Published: October 25, 2008 08:58 pm      

DeYoung works to get her views heard

Lori DeYoung and her son, Griffin, enter the Jewell Whyte Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 728 in Danville at 7:30 on a recent Saturday morning.

The VFW post is having its monthly breakfast this particular Saturday and DeYoung and her son are there to eat breakfast and to campaign.

DeYoung of Fithian is the Democrat candidate for state representative in the 104th district. She is running against Danville incumbent William Black.

When DeYoung made her decision to run for the Illinois House in February, she thought her opponent would be Scott Eisenhauer, Danville mayor. However Eisenhauer’s abrupt resignation from the campaign and Black’s decision to seek re-election has DeYoung facing off against Black, a 22-year incumbent.

“Once I make up my mind about something this important, I am not going to change it,” DeYoung said.

DeYoung is serving her first term as a Vermilion County Board member. She previously served on the Oakwood Unit 76 school board and has served on the boards of the Vermilion County Health Department, Vermilion County 708 Mental Health and the Vermilion Association of Special Education.

She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in psychology and has a master’s and PhD in social work also from the U of I. She is the founder and executive director of the non–profit Family Education and Support Services agency. The agency deals mainly in child abuse prevention and provides counseling services, as well as court–ordered divorce mediation services.

DeYoung has run a non-stop personal campaign since her announcement in February.

A long day

On this particular Saturday, she will spend nearly 12 hours attending events and meeting people. On Sunday, she is scheduled to attend four churches.

DeYoung makes her way around the banquet hall at the VFW, shaking hands, handing out campaign literature. Griffin makes his way along the rows of tables, putting down campaign material. DeYoung estimates she has attended more than 100 pancake breakfasts, fish fries and chili suppers since the start of her campaign.

While eating breakfast, DeYoung goes over her schedule with her son. Griffin, 14, is one of DeYoung’s three children. She also has two daughters, Chelsey, 19, a student at Danville Area Community College, and Erin, 23, a senior at the University of Illinois. DeYoung is a life resident of Fithian and lives in the same house she grew up in.

When asked about his mom’s constant campaigning, Griffin responds with a dry wit, “It’s hard to get bored with this life.”

DeYoung and her son leave the VFW and drive to Oakwood where she delivers campaign yard signs to people who have requested them. She said she usually spends about eight hours on Fridays putting up signs throughout the 104th District. The 104th District extends from Vermilion/Edgar county border to just north of U.S. Route 136 and from the Indiana state line into Champaign County but not including Champaign–Urbana.

After dropping off Griffin at soccer practice in Oakwood, DeYoung heads back into Danville to meet a group at a local restaurant that is going out to register voters.

Rennell Crenshaw, co-pastor of the Christian Center for Hope, has organized a group of 10 women to walk precincts and register voters. When asked about the mixing of politics and religion, Crenshaw responds: “In the African-American community, it is very common to invite political candidates to speak at our churches. It is a chance for people to see the candidate and learn something about them.

“We want to know who they are and about their backgrounds,” Crenshaw added. “We feel this is a way for us to build a relationship with the candidate.”

Crenshaw’s group will register 75 new voters on this Saturday.

DeYoung leaves the restaurant and heads for the precinct she has selected to walk. “My plan is to walk 30 to 40 percent of every precinct in the 104th District,” DeYoung said.

A good contact

DeYoung continues to work her way down the street and comes to the home of Clyde Butler.

In talking with Butler, DeYoung learns he is a UAW retiree and had been in employed at the Central Foundry in Tilton until it closed. He transferred to another GM plant and moved back to Danville when he retired. Butler gives DeYoung permission to put a campaign yard sign in his yard and he also points to nearby houses.

“That’s my brother’s house and that one is my cousin’s house,” Butler said. “You can put signs in all of their yards.”

Butler also tells DeYoung of a lot on Fairchild Street that he owns that she can place a sign on.

Before leaving, Butler and DeYoung exchange phone numbers as Butler wants DeYoung to speak to the UAW retirees group.

DeYoung smiles broadly as she walks away.

“This was a good contact,” she said. “By speaking with Mr. Butler, I have the opportunity to connect with several other potential voters.”

At 10:30, DeYoung climbs back into her car and heads for Champaign. The Champaign County Democrat Party is having a fundraiser for county candidates and has invited DeYoung to participate. The event lasts for two hours, but it did net her nearly $300 in campaign contributions.

DeYoung said she has met her goal of raising $50,000 to fund her campaign. She describes herself as being fiscally conservative.

At 1:30 she arrives at Kickapoo State Park to attend the Musson family reunion with her son, whom she has picked up at the Oakwood Public Library. “I served on the Oakwood School Board with Shirley Musson and they always invite me to their family reunions,” DeYoung said.

Leaving the reunion DeYoung drops her son off to work on the freshman float for Oakwood High School homecoming.

DeYoung now heads for Hope, particularly the Hope United Church of Christ where the third annual Outdoor Music Festival is being staged. In the church basement, she has a piece of pie, the first food she has eaten since breakfast that morning. Then she heads upstairs to listen to some gospel music.

After listening to three gospel tunes, she says her good-byes and heads for Potomac.

In Potomac, she attends the fundraiser of Darla Cruppenink, Democrat candidate for Vermilion County circuit clerk. She talks with several people there and has a quick barbecue sandwich. She exchanges yard signs with fellow Democrat candidates Cruppenink and Michael Rortvedt, Democrat candidate for Vermilion County coroner.

One more stop

It is now 5 p.m. and DeYoung heads back to Danville and Ellsworth Park to the Vermilion River Fall Festival. At the festival, DeYoung walks the grounds, speaking with festival goers as well as the people who have set up booths.

At 7 p.m., a weary DeYoung heads home after 11½ hours of campaigning. According to DeYoung this is indicative of the way her Saturdays have gone since her announcement of candidacy in February.