Trottie column on Yarbrough and Nyberg

L. Nicole Trottie (West Suburban Journal) has a column taking Karen Yarbrough to task for accepting campaign contributions by Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins, the Village of Maywood's law firm. Karen's husband Henderson Yarbrough is village president.

Maybe I should have explicitly praised West Suburban Journal for the news story, but I rarely praise other newspapers for doing their jobs. If I praised West Suburban Journal it would probably be in the context of pointing out how boring and useless most of the paper's journalism is. Or outright defamatory.

West Suburban Journal has migrated editorial perspectives from being allied with Bellwood Village President Frank Pasquale and District 209 board president Emanuel "Chris" Welch to being allied with Karen Yarbrough (and critical of Pasquale and Welch) to being aligned with Welch again.

But I may be oversimplifying. Trottie felt double-crossed by Pasquale on some advertising revenue. Trottie later accused Pasquale of cutting off the advertising money when she refused to have sex with Pasquale. And Trottie had been dating Welch, but turned against him with a vengeance.

So, Trottie was not so much a Yarbrough fan--she felt Yarbrough or Yarbrough's staff--leased some office space out from under Trottie, space Trottie wanted for the office of West Suburban Journal. This predated Trottie becoming anti-Pasquale and anti-Welch.

Later Trottie's relationship with Karen Yarbrough went sour. According to a comment posted to Proviso Probe by someone using Trottie's name, Yarbrough's father, Don Williams, failed to complete an advertising contract because he disagreed with some editorial decision made by Trottie.

So, Trottie ended-up in the anti-Yarbrough camp and the newspaper eventually settled on covering Maywood.

This is a decent situation from the point of view the media is supposed to be skeptical of the government. And the Yarbrough political camp dominates village politics.

However, Trottie seems to believe the enemey of her enemy is her friend. And perhaps she's pressured into this thinking because she has to chase after advertising revenue.

By focusing on political factions instead of principles, Trottie's column is weaker than it would be otherwise. It also contains statements that seem debatable. And the sniping at me (Carl Nyberg) is irrelevant to her larger point.

One good point made by the column is that Karen Yarbrough didn't respond to West Suburban Journal's request for comment. I share West Suburban Journal's frustration at elected officials not returning phone calls and emails because they don't want to deal with the issue at hand.

Trottie wrote:

A taxing body that accepts contributions from a no-bid vendor is a very big issue. In fact, it’s a federal hot topic.

I wish this was true, but it's not. Law firms are hired through no-bid processes because they fall under the exception for professional services. Law firms giving money to the politicians that hire them does not automatically trigger a federal investigation. If Trottie had a broader perspective on local issues, she'd know that Odelson & Sterk contributed to Welch's campaigns and Giglio & Del Galdo contributed to campaigns of Melrose Park village president Ron Serpico. Welch and Serpico are under federal investigation, but the investigation wasn't triggered by contributions by law firms they hired.

The interrelationship between the village counsel and Yarbrough’s political parties imply that something of value is given in return for something of value.

This statement goes too far. This statement would appear to damn all campaign contributions. And defenders of the status quo on campaign contributions would probably respond to Trottie by saying that it often appears there is a quid pro quo relationship between her editorial perspective and her advertising revenue.

If a politically-connected law firm, let’s say, Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins, is hired by the Village of Maywood to defend the wolf’s actions in “Little Red Riding Hood,” it would not focus on the wolf’s unbridled desire to consume Little Red Ridding Hood; instead, it would argue that said wolf, disguised in drag as Grandma, should be offered protection under the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The attempted consumption of Little Red is of little worth.

Can someone explain this analogy to me. If a law firm is hired to defend the wolf then the law firm should defend the wolf to the best of its ability, right?

[The Yarbroughs] should give the money back and amend the Village Code ethics portion to prevent such messy contributions from happening in the future.

On this point Trottie and I agree.

Finally, I will defend my honor. Trottie called me the president of the Karen Yarbrough fan club. I like Karen, but she's not the only person I like locally. In 2007 I've spent far more time on the phone with Arnie Bryant, Charles Flowers, Theresa Kelly and probably Mike Manzo than I have with Yarbrough.

You don't especially have to take my word, look up what I've written on Karen Yarbrough on Proviso Probe. Since January 1, 2007 I have written 20 entries that mention Karen Yarbrough out of over 375 entries. Of those 20 entries a number have been less than complimentary.

* Yarbrough political committees hit up village's legal counsel
* A07, election analysis

Most of the entries are neutral, in many Yarbrough just gets mentioned and is not a central character in the entry.

I disagree with Trottie labeling me the "president of the Karen Yarbrough fan club". It's not accurate. And mentioning me is superfluous to the point of her column.

[UPDATE: The Proviso Insider responded to this post under the title, "Carl Nyberg Admits Relationship With Anti-Welch-Serpico-Moore Group!!!". How should I respond? My Naval Academy roommate would have used sarcasm.

