How much do you pay in taxes?

We spend 33% of our income on the government. In Illinois, we work until May every year just to pay taxes. After that we start earning money for our own food, clothing, and shelter.

This amount is scheduled to rise due to local politician corruption, raising of taxes, and the local municipal governments forgetting the main purpose of Government. 

"To protect our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Instead of the government focusing on these critical issues, they would rather be purchasing Golf Courses and housing properties the ability to qualify, costing tax payer money on lawsuits. 

So where do you stand? 

Should we downside our governments for pushing into our lives too much?  When they regulate things like fireworks and what you can do in your own homes and yards, is enough finally enough?  Where does it end?  For each regulation enforced, there is a cost to the tax payer.  Weigh in now!

How is Devon Hodges doing?

Devon is a bright kid.  He started college this month on a scholarship at Bradley.  We look forward to attending his games and watching him play. 

This kid endured some of the meanest teachers, coaches, and school officials that one must endure.  His last three months in Bolingbrook were just as bad as the few before, with the coaches STILL punishing him AFTER we exposed the story.

Devon was taking a class with the book keeper of the basketball team for his teacher.  Low and behold if this teacher did not do his best to push Devon to fail in the last quarter, attempting to hold him back from graduating.  He did this by withholding assignments and marking them as not turned in, and using public ridicule and humiliation in front of his classmates.  He went from a B-C student to straight F's.  The teacher refused to return calls from the parents asking what was going on, so when they probed, they found out his affiliation to the basketball mess that Devon was going through.  I mean, how much abuse did the school system allow this boy!

In any other school district, bullying is NOT accepted behavior.  In Valley View, it is the norm for the teachers, coaches, and school board/ administrators to bully kids.  We just saw this recently with Casson Hale, who lost his scholarship opportunity so that the school secretary and the Valley view Superintendent could ensure their kids would get the scholarships. 

Had it not been for Ms. Breen and Ms. Cowie's help and assistance, Devon's parents would have gone unheard and the teacher would have prevailed in the continuation of the bullying. Thank you to these two wonderful educators!

So the light at the end of the tunnel is that Devon graduated this month, went on to fulfill his dreams, despite the hurdles of our local authorities. 

However, consequences will arise for these bullies.  No bad deed goes unpunished, and this young man and his family will ensure that this injustice will not happen to another child again.  I can hear it in their convictions and I believe in them.

Blago Leads Quinn to Push Reform

In the wake of Blago's 17 count indictement, Pat Quinn's office is cracking down on local officials and municipalities.  First, there will be push to reform the local laws.  Second, there will be consequences to actions.  All this came down the pipeline to us last night.
When does all this start? 
Today.

So I bet they would be curious to know that Bill Mayer, head of Du Page Township votes bi weekly to pay Call One's bills, even though he works for them in sales.  I bet they would love to know about the money laundering scheme to the cricket club which caused him to step down from the Cricket board, and soon, the fund transfers to H20, an organization he is the director of.  Yes, that is right, all on tax payer money.  Not to mention the $200K enabling garden he built to his top donor Roger Claar, who donates to him outside of election seasons.  Let's not forget that he takes money from Orange Crush and other questionable sources as well.  This places his moral odometer at about 1 on a scale of one to ten, with one being the lowest.

We will stay on top of the Bolingbrook investigations as they work themselves through the Feds, Pat Quinn, and the new laws.  Stay tuned!

Casey Anthony Murder Trial expected to close up shortly

The Casey Anthony trial has rocked the news.  The mother, who partied after the disappearance of her daughter, has shocking secrets.  For example, she was googling chloroform before the death.  Then she states that child drowned and she was abused.  Where will this circus end?

Experts say that if she gets the death penalty, it is unlikely it will be enforced.
We will keep you in tune!

Story about another Boy at Bolingbrook

Casson Hale was denied an opportunity to be submitted for scholarships when Mr. Mitchems secretary disallowed due process. 

Similar to our Devon Hodges story, this young man was allegedly running for the scholarship against Mr. Mitchem's son and the secretaries daughter.  While we wait on the hard hitting story, we will shed light into the situation.

Typically when an incident happens at BHS, a report is filed and the incident is brought to a Dean for investigation.  However, one day Mrs. Pawlowicz, Mr. Mitchem's secretary, was in the hall when a group of boys called her a Bitch.  She claimed she got an ID from one of the boys stating it was Casson Hale.  This is an allegation that the Hale family denies, claiming "What ID?"  The sad thing is that Casson might not have even been in school that day.

So instead of following the channels, she abused her privilege of vetting students for scholarships and removed him from the list.  time went by and when he found out, it was too late.

