Thank You to a Friend of Lanark

This past week I lost an old friend, but more importantly the City of Lanark and the people of Carroll County lost a very dedicated and knowledgeable public servant.

I know he had recently retired from the fire department, but his accomplishments while serving were many. I remember Tim bragging about his uncle the fireman while we were growing up, and saying that one day he wanted to become a fireman himself. After becoming a member of the Lanark Fire Department, he talked me into joining, so I know for fact that he had a huge impact on the lives of countless people.

From public officials to fellow fireman, family, friends, neighbors and even strangers that he treated on the way to the hospital or shared his wealth of knowledge with at one time or another, he was always willing to do anything he could and more. He brought training of fire department personnel to a whole new level and was one of the first three EMT basics that the Lanark Fire Department sent to an intermediate level training class to upgrade the ambulance service to the level it is today. Before the district went to full time paid EMT’s, Tim was one of the most reliable “go to” guys.

No matter whether he was working or sleeping, in town or out of town he was always there. Although we grew apart, I still considered Tim my friend and appreciate the positive impact he had on my son over the past few years as he started on his journey as a Fireman/EMT and also while he worked for Tim. I just want to say Thanks for Everything, Tim Foltz.

Sincerely,

Kevin Barnes

Lanark, IL

Keep Fair Representation

When you go to vote on Tuesday, November 2nd, there will be a “Carroll County Advisory Referendum” section on your ballot.

The proposed plan would down-size the county board to nine members from the present number of 15. A yes vote for this referendum would cause each district in Carroll County to be represented by only 3 people instead of the current 5.

At first glance, this might sound like a well-thought out reduction; what the reduction would really accomplish is less representation for the county’s citizens.

Some would say it would be easier to get a quorum for meetings. This would then require only 5 members for the monthly county board meeting. A county Board meeting could consist of only 4 county board members and then using the county board chairperson, it would be a quorum. Not much representation for county citizens.

With committees then consisting of only 3 members, down from the current 5 members, it would take only 2 board members to be a quorum at a committee meeting, thus giving the power of 2 people to make decisions for the entire county population.

In some cases, if only one committee member was present at a committee meeting and the county board chairperson was present, it would count as a quorum. That is poor representation for the county’s citizens.

I would like to encourage all the voters in Carroll County to VOTE NO on the Carroll County Advisory Referendum to keep Carroll County Citizens well represented in decisions.

Sincerely,

Ronald L. Preston

Carroll County Board,

District II

Deck Chairs

It’s a clear, star-filled night, and our ship is cruising in calm waters at a record-breaking speed. The captain is berating the crew because the hors d’oeuvres at High Tea weren’t quite up to the ship’s standards. Many of the passengers are busily re-arranging the deck chairs. Some don’t like the way Bush left them, some don’t like the way Obama is arranging them; this candidate misstated his military record, and that one knows mobsters. Heck, one even met a witch! Petty stuff, compared to the real danger this ship faces.

Our government debt is reported as $13 trillion, but it’s like an iceberg – we can see $13 trillion, but there’s another $110 trillion in unfunded liabilities unseen below the water line. The Captain knows of this iceberg, named on the charts as “Total Economic Collapse”, off the port bow, directly in our path, but he assures us we won’t reach it for a while. Meanwhile, the passengers are angrily squabbling over the deck chair arrangement, and the captain is contemplating assigning entertainers to divert the attention of the unruly passengers.

Quit squabbling over deck chairs – we’re headed for an iceberg! For a few brief hours on November 2nd, the wheelhouse doors will be unlocked. Some of us are planning on storming the wheelhouse and replacing the crew. Actually, we’ll probably just walk up and vote them out, but you get the drift…

“Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. Liberty is a man-of-war, and we are all crew.” - Kenneth W. Royce

Terry Smith

Lanark, IL

Vote for Labno

Please vote for Mike Labno, candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Mike grew up in working-class neighborhoods in the Chicago suburbs. He worked his way through college as an auto-mechanic and earned an engineering degree and is currently a senior project manager in the electrical construction industry.

