DeKalb Township has begun posting its meetings on YouTube. In this video from Wednesday night, the township spends the first 20 minutes of its monthly meeting trying to put new township clerk Andrew Tillotson in his place for exercising his First Amendment rights. Trustees express concern about how the new township clerk’s public comments might…
Category: Local Campaigns
DeKalb County Clerk’s Office has released the final election counts
These are the numbers for the City of DeKalb races. Link to the posting in the City Barbs Facebook Group
Who gets my vote for mayor and why
Mayor Jerry Smith stood by while other city officials threatened, without cause, the imminent eviction of residents from their homes above Lord Stanley’s. Mayor Jerry Smith stood by as his city manager heaped insults and threats upon me and defamed me during council meetings. Mayor Jerry Smith has just endorsed Cohen Barnes for mayor. How…
Rockford aldermen promising to control themselves if voters give back home rule
***Update 3/21/2018: Home rule was rejected by nearly 54% of Rockford voters.*** Let’s start by reviewing what almost happened here a couple months ago. The city manager in DeKalb decided she wanted to raise the sales tax, claiming complete inability to balance a budget without it. Having the highest sales tax around is not the…
What we need in DeKalb is a new political party
Last year I looked into the type of municipal elections we have here in City of DeKalb, and learned that we technically have partisan elections, though we do not actually exercise the right to have parties and primaries. The idea’s been stuck in the back of my mind ever since. Now I’ve written about it,…
Contributions to Mayor Rey’s Campaign
A few weeks ago I argued that City of DeKalb will continue to fail at solving its problems until we elect leaders who understand and value public ethics. The apparent intertwining of city business with Mayor Rey’s campaign business reinforces my position. January 9: DeKalb city council approves the hiring of a consultant to help…
Cindy and Ed Must Be Part of Voters’ Conversations about County Tax Referendum
***Note: This was originally published in June 2016. I am posting an updated version today, since the referendum ended up on the April 4, 2017 ballot instead of last November’s.*** The DeKalb County Health Department is trying to persuade our county board to place a referendum on the November election ballot to begin levying a…
The Other Messages Candidates Send
A few days ago, I described an observation of a mayoral candidate who apparently doesn’t want to hear your complaint unless you have the solutions already worked out. This I take as disregard for the oath of office, specifically as concerns equal treatment for all.
This Election, Let’s Discuss Remedial Action for DeKalb
The Chronicle has published a letter to the editor that caught my eye. It’s about local candidates and their positions on the issues. The words that they use may change, but the rhetoric is the same. The writer goes on to list the same old, same old: DeKalb-NIU relations, easing of the tax burden, and…
Barb City Action Committee & TIF
There are honest people of good faith who belong to the Barb City Action Committee. There really are. However, it makes good sense to try to tease out the motives for any organized political action, especially one that launched itself out of nowhere and appears to have “shadow” members as well. Recently I donned my…