The following is the letter sent by Greg Bedell to the Sun-Times’ Editorial Board after its effective endorsement of a one party election:

To the Editorial Board:

As one of the non-Democratic Party candidates in the race for the 5th Congressional District seat, I was disheartened, not by your selection of Mr. Quigley, but what can only be seen as the Sun-Times’ endorsement of a one party system.

The Blagojevich scandal, the pay-to-play scandals (which your paper headlined on its front page just last week) and what seems to be the never ending stream of corruption surrounding our local governments, are testimony to the inevitable abuses inherent in a one party system. It is clear that this situation will not change until the party in power is truly challenged and, if merited, removed.

Notwithstanding that the Sun-Times sees a statistical inevitability in this election, the people of the 5th District have many choices available to them across several parties. The Sun-Times has done a disservice to its readers, and has failed in its public trust, by failing to inform people of their choices and guide them, if it sees fit, through thoughtful endorsements. This is unfortunate; and a city with the stature of Chicago deserves better.

I spent the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday taking a memorable road trip with my family. At about 6 a.m., my wife, Jennifer, our two children and I piled in our car and headed from Chicago for Springfield. The deadline for filing nominating petitions for the 5th Congressional District special election was Monday at 5 p.m., and the petitions had to be filed at the main office of the State Board of Elections in Springfield. After two necessary stops (which occur often with children), we made it and the petitions were filed at 10:19.

Jennifer and I decided that this was an important event not just in my life but in our family’s. My family is with me, and I need that. It was important that we took that first part of the journey together.

Plus, the kids got to see Springfield, the beautiful capitol of our state. By that time, though, the kids were more interested in McDonalds. (Yes, we stopped.)

Over the last week, when not circulating petitions, I had the opportunity to go to several Town Hall meetings; some to just listen and some to listen and share my thoughts.

At one event, I had the good fortune to listen to a financial professional who very clearly outlined the sequence of events, literally dating back over a decade, which lead up to our current financial crisis. There are many lessons to be taken from this situation but one is clear: we all must take responsibility for the financial decisions we make. From top to bottom, from the United States government to our personal credit card use, we must re-examine what we need and what we can afford. My wife always asks herself (as I do now) “is this a want or a need?” Sometimes wants need to be postponed so we can be sure to have the means to buy the needs.

This lesson was confirmed by another presentation that night on the chaos of the Federal government’s finances. Between the size of the national debt ($59 trillion) and the inability of the GAO to account for where it has all gone, we must change our ways. We must be creative and learn to do more with less; identify problems which are not solved simply by money (education for example) and stop just throwing money at them. We must devote our resources to where they will do the most good. President Obama pleaded as much yesterday. I don’t know if Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Congress will cooperate with him in cutting programs that don’t work; they’ve got too much vested in the system. I want to bring my belief in the Republican basics, which includes responsible spending, to Washington to help President Obama cut unnecessary spending.

The process of selecting our representatives is remarkable. Before the voting, before the campaigning, before the speeches, a candidate and his friends must stand among those he wants to represent and ask for their help.

Last week, I and some very dear friends spent more than a few hours standing in the cold and snow asking people to sign my nominating petitions. This was an incredible experience. I met new people and I listened to what they had to say (even if a few said “you’re all crooks!”). A candidate must earn the privilege of representing the community. The petition process was just the first step.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team, we obtained more than the required number of signatures to be placed on the ballot. I personally came away from the process with a deeper appreciation for the diverse group of people I one day hope to call my constituents. It was an experience I will never forget.