On this dawn, we resolve to make a difference
On this, the dawn of a new day, the first of a new year, we reflect on our year past and pledge a few resolutions of our own.
We've spent more than the usual time this past year wondering about the future of the news business as we endured the recession and watched with concern as the two downtown Chicago newspaper companies filed for bankruptcy and worked to reorganize themselves. Thankfully, we've not faced that particular problem at the Daily Herald, but we have faced challenges too.
So it is, in times like this, that we find ourselves reflecting. We at the Daily Herald are members of the suburban community we serve and we strive each day to be of, about and for these communities. And so in the uncertain times, we have found it helpful to wonder aloud here and there, what if we weren't here? Really, what if we weren't here?
A newspaper and media organization like ours provides important information. We work to hold accountable plenty of people and institutions, day in and day out, in ways both small and big.
In the past year, we told you about countless debates in countless communities and school districts about budget deficits and proposed layoffs and tax hikes.
We've provided detailed analysis of the huge task Hoffman Estates faces, for instance, in its plan to take over operation of the Sears Centre.
Without us, you would have learned far less about the closed-door meetings held this fall that eventually led to the resignation of Wheaton-Warrenville Unit District 200 Superintendent Richard Drury.
Because of our enterprising reporting, parents, children and even the Grayslake High School District 127 Superintendent Catherine Finger learned that Grayslake North Principal Eric Vance had faced a sexual harassment complaint at his previous job in Plainfield. Within days of our report, Vance resigned.
With our reporting, taxpayers in Grayslake Elementary District 46 learned that some school officials were spending more than $9,000 to send 10 workers to sunny Florida for a December conference sponsored by a private company. The district had previously paid the private consultant hosting the conference to judge it, and, in return, give it awards.
Because of our persistence, Wheeling residents learned one of its trustee candidates wasn't eligible to hold office because he had been convicted of felony grand theft in Florida.
We asked every one of more than 50 local legislators how they intended to vote on critical ethics reforms and made it a point to give voters access to them too.
And after a 16-year-old boy killed himself at the Illinois Youth Center prison in St. Charles, we asked questions and demanded documents and asked questions some more. State officials who oversee youth prisons continue to resist our inquiries, but we're not going away. We broke the news that $70,000 had been quietly allocated to replace hazardous bunk beds at the prison this teen had used to take his own life.
And when government after government after government began installing red-light cameras at intersections all over the suburbs, we made it a top priority to gather and carefully analyze reams of data that showed many of the cameras were being used for money making rather than for boosting safety.
These are but a few examples. What if we weren't here? We're glad we are and we hope you see our value too.
We're passionate about pushing for the information we all need to make our communities better. Day in and day out in the year that stretches before us, we resolve to push and dig and demand so that our officials and institutions are held to the highest standards, and we all can remain engaged and enlightened citizens of our fine suburban communities.
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<h1>More Coverage</h1>
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<h2>Stories</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=347834">On this dawn, we resolve to make a difference <span class="date">[1/1/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=347569">Newspapers embrace those who inspire <span class="date">[12/31/09]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=347401">Web is important companion for print <span class="date">[12/30/09]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=347088">The gathering place for public debate <span class="date">[12/29/09]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=346869">The hard copies of life's memories <span class="date">[12/28/09]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=346782">The press in the age of the Internet <span class="date">[12/27/09]</span></a></li>
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