Newsletter LWV Glenview

League of Women Voters^®
of Glenview

Current Activities

Newsletter LWV of Glenview

monthly news/notes. 2010 Census. fair map amendment. Cook County. government spending. Community Boards.

From The Glenview LWV President

Ordinarily at this time of year we wouldn't be very busy, but this year is the exception because of the LWVIL Redistricting petitions we are circulating We have set ourselves an ambitious goal of 3,000 valid signatures; however, Leaguers who have already been circulating petitions have reported that most people who have been approached have been eager to sign. We need all members who are able to do so circulate petitions. Circulators have to be registered voters but not necessarily League members.
Let's stop letting our state legislators dictate their own districts & start on cleaning up Illinois. This is a formidable task to be sure, but if not the League and our coalition partners, who will step up?
Thank you to Co-Chairs Joan, Carole, Henrietta, and Mary for doing such a great job organizing the "Petition Kick-Off" meeting and LWV 90th birthday party. The birthday cake was fantastic! Our April 10 meeting will be a petition party, and viewing of "Grandma Was A Suffragette."
Glenview LWV will again participate in the High School Mock Student Elections in the fall; we hope to be able to be at both Glenbrooks. The student voters will have the opportunity to vote using official touch screens from the County Clerk's office. Chair Carole has several people signed up for the project but could use more.
A last reminder: the LWVIL Phonathon will be held Tuesday, March 9 at Koenig & Strey. If you have not yet responded to the LWVIL solicitation letter, please be generous when a League member calls. Remember, the Glenview LWV will receive 15% of monies pledged and collected.
As usual, thank you to all members who contribute in various ways. Please do not hesitate to call or email me with any questions or concerns. Hope to see many of you at the League Women's History Month luncheon March 6.

Everybody In-No One Left Out!

The League of Women Voters has taken on the 2010 Census as a central project for the upcoming year. Leagues across the country have begun establishing partnerships with their local census offices to ensure every resident is counted. The Census is a right fit for Leagues all across the country: it is a local civic event, it is inclusive, it is consequential, it is non partisan.
Nationally, LWVUS has officially partnered with the Census Bureau. Locally, the League of Women of Glenview is exploring how we can assist Glenview with their census efforts in conjunction with the LWVI's role as the lead agency for Illinois Complete Count Committee: "Everybody In - No One Left Out!
Article I, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution mandates a headcount of everyone residing in the United States. The first Census was conducted in 1790 and has been carried out every 10 years since then.
The 2010 Census will be mailed to all households in early March, consisting of a short-form, with 10 questions that will take 10 minutes to complete. The census will count all residents living in the United States as well as ask for name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship and housing tenure.
The census is like a snapshot that helps define who we are as a nation. Data about changes in our community are crucial to many planning decisions, such as where to provide services for the elderly, where to build new roads and schools, or where to locate job training centers. Census data is important because it:
impacts how more than $300 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and more.
determines how data is also used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to redistrict state legislatures and;
determines how Census data are used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas of government.

