I was contacted this am by a citizen of Campton of whom I never met or have communicated with in the past. His manifesto is just one of many from concerned citizens against the ill-placed big brother government that exists in Campton. So many people who voted for the incorporation have switched now that they understand what Campton's ruling class is up to with Campton. I'm please to have permission to republish this. Here it is as given to me:
FEAR, SMEAR, and BROKEN PROMISES! No, it's not a new country western song, it's the tactical platform implemented by the proponents of the village of Campton Hills. Their village was voted into existence by instituting unwarrantable FEAR (i.e. Elginphobia http://www.camptonthepromise.com/elgin_fear.html, wells drying up http://www.camptonthepromise.com/protect_our_water.html). Like a mangy cur protecting it's food bowl, they mount a SMEAR campaign against anyone nearing that food bowl, this atrocity of a village, for this is the only platform they have. Slamming Chris Baldwin or Steve Burdette for leading a grassroots campaign to correct something that WE JUST CAN'T AFFORD (see No New Taxes button at http://www.camptonthepromise.com/helpful_links.html) is just SMEAR. Kane County Chief of Police Perez was also demonized because he wouldn't play their game forcing the institution of a second-rate police force and selling inferiority over with a positive spin regardless of the overall lowered protection for the community http://www.camptonthepromise.com/pdf/police_comparison.pdf. They don't care about you, just their Camelot and it is of the elitists, by the elitists and for the elitists with little to no consideration for any other residents as illustrated by the alpaca farm article http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2008/10/15/news/local/doc48f587176d892211896702.txt. Then there was another baseless SMEAR campaign against the Wasco Sanitary District because the village wanted control of it for their own purpose and gain, to expand it to provide services along the planned Route 64 retail corridor. That corridor does not have enough traffic to support retail business as proven by the number of businesses that have already gone bankrupt in Campton Crossing and the empty storefronts. Do you remember the video store, the cellular phone store, the hot dog places, just to mention a few.
They have consistently belittled B&B, a purveyor of some rather desirable properties, because they wouldn't bow to village demands and they needed a fall guy to SMEAR diverting the topic from the real issues. B&B SMEAR is a smokescreen for the fact that their village is involved with Central Development. It's much easier to preach hatred and contempt than concentrate on facts. I quote the village president on August 27 "B&B has done a great job!" and "They do beautiful work.", And, of course, there's the corruption issue. I don't believe Mr. Baldwin has been visited and REPRIMANDED by the State's Attorney, Barsanti as the village aristocrats and their powerful and greedy law firm of Arnstein and Lehr, have. But of course they say nothing of that!
Now, there is this well orchestrated character assassination against Chris Baldwin just for leading a grassroots effort to protect himself, his family, and our community from the onslaught of yet another layer of government. SMEAR a ploy village activists use to steer the discussion away from the real issues. This village board is the group in bed with developers and builders and they flaunt it while talking out of the other side of their mouths! These developers admit that they will commercially develop properties in the village and are offering those power hungry imperialists free building(s) and very favorable lease terms in trade for zoning changes. Central Development is trying to get the land adjacent to Campton Crossing where the current village hall resides currently zoned "open space" to be rezoned to commercial so they can build more retail outlets and a gas station, possibly with yet another liquor license, and are willing to trade that favor for a free new village hall. The only people that would be able to afford that gas station due to low traffic volumes driving up the cost is their police department. Central Development has contributed thousands to the incorporation effort and to the village in rent discounts and other uncharged favors. The audacity and arrogance, SMEARING Mr. Baldwin when he should be praised for the time and effort he has contributed to helping his community for it would be so much easier to just let it go as most people would.
We live in a prestigious area where the average person has a higher education and consequently a higher income than many of our surrounding areas which is both a blessing and a curse. The concentration of wealth attracts these scavengers and scam-artists that suggest we need more government to instruct us as to which leg to insert first into our pants every morning and, of course, promote themselves to that position. These clever people and their cronies use unwarranted FEAR and intimidation to attract the lemmings of the populace that look to government to provide guidance in everyday life issues like ants to a picnic. They voted their ineffective government into life only because they are incapable of guiding themselves and need somebody to follow. They are just a small portion of our population but in this case, a well organized small portion of our population. If these people would take the energy that they waste on growing government and concentrate their efforts on the avenues already provided, they would eventually conclude that we really don't need and can't afford their additional layer of government. But, there's no personal gain of either money, control, or status in that reality.
Our area has an above average education level but that is due to the hard work of the people and the availability of good schools that already exist. Illustrated by the number of people that have filed for disconnection because they realize that we just can't afford, don't need, and don't want this additional layer of government. 26 independent groups of people have filed for disconnection http://www.camptonthepromise.com/pdf/DisconMap2008.pdf. They are just honest people not under the influence or funded by Baldwin, Burdette, FreeUs, or the "evil" developer. Independent in this instance means no influence from B&B, Chris Baldwin, Steve or FreeUs and they can see this village through the smokescreen for what it is, onslaught of additional government offering more control, mass inefficiency, duplication of expenses, and eventually more taxes. Although suggested by the pre-elected village officials as a viable alternative (BROKEN PROMISE), all 26 of these disconnections were attacked and contested by their village forcing the involvement of lawyers, courts, and countless thousands of dollars. Therefore, self-determination is another BROKEN PROMISE since self-determination means that residents would be able to define their future direction http://www.camptonthepromise.com/promise_made.html. These individuals have already self-determined that they do not need expensive ineffective government. Since the current economic situation in America is the result of government run amok, just imagine how people at this level can accomplish anything, however they will be controlling you and your tax dollars. In reference to the tax dollars, legal disconnections have been granted and more are expected. Records show that disconnections are successful in 95% of the cases. That would project to 25 of the 26 independent cases that have filed would be successful resulting in fewer people in their elitist-run village to foot the bill for their inefficiencies and expenses. The bottom line is that the remaining people will have to pay the ENTIRE COST for the "not minimally acceptable" police department http://www.camptonthepromise.com/promise_made.html and the lawyer's fees that account for half of the $1,213,800 budget. Go to http://www.camptonthepromise.com/helpful_links.html then click on "Pie Chart graphs VCH income/expenses". It doesn't take an associate professorship to realize that that is almost 3 times the proposed operating costs that were presented prior to incorporation. Yet another BROKEN PROMISE, our taxes will be raised because there are fewer people to support their village. If you can believe the sworn testimony of the president in court regarding the Cheval de Selle disconnection alone, it would impact the Village's ability to meet its budget by "decreasing the amount of revenue we have, therefore we'll have less money to spend on expenditures and services will have to be cut." Voting YES to dissolve is the only viable solution as more disconnections are legally granted. Village property taxes can escalate without passing referendum when it comes to public safety, and their police farce that is only effective when it comes to generating revenue by writing speeding tickets, falls under the category of public safety. Besides, with their well-organized group of toadies, they will traipse to the polls and vote a tax increase just to preserve their Camelot when instructed. Just as they voted their village into existence over the voices of many for they are now fighting for their future political lives and personal gains.
We have residents in our community that consider themselves forcibly absorbed by the village, but do not legally qualify, i.e. being on a village boundary or have 20+ acres, but still want to get out. Thus, dissolving the village is the only way that they can get any satisfaction and return to a normal life style that they moved here to attain. Thus, the dissolving of this village has absolutely NOTHING to do with personal gain. SMEAR is just another way of clouding the real issue - we can't afford their village. The voting records show that if you were to remove 3 voting precincts from the 12 that the village affected, their village wouldn't be here and we wouldn't have this problem. In reality, 3 precincts forced themselves on the other 9! There is a term for forcing yourself on somebody else and it is a criminal act that you get arrested for. I do feel violated!
The honest people of our community are being victimized by a group of slick-talking lawyers with dollar signs for scruples using the village puppets who lost their integrity almost two years ago when they initiated FEAR AND SMEAR. Now, we are suffering the pain of the BROKEN PROMISES. Seriously, using simple logic, who has more to gain from the existence of this village (follow the money), those elite arrogant controlling power-hungry puppeteers or Chris Baldwin? Give some serious thought to that question! Also, who you would rather have for a neighbor, Chris Baldwin, a village person (You have seen what they do to their alpaca raising neighbors!), or better yet, any one of the Arnstein and Lehr lawyers?
Their village was cloaked in deceit from the beginning with budgetary numbers that they knew were embarrassingly wrong (The police budget alone is exceeding projections by a factor of three and growing.) and statements like "You can always disconnect." "Give it a year." Those of us who took these words as truth know the value in those statements. And, of course FEAR AND SMEAR - Elginphobia, dry wells, WSD, school redistricting, B&B just to mention a few. Using these for historical purposes, WHO HAS THE RECORD OF NOT TELLING THE TRUTH? Even the Appellate Court has chastised the village president in writing for changing her story to fit the situation in their most recent disconnection ruling on October 15, 2008 #2-08-0349.
Now, they are spewing more FEAR by stating that there will be bills if their village is dissolved. This is purely another FEAR TACTIC because by the village president's own admission, the village bills are current and paid in full through August with the exception of the legal bills that are a couple of months behind. We are witnessing campaign statements of half-truths and outright lies concerning nonexistent accomplishments http://www.camptonthepromise.com/mythfact.html. I guess one will do and say anything after you have made a pact with the devil in the way of political promises.
Here are just a few of the facts in reality (more can be viewed at http://www.camptonthepromise.com)
Their village does what it wants not what the residents want, illustrated by contested disconnections, alpaca evictions, land annexations, potential zoning changes of open space, etc.
Their village police farce is inferior to what we had from Kane County because we still use (and pay extra) for 911 service and other Sheriff's services. Just because they are more visible doesn't mean we have better service, a billboard would be more visible.
Not a single penny has gone to fund schools since the incorporation of the village.
Not a single penny has been generated from developer impact fees since their village was thrust upon us.
Litigation is more important than education. Obviously, more money has gone toward initiating lawsuits and requiring defense attorneys than the zero toward our schools.
Evicting alpacas goes against the definition of preserving our semi-rural lifestyle.
There have been no preservation of natural resources recorded to date, in fact, they don't even have an example of what this means to preserve natural resources but it sure sounds good. It may be linked to the unwarrantable FEAR that our wells are under attack and going dry which is pure folly, just talk to the well-drillers that work in our areas.
About the only real truth in their campaign is that state taxes have been diverted to fund their village but now we have to pay twice for police services since we still fund the sheriff, administration charges like salaries, 911 administration fees that we had for free and they are still prioritized, additional fees like building permits, ad infinitum. All illustrated by the last increase in property taxes that were published last month since their village is sucking these resources out of the local tax pool.
You can't have uncontrolled growth in an area that has little open space left to grow upon. But if you want to experience uncontrolled growth, imagine what it would be like with more stoplights and traffic due to the addition of revenue producing retail at the corner of Route 64 and New LaFox Rd. and in the extinct hamlet of Wasco http://www.camptonthepromise.com/where_is_Wasco.html for that is their plan.
This is our last chance because the only thing keeping these people even somewhat under control is the threat of the upcoming referendum to dissolve their village. After November 4th, to quote The Eagles from the song Hotel California "Welcome to the Hotel California where you can checkout any time you like but you can never leave."
National Taxpayers Union recently published the following statement "Government at all levels is growing, and now consumes nearly 30% of your personal income." THIS GROWTH MUST STOP and we have an opportunity to make a stand right here.
Let's VOTE THEIR VILLAGE DISSOLVED and excise this cancer before it takes over. Just vote YES to dissolve the municipal corporation of Campton Hills for it is FAR TOO LATE to fix what we have. Let's experience once again what it was like before our community was overrun by FEAR AND SMEAR and before the pain of the rest of the BROKEN PROMISES bubble to the surface. The return of peace, tranquility, and back to a unified community is all I ask.
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