The Madison County board voted last night to give its employees a 3% raise. 

All Republican board members, except for Bill Meyer voted for the pay raises. Thanks Bill Meyer. All the democrats, except for Jack Minner voted yes.   Dunstan immediately stated there will be layoffs in the future.  What kind of leadership is this?   Maybe Dunstan is hoping for some of that stimulus money to bail us out.  Except those are our tax dollars already.

At a time when millions are losing there jobs, having wages and benefits cut, the Madison County board votes for pay and benefit increase, as though we live in  vacuum immune from the economic problems. 

The public sector continues to grow and expand regardless of the state of the economy and our Republican board members vote for the status quo.

I have stated time and time again, unless the Republicans on the county board vote as principled fiscally responsible Republicans, the public will continue to view Republicans in Madison County no differently than democrats.  Republicans will be ineffective in getting anything of substance done on the board. 

The US House of Representatives passed the Obama/Pelosi/Reid stimulus bill this afternoon, with Senate expected to pass it tonight.  Obama will sign it shortly and it will become law.

One can discuss the benefits or problems  of passing this bill.   Whether it works or not will  be subject to much debate in the coming months and years.

All house Republicans voted no, along with 7 democrats.  Democrat Lipinski from Illinois voted present.  What is that all about!?  In the senate, 3 Republicans are expected to vote with the democrats to  allow passage of the legislation.

The question I raise is what do you think about the 3 Republican senators?

Before you respond, if you are a Republican living in Madison County, remember  our local Republican board members generally vote with democrats on  major issues like the annual budget, judicial reform, and taxes.   Why would you be upset with the 3 senate Republicans and not be upset with the local Republican board members votes?  Conservative fiscal principles and philosophy should start at the local level shouldn’t they? 

Democrats are desperately hoping we’ll all forget about their man Rod.  The Illinois Republican Party has set up a website that chronicles the actions and connections of many prominent Democrats, before they started running away from their problem(s).  Bookmark this one for 2010, and use it to help remind your friends and families of the people who were supporting Governor Blagojevich D-IL (for some reason that party designator was left out of many, many media stories) before, during and after his scandal-ridden early years in office.  http://www.friendsofblago.com/index.htm 

I am in the process of gathering all the documents I will need to prepare my tax returns for 2008, and as I go through the process, I am pondering this question:  Should I pay all my taxes?  I’m no financial wizard, working for the IMF like Tim Geithner; and I didn’t help write the tax code, like Tom Daschle, so it would certainly be understandable if I underpay by a little (or even a lot).  I mean really, who can keep up with all those little rules and regulations and laws and stuff?  Odds are I’ll never be nominated for a cabinet post, and if I am, no big deal–I’ll just pay the back taxes with interest, no penalty, no problem. 

Oh, wait, I think I’ve identified one potential problem–if I am nominated, I’ll have an R behind my name, and for some reason that seems to turn innocent mistakes that any financial wizard could commit, into unforgiveable sins.  I guess I’d better fire up my calculator and check all those numbers, the government has to pay for all these new programs somehow.  Since we can’t count on members of President Obama’s cabinet to jump in and be a part of the deal, I have to make sure I pay my fair share to help get America out of this rut.  I feel so patriotic!

[Attribution:  I freely acknowledge that I borrowed a couple of phrases from Vice President Joe Biden–they’re “just words” (also borrowed, from Governor Deval Patrick and President Barack Obama, in that order) but you know how it goes when an R commits a sin.] 

Frank Watson announced today he will retire from the State Senate to concentrate on his health issues.  Watson has served the citizens of Illinois for over 30 years.   He service and conservative principles will be missed.  Now, the jockeying will begin to replace Watson.  This decision will be important, since the new person will become a target for the democrats in 2010.  

Watson’s   retirement is  a true loss to the citizens.   Best Wishes Senator Watson.