Another Turkish-American Enters Politics
John Erder Yackley seeks Illinois House Seat, The Turkish Times, Chicago - John Erder Yackley, 33, a native Chicagoan is running for the Illinois House from the 11th district-Chicago's near Northwest side. He is a nominee of the Libertarian party, the third largest political party in the U.S.

"I am a reform candidate who opposes limitless government spending. The Illinois budget has grown 45% in the last four years. People's taxes are going up but services are dwindling" said Yackley, who plans to stage an energetic campaign that will conclude with the election on Nov. 5th.

Yackley is no newcomer to politics. His late father, Frank, was elected States Attorney and, later, Circuit Judge in Central Illinois. His Turkish mother, Sel, has successfully managed several campaigns for former State Representative Peg Breslin. "You might say politics is in my blood. I'm going to wage a strong, honest and sensible campaign. I know thousands of my constituents agree that we need smarter and smaller government."

Yackley, running as a Libertarian, hopes to win over Republican and independent voters since his only opponent is a "spend-happy Democrat. It is time for new ideas," he said. One of his ideas is Choice in Education! "Now that the Supreme Court has approved vouchers for private education, the states should make it work. Public education has failed our kids. We must give parents a choice."

Yackley was an intern in Springfield, Illinois during his senior year in high school and has had first hand experience on how things run. "I would like to go back to the state capital 15 years later and make a difference," he said.

Yackley graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in economics. He has been a broker and investment manager for the last 10 years and has recently started his own company-Be Free Investments.

He is fluent in Turkish and German and has lived in Europe for several years. "I've seen the pitfalls of big government all over the world. And in light of the war on terrorism, it's especially irresponsible for state governments to be cooking up phony budget crises. Just four years ago Illinois got by on a $35 billion budget. Now, in these tough economic times, the politicians are whining because they've 'only' got $51 billion to spend next year. If your family got by on $35,000 in 1999 and you have $51,000 to spend this year, would you be in a 'crisis'?"

John is a board member of the Turkish American Cultural Alliance in Chicago. He also belongs to the Council on Foreign Relations and the European Circle. His sister, Ayla, is a correspondent for Reuters in Ankara; his brother, Joe, works for a businessman's federation in Berlin.

For more information on Yackley's campaign go to his website www.yackley2002.com. Anyone wanting to help with contributions or as a volunteer can contact him at (312) 266-1389 or via email at john@yackley2002.com.