Saturday soapbox: Kudos to Wheeling Dist. 21 teachers
A step in the right direction:Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 teachers have agreed to forgo not only a wage increase but their annual step increases for the next school year to preserve before- and after-school programs and class sizes. The savings over five years, with other moves, cut a projected deficit from $12 million to $4 million.Out cold on ice: The NHL knocked Anaheim defenseman James Wisniewski out with an 8-game suspension for nearly taking Brent Seabrook's head off in Wednesday's Hawks game. Good start, but it should have considered taking away Wisniewski's roster spot for the duration. That would have sent a message.Reality check:While many of us cringe at seeing former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on "Celebrity Apprentice," it was refreshing to see our current governor find a better way to use TV. Gov. Pat Quinn was in Peoria last weekend honoring teams at the boys state basketball tournament. That was good TV.What season is this?Once we could tell the seasons by our teams in action, but not so today. Spring is here, but the NHL and NBA playoffs haven't started. Two indoor football teams (Slaughter, Cardinals) just started play, and a third (Rush) kickoffs soon. Baseball and soccer can't be far behind.Cost of laziness:It will cost the U.S. government $1.5 billion in follow-up visits to people who don't fill out the Census form. We can think of about 1.5 billion better things to do with that money, so please take the 10 minutes to fill it out and return it.Remembering Franz Benteler:The Chicago area will miss the strolling violinist from Arlington Heights. But we'll also cherish the warm memories.Handling controversy, Part 1:Why wasn't Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 Superintendent Elaine Aumiller more available to discuss the bus driver accused of being drunk on her route? The superintendent referred far too many questions to school board President Joe Leane, who tried but couldn't answer questions the administration needed to address.Handling controversy, Part 2:You may not like what Elgin U-46 Superintendent Jose Torres and the entire school board had to say about laying off 1,037 people, but at least they made themselves available to the public and news media to answer the tough questions.Handling controversy, Part 3:Say what you will about congressional candidate Joe Walsh, but when he met with us this week to give his side of the story about the foreclosure on his condo, he didn't duck a question, no matter how personal or potentially embarrassing.Handling controversy, Part 4:Are we really supposed to believe that representatives Melissa Bean of Barrington and Bill Foster of Geneva don't know how they're going to vote on the health care bill?Tweet on, Ozzie:So, Ozzie Guillen's daily Twitter dispatches haven't delved into White Sox business, but the Sox manager is gaining followers at a rapid rate. Now they've shelved plans for his Web site, and he's OK with it. And we're OK with Ozzie learning something new and having fun with it. Go for it.