Yesterday, the saga of State Senator Terry Link's forged nomination petitions appears to have drawn to a fairly quiet close with the second indicted campaign worker, Jerry Knight, pleading guilty to perjury charges and being sentenced to probation for forging the signatures of registered voters (some of whom were deceased) on Link's nominating petitions. Knight, now safely ensconced in Minnesota, where he now lives, will probably serve his probation there, reports the News-Sun, and will be prohibited from engaging in election activities except for voting.Kenneth Davison, the other indicted campaign worker, pleaded guilty back in January.
We're assuming that Knight didn't officially roll over on anyone higher up in the Link campaign, such as "Sneaky" Pete Couvall (who hired the two workers) or we would have heard about it by now. I've heard lots of stories on the street about the 'real' story behind Knight and Davison's involvement, but it's not worth going into. The take-away is that these two basically took the fall, and Link and Couvall skate.
Will there be justice at the ballot box, someday? Only time will tell.
I should mention that there is one more possible aspect to this scandal, which is that Lake County GOP Chairman Dan Venturi filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections claiming that Link's Campaign failed to properly disclose and itemize the money paid to Knight and Davison. Instead, Link's campaign funneled the money through Couvall, showing it as 'staff salary' to Couvall, who then paid Knight and Davison.
The State Board of Elections determined on a partisan vote that this was not improper, and an appeal is pending. Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office filed a brief in the matter defending Link's position. It should not be too long before the Appellate Court renders a decision and we see if the "dead" will rise again, or if Link's petition troubles are truly 'dead and buried'.
The State Board of Elections determined on a partisan vote that this was not improper, and an appeal is pending. Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office filed a brief in the matter defending Link's position. It should not be too long before the Appellate Court renders a decision and we see if the "dead" will rise again, or if Link's petition troubles are truly 'dead and buried'.
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17 comments:
Link has come out saying he was 'considering' a run for Cong. Kirk's seat, and most recently for Lt. Governor. He seems to want to rack up as many pensions as possible before his retirement. In any case, it looks like any rumors that his buddy Obama has a cream-puff job waiting for him at the Federal level are either untrue, or Obama is smart enough to keep a distance from a guy who has no shortage baggage.
I heard about a possible LTGV bid by Link from a source yesterday as well, and I just don't get it. Is Link simply desperate to maintain relevancy? Is his ego that big? Is he trying to trade a buyoff from a possible candidacy for something? TA is just shaking his head in confusion on this one.
Senator Link, the head of the Lake County Democratic Party, is corrupt and a campaign issue in the coming race for Congress.
Republicans will spend heavily with pictures of Terry "Dead Guy" Link with Hamos/Seals to show how corrupt Blagojevich-Burris Democrats are.
Forget Terry Link, forget Michael Bond or anyone else...LISA STONE FOR CONGRESS. She is the only one in Illinois willing to stand up to the corrupt boys clubs. She's doing it in my hometown of Buffalo Grove and she'll do it in Washington.
That's interesting, Anon 11:44. I've been seeing searches for Lisa Stone and congress on the blog for some weeks now, but hadn't heard anything official. Is this confirmed or just wishful thinking on the part of a supporter?
I've met Lisa Stone and she IS a powerhouse. I don't know that she has any kind of ambition beyond what she's doing as a newly elected BG City Council member. I know that she considers herself a Democrat. How does that help us?
I think a vigorous Dem primary with more candidates shooting at each other and making a record of nutso statements we can use against them later is a good thing.
the republican field hasn't fully formed. FOKLAES is aware of a few top Republicans with major national bona fides considering the race with the fundraising networks and endorsement potential to win the race and destroy either hamos the hog or also ran dan. Think Mark, but older, slightly more conservative and ethics credentials that are unmatched. We aren't dead yet here.
Happy weekend.
FOKLAES
It has stooped to the desecration of cemeteries, TA?
This is not to suggest that a Link for Senate sign is negative or utoward in its proper place.
