The Future of Illinois

Isn't it ironic how Illinois was the Land of Lincoln and the home of Ronald Reagan, yet in 2009, the conservative movement is flailing like a fish out of water here in the heartland of America?

Illinois is a very large state with a diverse culture. However, when most people think about Illinois, the think about Chicago and Cook County; the birthplace of political corruption, dating back to the early part of the 20th century. Just in my life, Illinois politics has been tainted by the likes of Dan Walker, George Ryan, Dan Rostenkowski and Rod Blagojevich. Frankly, I am not confident about the integrity of Jim Thompson either. These politicians have muddied the image of our fine state and tattooed their crossbones on the minds of people the world over.

What do they all have in common? They are all Chicago or Cook County politicians. They care only about lining their pockets. Most of our neighbors in Illinois have common sense, conservative beliefs. From the farmers in the southern part of our state who work tirelessly to keep their family farms a going concern, to the small business owners in the counties throughout the state who just want to see a dream come true. Yet, our political direction is dictated by a few greedy, corrupt people who hold their constituents hostage for their vote or buy them with promises of a better life. All they have to do is vote Cook County Democrat and the state will take care of them.

We witnessed the latest Cook County politician to join the list of "all about me" politicians with Mark Kirk's announcement that he would run for senate in 2010. So our early choice is Mark Kirk, representing the Republicans or Alexi Giannoulias on the Democratic ticket. Once again, two Cook County politicians, two liberals and two more people to cause the people of Illinois to lose faith in the future of Illinois.

Mark Kirk has been a strong supporter of the Democratic party - which makes up most of his constituency. His most recent display was his vote for Cap and Trade - one of 7 Republicans to vote for this, the highest energy tax ever to be levied on the American people. Alexi Giannoulias comes from a family of bankers who have as questionable a past as Al Capone.

Unfortunately, these will be our likely choices - unless some down-to-earth, every man (or woman) from downstate decides to take a bold and brave move to launch a campaign for the sake of the rest of us in Illinois.

I cannot guess if this yet unknown person will take the plunge, but everyone in this state must make their dissatisfaction known early and often to the Kirk campaign. Mark Kirk must remove himself from this race and make room for someone who cares less about how many Ben Franklin's he can line his pocket with and more about how many Lincoln loyalists he can line his campaign with.