Bill Gentes' Blog

Breaking News-- My driveway under 31" of snow

2011-02-02T08:14:00.000-06:00

The above is a yard stick! I stopped after two passes, so if my car were 4 feet wide I could get out!

Clown Train?

2011-01-16T08:51:00.001-06:00

I am sure his car has no damage to it!

2010-07-05T07:07:00.000-05:00

What Those Sirens Mean!

2010-06-22T16:19:00.000-05:00

NOTE: I periodically post this so there is no mistaking what you hear and what the sirens mean! Last nights nasty weather got me thinking about reposting. A resident of Round Lake Terence May emailed asked this question. Right after I was elected back in 2001 there was a tornado alert with the sirens going off. The next day a neighbor kid asked me what the sirens noises meant! I did not know

Inside BP Headquarters!

2010-06-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

World Cup is Two Days away! First simulation score is in!

2010-06-09T13:13:00.002-05:00

Dallas does not have I-pass?

2010-06-03T07:25:00.002-05:00

Less then 3 weeks away!

2010-05-23T17:59:00.000-05:00

WGN needs some help on the geography front!

2010-05-14T07:11:00.000-05:00

It's the continent to the right of this one, and its the country at the bottom of the continent as well. Thanks to Deadspin for finding this little gem from our friends in Chicago TVland.

Great Sign on Fish Lake Road this Morning

2010-05-13T13:45:00.000-05:00

2 Quotes-- Supreme Court

2010-05-11T07:45:00.001-05:00

How quickly you can change your mind! “I mean, one reason I felt so strongly about Harriet Miers’s qualifications is I thought she would fill some very important gaps in the Supreme Court. Because right now you have people who’ve been federal judges, circuit judges most of their lives, or academicians. And what you see is a lack of grounding in reality and common sense that I think

Recycling Shoes and preventing the Plague!

2010-05-10T08:07:00.000-05:00

A blog I occasionally check out is Shoes for Humanity. They have a interesting article today about how one of the leading causes of the plague are parasites transmitted via your feet. Four billion of the planet’s 6 billion people live in conditions inconceivable to the wealthiest 1 billion. In a recent report by the eminent Dr. David Suzuki, he explains there are numerous diseases that infect

Sleepy?

2010-05-01T05:55:00.000-05:00

Here is something I have always wondered about. Given my interest in body language this is something similar "sleep body language". I sleep in the Yearner position therefore I am open-minded and still cynical, suspicious, and stubborn about sticking to decisions once they are made. Which is pretty accurate! Our lives, the amount of sleep we get, and how well we actually rest during those

Whoa!

2010-04-16T06:47:00.000-05:00

History of the Deficit

2010-04-13T06:37:00.002-05:00

Alert Commenter!

2010-03-31T15:28:00.000-05:00

Apparently you can not pop popcorn with your cell phone according to snopes.com and one of my erstwhile commenter's eagle eyes! However I do stand by the validity of the Bluetooth being in the top 5 inventions however! Just it does not fry your brain so much, I guess!

Five Great inventions? No the Five GREATEST Inventions ever! -- The Bluetooth

2010-03-28T18:30:00.002-05:00

In my continuing quest to quantify the great things in life I have a 5 post series entitled Five Great Inventions, the first was the toothpick dental floss combo, the second is the bluetooth. I have had about 10 of these over the years (they tend to end up in the washing machine for some reason) but they are fantastic since I have always hated holding phone to my ear while driving, since for

What a clever addicting site

2010-03-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a great site where you can make snowflakes, however the design aspects of this are amazing, you will be addicted for at least 30 minutes I guarantee it!

The lady who is looking out for the middle class

2010-03-25T05:50:00.000-05:00

If you enjoy getting screwed over by banks, then turn away now, becuase this women, says something like this regularly. “Dang gummit, somebody has got to stand up on behalf of middle-class families!” Elizabeth Warren oversee's the TARP program and is a ferocious advocate for the middle class and against banks and consumer finance agencies that have been giving us a hiding in the last

Must see TV...Over 9 minutes of righteous indignation

2010-03-24T06:55:00.000-05:00

Hitler weighs in on the Healthcare Bill's passage over the weekend.

