Conferring with constituents

State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, speaks at a forum Saturday at Merrillville Town Hall. At his left is state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster.

Conferring with constituents

Schererville resident Mark Rafacz poses a question Saturday at a legislative forum given by state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary.

Conferring with constituents

State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, state Rep. Vernon Smith, state Sen. Mara Candelaria Reardon and Lake County Commissioner Roosevelt Allen lead a forum Saturday in Merrillville.

Meeting constituents

Lake County Commissioner Roosevelt Allen, from left, state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster; state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary; and state Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, lead a forum Saturday at Merrillville Town Hall.

State candidates stress jobs, education funding

Democratic District 4 state representative candidate Greg Simms answers a question at a forum sponsored Tuesday by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce.

State candidates stress jobs, education funding

Republican District 5 state Sen. Ed Charbonneau answers a question Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce.

State candidates stress jobs, education funding

State legislative candidates Greg Simms, Ed Charbonneau and Debora Porter field questions Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce.

State candidates stress jobs, education funding

Time keeper Kurt Gillis signals 10 seconds left in a response Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce.

State candidates stress jobs, education funding

Democratic District 5 state Senate candidate Debora Porter answers a question Tuesday at a forum sponsored by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce.

Greg Simms

Bauer and fellow state Dems must be Monty Python fans

State Rep. Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, and his band of Democrats remind me of a Monty Python movie.

Bernanke, Geithner, Obama should tender resignations

The magic 6 + 6 is now replacing Congress as we have known it for 200-plus years. The Republicans, after the last election, now have a majority in the House of Representatives. The Democrats still have a majority in the Senate.

'Ugly' legislative session lamented

Don Babcock, Northwest Indiana Forum board chairman and economic development director of NIPSCO, speaks thursday evening during a legislative wrapup featuring a panel of public policy and governmental affairs experts from Krieg DeVault, including Kip Tew, far left, and Michael McDaniels.

'Ugly' legislative session lamented

Amy Levander Flack whispers to Kip Tew while Michael McDaniel speaks at right, and Bret Ashton looks on in Merrillville. They were part of a panel commenting on the recent legislative session.