Topinka with David Valkema and Erik Linell. Photo by Andrew Davis_________
Despite the fact that only about 20 people showed up at a Log Cabin Republican-sponsored meet-and-greet on Oct. 25 at High Risk Gallery, Illinois gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka seemed just as enthusiastic as she does around much more sizeable crowds. Before dashing off to yet another event, she briefly talked with Windy City Times about runningmate Joe Birkett, the gay community and Gov. Rod Blagojevich's biggest flaw.
Windy City Times: How do you account for your popularity with the GLBT community?
Judy Baar Topinka: I have a number of folks from the community who work in my office and they're some of my best workers. They're also friends; it's a small office so we [ get to know ] each other. They've taught me about the community and they're just nice people. I don't think there's anything unusual about any of this, frankly, because it's about good people dealing with good people and treating everyone with respect, courtesy and kindness. What more is there?
WCT: Some people in the GLBT community are concerned because Joe Birkett is your runningmate for lieutenant governor, and many feel that he's ultra-conservative. How do you respond to those concerns?
JBT: Well, Joe Birkett will be dealing with different issues. We chose him not so much for his conservatism but for his interests, abilities and professionalism with the law enforcement community. He has this wide range as a prosecutor and a state's attorney for DuPage County; he's been very good about making those things happen.
We have a huge prison problem—it's about to implode. We also have a huge number of folks who the prisoner review board has recommended for some kind of processing. However, they're just sitting on the governor's desk, and there are about 2,000 of them; nothing's happening because the governor isn't bothering with them.
There's also [ the possibility ] of natural disasters and terrorism. What do we do about first responders? We have no kind of integrated system here to help people survive. After watching the [ Hurricane ] Katrina [ situation ] , holy mackerel! I'd been trying to do this 20 years ago in the legislature, so I'm interested in those things. ( I may have just been 20 years ahead of myself. ) However, Joe is very good at those things—and that will be his assignment. He will be the director of homeland security. He's got the regular jobs of a lieutenant governor and will help with homeland security and prisons. We're going to also have to deal with the moratorium on the death penalty; the moratorium was never designed to last forever.
He's got more than enough to keep him busy [ if the ticket wins ] . He's not going to be getting into these social issues because I'd be the governor. It's not his call, it's my call. I'm my own person and everyone knows where I come from.
WCT: Why don't you have domestic-partner benefits in your office? It's the only state office that doesn't.
JBT: Well, I've said that we can't add anything to the pension situation in this state until we get the pension system cleaned up. And, because of the governor's raid on the pension system, the cost of trying to replace all of that money is horrendous. We're talking billions and billions of dollars that are going to have to be replaced. We can't add anything else from anybody. We have to get the pension system back in tune.
WCT: What do you think is Blagojevich's biggest weakness?
JBT: Oh, there are a few but I think the biggest one is that he's not truthful when dealing with the public. Just be forthright. He comes up with these things that can't be sustained. It's government by press release and there's nothing behind it; he can't pay for these things. Like my grandmother always said, 'Don't pet a dog you can't take home.' Don't create an expectation you can't deliver on and don't make promises you can't keep. It's just unfair.
See www.judyforgov.com for more info.