Friday, September 28, 2007

200,000 Unique Users and Growing!

Last Tuesday at around 6:12pm I hit the 200,000th unique user on the blog! It was from Comcast and they were looking for my campaign website and found this one instead. Some statistics from the blog:
  • So far I am at 880 total posts and growing.
  • The daily average of unique visitors is 895.
  • People stay on the page for an average of 73 seconds.
  • There have been 5,965 comments made on the blog.
  • The record for comments on one post is 227 (I would link, but I can't find the post!)
Not sure how fast we will get to a quarter of a million, half a million, and then a million!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Round Lake Chamber of Commerce BLOG!

The Round Lake Area Chamber of Commerce has just announced the creation of a new Blog for local area businesses! You can go to the blog/forum here.

Network 24/7 with local business!
  • Share your best business tips!
  • Tackle business challenges!
  • Tap into area experts!
  • Get to know area business professionals!
  • Gain useful insights, how-to's and so much more!
  • Add new business topics or join into current topics!
What a great idea, the Chamber is moving in the right direction!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Halloween Schedule-- Save the Date

This year trick or treating for Halloween will be on Sunday, October 28 th, from 1-5:00 p.m. I always enjoy the kids and the outfits we get at our door!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Youth Baseball Group

Last week I met a Silver Leaf Glen resident named Dale Friedman who has started a youth baseball organization which is quite dynamic! If you are interested in more information you can contact Dale here.


The Lake County Sidewinders Travel Baseball Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing players for high level competition. Our goal is to compete with class, have fun, and teach kids the right way to play the game. We compete in two travel baseball leagues and numerous tournaments, and were quite successful in our inaugural season

Check out the bulletin board section to see there league and tournament results.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Young Marines

I attended the Round Lake Park District's Fall Festival over the weekend, which was beneficial for signatures (my other project) and of course I always run into people wanting to talk about stuff, and this lady told me about some really interesting stuff!

Denise Jackson is a Round Lake Park resident who is active in an organization called the Young Marines which is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building, leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Young Marines is the focal point for the U.S. Marine Corps' youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts.

Denise is available here if you are interested in the joining or helping the local organization which has meetings throughout Lake County.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

The Birthday Boy's Post!

Today is my birthday, I have been told it happens once a year! I reworked the post slightly to better reflect where I am today from last years post.

48 Years Ago-- I was born in Port Jefferson New York. (1959) Oddly enough the White Sox clinched an American League pennant that day.

47 Years Ago-- My sister Gaye showed up to steal all the attention! (1960)

39 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)

37 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)

29 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 destructed. (1979)

25 Years Ago-- I got my first "real" job. I was a warehouse manager in New Orleans and then later Dallas. (1982)

21 Years Ago-- I moved from Dallas to Chicago (1986)

20 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)

19 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.

17 Years Ago-- The first kid arrived, my daughter Denise. (1990)

15 Years Ago-- I lost my mom to a long struggle with cancer. I miss her to this day. (1993)

13 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)

11 Years Ago-- I was appointed to be a trustee of the Round Lake Area Library District.

9 Years Ago-- Was appointed to be a member of the Round Lake Planning Board (1998)

8 Years Ago-- Became Chairman of the Round Lake Planning Board (1999)

7 Years Ago-- I lost my dad miss him everyday as well. (2000)

6 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)

5 Years Ago-- I weighed 283 pounds (2002)

4 Years Ago-- I weighed 194 pounds (2003) Thank you Mr. Atkins!

3 Years Ago-- Re-elected Mayor, this time my eyes were open, and I knew what I was getting into.

3 Years Ago-- This blog was born and nearly 900 posts later is still going strong!

2 Year Ago-- I still weigh under 200 pounds (barely) but damn I look good.

1 Year Ago-- Considering a run for State Senate, and working through the process and building support.

Today-- I am 48, I am running for State Senate, things are on the up in Round Lake, and I am enjoying my life immensely!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Condell Out of Network

As if we don't need some way to address health care in this area and the state. I have gotten at least 10 emails with the recurrent theme of "Condell is now out of my network for health insurance"

Here is a sample of the language from one email:
Effective October 1, 2007, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois has announced that they will terminate their affiliation with Condell Hospital in Libertyville. If you have a medical emergency and Condell is the closest hospital, you can still go there for treatment, however, Condell will no longer be a BlueCross Clue Shield Provider. Also, Condell’s affiliated medical groups will terminate on January 1, 2008. Please contact BlueCross BlueShield customer service to verify your coverage.

I think back to when we held our public hearing about Advocate a few months ago and the kind hearted CEO from Condell came up and testified that we don't need a hospital because we are so close to the kind, loving Condell network hospital in Libertyville. Well the nearest hospital for these folks just got a long way away!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Linked IN...for Round Lake???

Over the last few months I have been invited to join friends and colleagues on Linkin.com, I generally respond and add the people my network. I am generally link networks and the process at Linkedin seems interesting.

I have been thinking about how we could create a network for the village like this, because over time I have discovered, that a Mayor can act as a middleman for putting people in touch with each other. Not a week goes by that I don't discover and enable two residents getting in contact with each other for one reason or another. In fact I enjoy this more then any other part of the job.
What I would ask you is how do you think we could, as a village, use the network to better help each other. Please respond via email to me or in the contacts section I would like to hear your suggestions.
Here is some information about LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an online network of more than 14 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

Through your network you can:

  • Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
  • Be found for business opportunities
  • Search for great jobs
  • Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
  • Post and distribute job listings
  • Find high-quality passive candidates
  • Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know

LinkedIn is free to join.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Catch an Illiinois Train

One of the best ways to support the environment is to get more riders on public transportation. Have you tried Amtrak lately? With recently expanded schedules, Amtrak Illinois is a great option to get around the state. Check out www.CatchAnIllinoisTrain.com with community-specific timetables and maps to make first times riders have an easy time on Amtrak. The folks at the Midwest High Speed Rail Association are launching this statewide campaign to Catch An Illinois Train, so spread the word today!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Email Frustrations

Well since Wiresaway my wireless provider has gone under I have for some reason been unable to send email from outlook on my laptop, of course I can receive so it has just been piling up, the only emails I have responded to has been on my cell phone, because I can send and receive from there.

I spent about 4 hours last night last weekend (when I should have been plotting fantasy football chaos on Sean Gillette) trying to get myself configured through the new service. The computer guys at the village told me the issue and why, but basically did not give me any solutions other then the usual tech mumbo jumbo.

Anyway I created a work around for now, creating a gmail account and forwarding from eroundlake.com to the gmail and then relaying it back. So if my email looks a little odd for awhile you will know why.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Fairfield and Gilmer Open

Here is a press release from Lake County on this wonderful news! I will be curious to see if the opening will relieve the backups into 176. Logic says yes, but when is a commute logical!

The Lake County Division of Transportation will open the remaining leg of the new Fairfield and Gilmer Road interchange, near the Village of Wauconda, to all traffic beginning at 6:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 15. The intersection has been completely closed to traffic since May in order to permit the County's contractor to reconstruct this intersection as an interchange with Gilmer Road elevated over Fairfield Road. Construction of this $9.2 million improvement was started in 2006. It is the first grade-separated interchange to be constructed on the County Highway system.

Fairfield Road, the west leg of Gilmer Road and the connecting ramp were opened to traffic on August 15th. The east leg of Gilmer Road and the bridge on Gilmer Road are now complete and the entire project will open to traffic as scheduled on Saturday.

This interchange improvement replaces the previous heavily congested four-way stop sign intersection with a grade-separated design. Beginning Saturday, the improvement will carry traffic along Gilmer Road on an overpass crossing Fairfield Road. Traffic passing through the intersection on either Gilmer or Fairfield Road will flow freely without having to slow or stop as would be necessary with a conventional traffic signal. A connecting ramp has been constructed between the north leg of Fairfield Road and the west leg of Gilmer Road to allow traffic to travel between Gilmer Road and Fairfield Road.

"I wish to thank motorists for their patience during this construction effort," said Marty Buehler, Director of Transportation for Lake County. "This is a significant improvement for highway users in southwest Lake County and I know that everyone involved with this project has worked very hard to open it to traffic on-time."

