Gov. Daniels Signs Right To Work Into Law

Indiana officially became the 23rd state in the nation to enact a right to work law that allows employees working in union shops to opt out of joining and paying dues to the union. Gov. Mitch Daniels signed HB 1001 into law this afternoon after the Senate passed the legislation by a 28-22 vote. He had this to say in a written statement released after signing the bill into law, which takes effect immediately:

Seven years of evidence and experience ultimately demonstrated that Indiana did need a right-to-work law to capture jobs for which, despite our highly rated business climate, we are not currently being considered.

This law won’t be a magic answer but we’ll be far better off with it. I respect those who have objected but they have alarmed themselves unnecessarily: no one’s wages will go down, no one’s benefits will be reduced, and the right to organize and bargain collectively is untouched and intact.

The only change will be a positive one. 

Indiana will improve still further its recently earned reputation as one of America’s best places to do business, and we will see more jobs and opportunity for our young people and for all those looking for a better life.

Large numbers of union protestors chanting "United we stand, divided we fall" took their demonstration into the heart of the Super Bowl Village, disrupting what was otherwise a beautiful day for the outdoor festivities. Daniels will use the new law as a selling point to top business leaders from around the country whom he will be meeting with informally during this weekend's Super Bowl.

Gov. Pat Quinn in next door Illinois reacted with skepticism at Indiana's move to become a right-to-work state. Quinn called the legislation "a bad move that won't help Indiana compete with Illinois for business."

“Having a good union work force like Caterpillar and John Deere and Ford and Mitsubishi and Chrysler; they all have – Navistar as well – they’re all organized by the UAW and the UAW believes in making sure that people get a decent wage, get a decent health care plan and a decent retirement,” Quinn said.

Quinn said major companies like those are thriving in Illinois with union labor.

“Take a look at Caterpillar. They had their best year in 2011 since, I think, 1947 was the last year they were as good as they were last year. They sold a lot of machinery all over the world; 90 percent of what they make in Illinois, they export to the world,” Quinn said.

The governor also said he’s not worried about losing Illinois businesses to Indiana.

“That ain’t gonna happen, I’ll tell you that. I think that’s a bad bill and I’m very sorry that Mitch Daniels is gonna sign the ‘right to work for less’ bill. That’s a bad bill for the incomes of hard-working people,” Quinn said.

McIntosh Claims To Benefit Most From Burton's Exit From 5th District Race

Former U.S. Rep. David McIntosh's campaign is citing a recent poll it commissioned as evidence that the former congressman will benefit the most among the remaining contenders for Indiana's fifth district congressional seat following the announcement yesterday by U.S. Rep. Dan Burton that he would not run for re-election.  According to the poll taken by Wilson Perkins Allen, voters expressing a preference for Burton indicated by a 2-1 margin, or 38%-14%, they would prefer McIntosh over the other candidates in the race.

That same poll showed Burton leading the field with 29%, nearly the same percentage he received in the primary two years ago, followed by McIntosh with 20% of the vote. Former Marion Co. Coroner John McGoff garnered a 14% share in the poll sampling ahead of attorney Jack Lugar's 11% support and former U.S. Attorney Susan Brook's 4% share. Lugar, who is no relation to Sen. Lugar, clearly benefits from sharing the same last name with the well-known senator. He is considered the least credible among the competing candidates and has raised the least amount of money. Brooks has raised more money than any of the other candidates, but she has very low name recognition in the district compared to McIntosh and McGoff. There could still be other late entrants into the race. Many are closely watching to see if State Sen. Mike Delph, a former Burton aide, will jump into the race.

Lugar Campaign Says He Sort Of Has A Place In Indiana

Apparently Sen. Richard Lugar's campaign was not pleased with the Daily Caller's story yesterday entitled, " Richard Lugar doesn't live here anymore." A spokesman for the campaign wanted to make clear that Lugar owns "a very large farm" with several other family members. The DC's Will Rhan explains:

Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar’s family owns a large farm the Hoosier State, spokesman David Willkie told The Daily Caller.

When asked whether the farm was in Lugar’s name, Willkie said that it’s “within the family” and that “multiple owners” are listed on the deed.

The statement came after TheDC published a story concerning Lugar’s residency situation in Indiana, where he has not lived since selling his home in 1977. When initially asked by TheDC whether Lugar owns any property in Indiana, a spokesman for the senator had said he did not.

