Bonnie Alicea Trustee Candidate Petition Objected to by the RINOs

Liberty hating RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) appear to have escaped from the zoo again and once again are charging wildly at who must now be their favorite and also their most feared target in Will County, Independent Bonnie Alicea. 

The RINOs, led by Will County Republican Chair Dick Cavanagh and Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar, booted Bonnie off the ballot last year when her electoral board was stacked with the slate running against her.
This year her election board is the people she ran against last year. 

Remember last year...
Her signs were stolen.
They accused her of contributing to the death of a school board member.
They tampered with the election boxes.
They tried to have her stop campaigning on Federal Property which was legal.
They spread false rumors about her and her issues.
They sent their goons to threaten her family, including her 2 year old daughter.
They did everything they could in fear that Bonnie would get on the ballot in 2009.

This time, they have launched an objection to her petitions again.  They did not object to any of the other 5 candidates running against their slate.  They only objected to Bonnie's.

With a good reason...  She pulled over 25% of the vote last year as a write in candidate.

She is a triple threat.  She is a fabulous and caring mom.  She is a highly educated and skilled consultant.  She has actual plans to improve Bolingbrook, is passionate about this community, and cares. 

To RINOs in the community, this is a definite threat.  A real Republican is supposed to be fiscally conservative and support the individual's liberties.  In contrast RINOs promote out of control debt spending and gladly trample liberties to keep their cronies in power.

Will County Republican Chair Richard Kavanagh will be representing the 3 objectors who apparently think Bolingbrook having RINO leaders racking up $400 Million in debt is just peachy.  The 3 objectors are:
(1) Francine Lopez, 150 Ridgewood Ct.
(2) Robert Carlisle, 648 Melissa Dr.
(3) George A. Bogler, 210 Cheshire Ct.

As a high priced and over rated attorney, we would have to assume that bringing in the Kavanagh means that the fear of Bonnie making it onto the ballot and defeating the incumbents is real.

When Bonnie ran for Mayor 2 years ago she was a nobody in Bolingbrook but, due to the free advertisement of being objected to , she became famous.  Her name is a household name now in Bolingbrook.  Didn't the  the Kavanah/Claar Axis of Weasels learn that lesson?
If the RINOs were real Republicans, they would not be in this mess.  By putting Bolingbrook into $400 Million in debt, they have driven the residents like Bonnie and Bob to run for Trustee to try to save the community.  RINOs are not support to be spending maniacs, but in Bolingbrook they have accumulated so much debt that it gives others a sound platform.  The only thing that these RINOs have done as true Republicans is to give big business breaks while raising taxes on the poor and middle class.

However, this election is a turning point for Bolingbrook.  With Bonnie in the running, Rhonda running, Bob running, and others, this is sure to be a tough competition that allows residents to vote out the rubber stamp incumbent RINOs and vote for change.

In the meantime, we will be following all the nasty things the RINO Axis of Weasels are doing to keep their worst fear, Bonnie, off the ballot again this year....

Objection to the Incument School Board Members

Three objections were filed against the candidate petitions for school board members Quigley, Gougis, and Venegas to be put on the April 5 ballot to attempt reelection.  Some of the objection reasons were not enough valid signatures, signing for more then one person (Vote with others names?) and having public officials sign during work hours such as Roger's employees at Village Hall.

We will post more information as it becomes available. 

We contacted the objector and his statement regarding Gouglis objection was that "Mr. Wayne Kwiat, whom ran for Judgeship in November, failed to notarize some sheets.  When Wayne filled it out, he failed to use the stamp, thus invalidating the signatures on the entire page. This left Gouglis with 23 valid which is less than the 50 signatures required." 

It is also noted that Steve Quigley only turned in 90 signatures and less then 50 were valid registered voters.  It is required that the school board members only get 50 signatures to get on the ballot. 

Is it pompous men who act so cavalier?   At recent 365U school board meetings Mr. Quigley has blown up at residents he is supposed to be serving.  Perhaps he should have been focusing on what he needed to be doing during this election cycle to allow him to have a chance of getting on the ballot for reelection.

Objections to Ken Cygan

A local resident objected to Ken Cygan.  Ken was running for Village Trustee.  His objection was based off of a few reasons.  Some of these reasons included the signing of multiple names by one signer and not enough valid signatures from registered voters.  We wish him luck getting through that objection!

Who is afraid of Bonnie Alicea?

It would appear that the Will County Republican Party still sees Bonnie as a major threat.  Today she received an objection to her petitions.  Of the three objectors, only one attorney will represent all of them.  This attorney is none other than RINO Dick Kavanagh. (AGAIN!)

How funny that "Dick" was the one to boot her off the ballot in 2009 and boot off the Trustees by district referendum petition earlier in 2010.  Why is he the only attorney to represent Bolingbrook residents?  Don't the residents think it is odd that a big wig attorney like Dick is afraid of Bonnie?  Isn't it odd he is representing all three objectors, just like last year? 

It is Dick's agenda to retain his beholden political cronies in power in Bolingbrook by not allowing a fair democratic process.

So we wondered if they objected to her almost 700 signatures?  Nah, that would have been too hard, as the minimum was less than 300!  Instead, they objected to her residency.

As a reminder to the residents, Village Trustee Mike Lawler and Roger Claar in their capacities as Trustee and Mayor at a televised Village Board meeting in 2009, told the public that Bonnie was responsible for the death of a school board member.  They did this out of bitterness for her running against them for office.  Bonnie in turned sued them for defamation.  Local "Rogerites" threatened Bonnie and her family, causing her to leave town last year for a while until things calmed down and threats to Bonnie's and her family's physical safety subsided. 

The election law states that you must be a resident from April 2010 to April 2011 to qualify for office.  Bonnie had returned before that date in order to qualify.  Her objectors have stated that she just returned this month.

It is apparent that objectors will make up whatever story they can due to fear of Bonnie winning and putting a stop to the Rogers and his Trustees financial destruction of Bolingbrook. 

We contacted Bonnie today and she stated that she was not worried about her short absence.  She stated her temporary absence was in 2009 and that her short absence did not qualify her to register in another state.  Therefore, her drivers license, voters cards, and plates have been registered in Bolingbrook for the past 8 years and that people are allowed to travel for work, personal or other reasons without losing their residency status.  Furthermore, she has been a public figure in the community since March, attending functions and meetings, as well as meeting with the public. 

She stated "The entire objection is riddled with accusations and allegations, however, there are no documents or supporting proof to these allegations or accusations.  I can make up things about people too, but it does not make it true.  I, on the other hand, have all my documents in order to prove my residency from April 5 to current."

