Small crowd at the Graffiti Grill? Standing room only with the crowd spilling outside to the patio is not my definition of small. I'm sure Daniel Webster would agree!

I ran as Clerk at West Deerfield Township in 2009. I know Lauren Turelli from 2009. . Lauren ran against Julie Morrison, the incumbent Supervisor. We ran as independents and with a Jesse White endorsement because one of our slate knew Secretary White. If the 29th Rep. District wants smart, honest, humane, practical "good government" then Lauren is everyone's candidate. In 2009 our slate came within a 5% swing of the turnout of winning with but 9 weeks to prepare! People sensed the need for "good" government . Look to West Deerfield Township as a lesson in limited transparency and in effect 25% to 50% unnecessary tax revenues AND salary increases, access to pensions and healthcare for essentially part time work . Part time speaks to two realities of this township- road work is limited and the tax assessor is rightly paid as a useful public servant. Otherwise, this township is a layer of unneeded government, which explains the misspending of unneeded tax revenues. Lauren will be a fighter for Good Government" unseen Downstate since the likes of Governors Ogilvie and Edgar. We need experience and integrity . We need people like her to for tackle a tough turnaround of Illinois' finances that builds rather destroys good and positive government services and that fosters a growth oriented vital private sector to employ young and old workers! These are Lauren's heartfealt goals --goals for all voters of both parties.

Nelson's article repeats his defamation of Lauren Turelli. What's more, Nelson shows his lies are made with "actual malice" because he repeats them despite being told the truth. Nelson's duplicity is further shown in failing to quote me accurately. My test message states "I have been on trial since Monday morning and expect to be on trial until Thursday night. As a result, I have no comment for the Highland Park Patch on Mrs. Turelli's impressive victory against an unprecedented negative and defamatory campaign against her by her opponent and your propaganda pamphlet. If Mr. Sadin of the Deerfield Patch would like a comment, I will be happy to speak with him at his convenience as I am quite sure he will write a fair and balanced description of what I actually say to him". Clearly, Nelson shows that he cannot be trusted and readers are encouraged to boycot his dishonesty. Nelson's claim that Lauren "fabricated" and/or "lied about" a degree from Cambridge, and claimed an endorsement from Jesse White she did not receive and "later retracted", are outright lies and defamatory on their face. Mark Shaw, Chairman, West Deerfield Township Republican Organization.

My text message to Mr. Sadin in response to me shortly after my communication with Nelson states "Steve: I have been on trial since yesterday morning and expect to be on trial through Thursday evening. Mrs. Turelli was attending a meeting of her Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board tonight on Lake Forest Beach issues. I got home rather late tonight and have to go at it again very early tomorrow morning. As a result, I decided to turn in for the night. Needless to say, I have been inundated with voicemails, e-mails and text messages from well wishers from all over the 58th District congratulating Mrs. Turelli on the positive issue-oriented campaign she ran notwithstanding the unprecedented, personally negative and false campaign waged against her over the last six weeks. We are obviously thrilled and yet humbled by the voters' confidence in providing Mrs. Turelli with the impressive victory margin tonight and promise not to let them down as we face the Democrats in the fall. If you have any further questions, please [feel] free to call me tomorrow. I will try to get back to you during breaks in my trial. Thanks, Mark." It should surprise no one that Nelson chose not to print my quote for Mr. Sadin even though he directed his close colleague to contact me for a quote after receiving presumably an unsatisfactory response from me. If Nelson keeps on spreading lies like Pinocchio, his nose is going to get so big that it will need suspenders to keep it from drooping. Mark Shaw.

Mr. Brill's comment assumes that Jacob Nelson is a "journalist". If Mr. Brill's definition of a "journalist" is measured by the standards applied to legends like Edward R. Murrow, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite, Robin McNeil, or Jim Lehrer, then Mr. Nelson is not a "journalist". If Mr. Brill's definition of a "journalist" is measured by the standards applied to agenda-driven partisans like Al Sharpton, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Ariana Huffington, Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, or Rush Limbaugh, then I guess we know where Mr. Brill is coming from. For the record, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove have been masters at attacking "journalists" with which they disagree. Mark Shaw, Chairman, West Deerfield Township Republican Organization.