In addition to the improvements to the Gilmer and Fairfield Road interchange, Lake County has installed traffic signals at the intersection of Fairfield Road and Bonner Road. This traffic signal replaced the multi-way stop signs which were installed to facilitate traffic movements during the Fairfield Road closure detour. Information concerning this project can be found on the Lake County Division of Transportation website at www.co.lake.il.us/dot.

Friday, September 14, 2007

September is National Library Card Sign-up Month

This month is National Library Card Sign up month at the Round Lake Area Library. Two-thirds of Americans have library cards, if you are in the other one-third it time to go to the library and get yours. The Round Lake Area Library and the Grayslake Library both serve our area depending on where you live!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

A Little Humor on a Thursday

Your House As Seen By:

Yourself...
Your Buyer...
Your Lender...

Your Appraiser...Your Tax Assessor...

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Cameras on Traffic Lights-- Is it Big Brother? Or Something Entirely Different!

I had a great question from a loyal reader Caroline M who asked me about the cameras in the traffic lights at Amarias and Cedar Lake just north of 60. Its not a system that we control but it’s part of Lake County Department of Transportation relatively new transportation management system called Passage—Intelligent Transportation System.

It allows managers at the HQ in Libertyville to monitor traffic throughout the county. All new intersections will have cameras installed on them, and I think there are numerous retrofits going on of other intersections as well. They also use telemetry installed in the roads and other cameras to determine road conditions and adjust timings of lights.


They have a marvelous website here that has real time traffic information for Lake County, I have been using the site for awhile, and am embarrassed that I have not blogged about it before becuase for awhile I was able to decide to drive the "back roads" or Route 12, when Fairfield and Gilmer were blocked!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Round Lake Park District Foundation 5K

I ran in the Round Lake Area Park District Foundation 5k yesterday! I have not been doing much running at all so I was shooting for 45 minutes or there abouts, and I finished in 43:58 so I was pleased with that. I was even happier to see Trustee Michael Blum, Village Engineer Erika Frable, Police Commisioner Al Villasenor, Valley Lakes Resident Mike Vanata and First Daughter Denise Gentes all get medals for top three finishes in their respective age brackets.

It was all to benefit Special Olympics, and was quite good to see the level of sponsorship be so high, that all expenses were covered by the sponsors and then all registrations go to the RL Special Olympics and there were 160 runners!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Where does your Tax Dollar go.


NOTE: In view of the discussion on foreclosures I have decided to rerun this post from 2005 about where your tax dollars go in the last few weeks. So I decided to go back to a post I ran back in May 2005 based on an excellent article in the Daily Herald. So here it is.

Where do your tax dollars go, is a pressing question in Round Lake right now. How do I know this? Because I am getting all sorts of calls about it! I have reproduced a chart from an article that appeared in the Daily Herald on where your tax dollars goes. Its interesting to see that county wide the typical tax bill has 68% of the total dollars goes to schools. Only 10% goes to municipality's. I felt that this article was one of the best I have read on your tax bill, its written quite well and make the process reasonably easy to understand.

I had a blog post on the article when it came out and have created a complete PDF of the article I am going to upload it here so you can download it from this blog.

I also recreated the graphic above, and did not do a real good high resolution job, so my apologies for the bitmaps. I aim to have high graphic standards on the site, and this is clearly not cutting it.

Please note I was able to upload the file here it is!
Article on Taxation from Daily Herald.pdf

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Is Something Bugging You

The village board approved two mosquito spraying for the village on Tuesday in addition to the numorous ones we have already laid down. This is one of the worst seasons in memory. I wrote about this awhile ago so I won't go into to many more details. As a matter of fact the Daily Herald has an article here about the problem!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Foreclosure Article in the Daily Herald

NOTE: The following article was on the front page of the Daily Herald yesterday, I have one issue with the numbers that the study used. 2000 census data was used for our housing unit total, and since then we have tripled in size and it stands to reason that we would roughly triple our housing units available, which consequently would lower the percentage they use since they use 2006 foreclosure numbers. Unfortunately that portion of my comments were not used. While I don't mean to minimize the effect of foreclosures on the community it certainly is not a fair assessment of the real percentage.

