Attacks don't speak well of Crespo

Most voters in the Illinois 44th Legislative District have been bombarded by at least a dozen mail pieces sent by Fred Crespo, the incumbent state representative.

Sadly, the content of the mailings is not only disturbing, but also speaks to the questionable competency of Crespo. First, the mailers are clearly mass produced boilerplate political pieces out of Springfield, devoid of any real substance, much like Crespo, whose approach to governing is to follow the crowd.

Second, the mailers are overwhelmingly negative in tone, fabricating attacks on his highly qualified opponent, Margaret "Peggy" Brothman, who as a member and president of the District 54 school board, provides real leadership to balance the budget and accelerate student achievement.

Crespo relies on negative mailings because he has very limited accomplishment of his own to run on. Most offensive of all of Crespo's mailers is one featuring a photo of a coat hanger and threatening a return to back alley abortions. The mailer is not only highly offensive, but also highly questionable, so much so that I personally challenged Crespo about the mailer after the candidates' debate held in Schaumburg.

Fred and I know each other, and are members of the same Catholic parish in Hoffman Estates. I asked Fred if he was proud of the piece, and if he was "pro-choice" or "pro-life." His reply was to shrug his shoulders and state that as a Catholic he is "pro-life", but that he also supports a woman's right to choose.

Incredible! Which side of this national issue is he on? Crespo clearly doesn't "get it" and will say or do anything. No matter how one feels about this, hearing Crespo speak from both sides of his mouth has got to be unsettling. I don't know how any voter can trust Crespo.

Mark Cramer

Hoffman Estates