It’s Halloween, and in the Land of (Honest Abe) Lincoln a liberal judge is wearing a Republican mask and lying to voters.

Staring disaster in the face on Tuesday, Democrats are running scared. And some are even running as Republicans.

Thomas Kilbride is running to be “retained” as a State Supreme Court Justice in Illinois. He needs 60% of voters in the 3rd District, which comprises a band across the middle of Illinois from the Mississippi River to Indiana, to re-elect him.

Kilbride is a Democrat, according to Wikipedia’s State Supreme Court page for Illinois, and received $600,000 from the Democratic party in 2000 when he first ran. But Republicans and conservatives in his District will be forgiven for being confused about that, because they’ve recently been bombarded with campaign flyers indicating Kilbride is a Republican.

(more…)

In October, 2009, at an Illinois GOP Governor Candidate Debate, moderator Chris Robling opened the debate with the line, “The on-going concern of the State of Illinois is in question!”  He was right, and the primary reasons Illinois is such a mess is the Chicago Democratic Machine.  This engine of self-dealing, corruption, and greed was powerful enough to put forth one of its own get him elected president.

It’s ironic then, that this powerful machine is trembling in fear of Cedra Crenshaw, a conservative, middle class, African-American mother in Will County, Illinois!

Why is the machine afraid?  Because a new class of leadership is starting to develop.  These new leaders threaten to end the shell game of taxes, politics, and patronage. Cedra Crenshaw is one of those new leaders, and she’s is running for state senate against one of the Chicago Machine’s rubber-stamp apparatchiks.

She’s  an accountant who wants to spearhead a forensic audit of Illinois state government.  A former auditor at Deloitte and Touche, Cedra supports an audit of the half a trillion dollars of Democrat controlled state spending during the blow-off historic corruption of Blagojevich/Quinn.  The Democrat Machine- contractors, politicians, and patronage army- stand in naked fear of the result that such an audit would bring.

Such an audit would fumigate thousands of campaign cash-for-patronage hires in agencies, boards and commissions; rescind bloated, rigged bid or mis-awarded contracts; stop the stealing, waste, and legalized graft that do-nothing, ribbon-cutting pork hounds like Cedra’s opponent  -  Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi -  thrive on…at your expense.

(more…)

During the 1996 Illinois Senate race, an aspiring Chicago politician hired skilled attorneys to exploit election rules and challenge his primary opponents’ right to be placed on the ballot. This novice politician was Barack Obama who cut his teeth on Chicago politics and effectively removed his opponents from the ballot.

Not much has changed in Chicago since 1996 – politicians are still looking out for special interests, increasing taxes, and creating hurdles to keep legitimate candidates from the ballot.

I am Cedra Crenshaw and I am running for the Illinois Senate in the 43rd District. Until a few months ago, I was just one mom in a process of political evolution. After a brief career in auditing, my husband and I started a family and thus began the trifecta of marriage, mortgage, and motherhood which catapulted me into the conservative that I am today. I stepped from being reactive to pro-active when I ran for Precinct Committeeman this past February. I wanted to carry the message of conservatism to my neighbors and help influence my local party with my principles and values – but I’m just one mom.  I’m one mom who waited for someone to step forward and challenge incumbent State Senator Arthur Wilhelmi and force him to defend his record, which has helped to decimate this state. But no one came forward and I’m not waiting any longer. I’m going on offense. And today I’m one mom who is taking on the machine of Chicago patronage politics as represented by Senator Arthur Wilhelmi.

When I arrived on the scene as one mom against the Chicago political machine, it didn’t take career politicians and their hired help long to line up a challenge to my candidacy.

The Will County Electoral Board has heard a frivolous objection filed by Joliet resident Robert L. Davis which challenges the signatures on my nominating petitions. My opponent, State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi is represented by Michael Kasper, who is one of the country’s top election attorneys. Kasper’s client list includes former President Bill Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Michael Madigan, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Congressman Phil Hare and, that once aspiring Chicago politician, President Barack Obama.

(more…)

The following is a document that James O’Keefe sent to me last night and has authorized me to publish. It is O’Keefe’s version of events in New Orleans. I believe this is the first time anywhere that he has publicly given his full statement of what occurred.

The document was drafted by lawyers based on O’Keefe’s statements, and was intended to be offered as the factual basis for his plea. O’Keefe confirmed for me that this document is an accurate account of what happened.

What Really Happened in New Orleans

Factual Basis

On January 25, 2010, Messrs. James O’Keefe, Stan Dai, Joe Basel, and Michael Flanagan (collectively “Defendants”) entered the Hale Boggs Federal Building located at 500 Poydras Street, New Orleans, Louisiana (“Hale Boggs Building”), with no intent to commit a felony, but rather an intent to engage in political speech with respect to pending national healthcare legislation (the “Healthcare Bill”). During the several days before their entry to the Hale Boggs building, Defendants discussed opportunities to engage in independent journalism and political advocacy. One of the ideas raised during those discussions was a method to test the truthfulness of Senator Landrieu’s statements as to the reason for the inability of Tea Party members and other Louisiana constituents to contact her staff on the telephone to discuss her vote on the Healthcare Bill. The Defendants were advised that this was a recent story in the news in New Orleans. (more…)

Everyone knows that things in Springfield, Illinois are broken. Everyone knows that the government of the State of Illinois is inefficient and corrupt. That’s all true, however, to truly understand the problems in Springfield, we must look at the structure of the legislature.

By its design, the legislature in Springfield consolidates all power in the hands of four people: Tom Cross, Christine Radogno, Mike Madigan and John Cullerton. Those are the Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. Power is consolidated through the process by which bills see the light of day. In the Illinois legislature, there’s only one way for a bill to be heard and debated: the rules committee. Not surprisingly, each of those four folks are head of the rules committee for their side in the House and Senate. As such, the head of the two rules committees have carte blanche over what bills will and won’t see the light of day. So, if any legislator wants their bill to get a hearing in the House, Michael Madigan must approve. You can see how such a process could corrupt, and does.

(more…)