Bonnie to have
transmission transplant at 312,000 miles
I
recently announced that a valued member of Team Rutherford
will undergo a major transplant. Bonnie, my Pontiac
Bonneville, recently turned 312.
During routine maintenance Bonnie had her pipes, intake,
gaskets, and filters serviced. She recently received new brake
pads and new shoes (tires).
The sad news came when her primary mechanic revealed she needs
a new transmission. The family took it well.
We questioned putting her down or keeping her rolling.
Bonnie's engine is good and her body is in fine shape.
It was a tough decision. Do we invest and bring her back to
health or put her to pasture for a new, shiny girl?
The decision came quickly and decisively. Bonnie is a
dedicated part of Team Rutherford. She has seen more of
Illinois than many of her species and she has broken in dozens
of Road Warriors. The family has decided to proceed with the
transplant!
The transmission transplant is scheduled and the prognosis is
good for a full recovery. She goes under the wrench soon. For
the benefit of full public disclosure, the family will make
mechanics' reports available to the media. We anticipate all
will go well and she will have many more miles ahead of her.
Bonnie has been with me throughout my state-wide ventures. She
has visited all 102 Illinois Counties, been dressed for
parades and traversed concrete slab roads and super highways.
She has seen Air Force One and driven family members of
candidates for President of the United States.
I
got Bonnie when she was brand new. I have posted her monthly
mileage and proud moments in her career starting
January 2005
when she was only 139,335.
Get well cards for Bonnie’s transmission transplant may be
sent to:
Bonnie
c/o Senator Dan Rutherford
220 West Howard Street
Pontiac, IL 61764
The family requests no gifts. Bonnie has sufficient 10W40 oil
and washer fluid. We only ask for your best wishes.
Bonnie Appreciates the
Cards
Bonnie is doing well. We expect to have
a full mechanic's report on her transplant very soon. Thank
you for all the get well cards and emails. She appreciates it
very much!
Mom's Birthday
October 30th was Mom's birthday and we decided to throw her a
surprise lunch at the office. We smuggled in pizza and
homemade desserts provided by our friend Lisa into the office
while Mom was helping out that day. She was surprised
and everyone in the office enjoyed the party.
'Punkin' Chili
Eric Kelley is a friend and some times a
Road Warrior. During football season, Eric cooks a different
kind of chili every Sunday. He brought chili cooked in a
pumpkin to the office for my staff and me to enjoy. He won't
give away the secret ingredients, but it was very good!
Road Warrior Barb
Road Warriors are the fortunate souls
that get to see Illinois with me and Bonnie. They get behind
the wheel and head out on the open road. Barb has been a Road
Warrior before and was recently back at it!
My Grandma Nadean
My grandma (my mom’s mom) is 97 years old
and in good health. We are blessed. She lives at Fairview
Haven in Fairbury. I try to see her at least every Sunday.
Fairview just put a new stone sign and small waterfall in
front of the home. My Aunt Linda and Uncle Kenny were there on
a day I stopped by.
Family Weiner Roast
My Aunt Linda and Uncle Kenny had the
family out to their cabin for a weiner roast. My cousins and
Mom, Sis, Fred, Zac and Kaleb were all there. Hot dogs, pie
irons a bit of pontooning and quality time were had by all. It
was really a great afternoon.
From my home, the back
deck
I have told you a bit about my home and I
especially like my back deck. Nature is all around. As an
example, golden finches eat the purple cone seed, a
mischievous squirrel looking for its next meal, and a giant
spider creeping down from my screen door. It’s great!
Apple Tree Adventure
I have
an old apple tree near my ravine that has been there since the
old farm house, which is long gone, was there. I do not spray
the tree or tend to it, leaving its product for the wildlife.
This year I did get a few apples before the animals and
insects got them all. I peeled the apples for storage in my
freezer. Let me know if you have a good recipe I can use for
them. Thanks.
