Audacity of Illinois politicians - The General John Parker edition

As General John Parker has made clear to the citizens of Peoria that he “will not quit”, his campaign rolls on. A quick look at Parker’s website shows the following events:

February 28, 2009 - Fundraiser for General Parker for Mayor. Join us in celebrating Peoria’s Black History! Keynote speaker is Former Fire Chief, John Parker. Located at the Holiday Inn City Centre. 500 Hamilton Blvd. Cocktails at 6:00pm; Program at 7:00pm. Come share a night with good friends, good food, networking and dancing. Retired Fire Chief John Parker will speak about Peoria’s Black History as he remembers it. TICKETS COST $35.00 each.$350.00 Table of 10 Sponsorships Available from $500 on up. To purchase tickets call: (309)397-3104

March 1, 2009 - Campaign Kickoff

March 2, 2009 - Candidate's Night, Paparazzi's Restaurant at 6:30pm, 4315 N. Voss in Peoria Heights

March 4, 2009 - Candidate's Night Moss-Bradley Resident's Association at 6:30 p.m.
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General John Parker, the only other candidate who is running against the incumbent, Mayor Jim Ardis. I suppose I should mention, General John Parker is black and Jim Ardis is white. However, the broader issue is Parker's legal issues:

I have been letting this issue marinate for several days. However, I cannot help but continue to wonder, why is Kevin Lyons taking such a strong stance against General John Parker? We all have known for some time (since December) that Parker is a convicted felon, so why is Kevin Lyons forcing Parker’s hand at this juncture?

Why did Lyons wait until Parker's name was on the ballot? To remove his name from the ballot at this time would be costly. Absentee voting is set to begin at the Election Commission as early as Thursday, March 4.


Other bloggers are also questioning why the State’s Attorney is picking this fight with Parker now. Recently, Mr. Lyons made the following statement in the PJStar about Parker:

"I gave Mr. Parker a courtesy week to withdraw mainly because most people seek public office, you hope, in a sense of altruism," Lyons said. "You would like to afford them the opportunity to self-correct an ineligibility or conflict. I don't think anyone believes Mr. Parker was interested in self-correcting."

Really? Mr. Parker is a politician, just like Mr. Lyons and Mr. Ardis. How altruistic is any politician... really? Why is it necessary for Kevin Lyons to deal with John Parker in such a condescending manner? Is it because Parker is an ex-convict? Is this the type of treatment every ex-convict can look forward to, regardless of how much they may have turned their life around? It looks to me like Mr. Parker has done a lot of self correcting.

According to PJStar.com City Council members have barely commented on the mayoral race and Mayor Jim Ardis could not be reached for comment. However...


From what I understand, anyone could have registered a complaint about Parker's candidacy five days after the election's filing date, which was Dec. 15, 2008, and no one did.

Has some one registered a complaint about Parker's candidacy since then? Did I miss that news story? Oh, I get it, this an example of the State's Attorney, making an altruistic effort, to protect the citizens of Peoria, from the likes of General John Parker?