McHenry County Blog

I got this email from Mary McClellan, the Secretary of the Nunda Township Republican Central Committee:

Dan Rutherford

“We have a opportunity to talk with Dan Rutherford and meet Lee Jeenings who is running in a contested race against an independent.

“We are trying to raise enough money to support a republican candidate mailing.

“If you can’t make it you can mail a check to support Lee Jennings to jennings4nunda 730 Area Dr. McHenry, IL 60051.

“We will also have tickets available you can respond and I will get you your tickets before the date.

“Thank you for your help in getting good people elected to unite Nunda Township and get us on the right track.”

Illinois State Treasurer Rutherford, of course, is an all-but-announced candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor.  He has said that he does not wish to announce before the April 9th local elections.

The invitation below says that the fundraiser is to support the candidacy of Lee Jennings for Township Supervisor. Jennings won a narrow eleven vote margin. Yesterday his primary opponent Bridgett Provenzano endorsed his candidacy.

Pretty amazing that a losing Congressional candidate would be interviewed by liberal commentator Carol Marin, but on Wednesday night, there was Joe Walsh, all alone, answering her questions on WTTW.

Under the posted interview is the following explanation:

“National star of the Republican Party, Joe Walsh, joins us to talk about the state of the GOP in Illinois, and what’s next on his agenda.”

Walsh was asked if he were running again for something.

“You wouldn’t deny that, would you?”

“Not at all,” Walsh replied in his calm TV manner.

“I don’t know if another run is in the cards. That’s in God’s hands.”

Marin interspersed comments by Walsh that made nightly news shows during the campaign.

Acknowledging the “gotcha” kind of politics we live in, Walsh replied by explaining that he had more constituent contact than any other congressman and it was impossible not to make mistakes here and there.

With regard to his lack of reaction to the attacks made on him with regard to abortion, he said that he should have pointed out that Tammy Duckworth favored using taxpayer dollars to finance abortions. [My disagreement with that approach has already been written.]

“We train our politicians to act like seals and not say anything to offend voters,” Walsh said.

Marin wanted to know if the Tea Party ship had sailed.

“Gosh, no,” Walsh replied, saying the size of government and the problem of piling debt on the back of our children was still a fervent issue.

He pointed out that Tea Party adherents came with views on social issues than spanned the spectrum, but pointed out that he was “Pro-Life without exception.”

How about the chance to be a radio talk show host on WIND syndicated by the Salem Radio Network?

“There’s an opportunity.”

“There are discussions.”

And what did he say about potential Republican gubernatorial opponents and other Republicans?

• Bill Brady – Shouldn’t run again. He’s run twice.
• Kirk Dillard – Nice man. He’s been down in Springfield forever.
• Dan Rutherford – Nice man. He’s been down in Springfield forever.
• Adan Kinzinger – You know what, not as conservative as people think, but a good congressman.
• Christine Radogno – Part of the problem. The face of the Republican Party along with Tom Cross, a Republican Party in Illinois, Carol, that has been devoid of any ideas. We haven’t stood for anything, which has enabled the Democrats to run the state into the ground.
• Judy Baar Topinka – Go to Florida and just retire and have a good life.
• Bruce Rauner – He’s a Democrat. Bruce Runner and again I know got gazillion dollars and he wants to run for governor as a Republican. He’s Rahm Emmanuel’s best friend. He’s given Democrats more money than he’s given Republicans. He gave Mike Madigan’s House candidates money. I just don’t think he’s a Republican.
• Peter Roskam – Great congressman
• Randy Hultgren – Nice man. Very good congressman.
• Mark Kirk – God, it was good to see him walk up those steps and I hope and sincerely hope and pray every day that he can stay where he is and do his job. (So you would support him?) Oh, gosh yeah. And, again, Carol, Mark Kirk and I are very different Republicans, but we’re still under that big tent.

Listening to the radio mid-day yesterday, I heard a story about just-out-of office Congressman Joe Walsh coming out against gay marriage at a Tea Party meeting he addressed.

He also expressed support for the Second Amendment and repealing the Democrats 67% state income tax hike.

(That income tax hike, by the way, might be noticed for the first time by Illinois taxpayers in their next pay checks.  That’s because when it went into affect two years ago, it did so at the same time that the Feds cut Social Security tax by the same number of percentage points.  That cut existed until the Fiscal Cliff tax hike legislation passed.)

