Hebreard Race Too Close To
Like many places all over the country, DuPage County was the heartbeat of the Republican Party. On November 6th the Democrats made history winning seats they have never won before and some coming remarkably close to their well known, well connected Republican opponents.
And just like many other places all over the country, there is a race in DuPage County that is too close to call. Dan Hebreard was about 3000 votes behind on November 6th, but with thousands of mail-in ballots not counted Dan was in striking distance. Dan went from 3000 behind to 474 behind to 135 behind to know 35 votes behind.
Dan needs your help. For the past two weeks, Dan has spent every day at the DuPage County Election Commission to make sure every vote counts. If you can help with getting every vote to count, please call 331-222-9529. They need people to examine the reject list, compare it to our data, call the voters, go to their house and notarize affidavits Daniel Hebreard is within 35 votes. Every vote matters.
Please help Dan if you can.
Thank You
Thank you for electing me to a third term on the Dupage County Board. I am honored by the faith you have in me and will work diligently on behalf of my constituents and all the people of the county. I am very excited to be working with the newly elected board members as well as my current colleagues. It’s tough to run for office and would like to thank all of the candidates who ran this year.
To the volunteers who knocked doors, held a meet and greet, delivered signs, attended fundraisers, served as poll watchers and election judges I can not thank you enough.
This year’s election was about “Building A Better DuPage” I have no doubt we will achieve this by listening to your ideas and working together.
Sincerely,
Liz Chaplin
DUPAGE COUNTY SECRETLY ACQUIRED ANTIQUATED, CAST-OFF VOTING MACHINES OF THE DISSOLVED AURORA ELECTION COMMISSION
ELECTION WATCHDOG JEAN KACZMAREK DISCOVERS 107 ADDITIONAL MACHINES FROM AURORA;
TWO USED AURORA MACHINES NOW AT GLEN ELLYN EARLY VOTING SITE
DuPage County is one of the wealthiest counties in the country and we are using old, cast-off voting machines. DuPage County is using antiquated machines from Aurora. We can do better and we should demand better. See below statement from Jean Kaczmarek
GLEN ELLYN – Glen Ellyn resident and 13-year election watchdog Jean Kaczmarek discovered that DuPage County secretly acquired an additional 107 antiquated, cast-off voting Diebold machines – this time from the dissolved Aurora Election Commission. Two of these machines are in use now in the Glen Ellyn Early Voting site.
Last week, Kaczmarek obtained a list of serial numbers of equipment used by the Aurora Election Commission from the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBOE). She compared it with a list 1578 sets of serial numbers of DuPage County voting machines, which had also been provided by the ISBOE last month. She found 107 matches – 59 optiscans and 48 TSx touchscreens. Two serial numbers on touchscreens in use now in Glen Ellyn match those from Aurora.
Kaczmarek was poll watching Saturday after reports of touchscreen machine malfunctions. After reviewing serial numbers of just eight machines in Glen Ellyn, she found two Aurora matches.
“I may have discovered more Aurora machines in use in DuPage County, but the Commission’s law firm abruptly shut access of serial numbers to poll watchers on Saturday afternoon an hour later,” Kaczmarek says.
“I have been poll watching as an election watchdog for a dozen years. Until yesterday, serial numbers of voting machines were always available,” she adds. “The decision to deny poll watchers access was arbitrary, unreasonable and capricious.”
Kaczmarek addressed the DuPage County Board on Oct. 23rd after DuPage County Board Chair Dan Cronin and a County Board member had just emphasized DuPage’s ACT Initiative for accountability, consolidation and transparency. She urged the county to not use any voting machines or components that had been cast off from other counties. At the time, she had not yet confirmed that DuPage had acquired 107 machines from Aurora: she had confirmed that another 118 old machines were in the Election Commission’s possession.
After the Aurora Election Commission had merged into Kane County Clerk’s office, Aurora’s 2017 ES&S machines were sold to DeKalb County. The majority of machines DuPage received from Aurora, however, were from the early 2000s with technology from the 1990s.
