The Township
The Official Newsletter of the Winfield Township Democratic Organization
Volume 10, No. 1
Message From the
Township Chair
By Lynn Casey-Maher
Winfield Township Democratic Organization
Chair
Hello and welcome back to the Township
Democrat! Our last newsletter was in the
fall of 2016. To say there have been many
changes since then is a huge
understatement. We have had changes at
the White House all the way down to our
local Township.
Let’s start with our local changes. Susan
Lubonovich, our chair for the past dozen
years made the difficult decision to step
down and I was honored to be nominated
by her to continue her legacy. Susan put
her heart and soul into building our
Township and I hope to do the same.
Thank you, Susan.
I have lived in Winfield Township most of
my life – attending grade school, middle
school and high school here. My children
attended Community High School Dist. 94
and my husband taught chemistry there,
also. This is my home. But, I must confess
that while I am a lifelong Democrat, I was a
general election voter only. I just did not
give the rest of it much thought. My first
vote in a primary was 2016. A life changing
year for many of us. It woke me up in many
ways. First the energizing primary and then
the disappointing (to say the least) general
election. What was I to do on November 9,
2016? My daughter-in-law had worked
tirelessly on Hillary’s campaign, not only
driven by her devotion to Hillary but the fact
she has a pre-existing condition and feared
losing her insurance under a Trump
administration. I cried with her the night of
the election and promised to take care of
her. But, how?
While she was devoted to Hillary I was
Democrat
www.winfielddems.org Autumn 2018
devoted to Bernie. I thought of the call to
action he gave us in June of 2016, to get
CALENDAR
out there and run for something, anything.
EARLY VOTING
School board, mayor, Congress. Just get
THUR, SEP 27-MON, NOV 5
involved. At the time, I wondered how I
could fit in. I listened to President DUPAGE ELECTION AUTHORITY
Obama’s farewell speech. “Change only 421 COUNTY FARM ROAD
happens when ordinary people get
WHEATON, IL
involved and they get engaged, and they
come together to demand it”, he said. By
this time, I knew I had to fit in. I would not ELECTION DAY
let Trump get the better of us. TUESDAY, NOV. 6
In June of 2017, I was appointed as a
WTDO REGULAR MEETINGS
precinct committeeman, in March of 2018,
elected as PC and in May, 2018, was WINFIELD FIRE PROTECTION
elected Chair of WTDO. I did not become DISTRICT, FIREHOUSE NO. 1
a political whiz overnight, but I do have 27W 530 HIGHLAKE RD,
the support of many, many activists, WINFIELD
elected officials, candidates and of course
my leadership team in WTDO.
We are living in very tumultuous times. NEXT MEETING:
The daily upheaval created by a leader WED, OCT. 17, 7:00 PM
who is not a leader only serves to show
that we need to stand stronger and more
united than ever as Democrats. I FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
witnessed a show of unity at the WWW.WINFIELDDEMS.ORG
Democratic National Committee meeting OR CALL:
in Chicago. Exactly 50 years after anti- 630-232-9719
war protesters clashed with police in
Chicago as a Democratic National
Convention was held, history was made
again. But, this time, instead of disruption OPINIONS EXPRESSED WITHIN ARE
and division, there was a show of unity. NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE
The Unity Reform Commission, created
WINFIELD TOWNSHIP
after the 2016 Convention that included
members selected by Bernie Sanders, DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION
Hillary Clinton and DNC Chair Tom Perez,
met several times over the past two years
to discuss election reforms. What came
out of those meetings was the result of
hard work and compromise that indicated
the Democratic Party’s effort to move
forward. Voting at the DNC meeting
Winfield Township
(See Casey-Maher, p. 7)
Democratic Organization
The Township Democrat 1
We Need a National Balance national balance sheet would explain why. Some
countries do calculate a National Balance Sheet. The
Sheet UK for example. Perhaps someone can educate me
as to why we don’t. But in the meantime, here are
By Sean Casten
some things we should be talking about whenever
Democratic Nominee for Illinois’ 6th US Cong. District
we get into a conversation about appropriate
borrowing levels:
Does the United States have too much debt? To
judge from talking heads on TV, self-proclaimed
