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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 opinions
There 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 math problem for the council to solve (spoiler alert ... apparently no council member has passed 3rd grade math)
WM officials spoke. LRS officials spoke. WM truck drivers spoke. Elgin Sustainability Commission members spoke. Even a three-time-losing city council candidate spoke and leveled serious allegations at a current council member.

In short, it was a s***show, which is not unusual for the Elgin City Council.

If you want to subject yourself to a few hours of torture, you can watch the Committee of the Whole (COW) and Regular City Council meetings on the city's YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

Inspired by local students recently going back to school, Tia led Kendra and Erik through a discussion where each council person received a letter grade for their effort and participation.

This episode might be one of the longest ones in The Elgin Watchman's three seasons of podcasting, but we promise . . . you won't want to miss this episode.

For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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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-up questions after the city council meeting in which they were recommended to city council for the contract award. You can review the conversation on that city council meeting here.

The Watchman asks LRS the following questions and learns that there has been a request for two additional alternate bids to the originating RFP from the city to the haulers.

Staff is recommending your bid to council- why do you think your bid was compelling and what do you think council finds interesting or valuable within it?
There was a lot of discussion around Elgin being the "Crown Jewel" of your contract portfolio- how do you feel your company is trending within the market place and what other ambitions do you have? Why Elgin?
What do you think the citizens of Elgin would appreciate about your services more than other haulers we've had in the past?
Council decided to wait until next week to make a determination- has the city asked for any additional information from you or have there been clarifications provided to your bid that you can share?

CLICK HERE to see the RFP and all the addendums provided by the city to companies wishing to submit a proposal for consideration. This material may provide listeners with some context.

The Watchman is requesting the alternate bid communication to the haulers and will provide links upon receipt.For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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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 proposals
City staff provided their recommendation to switch from Waste Management (WM) to Lakeshore Recycling Services (LRS)
LRS showed up to the meeting to answer questions
Curiously, WM also showed up to lobby council members to reject city staff's recommendation
And as you can imagine, the council meeting got weird

CLICK HERE to see the RFP and all the addendums provided by the city to companies wishing to submit a proposal for consideration. This material may provide listeners with some context.

CLICK HERE to view the August 14th city council meeting being discussed in this episode.

CLICK HERE to check out LRS' website, and CLICK HERE for their Better Business Bureau rating page.

CLICK HERE to check out WM's website, and CLICK HERE for their Better Business Bureau rating page.

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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 the monthly podcast game was . . . hmmmm . . . shall we say . . . different.

The following issues (and probably more) were discussed in between the singing and merriment:

Climate action plan process, consultants, and structure in addition to summaries from the first round of meetings
2025 Elgin Earth Summit planning process
Shared Harvest's newest plans and path forward
Efforts to hire a videographer to document the climate action planning process (or perhaps some other sustainability initiatives?)
Developing a recommendation memo for the Elgin City Council re. the commission's position on removal of the Kimball Street Fox River Dam
Deep dive conversation about the new Strong Towns Elgin organization, its mission, objectives, and how people can get involved

Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to The Elgin Watchman's favorite person in the world -- Kendra Kroiss.

If you are looking for more information about Strong Towns Elgin, CLICK HERE and HERE and HERE and sign up to receive email updates HERE.

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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 recycling
Kane County's Solid Waste Plan
Recycling and waste data collection
Landfill capacity monitoring
Local municipalities and their efforts to secure proposals from waste haulers
What the heck is recyclable when everyone is saying something different?
The Recycling Contamination Task Force ... huh?
Packaging laws
And so darn much more

This wonky episode is soooo interesting. You totally want to tune in.

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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 inventory
Elgin's Tree Management Plan
Elgin's Treebank Planting Program
Kimball Street dam removal recommendation
Proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance and draft communication/education plan
Superintendent of Parks and Facilities Greg Hulke's impersonation of a filibustering U.S. Senator
Governance and agendas
DropBox, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and Open Meetings Act (OMA)

Are you interested in Elgin's tree assessment, plans, misc. information, and other external sources about trees? Here are some links the city of Elgin is sharing on its website:

Elgin's Urban Forest Reports & Maps
Tree Assessment
External Resources

Do you want the city to plant a tree on your parkway? CLICK HERE

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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-out
What 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 these questions and more. CLICK HERE to see the RFP and all the addendums Tia & Kendra talk about.

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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 program
Climate Change Action planning process (and consultants)
Grant proposal re. Eastside Community Garden
Grant proposal re. Native Garden Demo Project
Elgin Farmers Market
Kimball Street Dam proposed removal and commission recommendation to city council

Honestly, the star of the meeting was Friends of the Fox River's Art Malm, who was also the city's first water engineer and was primarily the person who wrote all the operating protocols & procedures for the city's water plant. Lots of learned during this portion of the meeting, including:

removal of the Kimball Street damn is a separate issue from the city's need to move the water intake pipe for the water plant
the recommendation to remove dams on the Fox River is the result of years and years of work done by the Fox River Study Group
opposition to dam removal is loud but spearheaded by a very small group of residents throughout the watershed
Malm cited an opinion poll where almost 50% of people in the watershed believe the Fox River is dangerous because of perceived water quality concerns (which dam removal would address)
allegedly deciding not to remove Fox River dams would trigger the EPA to require implementation of a phosphorus mitigation plan that could cost an estimated $60 million dollars
and so very much more

During the deep-dive segment of this episode, Tia decided to focus on the uncomfortable tension in the room by looking more closely at governance issues related to commissioners and the staff liaison.

whose role is what?
what responsibilities belong to who?
who reports to who?
who has the authority to do what?
setting commission priorities and how to prioritize projects/work?

The deep-dive segment of this episode is certainly not as sexy as the Kimball Street dam removal issue, but it certainly may be the most important issue on the table that's not being talked about enough in open public sessions.

For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our

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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 discussed in this episode:

Elgin Earth Summit
Elgin Climate Resiliency Plan consultant
New Sustainability Coordinator hire
Waster Hauler request for proposals
EV readiness program
Elgin Farmers Market
Kimball Street dam removal recommendation
Promotion of city's tree program
Sustainability Grant Program -- Shark Tank concept
Turf Reduction pilot program proposal
Vine weeds murdering native plants at East Side Neighborhood Garden

As per Tia & Erik's tradition, they did a deep-dive on one of the topics. This month they talked about the organization "Blacks In Green," which was a participant in this year's Elgin Earth Summit. While the discussion revolved around "environmental justice" (EJ) and how many EJ neighborhoods exist in Elgin, the essence of the conversation was focused on the organization's interesting "Sustainable Square Mile" they have created.

Blacks In Green has a great website filled with lots of resources and tools. We echo commission chairperson Tom Armstrong and strongly encourage you to check it out at https://www.blacksingreen.org/resources.

A special thank you to the Elgin Sustainability Commission for providing a word casserole for all of our listeners this month. Please tune in next month to see if they can serve some dessert.

Since the May 14th commission meeting and the publication of this episode, city of Elgin published the Request for Proposals (RFP) for Waste Recyclable Yard Waste and Organics Collection. There are exhibits associated with this proposal. If you are interested in reading that RFP, you can find it here: https://elginil.gov/bids.aspx?bidID=1859.

For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our

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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 services with a contracted waste hauler and divert that monetary savings into operating its own recycling center where it would have more control over what actually gets recycled (and could create a baseline and annual benchmarks to track community progress)?

You're going to have to click-thru to find the answer to this question and many more ideas that Tia and Carol explore.

This episode is a load of FUN!

Oh, and Happy Elgin Earth Month! If you want to participate in our Elgin Earth Month community project that we're calling "Is This Recyclable Or Not Recyclable?" you can CLICK HERE to learn more.

Even if you don't want to participate, you can follow along and learn surprising things about what you can and can't put in your curbside recycling cart by checking out our blog at https://www.elginwatchman.com/blog. For example, can you recycle steel aerosol cans (e.g., Lysol, anti-perspirant, etc.)? Hmmmm? I guess you'll need to click-thru and check out the blog. ;-)

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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 discussions. They also jump into their time machine, travel back in time, and have a deep dive conversation on the commission's multi-year drama -- the Single Use Bag Fee ordinance. (queue up the Jack Benny music)

The following is a laundry list of topics you will hear discussed in this episode:

2nd Annual Elgin Earth Summit event scheduled for April 20, 2024
Zero Emission Yard Equipment Rebate program
Single Use Bag Fee (proposed ordinance) Community Education Program
Sustainability Grant Program
Proposed Removal of the Fox River Dam at Kimball Street
Proposed Turf Removal Program

If you are interested in getting caught up on previous episodes pertaining to the Single Use Bag Fee ordinance, then you can CLICK HERE, and CLICK HERE, and HERE, and HERE (interview with council member Tish Powell),and HERE (interview with council member Corey Dixon), and HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE (interview with Batavia council member and commissioners), and HERE (more Batavia updates after they passed their ordinance), and OMG HERE. And if you want to listen to the most boring thing ever, CLICK HERE to listen to the audio from the March 22, 2023 Elgin City Council Committee of the Whole meeting where they talk about the Elgin Sustainability Commission's proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance before "tabling it" for another day (and quite possibly "never").

For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our

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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" (RFP) . . . and when the city will make the RFP available to waste haulers
Process for evaluating and selecting one of the bids for garbage/recycling services
Transfer Stations and whether Elgin might need to site a second one if the council chooses a waste hauler other than Waste Management (WM)
State of our local landfills and the importance of reducing waste
Organics Collection Program -- benefits of use and why participation is low (CLICK HERE to learn how to subscribe to this service)
At Your Door Service for items not allowed in the garbage or recycling carts (CLICK HERE to learn more about the program; it is FREE)
Various ideas that came out of a 2023 community-wide survey about waste/recycling (CLICK HERE to view the survey results in their entirety)
Spoiler alert . . . the cost of trash/recycling services is likely going up in 2025 with the start of a new waste hauler contract.

In addition to being an elected member of the Elgin City Council, Tish Powell is a former city employee who managed the waste hauler contract from the staff side of things. Today, she is an employee of Republic Services, which is a business offering waste treatment and disposal, field and industrial services, E&P services and emergency response.

Tish is a highly knowledgeable expert on waste management, and The Elgin Watchman appreciates her willingness to come on the podcast to share her insights with its listeners.

Happy Elgin Earth Month . . .
In celebration of 2024 Elgin Earth Month, The Elgin Watchman is inviting YOU and every other Elgin resident to participate in a community project focused on waste reduction and recycling.

The rules are easy. Simply take a picture of an item in your house that you're not sure whether it is recyclable or garbage. Send it into the Elgin 3-1-1 center and ask them which it is -- garbage or recycling.

Share your question, answer, and picture with us here at The Elgin Watchman, and we will upload it to our blog section. By doing this, we can all learn from each other and help reduce the amount of garbage being sent to our already overloaded landfills.

You can get more information about this Elgin Earth Month community service project, by CLICKING HERE.

For more information on other topics and previous podcast episodes, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, March 12th at the Edward Schock Centre of Elgin. An efficient meeting by all measurements with virtually no tangents, side conversations, talking over each other, and long-winded echoing of each other. Maybe it was because the commission's City Councilperson liaison -- Carol Rauschenberger -- wasn't in attendance. wink (Just kidding, Carol). Truthfully, it is more likely the influence of the commission's new lion tamer (aka Sustainability Analyst/city staffer) Kristin Youngmeyer.

In this episode, Tia Aagesen & Erik Anderson summarize the agenda items and discussions. They also do another deep dive on the issue of the commission's 2024 Priorities. The following is a laundry list of what you will hear talked about in this episode:

Kimball Street dam removal
Elgin Earth Month in April 2024
Elgin Earth Summit on April 20th
Elgin Climate Action Plan RFP and submissions
Soon-To-Be new addition to the city's sustainability staff team
2024 Budget for the Elgin Sustainability Commission
Zero Emissions Yard Equipment Rebate program
Single Use Bag Fee ordinance
2024 Priorities for the Sustainability Commission

There were two kinda/sorta big announcements at the end of the meeting:

The next Strong Towns Elgin meeting is happening on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Light Lounge at Vern's Tavern. Click here to RSVP on Facebook
The next Elgin Earth Summit planning meeting is happening on Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 6:00pm at Elgin City Hall

The first episode of The Elgin Watchman's WASTE WARS Season Three deep-dive series dropped a few weeks ago. If you missed it, click here to listen.

The Elgin Watchman also announced a community-wide WASTE WARS project that everyone is invited (in fact ... encouraged) to participate in. In involves collectively seeking clarity from the city of Elgin and its private sector waste hauler on questionable recycling items. Click here to read about the details and how you can get involved.

We're only at the beginning of this Season Three and hope you and your friends will join us for what is shaping up to be an amazing season.

Get involved . . . Be engaged . . . AND . . . Always keep watch!

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, February 13th. After cancelling the January 2024 meeting due to weather, the February meeting touched on a lot of different topics. Unfortunately, the commission couldn't vote on anything because of an agenda snafu that entangled the group in Illinois Opens Meetings Act hell.

In this episode, Tia Aagesen & Kerry Kelly summarize the whole enchilada, which included all of these topics:

Starting meetings on time (or not) and respecting each other
2024 commission priorities
2024 commission budget
Sustainability Grant Program
April 2024 Earth Summit
Commission sponsored 2024 sustainability events
Artificial turf controversy and Councilwoman Rauschenberger's disappointment in the commission
City's RFP for consultant to help develop a Climate Action Plan
City's RFP seeking bids on citywide waste/recycling services
Update: Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance -- Status DOA
Kimball Street dam removal (or not removal) issues
Riverlife Elgin updates and the city's proposed North Grove Street redevelopment project
And so much more

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Did you like Season Two's deep dive coverage of The Fox River Story in collaboration with Friends of the Fox River? If so, then you're going to love our Season Three deep dive coverage focused on local Waste & Recycling issues leading up to the Elgin city council's 2024 decision about which waste hauler to hire for the next 3, 5, 10 years?

Don't miss the first episode in this special series when Tia talks about Environmental Racism with Cristobal Cavazos of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage and the City of West Chicago's fight with LRS (Lakeshore Waste Recycling Services) over trying to site a second waste transfer station in their Latinx majority community.

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Welcome to Season Three of The Elgin Watchman podcast. As you know, we got off to a slow start with this podcasting season . . . winter weather, public meeting cancellations, etc. Regardless, we're back in the saddle again. We appreciate your patience as we find our podcast publishing rhythm again.

As we've done in the past, the first podcast drop of each month is coverage of the Elgin Sustainability Commission. The second podcast of each month is an episode that is part of a deep-dive topic series that runs throughout the course of a the season. For example, we focused on Lead in Elgin's Drink Water System during Season One. In our second season, we partnered with Friends of the Fox River and collaborated on a series focused on a variety of Fox River watershed issues including the recently proposed dam removal project.

THIS SEASON, we will dedicate the second episode of every month to a new topic -- Waste Wars -- where we will explore waste/recycling issues for Elgin and surrounding communities. We feel this topic is especially relevant in 2024 because the Elgin City Council is seeking proposals from waste haulers with whom they want to contract the community's waste and recycling services for the next 3, 5, and perhaps even 10 years.

In today's first episode of our Season Three deep-dive series -- Waste Wars -- Tia interviews Cristobal Cavazos of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage about Environmental Racism. Specifically, they discuss the City of West Chicago's fight with LRS (Lakeshore Waste Recycling Services) over trying to site a second waste transfer station in their Latinx majority community.

Why is talking with someone outside of Elgin about a waste transfer station located outside of Elgin important? Because . . .

There is a waste transfer station located in Elgin
Elgin's waste transfer station is owned by Waste Management (WM)
Starting this podcast series with the topic of transfer stations makes sense because it links to the topic of negotiating a contract with a new waste hauler (or renewing the current contract with Waste Management). How? Because WM's waste transfer station gives them a competitive advantage by lowering their internal operating costs.
And what happens if the city council decides to contract with a waste hauler other than WM (aka our current hauler)? Could there be a future push to site a second waste transfer station in Elgin (similar to what West Chicago is dealing with)?
What are the implications surrounding waste transfer stations? Who in the community bears the brunt of those public decisions?
And so on and so forth . . . you get the idea. We will explore many topics associated with Elgin's waste and recycling efforts. Hopefully, we will all learn something along the way.

We're only at the beginning of this Season Three special series, so buckle up buttercup. Things are going to get interesting at city hall. Get involved . . . Be engaged . . . AND . . . Always keep watch!

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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Tia and Erik chat about their favorite podcast moments of 2023 and look ahead to what's on deck in 2024 for The Elgin Watchman podcast.

