October has been one busy month. CIRPP started with a vendor fair at our monthly afterhours. Reynolds Towing was kind enough to host 22 of our vendor partners for a relaxing night of networking.  The member turn out was great and I found a new source for appliances. That is what member/vendor networking is all about.   Thank you Hampton’s for the LED TV give away. Thank you Pavlov Media for being the drink sponsor and Allied Waste for sponsoring the food.

After months of conversation, joint consulting, and hours of work by the digital marketing department from The News-Gazette,

The June general meeting was the launch of the new CIRPP website. We feel we now have the premier website of any rental organization. The CIRPP website now provides great benefits to our members, vendors and prospective tenants. Make sure your properties are listed! You may visit the website at www.cirpp-live.com. Don’t miss out!

How about the weather this March? Starting your outdoor clean up early in March puts you one step ahead of your chore list. Don’t forget that the City of Champaign Yard Waste collection runs from April 2nd – 21st. Refer to our March 7th CIRRP FOCUS blog post or the City of Champaign website for the pick-up date for your zone. Let’s enjoy this great weather while we can!

February at C.I.R.P.P.

The month started with the dilemma of finding a new place to hold our general meetings. No big deal, right? Yeah, it was a big deal! Kennedy’s had set the standard high. Good food and a nice atmosphere are important. Our goal: Find a place that will serve good food for 50-60 people on a budget. And be big enough to allow a speaker and vendor display. Oh, and all this in just 15 days!

Membership satisfaction….. That is the focus of C.I.R.P.P. for 2012. C.I.R.P.P’s committees are making every effort to show all members the value in C.I.R.P.P.

Focus

The weekly web blog, the “Focus “, as well as interacting with fellow members, is a great way to keep up on current events. A post to an article can spark a great opportunity for information exchange. Vendor’s, don’t forget what a great value advertising on the blog is. The business name can appear four times a month to every member.

General Meeting

Over the past month the IRPOA Political Action Committee has been working on either blocking or amending HB506. Under existing Illinois law, a property that is leased and where the tenant is responsible for the tax payment may have a homestead exemption applied. I have attached a letter we delivered to legislators that explains why the homestead exemption is important for leased property and our original position on the issue. Because of opposition the bill was not voted on during the regular veto session. The legislature is coming back for one day on November 29th.

A few weeks ago, we submitted a series of questions to each of Champaign’s Mayoral candidates.  Both candidates took the time to respond here are their answers.  The order of the answers was determined by coin toss and so Don Gerard’s responses will be listed first:

The City of Champaign is run by the City Manager and not the Mayor, so how would you describe the role of the Mayor in our community? How do you plan to fulfill that role?

A letter submitted to both Mayoral Candidates:  Stay tuned for their replies!

Dear Candidate:

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“Historic change” is an expression which has gotten a lot of use recently. Elections are over and, across the spectrum of political position, people are saying voters have used the ballot box to express their view that things have to be different in their world. How much different? Well, that depends.