Following on the heels of Democratic Sheriff Mark Curran's across-party-line endorsement of GOP State's Attorney Michael Waller, Curran has followed through on his prior stated intention to obtain "287(g)" status from the federal government, which allows specially-trained deputies to begin deportation proceedings on inmates in the County Jail that are convicted of violent crimes. Although it may be another two years before the ball gets rolling, it appears that this is a significant step that is sure to cause ripples, especially among some Democrats.
However, as with his endorsement of Waller, Curran shows remarkably little concern about any politicians he might annoy, telling the News-Sun that "I call it the way it is, and I'm not going to mince words because someone's feelings might get hurt." The Chicago Tribune reports that annoyed Dems seem to be already paving the way to cut Curran loose if he doesn't start behaving more like the good little soldier that Terry Link and his thugs have come to expect up here in Lake County. Cry me a river, Terry.
You can download Curran's prepared statement here. Read the coverage from the News-Sun and the Daily Herald at these links.
A recent audit of the Lake County jail prison population indicated that 21.5 percent of the inmates were here illegally. The mix of nationalities was diverse, including: Mexico (105), Poland (5), Puerto Rico (4), El Salvador (3), Canada (2), Honduras (2), Philippines (1), Columbia (1), Vietnam (1), Pakistan (1), Guatemala (1), Cuba (1), Russia (1), and Germany (1).
Curran also pointed the finger at the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, which he says have shown little desire to cooperate with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Curran believes that this move will end up saving the county potentially millions of dollars, as prisoners who are deported don't have to be maintained by the county.
LAKE COUNTY DEMS STRIKE OUT IN CHALLENGES: TA hears that Dem County Chairman Terry Link has struck out finally in his attempt to place three Dem challengers in three county board races, along with a State Rep challenger to GOP incumbent Sandy Cole. We will have some more details on this later.
SORRY FOR SEALS: Do you feel sorry for Dan Seals after the debacle over Tammy Duckworth and "van-gate"? The News-Sun does:
If you're a Democrat, you must be feeling sorry for the Dan Seals campaign about now. The Democrat this summer held a campaign event offering cheap gas at a Lincolnshire gas station to spotlight high gas prices. It sort of backfired after traffic turned Route 21 into gridlock. He was presented with a $2,000 bill by police. Then on Wednesday, Seals brings Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth to a campaign event in Wheeling to gripe about Congressman Mark Kirk's record on veterans issues. She arrives in a state-owned van, which violated a law against using state property for political purposes. Duckworth told The Associated Press she'll reimburse the state for using the van. But, still, these folks should know better. Meanwhile, Republican Kirk is telling anyone who'll listen that he is maintaining a comfortable 22-point lead over Seals and even outpolling Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in the 10th District.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
The Hotline now refers to Dan Seals's campaign as a "Gaffe a Day."
The Hotline
A Gaffe A Day...
September 18, 2008, 7:57 pm - House Race Hotline
Before '06 IL-06 nominee/state Dir. of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth (D) "headlined" a 9/17 presser for '06 nominee Dan Seals (D), she "scheduled a day off" from work to avoid violating a state law that prohibits gov't employees from "politicking on the public's dime." But when she drove up to the event in a state-owned vehicle, "she violated another law banning the use of state property for political purposes."
Duckworth "acknowledged her misuse of the van." Duckworth spokesperson Jessica Woodward: "She will reimburse the state for the use of the state vehicle, and will not make this mistake again."
Rep. Mark Kirk (R): "It is worrying to see a Blagojevich staffer showing up in a state of Illinois car, when it appears to be a direct violation of the law" (Kuczka, Chicago Tribune, 9/18).
Consider The Message Stepped On
Seals had called the presser to challenge Kirk on veterans' issues "the same day" Kirk landed the VFW's backing. Seals: "When our men and women fight for us overseas, we must pledge to fight for them when they come home." He "pointed out" 23 votes Kirk made in Congress against expanding veterans' funding, and he also attacked Kirk for supporting the Iraq war.
Kirk, after receiving the VFW endorsement: "I know the troops and I have been one of them for almost 20 years." He said he "helped save" the N. Chicago VA Medical Center and land it a $100M expansion. He also supported the latest GI Bill expansion (Ryan, Arlington Heights Daily-Herald, 9/18).
But Duckworth "took aim" at Kirk's voting record, saying Kirk "had not done enough to support programs geared toward" vets. Duckworth: "Twenty-three percent of the homeless in Illinois are vets, and it's 25 percent nationwide, and that is absolutely unacceptable" (Chicago Tribune, 9/18).
I'm not smart enough to know how to get to dan's fec file to see how many polls he's taken, if anyone has that it would be great.
Also why doesn't Tim or Keith just start sending out press releases slamming Karen and Terry on Springfield and asking them to debate?
Anon 11:15, I'm not sure about Keith but Tim's campaign is sending press releases like crazy. The problem is the Pioneer Press--they won't cover it. The only way to get the message out is to write PRO-KEITH and PRO-STRATTON letters to the editor of the Lake Forester, Northbrook Star, Deerfield Review and Highland Park News. Send the letters to these individuals at the papers and demand they report of the lying by Karen May and the refusal to debate by May and Link. The editors are:
dsweet@pioneerlocal.com (David Sweet)
srichards@pioneerlocal.com (Sheila Richards)
Anon 12:58 is right about Pioneer Press and their love affair with Karen May. Don't look for fairness there. As for Keith Gray, he too is sending out the press releases, with some results- yesterday on Libby Collins' show on WKRS, Terry Link agreed to debate Gray on the air, so we're making some progress there.
Anon 11:15- I wouldn't waste much time on considering what polling Seals has done in the past. It's logical to assume he's done some, and the results are pretty close to what Kirk has been releasing over the past few months, or we would have heard about it. I'm not a polling expert, but I'd guess that what will happen is that Seals and/or the DCCC will wait a little longer to give their carpetbombing of the district with mailers, and the recent TV ads, a chance to work, and then poll to see if their efforts have moved the numbers in the District. We'll then hear about it, if Seals can claim that he's cut Kirk's lead in half, or something similarly spin-worthy. If we hear nothing, that means Seals is getting no little or no traction despite the heavy spending, and we may see DCCC wise up and find other investments to make, rather than throw more good money after bad.
I will say this about Mark Curran, although I had my doubts about his jailhouse stay, his independence is something to be admired.
Louis G. Atsaves
Post a Comment