The following was received from Richmond Village Clerk Karla L Thomas in reply to McHenry County Blog’s Freedom of Information Request for information about the Village of Richmond’s Police Pension Fund:
“The Village of Richmond’s population does not require us to fund the Police Pension Fund separately.
“All eligible municipal employees are covered by IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund).”
There is a personal relationship between Thomas and little tykes.
The Illinois Railroad Museum continues its profitable (at least I hope it makes a lot of money) tradition of bringing Thomas the Tank Engine to its Union railroad tracks.
Thomas' appearance is real kid pleaser.
Thomas, who has a personality all of his own, as do all of the trains and other mechanical characters in the toy train set, is a tremendous child pleaser.
"More track. We need more track," was what Dad always said.
I can’t tell you how many different train tracks have covered our floor since my son got into it.
This three-year old can get on board "all by myself," thank you.
My son has now outgrown Thomas, but our four-year old grand-nephew loves him and his roundhouse fellows.
"I don't have to imagine anymore."
The price is $18 for all over two years old.
"So this is what the inside of a passenger car looks like."
Details are here.
The link says the parking lot opens at 7:30 AM, but the gates don’t open until 9. There must be a real demand for the implicit suggestion that one should arrive really early if you want to get on the twenty minute ride.
When I was county treasurer, the executive of the organization spotted tracks with unpaid taxes. I guided him through the process of paying the back taxes. I’m pretty sure perfecting the title for the right-of-way that some company didn’t think useful is how the museum obtained the land people will be riding on this weekend.
Sir Tophand Hatt must seem so big to pre-schoolers.
Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Thomas and Sir Tophand Hatt entertained children as well.
Although it was not the first to pass a resolution asking for Amtrak service to a station in McHenry County, the McHenry County Board last night did so last night.
Governor Pat Quinn announced the route March 29th.
The state capitol wouldn't be the only place with railroad crossings blocked by Amtrak trains if the McHenry County Board gets its wish for Amtrak service in Huntley or Marengo.
Three weeks later 16th District Congressman Donald Manzullo sent out a press release supporting a stop in McHenry County. And two weeks ago, he announced endorsements of the idea from elsewhere.
The county board’s resolution is a bit unrealistic in that it asks for stops in both Huntley and Marengo, but the message is clear:
If Amtrak trains go through McHenry County, McHenry County Board members want their constituents to be able to climb aboard.
The problem is that neither town has a train station and Amtrak will not build them.
There is a little station in Union at the Illinois Railroad Museum.
Plenty of long-term parking could be available for a reasonable price. Union was not mentioned in the resolution. And those in charge of the museum so far have shown no interest in being an Amtrak stop.
The northernmost route has been selected by Governor Pat Quinn. It runs through Huntley, Union and Marengo on the way to Belvidere. Probably because of the Chrysler train traffic, the track is welded to Belvidere, making faster trains possible than through the unwelded Genoa route Amtrak recommended when it was talking about putting up some money.
I had this great idea for a follow-up story to my Saturday article about Amtrak’s coming to southern McHenry County.
What if the Illinois Railroad Museum offered its station to serve Amtrak passengers on the line that Governor Pat Quinn just designated to run through Belvidere?
So, I called the Museum’s Executive Director Nick Kallas, who was in California, to ask him,
“What if…?”
“Our station is actually ADA,” he told me, but he wasn’t as enthusiastic about the idea as I was. “But, it’s wooden.”
“Our station is in Union,” he said. “That’s not exactly the population center of McHenry County.”
He talked of the time rail service connected Galena to Chicago:
“When they used to run the Galena train, it was into Chicago in the morning and back to Galena in the evening.”
Kallas pointed out that today, “Once you get to Galena, you don’t have a car. That’s fine for a day trip”
Right across the levy from the Galena Train Station is the Galena Winery.
The “but” was what do you do after you walk around Downtown Galena.
Eagle Ridge Resort guest rooms. Note the magnolia tree is in bloom. Its flowers popped last week while we were staying there.
I didn’t mention the shuttle that Eagle Ridge Resort runs to town. Now it takes people who arrive by car, but it could just as well take train passengers to the resort. Amtrak passengers wouldn’t be limited to a day trip.
Amtrak train moves slowly through Downtown Springfield, Illinois.
Kallas looked at the bigger picture:
“Once Amtrak starts running the route, that might stimulate Metra to come out. It might accelerate Metra service to Huntley and Marengo.
“Huntley has already sited a station,” he observed.
The Illinois Railway Museum was part of the coalition that helped convince Governor Quinn to select the McHenry County route.
“We’re actually a part of that Blackhawk initiative. We actually gathered 35 pages of petition signatures (for the Belvidere route.)
When Amtrak dropped the funding of the track, it became strictly a state initiation.
The Metra track and Union Pacific track to Belvidere is all welded track. The old route (through DeKalb County’s Genoa) is not. (I don’t see that difference in this DeKalb Chronicle article, which has lots of negative comments about Quinn’s decision.)
“The real thing is that there’s more population,” Kallas said.
