Dave Winters’ plane loses alternator, he makes emergency landing in Springfield

1 comment July 16th, 2009

State Rep. Dave Winters, R-Shirland, is a pilot, and to get to and from Springfield he flies a two-seat, one propeller plane. This week, though, he landed at Springfield’s airport on a wing and a prayer when his plane’s alternator quit.

See the video here from Capitol Fax

Good riddance, Sears Tower and the jobs Sears dragged to Hoffman Estates; Welcome Willis Tower and the 500 jobs you brought

2 comments July 16th, 2009

I don’t know why Chicagoans are upset about the Sears Tower changing names. It’s now Willis Tower, and the Willis company is moving in with 500 jobs. That’s quite a commitment, compared to Sears, which beat retreat to Hoffman Estates in 1992 thanks to a $160 million donation by the taxpayers of Illinois.

So although the name of the building has been Sears Tower since it opened in 1974, there’s been no Sears presence since 1992. It’s time to welcome Willis Tower and its 500 jobs and say good riddance to Sears Tower. Maybe they could rename a water tower in Hoffman Estates the “Sears Water Tower.”

I’m still angry about subsidizing Sears’ move to the ‘burbs with my tax dollars.

I usually am in favor of keeping  historic names, but people move on. Everyone insisted they’d never shop at “Macy’s” after they bought Marshall Field’s and changed the name. But they do, even though they don’t make the Frango mints in the building anymore — I think they get them from Pennsylvania.

U.S. Cellular Field? Today we call it The Cel, or da Cel, and people have forgotten the old “Comiskey Park.” Times change.

o

Praying down at the Rescue Mission — Oh Lord!

Add comment July 16th, 2009

Let no good deed go unpunished. The Red Cross wanted to get out of the homeless shelter business.  Rather than see a need go unmet, the Rescue Mission stepped in, agreed to take over the homeless shelter and remodel it for women and children, seeing as they lost their original building to jail construction. The Rescue Mission’s West State Street campus will now take the male clients of the homeless shelter.

But some homeless shelter clients are complaining that they don’t want to go to the  Rescue Mission because they heard conditions are tougher than the homeless shelter, and they might have to — horror of horrors — PRAY and hear about Jesus.

Seems to me that people who find themselves between a rock and a hard place ought not be complaining about the opportunity to sleep in a warm, clean place, take a shower, get a good meal and yes, hear about Jesus and  salvation.

The Rescue Mission runs on volunteers and contributions. They can preach all they want. Men who don’t want to hear the message can just switch off their minds for a few minutes until the Good News goes away.

If the Rescue Mission weren’t doing this, who would?  Are they any secular-minded folks out there who want to start a shelter for people who don’t want to pray?

Don’t all respond at once, now.

Online photos from my Trask Bridge Picnic column will be up soon.

3 comments July 16th, 2009

My column on the revival of the Trask Bridge Picnic was supposed to contain an on-line photo gallery. There has been a delay getting that published, but I’ve been assured that it will be up soon.

In case you missed it elsewhere,  here it is again: