Illinois Alliance for Growth Begins Challenges to Think Tanks Claims on Pension Borrowing Scheme

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Cook County, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois Alliance For Growth, Illinois Policy Institute, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Illinois Alliance for Growth

Will the State Republican legislators and candidates who want to borrow nearly $20 billion for pensions please come forward?

Illinois Alliance for Growth President Greg Blankenship today called on Republican legislators, gubernatorial candidates and candidates for other state offices to come forward if they are truly interested in a state pension reform scheme that borrows nearly $20 billion today in exchange for 35 years of state government living on a “…strict diet…” of spending.
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Republican Dirk Beveridge Soars to the Top of the List

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Dirk Beveridge for Congress campaign…

The 8th Congressional Candidate Scores a New Endorsement

(Barrington, Ill.) January 25, 2010…This weekend, 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Dirk Beveridge further differentiated himself as the leader. On Sunday, Dirk Beveridge earned the endorsement of the Daily Herald and significantly over-achieved the Republican field in fundraising as revealed in federal Election Commission financial reporting.
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New Plummer for Lt. Gov. Ad

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Illinois, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Plummer for Lt. Gov. campaign…

US Senate: Arrington Challenges Mark Kirk To Debate‏

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…

U.S. Senate candidate John Arrington has challenged front runner Mark Kirk to a serious debate to discuss critical issues facing Illinois and the nation. “Mark Kirk has not participated in one debate to discuss challenges facing Illinois residents and this is unacceptable” stated Arrington. Arrington strongly believes that a debate focusing on the serious issues of job creation, revitalizing our economy, stances on education, health care, corporate bailouts, and taxes is vital. Without a fair and balanced debate for candidates to discuss their platform and express their differences, Illinois voters will once again be kept in the dark and uninformed on the critical issues facing our nation. Mr. Kirk has thus far has not been involved in a single debate with any other candidates, and John Arrington feels this is an offensive breach of the electoral process.

Candidate Paul Mitchell Responds to Kelly’s Claims of ‘Dirty Tricks’

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, States, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

Paul Mitchell is one of the parties mentioned in accusations made by the William Kelly campaign that the Jim Dodge campaign is involved in some classic Chicago-styled “dirty tricks” campaign tactics. Mitchell has responded to these accusations that have descended upon his camaign. Mitchell is a State Rep candidate for the 62nd District whose website can be seen at paulfor62.com.

There are some accusations flying around that I’d like to clear up.

On his blog, William Kelly wrote, “A $5,000 contribution from Jack Roeser’s Renaissance PAC to Committee to Elect Paul Mitchell. Mitchell’s campaign manager, Lynn Thomas, pens a blog that has been deeply involved in the smear campaign against Kelly’s campaign.”

It’s truth time, Bill!
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D2s Prove Jim Dodge Dirty Tricks in IL Comptroller Race

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Tom Mannis, Chicago News Bench

(Editor’s note: This is some very interesting stuff. I am a Dodge supporter, but I am also as interested in having all the pertinent news reported. So, here is my friend Tom Mannis’ post From Chicago News Bench from the Kelly campaign perspective. To be sure Mr. Mannis writes in an impassioned style, so be aware of that, and he has endorsed William Kelly.)

January 25, 2010 - I will have much more about this in the coming days, but for now I just want to get the word out. William J. Kelly, Republican candidate for Comptroller, released what may be his most important press release to date, because it gives proof to Kelly’s claim that his opponent, Jim Dodge, has been operating a campaign of lies and smears. The release, reproduced below, is titled “D-2 ELECTION DISCLOSURES REVEAL TRUTH ABOUT TOPINKA-DODGE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST KELLY.”

