City Council meetings now replayed online

Posted by mhopf – May 14, 2013

Those who can’t attend Quincy City Council meetings are now in luck. Replays of the meeting are now available online.

Mayor Kyle Moore announced the new platform for the meetings Monday and said he hoped it would be used by residents to become more active in their city government.

Meetings are broadcast live and also replayed on Comcast channel 15, but people only receive it if they have Comcast. The online replays will make it much easier to catch for residents. While he was an alderman, Moore suggested that the city start posting meetings after a resident had to buy a DVD of the meeting.

Sadly, the videos can’t be embedded, so you will have to head to the city’s website to watch them.

Dunn part of movement against easing restrictions on gay Scouts and leaders

Posted by mhopf – May 13, 2013

Lonnie Dunn, Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore’s nominee for corporation counsel, has recorded a video for On My Honor — an organization that opposes allowing openly gay Scouts and leaders to be more involved with the Boy Scouts of America.

A proposal unveiled last month that would allow gay Scouts but continue the ban on gay leaders is up for a vote by the organization’s Board of Directors later this month.

Dunn is expected to be confirmed to the post Monday night.

Finance Committee recommends refinancing of Good Samaritan bond

Posted by mhopf – March 12, 2013

The Quincy Finance Committee approved a request by Good Samaritan Home to refinance a $12 million bond it took out in 2009 to help fund its expansion.

The home used the city’s bonding authority to finance the construction of the Anna Brown Unit, office space and the parking lot. The bond was originally for $12 million, and $8 million is being refinanced.

City Comptroller Ann Scott said since the bond is being refinanced,  it should not affect the city’s $10 million bond limit that it has available to non-profits. The city will receive a $10,000 fee for Good Samaritan Home’s use of the bonding authority.

This is similar to a refinancing plan approved last year for Quincy University. Aldermen voted in 2007 to allow QU to issue up to $14 million in bonds to refinance two $7 million bonds issued in 1997 and 2001.

In other business, the committee recommended that it accept the bid of $11,643 from Area Distributors for janitorial supplies.

Moore first to hit the airwaves

Posted by mhopf – March 11, 2013

Republican mayoral candidate Kyle Moore is the first candidate to hit TV before the April 9 election. In his campaign ad called “We Deserve Moore,” Moore slams two-term Mayor John Spring, a Democrat, on hydropower and touts his record to increase efficiencies and accountability at the city level. Moore also declares his top priority is to bring more jobs to Quincy.

His campaign also received a big financial boost Monday.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, he received $5,000 from the 18th District Republican Central Committee and $10,000 from the Adams County Republican Central Committee. Moore’s campaign also sent a letter to the State Board of Elections correcting an error. In a Jan. 15 report, Moore’s campaign said it received $5,000 from state Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, when it actually received the contribution from Jim Tracy.

Large contributions continue for Spring

Posted by mhopf – March 5, 2013

Just one month remains until the city elections, and money continues to roll in for Quincy Mayor John Spring, who is seeking a third term.

On Tuesday, his campaign reported a $6,000 donation from Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville. Last week, his campaign reported a $3,000 donation from the Construction and General Laborer’s District Council of Chicago Political Action Committee and a $1,000 in-kind contribution from Sullivan for staff salaries.

Third Ward Alderman Kyle Moore, the Republican candidate, reported $1,000 from the 18th District Republican Central Committee last week.

These aren’t all the contributions that candidates have received. Contributions of $1,000 or more must be reported year round, while other donations are disclosed quarterly. It will be interesting to see how much both candidates total for the election, which won’t be available until first quarter disclosure reports are due after the election.

State Democrats continue to fund Spring’s campaign

Posted by mhopf – February 25, 2013

Illinois Democratic lawmakers continue to throw big dollars at Quincy Mayor John Spring’s re-election campaign.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Spring’s campaign reported $8,000 in contributions last week. He received $3,000 from former Sen. Louis Viverito, D-Burbank, and $2,500 each from state Reps. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, and Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley.

This comes one week after Spring received $15,500 in contributions from other Democratic lawmakers.

Republican mayoral candidate Kyle Moore has reported contributions of $3,500 from Lee Lindsay Curtis and $1,000 from John G. Stevenson Jr. He also reported a $1,000 contribution from Harold Knapheide III, who previously has contributed $2,000 to the campaign.

Moore: City not in better shape since Spring elected

Posted by mhopf – February 22, 2013

Kyle Moore

Republican mayoral candidate Kyle Moore blasted two-term Mayor John Spring’s assertion that the Quincy job market is improving.

“If you look at the facts, in December 2005, our unemployment rate in the city of Quincy was 4.2 percent,” Moore said. “Our number of unemployed was 916 people. In December of 2012, the city of Quincy has a 6.6 percent unemployment rate with over 1,400 people unemployed.”

Moore made the comments after Spring gave his “state of the city” address to the Quincy Exchange Club.

During his speech, Spring touted that Adams County has the second-lowest unemployment in the state after Brown County. Still, he said the city needs to focus on bringing head-of-household jobs to the area.

“When you look at the fact that under his leadership, our average family income has decreased in the city of Quincy by 14 percent,” Moore said. “We’re not even keeping up with the state average. We’re not moving forward; we’re moving backwards.”

Moore admitted part of the rise of unemployment and decline in income stems from the worldwide recession — as it has been nationwide — but he claims Quincy is doing worse than the Illinois state average of 12 percent income decline over the same period.

“The state of Illinois isn’t known for its good economic sense,” he said. Moore said the city needs to work on creating an environment that allows head-of-household job creation, although he has not laid out specifics plans for making that happen.

 

Spring sees influx of campaign cash

Posted by mhopf – February 14, 2013

Quincy Mayor John Spring has seen a $15,500 spike in his campaign contributions this week, according to Illinois State Board of Elections reports.

The contributions included $5,000 from state Sen. John Sullivan’s campaign fund and another $5,000 from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 in Joliet. He also received $1,500 from both state Sen. Steve Landek, D-Bridgeview, and the Democratic Organization of Lyons Township, and $2,500 from state Sen. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago.

Spring’s campaign also reported receiving $1,000 for staff salaries from Sullivan.

Republican candidate Kyle Moore immediately starting building his campaign war chest after he announced last year. In the third quarter of 2012, he pulled in more than $25,000.  For the reporting period for last three months of 2012, Moore reported his campaign brought in $9,979 and spent $3,871. His campaign account had $36,420 on hand at the end of the reporting period.

Spring reported raising $1,525 during the same period, with expenditures of $423. His campaign reported available funds of $19,111. The only contribution that required reporting was $375 from the Bank of Springfield.

Since Jan. 1, Spring has also reported receiving $5,000 from Foresight Energy Services of St. Louis, while Moore received $5,000 from state Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy. Moore also reported a contribution of $1,029 from Citizens for a Better Quincy, a political action committee formed by a majority of Republican aldermen.

Full campaign reports won’t be available until after the April 9 election.

Quincy mayor’s race target of polling

Posted by mhopf – February 13, 2013

Some Quincy residents have been contacted this week by a telephone pollster who seemed to tout Democratic incumbent Mayor John Spring and be not so kind to his Republican challenger, 3rd Ward Alderman Kyle Moore.

Survey questions were:

• Generally speaking, is Quincy on the right track or headed in the wrong direction?

• What is the greatest single problem in Quincy right now?

• Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Mayor John Spring? State Sen. John Sullivan? U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock? Moore?

• How would you rate Spring as mayor?

• Who are you going to vote for?

When person who received the call said the household was undecided, the pollster touted Spring as a fiscal conservative who has helped lower property tax rates in seven of the last eight years and helped get electrical aggregation — and promised lower rates — to Quincy.

The pollster then pointed out that Moore voted against funding for renovations at the Quincy Public Library, and then his company, Moore’s Floors, profited off work it did there after the project was approved by the City Council. The pollster went on to say that Moore opposed the city’s “fix or flatten” program, which tries to clean up derelict buildings, and had voted against a request by the Quincy Fire Department to buy new trucks.

The pollster then asked again who the resident would vote for.

The pollster appeared to be trying to steer the voter in Spring’s direction, at least that’s what the voter thought.

Both candidates have been seen campaigning door to door, both have campaign headquarters up and running and Moore — who, in reality, has been running for the office since September — already has mailed out an eight-page targeted campaign piece and has held two press conferences to tout his plans. With the municipal election just 55 days away, expect the race to continue to heat up.

Emerald ash borer costs staggering in Galesburg

Posted by mhopf – January 24, 2013

After two public meetings in Quincy last year on how to prepare for the emerald ash borer, the costs appear staggering to another community that is starting to deal with the invasive species.

Galesburg could spend more than $900,000 on ash tree removal and treatment through 2019. The Register-Mail reported that the bug will affect 600 trees lining streets and parks.

It is expected to take five years to remove the trees. Treatment and tree removal could continue beyond 2019.

In November, Jeff Palmer, a certified arborist with tree injection technology company Arborjet, told Quincy officials that treating trees can help stem removal costs. It costs about $60 per tree, and it has to be administered every two years.

A 2000 survey showed 1,042 ash trees on city-owned property in Quincy, representing 9 percent of the city’s 11,592 trees. While the emerald ash borer has not been discovered in the area, it is only a matter of time.

Native to Asia, the beetle was first discovered in Detroit in 2002. Millions of ash trees in the Midwest have been decimated by the bug. The insect was first discovered in Illinois in 2006, and ash trees in Chicago and the Bloomington/Normal area have been lost because of the destructive bug.