In 22 days we will have a new President and a 100% new administration. In 96 days we could have up to a 50% new Naperville city council with the possibility of four new members on the council.
President-Elect Donald Trump has been making a nine-state ‘thank you’ tour thanking those who voted for him and helped him secure the Presidency of the United States. He doesn’t have to do that but he’s doing it. I can’t remember a President doing that in my life time, and I’ve been interested in politics since 1952 when at the age of eight, I was enamored with the process watching the Republican and Democrat conventions on television with Eisenhower and Stevenson prevailing. 11 Presidents later, and Trump is the first one touring States to thank the voters.
Since Watchdog’s inception in December 2010, there have been three municipal elections, and I can’t remember any winning city council candidate going on a tour and thanking voters for their vote. Typically they retreat to an after election get together at a local restaurant, or watering-hole for a few brews. They thank their campaign workers, their family, and their donors, but what about going out and thanking the voters who made it happen.
There’s no reason it couldn’t be done. Home Owner Association meetings, local groups, for-profit and non-for-profit groups; there’s all sorts of possibilities. If not a thank-you tour, how about a thank-you-for-your vote mailer. Candidates are inundating residents with redundant mailers up to the day of the election. How about an after-election mailer simply to say ‘thank you’. Why not a little ‘thank you’ in the local newspaper, AKA, the 10th council member. How about the local TV station. Why not write a ‘thank you’ note submitted to the Watchdog for posting. Watchdog would gladly post any city council candidate’s ‘thank you’ to the residents.
City council candidates are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from other candidates, why not do it with a ‘thank you’. It’s working for the President-Elect.
Several present council members did post messages of thanks on their websites and FB pages this past election.
The best way of thanking the voters is actually following through on what was promised during the campaign. I don’t need thanks, just action. Read the answers posed to the candidates to see how many talked about the Ogden Corridor. Anything of significance happen as a result of anyone elected? I suspect any improvements of late, were in the works before the election.
Bob, I am curious, what are you wanting the council to do about the Ogden corridor? I am a firm believer in less government and I certainly don’t want our council to play business brokers. I agree that they should make Naperville business friendly, if that is your point, but I am not a fan of them actually trying to broker deals to get businesses to fill up the empty stores in Naperville. I don’t want to see them in that role as I don’t think that is the purpose of government.
I am not advocating picking and choosing businesses, although they do it all the time with zoning or liquor requests, but aside from that, they can work toward improving the infrastructure to make it attractive to businesses. This is a major access and should be a good location for most businesses, but the roads haven’t been repaired, the parkways are in poor shape, lighting, etc. Also better enforcement of landlords to keep their frontage looking appealing. When the area becomes blighted, it lends itself to pawn shops, quick loan stores,
hotels/motels with questionable occupants. Again, having lived along Ogden for 20 years, it
has only gone downhill.
You do realize that Ogden is a county road and Naperville does not have the authority to make the “infrastructure” changes you want. If you want to make these infrastructure improvements to happen you need to be talking to the DuPage County Board not the Naperville City Council. Only DuPage county can authorize the work you want done and they simply don’t have the funds or desire to do these things.
And what ordinance are the property owners along Ogden presently violating that city staff and council should be enforcing?
Jim, I had no doubt that you’d respond in your typical manner. Do you honestly believe that the city can’t or doesn’t have input into other governing bodies? We are one of the largest communities in the state/ county/townships. Not only do we have a say it is our obligation to be at the table protecting our investments.
Your content in saying the City can’t do anything. B.S.
As for ordinances, if we don’t have ordinances regarding the proper upkeep of the business districts then instead of controlling the number of bees one can keep, why not worry about blight? This council is too passive and people like you only add to that passivity. I certainly know that if you choose to run again, you will never get my vote. We have too many people in the council exactly like you already.
Bob, yes the city has input with the county on county roads that pass through our city but they do not have control or final say. The Rt 59 project took years to develop as an inter-government project and 2 more years after that to complete. It simply is not realistic to expect that level of renovation to happen in 18 months. I stand by my position that the present council members have not been given enough time to make the kind of changes you are looking for along the eastern corridor of Ogden Avenue.
As to ordinances, yes the city can pass any ordinance it wants regarding property upkeep but that does not mean it will withstand legal challenge. Cities have acquiesced to residential pressure and enact ordinances that became legal quagmires and ending up, after lengthy and costly legal battles, being overturned and never enforced. The City of Naperville has been no exception to this experience.
The City Council Members have a responsibility to all of Naperville, not just the eastern corridor of Ogden Avenue, and spending millions of dollars doing the kind of road and parkway changes you and others seem to want, while spending nothing on Naperville Crossing, Diehl, Warrenville Road, Spring Ave, etc would be to fail in that responsibility.
Your assumptions about some sort of positive vibes from Trump’s self-aggrandizing, in-your-face, they-said-I-wold lose-now -they-are- the-losers Tour are evidence that you arent fully in tune with the 3/4 of eligible voters who didnt vote for the guy. Even those who voted for him are wondering “what have we done?”…
His Victory Tour was vulgar, vain, tasteless and poorly attended. Don’t celebrate him too much, lest you becime inexorably linked to this “conman of the worst kind” (quote from almost-president Mitt Romney).
