-By Warner Todd Huston
Ah, Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich… if he isn’t a blooming fount of idiocy, well, who is?
In an upcoming interview Blago gave to Esquire Magazine he proclaimed that he was “blacker” than Barack Obama.
Here’s the full quote:
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Blago: Dats Right, I’m Blacker Dan Obama!”
Dan Proft say the other candidates are “blah, blah, blah…” and he asks if we are ready to “turn Springfield upside down”? Well I sure as heck am!
The Illinois Republican Party hosted a debate on January 7 in Springfield with all six Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor. The debate was moderated by Terry Martin, Executive Director of The Illinois Channel.
I had a press pass for this night, but unfortunately I had some unexpected dental procedures that afternoon so I was in no shape to go cover a debate. I couldn’t feel my face until about 9PM that night.
From the Kirk Dillard for Governor campaign…
(Lisle, IL) – Illinois Republican candidate for governor Kirk Dillard today challenged his GOP opponents on judgment and ethics, arguing he has the best record and the experience to make Illinois work again.
“With our state in crisis, we need someone who can exercise sound judgment,” Dillard told a City Club forum in Chicago. “It is vital that the voters closely evaluate every candidate to determine who has the ethical judgment and leadership necessary to turn our state around and balance the state budget without the need for a tax increase.”
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Dillard Attacks Opponents on Ethics Questions Judgment”
From the Bob Dold for Congress campaign…
Robert Dold’s message of bringing small business common sense change to Washington is resonating with voters across the district. Adding to the high-charged momentum that continues to build at the Dold campaign, Robert picked up a key endorsement Sunday from Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica, who endorsed Robert for his small business background and his ability to restrain reckless spending and create jobs in Washington.
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10th District: Peraica Endorses Dold”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Last week I spoke to candidate for Congress Randy Hultgren (R, DuPage County) who would like to win your GOP nomination for the 14th Congressional District. The 14th District encompasses the cities of Elgin in the east, westward toward DeKalb, Dixon and Sterling and as far south west as Coal Valley. The shape of the district is like that of a gas pump handle with the nozzle headed westward.
Attorney and business owner Randy Hultgren is currently the 48th District State Senator elected to that position in 2007. In 1999 he was elected to the State House and served there until elected to the Senate. Hultgren has been involved in state politics for 20 some years.
On his website, Hultgren says he’s running for Congress because he believes “we need real conservatism in Washington,” and that he’s proud to call himself a “real Conservative.” (Website: http://hultgrenforcongress.com/)
I began my time with Senator Hultgren noting that the filed of candidates for the 14th District was once pretty large but that in the last month it has been winnowed down to two candidates: himself and Ethan Hastert, son of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. It is well known that the national party and folks like Newt Gingrich have announced their support of Hastert and I wondered what Mr. Hultgren’s reaction was to this fact.
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Interview With Randy Hultgren Candidate for 14th Congressional District”
From the David Ratowitz for Congress campaign…
The following is U.S. House Candidate David Ratowitz’s response to President Obama’s January 8 address on the U.S. economy and December job losses. Material can be reprinted verbatim or in part as needed.
Two months ago, the Democrat-controlled Congress told us that the recession was over. For 30 glorious days, the stimulated economy produced more than one new job for every 54,000 unemployed Americans. Then came December, when Americans, in a holiday spending frenzy fueled by low interest rates and a 48.6 percent surge in monthly Social Security and unemployment payments, created a better than expected shopping season. The result: 85,000 more jobs lost.
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Economic Recovery: Plight of the Fundamentals”
From the Isaac Hayes for Congress campaign…
The following statement was released today by Rev. Isaac C. Hayes, the GOP nominee for Congress in IL-2, in response to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s racial remarks about Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign as a “light-skinned” African-American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”:
“We will not accept a double standard. Sen. Harry Reid must go” said Hayes. “When Sen. Trent Lott’s was the Majority Leader, Sen. Obama called for him to step down. ‘The Republican Party itself has to drive out Trent Lott. If they have to stand for something, they have to stand up and say this is not the person we want representing our party.’ I call on president Obama to take this same position with a member of his own party. This is the second revelation in the past few months of questionable racial remarks from Sen. Reid and we will not continue to tolerate it.”
For more information, go to: isaac4honesty.com
-By Warner Todd Huston
The new FaceBook group called Illinois Conservatives is getting some more notice. Channel 17 in Rockford did a news piece on the group (see video here and here’s the written report that aired). We discussed the group last month.
These are a bunch of young guys that got together to start their FaceBook group in the hopes that they’d be able to serve as a place to go to find out what conservatives are running for office in Illinois. They have also started to endorse particular candidates and have been amazed to find that candidates are seeking them out for their endorsement.
