Normally, election prognostication columns are one of my favorite things, but with this election cycle truly testing my prophetic mettle, I’m not looking forward to dipping my toe into that muddied swamp.

Put more simply, not only would I like to preserve my 85 percent prescient track record, but some of y’all take far too much glee in reminding me of the few times I wuz wrong.

What I can tell you with reasonable certainly about these midterms is:

• There will be no local blue wave
• I wouldn’t count on a national blue wave
• There will be no real Hispanic turnout
• Non-voters still won’t vote

But there is a wildcard! If the current anti-Trump sentiment has motivated new and young voters to cast a ballot, that will change everything. But since they have no real voting history, applying a statistical model to forecast that turnout is pointless. Put more simply, we won’t know until we know.

With all of that in mind, and with some qualifying conditions, I’m gonna give it my best shot. Just be gentle with me when it’s over:

1. Governor

J. B. Pritzker by 18 points; 23 if young folks vote. Pritzker gets better at campaigning every day while Bruce Rauner looks as lost as he did at that Southern Illinois Trump rally.

2. Attorney General

Kwame Raoul by 20 points. With the unparalleled Madigan ground game behind him, Raoul will trounce Erika Harold, a truly terrible candidate.

3. Secretary of State

Jesse White by a landslide. Why Republicans waste their time running against him is beyond me.

4. Comptroller

Susana Mendoza by 20 points. People like Ms. Mendoza and I’ve neither seen nor heard a thing from Republican challenger Darlene Senger.

5. Treasurer

Michael Frerichs by 20 points. Again, Michael is a very likeable guy and his main opponent, Jim Dodge, is anything but. If Dodge ever did have a chance, Libertarian candidate Michael Laheney’s entry into the race put an end to it.

6. 6^th Congressional District

Casten by 3 points. If young voters show up, 8 points. Considering the vast GOP nature of DuPage County, I’m really going out on a limb here, but Peter Roskam’s failure to hold town hall meetings or effectively respond to constituents means he’s done. Casten has also run a campaign that hasn’t left those all-important swing voters out in the cold.

7. 8^th Congressional District

Raja Krishnamoorthi by 20 points. Raj is quite popular in his district and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of his Republican opponent.

8. 11^th Congressional District

Bill Foster by 25 points. He may be a completely worthless Congressman (and human being), but the district is highly Democratic and Foster is one of the few candidates who understands how to use voting statistics.

9. 14^th Congressional District

Randy Hultgren by 4 points; Lauren Underwood by 1 point if young people vote. This one was Underwood’s for the taking, but her poorly run campaign has been aimed solely at people who were already going to vote for her. And preaching to the choir gets you nowhere when you’re in the district’s minority party. That said, given her surprising primary victory, if she has been aiming at swing voters via some unseen method, she could win by 5 points.

10. State Senate District 33

Don DeWitte by 15 points. Ain’t no Democrat ever gonna win the 33^rd.

11. State Rep District 43

Anna Moeller by 25 points. Ain’t no Republican ever gonna win the 43^rd.

12. State Rep District 49

Tonia Khouri by 20 points. Ms. Khouri knows how to campaign and her Democratic opponent, Karina Villa, does not. Ms. Villa is listening to the Aurora Democrats which is the quickest way to lose an election.

13. State Rep District 50

Keith Wheeler by 15 points. Jim Leslie may be a tireless campaign worker, but it doesn’t matter because he’s run one of the worst campaigns I’ve ever seen. Constantly attacking your opponent over minor issues doesn’t work in local races.

14. State Rep 65

Dan Ugaste by 20 points. Ugaste signs are everywhere, but I’ve only seen three of Richard Johnson’s in the entire county.

15. 16^th Circuit Judge

Tom Hartwell by 10 points. Hartwell really should trounce opponent Michael Noland by twice that, but the extent of Noland’s contemptible behavior isn’t as well known outside of the Elgin area.

