Steve Balich Responds to Attacks by Opponents

Response to the Patch Article attacking Steve Balich

Apparently Homer Township. Supervisor Pam Meyers and the Mayor of Homer Glen believe campaigning that calls out the actions of the Village and Township Boards (most of the Independent Slate) are off limits.

The Mayor’s “Rumer Mill” says they have no intention of allowing apartments at this time. That is true, because they need to change the Comprehensive Plan before they can allow apartments and increase density. The Current Village Board all spoke in favor of changing the Comprehensive Plan, but tabled it because of the community’s negative response, for which the Mayor publicly blamed me. They are waiting until after the election to revisit the issue.

I live in Homer Glen and I care what happens here. I cannot in good conscience sit back and say nothing. The Mayor will soon be calling me names because I will be talking about the Increase of the water bills in order to pay for the transmission line from Illinois American Water.

I question how that board can spend down the reserves to build a park. Over $10,000,000 has been spent to date on Heritage Park, and another $6,000,000 on the table for the next phase of construction. According to Former Mayor Daley, this reserve money was to pay for the “Transmission Line” purchase.

The Township Board creates a problem by not fixing a broken window for over 4 years, which they claim was caused by structural damage. The alleged damage was to such extent that a structural engineering firm was called in to tell them the building needed to be re-built at a cost of $244,000. A reliable company owner that built the Announcers Tower spoke to how well it was constructed, and the President of the Homer Stallions spoke for over 3 years at the Township meetings about fixing the windows. The contract was given to the same company they always use off of the State Procurement Program, so they didn’t seek alternative pricing. I call this a no bid contract because they should at least try to get comparative pricing to be sure the township has the best price. This project should have been put out to bid.

The person used for their Information Technology does plenty of work but there has been no comparative pricing since 2009 according to a FOIA request. At some point the Board should have at least checked to be sure the pricing for work done was competitive. There is also work done by an electrical company owned by a sitting Trustee with no price comparison. The Elected Clerk resigned and the wife of a sitting Trustee was appointed to the Clerk position and the Incumbent Clerk’s family are all listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Village.

The friends of the people on the Township Board were appointed to be on the Electoral Board that heard the Petition Objections. First the Sitting Trustee who’s wife is running for Township Office Steps down because of apparent conflict of interest. Next the other 2 members stepped down after the attorney pointed out their bias to the Chief Judge who then appointed 3 lawyers to fill the positions.

The Independent Candidate Slate according to the Appellate Court made an error by filing as a Slate getting only 272 signatures in total, when they needed 204 signatures each. A total of 1836 signatures would have been required had they followed the Candidate instructions provided by the State Board of Elections. This was a blatant go-around for each candidate in my opinion, so they did not have to spend the effort to get their own signatures. The Court said there was “no remedy”, so the candidates remain on the ballot. The case is pending with the Illinois Supreme Court to see if that court will hear the case. If the Appellate Court ruling stands, it will effectively change election law in the State of Illinois concerning Petition signatures.

The “Back Room Deals” post was written by a person on my Slate. He was referencing what is obvious to anyone paying attention, that the current Village Candidates for Trustee are working with the Independent Slate to help each other win. Why would they be on the side of the Township Independent Slate while the Township is suing the Village? Dropping the lawsuit seemed like a logical conclusion to make, especially when the candidates have been seen hanging out at the campaign office of the Village Incumbents.

I want people to know that I care so much about where I live that I stand up against elected people knowing I will get their wrath. I do it because it is the right thing to do. How do I answer to God when I die when asked why I was silent and did nothing to stop things that impact the lives of people in a negative way? A priest friend says “fear should not control how we live. We must stand for what is right.”

We must not let Government shove negative things down our throat and do nothing.

Please get out and vote. This election will have a huge impact on where we live.

The Endorsed Candidates can be found at www.Homer-Gop.com. My phone number is 815-557-7196.

I will stand up for the people where we live!

Steve Balich Candidate for Homer Township Supervisor sbalich@comcast.net 815-557-7196