Can you say disingenuous? I knew you could!
One of the profile questions the DH posed to the two KC County Chairman candidates is this:
Do you support continued funding and the idea for Kane County Connects? If so, where should that funding come from?
OMFG, really? So now the DH doesn’t even bother to pretend to be unbiased anymore? That makes Editors Jim Slusher and John Lampinen far worse than any politician I’ve ever interviewed (and that includes Karen McConnaughay) because they purport to be journalists who couldn’t possibly be driven by their own self-interest.
C’mon! The only reason they asked that question is Kane County Connects, a program that adds up to .04 percent of the total County budget, successfully competes with their publication. Not that that’s a difficult proposition – I beat the DH all the time.
Isn’t this kind of pettiness the same as the Donald Trump – Megyn Kelly silliness? Poor Daily Herald! They can’t compete with one guy!
To those avid Kane County Connects detractors, might I ask why I haven’t heard a single word about the:
• Library district newsletter
• School district newsletter
• Township newsletter
• Forest preserve newsletter
• Fire protection district newsletter
• Municipal newsletter
• Water reclamation district newsletter
You all receive? Those paid-for-by-tax-dollars publications cost way more than Kane County Connects because they require printing and postage.
Despite all of that evidence, based on their unbridled hatred for Chairman Lauzen and Ken Shepro’s “correct” answer to that one question, I’ll bet you five figures the DH endorses Shepro because he said exactly what they wanted to hear. Never mind that the County just reported a $5.1 million surplus in great part because elected officials and department heads all worked together to come under budget.
This is exactly why you need to cancel your subscription to the Daily Herald (if you still have one).
Should they call it Helburn?
Larry and I look forward to small local boards suddenly making headlines because it always means that something juicy is going on. The recent Elburn Village Board antics certainly haven’t disappointed!
If you haven’t already delved into the the ongoing Board – Village Manager kerfuffle, please avail yourself of that Sixth Sense newspaper or the Elburn Herald. Meanwhile, I’ve done some digging and here’s the scoop in a storyboard form:
• Prior to his retirement, Police Chief Steve Smith did not get along with Village Manager Willrett or Mayor Anderson. Without casting aspersions, let’s just say that, in politics, familiarity frequently breeds contempt.
• Right after he retired, Smith perpetuated the feud by telling board members Willrett had to go.
• Trustee David Gualdoni, a man with massive mayoral aspirations, eagerly took the bait and successfully led the charge to have Willrett removed.
• All this happened despite the board praising Willrett for “doing a good job” while claiming they want to move in a “different direction.”
• So Willrett did the right thing and resigned, but the Board that wants to move on, twice rejected that resignation, forcing the unwanted Willrett to continue toiling for the City.
• The reason mayoral hopeful Gualdoni chained Willrett to her desk is he wants to be regarded as the guardian of all things fiscal. Why, he even said something along the lines of, “If we’re still paying the village manager, then she can get her butt in to work.”
• The problem with that thought is, our intrepid Trustee already OK’d the now retired Smith’s golden parachute to the tune of getting paid until April 30th. And Village Attorney Bob Britz knows this a problem, but the Board ain’t listening.
If there’s one thing Larry and I have been predicting with uncanny accuracy, it’s lawsuits. And if the Elburn Villages Board continues to force Willrett to work after allowing Smith to leave, that discrimination suit will be a slam dunk.
Again! This is why Larry and I love small village boards. They always give us something to talk about!
Too little too late
Ain’t it funny how Governor Rauner took a more conciliatory stance in his State of the State Address right after TheFirstWard.net reported that even GOP Springfield legislators were giving up on him!
Though I certainly laud the Governor’s more reasonable tone, it’s too little too late. You see, he made the mistake of immediately going for broke and then he made the bigger mistake of being the first one to blink. Now the unforgiving Darth Madigan is gonna make mincemeat out of him.
But even before the Guv made those mistakes, he embarked upon a delusion particular to almost all Illinois conservatives. Per the late Judge Donald Anderson, they “consistently breathe their own air,” to the point where they fervently believe there’s a silent rightwing majority that will rally to their side the second after they strike that first fiscal blow.
And it never happens because conservatives are never silent and this kind of magical thinking convinced Rauner he could cut:
• Autism funding
• State Universities will soon close their doors
• Social service agencies to the point where their closing programs and group homes
• Child care
• Programs for folks with disabilities
• Programs that support seniors staying in their homes
But not only did Illinoisians fail to jump on his turnaround bandwagon, they got pissed because those cuts affect the least of our brothers and sisters which, in turn, affects a lot of regular people. And regular people are the only ones who ever decide elections and the General Assembly knows this.
Add Bruce’s utter inability to spin a message and, with two scant years left in office, Darth Madigan is going to make his life miserable. He might throw the Guv a few bones, but just like Squeezy the Python, he’ll blunt Rauner’s efforts at every turn so Lisa can stroll into that mansion in 2018.
Ah well! At least Rauner won’t be going to the pen which really does say something for the State of Illinois.
If you have a story you think worthy of Quick Hits, you know where to find me!
