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Shimkus Talks Battlegrounds
(IRN) -- Illinois Congressman John Shimkus (R-Collinsville) says he's concerned about two battlegrounds -- political, in the form of Illinois redistricting, and international, in the form of the civil unrest in Libya.

It's a redistricting year, and Democrats control the entire process. Shimkus says he thinks he’ll be OK once the map is drawn and passed, but he's still preparing.

"There's always a possibility of taking the map to the federal courts if it gets drawn so ridiculous that it's not defendable," he said. "If that happens, Democrats could lose, kind of, all say."

As for Libya, Shimkus says he wants the international community to step up and help the resistance.

"Obviously Gaddafi has never been an ally or a friend of ours," he said. "I've always been a promoter of freedom movements; democracy. There's a risk, we don't know what comes after. I wish we'd be more supportive of the rebels. I wish the international community would be more supportive. We wouldn't have to do much for them to be very helpful."

President Obama has hinted at military action, and Shimkus says the United Nations has hinted at stepping in, something Shimkus sees as coming NATO action.

(Illinois Radio Network)
03 12 11 by Newsroom
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