Andy Martin

Back in his student days, Andy Martin-Trigona so irritated the legal establishment in Illinois by probing the corruption in the Illinois Supreme Court that when he got his law degree he wasn’t granted a license.

Since then he has been successful in the radio business, been vilified by a certain segment of the political arena who will probably pop up here in the comment section and been the most cogent opponent to Judy Baar Topinka when she and he ran in the Republican Party primary for Governor. (The WBEZ debate was something to see and hear.)

He has run for other offices in other states, as well as for President this year. More recently he has run as and is known as Andy Martin.

Somehow what McHenry County Republican leaders are doing to prevent Democrat Jack Franks from having an opponent in Tonya Franklin has caught his eye.

His open letter of yesterday to Chairman Mike Tryon follows:

May 28, 2012

Michael Tryon – Chairman
5501 Northwest Highway
Crystal Lake, IL 60014

via email and USPS

Re: Your efforts to block Republican candidates

Dear Mike:

I am writing you about the scandal you are creating by trying to manipulate Illinois election laws to

1. frustrate Republican candidates and to
2. create a local “cabal” with another Democratic Party representative from McHenry County.

Republicans have been stooges for Democrats going back well into the last century.

The “West Side Block” was a group of nominal Republicans who worked in conjunction with Democrats in the Illinois House.

More recently some current state representatives are also identified as stooges of the Democratic Party.

But, historically, the suburbs and suburban leaders have rejected your Chicago-style bipartisan cronyism and corruption.

I have never met Tonya Franklin, who wants to run against Representative Jack Franks for state representative, and the only time I met Sharon Meroni was in court—when I sued her.So I am no front man for either Franklin or Meroni.

Then what is my agenda?

I am a constitutional conservative.

Ever since I went to the Illinois General Assembly as an intern in 1965 I have fought against corruption, cronyism and perversion of our Constitution.

Instead of encouraging Republicans to run, you are trying to run them down.

Mike Tryon

Jack Franks

Is that your idea of what makes for an effective county chairman?

You and Franks could be subject to potential federal criminal and civil liability for conspiring to prevent candidates from running for office, see e.g. 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 245 (a), 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Tonya Franklin

I don’t know if Tonya Franklin is a good candidate or a bad candidate.

I don’t know if she can run an effective campaign or not.

Let the voters decide!

She at least is willing to try to defeat your crony, Representative Jack Franks, and that is more than you are willing to do.

You have also tried to sabotage direct election of Illinois State Central Committee members.

Your actions in trying to personally control local appointments to the state central committee, and to deprive McHenry voters of their constitutional right to vote for state committee representation, is apparently part of your ongoing and extensive campaign to dilute and defeat Republicans other than yourself, and to use party office and public office as a personal fiefdom instead of as a public trust.

I ask you to see that Ms. Franklin is appointed the Republican candidate to oppose Representative Franks without any further harassment, corruption or delay.

Your tactics are becoming another embarrassment to the Illinois Republican Party.

The party is the people; the party is not a handful of corrupt insiders led by State Representative Tom Cross and his followers. Cross is selfishly trying to “lock the doors” to new Republicans and trying to prevent Republicans from once again becoming a majority party and taking control of state government, to avoid diluting his own petty personal political power.

Given your record and Cross’s record of defeating democracy and working to deny ordinary Republicans a voice and vote in their own party and state central committee, all of you insiders should either stand up and fight for Republicans, or step down and stop helping the Democrats destroy Illinois government.

Please feel free to call if you have any questions. Otherwise, I assume you will comply with Illinois state law, appoint the statutorily-mandated district committee, and see that Ms. Franklin is named as the party’s candidate for state representative without further delay.

Sincerely yours,

ANDY