From Fox Chicago:
Chicago – Former Chicago Public Schools Chief Paul Vallas has endorsed Gery Chico in the race for Mayor of Chicago. Paul Vallas joined us in the studio to talk about it.
From Fox Chicago:
Chicago – Former Chicago Public Schools Chief Paul Vallas has endorsed Gery Chico in the race for Mayor of Chicago. Paul Vallas joined us in the studio to talk about it.
From the Illinois Policy Institute…
You may have joined us earlier this month for our Election Night Party when we watched and celebrated as free market proponents took control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, what’s in store for Illinois in 2011? I hope you’ll join us on Wednesday, December 8, for our annual holiday party to find out. Come kick off the holiday season and hear from Congressman Peter Roskam, who will share insight on how developments in Washington will affect you next year.
You can RSVP here. The holiday party sold out last year, so reserve your spot now—I hope to see you there! In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!
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Illinois Policy Institute Update”
-By Warner Todd Huston
It’s a veritable cornucopia of candidates for the 2011 race for Chicago Mayor. From the infamous, to the locally well known to the completely obscure (so obscure I can’t even find any info out about them), these are the 20 folks that filed to run for mayor. And where known I added their website.
Carol Moseley Braun – Former U.S. Senator, Hyde Park resident
http://carolforchicago.com
Gery J. Chico – Former President of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Public Schools, Downtown Chicago (Loop)
www.gerychicoformayor.com
Danny K. Davis – Current U.S. Representative 7th District, Austin Neighborhood
http://dannykdavis.com/
Wilfredo De Jesus – Senior Pastor of New Life Covenant Church in Humboldt Park, Logan Square
www.dejesusformayor.com
Miguel Del Valle – Chicago City Clerk, Belmont
www.delvalleformayor.com
Rahm Emanuel – Former U.S. Representative 5th District, West Town, White House Chief of Staff
www.chicagoforrahm.com
Ryan Graves – Engineer with the Dept. of Water Management, Lakeview
www.gravesformayor.com
John Hu – Real estate broker, Rush and Division
http://citizenmayor.net/index.html
M. Tricia Lee – Children’s book author, business consultant, Archer Heights
www.mtricialeeformayor.citymax.com
James T. Meeks – Current Illinois State Senator 15th District, West Pullman
www.jamesmeeksformayor.com
Jay Stone – Hypnotherapist, West Ridge
http://stoneformayor.com
William Walls III – Community Activist, former aide to Mayor Harold Washington, Galewood
http://wallsformayor.com
Patricia Van Pelt Watkins – Community Activist, CEO of Target Area Development Corp., E. Garfield Park
www.patriciaforchicago.com
Fredrick K. White – City Employee, Logan Square
www.fredrick-k-white.com
Roland W. Burris – Chatham, Former Senator
Tyrone Carter – Austin, Music Producer, Author
Rob Halpin – Businessman (famous for being the tenant living in Rahm Emanuel’s house), Lakeview
Tommy Hanson – Real estate broker, River North
Fenton C. Patterson – ??, Englewood
Howard Ray – ??, Humbolt Park
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Come One, Come All: 20 Candidates for Chicago Mayor”
-By Warner Todd Huston
When Mayor Richard “King” Daley got himself a one billion dollar infusion of cash by selling the parking meters in the city (yes, I said one BILLION) everyone thought it was such a great deal. Gery Chico tells us that all this money is nearly gone and spent already. He wants city hall to be more transparent and if he becomes mayor that’s what he says he’ll do.
From the Chico Press release:
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Mayoral Candidate Gery Chico’s Chicago City Hall Transparency Ideas”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Newly elected Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski is leaving the office of mayor of the Village of McCook, Illinois. Now, a few weeks after the election, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he and his father before him have filled village government with relatives from top to bottom raking in a combined $350,000 in yearly salary (not including benefits), tax money elicited from a tiny village of only 200 some residents.
