Jon Schweppe- is a 24-year-old Communications Director for the Bobby Schilling for Congress Campaign. His hometown is Aledo and he currently lives in the 17^th Congressional District. In 2010, Jon graduated from Augustana College with a bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics. In the future, he would like to not only get Congressman Schilling re-elected but to also get other hard working conservatives elected throughout Illinois.

Timothy Stoll- is a 27-year-old Chairman of the Kane County Young Republicans and Precinct Committeeman for Rutland 1. Timothy is from West Dundee and lives in the 14^th Congressional District. He is also currently doing district outreach and casework for Congressman Randy Hultgren. His goal is to make Illinois a state where business thrives, private sectorjobs are plentiful and people are free to create the life they want with minimal governmental interference.

Mark Cavers- is a 25-year-old policy analyst from Mundelein in the 18^th Congressional District, working for the Illinois Policy Institute. His job duties include government relations and talking to state leaders everyday about the conservative cause. Mark is hoping that Illinois will become the land of freedom and prosperity, while also holding a future goal to someday become the Governor of Illinois.

Lucas Hawley-is an 18-year-old fulltime student at Victor J. Andrew High School. Lucas is from the 1^st Congressional District and lives in Tinley Park. He recently finished his work on severalcampaigns during the primary season including a congressional race, state representative race and state senator race. In 2010, he interned for Jeff Junkas. A short term goal for Lucas is to get elected to a local office in the Tinley Park area. He would also like to reform the GOP party in Illinois byclearing the party of corruption and the ineffective leaders. A long term goal of his would be to get involved with U.S. Embassies, mainly the embassy in Berlin, Germany.

Katie Salvi- is a 23-year-old college student and soon to be law student from Mundelein and the 14^th CongressionalDistrict. She recently worked on the Santorum for President Campaign in Illinois and has helped other conservatives get elected as well. Her futuregoal in politics is to get more conservatives elected to office and to return this country to greatness. She believes anything is possible for her in thefuture.

Mick Paskiewicz- is a 24-year-old who is the State Chairmen for the Illinois College Republican Foundation. Originally from Indianapolis, Mick now finds himself living in Illinois in the 7^th Congressional District with the current job of working for the Joe Walsh re-election team. He hopes in the future he can help get more Republicans get elected in Illinois.

Anthony Barry- is a 25-year-old staffer for Congressman Joe Walsh. Anthony is from Yorkville, which is in Kendall County and in the 14^th Congressional District. While his short term goal is to get Joe Walsh re-elected to congress, his long term goal is to restore America back to the way the founders intended it to be.

Jon McLean-is a 29-year-old who is currently the Chairman of the St. Clair County Republican Party. He lives in Belleville in the 12^th Congressional District with his two daughters and wife. His goal as chairman has been to get more Republicans elected to the St. Clair County Board, whose chairman position he is currently running for.

Adam Brown- is a 26-year-old farmer and State Representative from Decatur, IL. Adam currently represents the citizens of the 101^stDistrict, but he will be shifted to the 102^nd district with the new maps. Adam lives in the 13^th Congressional District with his wife Stephanie and is the youngest member of the general assembly. Before becoming a state representative, Adam served as a Decatur City Councilman. In the future, he plans to advance a pro-jobs agenda that allows families and businesses to prosper in Illinois. Adam would like to lessen the burden of government red-tape and eliminate abuses of our tax dollars.

Terry Schilling- is a 25-year-old from the 17^th Congressional District, where he lives in Genesco with his wife Kaite and his two young daughters. He currently serves as Campaign Manager for Bobby Schilling’s re-election bid in the 17^th District. In 2010, Terry laid the grown work for Congressman Schilling’s win against Democrat Phil Hare. His future goal is to turn the country around by electing conservatives to as many public offices as possible.

Melissa Denker- is a 19-year-old student living in the 14^th Congressional District. Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, Melissa now lives in Harvard, IL where she was recently elected Precinct Committeeman Chairwoman of Dunham Township. She has been involved in several campaigns locally and nationally. Her future goals include getting more young people to care about voting and to educate them on the issues. She is also hoping to become a senator and show Washington what it means to follow the constitution.

