Citizens for Paul Evans

State Representative Mike Bost (Murphysboro), Illinois House Republican Conference Chairman, endorsed State Representative Paul Evans of O’Fallon today in the Illinois Republican Primary in the 108^th District.

“I do not normally endorse in primaries, but we need solid conservative leadership who can represent the people of 108^th with integrity and determination,” said Bost who currently represents Washington County, which is now in the new 108^th district. “State Representative Paul Evans is exactly the person we need at this critical time in our state.”

Bost cited Evans’ experience as a small business owner, conservative family man and farming background as key to his endorsement of Evans in the Republican Primary to be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2012.

“In the short time that I have worked with Paul in the legislature, he has proven to be a fighter against the Democrat establishment, as the voice of families and businesses in downstate Illinois,” Bost said. “Paul stood up for farmers and small family businesses by joining me to pass Estate Tax Reform that doubled the exemption and kept $62 million a year in the pockets of families.”

Bost chose Paul Evans over the other candidates, Charlie Meier (Okawville) and Don Weber (Troy) for the March 20^th Republican Primary. Evans has placed a high priority to repeal the income tax increase, reduce government spending and restore ethics to the Illinois General Assembly.

“I want to encourage the good people of Washington County who I have had the good fortune to represent for many years, to vote for Paul Evans,” said Bost. “He is the most qualified to represent the diverse interests of the region with his background in farming, business and family.”

“Paul’s personal resolve to do the right thing is remarkable.  His life is an example for all of us to follow,” Bost stated. “I strongly encourage everyone to join me in supporting Paul on March 20^th.”

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of such an esteemed public servant as Mike Bost,” said Evans. “I pledge to live up to this endorsement by working with Mike to restore fiscal integrity in Springfield which has been destroyed by the current Democratic Leadership.

Part of Evans’ Common Sense approach has been to call for a repeal of Governor Quinn’s and the Democrat controlled General Assembly’s raising of the individual income tax rate by 67 percent and corporate income tax rate by 46 percent by co-sponsoring House Bill 175.

“The record tax hikes have hurt families, forced businesses out of the state and worsened our state’s fiscal health,” said Evans.  “We have lost 60,000 jobs, have a downgraded bond rating and still have a backlog of $7 billion in unpaid bills.”

“Mike Bost believes what I believe. Government should provide opportunities for individuals and business to succeed through fiscal conservative values, not the tax and spend policies of today’s democratic leadership,” said Evans.

Evans Defends People with Disabilities’ Quality of Life Against Charlie Meier’s Support of Abortions for “Handicapped” Children

O’FALLON, IL… State Representative Paul Evans today firmly defended the quality of life for all people born with disabilities against candidate Charlie Meier’s statement that he supports aborting children who would be born with physical or mental disabilities at the final debate for candidates running for state representative in the 108^th district in Albers on Wednesday.

“Charlie Meier can’t have it both ways.  He can’t say he supports the developmentally disabled residents and families at the Murray Center and then tell us he believes children with handicaps” should be allowed to be aborted so they do not have to live and suffer’,” stated Evans.

Meier, who is single and has no children, stated that he supports abortions of babies with handicaps so they do not have to suffer. In addition, Meier stated that if a woman is raped, she should be able to have an abortion because the potential child is likely to be abused after it is born.

“Meier is totally out of touch with reality. Under his rules, the only child that has a right to live is a healthy one,” said Evans. “I believe Charlie has the birth of children mixed up with the birth of livestock, where as a farmer, Charlie decides which one lives and which one doesn’t.”

According to the United States Center for Health Statistics, nearly 15% of all babies born in the United States are born with a mental or physical disability.

“If Meier has his way, children born with spina bfida, cerebral palsy, blind, deaf or with a physical deformity should be aborted,” stated Evans. “As a father of a child born with spina bfida, I cannot imagine a world without her in it and the impact she has made on this world.”

Evans is the only candidate in the race to receive the Illinois Federation for the Right to Life (IFRTL) endorsement.  Dawn Behnke, of the IFRTL, stated “Not only has Representative Evans expressed a desire to protect the unborn, but he also supports the disabled as well as those who are endangered at the end of life.

Since taking office in August of 2011, Representative Evans brought his personal commitment to the Pro-Life movement to Springfield. When Evans and his wife, Sandy, were pregnant with their first child, they discovered through an ultrasound that the baby had spina bifida. The Evans’ were pressured to abort the baby – being told their daughter would never smile, swallow or speak.

