LaSalle Insider

While many of my golfing friends were still in bed this past saturday, I was awake and standing outside gate 0 at Soldier Field.  Let me explain.  It all started back in January of this year when my 25 year old niece was pointing out how I had gained a “few pounds” lately.  A few was putting it nicely.  It was closer to 35-40 to be exact.  She was still talking up the fact that she had competed in a half marathon in Chicago  last September.  

She proceeded to challenge me to run a race with her in the Spring which would require me to train and hence lose some weight.  Maybe it was the scotch I had consumed at this  family event or my pride but I decided to accept her offer.

Since that January day I have been monitoring my food and beverage intake as well as increasing my training. (from none to some).  We had originally decided on the Shamrock Shuffle which is run at the end of March. Its a 5 miler in Chicago with about 30,000 entrants.  When race day came we decided (along with the majority of the signed up runners) to not participate due to wind, blowing snow,slippery conditions, and COLD temps!

It was my niece Amy’s job to find another race later in the year for us to measure our running talents against one another.  She found  the Soldier Field event scheduled for this past Saturday.  The problem was that it was to be twice as long as the race I originally agreed to run with her.  Its officially called the SOLDIER FIELD 10 MILE.  It’s run on the Memorial Day weekend every year and starts and ends at Soldier Field.  You officially end the race on the 50 yard line in the stadium on the field.

We joined  7365 other runners along with some active service personnel in fatigues to step off at about 7:45 am.  The beginning of the race , as you can imagine, was slow due to a large crowd in a small space.  It did open up at about the 4 mile area and one could run at the pace of their choice.  I

I need an I.V.

thought my niece and her friend were being nice and running at my pace  to keep an eye on me in the event I “went down!”  After the halfway point I decided to pick up the pace and figured they would stay with me.  Well I guess the “old man showed em somthin!” because I finished about 7 1/2 minutes in front of them.  Don’t get to excited though…I finished 4504 out of 7365 at a pace of 9:48 per mile.  The overall winner ran it at a 5 minute mile pace and probably was eating breakfast while I was at the half way point!

Well those Ethiopians can run, I’ll give them that!

In all seriousness, it was a great time and great to know we were part of a race which honored active and veteran serviceman and women around the world.  We were told there were shadow races in Iraq and elsewhere where our people are serving.

I must take a moment to thank my niece Amy for pushing me to run with her and to help me realize that the toughest step is the first when it comes to

amy "The Motivator"

getting in shape!  And now , where did I put those flyers on the half marathons coming up this year…………

On Sat., June 6, 2009, the Better Fishing Association of Illinois will be hosting a Kid’s Fishing Tournament at Lock 14 on the Illinois Michigan Canal in LaSalle. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and fishing takes place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. This is a free event, and snacks, soda, and bait will be provided. Although I am pretty sure the bait is for the fish!

For more information you can click here to access a copy of the flyer for the event.
Kid’s Fishing Tournament Flyer

A few days ago the local paper ran a story about the dealings down in Springfield with regards to the budget talks and ending them before the Memorial Holiday.  Our esteemed local State Rep Frank Mautino was quoted as saying  something to the effect that the average tax payer doesn’t comprehend what a billion dollars is.  He went on the explain a 25% cut as someone who was making $40,000 a year being told next year they would make only $30,000.  While math was never my strong suit in school I really am tiring of  politicians thinking they have to simplify things so  the average person can understand.

The truth is our state law makers are the ones in need of a math class!

I think they are the ones who cannot grasp what a billion dollars represents.  They spend our tax dollars like drunken sailors (no offense fellas, after all the sailors are only spending their own dough!)  Taxes in our state and user fees (a cute way to hide the fact that they are also taxes) have continually gone up year after year and the deficit in our state has risen as well.  Does anyone think this tax increase will end the future increases?

