Keith Gray and Dan Sugrue Kick Off "Fix Illinois" Campaign With Fundraiser at Opa!

State Senator Terry Link (D-Waukegan) of the 30th Senate District is probably way too busy gushing over Barack Obama's win in the Dem presidential primary to notice, but he might want to take some time to look in his rearview mirror. If he does, he'll see Waukegan businessman Keith Gray coming up behind him fast as the GOP challenger.

Gray (left), who is also a District 72 school board member (vice-president, actually), has momentum coming off his successful defense of Link's challenge to Gray's nomination papers. He and his counterpart in the 59th State Legislative District, Dan Sugrue (lower right), are kicking off their "Fix Illinois" campaign with a joint fundraiser at Opa! in Vernon Hills, this Tuesday from 5:30 to 8:00. The keynote speaker will be former State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Steve Rauschenberger. Download more information here.

Keith also had a letter to the editor published in today's Daily Herald. Gray notes that a number of prominent Democrats like Terry Link were suspiciously silent this week amid the Tony Rezko conviction and the growing sense in Springfield and the state that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will very quickly turn his attention to indicting Governor Rod Blagojevich.

I think that, despite Barack Obama's current popularity, even if he carries that into the fall election, Democrats such as Link, who is under his own cloud of suspicion over his petition scandal, will face a challenge by the GOP as being too tied to the Governor, and frankly, being a do-nothing state legislature marked by political infighting more than any accomplishments.

So far, Gray and Sugure have been getting a very positive response from the people they have talked to who are plain sick and tired of the state legislature doing little-to-nothing to fix our roads, pass a capital plan, and improve education. If you're sick of it too, come out to Opa! on Tuesday and support Keith and Dan, enjoy some great Greek food, and kick off the campaign to Fix Illinois!