Wild flowers, seed and
the on going effort
For years, and I mean years, I have been
working on a wild flower area to the south of my home. I do
not like spraying, but resorted to that in order to get rid of
the grasses. I have seeded, burned, sprayed, pulled, burned,
seeded, sprayed…. well, you get the point!
It is starting to take hold. Recently I
collected seeds from one of my favorite, a coneflower. With a
five pound container (and that is without a lot of work) I
have a good start of seeds to fill in and replace the foxtail
I am getting rid of in the patch.
I also cleared an area adjoining and in
front of the wild flower patch to try and grow some
contrasting colors: red and pink poppies. I have some seeds
Grandma collected years ago. I put half of them out this year.
A few generated plants and I am gathering seeds from them now.
If all goes well I will show you a photo
of my hill with red and pink poppies in the foreground with
yellow coneflowers behind it. Keep following because it may
take a few years!
If you have any advice, please e-mail me
AND if you have some wild flower seeds that you think will
look good in my patch, let me know.
Southern Illinois Swing
A three day swing through Southern
Illinois in early October was met with warm weather and the
leaves just starting to turn. Chris was the Road Warrior and
we headed out early on a Thursday and got back home late
Saturday. Bonnie, the trusted Bonneville, liked getting back
to Jefferson and Johnson Counties while going through many
others we have been to before. She turned 312 in route.
Bob Winchester, former State
Representative and current Republican State Central
Committeeman, made the effort and helped organize a Reagan
Dinner in Mt. Vernon and a Reagan Brunch the next day in
Vienna. It was great to be back in Southern Illinois to see
friends and meet new ones.
We needed to overnight because of going
to Vienna the next day. Being a fiscal conservative, I was
able to get rooms at Rend Lake in Franklin County very
competitively priced (Southern Illinois University
Carbondale’s Homecoming was at the same time so prices for
rooms in Marion were high). We got in early for lunch, did
some computer work by the lake and returned phone calls before
going to Mt. Vernon.
Special guests for both events were State
GOP Chairman Andy McKenna and Congressman John Shimkus. A
special treat was having Congressman Marsha Blackburn from
Tennessee as the Keynote. She is a ball of fire.
The dinner in Mt. Vernon was packed, the
energy high and Richard Stubblefield, Jefferson County GOP
Chairman, was MC.
I am keeping to my every morning jog and
this morning it was at 7:00 am. The weather was sweatshirt
crisp. A few fishermen were down at the docks with lines in
the water.
I have been a speaker in Johnson County
before, as well as Union, Saline, Williamson, Jackson and many
more. It was good to see so many friends and energized
Republicans gathered in Vienna.
It was good to be back in Southern
Illinois, and I really mean it. In my speech I jokingly told
how my legislative colleagues from Chicago say that I am from
Southern Illinois (Can you believe that? My Senate District is
around Pontiac, Bloomington, Champaign and the East Peoria
area.). When I am in Mt. Vernon I tell them that I am in
Southern Illinois, but there is more south and I know because
I have been there. When I am in Vienna I tell them that I am
in deep Southern Illinois, but there is even more south and I
know because I have been there. Now when I am in Cairo I tell
them that I know I am in deep, deep Southern Illinois and
anything south of that is Kentucky!
On the trip home we got gas in Dix,
Illinois, and it was posted for $2.96. This was great; I was
excited to see it this low. When I got the receipt it was
$3.01. Chris inadvertently pumped premium……I could have
clocked him.
Illinois is such a great, diverse state.
Bonnie, Chris and I just saw 775 more miles of the land of
Lincoln and Reagan.
Rich Twp. Republican Day Brunch
Kitty Watson and her mother, Georgia,
were at the Rich Township Brunch. It was great to see them!
Kitty and I have been friends since we met while both
attending Illinois State University a few years ago. OK, so
maybe it was quite a few years ago!
I interviewed with Jeff Berkowitz for his
program "Public Affairs". Jeff does a serious, one on one
discussion with officials and candidates on public policy
issues and politics.
