Not Slowing Down – DuPage Libertarians On Fire in 2015

You know with a loaded headline like that, we couldn’t possibly let you down.

In my last blog, I talked about all of our achievements in 2014, of which I am very proud of. This group has always been primed to do awesome things, and all I wanted to do was help be an igniter for all the fuel that has been waiting to be put to use.

Now that 2015 is here, it is time to see what we have on the agenda.

My first big goal was to actually run a candidate in a local election, and we are already underway with the election of Claire Ball for a College of DuPage trustee seat. As of now, there are 14 candidates running for three seats. Six of them are well-connected liberals, and seven are tea party conservatives. That leaves Claire right in the middle as the lone libertarian – and we like it that way.

With no big political party breathing down her neck, she can operate entirely off of her values and principles of fiscal responsibility and open transparency without anyone behind her telling her to do. She has already earned an endorsement from the Illinois Herald, combined with a great interview that can be read here at this link.

Other goals include being involved in more booth events, marching in five parades (up from last years’ four), fighting corruption that we come across in all facets of government, and starting the process to bring a referendum to a ballot in DuPage County to eliminate red light and speed cameras once and for all.

As I’ve said many times before, we are NOT slowing down.

Of course, we always need financial help; some of the events we do have an entrance fee for renting space, and promotional materials also get used up. Don’t hesitate to click that button in the top right and contribute what you can, if you can. If you are low on funds and can’t contribute (which we understand) then contribute in other ways, like helping run tables at our shows, marching in parades, and going door-to-door to help our candidates promote themselves.

I want to end this update by sharing a photo with you of Ron Paul, taken when he came to visit us in Illinois during his run for the presidency in 1988.

We have a great history here in Illinois, and a greater one in DuPage County. Help keep that history going. Thanks, and I hope to see you soon.

Here Is a List of All the Referendums On Every Ballot In DuPage County and its Towns for 2014

Below list of the propositions on the ballot for Illinois as well as all the towns residing in DuPage County. We’ve included our basic thoughts on each of these, but of course, each vote is ultimately up to the voter who lives in each town. Some of the propositions we didn’t issue opinions on – these we felt were specific only to residents of the town, who would know the situations best. All of our opinions are in italics. Stay informed.

NOVEMBER 4, 2014, GENERAL ELECTION – PROPOSITIONS

STATE OF ILLINOIS
“NOTICE THE FAILURE TO VOTE THIS BALLOT MAY BE THE EQUIVALENT OF A NEGATIVE VOTE, BECAUSE A CONVENTION SHALL BE CALLED OR THE AMENDMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE IF APPROVED BY EITHER THREE-FIFTHS OF THOSE VOTING ON THE QUESTION OR A MAJORITY OF THOSE VOTING IN THE ELECTION. (THIS IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A DIRECTION THAT YOUR VOTE IS REQUIRED TO BE CAST EITHER IN FAVOR OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSITION HEREIN CONTAINED.) WHETHER YOU VOTE THIS BALLOT OR NOT YOU MUST RETURN IT TO THE ELECTION JUDGE WHEN YOU LEAVE THE VOTING BOOTH”.

CONSTITUTION BALLOT PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE 1970 ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION
The proposed amendment makes changes to Section 8.1 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution, the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. The proposed amendment would expand certain rights already granted to crime victims in Illinois, and give crime victims the ability to enforce their rights in a court of law. You are asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should become part of the Illinois Constitution.

Our recommendation: VOTE YES (While we’d prefer to see this as  an individual law, we still believe it is a good idea and can stand by the amendment)

For the proposed amendment of Section 8.1 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution.
CONSTITUTION BALLOT PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE 1970 ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION
The proposed amendment adds a new section to the Suffrage and Elections Article of the Illinois Constitution. The proposed amendment would prohibit any law that disproportionately affects the rights of eligible Illinois citizens to register to vote or cast a ballot based on the voter’s race, color, ethnicity, status as a member of a language minority, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or income. You are asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should become part of the Illinois Constitution.
For the proposed addition of Section 8 to Article III of the Illinois Constitution.
“Shall the minimum wage in Illinois for adults over the age of 18 be raised to $10 per hour by January 1, 2015?”

