The Soapbox: Daily Herald editors offer brief thoughts on suburban topics in the news.
Happy Fourth (Thursday of November)
While the rush of holidays this time of year is nothing new, it was a bit of a surprise seeing Christmas candy on the shelf alongside Halloween treats at the local grocery. And this a week or two before Halloween. A short shopping season will pressure retailers this year, but at the same time, don't let Thanksgiving, the quiet holiday, get lost in the shuffle.
Seasonal nightmare
I'm dreaming of a ... of a ... of a .. white Halloween? Really? A white Halloween!? Nobody's dreaming about that.
Nice try, kids
Though, we admit, some people do have their head in the clouds this time of year. Like kids in the suburbs and nationwide petitioning to have off the day after Halloween because school that day "is very inconvenient." We like U-46 CEO Tony Sanders' tweet: "You make me Snicker. You must think I'm one of the Dum Dums ..." Sweet.
Ready, set ... sauté!
The Cook of the Week Challenge elimination rounds have wrapped, with four home cooks advancing to the live cookoff finale Nov. 11 at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca. Congrats and good luck to Lulu Chapa, Lisa Eberhahn, Leslie Meredith and Ann Wayne. And if you want to attend the finale, get all the details at events.dailyherald.com.
More to the per-student numbers
The school-by-school per-student costs shown on the 2019 Illinois Report Card show that, as with so many things, we can't jump to conclusions about them. One might question, for instance, Wheeling High School spending more per student than Stevenson High School, but that's the case for a reason. Often there's so much more to the numbers.
Anti-corruption bandwagon
In the wake of high profile federal investigations of politicians, state lawmakers were falling all over themselves this week to support or propose get-tough ethics measures. We couldn't agree more with the sentiment. But, to emphasize the point of our editorial last week, we need substance, not opportunistic grandstanding.
Keep it up, Aidan
It's been a tough month for Aidan Carlson, the 15-year-old St. Charles North sophomore football player who collapsed after a game Oct. 4. But things are looking up. After neurosurgery, an induced coma and a period of inpatient rehab, Aidan returned home this week "to continue his road to recovery," his family said. Stay strong, Aidan. Everyone's pulling for you.
Fitting tribute
West Chicago Park District is holding a ceremony today to rename its first park in honor of Don Earley. The longtime resident spearheaded the push to create the park district in 1972 and then served as its first president. Earley, who would go on to serve as a city alderman and treasurer, was instrumental in creating park at 840 E. Washington St.
Remembering Joe Devlin
Joe Devlin spent 40 years in public office in Roselle as both mayor and village trustee. He also was an early member of the DuPage Water Commission when the group brought Lake Michigan water to DuPage County - a move that paved the way for much of the area's growth. His death this week at 97 leaves a hole in the community. He will be missed.