Today's meeting featured State Representative for the 70th District, Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore). Representative Keicher, also a member of the Sycamore Rotary Club, shared an update on the recently concluded General Assembly session. Rep. Keicher was appointed to Rep. Bob Pritchard's seat on July 17, 2018 and was subsequently elected to the position in November.
Rep. Keicher shared his views of the progress made, and battles that were fought or will continue to be fought, during the most recent session. With Democrats holding a super majority in the House and Senate, there is little motivation to pass anything with Republican support. However, many bills this session were passed with bi-partisan support, including the budget thanks to a push by Governor Pritzker to have Republican support.
Some of the issues tackled during this session included a graduated income tax, higher minimum wage, legalization of marijuana, as well as the expansion of gaming. Nearly 6,000 bills were introduced with just under 1,000 passed, making it one of the largest General Assembly sessions in recent decades. In addition to his regular duties, Jeff was assigned to five committees including the Veteran Affairs, higher education, mental health, and agriculture.
After providing his prepared remarks, Jeff took questions from the members on particular issues. When asked about medical marijuana, he mentioned that Illinois has one of the most restrictive policies. Some of the changes made during this session included changes to who could administer, thresholds for chronic pain diagnosis, and home growing policies. Regarding legalized recreational marijuana use, he remarked that municipalities and counties can limit dispensaries, zero tolerance policies are still permitted in the work place, and that it is prohibited while driving. Regarding minimum wage, his primary concern was that the new minimum wage law doesn’t consider geographical discrepancies, setting the same wage level for workers in Chicago and Effingham.
Regarding the state budget, Rep. Keicher mentioned that the bi-partisan appropriations committee spent nearly two months going line-by-line and cut many line items from the budget where there were issues. In May, the state received an additional $1.4B in receipts,. As a result, they paid off old bills and then the Democrats restored all of the agreed cuts. As a result of the Governor wanting votes from Republicans on capital bill and budget, he spent 12 hours negotiating with the Republican caucus and agreed to many concessions that they had been unsuccessful in negotiating under Governor Rauner. Additionally, the budget that was finally passed is balanced with the potential for a $200 million surplus.
As the club kicks off it's 2019-2020 club year, Club President Patrick Shafer and Club Treasurer Michele Jurkovic provided their snapshot of the club's situation, the past year's financials, and budget and goals for the coming club year. President Shafer identified five primary goals for the coming year in an effort to reinvigorate the membership and grow the club:
More Involvement in Committees
More Active Participation
Increase Weekly Attendance
Increased Membership / After Hours Mixers
Ideas for Large Impact in DeKalb County
As a part of Michele's presentation, the club dues were held at last year's levels with decreased levels of spending on the exchange program (due to the elimination of a long term exchange student this year) and lowered levels of giving to a variety of charities. In order to resume or increase the club's giving, fundraisers must be improved or club dues must be raised.
Social events were a focus and the club will host its first mixer of the year tomorrow at The Forge of Sycamore with the club providing pizza and appetizers while members and guests mingle.
Whether it was growing up in a family where he was the only boy, going through school where grades did not come easy, learning the carpenter trade, or marrying and becoming a dad to six kids, Dan O’Connell always seemed to be getting some valuable life lessons for his next step of a journey that led his wife and him to own a thriving campground business near Amboy until their retirement. A native of Chicago’s northwest side, Dan was the youngest of seven children. He graduated from Fenwick High School and Loras College and then married Jane and became a union carpenter supporting his family. Early skills learned in typing and writing led to union leadership roles at the Chicago district council of carpenters. But it was family camping vacations that ultimately led to that final step into the business of recreation.
photo credit: http://www.campgroundreviews.com
As Dan describes it, he and Jane watched RV’s, campers, and tenters descend on a campground for a weekend getaway and they all paid a registration fee. Crunching numbers in his head, Dan began a two-year search for a career-changing piece of property to take him away from the hectic pace of Chicago to become the owner of his own business. A small operation on a 110-acre parcel near Amboy was purchased on contract for $200,000 (with $20,000 down), It came with a small store, 12 yearly campers, 50 camp sites with electrical hookups, and a descent washroom and shower building. He moved his family to the compound in 1977.
Dan joined the Illinois Campground Association and the National Campground Owners Association but continued to work his union job while his wife did the campground tasks. Business had its ups and downs. Their first Memorial Day they hosted 12 yearly campers and about 100 other families. But the next weekend they only had five families. It was five years before money from operations began to generate a paycheck. O’Connell’s emphasis was placed on welcoming campers and offering various entertainment activities. Dan also took terms as president of both campground associations.
The business took another step forward when it became part of the Leisure Systems, Inc. “Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park” franchise and Dan created what he calls his “bank book” to successfully get loans for improving and expanding the business. A three-ring binder with a “Yogi Bear” decal on the front became a detailed history of ownership, financials, what the loan would allow them to do, what nearby competition existed, and how marketing and advertising would be used to generate more business. The bank was treated as a partner and site visits were regularly arranged. The loans kept getting approved.
The next level of expansion came when Dan and his wife, along with two other park operators, formed a group of 15 parks to jointly provide operating data comparisons and comparable nationwide data. Banks had never seen this type of statistical information for the recreation industry and it gave them confidence when approving loans. This allowed the campground to eventually expand to 300 acres and revenues went from $28,000 in year one to $2.5 million plus an additional $1 million in RV sales. There were now 700 campsites, plus a wooded area for “primitive” camping, three pools, three spas, three kiddie pools, a double flume waterslide, mini golf, paddle boats, a convenience center, a convention center to seat 500, two laundromats, and a snack bar. Employment reached 115.
Working ten-hour days, seven days a week began to take its toll and, along with two bouts of cancer and children going into other careers, the O’Connell’s sold the campground in 2004. Dan and his wife are now truly enjoying leisure and time with their children, their spouses, 16 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Dan and Jane will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on August 15th.
Using funds raised in celebration of the club's 75 anniversary, the Rotary Club of Sycamore today made a donation valued at $5,000 to the Spartan Food Pantry. The donation consisted of items needed to expand the pantry's operational efficiency to be able to continue to offer their services as demand continues to increase into the pantry's second year of operations. These items included ten 8-foot tables with storing racks, folding chairs, wire shelving units, a shoe rack, and utility wagons as well as a monetary donation of $2200. These donations come at a critical time for the pantry. Originally launched as a fully-funded pilot program through the Northern Illinois Food Bank, starting next month the pantry will have to transition to a fully self-sufficient entity, relying on local donations to continue to thrive. The donation is also timely due to the recent St. Albans fire, which has left many families in the area without food, shelter, clothing, and daily necessities.
