Caucuses anything but democratic

Voters, not political insiders should decide on township candidates.

One of the most well paid elected offices in Illinois are Township offices and these offices are nominated not by an "open primary" as it is done for most all other elected officials but by an arcane two-step process. This consists of a closed meeting of the local political organization that picks the nominees and then a "caucus" which is theoretically open to the public votes on their picks.

The problem is the local political organization meeting is closed to the public and the "caucus" which is theoretically open to the public is not well advertised and only very minimum notices is given to the time and place when this caucus is held. As a result, only the insiders, employees and family of both usually attend these caucuses. This process affectively insulates voters from picking candidates, hides the process, removes voters from the nomination process, and puts this process in the hands of a small number of political insiders.

This, in effect, disenfranchises the voters by only allowing insiders, friends and family to make the picks and not the voters, effectively shutting voters out of the nomination process.

This voter disenfranchisement allows political insiders to create long term political fiefdoms of well-paid offices and access to well-paid jobs to be handed out by the township bosses to cronies and connected family and friends.

This slating and nominating process need to be changed to bring true democracy by allowing open primaries. Voters can start by contacting your local party leaders as well as your local state senator and state rep and demand they open up the process, now in place, and stop the disenfranchisement of selecting township government official supposedly closest to the people.

Mark Kmiecik

Wheaton