The (Peoria) Journal-Star reports that five elected officials of the central Illinois community of Sparland have resigned this month. The departing officials are Mayor Linda Medearis, Village Clerk Susan Persinger, Treasurer Margo Danger-Smith, and trustees Louis Lenz and Ralph McCasky. All have recently submitted notarized letters of resignation. […] The resignations come in the wake…
Attorneys as FOIA Exemptions
This is a follow up to “The Housing Task Force, Its Surprise Consultant & Trust”. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office of the Public Access Counselor notified me this week that its staff will review the denial of a related Freedom of Information Act request. As I mentioned in the comments section of the post, DeKalb…
Calling All Cluck Lovers
Want to know more about keeping chickens in the city? Join Hannah Dwyer at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship hall in DeKalb tonight. Ms. Dwyer has been shepherding a proposal through the legislative process to allow City of DeKalb residents to keep up to five hens for their eggs. City council has so far assigned the…
Opposition to New Police Station Location
Now that work has begun on the proposed police station site on Lincoln Highway, Northern Illinois University students have become aware what the city intends to build there. Some don’t like it. The most immediate issue is a station sitting across from the Center for Black Studies and NIU Resources for Women, and in particular…
Ivan’s 22 Myths About the Well-Being & Future of DeKalb
DeKalb native Ivan Krpan shared an unusual rant on Facebook yesterday. What’s unusual: it’s in the form of a list! Reprinted with permission and minimal editing. Ivan’s 22 Myths about DeKalb: 1. Lowered property values will translate to lower property taxes. 2. Mayor Povlsen and his city council are in control of city hall. 3.…
YMCA Reaching into DeKalb’s South Side
Pretty soon, “Y” members who live on the south side of DeKalb may no longer have to travel to the YMCA’s Bethany Road facilities for lap swims and cardio workouts. Our YMCA will be opening a NEW Y Site at the current Huntley Middle School location on at 1515 S. 4th Street in DeKalb! The…
ShoDeen Doing Things in Wrong Order
Before ShoDeen is given a nod for housing and commercial development on DeKalb’s northwest side, the company should tear down the homes it bought downtown and boarded up as (IMO) any local developer would have been made to do long ago. (Or were the comments about using the homes to prove “blight” for the formation…
Thoughts on Property and Sales Taxes in DeKalb, and Where We Go from Here
The City of DeKalb is close to setting its property tax levy for the year. It is requesting the same amount as last year. I read in the paper that 2nd Ward Alderman Tom Teresinski is saying we will pay the same amount in property taxes as last year because even though the rate will…
Alderman, Do You Care to Share with the Rest of Us?
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…
IAFF Contract to be Voted on Tonight is Not Available for Online Perusal
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…