Bias is a human quality. Your bias in favor of the Loose Cannon president-elect only works with those who share your bias. The rest of us are watching very closely.
About a Thank You Tour…when you hire someone, it is because you want him/her to do a job for you, for pay…a thank you tour is boorishly inappropriate. IMHO
Three quarters of the eligible voters didn’t vote for Trump? So, that means Hilarity received 75% of the popular vote? Now with that number she definitely would have even won the Electoral College Vote.
Those that voted for him are wondering what they have done? Strange…the man isn’t even President yet. What are these sad sacks basing their opinions upon?
This part I really like. His Victory Tour was “vulgar,” “vain,” “tasteless” and “poorly attended.” Oh do provide examples of his vulgarity, vainness, tastelessness & the attendance numbers from these gatherings. Actually, I really like this part “almost-president Mitt Romney” too. Yup. Almost!!
And, as for the last 8 years we were watching the president very closely too; but we were not allowed to speak up for fear of being called, dare I say it? A racist!
Happy New Year
Oh for f’s sake, STOP, just stop, kissing their bums, defending their indefensible actions, and generally being their apologist. Mr. Haselhorst, you don’t need to comment on EVERY post. Of course you can, but just because you can, does not mean you should!
Glad someone else feels the same way I do. Jim is a Council wannabee.
Yes I have commented on most posts, but not everyone, and that is become this page generally only attacks city staff and council. It is clearly biased against all government without regard to who is leading it, since it has attacked every person that has served in a leadership position in Naperville government at one time or another from the day it started.
It is not sucking or kissing butt to present an opposing prospective and provide information that has been left out or only partially provided to insure readers get a more balanced view of what is happening in our city government.
I realize that some people, who only want to hear information which supports their present views/beliefs, can become irritated/annoyed by any information that conflict with their world view and prefer not to be confused by additional data on a subject. These close minded people, however, are not the readers I am addressing, so their personal attacks are valueless from my perspective.
It’s not that we don’t want to hear other opinions, or opposing views it is just that you NEVER offer anything in support of someone’s comments, but rather find ways to support the council, no matter what.
You are not being objective at all.
Why would I post in support of someone’s comment I agree with? Such a post would not add anything new to the conversation making it pointless waste of time.
Similar to sending in a complaint to a company, I always make it a point to send a complimentary note when I think someone does a good job. An occasional “I agree” wouldn’t kill you and lets others know they aren’t alone. Oh well to each his own.
Bob, how does a compliment add to a discussion of an issue, advance the conversation? It doesn’t so it serves no purpose.
I agree complimenting a person on doing a good job is reasonable and productive and I do it frequently. I just don’t waste my time complimenting posts.
@Jim Haslehorst – You already add very little to the conversation with your sycophantic ramblings. Not only do you agree with, and defend everything they do and say, you make stuff up about it. Like, you’ve been commenting on this blog for 10 years, when it hasn’t even been up for ten years, and you hadn’t posted a comment until you ran for office. Like, defending Isaac’s, with made up stories that contradict what he himself said, because he’s running for city council and was appointed on a advisory board. Like, making stuff up about Naperchange.org. and stating that you haven’t even read their blog, etc. You engage in buffoonery to defend and support them, please stop embarrassing yourself, and boring the rest of us. Once you put it out there, it’s out there for good, and anyone can check back and see what you wrote and when. At least be factual in your boot licking.
I have read Naperchange.org Blog. What I have not read in several months in the page on this site that explains its originals, which two months ago did not mentions anything about its link to the Bauer Place development approval or that the site and group did not come into existence before council approved this development. Last time I checked the posts denying this link were still up on Facebook. This is relevant because it raises questions about the sincerity of this group and its state objectives.
And as I and the person responsible for the Watchdog have stated, it has existed for more then 10 years and my first post to this page does go back that far.
I have no problem with people double checking anything I have posted online.
The Watchdog website has existed since December 2010, slightly over 6 years. However by December of 2020, Jim’s comment would be 100% accurate.
Jim Haselhorst,
How many times are you going to post the same incoherent, factually incorrect statements? We have never denied a link between Bauer Place and Naperchange.org. Three of us acknowledged that link in a front page article in the Naperville Sun in October, I believe. You continuing to post that factually incorrect statement does not make it any less incorrect. The only thing we denied was your incorrect statement that the URL for the website was registered by someone who lives in unincorporated Naperville. Your statement on that, like so many other things you post, is simply wrong. The URL was registered by one of the original 9 people who formed the group, all of whom are residents of Naperville, not unincorporated Naperville as you incorrectly posted, and all of whom opposed Bauer Place.
Read this statement slowly: Naperchange.org was originally formed by a group of residents who believe that City government failed them in approving Bauer Place. Can I make that any clearer for you?
As the Mayor once told you when he corrected one of your factually incorrect statements in a public forum at a Council meeting: facts are a stubborn thing.
You may want to try to get them right at least once in a while.