Caseyville 12!

Golf Tournament Reap

Yesterday was chilly and rainy, but we had a good turn out for the Second Annual Chairman's Invitational golf tournament at Tamarack. Annie Frey, from 97.1 Talk FM was on site and interviewed several of our state-wide candidates. Once we have a date confirmed for next year's invitational, I'll send out a "save the date" email.

Draft Opinion Leak

Does it seem like good ideas take awhile to be accepted? The leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion this week is one example of a good idea needing time to bear fruit; we hope that the threatened violence by far-left activists does not dissuade the justices from standing by their convictions and returning the issue of abortion to the states.

Amendment 27

Another good idea that took many years to be adopted into the Constitution is that the legislature should not be able to approve a raise for themselves. The first Congress submitted 12 constitutional amendments to the states for ratification in 1789. Ten were ratified, becoming the Bill of Rights. The remaining two were not approved by enough states to become part of the Constitution. One of those amendments stipulated, No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

In 1982, a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin was taking a government class and submitted a paper that argued the states could still ratify the amendment. He received a "C" on the paper. In an effort to challenge this grade, he contacted every state legislature asking for them to ratify the amendment. Over the next ten years, this student was able to persuade 37 states to ratify (or re-ratify) the amendment and on May 7, 1992, Michigan became the 38th state to approve this amendment, making it the 27th Amendment to the US Constitution. In 2017, the professor which had approved the "C" grade on the original paper requested that the University of Texas change the grade to an "A", recognizing the validity of the original thesis.

Illinois General Assembly Pay raises

Apropos of this topic, are you aware that Illinois' law makers have raised their pay almost every year under JB Pritzker? Starting in 2023, members of the General Assembly will be making $73,345 per year, plus a per diem each day the legislature is in session and a travel reimbursement. This election cycle, you have the chance to tell the legislature that you don't appreciate them raising their salaries while you have to deal with wage stagnation and inflation!

Mark Your Calendars!

• May 11 - 5-7pm, Candidates' Table, Tienda El Ranchito, 2565 N. 32nd St., East St. Louis
• May 14 - 11am-1pm, 2022 Republican Governor Candidates' Forum in Belleville
• May 19 - Early Voting starts, St. Clair County Clerk's Office, Election Department, 2nd Floor
• June 2 - US Senate Candidate mini forum, location TBD
• June 14 - Illinois 13 Representative candidates forum, Caseyville VFW
• June 28 - Illinois Primary Election