Showing posts with label Mike Tryon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Tryon. Show all posts

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Bob Kaempfe Challenging Mike Tryon for State Representative Again

“Are you running for state rep. again?” I asked.

“Yes, I am,” Crystal Lake's Robert Kaempfe replied.

“I'm going to start gathering signatures at the County Fair.”

For the second election in a row, Kaempfe will be challenging Republican incumbent Mike Tryon, also of Crystal Lake.

Even though Kaempfe drew more votes in the Democratic Party primary election than Tryon did in the GOP contest, he did not in the fall, losing 61%-39%.

“If somebody is running unopposed, you do not have a choice. At the very least I'm giving the constituents in the 64th district a choice.

“Whether they take or not is up to them, but I'm giving them a choice.”

“What issues are you going to stress?” was my next question.

“First of all, I don't like lobbyists. Exelon Corporation, Tryon's got money from Exelon a couple of different times. Is Exelon Corporation really, really looking out for the interests of the common citizen?

“No.”

“So you're not going to take money from lobbyists?" I asked.

“I would take money from unions.”

“Why?”

“Because they are, in fact, representing the working families. They are trying to keep good paying jobs for the average workers," Kaempfe replied.

“The big money lobbyists have one thing in mind, money, greed, that's their bottom line.”

“Other issues?”

“Green energy. That's where the entire planet has to go. One of the ideas I had and Mike kind of pooh-poohed it last time around, was to pass a bill that with any new construction in the state, estimate the energy it would use and the bill would be that the new house has to produce about 30% of its own green energy--solar, wind, geothermal or a combination of them."

Last year Kaempfe used his installation of solar panels to lead by example.

“With geothermal you only have to go down about eight feet. You dig the foundation level a little deeper and out a little more to put the grid down.

“Another idea I had, at the end of Coventry Lane, there's a waste water treatment plant.

“Every notice that standpipe they out there? It has a flame on top. It's burning off methane, a natural byproduct of the process.

“This is real simple. If absolutely nothing else, compress the methane into tanks all spring, summer and fall and you use it to heat the waste water treatment plant during the winter.”

“How is that a state issue?” I asked.

“It is for Crystal Lake.

“Every city, no matter where it is, has methane that could be used to help heat the waste water treatment plant. It would save money.

“The bill there would be, if you have a waste water treatment plant, you save the methane and use it to heat your waste water treatment plant.

“All the state legislators get earmarks. Instead of making massive cuts on community services, how about hold off the earmarks?

“Didn't Algonquin Township get almost a half a million dollars?

“I think that money could have been better spent, if he had to have earmarks, on PADs or Pioneer Center, where people really, really need it.

“I'm just trying to look out for the average person.

“How about all the elected state officials? To show we're on the side of the people, we'll take a voluntary ten percent pay cut.

“Why not? They're making good money.

“Why not take a pay cut?”

= = = = =
State Rep. candidate Bob Kaempfe is seen addressing the crowd at Stage Left in Woodstock in the top photo. He poses with State Rep. Mike Tryon at McHenry County College's Shaw Center at State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) health care hearing last summer below.

Posted first at McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Minority-Dominated, Failing Elgin School District U-46 Could Gain $10 Million a Year from SB 2283 , Will Mike Madigan Call It?

by Cal Skinner

Elgin has the second largest Illinois school district. In the 1970's I used to represent it.

Today it has the distinction of having all five of its high schools in failure mode.

And because of an overlapping tax district problem that allowed a clerical mistake, it will lose about $10 million in State Aid to Education next year.

Will Democratic Party State Reps. Keith Farnham and Fred Crespo and Senator Mike Noland let this opportunity slip through their fingers or seize the day, so to speak?

The bill that would do the trip is Senate Bill 2283 and former Huntley School Board member Larry Snow has made a persuasive case for how Democrats should help U-46 get the millions in state aid it would otherwise be receiving, if the technical fix in SB 2283 is passed.

Of course the bill would help Huntley School District 158, too, to the tune of $2 million a year.

State Senator Pam Althoff is the sponsor of the bill, which has yet to receive a “No” vote.

The article under which Snow commented announced that House sponsor Republican State Rep. Mike Tryon had agreed not to seek past State Aid to Education that has been lost.

Snow posted comments to the Daily Herald story that mentioned SB 2283.

