Judy Rosella Edwards

It is hot, not just in Peoria, but across the country. When power outages occur, it gets our attention.

Power companies are often demonized for a numerous of reasons. Given the size of the infrastructure, it is surely difficult, if not impossible, to just fix it. There is little incentive for the utility companies and their staff to change their business model. At present, the public is at their mercy.

Americans have become reliant on energy companies. We expect energy to be provided to us at all times. We expect 24 hour repairs. We expect the company to send staff to read our meter. We accept that the company will send meter readers to our home to determine how much money we should pay them.

We complain if rates increase. We rant if service if fails. We rail if service doesn’t meet our expectations.

It is not necessary.

We do have the power to take control of our power. It is not a myth and not a whacky West coast liberal kind of thing.

The best example is the village of Stelle, in northern Illinois.  Even their telephone company is off-grid. In fact, it is the first off-grid, solar powered, end-of-line phone switch in North America. There are 44 dwellings in Stelle and 14 of them receive their electricity via solar panels, battery bank and inverter. Half a dozen more use passive solar. More than half the homes use wood as all or part of their heating fuel. 

Hearing that, you might anticipate some sort of bizarre looking super-high tech modernistic shelters. What you’d find, instead, are traditional looking homes you might find on any street in America. To get a sense of what these radical homes look like, visit their real estate page. Better yet, educate yourself by visiting Stelle in person.

Sharing the Power

At least one Stelle resident, Steve Bell, collects more energy than his family can use in their two-story house. (I know because I have been inside it from top to bottom.) He sells energy he collects, via solar collectors on his house, to a utility company you may have heard of: Commonwealth Edison. And, yes, they buy it.

This is not a new phenomenon. Way back in 2004, before all this “hopey, changey stuff,” Crain’s Chicago Business published an article about Stelle, including an interview with Bell.

In the article, Bell explained, “I’m in control of my life. I don’t worry about power outages or brownouts, and I don’t worry so much about the rising cost of oil.” Bell went on to explain that he was not “waiting for the government to fix my problems.” 

What Does it Have to do with Peoria?

We are too convinced that we have no option, aside from relying on the utility company. Americans do have options.

The biggest hurdle is we can’t afford the change. Implementing solar collection carries a hefty price tag. 

The Green Party proposes that Illinois create a “state bank,” keeping taxes in a state-owned bank that encourages and helps finance investment in alternative energy for homeowners. The result is we become the power company. Anyone can sell surplus energy back to the utility companies.

DIY energy. Energy for you first and, whatever is left over, you sell to the power company. In essence, you are selling your energy to your neighbors. Maybe even your employer.

How Far-Fetched?

It isn’t so far-fetched. Stelle is a village on the prairie near Kankakee, surrounded by gently rolling farmland.

Resenting the utility company does not have to be a national pastime. Perhaps we should be putting that energy into putting ourselves in power – of the power.

Popularity: 5% [?]

We have seen what a Republican Illinois looks like. We have seen what a Democratic Illinois looks like. What would a Green Illinois look like?

I posed this question to Sheldon Schafer, candidate for the 18^th U.S. Congressional District, recently and he agreed to address the issues based on current events. The first issue I asked him to address was in regard to incumbent Aaron Schock’s conclusion that, “I would argue the controls in place through the market are already more than enough to ensure farmers are employing the best practices to control any infusion of weed growth on their lands. It’s actually our farmers, not the government who are more concerned about the development of new herbicide resistant weeds.”

“First of all, at the heart of the issue, is the patent expired on Monsanto’s Roundup^®,” Schafer said. “There are crops that have been genetically engineered to be Roundup^® ready except no one’s calling them Roundup^® ready.” Since the expiration of the Roundup^® patent, the issue is about Monsanto’s glysophate molecule, which they sold. Monsanto, in essence, created their competitors by selling their expired patent. Monsanto, as it happens, also sells genetically modified (GM) seed that is glysophate-resistant. In other words, the Monsanto seed will grow in soil that has been damaged by glysophate, and alongside the weeds the glysophate kills.

