The sound police?
In response to complaints from some neighbors, Elgin officials are forming a task force to look at noise levels in the downtown area.
This may seem all fine and dandy, but I wonder what exactly is the point?
Are we going to have the sound police patrolling at every corner with a little noise meter tucked in their belts?
Microphones attached to squad cars to make sure things don't get too loud?
It seems like some people want to have it both ways. They want to live in an urban setting near shops and restaurants and the train station.
But then they complain about the train horns and traffic.
The fact is you can't have it both ways.
A successful downtown is going to draw folks from outside Elgin and result in pedestrian traffic and people outside making noise. They can't smoke inside anymore, right?
If downtown was quiet, that would mean it's not successful and not attracting folks to shop, pay sales taxes and tell their neighbors about how much Elgin has improved. Oh, and did I mention paying sales taxes?
And as for complaints about noise from bands, where were all these people complaining about noise from all the events going on at Festival Park?
Seems to me like someone moving next to O'Hare International Airport and the whining about all the jets.
Running down a dreamNo one said it would be easy, but after more than a month of running nearly a marathon each day to raise money for the Elgin Community Crisis Center, Bruce Johnson took a day off.The Elgin man was plagued by a bruised arch on his left foot and only managed 16 miles on Wednesday as he worked his way through Arkansas. So he took a rest day on Thursday, planned another for Friday and is looking for a better pair of shoes."I am very unhappy, sad, angry, shocked, bewildered and feeling sorry for myself. Did I leave anything out? I have to fix this before I hit the Rockies," he wrote on his Web site unitedstatesreun.comIn 34 days, he's run 860.7 miles and raised $7,209 as of Friday's press time. To donate, visit crisiscenter.org/run.Food for thought: I am by no means a film critic, but a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of watching "Food, Inc." a 2009 documentary/investigative film about the practices used by the food industry, especially meat packing and soybean and corn farming.I highly recommend it.It's only about 90 minutes long and will make you think twice or even three times about what you buy at the store for your family. I know it made me think.Plus, the filmmakers are not as divisive and polarizing as, say, a Michael Moore. The subject is applicable to all of us because we all eat, right?