Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed their New Years Eve. I went to Mad Maggie's to see Smoking Popes, Catfish Haven, Tall Dark Stranger, and Kid You'll Move Mountains.

GREAT SHOW!

Unfortunately, I broke my camera (again!), so you have to wait for the photos and video.

Is anyone out there making resolutions? If so, you should resolve to go to at least one show at Mad Maggie's. We are really fortunate to have our music scene grow like this. (I'm especially excited for the Sundowner show on February 1st.)

If some of you think "Oh I'm too old now, I don't go to shows," think again! They have an upstairs with tables where you can hear the show from the comfort of your own seat. No need to stay standing the entire time amidst sweaty kids.

The show reminded me how small of a town Elgin can be. People I saw include someone I was neighbors with growing up, a former coworker from my first job as a library shelver, our IL State Rep Elect, my best friend's cousin, a handful of people from my hs graduating class, the nephew of one of my middle school teachers, a close friend of a former roommate of mine, and more. Oh & one of the Smoking Popes lived in my old apartment w/ my same roommates after I moved out of it, but I didn't bother to accost him and inform him of our connection.

To the best year yet, in Elgin!

Hooray for Sustainable Urbanism!

READ THIS BOOK! I requested that Gail Borden Public Library buy this book, & they did. I'll be returning it next week. Get on their site and save it for yourself next!

At the last City Council meeting architect Doug Farr spoke about sustainable urbanism & Elgin's developments in particular. Today the Courier News ran an article on the presentation. Specific recommendations Farr gave to Elgin are to make density minimums instead of maximums, to include rental units in all neighborhoods and developments instead of segregating them, and to make setback (the space between a building and the street) maximums instead of minimums

Sustainable urbanism is probably going to be the future of Elgin and a good chunk of our country whether people accept it now or not. I whole-heartedly believe that what Farr calls sustainable urbanism is exactly what our society needs right now and will be a major part of addressing the environmental and health problems we suffer from. What does sustainable urbanism look like? More compact and walkable communities that have schools, churches, and grocery stores in each neighborhood. Transit-oriented development. Buildings & homes that use fewer resources to power themselves. An infrastructure that connects people with nature and makes it easier to know where water & food come from, and, once used, where they go.

If predictions for Elgin are correct, it is only just over half developed at this point. (They predict Randall Road will be Elgin's physical center, and Elgin's western boundary will reach to 47.) It is MUCH easier & cheaper to develop according to sustainable urbanism principles from the get-go rather than throw up developments that will need to be converted in a couple decades. The more Elgin residents understand, accept, and promote sustainable urbanism, the more likely it is that we'll get this right from the beginning. If we do not "get it" now, that will have a major impact on who is able and who wants to live here in the future, how we compare with all of the other cities and suburbs in the region, and even how we compete in the global economy.

It is hard to gauge how the Council took Farr's presentation. It was mentioned that Mayor Schock has read Farr's book, Sustainable Urbanism. Dave Kaptain is clearly onboard. One council member who will remain nameless feel asleep during the presentation, so I'm guessing he doesn't find it too important. (He is one of the three up for re-election.) There weren't many who seemed interested in discussion.

My hope, if I hadn't made it clear already, is that the ideas being put forth under the term sustainable urbanism will guide Elgin's sustainability planning and all future new and in-fill developments.

Do you think the Courier will let me email this in as my Speakout?

toothpastefordinner.com

lifeinelgin.com

UPDATE: lifeinelgin.com will be redirecting again within the next few days. Sorry for false info!

Hello folks,

I did two things I should've done a long time ago--redirected lifeinelgin.com to this blog and redirected the lifeinelgin.com feedburner feed to this blog's feed.

That means the lifeinelgin.com web address is & will always be the web address of this blog, even if I move it (as I did before from wordpress to blogger). & just a heads up, I probably will move it to something else. Blogger isn't all that great. :)

So sorry for any convenience, but if your link uses lifeinelgin.blogspot.com, change it back to lifeinelgin.com. This is where it will stay, forever and ever, until I move out of Elgin or quit blogging or die, whichever comes first.

I shoulda done that initially, but you live & learn right?

Jessica

PS, Here's a great music video for your pleasure:

Nominate an Elginite as one of Chicagoland's top ten visionaries!

Click here for the online nomination form. The description of this Chicago Matters award is pasted below. Note: When they write "Chicago," they mean Chicagoland, so yes, Elginites count!

There is no doubt that Chicago and the region are part of a global community. But our success in the world depends on the people who live here. So who’s leading the way? Who is thinking about Chicago’s future and putting us on the global map?

Tell us who you think fits the bill. Over the next year, Chicago Matters will introduce you to Chicago’s top 10 global visionaries. Your choice could be one of them! The nomination process closes January 14.

Over the next year, Chicago Matters: Growing Forward will introduce you to Chicago’s top 10 global visionaries. Your choice could be one of them!

Stitch N Bitch TONIGHT!

Grandma Liza PUDGEEZ Knitter's Valet, originally uploaded by bethlower.

Tonight is Elgin's 2nd ever Stitch n Bitch! We will be meeting up at

7 PM

at

Gail Borden Public Library's La Tazza Cafe.

Hope to see you there! Last week we had knitters and a needle pointer. Anyone is welcome, even if you don't know how to knit or crochet! We will have books on hand and even spare yarn & needles.

Have you seen next year's budget?

Click here to view it. Some how I'm on the cover. Crazy, no?

I haven't had time to read every last word yet, but I'm very excited that Elgin plans to move toward more sustainable planning and practices.

They vote on the budget this Wednesday, December 17th. The Committee of the Whole starts at 6 PM and the actual voting City Council meeting is at 7 PM. The meeting is held at 150 Dexter Court on the 2nd floor. The first time I went I had to call since the website doesn't make the location very easy to find.

I'm going. This will be my 2nd Elgin City Council meeting. My first-ever meeting was in October of this year, at which I stood up and spoke about bike stuff (click here for minutes in pdf). The Council meetings have a "Recognize Persons Present" portion in which any Elgin resident may stand up and speak on whatever topic they choose for up to three minutes.