Schafer says this is a perpetuation of the agribusiness status quo. Congressman Shock and agribusiness believe that “what is working now will work forever and that agrichemical business is going to save us.”

“I am always concerned with Genetically Modified crops because we don’t know the consequences because we haven’t used them long enough,” Schafer said. “Unintended consequences are almost legendary in the way they manifest themselves. They kill the good stuff too. There is drift from spray and farmers are sued because they are using GMO seed they got because of drift. Mr. Schock tends to minimize that fact.”

Schafer stressed that one of the issues he, and the Green Party, as stressing is no more ‘business as usual.’ There are so many unknowns, with regard to GMO seed, that we have become lackadaisical toward business as usual, Schafer said. “That is shortsighted, given the issues we are up against,” he emphasized.

According to Schafer, farmers are aware that the climate is shifting one degree of latitude per decade. “We don’t know what impact that will have on Roundup^® resistant crops,” Schafer warned. “Now that we have had generations of Roundup^® entering the system, we’re starting to learn some of the potential problems. But, we’re still guilty of overdependence on chemicals without any real thorough understanding of what the effects are.”

“We should be exercising caution and never feel good about the status quo,” Schafer continued. “I think that’s what the other two parties are offering. Smaller farmers are understanding this. It’s the “business farmers” that have bought into this.”

That’s the Monsanto attitude. Their website explains that “our products help improve their lives by helping them produce more while conserving more time and inputs.”

A Green 18^th Illinois District would be more organic and crops would be researched more extensively. The Green in the Green Party is about a healthier world, not more green in the pocket of a “business farmer.”

According to the Ten Key Values of the Green Party, “The Greens recognize that the Earth sustains all life processes. Green ecology moves beyond environmentalism by understanding the common roots of the abuse of people. Whatever we do to the web of life, we do to ourselves.”

More information about Sheldon Schafer can be found at schaferforcongress.info.

Popularity: 6% [?]

One of my favorite saying is, “Opinions – everyone has one.” Most blogs consist of observation and opinion. A blog can be so much more.

Blogging is often referred to as “citizen journalism.” What makes journalist news interesting is not just observation, but facts put into perspective with a reasonable dose of inside information.

The interesting blog is the one who goes beyond the drive-by. What’s missing is that bloggers need to take on the mantle of journalist.

In a recent blog, I wrote about the badly-rutted entrance to Sterling Bazaar. I could have stopped with just the drive-by, “Oh, look at that,” commentary.

But I take citizen journalism seriously. I emailed Centro Enterprises and asked them whether it was true that Kroger was closing, with the pending opening of Fresh Market across the interstate and whether that was why the Sterling Bazaar entrance off Richwoods wasn’t being repaired.

So, you may be asking, how did I get Centro to talk to me? Easy. I told them I am a local freelance reporter. Done.

If a source asks who assigned the story, explain to them that you are a freelance reporter. Start asking the questions.

I can hear the bloggers now saying, “But how do you DO that?” Here is the script:

“Hello, my name is (fill in the blank) and I am a local freelance writer in Peoria. I noticed that the McDonald’s on University is temporarily closed for renovation. Can you tell me a little bit more about that project?”

The hardest part, the part that is journalism, is knowing who to talk to. In the Kroger story, I never talked to Kroger because Sterling Bazaar encompasses much more than Kroger. The individual stores are not responsible for paving the road and neither is Methodist at Sterling, also located in that complex.

Centro doesn’t own the property, they are the leasing company. Had I not received a reasonable and insightful response from Centro, I would have talked to the property owners. But the notion that Kroger, who leases through Centro, might be leaving would have a big impact on the neighborhood, especially the pharmacy and their citywide free delivery service.

I know the entrance affected a large number of people. I see empty storefronts at Sterling Bazaar. The entrance had to be a deterrent to potential lessees. It was also causing unnecessary wear and tear on customer’s cars.

