ROUND LAKE - Lennie Jarratt is one of four Republicans running in the March 20th primary to succeed retiring State Senator Suzi Schmidt. Lake County GOP Chairman Bob Cook has high praise for Jarratt:
In the past few years of working with Lennie, I have found him credible and trustworthy and his handshake still means you can trust what he says. The State of Illinois could use more people with the integrity of Lennie Jarratt. I will not endorse any candidacy, but I will endorse his integrity.
Illinois Review met with Jarratt at a district restaurant and took a few moments to review his background in Part 1 of this interview. Jarratt tells about his work in the northwest suburban district, grassroots involvement, and commitment to digging up distasteful activities in local governing bodies:
IR: Tell us about you and how you decided to get into this 2012 primary?
IR: How different is the 31st newly-drawn district to the old one?
IR: You've been involved in local politics for several years. Tell us about that.
IR: Watchdogging local politics is crucial. Local taxing bodies have a huge effect on our taxes. We've found school boards and teachers unions work together...
IR: So you requested through Freedom of Information Act and discovered links between the school board and teachers' unions? What did you find?
IR: So a teacher was a teacher union president?
IR: This came out after the Spring 2011 election?
IR: So, because of a tip you FOIA'd, that led to more. Did the person involved get re-elected?
NOTE: These are allegations not proven in a court of law.
IR: Were there reprimands resulting from this alleged behavior?
IR: Was anyone punished more than a reprimand for giving gift cards to register to vote?
NOTE: Again these are allegations, as there have been no convictions in court, although school board reprimands were adminstered.
More with Lennie Jarratt in Part 2 on Illinois Review.
