Pubdate: Thu, 06 Dec 2001
Source: Star, The (IL)
Copyright: 2000 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  http://www.starnewspapers.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1052
Author: James E. Gierach

WHERE DO THE GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFULS STAND ON DRUG WAR?

The drug war puts more drugs everywhere, increases drug use and addiction, 
corrupts kids and cops, necessitates ever more prisons, spreads AIDS 
through dirty needles, enables gangs, causes addict and turf war crime.

It puts guns in the hands of children, erodes civil liberties, engages a 
perverted drug-war revenue-sharing normalcy, ignores policy failure, funds 
terrorism, wastes money, diverts limited public funds from worthy programs, 
argues with immutable economic laws - and Republicans and Democrats 
bipartisanly support it.

Equally ironic, both the "good guys" and the "bad guys" favor drug 
prohibition. To the drug dealer, drug prohibition is the cornerstone of the 
business. Al Capone and Pablo Escobar, for example, supported the 
prohibition of their wares. To the pol, support for the drug war means 
votes from misled, well-intending constituents.

Drug war is a lose-lose proposition: For a high price, drug war serves up 
all the defeat you can eat.

So, what are Illinois' gubernatorial candidates saying about the drug war 
drain on the quality of life in 101 Illinois counties? Not much.

Blagoyovich (his last campaign taught us how to say his name, this one, how 
to spell it) wants to ban assault weapons (at least one kind). Vallas, like 
Bakalis, is for better schools without tax adjustment. Schmidt is for 
attorney general. Lane went lame.

Conservatively speaking, O'Malley is for a little free press but the free 
press isn't for O'Malley, so it seems like he's not speaking at all.

Ryan has a good ballot name, if the governor didn't spoil it. Ryan also 
hopes the Cruz missile never lands.

Burris is trying to finish his tombstone auto-eulogy. Corinne Wood or Woods 
is for airports and breast exams, and she is lieutenant governor already.

Daley and Devine both ducked. Poshard wants to be vice governor, but 
doesn't have enough money to run for village trustee, and House Speaker 
Michael J. Madigan isn't going to give him any in reverence of Poshard's 
self-imposed campaign principles last round.

That about completes the field of what the press calls, the "major" 
candidates for governor. Minor candidates may run, but they are deaf and 
dumb. Dumb for running, and deaf because no one will be able to hear what 
they say.

Personally, I miss Jim "MSI" Edgar and am going to write in a vote for him 
and be done with it.

Oh, and the drug war thing: it'll keep.

James E. Gierach, Oak Lawn
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MAP posted-by: Lou King