Tribune slams Joan Murphy and Deborah Sims but endorsed Liz Gorman for the Cook County Board

Tribune slams Joan Patricia Murphy and Deborah Sims, but endorsed Liz Gorman for the Cook County Board

5th District (South Side, south suburbs): Incumbent Deborah Sims has a disastrous pro-tax, anti-jobs agenda, but Democrats in her economically distressed district renominated her over a far superior candidate. Her opponent on the Republican ticket is Miriam Shabo. No endorsement.

6th District (south suburbs): Time and again, incumbent Democrat Joan Patricia Murphy has cast votes that punished taxpayers and employers in her district. We've noted before that Murphy is fiercely dedicated to three things: obeying Stroger, kowtowing to big labor and raising taxes: In 2009, Murphy, like Sims, even voted against a sales tax rollback that she had co-sponsored. Republicans offer a much better option in small-businesswoman Sandra Czyznikiewicz, whose reform votes on the board could begin to undo the damage Murphy has wrought on her constituents. The Tribune endorses Czyznikiewicz, who wants to immediately repeal the remaining half of the Stroger sales tax increase — and who is determined to cut the county's bloated spending.

17th District (southwest, west and northwest suburbs): We could fill the page detailing the to-and-fro in this hard-fought race. WFLD-TV outed Democrat challenger Patrick Maher for not coming clean in candidate questionnaires about his arrest for severely beating a fellow student in his days at Illinois State University. GOP incumbent Elizabeth Doody Gorman faces questions — but not charges — about a transfer of money claimed by Chrysler Financial Services to the Orland Township Republican Organization. We can't begin to adjudicate all of the competing and complex accusations in this race. But we do suggest that voters look past the dispiriting volley to focus on this: Gorman aggressively co-led the fight to roll back Stroger's sales tax hike, and she has a solid record of working to reduce county spending and streamline this government. The Tribune endorses Gorman.

Local Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to be featured on "The Ray Hanania Show"radio

Local Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to be featured on Chicagoland radio

Elmhurst, Il – Soldiers from the Chicagoland land area serving in Afghanistan and Iraq will speak to the Chicagoland audiences about their experiences in a new segment to be broadcast on “The Ray Hanania Show” on WJJG AM 1530 radio called “Voices of our Soldiers.”

The new segment is being coordinated with the U.S. Military command in Kabul, Afghanistan and in Baghdad, Iraq.

The first interview will be with Sgt. Joshua Hall, whose mother is from Yorkville and fiancée lives in Batavia, Illinois. The segment will be broadcast live from Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 at 9 am Chicago time (6:30 pm Afghanistan).

Hall is a member of the US Army infantry fighting the terrorists, al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The public is invited to call in and show support for the troops by calling 708-493-1530 during the segment.

“This is an exciting segment for the show. As a veteran who served during the Vietnam War, I am very proud of our military who have served to protect this country from terrorism and extremist violence,” said show host Ray Hanania.

Hanania, a former City Hall reporter (77-92) and radio talk show host at WLS AM, launched the WJJG radio show in February 2008. The program focuses on listener talk and interviews with people in the news.

The program is broadcast Monday through Friday, Mon-Thurs 8-9:30 am and Fri 7 to 9 am. On Fridays, Hanania simulcasts a show between 7 and 8 am with WNZK in Detroit, Michigan focusing on American Arab issues. Hanania is American Palestinian. His co-host in Detroit is Laila elHussini who is American Syrian.

The audience can listen to the show on radio and also live on the Internet every morning. The show also broadcasts in live video, too, at www.RadioChicagoland.com. WJJG AM 1530 broadcasts primarily to the Northern Illinois region and is a daytime FCC licensed station. The signal can be picked up as far south as Orland Park, Illinois and to the Wisconsin and Iowa borders.

Hanania is an award winning syndicated columnist on mainstream American and Middle East issues. His columns are published in local community newspapers and his Middle East column is published in the Jerusalem Post and distributed by Creators Syndicate.

END

At least State Rep. Kevin McCarthy knows how to campaign

At least State Rep. Kevin McCarthy knows how to campaign

State Rep. Kevin McCarthy ventured from his office, one house away from me, to stop by and say hi. He's walking the precincts, which is a good thing to do these days. Not take the election for granted.

McCarthy's challenger, Jeffrey Junkas, hasn't been around at all and the one conversation I had with was uncomfortable as he has somewhat extremist conservative views. 

I wasn't home when McCarthy came by but my wife and son said he was the epitome of respect. He acknowledged he has to get out there more and work harder to reach voters with his message. And he was respectful, which means he understands the role of columnists. I don't expect friendship but I do expect elected officials to talk to the voters.

