Outrage News - Kankakee County

12-26-11 Press Release: Ed Hammer, author of the book "One Hundred Percent Guilty", will be coming back to Kankakee January 5. Mr. Hammer served as an investigator in Ryan’s inspector general's office when Ryan was the Illinois Secretary of State. Hammer’s testimony help convict both Dean Bauer, the inspector general and George Ryan. Read the 12-26-11 press release here!

12-20-11 Local property taxes continue to go up and up unimpeded by home price declines, foreclosures and vacancies driving area home affordability down. Read more here!

12-11-11 Champion News, "IL Pensions: 130 + benefit increases since 1970 are the major cause of unfunded liability." Read the full article here!

12-8-11 With yesterday's 14 year sentence of former Governor Blagojevich, here is a reminder of one of his "Pay To Play" deals with a local connection.

According to the April 27, 2008 front page story in the Chicago Tribune, Blagojevich in his first year of his first term appointed State Representative Phil Novak as Chairman of the Pollution Control Board after Novak donated to Blago’s campaign fund.

Novak, as chairman then gave the OK to the Chicago connected Fred Barbara and Tom Volini mega garbage dump proposal with the City of Kankakee after the previous IPCB said the dump proposal failed to prove protection of the health and safety of the community.

Blago and Novak’s action resulting in a legal battle to stop the dump that ended successfully in 2010. Read the full story here!

11-29-11 The Illinois Attorney Generals office finds the Kankakee City Council in violation of the "Open Meetings Act". The Kankakee City Council took action on a matter that was not on their meeting agenda and therefore the public did not have the required 48 hour notice. The AGO directs the Council to revote the matter after the required 48 hour notice is given to the public. Details here!

11-17-11 Schneider Indiana garbage-to-ethanol plant financing details outlined. Details here!

11-17-11 Orland Park Author, Ed Hammer will be discussing and signing his George Ryan book, “One Hundred Percent Guilty” at the Paperback Reader, 1015 N. 5th Avenue, Kankakee on Saturday December 3rd between 10:00am and 2:00pm. Read the press release here!

10-31-11 The Kankakee County Planning Department is working on updating the Solid Waste Management Plan. Details here!

10-19-11 Taxpayers United of America to request restraining order against Illinois Tollway Authority. Details here!

10-18-11 Illinois Policy Institute mid year report on how our state legislators voted. Get the details here!

10-15-11 Six more suburban communities have joined Lemont, Forest View, Stickney and Tinley Park in the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority law suit against the City of Kankakee, Village of Channahon and front companies for their sales tax shifting scheme. Details including the legal suits filed so far.

10-12-11 "Can you name any place in the world where someone can get two pensions for the same job?" said state Rep. Tom Cross. "Even by our standards here in Illinois, it's beyond belief. It's insane." Details here!

10-5-11 Taxpayers United of America says anemic Illinois GOP Pension-reform proposals just window dressing, solves nothing! Details here!

10-3-11 Cook County announces 12 count suit against the City of Kankakee and the Village of Channahon. Press conference and details here!

10-1-11 OUTRAGE has learned about a battle raging within the Kankakee County Democratic Central Committee over appointing former Bourbonnais Township Park District board member Nick Allen to fill State Representative Lisa Dugan's seat before next year's election. Details here!

9-23-11 The Villages of Lemont, Forest View, Stickney and Tinley Park joined the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority as plaintiffs in the laws suit against the City of Kankakee and the Village of Channahon. Details here!

9-22-11 Taxpayers United of America (TUA), one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America, today filed a lawsuit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. The complaint seeks to roll back the recently adopted, back-breaking toll increase. Details here!

8-31-11 The Bourbonnais Township Park District is at it again. They are going to bid for what they call phase 2 work at Diamond Point Park on Career Center Road, the failed baseball park they bought in 2009 for 4.5 times the fair cash value. Details here

8-30-11 Orland Park author, Ed Hammer will speak to criminal justice students at Illinois State University on September 8, 2011. His topic will be political corruption in Illinois, specifically as it relates to the George Ryan licenses for bribes scandal.

Hammer served as an investigator in Ryan’s inspector general's office when Ryan was the secretary of state. Hammer’s testimony help convict both Dean Bauer, the inspector general and George Ryan. Read more here!