This is just another bump in the road of what a big machine will do to squash a mother of two.  Is Bonnie so great that she has Kavanagh, Chairman of the Will County Republican Party, quaking in his jackboots?  If that is the case, we cannot wait to see how this election will turn out.  Since fiscal responsibility is a plank of the Republican party, why does Kavanagh leave no stone unturned to keep his fiscally reckless cronies in power who have made Bolingbrook's debt the greatest in all of Illinois?  Perhaps Kavanagh is just a RINO, Republican in Name Only, and would gladly rabidly support Adolph Hitler if he belonged to his party.  Will County residents who hold to true Republican principles need to carefully consider who's running their party in Will County (and Bolingbrook)!

Bolingbrook Elections, Bolingbrook Objections, Bolingbrook New Year

This coming year will see objections for the incumbents being held in hearing during the first week of January.  We will be posting all the objections that arrived by Friday and update info on the hearing dates and times.

This will be a time for truth in numbers.  Did the runners for office get enough signatures?  Do the signatures matter?  Were they obtained legally?  We will post stories shortly! 

Good job to all the new candidates that came out to run for a better democracy in Bolingbrook.  The tide in this Village has definitely changed since Bonnie and Rhonda ran last year, with about 30 people stepping out this year.  May the new year bring new hope for our Village.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

The staff at the Bolingbrook Report

Bonnie Alicea thanks the residents!

from Bonnie Alicea

I want to personally thank the residents for signing my nomination for Trustee sheets.  I have gathered over 600 signatures and have formally submitted my petitions to the Village for processing. 

Have a happy holiday season and a joyous new year!

Question of the week:
There are some people wanting to know where you live for personal reasons.  There are also people that want to know where you live for residency requirement reasons.  I would like to know about the residency requirements to run for an office issue.

Thank you for being polite when referencing the issue of residency.  It is true that some people would like to have my address just for "stalking" reasons, and I have addressed this issue with the authorities already.  Therefore, I will not post my address on a blog or media site.

In regards to the residency issue, however, the public has the right to ask questions and receive valid answers.  According to the law: 

65 ILCS 5/3.1-10-5(a), that clearly states, "A person is not eligible for an elective municipal office unless that person is a qualified elector of the municipality and has resided in the municipality at least one year next preceding the election or appointment."

Election law defines “residence” as “that place where a person maintains a fixed, permanent and principal residence and to which he, wherever temporarily located, always intends to return”. 

The dates for this law is applicable from April 2010 to April 2011.

As many residents know, I owned a primary residency home in Bolingbrook until June 2010 and before the sale I relocated to another Bolingbrook home.  Although work and other issues have caused me to travel, I have always intended to, and did return to, Bolingbrook before this election time frame.  I have been a resident for over 30 of my 35 years. 

Last year I spent some time in Florida.  However, I returned before the April cut off time frame and have made my presence known in Bolingbrook. 

"Where a person leaves his residence and goes to another place, even if it be another state, with an intention to return to his former abode, or with only a conditiona­l intention of acquiring a new residence, he does not lose his former residence so long as his intention remains conditiona­l." Pope v. Board of Election Commission­ers, 370 Ill. 196, 201, 18 N.E.2d 214, 216 (1938).

Since my registration, drivers License, and voters rights are all local to Bolingbrook from the time frame of April 2010 to current, my validation credentials are clear and I am able to run for an elected office.

Thank you for the concern and we will see you at the polls!
Sincerely,
Bonnie Alicea

Bolingbrook Debt Per Person Balloons to 2.7 Times That of Chicago

We all know that the incumbent Bolingbrook Trustees and the Mayor have recklessly increased the Bolingbrook debt to be the highest per person for any Village or City in the entire state of Illinois, but how does it specifically compare to the city of Chicago?

The Dec. 19 Chicago Tribunes article "Financial Fright Awaits Next Mayor" cites the average debt (including library debt) per person in Chicago is $2,371.  Bolingbrook's debt per person including library debt is $6,429, or 2.7 times that of Chicago's debt per person!

The Bolingbrook Trustees have no plan and no clue how to pay back the $400 Million debt they voted to put us all in.  The interest alone on Bolingbrook's debt is over $30 Million per year, approaching half of the entire annual budget for Bolingbrook.  Roger Claar has not yet responded to Bob Bowen's FOIA delivered to him on live TV last week demanding he produce his plan to pay off the debt that he claims to have but nobody has seen.  "I don't want Bolingbrook to be the next Detroit with unpayable debt, continually reduced services, spiraling foreclosures, and letting neighborhoods run down--but that is exactly where the incumbent Trustees and the Mayor are taking us like an unstobbable train with no conductor at the switch," said Bolingbrook resident Bob Bowen.  "We need people who can think and comprehend at the switch and put the brakes on this embarrassing out of control debt spending.  It's obvious to all clear minded residents that the current administration aren't those people."

Bob Bowen FOIAs Mayor Claar on Live Television Demanding Answers for the Residents on Repaying the $400 Million Village Debt

At the Dec. 14 Village Board meeting, Trustee Candidate Bob Bowen addressed the Mayor and the Trustees and once again asked them what their plan was to repay the $400 Million debt that the incumbent Trustee have voted to create for the Village.  The debt spending of the Trustees has made the Village have more debt per person than any Village in all of Illinois.  The interest on this debt alone is a staggering $30 Million a year.

Bob asked the Trustees "What made you think it was ok to vote to put us all under $400 Million in debt?  Surely you must have had a plan to pay back the debt when you voted to create the $400 Million in debt.  What is you plan?  Roger, what is your plan?  The residents want to know."

Roger could not provide any numbers on a plan to pay off the debt but then James Boan, Village attorney, replied that "5 million" would be paid toward the debt in 2011.  Bob replied "$30 Million owed in annual interest and only $5 Million in repayment.  This is not a plan this is just hand waiving."  Bob then served Roger Claar with a formal written FOIA demand live on camera that requires Roger to provide:

• Your detailed specific financially rational plan to pay back the nearly $400 Million in debt that you have put the Village in.

Bob reminded Roger "By law you have 5 business days to respond.  If you don't respond then at the next Village Board meeting everyone will know you have no plan to repay the debt and that you don't know how to do your job."

We'll report on Roger's FOIA response to Bob's FOIA demand, or lack thereof.


INCUMBENT RICKY MORALES SAYS ON PUBLIC TV THAT NO $400 MILLION DEBT REPAYMENT PLAN NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED "IF WE DON'T HAVE ONE"

Incumbent Trustee Ricky Morales, who has consistently rubber stamp voted increasing Bolingbrook's debt to the current $400 Million level, publicly responded to Bob Bowen's FOIA demand for the Village debt repayment plan by saying that no repayment plan needs to be produced "if we don't have one".