“Our citizens got stuck with the old, old Aurora machines. Surely, DuPage can do better,” Kaczmarek adds.
Kaczmarek, who attends all DuPage County Election Commission board meetings, says that the acquisition of Aurora’s machines was never mentioned publicly. Likewise, it was never publicly disclosed that DuPage would be receiving antiquated, cast-off machines from counties down state as part of the settlement agreement with Liberty Systems following the 2018 Primary Election meltdown where 167 machines were damaged by too-thick ender cards provided by the vendor. DuPage accepted 118 optiscan machines from Liberty which were likely trade-ins from counties which had purchased new machines. Together, DuPage has 225 cast-off machines from Aurora and Liberty.
“Why wasn’t it made public?” Kaczmarek asks. “The Election Commission did not want citizens to know they had accepted antiquated, cast-off voting machines. This is the real reason why they don’t want citizens to have the serial numbers.”
It is common knowledge that old electronic equipment is not reliable or secure. Voting machines are no exception.
On Oct. 9th, Kaczmarek filed a lawsuit in the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in Wheaton against the DuPage County Board of Election Commissioners for illegally withholding records about the 118 dated, cast-off voting machines acquired from the vendor they have “a lack of confidence” in – namely, Liberty Systems. Kaczmarek’s June 2018 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, denied by the Election Commission, seeks bulk serial numbers found on the outside of vintage, out-of-warranty Diebold optical scan machines from Liberty Systems.
“The State Board of Elections and other Illinois counties see no problem releasing serial numbers of voting machines. Even the DuPage Election Commission hasn’t in the past,” Kaczmarek says. “The Commission doesn’t want citizens to know that DuPage County has become a voting machine junkyard.”
Kaczmarek, who has been scrutinizing the DuPage County Election Commission since 2005 and is the Democratic candidate forDuPage County Clerk, sees it as her responsibility as a member of the public to shine light on the County’s use of dated, out-of-warranty, cast-off machines in the Midterms.
“I know more than any outsider about what’s going on with DuPage elections,” Kaczmarek says. “Despite the imperfections, nothing could keep me from voting. We must use the process before us. We must vote.”
Kaczmarek plans to vote on Election Day on a paper ballot.
STERIGENICS SAVE THE DATE: USEPA November 29th Town Hall Forum
SAVE THE DATE: The USEPA is planning a Community Meeting to share current information and answer questions pertaining to the Sterigenics environmental issue. A number of federal, state, and local agencies will be represented at the meeting. The meeting will occur on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 7:00 PM at Ashton Place Banquets, 341 75th Street, Willowbrook, IL 60527. If anyone would like to submit questions in advance of this meeting, the USEPA has established the following e-mail address to do so: EtO@epa.gov
You can find more information here.
First Day Of Early Voting Off To A Troubling Start
The first day of early voting in DuPage County has been marred with numerous problems. People have reported that the electronic voting machines are defaulting to the Republican Candidates and not allowing for a Democratic choice, the machines are dinging when only one vote is cast in the vote for two races, candidates are missing from the electronic ballot and at least 35 people have been turned away from the Olive Tree polling location in Naperville.
If you have any problems please report them to the DuPage Election Commission: (English) 630-407-5600 (Spanish) 630-407-5608 and Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683).
The Daily Herald reports the following:
Some early voters in DuPage will need to use paper ballots
Robert Sanchez
Meghan Hassett, the campaign manager for Laura Ellman — the Naperville Democrat challenging Republican incumbent Michael Connelly in the 21st state Senate District — said she was contacted by voters who were turned away from the early voting location at the Olive Trees Condominiums along Bailey Road in Naperville.
While the commission sent letters to voters notifying them about the change, Hassett said the mailer was “very unclear.”
On Tuesday morning, Hassett called on the DuPage County Board to intervene.
