GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - July 4, 2008

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
-- Please come to Wheaton today for its outstanding Independence Day parade. Republican parade participants include: Birkett, Bucholz, Eckhoff, Fortner, Hultgren, Kachiroubas, Olson, McBride, Milton Township Republicans, Muehlfelt, Sauerberg, and Roskam - Dave Diersen
http://www.wheatonjaycees.org/fourth/2008/index2.html
Please come to Wheaton today and watch its outstanding Independence Day parade at 10:00 AM. So far, Republicans Joe Birkett, Fred Bucholz, Grant Eckhoff, Mike Fortner, Randy Hultgren, Chris Kachiroubas, Debra Olson, J.R. McBride, Milton Township Republicans, Gary Muehlfelt, Steve Sauerberg, and Peter Roskam have registered to participate. Many thanks to Joe Birkett, David Carlin, Roger Claar, Kirk Dillard, Grant Eckhoff, Mike Fortner, Gwen Henry, Randy Hultgren, Gary King, J.R. McBride, Debra Olson, and Phil Suess for sponsoring the Chicago Highlanders. Many thanks to Mary Jo Arndt, Michael Connelly, Bob Larsen, Darlene Ruscitti, Tim Whelan, and John Zaruba for sponsoring Cub Scout Pack 64. Many thanks to All Star Printing for printing parade flyers. Please consider starting the day today at 8:00 AM with a "Stars & Stripes Breakfast" at the Wheaton History Center at 606 North Main Street on the parade route.
-- Republicans Bucholz, Fortner, Hultgren, Kachiroubas, Larsen, Oberweis, and Zay and the Winfield Township Republican Organization walk in outstanding Warrenville Independence Day parade - Dave Diersen
www.gopillinois.com
Outstanding Republicans Fred Bucholz, Mike Fortner, Randy Hultgren, Chris Kachiroubas, Bob Larsen, Jim Oberweis, and Jim Zay and the outstanding Winfield Township Republican Organization walked in an outstanding Warrenville Independence Day parade Thursday evening, July 3. Your GOPUSA ILLINOIS Illinois Editor had the honor of walking with Fortner and was there when Foster came over to speak with Fortner before the parade started.

DAILY HERALD
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Outrageously, the Daily Herald editorializes about "parade watching spots" in Wheaton rather than reporting that Joe Birkett, Fred Bucholz, Grant Eckhoff, Mike Fortner, Randy Hultgren, Chris Kachiroubas, Debra Olson, J.R. McBride, Milton Township Republicans, Gary Muehlfelt, Steve Sauerberg, and Peter Roskam will walk in the Wheaton parade.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=214728
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: OUTSTANDING: Daily Herald editorializes that "Fourth of July" celebrations should focus on remembering: "the courage and sacrifice of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Each risked charges of treason by doing so. And each understood the weighty stakes of a war with England and the frightening challenge of creating a new government. In that long war of independence, 4,435 Americans gave, as Abraham Lincoln would have characterized it, their last full measure of devotion. Let's pause on this day to reflect on those sacrifices. And on the sacrifices of 620,000 other Americans who died in the wars that have followed. Let's observe the day by remembering, as the saying goes, that freedom isn't free."
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=214762&src=
-- FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH COLOR PHOTO OF CULLERTON: DuPage GOP fails to keep Cullerton off ballot - Jake Griffin
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=214645&src=2
-- FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH COLOR PHOTO OF BLAGOJEVICH: Angry denial about probe Governor frustrated by questions - Deanna Bellandi
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=214852&src=109
-- Blagojevich's gas pains - John Patterson
http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/234
(THE ARTICLE: Gov. Rod Blagojevich made an appearance in Chicago today to essentially complain about how high gas prices are. By the end, he was teetering on the verge of yelling at reporters and calling "ridiculous" and "stupid" their questions about his pal Tony Rezko's financial fraud conviction stemming from state investment kickbacks. Rezko was a key Blagojevich fundraiser. Blagojevich said reporters should report on things people care about, like sky high gas prices, now over $4 a gallon, if not well over. Here goes. In the summer of 2001, Rod Blagojevich appeared at an Amoco station at Clark and LaSalle to launch his campaign for governor by complaining about gas selling for $1.99 and charge that the Republicans who'd run the state hadn't done enough. He said a Blagojevich administration would do better.)
-- Special session could be exercise in futility - John Patterson and Nick Shields
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=214863&src=109