What is the purpose of incremental borrowing? As in
“fiscal conservatives” (whatever that means) and
the example of you and your cousin, there is a big
any number of folks on the far left or right, the
difference between borrowing to build new assets
answer is yes. But here’s the problem: given how we
and borrowing to increase non-accretive spending. If
report our national accounts, the question is barely
we don’t ask what the cash will be used for, we can’t
answerable. What’s worse, to presume the question
have an informed conversation about whether it’s
is answerable is to make a mistake that would
appropriate.
probably flunk an Intro to Finance paper. Because
we have no national balance sheet.
If the investment is for a new asset, what is the
expected return? A new port that generates long
Suppose you just took out a $300,000 loan to buy a
term future revenue streams and earns a 7% return
$500,000 house. Suppose that on the same day,
on invested capital is a good idea. But only so long
your cousin, who rents an apartment took out a
as we can borrow money at less than 7%. To be
$200,000 loan to go travel around Europe for the
sure, not all investments deliver readily-calculable
summer. Assume for the sake of this example that
returns, but there’s no sense in having a
you both have the same income and have no other
conversation about interest rates on the national
debt. Clearly, your cousin has less debt than you do.
debt if we’re not comparing those to the (hopefully
But no one would conclude that he is the more
higher) return we’re getting on the proceeds from the
fiscally responsible of the two of you. Looking only at
resulting investments.
debt and income, you’d draw the opposite
conclusion. That is essentially what we do when we
How do fiscal decisions impact the balance sheet?
talk about national debt. We report debt and we
When we borrow to buy an asset we change our
report on GDP and trade surpluses/deficits (both of
assets and liabilities. When the City of Chicago sold
which are measures of income). But we never report
off their parking meters, it gained short-term cash,
on the value of the assets we hold against that
but lost an asset. One can reasonably ask in both
income and debt, which means we have a lot of very
cases whether the gain exceeded the loss, but you
misinformed conversations. What is the value of our
can’t ignore both sides of the ledger.
federal lands? Currency reserves? Overseas
embassies? Trade agreements and treaties? Some
There are of course MANY things that we want to
of these are easier to precisely value than others,
have as a society that do not lead to increases in our
but they are all clearly worth something. Some
asset values. We should pay teachers a competitive
reasonable back-of-the envelope calculations
wage. We should make sure that consumer
suggest that the total assets of the United States are
protection, environmental protection and a host of
about $200 trillion, or 10x our total debt. That’s a
other compliance/enforcement agencies have all the
kind of important fact to know before we’re going to
resources they need to do their jobs well. Those
talk about whether our debt levels are too high.
things of course lead to a more robust and viable
nation, even if it’s not possible to quantify or estimate
Having a national balance sheet would let us have
their value.
that conversation. It would also compel us to have a
conversation about changing balances. If a business
A national balance sheet is not a replacement for
sells a piece of inventory to gain some cash, its cash
conversations about social justice, equality and other
assets increase and inventory assets decrease.
social benefits that cost money. It is an AND, not an
Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on
OR. Actually, assembling a national balance sheet
whether the inventory was sold for more or less than
would be a huge piece of work, and it would involve
its value. And yet we never do that on our federal
a lot of rough estimates. But every day we continue
accounts. If the government sells off a chunk of
without one, we are not only “flying blind” but also
national forest for oil & gas exploration, they’re
furthering a lot of economically innumerate
reducing their own value by the land (and mineral
decisions. Let’s put one together and be smarter.
rights) that used to belong to the government as
they gain cash. That is neither an unmitigated
To learn more please visit
environmental or financial good — and having a
www.castenforcongress.com

