01282015 - News Article - Snyder announces bid for second term as Portage mayor



Snyder announces bid for second term as Portage mayor
NWI Times
January 28, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/snyder-announces-bid-for-second-term-as-portage-mayor/article_793a5bad-9f34-53fe-9636-d55028ab9d93.html

PORTAGE | Mayor James Snyder has announced his intentions to seek a second term as Portage's mayor.

Snyder held an event Tuesday evening at Woodland Park to formally announce his re-election campaign.

"Portage has seen accomplishments over the past three years that many, including myself, did not believe possible," Snyder said.

"I am seeking four more years of the best job Portage has to offer and another four-year partnership with the best people in the United States of America, the people of Portage," said Snyder.

Snyder said when he sought the post four years ago he talked about safety, jobs and infrastructure and believes his administration has delivered on each of the issues.

Snyder cited a decrease in the city's crime rate over the last three years, the addition of school resource officers, adding new officers to the street and rebuilding the police department's K-9 unit as some of his administration's accomplishments.

Snyder also said in the last three years hundreds of jobs have been added in the city in retail, commercial and manufacturing and industrial segments.

"2015 will be a record year for Portage. We are on our way to nearly 2,000 jobs with over $300 million in new investments in Portage. New and exciting announcements will be coming that will make us not just the leader in the region, but also the undisputed Chicagoland South Suburban economic leader," said Snyder, adding he will continue to support labor unions.

Snyder also touted his efforts to improve the city's infrastructure, including the new street department facility, projects within the city's parks, improvements in drainage and street paving projects.

Snyder said he will seek a second term to continue the successes of his first term and will continue to push for the new fire station proposed along Central Avenue as well as a new or renovated police station.

In addition, he wants to see a festival at Founder's Square park, an effort to rejuvenate the city's west side and continue redevelopment of the city's U.S. 20 corridor.

01272015 - News Article - Complaint filed over Portage mayor's overdue financial records



Complaint filed over Portage mayor's overdue financial records
NWI Times
Jan 27, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/complaint-filed-over-portage-mayor-s-overdue-financialrecords/article_9f72c35d-f426-585b-adc3-f79a8bf4c03d.html
PORTAGE | The Porter County Democratic Central Committee has filed a formal complaint against Portage Mayor James Snyder for not filing his annual financial report on time.

The deadline for all candidates who maintain active committees was noon Jan. 21.

Democratic Chairman Jeff Chidester is requesting the Porter County election Board to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the matter.

Kenard Taylor, Snyder's campaign treasurer, said he expects the report to be filed in one or two weeks.

Taylor said Snyder's former treasurer resigned and he was asked to take the position shortly after the first of the year. He said he is a "stickler for finances" and wanted to review previous reports where he found several errors.

Taylor said they recently filed an amended 2011 report and will be filing amended reports for 2012 and 2013 before tackling the 2014 report.

Taylor added that they made Election Board President David Bengs aware they would be late in filing the report in a recent letter.

Chidester said that wasn't an excuse, that the dates for the filing deadlines are set well in advance.

"There is no extension. If you need to file and know you are having problem, you should still file on time and if you need to, you can then file an amended report," said Chidester, calling it ironic that candidates who call for transparency don't follow their own ideas.

"In the past that deadline has been ignored by the election board," said Taylor, adding the deadlines aren't taken seriously and that they had notified the election board president they would be late in filing the financial statement.

"We wanted to be up front and above board," Taylor said.

01262015 - News Article - Dems file campaign fund complaint against Portage mayor



Dems file campaign fund complaint against Portage mayor
Post-Tribune
January 26, 2015
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/chi-ptb-dems-file-campaign-fund-complaint-against-portage-mayor-20150127-story.html

A formal complaint has been filed with the county election board against Portage Mayor James Snyder

The Porter County Democratic Party filed a formal complaint with the county’s election board Monday because Portage Mayor James Snyder, a Republican, did not file his 2014 annual campaign finance report on time.

The report was due at noon Wednesday.

Party chairman Jeff Chidester requested an emergency meeting be scheduled to discuss the matter.

While Snyder was not the only Republican to miss last week’s deadline, Chidester said the other people who didn’t file their reports ran in last year’s county elections, while Snyder is running for a second term as Portage mayor this year.

Chidester said he talked to David Bengs, president of the election board, who said Snyder’s campaign changed treasurers and needed more time to fill out the report, but there are no extensions for the filings.

Snyder could have filed the report and sent in an amended report later, Chidester said.


“I’m not going to nickel and dime it,” Chidester said, but the state sets the deadlines for the filings a year in advance. “If your treasurer has something happen, you have to file a report.”

Ken Taylor, Snyder’s new campaign treasurer and the Republican Party’s executive director, said he took over at the first of the year after Snyder’s treasurer resigned.

Taylor said he told Snyder the report would be filed late and contacted Bengs, who could not be reached for comment. Taylor also amended Snyder’s reports for 2011, 2012 and 2013. The one for 2011 has been filed and the other two will be in by early next week. He expects to file the 2014 report within the next two weeks.

“I wanted to make sure they were very accurate and correct,” Taylor said.

The FBI visited the county’s Voter Registration office in July, seeking copies of Snyder’s campaign finance reports from 2007, when he first ran for office, through 2013. Agents also sought reports from a political action committee from his run for mayor in 2011.

He called the complaint from Porter County Democrats political retribution for the Republicans’ complaint against the reports filed by Democrat David Reynolds, who successfully ran for sheriff.

Republicans asked for and received an emergency meeting over those reports. That meeting was scheduled within two days, and four days before the November general election.

The election board is made up of two Republicans, Bengs and Clerk Karen Martin, and one Democrat, J.J. Stankiewicz.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how quickly they call this meeting,” Chidester said.

The next regularly scheduled election board meeting is Feb. 13.

01102015 - News Article - MARC CHASE: Officeholders carry water for felon Van Til in court letters


MARC CHASE: Officeholders carry water for felon Van Til in court letters
Marc Chase
NWI Times
Jan 10, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/marc-chase/marc-chase-officeholders-carry-water-for-felon-van-til-in/article_d14abc51-68ab-53c7-99fc-a5ad3f292ea0.html
It's amazing the causes for which some folks are willing to extend their necks into the paths of potential legal or social axes.

And in our justice system, it's important to remember even when evidence against a defendant appears overwhelming, we still have a process separating us from mob justice.

But why run to the defense of an individual who's already stood in open court and declared guilt to a particular charge?

It's even more perplexing when politicians engage in this sort of apologist attitude for a fellow officeholder caught with his or her hand in the taxpayers' cookie jar.

More than a year ago, disgraced former Lake County Surveyor George Van Til pleaded guilty in Hammond federal court to felony wire fraud that occurred while he held public office.

For those unfamiliar with the terms or legal score on that one, it means he admitted to stealing from taxpayers, in this case using county government employees and resources to further his campaign, which is a legal no-no.

Van Til awaits sentencing in the case, and one might expect fellow county politicians, at least, to steer clear of a convicted felon for their own reputations' sake.

But Van Til's attorney, Scott King, filed more than 100 pages worth of letters Thursday in open court, all written in support of Van Til. The letters generally vouch for Van Til's character and seek leniency.

Dozens of the letters were written by political friends and allies, including a number who currently hold political office.

Longtime Van Til friend and Highland Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin, who I've often admired for his honesty and integrity, wrote one of the letters.

Griffin asks presiding Judge James Moody to "weigh the whole" and consider the "genuine good that has been rendered" from Van Til's political life before the crime was committed.

Indiana state Reps. Charlie Brown and Vernon Smith, both Gary Democrats, also wrote letters, imploring Moody for mercy and leniency.

Smith's letter also questions why disgraced former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett never faced federal charges after being accused of engaging in activity similar to Van Til's criminal charges.

I have the same questions in the Bennett case, but it shouldn't hold any sway over the sentence Moody prescribes in the Van Til case. Neither should the words of close political friends, waxing philosophical about the other "great deeds" of Van Til's life.

In the end, Van Til stood in an open courtroom and admitted guilt. So why apologize for him, acting as if being a good guy during other periods of his life absolves him from facing the full force of the law?

