©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| City Council Officially Denounces "Citizens United" |
The Galesburg City Council has officially done something that the city administration didn't want them to do: take a stand on what has become a national political issue.
Aldermen voted four-to-three Monday night to approve a resolution denouncing the so-called "Citizens United" decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing unlimited campaign donations by major corporations. Mayor Sal Garza did not cast his vote that would have required him to vote with the majority.
Local activist Jerry Ryberg has asked the aldermen to vote on the matter for the last six months, but the city administration has said "no" claiming it's a partisan issue.
But 5th Ward Alderman Peter Schwartzman says virtually everything is a partisan issue.
"I don't see this as an issue of whether you're a republican or a democrat or an independent," he said. "It's really a question of do we have a democracy or do we not have a democracy? At what state-- we have one person, one vote. I understand that, (but) we have members of our community who may not."
But local resident Mike Taylor told aldermen he thought the city council was wasting its time, and that campaign ads funded by these big donations are easy to ignore.
"What this boils down to is that we assume that everybody around us is an idiot," Taylor said. "When it comes to campaign spending, campaign ads, they're meant to be effective."
"It's only effective if you just look at the ad and accept it as Gospel truth-- and that is what people are afraid of here."
Aldermen Ken Goad, Russell Fleming, and Wayne Allen all voted "no" on the resolution. But outside of Schwartzman, no aldermen spoke on the matter.
(Rita Carlson hugs Terry Haywood following the Galesburg City Council vote Monday night. WGIL News Story and Photo by Will Stevenson.) |
|
| 06 05 12 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
