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Keeping up with Dan
The New Format for
Dan's Diary
My Diary
has a new format. It is entirely on the Home page and will be
called "Keeping Up with Dan." There will be political,
personal and governmental postings. I will still archive by
month, so do go back to previous months to catch up on what
you missed. I hope you enjoy the new format.
Rotary Club's top
Pontiac citizen lauded for service
Tony Sapochetti
August 27, 2008
Pantagraph
PONTIAC -- More than 60
people came out Tuesday afternoon to honor Collins Miller as
he accepted the title of 2007 Pontiac Rotary Club Citizen of
the Year.
“I am very thankful to the Rotary for this opportunity,”
Miller said.
Miller was nominated by Pontiac area attorney Ron Fellheimer,
who said at Tuesday’s luncheon at the Elks Lodge that he
“can’t think of anyone who has made our community work more
than Collins.”
Miller has been involved in several organizations and
fundraising efforts. He served as president of Pontiac
Redeveloping Our United Downtown, has been active with OSF St.
James–John W. Albrecht Medical Center fundraisers, helped with
sandbag efforts during the flooding in January and helped
bring a message board to Pontiac Township High School.
“We have a better community because of what you have done, and
I just want to say … thank you very much and congratulations,”
state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said.
The announcement was made earlier this month after a Rotary
Club special committee narrowed down nominations to Miller.
Committee Chairman Greg BesGrove said the committee did not
have a tough time choosing Miller because he embodies several
of the characteristics of Citizen of the Year.
“It was definitely a no-brainer,” BesGrove said. “He has been
involved with so many things, and with his wife, Candy, they
are truly a team.
“They are a special couple that everybody strives to be,” he
said.
Help on the Road
Streator
resident, Chris Kmetz, recently spent the day in Springfield
assisting me and learning more about the legislative process.
He has been helping some over the summer in the Pontiac
District office and on the road traveling around Illinois with
me.
University of Illinois
Football in the Presidential Season
The race will be decided by wins in specific states like
Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa.
The favorite son, Illini, needs to take out the incumbent.
Immediate past success seems to give Ohio a favorable eye, but
polls do change. An organized, prepared campaign from
Illinois, with veteran quarterback Juice Williams, can produce
the momentum.
The Delegate count is close and the Super Delegates are on all
sides of the fence. Late night talk show hosts and the Beltway
pundits are chattering, but the talking heads will not
determine the winner….it will be the finely executing Illinois
team.
Early polling has the race tight, with the hometown candidate,
the fighting Illini, in the mix. Much promo, blogging and hype
is out there, but success will come by getting more votes, or
scoring in football jargon. The campaign is just beginning.
Lobbyists are sidelined for this contest. Oratory and balloon
drops won’t match the might of tailback Daniel Dufrene.
Strategy and muscle will put the points on the board and it
won’t hurt the ballot box.
The Convention Halls in Denver and Minneapolis are hosting the
delegates for Obama and McCain, but Ron Zook carries a
commanding lead in Memorial Stadium. Registered voters and
fans in attendance will help keep the spirits high. The
precinct workers are fully committed to the Orange and Blue.
In the spirit of Illinois’ favorite sons, Lincoln and Reagan,
Illiniwek can be the Commander and Chief this season.
Politically correct or not: long live the Chief!
FROM DAN: The Champaign News Gazette asked me to write a
statement regarding the U of I football team with the tone of
the Presidential race. I like it, I hope you do too!
The Bonneville runs
well, but a few things just light up
Gas in Peoria was $3.729 so we filled up. When we got back in
the car and turned the key, the warning bell started dinging.
Chris was driving and looked at me kind of funny because the
gas gage showed empty. I explained that the gas gauge doesn’t
work and the Service Engine and Check Gauges lights don’t go
off. Needless to say, we fill up after every trip. And, as you
know, every 3,000 miles she gets oil and service. (Just to
note, I was not driving when the photo of gauges was taken.)
She is at 303,463 miles!
Darin LaHood running for Peoria County States Attorney
Darin and his wife
Kristen had a party in Peoria and I wanted to stop by to wish
them the best. My friend Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy and
City of Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis were there too. We had a good
time catching up on happenings. These two guys are great
leaders. (OK, I know the lighting isn’t the best in these
photos…the setting for the camera had been changed; it’s
correct now. This is what we got, so here it is)
My very good friend
Jesse Smart
Danvers had their summer celebration and parade. I really
enjoy going to the small town events and especially
parades. My long time and good friend Jesse drives one of the
little cars for the Shriners. He and his wife, Susan, are so
much fun!
College Fraternity
Buddies
I
went to Illinois State University and was a member of Sigma
Tau Gamma Fraternity. It was a few years ago, but many of us
still keep in touch. Andy Sandberg and his wife Jill had a
wonderful backyard party with tents, band and fresh prepared
Mexican food. Jim Soderquist and his wife were there too.