2010-03-23T07:26:00.004-05:00

GOP Waterloo according to President Bush II's close advisor?

2010-03-22T05:57:00.002-05:00

I found this blog post at a blog I read occasionally called the FrumForum written by former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum. Here is an except of the post. A huge part of the blame for today’s disaster attaches to conservatives and Republicans ourselves. At the beginning of this process we made a strategic decision: unlike, say, Democrats in 2001 when President Bush proposed his first

Who is Flo?

2010-03-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

Despite my extensive use of TIVO, I have not been completely immune to commercials and I always enjoy the Progressive insurance ones that feature the lady in white, Flo. I decided to do some extensive research on her, using Google and Wikipedia and came up with the following facts, she is 40, lives in Los Angeles, is originally from New York. I was most surprised that she was 40, I would have

Spring time arrived at the Gentes compound this morning

2010-03-20T15:17:00.000-05:00

Five Great inventions? No the Five GREATEST Inventions ever! -- Toothpick and Floss

2010-03-18T06:01:00.003-05:00

I am going to write about the greatest inventions ever in a series of posts. Over the last few years I have been struck by the massive advances of technology useful to the average man. I am not talking about inventions like the light bulb, hot and cold running water, and the like, but rather things that seriously make your life better. I have my top 5 candidates that I will write about over time

The state moves very very slowly!

2010-03-15T00:13:00.001-05:00

About three years ago I had breakfast with the Director of the Illinois Tollway, who wanted to gauge the interest in making the 120 Bypass a toll road. Needless to say that has gone nowhere. Anyway he asked me if there was anything he could do for me/us. Needless to say there was, I had grown tired of seeing state road signs along 294 saying, Harriett's Wigs next exit, OTB, Lake Villa, etc. So I

Interesting Countywide Blog

2010-03-12T07:04:00.002-06:00

One of the better blogs covering politics across the county is the Lake County Eye. They always have a humorous take on the local political side of things. Today they cover the rather bizarre case of the Avon Township assessor Bryce Carrus who has reneged on his pledge to turn down his raise, and better yet hire his 20 something son to a part time $23 dollar an hour job. The post is entitled

Ninja Warrior great TV--- Relaxing, humorous, and utterly compelling!

2010-03-11T06:09:00.000-06:00

Enjoy subtitles? Crazy Japanese quasi game shows? Well I have the show for you, its called Ninja Warrior on the G4 network (the gamers network). Its like one of my old favorites Iron Chef, campy, but with some substance. I caught about three minutes of it a few weeks ago and decided to TIVO it, and watch an episode in its entirety and loved it. The competitors have to pass a series of

How many days should we go without a Police Chief?

2010-03-10T06:03:00.001-06:00

NOTE This ended last night after 290 days, with the appointment of a new Chief. I am not sure many of you knew this but we have gone 250 days without a Chief of Police in Round Lake. On July 3rd 2009, Chief Cliff Metaxa was pressured into resigning by Mayor Dietz after an evaluation period by the Mayor of about 5 weeks which consisted of him only meeting with Chief Metaxa once. Tough to

More media coverage on my daughters spring break!

2010-03-09T05:19:00.003-06:00

My daughter has hit the airways as well while she is in West Virgina, the magic of the internet allows me to bring it to you, why she does not have an ISU or her Sorority letters sweatshirt on is beyond me however. Here is the link to the TV stations footage.

Daughter does alternative spring break in West Virginia

2010-03-08T05:16:00.009-06:00

My daughter Denise (on the left) who is a sophomore at Illinois State University decided that this spring break she would do an alternative spring break. The ISU students were sent to Atlanta, Memphis or Mullins West Virginia, my daughter is in Mullins as of last night when they took an overnight bus from Normal to Mullins, arriving Sunday morning. The students are blogging about the experience

Relaunch! Version 3.0a

2010-03-07T14:35:00.000-06:00

Well I have been busy recently and was just able to get to the blog and figure out why comments did not work and get a template I liked in place. Comments are to the right of the and you can easily see how many comments have been made. You can link to my Twitter page and my Facebook page although I have to allow access from those sites I think. I will be adding some widgets over time to the blog

Amazing Fact

2010-02-22T07:41:00.000-06:00

I just learned that John Voight is Angelina Jolie's father. Thanks to Radar Online for that tidbit! Imagine my surprise at that, while i was trying to determine where Tiger's private jet flew off to yesterday, via TMZ and Radar.