Spoiler alert #1 . . . Erik's biggest disappointment was the Elgin City Council's inability to govern effectively when it tabled the proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance recommendation from the Sustainability Commission.

Spoiler alert #2 . . . Season Three will focus on Waste, Recycling, and Composting, which is where you can bet the proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance will reappear.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River?

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, December 12th. What looked like a potentially short meeting with only two agenda items, turned into a two hour debate about the pros vs. cons of using artificial turf in city parks/playgrounds and Sports Complex fields.

In this episode, Tia & Erik chatter about some of the following topics a heated debate between commissioners and city staff about artificial turf:

Americans with Disabilities Act
Microplastics
PFAS
Data-driven Decision-making (or the lack thereof)
And so much more

If this topic is something you are passionate about, then keep your eyes on the upcoming city council agendas because that is where it will appear next.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River?

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Erik is still lost and no where to be found so Tia and Gary Swick pick up the slack and tackle the hottest topic in town: the dam! Ahhh yes..the Kimball Street dam...what is going on with that? Why's everyone talking about this?!

Listen to Tia and Gary as they navigate the latest findings from the Army Corps of Engineers and what their recommendations mean for the Fox River and Elgin. What's the history of the dam? How is it impacting our community and environment? What's happened recently that we're all of a sudden talking about it? And what is the recommendation! What should we do?!

Never fear, Gary Swick has all the answers and helps us understand this complex and contentious issue. Listen in and learn how you can school your relatives over mashed potatoes this season!

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, November 14th. For almost two hours, commissioners and various city staff members talked about the upcoming expiration of the Waste Hauler contract.

In this episode, Tia & Erik chatter about some of the following topics that emanated from the commission meeting:

There is a new commissioners at the table
Is Public Works Director Aaron Neal sexier than commissioner Frankie Garcia
Results of a community survey focused on waste/recycling services provided by Waste Management
Issues pertaining to a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) waste management model
Single stream vs. multi-stream recycling
Barriers to implementation of a citywide organics program and ideas to lower those barriers
And so much more

Here are a few "fun" facts about Elgin's garbage situation:

Between 2016 and 2022, the amount of garbage collected curbside has increased from 27 tons to 30 tons.
Between 2016 and 2022, the amount of recyclables collected curbside has decreased from almost 12 tons to 10 tons
Between 2016 and 2022, the amount of yard waste collected curbside has decreased from 3.6 tons to approx. 2 tons

As a side note, it was interesting that the proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance didn't come up once during an almost two hour conversation about waste.

Kinda shameful if you ask Wally the Watchman!

City of Elgin ordinance authorizing the creation of the Elgin Sustainability Commission

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River?

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It's ladies night! Tia can't make the September commission meeting so the wonderful and talented Kerry Kelly attends in her stead. Tia invites Kerry on to unpack the meeting and is joined by another friend of the podcast, Kendra Kroiss, who weighs in on process and procedure themes from the meeting.

In the September episode, Kerry divulges the commission's priority and strategic planning efforts and "visioning" session that was held during the meeting, along with questions about whether the commission should weigh in on the dam removal (or did they already?!) and an update on the Greenhouse Gas Emission presentation for city council.

What should the commission focus on? What is their role, exactly? And how should the commission operate? These questions and more are asked and maybe answered- tune in!

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Welcome to the sixth episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

Tia Aagesen and her husband TJ (who is the big sexy voice of Wally the Watchman) host today's show. This sixth episode of The Fox River Story focuses on how the Fox River is being utilized as a community asset that generates economic development opportunities for communities throughout the watershed.

Tia's first interview is with Karen An Miller, who is an Executive Planner for the Kane County Development Department. Karen talks about the recent designation of the Fabulous Fox Water Trail as part of the National Water Trails System. For more information, check out the trail's website by CLICKING HERE.

Tia's second interview is with the always amazing Kerry Kelly, who wears so many different hats in the Elgin community. However, on this episode, Kerry spends time bringing Tia up to speed on the North Grove Redevelopment Project and something called Riverlife Elgin. For more information, check out this letter sent by the Northeast Neighborhood Association to the city of Elgin about this project by CLICKING HERE.
For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

For more information about Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR), please visit their website and LIKE their Facebook page. If you want to read more about the history of the Fox River, there is an awesome article titled "Our Waters, Our Fox" on the FOTFR webpage. CLICK HERE to read it.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, August 8th, and unlike the last few months, this time they were joined by the city's new Sustainability Analyst, Kristin Youngmeyer. The fourth city staff liaison to the commission in the last six years.

While this month's commission meeting agenda appeared to be designed for brevity, it turned out to be anything but short and sweet.

In this episode, Tia & Erik talk about the following issues discussed at the commission's July meeting:

Elgin Farmers Market
City Street Tree Planting Program
Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance
Pumpkin Smash Composting Event
Various Budget Requests (that were rejected)
Advice For New City Staffer, Sustainability Analyst Kristin Youngmeyer

For those of you who are new to the podcast (including the new sustainability analyst) and might want some background on the last few years of commission work and discussion on the proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance, we suggest you check out The Elgin Watchman's eGuide on this subject. CLICK HERE to find the material on our webpage.

For more information about local sustainability efforts and issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River?

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, July 11th, without a city staff liaison present to help guide their deliberations -- AGAIN.

Just like last month's commission meeting, this agenda was one of the shortest ones in recent history. In this episode, Tia & Erik talk about the following issues discussed at the commission's July meeting:

Farmers Market
Tree giveaway program
Single Use Bag Fee ordinance (ugh . . . again)
Kane County Climate Action Plan & the online survey (Note: CLICK HERE to take the survey)
The mysterious Elgin Carbon Footprint report and the city manager's unwillingness to release it to the commission (or the public)
Dysfunctional commission workgroups

The BIG deep dive issue that usually happens during episodes covering commission meetings was . . . wait for it . . . drum roll please . . .

City of Elgin ordinance authorizing the creation of the Elgin Sustainability Commission

There was a lot of chatter among commissioners at the July meeting about "what are we allowed to do" and "would it be out-of-bounds if we ______________." So, Tia and Erik went back to the original ordinance and the recently reviewed ordinance to find some answers. If you are a Democracy Geek, then you might like this episode a little more than you typically do. wink

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River?

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Welcome to the fifth episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Erik Anderson and Cindy Skrukrud of the Fox River Study Group talk about water quality issues throughout the Fox River Watershed.
For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, June 13th, which marked the first time in recent years they were without a city staff liaison present to help guide their deliberations. Oddly, this might have been one of the quickest meetings in recent history. LOL This was also Sustainability Commissioner Christ Flaherty's last meeting as a commissioner.

In this episode, Tia & Erik talk about the following issues discussed at the commission's June meeting:

Elgin Area Climate Action Now's (EACAN) presentation about the connection between waste/recycling management and climate change (and more importantly what they are asking the commission to do about it)
RFPs, consultants, and various plans the commission is trying to undertake (e.g. climate action plan, mobility/transportation plan, sustainability action plan)
The mysteriously missing greenhouse gas inventory report
Farewell to Commissioner Chris Flaherty

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River?

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Welcome to the forth episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Tia Aagesen and Gary Swick of Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) talk about "The Fox," citizen engagement, and reclamation of the Fox River Watershed.

As always, today's podcast just scratches the surface. Hopefully, it gets you (and many others) thinking how we can collectively invest our time and resources in watershed restoration projects. You might even want to look into attending an upcoming FOTFR meeting or event and get more involved. Who knows?
For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, May 9th, which was the day after Erik's 53rd birthday. (Note: Erik was devastated the commission didn't have a cake or sing to him or provide any birthday spankings). Regardless, he was thrilled to have the chance to cover the following issues:

Mrs. Smith's students presentation about plastic pollution
East Side Neighborhood Garden grant
Elgin Native Roots funding
July Special meeting to discuss budget issues
GrowSolar Chicagoland group buy program
paleBLUEdot's upcoming Waste Management online survey
Workgroup reports
Mikala Larson's resignation (Bye, Felicia)

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River? If not, then get off your butt and check it out. Gary Swick is grooooooovy! :-)

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Tia & Erik attended the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Elgin Earth Summit on April 29th and helped bring an end to another successful Elgin Earth Month.

From their exhibitor booth, they invited event attendees to take the microphone and answer this question:

What does a more sustainable Elgin look like in the future?

There were 17 brave souls who seized the moment and provided their sustainability testimony. This group was diverse and their opinions reflect that fact.

