DuPage Libertarians

You are invited (who’s invited? everyone!) to a free special DuPage Libertarians meeting on Tuesday, August 16 for a Libertarian debate.

The Topics:
– Gun ownership: inalienable right
– Separation of school and state

The Debaters:
– Mark Agnini
– Lex Green (2010 Candidate for Governor of IL)
– Rae Ann McNeilly
– Ed Rutledge (2010 Candidate for Lt Governor of IL)

The Location:
IHOP Restaurant in Wheaton
167 Danada Square East
(we have a large conference room reserved in the back)

The Date/Time:
Tuesday, August 16 at 7 p.m.
(6 p.m. if ordering dinner)

I hope to see you there!

This is a great video that explains the Philosophy of Liberty: Property, check it out!

This is a great video that explains the Philosophy of Liberty: Plunder, check it out!

Does anyone really have time to get familiar with all those ballot propositions that pop up every election season?  We realize that you lead busy lives, and we’ve done the research for you so that you can make an informed decision at the polls on April 5th.  The propositions are grouped by city/town/village below.

CITY OF DARIEN

Proposition: Shall the City of Darien have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such program?

VOTE NO!

Private businesses and consumers can organize to negotiate their own energy deals. Government is already too big for the good of anyone except itself. How will hiring more overpaid government officials, and adding to the already bloated state pension system without new production of energy going to save consumers on energy costs without that cost savings being offset by higher taxes down the road?

VILLAGE OF DOWNERS GROVE

Proposition: Shall the following term limits be placed on the offices of Mayor and Commissioners for the Village of Downers Grove to be effective for officials elected at the April 5, 2011 Consolidated Election and all those elected thereafter?

a) Mayoral term limited to two (2) consecutive four (4) year terms.

b) Six Village Commissioners limited to three (3) consecutive four (4) year terms each.

VOTE YES!

Term limits are a necessary check on government power, ensuring no individuals become so entrenched in the same position to open possible corruption opportunities.

VILLAGE OF HINSDALE

Proposition: Shall the Village Clerk of the Village of Hinsdale be appointed by the Village President with the advice and consent of the Board of Trustees?

VOTE NO!

Switching an office to an appointed position removes power from the people and gives that power to the already overwhelmingly powerful government. The people must reserve as much power as possible to choose their leaders/representatives.

VILLAGE OF LOMBARD

Proposition: Shall the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Lombard adopt a resolution to provide for a binding referendum at a future election that limits the terms of office for those persons elected to the offices of Village President, Village Clerk or Trustee in the Village of Lombard, such that no person so elected may serve more than three (3) consecutive full four (4) year terms in the same office?

VOTE YES!

Term limits are a necessary check on government power, ensuring no individuals become so entrenched in the same position to open possible corruption opportunities.

VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK

Proposition: Shall the Village of Oak Brook have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such a program?

VOTE NO!

Private businesses and consumers can organize to negotiate their own energy deals. Government is already too big for the good of anyone except itself. How will hiring more overpaid government officials, and adding to the already bloated state pension system without new production of energy going to save consumers on energy costs without that cost savings being offset by higher taxes down the road?

CITY OF WEST CHICAGO

Proposition: Shall the City of West Chicago eliminate the office of City Treasurer and assign the duties and responsibilities of that office to City staff to perform?

VOTE YES!

The elimination of the Treasurer will save tax payers $4,500 a year and the current treasurer admits the office  is nothing more than a status position and was the one to originate the recommendation to eliminate the position.

Proposition: Shall the City of West Chicago impose a real estate transfer tax at the rate of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per transfer to be paid by the seller of the real estate transferred, with the revenue of the proposed transfer tax to be used for the General Fund to offset the administrative costs of debt collection and to assist in the collection of outstanding fines, delinquent fees, and judgments due the City?

VOTE NO!

Taxes are already ridiculously high causing much suppressive pressure to the economy. Further increases will only do more bearish harm to our deteriorating political environment in Illinois.

CITY OF WHEATON

Proposition: Shall the City of Wheaton use public funds not to exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) per year for the restoration and operation of the Wheaton Grand Theatre?

VOTE NO!

This is a private business opportunity. The government should not use taxpayer money to: 1) intervene in the private sector, 2) eliminate a private sector business opportunity, and 3) compete against existing private sector theaters stealing business from taxpayers.

CITY OF WOOD DALE

Proposition: Shall the City of Wood Dale have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such program?

VOTE NO!

