Helicopter Trip over Round Lake Yesterday

Clarke Mosquito was kind enough to let me tag along on one of their survey trips yesterday. I took about 40 high resolution pictures of various sites on our trip over village. The four pictures are the new police and public works department, the Metra Station, the route 60 and Cedar Lake intersection and Valley Lakes. I took some shots that will illustrate a few things like the 120 bypass route and some other things. There are days when Mayors get to do really cool things! Today was one of those days.

Thursday Radio Guest on Village Voices

My guest will be Round Lake Park Mayor Ila Bauer (shown here with our Congresswomen Melissa Bean). The always controversial mayor (even more then me recently) will field calls and talk about some of the exciting things going on in Round Lake Park. In addition we take calls and the number is 847-546-9757, or email me with a question which I will ask her live on the air. We need to be nice to her however because she recently broke her wrist and is email and writing impaired at the moment!

The show airs from 7-8 on WRLR-FM 98.3 every Thursday night.

Movie Night at the Round Lake Library

The Round Lake Area Library District is hosting a wonderful idea on Thursday nights at 6pm. Movies! Some of them are great ones. Don't miss them! To Catch a Thief is December 8th for example! See you there! Office Space is October 27th. Many many more are available at the above link.

By the way the library also has books!

Condell Medical Center

Over two years ago we approved an annexation for a Condell Medical Center, but owing to some poorly thought out votes at the trustee level Condell has not been really energetic about moving forward with the project. The village staff and myself have been working closely to encourage them to move forward and we have reached the point where they would like to do a community survey for them, so here is the survey. Please fill it out truthfully and fully and lets see if we can get them into the village because this is a critical need for us. The Condell Medical Center was and will be on Rte 120, east of the Jehovah Witness Church.

Ground Breaking at Curran Commons (Curran and 120)

This post could also be entitled. "People with large heads should not wear large hats! At leaast in my case! There was a ground breaking today for Curran Commons which is on the Southeast side of 120 and Curran.

In the first picture I was talking (... its a rare thing!), surely the first thing you thought was what pearls of wisdom was the Mayor dispensing? Well I was illustrating how the village board insisted on Pulte Homes deeding the 5 acres of land to the village in the Bradford Place Subdivision PUD. The subsequent resale of the Curran Commons land netted us just over $740,000 which we used to pay off the $1,070,000 dollars we spent on the 39 acre site where our Police and Public Works site that is now being built. Since then we have now sold approximately 5 acres of the 39 to the Round Lake Area Fire District for $150,000 for a fire station. We have basically bought 39 acres of land for $190,000. Of course I paraphrase because I talked much longer then that!

In the second picture Trustee's Bob Del Prato, Don Newby, Pat Blauvelt, Brian Brubaker, Village Clerk Jeanne Kristan, Finance Director Maggie Molidor, Police Chief Cliff Metaxa and me all dig in to get the project underway!

Observations and Clarifications on Traffic Improvements in the Area.

I have noticed a variety of comments to some of my posts on the 120 bypass and decided that rather then answering them piecemeal I would answer them in one larger post.

Since the day I moved here I have been keenly aware of the need for some form of major traffic relief and minor traffic relief as well. The original idea and concept I read about was the route 53 extension. The right of ways and the plans had been bought and studied for nearly 50 years, municipal support was and still is overwhelming. The political realities of the last 20 years in this county have precluded any concerted effort to get the route 53 extension here. Its useless to point fingers and have recriminations now. I don't think the Route 53 bypass will get done in my lifetime. But it is wonderful to have 98% of the county on board with the 120 bypass now!

As many of you know this county for some reason voted down two transportation referendums in the last few years that would have provided over $100 million dollars of infrastructure improvements to the county. I believe this referendum could have gone a long way to improving traffic flow in the county. However it failed and more then likely the county board will never put it on the ballot again because they will be on the next few ballots, but that's politics!

I won't go into the recent transportation summit issues because I have already covered it here and here. However I would like to outline what the village has done for traffic inside its borders.

