Contact: Ben Evans 573-268-2790

Belleville, IL… Congressional candidate Jason Plummer has put his silver foot in his mouth
yet again after a number of conservative groups called him out on his claims that he is “the only
candidate supported by pro-life groups” in the race for the 12th District GOP nomination. The
problem for Plummer—and Republicans in the fall if he gets the nomination—is he has a history
of these Al Gore-like gaffes.

“I guess as a 29-year-old millionaire who has gotten all his money from his dad’s
corporation and hasn’t really achieved anything in his life, he must think he has to stretch the
truth,” said Rodger Cook, Plummer’s opponent, in a series of press conferences in the district.
“But the truth is Democrats will tear him apart in the fall and we will lose the chance to win this
seat for the first time in 70 years.”

Plummer’s latest embellishment occurred at a debate last Friday where he claimed to
be the only candidate endorsed by pro-life groups, naming the Illinois Federation for Right to
Life and the Illinois Citizen’s for Right to Life. There’s only one problem: those endorsements
occurred in 2010, when he was the failed GOP nominee for Lt. Governor.

Cook produced signed letters from both organizations indicating they had not endorsed
any candidate in this race. Cook has, in fact, earned the endorsement of Family-PAC, one of the
largest pro-family groups in Illinois.

Plummer compounded his misrepresentations at the debate by dropping another whopper.
He said the only way to get the endorsement of Family-PAC was “to pay for it,” an accusation
that Family-PAC Executive Director Paul Caprio said was yet another lie.

Paul Caprio stated: “Jason Plummer’s defamatory accusations claiming that Family-
Pac and I solicited a contribution from him in return for an endorsement of his candidacy for
Lieutenant Governor in 2009 are completely false. Family-Pac endorsements are always based

on the candidate’s positions on public policy issues of importance to our organization. They are
never based on an exchange of endorsements for money and they never have been for the 20-
year existence of Family-PAC. Plummer’s statements indicate his recklessness, arrogance and
total unsuitability for any public office. Family-Pac will have a further statement regarding this
matter in the near future.”

“His pattern of lies have come back to haunt him. From not releasing his taxes to
repeated resume embellishments, it is clear Jason’s just not ready for prime-time,” said Cook.

Many political prognosticators believe Cook’s background as a police detective, small
businessman and reform mayor, who has lived in the district his entire life offer the best
opportunity for Republicans to pick up the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Costello.

Here’s a partial list of Plummer’s Previous Resume Inflations:

During his Lieutenant Governor campaign, Plummer bragged of his service as a Naval
Intelligence Officer. Yet, he received his commission to serve a mere three days after
announcing his plans to run for office and he had yet to receive any training for the
position, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Plummer claimed to launch a technology company while a student at the University of
Illinois, but official records indicate he was not officer of the company. He claimed in
2010 that he still ran the company, then backtracked and said he sold it. However, the
Chicago Tribune found no record of such a sale.

Plummer touted his “work” for former Senator Peter Fitzgerald and the Heritage
Foundation think tank, but they turned out to be no more than internships.

###

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/conservative-group-demands-apology-over-

endorsements-for-cash-allegation/article_bdb4ca20-6d5c-11e1-995f-001a4bcf6878.html?
mode=story

Belleville News Democrat 3/10/2012

http://www.bnd.com/2012/03/10/2093588/gop-hopefuls-are-willing-to-fight.html

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-02-12/news/ct-met-lt-gov-jason-plummer-

20100212_1_lieutenant-governor-gop-office-touts

Paid for by Citizens for Cook
707 N. State St.
Freeburg, IL 62243
Cookforcongress.org

BELLEVILLE, IL…The increasingly desperate Plummer campaign dug even deeper into its
bag of deceit and directly attacked the integrity of Rodger Cook’s record as a decorated police
officer.

“Jason Plummer should be ashamed of exploiting the murder of a woman 20 years ago for a
last minute cheap shot against a decorated police officer,” said Illinois Fraternal Order of Police
(ILFOP) Trustee Mark Krampf, who served over 10 years with Cook an officer in the Belleville
Police Department. “Rodger Cook was an outstanding cop and this kid has no right to attack his
very distinguished record.”

The ILFOP endorsed Rodger a couple weeks ago, and his record speaks for itself. Cook was
twice named police officer of the year, received 12 official commendations and served on the
Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, specializing in homicide investigations.

“I’m proud of my service as a police officer,” said Cook, who has been endorsed by the
Fraternal Order of Police. “Jason clearly lacks the experience and the judgment to understand
how hard those officers who serve our community work.”