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
-- FRONT PAGE WITH COLOR PICTURES OF BLAGOJEVICH, LISA MADIGAN, AND TOPINKA: DIERSEN HEADLINE: Chicago Tribune editorializes about "politicians" participating in parades. The editorial mentions Rod Blagojevich, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Richard Daley, Debra Halvorson, Mark Kirk, Barack Obama, Martin Ozinga, George Ryan, and Dan Seals. It mentions that Halvorson and Ozinga will walk in the Mokena and Beecher parades, but not that Joe Birkett, Fred Bucholz, Grant Eckhoff, Mike Fortner, Randy Hultgren, Chris Kachiroubas, Debra Olson, J.R. McBride, Milton Township Republicans, Gary Muehlfelt, Steve Sauerberg, and Peter Roskam will walk in the Wheaton parade.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-parade-politics-04jul04,0,5792703.story
-- Blagojevich deflects scandal questions, rips coverage
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2008/07/blagojevich-def.html
-- Villa Park trustee Tom Cullerton back on ballot for state Senate
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-senate-candidate-bothjul04,0,6617241.story
-- White plans to be secretary of state at 80 - Dennis Conrad
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-white-fourthterm,0,7879506.story

SOUTHTOWN STAR
-- Governor's special session won't rouse General Assembly - Rich Miller
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/miller/1039689,070408miller.article

ABC7
-- Governor denies feds after him in corruption probe - Ben Bradley
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6244231 (Includes video clip)

NBC5
-- Governor Gets Testy Over Reporter's 'Absurd' Questions
http://www.nbc5.com/politics/16785277/detail.html?dl=mainclick (Includes video clip)

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
-- Gov. Blagojevich gets heated with reporters - Chris Fusco and Mitch Dudek
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1039444,blago070408.article

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
-- Moderate Republicans finally have their candidate - Ann Coulter
http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x1512923754/Ann-Coulter-Moderate-Republicans-finally-have-their-candidate

CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS
-- IN DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED CHICAGO: Chicago’s working poor struggle to get enough to eat, study shows - Monee WhiteSign up for
alerts on this company
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=30060
-- Con-con foes hire high-powered help - Greg Hinz
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=30073

COURIER NEWS
-- Kane board divided on splitting precincts - Steve Lord
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1040056,3_1_EL04_A3VOTE_S1.article

LAKE COUNTY NEWS SUN
-- Clouds loom over our nation's birthday - Nancy Thorner
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/opinions/letters/1039740,5_4_WA04_THORNER_S1.article

ST. CLAIR RECORD
-- Republican corrections worker Kevin Rousey claims Democrat officials violate his rights - Steve Gonzales
http://www.stclairrecord.com/news/213580-republican-corrections-worker-claims-democrat-officials-violate-his-rights

SUBURBAN LIFE
Villa Park trustee Tom Cullerton back on ballot, for now - Dan Petrella
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/darien/news/x1346877420/Villa-Park-trustee-back-on-ballot-for-now

PIONEER LOCAL
-- Judge: Tom Cullerton can appear on ballot - Jeff Danna
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/elmhurst/news/1039117,em-WEBcullerton-070308-s1.article

WHEATON SUN
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Roskam and Gresk speak at ceremony celebrating Wheaton post office's 75th anniversary
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/wheatonsun/news/1035980,6_1_NA04_WSCAPSULE_S1.article
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Jean Kaczmarek blasts Dan Curry
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/wheatonsun/news/letters/1039088,6_9_2_NA04_WSLETTERS_S1.article

ILLINOIS REVIEW
-- GOP Committeeman Claar explains donations to Democrats - Fran Eaton
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/07/gop-committeema.html
-- Blago challenges Madigan to tell voters about tax increase plans - Fran Eaton
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/07/blago-challenge.html
-- 10 Questions for Debbie Halvorson - Illinois Republican Party
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/07/10-questions-fo.html

