*Update: Final list of candidates is here.* In the article, “DeKalb County Certifies Preliminary Ballot,” the county clerk stated that there are about six people who have filed as write-in candidates in April’s Consolidated Election so far. As of 9:30 a.m. today there were indeed exactly six: Michael Franckowiak – Genoa Park Board Veronica Bruhl…
Category: Honor Roll
A Visit to DeKalb County’s New Website
DeKalb County put its new website online this week. The county says the overhaul was not made in response to the Illinois Policy Institute’s recent grade of D-, but has been in the works for about a year. DeKalb County has put lots online for quite some time, but finding it or even getting a…
Website Transparency Standouts
The Illinois Policy Institute recently re-tested government website transparency in DuPage County’s York Township and released results last week. Dubbed “The Local Transparency Project,” grades are based on the availability to the public of vital community information such as public meeting schedules, government employee salaries and tax rates. Since the project was launched by the…
Rockford Rejects Collection of Fee for Electrical Aggregation
Rockford Register Star asked the question: When it comes to municipal electrical aggregation, what’s in it for the city? City brokers deal with other municipalities, lands nearly $20 million in savings for area customers, hands over thousands of accounts and gets nothing in return? Rockford’s Central Services Manager Carrie Eklund says that’s exactly what the…
Alorton & Open Meetings Act Do-Overs
Back in February I alerted you to the resignation of the mayor of Alorton, because it seemed the investigation and scandal had something to do with Tax Increment Financing (TIF). Turns out it had little if anything to do with TIF and a lot to do with shakedowns at traffic stops. Now Alorton is back…
Northern Illinois Food Bank a “Slam Dunk”
Charity Navigator loves it some “top 10” lists, among them a listing of “10 Slam-Dunk Charities” that the organization rates tops for sound financial management and for having privacy policies in place. Northern Illinois Food Bank has earned a place on this list. Congrats!
Town Council Meeting Protocol Statement
It has been brought to my attention that the Town Council of Fairfax, California, follows a meeting protocol that is printed on every regular meeting agenda and recited at each meeting as faithfully as the Pledge of Allegiance. Long story short, a Fairfax Council member recently viewed portions of a DeKalb City Council meeting on…
For Genoa
Genoa is getting many things right, putting community togetherness, generous donations, and volunteering as priorities. This is for Genoa:
A Call for ‘Ethical Capitalism’
In 2004 — just about the zenith of the “greed is good” decades-long Wall Street feeding frenzy — Cambridge economist Noreen Hertz published The Debt Threat: How debt is destroying the developing world…and threatening us all. Here’s a great article about her experiences. Since the early 90s she’s been often ignored and sometimes attacked for…
Gallagher’s Got Some News
[Update 11/4: The Plan Commission closed the public hearing last Wednesday but will consider the matter at its next meeting, which they’ve reset to November 18 to avoid meeting on Veterans Day. Says the city’s acting planner Sue Guio: A primary reason for postponing action was to allow Staff time to research whether the product…