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…
Category: Political Campaigns
DeKalb Candidates’ Websites
Here are the websites I’ve collected so far for the candidates running for City of DeKalb offices and District 428 school board positions. Election Day is April 4 (not counting all of your early voting opportunities). DeKalb Mayor: Michael Embrey: Embrey for Mayor Misty Haji-Sheikh: Citizens for Misty Jerry Smith: Jerry for DeKalb DeKalb City…
Not a Trained Seal
It has come to my attention that I am being misrepresented as playing a role in a local political campaign. I am not working for any candidate. No one has solicited my support. As of today, nobody’s even asked for my vote. Don’t get me wrong. Every once in a while, a bright light manages…
Video of Mayoral Forum from DeKalb County Online
If you missed Monday’s forum for DeKalb mayoral candidates that Kiwanis presented on Monday, click here for video. Thanks, DCO.
What Kind of Municipal Elections Does City of DeKalb Have?
City of DeKalb candidates for municipal offices in the spring elections are not all using the same ballot petition forms. For example, of the four mayoral candidates, three of them are filing as “independents” and one of them filed a “nonpartisan” form. A similar pattern has occurred with the aldermanic candidates. There are differences. “Independent”…
Balancing a Budget through Neglect of Neighborhoods
In “Mayor’s View: DeKalb in Solid Financial Shape for 2017,” John Rey is claiming that DeKalb is in fine financial shape. This will be his campaign refrain, but it’s nonsense. DeKalb has been spending more than it’s been taking in, the steep rise in spending is primarily due to over-staffing, and the foremost casualty is…
Illinois Statutes Versus DeKalb Municipal Code in the Matter of the City Clerk
Just yesterday, we were comparing the positions of city clerk as practiced in Sycamore and DeKalb. You can see from that post that Sycamore and DeKalb treat their city clerks very differently, though this was not true in the past. To continue the comparison: Sycamore’s municipal code follows the applicable Illinois statutes, while DeKalb’s differs…
Sycamore Versus DeKalb: Comparison of City Clerks
Once upon a time, City of Sycamore and City of DeKalb had duly elected, full-time city clerks. Sycamore still has one. DeKalb’s, however, was destroyed in 2013. Low compensation and transfer of powers to the city manager’s office have deprived us of elected clerks and clerk candidates ever since. Whatever the city thought it was…
No, Daily Chronicle. The DeKalb City Clerk has Not Received a Raise
The compensation ordinance that will apply to our next city clerk has NOT received final approval. So there is no, or at least not yet, a “hefty raise” for the clerk as claimed by the newspaper today. It was only first reading. They only reveal this fact in the final sentence of the article. The…
Council on Track to Deprive Us of Another Election
On Monday, the city council discussed the compensation ordinance that will go into effect upon installation of the city’s elected officers in May. This was just the first reading. Passage is expected during the regular council meeting on October 25. Council at this point is on track to continue to deprive us of another election…