You Must Vote OR I Could Be Supreme Dictator

If you live in Illinois, Tuesday, February 2nd is Election Day. This is the Primary Election for the upcoming November General Election.

Now I know that 2010 is an "off" year and so it's not a sexy presidential election year. But it's my personal belief that that's exactly why this year is crucial. We are voting for both Houses of Congress - Senate and House; all of our State-wide offices; State Representatives and Senators; all of the Cook County Board positions (including President - that's Todd Stroger's current job) and many local referendum.

Again, it's not sexy, but all of these elected officials and referendum affect our lives with far greater daily impact than the President.

Are you upset about the Cook County 10% sales tax? Make sure you vote in Tuesday's election.

Do you want a say in whether or not police and fire pensions are fully funded? Vote on Tuesday.

Do you think the State of Illinois has been run into the ground? Get to the polls.

Do you want to make sure Rep. Mark Kirk is or is not the next Senator from Illinois? Go vote.

Are you ticked that the State of Illinois is allowing Cook County to collect 55% of our property tax bill instead of the usual 50% in the first installment? VOTE.

Do you or someone you love rely on the State of Illinois for any services (food stamps, disability services, etc.) or are you unhappy with all the increased fees for everything in Illinois? You've got to pull the lever on Tuesday.

Do you have strong issues on things like abortion, health care reform, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, job creation, taxes (of all kinds - income, property, sales, tolls, etc.), foreign aid, Social Security, Medicare, food safety, outsourcing, alternative energy sources, etc.? You've got nothing that's more important to do on Tuesday than vote.

State and local officials control or impact all of those things.

Voting isn't simply a right. In my opinion, it's an obligation. For the millions and millions of people (especially women) around the world without the right to vote, you owe it to them to exercise your right and vote for the candidates and issues you believe in.

But there's one more part to voting: you must be educated. Walking into a voting booth and knowing nothing about the candidates and issues is simply ignorant given how easy it is to become educated. If you live in Cook County, you can visit the Cook County Clerk's website for information on where to vote and for information on all the candidates and referenda. ABC7 also has an extensive website about candidates for all offices, area wide. Please don't just rely on commercials and all the fliers that have been piling up in your mailbox.

Ultimately, voting is up to you, but if you don't vote, please don't complain to me about the state of affairs in the country, state, county, or village.

If you don't want to vote because you're too busy, it's okay because I'm up on all the issues and know what's good for everyone. While you may not agree with me, I'd be happy to be Supreme Dictator of Illinois. Just let me know. It's one of the many services Little Merry Sunshine provides.