Ah, yes. Scream so loud about unfair reporting that people will forget what your candidate was accused of. Didn't work for Newt vs. John King either.

Mr. Russillo: Your comment makes no sense when read in context with the dialogue between Mr. Brill and me about the definition of a "journalist". As for complaints about unfair reporting, a simple review of my comments about Mr. Steve Sadin's coverage versus Mr. Jacob Nelson's coverage of the Turelli/Neerhof race demonstrates the distinction between Mr. Sadin's "journalist[ic]" credentials versus Mr. Nelson's agenda-driven "propaganda" credentials (i.e., Edward R. Murrow/Walter Cronkite versus Al Sharpton/Rush Limbaugh).
Mark Shaw.

Mr. Powers: Unfortunately, a letter to the "Editor" of the Highland Park Patch would presumably be directed to Mr. Jacob Nelson. Given Mr. Nelson's propsensity to defame and outright lie about, and to, the subjects of his propaganda pamphlet, I cannot guarantee that what I say will be fairly and accurately reported by the "Editor" of the Highland Park Patch. As a result, the only way I can make sure that what I say is fairly and accurately reported without being filtered by Mr. Nelson is to comment on Mr. Nelson's propaganda pamphleteering or speak personally to Mr. Steve Sadin. Sorry, Jim, but Mr. Nelson just cannot be trusted with the truth. Maybe he should speak with his colleague, Mr. Sadin, about what it means to be a true "journalist". If he can master that definition and put it into practice, then maybe I will give him the same respect that I give to Mr. Sadin. Mark Shaw

Mr. Russillo: You have no idea what you are talking about. You readily accept without question the defamatory propaganda Dr. Neerhof's campaign peddled to Nelson to try to destroy the sterling reputation of a fine public servant. I told Nelson in February that Turelli did not lie about her impeccable record. I told Nelson that Turelli attended the Univeristy of Cambridge nearly 20 years ago to get a Ph.D. In so doing, Turelli successfully completed the coursework, residency, thesis, and oral examination requirements to obtain a Masters of Philosophy ("MPhil"). After successfully completing the MPhil,, Turelli decided to discontinue her Ph.D. studies and return to the U.S. Turelli did not participate in a formal ceremony after completing the MPhil because she would have had to return to the U.K. 8 to 9 months later to do so. Therefore, Turelli never personally received a formal certificate of completion. In addition, Turelli never received formal transcripts from Cambridge because it operated on a "Pass/Fail" basis and generated no transcripts. Turelli sought documentation of her accomplishments several years ago, but was advised it was unavailable and was told that "she should assume she had the MPhil until someone told her she had not". For Turelli to definitively prove what she accomplished nearly 20 years ago, she will have to travel to the U.K. and dig through the "paper" archives of her respective college at Cambridge.

Well I suggest that she do exactly that or at least produce a letter from the University stating such. Do you have such a document? That would go quite a ways to restoring her fine reputation. I cannot imagine a major international university saying she "should assume she had the MPhil until someone told her she had not". When something smells wrong, it's usually wrong.

Turelli did complete the MPhil requirements and Nelson was told all of this by me. In addition, Nelson was told that the "Jesse White issue", was a non-story because Turelli NEVER falsely claimed an endorsement by Jesse White. I told Nelson that White, a Democrat for whom I have a lot of respect, is a personal friend of West Deerfield Township Trustee, Marc Brown. Brown was a member of the West Deerfield Township Independent Party "slate of candidates" running in 2009 against the Democrat slate. I told Nelson that White told Brown he could use his name in support of the Independent "slate of candidates", just like he allegedly did for one of the Shields Township slates of candidates in the same election. Then-Congressman Mark Kirk lent the same support to our "Independent slate". Turelli NEVER said that Jesse White ENDORSED LAUREN TURELLI, PER SE, FOR SUPERVISOR FOR WEST DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP. This propaganda was dreamed up by Turelli's Democrat opponents, Julie Morrison and Karen May, to stop Turelli from cleaning the swamp in West Deerfield and Springfield. Nelson was told this by me. Nelson ignored what I told him and didn't bother to even write what I told him. At least he could have quoted me and then said he didn't believe me. Instead, Nelson wrote an agenda-driven article presumably to malign the sterling reputation of a fine public servant. As such, Nelson defamed Turelli with "actual malice" and hopefully will be called upon to pay for his cowardice. Mark L. Shaw, Esq.

