Kickstands represent in Chicago

On Sunday three of us Elgin Kickstands went to Chicago to participate in Bike the Drive. We rode 30 miles up and down Lake Shore Drive. Enjoy the photos.

Tags: bicycles, Bike the Drive, bikes, Chicago, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, events
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Elgin is the best ever!

According to Best Life magazine, Elgin is the 52nd best place in the US to raise a family. Woo hoo! They looked at 257 American cities total–Honolulu is #1 and Clarkesville, Tennessee came in dead last.

Here’s how other Illinois cities stacked up:
17. Naperville
19. Springfield
52. Elgin
60. Chicago

I’m not sure if I trust the ratings though because #32 is Las Vegas. Why would Vegas rank higher than Elgin? More casinos?

Tags: best place to raise a family, Chicago, Elgin, IL, Illinois, magazine, MSN, Naperville, quality of life, ranking, Springfield
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Treating our environment nicely.

I will spend this weekend working at the Green Festival in Chicago. It’s a great place to learn all the amazingly creative ways people are treating our earth better. If you agree with the spirit of Green Festival, but don’t feel like leaving Elgin, have no fear! Look what was printed in the Courier today:

Rain barrels and compost bins will be sold from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Elgin Public Works Department open house, at 1900 Holmes Road. The black plastic rain barrels are 57-60 gallons in capacity; feature a screened, screw-top lid and an internal PVC overflow system; and are the “Wide Overflow” model made by Chicago Rain Barrel. The compost bins are the Earth Machine model made by Norseman Plastics. Bins will cost $40 each and barrels $60 each, while supplies last Saturday, by cash or check only. Learn how to get the most out of your new earth-friendly products by attending a free seminar at 11 a.m. sponsored by the Conservation Foundation on “Creating Rain Gardens in Your Yard & Using Rain Barrels.” More information is available from the public works department at (847)697-3160, or the city’s Web site at www.cityofelgin.org.

Tags: Chicago, compost bin, Elgin, environment, green festival, Illinois, nature, rain barrel, rain gardens
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How do you want our region to look in 2040?

That is what the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) wants to know. If you live in any of the Chicagoland counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Will) then I highly suggest you click here to take part in their “Go to 2040″ survey. This is a quick & easy way to get involved in the planning process and shape the way our region evolves.

UPDATE: Note that on their scale, 1 is the most important and 5 is the least important–the opposite of many surveys where a higher number means something is more important to you.

Tags: Chicago, Chicagoland Metropolitan Agency for Planning, CMAP, Cook, DuPage, Elgin, Go To 2040, Illinois, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, public participation, regional plan, regional planning, survey, Will
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I Found My Camera!

Ever since I moved from Chicago to Elgin my camera has been packed away, then it magically appeared in the middle of my bedroom about a week ago. Here are some old photos that were on it:

My Logan Square bedroom shortly before I moved out. Sad. I left the bed and the empty bookshelves there.

These two photos show just about everything I own.

A beautiful catalpa tree in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. Since moving to Elgin I have spotted two catalpas! Yes! (On McLean across the street and two blocks South from Kimball Middle School, for those who care.)

I was hula hooping quite a bit before I moved out.

A photo I took at the Logan Square stop. Think I was planning a “The-CTA-already-sucks-prior-to-doomsday” post or something. Those hoards of people contributed to my daily migraine back then.

Have you ever seen a city government try to organize residents to lobby the state government like this? I’m definitely in agreement that the problem is insufficient state funding, but still found the posters funny. A bold move.

Tags: Catalpa, Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA, Elgin, hula hoop, Logan Square, photography, Regional Transit Authority, rta, tree
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