Preston lied

At a 1984 candidate debate for State Representative, Rep. Lee Preston claimed that he had never received a donation from Ald. Ed Vrdolyak or from other people whose support would have appeared less than pristine.

His challenger, Claude Walker, pulled a scroll of paper from a rumpled bag and unfurled a roll of poll sheets – a list of registered voters. He proclaimed these were the people he would represent.

Then he flipped the roll to the reverse side and displayed a list he had compiled of all of Preston’s contributors, gleaned from the incumbent’s public reports. The names of Ed Vrdolyak and other unpopular folks appeared.

“These are the people Lee Preston will represent,” Walker charged.     

Everybody in the audience, including Preston’s supporters, applauded. It was great theater.

Preston responded instantly. He jumped up from his chair and said, “Yes, this is why we need campaign finance reform.”

The audience just laughed. Preston got caught in a lie. (He won, anyway).