-By Warner Todd Huston
I’ll be poking in to show that Illinois loves their politics crooked and live blogging the poor, poor turnout in the 2010 primary.
(The newest post will appear on the top for ease of viewing.)
Won’t you click… Continue reading “
Live Blogging the 2010 Illinois Primary Returns”
-By Warner Todd Huston
It’s Groundhog’s Day, do you know where your election ballot is?? Well, it’s at your polling place so go fill it out. TODAY is the Illinois Primary!!
I know, I know, who knew, right?
Here are my endorsements (and here is the post explaining the choices):
SENATE
Patrick Hughes – www.patrickhughesforsenate.com
GOVERNOR
Dan Proft – http://www.proft2010.com
(second choice Adam Andrzejewski)
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Illinois Primary Election TODAY! Go Vote”
From Paul Mitchell for 62nd District State Rep…
When voters in the 62nd District received a late mailer from Personal PAC on behalf of Sandy Cole for State Representative, they were told ominously that her challenger in Tuesday’s Republican primary, Paul Mitchell, had a 100% rating from the Illinois Federation for Right to Life (IFRL).
The mailer, apparently sent only to female names in the district, boldly announces “Personal PAC Urges You to Vote NO ON PAUL MITCHELL.”
The Mitchell campaign hopes that Sandy’s friends aren’t painting with too broad a brush: Republican gubernatorial candidates Jim Ryan, Kirk Dillard, Bill Brady, Adam Andrejewski, and Dan Proft, as well as Republican 8th District Congressional candidates Maria Rodriguez and Joe Walsh, have all likewise been given 100% ratings from the IFRL.
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Sandy Cole Supporters attack GOP candidates for Governor, Congress, State House”
-By Bruno Behrend
This is a long, but important e-mail about the most important political race in Illinois. Please remember that the choices you have in November are dictated by the choices you make in this primary election. You have to get out and vote tomorrow, and you have to get 10 of your friends to do the same. Also, don’t split your vote. Just vote for the conservative newcomer who can win.
This is a personal request that you vote for Adam Andrzejewski, the best Republican candidate for Governor. I would like to tell you about Adam and his campaign, and I have a unique perspective, as I was instrumental in the campaign as Adam’s policy director up until early December. I am still actively involved as a volunteer.
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The Ironclad Case for Adam Andrzejewski (And-G-F-Ski) for Governor”
Here was an early taping of a Public Affairs show with Dan Proft who had yet to announce that he was running for Governor. This is great primer on Dan Proft.
Patrick Hughes is the best candidate to beat Mark Kirk in this primary but he’s had some trouble getting the Old Media to report on his campaign. Well, if you’ve not seen Mr. Hughes, Jeff Berkowitz of the show Public Affairs conducted an interview with the conservative Republican candidate for Senate.
www.patrickhughesforsenate.com
-By Warner Todd Huston
Former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna is trying to claim he is an “outsider businessman” and that he’s the only one not connected to Illinois corruption. But the facts seem to auger against McKenna’s claims.
For one thing, McKenna has been called out for ethics violations by his own party. On top of that, how does one claim to be an “outsider” when one was the head of the state party!? That’s a couple of major dents in McKenna’s claims right there.
But now comes info from the Ryan campaign that Andy McKenna also has a ton of donors and supporters that are big Obama supporters, too. Now, how can someone claim to be the conservative solution to Springfield if he’s getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Democrat and Obama supporters?
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Andy McKenna And His Big Money Obama Supporters”
Meanwhile, one of the members of the Sauk Valley Tea Party group has endorsed Mr. Proft:
Dan Proft – met him, looked him in the eye and he brought up Natural Law in our conversation. He is a real conservative that understand our national constitution. I did not meet Andejewski or Brady, both of which sound like great candidates, but neither made the effort to contact our local tea party and Dan did. Dan has a deep intellect of the issues and for this reason he is getting my vote. If you are voting for a candidate that is not one of the 3 above, you are in herd mentality – there is a difference between a conservative or libertarian and being a Republican.