The Township Democrat 2

Daniel Hebreard for Forest scared they are of him, and they now know
how tough Dan can be. Dan wears that as
Preserve President a badge of honor, as he should. He's
By Gerry Galloway gonna win this election.
Lisle Township Democratic Organization Chair
Here are some things Dan wants to do for
I'm voting for my friend, Daniel Hebreard, for the Forest Preserve District and the people
Forest Preserve President. Dan is a husband, of DuPage County. Slash total
father and lifelong DuPage County resident. commissioners’ compensation from $538K
Dan is a tough, smart, honest man, willing to to $95K by reducing salaries and ending
fight for you, for me, for all of us. Dan pensions and healthcare. Then use that
attended Downers Grove North High School, money to improve trails, facilities, build
graduated with honors in Parks and bridges, connect communities, and
Recreation from the University of Illinois at upgrade technology for our DuPage
Champaign-Urbana and then earned his MBA Residents. Listen to you. As a DuPage
at Illinois Benedictine. Dan believes in resident and taxpayer, Dan will hear what
conservation and in public service to make you say. Watch our tax dollars, stop waste
the world a better place. Dan listens, watches and abuse and bring us the most value for
and he knows in his gut that it is time for him our money.
to take a stand for we the people of DuPage
County and for our Forest Preserve District. Let's stop the greed. Dan will clean up the
mess. Please vote for Daniel Hebreard on
Dan has been a Forest Preserve Ranger for November 6th.
13 years, a Senior Ranger ten years. He lives
with the good and the not-so-good of the Please visit danielhebreard.com
District and he is disgusted and knows it is
time for change. Current Forest Preserve
Leadership is a lucky club with a sweetheart
deal – a club that you and I don't belong to.
Combined salaries and benefits that we pay Dave-O by Dave Oliphant
to these seven part-time elected officials is
well over a half-million dollars. That's right,
$538K for a club with a part-time gig. That is
multiple times what many officials in similar
positions get in total compensation, some of
whom earn nothing. As a taxpayer, Dan
knows that is just wrong, and he says so. His
opponents thus include not only the powerful
sitting Forest Preserve President, but the six
other commissioners. They all stand to lose
when Dan gets elected and he goes to cut
their compensation packages.

When Dan decided to run he was unsure if he

would have much of a chance, seeing how
those guys have power and lots of money
and Dan is just a regular guy. That changed
when Dan filed his Petitions. The forces
against Dan spent a ton of money to hire
lawyers and make appeals against Dan to get
him kicked off the ballot. Dan beat them at
every level! Dan thought that was as funny as
hell and I did too, because it shows how

The Township Democrat 3

The Science of Gun
Violence
By Erica Green
Democratic Candidate for DuPage County Board,
Dist. 6
I’m Erica Green and I’m running for DuPage
County Board in the 6th District. There are
many reasons to run, these days. Many have
already heard my views on tackling the opioid
epidemic. In this newsletter, I’d like to touch
on another epidemic: gun violence. A famous
Obama quote is, “ …No, I’m not going to take
your guns.” And I agree with this. Instead, I
think we need to rethink aggression – and
that is not just a Cook County or urban
problem. If we look at this critically, we will
see that, yes, urban areas have more
individual gun incidents, but suburban and
rural areas have more mass shootings and
many occur indoors.
After some very recent school shootings, our
nation’s youth took to the streets, challenged
our top law makers and challenged the NRA.
My nephew wrote a poem for his high school
English class about how he just wants to be a
kid and not worry about guns or if his teacher
will conceal one. Recent news articles have
said that the NRA has become progressively
weaker after corporate backing dropped.
However, in regards to policy, only the
ownership of bump stocks has been widely
debated. This is an excellent step in the right
direction, but there is so more to gun violence
than bump stocks.
possible that cigarette smoking habits could
decrease to the levels of today. At one time it
was permissible to smoke on airplanes, in
hospitals, and other public spaces. So, if we
treat gun control and aggression in this manner,
the threats and casualties are likely to decrease.
Simple. It's common sense, right?
Unfortunately, it is not. The NRA has lobbied to
alter what the U.S. Center for Disease Control
can say. Even though there is research to
support it, the CDC cannot say gun owners are
at an increased risk of gun violence. The NRA
suggests such claims are politically motivated. In
my opinion, health should not be a partisan
issue. Access to appropriate care should not be
a partisan issue, as well.
When elected to the County Board, using my
public health degree and my experience as a
city health council project coordinator, I will work
in collaboration with Sheila Rutledge, the Health
and Human Services Committee and the
DuPage Health Department to redefine the gun
debate talking points. Together we will identify
local risk factors for gun violence, fight to publish
it and develop programs to reduce and prevent
it. I thank you for your support!
Please visit ericalgreen.com
Dave-O by Dave Oliphant

