Birkett Brings Irony to Statewide Politics

This spring's statewide primaries just got much more interesting, thanks to the addition of Joe Birkett. Topinka managed to find the one running mate that the media dislikes as much or more than Rod Blagojevich.

As a refresher, here's what The Chicago Tribune had to say about Birkett in it's Oct. 11th, 2002 endorsement of Lisa Madigan for Attorney General:

On fundraising and pay-to-play:

Birkett, however, has faced serious questions about his own fundraising tactics. He solicited a $10,000 campaign loan from a DuPage County judge. Birkett insisted he saw no potential conflict in that sizeable loan, though last week his campaign paid it back. Birkett has also accepted contributions from numerous defense attorneys who face his prosecutors in court, and Madigan has raised charges that some of those lawyers received favorable treatment for their clients.

On his lack of judgement:

It has been six years since Cruz was acquitted. The serious mistakes made in that case might be mitigated by evidence of a learning curve on the part of the prosecutors who were involved in it. In Birkett's case, though, it is clear he has learned nothing from the experience.

He has opposed the governor's moratorium on capital punishment. He has opposed many of the reforms needed in the system of capital punishment. A year ago, he said Illinois has "the fairest system of capital punishment in the nation." He has said that proposed legislation to guard against misconduct by prosecutors is "hopelessly flawed" and "would be a disaster."

No more evidence is needed. As attorney general, Joe Birkett would stand in the way of repairing Illinois' criminal justice system.

On his honesty:

Birkett says he does not oppose the expansion of O'Hare International Airport, a vitally important economic matter for this state. Yet, as state's attorney, Birkett has done the bidding of O'Hare opponents, pushing lawsuits designed to delay and obstruct expansion of the airport.

Birkett professes that he does not support legislation to promote the right to carry concealed weapons. Yet a Virginia-based group linked to the National Rifle Association is bankrolling a huge TV ad campaign here to support Birkett. He has done nothing to disavow those ads or the gun organization. It's clear that opponents of gun control believe they have a friend in Birkett.

With that primer, I thought it would be fun to recommend some questions for our friends in the mainstream media that will ratchet up the irony even further.

Here's a start:

1. Mr. Birkett, you accuse Gov. Blagojevich of "pay-to-play", what do you say to those criticize you for soliciting contributions from the defense counsel for people you were prosecuting?

2. Regarding pay-to-play, do you think it's appropriate that Judy Barr Topinka has raised over $1.6 million from banks when her office does business with the banking industry?

3. Your opponents, Ron Gidwitz, Jim Oberweis and Steve Rauschenberger, have been highly critical of RNC member Bob Kjellander's alleged pay-to-play scheme, which netted him $800K personally. Do you think what Kjellander did was wrong? What other current GOP officeholders do you think are guilty of pay-to-play?

4. Do you support or oppose the NRA's positions on conceal-and-carry and the assault weapons ban?

Feel free to offer your own in the comments.

For more info on how JBT raised $1.6 million from the banking industry, visit Yellow Dog Blog.