Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Adam Kinzinger Didn't Stand with Nutjob Cruz. His punishment? A primary.

According to the fine folks over at Illinois Review, Congressman Adam Kinzinger is getting a primary challenge from the Tea Party.  They've put up a guy named David Hale - who looks weirdly comical in this photo (below) to run against him because (from what we here at the Truth Team can gather) Kinzinger didn't support nutjob Ted Cruz and his prattling on around Obamacare.


On his site, he invokes what likely is the Tea Party Holy Trinity of Paul Ryan, Rand Paul and Ronald Reagan.  (are the tea party faithful fainting at the mention of all three?!?!  Isn't it like Ghostbusters?  You aren't supposed to cross the Ryan/Paul/Reagan streams?!?!?!):
"My first rule as a Congressman...practice the Paul Ryan approach to government. Steady, planned, strategic. (Process) My second rule as a Congressman...apply the policies of Rand Paul. Clear, conservative, responsible. (Policy) My third rule as a Congressman...honor the Reagan approach to the other side. Humor, strength, grace. (Polity) My fourth rule as a Congressman...never run from, shrink from or abandon the Tea Party message or principals. (Principal)
Come on now, folks.  Going after Adam Kinzinger?  Because he thinks the crazies in the GOP are actually that:  crazy?  And because he worked to get things done via compromise?  We all can only be so lucky to have representatives in government who will work with colleagues across the aisle to accomplish things for the betterment of our country and state.

We're with Kinzinger in this one.
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Getting Under Bob Grogan's Skin?

Guess our little Meme from yesterday about Bob Grogan securing endorsements from the very elected officials that he audits has gotten to him a bit?  He's gone ahead and blocked the Truth Team on Twitter.    Bummer.  Now we won't know what he's up to.  Oh wait...we can just look at his timeline.


But...getting blocked at least warrants a little bit of a celebration, right?  And how does the Truth Team celebrate?  With a Meme, of course.


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Another Needless GOP Primary: Sandy Pihos


Peter Breen (who I think is trying to one of those 'Obama Hope'-ish things with this weird photo) has decided to take on 10 year incumbent Sandy Pihos for State Representative.

Why?  Because 'Washington just prints money when it runs out'.  Seems like a good reason to waste everyone's time, money, and effort on an unnecessary GOP Primary.

Let's help Sandy Pihos get re-elected.  Let's hope that the House GOP Caucus will rally around one of their own and stand with Sandy, too!
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Monday, November 25, 2013

Bob Grogan: I Don't Always Get Endorsements....


Bob Grogan is (apparently) REALLY great at securing endorsements from politicians who he audits during his day job as the DuPage County Auditor.

Make your own Bob Grogan - The World's Best Endorsement Getter - at MemeGenerator here.
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Bob Grogan for Illinois Treasurer: Conflict of Interest on DuPage Endorsements?

Rut-Roh.  We here at the Illinois Truth Team think there's trouble abound at the Bob Grogan for Illinois Treasurer's campaign.  Rich Miller from Capitol Fax points out something troubling about where Bob is getting his support from in DuPage County:

Grogan, by the way, loves to trumpet the fact that he’s a “certified fraud examiner.” From the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s code of ethics… 
A Certified Fraud Examiner shall not engage in any illegal or unethical conduct, or any activity which would constitute a conflict of interest. [Emphasis added.] 
But if you look at Grogan’s endorsement list, you’ll see that the vast majority are officials whom Grogan audits. 
Conflict perhaps?

Here's a screenshot of the post from CapitolFax:



That seems to jive a bit with this Tweet from "Super Abe".


Is Bob Grogan 'leaning' on DuPage County elected officials in his bid for Treasurer?  Seems interesting to us that the DuPage County State's Attorney, Treasurer, Recorder, County Clerk, Circuit Court Clerk, and President of the DuPage Forest Preserve all are backing Grogan against Tom Cross.

Seems like Bob Grogan, CPA has some explaining.  Probably best to (for now, at least) change that name tag to be "Bob Grogan, CYA" until you get this figured out, Bob.

(and...yes...in case you were wondering....we're absolutely homers for Tom Cross.  No hiding that.  We believe in him and think he'll make a great State Treasurer.  We also are supporting other GOP Candidates up and down the ballot.  If we haven't talked about you, tell us your story.  Tipthetruthteam@gmail.com)
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Rep. Mike McAuliffe Draws Primary. What are we doing, Republicans?

Image from Illinois Review
The Illinois Review has a story about regarding how State Representative MichaelMcAuliffe has drawn a primary challenge from Michael Yorty.  What in the world is happening here?  Something nefarious from the Illinois Democrats and games from Speaker Mike Madigan?

Or is this Yorty guy legitimate?  If so, we really need to have a talk, Mr. Yorty.  This is exactly the wrong move if we want the Illinois Republican Party to survive.  As the Illinois Review points out, Representative Mike McAuliffe is the LONE State Representative who sits on the Republican side from Chicago.  Read that again.  He's the ONLY one.  From the biggest city in our state.

And...he's getting a primary challenge?  Illinois Review says that "Most certainly Michael Yorty of Schiller Park expects to have the petition signatures examined, if not challenged."

His petitions aren't the only thing that needs examining.  We here at the Illinois Truth Team offer up a free 'head examination' for Mr. Yorty.  Just let us know the time/place.
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Roundup: Best Filing Day Tweets

Rounding up some of the best Tweets about filing petitions this morning in Springfield.

Candidates, surrogates, and reporters have chimed in with some great updates.  See anything worth sharing?  Tweet us @iltruthteam and we'll include it here!

We'll be updating this post as they come in...





















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Jim Oberweis is "In" for US Senate. Let's Hope He's Sane This Time


3rd times the charm, right?  State Senator Jim Oberweis announced he's running for US Senate (again), but this time with what appears to be a little bit of a softer Jim Oberweis.  He's admitting to past mistakes and talks about bi-partisanship.

That's easy to do in an announcement video.  It is a lot harder once a consultant convinces you to get up in a chopper and fly over Solider Field, isn't it, Jim?

He's pushing hard to position himself against Dick Durbin.  But, first he has to beat a Doug Truax in the primary.  They're both reading from the same anti-Durbin playbook.

We here at the Truth Team aren't sure quite yet who we think is best, but what we do know is that having someone 'sane' at the top of the ballot is going to serve everyone better come next November.

The Chicago Tribune is running a series of pieces about wealthy businessman Bruce Rauner and his many multi-million-dollar homes across the country.  Saying...he's campaigning as a guy who understands budgeting, while at the same time living this lavish lifestyle.

Certainly, some folks are going to latch on to this.  Some conservatives will point to Dillard or Brady or Rutherford being 'more like us'.  That's the Sarah Palin mentality.  For some reason, she (along with LOTS of other Tea Party folks) have decided that they don't like "elites".  They point out that these "elites" have big Ivy League degrees and these houses all around the country.

Well, guess what folks?  We want our leaders  (That means President, but also Governor) to be an elite!  That's right...we said it.  The job of leading our state is tough and demanding.  We want someone who's up to the challenge.

Jim Oberweis is a very successful businessman, too.  Let's not hold that against him.

Unless he goes anywhere near a helicopter.

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The Machine is Alive and Well

Just take a look at this photo posted by Amanda Vinicky of Illinois Public Radio.  150 candidates?  We bet there's also going to be a lot of turkeys delivered this week by Speaker Madigan's office.


That, folks, is how you keep control of the State of Illinois for decades.
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Friday, November 22, 2013

Dold, Shilling, Senger, Bost Announced by NRCC "Young Guns" Program

Yesterday, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced their first round of ‘On the Radar’ candidates ahead of the 2014 elections. The Young Guns program supports and mentors challenger and open-seat candidates in races across the country.

This 'On the Radar' stage is the 1st round.  Think of it like American Idol.  You can see the process laid out on the GOPYoungGuns.com site.


