![\"\"](\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Rosatisopening-1024x641-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nPhoto provided by Stephanie Michelle
After delays of the projected opening dates, Rosati\u2019s opened its doors to customers eager to try the authentic Chicago Pizza on December 27, 2023. You will find much more than pizza on the menu at Rosati\u2019s, they\u2019re also famous for their pasta dishes, wings and sandwiches, salads, appetizers and desserts.
Located at 5147 Pagano Court, Pontoon Beach, Il just off of Highway 111. The hours are Sunday through Thursday 11 AM to 11 PM and Friday & Saturday 11AM to 12 PM. Phone number, (618) 500-6111.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/kurtprenzler-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>A letter to the editor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This past Friday I received a phone call from Congresswoman Mary Miller, who just made her second trip to the southern border to see the situation with her own eyes. For more information, I would refer readers to\u00a0her Twitter\/X account: @RepMaryMiller.<\/a> A<\/strong>\u00a0Letter to Granite City District 9 Superintendent and Board Members<\/strong>\u00a0from Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Dear Superintendent Cann and District 9 board members: The \u201cShop with a Hero\u201d Event in Granite City is Just One Example This year the men and women of the Granite City Police Department were joined by the Fire Department to make this year\u2019s event bigger and better than ever. When it comes to generous, giving hearts, Granite City and its first responders, businesses and citizens set the bar high. The smiles on the faces of the children were a true testament over the entire experience starting with the special escort to Walmart getting to ride in police cars, fire engines, and other emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n\n Local charities and organizations like Billie\u2019s Kids, students and faculty from local schools, and Sue\u2019s Corner along with many Toys for Tots locations and the Twigs Program and local churches, it\u2019s a collective effort to help make the holiday season the best possible for area children, and this year, like years past certainly achieved that and more.<\/p>\n\n\n Press Release from Madison County Board Chairman<\/strong> During the past several months, tens of thousands of migrants from the southern border have arrived in the City of Chicago, which has been a sanctuary city since 1985. An Easy Holiday Treat Sure to Become a Family Tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream Hidden in Plain Sight, or a Strategic Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n This information is from the newsletter of Kurt Prenzler, December, 27, 2023 \u201cSearching for backdoor referendums in St. Clair County, I discovered that Dec. 20,\u00a0O\u2019Fallon District 90<\/a>, also known as the St. Clair County Community Consolidated School District Number 90, published a\u00a0$18.5 million working cash backdoor referendum<\/a>. December 2023 Archives<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A letter to the editor This past Friday I received a phone call from Congresswoman Mary Miller, who just made her second trip to the southern border to see the situation with her own eyes. She told me, \u201cThere are 10 million illegal migrants already in Texas and Arizona. It\u2019s an invasion. It\u2019s estimated that 70 … Continue reading “January 2024 Archived Articles and Images.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15675","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15675"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15904,"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15675\/revisions\/15904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
She told me, \u201cThere are 10 million illegal migrants already in Texas and Arizona. It\u2019s an invasion. It\u2019s estimated that 70 percent are men of military age. In some areas, cartels control both sides of the border.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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She recommended that local government officials make clear public statements that they don\u2019t have money in their budgets, can\u2019t provide services, and therefore it\u2019s irresponsible to send buses full of migrants to their communities.
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In 1985, Chicago declared itself a \u201csanctuary city\u201d for illegal aliens, which means that all city officials are prohibited from helping federal immigration agents. The State of Illinois adopted similar policies in 2017.
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More than 30,000 have arrived in Chicago since August of 2022. It\u2019s hard to find the numbers, but Google says Chicago spent $138 million for migrants in 2023 and the State of Illinois has spent upwards of $500 million.
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On\u00a0Sept. 26 I sent an email to Gov. Pritzker<\/a>, asking him to keep Madison County informed. I have received no response.\u00a0Continue reading here<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n
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Two months ago, Granite City District 9 passed a \u201cbackdoor referendum\u201d to issue $20 million of \u201cworking cash\u201d bonds and on Nov. 22 put a public notice in the Belleville News-Democrat.\u00a0
This backdoor referendum is a legal loophole to avoid voter approval when issuing bonds that will be repaid with higher property taxes.
