This is one politician who's not afraid to be called a flip-flopper

SPRINGFIELD - Politicians usually take heat for flip-flops, but one suburban lawmaker has developed a local reputation for her flips that annually draw cheers from the crowd.

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat, is known for her cartwheels while marching in Fourth of July parades.

"In the last couple years, I've been doing them in all the Fourth of July parades," said Nekritz, whose Northwest suburban district includes portions of Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Northbrook and Prospect Heights.

Here's the story behind the cartwheel.

Q: How did you come about this talent?

A: "I was a competitive gymnast when I was a kid. The one thing I can still do from all those years is cartwheels ... "I was in the Mount Prospect parade, it's probably been three years ago now, and some guys doing the Blues Brothers were in front of me, and one of them did a cartwheel and the crowd went nuts. I turned to my volunteers and said, 'I can do cartwheels.' And they said, 'Really?' So I did a cartwheel and the crowd went nuts. Now it's just kind of fun to say, 'Watch the representative do a cartwheel.'"

Q: How many can you do?

A: "Alderman (Tom) Becker from Des Plaines, he was the parade marshal, or the announcer, in Des Plaines one time, and he said, 'I bet you can't do five in a row.' And I did five in a row, and I was really dizzy when I got up. So the most I do now in a row is two. But I do them once every hundred yards or so."

Q: How many parades?

A: "This year two (Des Plaines and Northbrook). Last year, I did three."