Experience, knowledge define candidate
Vernon Township needs a supervisor with experience in township government and who has ideas that will benefit our community. That's why I'm voting for Daniel Didech to be our next supervisor.
He is a municipal attorney who provides legal counsel to several township supervisors in the Chicago suburbs, so he knows exactly what it takes to run a township government. Not many people have worked this closely with multiple townships, so this really sets Daniel apart.
Daniel will use that experience to implement his ideas for our community. I am especially excited about his proposal to expand Vernon Township's "Rides for Seniors" program. He wants to provide free rides for seniors to any doctor's appointment. This will be an especially useful service in the winter when the roads are icy.
He also talks a lot about fighting for fair property taxes. Getting property taxes under control will be tough, but if anyone can do it, it will be someone with Daniel's passion to help our community.
I also admire that Daniel is running a positive campaign and is talking about his vision for our community. I've read several letters to the editor submitted by supporters of his opponent, and the negative and partisan tone doesn't sit well with me. Especially in local politics, I think everyone should try to avoid the partisan sniping and give us something to vote for, not just something to vote against.
For these reasons, I encourage our neighbors throughout Vernon Township to elect Daniel Didech to be our next supervisor.
Nissen Vexler
Buffalo Grove
Transparent, responsive
I have lived in Cary over 20 years. With the forthcoming mayoral election, I am writing to support Mr. Jim Cosler. He is very transparent. Anyone who asks him a question, gets an answer. Mr. Kownick wants to invest in the downtown area with "downtown streetscape improvements." I believe that cost was over $1 million dollars.
We don't need new sidewalks or streetlights. We need the money to support the police pension, which I believe is underfunded by around $10 million. Mr. Jim Cosler's landslide win for a trustee seat two years ago spoke for change and transparency in local government. He handily defeated people who were supported by Mr. Kownick. Let's vote for Mr. Cosler again.
Robert C. Heldmann
Cary
Mundelein Matters … to whom?
On March 16, I sent an email to the all the members of the Mundelein village board inquiring about the future of the old village hall building. I asked to hear back from each of them in an attempt to determine if the board was in sync on an issue that has been looming since the new village hall opened its doors in June of 2014.
I sent my email at 10:12 a.m. Responses are as follows: 10:19 Mayor Lentz - RFP will be issued soon; 11:10 Trustee Kim - It's going to be put up for sale; 12:41 Trustee Semple - RFP will be issued soon.
No response: Trustee Abernathy, Trustee Norton, Trustee Rekus, Trustee Russell
It should be noted that I waited until the following Tuesday, March 21st, to pen this letter.
To the issue at hand, why did it take nearly three years to get to the point of issuing an RFP? Do we really need to solicit bids to sell an old (don't get me wrong, I do understand the historical significance of the place) dilapidated building? Could this lethargy be one reason why Mundelein can't seem to attract businesses to town?
And to those trustees who chose not to respond … good luck with your re-election bids. I know I won't forget. And I'll see to it that your constituents don't either.
Of those four non-respondents, only one is up for re-election next month. I would recommend giving it some serious consideration before punching the ticket for her.
As for the other three. We've got two years to see how much Mundelein really matters to them.
Jeff Issel
Mundelein
Incumbents defied public on arts programs
Remember just a short time ago when the creative arts and cultural learning/appreciation were under attack right in Arlington Heights just as we are now seeing similarities unfold at the national level? That's right, the District 25 school board sat passively at the table as the administration decimated the middle school creative arts program. This was done even though present and retired staff, students and community members spoke out about their pride in having developed a school system that (with the exhaustive support of the staff) provided, in an exemplary fashion, children with all the tools that are important in a global society.
The current elections are our first chance since November to let all of our leaders know that we will not be shoved aside in the interest of a few with their own agendas and tunnel vision. Please vote. Let's respectfully but emphatically remove those incumbent District 25 school board members from office.
Thomas M. O'Rourke
Lake Zurich
GOP's long game to destroy health care
Paul Ryan, Tom Price and Mick Mulvaney are creating a story. Ryan, in particular, has been laying the groundwork for years and is now salivating at the opportunity to make his move. The idea is simple. And it's right out of Grover Norquist's "starve the beast" playbook. Starve the government department you want to kill of its financial resources, then, as it becomes less and less functional, point to it and say "See, it's not working!"
