Tommorrow is Arbor Day

Don't forget that tomorrow is Arbor Day and the village will be celebrating it at 11:00 am at the Village Hall. As usual we will have tree giveaways and other "arborly" things for you!

Gas Prices Locally and Nationally

Been playing around all morning with this little gadget from this page. Pretty cool feature for a depressing situation. I was unable to get 60073 loaded automatically in the little feature below. Been having trouble getting the entire post to display so I have been late this morning!

Search for gas prices by US Zip Code

Lowest Gas Prices in Chicago

Chicago Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Kidney Blog

Last year at the Round Lake Spartan Corn and Brat fest Maureen Giramonte a Round Lake Resident, and Streets of Summer Beer Tent Coordinator (aka the Beer Wench) talked to me about something near and dear to her heart raising awareness of Kidney Disease and raising funds for the Kidney Trust.

Maureen has decided to ride a bike 240 miles to raise awareness this September throughout Wisconsin in something called the Tour DaVita. She has created a blog to chronicle her adventure which is here. I would encourage you to read and visit the site regularly, but more importantly visit this place where she is raising money to support the cause!

Anyone who decided to ride 240 miles on a bike deserves our support and encouragement!

Liquor Issues-- 100% Compliance

On Friday, March 28, 2008, the Round Lake Police Department conducted an Alcohol Countermeasure Enforcement operation. Fifteen of the seventeen liquor establishments in the Village of Round Lake were checked. I am happy to announce that NO ONE sold alcohol to the minor. This is the first time that the Village of Round Lake has had 100% compliance.

This ACE operation was conducted as part of a larger county-wide initiative and a cooperative press release is being drafted by the Waukegan Police Department. Thank you for your support of our continued efforts to eliminate the sale of alcohol to minors and the responsible sale of alcohol to adults. Of course, we will continue to conduct ACE operations and are planning one for prom time.

The Actual Study Used by the Illinois Hospital Facilities Board

I was able to obtain the actual report used by the Illinois Facilities Board to deny Advocate's request to build a hospital at the corner of 120 and Wilson Road. Here is the report.

Some of my more technical readers may enjoy delving into this. I am tempted to use the document to attempt to reproduce the results with more accuracy!

New Adult in the Area!

My baby is 18 today! She just told me she is buying a scratch off ticket on her way to work! Nice! UPDATE: Both (non-Round Lake) places she went to purchase tickets did not card her, which of course was the point of the purchases! I am also am not allowed to post a picture by the way.

Advocate, Mapquest and Pumpkins

I hate to quote a Republican but I think President Ronald Regan said it best:

The most frightening words in the English language are - I am from the government and I am here to help!

I have a variety of things to say about the Illinois Hospital Facility Planning Board's (IHFPB) decision to not build a hospital in either Lindenhurst or Round Lake. So I am going to put them in no particular order.

• Here are links to various articles on the subject in the Daily Herald, News Sun and Chicago Tribune.
• Google Maps says it takes 22 minutes from Wilson and 120 to Condell in Libertyville.
  Mapquest says it takes 19 minutes.
  My Tom Tom satellite navigation system says 26 minutes.
  
• Non-stop comments from people about my Daily Herald quote of "Pumpkin Heads" Overwhelmingly people seem to enjoy my equating bureaucrats to orange, soft, mushy, big headed pumpkins.
• One email comment:
  The government will allow banks to build on every corner, regardless of anyone's "assessment" of the "need" for another bank, while providing trillions of dollars of insurance to depositors in case the banking system fails due to over expansion, or any other reason. But the government won't allow a private entity to invest its own money into a health care facility because Mapquest doesn't say it is needed??

Finally I decided to do some research to simulate a quasi emergency and how we would need to race from Round Lake (120 and Wilson) to Condell Hospital in Libertyville. Needless to say I needed a patient, hence the Pumpkins, who suffered a simulated accident at the corner of 120 and Wilson. This controlled experiment used the following equipment and followed rigours standard principles.

