Angelo's make-over; WW/WDW

Robert Irvine

The make-over at Angelo's Restaurant on the Woodstock Square is underway. Robert Irvine and his Restaurant: Impossible show are having at it today and tomorrow. Dean Street is blocked off at Calhoun with huge, white tents.

I've seen parts of the show from time-to-time, when I have been visiting someone who was watching it on her television. According to an article in Sunday's Northwest Herald, Irvine comes into a restaurant and does a make-over for $10,000 in two days. From the article: "As part of the television show, Irvine tries to save America's most desperate restaurants from failure in just two days with only $10,000."

I was reminded of a make-over in an Evergreen, Colorado restaurant owned by friends in Denver. In about 1984 they announced one day to their employees that they were closing. No notice; no warning. That's it; you're outa here.

Once the shock had worn off, they announced that they would be re-opening at the end of the week and that, if any current employees wished to apply for jobs, they could do so. They brought in a consultant, who explained to the employees that things were going to be "a little different." Employees were told that they would be expected to act as if they owned the place, starting on the day the restaurant re-opened.

A blackboard was installed in the kitchen, and large letters "WW/WDW" were printed at the top. On this board were to be written "What Worked" and "What Didn't Work".

If an employee had praise for another employee, he could write it on the board under "WW".

If an employee had criticism for another employee, he was to write that on the board under "WDW". And he had to write what would have worked! In other words, no criticism without the suggestion for how it could have been different or better. If an employee came in with a hangover, clearly that didn't work. The suggestion to keep the employee sober, and an offer to help had to accompany the criticism.

From the new opening night, diners noticed the difference and praised the owners.

What does this have to do with Angelo's? You can't just make cosmetic changes. It will be interesting to see how service changes. From the moment you walk in, through your meal, until the moment you have paid and walked out, will you now have a different experience?


Good luck to Angelo's, when it re-opens on Thursday. In addition to the remodel, let's see the change in customer service as well.

HB0831 being fast-tracked - call today

House Bill 0831 is being fast-tracked by the anti-gun crowd. Call Rep. Jack Franks today and tell him to vote NO on the Amendment 1 and on HB 0831. There is only one sponsor, but that one is Speaker Mike Madigan. It could come up for a vote at any time!

Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-14) pitched her anti-gun amendment onto a simple, unrelated bill only yesterday. She filed Amendment 1 on April 16 and it went to the Rules Committee yesterday.

The Rules Committee is chaired by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25) and who is no friend of fair and equitable firearms legislation). The Rules Committee is where fair legislation dies.

What happened to Cassidy's Amendment? It's already out of the Rules Committee! In one day! And with a "recommendation" that it be adopted.

Yeah, sure... If you read Cassidy's amendment, you'll see what a piece of trash it is.

Why is it that Cassidy and Currie, and people like them, refuse to give us law-abiding citizens a chance to be safe and secure outside our homes?

When a concealed carry law passes and I have a license, you will never know that I am carrying. Only one person will ever be in danger, as a result of my being armed. That's the criminal who attempts to seriously injure or kill me. Or you.

Yes, if you are being threatened with death or serious bodily injury, I will come to your rescue. If a police officer, deputy or trooper is being harmed, I shall aid him. Beyond that, you'll never know that I am armed and you will have nothing to fear by my being armed. And I believe this is true for other licensed, law-abiding citizens.

But Cassidy and Currie and other Illinois legislators just don't get it. They want me to be defenseless. So I say, let them expose themselves to the same risks.

For example, I would like to attend the townhall meeting on Saturday, April 27, at 2:00PM at the Chicago Vocational Career Academy, 2100 East 87th Street in Chicago. Do you know where that is? Right in the middle of the War Zone! Would it be safe for my white face to show up there? And to take the 'L' and a bus or the Metra Electric District train? How adventurous am I? Am I brave enough?

I wonder if I could get Rep. Cassidy and her three children to ride with me?

Illegal signs in right-of-way

On the way to Crystal Lake during the past few days I have seen a proliferation of advertising signs on U.S. Highway 14 between Woodstock and Crystal Lake. No doubt there are spread out on other approaches to Crystal Lake, too.

