Here’s how I spent my Sunday.
One person had a sign from the fight four years ago against the SportsPlex.
A “kNOw RTA” button from 1974. We figured the more one knew about the Regional Transportation Authority, the more likely one was to vote, “No.”
I passed out the pitch below for Paul Serwatka, write-in candidate for Lakewood Village Trustee.
There were many more than the usual number at home, so I had many good conversations.
Virtually everyone knew about the Tax Increment Financing District and the SportsPlex.
Even newcomers knew about the issues.
No one argued that the two proposals were positive.
Such a lack of diversity of opinion on issues like this is rare.
About the only time I can remember that compares to the unanimity was in 1974 when McHenry County residents voted 93% in opposition to creation of the Regional Transportation Authority.
Serwatka’s campaign is pretty much a referendum on whether citizens favor the SportsPlex and the TIF District.
In any event, here is what I was handing out.
Are You TIFed Off?
The Lakewood Board election is coming up. Early voting starts on March 23ed. You can ask to vote by mail by sending in the enclosed application.
Our Board has created a Tax Increment Financing District to lure a SportsPlex to the area where the Crystal Woods Golf Course is. The area is declared blighted, as is the adjacent farmland, thus allowing a TIF District.
The TIF was passed after the time for filing for office, however.
Fortunately, Paul Serwatka is running for Village Trustee. His election will be difficult because people will have to write in his name as well as blacken in the little oval to the left of the write-in line. But it would send a message.
Paul was motivated not only by the TIF, which authorizing the borrowing of $66 million (our annual budget is only about $5 million), but also the impending vote to approve a SportsPlex in which the initiators are investing none of their own money and which will be subsidized by us taxpayers.
All TIF Districts also force up our taxes for all other tax districts, think schools, by taking all growth in tax base away from them for 23 years.
Paul also pledges not to follow the Board tradition of taking every dime of real estate taxes possible from us each year.
He also takes a dim view of building a new Village Hall. Join me in voting for
Write-in
Paul Serwatka
Cal Skinner, 275 Meridian Street, 815-459-3506, calskinner2@gmail.com
Go Paul go! Lead the way! Fight for the tax payers!
Anyone supporting the incumbent needs to have their head examined.
Illinois is a sinking financial ship, because of our elected public servants, who instead of representing the tax payers, abuse the tax payers wallets and just expect more.
It’s a mentality that is rampant throughout Illinois.
This mentality of taking the maximum has to go!
Population in Illinois is declining.
The budgets of our governments should coincide with that fact and they should be reducing, not expanding.
This is so refreshing to have a real voice for the tax payers.
We have waited a long time for this.
I agree, our village president has lost her mind!
She has no idea what Lakewood is about and we keep electing her and the others.
Didn’t Redtail teach us anything?
We lived in Lakewood for 10 years and during that time we were very involved in the local political scene.
During that time we saw first hand how the current Village President and Village manager tried to advance their personal agendas and those of their developer friends to spend tons of money on pipe dreams.
Case in point, the Sports Complex project from 5 years ago cost the Village taxpayers millions of dollars on legal and consultant fees and the lessons learned from that debacle did nothing to deter the current Board (less one Trustee) from trying to ramrod the project through again.
When will the voters wake up and send a message to their elected “leaders” that they will not tolerate such a frivolous waste of funds.
The Board will never tell you the full story om what is being spent.
They will bury the minutes of the meetings and hide behind executive sessions to keep the truth from the people.
Glad Mr. Serwatka is running and hopefully he gets elected so there will be at leats 2 voices of fiscal responsibility on the Board.
Lord knows the other trustees will do what they are told by the President and Manager.
Vote for Paul, a voice FOR the people
Holy cow it’s worse than we thought!
Go Paul go!!
Pound for Pound, Paul is the most ferocious fighter for the tax payer, transparency, and ethical process. (which this whole debacle is sorely Lacking!!!!
YES Lakewood political good ol’ boys and girls ‘club’ , Say hello to my little friend! Hahah.
Wish he was running for something Bigger!
He would round out the new County Board Reformers Nicely!!!
The fact that CAL is walking for him is HUGE!!!
Another good one we can trust!
It’s so important that you tell your friends and neighbors to tell THEIR friends and neighbors to WRITE PAUL IN! and ONLY VOTE FOR PAUL for trustee.
There is a new day dawning in local politics.
The once content citizenry have had all they can stand.
You can’t afford to sit idly by any longer.
McHenry county pays more in property tax than 99% of the other counties in the country!!
Its this thoughtless spending that has got us in this predicament, and people like Paul, that can help get us out.
Again, make sure you tell your friends to tell their friends to write-in Paul Serwatka for Lakewood Village Trustee and vote for no one else for that position.
I have to question the seriousness of any candidate who did not do the leg work in the first place to get on the ballot.
Paul Serwatka is a fixture at local political events.
He knows how to pass a petition.
The fact that he didn’t put in the effort beforehand makes his candidacy look like an opportunistic afterthought.
It’s dilettantish.
And that’s not to say that the other candidates on the ballot are taking this more seriously.
Nobody wants to put in the work for local government.
For example, in the D155 race only two non-incumbent candidates have made the effort to attend a D155 meeting–Kurtz and Guss (Maybe I’m wrong, the sign in sheets are available on 155’s website attached to the meeting minute packets. Check for yourself).
And even Kurtz and Guss have been to only one meeting, the one that took place in January 2015.
How are we supposed to vote for someone whose plan is to show up to the first meeting and try to wing it?
The tea party prides itself in changing the world at the local level.
They preach about how most of our spending takes place at the municipal and school district level, and that if you want lower taxes you create change locally.
And yet none of the adherents of the tea party philosophy (except maybe Andy Gasser) are doing the things necessary to take them seriously.
Good governance needs to be rooted in political conviction, but that isn’t enough.
It’s a job, and just like any other job it requires experience.
Somebody should sit down with Joe Walsh or the Algers or one of the other local tea party bigwigs today to start focusing on the next election cycle.
Candidacies need to begin one year out from the election, not three days after the deadline for getting on the ballot expires.
The tea party needs to identify prospective candidates early, get them out to several meetings for the electoral body they want to get elected to, help them develop a platform that contains more than just platitudes, get them talking to constituents, get them fund raising, and get them on the ballot.
I’m fed up with amateur hour.
If the ‘status quo’ in McHenry County is not removed from the County political landscape over the next two years, we may well need that interchange at Hwy. 23 and I-90, as stated by County Board member Evertsen, to facilitate people moving out of the County.
That ‘status quo’ btw includes some current prominent members of the County GOP.
Glad to see the enthusiasm around the Serwatka campaign!!
Fedor – Your comment above demonstrates your lack of knowledge in the issue at hand.
It wasn’t until AFTER the deadline to file as a candidate that Lakewood officials coincidentally voted to approve their horrific TIF district and stuck it to Lakewood residents.
So, what other remedies were left??
Serwatka took up the fight for us, sacrificing MUCH his own time and money, while ungrateful, do-nothing, bigmouths like you sit home and disparage a great guy for his most welcome and most needed efforts.
Lakewood voters need to vote. Just do it.
Too many time people complain after the fact.
Just my opinion.
Patrick Henry….thank you for your comment, you hit the nail on the head.
Fedor….The Tea Party isn’t a political party and it is the job of the Republican’s to find potential candidates.
To my knowledge they fail to do so in many cases, leaving the incumbent unchallenged.
Paul stepped up when the party didn’t.
Thank you Paul.
Republicans