Jim Dodge’s campaign has been using the worst of Saul Alinsky-style tactics against conservative William J. Kelly.
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Luntz Misleads With New Gun Poll

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Constitution, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Guns, Journalism, Media Bias, Rights, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Pollster Frank Luntz is trying to hawk his new poll on gun laws commissioned by the left-wing group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. He’s trying to sell the concept that NRA members are just as interested in “common-sense gun policies” as anti-gun nuts and that legislators should take this into account when crafting future anti-gun legislation. The problem is that this poll is misleading in some important ways. The problem here is that the devil being in the details is glossed over by the poll. (Download .pdf of poll here)

In an op ed penned by Luntz and Tom Barrett, gun owners are compared favorably with non-gun owners over their feelings on gun banning laws. “The culture war over the right to bear arms isn’t much of a war after all,” the pair tells us. “As it turns out, there is a lot everyone agrees on.”

And this main point serves as the biggest problem with Luntz’ poll. Of course everyone will claim they are for “common-sense” laws. But the first thing that anyone will find out when discussing concrete policies that might come to make up these so-called common-sense ideas is that disagreement quickly reigns when people start getting specific. An assumption that everyone agrees on just what common sense means disappears pretty quickly when the details are laid out.
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Union Membership Down Another 10%

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Socialism, State Government, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

With some ups and downs, unions have been steadily losing members for quite a while and 2009 is no exception. According to the Labor Dept., private-sector unions lost 834,000 members last year.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported private-sector unions lost 834,000 members, bringing membership down to 7.2% of the private-sector work force, from 7.6% the year before. The broader drop in U.S. employment and a small gain by public-sector unions helped keep the total share of union membership flat at 12.3% in 2009. In the early 1980s, unions represented 20% of workers.

The Wall Street Journal also notes that it isn’t likely that the union jobs lost will come back as union jobs if they ever come back at all.

But the Journal doesn’t stress the most important union fact nearly enough. Unions that serve government workers in still on the rise and form the largest section of union workers.
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Anatomy Of A Tea Party Pooping Endorsement

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, House of Representatives, Illinois, Liberals, Republicans, State Government, Taxes, Tea Party, Warner Todd Huston | 8 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I have come to the conclusion that the Palatine Tea Party group (www.teapartypalatine.com) made a hasty decision in picking Joe Walsh for its Illinois 8th Congressional District candidate, hasty and perhaps misguided. In fact, this choice of Joe Walsh sort of shows the pitfalls that the Tea Party movement in general can fall into.

The field of candidates in the 8th District is wide, indeed. There are currently six Republicans running to snag the nomination of the Party and the differences between them are not too great when one looks over their issue statements. On the surface it would seem that throwing a dart would be just as legitimate a way as any other to make an endorsement in the 8th. But surface gloss can be deceiving and in this case, I believe that the gloss of Joe Walsh’s current campaign has blinded the good folks of the Palatine Tea Party group to a certain reality.

As I said there are six candidates for the 8th District nomination. Alphabetically they are:

Dirk Beveridge – www.beveridge2010.com
John Dawson – johndawsonforcongress.com
Chris Geissler – chrisgeissler.netboots.net
Gregory Jacobs – Gregory S. Jacobs
Maria Rodriguez – www.mariarodriguezforcongress.com
Joe Walsh – walshforcongress.com

What’s Wrong With the Palatine Endorsement?

From the information that I have been able to ascertain, it seems that one of the reasons that the Palatine Tea Party folks made their late December endorsement is because he won the poll that they hosted on their website. This poll was not scientific nor without controversy, however. The poll had surged overnight at one point with hundreds of votes each for candidates Walsh and rival Dirk Beveridge. This happened because of a technical flaw in the website. Apparently the poll did not record cookies so the same i.p. address could game the poll by hosting repeated votes. It seems that campaign operatives both for Beveridge and Walsh found out about this flaw and flooded the poll with multiple votes for their candidate.
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The Time Is Ripe for Divide & Conquer

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Capitalism, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Foreign Policy, Founders, Frank Salvato, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Republicans, Rights, Society/Culture, Taxes, The Law, War on Terror, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Obama Administration is doing everything they can to place the blame for Republican Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts Senatorial Special Election on Martha Coakley. It is their modus operandi. When someone or some organization becomes a political liability, the Obama team throws it under the bus. They did it to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. They did it to Bill Ayers. They did it to ACORN. And now they are doing it to Martha Coakley. No, we shouldn’t be surprised. In Chicago Democrat politics, political liabilities are “dealt with,” and Barack Obama is a Chicago Machine Progressive-Democrat.

