“High school parents dig deep to give kids a home-field advantage With district strapped for cash, South Elgin High’s booster club has raised $500,000 to begin work on athletic stadium” Here is a great quote: “Cheryl Latsonas said the district had never had enough money for its daily operations, and she doubted that it ever…
Category: General Happenings
Blizzard of ’67: A Story
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Holtz said. “If I stop at the bottom of the hill, I don’t think I can get her moving again.” “She” was a school bus, and at the bottom of the hill was a “T” intersection. Usually, Mr. Holtz stopped there to let me off for home, but this particular afternoon he…
Blizzard of 1967
Recordings of the Blizzard of ’67 outside Chicago seem to be somewhat rare. This is actually a promo for a longer video showing Northwest Indiana in the aftermath. Link to the video at YouTube
Special Audit in Macoupin County
According to SJ-R.com, the Macoupin County Board has voted for a special audit of the county clerk’s office. The audit is aimed at determining if employees who no longer worked for the county have been allowed to stay on the county insurance plan and if the county has paid inaccurate amounts of payroll taxes to…
Rockford Approves Funds for Legal Second Opinions
Here’s an interesting nugget from a Rockford Register Star report: ROCKFORD — Aldermen have adjusted the 2011 spending plan that they approved last week to give themselves $50,000 to hire attorneys or consultants in the coming year. The idea, which was approved tonight with a vote of 8-5, stems from last summer’s bitter disagreement over…
Re-forming the League of Women Voters Locally
As expressed by many in attendance at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center for the DeKalb County Candidate Debate night, there is interest in re-forming a local League of Women Voters locally. For those who are not already members, please join through: http://www.lwvil.org/ and clicking the Join Us button. There will be a state-wide issues briefing…
Freeport May Get to Vote on Home Rule
Journal Standard: Census officials expect preliminary local results from the 2010 Census to surface in February or March of 2011. In Freeport, these results could push the population below a crucial threshold that determines whether the city qualifies as an automatic home-rule municipality. Freeport Corporation Counsel Sarah Griffin confirmed Thursday that the impending census results…
City Barbs Turns 5
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!
TN Homeowner Fails to Pay $75 Fee, so Firefighters Watch His House Burn
Firefighters watch as home burns to the ground: If you live on unincorporated land near South Fulton, Tennessee, and don’t pay a $75 per year fee to the city for fire protection, the firefighters are not allowed to save your burning house. What a terrible policy. Because of it, a neighboring house also caught fire.…
DeKalb Should Welcome Zombies
OK, I’m outing myself as a Halloween-o-phile. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple months. If we want to get NIU students, local teens and hip families downtown, DeKalb should host a zombie walk during Halloween weekend. Locate zombie headquarters at the Egyptian Theatre to tie into its Amenti Haunted House, and develop fabulous…