From the Jim Dodge for Comptroller campaign…
Take a look at a message we received from Erik Zimmerman, a young man who takes his voting privileges very seriously. We’re honored that after his research, he decided to cast his vote for Jim Dodge.
Erik Zimmerman “When I was 16 I started realizing my love for politics. Unfortunately, I couldn’t vote yet because I wasn’t 18. I had to wait two long years and watched as Democrats began to take over and run things both in Illinois and in the federal government. After seeing what the liberal policies did to our state I realized that I couldn’t responsibly vote for someone who would treat the taxpayers dollars like a lottery windfall.
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First Time Voter Chooses Dodge”
From the Adam Andrzejewski for Governor campaign…
Elmhurst, Illinois – Conservative candidate for Governor, Adam Andrzejewski (And-GEE-EFF-Ski), placed a call to David Carlin, member of the Dillard Campaign, offering condolences to Senator Dillard, his family and his campaign team for the loss of the State Senator’s Father.
“Tonight, I received the news that Senator Dillard’s father passed away after a battle with cancer. My entire team and all of my supporters will keep Senator Dillard’s family in our prayers tonight,” said Andrzejewski.
-By Warner Todd Huston
David Ratowitz is presenting himself to voters as the business oriented, conservative candidate for their 5th District Congressional seat. Ratowitz says he represents “hard-fought professional achievement” and “personal resilience,” and says his “genuine free market outlook” makes him the perfect candidate for conservatives. Also, many of Mr. Ratowitz’ press releases state that he’s for fiscal responsibility and have taken the Obama administration to task for its bad fiscal policies. (www.ratowitzforcongress.com)
So, one would assume that Mr. Ratowitz’ own history should be above reproach. If not pristine, one would hope that any past business troubles or tax issues would be few and far between. After all, everyone makes a few mistakes especially if they are active businessmen.
Now, between 2000 and 2007 Mr. Ratowitz was a businessman in New Orleans, Louisiana. On his campaign website he admits that hurricane Katrina wrecked havoc with his business, but he says he “worked on the ground to rebuild his business and community.”
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Tax Problems For 5th District Candidate Ratowitz?”
When I first set out to lend this space to Republican candidates for the primary I decided that anyone that sent me a press release would have the courtesy of having it posted here.
I did this for several reasons: 1). because I had yet to make my own endorsements and wanted to see what everyone was saying, 2). so that others out there who, like me, wanted to see what was going on with the field of candidates could do so, and 3). to serve as an open forum for all Republican candidates.
Well, now we are at only two days before the voting begins and since I have made my endorsement (see them HERE) I have decided that from this point forward only those candidates I endorse will get this space. It is crunch time and time for me to put forth only those candidates I feel are the best ones.
Thanks for sticking with Publius Forum through the run up to the primary and I hope you stick around during and beyond.
Yours,
Warner Todd Huston
Editor, Publius Forum
-By Warner Todd Huston
Earlier today there was news that a fake robocall was making its way across Illinois with the recorded voice claiming to be candidate Dan Proft. This fake voice mimic said that he (as Dan Proft) was quitting the race for Governor. Even more ridiculously the impersonator claimed that he (as Dan Proft) was throwing his support behind the crook Andy McKenna!!
Proft Responds to False and Illegal Robocalls; McKenna Responsible?
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Dirty Trick Robocall Says Dan Proft Quits Governor Race”
-By Warner Todd Huston
The Palatine Tea Party folks have a very good webpage that reminds us of just what we Republicans are fighting when we are looking for candidates to oust incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean.
Congressman Melissa Bean is a tax and spend, big government, socialist healthcare-supporting, left-winger and needs to be eliminated.
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8th District Incumbent Democrat, Remember What We Are Fighting”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Way back in 2009 (OK, it was Dec. 26) I posted a bunch of websites that can help you with your info needs on the web for Illinois elections and most especially Cook County. I have another website to add to that list so I thought I’d just repost the whole thing.
The new resource is a site called eVoter.com. On the main page they describe themselves as an “unbiased, non-partisan election information site where Voters can instantly generate a personalized Sample Ballot, view Candidate Profiles, make Contributions, view Organizational Endorsements, find Polling Places and more.”
