During this Labor Day weekend, the big event in Naperville is Last Fling, summer's final hurrah. There will be loads of activities for the whole family, two stages with bands, including headliners the Doobie Brothers, Dennis DeYoung from Styx, and Gavin DeGraw.
All weekend long, we want to hear about your experience at Last Fling. How were the crowds, the parking and the food? What did you think of the entertainment? How well organized was the event? Let's hear from you. We'll be back with a new topic on Tuesday, but will be publishing your comments on this and all other Potluck entries throughout the weekend. Enjoy the holiday.
I am boycotting the Last Fling this year. I am tired of going to such a costly event. Top that with the fact that we are paying our most senior police officers 900 dollars a day in OVERTIME PAY to walk up and down Jackson St. Ridiculous, if you care for my opinion!
Let the Last Fling operators who are reaping all the money pay the police...not the taxpayer!
Hopefully, residents count the number of police at the Last Fling this year and multiply that by 900 to see how many tax dollars are being burned at the Last Fling each day.
If anything the NPD officers should be volunteering their services for this charity event and not charging us 75 dollars an hour in OT! Aren't we the ones giving them fat pensions at the ripe old age of 41 when they quit(they call it retirement even though they can run marathons)?
I hope my fellow citizens of Naperville join me in boycotting this event. Charging kids 3 dollars to play each of these silly games is ridiculous! Be wise and save your money dear Napervillians! Hard times are ahead and you will need this money to pay the next real estate tax increase. Don't forget to pay your taxes on Sept 2 and when you pay them think of how much of that is GOVERNMENT WASTE!
Enjoy the pools this last weekend! Centennial Beach is a bargain at 3 dollars after 5pm. To be able to swim in such a beautiful beach for 3 bucks is a good value. To throw a couple of darts at a balloon for 3 bucks is HIGHWAY ROBBERY! Make your choices wisely this Labor Day Weekend and show some respect to our weak dollar this year. Let us strengthen it internationally by learning how to save better and be less wasteful like the Europeans, Chinese and especially the Japanese!
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PS. For all those young boys and girls who pump all that money shooting hoops at the Last Fling be aware that the basketball ring is rigged. It is half the size of a real hoop and placed 5 feet higher. The Last Fling does not even show some HONEST DISCLOSURE by posting a sign indicating the hoop ring is half the size of CONVENTIONAL HOOP RING! All they are trying to do is separate you from your wallet...just like the City of Naperville! BEWARE!!!
PSII. Be aware of these temporary rides. Many kids around the country are killed on these temporary rides that are assembled quickly in the night by workers drinking booze! Yes, I have seen it with my 2 EYES! I would not trust my kids on them. I hope you don't trust your kids on them. No ride is worth the life of your child. Your child only has one body and one life. Keep him/her safe! Avoid all the rides at the LAST FLING! Half those rides are rusted out. Metal fatigue is taking place. Hopefully, when there is eventually an accident, it does not happen in Naperville and no one is seriously injured.
Yep, too expensive and more importantly to me, too crowded.
Not going. Nope, no way.
Im glad your not going, Ill say hi to all the police there and thank them for their service. You can be miserable and stay home. Oh and Ill go on the rides and listen to the music too...
The last time the Fling was any fun, it was still held downtown, when the Riverwalk didn't yet exist.
How much are they charging for parking
What happened to the concept of "community events" in Naperville?
Does everything have to be a mega event that draws people from all over the metro area?
These events are too big, too costly, and are killing off any of the unique qualities that used to make Naperville special. It is a shame when Naperville residents don't want to patronize Ribfest and Last Fling and other events because of the crowds, and cost, and parking. Plus in this day and age we can't just let our kids go to Last Fling like years ago since it is so dangerously crowded and filled with people we don't know who don't even live in Naperville.
I have a believe that most of these changes are directly attributable to forces in play at city hall. Instead of just a little home town fair or event they keep laying requirement on top of requirement that become so burdensome and expensive that the event organizers have no other option than to make the event this big just to cover the overhead cost that the city forces down their throat.
Once an event gets on this never ending treadmill of madness their really isn't any way out other than to just pull the plug. Now Oktoberfest is gone. Ribfest is talking about ending. Pretty soon city hall regulations will have killed off all of our fairs and special events and part of what made Naperville special and unique will be gone probably forever. Yet city hall will grind on regardless, protecting us from ourselves.
Against my better judgement I decided I'd go wander around at the fling... Where are the parents that belong to these feral teenagers? I actually saw a gang of about twelve kids who couldn't have been a day over 16 harassing police officers. One of them even knocked the hat off of one of the cops they were screwing with... who immediately spun the punk around and slapped cuffs on him!
