"When all is said and done, the real citadel of strength of any community is in the hearts and minds and desires of those who dwell there." Everett M. Dirksen
"We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works." Douglas Adams
This is an unexpected turn that shows a staff willing to bring bad news to the public light. It would be nice if it’s always good news, but good news or bad news; what matters is that it’s accurate news so informed decisions can be made based on that accurate information.
Two items of note regarding budgeting and spending coming up for discussion at this week’s council workshop that reflect that mindset:
This is a google aerial view of 63rd and Leonard. On the south side is a Woodridge shopping center; a Target Greatland on the east, fronted by a small “mini strip”; with Dominick’s in the middle, fronted by a recently leveled and empty lot and a restaurant, and capped on the west end next to I-355 by a popular Thornton’s/McDonald’s. On the north side a quiet tree filled neighborhood that has existed unchanged for 40+ years.
There’s a light at Leonard so cars can get in and out of the shopping center, and in and out of the neighborhood. Bradford Realty LLC sees that traffic light as a green light to move businesses north into the residential neighbrhood.
This is the brochure created by the village for the search for a new Village Manager. It’s very nicely done, and appears to be prepared in advance of a nationwide search. Will we hire an outside agency to do the search? Can we just kick Acting Village Manager Dave Fieldman’s “Acting” off his title and get on with it? Anyone else hired has a steep learning curve.
He knows the current public agenda, staff knows him, etc.
P.S.- Note the zooty swooshy branding curves on the brochure. Who needs consultants!?
Compiled from the village budgets, and required standardized annual reports filed with the State Comptroller. These graphs represent select information, not everything. Trying to find “tells” of expenses for specific future purposes by going through the budget is all but impossible. Our budget reporting is not unique in being dense and difficult to understand; in fact DG does better than most communities. Someday it will be searchable, but that day is not now.
In parts 1 and 2 you should have gotten a crystal clear understanding that safety and red light cameras, RLC, are not connected. Communities are removing them as others are putting them in. The ones that are pulling them out are doing so because the facts and evidence don’t support the claim that RLC make people safer.
I was up in Madison WI this week on business. I think the City Motto is “The USSR may have fallen but Madison marches on”. They’ve been on the west edge of where WI has been getting hammered by stormwater this spring, and the lakes are just about over their banks.
Being the state capital may help, but they seem to be a leg up on stormwater solutions too, and it has definitely helped.
The insurance industry, and the Red Light Camera (RLC) suppliers them selves lobby hard and long to get RLC put up wherever they can. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a front 100% funded by insurance companies, puts out reports that purport to show how RLC increase safety at intersections.
It ain’t about safety. RLC actually contribute to more accidents and more injuries.
This is a spy red light camera. It takes pictures of cars that run red lights. Take a good look, and start taking a look around.
Illinois’ state lawmakers voted in 2006 to allow the devices, and the move toward red-light cameras has been gaining momentum ever since.
At the June 17th council meeting, commissioners asked for preliminary information from staff about red light cameras. Commissioners cautioned that this was just a first look, just asking for information from staff, as if anticipating resident backlash.
Yes I would and yes I am. And don’t forget about the benefit concert for the Blodgett House on the evening June 26th. “Let’s put the heritage back into Heritage Festival.”
Gee, would you ever guess that I am also the Chair of the Community Events Commission?
Read the comprehensive cold weather report on Portland Cement Pervious Concrete Performance. If you don’t want to wade through 70+ pages, short form: works great. Around here, it doesn’t eliminate the need for detention/retention, but it would significantly reduce runoff we continue building into our village now-despite knowing how much fixing the problem costs us later.
Tonight council approved sweeping simplifications to the traffic calming ordinances and to the processes residents must go through to get village help in their neighborhoods; help to combat drivers that drive too fast down residential streets.
Unlike the recent updating of ordinances, definitions, and language undertaken singly by the Planning Department, Acting Village Manager Dave Fieldman and Assistant Village Manager Mike Baker, along with Interim Public Works Director Robin Weaver and her department, the Planning Department, Police Department, Village Attorney Enza Petrarca, and others, all huddled around a whiteboard and hashed it out.
DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom showed a bit of why it is good to be king, and how he can help the cities and villages of the county. It was King Bob that called the meeting before the ICC meeting to hash it out with local pols, IDOT Secretary Milt Sees, DG key players, and pulled everything together for Sec. Sees to make the final commitment.
