The Saturday Soapbox
Daily Herald Editorial Board
Good luck to all:
The voters have spoken. Low turnout notwithstanding, it’s now time to say thanks to all the new and returning members for their willingness to serve on local school and municipal boards — and to ask for their sincere dedication and dignity, With that, our communities will surely thrive, whatever the challenges to come in years ahead.
Sign this:
OK, maybe it’s a free-speech issue, but did the state legislature have nothing better to do than pass a law letting campaign signs remain posted indefinitely? Because of it, towns are dropping local laws that required homeowners to remove the signs so many days after an election. Let’s hope people have the good sense to do this, anyway.
Back to school:
If your polling place was in a school, this might have been the one time a year you set foot inside. What did you think? Consider signing up as a volunteer and see how much schools have changed over the years. They can use your help!
Pain at the pump?
For all the complaining about the high price of gas, it sure seems that many motorists must not be affected much by the cost. You really can’t gripe if you’re one of those drivers who still floors it when the light turns green, zips along at speeds well above the limit or does any number of things that don’t conserve those precious drops of petrol.
A possible explanation:
Monica Clark, a trustee for Carpentersville-based District 300, was beaten badly at the polls Tuesday. Why? Because she made unprintable remarks (which ended up on YouTube) about students who railed at her at a recent board meeting where she voted for 363 layoffs? Or was it a pro-union backlash? Hint: school board President Joe Stevens was re-elected.
Procrastinating polls:
Riddle me this: If Election Day turnout is a paltry 12.4 percent in Kane County, it would reason festivities wrapped up quickly. Why, then, does it take until the following day to count write-in votes? Or, in another famous phrase, why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?
We want a refund on our cable:
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts was paid 14 percent more in 2010 than 2009 — $31.1 million in total last year. $10.9 million of that was in cash bonuses. He also gets a plane to use for secure personal travel. Meanwhile, Comcast’s cable rates just went up. Did Roberts or Comcast really need the money?
Island Lake change?:
The two Island Lake trustees elected Tuesday — the third position is a tie and will be decided in two weeks — say they want to help bring civility to the village board. That’s welcome news, considering the current deep divisions and turmoil. Let’s hope Thea Morris and Shannon Fox can be the calming influence the village needs.
Doggy to-do:
Kane County’s not the first to consider permit fees for users of off-leash dog parks, saying they need to cover costs of cleaning up after dogs whose owners shirk their duty. We had to chuckle at the assertion that it’s out-of-county dog owners who are to blame, but we also wonder how quickly the cost of the cleanup detail/enforcer will top the amount collected in fees.