Even though the general election is still months away, Blagojevich is spending millions already. According to Belleville News Democrat Blagojevich is spending $800,000.00 a week on television commercials. The total amount of money his campaign has spent on political advertising this year is $6.2 million. On the other hand, Judy Baar Topinka has relied mostly on free media appearances to get her message out. Topinka’s campaign says the impact of Blagojevich’s media blitz, which has featured ads attacking her stance on assault weapons and other issues, is short-lived.

A big issue that may shape up this upcoming election in November is the controversy over gay marriage. Gov. Rod Blagojevich took a different political stand on the rights of same-sex couples Monday, by extending benefits to the domestic partners of most state employees. Despite her opposition to same-sex marriage, Topinka is already perceived as gay-friendly by many of her early support of the state's new gay-rights law. A gay-marriage question in this election could potentially draw to the polls more conservatives likely to vote Republican.

(Chicago tribune by Christie Pearsons Posted 5-9-06)

In other news, I’m sure that everyone is getting annoyed with the rising gas prices that are occurring in Cook County. In a newspaper article it talked about the rising gas prices, but it also went on to say how gubernatorial hopeful Judy Baar Topinka would like to see the state eliminate sales tax on gasoline. Taxes including federal and local, account for about 20 percent of the total price of gas in the United States. Federal excise taxes are 18.4 cents per gallon, and state excise taxes average 20 cents per gallon. There may also be some additional state sales taxes, as well as local and city taxes.

(Chicago Sun-Times Posted 5-7-06)

The election is in November which is still months away, yet I am sure that there will be even more derogatory commercials aimed at Topinka that were "paid for by the friends of Blagovich." You know what, I really like how they put that on the bottom of the screen, "paid for by the friends of Blagovich." Why don’t they just say paid for by Blagojevich’s party? We all know that he doesn’t want Topinka to win the spot of Governor, so why even try to make it nice. Politics really make you think into things. You never really know what you are going to get out of the future candidate. Maybe they are a truthful person who will try to make the state better, or maybe they are a candidate that is filling our heads with nonsense. Till the winner is declared, who knows who really is the better candidate.

Although November is still months away both Governor Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka are already getting things heated up for the upcoming Illinois Governors race. A little help came early to get things heated up when former Governor George Ryan was found guilty on federal corruption charges earlier this week. Blagojevich swiftly began linking Topinka to Ryan’s culture of corruption. Blagojevich also said that the people that worked under former Governor Ryan were entrusted with many things as a political figure in Illinois and no one lifted a finger, no one raised their voices, and no one tried to change anything while Ryan was Governor of Illinois. Topinka was quick to point out the Blagojevich administration faces investigations of its own, with its hiring practices under federal and state scrutiny. Yet again though Topinka was
criticized for accepting campaign contributions from banks that do business with her state treasurer's office, although she never has been accused of any wrongdoing.

(Chicago Sun Times By Rick Pearson Posted 4-18-06)

The Ryan factor is likely to remain alive throughout the campaign. The big challenge for Topinka is whether her campaign can avoid being put on the defensive over Ryan, by the ability of the well funded Blagojevich campaigns of attacks against Topinka. Yet, many believe there will only be a limited effect because GOP primary challenger Jim Oberweis has already made an attmept to connect Topinka with former Governor George Ryan by airing a commercial of the two doing the "pay to play polka."

(Chicago Tribune By John Chase Posted 4-21-06)

Now onto bigger and better things such as the death penalty in Illinois. In 2000 former Governor George Ryan placed a moratorium on executions in Illinois. Many are hoping that a change in the Governor’s mansion this fall will help bring back the death penalty in Illinois. Blagojevich believes that the moratorium that Ryan placed in 2000 should stay in place, while Republican running mate Judy Baar Topinka has hinted that enough things have been taken into action and that the death penalty should be reinstated.

(Time Magazine By Eric Ferkenhoff Posted 4-20-06)

In conclusion, both Topinka and Blagojevich are both criticizing each other about contributions and hiring practices. The main point is that they are both guilty of them. Just because they are pointing their fingers at each other, and making it known to the public of their "wrong doing" does not make it right. Realistically, all political candidates appear to be helping out the people, when really all they are doing is putting on a show, and making their money on the side hoping not to get caught. So, I guess who ever has more "dirt" on the other will win this election because that seems to be what this whole election is about.

Just merely a few days after the primary election, Governor Rod Blagojevich has proposed 10 debates with his Republican challenger, Judy Baar Topinka. Blagojevich stated that he does not want to crowd the debates into September or October, but he would like to start debating as early as this month. Topinka's campaign said they will work will Blagojevich to reach an agreement on a final number of debates. Topinka's spokesman said that they are definitely looking forward to debating Blagojevich in the near future.