Plummer dug up a case from nearly 25 years ago about a woman who was brutally murdered in
an East Alton motel. Cook worked tirelessly to find and charge a suspect. The evidence was
overwhelming that the suspect committed the crime, but prosecutors failed to win a conviction.

Madison County’s former top prosecutor and former judge Don Weber weighed in on the issue
of the prosecutors on the case.

“In some cases there simply is not enough evidence to convince all 12 jurors beyond a
reasonable doubt. A Not Guilty verdict does not mean the defendant is innocent. It simply
means the evidence was insufficient in the jurors’ minds to convince them beyond a reasonable
doubt,” said Weber. “John Rekowski, and his sidekick, Ron Slemer, are two of the most
unreliable sources for opinion on a matter effecting law enforcement imaginable. Rekowski has
been a consistently left-wing, ACLU-type political activist on criminal law matters. Rekowski is
an outspoken critic of the death penalty while advocating ultra-liberal ideas like sequential line-
up laws that help criminals avoid being caught.”

Cook said he expected Plummer to go on the attack after it was learned that Plummer has
been embellishing the endorsements of a number of conservative organizations, “But I really
didn’t think he’d go this low. All I can think about is that victim’s family,” said Cook. “Has he no
shame?”

Just before Plummer e-mailed the smear piece, he told reporters “These are serious times that
demand serious people discussing serious answers to our problems.”

###

Paid for by Citizens for Cook
707 N. State St.
Freeburg, IL 62243
Cookforcongress.org

Family PAC Director Paul Caprio issued the following statement:
“Rodger Cook is the conservative choice for the 12th Congressional District in Southern Illinois. Cook’s remarkable rise from a humble background to police detective, Mayor of Belleville, family man and successful businessman have given him the qualities of independence, a strong work ethic and conservative principles that will serve him well in Congress. They include pro growth economic polices, second amendment rights and traditional family values. Rodger Cook will give the representation the people of southern Illinois deserve and be an independent conservative voice in Washington.”

The Cook Pro-Family Agenda
• 100 % Pro-life
• Oppose Taxpayer Funds of Abortion
• Supports Abstinence Education
• Guarantee the right of parents to decide how to educate their children in public, private or homeschooling
• Pass a U.S. constitutional marriage amendment that defines marriage “between one man and one woman” and prohibits civil unions and domestic partnerships
• Prevent access to illegal obscenity and child pornography on all federally funded computers accessible to minors
• Oppose amnesty for illegal aliens
• Support full repeal of Obamacare
• Signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge
• Strong supporter of 2nd Amendment Rights

BELLEVILLE — One thread that links the five candidates — two Democrats and three Republicans — running in the 12th Congressional District primary on March 20 is their relative lack of experience in elected office.

Democrat Ken Wiezer, of Granite City, and Republicans Theresa Kormos of O’Fallon and Jason Plummer of Fairview Heights have not held elected office, though Plummer logged a lot of time in 2010 in front of crowds as the GOP’s nominee for lieutenant governor.

Democrat Brad Harriman, of O’Fallon, served from 2006 to 2011 as the St. Clair County regional school superintendent, a low-profile elected position.

Republican Rodger Cook, of St. Libory, was mayor of Belleville from 1993 to 1997.

Cook served an often rocky term as the reform-minded mayor of Belleville, a post he held that led to clashes with Democrats on the City Council and within the county’s powerful Democratic Party.

“I’m the only one in this race who has taken on the Democratic machine of St. Clair County and Belleville and beat them,” Cook said. “And as mayor, I balanced the budget four years in a row.”

Cook and the four other primary candidates are seeking to replace outgoing incumbent Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, who is calling it quits after 11 terms.

Cook left the Belleville’s mayor office in 1997. Since leaving the mayor’s office, he worked as a representative for a banking firm that works closely with local banks across Southern Illinois.

Cook chose to return to politics last year because of his concern about the fate of the economy in the 12th District.

“It’s clear that if we could get government out of the way and let the private sector go, that’s one phase of it,” he said. “The other is to get all the burdensome regulations off the backs of small businesses. Let the small business people create jobs.”

Before running for Belleville mayor, Cook served as a Belleville police officer and then rose through the ranks to become a detective for the department.

Cook was a standout football player at Belleville East High School, and later earned MVP and team captain honors as a nose tackle on the football team at Illinois State University in Normal. He played as a free agent for the St. Louis Cardinals football team.

The Democrats have their own former football star — Harriman, 58, who, like Cook, was a standout player at Belleville East, then played on the offensive line for football teams at Western Illinois and the University of Missouri-Rolla. Harriman later played for two National Football League teams.

