Category Archives: News

Progress of Aurora library progressing smoothly

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Aurora, Ill., new library
Photo courtesy of Aurora Public Library
Current construction of the new Aurora Public Library is shown Jan. 21. Construction photos are available at aurorapubliclibrary.org.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014

AURORA — Bid package No. 2 has been accepted by R.C. Wegman Construction last week in the ongoing construction of Aurora’s new $28 million library at River and Benton Streets.

Twenty-one bid packages were accepted, ranging from pavers and landscaping to millwork and cabinetry, to painting (which was sent by InsideOut Painting Company), plumbing, elevators, HVAC  services from Bryce Conn HVAC Services and everything in between. There is a project labor agreement in place with the construction. Sometimes, HVAC’s like the classic air conditioners can clear the air of microbial viruses. Installing such systems helps provide a peaceful environment. The indianapolis air conditioner repair contractors can fix any air conditioning unit because of their years of experience and expertise. You can also check out other Tips To Improve Your Home’s Air Quality And Kill Airborne Viruses. If you’re looking to upgrade your home, then you may consider having a whole house dehumidifier installation. You may also consider having a new heat pump installation.

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“This is a very complex bid, with a lot of alternates. It’s going to take a long time to go through these bids,” said Bill Arnolde, project manager with R.C. Wegman. “We are currently going through post-bid reviews.”

Right now, the library has the foundation, site utilities and structural steel up. Area Erectors has started to install metal decking on the second floor of the library. According to R.C. Wegman, they have also continued with detailing of the steel structure by installing tube steel and concrete pourstops.

The 92,000 sq. ft., facility will feature state-of-the-art materials handling technology, expanded space for programs for children and teens, a dedicated space for experimentation with new technology, and areas for the public to gather. As a LEED certified building, it has been designed to reduce waste, conserve energy and water and lower operating costs.

The 92,000 square foot new construction will be a part of the downtown Aurora revitalization to make it a hub for economic and educational progress. The goal is to have the shell complete by Aug. 1, with the building complete by late 2014 or early 2015.
Arnolde pointed out that R.C. Wegman has an OSHA partnership with this project, the same agreement they had with the construction of the Aurora Police Department headquarters. This involves monthly audits to monitor conditions and ensure worker safety.

He said OSHA is an underfunded federal agency, and takes safety violations very seriously, handing out expensive fines for non-compliance.

“Our No 1 priority is worker safety. By partnering with OSHA, not only do we ensure that we have injury reduction, we also ensure a smooth operation with no costly fines. This allows us to deliver the project on time, under budget, and without injury,” said Arnolde.

Illinois is trying to better prepare students

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Kifowit, Koch field questions
Photo by Pat Barcas
Illinois Superintendent of Education Dr. Christopher Koch fields questions Jan. 16 about developments in Illinois education. The event was sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Kifowit.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014

AURORA — A looming State Board of Education budget meeting Jan. 22 has discussion of tight times ahead for the next school year on its agenda.

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) hosted a roundtable discussion Jan. 16 in Aurora with Illinois Superintendent of Education Dr. Christopher Koch, who talked about the underfunded system and the new common core standards in Illinois.

Kifowit said the state budget is “going to be a challenge” as legislators went into the meeting at press time.

Koch, who has been the Illinois Superintendent of Education since 2006, oversees all school code and federal laws impacting education in Illinois. His job includes licensing teachers, developing learning benchmarks for students, overseeing implementation of the state budget, and providing assessments of students.

He explained why Illinois joined 40 other states in the new Common Core State Standards Initiative — it aims to unify teaching throughout the state and country to better prepare students for challenges they may face later in life.

“Previously, there were entirely different things taught from district to district. Both within Illinois and other states, we decided to have a discussion to sit down and develop benchmarks that were best for the students,” he said. “Our students are getting prepared for a global environment.”

Koch said right now in Illinois, educators are field testing another new assessment test called Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC.)

“Over 400 districts are pilot testing this assessment, and over 800 schools. We’re trying it out. From that test we hope to learn what went well, and what didn’t,” he said.

Koch said one bit of information gleaned from the preliminary tests is the technology infrastructure of Illinois schools is “not where it should be,” which will place an additional challenge for next year’s already limited budget.