“He does not have a house in Indiana but that is immaterial to this,” the spokesman said then.
According to Wilkie, Lugar is “an owner” of the “604-acre family corn, soybean, and tree farm in Marion County, Indiana.” Moreover, Willkie said, the 79-year-old Lugar “actively manages” and pays property taxes on the farm.

“Lugar’s time spent managing his farm keeps him grounded in the work that he does for the Senate Agricultural Committee and for the people in Indiana,” Willkie said. “People that tell you differently, never grew up on a farm in Indiana.”

Willkie also said, however, that Lugar does not stay at the farm when he is in Indiana.

“There’s no house at the farm that you would stay in, so far as a physical residence,” Willkie said. “There’s a multitude of places where he stays.”

I'm glad Willkie cleared that matter up. It makes a big difference. Not. Willkie obviously doesn't know much about farming. Six hundred four acres isn't a "very large farm" by today's standards.

Illinois Newspaper Challenges Eligibility Of Congressional Candidate

If you question whether Barack Obama is a natural born citizen as required by Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution in order to be eligible to serve as president, you are denounced by the mainstream media as a bigot and called a "birther." An Illinois newspaper has no qualms, however, about challenging the eligibility of a candidate for Congress in Illinois' 10th congressional district who immigrated to the U.S. from Rwanda and later became a naturalized citizen. The Daily Herald's Russell Lissau takes on first-time candidate Aloys Rutagwibira:

A suburban Democratic candidate for Congress is ineligible to hold that office because he hasn’t been a U.S. citizen long enough, records show.

Aloys Rutagwibira, 53, of Hainesville is a native of Rwanda who became a naturalized American citizen July 6, 2006, according to voter registration records acquired by the Daily Herald.

Congressional service requires seven years of citizenship, under the Constitution. Rutagwibira won’t be eligible until July 2013.

Rutagwibira is one of five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the 10th District seat now held by Republican Bob Dold . . .

According to his campaign website, Rutagwibira graduated from Indiana University-South Bend in 1994 and earned a master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago in 2001. He has since worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a mathematical statistician. 

Voter registration records on file with the Lake County clerk’s office in Waukegan indicate Rutagwibira became an American citizen in 2006 at the U.S. District courthouse in Chicago.

The county document, dated Jan. 8, 2008, was signed by Rutagwibira and included an oath of accuracy.

Federal naturalization records are kept by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The records are available to the public only with the written approval of the person to whom the record pertains.

Whereas American presidents must be natural-born American citizens, immigrants are allowed to serve in Congress.

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution says representatives must be at least 25 years old, citizens for at least seven years and residents of the states they seek to represent . . .

Notice how there was no impediment to locating government documents on Rutagwibira in stark contrast to government documents on Obama that all seem to be under lock and key. Constitutional eligibility aside, it looks like Rutagwibira's candidacy was already doomed. The story notes that a challenge to the petitions he filed to get on the ballot had already been made, a practice honed by Barack Obama when he first entered politics as a state senate candidate and successfully challenged and removed every single one of his primary opponents from the ballot, including the long-time incumbent state senator, Alice Palmer. It's curious that reporters who have no problem looking into pesky little questions about the constitution when it comes to other candidates totally abrogate that responsibility when it comes to Obama, and who go out of their to ridicule and denigrate anyone who raises legitimate constitutional questions about his eligibility.

Super Bowl Expected To Generate $150 Million In Spending For Indianapolis

A Pricewaterhouse Coopers analysis projects this year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis will generate $150 million in spending by the NFL, businesses and visitors on lodging, transportation, meals, entertainment, business services, and other hospitality and tourism activities. According to the analysis, spending at this year's Super Bowl will be on par with spending at recent Super Bowls in Tampa and Miami in 2009 and 2010. Spending will be below the $200 million level estimated to have been spent on last year's game in Dallas.

"To successfully host the Super Bowl, a destination must not only be capable of providing quality venues, hotels, restaurants, transportation and entertainment, but must also be willing to invest in security, special events, recruitment and volunteer training as well as clean-up and sanitation," said Robert Canton, director, sports and tourism sector, PwC US. "Indianapolis has a history of strong commitment by its leaders to create and sustain a tourism industry based largely on major sporting events and conventions."

With a newly renovated convention center, a concentration of quality hotels downtown, and a great history of hosting events like the Indy 500 and several NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four games, Indianapolis has shown it is an ideal location to host major sporting events," Canton said.

