Free Republic

L SPRINGFIELD — After a state conservation officer ticketed the National Rifle Association’s Illinois lobbyist last December for breaking a hunting law, the gun-rights advocate dutifully paid his $120 fine. But Todd Vandermyde, one of Springfield’s most powerful and effective lobbyists, didn’t stop there. A month later, he worked with one legislator to rewrite the law he broke. And not long after that, he enlisted help from House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, to carry legislation that, at least initially, would have greatly restrained the authority of Department of Natural Resources police officers to venture onto private property. “I...

<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Republican Jim Ryan has closed the gap with Democrat Rod Blagojevich, creating an apparent dead heat in the race for Illinois governor days before statewide elections, according to a new Post-Dispatch poll.</p> <p>The statewide poll of 802 likely voters found that 43.5 percent support Ryan, while 43.2 percent support Blagojevich.</p>

I noticed my own sleep patterns changed last week. I noticed that even if I got 9 hours per night (which I did only once) I was still profoundly draggy and tired and beat down like a wet noodle. I tried one last time just last night to give myself an uninterrupted length of hours to rest and sleep and try to recharge. The harsh conclusion that I have come to is that I am still somewhat unsettled by a series of events last week and have not yet fully processed them. If you are new to this column let...

October 25, 2002 The Durkin Daily E-News of Jim Durkin's campaign for U.S. Senate ACTION ALERT… DO YOU LIVE NEAR A METRA/"L" STATION??? We are looking for DURKIN volunteers to hand out literature to riders morning and evening at Metra stations and "L" stops. If you can help us for 30 minutes or an hour over the course of the next seven business days, you can help put JIM over the top. PLEASE CONTACT OUR VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, KAREN RYAN, AT RYANKAR@HOTMAIL.COM GET OUT THE VOTE PHONE BANK JIM needs your help in reminding voters to get to the polls on...

The scandal that cut short Gov. George Ryan's political career looms heavily over a wide-open race to succeed him, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows. The survey shows Democrat Rod Blagojevich and Republican Jim Ryan locked in a neck-and-neck battle, with more than 9 in 10 voters saying the issue of government corruption will be an important factor to weigh in deciding between the two in the Nov. 5 general election. The poll results also indicated some confusion among voters between Jim Ryan and George Ryan, who share the same surname but are not related. In a close race, that means...