The Monroe County Democratic Party held its annual dinner and silent auction on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at Turner Hall in Columbia. The event was a resounding success and broke all previous attendance records. More than 520 people attended this year’s dinner. This exceeded the attendance records for previous Monroe County Democrat dinners which have all been well-attended.  In addition to breaking all previous attendance records, the 2009 dinner broke all previous fundraising records compared to past dinners.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was one of the keynote speakers at the dinner. News sources are wondering whether Madigan will be a 2010 candidate for Governor, U.S. Senator or re-election for Attorney General. Madigan praised Monroe County Democrats for their great dinner and tremendous success over the last few years.

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias was another keynote speaker at the dinner. Giannoulias has formed an exploratory committee to explore a possible candidacy for U.S. Senator. Giannoulias talked about the accomplishments of the Treasurer’s office. He also praised Monroe County Democrats for their success. He told the crowd that he has travelled all over the state and he thinks the Monroe County Democratic Party is one of the most successful and best organized county Democratic parties in Illinois and they need to keep up the good work.

An additional keynote speaker was Michael Carrigan. Carrigan is the President of the Illinois AFL-CIO, an organization consisting of more than one million union members in Illinois. Carrigan advised everyone about the latest legislative developments as they affected working people in Illinois and across the country. He also praised Monroe County Democrats for their tremendous efforts and their successful and well-run dinner.

Local retired attorney C. Glennon Rau was honored at the dinner. Rau is a Democratic precinct committeeman. He was previously a Chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Party and a Monroe County State’s Attorney. Rau was awarded the Leroy Reitz Democratic Service Award. This award is given by the Monroe County Democratic Central Committee to someone who has provided many years of dedicated service to the county’s Democratic Party. Past Leroy Reitz Award recipients are: Willard Scheibe, Rich Cissell, and George and Treva Muertz.

Among those who attended the dinner were some students from Valmeyer and Waterloo High Schools.

Local Democratic elected officials also attended the dinner including Monroe County Circuit Judge Dennis Doyle, Sheriff Dan Kelley, Circuit Clerk Aaron Reitz, County Board Chairman Delbert Wittenauer, County Commissioner Mike Kovarik, and State’s Attorney Kris Reitz.

Also recognized at the dinner was Monroe County Democrat Club President Sandy Sauget. Sauget is a former Chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Party. She was appointed by Monroe County Democratic Party Chairman Alan Pirtle to serve as Democratic County Chairwoman.

Monroe County Democratic Party Chairman Alan Pirtle said, “We were obviously very pleased to have such a successful dinner, especially in an off-election year. It seems like each of our dinners have been more successful, in terms of attendance and funds raised, from the year before. This year’s dinner continued that trend. I think this is an indication of the excitement our local party, and our great precinct committee people and other volunteers, have generated the last few years. It is a real honor to serve as Chairman of this great county Democratic Party.”

Upcoming events for the Monroe County Democratic Party include participation in this summer’s county parades, working at the hamburger stand at the Monroe County Fair (July 19-26), and the annual Monroe County Democratic Party Golf Tournament (at the Acorns Golf Course outside Waterloo on Saturday, September 19, 2009).

People with questions about upcoming events can be directed to info@monroecountydems.com or 618-281-6833.