During a meeting Thursday, those for and against a new Muslim center in unincorporated DuPage County just east of Naperville learned about new conditions under which a county committee would agree to a permit. Neighbors to the facility have said the noise, parking and possible late nights would be a burden. However, applicants for the Irshad Learning Center agreed to changes, including an increase in parking, berms to shield the view of the center from neighbors and moving part or all of a septic field.
One member of Irshad did question "Why have we been singled out, as if our activity should be restricted?
What do you think? Are they being discriminated against? Are the rules fair? How about neighbors? What are your biggest concerns?
The DuPage County Board has been discussing a plan to create areas for workforce homes in unincorporated areas of the county. The homes would be targeted toward people like police officers, firefighters, teachers and others who may want to live near the community they work in, but not be able to afford homes in that area.
Those areas that would be affected near Naperville include Mill Street north of Bauer Road; homes northwest of Ogden Avenue from Wright Street to Charles Avenue; some of the streets south of Hillside Road around Julian Street; and the area around Old Plank Road and Naper Boulevard.
Opponents claim that the "workforce" includes everyone who brings home a paycheck, and all deserve equal protection through local zoning codes. Some have noted that the zoning amendment would eliminate the applications process that enables planners to scrutinize new building projects individually.
Also opposing aspects of the measure are the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference and some municipalities that take exception to a slackening of property dimension rules and setbacks, the additional use of septic systems and wells, the potentially undesirable mix of housing styles, and what William Heniff, Lombard's community development director, called "a de-facto rezoning of the neighborhoods."
The County Board has delayed a vote on the issue so residents can have a chance to learn more and offer comments.
Here is a link to the Sun's most recent article on the subject: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1605167,affordable-housing-DuPage_na060309.article
What do you think? Does Naperville need affordable housing? Do you have a problem with this proposal? What would your concerns be if it is approved?
DuPage County says it's going to experiment with a combination of salt and beet juice to help save money this winter when clearing roads of ice and snow. Sounds like a science experiment from junior high, but whatever works. And here in Naperville, we're all for saving taxpayer money.
Apparently the huge piles of snow from last year depleted stockpiles, causing salt prices to skyrocket. Last season, DuPage's highway department laid 33,000 tons of salt - 9,000 more tons of salt than originally planned. The Chicago area received 60.3 inches of snow from November 2007 through March 2008. The average is 38 inches.
Let's hope this winter doesn't bring that much of the white stuff. Officials say we won't, but county crews already used the mixture earlier this week, spreading about 2,500 gallons on the county's bridges, hills, curves and two-lane roads.
What do you expect this winter? Any better ideas than beet juice? How do you plan to prepare for the onslaught of freezing temperatures and snowstorms?
It's easy, in a county where 100 percent of the elected officials are Republican, to believe there must be some sort of bias and favoritism exhibited by the ruling party officials.
That's what local Democrats claimed this week, when they said, among other things, that the DuPage Election Commission has Republican cronies on the payroll and favored Republicans in recent ballot disputes.
The commission answered the charges, saying the ballot disputes were resolved fairly and that it also has a Democratic crony on the payroll. You can read more in Friday's Sun.
What's your impression of the election process in DuPage? Do you think it's on the up-and-up? Do you trust that elections are being conducted in a legal and fair manner? Or do you believe that illegal and unethical practices are being allowed to happen?
Warrenville residents turned out Monday night to hear DuPage County officials explain why flooding was so bad in their community last week. And it turns out that no, it wasn't because the Fawell Dam was controlled in such a way to keep all the water upstream and out of Naperville, they said. It was just that there was an awful lot of water in places that drain into the West Branch of the DuPage River.
Sounds logical enough. Still, Warrenville was hit a lot harder during this flood than Naperville, and residents had their say. High water washed out three bridges, effectively cutting Warrenville in half for days. Some residents said they had to be evacuated, and were unhappy with what they said was poor communication by city officials.
