The big news this week has been some very serious allegations of irregularities with State Senator Terry Link's candidate petitions for his re-election bid for the 30th Senate District. In fact, Link's opponent, former North Chicago Mayor Jerry Johnson, has gone so far as to deem the Link petitions "fraudulent." Among other issues (see Johnson's petition challenge), names of at least two dead people have been verified by the Johnson campaign. And, in the latest round of accusations, today's Waukegan News-Sun quotes Johnson as claiming that Link's minions used an illegal tactic called "roundtabling," in which a petition is passed around a table as each worker forges a different signature.
Even Link's former two-time opponent, Charles "Chuck" Fitzgerald, has stepped forward publicly to state that his name, which appears on a Link petition, is a forgery. In a letter to Link, Fitzgerald has demanded to Link that Fitzgerald's name be removed from Link's petitions.
Link's response? According to Daily Herald reporter Russ Lissau, Link laughed.
Do you get the idea that Link isn't really taking any of this very seriously?
Let's review the facts:
Link is the candidate. He is ultimately responsible for his petitions, which he filed with the State Board of Elections. As a candidate for public office and, moreover, a sitting state senator, Link clearly has an obligation to ensure that there are no irregularities with his petitions. Link has been presented with some pretty strong accusations that forgeries have occurred on his petitions. Yet, Link appears to think that if someone plays a "prank" by forging another person's name (either living or dead) on his petitions, that's OK, because he did not personally circulate any of the petitions with invalid signatures. Link apparently isn't even chagrined that he failed to notice that his former opponent's name was on his petitions.
Link has stated that criminal charges should be brought against anyone who committed fraud during the petition process. "I don't condone that type of business," he said to Lissau in an article published earlier this week. He also said that "I never told anybody to break the law." Swell. But, what if one or more of his petition circulators did commit voter fraud? Don't you think that would be something the good senator would be very interested in knowing? Especially since the suspect names appeared on petitions that were circulated by two men who, between the two of them, passed 116 of Link's 139 petition pages? His opponent Johnson alleges that simply the fact that so many petitions were circulated by only two people itself implies fraud. "Nobody does that," Johnson said. "It's too much work."
But, Link has not yet called for an investigation. As far as we know, he hasn't even asked his two primary circulators for an explanation of these signature 'anomalies.' Link apparently believes that 'pranks' or 'jokes' on his petitions do not rise to the level of malfeasance that he needs to investigate, and that he can simply turn a blind eye to these accusations. Link was also quoted in today's News-Sun as blaming unnamed "Republican operatives." What the basis for this statement is has not been explained. But it appears clear that Link is trying to deflect attention by playing the 'it's wasn't me, it was my political enemies' card.
Link needs to call for an immediate public investigation into this issue. His petition circulators should be questioned, and the explanation for why the names of dead people and other obvious forgeries must be determined. Link himself apparently believes that if fraud is proven, the violators should be prosecuted, even though, in this instance, one would think that this would have the effect of invalidating all of the petitions that were circulated by the offending individual(s).
And if Link doesn't call for the investigation, Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller or perhaps Attorney General Lisa Madigan should do so. The hard way.
The message needs to be sent that the people of Lake County will not tolerate Chicago-style politics, on behalf of any candidate. And if Link thinks that this whole thing can be simply laughed away, he has another think coming.
UPDATED 11/19/07: WKRS radio (AM 1220) personality Libby Collins has picked up this story and run with it. This morning she was discussing the Chuck Fitzgerald letter, among other aspects of the debacle. I didn't catch the whole broadcast, but apparently there are some people who think that many of the signatures bear striking similarities to each other (even though the signatures are obstensively of different individuals), and Collins has declared that she will foot the bill for bringing a handwriting analyst on the air to review the Link petitions if no one else will.
IN OTHER NEWS....
For those of you who are getting tired of the Link scandal, I apologize, but we need to see where this leads. In the meantime, take a look at this article that appeared in the News-Sun about Barack Obama missing important votes and otherwise being an absentee senator. We've said as much on this Blog, but this probably says it better.
