John Rednour

John Rednour is a Democratic National Committee member who is a Superdelegate for Illinois. He currently serves as the mayor of DuQuoin, Illinois.

Endorsements
John Rednour was often listed as a Hillary Clinton backer, but supported Barack Obama. In March 2007, he gave Obama's campaign $1,000, according to records. The confusion likely stemmed from the fact that Rednour's son, John Rednour Jr., served on Clinton's Illinois steering committee and supported the former New York senator.

Involvement in the Democratic Party
Per John Croessman, publisher of the DuQuoin Evening Call and good friend of the mayor, Rednour has been a member of the Democratic party for 40 years. Rednour was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1972 (alternate), 2000 and 2004; a Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1992; and a member of the Democratic National Committee from Illinois, 2004.

Personal Political Interests and Issues
One of Rednour's top concerns is trying to keep the Amtrak station in DuQuoin. After President Bush had cut a considerable amount of money from Amtrak's budget, it may leave many citizens of the town without a main form of transportation. Mayor Rednour is also helping officials fight the war on methamphetamine, improving DuQuoin's water and sewer lines, and working on economic development. "Not only do we want business to grow here in DuQuoin, we want them to stay in DuQuoin as well." 

Influence Peddling
John Rednour's wife, Wanda L. Rednour, is a Democrat on the Illinois State Board of Elections who has served as both Chairman and Vice-Chairman. In her position, she has regularly voted to remove independent and third party candidates, including presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2004.

On September 27, 2002, the Chicago Sun Times reported that two days before possible sanctions from the State Board of Elections, Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich deposited $1 million in campaign funds to DuQuoin State Bank run by John Rednour. Mrs. Rednour then cast a vote to toss out a Republican objection to the campaign finance records of Blagojevich. This transaction was not reported within 10 days, as is required by state law, and only came to light as a result of the article in the Sun Times.

According to the article, Rednour defended her actions by saying that the million-dollar transfer was just an innocent gesture of friendship. “I know at one time,” she said, “just in the process of him [Blagojevich] visiting our house, Big John [Rednour] was laughing and said, ‘Blagojevich, you got all that money, why don’t you put some of it in our bank down here?’ That’s all I knew.”

Bio
John Rednour currently serves as the mayor of DuQuoin, Illinois. Redour was born in Percy, Illinois. He grew up in Cutler and has spent the last 35 years residing in DuQuoin. Mayor Rednour has been the chief official of DuQuoin since 1989 and has a construction business. Rednour also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Major Stockholder at Duquoin State Bank.