All the potential Democratic Party candidates, I would imagine, are on the opposite side of these three incendiary issues.

Add in abortion and Walsh and Pat Quinn (or whoever) would have four differences on cutting edge issues, economic and social.

So why is the media paying any attention (see the Daily Herald, Crain’s Chicago Business) to a politician that liberals wished were completely washed up?

In spite of being number one on the Democrat’s hit list.

It’s because Joe Walsh can still draw a crowd.

A hundred showed up Thursday night in Arlington Heights to hear him.

But, before getting the chance to face off against a Democrat, Walsh would have to win a Republican primary election in 2014.

There is one Republican who voted for civil unions while State Senator.

Not gay marriage, granted, but close.

He’s State Treasurer and former State Rep. and Senator Dan Rutherford.

The evidence is below:

Might Joe Walsh be positioning himself for a race against Dan Rutherford for the GOP nomination for Governor?

Two potential contenders for the Republican nomination for Governor spoke to Party faithful at the McHenry County Country Club Wednesday.

During the cocktail time before dinner State Treasurer Dan Rutherford spoke after an effusive introduction by Party Chairman Mike Tryon.

Rutherford left before dinner.

After dinner State Senator Kirk Dillard was introduced as a potential candidate for Governor by Tryon.

But not before Tryon said,

“We’re fixing to have a right turn.”

The former DuPage County GOP Chairman, State Senator and Republican gubernatorial primary candidate who was barely edged out by Bill Brady spoke of the importance of McHenry County in statewide races and why Illinois needed a Republican Governor after Democrat Pat Quinn.

Although Republican Precinct Committeemen were told that Congressmen Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgren would be attending the event, they weren’t there after I arrived at about 4:20.

I was looking forward to chatting with them.

State Senator Pam Althoff enjoyed my comparison of her happy dance to that of Snoopy.

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay was in attendance making post State Senate primary connections.

Also speaking to the group after dinner was GOP State Rep. candidate David McSweeney.

Rumors that Independent opponent Dee Beaubien might attend the event were found to be incorrect.

McSweeney has developed a good “stump speech” which takes first aim at replacing Democrat Mike Madigan as Illinois House Speaker.

I continue to bemoan the fact that besides electing McSweeney, a sure vote for Madigan’s opponent Tom Cross, with no opposition being fielded against Democrat State Rep. Jack Franks, the only thing McHenry County residents for major chance in Springfield can do is help Mike Tryon put together the $10,000 he is assessed annually for GOP House races elsewhere and the $20,000 that Pam Althoff has to provide for State Senate races where a Democrat might be taken out.

There were a number of McHenry County Board members at the event.

With the possibility of having missed some County Board members and candidates, here are the ones I saw or heard introduced:

• Mary Donner
• John Hammerand
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Ken Koehler
• Donna Kurtz
• Mary McCann
• Anna May Miller
• Nick Provenzano
• Ersel Schuster
• Michael Rein

Most countywide officers and candidates were present, too:

• Katherine Keefe
• Dr. Anne Majewski
• Pam Palmer
• Kathie Schultz
• Phyllis Walters

Missing were the two men:

• Lou Bianchi
• Keith Nygren

Leslie Schermerhorn, the newly-appointed Regional Superintendent of Schools was in Springfield meeting with Illinois State Superintendent of Education Christopher Koch and attending Health/Life/Safety inspection training, she told me.

The winner of the main door prize was newly-elected Republican Precinct Committeeman from Fox River Grove Andrew Gasser.  It was a Jack Daniels barbeque kit, complete with a pint of the real stuff.

The 50-50 raffle was won by Woodstock’s John Cole.  He took home $445.

GOP Executive Director thanked Crystal Lake Committeeman Jim Thompson for making the calls to make the event the best in the last six years.

The guest speaker for McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler’s Koehlerfest was State Treasurer Dan Rutherford.

Meeting at Lakeside Center’s dining room, Koehler introduced him as “a good friend of McHenry County.”

The gathering of Koehler supporters was also “Chainsaw Jack” Franks’ prospective opponent Tonya Franklin’s “coming out party.”

Introduced to Koehler as the woman who was going to keep Jack Franks off his back, Franklin received nothing but encouragement.

He said he would be at the Special Meeting of the County Central Committee at 9 AM at D’Andrea’s in Crystal Lake on this Saturday morning.

Koehler noted that he is the only Republican elected official to take Franks on.

