LaSalle Insider

Who Needs A Council?

So let me see if I got this right....the mayor meets a former alderman/friend in a bar and between them they decide to create a handshake deal to rent a building to store expensive city equipment and the mayor thinks no written agreement needs to be created.  He then has no discussion with the council about this arrangement and instructs his comptroller to issue checks to Terry Mack with no explanation on the billing. This "deal" goes on from October until April and no one on the council is made aware of it by anyone within the city operations.  The only ...

Here’s Something That” Bugs” Me…

This past monday at our council meeting we were treated with a presentation from the Illinois department of Agriculture with an assist from the United States Department of Agriculture.  It centered on the  Emerald Ash Borer, an insect apparently out to kill every Ash tree it can sink its teeth in.  Now I appreciate trees as much as the next person but the presentation really woke me up to how much tax money we spend on issues which are not of central importance in today's economy. Let me explain...we received before the presentation 22 pieces of literature about the insect.  I ...

ODDS AND ENDS…

Am I the only person who is a little skeptical about the potential change for our local schools as far as an early dismissal time for students once a week.  The board indicates that this will be beneficial for the students in some way.  They may be right but at first blush I find it hard to believe that less classroom time equals a better education. I need some more convincing....how about you? Monday brings another council meeting where the subject of water in the streets of Oak Ridge will certainly be discussed. I hope we have a good discussion and ...

Water, Water,Everywhere (update)

I can't believe I first wrote about this problem back in June of last year.  At that time we were commissioning a study to try and determine the cause and possible solutions for these homeowners.  Not much has changed since that date as far as correcting things but much conversation has been had by all.  Lets talk about some realities we have discovered: 1) The City is not and has not been at fault for this issue. 2) The original goal of the City was to try and find away to rid the street of sump pump water which has been present ...

NO Quick Fix….

It appears that the article on crime in LaSalle titled"LaSalle officials respond to recent shooting" in the News Tribune on February 4th has created quite a conversation on the paper's blog. While I don't participate on that blog I do occasionally check out the most commented stories list.  There are points that our Mayor brought up that I agree with in that the problem is not limited to LaSalle and that we need aggressive policing action.  I also understand the public's anger when they report an activity and it goes unchecked. I also believe that some of this activity is gang ...

Oil Field Math

I received this story a few days ago and thought today would be a good day to share it especially because the President's State of the Union address will be on this evening.  With all that I am sure he will promise to the American people to fix our bad economy and right "our ship!" I think this story will give all of us a reason to pause and reflect....Its entitled "Oil Field Math" > > > Working in the oilfield with others such as myself and a > wealth of combined experience > we understand the accuracy of the following. > > > Think of it ...