Fundraiser to support Circuit Court Judge Jorge Ortiz

Dec. 1
Fundraiser to support Circuit Court Judge Jorge Ortiz
5:30-8 pm
The Country Squire
9133 E Belvidere Rd, Grayslake
$100 per person
RSVP to info@judgeortiz.com

It’s a Party!

Join us on October 26th at Austin’s (481 Peterson Road, Libertyville) from 7-9 pm to celebrate the historic election of our new President, Lauren Fleming, and the successes of our past-President, Collin Corbett!

GOP hopefuls court local faithful

From: Pioneer Press
August 13, 2009

By DAVID CONARD dconard@pioneerlocal.com  

 

 

Competition for the 2010 Republican Illinois gubernatorial nomination, like the 90-degree weather, was hot at a Young Republicans barbecue at Citizens Park in Barrington Saturday.

“If you think this is hot, this is nothing like what we’re going to put the Democrats through in the general election (in 2010),” state Sen. Bill Brady, R-44th, told the crowd.

The event, organized by the Lake, McHenry, DuPage, and Kane County Young Republicans, attracted about 200 people.

Brady, along with Hinsdale resident Adam Andrzejewski, Wheaton resident Dan Proft and DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, are all declared candidates for the Republican gubernatorial primary and spoke to the crowd.

All the candidates said the indictment of former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the difficulty the General Assembly had in passing a budget until mid-July gives the Republicans an opportunity to recapture state offices.

“I think there is a great opportunity for the pendulum to swing back,” Proft said. “The opportunity is there for a revolt against the Democratic central planners.”

Asked if they thought voters would remember former Republican Gov. George Ryan, convicted in 2006 on federal corruption charges, the candidates seemed to think either their anti-Ryan credentials or their new ideas would overcome that stigma.

“We need to prove in our party that we are clean conservatives,” Andrzejewski said. “The patronage wing of my party needs to marry the reform wing of our party or we will continue to lose statewide elections by landslides.”

“I think I’m the only one, Democrat or Republican, who stood up to George Ryan,” Brady said.

Brady said he had voted against Ryan’s Illinois First legislation as a state representative in 1999.

Schillerstrom said his 11 years experience as DuPage County board chairman has proven he can say no to wasteful programs, and corrupt policies wouldn’t continue if he’s elected governor.

“Not if I’m elected governor,” Schillerstrom said. “It has to be somebody from outside of Springfield.”

“It’s not simply not going to change as a Republican governor, it’s going to change with Dan Proft as governor,” Proft said. “A lot of my colleagues are content to go along to get along. They had their chance to exercise leadership in Springfield, and they have chosen not to do that.”

All the candidates said they were against the 2009-10 state budget passed in July. Brady said he had voted against the budget in the Senate.

All candidates were also against Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed income tax hike, saying they would seek to cut the budget to balance it.

Proft, Brady, and Schillerstrom said they’d seek to move more Medicaid patients to a managed care system, which they said would provide better care and reduce costs.

All three also want to move newly hired state employees to a state pension system similar to a 401(k) plan, where employees get state contributions but not a guaranteed pension.

If elected, Andrzejewski said he would institute a forensic audit of state expenditures, which he believes would show about $3 billion to $5 billion in redundant or wasteful spending in the state budget.

Andrzejewski also said he would eliminate the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which he said would save the state about $850 million. He would also seek to require state employees to pay more for health insurance, which he said would save $200 million.

Proft said he would seek to sell the state lottery because he doesn’t believe the state should be in the business of gambling, and he said that would help raise money to cover the budget after January.

Brady said the state must “live within our means.” He said the $2.5 billion dollar state budget deficit represented less than 5 percent of total state spending.

The barbecue was organized to help unite the party, according to Lake County Young Republicans President Collin Corbett.

“Different (organization) presidents started talking about getting everyone together,” Corbett said. “One of the major problems we have is uniting together to fight a common foe.”

Corbett said the barbecue would help local residents know about the organization.

“Young Republicans are out there; We’re all over the place,” Corbett said.

Lake County Young Republicans Secretary Lauren Fleming said it was unfair to characterize the Republican Party because of George Ryan or former President George W. Bush.

“A lot of young people are post-Reagan era, so all they know as Republicans are George (W.) Bush and Dick Cheney,” Fleming said. “The fundamental beliefs about fiscal responsibility and transparency (are) what this country was founded on.”

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lakezurich/news/1713550,lake-zurich-gopbarbecue-081309-s1.article

Lake County Young Republicans Host Gubernatorial Candidate Adam Andrzejewski

From : Team America’s 10th District Blog

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

 

Andrzejewski, a social and fiscal conservative, is an earnest, presentable young candidate, although I would rather see him running and winning something like state senate first, rather than going for a top spot like governor, since he has never been elected to office before.

