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I recently attended a retreat at the Edward Lowe Foundation in Cassopolis, Michigan. The retreat center was created by the same guy who created Kitty Litter and made millions on the product. Fortunately all those cats pooping in boxes of clay got us beautiful retreat center where the foundation spends time helping businesses and entrepreneurs grow their businesses and help organizations like the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) develop plans and meet to create new agendas for research as we just did  a couple weekends ago.

One of the things they always have us do at the retreat center is to think about how to relax, be creative and think about things just a little bit differently. The first night we were there we saw this TED video about how to listen to classical music. I like to listen to classical music, but it is always great to hear people talk about how to do it. I don’t know the history or have knowledge about the great composers and how and why they composed a piece, or how they constructed something.

When you are done watching this video, ask yourself, do you go through life playing “your music” on one buttock? Watch and you will understand the question:

Now go listen and enjoy!

This post is for all my economic development friends in Illinois who are members of the Illinois Development Council (IDC). The IDC is a group of voluntary members who are interested in furthering the economic base of the State of Illinois. The IDC has officially started a new year and I am honored and lucky enough to Board Chair for the next twelve months.

Thank you to those who think enough of me to lead this organization and thank you to past chairs and officers. I look forward to filling your shoes.  A special thanks to Ed Sitar of Commonwealth Edison who saw fit to select me as his co-chair. Thanks Ed, for all the work you did this past year.

The Economic Development profession is going through tough times. Budgets are being cut and projects are fewer than they have been. Many private companies that are usually seeking expansion opportunities have decided to wait and we are just beginning to see a glimmer of improvement  in the economy. This is the time that all economic development professionals should be gearing up for economic improvement.  All professionals should be ready for growth. Not highly leveraged cheap money growth, but a good long steady period of growth. The growth of the past ten years was highly leveraged and financed using dubious methods. Banks are lending much more conservatively and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. But growth will occur. What can we as economic development professionals do? How can we improve our abilities? How can we serve our communities better?

As your Board Chairman this year I want to concentrate on  making the member better at what they do. Whether you are an Executive Director of a small community based public-private partnership, or the primary contact for economic development at a utility or railroad, the IDC should make your membership valuable. At the end of the year your membership in the IDC should provide you with a “value-added” experience. Here are my goals:

1. Education– We need to provide members with more opportunity to learn about the profession. The IDC can do a better job promoting classes, seminars and programs throughout the State and beyond. We don’t have to be the creator or developer of every program, we can partner with other organizations to promote professional learning. In addition, the IDC could  offer webinars and other distance learning opportunities so members can budget their time and valuable dollars. Also, let’s be relevant about what we are teaching. Let’s align ourselves with the 21st Century tools and methods that really work and help communities prosper.

2. Marketing — The State of Illinois should be marketing the State. And we should market our communities. The State has had its share of financial troubles, we all recognize that. So let’s not hold them up to something they cannot deliver right now. But let’s all work together to make sure the right industries and clusters are prospering in our communities. Yes, the IDC has had a marketing program and thank you to the volunteers who step-up to the plate to manage these programs. However, we need more coordination, and we must look to the State to play that role. So let us step up as local leaders and ask our State partners how we can help them, which in turn will help us.

3. Government Advocacy– This is the most difficult issue to manage. How about instead of trying to be all things to all people, let’s develop one or two “BIG” issues we all think will be of benefit to our members and let them guide us. We can’t possibly manage every legislative issue that comes our way. But we can be voice for the one or more issues that are important to all economic developers. And if we do want to spend more time on issues, candidate’s and other specific ideas, then perhaps it’s time for a political action committee (PAC). Then those who want to be involved in the issues of the day can engage with their dollars, and others who don’t or can’t are free and clear then perhaps it’s time for a political action committee (PAC).

4. Partnerships — Both Mark Williams and Ed Sitar along with help from our Executive, Mike Lane have done a great job developing partnerships with allied organizations such as  the State Chamber, IMA, Illinois Municipal League and others.  We need to continue to do this and be allied for a strong state government with a sound tax policy and ethical, open government. Only then, can we change the perception of  the State and make our jobs that much easier.

Nothing earth shattering here. Just plain simple relationship building, communication, and development of programs that serve our membership. Doing this will increase our numbers, increase our revenues, provide value for our members and strengthen our numbers. I hope you along for the ride with me.  Call me, write me, respond on this blog, but let’s talk about what we can do, together to be more productive.

