Progress Illinois

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 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":

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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)

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.

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.

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."

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.