A politician can probably be best judged by the depth he will sink to get elected.

I remember Jack Franks once being outraged that someone had put up a sign identifying his religion on Route 31 right before or on election day.  I wonder if he will be surprised at the similar outrage that John O’Neill probably has about the mailing you’ll see at the bottom of this overly long article.

Previously, I shared his first mailing. You remember, the one where he promotes himself as an “Independent,” (but does not say he will vote against House Speaker Mike Madigan, the major problem in Illinois.)  You can find it here.

Franks has sent out two more “positive” pieces and another one has come from a surrogate group that so far has failed to file any identification papers with either the State Board of Elections or the McHenry County Clerk.  This group has sent out a “hit piece” on John O’Neill, the first Republican brave enough to face him down in six years. Stay tuned on Saturday.

I don’t know which of the pieces Franks is willing to identify himself with went out first, so I’ll show you the first one on the scanner:

So, what’s the problem with his claims?

Franks worked closely with Rod Blagojevich after he was elected. The bulk prescription drug proposal that Franks had pushed with great publicity was one area of cooperation.

Here are the contributions that Herb Franks, Jack’s father, made to Friends of Blagojevich:

• 11/30/2001 – $5,000
• 1/13/2002 – $100
• 6/10/2002 – $500
• 6/25/2002 – $5,000
• 10/10/2002 – $2,000 In-Kind Contribution

During that time he sent the following memo to the Blago patronage woman seeking “positions” for his friends and family:

If you can find any evidence that Franks opposed Blagojevich before the 2006 election, please let me know.

I have written about the phony Recall Amendment previously. No one is covered but a governor like Rod Blagojevich. If approved, it will be the weakest Recall language in any state. It give political cover to its supporters to be able to say they did something, when in fact they just are spinning the voters’ wheels in mud.  Lots of motion, but none of it forward toward real reform.

Franks says he is for term limits for legislative leaders, an idea I pushed vigorously when I ran for Governor against Rod Blagojevich in 2002.  He has made no effort anyone can see to limit House Speaker Mike Madigan’s reign.

Term limits for himself do not seem to be in the picture.  Franks is running for this seventh term. I have never heard of any term limit advocate favoring legislators serving longer that twelve years.  If Franks wins, he will be starting his 13th year.

The other side of this first mailing looks like this:

As to using one’s office for personal purposes, perhaps Franks can explain the following letters communications with state agencies in support of Mercy Health System’s application to build a hospital in Crystal Lake:

I would assume that Franks did not do this as a constituent service for Mercy Health Systems.

This article is already way too long, so I’ll look at the third Franks’ mailing tomorrow.
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The second article in this series can be found here.