Politics & Government

A Wake-up Call to Voters from Reboot Illinois

We should expect more of our government and more of ourselves, according to the citizens advocacy group.

How can a convicted criminal with a 20-year state prison record win the Republican nomination for Jesse Jackson Jr.’s vacated 2nd District congressional seat? Why did a loose paper clip doom a potential Evergreen Park mayoral candidate’s chances of entering the race? These are the questions poised by a recent Reboot Illinois post.

“We’ve lost our grip on common sense and common good … This is our government and we ought to demand better of it and of ourselves.”

Reboot’s piece references a recent Chicago Tribune report. It revealed more than 200 candidates faced ballot challenges and 76 candidates were prevented from running in about three dozen suburbs in the upcoming April election. That includes Shawn Good of Evergreen Park. She was thrown off the ballot for mayor by an Evergreen Park election panel for not fastening her application papers together tightly enough. x

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“Those who run ought to actually have attended a few board meetings and be able to demonstrate they know how to budget and think independently. And those who vote in our communities also ought to have put in some effort. They ought to do the homework on candidates and start appreciating again that citizenship is a privilege that takes practice to be well-practiced.”

You can read the full post on Reboot Illinois

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