DIERSEN QUESTIONS: When and where is the next meeting of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) State Central Committee?  What will be on the agenda concerning Bob Kjellander and SB600?  Why aren't the IRP by-laws, platform, and other important documents posted on the IRP website at www.ilgop.org?

ILLINOIS HOUSE REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION
House Republican Leader Tom Cross and Republican Legislators call for new rules to replace National Committeeman Bob Kjellander    Kjellander’s business dealings and associations warrant removal according to top Republicans
http://www.ilhro.com/
SPRINGFIELD…In a move designed to reinforce the Illinois Republican Party’s commitment to ethics and integrity, House Republican Leader Tom Cross today introduced legislation granting the members of the Republican State Central Committee the authority to remove controversial Republican National Committeeman Bob Kjellander.
 
According to the following sources, Kjellander has been under a cloud regarding his activities in relation to his work as a lobbyist for investment firms seeking state business, including:

In 2002:  Kjellander is identified as having reached out to (Stuart) Levine on behalf of The Carlyle Group, an investment firm that was seeking a $150 million state pension deal. After the 2002 deal went through, Kjellander allegedly landed a "finder's fee" from the firm and then agreed not to bill Levine for lobbying work.  This is the 2005 payment.  (Chicago Tribune October 29, 2006)

In 2003:  Kjellander received $809,000 as a consultant to Bear Stearns, a firm that got a key underwriting role for a $10 billion bond issue done by the Blagojevich administration. (Chicago Sun Times, November 16, 2006) 

In 2005:  Kjellander was to be paid $4.5 million by Carlyle Group for helping it receive TRS investments. (Associated Press August 10, 2005)

According to House Republican Leader Tom Cross, the Republican Party has an obligation to its members and to the public to operate with the highest standards of integrity and ethics.

“Restoring the public trust is not a partisan issue, but it is up to the members in both parties to take strong action—even against their own—to address unethical activities and bring about change,” said Cross.  “We owe it to our party faithful and we owe it to the public to demonstrate our commitment to good government through not only our words, but also our actions.”

The legislation filed by Cross today would allow the members of the Republican State Central Committee to vote to remove the Republican National Committeeman.  Under current party rules, there is no mechanism available to remove the Republican National Committeeman.  The duties of the Republican National Committeeman include serving on the Republican National Committee.

JIM NALEPA
Open Letter to Illinois Republican Party County Chairmen and Republican Faithful
www.gopillinois.com (11/17/06 News Clips page)
The results are in.
 
The most corrupt “Pay to Play” administration in Illinois history has been re-elected by a landslide.

Our soon-to-be-indicted Governor framed our candidate with the infamous phrase ... “What is she thinking?”

Today, I have a more important question: “What were we thinking?”

A vast majority among us knew this party was on the wrong track when we met in January 2005 in Springfield to elect a new State Party Chairman. And it was unfortunately confirmed by the voters. For the first time in anyone’s memory we do not hold a constitutional office. We are on the verge of irrelevancy in the State Senate, and await barely significant status in the House. The leaders of our party who delivered us this debacle should take responsibility and step aside.

NOW.

Chairman Andrew McKenna said he doesn’t believe that we were on the wrong track, blaming “national trends” for voters’ choices. Does he live in the State of Illinois or the state of denial?

What is he thinking?

The “old guard” leadership of this party would have us believe that we are engaged in a struggle between “moderates” and conservatives. Former Gov. Jim Edgar observed on election night that “Illinois has obviously moved to the left and the Republican Party needs to understand that. …”

Excuse me?

We nominated the most “moderate” statewide ticket in Republican history, hand picked by our all knowing “old guard.” Our candidate for Treasurer could not defeat a 30-year-old with no experience, and alleged ties to “the Mob.”
                                                                                            The challenge we face as a party is NOT “conservative” vs. “moderate”; left vs. right. It is true reform vs. corruption. It is the “pocket stuffers”, who have fed at the public trough and who view government as a means to wealth, versus those who truly want to do what is right and believe in the Republican Party platform.

A recent poll had us trailing Democrats when voters are asked, “Who best would clean up corruption in Springfield?” That result tells the tale. We have surrendered the high ground, and the mantel of integrity, which led us to electoral victory in the past.

The Message and the MESSENGERS must change.

Until we rid ourselves of even the faint hint of corruption we will never reconnect with the independent voters who decide elections, and we will not bring back our base that, in some instances, stayed home or went “green.”

For this party to survive we who are the soul of grass-roots Republicans must join together immediately and demand re-birth from within. The State Central Committee must be forced to look outside for a new generation of dynamic leadership untainted by past or impending scandal. If we do not change we risk years of wandering a vast wasteland cluttered by election losses, as the cloud of possible extinction looms.

Will the last Whig in the room please turn out the lights?

For our Republican Party to survive and arise from the ashes it must:

1)       Divorce itself of corrupt elements at once.

2)     Reestablish ourselves as the Party of Lincoln, the party of true and honest reform.

3)      Rebuild and re-energize the conservative grass-roots base that drives us to victory.

4)     Let everyone know that they are welcome but we are a party solidly grounded on the conservative platform. This is the framework defining who we are as a party, and is greeted by overwhelming reaffirmation at every convention.

5)      Inspire and welcome a new generation of Republican leadership that can effectively take our message to the voters of Illinois and the nation.

My fellow Republicans, let us all who believe in, and have worked for, what we are as party join together and positively change the political landscape for the next generation and generations to come. Great moments are made from great opportunities.

We have a great opportunity to clean our own house and take on the corrupt Democrat machine. We can and we must show the voter who can truly lead Illinois to prosperity.

We are a GREAT party. We are the heirs of Lincoln and Reagan.

You who have provided leadership to our wonderful party faithful, some for generations, deserve far better than what you have received. We can return this party to greatness, and we can start now. We can be the party of the future, but only if leadership and decisiveness are shown today.

Thank you for you efforts. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for being the heart and soul of a grand endeavor, the Republican Party.

It matters not what we’re thinking. It matters what we are doing.                                                                                                                         “When the American army had been beaten badly in North Africa in 1942, they didn’t send for Caspar Milquetoast, they sent for George Patton.”

It’s leadership, folks.

FAMILY TAXPAYERS NETWORK
Tom Cross should know Kjellander is the Illinois GOP's problem, not Mike Madigan's
http://www.familytaxpayers.net/?p=art&id=1016
House Minority Leader Tom Cross apparently didn’t get the memo on the GOP being the Party of personal responsibility.
Tom Cross called a press conference in Springfield on Thursday to announce that he was introducing legislation aimed at forcing Bob Kjellander out of his post as National Committeeman.

Cross said Kjellander is “a detriment to the Republican Party of Illinois.”  That’s wonderful to hear him say, and we welcome the Minority Leader to the clean-up effort.  Some of us, like FTN’s Founder Jack Roeser, made the case for Kjellander’s ouster nearly three years ago.  There’s been an iron clad case for a long time. 

But we just wonder why Cross wants to go to a Democrat Governor and a Democrat controlled House and Senate to solve what is exclusively a Republican Party problem?  Mike Madigan, Emil Jones, and Rod Blagojevich aren’t responsible for Kjellander’s lingering around.  Cross’ friends in the Illinois GOP are 100% to blame for Kjellander still having a State Party leadership post.

We’ve already seen a few members of the gullible press fall for this distraction hook, line and sinker.  But before any other writers embarrass themselves – let’s put a few facts on the table.

All that is necessary to remove Kjellander from his State Party post is a public statement TODAY from Party Chairman Andy McKenna and the 19 members of the State Central Committee that he should go.  Period – end of story – Kjellander’s out. 

An open, public meeting should then be scheduled in the near future to choose his replacement.  The procedure for replacing Kjellander for plainly just cause - is the same procedure that would govern if the Party official died or resigned early for any reason.

Does anyone honestly believe that Kjellander is going to take that decision to court – to try and overrule what a managing board of an organization decided on very legitimate grounds?   Fine – we would love to see him try.   He would be laughed out of court.

Let’s be clear about something – no new legislation is needed for the Illinois GOP to reform itself.  Further, there is nothing in Illinois law or in the State Party’s rules or bylaws that in any way would hinder the State Party from removing an ethically-challenged official for cause.  And there has never been a Party official anywhere who is more deserving of removal than Kjellander.

It’s humorous on one level – but really just sad – that the same Party Chairman and Central Committee that had no problem ignoring the law in April when it came to “reelecting” themselves, now want to rely on Tom Cross to make up new laws that aren’t even necessary. 

We don’t need a new law on this matter.  Republicans just need McKenna and the Central Committee to do their job – right before they also resign.

The State Party has ousted duly elected officials before.  For example, the State Party ousted a fine State Chairman, Gary MacDougal immediately after the November 2002 election, which was long before the end of the four year term he was serving out. 

And MacDougal wasn’t even ousted for any good cause.  He was ousted for one simple reason – to make room for Judy Baar Topinka to take over the post. 

The point is a political organization – just like any corporation – can clean itself up, without having to run and have new legislation passed.  The case for Bob Kjellander to be ousted for cause is crystal clear – and it should have been done long ago.

In the case of Gary MacDougal, the State Party got rid of a good and decent Party official – and it was done with a sleazy motive.  Is Tom Cross really trying to argue that the Illinois GOP can’t now clean-up its own house and remove an official who not only isn’t doing his job, but who nearly everyone agrees is an embarrassment to the Party and to every Republican?

Additional justification is hardly needed in Kjellander’s case, but it should also be noted that Kjellander’s been in violation of the State Party’s own Code of Ethics from the day it was adopted last year.   As we’ve been pointing out recently, it was a year ago this month that 12 grassroots organizations publicly called upon Chairman McKenna to enforce his own Code of Ethics with respect to Bob Kjellander.

Consider the absurdity of Cross’ strategy.  Let’s say he gets this legislation passed and Governor Blagojevich signs it – big “ifs” by the way.  Presumably that legislation is only going to say that the State Party CAN remove Kjellander - if it feels like it.  

So the whole thing still has to go back to the Party Chairman and the State Central Committee.  Everything’s back to square one to do what could and should be done TODAY.

If Tom Cross is serious about getting Kjellander to move aside – there is something much easier he can do - but something he hasn’t yet done.  Why won’t he simply call on his friend Andy McKenna as Party Chairman to call for Kjellander’s resignation?  

Surely Mr. Cross would agree that this responsible, obvious course should be taken - before running to Blagojevich, Madigan and Jones and whining to them about how they need to help us clean-up the Illinois GOP. 

If we still have “leaders” around who don’t have what it takes to clean-up our own house – then maybe last week’s tsunami wasn’t big enough.

We should also note that almost every Republican of consequence has already called for Kjellander to resign.  Joe Birkett and Judy Baar Topinka wouldn’t, it’s true.  And now they are both yesterday’s news.

But otherwise, about the only Republicans who haven’t called for Kjellander’s resignation are the very people who have the power to truly force the reform – Chairman McKenna and the 19 members of the State Central Committee.  It’s the same people who have had the power all along, the same people who haven’t done their job – and the same people that Cross has neglected to ask.

The fact that McKenna and the Central Committee haven’t stepped-up by now on such an obvious issue is JUST ONE reason why they must all go too.  But again, before they also step aside, Cross needs to get that group to simply do its job regarding Kjellander before he goes to Blagojevich, Madigan and Jones for a bail-out.

Here’s the other fact that has us wary.  There are two big reform measures being pushed right now.  One is SB600 which State Senator Chris Lauzen successfully led to unanimous passage in the Senate last year.  The other is requiring the resignations of not just Kjellander, but also McKenna and the entire State Central Committee.

Senator Lauzen stood-up for Republicans last year by getting SB600 through the Senate.  But when the bill went over to the House, Tom Cross and his lieutenant Skip Saviano killed the bill.  They wouldn’t even allow a floor vote.

But Lauzen is keeping up the pressure right now in the current Veto Session to get SB600 passed this year.  Again, the ball is in Cross’ and Saviano’s court.  One phone call from Tom Cross or Saviano to Mike Madigan’s office and SB600 goes to the floor for a fair, up-or-down vote.

As Republicans – we would hate to say that we don’t trust the leader of our own House caucus.  But sorry Tom, we don’t. 

When you assigned SB600’s fate to a member of your caucus, Skip Saviano, who has an incredible conflict of interest because he is a member of the State Central Committee – we think you forfeited that trust.  Saviano’s recent campaigning on behalf of a liberal Democrat and against a principled Republican only reinforces our concern. 

So Mr. Cross, you’ll have to forgive us for being wary about what you’re really trying to do with this new legislative strategy.  Running to the Democrats for something our Party can and should do itself, frankly looks like an obvious distraction to us.

Call to Action

For Mr. Tom Cross:  Publicly call on your friend Andy McKenna TODAY to immediately convene the entire State Central Committee where Bob Kjellander’s resignation will be demanded (the State Party typically has a quarterly meeting around this time of year anyway).  We truly believe that such a call – combined with a room full of television cameras – will convince Mr. Kjellander that it’s time to move on.  In fact just scheduling such a meeting should provide the necessary encouragement for Kjellander to do the right thing well before the meeting even starts.

For All Republicans:  Keep up the pressure.  It’s pretty obvious that all of your calls and e-mails are having a huge impact.  The old guard is crumbling and clawing-on for survival.  That’s why we’re seeing these distractions and bad ideas.

There are two things we need to do:

Keep e-mailing the State Party to tell them McKenna, Kjellander and the entire State Central Committee need to go.  You can find the complete contact list here.
Contact Tom Cross’ office and tell him to stop playing games with SB600.  Tell him you want the same right that every Illinois Democrat already has to directly elect your representative at YOUR State Party.  You can read more about SB600 here.
Here is the contact information for Tom Cross:
House Minority Leader Tom Cross
Springfield Office: (217) 782-1331
District Office: (815) 254-0000

tom@tomcross.com

Accepting which of the following outrageous arguments has done the most to defeat Republican candidates in Illinois? - Dave Diersen

http://www.familytaxpayers.net/?p=art&id=1012
Dave Diersen, who produces the best political news digest in Illinois, has asked Illinois Republicans an important question.  Enjoy!
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
Accepting which of the following outrageous arguments has done the most to defeat Republican candidates in Illinois? - Dave Diersen
www.gopillinois.com

-- Conservative candidates, that is, candidates who support all planks in the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) platform, cannot win statewide offices

-- The more planks in the IRP platform one accepts, the more extremist and the more of a kook one is

-- Anyone in politics to advance the IRP platform is an idiot

-- Making lots of money for yourself, being able to reward those who pander to you, and/or being able to punish everyone else are the only real reasons to be in politics

-- You must destroy anyone who supported any of your opponents in the primary

-- For every conservative that you treat rudely, ten independents and ten Democrats will vote for you

-- Running to the left of your opponent is the only way to win

-- If your record and platform are conservative, argue that you are good, reasonable, mainstream conservative and blast other conservatives as being bad, unreasonable, extremist, kooky, etc.

-- Only team players should have roles in your campaign or in the IRP -- team players include self-professed Yes-Men and Yes-Women, Fifth Amendment takers, people who cover up wrong doing, people who punish those who expose wrong doing, thugs and would be thugs

-- Say TO HELL with the IRP platform and promise voters whatever they want -- if they want government to promote abortion, promise to promote abortion; if they want government to promote homosexual activity, promise to promote homosexual activity; if they want government to promote illegal immigration, promise to promote illegal immigration; etc.

-- If you cannot control a person, destroy that person, especially if that person is an opinion leader

-- Ascribe incompetence, bad judgment, and evil motive to everyone who does not pander to you

-- Look for people to work for you who have major financial and personal problems, like alcoholism and drug addition -- because they have those problems, they have few other employment opportunities and therefore they will do just about anything you want

-- Do everything you can to hire homosexuals to work for you -- they are far more creative, far more intelligent, far more hard working, and far more energetic than others -- they really want Republicans to win, especially Republicans who will advance the homosexual agenda.

