Mallard Lake delays serve only the pols

I drove past Mallard Lake Forest Preserve recently, and noted that it was still closed. It seems to me that the continued, nonsensical closure of the preserve demonstrates what is wrong with government at every level from DuPage County to the State House to Congress and the White House.

The preserve was closed in the spring of 2009 and was scheduled to reopen in the fall. This uncomplicated project involved landscaping and simple earth-moving equipment. Over a year later the preserve remains closed due to grass plantings on less than 1 percent of Mallard's acreage. The forest preserve board declined to fence off the affected area for a cost of $50,000 (a very nice temporary fence, indeed), or 4 percent of the $1.2 million in savings the politicians claim to have achieved on this project. Thus another spring and summer of enjoyment is lost and maybe autumn and winter, too.

All of this due to the contractor's inability to complete the project on time (no penalties, though) because, as I have been told by the district's PR staff, it rained heavily in October, in the Prairie State. Grass. Think about that. There is no definite date set for reopening. Apparently that is just too much for the district board and its contractor.

Who is being served by this? The taxpayers and their families? No. We are out in the cold. We have in this case an example of government that is no longer connected to the people or the reality we share. We now exist to serve the politicians, their cronies and politically connected contractors. It seems it is only the politically motivated spending of tax dollars that matters. Practical results, efficiency, effectiveness and genuine service to the people are irrelevant.

William Boyer

Roselle