The Soapbox: Traffic innovation in Elk Grove Village, winners in Naperville, tenacity in Carpentersville and more.

We'll get used to it

Traffic engineers who know a whole lot more about keeping us safe on the roads than most of us, swear by the "diverging diamond" lane configuration that just opened on Elmhurst Road at I-90. That said, for goodness sake, be careful. It'll take a while to get this under our fingers.

Too risky for the lottery

The company that runs games with huge odds against winning the jackpot now considers Illinois too risky to bet on. The operator of Powerball and Mega Millions is about to drop Illinois because its finances are too precarious. That's one bizarre result of the failure of the to pass a state budget.

Honoring D-Day's heroes

June 6 was the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day invasion that led to the end of World War II. In the rush of things, we didn't mention it in the paper. Shame on us. We should have.

Carpentersville's tenacity

Kudos to Carpentersville leaders for executing their vision for Carpenter Park. The $1 million renovation was beset by a freeze in state funding, a contractor going belly up and other challenges. But a July 15 grand opening will celebrate new walking paths, a nine-hole disc golf course, basketball courts, new playground and a renovated softball field.

The civic debate

It's a cliché, we know. But let's agree to disagree without being disagreeable.

Everyone truly is a winner

Congratulations to all the nearly 2,000 women who competed last weekend in the Gildan Esprit de She Naperville Triathlon. This is the kind of race that attracts both serious athletes and individuals who simply want to challenge themselves. The real joy of this event, though, was the obvious camaraderie in evidence everywhere during the race.

Unchoking the Millburn Strangler

While the much-ballyhooed extension of Route 53 into Lake County remains mired in political and financial uncertainty, county leaders deserve credit for forging ahead to fix another traffic nightmare, the Millburn Strangler. Once completed, the $34 million project near Lindenhurst should provide much-needed relief to commuters in that area.

Forcing their hand?

Despite protestations to the contrary, Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan seem satisfied to limp along for two more years and let the 2018 election be a referendum on who's to blame for the lack of a state budget. Senate President John Cullerton says he's not going to enable that with stopgap budgets. It's a risk. Hope it works.

Fox Lake's new top cop

Congratulations to Jimmy Lee, Fox Lake's new police chief. He replaces interim chief Russell Laine, who retired. Lee spent 28 years in the Roselle Police Department before joining Laine in Fox Lake to help right the ship in the wake of the Gliniewicz scandal.

Two uplifting sports legends

The memory of one local icon is being honored today when Arlington International Racecourse hosts the Mike Spellman Memorial Stakes, named for the popular Daily Herald sports writer and columnist who died in 2015 at age 51. Another icon, the venerable sports editor and high school columnist Bob Frisk, now retired, turns 81 on Tuesday. We've been blessed to walk in their lights.

Tomorrow's Father's Day

Remember him. With a call or visit if he's still around. With a thought or prayer if he isn't.