Only Naperville can produce brats with so little respect and such a massive entitlement complex that they think the POLICE are just tools for their amusement. Can you guys even IMAGINE being a wise guy to a Chicago cop then knocking one of their hats of?! Oh my god, you'd be cuffed and dragged in to an alley to have your clock wound! I have seriously never ever EVER seen anything like this before! I can't wait until the arrest shows up in the Sun's Police blotter... that's getting clipped out and put on my refrigerator for eternity with the rest of the "Only in Naperville!" clippings!!!
The police these teenagers were wising off to weren't volunteers in security t-shirts, or mall security rent-a-cops, they were actual Naperville police officers in uniform, complete with gun and kevlar. What short of some kind of meth induced frenzy would make these morons think pulling this kind of stunt on a police officer is OK?!?!?!
When I saw this whole thing transpire, my jaw hit the ground so hard it slammed half way through the Earth to China. After this all took place, the gang of teenagers finally dispersed and I actually heard one of them say something to the effect of "I can't believe those pigs arrested him."
Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only in Naperville!!!!
Holy Cow,
Alcohol impairs judgment. The Last Fling is a family event and our planners and folks at City Hall allow alochol to flow freely. Alcohol does flow at this event from those who are over 21 to those who are under 21 rather easily.
Yes, our youth in this town and surrounding towns are out of control. We raised them! It is our fault!
Adults should not be allowed to drink in the presence of youth. Youth pick up any habit very quickly including smoking.
Our society has ruined our kids. The Dare Programs police teach at our schools have BACKFIRED. The police raised the curiosity of these young kids and now more are smoking, drinking and doing drugs than ever before. This program should be cancelled immediately even though the police were well intentioned.
As many bloggers stated this is become a Chicagoland Event and not a Naperville Event. Yet we are paying 30 some cops and a few firemen 900 days a day to police many out of town thugs and some in town brats. How is the Naperville Taxpayer benefitting from this event? Yes, it is a charity but a charity is not suppose to cost taxpayers.
Many who are new to this blog site may not be aware the City Hall funnels 100,000 dollars to taxpayer money to the Last Fling and Rib Fest strictly to be used for police OT. Yes, your money and my money is being used to pay for security at a supposedly Charity Event.
This money comes out of the cultural fund that is collected from a sales tax our city officials imposed on us Naperville residents. How is paying Police OT, have anything to do with culture? Nothing!
These topics have been discussed extensively and in detail on older threads on this blog site. I believe come election time, the residents will finally vote and get some new leadership in City Hall!
I urge all those who are observing the horrendous waste of taxpayer money to participate in the next election and vote.
As you may have read the Alaskan Governor who was selected VP for the Republican Party knocked out the establishment in Alaska by campaigning against GOVERNMENT WASTE and HIGH TAXES! She was an UNKNOWN but Alaskans like her Agenda!
Let us not forget that an unknown nameless liquor store owner almost took down the government in Naperville using a series of ads he titled Napergate. He got 4 council members elected with his relentless full page endorsements in the Naperville Sun, but needed one more. Maybe the soccer Mom can finally break the glass ceiling of the establishment that he cracked pretty nicely.
This should be our goal in the next election: Government WASTE and HIGH TAXES. If a hockey Mom can take down the entire Government in Alaska on this simple agenda, it seems a soccer Mom in Naperville can also take down the entire Government in Naperville.
I am looking forward to this soccer Mom who will step forward with this agenda. She will receive tons of support in this town. That is a promise I am MAKING and KEEPING!
This Last Fling was personally the best one I have attended in years. I found five (5) uneaten corn dogs in the garbage near the Library. I further found a three (3) half eaten elephant ears in the same garbage can. On top of that, I have been hired as a "CARNEY" for next years event. I cant wait to wear that dirty torqouise colored polo shirt. Scott Huber for Mayor/2010.
I too am boycotting this year's Fling. I ALWAYS went there when I was a kid growing up here, but Rib Fest this year pushed me over the edge -- the expense, the crowds, ad nauseum. So please, those that choose to go, enjoy. If we must have a "culture" tax I'd truly like to see it go for culture and not PD OT. Let the charities that take in all the $$ pay for the OT -- and let the City require that they hire a specified number of PD officers as well as private security (and the charity pays for that as well).
Personally, I prefer the Frankfort Fest...now there you see families having a lovely time looking at crafts, taking in a few rides (they don't have too many), eating some fresh grilled corn, kids getting their faces painted. I've been going since I was a teen some 30 years now & love it. It has not grown so huge nor has it been swamped by nasty drunks or rebellious teens who have not learned values from their parents. I'm not saying they do not have have any incidents but I've yet to see in all my years going & spending all day 1 major problem. Only problem is the Bier Stube moved to Peotone & doesn't have their awesome Veal Brats! :-(
I probably won't make it to the Fling this year. Not because of the crowds. Not because of the gangs of teens. I've lived in Naperville for over 3o years, maybe I've been to too many of them.