Working as a crisis worker (doing psychiatric

evaluations) in many emergency rooms has
given me the opportunity to process the
spectrum violence with patients. It often
starts as a fantasy of revenge or an impulse
to protect, and in the worst-case scenario, it
ends with the loss of a loved one. In this
spectrum, there are many things that can
take place to intervene before a shot is fired. I
am in favor of defining gun violence as a
public health issue. In doing so, funding and
programs can be developed specifically to
address the various phases of this specific
type of violence.

Many decades ago, few would believe

The Township Democrat 4


A Trusted Partner With
Communities
By Greg Whalen
Democratic Candidate for DuPage County Sheriff
As the midterm elections rapidly approach,
candidates are working extremely hard to get the
support of voters. While some elected offices draw a
significant amount of interest, others do not
necessarily have the draw. However, it is extremely
important to understand the significance of the down
ballot races, which includes the DuPage County
Sheriff’s election.
For the first time in 20 years, the voters of DuPage
County will choose a new sheriff, the chief law
enforcement officer for the County. To understand
how important this race is, you must first understand
the responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Department. In
DuPage County the Sheriff’s Department is
responsible for providing law enforcement services to
all of unincorporated DuPage County, maintaining
security at the County Courthouse and operating and
maintaining the County jail. The operations of the
DuPage County Sheriff’s Office have the potential to
impact each and every resident of the county.
Therefore, it is extremely important that we elect a
Sheriff who will make DuPage County the safest
place to live, work and visit.
I am running as a candidate for Sheriff with over 15
years of public safety experience. I am a police
officer who is additionally crossed-trained as a
firefighter and paramedic. I currently hold the rank of
Lieutenant and serve as the training officer for a
north suburban agency. I believe the Sheriff’s role is
more than a law enforcement role. The Sheriff’s role
is about becoming a trusted partner with our
communities. It is also about developing strong
intergovernmental relationships and working together
to achieve common goals. Additionally, it is ensuring
that all public safety entities in DuPage County are
on the same page, prepared and able to respond and
operate under a single, unified command structure in
the event of a significant incident or disaster. I
entered this race because I feel that my unique
extensive skill set can greatly benefit DuPage County
as your next Sheriff.
If elected as your next Sheriff, there are several
important initiatives I will immediately pursue.
I will create a law enforcement inspector general
position which will be tasked with identifying and
correcting significant policy, administrative and
operational concerns within the DuPage County
The Township Democrat 5
Sheriff’s Office and auditing all investigations
involving misconduct, excessive force and the use of
deadly force.
I will work to find a funding source through grants,
partnerships and internal re-organization to fund an
agency wide body camera program.
I will develop a comprehensive, county-wide mass
violence prevention and response model. I will create
a reporting hotline to allow for a coordinated
investigation to be initiated. I will work to implement a
standardized response model which includes the
rescue task force concept of police and fire working
together to save lives.
The opioid epidemic is a significant issue affecting
the County. With over 90 deaths in DuPage County
alone, we need to work to combat the epidemic. This
issue will not be solved with enforcement alone. In
order to address the opioid epidemic, we need to
approach it in multiple ways through public education,
enforcement and social services/treatment. The key
is to break the cycle.
I value safeguarding the rights of all. I do not believe
in aggressive anti-immigration stands as I believe it is
counter-productive to developing strong relationships
with law enforcement and communities. I also believe
strong anti-immigration positions create significant
problems for law enforcement as it develops fear and
prevents people from reporting crimes, coming
forward as witnesses and cooperating with
investigations, thus making our communities more
dangerous. Developing strong community
partnerships and relationships is key to having a
successful law enforcement agency. Creating fear of
the police in people is not the goal of law
enforcement. As a result, if elected, the Sheriff’s
Department will continue to abide by the Illinois Trust
Act.
I will strengthen the working relationship with the
County Board as it is the source of funding for the
Sheriff’s Department. I will work with all members of
