Last week I attended a great event for the Hispanic community, where I had a chat with an old friend who lives in the district and is a DJ on La Ley the premier Hispanic radio station in Chicagoland.
I had a great time and of course as always learned a lot more about the community and its needs.
I attended a variety of events this week and among then was a spaghetti dinner last night. I got some pasta and of course talked to voters.
I even went back in the kitchen and met the chef!
The Illinois AFL-CIO represents a rich and diverse group of 1,500 local unions across the state which amounts to one million union men and women in Illinois. The AFL-CIO has a long history of fighting for the rights of working men and women and constantly works for strong labor laws in Springfield.
The AFL-CIO cited Mayor Gentes support of issues benefiting working families as the central reason for its endorsement of his campaign.
In response to this key endorsement, Mayor Gentes issued the following statement:
The AFL-CIO has worked tirelessly on behalf of working families in Illinois and I am extremely grateful for their support. I look forward to continuing this great tradition in Springfield.
With working families hit the hardest by the current economic downturn, it is crucial, now more than ever, that Illinois workers receive the support they need from their representatives in Springfield. Illinois workers cannot afford representatives who will support big business interests over the working men and women who are the backbone of our economy. I have the experience and knowledge to give Illinois workers the support they need as they continue to work hard to support their families and our state.
Republicans have consistently shown that they have no interest in the rights of working families in Illinois. I will not allow Republicans to place Illinois workers on the chopping block when economic struggles continue to plague working families. I will ensure that workers in the 26th district are provided with the tools they need to help put our economy back on track.
Overhaul state constitution?
July 17, 2008
It’s been 38 years since the Illinois Constitution has been updated, but voters will have an opportunity to decide this fall whether to give the constitution an overhaul.
A question on the November ballot will ask voters whether they support a constitutional convention to revamp the Illinois Constitution.
The current state Constitution was drafted in 1970, and at least every 20 years it is a constitutional requirement that a referendum be placed before the voters. The last occasion was in 1988 when a question about a constitutional convention was overwhelmingly defeated by voters.
Lake County Board Member Carol Spielman, D-22nd of Highland Park, chairs the board’s Revenue, Records and Legislation Committee, and has been studying the pros and cons of a constitutional convention for several months. Spielman said she expects to bring the issue before the committee at its next meeting, tentatively set for July 30.
Spielman said the main objection to a state constitutional convention is it would open up the entire constitution to a drastic, and potentially risky, overhaul. Supporters of the measure counter that a convention would be a way of tackling long-debated issues that have stalled in the state legislature, such as school funding reform, she said.
Spielman questions whether the timing is right for a convention at this point, given that there’s not been much public debate about the issue.
“This is not on anybody’s front burner,” she said. “There’s not been a lot of talk about and it’s only a few months away.”
Who’s on board
Larry Frang, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League, which represents more than 1,100 local government units across the state, said he expects the municipal league board will take a position regarding the referendum at its next meeting on July 26.
“Our board of directors has not taken a position as of yet,” he said.
Frang said in 1988, the municipal league opposed a constitutional convention because the state had approved a new constitution less than 20 years before and did not see the need for major changes.
Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes said he supports a constitutional convention this time because he believes much has changed since 1970, including the advent of new technology such as the Internet.
“I think our constitution probably needs a touch up,” said Gentes, a Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 26th Senate District. “There are so many things that have changed since 1970, and I think we need to look at the whole document to see if there are ways we can make it better.”
If it passes
If a referendum were to pass, Gentes said voters in a future election would then select people to represent them at a constitutional convention.
Gentes said a constitutional convention may be a way of resolving an impasse in Springfield over issues like school funding. He acknowledges there are other ways of amending the constitution, such as through a constitutional amendment.
In my eternal quest to bring blogging goodness to the area and beyond I bring you this website. Its got some interesting tools on it.
Drive less. live more. promotes healthier and happier communities by offering tools to explore more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly travel options. We explore real solutions that will fit your lifestyle and your needs. Through three key activities, THINK, MOVE, and PLAY, we can work together to help diminish air congestion, improve daily commutes, and provide a better tomorrow.