Email Dave Diersen at diersen@aol.com to request more information about the best free political news digest in Illinois.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
GOP voters need broom to clean house - John Kass
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0611170222nov17,1,2877776.column?coll=chi-news-col
Some Illinois Republican leaders tried to stave off a post-election revolt from grass-roots conservatives by offering up a Republican scalp on Thursday, in the hopes of maintaining control of the crippled and intellectually bankrupt state GOP.

It's a fat scalp, and quite hefty, though it has a few strands of thin white hair. Still, I don't think one scalp will stave off a revolt that has been building for years now.

Because establishment Republicans are holding up a bill pending in the legislature that would allow Republican voters to choose the direction of their own party. Senate Bill 600 was sponsored by state Sen. Christopher Lauzen (R-Aurora), and passed in the state Senate. But it is being held up by state Rep. Angelo "Skip" Saviano (R-Jimmy DeLeo), who dismisses the effort, calling it the "Chris Lauzen for Congress bill."

Lauzen's bill would let Republican voters choose their party leaders--the state central committeemen from each congressional district--just as Democratic voters are allowed to do every four years. But Saviano is leery of releasing the bill for a vote, because establishment Republicans are afraid of losing control of what little they've got left.

With Democrats winning everything in this state, what's to control?

So, House leaders offered up something of a compromise: the scalp of Republican Party boss and Combine master Big Bob Kjellander, the treasurer of the National Republican Committee and a friend of White House adviser Karl Rove.

Kjellander has made a fortune in politics, and at least $4.5 million in pension fund fees with the Democratic administration of Gov. Rod "The Unreformer" Blagojevich. Those fees are now under federal grand jury scrutiny.

"It's time for him to move on and time for us to move on," House Republican Leader Tom Cross told Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson, as Cross introduced legislation to dump Kjellander from the post of state Republican national committeeman.

Cross, who called on Kjellander to resign last year, described him as a lightning rod for critics (I wonder if he meant me?) and as "a detriment to the Republican Party of Illinois."

My only question is this: What took them so long? Several Republicans, including former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, have been advocating that change for years. But only now, after the Republicans get thumped federally and locally, do state GOP leaders begin to understand that Republican voters won't abide the state's culture of political sleaze.

There must be some of you tempted to dismiss all this as just some more inside political baseball. That's what political insiders expect you to do, to ignore it, to shrug, turn away. But if you do, then how can you complain during election campaigns, when there's not much difference between Democratic and Republican candidates? Just recently, every voter in Illinois experienced that feeling of having to choose between two horns on the head of the same goat, gubernatorial candidates poised to spend billions of your state tax dollars.

Kjellander (pronounced $hell-ander) is one of those who decide on the candidates. He's also been named as "Individual K" in recent court documents detailing the FBI's investigation into massive fraud and kickbacks in the state pension fund scandal known as "Operation Board Game."

Kjellander hasn't been charged with a crime. Neither has his buddy, Big Bill Cellini, mentioned in those same documents as "Individual A."

But they're bosses of the Republican Party, and they have great reach in Springfield. They all but ran the so-called squeaky-clean administration of former Gov. Jim Edgar. It was under Gov. Big Jim Thompson that Illinois Republicans became a top-down party, where all flowed to and through the governor, something Senate Bill 600 would reverse. It also allowed the Cellinis and Kjellanders to flourish.

Years ago, Peter Fitzgerald went up against Big Bob and Big Bill and lost. State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger (R-Elgin), campaigning in 2004 for Fitzgerald's vacated Senate post, called then for Kjellander's resignation. A few others have jumped in since then.

Cross' action didn't fully satisfy Lauzen.

"It's a step in the right direction," Lauzen said. "But what are they doing about the fundamental proposal that has already passed out of the Senate? We need to clean our own house. The fundamental issue is allowing people to express themselves as shareholders in the Republican Party. Let's get all Republicans involved in this process. Frankly, just let the people vote."

I understand the Cross-Saviano concerns, as echoed by other establishment Republicans from Thompson on down. They're afraid of losing control. But their control shouldn't come at the expense of Republican voters, who deserve the same rights as Democrats in choosing their leaders.

So Kjellander's scalp sure is meaty, and SB 600 is rather dry, but perhaps Republicans might want both ingredients for a thick and tasty broth. Who knows?

It's got to be better than that thin and bitter gruel they tasted on Election Day.

State GOP tries to oust national committeeman Kjellander - Rick Pearson
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/north/chi-0611170369nov17,1,3890698.story?coll=chi-newslocalnorth-hed
SPRINGFIELD -- Still reeling from last week's election results, House Republican Leader Tom Cross and top members of his leadership team said Thursday they would introduce legislation aimed at forcing the state's controversial GOP national committeeman, Robert Kjellander, from his post.

Cross (R-Oswego) contended Kjellander has become a "lightning rod" for Republicans at all levels in Illinois, inhibiting efforts to rebuild the party and to recruit new members as a result of Kjellander's connections to state investment deals that have made him millions of dollars.

Kjellander also was referred to, but not by name, in the recent plea agreement of political insider and former state pension board member Stuart Levine. In his agreement to plead guilty to federal corruption charges, Levine said Kjellander earned finder's fees for state pension investment business after he had been paid by Levine to lobby for a Levine company.

"One thing that the election showed us last week is that the Republican Party ... has lost the high ground on ethics," Cross said. "Bob Kjellander has become a controversial figure who has found himself under an ethical cloud and in my opinion and others' has become a detriment to the Republican Party in Illinois."

Cross said the election results, which proved disastrous for Republicans statewide, indicated a desire by voters for the GOP to clean a house still sullied by the scandals that surrounded former Republican Gov. George Ryan, who was convicted on federal corruption charges.

Cross' proposal would change the bylaws of the state Republican Party, which are written into state law, to provide a way for the 19-member Republican state central committee to vote to remove the state's GOP national committeeman. Under current state law and GOP bylaws, there is no process to remove a national committeeman before the end of his or her four-year term.

Kjellander was re-elected to his Republican national committeeman post by the attendees of the last state Republican convention, held in Collinsville in May 2004. He subsequently was elected by Republican National Committee members to be the national party's treasurer.

The state's Republican national committeeman serves as a representative of the Republican National Committee.

Ironically, Cross will need the assistance of the state's Democratic Party chairman to move his legislation. House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago also chairs the state's Democrats, and Democrats also control the state Senate. A Madigan aide said Cross had not discussed the proposal with the speaker.

Republicans and Democrats have traditionally approved changes to each other's internal party rules without great controversy.

But even if there is a change in state law and the state GOP bylaws, it may not affect Kjellander. Republican National Committee officials said that, as a general rule, its national bylaws--and not state laws-- govern the committee. There is no provision in the national bylaws to allow a state party to vote out its national committeeman before the end of his or her four-year term, a national committee official in Washington said.

Kjellander said he was caught unawares by Cross' initiative.

"I haven't spoken to Leader Cross about his proposal," Kjellander said. "I'm traveling out of state for the next 10 days, but when I return, I look forward to sitting down and chatting with him about it."

Kjellander has previously rejected calls for his resignation, including one made by Cross in August 2005, and said they were little more than publicity stunts. Kjellander has promoted his value in the post by noting his longtime ties to Bush White House political adviser Karl Rove and the influence it carries in getting national GOP assistance in a state that has turned increasingly Democratic.

Andy McKenna, the state's GOP chairman, said he spoke with Cross about the legislation and said he supported the concept. But he said he and other state central committee members, who are chosen from each of the state's 19 congressional districts, have not seen the bill's specifics.

"The idea I like about it is accountability," McKenna said. "It's something we've been trying to stress."

Ill. Republicans seek ouster of national committeeman Bob Kjellander - Rick Pearson
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-061116kjellander,1,5707559.story?coll=chi-news-hed
SPRINGFIELD -- House Republican leader Tom Cross and members of his leadership team said today they were introducing legislation aimed at forcing the state's controversial Republican national committeeman, Bob Kjellander, out of his post.

Cross, an Oswego Republican, contended Kjellander has become a "lightning rod" blocking efforts to rebuild the party and recruit new members as a result of his connections to state investment deals in which he has personally profited. Kjellander also was referred to, but not by name, in the recent indictment of a top fundraiser for Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding pension fund business.

"It's time for him to move on and time for us to move on," Cross said in a news conference in his State Capitol office, joined by members of his leadership. Kjellander, he said, is "a detriment to the Republican Party of Illinois."

Under the legislation, the 19-member Republican state central committee would be able to vote to remove the state's Republican national committeeman. Under current law, Kjellander has a four-year term that ends in 2008, following his re-election to the post at the GOP state convention in May 2004.

Kjellander, who also is treasurer of the Republican National Committee, was unavailable for immediate comment.

Cross said the results of last week's election, which proved disastrous for Republicans statewide, indicated a desire by voters for the GOP to clean a house still sullied by the scandals that surrounded former Gov. George Ryan, who was convicted on federal corruption charges.

Cross also said he had failed to see any impact on Republicans in Illinois as a result of Kjellander's longtime association with Karl Rove, President Bush's political guru. Cross has long been dissatisfied with the controversy that Kjellander had created for the party and, in August of 2005, called for him to step down from his position in the GOP.

Cross said he would seek passage of the legislation in the final week of the legislature's veto session, after the Thanksgiving holiday.

State pols give selves raise  Day after passing minimum wage bill, Senate hikes own pay - Ray Long
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611170224nov17,1,474812.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-061116legis,1,3519609.story?coll=chi-news-hed
SPRINGFIELD -- With the election behind them, senators on Thursday gave themselves and other top elected and appointed officials a pay raise of nearly 10 percent.

The move by the state Senate came a day after members approved a dollar-an-hour increase in the state's minimum wage, an action several lawmakers used to justify fatter wallets for themselves.

"When I fight for a minimum wage increase for everyone else, I need to fight for myself," said Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), who sponsored the increase in the state's minimum wage.

The lowest-paid rank-and-file lawmaker would see a $5,524 boost in pay, to $63,143 a year. Legislative leaders would receive a pay hike of $7,762, to $88,719.

"We are underpaid," said Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago). "If you reject a raise for yourself, you're saying you're not worth it. And I don't know about all of you, but I worked my butt off for the people of the 5th District, and I deserve this little cost-of-living" increase.

Lawmakers say that in recent decades, the General Assembly has become a more full-time, professional operation.

Members convene in Springfield for many weeks from January and into May and briefly again in the fall, but constituent services in their districts often occupy the off months.

The Senate's action also authorizes pay increases for House lawmakers, the governor, other statewide elected officials, appointed bureaucrats and associate judges. The raises will cost taxpayers $4.4 million.

Under a convoluted process, state law requires both the Senate and House to reject pay increases recommended by the state's Compensation Review Board to prevent the raises from taking effect.

Senators voted 25-21 to reject the pay recommendations, but 30 votes were needed to block them. Even though House lawmakers rejected the increases last spring before the general election, they will get them anyway.

Some lawmakers who opposed the pay raise said they would take it, while others said they wouldn't.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he would decline the board-recommended raise of $14,400. His current pay is $150,691 annually.

But spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch said the governor might reverse his previous opposition to funding the pay raises.

Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), a Blagojevich ally who supported higher salaries, did not call the pay raise legislation last spring before the election, saying at the time he was busy with other legislative matters.

He said then that he would hold a vote on the resolution in the fall, post-election veto session, and he followed through on that pledge Thursday.

"The legislature voted, and they felt like they needed a cost-of-living adjustment, just like you get one," Jones told reporters.

By choosing to vote "present" or not voting at all, another 13 senators were not recorded as taking a formal position on the pay raises—a move that effectively made it easier for the pay increases to take effect.

Hendon told senators that refusing to vote or choosing to vote "present" would have the same effect as voting to approve the pay increase.

"If you're going to accept the money, don't be a hypocrite," Hendon told his colleagues. "Vote to reject or vote 'present' or don't vote at all, because you know you're going to accept the money."

Sen. Dale Risinger (R-Peoria), who voted to reject the raises, said he could not vote to increase his pay when highway engineers and other state workers in professional jobs have not had a cost-of-living raise in four years.

"I cannot go back and look in the eyes of other people in this government that are doing a heck of a job, working hard, saying, 'You know what? I got mine, but you can't get yours.'"

Like many things in Springfield, though, there may be another fight before anyone sees more money in their state paychecks.

Senators are putting together a measure to authorize spending state dollars to fund the pay increases. That legislation also would provide money to fund 3 percent cost-of-living increases for social workers who deal with such issues as family planning, domestic violence and rape prevention, said Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), the Senate's point man on budget issues.

The question of how the House will deal with the funding bill is still up in the air.

Carol Knowles, a spokeswoman for Comptroller Dan Hynes, who issues state paychecks, said lawmakers must approve the extra money before they can get the extra pay.

Rep. Gary Hannig (D-Litchfield), the budget point man in the House, said he would not accept a pay hike but may take the funds and donate them to a charity if they are approved.

"I would try to demonstrate to the citizens in my district that I was not enriched by the payment," Hannig said.

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) said she would accept the higher pay even though she voted against it in the spring.

A lawmaker who accepts a salary increase is playing by the rules that say both chambers must reject the pay hike or it takes effect, Currie said. She said she expects few lawmakers will turn down the extra money.

Still, she said the matter could end up in court if lawmakers authorize the pay increases but refuse to provide the money to fund them.

"I'd be surprised if this were the last chapter," Currie said.

The pay increase recommendations were the product of the state's Compensation Review Board, a 12-member panel chosen by lawmakers that makes salary proposals every two years.

The 9.6 percent recommendation was made because lawmakers have not received an annual cost-of-living adjustment since July 1, 2001. The board reasoned that lawmakers should catch up on three annual cost-of-living adjustments they missed out on.

Kevin Forde, chairman of the board, maintained that a refusal to fund even cost-of-living increases is, in effect, a drop in real pay because of inflation.

Even if elected officials want to forgo pay increases, many state workers for whom increases were recommended are bureaucrats who deserve increases in their salaries, Forde said. For example, the pay for the Department of Corrections director will increase more than $11,600, to $139,834.

The Senate's action also boosts the salary of Cook County State's Atty. Richard Devine to $173,887 from $167,521. It raises the salary of associate judges by about $2,700, to $145,283, putting their pay at 95 percent of circuit judges.

Effort to block government raises fails in Illinois Senate - Christopher Wills
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/illinois/chi-ap-il-xgr-legislativesa,1,3088735.story
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- With the election behind them, Illinois senators voted Thursday to accept raises that would mean a 9.6 percent increase next year in the paychecks of lawmakers and other top state officials.

Their salaries have not increased since July 2001, and some lawmakers defended the additional pay as long overdue.

Sen. Kim Lightford, a Maywood Democrat who is working to raise the state's minimum wage, said she can't keep up with the cost of living on a flat salary.

"When I fight for a minimum wage increase for everyone else, I need to fight for myself," she said in explaining why she voted for the raise.

The raise applies to lawmakers, the governor, agency directors and other high-ranking officials, although some -- including Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- say they will reject the extra money.

Lawmakers get a base salary of $57,619, which would jump to $63,143 with the raises that are being allowed to take effect. Most lawmakers get extra pay for chairing committees or serving in leadership positions. All are entitled to $125 in expenses for every day of session, plus a mileage reimbursement.

The governor's salary would climb from $150,691 to $165,138.

No one's paychecks will actually increase unless lawmakers set aside the money -- estimated at $4 million -- to cover the increases. That could happen later this month or early next year.

