Monthly Archives: September 2016

Freeport Chamber Says Vote Yes for Freeport – Well, Not Really, Only Sometimes!

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In the Freeport Journal Standard on August 25, 2016 there was the August edition of the Freeport Area Chamber Communicator. On page 3 there was an article entitled “Vote YES for Freeport to Adopt the Managerial Form of Municipal Government.” The article stated that the committee promoting the change to a managerial form of city government had retained legal counsel from a Rockford law firm, and the writer of the article even added how impressed the committee was with this attorney, and that the committee was in good hands. To those attorneys who are members of the Freeport Chamber, it appears that none of you have the necessary skills to represent this elite body. And to the taxpayers of Freeport, ask yourself if this law firm pays real estate taxes in Freeport, and ask yourself if the members of this firm live in Freeport. No wonder this attorney from Rockford is promoting the change since she will not be paying for it.  

NOTE: Our firm does not do municipal work. We handle estate planning, estate and trust administration and litigation, elder law, and agricultural real estate. However, there are outstanding attorneys in Freeport who could handle this issue, and who are probably members of the Chamber! I guess they mean Freeport first, only sometimes!

Does It Really Pay to Have Friends?

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Imagine my surprise when I received an email from Frontier Communications entitled “It Pays to Have Friends.” Let me tell you the facts. A few years ago Verizon sold most of their phone lines and internet services outside the Chicago area to Frontier Communications. In April of 2016, Verizon sold their cable, phone, and internet operations in Florida to Frontier. In both states you thought you had Verizon, but then ended up with the third world service of Frontier. If you want to keep your Friends, don’t let them sign up with Frontier. Frontier is absolutely one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. If you have Frontier, my advice is to get rid of them as soon as possible since you will continue to have nothing but problems. And if you are fortunate enough not to have them, don’t fall for any of their offers!

Another Great Event in Downtown Freeport, Illinois, Saturday September 24!

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Pretzel City Brewfest will take place Saturday September 24th on the corner of Chicago and Douglas (across the street from the Freeport Public Library) and next to the post office.
VIP Admission will open at noon with General Admission opening at 1 pm. The event will last until 5:30 p.m.

 For details and tickets go to http://www.freeportdowntown.com/pretzel-city-brewfest/

 

Freeport, Illinois Leads the Nation in Progressive Tax Relief – Equipment and City Employees Can Be Rented!

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At the Freeport, Illinois, City Council Meeting on September 19, 2016, the Council approved the City Engineer’s use of City equipment for construction purposes for the Forrestville Valley School District. Of course, the City Engineer said the School District would reimburse the City for the equipment use. The precedent has been set for City employees to use City equipment in off duty hours as long as they pay rent for the equipment! Alderpersons Chesney and Miller voted against renting out City equipment and employees, but the rest of the alderpersons had no problem with this new policy. I guess this means that our taxes will be lowered in Freeport as a result of all this new rental income. Perhaps, Freeport can teach the State of Illinois a lesson. The state can rent out equipment, employees, and buildings to reduce the deficit. With all of that new income, the State will actually be able to lower taxes.

Let’s Not Forget the Freeport City Council Meeting on September 19!

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The Freeport City Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month at 6:00 pm at the temporary City Hall at 524 W. Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor. You can watch it live on Comcast Channel 17. 

The complete agenda will not be reviewed here since you can read it on line at http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20160919.pdf

Two items I do find of interest are deer hunting at The Freeport Club (old Freeport Country Club on Park Blvd) and an intergovernmental agreement with the Forrestville Valley School District.

Ordinance #2016-50 will permit deer hunting at The Freeport Club with bows from October 1, 2016 to January 15, 2017. What a joke! There are herds of deer all over Freeport. How many did they kill last year? Unless they killed hundreds, it does not make a dent in the deer problem. While the Mayor and Council fail to address the problem, the deer population continues to multiply within the City.

As to the intergovernmental agreement with the Forrestville Valley School District. I wish the City Engineer would concentrate on the streets and issues in Freeport. Mr. Gallagher, another City employee who does not live in Freeport, is more worried about the Forreston School District where he serves on the School board than he is about the conditions in Freeport. My advice to Mr. Gallagher – concentrate your attention on Freeport. We pay your salary. This agreement is a joke which should not be approved. I hope the Council has read the ten-page resolution submitted by Mr. Gallagher! And don’t waste City money having the Interim Corporation Council review it! 

One other item of interest to Freeport residents is that the only bid for leaf disposal was from Dickman Farm Service for $40,000. Mayor Gitz has an excellent column in the Sunday, September 18, edition of the Journal Standard where he explains the City’s leaf pick up procedure. Every resident should read it at http://www.journalstandard.com/opinion/20160917/freeport-mayors-view-dos-and-donts-of-leaf-pickup

To Those Who Refuse to Stand for The National Anthem

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Those worthless and ungrateful football players who refuse to stand during the playing of the National Anthem do not really understand what this country is all about. It is not a punishment to live in this country. If you think it is, you have the right to leave any time. Living in this country is a privilege. Every time our national anthem is played, it like saying thank you for this privilege. The National Anthem was played at the Olympics at Rio each time the United States won a gold medal. I was proud of our American athletes who stood during the playing of the National Anthem as representatives of this country. When you refuse to stand during the playing of the national anthem, you are making a political statement. And it is not the one you think you are making. You are saying that you despise America, and everything it stands for. It is not a statement against police killings. It is not the time or place to make such statements. It doesn’t hurt these football players to stand for a couple of minutes during the National Anthem. They have 23 hours and 58 minutes remaining each day to criticize this country. Not a bad trade off! By the way don’t tell me about their rights. They only have “their rights” because others died to preserve those rights including police and fire personal who died on 9/11 in New York. I guess it’s why these worthless football players can make millions each year while others died to give them this right.

Deer Continue to Destroy Plants and Shrubs in Freeport, Illinois – City Does Nothing!

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Ten years ago in the City of Freeport, it was a rare occurrence to see deer in the daytime. Now you will see herds of deer in parts of Freeport 24 hours a day. They are eating their way through our plants, shrubs, and small trees. The City has spent and continues to spend tens of thousands of dollars yearly on downtown beautification while the rest of the City to put it bluntly goes to Hell. I guess there is no money for a program to reduce the deer population. If only the deer would relocate to the downtown. Then and only then would we get some action. In the meantime, just buy lots of mulch for your flower beds since you will have no living plants. Give Alderperson Klemm a call. Perhaps. he can get you a beautification grant to buy mulch! Then again, don’t waste your time calling him. He will do nothing as usual except pontificate about his do-nothing 10 years as an alderperson.