Our mission is to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity in Will County.
Grassroots volunteers for the Campaign for Liberty in Will County and across country have been knocking on doors, staffing tables at fairs, and organizing rallies to promote the passage of legislation to audit the Federal Reserve since 2008. On June 3, 2009, Debbie Halvorson joined as a cosponsor to H.R. 1207, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, after a meeting with Campaign for Liberty members in her district offices.
The Federal Reserve acts as America's central bank; it enables most of the reckless spending in Washington, D.C., and is a major contributing factor to our current economic problems. Their activity, which consists of printing money and loaning it to well connected banks, recently increased to historic highs, which resulted in curiosity about the whereabouts of trillions of dollars and sparked a wave of self-education about monetary policy among the people everywhere.
Campaign for Liberty members in the 11th district in Illinois presented petition signatures to Debbie Halvorson on numerous occasions. On one of those occasions, Halvorson was personally there to announce she would cosponsor the bill to audit the Fed. While she discussed her reasons and answered questions, she acknowledged there is a possibility the Senate would restrict the audit and she would do everything she can to prevent it.
Her constituents may have been surprised to find out she recently voted against a motion offered by the minority party to the administration's Financial Reform plan that would have ensured full transparency of all loans made by the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis that started in 2008.
While Halvorson has denied her constituents the ability to know how their money is being spent, the Audit the Fed movement will go on, and it is hopeful the same bill will be reintroduced next session to finally bring transparency to the Federal Reserve. Whether Debbie Halvorson will be there to vote on it will be determined by those responsible for fixing the problems in Washington.
You can join the Audit the Fed Illinois facebook group here and join the Campaign for Liberty by signing up here.
There are few occasions that evince the kind of high (and sometimes low) emotions and downright exaltation as the concerted and coordinated efforts of a true grassroots movement.
In Illinois, there exists such a grassroots movement. That movement is known as Audit the Fed Illinois.
Today, September 15th, 2009, nearly one-hundred (100) people gathered in Chicago, Illinois to demonstrate their support for S 604, the bill before the Senate to Audit the Federal Reserve.
Our group also helped to deliver over 1,050 petitions urging Senator Richard J. Durbin, representing the people of the state of Illinois, to cosponsor S 604 and to seek roll call votes for the bill.
We marched on the sidewalks of downtown Chicago and reached out to the denizens and passers-by there, many of whom were highly receptive to our message of auditing the Federal Reserve. Some people agreed and signed the petitions, some people just talked, many people accepted the literature, many people expressed some level of agreement, some people joined us for a while, others applauded and smiled as we marched by.
One man honked and made an obscene gesture directed at me. It seemed almost like deja vu.
As we passed by the Death Star itself, the Chicago Federal Reserve, the security guards there seemed especially uneasy with our very temporary presence nearby. I couldn't imagine why.
PART II, the Springfield Connection
Some twenty-five (25) concerned citizens showed their support for this important legislation in Springfield, Illinois today. The group there delivered an impressive two-thousand (2,0000) petitions in support of S 604, to Audit the Fed, to the offices of Senator Richard J. Durbin. What a feat!
That means that over 3,000 petition signatures of his constituents were delivered to Senator Richard J. Durbin today, September 15th. That means that about one-hundred and twenty-five (125) of his constituents took it upon themselves today to volunteer to advocate for an idea.
That idea is S 604, "the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009", which would require a full audit of the Fed and reveal its agreements with foreign central banks and foreign governments. According to polls, 75% of the American people would support auditing the Fed and publicly reporting the results of the audit.
Audit the Fed Illinois also delivered a volume of petitions to Senator Roland W. Burris today. A total of 850+ petition signatures urging the senator to cosponsor S 604 were delivered to his offices in Chicago and Springfield.
I want to offer my sincere thanks to all of the people who made this all happen. What an amazing rally for such a common-sense measure.
