Huntley police handled incident well

Huntley police had a close call last week.

An 85-year-old man who came to police headquarters to argue a parking ticket pulled what appeared to be a handgun on a Huntley police sergeant seated at the front desk.

Luckily for the sergeant, bulletproof glass separated him from the angry resident, and the apparent handgun - equipped, I'm told, with a laser sight - turned out to be a BB gun.

Luckily for the older gentleman, police were able to wrest the weapon away from him fairly easily. Things could have turned out very differently. If police didn't know the weapon was a BB gun until they took it away - which appears to be the case - the struggle could have ended in serious injury or death for the 85-year-old man.

If the events are as police described them, which I have no reason to doubt, Huntley police deserve credit for defusing the situation without injury to any officers or the angry resident.

Coincidentally, a Chicago police officer handed me a ticket for an illegal U-turn on the very same day.

I think I'm just going to put a check in the mail.

Paving the way? In what has almost become a routine avalanche of bad news stemming from our country's economic problems, Community Unit District 300 Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates presented a grim forecast for the district's finances at this week's budget hearing.

Crates predicted between $3 million and $5 million in cuts next year and another $3 million in reductions the year after that in order to maintain a balanced budget.

Crates' dire predictions raised at least two big questions in my head.

The first related to the upcoming teacher contract negotiations. Crates specifically warned that a generous contract would only exacerbate the district's budget worries - a fairly obvious conclusion, but one worth stating nonetheless.

I wondered if Crates' remarks were an opening salvo in an attempt by district officials to "taint the jury pool," that is, to convince the public that everyone - including teachers - will have to make sacrifices to get through the next two years.

I also wondered if - gasp - a referendum might be in the offing. Actually, there's no reason to gasp or be alarmed. As I have noted, board President Joe Stevens said months ago that a referendum might be necessary if district leaders can't agree on deep budgetary cuts.

And a referendum, remember, is not a tax increase; it's just a question. Sure, people in favor of a tax hike can spend lots of dough to persuade others to vote for higher taxes, but so can people opposed to raising taxes.

And if Cary Elementary District 26's recent tax hike request is any guide, voters who are already struggling to pay the bills are in no mood for more taxes.

District 300 leaders and their supporters aren't going to waste time and money on a referendum unless they believe a tax increase has a realistic chance of passing.

Until voters warm to more taxes - don't hold your breath - prepare for a painful two years.