As Tonya worked the room, those trying to suppress turnout sufficiently so there will not be a quorum on Saturday morning were seen talking to Precinct Committeemen with whom she had talked.

While they were doing their thing, I was trying to find people to fill empty precincts.

One Koehler contributor seemed quite interested so I passed his name onto Tom McDermott, who heads the Algonquin Township Committee looking for people willing to work in the fall election.

I ran into former McHenry County Republican Party Chairman Jack Schaffer, who was State Senator in the 1970′s (and beyond), and introduced him to Tonya.

“Go get them,” he said encouragingly.

Other candidates were in attendance.

Working the room most systematically was GOP State Rep. candidate David McSweeney.

He is still unopposed, although Dee Beaubien is circulating petitions to gain ballot access as an Independent.

To be a candidate, Beaubien has to file petition signatures in Springfield the same as Tonya Franklin.

The woman slated to run for McHenry County Superintendent of Schools by the Central Committee, Leslie Schermerhorn, was in attendance with a number of family members.

McHenry County State’s attorney was in attendance.  He greeted Tonya Franklin warmly.

I also saw County Board candidates Yvonne Barnes, from Cary and running in District 1, and District 2 candidate Carolyn Schofield, currently serving on the Crystal Lake City Council.

District 5 candidate John Jung, who lives in Bull Valley and is the Republican Precinct Committeeman in the only Jack Franks precinct containing part of Crystal Lake, was at the event with his wife and newly-appointed Dorr Township Precinct Committeeman Josie.

= = = = =
If I missed a candidate, please let me know in a comment so I can complete the story.

I gave you the information passed on by Presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s Illinois Chairman here.

Now, here’s what Santorum’s Illinois Coordinator Jon Zahm says,

“Leadership from the

• Romney campaign (Dan Rutherford),
• Gingrich campaign (Bruce Hansen and Nick Provenzano),
• Paul campaign (Chris Younce) and
• Santorum campaign (Al Salvi and Jon Zahm)

have agreed today to withdraw all petition challenges in Illinois against one another’s statewide and delegate petitions.

“This is a victory for unity and for allowing these volunteer driven grassroots campaigns to go forward and voters to have more choices.

“Kudos to all involved.”

Previously, Newt Gingrich’s State Coordinator Nick Provenzano left this comment:

Nick Provenzano

“The only reason why Newt’s petition signatures for Delegates and Alternate Delegates were not challenged was because they were properly filed with double the required signatures.”In almost every district we filed with 1,200 signatures only needing 600.

“The Newt petition challenge that Jon Zahm filed against us can’t be for lack of signatures.

“For Newt’s petition we collected 6,200 signatures, the minimum was 3,000 but the state would only let us file 5,000.

“So we picked the best of the best 5,000 signatures.

“We also used Newt’s home address on his statement of Candidacy which might be the basis of contention against the other Candidates.

“Nick Provenzano, State Political Director, http://www.IllinoisWithNewt.org“

Just got a call from Rick Santorum’s Illinois Chairman Al Salvi with the news that the waters have calmed in the land of Illinois Presidential sweepstakes.

The challenges that Dan Rutherford’s Mitt Romney folks filed against delegate slates with too few petition signatures will be withdrawn.

In return, the challenges filed by the Santorum forces against Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will also disappear in the minutia of history.

“Dan Rutherford and I talked this evening and agreed that it would be in the best interests of the Republican Party and the voters of the state to withdraw all challenges and to allow all candidates on the ballot,” Salvi said.

Previously Santorum and Newt Gingrich forces reached an agreement to withdraw challenges filed against each other.

The Republicans standing in a circular firing squad had now devolved into a Mexican standoff.

The Romney folks. led by State Treasurer and gubernatorial aspirant Dan Rutherford has people challenging Delegate slates of Rick Santorum pretty much all over Illinois.

A challenge from a Robinson supporter of Newt Gingrich has now seen fit to withdraw his separate objections to Santorum petitions.

Now it is the Santorum forces playing a game of chicken with those led by Rutherford.

Santorum supporters have challenged Mitt Romey’s right to appear in the beauty contest in Illinois.  No Delegates are at stake, but it would be severely embarrassing if Romeny’s name didn’t appear on TV screens as the popular vote is counted on the night of March 20th.

Think of the negative publicity that Gingrich and Santorum got when they did not make the Virginia GOP primary ballot.

The ammunition that Santorum has ready to fire to keep Romney off the ballot is unpublicized.

