Soapbox: Red hot chili peppers
An autumn without a chili cook-off is like a summer without fireworks, a winter without sledding, a spring without tulips. You know -- virtually pointless. No wonder, then, that chili enthusiasts were, well, hot, about Arlington Heights scrubbing last year's cook-off due to public health concerns. But health officials and Chamber of Commerce officials found a culinary compromise. Only judges will taste individual entries, which have not been prepared under licensed conditions. But all attendees will get to taste restaurants' entries. Great solution. Chili chefs, bring it on.
Homecoming challenge
High schools throughout the area will be celebrating homecomings over the next couple of weeks, and that means all administrations will be on full alert. There's always some tension during this particular week, and that's unfortunate. Let's hope we have an incident-free homecoming season at all our high schools. Call it The 2007 Homecoming Challenge. The past and present come together to make homecoming a special time every year, and this feel-good experience doesn't need any unnecessary disruptions.
Just like a zillion other teen girls
There are all kinds of things that people could -- and will -- say about Dawn Sherman, daughter of well-known atheist Rob Sherman, and her opinion that her school's homecoming week theme songs should be secular. But the Buffalo Grove freshman definitely sure struck a universal chord when she said, "Really, the last thing I want to be is just like my father."
Too high
Cook County Commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy, a Democrat from the south end of the district, wants to increase the county's sales tax to 2.75 percent, up from its current level of 0.75 percent. That would mean, in Chicago, boosting the overall sales tax from 9 percent to 11 percent. The effect would be similar throughout suburban municipalities. Gee, if Murphy is this intent on shutting down all Cook County businesses, why not just go door to door with plywood, hammer and nails?
This year, assignment done on time
Results of last school year's standardized test scores for Illinois students are not uniformly great, which merits its own commentary someday soon. But at least the scores have been reported to local school authorities. And that, for the Illinois State Board of Education, is an achievement of sorts. Last year, problem after problem resulted in the ISBE reporting results months behind schedule, rendering the information all but useless for local districts, which use each year's scores to fine tune teaching strategies.
Illinois Cubs?
If the state is looking for an innovative way to raise revenue, maybe it should buy the Cubs. There's a lot of money to be made on this franchise, year after year. Fans just keep pouring into Wrigley Field without any great expectations of a continuously excellent performance on the diamond. Kind of like the way people think about the quality of work being done in Springfield.
No last-minute scrambling here
Taking a cue from the Boy Scout motto to "Be prepared," Schaumburg officials have put the finishing touches on a redevelopment plan for the vicinity of their future commuter rail station. Unusual? Well, only in that the STAR rail line is, at best, a decade from construction. But, as village officials note, this plan gives Schaumburg a valuable blueprint for working with developers in the meantime.