Dixon mayor responds to comptroller arrest - WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader

How does a $30 million loss go undetected?

Burke also addressed the issue of how such a large amount of money could go missing without anyone noticing. He stated that the city has an annual audit that is prepared by two independent certified public accounting firms. Neither of those firms disclosed any instances of non-compliance or other matters required to be reported under government auditing standards. Also, many of the city's accounts are held at Fifth Third Bank and the bank never reported anything suspicious. Since Dixon is a tax-capped community, cash flow problems became complicated due to the State of Illinois being substantially behind on income tax payments.

Click on the following for more details:  Dixon mayor responds to comptroller arrest - WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader

 

Below is CPA firm’s letter regarding Dixon’s 4-30-2011 audit. The entire CPA audit is available on the internet at:  http://www.discoverdixon.org/cat_view/37-city-council-documents.html

Page 3 below states that CPA, Samuel Card,”did not identify any deficiencies in internal control…”

Click on the photocopy to enlarge: 

 

Page 77

Northwest Herald | Engineer dreams of power play

 

Thorium Energy Alliance, Kutsch and his band of about 1,000 scientists and active supporters are on the cusp of changing attitudes about the abundant and naturally occurring element, but they first need the regulatory framework to make it competitive with standard nuclear reactors.

Thorium is lumped in with uranium and plutonium in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 for its radioactive properties. The act provides guidelines for both the development and the regulation of the uses of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States.

But thorium is less radioactive than the uranium that powers the country’s 104 nuclear plants.

Thorium is a mildly radioactive alpha particle emitter, as opposed to uranium’s harmful gamma particles, Kutsch explained, meaning that thorium is not only safe to handle, it is proliferation resistant and can’t be made into weapons.

In the face of mounting pressure after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan, and near-misses such as the recent emergency shutdown of a unit at Exelon’s Byron Nuclear Generating Station, Kutsch said his efforts to create a new kind of reactor, called a molten salt reactor, are becoming more critical.

Also known as MSR, a molten salt reactor operates at higher temperatures than standard water-cooled reactors, but can’t overheat. And MSRs need no water to cool, Kutsch said.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Northwest Herald | Engineer dreams of power play

County officials earnestly tackle their wind farm studies | Belvidere Daily Republican

 

Committee Chairman Marshall Newhouse gave a detailed power point presentation that included photos, graphics and plenty of the written word.

His subject was decommissioning of wind turbines, what happens to the 450-plus-foot-tall structures once they have outlived their usefulness. That is one issue likely to command a lot of attention should Mainstream Renewable Power file its request for a special use permit later this year. Mainstream is hoping to build upwards of 100 turbines on 8,000 acres in northeastern Boone County….

Related costs should be reviewed every five years and adjusted for inflation, he said.

He saw a minimum engineering quote of $500,000 per turbine to do the work. A large crane needed to dismantle the windmill rents for $70,000 a month, which he termed “the driving factor for these costs.” But those are today’s dollars and a wind turbine typically lasts 20 years or more.

Hunt has setbacks

There was no immediate answer, though Hunt said 1.1 times the height of the turbine “is pretty consistent throughout all the ordinances” she studied. “The natural gas people recommend 1,600 feet from gas lines,” she added. “I think our ordinance will have all considerations covered.”

Click on the following to read all of the story:  County officials earnestly tackle their wind farm studies | Belvidere Daily Republican

Few issues as Belvidere Township holds its annual meeting | Belvidere Daily Republican

An effort to have an advisory referendum on dissolving Belvidere Township is on hold right now as legal issues are explored. That drew most of the comments, with no passionate expressions on one side of the issue or the other. Mostly, residents were looking for information.

Speakers were limited to three minutes, prompting Les Reid to offer those in the audience a chance to read all of what he had to say by contacting him over the Internet for a copy of the rest of his remarks.

Click on the following for all of the story:  Few issues as Belvidere Township holds its annual meeting | Belvidere Daily Republican

District 100’s timetable for sales tax referendum

Here are the tentative timetables for District 100’s big push for a sales referendum.  They are taken from the April 16, 2012 board packet:  http://www.boarddocs.com/il/district100/Board.nsf/files/8TAPFB6459C8/$file/Facility%20Sales%20Tax.pdf 

CLICK ON THE PHOTOCOPY TO ENLARGE: 

Interesting is the whole question of “long range facility planning”.  Little is mentioned of the most  pressing reason--  sales tax is needed because  financing costs on the new high school and other buildings are increasing at a rate that exceeds 7% per year and very soon the public may realize that.  For more on this issue go to: No Grown May mean higher property taxes, by clicking on: http://district100watchdog.blogspot.com/2008/11/no-growth-may-mean-higher-taxes.html

 

 

I am very opposed to the sales tax referendum (as allowed by current law.)  Read my letter to editor of March 30. 2012:  http://district100watchdog.blogspot.com/2012/03/vote-no-to-school-sales-tax-in-november.html

Daily Kos: Union Activists protest Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in Oklahoma City

 

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, outside of the gates of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, approximately 250 union activists from Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Lawton protested Wisconsin Governor Walker's $1,500 a plate dinner/fundraising event. Premium tables were rumoured to cost $25,000 for 8 atendees, or $3,125 for each person.

Many of the atendees were shocked that there were so many people there waiving signs of protest. However, there were many people that honked their horn as they drove by.

As of midnight local time there seems to not be any notice of it on local news sites and newspapers.

Daily Kos: Union Activists protest Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in Oklahoma City

Belvidere Township Annual Meeting and Mr. Mattison’s challenge

 

There were many speakers at the meeting. With a  3 minute time limit few speakers may have got their points across.  Mr. Mattison appears very deliberate --he wanted more transparency at the township and the trustees should sign a transparency promise from the Illinois Policy Institute.

4/10/12

Belvidere Township Annual Meeting

Re:  Statement

Thank you Patrick and Trustees:

I was happy to see in your response to my FOI request that Belvidere Township is committed to transparency, to quote..."Belvidere Township is committed to transparency in government and to full compliance with the Freedom of Information Act."

I believe a major part of the Belvidere Township Publics' concerns are transparency--there are many other issues too--I do not have the time to list them but would be happy to review them with everyone when time permits.  But, for now, I pose this question to all the Belvidere Township Elected officials relative to transparency...

Would you sign a "TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT PLEDGE"?  This is authorized by the Illinois Policy Institute, an esteemed Illinois organization fostering openness in government.  Please allow me the time to read it.

 

"I ___________________, believe that Illinois citizens deserve a more transparent and accountable government, with easy access to information about how the government spends taxpayer dollars.

Transparency legislation has served as a successful reform in numerous villages, cities, counties and states across the nation, as well as the federal level.  Therefore, I will join the effort in bringing transparency to the State of Illinois in Belvidere Township and pledge to the taxpayers I  will:

Support any and all efforts to implement greater transparency at all levels of government:

Support any and all efforts to implement full, comprehensive transparency in government, requiring open budget books on one, easy-access, searchable and user-friendly website.  This website would include all expenditures, including contracts and grants, and would provide details of payments, their purpose and who authorized the payment;

Engage in full disclosure of all my spending decisions and make revenue and expenditure date as open, transparent, and publicly accessible as possible.

Signed_____________________________________ Date__________

Witness____________________________________ Date__________

 

 

 

Patrick B. Mattison