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kirsty Wrote:Kelly Ann, your views are very valid. This site and the CREW site serve very different purposes. Our sole purpose is to find the right leadership for Waukegan, and we are very clear on that. Of course, what goes on in Zion, North Chicago and so on is important to the people of Waukegan. And this site, Wauktalk, admirably serves as a forum for discussion on such topics, as well as many others. The reason for limiting discussion on the CREW site is not to stifle free speech, rather, to focus discussion in a productive way because we are on a time crunch. Moreover, just as users have to contact the administrator on this site to suggest a new topic, the same is true on CREW, and the old Town site. In that respect the three sites are no different.
With regards to anonymity...of course, I know how to get hold of you! But CREW members can still be anonymous on the screen, and no one is going to stick a "we support CREW" sign in anyone's front garden. What we are trying to do is ensure that only serious users sign up to join. On Town and other sites, the ability for users to have multiple alias' has ensured that the most abusive of members rejoin within a minute of being ejected by an administrator. Already I have seen examples, on this site, of users having multiple alias' in order to bully other users. We want to avoid this on the CREW site. We do not have time to mess about with users who use these sites as a substitute for a psychiatrists couch - the election, after all, is just three months away. I hope this clarifies things and I do hope you will sign up and join us kellyann!
I Kirsty,
thanks for providing the information here. (I remember you from the TOWN forum) I'm curious who conceived and created the crew website. How did it come about, what is the history? Is it just for the election period? Is it going to end after the election?
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I[/quote]Kirsty,
thanks for providing the information here. (I remember you from the TOWN forum) I'm curious who conceived and created the crew website. How did it come about, what is the history? Is it just for the election period? Is it going to end after the election?[/quote]
Frank,
The site came about after a few Waukeganites realized that there had to be another way to seize the town back. I started talking with a few friends here, including those I had met through the Town site, and we realized that a call to action was needed. Myself and Kate Collimore, (new Waukeganites) met with established Waukeganites, including Steve Kolbers, Kelly Ann, and Jeff K to try to figure out a game plan. After the collapse of the Town site it was myself and Steve, along with Steve's colleague Verena who put together the Crew site. In the meantime, myself, Kate Collimore and Steve went about contacting candidates for the mayoral election, with a view to interview all the candidates. Myself and Kate met with Mayor Hyde. I invited Chris Wakefield round to my house for an informal discussion with a few friends. Kate contacted Sam Cunningham, and now, we have a schedule lined up to interview all the candidates. Crew has no questionable agenda, there is absolutely nothing in it for us. Nor have we decided which candidate to back as of yet. I am happy with my career in academia and I am most certainly not looking for a City Hall job at the end of all this! The same is the case for Kate, Steve, Verena and the many others associated with CREW. We just want the disaster that is Waukegan to be resurrected from the dead and put back on the map. The downtown looks like Northern Ireland during the 1970's. The schools are atrocious. The hospitals, well, if you've read the NEWS-SUN you'll know I've had my own private battles with Vista. Yet Waukegan is still screaming 'potential.' Why, if individuals have invested thousands of dollars in a property would they like to see things stay as they are right now? That much I don't understand.
So, that's the long and short of it. We now have over two dozen members of CREW, with many more interested parties. All these individuals are willing to take action, whether it be attending the candidate interviews, passing out flyers, spreading the word, knocking door to door, whatever it takes. I am glad that this site, wauktalk is up and running because it serves a broad audience. Ours, as I said before, is very specific. What will happen to WaukeganCrew after the election has yet to be decided. It is conceivable, given the ground swell of interested citizens, that we will continue to work to improve the City! It is equally possible though, that the site will have served its very specific purpose and will no longer be needed. Only time will tell. Of course, Frank, I welcome you to join us!
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Kirsty,
Waukegan is lucky to have you. We need more of you in Lake County and our Country. You articulate beautifully and debate the negativity with grace. Do you give lessons? There is a huge need to address underage drinking in Lake County. Another area is the corruption in the court systems. Too much to put down here. Maybe after the elections we can connect. You can decide then if that is something you would be interested in supporting. Your active participation in your child's welfare leads me to believe that you will be.  Thanks to Kate, Verena , Jeff K and Steve for their participation. Last but not least Kelly anne has always been active in making the waukegan schools better. You make a great Team.
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Hi Swapna,
Thank you for your generous comments. I am just one of several people working to make the city better. Credit must go to others who have been here much longer than me, and dedicated many years to the cause. I would be happy to connect though! Do you mean after the presidential election, or the mayoral election? If it is the latter it would be great to have you involved before the election. Underage drinking and the Court system are very valid concerns and should be addressed to the mayoral candidates. CREW has scheduled our first mayoral interview this Wednesday evening. It would be great to have you join us!
Kirsty
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kirsty Wrote:Hi Swapna,
Thank you for your generous comments. I am just one of several people working to make the city better. Credit must go to others who have been here much longer than me, and dedicated many years to the cause. I would be happy to connect though! Do you mean after the presidential election, or the mayoral election? If it is the latter it would be great to have you involved before the election. Underage drinking and the Court system are very valid concerns and should be addressed to the mayoral candidates. CREW has scheduled our first mayoral interview this Wednesday evening. It would be great to have you join us!
Kirsty
Will you guys be making a video of the interview so that more may see what the candidate has to say? Which candidate will be speaking?
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Kellyann,
Had not really thought about it but we could video the candidates. Sam Cunningham is speaking on Wednesday.
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kirsty Wrote:Kellyann,
Had not really thought about it but we could video the candidates. Sam Cunningham is speaking on Wednesday.
I highly recommend videotaping. No bias, no subjectivity in the retelling of the candidate's answers - just plain old video. And you'll reach a larger audience. 
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kellyann1293 Wrote:Will you guys be making a video of the interview so that more may see what the candidate has to say? Which candidate will be speaking?
Yes, I'd really appreciate any video or sound recording of these interviews as well.
So much potential yet so many issues to solve in my beloved Waukegan. We need the right person
Wondering...with all democratic candidates we will know who our next mayor is in the primary vote in February '09 yes? But then when will the new candidate take office should it not be Mayor Hyde?
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fedupinwaukegan Wrote:kellyann1293 Wrote:Will you guys be making a video of the interview so that more may see what the candidate has to say? Which candidate will be speaking?
Yes, I'd really appreciate any video or sound recording of these interviews as well.
So much potential yet so many issues to solve in my beloved Waukegan. We need the right person
Wondering...with all democratic candidates we will know who our next mayor is in the primary vote in February '09 yes? But then when will the new candidate take office should it not be Mayor Hyde?
Not sure, but I'm guessing the first city council meeting after the general election in April?
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Crew wants to educate us? I think the crew might just be the ones who need an education. Sam Cunningham - give me a break - I've been watching him since before he was sworn in as alderman so I know him well. There is nothing anyone, including Sam hisself, could tell me about him that would change my opinion of him. You can't negate years and years of the incompetent visionless low expectations that are Sam. Same thing goes for Hyde. There is no way I would ever vote for either of them for mayor..... even if the opposition was a turd.
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