Celebrate the Constitution and vote

The countdown has begun. Exactly eight weeks from today you'll have a chance to vote for a new president.

And you've likely noticed from the yard signs popping up since Labor Day, a bunch of other federal, state and local candidates hope to win your vote on Nov. 4, too.

Whether that news just produced a big yawn or reenergized your American spirit for freedom, you have exactly four weeks from today to be sure you're registered to vote.

Voter registration is available during regular business hours through Oct. 7 at the city clerk's office in the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. To register, you'll need two pieces of identification - one with your current address (utility bill, library card, etc.) and the other with a photo ID (driver's license, passport, student ID).

Executive Officer

The other day, my philosophical independent-thinking 27-year-old son encouraged me to read an essay, "A president, not a savior," written by Gene Healy, a senior editor at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Cato is a think-tank where Tep served as an intern one summer during college.

The essay focused on how much the role of the president has changed since the days the position of chief executive was conceived by our Founding Fathers.

I've written about Tep in the past. He started carrying a pocket-size U.S. Constitution in his back pocket when he was in seventh grade. He received it from then-Congressman Harris Fawell at Constitution Day in 1994, a commemorative event held that year at Naper Settlement.

I've got to tell you, Tep's attraction 14 years ago to the words of the Constitution, a living document made more perfect by amendments and left open to many scholarly interpretations, revitalized my interest, too.

So I wasn't really surprised when the essay he wanted me to read sought to question "Why do we look to the White House for all the answers?"

Healy wrote, "As the conventions celebrate the anointed, it's worth exploring how our long slide away from the Founding Fathers' modest notion of presidential responsibility has left us with a dysfunctional politics and bloated imperial presidency."

Hmm. No matter which candidate is doing the talking, we heard an awful lot about change. I don't get all the "change" talk. Change has always been constant and inevitable. Just look around Naperville.

But perhaps we all need to look at our changing expectations for our nation's chief executive officer. How will change impact individual innovation, responsibility and liberty?

Today's hearing

Whether or not you plan to vote on Nov. 4, you're free in America to participate in the public process. Case in point is the hearing today, Sept. 9, about Canadian National's proposed acquisition of the EJ&E Railway at West Aurora High School, 1201 W. New York St., Aurora.

Beginning at 4 p.m., you can review project maps and the draft that analyzes the environmental impacts that could occur with the acquisition. That's the time to ask questions.

Then from 6 to 9 p.m., you can provide public input to the Surface Transportation Board on the draft Environmental Impact Statement.

For details, visit www.naperville.il.us/eje.aspx.

Sept. 11

Sponsored by the Americanism Committee of the Naperville Exchange Club, the annual Sept. 11 Commemoration will be observed from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower/Sept. 11 Memorial, adjacent the Riverwalk.

The keynote speaker, police Chief David Dial, will present "Remembering 9-11, Preparing America."

The Naperville Municipal Band will perform patriotic music. Members of American Legion Post 43, Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873, Naperville Police Department and Naperville Fire Department will participate, too.

Remember. Freedom isn't free.

Sept. 17

Celebrate Constitution Day next week by reading the Constitution.

"Oh, sure," you say. "Who has time?"

We are at a turning point in our world. A thorough read of the words signed by our 39 Founding Fathers on Sept. 17, 1787, carefully chosen to frame our rights and responsibilities, just might help all of us better understand how we can serve our country when we vote for all hopefuls who want to serve us.

Quite frankly, I'd like to ask all elected local officials who raise their right hands, taking their oath of office by vowing to uphold the Constitution, when they last read it, too.

Stephanie Penick writes about Naperville on Tuesdays in Neighbor. Contact her at spennydh@aol.com.