Saturday Soapbox: Toothless censure
On Tuesday, the Naperville City Council voted to censure fellow Councilman Richard Furstenau. Council members cited a history of disrespectful behavior toward city staff members by Furstenau. Now Furstenau is certainly no guru of governing etiquette. He can stand to learn from this experience and not always be so confrontational. But what good does this censure serve, other than making city councilmen and Mayor George Pradel feel good about trying to put Furstenau in his place. But Furstenau certainly isn't feeling intimidated. His followers still support him. And the censure has few, if any, actual consequences. The city isn't any better or worse for the time spent on this censure motion.
Kudos to cops
Kudos to the 16 active and retired officers from DuPage County police departments for making the holidays happier for sick children at Edward Hospital, Central DuPage Hospital and Hinsdale and Elmhurst hospitals. The cops gave the children toys and encouragement. This is the 40th year the DuPage County Police Association has organized the toy giveaway.
Odd reason to speed
Warrenville Police Chief Ray Turano notes the most accident-prone intersections in the city happen to be along Winfield Road near I-88. Why so many crashes at these junctures? Turano thinks it might be because motorists tend to speed up when they know they are near the tollway. Why the rush to get on I-88? To sit in traffic? To pay the tolls? To admire Gov. Rod Blagojevich's self-congratulatory signs celebrating his giving us Open Road Tolling?
3-year deal delivered
Nice to see Elgin Area School District U-46 teachers didn't deliver a strike as a Christmas present for district students and residents. And if they got the attention of an oblivious school board, all the better. But don't be deceived. This was more about money than other issues. The big change between the contract that was rejected and the one that was approved was second-year pay hikes, which went from being tied to inflation to a solid 3.8 percent-plus step increases. Rules for adding elementary aides changed slightly, too, but class size discussions at other levels were put off to a task force.
Let it snow already
For all the attention we pay these days to the weather, especially in winter, is falling snow really worth getting all that worked up over? Sure, it's a nuisance to navigate a trip on our roads during a snowstorm, but all this hand-wringing? Over 1-4 inches of snow? After all, by the next day, the roads -- and life -- are pretty much back to normal … as we hold our breaths for news of the next big storm? So take a deep breath and enjoy the winter wonderland.
Dark days of winter
Outside of maybe Atlanta, can there be a city suffering a deeper winter sports malaise than Chicago? The Bulls and the Bears, both expected to at least contend for the playoffs and possibly for titles, have simply tanked. Can there be anything more embarrassing than watching those two teams play before a national TV audience? Then the White Sox faithful watched as the Tigers loaded up for next year. And those youthful Blackhawks gave us a tease before slipping back to mediocrity. They actually have the most up-side, though. Grim, grim, grim. Go Illini, on both the gridiron and the hardwood.
Holiday wishes
For those whose faith has them celebrating Christmas, we wish you a happy, festive and safe holiday.