St. Charles and the surrounding area has been selected as the set for a feature film being produced by St. Charles native Nick Smith. The film, Munger Road, is a suspense/thriller starring Bruce Davison.
Filming began on Monday, August 30th and is expected to continue for the next several days at several locations in and around St. Charles. Below are photos from some of the activities that took place on Tuesday, August 31st.
You can double-click on each image to see it larger.
The 1st Street area has seen a tremendous increase in activity recently with the addition of Brix Wine & Cheese, Pizzeria Neo, and McNally’s Irish Pub. These establishments, complemented by other area businesses and the beautiful plaza called “1st Street Place,” have made St. Charles an even better place to visit for dining, entertainment, and shopping.
1st Street Place offers a tranquil setting during the day for those wanting to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend. The photos below show the plaza during the day.
During the evening, the plaza is abuzz with patrons enjoying the area restaurants or a warm summer evening. You can go to this link to view a time lapse video of the activity at 1st Street Place on the evening of Saturday, August 28th. WARNING: This video is 157MB and could take some time to download for those without a high-speed internet connection.
Check it out!
Paul Christian (Harris Bank), me, Senator Hultgren, and Chris Manisco (St. Charles Chamber of Commerce) take time for a photo after the event.
On Wednesday, August 25th, the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum for members to hear from State Senator Randy Hultgren. Randy is running for the 14th District congressional seat that is currently held by Congressman Bill Foster.
Senator Randy Hultgren currently serves the people of the 48thdistrict, which includes all or part of Batavia, Geneva, Naperville, North Aurora, Warrenville, West Chicago, Wheaton, and Winfield. He has held this position since 2007. Prior to serving in the Illinois Senate, Randy served the 95thDistrict in the Illinois House of Representatives. He has also served on the DuPage County Board and DuPage County Forest Preserve Board.
Randy’s service to the community has also included working on the Board of Directors for the DuPage Homeownership Center, the Metropolitan Family of DuPage Board, the Koinonia Ministry Board and the Serenity House Board. Randy is also the current President of the Wheaton Academy Alumni Board. Randy is a lawyer and a businessman. He currently works as Vice President of Performance Trust Investment Advisors in Chicago andresides in Winfield with his wife and four children.
The Chamber’s Legislative Committee welcomed Senator Hultgren to speak with St. Charles businesses regarding his desire to serve them in Congress and his vision for the 14th District.
Senator Hultgren discussed some of his concerns with the current state of our nation, including:
Senator Hultgren was critical of the federal health care legislation that was enacted as law earlier this year. He said that the assumptions used in crafting the legislation bear little resemblance to the real world, that the legislation creates significant additional bureaucracy, and that there are over 1,000 references to items that are “to be determined” by the Secretary of Health & Human Services.
Senator Hultgren also said that the stimulus programs implemented have not corrected unemployment trends and that the future bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will be very costly to taxpayers.
Senator Hultgren also offered 3 ideas of things he would work on, if elected:
Senator Hultgren also took questions from the audience regarding:
The event with Senator Hultgren was the 2nd of a 2-part program to educate and inform Chamber members and the St. Charles community regarding the congressional election. On Wednesday, August 11th, the Chamber hosted Congressman Bill Foster. For information regarding that event, click here.
Election day is Tuesday, November 2nd. Early Voting will take place from October 12-28, 2010.
With the adoption of an updated Zoning Ordinance in 2006, the City of St. Charles granted additional flexibility to businesses to utilize new technologies to inform and educate existing and potential patrons. Electronic reader board signs have become popular throughout St. Charles for their ability to effectively convey information and to be changed efficiently.
To date, over 15 of these signs have been installed in a variety of locations from East Main Street to Randall Road and Red Gate Road to Lincoln Highway (IL Route 38). Costs for the signs vary, but average $25,000 to $30,000 each for purchase and installation.
While the signs are permitted, there are regulations that businesses must follow to ensure that the signs are not a nuisance to nearby property owners or a distraction to motorists.
As an example, no sign shall have lights that flash, flicker, or vary in intensity or color. In addition, the electronic reader boards may change copy provided that it is no more frequent than once per minute and the change is of a duration of one second or less. In other words, messages may change every 60 seconds, but must do so quickly (no more than 1 second).
You can view a copy of the sign ordinance here.
If you have any questions regarding these signs, or would like further information, please feel free to contact the Building & Code Enforcement Division of the Community Development Department at 630-377-4406 or bvann@stcharlesil.gov
There are two Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) construction projects that are planned to begin in the weeks ahead. The details regarding these projects are included below:
Starting August 23, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will begin almost 2 miles of resurfacing work on Route 31 (2nd Street) from Wildrose Springs Drive to Horne Street in St. Charles. This portion of Route 31 will have the asphalt surface milled down and replaced with a new surface course. The contractor for this work will be J. A. Johnson Construction Company. Work is expected to be completed by September 15, weather permitting. Signs for this project have been placed along Route 31, and delays are expected.
Motorists are encouraged to consider alternative routes or allow extra travel time during this project.
Any questions about the project should be directed to IDOT resident engineer Dave Faiyaz at 630-499-7249.
On August 30, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will begin a bridge deck overlay and joint repair project on the bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad, CLOSED TO THROUGH TRAFFIC. The contractor for this project is D Construction, Inc. The work is expected to be complete by October 29, 2010.
A detour route will be posted, and motorists are strongly encouraged to utilize alternative routes.
Any questions regarding this project should be directed to IDOT resident engineer Ron Stemler, at 847-846-2422.
