COD – Political Endorsements Fail the public Part III

DuPage Co. (ECWd) –

During the 2014 Primary for State Representative race, there were two candidates for the voters to pick from. Sandy Pihos, a long term professional politician, and Peter Breen, a newcomer to state level politics and staunch conservative.

The Daily Herald endorsed Pihos over Breen in spite of their own reservations.

“At the outset, we must acknowledge our reservation that Pihos appears to give lip service rather than real support to public pension reform, a crucial aspect of any attempt to get Illinois’ fiscal house in order. She voted against two reform measures that passed the House last year, and that’s a cause for legitimate concern.”

In the March 18, 2014 primary election the voters chose Breen over Pihos (8223 to 6255) as the Republican candidate to run in the November 4, 2014 general election. The voters rejected the professional politician even with the local media endorsement!

And now, ex-legislator Pihos is running for Trustee of The College of DuPage. Speaking about the College of DuPage Board of Trustees, “I believe there is a need for transparency,” Pihos said (The Daily Herald).  She has again been endorsed by The Daily Herald.

Why would The Daily Herald again, very recently, endorse a candidate who previously claimed she was for greater transparency by government agencies and who recently demonstrated, by her vote in the Illinois General Assembly, that she is for less government transparency and more restrictions on citizen’s access to what the government is doing? The Daily Herald admitted (see 1st paragraph) they had reservations about Pihos in February, 2014. What were they thinking this time with the evidence of her vote fresh in their minds, let alone the outcome of the primary proving the public saw it differently?

Well, it’s election time. When you hear claims of “fiscal conservative”, “we need more transparency,” and “accountable to you”, check the voting record.

Key issues that most voters may not be aware of, but play a serious role in the success of not only our local government but the education of our young.

• Leadership? – 12 years in the House of Representatives and never Chief Sponsored a single bill since 2006.  She only co-sponsored 10 bills in that same time frame. Most would look at that record and determine her to be a follower not a leader.  (Pihos Voting history)

• Transparency? – Pihos voted to exempt teachers, principals and school superintendents from FOIA disclosure. At the urging of the teachers’ unions, and just months after approving what was billed as a sweeping reform of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, Pihos voted for SB315. The bill exempts from FOIA disclosure of performance evaluations for teachers, principals and school superintendents. Also supporting SB315 was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 which seeks the same exemption for all public employees who receive performance evaluations. (2010)

• Transparency?– Her comments on transparency are void of any mention of compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.  Not surprising with her vote against transparency. Clearly a problem in light of the lack of transparency at COD.

• “Fiscal conservative” – Education? – Records available for her terms as school board member are 2001-2004. Each of the three year report cards under her watch reflect average teacher salaries being $25,000 over state averages to include higher administrator salaries.  Sadly, while paying more, operating costs per student climbed every year while performance results showed virtually no gain and in many cases reduction in performance. One can only wonder why educators are supporting a track record of negative results? (ISBE Report Card – 2003-2004)  (ISBE Report Card – 2002-2003) (ISBE Report Card – 2001-2002)

• Education – Pihos voted against groundbreaking school choice legislation. Pihos voted against SB2494 which would have given parents in under-performing Chicago school districts a voucher to cover educational expenses at nonpublic schools. SB2494 represented a lifeline to poor children who face bleak futures as a consequence of the awful and dangerous public schools in the City of Chicago. To read more about this disgrace – go here. (2010)

• Taxes and Spending – voted for a huge electric rate increase,  voted to allow the Mayor of Chicago to DOUBLE the telephone tax, voted against electric rate relief, voted for Governor Blagojevich’s FY2005 Partial Operational Budget totaling $45.5 billion, and more and more and more! (See it all)

I suspect anyone willing to read the information and do some more of their own research will come up with the same conclusion as I did, which is that Sandy Pihos has no place in public office!

Public Endorsements Fail the public Part 1 & Part II