Ryan Marucco's Blog

Learning From Family

2005-05-03T01:27:00.000-05:00

Over the past few months I have been lucky enough to make contact with some of my relatives that are still in Italy. My fathers side of the family, came over here from Italy in the early 1900's. My great-great grandpa John (who I got to meet because he lived to be 103) came over but most of his family stayed in Italy.

Recently, Maggio Marucco, the former owner of Marucco's Grocery in Stonington, IL passed away. At this time, McClure Funeral Home out of Taylorville had a guestbook online where people could leave their condolences and it would then be given to his immediate family. Before attending Maggio's visitation, I logged on and left a few words. I found an e-mail from Maria Marucco, Maggiora, Italy.

Once I saw this I e-mailed the address back. I was put into contact with her daughter and son-in-law Carla and Franco Magistrini. Since then we have been swapping e-mails. I've also been speaking with their daughter, Silvia Ramella. She is 17 years old, a senior in liceo classico (high school). She is going onto college and thinking about studying political science.

You are probably asking where I'm going with this post. It's quite interesting. Over the past few months, I have sent a few packages to Italy (for reference, a 5lb package costs $26 to ship). Italy is a developed country that is pretty stable. I asked Silvia what she and her friend Claretta wanted from the United States. I thought that since we Americans have a reputation of being "wealthy" to the rest of the international community that her demands would be big. Her requests were modest.

Claretta wanted some travel coffee mugs with lids on them. They do not have those in Italy. I picked up 4 of those, two for each of them. The second request, from Silvia, I found very interesting. Silvia wanted peanut butter. Believe it or not, they do not have peanut butter in Italy. This fact got me thinking about the underlying value.

My Italian family is by no means poor. They live a comfortable life from what I can tell over in Italy. However, a lot of the things we take for granted are considered valuable to them. We as Americans have so much but we don't realize this as we live our day-to-day lives. We control 1/3 of the world's wealth. Often times we complain because we have to wait another year to buy that new car, or that we can't afford the new hot tub in our house. When I see Silvia's request, I realize that not everyone thinks as we do.

In the end, this makes me realize that even the small things in life are great. We are truly lucky as Americans and it is our duty to share our good fortunes with people around the world. Try it, you will feel great. Nothing gives me more joy than doing something to make my Italian relatives happy. From now on, each time I get stressed out about what I don't have, I will sit down and eat a peanut butter sandwich.

Internet Lottery

2005-04-30T12:52:00.000-05:00

The H&R editorial board is opposing yet another Democratic proposal (surprise, surprise) regarding a way to raise revenue for the State of Illinois. Some members of the General Assembly have proposed selling lottery tickets online in order to make it more convenient for people to buy them.
The editorial board maintains that this would create a social problem in that the poorest of the poor would more easily be able to buy lotto tickets. Earlier this year, they opposed the law signed by the governor that banned kids from buying sexually explicit or violent video games. Now, I may be wrong, but doesn't sociological research show that these video games cause a social problem as well? Why is it that the H&R feels we should allow kids to have sexually explicit and violent video games but that adults over the age of 18 should find lottery tickets less accessible than the internet? Could it be perhaps because both pieces of legislation were proposed and/or signed by Democrats?
They tried to make a bleeding-heart liberal case in that by making the tickets available on the internet, the poor would more easily be able to buy them and that only further hurts their financial situation. I don't know about you, but if I was that poor, I doubt I'd have the internet, or even a computer for that matter.
Yet another argument is that the H&R doesn't think it would be possible to keep the tickets out of the hands of underage kids if they are on the internet. First of all, if that's the case, shouldn't they be changing the ticket machines that you can find in your local Kroger? You don't even have to speak to a person. Put in a dollar, push a button, and you get a ticket.
My last point on all of this is: according to the H&R, we must make sure our children don't get their hands on lottery tickets. However, kids should have the right to buy sexually explicit and violent video games.
Where is the rationale in the statements they are feeding us everyday? I know, BIAS!!

http://radicaljacksonian.blogspot.com

2005-04-29T14:34:00.000-05:00

I cannot possibly top the writing of Bob Sampson today (or any other day for that matter) so I will divert my readers to his blog for some quality reading for now. I may be back tonight with something, but I feel that Bob's message is something that EVERYONE needs to read. Please visit Bob Sampson's Blog.

Energy Woes

2005-04-28T00:05:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Tribune wrote a nice article outlining the Bush proposal for alternative energy sources yesterday. The foundation of Bush's proposal was the building of more nuclear powerplants throughout the United States. He said this will lessen our dependence on foreign oil and be a major step in solving our problem of reliance.
However, this is merely a short-term fix with long-term consequences. The first question is where are we going to put these things? As apparent in Clinton where there is talk of building another nuclear power plant, communities become very divided over this issue. Some members of economically depressed communities want these plants for the jobs, while others strongly oppose them due to the environmental risks they pose.
That leads to issue number two: where are we going to put all of this nuclear waste? All of the nuclear waste currently produced by nuclear power plants in this country is stored on site in temporary storage facilities. The only other alternative that has been offered is to dump it all down Yucca Mountain.
The President would be better served by offering incentives to companies for a real fuel alternative. Many people on both sides of the aisle have stated that we can later rely on hydrogen to power our vehicles and other luxuries we enjoy. If you speak to any reputable scientist, they will explain that it takes none other than oil to produce hydrogen in this form so it will not do us any good.
We definitely have an oil crisis in this country and we need to act quickly and intelligently. While I respect the President for admitting that there is an issue here, I disagree with the steps he is taking.

Sesame Street Toning it Down

2005-04-27T22:23:00.000-05:00

Sesame Street is apparently going to tone down it's song by the cookie monster. I always grew up watching Sesame Street (well until I was 19, and then I stopped) and the Cookie Monster sang his traditional song "C is for Cookie All the Time."

Apparently, "all the time" is too much. PBS is now revising this song to "C is for Cookie Some of the Time." This is said to be their first attempt at a campaign to fight child obesity. For some reason though, I don't think changing the classics is going to keep kids skinny. Perhaps parents feeding their children healthy food instead of shoving junk down their throats is the way to go about doing it? The even sadder question is: Do our youths in this country really take to heart everything the media delivers to them without questioning it at all? Oscar the Grouch lives in a trash can. Maybe we should at least move him out into a nice one bedroom apartment, but then he may not be as grouchy, it could ruin the show! If children really take every little detail of this show seriously, we have a serious problem. But I think kids are smart enough to determine what is real and what isn't. What do you think?

Bob Sampson

2005-04-26T19:15:00.000-05:00

I have nothing to write about today, so here is a bizarre picture of Bob Sampson before he shaved his face to give you a laugh.

Support Mom & Pop

2005-04-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

In one of my classes at Illinois State University this week, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a presentation by the city planner for the Town of Normal. Most of the readers of this blog probably do not know, but the Town of Normal has a massive redevelopment of their downtown area underway. You can learn all of the details about the plan at www.normal.org.

The city planner made mention of something I thought was very important. He stated that the Town of Normal wants to keep the renovation costs down for the older buildings in order to keep small, independent retail shops in the downtown area. He stated that, however, due to the expense of the new buildings being built, some national chains may appear in the area.

To relate this to Decatur, I think we as consumers need to do a better job of shopping at the "Mom & Pop" shops. We are very fortunate to have a lot of them present in areas like Merchant Street. It may take us a little more time to shop, but I think it is worth the time to spend money to get the items you need at several of these shops, instead of one Wal-Mart. These shops are the very fabric of our community and we need to keep them there. Remember that everytime you spend a dollar at Wal-Mart, thats a dollar you are taking away from "Mom & Pop" and most likely, a dollar that you are sending overseas.

On Blogs

2005-04-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Herald & Review printed a nice story today regarding the federal regulation of blogs. This is one of the rare occasions that I agree with the editorial board. I also feel that regulation of these blogs is a bad thing and could be a slippery slope into regulating other forms of political expression or free speech.
I am also glad that the folks from the H&R have been reading, as they mentioned a couple of my quotes regarding Gary Sawyer. They did, however, try and discredit these quotes (I'm not surprised as it was in an article from the editorial board and Gary is in charge of that). I stated that Gary was a Republican. The response was that he is not affiliated with any party and he has never voted in a partisan primary. Now, that does not make him NOT Republican, it just makes him apathetic in many cases. We as readers should question why we are letting someone who doesn't vote half the time, tell us what we should think of various policies. My second quote was tweeked a little bit in order to fit their uses. I never said Gary Sawyer was a bird that flew in circles, etc. I said IF Gary were. The reason I say he has only a right-wing: look back at his articles over the past few months and tally up how many liberal programs vs. conservative programs he and the board have supported. I think you will find a sharp contrast.
Either way I felt this was a good article and the e-board had every right to fire one back at me if that was their intent. This is what it's all about and I'm glad we have a media outlet that will participate in this form of free thought, even if it isn't favorable to them all of the time. May the debate continue.

County Administrator

2005-04-21T13:37:00.000-05:00

Stephanie Potter wrote a nice piece in this morning's Herald & Review regarding whether or not we need a county administrator. As she mentioned, this isn't really a partisan issue. In 2002 the vote was gridlocked 10-10.
I hadn't given much thought to this issue until the past week or so when 141 S. Main turned into a war zone over accountability for an auditing error. I think board members on both sides of this issue have some good points. Wolfe is correct in that having Randy Waks has helped straighten things out for the count. Hogan is correct by saying that the officeholders need better communication amongst themselves. Perhaps the best point is made by Dave Drobisch in that the cost of hiring a full-time administrator is cheaper than $1.43 million, which is what the levy error could cost the county.
In the end I would have to say that the county does, indeed, need an administrator. As long as it is made known that the administrator will be accountable to the board and the board chairman than I see no harm. I just hate to see the board have to cough up the extra money for it, and where would it come from?

DeWitt County Recycling Program

2005-04-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

If you ever think our county board is behind the times or irresponsible, they have a long way to go to even hold a candle to the DeWitt County Board. A few weeks ago, the DeWitt County Board voted to stop funding of the recycling center in Clinton. This was going to cost the county $127,000 to update the equipment at the center in order to make it self-sufficient. Instead of making this one time payment, the DeWitt County Board (which is all Republican) voted to cut the funding. As a result, the recycling center would be shut down (how 21st century of them!). This would displace 23 workers. You may not think that is much, but these workers were all developmentally disabled. This was the only opportunity they had for employment. If they lose this job, chances are they will have an extremely difficult time trying to find something else to do.

Fortunately, some concerned citizens and community leaders, like Terry Redman, DeWitt County Democratic Chairman, organized a group of people to fight this vote. The board then agreed to send a resolution to the Land Use Committee that would reverse the original resolution and fund the project. The committee passed the resolution 5-1 (there was still one Republican stuck in the Stone Age). On Thursday, the resolution will go before the entire board. You can bet the courthouse will again be packed wall to wall by concerned citizens. Let's hope the board does the right thing.

County Board Meeting

2005-04-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

Last night I was able to attend the county board meeting to see what all went on with the bond/levy issue. I was hoping to hear all sides of the story and was hoping that all sides would take their share of the pie when it comes to the misdrawn levy. I thought County Clerk Bean did a good job explaining his side of the story. However, I didn't hear a peep out of the Auditor. I was very disappointed about this. She sat there and did absolutely nothing when Bean took the heat for it. She didn't even address the board last night, but this was in the Herald & Review this morning:

Former county employee Marilyn Riley asked who drafted the resolution with the incorrect levy figure in it.
"I didn't," Bean said.
Stockwell later said the county board office drafted the resolution based on her figures. But she said the focus now should be on the county getting the best deal possible.

The Auditor is the financial planner for the county. I'm sure somewhere in the job description appears the word "audit," and that was not done. Ms. Stockwell gave the board the figures, they were wrong. The board drew up the levy, it was wrong. Ms. Stockwell didn't audit the levy, it was filed, and it was wrong. The whole time she sits in silence as Bean is thrown under the bus for her mistake. There is something wrong with this. Then she sums up by saying "the focus now should be on the county getting the best deal possible." She is now quick to avoid the issue since the focus is on her, however she didn't lift a finger to explain it wasn't Bean's fault.

