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....