A Tale of Two Assessors

What I have come to learn in this wonderful county is that far too often, the color of your convictions (red for republican and blue for democrat) is how you get or avoid the press. While we do live within a reasonable commute to a major metropolis, we do fall short with having competent local print media.

If you have been following the print media or lack thereof, several weeks ago a democrat and candidate for Antioch Township Assessor filed his petitions to run for office, was challenged, had several county newspapers cover his story, ended up being arrested for fraud, arraigned and is now out on bail. Every county newspaper covered this ad nauseum to point they had convicted this individual in the press without due process. He has been the brunt of numerous Republican Blogs.

Now this week the story breaks that the current Avon Township Assessor has been served with a civil suit that alleges fraudulent reimbursement for travel expenses in excess of 3,000 dollars by information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, and one county news paper writes one (1) detailed article and the largest subscribers service newspaper in the county writes a two paragraph article that does not specify the suit, but quickly points out a comment from the Lake County State's Attorney office that is the individual who filed the suit thought there was fraud, they should have gone to the police. That is it!!!!!! What kind of reporting is this? Bottom line is that both assessors have committed wrong-doing. One gets a mug shot and one continues to try and get re-elected with no press traction.

Yes I know, the story of the Avon Township Assessor did break during silly season, and many will say, including the assessor, this is nothing more than a political stunt. Perhaps the only stunt is the timing. The allegations of this suit are based on factual township records. Anyone can get these records through the Freedom of Information Act. In the view of this author, a criminal investigation is warranted.

EARLY VOTING

Early Voting begins today, March 16th and continues until April 2, 2009. The only place to vote during the early voting period is your respective township building. The hours of operation are standard throughout the county; Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m until 4:30 p.m an Saturdays 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.


Please remember that for early voting, voters are required to present a valid Illinois driver's license, an Illinois identification card issued by the Secretary of State, or any other valid government-issued identification document containing their photograph, name, and address.

Monday Night Football in March????

Looks as if we might just see a good game on Monday evening as two lines (for the Defense....the incumbent Assessors and for the Offense....the Assessor Candidates) will be officiated by the Citizens Action Project.

Lake County township assessor candidates will participate in a moderated forum hosted by Citizens Action Project (CAP) on Monday at 7 p.m. at Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake.

The forum will allow assessor candidates to express their views and for residents to ask questions, in advance of the April 7 election.

"Since we formed CAP, we have said that township assessors have the most power and influence in making the assessment process fair and transparent," said CAP president John Wasik. "We find it of the utmost importance to give the public a forum in which to decide where to cast their vote."

Candidates from Avon, Ela, Fremont, Moraine and West Deerfield townships have been invited.

The event is open to the public. A $5 donation is suggested.

For more information, e-mail info@citizensactionproject.org or visit www.citizensactionproject.org .

The Credit Crisis

I found a simplistic explanation of how the credit crisis came to be. One need not have a degree in economics to understand the video.
You can bookmark this link if you do not have the time to view this video. The run-time is approximately 11 minutes.

This is a non-partisan view on how we got here.

http://crisisofcredit.com/

OPEN BLOGGING

As Eye on Lake County moves into its fourth month, let's get a feel for who has been reading our initial blogging efforts. For the next few days, why not have your voice heard, at least here. Post a comment, debate an issue, talk about the upcoming Lake County elections in April.

Let's see where this goes.

Please refrain from personal attacks, but rather talk about issues and facts.