Shackelford has also has served as a member of the Business Advisory Board for Central Illinois Banks, as a charter member of the Rochester Education Foundation and as a member of Chamber of Commerce organizations in Christian, Macon and Sangamon counties.

Schackelford’s campaign website is www.DennisShackelford.com.

Sam Cahnman (Democrat): ‘Put the Cahn Man in the House.’

Springfield Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman is one of three Democratic candidates running for state representative in the new 96th district.

Cahnman, who has a law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, has been involved in politics before, both as an elected official and as an advocate for certain public policies. Cahnman led a 2006 campaign to allow voting in a primary election without declaring a party affiliation. Despite receiving support from 80 percent of voters in an advisory referendum, Illinois legislators twice rejected the “open primary” measure.

Cahnman responded by gathering 20 volunteers and collecting around 3,000 signatures of registered voters in Decatur, which eventually led to the question being placed on the March 20 ballot for Decatur voters to decide if they want an open primary.

Cahnman, a Springfield resident, is opposed to potential legislation that would require local school districts to pay for teachers’ pensions instead of the state.

Cahnman, along with fellow Democratic candidate Winston Taylor, has also been the target of recent negative fliers mailed to voters by the Democratic Majority, a campaign fund chaired by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago). One such flier shows three masked individuals standing behind a politician with a heading stating “you can tell a lot about politicians by the company they keep.”

The flier seeks to discredit the qualifications of Cahnman and Taylor by suggesting that the two candidates surround themselves with supporters who have criminal histories. In reality, the flier is focusing on only one individual, Ronnie Ballard of Decatur. According to court records, Ballard violated the sex offender registry act in 1997 after previously being convicted of aggravated sexual abuse in 1993. Ballard has circulated nomination petitions for both Cahnman and Taylor.

Cahnman has had his own brushes with the law, including most recently having a no-contact order placed on him, resulting from alleged inappropriate sexual contact with a 23-year-old woman in his apartment last summer. Sangamon County prosecutors declined to press charges against Cahnman after an investigation into the incident.

Cahnman said that the flier’s claims are “lies.”

“She (Scherer) says these fliers are about my character, but the fliers really don’t say anything about anyone’s character,” Cahnman said. “They (the fliers) indicate her poor character by sending them out and engaging in gutter politics. These fliers are misleading and are filled with the same two paragraphs of lies. They (Scherer’s campaign) are just trying to buy this election and put somebody in this seat who will follow the orders of Mr. Madigan and the Chicago Democratic machine. I don’t think the people want this kind of representative.”

Cahnman’s campaign strategies have included radio interviews and speaking at various public forums on issues such as Medicaid, pensions, firearm legislation and the state budget. He has also gone door to door in Decatur, Springfield and Blue Mound distributing pamphlets and press releases that tout his qualifications for office. Cahnman is the only candidate from either party who has served in elected office.

Cahnman has received $23,675 in campaign contributions, with the biggest campaign contribution coming from the Southern-Central Illinois Laborers Political League in the amount of $2,000.

Cahnman’s campaign goals include creating full-time jobs in Illinois, continuing the push for an open primary and addressing the budget.

Cahnman does not have a campaign website. Sue Scherer (Democrat): ‘Send a teacher, not a politician.’

Sue Scherer, a first grade teacher at Maroa- Forsyth Grade School, is running a different style of campaign than her two opponents, using mailed attack fliers and apparently avoiding public exposure. Scherer, a Decatur resident, is responsible for the numerous mail fliers that attack Cahnman and Taylor.

Scherer has received $50,683 in campaign donations from the Madigan-controlled Democratic Majority, accounting for nearly 60 percent of her total $86,586.44 in campaign donations.

Scherer’s campaign fliers center on concepts that she “isn’t a career politician,” and she “knows how to live within her means.” Both slogans are featured on a few mailing fliers.

According to her fliers and her website, www.SueSchererForStateRep.com, Scherer’s campaign goals include working to create jobs, demanding accountability in state government spending and protecting programs like education and senior services. Additionally, Scherer intends to fight against tax breaks for large corporations and putting unemployed workers back to work through an annual program of rebuilding Illinois’ roads and bridges.

Scherer did not respond to numerous attempts – including two weeks of phone calls, an email, and even a trip to her campaign office – by Illinois Times to obtain an interview. Scherer has also kept a low profile during the campaigning process, including skipping a number of candidate forums.

Winston Taylor (Democrat): ‘Together we can make a difference.’ Winston Taylor of Decatur has taken an unusual

route that culminated in his running for state representative.

Taylor, a former middle-linebacker for the University of Illinois and the Miami Dolphins, said that after he experienced a knee injury while playing in the National Football League, he didn’t know what the next step in his life was going to be.

Taylor soon found a position as the legislative liaison for the Capital Development Board and eventually the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which he believes helped him understand what being a state representative is about.

“I did basically some of the functions of a state representative,” Taylor said. “We drafted and amended legislation, we did committee

calls, we testified in committee. The only thing that I didn’t do was debate a bill on the floor.”

Taylor said during his five years working as a liaison, he noticed that one of the bigger problems in Illinois was how finances are distributed to communities.

“Not everybody is getting their share, and a lot of people are not even being told about funds and resources that are available to them,” Taylor said. “I want to share my knowledge on these situations with the citizens and help the communities re-grow.”

Taylor’s campaign has been helped through the efforts of friends and volunteers, which have gone door-to-door in the 96th district handing out informational fliers about Taylor, as well as offering rides to voters interested in voting early.

Taylor’s campaign goals include creating a jobfriendly atmosphere in Illinois, modernizing schools to promote a successful future for students and working with community members in the 96th district to develop effective ways to combat violence in their neighborhoods.

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