LWV Testifies at Tollway Hearing

Tollway Forum draws discussion of Route 53 extension

By Amy Alderman TribLocal reporter Friday at 6:43 p.m. (Libertyville) 7-15-11

Click here to read the story at the TribLocal site

Most people in the standing-room only crowd that recently packed an Illinois Tollway forum in Libertyville said it’s time to get on the road with a Route 53 north extension. And many said tolls on the route could pay for the project.

But since Gov. Pat Quinn supports a west bypass on the Elgin-O’Hare expressway as the next project for the tollway system, Route 53 lingers at the bottom of the state’s top five projects for the next ten years.

“We heard a clear message from voters,” Lake County Board Chairman Dave Stolman said at the Illinois Tollway Capital Planning Forum on July 15. “They want 53 built. We know the extension is vital to economic development. It would promote diversity in our tax base. We are pleased and excited the tollway is considering these projects.”

Although it’s not first, neither is the Route 53 extension last on the tollway’s to-do list. Many other prospective Tollway road projects are not in the 10-year plan, said Bill Morris, a director on the Illinois Tollway board.

Plus, building a toll extension of Route 53 is an alternative to not building an expressway expansion at all, when state funds aren’t there to make it happen.

That way the drivers who are using the road would be the ones paying for the extension, tollway officials said. In the meantime, the tollway system is paying for projects as it goes while grappling with just $5.1 billion in projected revenue and $6.1 billion in projected costs, leaving a $1.1 billion gap, said Kristi Lafleur, Illinois Tollway executive director.

“Route 53 has made the cut. It’s not going away, but one year is just a way to figure out what we’re doing about it,” he said. “This is going to cost a bucket full of money.”

That’s why tollway officials appointed 25 people to an Illinois Route 53 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on June 30. Members are both for and against the extending the expressway through Lake County.

The advisory council has been charged with developing a regional consensus on whether or not to move forward on the Illinois Route 53 extension, the scope and configuration, the design and elements, and how to finance the project, according to the Illinois Tollway.

“It is daunting to move from controversy to consensus,” said George Ranney, who was appointed by Illinois Tollway officials as council co-chair, along with Stolman.

Ranney has historically been against a Route 53 extension. Tollway officials found a way to bend his ear to get involved in this round of the discussions because of new technologies that would lessen the impact on the environment, and the expertise of the diverse Blue Ribbon panel.

“The advisory council has a whole lot of promise,” he said. “There are ways of working the road through wetlands to avoid a Los Angeles type big modern highway. Although I was opposed in the past, I’m willing to work with the group to try to make it work. I would like to see a good and constructive solution.”

But not everyone is for the extension.

Mary Mathews, a Lake County League of Women Voters representative, said that the 2009 Lake County Referendum showing a 76 percent approval rating for the extension isn’t an accurate portrayal of what residents want. Several people noted that the referendum didn’t include information about using tolls to pay for an extension.

There were 89,522 votes cast in that election, which makes up 22 percent of registered voters in Lake County, according to Lake County Circuit Clerk records. Of those votes 64,000 voted for extending route 53 through Lake County, and 20,462 people voted against it.

“We are for the upkeep of the current system, but 76 percent of people were voting for it on a light turnout. That was not 76 percent of residents,” Mathews said. “We need mass transportation. We do not need more roads. That should be the primary focus, and taking care of what we already have.”

Environmentalists as well as some officials overseeing the wetlands where the extension would run through were also not all in favor of the extension.

“I have historically been opposed to the road because it could impact a wetland,” said Maria Rodriguez, Long Grove President. “We have got to be very careful on how we protect natural drainage system.”

Members of the Lake County Audubon Society, the Liberty Prairie Foundation and the Environmental Law and Policy Center, who are on the Advisory Council, shared cautious, but optimistic voices on the possible impact on wildlife and wetlands in Lake County.

“The bottom line is the roads have been impressive,” Sarah Wochos, senior policy advocate. “We want to make sure we minimize the impact. We remain optimistic about the future.”

There were many jeers about the discussion of extending Route 53 farther into Lake County being nearly a half-century old subject at the three-hour forum.

“This is the time to fish or cut bait,” Morris said.

LWV Testifies regarding redistricting at LC Board Meeting

LWV-LC Testimony Regarding Redistricting at Lake County Board Meeting 6-14-11

Many of you are familiar with the League of Women Voters. We work with Willard on voter registration. We have held non-partisan candidate forums for many of you when you ran for office. And then, we also advocate on issues such as: transparency in government. This past year, at the state level, the League worked with a number of organizations to try to get the Fair Map Amendment passed, which the Republican Party supported.