• One car driven at normal speeds.
• A trustee well versed in emergency health care evacuations (Trustee Dale Multerer).
• My camera which was used every two minutes to capture a picture of where we were for verification purposes.
• A stop watch.
• Two flat pumpkins.

Some observations, I did this before school let out and before rush hour started to make sure I got literally the best possible conditions for getting to a hospital quickly. If this were a true emergency the ambulance would move quicker, (however we only stopped at 4 of the 17 lights we would have hit). Conversely the pumpkins were lucky that the Mayor and a highly skilled trustee happened to notice them, because it would take 2-4 minutes for paramedics to arrive.


At 1:32 Dale and I noticed Mr Pumpkin and his companion who seemed to be in some form of distress. So we decided to transport them to Libertyville and Condell which is only 19 minutes away!



At 1:35 we secured the Pumpkins safely in the back of the car.


This was the scene that confronted us as we attempted to rush the pumpkins to emergency medical care only 19 minutes away. We pulled away at 1:36 exactly! Knowing we would have the pumpkins safe and sound with top medical professionals at 1:55.


At 1:42 we were going down Route 60 at Turks, glancing back at the pumpkins they seemed somewhat orange in complexion but they assured me that was normal.


At 1:44 we were waiting behind these commuters at 60 and Peterson Road, no idea what they were doing on a Tuesday afternoon, but a good shot anyway.


At 1:46 we were nearing the train tracks at Peterson and 45, where thankfully we did not get caught by a train. We crossed the train lines 2 times in our trip to the hospital. Elapsed time to this point 10 minutes!


Here we are at 1:50 waiting for the light at 137 and Butterfield, in the right of the picture you can see my Tom Tom which seemed more logical with travel times.


At 1:52 we heard moaning from the back seat as we drove down 137 just West of the Libertyville city limits! Elapsed time to this moment is 16 minutes.


Here we are at 2:00 pm on Milwaukee (Route 21 in Libertyville). Elapsed time 24 minutes and some highly distressed pumpkins in the back seat!


Ok here we are at last, at 2:04, 28 minutes later


But wait there is a 2 minute drive to actually get to the entrance to the emergency room. Plus the signs are confusing!

Unfortunately when we arrived we were turned away because the Pumpkins had Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance and could not be treated at Condell.

PLEASE NOTE: No pumpkins were harmed during this experiment in sarcasm.

It only takes 16 minutes to get to a hospital! Or does it take years?

NOTE: This was the post I was going to write today, but late yesterday, the Illinois Hospital Facility Board denied both Vista and Advocate the ability to build a hospital in Western Lake county. Advocate management is still committed to the process and the freestanding facility they are proposing will be before the Planning and Zoning Commission at the end of the month. I will write more about this shortly. But I can't tell you how disappointed I am by how poorly the State manages this process. Here is a link to the Daily Herald article in todays paper.

This article was in Mondays Daily Herald and I think it goes to show you how nuts the process is for attracting a hospital. The Illinois Hospital Facility board uses Mapquest to determine traffic times and clearly has never driven the 45-60 minutes to the nearest hospital.

If you live in Lindenhurst or Round Lake, how far is it to the nearest hospital?

If you believe the state's findings, there's a hospital a mere 16 minutes from Round Lake and another just 19 minutes from Lindenhurst.

Lake County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt said the findings are outrageous, especially given traffic congestion on Lake County roads.

The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board examined travel times as part of its study of two hospital proposals -- Vista Medical Center's in Lindenhurst and Advocate Health Care's in Round Lake. They admit their method of measurement isn't perfect, but they still use it to help decide if a new health-care facility is needed.

State officials use MapQuest, a Web site that provides driving directions and maps, to determine the distance between facilities and travel time. In the case of the two Lake County proposals on the table, the data shows neither is needed.

"This has been a very difficult thing for a long time," said Jeffrey Mark, executive secretary for the planning board. "The board has used this system for many, many years, but the problem is, travel times is never clearly defined."