Nice job Ricky.  Not only have you been responsible for creating the $400 Million debt, now you are bragging that you never even had a plan to pay off the $400 Million debt when you created it (no one else thinks that's something you should be bragging about Ricky--you are truly out of touch with reality).  Incompetent "leadership" like yours is why Bolingbrook is in the mess it is with the highest property and sales tax in the area and being forced to layoff Village employees and reduce services to the residents.

Bob Bowen went up to Ricky after the Village Board Meeting and extended his hand to shake Ricky's hand and wish him a "Merry Christmas".  Ricky withheld his hand, scowled at Bob, and stormed away.  Extremely poor form for a Trustee to be "bah, humbug" and refuse to shake the hand of a constituent who he is supposed to be representing.   But then we all know Ricky has been too focused on mindlessly rubber stamping deficit spending to create $400 Million in debt, spending $100 of our tax payer funds a shot on lunches for himself, and bankrupting Bolingbrook to do his job and represent the interests of the actual resident of Bolingbrook.  Time for a change and for electing new Trustees on April 5!

Liquor part three... What was the liquor tax?

Bolingbrook charged 14.5% which is their 8.5% sales tax and the 6% liquor tax.  All State wholesale taxes and what we call hidden taxes are already in the purchase price.  This is why it is so much better for me to purchase On Line direct from the winery or even from a regional wholesaler as the purchase price prior to taxes will be $5 a bottle cheaper.

Now it still applies to restaurants so if you spend $100 on a meal and $50 on drinks you will pay 10.5% Sales tax and Restaurant tax on the $100 and %14.5 $ on the $50, it makes wining and dining here disproportionate.  I just went over my 2010 expenses and I spent $7,250 on business meals this year in Naperville, Woodridge and Plainfield.  This is what they don't get.  People prefer to spend money out of town then pay the high fees.

Our comments to the liquor story

Is it a wonder why the Golf Course is losing money?  Do we not buy the liquor for events from a local seller? Jay Washington.

Liquor tax, from a BB resident

I watched the village Board Meeting tonight on Channel 6 as the motion to reduce the liquor tax intrigued me.

I was hoping that the Mayor would eliminate this draconian tax but I came away disappointed as all they did was reduce it by 3%. During the presentation of this motion by the Mayor he cited that both Binnys and Costco had complained that their regional buyers were not shopping at their outlets in the village due to the gargantuan liquor taxes.

Well as a regional buyer who purchases in bulk I still will not purchase from these outlets in the village. And let me explain why. 

Let’s take a look at two simple bulk purchase calculations;

Francis the Bulk Purchase Wine Connoisseur

Francis our wine connoisseur who lives in Bolingbrook should be purchasing his Wine from Binnys or Costco in Bolingbrook. At this moment he wants to purchase a case of 2007 Duckhorn Cabernet. The purchase price with the discount should be $615.89. Currently in Bolingbrook the total cost with taxes would be $705.19. At Binnys in Plainfield it would total cost would be $665.16 and in both Binnys and Costco in Naperville the cost would be &660.54.  Francis who purchases bulk wine knows about this huge disparity which is why he has not purchased any form of Liquor here since the mayor passed this draconian law. So even though the Village cut the liquor tax in half tonight, the cost of the case would still be $686.72 which is $21 plus more than Plainfield and $26 plus more than Naperville, so Francis still opts to purchase outside the village and wrote to both Binnys and Costco tonight to tell them.

Joe the Plumber

Joe is throwing a super bowl party in February so he needs to purchase some beer, wine and Bourbon. He has a limit of around $200 before taxes.  His cost if he purchased these items today in the Bolingbrook Binnys and Costco would be $229, in Plainfield its $216 and in Naperville $214.50. He thinks it might now be wise to wait until 2011 when the liquor tax is reduced. But upon checking the new reduced tax rate he discovers that he will pay $223 which is still way higher than Plainfield or Naperville, so he plans on driving up to the Costco on 75^th and 59 or the Binnys on 117^th and 59. Even with the additional 4 miles, he is still saving money by shopping outside of the village.

What the administration in Bolingbrook fail to mention is that their liquor tax IS in ADDITION and on top of the extortionate sales tax they charge, 8.5% in Bolingbrook versus Plainfield at 8% and Naperville at 7.25%. What they should do is eliminate the liquor tax completely and then they would get residents purchasing inside the village limits and not outside.  They just do not understand that less taxes means more revenue. This is the problem when you have socialists like the Mayor and the trustees running the village.

Abating more taxes?

At tonights board meeting (8pm VIllage Hall), the Mayor will pass more ordinaces to ABATE approx. $66 Million Dollars of debt.  What that means is he will NOT pay on this debt for the next year, leaving the interest and actual dollars owed, to accrue.  When this debt comes due, it will be more money, more property taxes, and more sales taxes.  Keep watching, as he has been doing this all year!

Union Agreements passed tonight

For those interested in seeing more about the Union Agreements, they will be passed at tonights board meeting at 8pm in Village Hall.

Tonight will cover the MAP Chapter 3 negotiation contract, which is with the Municipal Area Police.
AFSCME contract will also be on the table for finalization, after attorney approvals.

Please come out and support your Union workers!

Ordinances (10-85 and  10-86) for those who wish to FOIA the information at a later time.

Political Party

First Party for Bolingbrook
1. Ricardo Morales
2. Pat Sxhanks
3. Leroy Brown
Chair:  Carol Penning

Stay tuned for more information about the above three candidates and the dirty tricks they will use this year to keep others from running against them and the sinister plot to keep Bolingbrook in extreme debt and corruption.

By the way, will Carol excuse herself off the objections board due to a conflict of interest?

Carol Penning is Party Chair

Is it proper for the Village Clerk to be the Party Chair to the incumbents?  Is this a conflict of interest, when she uses her position as the Village Clerk and access to the documents, to also lead this election for others?

The procedure for acquiring petitions are through FOIA.  FOIA law dictates they have 5 business days to respond.  During those 5 days that everyone else has to wait, Carol gets access to copying these documents, giving her three candidates an earlier shot of acquiring an attorney to review the documents for issues and problems and file an objection. 

We think there is a definite conflict of interest in her abuse of power.  Stay tuned for more!

Nasty Pat Schanks!

Moments after Bob Bowen and Bonnie Alicea turned in their petitions this morning, Pat Schanks and Carol Penning (current trustee and Village Clerk) sat down to review their files for issues.

Last year the administration booted Bonnie off the ballot.  This year they didn't even wait for the ink to dry to try to find problems....

In a real democracy, residents step forward and ask to see petitions and to do the objecting.  In Bolingbrook, it is the current elected officials, which is a scheme to stop anyone from running, as the Village Clerk tells people what is wrong with them, asks people to object accordingly, and interferes in the process, while using her position to do so.

