by John Laesch, posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Calls started going out 2-3 days ago to Democratic activists in Kane and Kendall counties to notify them that Democratic Speaker of the House, Mike Madigan had chosen to support Linda Healy to run against Kay Hatcher for State Representative from the 50th District.
Linda Healy is the former director of Mutual Ground, a local shelter for abused women and men. In my opinion, Healy is an excellent pick to challenge Kay Hatcher who voted against funding for Mutual Ground earlier this year when Hatcher voted “no” for a fully-funded budget.
To learn more about Linda Healy or donate to Mutual Ground, follow this link.
Local activists pressured Hatcher and Republican Leader Tom Cross in efforts to keep the doors open at Mutual Ground, but both voted against the shelter.
by John Laesch, posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
On the eve of Barack Obama’s healthcare speech on 9/9/09, residents from Illinois’ 14th District took to the streets to encourage the President of the United States to push for comprehensive healthcare reform, Medicare for all.
Thanks to Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice and the Aurora Peace and Justice group, about 50 people showed up from all walks of life to show their support for the expansion of Medicare to all Americans. More people congregated as people got off of work and those that could not stop and join us used their horns to show their support.
The Beacon News covered the event here and an in-district blogger, Bill Baar, covered it here. More photos are available here.
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
If you’ve been following the local press in IL-14, you know that Ethan Hastert is currently seeking the Repub nomination to fill his Daddy Denny’s former seat, currently held by Bill Foster, and you’d also be aware that this seat is high on the Repubs wish list for recapture in 2010.
If you’ve been following the local press for the last week, you’d be able to discern that, what with their “name” candidate, and their itch to take revenge for the lost of such a high profile seat, this area has become somewhat of a priority for targeting by the opponents of meaningful healthcare reform as well.
by Downtowner, posted on Sunday, July 12th, 2009 at 1:58 am
In a move that surprised me (because I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with his spokesperson Shannon O’Brien and have been unable to get a definitive answer) Bill Foster signalled his support for a strong public option, without triggers, when he signed a letter from 22 members of the New Democrat and Blue Dog coalitions to Nancy Pelosi last Wednesday.
Candle Light Vigil, Thompson Center, Chicago, June 29, 2009. From across Chicago and Illinois, hundreds gather to mark the names and programs that will be cut out of the new budget in the final hours before the end of the fiscal year. This will eliminate vital community programs and devastate thousands of families.
by Downtowner, posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 6:23 am
Jeff Danklefsen, 41, of Geneva has thrown his hat in the ring for the Repub nomination in IL-14. Danklefsen is a tea-bagger who doesn’t think any of the candidates on offer in 2008 were conservative enough – either fiscally or socially.
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
While n0madic has been pondering the mystery of whether or not Foster will be running again in 2010, Foster has been busy brewing a mystery for me to ponder.
I don’t claim to be very familiar with this issue, but I can’t help but be aware that at least two large employers in IL-14, the casinos in Elgin and Aurora, are potentially threatened by the legalization of internet gambling.
So, yes, all other potential ethical questions related to gambling addictions, etc, aside, I’m more than a little surprised that Foster would sign on as a co-sponsor.
I asked for a statement regarding his co-sponsorship, and Shannon O’Brien, his spokesperson, has replied tonight by e-mail with this:
No, we have not made a public statement on this subject.
Best,
Shannon
So the mystery of why it seems like a good idea to Foster to put jobs in IL-14 in possible peril in these tough economic times abides.
by Downtowner, posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Someone at Foster’s office must have noticed this comment in n0madic’s post about Foster’s intent to run in ’10, because I received an e-mail from one of his senior staffers today informing me that his office in Dixon is indeed still staffed. Specifically, the staffer says:
We have two people working in Dixon (1 full timer and 1 part timer) who also staff Geneseo on Thursday. We will post our hours on the website. We actually work longer hours than most Congressional offices. We are here in Batavia from 8-6 M-F.
Thank you to Foster’s office for the clarification.
Chicago, June 18, 2009. Thousands responded to the “Doomsday Budget” which would deeply cut social service organization’s funding by the millions and devastate families by the thousands throughout the State.
by n0madic, posted on Sunday, June 28th, 2009 at 10:08 am
When Ethan Hastert officially announced he was running for Congress a few weeks ago, a number of the stories made passing reference to Bill Foster’s intentions. Or perhaps I should say lack of intentions, because the impression that was initially given was that maybe Foster hadn’t decided yet whether he was going to run for re-election. Which seemed odd, because why on earth wouldn’t he? He just got the job, what, a little more than a year ago?
And yet, the first story I saw, in DeKalb’s Daily Chronicle, stated that “Foster said this afternoon that he hasn’t decided if he’ll run for re-election.”
The next story I saw, in the Kane County Chronicle, said Foster wasn’t undecided at all: “Foster is planning on running for re-election, according to a spokeswoman who released a statement Monday in response to Ethan Hastert’s announcement.” But all the statement itself had to say about whether Foster was or was not planning on running was this: “he is not thinking about elections right now,” which didn’t seem to unambiguously support the claim that he was indeed planning on running again. Washington Wire, a Wall Street Journal blog, quoted that same line from the official statement, but said nothing to indicate that he was nevertheless going to run again.
That Daily Chronicle story seemed pretty unambiguous. “Foster said … he hasn’t decided.” Where was the Kane County Chronicle‘s certainty coming from? Was it possible that some of these media outlets were running only a part of the statement that Foster’s office had released? “What’s the deal, here?” I wondered.
