Halloween on the Strip

Thinks were pretty busy on the strip earlier what with downtown Trick or Treating and the Zombie Walk, but have quieted down in the past couple of hours. A recent interview on WSIL TV offers the two main viewpoints on closing the strip for Halloween for the past 15 years, with a temporary lifting of the closure in 2000 that resulted in significant amounts of damage to downtown businesses. Councilman Joel Fritzler presented the "keep it closed" viewpoint:

"I would say just keep it the same," says Fritzler.

The rationale there is that the city gave the students a chance in 2000 and they blew it. Once bitten, twice shy.

Meanwhile Sidetracks bar manager Bryan Woodruff offers the opposing opinion:

"Give the students, give the population a chance to prove they're different than the people who were here 10 years ago," says Sidetracks bar manager Bryan Woodruff.

Here the rationale is, why punish today's student population for the actions of those a decade ago? Closing the bars and university is a heavy load to place upon those who had nothing to do with the activities of a decade ago.

Campaign Literature

Was flipping through he campaign literature clogging my mailbox last night and read through the tabloid paper sent out by the Jackson County Democrats The write up on Sheila Simon especially bemused me as it manages to get two paragraphs before mentioning her father was Paul Simon. I liked this sentence "Family has been and continues to be an important part of Sheila's life." What family is mentioned? Not her husband, not her kids,nope it's her parents. In fact, she's the only Democratic statewide candidate, bedsides Jeremy Walker, whose family is mentioned in the writeups. Even Lisa Madigan's writeup doesn't mention that her dad is Mike Madigan.

Haunted Carbondale

The old train depot , which now houses the offices of Carbondale Main Street and the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, has had reported sightings of ghosts, usually during the late afternoon. The stories I have heard say viewers have seen shadowy and transparent figures, dressed in attire of the late 19th, early 20th century, passing through the CMS offices as if they were heading to the platform to board the train. They never acknowledged the watchers, nor interacted with them at all.

Just in time for Halloween, the Little Egypt Ghost Society will conduct an investigation of the building from 10 to midnight the evening of Oct 30. Tickets are still available if you wish to participate in the investigation for a donation of $25. You can still reserve a spot by contacting Carbondale Main Street.

Reader Looking for a Name

Got an email from a reader who was a student at SIUC in the 70's asking for the name of a small shop that carried "spacey, hippy style stuff", including clothes and smoking paraphenalia. It was located near the corner of West College & S. Illinois and was in business during the 70s, closing during the 80s. I remember one located where Shokokan Karate is now, but it was open through the early 90's, closing when the city council started strictly enforcing the ordinance against shops selling smoking paraphernalia (three stores closed within a week after the enforcement started).

Trick Or Treat Hours

In case you hadn't heard (drumroll please):

Mayor Cole Sets Trick-Or-Treat Hours for Carbondale

---

Mayor Brad Cole has proclaimed Sunday, October 31, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. as the official "Trick or Treat" hours for Carbondale children.

The Mayor is encouraging residents to indicate their willingness to welcome the children by keeping on their porch and exterior lights. He also urges that "Trick or Treaters" wear reflective clothing or tape and that parents check all treats for potentially harmful objects.

Mayor Cole and the members of the City Council ask the cooperation of all citizens in making this a happy and safe occasion for our community.

*****************

Early Voting

In case you want to vote early, the last date to do so in Illinois is tomorrow. There are three locations in Jackson County for you to do so.

Smoke House

A new business, The Smoke House, looks to open soon in Murdale Shopping Center. From the sign in the window, it promises to offer discount cigarettes and tobacco. Going to be interesting to see how they compete with the even more discounted cigarettes just across the border in Kentucky. I know of a number of people willing to make the two hour round trip for the cheaper smokes.

Liquor Advisory Board

Meets Nov. 4th at 4 p.m in room 103 at the Civic Center. On the agenda, an application for a beer garden at the Chili's opening up on East Main and a request for a B2 license for The Elite Lounge, opening at 104 West Jackson Street.

Proposed Zoning Changes

From an email forwarded from the Arbor District:

Chris Wallace, the City of Carbondale’s Senior Planner, be attending the Next Neighborhood and Housing Action Group meeting, November 3^rd , 5pm, City Hall. He will present a power point on “Implementation Plans for the Comprehensive Plan”. Mr. Wallace presented this power point at the last Planning Commission Meeting. The presentation is on the City’s initial focus implementing the Comprehensive Plan—zoning ordinances. The City is in bidding process for selection of a consulting firm to assist in: restructuring and consolidating zoning districts; consistency in zoning ordinances, reviewing land use intensity system and site design standards. Please join, zoning issues are fundamental to preserving and developing safe and healthy neighborhoods.