16. County Clerk

Jack Cunningham by 20 points. Being a perennial losing candidate has not helped Nico Jimenez at all and his campaign ethic does not impress me.

17. Sheriff

Don Kramer by 5 points; Ron Hain by 1 point if new and young voters turn out. Ron Hain should’ve run away with this one, but the Kane County and Aurora Democrats totally screwed him by running candidates against countywide Republicans they can’t possibly beat. This blitheringly stupid move forced those Republicans to mobilize and, though Kramer clearly doesn’t deserve the office, a rising GOP tide lifts all boats. If you want to snatch an election defeat from the jaws of victory, take advice from Democratic Vice Chairman Corinne Pierog.

18. County Treasurer

Dave Rickert by 40 points. I haven’t seen a single Jim Snelson sign anywhere and Rickert is a very astute campaigner.

For Kane County Board Races, I’m just going to pick the winner:

District 2 – Anita Lewis

District 5 – Bill Lenert

District 6 – Ron Ford – will actually win a write-in campaign!

District 11 – John Martin – by a landslide

District 13 – Steve Weber

District 15 – Barb Wojnicki

District 19 – Kurt Kojzarek

District 21 – Cliff Surges

District 23 – Jim Patrician

Now, it’s your turn to put your neck on the line and make your own predictions in the comments section. After that, get out and vote!

Survival as a journalist depends upon a capacity to harden your heart or follow in those Zen masters’ non-attachment footsteps. I’d like to think I fall into the latter category, but despite my best efforts, some news reports still get to me. To wit, two similar stories ripped my heart out and stomped on it last week.

The first involved a 21-year-old University of Utah track standout who’d taken compromising photographs with a boyfriend who turned out to be a 37-year-old sex offender. When they broke up as a result, he used those photos to shake her down for $1,000 and then he killed her after she went to the campus police six separate times.

He committed suicide when the police finally caught up with him and the University will have to explain how they could possibly let this one fall through the cracks.

While that one’s certainly gut wrenching, it’s the second one I’m having a really tough time with.

Through a chatroom, David Cottrell, a former law student who lives in Niles, Illinois, somehow convinced a seventh-grade girl to send him nude photos. Thinking she was anonymous, the girl complied only to be threatened with a child porn charge if she didn’t continue to provide more graphic videos and photographs.

David Cottrell

Cottrell, 28, coerced the middle-schooler into providing pictures and videos almost daily, which included making her stay up late to act out pornographic scripts and leave her classes to take nude pictures in the school bathroom. This went on for three long years until her parents finally found some of those transactions on her phone.

Cottrell, who plead not guilty to all charges, was remanded to federal custody where he faces a minimum of 15 years in prison if convicted. Considering the charges, my guess is he’s in isolation.

I may not have daughters, but I can’t comprehend how any human being could torture a 13-year-old girl in this heinous a manner. There’s gotta be a special place in hell for Cottrell, and my fondest wish is his inevitable jail time comes as damn close to one of Dante’s inner circles as possible.

But despite harboring a vast amount of sympathy for the two victims and especially for their parents, we both know that a senseless death and three years of torment might have been avoided if those nude photos didn’t exist.

All I can say is, I’m glad cell phones weren’t available in 1971.

The first problem is, even if you consent to sending graphic photos of yourself, if you’re underage, it may well mean a child porn charge for the sender and the recipient. That’s a quick 4 to 15 years in prison.

The second issue is, blinded by that sense of blissful sense of youthful invulnerability and/or being in love, teenagers quickly forget that nothing ever goes away on the Net – and that includes emails and texts. All it takes is a bad breakup, and most of our early relationships end poorly, and those pictures go up on a revenge porn site or worse.

Not to mention they can simply be passed around by someone who’s a bit more callous than you might like to think.

Third, a good friend just told me, “There’s no such thing as anonymity anymore,” and he’s right. One of the things I’ve learned in 12 years of journalism is that, give me a scant 15 minutes, I can find out virtually anything about anybody. Getting something as simple as an address is child’s play. And we’re not talking any kind of hack either. Most of it’s already out there. It’s simply a matter of knowing how and where to look.