I didn't like McCarthy's mailers

, though I know he is a good person

. They were below him. The one slamming Junkas was not worth the time or money to print, the usual strategy of a PR consultant with no real experience. Why slam Junkas when you can tell voters what you stand for? And be specific. Tell your media people to work a little harder at representing what you really stand for in the mailers. Don't waste my time with a generic mailer with pictures of seniors on it, especially one with a black eye. It was offensive. And had it not come in the mail, I might not have wailed on McCarthy's campaign.

There's no doubt in my mind that McCarthy is going to win. Junkas doesn't have the money. He has an abrasive personality. And he has helped to split the Republican party with his internal squabbles. I happen to like Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman, the Republican incumbent. She's a good representative. And she's stood up for the right causes. Maybe Junkas should look around at who is around him and make some new decisions if he really wants to be a contender.

And just because you are going to win, Rep. McCarthy, doesn't mean you should take the voters for granted. Mail out some good literature. Tell the public what you stand for. Speak from the heart, not from the talents of some over-politicized political consultant.

I want to see a mailer who tells the people who McCarthy is, followed by one that tells the voters what he plans to do and why.

That would impress me.

Working hard to earn voter support, even if you have a cake walk, is a good way to show the voters you care.

-- Ray Hanania

www.RadioChicagoland.com

Maher loses firefighter's backing in county race against Gorman

Local Firefighters Union Backs Off Endorsement

(Orland Park, Illinois) – Support for 17th District Cook County Commissioner Democrat nominee Patrick Maher continues to melt away in the wake of news reports documenting Maher’s misstatements about both his academic and criminal records and his attempts to conceal his criminal past. (Reports from Fox News Chicago, the Southtown Star, and the Daily Herald). The latest group to walk away from Maher is the local firefighters union that (through their PAC) had planned to endorse Maher, who currently serves as the Board Chairman for the Orland Fire Protection District. After initially recommending an endorsement of Maher, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2754, per a vote by their executive board, has decided against endorsing Maher and instead will remain neutral in the race for 17th District Cook County Commissioner. “Given the information that has come out about Mr. Maher’s problems telling the truth, the union clearly did the right thing by rethinking their endorsement and deciding to stay neutral and showed political courage in doing so,” said Cook County GOP Chairman Lee Roupas.  “Working families in the 17th District have a friend in Commissioner Liz Gorman,” Roupas added.   “She has a strong record on the County Board of fighting for working families and opposing the pervasive fraud and mismanagement institutionalized by the Democrat Machine.” ###

Junkas targets Republicans in issues mailer

Junkas targets Republicans in issues mailer

Unlike his counterpart on the Democratic ticket State Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican challenger Jeff Junkas is focusing on the issues.

McCarthy's first mailer was an attack piece against Junkas. His second mailer was a generic worthless full color piece of literature that showed McCarthy in a generic do-nothing photo sitting with three little old ladies with white hair. He was talking generally about senior care. Both were mailed to Republicans and Democrats in the district, an expensive proposition, for sure.

Yea, like no one supports seniors, jobs and education. What do you stand for McCarthy and what are the initiatives you will pursue if re-elected?

No answer.

But at least Junkas, in his limited mailer to Republican voters (not Democrats), Junkas addressed specific issues and ideas. And I like them.

He says he's going to turn Springfield upside down. If he does that, Springfield would be rightside up, which would be an improvement for sure.

But he lists five good ideas in his piece: 10 percent pay cut for ALL state elected officials, and term limits; sell the state's fleet of luxury airplanes and helicopters and sell all non-emergency vehicles; conduct a forensic audit of state spending to identify areas of waste, fraud and mismanagement; property tax reform that tales politics and corruption out of the system; and cut bureaucratic red-tape that over-regulates employers and costs Illinois jobs.

I like the first three but the last two are generic too, but at least he has three good ideas.

McCarthy and Junkas are facing-off in the 38th House District November 2. Orland Park is the heart of the district.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Two garbage mailers from State Rep. Kevin McCarthy, one slamming his opponent, the other, makes no sense

Two garbage mailers from State Rep. Kevin McCarthy, one slamming his opponent, the other, makes no sense

I got two mailers this week from State Rep. Kevin McCarthy. His office is a stone's throw away from my house -- not to give his staff any ideas. Although reading his brochures, maybe I should check my insurance for vandalism, just in case.

McCarthy's mailers represent the kind of low-class garbage that a legislator who has done nothing in office usually relies on to pull the wool over the voters'eyes.