Sundown Towns

Elena Esquibel will dramatize her research into sundown towns this weekend at 8 p.m. in the Marion Kleinau Theater. Performances are Thursday the 27 through Saturday the 30.

According to author Jim Loewen, Illinois has the largest number of confirmed sundown towns (approx 440) in the nation, with Anna having signs posted on the outskirts of town as late as 1954.

Haunted Carbondale

Oakland Cemetery at the north end of Oakland Avenue has several weird stories circulating regarding it. The Schwartz Mausoleum, one of two in the cemetery, normally has the door locked tight. However, on occasion, visitors have found the door unlocked, allowing them to enter. I have found burnt candles on the mausoleum's front steps on occasion, though nothing in the past six months.

There are reports of lights floating along the northern edge of the cemetery, along were railroad tracks used to run. Similar lights have appeared floating along other tracks sections as well, notably along the tracks near Boskydell and the tracks south of Makanda.

Jim Jung, in his book Weird Egypt, also reported seeing a strange catlike creature, running through the brush near Oakland. I haven't heard any reports of similar critters running around in recent years, though.

High Standards at SIUC?

A potential SIUC student asked on Yahoo about standards at SIUC, saying they were thinking about taking pre-med courses there:

Does SIUC have high standards when it comes to accepting students?

I can't find any information about the GPA or ACT scores of students that are accepted into SIUC. I'm at the top of my class and got a 31 on my ACT, and want to go to a good school with a strong pre-med program. Im mainly looking at SIUC because its pretty affordable and offers pre-med classes and has its own medical school too. But... i don't really want to go there if people with a lower GPAs and ACT scores easily get accepted too. Has anyone gone there and has any information about the school, or knows about the standard of the students that get selected? Any help would be appreciated.

Answer:

I didn't go there, but I have had a lot of friends go there and lived in Illinois for 7 years, and it is a decent school with solid academics at an extremely good cost (not to mention the gorgeous campus, I have visited, and it is in one of the prettiest parts of the state). As far as the admissions statistics, you are WAAAY above the averages at SIUC. They have an acceptance rate that floats at about 70% of their applicants, and their average ACT score, while it has been rising, is still only about 22 or 23. Also, 31% of their 2009 freshman class was not in the top 50% of their graduating class in high school. If these things are really that important to you, I would recommend looking into the University of Illinois, which you would stand a good chance at getting into. If you are from Illinois, the cost of attendance is still quite low (and it's not that expensive for out-of-staters, either), it is an extremely good school, and they have a med school, as well.

If I were you, though, I would get rid of the academic elitist undertones I am sensing in your post and visit the campus. Talk to some professors and students and decide if it would be the best school for you. If you absolutely love SIUC, then go! With your stats I'd be shocked if you didn't get enough scholarships to cover at least the majority of your expenses, if not all of them. Just choose the school you think is best for you based on YOU, not statistics found on a website or sheet of paper.

Source(s):

http://www.irs.siu.edu/quickfacts/actand…
http://illinois.edu/

This Was Brilliant

From the Carbondale Police website:

On 10-19-10 at 8:15 p.m., the City of Carbondale Police Department received a report of a person who was the victim of a gunshot wound on 10-18-10 in the 700 block of South Lewis Lane. During the course of the investigation officers arrested Detzuan L. Snowden for aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon and possession of cannabis over 30 grams. Detzuan was incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail. The victim sought treatment at an out of area hospital and a second victim declined medical treatment. Both victims suffered minor injuries. The investigation subsequently revealed the victim allowed the suspect to shoot him in the foot as the result of a loss of a bet the two of them made years ago. When the suspect shot the victim in the foot, the bullet ricocheted and struck another acquaintance in the foot. The investigation into the incident is continuing.

Replacing Jack

According to councilman Joel Fritzler, this is the procedure the council has opted to use to replace Lance Jack. Note that there is no option for allowing the mayor to appoint someone to the position if Mayor Cole's recommendation is not approved:

Letters of interest are sent to the mayor.

2. Mayor reviews letters.

3. In a closed session of the council, the mayor makes his recommendation and shares the names of those that sent letter.

4. At a regular council meeting, a council member can make a motion and another council member can second the motion to accept the mayor’s recommendation.