Our state has become fodder for late night comedians because of the illegal actions and mismanagement of those we have elected.  We are the laughing stock of the country currently.  Now our recently impeached governor’s wife is entertaining the idea to go on a reality show because the former first family of the state is going broke!

I don’t want to cast a crooked shadow over all those current state office holders but do you recall when the now  former Governor was running for re-election any democrats saying no, stop, he ‘s a crook!!  

The cycle never ends and we as voters are responsible.  Remember  the old phrase ” You get the government you deserve!”  We need to rethink the way we choose our elected officials.   Let’s hold their feet to the fire and not buy into the emotional appeal they use to come after your wallets.  “If we don’t get a tax increase we will have to  (a) close schools, (b) cut child health care (c) close state parks (d) leave roads in disrepair…..BULL!

How about cutting elected officials perks first, the pensions,the .50 cents a mile payback versus .30 for those called to jury duty, the per diem for every day spent in Springfield, the extra pay for committee meetings, the office staffs payroll and housing, and on and on.  Why is the tax increase the first option and not the last resort for these lawmakers?

Finally Mr Mautino, spare me the math lesson.  The problem isn’t that we don’t understand the concept of a billion dollars it’s that you and your fellow lawmakers can’t stomach the idea of getting by with less…….

Ever wonder about water funding opportunities for your city or what rules the city has to meet in order to provide safe drinking water? The Around the Water Cooler show interviews Steve Heare, EPA’s director of drinking water protection, and gets the inside scoop on water funding and requirements:

This week the nation celebrates public works week and honors the accomplishments of those working in public works. The following video, produced by the American Public Works Association, helps explain what public works means to all of us. So as you drive our roads, or turn on the water, or put out your garbage for pickup, remember those folks taking care of these things so we don’t have to.

The Illinois Valley Center for Independent Living, IVCIL, is hosting a Wheel-a-thon on Sat., June 6, 2009, at 10 a.m. at Baker Lake in Peru. This fundraising event promotes community awareness and support for people with disabilities, while allowing people to try out their “wheeling skills” along an approximate one-mile route around Baker Lake in Peru.

Those interested in participating in the event can register by filling out the registration form here. Participants of any age with or without disabilities are welcome, and IVCIL will be providing wheel chairs and lunch to all participants. For more information, you can visit the IVCIL Wheel-a-thon Website.

I want to let everyone know that our very own “Oak Ridge Golf course” is sponsoring and hosting a 5K Race on June 13th. (Saturday).  Its the first race I have seen at Oak Ridge since I became a club member there in 1994.  It is scheduled to start at 6PM and is part of the Starved Rock Runners Road Race Circuit (Race #6) .  You can sign up on line at
www.runrace.net.    I am interested in this race because I have returned to jogging  recently in order to lose some weight and have found that I have  missed running the occasional race.  Plus I am running out of tee shirts and you always get good ones at these races.

I am challenging any of my fellow elected officials to join me in running this race!

I think it will be a great time and I am sure the post race buffet which is included will be delicious.

I don’t normally plug anything at this site but I have to tell you about Nike’s new (at least to me) venture with Apple’s iPod.  I run with my iPod and now I have an insert in my shoe which tracks my runs and records not only your time but distance and calories burned.  It talks to you as you run but doesn’t interrupt your music.  When you finish a run you can upload your info to a website which will track your progress and hook you up with runners around the world.  They also have training info which you can download to your iPod.  The attachment for your iPod is relatively cheap at about 30 bucks and I did have to buy a new pair of Nikes (only certain shoes have the cavity in the sole for the sensor) but I needed  a new pair anyway.  If this sounds like something you would like to check out go to nikeplus.com.

And by the way walkers would benefit from this item as well.

I look forward to seeing many of my fellow citizens on race day and hopefully a few elected officials as well. You can call Bob Rehn at (815) 882-2120 if you have any other questions about the race.