Mike still believes in the American dream, where people who work hard and play by the rules are rewarded. Today, the irresponsible get a taxpayer bailout and our economy is stuck in low gear.

Mike’s goal is to rebuild the American economy to create jobs. Excessive government taxation, regulation, subsidies, and tariffs have choked the ability of American businesses to start, grow, and create jobs. Government bailouts and subsidies to banks and large corporations serve only to steal from average Americans.

Productive jobs come from the private sector. By downsizing or eliminating unnecessary federal departments, taxes, regulations, subsidies, and tariffs, we will allow business owners to grow their companies and hire Americans.

How’s that for starters?

Best of all, Mike’s not a career politician. Neither was George Washington. He will represent our interests, not those of the Great Reneger and Harry Reid, as Durbin and all other Illinois senators have done for decades.

Visit his website to find out more about him.

Remember, six years is a long time. It’s time to change seats.

Richard O’Connor

Pearl City, IL

Two Wilhelmi Endorsements

First:

My name is Andy Henson and I’m a Sergeant at the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office.

I have been a police officer in Whiteside County for more than 20 years and a DARE Officer for the past 16 years. Over those years I have had an opportunity to work with many police officers, chiefs and sheriffs from around the State.

Through these experiences I have learned it takes much more than being a “cop” to make a good Sheriff. A Sheriff’s duties and responsibilities go far beyond patrol. Our Sheriff manages more than 80 employees, is responsible for maintaining several county buildings, the jail and civil process to name a few.

Sheriff Kelly Wilhelmi possesses the skills to successfully accomplish these many and varied tasks. He is fiscally responsible, can balance a budget, and provides more services while using less tax payer money.

On November 2nd make an educated and wise decision to support Kelly Wilhelmi for Whiteside County Sheriff. Kelly is the candidate who will continue to do what’s right and best for Whiteside County citizens, just as he has done for the last two years.

Andy Henson

Morrison IL

Second:

I’m Roger Schipper, retired Sheriff of Whiteside County. I was elected Sheriff five times and served a total of 18 years as Sheriff. I will always be grateful to the voters of Whiteside County for their confidence and the privilege of serving as their Sheriff.

When I reached age 63, I decided it was time to turn in the badge and retire. With retirement in mind, I needed to find someone with common sense and the managerial skills to lead the Sheriff’s Office into the future. There was no doubt in my mind who was best-qualified to pass on the leadership, who would best unite the Sheriff’s Office, and who possessed]the managerial skills vital in the smooth operation of the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office. That person is Kelly Wilhelmi.

Sheriff Wilhelmi has led the Sheriff’s Office for the past two years. He has mastered a very complicated budget, and, in fact, both those years were completed under budget.

Sheriff Wilhelmi is a certified police officer and certified correctional officer. Both certifications are vital to completely understanding procedures and to correctly lead a Sheriff’s Office.

The biggest liability facing a Sheriff is the operation of a jail. Before becoming Sheriff, Kelly supervised the entire correctional facility for four of his 22-year career in law enforcement. He has overseen the jail and the security of the Whiteside County Courthouse.

Since Kelly Wilhelmi became Sheriff two years ago, his decisions, integrity, and actions have reinforced my decision that he is the right person for the job. Kelly Wilhelmi is the correct choice for the citizens of Whiteside County.

Please join me November 2nd in voting for Kelly Wilhelmi as Sheriff of Whiteside County.

Sincerely,

Roger A. Schipper

Whiteside County Sheriff

(Retired)

Looking Out For Our Interest

The following represent some of the people and their positions running for Public Office in the Tea Party/Republican ticket. These are the people who will be “looking out for our interest” if they win this election.