Bean should stay

2005-04-14T12:50:00.000-05:00

Lately the hot topic has been whether or not Steve Bean is going to resign. It is my view that he should stay. The blame for the incident cannot totally, if at all, be blamed on Steve. It was an ongoing process and it is easy for mistakes to be made overtime. Clerk Bean was having health problems at the time (not long term, but walking pneumonia) that could have happened to any of us.
Instead of looking at what is going on now, I think everyone should consider the many good things Steve has done over the years. Lets face it, if he was doing a bad job, the Republicans would have been running candidates against him all along. Under Bean's leadership, Macon County made a relatively smooth transition into the new voting machines last year, which as many may remember, was not the case in a lot of counties.
In the end, I think it is in the best interest of Macon County to have Steve Bean as its County Clerk. He's run his office with class by even sacrificing his own wages. That in itself is commendable enough to show everyone that we have an officeholder who truly cares.

Further Elaboration

2005-04-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

As you have seen from my previous post, I have changed the format of blogging. For this, you can thank the one member of the Amy Stockwell Fan Club who posted 11 times under 11 different names yesterday. This blog started out as a forum of free-flowing thoughts and I have never deleted an anonymous comment until yesterday. Unfortunately, one ignorant being had to change this for everyone and I am now only allowing posts from people with registered handles.
Let me make it clear that I have no problem with individuals supporting their favorite officeholders, be it Democrat or Republican. I have a problem with someone being so obnoxious as to use 11 different fake names (including one name that was the same as one of my frequent registered posters) to say the same thing in different ways while slamming another officeholder at the same time. Someone posted something under the handle of "Bryan," which is used normally by Bryan Smith, but this was not the case last night. In order to protect people like Bryan, and myself, only registered users will comment on this blog. And you may be thinking to yourself, "I can register several different names and still post in such a manner." That may be true, but I will be using my own judgement as to whether or not the comments are necessary, and if not, I will delete them.

No more anonymous postings

2005-04-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

Due to the ignorance of someone who is overly supportive of Amy Stockwell, I will no longer be accepting of anonymous comments on this blog. This particular individual posted 10 times on my blog under different names, and even used the name as someone who really does blog on here. To those of you who have posted anonymously and have been constructive, I hate to do this to you, however one bad egg ruins it for everyone. I hope other bloggers will follow suit. I'm sure I'll catch plenty of flack over this, but I could care less. I'm tired of ignorant people.

Annual Town Meeting Tonight

2005-04-12T12:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the night that every township across the state will be holding their annual Town Meeting after 6pm. Please do not forget to attend this meeting. At the annual town meeting, YOU have the opportunity to vote on issues in person. This is one of the few times that individual citizens can take part in a direct democracy. You will also hear reports from the officeholders of your township that will give you insight on what the township has done, is doing, and where it will be heading over the next year. Please make it a point to attend.

County Building Rumor Mill

2005-04-12T08:58:00.000-05:00

It seems that there have been some rumors floating around the County Building and the blogosphere. The rumors insist that Steve Bean will be resigning as County Clerk. Unfortunately, the rumors were started by an "anonymous" poster on another blog so it is tremendously lacking in credibility. I would hate to have to go to a "no anonymous" policy on this blog, but I will do so if necessary. Now I must pose the question, does anyone know if there is any truth to the Bean rumors and why? Anonymous comments will be disregarded for the purpose of this post.

Another Chuckle per Gary Sawyer

2005-04-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

I know I always knock on Gary Sawyer, but I truly do thank him for giving me something to laugh at each morning. Please see his blog post from yesterday below.

4/5/2005
Election results
Filed under:
General— Gary Sawyer @ 9:22 pm
There are some obvious conclusions you can draw from Tuesday night’s election results.
First, Betsy Stockard is a solid city council member and she’s a popular one.
Second, Dan Caulkins ran an excellent race and his second place finish was a little surprising. Caulkins push in the last two weeks – with the ads and the endorsements from former council members obviously made a difference.
Third, Shad Edwards has to be disappointed. If he has further political aspirations, this has to be a blow, especially the difference between him and Stockard.
Fourth, Pat McDaniel, who ran well in the primary didn’t develop any push in the last couple of weeks. If he had, would it have been enough to sweep him into third and onto the council?
Fifth, Mike Shampine spent a lot of money on this race but never seemed to gain traction with the voters. Why is something of a mystery. Shampine is well known and well-liked, but he couldn’t seem to draw the attention of the voters.
Sixth, Kim Keck has nothing to be ashamed of. It’s nearly impossible for an unknown to get recognized in a race this crowded.
So, what’s the conclusion? Mine is that generally voters are happy with the way city government is going. That’s why Stockard got the support she did.
But it’s clear that voters saw a problem with either Edwards performance as a council member of his campaign.

First of all, the obvious contradiction: "So, what’s the conclusion? Mine is that generally voters are happy with the way city government is going." "...voters saw a problem with either Edwards performance as a council member..."

I'm still trying to figure out how this is a blow to Edwards' future political aspirations (by the way, is it me, or is it just a general assumption and not a fact that Edwards has future aspriations?). Candidates actually lose and are told "you're on your way up, you ran a good race." This candidate WON and it's a blow? I'm not sure I understand this. He put his campaign on cruise control and still won. I'm highly doubting that 5,683 voters filled in his circle by accident. If the voters took issue with Edwards, wouldn't they have voted for McDaniel instead? I mean wasn't he the nice guy that everyone liked?
Frankly, I believe Gary wouldn't have dogged this individual, say, if it was Pat McDaniel or Dan Caulkins in the same situation (if they were incumbents up for re-election and finished 3rd). Shad is dogged by Gary at every corner, simply because he's affiliated with the Democratic Party. Mr. Sawyer is lucky he is not a bird, for he would fly in circles since he only has a right-wing.

WOW

2005-04-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

If anyone ever tells you that your vote doesn't count, please show them these results:

Long Creek Township Trustee

CHERYL A. SMITH DEM 1342 15.58%
P. KAY NUERNBERGER DEM 1102 12.79%
NORMAN HAWBAKER DEM 1180 13.70%
DALE A. WORKMAN DEM 1197 13.90%
DALE RHOADES REP 1110 12.89%
JOE HODGE REP 917 10.65%
ANDREW R. CLARKSON REP 940 10.91%
SUSAN ALBRO REP 823 9.55%

Rhoades barely finishes in the 4th spot to re-secure his seat on the board by only 8 votes

Mt. Zion Township Trustee

MARK B. ROTZ REP 448 18.86%
STEVEN E. SEFTON REP 526 22.14%
RONALD D. JOHNSON REP 465 19.57%
CAROLE M JACOBY DEM 486 20.45%
JAMES A. WILEY DEM 447 18.81%

Mark Rotz is re-elected by a single vote.

Maroa Township Trustee

DAVID L. FOULKE REP 353 15.72%
THOAMS C. ROGERS REP 256 11.40%
JIM STOUTENBOROUGH REP 412 18.35%
R. CURTIS WILSON REP 330 14.70%
GEROGE CAMPBELL DEM 184 8.20%
STANTON MALONE DEM 176 7.84%
JAMES UNDERWOOD DEM 267 11.89%
JACK SHAW DEM 267 11.89%

Jim Underwood and Jack Shaw tied for the 4th position and will have to determine race by coin toss perhaps?

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

From the H&R city council endorsement

2005-04-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

Explain this to me:

While we like both candidates [Shampine & Edwards], we do not believe they are as fiscally responsible in wanting to give local companies preferential treatment when bidding on city contracts. We prefer the current council's policy of taking each contract on a case-by-case basis. Both also have accepted a good deal of campaign money from groups outside of Decatur, a trend we hate to see in local politics. We don't want outsiders telling us how to run our city.

Ok, so we don't want outsiders telling us how to run our city, we just want to give them all of our money and let the local yokals crumble. Good idea, editorial board!! You have my endorsement as ___________ (fill in the blank how you'd like).

Vote Yes for Richland

2005-03-30T20:07:00.000-06:00

It seems that the Richland referendum is going to pass overwhemingly. However, it still bothers me that some people oppose this tax shift. If you want to vote "no" so that you can save $17/year on your $84,000 home, you are ridiculous. If you don't think that Richland's contributions to this community is less important thatn receiving $17, then you should go and get checked out. Nothing bothers me more than individuals who whine and moan about taxes, yet turn around and complain about how poor our education system is. In this case, some of these individuals want to trade off a great community college in order to put $17 in their pocket. It sickens me. Don't be one of those people, vote Yes on April 5, 2005.

2005-03-29T15:09:00.000-06:00

Main Street Church of the Living God
Presents:
“Community Justice and Christian Responsibility…”
Perspectives on Courage, Commitment, and Community

Thursday, April 7, 2005
This event is free and open to the Public

___________________________________________________________________

5:00 pm
Dinner and Private book Signing. Tickets are $20 pp. Spend an intimate hour with America’s foremost intellectual and socially conscious minds. A fine opportunity to meet and converse one on one with this History-Maker.

6:30 p.m.
Cornel West Lecture. Seating is limited. Additional seating will be available via satellite. Book signing and questions from satellite location follows the address.

___________________________________________________________________

On April 7, 2005, at 6:30pm Dr. Cornel West, nationally acclaimed author and social commentator, will offer a presentation Community Justice and Christian Responsibility. This discussion will be of interest to the educator and the clergy, as well as permeate the hearts and minds of the business and civic communities as Dr West takes us through his vision of leadership in the 21st century.

West joined the faculty at Princeton in 2002 after teaching Afro-American studies and philosophy of religion for eight years at Harvard University. He earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton. He has also taught at Yale and Union Theological Seminary. He is an accomplished artist, lecturer, and even actor, as displayed in his roles in The Matrix Sequels.

___________________________________________________________________

For More Information: Contact The event hotline (217) 875-8060 or church offices (217)875-1633 Visit the web www.mainstreetdecatur.org email: baileyju@lewisu.edu.

From Today's H&R

2005-03-29T00:38:00.000-06:00

Comments in township race article omitted facts

First of all, I would like to give props to the Herald & Review for running a story on March 26, "Greenfield faces Luka Jr. in Long Creek Township supervisor race."

However, I was rather disappointed in Kevin Greenfield's comments (though I respect him as an individual) regarding incumbent Supervisor Robert H. Luka Jr. Greenfield questioned Luka's leadership by stating there are several closed sessions at the Long Creek Township meetings and that under Luka's leadership, too much money is being spent.

First, many of these closed sessions now have open minutes. If you make a Freedom of Information Act request, you can see many of these closed sessions were called to work out legal questions. This is all public information now.

Second, Luka is fiscally responsible, as are all of the township trustees, both Democrat and Republican. Long Creek Township runs on a surplus while still maintaining one of the largest township water departments in the state.

Also, as noted in the article, taxes have actually decreased under Luka's leadership.The expansion of the water system in Long Creek Township will only help the customers. Luka has worked in lock-step with the water department operator to secure federal grants to offset most of the cost. In time, water rates will decrease as more people pay into the system.

Luka spends countless hours working in the township office and on township business, and it's a part-time job. The taxpayers are getting their money's worth and then some, as Luka goes above and beyond when it comes to putting in his time.

On April 5, I will vote to re-elect Robert H. Luka Jr. as Long Creek Township supervisor.

Ryan Marucco
Decatur

It's time to fight back

2005-03-23T18:12:00.000-06:00

This morning while in the shower, I was reflecting on the November election cycle. After reading Bob Sampson's comments on one of my previous posts, I began to feel guilty for not standing up for the morals of the Democratic Party.

As you know, the Republicans ran their campaign based on morals. They accused Democrats of being baby killers that want to take away your guns and fight to make sure that criminals are not subject to the death penalty. They, afterall, painted themselves as the party of morals, the party of life, the party that is tough on crime to make sure the streets safe. They are the party that wants to protect the sanctity of marriage so that it can only be between a man and a woman.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I happen to think we have done more when it comes to morality than the Republican Party. I must lay out my disclaimer ahead of time and say that not all Democrat echo these views. There is variation between specific issues within our party, but by and large, we agree.

First of all, we are considered to be immoral because of our stance on a woman's right to choose, or pro-choice. I am a pro-choice Democrat. I feel that it is moral to let a woman decide what she wants to do with her body. I feel that it is immoral to force someone to have an unwanted child as it only sets the child up for a lifetime of struggle. There is no reason to force a woman into having a child because of a mistake she has made. Often times, it's even something that is beyond her own power, such as a sexual assault. Forcing someone to carry around the scars of their life is immoral.

Secondly, we are considered to be immoral because many of us oppose the death penalty. I fit this mold. The Republicans, who consider themselves to be "pro-life" flip flop in their views and decide that they want to play God in certain situations. This is wrong. It is also wrong because the system is flawed. The number of executions in the State of Texas is astounding. The one thing I will give George H. Ryan credit for is his moratorium on the death penalty. We should NOT be putting people to death when we know our system is flawed. Killing someone who may be innocent is immoral.

Thirdly, the so called "Religious Right" have pointed their fingers at the Democrats, only to be a very discriminatory wing themselves. Many Christian fundamentalists who are also conservatives and Republicans feel that Muslims are inherently evil. This may sound crazy, but I was watching a religious channel at about 2am one night and the individual who was speaking was justifying that those who are from the Middle East have been evil since the beginning of time. Labelling someone as inherently evil is immoral.

Fourthly (is that a word?), the Republican party, by and large, opposes gay marriage. I happen to support it. I don't think it is the government's place to tell people who they can and cannot spend the rest of their lives with. It is absolutely wrong and unjustifiable to deny people their right to formal and state recognized ceremonies just because they do not fit in with the majority. When two people love one another, they should be able to love each other in the same way that a straight couple loves one another. I have no personal interest in gay marriage as I am a straight male, but I do not see why I should be able to marry a woman and my homosexual friends cannot marry the person they love. If Republicans feel that this is against God's will, then that is fine. Let God sort it out when they get there. Besides, doesn't our constitution mention something about the separation of church and state? On top of that, marriages in and of themselves are not part of religion. If that were true, how do athiests marry? Discriminating against someone due to their sexual preference is immoral.

Fifthly (if fourthly is a word, then I'm sure fifthly is too), is it moral to give a huge tax cut at the expense of programs that actually help people? Does Bill Gates need a few million extra dollars at the expense of say, the Meals on Wheels program? The current administration first gave a huge tax cut that severely increased the deficit (which our children and grand children will be paying for) and now that he wants to decrease the deficit, instead of rolling back the tax cut for the wealthy, Bush will cut worthy programs. Here are a few of them:

Adult Literacy - Money for certain adult education programs would be cut by two-thirds.
Amtrak - Funding would be cut by 70 percent (would severely hamper mobility of elderly)
Medicaid - Spending would be cut by $60 billion over the next decade
Veterans’ Drug Costs - Veterans could pay twice as much in prescription drug copayments and a $250 annual enrollment fee.
* for a complete list, please see this page on the AARP website

Giving billionaires tax relief at the expense of the poor and elderly is immoral.

Perhaps I'm just talking to the wall with all of this, but I hope, Democrats, that this posting will supply you with just a fraction of the ammo you'll need to fight back. We are not an immoral party, we just let the GOP paint us that way. We need to believe in ourselves and fight back. Start showing people what the real GOP is like. We Democrats are good, upstanding people and we know it.

BREAKING NEWS

2005-03-23T05:28:00.000-06:00

Today, the Herald & Review editorial board bashed Democrats. Oh wait, that's not breaking news, that's the norm!! Short and sweet. Look yourself.

I can't help but laugh

2005-03-21T14:44:00.000-06:00

From Gary Sawyer's Blog

How much government?
Filed under:
General— Gary Sawyer @ 3:21 pm
Sorry I’ve been slow to blog lately, an out of town editor’s conference last week put me behind.
But I’m back and the emails have been answered and the phone calls returned.
It’s always amazing to me how much we expect from government. You can read more about this in Sunday’s Herald & Review, but I think the violent video game bill is a perfect example of allowing government to overextend itself.
The idea is a reasonable one. Young children should not play video games that contain violence or sexually explicit situations. But do we really want government to enforce a law that won’t allow such video games to be sold to minors? Do we want that much government involvement in our lives?
Plus, what about the costs? Anyone who expects government to enforce additional laws without additional resources is naive.

I shouldn't be surprised that this is one of many sad attempts for my favorite Republican, Gary Sawyer, to rail on the governor. When I read this, I almost wet my pants because I was laughing so hard at the lengths the editorial board will go to in order to try and discredit the governor. This has to be my favorite part of Gary's article:

"But do we really want government to enforce a law that won't allow such video games to be sold to minors? Do we want that much government involvement in our lives? Plus, what about the costs? Anyone who expects government to enforce additional laws without additional resources is naive."

I guess now it is my turn to bring a few small things to light, speaking of naive.

1) USA Patriot Act - Republican proposal (and yes, Dems voted for it too, but at least want to revise or remove it) that is the biggest violation of individual rights in the history of this country. You can be locked up in jail as a "suspected terrorist" without any evidence. Your right to speedy trial is waived as well as your right to counsel. You can be locked up indefinitely without charges being brought against you. People say this is a rare side effect, but research it, you'll find out otherwise. The Republicans want to expand on this.

2) Roe v. Wade - Decided by the Supreme Court in 1974. This allows women the right to choose what they do with their own body. Most Republicans want this case overturned. "I'm sorry you've been raped, but you must deliver that baby. You can put it up for adoption and it can be lied to for it's entire life and not know how it came about. It's ok if you can't support it, it can sell drugs"

3) Terri Schiavo Legislation - Even though the courts have been all over this for the past 7 years (I've also heard 12 years), Congress will now step in. They will make a law to decide a family matter. The Republicans were the primary backers of this law that would require a feeding tube to be left in a severely brain damaged and bed ridden woman for the rest of her natural life. She would be confined to her hospital bed and look at the ceiling for perhaps several more decades. This is one case and the entire 535 members of Congress are stepping in.

4) Gay Marriage - "Oh my!! They'll take over the world and make you and I gay as well!" The Republican's are against gays marrying because it will jeopardize the sanctity of marriage. I could be wrong, but shouldn't we be more concerned about the extremely high divorce rates if we are worried about it's sanctity? But I see their point, "we shouldn't allow gay people the right to marry because they are...different than most of us." For a group of people arguing about government intervention, it's pretty crazy that they are in favor of the government telling people who they can and cannot marry.

Folks, stripping away your individual rights and liberties isn't the issue, telling you what you must do with your body isn't the issue, and prying into your family situation and mandating that you live a certain way isn't the issue, telling you who you can and cannot marry is not the issue; these are all legitimate places for the government to step in, of course, right?. The real issue here is that dirty 'ol governor keeping violent video games out of the hands of children. That is the worst thing the government could do. Our children must play violent video games. I strongly agree with this...not really.

Mr. Sawyer, though I respect him, dedicated his entire post to ripping another one of the Governor's proposals. I'm sorry Gary, but it just isn't working.

It's hard to find a good Assessor

2005-03-18T17:51:00.000-06:00

As of late, the Macon County Office of Assessments has touted the idea of charging individual townships for assessing properties within their borders. The buzz around the county building a few months ago was how many assessors in Macon County do not do their jobs. Granted, a select few ruin it for the majority, however there is a problem. I must say, however, that Decatur Township is lucky to have one of the finest township assessors that Macon County has ever seen.

Bruce Owen is as even handed as they come. He is a full-time assessor and works to make sure the properties in Decatur are accurately assessed. Bruce deals no favors. He realizes that any one favor would penalize another taxpayer. This is something to be admired as nobody is really happy to see the tax assessor show up at their door. At the end of the day, Bruce does things by the book in a very polite way.

I would hope that on April 5, 2005, the voters of Decatur Township will vote to re-elect Bruce Owen. It is important that trusting, responsible, and ethical government continues to operate in Decatur Township. As a taxpayer in Decatur Township, you can rest easy knowing that your assessor is earning his salary.

What happened to doing the right thing?

2005-03-17T22:53:00.000-06:00

I am disappointed in this week's decision by the Illinois Attorney General's office to prosecute Scott Shull. Shull, a former correctional officer was charged with a felony for trying to sell a gun at a gun show without waiting 72 hours. Certainly the Illinois A.G.'s office had the grounds for this prosecution as ignorance of the law is not a defense. I think the current A.G. administration is the best the State of Illinois has seen in a long time, however I disagree with the decision to prosecute Shull. If Shull was really trying to do something illegal, he wouldn't have been doing it at a gun show, nor would he have requested to see the FOID card of the undercover officer.

Shull aspired to be a Macon County Sheriff's Deputy, but will not longer be able to do this because of his conviction. This man's future is gone because of an honest mistake, and the A.G.'s office made no attempt to allow Shull to plea the case to a lesser charge. I think the Attorney General's office should have allowed State's Attorney Jack Ahola to try this case. However, this all could have been avoided if Former State's Attorney Scott Reuter would have acted sooner.

Now Shull is supporting his family by earning $300/week as a car salesman at Miles Chevrolet. I think it is great that Miles has given him this opportunity and comment Pat Dawson for helping him out. However, due to this extremely harsh punishment, Shull will struggle to feed his family for life, all because he made a mistake. The state should have done the right thing and looked at the circumstances and offered a plea bargain. Shull himself wasn't looking to walk away scratch free, he was looking for a lesser charge that would allow him to enforce the very thing that has ruined his life: the law.

Abortion

2005-03-14T07:32:00.000-06:00

I like this one. From the Herald and Review: www.herald-review.com

Make those against abortion support unwanted babies

I have the solution to the abortion debate: All you would have to do to change the minds of those who are anti-choice is to let them know that they, alone, will be made financially responsible for all unwanted children.

Ron Adams
Decatur

This is a simple, but perhaps novel idea. I will keep this short in saying that if you don't think this would wake people up, think again. People in this country are sadly enough, stingy with their money. Just look at some of the legitimate tax referendums that have been voted down because people don't want to pay that extra $30/year on a $150,000 house.

We've Lost Another Good Friend

2005-03-10T11:46:00.000-06:00

I have recently learned of the unfortunate passing of County Board Member David Livingson (District 1). Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Mr. Livingston was a champion of minority rights. His years of service with the NAACP will continue to echo throughout the area. David was a staunch Democrat and always treated everyone with respect. He will be forever missed.

Odds and Ins

2005-03-09T18:15:00.000-06:00

In today's Herald & Review, County Clerk Steve Bean became one of the first officeholders to step out in front of the RCC Referendum that will appear on the April 5th ballot. The RCC Referendum is NOT a tax increase. It is merely a tax transfer from one fund to another. Political Science Professor Larry Klugman spoke at the Macon County Democratic Central Committee meeting on Monday and explained that by voting "yes," your taxes will not increase. By voting "no," your taxes will decrease. However, this decrease is not worth it. The average household in the RCC district costs about $84,000. If this referendum fails, your property taxes will decrease a whopping $17 and some change. I will be voting yes on this referendum on April 5th. Both my mother and father, and currently my sister, have taken classes at Richland, and yes, Richland Works.

On another note, Governor Blagojevich will be visiting Decatur on Saturday March 12th from 11:00-3:30pm. The governor will be hosted at the Main Street Church of the Living God by Rev. Thomas Walker. He will be promoting a bill that passed the House just today. The bill would ban the sale of sexually explicit or violent video games to minors. You can read more about the bill by visiting www.herald-review.com.

