Packers (Philadelphia) and Bears (Detroit) play today on Fox at 12:00 pm. Of course, if you Packer fans have Comcast, no game for you! Remember, as of October 16, the Madison station which showed Packer games was deleted from the Comcast channel line up in Freeport! The City of Freeport receives $375,000 in cable television taxes from Comcast.
You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to start enjoying the holiday season. FHN has sponsored this event for years and there is something for everyone from movies on Saturdays in November for children to a special showing of White Christmas, a community holiday tree in front of FHN Memorial Hospital, a tree decorating contest to benefit non-profit organizations, musical events, visits with Santa, and Casino Loyale Holiday Gala to benefit FHN’s Beyond Words therapy dog program and Friends Forever Humane Society. Good Day Illinois intends to keep everyone up to date on these fantastic events beginning with Holiday Movie Series at the Lindo Theater.
The Holiday Movie Series for children begins tomorrow with the schedule and movies as follows:
All at 10 am
Nov. 9 — Free Birds PG ($3.50)
Nov. 16 — Thor: The Dark World PG-13 ($3.50)
Nov. 23 — Labyrinth PG (FREE)
Nov. 30 — Frozen PG ($3.50)
And on Wednesday, December 18 there will be a special showing of the classic, White Christmas at 1 pm and 7 pm. A special bonus after each showing will be a discussion of the movie led by Alan Wenzel and Ed Finch. Admission is a free-will offering and/or a food drive donation. Sounds like fun – you enjoy a classic movie and get to help the holiday food drive.
An arbitrator ruled that Titan Tire of Freeport must pay the salary of the Union President which was nearly $80,000 and about $50,000 for the Benefit Representative. The ruling was upheld by the Federal District Court. Titan Tire appealed the ruling, and the decision of the District Court was reversed. The Court Stated:
The arbitrator found that the labor agreements between Titan and the union required Titan to pay the full-time salaries of Local 745’s President and Benefit Representative. However, such an agreement violates the plain language of Section 302(a) of the LMRA and is not exempt by Section 302(c) because the President’s and Benefit Representative’s full-time salaries are not vested rights earned “by reason of” their former employment at Titan. Rather, the President and Benefit Representative earn their current salaries because of their service to Local 745 members. Because the arbitrator’s order to Titan to reinstate direct salary payments to the President and Benefit Representative would require Titan to violate Section 302, its decision must be vacated. For these and the forgoing reasons, we REVERSE and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
For the full ruling see Titan Tire Corp. of Freeport, Inc. v. United Steel, Paper and Forestry etc., No. 12-1152 (November 1, 2013) at
http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2013/D11-01/C:12-1152:J:Manion:aut:T:fnOp:N:1233682:S:0
6:00 pm at City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.
See complete agenda at http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20131104.pdf
Some items of interest at meeting:
Presentations on following: rental property registration process in other municipalities, housing demolitions to date and estimated costs, and City Hall alternatives.
These presentations should all be interesting and worth watching!
Reappointments of Jon C. Staben (appointed first time on September 16, 2013) and Stephen Lafferty to Planning Commission
1st Reading of Ordinance dealing with regulation of residential rental property – All residents of Freeport should read this ordinance. To read it go to http://www.cityoffreeport.org/OrdRes/COUNCIL%20ITEM7%2020131104.pdf
Issues that should be addressed:
Will the benefits of this ordinance justify its cost?
Will this ordinance solve or reduce the crime issues facing Freeport?
Will the registration fees pay for the enforcement of this ordinance? The answer to this one is simple – NO. It will create another level of bureaucracy in the City of Freeport and in the end just more taxes will be paid by the law abiding residents of Freeport and small business owners.
The Crime Free Housing Lease Provision required in each lease will not solve the crime or housing issues facing this community. Perhaps, in the past if laws had been enforced with existing police personel and resources properly allocated, the City would not be facing these issues today.
As has been pointed out before, the Gitz Adminstration has many of the same people as in the previous administration. The result – the same failed polices as in the past. More bureucratic regulations will not help if there are not people capable of implementing them.
