Politically Districting Winfield

To all that have been following the movement to politically district Winfield:

It is with great sadness that I have to report we have a setback in our quest to have Winfield districted for fair representation across the village. The question will not be on the November ballot and it is not because we did not meet the proper number of signatures on the petition.

In May of this year we kicked off the drive for districting with a direct mail piece showing the locations of current and past trustees that all resided in the southwest quadrant of Winfield. All of these trustees were within about a four block radius. In May, we consulted with two attorneys skilled in municipal law and had them craft our petitions and write the question that would appear on the November ballot. On the first of June we started gathering signatures with the intention of turning them in by August 16th, the date that has been historically the turn in date for citizen sponsored referendum questions. On July 6th, Governor Quinn passed a bill that changed the dates to turn in our petitions from August 16th to August 2nd. The DuPage County Board of Elections first posted this information to their website on July 13th. On August 4th we asked to meet with the  village clerk and found out we were two days late to turn in our 500 signatures.

Five Hundred signatures represents the work of many people working behind the scenes to make this referendum on districting possible. Signatories of note were current Trustee’s Jay Olson and Joel Kunesh. We also had the signatures of past Village President Rudy Czech, and past Trustee’s Cliff Mortenson, Tom McClow, Angel Oakley, and Chris Levan. Five hundred signatures represents 20% of the people that voted in the last Winfield election. Five hundred signatures was 8% of the registered voters in the entire town of Winfield. I can tell you from having collected many of those signatures myself, that 9 out of 10 people who were presented the petition signed it. Of the 1 in 10 that did not sign the petition, the reason they gave was they did not understand the issue well enough. About 1 in 30 people understood the districting question and refused to sign.

The signatures represent 500 people who were petitioning our government to have the right to ask themselves the question on the November ballot of whether or not the village of Winfield should be districted into six districts with one trustee coming from each of the districts. In a certain way what we did was a beautiful thing. The citizens used their constitutionally protected first amendment right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. When we departed on this journey we had a perfect understanding of where the destination was and when we would get there. Unfortunately, the destination was moved while the mission was underway.

On Thursday August 5th, I came before our elected officials to speak at the village board meeting. The Winfield village board still has the opportunity to place the question on the ballot as their deadline remained August 16th. I asked them to do the right thing for their town and to vote to place the question on the ballot because it was what the people wanted and it was the right thing to do. When I held in my hand the 500 signatures, what I held was the voices of 500 of their fellow citizens who asked for and deserved the right to to see the question on the ballot.

That night, the village board failed to hear the voices of their 500 citizens.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=399002

Where Special Interest Ends and Our Elected Officials Begin

Our village faces more challenges today than ever before.  And yet at the very moment when we most need our elected officials to come together, Winfield has been drawn to a standstill by special interest and nothing is getting done.  Why?  Because our village board today serves special interest, and personal ambition, rather than the people they are suppose to represent.

The consequences are devastating.  In the last six years we’ve witnessed our community fall further and further behind because the village board is locked into special interest’s narrow-minded ideology. Every year we struggle to find adequate funding for police protection, roads, infrastructure repairs and flooding as personal egos and special interest take center stage.  We need to be investing in our community – a moral and economic priority – and we need to make Winfield more attractive for new businesses.  But we’ll never make any progress on these or other priorities without decisive change at two levels:  our institutions and the individuals we elected to serve us.

Yesterday was just another glaring example of the divide that continues to hold our town hostage. The village board and Village President Birutis refused to even discuss putting the question of ‘Districting’ on the November 2 ballot. In doing so Birutis and her board refused to give the people a choice in November. Why?  At the institutional level I’m more convinced than ever that we need to control the flow of money in politics if we’re going to have a village board accountable to the people. Our current village board is beholden to the special interest group Winfield United and ‘Districting’ scares the hell out of them. ‘Districting’ strips them of their power, their control.

Winfield can no longer operate within a system that is a charade: hiding who holds the influence from the people while concentrating power in the hands of special interests.  We need to identify the monies given too or on the behalf of candidates. This money far too often translates into unlimited spending to favor or defeat a candidate.  If the candidate wins, the message is clear:  a debt is owed.  Over the last six years of the special interest group Winfield United’s money and control our community has been subjected to their undue influence and heavy-handedness.

