This Presidental Race is Painful and Harmful

Listening to the anti-women rantings of republicans and the email Clinton saga really has me down on this Presidential election thing.

Really? In 2015 you can proclaim you're going to strip the rights of women and steer our nation towards the control of the fundamentalist religions and get elected? What happened to freedom of religion and thoughts?  I thought we were at war with ideology and rebels that dictated and dominated folks with their own religious values.

While this screaming level of rhetoric challenges our social tolerant values, the spill of this hate and motivated violence is seeping through the cracks of our social fabric, causing harm and polarity that could jeopardize us all. We must all be careful on personalizing our frustration and taking aim at select groups with our own view of justice.

There is a big difference of having a robust discussion of governance policy and those that take aim at their political villains, spouting evil doings and a harsh personal tone. I know these political debates about abortion, immigration, and governmental communication protocols are not meant to spur criminal and physical reaction throughout our public, but as frustration grows within supporters of these aggressive views, I would suggest violence becomes more rational to everyday citizens.

I am hoping we can turn down the personal attacks and accusations on fellow politicians and citizens. While there is much work to be done and many issues to resolve, we must always put civility first before we resort to violent speech or actions in support of our great nation. As we focus attentions on the intolerance, hate, and barbaric actions of foreign fundamentalists, we must not lose focus on the tone and actions within our country. One only has to look at world history to determine what could be our future.

Stand up for Rt. 53 or Sit Down!

I would like to know which fellow Lake County Board Members support increasing the taxes and fees on Lake County Residents. I recently asked Chairman Aaron Lawlor to place the discussion of a 4 cent a gallon Lake County Gas Tax on a committee agenda to discuss and get a vote on the Lake County Boards position. It is my understanding that a new tollway plaza in the proximity of the old Deerfield Road has been proposed along with the increase of tolls prices.

During my political career I have voted against the Route 53 extension mostly because of my stance against suburban sprawl and my position on retention of our green assets. If given the opportunity, I will Vote Against this proposal again, not only because of my general belief concerning suburban sprawl and the future of Lake County , but also because We should not be raising taxes and fees on our residents.

Not only will the 4 cents hit us in our pockets, increased fees and tolls will push cars and trucks off the 294 tollway and onto route 41, causing dangerous and increased traffic for our eastern Lake County residents.

With a majority of the Lake County Board seats up for election in 2016, I think it is incumbent on the candidates to voice their position on these taxes and fees prior to the filing deadline for the 2016 election. We need to have this discussion soon since the Lake County Board has never taken a position on these increases in taxes and fees and the viability of the Route 53 plan is based on an acceptable and valid financial plan.

Let's Bring People Together, Not Divide

Saying we should bring people together and not be dividers is a good objective and should result in positive warm cozy feelings. But that alone does not do a thing for creative and sensitive solutions for the problems we face today in our world. I love folks that go out and proclaim they will bring people together and unite us. For What? If the majority of government has old fashion ideas, what good does unification and good feelings help its citizenry. What unified solutions will they move forward? When I support citizens for public office, I expect strong constructive results that help facilitate a good life for my family and community. Considerations, good intentions, sweet talkin, and all the schmaltz in the world really does not mean a thing when it comes to creating good government. We must challenge the status quo to be successful.

The methodology and delivery of many of us out there in the political world has not been as smooth and gentle as we might hope. Working on reduction of inefficiencies and consolidating redundant operations that maintain the core services IS what I expect our representatives to focus on. The lack of participation on these efforts does cause frustration, anger, and strains the ideology of peace, love, and harmony. But when you are confronted with a posse of mediocrity one needs to shake it up, speak up, and cause a little pain or you're not doing your job.

I would suggest we all keep open minds and LISTEN to the substance of the discussion in politics and not as much on the delivery and appearance. While I know that political marketing, mob spin, the press, and our wonderful leaders have a tone and an specified bandwidth we should fall all within, breakout and rise above the noise to comprehend the Substance.