Soapbox: Killer state lapse?

A fatal three-vehicle crash Wednesday at the dangerous intersection of Shales Parkway and Route 20 in Elgin left traffic snarled over much of the city for much of the day. And it left people asking why the state, which maintains three of the four roads at the intersection, shows no inclination to fix problems that have abetted numerous accidents. The city set aside money for signal improvements there five years ago, but the state has done nothing. Sound familiar?

Friday night lights

Some of St. Edward High School's neighbors aren't thrilled that the Elgin City Council approved permanent lights for its sports fields this week. But had the city rejected the plan, it wouldn't have dimmed the nighttime lights in any event. The school would have just continued to use its temporary lighting setup. The new lights are expected to be somewhat less intrusive and the request at least provided the city council a chance to remind St. Edward officials that surrounded by residential neighborhoods as they are, more effort on traffic and litter control and better communication might be the neighborly thing to do.

14th free-for-all

Never say nobody wants to run for political office these days. The impending departure of 14th District Congressman Dennis Hastert has unleashed a veritable free-for-all for his seat. Three Democrats and four Republicans, some well-known and others complete mysteries, have announced their intention to run for their party's nomination in the Feb. 5 primary. North Aurora businessman Rudy Clai announced his candidacy this week, joining Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, state Sen. Chris Lauzen and dairy businessman Jim Oberweis in the GOP race. On the Democratic side, second-time candidate John Laesch of Newark, St. Charles lawyer Jotham Stein and scientist Bill Foster of Geneva are running. Maybe they don't realize they won't automatically become Dennis Hastert if they win, but instead will find themselves at the bottom of the pecking order.

Overdoing in the extreme

Nothing like elected public servants to overdo the tax thing. The Cook County Board is expected to vote Monday on a proposed $750 million sales tax hike. Problem is, the projected deficit it is supposed to cover is only $307 million. Is it too much to expect that any tax increase merely meet revenue needs? And might somebody soon start addressing deficits by cutting expenses instead of raising taxes as a first resort?

A legitimate beef

As you would expect, we in the press are all for free speech. But when you're a teacher in a classroom, a big scoop of common sense is also required. Fox River Grove School District 3 officials had little choice but to dismiss a teacher who chose to push his vegan beliefs on middle school students, effectively captives in his classroom. It's not about vegan vs. non-vegan. The meat of this issue is a teacher misusing his position of trust to push personal views in an inappropriate setting.

Whose ballpark is it anyway?

The bases, stands and nearby streets could be loaded if a pitch to build a minor-league baseball stadium on the McHenry County College campus wins approval from the Crystal Lake City Council on Oct. 16. The project is drawing growing concern from the community and was unanimously nixed by planning and zoning commissioners because of concerns about the impact on traffic and groundwater. Those are valid worries, but isn't the bigger issue about using public dollars on a private venture?