The analysis does not factor in the added costs the state and local community is incurring in order to host the event, or the millions of dollars in foregone tax revenues the state and local government gave up from the event as a consequence of a special tax break enacted by the state legislature to entice the NFL to hold the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, taxes that would have been collected for hosting other similar events. The city is also giving the NFL free and exclusive use of Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indiana Convention Center and about 6,000 downtown parking spaces, representing an additional loss of revenues that would have been collected from other similar events. It should be pointed out that post analysis of two most recent Super Bowls in Dallas and Miami showed a negligible change in tax revenues collected by state and local governments during the big event over prior year's revenue collections.

Burton Ended Reporting Period With More Than $408,000

U.S. Rep. Dan Burton may not be running for re-election, but he has a sizeable amount of unspent campaign funds left over according to his year-end campaign finance report. Burton's campaign committee ended 2011 with over $408,000 in cash on hand after raising $135,000 during the fourth quarter and spending a little over $50,000. While Burton won't be a factor in the fifth congressional district race as a candidate this year, he could make a big difference if he chooses to endorse a candidate in the field to replace him and donate unspent campaign funds to that candidate and candidates elsewhere. Burton is prohibited by law from using the money for personal expenses. He can choose to give the money to the party, other candidates within the FEC limits for individual contributions (unless he converts his committee to a PAC) or his favorite charity.

The Glass House Of Charlie White's Prosecutor

Daniel Siglar, Sr.

Piecing together circumstantial evidence of where he claims Secretary of State Charlie White actually lived for a five-month period while he was running for statewide office in 2010 and still serving as a town council member in Fishers, the lead prosecutor in the case against Charlie White, Daniel Sigler, Sr., convinced a Hamilton Co. grand jury to indict White on seven felony counts, including counts of vote fraud, perjury, mortgage fraud, marriage application license fraud and theft. [Paul Ogden has a good post on the absurdity of these charges here.] In opening arguments today, the prosecutor told jurors hearing the case that began this week in a Hamilton County court that White had engaged in deceit and cheated to make it appear that he lived somewhere other than where he actually lived during this five-month period when he was in between marriages and homes in order to continue serving as a town council member in Fishers while running for statewide office. It's an interesting tale, and one that mirrors the tale that I'm about to tell you about Dan Sigler, Sr., the very man standing in front of jurors in Hamilton County accusing White of multiple felonies.

Sigler, a Democrat, served five terms as the prosecuting attorney for Adams County, Indiana from 1979 to 1999. He currently is a partner at the Columbia City law firm of Bloom Gates Sigler & Whiteleather. Sigler primarily works as a civil litigator and as a mediator, but he has also served as the Whitley County Attorney for several years. On occasion, he has served in an appointed capacity as a special prosecutor in high profile cases like Charlie White's case and the 2007 case of Fort Wayne mayoral candidate Matt Kelty that resulted Kelty pleading to felony charges of violating Indiana's campaign finance laws.

In 2006, Sigler fell out of love with his wife, Nancy, and in love with another woman, Fort Wayne family law attorney Sherrie Hampshire. On September 26, 2006, Sigler filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage to Nancy pro se in the Elkhart County circuit court rather than in Whitley County where he and his wife had resided and where Indiana's divorce law presumes jurisdiction to hear the case, unless his role as the county attorney posed a potential conflict with the judge who would have presided over his case. Sigler's wife was represented by Fort Wayne attorney Daniel Borgmann. Sigler and his wife reached a settlement agreement as quickly as Indiana law permits and a divorce decree was entered a little more than 60 days later on November 29, 2006. According to the court records, Sigler agreed to pay $30,000 to Nancy as part of the property equalization agreement the couple voluntarily entered into after waiving a final hearing in their divorce case.

When Sigler filed his petition for divorce in September, 2006, he listed his residence as 7828 Huguenard Road in Fort Wayne, a short distance from where his subsequent wife, Sherrie Hampshire lived. Sigler's wife Nancy listed her address as 183 N. Wildthorne Court in Columbia City, a home she had purchased on her own on August 22, 2005, a year prior to Sigler filing the divorce petition in Elkhart County. Sigler and Nancy were both registered to vote at their marital residence at 1753 North Wilson Lake Road. Nancy claimed a homestead exemption on the 183 N. Wildthorne Court home she purchased in 2005, but three years later, voting records indicate that she was still voting from the marital residence she owned with her ex-husband. White relates that Sigler told his wife's attorney during his investigation that he could charge her with vote fraud as well but wasn't going to because in his words, "you would have to go after everyone." Sigler told her attorney that White had to be charged because of "who he is." The divorcing couple sold that home on 1753 North Wilson Lake Road on January 27, 2006, eight months before Sigler filed for divorce, to another couple, Andrew and Elizabeth Varga, who registered to vote at that address and did in fact vote from it at the 2006, 2008 and 2010 general elections.