Now, to beat what I thought was a dead horse, the safety tax issue has risen again. A letter has been sent by the State's Attorney's office to the Illinois Attorney General's office asking for clarification of the safety tax. It is apparent that some citizens do not like the way the tax is being allocated and feel that it may be getting used illegally. The referendum allows the safety tax to be used for just that; "public safety." It does not clarify which offices. To me, that pretty well spells out that the Sheriff, Corrections, ESDA, Probation, Public Defender's office, etc, are all legally able to use this money. I have said all along that the rebuilding of the Sheriff's office should be the first priority of this tax. However, it seems as though the citizens want the leftover funds not used by Sheriff Dawson to stay with that office. The Sheriff has no quarrel with giving excess funds to other offices, however there may not be any excess in the future due to staff costs increasing.
Here is my proposal to those citizens who feel the money is being used improperly. Let's give the entire thing to the Sheriff's Department. Now that the other offices will be again struggling, let's borrow money and raise taxes. In the meantime, since the Sheriff is forced to spend this money each year, I would suggest going out and buying a $100,000 squad car (Jerry would look good in a Viper), maybe spend $50,000 on a gun. Gold plated handcuffs would be cool too.
Case in point, Sheriff Dawson is perfectly happy with the money he is getting now, and he knows that when he needs more for his office, it is there. Being a responsible officeholder, he has not disputed it's use. As I previously stated, the Sheriff's Department should be our FIRST priority, regardless of what the circumstances are, but why shouldn't we LEGALLY share the excess to help build other offices while there is still excess?

Who They Really Are: Part 4, Steve Bean

2005-03-05T22:10:00.000-06:00

1. If you could drive any vehicle in the world, what would it be? MiniCooper like shown in The Italian Job

2. What is your favorite movie and why? Red October: the quotes "Russians don"t take a dump without a plan." The guy that said it was Fred Thompson,later US Senator ,Tn. Plus any thing Star Trek I love. AirForce One with Harrison Ford:"Get off my Plane" Classic movie from the 1950's LAST HURRAH WITH Spencer Tracy(Klugman got me into this classic political movie )

3. Outside of political websites, what is your favorite page to visit?Stlcardinals.com and a lot of newspapers across the nation. Ebay,thank goodness for the blogs. I don't bid as much

4. What is your favorite musical group/artist? Neil Diamond and the Beatles plus as a kid I loved Alvin and the Chipmunks

5. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? Dead: tossup between Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin: it would be a great political discussion or we could go fly a kite. Live: Doris Kearns Goodwin,a great history and presidential writer,love that woman(yes my wife knows)

6. If you weren't in politics/government, what would you be doing? Teaching hopely at Richland, Please vote yes

7. Do you have a favorite sport? What is it? Baseball,the team would be National League Champs; STL Cardinals

8. What is the first job you ever had? Working for Dad in the furniture store. Sold a kitchen table and chairs to couple while dad was sleep but had to wake him up because I didn't know how to figure sales tax(government was ruining my life already at 10)

9. Do you, or have you ever had any nicknames? Beaner,Beanie,one that drove me up the wall my aunt called me "Stevie Mike"

10. What is one thing that you want to say to everyone reading this blog? Voting is the most important right and privelege we have as Americans. It is upsetting to see the citizens of a country like Iraq vote in large numbers while risking their lives and countless US service personnel over there; while on a beautiful February day we can not get 10% of the voters out. We have the right to voice your opinions but many times we do not voice them at the polls. Please vote on April 5th. Remember fellow bloggers or bloggies, please have fun blogging. Do not get to mean. Remember vote for Bean.

Ahola Victory Party

2005-03-04T19:20:00.000-06:00

I learned a valuable lesson at Jack Ahola's victory party last night: more people will turn out if it's free! Nonetheless, it was a great event and Jack is always good about bringing out a diverse group of people; from both parties, law enforcement, and attorneys.
The true testament was what happened before Jack's party. Jack won because he is a great prosecutor, not because he throws great parties (although it may run a close second!). Before attending his victory party, Jack wrapped up successfully prosecuting a double homicide case. He ran on a promise that he was going to work very hard in the office and make it more efficient and effective. Four years ago, a massive reorganization of the office was needed. This year, it got it. It has certainly paid off. I have several friends who are attorney's and the consensus is that dealing with Jack's office is much different. First of all, the attorney's get the respect that has been lacking in recent years, and secondly, it's not as easy to win anymore.
Even day-to-day operations may be helpful to you and I. For example, it is much easier to see an assistant state's attorney regarding traffic violations. A young Marucco took advantage of this opportunity a couple of times as a teenager, however I often had to wait two hours, or even make an appointment. At one point, I was told that it would be several weeks before they could book me an appointment. The backlog was so bad that the appointment would have been after the scheduled court date or payment due date. This backlog has been removed and the traffic division seems to be more accessible to the public. However I've found it much easier to just drive the speed limit since then.
Last night's party was not so much of a celebration of Jack's victory on November 2nd, but a celebration of his victories since November 2nd. And yes, the food was good too.

Proposed cigarette tax increase

2005-02-28T15:47:00.000-06:00

Governor Blagojevich's office is proposing an increase on cigarette taxes. This proposal has received mixed reviews, but it makes sense. The increase in the tax will raise desperately needed funds for the State of Illinois while also giving others the incentive to quit smoking if they don't want to pay for it.
Critics argue that people will travel out of state for cigarettes and the state will lose revenue. Personally I don't buy that argument on the grounds that 1) people who live near the Kentucky border (and perhaps other state borders) already cross over to buy cigarettes, and 2) people aren't going to drive several miles to save $.75 on a pack of cigarettes when they are spending $1.90 for a gallon of gas.
Even with internet buying, the state will not lose much money. Again, those who want to save money by buying cigs off the net are already doing so. All in all, I think this is a great idea by the Blagojevich Administration. The state WILL make money on this, no matter how you cut it. The tobacco lobby will try and tell you otherwise, but unless an extremely massive number of smokers in Illinois decide to cross the border to buy, it won't hurt us. If you don't like the tax, don't smoke. However, in my case, it won't keep me from the occasional cigar.

Future Unemployment?

2005-02-28T11:48:00.000-06:00

I've tried my absolute best to maintain positive thoughts and statements about the H&R editorial board. I do believe they are good people, however I sharply disagree with both their political views and their style. That's not so much the problem. The problem is that I log on or go to the newsstand daily to look at the Herald & Review and each day, I read the daily "rip Blagojevich" editorial written by Gary Sawyer and crew. This morning I saw the title and decided I wouldn't even read the article. There are enough things throughout the day that get my blood boiling and listening to the same old tired rhetoric about Blagojevich doesn't help matters. Gary should be praying that the Governor gets re-elected in 2006 or Gary too may be out of a job, as he and his Republican friends will have nothing else to write about!
Yes, it is easy to sit around and rip on Blagojevich. He has not been a perfect governor and has made several mistakes during his tenure in office. I would, however, like to remind the editorial board that a certain governor before Blago got us into this mess. Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with Gov. Blagojevich's cuts, you must realize that closing up a $5 billion deficit is not easy and not everyone is going to come out of this smiling. Perhaps the best thing we should do is remind people that George "Statesville bound" Ryan is the reason we are in this mess. Perhaps the H&R would be worthy of a few editorials giving the "thumbs down" to the judicial system for continually postponing the Ryan trial. I will close by saying that this isn't a personal attack on anyone on the editorial board, but please, be creative, find something else to write about once in a while. I'm getting sleepy.

Mitchell enters blogosphere

2005-02-27T21:00:00.000-06:00

It looks like Rep. Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth, 87) has entered the blogosphere. I'm hoping other electeds will follow suit (I have seen postings by Jean Friend and Steve Bean as well). To see his comments regarding a potential run for the 18th congressional district, please see Decatur Democrat's blog. If you are an elected official and you are reading this, go ahead and leave a comment.

What about current council members?

2005-02-24T03:33:00.000-06:00

We've talked a lot about the city council elections as of late so I want to now pose the question: What do you think of our current sitting council members? I do not know all of them personally. I know Mike Carrigan and think the world of the job he has done. He has worked very well on the council and has been a strong voice for working people. The same is true for Shad. He can sure ask a lot of questions too! Mike "Tuna" McElroy....just a cool guy. I've met him once a while back but didn't really talk to him. He comes across as intelligent but human. I feel that he was a great addition to the council two years ago. Those are my opinions on just a few council members. What do you think?

Who They Really Are: Part 3, R.C. Smith (The Godfather)

2005-02-23T16:59:00.000-06:00

R.C. Smith is retired from the N.S. Railroad and is currently the Chairman of the Long Creek Township Democrats and the Long Creek Township Clerk

1. If you could drive any vehicle in the world, what would it be? Mercedes, but I will settle for a restored Model A. Ford.

2. What is your favorite movie and why? Sergeant York. Because I grew up knowing so many World War I Veterans, ( including several relatives), and I have visited the beautiful area in Tennessee( just S. of Albany Ky), where Sgt. York was from.

3. Outside of political websites, what is your favorite page to visit? Louisville,Ky. Courier-Journal

4. What is your favorite musical group/artist? Long Creek Bluegrass Band

5. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? William Jennings Bryan

6. If you weren't in politics/government, what would you be doing? Engrossed in Railroads and related activities

7. Do you have a favorite sport? What is it? Baseball

8. What is the first job you ever had? Working part time as high school student for both Normans Laundry and Coca Cola Company.

9. Do you, or have you ever had any nicknames? Yes. "Senator" and"Smitty".

10. What is one thing that you want to say to everyone reading this blog? "Trust in the Lord will all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. " Provb. 3;5-6.

Weak Shampine showing not indicative of general

2005-02-23T14:17:00.000-06:00

In yesterday's city council primary, Mike Shampine surprisingly finished in 5th out of the 7 candidates. Looking at the total results, you might think he's in trouble, but one must look at the precincts that turned out the vote. There is a reason why the ultra-conservative Cualkins ended up nipping at the heels of the well-known Pat McDaniel while Shampine finished dismally.
It is no surprise that the two incumbents finished at the top, this is the incumbency advantage at work. However, with McDaniel and Caulkins running so well, it is proof that the turnout was high in the conservative, traditionally Republican precincts compared to the turnout in the inner-city precincts. This will change in April. Shampine has the resources to mount a strong GOTV effort in targeted precincts. Caulkins has some money to spend, but I don't think he'll have much support among the very same people he tried to disenfranchise back in November. You may consider this all rhetoric, but if you will look in the past, council primaries are never a good measure of what is to come in April.

Final Results (unofficial)

2005-02-22T23:09:00.000-06:00

Number of Precincts
69
Precincts Reporting
69
100.0 %
Times Counted
5166/54198
9.5 %
Total Votes
14474
BETSY STOCKARD
3436
23.74%
DAN CAULKINS
2542
17.56%
PATRICK L. McDANIEL
2690
18.59%
KIMBERLY KECK
800
5.53%
SHAD L. EDWARDS
2910
20.11%
BILLY ROBERTS
278
1.92%
MIKE SHAMPINE
1792
12.38%
Write-in Votes
26
0.18%

$50,000 Day

2005-02-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

It is a real shame that we have to hold a primary in the City of Decatur today in order to eliminate a single candidate. Today the voters of Decatur will go to the polling places to eliminate Billy Roberts, reducing the field of council candidates from 7 to 6. I am not saying that we shouldn't vote in this primary. There is no excuse for not voting, no matter what is on the ballot. My point is that the county is spending $50,000 to eliminate someone from the ballot who doesn't even want the job. He is just on the ballot to be there. Nobody really seems to know anything about Mr. Roberts. He hasn't placed a single sign and I've not heard of anyone meeting this individual. This is no surprise as Roberts ran the same type of campaign last time before dropping out a few weeks before the primary. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on this and what they think Roberts' motive may be. My motive is not to discourage people from running for office, but rather to encourage those who are going to run to actually mount some type of campaign and have a message instead of just being there.

Township Supervisor Fundraiser features Lane Evans

2005-02-22T12:10:00.000-06:00

Congressman Lane Evans will be the featured speaker at a fundraiser Thursday evening, February 24, from 5 until 7 p.m. in honor of Mike Wakeland, Democratic candidate for Decatur Township Supervisor. The event will take place at the home of Steve and Sherri Arnold, #1 Millikin Place. Donations will be accepted at the door.