Elgin-area Republicans may have a large potential campaign issue if the House Democratic Party leadership lets this bill die on the floor without its being called to a vote.

Snow is hoping the political powers wake up soon enough to realize the information that an Illinois State Board of Education staffer gave the House leadership failed to mention the huge injustice to the 25,000 minority students in U-46, 15,000 of whom are Hispanic.

When I contacted Snow he said,

"It's ridiculous this bureaucrat from the State Board of Education may make Democrat leaders and politicians look like real jackasses by killing this bill and not allowing a vote on the House floor.

“I have met her, listened to her and anyone who listened to her committee testimony recently should be able to tell she is off the deep end wanting to preserve this injustice and not disclosing the ongoing impact to the State's second largest school district."
Snow's comments in the Daily Herald are below:

posted by Larry Snow on Sat May 23, 2009 10:37 AM
Here is the amendment to SB2283 Amend Senate Bill 2283 on page 3, line 3,
“after '5%', by inserting 'and only those adjustments made after Tax Year 2008-2009 and payable in School Year 2009-2010 are eligible for a claim for reimbursement under this paragraph.'”
It is a fix for year after year, not a one-year fix. The immediate impact on U-46 is about 10 million dollars with no approval.

Superintendent Torres has been informed this has a huge impact for his school district.

Let's see what he does about it, if anything, to prevent more cuts and help the students. Over the past years U-46 lost about 50 million in State aid.

Congrats to Sen. Michael Noland for becoming a chief co-sponsor.

Now let's see him fight to get what's right done within his own party.

What good are you if you can't get a technical correction fix that is huge for your district?

Which Chicago democrat would let this abuse continue for the Chicago Public schools? Go get 'em.

The local teachers union and school board have been snoozing on this for years.

Residents need your leadership, Sen. Noland. What House Democrats are going to help you get it passed?
posted by Larry Snow on Sat May 23, 2009 11:54 AM
U-46's teachers' union leaders and board members need to get out of snooze mode and beat the drums to get SB2283 passed. They should be in uproar over about 50 million being lost in the past because of a technical error.

If Speaker Madigan will let it be voted on in the House, after easily passing in the Senate, then U-46 will get the state aid funding it is being deprived of because of technical errors that need fixing.

Where is the Hispanic caucus in the House? Why aren't they out in front to help their own on this bill? The fiscal office in U-46 should have been all over this, years ago. I am hoping Superintendent Torres has the guts and brains to go out and get this bill passed. It is H U G E for U-46.

Jesse Ruiz, chair of the State Board of Education should do something about one of ISBE's employees, Toni Wagner making it her personal "job" and mission to prevent SB2283 and U-46 from recovering and receiving the millions of State Aid it rightfully deserves.

Wagner has opposed SB2283. which would help over 15,000 Hispanic students in U-46 by making a technical fix in the law. Anyone think if Wagner was Gonzalez there would be cooperation, not opposition?
posted by Larry Snow on Sat May 23, 2009 1:06 PM
Speaker Madigan was a true leader in getting referendum reform legislation passed in the past. He saw the injustice to taxpayers and got it fixed. I have praised him and the Democrats in the past for doing this and it is praise well deserved.

I disagree with any Republican sentiments to not press hard for SB2283 and let it fail because they can then potentially use its failure as a future political campaign issue.

It is a huge injustice U-46 has five out of five failing high schools for five years in a row (last time I looked) and they are being underfunded by millions in state aid because of a technical glitch in the School Code.

Speaker Madigan and Jesse Ruiz aren't involved at this level of detail.

Good House Democrats voted it out of committee in spite of an underling ISBE employee ranting against doing so to the House committee. I didn't need to be physically present in Springfield for that committee hearing. The committee hearing was transmitted on the internet. (continued in next comment)
posted by Larry Snow on Sat May 23, 2009 1:50 PM
If Republican legislators are afraid of publicly calling out an ISBE employee for preventing an injustice from being corrected, I am not. The injustice needs to be corrected and there's not a lot of time left for more patty-cake politics that let's an ISBE bureaucrat perpetuate a real injustice to the second largest school district in the State.

If this gets this injustice the publicity it deserves so it gets corrected, great. It doesn't matter how much Wagner may be right about anything else in the past. Her opposition speaking for ISBE to SB2283 is as wrong as underfunding five out of five failing high schools in Illinois' second largest school district.

