Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Question of the day

Posted in:

Illinois
Polls

* SEIU recently conducted a poll of Chicagoans. One of the areas the union’s pollster asked about was local city services. Click on the pic to see a better image of the results…

* The Question: Rate your own local government on those same criteria: Trash collection, snow removal, crime prevention and street repair.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 11:19 am

Comments

I live close to the Loop in the city:

Trash collection - N/A. Because I live in a condo building we must pay for our own trash removal (never understood that).

Snow removal - B. They do a reasonably good job.

Crime prevention - ?. I don’t really believe the cops do much to prevent crime, and I’m not sure how one would gauge their effectiveness in doing so.

Street repair -Is there a lower grade than F? Z- perhaps?

Comment by WTF Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 11:27 am
I live in Springfield we have to pay for our own garbage which is ok but the city does not enforce garbage ordinances for rental properties very well (at least in my neighborhood). Snow removal is ok because I live on a busy street and a bus route. Crime I would say is horrible. Got my house robbed about a year and a half ago and the comment from the cop was “live in Springfield long enough and you’ll get robbed” … never heard from them again … but I don’t live on the west side. Street repairs, when done are done very well, but everytime it rains I have a lake in front of my house that takes up 1/2 the road.

Comment by WOW Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 11:28 am
NW Burbs and I give high marks for everything. We have Waste Management do the trash.

Not much crime. Not a bad job on snow removal as my association does this as well as the village.

Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 11:46 am
I live in NW suburban Niles. I have unlimited trash removal (including large items) at no added cost. Every street is plowed curb to curb for every storm. Crime is low, police drive the neighborhoods. Street repair is pretty good. We have a free bus service through the town. A wonderful senior center. Public buildings are very well kept up - I can keep going but that is enough for now.

Comment by SVEA Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 11:50 am
I live in a small town in the west-central part of the state.

Trash Collection–N/A–everyyone pays for his or her own. However, the town does have a spring and a fall cleanup period where residents can put their unwanted stuff out, and the city will dipose of it free of charge. The city is also good about hauling off limbs after bad storms.

Snow Removal–C–They do a decent job, but reources are pretty sparse.

Crime prevention–A–Little crime here, and the local and county officials do a good job of trying to keep the bad guys in check.

Street repair–B–There is one street that needs to be fixed but the rest are pretty good considering resources.

Comment by Fan of the Game Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 11:52 am
Trash is picked up by waste management. They are prompt, rarely make errors, fees are stable.

Public services are another story.
Snow removal starts 8 to 12 hours after significant snowfall, red light cameras are installed for revenue generation and the local PD seems to be having more issues harassing minorities, local streets are OK, County and State roads are abysmal.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 12:00 pm
Outside the city limits.

Trash Collection – private hauler.
Snow Removal – township does OK, state does better.
Crime prevention - we are close enough to Chicago that gang activity filters our way. Not much rural crime, maybe the bangers are afraid of right wing nuts w/guns in every other rural home. Very sparse patrolling by the county, I see state cops just as often, which isn’t much.
Street repair - the gravel is in fine shape, if you like gravel.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 12:23 pm
I live in Lakeview. Trash collection is done by a private outfit. Snow removal is adequate on the main thoroughfares, and poor on the side streets. Crime prevention is also below average, as most of the offenses are property related and presumably considered low priority.

Street repair is nothing short of abysmal. Potholes and small sinkholes are abundant, while lane markers on busy arterials are virtually non-existent.

Comment by The Doc Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 12:27 pm
I live on the near northwest side. Garbage pickup is regular and complete. Snow removal is adequate, although I’d prefer they not bother with the residential streets. Digging a car out of 3 feet of snow when there is only a few inches on the ground is not much fun. Crime is so - so; usually improves when someone gets shot.

Street repair! What streets? I only have dirt and gravel roads on my side of town.

Comment by clj Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 12:39 pm
For a while I lived in downtown Springfield and although the trash pick up was not a city thing, it would be nice had the city passed an ordinance that banned dumpster collection in the early hours of the morning. It was the worst sounds to wake up to everyday for a year. Snow removal is adequate in the city, but the township areas are usually unpleasant. I’ve never encountered much crime, but for the period when I did live downtown, the homeless issue was ever-present. I’d say the biggest area in need of improvement would be the streets. The city tends to start projects and only half-complete them or they draw them out for so long and it gets really disruptive. Also, the process for tree care and removal of limbs from storms could use some tweaking.

Comment by Lamballe Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 12:58 pm
Central Illinois Town of Normal and I have to admit high marks for all of the criteria. Our town is doing OK financially in spite of the recession although some folks think the spending on upgrading Uptown Normal is excessive. Will have to wait and see.

Comment by Nearly Normal Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 1:18 pm
I wondered whether this QOTD would attract many comments. Live and learn.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 2:36 pm
Oak Park

Trash collection — A. You can set your watch by it.

Snow Removal — B-. LIke a lot of governments, they ran out of gas (and salt) last winter and cut back

Crime Prevention — A. Very aggressive, local police force. A fairly wealthy community bordering a fairly impoverished one. If you haven’t had your bicycle stolen and recovered a few times in Oak Park, you’re not getting out much.

Street Repair — F. I don’t think they’re doing it. I know we’re in pothole season, but it just doesn’t seem to happen.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 21, 09 @ 2:44 pm