TRIBLOCAL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE

Below is a link to the TribLocal article about Monday’s hearing. 

I am pretty sure that what I actually said to Ms. Stoffel, the reporter, was “Most of the objections are pure BS – when Grabbe and MacDonald realized they didn’t have enough valid objections, they just made up a bunch of nonsense – like alleging that circulator’s signatures are “illegible” and therefore invalid, or that circulators don’t live at the address stated”.

I am glad that the Tribune, unlike the Herald, pointed out that the objectors did not even appear at the hearing.

Chapman is dreaming if he thinks the County Clerk records check is going to determine the outcome.  I am sure we will have enough good signatures after that process, which means the other objections (such as “circulator’s signature illegible” or “notary stamp appears in the same spot on all pages!”) will have to be decided on by the electoral board, which consists of Chapman, Tim Millar and June Becker.

No word yet on when the records check might take place.   It might begin tomorrow, or next week.

 You can read the story here: http://www.triblocal.com/Palatine/List_View/view.html?type=stories&action=detail&sub_id=170605

NEW POLITICAL COMMITTEE CREATED TO FINANCE THE PETITION BATTLE

It has been said that “freedom isn’t free”, and neither is access to competent counsel and due process under law.  Grabbe and MacDonald have retained Jim Nally, one of the most politically connected election attorneys in Chicago, to represent them, and we have the equally eminent and qualified Richard Means.  Now that the legal battle over the validity of the signatures is in full swing, we need to find a way to pay our legal expenses.  Because these expenses will certainly exceed the amount of $3,000, we are required by state election law to form a Political Committee.  I know a lot of people don’t like political committees, but in some cases they are an absolute necessity.  We do not know who is paying for Grabbe and MacDonald’s lawyer, but I think it is a safe to say that they are not personally paying a dime.  I can assure you that none of us can personally, individually afford to pay the thousands of dollars in legal fees that will be required to defend the petition, and that is why we need your help.  We are doing this for you, the hard-working taxpayers and parents in District 15 who signed a petition stating that you wanted this issue to be on the ballot in November.  Your contribution in any amount would render a great benefit to our community as a whole.

WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO FIGHT THE BATTLE TO DEFEND OVER 7,500 SIGNATURES! 

 Please send your contribution to:

“CITIZENS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN D15 “

c/o Lisa C. Neal, 5503 Silent Brook, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008. 

 Contributions under $150 will not be itemized in filings with the State Board of Elections (in other words, your privacy will be maintained). 

A copy of our report filed with the County Clerk is (or will be) available for purchase from

 the County Clerk at 69 W. Washington, Chicago, IL 60602.

PAID FOR BY: CITIZENS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN D15

TRIBUNE REPORTS ON “ILLEGAL” BACKDOOR BONDS

Check out this very timely article in the Tribune this morning:
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Tribune reporter

April 30 2010

Strapped for cash and taking their lumps on tax-increase measures, school districts in Chicagoland are increasingly skirting requirements for voter approval of building projects by issuing bonds that don’t require a referendum and then shifting that money from fund to fund.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-0427-tax-transfer-20100430,0,7557218.story

OBJECTORS CURIOUSLY ABSENT FROM ELECTORAL BOARD HEARING

I was profoundly disappointed to see that the Objectors, Grabbe and MacDonald did not appear before the electoral board – I was hoping to introduce myself to these staunch defenders of democracy and the Chicago/Cook County way of practicing politics.  For those of you who do not understand what I am talking about, this means slinging as much mud as you can at your opponent and their petition and praying that some of it sticks.

Oh well, I am sure I will get a chance to meet them when we go to the Cook Couty Clerk’s office this week for the records check.  This is where we comb through the thousands of objections filed by Grabbe and MacDonald, comparing signatures and registered voters addresses.  It is in this “grunt work” phase of the proceedings where we will see how good their case is.  I am certain they won’t want to miss it.

ELECTORAL BOARD HEARING SET FOR MONDAY APRIL 26 AT 7:00 PM

The hearing on Crabbe and Goyle’s (oops, I meant Grabbe and MacDonald’s) objections to our petition to put the bond issue on the ballot in November has been scheduled for Monday April 26 at 7 pm at Sundling Junior High in the regular board meeting room. This hearing is open to the public, and I hope that many people will attend to remind the board that you are still paying attention! Wear red if you please.

The “electoral board” is comprised of Jerry Chapman, Tim Millar, and June Becker, who will be acting as judge and jury, and deciding the validity of the objections. I understand that much of the hearing process will take place at the County Clerk’s office downtown, where the original voter registration and signature information is kept. 

We have been working literally night and day to review the objections and we believe the vast  majority of them are without merit.
Hundreds of objections were made to signatures because the reviewer did not believe the petition circulator’s signature was “legible”. Last time I checked, legibility was not a requirement.   Hundreds of signatures were objected to as being “not genuine”. Once again, we can easily obtain affidavits of signers if their signatures don’t exactly match their voter registration cards they signed 10 years ago. The funny thing about those “not genuine signature” objections is that, to my knowledge, the petition reviewers did not have access to the voter signature cards because they did all their work at home or at Flamm’s HQ. So, they have no basis for saying any signatures are not genuine.  Also, hundreds of signatures were objected to as being duplicates, which clearly were not. 

