 Voting may be done by visiting the office of Sally Litterly,
Logan County clerk and recorder, in the Logan County Courthouse. The
hours to vote there are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.There are no qualifying factors for voting absentee; anyone
who wishes to do so may, regardless of their reason.
In a recent interview with Litterly, she said that the number of
people in Logan County who vote absentee is relatively small, less
than 5 percent of the total votes counted at each election.
Among those 5 percent are members of the military. Litterly said
absentee ballots have already been mailed out to those in the
service, meaning that whether they are stationed at a camp stateside
or an encampment overseas, all will have a voice in selecting
federal, state and local candidates for the fall elections.
This year is a presidential year. So, all voters will have the
opportunity to express their choice of candidate for president.
There are also several state positions up for election. Candidates
on this year's ballot include those for the offices of Illinois
delegates and alternate delegates, representative in Congress from
the 18th Congressional District, state senator from the 44th
Legislative District, and representative in the General Assembly
from the 87th District.
Local offices up for election
Local offices up for election are clerk of the circuit court,
state's attorney, county coroner, county board members for Districts
1-6, appellate judge of the 4th Judicial District, circuit judge of
the 11th Judicial Circuit and precinct committeemen.
For the most part, local candidates are running uncontested, with
the exception of District 2 of the Logan County Board.
Each district has two seats available on the county board. This
year Districts 1 through 6 have board members up for re-election.
In Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 there are only two incumbent
candidates running for each district. In District 2 there are,
however, three candidates: incumbents Jan Schumacher and Robert
Farmer and a new candidate, Daniel F. Meyer.
Write-in candidates
There are no write-in candidates for any of the offices this
year, though Litterly said there could have been. As many know,
earlier in the year there were two possible candidates for county
coroner: incumbent Robert E. Thomas and Bill Shelby.
In December Shelby's bid for the ballot was thrown out due to
insufficient valid signatures on the required petitions. Shelby had
recorded petitions containing a total of 55 signatures with the
county, but it was later found that 17 of those were invalid,
leaving him with only 38, two short of the required 40.
Litterly said that after being taken from the ballot, Shelby
could have filed to be a write-in candidate, but he did not do so.
In addition to the official nomination of candidates for the fall
election, there are several referendums on the spring ballot.
Clinton Community School District building bonds
Litterly explained that the first referendum is for the Clinton
Community School District, and the rest involve approval of
aggregation of electricity.
The Clinton school referendum is a proposition to issue school
building bonds. Simply put, these bonds are loans that use property
tax levies as collateral. Litterly said voters who will be
interested in this referendum are primarily those located in the
Chestnut area of Logan County. These Logan County residents are
affected by this referendum because there are children in that area
who attend Clinton schools.
Electric aggregation
Voting on electric aggregation will appear in several areas. It
will be on the ballots of Logan County residents in unincorporated
areas of the county. Incorporated areas in the county that will have
this issue on their ballots are Atlanta, Emden, Lincoln, Middletown,
Mount Pulaski and San Jose.
Litterly said even though she realizes there are plans in the
works for public meetings and education on the topic of electric
aggregation, she is concerned that those who vote early may not know
enough on the issue to make an informed decision when they vote.
The first point to be made is that those who live inside the
incorporated areas of Elkhart, Hartsburg and Latham will have
nothing to vote on. Because those community leaders have not placed
a referendum on the ballot, residents of those areas will not be
asked for a decision at this time. However, that doesn't mean they
won't have a voice eventually. Litterly said those communities may
choose to place their referendum on the ballot for the fall general
election.
For those who live in the incorporated areas of Atlanta, Emden,
Lincoln, Middletown, Mount Pulaski and San Jose, a vote of "yes" to
their respective referendums would mean that the voter is supporting
or giving permission for their community leaders to negotiate with
various providers of electricity in order to obtain the best rates
possible for residents and small businesses.