If you do make a mistake and someone does post those kinds of pictures online or attempts to blackmail you, please, please, please, go to a parent, counselor, or law enforcement agency. Of course, your parents won’t be happy about it, but we’ve all made blunders we’d rather forget, and I can tell you that protecting our children from predators is far more important than prosecuting an error in judgement.

Trust me, your parents will support you in this regard.

Though it certainly feels like another case of spitting into the wind, my fondest wish is that every parent, and every middle school and high school teacher, will impart those two terrifying news stories to their young charges. It’s hard to believe that a couple of photographs could spiral out of control like this until the evidence proves that it can.

I understand it’s not easy to entertain certain unpleasant realities. When I think about the “dangers” we faced growing up in the 60s, it’s remarkable to consider that predators can enter your child’s life directly through a device in their back pocket. That’s why it’s so important to talk to them about the dangers of sending nude photos and so many other of our fascinating 2018 parental challenges.

Because to lose a daughter and to have another daughter endure three years of agony over the briefest of lapses is beyond sad and incredibly difficult to comprehend.

This is why Republicans can’t win in Illinois

With the friendliest poll numbers putting him 13 points behind J. B. Pritzker, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner is resorting to the same sort of silly shenanigans that will ensure the Springfield Democratic supermajority will be sustained.

His latest TV ad, entitled ‘Unholy Union,’ features the backs of two well-dressed men facing a minister at the altar. The clergyman says, “Repeat after me. I, Mike Madigan, take you, J.B. Pritzker, as my unlawful partner in destruction, to raise property taxes, corrupt government and bankrupt Illinois’ future.”

To which the Madigan character responds, “Done,” while the Pritzker stand-in says “Deal.”

The minister continues; “And I, J. B. Pritzker, take you, Mike Madigan, to honor and obey till death do us part.”

“Always have; Always will.” the faux Pritzker replies.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce Illinois bleeped,” the minister concludes mouthing a F-bomb directly into the camera.

First, the tired old anti-Madigan Republican mantra doesn’t work. Illinois voters want a lot more solutions and a lot less blame. As the Governor himself said in 2014, “If I don’t change the state in four years, throw me out.”

And that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.

Second, this kind of messaging is called a “dog whistle” ad because it’s true intent is to scare the conservative voters who’ve long since abandoned Rauner for third party candidate Sam McCann. C’mon! Do you really think the depiction of a same-sex marriage was an accident?

Not only will this tactic fail to rescue Rauner from being relegated to political oblivion, but its radiating ripples will help doom Illinois’ Republican chances for years to come. I keep saying it! Illinois is a purple state and shrieking about social issues won’t get you very far.

I’m gonna keep saying this, too! If the Illinois GOP wants to beat Mike Madigan, they need to put a lot less effort into lip service and a lot more effort into creating the kind of ground game that gave the Dems a supermajority in the first place.

Just don’t do it!

My wife and I have a running gag called ‘Things you thought you’d never have to say.”

For example, when they were younger, I had to tell one of my sons to stop licking his brother. Then there was the time I had to explain why putting cereal up your nose is a bad idea. Just last week I had to tell the new dog not to pee on his sister.

It’s along those very same lines that I suddenly feel obligated to call on my Caucasian counterparts to stop calling the cops on folks for breathing while black. It’s not that I’m necessarily responsible for my race (and I’m an honorary Mexican anyway), it’s that I’m tired of having to read the weekly story on the latest loon setting our race back 200 years.

To wit, white people have dialed 911 to report blacks who were:

• Barbecuing
• Babysitting white children
• Accidentally brushing a woman with a backpack
• Going to a public pool
• Sitting a seat away while flying
• Napping in a dorm lounge
• Shopping
• Leaving an Airbnb
• Taking a college tour
• Golfing
• Sitting in Starbucks

Just don’t do it!