Pat Schanks has begun the election season off to a bad start by requesting to see her opponent's packet.  That is a dirty fight that started the minute she sat down with Carol to review it.  At this point, Bonnie and Bob should know that they are planning on fighting dirty and that they should be able to fight dirty as well. 

We hope that Bob and Bonnie request all their packets and object personally.  That would be Karma, as they were the one's to boot Bonnie off last year.

Bonnie, we will not hold it against you if you object to ALL the petitions!

Who is running for Bolingbrook Trustee?

The updated list of who is running for trustee is not in yet.  We will report on who picked up the packet vs. who submitted a packet shortly.
Thanks for your patience!

Who is running for School Board in Valley View 365 U?

With four positions opening in April on the school board, we were asked about who was running for the election.  Petitions are due this week and we are posting a list of those that have picked up packets.

The Patch has reported that Mike Evans is not running, however, he did pick up a packet.  He could have informed the reporters he was not running to deter people from objecting to his petitions.  Since he picked up a packet recently, we feel he might still be running.  Stay tuned for more details.  We will report a list of who picked up the packets, vs. turned it in after next week!

Name:                                     Location:

1)      Tammaro Warren                    Romeoville

2)      Julie Zipperich                         Romeoville

3)      Kenneth Williams                   Bolingbrook

4)      Robert Leach                          Romeoville

5)      Steve Quigley                         Bolingbrook

6)      Richard “Rick” Gougis, III    Romeoville

7)      Leonel “Leo” Venegas            Romeoville

8)      John Jurca                               Lemont

9)      April Gavin                             Bolingbrook

1    Kenneth Harris                        Bolingbrook

11 Deborah Hammond-Watts      Bolingbrook

1   Sandra Henry                          Bolingbrook

      Phillip A. Wilson                     Bolingbrook

      Claudia Simmons                    Bolingbrook

      Michael A. Evans                    Bolingbrook

      Chrystal Hansen                      Bolingbrook

      Daisy L. Clair                          Bolingbrook

1    Cindy Easter                           Romeoville

      Gabriel Abogado                    Bolingbrook

This list was supplied to us by Bonnie Alicea. 

Anger in the community = message to elected

First, the residents found out what local officials were up to.  Second, they got angry.  Angry enough to go to the Village and School District to pick up packets to run.

For the first time ever, record numbers are running for office, which is a clear sign that people are unhappy with the current elected officials, their behaviors, morals, and spending habits.

The Valley View School District 365-U has issued 19 packets for 4 open seats in the April election.

The Village of Bolingbrook has issues over a dozen packets for 3 open seats in the April election.

For the last 20 years, they have NEVER had this type of turnout.

I hope this sends a clear message to the current elected officials.  That message is "we are ANGRY and UPSET at what you have done.  So much so, that over 30 residents are spending money, time, and energy to run for office."

Holidays and Crime

With the holidays upon us, many people without work will do things they normally would not do.  They get desperate and will rob or break in homes.  We encourage all Bolingbrook residents to properly lock up their homes and vehicles. 

Tips to keeping safe:
1.  When using an ATM, take a look around you for people watching.
2.  When spending money in a store, do not show your "wad" of money in public.
3.  When walking to your car, ensure nobody is following too closely.
4.  When pulling up to your home, make sure that you open the garage door when it is in close view.
5.  When shoveling, do not leave the garage door open and go inside to warm up.
6.  Double check your garage is closed when leaving for work.
7.  Shred any mail that has personal information about accounts listed on them.

How Many Trustees are Running?

We are two weeks out to a final count of trustees running for office.  A dozen potential candidates picked up packets in the Village.  However, picking up a packet does not mean someone will run.  There are many reasons to pick up a packet.  You could pick it up for a friend, you could pick it up for reference purposes, and you could pick it up for yourself!  These are just a few reasons to pick up a packet.  Furthermore, running implies that each candidate gathered signatures and turned them in by the deadline.

This years run for Trustee will be one you won't want to miss.  We have already reported the Bonnie has picked up a packet.  We have reported that Mr. Morales has picked up a packet.  Will County Independent Party has reported that Bob Bowen has picked up a packet.  We know that Cyan is running.  It is the few we have not told you about, that will make this race for three vacancies VERY interesting.  (Could Cedra Crenshaw possibly be running?)

We can only imagine what this race will be like with the current trustees battling Bonnie and Bob, as last years race was riddled with controversy and excitement.  We already know it is Bonnie and Bob against the trustees for passing expenditures and increasing taxes since 2000.  We know that their largest points will be that the current trustees are rubber stamped and have put Bolingbrook in almost $400 mil in debt and abate the bonds annually so that the future residents will suffer when they come due.  They will be ruthless in informing the residents about the debt in Bolingbrook. 

Topping this is the fact that Leroy Brown, running again this year, has added fuel to the fire with booting Bonnie off the ballot last year and booting the referendum off the ballot.  He has made many enemies in this Village because of it. Thousands of residents wanted Bonnie on the ballot and thousands more wanted trustee by district.  They will all be following this race...

Then you have an unknown named Cygan who has done nothing in the village.  His first act?  Step out and take a swipe at Bonnie for fighting for transparency and bond debt.  As classy as Bonnie is about keeping the high ground, what will she do when this guy uses every tactic in the book to slander her, defame her, or lie about her?  Can she still hold the high ground against a nasty man like this?  That would be a true test of her courage.

The kick off of this election season has seen Bonnie's lead supporter's house go up in flames and smoke a few days ago.  One person that picked up their packet, already dropped the race after speaking with Mr. Claar.  We wonder what was said...

We wonder which candidate will mention the fact that Morales and Brown have other jobs that conflict with Village board serving.  We wonder who will mention their "yes" votes to everything that has debted this community.  We also want to know who is going to mention the fact that the people that put this debt in place called themselves Republicans, while spending like Democrats...

Let's see how dirty and ugly this election season will get.  Who will be called a "murderer"?  Who will tamper with election boxes this year?  Which election judges will not follow the rules on election day?  Who will threaten which candidates?  Who will Roger support, and will this support actually cost them the positions? (He is running a low victory path lately).

So who do you believe in during this race?  Who has the answers?  Who can and will fix Bolingbrook?  The list will be posted in two weeks...  On your marks, get set, GO!

Stay tuned for more coming January 1st!

Smith's home

http://triblocal.com/bolingbrook/2010/12/04/firefighters-investigate-cause-of-friday-house-fire/

For more info, please click on Triblocal link above. 

Bolingbrook Elections off to a Sour Start

George Smith

Have you ever seen this man on the Village Board Meeting video's, asking people to come out and vote?  Have you heard him encourage the current administration to do the right thing for the people?  If so, this story might just shock you...

Late last night, while George Smith was out enjoying the evening, a fire started in his bedroom and his house was severely damaged. 