8-23-11 Chicago files 22 page law suit against the City of Kankakee, Village of Channahon and three front companies for retailers, contending they are engaging in tax-incentive programs that unlawfully divert sales tax revenues from Chicago. Read the legal case here!

8-23-11 The Chicago Regional Transportation Authority is suing the City of Kankakee, Village of Channahon and front companies for retailers, contending they are engaging in tax-incentive programs that unlawfully divert sales tax revenue from the RTA. Details here!

8-21-11 Chicago plans to file lawsuit against City of Kankakee. Details here!

8-9-11 The Manteno Village attorney is calling a special village meeting to spend more taxpayer money. Details here!

7-20-11 Out of Sync-Public versus Private Pay in Illinois. A study by the Illinois Policy Institute. Details here!

7-12-11 State Treasurer Dan Rutherford recently addressed the City Club of Chicago about a wide range of topics including how bad the state financial problems are. Watch here!

7-8-11 Top 100 Illinois Government Pensions have astronomical monthly & annual payouts. Details here!

6-29-11 Powers Energy of America secures $600 million for the construction of two identical garbage-to-ethanol plants, one in Schneider Indiana and the other in Fairfax County, Va., near Washington D.C. A hedge fund agreed to supply the necessary amount in exchange for an equity stake in the company,. Details here!

6-27-11 A jury has found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 17 of 20 counts in his retrial. In the first year of his first term, Blago appointed Phil Novak as Chairman of the Pollution Control Board in exchange for Novak's campaign donations. Novak, as chairman then gave the OK to the Chicago connected Fred Barbara and Tom Volini mega garbage dump with the City of Kankakee resulting in a legal battle to stop the dump that ended successfully in 2010. This was one of Blago's first pay for play deals. Details here!

6-24-11 A draft update of the Kankakee County Solid Waste Plan is posted on the county website. It is posted as a "Patrick Engineering work in progress" Read it here!

6-21-11 Press Release Highlights from Illinois Policy Institute: Budget Fail - sharing the realities of the General Assembly's budget plan. Details here!

6-7-11 Powers Energy of America and Lake County Indiana officials announce $600,000,000 in private funding for two garbage-to-ethanol plants. The first to be located in Schneider Indiana. Details here!

6-1-11 Garbage-to-Energy Company Enerkem gets $60 million from fuel refiner Valero. Read the June 1 article here!

5-13-11 Taxpayers United of America issues press release on the proposed Peotone Airport. In the press release, president Jim Tobin states "This is a boondoggle designed to benefit only politically connected contractors, bond brokers and attorneys associated with the project" Read the full press release here!

5-12-11 OUTRAGE has been informed Assistant Attorney General Nancy Tikalsky will be in the Kankakee County Court House tomorrow, Friday May 13 at 9:00 a.m. room 204 for the Joyce Farms and Volini/Town & Country Utiliteis, LLC. IEPA cases. A "Motion for Discovery Sanctions" against Tom Volini/Town & Country Utilities was filed yesterday. Details here!

5-9-11 For The Good Of Illinois says "Illinois Pension liability truth-it's not $80 billion but more like $210 billion." Every man, woman and child owes $16,000 in Illinois public pension debt. Details here!

4-11-11 Last Thursday, For The Good of Illinois outlined their "We're Spent" agenda at the State Capitol. Details here!

4-6-11 New report shows 82,981 Illinois public school teachers pay little or nothing to their pension plan. Teachers at school districts Kankakee, BBCHS, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Manteno, Herscher and Momence are listed as paying nothing. See full list here! Read article here.

4-4-11 One day after the City of Kankakee sent 3 firemen layoff notices, Mayor Epstein takes trip to Washington DC. She is joined by Richard Simms, Executive Director of the waste water treatment plant (KRMA) and County Board Chairman Mike Bossert. The trip raises questions!

3-17-11 Village of Manteno trustee candidate running against the Manteno political insiders told to leave public meeting by Manteno police officer because she was not 65. She refused and was hauled into a room where she was questioned and detained for 20 minutes. Seems Manteno political insiders don't like outsiders running for office. Here's what happen.