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Illinois Conservatives on FaceBook Getting Some Notice”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Crain’s Chicago Business has just gotten into the business of indulging in foul, sexually charged name calling, apparently. Yes, you can mark Crain’s Chicago Business as only the latest news outlet to decide it’s funny to call conservatives “tea-baggers.” It’s a name that lefties have been tagging the movement with all winter, one derived from the sexually perverse homosexual practice.
This time it’s the self-assumed humorist and political columnist Greg Hinz who thought it was hilarious to call an Illinois gubernatorial candidate a “Tea-bagger.” In a blog post about candidate for Governor Adam Andrzejewski, Hinz broke out the funny bone and titled his offering, “Tea-bagger Andrzejewski goes for GOP gov’s gold.”
Now, without a doubt Greggie Hinz thinks he’s a laugh riot over at Crain’s Chicago Business. He must. After all, it is a laugh riot when a 60-something-year-old white, bald man wears an earring, isn’t it? (as can be seen in his blog photo) It must serve as his statement of “irony.” It’s his sign to those he meets that says, “Hey, dude, I’m a fun, funny guy.” Of course, it’s not really taken that way, sadly for Greggie. No, instead of being tragically hip, it’s just tragic. Speaking of hips, I hope this elder Crain’s jokester walks carefully on all this Chicago winter ice. We don’t want gramps to fall down and break his. And I hope Greggie walks carefully in those jester’s shoes with the curled up toes with the bells on them. It could be hazardous, ya know?
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Crain’s Chicago: Earring Wearing ‘Journo’ Attacks ‘Tea-Baggers’ and Conservatives”
-By Warner Todd Huston
25th District Senator Chris Lauzen (R, Aurora) has been opposed by establishment GOP types before and it looks like he’s again facing a go-along-to-get-along Republican challenger in his latest run for State Senate.
Sugar Grove Village President Sean Michels has thrown his hat in the ring against the veteran Senator from Aurora. What is his reason? He thinks that the 25th District needs someone to get along with the GOP establishment to “get things done.”
Michels told the Daily Herald that he felt that Lauzen couldn’t serve his constituents because he doesn’t work well with the party big boys.
Michels contends that Lauzen’s alienation from Republican leadership in Springfield costs the district in state money and in influence.
“He’s not effective in his own party,” Michels says, noting that after 17 years in office, Lauzen has no party leadership post.
As far as I am concerned that means that Michels wants to go along to get along, doesn’t want a senator that will fight the hard battles, wants a senator with no overriding principles, and wants someone that can just bring home the bacon to the district. Seems to me that Michels wants to practice just the sort of good ol’ boy politics that has been destroying the Illinois GOP for decades.
In the Herald interview Michels also said something that to me reveals his naivete and a complete inability to understand what a State Senator even does. Michels told the Herald that what prompted him to make this run is that he spotted a “bumpy stretch” of road near his home so he contacted a state representative who helped him get it fixed. He said that he wouldn’t be able to get this sort of help from Lauzen because Lauzen isn’t in bed with the GOP establishment — sadly, the Herald neglected to ask Michels if he even tried to contact Lauzen for help. Of course the absurdity here is that Michels thinks that a state senator’s job is to go about fixing potholes as if he were some city alderman!
While roads, bridges, and infrastructure do fall into the purview of the state senate, there is far more to the job than just fixing a “bumpy stretch” in a local road!
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Opponent Appears For Chris Lauzen’s 25th District State Senate Seat”
NOTICE: I am seeing this post getting hit a lot today. This is an OLD post from 2010. If you want an updated, 2012 voter guide use THIS LINK.
Congressional District Breakouts of IFI’s 2010 Primary Election Voter Guide are now available for download!!
With Election Day just around the corner — February 2nd, it is imperative that voters have information available to help them make educated decisions as they cast their votes for the different candidates.
IFI has 19 different two-page local Voter Guides — one for each of Illinois’ Congressional Districts. By printing the two-page local Guide front to back on legal size paper (8.5″ x 14″), you can easily make this a one-page handout, which you can then distribute in your neighborhood and local church. These are non-partisan and completely legal under IRS guidelines for distribution in churches. Call IFI to order them in bulk for your church or neighborhood.
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Illinois Family Institute’s Illinois Voter Guide”
ABC 7 Television held the first debate for Cook County Board President on Thursday, Jan. 7. In attendance were Dorothy Brown, Toni Preckwinkle, Terrence O’Brien, and incumbent Todd Stroger.
ABC 7 says they will have the two GOP candidate’s debate coming soon.
Watch the Cook Co. Board Pres. Candidates Debate Part I
Watch the Cook Co. Board Pres. Candidates Debate Part II
Watch the Cook Co. Board Pres. Candidates Debate Part III
Here are the websites for the candidates…
Dorothy Brown
Terrence O’Brien
Toni Preckwinkle
Todd Stroger
-By Warner Todd Huston
Last April current gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna was the Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. At that time Party money paid for a poll to determine what the level of support was for the various Illinois Republicans that were considering, or might consider, a run for governor.