I am hopeful if Speaker Madigan and his office get the correct information and facts and don't rely on the biased opinion of an underling ISBE employee, the injustice to over 15,000 Hispanic students will get corrected. Properly funding education is a Democrat mantra. I am hopeful Speaker Madigan will stop the abuse and injustice once he knows that's what is going on.
posted by Larry Snow on Sat May 23, 2009 3:43 PM
Superintendent Torres may want to direct someone in U-46's fiscal office to take the fifteen minutes it takes to make the calculation showing the loss of state aid SB2283 will fix and get the facts straightened out with someone in Speaker Madigan's office. Hopefully Mr. Ruiz, chair of the Illinois State Board of Education will also make sure the correct facts get to Speaker Madigan's office.

The Democrats, with Speaker Madigan's leadership, need to right this technical flaw wrong that is disadvantaging so many Hispanic children in U-46.

25,000 minority (including 15,000 Hispanic) children shouldn't be receiving erroneous second rate funding because they are in second largest school district in Illinois.

Democrat leaders wouldn't tolerate this for the largest school district in Illinois and shouldn't tolerate this for the second largest as well.

Especially when it is on the floor of the House to pass the legislature.

Governor Quinn needs to be heard on whether he supports this technical fix in SB2283 that will help 25,000 minority children get a better education.

Even if Governor Quinn stays silent on helping these children, Speaker Madigan should make sure SB2283 is passed.
= = = = =
In the photo on top newly elected State Rep. Keith Farnham (D-Elgin) was talking to Carpentersville School District 300 Chief Technology Officer Eric Willard. The head shot at the bottom is of Larry Snow.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Monday, May 18, 2009

Term Lmiits for Legislative Leaders

by Cal Skinner

I'm pretty amazed that the issue I stressed when I ran for governor against Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan in 2002 is getting attention during this year when the media is pushing reform:

Term Limits
for Leaders

When my Libertarian Party running mate Jim Tobin and I kicked off our campaign in his National Taxpayers United of Illinois office in the South Loop, the sign we held up is the one you see below.


The sign went everywhere in the campaign and might have gotten some real play had Blagojevich and Ryan not conspired to skip the Illinois League of Women Voters gubernatorial debate after I managed to reach the 5% threshold in the Daily Southtown's 1,000 person survey. (That was the largest in the entire campaign, by the way.)

It seemed perfectly obvious to me that legislative leaders should not be leaders for life.

Except for two years after Republican Lee Daniels managed to elect a Republican majority in 1994—the year that the GOP's Contract with America clicked on the national level—Mike Madigan has been speaker since George Ryan held the office in the early 1980's.

Pate Philip stopped all sorts of bad legislation in his leadership of the state senate during the 1990's, but it still seems to me that there ought to be turnover.

While the old guy/gal may pick the new guy/gal, at least the newbies would have different friends.

When Daniels got deposed during a staff-campaign-work-on-state-time scandal initiated by Rich Means--part of which took place in McHenry County--successor Tom Cross won votes by promising not to try to follow Daniels' example of being Republican leader as long as he could.

Cross promised term limits.

In 2008, that 2002 promise went bye-bye.

And, of course, nothing will happen on the issue because Madigan is not willing to see an end to his regime...even if it were ten years from now.

The Daily Herald has polled suburban legislators on how they stand on various reform proposals and how the term limits for leaders issue shakes out can be seen below.

First House members:
  • Susanne Bassi – Favors
  • Mark Beaubien (Republican representing eastern part of McHenry County) – Favors
  • Bob Biggins – Favors
  • Linda Chapa-LaVia – Favors
  • Franco Coladipietro – Favors
  • Sandy Cole – Favors
  • Michael Connelly – Favors
  • Tom Cross – Opposed (Big surprise there.)
  • Keith Farnham – Opposes
  • Mike Fortner – Favors
  • Jack Franks – (Democrat representing northern & western McHenry County) Favors
  • Paul Froehlich – Opposes
  • Kay Hatcher – Favors
  • Emily Klunk-McAsey – Did not respond to Daily Herald
  • Sidney Mathias – Favors
  • Rosemary Mulligan – Favors
  • Elaine Nekritz – Favors
  • JoAnn Osmond – Favors
  • Sandra Pihos – Favors
  • Randy Ramey – Opposes (Step-father is Pate Philip.)
  • Dennis Reboletti – Favors
  • Kathleen Ryg – Favors
  • Skip Saviano – Favors
  • Tim Schmitz – Favors
  • Darlene Senger – Favors
  • Ed Sullivan – Favors
  • Mike Tryon – (Representing southeastern McHenry County) Opposes
  • Mark Walker – Opposes
  • Eddie Washington – Favors
= = = = =
The top sign is the one used in the 2002 campaign. The bottom one was the first version. I concluded that 8 years as leader was better than 6, hence the change in toll free phone numbers.