At stake right now is the ACA and Medicare/Medicaid. The GOP's game plan is to throw these programs into financial turmoil so they can then claim that cutbacks to benefits are necessary in order to prevent them from going broke, paving the way for privatization.
While it's true that the ACA is headed toward fiscal instability, with five states now having only one insurance option on the exchange and carriers in other states backing off because they aren't making enough money, this instability is intentionally being caused by the GOP. Marco Rubio kicked it off by attaching a poison pill rider to a must-pass budget bill, effectively cutting off tax money from the rich being provided to insurance companies during the first three years of the ACA.
A key component of the program, "risk corridors" incentivize insurance companies to stay in the exchanges by reducing their risk during those critical first few years when it's primarily the old and sick, the least of our brothers, who are the first to sign up. This money partially offsets high losses until more young and healthy people join and broaden the risk pool. Because yes, Paul Ryan, as you so thoughtfully explained to all of us in your PowerPoint presentation, this is precisely how insurance works.
The GOP has now set the stage for the president and others to loudly proclaim how Obamacare and Medicaid are collapsing, furthering their narrative and the end game of privatization and vouchers, otherwise known as coupons. But as all thrifty consumers know, coupons never come close to covering the cost of the item.
Stan Martin Jr.
Libertyville
Commissioner has been builder for safety
I met Martin McManamon on a cold February four years ago as he canvassed our neighborhood in his first election as Wayne Township Highway Commissioner. He asked "What can I do?" I said, "Build a trail." He said, "Tell me more."
Martin built the Schick Road Trail in his first year, paid for by a state grant, in a cooperative agreement with the Forest Preserve. Since then, he built a crosswalk on Schick Road within an expanded high school safe speed zone. The village of Bartlett continued the trail to Illinois Route 59, built a crosswalk with IDOT, and signed a route through Woodland Hills to Munger Road.
The Forest Preserve is now building Bartlett's first trail entrance into DuPage County's largest forest preserve across Munger Road extending the trail to the Illinois Prairie Path.
Martin then created the Township Bicycle Plan with recommendations to each of the villages in the township who have since endorsed the plan. Carol Stream built the Fair Oaks Trail in cooperation with the forest preserve and township.
In Martin's four years as highway commissioner he has worked cooperatively with many agencies, advocates, and residents to add to the trails that connect us to parks, schools, libraries, hot dogs, tacos, and ice cream shops. On a regional basis, he has filled gaps to take us to Busse Woods, Klein Creek Farm, Brookfield Zoo, Naperville, Aurora, DeKalb, Crystal Lake, and The Bean.
With 30 years of road construction experience Martin has supervised projects and mentored staff for significant tax payer savings. Please re-elect Martin McManamon as Wayne Township highway commissioner April 4. Martin has a true open door.
Terry Witt
Bartlett
Close Medicare screening 'loophole'
As a 19-year cancer survivor and a caregiver, I can tell you that the words "you have cancer" are life-changing. But thanks to better access to care, many more people are not only surviving this disease in 2017, they are thriving.
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and, in honor of it, I am asking Congressman Brad Schneider to co-sponsor the "Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act" (HR1017) to ensure seniors have access to lifesaving colonoscopies.
Currently, Medicare fully pays for routine colonoscopies for the purpose of screening. But if a polyp is found and removed during the procedure, the colonoscopy is categorized as a diagnostic exam, and the patient wakes up to a bill. This "loophole," which applies only to seniors on Medicare, can leave a patient with a bill that could be as much as $300 out of pocket.
The "Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act" in Congress would ensure seniors have the same access to colorectal cancer screening as others. This legislation could potentially save thousands of lives, reduce suffering and reduce cancer costs in Medicare.
Please join me in asking Congressman Schneider to co-sponsor this lifesaving legislation and spread the word about the importance of colorectal cancer screenings and access to them.
Maggie Powell
Volunteer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Waukegan