They are claiming this bill will give them equal protection in the workplace and in housing. HERE IS WHAT THE BILL WILL DO:

1) It will be used to overturn the Illinois marriage law, which requires that marriage be between one man and one woman. Once "sexual orientation" is
added to the human rights act, they now reach a "protected status" under the law. This means there is a higher consideration of the courts based upon
their sexual orientation. Thus it can be claimed that marriage laws do not give equal protection to homosexuals under Illionis laws, since they cannot
be married as others are.

2) It has no exemption for religious organizations or religious beliefs. Thus, churches which do not hire homosexuals can have charges brought against them of discrimination because of sexual orientation.

3) This will protect cross-dressing in the workplace. Employers who do not have a dress code will have to hire crossdressers. The only dress code that could not be discriminating is one that requires all employees to wear the same uniform. If you allow a woman to wear a dress, you must allow a man with a "gender-identity" problem to wear a dress.

4) Businesses which provide public accomodations (restrooms) cannot discriminate based upon sexual orientation. A cross-dressing man would have to be allowed to use the women's washroom.

THIS BILL MUST STAY DEFEATED ON MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND UNTIL NOON ON WEDNESDAY!!! IF THE SENATE PASSES THE BILL, THE HOUSE HAS ALREADY AGREED TO CONSIDER IT. THEY DO HAVE THE VOTES TO PASS IT AND SEND IT TO THE GOVERNOR, WHO HAS ALREADY PLEDGED TO SIGN IT.

STEM CELL RESEARCH
The Senate sponsor, Jeff Schoenberg, has already indicated to the press that he is calling HB 3589, the embryonic stem cell research bill, for a vote
during the dying days of session. Once again, this bill will:

1) Allow the use of human embryonic stem cell research. When the stem cell is extracted, the baby dies.

2) Allow theraputic cloning, which is cloing for the purpose of destroying the new embryo to remove the stem cell.

3) It makes the cloning and implantation of a cloned baby a felony offense, but allows the creation of life for the purpose of killing it in extracting the stem cell.

CALL YOU STATE SENATOR AND ASK FOR A "NO" VOTE ON
HB 3589.

CAPITAL SWITCHBOARD 217-782-2000.

There were howls of protest and a strong no vote voiced by reform-minded delegates who found Kjellander to be ethically compromised by accepting an
$809,000 payment associated with Democrat Governor Blagojevich's ten billion dollar borrow and spend bond scheme. Protected by Chairman Judy Barr Topinka's gavel and a withered army of patronage delegates, the no votes were not counted and Kjellander was retained.

Now comes the evidence against Ryan and Warner, made public on January 4. Kjellander's name is intertwined with many of the major players in this civic
tragedy. It is a new reminder that the Illinois GOP's attempts to re-build are destined to fail with Kjellander in the lead role.

Allegedly, while Ryan was Secretary of State, Warner and lobbyist Don Udstuen split payments from vendors preferred by Warner and approved by Ryan and Ryan's
chief of staff Scott Fawell. According to the evidence, Warner provided Ryan, Fawell and their families with gifts and money, which Ryan failed to disclose on his income taxes and on required Economic Interest statements. Both Udstuen and Fawell are cooperating with the prosecutors.

According to the evidence, in 1991, Warner & Ryan pal Arthur "Ron" Swanson attempted to secure $750,000 in payments from Honeywell Corporation, which provided the majority of mainframe computer services for previous Secretary of State Jim Edgar. Honeywell never paid Warner or Swanson.

The evidence states that Bob Kjellander contacted Udstuen seeking counsel as to who to hire to get more Secretary of State business for his client, IBM, a
Honeywell competitor. Udstuen recommended Warner and Warner was subsequently hired by IBM. According to the evidence, under the terms of the contract with
IBM, Warner, through a newly created Omega Consulting Group, was to receive a 3.5% commission from IBM's net revenues from any subsequent Secretary of State
business.

Meanwhile, Kjellander allegedly contacted one Frank Cavallaro and asked Cavallaro if he would be interested in working at the Secretary of States
office.

"Through Kjellander's recommendation, Udstuen contacted Cavallaro and had a series of conversations with him. One of the conversations took place at a
lunch meeting with Udstuen, Larry Warner, and possibly Bob Kjellander. This meeting was the first time Cavallero ever met Warner. During his lunch with
Warner and Udstuen, switching the SOS Office to an IBM mainframe was the primary topic of conversation. Warner and Udsteun were very explicitly pro-IBM
and seemed pleased that Cavallaro supported the idea of switching to an IBM mainframe system. It was clear to Cavalarro during the meeting that Warner and
Udsteun wanted to make sure that Cavalarro would support IBM as (the Secretary of State's) Director of the ISSD (Information Systems Services Department)."
Government's Evidentiary Proffer as to Co-conspirator and Agency Statements -United States of America v. Lawrence Warner and George H. Ryan, Sr., January 4,
2005, p.43

With backing by Warner, Udsteun and Fawell, Cavalarro was hired by Ryan. Ryan switched to a $25 million IBM mainframe and used IBM on a failed kiosk project.
According to the evidence, by the time Ryan left office, Warner's total income from IBM was approximately $1.0 million, approximately $250,000 of which was directed to Udsteun.

Now, how does Larry Warner say thank you, Bob Kjellander? Is there any Republican who believes the party can rebuild with Kjellander as National
Committeeman?