Tall grass.

Homes in disrepair.

For-sale signs clustered in a single neighborhood.

Suburban leaders say they are concerned when they see these things -- red flags that foreclosure is looming, or that it has already happened.

While elected officials say they can't provide money to solve residents' woes, some are getting ready to have their village halls offer other kinds of help. Entire communities can get a black eye from too many foreclosed properties, they said.

Suggestions on how municipalities can prevent foreclosures came at a recent meeting of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which has 272 members from the Chicago area.

Many of the ideas presented were easy and free to implement. For example, villages could provide links on their Web sites to agencies that counsel distressed homeowners.

Round Lake Mayor Bill Gentes said it would make sense for his village hall to be a resource for residents who find themselves facing foreclosure.

Gentes' village had 60 foreclosures, or 38.49 per 1,000 owner-occupied units, in 2006, according to data on the six-county Chicago area compiled by the Woodstock Institute and distributed to government officials by the mayors caucus. Last year was the first year town-by-town data was collected.

"The American dream is homeownership," Gentes said. "It's not foreclosure."

Mayors who attended the conference said suburban officials are typically concerned about providing traditional services such as police and fire protection. Whether they decide to help residents facing foreclosure likely depends on if they believe the problem exists in their communities.

Foreclosure has become a national concern. About 179,600 foreclosure filings were reported in the United States in July, above the 92,845 logged in the same month in 2006, according to California-based RealtyTrac Inc.

Resetting of adjustable-rate mortgages and subprime loans that were made to borrowers with shaky credit are among the reasons for the foreclosure boom.

Beth Dever, housing director for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, said foreclosures don't affect just the families forced out of their houses. There are the ancillary effects on cities, she said, such as unruly lawns, delinquent property taxes, the potential for neighborhood blight -- and tarnished images of a town.

Dever said because municipalities have a vested interest in foreclosure, local governments should lend a helping hand to distressed homeowners, who don't always know where to turn. She said some mayors reported their village halls have already received calls from worried residents.

At minimum, Dever said, towns should be able to direct distressed homeowners to federal Department of Housing and Urban Development-certified counseling agencies. Towns also should know to recommend the Homeownership Preservation Foundation's HOPE hotline for confidential financial help.

Dever said residents might be more willing to approach a village hall for help.

"I think it's seen as a more comforting local entity than a faceless mortgage broker," she said.

Research shows about 50 percent of delinquent homeowners avoid contact with the lender in the hope the problem disappears, according to NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions in Washington, D.C. Many in trouble don't act on quality advice.

Sheila McCann, executive director of the DuPage Homeownership Center, said some DuPage County towns allow her nonprofit group to use public buildings for homeownership seminars.

"It's a win-win for everybody in the community," she said. "Certainly, everyone doesn't want to see abandoned homes or foreclosures."

Gentes said he's concerned about one Round Lake subdivision now marked by abandoned homes, clusters of for-sale signs and other signs of distress.

Problems at the four-year-old Lakewood Grove subdivision, near Route 60 and Cedar Lake Road, stem in part from individual investors who bought a number of homes with the idea of unloading them for a quick profit, Gentes said. He said 10 to 15 homes have been abandoned at Lakewood Grove.

Some investors purchased houses and used a rent-to-own concept to lure occupants with poor or shaky credit. Gentes said the downfall came when the owners dramatically hiked the monthly payments because of higher taxes, sending the residents fleeing and leaving empty homes.

Gentes said he's seen newspapers and trash pile up at homes where no one's living. That can make the whole town look bad, not just a particular subdivision.

Dever said the mayors caucus has cited Chicago as an example of a city trying to prevent foreclosures through its Home Ownership Preservation Initiative. The program has been promoted on CTA buses and trains.

Part of it involves assisting borrowers connect with lenders to find ways to halt the foreclosure process. The city also has gone to faith-based organizations to spread the word about mortgage fraud.

