Archive for July, 2009
July 28th, 2009
Yesterday we had some high school students and an intern sit in on an editorial board meeting. I asked the group if there was one thing they would write about, what would it be?
“The Cubs — they’re in first place,” one of our guests said.
I’ve missed the blog we started last year, C-notes, and haven’t found an outlet for my Cub thoughts, so I figured I’d toss a few in here.
I tend to like guys no one else does, so Milton Bradley is OK in my book. Yes, he’s under performing by his standards and the standards of the multi-million dollar contract he signed, but I think he’ll be a difference maker (in a positive manner) the rest of the year. His on base percentage (.385) is the best on the team. Not many folks out there give him credit for that. Every game I’ve watched, Bradley has hustled. The results haven’t always matched the effort, but when the guy is on he hurts the baseball.
Some fans are clamoring for General Manager Jim Hendry to make a deal before the July 31 deadline and blame the team’s ownership status for tying Hendry’s hands.
What deal would you make? Offense has been a problem, but who would you bench? Likely candidates are Alfonso Soriano, who won last night’s game with a grand slam and the aforementioned Bradley. The Cubs don’t want to pay millions to guys who don’t play and dealing them would be near impossible. Playing Jake Fox, who tore up minor league pitching and is hitting .315 with the big club, would be better than any deal I’ve seen out there.
Second base would be an option because of Mike Fontenot’s struggles, but other than the Pirates’ Freddy Sanchez, I don’t see anyone else available who would upgrade the position.
Starting pitcher? The Cubs staff has been near the top all year and has received good performances from callups Randy Wells and Kevin Hart. Injuries to Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly may force Hendry to make a deal for a starter just for insurance.
The bullpen? Another lefty to help out Sean Marshall would be nice, but that’s a tweak, not a major deal. Besides, lefty relievers seem to do better before and after they play for the Cubs. Scott Eyre is the latest example.
This team has clawed its way into first place. It hasn’t been pretty, but that may be a good thing. If the team had lived up to the preseason hype, it probably would be sleepwalking through the rest of the season with a 10 game lead in the division. I’d like to see a close race to the wire. That could make them more battle tested when the playoffs start.
July 27th, 2009
Pete MacKay is one of those no-nonsense, straight shooters you seldom find in politics. Whoever replaces him on the County Board will have a tough act to follow. He announced his retirement last week.
MacKay will be replaced by a Republican, which will make traditional GOPers happy. MacKay didn’t always toe the party line. He made decisions based on what he thought was right, not on what his party thought was right.
Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen has started accepting resumes. He’ll forward them to the Republican precinct committeemen of MacKay’s district. Those committeemen will make a decision. The candidate they choose would have to be approved by the full County Board.
It all needs to be done 60 days after MacKay retires. I’m sure Christiansen wants to avoid the hassles that occurred after Ted Biondo was named to fill Mary Ann Aiello’s seat.
Even though MacKay was just re-elected to four-year term on the County Board, his replacement will need to run for election in 2010. It’s some provision in the law that makes the appointee run earlier if there’s a lot of time left in the term.
July 24th, 2009
Rick Pearson, a former Register Star reporter, writes in today’s Tribune that Comptroller Dan Hynes will run for governor. The edit board has great respect for Hynes: We’ve endorsed him every time he’s run for comptroller. He got a few votes from edit board members when he ran for senator, the race eventually won by Barack Obama.
If Hynes enters the race, which I’ve suspected since Lisa Madigan dropped out, he’ll challenge Gov. Pat Quinn in the Democratic primary. I expect there to be a few more Democrats who decide to challenge Quinn and Hynes. The primary is scheduled for February so you can expect other candidates to announce in the next few weeks.
July 23rd, 2009
I was gone last week and still haven’t quite caught up on everything that’s been going on. Today’s editorial board session will address a number of topics. Not every topic will lead to an editorial. Sometimes we discuss an issue to death and can’t reach a consensus. Sometimes we wait for more reporting. Sometimes we just like to talk — and argue — with each other.
Your comments on stories, and additional comments posted here, are considered when we debate issues.
Today’s agenda includes the Winnebago County cash-for-trash deal that board members will consider tonight. We’ll talk about Dave Winter’s bid to be lieutenant governor. We haven’t had a lite gov for six months. Has anyone noticed?
The latest from Mike Dunn’s committee is on the agenda as is Rockford’s overall financial woes.
We may talk about Loves Park’s decision to cut the DARE program, but we may hold that until Monday. We’ll have some high schoolers here then and it would be nice to get the perspective of teens who know more about program.
Also on tap are Rockford’s sidewalks program and Boone County’s decision to sue a gang.
If we have time, we’ll talk about the state’s decision to stop financing funerals and we might want to talk about ice cream.
