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What a great web log. I spend hours on the net reading blogs, about tons of various subjects. I have to first of all give praise to whoever created your theme and second of all to you for writing what i can only describe as an fabulous article. I honestly believe there is a skill to writing articles that only very few posses and honestly you got it. Thecombining of demonstrative and upper-class content is by all odds super rare with the astronomic amount of blogs on the cyberspace.
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I just book marked your blog on Digg and StumbleUpon.I enjoy reading your commentaries.
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We have been using this on some of our farm land around the Peotone/Beecher area for the past 2 years. We have had no complaints from any of our neighbors and we know it does not pose any health risks to anybody or damage any part of the environment. The company that applies the sludge follows strict regulations on how far they must stay away from creeks and wells. Soil tests are taken prior to application to ensure the soil pH and nutrient balance will remain within an environmentally safe range following the application of a specified rate of biosolids. Around here sludge comes from Chicago in semi trucks and yes the number of trucks coming into these fields is astounding and yes, it does not help the condition of the rural tar and chip or gravel roads any. But these roads were built by farmers over 150 years ago to serve their interests. FARM INTERESTS! (such as the milk truck coming to pick up milk at a dairy farm, a farmer driving his combine across the township to get to a field he farms, school buses to pick up his children for school in town, the fertilizer company delivering a semi load of fertilizer) and sludge is no different than those. It is a vital product to modern grain production on the edge of a city. Central Illinois farmers benefit from more ag friendly policies and infrastructure. We in Will County and other collar counties have one benefit they don't have. The access to this great, free, environmentally friendly, recycled fertilizer. Yes, the trucks kick up dust, make noise, hog the road, but this is FARM COUNTRY and ag still makes up a very large portion of the economy in this area. Sludge serves as a nitrogen and phosphorus source. Almost all the nitrogen needs for a corn crop can be provided by sludge. This sludge is totally free to the farmer. Currently I have my nitrogen fertilizer (not sludge) for the 2011 crop paid for and it costed me $90 an acre for a liquid fertilizer that provides nitrogen. Sludge applied to a typical 160 acre field would save, not only save, but earn the farmer around $14000. That money can be spent on something else to benefit the local economy. I think sludge is a great asset to farmers and the soil we care for. The organic matter it provides to some of the clay hills we have is very important to keeping or soil productive and making it more productive. The local soil and water conservation man who works for the US Dept. of Ag. is a very big fan of sludge and encourages the use of the product. I know the field will stink like sewage after each rain after the sludge is applied, but hey so do livestock farms. This is farm country and this sludge helps grow the food that feeds the world. I am confident no health risks are associated with sludge or we would not apply it on the land we live on, eat food from, and have a well on that brings us water from beneath our fields. What else are you going to do with it anyway? There is no other way to dispose of it on a large scale.
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Mark, thanks for the comment. I understand your concerns and am glad you saw fit to express them. I believe this is the first reply to this story from a users perspective.
While I very much appreciate the concerns of individual farmers, I'm not sure how to explain the conflicting scientific results that biosolids may not be completely safe. This material is not like horse, chicken, or cow manure, which has long been used as an accepted fertilizer because it put back only the nutrients the animal consumed in the first place.
This is very different. It is not just human waste, it includes every chemical, prescription drug, and lord knows what else that is flushed into toilets.
It makes no sense that the same agency that recommends against locating a vegetable garden over a septic bed, gives a green light to injecting large amounts of sludge into the fields. Just because ag policies or government officials recommend this practice does not give me comfort when history of environmental damage rarely originates from a government source, if ever. In fact, it is government that generally covers up such information. I remain concerned about the science behind this practice.
While I understand this product is convenient to use, is cost effective for the farmer, and provides needed nitrogen to the soil, I can't help but wonder about the big picture. What else does it put into the soil that is not beneficial in growing the grain consumed by animals and people. I am concerned about the safety of our food overall, because we really are what we eat.
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I hardly ever write comments on blogs, but your article urged me to praise your blog. Thanks for a great read, I'll be following you.
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Very informative post. Thanks for taking the time to share your view with us.
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Excellent article as usual. My what a sad history of how our leaders have done business over the years. I agree that Blago has the final say on this, but doubt he will choose or even act. Heck, he is probably the next one to start spending time in court defending himself,so the decision could very well be made by yet another governor? I think 2008 will start off with a whole lot of project push, tough talk, threats, promises,projections,but by the end of 2008 I predict it will all be smoke and mirrors and nothing will be done. Fasten your seat belts you Eastern Will County residents and prepare for another roller coaster ride courtesy of IDOT
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For Immediate Release December 17, 2008
Contact: Cary Black, (815) 585-4706
U.S. Congressional Candidate Jimmy Lee’s Response to Repeal of the Weller Amendment
NORTH UTICA, IL—Eleventh District Congressional candidate Jimmy Lee announces support for Will County residents by denouncing the repeal of the Weller Amendment.
In his press statement released after the repeal of the Weller Amendment, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. heralded the work of the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission (ALNAC) and pronounced that the only viable plan for a third suburban airport would be through a public-private partnership. As an attempt to demonstrate the utility of the ALNAC plan, Jackson concluded that implementation of the ALNAC plan would result in millions of dollars in private investment and in the creation of 15,000 jobs.
In response, U.S. Congressional Candidate Jimmy Lee stated, “Congressman Jackson is quick to point to all the supposed benefits of the airport under the ALNAC plan, but he fails to even address the effect that this will have on all the families who live next to the airport. Jackson’s repeal of the Weller Amendment essentially stripped the neighbors in Will County from the right to help make decisions about the overall implementation of the airport. The residents of Will County need the opportunity to provide input regarding flight patterns, noise pollution, and other outcomes that accompany the building of an airport. If someone is going to build a new landing strip in your backyard, it’s only logical to assume that you should have some say in the planning process.”
Lee continued, “The ALNAC plan is inefficient and will not work. Our only option to keep the current situation from moving from bad to worse is for us to act now and to urge the Governor to select the Illinois Department Of Transportation (IDOT) Airport Layout Plan. If logic is to override self-interest, then the only option is for the Governor to submit the IDOT Plan to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“This latest action by Congressman Jackson is just another move in a familiar series of power plays by the Congressman. Honestly, it’s not surprising and simply highlights the dysfunction which exists among many leaders currently involved in our political system,” Lee concluded.
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This excellent story capturing the history of MidAmerica Airport is solid evidence why the twenty-four thousand acre airport (3 1/2 tmes the size of O'Hare Airport) proposed for Peotone is a huge mistake and should be opposed without qualification because it is the mirror issue. O'Hare is already expanding just as Lambert did after MidAmerica was built. Equally severe environmental degradation will occur in eastern Will County and Kanakkee County as occurred in St Clair County. There is no market for an airport at Peotone just as there has never been a market in Mascoutah. The FAA has already determined as much in arriving at its decision to approve O'Hare modernization and expansion. All major airlines have repeatedly said they will not locate at a Peotone site, and the FAA has no authority to require that they do so. So far, and seven years late, the planners and promoters of MidAmerica have achieved exactly 0.01% of what they declared they would achieve in selling this project to the public with taxpayers now picking up the unanticipated(?) cost of maintaining it. No reasonable person or govermnent agency would want to repeat that history at Peotone.
John - Niles, Il
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Carol,
I'm impressed that your story objectively stated the facts of Ryan's fall from grace, which says all we need to know. So many of those directly affected by how he "blatantly violated the public trust and abused Illinois’ highest office"
(myself included) are too quick to add our opinions about his "arrogance" & "lack of" conscience.
Thanx for reminding us of the "slim possibility" that Thompson can ask President... Bush to pardon Ryan. Let's hope Thompson is as successful in achieving a pardon as he was in obtaining a "not guilty" verdict.
God Bless All, Walt McElligott
Beecher, IL 60401
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Dear CH,
Thanx again for keeping your Blog so current on IL/IN matters. As one who watched increased traffic
speed thru Beecher on Indiana Ave due to the closing of "the Borman Expressway, (I-80/94)..." it AGAIN became apparent that both states do need an alternative transportation route.
However, those who watched TV helicopter views of Northwest Indiana for these three days also noted that your "commuters and travelers" were "scrambling" back to Illinois. This would seem to confirm your comment that Indiana support [& need for the Illiana Expressway]... has been lukewarm.
Such Chicago/South suburban bound traffic appears to further substantiate the belief that support for an Illiana Expressway, "conceptualized for decades, has mostly come from the Illinois side." Yet, i must agree with you that since most pre-2007 flood "letters were worded the same... on different letterheads..." reveals Illinois officials ties
to the [LONG] proposed [& SUPER-COSTLY] airport [SSA] near Peotone. And, like the proposed roadway, the SSA is also "far from being a done deal."
God Bless All, Walt McElligott
Beecher, IL USA, 60401
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What an outstanding article! This revelation destroys the claim by ALNAC promoters that their personal project will not be a tax burden but will be totally privately financed. Now we know "the rest of the story." Next question is, what else aren't they telling us?
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Common sense is something Carol Henrichs has had for a long time, and something those in government could really use. If those reading this article had no knowledge of the history of this project,and formed their opinions solely on the facts, I'm sure they would ask the same questions and form the same opinions listed in Carol's article. What will it take for the public to open their eyes to the facts? Who in government has the courage to admit some serious mistakes have been made in pushing this project forward? Certainly not the current governor of Illinois!Is it likely someone in authority would have the guts to challenge the current projections and request a new study useing the current facts? With over 100 million dollars already spent and no ground even broken, wouldn't that show some common sense has finally surfaced in our leaders?
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Dear CH,
Well done. How right you are! "The only thing Gary needs... to benefit from a 2016 Olympics in Chicago is to... get passengers about 25 miles downtown..." to Chicago's Loop. This is a "doable" task compared to what lies ahead of Paesel and the people who can't even inspect a General Aviation runway in less than 4 months.
Walt, neighbor to the invisible 39 year old South Suburban Airport.
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Great job of telling it like it is. Susan Shea needs to be held accountable for her actions( or lack of)We need to pressure the governor, hammer the media, and expose these idiots for what they really are, "Elected Bullies"
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Carol,
Thanx again for being on top of "IDOT’s... Susan Shea stalling... on Bult Field & incompetence concerning the state’s proposed South Suburban Airport. Its disgusting how one former Blago fund raiser is "holding up" (literally) Jim Bult, to the tune of appx $100,000 a month, "on top of "more than $25 million... put into the field already"?
But shouldnt your comment read "Plans for the layout of Bult Field have had to be altered to accommodate the inaugural airport"?
God Bless All, Walt McElligott Beecher, IL USA, 60401
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Great article, great news.
As others have said, it is about time.
However, "justice" moves slowly and it is important to keep the pressure on or this will be swept under the rug like other issues.
For now ... victory, even in small doses, is great medicine!
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Great article! Great News! Great job by George Ochsenfeld and John Anderson! Great to see Roc and Lee VanGuilder finally come to justice! They have acted like gangsters ever since they came to town working on this project. It's about time the law catches up with them and reminds them they can not run around doing what ever they please. We still have laws in Will County, and they need to abide by them like every one else.
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Execellent story. I'm glad the Will County States Attorney decided to take another look at the situation. A 'big' thank you to John Anderson and the others involved at being persisent in seeing that the property owners in eastern Will County have their rights protected.
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The State is stalling, and has no right to do this to Mr. Bult. He conformed to everything they told him to do during the permit process, now they refuse to give him final inspection! Well I and my neighbors had the priviledge to personally inspect the work done there this past January, and can tell you he did a marvelous job. This will be a first class general aviation field and an asset to our community. I suggest the State swallow their pride, and just get out there and give him his green pass card. His future construction plans for this spring will continue whether IDOT likes it or not. After all, it's his property and he can do with it as he pleases.Jim Bult has shown more class and common sense through this whole thing than all of IDOT's people put together!
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