Naturally, in another installment of the “name that party” game, the Chicago Sun-Times seemed to somehow forget to mention in its coverage of this outrageous nepotism that Tobolski is yet another corrupt Democrat who is only in government for personal enrichment and to dole out goodies, high paying jobs, and pension benefits to his relatives.
Also just as naturally, the Chicago Sun-Times somehow forget to release this story before the recent election. Obviously the Times didn’t want to hurt the election chances of this Democrat on Nov. 2.
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Democrat Hires Entire Family to Run Town of 200 Residents (Media Forgets to Mention He’s a Democrat)”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Dan Rutherford was the State Senator from the 53rd District, but with his recent election to our state treasurer’s office, that left his seat empty. Since a Republican held that seat the local Republican Party was given the task of choosing someone to replace Rutherford and fill out his term.
After much wrangling and many hats in the ring, the Party chose Shane Cultra of Onarga to be the man sent to Springfield.
It was a crowded field of nine Republicans vying to take Dan Rutherford’s empty seat. In the running were Gary Manier, David Zimmerman, and John Ackerman of Tazewell County; Matt Sorenson of McLean County; Jason Barickman, and John Bambenek of Champaign County; Scott McCoy and Mike Stoeklin of Livingston County; and finally Cultra of Iroquois County. Keith Sommer of Morton dropped out of contention recently due to his wife’s illness.
Cultra is strongly supported by the United Republican Fund and rated at “90” by that organization.
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Shane Cultra Takes Rutherford’s 53rd District State Senate Seat”
From the office of Timothy O. Schneider, Cook County Commissioner…
Property Tax Information
Residents should have received their 2009 2nd installment property tax bills last week. The property tax bills are due December 13, 2010. Many people in the Northwest suburbs noticed an increase in their property tax bill this year. The Illinois Department of Revenue set a record high multiplier of 3.3701 to bring assessment in line with the rest of the state, up more than 13 percent from last year. When the General Assembly extended the 7 percent homeowners exemption the amount of the exemption decreased from $26,000 to $20,000.
It is important to remember that Cook County has not raised its property tax levy for 16 years. In addition, please note your property tax bill is now itemized, detailing exactly where your tax dollars are being spent (school district, municipality, township, county, ect.).
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County Gov’t Update: Property Tax Info and More”
-By Warner Todd Huston
I’ll avoid any “the only good politician is a…” jokes here, but one thing is certain, newly elected State Representative Tom Morrison (R, 54th District) has taken the first step on the road to being a good politician. Or at least a good steward of the people’s tax dollars.
Mr. Morrison of Palatine has decided to forego the state pension benefits that he is legally eligible for because of his electoral success. According to the Daily Herald, Morrison was asked “are you sure you want to do that?” by an administrator when he turned down joining the pension plan this week at the state capitol in Springfield.
“I want to demonstrate to voters and taxpayers that since cuts have to be made, I’m willing to step forward and make a personal cut,” Morrison told the press.
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New GOP State Rep. Turns Down Gov’t Pension”
-By Dan Proft
I recently attended a speech by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in which he inadvertently provided some advice for the Illinois Republican Party.
Blair recounted a conversation he had with a fellow MP after his Labour Party had lost their fourth national election in a row in 1992. In the wake of that defeat, his frustrated colleague lamented to Blair, “What the heck is wrong with the voters of England?”
This anecdote is better told with an upbeat British accent but Blair’s point was that the better question at the time was, “What the heck is wrong with the Labour Party?” Five years later, Blair led a new, centrist Labour Party that won a landslide victory and maintained power for the ensuing decade.
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Answers for ILGOP Start with Asking the Right Question”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Ron Sandack, Mayor of Downers Grove, has been given the nod to fill the seat vacated by Dan Cronin (R, Elmhurst – 21st District) who is stepping into the Chairmanship of the DuPage County Board.
Sandack was chosen over Republicans Chris Nybo, Sandy Pihos, and activist Rafael Rivadeneira.