Many of the things that kept me going to the Fling have been replaced.
The one that's missing this year is the antique car show. I'm not sure what took its place. I believe it was some sort of entertainment for kids or families with kids. I know Naperville is a kid friendly place, but maybe we have gone a little overboard in accommodating kids to the detriment of the older generation in town.
We had a great time last night at the Gavin DeGraw concert! No one FORCES you to play the games or ride the rides...we tell our kids ahead of time that we wont be doing that, as they got to go to Six Flags this year already. We went solely to see the concert..and that is what we did. Where else can you see a GREAT artist like Gavin DeGraw for $12?? And kids under 11 are free!!! Come on.....a family of six and we paid $24 for a great concert!! And they allowed closed bottles of water to be brought in...so it was a cheap and wonderful evening! We parked near NCHS instead of doing the shuttle..and had a pleasant walk back to the car, and while we did see a lot of teens, we didn't see any bad behavior. Lighten up, and enjoy what possibilites are there!!
Did anyone else go to the parade on Monday and see the NPD SUV following the firetruck at the start of the parade that had a child strapped into a carseat in the front passenger seat? Not sure that is setting a good example to the rest of Naperville. Guess the rules that us civilians have to follow don't apply to those in law enforcement.
I also thought it was kind of ironic that the "Save the Ponds" group had a banner reading "It ain't easy being green" strapped to the back of a Corvette. Maybe it was one of those hybrid versions that made it environmentally friendly?
Happy Labor Day!
Good grief don't tell me oh yes I see A.A.has struck again!! What a great day nice to see all the kids playing at summer's last event
What happened to the car show. The only reason to attend last fling was the car show. Without it, it is worthless.
The car show didn't fit in well for Naperville. You know, all those scary people wearing T-shirts with cars on them.
Wow! I can't believe all of the negativity and fear on this blog. From reading these posts you would think there are roving bands of drunken gang bangers everywhere you look at the fling. Oh, and everyone there must be from outside of Naperville (there's a strange form of xenophobia).
My family has attended Last Fling and Ribfest every year and at all times of the day. Yes, at times the crowds can be overwhelming but the over all behavior is of the attendees is very good. The teenagers can be a bit boisterous but that is how all teenagers are regardless of location or event.
I think this blog is just filled with the "not in my back yard" and the "good ol days were better" folks. I agree, things have changed and we have lost many positive things. However, we have lost just as many negative things. That is how the world works. If you are looking for a stable small town environment, you should move farther from Chicago. Starting in the 1950's this force of suburbanization began and it has not stopped. I am sure there were many people back then decrying those rabble rousers moving out from the city.....
Everybody take a deep breath and calm down.....
I think the time has really come to drop the charade and admit to ourselves that The Last Fling and Rib Fest are not in any way charity events. They are major money makers for all those involved. In fact so little of the money made at these mega events goes to charity I am surprised that the States Attorney’s office or the IRS have not started an investigation. Those who believe that the high prices and large crowds are justified because “at least all the money goes to a good cause” are being lied to. The majority of the money goes into the pockets of those involved. So let’s not make this a discussion of whether Naperville should use taxpayer dollars to support a charity or community festival when the real discussion is should Naperville use taxpayer dollars to support mega Chicagoland events whose money is mainly going to private businesses and individuals.
I took my family (4 kids) on Saturday and Monday. We had a great time both days. The small kids area at Naper Settlement was a wonderful improvement over previous years. Yet another example of great events in Naperville. Also, it is great to see so many people volunteering thier time for a good cause. Perhaps all the people with negative comments could offer some of the time to improve city events instead of slinging arrows. Bring positive change where you can.
"I’m A Normal Person Too on September 2, 2008 11:03 AM" What proof do you have with your allegations above? You are making some pretty harsh opinions and trying to pass them off as facts. I think it would be helpful if you show us your proof here. I am very curious to see what you have and what you know.
I agree with I'm A Normal Person Too. This is nuts!
I also think Another Anonymous nailed it on the head.
It seems like you have to be connected to be a policeman in Naperville. Most qualified police officers willing to work for 35k in Naperville could never get a job here.
Those jobs are saved for the estbalishment's offspring who are offered nearly 60k at age 21 or 22! We are seeing how they put their time in the police dept. doing nearly nothing and after vesting in a pension the establishment gives them jobs such as the Director of the Park District, Manager of City Hall, Chief of Police Dept. or Mayor. Sometimes they use their money to elect them. Other times they use their influence to simply insert them.
