Kankakee Times

The Kankakee City Council met Sept. 19 to approve haunted house street closure.

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the city:

CITY OF KANKAKEE

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 7:00 P.M.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Good evening. I’d like to call the meeting to order. We will dispense with the prayer. I don’t believe Pastor Robinson is here. I’m excited that the Kankakee Junior High School Beta Club is here tonight to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. So, if you all would like to come forward and we’ll use this flag. Lot of kids in the Beta Club!

KANKAKEE JUNIOR HIGH

SCHOOL BETA CLUB AND ALL: Pledge of Allegiance.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. Okay. Let’s do roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

PRESENT: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Department Heads.

CLERK DUMAS:

PRESENT: Regnier; Young; Kubal; Bohlen; Power; Simms; Tyson; Cross; Bertrand; Yohnka; Schlitz (11)

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. Moving onto the minutes, I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes of the September 6, 2016, meeting.

ALDERMAN OSENGA: Motion to approve that minutes Mayor Epstein.

ALDERMAN CRAWFORD: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Osenga, seconded by Alderman Crawford. Are there any additions or corrections to the minutes? Hearing none, all those in favor, aye. Opposed, same sign.

MOTION TO APPROVE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

MAYOR EPSTEIN: The minutes are approved. There are no Petitions. Moving onto Communications, this is really an extraordinary night that I love. Our Police Department has received their CALEA Accreditation and we’re pleased to have a CALEA representative with us this evening, Mr. Dan Shaw. And, Mr. Shaw, if you will come forward for the presentation along with Chief Regnier, Lt. Donnell Austin and anyone else?

CHIEF REGNIER: That should do it.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: That should do it. Okay.

DANIEL SHAW: Thank you, Mayor. Again, my name is Daniel Shaw. I’m the Program Manager for the Great Lakes Region for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). And, on behalf of the Commission and its Chair, Chief Richard Meyers, I want to thank you for allowing me to present the award tonight to the Kankakee Police Department. CALEA was created in 1979 when the four main law enforcement associations decided to develop standards, ah, for the professionalization of the law enforcement across the nation. And, this was based on a Presidential Commission that was started after all of the, ah, unrest in the 1960s. And, so it’s very appropriate now that, even today, we still have some unrest in our communities and it’s very important for agencies to achieve this type of an award. And, so, ah, it’s not taken lightly by anyone that’s involved in this process. Since its inception, CALEA has accredited agencies under standards developed by many of the best public safety professionals and the leaders of our time. We consider them to be the gold standard, the, ah, Best Practices for law enforcement agencies. The goals of CALEA are to strengthen crime prevention and crime control capabilities, to formalize essential management principles within the police agencies, to improve their service of delivery to their communities, to solidify inter-agency cooperation and coordination, and most importantly, to increase community and staff confidence in the agency and the police service that they provide. This certificate that I have tonight is simply a matted piece of paper within a frame. But, it really stands for more than that. The certificate clearly represents this agency’s efforts to achieve accredited status by demonstrating its willingness to increase its professionalism and to adhere to contemporary police Best Practices. It represents a commitment to doing the right thing all the time. And, it represents an adherence to a professional code. And, lastly, it represents an ongoing dedication to ensuring the agency’s resources are appropriately developed, efficiently deployed and constantly managed all in the name of a safer community. On November 30, 2015, two professional assessors arrived at Kankakee, Illinois, Police Department to conduct a three-day onsite assessment. This process involves in depth review of the agency’s activities, functional components, management strategies, all based on primarily their observation and interviews with not only staff members, but with members of the community as well. The assessors determined that the Kankakee Police Department was in compliance with all applicable standards. They also noted that the agency’s personnel were supportive of the accreditation process. And, one other note, since I’ve been part of CALEA as well, I’ve not seen an agency do so well in the process after having a brand-new Accreditation Manager take over so closely to the assessment with Lt. Austin taking over only two months prior to the assessment. So, it’s a yeoman’s job. The assessor specifically indicated the agency’s responsiveness has a positive impact on your community. At a Commission Hearing held in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 2, 2016, the CALEA Commissioners reviewed the assessors’ report, concurred with their findings and unanimously voted to accredit the Kankakee Police Department. This is the agency’s third consecutive award for Law Enforcement Accreditation and the agency was initially accredited on March 27, 2010. So, at this time, Mayor, I would like to have you come forward as well and, I will present the award to all of you. I’ll just read it real quick into the record. Be it hereby known that the Kankakee, Illinois, Police Department, having fully demonstrated its voluntary commitment to law enforcement excellence by living up to a body of standards deemed essential for the protection of life, health and safety and rights of the citizens it serves, and having exemplified the best professional practices in the conduct of its responsibilities, is hereby upon the recommendation of the members of the Commission awarded this Certificate of Accreditation effective the 27th day of March 2016, and is recognized as an accredited law enforcement agency for the period of four years. Congratulations.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Chief, if you’d like to say something.

