Tollway folks on their way

Add comment November 12th, 2008

Tollway Chairman John Mitola and some other tollway folks will be here soon to talk about green lanes, improvements to the system in this area and some other things.

In the six years Rod Blagojevich has been governor there have been significant improvements to the tollway system. Tollway folks often credit the governor, but I think the governor has been at the right place at the right time when tollway folks finally acted on their plans.

Open-road tolling is an example. I first heard about open-road tolling from former tollway chief Tom Cuculich in 2002, before Blagojevich was elected. Cuculich’s plan looked like what we have on Interstate 90 today. It took a few years, and a new tollway chief, before open-road tolling became a reality.

Around here, we’ve seen that Cherry Valley toll booth eliminated, a new exit at 173, progress on the flyover at the Cherry Valley exit and an extra lane from here to South Beloit and back.

The system seems to be improving, but this nagging thought in the back of my head keeps resurfacing: George Ryan wanted to eliminate the tollway and make it a freeway. That idea didn’t go far.

The waiting game

Add comment November 4th, 2008

This is the calm before the storm in newsrooms across the country. We’re waiting for results to start coming in and once they do, it will be a mad race to get them posted online and start preparing stories and charts for the morning paper.

Candidates are nervous no matter how secure they think their victories should be. A victory party could easily turn into an event to console one another.

Voter turnout looks good

1 comment November 4th, 2008

I voted about 7:30 this morning, which is about an hour and a half later than I normally go to the polls.

For the first time in my 35 years of voting, I had to wait in line. I didn’t mind. In fact, I was thrilled to see so many people taking part in our democratic process.

There’s no substitute for Election Day. I know early voting and absentee ballots are becoming more popular, but I think Election Day should be special.

If you want to vote today and don’t have a way to make it to the polls, Democratic candidate for Winnebago County Board Chairman Paul Gorski reminds us that you can call 815-968-7575 if you or someone you know needs a ride.