5. The council votes on the mayor’s recommendation.

6. If the majority vote in favor of the mayor’s recommendation the process is over.

7. If no majority for that person, other motions can be made for other people to fill the vacancy.

Soundwalk

The inimitable Dave Armstrong, host of WSIU's Sounds Like Radio, will host a soundwalk of the SIUC campus this Saturday, Oct. 23, starting from the north end of the Student Center. Expect the walk to take about an hour.

Edited to add the time: Starts at 10:30 a.m. Maybe if it goes well, Armstrong will host a nighttime Halloween soundwalk. That would be cool.

Graffiti on Campus

25+ instances of graffiti spray panted on campus since the start of the school year. Only takes a few minutes to put up, but hours and money, which the university can ill afford, to remove.

Don Monty

Don Monty sent out a email yesterday clarifying his run for city council. He is not seeking to replace Lance Jack for the remainder of Jack's term on city council and a full four year term. Rather he is only seeking the four year term:

Earlier today (10/18/2010) I sent out a Press Release announcing my candidacy for a position on the Carbondale City Council. I want to clarify that my candidacy is for the four-year term that will begin in May 2011. The Press Release is not in regards to the short-term vacancy causes by the resignation of Jack Lance from the City Council.

Donald Monty

Lance Jack

Don't know if you caught this in the DE but it looks as if ex-councilman Lance Jack is trying a workaround to get his seat back:

Lance Jack said all too often it feels like he is the only person really fighting for Carbondale’s future, which is why he has decided to reapply for his council seat.

Mayor Cole has asked for applications for the seat and, as I read the above, Jack plans to apply for the seat that he vacated on Oct. 5. As far as I can tell from a reading of the appropriate statute, there's nothing stopping him from doing so.

As I've noted before, there are two statues that may apply here. The first, #1below, appears to apply to cities that elect aldermen or councilmen from wards, the other, #2, appears to apply to cities that elect their councilpeople at large or from the city population as a whole. The difference between the two is crucial because, under #1, if the council rejects the mayor's first two choices, the mayor then appoints one of the two rejected applicants to the vacant position. Under statute #2, it appears the council continues to vote on applicants until it approves one. It appears the council will go with a combination of #1 and #2, with Mayor Cole collecting letters of application and forwarding them to council, along with his nomination:


#1 Appointment to fill alderman or trustee vacancy. An appointment by the mayor or president or acting mayor or acting president, as the case may be, of a qualified person as described in Section 3.1-10-5 of this Code to fill a vacancy in the office of alderman or trustee must be made within 60 days after the vacancy occurs. Once the appointment of the qualified person has been forwarded to the corporate authorities, the corporate authorities shall act upon the appointment within 30 days. If the appointment fails to receive the advice and consent of the corporate authorities within 30 days, the mayor or president or acting mayor or acting president shall appoint and forward to the corporate authorities a second qualified person as described in Section 3.1-10-5. Once the appointment of the second qualified person has been forwarded to the corporate authorities, the corporate authorities shall act upon the appointment within 30 days. If the appointment of the second qualified person also fails to receive the advice and consent of the corporate authorities, then the mayor or president or acting mayor or acting president, without the advice and consent of the corporate authorities, may make a temporary appointment from those persons who were appointed but whose appointments failed to receive the advice and consent of the corporate authorities. The person receiving the temporary appointment shall serve until an appointment has received the advice and consent and the appointee has qualified or until a person has been elected and has qualified, whichever first occurs.

#2If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor or councilman, the remaining members of the council, within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, shall fill the vacancy by appointment of some person to the office for the balance of the unexpired term or until the vacancy is filled by interim election under Section 3.1‑10‑50, and until the successor is elected and has qualified.

Preservation Commission

And the Preservation Commission meets tomorrow night at 7 p.m in room 103 of the Civic Center:

Communication and Reports:

A. Education and Technical Assistance Committee

4. Old Business:

A. Street naming

5. New Business:

A. Commission Bylaws - Associate Members

Some Thoughts on the Debate

A couple of thoughts came to mind as I listened to last night's debate:

1. Rich Whitney won the debate. He was the only one of the three to propose thought out plans for dealing with the state's debt and many of its other problems.

2. Rich Whitney doesn't have a chance of winning the election. Though he commented on both of the other candidates' responses, they both ignored him, focusing their responses on each other. If they viewed him as a serious threat, Brady or Quinn would have responded to his proposals.