While it is just fun to kick back and listen to what your neighbors envision as a sustainable place to live, perhaps the better question we should be asking ourselves is:

What should we do with this vision-casting exercise?

As usual, Erik weighs in with his opinion at the end of this special edition. In short, he suggests that it is time for the Elgin Sustainability Commission to provide leadership and create a new Sustainability Action Plan for the Elgin community.

The vision-casting is done. All that's left to do is create some goals and craft some strategies.

Giddy-up!

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Welcome to the third episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Erik Anderson and Pam Otto of the St. Charles Park District talk about habitat related topics throughout the Fox River watershed.

Did you know the Fox River watershed is home to:

96 species of fish
32 species of fresh water mussels
250 bird species
21 reptile species
14 amphibians species
14,000 plant species (of which 77 are endangered and another 25 are on the threatened list)

Today's podcast just scratches the surface. Hopefully, it gets you (and many others) thinking how we can collectively invest our time and resources in watershed restoration projects.
For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, April 11th, and as always they had a lot to talk about.

Tia and Erik (Yep, you read that right . . . Tia is back . . . Hurrah Hurrah!) . . . they unpack and summarize all of those commission agenda items including:

Elgin Earth Month & the commission's Elgin Earth Summit event on April 29th at ECC
Volunteerpalooza (which is now an event in the past)
Spring rain barrel sale
A whole lotta miscellaneous stuff coming out of the commission's workgroup reporting
Greenhouse gas inventory
Waste/recycling contract renewal efforts
And more

Erik refused to talk about the proposal Reusable Bag Fee ordinance, which was a topic of conversation at the end of the commission meeting. Erik walked out of the meeting during this discussion because there was nothing new that hasn't already been said over-n-over-n-over again.

The deep-dive topic for this commission focused episode was the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Erik explained what this type of study tell us, and he shared Elgin-specific results from a 2019 study done by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). CLICK HERE to see that report. And stay tuned for more as Elgin Sustainability Analyst Mikala Larson prepares to share new data with the commission in the next few months.

Did we mention that Tia is back? Hurrah!

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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On March 22, 2023, city staff came back to the Elgin City Council with information to share about the proposed Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance, which was a recommended policy change from the Elgin Sustainability Commission approximately 6-months ago.

Rather than summarize the Committee of the Whole discussion for you. Erik shares the entire audio extravaganza of city staff, council members, and the Mayor wading through this issue at midnight on what was technically March 23rd at that point.

As you weigh into this murky muck of a conversation that we call democracy in Elgin, we encourage you to ask yourself the following questions:

Do you think city staff is on the same page as the Elgin Sustainability Commission?
Did staff appear to bring the necessary information council needed to make a sound decision on this issue?
Which of the city council members are truly ignorant about the impact plastics and microplastics have in our community?
Would you rather listen to an hour of high school student council members talking about this subject or the elected members of the Elgin city council?
What could city staff have done different to have made this public discussion more productive and less contentious?

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

For more information about how Batavia, Illinois (a smaller city right down the Fox River from Elgin) has successfully dealt with the issue of a single use bag fee ordinance, here are two previous episodes you will want to check out:

Talkin' Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance With Batavia's Environmental Commission
Update: City of Batavia's Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance

And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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Welcome to the second episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Erik Anderson and Gary Swick talk about the concept of WATERSHED THINKING, which simply stated is a viewpoint that everyone and everything in the Fox River watershed is connected.

This complicated system of individuals, organizations, and government agencies is unpacked in discussion between Erik and Gary. Additionally, Erik interviews two very involved individuals and picks their brains about the organizations in which they are involved.

NOTE: A special thanks to Tom Slawski and Ders Anderson for their participation.Please take a moment to consider this . . . There are hundreds of municipalities, counties, states, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations interacting with more than a million people living in the Fox River watershed. How does this complicated web of relationships find common ground, shared values, goals, strategies, etc?

Todays' podcast scratches the surface of this question. Hopefully, it gets you (and many others) thinking because together we can figure all of this out.
For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

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I know, I know . . . this episode is neither coverage of the Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting nor is it one of the eight episodes this season dedicated to "The Fox River Story" collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

However, this episode did spin off from The Fox River Story 8-part series, so please cut us some slack. wink

In today's, special edition, we speak with Tom Slawski, who is a man wearing many hats, including (and likely not limited to):

Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (where he is the chief biologist)
Southeast Fox River Partnership
Southeastern Wisconsin Fox River Commission

After interviewing Tom as part of season two's The Fox River Story, we realized he was just 24-hours removed from being one of the chief planners/organizers/hosts of the 11th Annual Fox River Summit.

As you might imagine, we couldn't resist the opportunity to ask lots and lots of questions about the summit while we had Tom's undivided attention. AND when push came to shove in The Elgin Watchman offices, we couldn't help ourselves and turned that conversation into a special edition.

We hope you enjoy Tom's summary of this annual event and encourage you to make plans to attend net year's summit being planned for April 2024.

For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, March 14th, and as always they had a lot to talk about. In fact, at one point in the meeting, there were 10-minutes where at least five people were talking over each other. In an effort to summarize things, here is a list of what was discussed over a 2+ hour period of time:

Commissioner Kevin Zaldivar resigned and the city of Elgin is taking applications online to fill this vacancy
April is Elgin Earth Month and the commission is planning to host Elgin Earth Summit on April 29th at Elgin Community College (NOTE: there are also many other organizations hosting events throughout April. More info can be found on Facebook at @ElginEarthMonth)
Money was allocated to purchase a membership with the Illinois Recycling Foundation
Applications will start being accepted for the commission's Electric Garden Equipment Rebate program sometime in April during Elgin Earth Month (funding is limited; so act quickly)
Residents have until April 15th to submit their application to the Parkway Tree Planting program. Call 3-1-1 for more details or good luck digging through the sea of data at cityofelgin.org
Commissioners will be joining local environmental organizations and acting as liaison and conduits of information for the commission
Commissioner David Jurina wants the city to ban fossil fuel hook-ups (e.g. no more gas lines) for new housing and building developments.

The bulk of this episode is dedicated to speaking with Commissioner Jurina about the presentation he will be making to the Elgin City Council on March 22nd.

If you are able to attend the city council meeting, the commission encourages you to sign-up and speak in favor of this proposal.

If you are unable to attend the council meeting, then please listen to this podcast, contact the Mayor, council members, and the city manager's office, and voice your support.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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Welcome to Season Two of The Elgin Watchman podcast. As we did in Season One, the first podcast episode of every month focuses on coverage of the Elgin Sustainability Commission and an environment sustainability issue (or city hall) with which they are grappling. The second podcast episode of every month focuses in-depth on a sustainability issue important to Elgin and its neighboring communities.

In Season One, The Watchman focused on whether there is lead in Elgin's drinking water and the city's lead service line replacement program. This year, during Season Two, we are widening our scope and attempting to adopt a regional -- or dare we say watershed-wide -- view of sustainability.

Season Two of this podcast represents a collaboration with Friends of the Fox River as we attempt to tell THE FOX RIVER STORY.

Today is the first in a series of eight episodes focusing on the mighty Fox River that starts near Waukesha, Wisconsin and ends its journey 223 miles downstream in Ottawa, Illinois where it meets the Illinois River.

President of Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR), Gary Swick, sets the stage for this eight part podcast series. His introduction touches on a lot of topics that will be explored deeper in future episodes including:

The glacier that started everything pertaining to the river
Civilization along the river
Wildlife/Habitat
Water quality
Dams
Advocacy & Friends of the Fox River

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Valentine's Day 2023, and The Elgin Watchman's Tia Aagesen made a guest appearance sharing her observations from the commission meeting in addition to the February city council meeting. Topics covered were:

Lead Service Lines
Single Use Bag Fee proposed ordinance
Strategic Plan
Tyler Creek Watershed
Commission Workgroups
Fossil Fuel-Free Project
Superbowl Fun
And more

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

CLICK HERE to access The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide.

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Season Two of The Elgin Watchman podcast is just beginning. And what better way to get a new season moving in the right direction than by covering the first Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting of the year and talking about:

Open Meetings Act refresher from City Clerk Kim Dewes
2023 commission budget
2023 Elgin Earth Month
And lots of miscellaneous commission blah-blah-blag

This episode is similar to December's coverage of the sustainability commission. With Tia being on on sabbatical to run for city council and Erik out-of-state on business, Elgin's Queen of Zero Waste -- Robin Migalla -- did The Elgin Watchman a "solid favor" by agreeing to attend the meeting and allow Erik to interview her after the fact.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

CLICK HERE to access The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide.