A strong advocate for Bonnie Alicea who ran for Mayor in April 2009, he has spent the last month assisting in collection of signatures for her new campaign.  Last year he contributed over $10,000 to her campaign.  He did this because he believes in a better Bolingbrook. 

He started an initiative to place a referendum question on the ballot last year for residents to vote on Trustee by districts instead of Trustees at large.  He did this because the current Trustees were rubber stamped "yes" people and have put Bolingbrook in almost $400 Million in debt.  His referendum was booted off the ballot for a technicality, and the opposing attorney was the same one that booted Bonnie off the ballot in her run for Mayor (no coincidence there).  Many local communities just passed this same referendum, including Naperville and Downers Grove.  Obviously he is a resident that has caused some corrupt local politicians to lose sleep. 

George Smith served our country for over 30 years in the Marines, while maintaining a Bolingbrook home for over 30 years.  He was one of the highest ranking marine officials and is highly respected by many governmental bodies.  He has dedicated his retirement to fighting in support of those local residents whose constitutional rights have been stripped away, including Bonnie's.  He believes that not all battles or wars are oversees, but major battles to maintain our liberties happen right here at home.

This year he collected over 400 signatures for Bonnie Alicea who is running for Trustee in April 2011.  If you have been to the post office recently, you might have just shaken his hand.  Recently, and unknown to many, he turned over the signatures to the attorneys for review and removed them from his home to a safe location.  These signatures are due next week to place Bonnie on the ballot this year.  (Recall that last year Bonnie was booted off the ballot the by kangaroo court created and headed by Roger Claar, the very person she was running against.)

Is it a coincidence that his house went up in flames one week before he was to turn in those signatures that would place Bonnie on the ballot?  Was someone looking to get those signatures so that they could not be turned in?  Is someone conspiring to keep Bonnie from getting in office?  Or could it have been a fluke?  We do not know...  investigations are pending.  Either way, it is a bummer that someone so dedicated to our country, and our cause in Bolingbrook, has suffered this atrocity.

We ask that our readers to send in support letters for him.  We will send these directly to him.  In the meanwhile, we want to thank the Bolingbrook Police for locating him so quickly last night to inform him that his house was on fire and to ensure that nobody else was in the home.  We want to thank the Firefighters that put out the fire.  We never want to forget the people that help save lives, and we are lucky Mr. Smith is alive and well.

When we asked if he would like a fundraiser or any help, he asked that all donations be sent to the Will County Independent Party, as they are assisting him during this time of grief.

Weekly Response from Bonnie

from Bonnie

Question from Resident:  What are you going to do differently this year to get on the ballot?

Response:
 
I have spent countless hours and weeks preparing my packet for nomination for Trustee in the Village of Bolingbrook.  Last week my election attorney reviewed all my signatures and we went through the scratch process, which is removing invalid names, illegible names and addresses, or non-registered voters.  We spent time checking each heading of each sheet and proper notarizing of all signatures.  We did a thorough job on each signature sheets, leaving nothing to objections.

Prior to this, my team and I spent countless hours gathering many signatures.  The minimum this year was just shy of 300 needed and the max was just shy of 500.    We are submitting the maximum number of valid signatures. 

I have shaken thousands of hands over the past few weeks and listened to thousands of stories from residents.  The most common theme is the demand for change.  Taxes are a hot issue, bonds are on the front of residents minds, and the cut in services is upsetting many people. 

I look forward to becoming a public servant, and assisting with the change that has been long awaited in Bolingbrook.  I encourage the residents to follow the objection process to determine if change is possible in Bolingbrook, or if corruption is stopping the need for change. 

Thank you for all of the residents that signed my petitions, stopped to ask questions, or just to talk.  There are wonderful people that live in Bolingbrook and I am proud to call myself a 30 year resident!

Village takes a 1% cut in raise

The Village voted for the first time to pass a new ordinance to reduce their pay increase by 1%.  While it would seem noble to do so for the first time ever, we are still skeptical. 

The current elected officials have done so much, to take money from the taxpayers to benefit their own purposes, that 1% is not nearly enough to pay back the damages. 

Secondly, this might be the first time that Roger's people will not win the elections, with three seats under fire in April.  So are they really cutting their own wages or the wages of the next elected?  Will Roger really be retiring in a few months, so this will only affect the next wave of elected officials?

It is too early to tell if they are doing something good, or if they are sticking it to the next elected.

Who is raising taxes for next year?

While the village waits for the assessment of value of homes, the other taxing bodies are moving forward increasing taxing amounts.  The school district and library are both increasing amounts to tax payers. 

The library is going to "abate" bond payments in order to keep the amounts lowered.

Du Page Township is withholding the annual budgets in order for the taxpayers to NOT know what they are planning on doing all year.

We will report when we know... as always....

Bolingbrook Clout can overlook Sunshine Laws?

Does being a Bolingbrook "clout" candidate help you in breaking village "sunshine laws" directed at transparency?

Sunshine laws are laws that are put in place that allow residents the ability to request a FOIA (Freedom of info act) and trust that the local elected officials will honor the FOIA request as law states they need to.  However, in Bolingbrook where fair elections are not honored, local officials worried about losing their seats, break the Sunshine Laws to avoid publicity.  They also break the trust of the residents who believe in the law and the system.

The sunshine laws for FOIAs are as follows: 

"Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form

of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that

all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of

government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as

public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act.

Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing

public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring

government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest."

When someone FOIAs the village and asks for the list of candidates that have picked up packets to run for office, they would think this simple request would give them documents to show details of this request.  Week after week that list was supplied, but left off the current elected officials.

Now why would they do that?  What are they trying to hide? 

Isn't it hard for the village to hide this break in sunshine laws when Mr. Morales, who did not appear on the FOIA request list, has possession of the signature sheets and is collecting signatures?  Does the Village not care about breaking the trust of the residents who submit the FOIA requests?

The questions we should be asking are: 
Who is Mr. Morales paying off to get the Village to break the public's trust in the FOIA laws? 
How can the residents believe that their government is honest?
How can they trust that Mr. Morales is honest?
Are Village employees interfering in an election, when this is a felony to do so? 
Who will be the one to "get in trouble" from the State's Attorney's office if this is submitted to them?
Is all this risk worth hiding the fact that Trustee Morales is using clout to cover his candidacy?

We will be following the story as it progresses.

School Board Chair forced to change anger issues

Steve Quigly, the school board chairman is being forced to curb his anger issues at residents if he wants to stand a chance of re-election in four months. 

Recent attacks at residents who have stood up to ask simple questions of this actions have caused Mr. Quigley to lose his grip on Bolingbrook and Romeoville voters.  A few weeks back he caused audience members to cry in empathy after he brutally attacked a mother of two for asking questions during the question and answer session at the board meeting. 