Rutherford’s Romney objections are based on there being too few signatures on the petitions challenged.

This post from Santorum State Coordinator Jon Zahm appeared today on the Rick Santorum Illinois web site:

Gingrich Illinois With Newt Team is for Republican Unity and Fair Play

“I have just reached agreement with Illinois With Newt that their supporter in Robinson Illinois will release his challenges to the Santorum petitions in exchange for me releasing my challenge to Newt’s.

“This is an example of the type of unity and class that is possible to achieve.

“Will Dan Rutherford and the Romney team do likewise for the betterment of Illinois?

“I hope so.

“It is not too late.

“Yet.”

Delegate candidate and Pro-Life leader Penny Pullen commented:

“I guess we know who the gentleman is and isn’t.

“Thanks, Jon and all those who helped, for securing this victory.

“Pray now for the Romney team to see how deeply they are wounding their own candidate and for their state chairman to see how he is jeopardizing his own future.”

The song, “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” runs through my mind as I write this story.

I guess the word “objections” has the same number of syllables.

If the objections are to be believed, Republicans handling Presidential campaigns in Illinois have done more than slip on a a few banana peels.

Republican Party participants, led by State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, the head of the Mitt Romney campaign, and Jon Zahm, State Coordinate for the Rick Santorum campaign, appear to be adopting the stance of a circular firing squad.

Or maybe a game of chicken would be a more apt analogy.

Regardless, it’s pretty typical behavior for Illinois Republicans.

Rutherford’s Romney allies challenged a majority of the Santorum Delegate slates in Illinois.

Apparently ready to counterattack, Zahm then filed objections to the beauty contest petitions for Romney, Gingrich, Paul and Perry.

Let’s put the objections in chronological order by time of filing.

At 4:35 on Friday, January 13th, 1st Congressional District Romney Alternate Delegate candidate Sherri Griffith filed an objection against Santorum candidates Eric Wallace, Jennifer Wallace and Gina Danahar, plus Alternate candidate Sandra K. Czyznikiewicz, Karen Hayes and Nicholas Tieman.

Also time stamped at 4:35, objections were filed by Romney Delegate candidate Marjorie Malone against 2nd District Delegate candidates David E. Smith, Caesar I. LeFlore and Jay Farquhar, not the mention Alternate candidates George Pearson and James Skutt.

One minute later, at 4:36, the Dan Rutherford-led Romney campaign filed objections to the 15th Congressional District Santorum slate. Romney Alternate Delegate candidate Ron Loudermilk signed the paperwork to remove Santorum Delegate candidates John Hagen, John Hurst and Loren Heal. Alternate delegate candidates whose candidacies were challenged are Corey Walters and Margaret Hagen.

Also at 4:36, James Broerman filed objections for Santorum’s slate in the 16th Congressional District. Delegate candidates targeted were Chris Arndt, Jan Peterson and Dennis S. Kosinski. Alternates candidates challenged were Bill Cross and Barbara Offill. (Broerman is not on Romney’s slate in the 16th, but Romney State Chairman Dan Rutherford is.  Considering when the objection was filed, circumstantial evidence strongly points to Broerman’s being a stalking horse for Rutherford.)

Romney Alternate Delegate candidate George Offord drew the short straw for the Romney campaign in the 3rd Congressional District. His petition objection was filed at 4:36 against Delegate candidates Richard Grabowski, Thomas M. Mann and Lynn Livesay. In addition, Alternate candidates Jaqueline Grabowski and Dean Mann petitions were challenged.

In the 10th District Romney Delegate candidate Steve Kim filed the objections at 4:36. They were against Delegate candidates Tony Raymond, Bonnie Quirke and Dan Surgue, plus Alternate Delegate candidates Michele Raymond, Jim Quirke and Rachael McCarthy.

Included in the 4:36 submission were also the 10th District objection was filed by Bollingbrook Mayor and Romney Delegate candidate Roger Claar to the Delegate petitions of John Gardner Huff, Cynthia Schneider and Ignacio G. “Jerry” Ramirez. I see no alternate candidates running.

Romney Delegate candidate Jeffrey M. Diederich filed against the Santorum slate in the 12th District at 4:36. Delegates whose candidacies are at stake are Dalton Gray, Michelle Sharp and Sharee Langenstein. Alternates on the slate are Michael Langenstein and Paul Wilcoxen.

