Archive for March 26th, 2009
March 26th, 2009
After years of soldiering on despite a series of chronic conditions including severe arthritis he’d had since his East High School days, David F. “Davey” Johnson died this morning. He was 65.
Davey was as fine a public servant as I’ve known. He started out as 8th ward alderman, was elected city clerk in the early 1970s, (the final election for that office) and then served as 4th ward aldermen before running in 2002 for Winnebago County Clerk. He served one term there and retired.
Although a Republican through and through, Davey was never a hyper-partisan office-holder. He knew that city problems didn’t have a Republican or Democratic solution, but rather they required a “Rockford” solution. So, Davey worked closely with other aldermen across the aisle, and with mayors such as Charles Box, to get things done for Rockford.
Davey was always proud of the fact that early in his career, he discovered that garbage trucks weren’t being weighed when they entered the landfill, costing the city literally “tons of money.” He solved the problem, saving the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I knew Davey both through my newspaper jobs at the Rockford Journal and the Rockford Register Star, and personally.
My son was intensely interested in fishing, but I was a terrible fisherman. The solution was Davey, because he was “Professor Bass.” He taught fishing courses at Rock Valley College and was a good friend of the famous Minnesota fishing entrepreneur Babe Winkelman, who made TV commercials for Davey when he ran for county clerk. He was a true expert at the art of catching lots of fish by trolling the shorelines of northern lakes and knowing precisely where to cast.
Davey taught my son to be a good fisherman. We went on quite a few fishing trips with Davey, to many lakes in central and northern Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and closer to home at West Lake, Rock Cut, and Rock Lake (Lake Mills) in southern Wisconsin. I never caught many fish, but my son did. My main job was at the end of each trip, backing Davey’s SUV and boat trailer into the lake so Davey could get the boat out of the water.
One one such sojourn, Davey took the boat around to the place in a northern lake where Mayor Box had caught his first muskie. Davey said that trip was a real rainbow coalition — Johnson, Box and Sunil Puri.
I’ll never forget one special expedition to northern Michigan. We were at a remote, rather large laker without many homes around it. We’d been out in the boat for about an hour and a half, and we weren’t catching anything on the warm, summer day.
There was an island with tall pines in the middle of the lake. In one of the trees was a huge eagle’s nest and two, immature eagles sitting in it. The parents weren’t there, and Davey said they were probably out fishing for the kids’ dinner.
There was no wind that day, and no other boats, so it was quiet. From behind our boat I began to hear a flapping sound, whap, whap, whap, whap.
All of a sudden, an eagle swooped out of the air about 25 feet from our boat. It coasted just inches above the water’s surface and grabbed a big bass with its talons. “Kerchunk,” is the best way I can describe the sound.
Then, with squirming fish in its firm grip, up went the eagle, whap, whap, whap, straining under the weight of the fish to carry the food home to the young eagles in the nest.
Davey, who was in the front of the boat, turned around and, with a toothpick in the side of his mouth, said dryly:
“Eagles one, humans nothin’.”
Thanks for the memories, Davey.
March 26th, 2009
You’ll note in my column today that Republican mayoral candidate John Harmon has no campaign contributions, meaning that he has no real campaign.
I believe that Harmon is in the race merely to try to get 10 percent of the vote from diehard Republicans to either help elect Doug Block or dilute Larry Morrissey’s victory margin. With a Block mayoralty or a weakened Morrissey, the stage would then be set for a Dave Syverson mayoral candidacy in 2013. By then, Dave, a Republican state senator since 1993, will be fully vested in his pension. As a GOP member in a Democratic Senate, he has no clout and is looking around for a new gig. Harmon is a member of Syverson’s army.
March 26th, 2009
The new federal courthouse going up in downtown Rockford has officially been named for retired federal judge Stan Roszkowski. Here’s the release from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL.
DURBIN ANNOUNCES CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF LEGISLATION TO NAME ROCKFORD COURTHOUSE AFTER JUDGE ROSZKOWSKI
First Durbin authored bill sent to President Obama for his signature
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced the passage of legislation by both the House and the Senate to name the United States District Courthouse in Rockford, Illinois after Stanley J. Roszkowski, former Federal Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. Roszkowski, who served in combat as a member of a bomber crew in World War II, played an integral role in bringing a new federal courthouse to Rockford. This legislation is the first bill authored by Durbin that will be sent to President Obama for his signature.
“Stanley Roszkowski has dedicated his life to serving his country,” said Durbin. “During his time as a judge, Roszkowski worked tirelessly to establish a permanent courthouse in Rockford. Soon after, he began advocating for a new courthouse when the current building was no longer adequate to handle the growing caseload. It is with great pride that I join my colleagues in sending this fitting tribute to President Obama for his signature.”
Stanley J. Roszkowski was raised in Royalton in southern Illinois, one of fifteen children. During World War II, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps and served as a nose gunner on a B26 bomber, flying over 35 missions in Italy and Germany. After the war he went on to earn his B.A. from the University of Illinois and then his law degree, working as an appliance salesman to pay for school and meeting his wife Catherine.
When he moved to Rockford, he opened up a successful law practice and became involved in his community. He gave up this practice when President Carter appointed him to the bench, serving for the next twenty years as a Federal Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. He became known for running a business-like but relaxed courtroom, and was praised by his peers for being extremely knowledgeable, fair and objective, and a gentlemen at all times, with a wide breadth of experience and an uncommon sense of decency.
Representatives Jerry Costello (D-IL) and Don Manzullo (R-IL) worked to see that this legislation was passed in the House of Representatives earlier today. Durbin and Manzullo succeeded in securing the federal funds necessary to construct the new Rockford courthouse – a total of more than $99 million. The existing Rockford courthouse was built more than 25 years ago. It is filled to capacity and has structural problems that would be prohibitively expensive to repair, impeding efficient functioning of the court. In addition, the lack of a separate prisoner entrance compromises security at the facility.
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March 26th, 2009
I’m late in commenting on Col. (Ret.) Jim Powers’ life, but I want to add my thoughts to those of many of you who knew him.
I knew him from the days when he had just retired from City Hall, where he developed an effective anti-graffiti program that was copied by other cities.
In retirement, Jim helped found the Greater Rockord Transportation Committee to promote rail, air and road projects and especially to jump start the airport out of several years of lethargy at the hands of a director who did not want to have passenger service and worked to make sure it went away, which in 2001 it did. It wasn’t all that director’s fault, he was just following orders of city and state legislative leaders who wanted to downplay our airport, and succeeded!
Anyway, Jim helped lead the effort that brought about a great transformation of the airport into a hub of economic activity for northern Illinois, an airport now called Chicago Rockford International Airport.
Jim also was active in neighborhood improvement projects in the north side. And, he was an active e-mailer, sending me comments on columns I wrote in the paper and e-mailing pertinent info on transport and political issues. Mostly his comments were in agreement with what I’d written, but sometimes Jim thought I was dead wrong and was not afraid to say so! I appreciated everything he sent me, and I responded to every one of his e-mails.
That’s how much I respected his knowledge and wisdom.
There’s another Powers connection: Jim’s mother, Mrs. Harold Powers, was my third grade teacher at St. Patrick’s School. She was a stern but thoroughly competent and challenging teacher, and sometimes I got into trouble in her class because I was as smart alecky then as I am today. As I look back on my school days all these years later, I realize that Mrs. Powers was perhaps the best teacher I ever had. Every once in awhile I’d hear from her in my adult years, and she’d tell me she was proud of what I’d accomplished. I appreciated that immensely.
Godspeed, Col. Jim! I’m sure you founded a block club in Heaven by now.
