Candidate with a firm basis in reality

I first became acquainted with Jill Morgenthaler through one of the many small group gatherings held in Wheaton and was very impressed with her for several reasons. First, I see her as one possessing a firm basis in reality. Her military career of active and reserve duty, which began in 1976, spanned thirty years. It has taken her to Bosnia as a peacekeeper (1996), earned her the Humanitarian Service Medal for work resettling refugees (1998), found her serving ten months in Iraq (2004) and in South Korea and Germany. She received the Legion of Merit upon her retirement as a Colonel in 2006.

From 2005 to 2007 Jill served as Illinois' Homeland Security Advisor. As the top official in Illinois, she worked closely with federal authorities to assess potential terror threats to the region and led the state's efforts to keep Illinois families safe. During her tenure, Jill implemented and coordinated the first uniform radio system for first responders in Illinois history, enabling state, local and campus police to communicate during emergencies and disasters.

Besides working in several other critical areas at Argonne National Laboratories, Jill spent 14 years there serving as Emergency Response Manager and coordinating the facility's emergency preparedness. Before Argonne, Jill worked for Creative Strategies International identifying market opportunities in the then-emerging field of portable computer devices. Later, she worked for the U. S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, and then the Software Publishing Corp., in marketing and computer software and hardware fields.

Based on the above resume, one can only conclude that her extensive credentials more than qualify her to hold the important office she is seeking as representative of the 6th Congressional District.

Marianne Avery

Wheaton