Chamber director, take two

Last week I planned on writing a story on the new executive director of the Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce.

I wanted to get to know Michael Hearn and find out how he was going to build on what longtime director Jill Blodgett did in her 17 years on the job.

I had the chance to speak with Hearn when he was first named as Blodgett's successor. He was very friendly and said that he'd be willing to talk after his first week on the job. He wanted things settled down a bit before being interviewed.

Hoffman Estates won't get the opportunity to find out what he had in mind. Hearn cited health issues as he abruptly quit last month, a week into the job. He hasn't returned phone calls for comment.

Chamber officials went to their list of applicants and chose Cheri Sisson from the pool of 37. She's a former sales team member at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hoffman Estates.

Sisson's first official day at the chamber is Monday, though she'll be on duty Saturday at the chamber's fishing derby. I called the chamber office to see if I could get in touch with Sisson so I could do a story on her. Because, giving me a sense of déjà vu, next week I plan on writing a story on the new director of the Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce.

We built this village: My head hurts. I've been trying to sort out the history of Starship, one of the two headlining bands - along with The Smithereens - playing at the village's Fourth of July Festival. Starship starring Mickey Thomas plays at 9 p.m. July 3 outside village hall, 1900 Hassell Road. The Smithereens play at 9 p.m. July 5 at the same place.

Starship has been through many lineups over the years. They were born from Jefferson Airplane, which begot Jefferson Starship, which begot Starship. And you get the idea. They've had in-band fights, both physical and legal skirmishes. Got to love rock 'n' roll.

Four years ago Blender magazine named Starship's 1985 chart topper, "We Built This City," as the worst song ever. While the lyrics to that song aren't exactly Shakespeare, a Starship performance is like one of those car wrecks you just can't avert your eyes from.

And it's not like that's the only song in that ship's arsenal; they've got three studio albums to select from.

Do you have any interesting Hoffman Estates story ideas? Send them along to Ashok Selvam at (847) 427-4475 or aselvam@dailyherald.com.