All Things Local

This month’s episode is an interview with Jessi Haish LaRue, the new executive director of the Glidden Homestead in DeKalb. If her maiden name sounds familiar, it is.  Her 4th great-uncle was Jacob Haish. If you’re from the DeKalb area, you’ve probably seen his name around town and he is often referred to as one of DeKalb’s founding fathers along with Joseph Glidden, Isaac Ellwood, and Clinton Rosette.

In addition to their mutual barbed wire business interests, this group was responsible for bringing a teacher’s college to DeKalb, what became Northern Illinois University.

Glidden, Haish, and Ellwood also came up with barbed-wire patents, which made DeKalb the barbed-wire capital of the world.   Barbed wire references are everywhere from the local high school Barbs, Barbed Wire Harley-Davidson, Barb City Manor, Barb City Roasters, and Barb City Bagels.

In this interview with Jessi, we learn more about her own discovery and connection to her family’s history and her new role as executive director of the Joseph Glidden Homestead and Historical Center on West Lincoln Highway.  She gets to share her love of local history with residents and visitors bringing the many stories of the Haishes and Gliddens together.

You can catch up with Jessi by visiting the Glidden Homestead and checking out her blog “A Twist in History”.

Enjoy the conversation!

Welcome listeners of All Things Local to our third season of the podcast and the first episode of 2023. I have some wonderful episodes planned for this year including this one. Brandon Pugh is a former student of mine and since he graduated, he has built his career in volunteer administration at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb. As is so common with our guests, this isn’t a career track he had anticipated but came to find through internships.

While you might be familiar with this amazing landmark, Brandon will share just how important volunteers are to this organization. If you’re thinking about your new year’s resolutions and opportunities to give back to your community, consider volunteering at the Egyptian or a number of organizations that could really use your time and talent. Learn a new skill, meet new people, and make communities better in the process. There are so many benefits to volunteering! Happy 2023 everyone and enjoy our conversation!

Welcome listeners of All Things Local. I needed to take a little break from the podcast this fall due to a heavy teaching load and some staffing challenges, which I’m not alone in. Now that the fall semester is winding down it’s time to get back to the podcast and hopefully regular episodes every month in 2023. Thanks for hanging in there with me and I can’t wait to get back to these community conversations. Episode 24 is an interview with Nicole Sdao, the founder and CEO of Altruize, a free app that helps nonprofits, schools, companies, and individuals track volunteer hours. You’ll hear about why she started her company six years ago and what is driving her innovation in this space. Enjoy the conversation!

For over 125 years, the St. Charles Public Library has served the community. In 1906, Andrew Carnegie, a library philanthropist, granted the library $12,500 to build a new free public library in St. Charles which had to be matched by $15,000 in local donations. That library still stands as part of a much larger library complex which we will hear about from Edith Craig, the previous director of the St. Charles Public Library. 

Did you know there are nearly 9,000 units of local government in Illinois? This includes about 3,000 general-purpose governments and 6,000 special-purpose governments. General-purpose governments include counties, townships, and municipalities, and in Illinois, townships make up about 50% of these government units. Townships were one of the first forms of government created in the state going back to the Illinois Constitution of 1848. Townships provide general assistance to the public, provide real estate assessment assistance and maintain township-owned roads and bridges. Townships may also provide a number of youth and senior services and can also provide zoning, police and fire protection, and other services. They are governed by township boards that consist of a supervisor and members elected at large. Townships may also have separately elected highway commissioners, assessors, and clerks. To pay for these services, townships also levy property taxes and issue bonds. This episode is to catch up with some of our faculty doing researching township government; Dr. Kurt Thurmaier, Dr. Chris Goodman, and Dr. Jaehee Jong, faculty in the Department of Public Administration at NIU. Enjoy our conversation!

This month, I am speaking with Sister Kathleen Ryan, the Executive Director of the Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora. Their programs help women find a voice in this country. The organization began in 1993, in her words, on a shoestring budget and a broken card table. Today, they serve hundreds of individuals each year. We also talk about Sister Kathleen’s personal journey and commitment to serving new immigrants in our community, and how her educator background took a turn into literacy education for immigrants. She also shares the importance of volunteers for their mission.  Enjoy our conversation.

This month, I speak to Frankie DiCiacco, the founder and executive director of The Queer-Oriented Rural Resource Network that is dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ individuals in rural communities access the resources and services they need. In this episode, we talk about Frankie’s own experiences in rural Illinois and how he hopes to change not only access to needed services for LGBTQ+ individuals but also how we create a welcoming community. He also shares how he had the idea for this new nonprofit and some lessons learned in this journey so far. Enjoy our conversation.

Welcome to episode 19, an interview with Gretchen Sprinkle, executive director of the Kishwaukee United Way.  In 1887, the model was created in Denver, Colorado to fundraise for local needs and then distribute those funds to local organizations.  First called a charity organization society, then in 1913, the first Community Chest was created in Cleveland, Ohio which was widely used for United Way organizations until the 1950s. Today, there are over 1,300 local United Ways in communities across the United States. Locally, the Kishwaukee United Way is engaged in several programs that you will hear about including 211, Smart Money Initiative, and much more. They also fund 21 partner agencies in the county and organize an annual Day of Caring. Enjoy the episode!

The Housing Authority of DeKalb County has been providing affordable housing options since 1946. As a unit of local government with county-wide jurisdiction, but funded by rents and federal grants, not local taxes. They are governed by a five-member, all-volunteer board. They offer four federal programs including tenant-based assistance through the housing voucher program, unit-based assistance through the low-income public housing program, shelter plus care program for the chronically homeless and multi-family programs. They operate eleven buildings, with a total of 389 units.  If you are someone you know needs housing assistance, you can find more information at www.dekohousing.com.

