This gravel pit issue has been a fascinating process.  After the February County Board vote, I’ll be able to detail the hearings, and my thoughts on the process.  I’ve attended all the hearings. It’s been quite an education.

As a review, Stringtown Lakes LLC is the applicant, who wants to mine a gravel pit on the southwest side of Bloomington, directly across the street (within 800 feet) of the Fox Creek Elementary School  These applicants are Jim Finnigan (not the City Council member, but the Zoning Board member) and his wife; the Entlers, an asphalt plant family from Decatur, and Carrie and Joe Scharf; who have other area gravel pit projects.  Interestingly, JIm Finnigan was a vocal opponent of the Stark gravel pit years ago.  Funny how your perspective changes, when gravel is found on your property.

After months of hearings, (long hearings, lasting from 7-10:00 p.m.), pressure from parents for Unit Five School Board to take a stand against the gravel pit, which they never did; the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-2 to “not recommend” a Special Use Permit for the gravel pit project. 

 UPDATE: Let me state that in conversations I had with three Unit 5 School Board members, they indicated they “never” get involved in situations like this and leave these decisions up to the governmental bodies involved. That is the case; however, parents are wondering “if not now, when?”; and many question the wisdom of this protocol.

Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Gary Niehaus DID testify, and read two letters.  The first one stated Unit 5’s lack of involvement as an indicator that the appropriate bodies would evaluate the impact on the health, safety and welfare of the children and staff at the school.  The second one dealt with the air handling equipment at the school.  His conclusion was the Zoning Board of Appeals and the McLean County Board should carefully consider the potential adverse impacts on air quality, learning, enjoyment, and safety of the students and staff.  He also mentioned protecting the tax base and the value of the private residences.

 Farmland on the SW side of Bloomington has to have a change in zoning, through a Special Use Permit, in order to permit a gravel pit development.

This proposal now goes before the McLean County Board for a vote.  They have the final say.  Normally, the County Board goes with the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals. . . but not always.  So, it’s not over, until the fat lady sings; and the jury’s still out for the residents, the students, the teachers and staff; on the southwest side of Bloomington.

Minnesota, you must be very proud. 

Here’s a quote from a skit Franken suggested for Saturday Night Live:

 ”And ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or `That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, `When she passes out I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.”

AL FRANKEN DECLARED WINNER IN MINNESOTA

The Minnesota Board of Canvassers certified Democrat Al Franken as winner of the state’s Senate race, but incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman’s (R) attorneys have vowed to challenge the decision.

After two months of political and legal wrangling by both campaigns since Election Day, the board officially recognized Franken as the victor, marking the latest in a number of dramatic turns of events that have characterized the state’s Senate election.

The board certified Franken’s 225-vote lead over Coleman, moving the Democrat one step closer to unseating the first-term lawmaker. That tally includes both the hand recount of votes throughout the state, as well as hundreds of absentee ballots that had previously been disqualified for no stated, legal reason.

Coleman’s campaign has said it will file an election challenge within the seven days required by Minnesota law. The challenge is expected to revolve around so-called “duplicate” ballots that Coleman alleges were counted twice, as well as an additional 650 disqualified absentee ballots that the incumbent’s campaign argues should have been counted. The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected lawsuits by Coleman on both issues, saying those challenges are better suited to be handled by the Board of Canvassers.

“The Coleman campaign has consistently and continually fought to have every validly cast vote counted, and for the integrity of Minnesota’s election system, we will not stop now,” Coleman attorney Fritz Knaak said earlier Monday. “The Minnesota Supreme Court has made sure that an election contest will need to be filed quickly in order to ensure that an accurate and valid recount can be achieved.”

Democratic leaders have said Franken should take his seat in the Senate as soon as possible, even if the election challenge in Minnesota will not have been resolved entirely.

“With the Minnesota recount complete, it is now clear that Al Franken won the election,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). “With the Senate set to begin meeting on Tuesday to address the important issues facing the nation, it is crucial that Minnesota’s seat not remain empty, and I hope this process will resolve itself as soon as possible.”

Senate Republicans, led by incoming National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas), have said they will filibuster any attempt to seat Franken while litigation is pending.

Will you still love him when he reinstates the draft?   If so, explain why. 

PART I

PART II:  Obama’s Commerce Secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Out-Federal Grand Jury Investigation

The grand jury has been investigating “pay-to-play” allegations concerning a New Mexico state contract awarded to a California firm that has contributed to three political committees formed by Richardson, The Associated Press reported last month.

A source close to Richardson told Politico: “There are too many unanswered questions and while he thinks the results of the grand jury will turn out in his favor, he doesn’t want to distract attention from the administration.” 

From Forbes:

. . .  Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan first addressed the question of a housing bubble in testimony before the Joint Economic Committee on April 17, 2002. He dismissed the idea–or, for that matter, any comparison to the stock market, which had recently gone through a high-tech bubble–on the grounds that housing was different because of substantial transaction costs and more limited opportunities for speculation.

. . . In September, economists Karl Case and Robert Shiller presented a very detailed analysis of the housing market to the Brookings Institution’s panel on economic activity.

While conceding that economic fundamentals were favorable to rising home prices, they also noted that there were elements of bubble psychology in the housing market. Case and Shiller pointed to an increase in the buying of real estate for investment purposes and high expectations of housing price increases.

. . . For example, in February, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation denied the existence of a housing bubble. It noted that there had not been a decline in national housing prices since the Great Depression. Advances in the structure of mortgage finance since that time, the FDIC concluded, made any repeat very unlikely.

. . . that same day, however, I received a report from Bear Stearns economist David Malpass arguing that the housing market was healthy and that much of the rise in prices simply represented a “catch-up” because they had lagged behind the rise in equity prices since the mid-1990s.

. . . I published my first column on the housing bubble on Dec. 15, 2004. In hindsight, I see that I was overly impressed by the views of Alan Greenspan and the New York Fed. But I did raise red flags about loans becoming too easy, the decline in down payments and the spread of adjustable rate mortgages.

This story is not likely to go away soon for Unit 5 officials and their School Board.  Couple this with the School Board not wanting to speak out against a gravel pit being proposed directly across from one of their Elementary Schools and you may have parents (who vote); looking for answers, and heads.

Lawsuit: Unit 5 gave Urbana false info about White

The complaint claims a Unit 5 official signed a form that incorrectly states the time White was employed. Bullock says the information bolsters her claim that Unit 5 intentionally passed White to another district.

Unit 5 Superintendent Gary Niehaus referred questions to the district’s attorney. 

From yesterday’s St. Louis Dispatch:

Lee Enterprises warned by NYSE it may be delisted

Lee said it lost $880 million on the year, largely due to $1.1 billion in one-time writedowns of other intangible assets. Revenue fell 8 percent, to a little over $1 billion, as advertisers pulled back

Central Illinois, good ol’ B-N in particular, has done a bit of a wang-dang doodle with the art scene in 2008, too.  The long unknown, dare I say “underground” art scene has risen above ground and people have taken notice and appear to like it.  It was bound to happen some time, but with the organization and drive of some of the artists in the local community the people of Bloomington-Normal and beyond got a taste of some new and interesting art.

Art shows hosted by people like Matt Erickson in his studio/gallery called cometogetherstudios were entertaining social gatherings among artists and art patrons that really got the ball rolling.  Once the artists realized that they weren’t the only ones and that there actually was a pretty big community of quality artists that just needed a place to display their works it was not difficult to organize a more structured show that people of various socio-economical strata would feel comfortable attending.  That ended up being the Under the Bridge Art Show.

The Under the Bridge Art Show was unusually successful, considering its location at Blue Jay Computer’s under the Center Street bridge.  Each consecutive show was more successful than the previous one as far as quality of art and attendance.  The fact that Mack Glass Company was next door was certainly a help.

That is another thing worth mentioning.  Mack Glass Company seemed to appear out of nowhere but with their unique medium of art, glass blowing, they attracted due attention.

McLean County Art Center is not the only place to see a quality art exhibit anymore either.   Main Street Gallery has amazing art from local and nationally known artists that is well worth the price.  There are other galleries that have popped up around Bloomington-Normal that are worth visiting, too, not to mention coffeehouses and banks that are displaying local art.  I can’t go without mentioning the First Friday thing that the Downtown Bloomington Association has organized that certainly helps to promote art and local artists.

There are other organizations that are promoting art and artists in this community.  All of this is not just visual art also.  This local art renaissance includes poetry and music, too.  I’m curious to see what 2009 will hold for artists and the art community.  Is this “renaissance” over, or has it just begun?  Time will tell, I suppose.  Happy new year to all, and support your local artists!

