Republican Paul Mitchell files petitions for Ill. House

An energized Illinois Republican Party is producing new kinds of candidates. Including Paul Mitchell of Lake County.

From Mitchell press release:

Hainesville Resident Paul Mitchell announced today that he filed the necessary forms in Springfield bright and early on Monday morning, October 26th, 2009, to be a candidate in the February 2nd, 2010 Republican primary.

Mitchell is bidding for the nomination for the State House Representative seat in Illinois’ 62nd District. His opponent is Republican incumbent, Sandy Cole.

While a political newcomer, Mitchell is no stranger to teamwork and building organizations: he is an Air Force Veteran, community leader and father of five, who now works as a business consultant.

To enter the race, Mitchell filed over 1,000 petition signatures, more than twice the statutory requirement of 500 signatures.. Saying that he is "running on the Republican platform, not away from it," Mitchell says, "I'm facing an incumbent who hasn't had an opponent on the ballot since 2006. I think it’s time that Lake County Republican voters had some alternatives."

Mitchell will be opening his campaign headquarters in Gurnee in November. His campaign website is http://paulfor62.com.

The 62nd District includes all parts of th villages of Hainesville, Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Third Lake, Wildwood, and others.

For media inquiries, contact Lynn Thomas by clicking here.

Technorati tags: Illinois government politics lake county republican

Mark Kirk radio ad on health care

Republican US Senate candidate Mark Kirk has a new radio ad about health care.



The North Shore congressman opposes ObamaCare.

Hat tip to Capitol Fax.

Technorati tags: news politics health universal health care obamacare Illinois Mark Kirk Congress illinois politics Republican Chicago North Shore Senate

Philly still faces possible transit strike--just in time for the World Series

With the World Series split at 1-1, Game Three of the Fall Classic will be hosted by the Phillies in Philadelphia--The American League Champion New York Yankees will play their first World Series game in the City of Brotherly Love since 1950.

How easy will it be for fans to travel to Citizens Bank Park tomorrow? If the largest union representing SEPTA employees--the Philadelphia area's transit company--it may not be easy at all. A possible strike still looms--the union representing most of SEPTA's employees may walk out tonight.

Party poopers.

UPDATE Oct. 31: The deadline has passed, they're still talking. No strike yet.

Technorati tags: philadelphia Pennsylvania World Series Phillies baseball mlb sports labor politics unions Yankees SEPTA

CBS questions jobs "saved or created" by stimulus

Here's a video report from CBS, not Fox News, questions the Obama administration's claim that their economic stimulus boondoggle "saved or created" large numbers of jobs.



Meanwhile, Bloomberg's Caroline Baum explores the "saved or created" myth.

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Styx: Rockin' the Paradise

I went running the morning after those horrendous 9/11 attacks on our country. On my Walkman, I was flipping stations, and as you can well imagine, it was not a normal day on the airwaves. WJMK-FM at the time played oldies from the '50s and '60s, But I listener called in and requested "Rockin' the Paradise" by Styx. I believe the DJ, John Landecker, had to send out his producer to buy it, Styx didn't fit into the station's format.

Like myself, Styx is a product of Chicago's Roseland neighborhood and the city's southern suburbs. Here they are performing "Rockin' the Paradise":



Whatcha doin' tonight, I got faith in our generation
Let's stick together and futurize our attitudes
I ain't lookin' to fight, but I know with determination
We can challenge the schemers who cheat all the rules

Technorati tags: music rock entertainment video America

Kim Strassel is mild about Harry Reid

The Wall Street Journal's Kim Strassel is "mild about Harry."

You couldn't swing a cat this week without hitting a discussion of the public option. Somewhere, in some Capitol office, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is grinning.

Two weeks ago, the subject of a government-run insurance plan was a sore point with the Nevadan. He didn't have the votes for it, his base was bitter, and he didn't want to talk about it. This week, a transformed Mr. Reid devoted an entire news conference to it. Americans support the public option! His caucus supports a public option! He supports a public option! The public option is in! No problem!

In the real world, this kind of behavioral shift lands you in a psych ward. In Washington, the press just marked it down to forces bigger than Harry. The majority leader had been pushed into a public option by his liberal members, we were told. Chuck Schumer was scarier than Ben Nelson. The Huffington Post was even scarier than Chuck Schumer. Poor Mr. Reid, clucked observers, had been backed into a corner.

Maybe. Then again, maybe he is majority leader for a reason. Maybe Mr. Reid didn't just wander out of the Nevada desert. Maybe he has a plan. Maybe, just maybe, he sees a big upside in turning the public option into the centerpiece of the health-care debate. After all, what does he have to lose?

Not a whole lot, since he's trailing in polls to anyone in Nevada with an "R" after his name, even "Vegas Vic" the neon cowboy.

Technorati tags: Politics democrats Senate Congress government Harry Reid health universal health care socialism obamacare