* Most of you already know about the first half of my weekly syndicated newspaper column. But only subscribers know about the second half. I thought the rest of you might get a kick out of it…
I have two poll results to tell you about — one involving an alleged criminal, the other a proven liar.
Expelled state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) is leading his only opponent by 38 points and is close to the 50 percent he will need to reclaim his House seat.
A poll of 556 likely voters conducted Sept. 12 by We Ask America shows Smith crushing third-party candidate Lance Tyson by 48 percent to 9 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 4.15 percent.
Smith was expelled from the House in August, months after his federal indictment for allegedly accepting a $7,000 cash bribe. He’s still on the ballot, though, and faces Lance Tyson, a Democrat, who was picked to run on a third party by the district’s Democratic ward committeemen.
Tyson loaned his campaign more than $26,000 last week after the poll results were revealed. That’s most of what he has raised so far.
Smith reported having almost $58,000 in the bank at the end of June. He has raised no money since then but still has enough to do some mailers and fliers, if he hasn’t already spent his cash on legal expenses.
If Smith regains his seat in November, the Illinois Constitution forbids the House from expelling him for the same reason next year. The House would either have to come up with a new reason unrelated to his indictment or suffer the indignity of allowing Smith as a member while he’s tried for bribery.
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Carol Marin reported recently that House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were neutral in the Smith race. Madigan’s spokesman told me that his boss is neutral because two Democrats are running against each other.
Illinois is grand, isn’t it?
Sheesh.
Since Madigan refuses to help, Tyson will likely need a big assist from Secretary of State Jesse White, who was responsible for putting Smith in the House in the first place.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton) leads his Republican opponent by eight points. But the poll was taken before Julie Bigham Eggers (R-Columbia) was caught in a major gaffe and some big lies that could cost her dearly.
The We Ask America poll taken Sept. 11 has Costello leading Eggers 48 percent to 40 percent. The poll of 756 likely voters had a margin of error of plus/minus 3.55 percent.
Eggers told the Belleville News Democrat that the “No. 1 reason” why she ran for the House “was for the health care because it has pretty good health care.”
Eggers later announced that she wouldn’t sign up for the legislative health insurance plan or the pension plan and wouldn’t even accept her salary and challenged Costello to do the same. But the damage already was done.
And it’s tough to believe that she’ll follow through on those promises because she has been caught before in some bizarre lies.
Eggers repeatedly has claimed in her campaign that she’s a “lifelong southern Illinoisan.” But the Belleville News-Democrat found out that she lived in Missouri for 10 years. When pressed, Eggers told the paper she lived out of state for “I don’t know, a couple years.”
The House Democrats then unearthed video of Eggers speaking at an event and claiming she got her law degree at the same time as her MBA degree.
“That’s extremely hard,” Eggers said about getting the two degrees at the same time. “And any of these judges running up around here will tell you, that’s pretty much something you don’t want to do.”
Trouble is, Eggers dropped out of law school after a year.
Hey, there’s no shame in dropping out of law school. Just don’t claim that you obtained a law degree when you did not.
Costello, the son of retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello (D-12th), now is using the Eggers video in a new TV commercial.
“I will always tell you the truth,” Eggers says in the full video.
Except when she’s not.
Eggers has reported that Anne Diaz Griffin contributed $5,000 to her campaign fund after I wrote about her many problems. Griffin’s husband donated another $5,000.
Anne Griffin is a wealthy Chicagoan who is bankrolling a new online startup called “Reboot Illinois,” which, among other things, is pushing for stronger ethics reforms in state government.
Only in Illinois would a “reformer” bankroll somebody like Eggers.
Illinois House candidate Julie Bigham Eggers said she’s “in it for the insurance” because being a state lawmaker “has pretty good health care.”
Eggers, a Republican from Columbia, also stood by assertions in her campaign mailers of being a lifelong resident of Southern Illinois, even though property and voting records show she lived in Missouri for 10 years, up until 2008.