Online tests allow teachers to get instant feedback on how students are performing, and they can tweak their lesson plans accordingly. Koch said they are useful not just for accountability purposes, but to intervene in a student’s learning.

“About 25 percent of our schools can provide online instruction. We have a lot of work to do in building infrastructure in the state,” he said.

Unions defending responsible bidder standards

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Kane County responsible bidder standards
Photo by Pat Barcas
Members of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County tabled a resolution on whether or not to approve a bill, expanding responsible bidding on different jobs covered. Forest Preserve District President John Hoscheit, above, along with other board members, will meet again Feb. 7.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014

GENEVA — Union bosses turned out Jan. 9 to an Executive Committee meeting of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County to debate the passage of House Bill 924, which aims to amend the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act so all contractors bidding on public work abide by the definition of a responsible bidder.

The bill is up for Senate discussion in 2014, and The Illinois Association of Park Districts is against the bill, citing cost concerns. The Kane County Forest Preserve District, a member of the association, presented a resolution on the meeting Jan. 9 calling for a rejection of HB 924.

“In theory, this could drive the cost of projects up,” said Forest District President John Hoscheit. “The practical matter in reality is that with all these additional requirements, they would increase the number of bidders and increase cost.”
The unfinished business was tabled for discussion until the next meeting, Feb. 7 due to board members needing more information before voting.

“They have no data that this increases cost,” said Kane County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Guethle ,who supports the passage of the responsible bidder bill.

Kane County already has a responsible bidder ordinance, as well as dozens of other municipalities throughout the state, but the House Bill would further expand on different jobs covered.

“I’m pleased it was tabled. It seems they are doing their due diligence in reading the bill before voting on it,” said Scott Roscoe, president of the Fox Valley Building Trades. “The two biggest municipalities in the county already have a responsible bidder ordinance.”

Currently, at the local unit of government level, there are no front-end criteria applied to contractors bidding public works construction projects sufficient to detect erroneous bids before projects are awarded. The AFL-CIO argues public works projects are being awarded to bidders who cannot, or have no intention to, pay the wage rates required under the current Prevailing Wage Act.

Kara Principe, an attorney for the Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting stated the advantages of using union contractors for public bids.

“Using a contractor who participates in a USDOL approved apprenticeship program will serve to mitigate risks to the district. Projects will be done right the first time, so unanticipated costs will not pop up on the back end, thus insuring structural and financial success for projects within the district,” she said.

“Doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers- they’re all required to have standardized testing, in order for them to perform their job. For some reason, when it comes to the construction industry, we seem to forget who is qualified and who is not, who is safe and who is not, who is educated and who is not . . . . The architect designing the building has to be trained, the engineer must be licensed, but now you are not going to require a training standard for the men and women building that building?” she questioned.

Constitutional amendment could combat gerrymandering

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Illinois' cold weather
Photo by Pat Barcas
League of Women Voters of Illinois member Kathy Nesberg, right standing, discusses her group’s push to get an amendment on the November ballot to propose an Illinois Independent Redistricting amendment, which would establish a bipartisan 11 member independent redistricting commission to draw the maps for Illinois House and Senate Districts.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014

LISLE— The Illinois jurisdiction of the League of Women Voters thinks gerrymandering is counterproductive for democracy, and they’re trying to introduce an amendment to the Illinois constitution on this November’s ballot that aims to redefine what politicians can and cannot do when it comes to drawing district lines.

“Right now, we have a system where they pick us, let’s change it so we pick them,” said Kathy Nesberg of the League of Women Voters of Illinois. Nesberg led a discussion on gerrymandering Jan. 4 in Lisle with the League of Women Voters of DuPage County.

Gerrymandering is the process of manipulating district boundaries, sometimes down to the exact household, in order to gain a political advantage when it comes time to go to the polls. The idea is, skew the district line in a certain direction, and those running for office may gain the votes they seek.

The group wanted to make the message clear: Gerrymandering benefits both Republicans and Democrats, and it’s wrong.

“When Democrats are in power and draw the lines in the Chicago area, the district lines come way out west, like a finger. The opposite is true when Republicans take power,” explained Nesberg.