Also at 4:36, an objection was filed to challenge the Santorum slate headed by Santorum State Coordinator Jon Zahm and Delegate running mates Rick Nordstrom and Kay Ferris, plus Alternate hopefuls Doug Crow and Vance DeBruine. The objection was filed by Galena Romney Delegate candidate Andy Blankenbaker.

Still another Romney petition objection was stamped in at 4:36. Bloomington Romney Alternte Delegate Eugene Lorch signed the paperwork. It was for the 18th District where Elizabeth Eilers, Charles Trovillion, David Hulliger and Richard Keller are running for Delegate in support of Santorum. Michael H. Baker and Frank W. (Bill) Dragoo are the Alternate aspirants.

Rick Santorum’s Illinois coordinator Jon Zahm filed objections against Mitt Romney’s and Ron Paul’s petitions at 4:47 in the afternoon on Friday. That’s just 13 minutes before the statutory deadline at the Illinois State Board of Elections and, obviously, after the Romney objections were filed against the Santorum petitions the collection of which he coodinated.

Zahm has maintained that tradition in Illinois does not have Republican Presidential candidates challenging other candidates’ petitions.

Not this year, it seems.

At 4:48, a minute later, Zahm filed an objection to Newt Gingrich’s and Rick Perry’s petitions.

At 4:49 James A. Runyon added a second objection to the slate of Santorum delegates in the 15th Congressional District.

And, at 4:50 the same Runyon challenged Santorum’s beauty contest petitions.

Only Buddy Roemer’s petitions escaped an objection.

Santorum’s Delegate and Alternate petitions were not challenged in 6th, 8th, 9th and 14th Congressional Districts.

The the 6th and 14th Districts cover McHenry County after the 2012 election.

Looking at what is on the web site of the State Board, I see that Ron Paul’s petitions use a Virginia address, obviously not his Texas residence, while Texas Governor Rick Perry claims to live in a post office box.

The statements of candidacy are not on the web site, so only those who make a trip to the Election Board’s Springfield offices know the details.

Given the late start of the Santorum campaign to gather petition signatures, it seems likes that some or maybe all of the ones challenged don’t have the number of good signatures required by law.

But could there be other aspects to the challenges that remain unknown to all but those closest to the action?

Assuming that lots of Santorum candidates have fallen short of the legal requirement, if Romney folks withdraw their objections, won’t the reason for such action be delicious?

When I was staying at the Hotel Governor (now a parking lot where the the Old Capitol Art Fair Wine Tasting is held), the cheapest place in the Illinois State Capitol to rent a room, there was a row of apartment buildings across the street.

Cheapskates besides me who stayed there included

• State Senator Prescott Bloom, who gave his life trying to save both of his children when his Peoria home burned,  and
• State Rep. Lew Caldwell, an independent black Chicago Democrat with a Northwestern University Social Work Master’s Degree, who authored “The Policy King.”

It was also used as a place at least one State Senator rented to have a one night stand. The noise on the other side of the wall kept me awake a bit longer than I normally would have been.

I remember one of buildings across the street had a bar on the first floor where I sometimes bought popcorn.

Above the street level establishments were reputed to be ladies of ill repute. I was told that was where the “Springfield wife” (that’s what the girl friends were called) of a pious Northern Illinois lived. Right across from the infamous St. Nicholas Hotel (where Secretary of State Paul Powell of cash in shoe box fame stayed).

In any event, when Bill Cellini’s company bought up the property and put in what I thought was a totally senior citizens housing development, it was considered quite an improvement for Downtown Springfield.

Much as the construction of the hotel built by Cellini’s investment group with state help engineered by Governor Jim Thompson and Treasurer Jerry Cosentino was praised because they replaced Springfield’s skid row.

Now with Cellini’s having been convicted of assorted politically-connected nastiness’s, any politician with a Cellini connection seems fair game for the media.

Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is living in an apartment there at state expense. (Apparently, the building houses more than senior apartments.)

And Cellini family members and family-owned firms own the building.

$1,600 a month rent for a Springfield residence that Rutherford, as a state official, is required to maintain.  (George Ryan had a duplex when he was Secretary of State).

Draw your own conclusion as to the propriety.

On other matters, remember that Rutherford is head of the Mitt Romney campaign for the second time around.

Remember that Romney was not at all pleased that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald prosecuted, let alone convicted Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s guy.

Is anyone but me sure that Fitzgerald will not be reappointed if Romney is elected?