We sincerely mean this, when we ask all of you daily readers — including those that have never commented before, or who do so infrequently — to chime in on this thread and give us your input and advice on something that is literally making us sick to our stomachs.

All day yesterday, we realized that we need to confront someone here in Chicago that we like very much and have respected more than few others.  This person is Illinois GOP Chair Pat Brady, whom we got to know well through the 2008 campaign, and whom we absolutely think the world of.  We can’t think of a day we cheered LOUDER and LONGER than the day we heard Brady had replaced Andy McKenna as the IL GOP Chair.

FINALLY, we thought, we’ve got someone who will do the right thing, won’t play games, and will make it his mission to clean up the corruption in this state.

FINALLY, we’ve got a guy at the helm we believe in, who will kick Republicans into shape the way Sarah Palin did in Alaska, when she cracked skulls and went after the All Boys Club.

So, we hope you can appreciate the gut-wrenching chagrin we’ve felt in the last few days as it’s become increasingly clear that Pat Brady — a personal hero — has been protecting Lee Roupas in the Cook County GOP.  Brady could fire him today if he wanted.  IF he wanted.

We’re working on one of the hardest essays we’ve ever had to write, about everything we’ve gotten confirmed in terms of what Brady’s been hiding for Roupas, and how Brady’s been strategizing with other Romney and Kirk guys in the GOP higher-ups to make the current GOP scandal here in Chicago fade from the headlines for a while…let the dust settle…and then resume open war with the truthtellers in this matter after November.

We’re being told — and it’s being confirmed from independent sources — that the aim is to protect Lee Roupas at all costs, make sure he keeps his job, and also to give “The Prophet” a lucrative consulting gig (funded by multimillionaire cougar Beth Christie, of course) that will pay him as much, if not more, than he was making as the $4,000/month Cook County Executive Director.

If all of this is true, then Brady’s in on the corruption in this state — and that horrifies us.

He is either the most brilliant actor who never took to the stage, or we let this man cast one Hell of a spell on us, because we just can’t imagine he would knowingly enable someone like Lee Roupas to retain his high-paying position, representing Republicans, after all the things Roupas as done to disgrace the party.

We just can’t tolerate this Old/All Boys’ Club nonsense.  In corporate America.  In politics.  Wherever.

Just because someone has a penis does not mean that person can lie, engage in coverups, and carry on any way he damn well pleases…and expect to be protected and rescued the way Lee Roupas does.

It’s not right.

It’s not how America should be.

It’s not what voters in Illinois want, after seeing Democrat corruption go unchecked for so long.

Lee Roupas is the Cook County Charlie Rangle…and if Pat Brady is protecting him, then Pat Brady needs to be taken to the woodshed too.

And that’s devastating for us to have to admit.

So, we need two things from you this morning:

(1) We need you to pray for us, so that we have the wisdom and the guidance and the strength to do what we need to do here, because we’ll be damned if we allow Lee Roupas to get away with lying, covering up scandal, and declaring open war on Eloise Gerson for attempting to launch an investigation into the bizarre dealings of the Illinois GOP

(2) We need you to PLEASE think about a time when you had to confront someone you had great respect for, and tell that person they disappointed you, that they were wrong, and that they needed to step back and look at things differently to avoid making a horrible mistake

We’ve had to confront friends with drinking and drug problems who were ruining their lives — and to intervene and make sure they saw just how bad what they were doing looked.

Now, we find ourselves in a position of having to criticize a person we have utmost respect for, whom we believe to be a very good man…but who is allowing multimillionaire cougar Beth Christie (and her neverending threats of cutting off her donation stream, should she ever stop getting what she wants) to force him to protect Lee Roupas, save his job, and make sure “The Prophet” scores a golden parachute that lets him maintain the presidency of the CYR organization, and command a large “consulting” fee from the GOP that will in fact be more than he’s making now as the Executive Director.

We don’t seem to have quite the right words to describe what we think of Beth Christie, and how she’s bringing down the GOP in Illinois with her demands and money games, so maybe YOU could help us by telling us what YOU think of a woman who uses her vast fortune to cause such chaos — seemingly for her own personal amusement.

It’s frustrating because Pat Brady made us believe that the Republican Party REALLY COULD ultimately become what it claims it wants to stand for.  We thought he’d be cracking skulls and getting things done…but, pardon the French, all he seems to be doing is kissing Beth Christie’s sorry cougar ass.

It’s no secret Brady as GOP State Chair is desperate for donations…but surely other large donors could step forward and provide whatever Beth Christie’s been giving to cause the damage she’s been doing to the party.

SURELY one woman can’t tank the entire state, just because she thinks she’s Jennifer Coolidge in an American Pie movie, and she’s excellent at signing her name to checks with large numbers on them.

Please be frank about your experiences in similar situations to ours.  This is one of the most difficult things we’ve ever faced, because loyalty is one of the most important things to us…but loyalty to this country trumps personal loyalty to individuals…even to people we like as much as Pat Brady.

SOMEONE at GOP national has to put a stop to Beth Christie’s chaos spree.  SOMEONE at GOP national has to fire Lee Roupas and install a Cook County Chair who can clean up this mess and crack some skulls.

We want that someone to be Pat Brady, because we know he has it in him.

We need your help understanding a time when YOU personally had to push someone you respect towards the right decision, even if powerful forces (of the cougar or non-cougar variety) were pushing him in the opposite direction.

Please help…the future of Illinois largely depends on this.