PeoriaStory

Endorsements 2008: It really matters!

PEORIA -- This election is too important to keep quiet about.

On the national level and the state and local levels, it really matters, and it's time for the sane voters to take back their nation and their community!

So here are my endorsements, for what they are worth. Full disclosure, I am a Peoria County Democratic Party precinct committeeperson, and a volunteer in the Colleen Callahan for Congress campaign. These are volunteer, unpaid positions, based on conviction not self interest.

President: Obama/Biden. They represent hope for change, for better medical coverage, for getting out of Iraq and the deaths and wasted money that involves, for an economic revival based on time tested Democratic Party policies. McCain's pick of Sarah Palin tells all we need to know about him and an administration he would run: incompetence run amuck. He's not a change agent, he's just stumbling in the dark.

U.S. Senate: Dick Durbin. His defense of civil liberties has been courageous, he voted against the Iraq war, he's a wise legislator and deserves reelection.

U.S. Congress, 18th District. Colleen Callahan. She's smart, competent and would serve in the public interest. See my stories on her chief opponent, Aaron Schock, under the category Schock and the 18th District for details on him. He's personable but apparently so ambitions and money hungry he'll cut any corner to benefit himself, just the kind of guy we don't need in Congress. If for any reason you don't like Callahan, Sheldon Schafer is a good second call, and a vote for him would help keep the Green Party alive for future elections.

92nd Illinois House. How did this campaign, between two nice women, get so dirty? Republican Joan Krupa is clearly more qualified for this post (I wish she were running for Congress!) but does this district need another white Republican to represent it in Springfield? Democrat Jehan Gordon is young and has issues, but would represent the black community there, someone for them to comfortably call if they have problems. This race is a toss up, depending on your point of view.

State's Attorney. Kevin Lyons is not perfect but miles ahead of Darin LaHood in this race.
LaHood has misrepresented issues, is a demagogue running for an office that should be nonpartisan. See my post on him below.

Coroner: Steve Schmidt, represents a change. I wish this campaign had been more open instead of conducted off the grid, but apparently there are problems in this office that Schmidt might remedy.

Peoria County Board, District 6: Allen Mayer has been a leader on the board and deserves to be reelected.

Judges: All should be retained. See my post below.

Con-Con. Vote no, as recommended by the League of Women Voters and others.

Peoria primary referendum: Vote yes.

Happy Halloween.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Costume party

PEORIA -- Here's an adult costume/Halloween party that sounds like fun.

It takes place beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Apollo Theater, 311 Main, Peoria, for a $5 admission to benefit the theater.

People can dress as their favorite artist or work of art.

Celebrity(?) judges will select the winner, who gets tickets to events, wine, and a book.

(The judges are: Craig Hullinger, Michelle Richey, John Schweitzer, Caroline Shepherd, Mike Rucker.)

For entertainment there's a wine-tasting sponsored by the Lisa Fink Team of Fine Realtors; "Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered" music of the 30s & 40s by Edith Barnard & Wes Sedrel and the film, "The Thomas Crowne Affair" featuring Pierce Brosnan as the charming art heist expert.

Perce Photography will be on hand to capture the magical evening!

Pooch de Picasso (six foot tall artistic dog) will greet you in the foyer as the doors open at 6:25 p.m. For more information, please contact Edith Barnard, phone: 309/922-9058.

Republicans for Callahan

PEORIA -- Democratic Congressional candidate Colleen Callahan's campaign appearances have been temporarily suspended due to the death of her mother last week.

But Callahan's campaign for the 18th District seat goes on, and on Oct. 27, her supporters, including a half dozen long time Republicans, gathered for a news conference to promote her candidacy. The group included two Illinois office holders, state Sens. Dave Koehler and John Sullivan, both Democrats.

Sullivan observed that his successful race for the state senate seat in the 47th District was much like Callahan's race today. In 2002, "I ran in a rural Republican district. I had a farm background, we worked hard, one voter at a time. We were outspent two or three to one."

His supporters had to ignore the people and pundits who said he could never win, Sullivan said.

He's been campaigning for Callahan, he said. "People know Callahan for who she is and what she stands for."

The Republicans emphasized Callahan's real life experiences with family and work, her integrity, her moderate views and her bipartisanship.

"She's in it for public service," said Fran Kepler who lives in Woodford County.

"She's a marvelous person," said Esther Cohen, of Peoria, after telling how she has worked on civic projects with Callahan.

Katie Kriegsman Bashary of Pekin, who has been an aide to 18th District Republican Congressman Ray LaHood and told of attending President Bush's inauguration, said Callahan "believes in service." LaHood is retiring from Congress and backing Callahan's chief opponent, Republican Aaron Schock.

Janis Straesser of Peoria, a former administrative staffer with Peoria School District 150, said she's a life long Republican who is voting for Sen. John McCain as well as Callahan. "Her opponent politicized" District 150 causing "great division" and low morale that ultimately harmed children, she said.