Example of law abiding citizen penalized by this ordinance:
John Hightaxpayer has a duplex which he has rented for 20 years with no problem. In fact he has never really needed written leases since his tenants tend to stay for many years with no problems, and at the present time his wife’s mother is renting one of the units. Now under GitzCare he must do the following:
1. He must register his rental unit by April 1, 2014 or pay a fine. An annual registration fee of $35.00 must be paid.
2. All of his rental agreements must be in writing.
3. Rental agreement must include 2 pages of Crime Free Housing Provision.
4. His wife’s mother has another daughter who usually visits mother for week or more each year. Surprise – mother must notify John Hightaxpayer in writing of the first and last names of the guest (the daughter) who will be residing in the unit for 7 days or more. Roger Policeman sees that there is a visitor at the John Hightaxpayer duplex. Since Roger Policeman was assigned to seat belt violation duty, he was not that busy. In fact Roger Policeman lives in the same neighborhood. Roger Policeman in a contemptuous mannor contacts John Hightaxpayer, and asks him (oral or written request can be made by police) to furnish the name of the visitor. John Hightaxpayer says it is none of his business and makes some offensive remark to Roger Policeman. The policeman arrests John Hightaxpayer for disorderly conduct. Meanwhile a few blocks away a store is robbed and clerk murdered, but Roger Policeman misses the call since has just cuffed John Hightaxpayer.
Unfortunately, good intentions do not always equal good laws.
Trick or Treat Hours for October 31:
Freeport 5 – 7:00 pm
Dakota 5 – 7 pm
Forreston 5 – 8:00 pm
Galena 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Lanark 5 – 8 pm
Lena 5 – 7 pm
McConnell 5 – 7:30 pm
Orangeville 5 – 8 pm
Pearl City 5 – 7 pm
Polo 5 – 8 pm
Rock City 5 – 7 pm
Stockton 5 – 7:30 pm
Halloween night forecast for all ghosts and goblins: rain ending by trick or treat time and temperatures falling into the 50’s.
Picture below was taken on Woodside Drive in Freeport. Compliments from Good Day Illinois for a wonderful and creative Halloween scene!
See a riveting one-act drama starring Dr. Maria Boundas Bakalis who brings to life Mary Todd Lincoln in the later years of her life. In her compassionate portrayal, Dr. Bakalis reveals the spirit and heart of Mary Todd Lincoln, a woman of shattered dreams. Sponsored by the Lincoln-Douglas Society in cooperation with the Winneshiek Players. Tickets $20. For information call 815.975.7631
Attorney Heather McPherson of McPherson Law Offices, Freeport, will present a program on legal issues relevant to all and especially to seniors and their families
6:00 pm at City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.
See complete agenda at http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20131021.pdf
Some items of interest at meeting:
Bambi’s Ordinance
1st Reading of Ordinance permitting bow hunting of deer on Freeport Country Club property from October 22, 2013 through January 14, 2014 on recommendation of Illinois Department of Natural Resources to control deer population. The Administration requests suspension of rules for passage at meeting. Deer have taken over south Freeport and have done tens of thousands of dollars in damage to yards in the area. Hopefully, bow hunters can fill the food pantries in Freeport with venison!
New Internet Café
1st Reading of Ordinance of for variance allowing sale of alchoholic beverages at 1005 W. Galena Ave, Suite B. Sounds like an interesting business. Internet Café with video gambling!
For more information on business go to http://www.tenpennies.co/about.html
Mr. Gitz in his weekly column in the Journal Standard on October 13 talks about new ordinances to regulate noise and other undesirable conduct in the community. He said problems are contagious. He talks about delapidated houses and the impact of living next to one. He states that he would like every street to be a neighborhood of choice. My reponse to you Mr. Gitz is that the City of Freeport is part of the problem. Mr. Gitz and the present city council should also be concerned about the impact of living and driving on streets everyday in this community that are in such bad shape that they are not even safe. No wonder people fail to maintain their homes. For years they have paid high taxes and have seen few results. Mr. Gitz – there are few neighborhoods left in Freeport which are neighborhoods of choice. Mr. Gitz states that property owners have to act responsibly in order to restore our Freeport. The question is – when is OUR government going to start acting responsibly? Those in government believe that more money (which means more taxes) and more laws will solve all problems. More money and more laws are not the solution. The City of Freeport must allocate its resources where they will do the most good for the majority of people living in this community which means fixing the streets and a police department enforcing existing laws.
Oh, by the way Mr. Gitz, where are the ordinances that say the City should maintain city owned buildings such as the Germania, City Hall, and the Carnegie Library? Is it true that intentional neglect and waste is acceptable in the public sector? What a shock – one standard for those in the public sector and another for those in the private sector who pay the bills!
On Thursday October 10 – Help Heidi celebrate by stopping by her Studio at 1650 S Hance, Freeport. For details go to http://www.wholebodystudio.com/
Good Day Illinois - Happenings in Northwest Illinois 