Mayor’s Row…..by Ned Mitchell

Being a self proclaimed know-it-all on just about any subject and especially politics, it always amuses me when I say something that is wrong. It also is not good for a guy who knows everything to find out he did not know something. The wife says I know just enough about everything to constantly keep myself in trouble and have a steady diet of eating my words. I’ve had my share of crow, hats, shoes and other delectable delights so after 40 years of voting I should be an expert!

First I wrongly called the whole Governor’s election here in Illinois, not that I thought that great reformer/unreformer Rod Blagojevich would get beat, I really could not see how that would happen. I did say however that possibly Mike Madigan and his henchmen might lay down in this race and wipe out not only Governor Blagojevich but more importantly his running mate Lt. Governor Pat Quinn. My theory was if anything criminal comes down about the Governor his Lt. Governor would take over and that would be all bad for Attorney General Lisa Madigan who has her eye on the Governor’s mansion. Madigan and his crew have dropped the ball in the past on great candidates like Neil Hartigan and more recently Glenn Poshard so if it would benefit them why not do it again I reasoned? I was not alone in that line of thinking as several Chicago newspapers brought up that possibility also. Many local Democrats who have jobs depending on the Governor’s election had the wits scared out of them as they also wondered if they would be sold out by Chicago politicians. Not to worry though, Governor Blagojevich used the old Jim Edgar trick and ran thousands of negative ads against his opponent and really never was behind in the race. Judy Barr Topinka never really got her campaign up and running. She was beat from the get go.

In talking to lots of people since the election I have been trying to get a handle on what really happened. One farmer from Wayne County, a Republican told me that if Rod Blagojevich and Judy Barr Topinka were both put in a sack he would not stick his hand in that sack. Another life long Democrat state employee from Springfield told me that he never thought he would see the day that he was depressed to have a Democrat Governor. Then a couple of Republican precinct committeemen explained that for their party to ever make a come back and truly clean up things they had to get rid of Topinka as they felt she was the last of the George Ryan crew and that nothing could be rebuilt until all of those folks were either in jail or defeated. The Democratic committeemen that I talked to are cautiously optimistic that Chicago will not completely dominate Illinois.

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has been saying for several months now that Illinois has more bills to pay and more debt to overcome than any of the other 49 states in this nation. Attorney General Lisa Madigan has been saying that the Governor’s office must release documents to the public that they do not want to release. Eight not for profit good government groups last week banded together and formally asked Governor Blagojevich to halt all fund raising for his campaign fund until meaningful ethics reforms are passed. Both Hynes and Madigan already refuse to accept campaign cash from those who also do business with the State of Illinois. I doubt that we are in for a smooth ride.

To cover what I learned though took a call to a local attorney who is well versed in election law. I was under the mistaken impression that Governor Blagojevich could not serve more than eight years. I thought the 1970 Constitution limited the Governor to two terms. I knew that Jim Thompson served more but I thought that was during the time the new Constitution was just starting. Thompson served one two year term and three four year terms. Jim Edgar served eight years and George Ryan served 4 years. It is ironic that Ryan was sentenced to more time in the federal pokey than he served as Governor.

Republicans and disgruntled Democrats might as well get over the possibility that the present Governor might be in some sort of legal trouble. That is no way to govern and to think someone else, the U S Attorney, is going to do your work for you is a huge mistake. We must have individual elected public servants who will speak up for those of us here in Middle America, those who are paying the bills. We need to adopt a pay as we go plan for our State. To keep piling on huge amounts of dept just so politicians can pass out cash for every cause that comes along is going to eventually sink this State. During the last four years we have seen the farm given away and during the next four years we will see the bills coming due. Already we are being told that all new revenue coming in is going to have to go to pay debts that we already owe. None of this new money will be available to pay for any of the new programs that have been created. Folks we are in a tight spot and it will take everyone pulling together to keep us afloat.

Nationally Republicans took an old fashioned thrashing at the ballot box. They were literally taken to the woodshed by the voters. They had it coming and could not see the forest for the trees. When they took over a few years ago they came riding in on white horses among Democrats reeling from scandals and such. They completely shut the Democrats out and since then have refused to even allow Democrats to take part in our government. The same thing happened here in Illinois once Republicans took the Governor’s office and both the Senate and the House. I had the privilege to serve in the Senate under the Republican regime and to say we were cut out of the process is an understatement.

It is my hope and prayer that Democrats nationally and in this State understand that what just happened to the Republicans can also happen to them if they do not open up dialog and allow everyone to participate in the process known as governing. I know the revenge thing is out there and I fully understand that. New Democratic Senators and Representatives on the national level are a pretty conservative lot, most of them opposed to gun control, they are pro life, and make up main stream America. They are not left thinking people. Hopefully they can band together and represent us well. If they cannot get the Democratic leadership back to the middle of the road and representing their old base, they will eventually self destruct just like the Republicans just did.

Boy Scouts will be collecting canned goods for Christmas distribution this Saturday. They have left plastic bags on door handles in Sesser and other communities. This is a very good program and one worthy of our participation. Please have your bags of food on your front porch by 9:00 am.

Make plans to attend the huge book signing party this Sunday at the Sesser Opera House. The event will start promptly at 1:00 pm and will feature author Gary Moore. Gary’s father, Gene, who was born and raised in Sesser and played professional baseball is the subject of the book. It is a great book and has a lot of Sesser history in it. The author has also agreed to donate $5.00 from each book sold in Sesser to the Little League group in Sesser-Valier. We hope to see you there and this will be the official kick off promotion to get Oprah to come to Sesser. Excitement is building and folks are already starting to write letters to Oprah inviting her to our town. It should be interesting to say the least!

If you need us give us a call at 625-5322 or 625-3611 or write to nedmitchell@verizon.net  or www.sesser.org  or P. O. Box 517, Sesser, Illinois 62882.