Monthly Archives: August 2007

2008 Campaign

Heartland Partnership CEO Announces Exploratory Congressional Committee

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Here’s the press release I received today (also in PDF format with McConoughey’s bio):

McConoughey Small PicPeoria, IL – Jim McConoughey, 46, President and CEO of The Heartland Partnership, today announces an exploratory committee for the Illinois 18th Congressional District seat.

“Following the announcement of Congressman Ray LaHood that he will not seek reelection, I have been encouraged by many community leaders to consider running for his open seat. I am honored that many consider me a worthy candidate for this important position,” McConoughey stated. “As a result, I am announcing that I will form an exploratory committee to consider all options related to my possible candidacy for United States Congress.” Former Caterpillar Chairman Glen Barton and other leaders throughout Central Illinois will join the exploratory committee.

As the CEO of The Heartland Partnership, Jim McConoughey recognizes the importance of strong leadership for the 18 th Congressional District in Washington. He believes that the continued success of our region will be dependent on sustaining the level of hard-work and cooperation set forth by Congressman LaHood and his predecessors.

“I will use the next several weeks to reflect on this important decision and consult with a broad range of people in the 18 th Congressional District and most importantly, my family.”

The Peoria Chronicle

Site issues

My apologies to readers who were unable to access the Peoria Chronicle this morning and early afternoon. The company that hosts my site, BlueHost.com, decided to do server maintenance today without any warning. As far as I can tell, the site finally came back up around 2:30 or so. I suggested it would be nice if they would notify me (and their other customers) next time they schedule this kind of maintenance.

Anyway, the site is back up now. Thanks for your patience.

General News

Windows that open

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Open WindowI read in today’s paper that the Dream Center downtown is “replacing each old crank window with a version that doesn’t open.” The Journal Star reported yesterday that “The fifth, sixth and seventh floors [of the Dream Center, which is the old YMCA building downtown] are apartments for single-parent families operated by the YWCA.”

I wouldn’t want to live in an apartment where I couldn’t open the windows. It was bad enough when I used to work in an office building where the place was sealed and we had to breathe recirculated air all day. I can’t imagine coming home each evening to the same scenario. Therefore, I’m glad that we have an HVAC unit installed with a furnace installation by services like AirMax Heating & Air at home so we don’t have to worry about ventilation and humidity.

Why are operable windows important? Just look at the reasons given in today’s article:

Some people open windows to add fresh air or a breeze to the already air-conditioned building. Others like to air out their apartments to get rid of a smell associated with having a large group of people living on one floor.

Ventilation and fresh air are important to one’s environment, especially one’s home. Sustainable building design professionals are trying to start a renaissance of operable windows in office buildings, hotels, schools, etc., by touting the benefits of fresh air, ventilation, and control of personal space to individuals, the environment, and the bottom line. Individuals are more comfortable and productive, and open windows/individual climate control can lower the use of A/C, especially on mild days (and we have a lot of those in the Midwest), which leads to lower energy bills. Less energy consumption is also better for the environment. If you are wondering how much will be the cost of having a new window, then you might want to check this residential window replacement cost calculator.

Now, of course I recognize that the Dream Center is doing a lot of good work, and I don’t mean for my comments to detract from the important service they offer the less fortunate in our community. In fact, I only use them as an example because they were in the news today. My concern isn’t aimed at them in particular, but rather the idea of sealed, heavily climate-controlled buildings in general.

Blogosphere

Bash Wrap

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The blogger bash was very well attended this time around, and was a lot of fun. I got to meet a few new people, including Ms. Pointlessly Hypertechnical, “Cory,” and Karen Carter (Brad’s better half). Although I got there late, there were still a lot of people there. They couldn’t watch the Cubs on TV for some reason, but the eating and drinking went on as planned.

Also, we did discuss “organizing” to some degree, but the more we talked about it, the more complicated (and expensive) the proposition became. So we won’t be starting an Illinois News Bloggers Association any time soon. But we will be starting a Yahoo Group for sharing news releases, press conference announcements, etc., among Peoria’s news bloggers. So that’s a start.

Oh, and I met Elaine Hopkins. I was polite and cordial, but unfortunately she never apologized for publishing misleading statements about me regarding the Kellar Branch issue, despite having ample opportunity to do so. Until she does, there will be no “set[ting] aside [our] differences,” as she suggested in a comment to another post. I’m not amused by yellow journalism, especially when it’s directed at me. However, if and when I receive a public apology from her, I’ll be happy to set aside the whole matter and not bring it up again.