ILLINOIS CORRUPTION FIGHTER ANNOUNCES 2006 RACE FOR GOVERNOR
Andy Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois spanning five decades (1960's-2000's).
Andy exposed corruption in the local courts while still a student at the University of Illinois College of Law. In 1968 Andy engaged in a legendary confrontation with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, demanding that Democrats dump Secretary of State Paul Powell because Powell was a crook. Shortly thereafter, Powell died leaving millions of dollars stuffed in shoe boxes.
In 1969 Andy Martin joined efforts to investigate and expose two corrupt judges on the Illinois Supreme Court. The judges were forced to resign after taking bank stock bribes. The Court retaliated against Andy by investigating him!
Throughout the 1970's Martin waged war against judicial corruption in Illinois' federal and state courts. His efforts set the foundations for Operation Greylord, which led to the conviction of over 80 court personnel. The United States Court of Appeals in Chicago once said “The stories about Martin's clashes with the appellate and district court judges in this circuit are legion…he might not win a popularity contest in this circuit.” Any surprise there?
Andy also waged war against political corruption over the same decades. At a time when a new generation of Daley Family pirates is now pillaging Chicago, Illinois needs strong new leadership to fight corruption. Andy Martin will wage war against crooked politicians and continue his fight for integrity in Springfield. Andy still doesn't want to win a “popularity contest.” He wants to win the war against corruption.
Andy has entered the race for the 2006 Republican nomination for Governor. Send him your thoughts. Offer him your support. Once again, Illinois calls Andy Martin to be a field general in the endless war against political corruption in our state.
Frequent candidate makes a run for Illinois governor
By Anna Johnson, The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Running for political office is nothing new for Andy Martin. Winning would be.
The 60-year-old Internet columnist with a long history of legal problems has run for everything from county clerk to president over the past three decades — sometimes as a Democrat and other times as a Republican
But he consistently has finished at the bottom of the pack, whether running in Florida, New Hampshire or Illinois.
Never mind, Martin says. He'll keep running and speaking out against what he considers a corrupt political system.
“I often say this all began when I was a law student and started studying corruption, and as I branched out more, I learned more and I never stopped,” he said.
Martin, who also has used the name Anthony Martin-Trigona, faces a field of four other Republican gubernatorial candidates in the March 21 primary — all of whom have campaign funds that dwarf the $75,000 he reports lending to his own campaign.
He also enters the race for Illinois governor with considerable baggage.
Martin's “malicious” lawsuits have resulted in courts in at least two states placing restrictions on his right to file lawsuits.
Though he graduated from the University of Illinois law school in the 1960s, Martin is not licensed in any state to practice law.
The Illinois Supreme Court denied him a license because he sent several profane letters to members of the bar committee and filed abusive court pleadings, documents show. The court also noted his Selective Service file showed Martin suffered from a “moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and grandiose character.”
Martin said the courts are retaliating against him for trying to fight corruption.
“It was an inquisition that was designed to send a message that anyone who rocks the boat will be punished,” he said.
Other examples of his run-ins with the court include a 2000 Florida Supreme Court ruling that required Martin to pay fees before he could file any civil lawsuits. “Nearly everything Martin files is malicious,” the justices wrote.
Another Florida judge jailed him for remarks he made during a hearing on a restraining order to keep him away from a television station and two cameramen who had scuffled with him in 1996 when he was running for the state's senate. Martin has an open arrest warrant relating to that case, said Kim Collins of the Palm Beach county clerk and comptroller's office.
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ralph Winter wrote in 1984 that Martin filed hundreds of meritless lawsuits “to harass persons who have unluckily crossed his path.”
Martin said he has been unfairly targeted for his ideas.
“This is a recurring pattern. It isn't about me breaking the law, it is about the law being broken and abused and retaliating against me,” Martin said.
Martin says he visited Iraq in 2003 to cover the war for an Internet news site and also runs an organization that helps military families protect themselves from lawsuits.
Martin said he's a conservative politician with progressive social beliefs. He calls the death penalty “barbaric” and scolds his Republican rivals for not emphasizing the needs of the poor as they discuss state spending.
Although a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll shows he is supported by 1 percent of GOP voters, Martin said his campaign is viable and ready for victory if voters are ready for reform.
“Right now, we are in a no-man's zone,” Martin said. “We are in uncharted seas, and how it breaks, only God knows.”
From: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/politics/state/2_1_AU16_MARTIN_S1.html