Dear Friend:

We need to get Illinois going again.  Sadly, our state is stuck in corruption limbo.

The necessary and immediate business of the state has been put on hold for the long overdue impeachment of Gov. Blagojevich. 

Never in the history of our state has the well being of its citizens been cast aside so arrogantly and irresponsibly for political gain.  Illinois is in desperate need of new leadership, and we must rise to the occasion.

On January 20, 2009, our country will prepare for a new beginning, and so will the Republican Party of Illinois.
I invite you to join me to start this process.  We need new ideas, new faces, and a new commitment to serve the
people of Illinois with the attention and integrity they deserve.

January 20, 2009

Dugan’s on Halsted
(128 S. Halsted, Chicago)

5:30-8:00pm

$50 per person
$20 for Young Republicans
(cocktails and appetizers included)

Please RSVP to Barb at 630-690-7100
or
barb@joebirkett.com

Please join us on Tuesday, January 20, to share your ideas on how to rebuild our party and our state.

Thanks,
Joe Birkett

With Thanksgiving behind us, it would be easy for Republicans in
Illinois to feel sorry about their plight. That’s the wrong attitude
and here’s why.

We can use this time to bounce back stronger than ever. We can use
this time to reshape our message and techniques while retaining our
core principles. It’s within our grasp, subject to our will to work
hard and give the people a vision of government they can believe in.

That is what I plan to do in the coming months. I have decided that I
can’t sit idly by and watch the greatness of our state continue its
slide. I am exploring a run for statewide office in 2010 and I plan
to make a positive difference for you and our state.

In the coming months, I will travel the state and figure out how we
can succeed in two years. I became quite familiar with all corners of
the our great state during my two successful primary victories in 2002
and 2006. I will examine our past mistakes, and, with your help, come
up with an agenda for the future that resonates with Illinois voters.
An agenda that speaks to your values and concerns.

We must do a better job mastering the new technologies of grass roots
politics—the internet, social networking, online fundraising. We must
do a better job connecting with young voters and with other groups
that are gravitating away from us, such as Latinos. We have good
ideas and approaches to policy but we must do a better job of
explaining them.

I’m interested in hearing your ideas. Please write in and give me
your suggestions.

It is imperative that we end the Democratic Party’s monopoly of power
in Illinois and the United States. If we don’t, corruption will
continue to flourish, taxes will continue to rise, mismanagement will
continue to be rewarded and our values will continue to erode.

With hard work and a smart focus, we will make a strong comeback in
Illinois. I’m so convinced of this that I’m putting my time and
energy on the line. I welcome working with you in the coming months
as we take back our state, one step at a time.

Thanks,

Joe Birkett

We are on an endless treadmill in Illinois—federal investigations,
indictments, calls for reform, new legislation. A few players go to
prison and the sequence repeats. Someone might ask: When are we
going to learn?

As a career prosecutor and administrator of a 180-person office for
the past 12 years, I’ve come to believe more than ever the way to end
the corruption cycle in Illinois is to elect leaders who are honest
and willing to speak out against wrongdoing when they see it, even
when it involves political allies.

I applaud the passage of a new ethics law in Springfield but the horse
has already left the barn and is halfway across the country, munching
oats with a sly grin on his face. We should be honest and not expect
miracles once this new law goes into effect. We passed another ethics
and campaign finance reform law in 1998 to great fanfare and the most
corrupt period in Illinois history ensued.

Acting in the public interest and honestly at all times is the
standard most of us try to meet. When you run an office and somebody
violates that standard, all eyes are waiting for the leader to react.
It is that point the strongest message is sent. Strong, decisive,
fair action tells everyone in the office that corruption will not be
tolerated. A weak response sends the opposite message.

Strong leadership will help immensely. But it’s not enough. Cleaning
up corruption takes political courage. It requires public officials
to speak out aggressively about wrongdoing and impropriety without
regard to party or friendship. Done sincerely, bucking your own party
can pierce the political establishment’s shared indifference.