CLICK HERE to access The Elgin Watchman's Sustainability Volunteerism e-Guide.

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Happy New Year and welcome to Season Two of The Elgin Watchman podcast!

A special thank you to our friends at Elgin Area Climate Action Now (EA NOW) for agreeing to sit for an interview with Erik. Topics covered during this episode include:

Where is the city of Elgin at with what it committed to in the city council's Climate Emergency resolution?
What is Elgin Area Climate Action Now? How can podcast listeners get involved?
What does 2023 look like for local climate action advocates?

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity that can help make Elgin a more sustainable and environmentally friendly community? Look no further than The Elgin Watchman's volunteerism e-guide. CLICK HERE to view that online resource. Clicking on the Elgin Area Climate Action Now logo in the e-guide will take you to the organization's webpage where you can learn more.

For more information about The Elgin Watchman podcast and access previous episodes, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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"Get involved. Be engaged. And always keep watch!" This is the mantra of The Elgin Watchman podcast.

Today's mini-episode is an infomercial for the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Zero Waste Workgroup, and it is your opportunity to get more involved.
Jeff Biss about the objectives of this workgroup and some of their upcoming 2023 projects.

Zero Waste Workgroup meetings are the third Wednesday of every month between 10-11 am at the downtown branch of the Gail Borden Library.

For more information about how to join this commission workgroup, go to https://www.cityofelgin.org/sustainability or call the city's information hotline
at 3-1-1.

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"Get involved. Be engaged. And always keep watch!" This is the mantra of The Elgin Watchman podcast.

Today's mini-episode is an infomercial for the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Transportation & Mobility Workgroup, and it is your opportunity to get more involved.

Erik interviews commissioner Tom Armstrong about the objectives of this workgroup and some of their upcoming 2023 projects.

Transportation & Mobility Workgroup meetings are the first Wednesday of every month between 5-6 pm at the downtown branch of the Gail Borden Library.

For more information about how to join this commission workgroup, go to https://www.cityofelgin.org/sustainability or call the city's information hotline
at 3-1-1.

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"Get involved. Be engaged. And always keep watch!" This is the mantra of The Elgin Watchman podcast.

Today's mini-episode is an infomercial for the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Outreach & Education Workgroup, and it is your opportunity to get more involved.

Erik interviews commissioner Katie Gronke about the objectives of this workgroup and some of their upcoming 2023 projects.

The Outreach & Education Workgroup meetings the third Wednesday of every month between 6-7 pm at the downtown branch of the Gail Borden Library.

For more information about how to join this commission workgroup, go to https://www.cityofelgin.org/sustainability or call the city's information hotline
at 3-1-1.

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"Get involved. Be engaged. And always keep watch!" This is the mantra of The Elgin Watchman podcast.

Today's mini-episode is an infomercial for the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Renewable Energy Workgroup, and it is your opportunity to get more involved.

Erik interviews commissioner David Jurina about the objectives of this workgroup and some of their upcoming 2023 projects.

The Renewable Energy Workgroup meetings the first Wednesday of every month between 6-7 pm at the downtown branch of the Gail Borden Library.

For more information about how to join this commission workgroup, go to https://www.cityofelgin.org/sustainability or call the city's information hotline
at 3-1-1.

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Season One of The Elgin Watchman podcast is almost over, but there are still a few loose ends to tie-up. Loose ends such as the December 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting.

So, this episode is unlike any other 2022 episode. Tia is on sabbatical. Erik was out-of-state and couldn't attend the December meeting. So, Franklin Ramirez did The Elgin Watchman a "solid favor" by agreeing to attend the meeting and allow Erik to interview him after the fact.

Did we mention that Frankin's 16-year-old nephew -- Trey -- joined us in the podcast studio and provided "color commentary".

Again, this was a very unique and interesting podcast episode. In fact, it was kinda cool to have a Generation Z individual sharing their observations and commentary.

Overall, meeting topics discussed included: Elgin Robotics Club; grant report for Sherman Hospital compost structure; grant report for Eastside Neighborhood Community Garden; volunteer recruitment consultant proposals; 2023 project budgets; commissioner term limits; and public power project.

For more information about the Elgin Robotics Club and their upcoming competition at Elgin Community College, please go to The Elgin Watchman Facebook page.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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Welcome to episode 29 of Season One, which is a special edition podcast following up on the city of Batavia's efforts to pass a Single Use Bag Fee ordinance (which is something the city of Elgin has been trying to do for more than three-years).

In episode 23, Erik floated down the mighty Fox River and facilitated a panel discussion with two Batavia Environmental Commission members and a city council member. The focus of that discussion was the city of Batavia's proposed Single Use Bag Fee ordinance.

Interestingly, the city of Batavia had started its Single Use Bag Fee ordinance efforts around the same time as the Elgin Sustainability Commission -- approximately 2018/2019.

In the final analysis, both cities were in exactly the same place with their proposed ordinances. So, The Elgin Watchman decided that Batavia was a good benchmarking partner for Elgin's efforts, and Erik has been following Batavia's story for comparative purposes.

Well, there is breaking news coming out of Batavia. So, Erik called Batavia Environment Commissioner Alex Zelles to check-in on the situation and asked her to share the news with Elgin Watchman listeners in this episode.

In addition to updates on the Single Use Bag Fee ordinance, Erik and Alex talk a little bit about a recent joint meeting between the Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles sustainability commissions.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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Where oh where oh where is Erik's podcast partner, Tia Aagesen?

Tia mysteriously announced a few months ago she would be taking a 7-month sabbatical from podcast. Tia comes back to share her BIG announcement with Elgin Watchman podcast listeners. You won't want to miss this interview.

After dealing with Tia's dramatic announcement, Erik uses the rest of the podcast to wrap up The Elgin Watchman's Season One special series of podcasts about Lead in our Drinking Water & Lead Service Line Replacement program.

Erik does a deep dive on the city of Elgin's new interactive online map that residents can use to determine if their home or business receives its drinking water via a lead service water line. You can check out this resource at http://leadsafeelgin.com/.

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In most previous city budget construction cycles, November would have been a little late in the game for the Elgin Sustainability Commission to start constructing its next fiscal year budget. This is why the commission used to host a budget retreat in late July to iron out these details. However, with federal ARPA funds sloshing around many city halls around the country -- as is the case in Elgin -- everyone is still scrambling to figure out how to spend the excess money. And Elgin, IL is no different.

So, the Sustainability Commission's November special meeting retreat to work on developing its 2023 budget apparently was right on time.

In addition to ironing out wrinkles in its typical $24,000 budget allocation, there were a number of special projects being tossed around, including but not limited to:

Residential solar revolving loan fund
EV Charging Stations
Hiring a consultant to help develop a Transportation Plan
Electric Lawnmowers
Hiring a consultant to help develop a Sustainability & Resiliency Plan (e.g. maybe a Sustainability Action Plan with a Climate Action section)
And there was more

This is a short episode, but it does a nice job of summarizing all of the budget ideas swirling around the commission's meeting room table.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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As always, the November 2022 meeting of the Elgin Sustainability Commission was long. There were lots of topics discussed ranging from purchasing seeds for native plants seeds to the upcoming budget retreat (which was covered by The Watchman and will be the next podcast episode dropped). However, the fireworks for the evening were produced in an exchange between Commissioner David Jurina and Commissioner Chris Flaherty. The conflict was over whether or not the city should issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) to hire a consultant to help the commission with volunteer identification, recruitment, and retention.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

PS -- And a big 'ol congratulations to the City of Batavia for beating the Elgin City Council in adopting its Single Use Bag Fee ordinance before the end of 2022.

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While driving down Interstate 90 into the city of Chicago, Erik noticed a billboard advertising a specialty branded public service announcement webpage -- leadsafechicago.org -- where people could easily access information about lead service lines, replacement projects, and lead in drink water risks.

Since The Elgin Watchman has been focused on Elgin's lead service water lines as its Season One in-depth series, Erik decided to do a compare/contrast exercise between the city of Chicago's new lead information website and what the city of Elgin has posted on its website.

