'He became a wonderful legislator'

Having dedicated much of his career to passage of health care reform, Sen. Ted Kennedy in passing could help stir the momentum his fellow Democrats need to finally see their initiative become reality.

So says Thom Serafin, President and CEO of Serafin & Associates, Inc., in this segment on Fox Chicago News.

Serafin referred back to Kennedy's remarks at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York, when Kennedy conceded defeat in his presidential bid.

"For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end," Kennedy said at the time. "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

“That is what Ted Kennedy brings to the health care reform package," Serafin says. "Unfortunately, he’s no longer with us. But fortunately for the Democrats, they’re going to use those words to have to pass some kind of health care reform.”

Serafin speaks about the paradox of Kennedy - “He was cursed with the legacy of the Kennedys” - and about his own experience meeting Kennedy on Capitol Hill in the 1980s, when Serafin worked as an aide to Sen. Alan Dixon of Illinois.

“He became a wonderful legislator,” Serafin says. “More important, he was a human being in that body. Most of that work gets done off the Senate floor. I worked there with Alan Dixon during the 80s. I used to ride the tunnel and he was in the cart with us. (He was a) very congenial, wonderful person and a terrific legislator. He served one-fifth of the time that we’ve had a U.S. Senate under our Constitution. That’s a long time.”

Meanwhile in Illinois, the race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama is heating up with the addition of David Hoffman, the inspector general for the City of Chicago and a former federal prosecutor, as a candidate. He is expected to face Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Urban League President Cheryle Jackson in the Democratic primary.

Serafin speaks about the changing dynamics of this race, noting that David Axelrod's former media firm is working for Hoffman's nascent campaign. Axelrod, of course, is political adviser to President Obama.

Though Giannoulias has long had a personal relationship with Obama, Serafin suspects that Obama's organization may now be firmly behind Hoffman.

“Alexi is the state treasurer of the state of Illinois. He’s got the county chairmen’s endorsement behind him. He’s got an organization behind him. He’s got a couple million dollars. He’s got everything going for himself in this particular race," Serafin says.

"He’s a Democratic elected official for the state of Illinois and all of a sudden Barack Obama’s organization says, ‘Uh-uh, we’re going to run somebody else in this race because we don’t think you can beat (Republican) Mark Kirk in the general election.’ So this is really about stopping Alexi – it’s not about anything else – because they don’t think he can beat Mark Kirk.”

'He's positioned to win'

Mark Kirk, the Republican congressman representing the North Shore of Illinois, stands a strong chance at winning the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, explains Thom Serafin in this appearance on Fox Chicago News.

Kirk, a five-term congressman, on Monday announced his Republican bid for the Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris, a Democrat who does not plan to seek election to the seat to which disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed him.

“His chances are excellent,” Serafin says of Kirk. “He’s positioned to win. He just needs to be able to run through this primary without too much conservative opposition.”

Serafin notes that Kirk has sided with liberals on certain social issues. In a primary election, Kirk potentially could face strong criticism from the GOP’s right wing for this stance. But for now, Serafin says that Kirk appears strong heading into the primary.

"Right now, based on what national polls are showing, Republicans are making headway into this off-year election,” Serafin says, noting that as a rule the party of the president tends to suffer in non-presidential elections.

Kirk was one of a few Republicans who sided with Democrats in voting for cap-and-trade legislation to regulate carbon emissions. Critics say the legislation, backed by Obama, will lead to increased energy costs.

Serafin says he was perplexed by Kirk’s vote on cap-and-trade. He notes that nearly half of GOP primary voters are in downstate Illinois. In southern Illinois, a region whose economy historically depended on work associated with coal mining, Serafin says that Kirk will have much explaining to do.

Still, the GOP establishment is behind Kirk.

“He’s got a lot of the big shots,” Serafin says. “He’s got a lot of the organization Republicans with him.”

'He Broke the Color Barrier'

With Roland Burris saying he won’t seek re-election to the U.S. Senate seat that disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed him to, don’t let Burris’ ties to Blagojevich overshadow the considerable accomplishments he made early in his career. So says Thom Serafin, President and CEO of Serafin & Associates, Inc., in this Fox television interview.

“He broke all those barriers. He understood that education was the key to get ahead in life; education was the way to go from Point A to Point B. So everybody in his family is educated. He’s educated,” Serafin says.

Burris, who grew up in downstate Centralia, sparked a movement to integrate the town’s swimming pool. In 1978, he became the first African-American elected to statewide office when he successfully ran for comptroller. He also served as Illinois attorney general.

“He broke the color barrier and he did a lot of things that most people now take for granted,” Serafin says.

Serafin explains that Burris declined to seek re-election to the Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama because Burris simply cannot raise the millions of dollars necessary to compete with other candidates in a race. Burris plans to spend some time “doing something that he can really put a stamp on – something helpful for the country,” Serafin says.

Meanwhile, Serafin says Lisa Madigan correctly decided to run for re-election at Illinois attorney general, rather than running for governor or the Senate seat held by Burris.

“She made the right decision,” Serafin says. “She’s 42 years old (and) she can do anything with her life. Her kids are four and one. They’ll be five and eight, you know, in four years. I thought it was a very smart decision.”