Saturday Soapbox
Let's hear it for capitalism
It doesn't take long for Americans to find creative ways to cash-in when news breaks. There's the scandal-inspired U.S. Senate/toilet seat on eBay that we told you about. And you can buy a variety of T-shirts and mugs mocking Gov. Rod Blagojevich, too. But it's the Illinois Republican Party's efforts to cash-in that caught our attention. Within hours of Blagojevich's arrest Tuesday, a GOP fundraising ad spread through e-mail and on the Web. Had enough of corruption tied to fundraising? The GOP wants to collect money to fight it. Makes sense.
Practice what you preach
To the guy with the Christian fish symbol stuck to the back of your big SUV who cut off cars in traffic without regard to whether it would cause harm to anyone else, please consider the example. You choose to put a symbol on the back of your vehicle that stands for peace and for one who was a "fisher of men," a leader who wanted to show people the power of faith in a higher power. But you, in the SUV, couldn't be bothered to slow down for the car in front of you that was turning, so you swerved into the path of another. That is selfish, not an example of a peaceful leader.
Yes, 'Hoffman Estates' is better
We recently reported in our Local Focus flag that Hoffman Estates in 1983 considered changing its name to East Barrington. The residents voted it down 10 to 1. We're glad. "East Barrington" sounds more like East St. Louis or East Chicago, neither of which resembles Barrington or even Port Barrington, the last town (in 2002) to take on a Barrington name.
Give me shelter
It's only December, and already many PADS shelters in the suburbs are reporting higher numbers of people needing a place to sleep. To the many volunteers who staff the shelters, we offer our thanks and support. If you can help with time or money, please do so.
New chief faces challenges
Naperville's new fire chief, Mark Puknaitis, will face more than the usual challenges when he assumes his duties Dec. 15 after serving as deputy chief in Oak Park. A Naperville resident, he'll lead a department of more than 200 and oversee construction of the city's 10th fire station scheduled to open next fall. Most important, he must demonstrate to the rank-and-file the city made the right choice when it plucked him from among more than 50 applicants - including two internal candidates. It's been eight months since former chief John Wu left under mysterious circumstances and the department's new leader must move quickly to win the confidence of his troops and hit the ground running.
Positively correct
Rob Komosa, the Rolling Meadows High School football player paralyzed from the neck down as a result of an injury during practice in 1999, maintains his positive outlook. This despite a recent moment of sadness in his life: the death of 19-year-old Travis Hearn, who also was paralyzed in a football injury two years earlier. Komosa had become an acquaintance of Hearn's and faced his own reality while reflecting on the death from complications of a lung condition by saying, "One day this will happen to me." But he quickly added, "Live each day as happy as you can." Not a bad philosophy for us all.