These are just examples of some of the frivolous objections which were filed by Flamm’s stooges.  Too bad I can’t ask for sanctions against them for filing vexatious and harassing pleadings – but Illinois law says you don’t get sanctions in election cases.  Oh well, there are always potential civil damages… but that is another lawsuit for another day.  I sure hope Crabbe and Goyle know what they are getting themselves into!  I doubt it because my bet would be that they have not looked at single petition page in this matter, because FLAMM”S FLUNKIES did it all for them.

Bring it on!

Please come out and show your support as we battle the “machine” tonight!

We are confident that ultimately we will prevail and the issue will go on the ballot in November. But I doubt that I will get a fair hearing in King Chapman’s court, and further litigation will most likely be necessary.

Have a great weekend and I hope you can come to the hearing on Monday.

KING CHAPMAN TURNS THE SCREWS ON THE SERFS OF PALATINE

Last night the District 15 administration and King Chapman began the process of punishing the people who signed the petition to put the bond issue on the ballot in November. It was revealed that $1.6 million in previously budgeted and scheduled capital projects set to take place this summer would be deferred. Chapman’s excuse? “We can’t maintain a 30% fund balance without the bond sale and still spend money”. Then don’t maintain a 30% fund balance! Times are tough – be flexible!

The fact is that ChapmanBokorEkebergBabcockBloom (I understand that they refer to be thought of as a single unit) acted irresponsibly when it negotiated generous raises for the teachers and bus drivers that the board knew the District could not afford. The 5 Year Financial Projections that were prepared by the District in April 2009 clearly showed that the District would begin deficit spending immediately, and would be in the red by 2013. The children of District 15 should not be punished for ChapmanBokorEkebergBabcockBloom’s conscious, reckless disregard for the facts regarding the financial health of the District. They chose to make the unions happy at the expense of our kids, and now they want to punish our kids some more.

FLIM FLAMM RECRUITS ESPA UNION MEMBERS TO HELP WITH PETITION REVIEW

At last night’s board of education meeting it was revealed that Matt Flamm did not file the FOIA request for a copy of the petition (834 pages) to put the bond issue on the ballot in November. This task, and the expense (photocopies from the District are not free!) were taken up by Angie Drazkowski of the ESPA, which is the union that represents the program assistants, and the same union which donated thousands of dollars to the Friends of Bokor Chapman Ekeberg in the 2007 District 15 School Board election. Ah, the mutual back-scratching continues. Expect a flood of donations to Flamm’s campaign. I am soooo glad that Matt Flamm’s efforts to challenge the petition are not politically motivated! I was beginning to worry!

MARY E. VANEK RETAINS ATTORNEY RICHARD K. MEANS FOR PETITION CHALLENGE

I have always believed that the best defense is a good offense, so I have retained attorney Richard K. Means to represent me in the event that Matt Flamm chooses to file an objection to the District 15 voter’s petition to put the bond issue on the ballot in November 2010. Mr. Means has extensive experience in dealing with election challenges, and he is a political Independent, which is very important to me. If and when Mr. Flamm files his objections, we will be prepared to proceed with our defense without delay.

MATT FLAMM – TEACHERS UNION TOOL

People have asked me why Matt Flamm would insert himself into this controversy and I believe the answer is obvious: Flamm has received $500 from the Northwest Suburban Teachers Union (District 211) and he would like to get more from them and from the Classroom Teachers (District 15 union).
What better way to win the support of the teachers unions than to become their tool?
It is just the old Democrat-Union mutual back-scratching orgy that is destroying our county, and our state, as the public sector unions guarantee themselves high salaries and expensive benefits that the rest of us cannot afford, by contributing millions to the coffers of Democrat candidates who ensure that the taxpayer dollars keep flowing to the union members.
Flamm’s move is nothing more than business as usual for Cook County Democratic politics

MATT FLAMM PLANS TO CHALLENGE REFERENDUM PETITION

Well folks, it looks like Matt Flamm really does not want to be the next State Representative for the 54th District. He plans to round up volunteers to go through 834 pages of signatures and look for 1,000+ bad ones.
Lets all send Matt Flamm an email at matt@mattflamm.org and tell him good luck in November!

From: Matt Flamm
To: Matt Flamm
Sent: Tue, April 13, 2010 10:31:25 AM
Subject: referendum petition review

As you probably read in the Daily Herald, the Tea Party and others filed a petition yesterday seeking a referendum on the ability of District 15 to issue bonds to restore its working cash fund, which has been depleted because the State of Illinois is behind in making payments. The proponents of the referendum claim to have 7,500 signatures, but no one knows how many of them are registered voters in District 15.

A group of volunteers is reviewing the petition signatures against the voter file to determine how many of the signatures are valid. If enough invalid signatures are found, an objection to the petition must be filed by next Monday, April 19th.

There will be two meetings to train volunteers on how to check names. Each training session will take less than one hour. We are asking each person to check 100 names (or 200 if you can). Each name will take less than one minute, so we’re only asking for 2 or 3 hours of your time. The procedure for checking names is simple, and you can do it from your home computer.

If you can, please join us tonight or tomorrow night:

WHEN: Tuesday and Wednesday, April 13 and 14 — 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

WHERE: Palatine/Wheeling Township Democrats Office,
1310 W. Northwest Hwy., Arlington Heights
(4 blocks east of Wilke Road — parking just west of building).

If you can help but can’t attend the meeting, please email me and we’ll send you instructions and pages to check.

There will be many volunteers, so no one will have to carry too much of the load. Please help if you can. Thank you.

Matt Flamm
Candidate for State Representative
54th Legislative District
853 N. Quentin Rd. #341
Palatine, IL 60067
matt@mattflamm.org
(847) 920-8683