Posted first at McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Monday, January 26, 2009

Party Sign Differences

In Woodstock there are two well-placed signs with movable letters.

One is on Route 14 and has Republican State Senator Pam Althoff's and State Rep. Mike Tryon's names on it.

The other is on Route 47 on the west south side of the railroad overpass. It is outside of Democratic Party State Rep. Jack Franks' office.

Friday on the way up Route 14 to Camp Lakota for a First Methodist Church of Crystal Lake Cub Scout Pack 158 winter campout, I saw the Republican message:

SUPPORT
SPECIAL
ELECTION

Not exactly topical since Rolland Burris has already taken office as Illinois' junior U.S. Senator.

Driving past the Franks sign I read,


JACK TO TESTIFY
IN SPRINGFIELD
ON IMPEACMENT

Franks' sign talks of something that will be on the news this week.

I'd say that Franks won the contest on which sign has the most relevant message this past weekend.

Of course, the Franks sign is easier to modify.

But click on the Franks' photo and see how frayed the state flag is.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Mike Tryon Tries to Boost Name Identification

I think it was Mother's Day that I first noticed that Crystal Lake's Republican State Representative Mike Tryon had billboards up.

He must be nervous.

I have never seen billboards for a candidate put up SIX months before election day.

Billboards are used primarily to boost name identification.

My guess is that a poll for Tryon indicated that he has abnormally low name identification.

The reason is probably because he never had an opponent in a Republican primary election.

This spring, Tryon's Democratic Party opponent Robert Kaempfe got more votes than Tryon, the first time that has ever happened in McHenry County.

= = = = =

The head shot is of Democratic Party candidate for state representative Robert Kaempfe. He lives in Coventry in Crystal Lake.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Aim High

There was so much good stuff at the two meetings I attended Wednesday night. The McHenry County Democrats slated candidates for state's attorney, auditor and two for county board in my district.

At my second meeting, the Legislative Budget Hearing at McHenry County College, Al Wilson, long-time steward of the Lake in the Hills fen testified before State Senator Pam Althoff and State Representative Jack Franks and Mike Tryon.

Wilson related going down to Springfield to hold a press conference with Althoff in an attempt to restore money that Governor Rod Blagojevich had cut out of the Department of Natural Resources budget.

Wilson spoke of the man in DNR he called for advice.

“Because of the cuts, that one guy is now responsible for all the nature preserves from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River,” Wilson told the legislators.

He reported that such staff are now using leased equipment and that Blagojevich now wants an additional 14% departmental budget cut.

“When you see the governor, kick him in the knees... and aim high,”

were Wilson's parting comments.

There was widespread support evident in the crowd, which numbered about 100 when I arrived about an hour late, as there was for Franks' constitution amendment to allow recall of state officials when it was brought up.

Posted first as a "Message of the Day" on McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Missing Senate Bill 307 CTA/RTA Subsidy Roll Call

In the

"Isn’t that special?”

category is the Legislative Information System's failure to post the roll call on the CTA/RTA bailout bill last night.

Even this morning when I called to ask why, it wasn’t up.

There was an asterisk next to the notation, but there was no note below. (Click below to enlarge the image.)

The person I talked to said that there had been a motion to reconsider by State Rep. Gary Hannig.

“So what?” I thought.

A vote was taken and it wasn’t put on postponed consideration.

Well, as I write this, it’s 11 o’clock in the morning and the roll call has magically appeared.

I believe it is worth noting that newspapers and radio stations without someone on the scene would not be able to report this morning how local legislators voted.

All three of McHenry County’s delegation—Jack Franks, Mike Tryon and Mark Beaubien vote against the measure.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross, whose idea was the guts of the bill voted “Present.”

Maybe he was thinking how people in Kendall County would react to his proposal to force each man, woman and child to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority and Regional Transportation Authority $30 this year.

