When it comes to theft of public money in Illinois, Rita Crundwell probably comes to mind for most folks in DeKalb. At one time, however, the name was Orville Enoch Hodge. Hodge, as Illinois auditor of public accounts, stole $6 million in 1950s dollars, the equivalent of about $57 million today – and he accomplished…
Taking away the city clerk’s role in checks and balances
Jumping off my last post and recent discussion of it, I want to share a little more of the context in which I currently attempt to function as city clerk in DeKalb. This time last year, I signed and sealed some contracts and all plats, ordinances, resolutions, and licenses. Hundreds of documents crossed my desk…
As DeKalb city clerk, I feel like a punching bag
***Update: Find discussion and comments in our Facebook group .*** When I read the other day the Daily Chronicle is still calling it a “rift” in describing what’s going on between the city manager’s office and me as city clerk, I realized I have to say more than I have before. It’s no longer a…
DeKalb Park District property transfer could use another look
DeKalb Park District (DPD) passed a resolution last summer to convey park property to City of DeKalb for its new city hall. The transfer has since occurred under an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the two. City of DeKalb paid DPD a dollar for the property known as the Nehring building. Possibly illegally by ignoring the…
Student Voting
During one of my rummages through emails obtained from FOIA requests, I stumbled across the National Study on Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) from Tufts University. This study combines enrollment data with voting records to determine the student voter turnout of participating campuses. Because of the controversy over the long line at the polls in…
Pardon the interruption…
I’m going to begin this blog post by pointing out that on the City Barbs group we don’t adhere to strict standards of civility. Instead, we try to permit heated moments in which citizens may vent their frustration at public officials. If a citizen is justifiably aggrieved, expressing their anger how they see fit helps…
Fixing the hiring spree
I’m still posting occasionally in the City Barbs Facebook group, and would like to share this item about DeKalb city council’s budget workshop Tuesday evening: Discussing elimination of positions as a budget-balancing measure. And here’s the memo.
Clerking and blogging
On Monday, unlikely as it may sound, DeKalb city council might vote to appoint me to the office of city clerk. No matter how it turns out, the fact remains that Mayor Jerry Smith has placed under consideration a person who can be a vocal critic of this administration. That takes a bit of nerve.…
DeKalb’s financial forecast through 2023
You need to know what that hole is, even if you can’t solve it right now. ~Larry Kujovich, Executive Partners, Inc., addressing the DeKalb city council on strategic planning (2013). Last week, DeKalb’s finance department shared an operating budget forecast through 2023 with the finance advisory committee. Having obtained a copy, I’ve created a graphic…
Five reasons to slow down expansion plans for DeKalb’s in-house administrative hearings
There’s city council support for a Committee of the Whole meeting to air issues with the city attorney’s project to expand the types of ordinance violations the city will hear in-house. I think the CoW is going to happen, and I’ll keep you posted. If so, it’s an excellent development, and shows council’s responsiveness to…