CHIEF REGNIER: First off, I’d like to thank Dan. Dan came here all the way from Michigan. He’s our regional guy. He’s our go to guy. As I told him when we met earlier tonight, he’s the first guy I see when I get there and then you go down and you sit before a commissioner–before a panel of four commissioners. They ask you about your department. They ask you about your adherence to the standards. And, this is a big deal. Dan’s the first guy we see when we get in there. Dan’s the last guy who shakes your hand when you walk out after you’ve been accredited. So, I think it was only right that Dan came here all the way from Michigan tonight. I mean, thanks a lot Dan. I just.I can’t tell you how proud I am of our department and Donell and my whole staff. This isn’t something that just one guy can do or that just a few people can do. This takes a commitment from the entire department. It also takes a commitment from the entire community when we have the public meetings when we’re going through the application process and all that. The public comes forward for us. We, you know, I can honestly say that we have THE best turnout that I’ve ever heard about and, you know, the support we get from the community is greatly appreciated. To us, this is a huge deal that we’re now held to a national standard. This is our third award. And, we only get these every four years and it takes somebody managing that on a day to day basis making sure that we’re proving that we’re meeting those files. It’s a big deal for us, it should be a big deal for you. And, we appreciate your support and we really appreciate, ah, getting this fine award. The other thing is.is I want to thank the men and women of the Kankakee Police Department for all their help because without them, none of this would happen. Without you, none of this would happen. I do want to say one more thing. Ah, we really stuck Donell in a bad, bad spot. Like Dan was sayin’, he took over two months. Before this, Pat Kane was our CALEA Manager. After that, after Pat retired and took another job, we put Jay Etzel in there. We thought he was gonna’ be the guy for a long time to come. Ah, then we had another retirement and we had a movement within the ranks. Donell was the next guy up. He got promoted to Lieutenant. Two days later he was the CALEA Manager. Ah, and that’s.he took it on and I’ll tell you, you know, he had the skids greased for him along with way. Pat and Jay both were very good managers and kept our files up to date. Donell came in, we sent him to a conference immediately. I think it was what? A week after you got here? A week after we sent him to a conference. He got.he got indoctrinated into what the disciplines are. He came back and he performed phenomenally. Ah, you know, Donell, really he was there for the on site. Did you do the mock?

DONELL AUSTIN: I didn’t do the mock.

CHIEF REGNIER: No. Okay, Jaybird did the mock. Okay. All right. But, he did the on site and we couldn’t have asked for a better performance. So, Donell’s a shining star for us right now. Donell.

