What do you mean you just heard about the referendum?

One of the things we learned during the campaign is that it doesn't matter how much time you spend trying to educate people. In the end, there are always people you cannot reach.

It's not that we didn't try for about six months to educate people on the issue facing voters and invite them to ask questions. Local newspapers ran articles starting last October. We had three open houses, with invitations to attend sent home in students' backpacks, posted on all five school buildings and publicized in the newspapers. We sent informational and campaign mailings to residents in Bridgeview, Hickory Hills and Palos Hills. NPD117 distributed informational material in students' backpacks. The Hickory Hills Herald had a lengthy article about the referendum on the first page. Chalk Talk, the NPD117 newsletter mailed to all households, had information about the referendum on the cover of the past few issues. We distributed more than 2,000 door hangers and information packets through Walk-A-Block volunteers.

Still, on our NPD117 Facebook page, we received this comment after the April 9 vote, "Pass THAT information to the voters in a reasonable time frame, and not ...three weeks before the election." This came from a woman who lives in Hickory Hills. At a minimum she received multiple newsletters from NPD117 and one from the city of Hickory Hills. Unless she drives strictly up and down 95th Street, it's hard to believe she didn't drive by one of the schools when information was posted. Is it possible that she never reads the newspapers? Is it possible that she doesn't read her mail?

Just as frustrating was a conversation I had with a woman one week before the election. Her daughter is an NPD117 student. She had no idea the referendum was on the ballot. I said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. NPD117 sent a lot of information home with the kids. Didn't you see any of it?"  She said that she didn't read the stuff in the backpack closely because she didn't have time. She's also a person who received Chalk Talk and the Hickory Hills Herald.

When information arrives in your mailbox or your child's backpack, the least you can do is read it. We understand that everyone is busy, but at some point people need to be responsible for learning what's on the ballot and how it affects them.

This goes for more than the NPD117 referendum. People need to pay attention to the candidates and ask more questions of them. People need to find out what different offices do and how these officials affect their lives. Mostly people need to take back their right to vote by treating it like a privilege and not something that gets in their way. In the end it's every individual's responsiblity to learn about the issues on the ballot.