You can find them at www.evoter.com
For a list of the website of all candidates including Democrats, see www.uselections.com/il/il.htm.
And don’t forget the Chicago Tribune’s candidate questionnaire responses.
State-wide and Cook County and Collar County GOP Candidate’s websites:
John Arrington – arringtonforsenate.com
Patrick Hughes – patrickhughesforsenate.com
Mark Kirk – kirkforsenate.com
Tom Kuna – w-e-r-co.com
Don Lowery – judgelowery4ussenate.com
Andy Martin – andyforussenator.com
Kathleen Thomas – kathleenthomasforsenate.org
Ed Varga – e-varga.com
Robert Zadek – robertzadek.com
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More Illinois Election Web Resources”
-By Warner Todd Huston
Americans for Tax Reform (atr.org) has a post up today reminding us all just which Illinois candidates have signed ATR’s no tax pledge.
It’s called the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and you can see the pledge HERE.
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Which Ill. Candidates Have Signed Taxpayer Protection Pledge?”
From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…
On Friday, January 29th at 2:00 p.m. Senate candidate John Arrington will be holding a press conference at the iWireless Center near the Rock Island arsenal. In response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, Mr. Arrington will be sending letters to the President, Congress, and the Pentagon today demanding that an assessment be taken of defense systems manufactured overseas, and that all defense related products be returned to the U.S. for production. “Discussing jobs without including our disappearing manufacturing industry is like discussing healthcare without tort reform, it’s a Band-Aid approach,” stated Arrington. “Americans must produce in order to sustain our economic future, and that must start with our Department of Defense.”
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U.S. Senate: John Arrington Presses President, Pentagon for Manufacturing Jobs at Rock Island Arsenal and Across U.S.”
I don’t support Mr. Ryan’s bid for Governor, but I sure as heck sign onto THIS question he’s asking. From the Ryan for Governor campaign…
Why Illinois voters should be concerned about this issue
Andy McKenna needs to answer all questions related to an ongoing ethics probe — or withdraw from the race.
We have learned that Andy declined to answer questions posed to him as part of an ethics inquiry that ultimately concluded he violated the Illinois Republican Party’s code of ethics by ordering a $28,000 self-serving poll while he was party chairman.
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Ryan Slaps McKenna: Andy McKenna Needs to Come Clean — or Withdraw”
From the Randy Hultgren for Congress campaign…
Just a few days before the Illinois Primary on February 2nd, a group calling itself “The Tea Party is Over” identified 14th Congressional District Candidate Randy Hultgren as possessing “dangerous ideas of the Tea Party.”
“If your enemies are any indication of your standing in the world, Randy’s honored with being labeled an enemy of these special interest, big government unions like the SEIU and AFL-CIO who have backed this radical-left group with tens of millions of dollars.” said Hultgren Campaign Manager John Cooney.
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14th District: Left-Wing, Anti-Tea Party Group Attacks Hultgren”
From the Dodge for Comptroller campaign…
Jim Dodge, Republican candidate for Illinois Comptroller, is proud to announce he has received the endorsement of the Homer Lockport Tea Party.
“I would like to thank the members of the Homer Lockport Tea Party for their support,” Dodge said. “This group held one of the largest Tea Party gatherings in the country on Labor Day of last year. They know what is at stake this election for our state and our country, they are working very hard to get the word out, and I couldn’t be happier to have their support.”
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Comptroller: Homer Lockport Tea Party Endorses Jim Dodge”
For those unaware, candidate Joe Walsh made a parody of a song by rock star Joe Walsh of the Eagles and the singer has sent a threatening letter from his lawyer over it. So, candidate Walsh is replying. From the Joe Walsh for Congress campaign…
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8th District: WALSH VS WALSH, II – The Candidate Defends the Tea Party Movement”
From the Dennis Cook for Lt. Gov. campaign….
Channahon, Lemont and Romeoville Lead Widespread Support for Cook
Heading into the final week before the primary, Republican Lieutenant Governor Candidate Dennis Cook continues to pile up the endorsements from top Will County leaders. Among those coming out recently to endorse him are the mayors of Channahon, Lemont and Romeoville, giving Cook widespread support throughout Will County.
