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A monthly podcast focused on local political issues in the City of Elgin and throughout the Fox River Valley.
81 Episodes
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Send us a text We're back, with new changes to the podcast. We talk about upcoming events where you can get involved, Kendra gets hyperbolic about a law that was passed in January, and Tia takes a deep dive into the plastic bag discussion, which finally made its way back to the council. We're back and excited to dig into all things Elgin. Correction: Kendra meant to say that "15 through the rest" are the addresses on the other side of her building.
Send us a text As 2024 turns to 2025 in the next few days, the city of Elgin prepares to change waste haulers, moving on from a 20+ year contract with Waste Management (WM) to a new contract with Lakeshore Recycling Services (LRS). This is the final episode of The Elgin Watchman's Season Three special series on Waste. We've been calling this series WASTE WARS. In this episode, Tia and Kendra talk about the tour that LRS generously took them on of the company's MRF (aka Materials Recov...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, December 10th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. The following issues were discussed by commissioners on December 10th and cheerfully shared with you by Erik & Tia after the fact: Tia did not attend the ESC meeting, so she hosted this episodeNot enough commissioners thought attending the December meeting was important, so the meeting lacked a quorum and the "people's business" could not be done. In other ...
Send us a text In our last episode, Tia & Erik covered the November 12th Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting and unpacked the commission's discussion about their Single Use Bag Fee ordinance proposal to the city council (which happened almost two years ago). They also reported on what commissioners were saying, which was they were hearing the city manager's office was warming to the idea of a single use bag ban instead of the commission's recommended bag fee. Tia & Erik...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, November 12th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. The following issues were discussed by commissioners on November 12th and cheerfully shared with you by Erik & Tia after the fact: Climate Action Planning processCarpentersville Fox River dam removalStatus of t-shirt purchase for commissionersCommission's recommendation to Elgin City Council to remove the Kimball Street damProposed Single Use Bag Fee ordina...
Send us a text The Elgin Watchman welcomes special guests Brian Pinion, Downtown Neighborhood Association Vice President and Jamie Berry, owner of Vern's Tavern as they explain the complex issue of simply throwing things away in Downtown Elgin. As a business owner, Jamie provides insight into the long-standing issue of trash contracting in a confined space like the downtown area and exposes some of the challenges that come along with how we collectively (or not) manage waste. Brian exp...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, October 8th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. While Tia was off this month celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day, Erik and his Siamese Cat (aka Luang) summarize this month's commission meeting using a multiple choice question format. The following issues were covered by Erik & Luang: Climate Action Planning processIllinois Green Alliance's website resources on net zero build...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, September 10th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. Tia and Erik unpack the run-of-the-mill agenda items. It did not seem as if there was very many new topics being discussed this month. Until . . . Tia and Erik accidentally stumbled upon the agenda topic of the East Side Neighborhood Garden workday. It was during this discussion, they discovered a potential city hall cover-up. (Or maybe it was jus...
Send us a text Our season three special series on Waste continues with this episode in which Tia, Kendra, and Erik unpack what happened at the August 28, 2024 city council meeting. Every council member weighed in with their opinionsThere was a motion to enter contract negotiations with Lakeshore Recycling (LRS)There was a amendment to that motion to NOT move forward with LRS and instead enter contract negotiations with Waste Management (WM)The mayor tossed in the equivalent of a 3rd grade mat...
Send us a text Our season three special series on Waste continues with this episode in which Tia chats with the Elgin City staff recommended waste hauler in the 2024 RFP, Lakeshore Recycling Services. She is joined on this hot August day by Katie Neary, Manager of Municipal Services and Josh Connell, Co-Founder and Board Director and Vice President of Government Affairs from LRS. The Watchman wanted to hear from the bidding haulers and in this episode, and got a chance to ask a few follow-u...
Send us a text In today's sixth episode of our Season Three deep-dive series -- Waste Wars -- Tia, Kendra, and Erik discuss the August 14, 2024 meeting of the Elgin City Council. Last month, Tia and Kendra unpacked and discussed (season 3 episode 9 on July 8, 2024) the city of Elgin's request for proposals (RFP) from area waste/recycling companies for a potential five to 10 year contract. In today's episode, they continue that discussion. Four waste/recycling companies submitted proposalsCi...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, August 13th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. To summarize the commission agenda items, Tia and Erik typically play fun little podcast games to keep things interesting. However, this month's podcast studio vibe was different. Kendra Kroiss, who is part of Team Watchman and a periodic guest on the show, was in the house. AND it was her birthday. Needless to say, this episode was celebratory and ...
Send us a text In today's fourth episode of our Season Three deep-dive series -- Waste Wars -- Tia talks with Clair Ryan, who is Kane County's Recycling Program Coordinator. Lots and lots of ground was covered throughout this episode, but here is a summary Electronics recyclingKane County's Solid Waste PlanRecycling and waste data collectionLandfill capacity monitoringLocal municipalities and their efforts to secure proposals from waste haulersWhat the heck is recyclable when everyone i...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, July 9th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. To summarize the commission agenda items, Tia and Erik typically play fun little podcast games to keep things interesting. This month's game was based on the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Erik and Tia covered all of the following issues and probably more: Elgin's tree inventoryElgin's Tree Management PlanElgin's Treebank Planting Program...
Send us a text In today's third episode of our Season Three deep-dive series -- Waste Wars -- Tia and Kendra go through the request for proposals (RFP) for the city of Elgin's waste hauler contract starting in 2025. How long will the waste hauler contract be? Will there be a renewal trigger? Will there be an opt-outWhat changes are being asked for from bidders?Will there be garbage stickers or not?What are the odds our garbage fees will be going up in 2025?Tia & Kendra cover all of ...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, June 11th at the Edward Schock Centre of Elgin. (Spoiler alert . . . the meeting was adjourned at 7:28pm for the second month in a row ... so, kudos to Commission Chairperson Tom Armstrong). The agenda was small, but it felt like everyone had something to say on the following topics: Elgin's tree planting programClimate Change Action planning process (and consultants)Grant proposal re. Eastside Community GardenGr...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, May 14th at the Edward Schock Centre of Elgin. (Spoiler alert . . . the meeting was adjourned at 7:28pm and Erik came to this episode in a great mood.) The commission meeting contained lots of discussion on a variety of different topics. There was no action, but lots of talk. So, Tia & Erik used one of their podcast games to summarize all the chatter. The following is a laundry list of topics you will hear di...
Send us a text In today's third episode of our Season Three deep-dive series -- Waste Wars -- Tia interviews Elgin City Council Member Carol Rauschenberger. To say Council Member Rauschenberger's "mind is blown" on so very many topics related to the city's Waste/Recycling contract is an understatement. What seems logical to this council member appears to be an foreign concept to waste haulers. [TEASE] For example, should the city council consider NOT renewing recycling servic...
Send us a text The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, April 9th at the Edward Schock Centre of Elgin. Surely, this meeting occurred in an alternative universe because: 1) 100% of the city council appointed commissioners were in attendance AND 2) the commission got through a very busy agenda within the 1.5 hour time limit they recently mandated for themselves in 2024. In this episode, Tia Aagesen & Erik Anderson summarize the agenda items and ...
Send us a text In today's first episode of our Season Three deep-dive series -- Waste Wars -- Tia interviews Elgin City Council Member Tish Powell. Broadly, they discuss the city of Elgin's upcoming decision on who to hire for garbage and recycling services for the next 3, 5, or possibly even 10 years. Throughout this discussion, the following topics are discussed and explored: Process for securing proposals from interested waste haulers . . . aka "requests for proposal" (...
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