Martha Coakley wasn’t always a “liability,” though. In her defense it should be pointed out that as recently as 2006, Coakley won election as the Massachusetts Attorney’s General by a decisive margin, garnering 73% of the vote. By any standard, a statewide election victory tallying 73% of the vote is impressive. Coming off that kind of power victory, we can discern that Coakley knows how to execute a political campaign. Further, with such a lopsided victory achieved, it would have been logical that she would have been a strong candidate, against all comers, to safely retain the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat…if left to her own devices.
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New Jim Dodge for Comptroller Video Ad

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Our Radio Show Tonight at 8PM: We Welcome the Illinois Conservative FaceBook Folks

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Ann "Babe" Huggett, Elections, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Conservatism, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Tonight at 8PM central, 9PM eastern, we once again take to the air with our show Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism.

Tonight we welcome Zach Oltmanns the spokesman for the new group of young Illinois conservatives from the Rockford, Ill. area that formed an exciting new FaceBook group called Illinois Conservatives.

Zach and his young friends have been all over the news with their new effort and it is exciting to see young people turn their attention to politics. We’ll talk to Zach about the excitement as well as the unexpected pitfalls of starting this effort.

To join Ann “Babe” Huggett and myself on our show tonight, click our logo below.

Illinois Conservative FaceBook Group Switches Comptroller Endorsement

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

The new FaceBook Group called Illinois Conservatives has switched their endorsement for the Comptroller’s race. Initially they picked William Kelly for Comptroller, but now they are switching to Jim Dodge.

This from the Rockford, Ill. based group:

The Illinois Conservatives Facebook group would like to announce a change in endorsement for the office of Comptroller in the 2010 Primary Election. Instead of endorsing William J. Kelly, we have collaboratively voted to switch our endorsement to Jim Dodge of Orland Park, Illinois.

Jim’s service in the National Guard as a Sergeant in the 178th Infantry Battalion and 44th RAOC from 1988-1998 shows his love for his country and that is one of many qualities we admire about Jim. His experience in marketing research, consulting, and technology shows he has interest in the people of Illinois aiming all of his efforts to pleasing them. Jim is a family man and his values are rooted deep within his family. There is no doubt that Jim Dodge is a candidate we would endorse.

The comptroller office is the one responsible for Illinois’ checkbook. This office is in charge of the state budget information, which includes state revenues, expenditures, and vendor payments. We want Jim Dodge in this office because he cares about our money here in Illinois. He will make sure that our money will be spent correctly as he says:

“Illinois needs a strong leader with the right business skills to accurately keep track of the state’s finances and call to task the legislature and governor when they inappropriately spend your money. One of my goals is to make sure that you, the residents of Illinois, have the facts about what is happening to your money because it is your money.”

The Illinois Conservatives Facebook Group wants Jim Dodge for Comptroller 2010. We urge you to exercise your right to vote on February 2, 2010.

Video: Birkett’s Endorsement of Jim Ryan

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Former State’s Attorney Joe Birkett endorsed Jim Ryan for Governor saying that he thinks we need a man like Ryan who has a “prosecutor’s” attitude in the office.

In the video, though, Birkett slams Andy McKenna for his misuse of Republican Party funds when he, McKenna was the GOP Chairman.

Well, I can’t say I agree with Birkett’s choice of the anti-Constitution Ryan, but I whole heartedly agree with his assessment of McKenna. I sad as much myself last month.

Obama IS the Tax Man!!

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Communism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Slavery, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

This one is genius!

5th District: Video Ad Rosanna Pulido for Congress

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Cook County Board, Elections, GOP, Illinois, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Rosanna Pulido “a new, fresh voice in Washington.”

