Thursday, March 14, 2013
Log in to St. Charles Patch at 7 p.m. for live-blog coverage as the 10 aldermanic candidates for the St. Charles City Council meet the public for the first time as a group at Bridges Montessori Academy.
Can’t make it out to tonight’s forum for St. Charles aldermanic candidates? Then settle in and get ready to follow the discussion on your PC, laptop or mobile device. As we did with the mayoral forum on Tuesday, St. Charles will provide live-blog coverage of tonight’s aldermanic forum, which is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 14, at Bridges Montessori Academy, 1713 Howard St. There are ten candidates seeking aldermanic positions on the St. Charles City Council. They are: 1stWard Jon E. Monken (i) Justin Osborne Ron Silkaitis 2ndWard Clifford X. Carrignan (i) Arthur J. Lemke 3rdWard William Turner Mario J. VanDerHeyden 4thWard Jo K. Krieger (i) No other candidate 5thWard Maureen Lewis (i) Kimberly Malay Let Patch save you time…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Check here for details on the forum and to watch our Cover It Live coverage from the Arcada Theatre beginning at 6 p.m.
St. Charles Patch editor Ted Schnell will be live-blogging from tonight’s mayoral candidates forum, hosted by the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St. The event is public and there is no admission. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the forum is set to start at 6. Candidates Jake Wyatt, Jotham S. Stein, Alderman Raymond Rogina, and John Rabchuk will be present to answer questions from Susan Parker, chairwoman of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee. Questions will be asked that are relevant to the economic climate of St. Charles, the chamber’s member businesses, and to the general public. Let Patch save you time. Have local stories delivered directly to your inbox with our free newsletter. …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Your guide to the St. Charles April 9 Consolidated Election.
Early voting in the Spring 2013 Local Elections begins Monday, March 25, and ends Saturday, April 6. Election Day is Tuesday, April 9. Election Central St. Charles is your guide to the ballot contests that affect St. Charles. ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE LOCAL DEBATE: Do you have something to say about the local election? Join Patch and post a Local Voices blog. VOTER INFO: To find out if you are registered, to find your designated polling location and to see your sample ballot, check:
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Four incumbents and four newcomers vie for positions on the Board of Education.
Education is arguably one of the most important responsibilities of local government, yet often the role of the local school board is taken for granted among the day-to-day headlines about police news, politics, and state and national issues. But sometimes state or national news can serve as a reminder that there are children in need of education, educators who are hard at work and local volunteers chipping in to help guide those efforts. Certainly the mid-December massacre of 20 children and six adult staffers by a deranged gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was a jarring reminder of school safety issues in St. Charles Community Unit School District 303. The tragedy sparked a re-evaluation of school security issues …
Friday, March 8, 2013
A guide to the April 2013 mayoral race pitting a political freshman and three newcomers.
This race started early, as far as St. Charles’ municipal elections go, when Mayor Donald DeWitte announced in late August 2012 that he would not seek a third term as mayor. The announcement marked the beginning of a campaign that has become centered largely on whether the mayor and council are responsive to residents. Much of that contention was brought on by two key council votes related to the controversial Lexington Club development. A City Council committee voted to reject a tax-increment financing plan for the project in December, but then in early January, approved not only a revised TIF agreement, but the entire project on a tie 5-5 vote broken by DeWitte, a longtime supporter of the plan. If the Lexington project had been …
A guide to the April 2013 aldermanic races in St. Charles.
There are 10 candidates queued up for St. Charles’ five aldermanic races, although one of those is not a race — 4th Ward Alderwoman Jo Krieger is unopposed in her re-election bid. But there are contests for the other four seats, and the issues that have been shaping up in the race are diverse. Several are spinoffs from the City Council’s narrow 6-5 vote in January to approve the controversial Lexington Club, as well as anger related to efforts to push through the addition of apartments at the Corporate Reserve, a business park, and simmering tension over over the city’s use of tax-increment financing districts for the First Street Development and other projects, like Lexington. The bitterness over the Lexington decision has been well-…
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Five candidates have filed for the four seats up for election in the St. Charles Park District; three of the candidates are incumbent members of the board.
There are five candidates seeking four positions on the seven-member St. Charles Park District Board, which oversees an administration and staff that provides services and maintains 1,400 of land, as well as schedules and organizes numerous activities for the district’s residents. Click on the candidates’ names to learn more about each one — their backgrounds, their reasons for running and their stances on issues.
St. Charles Chamber of Commerce is host to the 6 p.m. event.
The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for the city’s four mayoral candidates at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St. The event is public and there is no admission. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Candidates Jake Wyatt, Jotham S. Stein, Alderman Raymond Rogina, and John Rabchuk will be present to answer questions from Susan Parker, chairwoman of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee. Questions will be asked that are relevant to the economic climate of St. Charles, the chamber’s member businesses, and to the general public. “We are excited to put together this type of venue to give candidates an opportunity to express their positions on key topics,” Parker said, “ but furthermost, a forum in which…
Monday, March 4, 2013
Nine candidates are seeking eight positions in St. Charles Township government.
Eight candidates are seeking eight seats in St. Charles Township government — supervisor, assessor, highway commissioner, clerk and and four seats on the township board. Only the race for township assessor had been contested, with Gary Fritz hoping to unseat incumbent Assessor Colleen Lang. Fritz since has been removed from the ballot. The race for four township commissioners will see one new face: Mary Lynn Swanson. She will take over for Trustee Larry Swanson (no relation), who did not eek re-election. Township Supervisor Township Assessor Highway Commissioner Township Clerk Township Commissioners
Friday, March 1, 2013
Biographical data and questions and answers from St. Charles aldermanic candidate Jon E. Monken.
Name: Jon E. Monken Position sought: 1st Ward Alderman, St. Charles, Il. Campaign contact information: jmonken@stcharlesil.gov What will be your single most important priority if you get elected? The single most important priority is to continue to work with city sfaff and community commissions and review and respect the information they provide to maintain a balanced budget while continuing to provide the quality services that our residents expect. Home address: Ward 1, St. Charles, Il. 60174 Family members: Jeanne Monken, Wife Virginia Monken Gomez, Daughter (35) Jonathon Monken, Son (33) Education: Bachelor of science degree in recreation administration, University of Illinois, 1974. Current occupation and employer: Executive director …
Steve Swanson
11:45 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
I would like to thank Alderman Lewis for being the only incumbent Alderman running with enough courage to come before the citizens and answer questions. The other three incumbents--Monken, Carrignan, and Turner--showed, to my way of thinking, their complete lack of respect for the voting public; I hope the voters remember that on April 9th. Two of the Mayoral candidates--Stein and Wyatt--took the… more ›