No tax increase.

Spelling errors on a brochure for school board? Awesome - I do like the slogan though, No New Tackses.

Please no new taxes and forget this referendum idea, it failed in the last few years and the student population and the number of younger home owners has dropped here because of taxes. Ask people trying to sell their homes. One of the biggest negatives about Mokena is the taxes. Thank you.

Sad that these candidates feel so threatened they need to resort to their old tricks. Cesta, Briscoe and Andresen you have my vote. Franceschini, find better use of your time during your current board position.

Met one candidate, he can't believe that a referendum hasn't passed in years. It wasn't Franceschini or Swale. I guess he did't realize that they raised our taxes with the levy much more than they would have received with the referendum. I will vote for those I have mentioned by name. I really don't want another referendum. Thank you.

Amen, Mad at Dad.

“This is about the children of our school district and our community.”

She is right, it is about the children. The same children that were to lose their extracurricular activities and programs due to the mismanagement of Perry and her rubber stamp school board? Look at the old Patch article that was linked up there and look at the comments. A $2.7M deficit they said. "How are Markham and Ford going to fix that?" they said, And now today, all the programs are back albeit with some higher fees, but there seems to be an emphasis to lower them http://mokena.patch.com/articles/d159-board-discusses-fee-reductions when the district gets in better financial shape.

The proof is in the pudding here. The pro-referendum people told us that there was no other way out - taxes had to be raised or the schools and the children would suffer. Now it is evident that they were either totally wrong or we weren't told the whole truth. In either case should ardent supporters of the past referendums be elected? They must be dupes because their past positions and the current status of the district's finances show that they were/are on the wrong side of history here. Are we to trust them with four years on the board if the school administrators so easily misled them?

I am confused! Cesta Briscoe according to articles in this paper and others “worked hard to pass a TAX INCREASE REFERENDUM”. Candidates Swale and Franceschini inform voters of their position and how it is different from the others. NOW you call it NEGATIVE STUFF?

Did I miss something, those two candidates fought to pass a referendum, they must have thought and still do think that is POSITIVE STUFF. Now IT’S NEGATIVE STUFF? Which is it? I am confused!

Cesta Briscoe and the other guy have pushed, worked, pleaded for a TAX increase REFERENDUM and Swale / Franceschini say NO TO TAX REFERENDUMS.
I don’t get the complaint. Are they saying NOW they are NOT for Increasing Taxes? Which is it? Or rather and most likely prefer not every voter understand they believe in TAXES. Enrollment is down TAXES are UP and now it is wrong to state where candidates stand?

NO MORE TAXES, WILL the REAL TAX REFERENDUM CANDIDATES please stand up? I'd like to help you out, which way did you come in?

I find it embarassing that a current board member and board member candidate misspelled three of their fellow candidate's names. This is a SCHOOL board. As far as Jimshoe- the "attack" is that only 3 fellow candidates were included on their literature and not the entire five candidates. As far as RW Voter- you mentioned in a post for another article that your grandkids misspelled Merry Christmas wrong and blamed public schools. Well what do you have to say for these two fellows (Swale and Fran) who misspelled THREE names wrong on literature meant to support them. They either did it intentionally which would stem from some bad motive or it was unintentional in which case they appear as uneducated adults who do not proofread their own literature. Sounds very much like things that Markham did/does. Hey- maybe he did the literature for them since they seem to not want to talk to other candidates and voting citizens about where they stand without Markham at their side.

Don't let these two clown's (Fail and Francheatme) fool you. I can play the I don't know how that misspelling game happen too. It's dirty and childish coming from a small respected community. If they are not above running an honest race based on their own beliefs and feel the need to tear down other's, well they obviously have no idea's of their own. Ask Pat, He'll tell you what they think. Dance puppet's Dance!!!
And R-Dub, with the snow I'm sure the south is looking better. I kid, I like you. But seriously think about it, no state taxes, communities without school's, nice climate, I didn't get a private education like you but even I can tell that's a good deal.