Having done all the legwork diligently for so many years, and being a project ready to go didn’t hurt, but it serves as a reminder of the power wielded by a county board chair.
John H. Pearce, a Naperville resident since 1965, died June 9, 2008 at Edward Hospital. Born Aug. 21, 1927 in Terre Haute, IN. He is survived by his wife, Elvina; a brother, Frank G. Pearce of El Macero, CA; and eight nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Irene Pearce; a brother, Milton Pearce; and two sisters, Genevieve McWilliams and Dorothy Shea. A memorial visitation celebrating John’s life will be held on Friday, June 13, 5 until 9 p.m. at the Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill, Naperville. In lieu of flowers, memorials in John’s honor may be made to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, 4000 Highway M-137, Interlochen, MI 49643. For info, 630-355-0213.
Council Commissioner Geoff Neustadt just called me.
“Plan B” worked!
In a meeting earlier today, members of the ICC, METRA, IDOT, county and DG, along with elected local downstate officials (don’t know who yet) sat down and IDOT hashed it out fast and sweet. They have almost all the cash, they want the project turning dirt ASAP, they are in. The balance, maybe $200,000 will be coughed up a bit here and there by other parties.
Update: IDOT ponies up the full funding. $8.3 million was what the parties figured as the actual gap.
After 10 years of effort, finally the work can begin.
Last night Mayor Sandack announced the Belmont Underpass Plan B, where he and AVM Fieldman and VA Petrarca will try and assemble area elected officials from the IL house and senate (Dillard Pihos, Bellock, maybe others), county officials (Schillerstrom and staff, and maybe our county board members from 2&3), as well as officials and staff from IDOT to try and hash out the extra $8.5 million needed to start construction on the Belmont Underpass.
“You, Meat, are a small minded, vanilla village idiot.”, says IReadItInDG vol 8, featuring puppet-on-puppet insults, and puppet-on-daughter-of-puppet bashing. And I’m not quite right about some things. I am thinking they picked on the wrong puppet taking shots at Meat and his daughter…
Green roofs limit storm water run-off. If DG is to make a difference in how much stormwater we have that runs off, we will need to address things like this. From The Changing World of Stormwater Technology, by Dan Rafter, this report of a comparative testing of green roofs to determine the optimum design.
“Pounding it out”, is an old football phrase that means little by little, bit by bit getting somewhere. No big flash or sizzle, just nose to the grindstone three yards and a cloud of dust stuff. It seems Tom Dabareiner, Director of Community Development has harnessed some talented staff and is making some significant improvements due to their process of pounding it out and, as a direct result, our village is benefiting.
This is a google aerial view of 63rd and Leonard. On the south side is a Woodridge shopping center; a Target Greatland on the east, fronted by a small “mini strip”; with Dominick’s in the middle, fronted by a recently leveled and empty lot and a restaurant, and capped on the west end next to I-355 by a popular Thornton’s/McDonald’s. On the north side a quiet tree filled neighborhood that has existed unchanged for 40+ years.
In parts 1 and 2 you should have gotten a crystal clear understanding that safety and red light cameras, RLC, are not connected. Communities are removing them as others are putting them in. The ones that are pulling them out are doing so because the facts and evidence don’t support the claim that RLC make people safer.
I was up in Madison WI this week on business. I think the City Motto is “The USSR may have fallen but Madison marches on”. They’ve been on the west edge of where WI has been getting hammered by stormwater this spring, and the lakes are just about over their banks.
The insurance industry, and the Red Light Camera (RLC) suppliers them selves lobby hard and long to get RLC put up wherever they can. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a front 100% funded by insurance companies, puts out reports that purport to show how RLC increase safety at intersections.
This is a 
Tonight council approved sweeping 
Last night Mayor Sandack announced the Belmont Underpass Plan B, where he and AVM Fieldman and VA Petrarca will try and assemble area elected officials from the IL house and senate (Dillard Pihos, Bellock, maybe others), county officials (Schillerstrom and staff, and maybe our county board members from 2&3), as well as officials and staff from IDOT to try and hash out the extra $8.5 million needed to start construction on the Belmont Underpass.
Green roofs limit storm water run-off. If DG is to make a difference in how much stormwater we have that runs off, we will need to address things like this. From 
“Pounding it out”, is an old football phrase that means little by little, bit by bit getting somewhere. No big flash or sizzle, just nose to the grindstone three yards and a cloud of dust stuff. It seems Tom Dabareiner, Director of 