We have a new store up and running for exciting collectors edition Gentes-wear! You can go shop the store here and load up on wonderful items for the campaign season. For example you can pick up the Gentes Hoodie! pictured above!
I have been tracking and following precinct level electoral politics on up to national level since I was a kid, and for along time I thought this blog was the best I had ever read on national politics by the numbers.
But since then I have discovered the site FiveThirtyEight.com which is on a whole different level of electoral intensity! Here is the sad or positive thing, I understand what this guy is talking about nearly 90% of the time, thats scary I think
We had 9 teams take the call to the post on Saturday for the “Shoe Leather Derby”. The event had three categories most pluses, most doors knocked, and most yard signs. All in all we had a great time as we all told our stories back at the post race BBQ. Two pictures above, the first is some of the pre-show leather derby walkers and the the second one is of the winners of the coveted win, place and show trophies. You will note I am holding the show trophy for my teammate who had to go home early.
I hosted an Avon Township Democrats meeting last weekend and we had a great turnout. Many thanks to all of those who showed up, I would guess we had 40-50 people come by and meet the 10 or so candidates who were there.
Suburban mayors join the blogosphere
He may not be the most Internet-savvy village leader, but Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto recognizes a powerful tool when he sees one.
Last month, the village leader started a blog to communicate with residents.
“This is a way for people to know what is going on in the village,” said Sarto, who posts a few times a week. “But I also want feedback from residents … to hear if they like what we are doing or if they don’t like what we are doing.”
The site contains information on upcoming village meetings. It also chronicles Sarto’s participation in local events or activities.
Sarto joins at least three other suburban village leaders who have taken to the blogosphere to keep their constituents informed.
Elburn Mayor Jim Willey started blogging in late 2004 as an experiment.
“I wanted to see what kind of audience I could build,” Willey said. “I also wanted a way to get unfiltered information out to the community. People felt like they were getting the straight scoop.”
Though Willey has not posted on his site, jlwilley.blogspot.com, since late 2007, the mayor of 11 years says he still regards the blog as the most effective way to connect with a small community.
When the Daily Herald opened online forums for readers to discuss stories at dailyherald.com, Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig said he launched his own blog to quell the spread of misinformation from commenters.
“I found that there were a lot of bogus people out there writing baloney about stories the Daily Herald puts out there,” said Craig, who has been sharing his thoughts via the Internet for about seven months. “I didn’t want to respond to unknown individuals who write nonsense, so this was a way for me to communicate.”
Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes, who has been blogging for about three years, agrees.
“Starting a blog was the single smartest thing I have done as mayor,” said Gentes, who earned the moniker of “the Blogging Mayor.”
“When 20 people e-mail me with the same question it is much easier for me to send them a link to a blog I have written,” Gentes said. “I can also go more in-depth with the information because it is tough to answer 20 different e-mails.”
But there are some downsides to sharing information with anyone with a computer and access to the Internet.
The mayors said though feedback is encouraged, it is often negative.
“When I started out it was an open blog and people could send feedback,” Willey said. “But what I found was that it was the same negative voices over and over again and it was counterproductive.”
Now, Willey accepts e-mail from readers but does not post the comments on the site.
But negative feedback is as useful as positive comments, said Gentes, who allows unrestricted comments on his blog.
“By and large comments are calm,” Gentes said. “There’s about 1 percent that are usually crazy. But as a mayor you have to be willing to take good with the bad.”
In an attempt to maintain a positive air on his blog, Sarto requests that visitors use their real name instead of pseudonyms and usernames.
The tactic could be backfiring. While other blogs dedicated to Carpentersville have active commentary, the village president’s site had received just a handful of postings.
“People are more likely to be respectful if they use their real name,” said Sarto, who uses his full name when posting on sites like dailyherald.com. “You are allowed to say what you believe and you should be willing to put your name to it.”
Had a nice turnout for the Libertyville Parade on Saturday. Pictured above is most of my crew, some were camera shy, if you look right above the G in Gentes you can see the shy member of my entourage! Thanks to everyone who came out!
If you want to go see more pictures go here.