The question isn't whether these sitting elected officeholders had the right to file letters of support for Van Til. In our system, they certainly have that right, as do all citizens.

But the question is, should they have done so?

The soft-pedaling of responsibility continues to color Lake County politics.










MARC CHASE: Don't tolerate officials carrying water for Buncich
Marc Chase
NWI Times
August 26, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/opinion/columnists/marc-chase/marc-chase-don-t-tolerate-officials-carrying-water-for-buncich/article_21a300b7-894a-5b94-9ad3-21af88f675d0.html
The felony bribery conviction of now former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich Thursday ushers in a crucial period in which all Region residents should be paying particularly close attention.

Let's call it "apologist watch": a period when we all should keep eyes peeled for the ill-advised public officials who run to the disgraced sheriff's defense before sentencing.

For those keeping score, an apologist is one who offers an argument in support of something controversial. In Buncich's case, it likely will mean folks who profess admiration and support for his character even though he's shown himself completely undeserving.

Such behavior happens with impunity around here, but the public figures and officials who show support for those who've committed crimes against taxpayers are really doing us all a favor.

They're showing us who to shun at the polls in upcoming election cycles.

Keep watch for the folks who vehemently argue Buncich got a bum deal from the jury. They're the ones who will say the government didn't prove its case when, in fact, eyewitnesses, informants and video backed up nearly every facet of the allegations that Buncich shoved wads of money in his personal pocket and then handed out business to the tow truck companies that bribed him.

They also will be the public officeholders, and other prominent citizens, who are sure to write letters of support for Buncich to U.S. District Court Judge James Moody, seeking a more lenient sentence.

If history is any guide, Moody isn't likely to entertain misguided attempts at heart-string pulling for a corrupt top cop. He's one of the most no-nonsense judges on the bench of a historically no-nonsense federal court system.

Region residents shouldn't buy the pleas for sympathy and leniency, either.

I promise to help take stock of the names and positions of public officials or other community leaders who carry water for Buncich by petitioning the court for leniency. Any letters filed into the public record seeking leniency for Buncich will be reported in my future columns, along with the names and positions of the writers.

Buncich's friends have a right to petition the court on his behalf. We have a right to withhold support for them if they take this misguided approach.

Region political outsiders no doubt are asking themselves, "Who would be so foolish to publicly proclaim such support for a federally convicted felon? What public official would brand themselves as supporting a corrupt politician, in this case who had sworn to uphold the law?

"In fact, wouldn't it be a scarlet letter for such public officials to cast their lot in this fashion?"

We need only look at past federal cases to realize this wrongheaded behavior is likely forthcoming.

Remember former elected Lake County Surveyor George Van Til and his felony conviction for essentially stealing from taxpayers by appropriating government property and employees for his own personal benefit?

After the former surveyor pleaded guilty in 2014, Van Til's defense attorney, Scott King, filed more than 100 pages worth of letters in open court, all written in support of Van Til. The letters generally vouched for Van Til's character and sought leniency at sentencing.

Dozens of the letters were written by political friends and allies, including a number who currently held political office.

Fast-forward to 2017 and Buncich's scheduled Dec. 6 sentencing hearing, and taxpayers have an opportunity to write some letters or make some phone calls of their own.

We all must remind our public officials that behavior like that perpetrated by Buncich won't be tolerated. More importantly, we should be telling them we won't stand for them espousing an apologist attitude.

In times of great violations of public trust by one public official, the others should be concentrating their efforts on repairing that trust and doing right by citizens — not on standing up for crony friends who just brought yet another disgraceful stain on local governance. That stain is enumerated in the 70-plus public corruption convictions of Region officeholders, government employees and vendors since the late 1970s.

If we as voters fail to provide consequences for officials who carry water for their corrupt friends, we're aiding in the spread of our Region's ongoing plague of corruption.

We’re also ignoring the resonating warnings from the apologists themselves — folks who are more keen on defending a crooked former colleague than the voters who elected them.






08132023 - News Article - Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case

  Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case Chicago Tribune  Aug 13, 2023 https://www.chicagotribune.com/...