Since both parades started at the same time, the campaign split up in to two groups. The need for an additional vehicle was resolved compliments of Green Chevrolet, who provided us with this awesome Hummer. The kids loved it because they could ride in the back of it! A huge Thank You to our friends at Green Chevrolet as well as friend and campaign supporter Dave who made the arrangements and drove it without wrecking it.
Half of our group marched in Peoria and John joined our friends in Toluca.
and campaign supporter Alma Toedter
the popular Kenyon's restaurant in Lacon.
of Aggatucci's fame. The Aggatucci's originated
in Toluca, as did the Vespa's.
players, future great Peyton Perez
After the afternoon's activities, we united forces and continued the celebration on the Peoria Riverfront. Many of the local unions were represented in the parade. Among them was a personal favorite - the Peoria Federation of Teachers. John's sister, Peg, taught children in the Peoria District 150 school system for over 25 years. And because of our grade schoolsers, we have come to recognize and appreciate the awesome responsibility teachers have in educating a classroom full of children with a wide spectrum of educational needs.
Labor Day for John often invokes the memories of his parents and grandparents, now deceased.
John's grandparents settled in Toluca after immigrating from Italy, and his grandfather went to work in the coal mines. Mario, John's Dad, was a welder at Cat for over 40 years and worked long hours (including weekends loading trucks at the Journal Star) so their Mom, Aleene, could be a homemaker.
in building KK (or LL) in East Peoria
(This picture will appear in the new edition of "Peoria Memories")
John and his 3 siblings, Peg, Joe, and Jim, grew up in a small house on Columbia Terrace (711 West Columbia Terrace) in the heart of Peoria.
John worked his way through college and law school, and upon admittance to the Bar Association, paid off student loans by hanging out a shingle and opening a private law practice. He has truly achieved the American dream by spirit and hard work - of which, as hard as they try, no one can find a substitute for!
John has spent the majority of his time in the courtroom and has conducted over 100 jury trials. By electing John to serve as your Circuit Judge you will be electing a man who was born and raised in Peoria County. A man that grew up in a working class family - a man of few "excuses". A man who graduated from a school that he loves - Peoria Central High School - and continues to serve on their Alumni Association Board of Directors.
John is a man who has seen the administration of the law through multiple lenses - as a police officer fighting crime on the streets and as an attorney in the courtroom. We are thankful for the system of justice that we have. It may not always be perfect but it is the greatest system in the world. A highly qualified judiciary is what separates us from a heathen society.
John is unmatched by his judicial opponents in courtroom experience. His broad background in both criminal and civil law will make him fully adept at handling a courtroom docket immediately. His common sense and clear understanding of the law will result in a well-reasoned application of the law to the facts of the cases that appear before him.
John is asking for your vote on February 2, 2010!
photos by Paul Wilkinson
Posts
The primary is on February 2, 2010, not February 5, 2010.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Too funny. Thank you! I have corrected it.
ReplyDeleteFantastic bio. The people of these counties can now see that John is "one of them". Worked his way up through the ranks to achieve success. Way to go, John!
ReplyDelete