Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A day after a columnist raises questions about why Barbara Bellar calls herself a nun and where she earned her medical degree, Bellar offers a rebuttal and posts her credentials online.
In a rebuttal to Phil Kadner, the longtime Southtown columnist who tried to ask Senate candidate Barbara Bellar questions about her education and background, Bellar says she suspects Kadner has "significant ulterior motives" in raising the issue. He's "voted Democratic" for the last eight years, says Bellar. Kadner, at a recent candidate forum in Palos Hills, tried to ask the doctor from Burr Ridge who's seeking the 18th Senate District seat why she describes herself as a nun in campaign literature when the prioress of the order says she did not take vows. And he tried to ask her about her medical degree from Mexico. He says she avoided his questions, and that bothered him. Today, Bellar sent a letter to Kadner and the newspaper, and sent …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The 18th District Senate candidate says she was a Benedictine nun for five years, but the prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago says otherwise.
“Barbara Bellar, State Senate, There’s ‘Nun’ Better.” Those words are stamped at the top of Republican State Senate candidate Barbara Bellar's website. The play on words reflects the time the 65-year-old Burr Ridge woman spent as a Benedictine nun before earning medical and law degrees. But Sun-Times Media columnist Phil Kadner has been pressing Bellar — who faces State Rep. Bill Cunningham, a Democrat, for the 18th District Senate seat — for more detail on her background. The district takes in parts of Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Palos Park, Palos Hills and the 19th Ward on the Southwest Side of Chicago. In a column published Tuesday, Kadner writes: ... when asked if she ever took vows of fidelity and obedience she refused to return telephone…
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney met for their first debate. We surveyed influential Illinois politicians and guests at Patch watch parties, who say the president whiffed.
Illinois Republicans said Mitt Romney "hit a home run" in the Oct. 3 presidential debate and some Democrats said President Barack Obama "looked unprepared," even if they still agree with what he said. Patch conducted a quick, unscientific poll among politically involved citizens following the debate and also surveyed residents at Patch-sponsored watch parties throughout the suburbs. Of the 19 Republicans who responded to the online survey, 16 said Romney won by a wide margin and one said he defeated Obama by a slim margin. Two Republican respondents said Obama won the debate. "I expected Obama to lecture Romney. I never expected Romney to lecture Obama," one Republican said. "Obama spent more time looking at his belly button like a …
Lourdes Duarte joined Patch at Flossmoor Station in Flossmoor for a Patch.com presidential debate viewing party Wednesday night. Mitt Romney impresses but voters say they want to see more.
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Thursday, October 4, 2012
Republicans, Democrats and independents joined Patch editors Wednesday night at presidential debate viewing parties throughout the Chicago area. WGN Ch. 9 stopped by one party in Flossmoor at the Flossmoor Station to take the pulse of voters. Patch hosted parties at St. Xavier University in Mount Greenwood, Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Cemeno's Restaurant in Joliet, the Kendall Grille in Yorkville and the Lemont Community Center in Lemont.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
In the latest Land of Lincoln Blue survey issued by Patch, Democratic respondents said they thought President Obama did a great job, but loved President Clinton's speech more. They also said Republicans showed how "out of touch" they are.
Now that the Democratic and Republican national conventions are complete, Democrats in Illinois say they're more confident in President Obama's re-election campaign than they were last month. That's part of the results from a recent Land of Lincoln survey issued by Patch in the Chicago area. Eighty-nine Democrats were surveyed, with 15 responding. About 87 percent of those surveyed said they're more confident now than they were before the conventions. But was it Barack Obama who energized them? Almost every Democrat that responded to the survey said President Bill Clinton was the highlight of the convention, even overshadowing the current president. Clinton showed that Democrats "stand for the working class and the seniors of this country…
Thursday, September 27, 2012
In the latest Land of Lincoln Red survey issued by Patch, Republican respondents shared their opinions on the presidential election following the Republican National Convention.
Citing speeches by Sen. Marco Rubio, vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan and celebrity Clint Eastwood, 94 percent of Republicans surveyed by Patch said their party's National Convention provided the party with the momentum it needs to get the base to turn out for what is expected to be a close election. That's part of the results from a recent Land of Lincoln survey issued by Patch in the Chicago area. Ninety-three Republicans were surveyed, with 30 responding. Most Republican respondents mentioned the Rubio and Ryan speeches as highlights of the convention, while one respondent said "Mitt Romney just did OK." According to Republican respondents, 53 percent said they felt more confident about Romney's chances of winning after the …
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The video is called "Obamacare Summed Up in One Sentence" and it comes from a speech of Bellar's at a Women For Romney event on Aug. 21.
A YouTube video posted by Republican Illinois State Senate candidate Barbara Bellar, a Burr Ridge resident, has gone viral. "Obamacare Summed Up in One Sentence," which can be seen above, had 1,014,735 views as of 9:06 a.m. Friday. It has also gotten attention on The Blaze Wednesday. Bellar is running against Rep. Bill Cunningham (D-35th) to represent Illinois' 18th State Senate District in Springfield. Keep up on the latest! Like Palos Patch on Facebook and sign up for the breaking news alerts! By Joe O'Donnell
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Infuriated by new district maps in Illinois, Will County Republican officials and candidates signed a "declaration of independence," calling on voters to stop the "tentacles of Cook County" from reaching into Will County policy.
Area Republicans rallied Monday to declare independence from "the tentacles of Cook County and Chicago politics" reaching into Will County. The gesture was symbolic but served to fire up a crowd of well over 100 people as the Nov. 6 election nears. Last year, Illinois Democrats drew new state and congressional districts that Republicans say could remove any Will County representation in Congress. "We have to take back what's ours and make sure we stand up for it," said Dave Carlson, the Republican candidate for Will County state attorney. "To implement what we believe in, we need the voters' support in November." Want to blog about politics on Patch? Email michael.sewall@patch.com. Various elected officials and candidates for office spoke…
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Illinois Republicans are trying to tell voters that a vote for any Democrat this fall is a vote for House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Could this be the election year in which the GOP's portrayal of Mike Madigan as the corrupt manipulator of Democratic state reps — mere marionettes who dance on strings — actually pays off? The Southwest Side power broker is again the target of a Republican bid to tie him to the candidacies of every House Democrat in the November election, according to a report from IllinoisWatchdog.org. A recent $100,000 union donation to Madigan and the House's failure to act on pension reform in the General Assembly is being cited as evidence of a suspicious scratching of the back on the Speaker's part. David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, offered this take to a reporter for …
Friday, August 17, 2012
Tinley Park voters will voice whether the village should impose local term limits in a November referendum. Should your town consider term limits in the future?
Every four years we have a chance to hit the ballot box and cast a referendum on certain candidates in office. Have they done a good enough job during the last term to warrant re-election? But term limits can change that process entirely, presenting new candidates and pushing out existing officials. Voters in Tinley Park will have the chance in November to vote on whether elected officials in the village should face term limits in the future. Should your town have term limits? VOTE in the poll below! Attorney Steve Eberhardt filed the petition in Tinley Park after collecting 1,900 signatures. He said he got the idea after noticing the Village Board's "lack of interest" in residents' complaints in 2010. The question doesn’t specify how …
Emily
10:52 am on Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Bob - I did what you asked and went to her bio. This is the last sentence. Dr. Bellar served as a Benedictine nun for five years and remains active in her church. This is a false statement. (Maybe not the be active in her church part, but serving as a nun) more ›