Soapbox: Elections, all the time
A lot of pundits said Barack Obama was getting into the race too early last year. And, we all know how that's turned out so far. Now, the trend seems to be catching on in the Northwest suburbs. Two mayoral candidates came out this week for the 2009 elections -- Bill McLeod, the current mayor of Hoffman Estates, is running for re-election, and Jim Schwanz, the former Chicago Bear and current sportscaster, wants to be the mayor of Palatine. McLeod even has his whole slate lined up. And Schwanz? Well, it's too soon to know whether he'll be able to unseat Rita Mullins, who's been Palatine's mayor since 1989, as she hasn't yet decided if she is going to run again. "I think people are concentrating on the presidential election now," she said Thursday, when asked. Perish the thought.
Five bright and shiny apples
How great is it that we've got five Golden Apple Award teaching finalists with connections to the Northwest suburbs? This is one of the premier awards in the business -- this year focusing on those who teach grades 4 through 8. This year's finalists include Nancy Kontney, a District 220 teacher at Sunny Hill School in Carpentersville; Sharon Kranz, another District 220 teacher at Roslyn Road School in Barrington; Karina Richter, at Wright Junior High in Lincolnshire; Daniel Morvaji, at Lake Zurich North Middle School in Hawthorn Woods and Rebecca Leff, at Quest Academy in Palatine. Ten winners will be named this spring, but they, and their students, are winners already. Congratulations.
Depressing reality?
More people seem more interested in participating in the electoral process this year. We're wondering, though, if they'll feel the same way should the Democratic presidential nomination be decided by superdelegates. Such convention delegates are party insiders and party leaders, beholden to no voters and free to cast their votes as they please. Power to the people? Nope, power to the party. It's been that way since 1982, but for many political newbies, the realization could be depressing. Or it could make them angry enough to take control of their party of preference. Or not, meaning we could go back to the disinterest of old.
Let reason reign in D. 220
Redrawing school attendance boundaries is never easy, and the process in Barrington Area Unit District 220 has been predictably long and controversial. There's no way to make everyone happy, but it's encouraging to see that, as the school board seems to be narrowing its options, reason and fairness might prevail. A good sign: The board is considering a policy to "grandfather" fourth- and fifth-graders whose neighborhoods have been reassigned, so they can be spared from having to change schools an extra time. Another: It appears the board will leave alone at least some of the Woods of South Barrington neighborhood, which, in some of the proposed maps, could have been reassigned from Rose School despite its close proximity to that neighborhood.
You've been warned
Whichever new boundary map is chosen by District 220, let no one come out of the woodwork after the fact to complain of having no idea this was coming. If nothing else, the district has deliberately provided, over the course of many months, ample information and opportunities for parents to voice their concerns, and seems to be responsive to them without simply caving in to the loudest complainers.
Take down those signs
The election was Feb. 5. Take down your campaign signs, if they're still up. It's time to move on and take the eyesores with you.