A new direction
Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is retiring from the institute November 1. He started in 1994 as associate director and became director in 2004, shortly after the unexpected death of former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon.
"You can’t really replace in some senses either Paul Simon or Mike Lawrence, but we’ve got to find someone who will carry on. And we have some very capable, accomplished people in the pool," says John Jackson, political science professor at the university and head of the search committee to replace Lawrence.
An interim director will be announced shortly, and the search committee expects to publish the top three candidates some time in November. A new director may not start until January, according to Jackson.
The new director will take over as the economic downturn continues to manifest itself in new ways. Lawrence told us in the spring that one reason he felt comfortable retiring is because Simon's goal of building a $10 million endowment had been accomplished and then some. But Jackson says just as universities throughout the state are experiencing lower returns on their investments, so too is SIUC. “The endowment is fine," Jackson says. "It’s the income off the endowment that’s not quite what it had been. So right now, we have what we hope is a short-term cash flow problem. Not huge, but it’s a headache for us.”
While Lawrence is packing his books into boxes, the university will continue to benefit from the stamp that Lawrence put on the institute and its agenda, Jackson adds. "He’s focused us more on Illinois issues, Illinois concerns, and I think that has been his forte because that’s where his network and his contacts were."
Before spending a decade with the Edgar Administration, Lawrence spent 25 years as a journalist, including 20 years with Lee Enterprises and its Statehouse bureau that he helped start and another year as Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. He plans to return to writing political commentaries, which he has said he stopped after being pressured to do so in the interest of the institute and of the university. He remains vice chair of the Illinois Issues Advisory Board.
We wish him the best of luck and look forward to seeing his byline again.
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ILLINOIS COMMITTEE FOR HONEST GOVERNMENT
2008 GENERAL ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS
(* - Incumbent in non-judicial race.)
(D – Democratic, R – Republican, G – Green)
PRESIDENT/VICE PRESIDENT: Barack H. Obama & Joseph Biden (D).
US SENATOR: *Richard J. Durbin (D).
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS:
*Bobby L. Rush (D – 1st).
Anthony W. Williams (R – 2nd).
*Daniel William Lipinski (D – 3rd).
Omar N. Lopez (G – 4th).
*Rahm Emanuel (D – 5th).
Jill Morgenthaler (D – 6th).
*Danny K. Davis (D – 7th).
*Mellissa Bean (D – 8th).
Michael Benjamin Younan (R – 9th).
Daniel J. Seals (D - 10th).
Deborah “Debbie” Halvorson (D – 11th).
Timmy Jay Richardson, Jr. (R – 12th).
Scott Harper (D – 13th).
*Bill Foster (D – 14th).
*Timothy V. Johnson (R – 15th).
*Donald A. Manzullo (R – 16th).
*Phil Hare (D – 17th).
Colleen Callahan (D – 18th).
Daniel Davis (D – 19th).
STATE SENATOR:
*William “Willie” Delgado (D – 2nd).
Jason Allen Braswell (R – 5th).
*John J. Cullerton (D – 6th).
*Heather Steans (D – 7th).
*Ira I. Silverstein (D – 8th).
*Jeffrey M. Schoenberg (D – 9th).
*Louis S. "Lou" Viverito (D – 11th).
Ray Wardingley (R – 14th).
*James T. Meeks (D – 15th).
*Donne E. Trotter (D – 17th).
*Edward J. Maloney (D – 18th).
*Dan Cronin (R – 21st).
*Carole Pankau (R -23rd).
*Kirk W. Dillard (R- 24th).
Bill Gentes (D – 26th).
Peter Gutzmer (D – 27th).
*Susan Garrett (D – 29th).
*Terry Link (D – 30th).
*Pamela J. Althoff (R – 32nd).
*Daniel M. Kotowski (D – 33rd).
*Mike Jacobs (D – 36th).
Steve Stout (D -38th).
*Don Harmon (D – 39th).
*Christine Radogno (R – 41st).
*Linda Holmes (D – 42nd).
*John M. Sullivan (D – 47th).
*Larry K. Bomke (R – 50th).
*Frank Watson (R – 51st).
*Dan Rutherford (R – 53rd).
*John O. Jones (R – 54th).
*William R. "Bill" Haine (D – 56th).
*James F. Clayborne, Jr. II (D – 57th).
*Gary Forby (D – 59th).
STATE REPRESENTATIVE:
*Susana Mendoza (D – 1st).