What should Warrenville, Naperville and DuPage County learn from this experience? Should the Warrenville Road, Butterfield Road and Williams Street bridges be replaced with higher structures? How could city and county authorities better communicate with residents during emergencies like this?
A couple stories from Wednesday's Sun illustrate how DuPage County is gradually becoming more diverse. It may still have one of the highest per-capita income rates in the nation, where housing is hardly affordable, and where 100 percent of the county office-holders are Republican. But there are signs of change.
First is Tuesday's opening of the Sudanese Community Center in Naperville. Cofounder Gene Tenner of Lisle estimates that two-thirds of the 800 to 1,000 people who fled to the Chicago area from the genocide in Darfur are living in DuPage County. We wish the center success in serving the Sudanese community and welcome the facility to Naperville.
Second is a story about funding for the DuPage County health department, which is proposed to remain flat at $48 million for 2009. Health Department Executive Director Maureen McHugh notes there are 18,000 Medicaid recipients living in DuPage, and that the county is home to more low-income residents now than it was five years ago. A chief contributing factor is the 29,523 Hispanics who have moved into the county since 2003, she said.
That's a lot of change in a relatively short amount of time. How do you see the changing demographics affecting life in DuPage? Will housing become more affordable? Will taxes increase? Will a Democrat ever be elected to a county office? Have you noticed the increasing diversity, and thought about how it affects you?
Naperville Township trustees did something unusual Tuesday night. They voted to drastically cut salaries for elected officials. The town supervisor's pay, for example, is being slashed in half to $45,000 from $89,000. The town clerk's salary is being cut to $32,000 from $40,000.
These cuts bring Naperville in line with the compensation afforded other township officials in DuPage County.
However, the cuts did not come without a fight. One trustee, Fred Spitzzeri, verbally attacked another, Gary Vician. Spitzzeri called Vician a hypocrite, since Vician voted for pay raises four years ago. Vician said the plan four years ago was to justify the raises because staff cuts were planned, but those savings were never fully realized, Paige Winfiled reports in The Sun.
What do you make of all this? Does the township board deserve praise for acting responsibly and reducing salaries? Or should it be qualified praise, since the board was correcting irresponsible past actions that inflated salaries in the first place? Or should the board be outright criticized for not doing enough to cut costs?
The Naperville Township Board tonight meets to consider annual raises for elected officials: supervisor, highway commissioner, assessor, clerk and trustees. Last year raises were about 5 percent. This year, they may be less, one official said, though the final decision won't be made until August or September.
What do you think? What you be a fair wage increase these days for elected officials? And not just township -- what's fair for city council, county board, state representative, U.S. senator -- all those salaries and benefits your tax dollars pay for.
It's called Article 36, and it allows authorities to seize vehicles in 48 different instances in which offenders commit a crime, including driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license or transporting more than 10 cartons of cigarettes. (We are not making this up.)
As Wednesday's Sun reports, they've had tremendous success lately taking vehicles away from criminals in DuPage County. What about the Constitution? Isn't there something in the Fourth Amendment about unlawful search and seizure? OK, maybe this doesn't violate the letter of the law, but it certainly tests the spirit. Does the punishment fit the crime, in your opinion, when authorities can seize vehicles like this?
One word about this thread: Let's keep the discussion focused on the legislative aspect of this question, and not enforcement. We've had plenty of threads lately about police. Let's talk about the lawmakers who created this legislation, and the courts that have upheld it.
A report in Sunday's Sun describes what local governments are doing about high fuel prices. The city of Naperville, for example, says its cut fuel consumption by 6 percent in recent years by reducing the number of vehicles in its fleet, buying fuel wholesale, and taking other steps. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is using alternative fuels. The Naperville Park District is telling workers not to leave vehicles idling.
What do you think -- are these steps enough? Remember not long ago when a whistleblower told DuPage County Board members how public works employees were filling up personal vehicles with gas paid for by county taxpayers? And that was before $4 a gallon gas. How confident are you that there are no thefts by employees taking place now?
What are you doing to cut your own personal fuel consumption? What do you think government agencies should do to reduce fuel costs?