First posted on McHenry County Blog, where you can also find the roll call.

Read more...

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Mike Tryon on CTA-Roads Deal

"No Capital? No CTA!" reads the headline on State Rep. Mike Tryon's "legislative update."

It has a wonderful train analogy to describe the effect on McHenry County of the bill to bail out the Chicago Transit Authority under consideration:

"on a fast track to nowhere."
It points out that "less than one percent of those in McHenry County use mass transit."

Then Tryon writes,
"If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation."
Is that a hint he can vote for the half percentage point sales tax increase?

A 7.7 percent increase in McHenry County's sales tax, half of which would go to the RTA (read mainly the CTA) and half to the McHenry County Board with which to build roads.

Let's read the sentence again:
"If the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 are not willing to talk about the overall transportation needs of McHenry County, I cannot support their legislation."
And, here's another hint for you to interpret at your leisure:
"I am committed to working with the sponsors of Senate Bill 572 to create a plan that addresses both mass transit and roads."
This reminds me so, so much of how an eastern Illinois ex-sheriff state representative agreed to vote for the creation of the RTA when Dave Caravello, one of Governor Dan Walker's legislative people, offered not to fire one of the Republican's road worker buddies, if he'd vote for the RTA bill.

The price is bigger here. I'll grant that.

But we had state approval to build the Western Bypass and Governor Rod Blagojevich took it away. It's a congressional earmark. When the last time IDOT didn't build a congressional earmark?

Now, it sounds as if Tryon is willing to vote for higher taxes in order to get back what was already ours.

The legislative update does not mention how more roads will be financed, but increased gambling has been mentioned widely elsewhere.

The only specific road improvement mentioned is the Western Bypass (to ease the traffic flow at Routes 62 and 31 in Algonquin). There is no mention of the Bolz Road bridge, in southern Algonquin and Carpentersville, without which the Western Bypass will not work. Local municipal and county officials seem intent on making people pay a toll to use the Bolz Road bridge (see Please Make Me Pay Twice), which means, of course, that those who don't want to pay a toll will continue to cross the Fox River at Route 62.

You can read Tryon's whole press release on McHenry County Blog. I wonder if it is a prototype for suburban Republican state representatives to use to justify voting for the deal.

And, speaking of roads, 8th congressional district Republican primary candidate Ken Arnold from Gurnee has made three interesting road proposals, two to save money and one to build a causeway across Lake Michigan. This is a man into policy.

Read more...

Friday, August 03, 2007

Democrat Bill Gentes Announces Run for Senate Seat Bill Peterson Is Vacating in East Central McHenry County District

During the 2006 election, Democrats in Hoffman Estates adopted a strategy of backing a candidate attractive to those who speak Spanish. Combined with the fervent opposition to long-term incumbent State Rep. Terry Parke by abortion supporters, Parke lost his office.

Now, Bill Gentes, a Democratic Party candidate who is fluent in Spanish by reason of having spent 8 years in Mexico, has announced his candidacy for the state senate that State Senator Bill Peterson (R-Long Grove).

The district comes into McHenry County north of Crystal Lake and has much of McHenry in it, plus parts of Cary and Fox River Grove.

The challenger to Parke was a Republican village trustee in Hoffman Estates before he was recruited by the Democrats.

Gentes is the two-term mayor of Round lake, which the press release below points out is “one of the fastest growing…communities in Illinois.”

The issues he has staked out are transportation, jobs, real estate tax relief and education reform.

The mayor is a real estate agent now and has a blog.

His press release is posted on McHenry County Blog, as are ones from State Rep. Jack Franks and Mike Tryon.

Read more...

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Posturing for Judgeships?

Two Illinois legislators have recently taken surprising political stands.

State Senator Kirk Dillard (R-DuPage County) cut a campaign ad segment for Barack Obama. It made big news in the Chicago metropolitan market and got big criticism from Republicans.

State Representative Jack Franks (D-Bull Valley) has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.

So, why would Dillard go out onto a limb for Obama and Franks onto a similar branch for Hillary?

Dillard lost in the Illinois Senate Leadership fight to Frank Watson. Dillard also just voluntarily gave up the traditional power base of Chairman of the DuPage County Republican Central Committee.

Maybe he would like to be a federal judge in Chicago. Couldn't hurt to have a president or a vice president or even a U.S. Senator as an advocate.