3. I haven't watched TV so have no idea of the state of the commercial discourse but the debate was civil. There were attacks by all three men but they were attacks on each others' policies and the handling of the governor's office, rather than attacks on personal behavior and history.

Liveblogging the Debate

8:55 And that's all folks.

8:50 Closing statements.Waiting for a fourth mention of Gov. Blago from Brady. Doesn't happen though.

8:48 Quinn supports a graduated income tax on earnings over $250,000. Brady does not want to see any tax income tax. Whitney supports a graduated tax as well but since it would require a constitutional amendment, refers back to Senate Bill 750.

8:47 Quinn's stance on concealed carry? He does not support it and says we should ban assault weapons. Brady says he supports concealed carry as does Whitney, who would allow any county to opt out.

8:44 How does Quinn's promise not to cut state jobs until 2012 affect govs. ability to do his job. Quinn has gotten concessions from unions to the tune of $300 million and says he inherited the contract that ties the govs' hands. Brady brings up Blago again (that's 3) and says the agreement to not cut jobs was a secret agreement between the union and the governor. Whitney says the deal sold out the people of Illinois and ASCME at the same time.

8:40 Over to farms. What happens if farm subsidies from the federal government get cut? Brady says increase biodiesal production and eliminating bureaucracy and regulation. Whitney calls ethanol a boondoggle and supports moving towards local food production for local consumption. Only 4% of the food consumed in Illinois comes from Illinois. Quinn says he has pushed for farm exports, biodiesal and touts himself as "Mr. Soybean".

8:37 What is the Gov. going to do to lift the poverty rate in southern Illinois. Quinn refers to the Put Illinois to Work program, which employs 26,000. Brady says taking taxpayer dollars to put people to work is not a viable option. Says need to build an environment in Illinois that is business friendly, providing permanent private sector jobs. Whitney wants to establish a State Bank, like that in North Dakota and create a green energy program to create green jobs.

8:33 To Whitney, question about late payments to institutions like SIUC. Refers back to his plan to dig the budget out of its hole, which would get payments back on track. Quinn says he had gotten funding to build more buildings on campuses and supports higher education. No specific references to the late payments. Brady says he won't cut higher education funding, unlike Quinn-Blago administration (2nd mention of Blagoyovich).

8:30 Rebuttals. Quinn leaps on the education issue again. Keeps attacking Brady and ignoring Whitney completely. Brady says Quinn's budget has a lot of back-room expenditures that were passed in secret. Whitney says he's the only one with a plan and that Quinn made the largest cut to education in Ill. history. Brady proposes a 10% cut in state revenue to balance the budget which requires a 40% cut to balance it.

8:26 Where are we going wrong in education? Quinn says we need accountability in education and properly paid teachers. We need more community colleges and more teachers. Brady says Quinn cut over a billion in education funding in the last budget. Whitney says we need a list of things for schools which need more funding and Illinois has one of the lowest rates of funding among the states. Refers back to Senate Bill 750 again.

8:23 Question about Medicare to Whitney, who wants a single payer system to replace the one we have now. Quinn wants to cut waste in the system and taking on insurance companies. Brady just used Reagan's "There you go again" line, says Quinn has failed to root out fraud and abuse.

8:19 Question about cutting mandatory payments i.e. pensions. Brad is pretty noncommittal as to how, and whoops, there's the first mention of Gov. Blagoyovich. Whitney says don't balance the budget by cutting promised pensions. Quinn talks about cuts he has made but no specific details about pensions. Talking about Brady and cuts in education.

8:16 Question to Whitney: how do we bring jobs to all parts of the state. Whitney refers back to his plan to provide free higher education to all citizens of Illinois that want and emphasizing green energy. Quinn brings up his support for the Jobs Recovery Bill and emphasizes the jobs brought to southern Illinois, refers to the STAR bonds program in Marion, notes that Brady voted against the Jobs Recovery Bill. Brady points out Illinois has had a net loss in jobs and that Illinois has lost 200,000 jobs during Quinn's term.

8:12 Next question from Jennifer Fuller: How do we get people back to work? Brady responds that we have to balance the budget and become more business friendly. Whitney says that the private sector does best when there is a strong public infrastructure. He wants to offer free high education to all Illinois citizens. Quinn says that jobs have actually been added during his term of office.

8:05 First question goes to Quinn, asking how he's going to balance the budget. Quinn is pretty non-specific. Brady says he will balance the budget without raising taxes. Whitney brings up actual figures and refers to Senate bill 750 as one way to start turning it around. Also proposes more taxes on riverboat gambling.