"Since when can we not ask elected officials about their actions without being verbally abused?" stated one mom who witnessed the video on a local web site.  "I think we should be abusing them for their careless cuts to our kids futures!" she declared. 

Since the local school board members have been "outed" for their corruption, bad role modeling, and waste of tax payer money, over a dozen people have picked up packets to run against them in the upcoming election.  It is a time for change, and the school board needs it the most.

As they are about to pass yet another increase in taxes, that puts chair Mr. Quigley into a bad position.  He has voted to raise taxes each year he has sat on the board.  He calls himself a Republican but spends like a liberal, and cannot find a balance to the budget problems. 

"What this board needs are leaders that have children in the system and vote for the best interest of the children, not themselves.  Mr. Quigley sends his kids to private school and raises taxes.  He cannot balance a budget and votes to stay top heavy on administrations pays, while cutting teachers and salary. I am not voting for him this election" a Bolingbrook residents names Tom stated. 

We will begin reporting the candidates running for school board as soon as the ballot situation has passed.  Stay tuned in four weeks for our school board stories!  Thanks to all those running who wish to help in giving Bolingbrook a fair shot at a new and fair system that works!

How many hits do we get a month?

Readers have been asking us how many hits we get a month.  Our statistics are as follows.
We have been on the new blog site less than three months.  In the last six weeks we have gotten

6,265 hits.  Our averages change daily depending on the news we present.  Our weekly averages currently for November are approx. 1,000 hits per week, or over 4,000 hits per month. 

 

When we poll our readers, some visit daily while others visit weekly.  Most of them tell us that they tell at least three people about the stories on our site.  If this is the case, our following could equate to 12,000 people in Bolingbrook hearing our news weekly.  If those people tell 3 people... you get the drift.  The Village is only 68,000 people, and some of them are kids! 

 

We will be expanding our advertising in the new year and growing, so the numbers will be changing. 

 

Thank you readers for participating in your local community and government.  For those people that state, "nobody in this village cares, that is why they do not vote", we can counter that with at least 1,000 people are spreading the word weekly.  If each person told 3 other people a story, then those numbers continue to grow.  It is not just about coming out to vote, it is about contributing when you can.  So please continue to pass the stories to your neighbors and we will continue to post our news and findings. 

 

Have a great holiday!  

Local Elections Items to Watch for

The local elections are as dirty as they come.  Some say that they are equal to Chicago style politics, while others say it is much worse.  Final objections will be arriving soon.  Bonnie has contributed some tips for the residents to watch for...

Hello fellow residents!  These are tips for the upcoming election.  Follow the local papers and the Brook Report for daily updates for issues that can present themselves this year.

1.  Once the petitions are filed, pay close attention to the political affiliations of the objectors. 
2.  Watch to see if the objector is present in the hearing, or if the objector is sponsored by an attorney.
3.  If they are sponsored by an attorney, will it be a rep from Tressler Law Firm (Village attorney office), or Richard Kavinaugh's offices (Du Page Township attorney office).  These attorneys are actually working in junction with Roger Claar, and not a random objecting resident.  They could potentially be billing the tax payers as well. 
4.  During the hearing, see who the board members are.  Are they really impartial, or do they sit on, or sponsor the slate running against the candidate.  For example, last year two of the three electoral board members that booted me off the ballot were on the slate of the Mayor's.  I was running against him.  The third board member had the Mayor as his main campaign contributor, and as the chair of this campaign committee.
5.  Are all the objectors using the same attorney?  This is a red flag for conspiracy.
6.  Do the objectors try to say that your signature, as a tax payer and voter, do not count?  Last year over 200 voter/ residents names were counted as "not allowed" and their votes/ signatures did not matter.
7.  Does the objectors attorney stay after the hearing to explain how the board can effectively remove the candidate?  (This is not only a closed door meeting, illegal by law, but the opposing attorney cannot speak to the board without the candidates attorney present.) This happened last year.
8.  When removed from the ballot, is the candidate given enough time to still appeal the decision in Will County? 

Once the ballot process is complete, I will update the residents of what to look for around town during election time. 

Enjoy the holidays!

Bonnie Alicea

Mike Evans denies drinking at conference

Let the residents decide for themselves!

We have receipts for him attending this conference.  So someone at this very conference, hanging out with Bolingbrook and Romeoville officials, was caught "lushing".

2008 Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting

2010 Boston trip

The question remains, what is the school board doing to discipline the wrong doings of the members?  Are they cut off from tax payers dollars for conferences and personal expenses?

Re-Addressing the Turkey Give-away

We think it was a wonderful thing for a company to donate to the "not so fortunate" residents for Thanksgiving.  They donated turkey and full meals with desert.  We congratulate them for this large donation.

We condone politicians using it to their advantage and scaring off people needing food.  This led to an abundance of food not picked up.  So guess what happened!  (thank gosh for video camera's on phones now!)

Breaking news alert!

 Bolingbrook officials and employees caught on video taking food from the "needy" lines!  Bolingbrook fiscal reports that show their income, show that they are well above qualifying factors for the free and donated food for the needy.  Basically, they ran off the needy residents and put the free food on their own tables!  Shocking and disgusting, all at once! Isn't it bad enough they pad their pockets with pay to play, but now they get caught blatantly stealing from the poor!

We have decided not to air this video, as some local residents are on this video picking up food.  We do not wish to subject them to the same issues that Bill Mayer and the local news did already.  If any of our readers can put black marks over some faces, let us know so we can share this video with the rest of the village!

Bolingbrook Operation Christmas

When Christmas time comes and the needy need help, they turn to local Bolingbrook organizations.  Bolingbrook Operation Christmas has been helping residents for 37 years.  Over 500 families are served annually.

This year we have been contacted by some residents who are slightly discouraged.  Donations which are solicited from businesses and individuals, in a rough economy, will be taking a hard toll on the donations this year.

Residents are being told that donations, which in the past have been new items, food, or gift cards, are not what is being offered this year.  They are being told that donations will come in the form of "slightly used" items, damaged items, or expired food products. 

We are unable to verify this story, but we can make a difference.  We are asking residents to donate items in the next few days, before the Dec. 1 pick up dates.  You can donate to the village by contacting: .

Gwen Bettig (630) 739-7895 or Lee Bush at (630) 739-6188

School Questions Answered VVSD 365-U

What is the teacher vs. student ratio compared to demographics:

Teachers                                   Students

White 85.2%                            31.8%

Black 8.1%                                22.7%

Hispanic 5.2%                          34.3%

Asian 1.4%                                6.5%

Native American 0.2%         0.1%

What is our pay structure like compared to other areas?

Our teacher salaries are competitive with surrounding districts.  Beginning salaries for BS and MS are among the highest in the area.  Mid level salaries are competitive while our lifetime salaries tend to be lower than some surrounding districts.  More specific information can be found in the annual salary study conducted by the Large Unit School District Association.