Redistricting

Justin Levitt, Counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, kicked off "Redistricting- How We Can Ensure the Lines Be Drawn Fairly".Justin explained how Illinois' current redistricting system favors the incumbent and makes it extremely difficult for challengers to get elected. He showed us election districts of all shapes and sizes, explaining that sometimes the most straight-forward rectangle can be less fair then Illinois' 4th Congressional "ear muff" District, which was drawn to create a minority district per federal law.
The League of Women Voters of Illinois is supporting the Illinois Fair Map Amendment to change the system of drawing districts that have resulted in 98% of Illinois elections being won by incumbents. In order to get this amendment on the map, 500,000 signatures need to be collected by April 2010.
Tom Geoghegan, author and public interest lawyer, explained that there will likely be a gerrymandering suit brought to the Illinois Supreme Court along the lines that the intent to create safe seats implies intent to abridge the amount of communication the voter receives. Representative Mike Forner (R-95, West Chicago) and one of the three winners of Ohio's recent redistricting contest demonstrated that there are tools such as computer software and a specific set of objectives to make the process of drawing fairer maps more transparent.
John Bouman, President of the Sargent Shriver National Poverty Law and Spokesperson for the Responsible Budget Coalition presented Illinois' Fiscal Crisis + What Can We Do? Specifically he addressed the General Funds Budget which is roughly half of the Illinois' $56 billion budget. General finds covers health care, human services, education, higher education and public safety. He explained that the state's revenue just does not produce enough for our obligations and that by only taxing goods and not services (the fastest growing segment of the economy) we have a structural deficit.
Illinois' 3% income tax is the lowest of any state with an income tax. House Bill 174 would generate $5-6 billion of revenue (against a $23 billion deficit) by raising the income tax to 5%, raising the personal exemption from $2000 to $3000, tripling the earned income credit, doubling the property tax exemption and expanding luxury tax to 45 services, up from 17. For more information on this budget crisis, visit Stop the "Hat Trick": Win One for the People of Illinois
Lately we've been told that the era of wheeling, dealing, backroom politics is over; however, Illinois voters may remain skeptical. Why? This is the only state in the nation with a history of legislators creating their own voting districts by drawing a name-- Republican or Democrat--out of a hat. The winners get to decide the re-mapping 10 boundaries, drawing district lines to protect themselves and their friends while punishing their enemies. For example, since the last map drawn in 2001, there have been 630 general election contests for the Illinois House and Senate. In almost 45% of these races, there were no challengers. In 547 of them, incumbents seeking reelection won 536 times, or 98%. Thus, the competition is snuffed out, and power is concentrated in the few who are in control.(Obviously, this practice continues with no transparency or oversight and can result in some gerrymandered districts resembling pretzels.)
The League of Women Voters, in concert with other concerned groups, is now working to try to insure a new process. An Illinois Fair Map Amendment, based on an Illinois Reform Commission Proposal, should be placed on the November, 2010 ballot. The Amendment will specify:
1. An Independent Commission, not legislators, will draw the district lines.
2. The process will be open and include public input.
3. Criteria will be used to eliminate partisan and party advantage.
4. The process will protect minority voting rights. This Amendment will be on the ballot only if we get 500,000 registered voters to sign a petition specific to their election authority, usually city or county,demanding it. While we probably can't get all 500,000 by ourselves, the Glenview League will do its best by hosting a kick-off presentation for all members and guests who would like to collect signatures for a fair and transparent redistricting process.
Saturday April 10 1-2:30 League Secretary and Notary Public will be available to notarize the signatures at a Petition Collection General Meeting at the Glenview Police Station (NWC Lake & Shermer) that will also feature the showing of "Grandma Was A Suffragette", produced by members of the League of Women Voters of Morton Grove/Niles.

Shakman Decree Compliance panel

LWVCC Annual Meeting will feature panel of Cook County Shakman Compliance Administrators
The Cook County League of Women Voters Annual Meeting will be held on Monday, May 17 from 9:30am-1pm at the Brookfield Zoo in the Discovery Center. As in years past the business meeting will be followed by a program and lunch. The program this year will feature a panel discussion with the three Cook County Shakman Compliance Administrators. The Compliance Administrators are court appointed individuals with the charge of monitoring hiring practices within Cook County government to ensure compliance with the Consent Decrees stemming from the1969 Michael Shakman lawsuit. The Shakman Decrees deal with political considerations in employment decisions (patronage).
The three compliance officers will discuss the questions: What Do They Do? Why Do They Do It? What Have They Found? What Will Happen Next? The panel will include Mary Robinson, Compliance Admin for Cook County; Clifford Meacham, Compliance Admin for the Cook County Sheriff's Office; and Jan Carlson, Compliance Admin for the Cook County Forest Preserve District. All were appointed in 2008 or 2009.
You can access further information at the following websites: http://www.countyshakman.com, http://www.sheriffshakman.com, http://www.cookfpshakman.com All LWV members in Cook County are welcome at the Annual Meeting. Further information about the meeting including information for delegates and registration information will be forthcoming in April.

Where Does Cook County Spend Our Money?

