Ballot Breakdown...Coming Soon

By Sam Bakken in News on Oct 15, 2004 9:20PM

Election day is November 2nd and if you haven't yet, go to The Chicago Board of Elections web site and click on "Services" on the left side of the page to confirm that you are registered. Once you do that, click on your voter ID number and your district information will display and you can also take a look at a sample ballot.

Whoa, look at that ballot!

When Chicagoist did we were a bit overwhelmed and had a number of questions. Why do we elect Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District? What do they do? Why are the candidates for State Senate in the 20th District and State Rep in the 39th District running uncontested? And why wouldn't we vote to have "...the Illinois State Government provide adequate funding for comprehensive and appropriate substance abuse treatment for any Illinois state resident requesting services from a licensed provider, community-based organization or medical care facility within the state"?

Well, we don't know—yet. But in the next week we will read newspapers about, google the-shit-out-of and maybe even call someone for more information on the lesser-known items. We will let G-Dubs/Kerry and Obama/Keyes alone for the most part (you DO know who THEY are don't you?). We won't give endorsements, but we will probably tell you what we think. However, the overall goal will be to give you information, in an entertaining way we hope, about the ballot so you can make an informed decision. We'll also try to think of a catchy name for the series. Maybe "Don't Be A Dolt When You Go To Vote"? "Be Informed The Day The Polls Are Swarmed"? Well, we'll think of something.