Fitch Ratings on Thursday reduced Chicago's $6.8 billion in outstanding general obligation bonds from AA-plus to AA, which means millions of dollars will be added to the cost of borrowing by the city.
Click on the following for more details: Chicago's bond rating cut; adds millions to borrowing costs | Government | Crain's Chicago Business
Proposed ballot question
“Shall there be created a Citizens’ Efficiency Commission which shall have as its purpose improving local government effectiveness by identifying opportunities for improved cooperation, coordination, and reduction of duplication of services among local governments in Sangamon County?”
Recent governmental mergers in Sangamon County
* 1989 – Buffalo and Mechanicsburg merge their police departments. Officials in both communities cited the growing cost of complying with new state training mandates.
* 1997 – Emergency dispatchers for police, fire and medical services in Springfield and Sangamon County are consolidated. Prior to the merger, dispatchers worked for the Springfield Fire Department, the Springfield Police Department or Sangamon County.
* 2002 – The Springfield Park District takes over the Springfield Recreation Department. Merger was designed to save taxpayers an estimated $300,000 annually.
* March 2006 – Springfield Health Department is merged into the Sangamon County Health Department, at an estimated savings of $1.4 million annually.
A 3-foot-long Asian carp discovered in a Chicago waterway near Lake Michigan appears to have spent most of its life there and may have been planted by humans who didn't know what type of fish it was or the environmental risk it posed, researchers said Thursday.
Click on the following for more details: Pantagraph.com | News from Associated Press
On Dec. 16, 2009, local [Freeport] business owner Steve Chesney submitted a $1,000 bid to purchase the Carnegie, after the library board voted to put the building up for auction. That bid was 25 times larger than the amount submitted by the city[of Freeport] to buy the Carnegie. City Council members later authorized matching the $1,000 bid, but a formal purchase of the property has not happened.
The taxpayers for the city and the library district have spent $26,000, [on legal fees] and we still don’t have a definitive answer on who owns the building. Who are the legal trustees?,”
City of Freeport believes that the title lawsuit is no longer necessary. We believe that recent interest shown in the property indicates that there is no hindrance to achieving the ultimate goal of putting the property back into productive reuse, while preserving the historical nature of the building
Its 2010 budget is more than $3.1 million in the red as of June 30, in large part because of late payments from the state. And early budget estimates indicate that McHenry County could have a $3 million shortfall in 2011, as well.
McHenry County uses “zero-based” budgeting, which means that every department’s budget is comprehensively reviewed each year, and all expenditures must be justified.
RAM Talks Art: Area museums offer free days
This includes: Ethnic Heritage Museum, Burpee Museum of Natural History, Khlem Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Rockford Art Museum,Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens, Midway Village Museum, Discovery Center Museum, and Anderson Japanese Gardens
Click on the following for the individual details: RAM Talks Art: Area museums offer free days | The Rock River Times