On this episode, number 17 of the All Things Local podcast, I speak with Tara Russo, Executive Director of Elder Care Services in DeKalb. She shares her personal background and commitment to seniors in our community.

Her college education began in nursing but she quickly found that her heart was in social work, and specifically working with seniors.

She talks about the wrap-around services her organization offers to help seniors in all facets of their life, to live their best possible lives at home.

Despite the challenge of the pandemic, she has worked to form creative partnerships to serve our seniors, and even to assist other nonprofits to continue their work too.

I hope you enjoy our conversation.

On this episode, number 16 of the All Things Local podcast, I speak with Courtney Strohacher, Executive Director of the DeKalb county convention and visitor bureau. She has been in this role about a year and she shares with us her path, her engagement with all sectors in DeKalb County, and her work with DeKalb County Unites. She shares with us how the CVB markets DeKalb County to local residents but also across the state and across the country. While we might not be able to travel very far right now, Courtney is working hard to focus on what we can do to still enjoy our local attractions and sites. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

On this episode I speak with Fiona Cummings, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois. We chat about how Girl Scouts started, how it has evolved over time. We discuss their decision to be much more flexible so they can best serve their members, such as now only leasing space and putting those spaces in high traffic areas like shopping centers. They are also using technology in some very creative ways to keep the staff virtually connected to each and to continue to provide programs but virtually.  She talks about the loss of revenue in many different areas and the impact on their programs and mission because of it. But without a doubt, she, her staff and her board know they can get through these challenges and continue to build strong and confident girls. Fiona taught me about the FAILURE, and fail just means first attempt in learning. And we can all learn a lot from her when it comes to lifelong learning. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Jo-Anne Stately is the Director of Impact Strategy for the Minneapolis Foundation in Minnesota.  She kicked off the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies' 2020 Research Colloquium series on February 12 speaking about Native American philanthropy.  This recording was made with a live audience so I apologize in advance for the audio quality.

I hope you enjoy this second part of my interview with the police chiefs of DeKalb and NIU.  In this part of our interview, both chiefs talk about their department’s collaboration with nonprofits, about very specific events that turned them towards making a career in law enforcement, and then we get into a discussion of mental health issues facing first responders. I am editing this episode as we are all dealing with the disruption to our daily lives and the serious health consequences of the coronavirus. This episode is dedicated to all of those public servants, health care workers, and business employees that are risking their own lives and their family’s lives in order to help the rest of us stay healthy and safe. Take care everyone and enjoy the episode!

On this episode, I speak with Chief Tom Phillips of the NIU Police Department and Interim Chief of Police for the City of DeKalb, John Petragallo. We discuss their relationship with each other, to their communities, how they arrived at their positions and why did they go into police work in the first place. We are reminded how the city and the university are intricately linked, tied together, interdependent.  Because of our lengthy and candid conversation, this podcast will actually be split up in two parts. Enjoy this first part.

Welcome to episode number 7 of the All Things Local Podcast. On this episode, I speak with Lynnea Erickson-Laskowski from Safe Passage, DeKalb County’s domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center.  Lynnea shares her journey from student to advocate. She reminds us that sexual assault and domestic violence does not discriminate by income, ethnicity, race, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Safe Passage works with so many entities to support their clients and could use our community’s help so think about volunteering, donating funds or items they are in need of, like gas gift cards especially as we come into the holiday season. Enjoy the episode!

Welcome to Episode number 5 of the All Things Local Podcast, and my first in my new role as acting director of the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies. In this episode, we learn all about the Egyptian Theatre from its executive director Alex Nerad. The Egyptian supports the quality of life of this region which attracts residents, businesses, and visitors.  You might be surprised to know that the Egyptian Theatre has a $2 million direct economic impact every year, thanks to the 40,000 visitors to the theatre and it will turn 90 years old in December.  Alex reminds us that the theatre is a community centre, welcoming all generations, from all walks of life. It’s where community conversations happen. Hear about exciting plans ahead with a $4.5 million renovation. Enjoy the episode!

On this episode, I interview Dan Templin from the DeKalb County Community Foundation, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. Growing up in Peoria, we’ll hear how Dan spent his time at Northern volunteering with local nonprofits and then graduating with a degree in psychology. Eventually administration found him very early in his career, first at the Dekalb County Youth Service Bureau when he became an executive director at just 26, and then he jumped at the chance to get involved in the nonprofit sector more broadly by moving to the DeKalb County Community Foundation.  He truly loves working in what he calls the field of generosity. 

Welcome to episode number 2 of the All Things Local Podcast. On this episode, I speak with Deanna Cada from the DeKalb County Mental Health Board. We learn about what the mental health board actually does in our community to improve access to mental health services and the overall quality of life for all residents. Hear about the new Mental Health Court, mental health first aid, and how the mental health board responds during a disaster such as the tornado in Fairdale. Deanna offers tips to those studying or working in local government. She shares memorable stories that affected her own commitment to public service and she even shares lessons from her first job at Dunkin Donuts, reminding us how important relationships are as well as the importance of looking at any situation from multiple perspectives. 

On this first episode, I am joined by Paul LaLonde, Vice President of Operations and Human Resources for the Voluntary Action Center.  Paul graduated with an MPA from Northern Illinois University in 2009.  He discussed his career path in public service, as well as his organization’s role in providing public transportation across five counties in Northern Illinois.   Paul notes that transit "is a perfect example of governance in action" as VAC works with all levels of government.