Our guest speaker this month will be State Rep. Allen Skillicorn from the 66th District, which includes parts of Algonquin, Crystal Lake, East and West Dundee, Elgin, Gilberts, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood and Sleepy Hollow, to the northwest of us here in DuPage.

Allen will talk about the challenges we face in Illinois, what we can expect from the new General Assembly and Governor, and he will gladly answer any and all questions we have, so come prepared.

Upcoming projects to plan for include the dual Memorial Day Parades that we will be doing in Itasca and then immediately afterwards in neighboring Wood Dale.

We will also be discussing in greater detail upcoming media projects that we will be involved in, as well as members who have stepped up and decided they would like to run for office in the next general election. Continue reading →

Village of Lemont

Shall the Village of Lemont, in Counties of Cook, Will and DuPage, dedicate resources to investment in its public infrastructure including but not limited to investment in its roads, alleys, paths and sidewalks?

—Vote No, there are already many taxes in place to pay for these repairs.

Shall the Village of Lemont, in Counties of Cook, Will, and DuPage, Illinois, dedicate resources to investment in its public infrastructure including but not limited to investment in its water and sewer systems?

—Vote No, there are already many taxes in place to pay for these repairs.

Shall the Village of Lemont, Counties of Cook, Will, and DuPage, Illinois, impose a Non-Home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax and a Non-Home Rule Municipal Service Occupation Tax (commonly referred to as a “municipal sales tax”) at a rate of 1% for expenditures on public infrastructure or property tax relief in accordance with the provisions of Sections 8-11- 1.3 and 8-11-1.4 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/8-11-1.3 and 65 ILCS 5/8-11-1.4)?

—Vote No, there are already many taxes in place to pay for these repairs. Continue reading →

Our guest speaker this month will be State Rep. Kathleen Willis from the 77th District, which includes O’Hare Airport and portions of Addison, Bellwood, Bensenville, Franklin Park, Maywood, Melrose Park, Northlake, Stone Park, and Wood Dale, three of which are in DuPage.

Kathleen will talk about the challenges we face in Illinois, including her new gun dealer registration law, and what we can expect from the new General Assembly and Governor. She will gladly answer any and all questions we have, so come prepared.

As for the rest of our meeting, upcoming projects to plan for include the Memorial Day Parades in Itasca and Wood Dale, and possibilities for what options are available to us to make the most of it. Jeremiah from the Three Percenters has agreed to join us as well with his military truck, so we have plenty of decorating ideas to discuss.

As always, our meetings are free, all ages, and open to the public. The meeting officially starts at 7pm, social hour begins at 6pm. It’s $5 burger night at the American Tap, and they have a wide selection of craft beers on hand. See you there.

Please RSVP below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/402710323814527/

After a hard-fought battle in Illinois, Libertarian statewide races were unsuccessful in meeting the 5 percent threshold needed to obtain major-party status in the state.

The closest to receiving 5 percent in the election was treasurer candidate Mike Leheney, who received 3.5 percent. Candidate for governor Kash Jackson received 2.4 percent of the votes, comptroller candidate Claire Ball received 3.1 percent, secretary of state candidate Steve Dutner received 2.5 percent, and attorney general candidate Bubba Harsy received 2.5 percent.

In local results, McLean County had several Libertarians running for office: McLean County Board District 1 candidate Michael Suess received 19.4 percent; District 2 candidate Paul Michael Enerson received 4.8 percent; District 3 candidate Christopher Howick received 38.9 percent; District 4 candidate Alexandra Engle received 5.6 percent; District 8 candidate Steve Suess, who received an endorsement from the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, received 5.5 percent; District 9 candidate Sol Roberts-Lieb received 4.6 percent; and District 10 candidate Kevin Woodard received 24.5 percent. McLean County treasurer candidate Lex Green received 26.1 percent, giving McLean County established-party status through 2022. Candidate Ian Peak ran for Jefferson County Board District 6 and received 20 percent of the vote.

While the campaign team members, volunteers, and candidates felt disappointment at the results, the Libertarian candidates accomplished many things in this election cycle that had previously never been done in Illinois. Kash Jackson was invited to participate in the NBC debate in September. He also received endorsements from Gov. Gary Johnson, Republican Illinois state Rep. Allen Skillicorn, and the Lake County, Ill., chapter of Black Lives Matter. Steve Dutner was the first Libertarian candidate to receive an endorsement from a major news publication, the State Journal-Register in Springfield. Even though statewide access was not achieved, LP Illinois gained access in two more counties, Kankakee and Perry, because Mike Leheney and Bubba Harsy received more than 5 percent of the votes in those counties.

Campaign manager Brian Lambrecht assured supporters that those gains would be used to Libertarian advantage in the future. “Despite not getting statewide ballot access in Illinois, a state with some of the harshest ballot access laws in the nation, we have secured ballot access, so far, in 25 of Illinois’ 102 counties,” Lambrecht said. “We plan to use that fully in 2020.”