Cedar Lake Road Extension (article here)
When the village was considering the Lakewood homes annexation we recognized that traffic would be a major issue so we insisted that Lakewood build one third of the counties proposed extension of Cedar Lake south from 120 to 60. This would do away with the ultra dangerous intersection of 60 and Bacon. The Cedar Lake Road extension project is being phased and ultimately will provide a huge traffic relief to North and South commutes. The cost to the taxpayer and the village was zero, Lakewood paid for all the intersection improvements at 60 and Cedar Lake, and the improvements all along the mile long stretch of road.

Traffic Intersection at 60 and Fairfield
We worked closely with the county and state on this project. Even though it was not in the village we were able to illustrate the needs and wishes of our residents. Its certainly a lot better then a 4 way stop sign that it was.

Traffic Intersection at Wilson and 134
Again we worked with the state and county to illustrate the needs for traffic flow management here.

Intersection Improvements at Fairfield and 134
With the new commercial area at this corner (CVS corner) we were able to make the developer improve the turn lanes and make traffic flow smoother through the area. The intersection already had a light but enhanced turn lanes and signals make it easier to manage.

Signalized Intersection at 134 and Cedar Lake
This is one where we made a mistake, the board voted to not allow the state to develop a light there. Then Trustee Kohlmeyer convinced a majority of her colleagues that it would adversely affect some of the businesses in the area. I think we made a mistake here, but that's why we elect people to decide things.

Intersection of Fairfield and Nippersink
When the Valley Lakes PUD was completed in 1997 it had a $400,000 fund set aside for intersection improvements as they related to the Valley Lakes development. When there were a variety of accidents and a fatality at this intersection the board unanimously voted to seek a partnership with Avon Township, Lake County and ourselves to put up a temporary traffic light two-three years in advance of the counties programmed construction of such an intersection and use the $400,000 as our share of the proceeds for the construction.

We recognized that a business was on the corner of the SW side and we attempted to work closely with them and the property ownership to plan the transition including offering planning assistance to move the bins out of the right of way where they currently exist.

This has suddenly become a political hot potato so I won't go into the details, but we will get it done and this intersection will have all the needed intersection improvements which will improve the flow of traffic.

Signals at Rosedale and Cedar Lake Road
We have been able to get funding from the state for a traffic signal at this busy intersection that serves the Round Lake High School. I don't have all the details as to when it will be installed but we will update when I have more information.

The 120 Bypass
This plan stretches from Wildwood and 120 where existing Route 120 narrows to 2 lanes, to Wilson Road near Baxter. The plan flows south of existing 120 and will go over train tracks and avoid the choke points in Grayslake, it will then angle up and through Madrona homes where we have a 300 foot corridor planned for it. There are 4 exits and entrances, Route 45, Allegheny, Fairfield and Wilson. If you want to visualize what it will look like it should be similar to the stretch of highway between 94 and Hunt Club Road on current Route 120.

I am sure I am forgetting some of the improvements but my fingers are getting tired so I will blog and addendum at some later point.

Scenes from a Weekend

Have had a busy weekend already and its only Saturday. The first two pictures are of the giant polished jelly bean like structure at the Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. Quite shiny! Trustee Sherry Perkowitz and I were hunting contact solution down for her when we decided to take a short cut through the park. The picture where two of my officers are shoving the head of our newest officer into the cooler is just that! However the new officer had just completed his pepper spray training by getting pepper sprayed. Not a job for the faint of heart.

The last picture was of the view from the Round Lake High School press box during the homecoming game and the two crack announcers doing the game on WRLR 98.3! I listened on the radio and then went to the game, they are quite good, lots of facts and very poised, they clearly did their homework.

Illinois Municipal League Meeting today

Today is my annual (sort of) trip to the Illinois municipal League Annual Conference. Sometimes they have good programs sometimes not. In five years I have gone once, there are some good programs this year so I am going to them and that's pretty much it. The usual highlight for me is the trade show floor which always has some interesting things on display that make you think.

Mayoral Celebration of 46!

Today is my birthday, not sure what is going on however. I am hosting Jim Betustak the Mayor of Lindenhurst on my radio show tonight from 7pm to 8pm. Otherwise no plans!
46 Years Ago-- I was born in Port Jefferson New York. (1959)
45 Years Ago-- My sister Gaye showed up to steal all the attention! (1960)
37 Years Ago-- My Dad did a sabbatical in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where I went to school in a one room school house with 15 other kids ranging from 1st to 8th grade. (1968)
35 Years Ago-- My parents both took early retirement and moved to Guadalajara Mexico, where my sister and I attended Mexican schools until we went to college. (1970)
31 Years Ago-- My grandfather took me to the Montreal Olympics (hooking me on Track and Field) and the Baseball All-Star game in Philadelphia. (1976)
27 Years Ago-- I went to college, where a few years later I would emerge with a degree in History and a minor in English Literature from Texas Pan American. (1978)
26 Years Ago-- I bought my first car a white 1973 Toyota Corona for $400, it had 73,000 miles on it. Sold it for scrap 6 years later with 201,000 on it. I would still be driving it if had not self destruct. (1979)
23 Years Ago-- I got my first "real" job. I was a warehouse manager in New Orleans and then later Dallas. (1982)
19 Years Ago-- I moved from Dallas to Chicago (1986)
18 Years Ago-- I met the First Lady of Round Lake, a couple of shotguns, a few slaps upside the head and I was married! (1987)
17 Years Ago-- I played golf at Renwood with my father in law and was amazed that civilization existed outside the city of Chicago. My first exposure to Round Lake.
15 Years Ago-- The first kid arrived, my daughter Denise. (1990)
13 Years Ago-- I lost my mom to a long struggle with cancer. I miss her to this day.(1993)
11 Years Ago-- We moved to Round Lake buying a townhouse in Tree House in the Woods. I also purchased my first Big Gulp at the Rollins Road 7-11 one of nearly 100,000 since! (1994)
9 Years Ago-- Was appointed to be a trustee of the Round Lake Area Library District.
7 Years Ago-- Was appointed to be a member of the Round Lake Planning Board (1998)
6 Years Ago-- Became Chairman of the Round Lake Planning Board (1999)
5 Years Ago-- I lost my dad miss him everyday as well. (2000)
4 Years Ago-- Elected Mayor of Round Lake, what was I thinking? I also resigned from the Library Board where I had won re-election twice. (2001)
3 Years Ago-- I weighed 283 pounds (2002)
2 Years Ago-- I weighed 194 pounds (2003)
Today-- Who knows but the ride is just getting good.

120 Corridor with Townline and Wildspring on the side!

I have received numerous questions regarding the path of the 120 corridor as it runs through our town. Particularly its path through Madrona Homes. This link to a PDF on the village website which also details the construction timelines for the Wildspring and Townline road improvements has the actual 120 bypass corridor marked out as it passes through Madrona.

Eventually we will get a picture from our engineers that shows the actual route as it moves across the county so you can get a handle on exactly how vital this project is to transportation and job creation here in the Round Lake Area, but sadly I could not find anything on my laptop this morning that fills the bill.

I would also point out that the village actively reviewed Madrona Homes marketing materials at numerous times over the last few years and had mystery residents "shop" the models to make sure that Madrona was accurately portraying what may happen in the future to that large grassy corridor behind some residents homes. I do realize that there will be people who are unaware or will claim they are unaware of what was happening behind them! We did try to make it as open as possible.

Village Board Honors Former Trustee

Last night the Village Board honored former Trustee Dale Multerer with a resolution thanking him for his four years of dedicated service to the village. Dale has not gone away he still serves as the Chair of the Economic Development Commission, and as my appointment on the Police Board.

Dale is extraordinarily active in the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Village School PTO, the Treehouse in the Woods HOA, and is one of the national leaders of the Elks service organization.

To refresh your memory Dale was injured on election night removing signs, and was hospitalized for 6 weeks. He was in a coma for most of those weeks. I commonly refer to this as Dale's naptime. The good news is he is completely recovered from his nap. We in the village can be thankful he is still active in village activities.

Katrrina Help from Round Lake

Trustee Sherry Perkowitz got the village involved in helping a dislocated familly of the Katrina tradegdy. A good number of people showed up to volunteer. there is a good article along with some pictures in todays Daily Herald. The text of the article is below.

Special thanks to all the volunteers who came and who gave of thier time to this worthwhile project and a special thanks to Trustee Perkowitz for being so involved and leading the charge.
A new home in new state

By Jason King
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Monday, September 19, 2005

A handful of volunteers scampered about the house Sunday morning, busily working on to-do lists laid out on clipboards on the back deck.

