The Soapbox

Doing their homework

Naperville City Council member Steve Chirico showed the value of doing your homework in these tough financial times. He asked for a rundown on the cost of the city’s subscriptions and memberships. The total was $175,000, a minuscule part of the city budget, but not exactly chump change.

And he asked nicely

Also to his credit, Chirico didn’t come down on the city staff with a hammer, suggesting instead that the city manager and department heads carefully review all their staff’s memberships in professional groups, trade subscriptions and the like, then cut out the fat.

North Central turns 150

Congratulations to North Central College in Naperville on its 150th anniversary, which will be marked with a homecoming parade today and other events. As college President Harold Wilde noted, it was a farsighted investment when Naperville residents in 1870 lured the then-fledgling college away from neighboring Plainfield.

How it should be done:

It’s good to see recognition for decisions that boost the public’s well-being. The Illinois Public Employee Labor Relations Board honored Carpentersville for negotiating public works, fire and law enforcement contracts that save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and keep services and jobs intact.

Perspective on war:

Lt. Matt Spartz of Lombard, writing for the Daily Herald on Friday, talked about adjusting to civilian life now that his time in service is ending. Couple that with a story we ran about veterans not knowing how to respond to “thank you,” and again it seems a simple salute to veterans is never enough.

The great escape:

Many of us view sports as an island where we can escape the grind and the grit of the everyday world. When the sports section becomes filled with stories of illegalities (Ohio State football), criminal behavior (Penn State football), and poor decisions (Nebraska volleyball), you miss the days when all we worried about was poor sportsmanship.

The flip side

Of course, while some in sports make headlines for poor decisions, others just make the world a better place. Like Northwestern tackle Al Netter, one of 11 players recently honored for community service. The Bulls and Wolves launched their annual reading programs, and the Blackhawks are raising money for the USO. That’s the spirit.

Job well done:

To Algonquin Police Sgt. Brett Wisnauski, who received a statewide award for his work in the area of domestic and family violence, we say job well done. Wisnauski has devoted much of his career to both combating the insidious problem — training cops, judges and advocates how to deal with it — and to detecting its myriad causes and effects.

Taming the Strangler:

It’s not the plan nearby residents want, but Lake County officials have signed off on a $34 million project to untangle the bottleneck on Route 45 near Millburn and Grass Lake roads known as the Millburn Strangler. That spot, where two-lane road clogs between a pair of traffic lights, is a traffic nightmare and a fix is long overdue.