Despite claiming under penalties of perjury that he was residing in Fort Wayne when he filed his petition for dissolution of his marriage, Sigler continued to maintain a registered voting address at 1753 North Wilson Lake in Columbia City until September, 2008. Two and a half years after selling the marital residence, Sigler finally got around to changing his voter registration to the 7828 Huguenard Road in Fort Wayne, a rental home owned by Gerry and Patricia Lydy. Curiously, Sigler's change of voting address occurred after he had been named as a special prosecutor at the request of the Allen County Prosecutor in Fort Wayne to prosecute the campaign finance case against Fort Wayne mayoral candidate Matt Kelty.

It gets even more interesting. Sigler and his then-girlfriend, Sherrie Hampshire, purchased a $227,000 vacation home in Saugatuck, Michigan on August 3, 2007, less than 9 months after his divorce to Nancy was final, that the unmarried couple represented to be a "second home" that was "owner occupied." Sigler and Hampshire took out a 30-year mortgage on the Saugatuck home. According to Allegan County, Michigan property tax records, tax bills for the home were mailed to Daniel J. Siglar, Sr. and Sherrie Hampshire at 8024 Sorrel Lane in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the home which Hampshire had purchased in April, 2005 and at which she had been registered to vote since November 16, 2005. In November, 2008, Sigler voted using the 7828 Huguengard address in Fort Wayne despite representations he had made in other legal documents that he was residing with Hampshire at 8024 Sorrel Lane in Fort Wayne.

Sigler and Hampshire were married in Saugatuck, Michigan on July 10, 2010, nearly three years after he and Hampshire purchased their vacation home together and represented their primary residence as 8024 Sorrel Lane. Where did Sigler represent on his marriage application that he lived? You guessed it. Sigler used the 7828 Huguenard Road address despite representations in other legal documents that he was living with Hampshire at 8024 Sorrel Lane. When Sigler discovered that White was checking into his marriage record in Michigan, he complained to his attorney that "he didn't appreciate it." No small wonder. Voting registration records show that another couple registered in 2010 to vote at 7828 Hugenard Road. Jay and Kris Fawver registered to vote at that address on September 8, 2010. When does Sigler finally get around to changing his registered voting address to 8024 Sorrel Lane? On February 28, 2011, Sigler took a break in between the second and third day of the grand jury proceedings he was leading against Charlie White to finally change his registered voting address to 8024 Sorrel Lane where he had received tax bills for the Saugatuck home in his name for nearly four years. Gee, I wonder why he chose that particular time to change his registered voting address?

These facts were all ascertained in an independent investigation Charlie White conducted on his own time at his own expense based on tips he had received that Sigler was living in a glass house. Based on the evidence he gathered and the interpretation of the law given to grand jurors in White's case, White concluded that there was evidence supporting a number of criminal charges against Sigler, including vote fraud, marriage license application fraud and mortgage fraud, the same charges Sigler convinced a grand jury in Hamilton County to bring against White. White surmised that Sigler didn't want folks in Whitley County where he was the county attorney to know that he no longer lived within the county and had moved in with his girlfriend, who would later become his wife. White turned over the evidence he gathered to Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards, who declined to prosecute the case. She claimed there was no evidence "to suggest a criminal act took place", obviously applying a different legal standard than the one Sigler applied to White.

It also cannot be overlooked the differing approaches Sigler has taken in these high profile cases he has prosecuted against public officials. In 1985, Sigler was named as a special prosecutor in the campaign finance violation case involving then-Fort Wayne Mayor Win Moses, a Democrat. Although Sigler had more than enough evidence to prosecute Moses on felony charges, he entered into a plea agreement whereby Moses was allowed to plead guilty to reckless disregard of the campaign finance law, a misdemeanor and resign from office. Because Sigler didn't press a felony charge against him, Moses days later allowed his name to be placed in nomination when Democratic precinct committeepersons met in Fort Wayne to choose his successor. Moses won the party election and resumed the office from which he had just resigned. Later, Moses would be elected to represent a Fort Wayne district in the Indiana House of Representatives. As I've documented previously, Moses and his wife for years lived in a luxury home on Indianapolis' northside while claiming a registered voting address at an apartment in Fort Wayne. When Charlie White's case became big news, Moses and his wife put their Indianapolis home up for sale and claimed they no longer lived there.