3-8-11 Retired Illinois judges are enjoying some of the most lavish pensions of all Illinois pensioners with the top 100 judicial pensions each in excess of $147,000. Barry Tobias, a retired Appellate Court Judge tops the list with an annual pension of $176,043, which he supplements with another $15,000 from his General Assembly pension. View the top 100 judicial pensions here!

2-28-11 Orland Park author, Ed Hammer spoke to criminal justice classes at Illinois State University on February 23, 2011. His topic was political corruption in Illinois, specifically as it relates to the George Ryan licenses for bribes scandal. Hammer served as an investigator in Ryan’s inspector general when Ryan was the secretary of state. Hammer’s testimony help convict both Dean Bauer, the inspector general and George Ryan. Read more here!

2-24-11 OUTRAGE has been informed Bourbonnais Elementary School District Superintendent Palomba sent out an e-mail to district employees in which he says "We all know from personal experience if the money isn't there, we can't spend it. " Details here!

2-16-11 OUTRAGE has been informed the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in Washington D.C. has ruled Tyler Tall Sr. is in violation of the Hatch Act and must withdraw from being a candidate for the City of Kankakee 5th Ward Alderman position unless he quits his federally funded job with Shapiro. Details here!

2-14-11 Illinois EPA cites Kankakee River Metropolitan Agency (KRMA) for improper operational conditions leading to plant explosion and clean water violations. Details Here!

2-11-11 Garbage-to-ethanol industry holds meeting in Chicago. Some of the foremost companies in the industry are scheduled to attend including Powers Energy of America, the company building a plant in Schneider Indiana. Details here!

2-9-11 More good news for the planned garbage-to-energy plant in Schneider Indiana. The INEOS plant in Vero Beach Florida is now under construction. The same technology will be used by the Powers Energy plant in Schneider. Details here.

2-1-11 KRMA, Kankakee River Metropolitan Agency waste water treatment plant U.S. EPA compliance report shows significant non-compliant effluent violations. Full report Explosions prevented at plants elsewhere with proper safety devices in place. Details here! A better way to handle bio-solids. Click Here!

1-24-11 Corporate tax hike moves Illinois to 4th highest in nation. Details here

1-7-11 75% State Income Tax Hike, Call Dugan, Gordon, Hutchinson before they vote yes. Click here for details.

12-14-10 Property tax Truth in Taxation legal notices published in local papers by area governmental bodies are not always truthful. Click here for details.

11-10-10 Watch the November 9, 2010 City of Kankakee Chamber of Commerce board meeting. Click here.

11-8-10 Good news for the planned garbage-to-energy plant in Schneider, Indiana which will be built about 17 miles east of Momence and Grant Park. Details here.

10-27-10 The Daily Journal got it wrong! Our response to The Daily Journal's 10-26-10 editorial on the Kankakee County board district referendum. Click here for details.

8-30-10 State Representative Lisa Dugan says the Illinois State budge must be balanced on the backs of the people. This goes along with her recent statement about the need for revenue enhancement which was reported in a 8-25-10 Daily Journal article. Click here for details.

8-19-10 Great News on the Schneider, Indiana garbage-to-ethanol plant located about 17 miles east of Momence and Grant Park. Click here for details.

8-1-10 "Taxbites & Tasty Morsels", a new book out by Nevada author Susie Iventosch, names OUTRAGE as the runner up for the best name for a taxpayer association. Second only to PETT (People for the Ethical Treatment of Taxpayers). It is an innovative cookbook, with 151 recipes for everything from appetizers to dessert and every course in between! Each recipe is accompanied by a "tax bite", a bit of trivia about the wacky taxes levied upon U.S. citizens. The City of Kankakee Utility Tax on water consumption from the Kankakee River is listed as one of the wacky taxes. Click for details.

7-15-10 Bourbonnais Elementary Superintendent Palomba doesn't care about wasting energy or the cost to taxpayers. After repeated complaints by a Bourbonnais resident, outside lights on school buildings remain on in the daytime. Click for pictures. Picture #1 Picture #2

6-22-10 Property tax bills payable July and September, 2010 have been mailed out in Kankakee County. Here is information on what 17 taxing bodies in the area are taxing us. OUTRAGE did a Freedom of Information request on 28. Click here for all the details.