“And the North side of Union Station is underutilized compared to the South side (from which the DeKalb County route would have run).
“So, it has many advantages,” he continued.
“This route makes more sense from the standpoint of the population served and we’re hoping that it will help to accelerate the efforts to bring Metra to Huntley and Marengo.”
Governor Pat Quinn announced that the favored route to Rockford and on to Galena and Dubuque would run through Belvidere on the track that runs through Huntley and past the Illinois Railroad Museum.
In a Monday Rockford political press conference (as opposed to a governmental press conference) with his newly chosen running mate former Carbondale city councilwoman and failed candidate for mayor Sheila Simon at his side (proving it was a political appearance), Governor Pat Quinn announced that the Amtrak route to Rockford and, then, to Dubuque, Iowa.
So what?
Routes that competed for state government's and Amtrak's favor. The northern-most route running through Huntley, Union and Marengo was announced by Governor Pat Quinn as the favored route Monday. The next problem is convincing Amtrak to pick up passengers in McHenry County. (Click to enlarge map.)
So, that means it will be on the track running through Huntley and Marengo.
Hence, it’s news to McHenry County readers.
The whole route would be from Chicago to Dubuque, but, according to this document no stops are planned for McHenry County.
Galena Train Station seen from the top of the levy across next to Downtown Galena.
People wanting to travel to Galena, where we spent the mid-week at the Eagle Ridge Resort off Route 20, would have to board at Elgin’s Big Timber Road Station.
Huntley Union Pacific train tracks crossing Route 47.
Maybe if Huntley built a station, Amtrak could be enticed to pick up and drop off passengers.
Or maybe the old station at the Illinois Railroad Museum could be used for McHenry County. That wouldn’t be too close to Elgin and would have plenty of parking.
Downtown Galena, Illinois
After all, a big of the push to get Amtrak service is to get tourists to Galena.
The Eagle Creek Resort already runs buses to Downtown Galena, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that the resort would be willing to pick up paying guests at the train station.
And, can’t you imagine the Chicago area folks who have about an hour longer drive to get to Galena than it took us (2 hours and ten minutes from Eagle Ridge to our house without any stops) taking the train out for the weekend.
Suset on April 1, 2010, as seen from the restaurant of the Eagle Ridge Resort.
They might get to the Eagle Ridge Resort just in time to eat dinner in the dining room and see a sunset over the lake like this one we saw on April 1st.
= = = = =
Dick Durbin and Don Manzullo conducted a hearing on Amtrak's running from Chicago to Dubuque in March od 2007.
You can read about the Rockford hearing on the project which U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo conducted here.
My nephew went for a ride on Thomas, the Tank Engine, at Union’s Illinois Railroad Museum last weekend.
It was crowded.
The attraction is so popular that it is being offered two weekends this year and this weekend is the second weekend.
So, if you have a youngster entranced with Thomas and his friends, Union is the place to be this weekend.
A twenty minute ride and your little one gets to meet Sit Topham Hatt.
You can tell it’s for little kids because of their opportunity to build with Duplo Bricks, Lego’s little cousin starter toys. Ticket information may be obtained at 866-468-7630 or at www.thomasandfriends.com.
My nephew went for a ride on Thomas, the Tank Engine, at Union’s Illinois Railroad Museum last weekend.
It was crowded.
The attraction is so popular that it is being offered two weekends this year and this weekend is the second weekend.
So, if you have a youngster entranced with Thomas and his friends, Union is the place to be this weekend.
A twenty minute ride and your little one gets to meet Sit Topham Hatt.
You can tell it’s for little kids because of their opportunity to build with Duplo Bricks, Lego’s little cousin starter toys. Ticket information may be obtained at 866-468-7630 or at www.thomasandfriends.com.
Two things I’ve never seen in the Chicago Tribune were on the front page.
There was a long article about the Illinois Railroad Museum, located in Union.
The article was not written by one of the paper’s regular reporters.
It was written by Robert Channick and identified as “Special to the Tribune.”
There was a time when the Tribune would not run an article on the front page of its main or local section that was not written by a full-timer.
Just as ads will soon start appearing on the Tribune’s front page, so will articles by free lancers.
In any event, this article about 63-year old Bob Kutella’s 40-year restoration of an electronic trolley reminded me that this weekend would be a good time to visit.
It’s not hard to find. As you drive along Route 176 toward Union, follow the smoke plume in the sky.
Two things I’ve never seen in the Chicago Tribune were on the front page.
There was a long article about the Illinois Railroad Museum, located in Union.
The article was not written by one of the paper’s regular reporters.
It was written by Robert Channick and identified as “Special to the Tribune.”
There was a time when the Tribune would not run an article on the front page of its main or local section that was not written by a full-timer.
Just as ads will soon start appearing on the Tribune’s front page, so will articles by free lancers.
In any event, this article about 63-year old Bob Kutella’s 40-year restoration of an electronic trolley reminded me that this weekend would be a good time to visit.
It’s not hard to find. As you drive along Route 176 toward Union, follow the smoke plume in the sky.
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