CAPITAL FAX
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: "bored now" argues that Blagojevich is really a Republican
http://capitalfax.blogspot.com/2008/07/republican-in-donkey-suit.html

CHAMPION NEWS
-- Yet another top Illinois GOP official (ROGER CLAAR) aids Democrats - Doug Ibendahl
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1069
(THE ARTICLE: Roger Claar, one of the 19 members of the Illinois GOP's State Central Committee contributed $1,000 to Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, Jerry Bennett on September 30th of last year. Bennett was making a primary challenge against incumbent Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski. Claar not only contributed money, he contributed his endorsement. Bennett's campaign website is still available online and you can view the endorsement page here. Claar made his $1,000 contribution to Bennett through an organization called ActBlue. One of the enabler blogs described ActBlue as a "DuPage Democratic group" - but that's not correct. ActBlue is in fact a national organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It describes itself as "the online clearinghouse for Democratic action." Wikipedia says "ActBlue has grown quickly to become a major fundraising tool for Democrats, particularly favored by the netroots and left-leaning bloggers." ActBlue's website claims it has raised over $56 million online since 2004 for Democrats. Essentially what ActBlue does is to match-up Democrat candidates with donors. So basically what Claar did was utilize the ActBlue online resource, and then specified Democrat Jerry Bennett's campaign as the place he wanted his $1,000 to go. Claar's day job is serving as Mayor of Bolingbrook, and Bennett is the Mayor of Palos Hills. Claar clearly wants to minimize any issue here, and dismiss the whole thing as a simple matter of one friend and fellow mayor helping another. That's obviously to distinguish this situation from all those times when contributors give to people they don't like. This is America and citizens can obviously choose to support any candidate they wish. But it's absurd that a member of our State Central Committee should be aiding and abetting a Democrat. When you become a GOP official you assume a special duty to Republicans. If one finds that duty too constraining or demanding, no one forces the individual to keep the title. Also, if Claar agrees that Lipinski is a weak and ineffective Democratic Congressman, then the last thing a senior GOP official should be doing is trying to install a tougher-to-beat Democrat. Even more disturbing, Claar's candidate appears even more liberal than the incumbent Lipinski. Bennett ran as an anti-Bush candidate and voiced an extreme, cut-and-run policy on the Iraq war. Claar's candidate basically waves the white flag of surrender on his website here. Bennett is also pro-abortion (see here), and he endorsed repeal of the Bush tax cuts (see here). Claar's candidate Bennett lost his primary challenge in February to Lipinski, but that's not the point. Claar should have been trying to help recruit a serious Republican challenger to take on Lipinski. That's part of Claar's job description as a member of the State Central Committee. This actually isn't the first time Claar has financially assisted Democrats. Just a few years ago Claar gave smaller amounts to Terrence O'Brien, Jay Hoffman and Louis Viverito, all Democrat public officials. Those contributions were made prior to Claar joining the State Central Committee in 2006, but not much before. O'Brien received $300 from Claar in September of 2005, and Viverito received $600 in August of 2005. We've written about Claar before. He was one of the founding contributors to George Ryan's legal defense fund and remained a staunch defender of his friend until the very end. When Ryan was convicted on all counts in 2006, Claar reserved all of his vitriol for the jury. Here is how the Bolingbrook Sun quoted Claar on April 21, 2006: "I cannot believe George Ryan was convicted. Most, if not all, of what I read was circumstantial at best. With the cynicism of people today, I'm not sure any elected official could get a fair trial. From what I have been reading about the jury it sounds like most of the jury pool is, in fact, guilty of what they are suggesting George Ryan is guilty of. Many of them lied on the basic form to be completed by a juror. A lot of hypocrisy on their part. George Ryan served the State of Illinois well for over 30 years. He did many fine things for the Village of Bolingbrook. He is my friend and will be my friend!" Claar is also the guy who, according to the Chicago Tribune back in 1996, had his home raided by the Illinois State Police in connection with a two-year investigation into tollway land deals. Claar was a board member at the tollway authority at the time. He was never charged or accused of any wrongdoing. We should also note that Claar's not the only member of the current State Central Committee who has contributed to Democrats while serving as a senior official of the Illinois GOP. Skip Saviano and Jack Dorgan for example have regularly helped the other team. All I can say is thank goodness rank-and-file Republicans don't get a say in choosing their own representative to serve on the State Central Committee. I shudder to think where this party would be if loyal Republicans started voting for their own leaders. (I trust it was obvious, but just in case - yes, that was sarcasm.)
-- Marriage Talking Points: Government recognizes marriage because of its benefits to society - John Biver
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1058
-- Marriage Talking Points: What the debate is about and not about - John Biver
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1060
-- Marriage Talking Points: On the definition of marriage - John Biver
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1064
-- Marriage Talking Points: The consequences of radical change - John Biver
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1066
-- Independence Day and the Meuse-Argonne Battle - John Biver
http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=1068

