The party is receiving a lot of request for information about Teri Newman and are very upset with Costello’s votes in the United States House of Representatives.

You can visit Teri Newman’s website at http://www.terinewman.com or email her at teridavisnewman@aol.com.

(Ed Cockrell of New Athens is chair of the St. Clair County Board Finance Committee and the Republican candidate for County Assessor in the November 2^nd general election.)

If anyone wants to know what St. Clair County residents think about anything, all you have to do is ask. I did, and more than 1,000 concerned citizens answered.

Earlier this summer, I held a series of 15 public forums in communities large and small throughout St. Clair County so that I could hear first-hand what taxpayers have on their minds, and — no surprise — it’s 40 years of mis-treatment and unfair tax assessments.

Many people were surprised that they could check all residential assessments at http://www.co.st-clair.il.us/Departments/Assessor+Department/parcel.htm.

People Are Tired Of ‘Business As Usual For 40 Years’

The most common concerns expressed are, first, St. Clair County citizens clearly are ready to pay their fair share of taxes, but they wonder about the fairness of individual tax bills, and, second, they are tired of the “business as usual for 40 years” attitude in the County Assessor’s Office.

Many of the people who took the time to attend a forum clearly are confused, some are upset and most feel used because of what they perceive as wide-spread over-assessment coupled with an apparent inconsistent approach to property assessment. That’s topped-off by a lack of communication from the current Assessor’s Office.

People feel that similar homes in the same neighborhood seem to be assessed at widely different values while other homes are assessed as if the property had no buildings or improvements.

After listening to these many taxpayers, it’s obvious that several underlying factors are causing these concerns and doubts, including especially the sad 40-year tradition of St. Clair County leaders of ignoring state law which requires that each residential property be properly assessed every four years.

We Must Have Consistent Standards

But the problem is deeper than failing to follow the law, it’s the lack of consistent standards for the employees of the Assessor’s Office so that comparable homes have comparable assessed values, without the need to resort to some type of multiplier system.

The more basic problem, then, is a series of bad habits brought on by a lack of management – including the failure to spot-check assessments – over the last 40 years.

The solution is to break the tradition of electing the same old group’s same old type of “go along to get along” assessor and to elect a person who will make a real difference, a person who understands the details of the law and who has the maturity and experience to manage people, resources and technology.

Our country was founded by fighting for the principle of fair taxes for all. By assessing all property fairly and consistently, each of us can be confident that we’re doing our fair share to support our local governmental units, public safety services and school districts.

That’s something all Americans have agreed on for more than 230 years.

Source: http://www.gop.gov/blog/10/08/11/graph-democrats-job-agenda-revealed

If you can volunteer to be at our booth to support Republican candidates, please send us an email to chairman@stclairgop.org.

Ed Cockrell (R-New Athens)

All meetings are at 7pm. Feel free to attend any meeting that is convenient for you, regardless of where you live:

June 15 Tues
Marissa Township Hall, 221 East Mill St, Marissa, IL 62257

June 16 Wed
Smithton Senior Citizens Building, 711 South Main St, Smithton, IL 62285

June 17 Thur
Katy Cavins Ctr, 308 E 5th St, O’Fallon 62269

June 22 Tue
Fischer’s Restaurant, 2100 West Main St, Belleville, IL 62226

June 23 Wed
East Carondelet Community Center, 823 State St, East Carondelet, IL 62240

June 24 Thur
Caseyville VFW, 401 North Long St, Caseyville, IL 62232

June 29 Tue
Clyde Jordan Senior Citizens Center, 6755 State St, East St Louis, IL 62203

June 30 Wed
Horner Hall, Horner Park, 11109 Widicus Rd, Lebanon, IL 62254

July 1 Thur
Cahokia VFW, 621 Water St, Cahokia, IL 62206

July 6 Tue
New Athens Multi-purpose Ctr, 208 Kaskaskia St, New Athens, IL 62264

July 7 Wed
Mascoutah Community Center, 973 N. 6th St, Mascoutah, IL 62258

July 8 Thur
Freeburg Township Hall, 203 South Richland, Freeburg, IL 62243

July 13 Tue
Fairview Heights VFW, 5325 N. Illinois, Fairview Heights, IL 62208

July 14 Wed
Millstadt City Park Pavilion # 1, N. Monroe & W. Gooding, Millstadt, IL 62260

July 15 Thur
Swansea Improvement Association, 301 Service St, Swansea, IL 62221

Jon McLean, Chairman
St. Clair County Republican Party
(888) SCC-GOP4
chairman@stclairgop.org