A letter to the Northwest Herald from TP Mathews, reprinted with permission of the Wonder Lke man:
Consolidation NOT the Answer
After reading scores of articles during the last 2 years, I must ask if consolidation is really the answer.
TP Mathews and John Hammerand chat at his fund raiser at the Grand Old Mill in Wonder Lake in 2011..
It is obvious after 100 years of changes, plus the methods and demands of those changes; we only need to modify the Township structure…eliminating corruption.
Allegedly, you’d have the same people controlling the Township business to perpetuate a preexisting amount of corruption.
It’s not the Township structure that’s the problem, it’s the career politicians using questionable and ethical schemes to obtain an office and then maintain themselves and their friends in that office.
While some Township voters have been notably honest and productive in representing their fellow citizens, it is unfortunate that some have the characteristics of a sociopath and operate for the benefit of themselves, their friends at the expense of their fellow citizens.
Please acquaint yourself with the political process and environment to know the schemers and scammers from the hard-working honest citizens.
Know the facts and truth from the political hogwash promising something for nothing.
I had to laugh at Eddie Komenda’s article today.
How dare Mr. Gasser read and edit an agreement before he signs it.
Omg, I can’t believe he just doesn’t sign what’s put in front of him.
Shame on Mr Gasser for doing his job.
How is it that the NWH continues to employ that kid.
Well and truthfully said, Mr. Mathews.
Further proof that eliminating an unnecessary layer of government in Illinois, usually presages the return of the Hale-Bopp Comet.
Komenda: alias ‘Timmy Olsen’
https://blogcomics.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/pageonejimmy.gif?w=450&h=625
@DJ
2391 years is a long time to wait ….. LOL
The difficulty with having an ‘informed electorate’ when it comes to township elections is that for townships over 15K in population, the entire election tends to be the GOP primary or a GOP caucus held in the dead of Winter every 4 years in off election years.
Attendance is typically very low and incumbents can exert more influence by getting “their” voters to show up, which are typically people who have dealings with the township.
This is how the Millers stayed in power for 3 generations.
So the problem is really in the structural aspects of township government, ie. it is virtually invisible and most voters don’t know how to impact the process.
If townships were abolished, and the county took over the functions, at least those offices would be determined in more widely known election cycles with greater participation.
This would help.
@KnownExtremist
That’s the same problem we have with school board elections.
The taxfeeders and the true believers get their voters to the polls in low turnout odd year elections, and we wind up with school boards that, for the most part, don’t care one iota about the taxpayers.
Off year elections should be abolished and rolled into the regular election cycle -turnout would be higher and the taxpayers would save money on election costs.
It used to be even worse. School boards had their own elections in the Fall of odd numbered years. Absolutely no one voted.
And, before that, it was even worse.
Crystal Lake’s Grade School Board held a tax hike referendum the Saturday before the June 13, 1966, Primary Election.