LP Illinois News - June 2008 #2
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered
On Monday, June 23rd the Libertarian Party of Illinois filed 3,484 petition forms with the State Board of Elections to get our candidates for U.S. President, Vice President, and Senate on the ballot. The number of signatures on those petitions is 49,562, on target with our 50,000 signature goal.
Our thanks to all who contributed to the success of our petition drive including our circulators, donors, coordinators, mentors, and committee members. We also very much appreciate the support we received from the national LP, including Chair, Bill Redpath; Political Director, Sean Haugh; Scott Kohlhaas; Robert Kraus; Austin Petersen; and Andrew Davis. Additional thanks to the Illinois team who worked long hours in Springfield checking, counting, organizing, copying, assembling, and delivering our filing: Debra Aaron, Chris Bennett, Evonne Bennett, Damon Dillon, Crystal Jurczynski, Kent McMillen, Larry Stafford, and Val Vetter. Special thanks to Andy Spiegel, who volunteered his time and election law expertise to ensure our filing was in legal order.
If you did not contribute to the drive, it's not too late. We continue to send checks to the national Libertarian Party, who hired and paid the 55 contractors who collected signatures for us. You can show your appreciation for all the hard work that went into our drive by giving through our website or by sending a check to: Libertarian Party of Illinois, P.O. Box 1605, Chicago, IL 60690-1605.
Staffing the Challenge
Opponents of liberty have 1 week to file objections to our petitions. If they do, we will need volunteers who can go for 1, 2, or more days to Springfield and defend our petitions. We believe the challenge, if it occurs, will happen during the weeks of July 7 and 14. No experience or expertise is required to be a defender of liberty, just a desire to keep our candidates on the ballot. Contact Crystal Jurczynski by emailing VLI@LPIllinois. org or calling 630-876-1935 for more info or to volunteer.
Campaign Update: Barr/Root08
Media coverage continues to ramp up with Bob Barr recently interviewing with the Washington Post, Fox News, Time Magazine, and NPR among others. To see rebroadcasts of many of the interviews, subscribe to Bob Barr's YouTube Channel, YouTube.com/ BobBarr2008.
Wayne Root has also getting the word out, having been a guest on many local and national programs since his nomination. Wayne tells us he expects to return to Illinois to do the Mancow radio show in the upcoming months. When we have more information, we'll let you know.
The first "Barr Money Bomb" is set for July 2. Please donate to the campaign that day if you can. If all of us contribute, we can not only raise big money for the campaign, but also gain the attention of the media. Visit BarrBomb.com for more information.
A Greater Chicagoland Bob Barr Meetup has formed. The first meeting is June 28. Get involved in the Barr Campaign and find out more at BobBarr.meetup. com/29. If you start a Bob Barr Meetup in your area, send an announcement to News@LPIllinois. org and we'll pass the word on.
If you are looking for Bob Barr 2008 t-shirts, hats, buttons, or bumper stickers, check out the great selection at LibertyManiacs. com. We have asked the Barr campaign for yard signs and brochures and will announce as soon as they are available.
We're also working to get Bob to Illinois for a fundraiser later in the campaign. Stay tuned for more info.
Campaign Update: Larry Stafford for Senate
Larry's busy schedule included speaking at a "Campaign for Liberty" Meetup group in Bloomington on the way to the Springfield petition assembly on Sunday. He also spoke to the media covering the filing and to those who attended the Ballot Access press conference in the Illinois capitol building following our filling. Now that the ballot drive is winding down, volunteers are needed to shift Larry's campaign into high gear. There is an immediate need for a Webmaster to get Larry's Internet presence up to speed and kept fresh as well as a telephone fundraiser to gather the donations that are critical to election success. The fundraiser can be a commissioned position and terms are negotiable. If you have talent and interest in either of these positions or if you have other skills that you'd like to contribute, please call Val Vetter at (800) 735-1776.
Campaign Update: Dan Druck for Congress
Dan's campaign filed 7,153 signatures to get on the ballot in Illinois' 14th Congressional District on June 23rd. We'll know if he and our other candidates will be challenged by July 1st. For more information about Dan's campaign, visit TimeForDan.com.
More Media
State Chair Val Vetter also spoke to the media at the Ballot Access press conference Monday, calling for an equal playing field for both new and old political parties. He has been invited to be a guest on WJPF's Morning News Watch at 7:20 in the morning on Wednesday, June 25th. WJPF serves the Marion/Carbondale area and can be heard on 1020 or 1340 AM - or on the Web at www.WJPF.com. If you can, please tune in and call in.
Chapter Events
Libertarians are needed to staff an outreach booth with the DuPage Libertarians at the Downers Grove Heritage Fest June 27-29. Volunteers will help visitors take the World's Smallest Political Quiz and pass out Libertarian literature. No experience required—you can be paired with a booth veteran. For more information, contact Jim at (630) 717-1830.
The Fox Valley Libertarians will be participating in the Elgin Independence Day Parade on July 4th. This is a fun opportunity to get the message of liberty to the public. For more information contact Julie at jfox1214@sbcglobal. net or at (847) 528-1126.
The Champaign County Libertarians scored another win in their quest for greater government transparency. To recap: at the April 8 Annual Township meeting in Champaign, attendees voted to put a transparency referendum on the November ballot that called for posting all contracts and itemized expenses on the internet. In Urbana, the town board passed a motion on June 16th directing city staff to prepare policies for doing the same. Our congratulations to Dianna Visek, the Champaign Libertarians, and local taxpayers. The Chapter is continuing to push for an Instant Runoff Voting referendum to appear on the November ballot.