Category Archives: City of Freeport

Freeport (Illinois) City Council Meeting, Tuesday, February 18 – Good Bye Shelly and Good Luck at New Job!

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The meeting will be at 6:00 pm in City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor.
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.

Items of interest:

Appointment of Shawn Boldt to Nida Board for two years.

Resolution to approve hiring Lauterbach and Amen LLP for 2014 audit for $34,900, 2015 audit for $35,890, and 2016 audit for $37,680. The firm is located in Warrenville, Illinois. I wonder how much this firm pays in Freeport real estate taxes. So much for keeping money in the local economy!

Resolution to authorize an agreement with Fehr Graham in the amount of $211,455 for annual services for the Freeport Landfills.

For the complete agenda of the council meeting, go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20140218a.pdf

Stephenson County Board Meeting February 13

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Next meeting on February 13, 2014 at 6:30 pm at the County Board Room at the Stephenson County Court House, 15 N. Galena Avenue, Freeport.

For a complete agenda go to http://co.stephenson.il.us/board/mins.asp

Coming soon to Good Day Illinois a new feature called – How Much Are The Real Estate Taxes On This Building?

Failing School District Cavalier About Not Teaching Children for Three Days! Yes, It Is Freeport District 145!

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Freeport School District has cancelled classes for eight days this winter due to cold and snow. Only five emergency days were included in the schedule, so the District should make-up three days. The district does not want to make up the days, so it is asking for waiver from the regional superintendent. This way they do not need to hold classes for three additional days and will get state aid as if they were holding classes. If one is running a failing business like this school district, I would think you would want to work every day possible. So much for caring about educating the children in this District.

This is the same District that is increasing its tax levy 1.83% and also wants a special 1% sales tax added to the present sales tax.

This is the same District where the most of students are in failing schools which do not meet state averages.

What does it all mean? This administration gets an F for educating the students in this District, but it does get an “A” for finding excuses not to hold classes or to make-up cancelled classes!

Concert February 22 with Music of John Philip Sousa – “The March King”

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John Philip Sousa IV (the March King’s great-grandson) will narrate a band concert at the Masonic Temple in Freeport. James Ripley, director of bands at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin will conduct this special night of music. An ensemble composed of Highland Community College Concert Band members, area band directors and their students will serve as performers.

The purpose of the event is to celebrate contributions to the cultural life in Northwest Illinois and to join together in Freeport at the Masonic Temple to cultivate further interest and commitment to Highland Community College and the Friends of the Fine Arts organization.

The concert will take place at 7:30 pm Saturday, February 22 at the Masonic Temple Auditorium in Freeport, Illinois.

All tickets are $10 for general admission seating and may be purchased by calling 815.599.3718 or visit http://www.highland.edu/news_events/eventdetail.asp?id=80

Photo of John Philip Sousa from Library of Congress c. 1900

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The Good and the Bad – People, organizations, governmental agencies, and taxing bodies which deserve special recognition. This Month the Bad – Freeport (Illinois) School District 145!

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Freeport School District Has A Lot in Common With The Politicians in Springfield – The Solution to Every Problem Is More Taxes!

Real Estate Taxes in the City of Freeport are some of the highest in the country with the rate going up each year. Ask your local politicians about the rate for next year.

The school districts in Stephenson County led by Freeport want another 1% added to the sales tax so Freeport will be 9%. Spend $10 and pay almost $1 in taxes! They say it will be used to pay off existing bonds. A sales tax increase is only justified if there is a corresponding decrease in real estate taxes dollar for dollar – and that must be guaranteed which is joke. Give the bureaucrats running the school districts more money, and they will just spend more money. Schools in the Freeport District received failing grades since not one grade met state averages, and has the lowest graduation rate of school districts in Stephenson, Carroll, and Jo Daviess Counties. So much for more money for failing schools. More money is not the answer.

The Freeport School District has already announced it is increasing its levy 1.83% and that an owner of $100,000 residence will pay an additional $120 more in real estate taxes!

Yes, Freeport School District is recognized this month for consistently raising our real estate taxes and now it wants a special sales tax to raise even more money. Perhaps, it will request a special exit tax on everyone leaving the community until no one remains! True bureaucrats don’t care as long as they get paid – since they can just move on to their next victim when a community is destroyed.

For more details and to compare this district to schools in other districts go to http://fh.suntimes.com/reportcards/search/index

Freeport (Illinois) City Council Meeting, Monday, February 3 – Looks Like The Council Will Get Home Early, Not Much on Agenda!

