Soapbox: For children's sake
Earlier this week, police arrested a convicted sex offender in Glen Ellyn after he was accused of having sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl who lived in the same apartment complex. This is the latest in a handful of recent arrests of convicted sex offenders, including a man working at a Bloomingdale carnival and two others selling ice cream to children near Glen Ellyn and Sugar Grove. In this information age, it's as easy as the click of a computer mouse for parents to educate themselves about the dangers that may lurk in their own neighborhood. To see the faces and learn the names of registered sex offenders living in your town, go to either the DuPage County sheriff's office or Illinois State Police Web pages. Many local police departments list the information on their Internet sites, as well.
Nice touch
If you've been stuck lately, as many of us have, in traffic near Naperville-Wheaton and Warrenville roads, you've had plenty of time to study the "Thank you" signs posted near the DuPage County Forest Preserve District's latest acquisition: 51 acres it's buying from Alcatel Lucent. Not everyone thought this was a great idea, including the village of Lisle and developers thinking about building a big box store on the site. Money for the purchase will come from the $68 million voters authorized for open space last year. That's the latest of several votes allowing the district to buy 2,900 acres since the 1990s. It's nice the district remembers to thank the people who made the land buy possible. And entirely appropriate.
Stopping all impaired drivers
Authorities have long gone after drunken drivers. But Kane County prosecutors recently began being trained on how to ferret out drugged drivers as well. In DuPage County, State's Attorney Joseph Birkett's office has been doing this for more than a decade. In fact, after a Bloomingdale truck driver refused to submit to a Breathalyzer after a 2000 fatal crash in Wood Dale, the hospital blood test that documented his marijuana use -- long after the alcohol results were no longer obtainable -- is what led to the man's conviction and a 14-year prison term. Though drugged driving is a more complex prosecution, such training is crucial to ensuring these impaired drivers don't slip through the cracks. Hopefully, authorities in other counties will step up such training.
Police urge against road rage
A 46-year-old Bartlett man was arrested this week after, police said, he punched out another motorist who followed him into a parking lot after a traffic dispute. In response, police reminded drivers to try to control their rage rather than end up in their custody and face fines and an embarrassing blemish on their record. Road rage can even turn deadly, as was the case several years ago when a Chicago woman was killed on a DuPage County highway after her car crashed. So remember, no matter how big of a knucklehead that other motorist may be, take comfort in knowing that you, of course, are in the right. If there's such thing as karma, maybe the road-rager will get a flat tire on the way home.
Fitting tribute
Work has been completed on a park in Naperville's Longwood subdivision that has special meaning beyond giving a neighborhood a nice recreational retreat. The new park is named in honor of Sgt. David Caruso, who was killed Nov. 9, 2004, rescuing a team member while on a mission in Iraq. It is also a fitting tribute beyond recognizing Caruso's sacrifice and heroism. Caruso, who was an Eagle Scout, loved the outdoors. He would have loved this park.