RDub-Are there houses selling in any other villages? This problem exists in every town in the USA not just Mokena and not just because of our taxes. Actually, people moved here to get a quality education and chose Mokena because it has the lowest tax rate compared to the other LW-feeder school towns. Which is why we need to keep our school quality up if we want our house values to be competitive to other areas. I don't think larger classroom sizes compared to other surrounding schools, outdated (12 yr old) textbooks put us on the map either. Add poor morale and lack of support from people like you and our town is not looking too optimal for young families. Also, at least your generation is getting social security which the younger generation who has kids in school districts are paying for. Which I had a choice in that!!! By the way- your welcom.

So, assuming the teachers are more interested in their contract than their profession which you imply is a bad thing- how does that differ from you worrying about YOUR taxes and wasting YOUR money and you with the me, me, me attitutde? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Note- I don't think teachers are more interested in their contract than their profession, I was just trying to present your own argument.

So 'Jack' and 'A Mom Who Cares' you say:

- People who are against tax increases are selfish and should be glad to pay more.
- That our older citizens should move south instead of living in their current community
- You make personal attacks against people you do not know by calling them 'retarded' instead of making solid points on the comments page.
- You are also making the point through your responses that Franceschini and Swale are right: this is about an upcoming tax increase just look at your quote Jack:

".....chose Mokena because it has the lowest tax rate compared to the other LW-feeder school towns. Which is why we need to keep our school quality up if we want our house values to be competitive to other areas. I don't think larger classroom sizes compared to other surrounding schools, outdated (12 yr old) textbooks put us on the map either. Add poor morale and lack of support from people like you and our town is not looking too optimal for young families."

If any statement is building momentum for a "tax increase" that is it. Why do you think enrollment is going down Jack, in this town and across the state? It's because of the taxes. Businesses cannot afford the high taxes in this state and they leave. So raising taxes will exacerbate the situation. So if you want young families, you need quality schools as you said and low taxes.

Young families I know avoided Mokena because of the taxes. They chose New Lenox instead.

The bottom line here is that 2 of the 7 people running for the (4) open positions on the school board have decided they want to throw 3 of the others under the bus. First, I truly find it hard to believe that if these 3 candidates were not inbetween them on the ballot, this would be happening. Second, I see plenty of room for the additional names. Finally, the mis-spelling was either done on purpose to avoid some sort of legal fall-back, or out of ignorance. One path to chose...which one, gentlemen? The fact is, this is a school board election. The same school board that is working to eliminate bulliying in our schools. Why are two potential members bullying other candidates? I would rather see literature about what a candidate will do for our school board. Instead, I see a flyer that panders to the voter about how they do not want to raise taxes! Gee, I think you are going to be pretty hard-pressed to find someone who says they want a tax hike. Maybe R-W Voter can work on this with all this free time on your hands. Swale and Franceschini need to stop placating the public with their buzz-phrases (LOWER TAXES!!! LOWER DEFICIT!!!) We all want these things. Lets put on our big-boy pants and work on real solutions, and less name calling. And as for R-Dub, I find your discussion of how things were "back when you went to school" irrelevant. Society changes and with that so does our education. How many computers did you work on in your private education?

Try again Aardvark. 2012 tax rate Mokena 7.2168 and New Lenox was 7.8874.

Will there be teachers out in force destroyign campaign signs again because if i catch them on video like I did last election There will be someone prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law ,The group Cesta and Briscoe also have been caught red handed by property owners and sign people destroying and stealing signs my video cameras are up and running please attempt this again because it is now a felony in Illinois to destroy alter or take any signs or literature from authorized property!!!! Mark and Bob I need more signs now I have 6 empty lots on major roads you can place them on anytime !!!

Well said BookSavvy. From the Patch articles about the online bullying, it was a parent that did all of the research and brought the program to the school board. Nice that Franceschini is taking all of the credit! 'Just a thought', he sure is finally showing Mokena who the bully is.

Rw how are you such an authority on public schools when it appears you have never stepped foot in one? You could care less about the children in this community. It also appears that you have no idea that schools can no longer rely on Illinios to help fund them. They are 2 payments behind. The money needs to come from somewhere and I for one would be willing to pay higher taxes so our children get the education and technology they need to be successful in life and not sitting around complaining on a blog. Maybe a public school education would have opened your eyes as to how the real world works or maybe you should have gone into education and become a teacher if you think they have it so easy.

I find it extremely disgusting that the pro-tax referendum flyer that was circulated was endorsed by our township assessor, Krall. For a person that is a big part of establishing our already-high real estate taxes, he should keep his nose out of tax issues. How dare he take sides in this issue. Stick to your political games and leave the referendum to us.