Mayors such as Gentes have a better picture about foreclosures because the 2006 foreclosure report by the Woodstock Institute was its first city-by-city examination. The study was requested by Chicago's housing department.

Geoff Smith, research director of the nonprofit group that specializes in community economic development, said mayors can't take action about a foreclosure problem if they don't know what's happening in their backyards. He said the Woodstock Institute will release a second city-by-city foreclosure study at year's end, which can be compared to the 2006 data.

Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto said he's willing to have his town provide information to residents in trouble with their homes. Carpentersville had 212 foreclosures or 30.26 per 1,000 owner-occupied units in 2006.

"I certainly see it as a problem for all communities where people are on the bubble or the bubble has burst beneath them," Sarto said.

Tips for avoiding foreclosure

Don't ignore the problem: The further behind you become, the harder it will be to save your home.

Contact your lender: Lenders do not want your house. They have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.

Open and respond to mail from your lender: The first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options. Later mail might include important notice of pending legal action.

Understand your options: Learn about foreclosure prevention options at www.fha.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm. Contact a HUD-approved housing counselor: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds free or very low-cost housing counseling nationwide. Call (800) 569-4287 or TTY (800) 877-8339.

Avoid foreclosure prevention companies: Many for-profit companies will contact you promising to negotiate with your lender. While these may be legitimate businesses, they will charge you a hefty fee (often two or three months' mortgage payment) while a HUD-approved housing counselor will help for free if you contact them.

Don't lose your house to foreclosure recovery scams: If any firm claims they can stop your foreclosure immediately if you sign a document appointing them to act on your behalf, you may well be signing over the title to your property and becoming a renter in your own home. Get professional advice from an attorney, a trusted real estate professional or a HUD-approved housing counselor.

Source: HUD

Where to turn

NeighborWorks America and the Ad Council have joined forces to target a public service advertising campaign at homeowners in danger of foreclosure. Two Web sites and a toll-free number are offered.

  • Confidential financial counseling is available from the Homeownership Preservation Foundation's HOPE hotline at 1 (888) 995-HOPE. Free, unbiased advice is available in English and Spanish 24 hours a day.
  • Foundation's Web site is at www.foreclosurehelpandhope.org. The foundation is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit agency dedicated to preserving homeownership and preventing foreclosure.
  • Also check NeighborWorks America's Web site at www.nw.org/foreclosuresolutions. NeighborWorks is a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Wiresaway Out of Business...alas!

Two weeks ago one of the local wireless services unfortunately went out of business; this service had been leasing space on the top of our two water towers and beaming high speed wireless to homes with the properly oriented dish on the roof. My family was one on them, and boy do I miss the speed!

6 years ago when we were approached by wiresaway.com, they wanted to create a village wide hot spot for us that would have made Round Lake on of the first communities to adopt this in the United States. However the trustees (none of the present ones) could not get their hands around the concept and passed on it and we merely leased the space to wiresaway.

At the last board meeting we discussed a couple things and currently have a committee of one (Trustee Brian Brubaker who is highly technically savvy) working on potential solutions to the problem. Among the things we are exploring are:
  • Hiring an ISP and continuing to broadcast wireaway.com off the tower and merely collect the fees.
  • Creating a more elaborate package where we make the village a hot spot and everyone in the village can access the service for a nominal fee.
  • Or something entirely different.
I do want to emphasize that in the last few years since I challenged the village and the trustees to run this village with an eye on liability and the bottom line, we have! The reason I say this is because it may not make business sense for us to continue, so while I laid out a few potential options there is an option of nothing. My personal feelings are that I would love to see the village be a hot spot.

We are discussing it tonight at the village board meeting so I might be able to report on what direction we are moving in.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Second Annual Fantasy Football Draft was Today

The league is bigger by 5 teams this year, the original 9 teams were joined by five newcomers. I had to divide us into 2 divisions (North and South).

The league kicks off on the 6th with some classic opening day show down's with the feature match-up between Trustee Michael Blum and Trustee Brian Brubaker in a battle of elected officials!

I got QB Drew Brees and Tom Brady so I am faced with a challenge right off the bat! I am also not terribly happy with Mike Anderson being the best of a bad lot of running backs!

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