McHenry County Blog

News reports said that former Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor Jim Ryan wanted the coveted last spot who vastly out-polled my Libertarian Party candidacy but succumbed to serial liar Rod Blagojevich chickened out today.

Again.

As I have shared previously, when I was in grad school at the University of Michigan, I found a paper than analyzed the impact of ballot order on election results.

The researchers looked at paper ballots for a Michigan city near Detroit. In races of six or more, first place was worth an extra 10%. Second and last place on the ballot were worth another 5%.

There are seven people running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Worst place on the ballot was next to last.

That’s where Jim Ryan ended up.

He blinked at 4:18 PM this afternoon.

Andy McKenna filed seven minutes later.

We won’t know who gets the justifiably coveted first place on the ballot until the lottery, but we know that McKenna didn’t blink and file before any other GOP gubernatorial candidate.

Inexplicably, political consultant Dan Proft filed even earlier than Ryan at 3:26.

Was it the day that former Governor Jim Edgar endorsed State Senator Kirk Dillard for the Republican nomination for governor or the day after?

Had Google’s Blogger allowed me to post an article whatever day it was, I would have done so.

I was reminded I did not when a letter endorsing Dillard arrived in Friday’s mail.

It wasn’t personalized. Just a “Skinner Household” piece.

The corner card of the envelope reminded us that it was from “GOVERNOR JIM EDGAR.”

Oh, well.

One has to have a big ego if one is elected governor.

Edgar pitches Dillard’s role as his chief of staff during tough economic times.

Fair enough.

Edgar asks “Friends” to support Dillard’s campaign by volunteering or putting up a yard sign.

Strangely, no way is given to contact the Dillard campaign.

This is article number 6 that McHenry County Blog has published about the people who attended Paul Caprio’s August Family PAC cruise.

In the first, U.S. Senator and Dr. Tom Coburn’s take on the health care debate.

The rest are full of pictures of participants:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Near the end of the cruise 14th congressional district GOP aspirant Jeff Danklefsen approached me. You see him handing me his card. He seeks to replace Democrat Bill Foster, who replaced former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The boat was docked and emptying out when I saw Dan Sugrue. He is running for the second time in Lake County against Democrat Kathy Ryg. He tells me she voted for Governor Pat Quinn’s 50% income tax hike bill. Since the cruise Ryg has announced that she is taking another job. That certainly to increase his chances of gaining the seat.

GOP gubernatorial nomination seeker Adam Andrzejewski was also downstairs near the end of the cruise. Sugrue’s wife Margo was talking with him.

As I left the boat, GOP gubernatorial aspirant Kirk Dillard was chatting with Family PAC Executive Director Paul Capiro.

Thus endeth the 2009 Family PAC cruise photos. This fundraiser is the one I enjoy the most. You don’t get a view of the Sears, oops, Willis Tower from the South Branch of the Chicago River like this on an expressway.

Join us next year.

So far, McHenry County Blog has published four articles on Paul Caprio’s August Family PAC cruise.

The first was about U.S. Senator and Dr. Tom Coburn’s take on the health care debate. The rest are full of pictures of participants:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Below is Part 4.

As I continued wondering around the boat, I found Peter Breen and Chris Sullivan near the bow on the upper deck. Sullivan is one of Kathleen Sullivan’s sons. Breen is one aspirant to replace State Rep. Bob Biggins. Breen is Executive Director & Legal Counsel of the Thomas Moore Society, which bills itself as the “Pro-Life Law Center.” He is currently working on the Aurora Planned Parenthood case. Breen has a good button/sticker on his web site, but he wasn’t wearing it. I always preferred to have a really large button announcing to the world that I was a candidate.

The last time I saw my former and now deceased colleague’s twin sons was in San Diego at an ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) conference. That was at the Hotel del Coronado beach over ten years ago when my son was mainly interested in looking at the turtles and fish on the first floor of our hotel. My Matthew has grown. I never met former Cook County Board of Review Murphy’s oldest son, but he was on the cruise, too. 29-year old Shaun, on the right, is running for the post his mother held. They were talking to Chris Sullivan.

Maureen almost always made me laugh. I wish I could repeat her interactions with her arch-foe House Speaker Michael Madigan, who lived in Lincoln Towers, where she stayed during legislative sessions. They apparently had similar morning schedules. Some of the conversations, started usually, I gathered by Maureen, were bizarre. If you would like to sample her how she could make little piggies and blueberries hilarious, click here.

I didn’t get a great shot of Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman talking to Peter Breen, but I guarantee she would like this one better than the one I took on the lower deck, which included her mother.

Politicians I have come in contact with almost always want to pose for a picture. I tell them I don’t do posed pictures. David McAloon gave me so much grief about the photo I published of him last year, though, I relented and took this one. Note the corn cob architecture on the Chicago River in the background. It’s pretty obviously designed by the same architect who did Marina Towers.