8:04 Rich Whitney has a go at it. He says that he's the only candidate with a plan to fix state government.


8:03 Bill Brady is making his statement now. He is saying that if you like the way Illinois government runs now, vote for Quinn.


8 p.m Questioning is Robert Rich, Jennifer Fuller and Rob Crowe I didn't catch. Jak Tichnor is moderator. Pat Quinn gets the opening statement.

Debate

In case you're intersted, here's a link to a livebog following the Brady, Quinn, Whitney debate this evening.

Haunted Carbondale--Hundley House

Yes, it's that time of year again. Let's start the tour of spooky spots in Carbondale and southern Illinois with the most famous one in the region. : Hundley House, site of the most famous (and still unsolved) murder in Carbondale history. Quite a bit of activity was reported here during the 80s and 90s but tapered off during the late 90s and most of the Oughts (maybe the spirits suppers from the recession as well). However, activity apparently has picked up with the opening of Hundley House as a B&B, to the point that representatives of the Ghost Lab show investigated the site last month, with the episode tentatively scheduled to appear in December.

Hundley House will host an open house on October 31 from noon until 2. Owner Bill Jones will be on hand to talk with visitors about the history of the house and the latest activity.

SI Drunks

Yet another website devoted to bringing info about the Carbondale social scene. We see one pop up about once a year or so claiming to bring info about the hottest parties and bars in the area, then the owners lose interest or run out of money and they shut down.

Another One

Yet another C'dale mayoral candidate has thrown his chapeau into the ring. Retired hospital administrator George Maroney announced yesterday he would seek the position. I found this paraphrase from the article an interesting take on his viewpoint:

Maroney said he believes Carbondale's city government has strayed from its original design and he would act as a CEO, delegating authority to its proper recipients.

The problem, of course, is that acting as the chief executive of a city is significantly different from acting as the chief executive of a business. Delegating authority to proper recipients is much easier when you are the ultimate authority, as Maroney was during his tenure at Memorial Hospital. The mayor, first, has to respond to a number of different publics and, second, has to convince the rest of the city council to agree with any initiatives he wishes to implement.

Aces Automotive

Don't know if Aces Automotive moved or are just out of business but their location at 1000 East Main has had a for rent sign for a few weeks and the "Proud to Be Back in Carbondale" is long gone as well.

CrossFit Gym

In case you're intersted in knowing more about the new CrossFit Gym that opened recently in the old Saluki Express location, here's their website.

Council Appointment

Had this called to my attention. Seems there are two statutes that might apply when a seat on the council becomes vacant. This one says, if you scroll down to section e, that the mayor appoints a replacement to the council, which the remaining council members vote to confirm or not within 60 days. If the mayor's appointment is not confirmed, the mayor selected and forwards a second one, which the council must confirm or reject within 30 days. If this one is not confirmed, the mayor then appoints one of the two to serve until the council confirms a candidate or the position is filled by election.

However, this statute says, in section g, that the council shall appoint a replacement member, with no mention of the mayor making the appointment. I imaging the council will be seeking the counsel of lawyers before making any decisions regarding how to proceed. Isn't politics fun?

Not Quite Right

You may have already read that Lance Jack resigned his city council seat last night to get a liquor license for Fat Patties. However, the Southern got it slightly wrong regarding Jack's successor:

Mayor Brad Cole will have 60 days to appoint Jack's successor. Cole said he did not have a successor in mind.

However, under provision 65 CS IL 5/5-2-12(6) of Illinois state law, the council selects the replacement, not the mayor:

(g) If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor or councilman, the remaining members of the council, within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, shall fill the vacancy by appointment of some person to the office for the balance of the unexpired term or until the vacancy is filled by interim election under Section 3.1‑10‑50, and until the successor is elected and has qualified.

The council may choose to leave the selection up to Mayor Cole, but it is not automatically his decision

Third Times A Charm

Can't blame the State's Attorney for not getting any charges to stick against this gent when the witnesses and victims keep refusing to testify against him. Maybe this time someone who will appear in court will testify.

Homecoming Parade

If you plan on coming to C'dale this Saturday, be sure to take into consideration that it's Homecoming weekend, with all the attendant traffic that brings.The C'dale Police have posted a list of street closures that start at 9 a.m.. Expect them to be closed for at least an hour, probably two.