5-8-10 Bourbonnais Elementary School District Superintendent Palomba is preparing to place a property tax increase referendum on the ballot this November so year in and year out salary and benefit increases can go on forever. The arrogance is unbelievable! Click here for the details.

5-1-10 Civic Federation Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability says Governor Quinn's recommended FY 2011 State of Illinois budget is unbalanced, relies too heavy on borrowing, doesn't address $6.2 billion in unpaid bills and requires deeper spending cuts. Click here for the full report.

4-19-10 Call your state representative and senator. Ask them to support HR1057 which calls for a forensic audit of Illinois state spending. The purpose of the audit is to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and corruption. Click here for details.

4-13-10 NTUI announces top 100 Illinois teacher salaries. Sky high pensions also discussed. Details here.

4-10-10 Balancing the State of Illinois budget without tax hikes. Details here.

4-6-10 Taxpayers Alert! State legislators making changes to the Property Tax Cap Law to allow local taxing bodies to raise property taxes without going to referendum as is now required. Details here.

4-1-10 Watch The Daily Journal sponsored forum on the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings Acts. Guess speakers were Cara Smith, Public Access Counselor with the Illinois Attorney General's office and Donald Craven, general counsel to the Illinois Press Association along with Kankakee County States Attorney Jamie Boyd . Click here to watch the forum.

3-31-10 2010 Tax Freedom Day for Illinois residents is April 11. Details here!

3-29-10 Great News!! OUTRAGE has learned the Illinois Supreme Court has declined Fred Barbara and Tom Volini's request to appeal the 3rd District Appellate Court rulings against their proposed Chicago regional garbage dump with the City of Kankakee. This means the 8 year battle against this dump proposal is over. The dump is dead! Lots of people to thank!

3-9-10 Analysis of Illinois revenue for the first 8 months of fiscal year 2010 shows an overall increase. The fiscal year ends June 30. Details on 07, 08, 09 and 10 here.

2-24-10 Update on the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, FAA investigation of the Kankakee Valley Airport and the proposed Fred Barbara garbage dump because of information they were never told until OUTRAGE sent them a letter with 7 supporting documents. Click here to read the full story.

1-27-10 Kankakee County Sheriff Bukowski's recent Daily Journal view point left out some facts. Click here for the details!

12-31-09 The December 30, 2009 memorial to Keith Runyon, citizen activists and co-founder of OUTRAGE, POWER and CUT, maybe viewed at http://www.blip.tv/file/3033846/ It is about 50 minutes long. A little over 100 people attended including 20 family members. The memorial was held in the Bourbonnais Municipal Center Community Room and clearly shows the impact Keith had on this community and elsewhere. Keith Runyon passed away on December 23.

12-16-09 Another garbage-to-energy plant announced. It will be built by St. Louis based CleanTech Biofuels, Inc. Click here for the details.

12-05-09 Great News!! Illinois Appellate Court rules against Fred Barbara's second Chicago regional garbage dump application. Click here for the details.

11-25-09 Things of note at the November 25, Kankakee County Executive Committee Meeting. Click here for details!

11-17-09 Lots of anger directed at the Daily Journal and the Kankakee County Auditor during the Kankakee County Criminal Justice Committee Meeting. Check out County Board member Karen Campbell and Sheriff Bukowski's comments at 29 minutes 23 seconds through 34 minutes. Click here to read the full story.

11-6-09 The Journal’s recent editorial favoring a trash- to- ethanol plant like the one being built in Schneider Indiana, over the proposed Fred Barbara landfill, came to the correct conclusion. However, it did misinformed the public about the relative risk factors of the two different means of garbage processing. Click here for the full article.

11-5-09 Bourbonnais Elementary School District is partnering with Professor Daake and the marketing class at Olivet to conduct a phone survey of district residents during November. Superintendent Palomba does not say what the questions will be. He stated earlier this year he wants to put a referendum on the ballot to increase property taxes to build a new school for all day kindergarten so it is likely questions about putting a referendum on the ballot next year will be part of this phone survey. Read the article on the survey in the district's November newsletter

10-5-09 Powers Energy of America announces Schneider, Indiana as the location for their privately funded $285,000,000 garbage-to-ethanol plant. Schneider is about 30 miles form the City of Kankakee in Lake County, Indiana. Local government will be paid millions of dollars in taxes and fees annually. Hundreds of good paying jobs will be created.