From the press release:
“These 36 candidates all provide a stark contrast to their liberal opponents, whose support of ObamaCare and this Administration’s big-government, job-destroying agenda has taken a toll on the American people,” said NRCC Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). “With ObamaCare’s bad policies and botched rollout affecting families across our nation, and our country diving deeper into debt each and every day, it’s time to bring real change backed by conservative principles and priorities to Washington. I am confident that these candidates will continue to work hard for their communities and their campaigns as we head into the 2014 election year.”
This is particularly good news for Darlene Senger.  She's running in a contested primary for the Illinois 11th Congressional District, but getting this nod says that she has the organization in place and is doing everything right in terms of moving her campaign in the right direction.  The advise/counsel part of this is invaluable and Darlene Senger getting this recognition is going to help her fundraising, we would think.   Illinois Review covers the Senger angle and gets Katie Prill of the NRCC to discuss the Senger race in particular.

At the end of the day, Darlene Senger has (what appears to be) the support of the program.  See her "page" here on their site.    We don't see Burt Miller or Chris Balkema up there...

Bruce Dold and Bobby Shilling are both on the "Former Member" list, so they appear to be on a different track.   We'll be watching them and their campaigns closer this Spring.
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Poll: Tom Cross Leading Bob Grogan for Illinois Treasurer By Large Margin

Battleground Polling is out with a memo this morning filled with results from their latest poll of Illinois voters.  While there are a large amount of undecideds in the race for the GOP Nomination for Illinois Treasurer, Battleground Polling found that Former Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross has a commanding lead among all voters.  He has more than 2x the support and is leading 27% to just 13% for Bob Grogan.  And, Tom Cross' lead amongst the hard core "Tea Party" members is even bigger.  From the memo:
Undecided voters also are leading the way in the contest for the Republican nomination for State Treasurer, with 60% of voters still undecided. Of voters who have made a decision, former House Minority Leader Tom Cross is opening up a lead over Dupage County Auditor Bob Grogan, with Mr. Cross earning the support of 27% of voters, and Mr. Grogan earning the support of 13% of voters. 
“Certainly, Tom Cross is in a solid position as we move into the winter campaign season,” said Cook. “But, with 60% of voters still undecided, Bob Grogan still has room to pick up more support as the campaign moves into full swing.” 
Among Tea Party members, Tom Cross expands his lead over Bob Grogan to 31% to 9%.
The full results of the poll can be found here.
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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Bruce Rauner Wins Palatine Township GOP Endorsement


Last night, the Palatine Township GOP organization endorsed Bruce Rauner in the Governor's race.  Significant because Palatine Township is in Cook County but also because Rauner absolutely STOMPED everybody in this race.  It was interesting to see it play out over Twitter last night.

First, Senator Kirk Dillard tweeted about the "Huge Crowd" at 10:13 PM.

Then...just a minute later Bruce Rauner tweeted this:
Funny the timing on that, isn't it?  Guessing the news came out right then and both campaigns had tweets tee'd up.  Dillard's guys had to change the copy to talk about the crowd.

The final results show Bruce Rauner dominated.  Dillard, who showed up (based on Twitter) didn't even finish second.  That was Dan Rutherford.  Who...we can't tell if was even there.

Final results

Governor
Bill Brady – 4%
Kirk Dillard – 11%
Bruce Rauner – 65%
Dan Rutherford – 20%
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Senate Candidate Doug Truax Attacking Durbin in Digital Ads

A tipster sent the Truth Team this mobile screenshot that shows a "Don't Let Dick Durbin Hide From His Failures" ad on the right rail of this sports website.

See it there near the top?

Clicking on it takes you to a page for US Senate Candidate Doug Truax.   We didn't get the full URL of the landing page and we can't find it online?

He's recruiting folks in Illinois by picking on Durbin.  Not...his likely primary opponent Jim Oberweis.  Taking a page right from the Bruce Rauner book of attacking Quinn.

Either way, it is clear that Truax has someone doing something right for him in terms of digital.  Oberweis might be in for a fight here.  And, you know what?  That might be a good thing for the party.  Having Oberweis being our standard bearer in 2014 is trouble.  I, frankly, don't want to be a called a Jim Oberweis Republican when there are winnable races in 2014.  Let's beat Shelia Simon and Mike Frerichs and Pat Quinn.  That's harder to do with Oberweis at the top of the ticket, don't you think?



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Monday, November 18, 2013

Let's Re-Elect Ed Sullivan as State Representative. Because We Need Him in Springfield.

