Democratic party leaders upbeat at Kane County event
Signs that you are in attendance at a Democratic event in Kane County:
1. The 2009-10 climate change calendar on display.
2. The Barack Obama bobblehead on the silent auction table.
3. The donkey-shaped wooden clock keeping time.
4. It's a dinner at a union hall.
Signs that the speakers at the event are aware of the black eye the party has thanks to scandals in the state's highest offices, but will stick to a script that is nothing but positive:
1. Speakers begin by listing the party's many firsts in the last election cycle - most ever votes in a Kane County Democratic primary, 15 out of 24 Democrats elected, a Democrat, Bill Foster, takes the 14th Congressional District seat long dominated by Republican Dennis Hastert.
2. No mention of the name Rod Blagojevich.
3. No mention of the name Roland Burris.
4. State Comptroller Dan Hynes delivers a speech that receives laughter tainted by just a little discomfort when he asks, "Am I the only one who longs for the day when the Democratic Party of Illinois is not the lead story on MSNBC, or the butt of the joke on 'Saturday Night Live'?"
Signs that next year's annual Kane County Democratic Dinner may be even bigger than this year's sold-out event:
1. Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner puts this year's event in perspective by pointing to Mark Guethle and saying, "Thirty years ago I had his job as Democratic Party chairman in Kane County. At that time, we could not have assembled a room full of Democrats like this. There weren't many of us."
2. The 2009 Truman Award winner is St. Charles Township Democratic Chairman Steve Bruesewitz, who is honored for nearly tripling the amount of registered Democrats in his township. At 6,120 registered members of the party, that's the most ever in a township that historically leans Republican.
3. Congressman Bill Foster, fresh off a weeklong tour of the 14th District to explain the stimulus package to voters, starts his speech with a smile and the words, "It really is OK to be a Democrat out here. It didn't always used to be that way."
4. State Rep. Julie Hamos comes all the way from her district in Evanston to speak to Kane County Democrats and elicit their support for her possible run for Illinois Attorney General is Lisa Madigan takes a shot at higher office.