Straesser later released this photo of herself as a child wearing an "I like Ike" button to prove she is a life-long Republican, after her status and those of the other Republicans was questioned by the Schock campaign.

The opponent Straesser referred to is Schock, 27, who ran for the District 150 board as a college student then quickly rose to become its president before resigning to seek the 92nd District House seat. He is now running for Congress.

Questioned by reporters about whether their stands on issues are the same as Callahan's, a few of the Republicans responded that they don't expect any candidate to agree with them on every issue.

Kriegsman Bashary said she sometimes disagreed with LaHood but they were able to discuss issues openly.

The third candidate in this race is Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Classical rap

PEORIA -- Would you believe 1920s-style rap to classical music as channeled through Gilbert and Sullivan?

That was the essence of the unusual Sunday afternoon concert on Oct. 26 presented by the St. Martin Chamber Players at St. Joseph's Catholic Church.

The group did selections from Facade, An Entertainment by Sir William Walton, based on the poems of Edith Sitwell. Very 1920s, first performed at 2 Carlisle Square, London.

Most of the selections were comic in tone. Sample lyrics: "angels eggs sold by dozens," which seems nonsensical until you look around the church to see depictions of winged angels.

Birds?

St. Joseph's Church is a feast for the eyes, very European with stained glass windows, wood carvings and statuary, all in mint condition.

The church is not a feast for the ears, however. Its poor acoustics makes understanding speech very difficult, even with microphones, and impossible without a mike. The music is somewhat muddy as the sounds echo through the vaulted church.

Still, narrator Lee Wenger did a good job with the fast-paced, rap-style lyrics to Facade, and the musicians were fine as well.

Other numbers on the program included Suite in B-flat, Opus 4, by Richard Strauss, a dark, modern number, and two lively pieces, Mendelssohn's Hunting Song and Grieg's Norweigian Dance, Opus 35 No. 2, both performed by Kristin Stewart and Dawn Clark on one piano.

The St. Martin Chamber Players, a non-profit group now in its 15th year, offers these free concerts regularly. The next one is Nov. 16.

Callahan demands answers from Schock while Durbin asks for funds

PEORIA -- Democratic congressional candidate Colleen Callahan refuses to let her opponent's notary gaffe fade away.

She's demanded that Republican candidate Aaron Schock apologize for backdating documents he notarized to help his father avoid paying taxes, and that he release his tax returns, as she and Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer have done.

The three candidates are running for the open Congressional seat in the 18th district of Illinois, a seat held by white Republican males since 1917.

At the same time, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin released a fund-raising letter praising Callahan and asking his supporters for contributions for her campaign.

Durbin has termed the notary-gate incident "game changing" for this race.

Callahan stated that her campaign "has received support from more than 421 new donors and has raised over $75,000 in campaign contributions since news reports broke one week ago that Aaron Schock backdated documents in order to help his father avoid paying taxes."

Also on Oct. 22, Callahan issued this statement:

Colleen Callahan, Democratic candidate for the 18th Congressional seat, released a list of questions to which voters deserve an answer from Aaron Schock before Election Day. Additionally, Callahan sent a letter to Aaron Schock’s campaign asking him again to release his tax returns from 2006 to 2007.

1) Why won’t he release his tax returns? Every candidate in this race including Colleen has released his/her tax returns. Openness, honesty and transparency are essential characteristics in a Congressional candidate. Publicly disclosed tax returns provide an important means in which voters can hold public officials accountable and ensure there are no conflicts of interest.

2) When will Aaron Schock apologize for backdating documents? All experts agree that knowingly backdating documents is a criminal action. Aaron Schock’s father testified in federal court that, as a public notary, Schock knowingly backdated documents to help his father avoid paying taxes. Aaron Schock has offered no explanation for his actions other than claiming that it was a “clerical error”. He owes the voters of the 18th Congressional district an apology. Aaron Schock is already passing the buck and refusing to take responsibility and he hasn’t even gotten to Washington yet.

[text of the letter is below]

October 22, 2008

Schock for Congress P.O. Box 10555 Peoria, IL 61612

Aaron Schock,

This letter is to formally request that you release your personal tax returns for the years 2006 and 2007. It's been nearly two weeks since I released my tax returns. Both Presidential candidates have released their tax returns.

Openness and transparency regarding tax returns allows voters to hold a candidate to the same standards they advocate.

In light of recent stories regarding documents that you backdated in 2001 to assist your father in avoiding taxes, I believe it is even more crucial that you disclose these financial forms to the voting public. As you seek to become a United States Congressman, the public you seek to represent deserves to know your financial dealings.

If you have nothing to hide, I would encourage you to be forthcoming with the voters of the 18th District and release your tax returns for 2006 and 2007. It is the least you can do to assure the public that you have their best interests in mind as you seek to represent them in Washington.