Greedy School Boards....

This year the school board could not even put together a proper budget.  They were late in finally pushing a budget.  Now these inexperienced board members want to push more taxes?

While many residents struggle to buy a Turkey to put on their table and many more hunt for jobs over the holiday season so they can buy a Xmas gift for their kids, the school board has decided to raise the taxes, yet again.  Let me repeat, YET AGAIN.

With a 4-1 vote this week, they have increased the levy by 6.31 percent.  This does not count the increase they implemented over the last few years.  The final vote is on December 13th.


So why do they keep raising the rates in a tough economy?  Why don't they look to cut the top heavy costs that keep them increasing taxes each year to cover cost of living increases?  The answer lies within the members of the school board that are making the decisions.

 

Last year Steve Quigley and Mike Evans pushed for higher taxes, while cutting services to the most needy of students.  They did not freeze teachers high wages.  They did not cut top heavy salaries, or overcrowding at top executive levels.  They cut from the students.  They did this, despite the fact that there are more deans, principles, assistant principles, security, and other high payrolls than ever before.  It is all about clout and position for these board members.

 

For example, in 2005 they created a position called head of security for schools.  They started the position at $50K and hired Trustee and Deputy Mayor Leroy Brown to the position.  In three years time his salary went from $50K to over $80K.  Are we in more danger now then we were four years after the 9-11 attacks, that would warrant increasing security pay by $10G a year and cutting books to the students?  What about the service contract on phones that cost us $120K per quarter, awarded to Bill Mayer (Du Page Township Supervisor) company Call One?  Do our phones need a quarter of a million dollar expensive service contract instead of offering students special education services?

 

Mis-spending is what is all about.  In April, you will have an opportunity to vote these cronies out of office and cut school taxes.  Don't forget to watch our site when we list who is a cronie and who is a tax cutter, series starting in January...

 

Happy Turkey Day!

The Bolingbrook Report would like to wish the residents of Bolingbrook a Happy Thanksgiving! 

What does the Village Attorney and office make?

Many people have been asking lately what our Village Attorney makes:

First, he was a Village employee with a high salary.  therefore, he now collects a pension.
Second, he entered a law business and has had the exclusive village contract for many years, doing a similar job.

Some call this illegal, to give up your municipal job and then hold the same job as a outside service for higher prices.  In IL, some statures mention this law and new laws are cropping up daily for this. 

Annually his business makes approx. $850K.
Monthly he earns a pension from the Village (taxpayers pay this) of $5,501.53. = $66, 000 annually.

This year his business also had the Valley View School Board for over $100G per year.  Claar's lackeys (e.g. Mike Evans) are a majority of the 365U School Board and they also approve giving Boan our tax dollars.

Total amount that Jim Boan and his company makes from Bolingbrook Taxpayers?  Over $1 Million Dollars Per Year!

Is it any wonder that Boan is a regular contributor to Claar's pay-to-paly political slush fund?  No--that is how Claar works--demanding patronage/pay-to-play from those he and the Trustees gives OUR tax monies to.

Bill Mayer Decides to Dress and Act Like a Turkey for Thanksgiving--Baah Humbug!

Local residents in need of a donated Thanksgiving dinner and meals for the week ran away from the food lines at the pantry donation center today. 

Local politician William (Bill) Mayer turned the "food for needy families" into a three ring circus this morning when the media was notified and appeared to witness and capture his show-boating circus act.  Dressing up in a turkey outfit and shaking residents hands, he asks for them to vote for him in the next set of elections. 

However, needy residents, choosing to go hungry rather than have themselves publicly viewed picking up food donations, were upset.  One resident states, "It is hard enough to be unemployed and poor.  It is hard enough to tell my children why there will not be a Thanksgiving dinner this year, thanks to Mr. Bill Mayer.  What is worse is that the entire world would have known I am poor and cannot feed my kids, had I stayed...  Who will hire me after they see me picking up free food?  All because some local politicians decide to use the poor as a political agenda.  Shameful...(choked up)".  As she spoke to us, she was in tears.

Dressing and acting like a turkey to try to get votes by manipulating what should be a charity event for the poor to instead be a campaign event for Bill Mayer.  Shameful.  We have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  Bill Mayer dressing and acting like a turkey is not one of them.

Nuisance to the Village or nuisance IS THE VILLAGE

Are you planning on fixing up the outside of your home this year?  Have you been getting prices from contractors?  Don't forget to figure in the village costs in fines you will get for making your home look nice.  The Village enacted ordinance fines last year called "nuisances" that allow them to charge you heavily for repairs made to the home.  One resident is fighting the costs and asks that more of you do.  Here is why...

Say you want to replace your windows and it will take your contractors 5 days to do all of them.  The outside of your home will suffer in the "poor looks" category during the fixing time.  When cited, the Village will charge you a cost of $2,850.00.  That is more than the cost of windows!  You see, each day it is not completed is another fine that increases with time.  See chart below to determine what you will be cited for with the ordinances in place before you beautify your home. 

Do you have grubs?  It will take a while to plant seeds and grow them.  Do you know this past summer residents were hit hard with these fines for planting new grass?  One guy was hit with fines for building a deck in the back yard, even though he had a privacy fence.  His bill was astronomical!

We want people to fix up their homes.  Apparently with these steep fines, Bolingbrook officials do not want you to.  If they did, the fines would be lower.  Maybe they are just needing the money to pay back those high bonds!

Section 27-306. PENALTY:
A . (Ordinance 09-018, 03.10.09) In addition to the judicial abatement remedy set forth hereinabove, any person who is an owner or occupant of any property determined in a judicial action, or in an administrative proceeding under Article 3 of Chapter 7 of the Municipal Code, to constitute a public nuisance who has intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently permitted or suffered such property to become, be used as or exist as a public nuisance shall be fined as follows. For each violation of any of the provisions of Article 3 of this Chapter during any 12 month period, the fine shall be as follows:
1 st offense One Hundred Dollars ($100.00)
2nd offense Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00)
3rd offense Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)
4th and subsequent offenses One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00)

How well did the Golf Club sports bar do during the Bears Game this week?

Two residents stopped into the Golf Club during the fourth quarter of the Bears Game this week.  They wanted to see how well run the establishment was and how busy our tax payer funded sports bar was during a big game. (Typically there are specials to bring people in and places privately run like Tail Gators was packed.)

Here is what they found...

The place was 100% empty, minus the two residents that walked in to check it out. (See pics below)

There were FOUR Employees, one was a bar tender, one was a bus boy, and the other two we are unsure of, as they sat in the corner chatting it up!

