COLES CO.—The Coles County November 6 election ballot has a lot of choices for voters, as well as a number of propositions countywide; in particular, the Opt-Out Electric Aggregation Program, which is now actively being sought across the state.
But in the major offices in the county, the only selection voters will have to make is that of state’s attorney.
Major officeholders
Long-time circuit clerk Vicki Kirkpatrick did not seek re-election to another term, leaving a single candidate, Republican Melissa Hurst, on the ballot for that office.
However, the office of state’s attorney is being sought by two lawyers, one, Brian Bower on the Republican side, the other, the perpetual office-seeker himself, Todd Reardon, the Democrat, after current state’s attorney Steve Ferguson opted not to seek another term.
Bower defeated Duane Deters in the Primary; Deters was a former Coles County assistant state’s attorney who currently works in Macon County’s SA office, in the DUI and traffic division; Bower currently is employed as the city attorney for Charleston.
Bower held sway over Deter, who had run for the office’s Republican nomination in Coles four years ago.
Perpetual challenger
The perpetual challenger is Reardon.
He defeated Tom Bucher, currently also an assistant state’s attorney in Coles, in the Primary back in March in a surprise upset.
Reardon is an incredibly effective defense attorney and has had amazing success in that field. The problem with him is that his past follows him around wherever he goes, even here at Disclosure Heartland, because it’s inexorable: it simply can’t NOT be mentioned when it comes to Todd Reardon of “A Citizen’s Law Office” in Charleston—he defended a Christian Identity/White Supremacist, Matt Hale, several years ago in a murder solicitation trial, wherein Hale had attempted to have Judge Joan Lefkow of Chicago murdered after she ruled against him in a federal trademark dispute (stemming from the supremacy group) case.
And even after all was said and done and Hale was in prison, Lefkow’s husband and mother were murdered two years later (2005) by a still-basically-unknown person (a man did claim, in a suicide note, to have done it, the claim coming right before he shot himself in the head, but it wasn’t conclusive).
Gives Reardon a lot to overcome
This has followed Reardon around for years; even though Hale himself wasn’t violent, the stigma of the violence surrounding the Christian Identity group preceded it (when in 1999 Benjamin Smith, of the same organization, went on a shooting spree).
So he’s had a lot to overcome, and apparently he’s not been able to do it, as he ran for the office in 2004, 2008, and now again in 2012.
Despite this, Reardon remains one of the go-to guys when a person’s civil rights have been affected by the courts or law enforcement. And that might explain his popularity, at least enough of it to get him through Primaries.
Whether he’ll be able to overcome Bower, however, remains to be seen. Brad Bower is a popular attorney in the area, and has made a name for himself over the past several decades (almost 30 in all) in practice.
Bower’s only drawback seems to be that people believe he’s only running so he can ensure a certain amount of time on the public teat so he can get an ample retirement.
Bower may be able to overcome that impression with any hard work and dedication he’ll put into the job, should he get it, and this impression, if it’s inaccurate, could be dispelled as early as by the end of the year, since there’s quite a caseload that Ferguson is leaving his predecessor.
County board seats
County board seats are next on the ballot, and there are at least a few of them challenged.
In District Two, Democrat John F. Protz faces Republican Ron Osborne;
In District Four, Alan M. Hawkins, Dem, faces Cory Sanders, Republican’
In District Five, Democrat Jim Hilgenberg is vying for the seat with Mark Degler, Republican;
And in District Six, it’s Brandon A. Saunders, Dem, against Paul Daily, Republican.
In Districts One, Seven, Nine, Ten, Eleven and Twelve, Republicans Michael Zuhone, Nancy Purdy, Janice Kay Eads, Stan Metzger, John C. Bell and Brian Marvin, respectively, are running unopposed; in Districts Three and Eight, Dick Goodrick and Daniel E. Lawrence are running unopposed.
In Coles alone, there is a judicial vacancy as Judge Gary W. Jacobs, Coles County resident judge, is retiring. The only candidate seeking the seat is Brien J. O’Brien, Republican.
Ballot propositions
The ballot propositions are heavy on Coles County ballots.
For the Sullivan community Unit School District No. 300, a referendum regarding board membership at large poses the question:
“Shall members of the Board of Education of Sullivan Community Unit School District No. 300, Moultrie, Shelby and Coles counties, Illinois, be elected in 2013 and thereafter, at large and without restriction by area of residence within the district instead of the current restriction that not more than three members of the board of education may be selected from one congressional township in the school district?” Voters must choose ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
As well, the ballot proposition for the Opt-Out Aggregation Program for Residential and Small Commercial Retail Electricity Customers in the cities of Charleston, Mattoon, Oakland, Ashmore, Humboldt, Lerna, and all of Coles County as a county entity, is addressed.
As on other ballot propositions this year, this proposition gives the municipality (or entire county as an entity, in the case of Coles) the opportunity to create an “aggregation program” wherein a larger purchase of electricity can be made for a group of customers, then the savings created by the bulk purchase of electricity can be passed along to those within the aggregate (residents and businesses in the municipality or county).
If the referendum passes—per area or overall—the program can take effect as early as January 2013.
Customers don’t have to switch to the aggregate, and have an “opt-out” option wherein they can continue to purchase their electricity straight from the provider.
There’s probably some kind of catch to it, but Disclosure’s inspection into the matter didn’t locate one if it exists. It sounds like a good idea, lowering utility costs for the users in the area…but do your own research on the matter before voting.