As I was wondering downstairs to get some food, catered by Harry Carey’s, I got this shot of State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Kirk Dillard and State Senator Chris Lauzen.

More pictures and commentary tomorrow in Part 5.

Just fifteen days left before Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley and his entire city council, except Jeff Thorsen, voted to raise the city sales tax 75% will have been in effect for a full year.

Three days later we can celebrate Independence Day.

You may remember that even though the Vulcan Lakes TIF District, which will raise everyone’s taxes in McHenry County, just as every other tax increment financing district does, was created to finance the recreational development of Vulcan Lakes, Mayor Shepley and the city council super-majority used the same excuse, plus others, to hike Crystal Lake’s city sales tax 75%.

Right before the Crystal Lake City Council tax hike vote, the legislature, including at least one Republican State Senator with higher ambitions (Kirk Dillard) voted to triple our RTA sales taxes.

Once both the Crystal Lake and the RTA sales taxes hike went into affect, Crystal Lake shoppers started paying 7.75%, rather than the previous 6.5%.

What school administrators receive in compensation will be easily obtainable starting in October.

State Senator Dan Cronin, joined by Kirk Dillard, Chris Lauzen and John Millner have decided that the most highly paid local politicians, school district superintendents (and other administrative personnel), should be an open book.

Starting October 1st the following will be on your local school web site:

“The salary compensation report shall include without limitation base salary, bonuses, pension contributions, retirement increases, the cost of health insurance, the cost of life insurance, paid sick and vacation day payouts, annuities, and any other form of compensation or income paid on behalf of the employee.”

This will soon become the “go to” place for those looking for a new administrative job to figure out how much they can request.

House sponsor Sandra Pihos has gotten the bill on Short Debate. Since no one has yet to vote against the legislation, passage is a virtual certainty.

And, as a bonus, the teachers’ contract will also be posted on the internet.

Too bad the bill doesn’t cover junior college presidents and presidents emeriti.

April 14th, a pollster called one of McHenry County Blog’s friends in Algonquin.

Here’s my contact’s description of the phone call:

She said she was located in Asia and representing Western Wats. I tried to jot down her questions, not word for word, for you;

1. Will you vote in the Republican primary for IL governor?

2. Is IL heading in the wrong or right direction?

3. Approve or disapprove of the job state legislature is doing?

4. Who would you likely vote for governor? This was her list to choose from;

• Joe Birkett
• health care
• Kirk Dillard
• Bill Brady
• Doug Whitley
• Dan Proft
• Tom Cross
• Bob Schillerstrom
• Ron Gidwitz

5. What issue(s) concern you or you think legislature should focus? She
quickly read off this list;

• abortion
• lowering taxes
• reform and ethics
• improving education
• reducing crime
• family values
• wasteful state spending
• Second Amendment rights
• protecting the environment
• creating jobs/improve state economy

6. Do you subscribe to cable or satellite TV?

7. Who is your provider?

8. How often do you watch:
MSNBC; daily, few times a week, once a month, etc.,
Fox News; daily, few times a week, once a month, etc.,
CNBC; daily, few times a week, once a month, etc.

9. Do you listen to the radio?
How often do you listen to Hannity?
Limbaugh?

10. What year were you born?

11. Are you Evangelical or born-again Christian?

12. Support or oppose abortion?

You can pretty well guess that the person paying for the survey research is listed among the names read.

If anyone else gets a political polling call, please make notes and let me share them with McHenry County Blog readers.

= = = = =
Seen on top are Joe Birkett on the left and Kirk Dillard to his left. Next comes Bill Brady. Under him is a photo of Ron Gidwitz. Dan Proft is to the left. Below him is Tom Cross.

A roomful of Northern Illinois Pro-Lifers met at Mama Rini’s Restaurant Saturday for breakfast to hear Illinois Citizens for Life lobbyist Ralph Rivera explain what happened during the election and what how the group’s cause could be advanced.

“We have very hostile administrations in Washington and Springfield. We need to organize like in the early days. We need to dig in,”

Libertyville’s Bonnie Quirke told the crowd.

As to the situation in Springfield, Rivera said,

“In the Illinois Senate, there was a wash. State Senator Bill Peterson was replaced by Dan Duffy. He’s not as good as (State Senator Bill) Peterson, but on the bills in Springfield, he’ll be OK.”

“In the House we gained a…seat…(Democrat) Kurt Granburg’s replacement (Republican John Cavaletto) is pro-life (while the retiring incumbent wasn’t).

Rivera told of the loss of Aaron Shock’s pro-life vote when he moved to Congress, in Naperville Darlene Senger is pro-life, pro-family (while current incumbent Joe Dunn wasn’t a solid vote).

“We’re actually going into Springfield in better shape.