9-12-09 Want to retire with a fat pension? Get a state or local government job! Full story here.

9-5-09 America's top states for business in 2009. Illinois ranks 25th. Indiana ranks 15th. Details on all 50 states here.

8-26-09 Waste Management and Terrabon, LLC Announce Investment Agreement for Waste-To-Fuel Conversion Technology. This is the second company Waste Management has announce a partnership with for Waste-To-Energy production. More proof garbage is too valuable to bury making garbage dumps a thing of the past. Get the details here!

8-21-09 Fred Barbara agrees to settlement with the Illinois EPA in the law suit against his company, Kankakee Regional Landfill, LLC.. Other defendants in the case, Tom Volini and his company Town & Country Utilities, have refused to settle. The next hearing in the case is Wednesday, September 2, 9:00 A.M. Room 204 at the Kankakee County Court House. Click here for all the details.

8-19-09 Great News! The U.S. Dept. of Transportation, FAA has responded to a letter with supporting documents from OUTRAGE. They are going to do a new review of the proposed Fred Barbara Chicago regional garbage dump and the required flood relief channel. The letter was about the dangers this project posses to aircraft flying in and out of the Kankakee Valley Airport. It will be a major water and food source for thousands of birds and will be less then 10,000 feet from the runway as measured by GPS. Click here to read the OUTRAGE letter, supporting documents and the FAA response!

8-18-09 New Illinois law strengthens the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Gives the public more power to obtain public records. Details here.

7-23-09 The four mayors who expressed their support for a local garbage dump clearly demonstrates there is no logic in their logic. Click here for full story

7-17-09 St. Louis based CleanTech Biofuels, Inc., an early-stage provider of technology to convert municipal solid waste into renewable energy production, has announced a joint research agreement. This is another step in their plan to build a garbage-to-energy plant at the site of a Chicago garbage transfer station. Details here

6-28-09 Bourbonnais Township Park District sent surveys to 15,000 households in the township. Around 1270 or 8.5% is all that was returned. They now say they have the support of the community to keep taxing to the max for expansion. Details here

6-9-09 Garbage dump developer Fred Barbara is a campaign donor to Appellate Court Judge William E. Holdridge who later ruled in favor of the Barbara proposed dump. City of Kankakee attorney Chris Bohlen also made a donation. Click here for details.

5-21-09 Waste Management announces it is getting into the garbage-to-energy business. More proof garbage dumps are a thing of the past! Full story here.

4-28-09 Cleantech Biofuels, Inc. achieves operational milestone with Chicago garbage! Another blow to the business plan of the proposed Fred Barbara and Tom Volini garbage dump. Full story here.

4-13-09 The future impact of the intermodal and logistics industry on the cities and villages in Kankakee County is discussed. Watch the meeting.

3-31-09 Is Manteno village President Tim Nugent using his office for personal gain? You be the judge. Documents and details here.

3-27-09 On the heels of Governor Quinn's proposed 50% income tax increase, legislation has been introduced to raise your property taxes as well. Details here.

3-26-09 Illinois Supreme Court orders Appellate Court to vacate their decision in favor of the Fred Barbara second dump application. Details here.

2-20-09 Lame duck Mayor Green makes desperate offer to county board chairman for his Fred Barbara dump without city council approval. Fails to understand huge advances in garbage-to-energy technologies. Details and document here.

2-16-09 City of Kankakee mayoral candidate Nina Epstein doesn't have a clue! She fails to show up at the Kankakee public meeting on the Lake County Indiana garbage-to-ethanol plant. Watch the meeting.

2-5-09 Bourbonnais Elementary School District is planning a deficit spending spree. A referendum to raise property taxes maybe coming! Details here.

12-14-08 Did former State Rep. Phil Novak sell out the area's clean water source to boost his salary and pension by participating in Governor Blagojevich's "Pay for Play"? Article with details here.