The (Munster) Times. October 25, 2018
Slager is clear choice for Indiana House seat
Nearly any Region lawmaker garnering $400 million in transformative investment for his or her district over two legislative sessions deserves a nod at the polls to continue serving.
Add in the authoring of a law that is paying dividends in fighting local government waste and corruption, and Indiana House Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, gets The Times Editorial Board’s strong endorsement in the upcoming November election.
Voters in the 15th Indiana House District - which includes Schererville, Dyer, St. John Township and portions of St. John and Griffith - are fortunate to have two articulate candidates in incumbent Slager and Democratic opponent Chris Chyung.
Chyung, 25, of Dyer, should be seen as a promising emerging voice in Region politics, with a bent toward attracting more millennials to live and work in Northwest Indiana. Chyung is a strong supporter, for example, of South Shore Line commuter rail development that can attract younger residents, who seek quality-of-life transportation amenities.
Chyung also shows bipartisan qualities, supporting Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s push for vocational training that meets the labor demands of Indiana employers.
But Slager already backs such plans as well, and he’s a proven force in steering state investment and respect to Northwest Indiana.
Slager championed the bills that provide state matching funds for the South Shore Line commuter rail extension from Hammond to Dyer and double-tracking from Gary to Michigan City to speed commutes. He backed up those measures with another successful bill that creates important development tools for economic development near commuter tracks and stations.
Slager also was central to securing the needed state funds to build a new life sciences building at Purdue University Northwest in Hammond, providing a game changer for Region higher education.
In 2012, early in Slager’s legislative career, he championed the law that allows state municipalities to secede from the wasteful structures of township government units when those townships have exorbitantly high poor-relief tax rates.
Griffith voters just took advantage of that law in September, electing to secede from the generations of government corruption and waste in Calumet Township.
The vote in favor of seceding was a landslide of 3,290 to 70, and Slager is to thank for making it possible.
We hope Chyung reapplies his fresh ideas and respectful demeanor to the pursuit of other government offices in the future.
But voters in the 15th District have a clear choice in the November polls.
That choice is Slager.
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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. October 25, 2018
Still time to go
Confirmation of Hill’s boorishness bolsters case for his resignation
Special Prosecutor Dan Sigler has concluded Attorney General Curtis Hill inappropriately touched four women at an Indianapolis bar on March 15, but also that Hill’s conduct did not rise to a criminal level. The announcement Tuesday prompted Hill’s defense attorney to claim his client was “exonerated and absolved of any factual and legal criminal behavior.”
On the contrary, Sigler’s report and another by Indiana Inspector General Lori Torres validate the charges. They affirm unacceptable behavior by the state’s top law enforcement official. As we wrote in July, Hill should resign.
High-ranking state officials agree.
“Hoosiers expect better from the people they elect to represent them in state government, especially when the individual involved is the chief law enforcement officer for the state of Indiana,” said Senate President Pro Tem David Long in a statement Tuesday, repeating an earlier call for Hill’s resignation.
Gov. Eric Holcomb took an equally strong position: “I said I believed the women who stepped forward to report sexual harassment by the Indiana attorney general. The special prosecutor agreed and said, ’I have accepted the victim statements as true.’
“The findings show a disregard of the executive branch zero tolerance harassment policy. My position has not changed,” Holcomb wrote with reference to his own call for Hill’s resignation.
The report from the inspector general’s office is damning evidence of Hill’s behavior. From receipts detailing the drinks lobbyists purchased for the attorney general, we know he drank wine, martinis and Fireball whiskey at the post-legislative session gathering. Witnesses said his speech was slurred, he had trouble standing and was “glassy-eyed.” One described him as “acting like a freshman at a college frat party.” Torres said witnesses described Hill’s behavior as inappropriate, unwelcome and “creepy.”
“All but one of the women who alleged Hill inappropriately touched them were in their 20s and new in their careers. This demonstrates the disparate power, influence, authority, and age that existed between Hill and the women who made allegations against him,” stated the report.
“The public and others will judge whether the evidence in this case disqualifies Hill from holding elected office in the future.”
The courts could have some say in the attorney general’s future. Shortly after the special prosecutor’s announcement, the four women who accused Hill of groping them gathered with an attorney to announce they will file a civil suit, alleging discrimination, retaliation and intimidation.
Three Democratic lawmakers have said they will proceed with an impeachment resolution, but it’s unclear whether the Indiana Constitution provides for the attorney general’s removal from office, as his position is not listed with other state offices included in the impeachment provision. The state court’s code of professional conduct might allow for removal from office if Hill was found to have violated it, according to the Associated Press.
Sigler, the special prosecutor, afforded the attorney general special treatment in allowing him to submit a video statement.
“There are choices - you could send a couple (of) detectives in there and interview him, and he might talk to them and he might not,” Sigler said. “I just decided I wanted to be respectful of him and his position.”
Hill should show respect to the office as well. His behavior last March might not rise to the level of criminal conduct by Indiana statute, but it was not in keeping with standards Hoosiers expect from their elected officials. He should resign.
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South Bend Tribune. October 26, 2018
All signs point to a mess in St. Joseph County government
Taxpayers are on the hook for the mess that resulted in St. Joseph County paying nearly $200,000 for logo design work and the installation of signs at various locations. But beyond the hefty price tag, there’s plenty of room to question the process behind the project, which is about $50,000 over budget at last count.