"Insider, you're right. There is a group dedicated to ruining Welch, Serpico and Moore. It has weekly meetings. Not only are Nyberg and the others there, but Patrick Fitzgerald and the FBI attend the meetings too."

I could point at that it's hardly a revelation that I talk to most of these people. How often am I on Bryant's radio show? Who attends board D209 board meetings and hasn't seen me talking with Kelly or Flowers? What's sinister about me talking to the political opponents of Moore, Welch and Serpico anyway?

[If you care about the details of my relationship with any public figures, feel free to ask in the comments.]

Yarbrough political committees hit up village's legal counsel

West Suburban Journal (Kevin Williams with Nicole Trottie) detailed how two political committees aligned with Karen & Henderson Yarbrough received $9,000 since 2005 from Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, the attorneys for the Village of Maywood. (h/t Proviso Insider)

Karen Yarbrough is the state representative for Maywood and much of the surrounding area; she is also Proviso Township's Democratic Committeeman. Henderson Yarbrough is Maywood's village president. Before the April, 2007 election Yarbrough's block had a 4-3 majority on the village board; now they have a 6-1 majority.

In an email to me Karen Yarbrough wrote that the Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins contributions were a “non issue”. I disagree.

In the past I have expressed concern that politicians raising money from law firms that work for local taxing bodies is simply money laundering. At its simplest the taxing body picks a law firm—because legal work is a “professional service” it doesn't need to be bid out—and the law firms merely pad their bills to cover the contributions the politicians want. They can either build the cost of the political contributions into the firm's hourly rate or add extra hours.

Raising money from vendors and contractors looks bad, but there are a number of ways raising money from law firms is worse.

1. Legal work is not bid upon.
2. If there is a quid pro quo negotiated it is more difficult for outsiders, including law enforcement, to detect because of the protections of attorney-client privilege.
3. There is no protection against attorneys padding their bills other than the personal honor of the attorneys. Normally, law clients have an incentive to be skeptical of the bills and pay as little as possible. But when politicians are making money off the attorneys the incentives for keeping bills low are weaker than the incentives to “get along and go along”.
4. The interrelationship between attorney and client also taints the legal advice given. Normally an ethical lawyer counsels clients on ways to avoid legal costs. But if the politicians can reasonably anticipate a kickback to their political committee (or an ally's political committee) then they have an incentive to make choices that increase the legal bills, not keep them down.

When people want to rip on Karen Yarbrough they say she practices politics like the people she seeks to replace; at best she's a “reluctant reformer”. She's more articulate than Eugene Moore and less likely to do something flagrantly illegal. But from the community's point of view the new boss looks like the old boss.

I disagree with this assessment. But I think Yarbrough has to make an effort to be better. Most of the people with their hands on the levers of political power want the system to stay the same. The people with political power can convert it into wealth and power for themselves and their political allies. They are going to serve the community as little as possible while maintaining the perks of attaining political power.

There's always going to be a pull to “get along and go along”. Yarbrough and her team have to make an effort to resist this inevitable pull. The pull is inevitable, but giving in to pull of “get along and go along” politics isn't.

IMO, the Yarbroughs should return the contributions to Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins and the Village of Maywood should attach language to the contracts with all law firms that they are expected to stay out of local politics in the Proviso area.

A07, Italian mayor says Yarbrough trying to take over the world [D88, D89, D209]

Proviso Insider is trying to portray Democratic Committeeman Karen Yarbrough's involvement in school district races (District 88, District 89 and District 209) in a negative light. Proviso Insider quotes one of the Italian mayors as accusing Yarbrough of trying to "take over the world".

First, claiming that fielding candidates for three school district races is an attempt to take over the world shows how parochial the speaker is. If three school districts is the entirety of your world you need to take a ride on the "L" and visit a couple museums, Mr. Mayor.

But the statement also conveys a sense of entitlement. A few Italian-American mayors and other politicians have been pulling the political strings for years. They have allowed a few Blacks and Latinos to hold office but the decisions about how the big money was spent have largely been left to the Italians.

And Black and Latino children have gotten poor quality educations in District 88 (Bellwood and Stone Park), District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park) and District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools). A reasonable inference is that political bosses concerned about making themselves and their cronies rich have neglected the education of the students. It's not like Black and Latino students should be expected to amount to much anyways, right?

The mayors and other Italian politicians kept their power by being organized and exploiting interpersonal differences and feuds in the community.

And now the communities are getting organized. Mayors Ron Serpico, Frank Pasquale and Bennie Mazzulla are getting nervous. They want to divide the Black community as much as possible by exploiting whatever negative feelings there are about Yarbrough.

But the education reform movement isn't about Karen Yarbrough. It's a bunch of people that want to improve education and they've rallied around Yarbrough.