When their work is finished, Round Lake will welcome a New Orleans family that was displaced by Hurricane Katrina to the home.

But on Sunday, trustee Sherry Perkowitz was busy keeping the volunteers on track and trying to make sure they had the supplies needed to do the job they were assigned.

“We brought the family out here Friday night. I told them it’ll be completely different by the next time they see it,” she said, before dashing off to buy light bulbs and cleaning supplies.

At a meeting two weeks ago, Perkowitz got the village board talking about using the vacant home to help a family in need.

The village has owned the home for a couple of years and rented it out, but it had been sitting vacant for some time when Perkowitz floated the idea to her fellow board members.

The storm hit the Gulf Coast August 29 east of New Orleans, creating massive damage and causing levees that protect the city to break, setting off a flood that covered 80 percent of the city.

Evacuees now are living with family or friends or, in some cases, strangers across the county. Perkowitz said the family that will move into the Round Lake home — a couple with six children — did not lose their home, but had to leave the Gulf area regardless.

“There’s no schools, no city services,” she said. “They needed a place for their kids to go to school. They’re trying to minimize the disruption for their kids.”

The village’s building department gave Perkowitz a list of items that needed to be addressed before it issued an occupancy permit for the home.

The biggest task facing volunteers was updating the out-of-date electrical wiring. Rich Kenyon, of A/C Electric, and Marty Reading, of Reading Electric, Inc., were busy working on that issue Sunday.

Kenyon was accompanied by his daughter, Christine.

“This was completely her idea. She’s been begging me to come here and help since she heard about it,” Kenyon said. “I was supposed to be out of town, but I changed some plans.”

Christine Kenyon said she wanted to help out as much as she could.

“It’s a good cause,” she said. “I thought it would be a lot of fun to help.”

Village School PTO Festival

Yesterday I attended the Village School parent teacher fundraiser and festival. I saw a lot of friends including Diane Leafblad my daughters old first grade teacher, Pam Fainman a Valley Lake Resident and teacher, and the President of the Village School PTO Shelley Trump. Our police were out with the DARE truck, and our Harley which you can see in the picture where Lt Mike Kemmerer is showing a village school student around the bikes controls. I also test drove some of Gurnee Dodge cars in a very unique fundraiser where they donated $10 for every test drive to the school!

Volunteers Needed!

Our idea to house a family in one of the vacant homes we own is bearing fruit. 525 Hart will be home to a family very shortly. However before that happens we are doing a clean up and general chore day this Sunday from 9-5. Please drop by help out for as much time as you can!

Report on the Transportation summit

We took a big step forward with the Transportation summit yesterday! There were about 130 attendees and a very bipartisan spirit of cooperation. The good news was and is, that the 120 bypass has emerged as the "big" project that we are all going to support.

However we heard that the road forward is going to be tough, the average 4 lane cross section of highway is $12 to 15 million dollars per mile. I would name names of the people that I saw but this entry would get way to long. The best news was 11 of the 12 members of the Lake County state delegation were on hand!
There are some articles that cover it better then I do here Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune. The picture above is (L to R) State Representative Kathy Ryg, Joanne Osmond, Mayor Ila Bauer and Lake County Board President Suzi Schmidt.

A Clean Water Tower is a Happy Water Tower!

The before and after shots! Not a job for the faint of heart! The towers look fantastic!

Today is the Transportation Summit Day!

Why is Lake County always in last place when it comes to securing Federal, State and Tollway $$'s for the construction of major Highway/Transportation Infrastructure capacity additions and/or enhancements? Because as a community of business, governmental and civic leaders, we have been unable to speak with one voice on highway add-lanes projects with our Congressional, State General Assembly, County Board and Municipal Leaders, unlike other Chicago Metropolitan Counties. Our goal at tomorrow's Transportation Summit , which will be held at the College of Lake County's Auditorium from 8:00 AM to Noon, is to change that.

Highlights will be participation from the State's Transportation Infrastructure Leadership, General Assembly Leadership, County Board Leadership and Municipal Leadership in tomorrow's Summit; all you have to do is show up and let your vote be counted. At the end of tomorrow's session, we will present a unified Transportation Agenda to Lake County's Legislators - our Congressional reps, General Assembly Leadership, County Board Leadership and Municipal Leadership, that they can work together on to secure funding in the Spring/Fall 2006 Session - 4 Projects (one needing construction monies, one needing engineering design/right of way acquisition funding, one needing planning monies and one regional project needing planning/consensus building monies) .

