Colleen Callahan

Durbin Recommends Callahan For U.S. Agriculture Post

Adam Doster — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:20:36 -0800

Former 18th Congressional District candidate Colleen Callahan -- who lost her race against GOP Rep. Aaron Schock last year -- could possibly get a job in Washington after all. According to the NBC affiliate in Peoria, Sen. Dick Durbin recommended the her to become the state director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Callahan, who raises cattle on a farm outside Peoria with her husband, was an agriculture reporter for various Illinois media outlets early in her career. At the behest of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, she also traveled to Afghanistan and Iraq on a study trip in 2003.

Two New Congressional Ads

Josh Kalven — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:01:21 -0700

Two Democratic congressional campaigns have new television ads out this week. First, here's a spot from 18th District candidate Colleen Callahan hitting Republican opponent Aaron Schock over "Notarygate":

As we noted in the Early Bird, the state's attorney in Peoria decided not to pursue charges against Schock, citing the statute of limitations and the absence of any evidence of willfull wrongdoing. That being said, Schock's misleading initial explanation -- that it was all just a "clerical mistake" -- deserves some scrutiny.

Second, here's Rep. Bill Foster's new ad in the 14th District:

Like his first TV spot this fall, this one emphasizes "independent solutions" and never mentions the word Democrat.

States Attorney Investigating Schock (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:07:17 -0700

As both Capitol Fax and Peoria Pundit noted yesterday evening, local media are reporting that the States Attorney office in Peoria has decided to investigate evidence that 18th District GOP congressional candidate Aaron Schock notarized a backdated document for his parents. The alleged incident -- which may amount to a misdemeanor -- occurred eight years ago and was recounted by Schock's father in court proceedings.

When initially asked about it, Schock claimed it had simply been a "clerical mistake." But his father's testimony makes clear that the backdating was absolutely intentional.

Democrat Colleen Callahan brought the evidence to the states attorney's attention and has been hitting the issue hard on the campaign trail. But all sides seem to acknowledge that no charges are likely to brought, even if they do find wrongdoing:

During an appearance of Callahan's supporters in Peoria, attorney and former congressional candidate Doug Stephens said the statute of limitations is likely up on any misdemeanor charges that could arise from the alleged backdating.

As Rich Miller has repeatedly argued, the real issue here should be that Shock responded by misleadingly downplaying his act, rather than owning up to it:

To me, the alleged misdemeanor is no big deal. What I found appalling was that the local media allowed Schock to claim without challenge that the apparent back-dating was a “clerical mistake” when his own father testified under oath that it was a deliberate act.

I guess it really is always the cover-up that gets you.

UPDATE: The states attorney quickly concluded the investigation on October 20 after he "reviewed the allegations and not only found no information to show official misconduct by a notary public."

"A Clerical Mistake" (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:17:31 -0700

As we noted yesterday, 18th District GOP congressional candidate Aaron Schock is taking some heat from his Democratic opponent over the revelation that he notarized a back-dated document for his parents in 2000. The initial AP article quoted a notary public from New Jersey saying point-blank that doing so is "illegal." Meanwhile, Schock contends that the job of a notary is simply to verify the identity of the signer. Now he's describing the source of the controversy as a mere "clerical mistake":

“The fundamental role of a notary is to verify the person signing the document. Now, if there was an incorrect date on it, that was a mistake that I made. It was a clerical mistake and it was made over eight years ago. The relevance that has to the United States congressional race now, eight years later, I'm not sure”, said Shock.

A clerical mistake suggests that the back-dating was unintentional. But the AP article makes clear that Schock's parents knew exactly what they were doing.

Capitol Fax's Rich Miller rips into the Peoria media -- and rightfully so -- for failing to hold Schock accountable on this issue:

It’s truly unfortunate that the local media doesn’t seem to be calling Schock out on this fabrication, allowing the arguments to be played as a he said, she said affair without providing factual context.

Meanwhile, Colleen Callahan is calling for a criminal investigation:

Terry Towery, the campaign manager for Democrat Colleen Callahan, says she has asked Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons to investigate, and believes Lyons has agreed. Lyons' office declined to answer questions.

UPDATE (2 pm): Billy Dennis weighs in:

[T]he whole “youthful” indescretion” thing isn’t washing with me either. He was old enough to BE a notary public in the first place, which means somewhere along the line he willingly assumed the responsibiity to vouch for the honesty of the documents he was notarizing. He was also a member of the Peoria School District 150 Board at the time. Presumably, somewhere along the line, he told voters to trust him despite about his age.

Now that he got caught screwing up, he’s playing the “youthful indescretion” card like he was caught shoplifting or something.

My advice — and he’s taken my advice before — is to just say “I screwed up” and stop blaming others and stop making excuses. The underlying offense isn’t all that bad. And as both Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon learned, its not the crime it’s the coverup that willl bite you in the ass.

Sen. Feingold Lends A Hand To Harper, Callahan

Adam Doster — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:05:38 -0700

Our senatorial neighbor to the north, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, is lending a hand to two congressional candidates here in Illinois. The progressive champion's political action committee, the Progressive Patriots Fund, has vowed to donate $5,000 to 10 House challengers in emerging races that haven't generated much support from traditional Democratic organizations. Among the candidates identified for Feingold's Expand the Map" campaign are Scott Harper in the 13th and Colleen Callahan in the 18th. You can find more information here.

