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Illinois’ Republican national committeeman said that state Sen. Chris Lauzen of Aurora should “take a deep look” to see if he wants to say in the GOP and shouldn’t make another bid for Congress in the far west suburbs. Pat Brady, who last summer became Republican National Committeeman from Illinois to replace the controversial Bob Kjellander, also said he expected a GOP primary contest next year for nomination to the 14th Congressional District seat won last year by freshman Democrat Bill Foster of Geneva. Among those considering a bid for the seat formerly held by longtime Republican U.S. House Speaker...

Illinois' Republican chairman acknowledged Sunday that his party's often-bitter 2006 primary for governor "was not constructive" in helping nominee Judy Baar Topinka challenge wounded Democrat Rod Blagojevich's bid for a second term. Andy McKenna also criticized Democrats in the legislature for being "small-minded" by helping push legislation that would let primary voters rather than party officials decide the Republicans' top leaders. Speaking on WGN-AM 720, McKenna said Republican leaders and donors don't want to see a repeat of the four-way 2006 GOP primary for governor that he contended produced a weakened Topinka who was unable to challenge a better-funded Blagojevich...

Four years ago Obama was in a tight race with a Republican opponent--Jack Ryan. Wikipedia records what happpened. ...Ryan married actress Jeri Ryan in 1991; together they have a son, Alex Ryan. They divorced in 1999 in California, and the records of the divorce were sealed at their mutual request. Five years later, when Ryan's Senate campaign began, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have the records released. On March 3, 2004, several of Ryan's GOP primary opponents urged release of the records.Both Ryan and his wife agreed to make their divorce records public,...

Pundits glued to their Potomac seats, applying their usual Beltway explanations for everything that happens in America, would have it that House Speaker Dennis Hastert bollixed up the House page scandal because he is an unredeemed Republican partisan. Or that he doesn't care enough about congressmen hounding boys. Or that his conservatism made him do it.Blind partisanship, moral failings, hypocrisy, gay bashing or any of those other explanations that don't come close to the reality that Hastert was simply doing politics as it is practiced here, in Illinois.Hastert knows no other way, having been bred, born and raised in the...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Illinois native Jim and Sarah Brady today sent the following letter to Illinois Gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka: Dear Ms. Topinka, We heard about your comments from last week regarding assault weapons: "I'm the sword of justice... We will take him out with my little rolling pin known as the assault weapon. I will prove to him, indeed, it is an assault weapon." Jim and I pride ourselves in having decent senses of humor, but we didn't find your remarks funny. We now understand that you have been asked to apologize and that you...

Candidate Would Propose Credit Of Up To $150 For Teachers Who Spend Own Money On Classroom Needs (AP) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka plans to propose a state income tax credit of up to $150 for teachers who spend their own money for classroom needs. Topinka's plan would reduce teachers' tax bills by $1 for every $2 they spend out of their own pockets on supplies and other classroom expenses. Teachers must work full time and would have to document their expenses to qualify for the credit. The proposal, scheduled to be made public this weekend,...

Topinka Spokesman Dismisses Endorsement (CBS) CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich has won a surprising endorsement from the Republican mayor of New York City. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Chicago on Thursday to promote New York as a host of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Bloomberg called Blagojevich a fighter for the people of Illinois, especially in health care issues. “If I lived here, I would vote for him,” Bloomberg said of the Democratic governor. In response, a spokesman for GOP rival Judy Baar Topinka dismissed Bloomberg’s endorsement as from an “out of towner.”

Gay marriage amendment lacks ballot vote August 11, 2006 BY DEANNA BELLANDI ASSOCIATED PRESS The state Board of Elections agreed Friday with a hearing officer that an advisory referendum on gay marriage doesn't have enough signatures to be on the November ballot. But gay marriage opponents have taken their fight to federal court contending that the process to get a referendum on the Illinois ballot is burdensome and unconstitutional. "Unless they pull a rabbit out of a hat in federal court, it's not going to be on the ballot," said Patricia Logue, senior counsel for the Lambda Legal Defense and...

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and U.S. Sen. John McCain will travel to Illinois in the next week to stump for Republican gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka, her campaign said Sunday. Giuliani, who was Time magazine's "Man of the Year" for 2001 and has been mentioned as a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, is scheduled to appear Tuesday at a campaign event in Bolingbrook in Will County. McCain, a Republican from Arizona, is slated to appear with Topinka at a campaign event in Fairview Heights near St. Louis on Saturday. "Our campaign is gaining momentum and I appreciate...

Blagojevich, Topinka Are Both Moderates On LGBT Issues (AP) CHICAGO -- While some Washington politicians want to use gay marriage to divide the electorate in November, Illinois voters are choosing between two candidates for governor who are regular crowd favorites at this city's gay pride parade. Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his GOP challenger, state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, are nearly identical in their support for gay rights. Both say a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is unnecessary, and Topinka supports the state law signed by Blagojevich protecting gay people from discrimination. "As gay voters we have good choices,"...

Democratic blue state Illinois is flashing onto the radar of the Bush White House, with the governorship up for grabs and two high-profile House seats. The Sun-Times has learned President Bush is coming to Chicago July 7 for a fund-raiser for Judy Baar Topinka. The White House political operation, run by Karl Rove -- who helped convince Topinka to run against Gov. Blagojevich -- is also closely monitoring two of the most-watched House races in the country, in the west and Northwest Suburban 6th and 8th congressional districts.

In the last month, Judy Baar Topinka called her Republican opponents "morons," described Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich as having "little weasel eyes" and stood by as an aide said her campaign would like President Bush to raise money for her "late at night--in an undisclosed location." For Topinka, the state's three-term treasurer and the Republican candidate for governor, such remarks have been her stock in trade. The accordion-toting politician, who revels in discussions about her unnaturally red hair dye and thrift-shop wardrobe, once mentioned flatulence at her inauguration.

George Will has an interesting article about our Illinois Gubernatorial candidate, Judy Barr Topinka. (A 'Straight Talk" Test For 2006) It's mostly just straight forward discussion of the GOP's tenuous possibility to get back in political power in Illinois, with a mention of same in California and New York state. But, the article is mostly about Illinois' situation with our brash "straight talking" candidate, Judy Barr. Most of it isn't too revealing until you get to the last two paragraphs and then you hit paydirt... Topinka says Karl Rove urged her to run, hoping to offset in Illinois a probable...

CHICAGO -- Illinois' northernmost bit is north of Cape Cod and its southern tip is south of Richmond, Va. Scattered the length of the state, from the Wisconsin to the Kentucky border, are fragments of wreckage from the state party that produced the first Republican president -- who was born in Kentucky and nominated by a Republican Party born in Wisconsin, at Ripon. In the last four presidential elections, Republican candidates have averaged just 40 percent of the Illinois vote. In 2004, the Republican Senate candidate, a raging resident of Maryland, won just 27 percent of the vote. Judy Topinka,...

This is an open thread for Illinois Freepers to talk about the GOP Primary Election today. Can Judy Baar Topinka be stopped?!?!? Stay tuned!

If you want to discover how a perfectly healthy pink state turns into a lasting blue one, look no further than Illinois.For years, Republicans often won statewide and federal elective offices. But thanks to a bungling party "leadership" way out of touch with its constituency, Tuesday's primary election to select a GOP nominee for governor presents voters with indecision, disappointment or disgust. Among the candidates, "I don't know" has made a strong showing.We columnists have raked this field of candidates to the point of tedium, but why not? Why should Republicans be forced to choose among marginal, inexperienced, unqualified or...

March 20, 2006 - Voter turnout Tuesday in Illinois could break an all-time record, a record low. That is because an Election Day snowstorm is headed straight for central Illinois. A non-presidential primary election usually attracts about a third of all of the registered voters in Illinois. Election experts say a central Illinois snowstorm could reduce Tuesday's statewide turnout to less than 25 percent which would be the lowest in many decades. the turnout forecast for Chicago and the collar counties is good, no rain or snow but windy and chilly. City turnout expected in the 38 percent range. but...

Tomorrow is primary day in Illinois and there are three races to watch. The first, and biggest, is the GOP primary for Governor which has essentially boiled down to a two person race between moderate Judy Baar Topinka and conservative Jim Oberweis.Topinka is the only Republican currently holding statewide office (Treasurer) which demonstrates her appeal in a state where the GOP has basically been reduced to a smoldering heap of ruins. However, Topinka's longevity also has a downside; she has ties to the lowly-regarded Illinois political establishment and she served with former Governor George Ryan - who sits awaiting...

At the end of a political campaign it's not uncommon for a candidate to grasp at straws, but Jim Oberweis literally proposed drawing straws to decide who should stay in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, two of his rivals said Saturday. On the Democratic side, Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) extended his feud with his son-in-law, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, by featuring primary challenger Edwin Eisendrath at a bingo game of senior citizens in the ward. But Mell stopped short of a formal endorsement. As the GOP candidates for governor fanned out across the state on the final...

ON TUESDAY, REPUBLICANS WILL VOTE FOR THE HEART AND SOUL OF OUR PARTY. THIS IS PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY, PRESIDENT OF EAGLE FORUM. MANY OF YOU KNOW ME FROM MY YEARS WORKING FOR CONSERVATIVE AND PRO-LIFE CANDIDATES. TODAY I AM ASKING YOU TO SUPPORT JIM OBERWEIS FOR GOVERNOR. REPUBLICAN VOTERS NEED TO RALLY BEHIND ONE CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE. JIM OBERWEIS IS THAT CANDIDATE. HE WILL PROTECT THE SANCTITY OF INNOCENT LIFE, SUPPORT THE PRO-FAMILY MARRIAGE AMENDMENT, STAND UP FOR OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND LEAD THE FIGHT HERE IN ILLINOIS AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. IF THESE ARE ISSUES THAT YOU CARE ABOUT, THEN IT...