My Tea Party Comments Still Ring True
As we approach Independence Day, the words I spoke in the below video at the April Tea Party in Lisle still ring truer than ever:
Joe Birkett at the Lisle Tea Party from Joe Birkett on Vimeo.
‘Just a Normal Guy’
With all the news of Illinois politicians building mausoleums to honor themselves, and former disgraced governors starring in comedic musicals — it’s refreshing to learn about elected officials who are down-to-earth and just “normal guys.” In this video, Wheaton’s Jim Langill tells us what it’s like to live next to Joe Birkett — “just a normal guy” — for the last 17 years:
‘Just a Normal Guy’ from Joe Birkett on Vimeo.
‘Doomsday’ and the State Payroll
As state legislators head back to Springfield amid Gov. Pat Quinn’s threats of “doomsday” and his ongoing campaign for tax hikes, they should take note of this excerpt from today’s Sun-Times editorial:
Quinn proposes adding 243 workers. His budget would increase payroll expenditures by $85 million to $3.9 billion, according to a federation analysis. In other words, while Illinois businesses are slashing payrolls, Quinn would increase the state’s.
As we’ve said before, Pat Quinn is using the threat of “social service” cuts to push for tax hikes — while doing little or nothing to cut political workers, waste, and pork in the state budget. Six years of Blagojevich mismagement — and Pat Quinn has decided to leave Blago’s budget largely in tact but pass the cost on to the taxpayers.
Legislators need to see through Quinn’s smokescreen, demand real reform, reject his tax hikes and, once and for all, manage a state budget that has grown out of control.
This is How We Make Change Happen
Last week, I had an exchange on Twitter with Pamela J. Harris of Willow Springs (@pam_harris on Twitter).
Pam has a child with developmental disabilities — and her family is in the cross-hairs of the unnecessary “doomsday” cuts that Governor Quinn is threatening in order to win approval for his massive tax increase.
Last Thursday, Pam sent me the following Tweet:
“Tell me what to do. How can I help IL do what is right?”
I suggested to Pam that she write a letter to her legislators, as well as to Governor Quinn.
She not only did that — she also forwarded her letter to the Chicago Sun-Times, which printed the letter in this morning’s edition.
This is exactly how we are going to take our state back: citizens like Pam making their voices heard in the media and directly to our legislators.
I urge you to follow Pam’s example by emailing your state legislators and Governor Quinn today.
Then, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
Pam is one Illinois citizen who would be the target of Governor Quinn’s cuts. But she’s not buying the rhetoric — because she knows that Governor Quinn could alternatively make the choice to cut political workers, waste and pork instead of cutting services to her family.
The choice is Governor Quinn’s and your state legislators’. It’s up to you to make them do the right thing.
We Can Learn from Iran’s Heroes
As we speak, reformers in Iran are showing us what it means to treasure the right to vote and protest government . In the wake of questionable election results in which Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was “re-elected” …. Iranian students and reformers have taken to the streets to protest.
Despite a media blackout, Iranian citizens are risking their lives to use online tools like You
Tube and Twitter to tell their story to the rest of the world. Some of these protesters have been beaten, jailed or killed for their efforts.
It is a stark reminder that we should never take for granted our right to vote – and that we should avoid becoming apathetic amid our distrust of the corruption-plagued government that has inflicted Illinois for the past six years.
It is a reminder that change in Illinois starts with you – not the politicians.
About a month ago, I asked you to submit your ideas for reforming Illinois – and the response was overwhelming. We received hundreds of ideas and thousands of votes.
Today, we ask you again to view this list, add your reform ideas and vote on the ideas you think most important to reforming our state:
We should never become apathetic about sharing our ideas, and we must always remember that the politicians and elected officials work for us — not the other way around.
Thank you for sharing your reform ideas, and for taking time out of your day to read this message.
Together, we can reform Illinois. We just need to keep on fighting the good fight.