“To the Dark Side,” I’m sure many reporters would suggest, but going into politics is an honored career path for British reporters.

I figure going from being a reporter to public relations qualifies as much as going to “the Dark Side” as running for office.

Anyway, former courthouse reporter Mark Bonne, more recently of Rockford publications, ran unsuccessfully for 14th Ward alderman.

Now, he’s done both.

Bonne earns his living now as spokesman for the Rockford School District.

Bonne is aligned with State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford.

One of the commenters under the above linked column by political columnist Chuck Sweeney was none to kind in describing Bonne as a “RINO,” which stands for “Republican in Name Only.”

In January Bonne held a fund raiser featuring former Rockford Congressman and Presidential John B. Anderson.

I haven’t seen Anderson since crossing paths at Waukegan’s WKRS in 1980 when he was running for president and I was running unsuccessfully against incumbent Bob McClory for congress. He was walking out as I was walking in.

The race was a three-way one with Bonne running as an independent, the Republicans running Edward Geeser. Former Rockford Fire Chief Bill Robertson won the election as a Democrat.

Bonne was forced to run as an Independent because he voted in the previous Democratic primary election. But he wasn’t alone. Robertson was kicked off the ballot because he voted in the previous Republican primary and also ran as an independent. The Republican Party’s candidate had to be slated twice because of mistakes the first time around.

The results were 49% for the “independent” ex-fire chief, 29% for “independent” Bonne and 24% for the official Republican.

In Rockford no incumbent lost and those who retired were all replaced by candidates from the same party, except in this ward.

Bonne will always have a warm place in my heart for the NW Herald interview he did of my father. I played the tape in Dave Bachmann’s funeral home, which pretty much freaked some people out.

At the NW Herald, Bonne was a too tenacious courthouse reporter, uncovering petition forgeries that led to the resignations of a county treasurer and county board member.

It was known as the coffee cup-Wite-out scandal.

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The Darth Vader you see was in the 4th of July Parade two years ago in Crystal Lake.