In the News

News Sun, December 25, 2008

With all eyes focused on recent revelations of Gov. Blagojevich's appalling actions, it is tempting to paint all Illinois Democrats with the same brush.

Corrupt behavior by any politician is inexcusable and diminishes us all: Democrats, Republicans and citizens who care about our community, our state, and our country. We all want to believe in and value public service performed to improve the quality of citizens' lives, and we all suffer when political power is misused for the benefit of a few.

Over six years ago, Lake County Democratic Women was formed to encourage women to get involved in politics and to help talented grassroots candidates who are interested in becoming elected officials. We join with all citizens in condemning unlawful and unethical conduct, and would like to remind our fellow residents and citizens that it is the principles of the Democratic Party that characterize and unite us.

We are Democrats because we believe in principles that will make our government better and our communities stronger:

• Quality affordable health care.
• Equal access to justice and opportunity for all our citizens.
• Educational opportunity for all our fellow citizens.
• American workers as the foundation for economic growth.
• Peace through strength and diplomacy

These principles are the cornerstone of what we stand for as Lake County Democratic Women, even when we have differing views within our own party. Therefore, during this tumultuous time, we will continue to tackle the tough issues, deal with bad apples in our own party, correct our mistakes and learn from them. We stand ready to tackle the difficult tasks at hand.

Susan Garrett