Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Provisio elections: April 2009

The bad news is that Karen Yarbrough, the State representative who defeated Eugene Moore, the machine politician, for Democratic Committeeman in 2006, has turned coat and is now allied with her former opponents, including Chris Welch, who runs the School Board like a family business.

An extensive documentation of the Welch regime (citing articles from local newspapers) can be found here.

That is also the site of the Proviso Progressive Party, and a voter would have to be crazy, lazy, or beholden to the incumbents not to vote for each and every one of them:

Theresa L. Kelly
Township Supervisor

William J. Daugherty Jr.
Township Clerk


C. Michael Montino
Township Assessor


Ivan V. Williams
Township Collector


Colin A. Brady
Township Trustee


Michael Sheehan
Township Trustee


Pat Doolin
Township Trustee



Lennel Grace, Jr.
Township Trustee



PROVISO HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 209
Kevin McDermott
Carlos Anderson
Rebecca M. Smith
Arbdella “Della” Patterson


John Simpson
Trustee of Schools

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Voters might remember that the last time around, Welch ran a slate of candidates for the school board, their campaign literature attacked the status quo.

But then, after elected, they turned around and re-elected him as president of the school board.

Wasn't that clever!

This time, he's running two slates -- the one for township positions is called the "Township Advocates of Proviso". Their literature doesn't even pretend to be about reform - all they promise are perks for senior citizens. (and they have no website -- why bother -- the less voters know about them the better)

It's the same old culture of self-serving corruption that has made Illinois a national disgrace, and I suppose it will continue until citizens stop being depressed about it and actually go to the polls and become voters.

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Regarding Proviso Township Trustee of School 39N -- I don't even know where that school is ! None of the candidates have a website -- and only one of them, John Simpson, has put anything onto the County Clerk website. So -- I guess I'll have to vote for him.

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Regarding the Board of Triton College:

this article sufficed to convince me to vote against Glenn Stam and Mark Stephens.

Especially since neither one has offered any kind of rebuttal - on the paper's website or on their own.

Unfortunately, the two opponents,


Thomas W. Hagle
Marie J. Caronti


....have nothing to say as well.

Why can't they put something on the County Clerk's site ? Why can't they start their own blogs and discuss the issues ? Why should anyone believe that they will be any less self-interested than the incumbents?

(Caronti does have a comment posted after the Wednesday Journal article -- but it mystifies more than it explain. Who the heck is her mother-in-law ?)

All we've got are videos from the League of Women Voters, and Thomas W. Hagle didn't even bother to show up. (though I'll vote for him anyway)


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Update on Election Results: Almost a complete disaster! But at least Kevin McDermott made it onto the School Board. He seems to be a smart, honest, committed citizen -- and I appreciate his efforts.