Week of March 30 - April 7

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White entered into this week with success as the results from the primary election were announced. White overcame his opponent Dan Rutherford in the poles earliest election, suggesting a positive outlook for the rest of his campaign trail. In light of this good news, White kept on with his usual busy schedule of public appearances and new announcements.

Although White received great news last week of his win in the primary election, that hopeful news was followed by some very unpleasant occurrences. The past weekend, two tumblers who are members of the Jesse White Tumbling program were involved in acts of violence. White knew both of these boys personally as he founded the tumbling foundation for which they were part of. One young man fell victim to a gang fight outside Ford City Mall and was pronounced dead Saturday, April 1. This terrible news was followed by another occurrence early Sunday morning. A young man who also happened to be a Jesse White tumbler was stabbed and remains in critical condition. White has commented on how tragic these events are and sent his wishes to the families of those afflicted.

On a lighter note, White received more good news regarding his work as Secretary of State. The Senate approved this week, White's previously proposed plan to increase required driving practice for young drivers. White implemented this addition to the Graduated Drivers Program to ensure the capability of those drivers obtaining their first license.

Later this week, White's name was suggested in several articles regarding a replacement for Cook County Board President John Stroger. Stroger's recent health condition has lead some to question whether he is capable to run for re-election. If his condition worsens, some would like to see Jesse White take over the position. White has not personally accepted the offer, only commenting that his main focus right now is to remain the Illinois Secretary of State.

White's most influential work this week would be the announcement of his new campaign to correlate with national organ donation month. A new $1 million dollar campaign has been implemented encouraging people to register for the new organ donor services established earlier this year. White unveiled his television and radio advertisements promoting organ donation that will run through all of April.

Secretary of State Jesse White's week began with a mixture of hopeful and morbid news, but he ended his week on a overall positive note. With the new release of his organ donation campaign, I am sure we will be seeing more of White in the near future.

References

the Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northshore/chi-0604050267apr05,1,6477757.story?coll=chi-newslocalnorthshore-hed

the Sun-Times http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/04jesse.html

CBS Channel 2 News http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_094214548.html

Week of March 17-24

It's a crucial time for current Secretary of State Jesse White, as primary elections were held this past Tuesday. The Democratic party mailed reminders to voters in hopes they would turn out and show their support. White was not as active in his campaign trail as usual, possibly due to the important events surrounding the election. From the results of the primary election, Dan Rutherford has been elected as the Republican candidate to oppose White for the Secretary of State position. Now that White's opponent has been established, the race is sure to get more interesting.

To start off the week before primary elections, White aided Governor Rod Blagojevich in his proposal for government funds to aid in stem cell research. Along with Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madison, and Comptroller Daniel Haynes, White signed his name on Blagojevich's proposal to ultimately improve health care.

A major glitch in the Illinois Secretary of State's office posed as the low point for White this week. When registering vehicles to a specific county, it seems that Will County has been confused with Williamson County in registration records. This has resulted in a major loss of funds for Will County. Dave Druker, spokesperson for the secretary of state's office could not comment as to how this error occurred or how they plan to fix the problem.

Later this week, White unveiled a plan to help law enforcement identify Illinois license plates with more ease. Since there is a vast array of specialty plates Illinois residents can order, identifying the vehicles has become more difficult for officers over time. With this new plan, including larger, more legible numbers, the secretary of state's office continues to simplify the identification of Illinois plates.

This past Thursday, White served as the keynote speaker at the Old King's Orchard Community Center annual fund-raising banquet. In addition to speaking at the event, White also announced he would be donating gymnastic uniforms and shoes to the center. White who established the 150 member Jesse White Tumbling Team spoke on the importance of community based activities to keep children out of trouble.

Since being named White's opponent, Dan Rutherford has verbalized his criticisms of White's performance during his term. Specifically, Rutherford mocked how the Secretary of State's office has received many complaints due to errors in the mailing system.

With Rutherford as an opponent none of White's mistakes will go unnoticed, or unpublicized for that matter. The actual election battle has began in a heated manner, and from the looks of it, it can only get more intense.

References:

www.chicagotribune.com

www.herald-review.com

www.cbs2chicago.com

Week of March 6-10

As election time draws nearer, Jesse White stays active in his position as current Secretary of State hoping to influence the voters in his favor. White aided the declining federal library fund by announcing $1.4 million in additional funds to school libraries and nearly $15 million to Illinois public libraries. Also serving as the official State Librarian, it is obvious White has made education a priority during his term by stating, "Our public libraries are cornerstones of our communities – places where all citizens can go for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes."