(Chicago Tribune By: Crystal Lindell Posted 5-1-06)

Although the November election is months away, both candidates are already stirring things up. As it has been said before, Topinka is once again bringing up the point that Blagojevich has produced some "pretty ads" this campaign season. Yet, she is also saying that voters should wonder where the money came from to pay for all of these ads. Topinka had stated during an interview that state contracts and board appointments are being handed out in exchange for campaign donations. Blagojevich's campaign spokesman denied the allegations and back-fired at Topinka, saying that the voters should be asking the Republican state treasurer, whether she accepts campaign donations from banks that do business with the state.

(Chicago Sun Times By: James McHenry Posted 5-5-06)

A downfall for Topinka is that she is searching for a new campaign manager to replace Terry Barnich, who went back to his private sector job after the March primary.

In recent days, Topinka held news conferences attacking Blagojevich over events that happened days and even months earlier. The news conferences appeared as a way to try to generate free publicity against the well-funded Blagojevich. Blagojevich has run a non-stop series of campaign ads since the March 21 primary.

(Chicago Tribune By: Rick Pearson Posted 4-7-06)

Just as we thought there was an end to Topinkas outbursts, it happens again. Topinka had ended her primary campaign calling her opponents "morons" and now she is starting the general election with name calling again. She describes Blagojevich as having "little weasel eyes" because of how he makes eye contact. Many people expect the Blagojevich campaign to continue to try to bait Topinka into making "unguarded" remarks. Note to Topinka everything that comes to your head does not have to come out of your mouth.

Ah yes, the lovely republican election has come to an end. Yet, I must recap and fill everyone in about the last attempts made by Topinka's running mates in order to win this primary. Jim Oberweis aired a television commercial in his last attempt to defeat Judy Baar Topinka in the Republican Primary. The ad showed Topinka and former Governor George Ryan doing the "pay to play polka," which over the years Topinka has actually done the polka with many other politicians. Yet, Oberweis was trying to suggest Topinka is a lot like former Governor George Ryan who is on trial for alleged corruption charges. It was a very creative idea of Oberweis to try to knock down the front runner of the Republican Primary days before the election.

(Chicago Tribune By: Andy Shaw Posted 3-19-06)

Another bump in the road for Topinka happened when she decided to skip Thursday night's Republican debate, which was the last debate before Tuesday's primary. Her running mates accused her of being afraid to face them. Her defense was that she did not have to be at every single debate and she already did four debates during the primary campaign. She also stated that the governor has not done any. Blagojevich has refused to debate his challenger, Edwin Eisendrath, but he has agreed to debate the eventual GOP nominee.

(St. Louis Post By: Rob Novak Posted 3-17-06)

The ads attacking each other will finally stop, now that the Republican primary is over. Although Oberweis has been creating new ideas aimed at Topinka, he still came up short . Topinka won the state race with thirty eight percent of the votes compared to Oberweis' thirty two percent. Now, Topinka is focused on challenging Blagojevich and the main issues will be ethics. Yet, Topinka comes from a party whose previous Governor is under indictment. Many believe she may have a tough time getting some conservatives to embrace her candidacy. Blagojevich does not even have to try to make Topinka look bad because Oberweis has already accomplished that with his authentic television ads aimed at Topinka. Oberweis did a great job on those ads, but who is it going to help in the long run? Obviously not the republican party.

Now the real fun begins. Blagojevich and Topinka are already giving voters a preview of the election to come. Blagojevich said on Wednesday on WGN-TV that he intends to invest in programs like health care for children. Topinka's response was that Blagojevich is trying to create programs without any money to pay for them.

(Chicago Sun-Times By:Marion Smith Posted 3-23-06)

Now that we know who is going to "face off" to become our Governor the real fun has just begun. Thanks to Oberweis, I believe that Blagojevich has a better chance than Topinka to remain as our Governor. I mainly believe this because Oberweis has attacked Topinka and the longer that went on for the better Blagojevich looked. Yet, Jim Edgar is behind Topinka which helps her out, but the whole ordeal with George Ryan is not going to help her chances what so ever.

Recently television ads have been aired attacking Judy Baar Topinka. The ads feature images that look as if they were front pages of the Chicago Tribune, The Springfield State Journal-Registar and the St.Louis Post Dispatch. Yet, no headlines have ever appeared in print in those newspapers.

Topinka said on Thursday that she intends to make an issue out of the phony and misleading headlines used against her in the television advertisements made be her republican opponent Jim Oberweis. Topinka said that the phony ads raise the issue of trust in the candidate running them. She said they make her wonder if anything he says could be trusted after all?

(Edwardsville Intelligencer By: Norma Mendez Posted 3-3-06)

Republican candidate Jim Oberweis is also trying to promote a web site that criticizes Topinka's support for gay rights. The website features photos of Topinka, participating in Chicago Gay Pride Parade and the website labels her extremely liberal.