The ongoing struggle to reform the Illinois Republican Party has as its proper target of scorn one Bob Kjellander. Kjellander's nearly million dollar payout, profiteering from Blago's bond issue when ninety percent of the Republican Senate caucus was opposed is a slap in the face of every fiscal and good government Republican. The latest criminal evidence documents Kjellander's alleged involvement with some pretty shady characters. I fear for Republicans as we discover more about Kjellander's involvement in business as usual in Springfield.

Tainted by public corruption indictments, convictions and an ongoing investigation, the Illinois Republican Party, especially its grassroots adherents, would be well served by the resignation of National Committeeman Kjellander.

To get out of a hole, one should first stop digging. Staying with Kjellander is choosing to be led by a steam shovel.

I'm asking you to help accomplish this change. Call me at 847-373-0691 or 847-428-0212 and volunteer to call six Republican legislators, party officials
and local leaders. Share this Kjellander news with them and then ask, "Do you think the Republican Party can rebuild with Bob Kjellander at its head?"
Report back to me via phone or e-mail on the answer. And let your local leader know, this is a yes or no question.

Republicans will have a public meeting to hear from their six new candidates for chairman in Springfield, at noon, at the Springfield Renaissance Hotel, 701 East Adams Street. Republicans should fill the room and leave no doubt that a clean reformer for chairman is a nice start, but only Kjellander's resignation will signal that change is for real in the "new" Illinois GOP.

Joe Wiegand is the Executive Director of Family Taxpayer's Network.

Open Meeting of the Illinois Republican Party
When: Saturday, January 15, 2005
Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Renaissance Hotel
701 E. Adams Street
Springfield

All Republicans are welcome to attend!
No need to RSVP - just show up!

But the Republican State Central Committee, empowered with the right to name a nominee, balked at Oberweis. The word was passed, purportedly from White House strategist Karl Rove to his good friend, national committeeman Bob Kjellander, that Oberweis was unacceptable. Why? Because in the primary Oberweis campaigned hard against President Bush's amnesty program and on behalf of legislation known as the CLEAR bill, which would require the federal government to take custody of illegal aliens caught by state and local authorities or pay locals to detain the immigrants.

In addition, Oberweis made clear that while he supported Bush's re-election (and was a major contributor to it), he could not endorse the president's guest-worker program for illegal aliens. That spelled finis to Oberweis' chances to succeed Ryan for the nomination. The state committee picked Alan Keyes instead. Oberweis was a good loser; he didn't complain when he was passed over. Just as he contributed to Ryan after the primary, he contributed $1,000 -- the maximum -- to Keyes.

Much of the conservative movement felt shortchanged, but they took it smiling. For one thing, they didn't want to jeopardize Bush's re-election by signaling disunity. And true, Keyes ultimately appealed to some of them, but a growing number of social conservatives concluded that Keyes was all right as a podium-pounder but too brittle as a candidate. Also, the fact that Keyes never conceded to or congratulated winner Barack Obama struck many as the ultimate in bad grace.

So, in looking to the future, an increasing number of conservatives are turning to Oberweis to run for governor, and he has all but announced that he will run. Oberweis' friends know the state committee did the dairy and stock analyst a big favor in rejecting him last year. Given the Super Bowl-style publicity Obama received after last March, no one on the Republican side could beat him. What better position could a GOP candidate be in today than as one who was vetoed by the establishment? Especially as the establishment begins to look worse than ever with the coming trial of former Gov. George Ryan?

For that reason, in a party where conservatives are beginning to play a dominant role, Jim Oberweis seems to be the sentimental favorite for governor. Having spent $3.5 million and more in two previous attempts, Oberweis has signaled that he is prepared to spend what it takes to run for governor. Last week on my WLS-AM radio show, I asked the audience listening on this 50,000-watt station to conduct a plebiscite and signal either up or down on Oberweis, centering specifically on his immigration stand. The resulting avalanche of calls in favor almost blew a circuit at the station.

As a guest on my show, Oberweis, calm and forthright and in complete possession of the facts, showed that he has learned much since his two earlier runs. He's confident and non-vituperative. He points out that perhaps his 2004 commercials were too strident -- but he has not backed down on immigration, which probably will be his major issue. He stresses his wholehearted support of Bush on economic and foreign-defense issues. But he makes no bones about the fact that he opposes the plan Bush supports to deal with the 10 million illegal immigrants already on U.S. soil. With the proposed three-year work visas -- visas that could be renewed, in many cases for an additional three years -- new immigrants could enter the United States legally if they take jobs Americans aren't claiming. Oberweis says Bush would be discriminating against those immigrants who wait in line patiently to enter the country. Moreover, says Oberweis, African Americans born here may well be discriminated against in their job search.

That the immigration issue will be one of the hot-button items in this Congress plays into Oberweis' calculus. Big business supports Bush's immigration plan; not so many movement conservatives. Oberweis is on the popular side of this one for the primary. He says the Bush plan will weaken U.S. control of its borders at a time when the war on terrorism is all-important.

The Oberweis stand puts pressure on so-called establishment Republicans planning to run against the dairy mogul, including state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger (R-Elgin), who is regarded by many as the front-runner. Not heard from is former state Sen. Pat O'Malley of Palos Park, who just might lose what's left of his conservative base to Oberweis on the issue.

So, in summary: It's not all bad if the GOP power boys don't like you.

==> Donald Rumsfeld