Long story short . . . The Elgin Watchman has a few questions they suggest you may want to ask mayoral and city council candidates during the upcoming winter/spring campaign.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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Throughout all the coverage of the Elgin Sustainability Commission's . . .

attempts to create a draft Single Use Bag Fee ordinance, and
recommend both city staff and city council take up the issue

. . . there was always someone on the commission (or city staff) saying something like this:

"What are other communities doing? How are they dealing with _________ as it pertains to a Single Use Bag Fee?"
This question came up often enough that Tia & Erik started wondering if anyone was going to do anything about it?

Truth be told, after hearing the same question for the umteenth time, Tia & Erik decided to take matters into their own hands. They tracked down a municipal worker (someone who would only speak anonymously on the record) who previously worked in a community that approved a similar ordinance . . . AND THEY INTERVIEWED HIM. Click Here To Listen To That Episode

Similarly, today's episode was inspired by the same frustrating questions.

Erik floated down the Fox River and found himself in Batavia, IL speaking with two members of that community's Environmental Commission and one of its city council members.

Batavia's Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance efforts started at about the same time as Elgin's -- four years ago. Similarly, they find themselves in the same place right now:

both commissions did their due diligence
both commissions have put their thoughts in writing regarding what an ordinance should looks like, and
both commissions made a recommendation to their respective city staff and city councils, urging action by the end of 2022..

It will be interesting to see which community "gets the football across the goal line first."

Who has more political clout and leverage . . . Elgin city councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger or Batavia city councilwoman Abby Beck?

Today's episode marks the podcast's first ever panel discussion. We hope you tune in because we thought is was a refreshing change of pace from what we've been pumping out lately. *Fingers Crossed* We hope you like it!

Keep yourself tuned in to this podcast for additional news on both Elgin's and Batavia's Single Use Bag Fee ordinances and further developments.

For more information about this and more, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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Trying to produce THREE podcast episodes in a 24-hour period was exhausting.

And this third and final podcast in that marathon was coverage of the October 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting, and it might have been the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." It also likely explains why this episode is a compact 20-minutes in length.

However, don't let the length of the podcast fool you. You will still find fun content around every corner. For example . . .

There is a FUN podcast game that involves Elgin city councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger. Playing the game could win you a prize. Come on . . . what do you have to lose?
I also announce the inaugural recipient of the Tia Aagesen Sustainability Sunshine Award. This award is the opposite of The Lady Elgin award, which has yet to be awarded (YES, this is a blatant teaser for a future podcast ). Regardless, you will want to stay tuned to hear who received this month's Tia Aagesen Sustainability Sunshine Award. It is a shocker!

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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During our podcast coverage of the September 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting, Erik questioned whether commissioners had violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act. He made a promise to The Elgin Watchman's listening audience to roll up his sleeves and get to the bottom of things.

In this podcast episode, Erik . . .

Interviewed former Elgin Township Supervisor Franklin Ramirez
Shares a few thoughts from a newspaper reporter
Conveys additional thoughts from a downstate attorney
And shares court cases provided by a good government nonprofit organization's intern

After hearing (and reading) all of the information put in front of him, Erik has no doubt that the Elgin Sustainability Commission violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Erik asks listeners to call/email city of Elgin General Counsel Bill Cogley.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Have you downloaded, read, and shared The Elgin Watchman Podcast's Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance Advocacy eGuide? If not, then please . . .

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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Starting in May 2022, The Elgin Watchman podcast has been doing a deep dive on the topic of lead service lines and the possibility of high lead levels in some Elgin residents drinking water.

Today's episode is a departure from the last few months of interviewing the city of Elgin's former and current Water Department Directors in addition to our discussion with a pediatric nurse.

Instead, we turn our attention this month to nuts-and-bolts questions homeowners may have around what it takes to replace a lead service line to their home. We try to accomplish this objective by interviewing Elgin resident Carl Strathman who replaced his lead service line a few years ago.

Please join us in thanking Carl for caring enough about transparency and inclusion to share his personal story with us for education purposes.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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The September 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting was the opposite of the August meeting. However, it certainly was almost as long. In a nutshell, the following topics were discussed:

Bike paths
Sustey Awards (giving responsibility to Elgin Image Awards committee)
Native Plant Giveaway
Eastside Community Garden Event
Sustainability Marketing Materials
Reusable Shopping Bag Giveaway (hemp bags vs. other bags)
Workgroup Volunteer Recruitment Efforts (or lack thereof)

Of course, the big issue for "Democracy Geeks" like Erik & Tia was whether commissioners violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act. This question was explored and remains an open question that Erik plans on asking more knowledgeable people about (including possibly the Illinois Attorney General's office).

Also discussed on the podcast was the recently published Advocacy eGuide focused on the proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance. The eGuide helps Elgin residents see how we got to this point on the plastic bag policy debate and understand what they need to do to help get this ordinance passed before the end of 2022.

To read, download, and/or share the Advocacy eGuide:

Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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Tia & Erik have been following the story of elevated levels of lead in Elgin's water supply based on a recent notice and brochure sent to Elgin residents earlier in 2022.

click here for Spanish language version of notice
click here for Spanish language version of brochure

"Lead in Elgin's Drinking Water" coverage is a once a special podcast that start in May 2022. Over the last few months, a variety of different professionals -- former city staff, current city staff, and a pediatric nurse -- have come on the podcast to talk about this very serious issue.

Today's episode is PART TWO of a very long (and really informational) interview with Eric Weiss, who is the current City of Elgin Water Director. As you can imagine, there was a lot of ground covered:

Clarifying some of the wonky, concerning language in the Annual Water Quality Report
Clarifying how Elgin residents may qualify for the city's Lead Service Line Replacement program (hint: there isn't an application)
And much, much more . . .
Including more silly talk about Speedo swimsuits

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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Hooray . . . Hooza . . . Take a victory lap! The Elgin Sustainability Commission unanimously passed the Single Use Bag Fee draft ordinance at its August 2022 meeting.

Right? So, where is the ticker-tape parade? Shouldn't there be a balloon drop? Or am I not seeing all that celebratory stuff because it's not environmentally sustainable?

Commissioner Jeff Biss comes on a special edition of The Elgin Watchman podcast to explain that it's premature to do any celebrating. The commission vote was only advisory. It was a recommendation to city staff and city council to take up the issue of a plastic (and paper) single use bag fee draft ordinance that the commission's Waste Workgroup has been working on for the last four years.

In this special edition podcast episode, Jeff addresses the following issues:

Where the fight for implementing a single use bag fee is actually at in the legislative process
What's in the ordinance and what's not in the ordinance
Refuting arguments being made by some city council members like Tish Powell about why now is not the right time to act on a proposal like this one
What everyday Elgin residents, consumers, and voters can do to help get this proposed idea across the finish line at city hall

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

On a completely different subject, please KEEP WATCH right here on The Elgin Watchman's podcast platform. Because in the next few days, our regularly scheduled second podcast drop for the month of August will occur. It will feature the second half of the telephone interview with Eric Weiss, who is the City of Elgin's Water Director. He will help educate all of us about the city's Lead Service line Replacement program.

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The August 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting was the longest one of the year -- and perhaps the longest ever in the commission's 10-year history -- clocking in at three-and-one-half to four hours in length. Needless to say, commission chairperson Tom Armstrong is back in Tia's doghouse.

Members of the Elgin Area Climate Change Now, Elgin City of Peace, and Elgin Green Groups 350 were present. Passionate citizens pushed the commission to stop talking about taking action and instead start taking action. Our friend, Robin Migalla (aka the Dutchess of Dumpsters), yelled at commissioners.

Bottom line?

The Elgin Sustainability Commission voted to recommend the Elgin City Council examine the proposed Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance it has been working on for four years and consider implementation
The Elgin Sustainability Commission got a black eye from residents in the audience for their lack of acting urgently in the wake of the city council passing its Climate Emergency Declaration in 2020
The Elgin Sustainability Commission is talking about a lot of issues and workgroups appear to be awakening from their very long slumber. There is massive opportunity for Elgin residents who want to get involved, and those who are interested should call city of Elgin Sustainability Analyst Mikala Larson at 847-931-5615

We hope you enjoyed this month's Elgin Sustainability Commission coverage. It was the culmination of many previous podcasts (including four special edition podcasts released in the four days leading up to the August commission meeting).