Meghan Gray- is a 22-year-old senior at Columbia College in Chicago majoring in journalism and public relations. A native ofBeach Park in the 10^th Congressional District, she just recentlyended her internship with the Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C. She is also a member of the Lake County Young Republicans and will be joining the Dold for Congress staff within weeks. In the future she hopes to work in the nonprofit sector and to start her own planning or consulting firm.

Demetri Broches- is a 25-year-old Legal Assistant from Sycamore in the 14^th Congressional District, though in the past he has volunteered on campaigns in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Demetri was also a coordinator for Adam Andrejewski’s Gubernatorial Campaign and a coordinator for Don Manzullo for Congress. He currently serves as a Tea Party activist and a DeKalb County Republican Precinct Committeeman. His future goal is to recruit more members to the Tea Party and to reform the Illinois GOP into a legitimate, more conservative political party.

John Sweeney- is a 28-year-old Winnebago County Board Member, currently residing in Rockford in the 16^th CongressionalDistrict with his wife and young son. At age 25, he was elected Republican Caucus Chairman on the Winnebago County Board, which has 20 of 28 board seats controlled by the GOP. He is unsure of what his future will hold for him inpolitics.

Collin Corbett-is a 26-year-old small business owner from Palatine, now in the 6^th Congressional District. Collin is currently a precinct captain and the President of the Palatine Township Republican Organization. He was also the founder of the Lake County Young Republicans and has worked on several conservative campaigns throughout thestate. His future goal is to turn Illinois red, which has him committed to staying in Illinois until that mission is complete.

Shannon Coughlin-is a 27-year-old writer and producer for McDonalds Corporation from Darien, IL in the 13^th Congressional District. Her current role in politics is being a freelance communications specialist. She also is a recruiter, volunteer, and supporter of the DuPageCounty Young Republicans. In the future Shannon hopes to execute new communication strategies for the Republican Party in Illinois. While she does not have a current desire to run for office, she wants to help craft the message for people that do. She hopes to continue to recruit knowledgeable and humble people to step up for the Republican Party that she hopes will instill the image of what a true conservative looks like.

Joshua Colson- is a 16-year-old student at Johnston City High School from Johnston City in the 12^th Congressional District. He is the current Chairmen of the Southern Illinois Teenage Republicans. He is unsure if he will ever run for office but is determined to help the most conservative candidates get elected to office.

Rob Abraham-is a 29-year-old private technology consultant living in Lake of the Hills in the 16^th Congressional District with his wife of two years. Rob was recently elected Precinct Committeeman of Algonquin Township 57. Rob is also a Navy veteran who joined the military on 9/11/01. He hopes to one day be a congressman in which he would serve on a defense committee and would like today’s politicians to never lose sight of their job, serve the people that elected them.

Patrick Kelly-is a 19-year-old student at Elmhurst College where he majors in Political Science and History with a minor in Urban Studies. His hometown is Palos Park in the 3^rd Congressional District. In 2008, he volunteered for the McCain/Palin campaign while during the 2010 cycle he served as a co-campaign manager on a state representativecampaign. This year he hopes to help phone bank for the Republican presidential nominee in Indiana. His interests include foreign affairs, specifically Africa and the Middle Eas,t as well as journalism. In the near future he hopes to run for local office and, in the long term, a state seat.

Kyle McCollum-is a 25-year-old, first year law student at Southern Illinois University School of Law. Kyle currently lives in Frankfort in the 12^th Congressional District. Recently, he served on a team that hosted an event for former Presidential candidate Rick Santorum in Herrin, IL and this upcoming summer he will serve as a Legislative Intern for Congressman Tim Johnson (R-13). After he returns from his internship he hopes to become very active in campaigns leading up to the November election. In the future he hopes to be involved in government affairs for a business or a non-profit company, while long term he would like to run for elected office.

Jason Plummer- is a 29 year old Republican nominee for congress in the 12^th Congressional District and a former nominee for lt. governor in the 2010 election. Hailing from O’Fallon,  Jason is also the Vice President of Corporate Development for R.P. Lumber Company.  His future goal is to advance the conservative cause and help fellow Republicans return Illinois to prosperity and opportunity.