This happened largely because Chris Welch, the president of the District 209 school board, antagonized so many people and then challenged Yarbrough for state rep in 2006. Welch motivated many people to change the system because he's so arrogant, obnoxious and really pretty cruel, vindictive and sadistic in how he practices politics.

When Welch challenged Yarbrough the reformers networked through Yarbrough's campaign, but they aren't "her people". They are involved because they want to improve our communities and Yarbrough is savvy enough to work with these citizen activists.

Yarbrough excludes media from D209 candidate forum

On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, Proviso Township Democratic Organization (PTDO), the political organization of Karen Yarbrough, who is both a state representative and the Democratic Committeeman for Proviso Township, invited me by email to attend the Saturday meeting at 10:00 AM on February 28, 2009.

The invitation listed four candidates for the board of education, Proviso Township High Schools (District 209): E. Chris Welch, Reatha Sue Henry, Dan Adams and Brian Cross. These four are all incumbents and all part of one slate. (See more of the invite below.)

Welch ran against Yarbrough for state representative in 2006. The defining ideology of Yarbrough's political organization seemed to be opposition to former Proviso Democratic Committeeman Eugene Moore and hatred of Welch, who has a knack for making enemies.

Friday, February 27, at 9:59 PM Yarbrough sent me a text, "no endorsements for schools and no media tomorrow." I responded within 10 minutes, "What's that mean for me?" Yarbrough did not respond.

On Saturday, February 28, I arrived about 10 minutes early for the 10 AM meeting. I entered behind Rory Hoskins, a Forest Park commissioner and president of PTDO, and helped myself to a doughnut.

When Yarbrough arrived she didn't greet me, but referred to her text from the night before.

I asked, "Are you asking me to leave?"

Yarbrough responded, "I told you not to come."

Along the way she mentioned Josh Adams, editor of the Forest Park Review also requested to attend the meeting. Yarbrough allying with Welch shakes up the political factions in local politics.

Text of PTDO invitation sent to me:

PROVISO TOWNSHIP DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION
REMINDER
from President Rory Hoskins

Proviso Township Democratic Organization's Saturday Meeting
DATE: Saturday, February 28th, 2009

TIME: 10:00 AM

LOCATION: 2301 W. Roosevelt Road

Broadview, IL 60155

Phone: 708-344-7062

Agenda Items:

* Meet District 209 Incumbent Candidates

E. Chris Welch

Reatha Sue Henry

Dan Adams

Brian Cross


PTDO Mission Statement
The Proviso Township Democratic Org., in coordination with the state and national Democratic Party, is committed to the principles of honest, open and progressive government and to increasing voter participation in the electoral process. PTDO is open to all persons, regardless of their race, age, gender, creed, religion, sexual orientation or economic status. [emphasis added]

Message from Karen:

It's been a busy time for all of us however we must do our due diligence in making selections for endorsement. The next few meetings will be spent hearing from candidates who's name will appear on the April 7th election. In the case of local elections, those who are members of the organization will be able to present their candidacy to the group.

Please note that all of these elections are
NON-PARTISAN. (meaning neither Democrat or Republican)


See you there!


PS: Only paid up dues members will be eligible to vote.


Karen A. Yarbrough
Commiteeman

HC & M, why Yarbrough impeachment resolution matters

President George W. Bush has been able to assume powers not specifically authorized by the Constitution, the courts or Congress. His administration convinced the elites this was OK because the beliefs and ideology changed after the 9/11 attacks.

The impeachment resolution sponsored by Rep. Karen Yarbrough and the other patriots of the Illinois legislature has the potential to shift the country's belief system and ideology to a place where it's not only acceptable to demand accountability from the President of the United States, it's unreasonable for Congress not to demand accountability.

When you change what people believe, you change what's possible.

The Yarbrough resolution calls the scam for what it is. President Bush and his administration have engaged in various acts that are illegal. The resolution makes this clear and implies the question, "How did we as Americans allow such egregious abuses by the president?"

Asking this question is key to righting our country.

Want to get involved?

There is a Yahoo Group to organize in support of House Joint Resolution 125.

Coverage

For local media coverage see Forest Park Review (Seth Stern), Pioneer Press (John Huston) or Chicago Sun-Times (Tracy Swartz).

Or you can do a Google news search using "Karen Yarbrough" or "Illinois impeachment".

You can also read what's being written on other blogs by using Technorati. You can search for "Karen Yarbrough" or "Illinois impeachment".

POL, how Welch's state rep campaign influenced the Proviso First Party campaign [7th REP, D209]

Yesterday I had an epiphany about the Proviso First school board campaign. With the exception of the campaign message it's the same campaign—tactically—that Welch ran a year ago for school board.

• The campaign is using District 209 employees to place yardsigns.
• Danielle-Ashley is designing the mailings.
• In fact, the attack mailing against Theresa Kelly has the same lay-out as the attack mailing against Karen Yarbrough.
• The supporting cast members are still the same: Brian Cross and Emily Robinson.
• The campaign is withholding financial disclosures undisclosures until after deadline of newspapers so it won't be revealed until after the election.