Ante “Tony” Marijan (G – 2nd).
*Luis Arroyo (D – 3rd).
*Kenneth "Ken" Dunkin (D – 5th).
*Karen A. Yarbrough (D – 7th).
*La Shawn K. Ford (D – 8th).
*Arthur L. Turner (D – 9th).
*Annazette R. Collins (D – 10th)
*John A. Fritchey (D – 11th).
*Sara Feigenholtz (D – 12th).
*Gregory Harris (D – 13th).
*Lou Lang (D – 16th).
Daniel Biss (D – 17th).
*Julie Hamos (D – 18th).
*Joseph M. Lyons (D – 19th).
Michael C. Marzullo (D – 20th).
Michael J. Zalewski (D – 21st).
*Michael J. Madigan (D – 22nd).
*Daniel J. Burke (D – 23rd).
*Elizabeth "Lisa" Hernandez (D – 24th).
William D. “Will” Burns (D – 26th).
*David E. Miller (D – 29th).
*William “Will” Davis (D – 30th).
*Mary E. Flowers (D – 31st).
Andre Thapedi (D – 32nd).
*Constance A. "Connie" Howard (D – 34th).
*Kevin Carey Joyce (D – 35th).
*James J. Brosnahan (D – 36th).
*Kevin McCarthy (D – 37th).
*Maria Antonia "Toni" Berrios (D – 39th).
Deborah L. Mell (D – 40th).
*Sandra M. Pihos (R – 42nd).
*Ruth Munson (R – 43rd).
*Fred Crespo (D – 44th).
Jim Hagerty (D – 45th).
Gary Nowak (D – 46th).
*Patricia R. “Patti” Bellock (R – 47th).
Joseph Henegan (D – 48th).
*Timothy L. Schmitz (R – 49th).
Mary Schneider (D – 50th).
Amanda D. Howland (D – 51st).
*Mark H. Beaubien, Jr. (R – 52nd).
Carol Javens (D- 53rd).
*Suzanne “Suzie” Bassi (R – 54th).
Broc Montgomery (D – 55th).
*Paul Froehlich (D – 56th).
*Elaine Nekritz (D – 57th).
*Karen May (D – 58th).
*Kathleen A. Ryg (D – 59th).
*JoAnn D. Osmond (R – 61st).
*Sandy Cole (R – 62nd).
*Jack D. Franks (D – 63rd).
*Michael W. Tryon (R – 64th).
Aurora Austriaco (D – 65th).
Mark Walker (D – 66th).
STATE REPRESENTATIVE (continued):
*Charles E. "Chuck" Jefferson (D - 67th).
Clint W. Little (D – 68th).
Greg Tuite (D – 69th ).
*Robert Pritchard (R – 70th).
*Mike Boland (D – 71st).
*Patrick Verschoore (D – 72nd).
*David R. Leitch (R – 73rd).
*Donald L. Moffitt (R -74th).
*Careen M. Gordon (D – 75th).
*Frank J. Mautino (D – 76th).
*Angelo “Skip” Saviano (R – 77th).
*Deborah L. Graham (D – 78th).
*Lisa M. Dugan (D – 79th).
Miriam Shabo (R – 80th).
Rich Kelly (D – 81st).
*Jim Durkin (R – 82nd).
*Linda Chapa-LaVia (D – 83rd).
*Tom Cross (R – 84th).
Emily Klunk-McAsey (D – 85th).
*Jack McGuire (D – 86th).
*Bill Mitchell (R – 87th).
*Dan Brady (R – 88th).
*Jim Sacia (R – 89th).
*Jerry L. Mitchell (R – 90th).
*Michael K. Smith (D – 91st).
Jehan Gordon (D – 92nd).
*Jil Tracy (R – 93rd).
*Richard P. “Rich” Myers (D – 94th).
*Mike Fortner (R – 95th).
Dianne A. McGuire (R – 96th).
*Jim Watson (R – 97th).
Gary Hannig (D – 98th).
Kent E. DeLay (D – 99th).
*Bob Flider (D – 101st).
*Ron Stephens (R – 102nd).
*Naomi D. Jakobsson (D – 103rd).
Lori A. DeYoung (D – 104th).
*Shane Cultra (R – 105th).
*Keith P. Sommer (R – 106th).
Jason A. Warfel (D – 108th).
*Roger L. Eddy (R – 109th).
