Breen disdains choice in Illinois' 48th

Peter Breen is a bizarre candidate for representative in Illinois' 48th legislative district. He likens himself a patriot, specifically, a West Suburban Patriot, the DuPage County Tea Party organization of which he is a member. But what kind of patriot would work so assiduously to deny the 72,000 voters in the district a choice in the November 4 election? Breen worked fair and square to get on the Republican ballot as the Tea Party choice against six term incumbent, moderate Sandy Pihos. She didn't organize a campaign to wrongly challenge enough of his signatures to disqualify him from the ballot. She didn't hire high powered lawyers to scrutinize his filing forms to find an obscure technicality to go running to the Election Commission with to have him tossed from the GOP ballot. No, Sandy Pihos has forgotten more about patriotism than Breen could ever acquire. Unfortunately for Pihos, his supporters turned out and hers didn't, ending her distinguished legislative career.

But falsely challenge hundreds of his Democratic opponent Marian Tomlinson's signatures for the general election is exactly what Breen and his GOP scaredy-cats did. When scrutinized, most of these challenged signatures were deemed legitimate, getting Tomlinson back on the ballot. Not to be denied, denying 72,000 voters a choice, lawyer Breen and his colleagues discovered an insignificant technicality in Tomlinson's filing papers and persuaded the GOP leaning Election Commission to go along, tossing Tomlinson off the November ballot, to the detriment of the democratic process.

Although her name will not appear on the ballot, Tomlinson applied for and has been granted write-in status. That means District 48 voters will have a choice, despite all Breen's spite: Peter Breen and a blank line for a write-in candidate. If they fill in the oval before the write-in line and enter her name; it will be counted.
 
When Peter Breen knocks at your door soliciting your vote, ask him this question: What kind of patriot would deny voters the most sacred tenant of our democracy... voter choice?