Do you support 90/10?

Valley View Mr. Mitchem has been pushing this agenda for far too long.  The new 90/10 is the first thing on his block for the new Superintendent.  90/10 is a new way to grade kids in the classroom.  It places less emphasis on formative assessments and compliance, like homework or class projects, and more on the end result like summative assessments, passing tests or proving mastery of the subject.

Many residents are outraged. 

How does this prepare our youth to enter the workforce?  It teaches them that they do not need to participate in meetings, which can hinder promotions.  It teaches them that they do not need to be prepared for meetings, as long as they can wing it.  It teaches them that the only thing that matters is the ability to RECALL information. 

There is no need to do homework, participate in class, or study.  Heck, even if your recall memory is not functioning that day and you fail, you can re-take it as many times as needed until you pass! 

So the obvious question is what happens when you fail one a few times while the other students are already three tests ahead?  Who knows!  Your child will never finish in time?  But does that matter?  Guess not!

There is so much wrong with this system.  That is why no other schools locally use this approach.  It is time that residents speak up for the children and hope that they listen.  It is not about passing a freaking ISAT test, it is about learning life skills along the way and the ability to succeed when they are pushed from home at the tender age of 18.  At least give them some discipline so they can get through college, for crying out loud!

Thanks,
Jon

Weekend Jubilee Mayor Spotted

Just when Roger Claar thought he could get away with drinking at a children and Village event, residents were on the scene to report it! 

Three residents called/ wrote in about elected officials drinking (on tax payer funded liquor) in the underground "bat cave" during the Jubilee.  The elected officials (through FOIA) have denied that this location exists.  Yet, this bar for elected officials and allies, exists under the stage behind the police department.  It was in full use on Saturday night.

Well low and behold if three different residents spotted the Mayor leaving this bat cave stumbling.  Pictures are not conclusive with stumbling, so we cannot post those photos sent to us, however, three sightings (two of him leaving and stumbling from the bat cave, one heading to his car stumbling at the same time) is too much for residents to handle.

Did the police allow him to drive away?  Was he drunk?  Was it from the tax payer stocked bar in the hidden bat cave?  Did he pay for those beverages, and the beverages of his colleagues?  What about the servers?  Why wasn't he shaking hands with the residents?  Was this budgeted in the expense for the Jubilee?  If so, how much did we budget for?  Was it over $5,000 in liquor loss?  Will this event cause taxes to go up in the village to support this part of the Jubilee?  WE have many questions and we are sure our audience does as well...

Windy City Amusements

"If you let us have our carnival here, we will give you a kick back!" 

 Is this pay to play?  You betcha!

Windy City Amusements donated $1,000 to Roger Claar on 5/5/2011.

They charged you high fees for rides, games, etc.

Who established the prices?

Southern Wine and Sprits donates heavily to keep Golf Course Revenues

Southern Wine and Sprits gets a great deal of money from our tax payer golf club.  They supply the liquor for events.  Many golf clubs use bulk ordering systems to lower costs, while the Bolingbrook Golf Club uses this retail company. 

On April 28 and May 4, Southern Wine and Sprits donated $4000 to Roger Claar, Bolingbrook Mayor's war chest. 

Shoudl a vendor feel obligated to donate to keep a contract?  Should the government official demand that all contract holders with the Village NOT donate, like laws demand?  Do these businesses get the no-bid contracts based on who they know and what they can contribute at war chest time?

Voice your opinions below.

Gad Group Donates for heavy money

The Gad group, which we have featured on here before, donated to the Mayor's war chest recently.  As a direct Village contractor, is this fair?  Voice your opinion below.

Clow Airport

Time and time again we touch base on Clow Airport.  The management company, DePaulo, claims they are profiting. The financials state the opposite.  Numbers get twisted to include, not include depreciation and other things so that the average person cannot understand.  Bottom line, what they take in does not cover what they spend per month.

So why would we leave the management company in there since 2004?  That is 7 years to turn a profit and stop asking residents to take out more bonds to cover expenses and re-building.  The answer is simple.