Congressman Foster (2nd from right) takes time for a photo with Lori Hewitt (far right), President/CEO of the Chamber, Chris Manisco (2nd from left), Vice President of Communications of the Chamber, and me.
The event, sponsored by the Chamber’s Legislative Committee, was the 1st of a 2-part series to give Chamber members and other interested parties the opportunity to hear the views, and the vision, of the 2 candidates who are running for Congress in the 14th District.
Congressman Foster presented a variety of information to the members including:
As part of his prepared remarks, Congressman Foster told Chamber members:
Foster advocated for “re-balancing the economy” through:
Congressman Foster also took questions submitted by the audience regarding:
To review photos from the event, please click here.
On Wednesday, August 25th, the Chamber will host State Senator Randy Hultgren. Senator Hultgren is the Republican challenger in the race for the 14th District congressional seat. Election day is Tuesday, November 2nd.
For additional information regarding this event, or to sign up to attend, please visit the Chamber of Commerce website.
On Saturday, the St. Charles River Corridor Foundation hosted the annual Bob Leonard 5K Run and Walk-a-thon in downtown St. Charles. The walk and run start and finish in Pottawatomie Park. The proceeds from the event are used to fund projects that enhance the Fox River in downtown St. Charles. For more information on the event and the River Corridor Foundation, you can click here.
The 5K run began at 8 am and featured over 100 runners of all skill levels and abilities.
The 2.7 mile walk began at 9:30 am and was led by Mayor DeWitte and Joan Leonard. The walk included a brief stop to rededicate the Frank Gorham Canoe Launch, located on the east bank of the Fox River just north of the St. Charles Police Department. Frank served the community as Director of Public Works, owned the engineering firm Robert H. Anderson & Associates, and was a volunteer for the River Corridor Foundation.
The walk also included a stop to dedicate the Bob Leonard Riverwalk, located on the west bank of the Fox River at Indiana Street.
For the second year in a row, I ran in the 5K race. This year’s time was 26 minutes, 54 seconds, which was better than last year, but only good enough for 6th place in my age group. I had a great time at the event and all proceeds went to benefit the enhancement of the wonderful St. Charles riverfront.
Here are some photos of the event:
Don’t forget that the sales tax holiday on school supplies and clothing/apparel starts today and runs through Sunday, August 15th.
SHOP ST. CHARLES!!
Mayor DeWitte (2nd from right) and I accept the Platinum WOWie award from John Jorgensen, Director of ISC-SHRM (left) and Dieter Freer, Sr. VP of BCBS of IL (2nd from left).
On Tuesday, August 2nd, the City of St. Charles received the Platinum Award (highest honors) for exceptional worksite wellness in the category of companies with over 200 employees at the annual conference of the Illinois Chapter of the Society of Human Resrouce Management held at the Drury Lane Theatre in Oak Brook Terrace. The Wellness in the Workplace (WOWie) program was established by the Illinois State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) to recognize organizations that strive to create a work culture that promotes physical activity and overall wellness.
The Platinum award is bestowed on organizations with a well-defined and well-executed worksite wellness program, and who meet the following criteria:
Mary Ann Schultz, Sr. Manager of Media Relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, wrote in the award announcement, “You are an employer who champions the health of their employees and strives to create a work culture that promotes physical activity. Your organization inspires employees to make healthy, active choices during working hours.”
This award applauds the commitment of time, talent, staff, and funds by the City as a whole. It also recognizes the hands-on work of the City’s Wellness Team since it was established in 2001.
Representatives of the City's Wellness Team and HR Department proudly show the WOWie award.
The mission of the Wellness Team is to encourage our employees and their families to become healthier, both physically and emotionally, and achieve greater balance in life. The Wellness Team provides on-going programs, activities, and education to help them achieve a healthy lifestyle. Some of the programs and activities include walking, weight loss, smoking cessation, healthy eating, and financial wellness programs. The innovative and voluntary “HEALTHY” program has been key in encouraging a healthy lifestyle for employees, reducing total health care costs for the City, and providing an opportunity for employees to decrease their health insurance premiums by meeting any number of six “healthy factors.” For the 2009/10-plan year, 92% of full time employees participated in the HEALTHY program.
It’s no longer a question of whether a workplace should have a wellness program, but what are the outcomes and quality of the program.
I am very proud of the comprehensive program that the City of St. Charles offers and for the efforts of the Wellness Team in creating a culture of wellness among employees. All residents and businesses should be pleased with the efforts the City is making to improve the health and wellness of employees – the most valuable part of our organization and the people who make all the City’s services possible.
The State of Illinois has approved a “sales tax holiday” for purchase of back-to-school materials. The holiday applies to the state’s 5% sales tax and will be in effect from Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 15, 2010. The Illinois Department of Revenue provided this information regarding the holiday.
Items eligible for the sales tax holiday include apparel and footwear with a purchase price not to exceed $100. A wide variety of school supplies are also eligible and those items are not subject to the $100 limit. For a list of qualifying items, please see the page 3 of this bulletin.
The normal sales tax rate in St. Charles is 8.0%. Following is the breakdown of the beneficiaries of this tax:
For the sales tax holiday, only the State of Illinois tax of 5% is waived.
It makes economic sense for consumers to buy any qualifying items during the sales tax holiday period. And, to maximize the benefit of your purchases, please make sure to shop at St. Charles establishments. The tax revenue that is applied to these purchases will come back to your community to help fund City programs and services.