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Will County Mayors Endorse Cook for Lt. Gov.”
From the Paul Mitchell for State Rep campaign…
J Kevin Costello, the Chairman for Illinois Citizens for Ethics (ICE-PAC) told Mitchell in the endorsement notice, “On behalf of everyone here at Illinois Citizens for Ethics, I’m happy to inform you that our Board feels you are an exemplary candidate for public service as an Illinois State Representative. Your commitment to ethics and to representing the views of the Illinois voter in public service with respect to the role of government in the social and moral issues facing our State make you the type of candidate that Illinois Citizens for Ethics is intended to support.”
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62nd State Rep: ICE-PAC Endorses Paul Mitchell for State Rep”
From the Joe Walsh for Congress campaign…
Tonight, as required by our Constitution, President Obama gave the annual State of the Union Address to both houses of Congress.
The President and I agree on some of his ideas, and disagree on others. Firstly, I must applaud the President when he said “I do not accept second place for the United States of America.” Further I completely agree with the President that we the voters should “Give our people the government they deserve.” You, the voters of the 8th deserve so much more than Melissa Bean. You deserve a voice!
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8th District: Joe Walsh on State of the Union Speech”
From the David Ratowitz for Congress campaign…
“The president’s proposals are like a surgeon only using the dullest and rustiest of scalpels.”
Like many Americans, I enjoyed the introductory comments of President Obama’s first State of the Union address. The president is absolutely correct in his assertion that Americans working together have overcome our greatest challenges. However, that is about where our agreement ends.
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U.S. House Candidate David Ratowitz (IL-5) Responds to SOTU Address”
From the Robert Dold for Congress campaign…
Today Dold for Congress will embark on a mission that will take us throughout the district to meet face-to-face with thousands of voters over the next six days leading up to Election Day. As part of the Get America Back to Work Tour, Robert and his supporters will ride around the district in a giant Dold-themed tour bus visiting small businesses, restaurants, train stations, senior communities, and anywhere and everywhere voters can be found. We will be making more than 60 stops during the tour, and will be picking up supporters along the way. We would like to extend an invitation for you to join us at any time during the tour for this very special event. To view the bus tour schedule click here.
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10th District: Dold’s ‘Get America Back to Work’ Bus Tour Thursday”
From the David Ratowitz for Congress campaign…
CHICAGO – January 27, 2010 – U.S. House candidate David Ratowitz’s tax proposals resonated with 5th District entrepreneurs and community leaders who attended the Asian American Coalition candidate forum on Saturday at the Hyatt Rosemont.
Ratowitz, a Republican candidate in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary election, fielded numerous questions regarding the impact of burdensome federal regulations and taxes on the 5th District’s small business community, which includes Albany Park’s Koreatown.
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David Ratowitz Pushes Across-the-board Tax Cut Agenda”
-By Warner Todd Huston
There’s been a swirl of charges and counter charges with some of the operatives of several different campaigns here that we’ve only had a few posts about — mostly because I think these charges are tangential to the actual issues. It basically concerns charges made by the William Kelly for Comptroller campaign that operatives of the Dodge campaign are actually working for Topinka in a sort of typical Chicago dirty tricks campaign effort. These charges have been returned by the Dodge folks that it is in reality Kelly who is the false front candidate.
On Jan. 25 I posted D2s Prove Jim Dodge Dirty Tricks in IL Comptroller Race written by Tom Mannis of Chicago News Bench because it was a pretty good summation of the charges from his camp (he’s a Kelly man). Right after that 62nd District candidate Paul Mitchel responded to the claims. I posted that address the very same day.
Lynn has also responded to the Kelly camp’s claims (she’s a Dodge supporter) on her blog, Cao’s Blog and I think her voice should also be heard here. Among other things, she disputes that she makes money from Jack Roeser and that she’s a “paid blogger.”
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Cao Responds to Kelly Accusations of Links to Topinka/Paid Blogger Claim”