Officials also are entitled to two other cost-of-living increases that took effect on paper but never were accompanied by the necessary government funds. Those increases, if funded, would bring total raises to 15.6 percent.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, spokeswoman for Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, said there is no discussion of providing money for all the possible increases. The only raise being considered is the 9.6 percent senators voted on Thursday.

Legislation to block the raise needed 30 votes. It failed 25-21, with six senators voting "present." Of the 21 senators voting to accept the raises, 19 were Democrats and two were Republicans.

The Illinois House voted in April to reject the raise, but the Senate delayed action until after the fall election.

Under Illinois law, the Compensation Review Board reports every two years on whether officials' salaries should be adjusted. Its recommendations take effect automatically unless both legislative chambers vote to reject them.

In addition, officials get annual cost-of-living increases unless, as has been the practice recently, lawmakers withhold the money.

Jones has defended the additional money, saying lawmakers need cost-of-living increases like everyone else. When asked about Illinois residents who don't get regular increases, he said, "You ought to quit who you're working for."

Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, chided lawmakers who claimed they would reject the extra money.

"You know you're not going to do that because you want to stay happily married and you want to avoid problems at home," Hendon said.

But other lawmakers said they couldn't support the increase when many mid-level state workers aren't getting raises.

"We have professional people in this government working right now who have not had a cost-of-living raise in four years," said Sen. Dale Risinger, R-Peoria. "We need to give those people that are working hard, doing a good job for the state of Illinois, their cost-of-living first."

Spurned Republican legislator Geo-Karis got even - Susan Kuczka
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0611170368nov17,1,2061462.story
Democratic and Republican party officials invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 31st District Senate contest, but a two-page letter from outgoing Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis to Lake County voters may have had the biggest impact of all, party officials agree.

Geo-Karis, 88, a Republican from Zion, said her challenger in the primary painted her as "incompetent" and "feeble," and she was angry. So she sent a letter less than a week before the Nov. 7 election urging voters to support the Democratic candidate.

"I think the letter was one of the final nails that Michael Bond needed to get it done," said state Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party.

Daniel Venturi, chairman of the Lake County Republican Party, said the missive likely made the difference in Bond's narrow victory over GOP nominee Suzanne Simpson, supervisor of Warren Township.

"When you're talking 2 points, it very easily could have," Venturi said, referring to Bond's 1.9 percentage point margin in last week's general election.

Geo-Karis, a 34-year lawmaker and dean of the Illinois Senate, lost in the March primary when her former political protege challenged her re-election bid.

In her letter, she strongly urged 31st District residents to support Bond, 36, a political rookie from Grayslake who found himself befriended by Geo-Karis in the stretch run of his uphill campaign in the longtime GOP-voting district.

Geo-Karis, upset that GOP leaders decided to back Simpson in the spring primary, made her motives for writing the letter clear.

"I need to address the way my Republican opponent and party portrayed me during the primary as being incompetent, feeble-minded, and a sick and old person, and now a sore loser," Geo-Karis wrote.

"It's true I am 88, and I have had my share of health issues, but I am far from incompetent and feeble. My mind works wonderfully and I am still serving my constituents until the end of my term."

Besides writing the letter, Geo-Karis also allowed pictures of her and Bond working together in the senator's Zion office to be used in campaign literature sent to homes throughout the 240,000-person district, which runs across Lake County from Zion west to Antioch and south to Grayslake.

Illinois Senate Democratic leaders also played up the close relationship between the two while donating an estimated $150,000 in money and campaign support to Bond.

Illinois Republicans ponied up more than $110,000 for Simpson, who also got close to $30,000 from Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson of Greenville and an estimated $10,000 each from Sen. William Peterson (R-Long Grove) and state Rep. JoAnn Osmond (R-Antioch), campaign disclosure forms show.

Most important to Bond, however, was the political mentoring he received free from Geo-Karis, who had always planned to provide it to Simpson before Simpson--at the urging of Watson and other leading GOP officials--decided to take on Geo-Karis in the spring primary.

"He's a delightful young man, and a fast learner," said Geo-Karis, who also has pledged to work closely with Bond to help his transition into his new role as a state senator.

"I told him, `When you're elected, do a good job or I'll kill you,'" Geo-Karis said in the blunt manner that was part of her signature style.

Bond, a native of Staunton, Ill., who moved to Lake County about a decade ago, never ran for office before he decided last year to seek a post on the Woodland District 50 school board in Grayslake, where he lives with his wife, Jennifer, and three young children.

Bond's worries about school funding prompted him to run for the Senate while continuing his day job as a financial analyst at Allstate Insurance in Northbrook.

Geo-Karis said she likely wouldn't have helped Bond's campaign had it not been for the material Simpson's campaign circulated about her in the spring. She said she simply could not ignore the attacks.

"My people were furious and said when she puts out stuff like this, you can't let her get away with it," Geo-Karis said. "It may well have cost her the election."

Human error gets blame in Kane County elections  Machine difficulties were minimal at polls, technology official says - William Presecky
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/west/chi-0611170379nov17,1,3672217.story
Human error, not mechanical failure, is to blame for the late, shaky opening of some electronic voting sites on Election Day, Kane County's information-technology chief said Thursday.

Some county officials labeled the situation a disaster.

The manufacturer trained more than 1,000 election judges on the new eSlate equipment before the March primary, and the clerk's office conducted more training before the Nov. 7 general election, said Roger Fahnestock, county director of information technologies.

But some judges simply forgot or were confused about the setup procedures and unprepared to correct their errors, causing some voting sites to open later than 7 a.m., he said.

In his report to the County Board's Administration Committee, which oversees his department, Fahnestock said most significant issues leading to startup problems at multiple precincts can be traced to miscommunication, training gaffes and stress.

"There was a lot of tension. On Election Day, judges are going through a lot," he said.

What's certain is that the new multimillion-dollar electronic-voting system had minimal hardware breakdown, he said.

"The hardware itself was good. It was not the issue. ... Election Day involved over 1,000 pieces of equipment, and we had less than 1 percent hardware failure," Fahnestock said.

Most of the difficulty several election judges had in starting the system was significant but was brought under control within the first hour, he said.

According to county election officials, 208 of the 223 county precincts opened on time at 6 a.m. or by 7 a.m.

Once the polls were opened, few technical problems occurred throughout the day and during the vote count, Fahnestock said.

"The remainder of the day was remarkably and eerily quiet," he said.

Other officials disagreed.

"This election was a disaster [and] still not over," said Administration Committee Chairman Paul Greviskes (D-Aurora), referring to the legal cloud that hangs over the ballot-counting process. A disputed court decision to extend county polling hours because of widespread voting irregularities is fueling the controversy.

"At some point in time, we can't do this anymore. How do you keep these things from happening on an individual basis?" Greviskes said.

"It goes back to training," said committee member Gerald Jones (D-Aurora), who headed the County Board subcommittee that recommended buying eSlate.

"When you train people a month in advance, it gets fuzzy. As time goes on, I think the process will go smoother," Jones said.

Fahnestock said a pending review "will point out where to go with the next election" in April. "There are definitely things that are going to have to happen," he said.

County Clerk Jack Cunningham will "need more technical staff or better training to technically prepare the judges," Fahnestock said.

But that could pose a problem. Although the county budgeted $150,000 to cover the technical support needed to implement the new voting system in the 2006 elections, nothing has been budgeted for 2007.

DuPage County lays off 8 workers
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/west/chi-0611170410nov17,1,5905028.story
DUPAGE COUNTY -- Eight people were laid off Thursday in an expected wave of DuPage County government budget-related cuts, starting with the court clerk's office.

The county Health Department also laid off three full-time and one part-time employee this week. The cuts are part of a yearlong reorganization in which 27 positions have been eliminated to reduce staff to 539 full-time and 155 part-time positions, according to Maureen McHugh, interim executive director.

In the court clerk's office, four vacant positions will remain unfilled, and, combined with the eight layoffs, the staff count will stand at 180, said court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas.

"There's nothing harder than delivering layoff news to good people, intelligent people, to people who made a difference," Kachiroubas said Thursday. But given the cutbacks, he said there was no other choice.

He said all eight employees will be paid through the end of 2006.

He could have delayed the layoffs until new fiscal year starts Dec. 1, but said he decided to act now so the terminated employees could take advantage of job opportunities in the holiday retail industry.

County department budgets for the fiscal year beginning Dec. 1 have not been set by the County Board. But the County Board chairman has recommended a budget of about $7.6 million for Kachiroubas' office.

The figure is about 9 percent less than his budget for the fiscal year just ending and about 10 percent less than Kachiroubas had requested to maintain the office's present staff in the 2007 fiscal year.

In the county departments whose revenue comes primarily from real estate taxes, the County Board chairman has recommended 2007 budgets that are about 6.5 percent less than their 2006 budgets.

Those recommendations have sent departments scrambling to figure out how to function next year on less money.

State delaying college grants for middle-class students - Jodi S. Cohen, Crystal Yednak, and Crystal Yednak
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/west/chi-0611170408nov17,1,592018.story?coll=chi-newslocalwest-hed
Thousands of middle-class college students who were promised a new state scholarship will have to wait until at least next semester to get it.

The $500 Monetary Award Program grants, known as MAP Plus, are an election-year gift initiated by Gov. Rod Blagojevich for sophomores, juniors and seniors whose annual family incomes are below $200,000. Students were to get a $250 credit on their tuition bills each semester.

But funding for the tuition credits is contingent on the sale or restructuring of at least some of the state's massive student loan portfolio, and the agency that oversees the loan programs has not yet decided what parts it will privatize.

Students who expected the first credit during the fall semester probably will see that money by the end of January, said Donald McNeil, chairman of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which administers the state's student loan programs.

McNeil said that 71,000 students are eligible for the credits, and colleges and universities can decide whether to front the money or wait for the funds to come from the state. About 70 percent of the schools with MAP Plus-eligible students are waiting until they get the funds from the state, McNeil said.

"We are not applying any awards until we see the money," said Daniel Mann, director of financial aid at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. About 6,000 U. of I. students are eligible for the credits, totaling about $3 million.

Scott Seibring, director of financial aid at Illinois Wesleyan University, said that because the grants are relatively small and targeted to middle-class families, students generally aren't that worried about them. McNeil said that the average family income of students who applied for MAP Plus is $81,000.

"They want it, and we get the phone calls. But there isn't the desperation," Seibring said.

Republican state lawmakers also expressed concern at a news conference Thursday and during a House Higher Education Committee hearing earlier in the week.

"We're now two-thirds of the way through the first semester. When will we know what we are doing?" Rep. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) asked ISAC officials at the hearing.

The current state budget relies on getting $100 million--including about $34 million for MAP Plus--from selling or restructuring at least part of the state's $4 billion student loan portfolio.

Selling the loans would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, state officials have said. In exchange, the buyer would get the right to collect future interest on billions of dollars that students owe. Critics worry that a sale would lead to higher interest rates for students.

McNeil said that ISAC is two months behind schedule in deciding what to do with its assets, and he expects that a request for proposals from interested companies will be issued in the next week. He hopes to have the first transaction completed by the end of January, and money from that transaction would pay for the MAP Plus scholarships.

McNeil said the delay was caused by complications in hiring the financial advisers, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Gardner, Underwood & Bacon LLC.

Morgan Stanley has been paid $200,000 for previous work, and it will be paid $500,000 in additional advisory fees plus transaction fees based on the size of the sale, according to the contract. The Gardner contract has not yet been finalized.

Becky Carroll, a Blagojevich spokeswoman, said the governor's office is not concerned about the delay.

"The goal was to provide students with a $500 credit during the school year to help them make college that much more affordable, and we have no doubt that we will reach that goal," Carroll said.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
House GOP leader Cross seeks to oust party's national committeeman Kjellander - Dave McKinney
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/140230,CST-NWS-repub17.article
SPRINGFIELD -- The top Illinois House Republican Thursday laid out a legislative strategy to oust the state GOP's national committeeman who has won big consulting fees under Gov. Blagojevich and been recently linked to an ongoing federal corruption probe.
"We're dealing with a huge perception problem," said state House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego). "He's not good for the party, and he needs to go."

Cross said last week's elections demonstrated that Republicans -- still reeling from former Gov. George Ryan's corruption conviction -- have lost the "high ground on ethics" and need to rebuild the party, starting with Kjellander's removal.

"It's the belief of myself and others that Bob Kjellander has become a controversial figure who's found himself under an ethical cloud and has become a detriment to the Republican Party of Illinois," Cross said.

Kjellander, a prominent Springfield lobbyist with close ties to White House strategist Karl Rove, has two years left on his term as national committeeman -- a post he was elected to in 2004.

Last month, federal prosecutors identified Kjellander as "Individual K" in a plea agreement involving convicted powerbroker Stuart Levine.

Levine admitted using his pull on a state pension board to steer a $150 million pension deal to a firm represented by Kjellander, who in turn waived fees Levine owed him for lobbying work. Kjellander was not accused of criminal wrongdoing in the plea deal.

'I've done nothing wrong'
Kjellander also drew heat from many within his party for making $809,133 in consulting fees off a massive $10 billion borrowing deal engineered by Blagojevich in 2003.
Kjellander declined to comment about Cross' move to oust him.

"The only thing I'm going to say is I am traveling for the next 10 days. I have not spoken to Leader Cross about his ideas. Upon my return, I'll be happy to sit down and discuss it with him," Kjellander said.

Reacting for the first time to his presence in Levine's plea agreement, Kjellander also insisted he had engaged in no wrongdoing.

"I know I've done nothing wrong, and we're just going to leave it at that," he said.

The House Republican leader said he intends to push for passage later this month of legislation that would give the state Republican central committee immediate authority to remove Kjellander from his post.

That's a tall order with only three days remaining in the fall veto session. But more significantly, Democratic votes would be necessary to go along with Republican votes in order to meet the supermajority-vote requirement for legislation to take effect immediately this fall.

State senators OK raise for themselves - Dave McKinney
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/140229,CST-NWS-pay17.article
(Radogno: "Timing wise, this stinks")
 
SPRINGFIELD -- Newly empowered Senate Democrats on Thursday voted through a 9.3 percent, post-election pay increase for themselves and the state's other top elected officials.
A bid to block the increase fell five votes shy in the Senate, with Democrats and lame-duck lawmakers, whose pensions would increase as a result of the pay hike, voting in favor of fattened paychecks.

Supporters of the pay increase quoted the Bible and spoke of the financial burden faced by single-parent legislators as justification for a bump up in pay that will cost taxpayers $5.1 million annually.

"The Scriptures speak of the fact a workman is worthy of his hire," said Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago), pastor of Salem Baptist Church. "Just because we're elected officials, it's not fair to come to work every day and then to not be able to expect adequate compensation."

The state Compensation Review Board in March recommended the 9.3 percent hike -- which amounts to the restoration of three years' worth of cost-of-living adjustments dating back to 2003.

No funds in budget
Gov. Blagojevich has refused to fund the raises, and the state House passed a resolution opposing the hikes.
The Senate had to pass the same resolution to keep the increases from taking effect.

With 30 votes needed for passage, the Senate proposal fell short 25-21, with six members voting present.

"Timing wise, this stinks," said Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont), who voted against the pay hikes. "There's a perception here that those who voted for this are far more concerned about their own well-being first and foremost before anything else."

Supporters of higher pay said it is hypocritical to have voted against the increases, as the House did, then accept the bigger paychecks.

"The perfect world would be if you reject it, you don't get the money," said Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), who voted for more pay.

As a result of Thursday's action, lawmakers' base pay will jump from $57,619 to $63,143, while Blagojevich's salary will increase from $150,691 to $165,138.

A Blagojevich spokeswoman said the governor does not intend to keep the extra $14,000-plus.