McKenna is now admitting that his name appeared on that poll at his own bidding and this was a violation of the pledge he took upon taking the GOP chairman’s seat. Like all other Chairmen, McKenna pledged to work for the party and not his own candidacy once he took the GOP chief’s role.
McKenna now admits that he directed that the poll include his own name despite that he pledged not to push his own candidacy while he was the GOP Chairman. Soon after the poll was conducted McKenna quit as party chief and then announced his own run for governor. This is all in contravention to his pledge to work for the party.
One month ago the state party decided to investigate McKenna’s action and today this tepid response was issued by the party:
The State Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party has concluded that Mr. McKenna should not have done so without prior Central Committee approval and disclosure. Mr. McKenna had no intent to violate the spirit or the intent of the Party’s by-laws and he sincerely apologizes for having done so.
Well, maybe it isn’t completely tepid in that it actually happened at all. Brady should be given some level of kudos for even starting the investigation in the first place. That in itself is a step, no matter how small, away from the good old boy’s network that affords them license for every infraction or criminal action.
Still, I think Brady should have gone farther and demanded that McKenna repay the $25,000 the party spent on the poll back in April.
Andy McKenna is a prime symbol of all that is wrong with the Illinois GOP.
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Chairman Brady, McKenna Owes the Ill. GOP Twenty-five Grand”
From the Kirk Dillard for Governor campaign…
Republican candidate for governor Kirk Dillard today welcomed the endorsement of the Chicago Sun-Times in his race for the GOP nomination.
“I’m honored to be selected among the field of Republican candidates running for the state’s highest office,” said Dillard. “I have long valued the Sun-Times for its editorial positions on issues of importance to Illinois. To receive its endorsement is a true honor.”
In its endorsement, the Sun-Times said of Dillard, “No other candidate comes close to matching his experience in the executive and legislative branches of state government, his knowledge of the back doors of power in Springfield, and his proven ability to build cross-party coalitions without abandoning core Republican values.”
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Chicago Sun-Times Endorses Dillard for Governor”
Comptroller candidate Jim Dodge of Orland Park is hitting his opponents hard in this ad. Remember folks, our primaries are in just
From the Adam Andrzejewski for Governor campaign (pronounced Angee-efski)…
“Attorney General Lisa Madigan argues in court that the citizens of Illinois do not have a right to a secret ballot.”
Adam Andrzejewski, Republican candidate for Governor, is calling on the state legislature to restore Illinois citizens’ right to privacy in the voting booth. In late 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed an update to the election law that effectively undermines the Illinois citizens’ right to a secret ballot.
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Andrzejewski calls on Legislature to restore Citizens’ right to a Secret Ballot”
From the Jim Dodge for Comptroller campaign…
In an effort to cut through campaign ad clutter, Jim Dodge, Republican Candidate for Illinois Comptroller has launched the first stage of an innovative campaign communication approach. This concerted statewide voter outreach is designed to direct voters to the campaign web site, www.jimdodge2010.com, and provide them immediate access to unfiltered information not only about Dodge’s background, qualifications and goals for the office but also the critical information about Dodge’s opponents that Republican voters must considered before voting.
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Comptroller: Dodge Launches State-Wide Campaign”
From the Kirk Dillard for Governor campaign…
Radio talk show hostess and commentator Sandy Rios today endorsed Republican candidate Kirk Dillard for governor. Rios said Dillard is the best Republican in the field of candidates vying for the GOP nomination on February 2.
“Kirk Dillard is my pick for governor,” Rios told her listeners on WYLL, AM 1160 in Chicago. “I care so much about what happens in this state and this race really matters. Kirk is good on the issues and has good relationships across party lines.”
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WYLL’s Sandy Rios Endorses Dillard”
From the Dirk Beveridge for Congress campaign…
January 6, 2010…Barrington, Ill. Tomorrow, at the Lake County Republican Party Debate, Dirk W. Beveridge (48), Republican candidate for the 8th Congressional District, will formally announce endorsements he has earned from a coalition of job creators, industry leaders and entrepreneurs.
“Dirk understands business issues and job creation,” explains Ron Bullock, Chairman and Owner, Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. and 2009 Chair, Illinois Manufacturers Association.
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8th District Dirk Beveridge: Announcing Endorsements”
A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate is vowing term limits.
Businessman Patrick Hughes says the seat for which he is running has turned over regularly over the last two decades, but that’s not the norm. “What’s happened with this Senate seat is unusual, and maybe beneficial for the people of Illinois, but across this country and in Congress, it’s entrenched interests,” he said. “You know how difficult it is to beat an incumbent typically, and that just leads to people being in Washington for too long.”
