He has been in the U. S. Army for 26 years. He is a graduate of the Defense Strategy Course U. S. Army War College, served 12 months in a combat zone in Afghanistan, and is currently a lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois National Guard. He received his juris doctorate from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 1979.
Joe is 54 years old. He is a fourth generation Illinoisan descended from New Deal Democrats. His father grew up on a farm during the Depression. His father-in-law, Cy Cawley of Eureka, Illinois was a prisoner of war (POW) in World War II. He had been captured at the Battle of Bulge; earlier he had jumped on D Day over Normandy with the 101st Airborne. Joe's paternal uncle, Vic McMenamin, was also a POW for two years after getting shot down on a B24 bombing mission over Europe; earlier he participated as tail gunner in the famed Ploesti Oil Field bombing mission over Romania.
Given a realistic alternative, voters will drive John Shimkus from office. He failed to perform his duty as a Member of Congress by not exercising checks and balances prior to and throughout the disastrous Iraq war, said Joe. He reminds his constituency that Rep. Shimkus consistently puts party above his country and reneged on his promise. By giving President Bush a blank check to fight a war in Iraq, Rep. Shimkus has succeeded in the following:
Spending a half a trillion dollars with little to show for it.
Shipped billions of dollars of American wealth abroad to import oil at triple the old price.
Avoided any real push towards energy independence.
Ignored the effects of global warming.
Delayed any viable solution to national health insurance.
Increased income disparity while oil companies and war profiteers grow wealthier.
Joe offers voters a better alternative to the Republican incumbent's questionable ethics. To help him collect signatures on the petitions contact The Philosophe Forum!