When Chairman Stolman contacted the League along with two other organizations MALDEF and the NAACP, we were happy with the prospect of being involved with the redistricting process. He assured us it would not be political and would not be a repeat of Springfield's shenanigans. Each of you was sent an email of our expectations for the process.

So now today, the full County Board is being asked to vote on the map that the Reapportionment Committee has proposed and approved last week.

The other day, there was a news article that Mr. Stolman said the three organizations, MALDEF, NAACP and the League of Women Voters, found the map to be fair. I am here to dispel any misconceptions about our reactions to the proposed map. The three organizations do believe that the map complies with the Voting Rights Act, and having 4 districts for minority voters is fair. However, we do not believe that the lack of transparency, lack of public notice, and lack of public input is fair. And then there is the gerrymandering! Unfortunately, the Reapportionment Committee did exactly what Mr. Stolman said they would not do: they based the districts on politics and they used Springfield's play book. The only difference was that it was the Republicans not the Democrats.

Years ago, someone who rose pretty high in state government explained that politics was helping your friends and hurting your enemies.

Let's look at some questionable parts of the map. See the northern boundary of District 8. There is a little 2 block section that has been cut out of District 8 and included in District 2. Who does that help and who does that hurt? Or do you really think that small area was excluded to get the population count right?

Let's look at another area. Part of the redistricting process is to keep a municipality intact, so uniting Grayslake into one district seems like a good idea. Although nearby Round Lake Beach is divided into 3 districts, and Gurnee is divided into 4 districts. But currently Grayslake has 2 Democratic incumbents who now will have to face off against each other. And on the eastern side of the county, we find another new district with 2 incumbent Democrats - Audrey Nixon and Angelo Kyle. One would think with a Board of 13 Republican and 10 Democrats, the odds would be that 2 Republicans would be in the same district or possibly one Republican and one Democrat.

Now, for interesting gerrymandering, let's look at the southeast corner, districts 12, 13 and 21. District 21 has become ever more ridiculous than before. Poor little Deerfield was in one district, now is in three. Part of it has been combined with Lake Forest. Lake Forest's natural partner of Lake Bluff has been cut off into a new District combined with parts of North Chicago, Waukegan, and Gurnee. What exactly do those communities share in common? If Susan Gravenhorst weren't retiring, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff would not be separated. So again, who benefits? and who gets hurt?

I think we should just acknowledge that this map was not drawn to benefit the residents of Lake County, but instead, was indeed political to help the majority party. Let's hope that the next time around, we have a better process that serves the people, and allows them to vote for their representatives, and does not just protect the jobs of the incumbents in the majority party.

LWV-Lake County

July Meeting at Waukegan Yacht Club

Our July 2011 meeting was held at the Waukegan Yacht Club. We had the pleasure of watching the boats and the calming water while we conducted the business of our meeting.

LWV and AAUW co-sponsor Waukegan School Board Candidate Forum

For the Spring 2011 elections, LWV of Lake County and AAUW Waukegan Area Branch co-sponsored a Forum for those running for the Waukegan District 60 School Board. This district covers both the elementary and high schools in Waukegan. The forum was held at Miguel Juarez Middle School. Joan Kaltsas of the LWV Lake Forest Lake Bluff Area served as the moderator.

Annual Meeting

At our Annual Meeting in June we elected officers who will serve for the next two years and voted on our biennial budget.

It was held at Linda's home and we were able to enjoy her beautiful garden.

REDISTRICTING IN LAKE COUNTY, IL: Letter to Reapportionment Committee

May 3, 2011

Lake County Board Members and Reapportionment Committee:

On a national, state, and local level, the League of Women Voters considers the redistricting process of paramount importance and one critical to democracy.

The League of Women Voters of Lake County was pleased with the Lake County Board's outreach to it and two other organizations: NAACP and MALDEF. However, given the impact that the results of this process will have over the next 10 years, we are disappointed with the Board's attempt to make its work transparent.

We encourage the Committee to engage in: more outreach, more communication with the public, and providing more opportunity for public input into the process.

There is very little redistricting information on the County's web site. Considering its importance, the Committee's redistricting work should be more visible and prominent on the web site and include regular status reports and notice of upcoming meetings. We also suggest newspapers and other media be made aware of your schedule, purpose, and locations of future meetings.

While the demographer and lawyer were introduced at your last meeting, we would like to see more information about them made available to the public. Who are they? Do they have any political connections?

The demographer was the same one who drew the maps ten years ago, when the County was sued. What did he learn, what will he do differently? We would like to see more information about the people actively involved in the map drawing.