Look at Ray McGury! No experience whatsoever in Parks or Recreation and suddenly made Park District Director. Was the job even posted after the resignation of whatever his name was? I doubt it!
They achieve 2 things. Take care of one of their own and put a YES man to do whatever they want in the Park District. They know he will be a YES man and almost has to be, due to 0 experience. Plus,they are giving him 135k plus letting him keep his Naperville police retirement pension even though he is not actually retired. Double dipping again and our city officials could care less about the feelings or views of hundreds of bloggers on this site.
I don't think Napergate is over. I don't think it is a dead horse as one blogger stated. I have a funny feeling it will resurface at election time in one form or another. We have nothing but Napergate in this town. It just seems like the Napergate Man was 15 years ahead of the rest of us. Obviously he had some foresight!
Another Anonymous has been on target for quite a while. Trying to dismiss him as ranting and raving will not hold the water in my cup!
As the last blogger said, I hope we see an investigantion by the State' Attorney, IRS, or US Attorney regarding these practices in Naperville that no longer seem above board! Sorry, but that is how I feel!
I have to laugh at the person who states "the last fling operators who are reaping all of the money"...It is a fundraising event you jack-ass. The money raised by the Jaycees goes to several charities in the area. All of the Jaycees that you see running around, sweating their asses off work all year round as VOLUNTEERS to put on a great event and again it is purely VOLUNTEER to help out others!
Love the parade and the community involvement!
The kids do a great job preparing music & marching, designing floats, and making creative posters.
At the parade, I said NO THANK YOU to ALL the paper fliers. Too many trees cut down for advertisement. Many volunteers obliged and continued on. Unfortunately, the naper settlement woman distributing fliers bit my head off because I did not take one of her papers; however, I was wearing my daughter's indian head-dress, she barked at me, "Well, then take that off your head." How rude! She didn't need to yell at me in front of my family.
If you're going to have an environmental theme to the event, then don't distribute paper fliers during the parade. They almost all end up on the streets and in the trash after the parade. Our recycling bin is filled with them.
Thanks for a fun labor day morning. The bands made it GREAT!
Kevin-
You make it sound as if I am exposing some sort of secret information. This is only an analysis of the financials as publically reported in the newspapers and by the organizations own press releases. And as for the volunteers, they are either kidding themselves or are being lied to as well.
The analysis below is for Ribfest 2008. I’ll try to do the same for Last Fling 2008 when the numbers come out.
Let’s start with Ribfest Chairman Don Emery’s stated number of 60,000 people per day. That would make 240,000 attendance over the four days if no one ever left the fest after arriving for the day. And I believe that this is a conservative number to use. The actual I suspect was much higher.
So even at an attendance of 240,000 the gross take would be $1.92 million dollars. Minus the $800,000 they give to charities that would leave a net of $1.12 million dollars. That’s still an awfully large amount of money to go unaccounted for. And that is not including the thousands and thousands in sponsorships.
The Naperville Exchange Club is a registered not-for-profit organization. Most not-for-profits try to run with about a 10% overhead for fundraising and administrative costs. The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) finds that a legitimate not-for-profit should have no more than a 25% overhead. Using the above conservative numbers, The Naperville Exchange Club is running with a staggering 60% overhead for fundraising and administrative costs. In rough numbers this means that The Exchange Club of Naperville is spending nearly $2 million dollars a year to make $800,000 to give to charities. In contrast another local charity, according to published reports, spends a mere fraction of that on fundraising and administrative costs and managed to give $900,000 to charities. A full $100,000 more. How can this be?
I understand that everyone involved must be paid. That is my point. Everyone else is making big bank off of Ribfest leaving very little left for the very charities The Naperville Exchange Club claims to want to help in the first place. I know this is very hard to hear and I accept that there are some people genuinely interested in doing good. And I do not want to get into an argument over whether the Naperville Exchange Club or the Naperville Jaycees are worthwhile honest organizations run by good people. I just want to know where all of the money has gone from these events. I’m sure you can agree that this at least merits some explanation.
You make some very good points and ask some very good questions, "I AM A VERY NORMAL PERSON, TOO!"
I agree that a good charity should not have 60% of overhead....and that does not count the $100,000 donated from the cultural fund to subsidize this event which is paid mostly by the NAPERVILLE TAXPAYER!!!
Way to many people are getting paid very well in this event. The Carnival people are ripping off the kids on these games/rides and going home with wads of cash. The food purveyors take all this cash and only cash, and not one register can be seen at the entire Last Fling ringing transactions in accordance with sales tax laws. If there are no registers, you can be assured no sales tax is being paid. Not only are these purveryors making great profit but they are most likely pocketing all the sales tax money that is suppose to be going to the city and state. While we are subsidizing them with 100k in cultural sales tax, they are not even paying this cultural sales tax on our transactions!!! Go figure!