Ed Sullivan, the State Representative from Mundelein is under fire and has a primary election this Spring.  First elected to the Illinois General Assembly back in 2002, he's been a solid performer in Springfield both for his district and for the Illinois Republican Party.  During his time there, he's focused on establishing a strong record on fiscal responsibility, public safety, education, domestic violence, and property tax issues.  He's helped his district - which is important.  But, because of his courageous - and PERSONAL - vote on marriage equity, he's under fire from some of the crazies in the Republican Party.  Seems the Lake County GOP and a guy named Jack Koenig are going after Ed Sullivan.  Here's an email he sent attacking Sullivan for standing up for Gay Marriage and even kind-of digging Sullivan's mother in law (who is gay) unnecessarily?

Rich Miller (who had the letter) described it as "Nothing but class there".

We say:   Shame on this guy.  We can almost guarantee that there's no way he'd say this stuff to Ed Sullivan's face.  But while he's hiding behind his computer?  He'll lob bombs all day long.

Sullivan has been a good, loyal Republican, folks.  We need to support him for that, first.  He's been the Chairman of the Illinois House Republican Organization where he's raised money and supported candidates from around Illinois for State Representative.

As for Republicans who voted for Gay Marriage.  Come on.  The folks who voted for it (including Ron Sandack), did the right thing.  If we (by **we**, we're talking about Republicans in Illinois), we need to support these folks and stop attacking them for doing the right thing.

We're going to be supporting Ed Sullivan for State Representative this Spring.  Not just because he stood up for marriage equity as a Republican.  But, because he's a good, honest, elected official who did what was right for Illinois.  You can learn about his campaign here.  You can donate to his campaign here.

The point here of the Illinois Truth Team is simple.  See it up there at the top of the site?

We're trying to be the voice of reason, both in the ILGOP, but also around the State of Illinois.  We want to get you the facts.  We want to support good candidates.  (Ed Sullivan being one of those!).  And...we want to help 'Turn Illinois Around.'  

If we work against Sullivan because of his one vote for Gay Marriage, we, as a party are wasting our resources.  Let's work together to turn the House over to the GOP and get rid of Speaker Madigan.
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Tom Cross Up Big in Illinois Treasurer's Race


Rich Miller, in the Daily Southtown writes that Tom Cross has a big lead in the Illinois Treasurer's race after kicking off his campaign late in Q3 of this year.  Miller posted about a poll he took in the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, former Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross is leading DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan for state treasurer 29-18, in that same Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll of Republican primary voters. 
But 54 percent remain undecided, about the same as in June, when the firm found that 56 percent were unsure of their choice. 
Cross’ people have to be somewhat relieved by these numbers. They’re polling higher than any Republican gubernatorial candidate just days after Cross received a ton of press for voting for a gay marriage bill.
Tom Cross polling HIGHER than any Republican Governor's candidate is the biggest news here.  Bill Brady tops out at 25% and he's been on the ballot statewide in both the previous primary and general election where he lost out to Governor Pat Quinn.  Cross has NEVER been on a ballot statewide.  

Really speaks to all the work he's done over the last decade supporting candidates up and down the ballot all across Illinois.  He's stood with incumbents and challengers for State House in all four corners of Illinois.  They're going to be standing with him and have built a strong base of support heading into the holidays.

The Cross campaign is also going up with media.  We've covered his campaign's first radio buy, which featured a 60 second spot.  You can hear the Tom Cross for Treasurer radio commercial here.

You can find out more about Tom Cross and his campaign for Illinois Treasurer at www.jointomcross.com.
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Congressman Roskam "Cleared" of Wrongdoing


According to the Tribune, Congressman Peter Roskam has been 'cleared' in a probe around 'improper' travel to Taiwan with his wife.  Good news, for the Congressman, we suppose.  But...so much for that squeaky clean reputation. Right or wrong...Congressman Roskam will be looked at differently now.

Did he do something wrong?  Sounds like it is a bit of 'shades of grey' here.  You know what that means?  For better or for worse, everyone now has the right to think that "He's just like the rest of these guys in DC."
At issue was who picked up the tab for Roskam and his wife and whether the congressman violated House rules or federal law. 
The case became public in July. Roskam, who entered Congress in 2007, had insisted he complied with all laws, rules and procedures on privately sponsored travel. 
He told House officials the Chinese Culture University paid the couple’s expenses, which reached $25,653 on the trip, Oct.15-22, 2011. The journey occurred while their daughter taught English in Taiwan.