The League of Women Voters is currently circulating petitions, and needs 296,000 signatures to get an amendment on the ballot this November. That’s eight percent of the number who voted in the last governors race.

“Running for office is tough. You can see why politicians would want it to be easier. Some say they will make real changes when they get elected, then after awhile, it just becomes the family business,” said Nesberg.

Under the current system, the General Assembly draws the state Senate and House districts after every census. Ninety seven percent of incumbent state legislators won their general election race in the last election, and two-thirds did not face a challenger.

The proposed Illinois Independent Redistricting amendment would establish a bipartisan 11 member independent redistricting commission to draw the maps for Illinois House and Senate Districts.

The commission would draw district boundaries that are contiguous, substantially equal in population, and in compliance with federal laws. Lines would also be drawn that would not dilute or diminish the ability of a racial or language minority community to elect the candidates of its choice.

A goal of the amendment is to keep everything transparent, holding public hearings throughout the state both before and after it releases draft maps. All commission records and communications between commissioners, who are to be selected by a special process, will be open for public inspection.

California, Arizona, New Jersey, and Iowa have all recently taken action against gerrymandering, and the League of Women Voters have observed and learned from these other states, soliciting the advice of civil rights experts and community based groups in Illinois over the past two years in crafting the amendment.

“The people do have more political power than the legislators, and this is the basis for the kind of government we wish we all had,” said Nancy Healy of the League of Women Voters of DuPage County. “Right now, the most important thing is getting these signatures.”

To request a petition for the amendment to reign in gerrymandering, visit www.independentmaps.org.

Thanksgiving turkey dinner drive-through

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Food pantry passes out turkeys
Photo by Pat Barcas
Cold temperatures didn’t slow down Ryan Craig, above, who volunteered for the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, to place frozen turkeys and everything else needed for a Thanksgivng dinner inside vehicles Nov. 25.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.
Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

It was a cold day Nov. 25, with the temperature in the high 20s and snow falling on and off. The frozen turkeys were not in jeopardy of thawing out as the line of cars stretched far out of the driveway of Hesed House, and drivers in need picked up a total of 1,700 turkeys with all the trimmings for this holiday.

“I’m not sure if they’ve ever had to think about them thawing out. It’s always cold for the turkey giveaway,” said Ryan Craig, who manned the turkey drive through.

He said he and his bird slinging partner, Eddie Galvan, volunteered this year to help the community and give back.

“It’s not cold as long as you’re moving,” said Craig, who shuffled a few nice frozen gobblers into a minivan while Galvan delivered a box containing everything needed for a family Thanksgiving dinner.

Cars stretched a half mile down River Street, with Aurora police cadets directing traffic. Drivers were happy to wait the 20 minutes in line to get a turkey.

“We’re busy like this all day. Cars coming in all day long. The demand is greater than supply, but every year we try to provide more,” said Maureen Gasek, Development Assistant of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry.

The turkeys were dropped off by semi trucks from the Northern Illinois Food Bank and unloaded early Monday morning. The bags filled with potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread and other Thanksgiving foods were assembled by volunteers ahead of time. The whole holiday giveaway is funded by community donors.

“We’ll have 1,000 families come through just today,” said Marilyn Weisner, executive director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, who said the snow and freezing temperatures didn’t slow anyone down.

“We have really great volunteers, everyone is working really hard and happy to serve all the people coming through today. We really have to thank the community, the money to purchase these turkeys from the food bank comes from the community, and we are grateful,” said Weisner.

The Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry is always accepting food donations. Currently, hot or cold breakfast cereal is in critical need, along with pancake mix, baking mixes, canned tuna or chicken, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly and all size diapers.
Donations can be brought to the Pantry Office from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday thru Friday at 1110 Jericho Rd. in Aurora.

Labor scholarship available

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The law firm of Woodruff Johnson & Palermo maintains the largest exclusive injury law practice in the greater Fox Valley area. Its lawyers take pride in the overwhelming success rate they have achieved on behalf of injury victims and their families. As the “go to” firm for many labor unions, the firm wishes to recognize those who helped put it on top.

The Woodruff Johnson & Palermo Labor Scholarship will be awarded on an annual basis to an incoming college freshman who is the child or dependent of a union members working in the Fox Valley area.

Students may apply for this scholarship through the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. Applications are available in November, December and January of each year.
Applications for the 2014 Scholarship Program will be available the week of Nov. 18, 2013 through Feb 3, 2014.

The Community Foundation 2014 Scholarship Program offers scholarships to students who will attend an accredited institution of higher education on a full-time basis during the 2014‑15 academic year.
In 2103, the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley awarded 261 new scholarships to local students. A total of $922,000 has been committed for these scholarships.
This year, Taylor Krawczyk of Maple Park was awarded a $2,500 scholarship made possible by the Woodruff Johnson & Palermo Labor Scholarship.
Applications can be found at www.communityfoundationfrv.org/default.asp.

Efficient AFSCME workers keeping Will county in check

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Informational Table
Source: warehouse.illinoiscomptroller.com/
This table breaks down three different county expenses

By William J. Taylor
Special to the Fox Valley Labor News
Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has created a website to make local government finances transparent. Each year the Comptroller’s Office is responsible for collecting financial reports from counties, municipalities and special taxing districts from across the state. The site: http://warehouse.illinoiscomptroller.com is a treasure trove of government finance.

Using information provided by the website, the accompany graph below shows three counties in our reading area to see how our county governments are doing by showing sources of their revenue, where expenditures are made and how much debt each county has accrued.

As can be seen from the below graph, Will County appears to have their 2012 budget under control with a 1.9 percent deficit. Counties cannot print money like the federal government. They must stay financially solvent and spend in line with what they take in the form of revenues.

They can, and often do, borrow money for capital projects and for covering shortfalls. They can borrow funds in the form of general obligation bonds and/or revenue bonds. A general obligation bond is a loan that pledges at the local government level to levy a property tax to meet debt service requirements and you will find more about the various criteria in this bond once you decide to take it. The revenue bond is a type of municipal bond that is repaid only from a specified revenue generating entity (like a sewage treatment plant). You can also view the page for more information.

The interest rate the government must pay is lower than if a loan from a bank would be. This is due to the bond holder’s preferential tax treatment (no tax paid to the IRS on the interest received). Again, you will notice the total indebtedness in Will County is lower than its sister local counties. The amount each individual in the county owes is less than $300. The amount is half of Kane County.

In a recent issue of the Fox Valley Labor News the headline “On Strike for Fairness!” wrote that about 1,000 AFSCME workers walking off at municipal locations across Will County. When viewing the financials of the sister counties, it would seem that the efficiency with which the county has been run has been a result of their worker productivity. This is something that should be rewarded for a job well done.

On strike for fairness!

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AFSCME workers on strike in Will County
Photo by Pat Barcas
About 1,000 AFSCME workers walked off the job at municipal locations all across Will county Nov. 18. It was after not receiving a favorable contract in the past 15 months of talks.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013

JOLIET — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1028 members have not received a favorable contract in the past 15 months of talks for Will County workers and Monday, Nov. 18, the union flexed its muscle, sending about 1,000 workers walking off the job at municipal locations all across the county.

Members staked out corners outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, as well as about 20 other locations in a rotating show of force. The courthouse had a message posted on its website saying service will be affected by the strike: “Phone calls will not be answered and e-mail responses may be delayed during this time.”

“What the county wants in their latest contract — if we agree to that, we’d be taking home less money. Most of us out here make less than $30,000 per year. That’s $13 per hour,” said Amanda Monczyski, who handles customer service in the courtroom.

She was picketing in front of the courthouse early Monday with dozens of other Local 1028 members.

Will County felony clerk Danielle Flores said it was her first time on strike, walking the picket line.

“It feels good to be out here, everyone is standing together,” she said.

Flores said many county workers barely make enough to feed their families, working several jobs and seeking out state assistance to supplement their income.

“It’s said the county wants its workers to receive state aid instead of paying them a decent wage,” she said.

According to a statement released by AFSCME, Will County management is trying to force employees to pay sharply higher costs for health insurance — twice what they now pay, with the lowest-paid employees saddled with the largest percentage hikes under the county’s plan.

“Everyone assumes when you work for the county you make good money. You don’t. The benefits were great, they aren’t so great anymore,” said Monczyski.