Christiaan Burner- is a 19-year-old sophomore, majoring in finance at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in the 13^th Congressional District, where he isvice-president of the College Republicans. He is also currently a board member of the Jr. Tea Party in his hometown of Lemont. He maintains a Conservativepolitical blog, titled BurnerPolitics, which is constantly updated with thelatest election news and analysis and viewed by thousands of people each month nation-wide. This summer, he will have an internship at TechAmerica in downtown Chicago. TechAmerica is a trade association that represents the interests of over 1,000 of the leading technology corporations to local, state, and the federal government. His future goal is to run for Congress so that he can help bring common-sense Conservatism back to Washington.

Matthew C. Starr- is a 24-year-old Admissions Advisor at DeVry University in Naperville. Matt’s hometown in Plainfield, IL in the 13^th congressional district but will be shifted to the 11^th district once the next election takes place.Starr was elected in 2009 as Tax Collector for the Plainfield Township. He also serves as Secretary for the Plainfield Township Republican Organization. His future goals are to become a Plainfield Township Trustee and in the future be a U.S. Senator.

Charlie Vidal- is a 22-year-old senior studying Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Charlie is originally from Scarsdale, NY but currently lives in Hyde Park in the 1^st Congressional district. He is currently the Illinois State Chair for the Young Americans for Liberty as well as the Executive Director of University of Chicago Students for a FreeSociety. A future goal for Charlie is to lead the fight in moving Illinois State employees from a defined-benefit pension system to a defined-contribution pension system.  Charlie is also a Campaign Strategist for Nick Schwaderer a Montana State House candidate and a contributor to Red Alert Politics blog.

Corey Walters-is a 19-year-old student at Saint Louis University where he studies Emergency Management. When not at school, Corey lives in the 15th Congressional district, hailing from Troy, IL. Corey first got involved in politics during Adam Andrzejewski’s gubernatorial campaign. Since then he has completed over 500 hours working for Dwight Kay in his successful bid to oust Democrat Jay Hoffman in the 112^th State Representative race. Even more recently, Corey was the communications director for Herman Cain in Illinois, later joining the Santorum campaign and elected as a Santorum delegate in the Republican Nation Convention out of the 15^th district. Corey’s future goals include, in the short term, being elected to a school board or city council and later on to be the Emergency Management Director at the state or national level.

Mike Vitt- is a 14-year-old freshman at Lemont High School, currently living in the 3^rd Congressional District. He is the President and Founder of the Jr. Lemont Tea Party, which allows him to speak at various Tea Party events. Mike also spends time trying to educate his fellow students in the conservative cause. After high school he is hoping to go into mechanical engineering and r run for a position in a College Republican group once he is enrolled into college. As he gets older, he hopes to one day run for congress or senate. His goal is to restore America to its former glory.

Peter Kondelis- is an 18-year-old senior at New Trier High School and a resident of Northfield, part of the old 10^th Congressional District but will now be part of the solidly blue new 9^th Congressional District. He is currently working as an intern for Robert Dold’s reelection campaign, but has also previously spent two summers as a CapitolHill intern for an out of state congressional member, served in the role of US Senate Page and spent a week shadowing employees at the RNC. He also frequently posts political analysis on redracinghorses.com.  In the fall, he will be attending Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. In the future Peter hopes to intern for Congressman Pat Meehan, go to law school and one day run for congress in Pennsylvania or Illinois.

Tom Demmer- is a 25-year-old elected Lee County Board Member who recently won the Republican nomination for the 90^th State Representative District. Tom lives in the old 14^th Congressional District and will be shifted to the new 16^th Congressional District during this upcoming election. He currently works at KSB Hospital in Dixon where he is the Director of Strategic Planning. His past roles include being an Area Director for Bill Brady’s Gubernatorial Campaign, as well as being Campaign Manager for State Senator Tim Bivins. His future goals are to be elected as the Representative from the 90^th District and to promote active participation among people in democracy and government in all levels.

John Poshepny- is a 22-year-old senior at Eastern Illinois University, studying finance. John is originally from Downers Grove and the 13^th Congressional District, though he will be shifted to the 11^th Congressional District during the next election. John has done grassroots work on several campaigns. Currently his goal is to educate his friends on the issues, using both the internet and face to face interaction. His future goals include running for public office, possibly U.S Senate, which he believes his finance degree will help him with.

