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Supervisor should stick to one job

It was reported in The Daily Herald that Diana O’Kelly, county board commissioner and recently elected Fremont Township Supervisor, said “in fairness to my constituents” she will stay on at the Lake County Board. She has had at least since last summer, when she joined the “Fremont United” slate to run for supervisor, to think about which job she wanted, and her implication to the public was either one or the other. In December she promised the Daily Herald, “I will not double-dip”.

For her, it is a win-win situation, but she was not straightforward with the voters about her true intentions. The supervisor job pays $67,000 and is full time. How many hours weekly will she be absent from Fremont Township attending the county board and forest preserve meetings? Diana O’Kelly might not call it “double-dipping”, nevertheless it’s not doing either job at 100 percent. Splitting her efforts between three jobs is shortchanging everyone in her district.

Her second promise is she will return her county board pay. Double-dipping isn’t limited to receiving two paychecks from the public coffers. Collecting two tax-funded pensions is equally inconsiderate of the taxpayers. The combined government pensions from a $40,000 salary plus a $67,000 salary is a lot more than most working people in Fremont Township could ever dream of. Is that what’s called the “Illinois way”?

We in Lake County should demand more of our elected officials. If we don’t, Lake County, and Fremont Township, may become like Cook County and the city of Chicago.

Ken Tekampe

Ivanhoe

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