So Bonnie Alicea has offered to investigate this story for us and has submitted the following FOIA.  We will bring you more news as it arrives.

This is an official FOIA request. 

According to the Bolingbrook Patch on June 21, 2011, Casson Hale was denied eligibility to scholarship funds.  In this article, it points to:

1.     One of the boys supplied Hale's ID.

2.    The scholarship committee had already awarded the scholarships to other students

3.    Casson Hale’s application was deemed ineligible for as many as seven scholarships.

4.     Mitchem said he consulted with the scholarship committee and poured through each of the scholarships Casson Hale’s application was pulled from, comparing his application to that of the students who won the scholarship.

5.    In the end, Mitchem determined Casson Hale lost out on $500. He said in most cases, students who had yet to receive a scholarship would have won out over Casson Hale, who had already won several from the community.

6.    Pawlowicz was able to flag Casson Hale's application because she helps vet the candidates for the committee, Mitchem said. To be eligible for a scholarship, students must meet certain qualifications, including having a record of good behavior.

7.    “The mistake by the school was that assumption that it was him,” Mitchem said. “Had we not jumped the gun, what should have happened was the boy with Casson’s ID should have been written up on a referral, which would have been submitted to the dean [of students]. Then the dean would have called the young man in and he would have told him, ‘It wasn’t me.’ "Then we would have begun an investigation and ultimately determined it wasn’t him.” 

In lieu of this above reporting, I wanted to FOIA information about the above.

1.      Documentation of the incident written by Pawlowicz where the false ID was supplied, and actions taken to determine who the misbehaving children were. Is there proof that this ID turned in even existed?  If so, I want this document.  Is there a formal procedure in place for documenting incidences?  If so, I want this document as well.

2.     Date, time, and meeting notice of the scholarship committee, and name of board members that awarded the scholarships.  I also would like to know if teachers, administrators, or staff was there to give verbal or written input.  Therefore, meeting minutes, agenda’s, videos, emails, or tapes would all be sufficient for this FOIA request of this meeting.

3.     I would like a list of the scholarships and total amount to be awarded for each.  What were the requirements for the scholarships?  I would like this document.

4.     I would like a list of candidates that were considered by the school and the final list of whom was eligible.  The goal here is to determine how many students were removed from the opportunity by either Mr. Mitchem or Mrs. Pawlowicz. 

5.     Did anyone confirm Mr. Mitchem’s determination of the $500 that he claimed this boy could have won?  If so, I would like to see the document that shows someone else assisted in this decision.

6.     How many applications for scholarships has Ms. Pawlowicz flagged this year, and for the previous 5 years?  A list would be fine, but a number is all that is needed.

7.     Documents to show a meeting was called to discipline all parties involved.  This can include letters, emails, post it notes, meeting minutes, and formal documents that would show that someone was held accountable for this mistake.

I think it is fair to assume that the allocated time frame of 5 days would work in this matter.  I think it is also fair to assume that if it exceeds 50 pages, that it is requested for a waiver or reduction of fees since it is in the public's best interest and the purpose is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose or commercial benefit. 

Is Mr. Mitchem good enough for the Superintendent job?

Mr. Mitchem, former Bolingbrook High School Principal was named to be the next Valley View Superintendent starting July 1.  In order to be given this position, he has to jump through many loops, like going back to school to get his certification and endorsement papers before July 1. 

However, many residents are calling into question if he is the right man for the job.  As an acting superintendent, how has he done so far?

1.  Devon Hodges was denied a call back from Mr. Mitchem multiple times, even though he had restraint orders against a stalking Romeoville Coach, was kicked off a basketball team, and unfairly punished for residency.  Mr. Mitchem promised this teenager he would fix the problems, and offer letters of support, which Devon never received, hurting his chance of college scholorships.  This opened up VVSD to another lawsuit.  Oh, and just for reference, Mitchem's son was allowed to stay on the team and be available for college recruits, while Devon was not.

2.  Mr. Mitchem approved the hiring of two people to do the job of departing Faith Dahlquist, costing taxpayers another added top heavy admin salary.

3.  Mr. Mitchem's secretary was given the authority to yank applicants off of a scholarship list, while leaving Mitchems own son and the secretaries own daughter available to receive them.  Casson Hale, a Senior, was wrongfully denied the opportunity of these scholarships by the secretary.  This opened up VVSD to another lawsuit.

