RNC Jockeying Raises Question: Who's the Best GOP Nominee for Illinois Governor?

More than a half-dozen gubernatorial wannabes work the room at the Republican National Convention this week. Who would you like to see make a run for governor?

While the main events at the Republican National Convention centered around Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, a subtle undercard was the jockeying of would-be GOP candidates for Illinois governor, the Chicago Tribune reports. State Treasurer Dan Rutherford was "highly visible" at the RNC in Tampa, according to the Tribune article by Rick Pearson. Rutherford heads up the Romney campaign in Illinois. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale, who finished a close second to Bloomington's Bill Brady in the 2010 primary race for governor, has been a prominent face, as well. Dillard wasn't a delegate, but he made the trip to Tampa, just the same. Other gubernatorial wannabes mentioned in the Tribune article include U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria, state Sen. Christine…

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Chris Lauzen Endorsed by DuPage Board Chair Dan Cronin

State Sen. Chris Lauzen's campaign for Kane County Board chairman announces the endorsement of Dan Cronin, the DuPage County Board chairman.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen announced Friday, March 2, the endorsement of DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin for Lauzen's run for Republican nominee for Kane County Board chairman. Former state Sen. Cronin and Lauzen served together in Springfield for nearly 18 years prior to Cronin’s 2010 election to DuPage County Board chairman. “I worked with Sen. Lauzen in Springfield, and I know he is smart and tough. He has worked tirelessly for families, small businesses and taxpayers. Please vote for Chris Lauzen in the March primary election,” Cronin said. Lauzen cited the DuPage County Board chairman’s similar professional and political preparation for County Board chairman responsibilities. “Dan and I literally sat next to each other in the …

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Sandy Kaczmarski

11:44 am on Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Exactly.   more ›

Letter to the Editor: How Did Burns/Lauzen Race Get to Be So Nasty?

Journalism major and Geneva Patch contributor Tara Knott asks why a primary race between two nice guys had to get so low.

To the Editor: Hi, boss! I know I’m completely unqualified to write this letter to you, but I’ve been monitoring this Kane County Board chairman race all the way from Nashville, and I have a question for you. In the interest of full disclosure for readers who don’t know, I’m a journalism major at Belmont University in Nashville, TN, but I grew up in Geneva, and I honed my reporting skills interviewing both of the candidates in this race. During my senior year at Geneva High School, I was a student correspondent at The Beacon News (also under your supervision, Rick, though I’m sure I wasn’t on your radar screen then!) For one of my first articles, I covered a city meeting where state Sen. Lauzen spoke against opening a controversial …

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Letter to the Editor: Fitzgerald Endorses Lauzen

Former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald writes to endorse Chris Lauzen as the GOP nomination for Kane County Board chairman.

Dear Editor, Illinois state Sen. Chris Lauzen is running for Kane County Board chairman. His credentials as fiscal conservative, pro-life, pro-Constitution including Second Amendment rights, and pro-traditional family are impeccable. Sen. Lauzen has served the people of Kane County with distinction for 19 years. We first served together in 1993, as two of the “Fab Five” freshman state senators who came from various business backgrounds and demonstrated independent thinking. We successfully co-sponsored Truth-in-Pensions that took three years to pass both chambers of the legislature and Truth-in-Budgets that took five years to pass before Gov. Jim Edgar signed it into law. Sen. Lauzen has built a solid reputation, on both sides of the …

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Moms POLL: Which GOP Presidential Candidate Would You Choose?

This is a question for moms only.

Maybe you saw the ABC News GOP primary debate last week with moderators Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos. And after you got past the $10,000 bet and the "Newt Romney" sound bites (or perhaps because of them), maybe you started to get a feeling about which candidate might best represent the Grand Old Party come November. We'd like to know what you think—as a woman, as a mom, as an informed voter who cares about the direction of the country. This is Moms Talk, and so we are asking that this conversation really be based on a mom's point of view. What we're saying is, sorry, but if you're male, please don't comment. We can't stop guys from voting (although that would be an interesting amendment to the Constitution), but we hope you have …

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Letter to the Editor

Chris Lauzen: Glad to See Burns Has Found Fiscal Religion

Letter to the Editor: GOP Kane County Board chair candidate Chris Lauzen responds to opponent Kevin Burns' letter.

To the Editor: In the spirit of my campaign’s Code of Conduct, I am responding to this press release only because I have been asked direct questions by the press. Basically, three points are addressed in Kevin Burns' statements:  1. Board Member Jim Mitchell is proposing an increase in revenue and spending on county operations ... This is not true. Most elected officeholders who are familiar with budget processes already know that (a) the operations portion is only one part of a total budget; (b) the committee proposal is merely a preliminary step in the process; (c) it represents the thought of the entire committee and not one individual opinion’s; and most importantly, (d) despite an approximate $480,000 increased expense for the 2012 …

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