Carlson didn't serve LaFox well
I'm reminded of a line from the song "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel, which asked: "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you, wo, wo, wo." But instead, it would go something like this : "Where have you been, Mr. Carlson? The people of LaFox look to you, wo, wo, wo."
So you're now asking yourself, who is Mr. Carlson? Where is LaFox? And how do either one affect me?
Well Mr. Carlson is a Kane County Board member who represents (and I use the word represents loosely) the 26th District. LaFox is a small community that sits between Geneva and Elburn in the 26th District. Our story should be a forewarning for anyone who lives in the 26th District and may need representation at the county down the road.
Six years ago, a group of citizens came together to form Concerned LaFox Area Residents, which at the time had one purpose: Stop the construction of the Grand Prairie. It was a massive development that had a terrible plan, was too high in density, and would have engulfed the town of LaFox. Well, we stopped it. No thanks to Mr. Carlson.
You may think that's the end of the story, it's just the beginning. After our initial victory, we then garnered over 20 resolutions of support from surrounding towns, school boards, and other public entities in regards to the possible incorporation of LaFox.
Why incorporate LaFox you ask? We felt we had to if we wanted to protect and save our town because we saw firsthand the lack of representation we had at the county level. When Mr. Carlson was approached to write a letter of support on behalf of CLAR for downstate hearings regarding incorporation, he was nowhere to be found. It seemed strange considering county chairman Mr. Mike McCoy found the time to do so.
We then stopped the proposed annexation of a new expended version of the development into St. Charles. Mr. Carlson would again have you believe he worked behind the scenes to accomplish this. Wrong again -- we did. CLAR then approached the developers and proposed that we work together and come up with a plan that all sides could live with. Again none of this was facilitated by him, although he's done his best to tell everyone he was the original orchestrator in aligning the two parties.
Through this alliance, we worked side by side with the developers for over three years to formulate a plan which lowered the density, developed a superior plan and also enhanced the character of LaFox. We also negotiated a ground-breaking agreement, including, financial donations, a civic building and properties throughout the development, to mention a few, all donated to CLAR for the citizens of LaFox.
I hope our story will lead as an example for those who live in the 26th District, at the lack of leadership and support we now receive at the county level. Ask yourself this.: If an issue comes to light affecting you and your community, do you want somebody like Mr. Carlson who is consistently MIA for his constituents? Or somebody like Mr. Drew Frasz who has not only put his reputation on the line, but has worked tirelessly over the past six years to help lead CLAR to all of its successes.
When people in town want answers to issues or need something accomplished, they turn to Drew Frasz, not Mr. Carlson. That should tell you all you need to know about the upcoming elections for the 26th District county board seat in Kane County.
Mike Jesson
LaFox