More and more of us are turning to the Internet to get our news and information. With Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, and even blogs like LaSalle Insider and Change for Peru, we can also have conversations online. And now local businesses are finding their way onto the Web. Which makes sense – after all, that’s where their existing and future customers are. A well-known and established LaSalle business, Machelle’s Backstreet, has set up a Facebook page and more recently started up a Twitter account.

Although people might think of Facebook and Twitter as a place where kids just hang out and talk, statistics tell a different story. A recent report by istrategylabs shows a 276.4% growth in the use of Facebook by those aged 35 to 54 years old. Those 55 and older showed a growth in use of 194.3%. And for Twitter, use studies show that the people signing up and using it the most are in the 25-to-54-year-old age bracket. So the bottom line is that everyone seems to be grabbing a keyboard, logging on, and joining in the conversation.

So kudos to you Machelle’s Backstreet for joining all of us online and helping to promote not only your business, but the city of LaSalle. And don’t forget everyone:

Click here & follow Machelle’s Backstreet on Twitter!

It appears by the conversation on the Change for  Peru blog that the subject of the PVAS  is a hot topic.  I have had the experience of negotiating over the years with the board for PVAS on trying to place an ambulance in the city of LaSalle at our fire station.  As most of you know, recently we were successful in having a staffed ambulance placed in our fire facility for a portion of each day.

I would like to take this opportunity to explain what I know about PVAS and its evolution over the years.  Former Mayor Baker once explained to me that the ambulance facility started with equipment that Peru had once owned therefore the city of Peru  decided in the original charter that its current mayor and two sitting alderman would make up the board.  The understanding was that they could oversee payment back to Peru for its original investment.  This was where the original problem started.  The confusing thing was that the operation was to be a stand alone non-profit organization which operated separately from the city of Peru.  It could and did contract with the cities of Peru,LaSalle and also the Dimmick area to offer ambulance coverage.  This would be similar to the private services used by cities such as Streator and suburban cities as well.  The problem stems in part with the name…Peru Volunteer Ambulance Service (PVAS). If this were the ”Red Star Ambulance Service” for example people would realize that it is a separate entity.  Add to the fact that the charter was never changed to allow for private citizens to man the board and we arrive at the conundrum we have today.  The city of Peru needs to either separate itself from the service or bring it totally under the control and ownership of the city.  This gray area is the cause for all the concern  we feel as citizens.

 I want to stress that  I feel the employees are doing a wonderful and professional job.  In conversations with our fire chief Andy Bacidore, he has stated that the arrangement we have with the employees who staff our ambulance are excellent.

I had a conversation with Mayor Harl shortly before the election concerning the PVAS and he assured me that the city would have to look into the current arrangement as far as how the board was currently constructed to see what , if any changes, he thought were necessary.

I honestly don’t know what would be better in the long run, whether city ownership or private ownership would be preferred.  I would leave that for their city council to discuss and decide.  I am sure that the current confused state of operation needs to be addressed for the betterment and clarification of all who work for and depend on the ambulance service.

One other note, the PVAS board did amend the charter to allow for representation from LaSalle on its board.  Currently Alderman Demes sits on the board and does  assist in the oversight of the bills which are paid.  The board meets every other Monday as far as I know.  I was asked to be that representative originally by then Mayor Washkowiak but I turned it down.  My feeling was that we were finally receiving services under a written contract or agreement, if you will, therefore we , as a city, did not need to be or should be on the board.  My reasoning is that we contract with our garbage hauler in LaSalle and we don’t demand a seat on their board so why would we require it from our ambulance  service.  If the contract is not followed we have options to correct or end that relationship.  I was out-voted and as a result LaSalle has more liability because of that board appointment.   I would like to see that changed as well.

I awoke early wednesday morning  to join the area’s mayors for a breakfast buffet at Mario’s Maples Supper Club hosted by IVAC.  The gathering was part of their ongoing breakfast seminars.  This was the last for the season and is usually well attended.  The topic was the “State of the Illinois Valley” and is  a forum for the local Mayors to give us their plans for their respective cities.  This year LaSalle, Peru, Spring Valley and Utica were represented.  All by their mayor’s with the exception of Spring Valley.  Newly elected Mayor Cliff Banks was off on a fishing trip.  I have to say that for the most part that the majority of the audience probably wished they were off fishing as well.