A blogger who merely observes, but doesn’t question, is only doing part of their job. Perhaps that is why bloggers are seldom paid. Bloggers need to learn a few lessons from the traditional world of journalism. We need to ask deeper questions about how an event impacts the community – and then find, and present, the answer.

I will take to task a recent blog account that McDonald’s on University is being torn down and rebuilt. There is a significant story there. Not only did that McDonald’s have free Wi-Fi, but they are one of the few places open all night in the bustling metropolis of Peoria. Ask any local call center employee where to go when you get off work at 2:00 a.m. and can’t sleep. They’ll tell you Steak ‘N Shake, Club Apollo, Taco Bell, or McDonald’s on University. McDonald’s, as far as I know, is the only one of those that had free Wi-Fi.

Anyone who seriously intends to report on such news needs to talk to the local McDonald’s management office. What happens to the employees during the next three months, or so, until the new McDonald’s opens? Is another McDonald’s going to extend their hours to compensate for the closure?

I’m curious about why they are razing the place and completely reconstructing. I’m guessing it is because, to a certain extent, the entrance has always been a nightmare. The exit, practically in the car lot next door, was even worse. This McDonald’s has gone through several renovations to deal with traffic, including experimenting with a double drive-thru lane.

So, was there a traffic study leading to this? Was there a specific event that inspired them, in the midst of a bad economy?

There appears to be a serious effort on the part of management to improve the situation on this rather small commercial lot with tricky access from a four-lane street. My perception is that McDonald’s has continually worked hard to improve access – both digital and motorized.

A traditional journalist would ask staff at Walgreen’s if their business has dropped off since McDonald’s closed. They would ask Steak ‘N Shake on University if their business has improved.

There is nothing preventing a blogger from contacting those businesses and asking questions. You are a freelance journalist. If someone asks where the information will appear, tell them.

I have interviewed businesses and government representatives for the blogosphere. Not one has ever refused to speak to me because I blog.

Opinion can sway news in unintentional ways. Even the best-intentioned blogger can cause a panic over the slightest thing.

Bloggers take great pleasure in criticizing the flaws of traditional media. We should rise above. We have access to most of the same tools they do. Don’t be tempted to report a mere observation and not follow-up with the facts, with the inside story.

Be better bloggers.

 ** PS It is Saturday night, or I would contact McDonald’s and get the whole story.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Long-term contracts are common among cable tv, internet, and phone companies. Breaking a contract is perfectly fine – if you are willing to pay the hundreds of dollars you’ll owe for early termination. Vacation is a feature used by utilities and service companies for temporarily disconnecting service for a short period of time, at a customer’s request. In this economy it is being used in a completely new way.

First, we had vacations. Those of my generation remember “See the U.S.A. in a Chevrolet” theme song every week during “Bewitched.” We travelled the country and the world.

Then we had stay-cations. The idea was to vacation in your own backyard swimming pool and be a tourist in your hometown rather than drive 800 miles to do the same thing at a hotel.

But, with money tight, even the family swimming pool may be sitting empty. Many families have no money for fun, even at home.

The latest vacation trend is to put services on vacation rather than pay for them until the end of the contract. It is perfectly legal, provided customers are willing to live without a service for a period of time. The feature was created for vacationers. It was, no doubt, made even more popular by Snow Birds who winter out of state for months at a time in a camper. We put services, such as newspaper delivery, on hold when we are out of town. It just made sense to put other services on vacation when we aren’t going to use them.

Depending on the service and the provider, vacation can be used for as long as nine months without permanently disconnecting the service. Of course, the provider would prefer to keep you as a customer rather than have to compete for you again when you return from vacation. The terms vary by provider and by state.

The vacation feature can be a boon to those who can’t even afford a stay-cation in the backyard. Customers who can’t afford to pay their bill are turning to the vacation feature.

Locked into a bundle – a now-common term to mean a single provider for phone, tv, and internet – some customers just can’t pay $150.00, or so, per month with their jobs gone and no new ones in sight. Back before their job was eliminated, they could afford those services like extra movie channels and screaming fast internet service.