And when your ridiculous rant goes viral, insisting that you’re not racist while claiming that one of your best friends is black really doesn’t help matters, either.

The next sentence I never thought I’d have to issue is, “Men need to stop groping women on airplanes!” There have been three separate airplane groping news accounts in just the past six months.

What the hell is wrong with you people? Despite whatever adult movies might depict, most women don’t like being randomly grabbed by anyone, much less a stranger. And there’s no place to hide on an aluminum tube hurtling through the upper reaches of the atmosphere at 600 mph, either.

Just don’t do it!

Of course, airlines might want to consider not overserving passengers on long flights, but that’s a column for another day.

All I can say is, to quote a short story character in the Atlantic Monthly, “Sometimes I wonder if the whole world isn’t an idiot asylum for the castaways of happier planets.”

Yes! Judge Dalton really said that!

As is always the case, whenever we cover John Dalton, a miserable excuse for a judge and a human being, a slew of new emails inevitably arrive detailing even more of his abhorrent abuse of power. Most of them are heart-rending, too.

In that very vein, I just received another missive that truly sums up the kind of man John Dalton really is.

In February, a young woman petitioned Dalton for an order of protection against her ex who was stalking and harassing her, including sending sexually explicit text messages that detailed how he’d masturbate in bed next to their two-year-old daughter. The ex also happened to be out on bond for threatening to kill her two separate times.

Dalton’s response to those texts was to admonish the plaintiff with, “Do you know how many people have sex in the same room as their children?” Then he proceeded to “explain” that her ex-husband was making these threats out of frustration that she wouldn’t respond to him.

Then he wouldn’t grant her the order of protection.

I don’t know about you, but my fervent believe is that most of us don’t threaten to kill our wives of former wives if they don’t immediately respond to a text. And who wouldn’t want to engage in a lively conversation with an individual who regularly stalks, harasses and threatens you.

I told you Judge Dalton doesn’t like women.

But wait there’s more!

When the plaintiff asked that her ex remain in the car during visitation exchanges – an agreement they’d both already signed – Dalton ignored it and insisted that the child be dropped off at a police station instead. Then he proceeded to lecture the mother for getting the police involved and how it might affect their daughter.

That’s the very essence of John Dalton – he loves to berate plaintiffs for his own orders.

In this woman’s own words:

I have witnessed this judge berate people every time I am in his courtroom. I have watched him have no sensitivity for very personal matters; and I have watched as he rolls his eyes, snarls, chuckles; and I have watched him accuse good parents of damaging their children.

I am voting that he NOT be retained as judge, and I pray that many other people do the same.

I’m praying for the very same thing!

Don’t let ‘em get away with it folks!

When we last left off, Kane County 6^th District County Board candidate, Ron Ford, was headed to court to try to level the electoral playing field.

You see, because these delicate flowers harbor a third-grade mentality, especially when they lose a race they shouldn’t have lost, the beyond dysfunctional Aurora Township Democrats pulled a fast one by pulling the slating rug out from under Ron.

If you recall, Ron was appointed to fill out Brian Dahl’s term after he moved out of the district, and that would typically mean he’d automatically get a spot on the November ballot.

But KC Democratic Chairman, Mark Guethle, and Aurora Township Democratic Chairman, Greg Elsbree, conspired to keep Ron and his precinct committeemen supporters in the dark as to that nominating process until it was too late for them to respond.

So, the Aurora Dems secretly slated yet another nothing candidate whose sole purpose in life is to turn the county board in the local equivalent of Congress. Do we really need another partisan battleground right here in Kane County?

If you doubt my hypothesis, remember when the Aurora Dem infighting got so bad that two separate township groups claimed heirship to the throne? They went as far as holding separate meetings until the courts finally sorted it all out.

Nobody ever benefits from that kind of political stupidity.

The courts were Ron’s last chance to redress this blatant power play, but as is too often the 16^th Circuit case, they failed us again. I’m not saying that Judge Kevin Busch was necessarily nefarious, it’s just that, when it comes to election law, he has no clue. And applying a family court mien to a ballot issue never works well.