We need to send the message to our elected officials that they should serve the people, not special interest and not themselves.

But let me be clear: institutional failures do not excuse Winfield’s gridlock.  At the end of the day every elected official has a choice to serve the common good and the people they represent, or to serve the special interests and themselves.  Money corrupts when politicians choose to let it determine who has their ear.

We must return politics to the people and there must be compromises. Finding workable solutions by talking with one another and finding alternatives that benefit the entire village. Winfield United’s big donors will not embrace such an approach. Compromise forces elected officials to confront difficult decisions. The votes our village officials cast affect the lives of real people.  Hopes and dreams are at stake – ours, our children, our neighbors.  Winfield has been ground to a halt because our elected officials have voted for a big donor’s interest instead of listening to the people, the entire community suffers.

Old-school politics has to go. Winfield United has to go.  Now is the time for a new generation of leadership.  It’s what our village needs and our community deserves.

Update: Tim Allen has invited you to the Winfield Districting BBQ

5 Reasons to Politically District Winfield

33 Benefits of Districting

Sunday, August 1, 2010 – 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Personal message from Tim:

As you may know there have been many leaders of the community of Winfield that have been walking around this summer with petitions to have Winfield Politically Districted.

Winfield politicians are currently elected at large, which means that they can come from anywhere inside the village, they can even be next door neighbors. Oftentimes the Winfield politicians live within a few block radius of each other, concentrating the political power in one neighborhood and leaving vast stretches of the village without any political voice. Electing Winfield politicians at large may have worked well in the old days when Winfield was smaller, but as time went by and the town grew it set the stage for inequities and constant political in-fighting. It’s time to move Winfield’s politics in a healthy direction, it’s time to district Winfield to provide fair representation to all parts of our town.

The window of opportunity for signing a petition to politically district Winfield is drawing to a close. Tony Reyes has kindly offered his house at 27W024 Jewell Road this Sunday, August 1 from 1:00 to 3:30 as a place to turn in your districting petitions and have them notarized to make them official. If you haven’t collected any signatures yourself there is still time to do it. Just print out the attached PDF and have your neighbors sign it, then drop it off at the BBQ at Tony’s house this Sunday. I hope that everyone can bring 10 signatures but if you would prefer, you can just stop by and sign one of the many petitions that will be available for any registered voter living in Winfield.

While you are there, feel free to share in a brat or hot dog and a frosty beverage. Take a moment to sit down with Tony Reyes and Tim Allen and have a chat about anything that may concern you with regard to the village or just tell us how your summer has been going.

Download Your Winfield Districting Petition Here

We appreciate your time and commitment in advance to making Winfield a better place to live.

Thank you,

Tim Allen & Tony Reyes

630.344.9354 – Call if you get lost.

Five Reasons to Politically District Winfield

President Bill Clinton began his second term in 1997 with an optimistic inaugural address in which he urged Americans to “keep our old democracy forever young.” He went on to say “as times change, so government must change.”

This is why I’m advocating for electoral reforms to make our village government more democratic and more representative. The rules governing citizens’ choices and voting power have a great impact on who runs, who votes, who wins and who controls our future. Unfortunately, here in Winfield we still operate under the antiquated “winner-take-all” voting structure, that all too often undercuts accountability and reduces representation. I also believe that having village trustees elected at large causes some symptoms within our town that are not constructive or beneficial to our community.

I would like to take a moment and explain my top five reasons why I believe Winfield would  benefit from Districting our politicians, giving us, the residents representation from all parts of the village. We are now well into the 21st-century, isn’t it time we change our archaic and unavailing electoral rules?

1. Greater Accountability - Our current village trustees are technically responsible for all parts of the town. But as the old saying goes, if everyone is accountable to you, then no one is accountable to you. Each part of our village can be very different from other parts. Residents of a local area deserve to have someone on the inside of the village board meetings that can advocate for them, someone to be part of the closed door meetings, emails and negotiations where our futures are decided.