Those rising health care costs are unaffordable for county employees, 40 percent of who earn less than $30,000 per year. The employees also previously agreed to help the county through tough times by foregoing any cost-of-living pay increase for the past four years, something Will County Executive Larry Walsh disputes.

A statement put out by Walsh claims workers have continued to receive 2.5 percent wage step increases in each of those last four years.

The statement said the proposal the county leaders presented to Local 1028 insures “all AFSCME-represented employees receive wage increases more than offset any increase in health insurance premiums the employees will be asked to pay.”

“The first casualty of many political campaigns and union negotiations, is the truth,” said Walsh in the statement.

The county, however, has refused to add any amount to its cost-of-living proposal for nearly a month.

“Our union did everything possible to avoid this strike, but county politicians have failed to meet us halfway,” said AFSCME Local 1028 President Dave Delrose.

“Striking is tough for us personally and will disrupt the services we provide, but there comes a time when everyone has to stand up for what’s right. We ask the public’s continued support.”

The union represents more than 1,200 employees in the county court system, health department, highway department, Sunny Hill Nursing Home, county jail and in the offices of the sheriff, coroner, assessor, recorder, clerk, chief judge, circuit clerk, executive and state’s attorney.

Exempt from the strike are correctional officers, who are barred from striking by law and 911 emergency dispatchers, who are not allowed to strike due to a decision by a Will County judge deeming them too essential.

“This has never been an issue about money,” said Flores. “If the 911 operators are important enough to work, then they are damn well important enough to pay a living wage.”

Will Aurora pay more than the minimum wage?

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Moving Wall mementos
Photo by Pat Barcas
Dan Bohrod explains how the Madison agreement helped workers.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013

A movement has begun that would make Aurora the first city in Illinois to enact a living wage ordinance, which would require a minimum wage several dollars above the national minimum wage requirement.

San Francisco, Calif., Santa Fe, N.M., Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wis. all have living wage ordinances in place. Chicago passed a living wage ordinance in 2006, but it was vetoed by Mayor Richard M. Daley.

The labor group Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice aims to make it affordable to live in Aurora, if you work in Aurora. It held a panel discussion at the Prisco Center Nov. 14.

Dan Bohrod has a long career as a public servant, and he was on staff for Madison, Wisconsin’s living wage task force, enacting the ordinance in 1999.

The living wage back then was $7.91 per hour, rising about three percent per year to $12.45 starting Jan. 1, 2014. It is based on 110 percent of the federal poverty guide for a family of four.

The agreement in Madison exempts professional services, supply contracts, public works projects, and collective bargaining agreements. It does apply to city service contracts more than $5,000 and financial assistance projects over $100,000.

Bohrod said so far, the ordinance has worked well for the city.

“It’s worked the way we planned for Madison. There are no bad actors, and there have been no formal audits of businesses,” he said, adding the ordinance is a complaint-based system. No payroll records are actively monitored.

Some challenges noted by Bohrod are wage compression, competitive health insurance benefits, and data collection and evaluation.

“We still haven’t collected much data,” he said. “That’s the son of living wage, and he hasn’t been born yet.”

Dr. Vince Gaddis, the moderator of the discussion and professor at Benedictine University, said a higher wage only benefits the community in terms of education and attracting higher quality workers that stay around longer.

He pointed out that one in six households in Kane County are food insecure.

“This not only affects the employment sphere, but the education sphere too,” said Gaddis. “People who don’t earn a living wage, their households are not getting the education to be able to test at higher levels. The living wage ordinance breaks that cycle.”

Indeed, Madison has shown a reduced worker turnover rate, increased recruitment numbers, and a higher worker retention rate since the ordinance passed 14 years ago.

Santa Fe currently has a living wage ordinance set at $10.50 per hour, and the city showed no flight of employers to other cities after the ordinance was passed.

“The argument is that people will leave. Employers and companies will leave. That’s not the case in Santa Fe,” said Tim Bell, organizing director for the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative

Bell is currently fighting for a living wage for Kane County and Chicago’s temporary workers. He said a living wage ordinance is especially important for temp workers, since it shifts the balance of power more into their hands. As for the common employee, it might be safer not to rely on the minimum. It could be more than beneficial to learn different income streams like Cryptsy online.

“I ask you to support the increase,” said Rosa Ramirez, who has been a temp worker for 14 years.