*Chapin Rose (R – 110th).
*Daniel V. Beiser (D – 111th).
Dwight D. Kay (R – 112th).
*Thomas "Tom" Holbrook (D – 113th).
*Wyvetter H. Younge (D – 114th).
Cheryl Graff (D – 115th).
*Dan Reitz (D – 116th).
*John Bradley (D- -117th).
*Brandon M. Phelps (D – 118th).
COOK COUNTY OFFICES:
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK: *Dorothy A. Brown (D).
RECORDER OF DEEDS: *Eugene Moore (D).
BOARD OF REVIEW: *Joseph Berrios (D – 2nd).
*Larry R. Rogers, Jr. (3rd).
METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT: *Frank Avila (D).
DuPAGE COUNTY OFFICES:
AUDITOR: Bob Grogan (R).
RECORDER: David R. Meek (D).
COUNTY BOARD: Rita Gonzalez (D – 1st).
Barbara Dahl (D – 2nd).
Robert “Bob” Brandt (D – 3rd).
Karol Sole (D – 3rd).
Richard L. Dunn (D – 4th).
Tony Michelassi (D – 5th).
*James D. Healy (R – 5th).
*Dirk Enger (D – 6th).
KANE COUNTY OFFICES:
STATE’S ATTORNEY: *John A. Barsanti (R).
CIRCUIT CLERK: Edmond J. Nendick (D).
RECORDER: *Sandy Wegman (R).
AUDITOR: Thomas K. Sandor (D).
CORONER: *Charles H. West (R).
KANE COUNTY BOARD:
*Donnell Collins (D – 2nd).
*Bonnie Lee Kunkel (D – 4th).
Ron Ford (D – 6th).
Jesse B. Vazquez (D – 8th).
*Thomas R. Van Cleave (R – 10th).
*Mark Davoust (R – 14th).
*Michael J. Kenyon (R – 16th).
Jeanette Mihalec (D – 18th).
Cristina Castro (D – 20th).
*Jackie Tredup (R – 22nd).
*Hollie Kissane (D – 24th).
*Andrew E. “Drew” Frasz (R – 26th).
LAKE COUNTY OFFICES:
STATE’S ATTORNEY: Michael Jacobs (D).
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK: Cynthia Pruim Haran (D).
RECORDER: *Mary Ellen Vanderventer (D).
CORONER: *Richard L. Keller, MD (D).
LAKE COUNTY BOARD:
Peter Grant (D – 1st).
*Suzi Schmidt (R – 3rd).
*Bonnie Thomson Carter (R – 5th).
Melinda Bush (D – 6th).
*Robert Sabonjian (D – 8th).
*Mary Ross Cunningham (D – 9th).
*Diana O’Kelly (R – 10th).
Patrice T. Carey (D – 11th).
*Angelo D. Kyle (D – 12th).
*Audrey Nixon (D – 14th).
Denise Rotheimer (D – 17th).
Davita Siegel (D – 20th).
Michelle Feldman (D – 22nd).
SUPREME COURT JUDGE:
Anne M. Burke (D-1st - McMurrow vacancy).
APPELLATE COURT JUDGE:
Sharon Johnson Coleman (D-1st – Burke vacancy).
John O. Steele (D-1st – Campbell vacancy).
James M. Wexstten (D-5th – Hopkins vacancy).
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE:
(Cook County Circuit - Countywide):
Dennis J. Burke (D-Disko vacancy).
Jesse G. Reyes (D-Glowacki vacancy).
Maureen Ward Kirby (D-Healy vacancy).
Marilyn F. Johnson (D-Keehan vacancy).
Thomas J. Byrne (D-Lott vacancy).
Debra B. Walker (D-Montelione vacancy).
Kristyna Colleen Ryan (D-Murphy vacancy).
Michael B. Hyman (D-Nowicki vacancy).
Joan Powell (D-Thomas vacancy).
(Cook County Subcircuits):
Donna J. Cooper (D-1st, Turkington vacancy).
Pat Rogers (D-4th, Shultz vacancy).
Jackie Marie Portman (D-5th, Bush vacancy).
Dominique C. Ross (D-5th, “A” vacancy).
Maurico Araujo (D-6th, Figueroa vacancy).
Anita Rivkin-Carothers (D-7th, Young vacancy).
Ann Collins Dole (D-8th, Sheehan vacancy).