The police can care less if the laws are being enforced or not. They walk up and down Jackson St. collecting their 900 dollars a day, not the least bit interested if these carnival people are even paying their sales tax to the city and state.
HOW CAN THE CITY OF NAPERVILLE AND THESE CHARITIES NOT DEMAND THESE FOOD and GAME STANDS HAVE A 200 DOLLAR REGISTER FROM SAM'S WAREHOUSE THAT CAN TRACK RECEIPTS AND SPLIT RECEIPTS BETWEEN REVENUE AND SALES TAX? HOW CAN ANYONE AUDIT ANYONE JUST PUTTING CASH IN HIS OR HER POCKET? MOST OF THESE FLING OPERATORS JUMP FROM STATE TO STATE! UNLIKE THE REST OF US THEY THINK PAYING TAXES IS A JOKE. YES, I HAVE TALKED TO A FEW OF THESE PURVEYORS AND THEY LOOKED SHOCKED WHEN I ASKED THEM IF THEY PAY SALES TAX ON THEIR REVENUE. IT WAS OBVIOUS TO ME THEY DID NOT! THEY DID NOT EVEN HAVE A CLUE WHAT THE SALES TAX RATE IS IN THE CITY OF NAPERVILLE!
Sadly, because of the incompetence of city officials and their lack of controls, the home owners and businesses in town continue to be shafted over and over again with an unfair burden of taxation.
If there are so many volunteers for the Last Fling and Ribfest why are their administrative costs 60% even after we taxpayers give them a 100k to pay the police overtime for their OWN PRIVATE EVENTS! The numbers just don't add up to true volunterism...maybe token volunterism!
It is mindboggling to me that no one in the police department cares to suggest that police officers do some voluntary work at this charity to pay back the community for paying them one of the highest salaries and pensions in the USA. It seems the relationship we have with our police department is a ONE WAY RELATIONSHIP!
We take care of them and they spend most of their time trying to screw us citizens using their union power and clout which ever way they can.
With the appointment of Ray McGury to Park District Director, the top 4 spots in the City of NAPERVILLE are controlled by police of whom at least 3 are collecting both salary and pension in addition to enormous benefits including full health!
Yes, we are now living in an establishment controlled police state!
We could use some help, Ms. Sarah Palin, dismantling our heavily entrenched establishment as you dismantled yours in Alaska! Do you have any tips for us Napervillians who are now living under occupation? Soon we will have curfew imposed on election days to make sure we can not vote!
We need ethical reform in this town! We need to all come out against the establishment in the next election, just like they did in Alaska. If there is a will, there will be a way to oust the existing establishment!
Wow, I guess you just have to give your opinion a couple of times here and they become a fact. Nowadays, the popular thing to do on these blogs is to be negative. In fact the negative comments outweigh the positive quite a bit on blogs today. It seems people like to pile on, but they don't want to take the time to actually check the facts before they spout off. Some of the comments in this blog are borderline libel. You have no idea that the vendors aren't paying taxes "Another Anonymous on September 3, 2008 2:23 PM", (If there are no registers, you can be assured no sales tax is being paid.) that comment is ridiculous and you are lucky you decided to be "Anonymous" so no one knows who you are to sue you. I suggest if you are so curious to know what goes on with both the Exchange Club and the Naperville Jaycees organizations, join them! Or is that too much to ask of you? I guess it is easier to criticize and not be involved than to actually roll up your sleeves and get involved in this community. If you are a member of those organizations you will find out real quick the answers to your questions. Just a suggestion...
By One Who Values You on August 31, 2008 8:34 PM
"Personally, I prefer the Frankfort Fest...Only problem is the Bier Stube moved to Peotone..."
Bier Stube is still in Frankfort! It's in a strip mall on LaGrange Rd. just south, and across the street from the Lincolnway East football stadium. I agree, it was more fun with Bier Stube downtown. The pulled pork sandwich at the Old Plank Trail Tavern was darn good this year, though! The beer was cold, and the popcorn poppin' at Jenny's. An enjoyable walk along the Old Plank Trail was a great finish to a beautiful day. I prefer Frankfort Fest, too.
Kevin,
If these hundreds of vendors at these charity events are paying their sales tax, the city of Naperville should be able to provide us with the evidence to prove they paid up.
The city of Naperville would have records showing if they paid or did not pay since they receive a portion.
I would be willing to go on the limb and state better than 90% do not bother to go through the paper work and pay the appropriate sales tax to the state and city!
Anyone in business knows you need a register or computer to divide your sales into the proper categories for taxation. Some items are high tax, some are low tax, some tax downtown requires cultural and parking lot tax to be added depending on circumstances and situation. I doubt when you simply put cash in your pocket you know what the tax is.
