http://www.joebirkett.com/birkett/default.html
From a flyer I got in the mail. Paid for by the ~DuPage County Republican Central Committee.
State's Attorney JOE BIRKETT is seeking re-election as ~DuPage County State's Attorney.
EXPERIENCE
LEADERSHIP:
VICTIM ADVOCATE
PERSONAL
JOE BIRKETT will lead the fight against crime in ~DuPage County, with an efficient and ethical approach to government.
Joe Birkett
Issue 1: Better government: Judy Baar Topinka and I believe that Rod Blagojevich has profoundly abused the trust voters placed in him by his ethical conduct and his mismanagement of state finances. Voters were willing to give him a chance after the George Ryan scandals when he pledged endlessly to clean up state government. Instead, his blatant pay-to-play government — chronicled in great detail by the news media — has prompted multiple federal investigations and deepening cynicism by scandal-weary citizens. State finances also are a disaster, as Blagojevich has failed to make the tough choices and instead borrowed heavily, spent excessively and stopped meeting pension obligations. Judy and I want to undo the damage Rod has caused and give Illinois a government it can be proud of and one that is worthy of the greatness of its people.
Issue 2: Ethics: I'm the only statewide candidate for governor or lieutenant governor who has legitimate credentials as a corruption-buster. I have prosecuted corrupt public officials for years, including the state's first licenses-for-bribes case and the largest corruption case ever at the Illinois tollway — resulting in the jailing of Republican Bob Hickman and Democrat Joe Kotlarz. I will be Judy Baar Topinka's point person to ensure that the Topinka-Birkett administration sets a high ethical tone and restores trust to state government.
Issue 3: Fiscal responsibility: The reason the state now has more debt than any other state other than California is that Rod Blagojevich has utterly failed to confront the state's financial situation. He has raised spending, borrowed money like crazy, raided dedicated funds, robbed pensions and stopped paying bills. If he managed money like that in his family, it would be bankrupt. If he was a CEO, he would have been fired a long time ago. The state has to stop spending money it does not have, and it has to take special care to allow its most important asset — a vital economy — to prosper. Debt can only come under control when government stops using it to fund operations like this administration has. Debt should only be used for vital needs, such as road programs. Because the state's debt load has surged under Blagojevich, the new governor will have to get the state's finances under control before undertaking new debt.
From: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/politics/naperville/n17ltgov.html
“To broaden her appeal, Topinka, who is often labeled as too liberal by some in the GOP for her support of abortion and gay rights, tapped conservative DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett to be her running mate.
Birkett is anti-abortion, opposes a state law banning discrimination against gay people and favors a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Topinka, on the other hand, supports the anti-discrimination law and, while she opposes gay marriage, says a constitutional amendment is unnecessary.”
From: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/2_1_AU14_TOPINKA_S1.htm