Ryan, Chris, Lisa, Doug, Heather, John, Paul, Wayne, Scott, Steve (all three of you), Savannah, Bob, Saad, Gary, Joe, Greg, Terry, Jeff, the list just goes on and on. If I left anyone out, I'm sure that you will understand---I got so much help from so many friends that it's hard to enumerate all of their contributions (even in the smallest of ways).
What we did is uncommon and extraordinary. We have much to be proud of.
A note on our First Amendment rights
As you may be aware of, Steve and I were briefly detained (not arrested) by Department of Homeland Security officers recently--for the crime of attempted political free speech on "federal property".
It was a personal struggle for me to mentally overcome that outrageous run-in with our open police state. It didn't help that we made a mistake on our applications to the various governmental bureaucracies when applying for our permit to assemble in Chicago today for our rally.
But we persevered. We improvised and made the right call. We were able to meet the challenge and make a strong yet peaceful statement today. Our message was "Audit the Fed" (also, "NO MORE BAILOUT$!").
We'll be expecting some kind of sign from our senators in the near future that they received our message and the message of the constituents' petitions that we delivered today--across the state of Illinois. We'll probably have to give their offices a call and remind them.
Mark my words, this is only the beginning. I will be taking a break and recharging--and coming back with a vengeance. In the meantime, now would be a good time to make that call to your senators in support of S 604 that you've been meaning to make.
A great speech by Doug was given at our rally. I think that he described very well the essence of the Audit the Fed movement.
Seventy-five percent of Americans agree with us that it's time to thoroughly and completely audit the Federal Reserve System.
Every Republican and over one hundred Democrats in the House of Representatives have signed on as cosponsors of HR 1207. Almost a quarter of the Senate has gotten on board with S 604.
So what does this tell us?
It's time to go get the rest!!
Last month, I announced that we would be holding an Audit the Fed Mass Action Event starting in the last couple weeks of August and culminating in a nationwide Mass Action Day on September 15.
Since then, C4L members have been knocking on doors, standing outside stores, attending county fairs, and gathering petition signatures in support of S 604.
On September 15, C4L National will deliver over 100,000 petitions to Capitol Hill while members across the country deliver the petitions they've collected to their senators' local offices. Many of your fellow members will be holding rallies outside those offices, and several have contacted local media about covering the event.
Here are three ways you can help ensure the success of this Mass Action Event:
1.) Gather petitions - Hit the streets! Make sure your senators hear from as many people in your state as possible. Let's spread the word and add to the seventy-five percent of Americans who support our cause. You can download petitions at CampaignforLiberty.com and AuditTheFed.com.
2.) Call your senators - Starting Tuesday, September 8, C4L members will be calling their senators' offices to urge them to cosponsor S 604. Our objective is to keep their phones ringing off the hook by having members call every day for the week leading up to the petition drop. Commit to calling your senators by signing up here.
3.) Show up on September 15 - Congress counts on grassroots activists being content with just calling and sending petitions. To make sure they get our message that it's time to Audit the Fed, we're going to take our cause right to their offices in person. These events will be as effective as you make them. Show your senators that you are serious about real reform by rallying with your fellow members right outside their offices.
State and local coordinators and leaders have been working hard to create the most effective and efficient plans for September 15's petition drop. Click here to find out how to take action in your area.
We were able to secure the support of almost two thirds of the House with your hard work gathering petitions, calling, and showing up at your representative's offices. This could be the event that tips the scales in the Senate!
As we also announced last month, we're adding an extra incentive. The person who gathers the most signatures in each state will win a pocket Constitution and a copy of Dr. Paul's new book, End the Fed, both autographed by Congressman Paul himself.
And whichever state collects the most signatures (as a percentage of population) will win a $1,500 gift certificate to the Campaign for Liberty store!
Our representatives and senators are expecting to settle back in to business as usual when they return to D.C. after Labor Day. They think that they can leave your opinions and concerns behind in their districts while they continue to work on completely taking over our health care and finding other new ways to run our lives.
Let's show them that their top priority should be finding out how the Federal Reserve has doled out trillions of our dollars, what deals they have locked us into with foreign central banks and governments, and why they refuse to disclose the details.
