Illinois Review

The Power of One

Da Coach draws crowd for Palin

Being in Illinois, we're getting only half the story of what's going on with the McCain/Palin team, but Illinois GOP National Committeeman Pat Brady, McCain for Illinois chairman Jim Durkin and a few others joined up with former Bears football coach Mike Ditka and VP candidate Sarah Palin for a hanger rally at the Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe Pennsylvania this morning. Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge also shared the stage.

Brady told Illinois Review the 3500 or so Palin supporters were very enthusiastic and "Da Coach" was a huge hit. "You've got to get the transcript, but he really got them going in Pennsylvania," he said.

Brady said he's not giving up on John McCain's bid for the presidency, and Republican Illinoisans are fanning out to nearby states this weekend. "We're sending a crew to Wisconsin, there's a couple of bus loads headed for Ohio, and I've been asked to go to Iowa," Brady said.

Obama's Business Experience...?

"Unpatriotic" - Biden, "Selfish" - Obama

by Mark Rhoads

"John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this (my tax plan) socialistic," Obama continued. "You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness."

Hear that? You are selfish if you do not want to pay higher taxes under Obama. Oh yes of course, Obama will not actually raise taxes, he only wants to let the Bush tax cuts expire. You will pay more, but that is not raising taxes according to Obama.

Dear Mr. Obama

Personal PAC attacks Renee Kosel

An email Personal PAC's Terry Cosgrove sent out today to a voter inquiring about House candidates in the 81st District, where Republican incumbent Renee Kosel is being challenged by Democrat Rich Kelly should make pro-lifers pick up the phone and offer to walk a precinct for Rep. Kosel this weekend...

Melissa Bean Never Could Stand Up to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

From the Greenberg campaign, we learn more about 8th CD's Melissa Bean:

LAKE ZURICH, IL 10/31/08 – Melissa Bean had the opportunity to strengthen regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in her first year in office. Predictably, she voted against stepping up regulation of her top campaign contributors.

HR 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005, was introduced in April of 2005. This bill was intended to reform regulation of Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs), but lacked the authority to be effective. Bean voted against three amendments that would have strengthened the regulation:

Obama warns against coasting

Will from NYC, are you listening?  Let's hope the Obamaniacs start the celebration this weekend.

H/T Trib's Swamp

Threepeat: LA Times/Chicago Trib again help Obama make the close

by Jill Stanek

The Los Angeles Times' refusal to cough up a damaging video of Barack Obama kabbitzing with PLO friend Rashid Khalidi should come as no surprise. The LAT/Chicago Tribune sisterhood has been aiding and abetting Obama for years.

Jack Ryan: In 2004 Republican Jack Ryan ran against Barack Obama for US Senate. Ryan was divorced from actress Jeri Ryan of Star Trek: Voyager and Boston Public fame. Their divorce records were sealed, as requested by both. They shared a young autistic son who they were trying to protect.

Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, interned for the Chicago Tribune in college and then worked there in "a high-profile job as the lead political reporter," according to the New York Times, from 1977-84.

Courageous for Durbin to call U.S. troops Nazis

The Sauerberg campaign isn't happy about how the State Journal-Register endorsed Dick Durbin this morning. Calling the state capital's newsrag an "ultra-liberal newspaper," Dr. Sauerberg is especially appalled the SJR said Durbin "had the courage" to refer to our U.S. troops as "Nazis." We have to agree with Sauerberg's outrage. 

How could a Midwestern state with common sense, hard-working citizens elect such a treacherous man to represent our state? From the Sauerberg campaign:

Friday Funny: Fishing

by Matt Gauntt

Barack Obama was out jogging one morning along the parkway when he tripped, fell over the bridge railing and landed in the creek below.

Before the Secret Service guys could get to him, 3 kids who were fishing pulled him out of the water. He was so grateful he offered the kids whatever they wanted.

The first kid said, 'I want to go to Disneyland '

Exclusive Khalidi Video ScreenCap Revealed!

by Eric Kohn

IR is proud to add new contributor Eric Kohn to our list of provocative Illinois opinion-leaders.