The seat State Senator Randy Hultgren holds is yet to be filled now that Hultgren was elected to Congress. Hultgren has announced that he will retain his seat until Jan 4 when he’ll vacate it to go to Washington.
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Ron Sandack Chosen to Fill Vacated Ill. State Senate Seat”
From the Illinois Policy Institute…
Earlier this year, the House and Senate passed HB 5154, a union-backed bill which would permanently take government employee performance evaluations out of the public sphere. Read more about why this matters to watchdogs like you.
Governor Pat Quinn issued an “amendatory veto” that rightly narrowed the scope of the bill (only police performance records would be off limits). However, today the House voted to override his veto.
Our very own Director of Government Reform Kate Piercy notes, “If the Senate agrees, performance reviews will be sealed forever. Goodbye transparency.”
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Unions Attempting to Take Away Public’s Right to Know in Illinois”
From Congressman elect Joe Walsh…
I’m pleased that the decision of the people of the 8th District voting on November 2nd has been confirmed. Representative Bean telephoned me earlier this evening and congratulated me for winning the 8th District seat in the United States House of Representatives. I am grateful to each and every individual who cast their ballot for me, and for all of the thousands of volunteers, Tea Party members, regular Republicans, friends and staff people that have made this victory possible. I congratulate Representative Bean on her vigorous campaign and thank her for her six years of public service.
With the voting and counting now complete, we can turn all of our energies to advancing the legislative agenda the people of the 8th District have told me to pursue: more responsive government, less borrowing against our children’s future, and a common sense approach to deal with the economic challenges facing our country. I will be busy here in Washington for several more days before returning to Illinois to personally thank all those who worked so hard to send me to Congress.
We have a lot to do, and I am eager to get at it.
Congressman-elect Joe Walsh will be holding a press conference on Wednesday, November 17 at 11:30 AM Eastern Time at RNC Headquarters.
Doug Ibendhal wants us all to re-commit to getting SB600 passed. I am a big supporter of the measure, so I certainly agree with him on this.
The Illinois General Assembly goes back in session in Springfield this week (November 16-18).
SB600 passed overwhelmingly in the State Senate last year. We just need House passage and then it’s to the Governor’s desk. Pat Quinn is certain to sign the bill. His reformer talk would be over if he didn’t.
Please take a minute and contact your State Representative, whether Republican or Democrat, and urge passage of SB600.
You’ll find all of the contact information here (then page down).
Note that we’ve put all the email addresses for all of the State Representatives into user friendly blocks (one with all the Democrats and one with all the Republicans). Feel free to copy and paste the addresses into your email and contact all of them at once.
If SB600 doesn’t pass before the new General Assembly is seated in mid-January, then the whole process has to start all over again in the State Senate. Let’s not let that happen.
So far House Minority Leader Tom Cross has gotten his way. He and other GOP bosses have stonewalled SB600 for years. These power hungry Republicans don’t want you to have a voice in your own party. They don’t want accountability in the Illinois Republican Party and they certainly don’t want transparency….
Read the rest at Republican News Watch.
From the office of State Senator Chris Lauzen (25th District)…
On November 4, 2010, all State Senators were called to Springfield ostensibly to vote on a $4B proposal to pay into state employee pension plans. The Democrat leadership had a political caucus off-site, but no vote was taken on the important fiscal matter, nor any other substantive issue.
Last year I believed Governor Quinn’s promise that he would spend approximately $3.5 Billion in borrowed funds wisely and, incredibly (for me), I voted “yes” to give him broad borrowing and spending authority. Unfortunately, that promise was broken and nearly all of that debt was used to pay for public employee pension deposits, while our schools languished and social service agencies were decimated.
Fool me once, shame on you – – fool me twice shame on me.
Carnival Shell Game with Illinois State Pensions”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Rod Blagojevich is saying he fully intends to bring Rahm Emanuel into court as a witness in the next phase of his corruption trial.
“Rahm is going to be a central witness in this case for us,” Blago told Fox News Chanel commentator Geraldo Rivera.