Harriman spent 13 years as a football and basketball coach at Althoff Catholic High School. In 2006, he was picked to serve as St. Clair County regional school superintendent. During his five years in that job, he launched a new school for at-risk students. He retired in September 2011, partly as a result of a dispute with the state, which refused to budget money for his job.

For Harriman, the dominant issue in this race is boosting the economy.

“I think most people in Southern Illinois would tell you that we’ve lost some good manufacturing jobs in this region,” Harriman said. “Construction jobs are down, of course. And these are jobs that pay a liberal wage and that include benefits. And they’ve been replaced by lower sector service jobs that don’t pay nearly as well, that don’t generally include benefits, making it hard to raise a family.”

Harriman said the way he, as a member of Congress, would seek to boost the economy would be through public investment in the nation’s manufacturing base and in infrastructure.

“What we need to do is enforce trade laws, crack down on Chinese currency manipulation,” he said. “I think we need to reward people who invest in technology, innovation and enterprise … Our local economy is strong when Washington gets what it takes to cultivate a small business climate in Illinois.”

Republicans Plummer and Kormos also believe that jobs and the economy are the dominant issues in this election.

But Plummer, 29, is running for another reason: Because he believes this is “a phenomenal opportunity to change the dynamics of the 12th Congressional District going forward,” he said.

Shifting demographic trends could mean the 12th District, which has been under Democratic control for nearly 70 years, could switch to Republican control, Plummer said.

“If this race was just about Jason Plummer running for Congress, I wouldn’t be in the race,” he said. “I think this race is much bigger than that.”

For Kormos, the credit for her decision to run for Congress belongs to one man: Barack Obama.

“And I think Obama opened a lot of peoples’ eyes,” Kormos said.

Kormos, 55, acknowledged that the things that most alarm her about Obama’s tenure as president — the Wall Street bailout package and the nearly $1 trillion stimulus spending package — began taking shape before Obama was came into office in January 2009.

For Kormos, the breaking point occurred in April 2009, when the White House released a report stating that some American military veterans posed a threat for domestic terrorism.

Kormos, whose husband is a retired Air Force officer, and whose father-in-law spent 32 years in the Army, said she knew she had “to step up to the plate” and try to make a difference in Congress.

“I really took offense to that,” she said. “I just became very concerned about the future of our country … And I’m very concerned that my grandchildren and future generations aren’t going to have the same opportunities that we had growing up. Their future has already been overtaxed.”

Ken Wiezer, 63, a retired carpenter from Granite City, said his primary goal is to make life easier for small business. Wiezer grew up in Granite City and graduated from Granite City High School in 1966. He is a third-generation carpenter, in business for himself.

“I want to make the fundamental fact of getting a grant for businesses and the industry easier than it is by just looking at it on television and saying, ‘I think I can do it but how do I go about it?’”

Contact reporter Mike Fitzgerald at mfitzgerald@bnd.com or 239-2533.

Rodger Cook, Theresa Kormos and Jason Plummer participated in a Metro East Pachyderm Club’s candidate forum at Fischer’s Restaurant in Belleville.

The candidates spent two hours discussing bailouts, taxes, contraception, term limits, terrorism, Obamacare, spending, foreign policy, government regulation, job creation and leadership.

The statement continues: “The issue of releasing individual tax returns is far too often used as a distraction by those who do not have real solutions to the problems the voters care about. The voters in Southern Illinois are not concerned with how much Mr. Plummer paid in taxes as an individual last year, the voters are concerned with how much they themselves are forced to pay in taxes every year, and then see those dollars wasted away by beltway bureaucrats and career politicians.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • Democrat Brad Harriman today will release his tax returns going back to 2006, upping the ante in the race for Illinois’ 12th congressional district that includes parts of the Metro East.

The clear point is to call attention to the fact that Metro East lumber heir Jason Plummer, one of the Republicans in the race, hasn’t released his own returns. He’s the only one of the five candidates in two parties refusing to do it.

“We don’t know what (Plummer) is hiding,” Harriman campaign spokeswoman Hannah Ledford said this morning, in advance of today’s conference call.

Harriman had previously released his 2010 returns. In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, he will formally announce the additional release, according to his campaign.

Neither Plummer nor anyone at his campaign office could be reached for comment this morning. He has previously declined to release his tax returns, in the current congressional race and in his previous campaign as the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010.

The tax-return issue arose last month when Republican candidate Rodger Cook of St. Libory released his returns and challenged his opponents to follow. Harriman did. Republican Theresa Kormos of O’Fallon has previously allowed reporters to view her tax returns. Democratic hopeful Kenneth Wiezer of Granite City has said he will release his returns if he wins his party’s nomination in the March 20 primaries.