As you may have previously read, currently the Los Angeles Times is withholding a video tape of a dinner held in the honor of one Rashid Khalidi.

For anyone unfamiliar with Khalidi, he's a rabid anti-Semite and he was instrumental in bringing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University, where Khalidi is director of Middle East Studies.

Furthermore, the Woods Fund was able to steer a $40,000 grant to the Arab American Action Network (AAAN). Mona Khalidi, Rashid's wife, is the director of that organization. The Woods Fund provided a second grant to the AAAN for $35,000 in 2002.

When Watchdogs Refuse to Watch

by Mark Rhoads

David Limbaugh does a good job of tackling the failures of mainstream media.

Watching The Watchdogs | by David Limbaugh| October 31, 2008

The mainstream media, who forgot (Supreme Court Justice) Felix Frankfurter's admonition that "freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of a free society," long ago abdicated their role as government watchdog and now require a watchdog themselves. Never has that been clearer than in the 2008 presidential election, during which they are covering up rather than covering Barack Obama's shady past and alliances, his knee-deep involvement in corrupt practices threatening the very core of our democratic system, and his many policy misrepresentations. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE.

Redneck thought for the day: "I love my country. Its only the government that I worry about."

Before the end

by Chris Robling

It now seems like months, but it was only a fortnight ago (Oct. 13) that Diana Nelson played her former GOP state representative status on the Tribune's op-ed page to dismiss as insignificant concerns over Barack Obama's stewardship of $150 million or more of Chicago Annenberg Challenge Foundation (CACF) funds which were supposed to help Chicago public school kids. 

Diana said she was "appalled by the scurrilous attacks..." which were "just plain silly" to imply a "radical conspiracy." Diane said she was "absolutely sickened by the detour down the low road that political campaigns have taken today." 

Diana said one way we can be sure that all was well between Sen. Obama and Bill Ayers in their CACF and Woods fund activities was the presence on the "board of the Woods Fund [of] R. Eden Martin, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and an influential business leader."

Did Sarah Palin get a gas pipeline for Alaska?

by Kay Cashman, Publisher, Petroleum News

Since Gov. Sarah Palin was selected as Sen. John McCain's running mate for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, she has taken some major media hits from critics who say she had not gotten a gas pipeline for Alaska.

I say she has come closer than any other governor to making a pipeline from Alaska's North Slope to market a reality. In her first two years in office two major North Slope oil producers, BP and ConocoPhillips, decided to build their own gas pipeline without any upfront guarantee of fiscal concessions from the State of Alaska. TransCanada, a major North American pipeline company, was right behind them with $500 million in state matching funds that would either result in a completed pipeline or a valuable certificate of convenience and necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would belong to the state if TransCanada pulled out.

Bill Cellini's Crystal Lake Connection

by Cal Skinner

As I mentioned in the first article I wrote on the subject, it would have come earlier had I not had a Cub Scout meeting to attend the night that Bill Cellini made his successful pitch to be the TIF developer at Vulcan Lakes. As it turns out, Cellini was cited as Individual A in Tony Rezko's indictment three days after Mayor Aaron Shepley's city council voted to hire Cellini and his associates.

Northwest Herald reporter Karen Long figured out the connection in mid-December. The headlines and subheadlines were

Battle of the gods?

After all's been said and done, will next Tuesday's results come down to a spiritual contest, a battle royale between the Christian and Jews' Jehovah and the Muslim's Allah?   While Christians all over America are calling for prayer leading up to next Tuesday's election, so are radical Muslims. 

Yesterday Al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi prayed to the Muslim's god Allah for the humiliation of President Bush "and his party."

"O God, humiliate Bush and his party, O Lord of the Worlds, degrade and defy him," Abu Yahya al-Libi said at the end of sermon marking the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, in a video posted on the Internet.

Libi, a top al Qaeda commander believed to be living in Afghanistan or Pakistan, called for God's wrath to be brought against Bush equating him with past tyrants in history.

