We deferred it

The all out Smoking Ban in Kenosha, the committee for Public Safety and Welfare deferred the action for 90 days.

This action was taken because this will level the playing field for both sides of the issue.

The standard thinking in the room tonight was that the Smoke Free folks have been working behind the scenes for several weeks and most in the public just found out this past Saturday in the Kenosha News that this issue was going to be debated.

Worse yet, according to the Kenosha News, which everyone read on Saturday morning was that 9 of 17 aldermen( a majority) already supported the smoking ban, assuring that the smoking ban would pass without full and public debate.

As a alderwoman for the city of Kenosha, I believe that it is my utmost duty to let every single person in my district and throughout the city of Kenosha have a fair shake.

This action was deferred tonight to give both sides of this debate an opportunity to make their case to the public and then the public to make the case to their alderman.

Ramrodding this though as many in the crowd thought was happening was not fair to either side of the debate. Too many people are too passionate about this issue to shut down the debate even before many in Kenosha completely understood what was happening.

By the way, what a crowd, on both sides of the issue. We could not fit everyone into the room tonight. They actually opened up all of the council seats in room 200 just so everyone had a chance to get in to hear what what happening. There was no where near enough seats for everyone. A majority of the people stood for almost 4 hours.

By the way, one of the nine aldermen that the paper had announced as being a co-sponsor on this ordinance, informed us all tonight that he had not given approval for being a sponsor.

So here we are, back at square one with both sides on a level playing field.

In honor of the Olympics, let the games begin.

Defending Some Kenosha Democrats

I know it may seem unusual, but I am going to defend a couple of Kenosha Democrats. No, I have not lost my mind and gone liberal on you, but there are some good, kind and decent Democrats in Kenosha that I know pretty well.

Two of the candidates that have spent the last several months working their tails off to run in the democratic primary for the #64 Assembly seat, had their legs cut out from underneath them last week.

Last Monday, out of the clear blue, former congressman and 64th district assemblyman, Peter Barca, decided that he wanted to run again for his previous spot as the 64th District representative. This is a giant step backwards politically for Mr. Barca. After all, he was a congressman before Mark Neumann crushed him in 1994. Peter Barca had virtually disappeared from the limelight since then.

It certainly startled many folks in Kenosha.

I, like most, found out on Monday night, but clearly this had to have been planned before Monday of last week. Barca had his papers filed and all signatures collected within a few hours on Monday.

With this little stunt pulled by former Congressman Peter Barca against members of his own party, it makes you wonder if his ego is so gigantic that he wants to be the center of attention in Kenosha politics or if this move is just a stepping stone to something greater.

Either way, I feel for the two gentlemen, County Board Supervisor Jim Huff and Alderman Mike Orth, who have done everything they should have been doing over the last several months. To find out on the last day to file papers that you could get beat by a bigger name in Kenosha, even though that person showed no interest in running, just really is not fair.

I know what kind of hard work and sacrifice it is to campaign. It just does not seem right to me.

With Barca's name recognition, he is virtually a shoe in. Unless one of the other two candidates finds a way to run to the middle and decides to play the moderate. In that case, they may pick up the 40 % conservative votes in Kenosha and launch themselves past Barca. That will take some real magic, but it is possible.

Of course, whether or not the Democrats treat each other fairly is not my problem.

I am done feeling sorry for the Democrats now.

I have had my own problems over the last week.

I will share them with you soon.

It did not end well

The little girl kidnapped from her Kenosha home is safe and sound, which is great news. However her father was shot and killed by authorities in Walworth County.

I cannot say enough about the Amber Alert systems. Getting the information out so quickly saved this little girl's life.

I am certain that Walworth County deputies that had to shoot the father are heartbroken today. Mr. Torres made a threatening move towards his daughter in the vehicle and the sheriff deputies just did what they had to in order to protect the toddler.

Amber Alert for Kenosha Girl

Keep your eyes open folks. Let's help get this little girl back to her family

An Amber Alert has been issued for a missing one-year old girl from Kenosha.

Liliana J. Torres was last seen at 11 a.m. on the 5200 block of 43rd Ave. in Kenosha with her father, Antonio J. Torres of Zion, Ill., according to the alert.

The missing child is described as 2'6" tall with blond hair and hazel eyes.

The suspect drives a 1999 blue-gray Mercury Mountaineer, Illinois license plate X552596.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of the child, call the Kenosha Police Department 262-605-5200.

Kenosha County in summer

One of the great things about Kenosha County in the summer, there is always something fun taking place. I miss this kind of stuff in the winter.

The latest- water fights in Wheatland. I should have gone.

Wheatland firefighters put their ability to the test Sunday, battling other fire departments from Kenosha County and northern Illinois in their annual water fighting competition at the town festival.

I did have the pleasure of attending a pancake breakfast in Silver Lake yesterday that benefited the Silver Lake rescue squad.

It is hard to keep up with everything happening in the summer.

Can I get an "Amen"?

AMEN!

Hallelujah!

or Yahoooooo!

The City of Kenosha is our repairing the numerous potholes that I continuously get calls on. So far only temporary work has been done to patch a hole here and there. Now a more permanent fix is going in. Hopefully they get it done before winter starts again.

Kenosha News

Money is not specifically set aside for pothole repair in the city's budget, but these funds come from street maintenance funds. The street division budget for this year included $200,000 for paving, $125,000 for crack-filling and $2 million for various resurfacing projects.

Bursek said the city is putting a greater emphasis on potholes rather than localized street repaving this year.

I cannot tell you how many complaints I have received and all I can really tell people is that the city is working on it.

Of course, I still have streets that need to be resurfaced( like 28th St- between 30th and 39th Ave).

I was super excited a couple of weeks ago when I drove past some workers on 52nd Street filling some holes. I almost stopped my car to get out and give these fellows a hug- I was so excited to see them.

You tell 'em, Lou

I have not seen or spoken to Lou Perrine in years. I used to wait on him at one of our local restaurants years ago. From what I remember, he was a good tipper and that is all I really cared about in those days.

Most folks that have lived in Kenosha for years know of or have met Lou. The Perrine family has had a gas station in Kenosha for over 50 years on the corner of Sheridan and 52nd Street. The family now has gas stations in different areas of Kenosha and I believe they have one in Illinois also on Hwy 41.

In today's Kenosha News- Lou had a few choice words about gas prices

“Right now we depend too much on foreign oil,” Perrine said. “We allow all these companies to come in, like Citgo, that’s owned by Venezuela, and if (Hugo) Chavez says he’s cutting production to the U.S., we have to bow down to him. I buy my gas on the open market, so I have to buy from him. Iran is mad at us and says they won’t increase production. The U.S. has asked OPEC to increase production by a million barrels and they said, ‘No.’ It’s a combination of dependency on Saudi Arabia and OPEC and allowing them to set these prices. That’s why they have gold faucets on their toilets.

“On the other side, you have environmentalists who say we cannot drill here or there, blah, blah, blah. Until someone does something to change this, I don’t know. We have to wake up, because if something isn’t done, I don’t see it changing. Some people don’t want us drilling anywhere here because they say it will hurt the environment. Well we have to weigh what is good for our children in the long run.”

continued...

You got that right, Lou.

Drill here. Drill Now. Pay Less.