Ursula Walowski (D-10th, Kowalski vacancy).
Diana L. Kenworthy (D-10th, Morrissey vacancy).
Eileen O’Neill Burke (D-10th, Pucinski vacancy).
Pamela Elizabeth Loza (D-12th, Devlin vacancy).
Ann Catherine Brady (D-13th, Ryan vacancy).
Margarita Kulys Hoffman (R-13th, Tobin vacancy).
Anna Helen Demacopoulos (D-15th, "A" vacancy).
(Downstate Circuits):
Steve Stone (D-1st, Stewart vacancy).
Joe Jackson (D-1st – Massac Co., Foster vacancy).
Joseph M. Leberman (R-1st –Pope Co., Lowery vac.).
Walden E. Morris (D-1st – Saline Co., Henshaw vac.).
L. James Hanson (D-2nd, Wexstten vacancy).
Tom Tedeschi (D-2nd – Franklin Co., Lewis vacancy).
Dennis R. Ruth (D-3rd, Ferguson vacancy).
Richard L. Tognarelli (D-3rd, Madison Co., Byron vac.).
Steven L. Garst (R-5th – Edgar Co., Andrews vacancy).
Diane M. Lagoski (D-8th – Brown Co., Slocum vacancy).
Paul l. Mangieri (D-9th, Hultgren vacancy).
Robert L. Freitag (R-11th, Bernardi vacancy).
Jennifer H. Bauknecht (R-11th – Livingston County, Frobish vacancy).
Thomas M. Harris, Jr. (R-11th – Logan Co., Coogan vacancy).
Jeff Allen (D-12th – 2nd Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
Sarah Jones (D-12th – 3rd Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
Paula A. Gomora (D-12th – 4th Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
Joseph P. Hettel (D-13th, LaSalle Co., Carter vacancy).
Daniel A. Fish (R-15th, Payne vacancy).
Ron Jacobson (R-15th – Lee County, Fritts vacancy).
Jim Murphy (D-16th – 1st Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
Patricia Piper Golden (R-16th – 2nd Sub., “A” vac.).
Ronald “Ron” J. White (R-17th, Gill vacancy).
Marilyn Hite Ross (D-17th, Kapala vacancy).
Gwyn Gulley (D-17th – 1st Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
Paul A. Logli (R-17th – 2nd Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
Blanche Hill Fawell (R-18th, Duncan, Jr. vacancy).
John J. Kinsella (R-18th, Moy vacancy).
Jay W. Ukena (D-19th – 1st Subcircuit, “A” vacancy).
David S. Weinstein (D-19th – 2nd Subcircuit, “A” vac.).
Adrienne Wakat Albrecht (D-21st – Kankakee County, Householter vacancy).
RETENTION BALLOT:
The Illinois Committee for Honest Government, after evaluating the record of the five Judges of the Appellate Court seeking retention for another 10-year term, endorses each of them and recommends a “YES” vote for Appellate Court Judges Michael J. Gallagher (1st District), Margaret Stanton McBride (1st), Robert D. McLaren (2nd), Sue E. Myerscough (4th) and Richard P. Goldenhersh (5th). (Please remember that since these judges run on their own records, and not against partisan opposition, each judge must receive at least 60% “YES” votes in order to be retained.)
We also endorse the retention candidacies of the 78 Circuit Court Judges seeking another six-year term from Circuits outside of Cook County across the state. They have acquitted themselves well and each merits a “YES” vote from the electorate on November 4.
Of the 68 remaining judges on the retention ballot, seeking another six-year term as a Cook County Circuit Court Judge, the ICHG supports the retention of 63 of them. However, five Circuit Court Judges have been found wanting by us, and we recommend a “NO” vote for each of them:
Evelyn Clay – NO!
Vanessa Hopkins – NO!
Edward Pietrucha – NO!
Casandra Lewis – NO!
Sheila McGinnis – NO!
CON-CON QUESTION
Under the provisions of the Illinois Constitution, the question of whether or not to hold a State Constitutional Convention is required to appear on the ballot every 20 years. This year Illinois voters will have that opportunity, and the ICHG strongly endorses a “YES” vote on the question of calling for a convention.
It is painfully evident that there will be no real reform of Illinois government in our lifetime without at least a number of overhauls in the state constitution. Those in power will not make those changes, so we must take this action on November 4 and vote “YES” for a State Constitutional Convention.
IMPEACH ROD BLAGOJEVICH
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