Illinois: Dave Lenkowski Beats Out Sneaky Sara Feigenholtz with Trib Endorsement

Good News!!!

Republican Dave Lenkowski, running for Sara Feigenholtz’s Illinois House District 12 seat, has won the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune. The endorsement reads:

12th District (North Side) — This is difficult because we like Democratic Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, who has been in the House since 1995. She has a top position — chairman of the human services appropriations committee — but she has not been assertive enough in demanding that her party leaders change the way they do business. Our endorsement goes to Republican Dave Lenkowski, who worked in business before he became a high school teacher working with at-risk kids. He acknowledges Republican governors and lawmakers share in the blame for mess. He would be more aggressive on education reform. Feigenholtz will likely win — the GOP didn’t even field a candidate here in 2008. If she does, we hope she turns good intentions into a more assertive challenge of the status quo.

The Chicago Sun-Times has not yet issued an endorsement in this race. When it does, we’ll report it here.

In the meantime, you can read the pre-endorsement candidate questionnaires submitted by Lenkowski and Feigenholtz to both papers. Not surprisingly, neither candidate addressed adoptee rights. I don’t know why Lenkowski would, and Feigenholtz, who considers herself the queen-bee-and end-all of adoption and adoptee rights in Illinois thinks her bastardphobic junk law, HB 5428, is the end of it.

Sneaky Sara, after ignoring, then screwing, thousands of Illinois adoptees out of their civil rights and their original birth certificates, claims some imaginary moral high ground to the Trib, proclaiming her legislative integrity and deep respect for her constituents (my emphasis):

The overarching responsibility of committed legislators is to regain the public trust and bring integrity back to the legislative process. I believe I am doing that. The votes I cast are a reflection of my constituents and the feedback I receive from them on various issues. I have the great fortune to represent a thoughtful, well-educated district and regardless of what leadership or my political party are rallying for, I represent them.

Continuing the litany, she told the Sun-Times:

Feigenholtz’s strong commitment to the residents of her district and sponsorship of historic legislation has given her a reputation as a high effective and a well-regarded public servant. Her legislative efforts reflect the needs of her constituents and the greater needs of the State of Illinois.

This coming from a politician who ran a secret bill through the Illinois House (shell bill, unannounced hearings, and votes), ignored adoptee and adoption reform input, and admitted openly that she didn’t respond to the hundreds of emails she solicited on her own legislative webpage from adoptees and their families regarding the kind of obc legislation they wanted and didn’t want. Hint: Sara knows best. We got exactly what we didn’t want. (The links go into Feigenholtz’s Folley in great detail. Also click on other “Sara Feigenholtz” articles under “Topics in right sidebar).

Moreover, Feigenholtz never acknowledged much less apologized for the demeaning email she or a staff member sent to Washington State adoptee rights activist Lori Jeske via Feigenholtz’s email address in which she referred to adoptee rights activists who refused to support her HB 5428 l as “ungrateful bastards:”

Would you consider giving Representative Feigenholtz the key to your (delusional) Eutopian world where all ungrateful bastards think it’s easy to pass a bill that makes everyone happy AND CAN ACTUALLY PASS ? Pass a law? what a concept !!

As if this isn’t enough, halucinating on her own Kool-Aid Benedict Bastard Feigenholtz described herself to the Sun-Times (my emphasis):

Feigenholtz, an adopted person herself, has worked tirelessly to improve the practice of Adoption in Illinois. Sara is committed to assuring that children whom are adopted in Illinois and the families who are fostering or adopting them are treated with utmost respect and dignity. Most recently, she passed historic legislation to allow adult adoptees to access their original birth certificates–a civil right that had been denied to them since 1946.

Followed by the out-and-out lie that HB 5428 restored the right of all Illinois adoptees to access their own original birth certificates on demand with no restriction. Go here (scroll down to April 15, 2010) and read what HB 5428 really does: divide adoptees into numerous tiers of “rights” and puts them under the fat greasy thumb of the state more than they already were:

With this legislation, Illinois becomes the 10th and most populous state to have restored this right. She has worked hard to ensure adoption laws in Illinois reflect a high level of integrity in the practice and placement of children.

All of this leads us to question if Feigenholtz even knows what a real obc access bill is: one that restores the right of all adoptees to be treated under law the same as the not adopted. Like bills passed in Alabama, New Hampshire and Maine. Like the ballot measure in Oregon.

Dave Lenkowski , 28, is a high school history teacher. He describes himself as “socially moderate.” He seems quite likeable and personable. I can’t find any connection between him and wingnuttery, including the Tea Party and theocratic Republicans He reminds me of the pre-Goldwater Young Republicans with whom I started my poliltical “career:” normal.

That the Cook County Democratic Party went to great but unsuccessful lengths to keep Lenkowski off the ballot suggests that Sneaky Sara just doesn’t like competetion–especially since her 2008 loss within her own party for Rahm Emmanuel’s House seat. Bullies never like to be challenged, especially on their home turf.

Lenkowski is running a squeaky clean campaign. So far Feigenholtz hasn’t pulled any of her customary dirty tricks out of her old kit bag. I won’t be surprised, though,that if Dave gets too popular he’ll get dragged around Sara’s pigpen.

If you want to see Feigenholtz thrown out of office, check out Dave Lenkowski. His campaign page is here and his Facebook page here.