A management company/ owner/ employee of the residents pays the Mayor money every year to his campaign war chest.  In turn, he gets to keep spending and losing our money.

According to the recent updates on the IL Campaign disclosure web sites, Joseph De Paulo donated ANOTHER $500 on April 28, 2011.

I guess the residents don't care that this management company has run the airport into the ground and allows Joseph to keep his high paying job as long as he continues to donate to the Mayor.

Chamber now using Chamber money to play "tour guide"

Although this is not new to Mike Evans, Chamber of Commerce Bolingbrook Director, it is a new concept to all other Chambers in the area.

Using Chamber fees to take a trip out of the country, and inviting along others, does not fulfill the goals of a Chamber of Commerce.

“The primary aim of the chamber is to protect the interest of the business community as a whole. The chambers of different areas look after the interests of those areas and try to promote commerce, trade and industry. ” http://dailyojo.com/articles/what-does-chamber-of-commerce-do.html

The recent free trip to China, one of many taken by Mike Evans on Chamber dollars, has been nothing more then a free trip and Mike playing tour guide.  In a tough economy, where Chamber fees continue to top the high end, why would your local Chamber not lower the rates so more businesses can join or maintain the membership?  Because they use the money foolishly.

In the past, they have brought NO new business from the Asian continents.  Why would they keep using your money to do this again and again?  You got it!  Free trips.

Do all bloggers deserve "Repect"?

Respect is earned, not given.  That is the motto of the BR. 

by Matthew (web guy for the BR)

It has come to our attention today that some people are upset because we monitor our blog posts. 

While this does not seem fair for "freedom of speech naysayers", it actually benefits them.

Too many local sites have gone under for featuring people who cannot carry on a decent conversation or cannot address controversy respectfully.  One local site, like Topix, has been guilty of that for far too long.  They allow people to post instantly with any name, hide behind that name, and throw stones at glass houses. Other local sites are doing the same.

Our site is proud to host a wide variety of opinions from all residents and non-residents.  What we do not host is swear words, insane ramblings that cannot lead to open discussions, or attacks against our volunteer site.  Like I said earlier, respect is to be earned.  Posting time may vary, but in the end, you get a solid conversation that does not go away.  Parts of it do not disappear, making it impossible to follow the conversation later. 

We take pride in ensuring people cannot hide behind a false name to defame anyone.  It takes leadership and diligence to promote a place where residents can contribute stories and make them available for readers to see without the cost the newspapers would charge them to do so.  It takes strong people, like Jay and Bonnie to encourage the residents to participate in their communities and feel like they have a say, while not having to feel fear for speaking out.  It takes strong leaders to run for office against a 24+ year regime of non-communicative democracy that fails to listen to its constituents needs and stifles freedom of speech.

This site was based off the platform that any and all residents could step forward and tell their story, but be open to bloggers responding, either in agreeing or picking apart the story/disagreeing.  That is the American way.  Bloggers who chose to destroy sites do not gain our respect.  Writers that publish articles on our site, that have not done their research, will be advised before posting a second article.  It is all a check and balance policy to keep the site maintained, well running, and balanced for the good of the Village.

We welcome your responses, but be civil.  Prove your statements when you disagree and if you want to see your words published, earn the respect in each sentence you post. 

For reference, this is the sign in our office, which proudly boasts the following:

“The most important attribute that will most likely determine success or failure as a writer or blogger is the ability to be a good person, …to control their most destructive humans emotions, tell the truth, and do and say what’s right… If you want bloggers to be decent and honourable, you must be decent and honourable.”

Bolingbrook credit rating on downslide to a junk bond?

With Bolingbrook bonds slipping further and further away from a AAA rating, why is the local government not informing their residents that it is on the brink of financial disaster or bankruptcy?  Because they would not get re-elected if they told the truth, heaven forbid!

Bolingbrook over the past few years have slipped in bond rating from AAA to a AA, A, and now a BBB credit rating according to S&P.  A BBB rating is the last rating one can receive before it slips to a "junk bond". 