July 9th, 2009
Let’s not get too crazy with the scandal over influence-peddling in University of Illinois admissions. A major Chicago newspaper — you know who you are — has published day after day about powerful politicians’ relatives who got into U of I even though their applications and test scores shouldn’t have made the cut. The latest story is the former law school dean, who told state lawmakers of her frustration over being forced to let in a student favored by former Gov. Blagojevich. Now, I’m as eager as the next person to castigate Public Official A-Rod, but something the former dean said enraged me. She said they were dead-set against letting the applicant in because an older sibling had been such a lackluster student at the school. Oh, and THAT’S fair? College admissions is arbitrary and capricious — and it will ever be thus.
July 9th, 2009
Kevin Thompson of Rockford wrote the Register Star about his rude surprise at Rockford’s Fourth of July parade this year. The small flags handed out by the local political parties were imprinted with the words “Made in China.” Typically, I pass over such letters because I can’t verify them. (I wasn’t at this year’s parade and our reporters can’t be everywhere.)
But I called Jan Klaas, head of the Winnebago County Republican party, and she confirmed that indeed the flags were from China. Klaas said she didn’t know when the flags were ordered that they came from China. The supplier gave them no clue, she said. Once they were bought and paid for, Klaas felt stuck. I sympathized. Do you cover up the words with Magic Marker or Wite-Out? Wouldn’t that be defacing the flag? And how wasteful!
Political Editor Chuck Sweeny envisioned the Chinese manufacturer having a lot of fun sneaking in the words “Made in China” on these flags. As if the trade imbalance is not insult enough! Take a look at the photo Thompson submitted. Do you share his ire? Here’s his letter:
“The Fourth of July parade this year was wonderful as always, but one issue needs comment.
“The political parties handed out American flags to everyone in the crowd. This seemed wonderful until I looked closely at the flag.
“There, printed on my flag–the flag of the United States of America–was not a sticker but the imprinted words, “Made in China.”
“I immediately thought of the many friends and others in my community, my country, who are out of work because we sent our manufacturing jobs to everywhere but America.
“Families are losing homes, unemployment is still rising and our political parties purchase and hand out American flags with “Made in China” on them. Even beyond the jobs and the people affected, what about respect for our national flag itself?
“I cannot believe anyone, especially an elected official or a person working for a political party, would think this is acceptable — to purchase these, and then have the nerve to hand them out to American citizens on Independence Day.” — Kevin Thompson, Rockford
July 8th, 2009
Lisa Madigan’s decision to run for re-election will start some new political games in Illinois. No one really wants to run against her, so expect the AG candidate pool to dwindle. Don’t be surprised if Republican Joe Birkett, who announced he’d run for attorney general, changes his mind and runs for another office, governor perhaps.
Madigan’s decision to not run for governor or senator, a position she was being recruited for by White House staff, probably will mean Comptroller Dan Hynes will run for governor and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias will have an easier time in the Democratic primary for U.S. senator. I’m expecting statements from both men later today.
Madigan staying at AG also could be good news for Republicans. She would be a more formidable opponent for gov or senator than the likely Deomocratic candidates. She got 72 percent of the vote when she ran for re-election in 2006 making her the top vote-getter in the state.
Republicans have a better chance against Pat Quinn or Hynes than they would have against Madigan. They also have a better chance against Giannoulias than they would have against Madigan.
Expect a lot more names on both sides of the aisle to be thrown into these races.
July 8th, 2009
Lisa Madigan won’t be running for governor or senator. At 2 p.m. she’ll announce that she’s going to run for re-election as attorney general.
Robin Ziegler, a spokeswoman for Madigan, called me a while ago to let me know. The news has already been posted on the Chicago Tribune’s Web site and some others.
I have privately told my colleagues that I thought she would run for re-election. It was a hunch and it looks like it was right.
Ziegler said Madigan will call me later this afternoon after the press conference. I’ll post an update then.
July 7th, 2009
Interesting story on today’s Daily Herald Web site about the Sears Centre’s troubles and Hoffman Estates officials ready to jump in to save it. Sound familiar? Something to keep in mind as Rockford decides the fate of its MetroCentre.
July 1st, 2009
I was reading an Associated Press story about removing dams from rivers and wondered what purpose the dam just a long softball throw from the News Tower really served. I asked Paul Callighan, a spokesman for ComEd, which owns the dam. Here’s his response:
Since ComEd no longer uses Fordam Dam for power production, it only provides a recreational pool of water in downtown Rockford. Maintenance of the dam by ComEd was required when our power production license was surrendered to the Federal Power Commission (now the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) in the 1970’s. Fordam is classified as a “run-of-the-river” dam (not a flood control dam) meaning water coming into the pool from upstream is discharged at the same rate downstream. The recreational pool extends generally to an area between the Auburn Street and Riverside Boulevard bridges. The gates at the dam operate to maintain a steady level. Various correspondence and memos suggest the actual river channel through downtown Rockford would be lower and/or smaller than the current shoreline height if the dam were not in place, meaning existing sea walls would be in jeopardy and boating into the downtown area during summer low-flow, low water conditions would likely not be possible.