The Ethics Committee began examining the trip at the urging of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which began its own review in January. 
In May, the board of the ethics office said in a 6-0 vote there was “substantial reason to believe” that Roskam accepted travel expenses “from an impermissible source, resulting in an impermissible gift, in violation of federal law and House rules.” 
His trip, the board said, “appears to have been organized and conducted by the government of Taiwan, with little to no involvement by the university.” 
Except in certain cases, foreign governments may not bankroll travel by U.S. lawmakers.
Being an elected official is hard.  We ask a lot of our elected officials.  Sounds like Congressman Roskam 'technically' did things the right way.  We like Congressman Roskam.  Let's hope he doesn't get too close to the line going forward, ok?
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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Governor Quinn Goes To West Central Illinois with $9M in Hand and Leaves with Votes?


Governor Quinn went out to Spring Valley Illinois - out west on I-80 on the Illinois River in Bureau County to deliver a $9.5M grant to Mayor Walt Marini and the Spring Valley City Council.

Mayor Walt Marini has some coverage on his blog.
Yesterday, Governor Quinn came to town to announce that the city of Spring Valley will receive a $9.5 million grant to help repair the city’s wastewater treatment plant that was damaged by the April flood. 
Special thanks to the efforts from State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley), State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) who helped make this happen for Spring Valley. 
“The results of their efforts will provide a new wastewater treatment plant that will be constructed to safeguard the facility from future flooding and be designed to service our city for many years to come,” Marini said.
Interesting that there's both a Democrat State Representative and a Republican State Senator.  A bit of a swing district?  Wonder if that had anything to do with Quinn's decision to head to Spring Valley?  Can't hurt his re-election bid, right?  
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Kirk Dillard 2014: The Hard-Core Conservative. For Now. (We hope.)


Tom Kacich, over at the Champaign News-Gazette has a story up titled:  Dillard's Positions Take Hard Right Turn.

(BTW...Tom is on Twitter.   Go follow him here.)

In it, he documents how Dillard was viewed as the moderate in the race back when he ran in 2010 has talked-the-Conservative-talk this time around.
Dillard is a state senator from Hinsdale and a disciple of former Gov. Jim Edgar. But unlike Edgar, his gubernatorial campaign has taken a hard right turn this year, and he spoke out Wednesday against gay marriage, gun control and welfare spending.

Rich Miller at CapitolFax also posted on Kirk Dillard's stop this week at a place called "Guns Save Lives" calling it "Not exactly a moderate, centrist group."  Here's the tweet of Senator Kirk Dillard at the event.

All this begs the question of what, exactly will happen when (and if) Kirk Dillard actually wins the primary?  He recently picked up the endorsement of the DuPage GOP - the largest GOP County in Illinois - so winning this thing isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Are all of us in the suburbs, who want to get rid of Pat Quinn and the Chicago Democrats just going to forget that he acted crazy *just to win the primary*?

That he was so focused on the tea party triumvirate of guns, gays, and abortions?

Is Kirk Dillard going to change his tune if he wins the primary?

I hope so.  I know you have to do what you have to do to win in politics, so I'm hoping (for once) that Kirk Dillard is doing what he needs to do to win in March.  When (if?) he does, he'll come back to being a normal person who is like the guy he worked for back in the day.  Who was that again?  I can't quite seem to remember....Dillard says it almost every day...but I can't quite seem to remember?  Jim Edgar?  Oh...that's right!
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Darlene Senger Calls Obamacare Enrollment: "A Vivid Demonstration of Failure", Launches DelayandDisclose.com

Republican Candidate for Congress in Illinois, Darlene Senger, came out swinging yesterday on Obamacare and the enrollment numbers in Illinois.  She criticized the very low enrollment numbers and is demanding some transparency around the program.
“Illinois has spent over $25 million on top of the federal government’s multi-million dollar website, to enroll the hundreds of thousands of eligible citizens into the Affordable Care Act--but the situation is going from bad to worse. Illinois taxpayers are getting fleeced while people who need health care coverage cannot access it and people who have health care coverage are losing it. Washington needs to consider immediately delaying the individual mandate and disclosing the true impact and costs of ACA, specifically why so many Illinois families are losing their coverage. We are witnessing a vivid demonstration of failure that is truly impacting people’s access to quality healthcare.”
Emphasis, mine.  That's quite a line.