Geraldo wondered if this would be a major distraction for Rahm Emanuel next year as he runs for mayor as the second Blago trial will be occurring at the same time as the mayoral contest.
This is one thing that could portend trouble for an Emanuel run for City Hall. Of course, Emanuel has to get past the charge of non-residency and the perception that he is a carpetbagger from Washington, too. But… you know…
Anyway, if you want to watch a master of desperate spin, heeeeeeres Rod:
It most certainly will be interesting, though, to have a major candidate for mayor who is in the middle of a campaign for City Hall to be dragooned into a corruption trial. If the other candidates for mayor don’t press Emanuel to answer to just how much of Blago’s corruption Rahm knew about, when he knew it and how much of it he was involved in — and by extension the president himself — they don’t deserve to be on the ballot themselves!
Lastly, there is something amusing about a Chicago Mayor in a corruption imbroglio before he even gets elected, too. If that isn’t a typically Chicago mess, what is?
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Blago Calling Emanuel In Next Trial?”
From Congressman Peter Roskam…
Joins His father, a Korean War Veteran, At President Obama’s Remarks to Troops at Yongsan Garrison
SEOUL, Korea, Nov 11 – Congressman Peter Roskam issued the following statement in commemoration of Veterans Day:
“It is a privilege to be in Korea today with my father on the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War – a war which he fought bravely in to preserve freedom and halt the advance of Communism. My father, V.R. Roskam, has received an outpouring of thanks and appreciation from Koreans everywhere we’ve visited the last week. It’s a powerful lesson: the sacrifices our men and women in the Armed Forces have made to preserve freedom in almost every corner of the globe, even decades later, are not forgotten. The bustling capital city of Seoul, home to 12 million people, is testament to the generations of Americans who have helped ensure the existence of whole nations of free people.
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Congressman Roskam Commemorates Veterans Day From Korea”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Well, the field of contenders for Chicago’s mayoral election is taking shape. Hats in the ring currently were tossed by James Meeks, Danny Davis, Miguel del Valle, Carol Moseley Braun, and of course Rahm Emanuel.
Then there is former school board chief Gery Chico. Chico claims that over 50,000 voters signed his petition as he filed them on Monday morning. Chico says “the time to debate is now.”
Mayoral candidate Gery Chico called for at least 10 debates in the neighborhoods of Chicago on Monday, after filing his petition signatures at the Chicago Board of Elections. Chico filed 50,254 signatures and will unveil the first major proposal of the campaign this week.
“I am calling for all the candidates to commit to at least 10 debates in Chicago’s neighborhoods before the election,” Chico said. “The future of our city is at stake and Chicagoans deserve nothing short of a full and vigorous debate of the issues. Let’s debate ways to create more jobs, make our streets safer and fix education and let’s debate them now because Chicago needs a mayor who is ready on Day One.”
My guess is that Rahm will do his best to ignore all contenders and assume the mantle of clear winner. I’d also guess he will refuse all debates until very close to the end of the campaign.
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Chicago Mayoral Contest Begins: Gery Chico Calls for 10 Debates”
From the Homer/Lockport Tea Party…
Below are links to iPetitions supporting two candidates seeking appointments to open IL state senator positions.
The two candidates are:
Rafael Rivadeneira for State Senator (to replace Dan Cronin – 21st District) – Petition to Support John Bambenek
Both of these gentlemen are true conservatives and have spoken at many tea party events.
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iPetitions for IL State Senate Appointments”
-By Warner Todd Huston
I said it during the primary, Mark Kirk is a 45 percenter. His record in the House pretty much shows that he will only vote with Republicans 45 percent of the time if left to his druthers. True to my worst fears, Kirk seems to be right on track with my predictions. The man hasn’t even taken his seat yet and many are assuming he’ll support one of the Democrat’s favorite issues: the DISCLOSE Act.
The Hill is reporting that Kirk is coming under pressure by the left to vote “yes” on a watered down version of the DISCLOSE Act, ostensibly a campaign finance reform law. The Hill also correctly points out that Kirk has in the past been a proponent of changes in campaign finance rules even as he voted against the Democrat’s DISCLOSE Act in the run up to the election.
