The catering crew dropped a case of Miller Lite on Mike Birck's driveway before the party even got started. No biggie! What IS a big deal for Birck is that he's hosting a high-dollar fundraiser tonight at his home in Hinsdale, attended by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
"I told my wife, 'Relax. Have a good time,'" said Birck, as he stood outside his home and surveyed the landscaping makeover taking place.
The new flourishes included a neat line of small American flags stuck into the grass ringing Birck's driveway. Less ornate: the fresh string of yellow police tape stretched across a line of trees across the street from the fundraiser, where police plan to put any protestors should they show for the private event.
Suggested donations range from $500 to $10,000 for the fundraiser sponsored by the Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map, a self-billed non-partisan organization, fighting the re-distrcting map passed by the Democratic controlled Illinois legislature, and suing the Illinois State Board of Elections in an effort to get the map tossed.
The Committee feels the map undercuts the voting process, by establishing districts with partisan strangleholds. Republicans argue the new districts give Democrats a strong edge on Election Day.
Democrats think it's hogwash.
“Chasing this frivolous lawsuit makes clear that Illinois Republicans care more about their own jobs than creating them," said Haley Morris, Midwest Regional Press Secretary. "Try as they may there is nothing Speaking Boehner and Illinois Republicans can do to distract from their disastrous agenda that ends Medicare and destroys the U.S. credit rating just to protect tax breaks to Big Oil and billionaires.”
The event is scheduled to last two hours. When asked whether she had taken her husband's advice to relax and enjoy the evening, Kay Birck shook her head with a slight grin.
"I can't relax. It's my house."