Whitney Zahnd- is a 29-year-old healthcare researcher from the 18^th Congressional District. Whitney is the Illinois Coordinator for American Grizzlies United/Organize4Palin, a grassroots group that supports candidates that espouse the same principles as former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. Whitney is also the Administrative Coordinator for the CentralIllinois 9/12 Project and writes for Breitbart.com and a few other pro Palin websites. Whitney hopes to continue her current role in the future of supporting conservative candidates who wish to clean up government, as well as to continue her writing.

•           17^th District Congressman Bobby Schilling who is become a prime target of the Democrats
•           72^nd State House District Neil Anderson who has a great chance to unseat an incumbent Democrat bringing us one seat closer to firing Speaker Michael Madigan.
•           Bill Albracht is facing off against Incumbent Democrat Mike Jacobs.

The Illinois Conservatives will provide grassroots support to candidates in the Quad City area.  Please join us in welcoming this new chapter and helping us defeat Michael Madigan and the rest of the tax and spend Democrats.

To Join: http://www.facebook.com/groups/221014961342241/

Here are the present members of the Illinois Conservative Leadership Team:

Zach Oltmanns-President

Andrew Spitzer-Vice President

Joe Kaiser-Speaker of the House

Rafael Rivadeneira- Senator

Nate Plautz-Senator

JC Hagen-Senator

Brian Milleville-Representative

Lennie Jarratt-Representative

Kevin O’Connell-Representative

Sharee Langenstein-Representative

Tyler Gorsegner-Representative

MaryAnn McCabe-Representative

Charlie Kirk-Representative

Dalton Gray-Representative

Recently I attended the Winnebago County Republican Convention.  A speech given by County Chairman Jim Thompson “We must accept that President Obama will win Illinois,” he said.  “How novel,” I mused.  But what he said after that is something that reminded me that certain defeat in the Illinois Electoral College does not mean we labor in vain.  “We need to focus our efforts instead on the Illinois house and senate elections along with various US House races.”  Illinois could be the state that gives the Democrats a complete victory this November. 

On the federal level, the brand new (And extremely gerrymandered) Congressional map could turn around all the gains made in 2010- and then some.  To the Democrat’s credit, they brilliantly executed the most partisan redistricting in the history of redistricting.  If you have not taken a look at the new maps yet, I encourage you to do so.  When I first saw the new Congressional map, I thought of the old Imperial Japanese flag.  If Chicago were the sun, the Congressional districts would be the rays emulating from the city.  Who would have thought it possible that rural Kankakee could be in the same district as inner-city Chicago? Well it turns out that if you decide to ignore the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is possible!

According to “RealClearPolitics,” 5 of the 25 top House seats “In play” are in Illinois.  Only one of these, the 12^th, was previously occupied by a Democrat.  The new 8^th and 11^th Congressional districts were designed to be shoe in’s for the Democrats.  The 8^th, which is currently held by Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, was drawn decisively more Democratic.  The 11^th, which was previously represented by Congressman Adam Kinzinger (until he decided this election he liked his chances better in the 16^th), will now be defended by Congresswoman Judy Biggert.  The 11^thhas also been drawn to become a win for the D’s.  In the 10^th, Rep. Bob Dold’s ever so slim margin over the Democrats will probably be toppled according to Daily Kos. Finally, there is the 17^th Congressional district.  Last cycle, Bobby Schilling unseated Phil “I don’t care about the Constitution” Hare (Remember that viral YouTube video?).  This time around, the Democrats were hedging their bets by adding inner-city Rockford and Peoria to the 17^th.  Literally, they carved out the inner-cities and left the rest for other districts.

All the Democrats need to do is flip 25 seats to win back the House.  If we let these maps do as they are intended, we will lose at least four seats in Illinois.  What will happen if, God forbid, President Obama wins re-election? What if he retains the majority in the Senate AND wins the house?  Just as he said to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he will have “More flexibility,” to push his true agenda.  Heck, if that were the case, it would not be flexibility- it would be 2-4 years of running roughshod over the Constitution (And here you were thinking he had already).  All of us conservatives should have chills running down our spines (not tingling up your leg, Mr. Olberman) at this prospect.

