Saturday Soapbox: Cook and Lake counties
Out-of-the-box thinking
It will be interesting to see how Palatine's unorthodox approach to dealing with stormwater pans out. The village has started a pilot program to address problem areas by helping pay for rain gardens as an alternative to extending drainage lines. If it works, the village says the approach will be less expensive and less intrusive and also better for the environment. A caveat though: the village will need to monitor the program to see if the expected benefits in fact materialize.
In defense of older drivers
Not surprisingly, when a car driven by a 74-year-old Roselle woman crashed through the window of a beauty salon in Arlington Heights, it prompted some unkind comments about older drivers. While we've probably all known older people who hang onto the car keys longer than is advisable, and the state needs to be vigilant about regular road testing to assess their skill levels, the reality is that the far bigger dangers on the road are drunken drivers and teen drivers. So let's avoid stereotyping - most older drivers are doing just fine, thank you.
Friendly as a firing squad
Whatever your stance on the controversial EJ&E rail line buy, you have to give Buffalo Grove Trustee Jeffrey Berman credit for standing up to a hostile crowd of members of Congress to shed some light on the deal's possible benefits. Berman did what no one from Canadian National, the would-be buyer, dared to do: Testify at a "field hearing" hosted in Chicago this week by some members of Congress who've already come out against the deal. It's good to see this proposal get such a thorough public airing, because there are legitimate concerns about how the extra train traffic will negatively affect the quality of life in many communities. But it's getting harder and harder not to see these series of public deal-bashing events as opportunities for federal and local officials to make some political hay on the issue. Is it really just incidental that most of them are up for re-election in November or next spring?
Chicago should look to Aurora
The same week it was reported that Chicago has had an 18 percent spike in murders this past six months, police in Aurora announced 2008 has been good when it comes to safer streets. Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas said the city's violent crimes dipped 15.6 percent so far this year, which hasn't had a single murder, compared to seven this time in 2007. Though Thomas said his officers will remain vigilant, he pointed to several initiatives, including getting more guns off the street, as reasons for the downward trend in violent crime.
Unsettling mistakes
A former Elgin police officer was convicted of battery for beating a handcuffed suspect in the back of a squad car. A Kane County prosecutor was suspended without pay for four weeks after her boss found out she was having an affair with an Aurora cop, who just so happened to be a key witness in some of her trials, according to authorities. And South Elgin police admit they lost a blood sample from a teenager accused of driving drunk and killing a motorcyclist. All people make mistakes, and in the newspaper you'll probably see at least one a day. But some of these instances are more than mistakes. They can shake your faith in the justice system.
Nice ride
The Lake Villa Police Department's Can-Am Spyder is pretty neat to look at, with its two wheels in the front and one wheel in the rear. But the best thing about its looks is that it draws a crowd, with people often coming over to the vehicle and talking with the police officer on the Spyder. And that, police say, is helping break down communication barriers in the village.