Currently, there is no money set aside in this year's state budget to pay for the increases. A supplemental appropriation is expected to surface soon, providing funding for the bigger paychecks, a high-level legislative source confirmed.

Patti Blagojevich's $47K Rezko deal - Chris Fusco and Dave McKinney
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/140319,CST-NWS-patti17.article

Gov. Blagojevich's wife got nearly $50,000 from a real estate deal in late 2002 involving Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a developer and former top Blagojevich political fund-raiser now under federal indictment.
In the following two months, the governor began giving friends of Rezko seats on influential state boards and began hiring former Rezko employees to upper-level state jobs.

The chain of events in December 2002 and January 2003 is detailed in records obtained by the Sun-Times. It's the first record of Patti Blagojevich making money off a Rezko deal around the time Rezko began seeking favors from the governor.

The governor's office vehemently denied that the first lady's business dealings with Rezko had anything to do with his influence in her husband's administration.

"Her real estate work has nothing to do with state government," said Abby Ottenhoff, a spokeswoman for the governor. "[S]he has every right to pursue her own professional success. The ongoing effort to suggest that her success is the result of her husband's position is flat wrong . . . and it's based on outdated and biased assumptions about women's abilities in business."

Patti Blagojevich's real estate firm, River Realty Inc., was paid $47,557 from the Dec. 16, 2002, sale of industrial land near Irving Park Road and the Chicago River, property records show. Rezko's development firm bought the land and converted it into 56 town houses.

At the time of the deal, Rezko was a respected businessman, Patti Blagojevich was a well-known Realtor and her husband had just won his first term as governor on a pledge to end "business as usual" in government.

Now, as Blagojevich embarks on his second term, federal authorities are probing government hiring and contracting decisions under his watch and are prosecuting Rezko for trying to defraud Illinois taxpayers through alleged kickback schemes.

Unclear what firm did
The feds also are examining relationships between the Rezko and Blagojevich families, sources close to the investigation have told the Sun-Times.
Neither the governor nor anyone in his family has been accused of wrongdoing. Investigators have not sought records nor talked to Patti Blagojevich about her real estate business, Ottenhoff said.

It is unclear exactly what work River Realty did to earn the commission and how much Patti Blagojevich might have interacted with Rezko. Ottenhoff said the first lady represented the seller of the Irving Park Road site and the property could have been bought by anyone.

The governor's office refused to answer several specific questions about the property, including how River Realty became involved in the sale, how long the property was on the market and whether the governor knew his wife was involved in a deal with Rezko's Rezmar Corp.

"Like any good business person, she doesn't discuss the details of her clients' investment decisions with the media," Ottenhoff said.

List faxed to gov's home
The Sun-Times called International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., the publicly traded company that sold the land at 2711 W. Irving Park to Rezmar. An International Flavors spokeswoman declined to comment.
The newspaper also called two other real estate brokers involved in the deal. One, The Garibaldi Group in Chatham N.J., declined to respond.

A principal with the other broker, Podolsky Northstar in north suburban Riverwoods, said his firm represented the seller and didn't know what River Realty did on the deal.

"I have no further recollection on anything else," Randy D. Podolsky said. "I did not handle the transaction personally."

Regardless of what Patti Blagojevich did to earn her commission, it's clear Rezko approached her husband about key jobs and appointments. On Jan. 20, 2003 -- a little more than a month after the transaction -- Blagojevich's chief of staff faxed to Blagojevich's house a list of people Rezko wanted appointed to state boards and commissions.

"Rod, Here is a list of candidates that Tony Rezko wants to be put on nonpaying boards. What are your thoughts?" Blagojevich's former top aide, Lon Monk, wrote in a note faxed to the governor along with the list.

Of the 19 people on the document, 10 wound up being appointed by the governor to a state board or commission -- or got a spouse named. Others wound up with contracts underwritten by taxpayers, or their children got state jobs amid a Blagojevich hiring freeze.

Besides helping people on Rezko's wish list, Blagojevich hired two former Rezko employees to high-ranking state agency directorships starting in late January 2003.

Real estate, Rezko, pols
Until now, the Blagojevich family had only disclosed that Patti Blagojevich made $39,000 from deals with Rezko in 2004. The family didn't divulge details about those transactions.
Rezko and Patti Blagojevich have had a business relationship dating back to 1997, the governor's office also has said.

The fees Patti Blagojevich derived from the 2002 Rezko land deal follow recent disclosures about other Rezko-related transactions that gave Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) a larger yard and enabled Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) to buy a town house from Rezko for far less than his neighbors paid.

Even though the feds have not shown an apparent interest in River Realty, investigators have looked at the first family's personal finances.

The Chicago Tribune has reported that the FBI interviewed a woman about how her husband wrote a $1,500 check for a college fund for one of Blagojevich's daughters shortly after his wife landed a state job.

After the fall is over: GOP must pick up the pieces - Tom Bevan

http://www.suntimes.com/news/bevan/139685,CST-EDT-BEVAN17.article

President Bush called it a "thumpin'." Feel free to call it whatever you want, but the bottom line is that Republicans got creamed at the polls. The bones of the election have been pretty well picked over by now, and with a few minor caveats it all boils down to this: Self-described independents showed up in decent numbers and voted overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats (57 percent to 39), mostly out of a frustration with President Bush and his party over lack of progress in Iraq.
Republican disappointment at the outcome was only intensified by Bush's post-election sacking of his secretary of defense, to whom he had pledged unqualified support just days before. Bush's explanation that he didn't want the decision to look like it had been motivated by politics didn't wash with fellow Republicans. Some complained Bush could have saved a number of GOP seats -- and perhaps control of the Senate -- by replacing Rumsfeld earlier in the year. Instead, Bush ended up hurting his party and looking terribly weak in the bargain.

Republicans are now sifting through the rubble and trying to find a way forward. As they readjust to being in the minority, there is hope among some that they'll make their way back to the days of the early '90s when Newt Gingrich led a party that was intellectually active, reform-oriented, and focused on principles of individual freedom and limited government. Setting aside the issue of Iraq this year, the Republican Party that got booted from office last week -- only 12 years removed from capturing a majority in the House -- did a poor job of representing most of those principles.

The only bright spot for Republicans at the moment is that the newly resurgent Democrats haven't gotten off to a good start either. The soon-to-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi started off smack in the middle of an intraparty battle for majority leader. After promising to lead "the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history," Pelosi decided to go to the mat on behalf of her ethically challenged pal John Murtha, putting the Democrats in an uncomfortable lose-lose situation.

Democrats in the House had the choice of damaging the credibility of their new leader by voting against her hand-picked candidate, or acquiescing to Pelosi and electing as the second most powerful member of their caucus a notorious pork-barreler who voted against ethics reform and was recently labeled "one of the most unethical members in Congress" by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Democrats opted to cross Pelosi and picked Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland over Murtha.

Even beyond the leadership battle, however, Pelosi and the Democrats will have to adjust to the role of governing again. It won't be easy, especially now that they must assume at least some responsibility for the policy in Iraq. It also won't be easy for Democrats to resist the temptation, already voiced by some, to spend a great deal of time in the next session investigating rather than legislating.

Remember, too, that everything that transpires in Congress over the next two years will be done in the context of, and in some instances as a pretext to, the 2008 presidential race. Democrats must tackle issues like Iraq and the NSA surveillance program without coming off looking soft on national security. They'll also have to deal with the issue of taxes without reinforcing a signature stereotype and potential election pitfall.

Conversely, Republicans will probably have to face tough votes on immigration reform and stem cells, which could divide their base. Democrats will also confront them with votes on increasing the minimum wage and government negotiation of prescription drug costs (among others) in the hopes of portraying Republicans as against the economic interests of the middle class.

This year, however, Democrats succeeded in making the election a referendum on Bush and Iraq. As a result, they weren't required to offer an alternative vision to the public and got by "beating something with nothing," as the saying goes. That absolutely won't be the case the next time around.

And if Republicans can't get their act together, reclaim more independent voters and also repair the loosely knit coalition of fiscal hawks, libertarians and cultural conservatives that propelled them into the majority, they may find the election two years from now a disappointing rerun of the one just completed.

Legal marijuana? What's not to like? - Pat Byrnes, North Center 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/letters/139616,CST-EDT-VOX17a.article

Monroe Anderson makes a passionate plea to legalize marijuana in Illinois [column, Nov. 12]. It is an intriguing possibility. Exciting, even.

Legalizing the production and distribution of marijuana would be good for lots of people we haven't even stopped to consider. It would be good for the pickers in the field, who would be able to bargain for fair wages from legal corporations without fear of violent retribution. It would be good for the distributors who would no longer live with the threat of being shot down in the street by the competition. And it would be good for the consciences of those 94 million Americans who have been financing that bloodshed for so long.

It would be a boon to trial lawyers, who would now have legal entities to sue for the chromosomal damage that even one joint causes. Some would probably try to sue the industry over the fact that marijuana is several times more carcinogenic than cigarettes and causes permanent brain damage much faster than severe alcohol abuse, but marijuana producers will be able to raise the defense that their users willingly accepted those risks. Families who have lost members to drug-related violence may also have someone to sue at last.

These are just a few of the inevitable ramifications if marijuana is legalized, all of them good for society. Pleas like Anderson's may finally persuade legislators and voters to change their minds. So that is all that would need to be done to make this dream a reality. That, and wait for Food and Drug Administration approval, of course. Marijuana is, after all, a drug, which would require proper regulation like any other drug -- say, aspirin. But I'm sure Anderson and the marijuana proponents have already worked out a commonsense plan for all the eventualities. To imagine otherwise would be to impugn what they are smoking.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: Duckworth supporter Rev. Kennith L. Whaley from Englewood blasts 6th Congressional District residents who voted for Roskam

http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/letters/139616,CST-EDT-VOX17a.article

DuPage's shameful voting - Rev. Kennith L. Whaley, Englewood
After hearing the results of the Tammy Duckworth vs. Peter Roskam race for the vacated seat of Rep. Henry Hyde in the 6th District, I was flabbergasted and hung my head in shame. The voters of DuPage County had a grand opportunity to show the rest of the world that we know that the course we took was a mistake and here is our way of making things right. Out of all the races, this contest was broadcast all over the world media from every country to watch this race closely.

What did the voters do? They dug in their heels and stayed the course. They thumbed their nose at the rest of the world and rejected the most deserving candidate on the entire ballot. They isolated themselves, refusing to embrace change and endorsed a policy that not only the majority of Americans felt needed to be changed but infuriated the rest of the world.

They gave me a flashback of the 1960s -- an era I grew up in when this country was sweating with the perspiration of hate and discrimination. What happened? What could that have been about? Could it have been tradition, maybe pride, prejudice or just ignorance? Only the voters of DuPage know for sure. The bottom line: The decorated war hero, the wounded soldier who put her life on the line for this country, who served this country well and was wounded physically and mentally, was told by the voters of DuPage: ''We don't care.'' The bottom line: The war hero, the wounded soldier, didn't win like we portray in the movies. Maybe our way of thinking is fiction.

DAILY HERALD
GOP pushes to oust national committeeman Kjellander - John Patterson
(Not posted as of 6:00 AM)

DIERSEN HEADLINE: Daily Herald editorial argues that only the innocent, like Kenny Kugelberg, will suffer if DuPage County does not increase taxes
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/dupagestory.asp?id=251087&cc=d&tc=&t=
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/cookstory.asp?id=251087&cc=c&tc=&t=
First round of layoffs hits DuPage County hard - Christy Gutowski and Robert Sanchez

Kenny Kugelberg was still in high school when he started working part time for the DuPage County circuit clerk.

Nearly 20 years later, the man who many describe as the go-to guy for his office was laid off Thursday along with seven other clerk employees after they arrived for work.

“It hurts,” said Kugelberg, whose wife is pregnant with the Aurora couple’s first child. “I love my job. It was my career and the only thing that I know.”

And leaders predict the ax is just beginning to fall.

DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom warned department heads months ago that deep cuts were needed to avoid a $50 million deficit in two years.

The county board is about to vote on his proposed $470 million spending plan, which will result in the elimination of at least 60 jobs, no cost-of-living raises for other county employees, and less money for human services programs, many of which help the poor.

Though some health department employees also have lost their jobs, Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas is the first department head to lay off employees in one swoop as a direct result of the chairman’s call for a 20 percent budget cut over two years.

After repeatedly crunching the numbers, Kachiroubas said Thursday he was left with no other choice in a budget that is 92 percent personnel but to lay off the eight employees. Another eight open positions won’t be filled, bringing his staff to about 176.

“I just did the most difficult thing that I’ve ever had to do in business,” he said of the layoffs. “That is, letting people go who are qualified individuals who came to work every day.

“I’ve lost a lot of sleep over this, but I had to meet a request from the county and, unfortunately, it has become a human tragedy in which someone is not employed.”

The health department also laid off three employees this week, bringing the total number to 11 since June as part of a streamlining process that began last year. Overall its headcount is down by 27 jobs out of about 560 people with 16 reductions due to attrition.

So, how did a once-fiscally sound county government get into such a mess?

It depends who you ask.

Leaders said revenues in hard economic times are failing to keep pace with rising expenses. The state also is slow in paying back the county for its mandated projects.

The county also will get its fifth and final $15 million check next summer from the DuPage Water Commission. So, leaders must figure out how to live without the money in the future.

But if you talk to county employees and other critics, they argue the budget crisis is a result of fiscal mismanagement.

Until recently, county leaders repeatedly reduced the property tax levy while spending down millions in reserves, approving large construction projects and doling out pay raises for themselves and department heads.

Finance committee Chairman Robert Heap said Kachiroubas is simply acting early to achieve a directed cut in his office’s $8.3 million budget.

“I know these are tough times,” Heap said. “But I appreciate the fact that he’s willing to step up and do what needs to be done. Not everybody is willing to do that.”

DuPage State’s Attorney Joe Birkett called a special office meeting Thursday to quell rumors as news of the clerk layoffs spread through the courthouse.

“I made it clear that there is a possibility that layoffs might occur,” Birkett said. “They may be necessary, but I don’t anticipate that until after the first of the year and I’m going to do everything that I can to minimize that possibility.”

There may be some hope.

Schillerstrom and others are lobbying state legislators to pass a law granting counties the authority to impose a tax of up to $2 on a pack of cigarettes. Only Cook County has that power and it levies the full $2 per pack. The House will consider the measure Nov. 28.

If state law is changed, DuPage leaders are eyeing a $1-per-pack cigarette tax that would generate between $27 million and $40 million a year.

With the extra tax money, the county could avoid layoffs and other cuts. But Kachiroubas and Heap said there’s no guarantee it will happen and the county board must approve its budget by Nov. 30.

Regardless, it won’t help Kugelberg and the other laid-off employees, who include management and new hires.

They will be paid through December and get severance packages based on their tenure.

Kugelberg worked his way up through the ranks of the clerk’s office and, a few years ago, created a quality-control unit. During that time, he used just 12.5 sick days.

The layoff comes just months before he would be eligible for several benefits for his 20-year anniversary. He and the others left the courthouse after being laid off in a joint meeting, but Kugelberg returned at the end of the day one last time to clean out his desk and say good-bye.

“I like to think that I had a lot of integrity and was a straight shooter who did whatever I could on the job,” he said. “It’s a difficult thing. I’m glad for the opportunity I had, but you hate to end your career this way.”

Schillerstrom was not available for comment Thursday.

State senators vote for pay hikes - John Patterson

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/lakestory.asp?id=251126&cc=l&tc=&t=

SPRINGFIELD — A day after voting to raise the minimum wage $1, Illinois senators voted near-double-digit increases for their own paychecks, with supporters saying they deserve more for all their hard work.

“We are underpaid,” said state Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat. “I know I work my butt off for the people of the 5th District. I deserve it.”

Six minutes after the pay debate, lawmakers adjourned to head home, ending a three-day workweek in the capital city, for which taxpayers provide each legislator $125 a day for hotels and meals. Lawmakers are due back in session at 1 p.m. Nov. 28 for the final scheduled week of their session.

The result of Thursday’s Senate vote is that paychecks for lawmakers could increase to $63,143 from $57,619. Nearly all get thousands more — if not tens of thousands more —serving in leadership positions or holding key posts on the myriad legislative committees. Most lawmakers also have outside jobs.

They bristle at the suggestion these are pay raises. Instead, lawmakers argue these are long-deserved annual adjustments to maintain their income level as the cost of living increases around them. Such adjustments had been rejected or blocked since 2003, and the last time lawmakers’ paychecks increased was 2001.

But Thursday’s move re-imposes those blocked adjustments from the 2003, 2004 and 2005 budget years, resulting in an overall 9.6 percent bump.

But wait, there’s more.

There have been two more recommended “adjustments” since 2005, so the cumulative effect could be a 15.58 percent increase to paychecks, taking the base salary to $66,597.

In comparison, the $1-an-hour increase to the minimum wage the Senate approved this week is a 15.38 percent increase.

The sticking point is that, so far, lawmakers have not come up with the money to actually fund what they approved, and even defenders of the higher pay levels could not say Thursday where the millions of dollars needed would be found.

The increases apply to numerous other government officials, too, including the governor, other statewide offices, judges and state’s attorneys. A spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor would not accept any increase.

Illinois law requires both houses to reject scheduled raises or they automatically take effect. The Illinois House voted in the spring to reject the higher salaries, but the Senate delayed action until after the fall election.

State Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, led the effort to block the increases but, heading into the vote, correctly predicted little chance of success.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican, called it “arrogant” for lawmakers to vote on higher paychecks when the state’s “drowning in red ink.”

We fight in Iraq for our way of life - Nancy J. Thorner, Lake Bluff

http://www.dailyherald.com/opinion/fencepost.asp

While participating in my community’s Veterans Day observance over the past weekend, I was reminded of the sacrifices countless numbers of Americans have made to defend this country and to preserve the liberties we enjoy.

I am saddened that negativity about the Iraq War (Bush’s war) became “the” issue in many political races across the USA., including here in Lake and neighboring counties.

Why did the Iraq War — which “is” the main front in the War Against Global Terrorism — become so unpopular in the minds of many Americans?

Here is why: Coupled with the anti-war rhetoric on the left were leaks critical of the Bush Administration; a constant barrage of “doom and gloom” reports by the media augmented by graphic daily body counts; and a slavish obedience to political correctness.

If the truth could reach the American people, they would begin to understand that America is facing an even greater threat than during World War II, with the perils posed by Nazism.

During WW II, Germans killed for their Fuhrer; today Islamic fascists kill in the name of Allah. Their goal is to Islamize the world, making Islam the dominant religion.

These Islamic jihadists scoff at the naivete of those who believe appeasement can bring about understanding, for their hatred against Western civilizations, and especially the Great Satan America, supersedes all.

Isn’t it time for the American people to wake up from their self-indulgent slumbers and realize what consequences lie ahead if victory is not the outcome in Iraq?

America is at war, and it’s folly to deny what should be obvious: America is involved in a fight to preserve civilization and our way of life.

Losing in Iraq is not an option. Have Americans become so short-sighted that they are oblivious to looming threats on the horizon?

Have they forgotten the sacrifices made by brave men and women throughout America’s history? Have they forgotten that in war soldiers die?

Hopefully Americans have not become a people who enjoy living in a free society but don’t know how to fight to preserve that which they cherish.

Instead, may America’s “Experiment in Democracy” begun 230 years ago not fail, but remain strong, resolute, and determined. Only time will tell the tale.

Good use of leftover campaign money - Pamela A. Curtin, Executive Board, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Wheaton

http://www.dailyherald.com/opinion/fencepost.asp

Without exaggeration, America has witnessed the spending of billions, yes billions, of dollars on recent campaigns. Voters watched candidates rip each other apart and then politely shake one another’s hand prior to starting a “supposed” civilized debate.

Campaign ads rarely highlighted the strengths and goals of the intended winners but rather chose to lambaste their opponent in the most unflattering manner.

The campaigns are over, and what were the costs to our senses which were assaulted day after day?

In light of the financial crisis facing this county, and the many essential services which will be slashed to not-for-profits across our region, I offer a serious challenge: those of you who have significant funds left over, take them and put them into something useful now that this political back-stabbing is complete.

Select a not-for-profit that faces serious cuts, or worse yet extinction, and send a check that might save a life. Children who are being abused and neglected, families who face poverty, women who face the dangers of domestic violence, these realities exist right here in DuPage County and many organization need your help.

Think about it. There must be some money left over to use to follow through on those campaign promises. I know the children in our program could use your help.

VERY SAD: West Chicago: Wayward SUV spells end for pampered red 1972 Corvette - Rupa Shenoy

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/dupagestory.asp?id=251140&cc=d&tc=&t=
(DIERSEN: On October 14, 1971, when I was 23 years old, I took delivery of a brand new steel city gray 1972 Corvette coupe which I continue to own.  In hindsight, I wish I had ordered it in Republican red instead of gray.  I paid for it with money I saved washing dishes, building railroad cars, delivering mail, selling tires, and collecting delinquent taxes.  One of the reasons it has only 5,074 miles on it is all the time that I spend serving as your unpaid GOPUSA Illinois Editor.)
When it was over, a pine tree stood on its head on one side of the destroyed garage and what was left of a cherished 1972 red Chevrolet Corvette coupe sat in a smashed heap on the other.
The out-of-control Chevrolet Suburban, now idle, sat innocently inside the ruined garage.

What happened, police said, was that West Chicago resident Lucilla Cortez, 33, was trying to park in the far end of a nearby lot at Route 59 and Washington Street in West Chicago just before 2 p.m. Thursday.

Cortez, who could not be reached for comment, told police she was distracted by her 2- and 4-year-old companions. She told officers she thought she had put the car in park. But, suddenly, the large Suburban bolted forward.

“I think she hit the gas when she meant to hit the brake,” West Chicago Police Chief Steven Kuhn said.

And Cortez hit the gas hard, said Cmdr. Spencer Kroning, the officer on the scene.

The car launched itself over a tall curb and plowed through a 6-foot-tall wooden fence before striking a 20-foot-high tree.

The massive pine snapped in two, landing squarely on the Suburban’s roof, its top branches resting on the vehicle’s rear.

But Cortez was still going.

Her car smashed into one side of a house’s detached garage and plowed into the unsuspecting, cloistered Corvette, which had been polished daily and rarely driven for years, its owners told police.

The classic car was hurled 10 feet through the opposite wall and into an oak tree.

The aftermath revealed that Cortez had created two new, large jagged entrances to the garage, which was built in 1925, according to the Winfield Township assessor’s office. The tall pine tree, which had caught on the roof while the Suburban kept going, leaned upside down against the structure.

The swank, curvy, low-riding Corvette was ruined.

“The owner was very upset,” Kroning said. “It appeared that the car was in very, very good condition.”

Cortez and her young passengers were not seriously injured. She was cited for not having a valid driver’s license and failing to reduce speed, among other charges. Her vehicle, however, was insured, as was the Corvette, Kroning said.

“In 1972, there were 20,496 Corvette coupes built,” said Mike Hill, a 1960 Corvette owner and 20-year member of the Fox Valley Corvette Club. “Even if there are only half that left, that’s still only 10,000. This was a very desirable car.”

Corvettes in 1972 sold for as much as $6,000, depending on the options it featured, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association appraisal guide. Today it could sell for as much as $60,000, Hill said.

The Corvette’s owners chose not to comment for this story.

Vettefest to make its suburban debut in Rosemont - Eileen O. Daday
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/cookstory.asp?id=251055&cc=c&tc=rmt&t=rosemont

It’s become a rite of summer, with classic car shows popping up almost every week around the suburbs. Now, a display this weekend in Rosemont is taking the car show to a new level.

On Saturday and Sunday at the Donald E. Convention Center, more than 450 restored and original Chevys and Corvettes will be exhibited as part of the 25th annual Chevy Vettefest.

For the first time, producers have moved the show from Chicago’s McCormick Place to the suburbs, and they found an immediate boost in car entries.

Chevy Vettefest takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the convention center, 9301 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont. Admission is $14 for adults and free for children younger than 12. Parking is $11.

“We have more than 460 cars entered,” said Bob Ashton of Championship Auto Shows, based in Auburn Hills, Mich. “In the 25-year history of the show, it’s an all-time record, with well over 100 cars more than last year.”

Ashton points to the popularity of such cable shows as “Overhaulin’æ” and “Hot Rod TV” with making the hobby of car restoring accessible to people beyond just the avid collectors.

“We’re seeing a lot more people who are new to the hobby who are entering,” Ashton said.

Entries are coming from 19 states and include some of the finest Corvettes in the country, some valued at $1 million. But there also will be a good contingent from the Chicago area.

Tom Arvidson of Palatine, president of the North Shore Corvette Club based in Libertyville, said members have been preparing for months.

They generally will enter two levels of competition: Bow Tie Boulevard, which looks for how clean and well presented the car is, and the Gold Spinner Award, which judges a car on how closely it looks to its original showroom appearance.

“Our cars always do well here,” Arvidson said. “Typically, 90 percent of them win gold.”

The highest level competition, which combines the Bow Tie and Gold Spinner, has drawn 51 Corvette entries from across the country. Called the Triple Crown Award, it is the most prestigious award in the country for Corvette owners.

“A panel of judges will spend up to two hours pouring over each car,” Ashton said, “documenting that the car is exactly the way it was when it left the showroom.”

Other exhibits include the best in modified and street stock cars, a sale of collectible cars and trucks, and a so-called “super swap meet,” featuring a variety of Chevrolet and Corvette parts and services.

There’s even a Women’s World exhibit featuring Chevys and Corvettes owned and maintained by women, who will be competing for Best Corvette, Best Chevy and the People’s Choice Award.

“The show is great family entertainment,” Ashton said. “Parents and grandparents can walk down memory lane and show their kids the cars they drove when they were young.”

BELLEVILLE NEWS DEMOCRAT

House Republicans take steps against a top GOP leader Bob Kjellander - Christopher Wills

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/16032935.htm
(Kjellander: "I haven't spoken to Leader Cross about his proposal," Kjellander said. "I'm traveling out of state for the next 10 days, but when I return, I look forward to sitting down and chatting with him about it.")
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Hoping to repair the Republican Party's tattered image, House Minority Leader Tom Cross said Thursday that he would push legislation allowing the removal of a GOP leader linked to a federal corruption investigation.
Cross, R-Oswego, previously had called for the resignation of Bob Kjellander, the Republican Party's national treasurer and an Illinois member of the Republican National Committee. Now Cross is saying he should be forced out.

"We owe it to our party faithful and we owe it to the public to demonstrate our commitment to good government through not only our words but also our actions," Cross said in a statement.

Cross said there is no way to remove Kjellander from his party post under GOP bylaws, which also are written into state statutes. So legislation allowing the change must be passed, he said.

Kjellander is a veteran lobbyist and is seen by his Republican critics as the leading example of an insider who is more loyal to a sometimes-corrupt Springfield establishment than to his party.

His company, Springfield Consulting Group, made $800,000 by helping a company land a contract handling bonds under Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Kjellander's name also has surfaced in a federal investigation of corruption under Blagojevich. A guilty plea by political insider Stuart Levine refers to an "Individual K" playing a role in a complex scheme to steer state business to certain companies in exchange for kickbacks.

"Individual K" is Kjellander, according to individuals familiar with the case who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

A message left at Kjellander's office was not immediately returned Thursday night. His home number is not listed.

But Kjellander, who has survived many past calls for his ouster, told the Chicago Tribune that he was caught unawares by Cross' initiative.

"I haven't spoken to Leader Cross about his proposal," Kjellander said. "I'm traveling out of state for the next 10 days, but when I return, I look forward to sitting down and chatting with him about it."

The Republican Party took a pounding in both national and Illinois elections last week. In Illinois, the damage was at least partly because voters see the Republican Party as tainted by the conviction of former Gov. George Ryan on federal corruption charges.

State GOP leaders have said they must repair the party's image if they hope to make the GOP competitive again.

Dems tap Illinoisan with GOP ties Terry Gainer for U.S. Senate post - Dennis Conrad
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/16028673.htm
WASHINGTON - Terry Gainer would not seem to have the pedigree that would make him one of the first appointees under a Democratic-led Senate that will regain the reins of power in January.
After all, he was the GOP nominee for state's attorney in the Chicago area against Democrat Richard M. Daley and the state police director under Illinois Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. And later he was the U.S. Capitol police chief when GOP Rep. Dennis Hastert of Illinois was the powerful speaker of the House.

But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who will be the Senate majority leader with the swearing in of the 110th Congress in January, offered Gainer last Friday the job of Senate sergeant-at-arms, a post he readily accepted Monday without even knowing its salary.

"I know the prestige that goes with it. I was awfully flattered," Gainer said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I didn't ask. I figured it'd be fair."

At present, the annual salary is $160,000, according to the "Report of the Secretary of the Senate."

Ironically, among the duties Gainer will assume, besides being the Senate's top law enforcement official, is being the chairman of the board that oversees the U.S. Capitol police chief - the post he left under fire last spring after four years on the job.

Gainer prefers not to talk about the circumstances of his departure, but the Senate's Democratic leadership team of Reid, a former Capitol Hill policeman, and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois, a member of the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Capitol's budget, were sympathetic to his plight.

"Harry and I both felt that Terry Gainer was treated very badly when he was released as chief of police. He was an outstanding chief ... loved by the police," Durbin said.

"He stepped on the toes of some of the Republican House members. I can't tell you the details," he said, adding, "Sometimes members of Congress expect police officers to serve as servants."

Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean issued a statement making clear the speaker had no problem with Gainer.

"The Speaker's office has a great relationship with Terrence Gainer and is pleased that he is returning to Capitol Hill," according to the release.

Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Fla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who has been critical of Gainer, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Gainer retired in March 2006 after learning that he had violated a 1967 anti-nepotism law prohibiting federal agency directors from hiring family members. In his case, it involved a son-in-law, who was hired for the Capitol police in 2003. Gainer and the son-in-law said they had been unaware of the law.

Durbin said politics had nothing to do with the new appointment of Gainer, who succeeds Bill Pickle, who years ago had been the choice of outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and is credited with doing a good job. But Durbin noted that traditionally the party in power picks someone new for the position.

Though he's long been associated with Republican lawmakers in Illinois and Washington, D.C., Gainer was born in Chicago and began his life as a Democrat. He was president of his College Young Democrats chapter and worked for Minnesota Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey's presidential campaign. And just a few years ago, he was the No. 2 in command of the police force in Washington, D.C., one of the nation's most Democratic cities.

Also, while Edgar's state police director for seven years, Gainer's investigators teamed with the FBI in probing some of the governor's biggest campaign donors involvement in a state contract scandal that cost the state millions of dollars. That ultimately led to federal indictments on corruption charges and convictions.

Before the indictments, and more than a year after the investigation began, and Edgar was finally interviewed by investigators, Gainer gave Edgar a clean bill of health, saying "His role in this is above reproach."

Recalling his years as state police chief, Gainer said, "Gov. Edgar was a real prince to work for."

Gainer said he only became a Republican after being recruited into GOP Gov. James Thompson's administration decades ago. It was also Thompson who urged him to take on what was a suicide mission of running against Daley in 1988.

"I like to say I've worked for both Democrats and Republicans," he said. "The fact that they (Senate Democratic leadership) cared so little about it says about how they're going to run the place."

In his new post, which Gainer compares to being a chief operating officer, he will not only deal with law enforcement issues, but he will oversee everything from the post office to the barber shop to parking spaces and the Senate pages and their dorm.

In preparing for his new job, Gainer will have to quit his position of five weeks as vice president of law enforcement for MPRI, a private professional services company headed by a retired Army chief of staff, Gen. Carl Vuono. Gainer had been scheduled to go on a business trip next month to Iraq and Afghanistan.

As to why the sudden job change back to the Capitol, he said: "We do it for love of God and nation."

"It's a lot more than the $8,000 a year I made in 1968 as a starting policeman in Chicago," he said of the salary. "But it's a lot less than what I make in the private sector."

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL- REGISTER
Illinois House GOP calls for Kjellander's removal
http://www.sj-r.com/extras/breaking/index.asp#1864
Illinois House Republican leaders Thursday morning called for legislation to allow the state GOP central committee to remove Bob Kjellander of Springfield as a member of the Republican National Committee.

House GOP leader Tom Cross said Kjellander, whose lucrative business dealings with a variety of political figures in both parties have become controversial, is "under an ethical cloud and ... a detriment to the Republican Party of Illinois."

Their proposal would allow Kjellander to be replaced two years before the next state GOP convention, which would be the timetable otherwise, the lawmakers said.

Kjellander has become a "lightning rod" of negative publicity, said Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville.

"We can't wait another two years," Black said.

Kjellander was identified as "Individual K" in the plea agreement of Stuart Levine, who pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to try to get millions of dollars in kickbacks and other payments from companies doing business with two state boards. Kjellander has not commented about his role in Levine's dealings.

Kjellander is treasurer of the Republican National Committee.

BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
Illinois GOPers want to oust National Committeeman Bob Kjellander - Chris Lusvardi
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/11/16/news/doc455cf1752e088286938914.txt
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois House Republican leaders want the state’s embattled National Republican Committeeman Bob Kjellander removed from his position.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, said Thursday at a news conference in his Statehouse office lawmakers plan to introduce legislation that would grant members of the Republican Central Committee the authority to remove Kjellander. Currently, there is no mechanism to replace the Republican National Committeeman.

“Bob Kjellander has become a controversial figure who has found himself under an ethical cloud,” Cross said. “He’s become a detriment to the Republican Party in Illinois.”

Republican leaders have found themselves trying to rebuild the party’s image since the results of last week’s election led to heavy losses for Republicans statewide. Kjellander has come under attack for his work as a lobbyist for investment firms seeking state business.

“Whatever disagreements we have as a party, I think there is ample agreement that he has become a lightning rod and the support is there to do that,” Cross said. “He’s not good for the party, and he needs to go.”

Cross said he asked Kjellander, who is also treasurer of the national committee, to resign over a year ago but Kjellander refused to quit his post. Cross did not identify a preferred candidate to replace Kjellander.

Kjellander was not at his Springfield office Thursday and could not immediately be reached for comment.

State Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, said the party needs new leadership.

“I don’t think there’s a problem with the party philosophy,” Pritchard said. “I think we’ve got to regain that trust that we are ethical, we do abide by the laws and we hold true to fiscal responsibility.”

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said the party would be better off if Kjellander were removed from his post.

“Bob has given a number of good years of service, but frankly issues surrounding Bob has distracted us and in fact does stand in the way of us moving forward,” said Brady. “We need to refocus our efforts by bringing people into our party and our platform, and that requires a new generation of leadership with a message that sticks to our values but focuses on our commonality.”

Cross plans on calling the legislation when the veto session resumes in two weeks after a break for Thanksgiving. The measure, however, would need the support of Democrats, who control both chambers of the General Assembly.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: Bloomington Pantagraph urges Rutherford and Brady to "forge alliances with Downstate Democrats"
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/11/17/opinion/120994.txt
Downstate lawmakers must stand united - Editorial
Politically, Illinois might be split between Democrats and Republicans. But ideologically, the split follows more along geographical lines - Downstate vs. Chicago (and sometimes the "collar" counties).

This can be seen on issues from gun control to school funding.

With the state's power base firmly in the hands of Chicago-area Democrats, it is more important than ever for Downstaters of both parties to work together on their mutual interests.

This area's Republican contingent needs to reach across the aisle, and Democrats should do the same.

Senate Republicans Dan Rutherford and Bill Brady have a higher profile after their campaigns for statewide office: Rutherford as the party's nominee for secretary of state and Brady as a Republican primary contender for governor.

They should use that stature to encourage their party to forge alliances with Downstate Democrats.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's snubbing of Springfield is larger than his refusal to move into the Governor's Mansion. He also doesn't spend much time in Springfield working with the Legislature, compared to his predecessors.

And it's easy for this Chicago mindset to infiltrate the state agencies under Blagojevich's rule.

It takes more than a brief visit to drop off a check to understand a region's concern. The governor and other constitutional officers are supposed to serve the entire state, regardless of whether the need or received their votes.

Blagojevich won re-election largely because of his strong showing in Cook County. He also did well in most of deep Southern Illinois and the Metro East St. Louis area. But the rest of the state, with few exceptions, belonged to Republican Judy Baar Topinka.

Chicago-area Democrats swept all the constitutional offices and the leaders of both branches of the Legislature also are Chicago Democrats.

Fortunately, the Legislature hasn't been in lockstep with the governor on every initiative, despite the majority being from the same party.

Unfortunately, the governor has found methods to circumvent the Legislature when he doesn't get his way - such as directing funding to stem-cell research and imposing "junk food" rules on schools.

The Chicago-centric government could lead to Downstate concerns getting little or no respect, unless lawmakers from south of Interstate 80 - and rural parts of northwestern Illinois - cooperate to serve their constituents.

That means focusing on regional concerns, not just district concerns. It means standing up to party leadership by showing personal leadership.

BEACON NEWS

State senators vote own pay hike Fox Valley legislators voice opposition - Justina Wang
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/140169,2_1_AU17_RAISES_S1.article

Without the support of Fox Valley legislators, Illinois senators voted Thursday to accept a 9.6 percent cost-of-living increase next year in the paychecks of lawmakers and other top state officials.
Sens. Chris Lauzen, R-Aurora, and Brad Burzynski, R-Clare, were the only area legislators to actually vote against the bill Thursday.

Sen. Ed Petka, R-Plainfield, voted present, and Republican Sens. Peter Roskam and John Millner did not vote.

Pointing to the outcome of the fall election, Lauzen said he feared voters "handed the Chicago Democrats and the Senate a blank check, a preapproved credit card."

"It's disappointing that one of the first actions after their landslide victory last week for the Democratic majority was to increase their pay," he said. "Through their actions, they demonstrate what their priorities are. ... This is certainly not what the folks back home want."

State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, who sponsored a resolution in the House to reject the pay raises, said the Senate's actions were not indicative of party beliefs.

"We're the ones that delivered (the resolution to reject the pay raise) to them before we had a sweeping win (in the November election)," she said. "I just don't know what the Senate is thinking."

The House voted in April to reject the raise, but the Senate delayed action until after the fall election.

All of the House members in the Fox Valley voted to reject the pay raise last spring, except for Chapa LaVia, who missed the vote because she was in Washington, D.C., at the time.

"It's been years since they've had a pay increase, but I think the $61,000 I get a year for representing the people of Aurora is a good, sizable check for what I do," Chapa LaVia said. "... There are a lot of issues in the state and a deficit to try and straighten out. We are elected by the people to serve in their best interest, and part of that is making sure we're working for families and seniors … and not give ourselves a pay raise."

Stopping the raise would have taken 30 Senate votes. Twenty-five senators -- 18 Republicans and 7 Democrats -- voted to reject the increase. Twenty-one senators -- 18 Democrats, two Republicans and an Independent -- voted to accept it.

Legislator salaries have not increased since July 2001, and some lawmakers defended the additional pay as long overdue.

The raise applies to lawmakers, the governor and other top government officials, although some -- including Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- say they will reject the extra money.

No paychecks actually will increase unless lawmakers appropriate the $4 million cost. That could happen later this month or early next year.

Officials also are entitled to two other cost-of-living increases that took effect on paper but were never accompanied by the necessary government funds. Those increases, if funded, would bring total raises to 15.6 percent.

Base pay for lawmakers is about $57,000 a year.

CHICAGO READER

DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ben Joravsky blasts Peraica and Proft
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/theworks/061117/

The Loudest Loser  Tony Peraica’s election-night stunt wasn’t just pointless—it was absurd. - Ben Joravsky
YOU’D HAVE TO go back to Bernie Epton’s 1983 mayoral campaign to find a more graceless exit from a local political race than the stunt Tony Peraica pulled in the wee hours of Wednesday, November 8. A losing candidate is expected to thank his supporters, congratulate the victor, and promise to keep fighting for the cause that prompted him to run in the first place. Epton, having narrowly lost to Harold Washington, stomped out of a room filled with supporters after telling one of them to shut up. When it became apparent that Tony Peraica was about to lose the Cook County Board president’s race to Todd Stroger, Peraica accused the county of rigging the election and called for his supporters to storm the County Building in protest.

For several months Peraica and his backers had been predicting victory owing to support from liberals and independents (so-called Claypool Democrats) outraged at the way party bosses maneuvered Stroger onto the ballot. Reality set in on election night, when Stroger surged to an early lead and looked to be on his way to winning with about 55 percent of the vote. Then, around 9 PM, the tallying abruptly stopped. Despite having spent more than $50 million to improve the vote-counting system, the county experienced transmission problems and was unable to tabulate thousands of votes.

The television stations had a couple hours to fill and someone happy to fill them—Peraica’s campaign manager Dan Proft, who among other things is also the spokesman for the Republican mayor of Cicero, a former press aide for Alan Keyes’s 2004 senatorial campaign, and the founder of Urquhart Media, a public relations firm named for Francis Urquhart, the Machiavellian conservative political operative in House of Cards, the BBC series set at the end of the Thatcher era.

About half the votes had been counted and Peraica didn’t have a chance, but Proft never stopped spinning. He pranced from one television camera to another, predicting a wave of votes from Schaumburg, Lyons, Wheeling, and other suburban townships. As the delay dragged on he suggested that the county might be up to something devious.

So when Peraica took the podium at the Hotel Inter-Continental to address his supporters near midnight, the stage was set for confrontation. The machine, Peraica declared, was trying to stifle reform by stealing the election. The time had come to defend the integrity of the voting process. With that he led his supporters down Michigan Avenue to Washington and over to the County Building, where they thumped their chests, gave more television interviews, and then went home.

There are so many absurdities here it’s hard to know where to start. For one thing, the victim of cheating is generally the leader of a race—think Gore in Florida—whose lead is erased by a surge of lastminute votes that mysteriously appear out of nowhere. Maybe it should have been Stroger complaining about mysteriously uncounted suburban votes.

And while we’re at it, which machine is it that Peraica’s accusing of stealing the election? Peraica broke into politics as a teenage volunteer in the 11th Ward Democratic organization currently headed by Mayor Daley’s brother John. He made his name as a precinct worker with Congressman William Lipinski’s 23rd Ward Democratic organization. After he moved out of Chicago and switched parties, he won the Republican primary for Cook County commissioner in the western suburbs thanks to support from former Tenth Ward alderman Ed Vrdolyak and former Cicero mayor Betty Loren-Maltese (who later stabbed him in the back). In six months of campaigning against Stroger, he had hardly a bad word to say about Daley, or, more to the point, John Daley, who runs, in addition to the 11th Ward, the County Board’s all-important finance committee.

In the end it was just harmless election-night fun. By midday on Wednesday almost all the votes had been counted, and to no one’s surprise Stroger wound up with about 54 percent of the vote, roughly what he had when the system locked up the night before.

Tony Who?

It was reported that during the melee at the board of elections, police had arrested a Peraica supporter named Johnny Lira for damaging government property.

“They got it all wrong,” insisted Lira, a former middleweight champion and local boxing promoter who also dabbles in politics. “I was never with Perchinko.”

You mean Peraica? I asked him.

“Whatever—you see? I don’t even know his name.”

Lira says he was having a few cocktails with a friend at a bar in the Loop when a colleague came in to say there was trouble nearby. “He told me Peraica’s people were marching to the county and we had to get over there to make sure Maze was OK.”

Maze is Lira’s friend Mazzone Jackson, who’s running for alderman in the 18th Ward and was at the board of elections that night among the group of Stroger’s supporters. “Maze is black, Peraica’s people are white,” says Lira. “I figure there could be trouble, you know what I mean?”

Over at the County Building, Lira found a few dozen Peraica supporters milling around the first-floor elevators. “Peraica’s people were everywhere, but the sheriff ’s deputies wouldn’t let them go up the elevators. I see this freight elevator over by the side, and I go over to get it. But what happens is, I went in too fast. Know what happens when you go into an elevator too fast? You set off the sensor. It makes a noise and the doors don’t work. The next thing you know they’re saying I damaged government property. And you know what damage there is? Nothing! The elevator is working great.”

The police hauled him away, but Lira harbors no grudge: “I don’t blame the coppers. Johnny Lira is a friend of the police. It’s those sheriff ’s deputies. The police couldn’t have been nicer. They didn’t want to press charges, but what was their choice?”

The police held him for about an hour and then let him go. “Guess what day I go to court? December 7. Pearl Harbor day, a day that will live in infamy. Come on down—you can watch me clear my name.”

DAILY ILLINI

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Edgar reaffirms his rejection of the social planks in the Illinois Republican Party platform, again

http://www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2006/11/17/News/Jim-Edgar.Speaks.On.Future.Of.State.Gop-2466579.shtml?norewrite200611170415&sourcedomain=www.dailyillini.com

Jim Edgar speaks on future of state GOP  Former governor hopes to take back Hispanic vote - Ryan Davis

Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar said his party and its supporters should remain optimistic about the next election cycle despite heavy losses on Nov. 7.

"I don't think the Republican party is dead in Illinois," Edgar said. "Our race was closer than most of the other races."

Edgar was on hand at the University's Institute of Government and Public Affairs, 1007 W. Nevada St., Thursday afternoon to address the party's future in Illinois. A future, he said, that depends on their ability to remain near the center of the political spectrum and the Democrats' ability to steer clear of corruption.

"Illinois is a liberal moderate state," Edgar said. "Republicans shouldn't move far to the right."

Edgar said Republicans could "lose the center" if they fail to recognize that the electorate in Illinois is leaning slightly to the left on social issues.

He said Republicans could also gain the upper hand going into the 2008 general election if Democrats continue to stumble over ethical issues. Edgar said corruption became a Republican issue in the wake of former Republican George Ryan's scandal, which haunted the party on Election Day.

"Winning elections is difficult but governing is even more difficult," Edgar said, adding that the next two years could see further indictments of prominent Democrats in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration.

Edgar said he was surprised to see so many Illinois voters saying in exit polls that corruption was a core issue with 58 percent still voting for Blagojevich. Edgar said he took this to mean that there is some disconnect between what voters wanted and how they actually voted.

Edgar was also joined by Robert Rich, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Rich said the Democrats' decisive victory in Illinois could be their downfall.

"Over the next few years, the best news for the Republican party may be the super majority in the (state) Senate," Rich said, as he referenced the Democrats' veto-proof majority.

Rich said that too much of a majority could lead to division within the Democratic party.

Edgar said that in his experience it was easier to get things done when there was a split on Capitol Hill because party members felt obligated to support their party in a close vote.

Tough issues such as funding the pension system and managing the budget could end in stalemate if Democrats resort to fighting among themselves, Edgar said.