I could not find a single vendor who even knew what the sales tax was last year when I attended. This year I promised to boycott and I did keep my promise and boycotted.
When these vendors want to buy food or goods from another vendor they just use the money they collected and have in their pockets. They pay their employees cash. All you have to do is be a late comer to the Last Fling and wait for them to close. The employees get paid daily under the table. It is a little to visible, audible and obvious! You can hear the employees thanking the employers for the cash pay out at the end of the day! I am sure the employees wil be running to the IRS to declare their cash. Grow up Kevin! Stop being naive! Use your 6th sense on occassion and try to figure things out. No wonder it is so easy to screw the taxpayers in this town assuming you represent the average taxpayer!
I don't see the volunterism a few are implying. As I said earlier, there is a token amount of volunterism by a few good citizens. The rest are in this for the bigs bucks. And I would never volunteer to work with so many corrupt people. I am not going to volunteer to work for orgnaizations that use my tax money to pay police 900 dollars per day to walk up and down Jackson. I am not going to volunteer to work for an organization that has 65% overhead when counting the horrendous police overtime.
I have volunteered and worked for organizations where the overhead is 10-20% or less and 80-90% goes to the needy and helpless. That gives me a good inner feeling. But I can't even stand to go to the Rib Fest and Last Fling and the last thing I would do is volunteer there. Sorry Kevin, but I do not have the power or knowledge to fix these charity events! I could see myself being a volunteer whistle blower if the Last Fling or Rib Fest have any interest. All they have to do is leave a number or e-mail on this blog site and I will contact them immediately to prepare for my whistle blowing volunterism next year!
No one is being negative. We are being factual!
Again I see a sham when my cultural money is siphoned into police OT thru a charity fund. I stand by that statement and if anyone wants to sue me they can. My IP number can be traced in the event of a lawsuit. No one has bothered to sue me so far and that is an indication they have no case. Sorry, Kevin!
I thought you were once an advocate against government waste, Kevin. I guess you changed colors with Councilman John Rosanova! I guess your views change as often as the hurricae winds in Gustav change directions. Looking forward when you switch back and try to help prevent GOVERNMENT WASTE and INCREASED TAXES! I suspect you will be on board when you discover the whole truth! I have always admired how you always thought discussions and debates through in the past before arriving at the proper conclusions. I hope you will continue thinking these arguments through and arrive at the appropriate conclusions as you have done in the past! Good to hear from you, Kevin!
To "Another Anonymous on September 4, 2008 12:26 AM", I more for the truth than anything else, what I am against is lies and people stretching the truth for their own personal gain or to help them prove a point. You have taken the 60% administration number stated above and now have stretched it to 65%, neither of the numbers are correct as they were made up by someone on this blog. No facts were checked with the organizations directly, they were assumed based on an article in the paper based on a quote of what was raised at RIBFEST AND NOT THE LAST FLING. Good job lumping the two together, unfortunately for you they are two separate events organized by two separate organizations. I have always been for not taking the lies and using them for your own benefit. I am also against personal attacks (I have said that time and time again), the same ones you continue to throw out here and at me (Grow up Kevin! Stop being naive!, Kevin. I guess you changed colors with Councilman John Rosanova! I guess your views change as often as the hurricane winds in Gustav change directions. Looking forward when you switch back and try to help prevent GOVERNMENT WASTE and INCREASED TAXES!). Nice comment on the hurricane, I guess you don’t have any family members who have personally suffered from that hurricane, that makes it easier for you to use it here for your own punch line. I am for rolling up my sleeves and getting involved instead of just hiding behind a keyboard and taking shots at people or non-for-profit organizations. I guess it is easier to be “Anonymous” than to give at least a first name…just a hint, you are still “Anonymous” if you don’t give your last name. It might be easier to put a face on you much like you remembered who I was as I give my first name each time I write.
To answer your question regarding sales tax and the food venders with the Last Fling. All food venders are required to have a State Sales Tax ID number and turn that into the Naperville Jaycees and City of Naperville with their application. They are required to pay City sales tax of 1 ½% on the sales profits. Each vendor has their own way of tracking their sales, just because there is no register doesn’t mean that they don’t keep track of their sales. So where did you see that the City said they don’t have that information? Show us your proof here. By Another Anonymous on September 4, 2008 12:26 AM, “Anyone in business knows you need a register or computer to divide your sales into the proper categories for taxation.” I guess you must not have been around before there was computers doing that work for you…what did they do, hmm, oh yeah they probably used a register book that they manually put their numbers in to keep track of their sales. I know that much and I am a member of Generation X!!
