Northwest Herald | Woodstock business to lease street parking

Interesting—rent out the street for parking.

By CHELSEA McDOUGALL

At Tuesday’s meeting, Harding withdrew a petition to tear down a neighboring house for a parking lot. Council members, at a meeting earlier this month, were less than thrilled with razing the more than 100-year-old house.

The council settled on offering Harding on-street parking, but it wasn’t without some trepidation.

“I have some problems with dedicated parking spaces,” Mayor Brian Sager said. “But I’m willing to consider it if the petition is off the table relative to demolishing the house.”

The ordinance that city staff will draft will include a lease agreement with Harding for eight spaces. Rent for the parking will be “reasonable.”

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Northwest Herald | Feds indict Crystal Lake veterans advocate

This article has a good listing of all the charges and allegations.

By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO

John C. Blanchard of Crystal Lake and four employees of National Association of Systems Administrators Education Corp. and Liberating Solutions Corp. were indicted on six counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and 10 counts of providing material false statements and documents.

The charges focus on NASA Education’s securing of government contracts, and the company’s relationship with Liberating Solutions, a Crystal Lake business that has done contract work for federal and local governments.

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Boone County saves thousands from refinancing jail bond - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Will the 1 per cent sales PSB tax end in 2018?

The $9.3 million bond was originally issued in 1999 to help pay for the county jail. It is set to expire in 2018.

Additionally, the board received an Aa2 bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service, which is the third highest bond rating offered by the agency. To receive that rating, County Administrator Ken Terrinoni met with representatives from Moody’s Investors Service, who interviewed him about the county’s finances for an hour. 

“We gave them a full picture of our finances, and they were mostly questioning the ways we got through this recent recession,” he said.

The agency said the county’s strengths included a strong and conservative management team, as well as having a healthy reserve level. One of its weaknesses included relying on sales tax revenues.

Boone County saves thousands from refinancing jail bond - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Refinancing jail bonds will save Boone County $377,000 | Belvidere Daily Republican

Written by Bob Balgemann

Refinancing $3.32 million worth of bonds, the remaining amount from the $9.3 million issuance in 1999 for jail construction and other projects, will save the county an estimated $377,000 in interest.

The repayment interest was reduced from 3.7 percent to 0.97 percent thanks to a AA bond rating …

The half-cent public safety sales tax, approved in 1999 for the jail project and others, is due to expire in 2018. It has generated more than enough money for the annual bond repayment, and sometimes elicited controversy as to how the overage should be spent.

Click on the following to read the entire article:  Refinancing jail bonds will save Boone County $377,000 | Belvidere Daily Republican

Belvidere Township to have referendum on electric aggregation | Belvidere Daily Republican

Written by Bob Balgemann

….5-0 vote to approve the necessary ordinance came Aug. 14. Then the ordinance was filed with the Boone County Clerk’s office so the vote can be part the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

Supporters claim residents and small businesses can expect to see reductions of up to 25 percent in their monthly electric bills.

Residents of unincorporated Boone County voted against aggregation in the March 2012 primary election, as did those in the village of Poplar Grove…..

 

While Poplar Grove will have a second referendum Nov. 6, the county can’t have another one until February 2014. Given that, Belvidere Township officials decided to try and schedule a vote for their residents living in the unincorporated area.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Belvidere Township to have referendum on electric aggregation | Belvidere Daily Republican