Category Archives: 2008 Campaign

2008 Campaign

Krupa says Gordon is “trampling on the truth”

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From a press release:

Joan Krupa to hold news conference to take opponent Jehan Gordon to task for trampling on the truth

Character becoming a central issue in campaign

(PEORIA) In recent press releases and mailings to voters, Jehan Gordon’s campaign has been spreading blatant falsehoods about Joan Krupa. The scope of Gordon’s purposeful deception is now breathtaking. Joan Krupa will hold a news conference to distribute Gordon’s campaign materials and provide proof to refute one outrageous charge after another. The level of absurd, completely concocted false charges by Jehan Gordon is unprecedented in this region and Krupa intends to set the record straight at the news conference.

Just a sampling:

  • Gordon put out press release saying Krupa missed 25% of Peoria County Board meetings but after a FOIA response, the Journal Star found Krupa missed only two meetings out of 86.
  • Gordon mailers put Krupa’s head on another person’s body and another had Krupa standing in front of a mansion that is not her house.
  • Gordon mailers falsely say Krupa voted for things on the county board that have zero basis in fact.

Krupa will be joined by her campaign chairman, Jim Maloof and two former Peoria County Board Chairs, one a Democrat and one a Republican.

News Conference:
2:00 pm
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Jim Maloof Realty Headquarters
803 W. Pioneer Parkway, Peoria

2008 Campaign

Peoria Chamber PAC endorses LaHood for State’s Attorney (UPDATED)

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From a press release:

Peoria Chamber Backs LaHood for State’s Attorney
Economic development, home sales, quality of life all tied to sprawling crime problem

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Chamber of Commerce is the latest organization to announce public support for Darin LaHood in the Peoria County State’s Attorney race. This news came after a live-broadcast debate the business group hosted for LaHood and his opponent, an incumbent State’s Attorney of 20 years.

“Addressing crime in Peoria is the number one issue in this race. I have put forth a 5-point plan to combat this problem while my opponent has indicated his office would only offer more of the same,” explained Peoria County State’s Attorney candidate Darin LaHood during a live debate Wednesday morning at the Heartland Partnership office. “Every police organization – including six unions – has endorsed my candidacy along with eight members of the City Council and numerous community leaders. People understand that we need a new approach to fighting crime.”

Immediately following a spirited debate between the two contenders for the State’s Attorney’s office, the Peoria Chamber of Commerce announced that they, too, were behind LaHood in this race, calling for change in the top prosecutor’s office.

“The endorsement from the Chamber means a great deal to my campaign,” said LaHood. “I am thankful for all of my supporters – who may not always agree with one another on all the issues – but do agree that we need a change. The Peoria Chamber has flourished in the last ten years and understands that even better days are ahead if we can effectively combat crime. “I’ll restate it. As State’s Attorney, I will work with all citizens of Peoria and collaborate with groups and leaders from all sectors to make Peoria a safe place for our families.”

Before Chamber members present for the debate, LaHood discussed how the business community can continue to grow, greater economic development can take place, the City of Peoria can become the destination for home buyers in the area rather than more suburban developments and an overall quality of life can be achieved if crime is effectively addressed. That, said LaHood, has to be a priority of the County’s top prosecutor, something that has been lacking in the office for the last 20 years.

Forty-year old Darin LaHood presently practices law with the Peoria firm of Miller, Hall, & Triggs. Prior to that, he served as Chief Terrorism and Federal Prosecutor for four years with the U.S. Department of Justice in Las Vegas, Nevada. LaHood gained experience as a county prosecutor during the years he spent as an Assistant State’s Attorney in both Tazewell and Cook counties. LaHood and his wife, Kristen, are both Peoria natives and are raising three children. They are active in numerous Peoria charitable and civic organizations, and are members of St. Vincent de Paul Church. To learn more about Darin, volunteer opportunities, or to contribute to the campaign, visit Darin’s website.

Update: The LaHood campaign issued this correction to their earlier press release:

Previous release from October 1 was in error when referring to the Peoria Area Chamber Political Action Committee as the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. We apologize for the inconvenience and any misunderstanding the oversight may have cause.