The day after our petition drop will mark the official release of End the Fed. This comprehensive look at the Federal Reserve System and its disastrous effects on our lives and country is sure to be a powerful tool with which to convince your family, friends, and neighbors that it's time to restore our economy by reinstituting a sound money system.
Together, we can see Audit the Fed signed into law. But to do so, we have to take action to grow and secure our support in the House and Senate. Download our petitions and other materials, spread the word, call your senators, and join us on September 15 as we come together across the country to fight to Audit the Fed!
A year ago, no one would have said we could make an audit of the Fed into a national, mainstream issue. Join us on September 15 as we show the political establishment, entrenched bureaucrats, and the media that our grassroots Revolution is more energized and determined to take back our country than ever before.
On Saturday, members of Illinois 11th District met with Rep. Debbie Halvorson. The meeting was originally scheduled several weeks ago in order to urge Rep. Halvorson to cosponsor. Luckily, our letters, phone calls, petitions, and personal meetings with her staff members throughout the district (over the past 3 months) paid off as she decided to cosponsor last week just before recess! This allowed for an excellent meeting where we articulated our gratitude, found mutual ground, and built a positive and respectful relationship that will carry into the future. We also provided her with a thank you letter and the documentary, Fiat Empire, which she promised to watch .
We had a very good discussion and were able to ask a variety of questions. One of the questions we asked was, "With all of the many bills in congress, how were we successful in bringing this piece of legislation to your attention and to your eventual co-sponsorship of the bill?"
Without hesitation, she replied, "Your politeness." She went on to talk about how she had received positive feedback from all of her staff about our visits and letters and that we were successful in clearly articulating the bill itself, its importance, and the support of it by her constituents. I felt this to be a very proud moment for all members of the Campaign For Liberty in the 11th District and also for the organization. Great job everyone!
Note: HR1207 cosponsors will be updated on thomas.loc.gov this Tuesday, June 2. How many new names do you think there will be? 2, 5, 10, ?
Thank you to: Joe for driving 3 hours, Ryan for working until 5am and still driving 2 hours down state, Matt for donating the documentary, Fiat Empire, Steve for his sound advice and joining us under such short notice, and Tanya and Donny for their excellent questions during the meeting!
After Meeting: Ryan, Matt, Steve, Joe, Rep. Halvorson, Jason, Tanya, Donny During Meeting
I have been thinking a good bit lately about the "liberties" the current administration (and the last one, for that matter) has been taking with the Constitution. And, I've been thinking about how little most of the population understands the document. Or have even read through it since 8th grade civics class. Sure, everyone knows a bit about certain parts of the Constitution that they have heard mentioned on the news - the 2nd Amendment, or the 1st, most likely. But how many people know enough about it to take it seriously, or to be able to really understand how it should be related to the behavior of their government? I have to say, I doubt if the percentage is very high. I would honestly have to count myself among them during the early part of my life. Somehow, it has become more important the older (wiser?) I get. Particularly when I see my own government apparently ignoring the document.
I have identified what I perceive as a problem, I will now propose a possible solution. I had an idea for some of the more active, public figures in this organization (or perhaps even others - the VFW, FOP, etc.). I propose that at public events, say, for example summer concert venues and the like, that someone ask for a couple of minutes just before the concert starts and ask the audience to voluntarily recite a pledge similar to the one the President must take - perhaps along the lines of "I ___________ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic." It shouldn't take more than a minute or two. Then - have copies of the Constitution available to hand out to anyone who wants one. Probably asking a donation of a buck or two to defray the printing cost.This might also be something that could be done during door-to-door canvassing.