Edgar said he was also concerned that the Hispanic vote for Republicans was lower than the African-American vote.

"At the state level, we've got to win back the Hispanic vote," he said.

Edgar said he is holding out hope that the Republicans can come up with a viable candidate for governor in 2010 even though he could not think of any specific names. Edgar said just because there is no frontrunner now, it does not mean that the Republicans will not put forth a strong candidate closer to the election, noting that no one knew who U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was before his rapid rise to political stardom.

The former governor said half jokingly that it would not hurt to find a multi-millionaire, like Blagojevich, who has not been stained by intense public exposure.

"Maybe I'm a little cynical," he said.

LIBERTY SUBURBAN NEWS
DIERSEN HEADLINE: OUTRAGEOUS: Pessimistic front page editorial on Roskam made to look like a news article
http://www.libertysuburban.com/story.php?sid=71662&pub=2
Roskam ready to take national stage - Jessica Young

Congressman-elect may face difficulties in nation's capital
In a closely watched congressional race, Republican state Sen. Peter Roskam of Wheaton bucked the national tide Nov. 7 and defeated viable Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth for the open 6th District seat. But pundits said the fight has only just begun.

Despite Duckworth's gains in an area widely considered a conservative stronghold, Roskam came out on top, winning 90,944 votes while she secured 86,218. All 399 precincts in DuPage County and all 123 in Cook County reported official numbers.

Now Roskam will face a Congress controlled by Democrats as he enters his freshman year as a federal lawmaker.

'A wake-up call'

DuPage still is skewed heavily Republican, but Democrats have gradually become more competitive locally.

"It's a personal victory for Pete, but the slim margin indicates what a bad night it was for the Republicans," said Ashley Woodiwiss, chair of the politics and international relations department at Wheaton College. "It's definitely a wake-up call for GOP leaders because the area is no longer a Republican guarantee, so they can't take it for granted."

Roskam credits his concentration on local relationships and growing support in a grass-roots kind of way. But he also believes issues like tax relief and cutting spending resonated with 6th District voters.

"While the faces of the district may have changed, the value system that has attracted so many here has not," he said.

David Goldberg, a political science professor at the College of DuPage, said money pumped into the campaign by the Republican National Committee and repeated trips by heavyweights like President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were a tremendous help in giving Roskam an edge.

"Despite the demographic shifts, history was on his side," Goldberg said. "He's socially and fiscally conservative, and he did a decent job of selling his tenure. But he also managed to come across more moderate and reasonable than his critics suggested he was."

Minority status

With one major fight won, Roskam will face an uphill battle in Congress since Republicans relinquished control. But he remains optimistic.

"We're going into a different environment than we anticipated, and it'll be a challenge," Roskam said. "There's a time for donkeys and elephants, and there are people of good will on both sides of the aisle. So as long as there's a civil tone. ...

"I was part of both the majority and minority in the Illinois House and Senate, so I learned how to be effective in either situation," he added. "I know how to advocate for my district no matter who's got the gavel."

Goldberg said the political landscape is likely to generate contention during legislative debate, which will demand bipartisanship if headway is to be made. But he believes Roskam will find his path.

"He trumpeted his ability to shake hands across party lines. And if that proves to be true, it will help him navigate Washington," Goldberg said.

Woodiwiss isn't so sure.

"Roskam is in the most unenviable position -- he sure has his work cut out for him," he said. "Not only does he go in as a newbie, but he's put on the defensive. It's difficult to have substantive policy or legislative success anyway. And being in the minority, it's not likely at all."

Rather, Roskam's best bet is to focus on ensuring constituency services, Woodiwiss said.

This week, Roskam will begin the adjustment period as he begins a seven-day new member orientation program. He also has started the process of assembling a staff for a district office before formally being sworn in January.

But some experts said Roskam already needs to be looking at re-election strategies.

If U.S. Sen. Barack Obama decides to run for president in 2008, Roskam's seat may be in jeopardy since there will be an inevitable coattails effect for local Democrats, Woodiwiss said, so he will have to work doubly hard to remain in office.

"The sleep tank is full once again, so I'm ready," Roskam said, flashing one of his determined and heartfelt grins.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: 25,309 Downers Grove Township residents vote to stop fighting terrorism in Iraq

http://www.libertysuburban.com/story.php?pub=1&sid=72164

Glen Ellyn woman successful in ballot measure - Kevin Stahr

Downers Grove Township voters approve war question

The day after Downers Grove Township residents voted in favor of a rapid withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned his post.

Rumsfeld's departure was clearly linked to the national election results, as opposed to the local township advisory referendum measure. With 129 out of 129 precincts reporting as of Nov. 8, 25,309 township residents voted in favor of troop withdrawal while 20,795 opposed the idea.

Representatives of DuPage Against War Now, which initiated the ballot measure, were thrilled by the results, which showed 55 percent of voters backing immediate withdrawal.

"We were very pleased that the people of Downers Grove Township were able to express themselves at the polls," said DAWN co-founder and Glen Ellyn resident Kathy Slovick. "Overall the people want to see the troops come home."

Slovick is the author of The Glen Ellyn Grapevine that appears weekly in the Glen Ellyn News.

Voter turnout was strong on the issue, with 50 percent of registered voters weighing in on the war. Downers Grove Township serves Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Westmont and Willowbrook, as well as small portions of Oak Brook, Woodridge and unincorporated DuPage County.

Similar anti-war advisory votes in other townships and municipalities passed "overwhelmingly," Slovick said. Other communities voting in favor of ending the war included Oak Park (75 percent), Berwyn (70), Riverside (62), Aurora (58) and DeKalb (58).

Downers Grove resident Joe Pappalardo, a former commander and current member of the Alexander Bradley Burns American Legion Post 80 in Downers Grove, said people have a right to make their own decisions -- but he was upset by the results.

The Korean war veteran, who said he was speaking only for himself, said the votes would not serve as good morale boosters for local soldiers fighting in Iraq.

"It is like a defeat, almost. It is not only insulting, it is a slap in the face," Pappalardo said. "My opinion is this got to the troops, which I'm sure it will, they will ask, 'Why am I here?'"

Pappalardo said he would hate to see troops come home only to be treated in the same "unwarranted" manner many Vietnam veterans experienced more than 30 years ago. Pappalardo said he was surprised the issue even appeared on the Downers Grove Township ballot in the first place.

The way DAWN made its coordinated effort to post the question on the ballot irked township officials during their annual meeting, held last April. Residents attending the meeting can raise issues with township officials that need to be addressed, including placing a referendum measure on the ballot, by a simple majority vote of residents attending the meeting.

With 29 residents out of the township's 140,000 residents in attendance, the question made the ballot on a vote of 16 to 13.

William Swanston, a township trustee and Westmont resident, said they were "blind-sided" by DAWN's agenda and noted that the entire community did not have a say whether the question should be put up for a vote. National issues do not belong on local election ballots, Swanston added.

DAWN attempted similar efforts in the other 10 DuPage County townships, but failed in each.

Slovick said DAWN supports the troops, but members of both political parties have been wanting to have their voice heard in some capacity.

"We never considered this a partisan issue at all," she said.

DAWN will take the election results and reach out to the local legislators to discuss their stance on the war.

Whether residents agreed with whether the United States should have gotten involved in the war initially, Pappalardo said people should respect the fact their country, and especially their soldiers, have made a brave commitment to fight.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Liberty Suburban publishes nasty letter from Glen Ellyn Duckworth supporter Carol Dawe

http://www.libertysuburban.com/story.php?pub=1&sid=72082

Urges Roskam to represent entire district - Carol J. Dawe, Glen Ellyn

I am writing in response to comments Peter Roskam made in your article "6th to remain in GOP Control" (Page 1 Nov. 9 Glen Ellyn News/Wheaton Leader).

Mr. Roskam won the congressional seat in the 6th District by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin. This slim victory is quite remarkable and certainly reflects a huge change in political views within the district over the last several years.

My concern is that Mr. Roskam stated, "This is not a victory for Peter Roskam: It is a victory for a values system that we hold very dearly." Please, look around your district, Mr. Roskam. Forty-nine percent of those voting didn't vote for you. Are you saying that those voters don't have values? Are you saying that the 51 percent who did vote for you have better values than the 49 percent who didn't vote for you?

This election wasn't about values. It was about an opportunity to go in a new direction. The voters of the 6th District decided by a very narrow margin to stay the course. It is a shame but I respect the outcome of the election and I am proud to see that 49 percent of the voters of the 6th District embraced the opportunity for change and the ideas of your very capable opponent, Tammy Duckworth.

Mr. Roskam, I hope you value the opinions of all your constituents and that you represent all of us, not just those that voted for you or who you think might share your values because, as this election year reminded us, if a leader is out of touch with their voters, they will ultimately be voted out.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Liberty Suburban publishes nasty letter from Glen Ellyn Duckworth supporter Dennis Terdy

http://www.libertysuburban.com/story.php?pub=1&sid=72082

Roskam needs to listen to constituents - Dennis Terdy, Glen Ellyn 

Congratulations to Peter Roskam on his recent victory for the 6th Congressional District. I sincerely hope that he will reflect on the real election results.

Similar to the 8th and 10th congressional districts, there are lessons to be learned from these also closely watched elections. In one, a Democrat, Melissa Bean (8th) won re-election. In the other Mark Kirk (10th), a Republican, won re-election. In each of these, incumbents in both parties had significant races and worthy opponents. The national critics noted how each of these victorious candidates moderated their national party views during their tenure to "better reflect their changing constituencies."

That says it all. Mr. Roskam, I am not a blue voter nor am I a red voter. I am an informed voter. I found the attack ads by both parties both demeaning and embarrassing. Enough is enough.

I am a 20-year resident of the 6th District and have witnessed the changes. Mr. Roskam is now our congressional representative based on a mere 2 percent majority. Forty-nine percent of his new constituency did not vote for him. As I listened to his victory speech, I was encouraged about his comments related to reaching across to the "other side of the aisle." This is a nice effort, but frankly, I think Mr. Roskam misses the larger point.

Although such a measure is surely an honorable and welcomed gesture, it isn't what is needed. Our current Washington leadership is failing us all. In many cases Melissa Bean and Mark Kirk have stood their ground on issues that reflected their constituencies not their political parties, blue or red, and were re-elected. This was not an accident.

Frankly, I believe many of us are just plain tired and insulted by the current smug political climate of blue and red. We are the residents of Mr. Roskam's new 6th District. Listen to us, all of us.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Liberty Suburban publishes nasty letter from Wheaton Duckworth supporter Kelly Kerger

http://www.libertysuburban.com/story.php?pub=1&sid=72082

Independent will be watching Roskam - Kelly Kerger, Wheaton 

As a 17-year-old high school student, this year marked the last time I'll watch an election without being able to vote.

From my perspective as a neutral observer, the most interesting race was the Duckworth/Roskam contest in which: The Veterans of Foreign Wars (I emphasize the word veterans) endorsed Roskam instead of Duckworth who lost both legs in a helicopter crash in Iraq. Did the VFW really believe that Duckworth would not work on behalf of veterans as they said, or was gender and/or political affiliation the real reason for endorsing her opponent?

Embryonic stem cell research became a focal point after Michael J. Fox appeared in Wheaton to endorse Tammy Duckworth. Roskam responded with a local cancer patient who opposed embryonic stem cell research. It is hard for me to understand anyone who has a disability or disease that could be helped by embryonic stem cell research and treatment who would rather have an embryo thrown away than to save their life or that of their child.

I figure that since most Democrats as well as Republicans as diverse as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Orrin Hatch and John McCain all support the research, most opponents would be like Nancy Reagan and change their mind on the issue if it actually affected their own family. Would Roskam, whose beautiful young family was featured in hundreds of commercials, rather see one of his children spend their life in a wheelchair or die from some horrible disease while thousands of potentially lifesaving embryos continue to be thrown into the garbage?

Negative ads and inconsistency seemed to heat up as the race tightened. I found it very interesting that Roskam's ads blasted Duckworth's support of the Kennedy immigration bill and showed a picture of Ted Kennedy, the nemesis of the conservatives. What is so interesting is that the bill is the "Kennedy-McCain" or "McCain-Kennedy" bill and the co-sponsor is John McCain, whose name was never even mentioned in the ad. McCain did come to town to support Roskam, but considering McCain is a veteran who made great personal sacrifices for his country, who supports stem cell research and a moderate approach to immigration reform, wouldn't he have felt more at home at the Duckworth rally?

These are just the observations of an independent high school student and reflect my own personal views. I hope that when Mr. Roskam goes to Washington he'll remember that there are people like me, with no political affiliation or political agenda, who disagree with some of his policies -- and we'll be voting next time.

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Liberty Suburban publishes nasty letter from Glen Ellyn Duckworth supporter Ray Cliff

http://www.libertysuburban.com/story.php?pub=1&sid=72082

Incensed at 'values system' remark - Ray Cliff, Glen Ellyn 

Peter Roskam's self-serving comment that his was "a victory for our values system" is a laugh.

Has he taken a look, lately, at the pantheon of scandal-tainted "values party" congressmen, lobbyists and church leaders?

To suggest that Tammy Duckworth's values are somehow not as lofty as his own, is ridiculous. Not only are her values beyond reproach, it is plain for all to see that she has more guts than Congressman Roskam will ever have. "... a victory for our values system ..." The arrogance of the Christian Right is palpable.

ILLINOIS REVIEW
IR Star Conservative of the Week: Vern McCarthy - Fran Eaton
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2006/11/ir_star_conserv.html
Few conservative activists have attended as many functions, been involved in as many campaigns and taken in as many business cards as this week's Illinois Review Star Conservative -- Vern McCarthy.
Vern's smile, kind prodding to get something done, jovial heart and tireless encouragement stems decades.  As a matter of fact, this week, Vern McCarthy will join the octogenarian ranks.

A retired businessman, Vern hasn't ever wavered in his commitment to conservative values.  A premiere networker, if you need to find someone's number or email, Vern has it if it's available.  He's never without ideas and his energy and passion for conservative causes continues to make a difference.  He worked side-by-side with his son Brian to saturate the 6th Congressional District and win the seat for Peter Roskam.

Congratulations, Vern.  You are IR's Conservative of the Week. 

Happy 80th Birthday!

RAINBOW SASH MOVEMENT

DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Homosexual advocates attack the Catholic church

http://www.prnewswire.com/

The Gay and Lesbian's Catholics Challenges Anti Gay Bigotry of Catholic Bishops    CHICAGO, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- In their typical fashion the Catholic
Bishops of the United States meeting in Baltimore for their annual fall
meeting, have missed the mark in their recently adopted statement,
"Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination." The Rainbow Sash
Movement (RSM) believes the Bishops statement was so contorted and flawed
that it would alienate the people it was trying to reach.
    The RSM continues to call on all Catholics to create respectful tension
around the issue of Gay Marriage and call the Bishops to enter into
dialogue process that will both benefit the Church and GLBT Community.
However the Bishops do not have the last word on this matter.
    Clearly the statement on Ministry to the Homosexual person is very
hurtful to innocent people. To say Gay people can merely exist in the
shadows, and not in the light of day is an attack on the dignity of their
personhood. To say faithful GLBT lovers cannot get married harkens back to
days of the Inquisition. The Bishops are trying to promote in stealth
fashion the idea that Jesus Christ supports discrimination against GLBT
people. There is no biblical basis for such an idea, and the fact that they
will not publicly address this is another example of how out of touch that
have become with their own statements on Justice. Gay Marriage is a human
right and to deny it to loving couples who are same sex is clearly
discriminatory, and in our opinion unconstitutional.
    Promoting discrimination against the GLBT Community flies in the face
of Catholic Social Justice, and only further bankrupts the moral authority
of the Bishops. Perhaps the only silver lining to this dark cloud of faith
is that the ministry to Gay and Lesbian Catholics will continue, and that
includes GLBT Catholic couples. What the Vatican and Arch/diocese says
about bedroom issues is usually never listened to by either heterosexual or
homosexual Catholic couples.
    Perhaps it is time for GLBT Catholics to rethink their passive roll and
find more creative ways to create positive tension between our Bishops and
the GLBT Community. The question GLBT Catholics have to answer is will the
clerical closet mentality win the day, or will we find more effective ways
to challenge that mentality. To find out more about the Rainbow Sash
Movement please visit our web site at http://www.rainbowsashmovement.com.