I urge you to reconsider your decision not to release your tax returns and do so immediately.

Colleen Callahan.

Callahan could have gone even further, and asked for a complete explanation from Schock regarding the backdated documents, such as how many documents were backdated, and how much money was involved.

As for the tax return, Schock has stated that he complied with all disclosure rules for candidates and a state representative. He represents Peoria in the Illinois General Assembly's 92nd District.

But where are these disclosures? Not on Schock's website, readily available to voters.

Schock announced on Oct. 21 that 116 central Illinois mayors have endorsed him.

Callahan has been endorsed by more than 40 organizations including the United Auto Workers, the Sierra Club and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, all listed on her website.

-- Elaine Hopkins

UPDATE: Oct. 23, 2008. Check out the post from Bill Dennis on Peoria Pundit from a year ago about how Schock has a long habit of bending the rules. Very troubling.

And here's a juicy column from the Springfield newspaper columnist Bernie Schoenburg about Schock and an ad featuring a female Democratic state rep who praises him. Bad move. She was the youngest state rep until Schock was elected.

Judicial retention: 5 judges, no information

PEORIA -- Voters in the 10th Judicial Circuit, including Peoria, may well be confused when they learn they must vote on the retention of five judges.

Early voting has begun but there has been no information on these judges in the local news media, and officials at the Peoria County Courthouse refuse to give out information on them, including phone numbers where they can be reached.

I sought information on them to do brief bios for a League of Women Voters newsletter that I edit as a volunteer. But a woman in Peoria County's judicial offices named Kay Batz refused to cooperate except to suggest I call judicial offices in Springfield and trek to the Peoria Public Library for phone numbers in some legal directory.

The Peoria County Bar Association, another of her suggestions, could offer no help either.

Peoria County's extensive website has phone numbers for other county officials but not judges. "Someone might try to harm them," she said.

What nonsense. The public can contact sheriffs and police chiefs through phone numbers on the web, but not judges? Come on!

So -- strike one against the judges: They're running for retention, for a 6-year term, but they're not accessible to the voters.

That said, here they are, based mainly on research through the Peoria Public Library's web-based valuable database of stories from the Peoria Journal Star. That information is hard to find and uneven, however.

Richard Grawey: A Democrat from Peoria, he toyed with running for Congress in the 18th District then backed out, opting instead to keep his judge job. He's done a good job on cases that I am familiar with, from Springdale Cemetery to appointment of new people for the Peoria Election Commission. He was elected to the bench in 1990.

Scott Shore: A Democrat from Hennepin, elected in 1990, was criticized by Peoria major Jim Ardis two years ago for issuing a light sentence in a criminal case, but defended by others. That's a reason to retain him, since Ardis was widely believed to be off-base in his criticism. (A Sarah Palin moment for Ardis?)

James E. Shadid: A Democrat from Peoria, son of former state Sen. George Shadid, elected in 2002.

Kevin R. Galley: A Democrat from Lacon, elected in 2002.

Stephen A. Kouri: A Republican from Peoria, elected in 2002.

The 10th Circuit includes Peoria, Tazewell, Marshall, Putnam and Stark counties.

-- Elaine Hopkins

UPDATE, Oct. 23, 2008: A reader emailed a terrific site that lists information about all Illinois judges, including the ratings of the Illinois Bar, which has recommended retention of all five judges.

Beware voter intimidation

PEORIA -- This year Peoria Democrats aren't going to be surprised by voter intimidation tactics.

They issued a preemptive strike on Oct. 20 by warning the public what could occur:

1. Anonymous mailers designed to scare minorities and prevent them from voting. These may warn voters they can be arrested when they try to vote if they have outstanding warrants -- not true of course.

2. Robo calls saying that polling places have been changed. That won't happen, Democrats say.

3. Demands for multiple forms of identification. But that's illegal at the polls on Nov. 4., and only one form is required for early voting.

4. Rumors that felons cannot register and/or vote. Also not true. In Illinois felons can vote unless they are incarcerated.

These tactics have occurred elsewhere in the U.S., and also in Peoria in the last presidential election in 2004.

The Peoria Democratic Central Committee held a news conference today to warn the public about what could occur. They also issued a photocopy of the notorious postcard sent to inner city Peoria households in 2004. That postcard warned of possible arrests for felony voter fraud and likely scared away some voters.

It's believed to be a nationwide Republican tactic, according to news reports.

Oct. 21 is the final day for grace period registration and voting.

Early voting continues until Oct. 30.

There have been long waits at some early voting sites, but not everywhere.

The sites are listed here.

That race for State's Attorney.... Lyons is preferred

PEORIA -- After watching a second debate between Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons and challenger Darin LaHood, I decided to endorse a candidate in this race, Democrat Kevin Lyons. The stakes are that high!

