Walshed Out?

By the time Joe Walsh woke Saturday morning, on his Eighth Congressional District office futon, the Eighth Congressional District had been moved 50 miles south to downstate Villa Park. The new Eighth -- which looks like something posted on the LakeCountyEye windshield -- is now to be found in Cook, Kane & DuPage Counties. Operatives will note they do not see in the above list, Lake County, the home to your lakeCountyEye. Nor will they see McHenry County, home to Congressman Walsh. The Congressman is invited to join your LakeCountyEye in wishing the Eighth District good riddance.

Without a a District to call home, Walsh is Illinois's newest Congressional floater. Thanks to the magic of the gerrymander, Walsh's legal residence -- now in the Eighth District portion of northern McHenry County -- will be in the new Fourteenth District:

By your LakeCountyEye's reckoning, Walsh is left with few good options.

1. Eighth Congressional District
   Walsh would have the an incumbent's advantage if he ran for re-election in the new 8th District. But he would have to start voting Aye on some federal spending bills -- Walsh would need that Route 53 extension if he decides to commute from his legal residence in Johnsburg down to the new 8th. He'll also need a taste for ethnic food, campaigning there, as the new 8th was cut to include a large percentage of minority and immigrant voters. Good luck to any candidate down there who plans to ride to victory again on the back of a xenophobic Teaparty.
2. Tenth Congressional District
   The new 10th District is just a metaphorical stone's throw from Walsh's current mailing address. However the 10th is currently held by a fellow Republican freshman, Robert Dold. Dold has his own problems having been gerrymandered into the new 9th District, held by Jan Schakowsky. But unless Dold has been drinking the insecticides, your LakeCountyEye expects Dold to run for re-election as the incumbent in the new 10th District. So Walsh would be facing a primary vs Dold in the new 10th. And then a general election vs an unknown opponent in a district cut to benefit a Democratic candidate.
3. Fourteenth Congressional District
   Walsh has one advantage in that the new 14th District is where his mail is delivered. A disadvantage is that this is also home to fellow Republican freshman Randy Hultgren, who currently represents the 14th District. Walsh would be facing a primary vs Hultgren in the new 14th. However the new 14th District was drawn to be a Republican vote-sink, taking in locales like Squaw Grove Township and most of McHenry County. The winner in the Republican primary there would be strongly favored to win in the general election.

As a matter of principle, your LakeCountyEye is opposed to legalized gambling. But if you must gamble, gamble responsibly, and bet on crossing paths with the Joe Walsh campaign bus next time you're visiting Squaw Grove Township.