AMERICANS FOR TRUTH

Elton John, "Banning Religion," and Criminalizing Christianity - Peter LaBarbera

http://americansfortruth.com/news/elton-john-wants-to-ban-religion-at-least-hes-honest-about-it.html

If you are banned by the state from acting on your faith and moral beliefs, then you are no longer free
The Human Rights Commission said that Brockie’s “rights as a Christian were subordinate to those of homosexuals not to be discriminated against,” and that he “must restrict the practice of Christianity to his home and church, and not take it with him into the public marketplace.”
Aging pop star and homosexual Elton John (pictured right with his longtime homosexual partner David Furnish) wants to “ban religion completely” because he says it promotes “hatred and spite against gays” (see Lifesite story below). People of faith are outraged, but do they understand that the homosexual lobby seeks to accomplish part of Elton’s dream–i.e., “banning” the outworking of traditional religion that results in speech and actions opposed to homosexuality?

There is an inherent incompatibility between rights based on homosexuality (”sexual orientation”) and traditional First Amendment and religious freedoms, especially for those who believe homosexual behavior is wrong. For a good book on this, I recommend my friend Janet Folger’s Criminalizing Christianity, available on her Faith2Action’s website.

Here’s a primer on how “gay” activists and the liberal political allies (including activist judges) are moving to ban the application of religion with regard to homosexuality:

I. Step One in banning religion (critical of homosexuality):
Push Christian and religious speech defending Biblical sexual morality to the fringes; punish it, harass it or outlaw it altogether.

In John’s England, a Christian pro-family advocate, Stephen Green of the group Christian Voice, was recently arrested by the South Wales Police “Minorities Support Unit” simply for passing out a Biblical flier opposed to homosexuality outside a “gay” Mardi Gras event. The charges were dropped, but free speech and religious liberty are in jeopardy in this once-Christian land, with UK police hot on the trail of “homophobic” speech.

Consider the case of 67-year-old Christian street preacher Harry Hammond, a sufferer of Asperger’s Syndrome who in 2001 was holding a sign in the town square of Bournemouth with this horribly subversive message: “Stop Immorality, Stop Homosexuality, Stop Lesbianism.” After Hammond was physically harassed by youths, with water poured on him and mud thrown at him, police arrested him (not the thugs) after receiving complaints from homosexuals about his placard.

Local magistrates found the preacher guilty under a 1986 law of using abusive, threatening or insulting speech that could cause harassment or distress to nearby homosexuals–even though it was Hammond who was harmed! Hammond’s sign was ordered destroyed as if it were a dangerous weapon (which seems to be how radical “queer” activists regard Biblical truth). The case was appealed to a High Court after Hammond died, but according to the Christian Voice, “the Court held that the magistrates were entitled to find the sign to be insulting because it appeared to relate homosexuality and lesbianism to immorality.” Click HERE for another good article about Hammond’s case.

Direct, Biblical speech condemning homosexuality as wrong or–God forbid–leading to hell appears to be the most likely target of “hate crimes” prosecution (or speech likely NOT to be protected by the courts) in these early days of government action protecting homosexuality as a “civil right” or “human right.”

Ralph Ovadal is a man who uses very direct speech to rally the public against the homosexual agenda. In 1996, in Madison, Wisconsin, Ovadal, then with Wisconsin Christians United (WCU), was assaulted while protesting a pro-homosexual event at a local elementary school. Despite the hateful motivation of the assailant (he despised one of the WCU signs, “Homosexuality Is Wrong“), and the existence of a strong “hate crimes” law in Madison, the attacker was never charged with a “hate crime.” Indeed, the battery charge against him was dropped and he received just a slap on the wrist despite the severe injuries caused to Ovadal.

How differently would the case have been handled had it been Ovadal who viciously attacked a homosexual protester?

II. Step Two in banning religion (critical of homosexuality):
Create a definition of the family that is unacceptable to Bible believers and traditional religions, then mandate that all social agencies, corporations and ministries adhere to that state definition.

Earlier this year in Boston, Catholic Charities of Boston announced that it was closing down its adoption agency after 100 years of operation, because the Church could not countenance placing adoptive children in homosexual households, which the Vatican regards as “gravely immoral.” Placing children in homosexual-led homes is required under the state’s pro-”gay” nondiscrimination law.

“Gay” rights trumps common sense, religious freedom and the best interest of children, again.

In California, a state “domestic partnership” (DP) law requires that large companies doing business with the government provide DP coverage for their employees. The state law followed a 1997 law in San Francisco (copied by New York and other major cities) that forced local businesses doing business with the city to carry DP benefits for homosexual couples if they offer benefits for married couples.

If moral-minded businessmen, landlords–and even Christian schools and popular ministries–are forced to recognize and reward sinful homosexual couples, then the practice of their religion has been banned in this key area of their life.

III. Step Three in banning religion (critical of homosexuality):
Add homosexuality (”sexual orientation”) and gender confusion (”gender identity”) to the list of criteria for “civil rights” laws–and “diversity” policies in corporations. Then enforce these laws and policies against Christians, chipping away at the concept of religious exemptions.

Universities like Ohio State and Arizona State, citing their school’s “sexual orientation” nondiscrimination codes, have asserted that homosexual students have the right hold to leadership positions in campus Christian groups despite the “gay” students’ refusal to sign a Christian Statement of Faith (part of which proscribes homosexual practice). It is interesting to note that the campus ministries are willing to let homosexual students attend their meetings but not to assume leadership roles if they reject the group’s core beliefs.

Seems reasonable to me: do I have a “right” to be on the Board of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force?

Last year in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Matt Barber (now AFT’s Corporate Outreach Director) was fired by Allstate Insurance Corp., after writing an online article critical of “gay marriage.” Allstate later settled with Barber as word was spreading about its anti-Christian “diversity” agenda.

In Minneapolis, the Police Department suspended Christian psychologist Mike Campion from its list of approved contractors for screening police candidates–following protests by liberal “diversity” advocates who learned that Campion once was a board member of the Illinois Family Institute, a state affiliate of Focus on the Family. Nobody came forth to file a discrimination complaint against Campion, yet he was not put back on the contractors’ list.

Outside Detroit, Michigan, (Catholic) Marian High School dismissed school guard Charlene Genther after Genther revealed her lesbianism in a book–in defiance of clear Church teachings. Jeff Montgomery, Michigan’s top homosexual activist, complained to the Detroit Free Press that such firings are allowed in Michigan since the state has no “sexual orientation” law. Thus Montgomery would deny the freedom of a Catholic school to make hiring and firing decisions based on its own religious beliefs?

If you are banned by the state from acting on your faith and moral beliefs, then you are no longer free.

In Canada, a Toronto printer and Christian, Scott Brockie, was fined $5,000 by the Ontario Human Rights Commission for refusing to print letterhead for the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Archives. Brockie incurred huge legal bills defending his name. In an interim report, the Human Rights Commission said that Brockie’s “rights as a Christian were subordinate to those of homosexuals not to be discriminated against,” and that he “must restrict the practice of Christianity to his home and church, and not take it with him into the public marketplace.” (See Step One above.)

Consider also the Boy Scouts of America, which in 2000 came within one vote on the U.S. Supreme Court of being forced to hire homosexual and atheist Scoutmasters, despite the Scouts’ creed of believing in God and being “morally straight.”

It’s easy to laugh off Elton John’s comments as just another nonsensical rant by a liberal celebrity. But he is “spot on,” as the Brits say, about the real target of the “gay/transgender” agenda: the faithful practice of true religion, with its pesky demands for sexual purity irrespective of society fads. The “gay” lobby is in the vanguard of the Left’s effort to demonize Christians and traditionalists as “haters, “discriminators,” and irrational “homophobes.” (One homosexual militant, Mel White, who left his wife to become a “gay Christian” propagandist, mischievously argues that traditional Bible believers who oppose “gay rights” are guilty of “spiritual violence” against homosexuals.)

These activists are lobbying hard for federal (”gay”-inclusive) “hate crimes” and a federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) to strengthen America’s growing network of state and local “sexual orientation” laws. Sooner or later, they will use these laws to further criminalize “anti-gay” speech and actions.

Believers and pastors, wake up: there is an inevitable clash between homosexual-based “rights” and religious freedoms, and you can bet that “gay” activists and lawyers will not go to the wall to defend our liberties as Christians, especially when they are already smearing us as “haters.”

We’ve seen the future of “gay rights” in Canada and Europe and it is not a happy one for Christians unwilling to compromise on sexual morality. Ban religion? Well, not exactly. How about just “homophobic” religion?

Here’s two terrific resources by Robert Knight, former director of the Culture & Family Institute of Concerned Women for America:

Talking Points: The Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA)
‘Hate Crime’ Laws: An Assault on Freedom
___________________________________________

What Elton John Said…

The following is excerpted from Elton John: Religion Causes Hatred of Gays; “I Would Ban Religion Completely”, by John-Henry Westen, published Nov 13, 2006, by LifeSite News:

Homosexual activism has led singer Elton John to call for the banning of all religion. In a discussion last August with Jake Shears of Scissors Sisters and published yesterday by The Observer Music Monthly, Elton John said:

“I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. But there are so many Christian people I know who are gay and love their religion . . . From my point of view I would ban religion completely, even though there are some wonderful things about it. I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I collected all the little stickers and put them in my book. But the reality is that organised religion doesn’t seem to work. It turns people into hateful lemmings and it’s not really compassionate.”

The UK Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) jumped on the opportunity to bash Christianity.

GALHA’s secretary George Broadhead said: “It should be quite clear to anyone that these days most hostility to gay relationships and gay rights comes from religious sources, notably Evangelical Anglicans, Christian pressure groups like the Christian Institute, the Vatican, and Islamic organisations.

“Hardly a day passes without some anti-gay proclamations, fatwa or edict being issued by one religious leader or another,” he said.

“Sir Elton John speaks for many when he pinpoints religion as a primary generator of homophobia,” Mr. Broadhead concluded.

TOM ROESER
Lisa Madigan…Dems Giddy with Success…An Elected State Central Committee as Crown Jewel for GOP Reform?...Bumping into Topinka
http://www.tomroeser.com/blogs/blogview.asp?blogID=23161
Lisa.

During the two days I was in Springfield (which necessitated my foregoing an issue of this Report) I spoke to a good many people-particularly Democrats (the more celebratory people in town these days since they intensified their strength in the Senate and added to their House margin by one)-and asked them about a rumor that was recurring with a good many of them during the late campaign. It was the rumor that our governor may well get indicted. Evidently it was the latest variant of “rumors in the bars” because the same purveyors of the idea seemed more relaxed and interested in other matters…some telling me that, on reflection, no, the governor won’t be indicted.

Which sort of pops the rumor balloon. I had been dining out on the idea that he will be indicted and that if he were to have the grace to resign to spend full-time defending himself, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, of course, would succeed to the job and with his ever-green budding liberalism would be a deterrent for Attorney General Lisa Madigan to run. But throughout the day…not just once…I was told flatly by Democrats-even those who had been critical of him during campaign season…that (a) Blagojevich will not be indicted; b) if it happened there would be no likelihood he would resign under the justifiable theory that a man is innocent until proven guilty and (c) even in case of resignation and the ascension of Pat Quinn, Lisa would…and should…run for governor in the next primary because her popularity is so great that she would have no trouble dislodging him and going on to win the governorship.

Giddy with Success.

The Democrats are giddy with success and I don’t blame them. They remind me of how I felt in the hazy Springtime of my youth after Reagan won and made the presidency-which Jimmy Carter had said was too much for any single man to do-a part-time job…with luxurious naps and enjoyable vacations all the while frustrating Tip O’Neill, cutting taxes, sending the economy spurting, out-foxing the Russians whose leaders kept dying on him and when one took over who was to stick around for a while, causing the whole superstructure to totter. Now the Democrats in Springfield justifiably see the world turning to them: they have an undeniable Superstar Barack Obama for president. Every Democrat I spoke with was a bona-fide Obama fan for president. There wasn’t a mention of any other competitor. And on the state level, everyone I spoke to was an enthusiastic Lisa Madigan booster for governor-proud that this slim young lady who once was regarded as just another heir to a family dynasty has emerged herself as a super-bright young woman. And I cannot fault them.

Elected State Central as Cure-All?

So I turn back to my old down-in-the-shoes party. There’s Chris Lauzen running for the U. S. House to replace Denny Hastert, taking up the “reform” that the State Central Committee of the GOP ought to be elected by the people in order to give it new vigor…and in whose behalf he rails that Tom Cross is the impediment. I don’t know if Tom is or not--but does Chris know that time was when the State Central Committee was so chosen? And as an assistant to the National Committeeman, I saw it in action…I mean inaction?

And what leadership did we have? We had as state chairman, an elderly Robinson newspaper editor named Victor Smith who could not make up his mind what he would have for lunch or where…followed by Don (Doc) Adams of Springfield. The party was run then by a group called the Bourbons…wealthy financiers from Illinois-a hell of a lot better than the current “Combine” by the way in that they were all bona fide Republicans who didn’t truckle with the Dems (with the exception of where Richard J. Daley was concerned)…who gathered around various so-called political leaders: Chuck Percy, Everett Dirksen, Bill Scott, Dick Ogilvie, W. Russell Arrington, and to some extent, John Anderson. The point is, my dear Chris this idea of an elected State Central Committee-not appointed-which you celebrate as the end-all, be-all, did absolutely nothing to instill the party with vigor. As a matter of fact, when I attended those meetings as a kind of surrogate for the Republican National Committeeman, I would often sit next to one of the elected bright leaders of vision who was elected by the people: State Senator Pete Granata, a charter member of the West Side mob, who packed a gun under the fold of his double-breasted, who sat in on all the meetings while trimming his expensively manicured fingers with a pen-knife all the while whispering to me delightful stories about Big Bill Thompson.

I expect to get a letter from Chris on this festooned with the usual frowning face emitting tears on the bottom following the signature…as he has on earlier ones when he chastised me for being insufficiently conservative. To forestall the letter, let me say that I tend to support the idea Chris has recycled-if it will spur Republicans to put up good candidates…which it didn’t last time. But I certainly don’t think that general election of the State Central committee is a cure-all.

Bumping into Optimism at Last.

All too soon, my stay two-days in Springfield came to an end and I trooped to the front door, past the guards who run entrants through the metal machinery, having just told someone: “One good thing: we’re finished with the last vestige of the `Combine’ and I won’t have to think about her again”…when she and I almost collided-she coming in the door and I exiting swiftly. Judy Baar Topinka and I were momentarily shocked so we tossed each other sprightly hellos and moved on. I will say, judging from her concession statement where she was beaming…almost radiant…she looked enormously relieved that the campaign was over and she didn’t have to knuckle down to the arduous task of governing. And I will add that when she flashed me a campaign smile it was similarly luminescent. Getting into the car, I reflected that the world is not as bad off as I earlier surmised: perhaps those of us who didn’t vote for her scored three definite positive hits-sparing her from election which she may well have abhorred…sparing the Republican party from four more years of indentured membership in the “Combine”…and making the world a little bit happier for her.