Who They Really Are: Part 2, Oreana Mayor Dan Lighnter

2005-02-21T20:45:00.000-06:00

1.  If you could drive any vehicle in the world, what would it be?  1931
American Austin Roadster

2.  What is your favorite movie and why?  Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Blazing
Saddles or Young Guns for the humor.  Cartoon would be The Tick (the blue
existential superhero).

3.  Outside of political websites, what is your favorite page to visit?
http://www.injoy.com/leadershipwired/

4.  What is your favorite musical group/artist?  Wide range.  It really
depends on my mood.  A few are Soundgarden, Suicidal Tendencies, Carter
Family, Marty Robbins, Johnny Paycheck, Charlie Pride, Eva Cassidy, Buddy
Guy, Steve Earle, James Brown.

5.  If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?  LBJ

6.  If you weren't in politics/government, what would you be doing?  Tough
question...what else is there?  I'd consult non-profits on leadership
development, strategic planning, or organizational capacities.

7.  Do you have a favorite sport?  What is it?  Scottish games.  Those guys
toss telephone poles like they are toothpicks.

8.  What is the first job you ever had?  Newspaper route for the Ottawa
Daily Times.

9.  Do you, or have you ever had any nicknames? Yes.

10. What is one thing that you want to say to everyone reading this blog?
Click out of here and visit http://lightnerformayor.blogspot.com!  Honestly,
I would say to live every day as if it's your last.

We lost a friend

2005-02-21T11:51:00.000-06:00

I regret to inform all of my readers that Decatur Township Trustee Nora Hunt passed away last night. Nora was a great servant to the party and a loyal Democrat her entire life. She will always be loved, remembered and missed.

Who They Really Are: Part 1, Bryan E. Smith

2005-02-19T13:23:00.000-06:00

Bryan Smith
Age 39
Married to Cheryl, 4 daughters
Graduate of Millikin University
Employed as Executive Director, Township Officials of Illinois
ELected as Long Creek Township Clerk in 1985 at age 19. ReElected Long Creek Township Clerk in 1989. Appointed Long Creek Township Supervisor in 1992. Elected Long Creek Township Supervisor in 1993.
Elected Mt. Zion District Library Trustee in 1999
Served one year term as Long Creek Fire Protection District Trustee
Elected Macon County Board Member from District 7 in 2002. Chairman of County Board Operations, Personnel and Legislative Committee; Member, Transportation Committee; Chairman of County Board Rules Review SubCommittee.
Member and Deacon, First Baptist Church, Mt. Zion.

1. If you could drive any vehicle in the world, what would it be? Answer: I'd love to own and drive an Escalade.

2. What is your favorite movie and why? Answer: Titanic. I'm a BIG Titanic buff and it really was the closest to the actual history of the sinking ship.

3. Outside of political websites, what is your favorite page to visit? Answer: I enjoy looking at lots of sites but probably visit my work site the most, www.toi.org

4. What is your favorite musical group/artist? Answer: I don't have any certain one that is my favorite. I enjoy ALL types of music and more recently have enjoyed more and more Christian artists and Christian music.

5. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? Answer: Alive person: Former President Bill Clinton; Dead: Former President Harry Truman.

6. If you weren't in politics/government, what would you be doing? Answer: I'm not sure. I've been around the political arena since I started in elected office at age 19 and it's gone from there. Probably working in association work, meeting planning.

7. Do you have a favorite sport? Answer: I enjoy Baseball, Cardinal Fan and I do enjoy watching Basketball.

8. What is the first job you ever had? Answer: I was a paperboy for the Decatur Tribune aka our Decatur Mayor now, Paul Osborne.

9. Do you have any nicknames? Answer: Smitty

10. What is one thing that you want to say to everyone reading this blog? Answer: If you are reading this blog you must be interested so continue that. Get involved and you will enjoy it.

Media Sign-In

2005-02-17T21:33:00.000-06:00

I can tell by looking at my sitemeter that there are individuals logging onto my page from the domains of the local media outlets. I consider it an honor to have vocal people in the community as frequent visitors of my blog. If you are a member of a media outlet and you are reading this blog, please sign your name in the comments and let me know if this is a helpful resource for you. I would also like your suggestions on what you would like to see from day-to-day, etc.
It is my understanding that Brian Byers has become familiar with at least one of the blogs. If you are out there Brian, let me know.

Upcoming Series

2005-02-17T19:38:00.000-06:00

With all the talk of different blogs doing biographies with candidates, etc, I am going to start something similar but different. Periodically, I will be sending out questionnaires to various candidates and officeholders asking them questions about their personal interests. We all know them professionally, but I think it would be great to know what they're like when they're not working. For example, we may find out that County Clerk Bean is a big Metallica fan, or perhaps Steve Grimm was once a roadie for Motley Crue. You never know. I guess we'll have to ask and see?

Davis Resigns as R Chair....BREAKING NEWS

2005-02-17T15:42:00.000-06:00

I have been informed that Judge Davis has resigned as Republican party chair for "personal reasons." The new chairman is former candidate for Auditor, Jim Gresham. You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen.

Wolfe charges dropped

2005-02-17T15:07:00.000-06:00

As the Herald & Review reported, the charges against David Wolfe stemming from an October 23rd incident have been dropped. This is no surprise to me. I know Dave and I know that he's not that kind of guy. He loves his kids and would give them, or anyone for that matter, the shirt off his back. It is unfortunate though, that the Republicans have run him through the ringer during the past 4 months. One of those Republicans in particular was board member Ed Yoder. Yoder was quick to start spreading rumors throughout the district. He voted against Wolfe on the basis of these allegations, or so he says. Please remember that in 2002, Wolfe almost had unanimous support for board chairman. The vote was 20-1 with Yoder being the only "no" vote. He didn't have to justify his "no" vote this time, but he did in order to try and smear someone's image. I'm glad to see Ed has egg on his face now. Everyone should go congratulate him for his saavy. I really wish I could write some posts dealing with someone other than Yoder lately, but he's making it difficult. Maybe in time, people will see the real Ed Yoder.

ISU College Dems Humor

2005-02-15T19:41:00.000-06:00

Today appearing in the Illinois State University newspaper, The Daily Vidette, there was a story regarding the ISU Democrats' purchase of several domain names. The domains included www.lahood06.com and www.raylahood06.com. They have been criticized for this activity, yet many just find it humorous. What's your take? See the article regarding the ISU Dems at the following address:

http://www.dailyvidette.org/news/2005/02/15/News/Isu-Democrats.Criticized.For.cybersquatting-863967.shtml

Retraction

2005-02-15T04:00:00.000-06:00

As much as I hate to admit that I was unprofessional in my endorsements, I would like to retract my endorsement of Betsy Stockard. I have recently learned that she is NOT good for organized labor. There are many issues that are important to me, but a worker's right to organize is something that I will put my life on the line for. Unfortunately Ms. Stockard has not supported this right to the fullest extent so I cannot continue my support for her. I do not hold this against her as a human being as I feel she is a great person. I just think that as a member of the city council, one must be willing to work for those who wish to organize and better their lives.

Yoder should tell himself "no"

2005-02-12T20:43:00.000-06:00

Ed Yoder recently voted "no" on Sheriff Dawson's raise. Yoder, a Republican from Long Creek is also the Long Creek Township Assessor. He joined 4 other Republicans in this vote. Why is it wrong for Dawson to receive a raise? Yoder is the Long Creek Township Assessor. Each time they redraw the budget for Long Creek, he asks for a raise for his daughter (only to be denied) who works under him in the office. She is a part-time employee and already makes a decent amount of money for doing the job that he SHOULD be doing. When I see Yoder in public, I try my very best to be cordial to him, but he has now proven to me that he is a phoney. He is the biggest money grabber around. Yoder is all about the money, yet he denies someone else a raise that they actually deserve. When phoney Ed is up for re-election for Township Assessor, I too will be voting "NO."

Dawson May Draw Heat

2005-02-08T22:53:00.000-06:00

In today's paper I read a letter to the editor written by our Sheriff, Jerry Dawson. He stated that he is supporting Patrick McDaniel for City Council. McDaniel is not overly partisan by any means, but he is a Republican Committeeman. Dawson stated in his letter that he puts running his office first before politics and that McDaniel would do the same for the City of Decatur.

But before you jump on Jerry for endorsing Pat, we need to look at a few things. First of all, Pat is active in the community and he just likes being out among the people. In fact, I ran into him on Saturday evening during the festivities in downtown Decatur. He was walking around and cordially visiting with people. Perhaps you'd call it campaigning, but even when Pat is not on the ballot, he does the same thing. Remember in 2003 when he lost the mayoral primary in February? A month or two later, the Democratic Women were having a chicken dinner at the Forum. Pat McDaniel was sitting at my table supporting the Democrats.

Jerry Dawson had every right to make the endorsement that he made. Pat McDaniel is an upstanding citizen and a hard worker in the community. He is affiliated with the Republican Party but has helped the Democrats in the very recent past and he's not afraid to admit to it. Pat is a moderate and I too believe he'd do a good job on the council. At the same time, do not take this as my endorsement of Pat because that is not the case. I have endorsed only Betsy Stockard and Shad Edwards at this time, but I wouldn't exactly cry a river if McDaniel did well.

2005-02-07T14:57:00.000-06:00

Carrigan's behavior over Starbucks is reprehensibleI find city Councilman Michael Carrigan's behavior with respect to the recent issue regarding the Starbucks at the Mound retail development reprehensible.However, is Carrigan really upset about how this particular retail development is being handled by the city or does he have a hidden agenda regarding Starbucks and using that as an excuse?Starbucks has been a target of anti-union activism, despite being listed as one of the top 100 companies in the United States to work for. My comments have nothing to do specifically with Starbucks itself and whether the company is anti-union (its customers will deal with that issue). Everyone is well-aware of Carrigan's union ties. If he has a problem with Starbucks in regard to union issues, then he should stand up and say so and not disguise it.In any case, Carrigan's actions are wholly inappropriate. Refusing to support the Starbucks store because he wasn't a party to back-room dealings is wrong and sophomoric. Disguising his position by such actions, if it is in fact a union issue, is wrong on multiple levels.As he's so fond of pointing out, he should remember who works for whom. He's there to serve us, the public. A large segment of the public wants Starbucks, not to mention the jobs it will bring. If he doesn't want it at Mound, I'm sure Forsyth would be more than happy to take it.

Tim Revis
Decatur

From the Herald & Review; February 7, 2004. www.herald-review.com

Now that you have all read this letter and have time to ponder it, what do you think? I think the author was completely off base. Garman and the council had an agreement and Garman breached that agreement. If nobody on the council would have gone through the trouble to point this out to Mr. Garman, THEN people should be upset. Carrigan was not the least bit out of line. He simply showed that he was not weak-willed and that he was not going to let Garman shove things under the rug when he didn't want to play by the rules.

As far as the writer's argument when it comes to the union issue; I honestly don't think that's a factor. Perhaps it would be a factor if a large non-union contractor was wanting to move into town or a non-union manufacturing entity that employs hundreds of people. In this case, I would guess that Starbucks will create about 15-20 jobs tops. With Carrigan being Secretary-Treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO, I would imagine that he has bigger fish to fry and he's not going to sit around and play games. I know Mike, and I know that when Mike has an issue to raise, he raises the issue. He doesn't front it with something else, he raises it politely but firmly. I've not talked to Mike since this issue surfaced, but I would pretty well bet that he'll vote in favor of the Starbucks coming to Decatur.

Former Illinois Lt. Gov. Candidate Leaving U.S.

2005-02-06T20:41:00.000-06:00

Former Lieutenant Governor and Congressional candidate Mike Kelleher is leaving the country to pursue a unique career opportunity. Kelleher, currently employed as a regional director for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is moving to the Republic of Georgia. Please see the following e-mail that I received from Mike.