The Peoria Journal Star today has a good package on the race, but that debate, sponsored by the Peoria League of Women Voters on Oct. 18 also was very revealing.

Lyons emphasizes his "judgment and balance" in upholding the awesome responsibilities of his office as chief prosecutor. "You have to strike a balance," he said.

Every case is different, he said. He seems to understand his power and to be focused on carrying out justice for the public, as opposed to revenge for wronged victims.

LaHood is personable, a good speaker but also a demagogue. He has politicized this race in a way that voters have not seen in recent memory here.

For example, in the debate, LaHood claimed that Lyons "lost the case," a recent DUI trial. But in reality, as Lyons pointed out, Lyons won a conviction on a second charge, resisting police, that resulted in a jail sentence. That's not a loss.

Beware of politicians who utter half truths to win a race! What will they distort next?

Republican LaHood, son of retiring Congressman Ray LaHood, comes across as a "law and order" and "lock them up and throw away the key" guy, as if that, and endless meetings with Peoria's political leadership will remedy Peoria's crime rate.

In reality only education and jobs will end the misery that leads the poor into drugs and crime, and the State's Attorney office has little responsibility for either.

LaHood said he opposes taking individual family circumstances into account, as in the case at Bradley University where a drunken prank with fireworks caused a fire that led to the death of a student. "The punishment was too light," he said of the two students responsible, who went to jail for a time, their lives likely not ruined permanently.

They pose no menace to society, and locking them up for years would serve little purpose (and cost the taxpayers a bundle), as future pranksters likely would not even have heard of their example.

"I made a difficult decision under trying circumstances," Lyons said.

Without strong opponents in his previous races Lyons became aloof and arrogant at times. When I sent him a letter last year regarding allowing bloggers to cover closed juvenile court proceedings, he never responded. As a working journalist I once had to track him down at a political dinner to get his comment for a story, as he didn't return my phone calls.

Lyons hedged when asked a question at the debate about opening up these courts to the public -- the real answer to the problem of courtrooms closed to bloggers and everyone else, including close relatives of the accused. He then acknowledged the answer is "maybe."

LaHood didn't even respond to the question, as if he didn't understand it, and went on and on about "being proactive to keep kids" out of the system. As a politician he's learned to provide a response, even if it doesn't answer the question.

Many unanswered questions remain about LaHood. Would he have the courage to indict the political, police and minority leaders who have endorsed him? Lyons has indicted such people in the past, and gained some powerful enemies in return.

Would LaHood protect civil liberties? Lyons does not readily prosecute harmless political protesters that the police arrest with great fanfare for little or no reason.

Lyons is not perfect, but he has a long track record which is generally as he says it is, of using balance and judgment in his office, while he also stays on budget.

He gets my vote.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Thinking green -- endorsements and films

PEORIA -- To distract us from Sarah Palin and Joe the (non)Plumber, here are important environmental opportunities:

1. The League of Conservation Voters has released its annual assessment of Illinois Congress members. Its news release states:

Senator Durbin and Representatives Lipinski, Emanuel, and Schakowsky earned perfect scores of 100% in 2008, consistently standing up to Big Oil and voting for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Too many members scored below 50%, and Representatives Manzullo and Shimkus received an appalling 8%.

Schakowsky is rumored to be on the short list as a replacement for Sen. Obama if he is elected president.

Click here to see the scores on the entire Illinois delegation.

Peoria's own Ray LaHood (R-18th) got 46 percent of the votes right according to this group. Phil Hare (D-17th) got 92 percent right.

The Democrat running for LaHood's seat, Colleen Callahan, has been endorsed by the Sierra Club and by Rep. Phil Hare and Sen. Dick Durbin.

Confused about enviro issues? Here's a painless and entertaining way to learn more:

2. The Heart of Illinois Sierra Club presents another Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival on Nov. 7-8 at the Apollo Theater in downtown Peoria. Shows begin at 7 p.m. each night, and cost $5 for adults, $3 for children under age 12.

Friday's film is an award winning documentary, Mountain Top Removal.

Saturday's three short films are Gimme Green, on suburban lawns, Hybrid.Pedal, on a bicycle road trip, and Oil and Water Project, on a kayaker road trip.

Door prizes will be awarded at both showings.

-- Elaine Hopkins

Last presidential debate parties

PEORIA - Here are two sites for watching the last presidential debate tonight (Oct. 15) in public venues:

1. Leo & Steve's Chicago Tap and Andre's Restaurant, 330 Liberty, Peoria, features $2 beers and free hors d’œuvres. It also has the Judy Page Band, with jazz and R&B, playing for those sick of politics, beginning at 7 p.m.

2. The Peoria County Democratic Party also has a party, starting at 7 p.m. at the Gateway Building on the riverfront, with snacks offered and of course the debate.