Eggers made the remarks during a BND interview about her candidacy. At one point, she was asked whether she would sign up for a pension — a perk that a few candidates and lawmakers have declined.
Eggers said she would not accept the pension because the state is broke, but then added, “Actually, I’m in it for the insurance, health insurance. I’m an independent business owner and I’ve got a daughter that’s got, one that’s got kidney issues and one that’s got breathing issues, and I’ve got an insurance rider for her kidneys, even though we’re not supposed to be, what is it called, pre-existing.”
She continued, “So, No. 1, the reason why I did it was for the health care, because it has pretty good health care. That’s my honest answer.”
Julie Bigham Eggers Signs ‘No Perks Pledge’ to Refuse State Pension and Healthcare Benefits if Elected State Rep.
Eggers will also refuse the legislative salary and challenges Costello II to sign the ‘No Perks Pledge’
Republican candidate for State Representative Julie Bigham Eggers signed a pledge today stating that if elected state representative she would refuse to accept the taxpayer funded pension and healthcare benefits offered to Illinois legislators. Julie Bigham Eggers will also refuse the part-time salary of $67,836 offered to Illinois legislators. Eggers challenged her opponent Jerry Costello II to do the same by refusing to accept the taxpayer funded pension and healthcare benefits.
Julie Bigham Eggers issued the following statement regarding the ‘No Perks Pledge’. I have signed a ‘No Perks Pledge’ to state firmly, “The State of Illinois is broke and in desperate need of repair. Illinois’ deficit is $43.8 billion. Illinois’ pension debt is $83 billion. $126 billion - That’s how much Illinois is in debt thanks to our elected officials at our state capitol. Illinois legislators haven’t earned nor deserve the lavish Pension and Cadillac healthcare benefits paid for by the taxpayers. By signing this pledge, I will refuse to accept any taxpayer funded pension and healthcare benefits.”
“The state is broke and we cannot afford benefits like these for elected officials,” said Julie Bigham Eggers. “I will also refuse the part-time salary of $67,836 offered to me if elected State Representative. I ask my opponent Jerry Costello II (A.K.A Jerry Costello Jr.) to join me in signing the ‘No Perks Pledge’ to refuse to accept any taxpayer funded pension and healthcare benefits. I await his response.”
* As noted in my column, Ms. Eggers also has a problem with her claims about her residency. From the BND…
But property records suggest Eggers had resided in Missouri from 1998 to 2008.
In a property deed from March 1998, Eggers, at the time known as Julie Mckinstry, her name from a previous marriage, is listed as a Missouri resident.
Property records also show she sold a home in Missouri in February 2008, a few days after buying her current home in Columbia.
Voting records show that she voted in St. Charles County, Mo., in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
When asked during the interview about her assertion of being a lifelong Southern Illinois resident, Eggers said: “That’s true. I consider myself a lifelong resident.”
To us the bigger red flag is Eggers'’ claim that she’s a lifelong Illinois resident — although she lived in Missouri for 10 years. Even when called on it she didn’t back away from that claim, but instead compared her situation to a student away at college.
But this wasn’t college. This was buying a house and registering to vote in another state.
Politicians often bend the truth, but usually not over such an easily verifiable fact.
This will be another factor for the voters to consider on Election Day.
* Here’s the TV ad by Rep. Jerry Costello that whacks his Republican opponent Judy Bigham Eggers for being a liar…
* One of the ad’s talking points is that Eggers claims she “did” her law degree, but she never got a law degree. The House Republicans initially wondered if the ad had been creatively edited, but they quickly backed away from that. The full video actually is much worse for Eggers. Watch…
In the video, starting at about the 2:28 mark, Eggers says that she “did” her law degree and her MBA at the same time. That part is in the TV ad. Then right away she says…
“That’s extremely hard. And any of these judges running up around here will tell you, that’s pretty much something you don’t want to do.”