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19 comments:
You should start calling him Sen. Terry "Dead Guy" Link.
Link surrounds himself with bankrupts and felons. If Lake County voters really knew who he hangs out with, they would be appalled. Link is also at war with African-American leaders who don't follow his orders. Does he know its only going to get worse?
Foss- You're not kidding. Link does indeed have an interesting crew working for him. In fact, one individual, Cynthia Alexander, is a felon convicted of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and served hard time, according to the Daily Herald. Download the article at:
http://www.bestsharing.com/files/ZN6RT367622/scan0001.jpg.html
Cynthia Alexander is one of the people Link has put up to file a challenge to Link's opponent's Jerry Johnson's petitions.
It gets better. TA understands, but has not yet confirmed, that Alexander's mother is county board member Audrey H. Nixon. See her profile here:
http://www.co.lake.il.us/officials/bios/board/dist14.asp
TA also understands that there may be some similarities among suspect signatures between Link's petitions and Nixon's petitions, which various people are reportedly looking into...
TA, it's about time someone had the courage to tell it like it is about Mr. Link. What does it take for Lisa Madigan or the State Board of Elections to get involved? That he laughs at all of us makes what he and his "staff" did and does regularly all the more egregious. Please post what steps need to be taken to get the authorities involved in helping Mr. Link own up to his past. Hopefully it will stop any future he might have in elected office.
The State Board of Elections is already involved, as a result of Johnson's official objection to Link's petition. It's a political board, however, so we can only hope they do the right thing. But, the worst they can do is kick Link off the ballot, as far as I understand.
If the Board finds evidence of fraud, I'm not sure what they do, but I assume they would refer it to the State's Attorney or Attorney General for a criminal investigation.
If there is an independent allegation of criminal fraud (as it seems that Johnson has made), I would think that either the State's Attorney or the Attorney General or both would have the authority to investigate independently of what's going on before the State Board of Election.
I think letters to the newspaper editors might help sway public opinon and demand that Link be investigated, but right now, this is all being driven by the Johnson campaign, and we all seem to be merely interested spectators.
TA:
I just got Jay Footlik mailer number 2. Most of my neighbors got it too.
Good job Jay!
Herb Gilder
Thanks for the heads-up Herb. I'm not on Jay's preferred mailing list, apparently (no shock, I'm a hard "R"), but I'll see if I can get hold of a copy and post it.
Is it all pro-Jay, or does it have any specific digs at Kirk or Seals?
Maybe he should also start distancing himself from Link. Of course, Link has endorsed Seals, so maybe Jay is already on the right side of all of this.
TA, I didn't get a copy of the second Footlik piece either since, like you, I'm a hard R. However, I did see the Footlik piece on cable TV a few times. The photos are just what he has up on his website, almost the same story line. What's most interesting is that he seems to feel that he's going to be running against Mark Kirk.....he seems to forget that he has to win a Primary in a few months. He's also out there walking precincts in Buffalo Grove. Give him credit for his efforts in getting out there. He's got a lot of moxey!
Seals sent out a piece from the wife of the federally-convited wire fraud and tax evader Robert Creamer (Jan Schakowsky).
Seals is backed by:
Robert "Two Guilty Count" Creamer
Lauren "Biggest FEC Violation" Gash and
Terry "Dead Guy" Link
Hillary vs. Obama
by Robert Novak
Posted: 11/17/2007 Print This
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Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it. The nature of the alleged scandal was not disclosed.
This word-of-mouth among Democrats makes Obama look vulnerable and Clinton look prudent. It comes during a dip for the front-running Clinton after she refused to take a stand on New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's now discarded plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
Experienced Democratic political operatives believe Clinton wants to avoid a repetition of 2004, when attacks on each other by presidential candidates Howard Dean and Richard Gephardt were mutually destructive and facilitated John Kerry's nomination.
