From the Darin LaHood campaign:
LaHood Continues Momentum with $212,000 Raised to Date
Challenger for State’s Attorney leads in contributions and support from law enforcement
Peoria, IL – With a significant cash advantage and unanimous support from the Peoria County law enforcement community, Darin LaHood’s bid to unseat a 20-year incumbent State’s Attorney continues to gain momentum.
“We’ve had [...]

This is Real Clear Politics’ take on the race:
Illinois 16: Republican Ray LaHood’s retirement from his Rockford-based district opens up a reliably GOP seat that Democrats may still try to play in. Former television reporter Colleen Callahan, the Democratic nominee, is getting some Netroots attention, and she raised $139,000 to keep $155,000 on hand. While [...]

First, a personal story:
I might have been 10 or 11, maybe 12.
It was a Saturday morning, and my little brother was doing something to annoy me. Probably arguing with me about what cartoons to watch. Then he said something that sounded like it might have been something he had been warned to not say. So, [...]

Heh. Those pesky farmers keep causing trouble for the Aaron Schock campaign and those associated with it.
In an election for Republican State Central Committeeman that proved more contentious than unifying, the Pike County Republican Party chairman was elected to the post over state Rep. Aaron Schock’s campaign manager.
John Birch was elected by his peers Saturday [...]

The Daily Eastern News, which I once edited, is running a news column by Christopher Kromphardt with this observation:
Schock’s campaign website boasts that he “represents a Republican reconnection with tried and true conservative principles” and “a clean break from all that voters feel has gone wrong with the Republican Party.” Evidently, Schock does not see [...]

When Colleen Callahan got into this race for Congress, I told everyone who would listen that if she had any chance to win, she had to get on the Internet in a big way AND she had to win over the “Net roots” of the Democratic Party.
And that means she had to win over the [...]

Via PolitickerCA:
U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, whose 36th Congressional District seat encompasses the Venice area, is holding a fundraising reception for 15 Democratic House challengers Monday evening.
The event, organized by Harman’s SecureUS PAC, is taking place at the Washington headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.
Attending the event are Sam Bennett (PA-15), Charlie Brown (CA-04), Colleen Callahan [...]

A new Rasmussen poll suggests that Illinois’ favorite son isn’t all that assured of capturing his home state’s electoral votes after all:
Senator Barack Obama leads John McCain 50% to 37% in his home state of Illinois, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. When “leaners” are included, Obama leads 52% [...]

George Bush, who may very well go down in history as one of the worst presidents we’ve ever had, will be in town July 25 to campaign for Aaron Schock. And for $500 you can dine in their glorious presence.
Some people might suspect that it’s wise for Schock to want to avoid a Bush endorsement. [...]

Via Press Releases:
Peoria, IL – With recent endorsements from the Peoria Police Union and the Peoria County Sheriff’s Union, candidate for State’s Attorney Darin LaHood is apparently the ‘choice’ of law enforcement in the November General Election. Joining the growing list of police unions backing LaHood’s candidacy is the Chillicothe Fraternal Order of Police Lodge [...]

From the Pork Alert Website:
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the House version of the Fiscal 2009 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Act. The top five porkers are CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) with $9.95 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) with $9.7 million; CJS [...]

“Day By Day” is my favorite online-only comic strip. Today, they dis the people who dismiss anything outside the Beltway and the Left Coast.
And what is “flyover country?” From Wikipedia:
“Flyover country or flyover states is a somewhat derogatory Americanism popular among entertainers, businessmen, and others concerned with doing business on the coasts. The name comes [...]

As the Journal Star reports, Peorian Brad Carter’s petition to be placed on the ballot for the 18th Congressional District as a member of the Constitution Party has been challenged. He knew going in that he didn’t have the number of signatures required by law. Methinks Brad had a plan all along:
 As you probably know [...]

Aaron Schock has come out of hiding and subjected himself to questioning from the press. Unfortunately, he made two mistakes:
In addition to fundraising, Shock said he continues to campaign throughout the 20-county 18th District, participate in parades, attend banquets and more. The state representative also has been in session in the House through May 31 [...]

The following was just posted on Press Releases:
Where in the world is Aaron Schock?
Democratic Congressional candidate Colleen Callahan today called on opponent Aaron Schock to step up to the plate and directly address an issue of grave importance both locally and across the nation — GOP presidential candidate John McCain’s call to end subsidies [...]