Newest Adam Andrzejewski Ad

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

The Newest TV ad from the Adam Andrzejewski for Governor campaign.

This Aussie LOVES Guns, And I Like This Aussie

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Australia, Freedom, Guns, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Australian Steve Lee says he likes guns. He like ‘em so much he made this music video. He likes guns and I LOVE this video. It is hilarious.

Everything from .22 cal pistols all the way to an RPG and every machine gun and rifle in between! HA, I LOVE it!

Naturally the weak-kneed, liberal, scumbags Down Under are all upset by Lee’s paean to the shiny poppers that he so loves. The pasty faced president of Gun Control Australia was all upset over Lee’s great little video. But who cares what this half-wit, sniveling, snot-nosed liberal says,eh?

Steve Lee likes guns, dangit!

Is This The President’s Fake Letter to the Editor

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, President, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper happened upon a curious letter to the editor in support of President Obama that seems to have suddenly popped up in nearly 40 newspapers across the country all at once. Every letter claims to be written by an “Ellie Light” and all claim to be from a resident local to the newspaper’s audience — different hometowns used in each case. All are identical whether they’ve been printed in the Washington Times or the Los Banos Enterprise, a small newspaper in California.

The letter jumps to the support of President Obama saying in part that President Obama never promised that “our problems would wash off in the morning.”

But today, the president is being attacked as if he were a salesman who promised us that our problems would wash off in the morning. He never made such a promise. It’s time for Americans to realize that governing is hard work, and that a president can’t just wave a magic wand and fix everything.

The odd thing is that this letter has appeared all on the same day, all across the country, and all claiming to be from a local letter writer interested in drumming up sympathy for President Obama. The whole thing stinks of an astroturf effort — an effort to carpet the news with a fake grass-roots styled letter.

Who had the power to get this letter placed in so many papers all on the same day? Who had the reach to do this? It certainly smacks of a coordinated effort either by the President’s staff or the national party.
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Noah gets an honorable mention in last-day Bible prophecy

January 24, 2010 | Filed Under Marie Jon, Religion | Comments Off

-By Marie Jon

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” — 2 Peter 3:9

Just the other day, Noah’s ark was once again in the news. People are interested. Many wonder if the ark is a reality. And in every Sunday School class, little ones see a familiar picture of a boat. It’s filled with animals and has a rainbow in the sky above it. And of course, that boat is Noah’s ark. However, has anyone given thought that when the picture was hung upon the wall, it represented a prophetic warning for the last days?

A Chicago Politician’s Arrogance

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Chicago, Cook County, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Liberals, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Long time Chicago Democratic Politician Monique Davis is the poster child for arrogance. Davis is a State Rep that has been involved in many flaps centered around her assumption of personal imperviousness, her assumption that her office is a shield used to excuse just any activity at all on her part. She is above the law, beyond the reach of decency and responsibility as far as she is concerned and the Chicago Sun-Times has given us yet another example of her hubris.

You’ll recall that only last month the Tribune had a report that Davis hadn’t paid the rent for her offices… for almost eight years. Why should she? Do you KNOW who she is?

Well, we can add yet another bit of arrogance on the part of Davis. She’s decided that she should take possession of someone else’s work of art. You know. Just because she’s Monique Davis, and all.

The Sun-Times is reporting that Monique Davis decided that it was her right to take possession of a 400 pound statue of a slave woman so that she might have some proper I’m-a-Proud-black-woman sort of decoration for her office in Chicago. Only one problem… she doesn’t own the statue. Chicago State University owns it.
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Public Employees Unions Are Sinking California

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, California, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Health, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Society/Culture, State Government, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Steven Greenhut has a great piece in the Wall Street Journal about how the evils of public employees unions are destroying California.

Greenhut begins by noting that with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country California is losing its “productive citizens” to other states but is still saddled with an economy killing surfeit of public unions employees that “drive costs up and fight to block spending cuts.”