the County Board, regardless of political affiliation, to
appropriately justify the operational needs of the
Sheriff’s Department.
I will ensure all Sheriff’s Department Deputies are
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained in accordance
with the standards established by the Illinois Law
Enforcement Training and Standards Board. I will
also implement a continuing education program
specifically geared towards maintaining the critical
skills taught through the CIT program.
Please visit gregorywhalen.com
 A History of Participation
Sheila Rutledge
Democratic candidate for County Board, Dist 6
I am the kind of person that has always gotten
involved in my community. For the last 25 years I
have been a resident of Winfield Township in
Warrenville and this spring I moved to West
Chicago. From my daughter's first grade teacher
who needed defense through the Hubble Middle
School fight, referendums and all things that
affected my community, I could be counted on to
get involved. I was on the Warrenville Chamber of
Commerce board for eight years and was part of
the decision to disband the chamber and join with
two others in our Township. As a business owner I
fully supported that move. That merger resulted in
a much more robust chamber for our local
businesses. I'm an 8-year volunteer with Danada
Equestrian and in 2014 I was their volunteer of the
year. I have been a photographer and have owned
my own business for the last 30 years and three
years ago my husband and I started a real estate
investment company.
I am asking for your vote because it is time for the
well-connected good old boys’ network of DuPage
County government to come to an end. We must
elect more Democrats to balance the
unsupervised spending and budget sleight of hand
of the current DuPage County Board. At the
August 28th meeting, the Board approved three
contracts totaling $260,000 to three lobbying firms
that advocate on our behalf but provide no
agendas, minutes or results of their efforts. They
are very effective at cashing checks but proof of
anything beyond that is not available. The only
Board Members who spoke in favor of these
Kick-In for the Quarter
Show your support for WTDO, your LOCAL Democratic organization and our Democratic candidates. WTDO has regular expenses for
meetings, maintaining our website, printing and postage for The Township Democrat, campaign materials and other organizational costs.
We hold candidate forums, appear in several Township parades (with candy!) and other events to inform the public. We try to reach
Democratic voters throughout the Township in many ways, but none of them are free.
Support YOUR Winfield Township Democratic Organization
with a donation each quarter. “Kick In for the Quarter” is
a regular gift. You choose the amount. Making a regular gift
allows the board to budget spending annually.
Return to
Winfield Township Democratic Organization
PO Box 224
Warrenville, IL 60555-0224
The Township Democrat 6
contracts at the Board meeting are not
currently up for election and safe from the
wrath of voters who know this is an issue.
I have been attending County Board meetings
most Tuesday mornings since December. Not
just the Board meetings but the committee
meetings as well. I've done that so that when I
am elected on November 6th, I will be ready to
step into the role prepared, instead of having
to take valuable time figuring out what is going
on. In addition to the Board duties I have
become familiar with, I would like to look at
cities in the US who have solved some of their
homeless problem by building a “tiny house”
village. DuPage County currently has a
blighted house ordinance that allows them to
seize blighted properties when the owners will
not take action to improve them. For the last
three years, my company Advanced Property
Solutions did just that. We found blighted
properties and we renovated them to make
them suitable for first-time home buyers that
they could then buy with confidence. I think
sometimes homes are blighted because of
where they are and I would think that the right
property may be out there for us to think about
using this idea to lift our homeless into tax
paying citizens. I have talked to contractors
that would like to build it as a net-zero,
meaning energy-independent.
I hope you can cast your vote for Sheila
Rutledge for your County Board District 6
Member with confidence and I promise that I
will be a voice that speaks for all the county
residents.
Please visit sheila4dupage6.org
Here is my gift to WTDO of $______________ for this quarter
Name_______________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________
City______________________ State_______ Zip____________
Phone_____________________ Email_____________________
__Please send me meeting announcements via email
(or send email to info@winfielddems.org)
WTDO will not sell, exchange or use your email address for
anything other than official WTDO mailings