2. Distributed Power – Our American democracy was founded on the dispersal of concentrated power. In 1776 we rejected the King in favor of the elected representative. It is time to recognize that the only proper way to run a democracy is to have all areas represented by their own trustee.

3. Less influence by big money donors and special interests in our town’s elections – Districting protects the citizens against the corrosive influence of money in our elections. Regardless of how much money a candidate or group spends on a local election Districting forces political groups to build bridges regarding issues that concern the electoral district. It doesn’t matter how much money is spent, if the big money candidate can’t find issues that are relevant to the district, the big money candidate will lose.

4. Lower Barriers to Run for Office – It is a daunting task to find the time and money to campaign across Winfield, to ring doors of 4000 households and shake the hands of Winfield’s 9000 residents. By Districting, we allow people who may be outstanding leaders but who otherwise would not run for office due to time or funding constraints the opportunity to run. A lot of campaigning can be done inside a district for the cost of some ink and some shoe leather.

5. More Continuity in  Winfield Politics – If you have lived in Winfield for any part of the last 10 years, you have seen the whip-saw effect of the village board being elected in and voted out three separate times by one angry group of voters or another. There is a strength in a peaceful village board that has continuity over the years.

Over the next two months you will have the opportunity to sign a petition to put the question of Districting on the November 2010 ballot. The question will read as follows:

“SHALL THE VILLAGE BE DIVIDED INTO 6 DISTRICTS WITH ONE TRUSTEE ELECTED FROM EACH DISTRICT”

I hope you will take the opportunity to sign the petition and I hope you feel as I do, that Districting is the best way to have equal representation and a harmonious village with trustees accountable to the people.

Why I Like Districting

Editors Note: Readers were encouraged to briefly explain why they like ‘Districting.’ Following is a representative collection of the many fine responses we received.

Districting brings more power back to the people.

Districting allows the people to choose their own representatives — rather than the representatives choosing who gets to vote for them.

Districting is a step towards getting the responsibility for government into the control of the residents and its true public servants and out of the hands of the self-serving special interest.

There should be some representation for all people in town — not just the one group that could turn out the most votes.

Campaigns ought to be issue-driven by the residents and not money-driven to capture the most votes. We are becoming a monolithic tyranny of special interest.

Voter apathy stems from feeling unrepresented and that real change can’t happen. With Districting, voters will see the possibility of change.

Districting will encourage more people to become active voters and believe in the politicians because a range of views could be represented.

Districting gives everyone representation. It is representation based on issues and beliefs, not arcane geographic representation.

Districting allows everyone to participate in the political process, not just those with enough money and clout to sway voters.

Districting will encourage greater voter turn-out and in the long run our village will be closer to equal representation, for the people, meaning all the people.

Districting allows all members of the town to be fairly represented. A winner-take-all system, like we have now, will never produce a village board that is truly representative — politically or otherwise.

Districting offers all voters equal representation and a real stake in making Winfield succeed and is an essential step in building a sane Winfield where all are respected.

Districting would decrease the power of special interest political organizations, such as Winfield United. The voice of all resident would be heard.

Districting offers a pro-active and common sense solution to the ills that have plagued Winfield’s elections.

Districting can increase participation, not just in election, but in politics in general. It will increase the integrity of the political discourse. It is a real solution to past election bad blood.

When Districting is used, better qualified candidates run. Also better qualified candidates get elected.

The winner-take-all system guarantees that at least some and possibly 49% of the people go unrepresented. Districting forces the village board to be much more representative of the people.

Districting decreases the dominance of moneyed interests in our elections. It also gives a voice to committed residents who otherwise feel alienated, and thereby encourages more resident participation in village government.

Districting is a method of voting which most effectively reflects the wishes of the voters.

Districting gives me a chance to have a voice in village government and I know my vote will count — it’s a chance to choose the candidate I believe in rather than the lesser of two evils.

Districting is more democratic in that very few votes are wasted — all votes go to elect someone. It provides We the People with justice, not the status quo’s just us.

I like Districting  because it more adequately represents the needs and hopes of the people of the community. I feel wider representation would make for a more honest village government and a more flexible village government.