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (This will increase the number of unemployed by pricing people out of the job market, it will create a massive inflation in Illinois and it will chase business out of the state.)

“Shall any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides prescription drug coverage be required to include prescription birth control as part of that coverage?”

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (The price of insurance, and health care itself, will increase for all people in Illinois)
“Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to require that each school district receive additional revenue, based on their number of students, from an additional 3% tax on income greater than one million dollars?”

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (There isn’t a sound spending plan in place to do anything with these supposed additional funds, it will be government waste at best. Additionally, this is likely to chase wealthy people, investors and business owners away from Illinois, they will stop spending their money here and stop employing people here, which will ultimately lead to less taxes being paid)

VILLAGE OF BENSENVILLE
Shall Congress direct the City of Chicago to initiate and conduct a Part 150 Noise Compatibility Plan in connection with the newly opened runway, 10 Center/28 Center and the additional runway anticipated to be commissioned in the fall of 2015, 10 Right/28 Left, to identify and implement noise mitigation resulting from the increased impact from aircraft operations at O’Hare International Airport?
Shall Congress enact legislation that requires the Federal Aviation Administration “Fly-Quiet” restrictions, now voluntary upon the airlines, be made mandatory to require airlines to reduce airport noise between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., for those Airports located in close proximity to residential properties?
Shall the Illinois General Assembly enact legislation which establishes a Community Noise Equivalent Level metric for airport noise that accounts for increased sensitivity to airport noise in residential areas from 7:00 o’clock p.m. to 10:00 o’clock p.m.?

VILLAGE OF BLOOMINGDALE
Shall the Village of Bloomingdale request the United States Environmental Protection Agency or other appropriate federal agency to enforce the regulations of the Noise Control Act of 1972, 42 U.S.C. 4901, et seq., against aircraft which violate them?
Shall the current Federal Aviation Administration “Fly-Quiet” restriction, now voluntary upon the airlines, be made mandatory to require airlines to reduce airport noise between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.?
Shall the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission increase the residential sound-proofing in residential areas in the Village of Bloomingdale near Chicago O’Hare International Airport to remediate aircraft noise?

VILLAGE OF BURR RIDGE
ADVISORY PROPOSITION TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE VILLAGE OF BURR RIDGE SHOULD COMPENSATE CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICIALS
Shall the Village President (Mayor) of Burr Ridge, who receives a stipend of $6,000 per year, and the Burr Ridge Trustees, who receive a stipend of $3,000 per year, continue to be compensated?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (Government serving the public should be volunteer work)

VILLAGE OF CLARENDON HILLS
Shall the Village of Clarendon Hills in order to preserve its historic small town charm maintain building heights at two stories or 30 feet (whichever is less) and no PUDs in the downtown as is consistent with Hinsdale, Illinois?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (Shouldn’t communities be allowed to evolve at the demand of citizens’ spending and renting desires? This will only create another layer of regulations to hold back businesses.)

VILLAGE OF ITASCA
Should Congress pass a law that requires the Federal Aviation Administration to revisit the criteria it uses to create the “noise contours” that determine which residences near airports across the country are eligible for noise mitigation?
Shall the current Federal Aviation Administration “Fly-Quiet” restriction, now voluntary upon the airlines, be made mandatory to require airlines to reduce airport noise between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.?

VILLAGE OF VILLA PARK
PROPOSITION TO ISSUE NOT TO EXCEED $23,000,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS
Shall bonds in an amount not to exceed $23,000,000 be issued by the Village of Villa Park, DuPage County, Illinois, for the purpose of paying costs of street and related improvements throughout the Village and expenses incidental thereto, said bonds bearing interest at a rate not to exceed 5% per annum?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (Stop wasteful government spending – taxes are already paid to the city for street improvements; where did that money go? There should be more transparency and elimination of waste before more money is spent.)

CITY OF WOOD DALE
Shall the City of Wood Dale request the United States Environmental Protection Agency or other appropriate federal agency to enforce the regulations of the Noise Control Act of 1972, 42 U.S.C. 4901, et seq., against aircraft which violate them?
Shall the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission increase the residential sound-proofing in residential areas in the City of Wood Dale near Chicago O’Hare International Airport to remediate aircraft noise?
Shall the current Federal Aviation Administration “Fly-Quiet” restriction, now voluntary upon the airlines, be made mandatory to require airlines to reduce airport noise between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.?