Andy’s white blazer was part of the evenings theme…I don’t
know how the heck that fits in, but he doesn’t normally dress
that way, now… he did in college!!
Great ladies of the GOP
Naperville and Lisle
Township Republicans opened their campaign headquarters. I
have so many friends there and wanted to be supportive so I
stopped by. I was able to see my friend May Yurgaitis and visit
with Darlene Senger who is running for State Representative.
She will make a great Legislator. I missed my really good
friend Liz Martinez, but I did get to see her at the Downers
Grove Township GOP headquarters opening.
Brendan Appel for the Senate
Brendan is running
for Senate in the northwestern Illinois area. He is really a
great guy, personable and bright. He had a fundraiser on a
boat to watch the Chicago Air and Water Show. I was glad I
could attend.
I have seen the Air
Show a few times from high rise building parties, but this was
the first time being out on the Lake. It was really fun, sunny
and quite a view.
The Blue Angles were a highlight, but the show
stopper was definitely the
Stealth Bomber.
Christopher has
recently joined the ranks of Road Warrior and got a chance to
get the nautical experience. Ray was the skipper for Brendan’s
outing and I had gotten to know him before. We used a power
boat for the day, but Ray is a sailor and races boats, I knew
I liked him. Back at the Yacht Club, Ray invited me onboard
his sailboat Challenge. She is a beauty and I look forward to
crewing with Ray on a race………it’s been years, but I used to
sail a lot.
Oh, what a night, Oh
what a sight
Up my gravel lane there is an island, center of the parking
area. I have a few huge boulders and planted wild sage, black
eyed Susan’s, sedum and pompous grass. To the right you can
see a young oak about 30 feet tall (it came up natural years
ago and I left it there). Blue Spruce are on the east side of
the lane and in the distance you can see the trees in my
ravine where deer often visit. One early evening I came home
and was pulling up to the garage. The moon was bright, the sky
was clear and the blooms were colorful. I sat there for
several moments just enjoying the site!
McLean County Township
Highway Commissioners
The Commissioners have an end of summer get together each
year. I try to make it because these guys work very hard and
deserve a lot of credit. Me with a few of the guys and Buck
with his big pork chop!!
I enjoy radio.....and
to ham it up
I
do a monthly morning conversation with morning show hosts
Scott and Colleen on WJBC
Radio out of Bloomington. I like doing the afternoon drive
time show also, especially if I can do it in studio. Recently
WJBC was broadcasting live from the Children’s Museum in
Normal and I was on with Kim Wells and Steve Fast. This photo
is us hamming it up a bit…. And no, we were not on live at the
time. I enjoy radio a lot and maybe someday I will go into it
when I leave government.
Visiting the
Children's Museum
The Town of Normal and all of Central Illinois is fortunate to
have the Children’s Museum up and operating. I recently visited and
saw the new Agriculture Exhibit and visited with
Museum
Manager Shari Buckellew.
The Creek on my
property
I have a Creek that runs through my property. It is great
because it attracts duck, Great Blue Herron and has fish and
turtles. The spring rain causes some flooding to the south
end, far from the house. I am working on stream bank
stabilization now, to keep erosion from happening. One photo
is from the south to the north, on the other side of the
creek, with my house in the background. The other is of my
brother-in-law, Fred, who has been really helpful in assisting
me with all the projects at my timber.
Roadside Recycle
Every morning whether I am on the road or at home, I make it a
habit to go for a twenty minute jog. When at home I add an
extra few minutes to the jog and pick up the paper and
aluminum cans people have thrown along the roadside. After my
run I take them all home and put them in the recycle. Here is
a picture of my latest ‘can’ finds and I think Busch light is
winning.
Visiting Grandma
As you may know every
Sunday I travel to Fairbury to see my grandma. This Sunday mom
was there playing Rummikub with her friends. Rummikub is grandma's
favorite game and she is very good at it.
Gwen's Birthday
A great friend of the
family, Gwen from Paxton, recently had a very special
birthday. It was wonderful to spend time with her and her
family on her special day.
Me
with some of Gwen's family.
Governor now says he
is against closing Pontiac Prison
I recently came across an
article in the Bloomington Pantagraph that quotes Gov.
Blagojevich as not wanting to close Pontiac Correctional
Center. While attending the opening of the Illinois State Fair
in Springfield the Governor was asked about the possible
prison closing. He responded by saying "That's not something I
want to do. We don't want to. I don't want to."
The
full article is posted on my legislative website,
www.DanRutherford.com.
Please visit to stay up to date on the possible closure of PCC.
Events this year
I wanted to give you advance notice so you can plan to attend one or all
of our Dan Rutherford Campaign Committee events this year. Here are the
events that the dates and times are finalized for.
October 13, 2008-Annual
Chicken Dinner at the
Pontiac Elk's Country
Club
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The final Diary of the trip will be up soon. In the meantime here are the pictures: 