Thanks for proving my point that I made on another blog that people who share the same views 90% of the time apparently can’t disagree with each other or they will be attacked by each other. Why can’t I disagree with you? Why can’t people from the same “party” disagree? You have the mentality that we have to agree 100% of the time or I will take personal shots at you too!! By Another Anonymous on September 4, 2008 12:26 AM, “I thought you were once an advocate against government waste, Kevin. I guess you changed colors with Councilman John Rosanova!” I happen to think these festivals are a good thing for the community and that people do enjoy attending these events…maybe not the people on this blog, but a lot of people from Naperville enjoy these events. Too many times on these blogs people make things up or take a small piece of the truth and stretch them for their own benefit. Like I have said many times, all you have to do is give your opinion and have one person agree with you and then it becomes a fact! “Another Anonymous”, I need to grow up? I guess if that is the worst thing I need to do, then I am fine with it. I am an advocate of being against wasteful government spending, but I think you are attacking the wrong people on this blog. Going after charities won’t win you any points and using the excuse that “All they have to do is leave a number or e-mail on this blog site and I will contact them immediately to prepare for my whistle blowing volunteerism next year!” is a poor one. I would think someone who uses a computer or register to add up sales tax would know how to Google these organizations websites and find out how they can join or find the contact information they need to talk to someone about joining. If you really wanted to join, you would…but it is much easier to sit behind a keyboard and complain about what is wrong rather than be a part of the solution.
Finally, I am not sure if people know, but the Culture Fund that is being referred to here is a 1% sales tax on restaurants in downtown Naperville only. This is not a line item on your personal tax bill, so the only way you are affected by this is if you eat or drink in downtown Naperville. Sure the restaurants pass it on to the customers, I am sure everyone on this blog would too if they owned a restaurant in downtown Naperville. There seems to be a perception here that everyone who lives in Naperville is being charged this tax, which that is not the case. “By Another Anonymous on September 3, 2008 2:23 PM, and that does not count the $100,000 donated from the cultural fund to subsidize this event which is paid mostly by the NAPERVILLE TAXPAYER!!!” I just wanted to keep the record straight on that.
Kevin,
I could be wrong but all restaurants in Naperville charge the culture sales tax. I noticed the sales tax is 8.5% and not 7.5% at restaurants outside the downtown area. The restaurants downtown charge or will be charging an extra 1.5% for the new parking decks.
Yes, I relied on information provided by what appears to be a reputable blogger. He seemed credible and claimed he checked the Rib Fest information and he will soon provide information about the Last Fling. If he was lying, then someone will come out and prove he is lying. Hundreds if not thousands read this blog site.
The Rib Fest organizers did not refute his claims. I am sure at least one of them reads Ted's Threads. If no one but myself reads Ted's Threads then no libel could possibly be taking place. Without readership, there can be no libel assuming anyone was libeled in the first place!
You wasted your time speculating about the accuracy of his information which I relied on. You could have been more productive checking it out and disputing it if it was not accurate.
With all due respect, you provided no service to society or to this blog site with your latest post!
I followed this one specific Anonymous on this blog site to know he is brilliant and credible. If one makes a mistake, point out his mistake. Don't ramble on for an hour about the possibility he made a mistake.
One thing I will say about you Kevin is that you are well intentioned and good hearted. But you are going about handling what you dispute in the wrong way...with innuendos instead of FACTS!
I try to rely on facts I obtain from reading the Naperville Sun and other facts provided by reputable people like Councilman Bob! In the old days I relied on facts provided by the Napergate Man that were vetted by Sun Officials. I do my best to rely on credible sources. I consider all the above sources credible.
I stand by my assestion that the $100,000 coming out of the culutural fund to pay for police OT is totally inappropriate and unethical. I was fully aware that it was not on my personal real estate tax bill. But it was collected by my City which I partially own like all residents and I have a right to call for it not to be used inappropriately.
Kevin, no one is saying you have to agree with me! Please dispute the facts with me and I stand to be corrected. I will concede that it was wrong of me to lump the Last Fling with the Rib Fest before the numbers were out. I made an assumption and I apologize for that. However, I feel the numbers may be a little worse for the Last Fling as the Rib Fest raises tons of money from a COVER CHARGE to enter the event while the LAST FLING does not have a COVER CHARGE to enter the event. Again, I am speaking based on last year since I boycotted both events this year due to the 100k police OT fiasco so I stand to be corrected if the LAST FLING also instituted a COVER CHARGE. Sometimes honest speculations can bring answers from others. That is what I try to do sometimes and if you study my writings carefully you will see I frequently use the words "seem" and "appear" to avoid the possibility of a future libel suit. I am a few steps ahead of you, Kevin!
