Eric Thorsland is running for one of two seats on the Champaign County Board representing District one. He is funding his campaign with donated scrap metals from many of his supporters, making Eric a recycled candidate who is not the incumbent. Eric is having a big fund drive kick off Monday June 2nd at 7:30am at his farm located at 480 County Road 2500 N. Mahomet Il. You are welcome to come meet Eric and some of his supporters then, as we pile the scrap as high as we can to start of Eric’s fund drive.

Please join us! Make your reservation today!

Spring 2008 Democratic
Unity Dinner

Sunday, April 6th
5:00 – Social Hour
6:00 – Dinner Program

Laborer’s Hall
108 E. Anthony Dr., Urbana

$35 with advance Reservation/$40 at the Door

To reserve your seat now, e-mail Matthew Gladney at dinner@champaigncountydemocrats.org and tell us how many tickets you’d like reserved. Then either mail your check to Dinner Committee, Champaign County Democrats, P.O. Box 1455, Champaign, IL 61824; or use your credit card on-line at:

champaigncountydemocrats.org/help/#donate

Any questions? E-mail Matthew at dinner@champaigncountydemocrats.org .

There will be a candidate’s forum for the office of Champaign County State’s Attorney this Wednesday, January 30, 2008.  The forum will be held at 6:00pm in the University of Illinois Law School Auditorum, which is located at 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. in Champaign.

All three candidates currently running in the February 5th primary are scheduled to attend.  These include:

• Alfred Ivy
• Janie Miller-Jones
• Julia Rietz

Ivy & Rietz are running against each other in the Democratic primary.  The winner will face Republican Miller-Jones in the November 4th general election.  Julia Rietz currently holds the office of State’s Attorney for Champaign County.

This candidate’s forum is sponsored by the University of Illinois Law School Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Early voting starts at the County Clerk’s office tommorow, Monday March 26th. You can vote early on weekdays from 8:00am to 4:30pm until April 12th. You can also vote on Saturday March 31st or Saturday April 7th from 9:00am to Noon. Click here to view your sample ballot. For information about those on the ballot, see our candidates page.

I have posted a new candidates page with summaries about those who are running in this spring’s general municipal election on April 17, 2007. This includes candidates for Champaign City Council, Champaign School Board, and Urbana School Board. While all three of these races are non-partisan, several of the candidates running self-identify as Democrats, so I thought it made sense to post a page on our website so that Democrats in Champaign County know who’s running. From the dismal primary turnout of 6%, it’s clear that the most important task for the general is to turn out more voters. Please read the summaries, follow the links to their websites, and help out on those campaigns you care about. Most importantly, get out and vote on April 17th!

There are also some new websites amongst this group that have gone up in the last week. These include websites for Tracy Heilman (Urbana School Board), and Annette Williams (Champaign City Council). I have met and talked with both of these candidates, and came away very impressed and enthusiastic about their campaigns. These new websites join those that were already up for Giraldo Rosales, Patricia Avery (both Champaign City Council), and Melodye Benson Rosales (Champaign School Board).

Democrats looking to elect like-minded individuals for these races have excellent candidates to choose from this year!

Here’s our print newsletter for March/April, 2007. This issue includes articles on the following:

• Champaign City Council Candidates
• School Board Candidates
• County Board 6 Appointment
• and more…

Download a copy in PDF.