Welcome to the Bolingbrook Report Blog Site

Welcome to the Bolingbrook Report. The BR has been operating as the local hottest news source since April 2009. Always controversial, and always on the scene, the Brook Report has over 80,000 hits and counting! The BR is an online electronic news source ran by volunteers and residents of Bolingbrook.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Jay Washington for Mayor of Bolingbrook

Welcome Bolingbrook Readers;

I am officially announcing my intention to run for Mayor of Bolingbrook in April 2013. 

I know I have time to make the final decision, but going on the amount of requests I have received and a strong support team, I have decided that I will run.  I will fund my entire campaign and not take Pay to Play donations. 

There are some factors that can sway my decision between now and then.  First, if Bonnie would like to run, I will support that.  Bonnie is well liked by the residents and she has strong support. 

Second, if Bob decides to run for Mayor, I will not run.  Bob Bowen is very smart, organized, and efficient.  He would make a very good Mayor.  He is fiscally conservative and can re-negotiate Village contracts better than anyone I have ever met before. 

Third, if the current Mayor and departing Trustees step down from office to retire, I will re-think my running options.  I feel that they have been in office so long that they have lost site of the needs of the residents.  Placing a cronie in his spot will only infuriate the locals.  Therefore, if he steps down and let's democracy take place, then I will not run either.

To those considering running for Mayor, I advise you to do your homework.  The next Mayor will have to absorb hundreds of millions in debt that this Mayor has withdrawn.  The residents will demand NO NEW TAXES.  The taxes are already sky high.  So be prepared with a solution, or don't play ball.

To the cronies who will gear up for a strong fight, be prepared that I have already set aside $50K for this run (to support myself, or another) and I will do more if needed.  Also be prepared that I will have enough lawyers to handle your propaganda, media management, and wrong doings.  I won't allow you to play the games you have in the past with candidates.  I will post random camera's to catch and prosecute those stealing political signs, banners, and papers.

So to re-iterate, I will run for office and I will ensure that for once, Bolingbrook will see a well matched fight.  Get ready, here I come!

Thanking the Bolingbrook Report, a letter from a resident

Ten years ago I moved to Bolingbrook.  I moved here because the prices of homes were affordable and so were the taxes.  At that time, I was recently married and wanting to start a life with my spouse.  We did not have children.  As I look back to those easy years, I wish we would have had the Bolingbrook Report back then. 

Over the span of 10 years, I have grown with Bolingbrook.  My career, education, and family has grown.  I am in my mid 30's and finally taking a look around me to decide if I have made the right decisions up until now in life.

I think the best things about getting married and having a family include decisions that are never regretted.  Educational goals are never regretted.  However, the only regret I have is buying my home in Bolingbrook.

Back then my house was worth $250K.  Now it is worth $160K.  I am under water, as most residents.  Therefore, the banks will not refinance me, I cannot sell the house, and I am stuck until I either pay it off or declare bankruptcy/ foreclosure.  When I look at how great my credit is and how hard I have worked towards keeping it good, I don't want to declare anything just to get out of a home that is not worth it.

I started Googling for help on the Internet.  I am sure there are many people like me in this Village.  While Googling, I found your site.  I saw where the taxes are going and what kind of spending the elected officials are authorizing.  I was in shock.

How could it be that in a bad economy, where (maybe half?) of the residents are in my position, could the Mayor and Trustees take out more debt and push that burden on to us?  We are already trying to decide what to do with our home costs.

I looked at the increases in my tax bills from ten years to now, and compared them with other communities.  Your writers had it right, there has been huge increases, yet our services have decreased.  This did not seem right.  Government is about supplying services! 

I started talking to neighbors and found many of them in the same situation.  They feel that we are being over regulated and under serviced.  For example if they pass 3 new ordinances bi-weekly, that is approx. 75 per year, times how many years in office!  How can they even uphold that without intensive labor?  residents don't know what is a law or not a law to live here.  They don't feel that when they call the police, that anything gets accomplished.  Residents are just not happy.

My spouse and I are not happy.  We have found this web site to be a relief, since it mirrors many of our own opinions.  We feel it is about time that the elected officials listen or get out. they do not appear to be in this century, catering to anyone under the age of 50.  Is this because younger people do not vote as much? 

I might be guilty of that.  I do not always vote, but that is because my life is too hectic to remember.  I won't make that mistake again.  I think people my age are waking up and I think there is a new round of voters coming into Bolingbrook.   I call myself a Republican, but I don't see eye to eye with any of the spending going on in this Village.  Does this make them NOT Republican?  It is time for people to speak up. 

The local Republican Committee needs to get involved and replace the dinosaurs.  Let it be known that politicians are there to SERVICE people, not personal wallets.  Otherwise, they give the local party a black eye.  They lose people like me who would have been willing to join the cause.  I won't associate with parties that support these criminals with attitudes.

