FROM THE
DIRECTOR'S
DESK
|
|
The first six months since I became Executive Director have been extremely busy for both League staff
and member officials. With the accelerated session of
the General Assembly which began on January 10,1995,
and ended on May 26,1995, most League efforts were
aimed at legislative concerns. Nevertheless, these first
six months have been fruitful and productive and have
seen the League active on several fronts.
1995 Legislative Spring Session
There's no other way to say it, other than saying it.
The League and its membership have had, in the first
six months of 1995, a "great" session!
League staff, supported by the hard work of many
local officials serving on League committees, being in
Springfield or contacting legislators by phone and mail
have brought us through a legislative session with an
impressive array of successes. Additionally, credit must
be given to the many legislators who, in a busy and
hectic session, took the time to listen, care and support
municipal government. I know I express your, as well as
League staffs, gratitude to them for a job well done.
First, the Local Government Distributive Fund (local share of the income tax) scheduled increase from
1/llth to 1/lOth to take place on July 1, 1995, will take
place! Rumored efforts to continue the local share at
1/llth, or to even cut back to l/12th, never materialized. So ... come July 1,1995, Illinois municipalities will
benefit from an approximate $5.20 per capita increase
in income tax revenue.
Statutory authority for employment of part-time
police, the IML Non-Home Rule Package and unfunded mandates legislation were major proposals by
the League, developed through League committees,
that passed the General Assembly.
If you haven't seen the League's LEGISLATIVE
BULLETIN 95-17, your municipal clerk or mayor
should be able to provide you with a copy (or call the
League office). LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN 95-17
provides an extensive listing of bills that passed and, as
importantly, bills that didn't pass that would have negatively affected municipalities. All in all, we can all look
with pride at the Spring session.
LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN 95-18 will contain
requests for local officials to contact Governor Edgar
regarding his action on bills that passed the General
Assembly. Please lend your support, by letters to the
Governor on the bills identified in LEGISLATIVE
BULLETIN 95-18, or all we've accomplished may be
for naught.
Alcohol and Drug Testing Program
The establishment, in January of 1995, of the Alcohol and Drug Testing program for municipal safety
sensitive employees provided covered municipalities a
one-stop on-site testing service. Municipalities with 50
or more safety sensitive employees, were covered
under the federal law as of January 1, 1995. As of
January 1, 1996, all municipal employers will be covered and will be required to perform alcohol and drug
testing of safety sensitive employees.
Those municipal employers who chose to participate in the League program will find all bases covered
in meeting the federal requirements. The expectation is
the program will grow exponentially come January 1,
1996, because of the lack of medical testing facilities in
smaller municipalities. As a side note, fines of up to
$25,000 a day can be imposed for failing to meet the
alcohol and drug testing requirements.
New Staff Added
With an increasing work load, additional staff have
been needed and have been added. Brian Schwartz,
who had worked part-time for the last two years during
breaks from his law school education, became a full
fledged attorney and IML staff member. Brian presently is a Legislative Associate and shares his time on
both legislative and legal matters. Gary Koch is the
League's new Education and Communications Coordinator and is assuming responsibilities for this magazine along with an expansion of League efforts in additional training, educational and informational seminars.
Elizabeth Downing, Legislative Associate, came to the
League during the middle of the legislative session after
finishing an internship with the Illinois Department of
Transportation in completing her Masters degree in
Public Administration.
Training and Educational Opportunities
Since January, two seminars and two conferences
have been held. A Municipal Attorneys Seminar held in
Springfield on February 24,1995, was attended by over
90 attorneys, mainly from downstate Illinois. A regional
Community Policing Seminar, oriented to northern Illinois, was held on May 12, 1995, in Rochelle, Illinois.
June 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 5
Additionally, with this being a municipal election year,
two Newly Elected Officials Conferences were held,
one in Rosemont and one in Springfield with over 200
newly elected officials attending at each location.
New Investment Offering
The League is very excited about a new investment
program which it is currently making available. The
Illinois Municipal League Local Government Investment Trust (IML-LGIT) is a short-term professionally
managed money market fund with a goal of maximization of investment income by adding to earnings on a
municipality's investments. This is a new program offering by the League which we feel adds to the range of
services provided to our members.
In General
League membership now stands at 1,053 municipalities out of a total of 1,285. The municipalities in the
League represent approximately 97% of the total municipal population of the State of Illinois.