TRAFFIC DETOUR
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
2010
HOMECOMING PARADE

The 2010 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Homecoming Parade is set to begin at 9:30a.m. on Saturday, October 09, 2010. The City of Carbondale Police Department is announcing the parade will require vehicular traffic on Illinois Route 51 (S. Illinois Avenue & S. University Avenue) south of W. Walnut Street to Pleasant Hill Road to be re-routed beginning at 9:00 a.m.

STREET CLOSURE:
All lanes of traffic on S. Illinois Avenue from Pleasant Hill Road north to Walnut Street and all lanes of S. University Avenue from Walnut Street south to Mill Street will be closed for the parade. The Mill Street underpass will also be closed. E. Mill Street will be blocked off between S. Illinois Avenue to S. Lincoln Street.

PARADE ASSEMBLY:
The parade will assemble and stage on E. Mill Street between S. Lincoln Street and S. Illinois Avenue. This street will be closed to vehicular traffic.

NORTHBOUND DETOUR:
The detour for northbound traffic will begin at Pleasant Hill Road, where it will turn east and proceed to S. Wall Street. Traffic will turn north onto S. Wall Street and continue to E. Main Street, where it will turn west. Traffic will proceed to N. Illinois Avenue (Route 51) and turn north.

SOUTHBOUND DETOUR:
The detour for southbound traffic will begin at W. Walnut Street, where it will turn east and proceed to S. Wall Street. Traffic will turn south onto S. Wall Street and continue to Pleasant Hill Road, where it will turn west. Traffic will proceed to S. Illinois Avenue (Route 51) and turn south.

PARADE ROUTE:
The parade begins on S. Illinois Avenue at E. Mill Street. The parade will proceed north on S. Illinois Avenue to W. College Street, where it will turn west and travel to S. University Avenue. At S. University Avenue the parade will turn south and will pass the reviewing stand located near Quigley Hall on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The parade will continue south on S. Illinois Avenue to Lincoln Drive, where it will disband. All streets located within the area temporary street closure will remain closed until the entire parade has cleared S. Illinois Avenue.

Voter Registration

Today is the last day to register to vote in next month's election (official date anyhow, there will still be places you can register, apparently, until the last week of October). In Carbondale, you can register at the City Hall/Civic Center.

Incidentally, as of yesterday, 35 people had picked up petitions to get on the ballot for either mayor or city council. You don't have to decide when you pick up the ballot, just when you turn it it, so there's no good idea as of this date, how many people are running for mayor and how many for council. However, it's a good bet that, given the amount of interest and the number of ballots out there ( and how few signatures it takes to get on it), we will see both a primary and a general election.

SIUC Worth $105,136

Actually the website is, according to site ranker Websitelog. The site also ranks 106,939 in terms of visitation.

City Coundil Meeting

City Council meets this Tuesday at 7 p.m. Most of the agenda is consent, which means it gets bundled together and passed as a whole, unless Councilman Joel Fritzler asks for specific items to be considered individually, as he is wont to do. Most of the items on the consent agenda are routine but there is one interesting item, a request to acquire an unnamed parcel of real estate for demolition as unsafe:

Resolution Authorizing the Acquisition of Real Estate in Preparation for Demolition
of Unsafe Structure

The first of the general business items is innoucuous, but item 2 should stir up some discussion as it exempts rental property from inspection if it is occupied by the immediate family of the property owner. My question is, how does the city make sure that property is again inspected once the immediate family moves out. Rental property owners were none too happy with the inspection fee to begin with and I don't see them lining up to inform the city that their family has moved out of the property and you need to start inspecting it again:

6. General Business
1. Resolution Commending Willie T. Broadnax for Service to the City of Carbondale
2. Ordinance Amending Title Four (4) Chapter Four (4) of the Carbondale Revised
Code to Exempt Family Owned Homes From Rental Inspection

Liquor Control Commission

The LCC meets this Tuesday as soon as the City Council meeting ends. On the agenda, approval (probably) of the liquor permits for Hundley House and DiMaggio's Pizza. Also on the agenda, and likely not to get approved unless Lance Jack announces he's not running for another term on city council, an application for a Class 1A license for Fat Pattie's:

Consideration of an Application for a Class D1 Liquor License for William D. Jones, an
Individual, d/b/a Hundley House, 601 West Main Street

4. Consideration of an Application for a Class A1 Liquor License for DiMaggio’s Pizza of
Jackson County, LLC d/b/a DiMaggio’s Pizza, 1040 East Walnut Street

5. Consideration of an Application for a Class A1 Liquor License for Melting Pot Inc., d/b/a
Fat Patties, 611B South Illinois Avenue