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Ye Gods, Mardonius, what men have you brought us to fight against? Men that fight not for gold, but for glory." Herodatus (Godley translation)
Governor Pat Quinn walks the talk. Today, Abdon Pallasch offers a succinct, thoughtful, accurate, warm and clear presentation of a genuine Illinois Spartan - probably the last Spartan: Governor Pat Quinn.
I have issues with the governor as a voter - he plays too closely with 'goo-goo' elements and Progressives: the Ralph Martire Pie Chart Tax Looters, the Tweed Patch Trust Fund Commies, SEIU, and every IVI-IPO anointed ding-bat. Most importantly, he is too close to the abortion happy harpies of Planned Parenthood.
Those issues aside, Pat Quinn is the real deal. He reminds me of last Irish Catholic Governor of Illinois who was a genuine reformer Edward Dunne.
I like Republican Bill Brady for his anti-abortion stand. However, he is wrapped too tightly to the Hate-Chicago, anti-Labor crowd. Bill Brady, I believe will lose the upcoming election for those last two very reasons. Chicago is the big brother fallen on very hard times living in the basement of the hard working earnest sister with ten kids. The big brother has fallen on tough times, in many due to his own goofy tendencies, but you can not kick him out -you are family. That same big brother will get back on his feet and make life better for that family. Bill Brady seems to want to kick Chicago to the curb and he should not do that, but that is the sad state of the Illinois GOP. They blow their toes off each election cycle, but always manage to find a slot for Judy Barr Topinka. Go figure; it is way beyond me.
Pat Quinn is a real family man and he is a real, genuine Illinois Spartan:
The no-frills governor sat at the dining room table of the modest 1,800-square-foot Georgian home he shares with his son David, 25, in Galewood on the West Side recently.
The screen on the front door is bent and needs replacing. The paint is cracking on the garage. Only two of the four bulbs in the light fixture in the dining room work. As befits a double-bachelor pad, the fridge holds only pomegranate-blueberry spritzer, V-8, mustard and ketchup.
This is a far cry from the home of his challenger in the upcoming election, Bill Brady, a stately, Better Homes and Gardens-type residence in Bloomington.
But it's in keeping with Quinn's austere approach to life and his background as a do-gooder/agitator.
"You have to be frugal if you don't have much money," Quinn said.
Quinn's crusades -- cutting the number of state legislators by a third, creating the Citizens Utility Board, becoming the state treasurer and lieutenant governor -- were done on a shoestring, he notes.
"In all these campaigns I've been in, we haven't had a lot of money," Quinn said. "This is obviously the biggest campaign I've ever been in, when you're spending a million bucks a week on TV. When I ran for lieutenant governor, we spent $375,000 [total]. So you have to watch your pennies."
Abdon Pallasch has painted a fine portrait of a Good Man, who prove to be a good Governor of Illinois.