These advertising signs are illegal. Period. So, why are they there?

They are there because nobody does anything about them.

McHenry County DOT is not going to pick them up, because they are on State highway property. IDOT is not going to pick them up because it doesn't have the manpower to do so. It's just too expensive to send two men and a truck out to collect them.

Why doesn't Illinois follow the plan implemented by Florida DOT? In Florida the Department of Transportation trains volunteers in the laws and authorizes them to remove these types of signs.

Illinois could go one step better and pay trained persons (contractors, not employees) to collect the signs. The trained person could document the illegal sign and its location, photograph it, and serve as complaining witness for a ticket to be issued to the offending advertiser.

Start fines at $50-100; more for repeat offenders. If there are 20 signs between Woodstock and Crystal Lake's western city limit, that would be $1,000 in fines (at the lower fine level). The trained person could send a letter and the Notice of Fine to the advertiser. If it didn't get paid, then off to court. Maybe even precede the Notice of Fine with one letter, giving the advertiser 24 hours to remove the signs.

This could be a nice little business for an entrepreneur.

Ill. Rep. Kelly Cassidy - a danger to Illiinois

Rep. Kelly Cassidy

An alert came this morning from the Illinois State Rifle Association. It concerns Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-14).

Yesterday she filed Amendment 1 to HB0831.

By now you probably know where to read pending legislation in the House. Go to www.ilga.gov  On the left side enter a bill number in the search box, and hit Go.

When you first look at HB0831, you'll think, "Ho-hum". No big deal; right? Name prisons as for adults or juveniles. ZZZZzzzzzzz.......

Wait! What is Amendment 1? A long, a very long diatribe about concealed carry. It's one of those sneak attacks that guts an original file (filed January 14, 2013, by Speaker Mike Madigan).

This is one of the things terribly wrong with Illinois. Representatives, or even the Speaker of the House, can put sleeper bills on the shelf, and then someone can run in and change the sheets completely. Amendment 1 has absolutely nothing to do with the original purpose of HB0831.

Rep. Cassidy's intention is to thwart the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. I suspect that many of her introductory "facts" are just plain wrong. They should not grow stature by merely being placed in an amendment to a bill.

If you read her bill (and it will take you plenty of time to read it and even more time to understand it), you'll realize that, if it passes, Illinois still will not have a decent concealed carry law. It will be almost like, if your name starts with A-Z and you are male or female, you won't be able to get a concealed-carry license!

Maybe Rep. Cassidy would like to invite all the gangbangers, felons, addicts, robbers, rapists, child molesters, registered sex offenders and other criminals over to her house for a party with her domestic partner and three children. Those are the people who, along with law-abiding citizens, who won't have concealed-carry licenses.


Rep. Kelly's District contact information:
5533 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: 773.784.2002
Email: repcassidy@gmail.com

State biography: LGBT rights activist and organizer; former legislative director for the National Organization for Women; former legislative aide to state Sen. John Cullerton; former Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Director of Programs and Development in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office; one of only two openly gay female legislators in General Assembly; has three children.

She has been an Illinois Representative since 2011. Do her constituents really know her?

Call your State Rep today and tell him/her to vote against HB0831 if/when it comes up for a vote. Ask your Rep to review this bill and to tell you how s/he will vote, if it comes up. Then watch carefully. Watch very, very carefully!

Where's that class?

Maybe there is a new class at McHenry County College called "How to park within the Lines". Maybe that's the reason this vehicle was parked as it was last night at MCC. Or maybe they have different rules at the College of Lake County, Grayslake, which is the proud owner of this vehicle.

Or maybe the driver went into the building to look for the class yesterday morning, couldn't find anyone to direct him (or her) and was still wandering the halls at 5:15PM.

I forgot to check the windshield and see if there was a ticket. After all, students who abuse the parking space lines get tickets. And heaven help the driver who tries to flee a campus police officer. He might be patrolling in that Ford Interceptor that the College just had to have.