We warned the residents during the last Mayoral election to elect a non-spending Mayor and board of trustees.  Instead, many of you did not even vote.  Since then (2 years ago), we have taken out more debt that can even be paid back.  Some analysts are stating that we might have taken out more than IL law dictates.  This happened because our Mayor and Rubber stamped board of Trustees have decided to build a golf club that loses revenue, buy an airport, and get into housing developments that tanked.  All of these have not been fixed or are profiting yet.  They spend money like it is their money and they are rich.  Then they tax the residents higher and higher hoping it will help.

Now the Mayor wants to "buy and run" a water company.  This additional debt will drop Bolingbrook bonds into Junk bond rating.  Once a rating is listed as a junk bond, it is highly likely the debt cannot be repaid and the creditor could declare bankruptcy.  (That is the Village of Bolingbrook).

According to S&P, "the holder of any debt is subject to interest rate risk and credit risk, inflationary risk, currency risk, duration risk, convexity risk, repayment of principal risk, streaming income risk, liquidity risk, default risk, maturity risk, reinvestment risk, market risk, political risk, and taxation adjustment risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk of the market value of a bond changing in value due to changes in the structure or level of interest rates or credit spreads or risk premiums. The credit risk of a high-yield bond refers to the probability and probable loss upon a credit event (i.e., the obligor defaults on scheduled payments or files for bankruptcy, or the bond is restructured)."

Call your local Trustee and tell them to stop spending money.  Tell your neighbors what the credit ratings are and spread the word.  To find out more, visit http://www.thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/. 

CSC, Kalnicki, and Propaganda Alert

Robert (Bob) Kalnicki has decided to advertise his run for a Senate IL position that takes place a year and three months from now.  Why would he do that?

According to his press release, Robert Kalnicky will be running for the 98th state representative seat in November 2012.  Kalnicki is the founder of the Bolingbrook Tea Party movement since 2010.  He has a long standing membership in the exclusively corrupt DuPage County Republican Committee, as a board member.  On top of that, he holds a PAID position with CSC, which earns him a salary of over $30K per year paid for by donations from DuPage Township and the Village of Bolingbrook.  Yes, these donations were taken out of your taxes. 

For a year we have screamed conflict of interest.  We wrote stories about his board position at the library and how he wanted to donate the old furniture to the organization instead of putting the profits back in taxpayers hands.  Leading the "First Pary of Bolingbrook" committee last April elections, one of his candidate was accused of stealing signs and being verbally abusive.  His party did not comment.  His campaign involvement in two election seasons seem to lead to his political party behind the stealing of many signs, trying to destroy the competition, and keeping the competition off the ballots.  He stomped on the rights of others while playing a dirty game.

So why would he run for State Senate when it is a very likely that residents do not want to vote for a "dirty tea party candidate" that has been the subject of much controversy?

1.  What about the fact that tea party members are suppose to cut spending, yet while he has served on the library board they have increased spending? 

2. What about all those free trips he took and money put in the kitty instead of paying the residents back? 

3. What is he really, since he is NOT following Tea Party Principals or Republican spending cuts? 

We do not know, but some say his direct link to the Socialist political parties in Bolingbrook make him one and the same.  If you support them, run their elections for them, and fund raise for them, does that not make you one of them?

We can't wait to see why he has decided to run, as the motive seems pretty clear.  To our Watch Dog group the motive is simple, gain the socialists power and control the money. 

We have already been seeing propaganda pieces in local papers supporting this man and his run.  As they say in the stores when presented with a scam... Buyer beware!

Bolingbrook Man MIA

Jeremy Asbell, 25, and father of two from Bolingbrook, was in a canoe that tipped in Woodridge late last night.  Rescue crews are using sonar to find him. 

His friend made it out safely, but they cannot locate Jeremy.

Some are questioning why he would have been in the middle of a retention pond at 2am last night and how he could not swim back to the close shore when his family has stated he could swim the size of that pond many times over. 

Our hearts go out to this family and we will all pray for his safe return.