Rich Garling’s Blog

Word from DC is that the GOP is calling for making the stimulus package a loan to the States rather than grants because they feel it would make the States spend the money more wisely. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

 

has proposed that if President-Elect Obama wants to stimulate the economy quickly then he should sign the omnibus bill that was recently passed by both houses. The Senator’s suggestion is a good one, at least on passing the omnibus bill (and Bush should sign it rather than wait for Obama to begin his term in office), but it’s not nearly enough to stimulate the worsening economy. The economic downfall, caused by the bad economic policies of his own party, needs to have the recent bailout money for Wall Street diverted to Main Street in the form of grants, not loans, to many of the small communities that could use that money to rebuild roads, improve water and sewer systems and work on other infrastructure improvements. Mr. McConnell doesn’t seem to realize that making this money a loan would require voter approval because taxes would have to be increased in order to provide the funds to repay the loans. Asking permission from the voters to issue Bonds is precisely what Island Lake will have to do in order to build a new Police Department and to refurbish village hall. Grants from the Federal Government would certainly be a whole lot better. While this plan to sell bonds to fund the refurbishing is needed and it will provide jobs, it is asking people to dig into their pockets a little deeper at a rather bad time. Mr. McConnell doesn’t seem to realize that his bad policies of the past 8 years have caused the problems we have today. Those policies of tax breaks and overspending have put this nation in the spot of having to make some tough choices. Let’s not exasperate the situation further by demanding that Main Street repay a loan while Wall Street gets a bailout.

Tags: Growth, News, Federal // Add Comment »

The recent news that Island Lake was one of the few communities to sign onto a class action suit concerning MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) pollution and that we will be awarded a portion of the settlement money, around $2 million, has certainly sent some minds fluttering about as to where to spend those dollars. One of the responsibilities of being a Trustee requires that we provide for the health, welfare and safety of our residents. The money should be spent to guarantee the village’s water supply now and into the future. That means ensuring we have plentiful clean water from reliable sources and that it be protected from all possible sources of pollution, including so-called pig farmers and former gas station owners. Part of the reason this suit came about is because of the pollution caused by the gas station at Newberry and Route 176. It caused the well in Fox River Shores to be closed down. Part of the process for refining oil into gasoline is to add MTBE so that it increases the oxygen rate in the gasoline so that it burns cleaner.

 

While not the total process of refining gasoline it gives an idea of what it takes. Using electric power would certainly be a better alternative. I remember when the well closing occurred and how our water usage was limited as a result.

As a Trustee I will do all I can to ensure we have the water we need. My vote will be to spend that money on water related projects and nothing else.

Tags: VOIL // Add Comment »

It’s 4 days into the new year that I hope will be better than 08 was. Especially at the Village level. I’m going to do a review of what happened in 08 in the Village of Island Lake. By the way, anyone is free to comment on this blog, you just have to sign your name to what you say. If you can’t do that than your comments are not worth reading.

First, recently a suggestion came up from Trustee John Ponio to amend the villages weapons ordinance. As the story was told to the Board, a group of people apparently stopped along side the road, maybe they parked in the lot, at Veterans Park. It was close to evening and these people got out of the car. They were wearing some kind of dark colored hooded clothing and apparently they held in their hands what appeared to be some kind of “air” powered rifle. A couple of nearby residents witnessed these people running around the park and it alarmed them. They called the Police, but these people left the park before they arrived.

Ponio has asked that we amend the the ordinance to include these types of rifles. The proposed amended ordinance is copied below:

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE VILLAGE CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF

ISLAND

LAKE CONCERNING UNLAWFUL DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS

________________________________________________________________                                                                                                                                                                          WHEREAS, the Village of Island Lake, Lake and McHenry Counties, Illinois, is an

Illinois municipal corporation; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to various provisions of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, including without limitation 65 ILCS 5/1-2-1, 65 ILCS 5/11-1-1, and 720 ILCS 535/8, among others, the Village of Island Lake has enacted regulations pertaining to the unlawful discharge of firearms that have been codified in Chapter 5 of Title 6 of the Village Code of the Village of Island Lake; andWHEREAS, from time-to-time, the Village reviews its Village Code to determine whether it needs to be updated or amended to better address current circumstances; andWHEREAS, the Village Board of the Village of Island Lake recently reviewed its Village Code and determined that it needs to be updated to address the use of spring-powered, electric-powered, and air, electric, or gas-powered rifles, guns, or pistols in the Village; and            WHEREAS, the Village Board of the Village of Island Lake finds and determines that the proposed amendments to the Village Code are desirable and in the best interests of the Village and its residents, as more fully described in this Ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE Mayor and Board of Trustees of the Village of Island Lake, Lake and

McHenry Counties, Illinois, as follows:

Section 1.        The above stated recitals are incorporated herein by reference.Section 2.        Section 6-5-2-12 of the Village Code is hereby amended as follows:6-5-2-12:         UNLAWFUL DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS A.         It shall be unlawful to discharge any pistol, revolver or firearm in the Village; provided that this Section shall not be construed to prohibit any officer of the law to discharge a firearm or other service weapon in the performance of his duty. B.         It shall be unlawful to discharge any air gun, air rifle, BB gun, pellet gun, paint ball gun, or bow and arrow from or across any street, sidewalk, road, highway or public land or in any public place except on a safely constructed target area.  C.        For purposes of this Section, an “air rifle” is defined as any air, gas, or electric-powered gun, pistol, or rifle; spring gun; spring pistol; B‑B gun; paint ball gun; pellet gun; or any implement that impels a breakable paint ball containing washable marking colors or a pellet constructed of hard plastic, steel, lead, or other hard materials with a force that reasonably is expected to cause bodily harm; or any other “air rifle” as defined in the Illinois Air Rifle Act, 720 ILCS 535/1, as amended from time-to-time.  Section 3:     In the event a conflict exists between the terms of this Ordinance and any other ordinance of the Village, the terms of this Ordinance shall govern.  Section 4:     In the event that any term or provision hereof is found or determined to be invalid, the invalid portion shall be deemed stricken herefrom and the remainder shall be in full force and effect.   Section 5:     This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval.Changes are in bold or have been crossed out.What is ironic here are two things:1. This is the same Trustee who has complained about changing ordinances to make them fit whatever situation we wanted them to. He is also the same Trustee who has asked that we spend thousands of dollars on making changes to all our ordinances at once rather than making changes to them, like this instance, one at a time. He is also the same Trustee who is a stickler for the rules and has said many times that you can’t change ordinances to fit whatever you want them to at that moment.

2. He has said in the past that he is not in favor of gun control. The words he used, when the Board was considering a request for gun control support from another Illinois Mayor, were “I am not a Nazi”. It’s on tape, recorded and video. So does this new support of gun control mean that he has switched sides?

I have an FOID card. While I do not own a weapon I do believe there are some weapons that we need to control. Uzi’s come to mind. But air powered guns do not.

Let us also consider that we already have two ordinances covering unlawful usage of weapons as copied below:

6-5-2-11: UNLAWFUL USE OF WEAPONS:

A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly:

A. Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or carries any bludgeon, black-jack, sling-shot, sand-club, sandbag, metal knuckles or any knife commonly referred to as a switch-blade knife, which has a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife; or

B. Carries or possesses with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, broken bottle or other piece of glass, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character; or

C. Carries on or about his person or in any vehicle, a tear gas gun projector or bomb or any object containing noxious liquid, gas or substance; or

D. Carries concealed in any vehicle or concealed on or about his person except when on his land or in his own abode or fixed place of business any pistol, revolver or other firearm; or

E. Possesses any device or attachment of any kind designed, used or intended for use in silencing the report of any firearm; or

F. Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or carries any weapon from which more than eight (8) shots or bullets may be discharged by a single function of the firing device, any shotgun with a barrel less than eighteen inches (18″) in length, or any bomb, bomb-shell, grenade, bottle or other container containing an explosive substance, such as but not limited to black powder bombs and Molotov cocktails; or

G. Carries or possesses any firearm or other deadly weapon in any place which is licensed to sell intoxicating beverages, or at any public gathering held pursuant to a license issued by any governmental body or any public gathering at which an admission is charged, excluding a place where a showing, demonstration or lecture involving the exhibition of unloaded firearms is conducted; or

H. Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or about his person any pistol, revolver or firearm, when he is hooded, robed or masked in such manner as to conceal his identity. (Ord. 275, 11-9-72)

And the original ordinance he proposes to change:

 

6-5-2-12: UNLAWFUL DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS:

A. It shall be unlawful to discharge any pistol, revolver or firearm in the Village; provided that this Section shall not be construed to prohibit any officer of the law to discharge a firearm in the performance of his duty.

B. It shall be unlawful to discharge any air gun, air rifle, BB gun, pellet gun, paint ball gun or bow and arrow from or across any street, sidewalk, road, highway or public land or any public place except on a safely constructed target area. (Ord. 867, 12-10-1992)

What do you think? Let me know. Sign up and I will post your thoughts so long as they do not attack someone personaly and they actually relate to the issue.

Tags: VOIL // Add Comment »

Do us all a favor and resign. Government is not for sale to the highest bidder at any level. I have fought those who wish to personnally gain or profit from government and will continue to do so. If I have to risk my seat in order to expose those wishing to wrongfully gain from our governing bodies, especially undercover by mis-using laws meant to protect us, I will do so.

Tags: State // Add Comment »

Great news conceerning the nations major water source. Today, the Great Lakes Water Compact takes effect. In general it will prevent great amounts of water, even a little at a time, from being taken out of the Great Lakes without it being replaced. If a cmmunity is not within the Great Lakes drainage basin it will not be allowed to use the Great Lakes as it’s water source. It means we are going to have to be much more protective of our aquifers since that is our water source.

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I had stated during the campaign that we’re not getting our fair share of dollars from Springfield. In the NWH today was a report on the amount of dollars brought back to McHenry County by our State and Federal Reps/Senator. In spite of the turmoil in Springfield it seems the Democrats are doing thier jobs while the Republicans are offering excuses as usual.

FYI - Beaubien has been in office 12 years, Althoff 5 years.  

Below are the numbers and a link to the story. As I said during the election, we need better, we deserve better.

From the NWH:

“The following is a tally of the state and federal monies directed back to McHenry County through legislator earmarks and member initiatives since 2003, or since the legislator took office:

$28.8 million    U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-16th

$14.1 million    U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, D-8th (took office 2005)

$3.1 million    Ill. Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock*

$501,000    Ill. Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake (took office 2004)

$250,000    Ill. Rep. Mark Beaubien, R-Barrington Hills

$0    Ill. Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry

Total: $46.8 million”

Earmarks help many legislators send money to their constituents

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While in Ohio recently I stopped at a roadside rest area and noticed in the distance four windmills churning away. There was a plaque at the rest stop that explained those four windmills were producing enough electricity to support a small town of 1000 nearby.

I just located a story on the internet: Harvest Wind farm

in which 15,000 homes were getting thier electricity from 32 windmills located in Harvest Wind Farm near Elkton, MI. It costs $90 million to erect this array of windmills and each windmill provides electricity and $3,000 to the farmer who owns the land.

I will support these types of programs for Illinois because we need to get away from using a fuel that not only drains our pocket books but also pollutes our air and makes us sick. The alternatives are available, we just need to institute them.

Tags: Environment // Add Comment »

Went to Philadelphia last summer, posted these thoughts on my campaign blog…

We took a trip to

Philadelphia this last weekend. Visited Gettysburg,

Lancaster, and Constitution Hall and saw where the Declaration of Independence was signed. You could imagine how heady a moment that must have been to know that you were putting your life and everything you had worked for on the line by signing that document. These were very brave men who were willing to do what was right in spite of the possible adversity they may face. They were honestly living the change they wished to see at that moment.

While I will not compare myself to those great people, I do believe, as they did, that we all should live the change we wish to see in the world. Otherwise it is nothing but mere talk. I firmly believe in doing what I can to keep our air, water and land clean. As such I recycle all that I can, I use very little water since we’re dependent on well water, and I drive a hybrid car. We drove that car to

Philadelphia and back. We averaged 41 mpg. If we had used my girlfriend’s car we would have gotten around 28 mpg on the highway. While locally I average 46 mpg, we only took a hit of 5 mpg using the hybrid. The State, the nation, needs to encourage more usage of these types of vehicles and each level of government needs to use these for their non-emergency vehicles. The money we could save because we cut back on the amount of gas being consumed would be an excellent start to becoming oil free and saving this planet. The money saved could be used to help with funding education, our infrastructure and other important services we expect from our government. 

Tags: Environment // Add Comment »

A post from my campaign blog on gas prices and alternative fuels…

I’m sure most of you are aware that we have a huge problem with the rising cost of energy. I know I’m paying too much at the gas pump. And it’s pretty sad when today we consider a price of $4.10/gal to be a good price. I drive a hybrid which is getting 45 mpg. I have seen or read about different hybrid types being offered. Some run on alternative fuels such as E85 (85% alcohol/15% gasoline). Problem I have is that the alcohol is derived from food crops and in spite of the commercial you hear/see on the air, the feed corn used to make the fuel also is used to many different products. The price of those other products is rising, such as a loaf of bread, which is not a good thing. There are other means we could use to power our cars such as hydrogen, natural gas, wind and solar. I just saw a film clip sent to me by a friend that suggests we could use wind power as a substitute for natural gas, use the natural gas to power our automobiles which would help cut our usage of foreign oil. Here is the link: Pickens Plan . It’s an interesting suggestion. One thing for sure is that we cannot last very long on overpriced oil that pollutes our air. The State of Illinois can do it’s part by investing in a fleet of electrically assisted hybrid cars that would use less fuel, pollute less and cost less in the long run. While E85 may benefit our farmers, it hurts other parts of our economy. The Pickens plan suggests using a more sensible approach with existing alternatives. We have an abundance of natural gas in this country and we live in one of the best wind corridors going right through the middle of the country. Illinois happens to be part of that corridor. Lets be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

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This was posted on my campaign web blog and I feel it’s still relevent…

Last summer attended a meeting about improving Route 176 from Route 31 to the Fox River. I have advocated for years the concept of true regional planning. What one community does affects their neighbor. If Prairie Grove builds 2500 homes those cars will come…through Crystal Lake, Island Lake, McHenry and Lakemoor. Each of these communities will pay the cost of that extra traffic through accelerated wear and tear of their infrastructure. We will see an increase in auto traffic that will require extra safe guards to protect our children while crossing the street. Prairie Grove’s neighbors shoulder the costs while Prairie Grove reaps the benefits from all those rooftops paying property taxes.  

What is needed is a Route 176 Corridor Group similar to the Route 120 planning council. Ten communities along Route 120 are working in unison to help create a corridor so that all who live along it will benefit. The communities along Route 176 need to come together to do the same type of planning. One bottleneck, one little kink along this route will cause it to fail unless we work together. Businesses will not locate anywhere on Route 176 so long as it is difficult to move product to and from the area. McHenry County lessons it’s own chances to develop properly so long as it has inadequate roads in which to travel. And it will continue so long as we do not work together for the common good. 

Tags: Growth // Add Comment »