illinois policy institute plan

The Illinois Policy Institute has released a four-point plan for 2010. This agenda is very promising and provides a framework to go by.

• Pension Funding and Fairness Act. This requires borrowing early on, but would put pensions on a real path to full funding with all debt paid off by 2024.
• No more big spending! Wasteful pork is hurting us.... big time. See the 2010 Piglet Book for details.
• A three-year freeze on state spending The new study, due out in March, will show that spending in Illinois can be flat-lined.

• A full-fledged Illinois Performance Audit will be done which most likely will show the economic decline in Illinois started in 1970. Recommendations for change will reverse the course.

With these solutions in place, the fiscal calamity will come to an end WITHOUT a tax increase. We need to put faith back into the free market and get free from politicians who keep wanting to raise taxes. The future of Illinois hangs in the balance!

robert enriquez to speak at mercer county lincoln day

I learned yesterday that the Republican candidate for Illinois Secretary of State is to be our guest speaker for our Lincoln Day Dinner. Robert Enriquez will be attending our dinner set for February 20 at 7 PM at the Mercer County VFW in Aledo. Tickets are $20 and if you would like some reserved for you e-mail me at mikebertelsen@westhamlet.com.

On February 4th Mr Enriquez unveiled his plan for the Secretary of State's office. He wants the Secretary of State database available to law enforcement agencies and wants cost reductions. We are pleased to have Mr. Enriquez available to us in Mercer County. He is a welcome addition to the Illinois Republican team!

vote for bill brady today

Since Bill Brady announced his candidacy eleven months ago today, he has criss-crossed the state countless times, logged thousands of miles in the air and on the road, and committed countless hours to getting his message out to the voters of Illinois.

There is no candidate who has worked harder in this campaign than Bill Brady. He's been out there proving to Republican voters that he's the true and proven conservative candidate in this election. He talks the talk and, unlike others, he has walked the walk-- from retooling his business in these tough economic times to casting the tough votes and standing up for his principles in the legislature.

Bill Brady is the true conservative in this race, with a proven track record on the issues that matter most to Republican voters.

As the only Downstate candidate in this election, Bill Brady offers a clean break from the Chicago-style politics and politicians of the past. He will run a transparent and trustworthy government, restoring Illinois integrity and image.

Bill Brady is the only candidate with business and legislative experience. Of all the candidates for Governor, Republican or Democrat, Bill Brady is the only one who has stood solidly and consistently against raising taxes. And, as Governor, he will continue to do so.

Bill Brady is also the only candidate to have earned the endorsement of both statewide pro-life groups, because he believes government has an obligation to protect innocent human life.

He is a consistent supporter and advocate of the Second Amendment. As a member of both the NRA and Illinois State Rifle Association, Bill Brady has fought efforts to weaken the Second Amendment with gun control laws, further restrictions on ownership and attempts to outlaw specific weapons.

Please take the time to vote for Bill Brady today, because you want a new direction for Illinois.

Take the time to vote for Bill Brady, because you want a Governor who can balance the budget and, like your business and family, won't spend money the state doesnt have.

Cast your vote for Bill Brady, because you want a Governor who will bring jobs back to Illinois and keep any more jobs from leaving the state.

Tell your family and friends to vote for Bill Brady, because it is time to end the culture of greed and corruption in Illinois politics and make our state a place we can be proud of again.

Vote today. The polls close at 7 p.m. Then join us at our Election Day celebration at the Bloomington Doubletree, 1 Brickyard Drive, Bloomington.

pat brady responds

Pat Brady, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party made the statement after the State of the Union Address:

"After his agenda took a stunning defeat in Massachusetts, President Barack Obama claims he finally gets the message and has opted to join the American people in their anger. What he fails to understand is that the frustration stems directly from the leftward agenda he has tried to push through Congress despite the overwhelming protests of voters. They’re furious because the Obama Administration promised that his so-called $787 billion economic stimulus experiment would keep employment under eight percent, but today the national unemployment rate is ten percent and Illinois has lost over 193,000 jobs since Obama took office. They’re irate because rather than focusing on getting America back to work, his Administration has consistently tried to use the economic crisis as a means to pass his expensive liberal agenda of government-run health care and unsustainable budgets."

"It is clear that the President and his Democratic allies are playing politics, hoping that voters will have forgotten the billions of dollars that have been spent over the past year without any form of accountability. But personality is not enough to convince voters when the policies coming from this White House are so obviously flawed. But we have already seen that President Obama has no coattails in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts; three states that the President won in the fall of 2008. Illinois is next. If Democrats like Melissa Bean, Debbie Halvorson, Bill Foster, and Phil Hare continue to embrace his big-government agenda then they will soon find themselves into a forced retirement."

joe the plumber

Joe Wurzelbacher (Joe the Plumber) has spoken (written) about the Tea Party movement. First he states it is real and second he states that the movement is not by a bunch of right-wing zealots.

Joe sums it up by saying the distance between elected legislators and their constituents has grown to the point where effective representation is at or has been at risk. Not good. We as the represented have to continue the movement until we are listened to. Remember the best set of ears is the ballot box!

why i support bill brady

After years of watching mismanagement and corruption ruin our state, people like me across Illinois are fed-up. Movements like the Tea Parties have cropped up, and motivated Americans are stepping up to protect our freedoms and support candidates that can shake up the system.

I’m an ardent supporter of Tea Party movement, and I will likely be after this primary. That’s why I’m supporting the only true conservative outsider for Governor, Bill Brady. Brady won me over on issues – not by hiring a member of the Tea Party movement I belong to or through behind-the-scenes endorsement deals.

He’s the only candidate from outside the Chicago area, the only candidate with a proven, rock-solid conservative record, and he’s the only candidate with hundreds of volunteers running his campaign in counties and townships throughout Illinois. No smoke and mirrors. A real, effective, grassroots campaign. I encourage my like-minded friends to support Bill Brady for Governor.

reasons to vote for bill brady for governor

Bill Brady is the only candidate for Governor from Downstate Illinois.

One-party, one-city control of Illinois government has failed our citizens.

Bill Brady will be a Governor for all of Illinois and bring a long-missing balance to state government. He understands the issues of suburban voters and knows the challenges that Downstate residents face - all of which have been left by the wayside by the Chicago Democrats in power over the last eight years.

Bill Brady will bring a new common-sense approach to government, giving citizens a greater voice in their government and making government work for the people, not for the career politicians. He has pledged to not raise taxes and to cut spending. He will work to bring jobs back to Illinois.

He is a lifelong resident of Bloomington, where he and his wife Nancy have raised their three children, Katie, William and Duncan. He and his brothers operate home construction and real estate development companies in Illinois, as well as property management, mortgage, real estate marketing, hospitality and entertainment companies in Central Illinois.

Brady is the only candidate for Governor who has both the business and legislative experience that is needed to turn Illinois around.