I just want to read Dillard’s ALEC letter.

Senator Kirk Dillard’s Capitol office yesterday.

When the IEA endorsed Senator Kirk Dillard for governor in the Illinois primary I brought up the fact that he was Illinois Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is a notorious union busting group of corporate interests and mainly Republican politicians. ALEC literally writes the anti-union, anti-public school, stand-your-ground legislation that the politicians in state legislatures then introduce.

Dillard has been Illinois ALEC Chairman for many years. But when the IEA announced their endorsement they said he had resigned last year.

Last year was actually four months ago.

NEA Board of Director member Tom Tully wrote a post here saying Dillard had written a letter of resignation.

IEA President Cinda Klickna wrote saying Dillard had written a letter of resignation.

I wrote Government Relations Director of IEA Jim Reed, asking if there was a letter.

“Indeed there is,” he emailed back.

I asked Tom if he had seen the letter. He hadn’t. He was told there was a letter.

I Googled Kirk Dillard and ALEC. No mention of a resignation or a letter.

ALEC still displays his name as Illinois Chairman.

Look. I don’t doubt there is a letter of resignation. I just want to read it. I want to see how it is that he could be Illinois Chairman of an anti-union organization (IEA leaders politely call it “pro-business”) so long and then suddenly, quietly resign just months before the election.

I would just like to see the letter.

I emailed Reed asking if I could see the letter. No response. I emailed him again. No response.

I called ALEC several times and got no answer. I left voice messages. I got no answer.

Yesterday when I was in Springfield I went to Senator Dillard’s Capitol office and talked to a very nice lady, Linda Baumgartner. She is Dillard’s secretary. The Senator was not in.

She assured me very quickly that Kirk Dillard was no longer ALEC’s Illinois Chair.

So quickly I barely could finish my question.

“Can I see the letter?”

She checked her computer files. No letter.

She went back and pulled out a paper file. No letter.

“It was so long ago,” she said.

“It was four months ago,” I said.

“We just recently moved offices,” she explained.

I wasn’t sure how that impacted her computer files. But no matter.

I’m sure there is a letter.

I would just like to read it.