February 2008
Josh Romney mulling politics
He might run against Matheson for Congress
It looks like there may be a Romney on the ballot in November after all. Josh,
son of Mitt, is contemplating a run for U.S. Congress in Utah. You may have met
Josh on one of his many stops campaigning for his father in Illinois. The
picture at left is of Josh and myself in front of the Mitt Mobile.
I know that if Josh decides to run for Congress, he will represent himself
with the class and dignity that both he and his father showed during the
Presidential campaign.
Update on
Sis
Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, questions and concern on how
Sis is doing. She is at home recuperating and totally exhausted. The
gallbladder attack and surgery is all behind her but the Pancreatitus that
also landed her in the emergency room has now been the main concern. After
more tests, CT scan, and blood work results seem to be looking up. She has
not been nauseated, which everyone says is a "GOOD" sign! We've learned you
don't want to make the pancreas angry!
The doctors will be monitoring her symptoms closely and re-run tests in 3 to
6 months. Waiting and praying is about all we can do for now and hopefully
time and healing will bring everything back to normal so this won't
re-occur.
Our family has never enjoyed so many wonderful soups and casseroles as we
have this past month...
keep
sending the recipes! Thank
you.
Please, if you would like to take a minute to send Sis (Debi) a note, you
can email her at
debi@danrutherford.org - I
know she is missing everyone and would appreciate hearing from you.
Thank goodness for a strong close family and all of you sending your
thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
Back to Springfield
With the Senate
going back into session I will be spending quite a bit more time in
Springfield. It will be good to get back to the routine. Hopefully, we will
be able to get some meaningful and positive things done this year. The real
upside is getting back to my palatial Springfield estate… the Red Roof Inn!
I
joke about the Red Roof, but it is comfortable, reasonably priced, and in a
convenient location. They even have free coffee in the mornings. What more
can I ask for!
Saputo's
We
recently held our annual Springfield event at Saputo's Italian restaurant.
There was a great turnout, not an empty seat in the house. Several members
of the Senate Republican Caucus were in attendance as well as a few Senate
Candidates.
One of my favorite meals is the breaded N.Y. Strip from Saputo's. That is
still a little too much of a meal for my jaw to handle. Luckily they have
great lasagna!
From left: Senate Candidate Dan Duffy, Senate Republican Leader
Frank Watson, Sen. Dan Rutherford
Governor's
State of the State Address
From left:
Rep. Shane Cultra, Sen. Dan Rutherford, and Rep. Keith Sommer
Governor Blagojevich gave his annual State of the State address this past
Wednesday. I watched the speech from the floor of the House of
Representatives with Rep. Cultra and Rep. Sommer.
I appreciate the Governor’s thoughts on the economy from his
budget address. Our efforts must focus on a budget that maintains fiscal
discipline. On the surface, some of the ideas the Governor presented sounded
inviting. We also must redouble our efforts to provide our citizens with a
capital bill that will truly propel the
Illinois economy forward. My major concern
is the infighting amongst the Democrats; it’s time for the politicians to
sit down and the statesmen to stand up. Our constituents and the
Illinois public as a whole are
tired of political squabbles. It’s time to work together.
Irene Visits Springfield
My good friend Irene
Ruckoldt spent some time visiting Springfield recently. She came down for an
event on Tuesday night and was able to spend a good part of Wednesday as
well. She toured the Capitol, watched the Governor's State of the State
address from the House of Representatives visitors gallery, and spent some
time at the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library.
Irene has been a big supporter of mine for a long time. She is always
willing to help out in any way she can. It was a real treat seeing her at
the Capitol. Thanks Irene!
Kind Words
I really
appreciate the nice words about the diary. It does take time and effort.
Following is a kind note I recently received:
Just came across your online diary. I like
the way your written word flows. It's easy to read, and what you have to say
is interesting - makes me want to read all the way back to January '05
tonight!
Anyway, thank you again for your birthday wishes.
Sincerely,
Karma
Events this
year
I
try to be really organized and plan in advance. As a result, we have already
set dates for three of our 2008 Dan Rutherford Campaign Committee events. I
wanted to give you advance notice so you can plan to attend one or all.
April 7, 2008 - Champaign Reception at Biaggi’s
in Champaign
July 15, 2008 -
Networking Party at
Harry Caray's in Chicago
October 13, 2008-Annual
Chicken Dinner at the
Pontiac Elk's Country Club
Sunday
I went to see Grandma at the nursing home on
Sunday morning. I try to get over at least once a week, usually it is in the
afternoon.
I thought I would get a few things done,
like get all the claims and bills together for the insurance regarding my
accident. It is time consuming, especially since some of it was from out of
state.
I also wanted to get in some exercise at the
Reek Center at ISU.
I jog a minimum 20 minutes every day. I had
done so every day for about 2 years, until the day of my accident in
Colorado. I started jogging/cardio exercise again the day after I had my
arch bars taken off. I want to get back into the routine.
I checked my duffel bag before going to ISU
to be sure I had my shoes, shirt, shorts and sox. When I got to the Reek
Center and started to change, the blue shorts I thought were in the bag
turned out to be a blue shirt, so I didn't have the clothes. I left.
I thought I would walk around Eastland Mall,
see some people and maybe get some shorts. I found a few items on sale at
Old Navy. When I was checking out the nice clerk asked if I got all I needed
and did not feel rushed.....the Mall closed at 6pm and it was 5 after; I had
no idea. So much for the Mall....I went home.
Creek’s Up!
We had a lot of rain this weekend. The creek
at my place goes out of its banks a few times a year, but never gets up to
the house. If water gets to the house, most of Central Illinois will be
flooded because I live up on a hill. I took a few photos of the water
being up.
Rep. Ron Stephens' Roast
I
got the chance to visit with my very good friends Ron and Lisa Stephens.
They were having a Roast of Representative Stephens in honor of his 60th
Birthday. I have known the Stephens for a long time and always enjoy the
opportunity to spend some time with them. It was especially sweet this time
around because I was one of the folks lucky enough to Roast Ron!
New Baby Boy
My
good friends Alan and Lynn Ryle recently became Grandparents. Congratulations
Grandma and Grandpa!
Presidential
Birthdays
We celebrate several Presidents' birthdays
in February-Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Ronald Reagan. Ronald
Reagan was born February 6, 1911 and is a particular favorite of mine. I
worked on his Presidential campaign in 1980.
Since we are doing a page with soup recipes,
I thought it might be fun to see what one of President Reagan's favorites
was. I went online and found a soup recipe that Nancy Reagan used to make:
Onion Wine soup. To see this recipe and others, go to
http://www.danrutherford.org/soup_recipes.asp
I enjoyed the time that I spent with the
Reagans. President and Mrs. Reagan were very special people. The President
had a wonderful sense of humor and Nancy was a lovely, personable lady. To
read more about President Reagan and me, go to
http://www.danrutherford.org/reaganyears.asp
There are also links from that page to other information about President
Reagan.
To view a photo gallery of Ronald Reagan, go
to
http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/photo_gallery.asp
Note from a
Romney Supporter
I got several e mails and letters after Mitt
suspended his campaign. Here is an example of a very nice note from a
supporter:
Dan,
I, as a Mitt supporter (and
modest contributor), am so proud of Everything Mitt has done for us loyal
supporters. Mitt as the true conservative (yes I know as Governor of liberal
Mass. he has been forced to be a closet conservative), has done so much to
highlight the need and benefits of conservatism in this campaign. Every
ounce of sweat and resources you expended on behalf of Mitts candidacy meant
so much to me, and probably millions of other Illinois Mitt fans. You ought
to be so proud of your role in Mitts campaign, it wasn’t
for naught! When I saw Mitt’s
CPAC speech, I was moved to tears. Please God, you should remain healthy and
motivated, and be ready to head Mitt’s
2012 presidential Campaign!
Blender Away
I
put the blender away this weekend. Not needing it for meals now that I am
starting to get back into a regular routine of
'soft food'. I am really glad to have learned more about blended foods,
especially soups.
I came across some really good soup recipes
and have started a tab to post them. Check it out. If you have recipes let
me know.
I will try them and post them.
Jaw healing continues
Friday, February 8, 2008
Posted: February 11, 2008
Today I went back to Bloomington to the
doctor (he is great. I am really pleased with his professionalism and his
demeanor. His staff is very good, jovial and comforting)
They took off the 'arch bars', which are the
metal bands above the teeth on the upper jaw and below on the lower. The
'bars' have little pegs sticking out where the wires were tightened to hold
the jaw shut, and used for the rubber bands after wires off.
I had to be put under because, apparently it
is not real pleasant having them taken off. Also, I had to have a sharp bit
of bone poking through the lower jaw, near the teeth, filed down because it
was scraping the tongue. As well, there were still a few stitches in the
tongue and inside the lip that needed to be snipped.