Greenhut goes on to report that the unfunded pensions that California is stuck with has increased by 2,000% in the last decade because of the overweening power of the unions.
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New Ad: John Garrido for Cook County Board President

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Cook County Board, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

garrido2010.com

U.S. Senate: Arrington Defends Educational Choice

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Congress, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the John Arrington for Senate campaign…

John Arrington, Republican candidate for US Senate (IL), supports the rights of parents to make educational choices for their children, be it through public, private, charter, or home schools. With a varied background that includes private and public school teaching and Illinois certification in educational administration with a superintendent of schools certification, John Arrington has a unique perspective among the senatorial candidates. He deems the choice of educational venue to be the right of parents—the first and foremost educators of their children.
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Comptroller: Newest Jim Dodge Commercial

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Jim Dodge for Comptroller campaign…

Crain’s Chicago Business Endorses Dillard

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Kirk Dillard for Governor campaign…

“Best Qualified” to be Governor

Crain’s Chicago Business, Illinois’ leading business newspaper, is endorsing Senator Kirk Dillard in the Republican nomination for Illinois Governor.

“Illinois’ next governor must have the determination and know-how to restore fiscal order to a state facing financial Armageddon,” writes Crain’s. “Among the Republican gubernatorial candidates, state Sen. Kirk Dillard is best-qualified for that daunting job, and he gets Crain’s endorsement in the Feb. 2 GOP primary.”
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8th District: Statement from Joe Walsh in Response to Vendor Lawsuit

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

From the Joe Walsh for Congress campaign…

We must be doing something right.

Twelve days before the election, our grassroots movement has all the momentum in the world and we’re on the verge of winning because most people in the 8th district feel the exact same way as I do – we want to put an end to all this government spending and growth. Our internal-polling confirms this and shows me the front-runner.
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Comptroller: Kelly Slams Attack Ads in New Ad

January 23, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the William Kelly for Comptroller campaign…

Dan Hynes With A Classic Chicago Dirty Political Trick Commercial

January 22, 2010 | Filed Under Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Illinois, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Current State Comptroller Dan Hynes is running for the Democrat Party nomination for governor. He’s been struggling a bit in the polls to incumbent accidental Governor Pat Quinn, so in a classic Chicago dirty trick styled TV ad, Dan Hynes broke out the big guns intended to undercut Pat Quinn’s support in the black community… and he’s reached back over 20 years to do it.

Remember Chicago Mayor Harold Washington…

Boy does that bring back memories. And did Harold have a way with words, er what? We’ve had three recent mayors that have known how to turn a phrase. Mayor Daley Senior with his “the police aren’t here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder,” Mayor Washington with his “that’s hubris,” and junior Daly with…. well, anything the goofball says.

Anyway, back to Hynes. This is a classic Chicago hardball maneuver. Hauling Mayor Washington back from the dead to lambaste Pat Quinn is just classic.

But what is most amazing is the chutzpah that Hynes is showing. After all, when Harold Washington became Mayor of Chicago in 1983 Dan Hynes’ father Thomas was so peeved that a black guy won the big chair that when Harold came up for reelection Hynes quit the Democrat Party and tried to start a new party (the Chicago First Party) in order to oust Harold from office. And here is son of Hynes using Harold as a personal flak!

That there’s some major Chicaga balls, them is.
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Illinois Policy Institute: About Those Attacks on Our Pension Idea

January 22, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Pensions, State Government, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

This week, we released our Pension Funding and Fairness proposal, which offers a groundbreaking solution to our state’s growing pension funding crisis. Our proposal provides a path to fund the system, which now faces a whopping $83 billion in unfunded liabilities, without breaking the bank.

Our plan has received considerable media attention—and some criticism. Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business summed it up well. The Institute “rolled out its vision of how to close an $80-billion-plus gap in Illinois’ employee pension plans,” he wrote, “and, though portions will offend just about everybody, it’s worth a look…This is a serious report that offers a good starting point for some much needed discussion.”
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