The Soapbox
Hey! We mean it:
Maybe Mother Nature didn’t hear us last week. What happened to that balmy, early spring weather we’ve come to love — and expect?
All in the family:
Talk about taking “Take Your Child to Work Day” to extremes. A watchdog group reports DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba allowed his teenage son to ride along on patrols and at least once became an active participant. That’s “disturbing” to county finance chairman Paul Fichtner, who pointed to liability issues and noted Zaruba “is not the one paying the bills.”
Sad start to spring:
The death of a 50-year-old motorcyclist in a crash this week in Schaumburg reminds us of the responsibilities of warm-weather driving: Pay extra attention to surrounding vehicles of all sizes, give motorcyclists some extra space and remember that driving distracted or breaking the rules could cost a life.
Making sure:
Westfield LLC is asking for $7.5 million in incentives from Vernon Hills to renovate and expand its mall. Instead of being immediately swayed by visions of increased sales tax revenues, the village has hired an expert to make sure the deal makes good business sense. Now that’s smart government.
Politics, plus:
Congratulations to Palatine’s Aaron Del Mar, the new Cook County GOP chair. He has work ahead. Politics is said to be about addition, not subtraction. Del Mar’s election was marred when his predecessor ousted New Trier Township’s committeeman and its votes. Del Mar should start the addition by welcoming New Trier back now.
All together now:
Let’s go, Bulls! Let’s go, Bulls!
Win-win for Kane, DuPage:
Kane County says its housing of DuPage County’s juvenile offenders is working out well. Kane County is receiving about $110 per day per juvenile compared to the $357 per juvenile DuPage would have spent to house its own. Kane makes money, DuPage saves money. What’s not to like?
How to get better:
How inspiring that a young Bolingbrook woman who’s spine was severed when a drunken driver hit the car she was in five years ago has the capacity to forgive and even befriend him. And that he wants so badly to repair the damage he’s caused that they appear together to talk about the dangers of drinking and driving. Forgiveness, indeed, can heal.
Remembering Moose Skowron:
Bill Skowron was a larger-than-life athlete who was remarkably down-to-earth. We remember him today as a neighbor, not just a sports star. The slugging first basemen with the Yankees, Dodgers, Senators, White Sox and Angels could have settled anywhere, but he chose to settle in Schaumburg.
Remembering Spencer Loomis:
Spencer Loomis was easy to spot in Lake Zurich thanks to his trademark beret, but he was known for so much more. At his funeral Thursday, there was talk about his 33 years as a teacher, his research and writings about local history, his contributions to service groups. He touched hundreds of people in a life lived to the fullest.