Membership in the League is voluntary, and as with
many voluntary organizations, the League is often dependent upon the extraordinary efforts and time of
municipal officials. However, League participation
does not necessarily mean having to come to Springfield or serve on League committees. It does mean a
certain amount of proselytizing — proselytizing for
local government!
It means setting aside time in Board or Council
meetings to highlight legislation contained in the
League's LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN, so that all officials and any citizens (or local news media) attending
can be aware of the impact that legislation may have on
your community. It means taking the time to write or
call your legislator in support or opposition of legislation and notifying the League of your action. It means
participation in League programs, seminars, conferences, providing articles for the monthly REVIEW magazine . . . the list goes on.
As I look at these first six months, participation in the
League has been outstanding and the results are obvious. We, the League staff, and you, the local officials
who are the League, are poised to assume an even
greater role in the daily lives of our citizens. Local
government is the closest form of government to, the
people. It's truly where the action is! •
LAKE IN THE HILLS
DEDICATES PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING
By CHRISTINA THORNROSE, Village President
and SCOTT BERG, Village Trustee
The Village of Lake in the Hills hosted an open
house in April for a new 17,000 square foot public works
building. This new $1.1 million facility houses all of the
divisions of the Public Works Department. "The building will consolidate all of the departments and add
in-depth maintenance facilities for all of our public
works equipment," explained Village President Christina Thornrose.
In a brief ceremony. President Thornrose, Village
Trustee Scott Berg, and Village Public Works Director
Ralph Ridley detailed the various areas of the Public
Works building.
"This 17,000 square foot building houses streets,
stormwater management, parks and potable water,
along with parts and inventory in a heated interior,"
said Berg. "The office maintenance parking structure is
Phase I of a projected 34,000 square foot final size," he
said.
"The 10-acre tract will also include storage for salt,
sand and maintenance materials, a one million gallon
elevated storage tank, water treatment facility, and a
recently completed 1,400 gallon per minute deep
groundwater well," concluded Berg.
The open house offered the more than 100 persons
in attendance the opportunity to tour the building and
grounds and discuss the operations of the building with
public works personnel who were stationed throughout
the facility. •
COMMUNITY QUIZ
10 Signs of a Safe, Secure
City; How Does Yours Rate?
(NU) - People all across America are concerned about safety in their
communities — but what constitutes
a "healthy," safe community?
Councilwoman-at-Large Carolyn
Long Banks of Atlanta, president of
the National League of Cities, says
"respect and responsibility" are two
key ingredients.
The following is a list of 10 elements compiled by the NLC that
make up a healthy, secure community. How many does yours contain?
1. Strong and loving families
with high expectations for their children's personal and community behavior.
2. Education that prepares students to perceive their responsibility toward the community and individuals within it.
3. Streets, parks, public facilities
and shopping areas that are safe,
clean, well-lighted and provide adequate parking,
4. A variety of activities for local
citizens and visitors that are exciting,
intelligent, wholesome alternatives
to boredom, vandalism and violence.
5. Neighborhoods that take
friendly pride in themselves. Plus a
public works philosophy that engenders neighborhood pride with excellent attention to cleanliness, maintenance, design and safety.
6. Emergency services and disaster relief plans that are coordinated and work quickly when a crisis
occurs.
7. Workplaces that are healthful
and promote safety.
8. A steady supply of decent and
rewarding jobs, with opportunities
for increased personal skills, fulfillment or wages.
9. People who agree among
themselves to obey and uphold the
laws, combined with laws that are
fair and criminal justice that is both
prompt and fair.
10. A community strategy with
positive public safety goals to make
people stakeholders and give them
something to work for, rather than
against.
The new NLC "Rethinking Public Safety" report provides dozens of
helpful ideas about how the leaders
and citizens of America's communities can rethink public safety to improve the quality of city life.
The 30-page report is available for
purchase by calling 301-725-4299.
Strategies for Safer
Communities
• Understand that
public safety is an
individual, family and
social responsibility, not
just city hall's job.
• Emphasize that
both enforcement and
prevention are necessary
and each can incorporate
elements of the other.
• Realize that behaviors
are learned, and the United
States has more violent
crime than other
industrialized nations.
• Establish policies and
publicity that promote
strong families and friendly,
stable communities.
The National League of Cities via News USA
Page 6 / Illinois Municipal Review / June 1995
|