Thanks and one more thing, let’s have a good time doing this, and don’t forget to smile!

When I was a kid, my parents insisted that we try new foods. They always taught us that we should try something at least once. “Taste it at least once and if you don’t’ like it you don’t have to eat it”,  they would say. You will never know if you don’t try. I like that idea. Here are the things on my list that I’ve tried and and don’t care for:  Olives, black or green, blue cheese (although I am still open to it), and those Greek things wrapped in grape leaves. I have no idea what they are called.  I also don’t like chicken wings. I know everyone else does, and it isn’t necessarily the taste, but all that mess and work for just a little bit of meat, doesn’t seem worth the effort (crab legs fall into this category too).

So when I hear people sit around proudly boasting that they have no time for that “Facebooking thing” or Tweeting, or social media in general I have to wonder, have they tasted it? How do they know if they don’t want anything to do with it. Maybe they tasted it, but it wasn’t cooked right.  Maybe they are missing something that might be helpful. Maybe they will like the taste of it and gobble it up.

Truthfully, I think a lot of people who are not using social media and act as if it is such a bother or a big issue and then boast of their ignorance do so because of several reasons. For one, they are often the type of person who will not adopt a new technology or method of doing something until the very last minute. “Late adopters” might be a term to use as opposed to “early adopters”. Second, they feel like they are too late in the game and might feel foolish if they don’t quite understand something right away.  Instead being critical or ridiculing social media is easier. It is easier to criticize something rather than be open to it. Last,  if it is not cheap easy and convenient it can’t be worth anything.

What is really interesting is listening to people be critical and proud of their social media ignorance in front of me, knowing full-well that I am deeply interested and open to working with the medium. Recently I was in a discussion with intelligent well- meaning people when they started in on what me termed a “social-media dumb down”.  I said nothing. If they really feel like social media is that stupid, I decided, let them feel that way. Nothing I say in that situation will help them understand or learn. In fact I think they were disturbed that I didn’t defend myself and my GenY prowess.

Go ahead, don’t taste the fruit. You will never understand how delicious  it might be.

I went to Bishop Hill, Illinois the other day to see and visit a restaurant of a friend of mine. She has a unique little place that is the highlight of the community and provides visitors with homemade country cooking  along with Swedish favorites. Bishop Hill is situated just east of Galesburg Illinois and about 90 minutes from Bloomington-Normal.  It was settled by a group of religious Swedes back in the the 1840s’ and their communal style of living lasted only 15 years before things broke apart. However their efforts included a number of beautiful buildings which still remain and have  received National Historic Site status. The town has a number of beautiful 150 plus year old buildings in various states of upkeep and repair. But for a small town in the middle of central Illinois, they have done quite nicely for themselves.

But this isn’t a story about Bishop Hill, but more appropriately Trish Nusbaum the proprietor of the Red Oak Restaurant. The Red Oak is in a former farm house and consists of three small dining room that each holds about 30 people and a couple of outdoor seating areas. Trish has managed over the fourteen years she has owned the Red Oak to create quite the enterprise of restaurant dining, pies and comfort food casseroles delivered to your home via pre-order, and mail order to anywhere in the United States.  So the Red Oak is a burgeoning enterprise in the middle of a small metropolis of 150 people somewhere in Illinois. However, if you met the owner, you would be overtaken by the enthusiasm, friendliness and tireless work that goes into her passion, the Red Oak.

Trish is one of those people who put most of us to shame when it comes to work ethic. After a long day, I usually sit down and fall asleep watching a mindless TV show. Trish is probably falling asleep at her desk thinking about how to improve her styrofoam packaging so she can ship her casseroles to the east coast without it costing an arm and a leg. When I came by on Saturday, she was manning the front of the house, taking reservations and seating people. I had a delicious meal of Swedish meatballs with homemade noodles. They were thick and chewy and the white gravy (sauce) was perfect. With it came a salad and some good Swedish Rye, no doubt made in the kitchens of the restaurant, and also available at the Farmer’s Market. I washed it down with Lingonberry lemonade, but found it a bit sweet. I wish I would have had the Lingonberry iced tea, which looked more refreshing.  The whole meal was topped off with one of the Red Oak’s famous pies. I had the quadberrry pie, which came with four berries. Don’t ask me which berries, (as if it matters) as the pie was just perfect and the crust melt in your mouth. It was topped off with homemade vanilla ice cream.  The pies are old news for me. I manage to buy a pie or a mini-pie every time Trish comes to the Farmers Market. I bought  a cherry pie for the Fourth of July party I was planning to attend, but it never made it. Trish told me that she would be available after 2:00 and I went to stroll the antique show and village. When I came back at two, Trish was still at it, and held me off by giving me some of the Lingonberry Ice Tea that had coveted earlier.