We were satisfied that the Committee voted to reduce the number of districts to 21. Since 1989 the League of Women Voters of Lake County has supported the idea of fewer districts. There was some implication that as two commissioners were retiring, the reduced number of districts could be easier to draw as their districts will be enclosed with others. This information is irrelevant to the approach the demographer should take.

During the meeting, Committee members often referred to districts by the name of the current commissioner. We would like to be assured that was only meant as a way to refer to a district, rather than using its district number. The demographer should not start the process with the current districts and move the lines according to the population changes. He should start by dividing the county into 21 equal-sized districts and then move the lines according to population, community of interest, and other criteria. This may result in some new districts without a current commissioner residing within the new lines. We must remember that the districts are to be drawn for the voter to choose representation and not to protect a commissioner's job.

We suggest there be a number of meetings/hearings at different locations throughout Lake County, both during the day and evening so more people can be informed and involved. Residents, organizations, and public officials may want to view and comment on any proposed maps. As there was standing-room-only at the last meeting, a larger room is needed for Waukegan meetings.

Kane County has posted a draft map to the internet. Lake County should consider the same.

The League looks forward to working with the Committee and other interested parties in providing the best possible outcome for the residents of Lake County.

Sincerely,

League of Women Voters - Lake County

LWV MEMBERS MEET WITH CONGRESSMAN ROBERT DOLD

LWV MEMBERS MEET WITH CONGRESSMAN ROBERT DOLD

On Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 1 p.m., representatives from 10 different Leagues in the 10th Congressional District met with U.S. Rep. Robert Dold. The meeting was chaired by Joan Kaltsas, League of Women Voters - Lake County. Ms. Kaltsas explained that the League of Women Voters is a large organization, in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong and that there are 44 Leagues in Illinois. She said that we are non‐partisan, and advocate positions on issues but do not support specific candidates. The 15 League representatives then introduced themselves.

Dold Introduces Himself and states his priorities

Congressman Dold described himself as owner of a family business in pest management who grew up in this district. He has been a scoutmaster for 11 years and is an Eagle Scout himself. Congressman Dold's priorities are Great Lakes protection, human rights, jobs and the economy, and reducing federal spending. Along with Democratic Rep. Lipinski, he introduced the Great Lakes Water Protection Act. It was referred to the Transportation Infrastructure Committee. It is also supported by U.S. Senators Kirk and Durbin.

Dold on Human Rights, the Economy, Spending Reduction

On human rights, he introduced bills supporting the Bahais in Iran and recognizing the Armenian genocide. On jobs and the economy, he supports pro‐growth strategies for the private sector, not government. He works with the nine Democratic freshmen on this, as well as the 86 other Republican freshmen. He wants only smart regulation of business, not constraining regulations such as the 1099 requirement for small business. He supported repeal of this requirement. On spending reduction, Dold believes the Republican interests, e.g. in defense and agricultural subsidies, should be cut first, to show good faith to the Democrats. Every federal department should be cut except aid to Israel since it is our "only ally" in the Middle East. Dold believes overspending must be stopped by both parties "if the American dream is to come true for our children and grandchildren."

Dold on the Clean Air Act, Voting Rights, Transparency in Government

On the Clean Air Act, Dold said the EPA "fills a role" and that the carbon footprint must be reduced, but only in ways that don't put companies out of business. Some regulation is needed but it must pay off for business. He favors extension of the renewable energy tax credits due to expire in 2012. On voting rights, Dold favors making it easier to vote. A signature, not a picture, should be required to identify voters. On transparency, due to the Citizens United decision, he fears that shell corporations are cropping up to enable rich individuals to influence elections.

Dold on Civility in Discourse

On civility, i.e. partisan bickering, he seemed proud of working with Illinois Democrats (e.g. Gutierrez, Lipinski, etc.), the nine freshmen Democrats, and the "blue dog" Democrats on legislation. He said moderates like himself in Congress are rare due to redistricting that protects safe districts for both parties. He also said that independent voters determine elections, and they will swing to the other party if incumbents don't produce. When asked about dissension within the Republican party, he said that across‐the‐board cuts are needed but again, not in aid to Israel. This aid also must be audited to ensure that it doesn't go to terrorists (Hamas). He believes both parties are angry that the Administration didn't consult Congress before entering the conflict in Libya. He supported ending the Joint Strike Force Fighter program.

Dold on the Affordable Health Care Act

On the Affordable Health Care Act, he criticized the process by which it was written without Republican input more than the content. He said we need health care reform, citing that cost for health care in his company has risen 44% in a short period. He would replace/reform provisions rather than repeal it. He favors the pre‐existing conditions provision but wants malpractice reform and competition across state lines so that employers can purchase plans anywhere in the country.