Commissioner

BILL WALDACK

Honored to serve the people of Downers Grove

Council and Budget Meeting Held Nov. 8

Council passed its 2012 Budget.  Good news - due to pension changes, taxes are down.  Expect fees and your actual out of pocket to go up.  

For example, your Water Bills are going to go UP UP UP - thanks to Mayor Rahm and the DuPage Water Commission.  The additional increases are pure pass through. We were going to raise them 14%, but it will now be 25%!

Disabled and Seniors are on track to lose AGAIN.  Over the last 3 budgets, children, families, seniors, and disabled programs have been eliminated or cut. “Social” has been struck from Comp Plan leaving only “economic and physical.”  

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The argument has been made by the “core services” folks that government has no business in the “charity” business (Reminder: MOW is not a charity).  Are they now pushing for involvement in charitable giving?  Do you need to have a Village Government that has decided to ignore the “social” aspects of the Village now become some sort of conduit for charitable funds?  

With Village Government comes Village politics.  Should Village Government involve itself in possibly raising and/or distribution of charitable funds?  After disassociating itself with social needs it may now want to be involved in the funding of social groups?  See commentary and politics.  

WELCOME

Please bear with the errors and tech hiccups as I am not a techie.  

UPDATES:

Added sound bytes. Feedback appreciated.

Council Meeting Questions, Answers, and Commentary updated.  Review updated

I hope to use this site to better inform our fellow residents and visitors as to what is happening in the socio-political happenings in our great Village of Downers Grove.I hope to share what has happened both before and behind the cameras of our Council meetings and explain some of the nuances that one may have missed, questions asked and answered outside the meeting, and the overall climate as your Council, and myself as your representative,  try to address problems and help our community move into the future.

“There is something wonderful in seeing a wrong-headed majority assailed by truth.”

John Kenneth Galbraith

“Truth is not determined by majority vote.  ~Doug Gwyn

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