Amen

2010-02-19T07:58:00.000-06:00

I came across this on CNN this morning. Is there anything more frustrating for a sports fan than watching the Olympics? Every night I feel like I'm sitting down with a great book, and after I read the first 10 pages, I discover that pages 11 to 25 have been crossed out, and then I'm supposed to skip to page 102, and by the way, I inadvertently read the ending nine hours ago. How very accurate

Comments on Comments

2010-02-17T19:08:00.000-06:00

I have had a few emails about comments being disabled, its not for lack of trying, for some reason I can't get blogger to turn them on, I am currently tinkering with the template. For those of you who have something constructive to say you may email me in the interim, and for those of you with negative views I have made this custom link for you that will go directly to me so I can give your

Brutal Beat Down

2010-02-16T08:12:00.001-06:00

So yesterday I am playing in $5 dollar 45 player sit and go on Full Tilt Poker. I am at the final table, and 6 players get paid, I am however short stacked with about 12 big blinds and sitting in 8th spot. When the dealer gives me the gems you see at the right. I am the big blind and last to act. Three players ahead of me go all in. One is the player in 9th, the other are the two players in 3rd

The Balloon that would not die!

2010-02-15T07:33:00.001-06:00

Last September I turned 50 and some of my friends through a surprise birthday party, through the crudeness of the approach and generally people acting extremely out of character, I was on to them about the surprise aspect, however I played along.One of the things I collected on that night were three balloons that were tied to one of the gifts. I took them home, and let them rest on my ceiling to

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T07:26:00.003-06:00

Here is an interesting blog that blends history with romance and therefore an excellent post for today. I like the historical take on personal ads, I was surprised that people used names when they ran some of the ads. Different era that's for sure! No identity theft back then at all then I would guess.Thanks to the New York Times website for pointing this out to me.

Winter Olympics

2010-02-13T07:42:00.004-06:00

Not the greatest opening day for Vancouver Winter Olympics, fatality on the luge track cast a pall over everything. However the opening ceremonies which cost according to NBC $30 to 40 million were very dull, and to my mind uninspiring. Although I may have been spoiled by the 2008 China Games, now that was an opening ceremony!The Bermudas had one athlete, who was a rich kid from the ivy league,

Earthquake

2010-02-10T08:23:00.001-06:00

Did you feel it?

Great New Sport-- Arm Wrestling plus Ultimate Fighting!

2010-01-20T15:52:00.000-06:00

I am back!

2010-01-17T18:14:00.003-06:00

Well its January and I have been an absent blogger since April, but recently I have had the occasional thought "you should blog that" and of course I blogged regularly for years so it's somewhat in my blood I think. So needless to say I am back!I doubt the blog will cover Round Lake much although who knows where I will go with it. The original blog was intended for one thing, and slowly morphed

Well that did not go so well!

2009-04-07T21:53:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to those who won!

My endorsements for April 7th Elections in other Round Lake Races

2009-04-03T04:38:00.002-05:00

I get a lot of people asking me my opinion about who they should vote for in the area so I am going to make a few suggestions for races that are inside the boundaries of the Village of Round Lake. I am only going to comment on races that are contested and where I have an opinion.Avon TownshipSupervisor-- Sam YinglingClerk-- Linda RuschAssessor-- Bryce CarusHighway Commissioner-- Tom BrustTrustee-

Yesterday's Press Conference in Support of the Route 53 Extension Referendum

2009-04-02T05:05:00.001-05:00

From the News Sun, GRAYSLAKE -- Pro-Route 53 groups are hoping Lake County's advisory referendum Tuesday will provide long-sought consensus on extending the highway north to Route 120. The "Build 53 Yes Coalition" ramped up its campaign to bring out a favorable vote Wednesday afternoon with signs, banners and speakers in favor of the controversial project.The group includes labor and business

Happy April First

2009-04-01T04:14:00.002-05:00

As many of you know I always have a April's Fool day post for my readers (2008, 2007, and 2006) , and this year I have vowed to be different, so I am not doing one.I have some ideas, but this close to an election I am guessing they would all be taken poorly (do ask me what they were when you see me) because they are quite funny in a pointed sort of way.I was disappointed to see that the comments

Todays Mail Box-- Policing

2009-03-31T11:14:00.003-05:00

Today's mailbox will contain the Police Report. I am quite proud of my efforts to fix a badly broken police department. We are now CALEA certified and while the process ultimately took 3 years and cost around $30,000, the results have become apparent over the years and they are reflected in the declining crime rate statistics that the state police uses to track crime. I am proud to saying

Delayed Post Today

2009-03-30T18:09:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the delayed post today, I have been under the weather, because I knocked on doors most of Saturday and foolishly way to much on Sunday, the sun in the late afternoon was deceptive!Back tomorrow ready to go!

Here is some press on the CALEA Certification

2009-03-26T03:00:00.001-05:00

Round Lake, Illinois – On March 21, 2009, the Round Lake Police Department received law enforcement accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), a prestigious recognition of law enforcement professional excellence. The Round Lake Police Department is one of only 46 municipal law enforcement agencies in the State of Illinois to be accredited.

CALEA Certification Achieved

2009-03-24T02:07:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend at the CALEA (Commission on Law Enforcement Accreditation) annual conference our Police Department went through the final phase of our certification process. The good news is that we are now fully certified, one of less then 1,000 departments nationwide.Four years ago when I made sweeping changes in the police department I promised improvement in this blog post on the day we

Todays Mail Box-- The Mayor Gentes Balance Sheet

2009-03-21T08:17:00.001-05:00

Today we sent out a mailing talking about the balance sheet that I inherited back in 2001. Our opponents are talking about quite a few things, which sadly is easy to do, but I prefer to point to tangible things. Each number presented on the mailing is from an audited statement of the village, we have increased cash on hand, reserves, and reduced liabilities.Yes the village has debt, every

Comcast Newsmakers

2009-03-20T01:06:00.003-05:00

Recently I taped Comcast Newsmakers which appeared last week on Comcast as a tie in to CNN Headline News, I have done this a few other times and always enjoyed myself. This time the topics I talked about were the 120 Bypass, Route 53 and finances. As always I had a great time. The video is about 5 minutes long.

Todays Mail Box-- Party Introduction

2009-03-19T01:55:00.001-05:00

Today you should be receiving the first of an aggressive series of mail pieces that are designed to highlight the skill and experience, as well as major issues of the United Party of Round Lake slate.We have quite a few planned mail pieces that will be hitting between now and election day.You have seen our signs appearing on lawns throughout the village we have some distinctive yellow and black

Meals on Wheels Today

2009-03-18T06:41:00.002-05:00

Every year the Meals on Wheels Association of America has Mayors across the United States deliver meals to people in need throughout the country. I have been doing this for years now and its one of the most rewarding programs I have been involved in.The Mayors meet in Waukegan for some information on the program in the community and how then they go deliver meals with the regular drivers of each

21 Days to Election Day

2009-03-17T03:16:00.000-05:00

As a seasoned local election candidate I know that people start paying attention to local elections about 3 weeks before the election. So today is amazingly enough 3 weeks before election day! So the blog is going electoral!My slate has already been out in force door knocking and we have gotten a great response at the doors, lots of good solid feedback, including one lady who let me watch her

You can't escape the rush hour traffic in Lake County.

2009-03-16T04:32:00.000-05:00

You've tried leaving early. Going home late. Taking a bunch of different routes. Nothing works. You're losing sleep, time with your family and friends, time at work. Instead, you have lots of windshield time with your car. You're losing part of your life, wasting time in a congested mess on Lake County roads with no end in sight. A simple "yes" vote April 7 can help change all that. The Route

Vote Yes on 53 this April 7th

2009-03-13T00:00:00.003-05:00

Here is a great site about 53.

Lake County Township Assessor candidates will participate in a moderated forum hosted by Citizens Action Project

2009-03-11T04:55:00.000-05:00

Lake County Township Assessor candidates will participate in a moderated forum hosted by Citizens Action Project on March 16th at 7PM at Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake.CAP, the Lake County-based property assessment watchdog, will also announce its new white paper, "Are you Getting a Fair Hearing? Appealing Your Property Taxes in Lake County," revealing problems with the Board of Review appeals

911 Service Gets its Facelift

2009-03-10T08:30:00.004-05:00

A few months ago I wrote about the ongoing improvements to our area wide 911 service and showed a partial picture of the work that was done, well here is a picture of the finished product. Kudos to Director Lisa Berger and her team for improving our 911 services and of course making the center look very good.I stopped by the center a few weeks ago, and was quite impressed with what I saw, the new

11 Minutes to a Lucid Understanding of the Credit Crisis

2009-03-09T05:49:00.000-05:00

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.A good friend sent me this and I watched and it is excellent, although a bit nauseating to watch. Very good clear explanation of how we got into the mess we are in nationally in the housing market.

I Had a Dream

2009-03-06T05:44:00.000-06:00

For those of you may or may not have seen me recently I have been on the Atkins Diet since January 1st and over the last 2 months I have lost 21 pounds. Needless to say I miss my old friends Mr. Pasta, his associate Mr Bread and the Red Lord (Sauce) as well as a few smaller characters in the food universe.So imagine my surprise when yesterday morning I had a rich vivid dream about Cheez-It's. I

Latest Addtion to the United Party Team

2009-03-05T05:39:00.000-06:00

One of our trustee candidates Cynthia Pruim Haran just had a baby named Michael Joseph Haran who arrived, three weeks ahead of schedule, on Wednesday, February 25 at 6:59 am. He weighed 7lbs, 3 oz and was 19 inches long. He is healthy and his already walking precincts with his mom.

2008 Audit Report Highlights

2009-03-03T05:29:00.003-06:00

Last night the village board discuss and voted to accept the 2008 Audit report. Here are some of the highlights of the report. Its pretty dull, but its all mostly positive, which given today's economic climate is a good thing!The Village’s Governmental net assets increased $11,978,849 from the prior year. Business-type activities unrestricted net assets increased $489,032 from the prior year.

Our Drinking Water is first Class

2009-03-02T05:56:00.000-06:00

From the Waukegan News SunIt's so good it won a taste test, and it's so cheap it's practically free. The Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency has won a regional taste test for tap water, beating out 12 other Illinois water treatment facilities that are part of the West Shore Water Producers Association.

Spam I am!

2009-02-27T01:57:00.001-06:00

In my never ending quest to give my Round Lake readers and those outside the boundaries of this fine village the best possible blogging experience possible. I have some thoughts and comments on spam.1 in 10,000 Number of buyers from spam messages that spammers say they typically need in order to break even Source: The Wall Street JournalMy spam seems to come in waves, one month its watches, the

Tommorrow is the Fundraiser for the United Party of Round Lake

2009-02-26T05:24:00.000-06:00

Please come to our Meet and Greet Fundraiser tomorrow from 6pm to 8pm at Mikes Grill at 399 South Wilson road in Round Lake (the Valley Lakes strip mall). Small donations are welcome, we will have light appetizers and there will be a cash bar as well.Myself, Village Clerk Jeanne Kristan, Trustee Candidate Al Villasenor, Trustee Brian Brubaker and Trustee Candidate Cynthia Pruim Haran will be

Some Nice Press for a Good Program

2009-02-25T06:08:00.000-06:00

We got some nice press from the Waukegan News Sun a few days ago about a nice program we are doingROUND LAKE -- It can happen so fast that no one can prepare for it. Excessive speed kills, and that is message the Round Lake Police Department is trying to get out after joining Families Against Chronic Excessive Speed 4 (FACES4). There are 164 police departments in Illinois that are part of the

Stimulus Package Information

2009-02-23T06:54:00.002-06:00

Governor Quinn launched www.Recovery.Illinois.gov , a tool for every taxpayer interested in the $787 billion federal stimulus package. This site allows us to quickly share state-focused information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, collect project ideas from the public, and direct people to relevant state and/or federal agencies and applications.IDOT has released a few

Impressive Resident!

2009-02-20T05:44:00.000-06:00

Last week I was invited to attend a change of command ceremony for one of our residents. Command Sergeant Major Maurice A. Thorpe was stepping down from his command position as the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the Eastern Sector, United States Military Entrance Processing Command. The ceremony was at the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place. (By the way here is his bio, quite impressive)It was

Comments on Comments

2009-02-18T01:30:00.002-06:00

I have had two or three people email asking me why they were banned from commenting. I was surprised that they were, I asked them to provide IP's so I could unblock them. In some cases I have heard back in others I have not. So I am going to unblock all IP's as of this morning.The last IP I blocked was back on Thanksgiving day oddly enough and I have no idea what was even about, so all of you

Development in Round Lake-- Some comments

2009-02-17T05:27:00.001-06:00

One of the things I always hear is how I started the building boom here in Round Lake. Lets look at that for a minute and see how it really went down and who built what or allowed something to get built. So here are all the neighborhoods that have been built in Round Lake since the 90'sParkview 1 and 2--- 176 homes with zero commercial set aside.Treehouse in the Woods--- 220 town homes with zero

3rd Annual Beat the Mayor 5K-- Save the Date!

2009-02-15T06:20:00.001-06:00

Well my third annual "Beat the Mayor" 5K has a new location and is being contested earlier this year then usual. The race will be held on May 31, a Sunday, at 9am, at the Nippersink Forest Preserve. I wanted to hold the race last year at the Nippersink Forrest Preserve, but it wasn't ready in time, so we did the loop around the old section of Round Lake.Here is a link to register for the race.

Big Doings in Round Lake Fire District World

2009-02-11T05:25:00.002-06:00

Well the big news yesterday in the Round Lake Fire District, President Joanne Walker resigned, who was pick one:Pushed out after living in Palatine for the last 2 years.Forced to resign after living outside the district.Resigned in good grace after being given a cake.Okay since this board is appointed by the County Board Chair Suzi Schmidt its rife for odd appointments who are basically yes men

Free Ticket to the Chicago Auto Show

2009-02-10T05:16:00.002-06:00

I got a pass from the Ford Motor Company to attend the Chicago Auto Show which takes place February 13th to the 22nd at McCormick Place. It also has a letter that entitles you to a free gift if you come to the Ford Booth during your stay there. Email me at bgentes@eroundlake.com and the person with the best reason for why you need the tickets gets it, plus I will hand deliver it as well!So let me

Round Lake Chamber of Commerce-- Casino Night

2009-02-09T06:32:00.002-06:00

Win a Seat at the World Series of Poker! $150 Dollar Buy-In with a $30 rebuy (must have 100 players for the seat to be awarded)Proceeds benefit the Round Lake Chamber of Commerce Scholarship FundFebruary 13th, 2009 CASINO NIGHT!!6PM-MidnightHeld at: Round Lake Beach Cultural & Civic CenterComplete w/ Texas Hold'em Tournament, Blackjack, and many more table games.Texas Hold'em Tournament Winner

The 2005 Election-- Epilouge

2009-02-06T05:22:00.003-06:00

So where were we? Oh yes we all went home, except for Dale Multerer who was taken to a Level One Trauma Center by Helicopter no less for a five week stay. A One Vote win, then a terrible fall...From the Daily Herald April 7 2005-- Hours after winning a nail-biting, one-vote margin race to retain his Round Lake trustee seat, Dale Multerer was being airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General

The 2005 Election-- Part 5

2009-02-05T06:03:00.002-06:00

So finally we make it to election day, the party lines were pretty well drawn, I had a slate consisting of myself, Jeanne Kristan, Brian Brubaker, Bob Del Prato and Dale Multerer. The other slate was Jerry Shaw, Nancy Piscitello, Paul Bleers, Sean Gillette and Don Newby. The election itself was low key with the only real highlight being Jerry playing fast and loose with the election code.The

The 2005 Election-- Part 4

2009-02-04T05:12:00.006-06:00

Okay so we have gotten to the point where I had little control of the board, Newby, Shaw, Kohlmeyer and Blauvelt on one side of the issues and Multerer and Perkowitz on the other. Since I can't vote unless there is a tie, we were at an impasse. However something happened that dramatically changed the relationship of the board and the way we do business. I think the Daily Herald says it better so

Lets talk Policing!

2009-02-02T05:51:00.001-06:00

For those of you who don't recall I made aggressive police staff changes in 2005, the nonsense I am writing about here, is not and will never be repeated in this village.One of the things that I am most proud of is the way we have pushed for dramatic changes in the police department. One of the first things that struck me when I became Mayor was the startlingly high crime numbers for a community

Another Hospital Denied

2009-01-30T07:09:00.001-06:00

Is'nt this amazing? This board is the more incompetent board in the state.From the Daily Herald-- Officials at Vista Health System say they will revise plans to build a new hospital in Lindenhurst after their latest proposal was denied by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. Barbara J. Martin, president and CEO of the Waukegan-based hospital group, said Thursday she will present

Earth Hour returns!

2009-01-28T03:02:00.000-06:00

On March 28, we will celebrate Earth Hour 2009. Once again, residents in the Chicago region will join millions of people around the world to voluntarily “turn off the lights” for an hour from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to make a bold statement about climate change. Earth Hour will demonstrate that by working together, each one of us can make a positive impact on this global issue.

2009 Rain Barrel Sale

2009-01-27T05:02:00.000-06:00

The Benefits of a Rain Barrel A rain barrel connected to your downspout is a great way to keep stormwater out of the system and to cut down your water bill! Because you are collecting right off the roof, it has few contaminants and is perfect for watering the garden. Diverting water from your downspout into rainwater catchment systems has several advantages: Helps recharge the water supply.

The 2005 Election-- Part 3

2009-01-26T06:09:00.001-06:00

So while the silliness continued on a meeting by meeting basis we had some separate incidents that individually were just plain head scratching they are illustrative of the decision making the gang of four were using.Head Scratcher #1The first was A-Tire using their influence (the owners wife Danette Kohlmeyer) to refuse the states insistence that we build a fully signalized intersection at 134

The 2005 Election-- Part 2

2009-01-23T04:42:00.004-06:00

The first part of this article is here if you want to read this in sequence.In the midst of this we were planning for the Police and Public Works facility and that was bogged down with us rejecting the package that our General Contractor brought us to build the building for $6.4 million dollars because some "local old time politics style" contractors complained to certain trustee's that there

President Obama

2009-01-21T05:03:00.002-06:00

As a Democrat I am very pleased! I am also excited that a former Illinois Senator is president and particularly I am exited about his stimulus plan specifically his infrastructure funding! I am hopeful that we can attract needed federal construction funding to western Lake County. Maybe we can also get off the dime in Springfield and pass the long talked about capital plan to also get some state

The 2005 Election-- Part 1

2009-01-20T05:45:00.002-06:00

This is where it all gets good and messy! Within a week of winning election (if not before) Jerry Shaw decided he would make a fine mayor so he started making decisions to go in that direction. Which by the way I had no problem with just the methodology he used.He and Don Newby united to vote against the preliminary moves that got the old abandoned shopping center torn down at 134 and Fairfield.

The 2003 Election

2009-01-19T05:30:00.001-06:00

After I took office there was a period of relative calm, enlivened by the consideration of a peaker plant in our industrial park that would have brought the village $750,000 a year for 20 years. There was also an eye-opening vote about a traffic light that the state was going to pay for at Cedar Lake and 134, that the board rejected (I promise to write about these two things later).The three

I am running for Mayor! Again!

2009-01-15T08:37:00.001-06:00

I am pleased to announce that I am running for Mayor for a third term. We have a lot going on in the village and we want to carry through the extraordinary progress we have made in the last 8 years. Our slate has a website at www.rlunited.com, I am very pleased to be joined on the slate by current Village Clerk Jeanne Kristan, current Trustee Brian Brubaker, current Police Commissioner Al

Some stuff to smile about while it's freezing outside!