As a postcript, readers of this comment should ask themselves three questions. First, if Lauren Turelli lied about her educational credentials, why hasn't the University of Cambridge taken legal action against her for her alleged lies? Second, if Lauren Turelli lied about her educational credentials and her endorsements, why was she endorsed by the Chicago Tribune (in 2010 and 2012), the Daily Herald (in 2012), the Pioneer Press (in 2010), the Chamber of Commerce (in 2010), the Illinois Realtors Association-PAC (2012), and the Tax Accountability-PAC (in 2012) for State Representative? Third, if Lauren Turelli lied about her educational credentials and her endorsements, why did the voters provide her with an approximate 6.5% victory margin on Tueday? Maybe because it is not Lauren Turelli who is spreading lies, but Jacob Nelson and Lauren Turelli's political opponents. Mark Shaw, Chairman, West Deerfield Township Republican Organization.

Mr. Russillo: Now who is shifting the debate? This whole string of comments has been about whether or not Jacob Nelson can be trusted as an objective journalist. Since you cannot defend him, you lash out at Mrs. Turelli without having any idea of what you are talking about. So much for intelligence and open-mindedness. Mrs. Turelli is one of the finest public servants I have ever known and only wanted to get involved and make a difference in Springfield by supporting legislation to bring jobs back to Illinois, reversing the jobs-killing tax increases rammed down the voters' mouths by the Democrats, shoring up and reforming our scandal-laden public pension system, reforming education, and restoring some dignity to the Land of Lincoln. Given the malicious atatcks she has had to weather, it is no wonder we can't find anymore "Mr[s]. Smith['s to] go[] to Washington", or Springfield, for that matter. Mark Shaw

Actually, thank you for bringing this up because after further review your story still doesn't make sense. Read the letter dated 1/23/12 from Cambridge University in the referenced story. It states "Lauren Mary Grabowski was UNSUCCESSFUL in her studies and withdrew in February 1995 without gaining ANY QUALIFICATION from this institution." Not towards the PhD. Towards the MPhil. If you have documentation from the University that disputes this, then I would encourage you to produce it.

And if indeed she is convinced that she earned the MPhil, why did she remove it from her LinkedIn profile and Facebook page? It now just says that she "studied international relations" at Cambridge.

Documentation was provided to the Pioneer Press for their recent article on this issue. Please read their article for a better understanding of the issue. Mark Shaw.

The internet reference was an old entry dating back to 2009. If you were a true "journalist", you would complete your research on an issue before blathering on in a "tit for tat" debate in cyberspace. By the way, you neglected to reveal to the readers that you write for the Highland Patch too -- instead claiming you are just a concerned voter who has no interest in defending Mr. Nelson. I guess that means you lied about your true identity, and/or motivations in attacking Mrs. Turelli, huh? Oh well, just one more duplicitous "reporter" from the Highland Park Patch who is willing to enable Nelson's "Yellow Journalism". It looks like you got the "splainin to do, Mr. Russillo".

I'm a writer for the HP Patch? Wow, that's very exciting! I've always wanted to be a writer. Nope, wrong again Shaw. And what are you blathering about regarding an "old entry dating back to 2009"? What exactly does that mean? Well, I guess we can all rest assured that Mrs. Turelli's campaign is in good hands. False statements, attacking the media, and now attacking private citizens asking for answers. I guess Karl Rove has spawned a whole new generation of GOP "leaders".

And David Axelrod has spawned another accolyte in you.

Why is that? I mean Axelrod was a "journalist" before becoming a political hatchet man.

My only comment to all of this is we are all sick of negative campaign strategies. I know so many people who voted for Lauren Turelli not only because she has integrity and character but because the negative campaign Neerhof ran was such a turn off, we failed to know anything about him other than that he was another "basher". We are all sick of it. Good luck Lauren. I am one of many who are looking forward to seeing the good things you can accomplish.

Brill: A responsible "journalist" would have printed the other side of the story, as Nelson promised he would do but didn't, before defaming someone. Apparently, you are no better than Nelson. But, what can we expect from a "journalist" from a company that also owns the "yellow" tabloid, The Huffington Post?