Please stay tuned because the next podcast drop at the end of this month will feature a second half of the telephone interview with Eric Weiss, who is the City of Elgin's Water Director. He will help educate all of us about the city's Lead Service line Replacement program.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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- - SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST *
    The proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance** appears to be picking up steam in Elgin , Illinois.
Two members of the city council contacted Tia & Erik after The Elgin Watchman launched its anonymous straw poll of those elected officials. Both agreed to interviews!
The executive director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (aka the person who wrote the Single Use Plastic Bag Ordinance for Woodstock, IL) agreed to an interview.
A city staff person from a different municipality -- who wanted to remain anonymous -- agreed to speak with The Elgin Watchman podcast about his experience with implementation of a reusable shopping bag program that he helped implement.

We have published one podcast per day for the last four days leading up to tomorrow's (August 9th) 6:00 pm Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting at the Centre of Elgin in downtown Elgin inside the ballroom (or possibly one of the conference rooms next to the ballroom). Why? Because rumor has it that the commission will be taking a vote on whether to recommend the city council consider this proposed ordinance, which the commission has been working on for the last four years.

Today's podcast features an interview with the executive director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County -- Cynthia Kanner. She and the defenders were instrumental in pushing for adoption of Woodstock's Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance and helped with the implementation of the village's reusable shopping bag program. She shares her experiences and lessons learned. We also attempt to apply some of those things to what Elgin is trying to do in this area.

(Note: On Friday, The Elgin Watchman published an interview with councilwoman Tish Powell. Saturday's special edition podcast featured an interview with city councilman Corey Dixon. Sunday's special edition podcast featured an interview with a former government employee, who wished to remain anonymous, talking about implementation of a municipal reusable bag program. CLICK HEREfor Tish Powell, and CLICK HERE for Corey Dixon. CLICK HERE for Mr. Anonymous.)

A special THANK YOU to Cynthia for agreeing to come on the podcast to discuss what went into a different municipality's efforts to do what the Sustainability Commission is proposing for Elgin, IL. We hope you enjoy this level of transparency and share this podcast with friends and family who you think will enjoy it, too.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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- - SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST *
    The proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance** appears to be picking up steam in Elgin , Illinois.
Two members of the city council contacted Tia & Erik after The Elgin Watchman launched its anonymous straw poll of those elected officials. Both agreed to interviews!
The executive director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (aka the person who wrote the Single Use Plastic Bag Ordinance for Woodstock, IL) agreed to an interview.
A city staff person from a different municipality -- who wanted to remain anonymous -- agreed to speak with The Elgin Watchman podcast about his experience with implementation of a reusable shopping bag program that he helped implement.

We will publish one podcast per day leading up to the Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting on Tuesday, August 9th at 6pm at the Centre of Elgin in downtown Elgin inside the ballroom (or possibly one of the conference rooms next to the ballroom). Why? Because rumor has it that the commission will be taking a vote on whether to recommend the city council consider this proposed ordinance, which the commission has been working on for the last four years.

Today's podcast features a former employee from a different municipality who wanted to remain anonymous. A few years ago, he worked for a municipality who implemented a reusable shopping bag giveaway program in advance of implementing their community's Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance. He shares his experiences.

(Note: On Friday, The Elgin Watchman published an interview with councilwoman Tish Powell. Saturday's special edition podcast featured an interview with city councilman Corey Dixon. CLICK HEREfor Tish Powell, and CLICK HERE for Corey Dixon.)

A special THANK YOU to "Tom"for agreeing to come on the podcast to discuss what went into a different municipality's efforts to do what the Sustainability Commission is proposing for Elgin, IL. We hope you enjoy this level of transparency and share this podcast with friends and family who you think will enjoy it, too.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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- - SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST *
    The proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance** appears to be picking up steam in Elgin , Illinois.
Two members of the city council contacted Tia & Erik after The Elgin Watchman launched its anonymous straw poll of those elected officials. Both agreed to interviews!
The executive director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (aka the person who wrote the Single Use Plastic Bag Ordinance for Woodstock, IL) agreed to an interview.
A city staff person from a different municipality -- who wanted to remain anonymous -- agreed to speak with The Elgin Watchman podcast about his experience with implementation of a reusable shopping bag program that he helped implement.

Today's podcast features an interview with councilman Corey Dixon. He considers himself a likely YES vote on the proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance if it end up in front of the council. However, he also appears open to an outright single use plastic bag ban if the ordinance can be crafted correctly and enforced.

(Note: yesterday The Watchman published an interview with councilwoman Tish Powell. Click here to listen to that podcast, which was markedly different from the one with Corey Dixon.)

A special THANK YOU to Corey for agreeing to come on the podcast to discuss what's on his mind. Interviews like this give voters an opportunity to get inside of elected officials heads and see "how the sausage is made" from a policy perspective. It makes our democracy stronger. We hope you enjoy this level of transparency and share this podcast with friends and family who you think will enjoy it, too.

If you are interested in speaking with Corey or any other council member, you can find their contact information online on the city website . . . https://www.cityofelgin.org/77/Mayor-and-Council

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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- - SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST * **
    The proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance appears to be picking up steam in Elgin , Illinois.
Two members of the city council contacted Tia & Erik after The Elgin Watchman launched its anonymous straw poll of those elected officials. Both agreed to interviews!
The executive director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (aka the person who wrote the Single Use Plastic Bag Ordinance for Woodstock, IL) agreed to an interview.
A city staff person from a different municipality -- who wanted to remain anonymous -- agreed to speak with The Elgin Watchman podcast about his experience with implementation of a reusable shopping bag program that he helped implement.

Today's podcast features an interview with councilwoman Tish Powell. She is still undecided on how she plans on voting on the proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance if it end up in front of the council.

A special THANK YOU to Tish for agreeing to come on the podcast to discuss what's on her mind. Interviews like this give voters an opportunity to get inside of elected officials heads and see "how the sausage is made" from a policy perspective. It makes our democracy stronger. We hope you enjoy this level of transparency and share this podcast with friends and family who you think will enjoy it, too.

If you are interested in speaking with Tish or any other council member, you can find their contact information online on the city website . . . https://www.cityofelgin.org/77/Mayor-and-CouncilFor more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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Erik and Tia continue exploring the issue of lead in Elgin's drinking water and the city's Lead Service Line Replacement program. In this episode, Tia and Erik interview the City of Elgin's current Water Director, Eric Weiss.

This interview went so long that Erik & Tia decided to break it into two parts. The second part of the interview will drop towards the end of August.

After Part One of the Eric Weiss' interview, Tia & Erik deviate from the issue of Lead Elgin's Drinking Water and spend a few minutes talking about the Elgin Sustainability Commission's proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee. So, after an amazing interview with the Water Director, you will want to stick around to hear about some interesting city hall rumors and news about a fun upcoming interview.

Remember . . . Keep Watch!

PS -- The complete unedited telephone interview with Eric Weiss will be available on The Elgin Watchman website shortly, but you will still want to turn into to Part Two of this podcast at the end of August for more social commentary on Speedo swimsuits and Elgin's city staff.

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The July 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting was longer than the super efficient June meeting that Tia covered, but commission chairperson Tom Armstrong still managed to adjourn the public meeting after 90-minutes.

Unfortunately, Erik wasn't feeling well the day of this podcast recording. His second COVID booster was kicking his butt. So, in an attempt to shorten and spice things up, Tia decided to throw Erik a curveball by paying tribute to the old PBS television show -- The McLaughlin Group.

The three commission discussion topics Tia chose to focus on were:

Fox River Development around the downtown branch of the Gail Borden Public Library
Sustainability Commission workgroups
Single Use Plastic Bag Fee draft ordinance

We hope you enjoy this month's shortened and hilarious episode. And please stay tuned because the next two podcast drops will feature a telephone interview with Eric Weiss, who is the City of Elgin's Water Director. He will help education all of us about the city's Lead Service line Replacement program.

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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The City of Elgin recently released its Annual Water Quality Report for the period of time between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021.

When it comes to lead in Elgin's drinking water, here's some of the facts:

Approximately 100-ish Elgin homes with lead service pipes got tested
There is no safe level of lead that humans should be ingesting, which is why it is the EPA's stated goal to have ZERO parts per billion (ppb) of lead in drinking water.
However, the EPA recognizes the reality of many communities situations, which is why it sets 15 ppb as an "action level" for communities
Of the 100-ish homes tested, 22 exceeded these EPA established "action levels" with 22.5 ppb or higher
However, the Water Quality Report states that Elgin is not in violation of the EPA's lead standard
The report also states the likely source of lead found in the homes that were tested was from: 1) erosion of natural deposits and 2) corrosion of household plumbing

All of this got Tia & Erik talking about the "effects of lead" on humans (and especially children). So, they asked pediatric nurse Shannon Flint, who is a pediatric nurse, to speak with them about this topic.