Lee Fazzari Is Sorely
Missed
By the Winfield Township Democratic
Organization
If you are reading this, chances are that it is
because your contact information is on the
mailing list that our friend Lee Fazzari
maintained for more than a decade.
To the great shock of us who mind the nuts
and bolts of the Winfield Township Democratic
Organization, Lee passed away suddenly last
spring, on May 9.
Lee Fazzari served for more than ten years as
Vice Chair of the Winfield Township
Democratic Organization and was awarded
Precinct Committeperson of the Year in 2014.
Lee and her husband John were regular
fixtures at the parades and other WTDO
events. They were among the first to show up
and “tart up” the vehicles, as former WTDO
Chair Susan Lubonovich used to say, for the
parade routes of the 4th of July in Warrenville,
Rail Road Days in West Chicago and
Winfield’s Good Old Days. The ladies and
many of the men at the annual WTDO Holiday
Parties decorated their attire with the
homemade patriotic, Democratic-themed pins
and other jewelry that Lee designed.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Letters, opinions, jokes
(keep’em clean, folks!)
 I hope we all are moving forward, just as the
WTDO
PO Box 224
Warrenville, IL 60555-0224
Or
winfielddems@gmail.com
The Township Democrat 7
“I will never forget the joy we shared during
the Holiday party in 2011 at Oak Field
Restaurant,” former 18th Precinct
Committeeman Barry Dredze recalled, “as
myself, my wife Trish and fellow NIU alum
Tom Garrippo followed the MAC
Championship game and the NIU Huskies
came back from a three touchdown hole in
the second half to win their first title since
1983 on a game ending field goal and John
and Lee joined us in a big group hug, even
though they were huge Penn State fans.”
“Lee loved Wonder Woman,” Lee’s official
obituary says. “She was the Wonder
Woman of our family and an enthusiastic
supporter of women’s rights and her
community.”
The official obituary continued with
information for “those who would like to
leave a lasting tribute to Lee’s life,
memorials to River Glen Presbyterian
Church, American Cancer Society,
Presbyterian Ministries, Loaves and Fishes
of Naperville or The Pennsylvania State
University.”
(From Casey Maher, p. 1)
showed an overwhelming support for
increased DNC transparency: caucus
reforms, requirement of States to show
voter protection and expansion and most
importantly altering the way superdelegates,
now called automatic delegates, vote.
Automatic delegates will now only be able
to vote on the first ballot if the candidate
already has enough pledged delegates to
win outright.
Democratic Party is. I see so much positivity
around me. People canvassing, phone
banking, writing postcards, marching in
parades, all for our amazing candidates. All
for our future. It has never been more
important than it is now. Talk about politics.
Talk to your friends, neighbors and family.
And, please, vote! Get friends and family to
vote! Vote like your life depends on it!
Because it does.
Winfield Township Democratic Organization
Post Office Box 224
Warrenville, IL
60555-0224

Return Service Requested

Winfield Township Voters Guide

Federal Offices DuPage County
US Congress, Dist. 6 County Board Chair
Sean Casten Lynn LaPlante

US Congress, Dist. 11 County Board Dist. 5

Bill Foster Dawn Desart
Sadia Covert
US Congress, Dist. 14
Lauren Underwood
County Board Dist. 6
Sheila Rutledge
Erica Green
State of Illinois
County Sheriff
Gregory H. Whalen
Governor & Lt. Governor
J.B. Pritzker
County Clerk
Juliana Stratton
Jean Kaczmarek
Secretary of State
Forest Preserve Dist. President
Jesse White
Daniel Hebreard
State Attorney General
Judge of Circuit Court 18th Judicial
Kwame Raoul
Circuit
State Representative, Dist. 41 Linda Davenport
Jeffery M. Jacobson
Val Montgomery

State Representative, Dist. 42

Kathy Carrier For further info and links to all candidates,
please visit:
State Representative, Dist. 49 www.winfielddems.org
Karina Villa
To check your voter registration, and other
State Senate, Dist. 21 voting info, please visit:
Laura Ellman www.dupageco.org/election

The Township Democrat 8

The Township Democrat 9
Newsletter 10