LA Times continues to cover for Obama, info leaks via blogs

The Los Angeles Times continues to refuse to release a video it admits is in its possession that shows Barack Obama toasting anti-Semite Palestinian leader Rashid Khalidi and his wife. Diligent and persistent internet research done by various bloggers are putting together pieces and have come up with this list of persons who were at the August 13, 2003 event that took place in Burbank -- not California -- Illinois, at the Burbank Manor on 79th St.

The blogger at Change & Experience has done a tremendous amount of research and even found a photo of Mayor Richard Daley with a dance troupe that appeared that night in Burbank. But a blogger based in Alaska would have no way of knowing the Burbank Manor is just a short jog from one of the nation's largest mosques, and near, if not in, then-State Senator Barack Obama's district. He was networking then for his 2004 U.S. Senate bid.

From Change & Experience's research, we learn:

"Middle Class"

Trick or Treat

Glenn McCoy

Palin Not a Concern, Obama Inexperience a Major Worry

by Mark Rhoads

Often one can find out a lot more about a race for president by looking deeper into poll questions than just the match up question. Peter Hart, a long-time Democratic pollster, is the supervisor for the most pro-Obama poll, the CBS/New York Times poll, reported on Oct. 30.

Remember all that very loud noise from MSM pundits at CNN and MSNBC about how Gov. Sarah Palin is a drag on the McCain ticket because she bought clothes for the campaign, or her daughter is pregnant before marriage, or troopergate, or she is not smart enough, or hip enough, or liberal enough, or experienced enough, or secular enough, or she did not attend an elite school and was a foreign policy wonk similar to like the God-like news anchors and pundits and on and on and on? Remember all the vicious personal attacks on Gov. Palin? 

Again, What with Illgop-dom?

by Chris Robling

Judy Baar Topinka, Tom Cross and I sat down with Carol Marin on the evening of Wednesday, 28 October.  In the clip Carol says Andy McKenna declined their invitation to participate.

Here is the link:

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,1&pl=New%20Video%202

Proof of Obama's Socialism

by Rhonda Robinson

Not only was Obama endorsed by the Illinois New Party when he ran for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he was a party member. Note that Willie Delgado was endorsed, but Obama is a member.

Bill Cellini Indicted on Corruption Charges

by Mark Rhoads

Bill Cellini, GOP Springfield power broker since the early 1970s at least, has been indicted according to the State Journal Register. The story states in part: "Cellini, 73, for decades a major behind-the-scenes Republican player in Illinois politics, was accused of taking part in an extortion plot to raise money for an unnamed Public Official A, which is how Blagojevich had been identified in Rezko's indictment and trial."

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL STORY IN SJ-R.

Don't mess with Dahl

At Wednesday night's LaSalle County GOP rally in the 11th CD's far northwestern Mendota, IR could have sworn normally patient and very calm State Senator Gary Dahl (Granville) had just been to a Clint Eastwood film marathon...

You gotta love it...

From the GOP state trenches: Murphy, Forte-Scott and Dahl races

Illinois Review's been visiting some key local races this week, and here's word from the trenches on incumbent GOP Senators Matt Murphy and Gary Dahl, as well as GOP challenger Anita Forte-Scott, three of the URF's Eight in '08:

Palatine GOP readies for Nov 4

IllinoisReview.com caught up with State Senator Matt Murphy Wednesday afternoon at the Palatine Township GOP Headquarters on Hicks Road...

Hype: Coming in a newspaper near you

I blogged in July on the movie, Hype:The Obama Effect, which includes interviews with Patrick O'Malley, Steve Rauschenberger, Karen Hayes, and me. The Associated Press on October 28:

Readers of OH's 3 largest newspapers, along with papers in FL and NV, are finding an anti-Barack Obama DVD in editions this week. Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group based in Washington, plans to release a 95-minute film in the five swing-state publications to highlight Obama's record on abortion rights, foreign policy and his past associations... The group said it planned to spend more than $1 million to distribute about 1.25 million copies of Hype: The Obama Effect....

Illinois Republicans no longer focused on illegal immigration...?

WBEZ-FM is reporting today that Illinois Republicans are no longer focused on illegal immigration because  GOP candidates fear electoral reprisals from the legal and illegal immigrant populations now residing in Illinois.

