Most Commented Stories
This weeks most commented stories.
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- Village fund target of investigation
- Quinn pushes for ban on high-capacity ammunition
- Consumers who have money are the job creators
- Capitalists are truly the job creators
- Some hearts are hardened beyond remedy
- Illinois needs more jobs, not a minimum wage hike
- Ashton official got personal loan from village
- Lee board OKs wind farm project
- Board OKs wind farm
- A national award, won very quietly in Erie
- Sauk winds down wind program amid declining student interest
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- Consider all the issues, then approve petition
- No floor vote yet for gun carry bill
- Who’s liable for smelly problem in Rock Falls?
- Transfer of city funds questioned
- Sheriff: Counselor said man was suicidal
- A bridge to Dixon's riverfront plans?
- Wise saw collapse in support
- Picture worth a thousand words
- Children do better with mom and dad
- Teacher killed in crash
- Higher fines proposed for code violations, minor offenses
- Competition is part of life
- Conservatives and pensions
- ‘Adamantly’ against power line proposal
Most Recent Comments
The most recent comments on the site.
chris black regarding Ashton official got personal loan from village
The obvious question here is do you hear yourself? Shameful Andrew. Used to at least respect your opinion, even if we disagreed
pennie wessels regarding Ashton official got personal loan from village
Oh my,my,my,my. Now, it's blame the whistle blower, time. Disgusting; and he should have been charged with misappropriation of taxpayer funds, or some other type charge.
Andrew Kida regarding Village fund target of investigation
When I received a grant to replace some of the veterans markers at the cemetery, I didn't discard the scrap metal for money. I re-purposed the material and commissioned the youth of the community through the school to create a metal wreath out of the marker heads. We now place that wreath back at the cemetery on Memorial Day. All I can say is that it is difficult to get good ideas rolling and difficult to get people working together when it comes to the world of 'gotcha' politics, which is what goes on in many communities.
Andrew Kida regarding Ashton official got personal loan from village
The obvious question here is: Where the article notes "Village Clerk Sharon VanDam, who handles the village’s finances, said Martinez requested the village keep the money in a Village Hall drawer in April 2010, and she did", why didn't the clerk, the more experienced municipal finance individual, insist the money be accounted for in some manner? Why didn't the experienced individual advise the lesser experienced individual provide proper advise?
Andrew Kida regarding Village fund target of investigation
There are many other instances where renovations were done on city property and items of value were discarded by order of other boards. That is completely lost revenue. There are definitely gaps in controls for these processes, but without proper administration, they will never be resolved.
Andrew Kida regarding Village fund target of investigation
Point taken. There is not a 'fund' to my knowledge. My understanding is that the money was just put into some other traceable fund. I suspect it would go into the general fund. Any future revenue realized from scrap assets should go into the general fund. If it were up to me, that revenue would fall into some budgetary line item like training, but I was never in the position to make those decisions. Since earning my MPA, I am discovering that towns this size in Iowa have city managers or administrators. These are the reasons why they do this.
Andrew Kida regarding Ashton official got personal loan from village
Again, there was a grand jury which had no findings. "In April, a grand jury investigated the village president’s actions with the fund, but found nothing criminal." My understanding is the money was originally kept elsewhere and when it grew to a certain size it was moved to the office. When it was transferred to the clerk's office, it should have been made into a petty cash fund. It should have been "on the books" at that point, but the clerk never did that. It should have been "on the books" from the beginning.
Ernest Larson regarding Who’s liable for smelly problem in Rock Falls?
So? If the backflow preventer were installed at the floor drain the sewage would make its way back to the bathtub, correct? The solution would have to be applied to the main sewage pipe as it leaves the house, correct? Who has ever heard of such a thing as that? The city taking care of it's residents waste water and sewage is what the bill for sewage and waste water covers anyway. There is a simple solution but if a diaper can cause a blockage then the connunity pipe needs to be larger, correct? This is the construction season. Get to it.
edward gasser regarding A bridge to Dixon's riverfront plans?
What are we waiting for?
Sterling/Rock Falls did it two years ago and it's great, and very popular with walkers and bikers.
What an excellent vantage point to enjoy the beauty of the Rock River, in peace, away from the awful traffic which makes Dixon's 2 bridges unpleasant.
edward gasser regarding Competition is part of life
I agree with you about motivation.
Education in America has deteriorated dramatically since the stupid concept came out of Calif in the 1970s --"No student left behind". What sounded like a nice idea to the limp minded, was in reality a terrible devaluation of quality. "No student left behind" in reality resulted in allowing all teachers to drop the level of classroom achievement to the level of the lowest student. OH, that also made it so much easier for the teachers. More sports, less competition for grades, less teaching. There are no losers, they are all winners. Race to bottom.