“I’m here today to urge the election commission to provide paper ballots at all of the early voting sites to accommodate those in House District 41 who are currently restricted from voting early, except for two locations,” Hassett said during the public comment portion of the county board meeting.
Ellman also issued a statement accusing the election commission of “suppressing voters” in the district.
“We need fair elections for a functional democracy and accountable government, which means every registered voter in DuPage must be able to cast a ballot at any early voting location within the county,” Ellman said.
By around 1:30 p.m., the election commission announced that paper ballots were going to be available at the Olive Trees Condominiums.
You can read the complete story at the Daily Hearld www.dailyherald.com
Sterigeinics-More Misinformation and Half-Truths
Sadly, I’m familiar with dangerous pollution in this county. I spearheaded the effort to bring safe water to a little over 800 families in my neighborhood in the early 2000’s. While on the DuPage County Board I’ve been fighting to protect our citizens from health threats.
Our county is yet again in the middle of another public health crisis, a local business, Steriginics has been emitting dangerous levels of ethylene oxide into the air our friends and neighbors breathe. To make matters worse there is at least one known spill at the site that could pose a threat to people on private wells in the area surrounding Sterigenics.
On September 18, 2018, during the Health and Human Service Committee, I asked that the county, in conjunction with the health department, provide private well testing for the homes in the unincorporated area surrounding Sterigenics. I followed up my request with an email to Karen Ayala, Executive Director of the DuPage County Health Department, who responded immediately that her staff has begun to research the process.
During the October 10, 2018 meeting of the DuPage County Board Chairman Cronin gave a brief update on Sterigenics. Cronin said, “Karen Ayala with the DuPage County Health Department has been immersed and working with local, state and national scientists and aggressively pursuing the facts and researching to find the most reliable test, we want to get it right.”
Ms. Ayala spoke at the October 10, 2018 meeting of the DuPage County Board Ayala said “on October 2, 2018, she issued a formal request to the USEPA seeking assistance on this pressing issue and followed up on October 5, 2018, with the USEPA in which they responded that they have gathered a group of EPA experts to assess any potential groundwater impact in Willowbrook.”
That doesn’t exactly sound like Ms. Ayala has been ‘immersed or aggressively pursuing the facts.”
I am putting this information out because I am tired of the misinformation and the half-truths that are continually being thrown out at the expense of our citizens who are very concerned about their health.
On October 2, 2018, I sent information to Karen Ayala regarding the types of testing that can be done to detect ethylene glycol, the information was provided to me by Mike Joyce, Mike used to work with the USEPA and was very involved with the water contamination in Downers Grove.
Below is the email chain between myself and the county staff:
Kottmeyer, Nick
Thu 04/10, 09:10
Hi Liz –
Thanks for the testing information that you sent the other day. Karen and I have been reviewing the information that was contained in the email. Any chance that you might have found a reliable test for Ethylene Oxide? We are struggling to find any reliable tests for this compound.
Thanks
Nick
Nicholas Kottmeyer, P.E.
Director of Public Works and Operations
DuPage County
On October 5, 2018 I sent the below response:
Nick and Karen,
I found a lab PDC that does EPA approved testing for ethylene glycol. The test is the 8015 method. The test would require 3 samples of water from each home. The water can be taken from the kitchen sink or an outdoor spigot. For ethylene glycol anything below 40 milligrams will not show up. The test is $164 per well.
This test can be used for water and soil.
The labs contact is PCD 815-344-4044 Christie or Sarah. They are located in McHenry, Il.
Have you figured out how many wells are in the area?
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I will continue to make some calls you may want to follow up with PCD Lab.
Liz Chaplin
630-518-6740
Karen J. Ayala <kayala@dupagehealth.org>
Fri 05/10, 11:39
Chaplin, Liz;
Kottmeyer, Nick
Thanks Liz for the information— do they conduct tests on ethylene oxide?
Karen J Ayala
Please excuse brevity and typos.
Sent on iPhone.