The aggregation program is known as an "opt out" program. Because
of this, once leaders have the permission of the voters to
negotiate, local residents and businesses will have the choice of
whether or not to take their electric business to the provider the
local government selects.
In each community, once a provider is selected, letters are to be
sent out asking eligible residents and small businesses if they wish
to participate.
In order to be enrolled with a new provider, the resident doesn't
need to take any special action. However, if the resident or small
business decides they do not want to be a part of the community
program, they will have to express this though their "opt out"
option.
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Not all residents will be eligible to make the switch, primarily
because they may not benefit from it. Those who participate in the
Ameren PIPP program will not be switched. Under the Percentage of
Income Payment Plan, or PIPP, eligible clients pay a percentage of
their income, receive a monthly benefit toward their utility bill
and receive a reduction in overdue payments for every on-time
payment they make by the bill due date.
Others who might not be switched are high-usage customers. Ameren
offers a graduated price scale that allows for lower prices with
higher usage. When the final bills are averaged out, these consumers
may already be getting an overall better rate than a new provider
could offer.
Part of the job of the consultant being hired by many areas will
be to help residents, small businesses and local government leaders
make an informed decision as to which customers will benefit from
changing providers and which will not.
All the incorporated areas in the county are currently being
served by Ameren Illinois for their electric needs. With a new
provider, bills for electricity will still be issued by Ameren, and
services such as line maintenance and downed wires will still be the
responsibility of Ameren as well.
In the rural areas of the county, the situation is a bit muddier.
In addition to those serviced by Ameren, there are portions of the
county where customers belong to a rural electric cooperative.
According to Mike Maniscalco of the Lincoln & Logan Development
Partnership, there are a number of cooperative electric providers in
Logan County, such as Menard Electric, which services the county's
southwest corner.
Electric aggregation, by law, is only available for Ameren
Illinois and Commonwealth Edison customers. Therefore, those who get
their service through a cooperative are being asked to vote on the
Logan County referendum even though it will have no benefit for them
personally.
However, Maniscalco said it is still very important for those
voters to make an informed decision and hopefully vote in favor of
the aggregation.
"When they vote for the aggregation, they are saying they want
the county to have the right to make a decision," he explained.
He went on to say that the decision would be for the greater good
of the whole county, so in essence what they will be doing is giving
their neighbors countywide the opportunity to benefit from the
program through better electric rates.
Maniscalco also noted that no one knows what the future will
hold. There may be a day when the cooperatives don't exist. He said
nothing he knows of indicates this is ever going to happen, but if
it does, the mechanism will already be in place for those
cooperative members to get the best rates available, through the
electric aggregation.
In recent weeks, many of the incorporated communities in the
county and the city of Lincoln have voted to hire Illinois Community
Choice Aggregation Network as their consultant in the aggregation
process.
Later this month the Logan County Board is also expected to make
a decision on hiring the same firm.
ICCAN will work between now and March 20 to get the word out to
the entire community about what aggregation means, how it works and
who can benefit from it.
For those who choose to vote early via the absentee ballot, they
may have voted before they get the opportunity to hear what ICCAN
has to say. However, it is the hope of the communities and the
development partnership that absentee voters will give their
approval to the referendum, knowing it opens doors for electric rate
negotiation, and at the same time it in no way obligates them
personally to go along with switching providers.
To stay up to date on information about the upcoming election,
click on the button labeled "Logan County Clerk/Recorder Sally
Litterly Election Info" at the top of the front page of Lincoln
Daily News, or follow the link below to the same location.
Litterly said she hopes to have sample ballots ready to be posted
on that LDN link next week.
___
Related links:
Logan County
Clerk/Recorder Sally Litterly Election Info (LDN button):
http://www.lincolndailynews.com/
images/ads/current/election_notices.htm
Illinois Community
Choice Aggregation Network:
http://www.ippconnect.com/CCA.php
[By NILA SMITH]
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