More Election Time Lies

If you repeat a lie often enough some people will believe it. The biggest lie being told by Community Word writer Roger Monroe is the lie that a Peoria County Board member now makes almost $9,000.00 a year. In an article dated 7/1/04 in the Community Word, Monroe wrote, “Can you imagine a County Board Member now makes almost $9,000.00 a year?” He says “NOW”. That is a lie and Mr. Monroe knows it!!

Fact - County Board members have earned $5400.00 a year since 2002 and will continue to earn that amount until December, 2006, when member’s salary will go to $7,900 a year.
Fact - County Board Committee Chairpersons have earned 5,800.00 a year since 2002 and will continue to do until December, 2006 when Chairman Salaries will go to $8,900.00 a year.
Fact – The Peoria County Board Chairman has earned $16,000.00 a year since 2002 and will remain the same until 2008.
Fact – County Board elected members from 1994 - 2006 will average less than a 2% increase annually. Over a period of eight years the members went without a pay increase.
County Board members currently do not receive any car allowance, mileage or parking fees. In my case, I funded all my election expense, receive no benefits, and am expected to attend numerous community events. For board members whose terms expire in 2006, these pay raises are only potential. Those elected to two year terms this November, will only receive the pay raise if they are re-elected in November 2006.
Fact – By State Statute, any County salary increases by December 2006, had to be approved by the full County Board six months before the 2004 General Election. May, 2004, was the latest date for the full board to act without holding a special meeting a few days later. A motion to hold a special meeting, died for lack of a second. Some say because the Union Contract had not been settled, the timing could have been better. Actually, the AFSCME Union contract expired in January 2004, and the new contract was not accepted by the Union until July of 2004.

Mr. Monroe as a 22 year member of the Peoria County Board was and is aware of all these facts.

All of the above facts can be verified by the County Administrator. These facts were also printed in the Observer on 5/18/04 and printed by the Journal Star on 5/17/04. Mr. Monroe served on the Peoria County Board until 2002 when as the incumbent, he chose not to run. Since then, he has peppered his columns with subtle falsehoods and outright lies, about present and past County Board Members even stating the Bellwood Nursing Home had spent the referendum tax money months before it was even collected. (In the July, 2004 issue of the Community Word, he wrote “Starting January 2003, the home ended with a deficit despite receiving $584,152.00 from the referendum tax levy.” Another subtle falsehood or outright lie as Mr. Monroe should have known as a longtime former County Board Member that none of that referendum money would come in until property tax bills were paid in June and September of 2004. He knew that the Bellwood financial year ended on December, 31, 2003 not January, 2003!!

Journalists, and I’ll use the word loosely, love to run around playing “gotcha” (Mr. Monroe’s favorite term) with public figures. Hyper sanctimony and outright lies in the media, has made the planet uninhabitable enough for elected officials.