Have you been to MCC lately? I guess it has been a while since I've been there, because the entrance and the Commons have been remodeled. The switchboard, which doubled as an information station, is gone. There are no information kiosk and no signs to direct visitors. And no white customer service telephone. Fortunately, the Public Safety (Police) office was open.

Mr. President, stop lowering the U.S. Flag!

Every time I see the United States Flag lowered because of an act of terrorism or senseless killing(s), I feel outraged.

I mean no disrespect to those who died, whether it was in New York on 9/11 or in Boston yesterday or in Newtown or Aurora.

The Flag of the United States should fly high as a statement that no terrorist or individual has the power to lower the Flag of our nation. I believe that it should fly high - all the time.

MCC Trustees delay action on president

The McHenry County College Board of Trustees met at 6:00PM and one of the first orders of business, high on the Agenda as Item 4 (Acceptance of Agenda) was to discuss (ever so briefly) Item 8 and decide, by vote, to re-schedule it to the April 25 Regular Meeting.

Item 8 was "Contract Extension for the President". This item, plus its publication late on Friday last in the Agenda for the Special Meeting today, raised the ire of the public, the media and at least one trustee.

Item 5 was added to Sunday morning's revised Agenda as "Open for Recognition of Visitors and Presentations", commonly known by other public bodies as the period for public comments. Why they choose to call it by the given title is anyone's guess. It must be an "institution of higher learning" thing.

Members of the public asked the Board of Trustees to place the subject of the president's contract on the second meeting to be held on April 25. The first meeting on April 25 will be the final meeting of three trustees who are leaving the board (Trustees Adams, Larson and Walters). The second meeting will be the first meeting of the Board with its three new members (Trustees-elect Jenner, Walsh and Wilbeck), who were elected to the Board on April 9.

I arrived early, expecting the Board room to the crowded. What I didn't expect was that it was jam- packed with MCC employees. At about 5:40PM I stepped into the hallway to greet a friend, who was looking for a seat and not finding one. As Dr. Vicky Smith passed, I asked her if she would ask all the employees to step out and allow "the public" to be seated in the Board room.

She responded quickly (and correctly) and asked one of her assistants to direct employees to leave and move to an overflow area that had already been set up. Why did all those employees arrive so early? I'd love for one to contact me and tell me whether there had been any "suggestion" or encouragement to arrive early. I also wonder why none voluntarily left his or her seat to allow a member of the public to be seated.

During the public comment period the Board of Trustees got an earful from area residents and employees, including requests for more transparency and compliance with the intent of the Open Meetings Act.

The Board went into Closed Session, and the public left the room. A number waited through the Closed Session for it to end and re-entered the Board room. I was about the fifth person to enter when the door was opened, and I noticed that some Board members were already away from their seats, taking a break.

Then I realized that the 7:00PM meeting of the Committee of the Whole (what a strange name) was about to begin. I had been waiting for the Board to resume its Special Meeting by voting to return to Open Session. And then to adjourn properly.

When I asked about that, I was told that there had been no business from the Closed Session on which to vote. It is extremely hard for me to imagine that, in the seconds it took me to walk back into the room after the door was opened, the Board could make the motion to re-convene in Open Session and take a rollcall to do so, and then to entertain a motion to adjourn and vote on that.

The MCC Board of Trustees is either careless about the Open Meetings Act or believes that the public is just an intrusion on their meetings. It might have taken only a minute to wait for the public to re-enter the room and be seated. Then the Board could have gone to the correct motions to re-convene and to adjourn.

The Board also seems to care little about whether it can be heard throughout the room. In front of each Trustee is a nice, professional microphone. All were pushed away from the trustees, so that their voices were not amplified to be heard throughout the room.

Cal Skinner was there and got a fair number of flash photographs before MCC Police Ofc. Sosnowski informed him that flash photography was not permitted during meetings. Cal spoke during the public comment period, but I could not hear his remarks from the hallway. See McHenry County Blog for Cal's article and his photos.

Pete Gonigam was there, too, and you can read his story on FEN.

While I was addressing the Board, a man sneaked in behind my back and sat in my chair. I should have asked his name, so I could "thank" him here.