State Rep to Run for Mayor of Waukegan

This ought to be quite entertaining, Mr Washington is a little bit crazy, and has been on the outs with the county democrats, when the party led by Terry Link ran Angelo Kyle against him in the primary a year ago. The outcome in the upcoming crowded mayoral primary here would be a Washington win equals State Rep Angelo Kyle quite soon. However our handicapping thinks current Mayor Dick Hyde wins the primary and the general easily in a crowded field. Hyde versus Washington straight up would be another kettle of fish.

From the WAUKEGAN News Sun -- State Rep. Eddie Washington is in and 6th Ward Ald. Larry TenPas is out as the 2009 race for mayor slowly takes shape.

"I just think people should have an array of choices, and I want to be one of them," said Washington, who plans to be on the April 7 ballot as an independent. "It wasn't any scripted plan, (but) I've been very much surprised with the number of people who support this decision."

Like County Board member Bob Sabonjian, who is also looking to run as an independent, Washington has until 5 p.m. Monday to file petitions with a minimum of 427 signatures and a maximum of 683. Washington added that he would resign his House seat if elected.

Meanwhile, TenPas said Friday that he pulled petitions to run earlier this month after Mayor Richard Hyde was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix, but decided not to file them as Hyde's health improved.

"No, I'm not running," TenPas said. "I was quite concerned about the mayor, but now I can see he's going to make a complete recovery ... I'm backing Dick Hyde 100 percent."

Among the people watching these developments closely are members of the Citizens for the Resurgence of Excellence in Waukegan (CREW), which was formed in October with a mission statement supporting "the establishment of a new mayoral administration."

Toward that end, the 53-member group has been conducting interviews with each mayoral hopeful, planning to issue an endorsement and campaign for a selected candidate.

"We're a group of people who are concerned about Waukegan. (We're) not looking to oust anyone," said CREW co-founder Steve Kolber. "The whole focus behind all of this is identifying the potential of each candidate (and) educate ourselves as to who is the most qualified person to lead the city."

To date, CREW has conducted interviews with Sabonjian, Republican Greg Flesher, and Democratic candidates Sam Cunningham and Jose Guzman, posting reports at www.waukegancrew.org. Kolber said Hyde cancelled a scheduled session, and Washington will be added to the list if he files on Monday.

"We just want to create an awareness among the electorate. The voter turnout has been terrible, and such slim margins have decided elections," Kolber said, adding that his group hopes to connect with "the thousands of registered voters who don't even bother to go out and vote."

Lake County board member latest to flee Democrats

Latest defection from the Lake County Democrats is County Board member Bob Sabonjian son of the former Democratic Mayor of Waukegan. The most interesting part of the article below is his quote that he left the Democratic party because and this is the quote "Since the election, however, Sabonjian has become dissatisfied with partisan politics, particularly when it came to leadership posts and committee assignments." The odd thing is that the Republicans were the ones who were the ones handing out those assignments not the Democrats.

From the Daily Herald-- Just a month after the presidential election of Barack Obama put Illinois Democrats on top of the political world, the party is taking hit after hit after hit.

First came the arrest of Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. Then came the defection of Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran to the Republican Party.

The latest shot was fired in Waukegan, where veteran Lake County Board member Bob Sabonjian on Tuesday confirmed he has left the party and will serve the rest of his term as an independent.

Sabonjian said he was driven to defect by growing political partisanship on the board, which doubles as the county's forest preserve district board, and infighting within the local Democratic organization.

"This is something I'm doing because this is something my conscience is telling me to do," said Sabonjian, 53, who last month was re-elected to a four-year term.

Democratic board member Angelo Kyle, one of the panel's senior members, hopes to persuade Sabonjian to reconsider.

"I certainly want him to carry out the balance of his term under the banner of the party (with which) he was elected," said Kyle, also of Waukegan.

Sabonjian's victory in November - and four upset wins by Democratic newcomers - helped close the Republican majority on the county board to 13-10.

Since the election, however, Sabonjian has become dissatisfied with partisan politics, particularly when it came to leadership posts and committee assignments.

He feels Democrats deliberately were kept from top posts. County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt, a Lake Villa Republican who assigned members to committees and chose leaders, rejected the accusation.