Friends:

Starting at the end of February Karin, our three girls and I will be embarking on an exciting adventure, traveling to T’bilisi in the Republic of Georgia. I will begin a one-year assignment as the Country Director for the National Democratic Institute’s programs in Georgia, concentrating on training Members of Parliament, Non-Governmental Organizations and Women’s groups in institutional and political democratic processes. (http://www.ndi.org) Karin is looking forward to playing in one of T’bilisi’s orchestras and small ensembles in a city with a long history of classical orchestral music.

In 2003, Georgia went through a “Rose Revolution,” much like the peaceful revolution we witnessed in Ukraine late last year. It is a place with many blessings and challenges, and we look forward to helping nurture a budding democracy and enjoying Georgian culture, its people, and its cuisine.

I’ll be leaving for a week-long orientation in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 23, and then leave for Georgia in early March. Karin and the girls will follow after I set up our house a few weeks later. I’ll be reachable until then by cell phone or during our time in Georgia via my private email account. Karin can be reached at our home number at or at her email.

We have built many lasting friendships here in Normal and we feel indebted to so many people who took us in as neighbors, friends and colleagues. We will miss you all and look forward to hearing from you in the coming months and years ahead.

All the best,

Mike Kelleher

Healthy Chairman

2005-02-03T15:09:00.000-06:00

As many of you may know, Chairman Maurice Doyle was taken to the hospital yesterday. I just spoke with the chairman and he explained he was shopping with Franny at Kroger when he felt a sharp pain in his leg and it gave out. He was taken by ambulance to DMH where tests were run to see if he'd had a possible blood clot in his leg. The tests came back negative and it was determined that Maury suffered a severe leg cramp. He was treated accordingly and released. Everything is in tip-top shape and Maury told me to pass along to everyone that he was doing fine and is back to his normal routine.

Reality

2005-02-01T23:08:00.000-06:00

The following article was written by Mike "Oh Brother" Brothers of the Mount Zion Region News. This article really puts things into perspective and I feel it is worth sharing. It appeared in the January 19, 2005 issue. Enjoy.

AN INAUGURAL ADDRESS THAT INSPIRED A GENERATION

This week we got to listen to George W. Bush's inaugural address and got Oh Brother to thinking about the first time I remember a president's inaugural. It was at the end of an era when America was heading in no particular direction. We had just lived through the fifties where kids were intrigued with fast cars and the birth of rock 'n roll, while parents started worrying about communists and McCarthyism. It was those Red hunt days that brought one candidate into the 1960 election.
As a senator, Richard Nixon had been Senator Joe McCarthy's right hand man, earning him a spot as President Eisenhower's vice-president and heir apparent to the presidency in 1960. Had it not been for a man groomed by one of the first political families of the modern era, Nixon might have made it the first time.
So it was that a young upstart beat the political veteran vice president. A little like Vice-president Al Gore getting beat by the product of the second political family in America. Both John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush came in with tremendous help of family connections. Both winning first terms by the narrowest of margins.
In his first inaugural, President Bush laid down the gauntlet that set the course for our eentual invasion of Iraq, promising a get though attitude throughout the world. Kennedy, however, had survived World War II , an experience that affected the way he looked at the world and war in general. He had survived the destruction of his P.T. voat in the Pacific and led his men to safety. But Kennedy had lost two men from his PT-109 crew in that crash. His brother Joe, the man who had been groomed by father Joseph to be president, was killed in the early days of the war and he had also lost a brother-in-law to WWII.
Kennedy knew the threat of Communism, but he felt an obligation to leasd us to peace and a greater hope for the nation. His inaugural address sticks with me to this day. The way he explained that the torch had been passed to a generation who had survived the war and worked toward that difficult peace, let us know he was a man of the time.
Kennedy saw what the country was capable of with his generation leading and he proved an inspiration by cahllenging us to be better. He was so affected by the plight of those in poverty he met while campaigning that his very first executive order was to double the Dept. of Agriculture food relief effort in this country. No, Kennedy was not concerned with excercising the power of the United States by invading another country, he was interested in making sure those who already live here had enough to eat. He proved with the Cuban missile crisis that diplomacy can be a powerful deterrant to military intervention.
He even found a way to empower the youth of this country to get better physically fit. An inspiration to Oh Brother who found pleasure in accomplishing the President's goals for physical fitness during the sixties.
One of the greatest things he accomplished was challenging us as a nation to take a trip to the moon, expanding the space race beyond strategic missile and satellite defense limitations. This was not done by him alone, but by his leadership and inspiration which fired up a whole generation to break new ground in a new post war world.
Essentially all this was set in motion by that first inaugural address in January 1961 when President John F. Kennedy challenged every American to step forward when he sad: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
A generation of achievement followed, even though Kennedy never got to live to see it. My only hope is that someday, we can find a leader who can make us feel that good about America again.
Oh Brother

Democrats get Top Spot in Long Creek

2005-02-01T15:23:00.000-06:00

Today, Long Creek Township decided who would get the top spot on their ballot via lottery. Both R.C. Smith, Chairman of the Long Creek Democrats and Kevin Greenfield, Chairman of the Long Creek Republicans were present. Since R.C. is also the township clerk and in charge of conducting the lottery, his wife, Wanda, drew for the Democrats. Wanda drew #1 so the Democrats will have the top spot on the April 5th ballot

I Agree With Bean (don't tell anybody!)

2005-02-01T15:06:00.000-06:00

I am tired of every year for the past 30 years plus I have been involved in Democratic politics in Macon County the same message on how great Sangamon County Democrats are. Look at the record Sangamon County has only one elected county wide elected office holders.
They lost the Sheriff and County Clerk's Offices. They are a miniority on the county board. They were luck to win the Springfield's Mayor contest because the Republicans ran a guy who did not live in Springfield.
Money shouldn't buy elections. It should be the message that you stand for. Hey decaturdemorat did Kerry carried Sangamon County with all that money? You bang on us for not supporting the democratic candidate last fall.
With all problems through the years Macon County has elected Democrats to office. We do not had the political patronage base of Sangamon or Christian Counties. The Democratic Party's great tradition in this cash poor county has procdued many fine Democrats like Lawrence,Bill,and Ed Tangney,John and Julie Curry,Robert and Kitty McCarthy,John Dunn,Tim Donovan,and many others. If it was for Macon County Sangamon County's own Dick Durbin would have not been elected to Congress. He sure did get enough votes in that election or his previous elections from the great Sangamon County Democratic machine. Let Sangamon County have their money and all their get out the vote knowledge. But if you are a Democrat who wants to win , show me the votes of Macon county!!!!
I'm Steve Bean and I'm proud to be a Macon County Democrat.

The above posting came from comments by County Clerk Bean at: http://decaturdemocrat.blogspot.com

While I agree that money is very important in elections, there are many other factors and Steve is correct. I'm a living example. I just finished up spending $5,100+ on a race for the county board, which is a tremendous amount. Last time I spent near that amount. Both times, I was unsuccessful (in fact I often question if I could win even if I was the only one on the ballot). Compare this to the money spent in Macon County vs. Sangamon County. We spent a lot less, but what do the Republicans have here: 9 seats on the board and the Coroner. What do they have in Sangamon County? Start naming offices and I'll tell you that they have it. I am sitting here now looking at the party checkbook and we will have almost $5,000 on hand after I deposit our refund check from SBC (phone line deposits). We could have easily dumped out more money if we wanted to, and we have the sources to raise it if necessary, but my thoughts are if what we are doing is effective, then let's stick with it. I'm all about raising the money. I've been successful at doing it twice and perhaps will do it again sometime, yet monetary success doesn't equal results when it comes to local races. However, we must look at the organizations we have in this county and that we are all dipping into the same pot. You may say to yourself, "well we should expand those horizons." In fact, we did expand this time. ADM kicked us $5,000 and the Macon County Farm Bureau kicked us $500. These are two donors that we haven't really seen previously. Please don't get me wrong though. I do support the idea of an annual fundraiser like we used to have. Not necessarily for the money, though that was the point of it, but for the social gathering. I don't want to take anything away from the Sangamon County Democrats because they do have a good group of people over there, but they could not buy an election and I doubt we'd be able to either.

Gresham SBE Update LET ME KNOW YOU'RE THERE

2005-01-30T18:36:00.000-06:00

Just to let everyone know, Jim Gresham has filed an amendment to his final report with the State Board of Elections. A little earlier this month, TDD pointed out that none of Gresham's expenses were accounted for. I mentioned that I would call Jim and let him know and ask him to file an amendment. After being called a Republican by a gutless nimrod who signed their name as "anonymous" on another blog, I still spoke with Mr. Gresham. He was unaware of the error but has now fixed it. Did I aid the enemy? I don't think so, seeing that he has already lost and is no longer an active candidate. Nonetheless, his updated information is posted on www.elections.state.il.us.

If you are reading this blog, please just post a comment stating that you are reading. I know many of you still won't post even at my request, but I would like to get a feel of whether or not this thing is worth continuing.

A Little Poli Sci, A Little Criminal Justice

2005-01-30T00:09:00.000-06:00

I just finished watching the premier episode of "Reasonable Doubt: Guilty or Innocent?" on The Discovery Channel. For those of you who did not catch it, the premier episode profiled the murder of Karyn Hearn Slover in Macon County in 1996. The goal of this program was to call into question the possible "wrong conviction" of Michael Slover Jr. and his parents.

Just a few minutes ago I got online and searched the Herald & Review's website looking at some of today's news (it's Saturday, I'm a little sluggish and behind). Today they ran a story about a similar documentary that came out in Canada. This documentary however, personally interviewed many of the individuals involved. Unfortunately, this has renewed some old tension between some good individuals in our law enforcement community and our criminal defense community.

The Canadian documentary starts out with a very unflattering depiction of the City of Decatur. A later quote in the paper said: "If the characterization of Decatur left some involved with the case cold, comments by Vigneri got them hot under the collar." Vigneri, according to the H&R, had this to say: "One has to ask themselves, if there were two previous searches, why on a third search does all this incriminating evidence suddenly pop up? So the question that was presented to the jury and which remains unanswered to this day is, could any human agency, ie. the police, have had any responsibility or any participation in that evidence being basically placed at the scene?"

Now you see where the disgreement lies. I just want to ask the general public to look into this a little more and understand how this system works. First of all, Jack Ahola, Richard Current, and all of the investigators who prosecuted this case worked endless hours and lost a lot of sleep over it. Second of all, Joe Vigneri, who respresented Michael Slover Jr. worked endless hours and lost a lot of sleep over this case. Let's also remember that under our Constitution, these individuals are entitled to an appeal. When it comes to this appeal, the attorney's who represented Slover Jr. have to get back on the horse and ride again.

I have my own opinions on this trial but for objectivity purposes, I am keeping those to myself. However, yes, it is very tough on the family of Karyn Hearn Slover to have to go through this again. The fact that Joe Vigneri raises these questions though, is because that is his job. The job of an attorney when it comes to the appelate process is to raise questions about procedure when it comes to the initial trial. He is doing just that. Joe Vigneri is TOUGH in the courtroom. He does regular public defender work as well as his own private practice. Such was the case in the Slover case. Joe will fight as a public defender just as hard as he does as a private attorney. There is something to be said about that dedication and it is a true testament to the criminal justice system as a whole.

Joe may have upset people on the other side of the coin, however they all realize that he is doing his job. I've heard several people say, "if I get into a fix, I want Joe Vigneri representing me, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to go against him in a courtroom." On the opposite end is the same with Jack Ahola. He is a GREAT prosecutor and he was doing his job on this case.

The reason I am writing all of this is because I know both of these individuals personally. I look up to both of these individuals. They disagree with each other and I disagree with one of them myself, however I don't think any less of them because of their opinions. At the end of the day, we're all in this together and everyone can sleep at night knowing they went out there and did their best for their side. It's much like a two party system. Fight all day long, but go have a cold one at night and realize that it comes with the territory.

