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Editor’s note: The following is a press release issued by Liberty Tax Service:

Liberty Tax Service salutes veterans, active military and their immediate family members with free tax preparation at all participating Liberty Tax Service offices from Feb. 18 to 22 for first-time customers of Liberty Tax.

“We want to give something back to honor the brave men and women who valiantly defend us and the American way of life,” said Jason Poindexter, owner of Liberty Tax Service in north Plainfield. “We look forward to helping them this year. Tax advice is always free regarding military service tax issues or any tax concern. Just call and ask.” 

Liberty Tax Service is located at 12443 S. Route 59 in Plainfield near 127^th Strreet next to McDonald’s. For more details, call 815-267-3944 

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For those last-minute shoppers, each of the Illinois Tollway’s four roadways offers access to great shopping:

• Traveling on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294/I-94)? Look for Gurnee Mills just off the Grand Avenue exit or the Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall off of 95^th Street.
• The Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) offers access to the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora, just off the Farnsworth Avenue exit or try Oakbrook Center at the Spring Road exit.
• Via the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), The Promenade in Bolingbrook is just off the Boughton Road exit and the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg is due north on I-290/Illinois Route 53. 
• The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) also offers access to I-290/Illinois Route 53 to reach the Woodfield Mall, as well as a route to the Huntley Outlet Center at Illinois Route 47 or the CherryVale Mall near Rockford.

Tollway customers will also find there’s still time to tell Santa Claus what they want for Christmas. 

On Sunday, December 23, visit and take a photo with Old Saint Nick at the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis on the south Tri-State Tollway (I-294/I-80) from 1 to 4 p.m. 

Heavy travel anticipated—and free coffee

The Illinois Tollway expects 15.7 million vehicles will use the tollway system during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays between Friday, Dec. 23, and Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2013.

On an average day, about 1.4 million vehicles use the tollway. 

“The Illinois Tollway wishes a safe and happy holiday season to all of our customers,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur.  “As part of our annual tradition, the Oases will also provide late-night drivers a free cup of coffee on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.” 

From 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, travelers can get a complimentary cup of coffee at 7-Eleven locations at all Tollway Oases and McDonald’s restaurants located at the DeKalb, Lake Forest and Belvidere Oases. Oases locations include: Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90)

• Des Plaines Oasis
• Belvidere Oasis

 Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80)

• Lake Forest Oasis
• O’Hare Oasis
• Hinsdale Oasis
• Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis

 Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88)

• DeKalb Oasis

The Oases along the Illinois Tollway can be easily accessed, making it a great stop for anyone who needs a break from their trip as they travel this holiday season. 

“Have you seen us lately? The Oases are conveniently located along the tollways for anyone who needs to stretch their legs, grab a bite to eat and even pick up a quick gift,” said Cindy O’Drobinak, senior vice president, U.S. Equities Realty. “We have family-friendly spaces, fresh food offerings to meet everyone’s request, and even Oases dollar gift certificates and other great gifts for family and friends.”

Lane closures suspended

 To accommodate increased holiday travel, the tollway will suspend all temporary maintenance and construction lane closures from noon on Friday, Dec. 21, until 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 26, and from noon on Friday, Dec. 28, until 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. 

Some work may continue behind barriers to keep work on schedule, but this work will not impact traffic.  

“Drivers should remain alert with increased holiday traffic and remember that texting or emailing while driving is illegal and deadly,” said Lafleur. “Illinois Tollway Oases are great places for drivers to stop and access free Wi-Fi if they need to send an email or text message.” 

It is illegal to text or email at any time while driving on Illinois roads. Drivers on the Illinois Tollway who need to check email or send a text message should pull over to a safe location. In Illinois, data indicates that cell phone distractions, including texting, were the primary or secondary cause of 1,130 vehicle crashes in 2011. 

Tollway travel tips

The Illinois Tollway offers the following tips to enhance travel on our roadways:

• Know Before You Go - The Illinois Tollway has a variety of ways customers can get the latest travel information, including:

• www.illinoistollway.com – Construction/Planning section and Tollway Trip Calculator
• 1-800-TOLL-FYI – Daily lane closure information
• www.travelmidwest.com – Real-time travel times
• www.nbcchicago.com – Up-to-the-minute traffic by roadway
• www.twitter.com – Real-time roadway incident information at Tollway Trip 90, Tollway Trip 88, Tollway Trip 355 and Tollway Trip 94/294

• Need Help?  Dial *999 - If your vehicle becomes disabled, park safely on the shoulder, raise your hood and remain in your vehicle.  Dial *999 and assistance will be dispatched to your location.

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With Democrats now holding a supermajority in the Illinois House and Senate as well as the governor’s office, one might suppose a Democratic agenda would be a slam dunk in Springfield.

As recent years have shown, however, single-party control doesn’t guarantee the wheels of government grind smoothly.

And former Gov. Jim Edgar, who served from 1991 to 1999, suggests that probably won’t change anytime soon.