UNINCORPORATED DOWNERS GROVE TOWNSHIP
PROPOSITION TO AUTHORIZE THE TOWNSHIP TO CONTRACT, ADMINISTER OR LICENSE A REFUSE COLLECTION, DISPOSAL AND RECYCLING PROGRAM
Shall Downers Grove Township be authorized to contract, administer or license a refuse collection, disposal and recycling program on behalf of the residents of the unincorporated areas of the Township, pursuant to Section 85-13(f) and Article 210 of the Township Code?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (Keep the government out of your garbage – why are we inviting the government into every single aspect of our lives? This will only lead to future laws to will create fines for not meeting certain criteria that will be created at a later date. Citizens can make these choices for themselves.)

BUTTERFIELD PARK DISTRICT
PROPOSITION TO ISSUE $2,985,000 PARK BONDS
Shall the Butterfield Park District, DuPage County, Illinois, acquire, maintain, improve and protect the land at the Northeast corner of Illinois Route 56 and Illinois Route 53 for nature areas, open space and park and recreation purposes, improve trails, outdoor park amenities, gardens and passive recreation areas, accessibility, safety, and programming space for children and adults throughout said Park District and issue its bonds to the amount of $2,985,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?
Our recommendation: VOTE NO (This is wasteful government spending which will lead to property tax increases.)

GLEN ELLYN PARK DISTRICT
PROPOSITION TO ISSUE $13,500,000 PARK BONDS
Shall the Glen Ellyn Park District, DuPage County, Illinois, construct and equip an indoor aquatic facility and issue its bonds to the amount of $13,500,000 for the purpose of paying the costs therof?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (This is wasteful government spending which will lead to property tax increases. Lower regulations and make it easier for a private waterpark to open in Glen Ellyn.)

LEMONT PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT
PROPOSITION TO ISSUE $2,800,000 LIBRARY BONDS
Shall the Lemont Public Library District, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, repair, remodel and improve, furnish necessary equipment and acquire electronic data storage and retrieval facilities for, build an addition to and improve the site of the existing library building and issue its bonds to the amount of $2,800,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO ( This is wasteful government spending which will lead to property tax increases. Why spend millions when all of our citizens have access to the internet – even the poorest of people have iPhones)

COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 201
PROPOSITION TO ISSUE $26,000,000 SCHOOL BUILDING BONDS
Shall the Board of Education of Westmont Community Unit School District Number 201, DuPage County, Illinois, improve the sites and the safety and security of and alter, repair and equip school buildings and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $26,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (This is wasteful government spending which will lead to property tax increases. Safety for $26 Million dollars? Who’s getting rich on this job? This sounds less like a way to improve safety and more of a way to funnel taxpayer dollars into a well-connected business.)

HINSDALE TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 86
DISTRITO 86 DE ESCUELAS SECUNDARIAS DEL MUNICIPIO DE HINSDALE
Shall the Board of Education of Hinsdale Township High School District 86 continue to offer eligible teachers the opportunity to earn six percent (6%) salary increases in each of four (4) school years prior to retirement?

Our recommendation: VOTE NO (This is wasteful government spending which will lead to property tax increases. This will significantly increase the cost of education without any improvement to curriculum or student’s quality of education. This will make massive pensions become even more bloated without additional funding – hasn’t anyone in Illinois been paying attention to the pension crisis??)

Bruce Rauner, It’s Time For You To Come Clean

I, Brian S. Lambrecht, Chair of the DuPage Libertarians and the top volunteer signature collector in the state who personally testified at the State Board of Election this past month, am demanding that you, Bruce Rauner, come out and explain how your campaign can operate such disgusting and reprehensible tactics against another political party under your own nose without you being aware of it.

By now, we all know about the strong-arm tactics used by the GOP in their effort to throw us off the ballot. We are also aware of the armed private investigator that stalked petition circulators and visited the homes of registered voters who signed our petitions. Morrison Security, who was hired to provide the private investigators, is owned by Sean Morrison, who is also a Cook County Deputy Chairman, Palos Township Republican Committeeman and member of the Republican Party’s State Central Committee. The ties are pretty obvious to see.