The sticking point for me this past year was seeing how the local officials (Village and School Board) treated the residents that had good ideas and strong values.  They dismiss them, ignore them, and call them names like child bullies.  They don't listen to the residents and don't care. 

It is why I thank the Bolingbrook Watchdog group and Bolingbrook Report for giving the residents an avenue to be heard and find others that agree with changes needed in Bolingbrook.  Through this avenue, we can bond together as a Village, be heard, and move forward to making a change for our children and our futures. 

Let this be a lesson in civility to the elected officials.  If I was your parent, I would have spanked you a long time ago. 

Finally, I want to say that I think the Republican political group in Bolingbrook running the show needs to come down to the people and see the damage you have caused.  When the housing dropped, that was an issue you did not cause.  Racking up debt, reducing services, and not listening to the people that live here ---  that was all you.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Whose your Daddy?

That's what Roger Claar was expressing from his front box seats at yesterday's Sox game.  He was waiving wildly, while sitting with two blond ladies and one brunette.  The girls, maybe one third his age and looking like paid escorts, seemed to be thrilled to sit in such expensive seats.

It makes you wonder if he got them from the DuPage township Supervisor Bill Mayer this time.  Maybe it was a free offer from a local vendor wanting to win a bid for tax payer funded contracts.

It was no surprise to see that this behavior has not ceased.  He does not care how tax payers or voters see his lavish behavior on the sweat of their hard working backs.  (Pshhh, and he calls himself a Republican).

This is a prime example of a local politician who will bash Obama while spending lavishly.  It is called a HYPOCRITE.

What is worse is that Rick Gouglie, a school board member of VVSD board, was right there with him stuffing his face with everything he could.  I wonder why Rick would have declared last year that he was NOT a part of the Roger Claar crowd, but allow himself to be seen publicly like this partying with him and the paid escorts.  I wonder how his wife feels about this fun time?

What I do know is that there is a lot of cash being thrown around unaccounted for.  I think someone has a shoe box full of money hidden under the bed.  You would have to in order to live this kind of lifestyle!  Lord knows it does no politician good to write off Sox tickets, escorts, beer, hot dogs, and more when all IL residents can see these write off's on the State Campaign Donations web site, right?  Foolish I say!

Resident Brown

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Where were you when they did this?

Local Bolingbrook residents have turned a blind eye to what the local government has done to them.  It is just recently that they have started to take notice.  Now, a new web site promised to post elected official information for viewing and open record policy enhancements. 
So we ask the residents where you were when this happened?

Roger C Claar - Bolingbrook
2000 - $25,000.04
2001 - $76,345.81
2002 - $96,978.09
2003- $99,355.49
2004 - $105,736.21
2005 - $116,542.36
2006 - $124.360.93
2007 - $128,092.09
2008 - $136,264.52
2009 - $141,085.25
2010 - $146,255.07
In ten years he went from $25K a year to $146,255 a year.  he also bumped his pay dramatically when he made the bad decisions to build the golf course, buy the airport, and built Americana Estates. 
Is the Psychology behind these actions a "big head" syndrome?  Take advantage of local residents and think your a big dog now?  In three years he went from $25K to $100K.  He took out millions in bond debt that could never be repaid, and nobody ran against him until Bonnie came along.  Is this why he did it all?  There was nobody to stop him?  Tell us your thoughts!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Is Bolingbrook a Ponzi Scheme?

Bolingbrook takes out bonds to pay for bonds.  Bolingbrook takes money from the tax payers to use like personal money for the elected officials.  From stocking liquor bars for their own pleasure and free drinking, to investment properties that fail, but are used as a local hangout for elected officials, to funding large campaign chests. 

Banks and individuals are making a ton on bonds that have interests that keep being pushed off.  They are the one's making all the money here, other then the elected officials.  The flow of money to the Village from tax payers keeps growing, as services are dwindling.  Yet, high paid contractors are getting enough padding to donate to million dollar campaign funds of the elected officials kicking them the gigs.  Everyone is getting rich, except the tax payers who are paying into this.  Now the earnings are less then the payments to the investors, so has this Ponzi Scheme ended or will it continue regardless?

This is the definition of Ponzi Scheme:


A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors.

The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going.

The system is destined to collapse because the earnings, if any, are less than the payments to investors.

You tell us... is this a Ponzi Scheme?

Financial Analyst predicts Bolingbrook short term future

A Financial Analyst and resident of  Bolingbrook has been crunching the numbers for the past three months looking into the taxing situation, spending trends, and forecasting.  This is the results we pulled from an interview with him.

At the current rate, without any new debt being added on in Bolingbrook, he has forcasted that the person that is elected to Mayor next year will have a crisis on their hands. 

