This race is already shaping up as one of the more active state ones in the area, with three Democratic candidates and two on the other side. For what it's worth, I endorse Greg Brownfield over Kevin Allen and Thomas Cullerton.

Having worked as a legal aid attorney giving free advice to people who can't afford a lawyer, Greg Brownfield knows first-hand how the wrecked economy is affecting people. He talks about a compassion deficit, the obligation of government to the needy which is as important as its other debts; we must not balance the state's books on the backs of the most vulnerable. Brownfield is also highly skilled at bringing together large crowds of motivated volunteers, a skill that our nominee will surely need in order to take on someone with the resources of a Pankau or Ramey.

Each of the candidates in this primary has something valuable to offer. Kevin Allen is a friend, a smart guy who's been active for years in local politics against the Republican machine. Tom Cullerton is the best village president that Villa Park has seen for quite some time. Either of them would make a fine State Senator, and I'd be happy to support either of them after the primary. But until then, Brownfield is endorsed.

The Chicago Tribune reports on activities of DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba that would be considered endemic of rampant corruption if Cook County Democrats did them:

• The Zaruba campaign has regularly sent letters to employees seeking donations—helping him raise a much larger portion of his campaign cash from deputies than other current sheriffs. Scores of his employees also have done campaign work.
• Political supporters were more likely to receive promotions—at times over peers who scored higher on tests and job reviews. He promoted one supporter over more than 20 higher-ranking deputies.
• Political supporters also have been more likely to receive lighter discipline in recent years than nonsupporters. One federal suit alleging favoritism led to a $65,000 settlement, while other suits are pending.

Sadly, there will probably be no consequences for Mr. Zaruba, since the first law of DuPage government is that there are never any consequences for anything.

An actual screen shot from my email this morning (with a me-specific link blocked out):

My "nohtml" address filters out HTML formatting and only leaves the text part of the message. It's possible that Roskam's people only filled in the HTML part of the message and left the text one empty. Or they might have sent a blank message by accident. It happens. Can't really blame them for that.

But symbolically, this is too perfect to pass up. There's only one job that Mr. Roskam really cares about: his own. In order to keep his job, he serves the big-money interests that bankroll his campaign. These interests have no desire to see jobs created; they like a high level of unemployment, because it keeps working people too hungry and desperate to effectively fight for their rights.

No doubt if the text of this message had come through, it would have talked about big, scary debt; how we need to destroy Medicare in order to save it; how we need more tax cuts for the rich and austerity for everybody else. These policies won't do anything to create jobs or reduce the debt, as we should know by now from experience. But they're what will benefit Mr. Roskam's sugar daddies, so he tries to con us into thinking they're for our own good.

Thankfully, I'm being redistricted out of Mr. Roskam's neighborhood, and come November might be represented in Congress by somebody with some basic decency.

No, really.

I work but don't live in Chicago, so maybe this race is none of my business, but... when one candidate is getting gargantuan amounts of money and media attention, do not under any circumstances vote for that candidate. Mr. Emanuel claims, in typical fashion, that if he's elected his donors will work to better the city. Rubbish. If he is elected, the city government will be working to better his donors.

Jason "my finances are none of your business" Plummer, in the Lieutenant Governor debate, when asked about assault weapons, offers this brilliant insight:

Anything that's illegal ought to be banned.

Thanks for clearing that up.

If their behavior is any indication, DuPage Republicans such as Forest Preserve Commissioner Joe Cantore would just as soon the general public didn't know they exist. Their job is to be rubber stamps to people like "D." Dewey Pierotti, for which they're paid handsomely out of our money.

But every few years, these guys have to run for re-election, which requires them do a certain amount of going out and meeting the public.

So, I happened to run into good old Joe at the Villa Park Metra station this morning as he was handing out campaign flyers for himself and County Board member Jeff Redick. Our brief conversation went roughly something like this:

JOE: Have you been to the forest preserves?

ME: Yeah. Say, I saw in the papers recently how the forest preserve president has declared the preserves off-limits to signs with candidates' names on them. Yet "D." Dewey Pierotti's own name is on big signs in every preserve.

JOE: Yeah, that is a little odd.

ME: But you're a commissioner. Wouldn't you be able to do something about that?

JOE: Um, yeah, well, I do try to take a stand, but when it's about saving money.

ME: But not putting up all those signs would've saved money.

JOE: I talked to people about it.

ME: [Thinks: Sure you did, Joe.]

JOE: But nothing came of it. It just fell on deaf ears.

ME: Then maybe we need some new ears.

Thanks, Joe, for giving us good reasons to vote for Dennis Clark and Hilary Denk.

(Cross-posted from the official Democratic Party of DuPage County blog:

Incumbent Forest Preserve President "D." Dewey Pierotti is very serious about keeping candidates from using our forest preserves for their own self-promotion:

As the general election nears, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County would like to remind candidates and their supporters that its General Use Regulation Ordinance prohibits displaying, posting or distributing signs or promotional materials of any kind on District property without the written permission of its executive director, who, due to fairness issues and District policy, cannot authorize the placement of political signs.

All well and good. But there's a candidate out there who is blatantly disregarding "D." Dewey's policy and has his own name on signs at forest preserves throughout DuPage County.



"D." Dewey really ought to speak with the person whose name appears on that sign.

DuPage Republicans: Spending your own money to do things that we don't allow you to do.

Bill Brady has a proposition for Illinois:

Requiring a supermajority to pass tax increases

I wonder if that's been tried anywhere else.

Proposition 13 (officially titled the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted in 1978, by means of the initiative process.... In addition to lowering property taxes, the initiative also contained language requiring a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for future increases in all state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates. It also requires a two-thirds vote majority in local elections for local governments wishing to raise special taxes.

Hm. How'd that work out for them?

California is a state in crisis. Negotiations to resolve its $26.3 billion budget deficit are weeks behind deadline, more than $470 million worth of IOUs are clogging government ledgers and its state bonds are trading at near junk status.

Brilliant idea, Bill.

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