“My wife, Sandy and I never considered aborting our daughter and had to defend our right to have her under intense pressure. We embraced our daughter and helped her fight the physical and mental challenges she faced because of spina bifida,” said Evans. “For the past 19 years, our daughter has been an inspiration to us battling through painful surgeries and rehabilitation all her life. She is now a wonderfully bright young lady attending college studying special education and living independently on her own.”

“If we had followed the Meier’s rules of life, our daughter would not be here today,” said Evans.  “Meier has no business as a state representative with views like his. I want to urge every family who has a child with a disability to let Charlie Meier know he can’t be with us on Murray for political gain and then against us on abortion.”

Over the course of the last seven months, Evans has been working to prevent abortions and protect life. This week, he worked with his fellow Pro-Life representatives to get the Ultrasound Bill HB 4085, and Women’s Health and Safety Act of 2012 HB 4117 out of committee onto the Illinois House Floor.

The Ultrasound Bill HB 4085 provides that at any facility where abortions are performed the physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction with either physician shall offer any woman seeking an abortion an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child by someone qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the facility, prior to the
woman having any part of an abortion performed or induced, and prior to the administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation for the abortion.

The Women’s Health and Safety Act of 2012 HB 4117 amends the Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act to state that any center where abortions are performed, and any other facility where 50 or more abortions are performed in any calendar year, must comply with all of the statutes, rules, and regulations applicable to ambulatory surgical treatment centers.

State Representative Paul Evans released court documents today that showed while Don Weber was a Circuit Judge and while he was employed by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office as a Senior Prosecutor in 2005 and 2006, he accepted financial finder’s fees for referring plaintiffs with asbestos cases to private law firms that were tried in the Madison County Circuit Court where he was a judge.

“At a time when Don Weber is seeking to gain another public office in which he has made asbestos litigation reform central to his campaign, it is critical that the taxpayers of the 108^th Legislative District understand the past financial rewards Weber received from asbestos lawsuits while on the public payroll,” said Evans.

Madison County plays host to one of the busiest asbestos dockets in the United States. Cases from all over the country are filed there. In each of these suits, dozens, if not hundreds of defendants are named.

Weber has said that if he is elected as state representative, he would propose legislation that would make the asbestos docket in Madison County “fairer and would enhance the integrity and reputation of such litigation,” according to an article written in The Madison/St. Clair Record on March 1, 2012.

“I question Don Weber’s ability to make a fair and impartial decision about asbestos litigation when he benefited financially in referring cases for plaintiffs,” said Evans. “It would be like having the fox guard the hen house.”

Court records also show that while receiving the referral fees, Don Weber did not voluntarily remove himself from asbestos and other cases in which he knew he had a personal conflict of interest, which is required by Illinois Supreme Court rules, until others made him by motioning the court for his removal.

Under the Illinois Supreme Court Rule 63, “a judge shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including when a judge was within three preceding years, associated in private practice of law with any law firm or lawyer currently representing any party in controversy.”

Court documents detail that Weber received payments from the SimmonsCooper Law Firm of East Alton, after Weber referred plaintiff Jack Baierlein to SimmonsCooper in 2003 for an asbestos related wrongful death lawsuit of Linda Baierlein (Case Number 03-L-1991). At that time, Weber entered into an agreement with SimmonsCooper Law Firm, whereby Weber would receive a contingency fee in connection with the referral.

As a result of recovery in the case, SimmonsCooper made its first payment to Weber on January 24, 2005, while he was still employed by the Madison County States Attorney as a prosecutor.  Later that year in November 2005, Weber was appointed to fill a vacancy as a Circuit Court Judge of Madison County, a position he later lost in his 2006 election bid.

On December 20, 2005, then Judge Weber was assigned a case filed by David Meyer and Julie Meyer (Case Number 05-L-208) on behalf of SimmonsCooper, the same firm with whom he had a contingency fee agreement for asbestos case referrals. Weber then received his second fee payment from SimmonsCooper on January 5, 2006, court documents show.

On January 11, 2006, SimmonsCooper filed a Motion for Substitution of Judge on behalf of David Meyer and Julie Meyer before then Judge Weber due to the conflict of interest.  Weber granted Julie Meyer’s motion, on January 13^th, but not for David. In his order it was reported that “the David Meyer case remains pending before this Court . . .”

According to a Court Order filed on January 30, 2006, Weber recused himself from fourteen other asbestos cases that involved the SimmonsCooper Law Firm and the law firm of Williamson, Webster, Falb and Glisson, another asbestos litigation firm located in Alton.  However, he did not recuse himself from the David Meyer case.