He further states that this could be the intention of the current elected officials whom are rumored as ready to retire.  The current officials know this crisis is coming and he believes they will flee town.

The crisis is the management of the long term debt that has been spent by the Village.  He claims that the debt is extremely high for the size community and that the taxing rates are already high, yet it is not enough to manage the debt load.  In other words, the debt and taxes are high, yet with all the tax revenue coming in from sales, property, and other taxes, they are still unable to pay down the extreme debt and have been abating it for years.  This means they are delaying paying on the debt at all.

He further predicted that the next Mayor would have to take on the risk of paying these debts.  If they were going to pay down HALF the debt in the next 20 years, they would have to raise property taxes to approx. 11%.  Recently the taxing rate has been moved from .068 to .070.  This means your property (which he said is being over assessed as it is, compared to other Villages in IL and other states) will continue to be assessed higher, even though its value has decreased, and the tax amount on the higher assessed value would be .11 instead of .070.  Whereas, he estimates that to pay down HALF the debt would mean an increase in property tax  and assessment amounting to $3,400 per household per year MORE then what you have paid in this year with an increase of 1.5% per year.  Therefore, an average household that spent $7,000 in taxes this year will soon be hit with a tax bill reflecting $10,400 to pay down only HALF the debt.

What is even scarier, is that he predicts, at the rate of spending the current Mayor and trustees are passing, that this amount is sure to exceed $4,000 per household per year with an increase of 1.5% per year, times the number of years they remain in office.

His prediction is that sales tax would need to be raised again, property tax assessed values and percentages will be raised, and not profiting businesses like the Golf Club would need to be sold off for pennies on the dollar.  he also predicted a drop in Moody's bond rating from AA, to A (which has already happened), to low B ratings over the next 5 years.

He further states that the water company take over will be even more detrimental to taxes, and this takeover can cost thousands more on the shoulders of the residents per year in their taxes.

Overall, he cannot see Bolingbrook sustaining a possible financial positive health in the next three years.  He claims that bankruptcy is not in the Villages best interest, as many government bodies cannot claim them, but he does not see how else to fix this problem.  The residents won't wish to continue paying high taxes for their homes.  They are not getting the basic government services on their tax money.  Nobody will buy a 2,000 sf home with taxes in the $10K per year range. 

His final comment brought a tear to my eye.  He stated, "The smart people with money are all leaving.  The poor and middle class are forced to stay because their homes are underwater.  These people will lose their homes due to having to pay a mortgage under water and high taxes.  They cannot afford this.  On average, you are looking at $2500 a month on housing, not counting other costs.  That is $30K per year, or about half of the annual household incomes of Bolingbrook residents.  Mortgage companies like to use 1/3 when allowing someone to take out a mortgage, because any higher and they cannot pay for food, transportation, utilities, etc. 

What that leaves Bolingbrook with is a great deal of foreclosures with investors turning an eye because taxes will be greater then they can charge for rent and profit. 

Our opinion is that this debt is so high because of bad choices. 
1.  They built a golf course that has lost money every year.
2.  They bought an airport, knowing it was losing money.
3.  They bought real estate, and they KNEW no other community has done this before, and it has lost money.
4.  They bumped up fees for services in order to get kickback to their war chests.
5.  They used high price companies as political favors and favoritism.
6.  They hired family, friends, and associates for high pay.
and many other decisions that have cost us dearly. 

While this forecast is scary, we wish we could offer a solution.  However, this analyst has clearly stated that NO SOLUTION exists.  The current elected officials put so much debt on the table that there is no longer any solution to fix this problem. 

So good luck to the residents and we hope that if you have money, you can find your way out with the least of losses.  If you don't have this kind of money, it is time to start looking to share and rent some rooms in your home!

 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

New school assessments starting

Many residents have been asking the school district what they could do to increase test scores for the past few years.  A few months ago, Bonnie Alicea spoke up and gave them a solution.  Bonnie stated that "the teachers could not be held accountable for low test scores because they have not been given the tool to do the job effectively by knowing how to raise the scores."  She had recommended new computerized testing that would allow a teacher to be notify of lacking skill areas and work on the progress of each child and could in turn, show a annual progress of student achievement, reduce testing anxiety, and oversee the growth of a student throughout schooling. 

I mean, is it fair that a teacher gets a boy up two reading levels, but since he is so far behind they penalize that teacher at promotion time when test results arrive?  Absolutely not. 

Bonnie fought for the teachers and for the students, in what she called "a government ran school board who could not focus on test scores and education when they were too busy taking free conference trips and partying".  After asking the board to come up with solutions for two years, she finally offered this as a solution.

Low and behold, the Valley View School District has finally contracted with MAP.  (Northwest Evaluation Association at www.NWEA.org)  This system will start gauging students needs early on in the year, so the teachers can cater to each child and enhance their growth.  Now, the teachers can be held accountable and so can the students.  This is a win/ win for everyone, including parents and administrators.

