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Cook County ROE
A little known office serving suburban Cook County
schools has gained notoriety over the last several months as the elected
official leading that office, the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of
Education (ROE), has come under fire.
Dr. Charles Flowers is under investigation for misuse of public funds
along with other misdeeds.
Unfortunately, it is deja vu
all over again. In the late
1980’s and early 1990’s, this office (which then served all of
Cook County including Chicago) was replete with patronage and there were
allegations of taxpayer dollars being squandered. At the urging of then Cook County
Board President Dick Phalen, the state legislature
abolished the office. But it
reestablished a few years later for suburban Cook.
Following
these most recent allegations of misconduct, I filed House Bill 4588 to once
again abolish the office:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=35494.
And while Dr. Flowers has had serious charges leveled
against him, my goal in pursuing this legislation is first and foremost to
assure that our suburban schools get the services they need in an efficient
and effective manner.
Those
services include teacher certifications, life/safety inspections of schools
and financial oversight – all of which are critically important for our
education system.
With numerous stakeholders at the table, we are
developing what I hope will be a non-political and fiscally responsible
method of delivering those services.
It will take a few months to work out the details but I am excited
about the possibility of transforming the ROE into something that will work
for both schools and taxpayers.
ICC Public Hearing
The Illinois Commerce Commission will conduct a series
of public hearings on Illinois American Water Company’s proposal to
increase annual revenue by about $61 million. Those who attend the hearings will be
offer comments and a stenographic record of the comments will be
recorded. The meetings will take
place at 7 p.m. as follows:
-Thursday, October 8th, Mt. Prospect City Council
Chambers, 50 S. Emerson, Mt. Prospect; and
-Monday, October 19th, Homer Glen Junior High School,
15711 S. Bell Rd., Homer Glen.
A final decision from the ICC is expected by April
25th, 2010.
Comments from each public hearing will be submitted to
the Commission for consideration.
Customers of the Illinois American Water Company who would like to
offer written comments can submit then through “File a Comment”
option on the ICC website at icc.illinois.gov/customers or by calling
1-800-524-0795.
Flu Shots
It is flu shot
season once again and the American Lung Association in the Upper Midwest
provided me with a great resource to find locate closest place for a flu
shot.
If you click
on the link below it will take you to the American Lung Association
website. You can type in your zip
code, and how many miles you are willing to travel to get your flu shot (5
miles, 10 miles, etc) and what dates you are interested in getting your shot.
Every available clinic in the area on the dates requested will be
listed.
Visit the Flu
Clinic Locator to find a location convenient to you: http://www.flucliniclocator.org/.
State healthy!
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