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Senator Kirk Already on Track to Vote Against GOP Interests”
-By Warner Todd Huston
After two months of backroom dealing and secret meetings Chicago’s African American community claims that it has chosen U.S. Representative Danny Davis as its black Democratic candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2011.
Davis beat out such luminaries as Alderman Walther Burnett, the Reverend James Meeks, and long-out-of-view Carol Moseley Braun.
Sources say that Moseley Braun lost because she has been out of the public eye for too long. But I’d guess she lost more because of all the fraud and thievery she’s been involved in over the years. She isn’t called Carol Mostly Fraud for nothing.
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Coalition of Chicago’s Blacks Chose Danny Davis for Mayor”
John Garrido is currently a police officer and he’s running for Alderman of the 45th Ward. The long term Alderman of that ward is Pat Levar. John Arena is also another candidate for that ward and he is part of a wide open field of seven challengers to vulnerable long term incumbent, Pat Levar. Other candidates include Anna Klocek, Don Blair, Bruno Belissimo, Jose Rivera and Greg Sedlacek.
Check out ChicagoElections2011.com for more election news.
-By Warner Todd Huston
This has been an interesting election cycle we are living through, hasn’t it? But another interesting one is soon to unfold in Chicago as the Mayor’s seat becomes up for grabs next year.
The fun has already begun here in Chi-Town. Not long ago, for instance, an amusing little episode of lefty on lefty hatin’ erupted in Chicago between long-time racebaiting activist and Congressman Luis Gutierrez and AFSCME President Gerry McEntee that is simply too delicious to ignore.
Ordinarily, you’d think that a left-wing, Democrat congressman would be fast friends with the president of one of America’s biggest public employees unions. But these two titans of leftism have found themselves embroiled in local Chicago politics.
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Chicago’s Lefty on Lefty Hatin’”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Earlier today the Chairman of the Illinois GOP conducted a conference call with the media and other interested folks concerning the Illinois GOP’s plans and thoughts on the coming election. Here are some of the highlights of what Pat Brady said…
“The visit today says more about Alexi’s weakness as a candidate than anything. Let’s take a little look at the history here. Alexi Giannoulias was the fourth choice of the Democrat Party… He was not the enthusiastic choice, by any means, of the Democrats here in the state…
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Highlights of Illinois GOP Chair Brady’s Conference Call”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The head of the Obama Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Tom Perez, admitted this week that he has no real intention of trying to assure that members of our military are afforded their right to vote, and will not attempt in a timely fashion to enforce the MOVE Act (Military and Overseas Voter Empower Act) intended to make sure that our soldiers get their ballots with time enough to return them so that they can be counted on election day.
Perez made a very weak pledge that the Dept. of Justice would, “continue to vigilantly enforce [the] law” to make sure the military votes are counted, but he made it clear that all he is prepared to do is sue states long after the November 2 elections are over. In other words, Perez is saying that the DOJ will sue states after the election, long after the votes go uncounted and our soldier’s votes are essentially taken away from them.
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Obama Justice Dept. Denies Military Vote, Blames GOP”
From the Patlak for Cook County Board of Review campaign (suburban Cook County)…
On Tuesday we released our second radio commercial which highlights the fact that Commissioner Brendan Houlihan has worked full time at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for his entire term in office and rarely appears at the Board of Review while collecting approximately $500,000 in salary and benefits in the past four years from county taxpayers. Taxpayers have a right to ask whether this abrogation of responsibility by Mr. Houlihan contributed to:
1. The record delay in issuing tax bills which will now arrive after the election and right before Thanksgiving.
2. His failure to fulfill his campaign promise to provide on-line appeals (for which he was roundly criticized by the Tribune Editorial Board).
3. Whether he could have prevented the scandal involving manipulation of Board decisions on behalf of contributors to a Schaumburg area Democratic state representative.
