2008 Campaign

Biden wins debate; Palin does okay

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Tonight was the big debate between vice presidential candidates Joe Biden (D) and Sarah Palin (R). Expectations were low for Palin because she’s looked pretty bad in recent television interviews — especially the one with Katie Couric. That worked to her benefit; she only had to do okay for her performance to be perceived as successful.

And Palin did, in fact, do okay. She stuck to her talking points. She dodged some questions. At times, she had some good, substantive responses. At other times, she tried to make up for lack of substance with excessive colloquial language (although, in fairness, some say that’s “Sarah being Sarah”). Most of the time, her answers sounded rehearsed, and she repeated a lot of stump-speech lines that are, frankly, getting moldy. But, she held her own and didn’t implode. And she got better as the debate progressed. Well done.

Joe Biden was expected to do well in this debate, and he did. He has had lots of experience debating in the U. S. Senate, and it showed. He looked confident and comfortable. His answers were substantive and he had a lot of good sound bites I’m sure we’ll be hearing in the news the next several days. He connected with the viewer. He showed emotion, such as when he talked about knowing what it’s like to be a single parent. You felt, as a viewer, like what he said was genuine. Not that he did everything right, but he came across very polished and at ease. He certainly reiterated a lot of talking points as well.

Now, I’m writing this while watching the post-debate punditry, and they appear to all be giving Palin much better marks than I just did. Perhaps I’m still tainted by the horrible showing she had in those CBS interviews. Or maybe I just hadn’t lowered my expectations as much as everyone else had, so I’m a little more disappointed.

I think the bottom line is, she did no harm tonight. I don’t think this debate changed anything in the campaign — i.e., it didn’t help or hurt it. It won’t give the Republicans or the Democrats a bounce, but will likely just reinforce voters’ feelings. And I guess that makes it a success.

St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals wrap-up for 2008

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Well, the Cardinals season is over for 2008, and they didn’t make it into the post-season. This year, in my opinion, it all came down to pitching. Their pitching — especially the bullpen — was their Achilles heel. The Cardinals’ website sums it up well:

The back end of the bullpen never fully recovered after Jason Isringhausen lost his effectiveness and got hurt. Carpenter made only three starts before he got hurt again, and Wainwright was down for more than 2 1/2 months, so while the rotation was deep and solid, it didn’t have the front-end punch that was hoped for. And the offense bogged down frequently over the final two months as Ankiel, Glaus and Molina dealt with injuries.

It was encouraging to see them end the season strongly with a six-game winning streak. Hopefully they will pick up in 2009 where they left off the end of this year and continue that winning streak, and go all the way to the World Series again. A few key acquisitions in the bullpen would go a long way to making that a reality.

Related note: I’m mothballing the MLB Standings widget in my sidebar until next season.

2008 Campaign

LaHood photo under scrutiny

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The Peoria Times-Observer reports:

The use of a photograph in political ads for Darin LaHood, the Republican candidate for Peoria County State’s Attorney, has promoted an inquiry by the office of the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s office at the request of Peoria Heights Police chief Dustin Sutton.

Sutton requested the state’s attorney’s office look into the matter after the Peoria Times-Observer brought elections ethics law to Sutton’s attention.

Click on the link to read the whole article. The law that the Times-Observer cited is essentially the state government’s version of the local ordinance Gary Sandberg used to insist that Aaron Schock should pay back the City of Peoria for costs related to Schock’s fundraiser with President Bush. A couple of things to note:

  1. Any violation of this law would be against the “governmental entity” — in this case the Peoria Heights Police Department — and not Darin LaHood.

  2. Clearly, Kevin Lyons needs to recuse himself from this case immediately since a more obvious conflict of interest could not be conceived. Lyons is running against LaHood for State’s Attorney. The Peoria Heights Police endorsed LaHood for State’s Attorney. If Lyons takes action against their appearance in his opponent’s political ad, it would be perceived as nothing less than political payback.

If there’s been a violation of the law, it should definitely be dealt with, the sooner the better — but NOT by the Peoria County State’s Attorney office. They should recuse themselves because of conflict of interest and have a neighboring county’s State’s Attorney (e.g., Stewart Umholtz in Tazewell County) take care of this.

City of Peoria, Crime, Peoria Police

Violent crime declining in Peoria

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Steve Settingsgaard. The police union gave him a vote of no confidence. Residents and some in the press criticized him for posting mug shots of prostitution and drug arrestees. Yet local government officials and many citizens defend him and even sing his praises. Why?

One word: Results.

In 2007, there were a total of 74 shootings and 16 homicides; 104 shootings and 18 homicides were logged in 2006. So far this year, there have been four homicides.

No doubt some will try to attribute these results to everything under the sun other than the police chief; and to be sure, the credit absolutely needs to be spread around. These outcomes aren’t the result of a one-man show. But you can bet if the trend were the other way, the fingers of blame would all be pointing directly at Settingsgaard.

So I say, let’s give credit where credit is due. Nobody’s perfect. We’re never going to agree on every tactic used by the chief. But let’s acknowledge and be thankful that our city has gotten safer under his watch.

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

Peoria Police

Pictures of drug arrestees on the web

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As promised, the Peoria Police Department has a new section on its website called the Drug Nuisance Property section. If you click on the months in the left-column menu, you can see mug shots of those “individuals [who] were arrested for various offenses at the listed addresses.” The police go on to say, “It is hoped that the photos of the arrested individuals will serve as a deterrent to others.”

In addition, the Journal Star reports:

Ten properties also are listed on the Web site, marked as “sightings” of the department’s Armadillo nuisance vehicle. The vehicle, an old Brinks truck outfitted with a bulletproof exterior and armed with surveillance equipment, was created to annoy residents disturbing the peace of their neighbors.

Nation/World

Senate passes bailout bill 74-25

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Well, everyone in Washington was just deflated after the “Emergency Economic Stabilization” bill failed in the U. S. House. But fortunately, we have the Senate to come up with the most obvious solution to the impasse: more spending!

The new bill — much bigger and more costly than the original for its addition of tax breaks — has been crafted in a way to overcome objections in a resistant House.

What’s new, since a sharply divided House voted 228-205 to scuttle the first plan on Monday:

— A dramatically higher cap on insurance that the federal government provides for individual bank depositors – lifting Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection to $250,000 per account.

— Also: Tax breaks for individuals and businesses alike, including relief for more than 20 million middle-income taxpayers subjected to an Alternative Minimum Tax that boosts their tax bills.

How much in tax breaks, you ask? A pittance: $150 billion. Because that’s what Americans were really concerned about — that the government wasn’t spending enough.

The more I read, the more I’m swayed that this bailout plan isn’t such a great idea.

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.

Completely Useless Information

Thome Town

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From a press release:

In honor of our “home run hero” Jim Thome, Mayor Jim Ardis and the Peoria City Council are declaring the City of Peoria “Thome Town.” This designation will be in place during the playoffs to recognize our home grown son and his many accomplishments.

Jim has hit 541 home runs and it was his home run against the Minnesota Twins that helped to clinch the American League Central Division crown, and secure the White Sox a spot in the playoffs.

Jim Thome and his wife Andrea have been true All-Stars in Peoria and other communities, and they are greatly respected for their generous charitable endeavors such as the Children’s Hospital of Illinois, Easter Seals, the United Way, Chicago Children’s Home + Aid, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, just to name a few.

This honorary designation recognizes Jim Thome not only for his big swing, but for his big heart. A resolution giving Peoria the honorary designation of “Thome Town” will be passed by the Peoria City Council at their October 14, 2008 meeting.

Does this mean I have to rename my blog “The Thome Town Chronicle” during the playoffs?

City of Peoria, Form-Based Code, Heart of Peoria Plan

Sheridan Triangle final public meeting planned

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From a press release:

The City of Peoria will host the third Public Open House at the Council Chambers, Room 400, City Hall, 419 Fulton Street, Peoria, on Thursday, October 9, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The purpose of this open house is the discussion of the preferred alternative identified in previous open houses, and the review of the potential streetscape layout components and landscaping options, and to collect final comments on the Master Plan for the Form District known as the Sheridan Triangle Business District, before its presentation to the Peoria City Council.

The intent of the project is to revitalize the character of the streets in the study area to create urban, pedestrian-friendly streets through narrower travel lanes, wider sidewalks and a tree canopy, as well as other improvements to be determined through this public Master Plan process.