Five of the candidates for alderman had no disclosures to make (“N/A” for all items) on their Statements of Economic Interest (SEI). Three did, and the table lists them in the order they appear in a PDF file. Because I’ve shortened both disclosure item descriptions and explanations in the table, a sample of an original…
Tag: city council
Conflicts of Interest & the Tip of the Iceberg
Council’s affirmation of the mayor’s removal of John Guio from the Plan Commission for reasons of ethics comes as no surprise. I wonder, however, if any of the aldermen get that wife Sue Guio’s former position with the city presented more in the way of potential conflicts of interest than her place on the board…
Civic Campus Master Plan
Wow, they already have an architect involved: The Library is proceeding with their plans to purchase the Clinic properties. The School District has expressed interest in having its administrative office space relocated into downtown. Other governmental units may also have interest in a downtown presence. With what will become a sizeable amount of publicly owned…
Ethics in the City
City Council on Monday is set to decide whether the mayor’s removal of chair John Guio from the Plan Commission for an ethics violation is proper. You’ll have to excuse me for not believing the party line here. IMO this was a move based on politics, not ethics. Consider: — Another Plan Commission member, Vince…
Lunatic Fringe Pre-Meeting Open Thread at FB
I didn’t have a chance to post about tonight’s meeting agenda, but there’s a discussion started at the Facebook page for the Lunatic Fringe of DeKalb, IL. J.P. Salovesh has pulled out for comment two items from the Committee of the Whole agenda that are of particular interest.
Post-Meeting Open Thread
So, what did we learn from the latest Council meeting? We learned that, even though Fairview Drive residents have spoken at three meetings, made phone calls and sent letters and e-mail to them, one or more Council members perceived little opposition to forced annexation because the residents failed to arrive as an angry mob last…
About Last Night…
First, I want to give a shout-out to Misty Haji-Sheikh, who presented the findings of apparently self-initiated research into the likelihood and implications of a rail transfer station on the south side if the landfill expansion is approved. She recommends council anticipate these developments and put ordinances in place to protect us pronto. Thank you!…
Budget Fail
In a previous post, I listed perks that theoretically could be cut from the FY2011 budget. Car allowances, magazine subscriptions, dues to professional organizations, lunch reimbursements, and clothing allowances run into hundreds of thousands each year. (Sure, some of them are contractual — but did they even try to talk to the unions about them?)…
Gallagher Despairs of ‘Appeasing’ the Fairview 29
Two e-mails were forwarded to me today. The first is an appeal from one of the Fairview homeowners to be excluded from forced annexation. The second is 4th Ward Alderman Brendon Gallagher’s response. To: [City of DeKalb Council Members] Subject: Involuntary annexation 11 June 2010 Mr. Gallagher, Council and Mayor; I am writing to inform…
Strategic Planning Notes
Last month, Council and staff met at Ellwood House on a “retreat” to discuss the updating of the City of DeKalb’s strategic goals. One civilian showed up, and that person was John Salovesh, who graciously provided me with some of his notes. The delay in posting was partly due to work schedule constraints, partly to…