“Right now, salaries are so low, and things are so expensive, I am not able to rent an apartment or buy a bed,” she explained.

That sentiment is shared not only by temp workers, but those with full time jobs at Wal-Mart.

Charmain Givens-Thomas is a Wal-Mart worker who went on strike Nov. 13 in protest of the low wages and mistreatment of workers there. She is organizing for a better workplace and fair wages.

“Wal-Mart has fought us every step of the way,” said Givens-Thomas, who said workers feel like they are in a “nether world” when they punch in each day.

She said lately, health insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed to the point where workers just can’t afford them. It’s an endless cycle of poverty.

“In meetings, they tell us never to talk to press or to join unions. It’s like the country is heading in the wrong direction, almost toward slavery. These workers are living in financial slavery, people can’t take care of their basic needs,” said Givens-Thomas.

The next step for a living wage ordinance in Aurora is to meet with officials. The living wage ordinance in Madison was crafted by a task force who prepared a report, implemented a budget and the ordinance was passed by Madison’s liberal city council.

John Laesch, organizer with Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice, said he’s spearheading meetings with local alderman and council members, although no city official, including anyone from the mayor’s office, attended the Nov. 14 public meeting, despite being invited.

“Yes, this is just the beginning, but this discussion should be held in city hall. We’re still optimistic that any positive intentions by the city toward this ordinance are genuine,” said Laesch.

Moving Wall mementos shown one last time

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Moving Wall mementos
Photo by Pat Barcas
Sharon and Kent Catich of North Aurora retrieved the items left behind at the Moving Wall and took care of them by drying them off and arranging them for display. Sharon even bought a new box of Twinkies that was too water damaged to be saved.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013

NORTH AURORA — The Vietnam Moving Wall is gone from Aurora, packed up and headed home, waiting to be unveiled at further cities across the country next season. All of the mementos, however, have stayed behind in the loving care of the Catich family, who have cleaned and prepared the items for shipment to the Moving Wall headquarters in Michigan.

Sharon and Kent Catich of North Aurora are members of the Navy League and have a son who retired from the Air Force two years ago. They decided to be temporary keepers of the mementos.

Kent said when they were taking down the Wall after it was exhibited in Aurora, the Catich’s asked where the numerous flags, sculptures, letters, pins and photos were going.

“They said all of these things left behind travel with the wall. They were all wet from the snowstorm and morning dew. We said we’ll take them home to dry them off and clean it up before shipping it on,” said Kent, who is a retired electrician and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 461 member.

“We just wanted to help out and get involved and be patriotic,” he explained.

Sharon said all the little American flags left stuck in the ground were stuffed in a big cardboard box.

“It was a mess, there wasn’t any order to it,” she said.

After she cleaned each flag, as well as running an iron over each one, they looked as good as new. The family held a small exhibition in their home Nov. 16 to show the Moving Wall Committee members all of the items.

“It’s wonderful to see all of these items dried out and looking great — to be able to touch them and read what family members wrote and even the letters that soldiers wrote home, it’s wonderful,” said Amy Roth, who served on the committee.

“When you see the items at the Wall, it’s almost too much to take in, the Wall is so emotional. To see them presented here is great,” Roth added.

The items will be shipped in a couple weeks to the Moving Wall headquarters, where the eventual plan is to build a permanent museum showcasing the items left at the Moving Wall since it was created in 1984.

The objects left in Aurora range from an American Eagle statue, to a can of Coke, a box of Twinkies, playing cards, shell casings, wood cutouts, crosses, and whiskey bottles.

Sharon Catich said the whiskey was picked up before she got all the items, probably because of its over-21 only necessity.

“I bought a new box of Twinkies, the original was too waterlogged,” said Sharon. “The whiskey bottles disappeared before the final takedown of the Wall,” said Sharon.

The items carried much emotion for committee member Chris Goerlich Weber.

“The emotion has definitely intensified now. At the Wall, the actual monument overshadows these items.

“Here, you can take your time, see what people wrote. I’m experiencing a sense of withdrawal from the Wall. It was such an experience for us to plan this big event, this is like a closing ceremony of its own. It’s a privilege,” Goerlich Weber said of the experience.