Still No Apology from Dan Seals Following "Gas for Votes" Stunt

We've been patiently waiting.

It’s been two days since 10th District Congressional Candidate Dan Seals hopelessly snarled local lunch hour traffic on Milwaukee Avenue in Lincolnshire and diverted nearly half of its modest-sized police force from their usual duties as a result of a gas-buying publicity stunt in Lincolnshire. The Village—forced to dispatch ten police officers as well as several public works personnel to deal with the mess—will be billing the campaign for its services.

Meanwhile, Seals has not apologized. Not to the frustrated local police chief; not to the local employers whose businesses were disrupted by employees arriving back at work late from lunch; not to the late-arriving employees who likely had to stay late at work to make up the time; and not to the motorists whose patience is stretched by busy Milwaukee Avenue under the best of conditions. On his campaign website, Seals is boasting that "cars lined up for hours."

Seals, whose rematch campaign against incumbent Mark Kirk has been largely invisible since the primary in March, has managed to get his candidacy "back on the radar" with his stunt, which has received attention on TV, radio, and in the newspapers. In the world of campaigns, any campaign manager will tell you that even bad publicity is much better than no publicity at all. Seals made a mess. He owes a lot of people an apology. How long will he wait?