Our goal is to hold a Joint Transportation Goal Setting Summit Annually, but it all starts tomorrow and we need you to show up and vote so our governmental leaders understand your concerns about moving goods, materials and employees in and out of Lake County.

Attendees will be Lake County business and community leaders, as well as Lake County residents in business and professional associations that share your interest in effecting meaningful transportation improvements in Lake County. It will be a long, incremental journey to attain transportation congestion relief, unfortunately it is the nature of the beast. We have to start somewhere and I encourage you to be part of our efforts to kick-start the journey tomorrow. Thanks!

We Are Going to Help a Community Recover!

Ila Bauer the Mayor of Round Lake Park and myself are pitching an idea to the other Mayors in the area that we believe can help the victims of Katrina. We are both attempting to get a Mayor of a community down on the Gulf Coast via cell phone and find out what he or she needs for their community. We are then going to organize a drive to get those items and somehow deliver them to this community.

Its similar to the sister city concept that many communities use for commerce and cultural exchange, however this time we are going to be getting valuable relief supplies right to the community.

Most importantly we will need people in the Round Lake Area to help with donations. Reviewing the various pages on the FEMA website, communities need items as varied as coloring books to flashlights.

Once we identify a partner we will start the drive to supply the community with the needed essentials.

120 Coverage in the Chicago Tribune

Got some coverage in Today's Chicago Tribune on the 120 bypass issue. Front page of the Metro section.

Illinois 120 bypass plan could be a team effort Traffic woes prompt countywide summit

By Robert Channick, Special to the Tribune
Published September 13, 2005

A decades-old plan to alleviate east-west traffic may soon hit the fast lane if the efforts of some Lake County officials are successful.

Grayslake and Round Lake simultaneously approved resolutions last week supporting construction of a new four-lane road, joining the County Board and other municipalities along the bottlenecked corridor that back the project. Officials hope to use a countywide transportation summit Thursday to build momentum for an Illinois Highway 120 bypass from Waukegan to Volo.

"There's no transportation east and west in this county that isn't a two-lane road," said Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes. "Traffic is choked up here. We're all getting to this point where enough is enough, we have to do something, and the 120 bypass is clearly the thing we need to do."

Narrowing to two lanes just west of the Tri-State Tollway, Illinois 120 traffic often grinds to a halt for miles in both directions during rush hour, due in part to booming residential development along the once-bucolic central Lake County route, according to Gentes.

Gentes and Grayslake Mayor Tim Perry say they expect to have 60 letters of support in hand before the summit, scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon at the College of Lake County in Grayslake.

More than 3,000 business and government leaders have been invited to the event, which is designed to prioritize county road projects to accelerate funding and construction.

Representatives of the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority are also scheduled to participate, and local officials hope they will respond to a unified message.

"One of the problems we were hearing from the funding sources at the state level, the tollway and the federal level was that we never presented them with projects that had the backing of the community and the region," said state Rep. Kathy Ryg (D-Vernon Hills). "We really were missing out on the funding for our roadway improvements because of our lack of consensus."

Born in the wake of the county's failed April sales-tax increase for a laundry list of road improvements, the summit has a goal of voting on three or four targeted projects annually, according to organizers.

"In order to get projects of regional significance, you've really got to form a consensus," said David Young, president of Lake County Partners, the not-for-profit economic development corporation that planned the summit. "The Highway 120 bypass appears to be emerging as the next big regional project."

An offshoot of the proposed Illinois Highway 53 extension, which stalled several years ago over the objections of several communities along the north-south route, the bypass would likely jut south near Wildwood and reconnect with Illinois 120 on the western end of the county. Support has been widespread, according to officials.

"It is nice to see communities that may not look like they're immediately impacted by a road project come on board with it," Perry said. "I think that speaks volumes about how everybody understands the nightmare that is traffic congestion in Lake County."

Expected to cost more than $100 million, the project should not require additional tax dollars, backers say.

"We anticipate this being paid for out of existing tax dollars," Perry said. "We get back pennies on the dollar for what we already pay in, with a disproportionate amount being spent Downstate. It would be nice to see a few more dollars flow back to the area."