Chaplin, Liz
Liz Chaplin
DuPage County Board, District 2
630-518-6740
CL
Chaplin, Liz
Fri 05/10, 14:09
Yes, they do.
Liz Chaplin
Sat 06/10, 06:34
Karen J. Ayala
Hi Karen,
Ethylene glycol is the by-product of ethylene oxide.
TCC’s Ethylene Glycol (MEG) is an organic compound widely used as an automotive antifreeze and the precursor to polymers. In its pure form, it is an odorless, colorless, syrupy liquid. Ethylene glycol is toxic, and ingestion can result in death.
Ethylene glycol is produced from ethylene, via the intermediate ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide reacts with water to produce ethylene glycol according to the chemical equation:
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thechemco.com
TCC’s Ethylene Glycol (MEG) is a toxic, colorless, practically odorless, low-volatility, low-viscosity, hygroscopic liquid. It is completely miscible with water and many organic liquids. The hydroxyl groups on glycols undergo the usual alcohol chemistry, giving a wide variety of possible derivatives.
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Liz Chaplin
DuPage County Board, District 2
630-518-6740
Erroneous Information Removed From DuPage County Website
After a week of having erroneous information on its website DuPage County finally pulls news release at my request.
In order to address the public’s concerns about Sterigenics, the company that has poisoned the air in Willowbrook and the area surrounding Sterigenics for over thirty years, DuPage County set up a link as a source of information. That’s admirable as long as the information provided is accurate.
On October 2, 2018 DuPage County published a statement under the Sterigenics link.
Statement Regarding Action by Illinois E.P.A.
After calling for the shutdown of the Sterigenics Willowbrook facility for weeks, today DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin was pleased to report that his communication with Governor Rauner and the Illinois Protection Agency has led to the temporary shutdown of the facility. Cronin said:
”I am pleased that the Governor has answered my call to shut down Sterigenics of Willowbrook while state and federal environmental officials can complete testing and determine whether the air our residents breathe is safe. Together with Senator John Curran and County Board Member Greg Hart, I will continue to press the company and the authorities regulating Sterigenics to act on behalf of the communities involved. I will continue to support legislation that closely supervised the permitting of Sterigenics and promote open dialogue with the residents.”
That’s a powerful statement. The statement was not true. The statement was careless and reckless. The people in Willowbrook and the area surrounding Sterigenics have been on an emotional roller coaster and this statement lead to confusion and dismay as some were celebrating the shut down of the facility only to realize the facility had not been shut down and continues to conduct business as usual.
I spoke about the importance of providing accurate information to the public and requested that the statement be removed from the Sterigenics link.
Sterigenics link can be found here.
The Story of Sterigenics
Sadly, I’m familiar with dangerous pollution in this county. I spearheaded the effort to bring safe water to a little over 800 families in the early 2000’s. While on the DuPage County Board I’ve been fighting to protect our citizens from health threats.
Our county is yet again in the middle of another public health crisis, a local business, Steriginics has been emitting dangerous levels of ethylene oxide into the air our friends and neighbors breathe.
The moment I heard that the Illinois EPA decided that there “isn’t an immediate health crisis,” something Republicans, including Governor Rauner have repeated… I was reminded of the ordeal my family went through when we learned our water had been poisoned. They were wrong. And people got sick.
Please take a few minutes to watch this powerful video and share.
Stop Sterigenics will have a booth at the GOTV Concert today at the DuPage County Fairgrounds from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. Hope to see you there.
Local Emergency Planning Committee – Stop Sterigenics
During yesterday’s meeting of DuPage County’s Judicial Public Safety Committee I brought up the concerns of the residents of Willowbrook and the area surrounding Sterigenics had regarding the explosive nature of ethylene oxide. There’ll be a meeting of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The meeting is open to the public. Meeting information is below:
Local Emergency Planning Committee
November 20, 2018
1:30 pm
OEM Chapel
418 N. County Farm Rd
Wheaton, Il