In 2007, Sigler was far less charitable to a Republican mayoral candidate, Matt Kelty. Sigler wasted no time in convincing a grand jury to indict Kelty just three months before the November election on 7 felony counts and two misdemeanor counts of campaign finance-related charges. A trial couldn't be held until after the November election, but the looming criminal charges doomed Kelty's campaign, which he lost to Tom Henry, 60%-40%. Nearly a year after losing the race, Kelty, who by that point had become personaly bankrupt from all of the legal expenses he spent defending the charges brought by Sigler, pleaded guilty to three of the nine charges Sigler had filed against him. He received no jail time under the terms of his plea agreement and paid a $750 fine. As a consequence of his plea agreement, Kelty can never seek public office in Indiana again. If Sigler gets his way, White will not only lose his office but also his right to run for office again and his law license to boot. Sigler is a hypocrite of the first order. Let's hope and pray the jurors in that Hamilton County courtroom can see through this high tech lynching of White by Sigler, the hypocritical politicians and the mainstream news media in this state with less than pure motives who are also seeking his removal from office. If a criminal case every cried out for jury nullification, this one fits the bill.

Dan Burton Not Seeking Re-Election

There has been speculation for some time that U.S. Rep. Dan Burton didn't really intend to seek re-election to his seat, but up to now he has steadfastly denied those stories. One of his opponents had recently raised questions about why Burton was campaigning for Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign in Florida but skipping candidate forums for the 5th District congressional candidates attended by his opponents. Today, Burton broke the news that he will not seek re-election, citing a family health problem as the reason for his announcement. From WRTV:

U.S. Rep Dan Burton, who represents Indiana's fifth congressional district, announced his retirement Tuesday morning.

Burton, 73, made the announcement at the Indiana Statehouse, citing a family health problem. He declined to provide details.

Burton, a Republican, who began his career in the U.S. House in 1983, has served 15 terms.

With Burton out of the race, questions are now being asked if others may decide to enter an already crowded field of candidates. Burton did not endorse any candidates in announcing his withdrawal from the race. Some had speculated that Sen. Mike Delph, a former aide to Burton, might enter the race if Burton chose not to seek re-election. By waiting so late to announce, Burton has left little time for late entrants to enter the race and raise the funds necessary to mount a serious campaign. Former U.S. Rep. David McIntosh, former Marion Co. Coroner John McGoff, former U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks and attorney Jack Lugar have all been campaigning for the job for months. McGoff, who has twice sought to unseat Burton in the primary, has been running nonstop for the job for the past five years.

Howey Politics notes that Sen. Delph was the first to tweet Burton's plan to resign this morning after Delph and Burton's brother, State Rep. Woody Burton, met for coffee with Burton this morning at the Marriott Hotel. Burton formally announced his retirement on the floor of the Indiana House of Representatives where he first began his political career many years ago as a state representative. Delph declined to answer a reporter's question about whether he will enter the race. "Today is about Congressman Burton and his service to the state and nation," Delph told Howey.

McIntosh's campaign released the following statement praising Burton's years of service:

"Dan Burton has a long record of serving the people of Indiana by upholding the conservative principles of limited government, personal freedom, and economic prosperity. As a former colleague of Dan's, I am grateful for his leadership over the years on issues that have mattered most to our fellow Hoosiers and Americans. My prayers are with Dan and Samia as they take these next steps in their lives, and we wish them every blessing as they begin a new season in life."

McGoff's campaign released the following statement:

"I want to take a moment to reflect on the long service that Congressman Burton has given to the people of central Indiana and our country," said Dr. John McGoff a candidate for Indiana's 5th Congressional District. "He has always been the voice for strong conservative values and that is why voters continued to re-elect him since 1982. This is truly the end of an era."

"At this point, we're not sure as to what the family health concerns are, which Congressman Burton alluded to in his announcement," McGoff added. "But, I want to let him know that my family will keep the Burtons in our daily thoughts and prayers."

In 2008, McGoff mounted the first serious challenge to Congressman Burton and surprised pundits by garnering 45% of the vote.

"Since 2008, I have been firmly dedicated to giving the voters in the 5th District proven leadership with a new voice in Washington," McGoff said, "Today's announcement assures that there will be a new voice representing central Indiana in January 2013. Even with Congressman Burton's announcement today, the message of my campaign to fix Washington, to ensure lower taxes, to create a stronger economy and to maintain a strong national defense for our country remains the same."