If we had a state party they would be aggressively using this, congressman Rush's son using a patronage job at a jail to sleep with female-I hope-inmates and get indicted on 47 counts, everything related to springfield, and of course blago to make a concerted campaign for change at the state level next year, we might get somewhere.
Can't wait to see finally beat up obama. He'll be doing our approps work at this point next year wondering what happened to his faded star.
Anon 5:55- rest assured the state Republican party is monitoring the situation. But, they are wary of moving in too soon, since this is really Johnson's fight for right now. If we get too involved, Link's shrill cry of "Republican Operatives" being at the root of all of this will seem too realistic. Believe me, if Republican Operatives (like we really have any) were going out and systematically trying to sneak bad signatures onto Link petitions, I'd know about it. And if they did, they sure wouldn't be using Chuck Fitzgerald's name, of all people!!!
Once its clear what the fallout is for Link, the GOP will play it for all its worth.
TA,
You might check out some old Daily Herald article for the 2006 primary. I recall Cynthia Alexander, the convicted drug dealing felon, co-hosting a fundraiser for Dan Seals. Jay Footlik where are you?
BD
BD- I think that's the same article that has the upload link above, in the second comment on this thread.
That article references the Seals fundraiser that Alexander was co-hosting.
I have no idea where Footlik is, although some readers noted that Mailer #2 went out this week. I'm trying to get hold of a copy to post so we can rate it.
TA,
My brother got the mailer. The most interest section is on the Middle East. He calls for a "safe and responsible redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq," talks about enhancing security in Afghanistan to "strengthen America's efforts in the war on terror," and "toughening sanctions and using all policy options to prevent Iran's development of nuclear weapons."
Seems to me he is not towing the Democratic primary line. The words timetable, withdrawal or "get out" don't appear with regard to Iraq. Furthermore, he is keeping a military strike against Iran on the table -- which is actually somewhat more hawkish than Kirk (remember the headline "Drop Talk of War").
BD
BD- Footlik's platform is a "tough on the ememies of Israel" stance. He's hoping to draw Seals' supporters away (especially in the Jewish community) by positioning himself as the stauncher defender of Israel, which puts Seals in a very interesting box, since Seals has to pander to the peacenik anti-war crowd, or his base totally evaporates. Seals can't have it both ways in the primary.
Atcenternetwork.com
Goodman: "If Iran attacked Israel, whose side should we be one?"
Seals: "Peace."
Footlik supporters should know this.
Herb
Boy am I confused! Senator Link complains that "Republican Operatives" are sticking their noses in a Democratic Primary, while Lake County Vice-Chairman Peter Couvell contests the Green candidates petitions in the 10th Congressional Race.
So is Link complaining about Couvell's actions too?
As a uchicago alum, I can say how embarrassed I am with his naivete relative to foreign affairs. Even the French. Oui, the FRENCH see that Iran needs tough love from us.
Think about that. He's to the left of the FRENCH on Israel and national security. Yikes.
Seals is playing the wrong kind of politics for this district. Gash did well because she pretended to run as a moderate democrat in this district meaning tough foreign policy, low taxes, and all that social bull shit. Her staff just quit on her because well, you've met her.
Seals is running as a left wing democrat, that works in some of the places in the city he's been spewing his stuff about joining chuck rangel and the raise the taxes brigade, playing soft with Iran, and joining every liberal caucus imaginable but its the wrong politics for the district and will make it much easier for Mark to define him next fall.
Turns out Cynthia Alexander's mom is not Audrey Nixon (though not sure if they might be related some other way, who knows?).
The Link connection is that Cynthia Alexander's mom is Evelyn (sp?) Alexander, who works for Terry Link. Evelyn Alexander ran against Jerry Johnson (Link's current primary opponent) when the mayoral seat opened up in the late 90s, and Johnson won. Cynthia Alexander is now contesting Johnson's petitions on behalf of Link.
Wow. It's a pretty tight network up in North Chicago, that's for sure.
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