Which is fine if they are doing their job.  But why were they not told to go home?  Why not cut the labor expenses?  Where were the specials?  What marketing had been done to boost the business?  What does the management have to say about this?  Why did we just renew their management team contracts when this happens?  We are outraged!  This place is soaking US, the tax payers, to keep it afloat.  Look at these pictures and tell me you are not upset as a resident!

This is why we need skilled people that can help boost this business and help Bolingbrook reduce our taxes!

Bob "the Bulldog of Bolingrook" was asked for to comment on this story.  "It goes to show that just because Roger is an expert at drinking in bars, that doesn't mean he knows how to run one profitably.  It's amazing that everything Roger runs with OUR tax money loses money, and I mean huge amounts of money--and now he wants to spend even more of our tax money to get a water utility to run.  Can you imagine Roger being in charge of our fire hydrants working correctly or our drinking water being clean--that's a really scary thought for any resident to contemplate."

Exclusive Footage back scene at Golf Club and Money Misspent!

All that talk about the hot tub and sauna's at the golf club has broken through as our private investigators get exclusive pictures!  Never seen before footage of the "secret" and locked private sauna and hot tub, located in the tax payer exclusive 70,000+ sq ft clubhouse.  (Largest public golf club in Illinois!)

 This hot tub appears to be a 15 seater?

 Sauna (next to private hot tub) appears to seat about 15 or so.

Locker Room in woman's locker boasts the #1 name tag (covered by reflection) and the gold plated name bearing Pat Claar's private locker!

When building Golf Club on tax payers dollars, it was a poor business decision to add a "Private" and locked saunas and hot tubs.  What do you think this is, a rich person's workout gym?  Since this is a TAX PAYER funded golf club, why does the Mayor's wife have her own privately labeled locker?

This does not include a men's lounge with another sauna and a woman's locker room with a sauna.

Total = 3 saunas and one large private hot tub!

This is where some of the initial $30+ Million went to!

Evans for School Board? Not...

We have followed Mr. Mike Evans through his last two years path of destruction to the community.  He has finally picked up his packet for school board, which was not a smart move.  Our top reason we feel he should not run again is that he is highly unethical and the school board is suppose to stand up as role models to the students.

He votes on his own business to make money.  He uses tax payer money to take lavish conferences and represents Bolingbrook like a drunken fool, both on conference and around town.  He does not even settle his debts locally for personal reasons.  For example has he paid for all his wedding bills yet?  Local businesses are still waiting for hundreds of dollars of payments months and months later.  Since then, he has started a family and now has a little one.  Yet bills are unpaid. 

Most unethical people would agree with Mike, why pay them off when you can go the high route and use that money for luxury suites with champagne in Vegas, baby!  Which he did just a few months ago.

The other problem with this, is that he heads the Chamber of Commerce.  He is suppose to be helping local businesses succeed and be able to stay open.  Instead, he used local businesses to get a discount for his wedding and failed to pay them!  Most of these are small businesses and cannot afford to have people not pay.  He abused his powers of connections and now businesses all around him are struggling to deal with the consequences of his immature and irresponsible actions.

Can we all say "grow up Mike?"

Signing Petitions

It has been brought to our attention that there are some issues about signing petitions for Trustee candidates or voting for candidates.  We have been called by numerous residents fearing the repercussion of signing for any candidate that the local officials are running against.  These residents have stated that meetings and individual statements have been made locally regarding the upcoming elections, and threats were implied.

The law states that NO ELECTED OFFICIAL or Government worker can threaten, intimidate, or coerce you to NOT sign a petition or not to vote for your candidate of choice.  So if you fear for your job, safety, family members incomes, etc. you need not worry.  Any person of power that is accused of intimidation, threats, or impeding consequence on who you chose to vote for, has broken the law doing so, stomped on your constitutional rights, and should be reported immediately to Mr. Glasgow, Will County States Attorney.

Bottom line, this is America Damn it!  Home of the brave!  So step up and vote for whom you want to, because nobody knows what buttons you hit when the poll curtain closes!

Donating Companies

If you have recently been contacted to donate to a political fund that you have donated to in the past, and "told" to donate a certain amount, you have become a victim if it is done with threat, intimidation, or fear.

Donations are not suppose to be threats or intimidation and should not risk your business.  Many business are hurting right now and cannot offer "free' money to politicians.  Nor should they be expected to. 

Some politicians have over $1 Mil in a war chest and could retire with that money in the system.  It is not needed for local elections which run under $20K.  This is called greed.

A new law has passed this year.  If you report this happening to your company, you could be entitled to a whistle blower fee.

This is the law below.  Please contact the Will County States Attorney to report this problem.

Bill Status of SB2551  96th General Assembly

Synopsis As IntroducedCreates the Public Corruption Profit Forfeiture Act and amends the Election Code. Provides for the forfeiture to the State of Illinois of proceeds and profits derived through violations of the statutes concerning intimidation by public officials, bribery, or providing, attempting, offering to provide or soliciting, accepting, or attempting to accept a kickback, or including, directly or indirectly, the amount of any kickback prohibited in the contract price charged by a subcontractor to a prime contractor or a higher tier subcontractor or in the contract price charged by a prime contractor to any unit of State or local government for a public contract a kickback. Provides for distribution of the proceeds from forfeited property. Includes a continuing appropriation to the Department of State Police. Effective immediately.
Senate Floor Amendment No. 1
Provides that all political contributions held by a political committee and controlled by a person convicted of the federal offenses of extortion, receiving the proceeds of extortion, bribery, and kickbacks shall be paid to the State of Illinois within 30 days from the date of entry of the guilty plea or conviction. Provides that if the prosecution or appeal was conducted by the Attorney General, then the amount provided for distribution of the forfeited assets shall be paid into the State Asset Forfeiture Fund in the State treasury to be used by the Attorney General in accordance with law. Makes changes in the bill to conform to Public Act 96-832. Effective January 1, 2011.
House Floor Amendment No. 1

	Adds reference to:
	30 ILCS 105/5.755 new

Further amends the Public Corruption Forfeiture Act. Provides that if the investigation, arrest or arrests and prosecution leading to the forfeiture or if the appeal were undertaken by the Attorney General, the portion provided hereunder shall be paid into the Attorney General's Whistleblower Reward and Protection Fund in the State treasury to be used by the Attorney General in accordance with law. Provides that all moneys deposited pursuant to the Act in the Attorney General's Whistleblower Reward and Protection Fund shall, subject to appropriation, be used by the Attorney General for State law enforcement purposes and for the performance of the duties of that office. deletes provision that moneys deposited into the State Asset Forfeiture Fund shall are appropriated on a continuing basis. Provides that all moneys deposited pursuant to the Act in the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Anti-Corruption Fund shall, subject to appropriation, be used by the Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor in the manner set forth in the Act. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Anti-Corruption Fund in the State treasury.