The message of the school board campaign is different from the state rep campaign. I didn't think the message of the Welch state representative campaign was done well, but it was a positive message.

Welch ran as the guy who succeeded in building the magnet school that people had talked about for years. He also took some standard liberal positions combined with “get tough on crime” positions. And he made an attempt to attack Yarbrough for voting “present” on some legislation.

Without rehashing the entire state representative campaign all pieces of Welch's message fell flat. He neither prepared the audience for the attack on the “present” votes nor followed up on the attack. His standard liberal positions didn't contrast with Yarbrough. His “get tough on crime” stuff was privately ridiculed because Welch has a significant number of friends, relatives and political allies who have had their encounters with law enforcement and other authorities for the same offenses Welch claimed to be getting tough about.

And then there was the magnet school. I believe Chris Welch was and is proud of pushing the creation of PMSA. Welch succeeded where Mike Manzo, an earlier school board president, failed.

However, what Welch saw as “breaking a few eggs to make an omellette” much of the community saw as graft, kickbacks, elitism and trampling democratic processes. When Welch tied himself to the magnet school he was hurting his campaign more than helping. PMSA hasn't built a positive reputation yet. Welch didn't seem to understand that schools establish themselves by their academic reputations, not the buildings and physical infrastructure. And this failure to understand what a good school is shows in how Welch governs Proviso Township High Schools as president of the board of education.

State Representative Karen Yarbrough did the usual things to campaign for Democratic votes, but her most effective tool in the campaign was going negative on Welch. This type of campaigning grew out of Yarbrough's history of campaigning against Eugene Moore and his proxies. (Moore is an ally of Welch's.) But going negative against Welch was inevitable.

A whole bunch of people hated Welch. Welch practiced an extreme version of scorched earth politics at the local level. He sued his critics—like me—for defamation and he was associated with firing a significant number of people at District 88 (Bellwood and Stone Park elementary schools) and Proviso Township High Schools. Welch was a pioneer in using bad-faith defamation suits and an extreme practioner of the most vindictive “to the victor go the spoils” politics.

The people who gravitated to Yarbrough to help her in the state rep campaign hated Welch. And as far as they were concerned the more suffering and humiliation Yarbrough and her campaign inflicted on Welch the better.

Since Welch's defeat—which was pretty humiliating given that he spent well over $100,000—Welch hasn't changed how he governs. If Welch grew as a person from the loss he probably would have tried to make amends with his political adversaries and been less confrontational. But other than avoiding the bad-faith defamation lawsuits, Welch hasn't changed how he behaves.

I suspect that the lesson Welch learned from getting wupped was that negative campaigning works. And he learned that people don't like corruption.

So the Proviso First Party is campaigning against low test scores, patronage, deficit spending, junkets, etc. This goes beyond ironic. Welch is trying to get at least one person from his slate elected by making them appear to be campaigning against a corrupt and inept status quo. In reality Welch's political organization is supporting the Provios First Party for one purpose: so Welch can maintain his board majority.

The message of the Proviso First Party goes beyond simple dishonesty to outright prevarication. Welch is hoping that media outlets focused on village races will give the mendacity of the Proviso First Party mailings a pass.

I wouldn't call it genius, but it's about the best Welch can do given the cards he has to play. I doubt it will succed in getting any of his candidates elected, but it is causing anti-Welch voters to consider supporting Welch's candidates. Seriously, I met a Forest Park woman who is active in local politics and she was duped by the Proviso First Party mailing.

Yarbrough camp nominating petitions

I asked Democratic Committeeman Karen Yarbrough who she is circulating petitions for. She responded by text message, "St. Rep, Obama delegate, Durbin, Obama Prez". I asked two follow-up questions. Is Karen Yarbrough the state representative candidate? She replied affirmatively. I asked who she's circulating for Cook County Recorder of Deeds. She didn't respond to this question.

Proviso Insider claims Yarbrough is running for recorder and Emanuel "Chris" Welch is going to run against a Yarbrough-backed candidate, perhaps Karen's husband, for state representative.

Vicenik and Yarbrough use taxpayer resources for political work

West Suburban Journal-News (L. Nicole Trottie with Kevin Williams contributing) covers the criticism Broadview Village President Henry Vicenik took over letting Rep. Karen Yarbrough and U.S. Rep Danny Davis use a village-owned property rent free.

Vicenik said the board’s decision to offer the space rent free was never a board agenda item....

Vicenik counters, the decision by the board is justified as providing a service to Broadview residents.

“I thought it would be good for the village and residents to have a state representative and congressman here as a resource for the people of Broadview,” Vicenik said Tuesday.

Having a village subsidize constituent services is at least an unusual arrangement. And unusual arrangements need more specific contracts. And contracts need to be approved by the governing boards, or they formally delegate this power.

