Soapbox: Path needs another funding source

Warrenville could walk away with something extra as part of the long-awaited thorium cleanup of the DuPage River. City representatives say they would like to see a network of paths installed along the river. That is a great idea. But we would hesitate, for now, to support Warrenville's request to have the path system paid for from the $10 million DuPage County received to clean the contaminated stretch of the river. Until all the cancer-causing thorium has been removed, the money shouldn't be spent on anything else -- no matter how pleasant a stroll along the river can be.

Words hardly suffice

Adequate words truly fail in expressing condolences to longtime political fixture Jim Ryan and his wife, Marie, on the death by apparent suicide of their son Patrick. Ten years ago, the Ryans lost 12-year-old daughter Annie to a brain tumor. Jim and Marie have battled serious health issues themselves. We can only echo state Sen. John Millner, who poignantly summed up: "My heart goes out to them. They're just good, honest people who have endured well beyond what any family should have to experience."

Upset -- and disrespectful

As expected, abortion protesters packed Aurora City Council chambers this week, giving Mayor Tom Weisner a lengthy tongue-lashing for allowing Planned Parenthood to open. We know protesters are angry and understandably want to vent their frustrations. But this doesn't given them cause to create the commotion that they did. Several people even yelled out comments while aldermen discussed an issue unrelated to Planned Parenthood, prompting the police chief to threaten to kick them out if disruptions continued. People can dissent while still showing respect for civility in the public forum.

Dist. 204 should talk to the Cubs

Maybe there's a way Indian Prairie Unit District 204 can extract itself from the debacle of having to spend more than double what it had budgeted for land for a new high school. Try to sell all 55 acres to the Cubs. Its sales pitch? You haven't won a World Series out of Wrigley Field for 99 years. So try a stadium in the suburbs. Or maybe a better place for a Cubs ball field is in the Elmhurst stone quarry. That would be an appropriate place for a team that always seems to hit rock bottom.

Stranger danger alert

West Chicago police have alerted the city about a man approaching children and asking them to get in his car. In Villa Park, police are investigating similar incidents in which a man or men approached children with offers of candy and a ride, on separate occasions. Good reason to sit down with your children and remind them of the danger posed by strangers, and how to avoid it.

Too hot to run

It wasn't just runners in the Chicago Marathon who found themselves sickened by the heat. Six high school athletes were hospitalized with heat-related illnesses and several others were treated at a cross country race last Saturday in Sugar Grove. Runners from Bartlett, St. Edward, Glenbard East, Glenbard North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South competed in the race. And just like the marathon, this race was called off early because it was too dangerous to continue. Good decision, but also a lesson for the future -- don't run these high school cross country races when you know what the intense heat is going to do to runners who are trained to push themselves hard.