A Sad Day In Illinois

To all of my Friends, Family and Neighbors in Illinois,

Today is a sad day for those of us who live in Illinois. Today is the day that Judge Lois Bell made me lose my faith in the judicial system in our state. She took an overwhelming case, with legal implications that effect Billions of YOUR state tax money, and she dismissed it. Why, you ask? She dismissed it because, she said, we waited to long. We waited to long, to seek justice. She said we did nothing for the last 40+ months. If she had only looked at the facts, at the evidence that we presented, she would have seen that we didn't wait. Jeff Ferguson started this battle over 40 months ago. More than 40 months of contacting state, federal and local agencies that all fell upon deaf ears. He had to spend months doing this, because he had to wait for replies that he was told he would get. He didn't get any replies though, all he got was silence. A silence that shouted, YOU DON'T MATTER! That is what our government thinks of us. All we are to them is a tax bill and a vote. If you don't vote, they will still get your taxes and you will have NO say in what they do with them. In Jersey County, though, the voters said NO. They said it to the tune of a 71% (NO) to 29%(YES) vote. The voters should have had their say that day, but they were denied. The school district sought to acquire Fire Prevention and Safety Bonds to repair our old high school, at least that is what they said they were going to do. Instead, they took that money and used it to get matching state grant money and built 2 new schools. One of which that wasn't even voted on. After all, they were going to go against the will of the voters on one schools, so why even give them an opinion on the other. Hundreds of other schools in this state were build against the will of the voters and it seems that they had it down to a science. Not only does it not matter if you say NO, it doesn't matter if you take it to court, as they will use their corrupt system to beat you down. All I can say is this, do all of you out there in Illinois want to pay for the GREED of a few? Do you like paying taxes toward projects you didn't approve, or didn't even take place in your county?

Folks, I don't need to go into detail. The details are on our website, as they always have been. So this time, when you get this email, don't ignore it. Don't go back to watching this evening's TV shows. If you ignore someone stealing from you, they won't ever stop. They will come up with new ways to take your money and hide it in tax bills, bond issues and other legislation, that you know nothing about. This is all because they know that you are busy living your own life. All I am asking, is that you take a few minutes and find out what they are doing behind your backs. This issue effects the WHOLE state, because the MATCHING GRANT MONEY that ALL of those school construction projects received, is paid by the WHOLE STATE. So, when our school district sold bonds for schools we didn't want, you helped buy them.

This is not some cheesy chain letter that you get every day. This is a WARNING. This is something you need to pass onto anyone , that you know, that lives in this state. If you hit the delete key, they win again. How many times should we let them win before we've had enough? How many times will you let them take money out of your pocket that you could have used for your children's future?

I'm asking you to forward this on to everyone. If you know someone that doesn't have the Internet, get out an envelope and a stamp and mail it to them. Go to our website ( www.jccfpa.org ) and see for yourself what they have done. Additionally, I have attached a copy of a letter written by Jeff Ferguson, this evening, after our case was dismissed today in court. A copy of the email I received from him is also pasted below. Jeff has given countless hours to fight a cause you may not have known even existed. He has sacrificed personally and financially to do this. If you want to help, send the CFPA a small donation. Anything helps and your support goes a long way to keep things like this from happening again. We plan to appeal the judges ruling, such as it was, but we need your support. Though we appreciate all the thanks and praise and "good luck" we've received, but it doesn't help pay the legal fees necessary to fight this cause. If you have questions, please email me with them and I'll do my best to answer them.


Please send all donations to:
Coalition for Public Awareness
P.O. Box 177
Jerseyville, IL. 62052
All requests to remain anonymous will be honored.


Warmest Regards,


--
Keith Steinacher

Hi all,
Well, we've been passed around the ENTIRE system now. I had hoped and prayed that Judge Lois Bell would allow this suit to move forward, but as we all saw today, there is no justice for the taxpayers at any level. I have written my thoughts as I ponder next steps and have attached the resulting letter. I do not blame anyone who wants to give up at this point but I would encourage you not to. To do so would be to admit defeat and to invite our elected officials to walk all over us anytime they desire. I am too deep into this to stop now and I will continue to pursue it through any avenues I can find. Frank will work up an estimate on what he anticipates it will cost to appeal and we can make a decision at that time if the "justice" system is our best way to move forward. At this point in time, I don't see that we have any option but to continue with the "legal" process, regardless of how flawed it obviously is. Please distribute this letter to everyone you know and ask that they forward it with a vengeance. WE MUST LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM DID TO US TODAY!!!

Jeff