Toi Hutchinson may have dropped out of a competitive race just nine days before the Feb. 26 special election, but Ald. Anthony Beale’s campaign said it isn’t going anywhere. Beale spokeswoman Delmarie Cobb told the Sun-Times Sunday that the campaign received a call last night “I won’t say from who” pushing Beale to clear the

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Toi Hutchinson may have dropped out of a competitive race just nine days before the Feb. 26 special election, but Ald. Anthony Beale’s campaign said it isn’t going anywhere.

Beale spokeswoman Delmarie Cobb told the Sun-Times Sunday that the campaign received a call last night “I won’t say from who” pushing Beale to clear the way for former state Rep. Robin Kelly.

Cobb accused Kelly’s campaign of “in a desperation move,” trying to pressure other candidates to clear the field, claiming that the more than $1 million in money attacking Kelly’s opponents isn’t having the effect it believed it would. Kelly is a front-runner in the race, having out-raised her opponents and receiving a steady stream of endorsements. Cobb said despite Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Independece USA SuperPAC pouring $1.4 million into attack ads in the race, ostensibly to benefit Kelly while attacking Debbie Halvorson, internal numbers show that Halvorson’s numbers are mostly holding.

“By now, Debbie should be destroyed,” Cobb said of the attack ads. “We know for a fact that the needle isn’t moving. Robin’s numbers aren’t increasing and Debbie’s are going down very slowly.”

Cobb would not release the campaign’s internal numbers. However, she said:
“I’m just telling you, we feel fine,” Cobb said. “All the activity that’s going on in this race, is reinforcing what we believe — we are contenders in this race.”

For its part, the Kelly campaign said Cobb’s claim is the first they heard of such a phone call to Beale.
“The call didn’t come from us,” Kelly spokesman Jonathan Blair said.