It sounds horrible, but it really is not
(at least that is my take as a patient). From the exterior there is hardly
anything to indicate such a major occurrence happened. In fact, I see only a
slight scar on the chin, similar to Harrison Ford.......I kind of think of
it as my Indiana Jones look (after all these early life adventures I finally
got the scar!) The nurse said she spoke to my dentist and the day before he
had seen me with Mitt Romney on CNN, repeated several times on national TV,
and he commented about not having an exterior issue.
Because I was being put under I could not
drive home. With Sis having her issues at home, I did not want to ask one of
them to drive and my Legislative Assistant George was going to his
grandfather's funeral today, so my buddy Eric was good enough to pick be up
from home and drive me to the doctor.
I talked with the nurses and the doctor.
Had the ................................ oh, whatever, I went to sleep.
An hour later I was awake, no pain and on
the way home. A bit groggy when Eric dropped me off, I bid him farewell and took a
nap.
RC McBride from WJBC Radio had called
earlier in the morning to see if I would do a live interview. I agreed and
at 4:40 PM was on the air. I assume it sounded ok, I felt so.
Sis in hospital
I didn't post this until I knew where we
were going with it all, but Sis (my sister Debi) went to the emergency room
of the hospital last week. She had severe pain in the stomach.
We found out she has Pancreatitis. Also
learned she has a nasty gallbladder full of
stones. The real concern was the enlarged and infected
pancreas and not being able to do surgery until things settle down with
the pancreas. Needless to say they kept a close eye on her, pumped her
full of IV's and antibiotics. They moved her to St. Francis in
Peoria. Pontiac hospital, St. James, is a good hospital, but with it being
the weekend and the possibility of her needing emergency surgery the
hospital in Peoria was a better place to have her.
Five days later when they got all vitals in line
( pancreas Lipase count at normal is between 23 & 300, Sis was at 32,433 )
they went in and
took out the gallbladder. Found a couple of REALLY BIG stones ...1 1/2
inch, I kidded her she should have it made into a necklace; she didn't find
it to humorous! She is now at home trying to rest, sore but doing better.
She heads back to the doctor in a few days and we pray there isn't damage to the
pancreas or other organs.
Needless to say our family has been through some trying moments lately.
Poor Mom has moved from soups to soft food/casseroles for both Sis and I
now!
Hopefully we both recover fast or we'll be looking for casserole recipes
next!
If you care to write her a note, you can
send it to the office:
Debi Fornero
220 West Howard
Pontiac, IL 61764
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: BRAD HAHN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7,
2007
630-606-1394
RUTHERFORD: ROMNEY SUPPORTERS CAN HOLD
HEADS HIGH
PONTIAC – Illinois Campaign Chairman for Mitt Romney, State Sen. Dan
Rutherford, released the following statement Thursday after Romney announced
the suspension of his campaign for President:
“When Mitt Romney and his family began campaigning in Illinois last Spring,
few voters knew much about him. In the days and weeks since, they had the
opportunity to learn more about his track record of success, to hear about
his vision for America and to shake his hand and see for themselves what the
Governor and his campaign were all about. As a result, on Feb. 5, more than
250,000 Illinois Republicans enthusiastically cast ballots for Mitt Romney,
and his delegates earned support in all corners of the state.
“Of course we are disappointed by anything less than Mitt Romney winning the
Republican nomination for President. But we can all hold our heads high
knowing how far we have come, and what Mitt has brought to this campaign in
Illinois, and throughout the country.
“There is little doubt that Mitt Romney will continue working to strengthen
our Party and country regardless of where his path leads, and there are many
of us throughout the state who look forward to standing with him in whatever
challenges he takes on next.”
###
To read a transcript of Mitt. Romney announcing the suspension of his
campaign go to
Gov. Romney's speech.
Pontiac
Bonneville
The trusty Bonneville started out this month with 283,350 miles on her. With
my jaw injury last month I did not get out on the road as much as I like to.
It will be good to get the Bonneville back on the highway this month and let
her stretch her legs a bit!
Last month was quite a time, with my broken jaw and the road to recovery.
Please check out the last
few days of January, if you have not yet. I did not get them
posted until a few days into February.
There is more to come about my jaw and therapy and I will be sharing it
with you on my Diary.
Thank you for all of the support, care and prayers. This has been the
toughest medical issue I think I have ever personally dealt with. I haven’t
been sick or in a hospital for….I don’t know how long. This catches up for
what I have been missing. Hopefully this is it for another 52 years!
Diary Dates
