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Saturday Soapbox: COD, turn lanes, Rosemont cop shooting

The mood at COD:

There is plenty of criticism of the College of DuPage board that is justifiable, as we have noted, but when does the constant barrage from the far right — and the attempts to smear anyone who questions any of its dark assumptions — move from healthy examination to Joe McCarthy-style intimidation?

This right is wrong:

For the most part, right turn on red makes sense. Some places ... not so much. One such spot is the right turn off frontage road onto eastbound Golf Road in Schaumburg. Vehicles traveling Golf in the little-used far right lane are not highly visible, often zipping by unexpectedly. It may be legal; it's not always safe. Be careful.

Got it right this time?

Winfield trustees have agreed to rezone a stretch of Roosevelt Road for commercial development, a move officials say won't have to be repealed as it was two years ago. “This time, we did it right,” Village President Erik Spande said. Let's hope so; this plan, which could bring sorely needed revenue to the village, seems to have been on the table forever.

On budget and on time:

That's the word on the DuPage County Health Department's $11 million community health center. The 33,000-square-foot facility in Wheaton should open in September. It includes office space for the department and for the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, plus meeting rooms and a short-stay crisis unit.

What happened in Rosemont?

A Rosemont police officer won't face charges in the fatal off-duty shooting of his brother-in-law. OK, we can't judge, because we don't know what exactly happened. But wait — we don't know what exactly happened. Why will Rosemont not release the details? Someone died in a shooting. The public should know more.

Garza one of the good guys:

After 10 years with the Chicago Bears and 14 in the NFL, Roberto Garza is on the NFL unemployment line. This son of Mexican immigrants ranks fourth in Bears history in games started. He always showed up off the field, too, with his tireless charitable efforts. Never in trouble, always available, he was a class act in a profession that needs more.

Helping hand:

The Gurnee village board denied Gurnee American Legion Post 771's request to install video gambling machines to provide financial help because officials didn't want to rescind the ban on the devices. However, village officials worked to help create a craft beer festival that will benefit the post and Honor Flight Lake County.

Helping sex assault victims

Attorney General Lisa Madigan this week formed a group to focus on improving prosecution rates for sexual assault cases. Too few victims of rape come forward — between just 1 in 20 and 1 in 5. If victims are going to come forward, we'd better treat them seriously.

Release the agreement:

We urge Mount Prospect to make public the separation agreement it has forged with Village Manager Mike Janonis before Tuesday's election. We also urge residents to remember that, whatever it says, trustees won't vote on it until Wednesday.

We've said it before ...

And we'll say it again. Please vote Tuesday. It's our world. These are our towns and our schools. Let's all take part in deciding who's going to run them.

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