Candidate Forum Sunday September 30th

On Sunday September 30, 2012 a meet and greet  will be held at 4:00 PM at the Oakbrook Terrace Park District, 1 S 325 Ardmore Ave., in Oakbrook Terrace.

This forum will include candidates who are running for the 46th Illinois House District,  DuPage County Board District 2 and DuPage County Circuit Judge.

The public is invited to attend as well as ask questions of the candidates.

I would like to thank the The York Township Precinct 108 Committee for all their hard work  and hosting this forum.

LWV Candidate Forum

There is a great opportunity for voters to see where the candidates for DuPage County Board District 2 stand on local issues.  The audience had excellent questions for the candidates ranging  from economic development, consolidation,  to board members salaries and benefits.  Don Kirchenberg, Candidate for DuPage County Forest Preserve gives a great 5 minute talk about the issues in his race.

The LWV Forum will be shown this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 PM on channel 6 for those living in Downers Grove.  For those in District 2 that reside outside Downers Grove or who can't catch the forum this weekend the forum will be streamlined on the Village of Downers Grove website at http://www.downers.us/  or simply click on the DGTV link below.

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Candidate Forums

Tonight the Downers Grove/Woodridge/Lisle League of Women Voters is hosting a Candidate Forum for District 2  DuPage County Board and Forest Preserve Commissioners.

Where:  The Village of Downers Grove - Council Chambers
              801 Burlington Ave
              Downers Grove, Il

The public is invited to attend.  The forum will be divided into two sessions:

DuPage County Board Candidates 7:00 PM to 8:15 PM

Forest Preserve Commission Candidates 8:20 PM to 9:00 PM

Following the forum, candidates have been invited to meet with the public between 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM.


UPDATE:
Thank you to the Downers Grove/Woodridge/Lisle League of Women Voters for hosting this most important forum.  Thank you to the Village of Downers Grove for the use of your facilities.

For anyone interested you can watch the forum on the following days on channel 6 in Downers Grove:

September 28th          7:00 PM
September 29th          7:00 PM
September 30th          7:00 PM
November 5th             TBA

On Sunday September 30, 2012 a meet and greet candidates will be held at 4:00 PM at the Oakbrook Terrace Park District.

This forum will include candidates who are running for the 46th Illinois House District,  DuPage County Board District 2 and DuPage County Circuit Judge.

The public is invited to attend as well as ask questions of the candidates.

Walking in Lombard

It was a beautiful day to be out walking and that is just what we did.  With a little help from the Addison Trail High School AP Government students we were able to knock on quite a few doors in Lombard.

We received positive feedback from those we spoke with and we reminded them to get out and vote on November 6th!  A big thank you to the students for their hard work!

Why DuPage County should adopt a Responsible Bidder Program

A simple step in savings taxpayers money here in DuPage would be for the County Board to adopt a Responsible Bidder Program.  A Responsible Bidder Program ensures that public dollars go to contractors that adhere to a set of accountability measures and bring well-trained employees to the job.

Some of the best contractors may not bid on a project due to favoritism or unqualified contractors bringing in a lower.  This is not good for the taxpayer.  With the RBP every contractor has equal opportunity.

Safety on the job saves the taxpayer money.  The RBP will call for all employees to have the necessary safety training and job skills.  It should be a priority that the county only hire contractors that have a proven safety record and training programs.

A RBP would require all contractors that bid on public jobs to comply with all laws with regards to doing business in Illinois. Some of these laws would be proof of Federal Employer Tax ID number or Social Security number.  Meet Equal Opportunity Employer requirements, show evidence of insurance coverage and pay prevailing wage.

A RBP is the best way for DuPage to ensure that there is fairness, protection, safety and value in the bidding process.

Great Opportunity for High School Students

Junior and Senior high school students are eligible to be election judges for the upcoming election on November 6, 2012.  If interested or for more information please contact your high school Social Studies teacher or   

Kathy Vana
DuPage Election Commissioin
630-407-5612

Kathy.Vana@dupageco.org

Thank you Lisle Township Democrats

Thank you to the Lisle Township Democrats for their sponsorship of the booth at Taste of Four Lakes.

This sponsorship allowed the Democratic Candidates running for office in DuPage to meet the citizens that we hope to represent come November.

I enjoyed talking with everyone at Taste of Four Lakes but one conversation with young man from the DuPage County Sheriff's office was the most enlightening.

My daughters and their friend volunteered to help the campaign and were great.  Good job girls and thank you!


UPDATE 9-17-12:  Tonight we had new face at the Lisle Township Democratic meeting.  A very  nice young lady that we talked with at the Taste of Lisle attended our meeting.  She is very enthusiastic about getting Democrats elected.   

DuPage County to Join National Effort to Improve Air Quality

Good call by the DuPage County Board.  It is important to give credit when credit is due. 

PRESS RELEASE

Contact Information: Johnna Kelly 630-407-6022

Thursday, September 13, 2012

DuPage Becomes First County in Illinois to Join National Effort to Improve Regional Air Quality

On Tuesday the DuPage County Board adopted a resolution stating it will participate in the Sierra Club’s Cool Counties initiative committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.

“DuPage County has long been a leader in environmental practices,” said Jeff Redick, chairman of the Environmental Committee. “The passage of this resolution cements the County’s commitment to common sense environmental policies that benefit the environment and provide much needed budget relief for County taxpayers.”

Through the Cool Counties initiative, DuPage County has committed to:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the county by 10 percent below the 2007 base level by 2020 and reduce by 20 percent by 2030;
• Continuing its efforts to lower the County’s campus-wide energy consumption;
• Forming an energy efficiency partnership with government and corporate partners; and

While the County Board is formally supporting the effort led by the Sierra Club, DuPage has made energy efficiency a priority for the past five years. For example, the County has reduced energy consumption by nearly 2 million kwh a year saving taxpayers more than $142,000 annually; and saved commuters nearly 460,000 gallons of fuel and approximately $1.7 million by implementing a traffic signal coordination program.