Congressman Mark Kirk, a Republican, who is running for US Senate from our State of Illinois, is now calling himself Mr. Independent. According to the Washington Post, Congressman Kirk has voted with the “Party of No” 88% of the time. The Congressman has voted no on most of the major issues, including: to eliminate tax loopholes which encourages companies to move jobs to other countries; Small Business Lending Fund act of 2010; Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010; Wall Street Reform Act; Healthcare reform Act; Spending in Elections Act or the Disclose Act; etc. etc. The bipartisan “yes” votes were for mostly minor bills.

Congressman Manzullo, who is running for re-election, has voted with the “Party of No” 94% of the time. The Congressman parallels Congressman Kirk’s voting record with a slight increased in voting with his Republican colleagues.

Illinois Senator Bill Brady is running for State Governor. According to Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune, The Senator 17 year career in the General Assembly is long on talk and short on action. Some of Senator Brady’s backed legislation that haven’t passed include: A bill that requires police to destroy information on gun purchases; A bill to reduce the age of gun ownership to 18 from 21; A bill to allow pharmacist to refuse the dispensing of emergency contraception; A bill to replace the State Board of Education; A bill to restrict embryonic stem cell research; A bill to require public school students to pass a patriotism exam (now, there is a communistic idea!) and a State Constitution amendment to ban same sex marriages. In addition, Senator Brady is also against the minimum wage.

These are the actions and positions of some of our Republican politicians from a moderate State! Other Tea Party/Republicans running for the US Congress are way out in right field; Rand Paul in Kentucky thinks that private business should have the right to discriminate; Joe Miller of Alaska thinks that minimum wage and Social Security are unconstitutional and he is also against unemployment compensation even though his wife was in that program some time back; Kristine O’Donnell of Delaware does not understand the separation of Church and State in the First Amendment of the Constitution; Sharron Angle of Nevada wants to phase out or privatized Social Security and has mentioned “taking out Harry Read”; Ron Johnson running for the US Senate from Wisconsin could not answer a question from a Green Bay paper as to what he would do for the middle class and went to the Wisconsin State Senate to defend Priests, saying that a proposed Child Sexual Abuse Victims Act was bad for business. These and most all Tea Party/Republicans running for political offices have many things in common. They are against social programs and talk about phasing out or privatizing Social Security and Medicare. They are against minimum wage, welfare, healthcare reform, and all type of regulations including those for Wall Street. If they ever succeed in privatizing Social Security it should be then known as the Social Risk!

Today’s Tea Party/Corporate controlled Republicans are getting millions of dollars for their campaigns from Republican operatives like Karl Rove and from the US Chamber of Commerce. Just these two parties are donating tens of millions of dollars and we the public will never know what entities are buying this election. Is it: The Oil Billionaire Koch Brother? A few Millionaires? Global Corporations? Foreign countries? Foreign corporations? No one knows. This will be your Republican government! I wonder who they will try and protect when they legislate. And they tell us they care about the working people! Good luck with that!

Paul Gonzalez

Lake Carroll, IL

Another One Gone

As of Sunday, October 31, 2010, one of Savanna’s landmarks is closing its doors for good. Dominic’s and Marie’s Italian Restaurant, a fixture in Savanna, has been feeding people from states such as Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and as far away as Hawaii for 25 years. That’s a quarter of a century folks!! And the building has been a restaurant since the early fifties. That’s at least 60 years!

Now, with the economy the way it is, the large increase in electric rates, the increase in water rates, the increases in food and liquor and few people left in Savanna to support a restaurant such as Dominic’s and Marie’s, it can no longer support itself by relying only on out of town customers. What a rotten shame! It is, as many out of town customers have stated, “one of the best Italian Restaurants in the area, even as far away as Chicago”. Thank God for the bikers! They are the only ones left bringing money to this town

How many more businesses is Savanna going to have to lose, before the City realizes that it has to do something to attract people to this town? Next time you’re driving down Main Street, count the number of vacant store fronts. You’ll truly be amazed! Maybe the City just doesn’t realize that when a business goes, so does the sales tax. You don’t have to look too far to realize who is going to have to make up for the lost sales taxes. Maybe the City believes that people will drive for miles just to see the new “City Hall” as they as they drove for miles to eat at Dominic’s and Marie’s. Somehow, I rather doubt it. If this can happen to a restaurant the caliber of Dominic’s and Marie’s, no business in Savanna is safe. Maybe the City believes that there will be some miraculous intervention and Savanna will somehow spring up from the ashes. If some drastic changes aren’t made and made now, that’s exactly what this town will be—a ghost town that no one will want to live in let alone visit.