Broadview has been in financial trouble for years. Why wouldn't it ask its tenants to pay for using village property?

IMO, Yarbrough and Vicenik are in some legal trouble, or should be, for using public resources for political activities. I assumed that Yarbrough and her organization were paying rent and that there was a contract which separated the political portion of the premises from the government part of the premises. I'm pretty sure my assumption was based on this being claimed or implied by Yarbrough. Maybe I'm misremembering.

If Yarbrough and Vicenik knew that the space was provided gratis by the Village of Broadview they both know that there should be no political activity being done there. I made a formal complaint to the Cook County State's Attorney against Eugene Moore and District 209 for a comparatively minor transgression.

h/t Proviso Insider

BTW, there is something of a back story to Trottie's interest in this building. Trottie sought to acquire use of the property for free from Vicenik. Trottie mentioned the arrangement to Yarbrough. Apparently Vicenik decided it was more advantageous to him to give the property to Yarbrough and Davis than to Trottie's newspaper which was brand new at the time.

However, whether Trottie has an ax to grind with Vicenik and Yarbrough over this property, it doesn't mitigate the wrongdoing by Vicenik and Yarbrough.

should we expect Karen Yarbrough to switch state rep candidates?

On the Chicago Tribune blog Clout Street Mickey Ciokajlo reports state representative and Proviso Democratic Committeeman Karen Yarbrough has solicited the Cook County Democratic Party for support to be Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

Yarbrough represented to me that she was running for re-election as state representative.

I haven't done the research, but I am pretty sure she can't hold both positions at the same time. If it was possible, why would Eugene Moore have resigned as state representative when he was appointed recorder?

Ciokajlo's piece was published at 8:40 Monday morning. Yarbrough's text message to confirming she was the candidate for state rep was 5:57 PM Saturday.

I sent Yarbrough an email asking the following questions at 12:16 PM yesterday.

Who are you supporting for Recorder of Deeds?

Can you guarantee there won't be a last minute switch of some other candidate for state rep in the 7th district?

As of almost noon today she hasn't responded.

Karen Yarbrough to run for re-election as state rep

Rep. Karen Yarbrough announced that she will run for re-election. See Forest Park Review (Josh Adams).

She did take a swipe at Eugene Moore, the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Yarbrough had been considering challenging him.

"It wasn't about challenging him [Moore], it was about holding the office," Yarbrough said of squaring off against Moore. "He's just warming the seat, and not very well, I might add."

HC & M, Katrina victim contacts Yarbrough on impeachment

Rep. Karen Yarbrough has received email, letters and phone calls from around the country (and some from overseas). Overwhelmingly these people support her call to impeach President George W. Bush. See Proviso Probe for the resolution.

Yarbrough received the following email from Monique Champagne. It is published with her permission.

Dear Karen Yarbrough,

I just wanted to say thank you so much for being brave and just in your quest to impeach George Bush. If there is anything I can do from Austin Texas please let me know. I am from New Orleans, Louisiana and have had to relocate here since Katrina. As I try to rebuild my life, I have found myself more involved in the news and in researching our president. I found myself reading about you numerous times during that effort. Your strength to stand up AND FIGHT for what you know is right is an inspiration to me.

I wish you the best of luck and again, it would be an honor to help you in any way I can. I am not the only one who feels like you have taken a step that proves your dedication to this country.

I am 30 yrs old, have a work history in the film industry working in the art department as a set dresser. I have web design skills, graphic design skills, and know a network of active people in my community in New Orleans and Austin. Please do not hesitate to let me know if there are opportunities for me to assist your efforts in any way. Currently I am proposing an evacuation plan to congress in hopes of getting funding since still TO THIS DAY my community of mostly African American citizen- the very people who bring the essence of New Orleans to rise, are being underappreciated and let down. I will fight to see that something is done.


Thank you for your inspiration. You are a soldier. And I'd follow you into battle :)

-Monique Champagne

M06, Welch/Moore cheap shots

In an earlier Proviso Probe discussion a supporter of Emanuel "Chris" Welch who reads campaign documents posted the letter about Fair Campaign Practices candidates are required to sign. This Welch suppporter was attempting to scold Rep. Karen Yarbrough by posting,

(1) I will conduct my campaign openly and publicly, and limit attacks on my opponent to legitimate challenges to his record.
(2) I will not use or permit the use of character defamation, whispering campaigns, libel, slander, or scurrilous attacks on any candidate or his personal or family life.
(7) I will immediately and publicly repudiate methods and tactics that may come from others that I have pledged not to use or condone. I shall take firm action against any subordinate who violates any provision of this Code or the laws governing elections.

But over at the blog set up to support Welch and attack his critics, this is what one Welch supporter wrote,

[State Representative Marlow Colvin is] Karen Yarbrough's lover according to sources. There are pictures to prove this, I am sure Henderson knows...