Spring Valley’s economic director, Deb Ladgenski did a very good job of entertaining the audience with a quiz she designed to point out how many of our lives in the Valley are impacted by the businesses located in her city. From St. Margaret’s Hospital to Walmart’s distribution center , the number of people connected to these two operations alone number in the thousands in the Illinois Valley.  It was an informative and  a well put together speech.

However it did little to give us  a view on the state of her city.   She was, however, the highpoint of the seminar.  Mayors Grove and Harl appeared to not be “ready for prime time”  Maybe it was the time of day (7:30AM) or the fact that they both have day jobs to deal with later but their talks left much to be desired.

First, Mayor Grove talked about Walmart being a good business partner in the area. Fair enough but we were looking for his thoughts on LaSalle’s current state and where he plans on taking this city in the coming years. His only contributions in that vain were that LaSalle would share equipment with the surrounding cities so as to lessen the costs of duplicating equipment used on part time basis and his continual plan to hire an economic director to bring businesses to LaSalle.

Mayor Harl told us about his daily schedule of arriving at city hall at 5:3oa.m.  leaving for his day job as a crane operator at 7:30 than returning to city hall around 3:00pm to work on city business till about 7:30pm.  He than tries to rest up to do the same thing the following day. He let us know that the job  of running Peru takes a lot of work.  Again no real insight on the plans for Peru’s immediate future.  Scotty, I love ya, but you had to know what you were getting into before you ran for the office.

Finally Mayor Esmond told us of how people in Utica don’t really like much change, which was the reason for his re-election as mayor.  I will give Mr. E credit though, he was the only area representative to tell us part of his plan for utica’s future.  He envisions a civic center north of Route 80 to host concerts and expositions, something on a line with McCormick Place but on a smaller scale.  This, if he can convince investors that “if they build it we will come!”

All in all, the strongest performance was probably the coffee which I consumed in large quantities to stay awake during the talks.

In all seriousness, I think what the attendees learned was that as far as LaSalle and Peru goes, we will have to go slowly with our new mayors until they fully comprehend the job at hand.  I think they are both realizing the job entails more than they originally thought.  Mayor Esmond is more comfortable in his position having been there for 8 years.  As far as Mayor Banks goes, I have not had the opportunity to see him in action yet but he has already had some challenges in his own way (see appointing a police chief).  

oh, and one last thing, I thought the eggs were great and the bacon I had was cooked just the way I like it, crispy!  Good job Mario…

Monday evening Mayor Grove addressed the LBA (LaSalle Business Assoc) and shared with them his vision for the future of LaSalle under his leadership.  Many of the alderman , including myself, were in attendance.  The mayor appeared a bit nervous with his first public appearance since his election.  He spoke approximately thirty minutes which was followed by a question and answer period of about thirty minutes as well. 

After letting us know his administrative appointments were to be the same personnel as the previous mayor’s with the exception of Pam Broviak who was not reappointed, he began to discuss his vision which is strongly dependent upon an economic director being added to the city’s payroll.

He expects that person to be the glue between the business community and the local government and assumes that he or she will be able to attract new businesses, write grants , and create an atmosphere downtown and elsewhere which will pull customers and new commerce to our city.

He intends to go after  downtown dilapidated building owners and demand that they clean up their buildings  so as to make them saleable in some cases, for others to create shops.  The LBA is selling murals for $150.00 which can be used to put in storefronts of empty buildings to hide the fact that  they are in disrepair.

He is going to direct his building inspector, Brian Maddox, to focus on rental properties which need attention and correction as well as directing our city attorney to “go after” deadbeat owners in court.