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The June 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting was the shortest and best managed by Commission Chair Tom Armstrong so far in 2022. The agenda was short, and Tia picked three of the main topics to summarize:

Open Meetings Act as it pertains to rejuvenating the commission's workgroups
Elgin's Tree Planting Program
Green House Gas Inventory

However, Erik & Tia spend the vast amount of time in this podcast discussing what DIDN'T make it onto the commission's June agenda -- the proposed Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee draft ordinance.

Sustainability Commissioner Jeff Biss graciously agreed to an interview and answered questions about what happened and where he thinks the draft ordinance initiative is going.

Tia dug up some old emails between her and city staff and another one between her and a city councilperson back when she served on the commission as its chairperson. Believe it or not, the Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance idea has been kicking around for MANY, MANY years.

Perhaps, we all need to start wondering what's the hang up? Or who is standing in its way? And as you can imagine, Tia & Erik starting exploring some of these questions in this podcast episode. You can file it under, "Things that make you go -- Hmmmmmm?"

Subscribe using your RSS feed by visiting our podcast platform at https://elginwatchman.buzzsprout.com/
Like our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/TheElginWatchman/
Visit our webpage at https://www.elginwatchman.com/

We encourage you to get involved, attend meetings, ask questions, and ALWAYS "Keep Watch!"

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Erik and Tia continue exploring the issue of lead in Elgin's drinking water after the city mailed residents notification a few months ago about elevated levels. In this episode, Tia interviews the City of Elgin's former Interim Public Services Director, Kyla Jacobsen, who retired in 2017.

Jacobsen offers an interesting, unique, and educated perspective on this topic. Her answers provide historical context and good information about what's being done to address this sustainability issue.

Visit our website and Facebook page to access additional information discussed during this episode:

https://www.elginwatchman.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheElginWatchman/

If your home has a lead service water line, please contact us at info@elginwatchman.com because we would love to interview you.

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The May 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting was the best one so far in 2022 with many different governance motions put on the table and even more topics for discussion.

Single Use Plastic Bag Fee
Waste Management Recycling Pilot Project
Native Plants/East Side Community Garden
No Mow May
Solar, Solare, & More Solar
And so much more!

Honestly, this meeting can only be summed by with the phrase:
"Uh-Oh! Spaghetti O's!"

Yep, this was a thing. An actual thing that was mentioned many times at the May meeting.

Admit it. You're curious now. There is only one thing left to do if you want to scratch that itch . . . click-n-listen!

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A few weeks ago, the City of Elgin mailed a brochure in accordance with the EPA's Lead & Copper Rule to some Elgin residents because elevated lead levels were found in a handful of homes. Unfortunately, Tia was one of the residents who received this city's mailing, and it has her freaked out.

Tia & Erik talk about lead in drinking water, and dial-in former Elgin Township Supervisor Franklin Ramirez in an effort to: 1) better understand municipal water systems; 2) sort out who owns what pipes; and 3) what are homeowners on the hook for when it comes to lead service lines.

In the final analysis, there are so many lingering questions, it is starting to look like LEAD IN ELGIN'S DRINKING WATER may become the first in-depth series for The Elgin Watchman podcast that airs during the second half of each month. (Note: Of course the first podcast of every month follows the adventures of the Elgin Sustainability Commission.)

CLICK HERE for more information about lead in drinking water at The Elgin Watchman website.

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Tia attends another LONG Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting in April and summarizes it perfectly. She and Erik then spend the rest of their time talking about the soon-to-be-proposed "Single-Use Plastic Bag Fee" in Elgin, Illinois . . . Coming soon to a city council meeting soon (if city staff let it see the light of day) . . . and a little something-something about microplastics.

PS -- Sorry for the delayed drop of this month's Elgin Sustainability Commission podcast coverage. Let's just say, The Watchman had a run-in with COVID and it wasn't pretty. To Infinity & Beyond . . . Welcome to the New Normal!

PPS -- There are three additional post-podcast audio drops on the website of Tia & Erik doing deeper dives on microplastics, sustainability project ideas for the Sustainability Commission if they get money from the proposed plastic bag tax . . . er . . . I mean bag FEE, and anticipating Trumpist arguments against this impending proposed fee.

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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's public health emergency will expire soon and so will special provisions allowing elected and appointed officials to meet virtually. Needless to say, there is confusion about what this means for the City of Elgin's advisory boards (e.g. Sustainability Commission, Human Relations Commission, etc) and their respective initiatives.

In this episode Tia & Erik sit down with former Elgin Township Supervisor, Franklin Ramirez, to unpack and explore this issue and what it may mean for "good government, transparency, and diversity/equity/inclusion."

CALL TO ACTION:

Educate yourself on how the Open Meetings Act may impact important issues in front of the Elgin Sustainability Commission, Human Relations Commission, and the city council. You can find materials on our website and Facebook page.
Advocate for whatever solutions you feel strongly about by sitting down (or you can call or email if that makes you more comfortable) with the mayor, city council members, and your state representative and state senator.
Get involved and "keep watch" by attending council and commission meetings (or watching recordings after the fact).
And a renewed request from the last podcast . . . Please take 3-minutes to complete this SurveyMonkey questionnaire and participate in the content development process for the second podcast of each month in 2022. Here is that link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ElginWatchmanTopics

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Erik attended the Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting on March 8th. He efficiently reviews the long list of topics touched upon during that meeting. (albeit, not as efficiently as Tia did in the previous episode for the February meeting)

Single-Use Bag Fee Review
Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region & Elgin Sustainability Action Plan
Commissioner Survey
Native Demo Gardens & Eastside Neighborhood Gardens
Earth Month
Community Solar
City tree program

After an exciting "lightening round" of commission topics, Erik and Tia tackle the issue of the Elgin Sustainability Commission's citizen engagement strategy of using workgroups.

Previously ardent advocates of workgroups, you may be surprised at where Erik and Tia come down on this issue and why.

CALL TO ACTION: Please take 3-minutes to complete this SurveyMonkey questionnaire and participate in the content development process for the second podcast of each month in 2022. Here is that link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ElginWatchmanTopics

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Tia attended the Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting on February 15th. She efficiently reviews the long list of topics touched upon during that meeting.

Climate Crisis Plan
Elgin Earth Month
Plastic Bag Tax
Elgin's Tree Bank Planting program
Elgin Township's funding request for a native plants project
Local business' grant request to promote eco-friendly, zero waste health. beauty & household products
Community Solar

After an exciting "lightening round" of commission topics, Erik and Tia tackle the 182-page documents and presentation by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus' Edith Makra. They discuss many of the climate crisis strategies and how the commission, city council, and individual Fox Valley residents can (and should) start implementing those ideas.

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Meet the hosts of the Elgin Watchman podcast, Tia Aagesen and Erik Anderson, and learn a few interesting tidbits about what motivated them to embark on this project.

Interesting tidbits . . .
This podcast was inspired by the Elgin Watchman newspaper, which publishing in 1865 in Elgin, Illinois. Originally published under the name of the "Second District Democrat" by B.W. Staniforth, this publication became the "Elgin Chronicle," which became the "Elgin Watchman" and was owned by E.C. Kincaid. According to the authors of "History of Kane County," the Watchman was ultimately acquired by the "Elgin Gazette, which was later purchased and became the "Elgin Advocate." Today, there is a little known pocket park in downtown Elgin at the intersection of Spring & Chicago Streets honoring the Elgin Advocate newspaper and the proud journalism traditions of the late 1800s.

Disclaimer . . .
Tia and Erik do not claim to be journalists, and this podcast does not represent itself to be a news organization. These two curious individuals will talk about topics pertaining to sustainability and environmental issues relevant to Elgin, Illinois and the Fox Valley region. The views expressed on this podcast represent the opinions of Tia Aagesen, Erik Anderson, and their guests to the show and on the Elgin Watchman website. The content here is not affiliated with the City of Elgin or the Elgin Sustainability Commission.

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Erik attended Waste Management's (aka WM) virtual Sustainability Forum on February 9th. He shares a few of his big picture takeaways with Tia in this episode around collaboration, accountability, and how it relates backs to our community.

Elgin Watchman: Recent Episodes

The Watchman