I have never been a fan of spending thousands of dollars on township newsletters.
They are thinly veiled puff pieces that try to make township government look much more important than they really are.
Take a look at the front page of Algonquin Township’s just mailed newsletter:
What candidate’s name that is on the ballot today can you see?
That’s right.
Randy “My Way or the Highway” Funk’s.
The other major township official on the ballot–Road Commissioner Danijela Sandberg, whom Funk wants defeated, merits a tiny mention on the newsletter’s last page.
And then there’s the issue that Funk apparently considers most important: General Assistance.
Illinois is the only state that still has General Assistance.
Public Aid has taken its place elsewhere and certainly could in this state.
Our persistent critique of township government, Wonder Lake’s Bob Anderson, found through a Freedom of Information request that Algonquin Township just twenty-six cases of General Assistance in 2022 and distributed $10,000.
The General Assistance Fund has a balance of $55,695, but Algonquin Township still levied $107,000.
The Supervisor was paid $55,695.
Anderson estimates that it cost ten times the amount given away to administer the program.
Here’s the rest of the February newsletter:
