Saturday, January 18, 2014

Hot Mess on a RAMPAGE!!!!!!! If I Can't, Why can they?!!

Well, I mentioned before that I have some real life experience being on the other side of the system, and being a defendant.  Well, I will not go into details, but I was convicted of a felony (related to a big conspiracy case that did not involve me, but my actions during the time of the arrest of all the individuals on the indictment).  During the course of the whole "shabang," I had to sign many, many forms and waivers.  There were two rights that U.S. citizens have that my attorney and my probation officer made clear to me would be taken away.  One was the right to bear arms and the other was my right to vote.  Now, if you don't already know, Sister Hot Mess is very much into politics and government, our constitutional rights, etc. So, when it was heard that I could not vote anymore, she was outraged, yet the last election, when she went to vote, my name was still on the eligible voter list. It seemed odd because I was still on probation and clearly had signed away my right to vote on several of the many forms I had to sign through the whole course of that debacle.

Why do I bring this up?  What is my rampage and outrage for?  Well, Hot Mess Mom was browsing through the Chicago Tribune the other day and found the headline "Convicted felon fights to stay on county ballot."  We had just been discussing my right to vote earlier that day so Hot Mess Mom was totally confused as to why this convicted felon (who is still on parole for a prison term stemming from his role in rigging city hiring to benefit political foot soldiers under our former Mayor, Richard Daley) was able to not just vote, but run for a political office, when I had clearly been told that I did not have the right to vote any longer. Hot Mess Mom was quite confused, AND SO WAS I!!!!!!  Then, when Sister Hot Mess informed us that my name was still on the eligible voter list, I began to think.  If my name was still on the list, did that mean that other convicted felons were still listed?  And if they were still listed, were they violating the terms of our sentence by casting votes?  Does that mean that now we have to draw into question the amount of votes that were cast by felons and how much weight did their votes have in the election of those that currently hold public office?!!!!

I began searching through all of my paperwork to try and find copies of the forms that I had signed that had stated that I could no longer vote, and since this Hot Mess's room and filing system is in such disarray at the current moment, I'm still trying to find my documents.  So, maybe I have been mistaken all this time?  Or have we been allowing felons to commit yet another crime and then using their votes to help get certain officials into office.  Which then has me wondering, If this is true, then no wonder we have so much corruption.  A bold statement, I know, but today, my quest is to determine if I had given up my right to vote while just on probation or if it was for the rest of my life.  Some documents I I have already found state that the right to own or possess a firearm is taken away for MY LIFETIME.  I assume, and have been assuming, that it applied to my right to vote as well.

So, off I go on my search.  I left a link to an article in the Chicago Tribune about this debacle.  It says that state law allows convicted felons the right to serve on the County Board, however, based on everything I THOUGHT I had learned as a paralegal and in law school, if there is a conflict with a Federal law and a State law, the Federal law presides.  So, that to me would mean this individual would not have the right to run.

But, off I go to investigate and do some more research...... ah the joys of living in Chicago, land of corruption! :)  Never a dull moment though! lol

~Bipolar Hot Mess~


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-17/news/chi-hearing-officer-recommends-sanchez-be-thrown-off-ballot-20140116_1_ex-streets-sanitation-boss-sanchez

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