DONELL AUSTIN: Thanks, Chief. Ah, yeah it was an eye opening experience, obviously, to get into that job a couple of days after being Lieutenant. You’re a Lieutenant and now take on this deal here. So, ah, I got a lot of support from the Chief and all the command staff and other officers throughout the department who helped me get through the whole process. So, like the Chief said, it’s a team effort, it’s the community, the Police Department command staff and everyone here.everybody who gives support makes a difference. Ah, I have been constantly learning through this last year and I’ve done quite a bit of, ah, OJT, if you would say. And, it’s been a tremendous process, but everybody is kind even though the assessors can be very, ah, particular. When they came through, we were able to make it through it through the grace of God and because we all worked hard to make it happen. Ah, so, it’s another four years that I’m still compiling the files for now and it’s a lot of different work that I haven’t been accustomed to, but you know, besides bein’ on the streets. So, it’s, a different type of work but it’s definitely challenging. So, ah, thanks.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. And, as Mayor, I have to say it’s a very proud moment when any of our departments are singled out for their excellence. And, it’s not just a commitment from the Police Department and the community. It’s a commitment by the City Council and the administration. This is a very.it’s a costly process. We have a lot of staff time that’s dedicated to it. But, coming from an educational background, I can tell you Best Practices should be the driving force with everything that we do. And, I think we have an exemplary Police Department. They handle a multitude of calls and they do it in a very professional manner. And, I think as a community we should really be proud because this doesn’t happen in every community. And, I believe Chief, at the very beginning we were one of the few communities in the state that had both state and national certification.

CHIEF REGNIER: We were the first in Illinois to have both national and state accreditation.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: So, it’s a commitment by all of us, ah, and so I think we are.we’re very proud. And, thank you, Mr. Shaw for coming all the way. And, I told him he could leave after the presentation.

DANIEL SHAW: Thank you.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. Okay, moving on. I know you all have a Bear’s game to watch tonight, so the next item is information only. It’s a thank you note from Acting Out for, ah, the wonderful response they got to having their production in downtown Kankakee. The next two items are requests. Bishop McNamara, a street closure for their annual haunted house and the Riverview Historic District and the Riverside Neighborhood Organization are requesting a street closure. They’re combining the two neighborhood groups to have a block party. So, do I have a motion to approve items C and D?

ALDERWOMAN GALL: So moved.

ALDERMAN DAVIDSON: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Gall, seconded by Alderman Davidson. All those in favor, aye. Opposed, same sign.

BISHOP MCNAMARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL HAUNTED HOUSE COMMITTEE IS REQUESTING STREET CLOSURE OF THE 300 BLOCK OF EAST HICKORY STREET

FROM INDIANA AVENUE TO THE ALLEY FOR THEIR ANNUAL HAUNTED HOUSE

ON OCTOBER 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, AND 29, 2016, FROM 6:00 P.M. UNTIL 11:00 P.M.

THE RIVERVIEW HISTORIC DISTRICT AND RIVERSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION ARE REQUESTING STREET CLOSURE OF WILDWOOD AVENUE

FROM ITS INTERSECTION WITH EMORY STREET TO ITS INTERSECTION WITH

COBB BOULEVARD ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2016, FROM 12:00 NOON UNTIL

6:30 P.M., FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC

MAYOR EPSTEIN: The requests are approved. Standing Committees. Public Safety. Alderman Osenga.

ALDERMAN OSENGA: Yes, Mayor. From fireside, they were busy in the month. The overtime was up, but it was due to manpower shortage and some structure fires and four mutual aid calls. Ah, we did have one major fire that was at 120 N. Chicago. Ah, total damage loss for the month was about $700, almost $800,000.00, but $625,000.00 of that is the one fire. And, then some of that fire carried over to structures close to ‘em, so it just compounded itself. But, they were very, very busy putting out fires, a total of 13 fires. Ah, October is Fire Prevention month and, ah, you see a nice handout here. They passed these out in schools. It’s a homework assignment and if everybody did what they’re supposed to do, the kids get to have a pizza party, so kudos to the Fire Department for a good educational program. From police side overtime was up for the month, but they have three officers on light duty, two officers are injured–they’re going to have surgery–and one female officer is going to have a baby. So, they’re covering for all those.those shortages. And, I was also made aware of this week that two police officers resigned recently. So, we got three guys that are in training, but they’re going to be on the street pretty quick, but now they’re short two other officers. And, ah, the Traffic Unit was very busy. They wrote 216 tickets. They did a Labor Day Click It or Ticket campaign. And, that will be reimbursed through an IDOT grant. Thank you.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. Budget, Alderman Baron.

ALDERMAN BARON: Mayor, we are a third of the way through the budget year and so now the numbers get a little more meaningful. As far as expenditures go, we’re at 34.44%. Revenue we’re at 35.58%. So that’s more than 1% of the budget of $23,000,000.00 so we are definitely on the right side. However, so many things happen in terms of total money, it’s hard to say exactly what’s going on, but our Comptroller has assured us that our budget looks substantially in order but we are under control. As Alderman Osenga just said, one thing that we’re watching that’s somewhat of the unexpected is overtime since that is having some of the unexpected impact on the budget at this point. We were somewhat getting it under control and now two police officers have resigned adding complications that will cause us to have expenditures that are greater in the next few months also. And, finally, an interesting line item to watch is–in the account balance–is Capital. The Capital account was funded by the bond proceeds. We are at $2,614,000.00 of which we spent $282,000.00 over the last month. This is one time money and it’s not going to be replenished any time soon. Bond issues don’t come frequently and this is the amount we have. And, much of the $2,614,000.00 is spoken for. There’s not a lot of discretion there. So, I find it important to keep that in mind. You need to be aware that this is a very precious resource. That’s all.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. Moving onto Report of Officers. Motion to pay the bills, please.

ALDERMAN FAFORD: Your honor, I would move we approve the Report of Officers, place the money in the proper accounts and pay the bills in the amount of $159,918.26.

ALDERMAN TALL: I’ll second the motion.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Faford, seconded by Alderman Tall. Are there any questions on any of the bills? Okay, hearing none, roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

REPORT OF OFFICERS APPROVAL OF BILLS - $ 159,918.26

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. Moving onto New Business, we have an Ordinance declaring some surplus property from the Kankakee Fire Department. Do I have a motion to Suspend the Rules?

ALDERMAN OSENGA: So moved, Mayor Epstein.

ALDERMAN CRAWFORD: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Osenga, seconded by Alderman Crawford to Suspend the Rules that would interfere with the passage of this Ordinance. Roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. Motion to place the Ordinance on Final Passage.

ALDERMAN OSENGA: So moved.

ALDERMAN CRAWFORD: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Osenga, seconded by Alderman Crawford. Any questions? Roll call.

ALDERMAN BROWN: Did we.did we miss? Never mind.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Okay.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

ORDINANCE DECLARING CERTAIN PROPERTY SURPLUS OF THE CITY OF KANKAKEE – KANKAKEE FIRE DEPARTMENT -AND AUTHORIZING THE SALE THEREOF

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. The next item on the agenda is an Ordinance establishing a handicapped parking space at 416 N. Adams. Do I have a motion to Suspend the Rules?

ALDERMAN TALL: So moved.

ALDERMAN FAFORD: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Tall, seconded by Alderman Faford to Suspend the Rules that would interfere with the passage of the Ordinance. Roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. Did we do the second one? I lose track. Motion to place the Ordinance on Final Passage.

ALDERMAN TALL: So moved.

ALDERMAN FAFORD: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Tall, seconded by Alderman Faford. Any questions? Roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 32, SECTION 231 ESTABLISHING HANDICAPPED PARKING AT 416 NORTH ADAMS STREET

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. The next item on the agenda is an Ordinance amending the City Code for adding a liquor license. Ah, we have a request and it has been established by me that they meet all the requirements. This is for La Cocina Macias at 355 W. Court. It is a restaurant and they are requesting a liquor license and I would like to have a motion to Suspend the Rules.

ALDERMAN TALL: So moved.

ALDERMAN BROWN: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Tall, seconded by Alderman Brown to Suspend the Rules that would interfere with the passage of the Ordinance. I believe Nancy passed out–the number of the license is number 60 not 80–and I believe she passed out a correct Ordinance for you. Ah, roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. Motion to place the Ordinance on Final Passage.