Joshua Hoyt of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) - a taxpayer-funded organization that's suspected of engaging in ACORN-like, quasi-criminal voter registration here in Illinois - happens to agree. He admits that the "illegal immigrants" he accuses Congressional candidate Jim Oberweis of bashing are "going to turn out in record numbers and vote against him."

Well, at least they admit it.

Spreading the wealth

Campaigning on Halloween

by Cal Skinner

Just got an email from 26th state senate district candidate Bill Gentes' campaign. His people are urging potential constituents to take Democratic Party literature to hand out in the neighborhood while they go trick or treating with their children.

Excellent idea, I would say. I'll bet Republicans could do it, too.

Gentes and Republican Dan Duffy are facing off for the privilege of replacing Bill Peterson in the eastern McHenry, western Lake and northwestern Cook County district.

What really matters

Cartoonist Steve Kelly

The Coming Democrat War Against the Investor Class

by James Pethokoukis of US News & World Report

There are at least two pretty effective ways to turn someone into a Republican: (1) get them married with kids and (2) get them to invest in the stock market. So, if I were a highly paid Democratic political strategist, I would make sure to spend a few minutes every day thinking of ways to get Americans out of the stock market—the faster, the better.

And that's why if Barack Obama is elected president next week, 2009 may well bring a concerted and all-out effort by the Obama administration and a Democratically dominated Congress to turn the generally pro-Republican Investor Class into an endangered class by, among other tactics, raising investment taxes and ending the tax preferences for 401(k)'s, IRAs, and other retirement accounts.

Here is the emerging battle plan for Operation Investor Class Rollback:

"Punished with a Baby"

The same LA Times that sued to open Jack Ryan's files, covers for Obama

The Los Angeles Times has been a huge part of Barack Obama's rocketing to fame and power. It was the Los Angeles Times that sued, persisted and insisted that Jack and Jeri Ryan's child custody files be unsealed in 2004. It was the the Los Angeles Times that insisted their family records be made public against the wishes of both the Ryans, whose agreed-upon intention was to protect their special needs son. Ryan volunteered their divorce records for public scrutiny.

It's a totally different story today. Jack Ryan, you'll remember, had emerged from a tough IL GOP primary as the victor to face none else than Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, and early polls indicated the race between Ryan and Obama would competitive and expensive.

"Not this Time"

White emerges as first GOP candidate for Lt Gov

by Cal Skinner      

I first met Hancock County Pastor Randy White at the Republican State Convention in Decatur. I meant to write a story earlier about his candidacy for lieutenant governor, but time just has a way of being eaten up.

Monday night I received a call telling me that White would be in Crystal Lake talking to seniors on Tuesday. The only place I have been with seniors—and it was way back in the late 1990's—was at the Crystal Lake Park District's Park Place, the old American Legion Hall.

Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

Obama's Iceberg

IR reader "stargirl" recently sent us a list she's been compiling. It is a list of known Obama associations entitled "Obama's Iceberg". Aptly titled because bill ayers is only the tip. Read through the list and see if there isn't a pattern that emerges. You'll find that not one of these individuals loves this country, supports its values, or reflects the majority viewpoint. Taken together, these Obama associates present a pretty damning portrait of who he is, and what he represents.

1) william ayers: unchanged and unapologetic domestic terrorist who co-founded the radical group weather underground. ayers advises venezuelan despot hugo chavez on education and seeks to radicalize public education, "la educacion es revolucion.";

IL House & Senate GOP radio spot

Listen here.

Cronin Seeks Dem Carpetbagger to carry GOP banner in 2010

What's with the DuPage Republicans? The Daily Herald's Animal Farm is reporting that Republican State Senator and DuPage County Republican Party Chairman Dan Cronin is talking with former Chicago schools chief Paul Vallas about running for governor, or for Cook County board president - as a GOPer!

So, a Democrat who's possibly up for appointment in an Obama administration, and who has been out of the state for 10 years (can you say "carpetbagger"...or perhaps "Keyes") is the GOP's hope in 2010? Of course, Cronin's recruiting Vallas for Cook County board president makes sense, since the animosity between Cronin and Peraica is well known. After all, we wouldn't want victory to get in the way of a good feud.