All three of these services offer a vacation feature. The gotcha is that, if one feature is on vacation, all services are on vacation. It works especially well for anyone who has a cell phone that is billed separately, even if it is with the same provider. All the rest of the services can go on vacation while prospective employers can call the cell number.

Most service providers limit how long service can be put on vacation and there is still an ongoing fee. But that fee could be as little as $10.00 a month, instead of the full monthly fee.

There are no “vacation police” who verify that you are, in some fashion, actually on vacation. You don’t need a note from your employer proving you are taking vacation time. It’s just a word.

At least one service provider does have the technology in place to automatically remove vacation if anyone dials out on the landline telephone. So, keep the kids away or disconnect the phone cords!

Vacation is a word that many Americans are taking to heart. When they cannot afford to pay their bills, let alone take a vacation, they put services they can no longer afford on vacation instead of taking a vacation.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney

Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney explaining the Four Green Party Principles

Sheldon Schaefer (Green Party Congressional Condidate) shaking hands with Peorian Jeff Imig.

Flip over Illinois Green Party candidate Sheldon Shafer’s business card and you’ll see that, on the back, it reads “Red, Green  Blue – Bringing People Together.” That’s exactly what happened at Pizza Works on Prospect, in Peoria Heights, earlier this week. 

David Grebner at Green Party gathering

Local environmentalists like Burt Raabe and Dave Grebner were among the crowd. But, so was John Vespa, the Republican candidate for Tenth Judicial Circuit Judge. Being a blogger and an inquisitive person, I asked him why he was there. 

“Because my wife told me I needed to be,” Vespa answered, seeming a bit surprised that anyone would ask such a direct question. Honesty is always refreshing. Plus, I think Diane Vespa’s pretty cool in her own right. 

I first met her at a League of Women Voters meeting. I would almost vote for Diane, especially after John said that she is the environmentalist in their house. Maybe the wrong Vespa is running? 

Anyway, after John gathered his wits, he went into campaign mode. “Republicans and Democrats are tearing this country apart,” he said, adding that the Green Party is a viable option. 

Vespa spent much of the evening sitting across from Illinois gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney. Vespa, no doubt, got an earful about issues that could arise in cases he might need to rule on. 

Gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney in Peoria, seated across from Republication circuit judge candidate John Vespa

I asked Vespa for his opinion on Whitney’s proposed creation of an Illinois state bank. Vespa said he hadn’t heard of such a thing and I wandered off while he was reading about it in a flyer. After all, we were all there to learn. 

Whitney took the microphone and filled us in on this intriguing concept. Drive along the riverfront in Peoria, and you’ll find all kinds of dilapidated factories sitting empty. There are plenty elsewhere in town, for that matter. The same is true across the entire state. 

The Illinois bank concept involves, among other things, using the power of eminent domain to take over those properties from the current owners (or the banks) and creating community or worker-owned enterprises within them. The state bank would keep money at the state level and create loans to Illinois residents to create businesses. It could be used to make loans to residents for alternative energy and to install systems for selling power to the utility companies. 

“Never mind about fighting city hall,” Whitney concluded. “Let’s take it over.” 

Wouldn’t you like to see what that would look like?

Sheldon Schafer at Green Party gathering in PeoriaIllinois Gubernatorial Candidate Rich Whitney explaining the Four Green Party Principles

Popularity: 19% [?]

Recently we wrote that Kroger is, in fact, staying at Sterling Bazaar in spite of the deeply-rutted entrace off Richwoods. The entrance has been repeatedly, and very poorly, patched numerous times.

Finally, the entrance is smoothly and professionally paved. You are welcome to refer to it as Judy Rosella Edwards Boulevard.

Richwoods Boulevard entrance to Sterling Bazaar.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Anyone who has driven through the Sterling Bazaar, at the corner of Sterling and Richwoods, knows how dangerous the drive is, especially if you enter from Richwoods. The pits are deep. From time to time, someone shovels some rock into the deep holes and the situation gets a tiny bit better until all the rock crushes down or finds its way out of the crevasses.