The restaurant operations are spread out in two buildings. One for the restaurant and a carriage house for the pies and casseroles. Trish, like many innovative and creative entrepreneurs has managed to develop her operations, not from a well laid out  plan, but from necessity and using the assets and tools she has on hand. If there is room for one more refrigerator than she will find a way to squeeze it in. If she needs another shelf, somewhere, somehow she will get one built. Please, don’t get me wrong, her hodge-podge “fit-it-where-you-can” style is not careless, it instead seems to have a sense of karmic order and simplicity.

I want everyone who reads this to do one of three things, or all three. First stop by the Bloomington Farmer’s Market on any Saturday morning and buy a pie or a casserole and say hi to Trish. She will be one of the nicest people you meet there. Second, ask her for a delivery menu and place an order for a delivery right to your doorstep of fine comfort food. Last, go to her website and order a nice comfort food meal and have it mailed to your Aunt in Keokuk, or you r best friend that just had a baby in Dubuque. One day, when Trish products are as big as Omaha Steaks and you see Oprah giving away casseroles as one of her “favorite things”, you can say, “Hey, I knew the Red Oak back when they came to the Farmer’s Market”

Note: To my vegetarian friends, you may wish to skip this essay.

I am writing this immediately upon finishing some grilled salmon and sauteed Brussels sprouts with garlic and balsamic vinegar. I love to cook and experiment with new foods and food related activities.  Food has always been important to me. Perhaps too important (you have to see me to understand that last comment). My family grew up with an appreciation for good food. Sundays and holidays were celebrated around the dinner table and the occasion of eating a hearty and good meal was about family, love and happiness. Every Saturday night in the summer was hamburgers, brats or steaks, and every Sunday in the cold months was a good pot roast, potatoes and corn or some other vegetable.

In high school I worked at the most popular Italian restaurant in town, Villa Capri and learned all things Italian. While I started as a busboy, I soon learned how to make pizza, and spent one summer working the pasta line. I have worked in various restaurants and pizza joints and have always enjoyed cooking and eating food. More recently I have taken interest in the local food movement and have started attending “farm dinners” and locavore dinners at  restaurants.

Recently I attended a dinner on Prairie Fruits Farm just north of Urbana Illinois. This beautiful little acreage is nestled just north of  Urbana-Champaign, home of the University of Illinois, and of course the owners of the farm have been or are currently professors and teachers at the University.  When I met  Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband, owner of the farm I would have thought they were long time UC residents who hit upon a whim to start a local farm. Instead I learned that they are short-time Central Illinois residents, hailing from Madison Wisconsin. Their farm is primarily a goa- cheese producing dairy and fruit farm. As Wes said in his tour of the farm, he wanted to be able to go out and pick a ripe peach from the tree. Yes, they can grow peaches in Central Illinois, in fact there is quite a peach growing operation in the southern parts of Illinois. The Prairie Fruits farm produces delectable goats milk Chevre and a lovely sheep’s milk soft cheese called Ewe’s Bloom.  I am looking forward to tasting their Pecorino and Leslie is also experimenting with a Feta.

The name of the dinner was “This Little Piggy went to Market” and in fact three of them actually did an never cam back. My guest and I arrived on the farm and were greeted by the owners. We were lucky as the dinner was sold out and I actually secured the  dinner spots off the waiting list. After we opened our wine (which one brings with) we were also given the option to have black  current and keemum tea with anise hyssop.  Currents are a small tart berry that grows locally. As a child my parents had a red current bush I would always pick clean this time of year before the birds got to them. The skin has a translucent quality to it and they look very small gooseberry’s. On the farm we were offered the iced tea and was able to add berries to it. I thought some ice cold vodka would have gone well with the tea. Keemum tea is a Chinese tea known for its delicate flavor. The Anise Hyssop was picked locally. It is a  member of the mint family  and its leaves and tiny lavender-blue flowers  smell and taste of anise, but its square stems and opposite leaves puts it in the mint family.  While the tea was a nice idea, most people arriving were busy opening the bottles of wine they brought with them.