Districting will allow for political representation of areas which our presently excluded. Also, it will encourage voter participation among the majority of Winfield residents who presently feel they have no reason to vote.

Districting can help change the dynamics of electoral politics to concentrate on the issues as opposed to trivialities and mudslinging.

Districting makes it much more likely that most voters will have representatives who represent their most important interests. Many more people will vote, “Fat Cat” special interest will have much less influence over our community and public policies will meet the needs of many more people along with promoting the common good. We will be much more closer to having a village government of, by and for the people.

I would be represented in village government by a person that holds the same views as I do. It would be someone I could hold accountable on specific positions.

Districting allows the greatest number of people the best opportunity to elect a representative that best represents their views. The winner take all system is inherently unrepresentative because they exclude so many people from representation.

Districting can give every potential voter the hope that they can have some representation in village government.

Districting encourages voters to vote for candidates whose beliefs and values are like their own.

Districting allows everyone’s vote to really count for something meaningful.

Districting is the fairest method known under which people may vote. It unifies, rather than divides the electorate and it ensures a diverse leadership representative of all the people who vote. It encourages voting — the one thing which makes a community work.

The current system encourages an ignorant populace that can be easily manipulated by the best controller of their image.

Districting would allow for an election that allows more ideas to be represented as well as more sections of town. It is time for our village to consider an elections alternative that better represents all the people.

Fair Representation

51% of the Vote Should Not Mean 100% of the Power

A simple, winner-takes-all system seems so normal to us because it is what we are used to. Many cities and villages have moved to some system of proportional representation of representing voters. The reason they have moved to alternative election systems is because they have learned, the people want a greater voice in electing the representatives that affect their daily lives.

Our current election approach allocates power collectively across town. It fails to group people together based on where they live and assign them a single representative. We then have an election, people vote, and whoever gets the most votes in that particular election gets all of the power.

Technically, then, 51% of the people in the community can get 100% of the power. The assumption is, the 51% of the people who have the most votes and therefore, elect the representatives, are going to elect individuals who will represent all of the residents in town, including the 49% who did not vote for him or her. That assumption is based on the “golden rule,” or principle of reciprocity, which says whoever is in the majority today will not be permanently in the majority but has to worry about potential defectors who may join with today’s minority to become the next governing coalition. Therefore, in order to ensure the members of the current majority will be treated fairly when they are in the minority, the current majority treats the current minority fairly. Of course this isn’t the case in Winfield today.

However, there are other ways in which you can justify simple majority rule if you think about the town as a geographic unit which is simply one unit within a much larger area. If the area is subdivided in a way that is “representative,” then presumably (and the simple majority, winner-takes-all rule rests upon this presumption), the 49% in one part of town may be a majority in another part of town. It is therefore assumed this group gets direct representation of its interests from people who are elected by like-minded voters.

There is a second assumption: that the 49% in our hypothetical sample is treated fairly by the governing majority, and is directly represented by majorities that were elected by like-minded voters. The group that is in the minority does not have to wait for a time when it becomes a majority in the town in order to be treated fairly. But it is essentially a principle of virtual representation, or vicarious representation, to claim the present minority is represented or has surrogate representatives who, though not elected by it, are responsive to its interests.

A third assumption that supports simple, winner-takes-all majority rule is the town itself represents some kind of group that is cohesive or has enough similar interests that a single representative can fairly provide constituent service. Certainly not the case in Winfield over the last six years. However, for arguments sake, I live in Illinois and I am assumed to be represented by two Senators even if I did not vote for them because, as a resident of this state, I have certain interests that they are going to represent regardless of our respective politics.

Now those three assumptions about simple, winner-takes-all majority rule, are flawed when you have a permanent majority or a majority that monopolizes power. Such as what is present in Winfield today with the special interest group Winfield United. If you have a system in which the majority in power is furthering only their interest, then the 49% minority is not really represented. It is represented on the hope or promise of “the golden rule,” but it is not represented in terms of that second assumption I described as the virtual or vicarious representation principle.

The problem in Winfield today is the political action committee, Winfield United. Winfield United does not apply the “golden rule” and exists solely to further its’ own self-serving agenda. Based on this evaluation, ‘Districting’ of Winfield is the only way for the residents to receive true representation and remove Winfield United’s undue influences from the community.