I have had this theory that the road is not being maintained because Kroger plans to move when The Fresh Market opens across the interstate. My fears were set aside today by a response from Tom Wellman of Centro Pro, who own the Sterling Bazaar buildings.

It turns out that D Joseph owns the driveways and parking spaces. “Kroger and Sterling Bazaar are not going anywhere and we are in the process of repainting the building,” according to Wellman.

Kroger is such a wonderful feature of the neighborhood, especially their pharmacy. They offer free prescription delivery. It’s very handy if your neighborhood doctor is at Methodist on Sterling — just half a block from the doctor’s office, and you can pick up some orange juice and chicken soup to go along with your cold meds.

It looks like the ruts are there to stay as well. But at least Kroger isn’t leaving.

Popularity: 64% [?]

The government keeps tabs on who has applied for unemployment. They keep tabs on businesses that follow the rules and register as businesses, as opposed to merely flying under the radar.

No one keeps tabs on the number of businesses that give up. Fail. Throw in the towel. Go broke.

One by one, I am finding them via word-of-mouth. They are taking whatever job they can find.

In some cases, that’s not too shabby. But, I’m finding a fair number of them working the phones as customer service representatives. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s a job. It doesn’t involve cleaning toilets or heavy lifting.

It’s just a little sad that bright people with college educations are working for low wages at meaningless jobs. The lucky ones are answering incoming calls.

The hours are often about as far as you can get from 9:00 to 5:00. Few people are their most alert when answering questions after midnight, especially if they have had any kind of 9:00 to 5:00 life in the past.

What’s more is so many customer service reps are ashamed of their new line of work. They often don’t even admit what they do. If they do, they make themselves dizzy trying to put a happy spin on it.

They do make more than minimum wage. One area customer service company pays a starting rate of $8.10 an hour. That’s more than minimum wage – by ten cents. Except they are located 18 miles from Peoria. Multiply 36 miles round trip by the allowable IRS travel cost of fifty cents per mile and they’re not even close to making minimum wage.

Those are actually the lucky ones. I met someone just last week whose restaurant just failed. It was due to more than the recession, but I won’t go into the details.

I hesitated but asked what was next for him. He admitted he had no idea. He was working a temp job for a few weeks.

Another person took a job as a customer service rep because it paid better than working for one of the local attorneys. I’m not sure what his job was there.

At least it is money and the option to buy health insurance.

But whatever happened to quality of life?

Popularity: 28% [?]

Successful business owners smile when they think back to what they wish they had known on day one. Tracie Peris is one of them.

“I wish I had known that I was going to be fine. I had faith and I had hope,” she laughed. “But it would have been great to have known it. It would have helped me to calm down and breathe and take one day at a time.”

Carrie Sebree laughed when she said she wished someone had handed her a binder on day one, predicting everything that could wrong. But, she found great resources through networking and the Bradley Center.

Peris admits that going from employee to business owner has been hard. Vickie Clark, COO of the EDC for Central Illinois, says it is important for someone who has been laid off to do some networking. She cited Mary Ardapple, of Apple’s Bakery, as an example. Ardapple is the current president of NAWBO. She has been recognized by the Make Mine a Million program. “Mary is a real advocate for people being able to network and find people who are encouraging you to believe in what you can do and move forward.”

Clark says networking can help a potential entrepreneur decide whether they are a real entrepreneur and want to live in the entrepreneurial world – because it is very different from what people imagine. “We think we don’t want to work for a boss. I want to work for myself,” Clark says. “But when you are an entrepreneur, you are working for ALL the bosses out there.” She advises entrepreneurs not to overlook opportunities for retraining and or to continue job-hunting.