In a wide-ranging interview with the new website Reboot Illinois, Edgar says Springfield is less dysfunctional when the two parties share power.

“More times than not I think split government works pretty well. The reason is to make the tough decisions you need both parties. It’s hard to get one party to put up all the votes and take all the blame, so they don’t make the tough decisions. If you’re in the minority, you don’t have to be responsible.  If one of the houses or the governor is in your party, then you have a responsibility to be part of the solution. …

“What happens is your party gets complete control and then the extremes in the party say, “Hey, we have control. Let’s go!”  Dealing with Pate Phillip (Republican Illinois Senate president from 1993 to 2003), when we had a split government he knew he had to compromise. When we had complete control he wanted to go to the right so far. When I had a House Democrat and a Senate Republican everyone knew we had to compromise from the word go.”

Edgar, who might have been the last effective, respected governor to serve the state of Illinois, had some interesting things to say about other thorny problems, including how much income tax you should be paying.

Raise Income Taxes: “Until we double the income tax, Illinois is a very low-taxing state. We’re still not that high for an industrial state. And so for years the people of Illinois have got off pretty cheap, what they pay for state government compared with other states. So I think one of the realities is, you can only cut so much and we need to cut. But it’s not going to be that easy. But I think we’re going to have to pay more because for too long we kind of got a free ride in Illinois.”

No New Programs: “First of all, no new programs. I don’t care how wonderful they are, we don’t have any money. I think you have sit the leaders down and the governor is going to have to probably be a little more flexible from the point of view that  we’ve to figure out how we’re going to cut spending and we’re going to have to not create new programs.”

The All-Powerful Mike Madigan: “Well, if the speaker’s the most powerful person in Springfield, something’s not working. Because the governor should be the most powerful. And I don’t blame all the problems on Mike Madigan.”

Cut Good Programs: “We’re at the point where you’re going to have to cut some good programs. You have to determine what’s essential and what’s just good. That’s a tough decision. I had to go through that in the early ’90s and it’s not an easy decision. But the governor has to just continue to work with the four leaders and put aside personal animosities and he’s going to have to put aside some of his personal wish list and work with them.”

Up to this point, however, Gov. Pat Quinn hasn’t shown much ability to work with the legislative leaders. His latest big idea is Squeezy the Pension Python, a cartoon mascot designed to rally Illinoisans around pension reform. Apparently, the governor imagines a groundswell of popular support via Facebook and Twitter will persuade lawmakers to spontaneously think up a solution.

Members of his own party mocked the idea as “juvenile,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

This post is published throughout the Patch network in the Chicago area.

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Editor’s note: The following is a press release issued by the Citizen’s Utility Board.

A Plainfield resident who signed up for a free online service that helps people slash their utility bills was among 25 Illinois consumers to receive a big reward: free electricity for a month, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) announced Thursday.

Earlier this year, CUB, Illinois’ leading consumer watchdog group, held a drawing of people who joined the service, CUBenergysaver.com, during Earth Month. Twenty-five people were randomly selected, including Plainfield resident Connie DiNello, who received a check for $74.48, the amount of her power bill that month.

“I’m going to use the money to take my husband out to dinner,” said DiNello, who joined CUB Energy Saver because she’s “always into saving money.” 

Managed by CUB and the software firm C3, based in Redwood City, Calif., the free service allows ComEd customers to sign up and connect their account to the online tool to track electricity savings. Users build a money-saving plan for their homes from among hundreds of efficiency actions. They receive two points for every kilowatt-hour they reduce their electric bills, and can cash those points in for restaurant and shopping discounts. One popular reward, for 100 CUB Energy Saver points, is $10 in complimentary groceries for new customers of the Door to Door Organics delivery service.

“It’s great CUB Energy Saver rewarded some consumers with a month of free electricity, but all who join the free service are winners because they cut their utility bills,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. “Energy efficiency has a big payoff for our planet and our pocketbooks.”

Since 2010, CUB Energy Saver has shown people how to save $2.3 million on gas and electric bills, for an average of about $108 a year. Along with DiNello, Plainfield resident Rick Kaczanko also won a month of free power. CUB Energy Saver covered power bills ranging from about $20 to $150 among the 25 winners. 

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Attention runners: Before you hit the streets of downtown Plainfield for Sunday’s Edward Plainfield Harvest 5K, make sure you stop by Plainfield Patch’s tent at Village Green Park.

Editor Shannon Antinori and Ad Manager Wayne Parratore will be there bright and early handing out free stainless steel Patch water bottles to race participants who sign up for our daily email newsletter (and that’s free, too!). By signing up, you’ll also stay Patched in to Plainfield news by receiving automatic email updates on breaking news you need to know.

Get there early to get your water bottle while supplies last.

Not going to the Harvest 5K? You can still sign up for the newsletter by clicking here. 

For more information on the Edward Plainfield Harvest 5K, including registration time, route info, parking and road closures, click here.

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