Archive for August, 2008
August 29th, 2008
That’s what State Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, called the cuts that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office acknowledged yesterday.
Two dozen state parks and historic sites, 450 jobs, big losses at DCFS. That’s pretty high-profile stuff. Makes me wonder whether these are the best cuts that could be made or the best cuts to make headlines so the gov can pitch his revenue-generating ideas.
I can see the rationalizations now … “things are so bad we have to expand gambling, sell the lottery, close tax loopholes, etc. to get by.”
The gov will blame the House (and Mike Madigan) for not passing those measures in the first place. So much for that hug.
August 28th, 2008
I missed this AP story yesterday and haven’t heard it talked about at all. I’ll just post it here without comment. I’ll leave the comments to you.
DENVER (AP) — Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich isn’t saying whether he’ll run for a third term, but he calls himself “a great governor” who loves his job.
Blagojevich says: “There’s more to do, and I have no reason to think I don’t want to keep doing this job.”
The Democratic governor has lousy poll ratings and terrible relationships with many state officials. Several Democrats are getting ready for possible gubernatorial campaigns.
Still, Blagojevich says he has a strong track record that includes expanding health care for children and working-class families.
August 27th, 2008
I note this because it reflects on our business. Mariotti laments that this is becoming a Web business, but later in the story he says he’s looking at Web options.
As much as I like the paper product, I realize that our future is delivering news via the Internet. I don’t know how the business models work, that’s way over my pay grade, I just know there will always be a need for people to write, edit and deliver the news.
Our business continues to evolve and no one has found the magic formula yet, but we’ll keep trying.
August 26th, 2008
Bruce Roberts called the office today to say that the 276-to-6 sign that has been in his yard was vandalized last night. The sign about a police dispute had been up for the better part of a year, Roberts said, with no one disturbing it. But after he wrote a column that appeared on Monday’s Opinions page (”276-6 signs won’t be going away”) the sign was spray painted by vandals.
I suppose some readers would think the Editorial Board, protectors of the First Amendment that we are, would defend a person’s right to use a spray paint nozzle however he or she wanted. After all, it’s free speech, right? Only if you consider it’s free speech to scratch a car you think is ugly, muzzle the barking dog next door or duct tape someone’s mouth if you don’t like what they say. Vandalism is NOT an appropriate means to vent.
If you don’t like Roberts’ message — and you think Chief Chet Epperson is being unfairly criticized — the place to speak out is in the letters section of our editorial page (Your Views). Or bend your neighbor’s ear over coffee.
Here’s the letters link, which includes our letters policy.
You can also send your submission to opinions@rrstar.com Just make sure you keep your letter to 200 words or less and give your full name and all your contact information.
August 26th, 2008
This story is incredible. Does any one believe folks are really concerned that this 9-year-old throws too hard or do you think it has more to do with him turning down a spot on the team sponsored by the employer of one of the team’s administrators?
Wonder if the league would ban a player because he hits the ball too hard.
August 25th, 2008
Does it work like that for you? An op/ed piece I received the other day said “Compared to the 1950s, today’s average employee logs five percent fewer hours at work. Over that same period, productivity has increased. This means Americans are spending less time at work to produce more than earlier generations.”
I have to check those facts out. I’ve seen other op/eds that have said we’re a nation of workaholics who take their computers, cell phones, etc. on vacation so they can work while they’re not working.
Â
August 21st, 2008
I’m sorry to see Ryan Washatka leave the IceHogs.
Ryan is one of the reasons I supported the move for the city to buy an AHL franchise. If Ryan and the wonderful folks who ran the UHL IceHogs weren’t part of the deal, I would have had reservations.
Ryan knows the community and works extremely hard. He and I played softball together for years and we’d always tease him about being on his cell phone, conducting IceHogs business, almost until it was time for us to take the field.
When I’d see him at IceHogs games, he’d always be busy. I wonder how many games he ever got to truly enjoy.
I don’t know who he will be working for, but that company is fortunate to have someone of Ryan’s caliber.
August 20th, 2008
Why would Democrats want Rod Blagojevich to speak at their convention? He recently topped –Â or bottomed — out as the least popular governor in the United States. Also take into consideration the investigations, the inability to get anything done, etc.
Good thing he’s sitting this one out.
August 20th, 2008
What do retiring Illinois Senate President Emil Jones and the alligator found in the Kishwaukee River have in common?
I’ll leave that for you to comment on.
Jones is taking a lot of hits from columnists and editorial boards across the state for trying to get his son to take his spot on the November ballot. I liked the John Kass take best.
I wonder what my boss would say if I walked into her office and told her I wanted my son to take over as editorial page editor? He writes well, has opinions, has different ideas, yada yada yada.
How far do you think that would get me?
August 19th, 2008
A Gallup survey says employee-reported layoffs are at a five-year high. That should put yesterday’s bad news about Register Star layoffs in the proper light.
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