District 300 drivers begin contract talks

The head of the local arm of the Illinois Education Association tells me the union has begun meeting with Durham School Services to negotiate a contract for bus drivers in Community Unit District 300.

The sides had to start bargaining by the end of June.

It's too early for there to have been much progress, but let's hope the sides are able to reach an agreement by the start of school in August.

Memorial for Tomaso?

I haven't yet heard of any plans yet to memorialize late Village Manager Carl Tomaso in Huntley.

There are some ideas floating around, however, and I'll let you know if something concrete emerges.

It would be a nice way to honor a man who brough the "friendly village with country charm" into the 21st century.

What of Huntley's future?

Tomaso's untimely passing raises a few questions about the future of the village - but not too many.

The foremost is who will replace a man who, judging from the tributes made in the past two weeks, was irreplaceable.

Dave Johnson, the assistant village manager Tomaso hired and groomed, would be the most logical choice.

Johnson has worked closely with Tomaso during his time at village hall and has overseen development throughout the village.

A case can often be made for interviewing external candidates, but in this case, Johnson's experience, training and intimate knowledge of Huntley would probably make him the leading choice to succeed Tomaso.

If Johnson becomes village manager, another question is raised: does he need an assistant?

Many villages Huntley's size effectively use the manager-assistant manager system to help divide what can be a crushing workload.

Cost shouldn't be a problem. Salary and benefits for both positions have been programmed into Huntley's budget for years.

But it's not clear if the slow pace of development means Huntley can afford to go without an assistant village manager for a while.

In the short term, Johnson and the rest of the staff at village hall can certainly carry the torch.

Johnson, Mayor Chuck Sass and the village board will have to decide whether that is sustainable in the long term.

Nothing's official yet. I'll let you when I hear of any discussions or decisions on the two positions.

Another empty update

Huntley Unit District 158 sent out another revealing update last week.

The "update," issued jointly by the union and the district for the first time in two months, essentially said the sides are continuing to meet.

The previous update, issued unilaterally by the district, said the district was waiting for the union to submit a "reasonable proposal."

Which raises the question, did the union submit a new proposal since the sides met again on June 30?

If so, what did it look like?

These are the questions a rational human being would pose after reading the two latest updates.

And a rational human being should be able to find the answers in the bargaining "updates" - instead of inane sentences that purport to be saying something but actually shirk the duty of two major stakeholders to inform the public.