LaSalle Insider

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 also received a nice pen,a magnetized  sticker,and a cloth carrying bag.  All material was printed in color and high gloss paper for the most part.  They included a nice green folder to carry all the information.

Add to the fact we had two people presenting who I am sure were on the payroll clock and you begin to see my point.  I am not blaming the employees here as I understand its their job to sound this alarm about this insect, but the cost of all of this has to be in the hundreds of thousands before its all finished.  There  is a web site for the insect as well and webinars people can view.

With a State in a 13 billion dollar hole and a federal government with a 2 trillion dollar deficit, isn’t it time we cut back on programs which are not vitally necessary to our daily lives?

Its time we furlough some State and Federal  employees and shut down some offices until we get our fiscal house in order.  Government has never  not found a way to spend every tax dollar we send them.  And currently they are spending dollars they don’t have.   The talk is to raise the State income tax rate to 5% from 3% and add another dollar tax to cigarettes.

You seniors will be paying regular payroll taxes on your social security  checks as well if they get their way….

And this is only the State changes….we haven’t even seen what changes there will be on the federal tax levels yet.  Isn’t it time we really made an effort to reel in all of this government we have created ?

On one of the fliers they refer to the Emerald Ash Borer as the “Green Menace”…I think the real “Green Menace” is government and how much green they are going through without our consent.  At the rate they are spending we will be out of money long before we are out of ash trees..what do you think?

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 make some headway  for a  problem that has been going on for far too long.  If you are one of the affected ones please bring a solution you think will work…and don’t forget to figure in the costs as well as how it will/should be paid for.

Former Speaker of the House, Denny Hastert (Illinois’s own) made the papers this week because it was shown that he has spent close to a millions dollars of taxpayers money on his office and staff in Yorkville. This while winding down from his government job and at the same time being a lobbyist (paid) for Turkey and Luxembourg.  Does this seem wrong to you as well?

Lets not forget to get our hankies out for former Governor Ryan who is asking for an early release from prison due to his wife’s lung illness.  I hope President Obama thinks about the investigation that the then Governor stopped into the deaths of those six children  who may have died due to bribes in the license scandal before he decides.

And finally don’t forget to look at the billboard on Rt 251 as you go north from the mall.  I think most of us would probably say yes at this point…

Love to hear your thoughts…..

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 24 hours a day.

3) The estimates from contractors who have submitted bids have been more than double what our city engineer had projected. (over $160,000!)

4) The City is not in any financial shape to take on this type of costs at this time .

So where do we go from here?  The committee meeting scheduled for February 16th (tuesday) has been canceled. We have no new information to discuss at this meeting at this time.  The city has decided to wait until our next scheduled Council meeting on February 22nd to take up this matter again. I have listened to many of you about what you think caused this and who is at fault but the reality is that if we want this issue to be resolved it will end up costing money for all the landowners involved.  This may be a bitter pill to swallow but someone had to put it out there…

I am sure this will make no one effected very happy.  I have always tried to be as honest with you as I can even when its not what you would like to hear.

Come join us on February 22nd at the Council meeting and we will resume our attempts to deal with this problem as fairly as we can.  Feel free to post yor comments here as well, they are always welcomed…

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 related and also some of  which appears to be gang related are actions of those who want to appear as a gang equal.  If the problem were easily fixable we would not see it in some degree in all cities across America.  One need only read further in the same edition of that day’s paper and see evidence of that very fact.

I don’t profess to be a criminal expert  so I can’t give you the easy answer. I do know that the breakdown of the family unit over the years has help create a magnetic pull towards gangs for many latchkey kids growing up.  When your young and impressionable and there is no parental unit guiding your actions and decisions many times wrong choices are made because of the perceived power of being in a gang.  Schools are trying to deal with it but there are limits to what they can do when some parents aren’t interested in raising their children.  It may be too late for many of these children who turned into adult criminals at a young age. What  we  need to change is  the mindset of the  next  crop of potential  gang members.

That will take a concerted effort on all our parts…government officials, teachers, police, and parents to break this cycle which has become much too strong in the last twenty years.  If the current gangs can’t bring new blood into their groups, the groups will diminish and ultimately die for lack of participation.  It won’t be easy and it won’t happen overnight but I believe its the only way this waste of life will end.

I have seen our officers at work an find them to be skilled and professional in their actions. I have come to know our Police Chief  Rob Uranich as a person of high moral and ethical character.  He is always trying to improve  the quality of his department and is constantly expanding his knowledge of policing skills.  Let us work with and not attack the very men and women who’s job it is to keep us safe in troubling times.