Ken Staaf's guest column appeared in the Rockford Register Star, Sunday, December 25, 2005.
“Yes” on home rule would show that we trust the folks we elect
When are we going to start trusting each other?
I serve in elective office, but I am not representing any group or organization. I write as a resident and a taxpayer who happens to think that it is time we as voters grew up and started believing in ourselves, our community and the people we elect to serve us.
I have held public office for the better part of a quarter-century and spent another quarter-century in the private sector. I can tell you without hesitation: I have never had a more dedicated, hardworking, budget-cutting-concerned staff than I do right now in the Winnebago County Recorder’s Office. Government is not part of some evil empire and we do not live in a totalitarian state, as the opponents of home rule would have so many people believe. The adoption of home rule does not mean we surrender our rights. We elect our representatives and public servants, and if they betray our trust we replace them. That’s representative government.
Opponent arguments based on fear, suspicion, mistrust
The opponents of home rule base their arguments on fear, suspicion and mistrust. They paint the proponents as evil, power-hungry individuals who want nothing more than to tax us out of our homes. That is unfair to themselves; to you, the residents of Rockford and taxpayers; the men and women you elect to public office; and to our community.
I remember the days of Mayor John McNamara, when our community faced 25 percent unemployment. I remember the mass exodus of jobs, followed by the people who used to hold those jobs. I was on the City Council during those days, and I remember the concerns of our residents and the business community. I remember the “Leave the Lights On” bumper stickers and the sad stories of people who could not find work. I remember the debates behind closed doors and on the floor of the City Council chambers. We needed leadership!
Today we hear discussions regarding city leadership, and a name that inevitably rises to the front of the conversation is McNamara’s. He is considered by many of the same people opposing home rule as the last real leader we had. Well, McNamara and I had our differences, but when he was sitting in the mayor’s chair, he did take the lead and accepted responsibility for his actions. That is what leadership is all about.
Were all of his decisions and the votes of the City Council correct? Probably not, given that the result was the loss of home rule. But those decisions were debated and made in the public arena and made with the successful recovery of this community in mind. They were made at a time when employees and employers wanted – no, needed – to see local government take action to reverse the trend of lost jobs and a failing economy. Tax increases, used to frighten people in today’s debate, happened only after some very hard decisions by a mayor, his staff and a City Council representing both sides of the political aisle.
'The only major city in the state unable to govern ourselves'
For the past several years I have served as chairman of the Recorders Committee in the Illinois Association of County Clerks and Recorders. In that capacity, I have met with many legislators in Springfield regarding issues affecting our association. I can tell you in all candor, once they find out I’m from Rockford, they inevitably jest about the fact that we are the only major city in the state unable to govern ourselves and that our representatives, city officials and community representatives are constantly knocking on their doors seeking permission to do something that other municipalities handle at the local level.
Isn’t it time we grew up as a community and trusted ourselves? Were mistakes made during some difficult times? Yes. Did we learn from those mistakes? I believe so.
The people we elect are our neighbors. They pay taxes just like we do, and they realize the impact of taxes. I am tired of hearing people degrade them as some sort of piranhas feasting at the public trough. These are decent men and women who are attempting to make Rockford a better, safer place to live and raise our families. They are working to make Rockford a community where our youths find the education, jobs and prosperity that will keep them here for the remainder of their lives. They are not the greedy, ugly, corrupt and power-hungry leeches some of the home-rule opponents suggest they are.
It’s time for us to put a little trust back in ourselves and our neighbors.