While the bypass is expected to accommodate traffic demands for the year 2030, proponents hope to have it running a couple of decades sooner. Importantly, much of the right of way for the new road has been obtained, according to officials.

"In Grayslake and Round Lake, we have developments that have been around for years that have this giant 300-foot strip right through the middle of them, where the 120 bypass is coming," Gentes said.

South of the Grayslake Metra station, the upscale Village Station Townhomes feature a long row of back porches that look out over the open fields from which they sprouted. On village planning maps, however, the bean crop would eventually yield to the designated bypass at the center of a 900-acre mixed-use development.

"People who think they have an enormous back yard now, in the future may not," Gentes said.

My Trip to the Mayors Caucus

I had a marvelous time at the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, I am going to be blogging quite a bit about some of the topics I learned about and some of the ideas I got from other mayors. But on a personal note I sat next to Mayor Daley at the opening lunch and we talked for about 30 minutes. Quite a thrill. As you can see I ended up taking a picture with my camera on the sly! I decided I did not want to be to much of a tourist!

The Results are in!

I finished in 30:47 and am shown clutching my bronze medal for my age group! Looking on bemused is former Round Lake Trustee Dale Multerer who is on the Round Lake Area Park District Foundation Board now as well as serving as a Police Commission Board member for the village! I saw quite a few friends and acquaintances, Chicky Johnson, Jeanne and Judge Goshgarian, Trustee Jerry Shaw and tons of people supporting this wonderful event.

Round Lake Park District 5K today!

Today I am running in the Round Lake Park Districts Annual 5K race at 8am at Hook Lake. Today's goal is getting under 30 minutes and beating Trustee Bob Del Prato's wife Laura if she is able to run today. So its two goals in one! Two years ago, the fatter version of Bill was able to walk the route in just over 60 minutes, last year the slimmer version (minus 70lbs) ran it in 38 minutes this year the even slimmer version (minus 93 lbs and able to hurdle small dogs) will run in ?? minutes.

I am attending the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Today and Tomorrow

I have been looking forward to this event for some time. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is sponsoring a retreat entitled "“I Have A Town to Run. Why Should I Care About the Region?"” To give you a quick overview of the program I have distilled the agenda to its basics for you here.

Welcoming Remarks
The Honorable Richard M. Daley

"“New Realities for Chicagoland"
Bruce Katz Vice President and Director Metropolitan Policy The Brookings Institution

Governing As A 21st Century Mayor: The Times They Are A Changing
Paul M. Green, Director, School of Policy Studies
Arthur Rubloff Professor of Policy Studies Roosevelt University
Political Analyst, WGN Radio

Exercising the Region'’s Political Clout
Washington and Springfield Insiders will discuss how the region'’s Mayors can collectively affect federal and state policy on key municipal issues.

The Caucus Priority Issues: Why You Should Care
Several prominent regional leaders will discuss the value of Mayors working together to resolve issues that affect the region'’s overall quality of life. Topics will include clean air, education reform, housing and regional land use and transportation planning.

Tales from the Trenches
Three of the region'’s longer-serving Mayors will provide light hearted perspectives on why they believe in collaborating at the regional level and how it has benefited them as elected officials.

Issuing A Challenge: Get Involved
John McCarron, Urban Affairs Writer and Adjunct Professor,
Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism

The retreat is underwritten by the MacArthur Foundation

Round Lake's offer to help Katrina Victims

At last nights village board Trustee Sherry Perkowitz came up with a marvelous idea on how we can help the victims of hurricane Katrina. Over the last few years we have ended up with some single family homes, one in particular (on Hart Road) would make an excellent temporary home for a displaced family. We are exploring with the various relevant agencies the procedures and things we need to do to make sure this happens. Some of the trustee's immediately offered to help notable among the offers was Trustee Jerry Shaw's offer to take care of all the electrical issues. The other trustees chimed right in with offers to help the displaced as well.

Keep your eyes on this spot for more information as it become available.

Village Voices-- Debuts tonight at 7pm

Tonight from 7-8pm I will be doing the inagural Village Voices radio show on WRLR 98.3. My first guest is one of the most influential people in getting this radio station off the ground and under a roof. Round Lake Heights Mayor Terry Lumpkins. In fact the show will be broadcast from the old Round Lake Heights Village Hall which is the new headquarters of WRLR.