U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald is a good example of political courage.
His strong and solo stances against political corruption truly shook
up the system for a time in Illinois before his retirement in 2004.
In Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin, who is not wealthy, quit a $122,000
political post after blowing the whistle on corrupt officials in her
own party and later taking on her own party’s governor in a reform
campaign.

There are a few examples of Democrats in Illinois who have spoken out
against the rampant corruption under the current governor and in other
offices.

Good for all of them. To end the never-ending cycle of Illinois
corruption, we need new laws but more than that, we need more guts.

I wish I could be in St. Paul this week, but duty calls. Today, we were able to secure a landmark ruling in a major murder case that will help protect citizens in the years ahead.

At night, I have been following the convention closely. I am staggered at the pettiness and smears the national news media are hurling at Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

It’s surprising. The news media ought to appreciate Palin’s unquestioned record of reform in the midst of a corrupt environment. We need more Sarah Palins in government. If Barack Obama had her political courage, our state wouldn’t be in the sorry position it is in today under Democratic rule.

Can anyone remember Barack Obama speaking out against Democratic corruption? Trying to remember is a bridge to nowhere.

I look forward to campaigning with Sarah Palin when she comes to Illinois.

Joe Birkett

The State Fair was a blast this year. Thanks to all the county chairmen who attended our breakfast on Republican Day at the Crowne Plaza. It was a great turnout and the determination to change our
state for the better was evident.

We also enjoyed lunch at the Director’s Lawn, where some of the future leaders of our party spoke with conviction on how to restore our state’s reputation.

The only disappointment was that Public Official A (Our Governor) failed to answer the 10 questions we posed to him on gas prices. I’m sure he’s too busy creating chaos to speak to the people!
Â
Joe Birkett

Here is some coverage of Joe’s reaction to the Rezko verdict:

CBS2 Chicago
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=45211@wbbm.dayport.com

ABC7 Chicago
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=6185320

CBS5 - San Francisco
http://cbs5.com/national/rezko.trial.verdict.2.740386.html

Illinois Blog
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/06/birkett-calls-f.html

Ohio Republican Party Blog
http://ohiogop.blogs.com/state_of_the_union/2008/06/obamas-corruption-ties.html

Yesterday, after the Tony Rezko conviction was announced, I called on the General Assembly to immediately halt all further chance that Governor Rod Blagojevich would use corruption to harm taxpayers.

Here is the statement:

“Today’s conviction should prompt the Illinois General Assembly to impose an immediate moratorium on the governor’s ability to hand out any further no-bid contracts, bond fees, pension fees or other spoils of the pay-to-play system that has so defiled our state’s reputation. We do not give the car keys to a serial drunk driver and we should not hand hard-earned taxpayers’ money to a governor who has repeatedly abused the public trust by enriching his political friends to fatten his campaign treasury.

This moratorium should go well beyond some of the pending legislation in Springfield and should be the Legislature’s immediate order of business to give the public assurance that someone in state government cares about the integrity of public funds. Urgency is warranted because legislators are talking about massive public works programs, sales or leases of state assets and a purchase of a major league baseball stadium, among other initiatives. All will involve no-bid hiring of high-priced lawyers and consultants through the governor’s office and need to be immediately prevented.

The conviction of Tony Rezko represents a deep stain on the Democratic Party in Illinois. Democrats from top to bottom, including Barack Obama, stood idly by - and in some instances directly benefited - while the massive Blagojevich corruption scheme flourished. They rode into office promising to clean up after the George Ryan scandals and they have taken corruption in Illinois to a new low. They ought to be held
accountable at the polls starting this November.”

–Joe

Welcome to my blog. Here you will find news relating to our effort to Take Back Illinois from those who have abused the public trust and punished taxpayers with reckless fiscal stewardship.

Please visit here often and join the fight to make Illinois great again.

–Joe