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The meeting will be at 6:00 pm in City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor.
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.

Items of interest:

Vote to accept low bid for police pursuit vehicle from Bocker Group for 2014 Impala, $20,987.45

One resolution to apply to apply for grant funding for storm water management including design projects intended to control rain water, green street designs, planter boxes, permeable pavement, etc. to reduce storm water flow, control flooding and slow run-off into surface water in the City’s East Side Neighborhood

No readings of any ordinances

For the complete agenda of the council meeting, go to

Click to access A20140203.pdf

Civil War Monument Expo until March 30, 2014

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The historic Civil War Monument in downtown Freeport, dedicated in 1871 and on the National Register, is in need of repair. This Expo showcases the monument and the repair efforts. In addition, the Expo includes a display of Civil War memorabilia provided by the Stephenson County Historical Society . The Expo can be viewed at the Freeport/Stephenson County Visitors Center, 4596 US Highway 20 East, Freeport from 8 am to 6 pm. 815.233.1357

To read more about the monument and how you can donate, go to http://www.monumentfund.org/index.html

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Northwest Illinois Has Plenty of Snow – Lots of Good Winter Activities

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Winter activities in the Freeport Parks include ice skating, ice hockey, sledding, and cross Country skiing. The ice skating and hockey are Read Park while the sledding is at Krape Park.
At Oakdale you can enjoy cross-country skiing, and if you don’t have skis (or snowshoes), you can rent them for the weekend at the Park District main office in Read Park. Go to the Park District website for details at http://www.freeportparkdistrict.org/ and look under programs, winter activities.

And don’t forget snowmobiling –

There are over 300 miles of marked trails for snowmobiling in Northwest Illinois, including on the Jane Addams Trail between Freeport and Wisconsin. Detailed trail maps are available at the Freeport/Stephenson County Visitors Center, 4596 US Highway 20 East, Freeport. Call 800.369.2955 for snowmobile conditions.

Annual Freeport High School Band Concert Tonight, January 22

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The concert will be at 7:30 pm at the Jeannette Lloyd Theatre, 701 W. Empire Street, Freeport. The 101st annual formal band concert featuring the FHS Concert Band, under the direction of Mr. T.J. Mack, and the FHS Symphonic Band, under the baton of Mr. Bill Petersen, will include a variety of band music and some of the greatest music written for wind band including works by Gustav Holst and Ludwig Von Beethoven. The featured guest artist with the Symphonic Band will be Mr. Mark Baldin, Principal Trumpet with the Rockford and Elgin Symphonies as well as the Rockford Wind Ensemble. 815.990.1739

Freeport City Council Meeting, Tuesday, January 21 –

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The meeting will be at 6:00 pm in City Council Chambers at 524 West Stephenson Street, 3rd Floor.
If you have Comcast Cable, go to channel 17 to watch live.

Items of interest:

Presentation by students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Urban and
Regional Planning on projects such as passenger rail, housing, Tutty’s crossing, and public transit.
This should be an interesting presentaton. Go to http://urpl.wisc.edu/ for more about the Department.

Update from Dave Young, Director of Northwest Illinois Development Alliance (NIDA). Probably wants more money!

1st Reading (no comment allowed since there was a public hearing) of Ordiance for Variation for Group
Home (eight residents) for special need individuals at 325 West Rye Ridge. Since there were no written
objections and a unanimous recommendation from Planning Commission, it can be voted on with only one only one reading. In the minutes of the meeting, Laura Kelly who represented the applicant,
Northwest Illinois CILA, LLC, of Galesburg, Illinois, when asked what types of disabilities the residents would have stated that the primary disability would be developmental/mental retardation. The use of the term “mental retardation” which many people find offensive has been replaced by the term “intellectual disability” by most organizations and governmental agencies such as Social Security. It is surprising that someone in this field who purports to be an advocate in the area of helping individuals with special needs would use such a term. Someone should ask Ms. Kelly if she has heard of “Rosa’s
Law.”

Now for the big question that no one asked – How much will this home pay in real estate taxes or is it just another tax exempt parcel in Freeport which will demand city services and pay nothing towards them? A similar home for individuals with intellectual disabilities at 1774-1776 S Hance Dr pays –you know the answer – no real estate taxes!

The minutes of the Planning Commission hearing are informative and can be found at http://www.cityoffreeport.org/OrdRes/SUP%20325%20RYE%20RIDGE%20_20140121.pdf

For the complete agenda of the council meeting, go to http://www.ci.freeport.il.us/citygovernment/Agendas/A20140121a.pdf