It's also rumored that State Sen. Kirk Dillard (of pro-Obama commercial fame) intends to run for AG should Lisa Madigan decide to take a run at Blago's job in 2010.

And this hits just keep on coming!

Halloween is scarier than election day?

by George Dienhart

This year, Halloween won't necessarily be the scariest day of the year. As a Republican, it is becoming clear that election day will also be scary. With this in mind, I present this list of scary Halloween/Election Day costumes.

Small businessman. Tell me, is there anything scarier than the taxes that are going to be levied on American small businessmen. They are scared- and they should be.

Republican Congressman/Senator. Rumored to be near extinction, the GOP Congressman is also running scared. The elections are going to be bad for the GOP- that's pretty much unavoidable. That's what makes this costume time sensitive- selection may be extremely limited until the next election cycle.

Obama vs. McCain

Top 10 ACORN Voter Registration Abuses

Human Events has a new Top 10 list. This one is the top 10 ACORN voter registration abuses.

10. ACORN has registered over 1.3 million voters this year.

9. In Milwaukee, Wis., ACORN improperly used felons as registration workers.

8. A teenager in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, said he was offered smokes and money to fill out voter registration cards. The elections board has 73 cards with his name on them.

7. In Missouri, one ACORN registrant named Monica Rays showed up on no fewer than eight forms, all bearing the same signature.

The hidden costs of collective bargaining

by Joe Calomino

From day one of his administration back in 2003, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich told the people of Illinois it wouldn’t be business as usual. He was right. It’s been business worse than usual. Calling himself a reformer and promising to shake things up, Blagojevich has found new and creative ways to benefit his own campaign chest while doing nothing to eliminate the perception of Illinois as the Wild West of politics.

Under the guise of extending union protection to individuals who work as home health care personal assistants and home daycare providers, Blagojevich created a whole new pool of people from which the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) could collect dues, a portion of which is used for campaign contributions – a union which at the time of his taking office had already given Blagojevich more than $800,000 in campaign contributions.

Obama's plan for Family Businesses

Schoenberg accused of landing plush job for wife with Rezko clout

Republican candidate for 9th Senate Brendan Appel says incumbent State Senator Jeff Schoenberg's name on Tony Rezko's favor list shows the good senator landed his wife a $92k/year state job.

And the apparent cost for the Mrs. Schoenberg's job as chairman of the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board?

A mere $12,500 to "Friends of Blagojevich," plus, apparently, voting with the Governor 93 percent of the time, especially as chairman of the all-important, powerful Senate Appropriations II.

"We've had enough," a mass mailing to 9th Senate District voters says today. "Crime & Corruption: Rezko & Schoenberg."

Dictators React to Obama Presidency

Joe The Plumber 2.0

by Andy Haaf

Fast forward to 2012 and as yourself the following. If you were Joe the Plumber would you ask that infamous question again? Would you want to be the one who elicits the response from Obama or another Democratic candidate which exposes the true nature of their beliefs on "economic justice" or other matters of importance and controversy? Would you want to be the one in the crosshairs of the media and the opposing political party as a result?

Let's examine what has happened to Joe since:

ACORN Uses Public Funds to Steal Elections, Now Your Gun Rights, Says SAF

by Jim Kouri, CPP

ACORN, the publicly-funded national organization linked to voter fraud in several states is now actively interfering with the exercise of firearm civil rights in New Jersey, and the Second Amendment Foundation is calling for an immediate federal investigation.

"ACORN has, since 1998, received an estimated $31 million in government funding," said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. "Now they have intervened in a New Jersey gun rights case in defense of an illegal Jersey City one-gun-a-month ordinance that violates the state preemption statute.

"For the past few election cycles," Gottlieb noted, "ACORN has clearly grown more partisan toward the political Left. ACORN'S PAC has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president. That's hardly surprising since he used to serve as their legal counsel and he taught the group about community organizing. ACORN and Obama are lockstep in seeking to destroy our Second Amendment rights.