4.  Mr. Mitchem hired Fabby Williams to take over Bolingbrook High School as the Principal, yet Fabby was coming from a school as an acting Principal of a school only 10% of the size of Bolingbrook.  This school failed to make the grade and was on academic probation.  His first act as Principal two months ago was to slash 25% of the teachers, on his way out.  The true act of a coward is to make drastic changes and let someone else have to step in and oversee those changes.  Furthermore, who applies to other schools for a job when they just accepted a position to be a Principal elsewhere?  However, Mitchem has claimed full responsibility for this hire. 

5.  Mitchem believes that tests should be pass or fail, and that kids should pass something before they move forward.  This eliminates the grade point system and allows those with disabilities to have less structure and learning.  For example, if your daughter struggles in math, there is a good chance that your daughter will be stuck on one chapter for many months, while the other students are learning things that she might be able to understand.  Talk about focusing on our weaknesses instead of strengths!

So we open it up to the residents to determine if Mr. Mitchem was a good choice of hire to replace the stable and lovable Dr. Shofstal.  Who is responsible for Mr. Mitchem's actions?  Is it the school board?

 It is not to late to stop Mr. Mitchem from taking this position on July 1.  All companies have 90 day supervision policies and IL is an "At - Will" state. 

It is my opinion that Valley View has made the wrong decision, if what I have seen already, is going to be what I see over the next so many years.  Not even in office and made some drastic moves that will cost our district money!

Why is Bolingbrook still waiting for state money for our schools?

Because Illinois is Broke! 
There is no money to give and both political parties are to blame.  This is why so many Illinois voters are pushing independent candidates.

This excerpt is taken from http://www.illinoisisbroke.com/FAQs.aspx

How will this affect me?
The state already can't afford its annual pension contributions. In FY2010 and FY2011, Illinois had to borrow BILLIONS to make its statutory payments to the five state pension funds. Without reforms, these required pension contributions will grow every year and crowd out more and more critical services – such as education, public safety and health care for the poor. By 2045, pension contributions will eat up around 50% of the state's “Big Three” tax revenues (personal income taxes, corporate income taxes and sales taxes) – leading to radical cuts in other services or dramatic tax hikes.

The real answer lies in common sense reforms of these pension and retiree health care plans, reasonable reductions in other areas of the state's budget, and a multi-year plan to balance the budget.

Are reforms for current employees constitutional?

Our legal research, conducted by Sidley Austin LLP, concludes that nothing in the Illinois Constitution should be read to prohibit the State from lowering future benefits, so long as the State meets all its obligations for benefits already accrued and vested. Retirees and employees would lose nothing they already had earned.
Click Here to read entire Sidley Austin analysis.

How bad is the retiree-related debt for Illinois' public employees?

The pension and retiree health care debt and unfunded obligations associated with public employees is projected to be more than $140 billion by the end of Fiscal Year 2011 – ranking it among the worst in the nation in terms of debt per household. The Pew Center on the States studied the issue and found Illinois has the worst funded pension system in the nation. Some of the state's pension plans are only about 20% funded. If these funds fail – which is likely unless something is done – current employees will be left with nothing. No one wants that to happen in Illinois.

How did this happen?

The truth is politicians in both major parties, over many years, ignored the growing costs of these programs and pushed them off to future generations. They have ducked anything that resembled a hard choice.

Qualifications of an Elected Official

What qualifications do you feel an elected official in Bolingbrook must posses? 

Does the educational degrees factor? 
What about length of residency? 
Does having children assist in qualification? 
What about careers? 
Publishing's?
Knowledge of IL Laws?
What about general ability to serve others, rather then oneself?

So we took a look at the last two elections to determine what qualifications are necessary in Bolingbrook, since this has been a hot topic in the last two years.

Local positions have the following requirements by law.  You must be 18 years of age.  You must be a US citizen.  You must be a resident of the village for one year up to the election and a registered voter.  The law does not state any of the above questions need to be answered.

So when did Bolingbrook residents lose control? 
We took a look at who has run for elections recently and who is sitting in office.  Sure, some of the Trustees have "High School Diploma's" and not much else.  Sure they are long time residents.  So why would their political team attack credentials of candidates running against them?  Credentials that make their credentials look like nothing?  It is called political madness in Bolingbrook. 

They created a political attack against likely candidates to mud sling, and finding nothing to attack the candidates on, they stomped on high education and high work experience.  This is what we would call "a "stupid" move.  Did they never think we would point out their lack of education or work experience?

For example, look again at the questions stated above.  Now compare this to Bonnie who held a Phd abd, has lived in Bolingbrook for over 30 years, is a mother of two, knows her laws, is well published and her careers are working in the Fortune 10 as a top leader.  Does this not rank as the highest levels one could achieve according to those questions above? 