However, I thought that there was a law against said desecration -the placing of improper items or other defacement of grounds some hold to be quasi-sacred? Even if Photo-shop was used ('pre-emptive strike' on my part), the imagery used by members of the Grand Old Party is less than conduct becoming of people we should pay ANY attention to.
As far as Teflon, Mr. Kirk's untoward comments to China, twittering in a less than prudent fashion on at least two separate occasions, and combining campaigning and official business is as stainless as one can get.
That and a less than exemplary record in Congress, given that he runs as a friend of environmentalists, women, and other similar populations like independents, means he is really untouchable, Mr. Ness.
As far as Primaries, it was the GOP primary that led to McCain and eventually Palin so I guess no one's perfect.
Palin 2012's motto: quitters never win and winners never quit.
Anon 6:26, I find it sad, but telling, that you're more upset over a picture on a blog than the fact that Senator Link's campaign made a mockery of the legislative process, using paid campaign workers to forge signatures to enable Link to get on the ballot, and then Link refused to take any responsibility.
THAT's something to get upset about.
Hmm, mockery of the political process: Alan Keyes and that Ryan guy before him (marriage amendment wouldn't have helped Jeri Ryan, would it?).
Did the Repubs not put up 3-4 people successively for Senate that year?
Al Salvi (lets talk tort reform, Rep. Kirk, shall we?) for public office?
Sara Palin leaving office for trumped up reasons way before the end of her term. Why run if you can't stay on or don't want to because you might cry or because there are more turkeys to kill during your next 'Save the turkey presser.' ):
If the ethics investigations were unfounded, why did Palin PAY BACK funds to the State?
Speaking of investigating one's actions, who appointed the Alaska ethics commissioners? Sara Palin? Hmm, double-standard yet again GOP.
Consistency isn't always good, y'all and you're darn tootin.
How much will Sanford pay back to his state for this trips?
Jim Oberweis: and -I- make a mockery of the political process?
Again, put forth decent candidates, don't change your 'long-held' views with the wind (Mr. Romney, Mr. Giuliani*, and others), and speak out against waste regardless of the public official's party affiliation and then maybe you will lend yourselves some credence.
Until then, you only serve to make life difficult for yourself, divide the nation, and avoid tangible improvement for the good of our nation.
*Giuliani put the office of emergency management at the site of a previous terrorist attack and he didn't have time for the 9/11 commission. But he's the guy to keep us safe and judge - the good Christian (anullment) that he is - how other elected officials are doing.
As a social worker, I did not take his and Palin's untoward comments about community organizers lightly.
Of course, those leading the Tea Parties claim to be reading from Saul Alinsky's books - a father of modern community organizing. (confused by the hypocrisy yet?)
For those of you scoring (keeping track of) where the GOP stands, at home, don't bother, it'll change.
And it's very telling that Anon 6:26 has the nerve to say that our Congressman has a less than exemplary Congressional record. Only the hard core, partisans who can't stand the fact that Mark Kirk has beaten their candidate in every single election make those ridiculous and untrue statements. It's just a shame that their heroine has stopped letting all the chatter happen on her space. The good news is that the more that shrill, carping woman with the cat on her lap rails against Mark Kirk, the stronger he becomes. This must drive these folks right over the side, or, to the nearest pub.
Love the photo, TA. That and your relaying inappropriate tips from Waller's office regarding the death of an unfortunate young man clearly show what classless and bleak-hearted soul y'all really are.
But, since Waller was aware of the allegations against the Antioch Assessor, who is also Linda Pedersen's best friend and who gave Linda the 'farm exemption' on her estate, and it was public record the the Assessor still had homestead exemptions on both of her properties on the day Suzi Schmidt told him to investigate sweetheart tax deals, shouldn't Waller resign for covering up for this tax cheat?
We have the 17th highest property taxes in the United States. And its apparently okay with the Lake County GOP that your officials are defrauding the public. So keep harping about Link. It's Suzi who's going to have to pay the piper.
To all haters, please see the classic FOKLAES post earlier about how North Shore dems are ATM enablers for corrupt chicago thugs.