There’s the approval of a contract that went to a firm where the brother of a county official is a director. Although the official says he informed the county commissioners of the connection before the firm was hired, board President Andy Kostielney says he “does not remember” and Deb Fleming says she isn’t sure.
There’s the failure to get proper, formal approval for change orders as the costs climbed.
There are the reasons why the sign project climbed 50 percent over the budget. Among them: A change order for $26,000 that went for “add-ons” at the courthouses, including name plates for judges.
There’s also an accidental overpayment of about $45,000 made by the county auditor’s office in December to Site Enhancement Services, the firm hired for the sign project. The county was reimbursed after the error was caught.
And as The Tribune reported earlier this month, there’s the lawsuit filed against the county by Naissance Inc., the firm hired to work on the county’s logo, saying it is still owed $6,000.
Bill Schalliol, the county’s economic development director, acknowledges he made a mistake in failing to get formal approval for change orders, but there’s plenty of blame to go around for this boondoggle. Schalliol says that he informed two of the three-member Board of Commissioners - Kostielney and Fleming - about the change orders; Dave Thomas, the lone commissioner who voted against the project, was not.
According to Schalliol, when there were change orders, he would “talk to Deb or Andy and say, ’Hey, we’re going to need some additional money’ and they said ’If you can find some, get it done.”
“Get it done” is a whole lot easier than formally approving the change with the entire board present. But it’s hardly the way public officials should operate when they’re doing the public’s business - with the public’s money.
For his part, Kostielney says Schalliol discussed only two change orders with him. When it comes to informally approving such actions, that’s two change orders too many. He also says he wasn’t aware the sign project was 50 percent over budget.
County auditor Mike Hamann told The Tribune that nothing illegal was done. Schalliol explained that bids don’t need to be sought for “professional services contracts” like the logo and signs contracts. So nothing to see here, right?
On the contrary, there’s enough to generate taxpayer outrage in this story of two modest projects that kept growing, far out of public sight. And Kostielney and Fleming, members of the county’s executive branch charged with oversight, failed in those duties.
The Tribune Editorial Board last week endorsed Kostielney in his race for re-election, saying he can “still provide strong, even-handed leadership.” That was before Tribune reporter Ted Booker had gathered all the facts on the logo/sign story. Kostielney still has the experience and knowledge to serve county residents well. He should have used that experience and knowledge in this case.
When it came to the sign project, there was no strong leadership from several county leaders. There was a collective failure of oversight and accountability.
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(Terre Haute) Tribune-Star. October 28, 2018
Museum will help community celebrate Larry Bird and ISU
The positive impact of Indiana State University on Terre Haute will be exemplified in the new Larry Bird museum.
Plans for constructing a museum filled with memorabilia from the Sycamore legend’s storied career were announced last weekend. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb unveiled the plan at an annual barn party hosted by Terre Haute businessman Greg Gibson and attended by local officials involved in the project such as Mayor Duke Bennett, state Sen. Jon Ford, members of the Capital Improvement Board, current county commissioners (all of whom will have seats on the CIB next year) and others.
It would be housed inside the new convention center downtown. Construction is expected to begin in spring and take two years to complete.
Bird’s life story will be the museum’s theme, from his boyhood years in French Lick, leading ISU to the NCAA Final Four in 1979, a Naismith Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics and coaching his home-state Indiana Pacers to the club’s only NBA Final appearance in 2000. It will be the only museum sanctioned by Bird himself.
The planned exhibit “symbolizes what being a Hoosier is all about - hard work, determination and striving to be the best,” Holcomb said at the party. “And to have that in Terre Haute, that’s just a match made in heaven. I can’t wait to see it.”
Obviously, Terre Haute looms large in Bird’s personal history, even alongside other places he’s lived, such as French Lick, Indianapolis and Boston. The museum is happening through a network of efforts within his college hometown, especially those of Gibson, a longtime friend of Bird. A 1-percent food and beverage tax in Vigo County got approvals earlier this year from the Indiana Legislature and County Council, and will fund the convention center, the museum’s base. The most significant thank-you must go to the people who dine at local restaurants and pay that tax and also supply other public funding for the convention center.
The result of those efforts will be a museum capable of attracting visitors from around the world to downtown Terre Haute. Bird’s legacy and mementos from it could persuade people elsewhere to choose Terre Haute for a convention, a day trip or a weekend stay to see ISU basketball or a concert at nearby Hulman Center, or other events around the county. The community must thank Bird for that benefit, created through his long hours of practice and commitment in becoming one of the best players in history. His name remains synonymous with excellence a quarter-century after he last suited up for a game.
What must not be forgotten is the only reason Bird came to Terre Haute in the first place - ISU. The university’s coaches gave Bird a second chance at college basketball after he decided the much larger Indiana University did not fit him. Bird delivered with three unforgettable seasons and a once-unimaginable No. 1 ranking. He also passed up a lucrative offer to turn pro early and finished his ISU degree. The statue of Bird standing outside Hulman Center features a plaque that aptly includes the phrase “a 1979 graduate of Indiana State University.”
ISU brings nearly 13,000 young, hopeful people to Terre Haute every year. Many are the first in their families to attend college. Many decide to live, work and raise families in Indiana, including the home of their alma mater, Terre Haute. They bolster the local workforce, teach our children, volunteer and support the economy. Larry Bird and the planned museum not only commemorate his basketball exploits, but also represent the life-changing potential of a choice to become a Sycamore student and a Hautean.
Clearly, Terre Haute still benefits from Bird having made that choice.
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