Have a good day, Kevin! Don't read too much into the Gustav winds! You are stretching your imagination to believe that I am insensitive to Gustav Hurricane Victims. You need to get a bit more real and get out of fantasy world! Having said all this I do respect you as you seem very well intentioned. Unlike that Ken guy that some Napergatians mixed you up with. Give me credit for not mixing you up at least...lol! Just trying to lighten you up, Kevin, as you have seen to have gotten a little too emotional.
To by Another Anonymous on September 4, 2008 5:17 PM, I agree 100% with your quote "One thing I will say about you Kevin is that you are well intentioned and good hearted. But you are going about handling what you dispute in the wrong way...with innuendos instead of FACTS!" However, I think you have the last sentence mixed up a bit, you are the one with innuendos instead of facts. You said above your facts are based on someone who is "Anonymous" who you think is "brilliant and credible". Facts come from the direct source (i.e. the actual organization you are questioning), not someone who is interpreting a newspaper article. By the way, the newspapers have been known to make mistakes too, I know it is hard to believe, but they sometimes get the facts mixed up and misquote people. You also even admit that you are speculating “Sometimes honest speculations can bring answers from others. That is what I try to do sometimes and if you study my writings carefully you will see I frequently use the words "seem" and "appear" to avoid the possibility of a future libel suit.” There is another word for what you do to…it’s called being an instigator!! You just take half truths and try to make them facts to ignite people to respond to you…I have read enough of your entries to know that much. You have your style and it seems to work for you, but my recommendation would be to tone it down a bit and people might respect you a little more. You seem to like to be in the spotlight and try to instigate people into responding to you by insulting them. You don’t need to respond to this part of my entry as I am sure I am “dense”, “I need to grow up” and “I need to get a bit more real and get out of fantasy world”. Did I get them all? You do a very good job of trying to insult people, don’t worry I don’t get emotional or upset by anything someone who is “Anonymous” says about me. I prefer to at least know the first name of the person insulting me before it matters to me. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on that point.
Regarding your comment, “I stand by my assertion that the $100,000 coming out of the cultural fund to pay for police OT is totally inappropriate and unethical.” I would agree with you if that statement was actually correct, but it is not. Not all of the Culture Fund goes to paying the Police for their service over the weekend, there are other city services that get paid through that fund too. So if your argument is that the Culture Fund should not pay for ANY city services regardless of what they are, that would be a better argument and a true statement. There is not $100k in police overtime during a four day event and I can’t believe you would actually think that there would be. There were not 30 police officers at the Last Fling this year either, there were 18. The were spread out throughout the weekend too. The Last Fling does not charge a “cover charge” they offer an event that is mostly free to the community to enter. The only place that needs a ticket is the Rotary Hill and that is for the concert. As for the Culture Fund, it is only collected in downtown Naperville by the restaurants. It was a tax that was agreed upon by the DNA (Downtown Naperville Alliance) years ago. Those are just some of the facts in this argument…I am all for stopping wasteful spending, but if you go in front of City Council with wrong information in your argument you will lose credibility. How do I know all of this information is true, I am a Jaycee and I am not corrupt like you mentioned in an earlier blog. The Jaycees are filled with good, honest and hard working people who volunteer many hours of their personal time throughout the year to this community. If you want to learn more about what the Jaycees do, please let me know and I will be more than happy to tell you. Just let me know.
Hey Guys-
My information about Ribfest comes from Naperville Exchange Club releases and direct quotes attributed to Ribfest Chairman Don Emery from the Naperville Sun. Mr. Emery’s quotes have never been questioned or challenged so I assume that they are correct until notified otherwise.
The numbers I came up with are simple math using data from the above sources. I have never contended that the numbers are 100% correct. They are just estimates based on the available information. Just today I checked the Naperville Sun and the Daily Herald websites and there is no further information found. The Ribfest website is offline and the Naperville Exchange Club website has no information about Ribfest except a link to the down website. There is not yet any data out about the just past Last Fling.
I’m just putting down my thoughts and math in a public blog for comment and discussion. Any fact finding and investigative reporting falls under the purview of the Fourth Estate, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame issues. I’m just a private citizen with some thoughts and questions.
All that being said I still think that this at least merits some straight forward explanation. I’m not trying to attack the fine folks involved with either Ribfest or the Last Fling.
Why is it that a black police SUV in the parade had a small child in the front seat of the car in a car seat facing forward? Why was the women driving the Saturn car on her cell phone when the parade route was lined with children? Why or why do we allow the parade participants to throw candy during the parade? The children stand in the street, making it difficult to view the parade, no regard to those marching. The family next to us sent two of their three children in the street to get candy. All we heard was - get some for your brother, get out there, here it comes. They blocked our view. I finally asked them if they could sit down so we could see.