Surefire Pick Six Predictions for 2012

For a blogger quite full of himself I’m not too shabby at being clairvoyant. Every year I get out my crystal ball shaped in the form of DeKalb County. My predictions are fool proofed. They are then arranged in order for categorical denial. But they’re provoking and filled with subliminal messages.

My Surefire Pick Six predictions for 2012:

1) Russell’s Woods, Knute Olson, McQueen and Potawatomi Woods forest preserves will report record attendance in 2012. That’s because the greater metropolitan Chicago area is about to discover the Kishwaukee River State Fish and Wildlife Area and an outdoor recreation corridor is born. Downtown Genoa will bustle even more with day trippers. Kingston and Kirkland will continue their transformation to tourism centers, think Utica, as wise investments into their parks and Main Street roads and sidewalks were made in advance.  Suggested slogan: Much to do on Rte 72

2) NIU designed or finds itself exactly in the right place at the right time and 2012 will sprout the seed for remarkable growth for the University that brings hi tech jobs to DeKalb County.

College Technology Entrepreneur Centers (HB 1876/PA 97-0196): Authorizes the board of trustees of each public university and community college in Illinois to create a technology entrepreneur center, which will provide goods and personnel to innovators who possess an innovative concept that has not yet been offered for sale. The goal is to help them develop their concept to the point where it can become a business venture.

NIU announces expansion into research centers as part of grand plan vision for its far west campus. NIU invests heavily, in state partnership, into fiber optics and plans are for even more investment into wireless technology. NIU has developed sought after human resource supply into the growing demand for health care services. The catalyst for maximizing the potential of research centers will be investors who’ve learned that even muni-bonds aren’t guaranteed and Main Street investment is safer than Wall Street — and more fun, too. Turns out that many of those investors are NIU alumni. Sweet. The only way NIU can blow this deal is to venture too far into campus housing. Its host community, DeKalb, needs the real estate taxes. Suggested slogan: Hi Tech meets Main Street at NIU

3) Municipal Electric Aggregation consultants become the elite class of 2012. Consumers are left scratching their heads with a consolation prize of hoping they aren’t paying more for their electric than had they opted out. They’re bill went up anyway. Just not as much, but wait… what’s that added local administrative fee? After (if) the referendums pass, board and council members will learn more about associated ongoing costs related to administering the aggregation and will, of course, vote to approve staff recommendations, who, of course, consulted with the paid experts who recommended the program in the first place. Suggested slogan: Vote no.

4) The Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs will for the 148th year not answer the following question:

Click on image for an enlarged view.

So much for a prompt response. Matekaitis made this written request in 2007. But that’s not all that long, you know. Shabbona’s people have waited 148 years for an answer on the status of the 1,280 acres. Suggested slogan: Fish ‘n Chips

5) The proposed megadump in Cortland remains a factor in the 2012 elections. The political repercussions won’t be limited to the county board races. This issue of integrity and representation will be asked of candidates for State’s Attorney, State Rep and State Senate and an accountable response expected. The more people learn about the 17 county (including Cook) megadump the angrier they get.The Town of Cortland agrees to not oppose the megadump or to assist anyone who might object in exchange for a $1 million cash pledge and an arrangement that pays them $1 per house per month. That agreement was struck before the Public Hearing on the landfill expansion. Members of the District 428 Board of Education attend Town of Cortland meetings to solicit support for a $110 million school referendum and pledge to build a new elementary school on a site less than 1/4 mile of the existing landfill. Waste Management of Illinois knew of H2S gas leaks and chose not to notify authorities or the public. Constituents are told by certain board members that asking questions was breaking the law. One board member urged a constituent to destroy previous communication (email).

The case has reached the Illinois Appellate Court. Waste Management of Illinois is paying the County’s legal fees. A grassroots group of citizens are raising and paying their legal fees in an effort to stop such an abuse of representative government. If this travesty is approved the east entrance of Cortland, DeKalb and NIU will grow as a monument to the short sighted vision of local government. Can you smell that slogan?

6) The Chicago Cubs will win the 2012 World Series. I don’t make that prediction based on blind faith of Theo Epstein and Company. If you keep playing the same Lotto numbers, time after time, your odds increase. Don’t they?