 Newly elected Alderman Boo Herndon commented that if we make an example of a few of these owners that others will see the city means business and they will address their properties  for fear they will be next in court.

Other issues such as no electricity to our historic lampposts on first street and the overall problems with downtown wiring were also brought up. The mayor promised to address these with Illinois Power Company

The downtown grant program for storefront renovation was mentioned by Reverend Tom Arnold.  He questioned if it still existed and was there any funding left.  Mayor Grove promised to look into that issue as well.

As public addresses go it was pretty standard. A lot of general thoughts but few specifics.  Yes we will have a new city website with each department contributing their ideas as to what is needed but no launch date set.  The mayor showed that as a manager he will welcome everyone’s ideas but as a leader there was not much in new direction.  Ways by which to fund these actions were not discussed, generally because no one really wants to discuss how much things  will cost the taxpayer, just how soon  these problems will  be dealt with.

All in all there was a good crowd, estimated at about 50 to 60 people in the visitor’s conference center.  I think most people left with the thought that they will wait and see what changes take place and at what costs.

Congratulations to LaSalle’s B & B Remodeling Softball team for receiving runner up trophies in the Max Lauritzen Annual Tourney. The team lost Monday night 14-6 to Peru’s Lori Janko Wilke team which boasts no losses for the season. The tournament began a couple weeks ago and included 20 teams from the local area. Games were played in Peru’s Sunset Park and Oglesby’s Memorial Park.

Other local little league information can be found at the League Web site.

(LaSalle Insider is looking for people who love local sports and are interested in posting game-related information on the LaSalle Insider. If interested in joining our community news site, just drop an e-mail to garry.schroeder@lasalleinsider.com.)

Today LP’s students and parents received notice from Dr. Craig Carter, L-P Superintendent, that a small piece of the spire architecture above the special ed north doors had fallen to the ground. “No one was hurt,” said Dr. Carter. “We immediately closed the entrance, notified our architect, and a local contractor will be making repairs early this morning. As a further safety precaution, the other spired entrances will be closed until they can be checked as well. ”

Those arriving today at the school were advised to use the west gym entrance doors.

Well by now you all are aware we have elected three new mayors in our communities. Jeff Grove in LaSalle, Scott Harl in Peru, and Cliff Banks in Spring Valley. There are those who wonder what caused this and are amazed that three cities with incumbent mayors running for re-election all are under new leadership.  To start with those gentlemen who won can send a note of thanks to our “hope and Change”  President Barack Obama.  Last Fall he created a firestorm which called for change from the status quo and away from the media hated George Bush even though old George wasn’t running. Credit must go to Barack’s campaign people because we bought what they were selling at the time. 

Add to that the fact that we are in a down economy (read recession) and the feel of the voting public was “throw the bums out” regardless of who the “bums” are.  The former mayor of Spring Valley was correct when he said ”its a tough time to be an incumbent running for reelection!”  Its to early to see if this feeling will carry over to next year’s elections (city of Oglesby and state offices) but unless we see a great  turnaround in our economy locally and statewide its a good bet there will be upsets again.

Please don’t get the wrong idea and think I am  dismissing the elections of our new mayors as a fluke.  I am merely pointing out the other factors that help create the “perfect storm” for these gentlemen.  It still took good campaigns and good ideas to get people to vote and  I applaud the work all of these candidates did to get out the vote.

I had the opportunity to talk to our Mayor Jeff Grove prior to taking the oath of office on Monday night and mentioned to him that soon he would be sworn in and then prepare to be sworn at  if the public thinks he’s not answering to their needs fast enough.  That’s the nature of politics . We all want quick fixes and instant answers.  Unfortunately that world doesn’t exist.

I look forward to working with our new mayor here in LaSalle and I join our surrounding communities in hoping for the best with their new mayors.  It may turn out to be a great opportunity for the Illinois Valley to come together and benefit from new leadership and ideas or we may see a change again in four years.  That’s the challenge for these men.  We wish them godspeed!