GOP Senators Pick Radogno

From the GOP Senate Caucus -- Radogno's their choice.

State Sen. Christine Radogno will become the first woman in Illinois history to lead a legislative caucus. Radogno (R-Lemont) was selected Nov. 19 by her fellow Republican Senators to be the next Senate Republican Leader.

She will replace Senator Frank Watson (R-Greenville) who announced recently that he would not seek another term as Senate Republican Leader, following a stroke in October. Watson, who has been undergoing rehabilitation therapy attended the caucus meeting and participated in the vote for Radogno.

Under Watson, Senator Radogno has been the Deputy Republican Leader, the number two slot in the Senate Republican leadership. She is also the Republican Spokesman on the Senate Rules Committee and the Human Services Committee, and serves on all three Senate Appropriations Committees, Executive Committee and the Public Health Committee.

For the past several years, Radogno has served as the Senate Republicans' chief budget negotiator and has also been a leader in ethics, open government and budget reforms. She has traveled the state promoting reforms to restore discipline and accountability to the state’s borrowing and contracting practices.

In 2008, Senator Radogno sponsored Medicaid Reform legislation advocating commonsense changes to bring the state’s skyrocketing public health costs under control.

Radogno has served in the Illinois Senate since 1997. She currently represents the 41st District in Cook, DuPage and Will counties.

Senator Radogno also serves on the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, and is a member of the Illinois Conference of Women Legislators, and previously served as Co-Chair.

Before running for the Senate, Christine Radogno served as a Village of LaGrange trustee (1989-1996), on the Village of LaGrange Economic Development Commission (1988), and worked as a social worker at Mercy Center for Health Care Services.

Comments

[Vote for Dale Risinger for Minority Leader]

Horrible decision, the final straw the Republicans. Start donating to the Constitution party and only Republicans who didn't support Radogno.

[Vote for Dale Risinger for Minority Leader]

Let's see the Republicans only pick pro abortion, pro homosexual, anti gun women to leadership posts.

Topinka and Radogno. Now Radogno is thinking about running for Governor.

[Vote for Dale Risinger for Minority Leader]

Correction Topinka was pro gun

[Uncle Jim]

Unbelievable

She also voted to help illegal aliens:

She voted Yes to:HB 60 PUBLIC ACT 093-0007 In-State Tuition For Illegal Aliens

SB 1623 PUBLIC ACT 094-0389 Agencies Must Accept Foreign Fake ID

EVEN after he FBI testified before Congress that this Fake ID was a major threat to our National Security

So much for th lasting effects and excitement that Sarah Palin brought to Republicans, it has just been trashed.

[Valerie]

This is a bad omen for reform of our Illinois GOP.

I wonder how Radogno will think she can reach out to the conservative base when she has trashed our issues for years.

She is no reformer and no uniter.

[Don Castella]

Another dark day in Illinois Republican history. What were they thinking? And who were the two abstensions?
Illinois is fast becoming a one-party state rife with political collusion and corruption... unless you call Democrat-lite a party.
Excuse me while I go shred the Illinois Republican Platform.

[Ken Vanko]

A great choice. Common sense prevails.

[Klaus]

I think the GOP Caucus in the Senate will still be pretty conservative on social issues, just based on the senators who are members.

My worry is the people running the campaign committee, who spent millions and didn't pick up any seats. Radogno is not known as a strong fundraiser. Perhaps she can compensate by having a better relationship with the press.

She's the one they picked, now we have to live with it.

[Phil Collins]

They should have chosen Senator Larry Bomke, of the 50th District, which includes most of the Springfield area, or Sen. J. Bradley Burzynski, of the 35th Dist., which includes De Kalb Co. and part of the Rockford area. Both of them are pro-life, pro-gun rights, and pro-spending cuts.

[Raymond True]

Following email sent to State Sen. Christine Radogno
As Chairman of the Republican Assembly of Lake County I view your election as Senate Minority Leader with great dismay. You views on abortion and Gay marriage are completely opposite to the planks of the State and National Republican Platforms. You are a disgrace to the party of Ronald Reagan and I join with Paul Caprio in condemning your selection to this post. I will do all within my capability to see that your "moderate" views are attacked at every opportunity.

Raymond S. True
Chairman
Republican Assembly of Lake County

She has lots of screwed up Company!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10691459&ch=4226716&src=news

[Pete Speer]

She was chosen by her fellow Senators, many of whom do not share her positions. Perhaps they were unorganized (not atypical for Conservatives), perhaps none wanted to spend the time the position requires.

We do not know the reason why. I am hopeful that IR will be able to elicit responses to her selection.

I do know that it is up to us to call her attention to the Republican Platform on any occasion on which she dirties it by her legislative sponsorship. That is our duty. It is the duty as well of her fellow Republican Senators.

She reflects her constituency in LaGrange just as Chris Lauzen does his, in nearby Aurora. How they could be so different is anyone's guess.

At the edge, she is a Republican vote in a Republican seat. That by itself, at the margin is better than one more Democrat.

[Ian Howell]

Can IR please publish a list of the GOP Senators who voted for a pro-abortion, pro-gay leader?

I am sure I'm not the only one who wants to know the names of those politicians who are devoid of conviction and moral courage.

They do not deserve our support ever again.

[Anon]

"I will do all within my capability to see that your 'moderate' views are attacked at every opportunity." - R. True

It is hard for me to read this and then read all the tripe on this blog that mean, evil Moderates are creating the divide.

[colt45]

i've never commented on this blog until now. radogno's smart, fair, an aggressive campaigner, tough and wants to win. give her a chance. if some conservative senators voted for her for leader, it's because they know her and trust her. fighting amongst ourselves has led only to defeat. first the house in '96, then comptroller and secretary of state in 98. then governor, attorney general, and the senate in 2002. then, finally, treasurer in 2006. we have no voice, at all, in state government. radogno wants to win and she works for candidates much more conservative than she is. let's give her a chance.

[From The Right Field]

We will see if she really backs conservative candidates or just supports liberal Republicans. Her test as a real "leader" of all Republicans in the Senate starts today. Time will tell. We should know by this time 2 years from now.

If you want her to fight for "all Republicans" then doesn't that mean her fighting for conservative Republican candidates AND moderate Republican candidates?

The problem with being Republican moderate is that everyone to the extreme left or the extreme right hates them. Democrat moderates are in the same boat.

The problem with the extreme left and the extreme right is that they do not attract moderates and independents to their causes.

So the extremely liberal Obama campaigned as a centrist like Clinton did and . . . WON!

Someday, that lesson will sink in for all of us. Until then, more defeat, more bickering, more civil wars.

[Phil Collins]

I agree with part of the last post, "Democrat moderates are in the same boat," but I can't think of many moderate democrat state legislators. Five of the moderate republican legislators are Tom Cross, Skip Saviano, Mark Beaubien, Sandy Cole, and Sid Mathias. Who are the moderate democrat legislators?