The Daily Herald conducted an unscientific study to determine drive-times to the three closest hospitals to Lindenhurst and Round Lake. Daily Herald staffers followed the same MapQuest routes cited by the state, in nonrush hour and rush hour traffic.

Only once did our findings match the state's; the rest of the trips were longer.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the health facilities planning board will vote on the Lindenhurst and Round Lake hospital proposals.

It will take into account several factors, including travel times to other hospitals and a current excess of 209 hospital beds in the area. The meeting is in Springfield.

Mark said 30 minutes is a benchmark the state sees as a reasonable time to drive for an elective hospital procedure.

Vista wants to build a 140-bed hospital near Deep Lake Road and Route 132. According to the state, Condell Medical Center in Libertyville is 19 minutes from that location; Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan is 20 minutes away; and Lake Forest Hospital is 22 minutes away.

Advocate wants to build a 144-bed hospital at Route 120 and Wilson Road. The three closest hospitals to that site, according to the state, are Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry at 16 minutes; Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Lake Barrington at 16 minutes; and Condell at 19 minutes.

In our survey, all the drive times but one -- a nonrush hour trip from Round Lake to Northern Illinois Medical Center in McHenry -- were three to 22 minutes longer than the MapQuest estimate.

The longest trip was from Lindenhurst to Lake Forest Hospital in nonrush hour traffic. At 44 minutes, it was double the state's 22-minute estimate. The delay was due to ongoing construction on Interstate 94.

Mark said because of issues such as construction and traffic congestion, the board plans to factor in extra time to the MapQuest estimations.

The board decided last month to multiply travel times by 1.25 within the city of Chicago and 1.15 in the suburbs and selected cities such as Rockford, Peoria and Springfield, Mark said.

"We acknowledge this is an issue and travel times vary by day of the week, time of the year and construction," Mark said. "We've tried to address it. And we would also like to be relatively fair."

The change was not made in time for the state reports on the Vista and Advocate proposals.

That means the 22-minute trip from Lindenhurst to Lake Forest Hospital would be increased to just more than 25 minutes under the new guidelines.

That's still almost 19 minutes less than what the Daily Herald trip.

The state's studies were done from the communities where the hospitals would be built. The distance to existing hospitals from neighboring towns farther away, such as Fox Lake and Antioch, were not taken into account.

The 1,000th Post

Well today is a milestone in my blog! Its the 1,000th post! The blog was started a little less then 3 years ago (the birthday festivities will be later this month).

I am proud of the fact that this blog has been featured in the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and in a government study commissioned by the IBM Center for the Business of Government on the effects of blogging for public officials.

I have spoken at a variety of national conferences on blogging. Where I have been treated as a celebrity by the blogosphere, which is quite a kick.

Its a rare event when I go out and don't have someone tell me they read my blog, which always gives me pleasure.

Not sure what the future holds but I am sure I will get to 2000 posts, either as a Senator, Mayor or some other position.

Transit Idea-- Alameda Corridor

Given the growing issues we are having in this region with increased freight congestion, I think it's instructive to see how the Los Angeles area dealt with 100's of rail crossings bogging down traffic and obstructing community growth opportunites.

The Alameda Corridor is a 20-mile-long rail cargo expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail network near downtown Los Angeles. It is a series of bridges, underpasses, overpasses and street improvements that separate freight trains from street traffic and passenger trains, facilitating a more efficient transportation network. The project’s centerpiece is the Mid-Corridor Trench, which will carry freight trains in an open trench that is 10 miles long, 33 feet deep and 50 feet wide between State Route 91 in Carson and 25th Street in Los Angeles. Construction began in April 1997. Operations began in April 2002.

Round Lake Firefighters Bowling Tourney---May 17th

Click on the picture to make bigger.