So the attackers drive this frenzy to question her PhD in hopes it would dissuade voters.  They forget that none of the other Trustees hold this high of degrees.  Matter of fact, they don't even hold a Master's like she has.  So they focused their attack for having a PhD, abd.  Regardless, a PhD abd means she took all her PhD coursework and passed all her comprehensive exams, which less then .5% of the population is able to do.  They failed to inform people that she was still finishing her publishing, and has since then.  Yet, the same people promoted Mr. Mitchem who was told to go back to school to get his degrees.  Whereas Bonnie had essentially finished her degree and passed all her exams.  It was her choice if she wished to pursue another publishing.  It had nothing to do with quitting, not making it, or other words they told people.  This lie spiralled out of control for the past two years.

Many residents stupidly jumped on this bandwagon and joined in, forgetting that the other elected officials running against her held only High School Diploma's.  It was an effective campaign for the other team, but would only stand to hurt other Republicans future chances of running for office.  Now they have set the standards that people that run must hold full PhD's, plus hold all other requirements that Bonnie held in order to run, plus some.  So now we have these "Bonnie haters" running around, all stewed up by false information supplied during an election, and they don't even know why they hate her.  It is because they jumped on the bandwagon without opening their eyes.

These band wagoners never stopped to look at qualifications of whom they were voting for and only did what they were told to do when voting, which was vote incumbent.  They became rubber stamp voters to match the rubber stamped Trustees they voted for. 

Now let's look at Bob Bowen.  Bob is a top exec for a Fortune 500 company and holds a Master's Degree.  Rhonda Reed Slaughter also holds an Accounting degree.  Joe Napionello holds a Master's degree.  All these individuals were higher qualified and hold more workplace experience then the trustees that have a high school education.  Right?  Did they get voted in?  Nope.

Let's look at the incumbents. 
Leroy Brown's education states an Arkansas College but no degrees earned.  He holds a high school diploma, and is the deputy mayor and head of school security, making big bucks on tax payers. 

Carol Penning holds a high school diploma.  AKA, she holds a high school diploma and makes $70K or so a year.

Pat Shanks holds a high school diploma.

Rick Morales holds a BA degree

Joseph Morelli holds a high school diploma and something called a degree in tooling at a manufacturing institute, which does not state a BA/BS degree.

Mike Lawler holds a high school diploma and has studied communications, but no degree is listed.

Sanda Swinkunas holds a BA in Education and a Masters in Gifted Education.

So to sum it up, 5 of the 7 elected officials that criticized Bonnie's PhD, Bob and Joe's Masters all held high school diploma's.  The other two held degrees irrelevant to their duties.

So the next election, stakes will be high and people will know that the one's running Bolingbrook are not highly educated.  People will also know that those that jumped on the band wagon criticising one's education when they held lower educational achievements, will be seen as ignorant. 

And people wonder why we defended the candidates?  Because they were more qualified to serve the residents in every way, not just in education, but experience and servitude. 

When will the Drew Peterson "hype" end?

The media loves to sensationalize Drew's case.  The neighbors and family mourn for the lost one's.  Will this circus ever end?  Now there is a movie coming out!

I think it is a disgrace when the media and the producers make a man sensationalized for being accused of murder. 

Let's stop a minute and think about this.  If someone was capable of killing someone, stuffing their body into a barrel, disposing the body, and lying about it for years while family members and children grieve for the loss, who are we to give them any attention?  Turn your nose the other way and walk away.

Some might say, "well the BR wrote a story recently about Drew".  We would point out that it was because a potential murderer, who held rank in our community, still gets our tax money.  However, we are not sensationalizing him for who he is.  We oppose giving him our tax money so he can pay for his attorney to try to get him released from the charges against him.  We know it is not fair to assume he is guilty without his trial, but we have spoken with neighbors and others involved and find his behavior before the murders wrong.  He has a history of the Bolingbrook PD covering his butt when Stacy called to complain about domestic abuse.  His actions have not been spoken about by the Mayor or the Police, and they continue to give him our tax dollars, because they claim he is eligible until he is found guilty. 

But it is our opinion, that Bolingbrook residents should turn their backs to the media and producers that sensationalize his story.  Contribute to your community by showing support for the many, many residents affected by this disaster.  The neighbors, family, friends, and tax payers who got screwed by Drew.

Humor and Ronald Regan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK3Eo9cScEQ&feature=youtu.be

We normally do not post You Tube video's, but we found this one funny for all political parties...
Take a minute out of your day and have a laugh!  If your into politics, pass it along!