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A better \u2013 and the old-fashioned \u2013 way is to put it on the ballot for the people to decide. That\u2019s called a \u201cfront door referendum.\u201d\u00a0
The public notice stated that the only way for taxpayers inside District 9 to vote on this bond issue was for them to collect 2,653 signatures within 30 days from Nov. 22.
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That\u2019s a difficult task, especially when the 30-day period \u2013 chosen by the district \u2013 finds people busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas, it\u2019s dark and cold, and people are reluctant to answer the doorbell.\u00a0
I didn\u2019t see this public notice \u2013 despite the fact that I check Illinois Public Notice weekly \u2013 looking for notices just like these. I check for Madison County \u2013 not St. Clair County \u2013 and the \u201cpublication county\u201d for the BND is St. Clair County. That\u2019s why I \u2013 and many others \u2013 did not see it.
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Because part of District 9\u2019s area is in the City of Edwardsville, I believe the backdoor referendum notice should have been in the Edwardsville Intelligencer. Please see 715 ILCS 5\/11.\u00a0
Even if District 9 didn\u2019t overlap into the City of Edwardsville, I believe this notice should have been published in Madison County.\u00a0
Based on my understanding at this point, I don\u2019t think the notice of the backdoor referendum was proper.\u00a0
Regardless of the legal issue, I believe the \u201cright thing\u201d for District 9 to do is to put this $20 million bond issue on the ballot for the people to decide.
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Respectfully, \u00a0
Kurt Prenzler\u00a0
Madison County Board Chairman\u00a0
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of How the Citizens Step Up for the Area\u2019s Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/shophero3-1024x507-1.jpg\")
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Kurt Prenzler<\/strong><\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Web-capture_15-1-2024_212547_granitecitygossip.com_.jpeg\")
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\u201cThis problem is costing Chicago millions,\u201d County Board member Paul Nicolussi of Collinsville said. \u201cAnd nearby communities are afraid Chicago\u2019s actions will affect them.\u201d
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Municipalities and counties are passing regulations on bus companies to keep them from dropping off migrants without any notice.
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\u201cMadison County should consider passing its own resolution or ordinance,\u201d Prenzler said.
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County Board member Michael Turner of Godfrey said he would like to call a special meeting of the county board to take action on the issue.
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\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t wait until buses are dropping off hundreds of migrants in the county,\u201d Turner said.
Continue Reading\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
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1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
6 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of milk chocolate chips (can also use half semi-sweet)
We doubled this for a large party and used a 6.5-quart crock pot which was filled almost to the very top<\/strong>.
Instructions<\/strong>
Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and chocolate chips in a 5-quart crock pot (if doubling, use a 6\u20137-quart slow cooker\/crock pot).
Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally with whisk, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted. Once it is heated through and chocolate is melted, switch the slow cooker to the warm setting.
Stir again before serving. (If you have trouble getting the chocolate to melt, turn to high temporarily). Garnish individual cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream or marshmallows.
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\u201cThis evening I was wondering if there were any backdoor referendums in St. Clair County and began searching on the\u00a0Public Notice Illinois website<\/a>.
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To my surprise . . . I discovered that\u00a0Granite City District #9 had \u2013 on Nov. 22<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 published \u2013 in the Belleville News-Democrat newspaper \u2013 a $20 million \u201cworking cash\u201d backdoor referendum.
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That means the 30 day opportunity to gather signatures to put this on the ballot has come and gone.<\/strong>
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My office routinely searches the Public Notice Illinois website for notices in Madison County \u2013 looking for notices just like this.
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Why did we not see it?
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Look closely \u2013 below \u2013 on the left hand side of the notice. It says:\u00a0\u201cPublication County: St. Clair.\u201d<\/strong>
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No wonder we didn\u2019t see it.\u00a0
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We don\u2019t search public notices in St. Clair County.
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I will look into this tomorrow.
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And if you\u2019re a taxpayer in Granite City District #9, you also probably want to look into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/granitecitygossip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/newspapernotice2023-1.jpg\")
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A \u201cworking cash\u201d bond means that the proceeds of the bond sale go into the working cash fund, which means that the district can basically use the money as it sees fit, without restriction.
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The notice says that if 2,320 signatures are gathered within 30 days of the publication date, then the voters will be able to vote on it \u2013 on Nov. 5, 2024. If the signatures are not gathered, then District 90 will be able to issue the bonds, which will be repaid with higher property taxes.\u201d
Click here for the rest of the newsletter\u2026<\/a>
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