(Chicago Sun Times By James Maher Posted 3-3-06)

This morning Judy Baar Topinka called all of her Republican candidates to apologize for calling them "morons" during an appearance in North Riverside on Thursday. A representative of Topinka basically stated that it was the end of a very long day for Judy Topinka. Yet, her running mates are raising the question that if she is elected Governor are these out lashes going to occur when she's under pressure as the Governor of are state? Bill Brady also stated that the comment made by Topinka only helps out Blagojevich in the fall.

(Chicago Tribune By Rick Pearson Posted 3-10-06)

Now that election time is coming it is obvious that Topinka is definitely feeling exhausted and under pressure. She is still the front runner of the Republican candidates, but the other candidates are definitely breathing down her neck. The other candidates are not going to let her get away with saying or doing anything that is out of line. Some people believe that the statement that she said Thursday night will hurt her when election time comes around, but at least she was a big enough person to apologize for her mistakes.

Judy Baar Topinka announced her ethics reform proposal on Sunday. She vowed to clean up the "pay to play" politics as she refers to it, that Governor Rod Blagojevich has been doing. Topinka and her running mate Dupage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett, want to end businesses with state contractors from making campaign contributions to the officeholders. Republican Rod Gidwitz called Topinka a hypocrite on Sunday, for having accepted donations from banking groups that do business with her office.
(Chicago Sun-Times By Carla K. Johnson posted 2-19-06)

Topinka seems to believe that there is nothing wrong with what she is doing. Topinka has reportedly received at least $500,000.00 from banks over her three year term as the state treasurer. Yet, she has put down Blagojevich on receiving funds as she calls it the "pay to play" administration. But, how can she put down Blagojevich when the banks that are donating the money to Topinka's campaign have had millions of dollars in contracts with her office. Her defense was that she lacked personal finance when competing with multimillionaire rivals for the primary in March.
(Chicago Tribune By John McCormick & Liam Ford posted 2-22-06)

On Monday, the five Republican candidates debated over public radio that ended up in mayhem. It all happened after Topinka's last statement which was to challenge her opponents to release ten years worth of income tax returns. Many believe she said this, to portray her challengers as millionaire businessmen and herself as a working stiff. After Topinka had made that statement her political advisors immediately rushed her out of the room. This is when mayhem broke out. After Topinka left the radio station her four opponents had a field day attacking Topinka and her ethics package that she unveiled. Republican Jim Oberweis stated "Topinka's ethics plan seems to be an oxymoron, because of the "unsavory contributions" she has received."
(Chicago Tribune By Fran Spielman posted 2-21-06)

I believe that Judy Baar Topinka is pushing herself back into a corner where she will no longer be able to put up a legitimate argument. She will put down our current Governor for receiving funds, but it' s okay for her to receive them because she's not rich. I think in every argument thus far, Judy Baar Topinka has contradicted herself and is making herself look like a fool. I don't even understand how she can be the front runner in this campaign race. My advice to her would be to keep her mouth shut before she contradicts herself again.

Judy Baar Topinka has warned the state of Illinois, that if she is elected many interest groups including schools should not expect many new programs or therefore any more money. Topinka believes that it is time to start paying off old debts and not using the pension fund as a piggy bank for other programs. In addition, Topinka has again and again said that she does not want to raise taxes, yet she has just stated in an interview that she does not want to eliminate that option. (The Journal Star by Molly Parker Poster on Feb. 9th 2006)

Topinka has also made her position regarding same- sex marriage. She opposes same-sex marriage. Topinka believes that marriage is between a biological man and a biological woman, because state law already defines marriage in that manner. Yet, as recently as last year Topinka was spotted supporting gay rights, while marching in the Chicago Pride Parade. (Windy City Times by Andrew Davis Posted Feb. 1st 2006)

Another Endorsement deal has come for Topinka once again. Dupage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, has announced that he as well is endorsing Judy Topinka in the Republican primary in March.

Topinka has also recently accepted $11,000.00 from a woman who heads a Peoria company. Many are speculating this donation because Topinka had offered to bail out the woman's husband from a decade old, unpaid state loan a couple of years ago. Many believe the only reason the woman is donating the money is because of her husband. Yet, the woman who is Dr. Theresa Falcon-Cullinan said she gave the money to show support for a female political candidate. Dr.Falcon-Cullinan is President of Health Professionals Limited, which provides healthcare to inmates at some Illinois Prisons. (Chicago Sun-Times By Dave McKinney Posted Feb. 6th 2006)

I believe that Judy Baar Topinka is trying to hard to win the position of Governor. It seems to me it's as though she is changing her views just to get people to vote for her. How do you support same-sex marriage by marching in a parade with thousands of people and then later in the year oppose the same thing you were supporting? Is she changing her views because that's how majority of the people feel? Another argument about Topinka is she was recently criticizing Blagojevich on cutting prison jobs. Is she concerned about this issue because she is concerned with job loss, or is it because one of the contributors to her campaign is tied in with the prison health profession?