The tea was served along with the first course of  head cheese, pork tenderloin roulade, pickled asparagus, and salsa verde. I grew up eating head cheese every Christmas (Latvian tradition) so I was interested to see how it would be presented here. Mom’s head cheese was actually a toned done version of the original recipe in that she didn’t actually use parts of the pork’s head, but rather odd scraps of pork meat and other pork parts. Allegedly it was less offensive. The head cheese being served  on the farm was packed full of pork meat and sliced from a loaf. It was good and tasty but lacked the kick of mustard or vinegar we would schmear on mom’s  head cheese. The roulade on the other  hand was quite good, as it was filled with pistachio’s surrounding a pork tenderloin middle. I noticed the roulade going much faster than the head cheese and the “pickled” asparagus. Not even being enamored with traditionally cooked asparagus I was a good sport and tried the pickled version and was even less satisfied. I am sure the pickled portion of the asparagus dish was not meant to dominate the flavor profile of the asparagus, however again I would have enjoyed a more vinegary bite to item that is “pickled”. People who love asparagus probably loved the pickled version. The salse verde was good but not necessary to whole presentation.

So who needs all this appetizer business when the serious  eating of pig was about to begin. We were all directed to a beautiful area near the gardens where the serious consumption would occur. Wes and Leslie have constructed a platform that had two rows of pergolas. On top of the pergola were small lights and a light airy canvas, enough to provide shade but not enough to provide rain cover. The tables were decked out with white table cloth and a well set table. We settled in carefully choosing the seats we thought in several hours of eating would be exposed to the least amount of sunlight. With a temperature of about 85 degrees at game-time, er, I mean dinner time, where we sat would be important. A little sun would be better later when things begin to cool down.

Upon sitting down Wes and Leslie welcomed us to the farm and dinner. They introduced the chef for the evening, Thad Morrow of Bacaro Restaurant in Champaign who proceeded to explain the evenings porcine activities and the description of the first course. With each course it is customary for the Chef to describe the course and the intricacies of the cooking the dish.

The first sit down course was country ham, arugula, radish, turnips, pork-fat brioche croutons, topped with smoked balsamic vinaigrette. The ham was cured by the chef  at his Champaign restaurant and aged for several months. Sliced paper-thin  and placed at the bottom of the plate, the ham was very lightly smoked and did not have the heavy sugary  taste of store bought ham. On top was arugula and the smoke balsamic vinaigrette which was an outstanding addition. The arugula was liberally doused with the vinaigrette and reminded me of the consistency of a spinach salad with a heavy bacon fat dressing. Adding the brioche croutons made with bacon fat and the salad was truly amazing.  The smokiness of the vinaigrette really come through and how does one argue with something made with pork fat?

Third course  consisted of roast pork loin, bourbon braised pork belly,

Iroquois white corn bread, and cat-tail cole-slaw. Things were getting better as we finally had some real pork in front of us.  All of the pork came from Kilgus Farms a Fairbury based operation just up the road from the farm. The Kilgus boys were in attendance and explained to us that the pigs that had sacrificed themselves for us that evening has been solely milk-fed.  The pigs also didn’t get as big as others butcher pigs and the milk diet gave them a tenderness and flavor unlike the kind one can find from the local grocer’s meat department.

True to the word of the Kilgus’ the pork was oh-so-tender and melted in our mouths, the pork belly, was also very moist and melted in your mouth. For those who have not had braised pork belly, it the part of the pig that is made into bacon, therefore it is somewhat fatty, but very delicious.  The corn bread had been ground from locally grown kernels and the cat-tail cole-slaw was better than I expected. Chef Morrow explained that the stem of a young cat-tail, yes the kind you see growing in wetlands throughout the Midwest, have a celery-cabbage like consistency and taste and I agree it was one of the best versions of slaw I have had. When I saw the menu, I half expected to be chewing on the furry brown portion we see sticking up in the air.

Fourth course of pork (yes it keeps going), was smoked pork shoulder, rhubarb barbecue sauce, braised dandelion greens, and baked beans. The pork wasn’t any less tender than the previous course and  smokiness of the pork shoulder wasn’t overwhelming like it can be in some cheap BBQ chains. The pork shoulder was tender and just a bit crusty outside with some burnt bits and texture that was very appealing, the sauce with the anticipated added expected tartness of rhubarb wasn’t quite there, but like anything you do with rhubarb, sugar is the key and was obviously overtaking anything the rhubarb could offer. I know rhubarb having sat in the backyard as a kid, sucking on a rhubarb stalk dipped in copious amounts of sugar. Rhubarb is always paired with a sweeter companion (i.e. strawberry-rhubarb jam), and in this case there was no hint. Having said this the sauce was just fine, in fact I could have used a tablespoon or two more. The dandelion greens were more colorful than tasty and the beans were outstanding, soft and molasses sweet.