They usually begin with a personal attack against the opponent. Then they are followed by a mailer that promotes the legislator in some obscure, generic way.

McCarthy's first mailer slams his Republican challenger Jeffrey Junkas. It claims that Junkas can't be trusted to protect consumers because, well, it says he was a spokesman for a credit reporting agency.

That's you criticism of Junkas? The guy has more ideas than you've introduced in the legislature during your entire career.

Then McCarthy sent out a mailer showing him talking to three old ladies with white hair about "elder abuse." He fought to pass "new reforms" to protect nursing home residents. Well, that's not really true, but who cares, right? The picture shows McCarthy talking to three white haired old ladies. We have no idea what they are talking about and one could argue that maybe McCarthy belongs in a nursing home himself. I mean if you are going to do very little as a legislator, that makes you basically paid to be retired.

The other side of the brochure is truly disgusting. It has a closeup up of an elderly woman with a black eye. The picture is so offensive it prompted me to write this blog post. Normally I don't waste my time on do-nothing legislators. But the picture was truly offensive.

The odds are favorable to McCarthy to be re-elected. He is the incumbent. He's never done anything so he's never involved in any controversies. There are a lot of Southwest Side and suburban legislators who do nothing and rely on doing nothing to keep them out of the news. Why take a chance that a good idea might backfire.

And then at election time, they tell you about all the things they have done to protect you. They never talk about how under their leadership, Illinois has become one of the worst state's in the country, a state noted mainly for its culture of corruption -- and they can't blame that on former Gov. Rod Blagojevich because Illinois' culture of corruption has been in place for more than two decades.

But the real reasons McCarthy is going to win includes: a - voters are stupid and don't care about anything except complaining. b - Junkas' main talent is not winning support but making enemies, including in his own Republican Party.

So no wonder we voters don't waste our time.

It's a flip of a coin that bounces on the ground and then rolls into a gutter.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Online shopping -- for a snow blower: Lowes, Sears, Ace Hardware, Menards, Home Depot?

This is the first time I've actually decided to shop online for something major like a snow blower. In fact, this is the first time I have purchased a snow blower in 25 years. The little Toro snow blower has done well but despite one attempted repair for the "slider" at the bottom of the blower, it's pretty much disabled.

So a snow blower I need.

Usually, as a man, I love to walk around Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, Sears and Ace Hardware just looking. Browsing through the screws ad nuts section is a blast. I love looking at tools. And I especially like the garden sections. It's a toy store for men. I don't have to buy anything but I always find something I need for the house.

Last week, I found water proof sealant for the concrete driveway to help keep the water from seeping in to the cement, freezing and cracking it more than it is. (You have to do it every Fall to make it effective but three drums of sealant cost over $200. Not everyone, especially in the economy the past decade could spend $200 on concrete sealant when they are struggling to pay for food or outrageous state taxes, local property taxes and extreme utility fees.) Not all the stores had the sealant. And the prices varied significantly. It was cheaper at Lowes than it was at Home Depot.

But this time, I figured we're talking about a very expensive item. A decent snow blower costs about $499. 208 cc. Hand starter -- the idea of an electric starter sounds good but it's not always convenient when you are stepping through two feet of very cold snow. Fuel of mixed gasoline and oil is horrible. I never get the mix right. I just want a straight gas engine.

So I checked online to see which store had the best.

I went to each web site. Sears.com. Menards.com. Lowes.com. Acehardware.com. HomeDepot.com.

Each one offered a place to type in to search for what you want. They all worked, except Menards. I typed in snow blower and got flowers and junk. It doesn't work very well.

They claim you Save more money at Menards. But you don't save time when you can't find anything on their web site.

Sears is old faithful. But they were higher priced. Home Depot offered a snow blower for $499 that was 208 cc while Sears offered almost the same one but 179 cc for the same price.

Chicago winters are terrible, especially in the suburbs where there often are fewer trees to prevent the snow from blowing around. The villages often do a poor job of clearing the streets and when they do, its usually while you are at work and when you come home there is a wall of pushed snow blocking your driveways. (If they did it overnight, when I get up to snow plow the driveway, I can clear the end of the driveway and it's great.)

Lowes offered a good web site but they had so little options in stock.

So, it is off to Home Depot.

Of course, now I have to make sure they have it. Maybe I'll go to Will County instead of the one near my house. Why should I pay that high sales tax that outgoing County Board President Todd Stroger shoved down our throats so he could have a good balanced budget to help him in the election. He did have a great budget, but the sales tax killed his political future. Good riddance to politicians who always rely on taxation rather than on good leadership to deal with their problems.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com