Report from Biss Rally -- with photos

Written by: Sandra Verthein on Aug 21, 2007 8:33 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Northside DFA

Yesterday , on a rainy Sunday afternoon, nineteen Northside DFA members traveled to Wilmette for the Daniel Biss petition drive kick-off.  The house was packed. Over 150 people were there to cheer Daniel on and to hear from speakers that included Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, MWRD Commissioner Debra Shore, State Representative Lou Lang, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. 

Below are some photos from the event, but before I get to that, I wanted to remind folks about three events coming up -- the Wednesday outdoor movie showing of "An Inconvenient Truth", Saturday's townhall meeting with Jan Schakowsy about her recent trip to Iraq, and Sunday's petition kickoff for congressional candidate Dan Seals (who we have not yet voted on).  You can RSVP and get details about all these events here:

http://www.dfalink.com/group_events.php?gid=247

Here is a photo of us all lined up in the Pier 1 parking lot, waiting for the last few folks to arrive so we can take off.  NDFA co-host Shannon Fisk was already in Wilmette with a few of our other members helping set up for the event.

Below is Daniel addressing the enthusiastic crowd. He talked about the priorities that he wants to bring to Springfield, but also about the fact that all conventional political wisdom says that a crowd like that was not supposed to be there, for a state rep. race, 15 months before the general election.   Daniel asked for a show of hands as to how many people in the room had not been active in politics 10 years ago, and about 80% of the attendees raised their hands.  He then talked about us all being part of new generation, a generation that had nothing to do with our ages, but with our discovery of the fact that yes, ordinary people CAN be involved in the politcal process and can make a difference. 

To quote from his speech: "we [had] placed our trust in political leaders, and we learned - the hard way - that this trust was not justified. This betrayal awoke a deep and genuine patriotism inside of us. We knew that without our active participation, our country could not live up to its promise.

So we had to participate. But how?

To answer that question, we had to understand the problem more precisely. And I submit to you that the real problem was the erosion of community's role in politics. Our leaders could betray us because nobody was holding them accountable. We lacked the kind of communities that would be able to hold them to account.

[...] The goal of this movement is nothing less than to redistribute power in American society, so that our politics will no longer be controlled by lobbyists and insiders, by coal and oil, by insurance and pharmaceutical companies, or by the children of the powerful. Our politics will no longer be dominated by petty games and dishonest debates."

It was really a great speech that articulated not only his reasons for getting involved in politics, but also one of the main reasons that Northside DFA exists -- to give members of our community a meaningful way to participate in the political process. 

Here is a picture of  part of the crowd that is on Daniel's web site:

Here is a picture of NDFA member Shannon Fisk leading a quick training session before we head out to collect signatures:

It was a great event, and I'm looking forward to helping Daniel win this race!  We will be doing more events for Daniel coming, plus Daniel will speaking at our September meeting.

If you would like to donate to Daniel's campaign -- and what he is really looking for is to increase the total number of donors, so $10, $20, $50, whatever you can afford is great -- you can do so here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/ndfa_picks

For more information about Daniel, go to www.danielbiss.com.

Peace,
Sandra Verthein
Northside DFA

P.S. In case anyone has not yet heard, Congressman Luis Guiterrez has decided NOT to retire, so the 4th CD candidates that spoke at our last meeting will no longer be running for office.  Below is an article with more details.

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/514284,CST-NWS-gut17.article

On 2nd thought, Gutierrez does want another term NO RETIREMENT
Candidates had lined up for 8-term congressman's seat

August 17, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ESTHER J. CEPEDA Staff Reporters

Luis Gutierrez has turned into the boy who cried wolf of Illinois politics.

He said he would form his own Hispanic political organization to rival the Hispanic Democratic Organization, but he never did.

He flirted with a run for mayor and portrayed Mayor Daley as besieged by corruption and in power too long, only to swallow those words and issue a glowing endorsement of the incumbent mayor.

On Thursday, the eight-term congressman known for his political flip-flops reversed himself once again. Gutierrez decided to seek re-election to a ninth term in Congress, even though at least four candidates had lined up to replace him, taking Gutierrez at his word in 2005 that he would retire after one more term.

"If he runs, I'll support him. I just don't know how true this is. He may change his mind two weeks from now," said Ald. George Cardenas (12th), who plans to go through with the five fund-raisers he has scheduled between now and Sept. 30, just in case.

Gutierrez cited several factors for his latest change of heart: the failure of immigration reform and a desire to see it through; his role as a campaign surrogate for presidential candidate Barack Obama, and Gutierrez's wife Soraida's improving health after a battle with thyroid cancer. Gutierrez said his wife made a "life-changing" decision to work part time as an investment banker so she can join him in Washington.

Gutierrez also cited a "Draft Luis" letter signed by 10 elected officials from his 4th Congressional District, including one of his would-be successors. Sources said Daley had also let it be known that he wanted Gutierrez to remain in Congress to retain his seniority and avoid a free-for-all among Hispanic politicians.

"They convinced me that the job isn't done and I should not walk away and betray what I've devoted the last 15 years of my life to," said Gutierrez, 53.

Asked about his propensity to change his mind, Gutierrez said, "Could I look in a [crystal] ball and see that Obama was gonna run for president, that Democrats would take over Congress, that Soraida would become an integral part of my life in Washington? When I spoke [about retirement], Democrats were in the minority. I'm sorry. I couldn't foresee those things. If immigration reform would have passed this year, we'd be having a different conversation."

Gutierrez flatly denied that he was holding onto his seat in Congress to maintain the political platform he needs to run for mayor in 2011 if Daley doesn't.

"Absolutely not. I have no intention of running for mayor -- whether or not Daley is mayor of Chicago. My vocation and my commitment is in Congress. I see no reason why I would ever consider that at this point," he said.

Ald. Manny Flores (1st), who announced last month that he had raised $500,000 for a congressional campaign, could not be reached for comment.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) signed the "Draft Luis" letter and was in attendance Thursday when Gutierrez made his announcement before the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Congress at Navy Pier.

"This district needs an activist reformer. If it wasn't gonna be him, it was gonna be me. Obviously, with him back in the race, I'm not gonna be putting my name on the ballot," said Munoz, who has raised nearly $360,000.

County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado said he, too, has no intention of challenging Gutierrez. He plans to hold onto the $230,000 he has raised and use it to run for the seat in 2010.

But that assumes that a ninth term would be the last for Gutierrez.

Gutierrez said he knows better than to make that promise again.

"If I say that, you'll get me in trouble in the future. We'll just take this two years at a time," he said.

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Location: Chicago, IL 60640