Caterpiller profits, April Veteto Benefit

2005-01-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

Today's Herald & Review has a story written by Tony Reid regarding CAT's record profits in the 4th quarter of 2004. The company had its best year ever with a $2 billion profit. It is great to see a company in Macon County do this well. It is a great sign of things to come. Perhaps the economy in the area is heading toward an economic upswing?

The disappointing thing is that despite record profits, for some reason CAT couldn't afford to work with the retirees on healthcare benefits. They also had to drag on negotiations for several months before offering an acceptable contract to members of UAW 751. Many feel that the only reason this contract was accepted was because of the frustration of union members working under the stress of negotiations for so long.

I would hope that this is yet another example for all of those on the "business" side of the playing field that believe all of the inflated rhetoric of management. It truly bothers me when companies say they are losing ground and need to cut costs when they do it at the expense of the healthcare of those who worked for them for so many years. It bothers me even more when they post record profits a few weeks later. There seems to be a certain level of immorality many business practices as it is, but this just adds to the problem and CAT should be ashamed of this. The good thing though, is that CAT will have a difficult time justifying cuts or layoffs if they propose any over the next few years. We will see what happens.

On another note, there will be a benefit for Long Creek Democrat and former City Council candidate April Veteto on February 11th. The event will be held from 5-7pm at the Long Creek Community Building. The cost is only $5 at the door and they will be serving homemade chicken & noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and cake. As a broke college student, I will be the first one in line, you can bet money on that! This is also for a good cause. April and her husband Bill have two children and one grandchild. Their house was lost in a fire a few months ago. Anyone who has had to go through an insurance company for a massive claim such as this one knows how difficult it is to make ends meet while the checks are being processed. I encourage everyone who reads this blog, regardless of party, to show up to this event. Things like this put partisanship aside. We need to reach out and help those who are in our community. It may even give you a chance to criticize me face-to-face about something you disagree with on my blog!! Either way, be there.

Municipal Elections, Evans Campaign

2005-01-27T15:27:00.000-06:00

I encourage you to refer to the Herald & Review today regarding muncipal elections. In the column written by Ron Ingram, it is noted that the municipal races are going to be largely uncontested.

On another topic, Lane Evans is on his 3rd politicial director since 2003. Does anyone know what happened to Nick Watt? I am curious to know if he was fired or if he left. I've worked with Nick in the past and he was great to deal with. I've also worked alongside Teresa. Despite what happened with Nick, she is the natural successor. I wish her the best of luck in her new role. If you have any further information on this topic, please post it. Also, please leave your comments on what you would like as far as upcoming posts. It's a slow political time right now (the calm before the February/April storm) so I need ideas. Let me know.

Decatur City Council

2005-01-23T17:09:00.000-06:00

The municipal primary in the City of Decatur is quickly approaching us. One of the 7 candidates (Shad Edwards, Betsy Stockard, Mike Shampine, Kimberly Keck, Billy Roberts, Dan Caulkins, or Patrick McDaniel) will be eliminated in the primary. At this point, my guess is that Roberts will be the odd man out in February. I personally do not know anything about Kimberly Keck, but I do know that the Keck name has been around for a while out in the Long Creek area (and yes, part of Long Creek is within the Decatur City Limits). This will probably pull her through the primary.

Come April, the voters in the City of Decatur will have the opportunity to re-elect Shad Edwards. I strongly encourage them to do this. He has been a great voice for organized labor and has always made himself accessible to those who need his help. Hey, he even showed up to my high school graduation party several years ago!

I also support the re-election of Betsy Stockard. Betsy is a very caring individual. She really stays away from party politics but she is always there for her constituents. As Bryan E. Smith mentioned on the decaturdemocrat blog, she was quick to return his calls when he had issue with the city. This came when the mayor and other council members did not do the same. In my opinion, good 'ol fashioned communication goes a long way.

This now leads me to make a third choice for council. This person will be new to the council, filling the vacancy of Jim Williams, who is not seeking re-election. At this point in time I am undecided on who I will support. Patrick McDaniel is a great community activist. Kimberly Keck comes from a Democratic family. There are some good candidates out there, but not one that truly stands out.

Unfortunately I will not be able to vote for any of these individuals because I live just a couple of blocks outside of the city limits. However, I hope you will support Shad Edwards, Betsy Stockard, and your choice in February and then April.

Party Chairman in 2006

2005-01-20T19:22:00.000-06:00

In April of 2006, we will vote for Chairman of the Democratic Party. My speculation is that Maury Doyle will not run again (Franny will probably beat him senseless if he does). I do not know this for a fact, but it is a possibility. The question now arises: Who will run for Chairman of the Macon County Democratic Central Committee?

Most everyone believes that Jim Taylor, Chairman of the Decatur Township Democrats will run for party chairman. He ran last time and was defeated before going on to start his organization in Decatur. It is rumored that Dan Ellis might be moving out of state due to a job transfer for his wife, but again, this is unconfirmed. He is the current party secretary so he would have an advantage holding an e-board position. David Wolfe has a full plate as it is. He is the current party vice-chairman and also the chairman of the county board as well as a candidate for Township Supervisor in Oakley Township. I am the current treasurer of the party, the final e-board position. If it snows in hell, I might run, but the forecast isn't looking too promising.

I pose the question to all of the readers: Who will run for chairman? Names that I would like to toss out as possible leaders are former chairman Joe McGlaughlin, and current county board member Bob Sampson. Both of them have shown their leadership skills and both of them have been around long enough to know how this thing works. Bob has a PhD and has great communication credentials from his job at the University of Illinois. McGlaughlin has filled the role before and is also a past county board chairman. When the going gets tough, both of these guys are the "wise old men" (sorry about the "old" part guys) that I go to when I need advice. They have yet to let me down.

At the end of the day though, I will support Maury Doyle until he is ready to go. He has gotten me to where I'm at today and I cannot thank him enough. People can say what they will about him, but he has built futures for people, me included. So you as the readers tell me, who would you like to see as our next Democratic chairman? I am not going to allow anonymous comments on this blog simply because I don't want "stacked comments" that make it look like someone has overwhelming support when in reality, they don't. Start posting.

People vs. Politics

2005-01-19T15:05:00.000-06:00

I was motivated to write this entry after checking out decaturdemocrat.blogspot.com (another plug for an excellent blog). TDD wrote an entry regarding possible mistakes in Jim Gresham's campaign disclosure. I left comments explaining some of the process of campaign disclosure reporting, some of the laws, and how it's easy to mess up. TDD understood this and made it clear in his/her comment. TDD was also upset however that someone who posted their comments as anonymous questioned my "Democrat" credentials. First of all, I personally welcome all comments, I just wish people would have the backbone to leave their names when they go negative. I also found it funny that they said, "there goes Marucco supporting another GOP" person. I would like to know who I supported from the GOP initially that would make Gresham "another" GOP member that I supported. Secondly, how is me calling Mr. Gresham and asking him to fix his financial reports supporting him? To me, it's supporting Democracy as a whole because I am asking him to post the expenses that were accidentally left off. And yes, I say acciently because if Jim had something to hide, I doubt he would claim zero expenses.

This all calls into question "People vs. Politics." The anonymous individual was more concerned about nailing Gresham to a cross for an honest mistake. My friend, Mayor Dan Lightner left a comment stating that people are more important than politics. I'm glad I'm not the only one who agrees. Oh, and by the way, another shameless plug. http://lightner.blogspot.com . First of all, anonymous, Jim is my friend. I'm not sure that you can relate so I will read you a definition: one that is not hostile; one that is attached by esteem (Thanks Merriam Webster). Jim Gresham has never been hostile to me, and Jim and I are acquainted, as I see him a few times during the month and I stop and talk to him. He has never done me wrong and I will never do anything wrong to him either. You don't do friends wrong. Just like you don't do Jean Friend wrong, but I guess certain people who are against me don't understand that concept either. And I'm a bad Democrat? I want you to look at who openly supported Jim Gresham: Dan Smallwood, Carpenter's Local 742; Jerry Conners, Teamsters Local 279; and many others. Are you saying they aren't really Democrats? If that's the case, maybe they should just cut off their funding to the Democratic Party. I mean afterall, Smallwood only gave us about six or eight thousand dollars this cycle.

The point here is that not everything is politics. We are in this to serve the public and to make sure things are done the right way. What good is hammering Jim Gresham going to do? He closed out his financial reports which means he is no longer active in the PAC arena. He's not a threat to any of us! I think it is much less severe to help a retired candidate fix his campaign disclosure then to push out two incumbent Democrats, don't you?

Does Sheriff Dawson Deserve a Raise?

2005-01-18T10:05:00.000-06:00

On Sunday the 16th, the Herald & Review reported that Sheriff Jerry Dawson was going to go to the county board and ask for a pay raise. The raise would be right around $7,000 total, with $4,000 being from the state stipend. But, with the county in $2.8 million of internal debt, shoul Sheriff Dawson be getting a raise of that size?

I find it rather odd that if you go from being a Captain in the Sheriff's Department to being the Sheriff, you actually take a pay cut. I'm not sure of too many people who would accept a promotion on the job, accept more responsibility, and at the same time accept a pay cut. Sheriff Dawson, however, did just that. This is not anything new. The Sheriff's salary has not been raised since 1994. Ask yourself again, what POSITION do you know of that has had the same salary for 11 years?

When I read this article in the Herald & Review, I didn't really learn any new facts. I knew long ago from talking to one of my friends who is a current Captain with the Sheriff's Department that this type of pay scale was in place.

My opinion may be biased, but I support Sheriff Dawson's request for a pay raise. I've not known Jerry for that long, but I've known him long enough to know what he is about. I know Jerry on both a personal level and a professional level. Jerry is the kind of guy who does not play games. He is not a politician who spits out rhetoric at every corner. When I call Jerry Dawson and ask him a question, I get the real answer. A lot of times I don't necessarily like that answer, but guess what, it doesn't change. Jerry is an honest and well disciplined administrator. He takes care of his deputies and his door is always open to everyone. I urge all of the members of the county board to support this raise. I think $7,000 is a small price to pay for million dollar service.

Blogged out AND Long Creek Dems Vice Chair

2005-01-17T01:32:00.000-06:00

There have been several blogs that have popped up in the past week. I am just as guilty as everyone else as mine has popped up in that timeframe too. I am not against anyone having a blog, but I feel that only about 4 or 5 of the blogs out there will be long-term blogs. I just hope that with all of the blogs out there, we do not flood the readers and cause them to get "blogged out." My goal is to make this blog my source of opinions, no matter how controversial, but also a source of news. I also HIGHLY recommend decaturdemocrat.blogspot.com. We disagree on a lot of issues, but he/she keeps it current and keeps it interesting.

I want my site to be a resource for everyone, including the news media. As many of you know, I am an officer in the party and consult with the chairman on a daily basis. He is my good friend and I appreciate all he has done for me. It is my duty, as it is his and the other 2 officers of our party, to pass along to you what I know, and what I feel. I'm not afraid to say what is on my mind, and if you, the readers want to take some shots at me on the comment board, go for it. Afterall, I'm in politics so it's not like I've not heard it. That being said, let's move to topic number two.

As I previously mentioned, there is going to be a vacancy for the Vice-Chairman's position of the Long Creek Democrats. I just want to bring to light what this position means. To lay the foundation of what this position means, I will throw out this: R.C. Smith.

Those of you who are familiar with R.C. know what I'm talking about. For those of you who aren't, let me educate you a little bit. As a precinct committeeman out in Long Creek, I am active in the organization. As a former candidate for the county board and a leader in the county party, I often have a chance to publicly address various crowds. I always seem to get a good laugh when I refer to R.C. Smith as "The Godfather," but I don't say it as a joke, I say it because it is true. R.C. is a retired railroader who has been politically active for many more years than i have even been alive. He decided to start a political organization out in Long Creek several years ago. Appropriately enough, he entitled it the Long Creek Township Democrats. Ever since then, if you say the letters "R" and "C" back to back in Long Creek, Republicans fall to the ground and cry for mommy.