Bolingbrook is not the first one to begin using a program like this.  The Chicago Public School System has been using it for a few years with great success.

We hope that this is the first step towards properly assessing our children and filling in the gaps of their education.  We also hope that this will allow the teachers to become better at what they do and be able to work towards a merit reward system for ISAT score increases. 

Somehow, I do not feel people will complain so much about the tax issue with schools in 365-U is the scores of the students were high.


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Jubilee Event bigger than thought...

No, we are not talking about the event open to the public, we are talking about the party behind the scenes of elected officials who use this event every year to get trashed, make a fool of themselves, and stay as far from the residents as possible (Heaven forbid they show that they are not intelligent or sober when they speak). 

We have heard great stories of the Mayor driving drunk two years ago leaving a child's cancer fundraiser.  He nearly crashed his car and the Police were called.  We have seen on youtube the Mayor drinking like a lush at the Golf Club and having to change his shirt from sloshy spilling.  We know about his alleged DUI in Naperville some years back.  We know about the alleged "party favor's" he use to procure.  Now, another resident (One of hundreds that have complained of this behavior), has writted the following...

A Village worker wrote in..."not only was Roger Claar drunk but he was drunk
for 3 days along with Bill Mayer, Jim Boan, Joe Morelli, and Sandy Swinkunas. No one
paid for any beer but a couple of them brought their own bottles of Rum and
Vodka and tried to hide it but were caught.
 This year was the worst year I have ever seen with these people getting
drunk and offensive, its a shame how they behaved and you should of seen the
mess they left behind every night, but I guess that's what public works has to
do clean up after these assholes!!!"

This behavior is inexcusable and I need to remind the taxpayers that this drinking and clean up was on tax dollars. 

Resident Jose sends a message:  A note to the public officials :  We, the people of Bolingbrook, do not wish to be represented by drunks.  You should be ashamed of yourself.  It is no wonder you were not in any of the pictures or seen with kids.  I guess that is a good thing, because if you would have talked to me or approached my child, I would have decked you for drunk slurring and spitting in my face while wasting my money!  What an insult to the people.  Sober up, stop spending money, and do your damn job right!  Be a part of Bolingbrook, not a part of a secret drunken society in a bat cave.  Talk to the residents and let them tell you how they feel about Bolingbrook and the way you have run it.  Open your damn drunken eyes, if they are not too heavy from hard liquor!

Bolingbrook cancelled meeting and CSC again!

About this time every year, Mr. Claar cancels the Village meeting.  It is speculated that this is due to vacation seasons for the board members.  Whatever the case, there are a few items on the agenda to take a look at.

The main one is the approvals of the Sub recipient Agreement between the Village and Community Service Council of Northern Will County regarding Community Development Block Grant Funds.

CSC wants more of your tax money.

CSC is run by Carol Penning, Village Clerk, Village Employee, and member/ Chair of Bolingbrook's First party Candidates.

It is also run by Bob Kalnicky (Library board member, Bolingbrook Tea Party founder, claiming to run for IL Senate seat in 2012 as a Republican, but does this which shows he is not a Republican).

They already get approx. $80K per year in residents property tax money, plus more from DuPage Township.  It comes out to a hefty sum for residents being smacked with this organization from two taxing bodies.  Just thought the residents should know...  John A.

Should public paid government and taxes mix with religion?

Many people would raise an eye if R. Emanuel opened up city hall for Muslim or any other prayer.  Chicago residents would be paying for clean up and set up of the facility, as well as overseeing the event. 

However, Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar has no shame when he opened the door for a Muslim religious event at the tax payer paid Golf Club. 

One residents wrote in to say the following:
"This means that my tax dollars went to hosting a religious event, one of which was not asked of the public before hand.  I feel like Mr. Claar is using the tax payer building as his own and offering what he should not."  This tax payer is not alone.  We received another complaint just the other day.

"I think hosting a free event at the golf Club is considered favortism.  Bolingbrook residents know that the leader of this organization is well connected.  It falls in line with H20 getting to use the golf club for free too.  However, this is my tax money and I am yelling for it to stop before I take it to the top!  Join with me int he fight to stop the Bolingbrook corrupted officials who spend our money like it is in their own wallets!"

This person had more to say, but we shortened it.  I think the message is loud and clear.
Who are the elected officials to give away our Golf Club for free to a religious organization, when the Gay Community could not use it to get married at when they were offering to pay?  Is it that the Gay community is not politically connected? 

Well it is an outrage.  If one organization can get it for free, then so should they all.  As a tax payer, I say that NO religious organization should be able to use public property without paying for services.  I also think that this falls under discrimination, based on human rights and campaign cash.