Is garden plot move worth the cash?
Does anybody else find this strange? On a day when the city of Naperville announced it was laying off 20 employees, on a day when Walgreen Co. announced plans to slash 1,000 jobs by midyear, on a day when those seeking unemployment benefits nationwide rose to a 26-year high, Naperville Park District leaders signed off on a plan with Naperville Unit District 203 to spend a combined $750,000 - that's $750,000 of local tax dollars - to move some public garden plots to the south side of the city so they can create two and a half more athletic fields, primarily for lacrosse. Is this really how our governing bodies should be spending their time - and our money - during a time of both a local and worldwide economic crisis? Building lacrosse fields? It's a little like watching Nero fiddle.
Circus? Surely not, Mr. Burris:
"I'm not going to make a scene. I don't want to give you all a circus," Roland Burris told reporters swarming around him Monday when asked what he would do if he were not accepted at the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. Too late, Mr. Burris; the circus was well under way even before Monday.
This seems counterproductive:
Here's a head-scratcher: Why would the Arbor Day Foundation, whose purpose is to "... inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees," send news releases via e-mail and then send those same releases (albeit on recycled paper and with soy ink) via snail mail? Perhaps it also is dedicated to preservation of the U.S. Post Office.
Keeping an 'open' mind:
We were pleasantly surprised by a survey in Lake County in which 82 percent of 2,000 respondents indicated how much they value open space and natural areas in our suburbs. Those 82 percent want those spaces preserved more than farmland and undeveloped parcels, according to the survey by the Library Prairie Conservancy and the College of Lake County. In a often stressful world, it's nice to know we have places where we can clear our heads and enjoy moments of solace. It's refreshing to see others agree.
Woe are we, no more snow sculptures:
We have long admired and chronicled the work of Arlington Heights sculptor Fran Volz who works his magic in the form of snow sculptures each winter in front of his home in Arlington Heights Road. We still love Volz and his work, but we mourn the loss of the annual snow sculpting contest he's decided to move to Grant Park. It was a suburban delight each dreary February.
Good news in Elk Grove Village:
At a time when many village governments are cutting, Elk Grove Village last year racked up a $2.5 million budget surplus, thanks to the strength of its industrial base and streamlining village operations, according to Mayor Craig Johnson. The good news means no tax increase and enabled the village to rebate more than $200,000 from a special taxing district to help out the area's school and park districts.
Bad timing:
Mount Prospect isn't wrong to want to tout its designation as the nation's No. 1 kid-friendly community in a recent issue BusinessWeek. But we question the decision to spend $27,000 for signs and billboards, given the economic climate and the number of these kinds of lists compiled by various media outlets.