That leaves Plummer as the only candidate who has refused to either release the information, or to say that he will in the future. He argued in a written statement last month that his campaign is already “the most transparent campaign in the race” because it has released a personal financial disclosure form that lists assets and holdings, and that he has disclosed the names of his campaign donors.

Disclosure of financial ties and campaign donors are both required by law from congressional candidates. Personal tax returns aren’t—but have become a staple in many races, with candidates challenging one another for more disclosure than is required by law.

It’s been a particularly difficult issue for wealthy candidates. Plummer’s 2010 runningmate, Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Brady, initially refused to release his returns. When he relented under pressure, they showed he owed no federal income taxes for two years, because of business losses.

More recently, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney also hesitated to release his tax returns, then did. They showed he paid an effective tax rate of about 15 percent, well below that of most average taxpayers, because most of his income came from low-taxed dividends.

The 12th congressional district seat is currently held by retiring Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville.

Copyright 2012 STLtoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/candidate-raising-stakes-in-tax-return-duel-for-illinois-th/article_951ee3f8-6a09-11e1-992c-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1owDgPCcC

Don’t tell that to any of the candidates, in either party, running to succeed U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello in the 12th Congressional District. The public airing of tax returns has become one of the big topics in the race, largely because Republican candidate Jason Plummer has so far refused to let anyone see his.

Plummer’s primary opponents, Theresa Kormos and Rodger Cook, have both shown their tax returns. And Cook is making it a point now of publicly badgering Plummer to lay a little sunshine on his documents.

Even Democratic front-runner Brad Harriman is capitalizing on Plummer’s hesitance. He’s released the last five years’ worth of his tax returns and urged Plummer to join the tax return party.

Of the candidates who’ve “shown us theirs,” each touts the move as an act of good faith and transparency, an assurance to voters there are no financial skeletons in the closet. All well and good, at least as a preamble to their potential tenures in office. What we haven’t heard them say in clear terms is whether they intend to continue making their annual tax returns public if elected.

It’s not hard to imagine a nurse, a retired educator and a retired cop have been playing by the rules on federal and state income taxes. The culture of corruption in politics is strongest when you are actually an active politician.

So, Plummer refuses to release his tax returns. Maybe it’s a red flag; maybe it’s nothing. Plummer has said that all of his financial information is available publicly, in much greater detail, in the financial disclosure reports required of all candidates and available online.

However, since Kormos, Cook, and Harriman have gone out of their way to highlight how important the release of tax returns are to public service, voters should expect they will continue this practice in office. In other words, spend a couple years in the Beltway and then show us how pretty your halo sparkles.

CALEB HALE is the online editor for TheSouthern.com and has previously covered local, state and national politics for The Southern Illinoisan.

Read more: http://thesouthern.com/with-tax-returns-politicians-shouldn-t-start-what-they-don/article_b54937ac-6a39-11e1-ab6c-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1owDN5NWb

Rodger Cook, Theresa Kormos and Jason Plummer expressed their views on those issues and more during a forum that aired Friday evening on WSIU-TV. The forum, also available online, was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Illinois and Jackson County, The Southern Illinoisan, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and WSIU Public Television.

Taxes were a key topic, with Kormos saying several times she approved of a flat tax.

“I believe in a flat tax. We need to have true tax reform,” Kormos said. “… This will help get the uncertainty off the small-business owners, which will create more jobs.”

Cook and Kormos each were quick to mention they have released their tax returns, lightly veiled shots at Plummer, who has said he doesn’t plan to release his.

Plummer did not respond, instead discussing changes he would like to see made to the tax code.

“We need a flatter tax code, we need a fairer tax code, we need a more transparent tax code,” Plummer said. “When we have a fairer tax code … you’re going to increase revenue to Washington D.C., because more people will be paying into it.”

Later Friday, Brad Harriman, one of the two candidates in the Democratic primary, released five years’ worth of tax returns, and also pointed a finger at Plummer, without mentioning him by name.

“Transparency in government is incredibly important and candidates for office need to take that seriously,” Harriman said in a statement.

The candidates all said they would like to see Southern Illinois’ energy sources used to the fullest possible extent. Whether it be fracking for natural gas, coal mining or oil drilling, they each said options need to be explored.

rob.crow@thesouthern.com

618-351-5080

Read more: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/gop-candidates-air-views-at-forum/article_0f7d4794-6a72-11e1-9de8-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1owD8Aklm

Rodger Cook’s experience in taking on the Democratic Machine in Belleville will be critical when facing the Democrats in November. Rodger will also bring accountability and reform to Washington as he did to city hall. This openness in government begins with the release of personal tax returns. See the Belleville News Democrat’s endorsement from 1997, and view of Rodger Cook’s Mayoral administration below.