Engage 15 Not so Transparent

The Engage D15 slate is avoiding answering the important question: “Where do you stand on transgender policy” because they fear their answer will cost them the election. We have heard from all other candidates running in the D15 race (except for Sid Aman who has not been reached by the media) about their positions.

The Engage D15 slate is running primarily on a platform of “transparency.” Yet, ironically, they are being the least transparent of all the candidates on an issue that has put Palatine in the national spotlight. The non answer, “Our candidates are actively soliciting input from our community to ensure we reflect their wishes” is a smokescreen. And it is false. Try posing the question about transgender access to any one of these candidates on their Facebook page or other online group. They respond that they are waiting for community input and then change the subject. Not only are they not seeking input, they are shutting down those of us who try to have a conversation about it. I have emailed and sent PMs only to have my messages completely ignored.

Blaming the current board for not being transparent with the community and then refusing to be transparent themselves is a flimsy attempt to avoid this issue until after the votes are counted. We keep hearing that this team is a mix of republicans, democrats, and independents. I hope that a member of any political party would take a public stand for our transgender youth who are fearful without protections of the federal government. You can still run on your slate’s platform of community engagement and transparency while standing up for the students you hope to one day represent.