Electoral confusion?!?

I happened to be taking my father’s dogs out for a Sunday morning walk when we stumbled across a house that had campaign signs galore posted all over the front lawn.

Carmelo, a Golden Retriever/Poodle, surveys the confusion of some voters as Election Day approaches in eight days. Photograph by Gregory Tejeda

So many that the end result was a chaotic mess – with some of the signs actually being for conflicting viewpoints come Election Day.

DO WE HAVE people who think they’re politically aware who don’t have a clue how they’re voting? Will next Tuesday wind up being the end result of political chaos run amok?

Anything is possible. There are times when I think the only definitive thought would-be voters have in their heads is whether they want “four more years” of Bruce Rauner as Illinois governor.

As for the ones who don’t, I doubt there’s a true consensus of thought behind any one candidate, or even one political party. Which could be Rauner’s best chance of winning re-election.

But as for the rest of the ballot, I won’t be surprised to learn many people will walk into the voting booth without a clue how they’re going to vote.

WILL WE HAVE people picking and choosing at random just so they can fill out their ballots? Or will we have people leaving the bulk of their ballots blank because they don’t have a clue who, or what, to cast votes for?

I know some suburbs are putting “home rule” referendum questions on their ballot – asking voters if their municipal officials ought to have full authority to deal with local issues involving taxes.

There are some people who put their full faith in their local officials over any other, while others think government officials deserve to have as little authority as possible.

Yet I have heard some people come right out and say they’re inclined to skip that question, particularly if the concept of “home rule” in general is one that is alien to them.

OF COURSE, THERE’S also all those judges to pick from – and I’m sure that’s going to cause intimidation for many voters.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that as a reporter-type person who has written about courts in Cook County, I have an edge over other voters. I’ve actually heard of many of these judges – in some instances, I’ve covered cases in their courtrooms.

I’m not above refusing to vote for a judge who acted like a pompous blowhard while I was in his presence.

Which makes as much sense to me as those people who cast votes for as many of the white, Irish-sounding names they see. To the point where I’m astounded at the many judicial candidates who have their campaign lawn signs in Kelly green-colored letters. Putting the thoughts of St. Patrick’s Day into our subliminal thoughts.

AS FOR ME, when I cast my ballot last week at an Early Voting Center, I actually went with my own ethnic origins in cases when I was unfamiliar with all the candidates – hence, a slew of Spanish-sounding names got my vote. Although I’m also aware there’s been enough ethnic intermixing in our society that it doesn’t take a “Rodriguez” or “Martinez”-like name to be Latino.

I’m also sure there are others who have equally-goofy ways of distributing their votes in cases of cluelessness. Besides, when you think about it, does it really make sense to seek out a Bar Association endorsement list and pick off all those names? Those lists tend to be the legal establishment, and I’m sure there are those who’d rather be shaking up the established courthouse regulars for our societal good.

So those of you who have yet to cast your votes, I’ll wish you luck on wading through the many anonymous names that comprise the bottom half of the ballot that you probably haven’t paid attention to.

And I’ll wonder if your reaction will be something similar to one of my father’s dogs, who I swear let out a sigh when he saw the mass of signs cluttering a lawn that he probably would have put to better use by relieving himself.

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When it comes to $13 minimum wage; we won’t pay, some communities say!

I wasn’t the least bit surprised to stumble across a story published by the Daily Herald newspaper in the northwestern suburbs – one that says some communities are planning to resist the recent effort by the Cook County Board to impose a higher minimum wage for the suburbs.
 

PRECKWINKLE: Some don't want to honor wage boost

The Chicago City Council already has enacted a plan that will gradually boost the minimum wage for companies based in the city up to $13 an hour by the year 2019.

IT WOULD SEEM that county board commissioners didn’t like appearing to be cheapskates by comparison to aldermen in the city.

So last week, they approved their own measure that will impose annual increases in the minimum wage through 2020 – by which time it also will be $13 an hour.

Currently, the minimum wage is $8.50 – which already is above the $7.25 hourly rate that is required by the federal government.

Meaning that people who work crummy jobs in Illinois already get paid a little bit more than their counterparts in other states – particularly Indiana, where it is noticeable that someone working as a fry cook in Hammond gets less than someone doing the same job at a Burger King based in the Hegewisch neighborhood.

SOME SEE THIS as a good thing. Our workers are getting paid better. Others are more than willing to look at it as the ultimate of stupidity – our companies have to pay more for the same low-skilled labor, and it cuts into their bottom line.

After all, the basic rule of business is that anything that cuts into the profit margin is bad. Very, very bad!!!

That explains the Daily Herald report, which indicates that officials in Barrington, Elk Grove Village and Prospect Heights are seriously looking at ways they can legally exempt themselves from the spirit of the Cook County Board’s action.

Which is that minimum wage workers in those municipalities don’t have to receive the same pay as workers in other communities. For all I know, they may wish they could get out of paying the state minimum wage and try to comply with the federal pay rate.

NOW I’M NOT aware they’re going to try for that. Something like that is probably their ultimate fantasy that they can only wish for.

But it doesn’t surprise me to learn that some companies are fully capable of thinking of their labor as an entity that cuts into their profit margin – rather than being a necessary expense that enables them to make money.

That is, unless the company is poorly managed and the executives ought to be replaced. Then again, it’s probably easier for them to think it’s the workers’ fault – they’re making too much money.

What I expect these municipalities (and there may well be more in other parts of Cook County) to argue is that the county board merely governs the unincorporated parts of Cook County. Businesses located in areas that are not a part of any specific municipality would have to comply with the county’s rules.

THEN AGAIN, SUCH parts of the county usually are isolated and don’t have much in the way of business located within them. Which means that the county board clearly meant to impact suburban municipalities with its efforts.

But we’re going to hear a lot about “home rule” that gives local governments the authority to set their own policy on assorted issues. We may even get the General Assembly involved in trying to pass some convoluted measures that would give specific communities the right to get around this issue. My own experience of covering Cook County government is that there are those people who believe its authority to do anything is so very restricted – even though it potentially can impact people the most in their daily lives.

The fact is that people are going to have to decide just how much they care about the ability of someone whose lot in life sticks them with low-skilled jobs to be able to earn an income that they can actually live upon.

The simple fact is that the person ringing up the cash register when you order that salad at McDonald’s may be about the most invisible individual you encounter – unless you take into account the person who has to mop up the floor after you leave.

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