She's also putting her money where he mouth is and has launched DelayandDisclose.com - a platform for concerned voters in Illinois to have their voice heard.  She's asking voters to sign her petition - which she'll deliver to the President, the Governor, Members of Congress, and Members of the Illinois General Assembly.  
We, the undersigned, demand transparency in the Affordable Care Act in Illinois and in Washington and demand action against its harmful effects.

One thing has become clear to everyone, Obamacare isn’t working, people who need health care can’t get it and people who have health care are losing it
We were promised that we could keep our insurance and our doctors if we wanted to, but that is clearly not true.
The federal government has not been able to meet deadlines or protect against fraud, and is wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on a website that has failed to work.

I demand full disclosure of the impact this failed program has had on Illinois citizens including the number of policy cancellations, and demand a delay of the individual mandate until Obamacare lives up to the President’s promises.

We deserve better and want action NOW!
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Field Cleared for Dwight Baird for Kendall County Sheriff?


A week back, Dwight Baird, a Republican candidate for Kendall County Sheriff posted this "thank you" to the (newly learned) out-going Sheriff Dick Randall.

Post by Dwight Baird for Kendall County Sheriff.

Baird has been all over the place with his campaign.  Did he force Randall to blink and walk away?  Or was this always the plan?
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Are you a Illinois Candidate and have news? Tip us at the Illinois Truth Team!

We're looking for releases or news from candidates, organizations, and advocacy groups that have an impact on Illinois politics.  We're particularly interested in hearing from downballot candidates and their campaigns.

Send along your release to tipthetruthteam(at)gmail(dot)com.
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Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios Cuts Staff...

But...AMAZINGLY....none of those cut were part of his family.  Mark Suppelsa points out this (inconvenient) truth.



Thank God for patronage.
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Kirk Dillard Picks up DuPage County GOP Endorsement (As he should!)


Kirk Dillard - candidate for Governor - picked up the endorsement of the DuPage County GOP.  The Daily Herald covers the story, but misses a pretty significant piece:  Dillard couldn't have survived without this endorsement.  He's basically pinning his hopes on carrying the county in a big way.  It *actually* might work.  Without other DuPage candidates in the race, Dillard is hoping to carry the county with the most GOP votes cast by larger margins than last time around.
State Sen. Kirk Dillard Tuesday won support of Republican township chairmen in his home of DuPage County, where the candidate for governor has pinned a lot of his primary election hopes. 
Brian Krajewski, vice chairman of the county central committee called a unanimous vote "obvious" in a statement. 
"Our township chairmen couldn't be more thrilled to support Kirk Dillard and Jil Tracy," Krajewski said. "They are by far the most qualified and prepared to lead our state."
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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Rep. Ron Sandack: It's Time

State Representative Ron Sandack, who is facing an unfortunate GOP Primary in his 2014 bid for re-election sent out an newsletter (and posted on FB) that is called "It's time".  In it, he details the pressing needs to turn around Illinois.
It’s time to roll back the midnight tax increase of a few years ago, because we can already see the devastating effect these tax increases have had on families and businesses. It has reduced productivity, tremendously burdened families, and cost our State thousands of jobs. 
It’s time to make things even-handed and far simpler so that we can grow our economy, create jobs and offer opportunities for families and businesses to prosper. 
It’s time we finally address pension reform, boldly. This means all must sacrifice in some way to rebuild and revitalize Illinois. 
It’s time to stop spending what we don’t have. We must learn to prioritize, spend only what we have and begin to do what all families and businesses do: live within our means. 
It’s time we change state government by implementing term limits, instituting an Office of the Repealer and reduce the size, scope, expense and expanse of state government. The burden of governing cannot become a millstone around the necks of the governed.
He also is positioning himself as a Maverick by touting that he was the first State Representative to decline all the state pension and health care benefits that are eligible to Legislators.

