State senator draws protest

Critics of state Sen. Terry Link picketed his house and the Democratic Party's Waukegan Township headquarters Thursday to protest the veteran lawmaker's petition to run for re-election.

Roughly 30 protesters chanted anti-Link slogans and called for the senator to withdraw from the Feb. 5 Democratic primary for the 30th District seat.

They carried signs, an American flag and even a small, mock tombstone, a reference to the dead people whose names appear on Link's candidate petition.

Link's challenger in the primary, Jerry Johnson, was among the protesters. So was Shields Township Supervisor Chuck Fitzgerald, a Republican who has twice unsuccessfully run against Link for the Senate seat.

Fitzgerald's name and address appear on Link's petition, too, and he has denied signing the document.

During a telephone interview before the protests, Link defended the demonstrators' right to march. He also said he's used to ugly campaigns.

The state elections board is scheduled to discuss Johnson's formal challenge to Link's petition today, as well as an objection Link supporters filed against Johnson's candidate petition.