According to Ford’s attorney, Jeff Meyer:

Judge Busch appeared genuinely troubled by the clear effort to avoid providing actual notice to Ron Ford supporters. Unfortunately, the Judge ruled that was a not a legally relevant consideration in determining sufficiency of notice under the statute.

It is however, a relevant consideration for voters. The fine folks in Kane County Board District 6 should respond to Guethle’s and Elsbree’s effort to abrogate the voting right of Ron Ford supporters by sending their candidate packing.

Put more simply, don’t let those Aurora bleeps win this one.

Ron, a county board member who other county board members look up to, is running as a write-in candidate. And if he hasn’t knocked on your door, he will soon with a simple instruction card on how to apply the write-in process.

It certainly won’t be that difficult to write in “Ron Ford?”

As we briefly discussed last Friday, the Daily Herald inexplicably endorsed incumbent Kane County Sheriff Don Kramer over the eminently more qualified Sgt. Ron Hain with absolutely no mention of the Delnor hostage standoff. It truly is a new low for that newspaper’s editorial board.

If you recall, a nurse was raped, beaten and shot, but Sheriff Kramer still couldn’t be bothered to show up to the scene of what became national news story. He said his big toe hurt.

But that wasn’t nearly his only failure, it was simply his worst. So, let’s review the Sheriff’s incredibly poor decision making that led to an incredibly brave woman’s life being irretrievably altered.

1. Tywon Salters was a known risk

Both Kramer and his command staff knew Salters was not only more unstable that most inmates, but he was also an escape risk. So, when Salters ate half of a prison issued plastic shoe and he required surgery as a result, that should’ve been a massive red flag.

When this scenario was brought to his attention – and it was – Kramer should’ve assigned two deputies to accompany Salters at Delnor. We’re certainly not talking rocket science here folks!

2. Shawn Loomis was NOT the right deputy

To make matters much worse, instead of assigning two officers, Kramer let Loomis guard Salters solo.

Loomis had a well-documented series of crises of confidence as a Sheriff’s deputy, and Kramer and his supervisors knew all about it. I know unions protect employees, but that didn’t mean he should ever have been assigned to guard a prisoner who had escape on his mind.

3. There was no struggle for the gun

I know what the reports say, but that’s just another Kramer coverup. Salters was allowed to regularly shower, and on that fateful day, he burst out of the bathroom buck naked, demanded the guard’s weapon, Loomis turned it over without a struggle, and then he fled the room leaving two nurses with the now-armed Salters.

But why listen to me? Here’s an excerpt from the Illinois State Police summary report on that tragic day:

Salters was wearing only a white cloth bandage across his torso and locked the door. He demanded the nurse take off her clothes and pointed the gun at her. Salters took her pink hospital scrubs, white medical coat and New Balance shoes and put them on. He then demanded her phone and car keys. Salters seemed very rushed and told her “we have to hurry.” The nurse said she tried to stall and said she couldn’t leave because she did not have any clothes on.

The nurse said she thought about her two young boys and began to cry, and Salters got mad at her and told her to be quiet.

She said that, 98 percent of the time, Salters had her in a headlock with his left arm while he pointed a gun to her head.

Salters changed the woman’s passcode on her phone and he instructed her on who to call. “Sorry you’re in this (expletive), but depending on what the cops do, we may both be leaving in body bags,” Salters said

During one call, Salters held a gun to a nurse’s head while he did a video chat with a family member who pleaded with him to release the nurse. “You gave up on me, walked away from me, now I’m going to kill myself,” Salters replied.

The nurse tried to get him to think of someone to live for, but he said he had no girlfriend or children. He told her “I’m dealing with these rigged charges” and said he did not do what he was accused of doing.

The nurse said Salters began to cry, saying “they aren’t taking me serious” and “they ruined my life.” I’ll either die in here or in the car trying to get away.” He told police, “if you shoot, I’ll blow her brains out.”

