Saturday Soapbox
End the monopoly:
Our sympathies are with the 20 trash haulers who have filed suit against 11 municipalities in Cook and DuPage counties that have locked them out of picking up debris from construction sites. It's hard to see how government giving pickup rights to a single company encourages competitive pricing or quality service.
Listen to the warning:
Des Plaines officials, in a discussion of next year's budget, were told that meeting a state mandate that police and fire pension funds be fully-funded by 2033 will cost the town's taxpayers $52 million. All towns are in this boat to some degree. The state, which sets the benefits, has to stop expanding them and look at curbing them.
Are you sure you want to do this, Joe?
When it was assumed Attorney General Lisa Madigan would be aiming for governor or Senate, DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett announced his true vocation is rooting out corruption - and that he is running for attorney general to do that. Then, days later, the seemingly unbeatable Madigan announced she wants to keep her job after all. We like Birkett, but common sense suggests he should reconsider.
Throwing the book at him:
Randall Hopp was elected in April to the Gail Borden Library board in Elgin. Now he's been stripped of his library privileges. Library officials aren't talking about who was penalized but officials say someone was verbally abusive to library workers. And now Hopp can only go to the library... for meetings.
Sign of the times:
A perhaps-not-so-funny sight on the Prairie Path in Aurora: A long freight train comes to a complete stop, blocking trail access (and nearby traffic). A sign on the trail reads, "Notice: Increased train traffic." How nice to give us the heads-up.
Speaking of the Illinois Prairie Path:
DuPage County did a nice job of arranging a detour around construction on the Batavia spur, even setting up concrete barriers to create a bike lane. The county is dedicated to its trails.
Thoughtfulness that inspires:
A tip of our hat to Streamwood's Marlin Keesler, who thought to deliver a 3-year-old letter from a now-deceased woman to her friend, Alison Lang of Palatine. Just nice.
Stopping the rolling noise makers:
What has four wheels, thumps loudly and carries a $75 ticket from police? You may have seen - or heard - one of these rolling noise makers. Aurora Police are cracking down on drivers who enjoy sharing their music a little too much; this month alone "Operation Thump Shaker" has nabbed 11 violators. We wish this sting would spread to other communities.
The irony of elective office:
Lake County Coroner Richard Keller announced he won't seek re-election in 2012 because the politics of the office is stopping him from truly helping people. While we respect his decision, we're disappointed his elected post has become so political that he has to resign it to more effectively help the people who put him there.
Well-deserved:
Congrats to Rebekah Stewart of Winfield. The Wheaton Academy grad won a regional gold medal from the Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation. Stewart, a basketball, volleyball, soccer and track star, won her medal in the sports category, but also deserves props for her 4.1 GPA.
What spending priorities are these?
We've always enjoyed the Sugar Bowl restaurant in all its incarnations, but did the Des Plaines City Council really just agree to spend $20,000 to pay to restore the sign for a private owner at the same time aldermen are hinting they'll have to hike water and sewer taxes?