Please let us know your thoughts on why you would be in favor of ‘Political Districting’ in Winfield. All correspondences should be sent to www.seventurnsproductions@live.com – No names or email address will be used, just your comments. Thank you.

WU’s Rockett Owes An Apology

Winfield United Director Rockett owes Tim Allen an apology.

The short backstory [For a longer version, click on: Not an Anonymous Mailing in Winfield - Political Districting Mailer] Last week, Tim Allen sent out an informational mailer explaining the need for ‘Political Districting’ in Winfield. Contained within the flier was a very carefully laid out map showing where Winfield United’s  funding was coming from.  Shockingly, the map showed 98% of Winfield United’s financial support is concentrated in a very small quadrant in the southwest section of town, lending even more credence to Mr. Allen’s argument that Winfield’s residents would greatly benefit from ‘Political Districting.’  Within the mailing, not only was Mr. Allen’s name displayed, the informational flier also included Mr. Allen’s email address and his phone number.  This could hardly be considered an anonymous mailing by any stretch of the imagination.  Also, prior to the flier being mailed Mr. Allen had a series of email exchanges with Winfield United President Steve Romanelli regarding that very same flier.

Yet Winfield United Director Rockett, resorted to gross misrepresentations to try and impugn Mr. Allen’s character.  All the while trying to shield his organization from the problems they have  created in town.  In this case he fails, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Rockett was indulging in “distortions and evasions” and his reaction to Mr. Allen is emblematic of somebody whose organization is not holding up under scrutiny.  Mr. Allen is simply a new player in an arena Winfield United believes belongs exclusively to them and their small group of deep pocketed backers.

Given the nature of Winfield politics a certain amount of pandering is to be expected.  But this time Rockett and Winfield United went too far.  Does Rockett really believe what happens in Winfield stays in Winfield?  Rockett owes Tim Allen an apology for saying “blatantly untrue” things about him.  And, for attempting to undermine an effort that would bring better representation for all of Winfield. Furthermore, Rockett owes each and every resident of Winfield an apology also.

Debate Club Tonight at John’s 7 PM

Big kudos to Winfield resident Tim Allen for his quest to make “Political Districting” and “Equal Representation” a reality in Winfield. We should have learned a lot from our last election in Winfield. Our campaigns are too long, too expensive, and too nasty. There is no greater threat to our democracy than the runaway costs and ’special interest money” involved in getting elected in Winfield.

Our elected officials no longer represent us but, rather, the conflicting special-interest group, to which they have become beholden via their need to raise huge sums of money to attain the elected office they so badly covet. Not only do they march to the drum that funded them, but they can no longer achieve the compromises required to bring our community together. They are required to go after the opposition, which leads to bad blood, and a dysfunctional board badly out of touch with the real issues facing the town.

And the problem is not fixable by any current or future elected official as the special-interest group, Winfield United wants to continue the status quo. They like the current level of influence they have and will not give it up.

In short, if we do nothing, we are doomed to fail again. The enemy is us. The golden age of Winfield has been here and we are now in the downward trend, unless we take our fate and put it back in our own hands.

Tonight Tim Allen will hold a Debate Club meeting at John’s at Winfield and Jewel Rd. at 7pm on the topic of ‘Districting Winfield into 6 Separate Political Voting Districts.’ Please see if you can make the time to come out and listen to the pros and cons of “Political Districting” and give your opinion.

Your opinion is the most important!

The residents are going to have the opportunity to vote on the question of “Political Districting” come November. Being informed will ensure everyone is making the right decision for our neighborhoods.

Hope everyone can make it and while you are there you can try one of John’s many fine beers.

Good Morning Klein Creek!

It appears that the natives of Klein Creek are restless. Literally……..as in they can’t sleep.

