The Watchdog had the opportunity to check out the most recent rendition of Naperville Settlement’s summer concert series this weekend. It was fantastic. A large, happy crowd enjoying excellent music and very good food. A friendly crowd that was very welcoming yet sadly devoid of even one of our councilmen.
Remember when Mayor Pradel and all of our local officials were staples at large community events like this? These events are a great time for officials to engage with the community and see up close the events that our SECA dollars are paying for.
No more. Not a single councilman was present. This makes the council’s embarrassing showing at the State of the City appear impressive. We should expect to see our councilmen out in the community and supporting large events like this.
In fairness, a few did make it over to the DNC convention masked as a Juneteenth ceremony that Benny White hosted on Rotary Hill this weekend. Every Democratic official in the galaxy made it to that overtly political event. Which only further highlights our ongoing issue/problem in Naperville…
Partisan groups and partisan games trump community leadership. Our officials know nonpartisan events like the settlement events do not move the needle politically right now…but miss Benny’s Democratic rally on the hill? No way!
Candidates please take note of this. As was shown in the last local election cycle, our residents are tired of partisanship and our obnoxiously loud liberal political groups. Candidates should re-engage in nonpartisan groups and activities….the votes are there.
The Watchdog notes Park Commissioner Chris Jacks and PZC Commissioner Derek McDaniel were spotted at the concert events. That’s it out of all of our elected officials? The others were probably too tired to go after going to their respective Party events all week. Props to these two for getting out there. It is sad so many of our officials are more focused on their partisan clubs than the whole of our community.
When you said none showed up doesn’t that mean none of the Republican/Conservative members showed up either? Doesn’t that make them also big an embarrassment and disappointment to our community, right?
It is further worth noting that few members of city government (elected or otherwise) have ever tended to show up at events hosted on the south-side of Naperville and that the overwhelming majority of SECA funds are used to support North Naperville Amenities and Events, with little of these tax dollars being used to support South Naperville Events or Amenities.
As to partisanship, last election the Democrats invited every candidate to every event they sponsor, no partisan exceptions. Sadly this can’t be said for the Republicans, who excluded every “liberal” candidate from all their events. But in fairness this isn’t the first year the Republicans have done this. They’ve been doing it for the last several local elections.
The Republicans use to invite all local candidates to their events (like the Democrats do) around 10 years ago, but they stopped around the time that several Naperville elected Republicans pushed them to exclude any candidate that did not clearly align themselves with conservative “values”.
Its always interesting to see the right screaming about the partisan behavior of the left when the right is so clearly, boldly and unapologetically doing this very thing.
Finally it is not surprising that someone with a right leaning bias would call a local Juneteenth Event a “DNC convention” since the right view the entire Juneteenth movement as “woke”. I doubt this event would have gotten any of your attention if Benny were not involved. I have said it before and I will say it again, it is amazing how good a job Benny and Ian have done living in the heads of Naperville Republicans rent free.
Meghna Bansal was also not there and she was not at the Juneteenth either. These would have been excellent events for her to be at to launch her campaign.
Outstanding point raised by the ‘Dog. One was a community event, a gathering intended for all at a venue that has long been a cornerstone of town pride. The competing event was an act of political theater occupying a public amenity, serving as a mandatory audience with the progressive leadership.
Community gatherings like the Concert series are a wonderfully suitable stage to been seen publicly supporting our town. Partisan kabuki theater dragging hacks out for culturally ambiguous picnicery is an desperate play for acceptance, and nowhere for any politician with a soul to be seen. Unless that’s their flavor, then it’s part of the Compulsories.
So its your position that all events celebrating a National Holiday are “political theater occupying a public amenity”? 4th of July? Thanksgiving? Memorial Day? Christmas?
Statements about Juneteenth Celebrations being “liberal” politics only serves to reveal the true nature of these statements as being part of the right “woke” and “cancel culture” agendas.
Is that what I said? “All events celebrating a National Holiday”? I specifically contrasted a a self-proclaimed Partisan Event held at a community location with a non-Partisan musical performance held in a public venue, SUPPORTED BY THE VERY PEOPLE THAT WE WERE SUGGESTING MIGHT BE PRESENT. The artificial social construct of an alternate Independence Day for a subset of Americans defined by race does not even begin to approach the level of a National Holiday. Your rhetorical abuse of my thought to serve your agenda is cause for concern. Do you act this way out loud, around others? If making your point relies on my words, please use them accurately, and with the rich context provided.
Its funny reading “rhetorical abuse of my thought to serve your agenda is cause for concern” from a person who’s comment on this site all tend to fall into this category.
Lets be clear the celebration held by Benny on the Hill was just as open as the Settlement event in question and for music to be partisan it must focus on a set of political views not on the culture of a group of people (or do you consider polka music played at a Oktoberfest celebration as “partisan”?).
Describing a National Holiday as being in some way partisan and focused on a “subset” of Americans it very telling about your true mindset. When the slaves were emancipate it was an event celebrated not just by freed slaves or black people but by an overwhelm majority of Americans who did not fall into either of these group. Americans that had dedicated their lives to ending slavery in this country. A practice most of the civilized world at the time had long ago ended not just because of the abusive nature of some slave owners but because of the inhuman and immoral nature of this practice.
Its funny but I don’t remember anyone, when I was growing up, ever describing Columbus Day (another national holiday) as being “partisan” and being “for a subset of Americans” despite us all being taught how this National Holiday came about. A national holiday that resulted from a large and prominent group of Italian Americans campaigning for a holiday that celebrated the achievement of an Italian.
P.S. Using the term “subset” in this context gives the impression of being a more a “politically” correct substitute term for “subhuman”. The word most often used by racist to justify their racist views and practices.
Jim’s Fallacies: A Folly For Our Times.
Restating my point as your opening without rebuttal (a regular thing for you) actually reinforces the point. Adding the new-record sixth branch to a point long moot only elevates this conversation to the level of truly legendarily vapid.
Your celebrated Rotary Benny Hill show (cue slapstick soundtrack here) run in opposition to the Settlement’s Americana concert series was kind of defined as partisan because the name was… (checks notes…) something akin to The Mandatory Attendance To Reinforce The Democratic Delusion Of Having An Actual Democratic Holiday On A Wednesday Of The Democratic Picnic to Celebrate Juneteenth sponsored by the Democratic Party Cadres of DuPage County Who Want More Democrats To Come Out Publicly And Party Democratically. Call me a stickler for the little things, but it is an actual over-extension logically to consider it to be, shall we say- partisan?
The Actual Dichotomy of Abolition versus Emancipation, the Timeline Thereof and just plain facts. Seriously, turn off the guilt-posting.
Columbus was not Italian. Italy did not exist as a political entity until 1861. Columbus sailed that ocean blue in 1492. You knew this of course, but you misspoke egregiously in painting Cristóbol the Genovese as an Italian. I would point your attention to the recent history of an entire political class that determined Columbus was indeed partisan when he was identified as the Original Cristóbol Colónizer, and his statues were removed from progressive cities by the ton-weight, and the commemoration of his discovery and establishment of Christian civilization in this hemisphere besmirched by the revisionist propaganda of the 1619 project.
P.S. Context- your spelling and confused wordplay reflects the absurd hour you were crafting your insights. Please consider getting a full night’s rest before engaging Beast Mode on your keyboard, this is not up to your usual standard.