The County’s efforts have resulted in DuPage receiving the Governor’s Sustainability Award in 2011. It is the only county to receive the award.

The Illinois Sierra Club supports the County’s decision to join the nationwide effort to reduce energy consumption.   

“DuPage County is joining the state and county-wide network of Cool Cities created by mayors and Sierra Club members to improve energy efficiency and conservation, save tax payers’ money and reduce greenhouse gases. DuPage is the first county in Illinois to adopt the Illinois Cool Counties approach to sustainability and is setting an example for all to follow,” said Lonnie Morris of the Illinois Sierra Club.

DuPage Water Commission taking on Rahm Emanuel

Does DuPage Water Commission Chairman Jim Zay really want to take on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel?   Before we talk about Chicago lets talk about DuPage because this is where we live. 

I understand that DuPage Water Commission Chairman Jim Zay would like The City of Chicago to create a biannual report assuring DuPage that the revenue from water rate increases would be used to benefit the entire water system and nothing else.  Good luck with that.

I wonder where Mr. Zay was when the DuPage Water Commission continually lowered the water rates to the municipalities and gave the municipalities rebates totaling over 100 million dollars.  Mr. Zay never questioned what the revenue would be used for.  The municipalities received that revenue cart blanche.  As the municipal water rate went down, with the exception of Naperville, DuPage citizens water rate went up.  

Considering the low water rate and the generous rebates one would think that the municipal water systems would be in pristine condition and that they would have an adequate water reserve.  Many municipal  water systems are in need of repair and are lacking adequate water storage.  Naperville has the majority of the required amount of water storage in DuPage

While  serving on the DuPage Water Commission I was against and voted against the rebates and rate reductions for many reasons.  One reason was I wanted to be assured that the money from the generous rebates and rate reductions went  back to the residents in lower water rates and/or to know that the money was being used to maintain and update the water systems. 

When I asked for this to be a requirement from the municipalities before issuing the rebates and rate reductions  Commissioner Larry Hartwig from Addison told me “If I were a village administrator I’d tell you to take a hike.”  Well Chairman Zay, don’t be surprised if Mayor Emanuel tells you the same thing.

Instead of making demands on the City of Chicago,  maybe Chairman Zay should require the same from the municipalities here in DuPage.

I think it would be a good idea for Chairman Zay to require a report from the DuPage municipalities to ensure the large increases in DuPage water rates is only being used to maintain the water system and nothing else.

Foot Note:  Below is a section of the Contract Between the DuPage Water Commission and the City of Chicago.

The Contract between The DuPage Water Commission and The City of Chicago

reads as follows:

The Commission shall be responsible for there being provided and maintained at all times during the term of this Contract water storage within the COMMISSION’S SYSTEM and participating municipalities collectively of sufficient capacity to store not less than two times the annual average daily demand of the Commission members.  Operable shallow well capacity may be counted for up to 10% of the storage requirement.  

The COMMISSION SYSTEM shall be operated so as to properly utilize reservoir storage within the COMMISSION SYSTEM and its customer’s connections in such a manner as to assist the City in maintaining a balanced flow within the City System.

The COMMISSION agrees to keep the CITY informed of the total storage capacity between the COMMISSION SYSTEM and is customers collectively.

Taste of Four Lakes

On Saturday September 15th we will be at the Taste of Four Lakes.  Four Lakes is located in Lisle off of Maple Avenue between Main St and College Rd.   The event is from 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm.  There will be food, beverages, kids games and bands!  Please stop by the Democratic Booth.  You will have the opportunity to meet the great folks from the Lisle Township Democratic Organization as well as many candidates.

Hope to see you there!

Elmhurst League of Women Voters - Dual Duty

Tonight at 7:00 pm the Elmhurst League of Women Voters will be hosting their September meeting.  The scheduled topic for the meeting is Dual Duty: Serving Concurrently in Two Elected Offices.

The meeting will be held at the Elmhurst Public Library, 125 S. Prospect, Elmhurst.

This meeting should be  very informative meeting for the voters in District 2, as this as been the "hot topic" of the race.

DuPage County and the City of Elmhurst will ask voters to consider the issue on the November Ballot.

Please check out the League of Women Voters website for more information

http://www.lwvelmhurst.org/

Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation Forum

Thank you to the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation for hosting an excellent Candidate Forum.  The forum was for candidates running for DuPage County Board District 2, District 3 and District 5.

The forum was broadcast live on the City of Naperville government access channel, WCNC.  The forum has scheduled replays in the weeks leading up to the elections.  You can also watch "on-demand" at www.naperville.il.us/granicus.htm.

Part of being a elected official is showing up for public events and be accessible to the citizens.  I am proud to say that I was the only candidate from District 2 that was in attendance.

 

Voting Options

With the 2012 Elections fast approaching below are voting options.  

• Absentee Voting begins for General Election Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012

• Last Day to Register to Vote Tuesday, Oct. 09, 2012

• Grace Period Registration and Voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012

• Early Voting begins Monday, October 22, 2012 and ends Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012.

Anyone with family or friends on active duty over seas, the service member has to request their ballot by September 23, 2012.

Election Day Nov. 6 2012

Grace Period

Illinois law provides individuals who were unable to register to vote or change their address prior to the traditional deadline (28 days prior to an election) a "grace period" to register and vote.

The "grace period" is from the 27th day through the 3rd day prior to an election.

Registering to vote or transferring a registration and voting during the "grace period" may only be done in the Election Commission office, 421 North County Farm Road, Wheaton, Illinois.