If you’re not terrified already, let me feed your imagination.  If he were to be granted a second term, he would have no public to please, and no pollsters to follow.  It would just be him- and that agenda of which we were always suspect.  That $9 a gallon gas that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was talking about? Done.  Student loan forgiveness adding over $1 trillion to the federal debt? Done. Well actually- we need to reaffirm the youth vote this election so maybe put that on the docket for October or so.  How about our President’s “Evolving” view on gay marriage? That’s code for, I claim Christian values now, but re-elect me in 2012 and we’ll see what we can do about that *wink*.  Oh yes, let’s not forget President Obama’s hot mic (It’s a big ****ing deal) promise of more flexibility on weakening our European missile defenses come November 2012.  See that’s funny, cause in the military I was taught an incredible concept- the stronger your defenses, the less your likelihood of being overrun.  I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Let’s not forget our state races either.  The Illinois senate is one election away from a Democratic, filibuster-proof majority.  What does that mean? Elected Republican Illinois State Reps. and Senators may as well not even show up in Springfield.  At least as it stands now, the Republicans could filibuster if the Dem’s decided a 99% state income tax was in order.  Perhaps that’s a tad far-fetched, but we full well know that tax rates would rise and gay marriage would become a reality in Illinois if this were to take course.

The circumstances are dire, and the time for action is most definitely now.  Yes I know, one might have the grounds to accuse me of fear mongering.  But did the movie Dr. Strangelove potentially stop a real life deranged Air Force general from single-handedly starting a nuclear war that would inevitably destroy life on planet earth? We will never know (It’s a great film, and I refuse to apologize if that reference went over your head). 

In all seriousness, our work is cut out for us if we want to save any semblance of conservatism in Illinois.  Maybe, just maybe, if all 3,000+ of us that constitute “Illinois Conservatives” put forth the effort this year, we can leave those hacks that crafted these gerrymandered maps speechless.  Ask anybody who has ever worked on a campaign, grassroots efforts trump all.  This is to say, if you can give money- great.  If you can’t- Give something that costs no money- Your time.  “Illinois Conservatives” endorses candidates statewide. These are the candidates we need to help.  If you don’t believe that every single vote counts, ask “Illinois Conservatives” President Zach Oltmanns about his March 20^thprimary for County Board or ask Rick Santorum about Iowa.  One thing I know for certain- come this fall, I’ll be plenty busy. 

All across the country, students are studying for Advanced Placement exams coming in the middle of May. Students in AP Economics are taught with Krugman’s Economics for AP by Margaret Ray and David A. Anderson, adapted from Paul Krugman and Robin Wells’ Economics (Second Edition). Our public education system is supposedly one without bias, a place where any student can come and learn without any form of partisanship. Instead, our classrooms are slowly becoming political lecture halls with teachers being pawns to further the doctrine of liberalism and “equality.”

Throughout the entire textbook, there are historical, factual, and statistical distortions. For example, Chapter 36 (“The modern macroeconomic consensus”) contains 16 sweeping generalizations such as: “Nearly all macroeconomists now agree… There is now a broad consensus… Today, most macroeconomists believe… Almost all macroeconomists now accept…” (pp. 355-58). None of these assertions are backed up with even a single citation. If a student were to submit an essay with such disregard for basic evidence, it would ensure a failing grade.

I find it troubling Krugman’s Economics for AP concludes that Reagan’s “supply-side economics is generally dismissed by economic researchers. The main reason for this dismissal is lack of evidence.” Referring to economic growth and output, our textbook goes on to state there was “no sign of an acceleration in growth after the Reagan tax cuts.”

Unfortunately, most of my classmates accept what’s in our textbooks as the “truth” and are unaware of other points of view such as the Cato Institute’s conclusion: “By the end of the Reagan years, the American economy was almost one-third larger than it was when they began.” Real median family income went up $4000 during the Reagan administration. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate declined from 7% in 1980 to 5.4% in 1988. There was a net job increase of about 21 million from the signing of the 1981 tax cut to 1988.

An objective textbook would have pointed out that there are many economists who support supply-side theory. For instance, the influences of Robert Mundell and Arthur Laffer are represented in economic theories all across the world. Dr. Stuart Butler from the Heritage Foundation has supported lower taxes and regulatory relief in order to spur economic growth.

