Wisconsin with its win over Arizona has advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2000.
Good Luck to Wisconsin – Its next game is against Kentucky Saturday night, April 5, at 7:49 pm on CBS. Prior to the Wisconsin game, Florida plays UConn.
Police officers from all over Illinois recently attended a week long seminar on Elderly Service Officer Training. Heather McPherson of McPherson Law Offices in Freeport, Illinois spoke to the officers on Guardianships and Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Property. As Heather said, “I enjoy speaking to groups and always feel it is a mutual learning experience. The officers asked excellent questions on issues facing them every day when dealing with our senior citizens and their families.”
Go down any street in most American Cities and you see old plastic bags along along the streets. Not too many years ago all stores gave you paper bags which would disintegrate in the land fills. These plastic bags will take 1000 years to breakdown in a landfill. Recycling is one answer, and would certainly contribute to reducing the problem. Today only a small per cent of the bags are recycled with rest ending up our landfills and and even in our oceans. San Francisco has banned plastic bags. You go into a store, and you must furnish your own bag or pay a minimum of 10 cents for a compostable or recylable bag. Perhaps, it is time for the rest of the country to follow San Francisco’s example.
Once upon a time, banks wanted deposits.
Once upon a time, banks paid interest on money deposited.
Once upon a time, bank employees treated customers with respect.
Once upon a time, banks valued their customers and actually made loans to help them buy a home or start a business.
Today, banks don’t care about deposits from customers. In fact they question every check being deposited.
Today, banks treat their customers with contempt as if they were criminals.
Today, banks only make loans so they can sell them and make a profit – they don’t care about helping the local economy!
If you complain about the practices at your local branch bank of Big Bank, Inc., you are told that government regulations are the reason for the banks treating customers like criminals.
Of course, the banks should know a criminal when they see one. You know the old expression, it takes one to know one! If I remember correctly, it was not the average citizen of this country who was responsible for the financial meltdown in 2008. It was caused by greedy bankers and crooked stockbrokers on Wall Street – not people on main street.
By the way if you complain, Big Bank, Inc. will just tell you to leave and take your money with you. Of course, you will be charged an exit fee for early withdrawal!
O Paddy dear, and did ye hear the news that’s goin’ round?
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground.
They’ll be wearin’ the green at the Freeport City Meeting on Monday, March – Let’s Just Hope They Won’t Be Spending the Green!
Meeting at 6:00 pm 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd floor – watch live on Comcast Channel 17.
Items of interest:
2nd reading of ordinance on litter caused by handbills and newspapers – It’s about time something was done about these unwanted papers.
1st reading of ordinance to extend date for implementation of rental ordinance to June 2, 2014. Rules will be suspended and this will be voted on at the meeting. See posting on March 13 in regard to this ordinance. The extension and general implementation issues remind one of Obamacare!
Purchase of two Zoll Cardiac Monitor Defibrillators for fire department at cost of $59,030.40.
See complete agenda at
If you get bored, listen to Wearing of the Green at
http://www.ireland-information.com/irishmusic/thewearingofthegreen.shtml
The mailing to the households in the District a few days before the election is a blatant attempt by this District to influence the election on Tuesday. The superintendent and her cohorts through this mailing misrepresent and distort the facts. This mailing does not even attempt to educate the public in an unbiased way presenting both sides of the issue.
When did appointed administrators have the right to tell us at our expense how we should vote?
Shame on the School Board for permitting such conduct.
Here’s the Illinois Statute dealing with election interference. You decide if the law has been violated!
§ 10 ILCS 5/9-25.1. Election interference
(a) As used in this Section, “public funds” means any funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly or by any political subdivision of the State of Illinois.
(b) No public funds shall be used to urge any elector to vote for or against any candidate or proposition, or be appropriated for political or campaign purposes to any candidate or political organization. This Section shall not prohibit the use of public funds for dissemination of factual information relative to any proposition appearing on an election ballot, or for dissemination of information and arguments published and distributed under law in connection with a proposition to amend the Constitution of the State of Illinois.
(c) The first time any person violates any provision of this Section, that person shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Upon the second or any subsequent violation of any provision of this Section, the person violating any provision of this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
On March 6 all property owners in Freeport received a letter from the Freeport Police and Community Development Departments advising them of the requirement to register their rental properties. The letter stated that it was being sent to residential rental property owners based on information obtained from the Stephenson County Assessor’s taxpayer records. That Assessor’s Office is certainly a mess if they think every taxpayer in Freeport owns rental properties. The burden is put on the taxpayers of Freeport to notify the City by email or calling if the letter was sent to the taxpayer in error (means taxpayer does not own residential rental properties).
Another bureaucratic nightmare! Why don’t they send letters to every taxpayer in Freeport asking them about the condition of the streets around their homes?
When will the Freeport City Council wake up and start doing its job – instead they are in chronic slumber land!
Your car is getting older and you think it may be time to buy a new car. Having been fairly happy with present car, you go to the dealer who sold you the car. You indicate you would like to trade in your present car for a new model of the same car. All of the service on your car has been done at the dealership. You know you paid a premium for the service over the years, but you thought it would be worth it when you got ready to sell it or trade it in. Dream on! While you go for a test drive, the dealer appraises your car. When you get back, the sales person sits down with you and gives you the cost of the new car which has only been discountly slightly. You are told there is great demand for this model! Now the sales person says, I know you will not be happy with the value placed on your car. You are then given the amount the dealer will give you for your car which is substantially less less than the Kelly Blue Book trade in value. Shocked, you ask why so low? Then the sales person gets the used car person (they always work in tandem), and you are told that the market for your car is not good since only four wheel drive vehicles with snow plows are selling at this time. In disbelief you say you sold me this car and now you tell me it is worthless! They say nothing and you leave in shock. So much for buying a new car!
Freeport City Council Meeting at 6:00 pm
City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.
A few items of interest:
Annual report of Freeport/Stephenson County Convention and Visitors Bureau, read report at
Click to access CVB%20201312_20140303.pdf
Summary of City’s financial condition compared to last year
Memorandum on expanding West Avenue TIF (Tax Increment Financing District or also known as SHIT which is an acronym for Shift to Homeowners Incrementally Taxes) to include Jo-Anne Fabrics. To be fair every other small business in Freeport should be included in this TIF so improvements can be subsidized by other taxpayers in this community. Wait a minute – that would mean the whole City would be in a TIF. Oh, why not! What’s good enough for Wal*Mart should be good enough for the rest of us!
Appointment of Steering Committee for City Hall Public Outreach – this committee should be called “Committee to Decide Fate of City Hall.”
1st reading of a couple of ordinances and seven resolutions dealing with items such as the sale to Alber of part of Rawleigh Complex, expanding TIF referred to above, and hiring Fehr Graham for engineering services (this firm should have an office in City Hall – surprise that Shelly Griswald is going from City Hall to work for this firm)
For a complete agenda to follow during the meeting go to
Good Day Illinois - Happenings in Northwest Illinois 