Then according to a notarized affidavit, on January 31, 2006, Weber called John Simmons, of SimmonsCooper. Mr. Simmons returned the call on February 1, 2006 at which time, Weber informed Simmons that “he (Weber) must recuse himself from cases in which SimmonsCooper LLC is counsel of record because he referred a case to SimmonsCooper LLC and had been receiving and may receive future fees in conduct with said case.”  For reasons unknown, Weber still did not recuse himself from the David Meyer case.

On February 7, 2006, it appears that a third payment check was sent from SimmonsCooper to Weber in relation to the original contingency fee agreement.

According to a motion that was delivered to the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s Office on February 17, 2006, SimmonsCooper filed another motion to recuse Weber from David Meyer’s case because Weber had not recused himself on January 13^th or after the phone conversation with John Simmons on January 31^st.  This motion was granted.

“This matter not only smacks of a lack of judgment by an official of the courts, but also is in potential violation of standards set forth for attorneys and judges by the State of Illinois,” said Evans. “When Don Weber became aware of the ethical conflict, he should have immediately voluntarily recused himself, instead he accepted another fee payment from his referral of an asbestos case.”

“It is clear that in this case, it was the plaintiff’s attorney who brought fairness and integrity to the asbestos litigation process, not Don Weber,” said Evans. “How can he expect anyone to believe that he will make the process fairer as a state representative, when he failed to do it as a judge.”

Weber has stated in his campaign for state representative, that he did not preside over any asbestos cases as a judge because “the trial attorneys were too afraid of me.” It is clear now, however, that he was forced to disqualify himself because he benefited financially from asbestos litigation.

“It is very disturbing that Don Weber thought it was proper to accept payments for referring private asbestos litigation cases to trial lawyers while he was serving on the bench,” Evans stated. “In essence, he was on the payroll for asbestos plaintiffs while earning a taxpayer funded paycheck and pension to safeguard the citizens he represented. Don Weber owes us all an explanation.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel called on lawmakers in Springfield to pass legislation requiring that all handguns in the state of Illinois to be registered or face felony charges. Under Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal, handgun owners would have to pay $65 for a registration certificate from the state. The registration certificate would function just like the title to a car. The state of Illinois currently requires that gun owners have a firearm owners’ identification card, to own or possess guns within Illinois. Currently, guns themselves are not registered at the state level.

“The idea of more mandates on law abiding gun owners is ridiculous,” said Rep Evans. “We
already have background checks, wait periods, FOID cards, when does it stop? If this bill is
introduced in the upcoming legislative session in Springfield I would gladly vote NO, I have a hard time imagining that there would be enough votes to allow this type of legislation to pass in Springfield,” said Rep Evans.

“This is just another example of out of control government trying to take away personal
freedoms while also sneaking another fee by in the process. The city of Chicago has a history of being against the 2nd amendment and they also have a history of trying to impose their will on the rest of the state,” said Rep Evans.

State Representative Paul Evans announced today that he is rejecting the pay raise
Democrat Governor Pat Quinn included in his budget proposal which increases salaries for all State constitutional officers and legislators, including the Governor’s own salary. In addition, Evans is cutting his Legislative Office Budget by 10% and is calling for all elected officials to make the same cuts and reject the Democrats’ pay raise proposal.

“Last year, Democrat Governor Pat Quinn and the Democrat majorities in the House and Senate pushed through a 67% increase in the state’s income tax, now they feel they deserve a pay raise,” Evans said. “Based upon the budget introduced by Governor Quinn, legislators and the Governor himself would receive thousands in new pay raises and that is out-of-line and out-of-touch.”

Illinois faces nearly $9 billion in unpaid bills this fiscal year, a number that could grow to over $20 billion in a few short years. Yet, the Governor’s FY2013 budget proposal reveals that he is prepared to spend over $250,000 on pay raises for legislators and even the Governor.

“The average family in Illinois paid over $1,000 more in taxes last year, and now the Governor wants to use that tax money to provide himself and other elected officials with pay raises,” Evans added. “While the Governor talks about shared sacrifice, it seems the only people sacrificing are the taxpayers who are paying for the politicians’ pay raises.”

Further examination of the Governor’s budget, which was introduced last week, uncovered that while Quinn raised taxes on families and businesses, he would see his salary jump by $1,600 to $179,100.

In all, the budget includes over $250,000 in pay increases for state elected officials, which is nearly $1 million dollars higher than it was in FY2011.

The Governor’s proposal stands in direct contrast to Evan’s own plan to cut operating expenses of the state by 10% in FY 2012 to meet the budget shortfall this year and another 10% cut in FY 2013 to bring state spending under control.

