Ok, I’m tired of this already. Petitions with paper clips in the wrong spot, not stapled right, forms not labeled right, can’t spell Winnebago right!!!!! All of these issues may cause folks who have decided to serve our community in Machesney Park possibly the opportunity to run for local office. I don’t care if it is people I will never vote for or agree with, they all deserve to have the opportunity to run for an elected office. I thank each one of them for running for office. I will then have the opportunity to vote for them or against them, that is suppose to be how we do things in America. Not by catching a simple mistake on a petition.

This type of politics is no better then what the state of Illinois is going through with it’s Governor, pay to play. Do you ever wonder why there are so many elections in this country that do not have challengers or even one person to run for an office? Would you run for office? Not me, not because I would not like to serve but because of the “back door” politics out there. I want everyone to know that I support anyone who wants to run for office. The process you have to go through for this opportunity to run for office is more then you go through to get married, get a driver’s license, buy a tag for your dog, etc….

Let's solve this problem now! When petition’s are taken in to to be filed they should be reviewed at that exact time. When there are issues with that petition the folks who are reviewing it should point out those mistakes and help the person who is submitting it and fix the paper clips, staples and other issues. The people who oversee this process should represent me as a voter, not act as the “overlords” of the Petition Kingdom, “hah hah we got you”! I can just see George Washington rolling over in his grave over a misplaced paper clip. This is not right and needs to be corrected. Catching mistakes on petitions is a cheap shot at our political system and the way we select our leaders.

While I’m talking about this issue, it is my feeling that small town politics should be non-partisan and throw out the party system. This would help with some of these back-biting issues and give folks a chance to vote for the person and not a party.

It is now time for not only the residents in the Parks area to solve these type of problems, but it is time for our county to evaluate how we do this. To many times in America we abuse the right to run for office and the voting process. Illinois and Minnesota have proved that this past election season. Only we can do it, now would be a good time to get started!