The format of the show is an interview with my guest and then opening the show up to phone calls from the audience. You can ask questions via email and or via AOL instant messenger as well. All this will happen live!

I have lined up a variety of guests, Mayors Ila Bauer, Rich Hill, Tim Perry and Jim Betusak, County Board member Bonnie Thompson Carter is another as well. These are just the guests that I have confirmed dates for by the way!

So I hope to hear you tonight on the air with questions for my guest.

Seatbelt Enforcement Project over the Holiday Weekend

Sergeant Peter Marquardt was given the assignment of organizing and supervising this project and did an excellent job. The detail was from 2:00 pm to 5:35 pm on Saturday, September 3, 2005. The enforcement zone targeted southbound Cedar Lake Road traffic and eastbound Hart Road traffic. Five police officers worked the enforcement zone: Sergeant Peter Marquardt, Officer Jon Zacharias, Officer Eric Wang, Officer Michael Stevens and Officer Eric Landsverk. The results of the enforcement zone were very positive. Not only were the officers extremely visible in the center of the Village, but were well received by motorists. Many motorists waved and smiled at the officers. In terms of citations, please note the following:

38 Seatbelt Citations

3 Citations for no Valid Drivers Licence

3 Citations for no Insurance

1 for expired registration

1 for illegal use of alcohol

"I Have A Town to Run. Why Should I Care About the Region?"

"I Have A Town to Run. Why Should I Care About the Region?" That's the title of the retreat the Caucus will host for the region's Mayors on September 9-10, 2005. Sandwiched around the September 9 quarterly business meeting, the retreat will feature several prominent guest speakers and panelists as we build a clear case for how important it is for Mayors and their communities to think and act regionally. I am attending this meeting which is sponsored by the McArthur Foundation later this week with some of the other local area mayors.

Clean Air Counts

Kate Agasie, the Director of Environmental Issues, for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus was part of a panel on WTTW Channel 11’s Chicago Tonight a few nights ago. The panel discussed how the Chicago region is addressing federal Clean Air Act regulations. Kate talked about what the region’s Mayors and their communities are doing to reduce air pollution through our Clean Air Counts program.

For more information about the “Clean Air Counts” Campaign, visit the website:
www.cleanaircounts.org

Spartan Cheerleaders

These girls all did a cheer for the Mayor! I was blushing, sometimes its awfully good to be Mayor! Events like the Corn and Brats Spartan Football day are what makes the Round Lake Area so special.

Labor Day Weekend is Here!

Well this is going to be quite the Labor Day weekend! Not so sure how the one 110 years ago was but ours will be wonderful! Last night was the flipping of the switch of for WRLR 98.3 the new local radio station in the Round Lake Area. I attended and saw numerous dignitaries and local friends there.

Today the Labor Day weekend rolls on with the Round Lake Spartans all day extravaganza at Hart's Hill. Football, brats, corn, kids and you name it will be on the menu all day long at the field.

While I am not sure of where all of them are, 100's on BBQ's will be taking place in the backyards of Round Lake. One will take place in my yard for sure.

For me this is the last weekend of sailing on Long Lake, we have had our best season in years, winning 2 races and finishing in the top 3 numerous times.

Round Lake's attempt to help New Orleans

Many of you have asked me if there is any thing we can do as a community to assist the New Orleans area to get back on its feet. Through the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) we may have found a way to send help. One of our officers Detective Sergeant Andy Orians has volunteered to go with the Illinois delegation to assist. While assistance is not about money his participation in the program is covered by federal disaster relief money, and the village would be completely reimbursed.

I know we all want to help so please donate anything you can to the organizations I mentioned in yesterdays posting.

New Orleans and our Desire to Help!

If you are interested in helping the people in New Orleans recover from the terrible hurricane damage inflicted on them, please consider the people at Second Harvest who donate and make sure the hungry are fed. Second Harvest is the largest charitable hunger relief organization in the United States. According to the people at Second Harvest every dollar you donate buys four bags of food.

Another fine organization is the United Way of Lake County who also are involved in the relief effort. Please also consider the Red Cross as well when you think about donating.