Archive for November, 2010

Hope. Haven.

Author: yinn

Nov 8

A particular decade, its struggles, its troubles, and how the challenges were met can define a generation. From the Great Depression you hear stories about how small businesses cut pay just so they could keep everyone on as long as possible.

So now we are in the midst of the greatest recession since the Great Depression, and I can’t help but believe that there are a few true defining moments, and that the decision about whether or not to allow our only homeless shelter to expand is one of DeKalb’s. Hope Haven’s management is excellent, its plan sound. HH is not asking for any handouts from the city. The only question left is whether DeKalb takes care of its own in the clutch.

0 Comments
Filed under: Council/City Watch | Tagged as:

District 428 FOIA Officer

Author: yinn

Nov 7

You know, seriously, not to beat a dead horse here, but I have a proposal for a contest. Using the District 428 website (dist428.org), look up the FOIA officer and then find her e-mail address. Keep track of how many pages you have to visit in order to get to this information.

Good luck! When I prepared my FOIA request today, I ended up sending it via snail mail, which was not my preference.

1 Comment
Filed under: Dist 428 | Tagged as:

City Barbs Turns 5

Author: yinn

Nov 6

Most blogs don’t last a year, but we’ve been here five as of today, tallying over 700 posts and nearly 4,000 comments.

Many thanks to CB contributors, whether you write for us or read us or send background, tips and juicy rumors to follow!

1 Comment
Filed under: General Happenings | Tagged as:

Housing Task Force?

Author: yinn

Nov 6

The Daily Chronicle reports on the mayor’s formation of a housing task force:

The Task Force for Safe and Quality Housing will ensure that housing units in the area are up to code and safe to occupy, Povlsen said. It is important that the city make public safety a high priority, he said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

It’s sad we need this, having a paid code enforcement crew. I’m wondering if it’s a back door attempt at reintroducing the unconstitutional yet temptingly dollar-riffic Rental Inspection Program.

The plan is also inconsistent with other stated objectives. We were told a few months ago that several committees and commissions were to be eliminated or consolidated as a means to save money. How is that project coming?

Lastly, it’s breathtakingly hypocritical for the city to talk about public safety as a top priority as long as the Council continues to smear lipstick on the downtown despite likely first responder layoffs come January, and tolerates the riven strands in the local social safety net.

1 Comment
Filed under: Council/City Watch, First Responders | Tagged as:

NIU Election Judge Report, General Election 2010

Author: yinn

Nov 3

As some of you know, I’ve been an election judge for several years at the NIU Recreation Center, which serves four student precincts in one polling place.

Let’s start with the student early voting at the Student Center, though. In the papers it said about 300 students voted there across four days in October.

That’s not bad I guess, but since the DeKalb County Clerk had to buy more machines to fulfill the requirement, to the tune of $20,000, that’s about $66 per vote even without including staff time. I’m comfortable calculating it this way because the expense might be a one-time expense. It was an experiment, you see. They may not use these machines again. Read the rest of this entry

0 Comments
Filed under: Community Resources, County Watch, Political Campaigns
« Go Back