One more thing RW, have you noticed that bread is no longer .10 and milk is no longer a quarter? Yet people are still buying these things ( I know crazy right). Why are they still buying them you ask, because they are essentials to life... Just like a good education is essential... Guess what the price of a good education has to go up too! And I haven't seen a whole lot of employers looking for employees that have " good cursive writing." Wake up ... Times are a changing !

I realize that, but bread is not the same as it was . I feel that a good education is essential, but in most instances I do not feel that a child has the chance for one in the public schools. I equate it with the cost of cable tv. You get it but it really isn't worth what you are paying for it. Thank you

Again I will ask you ... How do you know this if you haven't been a part of a public school? You are welcome!

I have known one of the mis-spelled candidates for a LONG time. I find it exceedingly odd that the faux platform staes "more spending=deficit" in regards to a man who is a financial planner-his job for years has been to keep people OUT of deficit spending. Toss in the fact that this is for a SCHOOL BOARD and the thing is rife with falsehoods and mis-spelled words and I really question how qualified those who sent out that flyer are!!!!!

I have lived in Mokena for 26 years. We moved here for the "blue ribbon" schools. District 159 is a shadow of what it once was. My children had a wonderful education there with caring teachers. I believe that anyone that is resorting to Chicago-type politics for school board positions, do not deserve these positions. Crony politics do not belong on our school board. Jim Andresen didn't have anything to do with the PAST referendum work. As far as I'm concerned, people that work as hard for our schools as Anna Briscoe does, deserves a chance to serve. The old referendum is a moot point-it's over and dead. I was appalled when I read something from the president of our school board that spelled "buses" wrong. Really? Swale and Franceschini are cut from the same cloth. I think the sign stealing remark is ludicrous! Young families do not want to buy in Mokena, because district 159 is not as good as it once was. It is sad, but hopefully this will be fixed with some new people on our school board. People that have, or will have children attending the schools, and care about their education.

The schools in general have declined due to the power of the Teachers union. They are the biggest drain on the system.But when you have pro referedum people trying to get on the board all you are going to get is higher taxes. The quality of the education will not get any better. Some teachers are not as good as others and as long as they have a union, you will never be able to get rid of them. The young eager to teach teachers getting out of school will not have a chance to do their thing unless the senior members retire. Thats it. Increased taxes will not improve the education, maybe just increase the employee's salaries and give more freebies. I will still vote for two, Swale and Mark. Thank you

Hey Mokena citizen -It looks like you don't get around much or you are blind to the information out there concerning the referendum. I have seen the pro-referendum flyer with kral's face smack dab in it twice. Now if you are ignorant of that flyer, that's fine, but don't defend him if you are aware of the flyer. He's not worth it. He is not helping us with lowering our home's value because of the economy, but he is supporting a tax increase! What kind of public servant is that. Don't defend a politician that gets his marching orders from another politician. And let's make sure we don't ever pass a referendum that will raise our taxes. The current school board is doing a fine job with the finances and my children are doing fine with the education they are receiving and with the extra-curricular activities they are involved in. Let's keep our school board and get rid of the township politicians who are spending OUR money for their own good. They paid $1.5 million for a condo building and then put their political cronies in it. Talk about taking care of each other.

48 comments on this article and only a hand full of them actually pertain to the contents of it. Every public election I have ever seen, no matter what it is for, candidates pick and choose points of why they should be elected over their opponents. All I see so far from this article, is two women, that want to make decisions for my children, whining about their names being spelled wrong on a brochure that they did not pay for. Should have just put Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Goofy on the made up ballot instead of giving them the exposure, because quite honestly, I didn't even know they were running until now.

If you are a Mokena resident, I'm surprised you didn't see the flyer talking about us needing to pay more taxes to save the extracurricular activities. And right there is kral's picture. And why shouldn't we be against that political hack. He's the one who increased my house's assessment, which means more taxes, and then he favors increasing taxes to save school activities on top of that. And going in to talk to him got us nowhere. Handed us a line of bs about our subdivision's value being under assessed, but yet my neighbors didn't go up, just me. So you go ahead and defend him...you must have gotten a nice reduction and will pay less taxes.