I think that by plainly asking citizens to pledge to uphold the Constitution that maybe, just maybe, it would get them interested enough to re-read the document and try to apply it to what they see their government doing every day on the 10 o'clock news. It would certainly get their attention when they realized that they were not simply being asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
What a great day! We have been keeping our eye on the weather all week. It was supposed to rain this morning, but that didn't phase us. Nino, Michelle, Justin, Eric, Bob, Dan and I all had a plan to educate the people of New Lenox about the secrecy of the Federal Reserve System and the solution in H.R. 1207, and we did! This was also the first Will County C4L organized event and I feel it was a huge success. We started the Will Co C4L off with some education and political activity which are the items that need to be addressed to accomplish the C4L's mission. A special thank you goes out to my friends from up north. Thanks for making the trip!
Our team petitioned the 19th voter precinct in New Lenox. Of the people who answered the door, 92 of them were comfortable signing a petition in support of H.R. 1207. There were 551 ballots cast from the 19th precinct for the November 2008 election. I'll leave the math and speculation to you readers, but I have a feeling a large portion of voters in this area are going to be paying a little closer attention to how Debbie Halvorson feels about transparency over the Federal Reserve come election day, especially if there is some sort of currency crisis going on, as we are seeing signs of now. I would estimate that <50% of people where home, 75% of people I talked to signed the petition. The houses that did not answer received a H.R. 1207 brochure tucked under their door mat to make them aware of this historic legislation.
Rep. Halvorson, I'll be dropping by this week to let you know how your constituents feel about your week long consideration of your support for transparency and accountability over monetary policy.
Thanks again to everyone who showed up. It was wonderful meeting you all! Hope to see some more new faces at this weeks Welcome Meeting.
Poll: Should Debbie Halverson support secrecy or transparency as far as the Federal Reserve is concerned?
I have recently sent out messages and phone calls to all of the members in the Campaign for Liberty who are located in Will County. I expressed my interest in getting together for a Welcome meeting and a lot of you sounded interested. As of now, I plan to hold the meeting Wed. May 20th, 6PM at the Pilcher Park pavilion located next to Gougar Rd in New Lenox. I posted the details to the County calendar. Now, the set of pavilions I would like to meet at is at the back of the park so it would be easiest for everyone to use this location instead of the official Park address.
In order to keep up with events that we are going to participate in, everyone needs to check your daily or weekly digest emails, specifically under the Events section. If you do not recieve the digest emails I would suggest you sign up for it in the settings under "My Dashboard" when you are logged in. If you don't have an account here, please sign up and get plugged in.
As Lisa mentioned, Debbie Halvorson is now "considering" her support of H.R. 1207. So we must keep up our calls, letters and visits to her offices, but we also definitely need to do everything else we can to let her know how the average constituent feels about transparency and accountability over the Federal Reserve. So I am organizing a petition drive in New Lenox for Saturday, May 16th at 9:00 AM. Anyone is welcome to attend. I will have the coffee, doughnuts, slim jims, clip boards, petitions, maps, and pens available so all you need to bring is yourself and a smile. I had planned on organizing a "Welcome meeting" for the first Will County C4L event, just to get to know everybody who expressed interest. But with the momentum that H.R. 1207 has and the recent news of her acknowledgement of the bill, we really need to act fast and hard on this. And what better way to kick off the Will County C4L than with some boots on the ground education and political activity?
We can meet at Ranch Frosties, fuel up and answer any questions. My mother down the street also agreed to allow us to practice on her if anybody has never done this before. I'll have the routes planned out and if we enjoy ourselves, maybe we can pick up where we left off in the following weeks or visit your neighborhood and do the same. Feel free to contact me through the C4L messaging system with any questions. If you plan on attending it would be great to hear from you in advance so feel free to contact me or just RSVP through the C4L events calendar or comment below. Looking forward to meeting all of you!
While it would be ideal for everyone to start at 9:00 AM, if you cannot make it then but would still like to help, feel free to contact me in advance and I would be glad to arrange it so you can join up with us at your convenience.
Campaign for Liberty is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization which neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office and claims no responsibility for the actions of individuals or groups of individuals who use the Campaign for Liberty logo or name or who may claim to act as representatives of the Campaign for Liberty without prior written consent of the Campaign for Liberty. [?]
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