ALDERMAN TALL: So moved.

ALDERMAN BROWN: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Tall, seconded by Alderman Brown. Are there any questions? Roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 4 SECTION 4-13 OF THE CITY CODE

OF THE CITY OF KANKAKEE BY ADDING LIQUOR LICENSE NUMBER 60 AT

THE LOCATION OF 355 WEST COURT STREET, KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. Thank you. The next item is a recommendation to award the contract in the amount of $19,850.00 to IESCO Construction Company for the demolition of the property that we refer to as The Landing. Do I have a motion to award the contract?

ALDERMAN O’BRIEN: So moved.

ALDERWOMAN GALL: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman O’Brien, seconded by Alderman Gall. Are there any questions?

ALDERMAN TETTER: Your honor.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman Tetter.

ALDERMAN TETTER: I have one question. So, I see here it says, ah, asbestos. This does not include the asbestos. Do we know if that location has asbestos?

MAYOR EPSTEIN: I believe it does include the asbestos removal, Alderman. It’s.

CLIFF CROSS: That was done separately.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Oh, it’s been done separately. The asbestos contract has been.will be done prior. Are they finished Cliff?

CLIFF CROSS: We did an asbestos survey. We had it completed. There is minimal asbestos on site. It is a separate contract that is well under $5,000.00. It does not require any type of bidding, ah, so they are removing it. The one thing we are waiting for–it’s been submitted to the State–the IEPA. Once we get their 10-day clearance and they were going to take about one day to remove the asbestos and then the demo crew will come in and demolish the property.

ALDERMAN TETTER: Thank you, Mayor.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: You’re welcome, Alderman. Any other questions? Roll call.

RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD THE CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF $19,850.00 TO IESCO CONSTRUCTION TO COMPLETE THE DEMOLITION OF THE LANDING

PROPERTY AT 575 SOUTH SCHUYLER AVENUE

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. Thank you. Ah, the next item is a recommendation to accept the Fiscal Year 2015 Assistance to Firefighters’ Grant. The grant is in the amount of $19,819.00. It does require a match and we certainly would be able to do the match. Chief Young, would you like to speak to the grant, please?

CHIEF YOUNG: Yeah, this was the second part of a two-part grant. The first part of the grant got denied and that was for a new vehicle. And, this part of the grant is for a gear extractor which cleans the firefighter gear after it’s been through a fire along with a dryer. There’s certain, ah.they can’t take their gear home because of the carcinogens that are in the materials that we fight fires against, so this is to clean their gear. We already have one extractor at one station which is on the east side. This will be another extractor that we’ll put here at Station No. 7.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Okay. Thank you. Are there any questions for Chief Young. Roll call. Do we have a first and a second?

CLERK DUMAS: We need it.

ALDERMAN OSENGA: I’ll make that motion, Mayor.

ALDERMAN CRAWFORD: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Osenga, seconded by Alderman Crawford. Any other questions? Roll call.

CLERK DUMAS:

AYE: Tetter; Brown; Curtis; Baron; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Crawford; Osenga; O’Brien; Gall; Kennedy; Davidson (13)

ABSENT: Wells-Armstrong (1)

RECOMMENDATION TO ACCEPT THE FISCAL YEAR 2015 ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF

HOMELAND SECURITY

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion carries. There are no Motions and Resolutions this evening. We will not need an Executive Session. Ah, no one has signed up for Public Comments so it is the Alderman’s Comments. Alderman Swanson.

ALDERWOMAN SWANSON: I just wanted to say that there will not be an Ordinance Committee meeting next Tuesday (September 27).

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman Brown.