This economics book is only a microcosm of the indoctrination children are receiving in today’s public schools, as unionized teachers push a liberal-leaning agenda. Many textbooks fail to present students with both sides of an issue. Students are being pushed toward an education that demonizes free enterprise while advocating top-down government, deficit spending and class warfare. The continuation of this propaganda will create a youth so misinformed and clueless that they will have no choice but to turn to the government. And that is exactly what the liberals want.

See post on Breitbart at: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/04/26/Liberal-Bias-Starts-in-High-School-Economics

According to President Barack Obama’s twitter page, he and the first lady will be holding the “first” rallies of the 2012 campaign on May 5.

Most of us, though, know the president has been in a perpetual campaign since the midterm elections and is becoming less and less transparent in doing so. Obama’s appearance on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ Tuesday night was, in the minds of many voters not already in the tank for Obama, an embarrassingly shallow campaign ploy. Obama continues to walk the fine line of breaking all sorts of campaign laws, in this case the equal time rule, as he “slow-jammed the news” with Fallon or, in more basic terms, spewed campaign rhetoric to the tune of some drums and guitars.

However, by appearing on the show Obama reinforced what should be an unimportant feature of a candidate, although it subconsciously plays to a lot of independent voters. He is cool.

That’s right. Putting all political differences aside, it is hard to argue that the president carries himself with a certain swagger and demeanor that many people find appealing. What he obviously lacks in his governance, he will try to make up with his persona and even though it does not cancel out his lackluster record as president, it may be enough to sway some independents.

This also underlines another fact: Mitt Romney is not ‘cool.’ He can seem distanced at times from the mainstream and being 15 years Obama’s elder, he is going to need to work his way out of the narrative the Democrats are boiling up, that he is an out of touch, one percenter looking to offer the third term of Bush/Cheney.

Romney’s ‘cool’ problem does not call for pandering. Seeing Mitt try to be ‘hip’ could backfire harder than John Kerry ordering Swiss cheese on his Philly, or Newt Gingrich suggesting he was planning on watching the college basketball championship on a Saturday in January.

Instead of a matter of pandering, the larger issue is rather one of the conservative problem with ‘cool.’ While none of us would like to think that this is that large of an issue, it is evident as this has been popping up in the media lately. Chris Cillizza’s heading in The Washington Post Wednesday read “Barack Obama is cool. Mitt Romney is not. What does it mean for 2012?” MSNBC took time analyzing Obama’s playlist versus that of Eric Cantor and Marco Rubio. The fact is that cool is an issue and the conservative movement is short on ammunition.

While some of the younger guys like Marco Rubio, Aaron Schock, Paul Ryan and Justin Amash have shades of ‘cool’ in them, the current image being projected and orchestrated by the left is that the GOP, and by in large conservatives as a whole, are a bunch of up-tight, out of touch suits looking to only stand up for millionaires and billionaires, which, again, Mitt Romney embodies in the narrative currently being written by the DNC, true or not.

If the GOP wants to control the narrative, and make it more factual than the Democrats want it to be, they have to combat the ‘cool’ syndrome. Obama is going to be using his personality as a tool leading up to November. He may have pushed the envelope too far with his appearance on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ but Fallon’s warm welcome of Obama’s free campaign time shows that the president’s ‘cool’ factor is still running strong and attracting voters.

Romney cannot pander his way to ‘cool’ and it’s not necessary. Mitt Romney is not cool. He is the nominee though and simply needs to focus on advaning conservative principles and convincing independents (and to an extent conservatives) that he can right the ship from the disastrous path Obama has created hiding behind his persona and likability.

In the future, however, conservatives should look to adopt a personality that genuinely shows an in touch, relaxed and somewhat youthful spirit. It’s working for Obama, as any uncool incumbent with his track record could be facing a landslide defeat mirroring Ronald Reagan’s 1980 yawner.

Hopefully, conservatives will have the personable advantage once again in the not too distant future. If so, then taking an axe to the federal budget, slashing taxes and reducing the federal government to its constitutional size will become a lot easier. That’d be really cool.