Another Pork Course! Yes, we were nearing the end…porchetta, glazed carrots, roast new potatoes, gremolada was the final pork course. Porchetta (pronounced por-ketta) is an a traditional Italian form of roasting a whole pig. In fact the  Italian food ministry considers it a culturally important dish and has given it such designation. Often called “Italian pulled-pork”, it is most often cooked over a wood spit and during celebratory times. Of course we were celebrating so the Chef, made the porchetta in the traditional method which requires de-boning the pig, tie-ing it up and roasting. Our porchetta was equally tender and flavorful as the other pork we had tasted that evening. I  passed on the carrots, but the roasted potatoes were very crispy and good and undoubtedly cooked in pork fat. The gremolada,  a combination of diced lemon peel, parsley and garlic gave the smokey porchetta a nice contrast of acidic burst.

No more pig, but we start slowing down with ewe bloom cheese, and mulberry mostarda. The cheese, made from sheep’s milk right on the farm, which happens to be the only organically certified diary and  cheese making operation in the state, was creamy, soft and appropriately topped off with a sweet mulberry syrup or mostarda. It was just the right touch to slow down our digestion before the final dessert course of sweet cherry cobbler, and caramel pecan ice cream. The ice cream was especially rich and cream but the crowning touch of the dessert and the entire meal was sugar laden pork rind perched on top of my ice cream! What a great way to end the evening.

In the end, this dinner was one of the best dinners’ I have had in a long time. Wes and Leslie have got this down to a science, but don’t get me wrong the atmosphere is still very relaxed and slow. Speaking of slow, if you are in hurry, don’t show up. This isn’t Chili’s or Olive Garden. The meal is meant to be slow, relaxing and mindful. Eat the portions slowly, savor the fresh ingredients, understand the quality of what you are experiencing and make friends with the folks around you.

Prairie Fruits Farm has a dinner every other week but unfortunately they are all sold out. You can email them and get on the waiting list and they will be happy to squeeze you in when they have a cancellation. In the meantime you can try their cheese by coming to the Bloomington Downtown Farmers Market every other Saturday.  Wes and Leslie are very serious about preserving a way of life and providing friends and customers with some very high quality products. The “local economy”, that is the economy that starts with agriculture  but includes local shopkeepers and restaurants and others is a way of life worth preserving. Shop local, buy local, and support your local farmer.

We ate like pigs…wait I stand corrected, we ate the pigs.

Other producers participating include: North Avoca Farm, Blue Moon Farm, Spence Farm, Stewards of the Land, Garden Gate Produce

Fourth of  July is the middle of the Summer holiday that forces people to think about the day on which it actually falls and then determine how many days they will take off.  And it also happens to be our Country’s Birthday. I am not going to wax patriotic here, because like my religion and yours, how I display or my patriotism is up to me. Whether I raise an American flag, or burn it (according to the Supreme Court) is also up to me. And whether I go to church or temple, or worship the tree out side my window is also up to me.

I think the essence of the our Country is embodied in the fact that I can express myself freely and honestly without the fear of being arrested, tortured or put into a forced labor camp. My grandfather and grandmother were placed into a forced labor camp in Siberia at the hands of Stalin. Why? Because they had an opinion. I always think about that when I hear people talk about flags, soldiers, wars, religion, or any of the typical issues or symbols of our government or our liberty.  All of it gets diminished when I think about what it is like for your country’s leader to order you to go somewhere against your will and separate from your family, take your property, and force you into hard labor merely for your opinion.

I truly relish the sacrifice my parents and their families made to get to the United States and be smart enough to know that they could come here and not be terrorized by tyrannical governments. I laugh at those who would contend that their freedom is being impinged today and that their freedom is being taken away by our current government. They have no idea what it is like to legitimately have rights taken away from them. Truly, it is laughable.

As Americans we need to celebrate  our country and our  guaranteed freedom of expression today as the greatest idea ever created by man, and the best opportunity to live in the throes of liberty.

Have a great 4th of July and be safe.