Andrzejewski responds that he believes that the voters in Illinois are looking for “leadership, not political experience.” Fair enough, and we’ll see if he’s right, but I think running for a senate spot and using that as a platform for higher office would have been a wiser political choice, if he’s serious about getting elected. I could very much see him in the mold of a Senator Matt Murphy or Dan Duffy – someone coming into this as a businessman, not a politician, and leveraging his self-made success in the business world as a fix for the state’s budget problems.

Andrzejewski believes that the first step to fixing Illinois government is “transparency” and has created a tag line of “Every Dime. Online. In Real Time.” It’s catchy. According to Andrzejewski’s research, even State Comptroller Dan Hynes can’t agree with other government offices about how many programs are funded out of state government and what those programs are. Andrzejewski’s main goal is to provide web access to virtually all government spending, which sounds ambitious, but he says is a lot easier than the entrenched politicians would have you believe, as borne out by experiences in cities like New Orleans. “We need basic data on government spending,” he contends, and we don’t have it, and pretty much can’t get it under the current systems in place.

Andrzejewski says the taxpayer in Illinois needs an “advocate,” and someone who knows how to support and encourage small business owners as the core of economic recovery. He says, “I’ve listened to small business owners and I’ve lived it,” referring to his creation of a very successful local yellow pages book that competed well with the big boys, and enabled him to retire young and pursue work in non-profits and eventually politics.

Andrzejewski realizes he’s up against long odds, but points out that he was the first candidate to declare officially, and that “if you can’t decide if you want to run for governor” (a thinly-veiled dig at potential candidate Joe Birkett), you have no business being in the race. He also points out his well-developed issues pages on his website, which contrast sharply with anything offered by State Senator Bill Brady, another guv candidate.

Lake County Young Republicans Off and Running

From : Team America’s 10th District Blog

It’s been a busy week, so we have some catching up to do. This past Tuesday, the four-month old Lake County Young Republicans group, led by Collin Corbett, adopted its constitution and became official. About 40 people attended the meeting at Lake County GOP Headquarters in Libertyville, which included not only local YR members, but also representatives of many State and Lake County Republican Groups.

Among the groups represented who came to express their support and enthusiasm for the new group were the Lake County Republican Central Committee (represented by TA’s alter-ego, LCRCC vice-chairman Larry Falbe), the Republican Assembly of Lake County (represented by RALC President Ray True), the Lake County Republican Federation (represented by Executive Director Ant Simonian), the DuPage County Young Republicans, the Will County Young Republicans, the Illinois Republican Party, and several other groups.

Among the other comments, I noted that the fact that many different Republican groups had come to support the fledgling new group was a great example of cooperation in a party that too often has been known for infighting and self-destructive behavior. Hopefully this is the beginning of a better spirit of pulling together than we have had in this party in years past.

The YR group has really hit Lake County by storm, including hosting a recent forum to discuss the impeachment proceedings against former Governor Rod Blagojevich. They will also be having a St. Patrick’s Day event at 6 p.m. at Cubby Bear North, 21661 Milwaukee Ave, Lincolnshire, IL.

The YRs also had nominations from the floor for officers, which will be held open for a few more days if anyone else is interested. You can get more information by e-mailing the group at lakecountyyrs@gmail.com, and you can also find them on Facebook.

Young GOPers to tackle county

From: PioneerLocal

Young GOPers to tackle county
January 26, 2009
By JOHN ROSZKOWSKI jroszkowski@pioneerlocal.com

A group of young Republicans is hoping to reinvigorate the local GOP and reverse the gains Democrats have made in Lake County in recent years.

After being dormant the last couple years, the Lake County Young Republicans is being resurrected by a group of young Republican activists headed by Collin Corbett of Wauconda.

Corbett, who turns 23 this week, and others decided to jump start the Lake County Young Republicans after Democrats won the White House, increased their majority in Congress and picked up seats at the state and county level.

“After reviewing the results of the election, we found that one of the deficiencies of our party was in reaching out to young people and getting fresh faces involved,” said Corbett. “So we decided to start up the Young Republicans to reach out to a lot of young people that were excited and wanted to get involved but didn’t have an outlet for that excitement.”

Corbett said the Lake County Young Republicans have been around for years but have been inactive for some time. He said the newly formed organization already has attracted about 80 members.

“As we continue to work to get more young leadership, we’re going to turn things around,” he said. “But it starts with being proud of what we stand for and showing a little backbone.”

Democratic President Barack Obama’s success in attracting young voters and volunteers to the political process has been attributed as a major reason for his victory last November. Corbett said Republicans must be inclusive and willing to reach out to new voters, while at the same time maintaining the core Republican Party principles of good government, fiscal responsibility and personal accountability.

“Rather than just saying Democrats are wrong, we need to provide solutions of our own because when voters are given a choice between a bad solution and no solution at all they’ll choose something over nothing every time,” he said.

