Note from the Chair: Happy Labor Day, Everyone!

As I write this, we are preparing for our best entry ever In Naperville’s Last Fling/Labor Day parade! DuPage, Lisle, Wheatland, Winfield, Milton and Naperville Townships come together to march on an annual basis in this parade, as well as in Naperville’s St. Patrick’s Day parade held in March. This year we expect well over 100 enthusiastic Democratic marchers to join us! DuPage Township has put together well over 50 posters highlighting the accomplishments of organized labor over the years, as well as the stellar achievements of the Obama administration, as well as bringing a life size cardboard poster of the President. Juan Munoz from the Laborers International union, as well as Bill Habel from the IBEW 701 and members from the Plumbers and Pipefitters 501 will proudly march with us as we celebrate the true meaning of Labor Day.

Our theme for this year’s parade is A Salute to Labor and the prepared remarks we submitted ahead of time for the reviewing stand will reflect this emphasis. Lisle Township will, once again, be bringing the famous donkey costume, as well as inflatables and music to liven up the crowd! If you have access to NCTV, they will be rebroadcasting the parade on Monday evening and at other times, as well. Tony Michelassi, candidate for County Board District 5, and Dennis Clark, candidate for Forest Preserve District 5, will be having their own parade entries this year.

On another note, I wanted to thank the many NTDO volunteers who participated on our day, July 25th, at the Democratic booth at the DuPage County Fair. From all accounts, volunteers not only enjoyed their shift, but were able to visit with a great number of voters looking for information about our Party’s candidates. Those volunteers were:

• Duncan and Stephanie Hughes
• Jennifer Robinson, with her two adorable children
• Marsha Flood
• Joe Tarvainis
• Loretta Burke
• Susan and Tim Harris
• Jay Mitchell
• Steve Purduski

Thank you!!

And, speaking of Fairs….a number of NTDO leaders attended the Governor’s Day Brunch at the Illinois State Fair on August 15th. This is a statewide gathering sponsored by the State County Board Chairs organization and close to 1500 Democratic leaders from across the State attended. Senator Durbin was our keynote speaker and he was fantastic! We heard from each of the Democratic statewide office holders, as well. Following the brunch, most of us attended the Party’s Convention, at which the Party’s platform is adopted and various electors are presented to the group. Following the convention, everyone adjourned to the Fair for a big rally and picnic! Governor Quinn was confronted by angry protestors from AFSME, the union which represents most of the state employees. It was an intense experience, just to watch! Next year, we will promote this event with more effort and will encourage many more to attend. Participants this year, each of whom attended at their own expense, were:

• Steve and Lisa Bosco
• Richard Novinger
• Max Bochmann
• Bill and Irene MacLeod
• Steve Purduski
• Ed Agustin
• Dianne McGuire/Fred Greenwood

Speaking of picnics…the Democratic Party of DuPage County held its parking lot picnic on August 18th and everyone had a great time! It’s a low budget/potluck sort of event and everyone who attended mingled with folks from all over the county, helping to build Party unity and contacts. We actually found two new precinct committeemen at this event: Janice Ilg (#35) and Victor Macias (#24)! Attending this event were:

• Bill and Cathy Lavin
• Dianne McGuire
• Jeff Szymczak
• Susan and Tim Harris
• Joe and Cathy Tarvainis

And, finally, at the most recent NTDO meeting on August 30th….we had an excellent turn-out of precinct committeemen and interested citizens and we were privileged to hear an amazing presentation from Dave Fako, of Fako and Associates. Dave is the nearly exclusive pollster for the Democratic Party of Illinois and in this capacity has an amazing opportunity to develop a very informed perspective on the leanings of voters and the political climate, in general. His insights to the group included the following:

• The political environment for Democrats is better than it was in 2010 Obama appears to have a small edge at the moment.
• Romney is probably not the best candidate the Republican party could have chosen.
• It’s a very hyper-partisan environment: the pool of persuadables seems to be shrinking.

Dave responded graciously to the many questions our members put forward! It was fascinating to get his take on the current political scene!

We will all be working very hard to contact as many voters as possible prior to November 6th and if you would like to assist with this effort, please contact Dianne McGuire, 630-420-8502