Can Welch explain how this rumor is a legitimate attack on Yarbrough's record?

Does Welch agree that spreading a rumor on a blog anonymously constitutes using a whisper campaign?

Does spreading unsourced allegations about infidelity count as a scurrilous attack?

Has Welch repudiated these attacks on Yarbrough?

Does Welch know who posted these attacks?

Email Emanuel "Chris" Welch, info@chriswelch2006.com, and ask him.

will Cook County State's Attorney investigate Yarbrough and Vicenik?

Here's my take on the Yarbrough-Vicenik-Davis Broadview office issue. It seems clear that Karen Yarbrough violated the provision of Illinois law that prohibits using government resources for political activities. Broadview Mayor Henry Vicenik and U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis have pretty implausible claims of ignorance.

It also seems likely that Yarbrough/Davis staffer Larry Shapiro played a role in organizing the implementing the illegal scheme.

Question: will the Cook County State's Attorney (or Illinois Attorney General) enforce the law?

I'm also curious how Cook County Clerk David Orr reacts to Yarbrough and Vicenik invoking his name as blessing the illegal arrangement. Orr was asked if the division of the state representative office and the political office was sufficiently clear that it was OK to have both offices in the same building. Orr gave the OK to the division. But I am all but 100% certain Orr was kept in the dark on the one important detail: the whole building was owned by the Village of Broadview.

So when Yarbrough and Vicenik invoke Orr as saying the arrangement was OK they are trying to confuse. Orr said the division between politics and constituent service was sufficiently clear to have two separate leases assuming a private owner of the premises.

I hope Orr registers the appropriate amount of anger at Yarbrough and Vicenik and requests the Cook County State's Attorney investigate and prosecute if a violation of Illinois law has occurred.

It will be a good chance for Anita Alvarez, the Democratic nominee for Cook County State's Attorney and the third ranking person in the Devine administration, to show that the office can investigate and prosecute crimes by people with some local political clout.

A07, Yarbrough/Flowers school board candidates have website [D88, D89, D209]

Citizens for Better Schools has a website. Citizens for Better Schools is the umbrella organization supporting the Yarbrough/Flowers candidates in District 88 (Bellwood & Stone Park elementary schools), District 89 (Maywood & Melrose Park elementary schools) and District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools).


Rep. Karen Yarbrough is also the Proviso Township Democratic Committeeman. Charles Flowers, EdD, is a member of the District 209 board of education and was elected as the Cook County Regional Superintendent of Education in November. He takes office in July.

The alliance between Yarbrough and Flowers grew from their opposition to Emanuel "Chris" Welch, the current president of the District 209 board of education.

Flowers leads the minority block on the District 209 board. If his candidates sweep the election (three seats) he will be able to form a majority and replace Welch as president of the school board.

Welch ran against Yarbrough in the Democratic Primary for state representative in March, 2006. The coalition that coalesced to support Yarbrough included many people who had grievances against Welch. Welch had been the school district attorney at District 88. So, various people who opposed his actions at District 88 and 209 joined Yarbrough's organization.

A07, what happened in District 89? [D89]

Going into last Tuesday's election all District 89 (Maywood & Melrose Park elementary schools) school board members were allied with either Melrose Park village President Ron Serpico or Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore. None of the school board members were aligned with State Representative (and Democratic Committeeman) Karen Yarbrough or Charles Flowers, EdD. Flowers was elected Cook County Regional Superintendent of Education in November and will begin his term in July.

Yarbrough and Flowers ran a slate against a slate backed by Serpico and Moore. Five seats were up for election: four four-year terms and one two-year term created by the death of Jose Montoya.

The slate backed by Serpico and Moore won all five seats.

The Yarbrough-Flowers slate ceded Melrose Park. Of the slate's five candidates none were from Melrose Park. The slate hardly campaigned in Melrose Park. And Yarbrough failed to use her power as committeeman to replace polling place judges loyal to Melrose Park village president Ron Serpico.

Yarbrough's team probably saw the low Melrose Park turnout in 2006 and assumed Serpico had lost the fire in the belly or was pre-occupied with the federal investigation of the village. In 2006 Serpico was trying to pass a tax increase referendum and may have wanted low turnout. In 2007 Serpico's trustee candidates were being challenged by a slate backed by Jesse Martinez, a trustee in both Proviso Township and Stone Park. Serpico flexed the muscle of the Melrose Park machine. The large turnout in Melrose Park overwhelmed Yarbrough's advantage in Maywood where her husband Henderson Yarbrough is the village president.

This entry has a macro analysis of the election.

Yarbrough speaks on MLK Day

Rep. Karen Yarbrough spoke at the Hillside Human Relations Commission Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration breakfast.

Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore--whom Yarbrough has run against multiple times, including when she defeated him for Proviso Township Democratic Committeeman--joined the crowd in a standing ovation after the speech and I overheard comments praising Yarbrough and the speech.