North Shore dems are the worst kind of political followers because they refuse to believe the reality which is that they are pawns for someone elses agenda.
it's a very simple process. Corrupt chicago thugs either put up "progressives"(if they are desperate and need a clean face such as obama, simon, or durbin) or chicago thugs (madigan, hynes, blago, stroger if they are fat and arrogant to enact their agenda. They come up to the north shore, sing sweetnothings and scary rhetoric about republicans wanting to take away your new trier/michigan grad daughters ability to have an abortion, and to put guns in your kids schools.
Then in general elections all Republicans are either branded as good republicans (like edgar, ryan, thompson, dillard if they kiss the ring of the mayor in which case they are dead as they should be to rank and file republicans who don't like tax incrases) or wingnut conservative nazis out of the mainstream.
The best sign that republicans are doing things right is when dems start using the desperate poltical rhetoric we see on every post each week on this blog calling republicans falwell/rush/palin rightwing extremists because this is their strategy of last resort. It's designed usually to make up for tax hikes or democrats on trial for the latest corruption scam.
Democrats own everything in the state and country right now. You don't need to be a crotchety old woman with subpar degrees with the self proclaimed wisdom of Henry Kissenger and every great thinker put together to realize that politics is about whether dems can deliver right now, not some shift the blame attacks.
It's also pathetic that democrats who built their whole 2008 campaign around hope the moment they get into power elect an incendiary flake like al franken and use the whitehouse website to fight rush limbaught. David Axelrod is a scumbag and I can't wait for the blago trial to blow up in their faces.
FOKLAES
Didn't the lawyer for the Democratic candidates for County Board admit that the information contained on all those flyers attacking Republicans over property assessments were "not factually accurate"?
So when "anonymous" keeps raising the issue of property taxes and claiming special favors were done on behalf of Republicans, "not factually accurate" still applies.
Louis G. Atsaves
Axelrod is a 'scumbag,' but nothing is said about Rush, Coulter, and the like. No one is willing to speak up when someone calling themselves a Conservative steps over the line of common decency or in the avoidance of long-held taboos. Interesting indeed.
Still no respect and decency on the TA blog; not surprised. When's the Tea Party?
Dem's have done well because of: the openness of the Party - something the GOP could learn from - that we have not really villified those GOP'ers who deserve it as much as a GOP'er would if it were a Dem (Burton and Vitter are still in office after all, as are Ensign, Sanford, and the other 'guardians of high moral fiber'), that we put up decent candidates by and large (not Keyes, Ryan, Oberweis and tort reform Salvi), and we have gotten a fair amount of things done. Whether or not you agree with all of them, Midwest communities have benefited from the recent programs, policies, and legislation.
No one in the Midwest benefited from the first government bailout (not the McCain-Keating one) last year that took place under the uber fiscal conservative George W. Bush (sarcasm, there) that had no strings and didn't bring about any consumer-level improvement.
Like it or not, the House of Representatives had longer work days as of 2007, we did not focus on over-turning Roe, and we did not focus on marriage amendments. Dem's are about substantive change and not undue or excessive focus on fringe issues.
Like it or not, I am not required or mandated to like Mark Kirk. It is unique that people who defend disruptive tea parties assume that those who don't like Kirk are nutjobs or call any other comments they make into question because they choose not to like a media-hound, wishy-washy, and almost n'er do well with regard to recent usage of technology on government-paid time and less than prudent comments to international officials despite his not having said anything under a similar situation when Bush brought about deficit-spending during his terms. You cannot have it both ways.
No law can be so circumscribed that it solely benefits an extremely small number of people or people of one political stripe. Hence, if you have a right to free speech, so do I.
When will there be respectful debate without labels, without mis-information, without myths, and without the less than righteous denying for others what you demand for yourself?
Hey Anon 5:59, take a hint, get lost. Like Ellen Beth Gill, nobody is buying what you are selling. You sound like Steve Sheffey. Nobody needs to detail all the outrageous people on your side of the aisle. If you think your own dignity and responsibible leaders, check again. Your rants and rave are not needed on this Blog. Go over to Ms. Gill or to the Daily Kos. They do buy what you sell.
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