And what else did he do? He took a politically risky, but brave vote on Gay Marriage. And...this primary is frankly ALL about *that* vote. Shame that he took Senator Mark Kirk's advice and there are some in the ILGOP who think he made the wrong move.  We're hoping Senator Mark Kirk has Sandack's "back" here.

We here at the Illinois Truth Team truly believe in the Big Tent. And...we are going to stand by Ron Sandack in his race. He just launched his new site. If you have a moment, go on over there and check it out. If you are a supporter of Marriage Equity, then you owe it to yourself to support him, too.
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Senator Mark Kirk Sitting out GOP Primary for Governor

Rich Miller at CapFax is reporting that Senator Mark Kirk is going to keep his powder dry in the 2014 GOP Primary for Governor.  He's (kind of) lent one of his top folks to the Rauner Camp, according to Miller.

Kirk also had some advice to the candidates (we're thinking this advice is mostly aimed at Kirk Dillard,  Dan Rutherford, and Bill Brady...).  He basically said that we need to 'chill out' and be a bit more normal or else we won't win 'nuttin in 2014.
Republican Sen. Mark Kirk says he won’t endorse any candidate in Illinois’ GOP gubernatorial primary. 
However, Kirk gave some advice. He contends the only way Republicans will take control of the governor’s mansion is to be moderate on social issues. 
Kirk said that includes accepting same-sex marriage is legal in Illinois.
Anyone going to take his advice?  
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Bruce Rauner (Mr. Anti-Union) Gets Anti-Union Endorsement from the Builders and Contractors

Contractors for Free Enterprise, the political action affiliate of The Associated Builders & Contractors Illinois Chapter, an organization of 400 companies involved in the commercial and industrial construction markets in Illinois, has announced its endorsement of Bruce Rauner for Governor.

What's surprising about that? Bruce Rauner has 'declared war' on unions. A small point being, he's 'declared war' on Government Unions, but unions none-the-less.

The endorsement is ALL ABOUT JOBS and the Anti-Union made that clear in their announcement.
“ABC is excited to endorse Bruce Rauner for Governor,” said ABC Illinois President Alicia Martin. “Bruce Rauner has demonstrated an understanding of how state government impacts the economic well-being of ABC members and the economic competiveness of our state,” Martin explained. “The election of Bruce Rauner is important to making sure that Illinois turns the corner to attracting and creating Illinois jobs.”
Rauner has a CLEAR advantage over Dillard and Rutherford in being able to talk about jobs that he *actually* created.  Bill Brady, the home developer can talk jobs, but let's be honest...he's just not as successful as Bruce Rauner was, right?

But...in terms of campaign organization, what does this mean?  Bodies to hit the streets?  Locations for yard signs?  Donations from builders and contractors?  I think the group would have you believe that all of the above are on their way to the Bruce Rauner campaign.  Only time will tell when the financial disclosure docs come out next quarter.

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GOP Candidate Darlene Senger calls for Obamacare Delay

Image courtesy of Illinois Review

What's more on the minds than the failure of Obamacare?  Nothing, we say.  That's why it is interesting to see GOP Congressional Candidate Darlene Senger tout the delay and disclosure of Obamacare and the impact on Illinois.  Senger is running for the 11th District in the GOP Primary this spring against Bret Miller from Grundy County and others.  From her site:
Darlene Senger introduced House Resolution 680 last week in Springfield, which seeks to delay the full implementation of Obamacare in Illinois, while demanding more comprehensive data on the impact the legislation will have on Illinois residents.
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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Tom Cross Launches 1st Radio Ad for Treasurer's Race


According to the Sun-Times, Tom Cross, Republican for Treasurer launched his first radio ad of the campaign.  We found the ad on his Republican for Illinois Treasurer site.

Photo Credit:  Sun-Times.

Tom Cross had this to say about the ad:
The debate about who has the ideas, vision, energy and plan to move Illinois in a new direction begins in earnest tomorrow as our campaign launches its first radio ad titled “Resolve.”  
This radio ad is part of a campaign that will be sustained over a significant period of time for the purposes of introducing Tom and making sure voters know who he is and his plans to balance the budget and crack down on government fraud and corruption.

The ad comes on the heels of Tom Cross picking up the endorsements of some downstate elected officials.
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