* Thanks to a commenter, here’s a video of Democratic state House candidate Stephanie Kifowit who was approached by a person identified on his/her YouTube account as “JT Lee.”
Kifowit was asked what she thought about the state income tax hike, and she quickly backed away, mumbling something about how the event was private, or something. She didn’t actually answer the question, but she didn’t look great, either. The video has gone viral, with over 10,000 views as of post time. Watch…
* This one may not go viral, but Republican congressional candidate Jason Plummer’s DCCC video tracker posted a series of videos from the DuQuoin State Fair parade. At about two and a half minutes in, a Plummer person begins to politely and jovially mess with the guy. At one point, though, a person is heard to say “Well, you get scum everywhere, ya know,” and then another person says to the tracker, “They don’t pay you enough.” Have a look…
* Near the end of Part 5 (of 6), the tracker can be heard saying “Good job today, Mr. Plummer. I’m out of here.” He’s then asked by a campaign volunteer if he wants a ride. He politely declines…
Heh.
All of the DCCC’s Plummer tracker videos can be found here. Let me know if you find anything. I have a life and can’t watch any more of them today.
The state’s highest ranking Democrat didn’t show up for Democrat Day at the Du Quoin State Fair on Saturday.
State Representative John Bradley tells WSIL-TV he’s not surprised that Governor Quinn didn’t come. He says Quinn has been pushing several policy issues that are unpopular with downstate people. Those issues include gun bans, facility closures, and a pension proposal that could put more of a financial burden on southern school districts.
It’s the second day of the fair and Governor Pat Quinn has yet to make an appearance. Officials at his tent say they’re not sure whether he’ll be at the fair at all. Democratic State Representative John Bradley says he’s not surprised.
“When you engage in that kind of policies which many people feel are anti to southern Illinois I don’t expect coming down here and having a funnel cake would make any difference,” explained Democratic State Representative John Bradley.
A field organizer for state Sen. Gary Forby’s campaign was cited for driving under the influence early Friday morning; passengers in the car he was driving included Forby and state Rep. Brandon Phelps.
Mitchell J. Schaben, 24, was ticketed for DUI and speeding after he was pulled over by state police on Illinois 37 at Marcum Branch Road at 12:28 a.m. Friday.
Schaben was driving a 2009 red Cadillac, registration number 59SN, and had three passengers in the car including Forby, D-Benton, and Phelps, D-Harrisburg. The third passenger was not identified.
The four had been at dinner and meetings at the Rend Lake Resort. The gathering included out-of-town visitors in the area for the Du Quoin State Fair.
“It’s unfortunate,” Phelps said. “I didn’t think (Schaben) was impaired, and I know Mitch didn’t think so either or he wouldn’t have driven. He’s a great guy.”
I can’t remember the last time that I saw a DUI police report which included the names of the car’s occupants. Not sure that’s very cool. And not to diminish what Schaben did, but he blew a .09, which isn’t far above the legal limit of .08. Even so, Forby probably should’ve just well enough alone…
“He was only one-tenth of a .09. Probably if he’d done another test, it might have shown up he wasn’t, he didn’t have enough. So the boy, he was right there on the limit. He wasn’t really what I call drunk,” Forby explains. […]
Forby says, “Mitch drives for me all the time. You know, I’m 67 years old, it’s nice to have a young guy drive me around. I didn’t see a problem. I didn’t see a problem with Mitch. If I’d seen a problem, I would not have let him drive.”
With ten weeks left until the election, Forby recognizes Schaben’s DUI could affect his campaign. But his Republican challenger Mark Minor says he doesn’t want to get into it.
“I’m a pastor, a school board member, a counselor. I deal with a lot of issues in peoples’ lives. So I know it’s important to keep personal issues on a personal level. I want to keep this campaign clean,” says Minor.
“I exercised poor judgment and got behind the wheel of a car to drive despite consuming multiple alcoholic beverages unbeknownst to the passengers accompanying me in that automobile.
“Shortly thereafter, I was pulled over by the Illinois State Police on Illinois Highway 37 for a possible speeding violation. During that traffic stop, I was asked and agreed to participate in a breathalyzer test that would show that my blood alcohol level was above the legal limit for an individual operating a vehicle.
“Today, I am deeply sorry for this occurrence, not because I was caught but instead because of the potential danger I could have posed to the residents of the 59th Legislative District, the passengers of the vehicle and myself.
“I would like to apologize publicly to not only the Forby for Senate Campaign but to the constituents of the 59th Legislative District for any distraction this incident will provide from a robust debate on the issues important to them in the coming months. I’m fully prepared to be held accountable for my regrettable actions and any shame I may have brought to myself, my family, coworkers and peers.”
The president of the Illinois Senate, John Cullerton, said he would work to overturn Gov. Pat Quinn’s closure plan when the General Assembly meets in a veto session in November.
Cullerton, speaking Monday in Benton, also said he supported a bill from state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, to limit the governor’s ability to close facilities against the recommendation of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
“(Forby) sponsored a bill that would have said it’s up to the legislature to decide whether or not you can close these facilities,” Cullerton said. “Take it away from the governor’s hands, up to the legislature after you have those (COGFA) hearings. That bill failed by one vote.”
Cullerton’s support came on the same day Quinn’s office acknowledged it would not meet an Aug. 31 closure date for Tamms Correctional Center and other state facilities. The state and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union are in arbitration to resolve the closure issue after the union filed a lawsuit in Alexander County to stop closures.
“We made tough choices, and this is a cowardice act… And we’re going to start going after things the governor cares about. How about green grants? If he doesn’t think he’s got enough money to keep the prison systems open, then why are we giving him discretionary money for recycling programs? Let’s start going after that things he cares about and tell him that what he’s doing is killing our area.”
* During his own speech, Rep. Brandon Phelps claimed that the Department of Corrections transferred an inmate out of Tamms to Pontiac and then quickly transferred the prisoner back to Tamms.
