By Ray Hanania
A little more than 50 percent of registered voters in Illinois have voted in midterm elections like the one coming up on November 3, 2026.
That’s not great, but it’s far worse when it comes to local elections in the six-county region. While Cook County turnout ranges between 14 and 20 percent during the past several local elections, it’s far less overall in the other counties in the six-county region, including Will, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties.
I understand why the majority of voters don’t vote. The people seeking their votes don’t seem to understand that elections are not about the person running for office, but about solving the problems that the voters face in their everyday lives.
On the national level, where personalities and massive PAC funding drive greater media coverage, turnout is slightly higher.
But in local elections for mayors, trustees, county board seats, and even for Congress, turnout is discouragingly low, undermining both the Democratic and Republican parties.
You would think that candidates running in local elections would wake up and recognize that voters are sick and tired of mudslinging, name-calling, and messages that have nothing to do with what the taxpayers and voters want.
I was in Bolingbrook last week when Mayor Alexander-Basta demanded that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) hold a second hearing on an outrageous effort by Illinois American Water (IAW) to raise water rates for their customers. It’s the 4th time in 10 years that IAW, whose parent company has generated more than $1.1 billion in NET profits — money AFTER all their expenses.
The ICC held a hearing in Bolingbrook in July where 800 people showed up and shared some of the most terrible messages about how the already excessively high IAW water rates were negatively impacting their lives. Homeowners, including young married couples, single parents, and senior citizens, spoke about how they pay outrageously high water rates that are so oppressive on their budgets that they have significantly cut back on washing dishes and clothing to once every several weeks. They have been forced to reduce the number of times they can take a bath, and most can’t even take a shower anymore, fearing the impact on their monthly spending that using the water will have.
The testimony from the 48 people who spoke at that July hearing was painful to hear. Yet, NOT ONE ICC Commissioner bothered to attend. Instead, they sent a administrative judge to listen and cull the 150 minutes of testimony into a several-page report for them to “consider.”
The ICC has awarded IAW a rate increase every time they have demanded one.
Angry that the ICC members were not there to hear this painful testimony, Mayor Alexander-Basta demanded that the ICC grant a second hearing on the same rate hike request, which is unprecedented. It has never been done before because the public has no confidence in the ICC standing up for their rights. They always surrender to IAW, and their lobby and their campaign influenced donations.
The five ICC board members make about $200,000 a year in salary plus benefits from the state. They are appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Mayor Alexander-Basta invited all of the ICC members to attend, and she also invited Pritzker to attend. None of them showed up at the 2nd ICC hearing that was held on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
But Pritzker’s challenger, Darren Bailey, showed up, and he spoke. In fact, Bailey spoke very eloquently about the outrageousness of the rate hike request, the profits that IAW and its parent company make, the fact that IAW is buying up water companies like Aqua Illinois, and the fact that IAW and other utilities are monopolies with no competition to keep them fair or honest.
Several hundred people attended the Sept. 16 meeting, including a small handful of Pritzker minions who yelled, grunted, coughed, and made loud noises every time Bailey made a point about what needs to be done.
There is no doubt those disruptive minions were sent there to undermine Bailey’s message.
Most people don’t believe Bailey can win the governor’s race. That’s because Bailey has raised about $2.4 million, with only about $390,000 in campaign cash left for the remaining 8 weeks left before the November 3 gubernatorial election.
Pritzker, on the other hand, is a billionaire living off of daddy’s investments in military weaponry and hotel profits. A billionaire, Pritzker has set aside more than $114 million for his re-election campaign and has more than $69 million left.
Let me repeat that. Bailey has $390,000 left for the remaining 8 weeks. Pritzker has more than $69 million left for the remaining 8 weeks.
Pritzker has spent most of his money attacking Bailey personally and trying to associate him with President Donald Trump, a selfish narcissist and one of the worst presidents this nation has ever elected.
In the Illinois election, a dominant Democrat state, Trump is not really a campaign issue. Everyone dislikes his policies, and not even Bailey will defend them, even though Trump hates Pritzker and is trying to influence the election for himself.
Pritzker, though, has spent millions on campaign commercials that inaccurately claim that he cares about the economic challenges Illinois taxpayers face, even though Illinois has one of the highest total tax rates and fee rates in the nation, 49 out of 50!
Why do you think so many voters don’t want to vote? They know that the election is driven by millions of dollars to fund “deflection messages” and mudslinging that redirect voters away from their issues to fake issues that are less important.
This year alone, Pritzker imposed more than $89 million in new taxes and fees on Illinois residents, making our lives horrible. Instead of showing sympathy for the victims of IAW’s outrageous water rates, Pritzker couldn’t even bother to attend or even send anyone to speak on his behalf, except for several disruptive goons who cackled when Bailey spoke.
You can watch Bailey’s remarks at the 2nd ICC hearing in Bolingbrook by clicking this link, or use the widget below.
"Term limits" remove the responsibility off the backs of voters and ease the pressure on their need to vote. Term limits actually harm the election system. The real "term limits" is an election, not an arbitrary time in office.
I didn't attend the meeting and cannot defend the actions of those disrupting Bailey. I don't blame Illinois for the ridiculous level of political spending; I blame Citizens United and the Supreme Court decision. Getting money out of politics can only make democracy more transparent and resilient. Corporations aren't people. They don't deserve the same or similar rights. Strengthening the SEC and antitrust laws will help stop utilities from monopoly power to squeeze the money out of customers like we're oranges getting juiced. Overall, Big Government isn't a problem; it's the only power that can stand up to abusive companies on behalf of the American people. We matter. Not profits. Thank you, Ray.