Except for the new Senate leaders.

Rivera pointed out that new Senate President John Cullerton is “very smart. He’s more dangerous in my opinion than Jones was.

With regard to Senate Republicans, Rivera reported that of the 22, only one is pro-choice.

She is Christine Radogno, the newly-elected Senate GOP Leader.

“She got both of our senators,” McHenry County Right to Life godmother Irene Napier observed.

(The third area senator, Kane County’s Chris Lauzen, seconded Kirk Dillard’s nomination.)

When someone asked how she knew, Rivera explained that the vote

“is secret, but it’s not secret, secret.”

Two GOP senators cast “present” votes.

The vote of one, former GOP gubernatorial aspirant Bill Brady of Bloomington, elicited this comment:

“At least he didn’t go with her.”

Rivera explained that Radogno’s challenger in the leadership fight, Dillard,

“did a commercial saying nice things about Obama,”

which hurt him in the contest. Dillard is pro-life.

= = = = =
In the top photo Bonnie Quirke of Libertyville can be seen asking a question. Crystal Lake Paul Weyna is standing in the background.

Below is a head shot of Ralph Rivera. A smiling Irene Napier is below right.

Finally, there is a shot of part of the crowd.

A roomful of Northern Illinois Pro-Lifers met at Mama Rini’s Restaurant Saturday for breakfast to hear Illinois Citizens for Life lobbyist Ralph Rivera explain what happened during the election and what how the group’s cause could be advanced.

“We have very hostile administrations in Washington and Springfield. We need to organize like in the early days. We need to dig in,”

Libertyville’s Bonnie Quirke told the crowd.

As to the situation in Springfield, Rivera said,

“In the Illinois Senate, there was a wash. State Senator Bill Peterson was replaced by Dan Duffy. He’s not as good as (State Senator Bill) Peterson, but on the bills in Springfield, he’ll be OK.”

“In the House we gained a…seat…(Democrat) Kurt Granburg’s replacement (Republican John Cavaletto) is pro-life (while the retiring incumbent wasn’t).

Rivera told of the loss of Aaron Shock’s pro-life vote when he moved to Congress, in Naperville Darlene Senger is pro-life, pro-family (while current incumbent Joe Dunn wasn’t a solid vote).

“We’re actually going into Springfield in better shape.

Except for the new Senate leaders.

Rivera pointed out that new Senate President John Cullerton is “very smart. He’s more dangerous in my opinion than Jones was.

With regard to Senate Republicans, Rivera reported that of the 22, only one is pro-choice.

She is Christine Radogno, the newly-elected Senate GOP Leader.

“She got both of our senators,” McHenry County Right to Life godmother Irene Napier observed.

(The third area senator, Kane County’s Chris Lauzen, seconded Kirk Dillard’s nomination.)

When someone asked how she knew, Rivera explained that the vote

“is secret, but it’s not secret, secret.”

Two GOP senators cast “present” votes.

The vote of one, former GOP gubernatorial aspirant Bill Brady of Bloomington, elicited this comment:

“At least he didn’t go with her.”

Rivera explained that Radogno’s challenger in the leadership fight, Dillard,

“did a commercial saying nice things about Obama,”

which hurt him in the contest. Dillard is pro-life.

= = = = =
In the top photo Bonnie Quirke of Libertyville can be seen asking a question. Crystal Lake Paul Weyna is standing in the background.

Below is a head shot of Ralph Rivera. A smiling Irene Napier is below right.

Finally, there is a shot of part of the crowd.

Yesterday, I started a story about the Republican notables I saw at the Republican State Convention held in Decatur on Friday and Saturday.

My wife and I arrived later than expected on Friday–about 6:30. It turned out all the decision has been made in committee. None were changed by anything done on the convention floor on Saturday.

Friday night, after registering and eating a bit, we decided to take up State Senator Kirk Dillard’s invitation to those attending the convention to visit the mansion of Lincoln supporter Richard Oglesby in downtown Decatur.

As we were walking out the front door of the convention center, the sun was setting behind the elephant that House Minority Leader Tom Cross had parked outside.

I’ll leave whether that is symbolic of anything that happened at the convention up to others.

At the Oglesby Mansion, I met Terri Ann Wintermute, the Republican candidate for state senate in the 42nd district. Democrat Linda Holmes is the incumbent. Republican Judge Ed Petka held the seats for years.

Earlier I had met Bollingbrook Mayor Roger Claar. I got a picture of State Senator Dan Rutherford conferring with a smiling Claar at the mansion.

Next I ran into our host Kirk Dillard. He told me that Oglesby was the last person to have an appointment with Lincoln before he was shot.

After looking at the bedrooms, I found my friend former State Representative and Republican National Committeewoman Penny Pullen talking with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Sauerburg in the parlor.

More notables tomorrow.