Tri-Cities Soap Box
Good for you, Batavia
It's nice that a national magazine, BusinessWeek, has noticed what Batavia residents have known for some time -- that the city is a great place to raise children. Obviously, all the Tri-Cities area communities are worthy of praise in that area, but 21st-ranked Batavia deserves its day -- or year, in this case -- in the sun.
Shaping kids up … slowly
The President's Physical Fitness Award guidelines of the 1960s they aren't. But give the Kane County Health Department credit for trying, and for starting small, which is probably the wisest place to start when two-thirds of residents are obese. Early Kane efforts to fight childhood obesity include serving fresh fruit and vegetables at a pilot elementary school and getting kids to count the steps they walk per day. If today's couch potato kids had to do push-ups, pull-ups and a long distance run, as was required to win the award back then, they'd probably keel over. Better to start with a few small steps. And better than not starting at all.
Don't wait forever
Given the dysfunction in Springfield, you can't really blame Elgin Community College for grumbling out loud even as it agreed to quit waiting for state funds for its Spartan Drive extension project. The city of Elgin and the college had agreed to split the $3.8 million cost of the project, and the state had agreed to pay the college's share. It never delivered. No surprise there. ECC was left with the choice of dropping the project or ponying up half the cash. It voted to pay the money and build the extension, even as it passed a resolution calling out ECC area legislators and urging them to press for the state funding. Good luck with that. But good decision to solve the problem yourself.
Democracy in action
With 17 candidates vying for eight village offices, democracy seems to be alive and well in Campton Hills. While some of the incumbents might balk at an entire slate of candidates pledging to dissolve the village if elected, we point out that it's up to voters to decide what's best for the new village -- even if that includes deciding that the new village should cease to exist. If one or more of the opposition candidates are elected, those residents who still have concerns about the new municipality will feel they have someone to speak for them. Having the opportunity to debate different points of view at the same table is what makes this country great, as long as it doesn't degenerate to useless bickering.
It's your space:
Two news items from the Tri-Cities this week have more in common than would first appear. The Batavia Park District is asking for feedback from the public about what residents would like in a new community recreation center. There is a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday at 327 W. Wilson St. Also, after a 15-year search, the volunteer group Friends of Fabyan has found a sundial to replace the one that used to be on the grounds of the Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva. The theme is stewardship. It's having a say in public parks and forest preserves. Let's remember to contribute what we can, even if it's an idea or suggestion, and never take our open spaces for granted.
Digital, schmigital
Oh, come on. We have to buy digital TVs by Feb. 17, 2009, or our analog versions will produce nothing but static and snow? Well, so much for watching the budget. Let's hope that by early 2009 so many businesses will have digital TVs or converter boxes that the prices will drop to all-time lows. So, don't be too tempted to snap up the "great offers" you see advertised now.