

COSTELLO: That's what we thought it was. Hey, but he's attacking Mr. Ryan and sort of painting a picture that Mr. Ryan is sort of responsible for a big scandal in the Chicago area?

O'DELL: Well that's right. It's his involvement in a murder case, a controversial murder case here. And it's also even drug in the attorney general's race on this, too. So that is a -- Blagojevich kind of lost some points when he brought that up into a debate the other day linking him to the -- to the -- even to the deaths of some children that all went -- it's all intermixed and intertwined with the scandal. And while Rod Blagojevich was enjoying double-digit leads in the polls, that, I think, kind of hurt him. And Jim Ryan is -- well in the last week has been gaining, although it's still about a 10- point difference in the polls.

COSTELLO: Oh yes. So your best guess -- give us your best guess, who's going to win?

O'DELL: Well, you've got to go with the polls because they are usually right, not all the time. The only poll that matters, as they say, is the one on Election Day. But Blagojevich seems to have at least an 8, 9, 10-point lead, depending on what you're looking at. Attorney General Jim Ryan is gaining. Some people say he didn't have any fire in the belly and he's finally found that. He's come out swinging mad after the debates and people were asking, come on, Jim, where's that been?

COSTELLO: Yes. Hey, I wanted to ask you, too, about voter turnout, because we're going to be talking a lot about that this morning. Many people think voter turnout will be extremely low.

O'DELL: Yes, they say that. They -- and quite honestly, I've not heard what they're predicting. I know weather up here in the -- in the northern part of the area always is a factor and with snow. There's even some flakes in the forecast today. But if it's good weather, probably an average turnout.

And as you mentioned earlier, the set up of this piece, Rob Blagojevich has worked down state very well. Now he's from Chicago, Chicago congressman here, and went out and worked way down state and is still doing that which is something. I think it was a stroke of genius because people just write that off to the Republicans. He went down and worked it hard and I think he's going to benefit from it.

COSTELLO: Yes, well, we'll see. Spike O'Dell, thanks very much for your insight to Illinois politics. We sure appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 31, 2002 - 05:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Need we tell you this again, Election Day is fast approaching. Both major candidates for governor in Illinois are fighting for down state support. Republican Jim Ryan is telling voters they should be suspicious of a Democratic ticket full of Chicagoans. The Democrat candidate says he did well in the primary by paying attention to down state voters. Analysts say actually the Democratic candidate is expected to do very well in Chicago and the Republican candidate should win the surrounding counties.
Politics, of course, is always hot in Illinois. We want to talk with drive time radio host Spike O'Dell. "The Spike O'Dell Show" airs on WGN in Chicago.

Good morning -- Spike.

SPIKE O'DELL, "THE SPIKE O'DELL MORNING SHOW," WGN CHICAGO: Good morning, you guys, happy Halloween.

COSTELLO: Happy Halloween back to you.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

O'DELL: Yes, it's -- it is getting scary here, it's crunch time.

COSTELLO: I know this is a particularly nasty campaign for governor, isn't it?

O'DELL: It is. It's kind of -- the more you look at it, it's becoming kind of a name game thing. It's -- we've got -- we've got names, two Ryans involved, Jim Ryan trying to be the new Republican governor to replace George Ryan the outgoing governor who's been involved...

COSTELLO: Who was very controversial, right?

O'DELL: Right. And a guy by the name of Rod Blagojevich. That, in itself, takes six weeks to learn how to say his name.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I know. I try to avoid it, honestly.

O'DELL: His tape (ph), as a matter of fact, is him going around to these campaign rallies real early on and saying Blagojevich. And I mean he's teaching people how to say his name. It's like Blagojevich or something. COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: That's what we thought it was.

COSTELLO: That's what we thought it was. Hey, but he's attacking Mr. Ryan and sort of painting a picture that Mr. Ryan is sort of responsible for a big scandal in the Chicago area?

O'DELL: Well that's right. It's his involvement in a murder case, a controversial murder case here. And it's also even drug in the attorney general's race on this, too. So that is a -- Blagojevich kind of lost some points when he brought that up into a debate the other day linking him to the -- to the -- even to the deaths of some children that all went -- it's all intermixed and intertwined with the scandal. And while Rod Blagojevich was enjoying double-digit leads in the polls, that, I think, kind of hurt him. And Jim Ryan is -- well in the last week has been gaining, although it's still about a 10- point difference in the polls.

COSTELLO: Oh yes. So your best guess -- give us your best guess, who's going to win?

O'DELL: Well, you've got to go with the polls because they are usually right, not all the time. The only poll that matters, as they say, is the one on Election Day. But Blagojevich seems to have at least an 8, 9, 10-point lead, depending on what you're looking at. Attorney General Jim Ryan is gaining. Some people say he didn't have any fire in the belly and he's finally found that. He's come out swinging mad after the debates and people were asking, come on, Jim, where's that been?

COSTELLO: Yes. Hey, I wanted to ask you, too, about voter turnout, because we're going to be talking a lot about that this morning. Many people think voter turnout will be extremely low.

O'DELL: Yes, they say that. They -- and quite honestly, I've not heard what they're predicting. I know weather up here in the -- in the northern part of the area always is a factor and with snow. There's even some flakes in the forecast today. But if it's good weather, probably an average turnout.

And as you mentioned earlier, the set up of this piece, Rob Blagojevich has worked down state very well. Now he's from Chicago, Chicago congressman here, and went out and worked way down state and is still doing that which is something. I think it was a stroke of genius because people just write that off to the Republicans. He went down and worked it hard and I think he's going to benefit from it.

COSTELLO: Yes, well, we'll see. Spike O'Dell, thanks very much for your insight to Illinois politics. We sure appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com