Private businesses and consumers can organize to negotiate their own energy deals. Government is already too big for the good of anyone except itself. How will hiring more overpaid government officials, and adding to the already bloated state pension system without new production of energy going to save consumers on energy costs without that cost savings being offset by higher taxes down the road?

Proposition: Shall the City of Wood Dale proceed with the planning and construction of a grade separation at Irving Park Road and Wood Dale Road if the project is fully paid for through federal and/or state funding?

VOTE NO!

State and Federal money should not be used for local expenses. This presents a bigger issue, personally I don’t live in Wood Dale, the majority of the people in Illinois and the United States don’t live in Wood Dale, yet we don’t have the opportunity to vote on this issue even though it would be paid through the allocation of everyone’s tax dollars. So were effected yet have minimal say, this is clearly unfair, towns should have to raise internally their own funds for their own projects.

WAYNE TOWNSHIP

Proposition: Shall Wayne Township be authorized to contract, administer or license a refuse collection, disposal and recycling program on behalf of the residents of the unincorporated areas of the Township pursuant to Section 85-13(f) and Article 210 of the Township Code?

VOTE NO!

Government needs to stay out of people’s lives and stop trying to dictate every little thing down to limiting individuals to one garbage collection option. That decision should be left to consumers and businesses not to the government.

BLOOMINGDALE TOWNSHIP

Proposition: Shall Bloomingdale Township be authorized to contract, administer or license a refuse collection, disposal and recycling program on behalf of the residents of the unincorporated areas of the Township, pursuant to Section 85-13(f) and Article 210 of the Township Code?

VOTE NO!

Government needs to stay out of people’s lives and stop trying to dictate every little thing down to limiting individuals to one garbage collection option. That decision should be left to consumers and businesses, not to the government.

MEDINAH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT 11

Proposition: Shall the Board of Education of Medinah School District Number 11, DuPage County, Illinois, build and equip an addition to the Medinah Intermediate School Building to serve various grades, alter, repair and equip school buildings of said School District and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $8,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?

VOTE NO!

No more taxes! School administrators job is to make due with the resources they are given, thats way they get paid the big bucks. These mismanagement problems should not be rewarded at the taxpayers’ expense. Perhaps the proposition should ask about cutting administrative expenses.

LEMONT-BROMBEREK COMBINED SCHOOL DISTRICT 113A

Proposition: Shall the Board of Education of Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District Number 113A, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, be authorized to issue $20,000,000 bonds for a working cash fund as provided for by Article 20 of the School Code?

VOTE NO!

No more tax! Plus much of Lemont’s problem is due to mismanagement and possibly corruption. These problems should not be rewarded at the taxpayers’ expense.

The United States Constitution and the Constitutions of each of the states provide a road map for the operations of the respective government; but there is an alarming trend developing that when unpopular legislation is introduced by the majority party, the minority party protests by not showing up to vote as scheduled.

The arrogance of any elected official to put their own agenda ahead of the democratic process ratified by their constituency is unparalleled by any other.  These elected officials are defying the very process that this country is founded on and need to be given an ultimatum to either fulfill their obligation for which they are being paid, or step down.  Anything less should be addressed within the courts.

Sadly, these temper tantrums are only symptomatic of a much larger issue:  a complete lack of leadership in our country.  The current leadership has the misguided notion that strength comes from drawing lines in the sand and standing steadfastly on one’s own side.  In fact, it is time for real reforms in our government and a paradigm shift that leaves the current duopoly as case study for history majors.

Libertarians understand this, as we have been watching the political drama unfold in a very predictable manner.  If you try to divide the country into two equal sides, you DIVIDE the country into two equal sides.  The establishment Republicans and Democrats have achieved perfect success; the country is divided.

The door is now open for true leaders to emerge and take our country back to a foundation of Constitutional governance, not left, right, conservative, liberal, red, blue partisanship.  True leadership will heal this country by following a steadfast allegiance to the founding documents and serving the people rather than using the people to advance personal agendas.

Get back to work and serve the people you were elected to serve, in the forum in which the state ratified.

-Rae Ann McNeilly

DPL Member/Volunteer

New Logo

We voted to update our logo to this new design which banks off the national logo.  We feel this look will support cross branding and make the DPL look more like an officially endorsed subsidiary of the Libertarian Party. Advertising this logo will build our local brand as well as support and build the national brand.  As we are advertising now and plan to advertise a lot more we wanted to use a logo that would be more beneficial and lead to greater overall returns for Libertarianism.