Members of the League of Cook County presented Cook County Matters - The Facts: an overview of Cook County government, including its structure, budget, and budget process, as well as some recent developments, including the sales tax issue to the Glenview, Evanston, Glencoe, Park Ridge, Wilmette & Winnetka/Northfield/Kenilworth Leagues and their guests at the Glenview Police Station on Saturday October 3, 2009.
Cook County Facts Cook County is the second largest county in the nation. It has 5.3 million people and covers 946 square miles that includes some 800 local governments. The county is 85% incorporated and 15% unincorporated. Cook County provides vital services that no other government provides to for its citizens and their property.
The county employs 25,000 workers to protect persons and property (court system, sheriff, jail, state's attorney, public defender); provide health and hospital services (department of health, 3 hospitals, 15 ambulatory health centers) and general government services (records births, deaths, marriages, assesses property, runs elections).
Cook County has Home Rule authority and gets its power for the 1970 Illinois Constitution. The County's three branches of government are:
Executive Branch (has more elected executive positions than the state)
Legislative Branch (17 Commissioners)
Judicial Branch (one of the largest unified court systems in the world)

Cook County Budget The county is running on a $3.37 billion dollar budget for the fiscal year ending Nov 30, 2009. Cook County& revenues come from several sources. Home rule taxes like the infamous 1.75% sales tax and cigarette taxes account for 29% of revenues. Another 24% comes from fees for services like marriage licesnes and birth certificates. Property taxes make up another 21% and the familiar other category covers 12% which includes transfer taxes from the federal and state governments. Most of these monies are expended on operations ($2.29 billion) and public safety ($1.1 billion). Of the County's 24,453.7 full time equivalent employees, most (18,000) are union members in 30 -35 different unions. Following are the number of employees in the largest departments:
7,564.4 in the Health System
6,814 in the Sheriff's Office
3,208 in the Chief Judge's Office
2,138.5 in the County Presidents Office
2,027 in the Clerk's Office
1,335 in the States Attorney's Office

Cook County Health & Hospitals System The County's health system is a year and a half into a three-year ordinance to be run by an independent board that was created in turn for a 1% sales tax increase. A professional CEO was hired in May 2009 and committees were formed (financial, audit, quality patient care and human resources). The system has 7,500 employees working in three hospitals (Stroger, Oak Forest, Provident), 15 ambulatory health centers and the Department of Health. Forty percent of the county's uninsured residents rely on the County for their health care.
The Cook County League's recent study of county government followed the allocation of money and employee positions to each unit of county government. The allocation of money and employees was viewed in the context of the County organizational chart, and drilled down to each department under the President of Cook County. The complete interactive report is available at http://www.lwv-cookcounty-il.org/CookCountySpendingReport.html.
The Cook County League supports measures that improve the structure and function of Cook County government, including retention of single-member districts, separation of powers, a timely budget process, government transparency, and inter-governmental cooperation. Visit http://cookcounty.il.lwvnet.org/Publications.html for a summary of the positions of the Cook County League of Women Voters.

GLWV Local Government TASK FORCE

"We must have government, but we must watch them like a hawk." Former Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick
The Glenview League's Local Government Task Force approved at the Annual Meeting will be taking Ms. Fenwick's advice seriously as we review the League's March 2005 Local Government position to determine whether the League's recommendations are being implemented.
The study from which the position evolved focused on the village board of trustees and its advisory commissions. The Task Force, with regular input from the League's observers, may wish to consider whether the recommendations can or should be applied to other local governing boards.
The legislation (SB189) amending the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act was signed by Governor Quinn on August 17. The Illinois Reform Commission and the Attorney General were instrumental in developing this legislation that takes effect January 1, 2010. Its implementation offers the GLWV Task Force some additional factors to consider as it examines the way our local governing boards conduct business.
If you are interested in joining the Task Force please contact me by e-mail.
Tell me if you have a specific interest or concern about local government and indicate what are the best days and times for you to meet. An initial planning meeting will be held after September 15. Mary-Lou Aagaard, Chair GLWV Local Government Task Force ml.aagaard@comcast.net

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: March 4, 2010 16:40 PST.