2008 Campaign, Aaron Schock, City of Peoria

Schock does the right thing; case closed

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Rep. Aaron Schock held a press conference yesterday with Mayor Jim Ardis to announce he will “voluntarily” pay back the City of Peoria for costs incurred when President Bush visited Peoria for his private fundraiser. As far as I’m concerned, this matter is now closed. I agree we should move on and talk about more important issues.

I think it would be a good idea for the city council to settle the policy issue, just so we don’t have a controversy like this again in the future. But as far as the candidates are concerned, I think this issue is over.

2008 Campaign, State of Illinois

Local groups oppose con-con for Illinois

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A number of local groups came out against a constitutional convention yesterday.

Representatives with the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Labor Council of West Central Illinois gathered Monday at Peoria City Hall to voice their disapproval with a referendum they claim will only exacerbate problems in the state.

“We believe it’s inappropriate, unpredictable and expensive,” League President Mary Jane Crowell said.

Their basic premise is that there’s nothing wrong with the state’s constitution. Rather, the problems in the state house are the result of bad behavior by our elected representatives. All we need to do is elect different (better) people and Springfield will be fixed. If anyone has a problem with the constitution, they should work on amending it, rather than rewriting it.

The pro-constitutional-convention website Yes for Illinois counters this argument:

Some “No” proponents argue that we can improve the state through “better leadership”. That’s fine on paper, but it reminds us of all the “guaranteed rights” in the Soviet Constitution. You can talk about better leadership, but how will we ever get better leaders.

It is our position…that while there are many good people in Illinois who could do a better job than their current legislators, they have precious little chance of getting elected, given Illinois gamed system of election laws and ballot access hoops….

This can’t be fixed by “electing better people” for one very simple reason. “Better people” are locked out of this system. ONLY dynamic changes of the kind brought about by a Constitutional Convention offers the opportunity to bring “better people” into the process.

A good example of that is how the legislative districts are drawn. Take a look at this political map:

This is textbook gerrymandering. Legislators are picking their voters instead of the other way around. So, what incentive is there for an elected representative to fight for a redrawing of a legislative district that he or she won? The system is fundamentally broken, which is why a constitutional convention is critical.

A “no” vote is a vote for the status quo. And we know the status quo isn’t working.

2008 Campaign, Aaron Schock

Schock says he’ll follow Obama

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Is Schock a leader or a follower? A Republican or a Democrat? A man or a mouse?

All are valid questions as Schock continues to dig in his heels against paying back the taxpaying citizens of his district. The Journal Star reports today:

State Rep. Aaron Schock’s campaign manager said Friday that if U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign pays the local costs of police and fire protection during a visit to Springfield last month, then they might consider doing the same for Peoria.

“If (Obama) ends up paying for it, things might change,” Steve Shearer said, referring to $38,000 in city of Peoria costs for police, fire and public works services on July 25, when President George W. Bush visited for a private fundraiser for Schock, R-Peoria.

The article goes on to explain that Springfield is getting ready to bill the Obama campaign about $50,000 for services the city provided when Obama announced Biden as his running mate. Shearer’s quote to the paper: “We’ll see if Obama breaks precedent (of not paying for local police protection).”

So for Schock, it’s not about doing the right thing, it’s about doing what everybody else is doing. If all the other candidates are sticking it to their constituents, well then it’s okay with Schock. Keep that gravy train a-comin’! He’s not going to take the lead and break a precedent of soaking taxpayers for private political events and fundraisers. Let someone else do it. Otherwise, he might be the only one standing on principle, and wouldn’t that be horrible? People might accuse him of being… responsible. Or fiscally conservative. Heaven forbid!

Is this the way Schock is going to make decisions once he gets into office? First find out what everyone else is doing, then follow? Fantastic. And he’s following Obama, no less. You know, Obama — the Democratic presidential nominee? He’s going to follow that guy.

Oh well. No one ever accused Schock of being an independent thinker…. Well, except maybe that “nukes-to-Taiwan” idea. That was original.

2008 Campaign

Facts trip up Gordon

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92nd District Representative hopeful Jehan Gordon sent out a press release a few days ago accusing her opponent Joan Krupa of being “absent from 25% of the [Peoria County Board] meetings held between April 14, 1992 and April 13, 1993.” Since Krupa had recently accused Gordon of being absent from too many school board meetings, Gordon criticized Krupa for “living in a glass house.”

Great sound bite. Unfortunately for Gordon, county board attendance records are relatively easy to verify.

The Journal Star fact-checked Gordon’s claim, and guess what?

[In] the minutes issued by the Peoria County Clerk’s Office on Friday, the actual attendance records show that of the 86 meetings held during Krupa’s tenure on the board, she attended 84 of them.

Krupa was late to a couple of meetings, including one in January 1993, which the Gordon campaign cited as one in which she was absent.

Krupa “missed only two meetings during her approximately six years with the Peoria County Board and had a 98 percent attendance rate.”

In contrast, HOI News has checked on Gordon’s attendance record on the Pleasant Hill school board:

According to District 69 Superintendent John Bute, there have been 19 Pleasant Hill school board meetings since June of 2007 when Gordon joined the board.

According to school records, since June, Gordon has missed a total of six of the 19 meetings-missing 32 percent.

Of the seven board members, on average, they missed three of the 19 meetings-missing 17 percent.

So, let’s recap:

  • Krupa: Missed 2 out of 86 meetings in six years.
  • Gordon: Missed 6 out of 19 meetings in 16 months.

In the words of the second President of the United States, John Adams, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

“She believes in what she’s saying,” Sen. Shadid says. Pretty soon, she’ll be the only one who believes in what she’s saying.

2008 Campaign

Darin LaHood releases new TV ad

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From a press release:

Peoria, IL – “Peoria has unacceptable levels of crime…we need a new approach for prosecuting criminals…that’s why we need Darin LaHood as State’s Attorney.” So begins the first paid television advertisement of the election season for the Peoria County race for top prosecutor.

Darin LaHood, the challenger candidate who has secured endorsements from every police organization in Peoria County began airing this commercial today (Friday, September 26th).

“The stakes are high in the State’s Attorney’s race,” said LaHood.

“Over the past year I’ve been campaigning and people have repeatedly told me that they’re feeling less and less secure in their own neighborhoods. I maintain that our present system of criminal justice in Peoria County is falling short of what we expect and deserve and it is my goal to win the State’s Attorney’s race to make Peoria County safer for all of us.”

Thanks to widespread support and hundreds upon hundreds of individual donors, LaHood has worked hard to be in a position to wage a television advertising campaign. LaHood expects to maintain a television presence throughout the campaign season.

“I am thankful to the hundreds of people who believe enough in this campaign to help us fund our operations. This is yet another clear signal that folks in Peoria are tired of having the dubious distinction of the highest crime rate in the state and that my plans for reversing this trend are gaining a lot of attention.”

LaHood has earned the support of all nine police organizations in the County; the collective reasoning amongst the different bureaus is that the present State’s Attorney has not done enough to keep repeat, violent criminals off Peoria Streets and it is time for a change.

Police unions representing the City and County of Peoria, Bartonville, Chillicothe, Peoria Heights and the Correctional Officers, as well as departments in Elmwood, Glasford and Norwood have all publicly announced support for LaHood.

Forty-year old Darin LaHood presently practices law with the Peoria Miller, Hall, & Triggs. Prior to that, he served as Chief Terrorism and Federal Prosecutor for four years with the U.S. Department of Justice in Las Vegas, Nevada. LaHood gained experience as a county prosecutor during years spent as an Assistant State’s Attorney in both Tazewell and Cook counties. LaHood and his wife, Kristen are both Peoria natives and are raising their three children in their hometown. They are active in numerous Peoria charitable and civic organizations and are members of St. Vincent de Paul Church. Visit www.DarinLaHood.com to learn more about Darin, volunteer opportunities, or to contribute to the campaign.

2008 Campaign, Aaron Schock, City Council, City of Peoria

Schock fundraising cost keeps rising

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The original city council agenda reported that President Bush’s visit to Peoria to raise funds for congressional candidate Aaron Schock cost taxpayers $13,195.63. That included police overtime and some miscellaneous expenses.

At last night’s council meeting, we learned that the tab is now $38,252. Adding to the cost are public works costs ($11,538 for 30 public works trucks used “for security purposes”) and fire department manpower ($3,218). I’ll try to get a copy of all the costs and post it.

But we may not be done tabulating the costs. Even the $38,000 figure doesn’t include the hours that police, public works, and other departments spent planning for the event. All this money comes out of Peoria taxpayers’ pockets.

One more thing — it violates city code:

Sec. 2-335(c). Employees shall not use city stationery, office equipment or other city resources for personal or political purposes.

Sec. 2-336. Prohibited political activities.

(a) City employees shall not intentionally perform any prohibited political activity during any compensated time (other than vacation, personal, or compensatory time off). City employees shall not intentionally misappropriate any city property or resources by engaging in any prohibited political activity for the benefit of any campaign for elective office or any political organization.

(b) At no time shall any executive or legislative branch constitutional officer or any official, director, supervisor, or city employee intentionally misappropriate the services of any city employee by requiring that city employee to perform any prohibited political activity (i) as part of that employee’s city duties, (ii) as a condition of city employment, or (iii) during any time off that is compensated by the city (such as vacation, personal, or compensatory time off).

Sec. 2-337. Prohibited political activity defined.

Prohibited political activity means:
(1) Preparing for, organizing, or participating in any political meeting, political rally, political demonstration or other political event.

I don’t know how the codes could be any clearer. A July 24, 2008, Journal Star article states that Schock’s fundraising event was “purely political,” which is the reason why Schock’s campaign had to pay back “costs associated with flying into Peoria on Air Force One and all costs for food, flowers and rentals at the Weaver Farm event.”

So let’s recap — the fundraising event was undeniably political in nature. The preparation, organization, and execution of city services for such a political event is prohibited according to city codes. However, the city has provided those services anyway (in violation of its own code) at a cost of $38,000+ without even asking the Schock campaign to reimburse the taxpayers.

Meanwhile, the Schock campaign isn’t offering to reimburse the taxpayers either. Is this an example of the kind of “service” a Congressman Schock will be providing to his district? Sticking local taxpayers with the bill for an event that personally benefits him, even as he reimburses the federal government for the same event?

A motion to bill Schock’s campaign for these costs was deferred until the next council meeting. Voting against the deferral: Councilmen Eric Turner, Patrick Nichting and Jim Montelongo.

2008 Campaign

Gordon: Krupa “living in a glass house”

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Another salvo in the battle of the bad attendance records, this time from the Jehan Gordon camp. From a press release:

Gordon Blasts Krupa for Living in a Glass House & Not Meeting her Own Attendance Standards

PEORIA, IL- Candidate for StateRepresentative Jehan Gordon (D-Peoria) condemned her Republican opponent Joan Krupa for releasing information she knew to be false in an attempt to purposely lie to the voters of the 92nd district. In Wednesday’s release Krupa claimed that Gordon had missed 40% of the Pleasant Hill School Board meetings since she joined the board. According to the school board records this is false. Gordon’s attendance record show’s that she was at 11 of 15 regularly scheduled school board meetings. During her own time as a Peoria County Board member, during a comparable one-year period (the same standard that the Krupa campaign has used), Joan Krupa was absent from 25% of the meetings held between April 14, 1992 and April 13, 1993.

“It is unfortunate that my opponent has decided to ignore the real issues that the people of our district care about and instead released a statement that she knows is false,” Gordon said. “Joan Krupa has called character a major issue in this campaign but in the first test of her character she has shown that she is willing to lie to the voters in order to gain a political advantage.”

Last winter, in a personal letter to Gordon and again during Wednesday’s Peoria Chamber of Commerce forum, Krupa pledged to not go negative. One day later Krupa’s statement was released attacking Gordon with false and misleading information. Krupa’s campaign chairman Wednesday stated that missing more than 5% of meetings was an issue; he clearly should have an issue with his own candidate.

“When Krupa says it’s a betrayal of trust to miss meetings, she’s really talking about herself,” Gordon said. “According to the county board records Joan missed 25% of her own meetings in a one-year period. Joan is a hypocrite for trying to apply standards to others that she can’t live up to herself.”

A statement released by Bob Neal and Pat Carroll, president and vice president of the Pleasant Hill school board called Gordon a valued member of the school board who has dedicated her career to helping the students of Peoria county.

Gordon is the Democratic nominee for 92nd district State Representative. For more information, contact Jehan Gordon at (309) 673-9292 or at info@jehangordon.com

In a related press release, the president and vice president of the Pleasant Hill School Board defended Gordon. They issued this statement:

President Bob Neal and Pleasant Hill School Board Vice President Pat Carroll Regarding Joan Krupa’s Misleading Statements

On Wednesday, Joan Krupa released a statement claiming that Pleasant Hill School Board member Jehan Gordon has missed 40% of the scheduled meetings in her time on the board. This is a lie. According to our records, Jehan has attended 73% of the board’s regular meetings.

Jehan has shared with us that during her time on our school board that she has also worked as the student retention coordinator at ICC and often time her responsibilities to the students do not fall between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Her dedication to ensuring that every student receives the help they need in order to juggle their responsibilities of family, work and school is very admirable.

It is unfortunate that Joan Krupa has decided to try to divert the attention of the voters away from the issues that matter most to our families and has instead decided to run her campaign through false, negative attacks. After stating at the forum on Wednesday that she would not use negative campaign tactics, Joan Krupa immediately started doing just that by attacking Jehan personally and by lying about her record. I would hope that the voters of the 92nd district can see this for what it is.

Jehan is a valued member of the Pleasant Hill School Board. Her record of working with the students of our community both at ICC and at Manual High School as a volunteer mentor shows her commitment to the education system. The endorsements of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Illinois Education Association, the Peoria Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Principal’s Association show the support and faith that those who work with our children every day have in Jehan’s ability to stand up for the students of our area.

Bob Neal
President Pleasant Hill School Board

Pat Carroll
Vice President Pleasant Hill School Board

2008 Campaign, City of Peoria

Pleasant Hill School District 69 withholding info from Krupa campaign?

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The Journal Star has Jehan Gordon’s reaction to Joan Krupa’s press conference yesterday, during which she accused Gordon of lying about her attendance record. Krupa said Gordon missed 40% of the Pleasant Hill School District 69 board meetings.

But an attendance report issued by District 69 Superintendent John Bute on Friday shows that Gordon actually attended 68 percent of School Board meetings. The “40 percent” figure comes from a Freedom of Information Act request that the Krupa campaign filed.

Dates used to analyze Gordon’s attendance record, however, are not the same as those provided to the Journal Star by Bute’s office. For instance, Bute’s office recognizes several non-regular or “special” meetings of the board that occurred between June 20, 2007 – Gordon’s first meeting – and the most recent, Sept. 3.

The information Krupa’s campaign is using does not include the June 20, 2007, date, nor does it include an Oct. 31, 2007, special meeting, as well as a meeting in late August and early September.

Here’s what I wanted to know as I read this story: Why weren’t some of those dates included in Krupa’s analysis of Gordon’s attendance? So I e-mailed Krupa’s campaign manager Steve Shearer and asked. He said, “Those meetings were not in the FOIA response from the school.”

So the next question that I feel needs to be investigated is: Why was pertinent information not disclosed to the Krupa campaign in response to their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request? If Krupa filed a FOIA asking about Gordon’s attendance record, why were different answers given to Krupa and the Journal Star? Why were some special meetings included in the report to Krupa, but not all of them? Was this just gross negligence, or does District 69 routinely omit information from FOIA requests?

Shearer added, “Had we known the number was lower I would always opt for that since a 32% absentee rate is damning when running for another office. There is no purpose in trying to be cute and bumping the figure up from 32% to 40% when the 32% is damning without being questioned. But the 40% figure was based on the FOIA response.”