The Republican Party in the City of
Chicago is really energized. The Chicago GOP Chairman Eloise
Gerson is doing an outstanding job and Executive Director Jon
Blessing is the best. The organization had a 30 Days to
Victory gathering in Wrigleyville. There were lots of people
and lots of enthusiasm. I was honored to be asked to help
energize the crowd and it wasn’t hard to do!
Click here to make a contribution
to CLA!
Some of the Office Team
Josh
Lanning is a student at ISU and helps us out in the office. He
is a good young man and learning a lot. With school starting
he is tight on time.
Kaleb
Fornero is a Senior at Pontiac High School and works a few
days a week after school. He does the computer networking and
in this photo the repair on my laptop. He is very good at what
he does, a great kid and my nephew....takes after his
uncle...ha, ha
Mike Schermer retires: again or sort of ?!?
ISU
friend Mike retires from ISU and a few photos for memory
Retired Roth still helping
For 51 years, Ruthie Roth
of Morton has been a staple of education in Central Illinois
and has seen many changes along the way in how teachers
present their lessons and how students absorb the information.
Roth taught junior-senior English classes and French at Morton
High School for 46 years and was head of the English and
speech departments.
For the first five years of her career, Roth taught English
and French at Eureka High School and was the school librarian.
Did Rezko pay for Blagojevich's house rehab?
Rod Blagojevich outside his home
Federal investigators are zeroing in on whether Tony Rezko
paid for all or part of a $90,000 rehab of Gov. Blagojevich's
Northwest Side bungalow as the corruption probe of the state's
first family accelerates.
Since Rezko's felony conviction in June, the FBI has been
investigating how the former top Blagojevich fund-raiser
billed the governor and his wife for the work, who paid for it
and whether Rezko ever arranged for cash to be passed in
envelopes to the Blagojeviches, several sources familiar with
the probe told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Kathie Durante
Fundraiser
My good friend Kathie Durante held a
fundraiser at the Diplomat West in Elmhurst. The event had a
Halloween theme and many of the guests dressed in lavish
costumes. Here are some photos from the occasion with Kathie
dressed as Marie Antoinette.
Bob Turner Memorial
The Boone County Republicans held their
annual steak dinner in Belvidere where I was the keynote
speaker. The former GOP Chairman, Bob Turner, passed away
earlier this year and we honored him. He was a friend and a
great Republican. I have attended the event in the past and it
was good to see friends. I do not mind making the long trip to
Belvidere to support these great people.
Will County “Building
for the Future”
The Will County Republicans had their
“Building for the future” event in New Lennox. I was
invited to make remarks to energize members of the Will County
GOP. My good friends Senator Christine Radogno and
Laurie Smith were there.
Suburban Women GOP
The Northwest Suburban women GOP held an
afternoon luncheon and I was invited by the host, Agnes
Nottoli, to be the speaker. A few Polish dishes added a
special touch to the lunch. Also attending was my friend Mike
Sweeney who is running for the State Senate.
Mark Kirk FR
Congressman Mark Kirk held a fundraiser
at a private residence in Winnetka. America’s Mayor, Rudy
Guiliani, was the keynote speaker and guest. Rudy dazzled
those in attendance with his commentary and witty jokes.
Guiliani was even kind enough to answer questions from the
audience and sign autographs afterwards. He is a class act!
Meet the Farm Team
A good friend, Daniel Bryant, organized a
GOP event in Lake Forrest. It was held at a beautiful home on
Lake Michigan. The occasion was to introduce some of the
local GOP to the candidates of the future and highlight those
on the ballot now. Many friends and colleagues were there and
I was pleased to be a keynote speaker. It was good to get back
to the ‘north-lands.’
Dwight Harvest Day
Parade
The city of Dwight had their annual
Harvest Days parade. It was a beautiful day and I was more
than happy to be a part of this tradition with my Livingston
County office holder friends!
Pontiac Bonneville
Reaches 310,900
Bonnie reached the 310,900 mile mark
earlier this month and is still going strong. She had
some new break pads put on and other routine maintenance and
is running great. Bonnie is an
important member of Team Rutherford and she is excited to back
on the road and healthy.
