Transit agencies cannot go it alone
While kindergarten remained in session under the dome of the State Capitol Building in Springfield, the deterioration of mass transit continued in the Chicago area.
On Friday, Pace, the suburban bus agency, started eliminating or reducing the frequency of buses on 23 routes amid a dismal economic climate that includes a $50 million gap in its 2007 budget.
It doesn't bode well for the state of public transportation when a bus company in the suburbs of the nation's third largest metropolitan area has to make such severe cuts.
Public transit officials for months have been warning lawmakers that service would be sorely reduced unless more funding was forthcoming from the state.
One of these years, lawmakers will see the value of public transportation. But how long will that take? Will roads have to become more clogged? Will gas prices have to reach $6 a gallon?
We have been critical of Pace over the years because of strategic moves we thought did not serve in the public's best interest. But we still believe there is a need for a well-run, reliable suburban bus service. Pace can't go it alone. It needs financial assistance. If that doesn't happen, the routes will continue to vanish.
Protect children
Life, liberty and the right to a MySpace page? Registered sex offender Carl Courtright, of Granite City, thinks his right of free speech has been violated because social networking site MySpace took down his Web page.
Please.
Courtright can still say whatever he likes. He just can't do it on MySpace.
The Internet is a wonderful communication tool that unfortunately is also a great resource for criminals, including sex offenders.
Courtright said he's different -- that he put warning notices on his page, took steps to block minors from accessing it and wanted the page to communicate with his kids. But, really, MySpace doesn't have the time or the resources to determine whether to make an exception for him or anybody else.
Kudos to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for forcing this change. Taking down the pages of sex offenders is a major step.