Saturday Soapbox: Be open to more openness
Jason Speer is asking Streamwood to take a few baby steps, and it's up to a few courageous fellow trustees on the village board to help him. He is encouraging more openness in village government proceedings, calling for elected trustees to have actual responsibility for committees they chair, and saying residents would be better served if their e-mails to trustees were delivered direct and not vetted first by Big Brother (or Sister). Those who disagree say there's no point in tweaking a successful system. But how would anybody know? Years of decisions made in private chambers are decisions made without the benefit of discussion, debate and disagreement, so it's impossible to know whether you've arrived at the best answer. There's a name for the kind of government that considers its primary objective to be efficiency, but the name isn't always democracy.
Like the man said, a rose by any …
OK, what should we really call the new developments that are a combination of shops, restaurants and entertainment? "Lifestyle center" is the new lingo, such as for the Arboretum of South Barrington now being built. The, um, development will have stores like L.L. Bean, a restaurant with bowling lanes and bocce courts, and a movie theater in which you can also order dinner and drinks. So, does that define your "lifestyle"? Is it really just a "shopping center"? Or even a "mall"? Or an "outdoor mall"? Well, in Arlington Heights we can just call all the development "downtown." And Woodfield is simply "Woodfield." But you'll find us searching for the right words in our headlines and articles on these new places. (Of all the various definitions of "Arboretum" we can't find one that's synonymous with "shopping center.")
Open to the public?
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve has impeccable credentials. The judge who is overseeing the ongoing political corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko was a member of the Whitewater prosecution team in the mid-1990s and, more recently, presided over the criminal trial of former Sun-Times and Hollinger CEO Conrad Black. But it'd sure be nice if her no-nonsense court management style was a little more public-friendly. The judge declined to move the highly spotlighted trial to a bigger courtroom, leading to long lines forming hours before court and others being locked out, forced to watch on a closed-circuit TV in another room. We understand the need to firmly manage these proceedings, but can't this be done without restricting public access?
Needed clout
After setting your jaw back in place from the jarring impact of your car hitting a pothole, you might ask, when are these roads going to be repaired? Well, you have someone with clout on your side. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard to help build political support for passage of a road improvement plan in Springfield. No doubt Hastert will be reminding legislators that release of billions in federal road construction dollars set aside for Illinois is pending the state providing matching funds. Hastert and the Illinois congressional delegation worked hard to get that federal support. Now Springfield has to do its job.
Unusual day to vote
Saturday is usually considered shopping day. Or sleep-in day. Or errand day. But this particular Saturday also is special election voting day for residents of the 14th U.S. House District. So finish up that shopping or slosh down that cup of coffee and get to the polls. Republican Jim Oberweis and Democrat Bill Foster will appreciate your effort.