Hughes says if he’s elected, he’ll work to enact term limits for everyone. As for himself, he says he wouldn’t serve any more than two terms.
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Patrick Hughes: Senate Candidate Calls for Term Limits”
-By Warner Todd Huston
This afternoon the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability voted 7-4 to formally close the Thomson Correctional Center. The next step could be to sell the facility to the federal government in order for Obama to deposit in the midst of Illinois citizens the dangerous terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detainee facility.
This decision is but a stepping stone toward the eventual sale of the prison to the federal government. The panel only serves in an advisory capacity so this decision does not finalize any deals.
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Illinois Panel Votes to ‘Close’ Thomson Readying it for Guantanamo Terrorists”
-By Warner Todd Huston
There had been a rumor going around that the Wauconda Republican organization headed up by Bob Cook was going to withdraw its endorsement of Bill Kelly for Comptroller over the revelations concerning the rather outrageous videos featuring Kelly that had been making the rounds. It was thought that some of the Wauconda folks had become embarrassed by the videos. Well the organization recently met yet the rumor mill swirled a different way afterward. After the meeting the withdrawal rumor was modified to one that said the organization was merely not going to put out any Kelly literature and would replace it with that of another candidate.
It is all pretty confusing. Is Wauconda withdrawing its endorsement of Kelly, or are they going to dump his literature in a sort of soft withdraw? I had questions so I gave Bob Cook a call and he settled the question for me, at least for now.
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Wauconda GOP Organization Withdrawing Kelly Endorsement?”
From the Robert Dold for Congress campaign…
Now that a new year is upon us and the February 2nd primary election is just 27 days away, the people of the 10th District will soon have the opportunity to bring change to Washington by electing a new Congressman who will stand up and fight on issues such as ethics and government transparency. As President Obama enables Congress to trample public interest by hiding behind closed doors during the final talks of the health care bill, it becomes even more evident that we need to elect Congressional leaders committed to open and accountable government.
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10th District Robert Dold: Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant”
Dan Patlak is the obvious choice for the suburban seat (once regarded as the automatic Republican seat) on the Cook County Board of Review. Not only is he the most qualified candidate but he has received the endorsement form almost every Cook suburban GOP organization and group. Here is his announcement of another few added to his column. (We here have also endorsed Patlak, by the way)
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Endorsements for Dan Patlak for Cook Cnty Board of Review Piling Up”
From the Ratowitz for Congress campaign…
U.S. House candidate David Ratowitz (IL-5) is conducting a live Twitterview tomorrow (1/7). The event is open to both media and the public. Find out how David is leveraging the nationwide 2010 conservative comeback and advancing the freedom message in a high-profile, Chicago Machine stronghold like Illinois District 5.
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5th District: Twitterview with U.S. House Candidate David Ratowitz”
-By Warner Todd Huston
In her Jan 5 column the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn just reported a “rumor” that Presidential Chief of Staff
Here is the relevant graph:
Emanuel, the most political animal in this town, also should understand that keeping Rogers on as social secretary reflects upon the president’s judgment. It’s possible that he has other considerations. Emanuel is said to have told people that the chief-of-staff role is an 18-month job and that he is considering a run for mayor of Chicago. And Rogers is a major social and political player in the Windy City.
Not quite a shocker if true, but interesting news nonetheless.
I say not shocking because Rahm is a well known Chicago strongman having served in Congress from the city and being one that has always looked for that next big power grab. Looking to take the Mayor’s seat would be a very logical effort for diminutive Emanuel.
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Rahm Emanuel for Chicago Mayor?”
From the Kirk Dillard for Governor campaign…
Republican candidate for Governor Kirk Dillard applauded University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry for taking immediate steps to stem the flow of red ink at the University by implementing tough budget decisions, including mandatory furlough days. Dillard noted that the state’s flagship university is in dire straits because Governor Pat Quinn and Democrat leadership have failed to balance the state budget and owe nearly a half-billion dollars to the school.
Dillard Blames Quinn for U of I Cuts Applauds Ikenberry’s Tough Decisions”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Just a reminder: Dick “Turbin” Durbin is one of the worst, most elitist, least American Senators in the all of the Senate. In this video he was reacting to a question about the people of Illinois having a referendum on whether or not they wanted killers and terrorists deposited amongst them in the Thomson prison facility and good ol’ “Turbin” Durbin said that he didn’t see a reason why the voters should get, well, a vote on the matter.
You see folks, “Turbin” Durbin knows better than you do. He just knows that you just need terrorists to be living amongst you, ya just gotta have ’em. This is the sort of creep Illinois has repeatedly elected to office.
Good job Illinois!
Jim Ryan, “the independence, the character and the strength it takes.”