INFO for VOTING ~ ILLINOIS[Attachment(s) from JimB included below]

Hi all, the Primary is coming up Tues. Feb. 2 and this is for those of you who intend to vote in the Republican Primary, and is only based of how those candidates who were in the General Assembly or Congress voted on smoker persecution bills. We smoke and we vote, so if they dumped on us, we should dump on them when they run for office again. Bold type means recommended candidates.

GOVERNOR:

Bill Brady, as state senator, voted against the smoking ban and the cigarette tax increase.

Kirk Dillard, as state senator, voted for the smoking ban and against the cig tax increase.

The other candidates never held office before so they don't have voting records.

Lt. Governor:

Republican Primary for Lt. Governor--- Brad Cole, as Carbondale mayor, cast the deciding vote in their smoking ban issue against the ban and kept the town free. That's who I'm voting for today and I hope you all do the same.

Matt Murphy, as state senator, voted for the smoking ban and against the cig tax increase. The rest have never held a state office.

U.S. Senator:

Rep. Mark Kirk voted for the SCHIP tobacco tax increase and for was cosponsor for FDA regulation of tobacco. The rest have no voting records.

GOP candidates for Treasurer, Secretary of State, and Attorney General are all running unopposed.

Comptroller:

Judy Barr Topinka is a smoker and proud of it. When she ran for governor against Blagojevich 4 years ago, she said she was opposed to anti-smoking laws.

Congressional Districts:

Dist. 11--- No voting records. The two front runners are Henry Meers and Adam Kinzinger. I had a long talk with Henry and I can tell you he is totally opposed to any anti-smoking laws. I'm still waiting for Adam to call me back and tell me how he stands, but I already know that Henry will make a far better congressman.

Dist. 14--- Randy Hultgren, as IL senator, voted for the statewide ban and against the cig tax increase.

Dist. 19--- John Shimkis (incumbent) voted against the SCHIP tax

The rest of the congressional candidates are either running unopposed or have no voting records.

I don't have a list for state reps and senators. The only list I have is http://politics1.com/il.htm If anybody knows of a better one, let me know.

If you're getting this by e-mail, I attached 4 files. House (Congress) SCHIP votes, IL House votes for HB246 (smoking ban), IL Senate votes for SB500 (smoking ban), and IL Senates votes for SB044 (cig tax).

Jay, if you get a chance, please put them in the group files section for further reference.

That way you can quickly check on your IL Rep and Senatorial candidates' votes without having to search www.ilga.gov

If anybody has any more tobacco issue info on the candidates, please post it here.

OK, here's the lowdown on the Democratic Primary candidates:

Governor:

There's only two running. Pat Quinn has suggested a cig tax increase. Dan Hynes has no voting record.

Lt. Governor:

Mike Boland, as state rep, voted against the smoking ban. Terry Link and Ricky Henden, as IL senators, are major antis and have voted to persecute smokers every time they had a chance. Art Turner is now an IL senator, but as a state rep, he voted against the ban, but was a cosponsor to the cig tax increase.

Comptroller:

David Miller, as state rep, voted for the ban. The rest have no voting records.

Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and US Senator are running unopposed or have no voting records.

Congress:

Dist 1--- Bobby Rush (incumbent) voted yes to SCHIP.

Dist 7--- Danny Davis (incumbent) voted yes to SCHIP

Dist10--- Julie Hamos, as state rep, voted for the statewide ban.

That's it for the Dems. Only Mike Boland gets recommended.

Don't forget to vote!!

Jim

And be sure you get out and VOTE!!

Jim Blog