Archive for November, 2011

Alderman, Do You Care to Share with the Rest of Us?

Author: yinn

Nov 30

Well, now, looky here:

Communications which pertain to the transaction of public business, and are sent or received on personal electronic devices during city council meetings or study sessions fall within the definition of “public records” under FOIA. In the interest of full disclosure to the public, denying the records would be inconsistent with the General Assembly’s intention in enacting FOIA. Additionally, the Attorney General noted that not requiring the city to produce the records would allow any public body to completely circumvent the requirements of FOIA by conducting public business on private equipment.

The binding opinion was issued by the Office of the Illinois Attorney General November 15.

It all started with a Freedom of Information request by a reporter with The News-Gazette who believed that Champaign city council members were receiving electronic comments during city meetings that affected “…their formulation of opinions and consequently their votes…”

Sound familiar? We all know a certain alderman who habitually texts during DeKalb council meetings.

Editorial on the AG’s opinion

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What I’m Reading

Author: yinn

Nov 29

Daily Chronicle: “Briscoe: Here’s Budget 101 for District 428″

The Stephenson Blumdoggle: “The State of Stephenson County: Delusional and Propagandized” (which is also about a budget. I recommend reading a bit further as well, at least to “A Justified Default on $5.5 million”).

Capitol Fax.com: “Joe Walsh Tells Candidate He’s Running in Another District”

Pro Publica: “Why a Federal Judge Trashed the SEC’s Settlement with Citigroup”

Bloomberg Businessweek.com: “Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks $13 Billion Undisclosed to Congress”

The New York Times: “Crisis in Europe Tightens Credit Across the Globe”

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IAFF Contract to be Voted on Tonight is Not Available for Online Perusal

Author: yinn

Nov 28

So get this, the notification of the agenda came out Friday and if you want to take a look at the 70-page contract proposal and tell your alderman what you think of it, you have to somehow squeeze in a visit to the city manager’s office before 6 p.m. this evening. It’s not a part of the agenda packet — or at least not the online one.

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The Housing Task Force, Its Surprise Consultant & Trust

Author: yinn

Nov 26

The last full meeting of DeKalb’s Safe/Quality Task Force was November 16 and I attended. A funny thing happened there. The meeting started out with members expressing dismay that the city had unilaterally brought in a consultant to work on some of the same issues the Task Force is addressing, namely property maintenance code enforcement issues. A member asked what was it about the Task Force’s work that was not satisfactory to the city council.

The mayor and city manager sprang into damage control mode. They said it was a recommendation of the city council, that the consultant was meant to work with the Task Force as a resource, and that the firm was “not yet hired” to craft actual ordinances.

None of these assertions is particularly true. Read the rest of this entry

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Find Illinois TIF Annual Reports Online

Author: yinn

Nov 21

The State of Illinois Comptroller’s Office has begun posting annual Tax Increment Financing (TIF) reports from FY2010 on. Go here and click on “View Submitted TIF Reports.”

You’ll find the City of DeKalb’s FY2010 report there so far. FY2011 should be along soon.

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Statement of Non-Retraction of District 428 Utilities Post

Author: yinn

Nov 19

A certain person has suggested I “correct” my posting called Sampling of Electric Bills, Old DHS and New, on the grounds that I got it wrong about why District 428 can’t pay its bills.

On the contrary, no correction is needed. Due to the small sample size and obvious adjustments made to one of the bills, I took pains NOT TO come to any conclusions.

No, the figures for the June charges and balance due for the new DHS were not accidentally transposed! There were significant downward adjustments made on that bill.

That is one reason why I am making no claims about the bill charges being particularly representative.

Yes, I did also say that I found the unpaid balances startling, but AGAIN: I drew no conclusion from it.

If this person were a member in good standing of the City Barbs community, I would invite him to post the ADDITIONAL information he’s found. Unfortunately, he was banned for life years ago and this kind of thing reinforces the decision.

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Filed under: General Happenings | Tagged as:

Winnebago Forest Preserve a “Good Ol’ Boys’ Club”?

Author: yinn

Nov 18

Chuck Sweeney of the Rockford Register Star is beginning to feel sorry he ever supported an elected Forest Preserve Board for Winnebago County.

First thing out of the box, [county employee and Forest Preserve Board Chair Randy] Olson supported pouring tax money into fixing up golf courses to the tune of $1.4 million. They’d always had always had [sic] to pay for themselves from players’ fees in the past. Golf, however, is a declining activity. Did you know the director of golf for the forest preserve district makes $90,000?

Then Olson engineered a deal with fellow Courthouse Party member Donald J. Gasparini, former sheriff, to buy Gasparini’s three fishing holes on 18 acres adjacent to the popular Four Lakes Forest Preserve. Never mind that the district has said for years that it didn’t have the money to buy new land, and that the Gasparini property has never been identified as land the district wanted to acquire. They took the $216,000 out of the Operations Fund! The priority should have been dredging Four Lakes, but never mind.

Now, Olson wants to postpone for a year the annual culling of deer at the forest preserves. Is this a result of a conservationist’s study of land use management? Oh, no. Randy Olson went to the Plug & Pellet shooting club recently and the hunters there suggested it. Not enough deer in the preserves, they said. So, if we let the deer build up their numbers for a year, there will be more to hunt next year!

Read the rest of this entry

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Comment on the Approval of the Library Expansion

Author: yinn

Nov 17

Library ShelvesPeople are starting to ask me why I’m against the DeKalb Public Library expansion.

I’m not against AN expansion of DPL. I’m against THIS expansion because I disapprove of secrecy, corrupted processes and the lack of proper public participation. I’m against letting the current library board, a group of proven lawbreakers, run the show.

Pick anything under the DeKalb Public Library tag at this blog for details, and check out DeKalb County Online for Mac’s view of the latest developments. This is about making sure government follows the rules, and creating a fuss when it’s not. Period. It always has been. Read the rest of this entry

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DeKalb’s Pension Rebound & Tax Games

Author: yinn

Nov 15

This is a belated response to a November 12 story in the Daily Chronicle, “Police, fire pensions reportedly on rebound”. Instead of posting here at the time, I sent a letter to the editor. Three days later I still haven’t heard back.

The article makes it clear the City of DeKalb Finance Division knew all along that the pension investment returns would rebound after the recession. How is it they never told us we could have waited out the shortfalls since they were temporary? Indeed, there was an incredible sense of urgency during the budget crisis years to the point where DeKalb decided it had to raise the property tax rate by five cents for FY2009, on top of all the other emergency rate and fee hikes.

Secondly, I want to know what our rate for tax year 2011 (payable in 2012) will be. According to the DC, the City of DeKalb says it will ask for the same levy as last year. Well, they said the same thing last year, and the tax rate went up four cents. Even if the exact rate isn’t yet calculable, we should not allow council to vote on the levy without discussing at least a ballpark figure.

Here’s where my missive probably became “unfit” for publication: I laid out the game. Read the rest of this entry

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Look What They Did with an Old KFC Building (with Bonus TIF Fun Fact & Gratuitous, Silly Poll)

Author: yinn

Nov 13

Abandoned about nine years, an old KFC restaurant in Loves Park reopened this month as “Coco Joe’s.”

Before that, the owner converted an old DQ building into the first Joe’s.

Perhaps we could entice these folks into taking a peek at our own abandoned KFC on South Fourth. The Loves Park location includes a fenced outdoor eating area, which they appear to have managed with nary a Tax Increment Financing Fund handout. South Fourth has not yet been sucked into the TIF vortex.

Bonus TIF Fun Fact: Read the rest of this entry

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