The Soapbox

Something to celebrate:

“History of the Suburbs” is a stimulating but comparatively short subject, including when it comes to public and private schools. It's interesting enough that Northwest Suburban High School District 214 is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Imagine this: St. Peter Lutheran School is still thriving in Arlington Heights at 150. Congratulations, St. Pete!

Feather in our caps:

Good luck to Naperville in asking the state for $12 million to help the Chicago Symphony Orchestra build an outdoor concert venue on property owned by Alcatel-Lucent. It would be a major coup to attract “one of the world's premiere cultural institutions,” city council member Joseph McElroy said.

Wrecking ball:

The end is near for the 97-year-old Brainerd Building and the adjoining Jackson Gym, a couple of landmark Libertyville buildings that will face demolition as soon as Monday. An effort to convert the long-vacant facilities to a civic center failed, so now they will be razed to make way for athletic fields, parking and a memorial.

We keep calling debates feisty:

This week U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis sparred in their last major debate. Last week the final debate between Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner got feisty. Durbin and Oberweis' previous debate was another one with the candidates swinging. Notice a pattern in these big debates?

Fall colors through October:

We in the suburbs made it through the month with a lot of color left on our trees. When is the last time the leaves survived this late in the season? So after our horrible winter, we got payback with both glorious summer weather and a lengthy natural fall festival. Though the end is clearly in sight after Friday's bluster.

Sad time for school community:

Our condolences to the staff, parents and children of Our Lady of Destiny School in Des Plaines, one of the schools slated to close by the Chicago Archdiocese. Parents have many good schools in the area to choose from as alternatives, but it's hard to say goodbye to the close community built up around a small, but vibrant institution.

Service cynicism:

We know that reputations are often distorted by exceptions. So, we weren't impressed by the Citizens Utility Board's offer this week to pay $25 for the worst utility customer service stories. Utilities could offer similar bribes for stories of service heroism. Neither would be telling the true picture.

Long line of fire training:

Effective today, Richard J. Keyworth puts 42 years of training firefighters behind him as he retires as an adjunct instructor in Harper College's Fire Science Program. Since 1972, Keyworth's students have gone into various fire safety careers in public service and private industry. Now, he'll move on to writing and lecturing. Best wishes go with him.

Be heard:

You have your chance on Election Day next Tuesday, and you have more choices than you may think. You'll find candidates and races and our endorsements online at dailyherald.com/news/politics/election. And we'll reprint our endorsements and bar association judicial ratings on Sunday and Tuesday. Monday, we'll reprint text of our key endorsements. Check them out. Make a difference.