Soapbox: Sickening swims; benefits of publicity?

Anybody but us think it shouldn't take an Illinois Department of Public Health warning to know it isn't wise to let pets cavort in human swimming pools? Yet some pet lovers and pool managers seemed shocked the department is advising against such animal swims in public pools because they are, um, unsanitary. A better question would be why anyone thought such pool sharing was a good idea in the first place.

Benefits of publicity?

Though maybe a mite embarrassed that its superintendent didn't know it had filed a police report regarding potential misuse of a student activity fund, District 300 should be pleased that the public discussion may have lit a fire under the bank from which the district had been seeking information for more than two years. MidAmerica Bank turned over all the requested documents this week, meaning the district now can assess whether money is missing or the paperwork was simply bad. After multiple years, it's well past time the situation was resolved.

Too, too close

New District 300 school board member John Ryan has proposed the district ban the sort of relationship that allowed Elgin design firm Burnidge Cassell and Associates to make a $5,000 donation to pro-tax hike group Advance 300 before the 2006 referendums and later collect a no-bid contract to design the new schools funded by that tax hike. Ryan's right, but he also appears to be pretty alone in his belief that this sort of relationship is not beneficial to taxpayers or conducive to trust. He shouldn't be so lonely. Let's hope a few other board members see the obvious conflict and vote to end it.

Worth a try

Give St. Charles School District 303 Superintendent Donald Schlomann credit. He appears to understand dysfunctional behavior doesn't usually become more functional without a push. We don't know if his plan will change the unhealthy dynamic, but it surely can't make it any worse. He is asking the board to cut meetings to once a month and have board members spend the extra time as specialist members of four committees focusing in specific areas. "It makes sense to me to try and create a different model when our existing one has made for hours and hours and hours of meetings without resolution," said veteran board member Lori Linkimer. Exactly.

A lesson to learn?

At the behest of special interest groups, governments sometimes are asked to enter areas not specifically reserved for government. Often they are experiments that don't work out so well. As in recreation centers in Elgin. And nursing homes in McHenry County. The Centre has never operated in the black since it opened, and McHenry County is now thinking about turning over the operation of its Valley Hi Nursing Home to a private firm. Could it be that it's wiser for government to stick to what only government can do and leave the rest to the private sector?

Cost of reality

Yes, "going green" is the fad of the moment and is generally a good idea. But its advocates are often steeped in an excess of enthusiasm and a lack of facts. A local example: The Gail Borden Public Library Board is soon likely to drop its "green" geothermal heating and cooling system plan for its branch library. Why? The board discovered it wouldn't pay for itself for at least four decades, making it financially infeasible. It's fine to study "green" alternatives and adopt those that make sense. But especially in a rush of enthusiasm, it's important to understand that those "alternatives" already would be mainstream if they had been able to produce better results at a better price.