At the best part, I felt Yarbrough was channeling Robert F. Kennedy's speech at Iowa State University, March 18, 1968.

Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our courage, nor our wisdom, nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Today Yarbrough said the following:

[UPDATE2: Yarbrough's speech borrow's from The Paradox of Our Age by Dr. Bob Moorehead. Thanks to a reader for making the connection.]

A lot has happened since Martin left us. I wonder what he would think if he could see what we have accomplished and yet what is still left to be done.

Here is life’s paradox:

Since Martin left, we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints

We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less common sense, more knowledge, but less judgment;

We have more experts but more problems; more medicine but we’re still sick.

Since Martin left, we stay up too late, get too tired, read too little, watch TV too much and pray to seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values; we talk too much, love too little and lie too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life but not life to years.

We’ve become long on quantity and short on quality. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.

We’ve conquered outer space; but not inner space. We’ve done the larger things, but not the better things; we’ve cleaned up the air but polluted our souls.

Since Martin left, we have higher incomes, but lower morals---more acquaintances and fewer friends.

These are the times of tall men and short character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are the days of disposable diapers, and throwaway morality.

We are plagued with overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and little in the stockroom.

This part of the speech spoke to a hunger people feel. I believe it is driven by our anxieties about the modern world.

And the rhythm of the speech possessed an eloquence and style that made the words appealing.

[UPDATE: Post-Tribune (Jon Seidel) covers how some Walther Lutheran students participated in MLK Day at Valparaiso University in Indiana.

The dance ministry and combined choirs from the First Lutheran Church in Harvey, Ill., as well as the gospel choir from Walther Lutheran High School in Melrose Park, Ill., made the trip to the Valparaiso campus to participate in the service.

Two students from Walther Lutheran recited a speech once given by Coretta Scott King about the meaning of Martin Luther King Day.

[end update]

HC & M, 1/4 of Illinois House Dems onboard

In less than a week Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Proviso Township) has gotten sixteen likeminded patriots to co-sponsor the resolution to impeach Bush.

Sarah Fiegenholtz
Eddie Washington
Cynthia Soto
William Delgado
William Davis
Kenneth Dunkin
Wyvetter H. Younge
Arthur Turner
Esther Golar
Constance Howard
David Miller
Annazette Collins
Calvin Giles
Deborah Graham
Robin Kelly
Edward Acevedo

I'm impressed. I thought progress would be slower. Either Karen Yarbrough is one helluva legislator or George W. Bush is one helluva pariah.

I've been following this story somewhat. I liked this quote from The Simon (Matt Hutaff).

What would [Yarbrough and California Assemblyman Paul Koretz] impeach Bush for? All the right stuff, it appears:

* Violating provisions of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a felony;
* Violating provisions of the Geneva Convention by authorizing torture;
* Holding American citizens without due process;
* Initiating an illegal war against Iraq, resulting in loss of life and diminished security; and
* Leaking classified information and exposing a covert operative -- Valerie Plame -- as means of silencing his critics.

When you read that list how does your stomach not turn? It's not like the abovementioned talking points are still being disputed; Bush has defended his wiretapping, torture and war and recent allegations have all but proven that the authorization to leak Plame's identity came from the president himself.

The story is being tracked on Soapblox Chicago and on Daily Kos by ltsply2.

The effort needs support in the Illinois Senate. The resolution has to pass in both chambers to go to Congress.

Members of the Bush administration should be worried if they aren't.

When team Bush calls U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, I'm wondering.... Will Hastert bring his A-game to blocking this resolution in the Illinois legislature? If Bush and Cheney get removed from office Hastert becomes POTUS. Will this cause him to be less persuasive with Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones?

Good job, Karen. I'm proud you're my state representative.

M06, Dem Committeeman results

State Representative Karen Yarbrough defeated incumbent Recorder of Deeds Eugene "Gene" Moore in the race for Proviso Democratic Committeeman, 9813-7090 or 58.1%-41.9%.

I received a detailed spreadsheet. What stands out?

Maywood (19%), Bellwood (14.7%) and Westchester (13.4%) are the big three for registered voters.

Township wide the turnout was 27.1%. The outliers were Brookfield (46.3%), North Riverside (40.2%), Broadview (35.3%) and La Grange Park (34%) on the high end. Stone Park (13.4%) and Northlake (17.4%) were on the low end.

Maywood (21.7%) and Bellwood (17.6%) are the big two for casting Dem ballots. Broadview (9.2%), Forest Park (9%), La Grange Park (8.5%), Melrose Park (8.9%) and Westchester (8.1%) are the next five.

Brookfield (77.5%), La Grange Park (70.6%) and Western Springs (76%) had the lowest percent of Dems vote in the committeeman race. Voters skipping a line on the ballot is called "undervote". Overall 89.1% voters that took a Dem ballot expressed a preference in the committeeman race. Ten point nine percent undervoted the race.