ALDERMAN BROWN: Tonight’s the night of the police. Ah, I’m a volunteer for Eastside Junior Football and I want to say this because I think it’s very important. Ah, Eastside Bulldogs and the Eastside Colts met a few weeks ago and it’s an event that brings both sides together and we try to have fun for the kids and activities and stuff like that. And, on that date, we had to call the Police Department because of there was some people that really was actin’ rudely. And, I want to give kudos to, ah, Officers Hartman and Morgan Golden. These officers responded to the call and I was just stunned by the amount of abuse that they stood there and took in order to keep peace. And, I want that to go out because I know eventually that can’t last. So, I just wanted you to know that when you see people, they need to respect the Police Department because that’s a hard job to do. And, when you got kids around, and when you disrespect ‘em like that, the kids gonna’ grow up and think that it’s okay for them to do it. And, that’s not a proper thing to teach kids. So, I know the Police Department got the medal tonight. They got a good award tonight, but I would like to give them a hand because I think those officers responded real good and they.instead of making the situation worse they diffused it. And, I just want to give them a hand.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman, I appreciate your comments and I’m sure the Chief will echo mine. Part of the CALEA process is training Best Practices. We train our officers and when you go through an accreditation process not only do you have to prove that you have the policies in place, but you have to prove that you actually do them. Anyone can have a bunch of papers that say we do this, we do that. But, part of the assessment is proving that you actually do what you say you’re doing. And, I think what you witnessed that night is an example of why it’s so important. So, thank you. Having no other business.

ALDERWOMAN KENNEDY: I have something.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Oh I’m so sorry. Alderwoman Kennedy.

ALDERWOMAN KENNEDY: Ah, I normally don’t speak, but since the Bears are playing I figured I had time. No, but seriously, two comments. We would like to.the people that are going to the training this week, if you’d stick around we want to just make sure we want to car pool and kind of get some things arranged for those that are going up for the training. And, the other thing, I wanted to tag along, too, with the police officers because they.a lot of times our police officers are not treated fairly and I watch them on a regular basis in our schools. The amount of patience, the concern, the care, so I, too, I want to say, Chief I just love the fact that the police officers do a great job. They risk their lives on a daily basis and I do appreciate ‘em.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you, Alderman.

ALDERWOMAN KENNEDY: Thank you.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman Osenga.

ALDERMAN OSENGA: Mayor. We passed out a brochure. My seat mate and I. Ah, this is. we’re inviting everybody to our second annual Guest Bartender Party. We did this last year. It kind of started out as a joke. We were just talkin’ about doing somethin’ and we did it last year and, ah, Smitty’s was very complimentary. They allowed us to do this and they committed 15% of the proceeds for that evening and we raised $1,000.00 for Riverside last year. And, the money went to buy gifts for kids who were in the hospital at Christmas season. We gave the money to Riverside. So we decided to do this again and, ah, we talked about giving the money to Manteno Veterans’ Home, but, ah, when doing some research, we talked to some people that are involved there and they said they really don’t need the money. They’re pretty solvent. But, they guided us to this new program called 1 Pet – 1 Vet Program. And, what this program does, this is all volunteer stuff. They rescue dogs that are possibly going to be euthanized if nobody adopts the dog. And, they take these dogs and they train them and they make them service dogs for people that are coming home and suffering from PTSD and things like that. So, we’re having this little Bartender Party this Sunday at Smitty’s from 5:00 – 11:00 P.M. The Bears play Dallas and I just want to encourage everybody to come out. All the donations’ll go to 1 Pet – 1 Vet Program.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you.

ALDERMAN OSENGA: Thank you.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman Curtis.

ALDERMAN CURTIS: Mayor, just quickly. Everybody should have gotten indistinguishable cancelling Economic Development Thursday.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Okay. Any other comments? Okay. Motion to adjourn.

ALDERWOMAN SWANSON: So moved.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion by Alderman Swanson.

ALDERWOMAN KENNEDY: Second.

MAYOR EPSTEIN: Seconded by Alderwoman Kennedy. All those in favor, aye. Opposed.

MOTION TO ADJOURN CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MAYOR EPSTEIN: We are adjourned

7:35 P.M.