Yet somehow, Mr. Rauner, you were never aware of this. After we turned in almost 43K signatures to the State Board of Elections on June 23rd, 2014, we were challenged for almost two straight weeks to defend them. When we survived that, you then went after petitioners themselves and the registered voters who signed our petitions.

You only denounced the activity after your camp had lost its battle with us at the Board of Elections and were called out by the tactics used, stating: “I’m appalled by the behavior I read about. I absolutely reject it and would never condone it. It’s terrible. I don’t know if it’s true, but I would never accept it. I’m outraged by what I’ve read.”

Your own spokesman Mike Schrimpf said that “Bruce wants as many people engaged in the political process as possible.” On that issue, we agree.

While the idea of you being oblivious to your own party’s actions is a bit hard to swallow, I am giving you the benefit of the doubt. If you stand by the things you’ve said, and you expect us to honestly believe that you are appalled by the actions that were undertaken to remove us from the ballot, then step forward and explain how this all happened unbeknownst to you. Further Mr. Rauner, I call on you to publicly join the Libertarian Party in demanding a full criminal investigation of this shameful conduct by law enforcement. If you are truly “outraged” and “appalled” as you say, then joining our call for a full investigation should be easy for you.

As you’ve stated many times, you are not a career politician; you are a businessman. Being successful in business requires building solid relationships on a foundation of trust. If you want to prove that you will “shake up” Springfield and clean up the corruption, then start with your own party and your own campaign. I am opening up to you and willing to listen.

You should be forthcoming with a clear explanation of how this has happened. You owe an explanation to us, to the citizens and voters of Illinois and to anyone who ever wants to get involved in the political process anywhere in America.

DuPage Libertarians More Active Than Ever!!

The DuPage Libertarians have been much more active this year. We started out by producing several videos that depicted the importance and challenges of the Petition Drive, we hosted several Candidate Workshops which proved very beneficial to the candidates and the state party as a whole for a multitude of reasons, we’ve done several outreach events that include everything from gun exhibitions to attending debates, and we’ve been leading the way in signature gathering in the state (as of the date this was published).

One more recent thing that we did was host a Petition Drive Fundraiser to help raise cash for the Petition Drive in Illinois. Collecting signatures for third party candidates in Illinois is such a daunting task, that while many signatures are gathered by volunteers, others are collected by paid professional petitioners. That requires money.  So the DuPage Libertarians set up an event at Club Amore, a bar in River Grove, IL just outside Chicago, with live music and an auction of many nice things to raise money.

The event was a success! Five statewide candidates attended, as well as one local representative, who all gave speeches, conducted interviews and worked the crowd talking to supporters and potential voters. Candidates included Chris Michel for Secretary of State, Julie Fox for Comptroller, AJ Cummings for Lt. Governor, Chad Grimm for Governor and Sharon Hansen for US Senate. Jonathan Parker, running for the 37^th district in the Illinois House of Representatives, also gave a speech and greeted voters.

Jim Goebel brought out recording equipment and conducted interviews with most of the candidates for his podcast program The Side Project hosted at RadioFUBAR.com – you can hear it live every Saturday morning at 9am Central time.

 

The live music of the night was performed first by acoustic musician Jason Kluss, followed by the much louder alternative punk rock stylings of NatureDevil. At one point, Lt. Governor AJ Cummings joined NatureDevil onstage from behind the drums, and the Illinois Libertarian 2010 candidate for Governor Lex Green played the bass.

Money was raised by the auction of many unique items, some of which were rare, others being unique to libertarian politics, while others were fresh baked and delicious. Ron Paul posters, economics books and an autographed graphic novelization of the first Constitutional Convention were popular with libertarian-minded buyers, while fresh baked cookies, cinnamon bread and even sugar-spice bacon were won over by the more hunger bidders. A few guitars, a pair of zombie slippers and Cubs tickets rounded out the auction to help with the overall fundraiser.

We would like to thank everyone, and we do mean EVERYONE, who came out and made the night a success. If you would like to get involved in more of our projects, don’t hesitate to contact us, follow us on twitter @DuPageLiberty or attend our meetings every third Thursday of the month at the American Tap Pub A Grill @ 701 W. Lake St. in Addison, IL at 7pm.

 

Photos taken by Jeni Floyd