The ballot for the upcoming March 20, 2012 primary is available. This blog post is intended to provide some information about the candidates along with some commentary and endorsements from yours truly.
In this primary election, we will be selecting the Republican candidates for:
- US President and Presidential Delegates
- US House of Representatives
- Illinois General Assembly
- Will County Circuit Clerk
- Will County Recorder of Deeds
- Will County States Attorney
- Will County Auditor
- Will County Chief Executive Officer
- Will County Board
Additionally a proposition is on the ballot to allow the Village of Mokena the authority to arrange for a different supplier of electricity.
Candidates for U.S. President:
There are six names on the ballot, but only four of the six are still in the race (as of today, we'll see after the Super Tuesday elections on March 6th). The remaining candidates are: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Out of these, my personal favorite remains Mr. Gingrich, mainly for his willingness to stand and fight the left. My safe second choice though remains Mr. Romney, whom I believe would make a good President because of his managerial skills. However, I could live with any of them, even Ron Paul, because his foreign policy is roughly equivalent to the one in office now, so there would be no change to that facet of the office if he was elected. There are three delegates for each of these four candidates on the ballot. It makes sense if you select one of the candidates you would also select their assigned delegates.
Candidates for U.S. House - 1st District:
Three candidates are running in the newly redistricted 1st District. Bobby Rush (Democrat, former Black Panther and unrepentant domestic terrorist) currently holds the seat. The three candidates are:
Frederick Collins, Donald E. Peloquin and Jimmy Lee Tillman, II. Tillman is the son of wide-brimmed-hat-wearing and pistol-waving Dorothy Tillman, the controversial and racist former Chicago Alderperson. So barring his certain entertainment value should he win, Tillman's candidacy should be a non-starter for most 13th Precinct Republicans. Mr. Collins, a Chicago Police Officer, has the endorsement of the Will County TEA Party Alliance, the Illinois Center Right Coalition, Young Conservatives of America and others. His website contains several thoughtful and informed positions on the issues, his only drawback being he resides in Chicago (he has to for his employment). Mr. Peloquin, the current Mayor of Blue Island, is endorsed by the Chicago Tribune (it is debatable if that is a good thing). His positions on "infrastructure" spending puts him in the same league as Cong. Lipinski on Chicago's south side, and even President Obama, making one wonder if he really would be a good representative for Will County, since he is a long time Cook County politician.
Illinois General Assembly:
Renee Kosel is running unopposed in the Primary for the 37th General Assembly District. She has been a consistent conservative vote in the General Assembly and represents her constituents well.
Will County Circuit Clerk:
Marlene Carlson is running unopposed in the March 20th primary. She is an excellent candidate for this position and will bring modernity to the circuit court information systems if elected.
Will County Recorder of Deeds:
Laurie McPhillips is running unopposed in the March 20th primary. Having previously held the office between 2004 and 2008, she was able to make substantial strides toward modernizing the Recorder of Deeds office, including updating a 14 year old computer system into a state of the art system.
Will County States Attorney:
Dave Carlson is running unopposed in the March 20th primary. Mr. Carlson is a partner at Carlson, Zelazo & O'Dekirk, LLC, a Joliet law firm. Mr. Carlson was an assistant prosecutor in the Will County State's Attorney's Office. If elected in November, he promises to immediately launch three major initiatives: Assisting veterans who are either victims of crime or who run afoul of the law; combating Will County's growing heroin problem; and bringing a new perspective to the battle against domestic violence.
Will County Auditor:
Mark Batinick is running unopposed in the March 20th primary.
Will County Coroner:
Charles Lyons is running unopposed in the March 20th primary. A passionate speaker, who starts his speeches with "I'm the last person anyone wants to see," Mr. Lyons wants to return hard work, ethics and professionalism to the Coroner's office. He points to the Drew Peterson fiasco as a prime example of why change is needed in the Will County Coroners office.
Will County Chief Executive Officer:
Cory Singer is running unopposed in the March 20th primary. Mr. Singer has a wide range of government experience as a Will County Board Member, Will County Forest Preserve District member and chief of staff to U.S. Congressman Jerry Weller.
Will County Board:
Four names are on the 13th Precinct ballot for the Will County Board 12th District. They are: Margo McDermed, Tom Weigel, Raymond Tuminello and Chris Kosel. Ms. McDermed is the only candidate for Will County Board that is a resident of Mokena on either the Republican or Democrat side. She has the endorsement of the Frankfort Township Republican Organization and she deserves your vote. The remaining three persons all reside in New Lenox. Of these remaining three, Tom Weigel is a long time and hard working member of the Will County Board and would be a good choice for your second vote.
Mokena Electricity Proposition:
This proposition informs the Village Board if Mokena residents wish to have the Village seek proposals from alternative power suppliers on behalf of Mokena residents and businesses. Other communities that have adopted these types of arrangements have seen their electricity bills reduced. This proposition is a pretty good idea and should be passed. For more information, please visit the Mokena web page set up to discuss the proposition.
