Area Republicans rallied Monday to declare independence from "the tentacles of Cook County and Chicago politics" reaching into Will County. The gesture was symbolic but served to fire up a crowd of well over 100 people as the Nov. 6 election nears.
Last year, Illinois Democrats drew new state and congressional districts that Republicans say could remove any Will County representation in Congress.
"We have to take back what's ours and make sure we stand up for it," said Dave Carlson, the Republican candidate for Will County state attorney. "To implement what we believe in, we need the voters' support in November."
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Various elected officials and candidates for office spoke outside of the , with 39 signing the declaration of independence. Bolingbrook resident Raquel Mitchell, a political coordinator for two Republican candidates, read the declaration to the roaring crowd.
"The new congressional map sliced Will County into pieces," she said. "Half of all Will County congressional districts will likely be represented in Congress by a Chicago politician ... Will County Democrat elected officials stood silently as their home county was cut apart."
The signees included state and congressional candidates, as well as local candidates for Will County Board and other positions such as the Lockport school board.
Redrawn maps extended the 1st Congressional District, represented by longtime incumbent (D-Chicago) all the way to rural Jackson Township in Will County. Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski's 3rd District moved into much of what had been 's 13th District. Biggert is now in the redrawn 11th District, which was previously held by Tea Party favorite Adam Kinzinger (R-Manteno). His district shifted west to allow for the 1st District to extend south.
Officials have questioned whether a congressman from Chicago could truly represent the interests of Will County. During a 2011 meeting in Frankfort to discuss county pipelines, .
“This is a forerunner of what I plan to do,” Rush said. "I've always represented the suburban area. This is not my first time being in Frankfort."
All of the re-mapping could leave Will County without a resident representing congress. County Republicans said the larger problem was that local officials haven't done enough to protect Will County's interests on the issues of redistricting, taxes and a .
County executive candidate Cory Singer (R-Frankfort) attacked opponent Larry Walsh (D-Joliet) for inactivity on these issues. One Singer mentioned was a Regional Transportation Authority tax increase that helped fund Chicago Transit Authority pensions.
"Why did they do that? Because they could," he said. "You know what local officials did?"
Singer let his silence represent his take that they did "nothing."
The redrawn maps didn't discourage 2nd Congressional District candidate Brian Woodworth, who will face off against Jesse Jackson Jr.
"We are going to go to Washington and represent the people of the district ... not special interests," Woodworth said. "That's the machine we're up against. The mysterious beast known as the Chicago machine."
A call to Will County executive Larry Walsh's office was not returned as of Monday afternoon.
It'd be funny if they weren't stealing so much money from me on a yearly basis (property tax). Yes- stealing is the term for when someone takes your money and provides no services in return.
Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that things would be any different if Republicans were in charge. This kind of gerrymandering happens all across the country, and both Democrats and Republicans are to blame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA9KC8SMu3o
We'll be fighting in the streets With our children at our feet And the morals that they worship will be gone And the men who spurred us on Sit in judgment of all wrong They decide and the shotgun sings the song I'll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around me Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday And I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again Don't get fooled again Change it had to come We knew it all along We were liberated from the fall that's all But the world looks just the same And history ain't changed 'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war I'll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around me Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday And I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again Don't get fooled again No, no! I'll move myself and my family aside If we happen to be left half alive I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky For I know that the hypnotized never lie Do ya? cont.
Looks any different to me And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye And the parting on the left Is now the parting on the right And the beards have all grown longer overnight I'll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around me Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again Don't get fooled again No, no! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Meet the new boss Same as the old boss
It would be great if we could truly have representatives of our communities represent us in Congress, but more often than not we just have a party pick a lawyer and use them. 43% of Congress are lawyers (even more have law degrees), how is that representative of our country when less than 0.4% of our population are lawyers? What happened to teachers, small business owners, big businessmen, accountants, doctors, construction workers, labor leaders, firemen, policemen, etc. representing us? I know it's all old fashioned, pie-in-the-sky thinking, but I would love to see us get back to real representation, not party representation. Oh well, I'll get off my soapbox and back to the real world.
Tribune October 20, 2011 : A large amount of heroin has been stolen from a shipping container that Will County sheriff's police were using to store evidence, police sources say, potentially dealing a setback to prosecutions, along with the county's efforts to stem surging heroin use. One source said four individually wrapped kilos of heroin, potentially worth $500,000 or more, were stolen from the container, which was left outside a sheriff's substation and secured with a padlock. Other sources could not confirm the amount. Marijuana and some small items, including a saw and a bow-and-arrow set, were also stolen. The container was stored on a fenced lot near Laraway Road in unincorporated Joliet, where police keep impounded vehicles.
I wouldn't be proud of this because when you scratch the surface and reveal what is behind it, it gets pretty ugly.