Every year brings something new, exciting, sad and challenging.  2008 for Central Illinois, was no different; and was perhaps an even more sensational year than most when it came to headline news in our area.

MCLEAN COUNTY

We are smack dab in the middle of Illinois, and the largest geographical county in the state.  Long a Republican county, this 2008 Presidential election found even red McLean County going blue for our first black President; by 900 votes.  The old question often asked by national politicians, “will it play in Peoria?”, could just as easily be relevant to say “will it play in Bloomington?”

Our issues may correlate with yours.  Thus is the beauty of www.redcounty.com  I look forward to 2009 and sharing concerns of my state, and my county and to read about what’s happening in counties around America.  I think we can learn from each other; and find solutions to similar problems and answers to similar questions.  Or, at the very least, complain about the same problems! 

GRAVEL PITS AND WIND FARMS

Windy and gravel-ladened central Illinois has attracted wind farm and gravel pit developers.  The wind farms have been controversial as I suppose in any county initially, after-all, Sen. Ted Kennedy and residents of Nantucket don’t want wind farms in Nantucket, but want the rest of us to have them. 

After several wind farm hearings in McLean County, we have wind turbines on farmland just to the east of Bloomington; nearer the small towns of Arrowsmith, Cooksville and Colfax.  After the initial concerns, they don’t seem to be a bother, haven’t killed off any rare birds, (smile) and other than a 6.5 ton turbine blade crashing down into a field for no apparent reason in a nearby county, we are so far relatively unscathed.  

Let’s face it, as I talk to folks here in McLean County, we really don’t have a clue as to if these things will pay off in the future, where the energy is going now, is there any energy going anywhere now, and so on.  The naysayers say these wind farms are a boondoggle; others say it will save us from buying oil from the Middle East.  Time will tell.

Gravel pits are another story, especially in McLean County where a glacier has made for an abundance of possible locations to extract much-needed gravel; used largely in construction and roads.  The problem with a current gravel pit proposal in Bloomington is that if approved, will be directly across the street (within 800 feet), from a relatively new elementary school, a four and a half star Arnold Palmer golf course, and an up-scale sub-division.  Go figure.

This Monday, January 5, the Zoning Board of Appeals will vote to recommend approval, or not of the Special Use Permit required to change the zoning laws of the farmland location.  Then the final vote is made by our McLean County Board, who rely largely on the recommendation of the ZBA.

We have a lot of other stories of course, here in central Illinois, most likely like yours.  We are fortunate that State Farm Headquarters is located here.  This, along with other insurance headquarters, two universities, and more; keeps unemployment in McLean County at the lowest levels in our state.  For this, we are thankful.

CRIME IN MCLEAN COUNTY

You might think that our county, surrounded by farms and serenity, would be relatively crime free.  Not so in 2008.

The Pelo case brought national headlines for McLean County.  Police Sergeant, Jeff Pelo was convicted of raping 4 area women; and what I predict for 2009 will bring more sensational headlines is the sexual abuses charges and admissions by school teacher, Jon White.  One school district in nearby Champaign County, who later hired White after he left our area (with a good recommendation even after concerns were raised by parents); settled a lawsuit; not so for our Unit 5 school system, which is not off the hook and may suffer serious financial consequences as a result of this case, in the months to come.

ILLINOIS:  PUTS THE ”GUBER” IN GUBERNATORIAL

Last but not least for 2008, is our infamous Governor Rod Blagojevich.  I’ve written several articles on www.redcounty.com and here, regarding all the news about possible connections between our Governor, our new President-elect, an Illinois native; the recent appointment (or not) of former Atty. General Roland Burris to fill Obama’s US Senate seat.  You all have been following this story, and it looks to be an ongoing saga for 2009.

So stay tuned as we keep you posted here on Illinois news, McLean County specific, as I look forward to your stories around the United States.

Until next time, my best wishes to you for a safe and healthy New Year.

From the Army Times:

When asked how they feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief, six out of 10 active-duty service members say they are uncertain or pessimistic, according to a Military Times survey.

In follow-up interviews, respondents expressed concerns about Obama’s lack of military service and experience leading men and women in uniform.

“Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief,” said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified.