Only one to keep Democrats in check

Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, a longtime Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress, once declared, "All politics is local." He was explaining how the problems and concerns of towns and cities around the country affect the actions of their representatives and senators in Washington, D.C. If only that were true as it applies to Illinois.

The number two man in the U.S. Senate is an Illinois Democrat, Dick Durbin. The president-elect Barack Obama is an Illinois Democrat. Democrats hold the majority of Illinois House seats in Washington.

With state politics moving further into the grasp of the Democratic party, with the likely outcome of this election assuring the Democrats a supermajority in the Illinois House, coupled with the same situation in the state Senate, there are no more excuses for the sorry state of what is called "governing" in this state. The national and state Democratic party have an iron grip on Illinois politics. If we witness another four more years of political indifference from our Washington delegation of elected Illinois politicians while the likes of Mike Madigan, Emil Jones, Jr. (what a perversion of the political process that will be when he replaces his retiring father) and Gov. Blagojevich, all Democrats, continue to ruin this state, then Tip O'Neill's "all politics is local" will ring hollow in the ears of the Illinois representatives, senator and president-elect, Illinois Democrats... ALL!

Any chance Patrick Fitzgerald retains his post as U.S. Attorney for the northern district of Illinois? One can only hope since he's the only effective check we have on our Democratic lawmakers and their cronies.

Steve Sarich

Grayslake