2009-01-14T02:43:00.000-06:00

Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational, which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. The winners are:Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an

Route 53 Referendum-- UPDATED

2009-01-13T07:08:00.006-06:00

There is a move afoot at the county to place an advisory referendum on the April Ballot that endorses Route 53 and calls for it to be built. UPDATE...if you roll your mouse over the more button on the survey you can find out how many people voted (28 so far). Not so sure I like this survey software.Okay I took the survey off...someone voted NO 53 times, which is quite funny, but not exactly, one

When Blizzard's Attack!

2009-01-12T16:17:00.000-06:00

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM TUESDAY. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR ACCUMULATING AND BLOWING SNOW IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO THE ONSET OF THE BLIZZARD WARNING. HIGH WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR ARE EXPECTED. ARCTIC AIR MOVING INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEHIND THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO

I feel bad about the lousy post this morning

2009-01-12T14:07:00.001-06:00

I loved this song way back, it was the theme to a Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, Chicago based cop movie I think, but can't be sure of that, anyway enjoy.

Not organized today at all!

2009-01-12T07:17:00.001-06:00

I took the daughter back to Illinois State yesterday and did not get back until late, so I am disorganized today, and in fact this is all you are going to get blog-wise. Post some comments, they look entertaining!

Area wide 911 service gets facelift.

2009-01-09T04:20:00.000-06:00

Over the years we have seen enormous changes and improvements to Cencom our Round Lake Area 911 service, the agency went from a scary pit, to award winning in 5 years. That's a testament to the hard work put into the process by the Cencom board with the 4 Round Lake Area communities, the Round Lake Fire District, the Round Lake Park District as well as Barrington all having a say in the

Christmas Tree Pick-up

2009-01-08T06:50:00.003-06:00

If you drag your used Christmas tree to the curb on Monday Waste Management will pick it up, they will pick up the discarded trees all four Monday's in January. They dispose of them for us in a clean environmental so that way your tree keeps on giving! Kind of a nice service we were able to negotiate with them!UPDATE NOTE: You are certainly not going batty, I wrote the post thinking Wednesday and

Elections of the Past-- 2001

2009-01-07T03:40:00.003-06:00

NOTE: if you want to read this and have it makeit a little more sense, read yesterday's post first.As 2000 wound down and election talk heated up, Jim Lumber made it clear he was not seeking a fourth term. There were numerous candidates talking about running. Among them Kevin Amman, Bill Heelan, to name some of the more well known ones.Jim Lumber approached me and suggested I would make a fine

Elections of the Past-- The Lumber Years

2009-01-06T06:03:00.004-06:00

NOTE: Since election time is not to far away, and with it, silly season in the village, I am going to talk about past elections in Round Lake and how decisions made in the 90's influence this village today. Hopefully this will allow me to set the stage for you to understand how all the characters fit together in later posts where I examine and blog about how we arrived where we are now.The Lumber

The Scorecard-- Setting the Stage!

2009-01-05T04:05:00.004-06:00

I started mapping out the various posts I am going to write on Mayor Blog 2.0, but as I developed my outline I realized that the average reader would not know any of the players. So what I have decided to do is start tomorrow with a series on the last 20 years of elections here in Round Lake. I think this might be the easiest way to see how we got to 2009.As we go forward I am going to try to

A comment on comments!

2009-01-02T04:20:00.004-06:00

Commenter's on the old version of the blog can be pretty rough to people who don't have their facts straight and I am sure that will continue, in fact lively comments in my opinion make a blog or break a blog. If you don't have a lively discourse you don't have $%#@.Over the last 3 years of blogging I have not really read the comments on a consistent basis, and in fact have not had a real sense

Welcome to the New Blogging Mayor's Blog Version 2.0

2009-01-01T00:01:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year! Welcome to a new beginning of my Mayor's Blog! I have been posting on blogger and then using pointers to the village's eroundlake.com website since this blogs inception way back in the spring of 2005. One of the things that I have always felt unable to do because of its quasi-official status is not post about ongoing issues in the village with complete candor.Over the years I have