Yarbrought's best and worst villages were:
Forest Park......78.4%
Brookfield.......70.4%
La Grange Park...69.8%
N. Riverside.....67.7%
Westchester......64.6%

And the worst
Western Springs..47.4%
Melrose Park.....36.5%
Stone Park.......31.4%

And the big vote margins

Forest Park +879 Yarbrough
Bellwood +556 Yarbrough
La Grange Park +452 Yarbrough
Brookfield +411 Yarbrough
Melrose Park +408 Moore
Westchester +400 Yarbrough
Broadview +246 Yarbrough

M06, Yarbrough, Welch, Moore analysis

An elected official from outside Proviso Township emailed me to ask for my take on Karen Yarbrough's victories. Here's what I wrote back.

With the caveat that my insights into the recent elections are speculation and conjecture, not based on polling, systematic interviews or analysis of precinct returns....

I see a trend of throwing out the establishment and trying something new. The people that are positioned to take advantage of this desire for "something new" tend to be reformers (everyone on the outside wants "reform"), but the issues vary some from community to community.

I see Yarbrough's victories as part of the same trend that had Oak Park voters completely toss the Village Managers Association in the 2005 elections. I see many
suburban communities dumping incumbent pols and political parties in the next few elections.

In the specific races, Yarbrough beating Welch 3:1 has to be attributed to the intense anti-Welch feelings among the voters. Many homeowners still resent the way
he raised taxes--bypassing a referenda--for the magnet school. Many staff members at the schools feel jerked around by Welch's cronies. And there is significant
suspicion that admissions to the magnet school are being rigged based on personal connections.

Yarbrough defeated Moore by such a large margin due to a few reasons.

1. The winds of change were going to blow him out the door anyway.
2. While Moore may of had Serpico behind him, I heard Serpico's precinct organizers don't like Moore b/c they felt he double-crossed them on something in the
past.
3. Moore didn't do a good job of giving county jobs to capable people spread around the township. He got jobs for a few people who mostly resided or had roots in
Maywood. Plus he didn't give the jobs to particularly capable people.
4. Welch's negatives hurt Moore.

Also, both Welch and Moore ran weak campaigns. When they went door-to-door they merely asked permission to place signs. They didn't especially try to make the
case to voters. Welch's message was not focused.

They assumed Welch could win a two-way Dem primary the same way he won a crowded school board race: push name recognition. Name recognition is only a positive thing
if people don't associate negative info with the name.

For example, I went door-to-door in Forest Park the weekend before the election. I asked a 35-45 year old woman in a single family home to vote for Yarbrough.
She responded, "Is she running against Welch?" I said, "Yes." The voter said, "She's got my vote."

Welch may have achieved higher name recognition than Yarbrough, but I suspect some voters simply made the inference that a campaign with 9-11 mailings and obnoxious signage was backed by money that didn't have the interests of the voters at heart.

To fix Welch's campaign:

1. He needed to stay focused on a simple message.
2. He needed to have independent community leadersproviding him with decent buzz.
3. He needed to not piss-off so many people who were energized to not just beat him, but make him suffer.

GOV, Yarbrough gets reform bill passed

From a Yarbrough press release:

SPRINGFIELD – State Rep. Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood) passed legislation out of the House reducing potential conflicts of interest for school board members voting on referendum and petition questions by shifting responsibility for hearing challenges on these issues from education officers electoral boards to county electoral boards.

"The public has a right to expect that the process used to decide important educational issues is fair," said Yarbrough. "This legislation reduces the potential for conflicts of interest that could negatively impact votes on questions that determine the future of our schools."

Under current law, education officers electoral boards are formed to hear objections to placing school board candidates or referendum questions on ballots. The boards are made up of the presiding officer of the school board, the secretary of the school board and the school board member with the longest term of continuous service.

Under this system, the same school officers who initially vote on a question also review challenges to the same question. Petitions with an insufficient number of signatures or with invalid signatures may be challenged. Successful challenges prevent candidates and referendums from appearing on ballots.

House Bill 5001 improves the review process by eliminating education officers electoral boards and requiring county officers electoral boards to hear challenges on referendum and petition questions for school districts and community colleges.

Yarbrough cited an incident in Proviso Township as one of many examples demonstrating the need for a less biased review process. After the District 209 Board voted in favor of issuing $40 million in bonds, residents petitioned for a referendum. The educational officers electoral board, comprised of three members who had voted on the bond issue, determined the petitions did not contain the required number of valid signatures for the issue to appear on the ballot.

"Most school officials make fair, informed decisions," said Yarbrough. "However, we need to make the review process more evenhanded and eliminate any appearance of impropriety."

House Bill 5001 now advances to the Senate for further consideration. For more information, please call Rep. Yarbrough at (708) 615-1747.

Comments?