The group held its first major event last week at Austin’s restaurant in Libertyville, which included a discussion of the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the future of the Illinois GOP. About 125 people attended the event which featured a number of area state legislators including state representatives Ed Sullivan, R-51st, of Mundelein; Sandy Cole, R-62nd, of Grayslake; Suzanne Bassi, R-54th, of Palatine; and state Sens. Dan Duffy, R-26th, of Lake Barrington and Matt Murphy, R-27th, of Palatine.

Julianna Johnson, communications director for the Lake County Young Republicans, said the group will host other events like these to get young people involved in the political process.

“My feeling is that by getting young people involved consistently, and not just during elections, it will really invigorate the Republican Party in Lake County,” she said.

Antonietta Simonian, executive director of the Lake County Republican Federation, said Lake County has had a Young Republicans chapter off and on dating back to the 1960s, but in the last couple years, the group has been inactive. She said typically the group reaches out to young people between the ages of 18 and 40.

Simonian said she is “thrilled” to see young Republicans getting involved in the political process and believes it’s critical to the party’s future success.

Lake County Young Republicans Sponsor Impeachment Forum to Packed House in Libertyville

From : Team America’s 10th District Blog

 

Impeachment of the Governor

From: 8th District GOP News

Lake Co. Young GOP back in action

From: Daily Herald

By Russell Lissau | Daily Herald Staff                                                             Published: 1/21/2009 4:10 PM

As more and more historically Republican areas of Lake County shift Democratic, a group of young activists are hoping to breathe life into the GOP.

Led by 22-year-old Wauconda resident Collin Corbett, they’ve come together to resurrect the Lake County Young Republicans.

A group with that name has existed but has been relatively inactive. Corbett, the new group’s president, decided to energize the Young Republicans after the November election.

“I sat down and looked at the election results and tried to determine why the Republican Party did so badly,” explained Corbett, who recently managed Long Grove business owner Steve Greenberg’s failed bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean in the 8th House District,

Corbett came to two conclusions: The GOP didn’t reach out beyond its traditional base to different segments of society, and it didn’t recruit young people.

“It is something that we’ve neglected for much too long,” he said.

The Young Republicans have a long history in the United States. Founded in New York in 1859, the group is the nation’s oldest political youth organization and has chapters throughout the country.

Other suburban chapters operate in Cook, DuPage and Kane counties. Members typically are between the ages of 18 and 40.

The Democratic Party has similar groups under the banner of the Young Democrats of America.

In just two months, Corbett said he’s been able to recruit more than 70 members for the Lake County chapter, far more than he anticipated. He believes the group is capturing some of the youthful excitement that contributed to Greenberg’s campaign and to the successful re-election effort of U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park.

The Young Republican group is responding to a growth in political activism by younger people, said Antonietta Simonian, executive director of the Lake County Republican Federation, the local party’s fundraising arm.

Many young voters came to the GOP office in Libertyville last year to volunteer during the election or to get campaign signs for Republican candidates, she said.

“I put a lot of young people to work,” Simonian said. “It was fun for them and it was fun for me.”

Tonight, the Young Republicans will host a discussion about the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the future of the party in Illinois.

Several GOP lawmakers are scheduled to attend, including state Rep. Ed Sullivan of Mundelein, state Rep. Sandy Cole of Grayslake and recently elected state Sen. Dan Duffy of Lake Barrington.

“It shows that our elected officials in and around Lake County are devoted to growing the party and recruiting young, fresh faces into the Republican Party,” Corbett said. “And it shows that we have real leadership … and tremendous potential to turn around our future in Lake County.”

The discussion is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Austin’s Saloon and Eatery, 481 Peterson Road. It’s free and open to the public.

Sullivan praised Corbett for giving the group – and the local GOP – new energy.

“I think the best way to rebuild the Republican Party is through new blood,” he said. “Collin has really taken the bull by the horns.”

The Lake County group is developing a Web site and a regular meeting schedule, Corbett said. Unlike many political organizations, membership is free.

“There is no reason to turn anyone away who wants to join,” Corbett said.

Lake County Young Republicans Land Local Pols for Hard-Hitting Impeachment Update

From : Team America’s 10th District Blog

 

A newly-rejuvenated Lake County Young Republicans group is starting off the new year with a bang, with an “Impeachment Update” planned for this coming Thursday, January 22nd, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Austin’s in Libertyville (just across the road from Lake County Republican Headquarters on Peterson Road).

To help explain the impeachment proceedings and their impact on the state, as well as how they will likely effect the future of the Republican Party in Illinois, the Lake County YR’s have assembled an impressive team of elected officials, including Senator Matt Murphy, Senator Dan Duffy, Representative Ed Sullivan, Representative Sandy Cole, Representative Suzie Bassi and others. You can download the YR press release here. The event is free, but the YRs ask that you RSVP.

For more information or to RSVP, contact the YRs at lakecountyyrs@gmail.com.

Hats off to the young’uns for putting this together, and let’s hope it’s a sign of some badly-needed new blood getting things going for the GOP.

« Previous Page