Proud to have Voted Today!

Today in my area we had consolidated local elections. These are
for offices such as village President and trustees, Township
Government offices, members of school boards, Park District Board
Commissioners and the like.

As usual, I went out and voted in today's election. I proudly
did this independently as I have in every election for the past
three years using accessible voting machines.

I hear many people say, well, I'm not going to vote in these
elections. It seems as though the vast majority of registered
voters do not care about these elections. Turnout was around
20%.

Those who don't think the elections held today are important are
sadly mistaken. Local Government is the level of government that
affects each of us most directly. Village trustees will decide
what our water and sewer rates are, when our streets and
sidewalks will be torn up for repair, and what kind of
development will come into our community. Township governments,
especially the Assessor are the ones who determine largely what
our property tax bill will be. They also provide programs to
help those less fortunate. School and park boards have the
ability to request tax increases through referenda. If we pay
attention and elect the right people to these bodies, they will
realize they need to make a strong case for any increase and if
they don't they could get voted out.

So, if you had local elections in your area, I hope you joined
with me and exercised your civic responsibility to vote.