For those who opt to open a business, Kip McCoy says, “It’s always twice as much money as you thought it was going to be and double the work. That’s what I hear from the people at the Small Business Development Center. No matter how much you think it’s going to cost it’s probably going to cost double what you thought a conservative estimate might be. And it’s probably a lot more planning and thinking involved than what you would have thought originally.”

McCoy saw that with this year’s business plan competition, Launch. “We got a fair number of entrants but maybe it was more work than most people were willing to do in terms of trying to actually get a business started,” he concluded. “We hope to continue the momentum into next year. “

Day Two

For existing businesses, there comes a second day. Kyle Ham predicted that, “If you get comfortable with your business model, that’s usually when businesses decline. “

Ham explained that in the 1980’s, Peoria was completely reliant on Caterpillar. “We had suppliers that were 100% reliant on Caterpillar. When Cat cut off the supply they were without a contract and without a revenue stream. A lot of the companies that survived the 80s diversified their revenue stream. Maybe 25% is Cat and they have other businesses they are doing business in now and not solely relying on Cat to pay their bills. When Cat does back off – and this is a traditional thing for Cat who has been in business 80 years now — every 15, 20, 25 years they have to back off the throttle and reorganize and then you see huge waves of growth at Cat. They went from a $10 billion company to a $20 billion company to a $30 billion company to being a $50 billion company right at the recession. They were a $50 billion company that has come back to a $30 or $35 billion company. Cat, I think,  has a large plan to be a $100 billion company over the next 15 years.”

According to Ham, “That’s a great model for how companies can look at themselves and constantly be looking forward — but be prepared for the next backdrop.”

Popularity: 52% [?]

• Life After Downsizing: Part 1 You’re laid off, now what?
• Life After Downsizing: Part 2 Starting your own business
• Life After Downsizing: Part 3 The New World of Work: Coworking
• Life After Downsizing: Part 4 Best Peoria resources for small businesses
• Life After Downsizing: Part 5 Inspiration
• Life After Downsizing: Part 6 Creating your image
• Life After Downsizing: Part 7 Becoming the boss
• Life After Downsizing: Part 8 Finding customers

Being a business owner is always a bit lonely. Being an sole owner can also be lonely.

Social networking is almost always cited as today’s water cooler: the place where everyone chats about business and the workplace.

Anne Follis said, “I do miss the water cooler. We’re all competing with one another because we are all dealing with an international clientele. But everyone is so generous within the resume writers (online) group.”

Amy Kennard, a local copywriter, says, “Sometimes if I’m working all day and go up to the school to pick up my son, he’ll be in a hurry to go. But I say, ‘Son, this is the only adult interaction I have had all day! Give mommy five minutes!’”

Kennard says, “It’s easy to isolate yourself as a writer and not get out there. You’ve got to get out there and work it. No one is going to come to you. You have to work it – which takes more time away from writing.”

For the business owner, the water cooler takes on a different perspective for the business owner. At recent coworking events in Peoria, it is obvious who is a business owner and who is a subcontractor. The subcontractors complain about the boss and the company and how they would do things differently.

The contractor may be eager to share stories about how their friend or relative run a business. But they lack personal experience, just as the water cooler crowd in any traditional company.

It’s easy to second guess how to run a company when you lack the big picture and haven’t seen the accounting numbers and market analysis. The contractor will probably always comfortably complain while receiving a steady paycheck from a client they didn’t have to woo.

There is no boss to complain about when you are the boss. Small business owners discuss their own business firsthand.

Savvy bosses are open to new ideas. Today’s small business owner is more willing to share their personal experience with others, even the competition. Today’s small business owner is likely to even forge temporary alliances with the competition (see The New World of Work).

Small business owners post YouTube videos and sell eBooks explaining their process.  At least one creative strategist is available for hire to teach how he created success in Peoria, although he doesn’t widely advertise his services.

Today’s water cooler is not so much about criticizing and ridiculing a company’s process. It’s about how helping one another achieve success. It’s about championing one another – and maybe even becoming coworkers.

• Life After Downsizing: Part 10 What do you wish you had known on day one?

Popularity: 34% [?]