Dan has pledged to work full-time as a commissioner at the Board of Review and will resign his part-time position as Wheeling Township Assessor.
Please forward this e-mail to anyone you think might be interested in how one of our Cook County elected officials has been performing his duties over the past four years.
http://www.electpatlak.com
http://www.twitter.com/DanPatlak
http://www.facebook.com/DanPatlak
From the Dold for Congress campaign (10th District)…
Winnetka, IL – Tenth District Congressional candidate Robert Dold launched a new upbeat ad today titled “Seals for Dold”. The 30-second spot features a talking seal that takes a humorous look at opponent Dan Seals. The ad highlights the fact that Seals still doesn’t live in the 10th District despite three bids for Congress, and that he supports destructive fiscal policies that will hurt the economy and hamper job growth.
The ad was created by Chicago-based agency, First Tuesday, which is also the maker of the catchy “Dold With A ‘D’” ad, a light-hearted play on Dold’s last name.
October Surprise: Seal Endorses Robert Dold”
-By Warner Todd Huston
You know that the Democrats are desperate when they pay thousands of their own campaign dollars in order to print and mail fliers touting the candidacy of another party’s Senate candidate! That’s what happened in downstate Illinois where the Democrat Party spent thousands of its own campaign money to print and mail fliers for Libertarian Senate candidate Mike Labno in order to stir conservatives against GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk.
Rich Miller has scans of the flier HERE.
Now, it’s not a cut-and-dried case of misrepresentation exactly. After all, on the back of the flier they have clearly noted in a small notation that the ad was paid for by the Lake County Democrat Party. But nowhere else on the ad does it allude to the Democrats and the flier seems as if it is a legit Libertarian Party mailing. So call it mildly deceptive at best.
But it is clear that this is a Democrat dirty trick regardless. That the Democrat Party would fund a flier for a completely different party is telling. The Democrats know that Alexi is a horrible candidate and is behind in the polls. This is a desperate move to shave off some of Kirk’s votes.
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Desperate Illinois Democrats Dirty Trick: Funding Mailers for Third Party Candidate to Spite Kirk”
From the Hultgren for Congress campaign (14th District)…
ST. CHARLES – The Randy Hultgren for Congress campaign issued the following statement tonight after Hultgren again proved himself the best candidate to represent the 14th District at tonight’s Kendall County Farm Bureau candidates’ forum.
“At tonight’s forum, as in every joint appearance with Congressman Foster, Randy clearly articulated his philosophy of smaller, smarter government and contrasted it with Congressman Foster’s dedicated and unwavering support for Nancy Pelosi’s agenda of taxes, spending, and job-killing red tape,” said John Cooney, Hultgren for Congress campaign manager. “14th District residents understand that Randy shares their common sense Midwestern values and will fight for them and for fiscal sanity in Washington, DC.”
http://hultgrenforcongress.com/
From the Dold for Congress campaign (10th District)…
As you probably read today, the Chicago Tribune called on Dan Seals and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to stop the false attack ads against his Pro-Choice stance. The ads, both running on TV and found on flyers mailed to voters across the District, seek to scare and intimidate women claiming Bob wants to criminalize a woman’s right to choose. Bob has always been Pro-Choice and respects a woman’s right to choose.
The editorial stated, “We are not impressed that Seals would give voters false ideas about his opponent’s views on abortion. Not impressed at all. He and the DCCC should drop these very misleading ads.”
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Chicago Tribune Calls Out Dan Seals for Misleading Voters”
From the Brady for Ill. Governor campaign…
From every part of the state, the message is clear. This weekend, at least five more newspapers endorsed Bill from every section of Illinois.
The Decatur Herald-Review says Bill “wants to create jobs in the state and understands that in order to do that, the state will need to become more business-friendly.” The Southern says Bill will “veto reckless spending by the General Assembly, stop the creation of needless programs and get Illinois back on the path to fiscal sanity.”
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Newspapers From Every Corner of Illinois Endorse Brady!”