ILLINOIS FAMILY INSTITUTE
-- The Fairness Doctrine: Censorship at its Worst - Daniel T. Zanoza
http://www.illinoisfamily.org/news/contentview.asp?c=33957

EXTREME WISDOM
-- Feudalism and Illinois Political System - Bruno Behrend
http://www.extremewisdom.com/?p=1252

LOS ANGELES TIMES
-- McCain ends Latin American visit in Mexico City - Ken Ellingwood
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-mccain4-2008jul04,0,1984513.story
(FROM THE ARTICLE: On his Mexico stop, McCain reiterated his support for allowing more immigrant workers to enter the United States on a temporary basis. But he said broad immigration reform should come only after the U.S. government has tightened the border adequately, including by building fences. Migration is a big issue in Mexico, the main source of undocumented immigrant labor in the United States. Mexican migrants in the United States sent home about $24 billion in remittances last year. "We must have comprehensive immigration reform, but the American people want our borders secured first," McCain said. McCain's visit to Mexico, seen by some commentators here largely as a play for Latino votes in the United States, came as the Calderon government has pursued a crackdown on drug trafficking.)

USA TODAY
-- McCain visits Mexico, says more border walls needed - Chris Hawley
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-03-McCain-Mexico_N.htm
(FROM THE ARTICLE: McCain, who was raised Episcopalian but now describes himself as a Baptist, was accompanied by his wife, Cindy; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; and fellow senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham. Such efforts to connect with Hispanics have so far done little to help McCain in the polls. A survey released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center shows Hispanics support Obama over McCain 59 percent to 29 percent. The telephone poll of 1,123 people in June had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Some Mexicans said that, despite McCain's attempt at immigration reform, they associate the Republican presidential candidate with other members of his party who have favored a hard line against illegal immigrants. "Nobody here remembers" that McCain tried to pass an immigration reform bill, said Lucio Lopez, a 54-year-old videographer for television commercials. "And besides, talking about immigration reform is like putting a rope around your neck in the United States," Lopez said. "It's not like he's going to be able to help our migrants if he gets elected." Other Mexicans said McCain was tainted by his support for the Iraq war. Mexico has historically been suspicious of U.S. interventions around the world after losing half of its territory to an American invasion in the 1840s. "McCain, you imperialist pig! Don't mess with our religion!" shouted passer-by Jose Alfonso Corral Correa outside the basilica.)

SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES
-- THE POLITICS OF BLACKNESS: Black Republicans unfairly marginalized, demonized and vilified - Barbara Howard
http://www.sfltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1629&Itemid=188

POLITICO
-- Right to Life convention attacks Obama - Alexander burns
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11516.html

GAY CITY NEWS
-- VERY SAD: Fifth Avenue Cheers for Obama - Duncan Osborne
http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19829151&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=569341&rfi=6

POVERTY TO OPPORTUNITY
-- Are there 700,000 more people in poverty in Illinois?
http://povertytoopportunity.blogspot.com/2008/07/are-there-700000-more-people-in-poverty.html