Sabonjian's Democratic roots run deep. He is the son of the late Democratic Waukegan Mayor Robert Sabonjian, who led the city in the 1980s.

The younger Sabonjian, a county board member since 1999, had been considering running for mayor in 2009 but recently backed off that bid, saying infighting in the local party soured him on the idea.

"These guys can play pretty ugly," Sabonjian said. "And I don't want to submit my wife or (myself) to that ugliness."

On a separate note, Bob should smile during his official portrait more often, what a depressing picture.

Lake County Board-- Same as it ever was!

After saying that partisanship would not play a part in County Board politics, the republicans on the county board apparently did just that by removing Democrat Angelo Kyle (pictured) from his Vice Chairmanship, leaving Democrats with no leadership positions despite having made substantial gains (4 seats going from 6 to 10) this November.

Two years from now the Republicans might have to eat today's actions if the Democrats gain two more seats and take voting control of the board. High risk strategy!

From the News Sun-- In what could be the first sign of a partisan rift, Democrats expressed disappointment at being shut out of all the top leadership posts on the Lake County Board and Lake County Forest Preserve Board, despite gaining four board seats in the Nov. 4 general election.

During reorganization meetings Monday, the newly seated county board voted 23-0 to re-elect Suzi Schmidt, R-3rd, of Lake Villa, as board chairman, and re-elected Bonnie Thompson Carter, R-5th, of Ingleside as forest preserve president by a 22-1 vote.

However, the selection of the county board's vice chairman and the forest preserve's vice president split along party lines. The county board voted 13-10 to elect David Stolman, R-20th, of Buffalo Grove as vice chairman over Audrey Nixon, D-14th, of North Chicago, and the forest preserve board voted 13-10 to elect Carol Calabresa, R-15th, of Libertyville over Angelo Kyle, D-12th, of Waukegan.

The county board and forest preserve board are comprised of the same members and have the same terms of office, and members elect their leaders following board elections every two years. With Democrats gaining four seats on the County Board, the Republican advantage on the board has been reduced from 17-6 down to 13-10.

Some members of the growing Democratic minority on the County Board expressed anger that Democrats were not included in at least one of the four leadership posts.

"As far as I'm concerned, the era of cooperation is over," said a visibly upset Robert Sabonjian, D-8th, of Waukegan.

Sabonjian said he was particularly disappointed the Republican-controlled board replaced Calabresa with Kyle as vice president of the forest preserve board.

"It's all about retribution and pay back for the election," he said. "I'm really disappointed."

Kyle said he too felt that politics played a role in the outcome.

"I don't think it's ever been this partisan since I've been here," he said. "It's going to be a rough two years if it continues to go this way."

Schmidt said she does not believe partisanship was a major factor in who was chosen for the leadership posts.

Schmidt said she nominated Calabresa for forest preserve vice president because Calabresa had previously served as forest preserve president and had an extensive knowledge of forest preserve issues.

Schmidt said she believes everyone will work together and doesn't foresee a partisan rift.

"I don't see a lot of changes," she said. "We have some great new board members coming on who I'm thrilled about working with."

A total of six new members were sworn in Monday, including five Democrats and one Republican.

The new Democrats who joined the board are Diane Hewitt who knocked off Republican incumbent Randy Whitmore in District 2; Melinda Bush who defeated Republican incumbent Larry Leafblad in District 6; Pat Carey who unseated Republican incumbent Terese Douglass in District 11; and Terry Wilke who defeated Republican incumbent Bob Powers in District 16. Democrat Michelle Feldman, a former Deerfield trustee, also joined the County Board after winning an uncontested race for the seat held by long-time board member Carol Spielman, D-22nd, of Highland Park.

Republican Linda Pedersen was also sworn in after winning a close race against Democrat Peter Grant for an open seat in District 1.

Some of the new Democratic board members said they were hopeful the board could put partisan differences aside in the best interests of the county.

"There will be an adjustment period, but I have no doubt we can work together," said Carey, a former mayor of Grayslake.

Wilke agreed: "There's been a lot of talk about partisanship but my hope is we won't see that in the future."

But Wilke said he hopes the diversity of the board will be reflected when committee assignments are made next week. "I don't think anybody should have a problem with having balance on the board," he said.