First the back story:

Klein Creek Golf Course was sold to a gentleman named John Weiss recently. John told me at the last village board meeting that Klein Creek was the third golf course he and his investor group purchased. Unfortunately for all involved it seems that Mr. Weiss has changed out some of the equipment they use to cut the grass and it is much louder. Aside from that, the previous owner had worked out ways to being kind to his neighbors in the sequence the golf course holes were maintained. So that the ones which were closest to residents were cut later in the morning when they were less likely to wake people up. It turns out that in the transition between the last owner and Mr. Weiss, none of these special “good neighbor” things were communicated. The result is some very unhappy residents that are annoyed by having lawn mowing equipment running at 5:00 in the morning in some instances. From my conversations with the neighbors in the area, they are mowing the fairways so early they need their headlights on in order to see what they are cutting.

This is a pretty interesting dilemma. I have to say that normally I have a lot of sympathy for the business owner. Golf courses, especially ones that are in your back yard and one of the reasons you moved to the area need to be maintained. However, in this case I am not so sure. I have been receiving emails from the residents of Klein Creek and one of them is an email proposal from Mr. Weiss. I have excerpted it here:

We want to be good neighbors. We want to avoid the legal action that out attorney  is recommending that we take immediately.  We hope that legal action is not our only other choice  as we believe we have given you a compromise that puts you in a better position then you were with the previous owner. The village does not want to spend money on legal fees, we don’t want to spend money on legal fees and each one of the people opposing the change in ordinance certainly does not want to individually hire attorneys to let a court determine  if they have violated their homeowners agreement by protesting the change.

So the deal that Mr. Weiss is proposing is “stop complaining or I will sue you”. In fact, stop complaining or I’ll sue everyone (The Village of Winfield Included!) What’s more than a little obnoxious is in the beginning of the email proposal he sends he asks the lady who is heading up the Klein Creek Citizen contingent to supply him with contact (email) information from the other residents she represents. So my read on this is “Tell me who’s causing me a problem so’s my lawyer can sue the crap outta dem.”

Nice! Very Cicero…..

The bottom line is once upon a time, last year, all was good and right with the world in our northern quadrant. Now, not so much. You would think there would be a compromise that all could live with because there was a working solution so recently. I have to believe there are new-fangled contraptions called “mufflers” that could be fitted to their equipment that could solve some of this too.

My greater concern is that of the village and how they are handling this situation. I believe that Klein Creek subdivision is the “red headed stepchild” of Winfield and routinely gets beaten like a rented mule. I also feel they would be much better served having a trustee that was districted to come from Klein Creek and was able to stick up for the residents in situations like these. I hope as the summer drags on and they have the opportunity to petition for the political districting of Winfield, they take this opportunity to secure for themselves a seat at the table of the Village Board of Winfield.

A Little Help Please…….

Strengthening our community for the future is going to take a grass-roots effort all across Winfield.  What this “effort” means for us at Winfield411/blog – and for others who resisted Winfield United’s bigoted philosophy – is that we cannot rest.  We must continue working to get fair and balanced representation to all areas of town.

If this status quo is to change, all of us must keep the pressure on.

You can play a key role in building a new political structure that will change Winfield’s future for the better and not only challenge Winfield United’s stale and self-serving agenda but put an end to it once and for all.  In order to effectively get this message out, Tim Allen needs your help to raise the funds necessary to direct mail the entire village.  Mr. Allen has prepared a flier he would like to mail to each household in Winfield.  You can download the flier right from this website, so please take a moment to download,  Political Districting of Winfield; A Call to Action and review Mr. Allen’s thoughts.  The cost of the getting the flier to all Winfield residents is roughly two thousand dollars.

Winfield411/blog is asking for your help in supporting Mr. Allen’s effort.  So, if you can, please make a donation of $50, $20, $10, $5, or whatever amount you are comfortable with, any donation would be greatly appreciated.  Your contribution will  help return our community to the residents and free our future from the hands of special interest, while never again allowing any single group to control the destiny of our town.

We realize many readers don’t have much money to spare right now – especially given the tough economic times.  But, if you can afford to make a donation, you can rest assured your donation will go to making Winfield a happier, healthier community.

Thank you.

Winfield 411

All contributions can be mailed to or dropped off to:

Tim Allen
27W174 Birch Rd
Winfield, IL 60190

You can phone Tim at: 630.344.9354
Or email Tim at TimAllen57@gmail.com