Giving back in a winning way

Giving back in a winning way:

When Michael Mendel bought a $100 raffle ticket, he was hoping to win big. But not for himself. The St. Charles business owner had other things in mind for the prize money, if his ticket was drawn. Such as helping the very people the raffle was organized for - victims of cancer. So, when he did win, Mendel immediately donated the $25,000 back to the LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva. LivingWell offers various programs in support of those living with cancer and their families. Mendel doesn't see what he did as a big deal. But he has a big heart. And that humility? It's a trait of the compassionate.

Read this:

That West Chicago, with its heavy concentration of Hispanics, would start a reading program focusing on three books steeped in Latino culture is a natural. That the communities of Warrenville and Winfield, with considerably smaller Hispanic populations, would join West Chicago, is laudable. The initiative calls for patrons to read and think about the books - "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya, "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam Muñoz Ryan and "Piñata" by Rebecca Emberley. Libraries in the three communities will be able to pool resources and enhance the program, but perhaps more significantly, the effort will promote a little more cross-cultural understanding, something sometimes in short supply these days. "I hope this is an idea that takes root and grows," Warrenville Mayor David Brummel said. We'd wholeheartedly agree.

Seeing red:

Streamwood is the latest municipality to approve red-light cameras. It will install them at the village's most dangerous intersection: Irving Park Road and Route 59. Some disagree with the merits of these cameras throughout the suburbs. And we have our reservations, when they are used mainly as revenue-raisers. But if nothing else, this measure at least addresses a growing problem. Way too many people speed up instead of slow down on yellow (and too often even red) to the point where it's just not safe anymore to drive through on a green light without carefully looking both ways. These drivers must be made to change their reckless ways. Hopefully that will happen at this dangerous intersection in Streamwood.

Fine college dining:

Ah college life, the days when macaroni and cheese, pizza or spaghetti from a can sure hit the spot. But wait - not if you're a student at Wheaton College. The prestigious university is best known for its scholastic and religious reputation. But, according to a Princeton Review student survey, Wheaton College is tops in another category. The survey of 120,000 students says it is No. 1 for best food. Bon appétit!

Painfully short notice:

We can understand that tough economic conditions forced Bennigan's to close some of its restaurants. But it would have been nice of Bennigan's to have given its employees more advance warning of this other than the abrupt, middle-of-the night order to close the eateries. We don't think these employees would have treated their customers this way, when they had jobs.

Praise for pier-builders:

Kudos to the Lake County Forest Preserves' Youth Conservation Corps, for giving people in wheelchairs a chance to enjoy a day of fishing. The Corps just finished building a handicapped-accessible fishing pier at Wright Woods Forest Preserve near Mettawa. Good work.