If you haven’t had a chance to sign the paper version, here’s another option. PETITION TO RESTORE THE OFFICE OF DEKALB CITY CLERK | Online Petition You are welcome to stop by at the Facebook Group, too. We have an event coming up Sunday. To communicate privately, email us at info@fixtheclerk.org Hit the “city clerk…
Category: City Watch
Illinois Statutes Versus DeKalb Municipal Code in the Matter of the City Clerk
Just yesterday, we were comparing the positions of city clerk as practiced in Sycamore and DeKalb. You can see from that post that Sycamore and DeKalb treat their city clerks very differently, though this was not true in the past. To continue the comparison: Sycamore’s municipal code follows the applicable Illinois statutes, while DeKalb’s differs…
Sycamore Versus DeKalb: Comparison of City Clerks
Once upon a time, City of Sycamore and City of DeKalb had duly elected, full-time city clerks. Sycamore still has one. DeKalb’s, however, was destroyed in 2013. Low compensation and transfer of powers to the city manager’s office have deprived us of elected clerks and clerk candidates ever since. Whatever the city thought it was…
No, Daily Chronicle. The DeKalb City Clerk has Not Received a Raise
The compensation ordinance that will apply to our next city clerk has NOT received final approval. So there is no, or at least not yet, a “hefty raise” for the clerk as claimed by the newspaper today. It was only first reading. They only reveal this fact in the final sentence of the article. The…
Council on Track to Deprive Us of Another Election
On Monday, the city council discussed the compensation ordinance that will go into effect upon installation of the city’s elected officers in May. This was just the first reading. Passage is expected during the regular council meeting on October 25. Council at this point is on track to continue to deprive us of another election…
DeKalb Council Will Discuss Compensation of Elected Officials Tonight
No closer than 180 days before newly-elected city officials take office next May, the city council must, per state law, set compensation for them via ordinances. This could happen tonight, at the next regular meeting, or possibly in early November if all else fails. Compensation is set now in order to help eliminate the conflict…
Questions Regarding Custody of City Seal & Handling of Documents
DeKalb city clerk Jenny Johnson does not know where the official seal of the city is located, or whether it is secure. We found this out last Saturday, when she held a meeting to inform citizens of her current role, and to gather information about what we envision for the future. A dozen citizens attended,…
Want Candidates for DeKalb City Clerk? The First Step is to Restore the Compensation
If you are a resident of City of DeKalb, this post is for you – especially if you voted in the General Election of 2012. DeKalb has an at-large city clerk elected by the people, despite at least two referendums over the past decade asking to switch to an appointed clerk. The latest question came…
DeKalb Mayor Vigorously Defends Council’s Breaking of Its Own Law
In a recent letter to the editor, Misty Haji-Sheikh asked — and answered — who is supposed to ensure that DeKalb ordinances are enforced. Why? Because she found out there is an ordinance that is not being enforced. The mayor, city manager and city attorney all have legal duties regarding ordinances. Since the ordinance 2015-30…
DeKalb Administrators Don’t Think it’s Their Job to Enforce the Electrical Aggregation Contract the City Signed
If you participate in the City of DeKalb’s electrical aggregation program — and about 5,800 electric customers in DeKalb do — your rates should have dropped as of July 1, but they didn’t. There are two disturbing elements of this story. One is that resident Mark Charvat began making inquiries about the rate change in…