Karen Ramey Phillips: Coming Full Circle in Kane Politics

It was a “mere” 25 years ago when I realized that Kane County government had the power to affect my life in such a visceral way.

I was tossed into local government due to matters which I felt, as a young parent, were somehow “beyond my control.” Words like condemnation, easement, right of way, alderman, board member, state representative and senator suddenly needed further definition and understanding … and the sooner the better!

I entered the world of politics as the mother of a toddler in an attempt to stop a local government project. Railroad right-of-way property behind my East Side Geneva home was being designated as an extension connecting bike trail. We had concerns that needed to be addressed.

I enjoined with people who today I still consider dear friends and others with whom I now respectfully disagree. Our paths having met, merged, and in some cases divided.

I went from new motherhood to citizen activist. I went from activist to campaign manager, from manager to registered lobbyist—and from there, full circle to citizen activist once again.

Due to the technology that we have today, our government can keep in constant communication with us and we with them. A typed letter that would take hours (along with judicious use of White Out and carbon paper) is now replaced with the tap of a keyboard.

Yet our concerns remain the same.

We remain concerned with property rights, the expenditure of our tax dollars, political leadership that sometimes appears not to be listening, and our undying devotion to the notion that we should keep our hard-earned money closer to home—namely in our own pockets!

We have gone to our local polling places and voted for change. Reform is the buzzword of the day. As technology and the media have the ability to seek and divulge more information, election results have removed many incumbents.

When does “open and transparent” really mean open and transparent? What pressures do we experience as taxpayers? How does an elected official handle the transition of technology and time? How can votes that have shaped our local government perhaps now be problematic?

There are never easy answers. And admittedly there are only opinions. As a citizen activist, I have experienced both highs and lows … made good decisions and some not nearly as good.

My read on the intentions of some politicians has been more than shamelessly innacurate.

This history with local government from each experience—from my house to the courthouse as an activist, to the statehouse as a consultant, to the White House as a party leader—has brought perspective.

As taxpayers, we must realize that those who want to keep the deals flowing intend to do everything they can to protect the turf that they have gained at our expense.

I am ready to tell the “rest of the story” and perhaps get more than a few threats in return. Perhaps this is the time in my span of politics to tell what I know and explain how I know it.

Stay tuned.

—Karen Ramey Phillips