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G&N Blog
Primary Election is 2/2/10 - please vote for judges!
As you are undoubtedly aware, next Tuesday, February 2, 2010, is a primary election day in Illinois. In addition to voting for the governor, senator, congress members and numerous other elected officials, at the bottom of the ballot is a category of candidate frequently ignored - judges.
Judges make all kinds of critical decisions every day - who goes to jail versus who stays free; whether mom or dad get custody of kids; who was at fault in a car accident; and numerous other decisions, big and small. It is the responsibility of all of us as citizens to elect qualified, impartial judges who will make the right decisions.
Please take ten minutes today, over the weekend or Monday to educate yourself about the candidates. Numerous bar associations and other organizations evaluate judges and produce reports and information on the candidates and their qualifications, and this information is all available freely online:
For Cook County residents: VoteForJudges.org
For residents of other counties: Illinois State Bar Judical Evaluations
(For information on non-judicial candidates, an excellent resource is Project Vote Smart)
You may print out anything you want from these pages to bring with you to the polling place on Tuesday.
Chicago Property Tax Relief Program
We just came across the City of Chicago's Property Tax Relief program. It provides a small amount of relief to homeowners whose property taxes increased in 2008.
Qualifying homeowners (based on property taxes and income level) will receive a cash rebate from the City of up to $200.00. However, funds are limited and it is first-come-first-served, so act quickly to take advantage of this program.
The City's web site has more information and an application form.
Illinois Secretary of State starts Emergency Contact Database
In what sounds like a great idea, the Illinois Secretary of State, who issues drivers' licenses and state ID Cards, has started an emergency contact database. Illinois drivers (and ID card holders) can enter into a database emergency contact people. The database will be used by police in situations where you cannot communicate (e.g. car accident or the like).
The database is free, voluntary, and allows you to remove your information if you don't want it in the database anymore. This sounds like a home run to me.
For more information, or to register, visit:
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/drivers/ecd/faqs.html
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