Bodine’s referendum is on the ballot

 

See the county board’s vote at:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2016/08/anti-corruption-referendum-language-on.html

 

 

State Representative candidate works to get Illinois Anti-Corruption Act on November ballot

Posted by RVPEditor / In Belvidere Daily Republican, Public Meetings

By Kathryn Menue

EDITOR

Illinois State Representative candidate for the 69^th District, Angelique Bodine, has made it her mission to get the Illinois Anti-Corruption Act on the ballot for the November election.

Bodine began her quest on Feb. 9 at the Boone County Finance, Taxation, and Salaries Committee meeting. From there, Bodine has spoken with board members and has attended other Boone County board meetings to discuss the same issue.

“You can see how important this is to me, as I have spoken to you about this on numerous occasions, now,” Bodine said at the Monday, July 11 Boone County Administrative and Legislative meeting.

“This is not only important to me; it’s also a very important issue to most of the other members of the community. The reason it’s so important is because constituents are very concerned about corruption, specifically the corrupting influence of money on our politics. It’s very important for elected officials to be willing to effectively address the issues of corruption within our government.”

Bodine feels as though the Illinois Anti-Corruption Act will be a good start to help Illinois weed out corruption from all political bodies.

If put on the ballot, voters would get to vote yes or no on the Illinois Anti-Corruption Act, which reads: “Do you support removing the corrupting influence of money on our political system by prohibiting politicians from taking campaign money from industries they regulate; increasing transparency for campaign funding; empowers all voters through a tax rebate voucher to contribute to the candidates they support; prohibiting representatives and senior staff from all lobbying activity for five years once they leave office; and placing limits on super PACs.”

If citizens vote ‘yes’ come Election Day, then they are voting in favor of “removing” corruptive influences from government. If citizens vote ‘no,’ then they are voting for no change to policies.

Winnebago and DeKalb Counties already passed this act, and McHenry County is working to get the act on their November ballot.

“Five out of six voters in our neighboring counties (Winnebago and DeKalb) support this initiative. I have seen statistics that it passed with an overwhelming 87 percent approval in both counties, and a whopping 89 percent in Genoa Township. A community that is very similar to Belvidere,” Bodine said. “McHenry County is also moving toward putting this on their ballot for the November election, as well. I, for one, don’t want to see Boone County be the last one in our region on this.”

Bodine thinks it is about time that Boone County stepped up with the other counties to fight corruption. A good way to move forward is to put the Illinois Anti-Corruption Act on the ballot for the November election, so citizens can have the right to voice their opinions on the matter.

“According to a new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Institute [source at: WBBM on Sunday, July 10], 82 percent of voters think Illinois is headed in the wrong direction,” Bodine said.

At the Administrative and Legislative meeting on July 11, Bodine advocated to the board that they make the right decision.

“Please do right by the constituents and put this on the ballot,” Bodine said.

She said many of the board members were supportive of the initiative and that the community is one step closer to having the Illinois Anti-Corruption Act on the ballot.

“Several people on the committee stated that they were in favor of the question going onto the ballot and were willing to approve it then,” Bodine said.

However, one of the board members “voiced” his “apprehension” over the initiative.

The board moved the initiative to their August committee meeting where they will vote on whether or not to send the Illinois Anti-Corruption Act proposal to the regular August meeting.

“That’s where the board will decide whether or not to put it onto the ballot,” Bodine said.

BDR coverage of county referendum

Countywide vote on board chairman getting more discussion

Posted by RVPEditor / In Belvidere Daily Republican, Public Meetings

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

The chairman of the Boone County Board now is elected each year from among sitting board members. The position is good for one year and a new chair is chosen each December.

Currently, board member Cathy Ward would like a referendum asking voters if they believe future board chairs should be elected countywide.

No decision is expected to be made in time for the question to be placed on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. The issue was discussed at the Aug. 1 meeting of the administrative and legislative committee, chaired by District I board member Sherry Giesecke.

This is one of seven standing committees of the county board and its membership consists of five county board members.

Here are some of the thoughts offered on Aug. 1:

Adding a 13th person to the board is not a good idea.

Voters elected the 12 board members to represent them and that includes deciding a new board chairman.

The size of the current county board should be reduced, not increased.

Why not let social media run the county?

Having the board chair elected county-wide would be changing the board to a different form of government.

In a note to committee Chairperson Giesecke, board member Ward said she had been told by State’s Attorney Michelle Courier that the board could approve having such a referendum placed on the ballot.

Ultimately, the committee decided much more discussion was needed before a recommendation – if one was agreed upon – the recommendation could be referred to the full board for consideration.

More talk is expected at the September meeting.

Also at the Aug. 1 meeting, the committee approved a resolution in support of an advisory referendum concerning “anti-corruption reform.” The board was expected to consider the resolution at its Aug. 17 meeting.

The referendum is being proposed by the group, “Represent US,” and would read:

“Do you support reducing the corrupting influence of money on our political system by prohibiting politicians from taking campaign money from the special interests they regulate; increasing transparency for campaign funding; empowering all voters through a tax rebate voucher to contribute to the candidates they support; prohibiting representatives and senior staff from lobbying activity for five years after they leave office; and placing limits on Super PAC-campaign coordination?”

The measure is being advanced locally by Angelique Bodine of Candlewick Lake, a Democratic candidate for the State House District 69 seat currently held by State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford. District 69 includes the vast majority of Boone County.

A second resolution, which had not been drafted as of Aug. 1, would be in support of term limits and redistricting reform at the state and federal levels. This is being supported by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who maintains it has bipartisan backing in Springfield.

The local referendum, should it get on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, would be advisory in nature.

ANTI-CORRUPTION REFERENDUM LANGUAGE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT—

 

 

ANTI-CORRUPTION REFERENDUM LANGUAGE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

Thanks to Mary S. Steurer, Boone County Clerk and Recorder for kindly providing the language that will appear on the November ballot here in Boone County. The referendum was recently approved by the Boone County Board to be placed on the ballot.

Here is how your Boone County Board members voted.

Voting yes were Jeff Carlisle, Denny Ellingson, Ken Freeman, Sherry Giesecke, Ray Larson, Jessica Muellner and Cathy Ward.

Voting no were Boone County Board Chairman Bob Walberg, Karl Johnson, Cory Lind and Brad Stark.

Board member Sherry Branson was absent.

Above is from The Rhubarb, FACEBOOK