Salters told the nurse “You’re getting punished for them not getting my car.” Then Salters fired a shot out into the room, which took the nurse by surprise, and within seconds police officers came through the door.

And remember! The initial news stories reported that this brave woman exchanged herself for two co-workers who were initially taken hostage. Meanwhile, Sheriff Kramer didn’t bother show up at Delnor because he hurt his big toe at an Arizona conference the previous week.

And somehow the Daily Herald endorsed him anyway? Fricken’ unbelievable! May I humbly suggest that you cancel your subscription to that poor excuse for a newspaper if you still have one.

I’ve rarely been at a loss for an explanation in 12 years as a journalist, but this one has me utterly stumped. All I can say is, I’ll be voting for Ron Hain.

Having heard that 4 a.m. slap on the driveway, at 6:45 a.m., I dutifully went out to secure today’s Chicago Tribune. As I grabbed the paper, aside from the typically ripped plastic sheath, I was immediately struck by just how light it was. Their Wednesday and Thursday editions used to have more heft than this Sunday paper did.

Then I scanned my two-block street in search of more subscribers and saw but one other paper ensconced on a driveway apron. There was time when at least 10 of my 13 neighbors had a blue bundle waiting to be retrieved on Sunday morning. I’m sure some of ‘em get the e-paper, but with Net ads bringing in less than a tenth of their print counterparts, it’s not a sustainable business model.

As I separated the wheat from the chaff – don’t need Rides, Real Estate, or Business, and the Arts section has been useless for years – I realized I could get through what’s left in 10 short minutes. There was a time when I’d digest the Sunday paper throughout the entire week.

And the ads, or lack of them, was even more depressing. There was a time when you’d find flyers from:

• Carson’s
• J. C. Penney
• Best Buy
• Jewel
• Dominick’s
• Bed, Bath & Beyond
• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Staples
• Kohl’s
• Office Max
• Circuit City
• Petsmart
• Barnes & Noble
• PetCo
• Various mattress stores
• Sears

and more. Granted some of those businesses are out of business, but today’s Trib contained just:

• Target
• Menards
• Meijer

and a smattering of flyers from smaller stores like Walgreen’s, CVS, and Michael’s. And that kind of revenue hemorrhaging simply can’t continue. The Sun-Times already announced there’s just a 60 percent chance they’ll be around in two years, but I believe that’s overly optimistic. Of the 19 non-columnist news stories in today’s Fox Valley Daily Herald, just six covered local issues. The vast majority are wire service national news that you could read on dozens of websites.

What we’re witnessing is the slow demise of an industry we can’t afford to lose. And much like Bruce Willis in ‘The Sixth Sense,’ those publishers and editors don’t even realize they’re already dead and/or irrelevant. And ain’t it ironic that the folks charged with critiquing you and me, like vampires, can’t even see their own reflection in the mirror.

Of course, some of my adoring fans say my consistent criticism of my print media journalistic brethren is borne of sour grapes from my departure from the Sun-Times, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the era of Trump, we need local dedicated journalism more than ever, but newspapers are so mired in the Einsteinian definition of insanity that they need to be shaken out of their inexplicable malaise.

Who knew the Sunday paper could be this depressing?

Not Recommended!

Just in case you didn’t believe me or the 50 commenters on that first column exposing Judge John Dalton’s regular cruelty, the Illinois State Bar Association just released their 16^th Circuit judicial evaluations this week. Those 0 to 100 ratings are compiled from surveys sent to all Kane County Bar Association members.

As a result of those 164 assessments, in an unprecedented move, the ISBA smacked Dalton with their dismal “Not Recommended” rating. And when I say “unprecedented,” I mean none of my astute legal friends can remember a single sitting Kane County judge who wasn’t recommended for retention by the ISBA.