Website Blog

We have set a target and are going to focus on keeping this blog more up to date.  We would like to post on here at least once per week.  If you have comments, complaints or would like to share your philosophy about local government please send us an e-mail to DuPageLibertarians@gmail.com and assuming its appropriate we will post it here to share and spread the message of Libertarianism in DuPage. 

Township Chairman

We have officially voted John Shuster as the Addison Township Chairman.  We still have Wayne, Milton and Downers Grove Township Chair positions open.  Fame, glory, a resume building leadership role and an entrance into the realm of politics may await you.  To learn more go to our ‘About/Contact’ page as we have detailed information and maps on each township.

Last night we had a very successful business meeting and fun discussion! We signed up 6 people to township chairmen positions, (leaving only 3 positions open), passed new goals for activism and growth for 2011, and nominated DPL officers for election at the next business meeting. If you are interested in becoming a Township chair or running for DPL office let us know. The 3 township positions that are open for chairmanship are:

• Wayne Township (Bartlett, Wayne, Hanover Park)
• Addison Township (Addison, Itasca, Wood Dale, Bensenville)
• Milton Township (Wheaton, Glen Ellyn)

Please let us know if you are interested in becoming a Township Chairman.  The Objective of a Township chairman is to be legislative watch over the towns within their township.  Report the township watch information at the monthly business meeting and recruit members from their township.  Township Chairmen can recruit or appoint their own staff to assist them and structure their township divisions however they wish (without violating the by-laws of the DPL).

Sales Tax Alert! Bolingbrook has an excise tax on all alcohol bringing the effective rate to 14%, this rate applied to all restaurants, groceries, and liquor stores. Shopping just outside of Bolingbrook in any direction can save you 40% or more in tax on alcohol.

For example, AJ’s Woodridge Wine & Liquor which is about one mile from the Promenade on Boughton Rd. across the street from the new Costco, the effective tax rate is 7.75% no excise tax on alcohol. Although, the Costco is in Bolingbrook, so the 14% rate applies there as well. The owner of AJ’s is willing to price match with the Meijer and other places, I do it all the time. The Ultra Foods on 75th and Lemont road usually has very good prices and also has the much lower 7.75% effect tax rate on alcohol.

Alcohol shopping or dining in Woodridge compared to Bolingbrook will save you $6.25 for every $100 spent or 44.6% in the amount you spend in tax.

Lockport which is not in DuPage County also does not have an excise tax on alcohol. Additionally, Lockport does not have a county water tax like DuPage County or a home rule tax like Woodridge and many other DuPage towns, giving Lockport the lowest possible rate in the Chicago metropolitan area of 7.00%, which applies to all general merchandise and alcohol. The 7.00% rate is made up of the state rate of 6.25% plus .75% which is the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) tax which is throughout the entire Chicago metropolitan area, so these two sales taxes aren’t easy to escape.

Alcohol shopping or dining anywhere in Lockport compared to Bolingbrook will save you $7.00 for every $100 spent or 50.0% in the amount you spend in tax.

The DPL has no relational benefit with either AJ’s or Ultra Foods, but shopping wise has the power to influence policy, rewarding towns with better business environments and punishing those for providing poor tax policy environments.  We are not for or against any business, just the individual towns and their tax policies.

My fellow friends of Liberty, if you’re as pooped as I am, you’re tired indeed.  We’ve all been working very hard, and I think we’re going to be rewarded with an excellent showing on Tuesday. There’s only one thing more that needs to be done, and that’s to get out the vote.  By now I’m sure you’ve managed to persuade your friends, families, acquaintances, co-workers, and folks just passing by that it’s only the Libertarian Party that will be devoted to their freedom rather than political power.  Now, you’ve got to make sure that they get to the polls and put those convictions on the ballot! Not everyone is going to vote the straight ticket, and that’s OK; after all, it’s the individual’s own right to choose how to be governed that is our prime directive, but it is important that they do vote.

In those races where no Libertarian is running, we generally make no recommendation, but the various referenda on local ballots may, or may not, advance the cause of limited government and increased liberty. For your guidance, our recommendations on can be found in this voter guide.

Finally, I look forward to seeing you at 7pm on Tuesday for the Libertarian Election Night Party at Dave and Busters, 1155 Swift Rd, in Addison to celebrate Libertarian victory!  If you would like to attend there is a $20 requested donation, also please RSVP with Laurie, contact her at (312)-513-3540.

Yours in and for Liberty

Mark Agnini (Chairman of the DPL)