Album Art on Display at Lake County Discovery Museum

Explore 60 years of outstanding album cover artwork in the special exhibition "LP Art," on display thru August 3, 2008, at the Lake County Discovery Museum near Wauconda. The exhibit showcases some of the most memorable and inventive Long Playing (LP) record album covers of all time from artists like Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Beck. "LP Art" is sponsored by the Daily Herald.

Since the conception of album art by Alex Steinweiss in 1939, it has become an integral part of music and popular culture. See the cover evolve from early jazz sleeves to iconic rock albums to interactive CD booklets. The exhibit contains sections on rock, punk, jazz, funk, hip hop, pop, novelty and children's records. It also features highlights from the remarkable catalogues of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. A special area focuses on album covers by famous visual artists such as Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Takashi Murakami and Robert Mapplethorpe. The exhibit also includes the history of the various audio formats and packaging used to distribute music over the years, including Edison phonographic cylinders, records, 8-tracks, cassette tapes, Compact Discs (CDs) and MP3 files.

The exhibition features numerous hands-on activities for children and adults. In the Cover Art Studio kids can design their own album cover or interpret a classic such as Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." At the Cover Shoot visitors can take the stage with various costumes and props and get in touch with their inner rock star. Adults can get in on the fun as they try to recall band logos in our Album Art Alphabet game. A free audio tour provides a soundtrack for visitors as they explore the exhibit.

The entrance to the Lake County Discovery Museum is located on Route 176, just west of Fairfield Road and east of Wauconda in Lakewood Forest Preserve. Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $2.50 for youth ages four to 17. Children three years and under are free. Seniors are $2.50 after 2 p.m. On Discount Tuesdays, admission is $3 for adults, and youth 17 years and under are free. Admission is always free for Museum members.

"LP Art" is sponsored by the Daily Herald. For more information about the exhibit or to download discount admission coupons, call 847-968-3400 or visit online at www.LCFPD.org/LPart.

About the Lake County Discovery Museum

The Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda, Illinois, provides visitors with hands-on exhibits and educational programs. The nationally accredited Museum also is home to the nation's largest collection of picture postcards. The Museum is part of the Lake County Forest Preserve District, which manages more than 26,000 acres of land and offers innovative educational, recreational and cultural opportunities for all ages.

Me with the angry protestors for heated streets!

Best April 1 Ever!

I have done three of these, but this one is the best! We are not ripping up every village street. We are not laying high voltage lines in small trenches on the roads. We are not spending millions on the project. We are not putting giant wind turbines behind the Police and Public works facility!

I moderated comments all day, and blocked all the comments that would spoil my fun! I have released all the spoiler comments and the blog now has unmoderated comments again!

I had a great day! I love my blog, and I love Round Lake! But best of all I love a laugh!

PS Devon if you are real, I am truly sorry to have ticked you off to that level, otherwise great comment!

Round Lake to Pilot a Solution for Streets and Snow!

The Village has been selected by the US Department of Transportation to act as a pilot program for a new "warm" road technology that will install wire threads that will heat our streets and keep them clear during snow falls and freezing rains. The system will prevent snow from sticking on the street and will eliminate the need for salting and plowing.

The process has been tried with excellent success in Norway (Trondheim), where over a short 4 month spring and summer they installed 63 miles of superconductor wire in streets. 4 strands of this wire need to be laid on a street with a separation of about 24-30 inches. The wire is inserted in a narrow 1 and1/4 inch sawcut trench that will be cut in the street and then sealed with asphalt. The wires keep the street at a constant 53 degrees throughout the winter, or during any snow event.

Funding for this $17 million dollar project is from the Feds and only requires a 20% local match ($3.4 million) from the village. The potential saving are huge! We spend quite a bit on salt and plowing manpower and none of this will be needed anymore.

The downside of course is this summer and fall we will be cutting grooves in all village streets and of course installing the wires will be messy and take time. In addtion the village's electrical bill will go up. We are going to explore building a wind farm behind the Police and Public Works facility to generate the needed electricity as well.