Director: Library Proposal Addresses Need for Space

Jennie Cisna Mills, director of Shorewood-Troy Library, doesn't like throwing away books. But she said the library has to get rid of old books to make room for new ones because its shelves are full.

Shorewood-Troy Library director Jennie Cisna Mills has been meeting with residents every Saturday to answer their questions about the proposal to build a new $21 million library. The question will be put to voters in an April 9 referendum. If the referendum passes, it is estimated the average Shorewood-area homeowner will pay $19-$26 more a month in taxes. For Cisna Mills, the answer is simple to the question of, "Why a new library?" She says the library is out of space. Parking is limited. And, when the library buys a new book, it must dispose of an old one to make room on its shelves.

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Library Officials Seek Tax Funds for New Building

Shorewood-Troy Library Director Jennie Cisna Mills will continue to meet with residents in a bid to answer their questions on Saturdays leading up to the April 9 election.

More than 80,000 people use the Shorewood-Troy Library each year, according to a Sun-Times News Group report, and while the community has grown since the library district was established 35 years ago, the building has not. Nor has the percentage of taxes collected from village residents changed in the last three decades, according to the report. And now library officials are asking residents to support a tax increase to build a new $21 million library. How much will this cost you? If the referendum passes on April 9, the average Shorewood-area homeowner would pay between $19-$26 more a month, according to the Sun-Times News Group report. “You’re buying a book,” library director Jennie Cisna Mills stated in the report. “That’s what you’re …

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Have You Registered to Vote?

Registrar will be on duty at Troy-Shorewood Library: The deadline is Tuesday, March 12.

Here's a quick reminder about voter registration, courtesy of the folks at Shorewood-Troy Libary. March 12 is the last day to register to vote, according to a post on the library's Facebook page. And, did you know the Shorewood Library offers the services of a registrar? "She'll be at the library on Friday (March 8), Monday (March 11), and Tuesday (March 12)," according to the library's Facebook page.

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McMichael Loses Radio Gig Due to Mayoral Bid

When Romeoville Mayor John Noak requested equal time on WMVP, station owner ESPN decided the former Chicago Bears player should be off the air.

Romeoville Mayor John Noak's request for air time equal to that given to his political opponent prompted ESPN to pull the plug on former Chicago Bear Steve "Mongo" McMichael's WMVP-AM 1000 radio show, a published report says. McMichael, who does pregame analysis before Bears games, was told last week that he wouldn't be allowed on the air to discuss Sunday's Bears-Detroit Lions game because he is seeking election to be Romeoville mayor, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. The issue of equal time was raised by Noak after McMichael filed his petition to run in the April 9 election for mayor on Dec. 26, the story said. Noak's attorney didn't ask for McMichael to be taken off the air but that Noak be provided the same amount of radio …

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Petition Filing for Troy Township Board Begins Dec. 17

Local election officials have until Dec. 26 to accept candidates’ petitions or certificates of nomination.

Editor's note: The following is a press release from Troy Township. Troy Township Clerk Jim McFarland announces that as a result of SB 3338 having been approved by Gov. Pat Quinn on Dec. 3, Troy Township will be amending its previously published dates and times for petition filing. In SB 3338, Sections 1-4 of the Election Code were amended to specify that for the 2013 consolidated election period, local election officials (township clerks) have until Dec. 26 to accept candidates’ petitions or certificates of nomination. Therefore, nominating petitions for new political parties, nonpartisan and independent candidates, as well as certificates of nomination for established party caucus candidates will be accepted on the following dates and …

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State Extends Local Elections Filing Deadline to 5 p.m. Dec. 26

The Illinois Senate amends its election code so that candidates in local elections—from City Council to School Board—can submit nominating petitions until 5 p.m. on the day after Christmas.

Merry Christmas, candidates in local elections: You have an extra day to get your name on the April 2013 ballot! A new state law, passed Nov. 29 by both houses of the General Assembly, is also good news to municipal clerks, school board secretaries, township clerks, park district and library secretaries and other local election officials who previously were required to accept candidate petitions until 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve, regardless of whether their respective governmental offices were open. The law is effective immediately. Senate Bill 3338 amends Section 1-4 of the Election Code to specify that, for the 2013 consolidated election period, local election officials have until 5 p.m. Dec. 26 to accept candidates' petitions or …

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Patch on Politics

Pat Quinn: Worst Governor in One of America's Worst-Run States

Take the Patch Poll: Does Pat Quinn deserve re-election or would you put another Democrat on the ballot in 2014?

Pat Quinn is so unpopular, according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey, that Lisa Madigan and Bill Daley would easily beat him in a Democratic primary while Kirk Dillard and Dan Rutherford would topple him in the general election. Quinn says he's going to run for re-election in 2014, but as 2012 comes to an end only 25 percent of Illinois voters approve of the job he's doing as governor. Public Policy Polling says 64 percent of voters disapprove of Quinn's performance — "making him the most unpopular governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country this year." And there seems to be good reason for that. Last week, 24/7 Wall St. published a ranking of all 50 states, and Illinois emerges as the third-worst-run state in America, …

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Patch on Politics

Did Life in the Shadow of President Obama Push Jesse Jackson Jr. Over the Edge?

A columnist who's covered Jackson since his first days in public office suggests Obama's rise sent Jackson to his downfall.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.— who came into Congress bearing the heavy weight of his family name and lofty ambitions — counted Chicago's third airport as a signature issue for the better part of his time in office. And there's been no stauncher advocate for that project than Southtown columnist Phil Kadner. Construction of such an airport would bring much-needed jobs to an area plagued by chronic unemployment, and the airport itself, once realized, would serve as an economic engine for decades to come. So went the mantra. Targeted for a rural area outside the 2nd District until the latest congressional remap put the land into his district, Jackson's pursuit of the airport irritated Democrats and Republicans alike, from Chicago to Will …

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