White also announced a new service in the driver services department to aid senior citizens in receiving refunds more efficiently. This new service is an upgrade of the Circuit Breaker program designed to refund vehicle registration funds to senior citizens. “By offering this service on our website, we can help those people who especially need it get their refunds in a quick and simple fashion,” White said. “This is just one more way we are using technology to serve the public’s needs better.”

In order to strengthen the driver services program even further, White has proposed legislation of the new Illinois Graduated Driver's License program. If passed, the amount of practice time young drivers will need to obtain a driver's license would double to 50 hours, including a new requirement of 10 hours of night driving.

By improving current programs within the Secretary of State office weeks before election time, White hopes to earn himself another term. Only time will tell if his efforts turn out to be a success.




References:

The Chicago Defender
http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/news_bios/defender.html

The Decatur Tribune
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=469&show=about&om=8

The Journal Standard
www.journalstandard.com

Week of February 3-10

All good things must come to an end; as did Secretary of State Jesse White’s successful campaign trial this week. Clouted by department indictments and intensifying competition from Senator Dan Rutherford, Jesse White’s moments in the spotlight were not bright this week.

Friday, February 3rd started the grim week for Jesse White. The former director of Secretary of State Jesse White’s physical services division and three janitors were charged Friday with scheming to let the janitors collect full pay for only minimal work, and cheating taxpayers in the process. Cecil Turner, the above mentioned former director, was hired by White’s office even though he was convicted in 1976 of conspiracy for helping a postal carrier steal checks and forge signatures. When opponent Dan Rutherford was asked to comment about the controversy he was quoted saying, “White must have been asleep at the wheel when he hired Turner.” In a bleak attempt to lessen the negative publicity, White’s aide released a statement on behalf of the Secretary of State reminding the public that it was White’s office that brought the alleged wrongdoing to the Fed’s attention. When questioned why Cecil Turner was hired to work for the state even after serving 11 months in prison, White spokesman Dave Druker replied that "The secretary's philosophy in life is people do deserve a second chance, and if they make errors after that, that's it.”

It seems that when Rival Republican candidate Dan Rutherford isn’t busy demeaning Secretary of State Jesse White through the media he is fundraising for his campaign. As campaign disclosure reports were released last week, it became apparent that Rutherford had raised approximately the same amount as White.

Although another week has passed in Jesse White’s campaign trail, I believe there is more controversy ahead. White’s campaign team will have to focus on calming the controversy surrounding the indictments in White’s office in the upcoming weeks. White should also prepare for even more heated competition from Rutherford as not only is he gaining funds, but also popularity.

References:

Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-indict04.html

Quad City Times
http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/02/04/news/state/doc43e43d5109d1a436671718.txt
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/020506/REG_B8SSUDF8.036.shtml

Week of January 21st

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White had a very successful week in his campaign recently. Although White heads the largest secretary of state office in the nation and serves as the state librarian, he still finds time to make public appearances to help along his campaign. From the week of January 21st to this past Saturday, White was present at three special events, contributing to one as a keynote speaker, and honored with an award at another event.

White’s main public appearance of last week was at the Greater Elgin Area YMCA’s Annual Dinner meeting. As keynote speaker of the event, White projected the importance of community and helping the at-risk youth through his speech. White was warmly welcomed at this event as he is no stranger to helping youth on the right track. The Secretary of State even noted in his speech that he has long been involved with the YMCA, since he attended their programs when he was a child. During the keynote speech, White also had a chance to outline his youth and library programs, as well as the driver-related programs he has implemented this year. Addressing all the controversy surrounding the organization of the Illinois driving services, White announced that stiffer penalties for unauthorized handicap parking will be put into effect in the near future calling his strategy "tough love." White’s appearance at this event was his most prominent of last week, as he displayed himself in a positive light, reminded the community how he has served them in the past, and how he will continue to do so in the future.

At last Saturday’s Equality Illinois “Justice for All” gala, White was honored for his support of the establishment of Illinois’ anti-discriminatory law. Along with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, White received the Freedom Award during award presentations at the gala.

White’s last public appearance of the week was at the formal dedication of the new National Center for Supercomputing Applications Building at the University of Illinois, where he was just an attendee.

Altogether White had a successful week in his campaign. From being honored in the community to highly respected at special events amongst other political officers, he is well on his way to re-election.

Article Refrences:

The Courier News
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/3_1_EL26_A3JESSE_S1.htm

Windy City Times online
http://www.outlineschicago.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=10589

Hi everyone, this is my blog about Jesse White's campaign for re-election as Secretary of State for Illinois. Weekly I will be posting comments and summarizations on how his campaign efforts are succeeding/failing based on newspaper articles I have read. Enjoy!