Author: Ben Chapman
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Commentary: Vote Yes for Forests! It’s a Wise Investment.
My family and I care about our Forest Preserves. That’s why we voted to support them. On your ballot this election, you have the opportunity to vote “Yes” to boost funding for the Champaign County Forest Preserve District (CCFPD). You should do it. The actual language on the ballot is a bit fancier. You’ll recognize… Read more
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Commentary: Don’t Fear Vote by Mail. It’s Pretty Great.
By Ben Chapman It wasn’t the first time that one of President Trump’s tweets left me scratching my head. He was ranting about vote by mail, an election administration topic that had, in recent years, been a subject of relatively tame discussion. “Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting. Democrats… Read more
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Q&A with Carol Hays, Founder of The Strategic Collaboration Group, Inc.
By Ben Chapmanbenbart.chapman@gmail.com Carol Hays, Ph.D., is an environmental activist from Dewey, Illinois. She was formerly the Executive Director of the nonprofit Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. She left that position in December, 2018. Hays is now the Founder, President, and Chief Creative Strategist for The Strategic Collaboration Group,… Read more
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Commentary: Ranked Choice Voting Could Help Fix Illinois Politics
By Ben Chapmanbenbart.chapman@gmail.com Machine. Hegemony. Establishment. Deep State. The Back Room. Whatever you call the ominous forces that corrode our politics and entrench corruption, I’m sick of it. And from what I’ve heard, many other Illinoisans are, too. We’re sick of rich donors and well-funded committees deciding who wins elections. We’re sick of partisans and… Read more
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The Interesting Numbers of the Consolidated Election
James Manrique runs the nonpartisan Champaign County Voter’s Alliance group, which works to inform voters and turn them out to vote. The group hosts a popular nonpartisan online voter guide that can be found at VoteChampaign.Org. Manrique records statistics for how his site is used. He says the biggest attraction for the consolidated elections was… Read more
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School Board Incumbents Form Coalition
By Ben Chapmanbenbart.chapman@gmail.com In the April 2nd election, voters will select four board members from eight candidates to fill the Mahomet-Seymour School Board. Lance Raver, Jenny Park, and Jeremy Henrichs are three incumbents campaigning to hold their seats, while newcomers Jason Tompkins, Colleen Schultz, Meghan Hennesy, Julie Cebulski, and Ken Keefe are campaigning to become… Read more
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Four M-S School Board seats up for election, eight candidates will run
*The Mahomet Daily reached out to all eight Mahomet-Seymour School Board candidates in early January. At the time of the development of this article, the Mahomet Daily only heard back from five of the eight candidates, the newcomers. We now have some information from Park, and learned that Henrichs will answer questions when he returns… Read more
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Commentary: How To Talk About Politics — Without Ruining Anyone’s Day
No one wants to get into an argument over the holidays; Mahomet Daily contributor Ben Chapman offers some suggestions on how to talk about politics with family and friends. Read more