Franks is similarly boxed in politically.

He could run for Congress against Republican Congressman Don Manzullo in the 16th congressional district.

But that would by no means be a slam-dunk.

And one of his 2006 contributors, Robert Abboud, is acting as if he is going to run against Manzullo.

Does Franks run against State Senator Pam Althoff next year?

Only if he is very, very brave.

He’d have to knock on twice as many doors and, surely, he has gotten tired of knocking on doors by now. It’s been eight years of going door-to-door.

As I have stated repeatedly, I have seen that women have a five- percentage point advantage over men in this area.

Why would he run for the state senate if Althoff were not vacating her seat to challenge Congresswoman Melissa Bean?

So, could Franks, who barely beat Dr. Tom Salvi—a man, I point out—afford to spot Althoff five-percentage points?

I don’t think so.

And, why take the risk by leaving what is by now a “safe” seat?

Or has Franks’ support of Hillary blown the conservative “cover” has spent low these many years creating?

Maybe it would make him vulnerable in his legislative seat, especially if a woman ran against him.

Franks got lots of publicity posturing for a Democratic Party primary challenge against Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Indeed, Franks is the anti-Blagojevich in the Illinois General Assembly.

So, why would Franks want to be a state senator under the leadership of Rod Blagojevich lover Emil Jones?

He gets paid the same as a state representative. And he seems to have reached a détente with McHenry County Republicans on giving Mike Tryon a free ride to Springfield, that is, no Democratic Party opponent, in return for his having no opposition.

And, Franks get to work with the father of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who must love it every time Franks takes on the man the Speaker wants to beat in a gubernatorial primary election in 2010.

What else it left?

Franks could run for Attorney General, if Lisa Madigan ran for governor. I thought that most likely until Franks' endorsement of Hillary.

But that is a statewide race and his stances on hot button Democratic Party issues like homosexual rights and abortion have not been liberal enough to gain the support of the Personal PAC’s and gay rights supporters in Illinois.

So, what’s left that would be a step up?

How about a federal judgeship?

If Hillary gets elected president, Franks would have been one of the few prominent Illinois Democrats to have supported her before the primary election.

Trust me. Politicians remember who supported them when it counted most.

Sure, Franks would have to have the support of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.

But, Durbin is a practical kind of guy.

I don’t see that as an obstacle.

So, if Hillary wins, I figure Franks has his choice of sitting on the federal bench in Rockford or in Chicago.

It’s a toss-up, in my mind, as to which he would pick.

= = = = =
The picture of Kirk Dillard and Frank Watson came from the Illinois Channel, which Comcast refuses to broadcast in McHenry County. Hillary Clinton's photograph comes from her campaign web site. The photos of Don Manzullo and Robert Abboud, Pam Althoff, Jack Franks, Mike Tryon and Dick Durbin were take by your intrepid photographer, most with need for a flash. All can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Posted originally on McHenry County Blog.

Read more...

Friday, April 27, 2007

Parental Notice Rollback Fails

Thanks to Family PAC's Paul Caprio for alerting me to the vote taken on the rollback attempt on parental notice prior to a girl's getting an abortion.

As I wrote earlier, I think the existing language is weak. In fact, I voted against it when it passed, outlining ten ways to avoid telling your parents before getting an abortion, if that House Bill 955 passed.

But this vote was a test between current pro- and anti-abortion forces in Illinois and pro-abortion Personal PAC, Planned Parenthood and their allies lost.

State representatives having constituents in McHenry County split 3-2.

Republican Mark Beaubien of Barrington Hills and Democrat Jack Franks of Bull Valley voted in favor of the weaker notification standards. Republican Mike Tryon stood in support of current law by voting, "No."

Caprio said that Family-Pac had initiated 33,000 grassroots calls to parents in eleven districts where House members were undecided prior to the vote.

And McHenry County Right To Life leader Irene Napier was certainly involved in stimulating calls in several districts.

“I understand that the pro-abortion lobby is threatening to launch a $250,000 campaign against members who voted with parents against HB317" Caprio continued. "

"Such a campaign of intimidation and misinformation against members will be met by Family-Pac with a massive grassroots response by parents:

'Bring it on.'”
The bill was sponsored by Chicago Democrat John Fritchey.

You can enlarge the roll call by clicking on it. More on McHenry Count Blog.

Read more...

  © Blogger template The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP