GOPers dump Skoien; Madigan on Blago curse

In an Esquire interview, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich used a vulgarity to refer to Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Here's what a spokesman for Madigan's father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, had to say:
“The former governor is a very confused and troubled human being,” said Steve Brown.
“If everyone looks up the word sociopath on Google I think they’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on.”
Meanwhile, it seems top Republican leaders are turning on Palatine Township GOP Committeeman Gary Skoien as he seeks re-election following a domestic incident involving his wife and two other women at his Inverness home.
Challenger Aaron Del Mar, a freshman Palatine councilman, says he has landed the backing of both Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles and Cook County GOP boss Lee Roupas.
Roupas has the seat Skoien had from 2004 to 2007 when he famously put a bounty on Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's head for evidence that would lead to his conviction on corruption charges.
Meanwhile, Del Mar has never voted in a Republican primary. According to voter records, the 31-year-old has only voted in one primary - a Democratic one.
Del Mar tells Animal Farm that is because he is young. He hasn't had much time, he says, to cast primary ballots. He says he voted in the 2008 Democratic primary to help drag out that parties internal battles leading into the general election.
You may recall that conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh had employed their followers to do so.
Skoien took over the Palatine Township GOP apparatus earlier this decade and he ran against U.S. Rep. Phil Crane in primaries twice, unsuccessfully.
Del Mar is backed by long-time opponents of Skoien, who has also worked to oust state Rep. Suzie Bassi.
Skoien is taking heat on the local campaign trail for a March incident that landed him as a joke line on the Jay Leno show.
Skoien's wife was charged with battery for allegedly hitting her husband over the head with a toy guitar when she caught him in their home early in the morning with two other women. The police report says Skoien said the women were prostitutes, but Skoien later denied that.
The charges have been dropped and a divorce is pending.
Meanwhile, former state Rep. Penny Pullen is backing Andy McKenna in his GOP bid for governor.
Pullen of Arlington Heights is the founder of the Illinois Family Institute.
"I believe Andy’s conservative credentials make him the best Republican to win in November, and I trust him to promote strong traditional family policies and justice for vulnerable human beings at any age,” Pullen said in a release from the McKenna campaign.
McKenna didn't show up to a debate with his six other GOP challengers this morning.
McKenna's camp says there was a scheduling conflict and that they informed the hosts back in December.