Here are the actual numbers:

37.65 Meets requirement of the office

58.64 Integrity

49.95 Impartiality

58.02 Legal ability

30.02 Temperament

50.03 Court management

59.63 Sensitivity

To put those sad scores in perspective, let’s compare them to Judges John Barsanti’s, Donald Hudson’s, Clint Hull’s and Rene Cruz’ evaluations. They’re also up for retention or election:

Barsanti       Hudson         Hull              Cruz

95.92           98.68           93.90           95.20     Meets requirements

96.58           98.68           98.15           98.25     Integrity

93.24           98.04           92.96           93.81     Impartiality

100              98.69           98.61           93.45     Legal ability

94.59           99.35           97.18           97.08     Temperament

95.92           98.68           98.14           96.07     Court management

94.59           98.04           94.88           99.12     Sensitivity

Now you can see how truly terrifying Dalton’s numbers really are. They’re another excellent reason to vote “No” and send this miserable excuse for a judge back to the private sector.

Digging a deeper hole

Remember when I said, “Just when you think the Daily Herald has finally hit rock bottom, they simply dig a deeper hole?” Apparently, they’re dead set on proving my point, because they inexplicably endorsed Kane County Sheriff Don Kramer over the eminently more capable Ron Hain.

And in a turn the Ripley folks would find fascinating, their editorial board wrote that endorsement with absolutely no mention of the Delnor hostage tragedy. I’ll pause for a bit to let you take that in…

Yes! The Daily Herald actually endorsed a Sheriff who didn’t bother to show up at the scene of one of the worst criminal events in Kane County history because he “hurt his big toe.” I’m sure the nurse who was raped, beaten and shot takes a great deal of solace in that bizarre excuse.

And Kramer didn’t reach out to the SWAT team member who was also shot until three or four days later, either. Now, that shows real leadership, doesn’t it?

Of course, those DH snowflakes pulled this stunt because Chairman Chris Lauzen has offended their delicate sensibilities by occasionally calling them out. So, since Kramer and Lauzen have clashed in the past, that paper automatically takes the other guy’s side. So much for journalistic integrity.

We’ll run a full column on this topic next Monday or Wednesday.

Digging a deeper hole part 2

Along the very same lines, the DH endorsed Independent Olynda De Hoyos over Democrat Anita Lewis for Kane County Board District 3. Their theory was, since Lauzen supports Lewis’ run, De Hoyos would automatically be an “independent voice.”

First, the DH completely ignored the fact that De Hoyos is just another Aurora Township dysfunctional Democratic shill intent on turning that generally functioning county board into another partisan battleground. Though her volunteer work is laudable, she brings absolutely no applicable experience to the government table.

But the kicker is, like many of her Hispanic brothers and sisters, Ms. De Hoyos has never voted in any election – ever! And if you refuse to engage in the process, should you really become a critical part of that process?

Though it happens all the time, that doesn’t mean I agree with the Chairman, or any other political leader, who runs candidates against sitting board members. All it does is set up a tit-for-tat downward spiral that always gets in the way of good governance.

But for a purportedly neutral newspaper to regularly endorse candidates on the grounds their editors don’t like the Chairman is exponentially worse. Like I said, digging a deeper hole.

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is hiring!

While State’s Attorney Joe McMahon and his top staffers were off getting a Cook County verdict a first-year law student could’ve secured, the KCSAO continues to hemorrhage assistant state’s attorneys at an alarming rate.

To wit, at least 10 prosecutors have walked away from that Route 38 and Peck Road morass in the last six months. The kicker is, the last one resigned via a Post-it note attached to his supervisor’s office door.

So much for office morale!

McMahon continues to insist that his participation in the Jason Van Dyke prosecution came at no net cost to the Kane County taxpayer. But constantly having to train right-out-of-law-school attorneys as you consistently lose experienced prosecutors is a very steep price.

The latest word is McMahon is angling for Judge James Hallock’s soon to be vacant seat. I suppose we can all take solace in the fact that our taxes have been going to the “Joe McMahon Career Advancement Fund.”

He certainly has no interest in being State’s Attorney!