As an aside, I read an article in the paper the other day. Why does Savanna already have money in the bank for an unnecessary project such as the “money pit” on Chicago Avenue and have to borrow money for the desperately needed projects such as road repair? There is something seriously wrong with that picture!!

J.D. Gundlach

Savanna, IL

911 Tax Increase

It is important to know that there are other options than raising taxes for 911. For starters, the Carroll County 911 system never needed answering points in both Mt. Carroll and Savanna. The 911 board has always been able to convince itself two were needed, even though Jo Davies and Lee counties, both with considerably larger populations, are able to successfully have just one answering point.

Unfortunately, the 911 system has become an example of a good program becoming the typical government entity, growing and taking on a life of its own. 911 originally was supposed to answer the phone and dispatch the appropriate emergency service. It has since become a jobs program ensuring the continued existence of a full time department, installing road signs, and purchasing unneeded mapping services and systems and other projects far outside that original scope of 911.

All of this aside, the real problem with emergency services will not be addressed by this tax increase. Years of anti-business policies from federal, state and local governments have driven county small businesses into extinction. These same small businesses are what provide the backbone and manpower for these volunteer organizations. Nearly every emergency department in the county struggles to have enough crew for ambulance squads, and is even worse for fire service. The most difficult time is during the day. With fewer jobs in the county, more and more people are working out of the county during the day. Some departments are just a few business closings away from being unable to field a viable emergency service.

So the question is, does a tax increase help the real problem, or just continue feeding the government? Will raising taxes ensure businesses continue, prosper, and maybe even expand into Carroll County? Not raising taxes and closing an unneeded PSAP is not a step backwards, but a step in the right direction. I urge you to vote against the ETSB/911 rate increase.

Andrew Skoog

911 Board Member retired

Chadwick Fireman and

EMT retired

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

Many of you have contacted my office regarding the constitutional amendment change which will appear on your ballot on November 2nd regarding recall of the governor. It is far from perfect legislation, but it deserves your vote – here’s why. The bill is an outgrowth of the Governor Blagojevich debacle and a very angry electorate (you and I) wanting him gone.

Though I believe all elected persons at the state level should be subject to recall, your vote on November 2nd only applies to the governor. The affidavit requires signatures from ten members of the senate and twenty from the house, fifty percent from each party. Circulated petitions must equal fifteen percent of the total votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election, with at least one hundred signatures from each of twenty five separate counties.

Cumbersome? You bet! Necessary? Absolutely! Had that mechanism been in place under the Blagojevich administration, we would have spared this state a painful impeachment.

As we close the gap to November 2nd, we all grow increasingly angry at the attack adds. One senate candidate is being criticized for missing nearly two hundred votes in two years. One family emergency and that could happen in three days. My favorite is “Millionaire Bill Brady paid no income tax”. As a business owner with twelve employees during these economic times, I understand how easy it is to not only have no income for the year, but to end up in the red. That doesn’t make the candidate a bad person. Again, I implore you, be a well informed voter.

When you hold public office, you are fair game. A recent editorial chastised my receipt of government subsidies. Some of my proudest accomplishments are my efforts at conservation farming. Three times Winnebago County Soil and Water Conservation District has awarded me conservation farming honors to include Conservation Farmer of the Year and Conservation Farm Family of the Year.

I choose to bypass cash rent of $150 to $200 per acre and instead rent erodible ground to the Federal Governments Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for $79 per acre to make the payment and keep it in grassland preserving it for future generations. You be the judge.

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE NOVEMBER 2ND.