Since we haven’t gone Quick Hits in a bit, let’s get on with it!
Sadly, Mark Davoust ain’t goin’ anywhere
And that’s the case despite county board district 14 Democratic contender Tom Hodge challenging Davoust’s Illinois residency on the basis of his wife Melanie claiming the homestead exemption on their Marco Island, Florida, home in 2017.
Since a married couple can only secure one such exemption on their primary residence, Hodge maintains the Davousts vacated their Illinois residency by default, and Mark should be removed from the November ballot as a result.
But as much as I would like to see our do-nothing board member’s unremarkable political career end on a technicality, it’s not going to happen. And Hodge, a real estate agent, knows it, too. Only Melanie applied for that tax break which means that residential shift only affects her.
What may have convinced Hodge he had a “gotcha” moment is that Florida generally bases the full $50,000 exemption on both spouses applying for it at 25 grand each, But Florida, a state infamous for their suspect financial statutes, frequently makes this kind of exception for single spouse applications.
That means Mark Davoust was correct when he told the press he still holds an Illinois voter registration, his business is based here, and he never filed for Florida residency. Put more simply, the complaint Hodge submitted to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office is DOA.
That means he’ll have to win that election the old-fashioned way, which, when you consider the demonstrably Republican demographics of the 14th, won’t be happening anytime soon. Tom! If you really want to tilt at windmills I’ll be more than happy to point you to one in Batavia.
That said, Mr. Hodge’s ill-fated legal effort isn’t a total loss, because it’s a textbook example of how to increase your name recognition without spending one thin dime. It still won’t make any difference in November, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t appreciate an effective political maneuver.
The Chronicle still sucks!
Of course, the world’s worst newspaper ran a story on the Davoust residency kerfuffle where fake reporter Brenda Schory ceaselessly droned on about all potential implications as if she were covering an on-going hostage standoff.
But all it took was just one five-minute phone call for this journalist to learn the law and realize that Hodge’s challenge was just about as futile as getting the Grand Cheeto to stop stealing classified documents.
Put more simply, instead of trying to create controversy where there is none – a Chronicle specialty – they should’ve run a much shorter piece briefly explaining why Hodge’s contention wouldn’t fly.
But that means Schory would have to do more work and tell the truth both know she’s capable of neither.
Worse yet, The Chronicle is making no bones about acting as 65th district state rep Democratic candidate Linda Roberston’s de facto marketing team by running an entire piece on her upcoming fundraiser.
So much for that halcyon Fourth Column neutrality, right? Does that mean the Chronicle will start covering all manner of local campaign events? To say that’s a beyond biased move would be the mildest of understatements.
And this bullshit effort started with the incompetent Schory covering former KC Republican chairman Ken Shepro’s challenge to Robertson’s errant nominating paperwork. Ain’t in funny how Schory loves Shepro whenever he takes on former KC chairman Chris Lauzen, but he’s persona non grata when he challenges a candidate she “supports.”
Say what you will about Ken Shepro – and I frequently do – but trust me, if he issues a petition challenge, it’s legally sound. Robertson used the wrong forms and she should’ve been stricken from the ballot, but the Illinois pendulum has swung from throwing everyone off for the tiniest technicality to preserving their spot even if they misspell their own name.
I’ve said it before. If you can’t get something as simple as your nominating paperwork right, then what does that say about your capacity to effectively legislate?
Then, after they openly supported Robertson’s candidacy, they had the nerve to take on Dan Proft’s fake newspapers in a September 19 report (we’ll get into that). Someone really needs to come up with a word to describe that level of hypocrisy.
The good news is, even with Shaw Media’s utter lack of pretense, Robertson has even less of a shot against Dan Ugaste in the 65th than Hodge does in county board 14. Do we really need any more Democrats in Springfield?
The Geneva school board just doesn’t get it
Taking a cue from Agent Orange, the Geneva D304 school board just went out of their way to prove my longstanding contention that they’ve embraced a combination of obliviousness and arrogance that oughtta be the subject of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.
The most recent evidence of this theory is their appointment of rabid pro-mitigation and pro-masker, Stephanie Bellino, to the seat vacated by Tammie Meeks, who moved out of the district. Really? Almost 20 Genevans applied for that position and the best they could do is nominate the most contentious candidate short of yours truly? They certainly seem to be longing for the pandemic days when board meetings would inevitably descend into the kind of pitched battles that required a consistent police presence.
Per my plethora of previous stipulations, I will defend anyone’s right to wear a mask to my dying day, but that doesn’t mean I understand the kind of fear that would incite someone into wearing one mask when they’re alone in their car.
Along those very same lines, sources tell me that Bellino insisted on wearing a mask while she waited alone in a room to be interviewed by the board,. Again, that’s her right, but I’d argue that the last person we want to have looking out for our children is someone who’s prone to that level of baseless anxiety. Haven’t our kids been subjected to more than enough irrational fear over the past two years?
Even nanny-state Joe Biden just proclaimed the pandemic is over.
Genevans should also pay heed to the fact that, since the D304 board has been hemorrhaging members at a record pace, three of its current seven members have been appointed and not elected. So much for a representative Democracy, right? All three of those appointees will have to run for their seats in early 2023, but they can do a lot of damage between now and then.
It would behoove every Geneva to keep an eagle eye on them.
