Campaign Office Visit - Dan Seals 10th Congressional District

Outside of Seals's Office in Arlington Heights

Boo! On Wednesday I dropped by the Illinois Victory Office at 73 W Rand Rd (Rte 12) in Arlington Heights(just north of Trader Joes and Pet Smart) to visit the Dan Seals field office. Not only does Dan have a great and welcoming office staff, he has the absolute best location for the Nov 2 election. Why you ask? Because he is right next door to Halloween City! So the best idea is to stop at the Halloween store, grab yourself a mask or complete costume (some great ones here ) then walk down to the Dan Seals office and have a little fun while doing some phone banking.  You can also use your mask for Trick or Vote which is an awesome event we will be posting about soon.  Ram and Matt are a happy to have a slew of high school volunteers and will make you feel right at home. Monday night they have PIZZA and on WEDNESDAY night it is potluck dinners. Contact Ram Villivalam at 312-933-4131 or ram.villivalam@ilvictory2010.org .  If you want more info on the Dan Seals campaign go to http://www.dansealsforcongress.com. Don't forget to tell them 'Mikva Challenge' sent you.

Great Halloween Shopping Right Next Door!

Matt (L) and Ram (R) Will Welcome You to the Office.

Campaign Office Visit - Mark Kirk for Senate

Last week I visited the Mark Kirk campaign office. They are located at 3100 Dundee Rd in Northbrook, Suite 108.  This is an office building complex. Suite 108 is located on the east end of the complex.There is not much signage out front. Look for a Kirk bumper sticker on the door. You can see it in the picture on the door to the right.  Megan Toal is a great contact there. If you want to volunteer at this campaign you must first submit you information on the internet. Visit their website at www.kirkforsenate.com to fill out a form. There are also internship possibilities. This is a very exciting race and would be a good office to work for.

Outside of Kirk Campaign Office

Kirk Campaign Office in Northbrook

Ballotpedia

Another Wiki mob-rule monument?
I find it useful.

List of Candidates, Issues, and Funds

One week ago the Illinois Board of Elections decided who would be on the Nov 2 ballot.
Here is a link to a summary of the big races on the ballot along with links for each campaign on what the big issues are and where the campaign funds are coming from. It's a good tool for your classroom when discussing the upcoming election.

via WBEZ, The Election File

Fundraising Caps Doubled in Senate Race

Lynn Sweet has a lot of information in her blog about local fundraisers with many many big names coming to our state to raise funds for our high profile elections.  Interesting note about why ticket prices are so high to many of the senate race events,
"That Nov. 2 special election for Senate in Illinois--to fill the few weeks that will be left to President Obama's term, in addition to a vote for the full six year term also on Nov. 2-means that Giannoulias, the state treasurer and GOP rival Rep. Mark Kirk (D-Ill.) can fund-raise for both contests at the same time"

via Lynn Sweet "Chicago Sun-Times"

GetOutCampaigning- GOC Good Idea #1, Scavenger Hunt

We all know that sometimes it takes some creative ideas to get students to visit a campaign office for the first time. We try to provide students will all the information they need to take that first step; the address, phone number, and most importantly, a contact name or two. Also, we always remind them to tell the volunteer coordinator that "Mikva Challenge sent me". All of these things help.  But one of the best GOC Good Ideas came from Carrie Kelso at Morgan Park High School.  Carrie sends her students out on 'scavenger hunts'. She encourages her class to collect unique campaign paraphernalia from each office...you know, bumper stickers, signage, pencils. These items are displayed in her classroom and often there is some sort of reward for the most diverse (showing they went to many different offices) collection. Sometimes it's that little sense of competition that gets the students motivated. I wonder what type of reward this ginormous sign would get....

Campaign Office Vist - Robert Dold, 10th Congressional District

Yesterday I had a great visit with the Robert Dold campaign in Winnetka. They are a young, energized campaign with a couple of  fun ideas for working off the stress of campaign work...a ping pong table AND cupcakes! Seriously, these are a bunch of hardworking people and I think any high school student would have a great experience spending some time working at this office. The office is not hard to find, with great signage outside and inside they have fabulous blown-up photos covering the walls. I even recognized some of our Mikva students from last fall! This office is open 7 days a week from now until the election. If you have any questions, please contact Phillipe Melin pmelin@doldforcongress.com or Mick Paskiewicz at michael@robertdoldforcongress.com and tell them Mika Challenge sent you. The address is 511 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka. Office phone # is 847-251-3653 and the website is www.doldforcongress.com.

Working out a Little Stress at the Ping Pong Table

Amazing Dold Cupcakes. Yum.

Front of Dold Headquarters in Winnetka