R.C. is not only a nice guy, he is a political force who can organize people like no other individual I have ever seen. If you have ever been to a Long Creek Democrats pancake breakfast or soup supper, you know what I am talking about. I am always sure to arrive early because it is PACKED. On the way there I pray that someone saved me a seat, in fear that I may be confined to sitting on the toilet in the bathroom to eat my food since every seat is being kept warm by a good, loyal Democrat. When I say the word "Godfather" referring to R.C., you now know that I'm not joking. As a young guy, I am exposed to all of the slang of my generation. For example, I'm not sure what "R.C." stands for, but my generation would surely say that the "R" stands for "Rockstar." You have to be a rockstar to "git er dun" like R.C. does.

Now that you have that brief background, I hope you will understand how prestigious it will be for that lucky individual to be 2nd in line to R.C. When that lucky committeeman fills the post, they will be walking in the shadow of a living legend in Democratic politics. There are 8 of us eligible (yes, I am one of those eligible being a committeeman), whichever one of you gets it, respect it and everytime you make a move in Long Creek, think to yourself: WWRCD...What Would R.C. Do?

Blogs, 18th Congressional District

2005-01-16T20:48:00.000-06:00

I want to first start this entry by thanking Ron Ingram for bringing my blog to light in this morning's Herald & Review. While this blog has it's moment in the sun, I would like to share other blogs with you that have been set up by others in the county. Each site is unique and some contrast the opinions of this one. The blogs are as follows:

http://decaturdemocrat.blogspot.com - Anonymous
http://bryansmithcobd7.blogspot.com - Bryan E. Smith, County Board Member
http://lightner.blogspot.com - Oreana Mayor Dan Lightner
http://democratnews.blogspot.com - G. Jean Friend, Decatur Township Clerk
http://radicaljacksonian.blogspot.com - Bob Sampson, County Board Member

Now that I have let all of the blogs piggy-back on my 5 seconds of fame, I want to throw out a possible question to everyone, piggy-backing on one of decaturdemocrat's old entries. TDD wrote an entry regarding Congressman Ray LaHood (R-18) running for Governor. If this is the case, he would not be able to run for another term in congress. So who will fill the seat? This question was brought forth to me by one of the members of the Young Democrats of Macon County. I think he was correct in his assessment that at this point, the likely candidate to fill the position would be State Representative Bill Mitchell (R-87). I am not sure, and maybe you guys can help me, but I believe he is the only State Rep who actually lives in the 18th Congressional District. Several Reps and Senators have part of the 18th included in their district, but live outside of it, such as Senator Bill Brady and Representative Dan Brady.

Now, the real question is, what Democrat do we have that could even be remotely competitive in that district? There are very few "blue counties," if any in that district. Does anyone know of any names? Post your comments.

Long Creek Democrats Meeting

2005-01-15T15:30:00.000-06:00

This morning the Long Creek Democrats met at the Long Creek Township Community Building. Several items were discussed. The first item on the agenda was to adopt the new committee assignments. Chairman Smith placed all committeemen and volunteers on numerous committees in order to make sure the planning and operation of the annual pancake breakfast ran smoothly. The Pancake Breakfast is on Saturday, March 19, 2005 from 7am until noon, please mark your calendars and attend. The cost is only $5.

The next item of business was to approve a budget proposal for the township candidates with funds from the LC Dem Treasury. Fortunately the treasury seems to be in excellent shape. The unfortunate thing is that these elections are VERY expensive, so this makes the pancake breakfasts all that much more important.

Toward the end of the meeting, Chairman Smith made mention of Dwight Stortzum. As I previously posted, Stortzum was defeated in the caucus on January 12th. It is very common to see individuals who are defeated disappear from the party. In this case, 4 short days later, Dwight was there with his wife Marcella working with all of us to get our township slate elected. This is very honorable. It would be a tough thing to do in my opinion. I know what it's like to be defeated by the voters, but I don't know what it's like (and I hope I never find out) to be defeated by your peers. Dwight didn't take this personally, and rightfully so. Thanks for hanging in there with us, Dwight. Good things will come to you.

At the meeting's close, Chairman Smith announced that Lisa Poston, Vice-Chair of the Long Creek Democrats will be resigning her post. Once her letter of resignation is turned in, she will then be replaced. Who will be her replacement? Stay tuned.

LightnerForMayor

2005-01-15T00:27:00.000-06:00

I promised my good friend, Mayor Dan Lightner, that I would post a his blog on my blog. Please visit http://lightner.blogspot.com. As many of you know, Dan is the Mayor of Oreana. He is one of the hardest working people that I know. He was responsible for organizing the Jefferson Day Dinner in Oreana, along with Grant Vaught who helped us bring in Barack Obama. Dan knocked on every single door in The Village of Oreana with me when I ran for board in November (however with us two young guys walking, it just looked like the school bus dumped us off on the corner). He is not afraid to answer his party's call and I would encourage everyone to help him out if necessary. At this time, Lightner is unopposed, but filing is the week of the 17th so that could change. Trustee Dave Ward was rumored to be Lightner's opponent but graciously backed out to reassume his post as trustee. If anyone has any other interesting items regarding municipal or township elections in other small communities, please let me know and I will post them. These races are extremely important.

Airing of Dirty Laundry

2005-01-14T19:53:00.000-06:00

As you can see, my last post started quite a stir. This was to be expected. There are those out there who say that we need to stop "airing our dirty laundry" and look at the future. Yes, we need to look at the future, but we need to air our laundry too. I'm getting tired of people saying to look past all of this. Events such as the ones at the caucus effect people's lives. Yes, they do have to move on, but it still doesn't make it right to do what was done. Everytime they are criticized for doing something wrong, they say, "let's forget about it and move forward."

I guess they think that this comment gives them a blank check to raise hell whenever they want, as we should only be looking toward the future. Democrats shouldn't be doing that. It sounds like the Bush Administration's policy of not questioning what is happening. As I have said all along, the key to fixing this split is communication and this is not happening. For crying out loud, the chairman of the party was denied access to see who was running on his own ticket in Decatur Township!

I am like most others, I used to feel like we should fix these fights in private with leaders of the party, but when the chairman of the Decatur Township Democrats will not even divulge the names of candidates, how can we expect him to sit down and talk? I guess since it cannot be done in private, it must be done in a public forum. I realize that I will take some tremendous hits for this, but I'm doing it for my party, even if I am the sacrificial lamb in doing so. I am not saying that those of us on the Central Committee have not made mistakes along the way either, because we have. I am not afraid to admit that I am wrong at times. I do not mean to slam the entire membership of the Blue House because there are some good people over there and some good friends, but the leadership has a problem.

To those who have been leaving me anonymous comments, that is fine. I'm not saying that I won't accept them, but please do not be afraid to leave your name. Of course there are several of us that disagree, that's what this thing is all about. Let's get it out in the open and get it fixed. Believe me, I'd rather be writing articles like my first post that talked about the successes and future successes of the Democratic Party, but we have more pressing issues.

See through Taylor's comments

2005-01-14T00:07:00.000-06:00

I woke up today and started talking to a friend of mine who is active in Macon County politics. He asked me to check my e-mail and look at a story that was published in the Decatur Herald & Review regarding the Decatur Township Caucus on January 11th. I clicked on the website to see the article written by Ron Ingram. The article was objective and spoke to both "sides" of our party. And yes, there are two sides of the party right now. I am not here to glaze things over and say there are simple disagreements but we are all one. It is not true. There are some fundamental things that need to be fixed before this party will become united again.

First of all, I am extremely disappointed in Taylor saying that Maurice Doyle, David Wolfe, Dan Ellis, and myself are not representative of the Democratic Party in Macon County. He goes on to say that this is because we all live outside of Decatur and that we are all white males, both of which are true. However, Jim, we did win, fair and square. You now complain that people are upset with the way you stacked the Decatur Township Democratic Caucus, however it was you that was "whining" in March. You and others were complaining that the IBEW was stacking the caucus and taking over the party.

When I ran for treasurer of the party in March, I ran against a white male. I received the support of the majority of the african-american precinct committeemen, as they wanted me to represent them. I appreciate their votes and I have represented them the same as anyone else by filing campaign disclosure with the state in a timely manner and by answering any financial questions that are put to me. My books are open to everyone and so is my door. However it will be closed as soon as my term is up because I will not seek to be treasurer of the party again. This kind of back-door politics and half-truth has driven me away from it.

Let's look at more fact here. Jim Taylor says it was the people's mandate to remove Jean Friend and Nora Hunt. Yes, it is true that they lost in the caucus. However, please note that this was due to Jim's wishes to begin with. Jim wanted Nora gone because she is close friends with Maurice Doyle. He wanted Jean Friend gone so that the new Clerk would take office and fire Friend's current secretary, who Taylor used to be friends with and now an enemy. I know this to be fact because I talked to some of my friends that were asked to run for trustee to "knock off Nora Hunt." Both of these people knew Nora and stated that they would not run, however Jim told them that they'd better not vote for her. I'm not necessarily saying that this type of thing never happens in politics, but I am saying that we need the full story here.

The point of this is to bring the truth to light. You cannot unite a party when you are out seeking to hack people for personal reasons. If you talk of inclusion, include the chairman of the county party when you let people know who is running for office. You obviously weren't keeping it under wraps from everyone, otherwise, how did you get hundreds of people to the caucus to vote for these individuals? Taylor wouldn't tell the Democratic chairman, he wouldn't tell the Herald & Review, but he is all-inclusive. How does that work?

Long Creek Democratic Caucus

2005-01-13T04:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the day that all of the townships throughout the state held their caucuses. I attended the caucus in Long Creek Township where there was only one race that was contested. Incumbent Robert H. Luka, Jr was facing opposition from Dwight Stortzum, formerly of Mt. Zion. Luka was able to take the nomination by receiving 67 votes to 34 votes for Stortzum.

Though I felt that Luka would win, I figured the margin would be much smaller than this. The real challenge will come on April 5th when Luka will face Republican Kevin Greenfield, the current Mayor of Long Creek. Greenfield was defeated handily in '85 & '89 for the supervisor's position by former Supervisor David Johnson. Though Luka has family roots in Long Creek that span 150 years, Greenfield has made a name for himself as of late by serving as Mayor of Long Creek and by actively opposing the Salem School closing.

Despite Stortzum's loss, I must commend him for running respectfully and openly. All of the candidates in Long Creek Township ran in an open forum from day one. I commend Chairman R.C. Smith for putting all letters of intent out in the open.

Julie Tilton was selected as the nominee for Assessor. She will be facing my former opponent, Ed Yoder on the April ballot. Hopefully Tilton can defeat Yoder, who also has a long history in Long Creek Township. His work ethic goes to show that he is not deserving of the job of Assessor in Long Creek Township. Many political insiders at the county level have mentioned that Yoder is not a good steward of the office. Much of this talk has come out of the County Assessment's office in which Yoder must deal with and answer to. There is also the large political mailing that Yoder tried to sneak out of the township a few years ago. He used the township's copy machine to create a political newsletter, but when caught by township officials, it was put to a halt. Yoder is also the reason that the officeholders in Long Creek no longer carry credit cards. When he allowed his daughter to use the card for movies and pizza for her kids, the board voted to take cards away from all officeholders in Long Creek. Now if someone like a water department operator or anyone else needs to buy something immediately, they must pay for it out of their own pocket, and wait a month to be reimbursed at the next meeting.

Much is at stake in April. For anyone who doesn't believe my comments regarding Yoder, they can just go through the Freedom of Information Act and get the minutes from closed sessions that have been opened.

The Democrats also nominated R.C. Smith for Clerk, who will run unopposed and Dale Workman, Norman Hawbaker, Cheryl A. Smith, and P. Kay Nuernberger as candidates for Township Trustee. No candidate for Highway Commissioner was nominated and Republican Dean Rhoades will deservingly have a free ride. Even Democrats in Long Creek Township agree that Rhoades is an excellent road commissioner. Let's hope he only has Democrats to work with for the next 4 years.