Almost 22 years ago, I was born in the same hometown as Ronald Reagan, Dixon, IL. Tuesday,  that title became a little less proud. That was the day long time Comptroller Rita Crundwell was arrested by FBI agents for allegedly stealing over $30 million over the past six years. I was shocked and appalled by the news that someone was able to steal that kind of money and not be caught sooner. Thirty million dollars is a lot of money to any community, especially one with only 15,000 citizens. This alleged fraud was the equivalent to a combined $1,900 per taxpayer over the last six years

People want to know how this could have happened. A couple of thoughts have came to my mind. One problem I see is the lack of turnover in Dixon politicans. Mayor Jim Burke, a donor to Democrats such as Dick Durbin and Bill Foster, has been in office since 1999 and has been questioned about his own corruption in the past. Mayor Burke is also the owner of Burke Realty. In 2010 Henry Pratt Company had an old factory structure for sale for $600,000. However, Burke Realty was able to buy the Henry Pratt Company building for $27,000. Convenient, isn’t it? There have been other instances of the city and Burke Realty holding hands in business.

Another factor is that Dixon is still governed by a city commission type of government. The commission system was first used in Galveston, Texas in 1900, becoming somewhat popular throughout the state. In the past 50 years, however, many communities have switched to the council-manager form of government. Only a few dozen communities in the nation remaining as a commission system today. The commission system has fewer checks and balances because the legislative and executive responsibility is all handled by the same four commissioners and the mayor. The mayor has very little power in the commission system because his responsibilities are shared with the commission.

I believe Dixon’s form of government is conducive to this culture of corruption. It is time for Dixon to change to the council-manager form of government. I call on Dixon to put their budgets online. Every dime in real time will allow the citizens to catch fraud if the city leaders are unable to do so. Moreover, it is time for the people of Dixon to pick a new mayor in 2014. It is painfully obvious that Jim Burke has put himself before the citizens he is supposed to serve. Now is the time to comb the cities books and have the city offer more transparency to its citizens. They deserve to be proud of their city once again.

As it stands now Kinzinger is unopposed in the general election.  There is talk in conservative and tea party circles of finding someone to challenge Kinzinger as an independent.  Of course the Democratic Party has the option of putting forward their own candidate at their parties convention in June.  And as reported today in my local paper a left leaning group is also looking at putting a candidate on the ballot as either a Democrat or an Independent.

Sauk Valley- Group seeks challenger for Kinzinger

This leftist group will be meeting in Dekalb this coming weekend and I plan on attending, so stay tuned.

When it comes to a conservative or Tea Party candidate challenging Kinzinger I am of two minds on the matter.  While I would love to see a genuine conservative/Tea Party candidate beat Kinzinger in November, I realize the difficulty that candidate would have accomplishing that.  The organization and money advantage belongs to Kinzinger.  Although, should a real conservative/Tea Party candidate rise to challenge Kinzinger money and support from conservative and Tea Party affiliated groups nationally would flow into the district.  However, that outside support does not directly translate into votes.  In order for any candidate to have a shot at unseating Kinzinger they are going to have to develop one heck of a ground game, personally interact with every voter in the district and develop a strategy to counter the massive negative media ad blitz Kinzinger and his allies would launch.  To say taking on Kinzinger would be an uphill climb would be an understatement.

That difficulty in taking on Kinzinger now leads me to think that maybe it would be better to spend the next two years building a support base and raising campaign funds in order to mount a true effort to defeat Kinzinger.  I vacillate every other second between wanting to see a challenger now and wanting to help build the organization necessary over the next two years in order to see a successful challenge to Adam Kinzinger.  Regardless of the fact that I keep changing my mind I will support any conservative or Tea Party candidate should they go up against Kinzinger now or in the future.  If none do then I am left having to back Kinzinger(if only temporarily) should he face a Democrat or a left-leaning Independent opponent this fall.

No matter what happens when it comes to a challenger it is going to be up to all of us that have issues with Adam Kinzinger to hold his feet to the fire and hold him accountable for his voting record.(a voting record that has him with a 70 conservative rating, Manzullo had a lifetime rating of 90 by the way)

By: Ulysses S. Arn

His blog can be found at: usofarn.com