I just read the “2010 Town of Normal Water Department Water Quality Report“. It is a unique piece of information that is the result of governmental mandate given to local water suppliers by our Federal Government. I could go and say this is another example of federal imposition on our lives at the local level, forcing the local government to print something at great cost to them and having it distributed by mail to it’s residents, however let’s take a rational look at this before I make such a strong statement. Let’s really examine why this landed in my mail. By the way,  I’m sure the folks over in Bloomington are getting one also.

According to the back cover of my report, publication of this piece is a requirement of the  Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA). This federal law requires water utilities to  issue an annual “Consumer Confidence Report” to its customers. In fact the back page also tells me that I can go and see the reports for any town by looking at the website www.waterdata.com. (oops, that link doesn’t work…)

The first two pages of the report as you open it includes a nice letter, a mission statement for the water department, which I think is commendable that they actually have one, information about the healthy aspects of water, and a little tidbit about bottled water. Did you know that the standards for the water you get out of the faucet is higher than that which you buy in a bottle? Bottled water producers are not required to issue a report like the one the Town of Normal sent me.

So what is Normal’s water like?(I know for those who don’t live here, you want to insert a joke that has some reference to the name of the town, but frankly we have heard them all, and if you want me to go down that route, you sense of humor is ill-suited for the type of snarky, sarcastic, biting humor I regularly enjoy, but if you must I will pause a second and let you think of some type of joke about the Town’s water that uses the word “normal”). the Town of Normal’s water is darn near perfect as far as I can tell. How do I know? Let me summarize. Of the 88 inorganic contaminants,disinfectants (including by-products), state regulated contaminants, lead & copper, unregulated contaminants, inorganic contaminants, synthetic organic contaminants, volatile organic contaminants, microbial contaminants, and radioactive contaminants, there was either nothing detected (90% of all cases that had the column “Highest Level Detected” and the answer all the way through is “nd” meaning “not detectable at testing limits”) or well below allowable ranges (10% of the column headed “Violation” in which all cases the answer was “no”). So does this tell me water is good? Probably.

I thought Normal did a very good job reporting their data, however, there seems to be something wrong about reading in a ten page report that indicates that the water is just fine. By no means am I blaming the town of Normal or any other local government that has to issue this report. Normal is just doing what they are required to do. I am sure someone at the Federal EPA wrote some regulations saying this is how this report has to be written and by mailing it is how it has to be distributed. OK, let’s blame those stinking bureaucrats in Washington who I am sure has a office that just sits around thinking how to mess with people and local governments by dreaming up new regulations. After all, they wouldn’t have a job otherwise right? No, I am not going blame “the government” as people like to refer to it.

In fact, I am going to blame you. Yes, you and me and everyone else who has a distinct, inherited, deep-seated feeling that we have the “right” to demand of others (you, me and the gubmint) anything and everything we feel we want (I believe this falls under, pursuit of happiness). Information, services, streets, sewer, water, the list goes on, and if we don’t get it, by God, someone is going to pay. This is where this water report came from. One day someone got angry about a lousy glass of water they drank and some well meaning legislator said, (say this like you are on the floor of the House, and you have a chart behind you, loud and angry, “The people of my district have the “right” to know what is in their water, dagnubbit” and he proceeds to introduce the “Right to Know What is in my Water Act (dagnubbit) of 1985″.

Perhaps I exaggerate  a bit, and perhaps there was a more serious incident where hundred or thousands people became deathly ill from bad municipal water, but can’t we be a little more logical about how we force our local governments to comply. We live in an amazing age of internet communication and high technology. Could we not put this stuff on the internet. Couldn’t we send out through the old school (newspaper) and new school means of communications that a single report if anyone wants to read it is available at City Hall? “Feel free to come on down and see that we detected no traces of  “CIS 1,2-DICHLIOROETHYLENE” in the water supply in 2009″. And don’t you think we would all taste it if there was any. I personally hate the taste of the stuff, as it leaves a bad aftertaste of mothballs.

When I retire, my mission in life will be to get this arcane law off the books. You with me? Join me in the “Anti-Water Quality Report Issuance Requirement Party”.  We will change the world! This is where we can save money in our government operations, but you have to quit asking for so much. Get it? Every-time one person feels personally slighted, offended and or legitimately hurt, we shouldn’t go and run and force the publication of reports like the one I just described. This is where true cost savings can occur.

Note: The Town of Normal does provide the report on-line. In fact you can get the report dating back to 2002. They even tell you that it costs them $7,000 to print it and distribute it.