“I am cutting my own legislative office’s operating expenses this year by 10% and strongly rejecting the pay increase by Governor Quinn,” Evans stated. “I am also calling for my fellow legislators to do the same and not participate in Governor Quinn’s Pass the Buck Tax and Spend fiscal mismanagement of our state.”

Under Quinn’s plan members of the Illinois House would collectively get a $73,200 raise. That breaks out to about $620 for each member. For the Illinois Senate, members would get a collective raise of $37,200. That breaks out to $630 for each member.

“Since taking office last year, it has become even more obvious there is no common sense in the way the Democrats are running this state,” Evans stated. “Rejecting the pay raise and cutting my own budget, takes us one step closer to ending the nonsense of a decade-long Democrat led decline of Illinois.”

PRO LIFE MOVEMENT BACKS PAUL EVANS FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Illinois Right to Life Federation announces endorsement

State Representative Paul Evans of O’Fallon received the
endorsement of the Illinois Right to Life Federation today for his lifetime commitment to
protecting the lives of the unborn and dedication to the Pro-Life movement.

“We are pleased to announce our endorsement of Paul J. Evans for nomination as the
Republican Candidate in the 108th House District,” said Dawn Behnke, Illinois Right To
Life Federation. “Not only has Mr. Evans expressed a desire to protect unborn children,
but he has also indicated his support for the disabled as well as those who are
endangered at the end of life.”

Since taking office in August of 2011, Representative Evans brought his personal
commitment to the Pro-Life movement to Springfield. When Evans and his wife, Sandy,
were pregnant with their first child, they discovered through an ultrasound that the baby
had spina bifida. The Evans’ were pressured to abort the baby – being told their
daughter would never smile, swallow or speak.

“My wife, Sandy and I never considered aborting our daughter and had to defend our
right to have her under intense pressure. We embraced our daughter and helped her
fight the physical and mental challenges she faced because of spina bifida,” said Evans.
“For the past 19 years, our daughter has been an inspiration to us batting through
painful surgeries and rehabilitation all her life. She is now a wonderfully bright young
lady attending college studying special education and living independently on her own.”
Over the course of the last seven months, Evans has been working to prevent abortions
and protect life. This week, he worked with his fellow Pro-Life representatives to get the
Ultrasound Bill HB 4085, and Women’s Health and Safety Act of 2012 HB 4117 out of
committee onto the Illinois House Floor.

The Ultrasound Bill HB 4085 provides that at any facility where abortions are
performed the physician who is to perform the abortion, the referring physician, or
another qualified person working in conjunction with either physician shall offer any
woman seeking an abortion an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of
her unborn child by someone qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a
facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the facility, prior to the
woman having any part of an abortion performed or induced, and prior to the
administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation for the abortion.

Women’s Health and Safety Act of 2012 HB 4117 amends the Ambulatory Surgical
Treatment Center Act and states that any center where abortions are performed, and
any other facility where 50 or more abortions are performed in any calendar year, must
comply with all of the statutes, rules, and regulations applicable to ambulatory surgical
treatment centers.

“In his short time in the office, Representative Evans has proven himself a champion for
Illinois mothers and babies,” said Behnke “We need to ensure he is elected on March
20th to ensure that more mothers will be protected and more babies will be saved. It is
our responsibility to support these endorsed candidates.”

Representative Paul Evans is the only candidate to receive the Pro-Life endorsement in
the three-way race for the new 108th district.

“There is one clear choice for conservative voters in the new 108^th district – and that is without a doubt – Paul Evans,” said Jon McLean, St. Clair County Republican Chairman. “Paul has the ability to bring our party together, to stand up to the democrats and fight for core conservative values of less government, less taxes and protecting personal freedoms.”

“It is time to unite behind Paul Evans so that we can focus on taking back Springfield,” McLean continued. “I ask all Republicans to join us in working for Paul to ensure he remains our State Representative.”

“I am very happy to endorse Paul Evans for State Representative in the Republican Primary this March,” said Jim Vernier, Mayor of Shiloh, “Evans is working everyday to restore trust in our public servants and to make sure the interests of conservatives downstate are represented.”

Jerry Daugherty, Mayor of Mascoutah, endorsed Paul Evans by saying, “I encourage the people of this new district to join me in voting for Paul Evans on March 20th.  We need Paul in Springfield. He’s the total package – a conservative, a family man, a businessman and someone who is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get things done.”

“We are fortunate to have Paul Evans as our State Representative, said Allen Adomite, Mayor Pro-Tem of Troy. “In the short time he has been in office, Paul has been working as the people’s lobbyist co-sponsoring bills to roll back the state income tax increase which the democrats raised by 67 percent at the same time proposing cuts in state spending.”