(Thanks to commenter markg8 for sending in the tip.)

In New Ad, Callahan Brings Back Daisy

Josh Kalven — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:16:03 -0700

Wow. Colleen Callahan, the Democratic candidate in the 18th congressional district, has a TV ad out this week and let's just say it's a bit of a throwback. The spot hits GOP State Rep. Aaron Schock for his ridiculous suggestion last year that we should consider selling nuclear arms to Taiwan if China doesn't cooperate with U.S. policy on Iran:

(H/T TPM Election Central)

Callahan's Contra-Bush Catfish Fry Turns Out 700

Josh Kalven — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:47:34 -0700

Peoria Pundit has a great dispatch from 18th District Democratic congressional candidate Colleen Callahan's catfish fry. Over 700 people reportedly showed up at the event outside Peoria on Friday, which coincided with President Bush's appearance at a $500-per-plate fundraiser for GOP candidate Aaron Schock across town:

What did the working class people who attended Callahan’s soiree get out of it? These are people who are just sick of the way the country has been run for the past eight years. They are sick of war, and they want the Iraqis to take over. They want a government that doesn’t authorize torture and doesn’t spy on citizens.

They resent being told by the pundits that Aaron Schock has just too much money, too many connections, too much of a lead and too much fo a head start for a nobody like Colleen Callahan to win. They think Schock is too young, too reckless and too ambitious to be good for the 18th District and for the nation. Nukes to Taiwan? Are you serious?

Think about it: More than 700 people crowded into a basement of a tiny building on the outskirts of Kickapoo, Ill., to show their support for a woman whom all the experts say cannot win.

Laugh at my optimism if you must, but this has the makings of a people power movement, right here in the River City.

Campaign Manager Likens Schock To Obama

Josh Kalven — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:15:45 -0700

That's right. Steve Shearer, campaign manager for 18th District GOP congressional candidate Aaron Schock, said that his man is the Obama of the race, while Democratic candidate Colleen Callahan is playing the Clinton role:

Shearer said Schock is like Obama in that he represents change and people are inspired by him. Callahan, he said, is showing she’s more of a Hillary Clinton supporter.

“This is a Hillary Clinton, throw-the-kitchen-sink blistering negative attack playbook that Sen. Obama has railed against as the broken part of politics right now. Is (Callahan) running because she has a vision for what this country should be or is she nitpicking on Aaron and constantly being nasty?”

What prompted Shearer to accuse Callahan of using the "throw-the-kitchen-sink blistering negative attack playbook"? On her blog, the Democratic candidate recently pointed out: "People want change, and aligning yourself with the current president is not change," referring to President Bush's scheduled appearance at a Schock fundraiser in late July.

So Callahan notes something pretty obvious -- that appearing arm-in-arm with Bush doesn't really communicate "change" -- and the Schock camp responds by called her a "nasty" nitpicker? Hmm.

And back to that Obama comparison, Peoria Pundit sums it up pretty well:

I’m fairly certain that Colleen Callahan would gladly surrender to Aaron Schock 100 percent of the votes from people who find some sort of similarity between he and Barack Obama, provided she gets all the votes of every single 18th District resident who finds some similarity between her and Hillary Clinton.

Aaron Schock's Idea Of Patriotism

Josh Kalven — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:00:04 -0700

We noted in the Extra yesterday that President Bush will be appearing at a Peoria fundraiser later this month for GOP State Rep. Aaron Schock, who is running for Rep. Ray LaHood's 18th District congressional seat. Peoria Pundit plucked this quote from Schock out of a local news report:

"Any patriotic American would be honored to have the President of the United States come to help them and I am very honored,” said Schock.

Peoria Pundit added, "I guess anyone who doesn’t think highly of Bush — and this includes a LOT of Republicans, conservatives and otherwise — isn’t really a patriot."

Interestingly enough, while the Bush fundraiser will certainly give Schock a fundraising boost, I'm guessing his campaign didn't realize it would also draw the netroots' attention to his opponent, Democrat Colleen Callahan. Indeed, as Peoria Pundit noted, several DailyKos posts on the race have surfaced in recent days. The Swing State Project picked up on Bush's planned visit to the 18th as well -- and you gotta give them credit for this headline: "Aaron Schock Not Afraid to Bear Hug Radioactive Toxic Sludge."

Two IL Candidates Make DCCC's List Of "Emerging Races"

Mose Buchele — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:38:54 -0700

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has named 14 new candidates to its list of "Red to Blue" races, which already features Dan Seals in Illinois' 10th District and Debbie Halvorson in the 11th. Furthermore, the DCCC rolled out a new list of 20 "emerging" congressional races that are generating substantial enthusiasm. Included are two additional Democratic candidates battling for seats here in the Prairie State: Jill Morgenthaler (IL-6) and Colleen Callahan (IL-18).

The DCCC releases these lists as a way of showing what candidates appear particularly strong, which districts particularly vulnerable, and as a way to generate support for the candidates mentioned. Those campaigns that make the cut also receive "financial, communications, and strategic support" from the DCCC.